Business Ireland Q3 2014

Q3 2014

In the Green Zone Payzone’s Jim Deignan on making things simple for the consumer

The

Gloves Are TV3’s

Off

David McRedmond

on fighting his corner in a more competitive market

Access All Areas The state of play in

the broadband sector

News Lifestyle Industry Spotlight My Dublin Chamber

AWARDS 2015

6 categories. 1 big prize Tell the world about your company’s great idea.

It could win you a prize worth 150,000.

Find out more at:

www.irishtimes.com/ Joint Partner

innovationawards

in association with

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The Gloves Are Off

No sooner is TV3 out of a recession than it’s faced with a more competitive Irish market.

Joseph O’Connor spoke with Chief Executive David McRedmond to see if he’s up for the challenge.

COVER STORY

DAVID MCREDMOND

I

No sooner is TV3 out of a recession than it’s faced with a more competitive Irish market.

JOSEPH O’CONNOR spoke with Chief Executive David McRedmond to see if he’s up for the challenge.

WE DON’T HAVE TO TALK IT ANYMORE,

WE’LL

WALK IT. Colm McDermott

WE REALLY ARE STARTING TO SEE OUR STRATEGY COME TO LIFE.

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t was June 2013 when I first interviewed TV3’s David McRedmond. Back then the chief executive was faced with a very different proposition as the broadcaster emerged from a tough recession. The main focus of that interview was TV3’s resilience amid difficult market conditions as well as the opening of their new A4 million Sony HD studio. Fast forward 15 months and I’m back in McRedmond’s bright, airy corner office. It’s casual Friday which sees the TV3 boss wearing an open-neck shirt with jacket over a pair of denims.

He is self confident, articulate and speaks in his own words, unlike many other media-trained CEOs who rattle off soundbites before you’ve even finished your question. Most refreshingly though, he calls it like it is. He’s been doing that for a few years now, having been vocal on issues such as high-earning TV presenters, commercial practices at state broadcaster RTÉ, and what he described as the Government’s failure to support the independent television sector.

In the brief period between our meetings a lot has changed for TV3. The challenge posed by a deep recession has been replaced with the challenge of stiffer competition as UTV enters the market, set to launch a new station here in 2015. UTV Ireland is not any old competitor. It was their parent company ITV who provided TV3 with much of its popular content and their move into the Irish market coincides with TV3 losing shows such as Coronation Street and Emmerdale, which until now accounted for around 20 per cent of its ratings.

McRedmond seems unfazed by it though – he has had a few months to digest it – and he argues that the loss of these programmes is a blessing in disguise,

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28

FEATURES

15

Industry Spotlight:

Broadband

VALERIE JORDAN speaks to some of the country’s leading broadband operators about their services and plans to grow their network.

Q3 2014

Go To dubchamber.ie for the online edition

NEWS LIFESTYLE SPOTLIGHT LIN CHAMBER

GREEN ZONE

DAVID MCREDMOND GREEN ZONE

ALL AREAS DAVID

ALL AREAS

24

Entrepreneur

28

Coming Up Peaches

Katie Cantwell, owner and founder of the KC Peaches café chain, talks to BUSINESS IRELAND about the pros and cons of doing business in Dublin.

30

T here’s an App for That Ten personal finance apps which will help you save money and manage your expenses.

Anna Murphy profiles Dr Pearse Lyons, an Irish-American innovator and businessman, who has been making an outstanding contribution to science and industry.

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Empowering Officers of Change

The evolution of the CIO and technology within the financial services industry represents a great opportunity for companies within that sector.

In the Green Zone

Dean Van Nguyen speaks to Payzone’s Jim Deignan about the company’s services and the importance of staying at the forefront of technology.

Wine in the Time

of e-Commerce

Will Mullin, Director of WineOnline.ie, tells Valerie Jordan about his participation in the Activating Dublin programme and why he’s an advocate of getting Irish businesses online.

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Editor: Joseph O’Connor Commercial Editor: Valerie Jordan

Motoring | Autumn Essentials | Travel Briefs | Beer | Gadgets

Managing Editor: Mary Connaughtan Art Director: Alan McArthur

78

Bringing Luxury

Front Cover Photography: Colm McDermott

to

ELECTRIC

Production Executive: Nicole Ennis

CONOR FORREST reports on BMW’s first foray into the electric vehicle market and shares his i3 experience.

Production Manager: Mary Connaughtan Sales Director: Paul Clemenson Contributors: Conor Forrest Valerie Jordan Graeme McQueen Anna Murphy Dean Van Nguyen

Motoring Extra Click on the cars for more in the motoring section

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BUSINESS IRELAND MAGAZINE is published by Ashville Media Group, on behalf of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce ASHVILLE MEDIA GROUP Old Stone Building, Blackhall Green, Dublin 7.

Tel: (01) 432 2200; Fax: (01) 672 7100 Email: info@ashville.com DUBLIN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 7 Clare Street. Tel: (01) 644 7200; Fax: (01) 676 6043; Email: info@dublinchamber.ie; Web: www.dublinchamber.ie Material printed in this journal is not necessarily endorsed by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce or

by Ashville Media Group.

All rights reserved. Reproduction by any means in whole or in part without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. © 2014

36

Recruitment Without Borders

BUSINESS IRELAND speaks to Colin Maxwell from the Belfast Telegraph about the newspaper’s recruitment platforms and the opportunities they offer Dublin-based companies.

39

Notes for a Networking Nation

Business and Executive Coach Tom Armstrong outlines his top ten tips on how to work a big room at a networking event.

MY DUBLIN CHAMBER 42 The latest news, events and members at the Chamber.

NEWS 4 8 10 12

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Briefcase SME Bites Capital Investment Movers & Shakers

41

Changing Sales Attitudes

Does your sales team have an immunity to selling?

Addressing this issue will require you to change underlying attitudes and beliefs.

59

Keeping Dublin Moving

BUSINESS IRELAND talks to the decision makers, stakeholders and influencers who are responsible for the capital’s public transport system.

LIFESTYLE 78 83 85 86 87 88

Motoring Autumn Essentials Travel Briefs Beer Business Tech Timeout On a Lighter Note

87

Briefcase

Chester Beatty Library National Gallery National Museum of Ireland The Hugh Lane Gallery Aras an Uachtaráin The Science Gallery Glasnevin Cemetery Tour Irish-Jewish Museum Gallery of Photography (chosen by the Lonely Planet)

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top free things to do in Dublin

Trinity College Dublin

The latest business news from Dublin

A Welcome Sponsorship for Civic Initiative

Grainne Mackin, Luas Cross City and Simon O’Connor, Founder, City of a Thousand Welcomes.

Luas Cross City has signed a three-year sponsorship agreement for an initiative described by The Sydney Morning Herald as the ‘best free thing to do in Europe’.

‘City of a Thousand Welcomes’ is a greeter programme run by the Little Museum of Dublin to show visitors to the city what Irish hospitality is all about. The free civic initiative pairs local volunteers (known as Ambassadors) with first-time visitors to the city. The Ambassador offers advice on the visitor’s trip to the capital over a free cup of tea, coffee or a pint in The Merrion Hotel, Bewleys Café or the Porterhouse Bar. To celebrate the launch of this sponsorship, the Luas Cross City, Clerys Department Store and Little Museum of Dublin will work together in late 2014 to curate an exhibition in the Clerys Heritage Gallery, O’Connell St. The quirky new exhibition will investigate the history of trams in Dublin.

The Little Museum of Dublin won the 2014 David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur Award which featured in our Q1 issue. (http://goo.gl/H71QKY)

Briefcase

Commissioner To Help Activate

Dublin’s Start-up Potential

Niamh Bushnell has been appointed Dublin’s first Commissioner for Start-ups. A serial entrepreneur herself, Bushnell will work closely with Dublin City Council, Enterprise Ireland and the start-up community to maximise the potential of Dublin’s tech cluster. The creation of the role follows on from the Activating Dublin report #bestplacetostart launched in August 2013.

Activating Dublin cofounder and Dublin Chamber Chief Executive, Gina Quin, said: “Dublin is a great place to start and scale a business. The creation of the Start-up Commissioner role will help ensure Dublin is able to compete with rival cities abroad and Niamh’s appointment is an exciting and potential-filled step forward for the city.”

Record Profits for Cpl Cpl has announced record gross profit and revenues after a strong performance across the group for the year ending June 2014. Revenue increased by a38.5 million to a369.3 million, an increase of 12 per cent, and gross profit increased by 12 per cent to a54.7 million. Revenue and gross profit are almost double their level of four years ago. The results indicate a good year for Cpl, as well as improved conditions in the employment market; with the CSO last week reporting a five-year low in the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 11.5 per cent. This improvement in the market provided a base for Cpl to achieve growth across the business; driven by strong demand for skilled talent in sectors and occupations such as ICT, Healthcare, Pharmaceutical and Professional Services. For more on the results see our Capital Investment section on page 11.

Niamh Bushnell, Commissioner for Start-Ups

BoI and EVO in international payments deal Bank of Ireland has announced that it has entered into a long-term, exclusive relationship with EVO Payments International (EVO), a leading card payment acquirer and payment service provider operating in the United States, Canada and Europe, to provide merchant acquiring services in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Under this exclusive arrangement, Bank of Ireland and EVO will provide merchant customers with a wide range of market-leading debit and credit card payment solutions.

Andy White, Head of Sales Ireland & UK, EVO Payments International; Gavin Kelly, Director Consumer Banking at Bank of Ireland; Niall Hodson, Chief Operating Officer, EVO Payments International.

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ber, 2014 4-6 Novem

What is it?

It’s been called “the best technology conference on the planet”. It is a technologyindustry conference held in Dublin since 2010. The topicIreland of the conference is Focus has announced centered onShine technology details of its a Lightand the audience is a mix of CEOs Night, the charity’s flagship and founders ofwhereby tech startcorporate event ups together with a range business leaders sleep out of people from across theinglobal together for one night technology industry, as well Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens or as related industries.

Theto Cork’s historic city Gaol event is held three days. raise funds andover awareness of the issue of homelessness here inWhere Ireland.and Sincewhen?

2012 over 120 Dublin’sleaders RDS, 4-6have November. business slept out and raised over a675,000 to How many will attend? support our work.

Over 20,000 people expected The 2014 sleep-outs will thisplace year. simultaneously in take Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens and Whohistoric are the Cork’s City Gaol on keynote speakers?

Friday 17th October and Shine a Light is once again kindly Theynight include: supported

by PayPal Aviva Ireland.

• Peter Thiel, founder about Shine a •Learn Adrianmore Grenier, Entourage Light Night, past participants actor and founder andofhow to get involved SHFT.com by• contacting Eleanor on Drew Houston, 01 Founder 8815900ofor eflew@ Dropbox, focusireland.ie • J ohn Sculley, or visit focusireland.ie Former CEO of Apple, • P hil Libin, CEO of Evernote

COVER STORY

No sooner is TV3 out of a recession than it’s faced with a more competitive Irish market.

JOSEPH O’CONNOR spoke with Chief Executive David McRedmond to see if he’s up for the challenge.

Cover Story DAVID M REDMOND

WE DON’T HAVE TO TALK IT ANYMORE,

WE’LL

WALK IT.

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“Recession is bloody tough and you only realise how tough it is when you start to come out of it.”

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Ireland’s brightest sparks have been invited to compete for the 2014 ESB Spark of Genius Award at this year’s Web Summit with a prize fund of over a25,000. Marguerite Sayers, Generation Manager, ESB joined Paddy Cosgrave, founder and CEO of Web Summit to announce details of the much coveted award, now in its fourth year. The ESB Spark of Genius award focuses on high potential technology start-ups and is open to any Irish start-up which has been in operation for less than three years and has received under a1 million in funding to date.

Entrants will be judged on the uniqueness of their idea, their level of development thus far, and their potential for future growth. The winner of the ESB Spark of Genius will be announced at Web -Summit on November 4th in the RDS.

Lucidity Digital rebranded as Isobar

Guy Fagan, Director, Isobar Ireland; Liam McDonnell, CEO Dentsu Aegis Network Ireland; Jim Cassidy, Managing Director, Isobar Ireland; Robert Horler, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network Northern Europe.

I WE REALLY ARE STARTING TO SEE OUR STRATEGY COME TO LIFE.

Compete for Lucrative Prize Fund

21 |

David McRedmond, Chief Executive, TV3.

Lucidity Digital, the Dublin-based digital agency has rebranded to Isobar, following its acquisition by Isobar parent company Dentsu Aegis Network. Isobar’s arrival is a reflection of how Ireland’s digital sector is maturing, and of the growing importance of Ireland’s position in the digital world. The team at Dublin-based Lucidity will join Isobar’s 3,000 staff in 67 offices across 41 markets worldwide.

Isobar Global CEO Jean Lin, who is based in Shanghai, said: “We’re excited to welcome the Lucidity team to our Isobar family and to enter the growing Irish market.

With strong technological roots and an entrepreneurial spirit, the development of our Irish team further strengthens our global footprint and our ability to deliver creativity in technology.” The firm is now planning an aggressive new business drive and expects to double its staff to 60 over the next two years.

Lucidity Digital’s clients include:

20

Ireland’s Brightest Sparks

Eircom Britvic HSE RTÉ Salesforce IFA Bayer Healthcare PIBA Nicholas Mosse ortmarnock P Golf Club

Briefcase

Quarterly Characters BUSINESS Ireland looks at some of the tweets of the quarter @rupertmurdoch

In SF just looking many start-ups, mixed successes ahead, but Stripe, by brilliant Collison brothers outstanding.

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch praises online payments company Stripe established by Limerick brothers John and Patrick Collison.

@DubCham

A clear-out in the Chamber uncovered this from 10 years ago @PJTimmins

Defining Decade for DHR Founded in 2004 with a tiny office and one client on its books, PR agency DHR Communications is celebrating its ten year anniversary. DHR boasts a diverse client base in the areas of statutory agencies, not-for-profit, technology, healthcare, business, education and the arts. The agency provides PR and public affairs campaigns that reach EU, UN and wider levels for clients with an international focus. At the same time, the company works with national and community organisations to deliver targeted regional and sectoral campaigns. Over the past 18 months DHR has also grown its workforce by 50 per cent, and now employs 12 people.

Emily Brennan, Account Executive; Emily Kelly, Account Manager; Martina Quinn, Executive Director; Ciara Murphy, Account Manager; Emma Walker, Account Executive; Catherine Heaney, Director.

Dublin Chamber tweets a photo of an issue of Business Ireland from July 2004 with former Clerys CEO PJ Timmins on the cover.

@euHvR

Elected. The European Council has elected PM Donald Tusk as the next President of the European Council & Euro Summits #EUCO @premiertusk

The Lowdown

President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy announces Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk as his successor in Brussels.

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei is to remodel its business plan by phasing out 80 per cent of its cheaper range of phones by the end of 2014.

The cutback, which will see the company’s range reduced to only a few basic models, is part of an attempt to challenge its Asian-based rivals HTC, Samsung and Xiaomi.

GoCar, Ireland’s only car sharing initiative, has announced record numbers for new sign-ups following on from its one year anniversary celebration at the start of August. GoCar saw 400 new sign-ups on the day of its anniversary alone compared with 186 new members for the entire month of August in 2013.

Cricket Ireland is in search of new corporate partners, with the insurance company RSA due to end its more than sevenyear sponsorship of the game in Ireland this coming December.

According to the sporting body, the current annual income from all of its various sponsorship deals is estimated at a750,000.

Three and eircom have signed a new 4G network-sharing agreement, one of the conditions imposed by the European Commission when it gave the go ahead for Three’s a850 million acquisition of the O2 network from Telefónica.

For more on broadband investment in Ireland see our industry spotlight on page 15.

@roakleyIRL

Death of newspapers much exaggerated. Print sales down, sure. But some newspapers working around that, changing and getting stronger.

Richie Oakley, Editor of Sunday in the Sunday Times Ireland, refutes the claim that print is dead.

@caitrionaok_IDA

Dublin is the first office outside the US for @ squarespace. Ireland was chosen because of presence of tech firms & tech talent.

Caitriona O’Kennedy, Head of Marketing and Communications for the IDA, on the tech giant’s move to the capital.

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SME Bites

Bites

SME

Business Ireland takes a look at the latest news and advice for SMEs operating in the capital.

GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES ONLINE TOOL HELP

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan officially launched the Supporting SMEs Online Tool last May. This online tool is a cross-governmental initiative to help Irish start-ups and small businesses navigate the range of Government business supports that they could be eligible for. There are currently over 80 Government business supports – totalling over a2 billion available – to SMEs. A specially commissioned survey of nearly 2,000 SMEs has shown a lack of awareness of these supports amongst Irish businesses, with 98 per cent of respondents admitting they had a low awareness of public supports available to them. The Supporting SMEs Online Tool is now available at www.localenterprise.ie/smeonlinetool/

Book Bite:

Managing to be Human

Whether you see this period as a successful or challenging time for your company, or even somewhere in between, you will welcome Managing to be Human by Brian F. Smyth, as a book that will give you new insights into how you manage your organisation. The book does not set out to simply improve how you do it but to show how you can manage in new ways that will make it both more enjoyable and more successful. The book is not the result of academic research, but the result of over 25 years of helping organisations throughout the world to find better ways to handle their situations. These better ways are all based on being faithful to what is truly human in everything we do as managers. In this book, being faithful is understood and presented as making the most of the infinite resourcefulness that people have as human beings when we decide or are obliged to tap into that enormous human power.

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Property Debt Threat to SMEs Irish SMEs that borrowed money to invest in property are almost twice as likely to default as similar-sized businesses without property debt, according to new research from the Central Bank. In its report, the bank finds that 20 per cent of SMEs in the Republic have an exposure of some kind or other to property. These borrowings account for one third of the outstanding bank borrowings of the SME sector.

Economist Morgan Kelly has warned that upcoming stress testing of Irish banks will further tighten lending conditions here, potentially wiping out many SMEs who are burdened with debts from the property boom era.

/5

1

of SMEs in the Republic of Ireland have an exposure of some kind or other to property.

Irish SME property exposure: what do we know?

Quarterly Quote

“SMEs require substantial and sustained increases in disposable incomes, consumer spending and domestic demand if there is to be a significant change in their attitudes towards seeking funds for investment and expansion.”

Anne Hughes of DKM Economic Consultants responds to the findings of a report showing that SMEs are not applying for funding despite a range of new initiatives.

SME Bites

looking up Bank of Ireland says it has approved €2.1 billion worth of loans to SMEs in the first half of 2014, an increase of seven per cent on the same period last year. The bank said it approved more than 85 per cent of credit applications from SMEs in the year to June end. Commenting on the figures, Michael Lauhoff, head of business banking growth at Bank of Ireland, said: “We are seeing some very encouraging signs of increased demand from our business customers. Whilst some of this activity can be attributed to some competitors leaving the market, we are also seeing some positive signs of renewed investment in key sectors of the economy.”

Over half (54 per cent) of Irish SMEs believe that they will need enhanced or increased digital capabilities in the next three years, in order to cope with the ever-changing business landscape.

Of that number, 69 per cent are worried about how they will successfully upskill, with many firms citing difficulties finding suitably skilled staff and the level of investment required as potential stumbling blocks.

The figures come from the latest Close Brothers Business Barometer, a quarterly survey that seeks to canvass the opinion of SME owners and managers across Ireland and the UK on a range of issues that affect their business.

The survey also found that, of the Irish firms who do not believe they will have any requirement for increased digital ability, half do not consider digital skills as relevant to their business.

TIME TO CHEQUE OUT

Interns and Your Business - What You Need to Know

Lending figures

Concern over Digital Skills Shortage

Formal internships are a relatively recent phenomenon in Ireland. Key concerns for businesses are whether or not the intern is an employee of the business and whether the intern is entitled to be paid during the internship.

To address these concerns, Mason Hayes & Curran set out their top tips for businesses hiring interns: 1. Internship Agreement Although there is no legal obligation to put in place an internship agreement, it is a useful way to clearly set out the duties and obligations of the business and the intern.

2. Induction Training The business should give the intern induction training which introduces the intern to the relevant policies and procedures of the business.

3. Protect Confidential Information For many interns, this may be their first time working in a professional environment. Therefore it is important to explain to interns what confidential information is and the extent of their obligations to protect such information.

4. Protect Intellectual Property Finally, the business should ensure that any intellectual property created by an intern during his/her internship is protected and that the business asserts ownership over any such intellectual property.

Watching as a Government cheque is consigned to history at Dublin’s Natural History Museum are Patricia Callan, Director of the Small Firms Association; Minister of State at the Department of Finance Simon Harris TD; and Ronnie O’Toole, Programme Manager of the National Payments Plan. September 19th was e-Day, the date from which Government Departments and offices, local authorities and State agencies no longer issue or accept cheques in their dealings with businesses.

The full version of this article can be viewed on the Mason Hayes & Curran Technology Law Blog: http:// www.mhc.ie/latest/blog

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Maps Make Sense for Retail Our business is built on the belief that knowing where things happen matters to your business.  Retail outlets depend on “location� for market planning and business intelligence. Location is vital to planning new store openings, to gaining insights into customer loyalty and to target locationspecific marketing messages.

CaPITAL INVESTMENT

Capital

Investment Business Ireland looks at companies expanding or starting operations in Dublin and the jobs that are coming on stream.

Jobs:

Jobs:

Jobs:

Jobs:

300

10 Company: Holvi Location: Dublin

Company: The Natural Bakery Location: Dublin

Company: PropelAd Location: Dublin

150 jobs have already been created with the expansion of Centra’s network of stores with 150 more to be created by the year end.

The new Finnish bank is to provide free services and banking to Irish SMEs.

The fresh bakery opens its fourth and fifth outlets in Ranelagh and Stillorgan..

The Irish start-up, which helps online stores grow through advertising, received a650,000 in seed funding.

Jobs:

Jobs:

Jobs:

Company: Centra Location: Nationwide

Jobs:

22

28

35

8

50

30

Company: Ward Solutions Location: Dublin and Belfast

Company: Digital Hub Location: Dublin

Company: Morehall Lodge Location: Drogheda

Company: Fenergo Location: Dublin and Boston

The 22 positions at the information security provider are being created as part of a new a1.8 million investment to fund significant expansion in Citywest.

The jobs are coming on stream as a result of six companies joining Digital Hub including Creative Nation, Fractus Learning and Athena Media.

The new jobs will be created in Drogheda with the expansion of Moorehall Lodge Nursing Home and the positions will be in the nursing, caring and other staff areas.

The global provider of Client Lifecycle Management software solutions for investment banks and capital market firms will create 30 jobs at its Dublin and Boston offices.

Positive Trends for Jobseekers

Cpl results for the year ending June 2014 point to encouraging trends for jobseekers, including an increase in the creation of permanent jobs. Cpl’s permanent fees revenue increased by 31.7 per cent to a20.8 million from a15.8m last year, indicating that more businesses are placing candidates in long term, full-time employment. Commenting on this trend, Cpl’s CEO Anne Heraty noted that there is still room for further improvement in this area: “It is encouraging that 70 per cent of new jobs created in the Republic of Ireland were full time, although this still leaves full time jobs 17 per cent below peak.”

Number of long-term claimants down

4.7%

on an annual basis.

August CSO figures at a glance

Unemployment down

3.9%

from recessionary high.

Number of claimants on the register dropped

2,900

.

11.2%

unemployment rate in August 2014, a five-year seasonal low reported by the CSO.

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Movers&Shakers

Movers&Shakers current role: Managing Director John Flynn, Managing Director of ACT Venture Capital, has been elected chairman of the Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA).

The Irish Venture Capital Association is the representative organisation for venture capital firms in Ireland.

Flynn is currently a board member of four VC backed firms and manages the AIB Start-up Accelerator Fund. He has over 20 years’ experience in software and technology venture investment. He was previously involved in a number of successful venture backed companies which were acquired by international firms for over a500 million.

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New title: Partner Employer: Comyn Kelleher Tobin Previous role: Solicitor Cork and Dublin based law firm Comyn Kelleher Tobin (CKT) Solicitors has announced the appointment of Deirdre Malone as a Partner in the firm.

Malone is a member of CKT’s litigation department specialising in the defence of professional negligence proceedings and employment law, having joined the firm in 2013 after a number of years working in Cork and Dublin. As well as being a lecturer and tutor in employment law in the Law Society of Ireland, Deirdre is a current member of the Employment and Equality Committee of the Law Society of Ireland, and a CEDR accredited Mediator.

Brendan McNestry

Employer: ACT Venture Capital

Deirdre Malone

John Flynn

New title: Chairman, Irish Venture Capital Association

New title: Regional Business Development Manager Employer: AIB Previous role: Dalkey Branch Manager Brendan McNestry has been appointed as Regional Business Development Manager for AIB in Dublin South and Central. In this role, McNestry will serve and develop new relationships with business customers in the area. McNestry commented: “AIB, like many of our customers, has undergone major restructuring over the past six years and so we understand the challenges that our business customers had to overcome to survive the turbulent period. We also are acutely aware that the recovery of the Irish economy and indeed AIB’s success is inextricably linked to the success of our customers.”

Movers&Shakers

New appointments in the business community nationwide.

Previous role: Programmes Marketing Manager, Webroot Patricia Fennessy has been appointed Marketing Manager at Sage Ireland. In her role, Fennessy will oversee all marketing activities across Sage’s start-up and small business division in Ireland. Fennessy has almost ten years’ experience in B2B marketing across a number of companies in the UK and Ireland including Cordic Ltd., 123Send and most recently Webroot.

Avril McArdle, Head of Marketing for Sage Ireland said: “We are delighted to welcome Patricia to the team.

She has extensive experience and a strong track record in B2B marketing and her expertise will play a key role in driving growth in our start-up and small business division.”

New title: General Manager Employer: Carton House Previous role: General Manager, Gibson Hotel Carton House has announced the appointment of Adrian McLaughlin as its new General Manager.

Joining Carton House from The Gibson Hotel, McLaughlin has twenty-two years experience in the hotel industry. His early career was spent at the 900-bedroom Cumberland Hotel in London before being transferred to Belfast where he opened the Holiday Inn Belfast and lately the Merchant Hotel.

A graduate of the Northern Ireland Hotel and Catering College, McLaughlin was the President of the Northern Irish Hotels Federation for two years while he was also a board member on the Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau.

