GGPoker, which is operated here in Ireland, has gone from pretender to the number one online poker site in the world.
It was only as recently as 2014 that GGPoker was launched by the Good Game Network as a fledgling poker site. Fast forward seven years and this Irish-based operation has knocked long-term leader Pokerstars off top spot as the industry leader.
GGPoker is operated by NSUS Limited in Sandyford, Dublin, and is licensed and regulated in Great Britain by the Gambling Commission. But having started as a small English focused poker room, GGPoker is now Ireland’s very own global giant.
It was officially confirmed by GameIntel, one of the industry’s leading data providers and independent monitor of all cash games in online poker, that GGPoker are ranked number one in the online poker sector.
GGPoker has replaced Pokerstars, which had been the dominant force in online poker since 2006, as top dogs.
It has been some journey for a site first developed in Ireland now played by poker fans from the Far East to the United States and just about everywhere in between.
One of the big reasons for the success has been the launch of the GGPoker bonus code NEWBONUS, which gets new customers a sign up bonus of $600.
Many of the customers using the code have gone on to win big on games including Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Rush & Cash, Spin & Gold, PokerCraft, Card Squeeze, All-In or Fold and more recently Flip & Go and 6-Max Spin & Gold.
Where GGPoker have stood out is with their jackpot tournaments, setting new Guinness World Record for individual tournament prize funds.
The World Series of Poker events, the biggest tournament in poker, that have really set GGPoker apart from their rivals – and seen this Irish fighter leaving them trailing in their wake.
Last year’s WSOP Online Main Event at GGPoker was awarded the Guinness World Record for the largest prize pool in a single online poker tournament, boasting a massive $27.5 million in prizes.
This year’s 18-event WSOP Super Circuit Online Series has a staggering $100 million-guaranteed in prize funds.
With the WSOP offering joined byGGSOP Poker Series, Battle of Malta Online Festival, Multi Millions, GG Masters, Daily Flipout, Feeling Lucky, Chinese Zodiac, High Rollers, AoF Bingo and Daily Leaderboard, it is clear that the huge jackpot events are what keep punters coming back.
GG also have a tie-up with celebrity poker star Dan Bilzerian as he hosts the Battle Royale on the poke site.
Bilzerian is one of a number of ambassadors along with Daniel Negreanu, Bryn Kenney, Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier, Felipe Ramos, Henri Bühler, Kitty Kuo and Fedor Holz.
Aldi has confirmed that it will create 30 new jobs in Galway with the opening of a new €9 million supermarket on the Old Monivea Road.
Galway City Council has granted planning permission for the construction of a two storey supermarket building, with 1,254sqm of retail space.
Construction of the new supermarket on the is expected to start next year, and will support 50 jobs while being built.
The store is currently expected to open in August of 2023. When it does, it will be powered by green electricity, courtesy of the 52 solar panels which will go on the roof.
Commenting, Colin Breslin, Aldi Regional Managing Director said: “This is great news for Aldi shoppers in Galway and the local vibrant economy, and we are delighted with Galway City Council’s decision.
“Since opening our first store in County Galway in 2000, we’re proud to be an established part of Galway’s retail landscape.”
“We look forward to serving more Galway shoppers with our award-winning range of incredible value food and drink products, many of which are sourced locally from our Galway producers.”
Planning permission was granted by the city council with a total of 18 conditions attached to the project.
The new supermarket will be served by 80 car parking spaces and 12 bicycle spaces, and will also feature four charging stations for electric vehicles.
Objections to the plans were raised by Tesco Ireland Limited, and the Retail Grocery & Dairy Allied Trades Association (RGDATA).
A submission by Tesco raised issue with the plans contravention of the site’s zoning, which is a mix of ‘Industrial’ and ‘Light Industrial and Commercial’.
The city council however decided to grant a material contravention of the development plan in order to allow the supermarket plans to go ahead.
In its objection RGDATA said that it was “concerned with the proliferation of planned and permitted convenience stores in suburban locations throughout Galway City in recent years.”
“If not carefully managed, the cumulative effect of these retail developments poses a real threat to the future vitality and viability of the City Centre and existing centres in the city”.
This will be the 10th Aldi supermarket to be built in Galway since the opening of their first store in
There’s reason to get excited for a night out this weekend, as Culture Night is returning in style this Friday for an evening of arts in Galway.
Galway City Council has released the full lineup of events that will be taking place in the city this Friday, where there is sure to be something for everyone.
More than 40 events are planned for the city on Culture Night, which over 200 artists working in theatre, film, dance, visual arts, and much more have contributed.
That’s not even getting started on all the event that’ll be on around the county for lovers of the arts to get out and have some craic with this weekend.
A series of walking tours will also take place around the city for anyone who wants a guided look at Galway’s street art, history, crafts, and so on.
