Welcoming MEP Emer Costello to the Seanad today

An historic occasion today when MEP Emer Costello addressed the Seanad on many issues of European concern including the Youth Guarantee which was announced today. I was delighted to welcome my sister to the Seanad and very proud of her achievements so far.

No let-up in the hunt for Det Garda Donohue's killers

Speaking in the Seanad on Tuesday this week:

Speaking in the Seanad today on Further Education and Training

Statements in the Seanad today on Further Education and Training.

Jobs Fair in Dundalk this weekend , Feb 22 and 23

 

EMPLOYMENT & ADVICE FAIR

(Ireland and Europe) 22ND & 23RD FEBRUARY 2013

MARSHES SHOPPING CENTRE, DUNDALK, CO LOUTH

 The European Employment Services Unit of the Department of Social Protection, together with Employment Services North East is working in association with Marshes Shopping Centre and Dundalk Chamber to organise a Regional, National and European Employment and Advice Fair.

The event is aimed at Irish and EU workers already in Ireland who are looking for jobs locally and throughout Europe.

 It will be attended by local employers and locally based Employment Advice Agencies. Also present will be European Employment Advisers, who are specialists in recruitment and jobs in Europe. The Member States attending include France, Sweden, Hungary, Belgium, Germany, Latvia, Czech Republic, Norway, Slovakia, Romania, UK, Austria, Slovenia, Poland and Greece. The European Advisers will give advice and job information on opportunities in their own country.

Irish Companies including PayPal, National Pen, Hertz, Image IT Group, PRO Stainless Designs Ltd, Optimum Ltd., Swilly Group, Cpl and City North Hotel, among others will be in attendance. They are recruiting for the following vacancies in Ireland: Customer Service, Computer Engineers, Metal Fabricators, Drivers, Store Managers, Area Managers, Fashion Retailers, Staff Nurses, Healthcare Assistants, Pharmacy Managers, Chef de Partie, Receptionist, Food and Beverage/Accommodation Assistants.

Other vacancies from Europe include: Nursing Staff, Medical Professions, Engineers, Technicians, IT Specialists, HGV Drivers, Labourers, Carpenters, Welders, Sewing Machinists, CNC Engineers, Nurses, Programmers, Transaction/Commercial Managers, among others.

In addition, Education & Training Providers together with Irish Advice and Welfare Agencies will be represented including those dealing with Taxation and Business Start-Up.

A CV clinic will also be run throughout the fair to assist Jobseekers with their CV preparation.

The event will take place in the Marshes Shopping Centre, Dundalk and will be open on Friday 22nd February 2013 from 1pm to 6pm, and Saturday 23rd February from 12 noon to 5pm.

The Department of Social Protection, Employment Services and International Employment Services is committed to working closely with other State Agencies and organisations to provide the most effective integrated service to individuals who are seeking to explore their future career options.

International Employment Services is part of a European Commission network called EURES (EURopean Employment Services). EURES Advisers are trained specialists who provide information and guidance to jobseekers and employers interested in the European labour market. The EURES service is free of charge. For further information contact your local EURES Adviser or log onto www.eures.europa.eu.

Operation Transformation for St Mary's Drumcar

On Saturday next, Feb 23rd there will be an Operation Transformation 5k walk/run/jog as a fund-raiser for St Mary's Special School, Drumcar.
Meeting up at 11am at the Neptune Hotel at Bettystown Beach.
All proceeds will go towards buying much-needed interactive whiteboards for the school.
Entry is 10e on the day, with children free.

ALL WELCOME

 

 

 

 

eBay bring 450 new jobs to Dundalk

Fantastic news for Dundalk today!

The employment news for Dundalk has been really excellent in the last few months.  Following on the 1000 jobs announced by PayPal in 2012 these 450 new positions at the same site in Dundalk will give a huge boost to the local economy. Every new job created has a spin off in supply companies, retail and services and this is very positive for Dundalk. The fact that these two global companies have chosen Dundalk to expand their operations shows that we have the infrastructure, the business supports and of course a highly skilled workforce in place. This Government has put a huge effort into attracting investment into Ireland from world-leading multinational companies and in tandem with the IDA has succeeded in providing high quality jobs particularly in the area of the digital economy. eBay first established in Ireland in 2003 and currently employs 2,300 people across it’s eBay and PayPal facilities in Blanchardstown and Dundalk. The 450 jobs in Dundalk will be in the area of customer support, sales and compliance. Anyone interested in applying for a position should go to the website www.ebaycareers.com

Speaking in the Seanad on Pope Benedict's shock resignation

The announcement by Pope Benedict that he intends to stand down at the end of this month took everyone by surprise. His successor will have the very difficult task of steering the Catholic Church through very challenging times. I also commented on the upsurge in juvenile crime in recent times.

