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e CAO has announced September 8 as the date for CAO Round 1 o ers, following the release of Leaving Cert re- sults on September e expansion of opportu- nities for school-leavers also includes new apprenticeship programmes, with an addi- tional 16 due to start, includ- ing roo ng and cladding, ro-

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John Ellis

John Ellis

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Good news as an extra 1,056 college have been approved by the Cabinet to ease the pressure for entry to a number of CAO courses brought on by the third year of Covid-related Leaving Cert grade in ation. ey are being targeted across a range of the most sought-after disciplines including medicine, IT, architecture and construction, nursing, engineering, education and welfare.

Competition for places will increase because of the commitment to build in grade in ation to match last year’s bumper Leaving Cert results: the class of 2022 will, on average, score 60 CAO points more than if they had sat the exam in 2019 before the pandemic. ere will be an additional 60 places in medicine, as an initial step in a ve-year plan that will see the rst year intake increase by 200 by 2026. In a new departure next year, universities in Northern Ireland will also open 80 places annually in medicine for CAO applicants.

e CAO has announced September 8 as the date for CAO Round 1 o ers, following the release of Leaving Cert results on September 2. e expansion of opportunities for school-leavers also includes new apprenticeship programmes, with an additional 16 due to start, including roo ng and cladding, robotics and automation, and a degree programme in cyber security.

Further and Higher Education Minster Simon Harris, who is bringing the proposals on the extra college places to Cabinet, said: “After a stressful number of weeks for schoolleavers, I hope today will o er some good news.”

More college places Bank of Ireland to sue Carey

Bank of Ireland is suing convicted fraudster Catriona Carey over debts relating to a mortgage on a property. e bank rst applied for a debt summary judgment against the Kilkenny woman in 2017 and the case is up for mention in the High Court next month. It is understood the property has since been sold and the bank is seeking to recover outstanding money owed.

Hope in the time of war

A girl on a swing next to a shelled apartment building in Borodianka, Ukraine. Cities and villages around Kyiv now have a very di erent vibe compared to April and even May. It is a vibe of life going on, and that fills hearts with hope and happiness.

Photo by Oleksiy Furman: Hope for Ukraine

Global Report, Page 22

€360m plan to tackle violence against women

Criminal penalties for domestic abusers will double under the Government’s new €360m plan to tackle violence against women. e ve-year strategy will also see a doubling of the number of refuge spaces nationally from 141 to at least 280 - although this will still be far short of the 500 spaces required by international agreements given Ireland’s population.

Justice Minister Helen McEntee has signed o on the third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. It vows to have ‘zero tolerance for violence against women and domestic abuse.

Under the plan, the Government will reform criminal law to increase sentences for common o ences committed by domestic abusers and sexual predators. e maximum sentence for assault causing harm, which the Department of Justice says is one of the most common offences in domestic abuse cases, will be doubled from ve years to a total of 10 years. e number of refuge centres will also be doubled and it is understood this will involve the creation of refuges in Cork north, central and south, Athlone, Balbriggan, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Sligo, Longford, Cavan and Monaghan. e Minister will be working with Tusla directly prior to any agency being set up as part of this plan. e strategy is viewed as ambitious because of the level of support Minister McEntee has secured from numerous departments, state-funded organisations and NGOs.

Special Report, Page 14

Army to help out at airport

e Government has agreed to a request from Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan for the Army to be on standby to help with security at Dublin Airport. Passengers have experienced serious issues at security in recent weeks, with many missing ights because of the delays.

38,700 Ukraine refugees now here

e Central Statistics O ce has said that 38,700 Ukrainians have arrived in Ireland since the Russian invasion on 24 February. e number has increased by just under 3,000 in the two weeks leading up to Sunday, June 19.

Full story, Page 10 Good neighbours

When was the last time you or I checked on a neighbour living alone? To check that they were okay? For many, a knock on the door can be the most welcome sound of their day. Indeed, may be the only welcoming sound in their solitary lives.

Paul Hopkins, Page 8

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Observer The Kilkenny

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Ifac, Ireland’s farming, food and agribusiness specialist professional services rm, is advising Kilkenny farmers to be aware of their responsibilities when it comes to managing employees’ working time.

