Work & Life - Issue No 3

work &life THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

ISSUE 3 • WINTER 2008

IDENTITY CRISIS Can your employer be trusted with your personal data?

THE FASTEST WAY HOME FROM WORK WHY WE NEED MATERNITY LEAVE DOWN IN THE HOLE WITH DUBLIN’S DRAINS CREW HOW TRAINING COULD REBOOT YOUR CAREER COOL AND QUIRKY KILKENNY ARE TV MAKEOVER SHOWS ANY USE?

ALSO INSIDE

TOM WAITS. IRISH RUGBY. JAMES BOND. CANCER CARE. ENTERTAINING AT HOME. SURVIVING CHRISTMAS. MORE TREES PLEASE. BOOKS. YOUR TAX. COMPETITIONS. NEWS. AND LOTS MORE… www.impact.ie

In this issue

work&life – Winter 2008 COVER FEATURES

REGULARS

MORE REGULARS

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FASTEST WAY TO WORK

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DOWN AND DIRTY We spend a day with the lads who keep Dublin’s drains working.

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MINDING OUR BUSINESS Can we trust our employers with our personal data asks BERNARD HARBOR.

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IN THE CITY

A NEW YOU? TRISH O’MAHONY finds out whether TV makeover shows are any use when it comes to changing your look.

Competitions…

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YOUR MONEY It can be a taxing time for singles. COLM RAPPLE on your income tax options.

IN THE KITCHEN

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SPORT KEVIN NOLAN foresees a new dawn for Irish rugby.

GARDENS

NEWS

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AT THE MOVIES MORGAN O’BRIEN on how 007 has changed to keep up with the times.

IMPACT’s tourism experts check out Kilkenny.

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There’s space for trees in any garden, no matter how small says JIMI BLAKE.

GETTING AHEAD

PARTY TIME MARTINA O’LEARY on how to organise that office party.

BE GOOD TO YOURSELF

MARGARET HANNIGAN takes the heat out of entertaining at home.

Choosing the best course to help you succeed at work.

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KAREN WARD on how to survive Christmas without losing your mind.

BRINGING UP BABY MARTINA O’LEARY meets the women and children who’ve benefitted from improved maternity leave.

YOUR LETTERS Put pen to paper and win €50.

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BETWEEN THE COVERS She’s an addiction worker, mother and journalist. Now JULIET BRESSAN has launched her first novel.

Meet the woman who’s shaved her head for cancer care.

Bicycle boy NIALL SHANAHAN loses out in the Galway races.

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IMPACT PEOPLE

MUSIC How come it costs so much to see a gig, asks RAYMOND CONNOLLY.

KAY HANNIGAN AER LINGUS HEALTH DISPUTE NEW PAY DEAL DEAL AT A GLANCE

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WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 3

THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

work&life Full of goodness EVERYONE’S BEEN talking about Tom Waits this summer and opinions vary widely. A quick straw poll in the Work & Life office produced opinions ranging from “who’s he?” to “I’d sell my son’s kidney for a ticket!”

On our music pages Raymond Connolly wonders why you have to go that far to afford a good night out. And, keeping with the Waits theme, Niall Shanhan goes ‘down in the hole’ with the IMPACT members who keep Dublin’s drains in order.

You loved Trish O’Mahony’s career advice on how to dress for work in the last issue. Now she’s agreed to do a regular fashion column and this month she’s exploring TV makeover shows. Are they really any practical use?

So far our travel features have focussed on Rome and Florida. This time we’re exploring some local treats as Martina O’Leary asks two IMPACT tourism experts to check out Kilkenny.

On a more serious note, Bernard Harbor looks at the huge amount of personal data we entrust to our employers and wonders whether they’re keeping it safe. We compare commuting options in Galway, with some surprising results, and outline your maternity leave rights.

And we’ve rounded up all the usual suspects on food, films, your money and your wellbeing, not to mention rugby, gardening and all the union news – including that new pay deal.

Once again, you’ve been sending in lots of comments about Work & Life. Thanks a million – and keep them coming. You could win €100 by returning the short survey on page 49.

Don’t forget to wrap up warm. It’s getting colder out now that summer’s

over. What summer?

IMPACT trade union IMPACT is Ireland’s fastest growing trade union with almost 60,000 members in the public services and elsewhere.

We represent staff in the health services, local authorities, education, the civil service, the community sector, aviation, telecommunications and commercial and non-commercial semi-state organisations.

Find out more about IMPACT on

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www.impact.ie

Work & Life is produced by IMPACT trade union’s Communications Unit and edited by Bernard Harbor.

Front cover picture by Moya Nolan. Photo features IMPACT member Maria Dowd with children Seán, Fionn and Alanna.

Contact IMPACT at: Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1.

Phone: 01-817-1500.

Email: rnolan@impact.ie.

Designed by: O’Brien Design & Print Management Phone: 01-864-1920 Email: nikiobrien@eircom.net.

Printed by: Boylan Print Group.

Advertising sales: Frank Bambrick Phone: 01-453-4011.

Unless otherwise stated, the views contained in Work & Life do not necessarily reflect the policy of IMPACT trade union.

Work & Life is printed on environmentally friendly paper, certified by the European Eco Label. This magazine is 100% recyclable.

Work & Life Magazine is a full participating member of the Press Council of Ireland and supports the Office of the Press Ombudsman.

In addition to defending the freedom of the press, this scheme offers readers a quick, fair and free method of dealing with complaints that they may have in relation to articles that appear on our pages. To contact the Office of the Press Ombudsman go to www.pressombudsman.ie or www.presscouncil.ie.

All suppliers to Work & Life recognise ICTU-affiliated trade unions.

Photo: Photocall Ireland

Wouldn’t it be great if it was always like this?

WHAT A different world it would be if public servants made the headlines every time they got something right.

Those of us who work hard delivering public services – day in, day out – are used to hateful headlines and outraged editorials every time the slightest thing goes wrong. But in August, Terry Prone wrote a glowing defence of our public services in her regular Irish Examiner column.

Why? Because she needed sandbags during the summer floods, phoned Fingal County Council, and got them. No bother, no questions asked.

Ms Prone went on to write that public servants were not responsible for the economic downturn and said: “It isn’t fair or acceptable to smear a huge swatch of the people of Ireland simply because of the source of their salary cheque.”

On the much-maligned administrators, she said: “Without them you would not get your free fuel as a pensioner or the tax disc for your car.”

Fair play to Terry. And fair play to the guy who delivered her sandbags. Simply by doing his job, he’s the best possible advert for quality public services. Just like thousands of Work & Life readers, every hour of every day.

If only other media critics thought this way when they use our roads, parks, libraries, hospitals, schools and colleges, etc, etc, etc…

Public services: There when you need them.

That was then...

10 years ago The Punt is traded for the last time in December 1998 as the Euro is launched.

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years ago

In October 1988 Magdalene College, Cambridge, admits women for the first time. In a bizarre protest, male students wear black arm bands and the porter flies a black flag.

50 years ago On 11th October 1958, Pioneer 1 becomes the first spacecraft launched by newly-formed US space agency NASA. Meanwhile, Brendan Behan’s Borstal Boy is banned by the Censorship of Publications Board in November.

90 years ago At 5am on 11th November 1918 an armistice dictated by the Allies is signed by the Germans.

Six hours later World War I officially ends. A total of 140,000 Irishmen were killed in the conflict.

100 years ago Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington becomes secretary of the newly formed Irish Women’s Franchise League on 11th November 1908. The Irish Transport Workers’ Union is formed on 29th December, with James Larkin as its general secretary.

Work & Life: The magazine for IMPACT members

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IMPACT people

Shorn but not forlorn Physiotherapist Mags Tuite is used to fighting on behalf of IMPACT members as a Dundalk union representative. Now she’s won her battle against breast cancer and, true to form, she’s using the experience to help others. Work & Life found out why she’s shaved her head for cancer care.

How would you describe yourself?

Lucky and optimistic.

What’s it like being a physiotherapist?

I’m working as a physio since 1984. I did five years in community care and eventually, after two car crashes and an interview on crutches, they gave me a job in the hospital.

I love my work and I get on well with the people I treat. I specialise in care of the elderly, female incontinence and nymphiaphimia, which is very relevant to me at the moment.

I have a great team and they’ve been so good to me since I’ve been off sick – phoning me, calling ’round and sending flowers. They’ve been brilliant.

Tell us about the head shave.

I shaved my hair because I have survived breast cancer. I was going to lose my hair anyway because I’m having chemotherapy and I thought it’s a way of raising money. My friends organised a gig for me for my birthday and we raised €1,400 for breast cancer care that night. I have continued fundraising with the head shave and have raised over €3,000 so far.

I’m stress-free for the first time in years because I’m not at work and I’m not worrying about IMPACT. It’s allowing me to look after my health and think about my future.

What keeps you going?

The fact that I’m surviving. I’ve been told I’m cancer-free already and I’m going through the treatment to make sure it doesn’t come back. I just feel lucky.

Have you always lived in the north east?

Not at all. Mum and dad met in Long Island, New York and had three kids. We moved home to Dublin in 1970 and I worked in a shop. I just got used to pounds, shillings and pence when it changed to decimals. We moved to Navan when I was 12. I went to kindergarten in the States, primary school in Dublin, and secondary school in Navan. Then Trinity College for the physiotherapy and I’ve been working in Dundalk since 1984.

Where’s the money going?

It’s for Drogheda’s Dochas Breast Care Unit, which I’m attending. The charity unit does breast cancer research and treatment.

What are your interests?

I’ve been involved in drama since I first came to Dundalk. I never wanted to do it, but got roped in by Gerry Ruddy who’s a staff officer in health. I’ve done loads of plays, travelled a little bit, and even striped on stage once - it was a farce, needless to say. Two adjudicators said it was the fastest strip they’d ever seen! We had great fun. We did a lot of comedy.

A great bunch of people.

Has your illness changed your outlook on life?

Yes. For the first time in my life I’m feeling I can be selfish and get away with it! I just feel so lucky to have survived two car crashes, a bike accident and now cancer. And right now

What about music?

I love music. I love going to gigs and a lot of my friends are musicians. One of my ambitions is to learn to play the guitar while I’m off work.

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FACT FILE NAME

Mags Tuite

AGE

45

BORN

Long Island, New York

LIVES IN

Dundalk

MARRIED?

No

JOB

Physiotherapist

LIKES

Music, drama & walking.

Photo: Crean Photography

Do you have any funny habits?

I’m a natural big mouth. I will say things that people are thinking and get away with it because, apparently, I say it nicely. I’ve also developed some very weird post-chemo eating habits. I’m still trying to give up the cigarettes. I have cut down, but I will definitely give them up.

What item can you not leave home without?

I love jewellery. I won’t go anywhere without my jewellery. A lot of it is presents and that means a lot to me.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?

The one place I’m yearning to go to is Australia.

If you could spend an afternoon with anyone, who would it be?

Phil Lynott. I grew up with Thin Lizzy and I would love to have met him. I actually stood beside him at a gig once but he went mad when my cousin took a photo. So I didn’t get to talk to him.

Who inspires you?

My mum. She’s an amazing woman. She’s the one that kept me on the straight and narrow all my life. Mum and dad are 75 but she still brings me food and wants to do my housework. Music also inspires me.

Who’s the greatest love of your life?

I’m still waiting for him.

How did you get involved in the union?

I joined IMPACT automatically when I started with the North Eastern Health Board and I became active in the union in

1990. By the early 2000s I was on the Health & Welfare divisional executive committee, but I had to step back because I couldn’t get time off work. I was branch secretary until I got sick. The Louth branch has been very good. But all the issues I’ve come across and dealt with have kept me involved. I hate inequity and I hate liars. And I’ve seen so much of it that I enjoy being able to react to it.

What’s the best thing about getting involved in the union?

People I’ve met and the people I still meet.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Go for it! It’s something I say to a lot of people. If I was giving advice, I’d tell girls to keep checking their breasts regularly.

What would you like to be remembered for?

I suppose for being me and for having made a difference, And for my sense of fun. I need fun l Interview by Martina O’Leary.

You can help You can help Mags raise money for the Dochas Breast Care Unit. Send donations to AIB account: “Mags Tuite fundraising”. The Iban and account number are IE52 AIBK 932450 64404010. Or send cheques made payable to “Mags Tuite fundraising” to Work & Life, IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1.

Work & Life: The magazine for IMPACT members

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Home from work

Galway races NIALL SHANAHAN was sure he’d beat the Galway traffic on his bike. But you can’t always trust a Jackeen to find the quickest way home after a hard day’s work.

THIS IS not the article I set out to write. The plan was to conduct an ordinary commute with a competitive twist. We would race - car versus bus, versus bike - from a city centre to an average ‘new’ suburb during a busy evening rush hour to find out the best way to get home after a hard day’s work.

Six or seven kilometers. Nothing fancy. And we wanted to do it in any Irish city except Dublin. We chose Galway. We chose a Friday. I would ride the bike. It was supposed to be a doddle and our working assumption was: “Of course the bike will win.” Why else would I opt for the two-wheeled option?

In fairness, my commuting choice for work is generally a bicycle. Occasionally I’ll drive, but only if I really need to travel beyond the office. Sometimes I take public transport, and I am fortunate to have a choice between several bus routes and the Luas.

But, in Dublin, the bike is always faster. No matter what weather, traffic conditions or route, the bike will get from home to office in around 15 minutes. The best I can do in the car is 25 minutes. Public transport involves some walking at either end, so I have to allow an hour for that.

Based on this experience, I had assumed our ‘test’ would yield the same type of result. But Galway on a sunny Friday evening was to knock all my assumptions on the head.

Peeved peddler Niall Shanahan (with bike) admits defeat to IMPACT members Sean Purtil and Helen Cousins.

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Photos: Andrew Downes

Sean Purtil looks confident as he gets behind the wheel.

Driven crazy Looking at the wider picture, it is hard to beat the supremacy of the car. The last census, taken in 2006, showed that the number of people driving to work increased by over 225,000 between 2002 and 2006. Of the 1.9 million workers in the State in April 2006, almost 1.1m drove a car to work.

When combined with workers who travelled to work as car passengers, a staggering seven out of ten of workers use private vehicles.

