I worked as Editor of Ireland's largest student news website, Campus.ie, for 7 months.
Please follow this link to view my profile and a list of my articles written for Ireland's largest student website.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
My work at Campus.ie
I worked as Editor of Ireland's largest student news website, Campus.ie, for 7 months.
Please follow this link to view my profile and a list of my articles written for Ireland's largest student website.
My work at Newsy.com
I currently work as a copywriter for the newscasts at Newsy, and I will have anchored my stories and edited video with Final Cut Pro by the end of Spring Semester 2012.
The scripts feature below each news video.
Same-sex marriage ban ruled unconstitutional
Apple under fire for Chinese factory conditions
Facebook, Washington State sue "like-jackers"
Analysis: Who's to blame for the egypt riots?
http://www.newsy.com/videos/analysis-who-s-to-blame-for-the-egypt-riots/
Latest poll: Romney and Santorum draw even
Latest poll: Romney and Santorum draw even
Murdoch expands Sun tabloid
Fake Pokemon app nets 10k in App Store
Oscars preview: The Artist or Descendants?
Google's new privacy policy violates EU law, regulators say
Major New Development Planned for Lusk
*Published in the North County Leader.
An
exciting proposal to relocate Lusk Utd Soccer Club and to build a new
commercial development in Lusk is set to be submitted to the County Council.
The plan, which is being put forward by developers, McGarrell-Reilly Group, involves
the moving of Lusk Utd Soccer clubhouse and pitches to a new area on the ring
road of Lusk, and the building of a commercial development.
Cllr. Tom O’Leary
(FG) told the County Leader, “This new plan will include a new street, parallel
to Station Road, linking civic spaces and about 220 residential units, which
includes 106 houses, the majority of which will be 3/4 bedroomed houses."
"It
will also include 96 Duplex houses, living over shop and 18 apartments. There
will also be a large supermarket store, with smaller retail shops, both stand
alone and street facing stores, approximately 15 in number. There will be a
Gateway commercial unit at Redmount Roundabout and five services providers,
incorporating office, banking, etc. Food and drink units, incorporating
restaurant, café and Pavilion style kiosk buildings are included, as well as a
Crèche,” he added.
This list
is subject to change in response to market demand and is aiming to fulfill the
local needs of the growing population in and around Lusk. An application for
the lands is being prepared and should be lodged early in the New Year.
At a
meeting in the town last Thursday, 9th December called by County Mayor Ken
Farrell, local residents were given a presentation of the proposed new site by
the developer, Alex Walsh and architect, Michael Crowe.
Walsh told the County
Leader, “ The proposed development will make it easier for local businesses to
prosper as it will allow them to be concentrated in the one area. When people
in Lusk go to do their shopping, they leave Lusk and shop in places like Swords
and Balbriggan. This development will keep people shopping in Lusk. All the
other surrounding towns in the North County have more facilities than Lusk, and
we want to change this,” he said.
Local
residents, however, have raised several issues with the development, including
the lack of facilities available for children in the area such as playgrounds,
and also questioned the need for a large shopping centre in Lusk.
Resident,
Sylvia Caldwell questioned McGarrell Group’s plan, saying that their previous
development in the area is still without important amenities for children. When
Lusk Village was built, there was a proposed site for a crèche, yet this has
never been built, also, in this large estate there is not one playground.”
Mayor
Farrell said that the development is still only in planning application stage
and is set to be submitted to the County Council early in the New Year. “My
only position is to inform residents of Lusk that this application is being put
forward and that we need to take their views into account in the next steps
forward”, he concluded.
Ryanair announce €376m profit decrease
Ryanair recorded a €105m profit for 2009, a staggering drop
of €376m in adjusted profits after tax compared with the profits of 2008.
The budget airline, which made a record profit of €481m in
2008, has cited the increase in oil prices as the reason for the severe dip in
profits.
Chief Executive Michael O’Leary stated that Ryanair’s policy
of absorbing the changes in oil prices was the primary factor in the disappointing
dip in the company’s profits for 2009.
“As Europe’s lowest fare airline, Ryanair maintains a policy
of never imposing a fuel surcharge, regardless of how high fuel prices are”,
said O’Leary, “ While most other airlines were raising fuel surcharges last
year, Ryanair absorbed these higher oil prices which were the direct cause of
our large profit decline.”
The airline’s fuel bill rose by 57% to €1.57bn and accounted
for 45% of operating costs compared to 37% for the previous year. Their average fuel cost last year was $105
per barrel and they say they have responded to higher oil prices by reducing
costs across all other areas of the business. As a result, the airline says that non-fuel
related operating costs fell by 3% on a per passenger basis.
