Europe Intelligence Wire articles from February 2005

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from February 2005

Edvantage group signerer 3 arig avtale med Hydro som strategisk partner pa elaring: Hydro satser pa elaring som strategisk verktoy for kompetanseutvikling.
February 28, 2005... (From Hugin) Hydro har gjennomfort en rekke vellykkede e-laringsprosjekter i 2005, deriblant Hydro's opplaringprogram om kjerneverdier i konsernet, "The Hydro Way", for 20.000 brukere, sprakopplaring og en virtuell arena for...

Edvantage group signs 3 year deal as Hydro's eLearning Solution Partner: Hydro expands eLearning into a strategic tool for competence development.
February 28, 2005... (From Hugin) During 2004, several successful eLearning projects have been implemented, spanning from Hydro's Core Value program "The Hydro Way" for 20 000 employees to Language training and Leadership Communities. The eLearning solution...

2004: HR Outsourcing Strategie succesvol uitgevoerd.
February 28, 2005... (From Hugin) Sterke groei in alle activiteiten en stabiele marges Netto omzet: [euro] 153,1 miljoen (+17,5%) EBITA : [euro] 12,2 miljoen (-8%) Courante winst: [euro] 9,6 miljoen (+2%) Netto winst: [euro] 5,7 miljoen (+3%) Brussel, 28...

2004: Successful roll-out of HR Outsourcing Strategy.
February 28, 2005... (From Hugin) Strong growth in all activities with sustained margins Net sales: [euro] 153.1 million (+17.5%) EBITA: [euro] 12.2 million (-8%) Current profit: [euro] 9.6 million (+2%) Net profit: [euro] 5.7 million (+3%) Brussels, 28...

Navan and Naas - two good cases for treatment.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) IF YOU had to pick two hospitals to illustrate the problems in health, Navan and Naas would be about as typical as you could get. Both hospitals were built to cater for a local community that has been completely...

Dublin Equities Week Summary.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) LastChgChgLastYearYearP/EDiv MarketPrice on day on Wk PriceHigh lowper shr Yield Rank by mkt Cap Cap Eu(m) Euro c Euro c Euro c Pence Euro c Euro c 2003 2003 AIB 13935 1609 2 -18 1267 1630 1160 11.5...

Is the Dublin stock market a buy or sell at its present levels?
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) Having advanced strongly in the New Year, many investors are in two minds- whether to sell and take profits, orbuy in and ride the wave AS AIB announced record profits of [euro]1.4bn last week, one bright...

Managers must hone soft skills in hard fight to retain staff.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THERE is an old cartoon featuring an aged man greeting a young recruit into his company with the words: "Welcome aboard, son. You only have 9,599 days left to your retirement." Time was when people joining a...

Property fund not safe as houses for pensioner.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) I RECENTLY retired and have received a reasonable lump sum payment to go with the gold watch. I also have an SSIA maturing next year. I went to my local bank, which I have banked with all my life, for advice and...

Will taxman dig the DIRT on credit union member?
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) QUESTION OF THE WEEK THANKS for your column. It's very informative. My query is: (a) Does the 20pc DIRT tax deducted at source from my credit union account end my tax liability, or do I have to list income...

Revenues surge 43pc in System Dynamics boost.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) IRISH-owned software and services company System Dynamics saw its revenues hit [euro]14.1m in 2004 - a rise of 43pc on the previous year. The company, which was taken over in 1997 by Tony McGuire and Conor...

Exports to Hong Kong soar to [euro]830m.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) EXPORTS to Hong Kong alone by Irish companies reached [euro]830m last year, Minister for Trade and Commerce Michael Ahern will tell the Ireland/Hong Kong Business forum today. Minister Ahern, who is...

M&S slashes prices in bid to boost spring sales.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) MARKS & Spencer has moved to take on its high street rivals by slashing the prices of key items in its springwear collection, it confirmed yesterday. The high street giant said it had begun introducing new...