Galway City Culture Night takes place on Friday 17 September. The programme was curated by Jane Hanberry in partnership and funded by Galway City Council.
The full lineup of events for this weekend is:
Visual Arts
Spend your Culture Night immersed in artwork by local and international artists. Kicking off at 11am with 21 stunning bespoke painted currach sculptures commissioned to celebrate 21 years of Áras Éanna, the Inis Óirr Arts Centre, showing in the quadrangle of NUI Galway.
From 3pm GMIT (Official) hosts ‘Plan C: Whereabouts?’, the showcase for the Masters in Creative Practice for the 2020 and 2021 graduates, curated by Ruby Wallis and Michaële Cutaya. It presents the work of 21 students across multiple media such as painting, sculpture, textile, installation and film.
Musical guests will accompany a group exhibition from 4pm at Art in Mind showcasing works from residents’ studios and guest artists featuring sculpture, painting, ceramics and photography. While 5pm sees the kick off for the Galway Cartoon Festival Programme Launch at The Cornstore.
Why not pop by the Claddagh Art Collective for an exhibition by Joe Westcott and Jarlath Tourish where the pair have set up a tattoo & art studio where they push their creative boundaries with painting, sculpture and photography.
While you’re in Galway’s Westend why not stop by Galway Arts Centre (which will stay open until 11pm). Spanning ten years, this exhibition traces the evolution, visual concerns and subtle shifts in direction of Ger Sweeney’s work.
Around the corner Margaret Nolan will display ‘Iconic’, an exhibition of drawings and collage in the windows of Tigh Neachtain and 2 wild geese.
As the sun sets, Marqu VR will have a magnificent display of architectural projection mapping to create 3D illusions on Town Hall Theatre Galway.
You can round the evening off at The Latin Quarter Galway where Dolores Lyne has curated a fantastic showcase of eight Galway City art collectives which will be displayed on the television screens at The Dáil Bar Galway & The Front Door Pub Galway.
Walking Tours
Join Karen O’Leary, a National Tour Guide at 1pm to wander off the beaten track to explore what could be called Galway’s open air art gallery.
Colour, beauty and inspiration are added to the side streets by locally and internationally acclaimed street artists, including Finbar 247, Sutek_west, Danleo and Shane O’Malley. This may be the most Instagramable tour that you have ever been on.
The 14th Galway Scouts are inviting the public to attend a series of campfire performances from 5pm where youth members will host a public audience in an interactive campfire experience sharing the joy of improv storytelling and campfire songs, and of course getting to cook a toasted marshmallow sandwiched between two chocolate digestives.
Galway City Museum Ireland presents this year’s ‘History Blitz’ from 5.30pm which goes walkabout to visit memorial sites relating to the 1916-23 period around the city centre. The featured speakers will take eight minutes each to talk about people who are commemorated in monuments and street names, or who represented it in literature.
A Bi-Lingual Demonstration/ Exhibition of Traditional Crafts will be held at Westside Community Resource Centre from 6.00 to 8.00 p.m, presented and demonstrated by Craft Tutor, Máirtín Davy.
Join Brendan J Hynes for ‘Famous People, Theatre and Literature Tour of Galway’ at 6.30pm. The tour will take you on a journey of discovery that will highlight key aspects of the city’s cultural and artistic side.
For a more self-guided walking tour, with audio commentary, come see the Drowned Galway exhibition. Find yourself immersed in a near-future Galway, where the abnormal has become normal, and floods and sea level rising have transformed the city by hope it rains.
Photo Credit: Joe Lee
But despite the excitement of coming back to the streets of Galway for a taste of the arts, missed by locals and sure to be appreciated by visitors, there will still be a programme of online events this Friday as well for people who maybe can’t get out this weekend.
Online Events
A 15-minute documentary by Mary Cunningham features interviews with people who swam at Salthill in the 60s. The documentary reflects on fifty years ago this month, the ‘Men Only’ sign was removed from the entrance to Blackrock swimming area.
Eva’s Echo presents a rehearsed reading of Dose, featuring actors from three countries performing together through the wonders of digital theatre. The new dramedy explores toxic family dynamics, mental health issues, and struggles unique to Queer relationships.
Moth and Butterfly present a Culture Night Special of Storytelling and Improvisation Featuring the ensemble and guest tellers. The stories will be a combination of traditional tales, true narratives, and improvised stories – all to the Culture Night theme of ‘Come Together Again’.
The Harmonica Fixer premiers online, a short film that profiles the musician Cathal Johnson’s work as a musician and as a harmonica technician, who repairs and customizes harmonicas for Andy Irvine and many others.
Fontanella Dance company shares their solo dance film commission ‘Plurabelle’. Kristyn Fontanella draws from her knowledge of traditional dance to make new rhythmical patterns and shapes inspired by the fall of rain on her body and the South Galway landscape.
