Opinion

AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON It’s an odd feeling when you are understanding something to mean one thing and others think that its meaning is quite different. The reduction of the VAT rate for restaurants and cafes from 13.5% to 9% in Budget 26 is a case in point. Call me innocent, but …

THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS Just five per cent of Irish business leaders think that forcing workers to return to offices will strengthen their teams. The finding comes amid a continuing push by some companies to restrict working-from-home policies, five years after the Covid pandemic upended the working model of many businesses. …

BY CLAIR WHITTY Are you craving sugar and carbs or have been told that your pre-diabetic? It’s not the best news to get, but many of you can turn it around, maybe even preventing you from going on medication, just by making dietary and lifestyle changes. Your first step will be to take a look …

BY JOHN FITZGERALD The fictional Dr. Doolittle had the power to talk to the animals. Pure fantasy of course. And the mythical Pied Piper of Hamelin could compel the rats to leave an infested medieval town. But in Callan we had a man who could well be described as Doolittle and the Pied Piper rolled …

CHOICES SHAPE YOUR FUTURE By Judith Ashton My 34year old son said to me recently, “I think we were the last generation of kids to run free in the countryside….”, He had a good point. We live near the River Nore and when my lads and their pals were at National school, they would go …

BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR Last week we reviewed the Budget’s emphasis on fiscal restraint and “strategic priorities” over expansive relief measures. We saw that expenditure will rise by €9.4 billion to €117 billion including plans to offer modest increases to certain sectors of society, such as €10 weekly to core payments like State pensions …

FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran Savour Kilkenny Food Festival, which is getting bigger and better with each passing year, is upon us and I heartily compliment all involved in its planning and presentations. Thank you. The festival really brings the Parade alive and creates a vibrant, colourful, almost carnival-like ambience in our medieval city. With the …

AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON The Presidential race has been a bit like that song: There were 10 green bottles hanging on the wall. What started out with a row of colourful possibilities, some welcome Bob Geldolf to Michael Flatley, others less so Conor McGregor and yer wan with the tasteless handbag, Maria …

BY JOHN FITZGERALD (Part two) Last week, I recalled how Sean Holden of Callan observed bees disinfecting themselves to comply with Foot and Mouth Disease restrictions…, On a more serious note…the farmers and their families affected, as well as any farm employees on the site of an outbreak had to be quarantined. Little red flags …

BY CLAIR WHITTY Are you looking for something to help your focus? How many times have you heard, seen, or read something, and five minutes later you can’t recall it? It happens a lot for me. I return to the scene of where I first had the thought and it usually comes back to me. …