www.impact.ie

work&lifeISSUE 5 • SUMMER 2009

THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

AXING YOURINCOMEHow the levy broke.

PLUSWOMEN FIGHTING FIRE

EUROPEAN ELECTIONS

IMPACT’S EUROVISION CONTESTANT

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WORLD WIDE WEB

PREMIER SECOND HAND CLOTHES

YOUR VOTE. BELGIAN TRIPS. DETOX PLAN. VEGGIE FOOD. SPRING GARDENS. 3-D MOVIES. RECESSIONARY MUSIC. MAYO LIBRARY MYSTERY. WOMEN’S BOXING.SAVE ON SPENDING. LETTERS. ALL THE NEWS. COMPETITIONS.

ALSO INSIDE

Win Win Win…

In this issue

1WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

work&life – Summer 2009

NEWS

39 HEALTH CUTS CONTINUE

39 EDUCATION CONFERENCE

39 TRAVEL AND SUBSISTENCE

39 NORTH PETITION

39 PALESTINIAN FRIENDS

40 CAMPAIGN

40 EUROPEAN

PUBLIC SERVICES

41 THE ECONOMY

10Win a familybreak.

21Put pen topaper and win€50.

47Tell us what you think and win €100.

46Test yourcrossword skillsand win €50.

REGULARS

16 YOUR RIGHTS

Don’t lose your hard-won rightto vote in June’s local andEuropean elections.

24TRAVEL &TRIPSBrussels is not just forbureaucrats.

26 BE GOOD TO YOURSELF

KAREN WARD reveals her easy-to-follow detox week.

28 IN THE KITCHENEarly summer is the perfecttime to try some vegetariantreats says MARGARETHANNIGAN.

30 GREEN FINGERSIt might be grim on theeconomic front, but JIMIBLAKE’s garden is springinginto bloom.

32 AT THE MOVIES

MORGAN O’BRIEN on the latest 3-D revival.

34 MUSIC

Recessions are good for pop music? RAYMOND CONNOLLY thinks not!

MORE REGULARS

36 BOOKS

IMPACTmember PATWALSH hasuncoveredthe curioushistory of acontroversialMayolibrarian.

42 YOUR MONEY

COLM RAPPLE on how to cut those monthly outgoings.

44 SPORT

Ireland’s Olympic tally couldrise if women’s boxing gets the thumbs up, says KEVIN NOLAN.

COVER FEATURES

4 EUROVISION

We talk to the IMPACT memberwho’s representing Ireland inthis year’s Eurovision songcontest.

6 HEAVY LEVY

The public service levy ishitting family budgets hard.NIALL SHANAHAN talked toIMPACT members about howthey are coping.

11 WOMEN FIGHTING FIREFire fighting used to beexclusively men only. But nowmore and more women aretaking on this difficult anddangerous role. We spoke toone of them.

13 BRUSSELS SPROUTS

What’s the point of voting inthe European Parliamentaryelections? BERNARD HARBORasked some Irish MEPs.

19 TECH – NO FEAR!

Try some “techno-joy” tocelebrate the World WideWeb’s 20th birthday.

22 BRAND NEW SECOND HANDTRISH O’MAHONY finds that second-hand clothes shopping is in a different league these days.

2

From Eurovision to Euro VisionTHERE’S A European feel to this issue of Work & Life. We’re among the first to congratulate IMPACT member Sinéad Mulvey, who is off to Moscow in May to represent Ireland in the Eurovision song contest. See her profile on page four. And our travel feature lifts the lid on Brussels, the political capital of Europe and gateway to value-for-money breaks in Belgium’s beautiful cities. Get yourself In Bruges!

While we were at it, we talked to some of Ireland’s MEPs to find out what exactly they do over there, and why it’s so important to vote in June’s European elections. We also look at what Europe’s trade unions – including IMPACT – are doing to put European candidates on the spot about our public services.

Elections are big news at home too. The five-yearly local elections also take place in June and our ‘rights’ features advises on how to ensure you’re able to cast your vote. Along with important local issues, the Government’s handling of the recession will loom in voters’ minds. So Niall Shanahan spoke to some of the IMPACT members who have confronted their elected representatives about the public service levy and looked at the union’s campaign for a fairer approach to economic recovery.

Colm Rapple says you can get something back from the banks as you adjust to leaner times and Trish O’Mahony’s fashion column takes a look at how second hand clothes shops have undergone a makeover and can now offer high fashion and designer gear – at knock-down prices. Looks good!

On the down side, Raymond Connolly challenges Noel Gallagher’s view that recessionary times necessarily deliver better music. Meanwhile, Morgan O’Brien takes a realistic look at the prospects for a much-vaunted 3-D film revival.

And we’ve got all the usual fantastic features like food (fancy a vegetarian?), books, news and sport, where Kevin Nolan discusses Katie Taylor’s chances of becoming the first woman to win an Olympic boxing gold. And lots of competitions too!

Forget the doom and gloom for half an hour and enjoy Work & Life!

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

Front Cover Illustration by Chris Judge.

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% recycable.

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

SUMMER 2009

20 years ago Tens of thousands of Chinese students take over Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in a democracy rally on 19th April 1989. The massive demonstration is brutally repressed in June.

Ray McAnally, one of Ireland’s most versatile and respected actors, dies suddenly on 15th June, aged 63.

50 years ago On 9th April 1959, NASA unveils the ‘Mercury seven,’ the group of military pilots earmarked to become the first US astronauts.

On 2nd May, Nottingham Forest beat Luton Town 2-1 to win the FA Cup. Sean Lemass becomes Ireland’s third Taoiseach the following month.

60 years agoAt midnight on 17th April 1949, the 26 counties officially leave the British Commonwealth. A 21-gun salute on Dublin’s O’Connell Bridge ushers in the Republic of Ireland.

The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) is established on 23rd May. Earlier, Icelanders opposed to their country’s participation in the proposed North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) stage a pro-neutrality riot in March, but NATO is formed the following month.

80 years agoThe restored General Post Office is officially opened by President W T Cosgrave on 11th July 1929. Eleven days later the Shannon hydro-electric scheme is opened at Ardnacrusha, County Clare.

Stock market prices collapse in the USA. US securities lose $26 billion, marking the first phase of the depression and world economic crisis in the USA.

It’s nice to be appreciatedwork&lifeTHE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

IMPACT is Ireland’s fastest growing trade union with over 61,000 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 www.impact.ie

IMPACT TrAde unIon

WORk & LIFE: THE MAGAzINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 3

That was then…

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.

HALF A million extra people are visiting a US public service jobs website every week after incoming President Obama declared his determination to “make government and public service cool again.” A recent survey of US graduates also found public service organisations made up the single most popular choice for future employment.

The Financial Times has reported Scott kirk of CareerPro Global saying: “There has not been this level of interest in public service since the kennedys,” as a record 350,000 people applied for the 3,000 positions in Obama’s new administration.

Of course, the economic recession is one reason why people are looking for state jobs – any job – as unemployment rises. But it’s still a far cry from Ireland where relentless attacks from politicians, journalists, commentators and business leaders have given the public service an undeserved hard time – and a morale-sapping bad name.

Maybe our elected representatives should take a leaf out of Obama’s book. After all, he’s the most popular politician both in the USA and around the world, and he knows how to win an election.

Brians in public life take note: Here’s a guy who’s not afraid to celebrate the vital role of the public service in economic recovery.

IMPACT member SINÉAD MULVEY will represent Ireland at this year’s Eurovision song contest, along with backing band Black Daisy. Work & Life caught up with the Aer Lingus cabin crew member before she set off for May’s competition in Moscow’s Olimpiysky indoor arena.

How would you describe yourself?I guess I would describe myself as fairly easy going and funny. I am always up for a laugh and I don’t take life too seriously.

How did you get started in show business?I went to stage school when I was very young and then I got involved in pantomime. I appeared in panto every year at the Tivoli theatre between the ages of 13 and 19, which was always a really great experience. Then in 2005 I competed in RTÉ’s You’re A Star. That’s how Niall Mooney (one of the composers of this year’s Irish Eurovision entry) spotted me and got in touch about competing for Eurovision with Etcetera.

Tell us a few of your favourite things?I can’t leave home without my mobile phone. Home-made spaghetti carbonara. I love my credit card as long as it’s not maxed out! And I adore Leonardo Di Caprio, especially in Catch Me If You Can and Blood Diamond, even though his South African accent was a bit ropey in that one.

How long have you worked for Aer Lingus?I’ve been with them for two years now and I love it. My cousin works there and told me they were recruiting for cabin crew. It was something I always wanted to do, so I went for it. Along with my singing career, it’s like having two dream jobs.

It is a great job, I work with really great people, and of course I have IMPACT behind me! I know Christina Carney (IMPACT’s official for cabin crew) really well at this stage. I always ring her when I have a question.

What inspires you when you’re having a tough day at work?Shopping! I often do transatlantic duty, which involves long

shifts. But I always look forward to shopping around in places like San Francisco. It’s a great city, very laid back and not as crowded as somewhere like New York.

But I’m always happy to have a job too, especially at the moment. I know a lot of people who’ve lost their jobs recently so it isn’t something I take for granted.

IMPACT people

What’s the best advice you have ever received?My Dad has always advised me to keep a positive attitude about everything, so that’s something I do. I try to avoid being negative. There is plenty of negativity out there, especially in the music business. Staying positive about things is important and it helps you to get along with people and achieve the things you want to do.

“When I was a kid we did this thing where we drew countries out of a hat, and whoever drew the winning country got €20. It was great!”

Sinéad on loving Eurovision.

“I know a lot of people who’ve lost their jobs recently so it isn’t something I take for granted.”

Sinéad on working for Aer Lingus.

What piece of music really makes you want to dance?Right now I really like Poker Face by Lady Gaga. I also really like Lily Allen’s new album, It’s Not Me It’s You. It’s not really dance music, but I love listening to it in the car.

What’s your favourite movie?Tough one that. I love collecting movies on DVD. But my firm favourite would have to be The Shawshank Redemption, alongside The Bucket List. It’s a Morgan Freeman thing. There’s something about his voice that makes you want to listen to him all day.

Who would play you in the movie of your life story?Catherine Zeta Jones. People used to say I looked like her when I was younger. Though it would be even better if I could play her in the movie of her life story! After doing a lot of acting on stage I’d love the experience of acting on camera.

What is your favourite place in the world?There’s no place like home. I love all the travel, and visiting different places that comes with my job, but I love to come home to friends and family. I would love to go to South East Asia or Australia, as I’ve never been there. Maybe for a little holiday after Eurovision!

What really annoys you?Impatient drivers, especially when they drive up right behind you flashing their lights and you’re already doing the speed limit. Annoying and dangerous.

What does Eurovision mean to you?It means a lot. It’s always been a big thing in our house. My family has watched it every year since I can remember. When I was a kid we did this thing where we drew countries out of a hat, and whoever drew the winning country got €20. It was great!

How have your cabin crew colleagues reacted to the news that you’re representing Ireland?

They’re all delighted and very supportive. Every day I go into work I’m with a different crew, and the reaction is always great no matter who I’m working with. It’s great to have that kind of support behind you.

Sinéad Mulvey & Black Daisy will fly the flag for Ireland in the second semi-final in Moscow on Thursday 14th May. Interview by NIALL SHANAHAN l

Sinéad shoots for Euro stars

54 SUMMER 2009 WoRk & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FoR IMPACT MEMBERS

Public service levy

NIALL SHANAHAN found out how peoples’ experience of the public service levy is shaping the unions’ campaign for a fair approach to economic recovery.

THE ONLY mistake the Government made during the good times was to be too generous to the public service. So said finance minister Brian Lenihan in a recent interview.

In other words, don’t blame the recession on bankers and speculators or the governments that failed to regulate them. The fault lies squarely at the feet of ordinary people who recklessly wanted hospitals, schools and other vital services. Oh, and the people who work hard to provide them.

Opinion polls show that most people disagree and believe that the public service levy is unfair. But our most strident critics share minister Lenihan’s view and they’re already baying for more. They’ve quickly digested the pound of flesh delivered in the form of the levy and now they’re looking to inflict more pain on ordinary public service staff. Just scan through the pages of the Irish Independent, Sunday Times or Sunday Tribune, or listen to a weekend radio show.

IMPACT knocked Government plans for a 10% across-the-board pay cut off course earlier this year, before the focus moved on to pensions. But talks between the social partners and Government collapsed in the middle of a blizzard in the early hours of 3rd February. With the clock ticking on a deadline to reach agreement, and bereft of ideas to fill a €2 billion hole in exchequer funds, the Government decided to come after public servants. They felt confident that they’d be hitting a popular target.

The following afternoon Mr Lenihan announced that a levy averaging 7.5% would be placed on all public service incomes.

In all the haste and confusion, it took another 24 hours for the Government to clarify whether or not this levy was to be tax deductible. It was. But it immediately became obvious that low and middle income earners were going to be hit the hardest.

JobsSo far, virtually all the pain associated with the deepening recession has fallen on workers – public and private – in the form of job losses or cuts in income. For public servants, the unrelenting mantra from every Government minister is “be thankful you still have a job.” IMPACT members, especially those whose jobs are on the line, are understandably furious.

In the days that followed the announcement of the levy, IMPACT mobilised its members to undertake a mass lobby

of TDs. It was a crucial starting point in a campaign which, while accepting that the crisis would demand sacrifices from all of us, sought fairness in the pursuit of economic recovery.

TDs, senators and local representatives were left in no doubt about the often-devastating effect of the levy as they received thousands of emails, letters, phone calls and visits to their clinics over Saint Valentine’s weekend. What began as an IMPACT campaign gathered momentum as members of other public service unions joined in.

On February 13th, as the mass lobby was in full swing, IMPACT placed a series of advertisements in the national press, outlining the arguments against the levy. Their appearance stoked the debate very publicly, and equipped members with

When the levy brokethe arguments, which go way beyond self interest.

As IMPACT members made contact with their political representatives, they expressed their deep anger and spoke candidly about how the levy would affect their families. I spoke to some of them about their experiences.

Helen Jones, an administrator in the Dublin Institute of Technology, told me her net income would be reduced by approximately €1,650 a year. “As someone who earns considerably less than the average wage this is a substantial amount of money,” she said. The effect on Helen’s income reflects the impact of the levy on low and middle income workers, the largest group affected. They can expect to lose between €1,500 and €2,800 a year.

But the hit to Helen’s income was only the beginning of the story. “I am also very aware of the hardship hitting those working in the private sector. My husband and son have both lost their jobs in recent months so now I am the main wage earner in our house. My other children are still studying and are not in a position to contribute much to the household finances,” she says.