Ballybane public library will stream Galway city librarians discussing reading through the pandemic joined by guest panelist, poet Rita Ann Higgins, reading from her newly published collection Pathogens Love a Patsy: Pandemic & Other Poems. Galway City Library hosts Storyteller Rab Fulton and Galway City Library for a wonderful ‘Folklore and Fairy Tale Session’.
Why not learn what Irish people mean when they say “Grand”, “I will yeah!” and “What’s the craic” with Comedian and English Teacher Steve Bennett in the online workshop ‘Culture Through Comedy’.
Planet Science will also give a digital workshop to children to explore different topics in Science. Children will gain hands-on scientific experience exploring topics that include but are not limited to Chemistry, Physics, Biology & Geology.
Yet More Live Events
The latest plaque on the Galway Poetry Trail will be unveiled at 2:30pm in association with Kenny’s Bookshop and Cuirt International Festival of Literature. The limestone plaque will feature the poem ‘Vortex’ by Gerard Reidy – a homage to Galway in which the poet describes his coming to Galway for the first time as a UCG student, from a small area in west Mayo.
This is the 25th plaque on the Galway Poetry Trail, which is a series of bronze and limestone plaques dotted around Galway city, each featuring a piece of writing about the place in which they are situated.
Morgan Creative will present two songs from their original musical, “Immortal” outside Galway City Museum at 7pm. Immortal is the next chapter of Irish folklore. The story is set between the mythological land of Tír na nÓg, rural Galway during the Irish Civil War and modern day Galway.
It was created by Morgan Creative, brothers Luke and Jake Morgan, and features original songs that strive to bring our rich local history and Celtic traditions to a modern audience.
Galway Community Circus will host Circus SWAP: the battle of all battles, circus style at 6pm from St. Joseph’s Community Centre. Circus SWAP is a fun, silly, laugh out loud event where professional circus entertainers, Galway Community Circus members and anyone who wants to give it a go, swap, share and battle out their best circus tricks.
Forge Clay Studios will open their doors at 4pm for a botanical press workshop and wheel throwing demonstrations from forge members and professionals Aoife Natsumi Frehan, Anne Rumph and Rory Clark.
As a follow up to the film premier ‘The Harmonica Fixer’ which will be streamed online for Culture Night, Cathal Johnson and all musicians involved in the film will perform outside at the Crane Bar from 6pm.
Bádóirí an Chladaigh return to the Claddagh Basin for Culture Night after a summer of sailing. The beloved hookers and gleóiteogs that grace our coast are a combination of design, craft, art, and seamanship. Join The Naomh Crónan, The Manuela and The Croí an Chladaigh at quayside from 8.30pm.
Livefeed is a Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture project for young people (aged 13 – 18) interested in music performance, production and promotion. For this very special event Livefeed will put on a showcase of original music from some of the many talented participants from the project. Taking place in the beautiful surrounds of The Cornstore’s arcade from 7pm, this promises to be a memorable and triumphant return for the much loved youth-music project.
Rounding out the evening is ‘The Craic is Back’ at Carroll’s Caravan Club from 6pm till late, a variety show curated by Gerry Hanberry featuring music, poetry, story, comedy. Performers include Paraic Breathnach, Tracey Bruen, Darra MaGuire, Fergal Mac Donnagh, Vibe Tribe, Carrolls Culture Club, James Colohan & Tom Mathews.
The flagship event of Culture Night will be presented by Give Us The Night and Galway Light festival presenting ‘NIGHTVISION’, An atmospheric audio-visual experience within the grounds of St Nicholas Church from 8.30pm. Ambient, electronic and experimental sounds will play alongside a special light installation from Brendan Savage (Galway Festival of Light), illuminating the church and surrounding area to otherworldly effect.
GMIT recently played host to the French Ambassador to Ireland and a delegation from the embassy as they sought to build ties with the country.
Members of GMIT’s Hotel School and International Office met with a group from the embassy, including HE Vincent Guérend, the ambassador, to discuss a range of Franco-Irish events and activities hosted by GMIT.
The GIHS will once again host the annual Goût de France Dinner in April of 2022, after it was cancelled for the past two years running.
This event will coincide with the Hotel School also hosting the annual Dairy Chef Competition, a Franco-Irish culinary competition, as well as the France-Ireland scholastic network on Culinary Arts, Hospitality and Tourism (FICAHT) Forum.
FICAHT was created in 2015 and is a network that aims to develop links and foster innovation between academia and industry from France and Ireland.
The annual Dairy Chef competition sees culinary students from both countries battling it out for the top prize, sponsored by the National Dairy Council and the CNIEL (Centre National Interprofessionnel de l’Economie Laitière).
Ambassador Guérend will attend both the Goût de France Dinner and the Dairy Chef competition on Wednesday, April 6 of next year. The FICAHT Forum will take place on the following two days.