The numbers travelling to work by bike has actually declined by almost half from 60,000 to 36,000 over the same period. While recent figures for Dublin show cycling figures growing again after a decline, the absence of cyclists in Galway was stark.

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On the day of our experiment I cycled around the city, out to Doughiska, a newer suburb to the east of the city, and back again. In that time I counted five other cyclists. Two of them were tourists.

There were very few bicycles parked around the city either.

Work & Life: The magazine for IMPACT members

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Home from work

Sean Purtil, an IMPACT member who works at the training centre in Merlin Park Hospital, volunteered to be the car driver in our test. Sean’s knowledge of the city helped us decide on the route, and he warned me that cycling in Galway can be a hairy experience.

I’m well able to handle aggressive motorists in Dublin.

But in Galway, Sean advised that this wasn’t necessarily the issue. “The biggest problem is that drivers here just don’t expect to see cyclists around town. They’re not looking out for them and there are no cycle lanes.”

IMPACT member Helen Cousins works with COPE, a community and voluntary body providing refuge and outreach services for women and children who experience domestic violence. By her own admission, Helen never takes the bus, so she considered this to be something of an adventure. “My daughter laughed when I told her I was doing this. She thinks I have a phobia about buses,” she said.

We commenced our journey at Eyre Square, and agreed to meet at the Racing Lodge hotel in Doughiska. The total trip is just under seven kilometres. We estimated that my journey would be shortest. Even navigating these roads through traffic for the first time, 15 minutes seemed a reasonable bet.

Helen’s prediction for “Hopefully no more had no idea how “Anything up to an guess.

the bus was more pessimistic. than 90 minutes.” Sean really long his journey would take. hour, maybe?” It was anyone’s

Across the country, the average journey time to work is 27.5 minutes. Even though urban workers travel shorter distances to work than those living in rural areas, traffic congestion means that they spend more time commuting – 27.9 minutes compared with 26.8 minutes for rural workers.

Rural-based workers travel an average of 21 kilometres, while those living in urban areas have an average journey to work of about 13. Our journey was little more than half the urban average.

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Nationally, the proportion of commuters using buses fell from 6.7% to 6.1% between 2002 and 2006, even though the total number of bus users increased slightly.

Anyone’s guess

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“ The driver was oblivious to my presence as she was struggling to steer the car with her knees as she lit a cigarette.

‘Those things’ll kill you, I thought to myself. ” The Eyre Square traffic was heaving. The buses were mobbed and everything moved very slowly. I was feeling sorry for my two volunteers.

Turning right onto the Dublin Road, the traffic seemed to open up and move more freely. I was reminded of Sean’s warning about drivers not expecting to see cyclists when I had a close shave with a driver making a sudden dash out of the line of traffic into the left just as I drew level. The driver was oblivious to my presence, as she was struggling to steer the car with her knees as she lit a cigarette. “Those things’ll kill you,” I thought to myself.

Friday feeling Pretty soon I was through the Skerritt roundabout (there are a lot of roundabouts in Galway) and Merlin Park hospital appeared on my left. Sean had suggested I take a short cut through the hospital, as the rear gate would be open. Hoping he was right about this, I turned left into the hospital’s pleasantly deserted driveway. The sun had been out all day, a rare enough appearance for the summer, and it was getting warm. I was looking forward to some refreshment at the hotel.

Emerging from the tranquil grounds of the hospital into Merlin Park Lane, I turned left on to Doughiska Road, and spotted the hotel at the bottom of the gentle downward slope. This was the home stretch and it had only taken 15 minutes.

But as the hotel loomed into view, so did two very familiar faces. It was Sean and Helen. This could not be happening!

They both had expressions of mild jubilation, and clearly they were feeling sorry for me.

Sean had arrived first in his car, followed three minutes later

by Helen. I arrived two minutes later. It was close, but this was not what we had anticipated.

Photo: Andrew Downes

As I made my way out on Lough Atalia road, I joined a snaking queue of cars stretched out as far as I could see. Traffic was moving, but slowly. The absence of a cycle lane put me in a tight squeeze between the traffic and parked cars. I was still able to make progress, but I had to keep a close eye for car doors opening suddenly.

Helen Cousins takes to the bus, proving she has no phobia about public transport.

Settling down to something cold from the bar, we discussed the results of our experiment. Our photographer Andrew joined in the discussion. Everyone had a theory, and it boiled down to this: Friday evening traffic in Galway is much lighter than the rest of the week because fewer people – public and private use their cars on Friday afternoons.

Many of those who have parental leave opt to take it on Fridays to spend more time with their kids. Others build up their flexitime as they seek to avoid Monday to Thursday rush-hour traffic by working later and earlier – and finish earlier on a Friday. Others leave the car at home so they can have a couple of well-deserved pints after work.

Plus, the sun was out. The sun hadn’t been out for weeks.

I was tempted to think they were just trying to make me feel better, as I gloomily contemplated having to relate my tale of failure to my editor, and worse, my comrades in the cycling fraternity. But there is substance to their reasoning and I couldn’t argue with the results.

As workers employ all available means to improve their worklife balance, Galway commuters are making sure that cyclists are the slowest things on the roads on Friday evening. Just my luck.

Well, maybe not the slowest. A Galwegian walking at average speed would take about an hour and ten minutes. But it’s a friendly city and I’m sure they’d be offered a lift. l

Work & Life: The magazine for IMPACT members

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WINTER 2008

Going underground

Way down NIALL SHANAHAN met the men who keep the rain in the drains.

RAIN. IT’S been our constant companion for most of the summer. We’ve run out of ways to describe it to each other.

Office conversations about the weather have been reduced to a shrug of the shoulders and a roll of the eyes toward a duvet of grey cloud, as it deposits another tropical shower.

But for a small crew of Dublin City Council workers, the inclement weather has a greater significance.

The extra rain must drain off the city and into the rivers and sea, through a subterranean network of channels, gates and coastal flaps. If a branch, a discarded beer can or any loose material gets stuck in this intricate system, the effect can be catastrophic.

in the hole check that all of the coastal flaps are free of debris and that there is no overflow in the system. On Tuesday, they repeat the process from Howth into the city.

If there’s a blockage, David descends into the tunnels at low tide to remove any debris. If the system is overflowing, they can divert water by closing the penstocks - gates in the drains - and inform the pump station to stop pumping until the blockage is cleared.

Recent bad weather can pull larger debris into the system. “The very heavy rain of recent weeks causes rivers to burst their banks, and trees are often uprooted and get caught in the

system,” he explains. The Met Office issues regular updates and alerts to the drainage department, based in Marrowbone Lane.

The job is not without its hazards, and there is a strong emphasis on health and safety procedures. Training in confined space entry is regularly updated, and David carries a 30 minute supply of oxygen and a gas detector. “There are pockets of methane in the waste material, and they can be disturbed as you walk through it. Any prolonged exposure to the gas is extremely dangerous,” he says. ®

Flooded roads were a brief feature of Dublin’s wet summer but flooding was short-lived, and this crew played a significant role in keeping it that way.

Photo: Conor Healy

David Greene has worked for the city since 1973. He is famed within Dublin City Council for his detailed knowledge of its underground drainage system, which dates back to the Victorian urban drainage schemes of the late 19th century. His colleagues Joe Magill and Trevor O’Neill have both worked with David for 10 years.

I was surprised to learn that this small team, with 55 years’ experience between them, are the only crew of their kind. David explained: “There are other crews who pump drains with special machinery, and river crews that deal with any floating debris. But we’re the only team that get down into the drains”.

David Greene.

Going down the drain!

A typical week for David and his team starts with an inspection of the system on Southside of the city, from Sandymount to the city centre. They WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 13

Photo: Conor Healy

Going underground

Pockets of methane can be disturbed as you walk through and any prolonged exposure to the gas is extremely dangerous.

Incidents are thankfully rare but there have been tragedies, which have informed the precautions in place now.

A build-up of gas in the system caused an explosion at the pumping station in Ringsend in 1969, killing one of the workers at the station. A memorial stands at the junction of Burgh Quay and Hawkins Street in memory to those who lost their lives in May 1905, including constable Pat Sheehan, who went into the drains in a bid to help two workers in difficulty.

The crew’s modern transport and equipment is a far cry from their predecessors. Trevor explains: “The old crews worked in pairs, and they travelled up and down the city on bicycles. They had their picks and rods strapped to the bikes, worked in all 14

WINTER 2008

Meet the team.

Trevor O’Neill, David Greene and Joe Magill.

weathers and had no gas detectors.”

David recalls his first descent into the system. “It was a new and very strange experience, but I grew to love it,” he says with a broad grin.

Clarence Hotel. But the river was the channel used by Viking ships to enter the city, and provided them with drinking water,” he says.

The old crews worked in pairs and travelled up and down the city on bicycles.

They had their picks and rods strapped to the bikes and worked in all weathers.

The potable water in the Poddle is a resource which David says remains untapped. “With our expanding population, water supply is a big issue.

There has been a lot of controversy about the city getting its water from the Shannon, but there is a source closer to home.” And he gestures to a manhole on little Ship Street, where the Poddle is flowing furiously.

He’s even featured in a 2007 US television documentary about the underground life of cities, explaining the historical significance of the river Poddle. “The river flows under the city, exiting into the Liffey underneath the

Donning his waders and safety equipment, he cheerfully descends into the manhole for our photographer, and it is clear from his expression that he’s still enjoying life underground G

There’s never been a better time to

Join IMPACT

Living standards threatened More than ever, you need the protection of Public service cuts your union.

Pensions under attack www.impact.ie Economy slowing Dublin: Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1. Tel: 01-817-1500. Email: info@impact.ie Cork: Father Matthew Quay, Cork. Tel: 021-425-5210. Email: impactcork@impact.ie Galway: Unit 23, Sean Mulvoy Business Park, Sean Mulvoy Road, Galway. Tel: 091-778-031. Email: impactgalway@impact.ie Sligo: 51 John Street, Sligo. Tel: 071-914-2400. Email: impactsligo@impact.ie

In the era of identity theft, BERNARD HARBOR is amazed at the amount of personal information we entrust to our employers.

Could your boss LAST YEAR IMPACT member Caitríona Jones found a letter from health insurance company HSA Ireland in her pigeon hole at Dublin airport. “My first impression – a false one – was that this had some relevance to my job because it contained my name and staff number, and it was delivered directly to me at work,” she says.

After a bit of digging, Caitríona found out that the Aer Lingus payroll section had sent the details of its entire staff to the company. “I was very annoyed. I didn’t give permission, so how could my employer decide to hand over my personal details?” she asked.

A number of her colleagues complained to the Data Protection Commissioner, the man responsible for policing how organisations handle our personal information, who rapped Aer Lingus over the knuckles for breaching confidentiality laws.

But the experience left Caitríona wondering. “That’s the one we found out about. But we just don’t know if there have been other breaches of our personal privacy,” she says.

Maybe she’s right to worry. Our employers hold just about every important piece of personal data we possess. Bank account details, medical and sickness records, home addresses and contact details, employment history, educational qualifications, our earnings and tax affairs, even our family circumstances and disciplinary records.

But can we trust them? In September, health workers woke up to the news that the HSE had ‘lost’ a laptop containing the potentially sensitive medical details of over 1,000 of its staff. Amazingly, the data wasn’t encrypted, although it did have password protection.

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Photo: Conor Healy

And, scarily, this wasn’t an isolated incident. The office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CPAG) has managed to lose an incredible 16 laptops containing personal data in the last decade. None of the information was encrypted and the CPAG admits that at least three of the laptops contained information that could be misused, including the banking details and personal public service numbers of over 2,000 public servants.

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Annoyed: Aer Lingus gave personal data about Caitríona Jones to a private firm.

Workers’ data protection

The CPAG’s director of audit says it has now taken steps to improve data security, including using encryption and halting the transfer of personal data by email.

In Britain, unions feared for the personal safety of their members when a private contractor lost a computer disc containing the details of 5,000 prison officers.

HR needs to know about relevant medical records or disabilities, and so on.

Big employers have been caught out in the past. Following the 2001 teachers’ dispute, the department of education used confidential details about union membership to withhold pay increases from ASTI members on the grounds that they were in

give you an identity crisis?

“It is a breach that could ultimately cost the taxpayer millions of pounds because, if the information lost is personal and sensitive, it may well mean staff having to move prisons, move homes and relocate their families,” according to union leader Colin Moses.

Back in Ireland, it recently emerged that a laptop containing sensitive information about 380,000 social welfare recipients went AWOL in the same year. This led Data Protection Commissioner Billy Hawkes to demand that all major holders of personal data – including employers – “fully examine all their policies in relation to the collection and storage of data to ensure that incidents of this scale and nature can be avoided in the future.”

So what legal protections are available to staff? Before 2007 there was no law covering personal data kept by employers on paper files. Only electronic data was protected. But that’s changed and, since last year, all current and former personal records are covered by data protection laws regardless of the format.

Under the Data Protection Act, any information about us that’s stored by another person or organisation, except An Garda Síochána, can only be used with our permission – and only for purposes that we agree to. Sometimes your permission is implicit.

For instance, your employer can imply that it’s okay to use your

breach of the national agreement and were, therefore, not entitled to a rise. The Data Commissioner raised the yellow card saying that the teachers concerned had passed on details of their union membership to facilitate subscription payments from source, and for no other reason.

Your employer is also obliged by law to keep your personal information secure. That means having effective data security procedures in place. This includes properly restricting access to data, using secure or encrypted electronic communications if necessary, even locking filing cabinets and shredding documents. The office of the Data Protection Commissioner will advise on this.

Under the law you also have the right to access all the information about you that your employer holds, and to correct it if it’s factually inaccurate. You are also entitled to have your name removed from direct marketing lists and, if you suffer loss through your employer’s carelessness, you can seek compensation through the courts.

I asked IMPACT general manager Paddy Keating how safe our personal information really is in the hands of employers.

“In reality, it varies from organisation to organisation. But a responsible employer can make the risk extremely small and the

“The way a private detective works is to bring unrelated information together. If you can do that through people’s carelessness, you can build up a detailed picture.” bank details to pay your wages into your account, or your salary details to pay your tax to the Revenue Commissioners.

Data Protection Commissioner’s office will advise on – or even enforce – the necessary procedures,” he said.