Income halvedHelen’s family circumstances are by no means unusual.They reflect the experience of a lot of members who contacted IMPACT in the days after the levy was announced. Helen had a very clear message for her local representatives: “There are five votes in our household and they will not be easily won in future elections.” u

Over 20,000 IMPACT members joined the national demonstration in February

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76 SUMMER 2009 WOrk & LIFE: THE MAGAzINE FOr IMPACT MEMBErS

Public service levy

Other families facing a similar crisis included that of Marie Carroll* who works for the HSE in the midlands. “This levy will lead to an annual gross reduction of €4,250 in my pay and [the minister] claims it is justified because we are not hit like families in private employment. My husband works in construction and expects to be out of work in the near future when the present project he is working on is complete. Our family income will then be reduced to less than half our present combined earnings,” she says.

Marie also stressed the need for fairness. “I am prepared to pay my fair share to get the country going again as long as it applies to everyone in employment. I don’t think any public sector worker would argue about paying a fair and equitable share. We all realise that times are difficult and the lack of public finances must be addressed. Government continually talks about the need for everyone to work together and it hopes to bring everyone along with it – the public sector is not everyone.”

Mess Marie’s comments reflect the country’s outrage at the other story making the news as the levy was imposed. Public anger swelled as daily reports of deceit and greed in Irish banking emerged. Creative accounting, golden circles and a re-capitalisation plan that seemed to reward this culture of greed and incompetence in Irish banking. The anger of workers throughout the country was stoked until it was white hot.

Susan Allen*, an IMPACT member who works in for the HSE in North Dublin, had a simple question for local TDs: “I didn’t create this economic mess but hard-working ordinary people are being singled out. What about bankers and property speculators and the Government’s failure to regulate them?”The Government continued to take a bullish line, kept their heads down and the Taoiseach went as far as to warn his cabinet that no one would thank them for the measures they were taking. Opinion polls continue to indicate that the Taoiseach was at least correct in that assessment.

Leonie outlined how she had already become involved in efforts to reduce costs. “I recently started a reduced working week in a bid to help the council cut its payroll costs by 3% and also to try to help save some temporary jobs,” she says. Like all workers Leonie had also begun to pay the 1% income levy on top of this.

THE STAR, Friday February 13 2009 7

“I am prepared to pay my fair share to get the country going again. I don’t think any public sector worker would argue about paying a fair and

equitable share. We all realise that times are difficult and the lack of public finances must be addressed.”

Trade unions remain determined that workers – whether public or private – will not bear the cost of recession alone. In response to the crisis, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions developed a ten-point economic recovery plan, which was influenced by policies adopted in Sweden when its economy hit similar problems in the early 1990s. Among the ICTU’s proposals was a demand to reform the levy, in order to reduce the burden on low and middle income earners.

Unions have united to fight for a fair approach to economic recovery. Through ICTU they organised an impressive national demonstration, which attracted over 120,000 people to the streets of Dublin in February. It was an unprecedented show of solidarity among workers from all sectors and the biggest public outpouring since the 1980s.

Over 20,000 IMPACT members were out in force, many participating in a demonstration for the first time in their lives. And they traveled from every corner of the country to take part. All the unions have since agreed to ballot members for industrial action.

Fair fightSpeaking at the demonstration, IMPACT general secretary Peter McLoone reaffirmed the union’s commitment to playing its part in economic recovery. “Our members don’t want to avoid their responsibilities as citizens and they’re prepared to make sacrifices for the common good. They simply want to ensure that measures are fair and that vested interests aren’t allowed to walk away scot-free,” he said

McLoone also criticised attempts to divide workers along public-private lines. “Attempts have been made to pit private sector and public sector workers against each other. This is a distracting device to ensure that workers are forced to take all the pain. Public sector workers are well aware of the hardship and difficulties facing a lot of their private sector colleagues. They live in the same communities. They are members of the same families.

“But the levy will do nothing to alleviate the difficulties facing private sector workers,” he said.

Now that the legislation has been pushed though the Dáil and signed into law, the unions are continuing to mobilise their members in the fight for a better deal. They are determined to defend the Towards 2016 national agreement and push the case for a fairer approach to economic recovery along the lines set out in ICTU’s ten-point plan.

This includes seeking changes to the public service levy, which IMPACT insists can be changed at least as quickly as it was implemented if the political will is there. The union also believes it will have to respond decisively to any future attacks on its members, including at a local or sectoral level.

It won’t be easy. It will depend on workers being prepared to stand up and be counted, with the support and leadership of their unions. But one thing is certain: You won’t get the country off its knees by beating its public servants over the

* These are real IMPACT members, but not real names.

One of IMPACT’s press ads protesting against the levy in the Irish Daily Star, February 13th 2009.

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IMPACT members at the demonstration on February 21st.

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Members of IMPACT’s Wicklow Health Branch turn out in force to lobby Minister Dick Roche at his constituency clinic in Arklow on St Valentine’s Day

The same polls revealed that the majority of Irish people feel the levy is unfair – a majority that increased in the week the legislation passed through the Dáil.

At the heart of the Government’s flawed argument was the idea that every public servant retires on a full pension. It simply isn’t the case, as Leonie Hannon, an assistant staff officer in South Dublin county council explained: “The public service pension levy is unfair, unaffordable and in my opinion discriminatory. It is unlikely that I will working until I am 65 and therefore I will not have full service of 40 years to enable me claim a full pension even though I’m paying this ridiculous levy.”

There are further concerns about what will come next. A supplementary budget in April heralds more pain for wage earners. With unemployment soaring, the Government’s original projection that it needs to save €20 billion over five years now looks hopelessly optimistic. And with the Taoiseach and finance minister refusing to rule out pay cuts, public sector workers are asking if they are going to be in the frame again.

Valerie O’Reilly is a clerical officer with Laois County Council. Her question to local politicians was: “How can we be assured that this levy won’t be increased next year and the year after? How can we have any confidence in this Government or any of our TDs? How could our Government let this happen?” u

98 SUMMER 2009 WORk & LIFE: THE MAGAzINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

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Offer ends 1st September and is subject toavailability. Terms and Conditions apply.

11

Fighting fire

COURAGE, DETERMINATION, skill anddedication are all essential traits for afire fighter paramedic. But, in her threeyears in the job, Teresa Hudson haslearned that a sense of humour is vitaltoo.

“There’s plenty of laughter and plentyof dark humour too. We couldn’tfunction without it. The camaraderie isthe mainstay of the service. We havean understanding even though we are avery diverse bunch of people,” shesays.

Before joining the service Teresastudied tourism and then worked forDiageo for nine years. She struck upfriend ships with many fire fightersthrough her involvement in the ReserveDefence Forces. “I was always veryinterested in their work but I wasn’tsure if I would be up to it. But whenthe opportunity came along I justjumped at it,” she says.

There is high demand for fire servicejobs and the selection process inc ludesaptitude tests, a series of indiv id ualand group interviews and a manualdexterity test. After success fullynavigating this, Teresa was two yearson a panel before being called for amedical, which included tests forclaustrophobia and acrophobia.

Did she have any doubts about whatshe was getting into? “It’s different towhat you expect, but I never lookedback. I worked with great people inDiageo, with whom I am still veryfriendly, but now I can say that I’m in ajob I love.”

WomenTeresa is one of about 40 women in theDublin fire service – just under 5% ofthe staff. “I suppose you could say weare few and far between,” says Teresa.There were eight women in the lasttraining class – the largest group so farand an indication of a very gradualchange over the 15 years since womenwere first admitted to the job.

The relatively small number of womenbrings challenges. “I suppose youstand out in a group! There’s a processof finding that balance of being a

The fire service hastended to be a man’s

world. But that’schanging as NIALL

SHANAHAN found outwhen he spoke to fire

fighter paramedicTERESA HUDSON.

10 SUMMER 2009 WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

�

“You are meeting people on the worst day of their

lives but, for you, it’s part of the working day.”

Then the rigorous training starts. “I didmy initial six months training in theO’Brien Institute in Marino. Then I didone year as an intern on the ambu -lance, first observing and then atten -ding cases. All fire fighter paramedicsare fully trained in pre-hospital emer -gency care,” says Teresa.

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A man’sworld?

Fighting fire

12 SUMMER 2009

woman in what’s perceived to be aman’s world. You adapt, you find yourway, but you’ll never be a man!”

Thankfully, most of us never confrontthe situations that come with a firefighter’s daily working life. In timespast, trainees were told they would seeat least one gunshot victim during theirtime. Now they’re advised that they willdefinitely see a gunshot victim in theearly stages of their career.

Is this the hardest part of the job? “It’shard to single out any particular aspectof the job, but you do have to learn toput distance between your work andhome life. You see all kinds of thingsand you have to stay focused on the jobyou have to do. You are meeting peopleon what is probably the worst day oftheir lives, but for you it’s part of theworking day. It takes time to learn thatbalance and it’s not easy, but its partof what we do. It’s a job, and we allhave lives outside,” she says.

AttacksEach year, the Dublin Fire Brigadecontrol room takes 90 to 100 thousandambulance calls and between 30 and40 thousand fire and rescue calls.There are other pressures too.

Attacks on emergency staff are agrowing problem, with convictions forassaults both rare and lenient. But asa culture of attacking workers takeshold, they still have a job to do. “I’ve

“I’ve been in a fire engine as

it’s being pelted with stones

and I know someone who has

been attacked. Attacks on

emergency services are

random, fuelled by drink,

drugs or just pure

aggression.”

been in a fire engine as it’s beingpelted with stones on Halloween night,and I know someone who has beenattacked. Attacks on emergencyservices are random, fuelled by drink,drugs or just pure aggression. But weare there to help, regardless of what

ServiceTeresa feels that meeting the changingneeds of the community is the biggestchallenge facing the service. Thedemand in Dublin alone, and theexpectations of what the service candeliver, is immense. “Getting thebudget is always a challenge. Ourambulance budget comes from theHSE, though we are employees ofDublin City Council. We do need moreambulances. As a service we need tomake it work, because everyonedeserves the best,” she says.

And Teresa has some advice for otherworkers who wonder what it would belike to do something different. “I’d saygo for it if that’s what you’re thinking.You’ll never know if it’s for you until youtry and you could spend a lifetimewondering. Do your research, talk tofirefighters. It’s a good career.”

Teresa explains that people stay in thejob until retirement, very rarely temp -ted to change career. “Despite theabsence of bonuses or anything likethat, people stay. We are on an inc -remental pay scale, so we live withinour means. The public service levy willmake that harder, especially as it is thefirst hit to our income, and we knowthere is probably more to come. Butyou still need us, and we’ll still behere!”

That’s good to know �

people are getting up to, and there is acatastrophic ripple effect at a scene ifa paramedic is injured.”

So what’s the best part of the job?“The group you work in, the jobsatisfaction, the diversity of the work,the craic. No two days are the same.”She also enjoys the support of herfamily. “They were initially surprisedbut they are immensely proud, whichis great. There is generally a greatrespect for people who do the job andsometimes from unexpected places;doctors, solicitors, people from differ -ent professions who openly expresstheir respect for the work we do.”

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on the popularity of the irish government?The european Parliament is the only directly-elected eU institution. Yet it’s often portrayed as the poor cousin of brussels – a relatively insignificant body compared to the european Council (made up of government representatives from each member state) or the Commission (the permanent eU ‘civil service’ and instigator of new eU legislation).

Dublin’s sinn féin MeP Mary Lou McDonald broadly agrees. “This is largely true. The Parliament cannot initiate legislation; that falls to the Commission. The Council also has the ultimate say in a number of areas,” she says.

but it’s a representation of the Parliament that Dublin’s Labour MeP Proinsias de rossa strongly rejects. “no european laws can be passed without the approval of the Parliament. so, although the Commission drafts the laws, 80% of Parliamentary amendments are adopted. That compares to less than 1% of opposition amendments in the Dáil,” he says.

RightsDe rossa cites the services Directive, a law proposed by

i haD come to brussels to find out if June’s european election really mattered and i got my first inkling while exchanging small talk with an irish MeP’s staffer, who expressed surprise at how cheaply i’d found a hotel room in the centre of town.she explained that i’d arrived during the european Parliament’s committee week, when huge multi-party committees debate and amend legislation before it goes to plenary sessions of all 785 MePs from 27 countries. “The city’s always full of lobbyists this week and the prices are usually sky high,” she revealed.

They’re obviously not here for the famously strong beer or traditional mussels and chips, i thought.

in a couple of months irish candidates from all parties and none will be vying for our votes as they hope to become the target of the lobbyists’ attentions as one of ireland’s 12 MePs. We all have a vague notion that europe influences, or even determines, a lot of the laws that guide our lives as workers, citizens and consumers. but what’s the point of sending our MePs ‘over there’ to brussels and, for one week of each month, strasbourg?

Do their activities and decisions really matter to us? and, when we place our X in the box come June, will we be thinking about real europe-wide issues and concerns, or simply voting

What’s the point of voting in the European elections? BERNARD HARBOR asked some Irish MEPs.

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Time on your sideLast year, the european Commission proposed changes to an existing eU working time directive, which would have meant longer hours and more countries opting out of european working time laws altogether. iMPaCT actively supported a campaign by the european federation of Public service Unions (ePsU), which led to MePs roundly rejecting the proposals.

TRADE UNIONS are making it easier for you to check your European candidates’ commitment to public services before you vote in the European elections.

The European Federation of Public Service Unions, which counts IMPACT among its members, has invited existing MEPs and election candidates to sign a ‘Public Service Pledge,’ which identifies a range of policies the next European Parliament should prioritise to defend and extend public services.

The pledge asks candidates to support a set of framework laws that recognise the special role of essential services in the European Union, and specifically calls for initiatives to protect and promote quality for users of public services.

As Work & Life went to press over 100 MEPs and candidates had signed up, including two from Ireland. The second largest group in the Parliament – the Party of European Socialists (PES), which includes the Irish Labour Party – has also backed the pledge. So have the Parliament’s Greens.

You can check whether your MEPs and candidates have backed the pledge on the EPSU website – www.epsu.org.

IMPACT has written to all Ireland’s sitting MEPs and candidates to seek their support for the pledge, which commits future MEPs to support proposals for legal protection of high quality public services across the EU.

In health, it commits signatories to work for legislation to ensure accessibility, affordability and universal provision in public health services. It also calls for well-funded and accountable local government services and respect for civil servants. And it commits signatories to vote against the commercialisation or privatisation of water.

Speaking at the Brussels launch of the pledge earlier this year, Portuguese socialist MEP Joel Hasse Ferreira said the Parliament’s recent protection of European working time rules showed how protecting ordinary citizens was essential for the legitimacy of the EU. “We in the Parliament must be able to stand up to the Council of Ministers, and the Commission, and to protect issues such as fair, safe working hours for Europe’s workers,” he said.

Find out more on www.epsu.org

Check your MEP’s public service cred

European elections

the Commission that united IMPACT and other trade unions across Europe in a massive campaign for amendments to protect public services and workers’ rights. “The Parliament managed to turn it around completely and, in Ireland, the combined efforts of the trade unions and Labour forced our Government to abandon its support for the most damaging aspect of the original directive,” he says.