Diarmuid Ó Conghaile of GMIT, said that “following two postponements” they are looking forward to welcoming colleagues and guests to the events next year.
“This very special event is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate, develop and sustain Franco-Irish relations, while offering a warm Galway welcome.”
Gambling has been popular for decades in Ireland and we all know about the ‘Luck of the Irish’ expression. So, in the 90s when the Internet became available to everyone, it is no surprise that Irishmen decided to take their passion online. Online gambling in Irelan is a popular phenomenon and the demographics mainly consist of people between 25 and 34 years (5.7%) and between 18 and 24 years (4.8%). However, for beginners who would love to engage in such online games, there are a few things to learn and consider first, since not all online casinos are created equal.
Licensing and Security
Like said, not all casinos are created equal. There are more popular and less popular sites, and there are those that are created in order to scam people. So, in order to avoid getting scammed or revealing your personal information to a site, you should look for a license and proof of security on the site.
There are more and more casinos in Ireland every year and not all are legal. So, when choosing a site make sure they have emphasized they are licensed and approved by a recognized gambling body, such as UK Gambling Commission. This gaming commission is responsible for ensuring safe and legit sites adhere to gambling standards which are strict and they will protect you as a user.
Selection of Online Games
What drives players to online casinos and helps them make choices is, first of all, the range and availability, and the quality of online games a casino offers. The first thing here is to know what games you would like to play online and then filter out sites on offer. You can go through lists of brand new online casinos sites in Ireland and see if they have games that you know how to play and would like to try your luck on. Also, most casinos will hold a rich library of games, including the classics and even some of the newest, hottest, and more modern options. The choice is yours, go with your likes and dislikes and see what they offer.
Money Deposits and Withdrawal Options
Since online casinos games are usually played with real money, and the prizes include cash, too, it is highly important to check what your site choices offer for deposits and withdrawals. Make sure to check all the options of depositing money – e-wallets, debit/credit cards, prepaid vouchers, etc.
What is also important is the options for withdrawing your cash prizes and how quickly and fuss-free you can do it. Most casinos will offer withdrawals to debit/credit cards, e-wallets, and even bitcoins, so make sure to check what pleases you and your needs the most.
Promotions and Bonuses
What is great about online casinos is that they often offer great bonuses and promotions for their players. Make sure what kind of bonuses casinos offer and make sure to read the fine print and terms and conditions of those bonuses to determine how worthwhile and beneficial they are to you as a player.
Most casinos will offer great sign-up bonuses which are a great way to start playing and gain some skills before depositing any real money. Also, there are great bonuses for loyal players since the casinos want people to stay longer with them and play more games.
However, it is important to remember that bigger bonuses does not mean they are better. Massive bonuses can be useless because they have high wagering and it is almost impossible to cash out your winnings. So, choose carefully and read the fine print.
Read Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are the best way to find out everything about an online casino and how good they are. Since the Irish are passionate players, they will leave their experiences and comments with the reviews. And if you cannot find any testimonials and comments on the very casino site, make sure to do some digging on the internet and look for blogs and review sites. There you will be able to successfully narrow down your choices of casinos, find out how fast withdrawal of prizes is, how secured sites are, etc. Such reviews are made by real people who have tried out the casinos and will certainly help you find a legitimate and fast-paying casino.
Is There a Mobile Version?
It is almost an unwritten rule that all legitimate online casinos will have their own mobile version of their site, offering the same games. This is because all casino businesses know that we are constantly on our phones and that gambling on the go is a useful and frequent occurrence.
So, when on a website, see if there is a way to download the mobile app and read all terms and conditions. Plus, if there is an app for this casino, this is just an added bonus since you can play anywhere you are and in a more comfortable position than sitting in front of a computer. Also, don’t forget the compatibility of your phone with the app in order to get the full experience.
All in all, online casinos are extremely popular in Ireland. However, make sure that your choice is a legal and legitimate site that will provide you with good bonuses and fun games that you love playing. Good luck!
As part of an exciting new project, Galway City Council is partnering with local residents and young people to ‘green’ city laneways.
The public are being invited to transform their streets into vibrant, playful and nature-friendly spaces for all of the community to enjoy.
The premise of the project is for local residents and young people to plant flowers, shrubs and an ‘edible landscape’ with the help of Galway City Council Parks staff. They will then take over the maintenance of the planting in the future.
The community will also be involved in painting vibrant, nature-based murals along the laneways with the help of professional artists.
Tiarnan McCusker, Environmental Awareness Officer with Galway City Council, said that as far they were aware, no such initiative has been undertaken in Ireland before now.
“It’s very much a community-led approach whereby Galway City Council will liaise with local residents, schools, libraries, community centres and youth groups to ascertain how they would like these laneways to be improved.”