But they can’t give it – or sell it – to a third party, who might want to use it for direct marketing for instance. That’s where Aer Lingus fell foul of the Data Protection Commissioner after Caitríona received her letter from HSA.

But it’s a substantial task to keep personal data safe and secure.

According to Paddy, you only have to watch a detective movie to see how seemingly useless information can be pieced together to cause a problem.

They also have to ensure that personal data is kept up to date, an important issue when it comes to things like disciplinary records, appraisals, and references you might have provided when you interviewed for the job ten years ago.

“The way a private detective works is to bring unrelated information together. If you can do that through people’s carelessness, you can build up a detailed picture. Pretty soon you may have an identity to steal. You’d have to be determined, very skilled, and pretty lucky, but it’s not beyond the bounds of possibility,” he says.

And, even within their own organisations, employers are obliged to restrict access to your private data on a ‘need to know’ basis.

Only payroll staff need to know your salary and tax details. Only

Get more information on your rights from www.dataprotection.ie l

Work & Life: The magazine for IMPACT members

17

Pagerights title at work Your

BACK IN 1999 when IMPACT member Ger Nolan had her first child Luke, she got just 14 weeks paid maternity leave. By the time her second son Fintan came along in 2005, she was entitled to 18 weeks. But with her third child, due this November, Ger will be entitled to 26 weeks paid leave.

Photo: Moya Nolan

We tend to look to the past with rose tinted glasses. But MARTINA O’LEARY says things have changed for the better when it comes to maternity leave.

This welcome increase in maternity leave is no accident. Paid leave for both parents has been high on the agenda of Irish trade unions for many years, and the improvements have largely been won during negotiations for national agreements. Next time you hear the question: “What’s my union ever done for me?” remember our entitlement to paid maternity leave has risen by over 30% in just eight years.

Ger Nolan, who works in Dublin arts development organisation Common Ground, says the latest increase is a real improvement.

“The four-week difference between Luke and Fintan was fairly marginal. Luke was only three and half months old, and Fintan was four months, when I returned to work. But the new changes mean this time I’ll be off for almost a year with paid maternity leave, unpaid maternity leave and annual leave. It’s great. The baby will be ten months old when I go back to work and will be a lot more settled and into more of a routine,” she says.

Luke was breast-fed and limited maternity leave meant he had to be weaned earlier than Ger would have liked. “I was working part time when Fintan was born so I could breastfeed for longer. But it was draining, feeding him and working. Being able to take longer time off helps a lot if you’re breastfeeding. It makes a big difference to mother and baby,” she says.

Child care is also a big issue. “I would hate to have to put a three month old baby into a crèche five days a week. They are really just tiny tots. If the baby is older, at least they are more robust,” says Ger. With the economy shrinking and growing concerns about competitiveness and Government income, it’s unlikely that we’ll see further improvements for a while.

But the Irish Congress of Trade Unions continues to look for better provision. It wants paid maternity leave increased by a further three months to bring the full entitlement to nine months G 18

WINTER 2008

Maternity matters

Baby breaks AER LINGUS pilot Maria Dowd has two sons, Seán (8) and Fionn (4) and a daughter, Alanna, who is two this November. She says increased maternity leave is a great improvement, but feels it should be longer still.

“I think the woman shouldn’t have to go back until the baby is a year old,” she says.

Maria was lucky enough to be able to take leave for her second and third kids. “I took every type of leave available to me including paid and unpaid and parental leave and Aer Lingus facilitated me with unpaid leave. I was so grateful for that.”

The experience with her first child Seán was horrendous. “It didn’t dawn on me that it would be so difficult. I went back to work part-time, taking one day’s parental leave a week. But he was only a tiny baby and I was still breast-feeding him. I was doing the transatlantic route, so I was away for a few nights at a time. It was emotionally terrible and the separation was very difficult,” she says.

Photo: Moya Nolan

She decided never to repeat the experience when she had more kids. “It was much easier with Fionn and Alanna, although I was still breastfeeding Fionn when I returned to work. I had finished breastfeeding Alanna by the time my leave ended, and that worked well,” she says.

Maria Dowd with Seán, Fionn and Alanna.

Dads’ army THE BAD news is that dads aren’t legally entitled to paternity leave – paid or otherwise.

But unions have negotiated some leave in certain organisations. Many public servants can get three days paid paternity leave, for instance. ICTU has sought a statutory entitlement to one month’s paid paternity leave. But no joy so far.

Maternity protection in a nutshell The Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004 apply to employees who are pregnant, have recently given birth, or who are breast feeding. Its main provisions are: G 26 consecutive weeks maternity leave with social welfare benefit G Two weeks of this must be taken before the baby’s due date G 16 weeks optional unpaid leave G The right to return to work G Paid time off for ante-natal and post-natal appointments G Time off to attend ante-natal classes G Dads entitled to time off to attend the last two classes G Time off or reduced working hours for breastfeeding G Leave for fathers if the mother dies within 24 weeks of the birth G Protection from dismissal for pregnancy-related reasons.

Money matters Most new mums are legally entitled to maternity benefit from the Department of Social Welfare. The weekly rate is calculated by dividing your gross income by the number of weeks actually worked in the year.

Maternity benefit is 80% of this amount, currently subject to a minimum of €221.80 and a maximum of €280.00 per week. Unions have negotiated better provisions in many organisations. For instance, most public servants get their full salary.

Ger Nolan with Luke and Fintan.

More information - www.equality.ie WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 19

GIS Ireland is a trading name of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Ireland Limited which is regulated by the Financial Regulator.

Your career

The dark winter nights approach and you’re toying with the idea of starting a course instead of spending every evening in front of the TV. MARTINA O’LEARY helps you with the decision.

THERE’S NO doubt that embarking upon some ‘continuous professional development’ can be good for your career – and guaranteed to get the old grey matter in better shape.

But how do you get started when there’s such a mind-boggling range of options available these days? You name it and there’s probably a choice of courses on offer.

The first thing is to be clear about your reasons for taking on some study? Do you want to gain more skills to help in your current job or improve your promotion prospects? Or are you looking for a big leap into a new career?

Maybe you just want to take up a new hobby or follow an interest. That’s allowed too! But if you want to develop your career, it’s worth choosing carefully.

If you want to get on in your present job, it might be worth talking to your line manager or human resources about the kinds of things that might give you a leg-up. If your employer operates a PMDS appraisal scheme, this is an obvious opportunity to raise the question. If not, try a quiet word with the boss.

If you want a career change, you need to consider the options and find out whether formal professional qualifications are needed. Even if they aren’t, there might be key skills that you’ll need. Talk to people who work in the area to help you discover if it’s really for you – and find out what kinds of skills you need to develop or brush up on.

Once you’ve decided what you want to learn about, the next step is to research the available courses. These days you can cut out a lot of the leg work by using the web. Then get hold of some prospectuses and study them – course content can vary quite a lot from college to college, even on the same subject matter.

It’s okay to phone the college and talk to someone about the course.

These days they are all keen to attract business, so think of yourself as a valued potential customer – not an errant schoolchild! But remember, they have a vested interest in your opting for their course so be sure to ‘shop around’. And, whatever course you’re considering, it makes sense to talk to current and past students if you can. ®

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 21

Photo: Dreamstime

The lesson for today is…

Your career

Also, think about the teaching and examination methods on offer. Some of us need the companionship and support that comes with the classroom environment. Others find the flexibility of distance learning suits better. Some of us relish group work and projects.

For others, the old-style exam holds no fear! Courses vary widely in their approach so look at the options and decide what’s best for you.

Time and money Doing any kind of course puts extra demands on your time and this will vary depending on the level and duration of the courses available. Be honest with yourself about how much time you can commit, remembering that you may have to study and do projects and assessments as well as simply attend classes. Think about the duration of the courses on offer and don’t bite off more than you can chew.

If you have family commitments, you might need to sit down as a family and consider this carefully. I did a two-year diploma course a couple of years ago and my four and seven year old girls made me feel guilty each time I left the house for the lecture hall!.

Money is always an issue, especially these days. It may be a case of ‘speculate to accumulate’ but make sure you can manage the costs of a course. And, remember, it may entail more than the catalogue price if you have to buy a lot of books and pay exam fees.

Check with agencies like FÁS to see what free or affordable courses are available. If there’s a cost, see if it’s possible to get money from other sources. Many employers will consider making a contribution to training and education costs if they are related to the job.

And other organisations might be willing to help. For instance, IMPACT gives small grants to members undertaking certain industrial relations and trade union courses. My motto is always ask the question – you might be surprised at the positive answer.

If you’re nervous about going back to the classroom, try to get a friend to enrol too. But don’t be put off. You’re bound to meet other students in the same position and, before you know it, you’ll be glad you took the plunge.

Finally, try to get some fun out of it. All work and no play makes Jack or Jackie a very dull person. But doing a course can be a social thing too. Soon you’ll be learning new things and meeting new people, developing your skills and gaining some personal fulfilment G

To help you choose G What skills must I develop to get that promotion?

G Do I need specific qualifications for the career change I’m planning?

G Can I get an insight from someone who’s done the course I’m considering?

G Can I stick a three-year course, or should I start with something more manageable?

G How much does it cost? (Don’t forget to factor in books, exam fees and other costs).

G Will my employer help with fees or study time?

G Is there a free course available? FÁS might be able to advise.

G Do I really see myself crossing town in the rain for a three-hour lecture after work? Maybe distance learning makes more sense.

G Hate the idea of exams? Maybe I can find a project-based course.

G Now, which of my mates am I going to press-gang into enrolling with me!

Diploma in Mediation & Conflict Intervention Masters in Mediation & Conflict Intervention Dept. Business & Law NUI Maynooth For further information go to: Business.nuim.ie or visit http://business.nuim.ie/Diploma MediationConflictIntervention.shtml 22

WINTER 2008

Your say Activity really helps clients I am an IMPACT member working for the HSE as an activity nurse in a R A 150-bed nursing ST TER home, which provides T LE €50 long-stay, respite, and day care facilities. Our residential clients have various forms of dementia and our day care clients come from a home environment, often living independently.

I’ve been doing this with a colleague, a care assistant, since October 2006.

We’ve learned so much along the way, from the clients, their relatives, and others who work in the area of activity provision.

We have also experienced both positive and negative attitudes of staff. ‘Activities’ is a relatively new concept within many HSE nursing homes and some staff view our posts with a critical eye.

Others understand the challenge of the job and its importance in the daily lives of our clients.

We protested and boycotted South African goods but always there was the one crumb of comfort – it could never happen to us. We enjoyed a democracy where our elected government fostered and empowered the aspirations of the ordinary working person.

How silly we were!

Huge wealth, built on the backs of ordinary workers, has now vanished, squandered on failed decentralisation, failed electronic voting, failed madcap policies dreamt up by overpaid programme managers and consultants.

Squandered on the millions we pay to private companies from whom we hire substandard prefabs instead of building classrooms for our children or, indeed, paying school secretaries the minimum wage!

Oh, and now public servants are asked to pay the price with wage restraint because we have a pension scheme

where a clerical officer, after 42 years of blemish-free service, will ‘luxuriate’ on a pension of €371 per week.

Jerry King, Mayo branch

You never write, you never phone...

Work & Life pays €50 for the best letter published each month and €30 for the rest. Let us know what you think about the magazine or the issues it’s covered.

Come to think of it, let us know your views on anything at all! Get out your pen and paper today. And don’t forget to keep it nice and short.

Write to Roisin Nolan, Work & Life, IMPACT Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1.

Or email rnolan@impact.ie.

PS

We only publish signed letters.

Work & Life may edit your letter for size.

The establishment of activity nurses in permanent HSE posts is a necessary and a positive step forward in patient care. I work in a ‘funded’ post. So, although I’m permanent, in the present climate, the post isn’t.

We are just two staff members trying to provide activities for 150-plus day care clients. We are also members of the Irish Association of Activity Nurses and Carers. This is a very active and motivated group with a dedicated committee who organise meetings, AGMs, website and education programmes.

We find that the support offered by other members is invaluable. We share ideas and encourage one another. We all realise that what we are doing is so important in the lives of the people we come in contact with in our work.

We believe in what we do and can see the difference it makes. Although many of our clients may not remember partaking in our activity groups it’s all about “enjoying the moment.”

Maggie Smyth, RGN/SCN Kildare HSE branch

Squandered wealth During the dark years of apartheid a glorious anthem by Labi Siffre, a damning indictment of the waste and injustice in South Africa at that time, included the words “you squander the wealth that’s mine.” ® WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 23

Travel and trips

Relaxing in the

Photo: Dylan Vaughan

Marble MARTINA O’LEARY spent a stress-free day wandering around Kilkenny city with two IMPACT members who know a good tourist town when they see one.

THE IDEA was to get the expert opinion of people with a thorough knowledge of the tourist business, and review one of Ireland’s most popular visitor attractions. So I went to Kilkenny and met up with Medbh Killilea and Niamh English, both senior travel advisors with Fáilte Ireland’s Discover Ireland centre in Galway.

As you drive into the Marble City you’re immediately struck by the medieval buildings all around you, from the castle to Saint Canice’s cathedral and Roche House on Parliament Street. It gives off a huge sense of history and culture.

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After our respective drives from Galway and Dublin, the first pit stop was to grab an essential cup of coffee in the Kilkenny Design Centre restaurant.

“It’s lovely. Really relaxed and the waitress offered to top up our coffee twice in the short 30 minutes we spent there,” said Niamh.

We crossed the road to Kilkenny castle.

“The castle gardens are beautiful, with their roses, ornamental lake and the children’s playground,” said Medbh.

We paid €5.30 each to do the castle tour, (there are reductions for seniors, groups, students, children and families) under the stewardship of our Polish guide Sebastian.

The 50-minute tour passed in no time.

“The amount of information you got about the castle history was immense and really interesting. To think that the Butler family sold the castle to the city for just £50 back in the early 1960s!

Sebastian did a really good job – very efficient and very clear. And the castle is so beautifully restored,” says Medbh.