Staff share in GBP19m Asda bonus.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) IN the UK, more than 113,000 staff at supermarket chain Asda have pocketed a share of annual bonuses worth a record GBP19m. Workers received an average of GBP264 in their pay packets on Friday as part of the...

Male victims of violence ignored.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) Sir - Recently, Mr Frank Fahey TD, Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, launched another Awareness Campaign which purports to deal with domestic violence but, in fact, deals...

Ready to splash the [euro]7bn cash.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) Poll forecasts big SSIA splurge 45pc to spend it, 26pc to save it THE country will be hit by a [euro]7bn wall of money from the special savings accounts, according to the latest opinion poll. Findings in...

Protest puts pressure on IRA killers.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THE IRA members who killed Robert McCartney were under mounting pressure last night to hand themselves in as hundreds marched to demand justice for his family. Residents of the Short Strand area of east...

An empty promise.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) TODAY the Taoiseach will open a new bus depot on the outskirts of the capital. Dublin Bus will seize the occasion to announce a study of population growth, demographic changes and development zones to identify...

When it's a costly business being rich.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) A new store has opened in Moscow where everything costs over $1 million. But how many Irish could afford to shop there and what would they buy? Angela Phelan reports These days it seems that the only thing...

How about a Freedom from Whiny Miserablism Campaign?
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) Anyone who remembers those crazy Taliban guys and their fun-loving ways will probably recall one of their more chuckalicious Government ministries, the Department of the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of...

Why old-fashioned wisdom is no longer in demand by the young.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) Marianne Heron looked to her grandparents for knowledge about the world; the youth of today have the internet, multi-channel TV and the ablility to text When I was a kid adults were better than books. To get...

How do you know the best course to choose?
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) With the bewildering array of courses available, it can sometimes be difficult for applicants to choose between courses. "Which is the best course?" is a common question. We recently received this query about...

FIFA FIASCO.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) When the first tickets went on sale for the 2006 World Cup this month more than one million fans applied within two days. Considering that tickets can only be bought using one type of credit card, there are fears...

Savings windfall may make election breeze for coalition.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) For any politician it is surely the stuff of dreams. Sitting in office, a year out from a General Election and almost every family in the country set to receive a financial windfall. Granted, most of it comes...

Terror law plan smacks of repressive regimes.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) Dissident Labour MPs will join with the Tories and the Liberals today to try to force Tony Blair to amend his controversial plan to allow the government to place suspected terrorists under indefinite house arrest...

Getting ready for a huge spending splurge.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) The payout of the bulk of the special savings accounts (SSIAs) in the first few months of 2007 will be an event that is probably unparalleled in modern economic history. Some [euro]15bn will become available...

Wham, bam . . . and now for the Slam.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THREE down, two to go. The Old Enemy vanquished - the Six Nations and Grand Slam looking a real possibility. There may have been better days for Irish rugby but nobody in the vicinity of Lansdowne Road...

Forget the new bus lanes . . . we've nothing to put on them.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) DUBLIN Bus has told local authorities not to bother with any new quality bus corridors because the Government has reneged on its promise to fund 150 extra buses. The failure to fund the bus programme will be...

Publicans jack up prices to cash in on rugby fans.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) SOME Dublin publicans continued to jack up their prices yesterday to cash in on the international rugby match despite a name and shame campaign by the Office of Consumer Affairs against blatant profiteering. ...

'Money-mad culture' turn-off for thousands of Dutch tourists.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) RIP-OFF prices and the smoking ban are making Dutch tourists think twice about holidaying here. In an effort to increase its market share, Tourism Ireland held holiday markets involving up to 50 tourism...

NRA threat to halt road programme lashed as 'blackmail'.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THE National Roads Authority is threatening to pull the plug on a planned multi-million euro roads programme for Co Clare on the basis of safety considerations, in response to councillors ignoring Government...

Blaze drama as woman (80) flees car explosion.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) AN 80-year-old woman had a miraculous escape on Saturday evening when her car exploded in a fireball in the middle of a busy dual carriageway flyover in Co Clare. The pensioner - a retired farmer from the...