If they project gets a strong “buy in” from the local community, particularly young people he added, then it can create a “strong sense of ownership” which will hopefully see a drop in littering, dumping and graffiti, and increased biodiversity.
The money for the ‘Greening the Laneways’ project is being provided by the government through the Anti-Dumping Initiative 2021.
To start things off, this Saturday, September 18 will see a community action day taking place in the Rocky Road in Westside from 11am.
This event will involve local residents and young people putting a splash of colour in the area with planting and mural painting.
“The actions days are a chance for locals to be involved in transforming these sometimes dull and unstimulating spaces into something the whole community can be proud of,” Tiernan McClusker said.
NUI Galway and Galway International Arts Festival (GIAF) have joined forces to herald the role of the University’s graduates in this year’s theatre productions.
Former students feature in over half of the shows at this year’s festival, working behind the scenes and on stage to bring drama, arts and culture to audiences as they flocked back to live, in-person events.
Among the alumni are recent graduates from the BA in Drama who took part in the SELECTED programme this summer and went on to work as stage manager, assistant stage manager and props person on Cogadh Na Saoirse.
Others are playing key roles in the performances on stage, with actor Catherine Denning, a BA and MA graduate, featuring in Branar’s Sruth na Teanga, while Cogadh na Soairse was written by MA graduate Philip Doherty and After Love was written by BA graduate Dani Gill.
NUI Galway graduates are also working on the Abbey Theatre’s Happy Days on Inis Oírr and Druid Theatre’s The Seagull.
Patrick Lonergan, Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies at NUI Galway, said: “We began partnering with Galway International Arts Festival from our shared desire to ensure that the next generation of theatre-makers and artists would have the skills and experiences needed to build sustainable careers, both here in the west of Ireland and in other national and international contexts.
“Through programmes like the SELECTED internship scheme, our students have gone behind the scenes to meet artists, producers, and other professional experts on GIAF shows.
“We’re seeing the fruits of that approach now, with more than half of this year’s theatre productions featuring recent NUI Galway graduates.”
Professor Lonergan also highlighted that NUI Galway is also proud to support the Irish premiere of Enda Walsh’s Medicine, starring Domhnall Gleeson, and that another production, Ar Ais Arís, emerged from the University’s Aistriú project.
John Crumlish, chief executive of the Galway International Arts Festival, said that GIAF’s partnership with NUI Galway on SELECTED has been very rewarding.
“We always envisaged the programme being a support for young people who wanted careers in culture, so we are delighted to see alumni working for arts organisations that are part of the festival programme itself,” he said.
“We hope to work with NUI Galway to further develop the programme over the coming years and play our part in developing the careers of the next generation of arts professionals.”
The Department of Health has reported 1,185 new cases of COVID-19 in the State, as the number of people in hospitals with the disease has fallen below 300.
As of 8am this morning, 292 people with COVID-19 are hospitalised, with 65 in intensive care units.
There has been a total of 5,179 deaths related to COVID-19 notified in the Republic to date.
CMO Dr Tony Holohan said COVID-19 vaccines are providing very effective protection from severe illness and have fundamentally changed the risk profile of this disease.
“Since the 1st of April, approximately four out of every five people admitted to ICU and approximately three out of every four deaths with COVID-19 were not fully vaccinated.
“It remains vital that those who have not yet received a COVID-19 vaccine do so at the earliest opportunity.
“If you are fully protected through vaccination, then you can have confidence that your vaccination, and your continued adherence to the public health advice appropriate to each environment, is the best way you can protect yourself from COVID-19,” said the chief medical officer.
Six people were rescued by the Clifden RNLI, assisted by the Cleggan Coast Guard, in Ballyconneely Bay on Tuesday evening after they had boat problems.
The 14ft vessel got into trouble when it suffered engine failure inside of Ballyconneely Bay shortly after 6pm, and the people aboard called for help.
The Cleggan Coast Guard spotted the boat from the shore, and launched a drone to keep an eye on the situation from the air.
Both of the Clifden RNLI station’s lifeboats, the the Shannon Class all-weather lifeboat and the Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat, were launched in response to the emergency.
They arrived shortly before 7pm, and after ensuring that all of the passengers were safe and well, towed the boat back to shore.
Clifden RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager John Brittain commended the volunteer crew for a timely response and successful outcome.
He also reminded people that safety precautions are a must at sea. “Plan your route in advance, carry out regular checks on your vessel prior to, and during your journey.”
“Have means of calling for assistance if you find yourself in trouble and everyone onboard should always be wearing lifejackets.”
Galway City Council has granted planning permission for an extension to part of the Bon Secours hospital on the Old Dublin Road.
The privately owned hospital submitted plans for a single storey extension to the Operating Theatre Department with a floor space 182sqm, along with a 60sqm extension to the existing Theatre Plantroom on the first floor.