Magnificent With the tour finished, we strolled around the beautiful grounds of Butler House. Niamh hadn’t realised they were open to the public. “They’re magnificent. You could easily spend hours around the castle with the

City

There was a good choice on the lunch menu. The three of us each had a main meal and some side orders, sparkling water and coffee, and the bill came to €57.00. Good value in my book, given the excellent food, service and atmosphere. With seating inside and out, you could easily spend a pleasant afternoon or evening in Zuni.

acter. They have thought about everything, from the old fashioned street lights to colourful flowers everywhere.

Everything is in keeping,” said Niamh.

“The atmosphere is quite similar to Galway in a way, but more relaxed. It’s really interesting. Kilkenny is quaint and clean with lots of places to eat outside. It has its own definite char-

We had a lovely day and the time just flew by. My one regret was that we weren’t going to benefit from the famous Kilkenny nightlife. But there’s always next time! G

Medbh detected a romantic feel to the city – maybe one reason why it’s so popular for weekend breaks. “It doesn’t feel like a city because it’s so relaxed.

But it definitely deserves its status as a city as there is so much to it, Quirky and the people “Kilkenny has its own definite are welcoming With bellies full, character. They have thought about and warm. One we headed to thing I did explore what everything, from the old fashioned notice, working Kilkenny’s has street lights to colourful flowers in tourism, is to offer in the shopping everywhere. Everything is in keeping.” that everything is very accessdepartment. ible. The castle, There’s a vast shops, and restaurants, tourist office array of excellent craft shops and and citizens’ advice bureau – it’s all quirky boutiques from the Kilkenny close together.

Design Centre, opposite the castle, to Serendipity boutique on lively Kieran So the expert verdict? “Definitely!

Street. And lots more besides.

Without a doubt you could spend a great weekend here. It’s several years Before we knew it we’d spent well over since I was last in Kilkenny and it was an hour pottering around these great for a girls night out. All we were outlets, with only a small dint in interested in was the booze, the boys Medbh’s credit card. We stopped off in and the craic. That would be the last the Yard café, a tiny outdoor coffee thing on my mind now. While you can shop on Kieran Street, for the last still get that here, there’s a lot more refreshments of the day – again served besides,” says Medbh. by friendly, efficient staff.

Child’s play Galway girl Medbh Killilea explores Kilkenny city.

THE MARBLE city is not just for grown-ups. There’s lots for children too.

Kilkenny Castle has extensive gardens and a playground.

Castlecomer Discovery Park, 20 minutes out of the city, boasts 30 heactares of mixed woodlands and a multimedia centre where you can see prehistoric amphibians swim, giant insects fly and massive millipedes crawl.

playground and Butler House gardens with the goldfish pond,” she said.

Nore Valley Park Open Farm, nine kilometres out, has a range of animals and a playground and picnic area.

Photo: Dylan Vaughan

A nice lunch is always essential to a good day out and there are plenty of excellent cafés, pubs and restaurants in the city. We headed for Zuni Restaurant and Townhouse on Patrick Street.

It’s a popular restaurant with the locals and is recommended in the Bridgestone guide. It’s easy to see why. ®

Niamh English and Medbh Killilea enjoying Kilkenny.

The Reptile Village in Gowan is a dedicated reptile zoo with over 100 animals from crocodiles to cobras, geckos to giant spiders. Yuk! Dunmore Cave contains some of the finest calcite formations found in any Irish cave. Just 10km from the city.

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 25

Looking good ved You lo ahony’s ’M Trish Or advice on caree t to wear she’s wha So nowr new . k r o la to w a regu doing r k & L i f e o W re! n featu fashio

Photo: Photocall Ireland

Operatio

Are TV makeover shows any practical use? TRISH O’MAHONY has a look at what’s good, what’s bad, and what’s the alternative.

HAVE YOU ever wished the experts could whisk you away in your original form and bring you back shiny and new, bursting with confidence with a brand new image and appearance?

Image is very high on the priority list for most women – and lots of men. And that’s why we’re hooked on TV makeover shows. They also make for pretty good viewing because people are impressed by improvements in ordinary people’s lives – be it a healthy bank account, a trendy garden or a stunning new face and wardrobe.

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FIND THE KIT THAT FITS YOUR PERSONALITY. Top designers Fiona Cummins, Michelle McCarrol and Heather Finn with their creations at the summer launch of Dublin Fashion Week.

In one recent episode of How to look 10 years younger, the 44year-old subject started out with an average street rating of 50-something. By the end it had come down to 30-something!

She’d gone from toothless, bedraggled and depressed to a confident, attractive woman, with a mouth full of pearly whites. Her new confidence led to dramatic changes in her life and she appeared to be happy with her new lot.

When I watched the Irish version Off the rails recently a young female mechanic was dressing up for an awards night. She hadn’t worn a dress or heels since her debs. The team transformed her from greasy overalls to glam chick, and she lapped up the attention. It won’t change her life but she gained a beautiful confidence and promised her friends and family they’d be seeing a lot more of her feminine form. No harm in any of that, I say. ®

Incidentally, Off the rails has undergone its own internal makeover for the autumn 2008 schedule.

The naked truth

Do you really see yourself out there on the big screen, taking the criticism or even invasive surgery just to turn out looking like a replica of someone else?

In How to look good naked Gok Wan takes his subjects on the path of loving their faces and bodies. Dressing them up in the latest fashions, giving them a noughties hairstyle and sending them on their merry way – it’s a very upbeat, jazzed-up affair. Wan’s approach seems to run deeper than that, though. He seems to really change how women see themselves, bringing them to a place where they appear genuinely happy with their appearance. More of the same, please!

production team are paying for a new wardrobe it probably takes some of the pain out of it!

Participants in RTÉ’s Operation Transformation, which majors on diet and exercise, all talk about how much the experience transforms them mentally – with renewed confidence and a positive approach to life – as well as physically.

Alternative take

The ugly truth

on

But there can be down sides too, particularly with the shows like How to look 10 years younger that take the nip’n’tuck route. If you’re of the cowardly disposition, and a bit squeamish about needles and knives, you’ll probably be against the thing from the outset. Apart from the medical risks involved it can become addictive.

As soon as one flaw is rectified you move onto the next, and the snag list becomes endless.

This could be a vicious circle that never really delivers the self-esteem we crave.

In recent affluent times, spending on nips and tucks has become increasingly common with even very young women dependent on botox and chemical peels. And that’s only the facial area!

Without getting too serious, this approach raises deeper issues about a person’s self esteem.

Appearance matters, but if you think it’s your only mark of beauty you’ll never be truly happy with yourself.

Then they go in search of the ‘perfect wardrobe’, the ‘perfect’ hairstyle and ‘perfect’ makeup – as decided by the expert team. The problem is that there’s no such thing as off-theshelf ‘perfect’. Too often this approach lacks individuality and overlooks the subject’s personality and lifestyle.

Do you really see yourself out there on the big screen, taking the criticism or even invasive surgery, just to be turned out looking like a replica of someone else? Well, not everyone is going to make it to the TV screen and maybe that’s just as well.

But you can create your own transformation. If you’re a fan of Trinny and Susannah, probably one of the longest running programmes of this type, you’ll know the line: “Celebrate your curves, Love what you are.” Maybe that’s a bit simplistic, but it’s a good starting point.

We’d be far more content if we took a common sense, holistic approach to beauty and see it as something much deeper than the colour of our highlights, or the labels on our backs.

In fairness to RTÉ’s How long will you live?, which runs the risk of being a bit boring and poor on visual impact, it deals with the practical side of healthy living like stress factors and how to manage them.

People who are 100% happy with their appearance are hard to find. But in the long run, accepting ourselves physically, and striving to maintain a healthy lifestyle is far more rewarding than a quick makeover. Obviously we can’t delude ourselves. If we’re carrying a little too much weight – or too little – we need to take corrective action. Aiming to improve our appearance through a healthy diet, regular exercise, and enough sleep makes us look and feel better.

transformation And maybe I’m grasping at straws here, but what about the lines on a person’s face showing years of laughter, adding character, displaying life’s experiences, growing old gracefully and all that?

And it’s important to consider our beauty regime over a long period. There’s no point in taking up the gym and being all toned and body beautiful for Christmas. It’s a bit like buying the puppy – it needs to be for life.

In fact, few makeover shows rely on cosmetic surgery to improve their subjects. But many of them tend towards the humiliating and invasive – ridiculing their subjects’ wardrobe and usually dumping every stitch in it. Then again, if the

As for those makeover shows: Take some with a large pinch of salt. Take others as sound advice. Above all, take what works for you – and ignore the rest. It’s an image, after all! G WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 27

Be good to yourself

It’s never too early to start planning if you want to take the stress out of Christmas.

KAREN WARD advises.

Survive Christmas...

CHRISTMAS IS looming. It’s a wonderful time of year. A time of loving, giving, receiving. A happy family time. Or is it?

great idea. It means that everyone receives one good present and you only have to buy once, cutting down on time and energy.

Christmas is a highly emotive time when all your emotions are practically tripled in strength – including the not-so-nice ones.

It’s often a time when we feel we must conform to society’s version of what should happen on that one big day.

Make a list. This is very important. Know what you want to buy when you go shopping, or at least have a vague idea.

We can get caught up in a whirl of very expensive present buying, the need to have our home looking a certain way, and having to invite certain people around. At the end of it all we can be left feeling exhausted with frayed nerves and a sense of ‘what-was-all-that-about?’

Plan your shopping route. There is nothing worse than being on Dublin’s busy Grafton Street when your next stop is in Henry Street. Especially if you’ve already been there that morning.

Never shop when you’re hungry or tired – or at peak shopping times. You’ll buy anything and regret it later.

Don’t buy things you like. Buy what ‘they’ will like.

So this year why not take the holistic approach and enjoy the festivities in the best possible way. The good news is that preparation is everything. It’s never too late to start.

Christmas shopping: Pleasure or pain?

Decide a present strategy in the family. If the family circle is increasing rapidly maybe a good idea is to just buy presents for the children or for each household. A Kris Kindle, where names go in a hat and each person just buys one bigger present, is a

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Breathe! Relax. Shopping for loved ones is meant to be fun. If you don’t like it then pick the present ideas and pay someone to do it for you – a good way for a young niece or nephew to make a few bob.

Christmas day traditions When it comes to tradition, you might have a case for ‘out with the old, in with the new’.

and live to tell the tale!

In other words, make new family traditions if old ones don’t suit any more. Find out what others want to do, but choose where you want to be. Stay at home if you fancy that. Anyone with small children will find it easier.

Delegate and don’t do the martyr! If you’re hosting the dinner, it’s fine to allow others to help or bring certain dishes.

Anticipate yearly ‘situations’. Yes, we all know the scenarios.

How long will it take Granny to ask why Mary isn’t married, why Tom has long hair, and why Joe hasn’t brought in the logs?

Talk to the people involved or work around it. Make it a private joke and smile when she comes out with the gem. Or take Joe aside and help with the logs.

Stephen’s day

It’s up to you to decide whether Stephen’s day is more of the same or a divine rest. But rule No.1 is that chef takes a day off.

This is only fair and means valuable and much needed time out for the person that bore the brunt of Christmas day.

Why not have turkey curry and lots of fruit to eat? Christmas doesn’t have to mean the healthy eating plan goes out the window. After all it’s only one day. Get back on track on Stephen’s day and your body will thank you for it. Why not factor in an enjoyable exercise the family can do?

Remember what Christmas is all about: Love, new birth, giving and receiving. So try to ensure that you get lots of opportunities to enjoy yourself.

New year – new you!

So how did last year’s New Year’s resolutions go? Did you eat healthier, exercise more, or just think about it? “If only I could motivate myself just to get started” is a familiar cry to us all. Well imagine you could cleanse your system, lose a few pounds and gain more energy before you even get to the gym.

Why not let a holistic approach to a new you make this a New Year with a difference? Check out the holistic hangover cures in the box. l

Holistic hangover cures • Line your stomach before the big night out. Thick vegetable soup, a baked potato or a whole meal brown bread sandwich are ideal. water before, during and especially afterwards. Remember the hangover is caused by dehydration.

• A Spritzer is a good drink as it combines water and white wine.

• Ginger tea is an excellent hangover cure.

• Plan some exercise to get the blood and lymph moving. Try a stiff walk the next day. Team up with a friend and have a good festive chat too.

• Drink lots of

Karen Ward, holistic therapist from RTE’s Health Squad, is co-author of The Health Squad Guide to Health and Fitness. She runs her clinic in Smithfield, Dublin, treating her treasured clients from a mind, body, spirit and energetic perspective. www.karenwardholistictherapist.com.

Work & Life: The magazine for IMPACT members

29

From the kitchen

The entertainme

Christmas, Halloween, even Thanksgiving. As the home hospitality focus moves indoors, MARGARET HANNIGAN gives expert advice on preparing the perfect dinner party.

STORED ON my computer hard drive is a photo that encapsulates the summer of 2008. It shows the lone figure of my husband, clad in his yellow oilskin jacket, bent anxiously over a barbecue, which is sheltering under our garden parasol in the endless teeming rain.

We took it through the window as we didn’t dare open the door for fear of drenching our guests. As successful barbecues go, it wasn’t.

Unlike Roy Keane, you can’t pack up your shin guards and head for the airport if the dinner burns. Football may be the beautiful game, but entertaining is an art.

This season the weather is irrelevant, apart from high winds blowing the roof

off or guests being waylaid by homeless polar bears looking to borrow some ice. As we turn away from the sun (and I am assured there still is

Make it yourself There are no fail-safe recipes for a dinner party, so I’m giving you a recipe for breadsticks, guacamole, and tortilla chips. The breadsticks are gorgeous on their own, but are great with soups and dips, and the tortilla chips are so much better than anything in a packet. All can be made early in the day, or late the day before.

Breadsticks (makes about 80) For the dough you need: • 680g strong white flour • 50g butter • 2 sachets fast-acting yeast • 3tbsp olive oil • 1 tsp salt • 1 tbsp sugar • 350-400ml lukewarm water 30

WINTER 2008

Toppings: Use any combination of sea salt, chopped herbs, crushed cumin or coriander seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds or finely grated parmesan.

Preheat oven to 220C/425F/gas 7. Mix flour, salt and sugar together in a bowl. Rub in the butter. Add the oil and almost all the water and mix to a loose dough (add flour or water if

one) hospitality returns indoors. The secret of success is to stick with the three Ps: Preparation, Preparation, Preparation.

needed). Let the dough sit for 5 minutes, then knead for 10 minutes, or half that time in a mixer with a dough hook.