The North-West’s independent MEP Marian Harkin, who describes herself as “an accidental politician,” agrees on the power of the directly-elected Parliament and says it would increase even more if the Lisbon Treaty came into force. And she says MEPs have a responsibility to help ordinary citizens through the EU maze. “There is a sense that decisions taken at a distance impact on their lives, but they have absolutely no control. As politicians we have a duty to facilitate people to get some control back,” she says.

welcomed the outcome of the Services Directive legislation and the Parliament’s recent decision to veto changes to working time rules, even though the biggest (centre-right) parliamentary group would have instinctively been expected to take the opposite view.

It’s not easy for MEPs from 27 countries to reach compromises, according the Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness. “It’s easy for the public to decry what we are doing, but no one gets 100% of their own way. It would be wrong if one country achieved everything as others would suffer.” De Rossa agrees: “Sometime you have to vote for second best because best will be voted down and you’d get a worse position,” he says.

McGuinness also says politicians at home often cynically blame ‘Europe’ for policies they have supported. “It’s easy to blame Brussels bureaucrats, as if elected MEPs have

of the world. “Europe’s population is shrinking relative to America, China and South East Asia. It will be a smaller player so it must become a stronger player. That requires more cohesiveness, not less,” he says.

All the MEPs I spoke to dismissed the notion that they were in Brussels solely to don the ‘green jersey,’ and said that political differences and voting records should determine how we use our votes in June. Equally, most urged their constituents to take an active ongoing interest in what’s going on in the Parliament, just as they do with Dáil proceedings.

Mary Lou McDonald says citizens are often the poor relations in EU decision making. “The big EU bureaucracy is distant and difficult to influence. One of the big challenges for the EU project is to create meaningful channels for participation by the citizens,” she says.

European Union Offices, Brussels

“The people you elect are your conduit to what happens at EU level. Don’t just elect them – use them.”

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IMPACT and other unions across Europe campaigned to change the EU Services Directive.

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European elections

Although most MEPs sign up to a political group in the Parliament, they also represent countries and regions with different interests and perspectives that sometimes clash with their political allegiances. Most also belong to one of hundreds of domestic political parties, and their big parliamentary constituencies mean they have to respond to the extremely varied needs of constituents, often including those who don’t vote for them.

This complexity means our European representatives have to be expert in finding compromise. The biggest bloc cannot simply force through legislation, as it usually can in a national parliament, and outcomes often defy the parliamentary arithmetic. For instance, trade unions across Europe

no influence. We’ve done it so often that, in one sense, the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty was rooted in an idea that Europe does all the bad bits and Irish politicians do all the positive things,” she says.

Green JerseyFianna Fáil MEP Eoin Ryan says the European institutions have a communication problem, which has fuelled negative opinion despite the massive financial support Ireland has received from Brussels, and a rake of positive legislation covering everything from trade to health and safety. Ryan says this needs to change as the EU faces tougher challenges on issues like jobs, financial regulation, climate change and the continent’s declining population relative to the rest

According to Proinsias De Rossa, the trade unions’ Services Directive campaign was a watershed in this respect. “Before that, people only used to come to me after an issue was done and dusted. A lot of people leave Europe to the Government and MEPs. But if they are not feeding back to us, they have no way of influencing European decisions,” he says.

You can be sure that plenty of others are working to influence the decisions. Between them, the five MEPs I spoke to mentioned a range of well-financed lobbyists who’d knocked on their doors recently, ranging from farmers’ groups and pharmaceutical companies to employers’ bodies and even chief executives of Premiership soccer clubs.

Even if we don’t have the same resources, trade unions and other civil society groups will increasingly have to be in the mix too. Marian Harkin agrees and says that, to a large extent, her priorities in Brussels are led by the people who contact her over issues. “The people you elect are your conduit to what happens at EU level. Don’t just elect them – use them. Be part of it, not outside it,” she urges l

“The MEP’s mentioned a range of well financed lobbyists who’d knocked on their doors, ranging

from farmers’ groups and pharmacuetical companies to employers’ bodies and even

chief executives of Premiership football clubs.”

15SUMMER 2009 WORk & LIFE: THE MAGAzINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

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16 SUMMER 2009

Your rights

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

Now is the time to check, and the easiest way to do it is to goto www.checktheregister.ie. If you don’t have access to theinternet, you can check the register at your local council officeor a public library, post office or Garda station.

If you’re not registered, but are otherwise eligible to vote, youhave until 18th May to get yourself listed on the supple -mentary register. You’ll need to get an application form fromyour local council – or you can download one fromwww.checktheregister.ie. Then you must get the completedform witnessed at your local Garda station or, if you can givea reason why that’s not possible, by a council official. If illnessor disability prevents you getting a witness, your completedregistration form must be accompanied by a medical card.

Voters with disabilities may also be eligible to register forvarious special voting arrangements. You can get details onthe Department of the Environment website – www.environ.ie.

OVER THREE millionpeople are entitled to votein the local governmentand European parliamen -tary elections on 5th June.The elections, which takeplace every five years, willhave a huge influence onimportant local and Europeanpolicies during a crucial time inour history. For many, they will also bea chance to register a mid-term verdicton the Irish Government.

Everyone aged 18 or over and residentin Ireland – regardless of their nation -ality – is entitled to vote in the localelections, which will take place in 258local constituencies. To vote in theEuropean elections you have to be anIrish citizen or a citizen of another EUstate. Again, you must be over 18 andresident in Ireland.

You can’t vote if you’re not on theelectoral register, but it’s not too lateto register if you haven’t alreadydone so.

Going away?Compared to some other European countries, entitlements topostal votes are tightly restricted in Ireland. To register for apostal vote you have to be a member of the defence forces orGarda Síochána, an Irish diplomat posted abroad or theirspouse, a full-time student studying in a place other thanthe constituency where you’re registered to vote, or have aphysical illness or disability that prevents you from voting inperson.

This shouldn’t present any problems to you unless you areaway from home on election day as polling stations are openfrom seven in the morning until ten in the evening. But youwon’t be able to get a postal vote if you are away for pleasureor even most work purposes.

If your job takes you away from home at certain times, itwould be best to raise this with your boss now to ensurethat any travel arrangements can be scheduled to avoidpolling day. It’s much better than waiting until June, only tohave to choose between losing your vote or having a row with

the boss.

If it’s a normal part of your job, there’s nothing in law toprevent your employer requiring you to be away on 7th June.But in the vast majority of cases it should be possible to avoidthis. Contact your IMPACT branch if you have a problem.

RestrictionsFor years IMPACT has called for a relaxation in restrictions onpublic servants’ political activities. These are most stark inthe civil service where a 1932 circular banned civil servantsfrom membership of political parties and associations, andforbade them to make their political views public. Issued whenFianna Fáil first came to power and civil war resentments werestill very much alive, the general thrust of the direction hasn’tchanged much in over 70 years.

Most civil service ‘officer’ grades above clerical officer are alsobarred from standing in any election. Similarly, local authoritystaff can no longer stand for election to the council they workfor. In the past they were allowed to run on the understandingthat they would relinquish their council job if they won a seat.

While the union accepts that conflicts of interest have to beavoided, it has argued that the bar is set far too low andimposes unnecessary restrictions on thousands of staffwhose jobs give them no discretionary authority over decisionmaking.

The rules on party membership haven’t been heavily policedover the years, but you should still be aware of the rules andtake care that you don’t fall foul of them.

Finally, when you go to vote, don’t forget the teams of IMPACTmembers who are keeping the wheels of our democracyturning. Many local authority rate collectors have beenworking hard to compile and update electoral registers acrossthe country, while other local government staff have worked toorganise the elections and run the polling stations. Don’tforget to vote! �

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Don’t lose your votein the June electionsWe’ll soon be going to the polls to cast our votes in the local council and European parliamentaryelections. BERNARD HARBOR looks at how the rules on voting impact on public servants and other working people.

Find out moreYou can check whether you are on the electoral register onwww.checktheregister.ie. But hurry because, if you’re notregistered, you only have until 18th May to get yourselflisted. You can find out more about electoral rights andhow the elections work on the Department of Environmentand Local Government website. Go to www.environ.ie andclick on ‘voting’ under the ‘local government’ headline onthe homepage.

As the World Wide Web celebrates it’s20th birthday, NIALL SHANAHANtakes you through the techno-fear,techno-joy and techno-anxiety, andwonders what we’d do without it all.

TECHNOLOGY. IT can be a bit scary. Okay, not for everyone.But the world seems to be divided between those whoembrace it and those who try to keep their distance fromanything with buttons, programs and an LED touch screen.Comedian Eddie Izzard makes the distinction betweentechno-fear and techno-joy, which sums it up rather well.

I’m techno-joyous. I like gadgets, computers, technology andanything that promises to make life more convenient anddigital and modern. Some of my colleagues have evenconfused my techno-joy with techno-competence. But they arenot the same thing. Being able to boil an egg doesn’t makeyou a Michelin-starred chef.

Embracing technology

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

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Tech? No Fear

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 19

Face to face withmalicious technology.Dave takes on Hal thecomputer in 2001: A

Space Odyssey.

Conversations begin with people telling me: “You’re someonewho knows your way around computers/iPods/globalpositioning systems,” as they proffer some piece of unres -ponsive hardware with a ‘please fix my machine’ expressionon their face.

Even if I have no idea what I’m doing, I gamely give it a go.And sometimes I get lucky, which only serves to perpetuatethe myth that I know what I’m doing. People like me probablypopulate IT departments all over the world. How hard can itbe to advise someone to turn something off and then turn iton again?

By the way, that works about 97% of the time.

Cyber toiletWe pride ourselves on being able to surf the web andprogramme Sky Plus boxes, but there is still lots oftechnology that makes us miserable, confused and angry. Justthink ‘this programme is not responding’ and ‘if you end nowyou may lose any unsaved data’.

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For IMPACT, email and the web havemade it possible to keep a conver sationgoing with members. That conversationis the lifeblood of any campaigningorganisation. IMPACT now has aboutone third of its 61,000 membersregistered on its website. Daily traffichas grown enormously since the sitewas launched and, this year alone, asthe crisis in the public financesdeepens each day, members havecome to the website in large numberslooking for answers to their questions.It’s impossible to imagine how wecould handle the volume of querieswithout this tool.

The technology has now stepped out ofits awkward adolescence. On 13thMarch the World Wide Web turned 20years of age. It's hard to overstate theimpact this relatively young technologyhas already had and, now that it’sspanned two decades and found itsway into every conceivable corner ofour lives, it is hard to imagine lifewithout it.

Feel the techno-joy �

But after a fewmonths you dis -cover there’s 57hours of un watch -ed tele vision inyour little box. Doyou delete it? No,you’ll get round toit eventually. Exceptthat you never dobecause you wereworking late againdealing with a hostof emails marked‘urgent’.

Or you buy an MP3player capable ofstoring 80,000songs. After hoursof loading yourCDs into the com -puter and trans -ferring them to thenew gizmo (copingwith num er ous‘this prog ramme isnot re s ponding’mess ages as yougo), you discoverthat your entiremusic collection,several years in themak ing, takes upless than 10% ofthe available space.

Then you face theanxiety of makingsure you get someuse out of all thatexcessive memorybefore your MP3 player becomes anantique. This happ ens when the nextgeneration is launched three days afteryou bought yours.

MourningYou have now entered the emotionalstate beyond techno-joy. It’s calledtechno-anxiety: The sense that, despiteyour love of technology, it has refusedto love you back. Think about thatwhen you feel like having a go at thefolks in IT. Most of them are inmourning for what they once thoughtwas a beautiful relation ship.

But it’s not quite as dysfunctional asall that. Technology has given us a de-gree of connectivity that was un think-able a decade ago. It’s easier to keepeveryone informed of develop mentsand, as we adapt and incor porate tech-nology’s latest mod if ic at ions, we areall developing skills – even if it’s un-conscious.

I HAVE been watch -ing closely the influx

of shoppers travellingfrom the south to the

north in search of bargains.

Now that the differential between theeuro and the punt is very little,combined with the downturn in the

Work & Life

Work & Life is the magazine formembers of IMPACT trade union.IMPACT mem bers can have itmailed to them by con tacting Work &Life at IMPACT, Nerney’s Court,Dublin 1 or by emailing rnolan@im-pact.ie. Or call Roisin Nolan on 01-817-1544.

IMPACT also produces a monthly e-bulletin with more detailed in for -mation about the union’s activitiesand cam paigns, and developmentsin your work place. Sign up via thewebsite on www.impact.ie.

IMPACT is Ireland’s largest publicsector union with members inhealth, local government, the civilservice, education, the communitysector, semi-state org anisations, avi-ation and tele communications.

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 2120 SUMMER 2009

And, having selected the ‘end now’option, aware that a morning’s workwill likely be flushed down the cybertoilet, the computer helpfully asks ifyou’d like to send an error report to thesoftware company. Why on earth wouldI want to do that? I’ve already lost halfa day’s work. I haven’t got time.

Ah, time. At the heart of our relat -ionship with technology is the conflictbetween its ability to do things faster,while at the same time accelerating theamount of information it hurls in ourdirection, which leaves us less time todo anything else.

How much easier was it to get througha planned morning’s work when youdidn’t have to wade through a pile ofunread email in your inbox? And howmuch of that unread email was vital tocompleting any of your work? Very littleI’ll bet.

economy, I would urge members in thesouth to consider channelling theirmoney to the local economy. Thiswould sustain small businesses, whichare rapidly disappearing off the radar.

Shoppers, particularly ones with famil -ies, should also bear in mind that whenit comes to securing summer work for

their offspring it is of little value tothem to attempt to seek employmentin the north.

So please give this a little thoughtbecause, when you weigh up the costof travel and the long queues, thesavings are minimal.

So please, please support your localDunnes Stores, Super Value, Tesco -not forgetting Aldi and Lidl.

Gertie Lohan, Mayo Branch

Embracing technology

You never write, you never phone...

Work & Life pays €50 for the best letter published each issue 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 yourletter for size.

You have now entered theemotional state called

techno-anxiety: The sensethat, despite your love of

technology, it has refused to love you back.

And how about those repeat offenderswho mark every single email with apriority exclamation mark? Have theynever heard the story of the boy whocried wolf?

RubbishLast month, new research claimed thatIrish employees waste more than twohours a day on personal online activ -ities, checking and sending personalemail and surfing the internet. Emp -loyers are now disciplining their staffwhile social networking sites likeFacebook and Twitter face workplacebans.

And, as the working day gets crammedwith emails that have to be separatedinto urgent, non-urgent, rubbish andpersonal, technology designed tocomfort and entertain when you gethome is fraught with different – butequally frustrating – obstacles.

Digital TV services and hard driverecorders have promised to take thepain out of missing your favourite TVprogramme. With a few clicks of theremote your favourite series or moviescan be recorded automatically (as longas you leave it plugged in). No tapes.No discs. No mess ing.

