Latest news with #MacCarthy
Business Post
17-05-2025
- Business
- Business Post
Recruitroo targets €2.5m to expand global hiring platform
Recruitroo, a Dublin-based HR tech company, aims to raise €2.5 million in its next funding round, which it expects to close later this year. The company, which also has an office in Cork city, was founded by Shane Kiernan and Stephen MacCarthy in 2022. The core focus of the business, which has 12 staff and has raised €1 million to date, is helping its clients hire and manage staff from outside of the European Union. 'We basically built a software platform to make it easier for companies and candidates to connect around the world. That allows them to go through a recruitment process on the platform, covering technical assessments, interviews and contract offers,' MacCarthy said. 'In the process of that, we collect a huge amount of data on the candidate and the company. We then collect the last bits necessary to process what is needed for their immigration requirements.' MacCarthy first developed the idea while in the Ignite centre in UCC. He was working on an interview simulator for students and then repurposed the platform to help founders assess talent abroad. In the process of that, he met Kiernan who had several colleagues in the construction sector that were struggling to staff their sites. That led to the duo coming together to repurpose the software again to develop Recruitroo. 'In the process of doing the assessment and recruitment side of the platform, we found that doing the visa processing was one of the big pain points that needed addressing,' MacCarthy said. Kiernan had been through the visa process on a personal level, sorting out his partner's visa during the pandemic. He found the cost involved was onerous and felt there had to be an easier approach. 'There's been a huge growth across Ireland and the UK in demand for these workers. With Stephen, I felt we could find a way to create an offering that provided a compelling price point to customers,' he said. 'We're really growing fast. In first quarter of this year alone, we did as much as the entirety of last year.' The business recently made its first hire in the UK and is being supported by Enterprise Ireland as it seeks to expand. 'They have provided support to help us map what types of clients are good for us in a territory. On top of that, there are grants to provide further development including to our website,' Kiernan said. The funding round targeted for later this year is aimed at helping the business expand rapidly as it is forecasting substantial demand for its services. 'The UK is going to be a huge market for us. This year is about doubling down on Ireland and taking what we've built here and growing in the UK. Our projection for this year is €1 million in revenue, then €4 million next year and €10 million the year after that,' Kiernan said. 'The funding is a stepping stone for us to expand our presence in other jurisdictions because there's a lot of demand out there.'
Irish Examiner
15-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Cork Airport in direct competition with Shannon as new passengers on radar
Attracting passenger traffic from outside the county is crucial to the future of Cork Airport to reach ambitious plans to reach 5m passengers, with Ireland's southern air gateway now in direct competition with Shannon for business, managing director Niall MacCarthy said. The airport attracted 3.1m passengers in 2024 and is predicting growth to 3.4m passengers this year, with plans to grow to 5m. Cork Airport is now pushing beyond its traditional customer base, Mr MacCarthy said, with high volumes coming from Kerry, Waterford, and south Tipperary crucial revenue streams. 'Cork could not support an airport on its own. If we were just a one-county airport, we'll forever be small,' Mr MacCarthy said. 'We need traffic all the way up to south Kilkenny and Wexford to be able to go to airlines and say there's a viable hinterland here.' Shannon Airport attracted 2.1m passengers in 2024, its highest number of passengers in 15 years and a 7% increase on 2023. Shannon Airport Group invested €8m in the mid-west airport in 2024, and has announced plans for a further €30m investment, including a €3m solar PV farm, a €2.5m building thermal wrap, extended boarding gates, upgraded immigration and baggage hauls and 1,000 new car park spaces. Earlier this month, the €200m Cork Airport Development Plan was unveiled, with a new terminal mezzanine floor; new security screening, boarding gates, executive lounges; airbridges, duty-free shop, and a 1.7Mw solar farm. The old terminal and control tower buildings will be replaced with a new pier and additional aircraft parking stands. KSG's Cillian Cashman, Liam Noone, and Monique Egan with DAA chie executive Kenny Jacobs, Cork Airport managing director Niall MacCarthy, and deputy managing director Roy O'Driscoll at the official reopening of the Craft restaurant and bar at Cork Airport. Mr MacCarthy said the two regional airports are now vying for the same traffic. 'Cork is now by far the State's second biggest airport, and we're Munster's biggest. Our hinterland overlaps, so there's a lot of competition in the airport business,' said Mr MacCarthy. 'For inbound and outbound, if you live in Kerry, you can fly from Kerry Airport to Spain or to the UK, you can fly from Cork, Shannon, or Dublin. If you were in north Tipperary, you probably five options, with Knock as well. So absolutely, we are in competition with Shannon. Competition is healthy because it keeps everyone on their game. If we didn't offer a friendly service with a clean terminal with short wait times and relatively cheap parking, we'd be out of business." Cork Airport management have made a submission to government to safeguard land for a Luas spur going from the city to the airport. In the meantime, Mr MacCarthy said that for Cork Airport to attract the passengers from the regions, better connectivity is crucial. 'We'd love a Killarney bus service to be stopping off at Cork Airport. We'd love a Kilkenny service stopping off, and a Waterford service,' he said. DAA chief executive Kenny Jacobs noted Dublin is connected to every single county in the country while Cork Airport has just three bus routes. 'We need more bus routes, and even the bus that comes from Kinsale is full by the time it's a few stops away. So definitely, we need more bus connectivity while we're waiting for the Luas.' This week, the newly refurbished Craft airside bar and restaurant was officially opened at Cork Airport by Mr Jacobs, Mr MacCarthy, and KSG chief executive, Michael Gleeson, with seating extended and a more extensive menu with a focus on local produce.