Let the dough relax for a few minutes.

Lightly brush it with olive oil, cover with cling film and put in the fridge for 30 minutes if you have the time (the dough will be easier to handle when cold, but can be used immediately). If you don’t need 80 breadsticks, you can freeze them raw for another time, or use the dough for pizza bases.

Pick off small balls of dough – about 15-20g – and on a clean dry surface, roll them out with your hands into sticks. Drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil onto the work surface, roll the sticks in it to wet them, then roll them for a second in your toppings. Place on a baking tray brushed with water and bake for 5-15 minutes depending on how thick they are. Keep an eye on them, as you want them crisp and golden. Store in an airtight container,

nt industry First, decide what you are going to serve. It should be something familiar, which you’re confident you can cook well, and that will suit the occasion. But do try to establish if anyone has any special dietary needs or allergies beforehand, and don’t expect vegetarians to happily chow down on ostrich steaks just to suit you.

Photo: Dreamstime

Keep it simple. Simple well-prepared food, served in a calm, happy atmosphere is always better than five gourmet dishes served by a fretful hostess and her terrorised family. Aim for food that requires little last minute attention; starters, desserts, dips, cheeseboards, frittatas, quiches, soups and salads are all good and can be prepared well in advance. Try to picture how the food will look on the plate.

Don’t forget the hardware end of things. Have you enough cutlery,

and refresh in a medium oven for a minute or two if desired before serving.

Guacamole (for 6-8) • • • • • •

2 ripe avocadoes, peeled and stoned 2 crushed cloves of garlic 2tbsp olive oil (optional) 2tbsp chopped coriander or parsley Salt and pepper Juice of half a lime or lemon

Mash everything together and put in a bowl covered with clingfilm until needed.

Tortilla chips (for 6-8) • Cut 8 tortillas into 8 segments each • Qtr tsp cayenne pepper (optional) • 25g grated parmesan cheese (optional) • Salt

glasses, plates, chairs? Do you have pretty dishes for serving? Will there be a theme? Your aim is to make your guests comfortable, and allow them – and hopefully you - to enjoy themselves.

Or, as Roy Keane so pithily put it in Saipan: Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

But unlike Roy, you can’t pack up your shin guards and sunscreen and head to the airport if the dinner burns. Remember, football may be the beautiful game, but entertaining is an art.

Consider the kind of atmosphere you want. Tidy away the debris of day-today life, and set up some soft lights and candles – guaranteed to flatter even the homeliest among us.

Make sure everyone gets something to drink and nibble when they arrive.

Consider the volume and content of background music. Heavy metal won’t foster conversation, and Enya has been known to cause migraine.

Perfect 10 Ten tips for a perfect dinner do.

1. Aim to have 70% of the work done before anyone arrives.

(This applies to everything from a cup of coffee with cake to Christmas dinner for 20).

2. Make a check list and follow it.

3. Check that all plates, glasses, cutlery, etc have not gone camping in the garden with a would-be Indiana Jones.

Sterilise as necessary.

4. Check the presses and fridge to ensure all ingredients are present and correct.

5. Check for bottle-openers, corkscrews, lemons and ice.

6. Today is not the day to repaint the hall, stairs and landing, give yourself a home perm, or insulate the attic.

7. Set out your table early and make it clear that anyone who messes with it will be vaporised.

Above all, aim to have as much in place as possible before the first guest arrives. Then you can be part of the fun too, and not a red-faced, hysterical wreck who keeps apologising from the bottom of your crumpled apron G

8. Delegate. And feel free to pay someone to clean beforehand if it’s too much for you.

Heat up a deep fryer full of oil, or fill your deepest frying pan. Mix the parmesan and pepper together. When the oil is hot, fry the wedges until golden. Remove from the oil and, while still wet, sprinkle with salt or parmesan/pepper mix. Yum.

10. Relax. It’s only food.

9. Yes, you can buy swanky cakes, ice cream, deli goods and anything else rather than make your own.

A word about wine WHITE WINE, beer, cider, and vodka should be cold as a penguin’s kiss, while red wine should always be warm. Keep water on hand for anyone requiring a little dilution, and make sure mixers and ice are available for sprits, and liquers. Many off-licences and supermarkets offer advice on what wines to serve. And they can supply glasses and ice.

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 31

Green fingers

Beautiful trees add something special to any garden, big or small. But you need to choose well and pay attention to the prep work says JIMI BLAKE.

Trees Please

Paper bark maple (Acer griseum)

ALL GARDENS, however small, need trees. Not just a token tree in the lawn, but trees used as part of the planting scheme to complement the other plants.

They can add to the garden in so many ways with diverse shapes and silhouettes, beautiful foliage, colourful flowers and interesting bark. At the same time they provide a habitat for wildlife and, of course, give fantastic hugs! And they help the environment by absorbing pollutants.

However, as with any garden plant, a tree should be selected not only for its features but also for its ability to thrive in the chosen situation. Selecting the right ones and using them to their best advantage can be a daunting prospect.

Malus ‘John Downie’ is productive as well as decorative. This crab apple is one of the best fruiting of the many varieties available.

In early autumn it has pretty orange-red, egg-shaped fruits which can be used to make a delicious crab apple jelly. It has charming fragrant, white blossoms tinged with pink in late spring, and foliage that turns a good rich colour in autumn. It’s ideal for a small garden.

Acer griseum (the paper bark maple) is the tree I constantly

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recommend to people who have small gardens. It has amazing all year around interest. The old bark on its trunk and branches flakes and curls back to reveal cinnamon-coloured under bark, and the leaves show fine autumnal tints of orange and red. It’s worth spending decent money on a good Acer griseum as they can vary in quality considerably.

Stunning

Prunus serrula, or Tibetan cherry, is a stunning tree for a small garden. It forms a rounded head with dark green leaves that turn yellow to red in autumn. Its outstanding feature is the bark, which is shinny coppery-red and which peels away from the trunk. In spring it has small white flowers followed by tiny fruits in autumn.

What more can you ask from a tree?

Betula utilis (fascination) is an outstanding medium-sized birch tree with an oval to conical shape. It has large dark green leaves and showy yellow catkins in spring. The bark colour is quite spectacular: orange peeling to peach-pink and cream.

I grew many different varieties of birch from seed and have planted them in a grove at the end of the garden. They look stunning in the morning with the sunrise behind their various coloured peeling barks.

Photo: dreamstime.com

Crab apples

Crab apple blossoms

Tibetan cherry (Prunus serrula)

“ Bone meal is good for the roots but my dog Fred tends to try digging the tree up when I add this! ”

Amelanchier lamarckii or snowy mespilus is really a shrub that can be bought as a multi-stemmed plant. The leaves are coppery-red and silky when young, colouring richly in autumn. White flowers are scattered along the branches in the spring like snow when the young leaves are unfolding.

Again, this is another good candidate for a small garden.

Plant with care

Bare rooted and rooted balled trees are planted in the late autumn, winter and early spring when the plants are not in leaf. Desiccation and frost damage are two big reasons for a tree failing to live, so protect the roots before planting by slipping the roots or root ball into a loose plastic bag.

Trees purchased as container grown trees can be planted at any time of year. However, particular attention must be paid to watering if the trees are planted during the summer or in any dry spell. As with any plant, planting a tree well is the secret of a good garden.

Prep well

Prepare your soil well, no matter what kind of soil you have. Dig out a hole much bigger than the roots of the tree: at least 30cm (12 inches) bigger in diameter than the root ball and 30cm (12 inches) deeper.

Thoroughly break up the soil at the bottom and sides of the hole using a fork. Mix in your garden compost and/or well rotted manure, and a generous sprinkling of general slow-release fertilizer in the base of the hole and to back-fill around the tree roots. Bone meal is good for the roots.

Secure staking is essential. If the tree rocks from side to side in the ground, any new roots will be broken as they start to develop.

Always plant a tree at the same depth as it was in the container or the ground before you bought it and never plant a tree so deep that the graft (usually a bump low on the stem) is below ground.

Water in well and continue to water on a regular basis if it’s dry l

Trees for containers For those with limited space, I suggest growing a tree in a container. Realistically, any tree will eventually get too big for a container and will run out of room for its roots.

When that happens, you can send the tree to country cousins where, hopefully, there will be room for the tree to grow to it heart’s content.

Choose as large a container as possible: one that is in proportion with the tree you have chosen and allows the tree to grow. Loam-based composts are heavier and better at holding water and nutrients, and are therefore always the best choice for container planting. I like to use compost called John Innes No.3, which is available in most garden centres.

Place 5cm (2”) of broken crocks or gravel over drainage holes and raise pots on feet in the winter to avoid water logging. A fresh top dressing each spring is important for the plant to thrive. Simply remove 5cm ( 2”) of dry loose compost near the surface and replace it with some fresh compost mixed with some slow release fertiliser.

Potted fruits Fruit trees can be grown in pots as long as the trees are on dwarfing root stock. Apples, pears, plums, cherries, peaches and nectarines are all available on root stocks that will restrict their size.

The fruit trees most suitable for growing in containers are apples (on M27 rootstock) and pears (on Quince C root stock). The Cornet apple variety was developed in Ireland and is, therefore, well suited to our climate and only grows one to two inches per year.

Position the tree in full sun or as much sun as you can possibly give it. Adequate feeding with a high potash fertiliser, like a liquid tomato feed, is essential every two weeks in the growing season to promote flowers and fruit.

It’s also very important never to let the pots dry out when their forming fruit, so no more holidays during the summer months! To avoid your fruit trees getting pot bound, repot every year or alternate year after leaf fall.

Coronet is a unique miniature apple tree developed specially for the small garden and patio. It crops in the first year, remains miniature permanently and is easy to grow. It grows no higher than 5 feet (1.5m) and no wider than 3 feet (1m).

The olive tree Olea europea, the olive, thrives in poor dry soil. So it’s well suited to planting in a pot.

Its attractive grey wood and silver-green foliage look good in a sunny position, giving that Mediterranean effect. It will respond well to trimming and pruning and might even produce the odd olive if we ever get a warm summer!

Work & Life: The magazine for IMPACT members

33

At the movies Forget the girls and dry martinis.

MORGAN O’BRIEN says Bond has been shaken and stirred to keep up with its audience.

The name is Bond.

Change Bond QUANTUM OF Solace, the 22nd instalment of the James Bond series, is released on 31st October 31. While Casino Royale marked a commercially successful reboot for the franchise, the series has had to continually reappraise and reorient itself to keep apace with changes in cinema culture. And not always successfully, The changing spy genre has meant the character of James Bond has often been forced to undergo reinvention to cater to audiences’ shifting expectations and tastes.

The origins of the spy film predate the Bond movies, with Alfred Hitchcock, more than most, helping to popularise the genre in the 1930s and 1940s. In contrast to the later image of the dashing, debonair secret agent, a favourite device of Hitchcock’s was to place ordinary individuals in a tangled web of international intrigue, in, for example, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and The 39 Steps (1935).

This theme was revisited in the classic North By Northwest (1958), with Cary Grant as an advertising executive being pursued by a mysterious organisation after being mistakenly identified as a secret agent. In many respects, the lighthearted adventurous tone of the film and the cool, dry wit of the leading man prefigure the James Bond series. Indeed, at one point Grant and Hitchcock were considered as star and director, respectively, for a proposed Bond adaptation.

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This never came to pass and Bond was launched starring Sean Connery in 1962, with the early instalments Dr. No (1962), From Russia With Love (1963) and Goldfinger (1964), remaining perhaps the most fondly remembered. The films quickly settled into a recognisable narrative formula, punctuated with exotic locations, high-tech gadgetry and a string of female conquests. The Bond films’ early success saw a number of imitators emerge including James Coburn’s turn as ‘Derek Flint’ and Dean Martin’s Matt Helm series.

Concurrently, darker spy films emerged, even as far back as 1962 with the release of the often overlooked classic The Manchurian Candidate.

Subsequently, adaptations of John Le Carré’s The Spy Who Came In From the Cold (1965) and The Deadly Affair (1966) and Len Deighton’s ‘Harry Palmer’ series offered a harsher alternative to the escapism of James Bond. ®

This realist interpretation seeped into the New Hollywood cinema of the 1970s, where 1960s Cold War paranoia and the counter-cultural critique of American society helped produce tense conspiracy based spy thrillers such The Conversation (1974), The Parallax View (1974) and Three Days of the Condor (1975).

In this context Bond appeared increasingly anachronistic from the mid1970s particularly during the Roger Moore period, which saw the films’ slip increasingly into lazy pastiche.

With Moore’s departure, Timothy Dalton’s Bond ushered in a sombre, more violent interpretation of the character. Ironically, the injection of realism did not sit well with audiences and Dalton’s outings in The Living Daylights (1987) and Licence to Kill (1989) were not commercial successes, leaving the future of the character in doubt.

The thawing of the Cold War raised questions about the characters relevance. But the series was revived in 1995 with Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye. The film faced competition – a year earlier Arnold Schwarzenegger’s action comedy True Lies (1994) both parodied and paid homage to the traditional Bond archetype by juxtaposing the exciting role of a secret agent with his mundane domestic life.

While GoldenEye initiated a successful modernisation of Bond, Brosnan would be restricted by the uninspiring quality of subsequent films. The refined quality of Bond seemed once again out of step in the 21st century, a fact that appears to have been tacitly acknowledged by Brosnan when he played against type as an amoral MI-6 agent in 2001’s The Tailor of Panama.

However, it is the emergence of the hyperkinetic Jason Bourne series that had the most obvious influence over Casino Royale (2005). The latter borrowed the tough-minded character of the Bourne films, with the introduction of Daniel Craig bringing a grittier, more brutal Bond. While Casino Royale arguably offered only a faint echo of the more enjoyable Bourne series, the film established as fresh characterisation for the Bond character that looks set to continue in the forthcoming Quantum of Solace G

Bored by Bond?

MORGAN O’BRIEN finds his own Quantum of Solace with some non-Bond spy classics.

North By Northwest (1958) Hitchcock’s classic tale of mistaken identity features a series of iconic sequences including Cary Grant being chased by a crop-dusting plane and a climatic denouement atop Mount Rushmore.