Rebecca Wardell

Employer: Sage Ireland

Adrian McLaughlin

Patricia Fennessy

New title: Marketing Manager

New title: Business Development Manager Employer: BriTIsh Maritime Development Office Previous role: Head of Trade with UK Trade & Investment, British Embassy in Dublin The Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) has announced the appointment of Rebecca Wardell as Business Development Manager. Wardell joins the IMDO team and takes responsibility to promote and assist the development of Irish shipping and Irish shipping services sectors, working with national and international companies to protect and create employment.

Wardell joins the IMDO from her role as Head of Trade with UK Trade & Investment in the British Embassy in Dublin. Rebecca has over ten years’ management experience in both the public and private sectors.

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Industry Spotlight

AC CE SS

AL L

S A E R A

In this issue’s spotlight on broadband we speak to some of the country’s leading operators about their services and plans to grow their broadband network.

We also ask them about their recommendations for Government to improve the landscape of broadband across Ireland.

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Industry Spotlight

A

ccess to broadband in Ireland has advanced greatly in recent years, both fixed and mobile. In the last 12 months alone there has been a significant improvement in average broadband speeds According to Comreg (Commission for Communications Regulation), 57 per cent of all broadband subscriptions in Ireland are now over 10Mbps; compared to 32 per cent last year, and 37.7 per cent of all broadband subscriptions are now greater than 30Mbps.

Despite these improvements there is still work to be done. According to Ookla, the global broadband speed test, Ireland ranks just 49th out of 193 countries in terms of broadband performance. There is also a discernible divide in the availability of broadband between rural and urban Ireland – with approximately 400,000 homes without broadband. The Irish Government has a goal of having a minimum of 30Mbps for every home by 2015, but it’s just the beginning of this fibre journey.

Eamonn Wallace, chairman of lobby group Ireland Offline, has said many communities could be waiting until after 2016 to access fibre services.

Executive Chairman of Google Eric Schmidt was scathing about the availability of broadband in Ireland on his recent visit here: “You are behind on fibre to the home and you guys are late with respect to 4G rollout. France, Germany and the UK are already ahead of Ireland with respect to citizens and businesses connected to the internet.

You just need to do it.”

So we need to do it. A high speed and reliable fixed and mobile broadband is a basic requirement for almost any business and indeed home. Increasing access to high-quality, high-speed networks across the country will be an essential part of Ireland’s economic recovery. In this special report on broadband we talk to some of the country’s biggest operators and look at what’s coming down the track for broadband in Ireland.

had passed its one millionth premises with its high speed fibre broadband.

Additionally, eircom has confirmed that it has accelerated its rollout programme so that their existing 1.4 million footprint target will be achieved earlier than envisaged – December 2015 – and it has also expanded its rollout programme from 1.4 million premises to 1.6 million premises by December 2016.

David Walsh, Director of Commercial and SME, eircom Business Solutions says: “We know that broadband is a key enabler for business and our vision is to provide an always-on, fully connected, best in class network that delivers quality, high speed broadband wherever and whenever our customers need to access it. We have the largest fibre network in Ireland and in recent years the pace of rollout of our broadband network has increased significantly.

“We are building a ‘network for a nation’ using our unique network assets and service platforms to deliver best in class solutions to businesses across the country. Over 70 per cent of our customers can get broadband speeds of 70Mb or more now. We are delivering access to high speed broadband through fixed and mobile technologies such as fibre to the cabinet as well as 4G and WiFi. We are also making an additional investment commitment over the coming two years – this includes deployment of FTTH technology, supporting symmetrical speeds of up to 1Gbps to locations in Ireland where we see demand emerging. No other operator

Blueface weighs in In conversation with Business Ireland, Brian Martin, Business Development and Marketing Manager of Blueface, IP telephony services company, suggested an interesting solution to increase competition in the broadband market: “The Government should pitch to Google to roll out their Google Fibre service in Dublin as the first city outside of the US. This would force other ISPs to compete and create a rising tide of better speeds to help boost the digital economy.”

We are especially keen to ensure that there is a robust ‘end to end’ solution for that last 30 per cent of rural premises – we can’t risk developing a further digital divide.”

Network for a Nation eircom currently has the largest fibre broadband network in Ireland and the company recently announced that it

| 16

David Walsh, Director of Commercial and SME, eircom Business Solutions

Industry Spotlight

in Ireland is investing as extensively in fibre broadband.”

Walsh is anxious that the Government’s National Broadband Plan is realised. “When we have completed our commercial rollout, 70 per cent of the country will have access to high speed fibre broadband. However, even taking our rollout programme into account, there are parts of the country that will not be served. The Government recognises this and that is why the National Broadband Plan tender is currently underway. We are especially keen to ensure that there is a robust ‘end to end’ solution for that last 30 per cent of rural premises – we can’t risk developing a further digital divide.

“We estimate that IP traffic will increase eight-fold over the next five years and 90 per cent of all traffic will be supported by fixed broadband (including WiFi) by 2018,” reveals Walsh.

“With over 12,000km of fibre being laid, this is one of the largest rollouts of high speed broadband by a fixed line operator or incumbent in Europe.”

When eircom launched its fibre network in May 2013 it offered download speeds of up to 70Mb, to 400,000 homes and businesses. In line with construction plans the network now aims to reach 1.6m premises by 2016, which equates to every community with a population greater than 800/900 people. eircom was also the first Irish operator to launch 4G. “Our nationwide rollout continues. We aim to reach 60 per cent population coverage by the end of this year, bringing speeds up to ten times faster than 3G for customers who are on the move.”

The power of Three Three Ireland’s a780 million acquisition of O2 Ireland was completed in July this year. Eoin MacManus, Business Director of Three Ireland says the merger will have a positive impact on their provision of broadband and that Three will be investing heavily in consolidating the two networks. “We will be merging the best of Three’s and O2’s sites and spectrum to give consumers the best network in order to support the growing demand for data.

Eoin MacManus, Business Director, Three Ireland

“We will also be deploying high speed 3G and 4G services nationwide as part of the process of consolidating the O2 and Three networks. Reliable high speed broadband is essential for modern businesses and we expect our merged network to lead the field in this regard.”

Three has so far invested over a1.1bn in its Irish business and plans to invest a300m over the next three years in a new 4G network. Together with the purchase of O2 Ireland this brings the group’s total investment in Ireland to around a2bn and shows its confidence in the future of the Irish market and the Irish economy.

MacManus admits that though there has been a marked improvement in both fixed and mobile broadband services in Ireland there is still more investment needed. “There remains a gap between the level of service available in rural areas versus urban areas. Work remains to be done to bridge the gap. Over the next three years we will be rolling out 4G services countrywide and will ensure all customers have access to it. Good progress has been made through the National Broadband Scheme and more will follow through the 4G roll-out.”

In terms of what can be done to close the gap MacManus is supportive of the work done by the Government so far to improve the landscape of broadband in Ireland. “The Government has committed to a range of actions that will facilitate the more efficient rollout of infrastructure including addressing planning and road opening challenges,

Over the next three years we will be rolling out 4G services countrywide and will ensure all customers have access to it.”

assisting in getting citizens and businesses online, measures relating to spectrum policy and maximising the use of State assets where possible. We will be in consultation with them and will do everything we can to assist in what is a national strategic priority.”

Customers of either network who are concerned that the merger of Three and O2 will affect their broadband price plans or the terms and conditions of their existing contract can rest assured that there will be no change to prices and contracts will remain the same.

Magnetic Reach Mark Kellett, CEO at Magnet saw that many businesses were forced to restrict their IT spending during the last few years of recession: “We did not see the market move as quickly as expected to adopt the newer cloud based technologies, rather firms sought to ‘sweat’ their IT assets for as long as they could.”

Today Kellett says Magnet are seeing firms “seeking ways to sharpen their competitive edge by investing in newer technologies. The level of services and solutions available to businesses in the

17 |

Industry Spotlight

ESB/Vodafone fibre network proposal Mark Kellett, CEO, Magnet

Our prime focus is the business market and our plans for the future are to continue to provide an increased range of services to the Irish and UK B2B markets.”

cloud offer Irish businesses a fantastic opportunity to move quickly to newer, more capable and productive technology platforms that help increase revenue by enabling more flexible and responsive business models and reduce the need for large scale capital expenditure thus freeing up capital.”

Innovation is a key factor for success of any business and Kellett feels it’s important that the operators and the Government acknowledge and move to improve the broadband gap in Ireland.

“Let’s recognise that there’s a digital divide for Irish businesses with those typically based in large urban centres able to avail of a wider range of competitive broadband solutions and services,” he says. “There are a number of ongoing and proposed developments that can help narrow this gap including eircom’s NGA rollout along with the proposed ESB/ Vodafone Fibre project, though that is still some way off and requires an effective regulatory environment.”

Kellett is keen to see Government deploy some of the existing and

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underused assets at its disposal. “What I would ask is to look again at the range of state telecoms assets that remain underutilised such as the fibre optic running along the rail network, the extensive city and county council fibre optic networks deployed to support traffic signalling and CCTV monitoring.

These fibre optic assets form part of a State telecoms asset bank that could for example be sold into an SPV, with guaranteed access to the rail and councils for their signalling needs, while the remaining substantial capacity could be sold more broadly to the telecoms market on a wholesale basis and thus providing for a more competitive landscape in terms of reach, pricing and range of services to Irish businesses.”

Magnet has been at the forefront of innovation in terms of the provision of high speed and high quality broadband connections to residential and business consumers in recent years. “Our prime focus is the business market and our plans for the future are to continue to provide an increased range of services to the Irish and UK B2B markets,” says Kellett. “We recently launched an enhanced Cloud Based Voice Service that provides businesses with true next generation telephone capabilities without the traditional cost and headaches of managing on premises systems. We will shortly be expanding our range of hosting solutions initially aimed at the SME market that when combined with our Broadband and Voice services give businesses an ‘Office in the Cloud’ solution.”

Earlier this year ESB and Vodafone entered into a joint venture agreement to invest a450 million in building a fibre network, offering speeds from 200 Mbps to 1000 Mbps.

ESB began a tender process in September 2012 to find a partner in a joint venture company to deploy a fibreto-the-building network using ESB networks overhead and underground infrastructure as part of its innovation strategy.

Vodafone won the tender. The ESB and Vodafone will build and manage the network but open access will be offered to all telecoms operators in Ireland on a wholesale basis so that other operators can resell the fibre product to their customers.

Subject to European Commission approval, the 50:50 joint venture will begin rolling out the new network across Ireland in the coming months, with the first customers able to avail of fibre broadband from the start of 2015.

Pat O’Doherty, Chief Executive of ESB, said: “This is a major milestone for Ireland as the fibre broadband network will be a key enabler for a knowledge-based, servicesled economy that will help to attract investment to Ireland.

This fibre infrastructure will use ESB’s existing electricity infrastructure, maximising the use of state assets to the benefit of Irish society.”

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Cover Story

We really are starting to see our strategy come to life.

No sooner is TV3 out of a recession than it’s faced with a more competitive Irish market.

Joseph O’Connor spoke with Chief Executive David McRedmond to see if he’s up for the challenge. | 20

We don’t have to talk it anymore,

we’ll

walk it.

David McRedmond

Colm McDermott

I

t was June 2013 when I first interviewed TV3’s David McRedmond. Back then the chief executive was faced with a very different proposition as the broadcaster emerged from a tough recession. The main focus of that interview was TV3’s resilience amid difficult market conditions as well as the opening of their new a4 million Sony HD studio. Fast forward 15 months and I’m back in McRedmond’s bright, airy corner office. It’s casual Friday which sees the TV3 boss wearing an open-neck shirt with jacket over a pair of denims.

He is self confident, articulate and speaks in his own words, unlike many other media-trained CEOs who rattle off soundbites before you’ve even finished your question. Most refreshingly though, he calls it like it is. He’s been doing that for a few years now, having been vocal on issues such as high-earning TV presenters, commercial practices at state broadcaster RTÉ, and what he described as the Government’s failure to support the independent television sector.

In the brief period between our meetings a lot has changed for TV3. The challenge posed by a deep recession has been replaced with the challenge of stiffer competition as UTV enters the market, set to launch a new station here in 2015. UTV Ireland is not any old competitor. It was their parent company ITV who provided TV3 with much of its popular content and their move into the Irish market coincides with TV3 losing shows such as Coronation Street and Emmerdale, which until now accounted for around 20 per cent of its ratings.

McRedmond seems unfazed by it though – he has had a few months to digest it – and he argues that the loss of these programmes is a blessing in disguise,

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Cover Story

David McRedmond on...

What he is like to work for

Colm McDermott

I’m very driven and very passionate about what we do and I really believe in the company. I can be a bit tough and very direct but I’d like to think that people can see that I’m objective, rational and leading the business in the right way.

That’s what I’d like to think but they might think differently, I don’t know..

Switching off from TV

I’ve always liked swimming and I meet my mates in the 40-foot every weekend.

A cold dip on a Saturday morning is a great way to start a weekend. I’ve recently discovered running.

If you run out around Killiney Hill and you suddenly open out onto a view of Killiney Bay, there’s very few worries that cannot be sorted. That clears a head like nothing else. I also like my rugby and my books.

His future at TV3

I don’t want to leave here until I’m really confident that the job is done and that TV3 has been built to last. I think we’re well on the way there. Do I see myself here in ten years’ time? No. Do I see myself going in the next year or two? It’s unlikely, I think I’ll be here but who knows? You never know.

New soap Red Rock

We’re pretty confident about it. It’s not intended to replace Coronotion Street or Emmerdale. It’s not intended to reach the same audience. It’s got a much younger demographic. We’re not looking for it to be a big hit from day one. We’ll invest in it for the long-term.

| 22

claiming that the future of broadcasting lies in producing original content rather than buying in expensive imports.

“It has been a really fascinating year,” he says. “We decided to no longer pay the sort of prices that we were paying for our ITV content. We couldn’t afford to do both that and to continue to develop our strategy which is working on home production. That’s where we think the future of broadcasting is and that’s where our future is. We have reinvested that money into what is by far our most ambitious schedule ever. We can’t wait to get it out in front of audiences.”

The way McRedmond sees it, he’d take a new competitor with deep pockets ahead of another recession any day of the week. He speaks as though he has the scars to prove it. “Look, recession is bloody tough and you only realise how tough it is when you start to come out of it,” he says before using an analogy to give weight to his point. “I used to commute bi-weekly for years between Ireland and the UK, and before that between the US and the UK, and it’s only when you stop commuting that you realise how tired you were. Likewise, when you come out of a recession, it’s only when you stop you say ‘Jesus, that was tough’. That was really tough, every single day having to manage things so carefully, having to make decisions and trade-offs you don’t want to make.

That’s what a recession does to you.”

I think at first they were nervous and thinking ‘what are you going to do?’ But when they finally saw the schedule come to life they said, ‘wow, this is what we have been looking for’.”

New Schedule In late August, TV3 announced an ambitious 2014/2015 schedule.

Home-produced Irish content will account for over 50 per cent of its programming next year. This will include the production of a new soap called Red Rock, which will be the cornerstone of the schedule. Produced by Element and Company Pictures, the show will air in January 2015 and provide a major investment in the industry, employing between 100-130 people across the entire production. A number of new home-produced shows are also being added to the schedule such as Blind Date, Donal MacIntyre Investigates and The Lie among others.

These are programmes which McRedmond says advertisers are putting their faith in, but not after some initial apprehension when news broke of the

David McRedmond

The job here is not just to win a ratings battle next year, it is not to ensure that we’re here in five, ten or twenty years’ time, it is to build a major broadcast business and a hub for the industry.” departure of their popular British shows.

“I think at first they were nervous and thinking ‘what are you going to do?’

But when they finally saw the schedule come to life they said, ‘wow, this is what we have been looking for’.” McRedmond doesn’t pretend to know exactly what shows people want, he leaves that to the experts. In fact, he says that if he chose the schedule no one would watch TV3. However, he listened closely to advertisers when they demanded homegrown content. “It was the agencies who told me in 2007, ‘Look, we like TV3, it has a good audience, we like the team in there, but you have to do far more Irish programming. You need to do something that’s unique and relevant.’

So be careful what you ask for because that’s what we’re providing; unique and relevant programming.”

Another facet of TV3’s strategy to counter increased competition is its collaboration with Denis O’Brien’s Communicorp, aimed at developing a stronger proposition to advertisers.

Any deal between the pair will directly counter the use by UTV of collaboration with some of its radio interests here such as Q102 and FM104. McRedmond sees it as a natural fit for both parties but plays down the idea of it being any kind of formal partnership.

“We’ve always worked closely with Communicorp and had a sort of audience affinity with them,” he says.

“If you look at Today FM, the audience overlap is very close to TV3’s. If you look at Newstalk, increasingly TV3 is moving into that territory because we have become slightly more upmarket in areas of our programming. It’s not a formal arrangement or anything. It’s

just an arrangement to share where we can. If we can provide better value for advertisers through broader solutions, then all the better.”

A Brand That’s Built to Last Everything McRedmond talks about is in the long-term. That’s how he operates.

He believes TV3 is now reaping the rewards of a brand that has been built up over the past decade and beyond and which will help the broadcaster remain in a strong position. “TV3 is the brand which is seen as most representative of modern Ireland,” he says. “We know how strong we are. That doesn’t always get reflected in the commentariat. There is an establishment that gets its views back from 20 or 30 years ago when it was RTÉ, BBC and UTV. When you actually talk to people who are living in Ireland today, TV3 is the number one station that comes to mind.

“We always said that the strategy here – which is a bit of a cliché in business – is ‘built to last’. The job here is not just to win a ratings battle next year, it is not to ensure that we’re here in five, ten or 20 years’ time, it is to build a major broadcast business and a hub for the industry.”

After our interview and before I leave the Ballymount premises, we have a photoshoot to carry out. With photographer and artistic director shifting McRedmond from left to right in front of a white background – adjusting arm, neck, chin and more – he appears patient and at ease in a scenario where most others would feel uncomfortable.

Instead he has us laughing as he shares some Joan Rivers jokes on the same day we hear of her passing. It’s a bit like how he appears when asked about the job he is tasked with at TV3 in the near future; he’s comfortable and confident in a challenging environment.

“It’s so exciting,” he says. “I think we are in a position we haven’t been in before. We really are starting to see our strategy come to life. We don’t have to talk it anymore, we’ll walk it. We’re doing what we said we’d do.” If our second meeting is anything to go by, McRedmond may very well have the last laugh in the TV ratings battle.

Coming to a

TV3 Screen

Near You in 2015

Red Rock

Rugby World Cup

The Algorithm

Blind Date

Sitting On A Fortune

23 |

Entrepreneur

The

Rise of a Man

with a Passion for In the second of our entrepreneur series, Anna Murphy profiles Dr Pearse Lyons, an Irish-American innovator and businessman, who has been making an outstanding contribution to science and industry for over 30 years.

| 24

Yeast

F

ounder of Alltech, a global animal nutrition company, billionaire Dr Pearse Lyons was born in Dundalk in 1944. With a background in biochemistry and distilling, he has been referred to as an “entrepreneur, salesman, marketer and scientist all rolled into one”. His company – today a global leader in the animal health business valued at over $400 million – began life in 1980 focusing on both distilling and animal nutrition. An unlikely match one might think. So what is the connection? The answer,

simply, is yeast. As Dr Lyons said: “It is my passion. It is awakening greatness within me and those around me.”

Where did it all start?

Previous generations of the Lyons family worked as coopers, creating and supplying barrels to the distillery business. This influenced Dr Lyons’ areas of specialisation during his undergraduate and postgraduate years. He gained a first class degree in biochemistry at University College Dublin and then moved on to complete a Masters in Brewing Science and a PhD

in Biochemistry at the University of Birmingham. He worked for a period as an intern with both Guinness and Harp Lager, and spent some time working for Irish Distillers. This industry experience proved invaluable to him later in his career.

Drawing on his understanding of the distilling business and his background in both biochemistry and brewing science, Dr Lyons launched his Alltech business out of his garage in Kentucky in 1980, four years after emigrating to the US. He had $10,000 to establish the company. Initially, Alltech looked at supporting local brewing agents but by 1985, the nutrition side of the Alltech business had rapidly gained traction and became the main focus.

Essentially, Lyons introduced natural ingredients into animal feed, aiming to improve the health and performance of animals. It was this pioneering idea that changed the face of animal nutrition. Today, the company has its headquarters in Nicholasville, Kentucky and employs 3,500 people with offices in numerous locations across the globe. Alltech conducts business in 128 countries and has annual sales of $1 billion. This figure is growing as the company continues to invest and expand. Dr Lyons retains an interest in Ireland with the company’s European headquarters – a bioscience centre – based in Dunboyne, Co Meath.

Multiple Roles The unique driver in Lyons’ business has been the use of yeast in all of his products. This has allowed him to diversify into a range of sectors. As he said previously: “I see opportunities everywhere. That’s what it’s about.”

Most notably, Alltech leads in the field of animal nutrition (95 per cent of sales come from this side of the business) but Dr Lyons also manages his own line of beers and spirits; Kentucky Ale, Kentucky Kölsch and Townbranch Bourbon being some notable examples.

Another Alltech sideline business has emerged through algae production. This sits nicely with the company’s approach to nutrition research and development.

Apart from its usual business activities, the company is involved

in a number of events and projects, sponsoring the World Equestrian Games both in Kentucky and France.

It also provides strong support for the arts and sponsors various music festivals and vocal competitions. The company holds an annual Alltech Young Scientist Award as well as a new Alltech International Craft Brewing and Distilling Convention in Dublin. In terms of corporate responsibility, the Alltech ACE Involvement Foundation – a philanthropic side project established in 2010 – began work in Haiti following the catastrophic earthquake. The Foundation provides support to the local people as they focus on restoration and development of the island.

Family ties are clearly important to Dr Lyons, with family members bringing their own area of expertise to the company. His wife Deirdre acts as Director of Corporate Image.

His son Mark works as Director of North American Affairs. He also has a daughter, Aoife, who works for Alltech as a clinical psychologist.

Dr Pearse Lyons, founder of Alltech

The Diverse Portfolio of Dr Pearse Lyons

Animal Nutrition

Alltech and Ireland Closer to home and significant for the Irish economy, the Lyons family recently bought St. James’s Street Church in the Liberties in Dublin. In addition to converting the church into a distillery, they plan to build a visitor centre to rival the Guinness Hop Store, contributing to the regeneration of this historic area of the city. This will undoubtedly see Dr Lyons visit these shores more often in the future.

Dr Lyons himself has gained many accolades for his work to date. He has received the Ireland-US Council Award for Outstanding Achievement and was honoured by Irish America as one of the Business 100 to name but a few. Dr Lyons is also a prolific author. To date he has more than twenty books to his credit, along with producing articles for various scientific publications.

A dynamic, energetic character, Dr Lyons is now 70 years old and his ambition shows no signs of waning. He was recently quoted as saying: ‘Life is about doing things. This isn’t a job. It’s an adventure’. Let’s see where his next adventure takes him.

World Equestrian Games

Kentucky Ale

St. James’s St Church (soon to become a distillery)

25 |

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Discover how great you can be.

Visit accenture.com/irelandcareers

Feature

Empowering Officers of

Change The evolution of the CIO and technology within the financial services industry represents a great opportunity for companies working within that sector, as Regina Moran, CEO of Fujitsu Ireland explains.

L

ong described as the engine of the Irish economy, the Irish financial services industry sustains over 35,000 jobs and contributes â‚Ź2.1 billion to the Exchequer annually. While not immune to the wider economic issues that the country has experienced, it has continued to develop in line with broader industry trends. This development has been keenly felt in the area of technology, its day-today role and the evolution of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) as a decision maker within the industry.

In an ever-changing global business landscape, the role of technologies is fundamental to the operation and success of businesses. Key to sustaining this evolution and development is the role of the CIO. Traditionally a standalone function dedicated to

Regina Moran, CEO of Fujitsu Ireland

managing a company’s IT infrastructure, the role has evolved to underpin all business operations.

Fujitsu recently conducted research among leading Irish and UK CIOs and IT decision makers. A follow up to similar research conducted in 2012, it sought to determine the expectations, priorities and concerns of CIOs across the financial services industry.

The research yielded a number of interesting findings. Almost two thirds (63 per cent) of CIOs expect their budgets to increase over the next three years. This is due to a number of factors, such as improved market conditions, expansion and the replacement of outdated infrastructure.

The results also showed that security is the primary concern for CIOs and IT decision-makers. Security was identified by 67 per cent of respondents as the reason why they do not see cloud computing as an enabler for change within their organisation. An important issue for every business, security concerns are prevalent within the financial services industry due to the high value nature of the work undertaken.

Another area highlighted in the research concerned mobile solutions with 37 per cent again identifying security as a significant barrier to deploying a successful mobile offering.

However 60 per cent do believe that a mobile offering provides a better competitive position. It is clear most of those surveyed recognise the spread of mobile technology, the impact on consumer behaviour and possible opportunities. The survey results show that while financial services CIOs may be unsure how this will translate to their businesses, they will need to be flexible in their approach to integration and utilisation of technology going forward.

While looking at the opportunities around technology and the evolution of the financial services industry, the research also examined the role of the CIO. 37 per cent of the participants surveyed stated that they are the lead decision makers within their organisation, however just 10 per cent described themselves as a key influencer in IT solutions. This role has historically centred on core delivery and operations within a budget built on low risk, and the survey results show a possible lack of clarity concerning the role of the CIO due to the changes occurring within the financial services industry.

For CIOs and businesses that are fleet of foot, these changes represent an opportunity. At Fujitsu we are no strangers to change and for more than 40 years we have worked with financial services customers to increase profitability, realise operational efficiencies and build greater customer satisfaction. Recognising this evolution in the role of the CIO, Fujitsu is focused on enabling the secure and seamless integration of cloud and mobile services into the organisation’s IT framework. We are committed to empowering the CIO to lead the business transformation these technologies herald within financial services and across wider industry. As we move toward a more positive business environment we are looking forward to working with our financial services partners as they continue to evolve and drive growth.

27 |

Feature

Coming Up

Peaches

Katie Cantwell, owner and founder of the growing KC Peaches café chain and catering company is busy getting her ducks in a row following significant expansion last year.