Located in the heart of the Midlands in Co Offaly, just 90 minutes from Dublin, Galwayand Limerick is the four-star Tullamore Court Hotel, the perfect destination for you andyour family’s getaway. As the Midlands’ leading hotel, the Tullamore Court Hotel of-fers exquisite accommodation complemented by fine dining, award winning leisure fa-cilities and a warm, friendly welcome to create the ideal ambience for your familybreak. Aside from the many sightseeing and shopping opportunities in the town centre,the hotel offers an award winning White Flag leisure centre which includes a 20-metreswimming pool with kiddies pool, sauna, jacuzzi, steam room and fitness suite. Harrythe Hedgehog’s Kids Club will also entertain the young ones while you kick back andrelax on your well-deserved break. To check out special offers at the Tullamore Court Hotel visit www.tullamorecourtho-tel.ie. Work & Life readers can avail of a 10% discount on our weekend break - twonights, bed and breakfast and one evening meal, €140 per person sharing. You canalso enjoy great value midweek breaks for just €119 per person sharing to includetwo nights, bed and breakfast and one evening meal. As a Work & Life reader you willreceive a bottle of wine with dinner with the hotel’s compliments.

Offer ends 1st September and is subject to availability. Terms and Conditions apply.

STAR

LETTER€50

Your say

Shop in the South

10% discount for Work & Life readers

at the Tullamore Court Hotel

Some swap shop owners will collect from your house whileothers will even go through your wardrobe with you. Somegive 50% in advance of selling; others pay you an agreedpercentage when items sell. They are quite choosy aboutthe goods they intend to sell for you, preferring new orbarely worn.

Some of the best around the country are Oxfam Vintage inGeorge’s Street, Dublin and Castle Street, Belfast. All theclothing has been donated and the range includes piecesfrom the 1950s through to the 1980s, as well as modernclothing and accessories.

Oxfam manager Julie Green describes it as a win-winsituation. “The customer gets fashionable clothing ataffordable prices while helping to change the life ofsomeone in need for the better,” she says.

I also visited Wear It Again in Dublin’s Lower Baggot Street(phone 01-661-0060) which was very recently opened bySharon Smurfit. It’s well worth a visit if you’re looking forvery good quality investment pieces by top designers.Missoni, Helen Cody, Temperly, Prada and Armani featuredalong with shoes and bags by Jimmy Choo, Gucci andChristian Laboutin.

Garments are well priced, but it’s worth asking for afurther reduction. You have nothing to lose. Sellers receive50% of the retail price and can have the clothes collectedfrom their door. It really is that simple.

Shebeen Chic, in Dublin’s George’s Street, hosts a clothesswap every Saturday and, if you’re looking for somethingmore retro, this may be the one for you. You don’t have toswop though – you can just buy.

Tosca in Henry Street, Newbridge (phone 045-438-978) isconsidered one of the leading designer swap shops in thecountry, with more than 75% of its stock brand new. Isabelde Pedro, Ou est mais de la Soleil, Shirt Passion, Ghost,Chine, Lainey and Mary Grant are among the labelsstocked. According to owner Sally McEllistrim everythingis at least a third of the original price with a lot of themore expensive names – Chanel, Hermes, Gucci –- oftenmuch less. Tosca has a great selection of labels in largersizes too.

I’m also very reliably told, by that same close friend, thatNaphisa Boutique in Cook Street, Cork (phone 021-427-3787) is a shopper’s heaven, and the only new and nearlynew designer shop in the south. Going strong and gettingstronger 25 years on, it stocks super labels like Sarah Paccini,Miu Miu, Paul Smith and John Rocha to name but a few. Staffat Naphisa know their customers’ tastes so well they even holdstock for them. Top marks for customer service.

Another designer swap shop that comes very highlyrecommended is Bridge Mills in Bridge Street, Galway (phone

2322 SUMMER 2009 WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

Don’t let the recession interfere with your retail therapy. It’s time to try some second hand chic says TRISH O’MAHONY.

INDIVIDUALITY IS the key message coming from the catwalksthis season. Be creative, wear what you want, and you’re infashion.

Very true, but how to work it in these straightened times?Where do we look for it and how much will it cost? Well, whynot take a trip to your nearest designer swap shop, or vintagecharity outlet and combine your purchases with some of thelatest trends – strong shoulders, skinny leggings, gold, whiteand cream. It’s cheaper than you think.

Designer swap shops and charity shops have been around along time, but recently they’ve been making a huge revival.While the traditional charity shop relies on donations, some

Looking good

designer swap shops will take your unwantedclothes and sell them for you. Not only are they great

to shop in, but you could make a few bob too.

What better place to go in search of our individuality? Apartfrom the obvious financial incentive, it’s ethical and great fun.

My very close friend, a dress designer turned boutique owner,told me she’d enjoyed many happy hours rummaging inNotting Hill’s second hand shops hoping to find Paula Yatescastoffs. She might not have found them, but she had greatfun looking and came home with some high-class bargains toboot.

You might say e-bay is an easier way to shop, but it’s just notthe same as seeing something in the flesh, feeling the fabric,checking the seams or trying it on.

If you’re a little ‘iffy’ about the idea of second hand clothes,remember that a lot of the stock in these shops has neverbeen worn. Some bridal shops and boutiques donate end ofline stock to charity shops and, of course, you have the personwho bought the wrong size or wore it once for a specialoccasion. So, it might not be this season’s collection but, asyou know, good fashion doesn’t date. �

Top tips for swap-shoppingBuying

Allow plenty of time. Swap shops are not like yourregular boutiques and you need time to root andrummage.

Visit regularly. The clothes change constantly so visitoften and you won’t miss out.

Use your imagination. It’s easy to adjust clothes bychanging buttons or turning up a hem.

Don’t forget to haggle. You might be pleasantlysurprised.

Brand newsecond hand

Oxfam Vintageis a million

miles from theold image of

the charityshop. Check

out your localstore for high

fashion andvintage looks.

These Christian Louboutins, priced€150, have never been worn. From

Wear It Again in Dublin.

Photo: C

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091-562-882). The proprietor is described by a valuedcustomer as being very choosy about her very well presentedstock. Just B, Sandwich, Fenn Wright and Mason and Coastare some of the labels in stock and, remember, new stockcomes in on a daily basis.

Sounds like the ideal place to visit the next time we’re inGalway �

SellingCreate spending power and space by clearing out yourunwanted clothes and bringing them to your nearestswap shop.

Some shops collect from your home.

Be realistic about prices. Don’t expect to receive morethan half what you paid for it.

Include accessories to make your garments moreattractive.

Bring M&S clothing to any Oxfam shop and receive a €7voucher redeemable against a €50 spend on clothing,home or beauty products at M&S.

THE SIGNS in Brussels airport tell youthat you’ve arrived in the “capital ofEurope,” emphasising the city’s mainpull as the centre of EU politics and thecommerce that comes with it. Arguably,the EU tag has also done this great citya bit of a disservice.

Too many people see the Belgian capitalas a place you go to do business, ratherthan as the fascinating and quirky placeit really is. Not to mention its quick andeasy access to the beautiful and relaxingcities of Ghent and Bruges.

One advantage of the business-focus isthat, uniquely among European capitals,it’s often cheaper and easier to bookflights and accommodation at weekends.Play your cards right, book well inadvance, and Belgium can deliver arelatively cheap weekend break.

It’s a sprawling city, replete with fadedglamour and the art nouveau archi -tecture that, visually, sets it apart fromother places. But the starting point formost tourists is its famous centralsquare, the Grand Place.

Dominated by the Hôtel de Ville, thisUNESCO world heritage site was des -cribed by Victor Hugo as “the mostbeaut iful square in the world,” an ass -essment that’s debatable but not too faroff the mark. Despite having been to thecity many times, I’ve yet to tire of takingan overpriced beer or coffee in one of itscafés while watching the world go by andtrying to identify the various guildsassociated with its impressive buildings.

There’s a rake of tourist attractions inand around the Grand Place includingthe Hôtel de Ville itself and museumscelebrating Belgium’s world famouschocolate and beer. You can buy choco -lates, bottles of the 300-plus beers andtraditional lace in the surfeit of touristshops that surround the Place.

The city also offers plenty of retailtherapy opportunities from familiar highstreet outlets to quirky specialist shops.Or lose yourself and a couple of hoursin one of Brussels’ Saturday or Sundaymarkets – you’ll get details from anyguide book or tourist office.

ObsessionA short walk south of the Grand Placewill bring you to the famous Mannekin-Pis. As the name suggests this tinystatue, which attracts hordes of sight -seers, depicts a small boy urinating.

This strange Brussels obsession ismanifest in similar statues of a little girland a dog performing the same act inother parts of the city centre. Look outfor the huge Tintin murals scatteredabout the place too.

If it’s culture you’re after, head for theMont des Art, about 20 minutes uphillwalk from the Grand Place. You’ll passan excellent museum of musicalinstruments on your way to the MuséesRoyal des Beaux Arts. This excellent andextensive collection of old and modernart may not quite be among the Premierleague of national galleries, but it’scertainly top of the Championship. Andit might just get promotion if its long-promised Magritte gallery opens thisyear as promised.

Art buffs should set aside a good threeor four hours to see both the ancient andmodern collections (one ticket coversboth). Others should definitely check outthe Breugels, Hierony mus Bosch’s blood-curdling Temptation of Saint Antoine, andJacque-Louis David’s masterpiece TheDeath of Marat.

The modern art collection is alsoexcellent and includes Francis Bacon’sPope with Two Owls and works by Belgianimpressionist James Ensor and surr -ealists Magritte and Delvaux amongothers. Great stuff!

Eating and drinkingThis international city is littered withrestaurants good and bad, reasonableand pricey. If it’s traditional Brusselsfare you’re after, the Aux Arms deBruxelles (Rue des Bouchers) stands outamong the many eateries around theGrand Place. It’s a bit pricier than theothers, but its art deco interior andtraditionally-clad waiters put it in adifferent class. Try the traditionalmussels and chips.

La Kasbah (Rue Antoine Dansaert)offers good, reasonably-pricedMor occan food in a great atmos -phere. But my favourite is thefamily-run Rugantino (only slightlyoff the beaten track at 184Boulevard Aspatch), which offersexcellent, simple and reasonablypriced Italian fare.

Don’t leave Belgium withouttrying the one or more of theworld-famous beers. Remember,this strong stuff is for sipp ing, not

quaffing. And avoid the so-called Irishbars like the plague.

Great bars include the classy Cirio (Ruede la Bourse), which also does goodsnacks, La Mort Subite (Rue desPotagères) for fruit beers, Le Green wich(Rue des Chartreux) where you canwatch locals head-to-head over the chessboards, or my favourite La Fleur enPapier Doré (Rue des Alexiens) theformer haunt of the surrealists, whichalso does decent and decently-pricedlunches.

Day tripsBelgium has an excellent train servicewhich puts Bruges (50 minutes) andGhent (30 minutes) within easy strikingdistance for a day or overnight trip.

Now made even more famous by InBruges, the ‘Venice of the North’ reallyis as beautiful as it looks in the movie.The romantic city centre, which teemswith tourists in the summer, is anotherdesignated UNESCO heritage site. It’s afantastic place to wander around, take acanal boat trip or look at the manyattractions, which include a Michel -angelo madonna and child statue in theOnze Lieve Vrouwekerk (Church of OurLady) – a real rarity outside Italy.

Ghent is highly recommended too. I firstwent there to see the famous andfabulous Jan Van Eyck altarpiece (SaintBaafskathedraal) and discovered adelightful medieval city, which boastsmore listed buildings than the rest ofBelgium put together.

Be careful about language, which is acontentious political matter in Belgium.Although it’s geographically located inFlemish-speaking Flanders, Brussels isan autonomous bi-lingual region which,by and large, is French-speaking. You’llbe able to use English in most cafés,restaurants and tourist attractions, butit’s safe to practice your French here.Bruges and Ghent, on the other hand, arefirmly Flemish and, unless you have thelanguage, you’re much safer trying Eng -lish than widely frowned-upon French �

25WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

Travel and trips

Belgium’sbeautifulcities offergreat value

SUMMER 200924

There’s more to Brussels than

bureaucracy. BERNARD HARBORreckons the Belgian

capital offers a greatweekend break at a

reasonable price.

Brussels GrandPlace by night.

Photos: D

reamstim

e

Ghent

Bruges

GxxxxxBe good to yourself

The devil’s in the detoxI HAVE a very simple detox plan that you can do in a week. Now we’re not talking about a scary strict diet regime that will upset your metabolism and be hard to do. Holistic detox is done in conjunction with your regular routine – with three meals a day.

A detox should be done for a limited period of time – ideally one or two weeks. After this you may decide to incorporate some sustainable elements into your normal healthy eating and living.

Toxins are basically anything not natural to your body systems like smoke, pollution, additives, and food colourings and flavourings. Over years they clog up your body, soak up all your natural energy, age your facial skin, and drain your motivation leaving you feeling down.

The excellent side effects of detoxing are clearer skin, more energy, and a flatter abdomen. And it will help eradicate the dreaded cellulite. This seven-day plan is ideal for men and women. Check with your doctor if you are very overweight, have not exercised for six months or have any medical conditions.

Preparation is the key. You will need to shop for healthy food and plan your week. Ideally start at the weekend when you have time to rest and get used to the initial discomfort that indicates that the plan is working.

Take note: There is no wild socializing or alcohol on this week-long detox. You can have as much water, herbal tea and fruit as you like. You will be going to the toilet a lot – this is a sign that the detox is working. The pounds and toxins have to get out of your system somehow!

KAREN WARD outlines a simple week long detox plan and identifies the bits you can include in your normal daily routine.

DAY 1Ideally a Saturday. Feeling: Excited, motivated and ready.

A Wake up at the same time every day (choose your normal weekday wake-up hour). Stretch yourself slowly. Hands up and toes down, or pick a manageable stretch that you have learnt at a reputable class or from a physiotherapist.

B Drink hot water with lemon as you prepare a breakfast of fruit and organic yogurt or fruit and porridge. Eat slowly and digest.

C Keep yourself occupied in nice ways. Visit a food market, museum or art gallery. And do your usual Saturday pursuits.

D Have a piece of fruit and an herbal tea at 11am. Bring it in your bag if necessary.

E For lunch – either in or out – eat a salad (only vinaigrette dressing) with some protein like fish or goats, sheep’s or organic cow’s cheese.

F Do an hour’s exercise of your choice, making sure you warm up and cool down. An aerobic exercise that gets the heart and lungs working (cycling, swimming, fast walking or running) would be good.

G For dinner eat two types of vegetable and a carbohydrate like brown rice, boiled or baked potato, or wholemeal pasta.

H Watch a feel good movie and chill.

DAY 2 Ideally a Sunday. Feeling: Headache, a few spots, sleepy.

A Do two stretches.

B Drink your hot water. Eat your fruit and porridge.

C Do your usual Sunday pursuits and nice things to keep yourself occupied.

D Have your piece of fruit and herbal tea.

E Have a similar lunch to Day 1.

G Do an hours exercise. Snooze afterwards if you need to.

H Eat two types of vegetable for dinner with some carbohydrates.

I Soak in a warm bath for an hour with relaxing music coming from the next room. Use essential oil of lavender to soothe and calm.

DAY 3Ideally first work day. Feeling: Headache’s over, still sleepy.

