Mwk winter 2017 by publications

WINTER

2017 HELP TO BUY SCHEME: A QUICK GUIDE Steven Jacob

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK Dr. Constantin Gurdgiev

REGISTRATION AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION REGULATIONS FOR HOTELS Thomas Carroll

EIR PRICE HIKE MARGINALISES OLDER, LOYAL, VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS PLANNING: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT MAKING JOBS MORE MEANINGFUL MEET THE TEAM

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Help To Buy Scheme: A Quick Guide Steven Jacob Economic Outlook Dr Constantin Gurdgiev Registration and Renewal of Registration Regulations for Hotels Thomas Carroll Eir Price Hike Marginalises Older, Loyal, Vulnerable Customers Legal Briefs Planning: Practice Makes Perfect Business Briefs Cultivating Characteristics To Make Jobs More Meaningful Meet the Team Range of Services

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Welcome to our Winter 2017 newsletter - the final edition for this year. We hope you find the information contained in this issue of practical use. If you know someone for whom this publication could be of some use, just let us know and then we will add them to the mailing list. Our firm was established in 1941 and is a firm that is both deep rooted in tradition and eagerly looking forward to the future. Our fundamental purpose is to provide a competitive, efficient and personal service to each and every client. We are confident we have the necessary resources to provide you with astute legal advice and support no matter what your legal requirements are. We take the confusion out of your legal requirements with reliable and straightforward advice for every occasion. Please feel free to contact any of our team to discuss any issues that matter to you.

HELP TO BUY

SCHEME

A Quick Guide Steven Jacob – MW Keller & Son, Solicitors

THE HELP TO BUY INCENTIVE IS A GOVERNMENT: -- INITIATIVE TO ASSIST PURCHASERS IN RAISING -- THE DEPOSIT NEEDED TO PURCHASE A NEW HOUSE OR -- APARTMENT TO LIVE IN AS THEIR PRINCIPAL PLACE OF RESIDENCE AND TO ASSIST SELF BUILDS. Under the incentive, you may receive a refund of Income Tax and Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) paid over the previous 4 tax years. The maximum tax rebate allowable is 5% of the value of the property up to a maximum rebate of €20,000.00. There is however a claw back if you move, leave or sell the house within 5 years from the date on which the house was habitable. There is a five step process in making a claim and securing a refund as follows: 1. You need to register with Revenue’s MyAccount Service. To register for this service you will need your PPS number (Personal Public Service), your date of birth, telephone number, email address and home address. For Self Assessed tax payers, you must be fully compliant in order to make the Application. 2. You need to complete a “Form 12” Tax Return for each of the years in which you are seeking a rebate of tax paid. 3. It will be necessary to upload a copy of the signed Contract to purchase the new property and your Solicitor will be able to assist with this. The address of the property, purchase price and completion date will also need to be inserted. 4. You will need to provide details of the Mortgage lender and the Mortgage, including details of the deposit paid and the amount which you are borrowing. 5. You will need to provide details of the Builder/Developer. Once the claim has been submitted, the details will then need to be verified by your Builder/Developer who will, in turn, have to confirm details of the purchase price to the Revenue Commissioners. For more information on the above please contact:

Once these five steps have been followed, the refund is then paid directly to the Builder/Developer and is then deducted from the cost of the property.

Steven Jacob

To qualify for the Help To Buy Scheme, you must be either a first time buyer or an owner/occupier borrowing at least 70% of the value of the property. In addition, the Scheme only applies to newly built houses and apartments valued at no higher than €500,000.00 or self builds. Your Builder/Developer will also need to be registered with the Scheme to allow you to avail of same.

051 877029 steven@mwkeller.ie 3

Dr. Constantin Gurdgiev

LEARNING FROM THE LAST CRISIS Recent months have seen a steady and growing flow of institutional investors’, and market analysts’, and researchers’ warnings about the medium-term sustainability of the financial assets prices. Both, the IMF and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) have documented evidence on the buildup of systemic imbalances across the financial markets, from bonds to stocks to structured financial instruments. And the Claudio Borio-led research team at the BIS have shown time and again that systemic financial crises are increasing both in frequency and severity.

By all measures, the financial markets are over-pricing forward expectations and underpricing risk. Various estimates suggest that globally some $20 trillion worth of government and private debt traded in the markets is currently priced at a gross underestimate of risks implied by the path of the monetary policies and borrowers’ debt carry capacity. The stock markets are showing signs of excessive concentration and share prices are on fire: even as past buybacks and current accounting standards continue to inflate earnings, S&P 500 median priceto-revenue ratio is hitting all time highs of c. 250 percent, compared to the dot.com bubble peak of 170 percent and pre-

GFC bubble high of 180 percent. U.S. stock market valuation is currently running at just over 135 percent of GDP – the second highest reading in history after 152 percent mark hit at the peak of dot.com bubble and well above 110 percent peak before the GFC collapse. All signs to-date are that the longer the bull market continues to run, the sharper the upcoming crisis will be. Which brings us to the point of what lessons from the last decade of crises, crashes and recovery should the investors rely upon in preparing for the next crisis.