Dun Dealgan national school: waiting for their new extension

Dún Dealgan national school in Dundalk were hoping to start work on their new extension. Unfortunately, they were told they had been taken off the 5 year list. I put their case to Minister Ciaran Cannon and he explained the situation.

Early years support vital for children

 

The importance of parent support and education has been highlighted in the findings of a major report into early years supports for children in disadvantaged areas.

The finding is contained in an evaluation of an Early Years Service which wascoordinated by the Childhood Development Initiative (CDI) and aimed to support and target families in Tallaght West whose children may have faced barriers to educational achievement and well-being.

The evaluation found that children who took part in the tailored programme demonstrated improved attendance, behaviour and social skills on entry to school, in comparison to children in a control group.

Given these positive findings the Report has recommended additional targeted early year supports for children in disadvantaged areas alongside existing universal supports.

In particular the provision of a specific parenting support and education programme as part of the early years initiative was found to have a positive effect on the outcomes for the children.

CDI CEO Ms. Marian Quinn said: “The more sessions of a parenting course that parents attended, the more beneficial the home learning environment became, indicating a positive effect of the intervention parenting course (Parents Plus Community Course).

“Our evaluation showed that the Parents Plus Community Course was identified as being well implemented and well-received by parents and practitioners. This is likely to be due to it being evidence-based and manualised, in addition to being supported by a well-trained and accessible mentor.”

CDI’s Early Years Service programme provided specialised supports to pre-school children for 4 hours 15 minutes per day, five days a week including access to a dedicated speech and language therapist, specialist primary health care support, a dedicated Parent/Carer Facilitator and a parent support and education programme.

Further recommendations from the research include:

• The inclusion of a speech and language needs awareness module in all Early Years practitioner training;
• The provision of well-trained early years practitioners, and strong and engaged managers in early years services;
• All Government Departments continue to commit to using evidence to inform planning and service delivery and give serious consideration to the implications of the evaluation for professional training, service planning and integration; and
• All services for children are evaluated, and those services and models which have no demonstrable impact on outcomes for children are incrementally removed and replaced with evidence-based programmes.

A Policy Brief extracting key findings relevant to early years policy, the full Evaluation Report and a short video summary are available at www.twcdi.ie. The programme was evaluated using a randomised control trial which is often seen as the ‘gold standard’ in social research.

CDI has worked in the community in Tallaght West since 2007 and in that time more than 2,000 children have participated in its eight programmes, of which the Early Years Service is one.

Given the success and positive outcomes of this programme, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs has provided funding to continue the Early Years Service in Tallaght West in 2013 and the County Childcare Committee has taken on responsibility for quality assurance of it.

CDI is one of three Prevention and Early Intervention Programme (PEIP) organisations, jointly funded by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and Atlantic Philanthropies. The PEIP explores new methods for improving outcomes for children in an integrated way, with a fund of €36 million.

In Budget 2013 the PEIP sites were identified as having a role to play in rolling out the Government’s plan for an Area Based Response to Child Poverty. €2.5 million has been allocated for 2013, rising to €4.75m in 2016, after which it will diminish. Three new areas will be identified, and the three existing sites will have a mentoring role in developing these.

CDI Launches new website

To coincide with this Report launch, CDI today launched a new website at www.twcdi.ie. The navigation, graphics and layout have been improved on the new site and additional features such as newsletter sign up and members and professionals sections have been added.

Further Information

Ronan Cavanagh, Communications Coordinator, Childhood Development Initiative: (086) 317 9731.

Policy Brief, full report and video summary at www.twcdi.ie

Industrial Development Science Foundation Ireland Amendment

Speaking in the Seanad on Legislation which will extend the remit of Science Foundation Ireland in how science research is funded.

Speaking today on Career Zoo and provisions for students with special requirements in state exams

Welcoming young visitors to Leinster House

I was delighted to welcome the pupils and staff from two primary schools in Co Louth to Leinster House yesterday.

