Write a comment
Finance Minister, Máirtín Ó Muilleoir MLA, Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Constitution, Derek Mackay MSP and Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Mark Drakeford were in Newry City last week for a Trilateral meeting.
The Chairperson, Councillor Gillian Fitzpatrick and Chief Executive, Liam Hannaway welcomed the visitors to O’Hagan House, Monaghan Row on Friday the first time such a meeting has been held in the City.
They also gave a warm reception to Finance Representatives from the Basque Government, including the Vice Minister of Finance and Treasury, Mr Juan Miguel Bilbao Garay, who were also in attendance at the Trilateral Meeting to discuss pertinent financial issues for our regions.
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson Councillor Gillian Fitzpatrick said, “I am delighted that Newry City has been given the opportunity to host this Trilateral Meeting. The meeting discussed a number of topics significant to our area, including the EU referendum, the Apprenticeship Levy, the Chancellors Autumn Statement and also provided an opportunity to set out a collective agreement on issues ahead of the upcoming quadrilateral meeting with the British Chancellor on 24 October 2016.”
The Chairperson added, “I would like to thank the Finance Ministers once again for the opportunity to host this meeting, as I believe it represents in reality the ethos of joined up government – working together to gain mutual collaboration amongst the regions. I look forward to welcoming further meetings such as this to be held within the district.”
Write a comment
Leading figures from the motorcycling and cycling sectors came together for the first time for a legal seminar on the growth of collisions involving those on two wheels. The event took place in Newry and was organised by the Northern Ireland Young Solicitors’ Association as part of the annual event plan.
The impressive line-up of speakers included Geoff Liffey, CEO of Cycling Ireland, Trevor Kirke, PSNI Bike Safe Co-ordinator, Marcus Donaldson, Barrister and Russell McLaughlin, Consultant in Emergency Medicine at the Royal Victoria Hospital.
Seamus O’Neill, from JMK Solicitors, who helped put the event together said “JMK Solicitors were delighted to support this significant event. We deal solely in the area of personal injury claims and have noticed the increase number of claims involving cyclists and motorcyclists.
“We were delighted that the NI Young Solicitor’s Association agreed to hold this event in Newry and the feedback has been so positive that we may run it again in other areas”.
The phenomenal growth in the numbers cycling across Northern Ireland, has led to an increase in collisions. Indeed cycling Ireland figures show that their membership has grown from 2,000 in 1980 to 29,000 in 2016. Whilst there are now 138 clubs across Ulster. Geoff Liffey explained the work going on to improve cycling safety, what insurance cover cyclists should have and gave examples of some high profile cases defended by Cycling Ireland typical claims that arise from cycling.
Trevor Kirke, PSNI Bike Safe Co-ordinator, discussed the popularity of motor cycling and the role Bike Safe has in improving rider’s attitudes and behaviours. He also highlighted his personal thoughts on what motorcyclists should expect from their solicitor representing them after a collision.
Russell McLaughlin, Consultant in Emergency Medicine at the Royal Victoria Hospital, talked about number of motorcyclists and cyclists attending A&E, the nature of injuries and the outcomes of those injuries.
Finally Marcus Donaldson, Barrister, spoke about what evidence is required to prove a case, what damages can be claimed for and relevant case law and statutory developments.
Write a comment
Fiveways Nisa Extra store in Newry has been awarded the overall Neighbourhood Retailer of the Year prize, at Friday evening’s Neighbourhood Retailer Awards in Belfast, just one of three awards for the supermarket on the night.
The impressive three awards, included the Deli of the Year, Neighbourhood Store of the Year as well as the coveted overall prize.
Other local winners included Trainor Bros, Poyntzpass, a remarkable achievement in their very first year of trading, EuroSpar Mayobridge, Milestone Nisa Extra, Rathfriland and Centra Crossmaglen.
Commenting on Fiveways successs, organiser and publisher of Neighbourhood Retailer, Bill Penton, said “Congratulations too must go to our overall winners, Fiveways Nisa Extra in Newry. This is an exceptional store, and has consistently impressed our judges over a number of years. This year, however, they pulled out all the stops by winning three trophies in one evening – an incredible achievement."
The event, hosted by king of the catchphrase Roy Walker, saw almost 500 NI retailers descend on the Ramada Plaza in Belfast for the glittering contest.
The 2016 awards was among the biggest in its 18 year history, and saw the launch of a new category – Community Store of the Year. Sponsored by Q Radio, it was the first category to have been decided by public vote and was won by Crawford's of Maghera with over 7000 votes.