MARKETS ARE ABOUT RISK - MARKET CRISES ARE ABOUT VUCA The first lesson is about the difference between normal risk and the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) environment.

Passive investment is not an option, and active management comes at a ballooning cost. One important corollary of this is that during markets crashes, quality of professional advice available to the investors often deteriorates. Recent academic studies have shown that during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and the Great Recession, analysts’ forecasts had extremely low predictive power, leaving retail investors with advice that was poorer in quality and leading to costlier trading and investment mistakes. Ratings agencies and banks are virtually useless and highly conflicted when it comes to predicting the crises and supporting investors during the systemic markets corrections.

While investment is a risky business on a good day, in crises, traditional risks are amplified by rapidly evolving price and trading cost volatility, broad markets uncertainty, systems and networks complexity, and loss ambiguity. Behaviourally, this means that investors’ reaction to crashes and longer term crises is unpredictable and investment portfolios values during these periods cannot be assessed with any degree of accuracy. Events that no one could predict in advance, such as large scale sell-offs, massive widening in bid-ask spreads (cost of trading), reversals of historically reliable correlations between asset classes, and failures of traditional hedging and safe haven assets to absorb risks can become the order of the days, weeks, months, even years. In other words, markets crises cannot be weathered without a prior preparation and constant vigilance.

Investor response to this reality should involve doing your homework early, in advance of the crash, and securing a good trusted adviser that you work with in normal times as a sounding board for your trading and investment ideas during the crisis.

CASH IS A KING - IN ANY CRASH Financial risk is a function of three things: the price at which you enter the investment, the timing of exiting the allocation and the round-trip cost of trading. This means that for those with staying power (unlevered and longer-term investors), crises are the time when asset prices undershoot their fundamental values, effectively de-risking asset returns. In other words, crises are the time to buy. Counter-intuitively, the time when market-measured risks are at their highest is the time when investment risk is at its lowest.

major market crises timing, duration and depth. Sensing build ups of financial imbalances, understanding inherent risks in assets that are being bid up in the run up to the crisis, and tracking the herds of investors sloshing liquidity from one fad to the next requires subjective, human analysis based on data. So timing crises is more in the domain of arts and less in the domain of hard mathematics. Having cash in hand when the crisis hits is also about fighting personal greed. Too often, as was the case with many investors pre-2008, a run up to the bear markets involves mis-allocation of cash to higher yield instruments. Much of cash management involves chasing higher returns by trading liquidity for marginal returns (few basis points paid out by the banks on termed deposits). Greed, as a motivator for action, looms larger when market valuations are at their highest. However, to have ready funds to invest in distressed assets requires holding assets that are not subject to liquidity squeezes and do not lose value when markets tank. Which means you have to fight your own behavioural biases and stay away from chasing small gains in the money markets in order to have cash in hand.

However, the uncertainty factor – covering the future direction of the markets post-crisis – increases the risk of entry and exits (cost of trading) and the risk of short-term negative returns. An investor buying into a falling market simply does not know how long and how far the market can fall from the point of their purchase. Which means that to benefit from the sharp market corrections, investors should rely on cash when buying at the market lows. This, in turn, means that investors should consider booking profits before the crisis, when liquidity is still available and the trading costs are lower. The problem is that, as the GFC has taught us well, traditional financial markets risk models are utterly useless in predicting

VALUATIONS ARE WIDOW-MAKERS Investors tend to see the latest traded price of a security as its market value. This is false for a number of reasons. One is the low transparency of today’s market prices: with over-proliferation of over-the-counter venues for trading in financial instruments, quoted market price is just one signal of value. Another is the decreasing informational content of executed trades during sharp market downshifts, when unquoted liquidity risk matters more than quoted prices. The third is the dynamics of prices going into the market peak

period, when investors’ exuberance pushes prices away from fundamentals-justified values. Last, but not least, quoted prices ignore trading costs that tend to blow up at the time of markets corrections on the sell side of transactions and at the times of markets inflation on the buy side. Skepticism about informational signals contained in ticker prices is warranted at the times of markets exuberance. Contrarian view is in order when markets hit the breaks.

RISK MANAGEMENT AT THE TIME OF TURBULENCE Investment allocation is one half of the portfolio management exercise. Risk mitigation is the other.