Irish Examiner
05-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Cork Airport to make a formal Government submission seeking LUAS connection
Management at Cork Airport will formally make a submission to the Government this week to 'safeguard' land for a connecting light rail transport spur to the city. Cork Airport managing director Niall MacCarthy told the Irish Examiner that the regional hub needs better connectivity as it undergoes a €200m expansion over the next decade. Mr MacCarthy said it is crucial that a Luas connection is added to existing plans for Cork's light railway network. 'We are supporters of the Cork Luas and love the east-west route, but we will be submitting a paper to Government, as part of the consultation, that there should be safeguarding for a spur out to the airport. 'We'll be saying: 'You need to mark out a plot now', such that you'll have a future route to the airport from that east-west Luas. Because nobody will forgive us in 20 years' time if there is no Luas spur to the airport.' Cork Airport is Ireland's fastest-growing airport and will serve 3.4m passengers this year, having grown its passenger base by over 50% in the last decade. The airport is forecast to see passenger numbers growing to 5m in a few years, DAA said. While Mr MacCarthy envisages plans for a Luas to the airport in the future, he said the facility badly needs a better public transport service immediately. 'We believe we're inadequately served by public transport,' he said. 'We're big fans of Bus Éireann, but we would like 24-hour services. Our busiest time in the morning is 6am. Those people are coming to the airport at 4am or 4.30am. 'There's no bus services, so therefore we'd like 24-hour service from Parnell Place up to the airport. I think that would be well used by staff and passengers for late flights and early flights. The Bus Éireann 226 and 225 are great services, but there is scope to give us more services. 'We'd also like better regional connectivity from the regions. We'd love a Killarney service to be stopping off at Cork Airport after it goes into the city. We'd love a Kilkenny service stopping off, and a Waterford service. We'd like those buses after they come to the city to come up to the airport. Because we've no vested interest in cars, we want people as much as possible to use public transport.' Meanwhile, DAA chief executive Kenny Jacobs said a Cork-Dublin air route is 'always possible'. The route was last served in 2011, and in the previous decade was served by both Ryanair and Aer Arann. Niall MacCarthy: 'We'd love a Killarney service to be stopping off at Cork Airport after it goes into the city. We'd love a Kilkenny service stopping off, and a Waterford service.' 'It's always possible, you know, nothing's ever gone for good,' said Mr Jacobs. 'What kind of killed it was too much capacity and too big aircraft. An ATR aircraft, a smaller aircraft similar to that serving Cork-Glasgow by Emerald Airlines, could do it. And there is a type of business user in particular who would use it. I can absolutely see it coming back. 'Look, it comes down to the airline that wants to do it. The road to Dublin is good, the train is good. But as the city grows, I could see it coming back as a form of transportation between Cork and Dublin.' Kenny Jacobs, Chief Executive of DAA said a Cork-Dublin air route is 'always possible'. Investment of €200m at the airport was announced at the weekend, with investment in passenger facilities, including a new mezzanine floor in the terminal which will begin after the summer; a new security screening area; a new and larger duty-free shop; enhanced executive lounge facilities; new airbridges; a long-term car park extension; new boarding gates; airside equipment enhancements; and a 1.7Mw solar farm over the existing Holiday Blue car park. The ambitious programme will conclude with the demolition and replacement of the old terminal and control tower, with a new pier and extra aircraft parking stands to significantly increase overall airside capacity.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
UK's rarest wildlife being 'pushed to extinction' by grass fires
Some of the UK's rarest wildlife is being "torched alive" and pushed closer to extinction after weeks of intense grass fires, conservationists have warned. They include endangered birds like hen harriers and water voles, which are now the UK's fastest declining mammal. The National Trust said it believed ongoing wildfires at Abergwesyn common in Powys had destroyed "the last remaining" local breeding habitat for golden plovers - considered one of the most beautiful birds of the British uplands. So far this year 110 sq miles (284 sq km) of land has been burnt by wildfires around the UK - an area larger than Birmingham. Wildfire home scare has owners fearing about future Some wildlife may not return after recurring fires Aerial images show land devastated by wildfire Figures obtained by the BBC show that in Wales, fire crews have battled almost 1,400 wildfires already this year, leading fire services to urge people to "act responsibly" and report any suspicious behaviour to the police. The National Trust said 2025 was "turning out to be the worst year ever for these human-caused fires across the country". "We're extremely worried, this is looking like it's going to be the worst year for seeing our wildlife going up in flames," said Ben MacCarthy, the charity's head of nature conservation. A record dry spell and unusually high temperatures