Latest news with #FoodCloud
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
ECB set for fresh interest rate cut
The European Central Bank (ECB) is widely expected to cut interest rates once more today, but will the cuts keep coming? That is perhaps the question everyone is trying to answer for now. Eoin Burke-Kennedy reports. UCD netted €42.83 million from its on-campus student accommodation blocks, the largest such income across higher education institutions in the country. While down slightly from the €43.98 million revenue the university made in 2023, the accommodation income helped the university record a €34.5 million surplus for the year ending September 30th, 2024. Hugh Dooley read the accounts. A partnership between AIB and non-profit FoodCloud has helped to redistribute 15,000 tonnes of food, saving it from becoming waste. Hugh reports. Ryanair Holdings chief executive Michael O'Leary sold almost €21 million worth of shares in the airline group, personally and through his pension scheme this week, stock exchange statements show. The carrier, Europe's largest, recently reported that profits slipped 16 per cent to €1.61 billion in the 12 months to March 31st while it flew a record 200.2 million passengers. Barry O'Halloran has the story. READ MORE A scientist living with 'debilitating' endometriosis has accused international medical devices firm Abbott of discriminating against her by refusing to let her work from home to ease a daily commute of nearly four hours. Stephen Bourke has the details. If you travelled to the west coast of the United States in recent months there is a good chance you saw, if not sat in, a self driving car. As Emmet Ryan writes though, it will be a while before you see such a sight in Europe. Communications watchdog ComReg is stepping up its battle against scammers with the launch of a text registration system. As Conor Pope writes, this is aimed at making it more difficult for criminals to piggy back on legitimate operators and send convincing spam messages to consumers. Donald Trump's second term in the White House has seen markets go through a period of extreme volatility, something that has worried many Irish pension holders. How should they react? Should they react at all? And what is the outlook for the rest of this year? Munro O'Dwyer is a partner at PwC Ireland and joins host Cliff Taylor in studio to discuss managing your pension in volatile times. Cantillon looks over Holland & Barrett's Irish accounts , typo and all, while also assessing why the ECB is widely expected to cut interest rates today. Ireland and New Zealand are both island nations almost entirely reliant on air travel for connectivity. So how have New Zealand managed to get their emissions down? Neil Briscoe looks at what lessons Ireland can learn from the land of the long white cloud. Sarah Friar is the CFO of OpenAI and one of the most prominent female executives in Silicon Valley. She's also a native of Sion Mills in Co Tyrone. She spoke to Ciara O'Brien. Ciara also reviews the Carluex Pro+ which can turn your car into a full entertainment hub. If you'd like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money , the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
AIB-FoodCloud partnership has prevented 15,000 tonnes of food from going to waste
A partnership between AIB and the FoodCloud charity has helped to redistribute 15,000 tonnes of food, preventing it from becoming waste. FoodCloud, which tackles food waste and food insecurity by giving surplus food to charities and community groups, joined with AIB for a new community meals programme last year. In its first 12 months, the programme has served more than 5,000 ready-to-eat meals to people in need. Aoibheann O'Brien, FoodCloud co-founder and director of development, described the initiative as 'a powerful evolution of our mission to ensure no good food goes to waste'. READ MORE 'With AIB's support, we're reaching more charities and community groups across Ireland at a time when food insecurity is growing as the cost of living continues to rise,' she said. The non-profit said that adding prepared meals to its redistribution network had increased the impact of the programme by enabling charities with limited cooking capacity to benefit from the scheme. FoodCloud worked with suppliers such as Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Musgrave Group and BWG Foods to prevent 2,558 tonnes of food going to waste last year. A total of 2,147 tonnes of food was redistributed the year prior. Cumulatively the scheme has prevented more than 15,000 tonnes of food from going to waste. A survey of its 209 charity partners showed that 94 per cent found that the surplus food allowed them to support more people. And 74 per cent said it allowed them to offer more services, a 5 per cent increase on the year before. As many as 70 per cent of FoodCloud's partnered charities said they used all the surplus food. FoodCloud said the partnership between itself and AIB has overall helped redistribute 15,162 tonnes of food. The figure is the equivalent of feeding the population of Ireland nearly seven times, preventing about 50,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. AIB corporate affairs director Barry Field said the company was proud to support the AIB FoodCloud Community Meals Programme, which he said aligned with the company's 'commitment to fostering sustainable communities and reducing food waste'. He said: 'By collaborating with FoodCloud, we are helping to ensure that surplus food reaches those who need it most.' Mr Field also commended volunteers who contributed to the programme.