The third principle that should not be overlooked is that only commitment to a flexible, measured and diversificationfocused investment approach can provide a long-term offset to the deeper uncertainty that sweeps the markets at the times of panic selling. Portfolio rebuilding opportunities presented by sell-offs are generally dispersed across a range of sectors and instruments, asset classes and geographies. Staying with pre-crisis allocation strategies can be a costly proposition, subject to severe familiarity bias and base rate neglect errors. The former refers to the fact that investors miss new opportunities because we fool ourselves into believing that we ‘know well’ specific sectors or assets, irrespective of the underlying realities of the market. The latter means that we often assign pre-crisis probabilities of success to assets we are familiar with, irrespective of the changes that the crisis might bring around.

The first principle of risk management is the stop-loss rule. Behavioural psychology generates biases that skew our decision-making toward erroneous choices, and overcoming these requires serious effort on behalf of an investor. One key set of biases involves the endowment effect and the status quo bias. Jointly, these imply that faced with rapidly escalating VUCA environment, investors prefer staying the previous course to a course of quickly realising early losses. The greater the losses sustained in the downward market to-date, the stronger is the propensity to do nothing. In the end, investors over-hold their long positions and end up magnifying market-induced losses. Thus, the conservative view of one’s portfolio is the best position for entering a financial crisis: when you feel that the markets have turned or are about to turn for a sustained downward correction, sell to book either profits or to minimise losses. Being conservative and risk-conscious helps to maintain a longer-term focus on your investment objectives.

The same applies to managing cost of rebuilding your portfolio during the crisis. Volumes of evidence show that in all markets, when prices fall, volumes of assets available for sale rise, and numbers of buyers shrink. This results in lower cost of trades for the buyers. The converse happens when markets turn to the upside, when cost of buying rises relative to selling. Hence, buying into the falling market can be more advantageous than waiting for the market to bottom out. Of course, this also means that having bought into the falling market you will need to be ready to endure a period during which your portfolio value will continue to decline alongside the market. The key to surviving through this is: avoid leverage and do not gamble away that cash which may be needed to cover your normal expenses and legal liabilities.

The second principle applies to the times of market panics. In terms of hedging, keep in mind that risk hedges and safe havens are only good when entered prior to the crisis onset. Once the crisis is in full swing, you will not be able to either roll over or increase your hedges.

LEVERAGE RISK Which brings us to another lesson that must be learned from the last decade: stay away from leverage and beware of all hidden forms leverage can take. For institutional investors, this means closely matching duration of their portfolio assets to maturity profile of their borrowings. And this holds for normal times. In markets nearing correction, duration of portfolio holdings can be a tricky matter. This means that institutional investors should constantly monitor their debt exposures and stress test their assets against both liquidity risks and potential liabilities-related risks. For retail investors, the rule is avoid leverage at all costs. When a broker or a banker comes knocking with offers of margin accounts and loans for investment purposes – do not open the door.

Leverage is both, the fuel of the crisis and often the cause of it. Excessively lax lending standards create vulnerabilities in the financial system by raising debt loads across the economy and by lending to customers without any resilience to even minor risks. This holds for corporates and households alike. But the same lax standards also push asset valuations beyond their fundamentally-justified values, creating asset price bubbles. The faster the lending bubble inflates and the longer this inflation continues, the greater will be the eventual collapse. Leverage risk excesses, in this case, will invariably result in the breakdown in historically-established correlations between assets returns, as witnessed in 2008-2009. Final point worth stressing when it comes to leverage risk is that investor-own degree of leverage is, in part, a function of their disposable income and their non-investment liabilities. In this context, a smart investor will never face a market crisis with significant exposures to future expected tax liabilities. Getting your house in order before the crisis, and being prepared to cover these liabilities without the need to rely on selling assets into a falling market (incurring losses and higher costs of such trading) can be extremely important.

Beyond direct debt, you should pay attention to assets you’re invested in. Many instruments sold today to a range of clients are built on leverage. While purchasing these does not expose you to direct debt, your returns are still subject to leverage risk held by the fund you are buying into. At times of extreme markets uncertainty, leveraged assets lose their liquidity and their value collapses much faster than for their unlevered counterparts.

BEWARE OF INNOVATION, DISRUPTION AND TECH As a fintech investor and adviser, I enjoy the excitement of working with innovative companies. As an investment markets analyst and researcher, I see financial innovation as a major risk. The GFC, and indeed the entire history of crises before then, taught us that financial innovation can be extremely dangerous for the investors. New technologies and products in finance are the unknown unknowns when it comes to their performance in the downturns. They also submit to no established or testable hedging. Being long innovative products and technologies means you can neither control their downsides, nor can you account for their impact on your portfolio. Beyond this, many innovative products are focused primarily on securing higher leverage, hidden behind fancy labels and structuring formulas. Mortgages Backed Securities and other ABS Products c. 2007-2008 are the case in point. So going into a crisis, investors should not hold any serious exposure to the financial innovation or financial services sector more broadly, with exception, perhaps of financial utilities: insurance companies with established, non-financial lines of business.