The Winners
Retailer of the Year 2016
Fiveway’s Nisa Extra, Newry
Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient
William Brown, Arcadia Delicatessen, Belfast
Store Manager of the Year
Craig Crossey-Truesdale, the Chalet Costcutter, Craigavon
Neighbourhood Retailer of the Year Category 1
Hoey’s Mace, Belfast
Neighbourhood Retailer of the Year Category 2
Spar Ballyclare
Neighbourhood Retailer of the Year Category 3
Eurospar Mayobridge
Neighbourhood Retailer of the Year Category 4
Fiveways, Nisa Extra, Newry
Forecourt of the Year Category 1
Applegreen Ballymena
Forecourt of the Year Category 2
Trainor Bros Retail ltd, Poyntzpass
Community Store of the Year
Crawford’s of Maghera
CTN of the Year
Leathem’s Centra, Lisburn Road
Off-Licence of the Year
Emerson’s, Armagh
Bakery of the Year
Milestone Nisa Extra, Rathfriland
Butcher of the Year
McAtamney’s, Coleraine
Newcomer of the Year
Applegreen Motorway Service Area, M1, Co Antrim
Pharmacy of the Year
Bannside Pharmacy, Portglenone
Deli of the Year
Fiveways Nisaextra, Newry
Best Customer Service
Centra Crossmaglen
Write a comment
Southern Regional College’s Business Support Centre (i3) Engineering Innovation Technology Specialists Alistair Quinn and Laura McGirr recently held a New Product Development Masterclass at SRC Newry Campus.
Alistair is a Mechanical Engineer and Laura is a Product Design Engineer; the event was hosted to showcase their skills set and what funded support and opportunities are available within the college.
Alistair provided information on the range of funded support available for SMEs and discussed a case study of a local company which has benefitted from a range of funded projects carried out in collaboration with SRC. Laura spoke about the New Product Development process and how i3 can support local companies.
Guest speaker Alan Wallace from FR Kelly Patent Attorneys provided an insight into trademarks, design rights, trade secrets and copyrights. He also advised attendees on how to obtain a patent and how to protect their designs and ideas.
Michelle Billham, Business Development Executive at i3, informed attendees about the new Higher Level Apprenticeship in Mechatronics and one of SRC’s Engineering Lecturers, Gary Mackin spoke about project based learning initiatives and student placements.
If you are interested in finding out more about the support available within the Business Support Centre (i3) please contact a member of the i3 team today on 028 3839 7778.
Write a comment
Students from Newry have taken part in a Novosco Cloud Camp which provided hands-on IT infrastructure experience and invaluable learning opportunities to students from across the province.
The camp organised by Novosco and supported by Almac, took place at Belfast Metropolitan College’s Titanic Quarter Campus over the summer months and was open to year 11–13 students.
Professional IT engineers and Belfast Met lecturers facilitated the camp, which also included a tour of Novosco’s headquarters in Belfast to allow students to see a world-class managed cloud company in action.
In addition to free registration, all participants were provided with a free Raspberry Pi computer to keep.
Areas covered at Novosco Cloud Camp included: networking, Python programming, basic HTML programming, and creating virtual servers.
Economy Minister Simon Hamilton MLA, who visited the camp commented: “Summer camps like these are a great way to get our young people engaged in Information Communication Technology in a fun and interactive way.
“The anticipated growth in the ICT sector means that we will need more skilled people in the future to meet the demands of employers. Gaining this hands on experience and having the opportunity to work with two locally based companies will hopefully inspire these young people to go on to consider a career in ICT in Northern Ireland.”
Novosco Managing Director, Patrick McAliskey, said: “We have had very strong interest in the camp, which gives us real encouragement about the increasing enthusiasm there is to begin a career in IT infrastructure. There is already incredible demand for the kinds of skills that these students will be developing, and that is only going to grow in the future. We are very pleased to be working with Almac and Belfast Met to play our role in ensuring the skills pipeline that our business and the industry as a whole requires.”
Andrew Hillis, Group Head of Information Services at Almac commented, “As a global company providing unique services, demand from clients all over the world continues to grow. IT plays an incredibly important role in delivering our global operations and as such we offer a vast range of career opportunities within Almac to people with these skills. The Cloud Camp is an excellent way of stimulating interest in IT infrastructure amongst young people and we look forward to working with Novosco to encourage potential future employees.”