Manchurian Candidate (1962) Ahead of its time, this tensely paranoiac spy story stars Frank Sinatra as an Army intelligence officer trying to stop a brainwashed assassin. The film was the subject of a far less satisfying remake in 2004.

The Conversation (1974) Coppola’s classic thriller stars Gene Hackman as an obsessive surveillance expert attempting to piece together a distorted taped conversation while being secretly observed.

True Lies (1994) Before going off the deep end, so to speak, with Titanic, James Cameron directed this action comedy with Arnold Schwarzenegger as an adventurous secret agent who doubles as a husband and father in humdrum suburbia.

The Bourne Identity (2002) The most obvious influence on the recent reinvention of James Bond, the film established the character of the amnesiac spy in a high-octane and intelligent adventure. The series has continued to improve with The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), and a fourth film is due for release in 2010.

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 35

Play it loud Money makes the rock world go around Cash-strapped RAYMOND CONNOLLY runs through his fiscal top ten – without mentioning Pink Floyd!

1.

Money’s Too Tight To Mention. The fabulous Valentine Brothers failed to make an impression with this anti-Reaganomics soul classic, but Simply Red took it to the top in the early 80s.

2.

Money, Money, Money. Abba state the bleedin’ obvious in 1976.

It’s a rich man’s world.

3.

Buddy, Can You Spare A Dime? A 1932 million-seller for Bing Crosby (you’d better believe it) since recorded by just about everyone else – including Tom Waits and Barbra Streisand.

4.

M-O-N-E-Y. What do you need to get the girl? Lyle Lovett gives it to you straight.

5.

She Works Hard For The Money. Donna Summer’s 1983 soul smash demands respect for working women. So say all of us.

6.

Mouldy Old Dough. With the demise of IMPACT News Lieutenant Pigeon may have thought they’d got their last mention in an Irish publication. But we don’t treat old friends like that!

7.

Easy Money. Allegedly Ricky Lee Jones and Tom Waits were more than just good friends when this swing sensation appeared on her debut album in 1979.

8.

Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots Of Money). Pet Shop Boys ironic comment on Thatcher’s Britain. That’s what it says here. Honest.

9.

Money (That’s What I Want). Forget the Beatles version. The Flying Lizards made it their own on this 1979 post-punk version.

10. A Grand Don’t Come For Free. Mike Skinner gains a girlfriend, loses a grand and rents a DVD.

Winter gigs OCTOBER Gilbert O’Sullivan (Dublin), The Stranglers (Dublin), Cyndi Lauper (Cork and Dublin), The High Kings (Dublin), Spiritualized (Dublin), Michael Bolton (Dublin), The Chieftans (Mayo), Courtney Pine (Cork), Human League (Dublin), Al Green (Dublin), Elbow (Dublin), Aimee Mann (Dublin), Glenn Campbell (Dublin).

NOVEMBER Motorhead (Dublin), Luka Bloom (Dublin), Martha Wainwright (Dublin), Mercury Rev (Dublin), Randy Newman (Dublin), Paul Brady (Dublin), Goldfrapp (Dublin), Elaine Page (Dublin), Kanye West (Dublin), Paul Weller (Dublin), Bell X1 (Dublin), Herbie Hancock (Dublin), Primal Scream (Dublin), The Jimmy Cake (Dublin), Duffy (Dublin), Duke Special (Dublin), The Damned (Dublin), Camille O’Sullivan (Dublin), Nouvelle Vague (Dublin).

DECEMBER Rosin Murphy (Dublin), Dionne Warwick (Dublin), Billy Bragg (Dublin), Tracy Chapman (Dublin), The Stunning (Cork), The Script (Dublin), Bonnie Tyler (Letterkenny), Damien Dempsey (Dublin), Counting Crows (Dublin), Gogol Bordello (Dublin), Coldplay (Dublin), The Pogues (Dublin).

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When it comes to ticket prices, RAYMOND CONNOLLY reckons Dad Rock is becoming the new opera.

BACK IN the late 1970s, British pop magazine The Face started life as the standard bearer of the New Romantics. For younger readers, it was a time when Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran were considered cutting edge in some quarters, and Midge Ure was taken very seriously (especially by himself).

I think it was The Face that ran a piece on those bright young things abandoning the clubs and concert halls for opera theatres. “Opera is quite simply the most expensive entertainment available in London,” opined one powder-faced lad, through blood-red lipstick.

New Romanticism went belly up within weeks, followed a few years later by the magazine itself.

But these days, rock and pop is starting to outstrip opera in the sky-high ticket prices stakes, in Ireland at least, with one or two of this summer’s gigs sending diehards scurrying to arrange a second mortgage.

Everyone’s been talking about the great Tom Waits this year and I’m no different. The announcement of his three-night stint in the Phoenix Park sewed rapture among punters and journalists alike.

Much was made of the gravel-voiced one’s Stasi-like operation to stop the ticket touts – spearheaded, no doubt, by the decision to price tickets at a level that would send the average Dublin tout red with embarrassment or green with envy. But the €130+ ticket price drew almost no comment, proving that middle-aged concert goers are the marketing niche that the recession cannot reach.

We had an earlier example with July 2007’s Barbra Streisand Celbridge fiasco, in which hapless ticket holders spent over €200 a skull to spend a few hours in a muddy traffic jam.

Beware the risks when you shell out over the odds!

But top-priced Waits was where Raymond Connolly had to draw the line. When two concert tickets and a couple of beers start edging towards the price of a romantic weekend in the Emirates Stadium, it’s time to call a halt. I can still remember when this kind of thing was denounced as a sell out, rather than hailed as one, if you know what I mean.

I have to acknowledge that I’m out of kilter with the fan base here. The three gigs sold out in less than five minutes and those I know who stumped up for a night in the Ratcellar – Tom’s first trip to Dublin since the 1980s – reported a full house enjoying a show worth every penny.

And, in fairness, the free download of tunes from the Glitter and Doom tour, available from Wait’s website, certainly supports reports of a great gig.

But, aside from the Milton Freidman logic that you’re free to charge what the market will bear, I can’t see why it needed to be so dear. After all, earlier in the summer a brace of Nick Cave tickets was available for less than €100.

I stayed home with the extensive back catalogue and a crate of brown ale – and still had change out of a €50! G

Middle-aged concert goers could be the marketing niche that the recession cannot reach.

Cash rich cellar dwellers Winter Soduko Solutions

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Solution easy

Solution Difficult

Summer/Autumn Crossword Solutions Across: 1. Proverb 5. Cerua 8. Scant 9. Nineveh 10. Asiarch 11. Oaten 12. Canada 14. Argali 17. Roses 19. Ancient 22. Arizona 23. Crete 24. Rated 25. Amassed.

Down: 1. Pasta 2. Oration 3. Enter 4. Bansha 5. Contour 6. Rivot 7. Ashanti 12. Corsair 13. Discord 15. Ageless 16. Banana 18. Shirt 20. Cocoa 21. Trend.

See page 48 for the competition winners from Issue 2 WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 37

My first book

Photo: Conor Healy

NIALL SHANAHAN caught up with addiction worker JULIET BRESSAN, who’s just published her first novel.

War bird DEBUT AUTHOR Juliet Bressan is one of those people for whom the term ‘multi-tasking’ must have been invented. This mother of two children also works as a physician in HSE addiction services, and her debut novel Snow White Turtle Doves was published in August.

in New York, Dublin and London. I met a lot of people who opposed the war very passionately. I had colleagues who had worked in Iraq before the first Gulf war in 1991, and a lot of medical people became activists. I wanted to give a voice to these activists and their experiences,” she says.

Just to avoid being idle, Juliet also works as a medical journalist and television script advisor.

The book has taken two years to complete, a process which has left Juliet feeling exhausted. “I would write when the kids were doing their homework. I thought of it as a big school essay I needed to finish.”

Her debut novel chronicles the experiences of Isabella, who leaves Dublin for Manhattan to start a new life away from teenage sweetheart and revolutionary activist Harry. He loves Isabella, but he also has a thing for Sinéad who, in turn, is trying to help her friend Moussa who’s caught up in the hellish crossfire in Fallujah, Iraq.

Juliet’s novel sets out to explore the inner emotional turmoil that shapes the lives of the protagonists against a background of global chaos. The characters are young, idealistic, articulate and driven by furious passions.

So what prompted Juliet to write it?

“I wanted to capture that time in history, just before the Iraq invasion. I had attended anti-war demonstrations 38

WINTER 2008

Taking term-time leave from her work in HSE addiction services meant she could complete the project while minding the kids. Juliet just about avoided the HSE recruitment freeze, which could have prevented her return to work. “I was very fortunate to have a supportive manager who places a high value on work-life balance. It’s been a difficult year and management was under a lot of pressure from the HSE. So I was lucky,” she says.

Juliet reckons the addiction service has lost a lot of good people since the freeze was imposed last year. “A lot of highly skilled people have moved on.

The work itself is tough and stressful, so some colleagues have gone to explore opportunities elsewhere partly because term-time is no longer an option. Sadly, the people we treat are the ones who suffer.”

The story traverses easily between New York, Iraq and various Irish locations in this fast-paced novel, as the cast of characters reflect on events bigger than their own immediate concerns.

Juliet says: “They are hopeful characters, and they desperately want the world to be a better place. Some of them have witnessed terrible events, but they keep hoping.” G

Snow White Turtle Doves, published by Poolbeg, is available in all good book shops.

Book reviews

Going animal crackers MARGARET HANNIGAN says this animal saga lacks the human touch.

WE BOUGHT A ZOO Benjamin Mee (Harper Collins, £16.99).

them. But, undeterred, they eventually moved in October 2006.

venture, danger, tragedy, and a heroic quest to save the zoo.

The book unfolds from there, vividly But unfortunately, the journalist in describing the logistics of running a Benjamin Mee wins out over the man wildlife park. And, of course, the nittyand the result is a fairly straightforward gritty of looking after all account of events, those animals, including rather than a perthe intricacies of hiding Learn how to hide bits of dead sonal narrative. bits of dead animals in animals in trees to amuse the There is humour trees to amuse the tigers and how to clear a nasty tigers and clear a nasty case and insight, but too much of the case of conjunctivitis of conjunctivitis from a tapir. human side of the from a tapir. story is left unOn the home front, Ben’s wife Kathexplored. If you’ve seen the TV series erine, who was battling cancer of the Ben’s Zoo on BBC2, then the book brain, became an invalid needing fullprobably has little to add. If not, this time care and sadly succumbed before will appeal to amateur David Attentheir opening day. boroughs and would-be zoo-keepers of all ages.

So this is a story that has it all: Ad-

THE HOUSEHOLD GUIDE TO DYING Debra Adelaide (Harper Collins, £14.99).

BENJAMIN Mee was living in the south of France in the spring of 2005, writing a book about humour in animals. His children frolicked in the sun, his wife was a busy graphic designer, wine was cheap and the days were long. What could be better?

The, on a whim, his sister sent him a brochure advertising a zoo for sale in Dartmoor, together with her master plan to mobilise the rest of the family, including his 76-year-old mother, to buy the run-down menagerie and live there.

Now, just to be clear, this was a real working zoo. It had 200 animals on site including a jaguar, three tigers, a couple of lions – described by Mee as “loaded guns with brains” – and some bears heading up the scary carnivore list.

Apart from their keen amateur interest and Ben’s science degree, none of them had a day’s experience behind

DELIA BENNET is a witty writer who gives acerbic, tongue-in-cheek replies in her regular advice column. She has also written some practical, household guides in the style of Isabella Beeton’s Book of Household Management; the household guide to the kitchen, the garden and so on.

When she discovers that she only has months to live, and will leave a husband and two very young daughters behind, Delia wishes there was a sensible guide to what she must do. So she decides to chronicle the practicalities of preparing for death in the same efficient way she would prepare for any other important event.

The story moves back and forward between the present and the events of her very early adulthood revealing a painful memory and why there is one last journey she must make.

going on and clearly no-one can see the beauty in the sounds, sights and the feel of everyday life as well as someone experiencing them for the last time.

This is a surprisingly life-affirming book. Delia has a ‘why not me’ rather than a ‘why me’ attitude to what is

More books on page 40.

Kathryn Smith

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 39

Book reviews BOY AND MAN Niall Williams (Harper Collins, £12.99).

IT’S AMAZING how much hyperbolic nonsense accumulates around a modicum of success. Here we have Niall Williams’ fourth book offered for review, and already he is described as “A Dickens for the 21st century” and “The Irish Paulo Coelho” (as if the world needs another)!

That he has borrowed heavily from Charles Dickens is most clearly apparent in the character of Ben Dack, who is an unashamed reworking of Joe Gargery from Great Expectations, while the good Reverend Holt, who appears later in the book, is cut from the same template as Bob Cratchitt and an endless cast of well-meaning Dickensian vicars and clerks.

Similarly, the main character, Jay, who has left home, and gone out into the wide world to find his father and forge his own identity, would have a lot in common with David Copperfield.

But I digress; you want to know what the book is about, right?

Well, the story picks up where the previous novel Boy in the World ended.

Jay is now 17 and working in a field hospital in Ethiopia with Sister Bridget, who rescued him from chaos in London three years ago.

Meanwhile, Jay’s grandfather, irritatingly referred to as The Master throughout the book (I kept thinking of David Carradine) is recuperating from a car accident that took his memory, and almost his life. He resides with the loquacious Mr Dack and his saintly wife Josie, sometimes flying kites but mostly just, um, well, waiting and oh, em, pondering.

The story then concerns itself with reuniting the Master and Jay, relying heavily on coincidence and random chance to achieve this, and happily discarding any pretence at plausibility or reality.

Williams is anxious to tackle big themes – our attitude to Africa, the plight of migrant workers, our global connectedness, the indefatigability of love – but his self-consciously lyrical writing and insistence on the guiding hand of God undermine a real examination of the issues.

This is to Dickens what the lawnmower is to the Ferrari, and someone should be pursued under the Trades Description Act for glibly tossing that out. Apart from that, it’s a feel-good, comforting, soft focus kind of read, which deserves to be taken far less seriously than it is.