GOVERNMENTS AND REGULATORS: PREPARE FOR THE NEXT ‘SOFT LANDING’ CALL The above points bring us to the financial markets regulators’ and Government’s role in the crises. While all of these entities claim to hold investor interests at heart, none of their claims are worth a single penny when it comes to the financial crises. The Italian banks rescue this year shows that all the new resolution mechanisms designed to deal with the future banking crises are nothing more than paper tigers.

An investor can and should be ready to capture this upside, even though the uncertainty about the extent and timing of supports is now higher due to a long period of aggressive monetary expansion that we are still going through. In the meantime, neither the regulators, nor the governments will be of any use in helping investors avoid the upcoming GFC 2.0. With them, rating agencies, and a host of industry lobbying and advisory bodies will also stay silent on the building risks threatening the system. So when regulators and governments start talking about the next ‘soft landing’ – run for the hills, go cash and sit back for the next opportunity to buy into the falling prices.

The governments will respond to the next crisis in exactly the same way they responded to the previous one: pumping more cash into the markets and re-inflating debt assets first, followed by equities. This means that timing-wise, public assets are more likely to show earlier recovery than private assets.

Dr Constantin Gurdgiev is the Adjunct Assistant Professor of Finance with Trinity College, Dublin and serves as a co-founder and a Director of the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation Ltd and the Chairman of Ireland Russia Business Association. He holds a non-executive appointment on the Investment Committee of Heniz Global Asset Management, LLC (US). In the past, Dr Constantin Gurdgiev served as the Head of Research with St Columbanus AG (Switzerland), the Head of Macroeconomics with the Institute for Business Value, IBM, Director of Research with NCB Stockbrokers Ltd and Group Editor and Director of Business and Finance Publications. He also held a non-executive appointment on the Investment Committee of GoldCore Ltd (Ireland) and Sierra Nevada College (US). Born in Moscow, Russian, Dr. Gurdgiev was educated in the University of California, Los Angeles, University of Chicago, John Hopkins University and Trinity College, Dublin.

REGISTRATION AND RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION REGULATIONS FOR HOTELS 2016 Thomas Carroll – MW Keller & Son, Solicitors

THESE NEW REGULATIONS CAME INTO FORCE ON THE 1ST AUGUST 2016 AND THEY HAVE RELAXED SOME OF THE CONDITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS THAT PREVIOUSLY ATTACHED TO HOTELS. Some of the revisions in these regulations include the following:

BEDROOM SIZE Under the new regulations, the size of a double/twin bedroom now only needs to be 14 sq.m, and a triple room is only required to be 18 sq. m in size, which is a considerable reduction in size when compared to the old regulations. Bathroom and toilet facility requirements are now clearly set out under the new regulations.

FOOD AND DRINKS Prior to the enactment of these new regulations, it was a requirement that a hotel had to be able to provide dinner to its guests. This requirement has been relaxed and now the hotel only has to be able to provide food and drink.

ALTERATIONS Where there has been building works carried out or a material alteration to the premises, a fire safety certificate will now need to be provided along with a certificate of compliance from an Architect or Engineer for the renewal application for Faílte Ireland. The new regulations place significant emphasis on complying with legislative requirements with a particular emphasis on Sanitation, Food Hygiene, Health and Safety, Licensing Laws, Planning Law and Building Regulations. The objective of the new regulations is to bring a degree of clarity to the requirements affecting Hoteliers and hopefully this will lead to more growth in the sector and inevitably more competition in larger cities. For more information on the above please contact:

Thomas Carroll 051 877029 thomascarroll@mwkeller.ie 8

Eir Price Hike Marginalises Older, Loyal and Vulnerable Customers A year after its last price hike, telecoms giant Eir announced another price hike, which will affect their long-standing customers for the third consecutive year. Only those who recently signed up for a package will be able to escape the newly increased rates, while older people will be charged higher tariffs.