“This 2009 adjusted net profit was a significant achievement
considering Ryanair was affected by these record high oil prices which caused
our fuel bill to rise by €466m”, added the Ryanair boss.
For 2010, they say that fuel costs will be significantly lower
due to their fuel hedging and cost reduction programmes. They are 90% hedged for the first 3 Quarters
at approximately €62 per barrel and €61 per barrel in Quarter 4 of the coming
year.
They also anticipate that non fuel unit operating costs will
fall by 5% due to cost reduction programmes, and that they will use the cost
savings to reduce fares even further.
Fuel, which represents 45% of total operating costs compared
to 37% in the previous year, increased by 59% to €1.25bn, due to the increase
in the price per gallon and an increase in the number of hours flown, offset by
a positive movement in the US dollar exchange rate versus the euro.
Despite a huge 78% decrease in profits, the Irish airline
opened 223 new routes, including six new bases at Alghero, Birmingham, Bologna,
Bournemouth, Cagliari and Edinbugh.
“Over the next 5 years we intend to grow to become the
second largest airline in the world, ranked only behind our guide and mentor
Southwest Airlines”, said O’Leary.
As well as the opening of these new routes, their traffic
increased by 15% to 59m, meaning that Ryanair carried more international
passengers than any of its European competitors to become the largest European
airline and the sixth largest airline in the world.
This was also reflected in the IATA airline rankings,
crowning Ryanair as the largest airline in Europe, surpassing Air France,
Lufthansa and British Airways. In the last year they lowered their average fare by 8% to
€40.
According to budget airline’s annual report, Ryanair’s average
fare for the year was €40 with no fuel surcharge, Air France’s was €267 with a
€26 surcharge, Lufthansa’s average fare was €287 with a fuel surcharge of €24,
and British Airway’s was €284 with a £12 surcharge.
Their total operating expenses increased by 29% to €2.8bn,
primarily due to the increase in fuel prices, the higher level of activity and
increased costs associated with the growth of the airline.
As well as becoming the largest European airline, Ryanair
boasted a 21% in employment numbers, rising from 5,262 to 6,369 employees. Within that number, 1,526 people were
promoted and average pay was €45,333, which was higher than its European
competitors, excluding Air France, whose average pay was €50,976 for the year.
In December, Ryanair made a second bid for Aer Lingus plc at
€1.40 per share, which Aer Lingus shareholders rejected.
“We regret that the shareholders of Aer Lingus rejected our
offer, since we believed that Ryanair was the logical and strongest airline to
partner to secure Aer Lingus’s slots, brand and its long-term future”, said O ‘Leary.
“Without Ryanair as a
strong partner, sadly Aer Lingus remains a small, peripheral, loss making regional
airline”, he concluded.
Ryanair’ balance sheet remained in a healthy position
despite the decrease in profits, with over €2.5bn in liquid funds.
Adjusted earnings per
share for the year was 7.10 cent, compared to earnings per share of 31.80 euro
cent in the year ended March 31, 2008, mainly due to the losses caused by the
€466m increase in their fuel bill.
In the next year, they plan to move towards 100% carry-on
luggage flights, and 100% web check- in as of October 2009.
“We have the necessary resources to increase our aircraft
fleet to over 300 by 2012, and that should see our annual traffic grow to over
90m passengers by 2012/13”, said Ryanair Director David Bonderman, “ By then
our low fares will save passengers over €9bn annually.”
Over the past year, Ryanair has improved flight punctuality
by 2%, to 90% punctuality.
Total operating revenues increased by 8% to €1,942.0m, yet
total revenue per passenger decreased by 6%.
This was due to the increase in their traffic, which hasn’t been
mirrored by their operating revenues, but the airline predicts that the opening
of 223 new routes will eventually increase total revenue significantly.
Operating margin fell by 15 points to 5% whilst operating
profits fell by 74% to €144.2m.
No job can be this boring: Diary of a festival steward
**This article was published in the Irish Times on July 13 2011. Read it here.
It’s an easy job – the tough part is making those hours go by. Oxegen music festival; a bubble of madness and escapism, away from the uncertainty and despair that prevails in our society at the moment.
Buy a newspaper. There are six hours of solid reading in your average newspaper, depending on your reading speed. That’s half my shift gone, provided I’m lucky enough to be able to get away with reading a paper.