Court brings justice back to community.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) JUSTICE Minister Michael McDowell has indicated that Cork's newly refurbished courthouse will be used for future sittings of the Central Criminal Court similar to Limerick. Speaking at the official re-opening...

Family firm 'holds veto' over centre's plan to double in size.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) A STAND-OFF between a consortium of wealthy business interests and a family is preventing one of Ireland's biggest shopping centres from doubling in size. The investment at The Square in Tallaght, Co Dublin,...

MEP urges treaty drive to avoid repeat of Nice debacle.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THE Government has been urged to get its campaign for a yes vote for the European Constitutional Treaty underway. Although a date has yet to be set for the referendum for the new constitution, which was...

Revenue set to reveal list of artists who benefit from tax breaks.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) MORE than 2,000 artists who received tax breaks are to be revealed by the Revenue Commissioners in a move prompted under the Freedom of Information Act. The painters, sculptors, authors and musicians were...

Farm chief faces battle to push through reforms.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) IRISH Farmers' Association President John Dillon is facing a major battle to get reforms of the organisation accepted at its National Council meeting today. Mr Dillon is pushing to implement a comprehensive...

Large houses 'are destroying' natural mountain beauty.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) LARGE modern dwellings are destroying the natural beauty of the foothills of Croagh Patrick in Co Mayo, according to an inspector with An Bord Pleanala. And rejecting any extension of Westport's sewerage...

Top clergy appointed canons at cathedral.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THREE prominent churchmen took up new positions as Canons of Christchurch Cathedral in Dublin yesterday. The Reverend Ivor J Power has been Rector of Crumlin and Chapelizod since 1998. Prior to that he was...

Barman held hostage in shotgun raid on pub.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) Night's takings stolen as four-man armed gangswoop at closing time on award-winning hostelry A BARMAN was held hostage, threatened and had a sawn-off shotgun trained on him by raiders who ransacked an...

Presbyterians call for status of the family to be protected.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THE Presbyterian Church has given its backing to the traditional family based on marriage in its submission to the Oireachtas Committee examining constitutional provisions relating to the family. The...

Nigerian denied right of residency to sue McDowell.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) A NIGERIAN man who was refused a residency permit because his wife was no longer living with him is planning to sue Justice Minister Michael McDowell. Fred Ewaen Ogeiriakhi, who has lived and worked in...

Club wins battle for local skate park.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) SKATEBOARDERS in West Dublin have won a five-year battle to build a local skate park, and new government funding could now lead to other such facilities around the country. Lucan Skateboard Club has lobbied...

Secondary teachers to vote on final pay offer.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THE Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) will ballot members after Easter on the final part of the Sustaining Progress pay deal. A meeting of the 180-strong central executive committee of the...

They think it's sicker now, Mary.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) 31pc say health service is worse under Minister Harney ALMOST one-third of voters believe the health service has disimproved since Mary Harney took over the reins almost five months ago, according to a new...

Diamonds are fair's best trend.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) BRIGHT colours with velvet, feathers and rabbit fur all the way from China are going to be on every woman's wish list next winter, according to the crystal ball of Irish fashion, the Futura Fair at the RDS. ...

Hospitals face strike after specialists stick to guns.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THE threat of severe hospital disruption still hangs over patients following a vow by the organisation representing 700 consultants to press ahead with industrial action. The Irish Medical Organisation, which...

New worry for parents over poor monitoring in creches.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) NEW rules governing the standard of care given to children in creches may still be inadequate, with health officials now seeking that toddlers left in care be monitored every 10 minutes. The revelation is...

Church 'should not reject gays after profiting from them'.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THE Church would be hypocritical to turn its back on homosexuals because it has profited endlessly from countless gay clergymen throughout the centuries, a leading Church of Ireland canon said yesterday. ...

Public patients in queue to get free private care.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) PUBLIC patients who have been waiting for years for appointments with hospital consultants are to have private care bought for them under a government direction. Health Minister Mary Harney has asked the...