Packages affected will include business and voice customers voice services, broadband bundles and standalone broadband. That means that approximately 500,000 customers will be paying increased rates, of up to €84 per year, based on monthly fees alone. New higher rates will be phased in starting with monthly charges increasing from between €3-€7, and call costs increasing by 33%. There will also be an increase in call rates that fall outside of voice plan allowances. An Eir spokesman confirmed that new customers will not be affected by the increased rates, and neither will mobile users and New Fibre To The Home (FTTH) customers. Michael Kilcoyne, the Consumers Association’s Deputy Chairman, accused the telecom giant of singling out vulnerable, older customers, as this hike will not affect consumers who recently switched to Eir but rather those who are less likely to switch to a different provider, many of whom are older customers who are already vulnerable due to the loss of their telephone allowance. He called on the company to reconsider this hike, and urged them to offer a loyalty discount instead. A spokesperson for Eir denied that the price hike exploited older, loyal customers, and insisted that the company’s triple and quad-play pricing remained the best value on the market for TV and mobile bundles. There is a silver lining though, as in a letter to their customers, Eir gave clients the opportunity to opt out of contracts early. Switcher.ie’s Eoin Clarke said that price increases were becoming an annual occurrence in the TV and broadband market, despite the fact that ComReg has ranked Ireland as one of the most expensive Western countries in terms of broadband pricing. Last year, thousands of homeowners using Eir saw broadband and call costs increasing, with some prices reaching almost €100 a year. The most recent price hike from Eir follows increased phone, TV and broadband prices from Virgin, Sky and Vodafone.

LEGAL BRIEFS

Irish tax authorities were in effect restricting the ability of foreign car hire companies to provide services in the Irish market and discriminating in favour of domestic providers. The court also found the tax obligation was not proportionate to its objective - to compensate for the external and environmental effects of vehicle use. Since the duration of use for leased vehicles from a company in another member state is limited and known in advance, the court held that a less restrictive system could be used. This might consist of a registration tax proportionate to that duration. Ireland had introduced a system whereby excess tax could be refunded following an inspection of the vehicle. However, the court also ruled that by failing to refund the interest and by deducting €500 for “administration” from the refund, Ireland had failed to fulfil its obligations under EU law. While Ireland had amended its legislation on this issue at the beginning of 2016, the commission said it had not done so within the prescribed timeframe ending in April of the previous year.

VRT ON SHORT-STAY CARS INCOMPATIBLE WITH EU LAW, SAYS COURT Ireland has been found guilty of failing to comply with European law over the application of tax to cars imported for rental purposes. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) decision relates to those cars which may only be imported to Ireland for limited amounts of time. Irish law requires importers to pay the entire tax for permanent registration, regardless of the intended and actual duration of their use in the State. This approach includes cars that are hired or leased from abroad for predetermined, limited periods of time. Ireland does not face any financial sanction following the court’s ruling, although it will bear legal costs. The Luxembourg-based court ruled recently in favour of the European Commission, which had complained that

POOR BOX USED OVER 1,300 TIMES SINCE 2015

It was widely felt the decline in 2015 heralded the beginning of the end for the poor box. Legislation to scrap the poor box is in the works, but Mr Flanagan has yet to outline a clear timescale for its implementation. He said the Criminal Justice (Community Sanctions) Bill is “currently being drafted by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel”. Mr Flanagan commented that the legislation will abolish the poor box and replace it with ‘a statutory reparation fund to provide for a fair, equitable and transparent system of reparation that will apply only to minor offences dealt with by the district court.”

The poor box continues to be widely used in the Irish courts, according to new figures showing it has been used over 1,300 times in three years. Figures published by Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan show the poor box was used 843 times in 2015, 258 times in 2016, and 223 times in the first nine months of this year. The figures come months after the Courts Service of Ireland revealed that over €1.5 million was paid into the poor box in 2016, partly reversing the stark 40% decline in 2015.

MINISTER FOR CHILDREN SIGNS CHANGES TO ADOPTION LAW

court or the Adoption Authority, as part of the process. Minister Zappone in signing the Commencement order for the the Adoption (Amendment) Act 2017 stated what a hugely significant event adoption is in the life of the child and as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs she was conscious of “providing an adoption process that is fully inclusive of everyone involved and where children’s best interests are always at the heart of decisions involving them”

Minister for Children Katherine Zappone has signed into law a number of changes to the adoption law. Some of the most wideranging include civil partners and co-habiting couples being able to jointly adopt a child for the first time. Other changes allow an older child to give their views on being adopted to a

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT PLANNING SKILLS

Learning to manage your time can be quite a frustrating experience if you’re new to it. However, with persistent practice, you can quickly develop this skill. Here’s how you can use your natural mental strength and knowledge to improve your planning skills.

ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Understanding your natural thinking style will help you learn what works best for you. The Benziger Thinking Styles Assessment provides a formal method for learning which part of your brain dominates. Alternatively, you can complete the self-assessment contained in Thriving in Mind.