Scoil Naomh Búithe from Tinure, Monasterboice.
St Oliver Plunkett School from Blackrock.

Speaking in the Seanad on the Defence Forces amendment bill

The Government is bringing in legislation which will provide for the granting of an amnesty and apology to those members of the Defence Forces who left the Irish Defence Forces and served with forces fighting on the Allied side during World War II, and who were subsequently found guilty by a military tribunal or who were dismissed from the Defence Forces. It will also provide immunity from prosecution, to those who were, or who still are, liable to be prosecuted for, desertion or being absent without leave

3,500 jobs available at Career Zoo on Saturday 9th Feb

Dublin's Convention Centre is the venue for this year's Career Zoo this Saturday where leading multinational and Irish employers will be offering high quality jobs and excellent long term career opportunities in Ireland.
The event was launched by Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and is aimed at graduates and qualified professionals.
One of the companies which will be there on Saturday is PayPal, now based in Dundalk. Also exhibiting will be Amazon and Workday, offering job opportunities in the tech sector.

Last year over 9,000 people attended this event and this year at least 100 exhibitors are expected, offering jobs and showcasing courses in IT, engineering, pharmaceutical and biomedical,finance and accounting, sales, multilingual roles, HR, marketing, management roles and more.

Career Zoo runs from 10 till 6 on Saturday and admission is FREE.

Anyone thinking of attending is advised to register online at www.careerzoo.ie to gain faster entry.

Tribute to Senator McAleese: The Magdalene Report: The Walsh Report

In the Order of Business in the Seanad today I paid tribute to Senator Martin McAleese who has made a tremendous contribution to the work of the Seanad in his role on the Committee for the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and for his work on the report on the Magdalene Laundries published today. He will be greatly missed in the Seanad.
I asked that those women who suffered such injustices while in the Magdalene Laundries should receive an apology and compensation for what they endured.

I also called for the Minister for Health, James Reilly, to publish the long-awaited Walsh report on the Symphysiotomy issue as this is another case where women who suffered terrible injury and hurt have had to wait many years for their plight to be addressed. At the very least I want the Minister to give a firm date for the publishing of the Walsh report.

Two initiatives to tackle cyberbullying launched by Minister for education RuairíQuinn and Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan

Teen-led campaign Watch Your Space and the Garda programme Connect with Respect were launched by Minister Ruairí Quinn and Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan this morning.
Watch this video

LAUNCHING TWO INITIATIVES aimed at tackling cyberbullying today, Education Minister Ruairí Quinn noted that new technologies bring with them both opportunities and dangers.

“The opportunities should be celebrated and the dangers should be put out there,” he told reporters.

The projects being launched, including the Watch your Space public awareness cyber-bullying campaign and the Garda Primary Schools Programme module Connect with Respect, have been in the pipeline for some time but “some of it is reacting to tragedies and fatalities in various parts of the country”.

“The level of awareness now of the phenomenon of bullying, of the incidence of bullying, of the 24/7 dimension it has now taken on, is much higher than ever before.”Minister

Quinn also mentioned the increased awareness and new guidelines around homophobic bullying.

Commissioner Martin Callinan said the Gardaí wanted to get involved with the campaign, launched to coincide with Safer Internet Day, to create a safer space for students.

“Children and young people are some of our most valuable commodities. We must ensure that as a community-based police force, we serve all strata of society. Children and young people are extremely vulnerable and it is important we keep them at the centre of everything we do.”

 

The Watch Your Space anti cyber-bullying campaign includes online content, school-based events and media elements. Its website has information and advice for secondary school students on coping with online situations and facilitating positive intervention by witnesses.

The newly-introduced primary school module, to be given by Gardaí, hopes to change the attitude of bystanders online. They want to make them more likely to intervene positively and effectively in online bullying situations.

It also aims to help students to understand the impact that cyber bullying can have on different people, and to recognise that it is not acceptable.

A recent study showed the most commonly reported form of cyber bullying is being the target of nasty or hurtful messages.

 

This year there is a budget of €500,000 to implement the Government’s Action Plan on Bullying.

The recent suicides of a number of teenage girls has sparked concern from parents and the wider community about the dangers of the Internet, specifically social websites popular with teens, including ask.fm.

 

A study, conducted by Dr Brian O’Neill and Thuy Dinh from EU Kids Online and DIT and published today, found almost seven in 10 parents were unaware that their child had been bullied online.