The main extension in the operating theatre department includes a medical equipment room, a service room for said equipment, a central sterile services department, and storage rooms for consumable oxygen.
The Bon Secours Hospital in Galway is a 120 bed acute hospital offering a range of surgical and medical services.
It treats approximately 18,000 patients each year, roughly 6,000 of whom are in-patients, and 12,000 of which are day cases.
Since 2006 the hospital has been expanded on multiple occasions, with that 2006 extension including four operating theatres, three minor procedure rooms, and more.
A planning report for this application stated: “It is now proposed to provide much needed Operating Theatre storage for medical equipment and extend the existing operating theatre plantroom required for existing medical spaces.”
As the proposed extension is not expected to increase patient or staff numbers at the hospital, no additional parking is required.
Planning permission was granted by the city council with a total of nine standard conditions attached.
Two men in their late teens are due before court today in connection with a €119,000 cocaine, cannabis, and cash seizure in the city last night.
As part of Operation Tara, Gardaí searched multiple locations on the east side of Galway overnight.
During the course of these searches they found €36,500 worth of suspected cocaine, €80,600 worth of suspected cannabis and €2,100 in cash, which were seized.
Two men, both in their late teens, were arrested at separate locations in connection to this seizure.
They were detained at Murrough Garda Station in connection with the incident, and have now been charged.
The two men will now appear before a sitting of Galway District Court today, Wednesday September 15.
There are now under 6,000 people in Galway in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment, the latest figures from the Department of Social Protection show.
A total of 5,977 people in the county have received payments this week, down from 7,399 last week and down from 25,603 at its 2021 peak in February.
The national PUP figures have now fallen by almost 500,000 since the number of workers on the payment peaked at over 600,000 in May 2020.
A total of 114,600 people received the PUP this week, a fall of 25,526 on last week with the Accommodation and Food Services sector seeing the highest number of people return to work.
Commenting today, Minister Heather Humphreys said that throughout the summer months, there has been a continuous steady decrease in the number of people relying on the payment.
“The number of people in receipt of the PUP has now fallen by almost 500,000 since the peak in mid 2020,” said Minister Humphreys.
“The economy is now substantially reopened and it is really encouraging to see businesses actively advertising for and hiring new staff.
“Through the government’s Pathways to Work strategy we want to support people through training, further education and reskilling opportunities to give them the tools and most importantly the confidence to get back to work.”
There are two Galway names featured on the latest tax defaulters list from the Revenue Commissioners released this week.
The Morristown Educational Trust Fund, with an address at Marian Heights, Ballard, Barna, settled with the Revenue for €84,214.
This was in relation to the non-declaration of €47,746 worth of Capital Gains and Income Tax.
Anthony Williams of St. Brendan’s Road, Portumna, who is named as a healthcare service provider trading as Portumna Retirement Village, also made a €45,685 settlement.
This was in relation to a Revenue Audit of €26,952 in under-declared Income Tax.
All of the money owed the Revenue under these two settlement has been paid in full.
There were a total of 18 settlements made by tax defaulters in the second quarter of the year, totalling €3.39 million.
The single largest settlement was for €1.5 million by the medical service provider Venaris Consulting Limited in Newry.
The largest amounts that remained unpaid as of June 30 was €375,151.69, the total settlement amount of Michael Barry, a taxi operator from Graiguenamanagh, Kilkenny.
Mary Barry, a publican at the same address, also owes the Revenue €310,494.19 which was unpaid as of the end of June.
In addition to the settlements made with the Revenue Commissioners, the courts imposed fines totalling €137,750, community service orders, and a suspended prison sentence on 55 tax defaulters.
These included 30 cases of failing to lodge tax returns, 17 cases of misuse of marked mineral oil, five people illegally smuggling or selling tobacco, one gambling case, and two cases of obstructing a Revenue Officer.
UHG remains the hospital with the second highest number of COVID patients in the country, seeing no change in the latest figures.
The most recent data from the HSE shows that there were 27 confirmed cases at UHG as of Tuesday night, second only to 31 patients at Cork UH.
This number has remained relatively unchanged in the past week and a half, after there was a moderate drop from more than 30 cases each day on average.
The number of COVID patients in intensive care at UHG has also remained steady at five in the past few days.
At Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe, where patients levels have also remained steady, there were two confirmed cases as of Tuesday night.
Neither of the two patients at the Ballinasloe hospital is being treated in the ICU.
Nationwide there were 275 people in the country hospitalised with COVID-19, of whom 60 have been admitted to the ICU.
Galway City Council has this week introduced eight fully-electric vans in Phase 1 of the conversion of the its fleet to electric vehicles.
The eight Nissan e-NV200 vans will replace eight diesel vans that were previously used by the council.
They will be used by staff across different sections in the council, from Community Wardens to Housing Maintenance, from next week.