Guarding goods and vehicles at night, or maybe guarding the “toilets”; Portaloos set up to last the weekend but cease to flush after night one. An interesting sign in each Portaloo reads “this toilet is to be used by 10 people every 48 hours”. Ten people every 48 hours? Sympathy goes to the punters.
Night shift is physically upsetting. Finishing your shift while the sun is rising, coming back to sleep in a tent that slowly fills with rainwater. Sleeping in hot brightness – impossible.
It’s an achievement in itself to go the 12 hours of darkness without falling asleep at least once. The lunch you are given by your supervisor consists of packed sandwiches, a bar, crisps and a drink – the best part of the shift.
I try to spread the eating. Impossible. Too hungry. Eat them all in one go. I try to find ways to occupy the time. Laps around my area, calculations, plans.
Is it a good experience? Good in the sense that after this job, no job will seem boring, difficult, enduring.
Bad experience, in the sense that it was a bad experience. Listening to the rants of punters was one of my more interesting hobbies.
Punters entering Oxegen: “Oxegennnnn . . . Woo! Come on!” Punters leaving Oxegen: “I hate Oxegen.” “You know, I’m actually glad to be leaving.”
Dirt and drink are the primary causes of the homesickness. God knows you missed half the bands you came to see, due to drunkenness, being lost and drunk, and being back at the campsite getting ossified instead.
Horrific stories emanate from both Red and Blue campsites, each story more exaggerated than the last, and most probably not even true to start.
Having said that, stewards were asked to keep an eye out for a man carrying a knife wearing nothing but a Smurf mask. Oxegen. Madness.
Irish Presidential Election 2011 cost taxpayer over €20m
The Presidential Election 2011 cost the taxpayer over €20m over the course of the campaign, with a significant amount due to postage costs.
Costs to the taxpayer included the election literature of each candidate, which cost approximately €11.63m, the reimbursement of €200,000 to three candidates who reached the 12.5% quota, and administrative costs involved on the day of the election.
A sum of approximately €14m was set aside to pay for expenses of running the election, such as the counting of votes and transportation of ballot boxes. The portion of this sum that was actually spent has yet to calculated by the Department of Finance.
Cuts were made to tackle the costs of the election last summer when Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan cut expenses that can be claimed by candidates from €260,000 to €200,000.
However, the costs of posting election literature were not significantly reduced.
Under the Constitution, each candidate at a presidential election is “entitled to send one election letter, free of postage charge, to each elector or to any combination of electors on the register of presidential electors.”
Dept of Finance said it secured a bulk discount of 11% from An Post for election leaflet delivery, but due to the number of candidates in the 2011 Presidential Election, costs still exceeded €11m, just €4m short of the cost of postage of literature for the General Election in 2007 – an election which involved over 450 candidates.
During the discussion for the Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2011 in June, Fianna Fáil Spokesperson for Public Expenditure and Reform Sean Fleming TD highlighted the issue.
“If the Government is serious about saving money on the election, it should amalgamate the material. It is a source of public aggravation that 30 items of literature are sometimes distributed to registered voters when one would suffice”, Fleming said at an Oireachtas meeting.
The suggestion to amalgamate the election manifesto of all candidates was echoed by Independent candidate Seán Gallagher in August, which he said could make up to €10m in savings.
“If all parties run candidates and another independent (Norris) enters the race, the cost to the State of seven runners would be €11.63 million. But if we all agree to issuing one leaflet through the postal system, it would be €1.66 million,” the runner-up claimed in his manifesto.
Candidates who reach the election quota of 12.5% can claim €200,000 from the State for expenses. President Higgins, Seán Gallager and Martin McGuinness reached this quota, costing €600,000 overall.
The remaining candidates; Dana Rosemary-Scallon, David Norris, Mary Davis and Gay Mitchell had to cover their own expenses.
Fine Gael candidate Mitchell, will be covered by his party. Fine Gael their headquarters on Mount Street remortgaged for €1m in order to pay for the campaign, which has a spending cap of €750,000 in place for all candidates.
President-elect Michael D Higgins, who took a 23.5% pay cut to bring his annual salary to €235,000, underwent knee-repair surgery in Galway on Tuesday, and will return to office on 19 December.
Ends….
Thursday, May 12, 2011
What's the future for business in Dublin 8?
What was once of the thriving
commercial centres of Dublin and the lifeblood of the city’s culture, has now
become a black spot for closed businesses and derelict buildings.
With the combination of the
economic downturn and negligence of the Liberties, this area encapsulates the
manner in which Ireland misspent its fortunes to become the debt-ridden country
it is today.