News In Brief.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) Man critical after hit-and-run A MAN was left fighting for his life in hospital last night after being the victim of a hit-and-run at Kells, Co Meath. The man, who was a pedestrian, is in a critical...

Bishop apologises over sex abuse levy.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THE Bishop of Derry yesterday apologised publicly for the way he handled the diocesan contributions to the Stewardship Trust, a fund set up by the Catholic Church in Ireland from which compensation is paid to...

Slight at the opera for local musicians over 'cheap labour'.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) WEXFORD Opera Festival remains embroiled in an embarrassing long-running debacle over its outsourcing of musicians in favour of 'cheap labour' from Eastern Europe. The festival, which dates from 1951, is...

Hourly link to Cork in [euro]270m rail plan.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) A [euro]270m upgrade of rail services in Kildare will lead to hourly services from Dublin to Cork and two-hourly services to all other cities served by Heuston Station. The radical plan, by Transport...

Pregnancy agency to standardise help.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THE Crisis Pregnancy Agency (CPA) will attempt to standardise practice among pregnancy advice agencies and root out "rogue" operators with a new counselling manual currently in preparation. Sharon Foley, the...

PDs ask voters to support coalition partners.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THE PDs are recommending that their voters pass preferences to Fianna Fail in the upcoming by-election, in a boost to the senior Government party. The Irish Independent has learned that even though there is...

Poor showing would threaten FG-Labour pact.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THE Fine Gael-Labour Party election pact will come under renewed pressure if it fails to deliver in the Meath and Kildare North by-elections. Opposition parties are stepping up their campaign as the election...

'Honesty card' is played with smiles.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) IT'S Saturday afternoon and the PD canvas is in full swing. Candidate Sirena Campbell is on a meet-and-greet with Tanaiste Mary Harney and campaign manager Tom Parlon in a shopping centre in Navan. In the...

IRA crisis deepens as rally calls for justice over murder.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THE depth of the IRA's crisis was made instantly clear by the spontaneous cheers and prolonged applause which greeted the family of Robert McCartney, who was murdered by men from the organisation, as they arrived...

Paisley leaves the door open for Sinn Fein.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) DUP leader Ian Paisley is still prepared to share power with Sinn Fein if there are "no arms and no crime". The 78-year-old Free Presbyterian moderator signalled yesterday that there is still a realistic...

No greenbacks for party on St Patrick's Day.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) SINN Fein representatives will not be able to raise funds when they visit the US for St Patrick's Day. The party, beset by allegations of criminality, will not even request visas with fundraising provisions -...

British army asked why two murderers were not thrown out.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THE family of a teenager shot dead by two Scots Guards has challenged the Brtish Army to explain why they were not thrown out, despite their convictions for murder after the killing. Jean McBride, whose son...

Early release of McCabe killers is 'off the agenda'.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THE Garda Representative Association declared last night that it now believes the release of the killers of Det Garda Jerry McCabe is off the agenda "for once and for all". It was responding to a forthright...

Deal to save hunger strikers 'blocked by Adams'.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) GERRY ADAMS, the Sinn Fein president, has been accused of blocking a deal offered by the British Government to end the 1981 hunger strikes which could have saved six of the 10 IRA prisoners who starved themselves...

Household waste 'being dumped on large scale'.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) MAJOR illegal dumping of household refuse is taking place in Co Kerry, a county councillor has claimed. This is despite the use of helicopters by the council, at a cost of more than [euro]1,000 an hour, to...

Polar Pat and singing Fianna Failettes redefine term 'church gate collection'.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) JUST one more weekend to endure for the besieged electorate of Meath and Kildare before life returns to normal and they become anonymous again. Yesterday though, devout voters were once more subjected to...

Charles faces fresh fiasco over his honeymoon plans.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THE prospect of Britain's Queen Elizabeth having to wade through crowds of tourists to Prince Charles's town hall wedding was reportedly enough to make her stay away. But the prince now faces the possible...