EXPECT DIFFICULTY

But more importantly, accept that there may be difficulties. We may flounder, but it’s important to accept that difficulty is just a part of the process. That way, you will be more willing to work through difficulties.

CONSIDER IT A PROCESS

Many of us go into a new project with an all-or-nothing mindset. We assume that unless we follow our plans to perfection, our efforts will be wasted. That’s not the case, though. Learning is a process and every day progress or improvement should be the objective.

FIND A SYSTEM THAT WORKS

Arbitrary schedules and systems can ruin your creative and productive genius. Instead, find a process that works for you. Keep experimenting until you find the perfect fit for you.

MODEL SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE

Follow the advice of people who excel in organisation or possess advanced planning skills. Perhaps they have the ideal solutions to challenges that have been leaving you feeling overwhelmed.

TRY AGAIN

Have compassion towards yourself when you make mistakes or become frustrated by the planning process. Simply take distraction on the chin, refocus, and re-adjust your plans.

BUSINESS BRIEFS IRELAND TO JOIN EUROPEAN SPACE RESEARCH ORGANISATION

as data analytics, software and photonics”, according to Minister for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, John Halligan. Membership will ensure Irish companies can compete for ESO contracts to develop innovative products and services, and enhance research opportunities for third-level institutions, he said. The announcement came after a long campaign from the astrophysics community in Ireland, said Dr Sheila Gilheany, policy adviser for the Institute of Physics in Ireland. The Department is also to receive €15 million to allow access to new product opportunities from European Space Agency contracts and to help secure research and development funding from the EU Horizon 2020 programme.

Ireland will join the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in 2018 following an increased capital budget allocation from The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation. Created in the early in 1960s the ESO, is a 16-nation intergovernmental research organisation for groundbased astronomy with headquarters in Munich, providing astronomers with state-of-the-art research facilities and access to the southern sky – its observatories are located in northern Chile. The benefits of membership will be significant including “the creation of advanced enterprise skills in areas such

HONG KONG- DUBLIN ROUTE TO STRENGTHEN IRISH LINKS TO ASIA

marketplace has struck a chord with business leaders. Mr Murray said the new route would solidify the growing relationship and will hugely assist in expanding trade and creating jobs. He believes it is only a matter of time before other routes are added, particularly to the main business hubs in China. Dublin Chamber Chief Executive, Mary Rose Burke said the route provides an opportunity for businesses to diversify in an increasing era of uncertainty. She commented that huge opportunities exist in Hong Kong for Irish businesses and the country provides a gateway to the lucrative Chinese market. Furthermore, strong synergies exist between the two countries enabling the sharing of knowledge and skills necessary to drive twoway trade and investment links in areas such as fintech, education, technology, tourism and food and beverages.

A new direct route between Dublin and Hong Kong will “dramatically” strengthen an already burgeoning business relationship between Ireland and Asia, according to business and political figures. Cathay Pacific announced it will operate a new direct Dublin-Hong Kong service four times per week from June. The year-round service will be Dublin Airport’s first direct route to the Asia-Pacific region. Trade between Ireland and Asia has been strengthening at a rapid rate, according to Irish economic think-tank Asia Matters. The organisation has increased its membership by almost 70% over the last 18 months, with Executive Director Martin Murray saying the growing business links and exchanges between Ireland and the Asian

IRISH WORKERS ARE MOST ‘OVERQUALIFIED’ IN EUROPE

decade or so, according to some projections. By contrast, countries such as Germany have much lower rates of school-leavers progressing to university, with many opting for traineeships and apprenticeships which have much higher status than at home. Tony Fahey, Professor Emeritus at UCD, who quoted the figures in a presentation to the annual conference of Education and Training Boards Ireland said they highlighted the challenge of matching education levels to skills needs. However, he said the issue was complex in that people who may be labelled as overeducated for their current role may yet benefit in the future. There has been a dramatic fall-off in the numbers taking part in apprenticeships or training, a pattern which coincided with the economic downturn. There are ambitious Government plans to increase numbers taking up further education options over the coming decade, with a series of “white collar” apprenticeships launched recently in areas such as insurance and financial services.