A Do three stretches.

B Drink your hot water. Eat your fruit and porridge.

C Take it easy work-wise if you can. Explain that you are on a detox.

D Eat a piece of fruit and herbal tea. Bring a supply of favourite fruit into work.

E Have a big bowl of healthy soup and two slices of wholemeal bread for lunch.

F Walk for half an hour at lunchtime or directly after work.

G Eat a salad and some protein (lean organic meat, fish or dairy) for dinner.

H Potter, then go to bed early with a fabulous new book or magazine.

DAY 4Still feeling tired and spotty.

Same as yesterday. Phone a friend in the evening or invite them around for a smoothie. You can either buy them or, if you are inclined, have fun making an apple, celery and pear one.

DAY 5 The detox side effects are starting to wear off.

Follow A to D from day three.

E For lunch eat a salad with a vinaigrette dressing and some protein like fish or goat’s, sheep’s or organic cow’s cheese.

F Walk for half an hour either at lunchtime or directly after work.

G Eat two types of vegetable and some carbohydrate for dinner.

H Chill out with a feel good movie or your favourite soap.

DAY 6 Feeling: More energized, in good form.

Same as yesterday, but do an extra hour’s exercise of your choice.

DAY 7 Feeling: Success. A full detox week nearly done!

Follow A-F as before. Try some protein (lean meat, fish or tofu) stir fry with brown rice for dinner, then dance at home with a few friends or Karaoke. Celebrate by drinking fancy homemade juice cocktails – non-alcoholic of course.

And, when you reach day eight, don’t fall into the trap of overdoing it. Introduce some simple treats – a glass or two of good wine, one chocolate bar 70% cocoa, a slice of carrot cake, etc.

Karen Ward is a holistic therapist and presenter on BBC’s The Last Resort and RTE’s Health Squad. She is co-author of The Health Squad Guide to Health and Fitness.www.karenwardholistictherapist.com.

Simple detox tips for your daily routine

1. Drink boiled water cooled with a squeeze of lemon in the morning to prepare your digestive system for the day and gently ease elimination of the previous day’s food.

2. Drink the equivalent of at least three small bottles of water a day. Often you get headaches and low backache because you are dehydrated. Our bodies are made of 70% water so we need to replenish it daily. 3. Use honey instead of sugar in your tea or on your cereal. There is very little nutritional merit in white processed sugar and the amount you take will affect your insulin levels.

4.Steam,grillorstir-fryyourfoodtoholdmoreflavourand nutrients in.

5. Don’t buy sweets, cakes or biscuits for home. You don’t need them and neither do your children or teenagers l

27WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAzINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS26 SUMMER 2009

Countdown to ameat-free you

Phase out meat gradually, building up from meat-free meals to meat -

free days.

Locate good sources of fresh produce. Local farmers’ markets are good, and

a fishmonger if you’re going to continue eating fish.Let them tell you everything they know.

Look for locally produced cheeses you haven’t tried before. You need to move on from Cheddar and Brie.

Invest in some sharp knives and a really good vegetable peeler.

Eggs should be free-range, and cheese must not come pre-sliced in plastic wrapping. Some frozen vegetables are

acceptable (peas, spinach). Tinned vegetables are forbidden!

Avoid meat substitutes like TVP (textured vegetable protein) as they will only confuse you and tend to vary wildly in

quality.

Find your nearest health food shop. Spices and pulses, which will feature largely in your future, are

much cheaper here.

Get a good cookbook. Indian cooking has fantastic options for vegetarians. Stick on the

soundtrack to Slumdog Millionaire and give it a try.

Vitamin supplements should always be taken with food, and iron tablets are better absorbed when swallowed with

orange juice.

Wine and chocolate are eternally vegetarian.

Otherwise, changing the eating habits of alifetime requires a firm commitment, plus afair amount of research and preparation. Fora start, you have to like vegetables. Not justcarrots and peas, but the whole marketgarden from asparagus through to zucchini(relax, that’s just American for courgette).

StyleYou have to be prepared to learn new waysof cooking, and to educate yourself aboutfinding a proper nutritional balance. Vege -tarian is a different style of cooking, andwhile some people advise adapting yourexisting meals to meat-free alternatives, Ifavour the more adventurous approach.

Get yourself a good cookbook – anything byDenis Cotter of Café Paradiso in Cork will behugely encouraging – and let fly. And chancesare you know a few vegetarian optionsalready – things like quiche, lasagne (madewith veg rather than a ragu sauce), ome -lettes, and soups.

Take it gradually, building up your meat-freemeals until you have perhaps just one meat-eating day in the week, and then none at allif that’s your goal.

This may be easier to achieve in the kindermonths of summer than in the hibernationof winter. These are the salad months, whenall the spring planting pays off. And thegreens, soft fruits and tomatoes, peas,courgettes, cucumbers and more are finally,gloriously, in season and on our doorstep.

What a relief to eat something that hasripened naturally, and has accumulated noair miles!

Treat yourself to fresh, good quality, seasonalproduce, and respect the care that went intoproducing it. And finally, if there is ever asudden meat shortage, watch out for a tallCuban man called Oscar. He has a lean,hungry look and absolutely no friends left onhis Facebook page �

29WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS28 SUMMER 2009

Ever thought of giving up meat, or justcutting down? MARGARET HANNIGAN

says the early summer is the best timeto part company with the Sundayroast and full Irish.

SEVERAL YEARS ago, I attended a work camp in Cubacomprised of volunteers from various European countries.

We spent a month picking fruit and labouring, and ate at thecamp most of the time.

As well as trade unionists, feminists, and hard-line lefties, wehad a large number of vegetarians in the company, which left our

guide feeling quite nonplussed. One day, he drew himself up to hisfull six foot four inches and looked our sole Irish herbivore in the

eye. “When there is no more meat,” he solemnly intoned,“I will eat my friends.” We kept him very well fed.

While most of us wouldn’t go that far, there’s a widely-held belief that a diet lacking in meat is somehowsecond rate. While it will certainly support a guineapig, sophisticated, multi-tasking omnivores like usneed something more. This, of course, is nonsense.

Today, vegetarian food is firmly in the mainstreamof everyday eating, rather than the sole preserve of

bearded eccentrics and neurotic would-be poets.

CholesterolSome evidence suggests a meat-free diet lowers cholesteroland reduces the risk of various cancers. But the main argu -

ments for vegetarianism still revolve around the exploitationof animals and the huge environmental damage caused byintensive farming practices.

Why, for instance, are we clearing rainforests to grow grainto feed cattle while 840 million people are starving? Graindiverted to animal fodder leaves less for human consum -ption, while intensive farming practices swallow hundredsof thousands of litres of precious water and add to poll -

ution and carbon footprint problems.

Chickens and pigs are reared in conditions that would causeoutrage if inflicted on dogs or cats, but are happily ignored inpursuit of a pallid tasteless meat. Unless you find an organicproducer, chances are you’re getting a cocktail of chemicals in

every bite.

But where does that leave you, reared on the mammy’s Sunday roastand the full Irish, if you’re thinking about giving up meat?

If you don’t like the taste or texture of meat, then you’re away in a hack,because it’s much easier abandon foods you don’t like than to persuade yourself

that certain foods are ‘wrong.’

To beef or not to beef?

Stew

� 2 small red onions

� 100 mls olive oil

� 6-8 red and/or yellow peppers

� 1 fresh mild red chilli

� 10 cloves garlic, halved or slicedthickly

� 4 ripe tomatoes

� 12 black olives, stoned and halved

� 320g new potatoes

� 200g mange tout

� 1 bunch basil leaves

Ciabatta

� 1 ciabatta loaf

� Pesto or tapenade

� Goat’s cheese (or any cheese youfancy)

Heat the oil, and add the thinly slicedonions. Cut peppers into quarters,discard seeds and white membraneand cut the quarters into diagonalslices. Slice the chilli in half and cuteach half into thin slices. Add the

peppers, chilli and garlic to the panand toss well to get a good coating ofolive oil. Chop the tomatoes in half,then cut into thick slices and add tothe pan with the olives. When every -thing heats through, cover and simmerfor 20 minutes.

Chop the potatoes in half if they aregolf-ball sized or smaller, or into thickslices if bigger. Steam or boil until justtender and add to the stew for the lastfew minutes of cooking. The stew isdone when the peppers are soft andvery sweet. Just at the end, snip theends off the mange tout, pull away thestringy bit, and stir into the stew withthe roughly torn basil leaves. Seasonwell with salt and pepper.

Slice the loaf in half lengthways, andspread with a thin layer of basil ortomato pesto, or tapenade, and coverthat with thinly sliced goat’s cheese.Bake at 200C/400F until the bread iscrisp, and the cheese lightly coloured,Cut into chunks and serve with thestew.

SummerStew with Goat’sCheeseCiabatta(serves 4)

From the kitchen

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THIS IS the most important time for sowing and planting vegetables. Most hardy plants can be sown straight out into the ground. Or do as I do and start most of the non-root crops in pots and plant them out when they are a few inches high and less susceptible to slugs and poor weather.

Rotation is simply the grouping of different vegetables into families and growing them in a different piece of ground each year. The practice will reduce the effects of soil pests and diseases. Try a simple three-year rotation moving families from plot A to plot B then plot C.

Year 1: Legumes, brassicas and potatoes.

Year 2: Brassicas, potatoes, legumes.

Year 3: Potatoes, legumes, brassicas.

Don’t lose sleep over rotation, but try to avoid planting vegetables from the same group in the same area in consecutive seasons. I suggest organising your vegetable growing area into small beds for each different group of vegetables.

Peas pleaseOne of my favorite things to do in the vegetable garden is to pick peas, pod them and eat them raw in the garden. They’re deliciously sweet and bursting with flavour.

They’re a great vegetable to grow if you’re trying involve your children as they’re easy and rewarding to grow and kids will love to eat them too. I use a variety called Green Long Shaft which is available in most garden centres. When you buy the packet of seeds there are lots in a packet so they give a good return for the money.

I like to sow my peas in individual pots or module trays using organic seed compost during April, May and June to maintain a supply through the summer. I plant the pea plants out when they are 10cm tall and insert supports like bamboo canes around the plants like a wig wam. Peas like rich moisture retentive soil which does not dry out. As peas are prone to soil-borne root infections, never grow them on the same site for more then one year at a time. Other varieties worth growing are mangetout (Oregon Sugar Pod), sugar snap (Sugar Ann) and peas for shelling (Feltham First).

SpinachBe generous with you’re sowing spinach so that you can gather great big handfuls for the cooking as it cooks down to almost nothing.

Sow the seed directly into soil with plenty of well rotted manure added from May to August. Sow in drills 1cm deep and 30cm apart. It is one vegetable that will tolerate light shade and tends to run to seed in a warm summer. When it does this, just discard the plants and start again. If you are limited for space, I suggest growing in large pots. Recommended varieties include Palco, Tarpy and Bordeaux l

THIS IS my favorite time of year. Everything is bursting into life, the sun is climbing higher and its rays are getting stronger. Once the temperatures rise above 6°C plants start to grow and, after the shocking cold winter we had, I want to get out into the garden again.

The new growth and energy of late spring and early summer inspires me to get pruning, planting, tidying up and generally looking forward to – and working towards – a (hopefully!) fabulous summer in the garden.

MagnoliaWith their pink, purple, yellow or white flowers, magnolias are among my favorite shrubs for this time of year. Most magnolias dislike lime, but I’m always surprised to see so many looking glorious in limey Dublin gardens.

If you’re gardening on limey soil and your magnolia foliage is yellowish in hue, annual watering with iron sequestrate will often put things straight. What magnolias resent most

Green fingers

is disturbance of their fleshy roots. They can be moved if necessary, but this should only be done in spring.

Magnolia Stellata is a distinct and charming slow growing Japanese shrub forming a compact, rounded specimen, usually wider than it’s height which seldom exceeds three metres. The white, fragrant, star-shaped flowers are borne in March, April and May.

They like a good depth of decent soil with added leaf mould, garden compost or a bag of brown gold compost as they like rich living. Magnolia Stellata is available in most garden centres. If you have room for some of the larger varieties with the huge leaves, I would suggest Tripetala and Macrophylla.

IndoorsIf it’s still uninviting for you outside, use the time to pot on any tired-looking house plants. Knock the plant from its pot and if its roots take up all or most of the available space, it’s time to pot it on. u

Spring into actionThings aren’t too sprightly on the economic front, but JIMI BLAKE says they should soon be brightening up in your garden.

Always use good-quality potting compost for indoor plants. Soil-based composts (John Innes potting compost) are generally most suitable because they contain and retain more nutrients, dry out less quickly, and are easier to re-wet than peat based composts. They are also heavier, providing stability for big pot plants.

Select a pot that is one or two sizes larger than the old one and put moist compost into its base. Insert the plant so that its soil mark is level with the base of the pot rim. Fill the pot with compost to within 1.5cm of the rim, making sure not to leave air pockets in the new compost.

If your indoor plant is already too big to go into a larger pot, I suggest giving the plant a top dressing by removing the the top 2.5-5cm of

the old compost, taking care not to damage the plant’s roots, and replacing it with fresh moist compost to which a small amount of fertilizer (osmocote) has been added. Firm in the compost and water l

The snowdrops were stunning in Hunting Brook this February and March, even after two feet of snow sitting on top of them for a fortnight. If the clumps are large enough, now’s the time to dig them up and divide them to create graceful drifts instead of circular blobs.

• Stake border perennials before it’s to late.

• Plant out summer bedding plants when the risk of frost is past. Even though the garden centres are over- flowing with annuals from early spring, we can still get frost until the end of May.

• Sow winter cabbages and cauliflower seeds.

• Plant out canna lillies and dahlias with a good serving of well rotted manure, and keep an eye out for Mr Slug!

• Plant out courgettes when the risk of frost is past. These are very hungry plants and need lots of manure. One plant will produce a wonderful supply of courgettes for the summer.

• Sow runner beans outdoors in mid- May. But no earlier as they hate the cold.

Jimi Blake is available for gardening consultations. Contact him on 087-285-6601 or jimi@huntingbrook.com. www.huntingbrook.com.

SUMMER 2009

Now’s the time to…

Your vegetable garden

30 31WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAzInE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

The emphasis is on projectingthings out from the screen rather than

drawing the viewer into the action.

able African adventure tale, memorableonly for its visual gimmickry. But thefilm’s commercial success prompted aspate of 3-D releases from the majorstudios. Notable in this period were thefilm noir Man in the Dark, whichfeatured a climactic roller coaster ride,and the horror House of Wax withVincent Price.

prominent examples were Friday the13th III (1982), Amityville 3-D (1983),and Jaws 3-D (1983).

These films employed the 3-D tech -nique in some notable sequences, suchas Friday the 13th’s ‘eye-popping’ sceneand the shark’s emergence from thewater in Jaws.

However, while these films hold aquaint feeling of nostalgia for those ofa certain generation, they also demon -strate a continuing problem; that thesefilms are designed around visual set -ups, sacrificing content for style.

