Opinion
Harnessing people power for carbon reduction
AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON For a while now I have been wondering about being more energy efficient and guiltily putting off finding out about it. Retrofitting can seem daunting: what are you going to do, how much will it cost, what is the energy saving and can you even find a contractor to …
Bank on it! My money’s on a cashless society
THE FACT OF THE MATTER PAUL HOPKINS When I left school, I wanted to go to college which I did. Initially though, to appease my father, I went for job interviews with Aer Lingus, the Civil Service, and the banks. On the day of interview with Bank Of Ireland, at least three score of us …
STRENGTH TRAINING FOR EVERY ATHLETE AT EVERY AGE
BY EOIN EVERARD With just one or two sessions per week, you can live a longer, more fulfilling life thanks to strength or Pilates training. In order to live longer, healthier lives free from illness and damage, people are always looking for ways to slow down the aging process. According to experts, strength training is …
Up to 43% of people don’t have a pension
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR As you read this Pensions Awareness Week (PAW) is just over . It is an initiative held annually in September to raise awareness in Ireland about retirement planning, and help people take charge of their long-term savings. In conjunction with the week, PAW commissioned a new survey on peoples attitude …
The white haired boy
Part 2 They roared into the yard, and after much shouting and bawling, the Tans went in to their mess {cookhouse} for some grub. He heard much roaring talk of a ‘treacherous b*****d’ ‘traitor’, and ‘turncoat’. Also a snarled ‘leave ‘im there to bloody snuff it.’ Steve, always on the lookout for a chance, and …
Natural solutions for anxiety in young children
BY CLAIR WHITTY Natural solutions to help children deal with anxiety, constipation, or nightmares are just some of the questions I get asked at the shop on a daily basis. Unfortunately, there are lots of young children who are experiencing anxiety, especially around school, and thankfully there is help available. Depending on their age, there’s …
Energy: are we powerless against providers?
AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON Is all this gloom and doom about energy poverty and soaring cost of living getting you down? It did me at first: I imagined myself watching that gizmo in the electricity meter going round and round as I tried to discover which appliance was treacherously clocking up my bill …
Energy spent on getting underpants in a twist
THE FACT OF THE MATTER PAUL HOPKINS It hasn’t gone away, you know. Covid-19. But this time around it won’t be the coronavirus that will be making the breaking news. Although the men and women in white coats are warning of another tough few months when the virus could reappear as another variant, or the …
A plain man’s guide to switching bank accounts
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR As part of its ongoing work to supervise the withdrawal of Ulster Bank and KBC Bank from the Irish market, the Central Bank recently published a report showing the trends in account closures and openings. The data shows a total of 292,996 accounts have been closed by customers in Ulster …
The trans debate: the trouble with pronouns
AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON How can someone get suspended from their job just because of a four- letter word? No, it wasn’t one of those words but the apparently inoffensive third person plural pronoun ‘they’. The matter didn’t end there but continued in a row which led to contempt of court proceedings and …