Irish workers are the most overqualified in the European Union for the jobs they are working, according to latest research. About one in three workers are at least one educational level above the international norm for the jobs they are in. This is the highest rate in the EU and almost twice the level of countries such as France, Sweden and Finland. The findings, based on research carried out by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) between 2000 and 2011, are likely to spark a debate over whether we are sending too many students to third-level. Ireland has one of the highest proportions of young people in Europe progressing on to higher education, with about 60% of all school-leavers attending universities or institutes of technology. This figure is projected to increase to 70% over the next

OVER 80% OF SMES FALL VICTIM TO CYBER CRIME

types of attacks revealed in the report include experienced computer related crime, excluding ‘Spam’ or Phishing’ emails (30% of firms affected), virus infections (62% - up from 42%) and theft of company data (5%). Of those who experienced a computer related incident, ‘Spam’ is the most prevalent issue at 74%, an increase from 67% in 2016. However, there has been a reduction in the numbers of hardware thefts, down from 11% in 2016 to 3% in 2017. The ISME CEO, Niall McDonnell warned that businesses must become more aware of the threats posed by cyberattacks and take the appropriate preventative measures, such as changing computer passwords. The ISME has put forward several recommendations in combatting e-crime both for businesses and the Government including the establishment of a ‘Cyber Security Information Sharing Partnership’, similar to the UK’s system, which allows for the sharing of cyber threat information and the establishment of a central body to deal with cybercrime.

The majority of small to medium Irish businesses have fallen victim to cyber crime - and would like to see a central body set up to prevent and tackle these incidents. However, some 20% of these firms don’t change their password. Over the last twelve months, some 81% of SMEs have reported an e-crime attack on their firm and 98% have called for the establishment of a national cyber crime group. The figures were revealed in the latest e-crime report from the Irish Small and Medium Enterprise Association (ISME), which has been released recently. Although the number of firms stating they were subject to an attack has fallen slightly compared with last year’s figure of 82%, ISME said the issue of cyber-attacks and online computer related incidents has increased over the last decade. Details of the

weeks to October 8th consumers spent more than €2.37bn on groceries across the five main players. Recent CSO figures showed the annual inflation rate eased to 0.2% in September from a four-month high of 0.4% in August; adding that food prices fell due to lower prices across a range of products including soft drinks, vegetables, bread and cereals. An upsurge in the purchase of branded goods (as opposed to own label goods) was also noted in the latest Kantar figures. Kantar CEO, David Berry commented that in the run up to Christmas, a time when shoppers usually turn back to brands - it is likely that this trend will continue.

GROCERY SPENDING RISES DESPITE TIGHTER PRICES Shoppers have continued to spend more at supermarket tills even with an easing in price reductions, new figures show. Latest data from consumer insights agency Kantar Worldpanel covering the 12 weeks to early October show an easing in standard grocery price deflation, with prices falling 0.1% in the period compared to a 0.4% fall in the preceding quarter. Nevertheless, shopper spending continued to rise with a 2.1% year-on-year increase noted for the period. In the 12

IRISH RETAILERS WHO ARE UNABLE TO ACCEPT NEW PAYMENT METHODS RISK MISSING OUT ON SALES

The study explains the difference by showing that card costs are, for certain merchants, fundamentally fixed, whereas the cost of handling cash has more variable elements. For example, back office administration accounts for 25% of the cost of cash, with the physical volume handled represents the other 75%. As the volume of cash accepted increases, greater resources are needed for counting, checking and controls during the day and for banking purposes. Furthermore, the research showed that the times that businesses spent counting cash transactions was on average 94 minutes a day, versus totalling card transactions which was 28 minutes per day. Visa says these figures reflect the efficiencies that cards can deliver for a business. As a result, business owners could save anywhere between €5,000 and €6,000 per year on cash handling costs. Commenting on the research findings, Country Manager at Visa Ireland, Philip Konopik said that despite consumers embracing electronic payments, Irish retailers unable to accept new payment methods risk missing out on sales and incurring excessive costs. Furthermore, new digital till systems are more efficient and automated, providing businesses with immediate data and insights into their business together with reducing costs by providing accounting and inventory control.

Irish small businesses are at risk of falling behind international peers in their adoption of digital payments technology, according to new research commissioned by Visa. The research shows that Irish SMEs could individually save between €5,000 and €6,000 per year on cash handling costs by increasing the amount of electronic payments they process. It is estimated that Irish consumers now spend more by card than cash, with shoppers spending an average of €10,465 on cards per capita each year, compared to €5,388 in cash. Contactless payments are one of the key drivers behind this trend with the technology now accounting for one in three of all face-to-face Visa transactions in Ireland. Visa commissioned research to investigate the hidden costs of cash in terms of back office and security costs and better understand how they compare to card transactions. The research established that for the businesses involved in the study it is cheaper to accept €1 as a card payment rather than cash, with cash handling costing 2.5 cents per Euro of sales compared to 1.6 cents for a card transaction.

Encouraging Curiosity and Inquisitiveness

CULTIVATING CHARACTERISTICS TO MAKE JOBS MORE MEANINGFUL

Curious leaders are those who ask questions, explore ideas and engage others in thinking about the future. Likewise, they detest monotony and become bored easily, which means that they will look to others to come up with innovative ideas that will enhance otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work experience.