Belfast Met’s Director of Development, Damian Duffy, said: “This Cloud Camp is the latest in a series of fantastic events which are helping to maintain the College’s position as the leading facilitator of education and skills solutions in the ICT sector. Belfast Met is delighted to be delivering this Novosco initiative at our state of the art Titanic Quarter campus. We are also thrilled to be partnering with Almac, another leading firm, in engaging the digital technologists of the future.”
Novosco employs 140 people and works for leading organisations across Ireland and the UK, including UK health trusts, councils and other organisations. It has been ranked one of the top companies to work for in the UK by The Sunday Times for the last four years.
Write a comment
Newry businesses were inspired and motivated by TV personality and trainer David Meade as Best Property Services hosted their second business breakfast in the City with mind-reading Mr Meade in the Canal Court Hotel last week.
Billed ‘Meade the Sequel’, guests heard a unique presentation from David, looking at customer psychology and how skills demonstrated by incredible athletes and business leaders can be used by local businesses to grow their customer base and enhance their business performance.
The event was attended by over 100 guests including MLA’s and local councillors, Best Property Services residential, commercial and land clients, members of their professional network, local business chambers and press.
Garry Best, MD of Best Property Services said: “Last year we had fantastic feedback from David’s session, both on the day and months later as people successfully used David’s tips and advice in their own businesses.
“Customer relationships and managing customer expectations is a critical area for all businesses so we felt a second event with David would be really useful to our staff, clients as well as our professional network and other local businesses and we’re delighted so many could join us today.”
Write a comment
After a 5 year campaign by Newry and Mourne Enterprise Agency, small businesses located in the WIN Business Park, Newry, have finally been connected to super fast broadband through the most up to date technology, ‘Fibre to the Premsies’ in partnership with B4B Telecoms.
Up to now the broadband speed in the Park was stalled at around 13 megabytes per second (mps) download and only 1Mbps upload while businesses in the rest of Newry have benefited from the FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet) broadband which delivers 80Mbps download and 20Mbps upload.
Colin Hanna from Newry and Mourne Enterprise Agency opened discussions with B4B to look at the issue and is delighted with the outcome.
Colin explained “Fast broadband speed is now effectively a utility service, as vital to small businesses as electricity and water. Unfortunately the Newry-wide Fibre to the Cabinet scheme did not reach our business park so our SMEs were being left behind. Working with B4B we identified sufficient numbers of tenant companies who needed faster broadband and we went down the route of the Super Connected Cities Voucher Scheme which opened up new possibilities. The result is that we now have a broadband service which is one step further than Fibre to the Cabinet and that is Fibre to the Premises."
Also commenting Thomas O Hagan from B4B said “The Super Connected Cities Voucher Scheme was ideal for Newry & Mourne Enterprise Agency. More than 20 businesses in the park indicated their willingness to sign up to the scheme and that gave us the opening to explore the Fibre to the Premises broadband solution. This means the Park now has access to 1GBps services, with many tenants choosing to avail of the 100Mbps download, surpassing that available on FTTC.
“W.I.N Business Park is now working with a SuperFast broadband solution and has been effectively ‘future proofed.’”
Write a comment
A new fundraising platform has been launched by Newry based man Tom Hughes, where fundraisers can not only collect donations, but we can also now sell goods directly on the site, with the proceeds going straight to the cause.
The digital revolution has made it easier than ever before for the public to give and charities to receive. Now the next stage in online fundraising technology is launching from Ireland.
Merging the buy and sell elements of modern marketplace sites with the traditional donation technology of fundraising sites, Jumble Fund is an innovative new platform that will allow anyone to buy and sell items in aid of their chosen charity or cause, as well as allowing fundraisers to collect monetary donations towards a challenge, target or event.
Jumble Fund will enable fundraisers to accept the proceeds from items sold through the site as donations towards their fundraising target, thus enabling people to donate their “stuff” for the first time, rather than just cash.
Likewise, people who are clearing out their homes, garages and toy rooms can sell the items and send the money straight to a good cause or their favourite charity. This is a great workaround for charities who, despite some having retail shops, have long lists of donated items they can’t accept and resell for legal or safety reasons.
In this way, Jumble Fund will bring charities the proceeds of more than just the usual Bric-a-Brac, with larger scale items such as golf clubs and bikes currently raising funds for local good causes on the site.