Mary McDonagh, Head of HR & Payroll Services at ifac, said: “Farmers, in common with other business owners, have a lot of responsibilities when managing employees, including monitoring each employee’s working time. If you employ even one person on your farm, you must keep an accurate record of their working time.”

Working hours are calculated based on the average number of hours worked per week over four months for most employees. It is over six months for employees working in agriculture. Also, employees should not work more than 48 hours per week and employers must ensure that breaks and rest periods are adhered to.

Employment law dictates that employers must keep an accurate record of their employees’ working time*. When compiling working time records, keep an eye out for any instances of employees exceeding the permitted working hours, eg. by failing to take breaks or working excessive hours for an extended time. Any issues that you identify need to be promptly addressed. e working time record should include details of each employee’s name, address, PPS number, employment contract and job title or role. It must set out the days and total hours worked each week, details of any leave granted to employees in each week by way of annual leave or in respect of a public holiday and details of payment made in respect of that leave.

e record must be retained for three years and must be in a format that can be readily accessed and understood by a Workplace Relations Commission o cer.

Failure to keep an appropriate record is an o ence which could result in an employer receiving a ne of up to €2,500 for each employee whose working hours record is found to be inadequate.

Another recent development to be aware of is the introduction of a Statutory Code of Practice on the Right to Disconnect. is came into e ect last year and contains three key provisions: • e right of an employee to not routinely perform work outside normal working hours. • e right to not be penalised for refusing to attend to work matters outside of normal working hours. • e duty to respect another person’s right to disconnect (e.g., by not routinely emailing or calling outside normal working hours). e code can be downloaded on the Workplace Relations Commission website.

Ms McDonagh said: “In my experience, farm businesses often nd that managing employees is one of their most stressful responsibilities but obtaining good HR advice can be a good way to achieve peace of mind.”

Farmers can avoid fine by keeping records

* For further information and/or advice contact your local ifac o ce.

Glanbia: say cheese for the next 55 years!

Glanbia Co-op’s new cheese plant in Belview, Co Kilkenny, will still be producing cheese in 55 years and during that time will, at an average price for milk, pay €160m to farm families in the South East every year. at’s according to Glanbia Co-op CEO Jim Bergin, who was speaking at the turning of the sod at the new site. e joint venture between Glanbia Co-op and Dutch dairy producer Royal A-ware, located just yards from Belview port, will produce continental cheese for global markets when completed in 2024. It will produce more than 50,000t. of continental cheese a year, including Edam, Gouda and Emmental, which will be marketed by Royal A-ware. e plant will utilise approximately 450m litres of milk from Glanbia milk suppliers each year and the facility will allow Glanbia process all its own milk. It currently sends some milk for processing to third parties during the peak milk supply months.

“Our Ballyragget plant had a day like this in 1967 — that’s 55 years ago. And it is operating as well today as it operated on its rst day,” said Mr Bergin. “By implication, this facility we’re embarking on building now will be here producing cheese in 2079.

“At an average price for milk, it will pay €160m to farm families in the south-east every year and by 2079, it will have paid a total of €8.8bn to the families of our farmers in this region.

“And if we apply the economic multiplier... it will have generated economic activity in this region of €17.6bn.” e plant, he said, was a statement of ambition, hope and security.

Mr Bergin also acknowledged that it had not been an easy road to date and said getting to this point was a testament to Royal A-ware CEO Jan Anker, who said, on days when there were setbacks, “a deal is a deal, what do we have to do next”.

Where we stand with latest variant of Covid-19... and e hospital data

e highest rate of Covid-19 is now being seen in 35- to 44-year-olds as numbers with the virus in hospital continue to climb.

New gures show that people aged 35-44 account for 20.4% of cases detected through PCR tests administered by the HSE, followed by 19.% among 25 to 34-year-olds.

Children aged 13-18 and people aged over 85 account for the lowest proportion, at 1.8%.

More women are getting infected, at 59.4% compared to men.

It comes as the number of people with Covid-19 in hospital rose to 765 at time of going to print, up from 537 two weeks ago. ere was a signi cant rise in the numbers in intensive care — up to 35 from the low 20s the previous. However, the hope is that this wave may have peaked and that the numbers will start to fall.