And on the Sabbath God created . . . danger.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) SUNDAY is the most dangerous day in the home for accidents, except when it's Mothering Sunday, according to figures out in Britain today. Statistics reveal a third of all household accidents happen at...

News In Brief.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) 14 dead in Nepal violence AT least 14 people died in a fresh burst of violence in southern Nepal yesterday, after communist rebels lifted a two-week highway blockade that had crippled the flow of essential...

Target small farm holders in Africa for aid, says agency.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) IRELAND and the West must target development programmes toward small farmers in African countries where up to 90pc of the population are rural dwellers, according to Self Help Development International. Talk...

Trading places at the top.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) New-look Irish win ugly as 'breaks' fail on Chariot IT'S just like the movie, Trading Places, where the brothers Duke play a cruel, practical joke on Louis Winthorpe III. Suddenly, the snobbish investor...

Moment of magic seals Irish victory.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) IRELAND19 ENGLAND13 DEEP down we knew that after the anger and the passion had left its mark on the game, it would probably boil down to a shocking mistake or a flash of genius to decide this...

Demeanour of men chasing their destiny.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) "WE'RE just a bit further down the line. If you look even at the ages and the amount of caps, they reflect that. But it's important for us that we do close these games out. It's important for our progress that...

O'Driscoll genius leads English on a merry dance.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) SOMETHING OF England's warrior nature reappeared on a weekend of Celtic glory, but there was never enough. Indeed, if they were entirely honest with themselves, they might agree that not much short of an...

English boss vents his fury at referee.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) A QUIETLY fuming Andy Robinson and a calmly contemplative Eddie O'Sullivan. Two wildly variant counterpoints of emotion after an intense drama in the old ground. England, stuck in a rut, and seeing each...

A gritty grind but we got there in the end.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) IT's a sign of the times that we can win a game like yesterday's despite the fact that it wasn't really a fabulous performance in many respects. But in top-class international rugby, you sometimes have to...

HOW IRELAND'S PLAYERS RATED.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) GEORDAN MURPHY -Showed that flash of class to create the Irish try for Brian O'Driscoll, otherwise did the work well. 8 GIRVAN DEMPSEY -Did very well. Some of his tackling was out of this world and saved us...

Case for defence rests in new Golden era.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THERE was once a golden era in Irish rugby, almost 60 years ago fashioned by heroes whose deeds have lived on through the years. Now a new generation stand at the gates of emulating the only Ireland side to...

Boil-in-the-bag rugby, but we liked our Greens.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) AH stop it will ye? Will we ever get over it? You could have plastic bagged Lansdowne Road in a giant oxygen tent and we'd still be gasping for breath. You could have erected a circus tent for Geordan...

Faldo should get the top job.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) So why is Woosy hot favourite for the Ryder Cup captaincy? NICK FALDO is the greatest golfer Europe has ever produced - fact. The Englishman has won more Major Championships (six) than any player from...

Toms wraps up Di Marco demolition job at La Costa.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) DAVID TOMS teed up an emphatic victory - and the GBP686,052 that came with it - after an astonishing turn of events in the opening 18 holes of the Accenture World Match Play Championship final at La Costa in...

D'Arcy on target for French showdown.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) IRISH centre Gordon D'Arcy is on course to make his comeback against France on Saturday week. The injured D'Arcy, who sat beside Manchester United and Irish soccer star Roy Keane during yesterday's game...

Nolan and Coghlan earn their ticket for Madrid.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) JAMES NOLAN and Peter Coghlan will both be officially added to the Irish team for the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Madrid later today. Nolan, a former silver medallist at this level, secured...

Shaw strike decisive as Annadale advance.
February 28, 2005... (From Irish Independent) THEIR prodigal son haunted Glenanne at the weekend as Graham Shaw scored the decisive goal to put Annadale of Belfast into the semi-finals of the Irish Senior Cup. Shaw learnt his skills with the Tallaght...