This initiative forms part of the Galway City Council Climate Action Plan, and is part of a drive towards Zero Emission vehicles.
Speaking about the launch, Brendan McGrath, Chief Executive of Galway City Council, said the 2020 Programme for Government has set out an ambitious target to achieve a 51% reduction in Greenhouse Gases by 2030 and ‘net zero’ emissions by 2050.
“One of the key interventions in achieving this is to increase the number of electric vehicles (EV) on our roads, reducing our reliance on fossil fuel energy consumption and greenhouse gases,” he said.
“Galway City Council recognises the vital role the organisation has to play in relation to Climate Change mitigation and adaptation, as part of the Galway City Council Climate Action Plan.
Brendan McGrath said that the deployment of the eight fully-electric vans is the start of the conversion of the City Council fleet, which we look forward to expanding in the coming years.”
Mayor of Galway City, Cllr. Colette Connolly, also welcomed the move towards electric vehicles.
“Local Government plays a key role in the delivery of Ireland’s National Climate Action ambition, Galway City Council is showing our intent and commitment in aiding to achieve these targets by phase 1 of the conversion of City Council fleet to fully-electric vehicles and making our contribution to the national decarbonisation effort,” said the Mayor.
This initiative is fully funded by Galway City Council, with provision made in the 2021 Budget adopted by Council in November last year.
Galway City Council hopes to proceed with Phase 2 in 2022 and continue this initiative and remove more diesel engines from our city streets.
Gardaí seized €119,000 in suspected drugs and cash during a number of searches which occurred overnight in Galway City.
Gardaí attached to the Galway Divisional Drugs Unit carried out a number of searches in the East of Galway City on Tuesday September 14 and into the early hours of Wednesday.
This intelligence led operation and resulted in €36,500 worth of suspected cocaine, €80,600 worth of suspected cannabis and €2,100 in cash being seized.
The drugs seized are subject to forensic analysis.
Two men, both in their late teens, were arrested at separate locations in connection to this seizure.
They are both currently detained at North Western Regional Headquarters Galway under the provisions of Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act 1996.
This seizure was part of Operation Tara, which aims to disrupt and prosecute drug trafficking networks at local, national, and international levels.
Students in Galway are being asked to take part in a survey on the effectiveness and engagement with Ireland’s COVID Tracker app.
A research team from NUIG and University of Zaragoza, Spain hope to understand more about the adoption of the app and learnings which could also be applied to other health-related apps in the future.
The study will look at motives for using the app, opinions about the app, promotion of use of the app to others, the extent to which the user checks in using the app, their level of contact with others, and their living/working situation.
The international research team led by Dr Elaine Wallace, Senior Lecturer at NUI Galway, are seeking participants to complete the short five-minute online survey.
Dr Elaine Wallace commented that “Ireland’s Covid Tracker App has been one of the most successful tracker apps in use during the pandemic.”
“With a planned safe return to our workplaces and University campuses, we hope that this survey will raise awareness and remind students and the general public to download and use the app.”
She added that it is also hoped that the study will provide information on how apps such as this could be employed in other wats in the future.
Contact tracing apps were one of the first ideas floated as to how governments could trace and notify people who had been in close contact with people who later tests positive for COVID.
This happened as it quickly became clear that effective contact tracing would be an extremely challenging and labour intensive task.
However, different programmes around the world had vastly different levels of success in developing such apps, and getting people to adopt them.
In many cases, development was plagued by issues surrounding the technical effectiveness of the apps, with issues such as not being able to pinpoint devices precisely enough, or getting devices with apps installed to talk to one another.
Privacy was also a hot button issue, with many concerns raised about potentially handing over locational and health data to governments and private companies.
Ireland’s COVID Tracker app was developed by Waterford company NearForm under contract from the HSE, utilising Google and Apple’s Exposure Notifications System to anonymise users.
The research team at NUIG would like to speak to people who had (or still have) the COVID Tracker app installed on their phone and who are aged 18 years or over.
To complete the short survey and contribute to the study on the COVID Tracker app, simply click on this link to begin: NUI Galway COVID Tracker App Survey
Learning a new language often looks challenging at first until a basic level of proficiency is attained. From that point on, the new language feels like a shiny toy that the learner just can’t let go of.
Granted, a new language to your speech arsenal is a great idea. But, seeing as one cannot possibly learn all the 7,000+ languages on Planet Earth, it is always a great idea to direct your resources and time to learn new languages that can give you the greatest level of exposure.
The German Language is one such exposure-boosting language. Whether you are a business-oriented person, an academic researcher, a tech geek, a cultural enthusiast, a passionate tourist, or all of them, having a solid grasp of German will make life so much more enjoyable.
How many people speak German?