Being Relentlessness and Challenge-Oriented

Research has shown that people who consider their work meaningful tend to report improved health and well-being in addition to better engagement and teamwork. In addition, it has been shown that leaders play a significant role in communicating the importance of their roles to employees. As a leader, you can cultivate the following traits and characteristics in yourself to help your employees derive more meaning from their jobs.

People who expect to fail and struggle tend to try harder than optimistic people. Ambitious leaders who face both failure and success head on tend to instill a deeper sense of purpose in their organisations or teams.

Hiring For Company Culture and Values A job is only valuable to someone if it aligns with their motives and needs. By paying attention to individualsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; values, a leader is more likely to hire the right talent who will therefore connect much more easily with the organisation and their colleagues. This helps to create a sense of meaning in the workplace.

Being Trusting Few people enjoy being micromanaged. Controlling and overpowering bosses disempower their employees and as such drain the impact of their work. The end result is employees who feel worthless. Trusting employers, in contrast, provide employees with room to grow and experiment.

Thomas Norris

Michael O’Grady

managing Partner

Partner

Mr. Thomas M. Norris BCL qualified in 2002, and lives in County Waterford with his wife and two children. Thomas specialises in commercial property transactions and has extensive knowledge and experience in employment law matters, probate and administration of estates, landlord and tenant issues, banking matters and all aspects of commercial law including insolvency.

Mr. Michael O’Grady BCL qualified in 1993. Michael lives in Waterford with his wife and four children. He specialises in residential and commercial property matters, landlord and tenant issues, building law, banking, insolvency and commercial law.

Contact Thomas

Contact Michael

Direct Line: 051-840003 Email: tom@mwkeller.ie

Direct Line: 051-840002 Email: michael@mwkeller.ie

Margaret Fortune

Mark Keller

Partner

Consultant

Ms. Margaret Fortune BCL qualified in 1998, and lives in County Waterford with her husband and two children. Margaret specialises in family law, personal injury (to include dealing with all aspects of the PIAB), medical negligence, debt collection and all court matters and has built up a considerable reputation in Waterford in her areas of expertise.

Mr. Mark Keller is a Consultant in the firm and has now taken on a new role as Consultant Solicitor. Mark qualified as a Solicitor in 1978 and lives in Waterford with his wife and three children. He specialises in Licensing Applications, Landlord and Tenant, Insolvency and Commercial Law and Residential and Commercial Property Transactions. Mark is an Accredited Mediator.

Contact Margaret

Contact Mark

Direct Line: 051-840001 Email: margaret@mwkeller.ie

Direct Line: 051-840004 Email: mark@mwkeller.ie

Ian Cunningham

Julie Bermingham

Solicitor

Mr. Ian Cunningham BCL qualified as a solicitor in 2003. Ian recently joined the Firm having previously been with a large commercial law firm in Dublin and with one of Ireland’s largest Banks. Ian specialises in banking, insolvency, commercial law, commercial and residential property matters.

Ms. Julie Bermingham BCL, LL.M qualified as a solicitor in 2006. Julie has a first class Masters degree in European and Comparative law and a post graduate diploma in Technology Commercialisation. Julie specialises in family law, conveyancing, civil and commercial litigation, IP and all court matters. She also has extensive experience in the area of Probate.

Contact Ian

Contact Julie

Direct Line: 051 840006 Email: ian@mwkeller.ie

Direct Line: 051 840005 Email: julie@mwkeller.ie

Thomas Carroll

Steven Jacob

Trainee Solicitor

Thomas Carroll is a Trainee Solicitor with the firm. He is from Paulstown Co. Kilkenny and completed his LL.B. in Waterford Institute of Technology and then an LL.M. in University College Cork.

Steven Jacob began working with the Firm in February 2016 and is a Trainee Solicitor. He is from Tramore, Co. Waterford and completed his degree in Waterford Institute of Technology.

Thomas will be training with Michael O’Grady and will specialise in the areas of commercial conveyancing, residential conveyancing and commercial law.

Steven will be training with Thomas Norris and will specialise in the areas of conveyancing, employment law and all aspects of commercial law.

RANGE OF SERVICES • ACCIDENTS AND PERSONAL INJURY

• EMPLOYMENT LAW

• MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE

• FAMILY LAW

• MEDIATION AND ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

• PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS/ CONVEYANCING/ LANDLORD AND TENANT

• AGRICULTURE AND FARMING • COMMERCIAL AND CORPORATE

75 CELEBRATING OVER

8 Gladstone Street, Waterford, Co Waterford

www.mwkeller.ie

051 877029

info@mwkeller.ie

YEARS

IN BUSINESS

• WILLS, PROBATE AND TRUSTS