She talks to Business Ireland about the advantages and disadvantages of doing business in Dublin.

| 28

2

013 was a big year for Katie Cantwell and the team at KC Peaches. They opened their third outlet in Dame Street in August last year, the fourth in Baggot Street last December and also extended their warehouse kitchen at the original Pearse Street location. The ‘eat well, live well’ chain has grown its locations, its reputation and a loyal customer base, but it hasn’t always been so peachy.

Cantwell had always loved food but never knew how she could turn that passion into a career. It was when she was working long hours as a consultant with Accenture that she spotted a gap in Dublin’s food offering: “Where I was working and living in the Docklands area, there wasn’t a lot of fresh, fast products available,” she says. “I was working crazy hours and it seemed really difficult to get a good, fresh, nutrient-rich meals.” And so the seed for KC Peaches began to take root.

Cantwell’s background in business served her well as she drew up a business plan, approached potential investors and established the first café. “I think coming from a business background, at Gap Corporate, where I worked in the training department, gave me insight into scalability and how to focus staff on our systems and customer service. With Accenture what I was doing was setting up an office for a start-up company within Accenture; we had to get the office running, hire all of the staff and train them.

Those experiences and the financial planning experience, like understanding cashflows and understanding balance sheets, were really important.”

Was business know-how and a passion for food the recipe for an overnight success? “Goodness no! The first two years were pretty hard, we really struggled,” admits Cantwell. Location

Feature

was originally an issue. The premises at Pearse Street was initially too large for a café and surrounds were in a state of evolution, with plenty of vacant buildings the café’s neighbours. The food concept was also very labour intensive, everything at KC Peaches is made in-house, and not cost effective at the outset.

“It took two years to think this might actually work and then another two years to think we’re actually doing okay,” recalls Cantwell. “But having those two years when we were doing really poorly forces you to focus and set very clear parameters and criteria for yourself. It forced me to focus on the cost drivers within the business and to implement structures which would move things forward.”

Things did move forward. In 2011 the second KC Peaches café and Wine Cave opened on Nassau Street. 2013 saw another two cafés opened and the original outlet extended, facilitating the expansion of the catering business. “I think we were lucky when we got our lease arrangements. Even now a year later things are a lot more expensive,” she says.

“Because we grew so quickly in the last year we’re kind of going back now and retrofitting some of the processes.

This year for KC Peaches is about getting all our ducks in a row, getting all our processes and procedures in place and then figuring out if we want to open more shops in Dublin, if we want to look to Belfast or further afield. All of those options are on the table right now.”

Work aside, the Seattle native gushes when telling us she has just become an Irish citizen. “I’m so excited. They give

We asked Katie Cantwell what three things she would bring up if she were to have a discussion with the Government Employee Taxes

you this cute pin and I was wearing it for a month. I’ve lived here for almost nine years and it’s been an amazing time. Dublin is a fantastic city, the quality of life is second to none,” she says. “But it is hard when your family is so far away. There are no direct flights to the North West. If I could have one wish answered, it would be to have a direct flight to Seattle.”

Katie Cantwell was in conversation with Valerie Jordan.

Did you know?

Dublin Chamber continues to campaign hard, for you, on these and other issues. What issues are impacting on your business?

Contact: orlaith@dublinchamber.ie

“The PAYE and PRSI levels are very high. It forces you to really monitor how much you’re rewarding employees. For me, we have great people, I would love to give them pay increases but every time you have to weigh up how much that’s going to cost you. There are so many costs behind every euro. You’re limiting the amount of staff you’re bringing on, you’re limiting the amount of hours you can give them and I have to limit the pay increases. It’s very frustrating.”

VAT

“The Government needs to keep the VAT rate for tourism services at nine per cent. Coming from a different culture I wouldn’t have understood VAT. I would have assumed prices were expensive but that all of it was going to the proprietor, which, of course, it’s not. I think it needs to be more transparent for tourists.”

Water Charges

It’s expected that the price of water for businesses is to rise and Cantwell says this would affect KC Peaches’ operating costs. “It would definitely be an issue for us. We make everything in house and have to use a lot of water. It would have a major impact on our business; it would be distressing.”

29 |

Feature

There’s an

APP

For That Business Ireland looks at ten personal finance apps which will help you save money and manage your expenses.

EasyMoney EasyMoney is a polished budgeting and personal finance app which boasts loads of features and the ability to closely and carefully monitor your own personal transactions. The app is easy enough to use and has a sleek user interface.

It’s a good place to start better managing your finances. Available for iPhone and Android.

Toshl Finance Toshl tracks your expenses on the go and proves particularly useful for travellers as it works with any currency and lets you separate your travel budget from everyday spending.

It has additional features such as bill reminders and you can set up repeat expenses, among other tools. Available for iPhone, Android and Windows Phone.

SplitWise People who hate the idea of splitting bills will welcome this handy app. Whether it’s in the restaurant, between flatmates or even a round of drinks, this neatly records what each person owes and when payments are due.

Available for Android users.

Expensify This is a very easyto-use, well laid-out app which enables users to log bills, credits, receipts, mileage and other common expenses, the kind of chores that build up to become one major laborious task. It gives you extra functionality, such as being able to import expenses from credit card or bank accounts. Available for iPhone and Android.

XE Currency Converter Convert 180+ currencies on your Android device with the world’s most downloaded foreign exchange app, XE Currency. It features up-to-the-minute exchange rates, historical charts, and even stores the last updated rates, so it works offline. Available for iPhone, Android and Windows Phone.

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Karl’s Calculator For those wanting to keep a close eye on their mortgage repayments rather than wait on irregular updates from their bank, Karl’s Calculator App shows you clearly what happens to your principal sum and interest over the term. Available for Android users.

Banking Apps The three main Irish banks – AIB, Ulster Bank and Bank of Ireland – have apps that generally allow you to pay bills and check your accounts. Available on iPhone and Android.

Vouchercloud Vouchercloud uses GPS technology to help you find deals and discounts nearby. Users select the offer they want and the voucher is downloaded straight to your phone. This app also works in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Malta.

Available for iPhone, Android and Windows Phone.

Savings Goals Whether you’re saving for a house deposit, a holiday or just looking to put some money aside, this app will prove helpful. Users enter a target amount and a target date and the app suggests a schedule and tracks your progress.

Available on iPhone.

Onavo Count It can be difficult to keep track of how much data we use each month and mobile phone companies don’t always advise us on switching to a more suitable plan, which can lead to unexpected charges. Onavo, which was acquired by Facebook last year, is a compression app that minimises how much data your phone uses when not connected to Wi-Fi. Available on iPhone and Android.

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In The Green

Zone

Dean Van Nguyen speaks to Payzone Managing Director Jim Deignan about the company’s sizeable list of services and the importance of staying at the forefront of technology.

Jim Deignan, Managing Director, Payzone

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P

erhaps the most radical shift in the history of currency – since the introduction of coins and notes – has been the digitalisation of money. Between card transactions, online banking and credit transfer services among the options now available, trips to the bank are becoming less of a necessity. With this rapid change in full swing, physical cash may soon be a thing of the past, with coins and notes only holding value for avid collectors.

As mobile phone and internet technology continue to develop, there is a demand for effective infrastructure to assist consumers in their day-today transactions. At the frontline of these advances is Payzone. Whether it’s through its contactless card payment outlets, parking tags and M50 tolling systems, or the Leap Card operating on bus and rail services, many Dubliners will interact with a Payzone terminal in some form during a normal day. Indeed, the firm currently processes over 55 million transactions a year, offering clients secure payment options across a broad range of services.

Leading Payzone’s operations is managing director Jim Deignan.

Having joined the company in 2002 after leaving his previous role at ITG Payphones, the Trinity College graduate has seen the business change significantly over the past decade.

“Payzone is constantly evolving,”

says Deignan. “We operate in a changing market where consumers are increasingly looking for easier, more convenient ways to transact. To create strong consumer offerings, we are making decisions that will continue to push the boundaries of technology across multiple sectors. We need to operate in a multi-channel environment providing solutions to meet everchanging consumer demands across multiple platforms including retail, online and mobile.”

Investing in Technology Pushing the boundaries of technology is one thing, but with significant advancements happening all the time, Payzone spends much of its efforts ensuring the company doesn’t get left behind.

“We continue to invest in technology to enhance the services we offer,” says Deignan. “Consumer demands are evolving at a significant pace with a surge towards online and mobile payments. Payzone is at the forefront of these developments, focusing on providing consumers with a range of simple and secure multi-channel payment options to make their lives easier by taking the hassle out of payments.”

Much of Payzone’s most recent work has been focused on the roll out of contactless card payment terminals, a system that allows users to pay for transactions up to €15 without the

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Consumer demands are evolving at a significant pace with a surge towards online and mobile payments.

Payzone is at the forefront of these developments.” need of entering their pin, therefore reducing transaction time. Having been initially introduced via Payzone terminals in Insomnia Coffee Company outlets, all the company’s installations now include the option to accept contactless payments.

“In the context of the overall payments market, the volume of contactless transactions has been relatively low due to slow consumer adoption,” says Deignan. “However, we have recently noticed a definite increase in contactless transactions within certain sectors such as cafés, hospitality and convenience. We expect that this will continue to grow and that, in time, the market will evolve so that contactless payments will eventually become the norm for small value transactions.”

launched with a number of private operators including Swords Express, Collins Coaches and Matthews Coaches.

A Leap Visitor pass for tourists, covering 72 hours unlimited travel across the city, has also been introduced.

While ever growing in popularity, one of the criticisms levelled at the Leap system is the requirement of users to visit one of the participating 400 stores in Dublin in order to top up their card, even if the payment has already been made online. According to Deignan, however, work is being done to remove the middle man. “The National Transport Agency are investing in the development of a mobile app to include online payments for directly topping up Leap Cards via Payzone technology,” he asserts.

Making the Leap

Into the Future

The company’s most high profile endeavour in recent years has been the introduction of the Leap Card, which has largely replaced temporary travel cards across Dublin Bus, Irish Rail and Luas services in the Greater Dublin Area. The scheme has been aggressively pushed in an effort to cut down on the amount of tender being taken in by public transport and customers have been given an incentive to acquire a leap card as fares for users are significantly cheaper than those who pay using traditional means.

Since its inception, Leap has moved from being a pay-as-you-go travel ticket to incorporate all Dublin Bus Rambler tickets, consequently reducing the amount of cash used on buses and eliminating paper tickets. It has

Moving forward, Payzone have recently launched a number of new programmes and there are various others in the pipeline. A mobile app to complement the existing Dublin-wide pay-by-phone Parking Tag solution has been introduced to serve the 60,000 motorists that use the facility, while the company has also partnered with Parcel Connect to offer a service where consumers can collect and return parcels from their local convenience store.

Additionally, Deignan has also seen significant growth within the prepaid electricity market which now has over 150,000 registered households. “These customers are going to their local Payzone store every week to add value to their electricity accounts in a similar

way to topping up their mobile phone,” he says. “The service is fast becoming a lifestyle choice by putting consumers back in control of their money.”

Many of the initiatives may soon become the status quo, depending on whether or not consumers accept them as positive change. This will be based on the concept being solid, of course, but just as important will be whether or not the systems can be introduced in a seamless manner. That is Payzone’s challenge, but one that Deignan is confident the company can deliver on.

“Payzone technology helps to provide a bridge between the physical and virtual worlds and we will continue to deliver a range of exciting innovations to make consumers’ lives easier.”

Parking Tag ​ e’ve all been there.

W You’ve just parked your car but you’ve no coins to feed the p ​ arking meter.

Parking Tag is the simple solution to avoid this predicament. Available on iPhone and Android, Payzone’s innovative app let’s you pay for parking via the tap of a few buttons. Simply sync your credit or debit card to your account and you can park in Dublin City, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, South Dublin County Council, and a host of other places too.

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Feature

Wine W -commerce

in the Time of

Will Mullin, Director of WineOnline.ie, participated in Activating Dublin last year.

He tells Business Ireland’s Valerie Jordan about the benefit of the programme, how it’s impacted on his sales revenue and why he’s an advocate of getting Irish businesses online. | 34

ineOnline.ie was established in 1999, a time when the internet was fairly new and the concept of shopping online in its infancy. The business was founded

by Anne Mullin and Gerry Fitzsimons who spotted a niche for selling fine wines online to the gift market; the first company in Ireland to sell wine over the internet. Mullin’s son Will joined the company in 2012 recognising that more people were buying online and the opportunity to further build the business.

That opportunity came through participation in Dublin Chamber’s Activating Dublin - Online programme last year. The programme partnered with Google, Facebook, eBay and PayPal to help Irish businesses get online. While WineOnline had previously enjoyed steady business and had grown a loyal customer base, since benefitting from the programme sales are up 40 per cent and domestic sales have increased substantially.

Mullin’s first step was to rebuild the website, simplifying the e-commerce platform and the end-to-end process for customers. But getting the right advice proved a challenge.

“One of the main barriers to getting online for companies is who to go to.

A quote to build a website could be anywhere from a5,000 to a30,000. A year ago I was that person looking for a quote and pricing varied dramatically – people like me don’t know the difference between a a5,000 and a30,000 website. We need people to advise us from a technology point of view what’s the best for our business.”

Mullin appointed an independent technological adviser to assist. With this help he identified that he could commission a web builder but would still need to provide significant information such as copy, imagery and product information himself.

“In the end the solution for us was to build the website ourselves,” tells Mullin. “I do not have a technology background but I learnt quickly that we could apply our copy to a simple platform, and our platform is so simple.

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“Since we’ve relaunched the website we’ve maintained the same turnover in the gift business but we’ve seen a huge leap in our Irish customer base, largely because our new website is a much easier place to shop, a friendlier e-commerce platform and the navigation is quicker,” says Mullin.

Traditionally WineOnline’s customers were 60 per cent overseas, 40 per cent based in Ireland. While business transacted overseas has stayed constant the growth in Irish sales means Ireland now accounts for 60 per cent of sales.

Since the relaunch WineOnline has also grown employment from two to four, anticipating to be at six employees in the next few months and broadened the ‘buying season’, reducing their dependency on Christmas sales.

Having gained this web experience Mullin has recently been commissioned to build a website and fulfilment business for a wine company in Australia, TheCellarRoom.com, a project which he’s clearly very excited about: “All the jobs created will be based in Dublin. While traditionally we’re a wine company we will have an IT company based here within WineOnline fulfilling, supporting, marketing and doing online optimisation and conversions for a company based in Australia. That’s really exciting for us.”

Mullin is now a huge proponent of any initiative or effort that will help get Irish businesses active online. “Irish people spend a4 billion online per year – a3 billion of that is in the UK. We have to get online,” he stresses. “There are many outside the box solutions now which is partially why I’m an advocate of getting Irish companies online. It’s scary but it’s not actually that hard.”

“60 per cent of businesses in Ireland are not online. We’ve got to fix that,” says Mullin. He believes that Local Enterprise Offices need to have impartial advisors with online experience available to help companies build an online presence. “The next step is to bring in technology advisers for the Local Enterprise Board and Enterprise Ireland as well as business advisers – that would save an awful lot of time and worry. Businesses need impartial advice; someone to tell them

e-commerce

in numbers

Mullin has recently been commissioned to build a website and fulfilment business for a wine company in australia, thecellarroom.com, a project which he’s clearly very excited about.” what’s best for their company rather than selling them the solution they’re capable of delivering.

“I meet so many companies now and we all hit the same barriers. There’s no point in us all hitting these barriers one after another. SMEs need to learn from the mistakes others have made. We’re all going through the same things trying to grow our businesses, keep them afloat, maintaining a high-street presence, then going home to create a web presence.

We need to help each other,” says Mullin, who’s happy to advise any company trying to get themselves online. “There is a huge opportunity here for Irish businesses and I’m happy to share my own experience with anyone who wants to improve their online presence.” www.wineonline.ie Email: Will@wineonline.ie Phone: (01) 8867740 Twitter: @Wineonlineie

90%

of Irish adults have shopped online

�

€5.9 billion: The figure Irish people will spend online this year

60%

of online spend leaves the country

Activating Dublin | Online: Dublin Chamber and Dublin City Council partnered with Google, Facebook, eBay and PayPal to help Irish businesses get online and develop a more effective online trading presence. The aim of the initiative was to increase the number of Irish businesses trading online, growing the economy, creating jobs and increasing the share of Irish online purchases. 20 companies participated in the four month pilot, learning about practical e-commerce and marketing solutions to grow their business and create employment.

€12.7 billion: the figure Irish people will spend online by 2020 *Figures from Amárach research for UPC

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Feature

Recruitment Without

Borders Colin Maxwell from the Belfast Telegraph speaks to Business Ireland about the newspaper’s recruitment platforms and why Dublin-based companies should be tapping into the North’s rich pool of talent.

T

he Northern Ireland wing of Dublin-based media giant Independent News and Media, the Belfast Telegraph and its sister publication, Sunday Life, are publishers of nijobfinder, the long established recruitment platform for both companies and jobseekers across the North. Boasting a total readership of 324,000, their specialist nijobfinder supplements list hundreds of positions every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, connecting those seeking to hire and be hired with a huge audience.

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Every job listing included in the print editions of the newspapers is also posted on the Belfast Telegraph’s specialist recruitment website, nijobfinder.co.uk – Northern Ireland’s biggest jobs listing with 4,000 jobs posted online at any given time. The site caters for people with a wide variety of skill sets, seeking work across a range of sectors.

The Belfast Telegraph recently became a member of the Dublin Chamber. The move has been made to strengthen the newspaper’s ties with the Republic, with one of their chief

objectives being to highlight Northern Ireland as a potential recruitment area and increase interaction with nijobfinder.co.uk across the entire island. The company believes improved road networks and transport systems – such as cross-border train service Enterprise – have eased the commute, meaning more people living in Northern Ireland now view Dublin as a realistic place to seek employment.

“One of the reasons we wanted to join the Chamber of Commerce is to establish our brand in Dublin and throughout the Republic of Ireland,”

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Why employers should look to Belfast as a potential recruitment area

The Belfast to Dublin commute takes two hours by car and rail with future plans to improve rail travel time to 90mins. here are 135,000 T people in Northern Ireland working at director and senior management level. 44 per cent engage with the Belfast Telegraph every week via its print and online services.

The Belfast Telegraph’s nijobfinder advertising team Theresa Allingham, Jordan McCluskey, Colin Maxwell and John Devine

says Telegraph Advertising Sales Manager Colin Maxwell. “We want to get the message across that over a quarter of the population in Ireland live in Northern Ireland and it’s an important area to recruit from. So even if you’re a Dublin business, it’s worth looking at Northern Ireland and considering the population here as a rich pool of talent.”

Maxwell believes companies in Dublin are missing out on a huge potential talent pool by not casting their employment net to the North.

“We’ve 135,000 people in Northern Ireland who are working at director or senior management level. 44 per cent of these engage with the Belfast Telegraph every week through print and online. We’re more likely than the average publication to have a reader who is educated to a doctorate or degree level. So you’ve got high calibre people reading the publication and those are the type of people who would attract a good salary in Dublin and would be prepared to commute or potentially move there.”

Technology Like most media outlets, the Belfast Telegraph has invested heavily in migrating its services online in recent years. This focus has also included bringing its long-standing job listing service to the digital realm. As well as the specialist website, an iPhone app is

also available to help those seeking new work opportunities to browse potential positions on the move.

“We’re the only publication in Northern Ireland that can offer a real multimedia offering for recruiters,” asserts Maxwell. “Recent statistics have shown that nearly 50 per cent of people who are looking at the site are viewing it via tablet or mobile. We currently have an iphone app and are developing an ipad version too. We do recognise that mobile is becoming more and more important and people are looking for jobs in different ways than they did a year ago. So I think you’ll find more employers taking advantage of mobile technology as we move forward.”

Improving Services Continuing to improve the service all the time, The Belfast Telegraph are committed to maximising the functionality of their digital products.

“We’ve a team here who are very focused on coming up with the best digital products they possibly can,” says Maxwell. “The upgraded nijobfinder app will have improved functionality making it a lot easier to use, which will increase our number of users.”

And while that’s a very good thing for their readers, it may also prove fruitful for the Dublin business community.

“Job opportunities in Dublin are now a realistic and attractive option for nijobfinder readers,” Maxwell affirms.

eople educated to a P doctorate or degree level are 37 per cent more likely than the average population to engage with the Belfast Telegraph every week through print and online.

Source: nijobfinder market statistics

exclusive

Offer

An exclusive offer for Dublin Chamber of Commerce members!

The Belfast Telegraph is offering a 50 per cent discount off recruitment advertising in an exclusive deal for Dublin Chamber of Commerce members until the end of the year. For more information contact Colin Maxwell at c.maxwell@ belfasttelegraph.co.uk or 44 (0) 28 9026 4338.

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Feature

Networking can be a daunting affair for those not used to it but it offers the chance to recognise, create or act upon business opportunities.

Business and Executive Coach Tom Armstrong outlines his top ten tips on how to work a big room at a networking event.

Notes for a

Networking Nation

2.

Shift your mindset into giving and being generous… you’ll feel good. If you succeed you will have put your relationship on a sustainable foundation.

7.

Share your Passion

8.

Never underestimate intuition. We can all spot the phonies and the survey shows we value genuine human contact. So be real!

Have a plan and know in advance who you want to meet

5.

It’s not surprising that the emotional intelligence qualities came out on top but it’s also important to know who you want to talk to and why. So have a plan.

Connect with people beyond your industry

Broadening your network helps combat insularity and silo thinking.

No one is ‘all things to all people’.

When you know ‘it’s not you’, help people and introduce them to a potentially valuable relationship – it will be appreciated.

Introduce people to one another – be a conduit

9.

Put away your technology

Getting to the basics now! But just talk to someone who has one eye on the smartphone and you’ll get the picture.

b re a t h

nts • J

This gives people a sense of who you are and lets them into your world.

Don’t sell build the relationship

3.

Be Genuine

Br e! • ing

Don’t expect anything – reach out & be curious

What a relief! Getting a hard sell from someone you’ve only just met is a real turn off.

t in cas

Most people really value being heard and this tip, coming out top of the pile, shows that we are very aware of this.

mi

Tom Armstrong is a Business and Executive Coach. Contact Tom at tom@armstongexecutivecoaching.ie or visit www.armstrongexecutivecoaching.ie

1.

Listen actively and attentively

us

T

he Dublin Chamber has plenty of events which offer a great opportunity for members to network.

But what does networking really mean and what’s the best way to network?

There are many definitions of networking but one of my favourites describes it as “the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business” as defined by Merriam Webster.

Depending on your disposition, networking opportunities can trigger varying emotions from anxiety to excitement. However you feel about it, most people agree that networking events create opportunities to establish valuable contacts. It’s face-to-face and it works.

Recently I carried out research by asking a group of 15 people in business to rate ten tips for working a big room. I selected business people who would not be considered experts in networking. Here are the results in order of importance. It appears that business people in Dublin are emotionally intelligent, organised, considerate and well mannered. If this doesn’t sound like you, then follow the ten tips. I think you’ll find them helpful for life as well as at networking events.

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TRANSDEV OPERATOR OF LUAS You think transport.

We respond mobility.

You want to go further.

We propose intermodal connectivity.

You said “well done”.

We want to do better.

You wonder how.

We answer “on your side”.

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Changing Sales

Attitudes

A

ttempting to change behaviour without changing underlying attitudes and beliefs is likely to result in failure.

This is a key challenge for any B2B sales team manager/coach as well as any sales training or sales performance improvement initiative. The things that we need to start - or stop - doing are often silently over-ruled by a preexisting commitment, or set of beliefs and assumptions.

A lot is being written about the role of coaching to unlock sales performance.

Will the promised benefits materialise?

We believe so, but only if organisations and their coaches take account of what famous authors Kegan and Laskow-Lahey refer to as two different types of change challenges: technical and adaptive change.

Change isn’t easy, but change in sales behaviours and coaching go hand in hand. Together they present a challenge, but also an opportunity for sales leaders determined to maximise sales performance and talent development initiatives.

Providing people with additional information, new skills or even new tools is often not enough to change behaviour. That is because the key gap is often not a technical gap, but rather an adaptive one. Adaptive challenges require more than a new skill set.

For any change (sales strategy, structure, systems, process and skills) to manifest itself requires that the organisation, team or individual do more of certain things and less of others. They may even need to stop doing certain things.

The Internal Tug-of-War Have you ever noticed members of your team systematically working against the very goal that they want to achieve? There is often a tug of war between the old and new, as people wrestle with change. Team coaching and one-to-one coaching plays a key role in facilitating change.

Focus your change effort on a ‘one big thing’ principle that the group overall, or each key person in your sales team, needs to change. That involves asking questions, such as: • What is the single thing that you think is most important for you, or your team to get better at?

• What single change if made would have the greatest potential impact on your personal success?

• What single change if made would allow you to maximise the chances of achieving target?

• What single obstacle if removed would clear the way for you to make most progress?

Does your sales team have an immunity to selling?

Addressing this issue will require you to change underlying attitudes and beliefs, according to ASG Group Director John O’Gorman and Colm Murphy, Founder of Dynamic Leadership Development.

Aligning Buying and Selling – An Example The managers of a sales team wanted to move from an individual selling approach to a more collaborative approach in order to give the customer a more joined up solution. Budget and time was spent training the team but six months later the reps were still selling the same old way.

Taking an adaptive approach, we helped the team to voice the one big fear that no amount of training can address. The team feared getting punished by senior leadership when they collaborated because it would be seen as getting in the way of their individual targets. Having recognised this, the management team were able to engage senior leaders to ensure communication, targets and rewards focused on collaboration and that senior leaders actively looked for opportunities to praise collaboration and drive deeper sales team engagement with their customers.

We estimate the team increased their deal confidence rates by 33 per cent.

The ASG Group and Dynamic Leadership Development work with B2B sales teams, sales managers, account managers and professionals that sell across the world to accelerate deal outcomes and behaviours.

The authors recommend sales managers and coaches read Kegan and Lahey’s ‘Immunity to Change’. www.theasggroup.com / www.dynamicleadership.ie.

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Leaf Award

The Government will unveil Budget 2015 on 14th October.

Here we outline some of the main points of Dublin Chamber’s pre-Budget submission.

F

ollowing more than eight months of consultation with members, Dublin Chamber submitted its pre-Budget submission in early July.