Margaret Hannigan

DISGUISE

Hugo Hamilton (4th Estate, £12.99).

HUGO HAMILTON has dealt with the perception of identity in his memoirs A Speckled People and The Sailor in the Wardrobe and this theme runs through his latest novel.

The story opens with a bombing in Berlin at the end of the Second World War. A young woman loses her beloved two-yearold son. Later, on the road with her father, they come upon a refugee child, alone. The father urges his daughter to take the child with her and bring him up as her own son.

Gregor accidently finds out about his origins many years later and never forgives his mother for replacing his own, most likely Jewish, heritage with her own Catholic beliefs.

The setting of the novel is a summer day in 2008 when Gregor is gathering in apples with his ex-wife and son and their close friends. He has led a bohemian lifestyle, a young rebel in Berlin in the sixties, a talented musician, a wanderer.

Many philosophical questions are posed. Isn’t belonging more important than heritage? Isn’t love more valuable than freedom?

Isn’t devotion worth being grateful for? This beautifully written book does not answer these questions; that’s up to the reader.

Kathryn Smith

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Email: ifae@postmaster.co.uk 40

WINTER 2008

Festive season

Have a popping party not a party-pooper!

MARTINA O’LEARY has been cojouled into helping with the office party this year!

IT’S THAT time of year again. The papers are packed with pages of party ads and the Christmas shops have opened in the big department stores. And in workplaces across the nation, hundreds are taking quick steps backwards as their colleagues seek volunteers to organise the Xmas bash.

I must have been sleeping this year and failed to backtrack quickly enough. One minute’s carelessness and now I find myself on the Christmas party committee, along with a few other unfortunates.

Everyone loves a good party. Yet most of us – me included – hate the responsibility of having to organise it. But someone has to do it or we’d all regret it if the season of good cheer came and went without a decent hooley.

There are some basic rules involved in organising any event and the first it to get some intelligence about what your party-goers want. If it’s a smallish office shindig, you can use informal gatherings like coffee breaks or lunch time to gauge people’s preferences. For larger organisations you could ask for suggestions and help via email.

But make sure the event is geared towards your particular group. There’s no point in taking a group of old age pensioners to an all-night rave, or a bunch of under-30s to a bingo night.

Find the appropriate venue by checking the web then phoning a few likely spots. It can take some time to make decisions, so it’s a good idea to make a provisional booking with any establishments you might use. It would be a shame to do all the homework only to find it’s not available anymore.

The key information you need to find out about the venue is: G How many can they cater for?

G How much is the meal?

G How much is the wine?

G Is there entertainment and, if so, when and what kind?

G Are you in a separate room or sharing with other groups?

G Will they be shuffling you out after an hour to make room for another sitting?

G Are taxis easy to organise?

Now it’s decision time. The trick is to book early, particularly if you’re catering for a large group.

That way you’ll get a better venue and avoid disappointment and organisational headaches further down the line.

They’ll inevitably want a deposit, but this will help you as taking a little cash from your colleagues early on will help firm up the numbers. Just like hotels, this is the busiest time of year for DJs and bands. So you must book early if you want decent music.

It’s always an idea to ask the boss for a contribution – financial of course – towards the event. All in the name of good employee relations!

If your venue is out of town, transport – or even accommodation – may have to be organised. The last thing you want is to have a great night and then find no way to get home.

That’s when things get messy.

Coming up to the big night, collect the last of the money. Don’t leave this until the final day, as the venue will be chasing you for final numbers and you could well end up paying for noshows.

All this work is for one thing – to make sure everyone has an enjoyable, stress-free funpacked night. There are also some dos and don’ts to help ensure you don’t wake up the next morning regretting something you’ve said or done. But that’s another article! ENJOY. WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 41

Photo: Dreamstime

Get your hands on the vital info you need to make your decisions. How much are people prepared to spend? What date suits most? Is it a lunch or evening affair? A formal meal or just drinks? How many people are interested in going? Will the boss stump up any cash to help the night along?

G What time does the bar close?

Union business News shorts Local cuts IMPACT HAS written to every city and county manager to say that any proposed changes in staff conditions should be subject to advance consultation. This follows the Local Authority National Partnership Advisory Group’s (LANPAG) agreement to establish a forum to discuss proposed measures to meet the Government’s 3% payroll cuts.

Agency merger opposed ICTU HAS demanded an urgent meeting with equality minister Dermot Ahern to protest at proposals to merge the State’s equality agencies. IMPACT and other unions have also raised the issue with the secretaries general of both the Taoiseach’s office and the finance department.

HSE T&S attack IMPACT INTERVENTION stopped HSE plans to abandon the established public service travel and subsistence agreement and replace it with worse provisions. But new management guidelines on the operation of the existing system are still likely to waste staff time and introduce more red tape, hitting services where health workers travel to meet community needs.

Eircom ownership Eircom could end up with a new owner in the coming months after Babcock & Brown said it was reviewing its management arrangement with the satellite fund that has direct ownership of the company. The union is monitoring developments.

Impossible choices School completion programme staff have reacted angrily to the education department’s demand for a 3% cut in payroll costs by 2009, which was announced at the end of August. Frontline services to 25,000 vulnerable school children could be badly affected by the proposed cuts, according to IMPACT’s Schools Completion Programme branch.

Sign up for IMPACT’s monthly e-bulletin on www.impact.ie.

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Health dispute in LRC IMPACT NEGOTIATORS achieved progress on a number of issues in the five-month-old dispute between IMPACT and the Health Service Executive during intensive discussions in the Labour Relations Commission in September.

All aspects of the dispute, including the outcome of the LRC talks, were being considered by the union’s Health & Welfare divisional executive committee as Work & Life went to press.

The union has made progress on many of the issues that caused the dispute including unimplemented and broken agreements on working conditions, the use of agency staff, work-life balance and the HSE’s inconsistency in the filling of posts.

IMPACT also achieved a process for dealing with HSE vacancies as they arise, and another that will identify the number and location of ‘development posts’ – new posts approved to bring about promised improvements in services like disability.

The HSE staffing restrictions are now over a year old, and it is expected that next year will be even more difficult as costs rise and the public finances worsen.

Aer Lingus will talk AER LINGUS has distanced itself from reports that it will no longer use third party mediators in dispute situations. The company has told IMPACT that it will consult with staff and unions once new cost-cutting plans are finalised.

Management said: “Where our proposals involve changes to contractual entitlements, and working agreements, we understand our requirement to negotiate and agree those changes, but we believe that is best achieved in face-to-face negotiations with the relevant representatives of Aer Lingus staff.”

The assurance came in response to contact from IMPACT following speculation about what the airline had in mind after its announcement of substantial losses in the first six months of 2008.

Some reports claimed that the airline was locked in ‘intensive negotiations’ with unions when, in fact, no negotiations had taken place.

It was also claimed that Aer Lingus had told unions that it would no longer use third party mediators, like the Labour Court and Labour Relations Commission, which have helped resolve tricky industrial relations problems in the past.

This prompted IMPACT deputy general secretary Shay Cody to write seeking clarification.

The company’s human resource boss Liz White also confirmed that management was in the process of a ‘root and branch’ review of all aspects of the company business.

Kay Hannigan RIP

WE REPORTED on the retirement of our dear colleague Kay Hannigan in the last issue of Work & Life. Sadly, three months on, we now have to report that Kay passed away at the end of August after a long and brave battle against cancer.

Anyone who’s ever visited the ground floor canteen of IMPACT’s Dublin office will have been greeted by Kay’s charming, unassuming, welcoming smile.

Always one for some fun, Kay loved to dance the night away at many a union event, and brought a smile to the face of everyone she met.

She is very sadly missed and will always be remembered with love by all her colleagues and friends in the union and beyond. Everyone in IMPACT members, activists and staff - extend their sincere sympathy to Kay’s family.

PAY

Pay deal will protect incomes

Photo : Dylan Vaughan

IF RATIFIED, the proposed pay deal reached on 17th September will help stabilise the economy and protect incomes in a difficult economic period, according to IMPACT general secretary Peter McLoone.

Speaking at the close of negotiations, he said the proposed deal, worth 6% over 21 months with an extra 0.5% for low paid workers, entailed a special sacrifice from public servants in the form of an 11-month pay freeze. There is also a three-month pay pause in the private sector and commercial semi-state companies.

McLoone: Deal will help protect incomes.

But McLoone said it was the best deal available in the current economic and financial climate. “Most public servants understand the prevailing economic realities and want to protect services in a time of tight public finances,” he said.

Mr McLoone said it was very difficult to confidently predict inflation. “But the reality is that pay is unlikely to keep pace with inflation in the first year of the agreement, although it is likely to do so in the second year. But I believe IMPACT members understand the implications of rising unemployment and falling Government revenues,” he said.

Most current predictions suggest that inflation will be in the region of 4.5% for the year to 31st December 2008, and around 3% in 2009. McLoone said the deal represented “a tangible and responsible contribution to dealing with the challenges we face as workers, as public servants, and as a nation.”

Deal at a glance • 6% pay rise over 21 months.

• Extra 0.5% for those earning €11 an hour or less.

• 11-month public service pay pause. Three-month pause in private sector.

• First 5% of benchmarking 2 awards paid from 1st September 2008.

• New forum on pay and conditions for school secretaries and caretakers.

• Increases linked to co-operation with ‘normal ongoing change’ and public service modernisation.

• Labour Court decides on disagreements on level of change required.

• Strengthened forum on community sector pay and pension issues.

• New laws to outlaw victimisation of union members by March 2009.

• Legislation promised – after review – to restore

collective bargaining rights after Supreme Court’s Ryanair judgement. By June 2009.

• Joint review of benchmarking process.

• Reaffirms commitment to Towards 2016 modernisation provisions and “basic principals” of OECD review of public services.

• Strengthened Health Forum.

The deal also includes a Government commitment to early legislation to tackle victimisation of union members in nonunion companies. The new legislation will also stop anti-union employers offering “inducements” aimed at forcing people to give up their union membership.

Proposed payments

It also sets out a package of public service modernisation proposals. This includes a reiteration of commitments to modernisation and change set out in Towards 2016, including the development of a more customer-focussed approach to public service delivery.

1st September 2009 3.5% 1st June 2010 2.5%

(3% for those earning less than €11 an hour) 30th June 2010 Deal expires

There’s also a commitment to the implementation of the principals in the OECD report on Irish public services and an undertaking by all parties to participate in the Health Forum, which was established to agree ways of improving health service delivery, including through the development of new working practices.

Public service and non-commercial semi-states

Private sector and commercial semi-states 3 months after expiry of first phase of T16* 3.5% 6 months later 2.5%

(3% for those earning less than €11 an hour) Deal expires 12 months after second payment.

Note: payment dates vary.

Get the full document plus a summary on www.impact.ie.

Work & Life: The magazine for IMPACT members

43

Your money

Single income can mean more tax SHOULD INCOME tax be levied on the basis of family income or individual income? It’s a question worth debating but it’s seldom asked today. There has been little or no discussion of the issue since 2000 when then Finance Minister, Charlie McCreevy, individualised tax bands. Even he seemed surprised at the political backlash which forced him to quickly introduce a special tax credit for stay-at-home spouses caring for children or others in the home.

It’s likely that Mr McCreevy intended to totally individualise the income tax system over time but the divisiveness of the issue has been all too clear since that first step was taken. None of his successors have broached the subject since.

Some assume that we have full individualisation, but of course we haven’t. It’s limited to the standard rate tax band and some tax credits. The most valuable personal tax credits and those for mortgage interest and rent relief are given on the basis of marital status. A single individual only gets half the credit of a married couple.

And, of course, the operative word is ‘married’. We may be moving towards a broader definition of ‘married couple’ but the Revenue still adopt the traditional one.

Siblings It’s not only same-sex couples who can lose out as a result, of course. Siblings living together can also be affected. Some of the inequities in capital acquisitions tax were removed when principle residents were exempted from the tax in certain circumstances. But only married couples, in the traditional sense, can avail of some income tax credits.

couple have one or two incomes. The two-income couple, whether in a traditional marriage or not, tend to fare better than a single-income couple.

But while benefiting from the individualisation of income tax bands, many two-income couples have come to realise that the concession has its down side. It acts as a major disincentive for either partner to give up work to take on home duties. Yet that’s an option that is increasingly being forced on couples faced with fewer job opportunities and higher childcare and commuting costs.

It’s only when they start considering the option that they appreciate the full financial cost involved. Not only would they have to give up one of their incomes but they would also lose a valuable tax break.

Top tax

Not all single individuals lose out as a result. Indeed a same-sex couple, or two sisters living in the old family home, may pay less income tax on their joint incomes than a married couple on a similar income.

Before individualisation there was less incentive for both partners to stay at work in such circumstances since the income that was lost was generally being taxed at the top rate. The net loss in take-home pay wasn’t great. But now the net loss of one spouse giving up a job can be significant. That’s the downside of individualisation.

It depends not on married status but rather on whether the

Take a couple – let’s call them Sean and Mary – who are expecting

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Illustrations: dreamstime.com

COLM RAPPLE says working couples should calculate the tax hit before considering moving to single-income status.

Taxed together? The options Married couples can opt to be taxed as if they were two single people, but unfortunately there is seldom, if ever, any monetary advantage in so doing unless they are legally separated.

There are three options facing two-income married couples. If they do nothing, they will be automatically taken to have opted for joint assessment. They are treated as a single unit for income tax. The second alternative, separate assessment, is a variant of that. The couple are still treated as a single taxable unit but are able to arrange a more equal sharing of their joint tax burden. The third alternative, single assessment, means opting to be treated as two single individuals. Let’s look at each of the options in more detail.

Joint assessment This is how most married couples are taxed. The highest earner will automatically get the benefit of the bulk of the couple’s joint tax free allowances. The lower earning spouse will normally only get his or her own PAYE credit – €1,830. That only applies if the lower earning spouse is wage earning and not working in the family company.

Under joint assessment, the couple is still legally taxed as one unit. Either spouse can be nominated as the accountable person for tax purposes. The important point is that concessions not used by one spouse can be transferred to the other. The true legal liability for tax is worked out at the end of a tax year by way of a balancing statement which combines the two incomes.