Irish Independent
02-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Wexford's 1798 rebellion centre to install new lift after receiving over €86,000 in funding
Funding for over 120 social enterprises throughout Ireland was announced at the Food Cloud distribution centre in Tallaght on Tuesday, May 20. This award will fund a new lift in the 1798 Centre, replacing one that has been breaking down regularly and for which parts are no longer available. The manager of the National 1798 Rebellion Centre, Mico Hassett, was invited to make a short speech at the announcement, explaining the importance of the award to the Centre. 'We deeply feel that history should be accessible by all and we are actively upgrading our exhibition to improve legibility, increase font sizes, and modernise our technology to be more accessible. Every young person, every older person, every group, should be able to have the same experience when visiting us. Museums, heritage sites and cultural attractions should be as fully accessible as possible." "We are very grateful for the support of the DAF Growing Social Enterprise Scheme in helping us strive for this and for committing to accessibility and inclusivity,' he added. The centre extended thanks to everyone involved in making this funding possible, especially Minister Calleary and Minister Buttimer. They look forward to improving our visitor experience with this important piece of equipment. The National 1798 Rebellion Centre is open to visitors seven days a week from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 12 p.m to 5 p.m. on Weekends and Bank Holidays for self-guided tours of the award-winning exhibition. They are happy to provide pre-booked, group guided tours of the 1798 Centre, Enniscorthy Castle and Vinegar Hill Battlefield.
Irish Examiner
20-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Government pledges increased support for social enterprises amid rising demand
An additional €2m invested in social enterprises this year needs to be increased in order to keep up with demand, a Government minister has said. Minister for Rural and Community Development Dara Calleary said work is needed over the next four years to increase investment in the sector, but he is confident it can be done. Mr Calleary made the comments as he announced an investment of almost €4m in 125 social enterprises across the country as part of the Growing Social Enterprise Scheme announced last year. "In recognition of the huge demand for this scheme, we have allocated an additional €2m this year but there are still disappointed people and we are very much aware of that," Mr Calleary said. "We will continue to work to increase investment in this sector over the course of the next four years." Any ramping up of investment will be subject to discussion with the department of public expenditure but the minister, Jack Chambers, understands the value of the work of social enterprises. "I am pretty sure I'm pushing an open door there with Minister Chambers," said Mr Calleary. The funding announcement was made at FoodCloud in Tallaght which is to receive €97,000 to purchase refrigerated vehicles to safely deliver food to community and voluntary organisations. Mr Calleary said FoodCloud is an example of social enterprise at its best, creating a solution to tackle the major issues of food waste and food poverty while expanding its reach globally. Social enterprises bridge the gap between public and private services and can have a "transformational impact", said CEO and founder of Sensational Kids, Karen Leigh. Speaking at the event, Ms Leigh spoke of two parents she encountered at an event last year, both of whom had children who had additional needs and were non-verbal. The first child was able to access services at Sensational Kids at a young age and is now fully verbal and set to start in a mainstream secondary school "completely independent". The second, an 'almost identical' child, was unable to access services, remains non-verbal, and his mother is fighting for a secondary school place for him. "He had gotten four speech and language therapy sessions over the course of his life from the HSE and she had recently been sent on a webinar," Ms Leigh said. "And that is the difference." This, Ms Leigh said, demonstrates the power of social enterprise and the transformational difference that can be made when organisations are properly funded and given the freedom to deliver services. One of the challenges facing social enterprises is financial stability as they grow and there is a continuous need for ongoing funding, Ms Leigh said. The funding announced on Tuesday, which is supported by the Dormant Accounts Fund, will see 83 enterprises receive funding up to €15,000 and a further 42 will get funding of between €15,000 and €100,000. Almost €178,000 will go to social enterprises in Cork including €78,000 for creative hub Benchspace and €14,000 for Mitchelstown Community Centre. The Dormant Accounts Fund is based on monies in bank accounts that have not been active in over 15 years. Read More Deis plan to emphasise retention of students up to Leaving Cert and beyond