Meanwhile, in a statement on monkeypox, World Health Organisation (WHO) directorgeneral Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus sounded the alarm about its spread. ere have been 28 cases con rmed in Ireland so far.

“I am deeply concerned by the spread of monkeypox, which has now been identi ed in more than 50 countries, across ve WHO regions, with 3,000 cases since the early May,” he said. e Emergency Committee of the WHO shared serious concerns about the scale and speed of the current outbreak, noted many unknowns and gaps in current data, and prepared a consensus report that re ects di ering views amongst the committee.

“Overall, in the report, they advised me that at this moment the event does not constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, which is the highest level of alert WHO can issue, but recognised that the convening of the committee itself re ects the increasing concern about the international spread of monkeypox,” he said.

“ is is clearly an evolving health threat that my colleagues and I in the WHO secretariat are following extremely closely.

“It requires our collective attention and co-ordinated action now to stop the further spread of monkeypox virus using public health measures including surveillance, contact-tracing, isolation and care of patients, and ensuring health tools like vaccines and treatments are available to at-risk populations and shared fairly,” he said.

“What makes the current outbreak especially concerning is the rapid, continuing spread into new countries and regions and the risk of further, sustained transmission into vulnerable populations including people that are immunocompromised, pregnant women and children.”

Voucher scheme for free hub access

A new voucher scheme that will give remote workers free access to local digital hubs has begun operating. e initiative was announced by the Government earlier last month.

Under the plan, at least 10,000 ‘hot desk’ facilities are being provided free of charge to existing hub users and those availing of the facilities for the rst time. e scheme will initially provide three days of hub use per person between now and the end of August. ere are now 242 remote working hubs across the country.

Workers can book an o ce or desk space in their local hub through an app called ‘Connected Hubs’ and the average cost of using the hubs is between €15-20 a day.

“ is voucher scheme gives people an opportunity to try out our many remote working hubs across the country for free,” said Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys.

“Whether you are tting in some work while on holiday in Ireland or looking to relocate to rural Ireland, Connected Hubs has an option for you,” the Minister said.

When she announced the scheme on 8 June, Ms Humphreys also announced funding for the upgrade and promotion of remote working facilities.

At the time, her department said that 12,400 people were using remote working hubs around the country and 1,800 users were registered with the ‘Connected Hubs’ app.

How change-makers across Ireland are solving social problems

People all across Ireland are taking part in a summer accelerator programme, run by Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI), to help them solve social problems in their communities and beyond. e SEI Ideas Academy, now in its sixth year, will support 45 budding change-makers in the east, south and west of the country with early-stage solutions to social problems to move from idea to action through tailored training, peer learning and networking.

Participants will also have the opportunity to pitch for a portion of a €40,000 seed fund to pilot their idea at the end of the programme, which was o cially launched today (28.06.22). e SEI Ideas Academy is supported by Bank of America (corporate sponsor) and the Lifes2good Foundation (sponsor of the Ideas Academy West).

Social Entrepreneurs Ireland has seen an increase in the numbers of people stepping up with solutions to address the nation’s most pressing social problems, with the environment being the number one issue drawing innovative applications in 2022, closely followed by education, community engagement and health equality. is year’s participants, who were chosen from over 180 applicants, are developing solutions to tackle climate change, social isolation, poverty and the lack of access to crucial educational and health supports such as speech and language therapy.

CEO of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, Tim Gri ths said: “For the past 18 years, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland has supported and championed social entrepreneurs across the country; people who are stepping up with solutions to solve social problems in their communities and create positive change.

“ e 45 innovators taking part in our 2022 Ideas Academy are leading the way and being the change they seek. We applaud their courage and determination, and look forward to supporting them over the coming months to re ne their ideas, hone their skills and develop an action plan to pilot their solutions.”

SEI’s Ideas Academy 2022 will be delivered online throughout July, August and September and will include interactive sessions on organisational structures, governance, storytelling and piloting. Alumni of the programme include the Together Academy, Lib Multicultural Counselling Services, the Vampire Cup and Seed Scholars.

Catherine May, General Counsel of Bank of America Europe said: “Bank of America has seen the determination and innovation of the social entrepreneurs taking part in the SEI Ideas Academy shine through over the past four years.”

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