SGC Business

On Monday the 26th September, I attended the spirit of innovation talk in GMIT. When I first got there I was slightly intimidated as I was the only person in a school uniform, anybody else was a potential business owner wearing a suit, however, this played out to be an advantage to me for the rest of the evening.

When I looked at the stalls I learned a lot about the various businesses operating in Mayo.

Then came the talk itself.

There were 5 main speakers who each gave their own presentation, one was an American millionaire, one owned “The Food Store” in Claremorris, one was the assisting director in a Steel company, one was a man who developed a revolutionary piece of equipment for street lamps and one was the founding director of CBE, a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of numerous point of sale products around the world. There was  also a live Twitter competition for the tweet that got the most interaction, and one for the best question. The prize for these competitions was a gift basket from Rua cafe in Castlebar. I found this talk very interesting as in business, we tend to learn the theory side  of starting a business (what forms have to be filled out, etc.), whereas this talk related more towards the promotional and personal side of starting a business.

Report submitted by Tom Baynes TY

picture: spiriteventwest.com

Todays Dublin Bus strike does not go ahead as NBRU , Dublin Bus and WRC work towards finding a solution. Union members have agreed to talks as long as pay increases of over 8.25%  is on the agenda. This is an example of a ‘Cost of living’ pay demand by NBRU members. 

Government has committed about €600m to spending hikes, with €300m for tax savings.

Possible changes

1. Cut USC ( although this generates €4bn annually)
2. PRSI increases for the self-employed
3. Reduction on D.I.R.T from 41% to 38%
4. Create incentives for first time buyers
5. Increase the minimum wage by 10 cent
6. Increase in excise duties

Overall, it is expected that the biggest cuts will be to people earning over €70, 000.

Have a look at the findings from a recent survey by the Sunday Business Post

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Coca-Cola has announced plans to invest €26 million at its Ballina plant.

The company has a long history of investment and employment in Ireland starting in 1934 and it now employs 1750 people across six locations in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The CEO of Coca Cola is Muhtar Kent.

Did you know that Coca-Cola is Ireland’s biggest selling brand eleven years in a row!

Sources :Sunday Business Post 4/9/16, Top 100 Brands Checkout magazine 2015, Joe.ie, Google Images.

The EU commission is to order tech giant Apple to pay back taxes  to the Irish State from over 25 years ago. These taxes are as a result of sweetheart deals agreed from 1991 and 2007.

This will be very difficult politically for our current Government.