A potential difficulty, then, with a rel -iance on visual devices such as 3-D isthat films will be constructed through aseries of predetermined shots aroundwhich a story will then be fitted. Forexample, last year’s Journey to theCentre of the Earth featured a numberof somewhat incongruous visuals,which seemed purely designed toexploit the 3-D format and randomlythrew things at the viewer rather thancontributing to the film as a whole.

The technique proved more suitable tothe self-conscious horror remake MyBloody Valentine 3-D, which subjectedaudiences to no small amount ofsharp ened objects being thrust at

AN APOCRYPHAL tale in film historyruns that when the Lumiére brothersfirst projected their film Arrival of aTrain at a Station in 1896, it appearedso real that many in attendance rushedfrom their seats to get out of the pathof the oncoming locomotive. In thecentury or so that has passed since thecreation of cinema, filmmakers havecontinually sought to match and evensurpass the experiences of those firstaudiences.

One such attempt has been theperiodic revival of the 3-D format,most recently in the Disney animatedfeature Bolt. Recent technologicaladvances have led filmmakers likeJeffrey Katzenberg, John Lasseter andJames Cameron to declare 3-D as thedawning of a new era in cinema. But,much as 3-D is seen as heralding anew leap in cinema culture, it is alsoan indelible part of the medium’s past.

Since the 1950s the format has beenused to impress upon the public theunique and distinct aspects of thecinema experience, especially in theface of falling audience numbers afterthe arrival of television and, subse -quently, video and DVD.

The first feature length film in 3-D was1952’s Bwana Devil, a largely forgett -

At the movies

32 SUMMER 2009

Stage set for

Revival IIIFilmmakers are promising to take you to a new dimension. MORGAN O’BRIEN has his doubts.

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 33

Many of these films sacrifice content for style.

Scenes are designed aroundvisual setups, constructed

through a series ofpredetermined shots aroundwhich a story is then fitted.

These movies’ financial success wasprimarily due to their novelty factor.But the initial enthusiasm waned dueto the format’s lack of technical soph -is tication, which caused headachesand nausea, and the overall poverty ofthe films themselves.

While 3-D was used periodically duringthe 1960s and 1970s, particularlywithin the horror and science-fictiongenres, it was during the 1980s thatthe format had a renaissance. Three

Monsters v Aliens Launched with a 3-D adver -tisement dur ing this year’sSuper Bowl, the latest an im -ation feature from Dream -works is about a group ofmonsters, kept secret by theUnited States gov ern ment,who are charged with the taskof defeating alien invaders.3rd April.

Coraline Director Henry Selick (The Night mareBefore Christmas, James and the GiantPeach) adapts Neil Gaiman’s acclaimedfantasy novel in a 3-D stop-motionanimation film, which has been winninghigh praise from the critics. 8th May.

The Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience An acquired taste, the Jonas Brotherslive show follows U2 and Hannah Mon -tana in getting the big screen 3-Dtreatment. 29th May.

Avatar Self-anointed ‘King of the World’ JamesCameron (Titanic) makes a long-awaitedreturn to feature film directing withAvatar. Due for release in December, thisscience-fiction movie set 200 years in

the future has been the sub jectof continued delays. 18th Dec -ember.

Alice in Wonderland Tim Burton’s adaptation ofLewis Carroll’s enduring mas -ter piece is a mix of live actionand animation, and featuresan all-star cast includingJohnny Depp, Helena BonhamCarter, Anne Hathaway andAlan Rickman. Date not yetconfirmed.

The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn The considerable weight of Steven Spiel -berg and Peter Jackson is behind aproposed three-film adaptation ofHergé’s comic book creation. Scheduledfor release in 2011 the film will be shotin motion capture 3-D.

3-D spectacularsMORGAN O’BRIEN spies some forthcoming 3-D releases through his green and red specs.

them. This aspect of 3-D films, whichcritic Mark Kermode has characterisedas “pointy,” means that the emphasisis on projecting things out from thescreen rather than drawing the viewerinto the action.

However, the makers of Bolt wererecently explicit in their commitmentto creating an “immersive experience”for the audience. This remains some -thing of a moot point for Irish aud -iences, with the relative lack of 3-Dscreens meaning many will have had toview the film in more traditional 2-Dform. Even for those with access, thereexists the disincentive of having to payextra for 3-D glasses.

While the number of Irish cinemasequipped to screen 3-D is increasing,the uptake across the country remainssomewhat slow. In the United States,it’s reported that only about 1,300 ofthe nation’s 40,000 screens can carrythe format. With upgrading costsrunning to around $100,000, it may besome time before the vision of a 3-Dcinema is a reality.

But these economic constraints do notappear to have dulled film makers’ en -thusiasm, with reports sugg esting thatthere are currently 30 3-D pictures onHollywood’s production slate. However,while the technology exists, pasthistory tells us that there is still theneed for caution against the appli -cation of 3-D visuals in the service of2-D stories if it is to yield trulyremarkable and groundbreakingcinema �

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35WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS34

Noel Gallagherreckons musicgets betterduring arecession.RAYMONDCONNOLLY’Snot so sure.

Boomtimeforpop?

Solution difficultSolution easy

Across: 1. Promise 5. Eject 8. Units 9. Routine 10. Brittle 11. Leers 12. Menace14. Addson 17. Moral 19. Trample 22. Evident 23. Grove 24. Sweat 25. Scenery-Down: 1. Plumb 2. Opinion 3. Inset 4. Earned 5. Equal 6. Elite 7. Treason 12.Members 13. Collect 15. Suppose 16. Status 18. Raise 20. Argue 21. Every.

Spring 2009 Crossword SolutionsSee page 48 for the competition winners from Issue 4.

5 9 1 2 3 4 6 8 7

6 4 7 1 5 8 3 2 9

2 3 8 7 6 9 1 4 5

8 5 4 6 9 2 7 3 1

3 1 6 5 4 7 2 9 8

7 2 9 8 1 3 4 5 6

4 7 3 9 8 1 5 6 2

9 6 2 3 7 5 8 1 4

1 8 5 4 2 6 9 7 3

7 8 6 9 5 3 1 2 4

2 4 1 7 8 6 3 5 9

3 5 9 1 2 4 6 7 8

5 9 8 3 1 2 4 6 7

4 6 7 5 9 8 2 1 3

1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 5

6 7 2 8 3 5 9 4 1

8 1 4 2 7 9 5 3 6

9 3 5 6 4 1 7 8 2

Summer 2009 Soduko Solutions(From page 48.)

VividIt’s part of the ageing process to hanker after the past where, for those ofus who are of a certain age, hard times remain in one’s memory mostvividly. While growing up in the 1970s, I clearly recall my dear old dadextolling the virtues of the 1940s and 1950s. “I had to carry eight stoneof coal on my back, we only had two slices of bread between eight of us,at Easter we got a hard-boiled egg, etc, etc.” But those were great days!

And you could leave your key in the door. Not least because there wasnothing in the house to rob.

Is it not possible then, because music can be so uplifting, that we tend torecall occasions when the fine art lifted us from our gloom more readily?

Take the rose-recession-tinted glasses off for a second and have a look athow the facts stack up. In the prosperous swinging sixties, we had theStones, the Who, the Kinks, the Beatles, the Small Faces and the BeachBoys. Rewind the radiogram to the grim 1940s and, aside from Hitler andLord Haw Haw, you might have heard George Formby singing My Little Stickof Blackpool Rock on the radio.

Maybe that argument is a tad unfair. George Formby had the misfortune topre-date Bill Haley, Elvis and Buddy Holly. And you could argue that hewouldn’t have sounded too out of place on one of those Small Faces‘concept albums’.

But take the 1980s. Millions unemployed. Mass emigration. Miner’s strike.Musically, things started okay with the likes of XTC, Joe Jackson, Blondie,et al. Then along came the ska revival, still carrying the flag for chic post-punk new wave. The Brixton and Toxteth riots of 1981 were brilliantlycaptured by the Specials in Ghost Town. So far, so good for the ‘Gallaghertheory’.

RedundantThen as the decade moved into the nadir of the miners’ strike in 1984-1985, some musical hope was provided by the Smiths, the Housemartinsand the occasional decent redundancy package.

But, that aside, the creative wheels flew off the musical juggernaut. Trythis for size: Footloose by Kenny Loggins, All Night Long by Lionel Richie,

Ghostbusters by Ray ParkerJunior.

Even Stevie Wonder got in on theact with I Just Called To Say I LoveYou as Black Lace’s Agadoostormed the charts.

And if 1984 wasn’t bad enough,1985 didn’t improve. Dire Straitscompleted the descent fromSultans of Swing six years prev -iously to wearing headbands and

ski-pants and torturing us with Money for Nothing. Starship were buildingthis city on rock and roll. Glen Frey was moaning about the heat being onand Lou Gramm and Foreigner (plus a choir load of kids) were busywanting to know what love is.

These are merely samples, my friends. Music in the early 1980s wastipping along just nicely until Howard Jones turned up with his “mini-moog”machine liking to get to know us well and opening up the door for suchluminaries as, er, Nick Kershaw.

But one 1984 event should not go without a mention. Yes it’s that workingclass icon and saviour of the universe Mr Paul Hewson and his mates fromU2, with the release of the completely forgettable Unforgettable Fire. Debateover! �

Election reflectionWith the European and local electionsfast approaching, RAYMOND CONNOLLYname checks 10 tracks to get you in the mood.

Little Willy (Won’t Go Home). The Sweet, 1971.Limerick Minister canvasses 24/7.

Happy Bertie To You. Stevie Wonder, 1980.The election season finds the formerTaoiseach in fine fettle.

I Second That E-Motion. The Miracles, 1967.Martin Cullen still believes e-voting is the way forward.

(It’s Not Easy) Bein’ Green. Kermit the Frog, 1970.John Gormley suddenly realises he’s in government.

Looking Through Eamonn Gilmore’s Eyes.The Adverts, 1977.Any time you feel like seeing red.

It’s My Party and I’ll Cry If I Want to. Lesley Gore, 1963.Mary Harney considers re-establishing the PDs.

Magic Bus. The Who, 1968.Noel Dempsey explains the new transportpolicy. This bus is so magic it disappears.

Mary. The 4 of Us, 1989.“Oh Mary, why don’t you have some sense.”No offence, Tánaiste.

Elected. Alice Cooper, 1972.The one thing they all agree on - they wanna be elected!

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.Monty Python, 1979.Straight from the Life of Brian.

Play it loud

SUMMER 2009

THERE’S ONE sure thing about aneconomic crisis. The scope togenerate philosophical debate in thepublic house is second to none.

I was recently a willing participant inone such whirlpool of wisdom. The

initial debate centred on the view that onepositive thing about the economic downturn would bethe return of some form of charm and humility to oursociety.

Remember the days before the baguette and breakfastroll, when a trip to the shops for bread and milk (luxury!)

included a 10-minute chat with the shopkeeper andcustomers? Where kids actually walked to school together,

the older ones looking out for the younger ones, learningstreet skills along the way.

Or the pre-Sky TV saturation days when football happened atthree o’clock on a Saturday, followed by an evening illuminated

by Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game followed by Dixon ofDock Green?

The debate somehow moved on to the thorny and, I have to report,very personalised, subject of music. The theory proffered by my

company was that art, including music, becomes far more creative inhard times and standards rise accordingly. It’s a perspective recentlysupported by Noel Gallagher whose band Oasis, ironically, hit its

critical and commercial peak during the boom time ‘Cool Britannia’years.

Wonderwall notwithstanding, my gut instinct was to acceptthe theory as given. But, probably fuelled by a few more

units, I began to challenge this pearl ofwisdom.

During the last recessionStarship were building this cityon rock and roll, Glen Frey wasmoaning about the heat beingon, and Foreigner were busywanting to know what love is.

�

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Making your mind upI SEE that, on page six of this issue of Work &Life, IMPACT member Sinéad Mulvey is featuredin her capacity as Ireland’s Eurovision song contestentrant. Well, congratulations and best wishes toyou Sinéad.

I see also that Niall Shanahan, who in the pages ofthe last issue displayed himself as aficionado ofcooldom (“being a Joy Division fan”) has come outin support of all things Eurovision. Niall, it’s timeyou started “makin’ your mind up” before you getinto “all kinds of everything.”

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From the author Book reviews

36 SUMMER 2009 WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 37

IN THE AFTERMATH of the Irish civilwar, the newly formed Free State wasstruggling to assert its authority, whilecommunities and families were copingwith the rifts that define the aftermathof bitter struggle. Hidden histories arepart of the currency of a societycoming to terms with itself and manyare eventually forgotten, even if theyare a matter of public record.

However, one such hidden history hasbeen unearthed and recorded inmasterful detail by IMPACT memberPat Walsh. The Curious Case of TheMayo Librarian is a very accessible andentertaining record of a dispute whichattracted interest across the globe andthreatened to bring down the Govern -ment of the day.

In July 1930, Letitia Dunbar Harrisonwas chosen by an interview panel forthe post of Mayo county librarian.However, Mayo County Council refusedto endorse her appointment, defying aspecific instruction from the LocalGovernment Department. It shouldhave been an uneventful, routine app -

rejection was on the grounds that shelacked proficiency in the Irish lang -uage. The Local Authority Commission(LAC) overturned the rejection.

The conflict played out over the pagesof the national press, and hadaudiences as far away as Boston andLondon, as the Irish diaspora becamefascinated with the story. “It was thefirst time the State stood up toreligious authority,” Pat explains.

The stakes were high for all involved.Many county councils had already beenabolished in the fallout from the CivilWar, and central government wasdetermined to assert itself. MayoCounty Council faced abolition as theissue gathered heat.

Pat’s book draws on the State papersof the period (1930-31), newspapercoverage and correspondence to thenational papers. Harrison was even -tually ‘promoted’ to Dublin, working inthe military library in Parkgate Streetuntil her marriage to Methodist Min -ister Robert C Crawford. She eventually

Curious caseuncovered

You’ll love this book

ointment, yet the decision set churchagainst State, county council againstGovernment and members of thesame political party against one an -other.

The reason? Ms Harrison was a pro -testant.

Pat had an immediate affinity with thestory when he stumbled across it. Hehails originally from Ballinrobe andworks as a librarian with DunLaoghaire-Rathdown County Council.He explains the origins of his interestin the case, “I came across a briefreference in JH Whyte’s ‘Church andState in Modern Ireland,’ but it was littlemore than a footnote. Then I cameacross some more material by hist -orian Joseph Lee, and that was enoughto get me started. I was delighted noone had seized upon it before,” hesays.

As a graduate of Trinity College and aprotestant, Harrison was regarded bythe Mayo establishment as anti-national. The original pretext for her

MY MISTRESS’S SPARROW IS DEADEdited by Jeffrey Eugenides (Harper Perennial, £9.99 in the UK).

SUBTITLED GREAT Love Stories from Chekhov to Munro, this bookis an absolute must for anyone who loves great writing but doesn’thave the time to extensively read the works of the writers whoappear in this collection. Literary luminaries like William Trevor,Richard Ford, Raymond Carver and Vladimir Nabakov are justsome of those whose works are included.

