This article in today’s Sunday Herald looks at the unified Germany. A section of the Berlin wall has been rebuilt to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the fall of the Wall in 1989. However it seems instead to be stressing that the divisions remain. Should this serve as a warning for Ireland if and when ? Fifteen years on, the wall returns to haunt Berlin ‘Rebuilt’ partition captures German mood of cultural resentment and economic woe, finds Alan Crawford at …
Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald makes some excellent points when she addresses the issue of Ireland’s Increased wealth. What good does it do unless it is enjoyed across the board ? Has Ireland’s increased wealth been used properly in funding social issues, health and education ? This is in response to a series of articles in the Economist, which have been picked up by various newspapers. Ambrose Uprichard
SOMETIMES it’s not a bad thing to state the obvious. “Real and lasting political stability is the key to injecting new life into the stagnant Northern Ireland economy, a report claimed today“. Forget the political aspirations of unionists and nationalists – it’s no secret that the main priority for foreign investors here is stability, and until that’s properly in place, they will continue to ignore us. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
FINANCE Minister Ian Pearson MP is set to axe 2,300 civil servants and move thousands more to new or different departments. With the spend on public services set to increase fairly dramatically, it means a hike in the regional rates. With water charges coming in and debt a fact of life for many, let’s hope your pension is sorted, eh? Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
AFTER recent concern about call centre jobs in NI being a bubble that would burst when all the jobs went to low-wage India, this story might come as a surprise to some – an Indian call centre company thriving in Belfast. The reason? NI’s low wage economy… Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com
SINN Fein’s newspaper An Phoblacht has consistently and strongly criticised Coca Cola’s human rights record, and many Sinn Fein members have supported a call by the republican paper to boycott the soft drink. But what would have happened if the boycott had been successful? Sinn Fein Councillor Michael Ferguson provides an insight below.As Coca Cola reveals that it is to rationalise operations in Ireland (that is, close one of the two plants, one of which is at Lambeg, Lisburn), Councillor …
Continental Airlines have agreed in principle to start a transatlantic service to Newark Airport in New York from Belfast International. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
It’s not all politics and personal diaries. It looks like the blog concept is beginning to penetrate the business world. About.com have just produced a guide to blogging for small business. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
It seems that, up until enlargement at least, the Republic and Portugal have been recipients of the largest amounts of subsidy from the EU – with the Netherlands providing the biggest per capita input to European coffers. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
Joe Humphreys in the Irish Times reports on the latest annual statement on prices and costs from the National Competitiveness Council. Consumer price inflation in Ireland has risen at twice the rate of the Euro zone average since 1999 and the average price of Irish goods and services by 22 per cent above the EU average in the same period.Statement and full report can be found here Selected quotes from the Irish Times article “Ireland is now ‘almost on a …