As the country continues on the road from survival to recovery, the Chamber’s submission has called for a Budget that will ensure the business environment is ripe to capitalise on the current and future growth opportunities that are emerging.

Creating such an environment requires changes and improvements across the board and, in the Chamber submission, a number of recommendations were put forward which would create the highest growth impact per Exchequer euro cost.

Access to finance for SMEs: • Unlock €7.5 billion in SME financing by allowing early access to the tax-free component of Defined Contribution pensions for the purposes of investing or scaling a business.

• Improve direct financing options (e.g. peer-to-peer, crowdfunding) for SMEs through changes to the personal tax

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code to allow individuals to earn taxfree interest from personal loans to SMEs, similar to the UK’s Individual Savings Account.

• Modernise the rules around Capital Gains Tax to encourage investment by entrepreneurs.

Ireland’s competitiveness: • Improve international messaging of Ireland’s uncompetitive headline rate of higher marginal tax by introducing an optional flat rate of tax equal to current effective rate.

• Address shortage of office space in Dublin through a range of carrot (e.g. waiving development charges for a two year period) and stick (e.g. introducing a levy to prevent ‘mothballing’ of land) measures. Encourage NAMA to release sites in its portfolio.

• Open up the public procurement process by right-sizing tenders and unbundling them, reducing turnover and insurance restrictions, and with the overall aim of reducing the costs and the administration burden on SMEs that tender.

IT and communication company, Leaf, was recently awarded ‘Microsoft’s Partner of the Year for Small Medium Business 2014 in Ireland’ at the Microsoft World Partner Conference in Washington DC. Leaf retain their title having been awarded the title in 2013 as well as winning Microsoft Cloud Partner of the Year in 2012. The company has recently completed a recent round of recruitment to bolster the numbers and help support operations in their Belfast and, newly opened, Dublin offices to meet the surge in demand for Office 365 and Cloud solutions from Irish businesses.

Start-up Increase Company startups rose 11 per cent (1,520) in July 2014 when compared to the same month last year (1,370), according to the latest figures from credit and business risk analyst, Vision-net. ie. The company said this was the highest number of company start-ups for the month of July since pre-recession 2007 and equates to almost 49 new companies each day. The professional services sector was the most popular industry for start-ups in July, accounting for 22 per cent of new companies, followed by wholesale and retail (10 per cent) and construction (9 per cent). Dublin was the home to 51 per cent of company start-ups in July, followed by Cork (8 per cent) and Limerick (4 per cent).

She’s Electric Sales remain slow, but if you believe the hype then we’ll all be driving electric cars in the future. After test driving one for a week, Dublin Chamber CEO Gina Quin rates the experience.

Q: What car did you drive?

A: A white Nissan Leaf courtesy of Merrion Fleet Management.

Q: How did it compare to your own car?

A: My own car is a manual diesel, whereas the electric car is the equivalent to an automatic with just a brake and an accelerator. That took some getting used to.

Q: What’s it like to drive?

A: The biggest difference is the amount of feedback you get from the dash in terms of fuel consumption. The more you accelerate, the more the rainbow graphic on the dash lights up. When you hit the brakes, a green eco symbol flashes up to show that that the car is recharging. There’s an eco setting which reduces acceleration. You don’t take off as quick in eco mode, but your fuel consumption improves dramatically and it’s perfectly adequate for city driving, or when you are low on fuel.

Q: How does the car ‘feel’ to drive?

A: Overall, I liked the driving feel and the car had great manoeuvrability and

Gina Quin, CEO, Dublin Chamber and Aadil Tandon, Sales Manager, Merrion Fleet

on board due to the extra weight. I consciously drove more slowly to conserve energy.

visibility. There is a bit more to get used to; the starting mechanism and charging.

There are a number of charging systems, it will be easier as things become standardised.

Q: How did your friends/ colleagues react?

A: The car certainly provides a talking point. I’ve never been asked so many questions about a car! It was like having a cute little puppy and everyone wanted to ask me questions about it and have a look inside.

minutes. A full charge will get you around 90km, so for longer journeys you really need to plan ahead in terms of recharging breaks.

Q: Was charging the car complicated?

A: My charging experience was mixed. I charged at home with domestic supply and three hours charging gave very little boost to the power level. On-street charging was much more efficient and took around 30

Q: Did you worry about running out of fuel?

A: Not especially, but you definitely think more about your driving habits. Using the radio and air conditioning drains the battery more quickly, and you also notice fuel consumption increasing when you have passengers

Q: Would you buy an electric car?

A: I definitely would and I really do miss it! The more regular your life is, the better an electric car would suit. It would be a fantastic option if you have a 10-20km daily commute. My job involves longer distance travelling at times, so perhaps not now.

But in the future definitely!

Located in Sandyford, Merrion Fleet Management is Ireland’s largest independent fleet management company, managing in excess of 5,200 vehicles. For more information: www. merrionfleet.ie.

For an electric car alternative see BUSINESS IRELAND’s review of BMWi3 on page 78.

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chambernews Cuckoo Gong Mark Breen, Managing Director of Cuckoo Events, was named ‘Safety Officer of the Year’ at the Event Industry Awards, held recently in the Doubletree by Hilton. With Martin Cullen of Cuckoo also a finalist in the same category and with other team members being finalists across multiple categories, great recognition was given to Cuckoo and what they do, despite being less than two years in business. Breen has worked in Event Safety at everything from the London Olympics to annual Patrick’s Day parades, from Limerick City of Culture events to Fire Parades and from national charity events to large fireworks displays.

Mark Breen, Managing Director of Cuckoo Events

Mike Adamson, CEO of Live Nation Ireland, Elaine Carey, CCO, Three Ireland and Robert Finnegan, CEO, Three Ireland at the launch of 3Arena.

New Name for Arena After much speculation, Three has announced that the new name for Ireland’s most exciting entertainment venue is 3Arena. The Live Nationowned 13,500 capacity venue plays a significant role in the Irish entertainment industry, with over 100 gigs per year being hosted. Some of the biggest acts in the world are set to take to the stage of the refurbished venue in the coming months, including Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga, Ennio Morricone, Imelda May, The Who and Peter Gabriel.

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Swords Defibrillated

Start-up Incubator

DX2 Training Solutions has provided two new life-saving defibrillators to the town of Swords. As part of the ‘Get a defibrillator for Swords main street’ campaign, the company has also donated several Cardiac First Responder training courses to local participants, to ensure that local trained responders have the skills and knowledge to use the new defibrillators. The defibrillators have been placed at Cabs2000 and at Swords Garda Station, both located on Main Street.

Goldenpages.ie publisher FCR Media has set up a start-up incubator at its Dublin offices aimed at supporting up-and-coming tech start-ups to grow their businesses over six months. FCR Media Ireland is part of the FCR Media Group which is present in 12 countries throughout Europe and is a leader in local search and advertising. The incubator is open for applications and has already found a home for promising start-ups PopDeem, Spruced.ie, Open WiFi and Holvi.

Flights to Leeds Aer Lingus Regional will launch a new Dublin-Leeds Bradford service from 23 October. The route will offer daily return services, and Aer Lingus Regional said it hoped to carry 70,000 passengers a year on the route. The service is aimed mainly at business travellers and UK passengers seeking to connect with Aer Lingus mainline transatlantic services through Dublin, as well as long suffering Leeds United fans in Ireland.

Member Offers 25% Off

UPC Campaign UPC has launched its biggest ever new season kick-off with a €2 million marketing campaign highlighting the choice on offer via its revolutionary Horizon TV service. The extensive campaign includes heavyweight TV and radio media advertising across the main national channels with 45 per cent of the budget targeting broadcast and the remainder focused on print, digital media and outdoor. The broadcast campaign features the catchy single ‘Plage’

by Crystal Fighters.

Iarnrod Eireann is offering Chamber members a 25 per cent discount on business tickets. For more information or to order a book of business tickets email: gary.dunphy@irishrail.ie

Half Price

Chandler Macleod Dublin’s JuliaRoss has carried out a full re-brand which has seen the company take on a new name - Chandler Macleod - and a new look, reflective of their international ownership. The JuliaRoss business in Ireland and UK has been part of Australian human resource services giant Chandler Macleod Group since 2011.

The Little Museum on St Stephen’s Green is offering half price entry to Chamber members (€3.50 per adult/€7 family). Simply quote “Dublin Chamber” to avail of this special offer.

Free Review Software Partners

Guinness Unveil New Brews Guinness has announced the release of two brand new beers; Guinness Dublin Porter and Guinness West Indies Porter. Inspired by authentic recipes, whose origins lie in the historic Guinness brewers’ diaries from the late 1700s and early 1800s, the new beers will be available in selected pubs and retailers from 1st October around Ireland. Head of Innovation for Guinness, Nick Curtis-Davis said: “As beer lovers’ tastes and the beer landscape itself evolves, it is important we continue to stay at the forefront of beer innovation.”

VisionID is actively seeking new software partners. The firm’s software partner program is aimed at companies that develop, market and sell software applications based on technology or industry-specific expertise which are a value add for the client. Interested firms should contact Cathal Murtagh at cmurtagh@visionid.ie.

DX2 Training Solutions is offering a free Health & Safety review to Chamber members, including: a consultation with a DX2 health & safety advisor, a free documentation review, a free review report, and a follow up consultation/Q&A session.

Special

offer

Snap Dame Street is offering members 500 letterheads, 500 compliment slips, 500 branded envelopes and 1,000 business cards for €295. Contact dame@snap.ie

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Member Profiles My Dublin Chamber ‘My Dublin Chamber’ is a new initiative which aims to help members to connect and grow their business. Central to My Dublin Chamber is a new section on the Dublin Chamber website dedicated to you, our members, which includes exclusive member-to-member deals, the latest news from member companies and details about upcoming member events. All members can be profiled in the My Dublin Chamber portal. Profiling opportunities are also available in this magazine, as well as our monthly eZine and via our Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn feeds. Getting featured will ensure that your message is received by more than 10,000 of your business peers. To get listed on My Dublin Chamber or to avail of our other profiling opportunities, please email paul@dublinchamber.ie.

Ashley Ford www.ashleyford.ie T: 1850 305 205

AAL Accountable Advisors www.aal.ie T: 052 613 7775 AAL offers business management and financial advice to a wide spectrum of businesses from blue-chip companies to SMEs and the public sector. Regardless of size, sector or turnover, every business needs a periodical health-check to ensure optimum efficiency and profitability.

With over 20 years’ experience our team analyse structure design, risk management, information systems, process flow, business model alignment and management reporting to establish inefficiencies whilst offering solutions that will work for your bottom line. Our professional team of accountants and business management specialists are passionate, straight-talking and personable.

To guarantee a healthier balance sheet, have your commercial pulse taken today. Contact Áine on 086 3848340.

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Ashley Ford is Dublin’s longest established Ford dealership, with a 30-year history of serving Ford customers at our North Circular Road premises.

Aqua Babies www.aquababies.ie T: 01 853 2989 Aqua Babies offers a toddler and baby swimming programme for parents and their children. The company’s instructors teach parents to teach their children to swim. Aqua babies has been successfully teaching tens of thousands of young children and babies to swim for over 20 years.

BiP Solutions Ltd www.bipsolutions.com

Bluestone Asset Management www.bluestoneam.ie T: 01 644 8900 Founded in 2000, Bluestone Group is a multi-national financial services business with offices in Ireland, the UK and Australasia. The Irish office provides specialist lending and servicing products within the auto and equipment finance markets, currently managing in excess of 40,000 accounts, demonstrating we are a trusted name within the finance industry.

C F O’ Flynn and Associates www.cfoflynnand associates.com T: 01 668 0399 C F O’Flynn & Associates, Accountants & Tax Consultants, is an accountancy firm based in Dublin 4 and Ardee Business Park.

BiP was established in 1984 to facilitate business between the public and private sectors. What began with the printing of contracts The Cliff information has since evolved into Town House a portfolio of innovative services that add real value to supply chains. www.theclifftown house.com If your organisation is buying for T: 01 638 3939 or supplying to the public sector The Cliff Town House is a – whether directly or indirectly – luxury guesthouse and we’re here to help.

restaurant in Dublin city centre.

A Dublin restaurant with rooms, the hotel is located at 22 St Stephen’s Green - the centre of Georgian Dublin, close to Grafton Street’s upscale boutiques.

Computerology www.computerology.ie T: 01 443 4401 Computerology provide and support IT equipment for a wide range of business and home users across the Dublin area. Whilst many providers are perpetually fire fighting IT problems, we start you off with a solid IT infrastructure and put the emphasis on educating users and establishing good IT practices so you’re not left in the dark.

Cruatech www.cruatech.com T: 01 700 7579 Cruatech is an Irish software company that specialises in hardware integration design and development. Cruatech develops in-house software products such as CruZControl Energy management platform while additionally developing

over 100 physical security and energy products for other global companies. Cruatech works primarily in the physical security and energy management sectors with a focus on facilities management and offers design, development and implementation services.

Cruatech currently has active development and deployment projects in aviation, finance, medical and media facilities based in the Americas and EMEA regions.

Custodian Consultancy www.custodianconsultancy.ie T: 01 676 9299 Custodian specialises in print management, design, digital and logistical services in Ireland. Our end-to-end service, from design to distribution, encompasses print management, digital publishing, web design, online marketing and more.

DX2 Training Solutions www.dx2training.ie T: 01 442 7650 DX2 Training Solutions is an Irish-owned and familyrun business. Our company was officially launched in April 2010 to provide the most comprehensive training courses, consultancy services and supplies at the most competitive prices. Our aim is to allow companies, clubs, organisations and individuals to enhance their skills and knowledge without affecting their already under pressure budgets.

GeneFile www.genefile.com T: 01 685 3270 GeneFile offer a unique and

fun way to create your family tree and personal GeneFile.

We also operate a transfer bay.

If you are unable to convert your own ‘shoeboxes’ of photos and videos to a digital format required for your GeneFile, we can help. We can handle cine-film and all photographic formats.

Graphedia www.graphedia.ie T: 053 9144835 Graphedia is a fresh full-service digital agency { Website Design | Print | APP Dev | Video } since 2000. Our people are creative, innovative, technical and passionate about everything digital. We design and make stuff that lets you talk to consumers who are interested in your business.

We really love what we do. If you have a project then we will design, develop, and create the experience that you, your users and your business need. We put a lot of work into making this look easy and we would love to meet you.

Hannon Oncology www.hannononcology education.ie T: 01 211 6634 Hannon Oncology offers bespoke oncology training to pharma, healthcare organisations and educational institutions. Owner Nuala Hannon has developed cancer services by introducing dynamic initiatives to the clinical setting.

Hannon says her organisational and motivational skills enable her to build teams who can deliver effective outcomes for service delivery.

John Rankin, Corporate 121.

Corporate121 www.corporate121.com Corporate121 helps businesses optimise their workforce more effectively by practical demonstration in building compatible relationships that assist in staff engagement and retention.

Companies where the staff is really engaged have recorded four times the success rate compared to companies with little or no engagement. One wellknown IT hosting company, Rackspace, has seen a 25 per cent compound annual revenue growth and 48 per cent profit growth since 2008 which they attribute to their employee engagement programme.

They report and prove that engaged employees – energised, motivated people – are more likely to put in the extra discretionary effort that can raise productivity and create superior experiences for customers, which in turn leads to better financial performance. Employee engagement effects other performance outcomes such as lower absenteeism, lower staff turnover, higher customer engagement and higher productivity, with fewer safety incidents and product defects.

What makes Corporate121 different is that it is the only company offering staff relationship compatibility to business that also shows how a person’s character can change when under stress and how that affects the work relationships.

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Highgate Properties Ltd T: 087 989 6024 Highgate Properties Ltd is a property development company which specialises in the development of high-end residential units in prestige locations.

High Performance www.highperformance.ie T: 01 853 2215 Jason Clarke and Helen Creaven, Studio Manager (left).

Jason Clarke Photography www.corporate121.com Established in 1994, JCP is an independently owned photography agency, a member of the Press Photographers Association of Ireland and the NUJ. Under Jason Clarke’s direction the company has earned a reputation for its personal approach to client relationships and excellence in photography.

The studio, based in Dublin, specialises in Public Relations, Press/Media and Corporate photography, representing companies and agencies across a wide range of sectors, for example Dublin City Council, UCD, Science Foundation Ireland. Our reputation within these areas has gained us vast recognition. The studio has three full time employees. Our studio manager, Helen, ensures the smooth running of day-to-day activities and is always available to answer your queries. Both studio manager and photographer will liaise with your team prior to each job to discuss ideas and offer advice and suggestions on any given assignment.

JCP hosts a fully digital studio providing clients with the most up-to-date digital technology ranging from photographic distribution to image alteration. We use a bespoke workstation which enables us to organise and process our imagery effectively.

This system is backed up online and we have a dedicated IT Support company. We have the ability to digitally transmit images via FTP and email.

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High Performance Management, Media and Communication Skills Training is a leading consultancy providing a series of highly practical, professional programmes in management, media and communication skills training.

Holvi Payment Services www.holvi.com T: +45 2233 2301 Founded in 2011 in Helsinki, Finland, Holvi combines modern technology and user experience into banking. Holvi is a simple onestop-shop for small businesses to collect payments online, manage expenses and get a comprehensive real-time view of their company finances. New Holvi accounts can be opened online in minutes and Holvi customers don’t need a separate bank account.

Homestay.com www.homestay.com T: 01 675 3010 Homestay.com is an online booking platform for travel accommodation. Homestays, launched in 2013, is a Dublinbased start-up company founded by Tom Kennedy and Debbie Flynn. On Homestay.com, anyone can book a homestay including tourists, leisure travellers, students, interns, people relocating for work or those who simply want to experience local culture and meet local people when they travel.

Initiative Media Group Ltd www.initiative.com T: 01 475 1895 Initiative is a global communications network within IPG Mediabrands, one of the world’s pre-eminent media services entities and part of Interpublic Group. Initiative believes in four basic principles when solving our clients’ business challenges: fast, brave, decisive and simple.

International Corporate Centre (ICC) www.internationalc orporate centre.com T: 01 428 3300 International Corporate Centre (ICC) provides serviced office space in four centres in Dublin on St Stephen’s Green, Harcourt Street, Leeson Street and Northumberland Road. We provide clients with a turnkey office solution with one monthly bill. We pay for all utility bills, rates, broadband, phone lines, furniture, cleaning, maintenance etc. Each office comes fully equipped with many benefits that a standard office would never be able to offer. We look after all the day-to-day office management for our clients which allows them to focus solely on doing what they do best and run their own businesses.

A serviced office space makes it very easy for a company to move in and get started right away.

Companies can be up and running within a day. Some of the major benefits of a serviced office space include flexibility, fixed monthly costs and no capital outlay. Our clients range from start-ups to plc companies and government bodies to embassies. We ensure all our clients’ individual needs are met and because of our high level of service, many clients have been with us for years.

Irish Security Industry Association www.isia.ie T: 01 484 7206 The Irish Security Industry Association has been representing the needs of the private security industry for over 40 years, since our foundation in 1972. We are the only trade association representing the full spectrum of companies in the private security industry. Our members range from small to medium Irish indigenous companies to large multinationals.

Keytrainer Irl Ltd www.key.ie T: 01 492 2223 Keytrainer was established in 1978 as a supplier of keyboard skills training to corporate, government bodies and private individuals. Our health and safety services now include: risk assessments of premises, offices and DSEs, tailored site specific training and documentation development/ update to comply with the current 2005 SHWW Act and the 2007 General Application Regulations. Our success is due to the fact that we offer clients a professional and highquality service, by experienced accredited consultants and tutors who tailor as required to ensure compliance and a safe working environment for both the employer and the employees. Our high percentage of repeat business over the years illustrates this level of service.

Computer Training: Our premise is to evaluate prior to training by having participants complete a questionnaire from which we develop a course outline, covering topics relevant to their work needs. This coupled with prior tutor discussion with the clients and specific

workplace examples, ensures a productive, enjoyable tailored course on the day. See our website for listing of courses on offer. Again, the tutors are accredited professionals with both the knowledge and practical teaching experience.

We offer keyboard skills and data entry training and are regarded as the experts in this area.

Our range of clients includes government bodies, semistates, multinationals and Irish corporates.

MCO Projects www.mco.ie T: 01 887 0630 MCO Projects is a multidisciplinary team of project managers, service designers, researchers, strategists, sociologists, architects, environmentalists, engineers and curators.

MustBook www.mustbook.ie T: 061 481 400 MustBook.ie offers companies a free hotel management programme incorporating Ireland’s first corporate online booking system, management reports, invoicing service and a venue search service. MustBook. ie’s extensive client base includes leading companies such as Irish Life and Permanent plc, Bulmers, eircom and many others.

National Food Imports Limited www.nfi.ie T: 01 453 0609 With over 15 years experience, National Food Imports specialises in the supply of bakery and food manufacturing ingredients. The company supplies a comprehensive range of dried fruits, glace fruits, and nuts, a full range

Teddy Daly, CEO, Online Pages.

Online Pages www.onlinepages.ie T: 01 775 8022 Online Pages have a very simple mission – to help Irish businesses get found online. They have just launched a sophisticated search engine/business directory containing the details of over 34,000 Irish business websites.

Unlike other search engines however, an Online Pages search returns all available options in alphabetical order – not just the businesses that have paid.

Speaking to many business owners we realised that the vast majority were having enormous difficulty getting their sites found – 85 per cent of people never go past page one of search results so we thought there had to be a better way. We’ve also organised every Irish business website into sensible, easy-tofind, categories so when you search for say “Builder” you see “Builders” and not a load of totally unrelated nonsense. Fully Irish-owned and operated, the company is two years old and headquartered in Dublin with five staff.

Every business with an office in Ireland is entitled to a free listing and there are low cost advertising rates for those wanting to give their site more prominence, and, exclusively for Dublin Chamber members, a 20 per cent discount applies. Make sure your site is listed on www.onlinepages.ie and for further details contact teddy.daly@onlinepages.ie.

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of industrial pack tomato products, as well as a range of canned fruits and pulses. These products are sourced from amongst the best manufacturers worldwide.

nijobfinder.co.uk www.nijobfinder.co.uk T: 0845 604 4477

John Power, Head of New Business, Tower Trade Finance (Ireland) Limited

Tower Trade Finance (Ireland) Limited Alternative Finance Source for SMEs

Tower Trade Finance (Ireland) Limited, part of the Tower Trade group, is an alternative source of working capital finance for SMEs, providing finance for all stages of the trading cycle. Tower Trade have particular expertise in providing Supplier Trade Finance.

In 2014, Tower Trade Finance entered the Irish market, offering a comprehensive funding package to help importers and exporters with upfront funding for confirmed orders, an ongoing supply of cash against invoices raised and access to financing where traditional lending is not available.

To help you fulfil your confirmed orders, we can provide upfront funding against these orders. This can be achieved in one of two ways: through a purchase to pay process where we can pay your suppliers directly, or enhanced trade receivables where we can finance the supply of goods to your customer directly.

Tower Trade offer two types of solutions: Direct Trade Financing, where trade finance is advanced direct to the client for them to pay suppliers; and Indirect Trade financing, an alternate solution suitable for firms who may not qualify for direct trade finance but who possess a very attractive order and where the underlying customer is very strong. For further information, contact jdiggins@ttfi.ie/jpower@ttfi.ie.

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nijobfinder.co.uk is Northern Ireland’s biggest job market with 4,000 jobs listed online anytime and hundreds more in nijobfinder newspaper supplements every Tuesday and Friday in the Belfast Telegraph and on Sunday in the Sunday Life. As Northern Ireland’s most trusted recruitment platform we offer a brilliant pool of talent within easy reach of your vacancies as Belfast to Dublin is only 90 minutes away. Your recruitment advert will be seen by 408,000 readers in nijobfinder in print and online in one week. nijobfinder is the only recruitment platform in Northern Ireland to reach a high calibre of jobseekers across all genders, communities, social classes and educational levels. For more information contact Colin Maxwell on 44 (0) 28 9026 4338 or maxwell@ belfasttelegraph.co.uk.

Norland Managed Services Ireland www.norlandmanaged services.co.uk T: 01 829 3987 Norland provides a full suite of facilities, energy and project management services throughout the UK, Ireland, the US and EMEA. We offer mechanical and electrical engineering, building fabric maintenance and all soft services which can be delivered as part of an integrated managed service. We also provide specialist maintenance

services for critical environments such as data centres and cleanrooms.

Orange Recruitment Ltd www.orange recruitment.ie T: 01 617 0033 Orange Recruitment is a name associated with recruitment excellence in Ireland for more than 20 years. We were the first agency to seek and receive ISO accreditation in Ireland.

Our main office is based in Dublin 2. In 2012 we joined the Noel Group. This offered us access to ten more locations and the ability to offer a nationwide service.

ORS www.ors.ie T: 044 934 2518 ORS are Ireland’s largest project management, design and energy specialists. Established in 1991, ORS are an award-winning firm and we have now opened a new office in 3/4 Pembroke Street Upper, Dublin 2. This new office will allow ORS to meet our client’s needs across our wide portfolio of professional services in the building industry. With a 25 year proven track record, ORS has evolved to become a firm that is well established and experienced, yet fresh and dynamic with a team of professionals who are on the cutting edge of engineering developments and practices.

We believe in innovation, collaboration and giving projects our undivided attention. ORS employ technically superior high achieving staff who care for the business and its customers.

OSS - One Service Solution www.ossireland.ie T: 01 430 1770 Based in Sandyford, we are an innovative service company with over 20 years’ experience in company compliance and related services; safety, fire alarms, intruder alarms, CCTV, access control and electrical.

We offer our customers peace of mind in the world of compliance, insurance risk and operational standards. We have a cloud-based state-of-the-art reporting system to ensure quality and continuity of service.

We are a one service solution for business.

Rathgar Late Night Pharmacy www.rathgarpharmacy.ie T: 01 497 0046 Rathgar Pharmacy was established in 2007 by Morgan and Kate O’Connell. Rathgar Pharmacy is a family-run late night pharmacy serving the people of Rathgar, Terenure, Harolds Cross, Rathmines, Churchtown and the greater south Dublin area.