In the introduction, Jeffrey Eugenides writes a fine essay on whatexactly constitutes a love story. This in itself is well worthreading. From the Latin poet Catullus, whose poem gave thebook its title, through Plato and onto the modern writers, it isboth enlightening and entertaining.

In his own words “Love stories depend on disappointment, onunequal births and feuding families. Love stories, nearly without exception, givelove a bad name.”

Here, then are stories as diverse as Alice Munro’sThe Bear Came over the Mountain, in which ahusband makes a hugely selfless act for his wife whohas Alzheimer’s disease, or the more unconventionalMouche by Guy de Maupassant, where four friendslove the same woman.

These are not pink and fluffy love stories but stories of lost love, unrequited love,painful first love and inappropriate love. All richly conveyed. Buy this book, keep itand dip into whenever you want to enjoy a master at their craft. The proceeds goto charity too!

Kathryn Smith

“Love stories give love a bad name.”

What ER did nextBLOODLETTING & MIRACULOUS CURESVincent Lam (Harper Perennial, £7.99 in the UK).

IT’S A funny old thing this doctoring business. On the one hand,we want our doctors to be smart, calm and so decisive they seemto be almost a different species. On the other hand we never wantthem to forget our common frailty, our need to feel cared for, andour abiding terror of death.

We want the crisp white coat, the stethoscope and a one-waytransaction of salvation, but we don’t really want to know any ofthat icky personal stuff. Spouse trouble? Money worries?Insomnia? Thanks Doc, but do it on your own time.

Here we get to hang out with the medics, go home with them,get drunk with them, and see how life looks from the otherside of the latex glove. It’s a collection of 12 stories aboutfour interconnected characters as they make the transition

from medical school to hospital life.

The resulting narrative jumps around a bit and is episodic rather than linear. But,hey, a generation like you, raised on ER, Casualty, and House, can probably handlethat, right? (Grey’s Anatomy is excluded as they are all too shiny and annoying.)

The stories are remarkably well-written and skillfully crafted to show, rather thantell, all the author wants us to know. They are truthful and sometimes raw withintensity, and there aren’t many happy endings. But they pulse with authenticity,and are utterly compelling.

Margaret Hannigan

moved to Whitehaven in NorthernIreland with her husband where shelived until her death in the mid-1990s.

While Harrison is central to events inthe book, it’s not a biography. It is,however, a very well structured anat -omy of an unusual moment in Irishhistory. The central characters are thepolitical and religious figures of theday, and there is as much colour asthere is heat in the various accounts ofpublic meetings and debates.

Pat wrote the book over an 18-monthperiod, gathering his material from theNational Archive and National Library.He has produced a definitive recordhere, but much more significantly, hehas produced a book that is accessibleand entertaining; a great way to lift thelid on a hidden history.

The Curious Case of The Mayo Librarianby Pat Walsh is published by MercierPress on paperback at €12.99 and isavailable in most bookshops �

Niall Shanahan

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Pat Walsh: New book.

More book reviews

38 SUMMER 2009

Sticky wicketNETHERLAND

Joseph O’Neill (Harper Perennial, £7.99 in the UK).

HANS VAN den Broek is a Dutch man married to an Englishwoman and living in New York. After the events of 9/11, hiswife, Rachel, announces that she no longer wants to live infear and is returning to London with their baby son.

But it’s not just the city she needs a break from. Herleaving is perhaps a method of self-protection, and Hansgoes along with the pretence.

Alone in New York, he is lonely, melancholy and self-absorbed.Despite his lucrative job, life without his family is directionless.

There is one thing though, which still connects him to other people:Cricket, the game he loved as a boy in Holland. Through hisinvolvement with the New York cricket scene Hans meets ChuckRamkissoon, a larger than life character with big ideas.

In particular, Chuck plans to build New York’s first real cricket cluband stadium and he wants Hans to be part of the business.

The story is told in the first person, putting the reader inside Hans’head seeing life as he sees it. Much of the narrative therefore, isphilosophical as Hans makes sense of his own experience.

Although we know early on that Chuck has been murdered, and thereis a tension as Hans becomes increasingly pulled in by him, the bookis not plot-driven. With long, complex sentences and movementbetween past and present, this is a book which deserves a little quiettime.

Kathryn Smith

Three’s a crowdGLOVER’S MISTAKENick Laird (Fourth Estate).

THIS IS a story about jealousy, anger andhubris. In it, some very unlikeable char -acters are remarkably unkind, not to saydownright malevolent, to someone theyprofess to love. It’s the old boy-loves-girl-who-loves-other-boy situation, where theboy who doesn’t get the girl still doesn’t get themessage, and the girl who is got, doesn’t get it either.

The main character is the sad singleton, David Pinner. A35-year old English teacher in a private school, David isdefined largely by what he is not – not a writer, not aboyfriend, not a father. He has only one friend, hisflatmate, the eponymous James Glover.

Young, handsome, affable and completely unself -conscious, Glover is the silver lining that never even seesthe cloud.

Enter Ruth, a beautiful, mature, sophisticated, succ -essful American artist currently exhibiting in London.David manages to parlay the fact that she lectured himduring his brief stint as an art student a decade or moreago into a tenuous friendship.

He introduces her to the delightful Glover, whosewhirlwind romance with Ruth quickly takes over thenarrative, and fuels David’s free-floating resentment.David quickly abandons any pretence at loyalty to eitherof them, and his petty, malicious, manoeuvres displayan unnerving detachment and a ruthless self-interest.

Margaret Hannigan

T&S hitIMPACT HAS lodged a claim with the Civil Service to review travel and subsistence rates after the Government’s imposition of revised rates, which cut payments by 25% across the board. The cut, which is effective from 5th March 2009, was opposed by the union. Separate circulars are expected to issue for local government and health, where the HSE has been seeking to cut the amount of travel as part of its efforts to find savings this year. IMPACT has said that important front-line services will be reduced by limits on travel.

Oppose violenceAN ONLINE petition has been set up to allow people to register their opposition to recent violence in the north. The Northern Ireland Peace Rallies Petition was established, after the Irish Congress of Trade unions (ICTU) organised silent vigils across the North in protest at renewed terrorist killings, to allow others to register their protest. You can sign at www.petitiononline.com/peaceni/petition.html.

Palestine friendsIMPACT, SIPTU and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) are among the organisations supporting the recently-launched Trade Union Friends of Palestine (TUFP). The support group was launched in the Republic following the Israeli attacks on Gaza at the end of last year. You can get more details and a membership form from tufp@dublin.ie.

EDUCATION

IMPACT education seminar VULNERABLE CHILDREN must have decent educational opportunities despite the recession, according to IMPACT general secretary Peter McLoone. Speaking at the union’s recent education seminar he said protecting the “precious resource” of education was essential to economic recovery.

“For the most disadvantaged people education provides the only real, tangible route out of social disadvantage, poverty and exclusion. You have heard a good deal of talk about ‘sharing the load’ when it comes to devising economic solutions. Sharing the load means protecting the most vulnerable,” he said.

Barnardos chief Fergus Finlay told delegates that educational performance was linked to poverty. “The education system has a huge role to play, not just in dealing with the causes of poverty among children, but also in ending childhood poverty,” he said.

Delegates included members from the union’s education branches, who now represent over 6,000 workers, and guests from the teaching unions and other education organisations.

Dr. Paul Downes of the Centre for Educational Disadvantage told them that current educational investment should not be the high water mark of commitment to overcoming educational disadvantage. “Unions have been a driving force in developing initiatives and there needs to be a renewed commitment on behalf of unions to lobby for a holistic strategy to move beyond educational disadvantage,” he said.

union business

NEWS IN BRIEF...

HEALTH

Health cuts continueDESPITE REVISING down its expected budget deficit for 2009, the HSE is still seeking at least €700 million in cuts this year. The €700 million is made up of €530 million in savings already identified, plus at least €205 million extra identified in March. But more cuts seem likely.

It was reported in March that the Department of Health would find another €200 million worth of savings. But none of these figures takes into account any additional cuts in the April mini-budget or the recommendations of the ‘special group,’ which will propose public service reallocation and rationalisation measures to the Government at the end of June.

The HSE told journalists it would target cuts in temporary and agency staff and close some hospital beds to achieve the savings.

In a circular to branches, IMPACT national secretary Kevin Callinan said the HSE was considering options like cutting “non-core” pay such as overtime, premia and allowances, and cutting services and temporary posts. It is also believed that a ‘hit list’ of hospital closures exists, and that other radical cuts in community services are being considered.

IMPACT has called on the Government to provide extra funds to cover the growing cost of services associated with growing unemployment, like medical cards and drugs. It has also called for an end to the costly and wasteful hospital ‘dual location’ programme and other State subsidies to private health providers.

IMPACT members get news quicker

IMPACT members can sign up for full access to our website – plus a monthly

emailed news bulletin – via www.impact.ie.

Fergus Finlay of Bernardos and IMPACT leader Peter McLoone

discuss educational disadvantage.

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39WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAzINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

Work & Life: The Magazine for iMPaCT MeMbers

union business

Public ServiceS

Unions push Euro public service pledgeTraDe Unions are making it easier for you to check your european candidates’ commitment to public services before you vote in the european elections on 5th June.

The european federation of Public service Unions, which counts iMPaCT among its members, has invited existing MePs and election candidates to sign a ‘Public service Pledge,’ which identifies a range of policies the next european Parliament should prioritise to defend and extend public services.

The pledge asks candidates to support a set of framework laws that recognise the special role of essential services in the european Union, and specifically calls for initiatives to protect and promote quality for users of public services.

as Work & Life went to press over 100 MePs and candidates had signed the pledge, including two from ireland – Dublin MeP Proinsias de rossa and Labour’s Leinster candidate nessa Childers.

The second largest group in the Parliament – the Party of european socialists (Pes), which includes the irish Labour Party – has also backed the pledge. so have the Parliament’s greens.

iMPaCT is writing to all ireland’s sitting MePs and candidates to seek their support for the pledge, which commits future MePs to support proposals for legal protection of high quality public services across the eU.

in health, it commits signatories to work for legislation to ensure accessibility, affordability and universal provision in public health services. it also calls for well-funded and accountable local government services and respect for civil servants. and it commits signatories to vote against the commercialisation or privatisation of water.

speaking at the brussels launch of the pledge earlier this year, Portuguese socialist MeP Joel hasse ferreira said the Parliaments’ recent protection of european working time rules showed how protecting ordinary citizens was essential for the legitimacy of the eU. “We in the Parliament must be able to stand up to the Council of Ministers, and the Commission, and to protect issues such as fair, safe working hours for europe’s workers,” he said.

Find out more on www.epsu.org

cAMPAiGN

ballot slightly shortiMPaCT MeMbers recently voted by 65%-35% in favour of industrial action – marginally short of the two-thirds majority required to sanction industrial action under iMPaCT’s rules.

as this issue of Work & Life went to press, the union’s elected Central executive Committee was meeting to discuss the outcome of the ballot and the next steps in the union’s campaign in defence of the national agreement and in support of a fair approach to economic recovery, including changes to the public service levy.

The turnout in the ballot was 53%.The ballot followed the government’s decision to rush legislation through the Dáil to get the public service levy in place before 1st March, despite huge opposition. it called on members to agree to industrial action in opposition to the government and employers’ decision to walk away from the national agreement, which was overwhelmingly backed by iMPaCT members last autumn.

The irish Congress of Trade Unions has told the government it is willing to negotiate a three-year deal to get us through the economic crisis, on the basis of the iCTU ten-point plan for economic recovery (see article on page 43).

Under the union’s longstanding rules, industrial action ballots must achieve the support of two-thirds of those who vote or over half of those eligible to vote.

The ballot represented the third element of iMPaCT’s campaign to defend the Towards 2016 agreement and its terms, which began when social partnership talks broke down and the government announced its intention to freeze the national wage deal indefinitely and impose the public service levy.

it followed the highly successful national demonstration organised by iCTU in february, which saw a huge mobilisation of iMPaCT members. it has been estimated that over 20,000 iMPaCT members were among the 120,000-plus who marched in Dublin.

as well as a huge turnout from members based in and around the capital, iMPaCT branches organised coaches from athlone, Carrick-on-shannon, Carlow, Clare, Cork, Donegal, galway, kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mullingar, offaly, sligo and Wexford.

The union also organised a massive lobbying effort around the weekend of 14th february, which generated thousands of email contacts between iMPaCT members and their TDs and a big turnout in many local TD constituency clinics.

The faiLUre to address all aspects of ireland’s economic crisis at the same time has fuelled “confusion” and a sense that some groups are “bearing the largest burden of adjustment,” according to the respected national economic and social Council (nesC).

in a special report published in March, the nesC said ireland had to deal with separate but related crises in banking, public finances and the economy, as well as social and reputational crises. it called for an integrated national response based on social solidarity, which would feature “short-term measures that have long-term logic.”

in its stark analysis of the depth of the recession, the nesC says all these crises have to be tackled together. “our analysis strongly suggests that a series of partial and sequential measures, some of which are undoubtedly necessary, will not be sufficient and effective,” it says.

The body, which includes union and business representatives as well as economists and government officials, says the current recession was caused by the realisation of foreseeable risks. “What was not envisaged was that these risks would materialise simultaneously and in a mutually reinforcing way,” it says.

nesC’s call for social solidarity echoes the irish Congress of Trade Unions’ (iCTU) position on economic recovery, as does the nesC view that tax changes “should not be considered solely in terms of revenue, but also in the light of principles of tax reform.”

Launching its ten-point national recovery plan, iCTU told the government it was willing to negotiate a three-year deal to get us through the economic crisis. There have been indications that both the government and employers’ body ibeC want to get back into talks to negotiate such a deal, but all sides want to be sure of a high chance of success before re-engaging.

iCTU’s ten-point national recovery plan proposes a ‘social solidarity’ approach to economic recovery with employment as the top priority. The unions say the wealthy should contribute significantly to restoring public finances and that the public service levy is a crude and unfair measure which must be changed.

The proposals also call for safeguards for private sector pension schemes, most of which are in crisis because of the collapse of share prices in recent months. and it wants government action on the banks, which should be

We face five crisesecONOMY

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determined by “what is best for the public interest and how best to protect peoples’ homes.”

iCTU says forcing working families to pay for the crisis will cost jobs and it strongly opposes government and employer attempts to drive down wages “as an alternative to currency devaluation.”

read more on the icTu proposals on www.impact.ie l

sUMMer 2009

Your money

Work your bank! Competition has resulted in a reduction or elimination of current account fees and some banks even pay interest on credit balances subject to some limits – but generally only on newer accounts. You may not be enjoying these benefits if you opened your account some years ago.

the best personal current account is that offered by halifax. there are no transaction fees and you earn interest of 7.23% on credit balances up to €2,000, so long as you are lodging at least €1,500 a month. That could be your pay cheque. Call into your bank and see if they can match that. if you don’t want to change banks at least make sure that you are switched into the best available account your bank is offering.