The report also found:

• More than half of children bullied online said they were ‘upset’ or ‘fairly upset’ by it
• Online bullying had a lasting effect on 44 per cent of bullied children
• 14 per cent said they were ‘deeply affected’ for a couple of months or more – a stat much higher than the European average of 2 per cent
• A quarter of nine to 16 year olds have been bullied – either online or offline
• 28 per cent of victims tried to fix the problem themselves.
• 25 per cent of victims hoped the problem would just go away
• The most technical response to cyber bullying is to block the person
• Only 15 per cent reported the bullying using an online reporting tool
• Only 29 per cent of parents of bullied children were aware of the bullying
• Almost three-quarters of young people who have been bullied talk to someone about it – usually a parent or friend but rarely (6 per cent) a teacher

Calling all enterprising students to "Think Outside the Box"

Enterprise Ireland launches entrepreneurship awards for third level students

Prize fund of €30,000 cash and €30,000 consultancy for enterprising students

31^st January 2013

John Perry TD, Minister for Small Business, will today (Thursday 31 January 2013) launch the Enterprise Ireland Think Outside the Box Awards as part of a major drive aimed at tapping into the potential for students and young people to turn their entrepreneurial ideas into commercial businesses. This is a great opportunity for ambitious and enterprising students to build a real-world business venture and at the same time be in with a chance to win a prize from the overall €30,000 cash prize fund, which includes a €10,000 first prize, as well as a €30,000 consultancy fund.
The Think Outside the Box Awards, which are co-sponsored by Invest Northern Ireland, Cruickshank Intellectual Property Attorneys, Grant Thornton and Intel, are open to all full time third level students in the island of Ireland. Third level students represent a seed bed for future business start-ups and last year’s winning team from NUI Galway are a great example of the commercial potential for student entrepreneurs. Their project DRS.ie, a drag reduction device for trucks that helps significantly reduce fuel consumption, has already attracted significant commercial interest and they have gone on to win €50,000 funding from Enterprise Ireland’s Competitive Start Fund to develop the project further.
Launching the initiative at NUI Galway, Minister Perry said:
‘There is a current gap in terms of really tapping into this potential for students to help drive the economy by commercialising their business ideas and looking on starting their own business as a real career option. This in turn will stimulate employment among themselves and their peers. Students represent a wealth of energy, creativity and innovation. We need to tap into this and encourage and stimulate these students to be ambitious about their own potential to go into business for themselves’.
Over the coming year Enterprise Ireland will promote a range of activities at third level institutions to help stimulate increased levels of student entrepreneurship. These will include joint Enterprise Ireland/college promotional events and the establishment of a panel of Entrepreneurship Ambassadors to support the initiative with talks and presentations to the students and academics within the third level institutions. Enterprise Ireland will support all of the internal entrepreneurship competitions within the institutions on the island of Ireland with a €500 cash sponsorship prize for each college. And Enterprise Ireland and the sponsors will work with all students who have an idea to start their own internationally traded service or manufacturing business to develop their ideas further.
Paul Kenny, CEO and Founder of Cobone and Entrepreneurial Ambassador for the Awards, said: ‘The biggest challenge in any business is starting and this is even more apparent when you are in college. The Think Outside the Box Awards can help overcome this hurdle and it’s definitely something the students of Ireland should get involved in. Setting up your own company is the most challenging and rewarding thing anybody can do and speaking from experience I have no regrets giving up a corporate job early in my career and going at it alone. If you have the ambition and drive to succeed, the Think Outside the Box Awards is definitely for you!’.
Justin Conboy, one of the 2012 Awards winning team members, added:
‘Winning the competition last year has provided us with great opportunities to develop our invention further. It has also allowed us to build new contacts, gain more financial support and start our own company. The Think Outside the Box Awards has also put us on the international radar. We’ve had interest from potential customers in Europe and the United States, and many other companies across Ireland. It is safe to say the Think Outside the Box Awards has been the catalyst to our success and is something myself and Dearbhaile Forde are very grateful and proud to have won’.
Regional Executives from Enterprise Ireland will be presenting the details of the competition to all colleges and institutions between now and the closing date for the competition which is Wednesday 24^th April 2013. The Enterprise-Ireland Think Outside the Box Awards will hold a closing ceremony of the best national ideas at NUI Galway in June 2013.
For more information visit the website on www.thinkoutsidetheboxawards.com