Sean Weafer www.seanweafer.com T: 01 210 1934 Sean Weafer is an international sales and marketing speaker, coach and trainer on high trust business – business that is based on building compelling relationships. He has considerable experience in advisory sales and business development, networking, public speaking, leadership

communications, executive presence and training high quality coaches and mentors and is the author of The High Trust Advisor: How to Find, Close and Keep Excellent Clients (without having to cold call!).

Storm Technology Ltd www.storm.ie T: 01 524 2310 We are one of most respected business technology consultancies and Microsoft solution partners in Ireland.

We specialise in all things to do with Microsoft and we have earned a reputation for building world-class business solutions and for being at the forefront of technology advancement.

TalkBack

www.talkback.ie T: 087 248 8941 Empathic communication involves a lot of listening, something we excel at whilst working with our clients and their people. Employee engagement is not the same as employee satisfaction.

Building sustained trust between management and employees takes a focused approach and a time investment from all parties concerned. Following implementation of an employee engagement strategy with an existing client, involving third party anonymous feedback, productivity levels from actively engaged employees consistently ranked higher than disengaged employees within the employing organisation. Employee commitment and loyalty to the company is discerningly more

evident now. At TalkBack we help bridge the communications disconnect that is often active in the corporate environment, we facilitate the process that leads people to communicate more effectively with each other and become less reliant on email for their in-house working relationships.

TenderScout www.tenderscout.com T: 01 636 3193 TenderScout is a game-changing market intelligence platform for companies. TenderScout enables companies to build a pipeline of sales opportunities and to win more public sector business.

Since launching TenderScout in 2012, our clients have won an average of 83 per cent of tenders they’ve competed for. Our expertise is in winning tenders – competitive intelligence, bid/ no bid analysis, partnership development, bid management, tender preparation, tender evaluation, etc.

Travelodge Ireland www.travelodge.ie T: 01 852 4536 Travelodge Ireland is Ireland’s leading provider of budget hotels with 12 hotels in Ireland. We offer great locations with five hotels in Dublin, two hotels in Limerick and hotels in Belfast, Derry, Galway, Waterford and Cork cities.

company accounts, changes in directors, allotments of shares, and mortgages or charges.

Windsor Fleet www.windsorfleet.ie T: 01 419 8373 Put very simply, we keep companies on the road.

Windsor Fleet supply all makes and models of cars and light commercial vehicles to companies. We have a wide range of customers (from local businesses to large multinationals) and a wide range of fleet sizes (from one to 100+). We pride ourselves on our knowledge and experience, which allows us to suggest the best options for our customers. We also offer an optional maintenance and management service, which covers routine nationwide servicing, fair wear and tear tyre replacement, motor tax, DOE/ NCT, emergency assistance and driver services helpdesk. We are a friendly, customer focused and professional team. We have a very ‘hands on’ approach and many of our customers cite service levels as one of the key reasons they come back to us.

We have been in business for 15 years as a fleet provider and are part of the Windsor Motor Group, which celebrates 50 years in business in 2014.

VisionNet Limited www.vision-net.ie T: 01 664 1111 Vision-net.ie is now Europe’s leading provider of low cost information on all Irish and UK companies. Vision-net.ie provides you with immediate access to the original documents filed by both Irish and UK companies.

Documents like audited

Full contact details for all member companies are available at www.members. dublinchamber.ie

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Events Gallery

2014 MacGill Summer School Dublin Chamber sponsored an economic session at the 2014 MacGill Summer School, which took place in the Glenties in late July.

Dublin Chamber CEO Gina Quin (pictured) also chaired a session which discussed whether ‘Our Institutional Failings Are Rooted in Our Political Culture?’ and included Catherine Murphy TD, Lucinda Creighton TD, Pearse Doherty TD, and Pat Leahy, Political Editor, Sunday Business Post.

Tánaiste Joan Burton, TD, was guest speaker at the September meeting of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce Council. The Tánaiste is pictured here with Dublin Chamber CEO Gina Quin (right) and Dublin Chamber President Martin Murphy.

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Tánaiste Joan Burton, TD

Graeme McQueen

Tánaiste Addresses Council Meeting

Events Gallery

Sean Weafer Delivers Networking Masterclass

Graeme McQueen

Executive coach Sean Weafer (pictured with Dublin Chamber’s Eugene Bent (left) and Paul O’Neill (right)) delivered a ‘Networking Masterclass’ in the Chamber in early September as part of our Competitive Edge series.

Due to popular demand, Sean will deliver another networking class in the Chamber on 29 October.

Upcoming Chamber Events What?

Business Issues Briefing: Budget 2015 When?

Wednesday 24th September at 12.30pm Where?

Dublin Chamber of Commerce, 7 Clare Street, Dublin 2

What?

From Cash to Cashless - Master Your Card When?

Thursday 2nd October at 8am Where?

Dublin Chamber of Commerce, 7 Clare Street, Dublin 2

What?

Networking Lunch @ The RDS When?

Wednesday 15th October at 5.30pm Where?

RDS, Anglesea Road, Dublin 4

What?

Energy Efficiency Means Saving Money!

When?

Thursday 25th September at 9.30am Where?

Dublin Chamber of Commerce, 7 Clare Street, Dublin 2

What?

Sustainable Construction Materials & Life Cycle Analysis When?

Wednesday 8th October at 9.30am Where?

Dublin Chamber of Commerce, 7 Clare Street, Dublin 2

What?

Access to Finance for Business Growth When?

Tuesday 21st October at 7.30am Where?

BDO, Beaux Lane House, Dublin 2

What?

Networking @ Mason Hayes & Curran When?

Thursday 25th September at 5.30pm Where?

Mason Hayes & Curran, Southbank House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4

What?

Dublin Chamber Annual Dinner 2014 When?

Thursday 9th October at 6pm Where?

Convention Centre Dublin, Dublin 2

What?

Competitive Edge Series: Networking Masterclass with Sean Weafer When?

Wednesday 29th October at 8.00am Where?

Dublin Chamber of Commerce, 7 Clare Street, Dublin 2

53 |

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Keeping

Dublin moving Public transport in the capital has improved greatly in recent years with technological developments, enhanced infrastructure and eco-solutions like the Dublin Bikes Scheme.

Smartphone technology and the availability of real time information has empowered the public transport user, and while some investment in infrastructure was mothballed in recessionary years, improvements to Luas and rail lines is underway. However, as the city’s population grows it will become increasingly important to get commuters to switch to public transport, and to encourage that switch solutions need to be continually evolving, innovating and inviting to passengers. In this special feature on transport Business Ireland talks to the decision makers and influencers who are responsible for keeping Dublin moving. We look at what’s been done so far, what remains to be done, the Government’s plans for improving travel, and the importance of integrating the capital’s public transport system.

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Dublin Public Transport > National Transport Authority

Innovating

& Investing > “What sometimes happens if you are heavily invested in big projects is you imagine that they are the ones of sole importance. For public transport services the whole package has to be right.” Gerry Murphy, Head of the National Transport Authority, tells Business Ireland about developing the right package.

L

ike most sectors, funding for public transport has been hit in recent years. Certain projects including the Metro North and the DART underground have been shelved.

However, there has been significant investment in other areas of the public transport network – investment in the Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann fleet, the Luas Cross City project and in the Dublin Bikes scheme.

Despite less funding there has been more innovation and a huge growth in real time information and passenger support apps. “For a long time public transport customers were lagging behind motorists in terms of technology and ease of travel,” says Gerry Murphy, Head of the National Transport Authority. “The game changer is smartphone technology in the public transport area. That has allowed the public transport traveller to be much more empowered. Then the smart card ticketing across all modes gives them a greater freedom as well as giving them more value for money.”

The roll out of Leap cards has also eased transport. “We are up at 630,00 Leap cards at the moment. When you travel with your Leap card you get around a 20 per cent saving and you can put the products on your taxsaver and there’s a capping arrangement,” tells Murphy.

“What we need to do is keep offering innovation to people, encouraging them to use more public transport.”

Technology has its role but there’s a limit to how much it can help the growth of public transport. Investment in infrastructure is still required. In 2016 a rail line between Heuston and

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The game changer is smartphone technology in the public transport area. That has allowed the public transport traveller to be much more empowered.”

Gerry Murphy, Head of the National Transport Authority

Connolly stations will be opened and later the same year the Phoenix Park Tunnel will open, facilitatiing travellers coming from the Kildare area to travel through the tunnel to Connolly and Grand Canal Dock.

“We’re in a cycle of investment of approximately a150 million per annum on infrastructure in the city,” says Murphy. “When Luas Cross City opens in 2017 we would then see our Bus Rapid Transit going into construction. BRT is very high frequency, high-spec vehicles, almost like Luas on wheels. Three major BRT lines are in development, which will be very important for moving people into work and education around the city.

“The other area we have to look at is how we’re going to serve Dublin Airport and Fingal County. Fingal County is the

fastest growing county in Ireland. It has huge demographic growth, there is huge residential demand. Dublin Airport, similarly will only grow and grow. What we are studying now is whether there is a rail or light rail option needed to serve Fingal.”

Another project that was mothballed in the downturn was DART underground. “It’s a massively important programme for the region in the 20 year horizon. It links in all the commuter rail lines and will unlock a huge amount of residential development opportunities. We’re going to look again at the DART underground and the Government will have to decide whether to invest in the project.”

Both innovation and investment it seems are key to the success of the public transport service.

Dublin Public Transport

> Dublin Bus

All Aboard a

New Dublin Bus > CEO of Dublin Bus, Paddy Doherty, tells Business Ireland about making the bus service appealing to a modern passenger, from having real time information readily available to simplifying the network across the city.

P

addy Doherty took up the role of CEO of Dublin Bus in 2011, a few years into the recession and amidst a scene of declining passenger numbers due to increased unemployment and emigration. When he spoke to Business Ireland passenger numbers were again on the increase and while he’s not taking complete responsibility for the turnaround there have been notable improvements to the bus service in recent years.

Doherty puts the improvement down to the simplification of the Dublin Bus routes and the improved technology available to passengers: “We’ve simplified the bus network. 70 or 75 per cent of customers are carried on 25 routes now. There’s a core strong cross city network which carries the bulk of people which is easier to understand, easier to market and easier to convey information about.

“We’ve researched people who say they’re using buses more and the first reason they give is the network is better and better suits their travel requirements”, tells Doherty. The project of simplifying the bus routes was initiated in 2009 and completed in 2012.

“It’s really delivered,” says Doherty.

Technology and access to real time information has also given passengers increased confidence in the bus service.

“Now you can get real time information on-street at about 500 of our 5,000 bus stops. You can get it on the apps for all stops and by SMS. It’s widely available and by international standards it’s very accurate,” says Doherty. “The Dublin Bus app has been downloaded over 800,000 times so in terms of its

traction out there it’s very popular.”

WiFi is now available on all Dublin Bus services and over half a million people have used it on board. “We need to keep people using public transport for as long as possible and get committed to it as a lifestyle choice.

WiFi is key. People expect it and it means the hour or so you spend on the bus can be used productively or to have fun – whatever you like.”

The convenience and value of Leap Cards Doherty feels has also contributed to growth.

The bus fleet is now fully accessible with low floors and ramp facilities and a complex CCTV security system. “We have a good quality fleet, it’s a priority for us to maintain the quality. Fleet age currently averages about 7.5 years; we’d like to get it down to six.”

The plan for Dublin Bus is to increase passenger numbers and to be ready to service the growing population. “On a typical weekday we carry maybe

Paddy Doherty, CEO of Dublin Bus

450,000 passengers and we’re growing at a rate of about 3 million customers per annum,” says Doherty. “The plan now is growth and with growth there needs to be a plan for capacity, for route development and for resources.

“We see expansion of the fleet by a minimum of 50 buses over the next few years. We’re recruiting now and we haven’t recruited in six or seven years.

We’re taking on 100 drivers this year and more next year. It’s very positive.”

57 |

Dublin Public Transport > Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Capital

Connections > Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Paschal Donohoe speaks to Business Ireland about public transport in Dublin and discusses his

Department’s plans for improving travel in the capital.

Q. How has the Government worked to integrate Dublin’s public transport system in recent years?

A: One of my Department‘s primary objectives is to enhance the quality of the public transport system by facilitating the delivery of an affordable investment programme. This is mainly achieved by providing policy support and capital funding to the relevant implementing agencies including the National Transport Authority (NTA).

It is also a priority to increase the number of people nationally using public transport by two per cent this year. The most recent figures to June show that overall passenger numbers in 2014 have increased by 3.4 per cent compared to the first six months of 2013. This is a strong performance with some particular highlights such as a growth of 12 per cent in bus passengers in Galway and 11 per cent on the Luas in Dublin.

The NTA is charged with devising and implementing projects to enhance people’s use of public transport and sustainable travel choices, in line with Government policy.

A sustained programme of new, cost-effective integration initiatives

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with a focus on customer requirements, which include the Leap card, real-time passenger information and journey planning apps, has been introduced to promote and integrate public transport provision in Ireland.

Q. How successful has the Leap Card been for customers?

A: The roll-out of the Leap card has been one of my Department’s key priorities and it has been very successful. Since its launch in December 2011 Leap card sales have continued to grow and now stand at more than 600,000. Customers have used over a100 million travel credit on Leap cards in the Greater Dublin Area, taking in over 50 million journeys.

Since the introduction of ‘Tickets’ on Leap in late 2013 (the Taxsaver Annual and Monthly Tickets and the Dublin Bus Rambler range later followed by Bus Éireann weekly and monthly products) there have been ticket sales of a36 million and 7 million journeys taken with approximately 20 per cent growth each month this year.

Q. How has work on the Luas Cross City progressed?

A: The project is progressing well, is on time and within

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe

budget. Advance works are well underway and the procurement for the main contract is progressing.

I expect to approve the signing of the tender for the main contract before the end of the year and the main works will commence in early 2015. The aim is to have the system ready to operate by the end of 2017.

Luas Cross City will help create a truly integrated public transport system in Dublin.

When completed, it will add

up to ten million additional journeys a year to the Luas network, which will make it easier for the travelling public, with significant knock-on effects for the economy, which is expected to benefit by approximately a30m per annum. In addition, 800 jobs will be created during construction and 60 permanent jobs when operational.

Aside from providing a major boost to retail in the city centre, by bringing together

Dublin Public Transport

> Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

the two major shopping districts in the city, the Luas CC will also act as a catalyst for regeneration in the Dominick Street, Marlborough Street, Parnell Street and Broombridge areas.

Q. How significant has the introduction of the Dublin Bikes scheme been?

A: Dublin City Council has reported a 40 per cent increase in numbers cycling in the city over the last four years. My Department has provided funding for the Dublin Bikes expansion and this funding will almost triple the size of the scheme. A total of 58 new bike stations and 950 bikes will be in place in Dublin by August 2014, bringing the total to102 bike stations and 1,500 bikes.

Q. What is the aim of the SmarterTravel Policy?

A: The goal of the policy ‘A New Transport Policy for Ireland 2009-2020’ is to reduce private car use by increasing the number of people who walk, cycle or use public transport.

My Department is also responsible for the delivery of actions contained in the 2009 National Cycle Policy Framework. The Policy Framework sets out actions for the establishment of a cycling culture in Ireland, with a target of ten per cent of all trips to be made by bike in 2020. This is an ambitious target, but cycling rates have been increasing year on year.

The ten per cent target has already been reached in parts of Dublin – ten per cent of all commuters crossing the canal at Portobello travel by bike.

My Department promotes sustainable transport through the provision of funding for infrastructure, such as bike

lanes, cycle greenways and pedestrian facilities, as well as funding for behavioural change programmes.

There are three main funding programmes being administered over the period 2012 to 2016 to support the Smarter Travel Policy; namely Smarter Travel Areas (STAs), Active Travel Towns (ATTs) and National Cycle Network (NCN). A total of a65 million is being provided over the five year period for this policy initiative.

My Department also provides funding to the National Transport Authority (NTA) to administer a range of behavioural change programmes; Smarter Travel Workplaces, Smarter Travel Campuses and Green Schools Travel. These programmes are also designed to raise awareness of more sustainable travel options.

Q. What are the Government’s plans for improving public transport for the people of Dublin?

A: Work on developing a strategic framework for investment in land transport is ongoing within my Department, with a public consultation process launched in recent weeks.

Resources will have to be strictly prioritised to ensure maximum return for the taxpayer and the economy.

Protecting investment made to date and maintaining safety standards will remain the number one priority. Where

specific projects are identified as essential to meet current and future demand, they will have to be affordable and will be subject to detailed appraisal as regards their benefits and costs.

The NTA’s Integrated Implementation Plan 20132018 sets out the NTA’s programme of investment and development in the Greater Dublin Area for the next five years. Key priorities in capital investment include the re-opening of the Phoenix Park Tunnel link to improve rail access between Kildare and the city centre, the annual purchase of new buses to improve the bus

customer’s experience, and the delivery of Luas Cross City. Also, within the period of the Plan, the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Network will be designed in detail and brought through the requisite statutory processes.

To inform spending beyond 2018, the NTA will carry out a complete review of the public transport needs of Fingal county, the county with the fastest growing population in Ireland and where Dublin Airport is located. In addition they will review the DART Underground project for my Department as decisions on the project will need to be made in 2015.

59 |

Dublin Public Transport > Alstom

More Investment

Needed in Transport > Niall Gleeson, Managing Director, Alstom Ireland, debates Dublin’s transport budget in Business Ireland.

E

arlier in the year I attended a presentation by representatives of the NTA to the Dublin Chamber on the Infrastructure Investment Plan for 2013 to 2018. It was a very good presentation and all the plans look good and well thought out but what struck me immediately was the total transport capital budget of €150 million per annum. This figure is a very small amount of capital expenditure for a European capital city the size of Dublin. If we don’t increase this significantly in the very short term, Dublin will fall behind other cities in all the various tables where we have been performing so well (best place to live, competitiveness, etc.). Think back to the Dublin traffic problems of 2005 to 2007 and try to imagine that Dublin would still score as a great place to live.

How much will labour inefficiencies and additional fuel costs caused by increased congestion impact our competitiveness ratings?

Dublin is the destination of choice for the tech FDI companies coming to Ireland. These firms need to attract the brightest and best from around the world to work for them. It may not suit our spatial strategy but Dublin has the best mix of international transport connections, cosmopolitan living and cultural mix that the country has to offer and this is what these tech employees want in a place to live. This is a highly mobile group who want to rent good accommodation and use clean efficient public transport. They don’t want the hassle of mortgages and car loans.

You can only whisper it but Dublin has been a pretty good place to live for the past few years, if you had a good job and were not encumbered by negative

| 60

equity. Prices in hotels, restaurants and shops all dropped. Rental accommodation has been reasonably priced and easily available, public transport was below capacity and traffic congestion was low. This is all about to change. We can already see the effect not building new housing for the past six years has had on house prices and

be spending between €400 million and €600 million per annum on public transport in Dublin.

There is a lack of vision within the Irish Government departments and an obsession with not spending money. While we need to save on current expenditure, capital investment is necessary and an investment in the

If we don’t increase this significantly in the very short term, Dublin will fall behind other cities in all the various tables where we have been performing so well (best place to live, competitiveness, etc.)”

Niall Gleeson, Managing Director Alstom Ireland

rental charges in Dublin. Very soon there will be similar competition for road space and seats on public transport.

The UK government has been through significant belt tightening but they still have the vision to build large capital projects such as Crossrail.

London is spending between €4 billion and €6 billion annually on public transport capital projects, on a per capita basis this means we ought to

future. We need to work with other European countries for some relaxation on borrowing in relation to funding for capital expenditure. We also need financial instruments that are affordable and offer value for money. Mario Draghi’s latest initiatives appear to be aimed solely at the private sector; we should have parallel initiatives to release cheaper funding for Government capital expenditure.

There should also be scope for Government backed pension products for capital investment that would deliver low but guaranteed returns over 25 years. Given the volatility of pension funds over the past 15 years, many people (myself included) might welcome such a product.

Dublin Public Transport

> RPA

Luas Goes from

Strength to Strength > Luas has developed an enviable place as the transport

provider of choice for 100,000 passengers in Dublin every weekday. RPA tells Business Ireland about the success of the Luas and the progress of Luas Cross City.

“T

he success of the Luas is evidenced by the fact that passenger numbers last year exceeded 30 million, a massive increase of 8 million on 2005, when the Luas was first introduced to Dublin. Those numbers are only set to grow into the future with the development of the Luas Cross City, which will link the Red and Green lines and create a truly integrated public transport system in Dublin for the first time”- Paschal Donohoe T.D., Minister of Transport,Tourism and Sport, September 2014.

Last year Luas carried in excess of 30 million passengers for the first time. This year Luas celebrated its tenth birthday and will comfortably exceed last year’s record-breaking passenger numbers, with numbers up again by over seven per cent for the year to date. In ten short years Luas has developed an enviable place as the transport provider of choice for 100,000 passengers every weekday. Unlike many other systems which depend largely on the daily commuter, Luas also has significant passenger journeys off-peak and at weekends which helps to drive the numbers well beyond the norm.

Satisfaction levels too, as independently measured, are consistently exceptionally high which is very gratifying for all of us involved. Of course there are very significant challenges associated with providing a service through the centre of a modern urban environment like Dublin but the Luas team, together with our civic partners are extremely pro-active and committed in dealing with issues like antisocial behaviour, graffiti and vandalism.

RPA and the National Transport Authority have recently signed a fiveyear, a150 million Luas operation

contract with Transdev Dublin Light Rail Limited, which includes responsibility for the maintenance of the Luas infrastructure and rolling stock through a number of novated maintenance contracts. Due to savings achieved from the tendering of the new Luas operating contract and the significant growth in passenger numbers over the last two years, it is expected that Luas will return to an operating surplus in 2015, well ahead of schedule.

Luas Cross City is the next phase of Dublin’s integrated light rail network.

The a367 million project which is funded by the National Transport Authority will serve a 5.6km long corridor from the Green Line’s current terminus at St Stephen’s Green to the Iarnród Eireann Broombridge Station on the Maynooth railway line. Enabling works on this project which began in 2013 are going very well and a significant part of the disruptive utility

diversion works were already completed by autumn 2014.

Luas Cross City is the most important Luas project since the opening of the original Red and Green lines in 2004.

Direct interchange between the Luas Red and Green lines will finally be possible and a third interchange with suburban railway services will be created at Broombridge. This is great news for Luas and for commuters in Dublin, as it further progresses the development of a high quality integrated transport network which will significantly reduce the current high reliance on the private car.

The new line is on target to welcome customers on board in 2017 and it is expected that this significant extension, which will offer increased accessibility to places of employment, education and retail centres as well as cultural and historic quarters, will increase passenger numbers to 40 million passenger journeys per annum in a full year.

61 |

Dublin Public Transport > Swords Express

The role of the

private sector > “Swords Express has established itself as a key transport provider in the Swords region.

Our success proves that private companies can operate effectively without subvention in the Dublin public transport arena.” Paddy Kavanagh, Owner/Managing Director of Swords Express, discusses his company with Business Ireland.

W

inner of ‘Passenger Transport Company of the Year’ at the 2013 and 2014 Irish Logistics & Transport Awards, Swords Express offers a rapid link to Dublin City Centre via the Port Tunnel using a fleet of fully seated coaches. The company has enjoyed robust growth since its inception and now operates 90 daily departures between Swords and the city.

Swords Express has proven to be an essential addition to the transport offering in Swords and the company continues to increase its market share year on year. “In the seven years since we launched, our company has carved out a significant share of a largely impenetrable transport market which has long been dominated by state-owned operators,” says Paddy Kavanagh, Owner/Managing Director of Swords Express. “The proof is in the pudding, with Swords Express and other commercial operators showing that privately owned companies can operate successfully without subsidy and offer safe, high quality transport options. It is evident that competition in the public transport sector is healthy and will lead to better and more cost efficient services for the travelling public.

“Unfortunately, private sector participation in the subsidised public transport sector is currently constrained by legislation and only recently has the Government and National Transport Authority proposed a very limited tendering of the subsidised market effective from 2016,” says Kavanagh.

“Although this development has provoked opposition, competition for

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It is evident that competition in the public transport sector is healthy and will lead to better and more cost efficient services for the travelling public.”

Paddy Kavanagh, Owner/Managing Director of Swords Express

all subsidised routes should be the objective in the longer term in line with other EU countries.”

Despite the obstacles, Swords Express continues to thrive and passenger numbers are growing all the time. “We have built a reputation on being customer focused and we are always responsive to the needs of our passengers. There is no reason that the increasing demand in Swords cannot readily be met by the addition of extra buses and we will continue to expand our fleet to meet that demand, subject to licence amendment if required,” says Kavanagh. “In terms of the type of vehicle we operate, it is clear that there is a preference for the comfort of fully seated coaches and we will continue to invest in newer vehicles to maintain the standard of our fleet. We also plan to

invest in wheelchair accessible coaches, which will be introduced into service on a phased basis.”

The roll out of Leap Card technology across the fleet has also enhanced the Swords Express offering, giving customers more convenience.

“Introducing Leap Card technology has proven to be very successful and we have had an encouraging level of uptake,” says Kavanagh. “We have also invested in a new website, with a focus on improving the user experience for the high volume of customers accessing the site via smartphone.”

A planned extension to the south side of the city is also in the pipeline.

“We will soon extend the service to Merrion Square at certain peak times and news of this development has certainly been well received by our passengers,” says Kavanagh.

Swords Express is a fine example of the increasingly important role played by private operators in Dublin’s public transport network.

Dublin Public Transport

> Iarnród Éireann

Keeping transport

on track

> While Iarnród Éireann’s immediate challenge is to maintain

a safe, quality public transport service while addressing an extremely difficult financial situation, the company remains ambitious for the future of rail in Ireland, David Franks, Chief Executive, Iarnród Éireann tells Business Ireland.

I

arnród Éireann’s investment in the network and in trains during the boom years brought great benefits to customers and our service offering – safety investment, new trains, increased capacity in the Dublin area, and station improvements.

It also saw the network expand with new lines opening just as the economic crisis took grip of the country. Dramatic reductions in funding followed, and cost reductions of over a70 million per annum have meant Iarnród Éireann operated an expanded network, maintaining service levels while funding reduced by almost 40 per cent – the largest reduction in Exchequer funding for any major public service.

Further cost reductions are being implemented while the company continues to work with the National Transport Authority and Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport to ensure our rail service and network is sustainably funded and to enhance the economic benefits to business, tourism and the country as a whole from rail into the future.