For the internet literate, there is also the option of opening an online demand account into which any spare money in your current account can easily be transferred. northern Rock is currently paying 3.5% on its online demand account.

Your next step should be to ensure that you are getting the best possible return on your savings. and you don’t have to put your money out of reach.

The nationalised Anglo Irish Bank is paying 4.75% on demand deposits of up to €100,000 and 4% on accounts with more than €100,000 in them. You don’t need an internet account. Ulster Bank is paying 3.75% on sums over €15,000 with an extra bonus of 0.5% for the first six months. But the rate is only 0.1% on accounts under €15,000 and no interest is paid for any month in which a withdrawal takes place. that latter condition can prove very expensive.

Halifax pays 3.5% on sums up to €10,000 while Rabo Direct is paying 2.5% on its internet account. Rabo enjoys a €100,000 guarantee from the Dutch government.

putting money away at a fixed rate for a year or more may prove a shrewd move if variable demand rates fall in coming months. But, with the banks relying more and more on deposits (rather than the inter-bank market) for their funds, the likelihood is that demand rates will remain relatively high. anglo irish is paying a fixed rate of 4.9% on one-year accounts and allows one withdrawal of up to 10% of the deposit. Halifax pays 2.8% on a similar account. The Anglo two-year rate is 3.5%.

If you can save up to €1,000 a month, it is possible to get up to 7.3% on the money you save. these high rates are not available on larger lump sums but at €1,000 a month you can build up a fairly big lump sum enjoying far better than average rates. that 7.3% rate is available from anglo irish. Bank of ireland pays 4.75% on up to €500 saved each month and AIB has a regular saving account paying over 7.75%, but the maximum lodgement is only €200 a month.

it’s important to keep an eye on the rate you’re getting on these accounts. they are variable. if you opened an account some time ago you may find that the rate has been greatly reduced, well below what’s on offer to new customers.

THE QUICKER we can get back to feeling confident about the future, the quicker we’ll climb out of the recession. economic fortunes are very much tied to the level of business and consumer confidence.

so let’s try to look on the bright side. incomes have fallen across the public sector but some of the impact has been offset by a drop in consumer prices. it’s not a big decline but it is the first in decades. Having fallen by 3.8% during the three months to January consumer prices started the year down a marginal 1.7% on February 2008.

That’s an average, of course. There was a sharper drop in housing and utility costs thanks mainly to falling interest rates and energy prices.

Okay, so you’re still losing out. But we are still one of the richest countries in the world. the recession hasn’t changed the pecking order too much, and a pre-recession comparison put ireland’s income per head at about $27,000 a year while over 80% of the world’s population lived on less than $3,500 a year – most of them on a lot less.

It is, of course, impossible to estimate the impact that pay cuts, eroded asset values and job losses can have. It depends on the individual. the worse affected are those who were encouraged by the prospect of continuing economic growth to enter long-term commitments, such as a house purchase, that are hard to meet out of reduced income.

At the other extreme, there are those whose budgets may well be balanced by bringing in sandwiches rather than going out to lunch or by having a few less week-ends away.

Either way, some cost cutting is possibly inevitable although the economy might be better served if we could be encouraged to spend a little – or even a lot – more. Cost cutting is never easy but it may not be as painful as you initially fear. Individuals, just like businesses and Government departments, tend to become wasteful in the good years. So it’s often possible, with careful money management, to reduce costs with little or no impact on actual living standards.

there are two broad alternatives. You can zone in on the big items of spending and try to save on them, or you can try to penny-pinch right across the board. Your personal make-up and the type of business you are in has a lot to do with which approach you adopt. u

It’s difficult to avoid feeling personally despondent in the face of pay cuts, tax increases and even redundancy. But while cost cutting is never easy, COLM RAPPLE says it may not be as painful as you initially fear. And it gives you a chance to hit back at the banks!

For many the best option is to make the necessary economies in just one or two areas. That way, really big savings can be achieved without widespread recourse to penny-pinching. Penny-pinching can provide substantial savings, but at a cost in time and effort. By its very nature it’s only going to save you cents and it takes a lot of those to make a euro.

it can be a waste of time trying to control every item of expenditure, so zone in on the important ones where the real savings can be made. Concentrate on the big items of spending first and concentrate on making a small number of big savings instead of a large number of small ones.

in the end it boils down to four simple actions.

• Broadly itemise your spending budget and divide it into absolute essentials and others.

• examine the absolute essentials again and transfer those which are really not absolutely essential over to the other list.

• Do a separate list of the most expensive items on the non-essential list.

• start making the painful decisions.

Reduce borrowing costs a recent iFa survey found that the costs of farmers’ overdraft facilities ranged from 4.5% to 11%. Some were paying 4% on term loans while others were paying over 8%. The differences can’t be explained, it seems, simply by reference to relative credit worthiness. it has more to do with an ability to shop around or negotiate.

the same is doubtless true for non-farmers. so if you have to be in debt, make sure you’re not paying over the odds. that applies as much to credit cards as to personal loans. halifax offers one of the best deals around and, for anyone switching, it’s currently offering six-months interest free credit on the transferred balance and new purchases, or alternatively €100 spending money.

The interest rate at 11.7% is one of the lowest on offer. You can pay up to 17.9% on some cards. Of course, the best way to get your own back on the banks is not to borrow on a credit card at all, except perhaps for very short periods.

Cut insurance outgoings about 4% of the average household budget goes on insurance of one type or other so significant savings are possible in this area. The exhortation to shop around has become something of a cliché, but with car and household insurance that’s what you have to do.

Don’t even assume that the renewal quote you get from your existing insurance is the best that it can do. Approach it, either on the internet or by phone, as if you were a new customer and you may well get a much reduced quote. And get other quotes as well. significant savings can be made.

have a look at any credit card and mobile phone insurance you have. it’s all too easy to sign up to this type of insurance without fully realising how much you are paying for so little cover.

a critical look at your life insurance may also suggest potential savings. Look out for policies that are more geared to saving than providing life cover and ask yourself if you want to be saving in the current climate and if you need the life cover.

obviously great care is needed not to cancel policies that may be providing potentially useful benefits. But in some cases the benefits may not justify the cost l

Getting something back from the banks

the figures used in this article were accurate when Work & Life went to press.

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4342 WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAzInE FOR IMPACT MEMBERSSUMMER 2009

Sport

Katie’s boxing cleverBoxing is Ireland’s most successful Olympic sport. KEVIN NOLAN says that record could be enhanced if women’s boxing is recognised for London’s games in 2012.

MARCH WAS to be the month that Irish amateur boxing’s two leading lights would headline the supporting cast for Bernard Dunne’s successful world super bantam weight challenge in the O2 arena.

In a promotion that included both pros and amateurs, Kenny Egan and Katie Taylor were to test their mettle against highly-rated opponents.

For Egan, life as an Olympic hero saw him lose his focus and his plans were adjusted. But for world champion Taylor, who scored and emphatic 27 – 3 win over Caroline Barry of the US, it provided another stepping-stone towards her dream – participation in an Olympics.

The course of female boxing has not been a smooth one. But its acceptance and status in recent decades has accelerated.

TygerWomen’s boxing can be traced to London in the 1720s, but it’s only in recent times that it has started to gain recognition. The next piece of the jigsaw will be its acceptance as an Olympic sport.

In 1987, former world women’s lightweight Marian ‘Lady Tyger’ Trimiar went on a month-long hunger strike – during which she shed over 30 pounds – for the rights of women’s boxing and to advocate better money and conditions for professional female boxers.

Three-time European and current world champion Taylor has not had to make her point so starkly. But her Olympic dream has proved equally elusive so far. Taylor might have

thought Beijing 2008 would see her realise that dream, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not give their backing to female boxing in the most recent games.

But with the sport’s amateur governing body voting unanimously to propose women’s amateur boxing for inclusion at the London 2012 games, Taylor’s time could be upon us. The final word rests with the IOC.

HistoryTaylor has already put a very promising international soccer career (40 international caps) on ice and turned down approaches from professional boxing promoters to concentrate on her Olympic passion. History beckons for the multi-talented Bray native.

But making history in nothing new to Taylor, who is coached and managed by her father Peter. She contested the bout that officially marked the female entry into the ring in Irish boxing when, as a 15-year-old, she fought Elanna Audley of Belfast Sandyrow in the National Stadium in October 2001.

GoldBoxing has been Ireland’s most successful Olympic sport. Of the 23 medals the country has enjoyed, 12 have come in the boxing ring (one gold, four silver, seven bronze). Given the chance, Katie Taylor could take the second gold, joining Michael Carruth (Barcelona 1992) on the highest position on the podium l

On his return from down under, Tadhg Kennelly looks promising in a Kerry jersey.

KERRY VERSUS Tyrone. The greatest Gaelic football rivalry and the cause of great debate throughout the noughties. Both counties have lifted the Sam Maguire on three occasions. Both have a strong claim for team of the decade. And this year should decide who the undisputed champion really is.

Tyrone have never won back-to-back titles, while the green and gold have never beaten them on All-Ireland final day. It’s the perfect sub-plot to this summer’s GAA action.

The rival camps have improved their strength in anticipation of the obstacles ahead. Returning just before last year’s All-Ireland final, Tyrone’s Stephen O’Neill showed who could really steal the show in 2009.

DisbeliefO’Neill was immense throughout their McKenna Cup programme and their opening League game against Dublin under lights at Croke Park. One of his points against the Dubs drew gasps of disbelief and rapturous applause in equal measure.

Son of Kennelly

For Kerry, a new face with a familiar surname has returned to the bosom – Tadhg Kennelly. Son of Tim ‘Horse’ Kennelly who won five senior All-Irelands between 1975 and 1981, Tadhg returned early in the New Year after a premature end to an 11-year professional career with Aussie rules side Sydney Swans.

During his time down under, the Listowel native became the first Irishman ever to win an AFL Premiership medal, after playing in every one of the Swans 26 games that season. This was an achievement which proved elusive for Jim Stynes, Ireland’s other huge success in Australian rules.

RumoursStynes won an All-Ireland minor football championship with Dublin in 1984 (the county’s last success) before signing a professional contract with Melbourne. Rumours that he was planning to return to the Dubs circulated in Dublin GAA circles every Christmas. But it never happened.

Meanwhile, Kennelly’s final couple of seasons in Australia were blighted by knee and shoulder injuries. This must to be a worry for Kerry manager, Jack O’Connor, who returned to the hot-seat this year to try and lead the Kingdom to the Sam Maguire again.

However, the initial impressions on his first appearance in a Kerry senior jersey, coming on as a sub in their League victory over Derry, were promising. His athleticism, a winning attitude cultivated at the top level of Australian sport, and a desire to follow in his late father’s shoes could make monitoring the progress Tadhg Kennelly as compelling as the Kerry-Tyrone saga l

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Ready for Olympic Gold.

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“Watching Tadhg is as compelling as the Kerry-Tyrone saga.”

Tadgh Kennelly: Compelling.

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAzINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 4544 SUMMER 2009

ACROSS

1. I rat cop for sweet reward (7)

5. Cereal killer (5)

8. Dynasty – heads roll! (5)

9. Proposition (7)

10. Windy burg (7)

11. Boreal forest (5)

12. Native American dwelling (6)

14. I am at it in Japan (6)

17. Toss it (5)

19. An ambush I don’t consider chivalry (7)

22. When ill I cite bad practice (7)

23. and 24. Capital contest on continental cover (5, 5)

25. Crude M. O.? Quite the opposite! (7)

DOWN

1. “My men like satyrs grazing on the lawn Will with their goat-feet dance the ….. hay." (Marlowe) (5)

2. Winter migrant on these prisonwalls, Bob? (7)

3. Cardinal collective (5)

4. Military mark? (6)

5. Mourning becomes her, says O’Neill (7)

6. Moscow park or Russian author (5)

7. Kettle drums (7)

46 SUMMER 2009

12. Native American dwelling (7)

13. Extinct european cattle (7)

15. Fly boy (7)

16. Bad tea adjusted, terminated (6)

18. God of death and the king of the Fomo-rians (5)

20. Camus knew his plants backwards (5)

21. Usually written in stone (5)

Crossword composed by Maureen Harkin, Sligo

HOW TO PLAY: Fill in the grid so that every row,column and 3x3 box contains thedigits 1-9. There is no mathsinvolved. You solve it with reasoningand logic.

S U DO K U

Just answer five easyquestions and you could win €50.

ADD €50 to your holiday savings fundby answering five easy questions andsending your entry, name and address toRoisin Nolan, Work & Life prize quiz,IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1. We’llsend €50 to the first completed entrypulled from a hat.* You’ll find all theanswers in this issue of Work & Life.

1 The last day for registration to vote inthe 5th June elections is:

A 31st April

B 18th May

C Anytime before the polling stationopens

2 The Belgian city of Bruges is:

A 50 minutes from Brussels by train

B A UNESCO heritage site

C Both of the above

3 In July 1930, Letitia Harrison was appointed as:

A Mayo county librarian

B IMPACT general secretary

C A grade V in the Carlsberg complaintsdepartment

4 President Obama has declared hisdetermination to:

A Make government and public servicecool again

B Bomb Iran

C Get re-elected in 2012

5 In 2012, Katie Taylor hopes to:

A Run for Ireland in the Olympics

B Box for Ireland in the Olympics

C Challenge Barack Obama in the USelections

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 5thJune 2009. The editor’s decision is final. That’s it!

WIN€50

Win Win Win

Prize quiz

Easy

Winners! The winners from competitions in the Winter issue were:

1 Quiz – Stephen McCabe, DIT

2 Crossword – Martina Donoghue, Wexford

3 Survey – Carol Downey, Forensic Science

Lots more competitions to enter in this issue!

PRIZE CROSSWORD

WIN€50

Difficult

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, by Friday 6th March 2009.

We’ll send €50 to the first correct entry pulled from a hat.

The survey

1. What did you think of the articles in the summer2009 issue of Work & Life ?

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5. What subjects would you like to see in future issuesof Work & Life ?

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6. What did you think of the balance between unionnews and other articles?

The balance is about right �

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How do you likeWork & Life?WE HOPE you enjoyed this issue of Work & Life, the

magazine for IMPACT members. We want to hear yourviews, 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.

WIN€100

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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 June 2009. The editor’s decision is final. That’s it!

47WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

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SPRING 200948

Commercial membership services

IMPACT 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.

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 sectionsof 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 andthere 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 acces-sible 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 DiscountSchemes 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 betweenthe 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 partof 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 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 Unionnewspaper 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 noresponsibility 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. Cornmarket Group Financial Services Ltd.Travel Insurance – all Divisions. Car Insurance – all Divisions.

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

Group Insurance Services (GIS) Marsh Financial Services Ltd.Car Insurance – all Divisions. AVC Schemes – all Divisions excluding Municipal Employees.House Insurance – all Divisions. Salary Protection and Life Assurance – Civil Service and Services & Enterprises Divisions only.

December 2004

DISCLAIMER (Approved by CEC 10th December 2004)

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