by admin on December 7, 2009
Senator Callely has previous with the building industry and it seems is now getting his fingers burnt as he also thought that getting into property was an easy way to make some money.
Senator Callely had to resign as a junior minister after having his house painted for free by a building contractor who was involved in public contracts. Only resign as a junior minister, nothing else for freebies from someone in the building industry – ah the life of a politician.
Investment bank Investec has taken a site owned by he Senator and three others into their own possession in an effort to protect their multi million Euro loan that was used to finance the property deal.
As well as losing the property the four have appeared to gamble their own personal worth on this deal by not having the land held in a company structure. This is a common problem for many in the property business at present. In normal times investors would have protected themselves again failure of a deal like this by having it in a limited company – however since the government made capital gains only 20% and corporation tax 30% investors have went for the money taking a bigger risk and seeming to care less about their own personal welfare.
These are the greedy people that we will be bailing out in the years to come.
by admin on December 6, 2009
This blog was originally setup to talk and give advice on moving to Ireland, the advice was aimed at non nationals. Life has changed quite dramatically and so has Ireland.
I would no longer advice people to come to Ireland looking for work, the unemployment rate here is rising and the country is caught in a financial meltdown. Where once all you had to have was a willingness to work and a little English, sometimes even none, you now need a lot more than that. I would suggest that no-one now come here without having a job lined up first.
There are still opportunites for qualified people in the health service and in a few other areas but you will be coming to a country at war with itself. The public and private service are at each others throats ready to kill – and this was started by the current government to get the public gaze away from them and somewhere else – anywhere else, they did not care how it would rip the country apart. This government has no care for anyone bar themselves, really the way they have always been but it is much easier to see that fact now.
One of the results of this financial meltdown is the anger that you can experience here in your daily life. When I first moved to Ireland in 1997 I found a great place to live. The earning were not great, but they paid the bills without any issue. The more we earned the more we became full of ourselves – arrogance and rudeness became too often the norm.
The norm now is anger. All sectors of the country are still wondering how it got this bad and got this bad so quickly. People are stunned and it looks like it may take a while for us all to recover.
Meanwhile we look forward to the next up coming budget that will break many.
From now on I will be writing about Ireland and Irish Business.
by admin on December 5, 2009
Glass is naturally formed when certain types of rocks melt as a result of high-temperatures such as volcanic eruptions, lightning strikes or the impact of meteorites, and then cools and solidify rapidly.
According to Roman historians they became aware of the existence of glass accidentally in the region of Syria around 5000 BC. This short history looks at the birth and evolution of man-made glass and the new developments in smart glass.
Glass beads are thought to be the earliest man-made glass they were mainly opaque and are thought to date back to around 3500 BC. They have been found in Egypt and Eastern Mesopotamia. The oldest fragments of glass vases date back to 1600 BC and were found in Mesopotamia. [click to continue…]
by admin on November 30, 2009
Are you looking for a calibration services company? PJ Boner are experts in Calibration Management Software and started in 1978 – giving you the security of a long standing company.
P.J. Boner & Company are Instrumentation, Weighing and Automation specialists. Their primary service has been on-site calibrations and commissioning for industries through-out Ireland. Their expertise has been built up through the 30+ years of existence and adding to that the 15 years of experience from Founder Pat J Boner from working with the biggest names in instrumentation in the UK and Ireland.
Weighing has always played a part in the business and they continue to be heavily involved in weighing with all their customers. Their calibration and service of weighing can go from Micro-Balances right up to weighbridges. All on-site instrument technicians are trained to have a full working knowledge of weighing including load cell operation and plant wiring of weighing systems.
P.J. Boner & Co. also house an Automation Section within the organisation. They have designed installed and commissioned 100’s of systems from small weighing control panels to full plant complete control systems – they can accommodate any size of control panel. Their team of PLC and SCADA Engineers can bring your plant to a PC screen to give your operation complete view over everything that happens in the plant.
Product Sales
Their website holds a section for the majority of their products from suppliers – anything not on the website can be sourced and supplied at competitive prices from any suppliers.
They have also developed Irelands Biggest and Best Online shop for weighing equipment at www.scales.ie where they list 100’s of Models and capacities from Manufacturers who they represent. All products have images and spec sheets so you can chose your exact scale required.
Quality
Quality is an important part of their business process. Nothing happens through their systems that has not been rigorously checked and documented by procedures – this is to keep their systems internal processes working to the standards that their customers demand. Quality is extremely important on site, and all their calibrations are performed electronically using certified test equipment, instrument calibration procedures and of course suitably qualified and trained technicians.
They are ISO9001:2000 certified and are actively upgrading to ISO9001:2008 standard
by admin on November 9, 2009
eSpatial are an Irish based company who have created Geographic Information Software, GIS.
They sell their new web based GIS to companies worldwide. eSpatial is 90% owned by investment houses and 10% is owned by Enterprise Ireland.