The development of rail for the future must play to the major strengths of rail as a mode of transport to maximise economic return. This includes: • Meeting travel demand within Ireland’s largest urban areas, through high capacity public transport.

• Providing inter-urban linkages between Dublin and other key cities and regional towns.

• Supporting a growing tourism market.

• Helping to meet national emissions targets – the average emissions for a

rail customer per kilometre is close to a quarter of that for a road user.

• Promoting sustainable development, and the goals of Government and EU policy including smarter travel, environmental policy and connecting national airports to the rail network.

• Providing high levels of accessibility to support social inclusion and social mobility.

To support these strengths, Iarnród Éireann – while immediately focusing on safety and maintaining existing assets – sees the priority for the development of rail in Ireland as: • Improving the competitiveness of Intercity rail, with journey times of under two hours between Dublin and Cork, and 90 minutes between Dublin and Belfast as major goals.

• Improving frequency on core routes, in particular Dublin to Belfast.

• Modernising ticketing and reservation systems.

• Developing the Dublin area network through DART expansion, including DART Underground, electrification of Dublin commuter routes.

• Connecting Dublin Airport to the DART network as well as Belfast, Dublin and all major cities in Ireland, with a rail line from Clongriffin to the Airport delivering a frequent direct service between the airport and Dublin city centre.

Iarnród Éireann is working with business to play its part in delivering the transport network our modern economy requires. We are also working with business to develop rail freight further, and are working with exporters, ports and industry to promote viable and environmentally rail freight solutions. Rail freight has grown by five per cent in 2013, with further growth targeted and new business opportunities being explored.

This year has also seen a return to growth for passenger business, with increases on DART and commuter now also matched on Intercity. By working with business, and meeting business, tourism and community needs, we look forward to Iarnród Éireann contributing in a sustainable way to our transport needs for the good of Ireland’s economy.

63 |

Dublin Public Transport > Transdev

Transdev wins the New

Luas operating contract > Brian Brennan, MD, Transdev Ireland talks to Business Ireland about the new Luas operating contract and creating the perfect journey experience for passengers.

T

he new Luas operating contract means a new era for Luas – Transdev Dublin’s goal is to transform Dublin together, achieving the very highest levels of quality and delivery for our client Railway Procurement Agency and the National Transport Authority by aspiring to create the perfect journey experience for our passengers every day.

Over the last ten years, Transdev Dublin has shown an excellent track record of delivery in Dublin and we are ready and energised to lead Luas through the next stage of its journey.

We have a committed, passionate and expert local team here in Dublin and have access to leading-edge expertise from our Transdev colleagues around the world.

Our experience in the successful delivery of three Luas Line extensions makes us the partner of choice for supporting RPA and the National Transport Authority in delivering the Luas Cross City project, which will represent a core challenge in the

| 64

new Luas operating contract. We promise that Luas will continue to play an integrated role within the Dublin community and go from strength to strength with our new initiatives.

Transdev Dublin’s core value is ‘uncompromising safety’ and in the new Luas operating contract, we will capitalise on the introduction of a new safety management system.

Our unique experience of successfully operating Luas over the last ten years has also enabled us to develop innovative plans centred on delivering the perfect journey for passengers every day. Our new organisation is designed to deliver a seamless, end-toend customer experience, supported by effective training and development.

We will build on our comprehensive customer research and engagement activities to better understand and deliver customers’ expectations over the next five years.

In fact, digital technology has transformed the way that people obtain information, communicate and interact

Brian Brennan, MD, Transdev Ireland

during recent years. Transdev Dublin is well-placed to leverage the potential to use the digital opportunity to reach more people better, faster and in a more meaningful and targeted way to build Luas’ reputation further and support RPA and the National Transport Authority in achieving passenger growth.

Transdev Dublin has chosen to partner with a range of Irish-based businesses to deliver some key elements of the Luas service. The companies that we have chosen meet our criteria for achieving service and innovation excellence in their area of specific expertise.

Our unique experience of operating Luas means our commitments are fully deliverable and will add genuine value to RPA, the National Transport Authority and Luas customers.

Dublin Public Transport

> Dublin City Council

Transport questions answered > B usiness Ireland had a few questions to ask Dublin’s

Director of Traffic and City Engineer, Michael Phillips.

Q: How does Dublin City Council work to integrate Dublin’s transport system?

A: Dublin City Council, through its Traffic Management System, integrates all forms of mobility throughout the city.

This includes the quality of surfaces, access for visually impaired and a quality public realm to facilitate movement across the city.

Q: What has been the most successful development for transport in recent years?

A: The development which the public would have appreciated and benefited most from is the introduction of real time passenger information (RTPI). In conjunction with the NTA and Dublin Bus, the City Council procured the system which is now being installed in other cities around the country.

Q: What transport projects are currently underway?

A: The largest transport project currently underway is the Cross City Luas which will be operational at the end

of 2017. In addition, design of segregated cycle lanes to further enhance the cycling experience is underway.

Q: What opportunities / challenges do you see for Dublin’s transport system in the coming years?

A: The challenges are how to accommodate the movement of the increased population in the coming years and the unique opportunities that exist technically into the future that will permit them to move safely and enjoyably through the city.

Director of Traffic and City Engineer, Michael Phillips

Dublin City Council ŵĂŬŝŶŐ ƚƌĂĸ Đ ǁŽƌŬ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĐŝƚLJ

Photomontage: Dublin City Council

Proud to be playing our part in keeping the city moving

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Enterprise Resource Planning

> SAP

Software to help

businesses do more > Business Ireland talks to Conor Shaw, Vice President of

General Business and Partner Channels at SAP about how companies can use technology to do more with what they have.

S

AP’s history is in ERP, or Enterprise Resource Planning, which helps businesses run and simplify what are normally complex processes from supply chains and business finance to human capital and customer relationship management.

ERP is still an important facet of SAP’s business but there’s now increased opportunity in the evolution of analytics, big data and cloud.

“There are three things happening in the IT market,” says Conor Shaw, Vice President of General Business and Partner Channels at SAP. “I think we’d be proud to say we’re at the forefront of all three.”

The first development is, of course, the mobilisation of the workforce. According to Shaw: “No matter what business you’re in your people are more mobile.

People who would have been in the same building are no longer in the same building. Most businesses are saying the physical location of the individual doing the job is moving so all of our products are optimised for a mobile workforce.”

Closely related is the evolution of cloud. “Cloud means the data and the apps running are in the cloud – a wholly managed data centre potentially sharing economies of scale with other companies with the same sort of function. You get an economy of scale and can size up or down with relative ease,” explains Shaw.

“Cloud allows flexibility.”

Cloud has also changed how businesses buy and expense IT. “What was a capital expense is now an operating expense where you rent software and rent space in a data centre and run it on an as-needed basis,” explains Shaw. “SAP are at the forefront of cloud.”

Cloud is rapidly becoming the first choice of CIOs. “In the US last year

70 per cent of CIOs had cloud or a desire for cloud technology in their IT infrastructure. From anecdotal evidence since I’ve been working in the UK and Ireland territory, every CIO is interested in it, whether they’re ready or not they are interested,” says Shaw.

Big data is the next frontier. According to Eric Schmidt, Google’s CEO, the world creates five exabytes of data every two days – roughly the same amount created between the dawn of civilisation and 2003. The opportunity for businesses now is extracting value from the data they gather to make better business decisions.

“HANA is our memory technology,” explains Shaw. “It’s a highly innovative way of capturing and managing data.

It allows you rapidly process your own transactions and rapidly interrogate them as they’re happening.

“Data that wasn’t previously queryable is now queryable because we can capture it and process it in real time. For example, for a retailer, one of your stores is selling a lot of product X – you can immediately react. Did someone tweet?

Is it weather related? Businesses can react and capitalise.”

Conor Shaw, Vice President of General Business and Partner Channels at SAP

Shaw’s message to the market is to stop, sit back, look at the process you’re managing and to consider how technology could be used to simplify these processes. SAP has products that are optimised for all companies, from the very small to multinationals.

And how much does this technology cost? “It’s a fair value based investment and we work with customers to show ROI in less than two years,” explains Shaw. “The biggest investment a company needs to make, however, is their investment in mindset change to take advantage of the opportunity brought by the technology we provide.”

67 |

Enterprise Resource Planning > Microsoft

Improving Your Bottom Line with

Enterprise Resource Planning > ERP is a small term for a solution that can bring Irish businesses big results, says Martin Cullen, SMSP Director at Microsoft.

M

icrosoft’s vision is to help businesses achieve their full potential, and the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) applications we offer play an increasingly important role in ensuring this vision is realised.

Agile Businesses in Changing Times There is a very real transition taking place in the ERP for business – from up-front, perpetual licensing to annuity/ subscription models; from on-premise to cloud deployments; from big implementations to rapid roll-outs; and from customisation to standardisation. A business solution from Microsoft helps ensure business can make the most of this transition, offering the flexibility and choice they need to respond when their customers’ needs change and quickly adapt to new competitive or market pressures. A business solution from Microsoft offers systems and tools that will accelerate, not constrain, their growth, and help their people run a better business.

Microsoft Dynamics is an innovative, flexible, end-to-end solution. Developed

by Microsoft as part of a complete solution to make people more proactive and productive, Microsoft Dynamics offers easy to install, easy-to-use business management tools that are available when and where people want to use them. And Microsoft Dynamics makes every person on the team as effective as they can be, connects the many moving parts of business, and delivers the insights people need to make the smart decisions that drive business growth.

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Martin Cullen, SMSP Director at Microsoft

Microsoft Dynamics enables customers to • Add customers, extend product lines or expand to new markets with a comprehensive business management solution that’s built to handle the needs of a growing company.

• Integrate accounting and finance, reporting, supply chain and people/ project/service management into a single, integrated solution.

• Analyse and manage your data using hundreds of standard reports and integrations with Excel and SQL Reporting Services, so you can go from sharing backward-looking results to making forward-thinking decisions.

• Be productive right out of the box with a solution that looks, works and acts like Microsoft Office, so your team knows how to put it to work the instant you put it in place.

• Give everyone precisely what they need to do their specific job with role-tailored tools as well as web- and

mobile-accessibility that gives the right people the right information when they need it and on the devices they use.

• Take the hassles out of the implementation process with Rapid Start Services designed to get you up and running quickly.

Choose from cloud or on premise deployment, whatever works best for your IT infrastructure, your team and your business. Select and implement only the components of the solution your business will use today, and add new capabilities as you need them.

Work with a global network of reselling partners that offer industry knowledge as well as in-depth understanding of your local regulations and requirements, so you can choose an affordable, industry-specific-solution that is right for your business.

You can find out more about Microsoft Dynamics by visiting www.microsoft. com/en-ie/dynamics/erp.aspx

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BI SURVEY > ESRI Ireland

What has Location Analytics got to

Do with your Skinny Latte? > Joanne McLaughlin, Marketing Manager with Esri Ireland, explains how global coffee chain Starbucks has been using local analytics to fuel its expansion.

E

veryday Starbucks strives to provide a world-class customer experience in their coffee houses.

That was true when the first Starbucks opened in 1971 and it’s just as true today. Starbucks had a vision to bring the coffee house tradition to the world: a vision to create a third place; the first place being home, the second work and the third – the local Starbucks store.

Amid buzzwords that have hijacked discussions on the retail industry, such as ‘omni-channel’ and ‘web-rooming’, it’s easy to forget a stubborn truism of retail success: location, location, location.

A long time user of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Starbucks began using location to aid its phenomenal expansion and global growth back in the late 1990s. Starbucks’ mission is to provide their business customers with world-class business intelligence and information products. And whether it’s coffee or IT, both the customer and maps are at the centre of what they do.

Starbucks have over 20,000 store locations worldwide (over 20 here in Ireland) but have you ever wondered how they locate a new store? ‘Atlas’ is their world-class market planning and store development system. Over 700 partners in 15 countries start their ‘new store’ journey in Atlas, a highly sophisticated market planning, business intelligence and location analytics system. Atlas is essentially a location intelligence application that includes workflow analysis and store performance and it is a key system in helping Starbucks grow responsibly as a company.

Recently, Starbucks has extended its use and application of location analytics beyond the Atlas application to expose location capabilities to everyone in the

organisation. They did this by creating a location intelligence portal. Through this new location aware portal, Starbucks are now reaching many new customers by integrating their enterprise business system with their location data warehouse to see the world and their business in new ways.

Laurence Norton, Business Intelligence Director at Starbucks, recently talked about how their business customers care about both internal and external indicators. For example, how does temperature data help localise Starbucks’ marketing strategy?

When temperatures are really hot outside it stands to reason that some customers prefer a cold drink. Using the location intelligence portal, Starbucks planners can select groups of coffee houses in certain locations and get detailed information on past and future weather patterns. They can then use this information to ‘GeoDesign’ and localise promotions for frappuccino’s (for example), often helping to anticipate what customers want a week in advance.

Just like temperature, demographics are also an important external indicator.

Starbucks not only need to know where their potential customers are, they need to know where they will be over the 10-to-25 year lifetime of the investment

they make in physical space. Their location intelligence systems analyse location-based data and demographics to determine the best place to open Starbucks stores without impacting sales at other Starbucks locations. In this way Starbucks is using location analytics to help determine where the next 1,500plus stores should be located, not only to help the company expand, but also to drive new revenues associated with new store developments.

Starbucks also use the power of location in their mobile marketing strategy by using location to analyse high-density smartphone usage in the US and across the world. When they started offering customers the ability to pay by mobile, customer satisfaction increased and customers moved through queues faster.

They could only tailor these loyalty programmes and promotions by knowing ‘where’ these smartphone users were located in relation to their nearest Starbucks store.

It’s evident that location intelligence and analytics has been and will continue to be an important factor in Starbuck’s current and future growth plans, contributing more to your skinny latte than you might think. And proving that it takes more than a great brew to stay on top of the coffee business.

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What’s on your

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Profiles, views and news from some of Ireland’s leading companies

www.pwc.com/ie/ceo

Stepping up growth July 2014

Contact:

Irish businesses are stepping-up growth* with robust plans for expansion across all areas of business. This includes investing in talent, leveraging export markets as well as capitalising on digital efciencies. Are you stepping it up? *PwC 2014 CEO Pulse Survey

Rónán Murphy E: ronan.murphy@ie.pwc.com Kevin Egan E: kevin.egan@ie.pwc.com Feargal O'Rourke E: feargal.orourke@ie.pwc.com Paul Tuite E: paul.tuite@ie.pwc.com

© 2014 PricewaterhouseCoopers. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member rms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details. 05190

Business Ireland: Guide to Accountancy Firms

Pulse of the Nation PwC’s 2014 CEO Pulse Survey showed that confidence in Ireland’s economy is up, while the increasing tax burden, rising labour costs and availability of key skills are the main concerns.

Confidence in Ireland’s economy has almost trebled since last year: 86 per cent of Irish CEOs are positive about the outlook for Ireland’s economy, 77 per cent are expecting revenue growth and 69 per cent expect profit growth, according to PwC’s 2014 CEO Pulse Survey of 256 of Ireland’s top CEOs. 58 per cent of respondents report their businesses to be in better financial health now compared to the period prior to the financial crisis. 23 per cent feel they are in a worse position.

The challenges cited are the increasing tax burden, rising labour costs and the availability of key skills.

Ronan Murphy, Senior Partner at PwC, says: “The survey shows that the pendulum has swung with levels of confidence across many areas of business now higher than pre-recessionary times. Substantially more CEOs expect revenue and profit growth and confidence amongst MNC CEOs has also improved.”

Concerns The tax burden is the greatest economic threat for business growth, likely to

reflect Ireland’s high levels of personal tax. Over half of Irish business leaders are calling for Government to prioritise reducing personal tax. Rising labour costs reflect concerns around wage inflation as CEOs strive to attract and retain talent. The survey found Irish CEOs are more concerned than their global counterparts in both of these areas and over a quarter said talent constraints have significantly impacted their company’s performance.

Concerns about finance availability have fallen – nearly a third said finance is more readily available now compared to a year ago, up from 16 per cent last year.

Nearly two-thirds of Irish CEOs are of the view that the international tax system is in need of reform and report that the current international tax system does not meet the needs of multinationals.

Meanwhile, 92 per cent of responding MNC CEOs confirmed that their company’s investment in Ireland is considered to be a success. Nine out of ten currently plan to increase or maintain their investment in Ireland, with the ability to

Launching PwC’s 2014 CEO Pulse Survey (l-r) Paul Tuite, PwC Advisory Leader; Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD and Ann O’Connell, Partner. access highly skilled people the most critical factor for investment. Competitive wage rates and improved cost competitiveness are also key. The retention of the current corporate tax rate was cited as important for over two-thirds of respondents.

In terms of exports, a third expect exports to grow and results reveal heightened interest in the UK and Western Europe with a third more CEOs targeting these markets compared to last year.

There’s also greater interest in emerging markets such as China, Brazil, Japan and Africa.

Irish CEOs lag behind their global counterparts in terms of capitalising on global change: While 60 per cent said technological advances will impact their businesses, only 16 per cent have initiated or completed programmes to become more innovative. Only a

How we capitalise on changing global trends and the opportunities brought about by digital technologies

will be critical for our long term success.

quarter have altered their technology investment.

Paul Tuite, Head of Advisory at PwC, concludes: “How we capitalise on changing global trends and the opportunities brought about by digital technologies will be critical for our long term success. This includes being exceptionally competitive, using innovation and minding our key talent as we grow markets and customers.”

1

When You Want Peace of Mind Company Secretarial, Compliance and Corporate Governance obligations can be onerous.

To find out more about how we can help you meet your responsibilities contact Salvador Nash +353 1 410 1226

kpmg.ie

© 2014 KPMG, an Irish partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. The KPMG name, logo and “cutting through complexity” are registered trademarks of KPMG International Cooperative (“KPMG International”), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

Business Ireland: Guide to Accountancy Firms

The future is almost here Salvador Nash, Director, Legal Services and Head of Company Secretarial, KPMG Dublin, looks at the possible implications of the Companies Bill 2012.

It has never been more important for Finance Directors or owner managers of Irish businesses to be aware of legislative change and how new laws impact their business. Staying apace with a company’s legal obligations can be a challenge, however it is vital all businesses operating in Ireland understand the possible implications new regulation poses for their business.

The Companies Bill 2012 has been in the pipeline for more than a decade and is expected to be signed into law this Autumn.

Commencement of this Act is due to take affect during the first quarter of 2015. It represents the most significant overhaul of Irish company law in 50 years and consolidates primary and secondary legislation into one single Companies Act. While largely a consolidation Bill, the Companies Bill 2012 does contain radical reforms, the most ambitious of which is to place private companies at the centre of the Irish company law code, shifting the emphasis away from public companies.

What this means for Irish Business During the transition period, existing private companies will have to decide whether to become a Company Limited by Shares (new simplified entity) or a Designated Activity Company. The conversion steps then need to be taken, which may include a change of name as it would be unwise to assume that the default form of company is suitable. This could have serious cost implications for Irish businesses.

A CLS, expected to be the most common type of company, will no longer have an objects clause, thereby giving it the same contractual capacity as a natural person. Additionally, a CLS may elect to avail of less onerous requirements under the Bill (e.g. a CLS may have a sole director, but the same person cannot be the secretary, and may have a written form AGM). The introduction of a one document constitution for a CLS, instead of the existing two document Memorandum and Articles of Association, will necessitate review to ensure specific provisions

are contained in the new constitution.

Directors’ common law fiduciary duties are codified and explicitly stated in the Bill, helping directors to understand their duties. There is a new requirement for directors and the company secretary to make a declaration on their appointment, acknowledging their legal duties under the Companies Acts, other statutes and common law.

A new duty has also been imposed on directors to ensure that the person who is entrusted with the role of company secretary has the necessary skills or is sufficiently resourced to discharge their duties under the Bill.

There will also be a new classification of company law offences making it easier for directors to identify if they are in breach of the law and the penalties that might incur. Reforms also include a new requirement to register, on public record, persons authorised to bind a company, the use of service addresses by directors and secretaries in lieu of residential addresses, domestic mergers and divisions,

Salvador Nash, Director, Legal Services and Head of Company Secretarial, KPMG Dublin. the extension of the audit exemption provisions to include group companies and a validation procedure for certain types of transactions, all designed to streamline and simplify commercial transactions and reduce costs.

The Bill aims to simplify existing company law, reduce the administrative burden for companies and introduce some overdue modern concepts into Irish company law. While the new legislation is welcome, it does compel business people to make decisions about the future structure of their company.

As ever in a competitive world procrastination is not an option.

3

Business Ireland: Guide to Accountancy Firms

Smith & Williamson Smith & Williamson are the leading independently-owned providers of investment management, accountancy, tax, corporate and financial advisory services to private clients, corporates, professional practices, and non-profit organisations.

Smith & Williamson Dublin has over 70 staff which comprises financial and business services professionals, tax advisors, private client investment managers and support staff. With 11 principal offices in the UK and Ireland, 1,500 people and an international capability in over 100 countries, Smith

& Williamson’s aim is to provide an innovative global service, a unique blend of business and personal financial services ranging from tax, audit and corporate finance to personal financial planning and investment management.

Since its foundation over a century ago, Smith & Williamson has been

managing the financial affairs of private clients and their business interests.

They are one of the top ten largest firms of accountants in the UK and the investment management business has over £15 billion (a18.7 billion) of funds under management and advice.

People may ask what sets Smith & Williamson apart from its competitors; put simply, it’s their people – ambitious, talented and enthusiastic professionals who enjoy what they do and relish the opportunity to work together and with clients.

Name: Paul Wyse Title: Managing Director Practice Area: Corporate finance and business advisory services Email: paul.wyse @smith.williamson.ie

Your trusted adviser Local presence, national reach

Tax Planning and Compliance Corporate Recovery and Insolvency Audit and Assurance Services Corporate Finance Forensic Accounting and Litigation Support

Smith & Williamson Freaney Limited Authorised to carry on investment business by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland A member of Nexia International

For information: Paul Wyse t: +353 1 6142500 e: Paul.wyse@smith.williamson.ie www.smith.williamson.ie

Business Ireland: Guide to Accountancy Firms

Deloitte Ireland Deloitte Ireland provide audit, tax, consulting, and corporate finance services to both public and private clients across a range of industries.

Deloitte, one of Ireland’s leading business advisory firms and a global leader in professional services, collaborates with public and private clients to provide audit, tax,

consulting and corporate finance services across multiple industries. Our objective is to work with our clients, providing them with long term value, to help them succeed.

What’s different about Deloitte is our people.

With over 1,300 people in Dublin, Cork and Limerick and over 200,000 people worldwide we are unified by a collaborative culture that fosters integrity, outstanding value and forward thinking. Our unique, multidisciplinary approach brings world class capability and deep local expertise across a range of

integrated services to help our clients succeed wherever they choose to operate.

For further information please contact: Website: www.deloitte.com/ie Twitter: @DeloitteIreland LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/ company/deloitte-ireland Telephone: Dublin: +353 1 417 2200 Cork: +353 21 490 7000 Limerick: +353 61 435500

Forward thinking.

Deloitte is one of Ireland’s leading business advisory firms, providing audit, tax, consulting and corporate finance services to both public and private clients spanning multiple industries. Our collaborative approach combines deep business experience and industry knowledge to deliver innovative solutions, helping our clients succeed.

Dublin: +353 1 417 2200 Cork: +353 21 490 7000 Limerick: +353 61 435500 Visit: www.deloitte.com/ie © 2014 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited

Name: Brendan Jennings Title: Managing Partner Email: info@deloitte.ie Brendan is responsible for driving the firm’s growth strategy, ensuring client service excellence and cementing Deloitte’s position as a leading business advisory firm. He also represents Deloitte Ireland within the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu global network.

Business Ireland: Guide to Accountancy Firms

EY

Appointed almost five years ago as Managing Partner to EY, Mike McKerr tells Business Ireland about how EY survived the recession, investment and Ireland’s economic recovery. Many professional services firms proved resilient during the downturn in Ireland and now EY’s Irish workforce is higher than it was pre-crisis.

Like many organisations, EY had to make various changes across our business resulting from the economic crash. Since becoming Managing Partner, I wanted to ensure that we retained jobs and improved cost competitiveness and our market presence. The approach we took as a firm meant we had no redundancies during the recession, in fact we grew our headcount by 18 per cent in the last two years to just under 1,500 people working across our Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick and Waterford offices. We aspire to create further jobs as evidenced by our recent announcement of 500 additional people in Belfast.

In addition, EY has experienced sustained growth over the last three years, increasing revenue by over 20 per cent, with almost half of this coming in financial year 2013.

In our latest financial year 2014, we will report double digit growth.

This demonstrates that we are winning in the market and that our investment programme is paying dividends – we have consistently performed at the top of our industry in the last three years.

Attracting top talent EY’s success depends on attracting the best people to our organisation.

We invest in nurturing their natural talent and helping to develop them into our next generation of leaders. At the beginning of July we announced seven new partner promotions, bringing the total

6

Mike McKerr, Managing Partner, EY Ireland. number of partners in Ireland to 57. Each of them has a track record of delivering exceptional client service and they bring great ambition to grow our business and strengthen our brand.

We have seen strong growth across each of our service lines – and made bold investments in areas such as our Performance Improvement Advisory Practice led by Partner, Frank O’Dea. We continue to attract top talent including Directors, Niamh O’Beirne and Justin Hayes from Accenture and Director, Carol Murphy from PWC.

Funding Domestic Business Our investment in people is as a result of increased demand for services but it’s also a signal of our confidence in Ireland’s future economic growth. Our latest EY Economic Eye report forecasts

GDP growth to increase from -0.3 per cent in 2013 to 2.0 per cent in 2014. Domestic demand is expected to contribute positively to economic growth in 2014 – for the first time since before the recession started. Exports are forecast to rise to 3.7 per cent in 2014. The strength of the UK and US economies in 2014 and an improvement in both Eurozone and Ireland’s competitiveness have fuelled optimism for stronger performance this year.

While there are long term opportunities in emerging markets, rising risk profiles and growth forecast downgrades in those economies mean that traditional sources of export success (UK, US, Eurozone) should remain a high priority for exporting businesses, with a more cautious short term approach adopted towards emerging markets.