Founder Tom Hughes describes what spurred him to bring his idea to life “The need for Jumble Fund was a real mix of practical and emotional elements for me. Practically, we are living in a society of ever-growing charitable endeavours and that’s great for the good causes. However, social media has left people bombarded with requests to support friends, family and even strangers. We all want to help, but we have a finite amount of spare cash to do so. There just wasn’t an easy-to-use system for turning the things we don’t need into that spare cash to donate.
On an emotional level, there is a real transformative process in converting all these things that would otherwise end up in landfill, into money that can make a real difference in our communities. I wanted to be part of making that process better, so that it happens more often.”
Jumble Fund not only brings a new functionality to online fundraising, it also makes it more secure. Unlike other online marketplaces, no money exchanges hands, making it safer for the seller, the buyer and the end charity.
And it’s not just registered charities that can benefit. Jumble Fund is continually growing and evolving, with the latest development allowing for personal fundraising projects like those set up to help fund operations or support families after a tragedy.
Another new element allows for the posting of “wanted” notices which matches sellers to buyers, who both want to do the transaction in aid of a good cause. People can post a free listing of something they are looking to buy second-hand and a suggested price they will pay for it. They can then either choose a beneficiary cause themselves or allow the seller to choose the charity.
Newry charities are already on board with the idea, with PIPS Newry & Mourne, Women’s Aid and Happy Days Nursery already using the new platform.
Other charities are quickly following suit with Jumble Fund’s team in talks with Southern Area Hospice, Brain Injury Foundation and the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust about how the new site can help their fundraising efforts.
John Fulham, from the Irish Wheelchair Association, explains succinctly why the concept could revolutionise the fundraising sector;
“We love the JumbleFund concept. Not everyone has a spare tenner but almost everyone has something that they don’t need, that they can sell in aid of their friend’s fundraising efforts."
Jumble Fund works like most other fundraising platforms the public would be familiar with, with a small percentage of profits (5% cash, 10% products) used to cover running costs.
Jumble Fund is the easiest way to give something to someone who needs it more than you. Sign up now at www.JumbleFund.com
Write a comment
Yesterday SIPTU members at the Glen Dimplex manufacturing plant in Greenbank, Newry implemented a 'Work Stoppage' in a dispute with the company concerning pay.
The Strike action is from 7.45am Thursday 18th August until 7.30am on Friday 19th August. The work stoppage is the first of several planned for the coming weeks and is in addition to an on-going work-to-rule campaign at the plant which includes a ban on overtime and call outs.
There are approximately 120 SIPTU members employed at the Glen Dimplex Plant in Newry, which has been in operation since 1973.
Alan Clark, SIPTU Chop Steward said " Our members have sought to find a negotiated solution to this dispute. Glen Dimplex is a profitable company and it is only fair that the workers who produce it high quality heating and other products are rewarded in an acceptable manner for their work".
" We regret that we have found it pessary to implement strike action in an attempt to bring an end to this dispute. "
Speaking on the action and expressing the wish that a solution can be found soon Cllr Kevin McAteer said “I want to commend the workers of Glen Electric for taking a stand in this pay dispute. We can’t ignore the fact that 93% of SIPTU members in the factory voted in favour of strike action and we must respect that democratic process.
“There have been extensive talks as of late between workers and management, however as no agreement could be reached members voted overwhelmingly to strike and they should be commended for that.”
Newry MLA Conor Murphy, MP Mickey Brady and Councillor Valerie Harte also joined workers on the picket line.
Mr Murphy said it was the company’s duty to engage with its workers. “We have spoken to the staff here on the picket line and it’s quite clear that they do not want to be striking today; they have been forced into this position by management’s refusal to engage meaningfully with them,” he said.
“These are very dedicated workers; people who have been loyal employees of the company for decades, some of them with 30 or 40 plus years of service; they are not the type of people who would make a decision like this flippantly.
“They’re not asking for anything beyond what will allow the staff to keep up with the cost of living. Their demands are completely reasonable and I think, given the years of loyal service and experience they have here, the company has a duty to engage in proper negotiations with the workers and their representatives.”
MP Mickey Brady said negotiating was not only the appropriate thing to do but the right thing to do. “We’ve been talking to the staff a lot today and as well as a sense of anger at the intransigence of management there is a very genuine sense of hurt that a company they have worked for for so long could dismiss their very modest requests so thoughtlessly,” he said.
“Their demands are not unreasonable and in this case in particular, given the years of service, I would say engaging with the staff and their representatives is not only the appropriate thing for Glen Dimplex to do but the right thing, indeed the decent thing.”
 |
 |
 |