Paul Hopkins

The Fact OfThe Matter

PAUL HOPKINS PAUL HOPKINS Ah, grasshopper, and the drop of port at Christmas

MY psychologist friend from Magherafelt has invited me around to his place on Christmas morning. He says his good lady is trying out some new hors d’oeuvres with the port and Prosecco.

Dried grasshoppers and dried yellow mealworm — larva from the Tenebrio Molitor beetle to you and me.

I kid you not. e grasshoppers are the second ‘novel food’ to be approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) which gave the green light earlier this year to your everyday dried yellow mealworm. e watchdog says so-called ‘migratory locusts’ — Locusta migratoria, or grasshoppers — can now be eaten in frozen, dried or powdered form. e legs and wings, I gather, are removed in the frozen and dried varieties. e EFSA says the insects have a high protein content and are “safe under the proposed uses and use levels”.

However, my psychologist friend says I might want to pass on the grasshoppers on Christmas morning if I am allergic to crustaceans, dust mites and molluscs — or if I’m gluten intolerant.

Hmmm...

Europe made the announcement following an application by Dutch rm Fair Insects BV, with its parent company Protix saying the ‘new snacks’ are “a promising ingredient to achieving a circular food system in balance with nature”. Protix also manufactures crickets, mealworm and ies as snacks for us humans.

“It is up to consumers to decide whether they want to eat insects or not,” the Commission says. “Insects as an alternate source of protein is not new and they are regularly eaten in many parts of the world.”

Apparently, the global edible insects market was estimated at close to €873 million last year. Well, you live and learn, I say. e irony is not lost on me that the new snack foods come in the same week that a UN report tells us that more than one billion people, one in seven of the world’s population, are starving and that we in the First World annually waste a staggering one third of all food purchased.

And another thing: we think nothing of eating veal or venison, pheasant or partridge, rabbit or rooster — indeed, anything that once was a breathing entity and mam or dad to a couple of kids. Anything but, eh, dried grasshoppers ...

I remember as a teenager going to the art-house cinema to see a movie called Mondo Bizarro — about bizarre goings-on in a bizarre world — and seeing people dining at a long table somewhere in Morocco or Algiers. To the right of each person sat at the table was a small monkey strapped into a neck brace. Still alive, until their would-be consumer caved in their skulls with a large nutcracker and scooped out their still-warm brains and gobbled the lot down. With ne’er a hiccup. ere’s no accounting for taste.

I have never eaten monkey’s brains, nor have I any desire to do so. Sheep’s yes, and I have eaten my fair share of other animals in time. I have eaten, while travelling, lion, crocodile (excellent), warthog (wonderful), kudu, ostrich and bu alo. Frogs, snails, the aforementioned cicada, dung beetle and honeypot ants. Flying ants roasted with salt and lime and mopping worms which are dearer than beef in some places. Oh, and praying mantis. I never saw the little green guy pray so hard as I plucked him from his bush in Zimbabwe once and sent him straight down the hatch. It was for a dare and I have lived with the guilt.

Speaking of Christmas, reindeer is one of the leanest meats and compares favourably with sh when it comes to omega-3 and essential fatty

‘Reindeer is one of the leanest meats ... ”

acids.

“Reindeer meat is very healthy,” Ammar Eltayeb Ali Hassan, a PhD candidate at the University of Trams in Norway, tells me in an email. “It contains more than double the values of some nutrients than other meats, and is comparable to chicken in fat.”

I guess when it comes to food and individual tastes, it’s horses (sorry!) for courses. Despite all the culinary delights I have downed down the years, at the end of the day it’s hard to beat a good old smoked cod and chips — straight out of the bag. No dried grasshopper would keep me from that little post-pub indulgence.

Meanwhile, I think I just might give my psychologist’s house a miss on Christmas morning. I was never a big fan of his good lady, and, anyways, I prefer a packet of ‘salt ‘n’ vinegar’ with my drop of port...

MacDonagh Junction Shopping Centre appeal

MacDonagh Junction Shopping Centre’s annual toy appeal is back! e annual campaign sees the Centre team up with local charities Newpark Family Resource Centre, Amber Women’s Refuge and Kilkenny Helping the Homeless to provide toys to families in need to enable them to fully enjoy the magic of Christmas! Donations (big and small!) are now being accepted in MacDonagh Junction Shopping Centre, simply drop o your gifts at the Customer Service Desk. Food donations for St Vincent de Paul are also being accepted, contributions can be left in the donation trolley outside Dunnes Stores. ank you for your support this Christmas.