Business Ireland: Guide to Accountancy Firms

The availability of funding for SMEs has improved over the last 12 months with greater commitments to fund the SME sector and also new equity funds being set up. However, the diversity and quantum of supply of bank funding has shrunk as foreign banks retrench with the pillar banks being essentially the main providers.

In general, well performing businesses continue to have access to funding, albeit with tougher terms and conditions than they would have been used to. Those businesses that are already highly geared or struggling to perform find accessing new credit tough.

In order to foster an indigenous economic recovery it is vital that the SME sector continues to be

strongly supported. In this regard perhaps an opportunity may exist for a new entrant or the State to set up an SME development bank.

The pragmatism with which banks can approach restructuring is limited by balance sheet solvency considerations and although sentiment is improving it will take some time for this to translate into positive action.

Is this the end of Austerity?

The Stability Programme Update by the Department of Finance in April also reflects increased optimism for 2014 and beyond. Ireland has been seen somewhat as the ‘poster child’ for austerity measures and hopefully the most austere budgets are now in the past.

Despite this stability, economic recovery is still fragile and depending on the nature of any further cuts or tax increases there is a very real possibility that the nascent consumer recovery could be adversely affected. It is important to show to markets (domestic and international) that Ireland is not deviating from its recent path and that it is still on track to reach its goal of fiscal balance and resolve its other structural challenges. Finding the right balance of savings and cuts will prove challenging and in October’s budget, Government must avoid damaging consumer confidence and continue to focus on the job creation measures that will accelerate recovery.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD AND GREAT? At EY we believe it’s the focus to win.

We’re always pushing ourselves to achieve more, go further and reach higher. Because our high performance for our clients starts with giving our very best effort.

Visit ey.com/ie.

© 2014 Ernst & Young. All rights reserved. 6168.indd 08/14 ED None

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THE DEFINITIVE SOURCE FOR ALL THINGS DIGITAL WSJD brings you the most dynamic industry as you’ve never seen it. Our dedicated tech journalists cover breaking news and analysis from around the world and report on the people, gadgets and innovations that touch everything you do.

GO TO: WSJ.COM/TECH ©2014 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.

@WSJD

Business Ireland: Guide to Accountancy Firms

Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon We are Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon – a leading mid-tier firm of accountants and business advisors in Ireland. We are also independent members of the eighth largest international accountancy firm in the world.

Since we formed in 1987, we have grown to be a top ten practice in Ireland. We are known for building long term, personal relationships with our clients. We know that our success is measured by our clients’ success, if they are achieving their goals we know we’re doing our job.

As a top ten firm, we offer access to service line specialists, sector specific experience and can leverage true international expertise

through our membership of the Baker Tilly International network. We recognise the importance and value of sector specific knowledge and we offer solutions.

With substantial experience in both the public and private sectors, we offer a comprehensive range of business consultancy and accounting services to our clients. In all areas of the practice, we provide clients with pragmatic, expert led, personalised advice and

insights that help them succeed, grow and prosper.

Our client’s requirements are our strategic drivers. They keep us striving to do more, to go further, to realise the very best outcome for their business challenges. In turn, we deliver hard-working solutions, innovative strategies and expert advice, borne of industry experience and rigorous thought.

We give advice we believe in.

Name: John Glennon Title: Managing Partner Email: jglennon @bakertillyrg.ie I am a passionate advocate for achieving accountability through great people and aligning strategy with measurable outcomes. As our client, your success is a measure of our own which is why we take your business personally.

Group

For all your financial needs, we’re ready and waiting to help.

South Quay Group  

Accountants Consultants

 

Auditors Corporate Capital

Contact us now at www.southquaygroup.com

Download Aurasma and Follow SouthQuayGroup

Business Ireland: Guide to Financial Services Firms

South Quay Group South Quay Group offer a full spectrum range of financial services for small and medium enterprises from planning, through capital procurement and reporting, enabling them to grow and prosper at home and abroad.

Financial success doesn’t usually happen by accident.

In large, successful organisations, the person in charge typically enjoys the support of an inhouse team of financial experts, whose job it is to help them make the right decisions for the business.

Most small to mediumsized businesses cannot afford to have a fulltime financial expert in-house. For many, company finances are an afterthought, considered only in terms of their immediate impact on cash flow and the day-to-day running of the business.

However, businesses can’t afford to be without expert financial planning and management. South Quay Group provide affordable and sound financial planning to underpin your business activities, and keep you on track to achieving the success that you have mapped out for your business. At South Quay we think of ourselves as your outsourced Chief Financial Officer, leaving you free to do what you do best – managing key activities of your business.

South Quay Group offer the following services: • Accounts – Preparing timely accounts on a monthly basis for you and your finance providers.

• Capital – Finding the capital, loan finance, grants and tax credits for you.

• Knowledge – Planning the future of your business; monitoring activity, recording performance; interpreting the results.

• Audits & Compliance – Keeping the authorities at arm’s length by filing returns on a time basis.

As a business owner you already know the nuts and bolts of your product or service, but with the help of an outsourced Chief Financial Officer, you can take your business on to the next level by availing of the financial expertise and insight that you lack – through no fault of your own.

South Quay Group is a future-focused firm of qualified business

professionals providing a value-for-money financial information planning, monitoring and control support for business on the model of an outsourced CFO. We will assist with everything from business planning and budgeting, capital raising, grants and tax credits to enable your company to grow, succeed and prosper.

For more information on any of our services please contact us for a discreet conversation. We are here to help.

South Quay Group T: 01 613 9880 F: 01 613 9885 E: knowledge @southquaygroup.com www.southquaygroup.com

Name: Patrick Lane Title: Chief Financial Officer for Entrepreneurs and Managing Director of South Quay Group Email: patrick.lane @southquaygroup.com Patrick Lane is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland and has 30 years of experience in business growth consultancy, auditing, accounting information systems and taxation.

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Asset Services

Delivering a range of services to businesses in Ireland

www.capitaassetservices.ie

Our services

Financial strength and remit

We offer a range of outsourced service solutions for clients across diverse sectors. Our services include, but are not limited to, corporate, treasury and debt solutions. For a more detailed overview visit www.capitaassetservices.ie

In addition to our substantial Irish presence we offer services to clients through our operations in Amsterdam, Budapest, Jersey, London, Luxembourg and Zurich. We also have representative offices in New York and Singapore.

Our services are flexible and designed to scale up alongside your business expansion and growth.

Capita Asset Services is a division of Capita plc - a FTSE 100 company and Ireland and the UK’s leading provider of business process management and integrated professional support solutions.

For further information about the services we provide, please contact: Fergal Molony - Head of Business Development - T: +353 (0) 1 224 0337 | E: fergal.molony@capitaifs.com Joanne McEnteggart - Director, Debt Solutions - T: +353 (0) 1 654 8865 | E: joanne.mcenteggart@capitaassetservices.ie Neil Fleming - Director, Treasury solutions - T: +353 (0) 1 224 0333 | E: neil.fleming@capitaifs.com Sinead Keaveney - BD Manager, Corporate Solutions - T: +353 (0) 1 224 0316 | E: sinead.keaveney@capitaifs.com Capita Asset Services is a division of Capita plc and a trading name of the companies in the division that provide corporate, treasury, debt, shareholder, fund and private client solutions. For further information about Capita Asset Services, including the regulatory status of these companies, please visit www.capitaassetservices.com

Business Ireland: Guide to Financial Services Firms

Capita Asset Services (CAS) Ireland CAS Ireland is a leading provider of innovative outsourced service solutions for clients across a range of sectors. we use our professional expertise and experience to deliver an efficient, accurate and reliable service to individuals, companies and institutions around the world. Our service solutions and record of consistent operational delivery have helped to fuel our growth and maintain our position as the leading provider of outsourced and professional support services in Ireland.

We operate through multilingual teams based in safe, stable and well regulated jurisdictions.

Our success stems from our people and the partnerships we establish with our clients. By working closely with our partners, we have the knowledge, insight and understanding to implement our solutions efficiently and effectively.

Financial and accounting services We offer a range of services tailored to meet your business requirements.

Through working with small businesses and large corporates, we recognise

the need for the flexibility to scale up alongside your business expansion and growth strategy. With this in mind our offering includes full accounting back office service encompassing payments, invoices and file returns, and financial reporting.

We will provide you with cost effective and reliable support, through our range of financial and accounting services that will create efficiencies and allow you to concentrate on managing your core business. They are backed up by a clear cost structure and pre-agreed service levels, all delivered via our independent and qualified accounting team based in Ireland.

We can support your accounting requirements whether they are local or on a global scale and we offer a ‘pick and mix’ or a full service offering where you can decide what business accounting support is required.

For further information on our services in Ireland visit www. capitaassetservices.ie or contact a member of the team opposite.

Our People

Name: Neil Fleming Title: Director Practice Area: Accounting, Treasury, Global Finance Email: neil.fleming @capitaifs.com

Name: fergal molony Title: Head of Business Development Practice Area: Corporate solutions, Debt solutions Email: fergal.molony @capitaifs.com

With 20+ years of panEuropean experience, Neil Fleming heads up the Treasury function in Ireland, working with local and global corporates across a range of services.

Fergal Molony has responsibility for business development, sales and key relationship management across Corporate and Debt solutions in Ireland and UK.

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Are you investing in Ireland?

TMF Group is here to help you expand more quickly, more safely and with more control.

We have a proven track record of successfully partnering with foreign companies who have decided to set up an operation in Ireland. Our expert accountants, corporate secretarial, and HR and payroll professionals help clients to operate their corporate structures, finance vehicles and investment funds in different geographical locations. In Ireland, our comprehensive range of services include : Set-up services

Ongoing services

Incorporation and filing of documents

Provision of registered office and named

with the companies registration office Registration with the Irish revenue commissioners Opening bank accounts with domestic and international banks Payroll system set-up Accounting system set-up Invoicing system set-up

company secretary

Contact TMF Group’s Irish team: Ronan Reilly Managing Director +353 1 614 6247 ronan.reilly@tmf-group.com Kevin Butler Director of Client Services +353 1 611 4012 kevin.butler@tmf-group.com

Directorship services - provision of qualified,

independent directors Board support services Accounting and reporting services: management accounts and annual statutory accounts preparation under Irish GAAP and IFRS Tax filing and regulatory compliance services, including corporation tax and VAT Cash management services Payroll services Government grant application assistance

Ireland is one of the most popular locations for multinationals to invest in Europe. We have an attractive tax rate, a talented and highly-skilled workforce, and sound technology capabilities. It’s already home to FDI operations from a wide range of industries - including IT, pharmaceutical, software development, digital media, financial services and life sciences - that have found plenty of success.

tmf-group.com

Business Ireland: Guide to Financial Services Firms

Harvest Financial Services After over 20 years in business, Gerry Devitt, Managing Director of Harvest Financial Services shares his experience of the top five misconceptions business owners have about pensions.

direct property with the funds they have built up in the pension.

I will lose all the money saved if I die early If you die before you draw down your pension benefits all or the majority of your fund may be paid tax free to your estate.

For many of us post draw down of our pension the balance may pass to our spouse or estate. Only in the case of an annuity purchase or payment of pension from a defined benefit scheme would you ‘lose the fund’ and even then a spouse’s pension may be paid.

The State will provide my income in retirement

Gerry Devitt, CEO Harvest Financial Services Ltd.

Once my money goes into a pension I have no control over where my funds are invested With self administered pension schemes the member has complete control over the

investments within their pension, for example property, international funds with a fund manager of your choice, individual shares and deposits. One investment trend we are currently seeing is clients identifying and acquiring

According to a recent report from the Department of Social Protection the shortfall in the social insurance fund which pays the state pension will be two per cent of GNP in 2019, increasing to 6.4 per cent by 2052 (Source: The Actuarial Review of the Social Insurance Fund, 31st December 2010). In my view a rise in PRSI contribution rates, reduction in state pension payments or significant Exchequer subvention will be required to meet ongoing

payment of the state pension. It is not a stream of income we advise clients to rely on in retirement.

I have a defined benefit scheme so my pension income is guaranteed Pensions have been making the headlines over the last couple of years for all the wrong reasons! Many defined benefit schemes are insolvent or in wind up and are paying out benefits significantly less than promised. For those close to retirement age this can have a devastating impact on their financial plans. Advice for anyone with accrued pension in a defined benefit scheme is crucial.

I can figure out this pension stuff myself There have been significant changes to pensions law and regulations over the last ten years and the implications of making poor choices in relation to one of the single biggest financial decisions of your life can be significant.

Hence, it has never been more important to speak to a financial advisory firm that offers both pensions and investment expertise. www.HarvestFinancial.ie

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An executive night with a difference. You could call it a networking event for Ireland’s business leaders. Except that instead of dinner and speeches, it’s sleeping bags and conviviality in the unique surroundings of the Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens or Cork’s historic City Gaol. It’s a night to raise funds and awareness of homelessness.

Since 2012, over 120 business leaders have slept out and raised over €675,000. Past participants include business leaders from Aviva, Deloitte, PayPal, Glanbia, Google, The Irish Times, KBC, BOI and Toyota. Please join us on Friday 17th October 2014 and give one night to change a lifetime. See focusireland.ie

SPONSORED BY

Call 01 881 5900 Visit focusireland.ie Find us on

Business Ireland: Guide to Financial Services Firms

Thinking of Investing?

With New Ireland, you can rest assured that you are investing with one of the best. With our wide array of investment funds, we ensure that we can cater for the needs of many different types of investors. You will also find up to date performance information to help you keep track of how your fund is performing and hear from our fund managers with their view of what’s happening in the markets.

With a constant stream of information from market experts and the financial media on stock market volatility, many people can feel daunted by the opportunity of investing.

At New Ireland we try to keep things simple to make sure our clients understand what their money is invested in and the risks involved.

Why invest in a fund?

As a personal investor the charges incurred in buying

and selling different assets can be costly. Many people lack the time or experience to give a portfolio of investments the attention it demands. Investing in a life assurance investment fund can help reduce the time and costs involved in investing in individual assets.

At New Ireland we have a wide range of life assurance investments which can be tailored to individuals needs. We also partner with some of the world’s leading fund managers to put investment expertise on our clients’ side.

years or more) to give your fund time to grow in value.

However, even medium to long term investing involves risk as values will fluctuate over time and most investments do not provide a guaranteed level of return or a promise that you will not lose money.

It is important to talk to a financial advisor about the level of risk you are prepared to accept and what it will mean to the returns you can expect.

This should then influence the type of funds that you invest in – funds that suit your appetite for investment risk.

Valuable advice Investing in a life assurance investment fund is usually for the medium to long term (typically, five to seven

Contact us For nearly 100 years New Ireland has been helping our clients find solutions

that meet their financial needs. New Ireland is one of the leading life assurance companies in the Irish market with over 500,000 policyholders and in excess of a13.4 billion in assets under management (February 2014).

You can find out more about investing by contacting us at New Ireland 11-12 Dawson Street Dublin 2 (01) 617 2000 www.newireland.ie Terms and conditions apply.

New Ireland Assurance Company plc is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. A member of Bank of Ireland Group.

17

Business Ireland: Guide to Accountancy & Financial Services Firms

List of Member Companies Offering Accountancy Services Accountable 01 676 1777 www.accountable.ie Baker Tilly Ryan Glennon 01 496 5388 www.bakertillyrg.ie Barr Accountants 01 296 4488 www.barraccountants.ie Barr Pomeroy 01 676 1166 www.barrpomeroy.ie BDO 01 470 0000 www.bdo.ie Big Red Cloud 01 204 8300 www.bigredcloud.com BKRM Ltd 01 836 5522 www.bkrm.ie

18

Evelyn Fitzpatrick Consulting 01 490 6540 evelyn.fitzpatrick@gmail.com EY 01 475 0555 www.ey.com/IE/en Grant Thornton 01 680 5805 www.grantthornton.ie Guardian Management Accounting 01 424 0519 www.guardianma.ie Hamble Corporate Services 01 661 8446 www.hamblegroup.com Irish Accounts 01 805 8839 www.irishaccounts.ie

Bradley Tax Consulting 01 400 4123 www.bradleytaxconsulting.ie

Kavanagh Fennell Limited 01 206 0800 www.kavanghfennell.ie

Byrne Curtin Kelly 01 676 5333 www.bck.ie

KPMG 01 410 1000 www.kpmg.ie

C F O’Flynn and Associates 01 668 0399 www.cfoflynnandassociates.com

Mazars 01 449 4400 www.mazars.ie

Crowe Horwath 01 448 2200 www.crowehorwath.ie

MCN Associates 01 230 9000 wwwmcnassociates.ie

Duignan Carthy O’Neill 01 668 2404 www.dcon.ie

McStay Luby 01 676 3566 www.mcstayluby.ie

Moore Stephens Nathans 01 888 1004 www.moorestephensnathans.com Ormsby & Rhodes Chartered Accountants 01 799 8300 www.ormsby-rhodes.ie OSK 01 439 4200 www.osk.ie Purcell McQuillan Tax Partners Ltd 01 668 7200 www.pmqtax.com RSM Farrell Grant Sparks 01 418 2000 www.rsmfarrellgrantsparks.ie SGK 01 687 7190 www.sgkaccountancyservices.ie Smith & Williamson 01 614 2500 www.smith.williamson.ie South Quay Group 01 613 9880 www.southquaygroup.com Wallace O’Donoghue 01 888 0830 www.wallaceodonoghue.ie Williams Merrigan 01 676 5800 www.williamsmerrigan.ie

Business Ireland: Guide to Accountancy & Financial Services Firms

List of Member Companies Offering Financial Services Abbey International Finance Limited 01 664 4090 www.abbeyintfin.ie

Capita Asset Services (Ireland) Ltd 01 654 8800 www.capita.co.uk

Acuvest Limited 01 634 4510 www.acuvest.ie

Chase Paymentech 01 726 2950 www.chasepaymentech.com

AEGON Ireland Plc 01 673 8800 www.aegon.ie

Citco Corporate Services (Ireland) Limited 01 636 7800 www.citco.com

Alvarez & Marsal 01 400 7522 www.alvarezandmarsal.com Arvato Finance Services Limited 01 704 9303 www.arvatofinance.com Bibby Financial Services 01 297 4911 www.bibbyfinancialservices.ie Blackall Financial 01 806 1400 www.blackallfinancial.ie Bluestone Asset Management 01 644 8900 www.bluestoneam.ie BNY Mellon Fund Services Ireland Ltd 01 900 3500 www.bnymellon.com/ie/en Cabot Financial Ireland Ltd 01 660 8011 www.cabotfinancial.ie Cantor Fitzgerald Ireland 01 633 3800 www.cantorfitzgerald.ie

City Trust & Corporate Services Limited 01 675 3140 www.citytrust.ie Cleere Financial Control 085 173 3454 www.cleere.ie Close Brothers Commercial Finance 01 901 5213 www.closecommercialfinance.ie Comgest Asset Management International Limited 076 688 6580 www.comgest.com Computershare 01 447 5566 www.computershare.com

Debtors Exchange 01 685 3600 www.debtorsxchange.com Deloitte 01 417 2200 www.deloitte.com/ie DEPFA Bank plc 01 792 2222 www.depfa.com FEXCO 01 637 3000 www.fexco.com Finance Ireland 01 400 4282 www.financeireland.cie Friends First 01 661 0600 www.friendsfirst.ie Genworth Financial 01 1 542 8400 www.genworth.ie GR-NEAM Limited 01 673 8500 www.grneam.com Harvest Financial Services 01 237 5500 www.harvest-financial.ie

Contracting PLUS 01 611 0707 www.contractingplus.com

Hayden Brown Chartered Accountants 01 677 1951 www.haydenbrown.ie

Danske Bank 01 484 0000 www.danskebank.ie

HML 1890 812840 www.hml.ie

Davy 01 679 7788 www.davy.ie

Holvi Payment Services holvi.com/en/

19

Business Ireland: Guide to Accountants & Financial Services

Hozart Ltd/Spectra Ltd/ Sotchem Ltd 020 793 84377 IFG Group plc (Ireland) 01 277 1800 www.ifg.ie IG 01 526 6050 www.ig.com Independent Trustee Company 01 614 8060 www.independent-trustee.com Interface Financial Group 01 801 5527 www.interfacefinancial.ie Invesco Ltd 01 294 7600 www.invesco.ie Ion Equity 01 611 0500 www.ionequity.com Irish Life 01 704 2000 www.irishlife.ie Irish Stock Exchange plc 01 617 4200 www.ise.ie KBC Bank Ireland plc 01 664 6000 www.kbc.ie KBC Fund Management Ltd 01 514 8800 www.kbcfm.ie

20

Link Receivables Management 01 897 6464 www.ie.linkfinancial.eu MasterCard Europe 01 217 8600 www.mastercard.com Mercer 01 603 9700 www.mercer.ie Merrion Investment Managers 01 670 2500 www.merrion-investments.ie Microfinance Ireland 01 260 1007 www.microfinanceireland.ie Moneycorp Ireland 01 901 5252 www.monyecorp.com New Ireland Assurance 01 617 2000 www.newireland.ie O’Driscoll Assets 01 683 1478 www.odriscollassets.com Omnipay Ltd 01 219 4200 www.omnipaygroup.com Paycheck Plus 1890 552 552 www.paycheckplus.ie

Kennedy Wilson 01 649 4220 www.kennedywilson.com

PayPal Europe Services Limited 01 243 2223 www.paypal.com

Lane Clark & Peacock 01 662 0221 www.lcpireland.com

Pepper Asset Servicing 01 907 4900 www.peppergroup.ie

LeBruin Private 01 281 5250 www.lebruinprivate.com

Permanent TSB plc 01 669 5000 www.permanenttsb.ie

Rabobank in Ireland 01 418 4000 www.rabobank.ie Sentenial Ltd 01 629 2141 www.sentenial.com Signature Capital Ltd 01 669 0700 www.signaturecapital.ie Solar 21 01 458 6599 www.solar21.ie Stability Financial 01 634 9393 www.stabilityfinancial.ie State Street 01 776 8000 www.statestreet.com TMF Management (Ireland) Ltd 01 614 6240 www.tmf-group.com Tower Trade Finance (Ireland) 01 244 9473 www.ttfi.ie Towers Watson 01 661 6448 www.towerswatson.com/ ireland Trustee Decisions 01 806 2750 www.trusteedecisions.com Ulster Bank Ireland Limited 01 608 4000 www.ulsterbank.ie VisionNet Limited 01 664 1111 www.vision-net.ie Walterstown Investments Ltd 01 631 4444 www.walterstowninvestments.ie

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As a business owner you spend time planning your company’s future income. This month why not spend time planning your own future income in retirement.

Do you want a pension that offers you?

Control

Transparency

You control the investments in your pension, from direct property, funds, deposits or individual shares.

Fees are charged for administering your pension scheme which are fully disclosed to you.

Flexibility

Security

You decide the time contributions you make to the fund and when you draw down your pension benefits.

Your pension assets are held in trust on your behalf. They are not helf on the company’s balance sheet.

Talk to Harvest Financial Services Limited about our range of self-administered pre and post retirement pensions.

www.harvestfinancial.ie • justask@harvestfinancial.ie Harvest Financial Services Ltd Block 3, The Oval, Shelbourne Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

BI Survey > Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard

The Ascent of

Irish whiskey > Irish Distillers has a long, successful history in Ireland and a a100

million investment in their production facility in Midleton aims to double production. Business Ireland hears about the expansion.

S

ince Irish Distillers joined Pernod Ricard in 1988, investment in Jameson has spearheaded a rejuvenation of the Irish whiskey category, making it the most dynamic premium spirits segment globally. The a100 million expansion of Irish Distillers is in response to the growth of Jameson worldwide. In 2012 Jameson sale volumes reached 4.3 million cases; the equivalent of 51 million bottles. The distillery in Midleton reached full capacity and to cater for future growth a100 million was invested in the distillery. A further a100 million was invested in the construction of a nearby maturation facility in Dungourney.

The new distillery is located on the 128 acre site and is one of the largest projects undertaken by the company since it was formed in 1966. As part of the investment, 350 construction jobs were created and 60 manufacturing and technical jobs; 30 at the Midleton distillery, and 30 in the Fox and Geese bottling plant, Dublin. Tommy Keane, General Manager says: “The expansion was an enormous project in a short space of time.

It came about because of the growth of Jameson: In June 2012 we manufactured 4.5 million cases in comparison to when we joined Pernod Ricard we were only doing about 450,000.”

“We still have our roots in tradition and the benefits of the global expansion can be felt locally,” Keane says. A significant proportion of all the inputs required to produce, distribute, sell and market Jameson are Irish and the value to the local economy is immense. The distillery spends over a60 million annually on cereals, energy, capital projects and payroll in the local economy – set to rise as sales grow. At least 80 per cent of the

Taoiseach Enda Kenny unveiling the plaque of the new Garden Stillhouse watched by Anna Malmhake, CEO and Chairman, Irish Distillers.

products and services for the construction of the new distillery were sourced using local builders, contractors and engineers.

“It was a very timely financial injection into the local economy,” says Keane.

The new distillery is the only one in Ireland to have retained the traditional pot still style of distilling, however, the company has embraced new technologies to further sustainability.

“Sustainability played a central role in our design,” says Keane. “With new technology we’re using 35 per cent less energy in our pot stills.” He highlights other areas where the company has

innovated: “Low temperature grain brewing has significantly reduced energy absorption; the new grain distillation columns use vacuum distillation, pressurised rectification and MVR technology reducing energy absorption by over 50 per cent; the new Meura mash filter pot brewing system has increased the alcohol yield from the malt and barley.

Using state-of-the-art technology, all of the environmental sustainability targets have been achieved.”

Speaking at the opening of the distillery, Anna Malmhake, CEO and Chairman of Irish Distillers said: “Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard is a leader in the Irish drinks industry, which is a hugely important part of the Irish economy totaling annual exports of almost a1.3 billion, a value added contribution of a2 billion, and a tax contribution of a1.8 billion by consumers. Jameson is a true Irish success story. As one of Ireland’s most successful exports, Jameson and Irish Distillers are proud to be playing their roles in the export-led recovery of the economy.”