An estimated 140 million people in Europe and around the world are aware of the significance of the German language. In the European Union, German leads the French language and is the second most spoken language amongst people in Europe — only bested by the English language, understandably. The German language is also the most spoken native language in Europe.
All this is to make the point that, as a language, German is very relevant and is a key tool for succeeding in business, especially in Europe.
Learning to speak German has numerous incentives that can boost a person’s professional standing and global cultural awareness. Some of these incentives include;
Bigger and better business opportunities
Germany has the fourth biggest economy in the world. If you’re a business-oriented person, you already know that that statistic implies that Germany is a fertile ground to explore a myriad of business opportunities.
The ability to speak German will make it easier to assimilate one’s self into the German business environment and greatly improve relations with native business establishments. It also might come useful even here in Ireland when looking for a job – as seen here.
A large pool of highly-regarded academic institutions
It should come as no surprise that German is especially significant in the academic community, given a large number of award-winning scientists — Einstein, Carl Bosch Ehrlich — from its native nation.
One of the reasons for this is that the German book market, behind the Chinese and English publishing sectors, is the world’s third-largest. Because the percentage of these books that are translated into other languages is rather low, you will be able to access them only if you know German.
Germany is also a great place to study basic sciences like Physics, Chemistry, and Biology in high-standard universities. Needless to say, learning to speak German would make for a better study experience in Germany and ultimately, the science world.
International career opportunities
Persons interested in the international market and international organizations are open to far more opportunities when they know how to speak German.
German is recognized as the official national language in six countries — Germany, Austria, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Switzerland German language is also official at some level in Italy, Poland and Slovakia. Countries including Russia, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Romania also have a German-language presence.
Better cultural awareness
For tourists and travelers, learning German unlocks a new planet of cultural treasure. There is enough German presence in many places around the world because Germans love to travel the world.
Learning to speak German will help you appreciate the cultural experiences of Germans no matter where you find them.
On the entertainment side of things, Germans have contributed immensely to literature, music, and art. Creators like Kafka, Mozart, Beethoven, and Goethe were all German and made their original creations in the German language.
When you learn to speak German, it’d be very enjoyable to digest all that creativity in its pure undiluted form.
Wider internet reach
The German language is highly popular on the Internet, staying in the top ten content languages used for websites. There are even reports that indicate that a great chunk of Germans will not make online purchases if there is no German content available.
If you’re interested in penetrating the German market and communicating online with Germans, then it is time to consider speaking German as non-negotiable.
More places to travel
As a German speaker, you can travel to more than ten different countries in Europe and still not feel lost. Because many Germans have occupied and settled in different places including the United States, you’ll have a much easier time communicating with the locals and enjoying your travel experience.
And finally, or und schlussendlich as they say…
If you’re already an English speaker, learning German is a lot easier for you. German and English languages have shared roots and that makes many of the words similar. The alphabet structure is almost the same except for a few additions on the German end.
Learning to speak German offers so many benefits that are guaranteed to give you the professional and personal boost you need. It is quite simply a valuable skill in times like this, where skill equates to value.
A shortage of qualified workers is responsible for a developing crisis in the homecare sector Galway TD Seán Canney has claimed.
The Independent TD said that he has experienced “first hand” where homecare hours are allocated to older people, but the service is not delivered due to a shortage of qualified workers.
Families who do have access to a qualified home caregivers can still find themselves in difficulty when that person might be out sick, he added, and no replacement is available.
“Government rhetoric around Slainte Care and keeping older people in their homes as a choice is falling asunder as we witness the failure of the Department of Health to provide a fully operational service for people who need home help.”
The importance of homecare was never starker than during the lockdowns of the past year and a half, when older people were asked to isolate at home for their own protection from the coronavirus.
Along with the difficulties of the pandemic, the importance of expanding and funding homecare in Ireland has been looming for some time now as the country’s population continues to age.
Providing professional supports for older people who may not have family who can care for them, or are not qualified to meet their needs, is considered essential to keeping older people in their own community instead of a nursing home, or long-term hospitalised.
Last month, the private company Home Instead announced that it was creating 60 new senior care positions in Galway, as part of a move to hire 1,000 more non-medical caregivers around the country.
Home Instead currently has 7,000 customers around the country, and intends to grow that by another 2,000 with these additional caregivers.
There have been a further 1,181 confirmed cases of COVID-19 notified by the Department of Health today.
As of this morning 309 people in the country are hospitalised with COVID.
Of these patients, 60 have been admitted for treatment in an intensive care unit.
Ireland’s five-day moving average now stands at 1,298 cases per day in the latest figures.
The World Health Organisation has said that vaccine booster shots are not advised for the general population yet.
Ireland is, however, planning to offer booster shots to people over 65 in nursing homes, and over 80 in the community, which will be delivered ‘off-label’ as the vaccines have yet to be approved for this by the European Medicine Agency.
