Connacht Tribune
Grants will help Gaeltacht firms assess impact of Brexit
Grants of up to €5,000 will be given to Gaeltacht companies to help them prepare for Brexit.
The €100,000 scheme run by Údarás na Gaeltachta will encourage companies to undertake an assessment on how ready they are for when Britain leaves the EU in the areas of business strategy, operations, innovation, sales and marketing, finance and people management.
The grant, which must be matched equally by the company up to a maximum of €5,000, will be available to companies who are already exporting and where over 20% of the company’s sales are in the United Kingdom.
The grant will be based on a self-assessment by the firm of their exposure to Brexit.
Údarás na Gaeltachta is currently arranging a series of regional seminars in Gaeltacht areas regarding Brexit to raise awareness of Brexit and the opportunities and challenges it will present and the various supports that are available from support agency.
An open call for the ‘Bí Réidh’ scheme will be launched on completion of the regional seminars. Further information including application forms for the scheme will then be made available.
Chief Executive of Údarás na Gaeltachta, Steve Ó Cúláin, said it was difficult to assess the effects of Brexit given the daily or even hourly changes.
“There is no doubt that it will have a significant effect on our client companies and it is very important that they are prepared for it and that the appropriate advice and expertise is available to them,” he remarked.
“It is significant that nearly a quarter (24.5%) of Údarás na Gaeltacht client company exports, at a value of €154 million, are to the United Kingdom. Nearly 60% (€224m) of client companies’ raw materials are imported through or from the UK.
“Client companies exporting to the UK depend heavily on this market and any uncertainty could pose trade difficulties. Some €115 million of client company export sales to the United Kingdom come from the BMW region (Galway, Mayo, Donegal) and €39 million from the Southern and Eastern Region (Kerry, Cork, Waterford, Meath). “
Figures from ABSEI research conducted in 2016 show that Údarás na Gaeltachta client companies had total sales of €926 million in the previous year. Exports grew by 10.6% to €628 million, an export–sales ratio of 68%.
Údarás is working with Enterprise Ireland to deliver the scheme as part of a coordinated cross-agency response to Brexit.
Minister for Gaeltacht Affairs and Natural Resources Seán Kyne said the €100,000 will help at least 20 Gaeltacht companies, some of them based in Galway, to develop a Brexit action plan.
“Given the uncertainty regarding Brexit, I commend Údarás for introducing this scheme, particularly given that almost a quarter of all exports by Údarás client companies are to the UK.
“This funding will help companies that are most exposed to Brexit to prepare and work out how best to take advantage of any opportunities Brexit may bring as well as the challenges it will bring. I encourage all eligible Údarás client companies to apply for this extra support.”
Údarás companies supported 2,932 jobs in Galway at the start of this year – a net increase of 62 jobs on the 2015 figure.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