73 |

Trade and Investment Promotion Section Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Dublin 4 The Vicarage St. Johnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Road Dublin 4 Ireland T: +353 1 269 1370 F: +353 1 269 7662 E: dublin@trade.gov.pl W: www.dublin.trade.gov.pl

Untitled-3 1

With the big domestic market, highly skilled and motivated workforce, an economy that is one of the fastest growing in the EU and the business friendly environment...

POLAND is just the place.

Trade and Investment Promotion Section of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Dublin is a point of ďŹ rst contact for potential investors and companies looking for business partners in Poland.

Use our free and comprehensive advice to learn more about Poland, business and investment opportunities, administrative regulations, macroeconomic factors, legal support and business incentives available for new companies setting up in Poland.

19/09/2014 15:51:03

BI Survey

> Dublin Airport

Dublin Airport

Flying High > The recently appointed Managing Director of Dublin Airport,Vincent

Harrison, speaks to BUSINESS IRELAND about the recent performance of Dublin Airport amid the announcement of various new routes and imposed amendments of airport pricing.

Q: How is Dublin Airport performing of late?

A: Dublin Airport facilitated almost 10 million passengers in the first six months of the year which is a 7 per cent increase over the same period last year. Dublin Airport now has 57 airlines flying to 175 international destinations and whether it’s attracting new airlines or growing existing business, we continue to work very closely with our airline customers to identify opportunities and possibilities for expansion and transfer connections.

Q: How is Terminal 2 contributing to the airport’s performance?

A: Terminal 2 is home to Aer Lingus, Etihad Airways, Emirates and all the US carriers. The terminal will be open four years this November and currently handles just under half of all passenger traffic through Dublin Airport.

The opportunity for US-bound passengers to pre-clear US Customs & Border Protection

is a major advantage in attracting new airlines and connecting traffic.

Q: What new routes have launched or are soon to be launched at Dublin Airport?

A: Sixteen new routes/ services have started at Dublin Airport this year which include 12 short-haul routes and new services to San Francisco with Aer Lingus, Toronto with Aer Lingus and Air Canada rouge and St. John’s Newfoundland with WestJet. Many airlines have increased capacity and frequency on existing routes such as Etihad Airways increasing capacity to Abu Dhabi by 40 per cent flying twice daily from mid-July and Emirates will also fly twice daily to Dubai from September.

Q: What are the future plans for Dublin Airport?

A: Dublin Airport has many advantages for transferring passengers from Britain and continental Europe.

Our location is perfect, we have strong transatlantic

While building our route network to provide greater choice for our customers is important, equally important is our absolute commitment to improving the passenger experience.”

short-haul and Middle Eastern connectivity, and US pre-clearance provides passengers travelling to the United States with a wonderful product that allows them to arrive as domestic passengers in the States.

While building our route network to provide greater choice for our customers is important, equally important is our absolute commitment to improving the passenger experience. We have done much work research in this area, from asking our customers how we are doing and where we can improve to trialling new equipment and delivering on new initiatives.

Q: What challenges lie ahead for Dublin Airport?

A: The recent draft determination from the Commission for Aviation Regulation (CAR) in proposing a new pricing structure for Dublin Airport is the wrong option for Ireland’s economy and will present major challenges for the future development of the airport. A combination of flat charges and generous incentive schemes for growing traffic helped Dublin Airport deliver an extra one million passengers last year and saw traffic grow five times faster than the EU average in 2013.

Dublin Airport in numbers

2 57 16

terminals

airlines fly to 175 destinations

new routes announced this year

7%

increase in passengers over the same period last year

30%

increase in transfer traffic so far this year

The Regulator’s proposal to lower airport charges at Dublin Airport by 22 per cent during the regulatory period 2015-2019 as well as the decision to disallow many investments which are essential to grow passenger numbers at Dublin Airport will lead to stagnation and a poor passenger experience.

75 |

BI Survey > United Airlines

United for business > Since 1998, United Airlines has connected its Irish customers

with the United States. Business Ireland looks at how the airline has expanded its service and travel options to benefit Irish customers.

U

nited Airlines launched flights between Dublin and New York/Newark Liberty International Airport 16 years ago. Today, in addition to a daily Dublin-New York/Newark service, United operates nonstop flights between Dublin and Washington DC/ Dulles International Airport, a direct link between the two capitals. Both the Washington/Dulles and New York/ Newark flights are conveniently timed to provide connections beyond the hubs to more than 300 destinations across North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. United also operates from Shannon to New York/Newark

and Chicago, and from Belfast to New York/Newark.

United gives customers control of their flying experience, enabling them to select the products and services they value. Available on all United

aircraft from Ireland to the US, United BusinessFirst offers a superior service with a seat that reclines 180 degrees into a lie-flat bed, and a personal ondemand entertainment system with a 15.4 inch/39 cm touchscreen monitor, noise-reduction headsets, laptop power and USB ports. Travellers in United BusinessFirst can enjoy a multi-course meal from a wide menu, accompanied by an extensive wine list. To keep customers refreshed, there are duvetstyle blankets and United amenity kits with philosophy skin-care products.

Alternatively, the United Economy Plus seat offers up to six inches of extra legroom and personal space.

Bob Schumacher, Managing Director Sales, UK & Ireland at United said: “With investment in industry-leading premium cabin services and nonstop flights to the United States, leading business centres, leisure destinations and beyond, we are confident that we will continue to meet the needs of our Irish customers.”

© 2014 United Airlines, Inc. All rights reserved. Includes destinations served by United Airlines. Inc. and United Express.

SM

USA

friendly

Nonstop service from Dublin to New York/Newark and Washington, D.C. with connections to more than 300 destinations across the Americas.

s e nc e r e Conf 014 2

08TH OCT

2014

FINANCIAL SKILLS FOR LAW FIRMS â&#x20AC;&#x201C; MAXIMISING PROFITABILITY Croke Park Conference Centre, Dublin 3

This morning CPD workshop has been specifically created for solicitors and administration staff to improve financial skills and maximise profits.

Tailor-made to meet the needs of participants, this workshop covers topics that are essential to the successful operation of an effective legal practice and sustainable business.

Who will attend?

Solicitors, secretaries, administration staff To book:

contact denise.maguire@ashvillemediagroup.com

09TH OCT

2014

DIGITAL BULLYING: Legal and security issues surrounding cyber safety seminar & training event Chartered Accountants House, Dublin 2

This half-day CPD interactive seminar will focus on the key legal challenges associated with online bullying. An expert panel of contributors will explain how schools, parents and organisations can create safe environments where cyberbullying is less likely to happen. Online harassment, privacy violation and other legal issues will be discussed and debated by sector experts while case studies will make this practical half-day event informative and enjoyable.

Who will attend?

Barristers, technology and employment lawyers, school principals, deputy principals, teachers, school counsellors, parent councils & parent associations, members of teachers unions and other interested parties..

To book:

contact denise.maguire@ashvillemediagroup.com

For more information on these conferences, go to www.ashville.com/events-at-ashville/conferences

Motoring | Au tu m n E s s ent ia ls | Tra v e l B rie f s | B e e r | G a dg ets

Bringing Luxury to

Electric Conor Forrest reports on BMWâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first foray into the electric vehicle market and shares his i3 experience.

| 78

Lifestyle: Motoring

T

he launch of BMW’s i3 marked a new direction for the German automaker, towards a future of sustainable motoring. It certainly looks the part – for good or for bad it’s a striking car. From the outside, there’s no doubting that though it’s a BMW with a difference, it is still very much a BMW – you just have to look at the aggressive front kidney grille which is at home with the rest of the range.

Its tall stance might have you thinking it doesn’t handle well on the road, but this notion is quickly dispelled, aided by the stabilising force of the lithium-ion batteries stored in the floor. The futuristic interior styling can take a little getting used to, but suits the overall design.

The rear opening coach doors are something of a novelty, but must be closed before the front doors, which can get a little irritating (pedanticism alert). The complement of technology inside, however, doesn’t disappoint – rain sensing wipers, a suite of voice-controlled applications, and a media centre which includes BMW Connected Drive, online access via a SIM card and driver assistance controls. Despite a sporty seating position, drivers will have a good view of their surroundings. The seats are comfortable too, although future versions could be a little springier.

To drive, the i3 is surprisingly different than what you might expect, particularly if you’ve never driven an electric car before.

Our test model, equipped with the range extender (REx), had a 0-100 time of just 7.9 seconds, and it’s quite

Motoring Extra Click on BMW i3 to see more

eerie to be thrust forward to the sound of silence.

Once you remove your foot from the pedal, the car begins to slow down quite noticeably – the accelerator functions much like an on/ off switch. BMW have also included regenerative braking on the i3, which does help to soothe some range-anxiety induced fears.

Range-anxiety is a big issue for many, although there are a large amount of charging stations dotted around the country now. Careful driving in combination with regenerative braking should give you around 170km on pure electric power – the petrol engine in the REx version can also generate an additional 130km of range, if you’re wearing your lightest slippers. Charging is simple – via an ordinary three pin socket (around 14 hours for a full charge), public fast charging (40 minutes to 100 per cent), while BMW can

also install a faster home charging unit, at an extra cost.

On the road prices are €44,010 for the all electric i3 and €48,540 for the REx version, perhaps unsurprising given that the i3 fits into the premium city car segment. Is it worth it? It’s fun and fast on the road, comfortable, grips the tarmac and is full of some great gadgets and gizmos. Though EVs like the Nissan Leaf might make more sense financially, the i3 is certainly worth it if you’re looking for something with a little extra.

The gear selector is also home to the ignition button.

Stats To Know

The interior is a blend of angles and exotic materials.

Charging can be completed at home or via public charging stations.

79 |

Lifestyle: Motoring

Aygo

The

Xfactor PARTS

CAR

| 80

Toyota’s Aygo goes head to-head with some serious competition.

But is it up to scratch?

Brabus strikes again Mercedes’ Sprinter van has fallen into the hands of the mad team of Germans behind Brabus tuning – and the results are typical of a Brabus creation. The outside of the newly named Brabus Business Lounge doesn’t look altogether different.

The interior, however, is another matter. Here you’ll discover a van rear completely outfitted as an office, with four luxurious seats face-to-face conference style below a 42 inch full HD LCD screen, and a media centre. And there’s more: integrated into the roof are 2,700 colour LEDs, capable of creating 12 different animations, including a starry night sky and a fireworks display.

So, the next time a suspiciously attractive Sprinter overtakes you, remember, you may just have been passed out by an office. With fireworks.

Motoring Extra Click on Brabus to see more

Lifestyle: Motoring Motoring Extra Click on Toyota Aygo to see more

The profits on city cars are quite slim these days, and manufacturers often band together to share the costs. From one such partnership comes the Toyota Aygo. Developed as a competitor for similar cars like Skoda’s Citigo and the Hyundai i10, it also shares parts with two sister vehicles – the Peugeot 108 and the Citroen C1. However, the Aygo manages to separate itself from the pack (or the latter two at any rate), largely thanks to its x-styled front end – in comparison its rivals are, if not bland, then merely ordinary. The x-addition is clearly an attempt to appeal to a younger market, and we have to say it probably works, to some extent. We like the name too: Aygo = I Go, even if the marketing slogan leaves a little to be desired (Go Fun Yourself).

Under the hood you’ll find the same 1.0L engine as the previous model, though official fuel economy has improved to 69mpg (realistically likely to be around 45-55 combined), while its low emissions place it in the cheapest tax bracket. Power figures are typical considering its 69bhp engine: 0-100 in 14.2 seconds. It doesn’t feel quite as slow on the tarmac, and the noise from the engine isn’t half bad, but don’t expect to be competing in any drag

races. It’s perfect for zipping around town, where its small dimensions make it perfect for congested traffic, though the really tight turns will leave you asking for a bit more.

Available in three trim levels (x, x-play and x-play+), with three door and five door versions, legroom in the back isn’t much to write home about, but that’s because the manufacturers have concentrated on boot space – 196L in the current edition. For carrying four passengers on a more regular basis, the VW Up or Skoda’s Citigo are more worthwhile contenders. The interior is fairly basic, but has a sporty design to it, again aimed at the younger generation, despite the presence of hinged windows in the back, and some exposed metal.

Push for the mid range version, and you’ll get a more classy cabin.

Toyota Ireland quote prices ex works starting at €12,625 for the 3 door x, and €12,995 for the five door basic model, a little dearer than others in its class. Overall the Aygo makes a good case for parting you with your cash – it’s cheap to run, practical, and relatively fun to drive to boot. It certainly hasn’t got the X Factor, however, and is still playing catchup to its rivals at Hyundai and VW Group.

Mustang Paddy

Range Rover

gets a sporty boost

Motoring Extra Click on Range Rover SVR to see more

Land Rover have recently announced their fastest ever Range Rover – the Range Rover Sport SVR (SVR will be the future designation for all the more sporty-minded Land Rover and Jaguar models). This version gets a 5.0L supercharged V8 engine with an output of 542hp, and will charge to 100 kph in 4.5 seconds, topping out at 260 kph. And it’s far better looking too. Look around the car and you’ll find smooth, sculpted lines, an aggressive stance, quad exhaust points, a spoiler and 22in alloy wheels.

You can also choose from six colours, but we have to say the Estoril Blue (pictured) makes this SVR look quite breathtaking. It costs €117,564, but just look at it. Now that’s what you could call art.

Motoring Extra Click on Ford Mustang to see more

Exciting news for Irish pony car fans – the Ford Mustang is coming to Europe next year, and for the first time in its 50 year history, it will have the steering wheel on the correct side.

Rumoured to be reaching our own green shores sometime around summer 2015, though some markets will have three engine options, we’ll get two – a 2.3L EcoBoost producing around 304bhp and, more importantly, a 5.0L V8 with a much tastier 420bhp. Would you look slightly ridiculous driving around Ireland in a Mustang? Perhaps. Will your trips to the petrol pumps increase? Most likely. Would we care? Not in the slightest.

81 |

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s Available in Follow Us

@AshvilleTeam

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Lifestyle: Autumn Essentials

Trending [FOR Him]

Autumn

Reiss Grey Peacoat a380 at Arnotts

Essentials Want to know what to read, hear or attend this season? Let Business Ireland be your guide.

[FOR HER] Hobbs green coat with bow a325 at Arnotts

READ

Snap Dragons

By David Cantwell

Acclaimed Irish commercial photographer David Cantwell is aiming to raise a80,000 with ‘Snap Dragons’, a unique photo collection of around 30 world-famous photographers and their famous photos, to raise money for the charities Haven and Barretstown. The first of its kind, the book captures images of the photographers who normally operate entirely behind the lens, and brings them to the fore alongside some of their famous photos. Snap Dragons retails at a40 from Eason Stores.

LISTEN

They Want My Soul Spoon Back after four years, this is the Austin alt-rockers’ eighth offering and it proves to be just as pleasing as their critically-acclaimed 2007 album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. They Want Soul packs a punch and it starts as it means to go on with the beefy opener Rent I Pay. There appears to be a new found confidence among the five-piece who are usually known for their more quirky, minimalist style.

Their single (if this stands for anything these days!) Do You is a catchy, radiofriendly tune with an interesting video to match (https://www.youtube.com/ user/spoontheband). Other stand-out tracks include Outlier and Inside Out. At a time when there appears to be a lack of bands with a true swagger, Spoon’s resilience in the music industry and their latest offering is more than welcome.

They want our souls.

ATTEND

Bram Stoker Festival 24-27 October 2014

From 24-27 October 2014 there are plenty of events to sink your teeth into as Dublin City celebrates the life, work and legacy of Dublin horror novelist Bram Stoker and his gothic novel Dracula. Whether you’re a resident vampire or visiting from further afield, the Bram Stoker Festival 2014 has something for everyone in its spooktacular programme of events.

Last year’s festival included a vampire hunt, a children’s Halloween artwork exhibition, ghost story readings and screenings of vampire films. Expect more of the same spine chilling events this year. For more details visit www.bramstokerfestival.com.

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Lifestyle: Travel Briefs

10

most underrated European cities

TRAVEL

Briefs

Business Ireland explores where’s hot, where’s not and what’s new in travel for both business and pleasure.

Porto

Portugal Porto dates back to Roman times and today it’s a colourful, historical, cultural and romantic getaway. Porto is also the birthplace of port so make it your drink of choice.

Glasgow Scotland

Visitors generally flock to the capital but Glasgow also has a lot to offer. Less twee than Edinburgh, Glasgow has culture with edge, and it’s the second shopping city in the UK after London.

Belfast Ireland

Visitors will find plenty to explore in Belfast, from the Titanic Quarter or Ulster Museum to excellent food and nightlife

Lyon

France The third biggest city in France offers outstanding museums, a dynamic cultural life, a bustling atmosphere and a gourmet’s paradise.

Quick guide to

Copenhagen

A cyclist’s dream, a foodie’s paradise and the hip traveller’s idea of heaven; Copenhagen is a cool, compact and cultural city break.

Eat: Smørrebrød

When in Copenhagen you must sample smørrebrød, the local delicacy. Best described as an open sandwich with various toppings, visit Aamanns in the city centre where smørrebrød has been elevated to another level. www.aamanns.dk

Sleep: Nimb Hotel

The boutique hotel is situated between Central Station and the famous Tivoli Gardens. Recently renovated, the 17 bedrooms are each unique with antiques, artworks, deep

An island to call home

bath tubs and luxurious four poster beds. www. nimb.dk

See: The Danish Design Centre

Experience Scandi design at the Danish Design Centre. Inaugurated for the millennium it showcases the innovative and functional characteristics of indigenous design and offers displays of decorative art, crafts, and industrial designs from the Western World and Asia from the late Middle Ages and up to the present. www.ddc.dk

Getting there:

Aer Lingus and SAS fly daily from Dublin to Copenhagen. From the airport the Metro or S-Train is the most efficient route to Copenhagen city centre.

The 96-acre Inishdooey Island off the Donegal coast and part of the Donegal Archipelago has been seeking a buyer since 2011 when it came to the market for a1 million. Its price tag has now been slashed by 84 per cent to a175,000; a seemingly bargain price for your own private island. But consider the prohibitive cost to transport building materials to the island; local contractor Seamus McClafferty estimates it could cost between a200,000 and a250,000 to build something modest.

Emirates double flights to Dubai Emirates have launched an additional daily flight from Dublin to Dubai, doubling the airline’s capacity out of Ireland. Two Boeing 777s on the route will carry up to 22,000 customers between Dublin and Dubai each month.

Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison said: “Emirates Dublin Dubai route has been incredibly successful since it started flights in 2011; the decision to double capacity is testament to that success.” The additional route will also increase cargo capacity into the Middle East.

Graz

Austria Austria’s second largest city is both relaxed and lively due to a large student population.

Explore the attractive city centre, Renaissance architecture and happening arts scene.

Bergen Norway

Bergen buzzes with vibrant nightlife, restaurants and a beautiful waterfront. While it’s the gateway to the famous fjords it’s well worth a visit in itself.

Ghent Belgium

Visitors to Belgium go mainly to Brussels but Ghent is a modern, lively city with a historic backdrop and stunning canalside architecture.

Bucharest Romania

The combination of wide, tree-lined streets and manicured gardens, Belle Époque-style architecture, elegant past and vibrant nightlife make Bucharest a must-see.

Liverpool

United Kingdom Crowned European Capital of Culture in 2008 because of its superb museums, galleries and Unesco listed docks and waterfront.

Utrecht

The Netherlands Expore the compact medieval centre, modern architecture, trendy shops and interesting museums by foot.

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Lifestyle: BEER

Beer Business Business Ireland looks at all things related to good beer.

A Well Crafted Festival The fourth Irish Craft Beer and Cider Festival returned to the RDS in Dublin last September and, like the craft beer and cider industry itself, witnessed explosive growth with an estimated 11,000 people in attendance. BUSINESS IRELAND was there and picked out five of the best beers from the 200 Irish produced beverages on offer: • Rascals Brewing Company’s Wit Woo • Eight Degrees Brewing’s Alba Abu • Trouble Brewing’s Black IPA • Franciscan Well’s Rosemary & Clementine Saison • Metalman’s Chameleon Rubus

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There are some great things about Halloween.

Okay – not many, but one that comes to mind is the release by some breweries of pumpkin ale.

This will be the third year that Trouble Brewing produce their own pumpkin brew. When the Kildare-based brewers first released it in 2012, it was the first time an Irish brewer produced a pumpkin beer commercially. Thomas Prior, Stephen Clinch and Paul O’Connor – the guys behind the successful Irish craft brewery which boasts some of the best branding out there – grow their own pumpkins specifically for use in the beer. They also blend their own pumpkin spice, which is made from cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.

Pumpkin Brew is 4.5% ABV and displays an appetising amber colour, the malt and hops are rich but understated to allow the pumpkin spice to give the beer a tingling ginger and cinnamon kick. A good alternative to a bonfire for warming yourself up this Halloween.

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| 86

Beer of the Quarter:

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When it comes to beer, the Netherlands is best known for fizzy pilsners. Tucked away on an island in the southwest of the country is a small brewpub, which churns out the creations of Kees Bubberman - a long time pioneer of the Dutch beer scene.

Bubberman puts the beers out under the Emelisse brand and a few have (thankfully) started to appear in Irish beer shops. Well worth a taste is the strikingly packaged Emelisse Black IPA which comes in a dark brown bottle adorned with a jet black label. The beer pours almost as black as the label, with a tan coloured head. The taste is perfect for an autumn evening with strong hints of liquorice and coffee lightened by orange and sweet citrus notes. Lager fans might find this a little too bitter and coarse, but it should find favour with porter and stout drinkers.

.........

Emelisse Black IPA

Brewers at the launch of this year’s Irish Craft Beer and Cider Festival.

....

World Beer Profile:

Kinnegar celebrates the deep Donegal roots of Ireland’s first Ryder Cup captain with its latest special brew, Otway. The beer honouring Paul McGinley is a very drinkable 4.2% pale ale and is named after one of the world’s oldest golf links.

In The Pursuit of Hoppiness The guys behind the BUSINESS IRELAND Beer Business page are charting their perennial search for a decent beer. Through their blog, they share their thoughts on the beers – be they good, bad or indifferent – that they find in the pubs and off-licenses of Dublin and anywhere else they happen to visit.

See http://inthepursuitofhoppiness. wordpress.com

Tech

Lifestyle: Gadgets

In this issue Business Ireland looks at three of the best tablets on the market and takes a glimpse at the latest news in technology.

Timeout

Tech Talk

Microsoft Surface Pro 3

Available for

a1,019 With each generation of Surface products, Microsoft gets closer to building a device that can replace both your tablet and laptop. The company’s progress has been gradual, and despite a less than user-friendly keyboard, the Surface Pro 3 is a

Samsung Galaxy Tab S

decent offering. Although it has a larger screen size, the Surface Pro is easier than ever to use as a tablet, thanks to a thinner, lighter design and more sensible aspect ratio. A good option if you want a tablet and laptop in equal measure.

Samsung may have finally cracked this whole tablet thing.

Pros: • 8.4 or 10.5-inch screen.

Apple iPad Air

Available at expansys.ie

• Slimmer, lighter build.

Price: 8.4-inch: a409.99 10.5-inch: a514.99

The Apple iPad Air is the best looking full-size iPad yet.

Pros: • 9.7-inch screen.

• 7.5mm sliver body.

• Full-sized tablet.

• AMOLED screen.

Available at Harvey Norman

Available at expansys.ie

• No compromise to performance or battery life.

• Slimmer and more attractive.

Apple has unveiled a new watch, two larger iPhones and a mobile payments service as chief executive officer Tim Cook looks to revive the company’s reputation.

Internet search giant Google has extended its return time for newly downloaded apps from the Google Play Store from 15 minutes to two hours after its original download.

In a bid to break free of the past, Microsoft is preparing to jettison the Nokia and Windows Phone brands forever, replacing them simply with Windows.

A survey commissioned by the Global Privacy Enforcement Network has found that 85 per cent of apps analysed were found to be vague in explaining how they use customers’ data.

Price: From a584.99

87 |

Q&A

on a

Business Ireland caught up Alison Hodgson, HR Director with McDonald’s Ireland, who was revving in her Rav4 but doing her thing and lovin’ it.

What business is in your diary today?

Your current car?

At the moment I’m busy planning the HR agenda into 2016. I have a coffee catch up with a franchisee in one of our restaurants. Later I’m meeting with the Operations Director in relation to a piece of organisation design work. This evening, I have a national committee meeting with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Ireland.

A Toyota RAV4 – I love it!

The business person you most admire?

Didn’t It Rain by Hugh Laurie.

It has to be Don Thompson who is the CEO of McDonald’s. He is inspiring and a visionary in terms of the way he motivates people across a huge global business.

Advice you wish you’d been given years ago?

Always look for opportunities to continue your life-long learning, as Ray Kroc, McDonald’s founder says – always be green and growing, not ripe and rotting!

A start-up you’d invest in?

I believe in the many exciting wellness programmes that exist out there to give people in business advice on managing work-life balance.

Your first car?

Ford Fiesta – I had to manually flick a switch under the bonnet to get the engine to turn on when starting!

| 88

Your dream holiday?

Skiing for a week, followed by five days in the sun and finishing up with a three-day stopover in New York City for a bit of retail therapy.

Favourite food?

Fresh fish of any kind.

Last music purchase?

Last holiday?

The actor that would play you in a film?

I visited Croatia in July.

Helen Mirren – she has had an incredible career.

Last concert?

Dolly Parton, Tom Jones and Robbie Williams – and they were all within one week last June!

The one item you’d bring to a desert island?

A Kindle that’s solar powered.

The soundtrack to your life?

Do Your Thing by Basement Jaxx.

The book you couldn’t put down?

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes. It’s a real page turner.

The item of clothing that owes you nothing?

A Marks and Spencer red dress I bought for £45 eight years ago.

How do you switch off?

I love to travel, socialise with friends and catch up with family. I always have a good book on the go and a stack of movies to see.

Favourite sports?

I love to go skiing each year.

You’re Taoiseach for a day, what one thing would you do?

Make it easier to do business in Ireland.

Something you’d like to plug?

Women in Business. An evenly balanced workforce profile unlocks so much more opportunity for businesses.

For business on the move

When you have meetings outside Dublin, take the train.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s like taking your office with you.

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At eircom Business Solutions we understand this. That’s why our business customers, large and small, trust in us. They know we have more technological and network experience than anyone else.

eircom. Driving Business Forward eircom.ie/business