Since 1997, eSpatial has been helping businesses improve efficiencies and reduce costs through effective use of spatial data. We provide full-strength GIS over the web. eSpatial helps organizations to answer questions, solve problems and plan ahead by looking at data in a way that is quickly understood and easily shared as digital maps. eSpatial combines the latest innovations in software delivery and usability with the traditional performance of in-house GIS to deliver on our vision of “World’s Best Web GIS”. Our award winning solutions deliver easy-to-use yet powerful GIS functionality over the web providing universal access and faster integration.
by admin on February 20, 2009
Northern ireland is one of the areas that many tourist miss, this is a shame it is quite a beautiful as the rest of Ireland. This is the Giants Causeway in County Antrim.
by admin on February 19, 2009
It is going to be one of those years. Taxi drivers are on strike from time to time to stop new licences being issued. They know how to bring Dublin to a complete stop.
by admin on February 18, 2009
Sliding sash windows look great, they are usually in the older houses – like mine. However they do give allsorts of problems in the older houses. Most sash windows are not double glazed, and that is hell for the bills and keeping the heat in the house during the winter – even here in Ireland, where it is never really cold.
I knew all this before moving into this house, so why did I go for something that was going to cost me much more money in the long run? Well, firstly – they look great. And they are usually much bigger windows, letting more light into the rooms – which makes a great difference when one spends so much time at home sitting in front of a computer as I do.
However since moving in the windows have slipped somewhat and will not go back again – and have ever tried getting an Irish landlord to fix anything. They have all read Castle Rackrent I guess.
So the next house will be more utilitarian – double glazing please.
by admin on February 16, 2009
There is nothing worse than having a great luxury wet room that ends up leaking and causing dampness. The following guide is how the professionals tank a wet room. And tank to you and me is waterproof.
Walls
Start by applying a primer called keraprimer on a clean dry surface i.e. plaster board. Dilute primer 1:1 with water and let it dry for at least 1 hour before waterproofing with a latex/fibreglass material called kerafibre.
Stir the kerafibre well before use and use reinforced material in corners, junctions and over screw heads, brush kerafiber over the tape and make sure it is thoroughly wet. On pipe inlets use reinforcement tape (cut out hole) press the patch in fresh kerafiber and brush kerafiber over to ensure it is wet. Apply the first coat of kerafiber on the entire wall area then let it dry for at least 4 hours before applying the second coat. Kerafiber changes to a darker colour when dry.
Apply the second coat of kerafiber and let it dry for 6-12 hours before tiling. Check the thickness of the coat and apply extra kerafiber on thin or porous spots then allow to dry again. The amount of kerafiber required min. 0.6 1/m2 and min.coat thickness o.4 mm.
Start tilling from the second lowest row of tiles, and at least 10cm from the floor. Fix the tiles on the wall with superfix tile adhesive.
Floors
Apply keraprimer on a clean dry surface; dilute the primer 1:1 with water. Use reinforcement tape at corners, junctions and over screw heads brush kerafiber over the tape and make sure it is thoroughly wet.
Use reinforcement material crosslaid to seal the floor drain. Brush one sheet on the floor with kerafiber then brush the other one crosswise onto the first one brush well with kerafiber as well.
Apply kerafiber around the floor drain (40x40cm) and turn the double reinforcing sheet onto the drain. Apply a coat of kerafiber on the entire area and let dry for at least 2 hours, (kerafiber changes colour as it dries).
Apply a second coat of kerafiber and let dry for 6-12 hours before tiling. Check the thickness of the coat and apply extra kerafiber on thin or porous spots. Allow to dry. The amount of kerafiber is 0.8 1/m2 and min and the coat thickness should be 0.5mm.
Once it is dry cut out hole for floor drain. Make sure the diameter of hole is at least 40mm shorter than the diameter of the drain. This ensures the brim of the hole reaches the seal of the floor drain. The kerafiber coat must be at least 1.5mm thick around the drain.
Press a compatible tension ring carefully to the floor drain and cut off any extra membrane from under the tension ring. Brush kerafiber over the entire floor area, up to the tension ring seal tension ring/drain junction with silicone.
Fix the tiles on the floor with superfix tile adhesive. Fill the joints with tile adhesive wait 15-30 minutes and wash excess grout off tiles with a sponge. Wring the sponge well as excess water can discolour the joints.
Clean off excess grout and use silicone on all seams and corners. Leave for 24 hours to dry completely. Floor heating can be used gradually after a week from the joint sealing.
Advanced Wet Rooms supply and fit wet rooms through out the UK and Ireland. You can also buy wet room supplies from their on line store.
by admin on February 10, 2009
Is there anyone now looking for a personal injury solicitor in Dublin? The reason I ask is the snow. Strange you may think. But follow my logic.
As part of an accountancy course a long while back i had to study a little on Irish law. Now being a Brit I expected Irish law to be very similar to British law, (well that is what I get called here – better if you called me a Scot really). Anyway as part of this course I found out that much of Irish law is influenced by American law – i was stunned, why would anyone so close to the UK not want to follow the best legal system in the world? Not the English one you twat, finish the sentence before you start getting upset, but the Scottish system.
Anyway there is only one case that I remember from that rather dull year. A son sues his mother. he walks into his mothers house, a home he no longer lives in – in comes in by the back door. His mother has just finished cleaning the kitchen floor – he slips and hurts himself and sues her. Wow. He wins and the house insurance pays out.
There was a chuckle of derision when it was noted in the case they were residents of Tallaght – for all you glaswegians it is a bit like saying someone from Govan.
Anyway I hope the personal injury solicitors are not too busy after the snow and ice of the last couple of weeks.
Another interesting fact about solicitors just read last week in the paper – apparently there was 749 of them on the live register during December – that did kinda surprise me. Wonder is there are many seo consultants – or does anyone know we exist and would they bother to count.
I want some real snow, I miss skiing and snow boarding – tough I hear you say. So here are some pics.