If there is a wide difference between the two incomes it is possible that the PAYE system will result in too much tax being collected during the year. But it will be refunded at year end when the balancing statement is made out. The refunds are allocated between the spouses in proportion to the tax paid by each. Balancing statements are not prepared automatically so two income families, in particular, should do a rough calculation each year to see that they are not being overtaxed. If they are, tax returns should be speedily prepared and a balancing statement sought.

Separate assessment This is only a variation on joint assessment. Either spouse can opt for it provided they notify the tax office before 1st April in the year of assessment. Separate assessment then continues until the tax

office is told otherwise by the spouse who first opted for it.

The total tax liability of the couple is not reduced in any way by separate assessment but most credits are evenly split between them. Personal, age and blind persons’ credits are evenly divided while other credits may be granted to the individual bearing the cost.

The important point is that any credits unused by one person can be passed back to the other. And the same is true for unused tax bands. So if the husband has moved into the 41c tax band while the wife still has not used up all of her 20c band, there is no loss.

It will be sorted out when a balancing statement is prepared at the end of the year and a refund given. But it should be possible to avoid being overtaxed during the year by dividing the credits up broadly in proportion to each person’s income.

Separate assessment is the ideal option for couples on dissimilar incomes since it allows them to split their tax credits fairly between them. Under ordinary joint assessment, a low earner can very often find his or her income very heavily taxed since the higher earning spouse is getting the benefit of most of the tax credits. Separate assessment will not reduce their joint tax bill but it can ensure that the tax burden is more proportional to the couple’s individual income levels during the year.

Single assessment This is where the couple decide to be treated exactly as if they were two single people for tax purposes. Their tax liabilities are kept entirely separate. In general, there is no financial advantage to a couple in opting for single assessment.

If their incomes are about equal, the joint tax bill of a couple opting for single assessment may be no higher than if they opted for joint or separate assessment. But if one of their incomes is considerably higher than the other, they could end up with a higher tax bill because one spouse cannot pass on the benefit of unused credits or standard rate band to the other.

Either spouse can serve notice on the taxman for single assessment at any time during the tax year. Once served, the notice is applied to that year and all subsequent years until it is withdrawn. Only the person who served the notice can withdraw it l

their first child. Both are currently working and have a joint income of €69,000. Sean earns €44,440 a year and Mary earns €25,000. As a two income couple they only pay tax at 20% on all of their joint income. But if Mary gave up her job and Sean tried to make up some of the shortfall in income by working overtime any extra money he earned would be subject to tax at 41%.

If Mary gives up her job the couple also lose a PAYE tax credit worth €1,830 which more than offsets the €900 tax credit she would get as a stay-at-home carer.

That’s how the individualisation of tax bands works. A double income couple can have earnings of up to €70,800 this year before coming onto the top tax rate of 41% while a single-income couple moves onto that top rate after the first €44,400.

So becoming a single income family again can be a costly option in financial terms. Individualisation creates a major disincentive for many couples who would consider doing their own child minding if the tax system was neutral as between the two choices. But it isn’t. It favours two income couples l

Taking those tax credits into account Sean and Mary would need to have a single income of €73,129 a year to have the same take-home pay as they did on joint incomes of €69,000.

Work & Life: The magazine for IMPACT members

45

Sport

A new dawn for Irish rugby?

A new national manager and back-room team may herald better times for Ireland say Kevin Nolan.

DECLAN KIDNEY has taken over the reins as Irish rugby’s head coach at an opportune time, an appointment that will see him steer the course for the nation until the next world cup.

The Munster man’s predecessor, Eddie O’Sullivan, presided over Ireland’s most impressive win-loss ratio. But despite all his successes the overall view of his tenure, particularly the concluding 18 months, was one of under-achievement and failure.

It is against this backdrop that Kidney will now look to remodel and re-launch Irish fortunes.

Despite the triple crown glories of 2004, 2006 and 2007, Ireland’s failure to annex their first grand slam since 1948 (our only grand slam), or to reach the last four of a world cup, left their dreams unfulfilled despite the talk of this being the ‘golden generation’.

O’Sullivan was, in many ways, the perfect predecessor for Kidney. He will be very careful to ensure he does not walk into the same landmines that characterised O’Sullivan’s final season.

O’Sullivan was portrayed as something of a dictator, but the composition of Kidney’s impressive-looking backroom staff suggests that he’ll invest plenty of trust in the expertise around him. However, in a results-driven sport like professional rugby only time will decide which methodology is better.

Potent

McNaughton, a former international winger and inter-county Gaelic footballer with Wicklow, earned a reputation as a shrewd manager with Leinster and will have a close working relationship with Kidney.

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Photo: Inpho Photography

Kidney has surrounded himself with the potent forces of Alan Gaffney (backs coach), Les Kiss (defence coach), Gert Smal (forwards coach), Mark Tainton (kicking coach) and Paul McNaughton (manager) – each of whom it is hoped will strengthen specific aspects of Ireland’s on-field play.

“ While Ireland does not have the deepest pool of elite talent in the game there is sufficient existing talent as well as emerging forces to suggest brighter days on the horizon.”

The days of having a few specialists kickers with ball in hand are numbered and Tainton began tackling the issue of improving the kicking dimension of Ireland’s game when the squad met for a four-day training camp in Cork during the summer.

The need for a kicking coach is heightened because the IRB has put 13 experimental law variations (ELVs - a proposed set of amendments to the rugby union rules) on trial worldwide. Some countries will struggle more than others with the ELV trial and it is anticipated that even greater demands will be placed on the fitness levels and kicking skills of players.

Uncompromising Forward coach Smal, South Africa’s forwards expert in 2004 when they triumphed in the tri-nation, looks to be an excellent addition and he will be determined to instil some uncompromising characteristics in the green pack.

Add in Gaffney’s deep knowledge of the game (the domestic game in particular), as well as his tactical nous, with the Les Kiss’s defensive experience from his Australian rugby league day and coaching with the Stormers, Bulls and New South Wales Waratahs, and the Irish players will be well catered for in all aspects of the game.

While Ireland does not have the deepest pool of elite talent in the game there is sufficient existing talent as well as emerging forces to suggest brighter days on the horizon.

Rob Kearney’s displays against Australia and New Zealand in this summer’s tour will massively increase the competition for the No 15 jersey while the emerging talents of Luke Dempsey, Cian Healy and Keith Earls, and the more long-term potential of David Pollock, will give Kidney plenty of food for thought.

For others, like Shane Jennings, this year could make or break him at international level.

Kidney has 25 years of coaching experience lodged in his account and has enjoyed consistent success during those days, particularly when leading Munster to two Heineken Cup glories in 2006 and 2008.

Challenge However, his greatest ever challenge is ahead of him. The upcoming games against Canada (Thomond Park stadium, 8th November), New Zealand (Croke Park, 15th November) and Argentina (Croke Park, 22nd November) will provide the first examinations and indications of his early work. The results of these games will determine Ireland’s world ranking in December.

Before then Kidney has the potentially thorny issue of who he will hand the mantle of captaincy to. Early speculation that Leinster’s decision to remove the captaincy from the shoulders of Brian O’Driscoll would pave the way for a similar alteration at international level may prove wide of the mark.

Ronan O’Gara: possibly the new Irish captain?

But if Kidney does decide to pass the honour and responsibility on he will not look further than either Paul O’Connell or Ronan O’Gara l

Work & Life: The magazine for IMPACT members

47

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It might result in a minor earthquake (6) 14.

To persecute; intimidate; torment (6) 17.

Don; provide or endow with special quality or power (5) 19.

State in the US deep south sadly often noted for racism (7) 22.

Frequently war-ravaged country, sometimes described as the cockpit of Europe (7) 23.

In Greek legend the last king of Troy (5) 24.

This family were the chief oil barons in old popular American soap (5) 25.

Ireland’s largest river (7) Down 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

A Snow White and the Seven Dwarves B Snow White Turtle Doves

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2

Just answer five easy questions and you could win €50.

ADD €50 to your Christmas fund by answering five easy questions and sending your entry, name and address to Roisin Nolan, Work & Life prize quiz, IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1. We’ll send €50 to the first completed entry pulled from a hat.* You’ll find all the answers in this issue of Work & Life.

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9

Easy

PRIZE CROSSWORD 1

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WIN €50 6

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Capital city of France (5) Couch potatoes might do this (7) An occurrence; occasion (5) Extensive Scottish landowners (6) Island off the western coast of Morocco (7) Francis Ledwidge was this village’s most famous son (5) Sometimes used in popular slang to describe youngsters or cute crafty people (7) To shake or quiver (7) Outset; initiation; opportunity (7)

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25

Crossword composed by Sean Ua Ceannaigh, Wexford.

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18.

20.

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Storytelling nights in the ancient middle east (7) Legendary ancient hero said to have introduced the phoenician alphabet into Greece (6) Union territory of north central India; also a city within that territory (5) The brightest or principal star in a constellation; first letter of the Greek alphabet (5) Capital city of Jordan (5)

5 How many of us commute by car A Over a million Win €50 by completing the crossword and sending your entry, name and address to Roisin Nolan, Work & Life crossword, IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1. We’ll send €50 to the first correct entry pulled from a hat.

B Under a million C Too many The small print* You must be a paid-up IMPACT member to win.

Only one entry per person (multiple entries will not be considered). Entries must reach us by Friday 5th December 2008. The editor’s decision is final.

That’s it!

48

WINTER 2008

Winners!

1 2 3 4 5

The winners from competitions in the Summer/Autumn issue were:

Quiz – Agnes Sinnott – Wexford County Council.

Udos oil – Tim O’Donoghue – Conservation Rangers Harry the Hedgehog – Yvonne Guckian – VEC Branch Crossword – Brian Roper – Dublin City Branch Survey – Matthew Power – HSE Kilkenny

Lots more competitions to enter in this issue!

Your view

N I W 100 €

How do you like Work & Life?

WE HOPE you enjoyed this issue of Work & Life, the new magazine for IMPACT members. We want to hear your views, and we’re offering a €100 prize to one lucky winner who completes this questionnaire.

Simply complete this short survey and send it to Roisin Nolan, Work & Life survey, IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1. You can also send your views by email to rnolan@impact.ie.

We’ll send €100 to the first completed entry pulled from a hat.* And don’t forget, we’re also giving prizes for letters published in the next issue.

See page 23.

The survey

4. What were your least favourite articles?

1 __________________________________________________ 2 __________________________________________________

1. What did you think of the articles in the winter 2008 issue of Work & Life ?

Excellent

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Good

J

Okay

J

Bad

J

Awful

J

Comments ________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 2. What did you think of the layout, style and pictures in the winter 2008 issue of Work & Life?

3 __________________________________________________ 5. What subjects would you like to see in future issues of Work & Life ?

1 __________________________________________________ 2 __________________________________________________ 3 __________________________________________________ 6. What did you think of the balance between union news and other articles?

The balance is about right

J

I want more union news

J

I want less union news

J

Excellent

J

7. Any other comments? ______________________________

Good

J

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Okay

J

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Bad

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Awful

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Comments ________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. What were your favourite three articles?

Name ________________________________________________ Address ______________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

1 __________________________________________________

Email ________________________________________________

2 __________________________________________________

Phone ________________________________________________

3 __________________________________________________

IMPACT branch ______________________________________

The small print* You must be a paid-up IMPACT member to win. Only one entry per person (multiple entries will not be considered).

Entries must reach us by Friday 5th December 2008. The editor’s decision is final. That’s it!

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 49

Commercial membership services DISCLAIMER (Approved by CEC 10th December 2004) MPACT has facilitated the provision of a number of national membership services and discount schemes on behalf of its members. These include Additional Voluntary Contribution Schemes (Pensions), Life Assurance, Salary Protection in the case of illness and Car, House and Travel Insurance Schemes. A number of local discount schemes are also negotiated by local branches.

I

The Union uses the size and composition of its membership base and, where possible, competition between the various service providers, to seek the best possible deals for the widest possible sections of our membership. It is probable that the majority of members will get better value from these schemes than if they sought the same service individually. However, this will not be true in all cases and there will be occasions where individual members may, because of their specific circumstances, be able to get better value elsewhere. It is not possible always to ensure that all schemes will be accessible equally to all members and the scheme underwriters will not depart totally from their normal actuarial or risk assessment procedures and rules.

IMPACT does not make any claims as to the quality or reliability of any of these products/services and while advising members of the availability of the National Membership Services and Discount Schemes does not endorse or recommend any particular product or service. IMPACT's role is that of facilitator to ensure that such schemes are available to its members.

All contracts are directly between the product/service provider and the individual member. IMPACT is not in any way a party to these contracts and will not accept any responsibility or liability arising from any act or omission on the part of the product or service provider. Neither IMPACT nor any member of its staff receives any fees or commissions or other rewards from these product or service providers arising from such schemes.

While IMPACT does occasionally provide such product/service providers with limited information regarding IMPACT branch and/or workplace representatives for the purpose of advertising such schemes, the Union does not make any personal data relating to individual Union members available to them for any purpose.

The Union requires that product/service providers agree to ensure that all such schemes comply with all lawful requirements including the Equal Status Act 2000.

Advertisements for agreed membership services will have an

FACILITATED

logo on them.

Some of the companies providing agreed membership services may offer other products or services (that are not as a result of any agreement or arrangement with IMPACT) directly to IMPACT members. The Union has no role whatsoever in relation to such products or services. Likewise, other product or service providers may make offers directly to IMPACT members through advertisements in the Union newspaper or otherwise. These do not arise as a result of agreements or arrangements with IMPACT and the Union does not ask members to consider availing of such products/services and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any such offers.

The product/service providers with which IMPACT has agreed the provision of membership services and/or discount schemes are as follows: Brassington & Co. Ltd. Travel Insurance – all Divisions.

Cornmarket Group Financial Services Ltd. Car Insurance – all Divisions.

Salary Protection and Life Assurance – Local Government and Health Divisions only.

Group Insurance Services (GIS) Car Insurance – all Divisions. ees.

House Insurance – all Divisions.

Services & Enterprises Divisions only.

Marsh Financial Services Ltd. AVC Schemes – all Divisions excluding Municipal Employ-

Countdown Discount Cards Discount cards-All Divisions December 2004

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WINTER 2008

Salary Protection and Life Assurance – Civil Service and