At eleven o’clock on a Wednesday morning, Dame St is as vibrant
and busy with heavily vehicle traffic as usual and with shops and restuarants,
large and small, open for business. A
swift turn left up George’s Street South and the traffic may not change
dramatically, but the vibrancy most certainly does.
Closed shutters of closed businesses and “to let” signs are
visible from the foot of the street, and this view only gets less promising as
you continue up this road.
There are ten closed down businesses on George’s Street
alone, including a large building formerly a Dunnes Stores clothing store, with
a sign stating that “We have relocated to our flagship store at St Stephen’s
Green. We hope to see you there”.
Why there, and not
here?
Quiznos Subs, a
similar business to the popular deli-style restaurant Subway, are another
business to have recently moved away from this area to St Stephen’s Green.
Just across from this vacant office is a huge derelict
building that was once The Outlet Store.
Not only is the large shop itself shut, but the three storeys above appear
to be neglected, and for a considerably period judging by the poor state of the
upper storey windows.
If George’s St
painted a bleak picture, the outlook doesn’t get any rosier crossing onto
Aungier St.
By the time you get to DIT Aungier Street, you will have
already passed twenty two closed down businesses and neglected buildings, and
this is all in a five minute walk.
Some sense of vibrancy is restored after Aungier St, on
Camden Street, with the presence of popular spots such as Whelan’s, Solas, Ryan’s
Bar and the Bank of Ireland, but more importantly, prosperity and
sustainability on the whole, aren’t restored.
Include Camden Street Lower in your walk and you’ve walked
by a staggering thirty seven closed businesses and neglected buildings, some of
these fenced off to prevent trespassing.
What was a commercial centre similar to Grafton St up until
the 1970s, had been left to decline and decay long before the whispers of the
word “recession”. In need of urban
renewal is an understatement. This part
of the city needs to be rescued and revitalised, and the recent recession has
only hindered any hope of this happening.
The presence of three third-level institutions such as DIT,
Dublin Business School and the Royal College of Surgeons has accommodated for
certain kinds of business such as coffee shops, restaurants, pubs and computer
stores, but the businesses these thousands of students may provide is clearly
not enough to keep these few streets alive.
Pavel Romanovskis, owner of Vitamin Shop on Aungier St, said
that a rejuvenation of this area wouldn’t make any big difference to business,
as most of the in the shops’ target
market in the area were the students in the nearby colleges. But this reliance
on students also poses problems for business owners such as Romanovskis.
“Things are going ok”, he said, “I rely mostly on students
for business, but because of this my shop is fairly quiet when the colleges are
closed.”
Romanovskis’s shop specialises in fitness products and
protein supplements, products that are mostly popular among young men.
“I don’t think improving these streets would make much
difference to business, as it’s the problems of the whole country and not just
this street that have a caused a slowdown in business”, he added.
With the approval of the Grangegorman as the site to
amalgamate all the DIT colleges together on one campus, will mean the removal
of thousands of students and their spending money from the area.
“I know DIT Aungier St may be going in a few years time, but
there are other colleges in the area. If I’m still here in a few years, I may
have to consider relocating. We’ll have
to see”, Romanovskis concluded.
Gagan Singh, owner of Sim Sim Mobile, a small shop on
Aungier St that specialises in mobile phones and accessories, has ran his
business here for over ten years and is seeing the effect the recession is
having on this once-thriving area.
“Up to three years ago, these streets were very busy”, said
Singh, “but since the recession, the streets are practically empty.”
Even though these streets are filled with thousands of
college students during the week, spending mentalities have receded among
students, along with the economy.
“Business is at its worst now; people are spending less,
they aren’t upgrading or buying mobiles as often as they used to”, he added.
Although the recession has caused the decline of business
worldwide, there are clearly other factors contributing to the lack of
prosperity in this particular area of the city.
Not only are customers spending less, but so is the
Government, and in turn Dublin City Council.
“Some effort needs to be made to improve this part of town;
it’s run down” said Singh,” In the UK the Government spend to rebuild run down
parts of cities. This needs to be done here too.”
The current Government allowed the growth of a huge property
bubble, which inevitably burst with dire consequences for the country’s
economic future, but why were areas such as the Liberties laid to wither for so
long?
With bail-outs looming and the Irish nation glooming,
Aungier St, George’s St, and Camden St would all be perfectly apt settings for
the scenes that will depict the struggle Ireland is faced with in the coming
years, unless the next Government can find it in their hearts and pockets, some
way to restore this once-prospering part of the city.
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