Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Tom Hayes, has announced the 200 community food projects sharing €92,000 in grants from the GIY Get Ireland Growing Fund in association with AIB. They include gardening initiatives in Bray, Clonakilty and Sligo. “Smaller scale horticultural units, be they commercial, community or just individual gardeners, make a vital contribution to our economic and social well being,” said Minister Hayes at the launch. “They can play a vital role in supplying top quality produce to high value niche or local markets.”
Tesco looks set scrap plans for a new Express store at a former pub in Belfast's university area, according to the Belfast Telegraph. It has also shelved a further two planned for Armagh and Carryduff.
The Irish Farmers Association has told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine that below-cost selling is leading to an ever more difficult market for the Irish horticulture sector. In response, the Joint Committee expressed support for stricter rules to deal with this practice.
Spanish beer Estrella Damm has arrived in Ireland, launching with a Barcelona themed tapas night last week in Dublin. Molson Coors, which is supplying the brand here, has also gluten-free Daura Damm along with Inedit Damm to the Irish market.
Executive director of Penneys, and chair of the Labour Relations Commission, Breege O’Donoghue has criticised the use of low-hour employment contracts, claiming they create uncertainty for workers, according to The Irish Times. “It is important that all members of staff are able to plan their hours, plan their budgets and work accordingly. It’s a very important facet,” she told the paper.
Two men have been jailed after robbing a Dublin Lidl store of nearly €25,000, armed with an axe, a knife and a gun, while wearing balaclavas, the Sunday World reported. Michael Coleman (34), Michael Sweeney (32) pleased guilty to the 2013 robbery, but a third man, Waymon Sweeney did not return after a recess and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Alister Musgrave, of the Musgrave retail family, has assembled a team of investors to support CompareAsia, a business he founded alongside Austrian businessman Gerald Eder, the Sunday Independent has reported. The business is likened to a ‘money supermarket’, and Musgrave has been working on the project for approximately 18 months, the paper reported.
Cracker firm Carr’s has launched a new range of Lunchtime Crispbreads and Flatbreads. The range includes Carr’s Lunchtime Crispbreads available in Chive, Mixed Seed and Mixed Grain and Carr’s Lunchtime Flatbreads available in Salt & Cracked Pepper, Multi Grain and Mixed Seed, both of which are priced at €2.29.
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