in March are believed to have contributed to the fires. A low number of blazes in 2024 also left more vegetation to fuel them. Coed Cadw, the Woodland Trust in Wales, said an "irreplaceable" area of temperate Atlantic rainforest had been affected at Allt Boeth near Aberystwyth, with damage to protected bluebells too. Also known as Celtic rainforest, the habitat harbours scarce plants, lichens and fungi, and is considered more threatened than tropical rainforest. In England, the National Trust said several thousand newly planted trees at Marsden Moor, in West Yorkshire, had gone up in flames. While on the Morne Mountains, in Northern Ireland, invertebrates and ground dwelling animals like reptiles were "simply being torched alive". "That then cascades through the food web because without the invertebrates you don't get the birds who are reliant on them for food," Mr MacCarthy said. He said government funding to help farmers and land managers restore peat bogs in the uplands, to prevent fires while also soaking in planet-warming carbon and providing habitat, was essential. Conservation charities including The Wildlife Trusts and the Initiative for Nature Conservation Cymru (INCC) also voiced fears for the future of the water vole, which is already under serious threat from habitat loss and predation by American minks. Small animals like water voles and shrews, which live in burrows, can survive fast-moving fires but their habitats and the food they rely on are destroyed. Water voles are "the fastest-declining mammal ever" according to Rob Parry of the INCC. "Their last foothold [in Wales] is in the uplands so when those sites are burned it is awful for that particular population, but from a UK point of view we are one step closer to the extinction of an entire species," he said. The INCC is also monitoring five breeding pairs of barn owls in the Amman Valley in south Wales, where wildfires have destroyed huge areas of habitat. "A few weeks ago they had all of this area to find food for their chicks and suddenly they don't have that any more," said Mr Parry. "I don't know how they are going to cope. A wildfire just makes that habitat disappear overnight." Other rare birds are also affected, including hen harriers, which have been subject to recent conservation efforts to increase their numbers in the Welsh uplands, and skylarks, which have declined in huge numbers since the 1970s. "We're worried enough as it is about wildlife," said Mr Parry. "We're one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and wildfires every spring at the worst possible time is a burden that wildlife and the environment just can't cope with." The INCC has called for closer oversight of controlled burns by farmers and better monitoring of the impact of wildfires on the environment. Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said wildfires were a "massive issue", particularly in south Wales, where Welsh government figures showed more than half of wildfires in Wales took place last year. Becky Davies, a senior officer at NRW, said: "In the last three days we've had over 75 fires in the south Wales valleys alone. "We have a lot of hillsides that are linear, the valley side has a lot of bracken, a lot of heathland, grassland and coal spoil and that is the sort of hillside that goes up in flames." The environmental impact of wildfires can also be felt more widely. When it rains after a fire, the newly bare soil and the phosphates that were trapped inside it can wash off into streams and rivers, affecting water quality. Numbers of wildfires vary year-on-year depending on when spells of dry weather happen. But figures obtained by the BBC show that in south Wales, grassfires have increased by 1,200% from the same time period last year. In north Wales, crews have attended 170 fires this year, and Mid Wales Fire and Rescue said it had tackled 772 blazes. Wildfires are also up in England and Northern Ireland compared to last year, while the fire service in Scotland has issued an extreme wildfire alert covering the whole country. Statistics show the majority of wildfires are started by people, including accidental fires from disposable BBQs or controlled burns that get out of hand. In south Wales, firefighters are going to primary schools to teach children from a young age about the devastating impact. At Pontnewydd Primary School in Cwmbran, staff from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service and Gwent Police brought along animals like snakes, hedgehogs and foxes for children to meet. Station manager Mark Bowditch said his crews saw the damage to wildlife from wildfires first-hand. "We see the death of local wildlife, we see the destruction of their habitat," he said. "We accept that some fires can be accidental, but deliberate fire setting is a crime and that's the message we'd like to get out." Additional reporting by Dylan Greene. Huge Welsh wildfires filmed from the air Hikers 'devastated' over Mourne Mountains wildfires Crews 'on their knees' as fire rages for third day
BBC News
15-04-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Wildfires pushing rare wildlife to extinction, say conservationists