Trinity Merchants

– reader’s preferred merchant of the year

TRINITY MERCHANTS LTD topped the polls as Readers Preferred Merchant of the Year. e Campaign for this award was run across Plumbing & Heating Magazine Irelands social media platforms, where their readers gave top marks to Trinity across the board for their customer service, technical knowledge and extensive product range. Trinity Merchants was set up with the aim of giving customers the best service and product range at

the keenest prices, the company originated out of the idea that, transparent pricing, customer service and product quality are the three most important factors in gaining the trust of Trades and Public alike - whilst delivering excellent customer satisfaction, delivering top class service and meeting client’s expectations.

Trinity Merchants opened its doors for the rst time just a few months before the initial lock down. e Company faced di cult challenges resulting from the almost complete shutdown of the sector and the following supply and logistical knock-on e ects it caused including the challenges of Brexit, all very trying times for any business let alone a edgling enterprise. is meant receiving such a prestigious award from the readers of Plumbing & Heating Magazine Ireland much appreciated and provided a much-needed lift in moral.

Trinity Merchants would like to thank all its customers for their much appreciated and valued business over the last two years - Business and support that was instrumental in us achieve this Award and we will continue to do our utmost to provide you with a 1st class service, quality Heating, Plumbing Tile and Bathrooms products in the future.

New aircraft training hangar at Waterford Airport

AN Enterprise Ireland client company, Atlantic Flight Training Academy @atlantic ight, headquartered at Cork airport, has announced the o cial opening of its new IAA approved aircraft maintenance hangar at its second Irish pilot training base at Waterford Airport.

Since 1995 AFTA has trained 2,300 graduates who are employed with the world’s leading airlines including, Ryanair, Aer Lingus, easyJet, British Airways, Air Astana, Turkish Airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Cathay Paci c and many more carriers.

AFTA’s new IAA approved aircraft maintenance hangar will service AFTA’s modern aircraft training eet, which includes the super-e cient, ergonomically designed, Diamond DA42NGs and Twin Stars, Piper PA34 Seneca and C172 eet. AFTA operate 24 aircraft, ve ight simulators and employs over 55 people. e addition of the enhanced maintenance facility will add extra high skill jobs for the Waterford region.

Speaking at Waterford Airport, the Minister of State with responsibility for Skills and Further Education, Niall Collins TD, said: “Atlantic Flight Training Academy’s new aircraft maintenance facility at Waterford airport is an investment in the future of Irish aviation outside of Dublin, providing the essential infrastructure to support the ever-growing pilot training academy and creating highly skilled jobs for aircraft engineers and pilot instructors.

“Making education and training available to people where they are, near to home so they don’t have to leave to learn or to get a job, is a key priority.”

Aidan Power, Waterford Airport Manager, said: “Atlantic Flight Training Academy has been utilising Waterford as a training airport for the past 24 years and in 2018 committed to a full-time operational base at the airport. During the last three years pilot training at Waterford has grown exponentially.”

AFTA Chief Executive O cer Mark Casey said: “Government support for our regional airport infrastructure is of utmost importance to aviation career development and the creation of highly skilled jobs which are decentralised from Dublin.”

Schools need help to get Covid filters into classes

SCHOOLS say they need more o cial support to decide on what Hepa lters they should buy to help tackle Covid in the classroom by cleaning the air. e country’s 4,000 schools will receive direct funding for their purchase, rather than making them available through a centralised Department of Education procurement process. e money will be paid through the annual minor works scheme, which is being expanded, and boosted to €62m in value to allow for investment on air ltration.

Primary and special education schools will share €45m, up 50pc from €30m last year, while post-primary schools, which are not normally covered by the minor works scheme, will receive a total of €17m.

Not every classroom may need a lter and the Department has issued general technical guidance on their use.

Filters vary widely and prices regularly quoted were of the order of €300-€500 per classroom, but Taoiseach Micheál Martin put a gure of between €1,500 and €1,800 on the air cleaners that schools would need.

While there was a general welcome for the increased funding, education representatives say schools don’t have the necessary expertise and are calling for supports to underpin the purchase of ltration equipment. e department will issue a further circular to schools this week and the education sector is waiting to see the detail of that. It is understood that it will advise schools to contact a local architect or engineer, if they have doubts about how to proceed.

Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) General Secretary John Boyle described the extra funding as “a step in the right direction” but said it was essential “that clear guidance is given to schools to enable this money to be put to good use in the new year”.

Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) CEO Páiric Clerkin said it was a welcome development but that primary schools were going to need a lot of support in terms of ensuring that it was managed e ectively and ef ciently.

He said schools would need to be able draw on relevant professionals to ensure that they were putting the right system in place.

Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) General Secretary Michael Gillespie also said it was crucial that the Department “provides access to expertise on ventilation and related issues so that schools can best use the resources available”.

He said no two schools were the same and even within particular schools, classroom spaces were not uniform in terms of size, shape, orientation and ventilation facilities.

Sinn Féin education spokesperson Donnchadh O Laoghaire said the Department had “dropped a Christmas present of additional administration on the desks of school leaders who are already under severe pressure”.

He said ltration would have been better centrally procured and “the least the Department could have done is provide clear support for principals on what to buy and where to buy it”. Labour education spokesperson Aodhán Ó Ríordáin welcomed the additional funding.

Students compete for Climate Award

STUDENTS from Kilkenny City Vocational School will hold their own SciFest STEM Fair with the chance of winning the EirGrid Climate and Delivering a Cleaner Energy Future Award.

EirGrid, the operator and developer of Ireland’s electricity grid has partnered with SciFest to create the climate and energy focused award for its SciFest@School programme.

SciFest@School is a second-level programme promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) education by providing a forum for students to present and display their scienti c investigations.

EirGrid is working to transform the power system for future generations and as such, wants to listen and learn from those who will be integral in Ireland’s e orts to achieve at least 70% of electricity consumption via renewable energy sources by 2030 – an important step on the journey to 80% and to net zero by 2050. e EirGrid ‘Climate and Delivering a Cleaner Energy Future’ Award will be presented to the secondary school students who design a creative, innovative approach to utilising energy from clean resources. e Kilkenny City Vocational School students will hold their fair this Friday, December 17.

Speaking about EirGrid’s involvement in the nationwide programme, Errol Close, Head of Strategy and Sustainability with EirGrid, said: “EirGrid’s strategy is shaped by climate change and delivering a cleaner energy future. Achieving this will require strong development of the skills and critical thinking required across society.

“Our partnership with SciFest Ao ers not only the opportunity to promote greater participation in STEM subjects but also to support young people to develop these skills and showcase their innovation and creativity in addressing an existential challenge like climate change,” said Mr Close.

Welcoming EirGrid’s involvement, SciFest’s Founder and CEO Sheila Porter said: “We are excited and proud to have EirGrid join SciFest as a Silver Sponsor. EirGrid is leading the charge in making Ireland’s green and renewable dream a reality. Only through innovation and critical thinking, core skills nurtured by the SciFest programme, can we, as a society rise to the challenge presented by climate change and the need for cleaner energy.”

State Street sees strong local growth

IRISH funds have highlighted the industry’s continued growth in Ireland, where, in the Kilkenny area alone, there are currently 18 funds and asset management companies employing almost 1,000 people.

During the recent virtual Irish Funds Regional Economic Impact event, participants re ected on the 30th anniversary of Irish Funds and the ndings of the latest Indecon Economic Assessment report, which revealed that the industry now represents 180 enterprises operating in every county in Ireland and directly employs more than 17,000 people, with an estimated total economic impact of €14.8bn.

Speaking at the event, Cathal Smyth, Managing Director, State Street, Kilkenny said: “ is year State Street has been celebrating 25 years in Ireland and 20 years in Kilkenny. We currently employ approximately 2,000 sta in Ireland across Dublin, Drogheda, Naas and Kilkenny and have recently announced an additional 400 jobs in our Kilkenny site.

“We have bene ted not only from the strong nancial services and tech eco-system in Ireland, and the south-east, but also relationships with local policy makers and community partners. “ e latest Indecon reporx=t re ects the important role our industry plays as an employer and net-economic contributor across the island of Ireland and State Street is delighted to continue to play its part in this.”

Pat Lardner, Irish Funds CEO, said: “ e funds and asset management industry continues to play a pivotal role in showcasing what Ireland has to o er and delivering tangible economic bene ts to local communities. Recent gures have highlighted the contribution of the funds industry to regional development with a 40 per cent increase in the number of employees based outside of Dublin in the last two years.

“As we emerge from the pandemic, Irish Funds will continue to support investment and drive sustainable growth across the island,” he said.