THE BOTTOM-SCRAPING Irish economy forms thematic content for several two-page spreads in today's Sunday broadsheets and things have become more sinister with the prospect of default on sovereign debt by Greece. [1] If Greece needs a eurozone bail-out, European Central Bank interest rates will certainly increase, putting further strain on the Irish economy. The CESifo group releases a damning report about Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain, and Portugal this month. The Stability and Growth Pact has failed. No matter which analyst looks at the issue, nobody thinks the Irish recession will recede in 2010. This is starting to look like a four-year recovery, even from the perspective of the idealistic "Your Country Your Call". From my seat at the coal face of educating clever and creative people, I think there's hope in small. For example, Gavin Burke is a Galway software developer who is "earning up to $100 a day from sales of an iPhone application." [3] The Sunday Business Post, a cheerleader for start-ups, throws the spotlight on Entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity today. Although I'm with Ian Kehoe [4] and I believe in the power of start-ups, there are several hundred ex-factory workers living within 60 miles of my home and they're not cut out for the job of running their own businesses. Many of those unemployed Dell workers live in the constituency of Willie O'Dea, the government minister caught for perjury. [7]
#innovation
Two full pages in the Sunday Business Post cover entrepreneurship, with items about the Limerick Enterprise Acceleration Programme in Limerick, DIT's Hothouse, Invent DCU, the Innovation in Business Centres at GMIT, and advertisements from other areas of Ireland. The most colourful advertisement is one paid through EU Structural Funds and it's from the County and City Enterprise Boards.
#create
I think the challenge for pulling up Irland needs to be placed at the feet of the citizenry. Everyone needs to look at ways of doing things more productively. Part of the solution is in upskilling. But that could take time and money and neither of them are coming from the government.
#technology
I like Adrian Weckler's take on the HTC HD3, the best Windows Mobile phone on the market, but think he needs to give Google Buzz at least a week of use before he writes it off as having little functionality. I spotted several interesting technology items in my Qik clip, including a way around high DVD costs (it's called DVD Fab 6), Eircom refusing to terminate customers who are accused of downloading files, and the hacker theory behind the compromise of Boards. ie.
1. David Clerkin -- "Ireland named in group posing 'real risk' to euro future" is the lead story of the Sunday Business Post, 14 Feb 10.
2. David Smith, Economics Editor -- "Why Euro's Woes Should Scare Us All" is the two-page Focus item in the Sunday Times, 14 Feb 10.
3. Adrian Weckler -- "Appy Days for a Galway Software Developer" in the News section of the Sunday Business Post, 14 Feb 10.
4. Ian Kehoe -- "Ireland needs to think local" on the Comment & Analysis page of the Sunday Business Post, 14 Feb 10.
5. Jenny Hauser -- "Stability increases opportunities in ICT" in the Jobs Market section of the Sunday Business Post, 14 Feb 10.
6. Michael Sheridan -- Hot txt: teen's racy mobile novel is a hit" in the World News section of the Sunday Times, 14 Feb 10. It's a story about keitai shosetsu.
7. Justine McCarthy -- "O'Dea in Dail battle over lie" is the lead story of the Sunday Times, 14 Feb 10.
Direct link to Qik clip: http://qik.com/video/4917278
One Year Ago: "Twitter Mosaic"