Some of the UK's rarest wildlife is being "torched alive" and pushed closer to extinction after weeks of intense grass fires, conservationists have include endangered birds like hen harriers and water voles, which are now the UK's fastest declining National Trust said it believed ongoing wildfires at Abergwesyn common in Powys had destroyed "the last remaining" local breeding habitat for golden plovers - considered one of the most beautiful birds of the British far this year 110 sq miles (284 sq km) of land has been burnt by wildfires around the UK - an area larger than Birmingham. Figures obtained by the BBC show that in Wales, fire crews have battled almost 1,400 wildfires already this year, leading fire services to urge people to "act responsibly" and report any suspicious behaviour to the National Trust said 2025 was "turning out to be the worst year ever for these human-caused fires across the country"."We're extremely worried, this is looking like it's going to be the worst year for seeing our wildlife going up in flames," said Ben MacCarthy, the charity's head of nature conservation.A record dry spell and unusually high temperatures in March are believed to have contributed to the fires. A low number of blazes in 2024 also left more vegetation to fuel them. Coed Cadw, the Woodland Trust in Wales, said an "irreplaceable" area of temperate Atlantic rainforest had been affected at Allt Boeth near Aberystwyth, with damage to protected bluebells known as Celtic rainforest, the habitat harbours scarce plants, lichens and fungi, and is considered more threatened than tropical England, the National Trust said several thousand newly planted trees at Marsden Moor, in West Yorkshire, had gone up in on the Morne Mountains, in Northern Ireland, invertebrates and ground dwelling animals like reptiles were "simply being torched alive"."That then cascades through the food web because without the invertebrates you don't get the birds who are reliant on them for food," Mr MacCarthy said government funding to help farmers and land managers restore peat bogs in the uplands, to prevent fires while also soaking in planet-warming carbon and providing habitat, was essential. Conservation charities including The Wildlife Trusts and the Initiative for Nature Conservation Cymru (INCC) also voiced fears for the future of the water vole, which is already under serious threat from habitat loss and predation by American animals like water voles and shrews, which live in burrows, can survive fast-moving fires but their habitats and the food they rely on are voles are "the fastest-declining mammal ever" according to Rob Parry of the INCC."Their last foothold [in Wales] is in the uplands so when those sites are burned it is awful for that particular population, but from a UK point of view we are one step closer to the extinction of an entire species," he said. The INCC is also monitoring five breeding pairs of barn owls in the Amman Valley in south Wales, where wildfires have destroyed huge areas of habitat. "A few weeks ago they had all of this area to find food for their chicks and suddenly they don't have that any more," said Mr Parry."I don't know how they are going to cope. A wildfire just makes that habitat disappear overnight."Other rare birds are also affected, including hen harriers, which have been subject to recent conservation efforts to increase their numbers in the Welsh uplands, and skylarks, which have declined in huge numbers since the 1970s."We're worried enough as it is about wildlife," said Mr Parry."We're one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and wildfires every spring at the worst possible time is a burden that wildlife and the environment just can't cope with." The INCC has called for closer oversight of controlled burns by farmers and better monitoring of the impact of wildfires on the Resources Wales (NRW) said wildfires were a "massive issue", particularly in south Wales, where Welsh government figures showed more than half of wildfires in Wales took place last Davies, a senior officer at NRW, said: "In the last three days we've had over 75 fires in the south Wales valleys alone."We have a lot of hillsides that are linear, the valley side has a lot of bracken, a lot of heathland, grassland and coal spoil and that is the sort of hillside that goes up in flames."The environmental impact of wildfires can also be felt more it rains after a fire, the newly bare soil and the phosphates that were trapped inside it can wash off into streams and rivers, affecting water quality. 'Deliberate fire setting is a crime' Numbers of wildfires vary year-on-year depending on when spells of dry weather figures obtained by the BBC show that in south Wales, grassfires have increased by 1,200% from the same time period last north Wales, crews have attended 170 fires this year, and Mid Wales Fire and Rescue said it had tackled 772 are also up in England and Northern Ireland compared to last year, while the fire service in Scotland has issued an extreme wildfire alert covering the whole show the majority of wildfires are started by people, including accidental fires from disposable BBQs or controlled burns that get out of hand. In south Wales, firefighters are going to primary schools to teach children from a young age about the devastating Pontnewydd Primary School in Cwmbran, staff from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service and Gwent Police brought along animals like snakes, hedgehogs and foxes for children to manager Mark Bowditch said his crews saw the damage to wildlife from wildfires first-hand."We see the death of local wildlife, we see the destruction of their habitat," he said."We accept that some fires can be accidental, but deliberate fire setting is a crime and that's the message we'd like to get out." Additional reporting by Dylan Greene.
