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TO celebrate the 50th anniversary of Derg Credit Union in Killaloe and Scariff, a former board member Jim O’Brien, launched his historical account of the institution at the Killaloe Hotel, writes Conor Clohessy. While no longer a board member, he currently serves as a volunteer on the promotions and development committee. He works as a freelance journalist. Jim was approached about compiling the piece of work by two of the longer serving members of the board, William McLysaght and Michael Cleary, who were both present at the founding of Derg Credit Union in 1971. Jim said: “They asked if I would write this as part of the commemoration, and it was a huge amount of work. I had to read fifty years’ worth of minutes, which was time-consuming, but it was inspirational to see what these people have achieved.” The momentous feat began with the reading of said minutes last March, which was an endeavour that had be completed within …

THIS year’s Budget has been labelled ‘a giveaway’, though it appears most of the concessions by the government are modest ones. If not that, then they are so thinly spread as to make little difference to anyone. In the area of personal taxation, in an income tax package worth close to €520 million, the standard rate band will increase by €1,500 and will also see the increase of each of the personal tax credits, employee tax credits and earned income credits by €50. Meanwhile, a full-time worker on the minimum wage will remain outside the top rates of the Universal Social Charge and the ceiling of the second USC rate band will be increased from €20,687 to €21,295. Workers will be able to earn €36,800 before hitting the top rate of income tax, up from €35,300. Also, the income tax credits to rise by €50.#Budget2022. — Charlie Weston (@CWeston_Indo) October 12, 2021 The exemption from the top rate of USC …

​​FINANCIAL advice is a complex topic and often requires a professional advisor to get right. The very idea of seeking it can seem daunting, with many people unsure of where to start or who to go to. Time at home due to Covid has seen many of us use social media like never before. A recent trend has seen an increase in the viewership and production of content on social media that gives various forms of financial advice. CNBC reports that nearly half of teenagers are learning about investing from some form of social media. The trend, which is especially prevalent on TikTok and Instagram, is thought to have been partly linked to the GameStop saga in January 2021. Since the events in January, the subreddit responsible (r/WallStreetBets) now has a userbase of more than 10 million, more than double what it was at the start of 2021. Investment News report that TikTok videos tagged with “#personalfinance” have accumulated a …

SCARRIFF-BASED photographer James Treacy has launched a new photography course in his native town. He claims any student who finishes the course has the potential to earn more than €90,000 per annum. The first course he is running is based in McNamara’s in Scarriff on Wednesday, September 29, at 8 pm for two hours a week over five weeks. He intends to cover all the basics of photography and how to take good pictures with a Canon or Nikon DSLR camera as well as editing photos using software such as Photoshop. Mr Treacy says he started out a number of years ago photographing pilgrimages in the Holy Land and Fatima before turning his attention to Holy Communions and Graduations and later cattle mart photography in which  he does a lot of work for the Irish Examiner and the Irish Independent. He has travelled all over the world with his camera and has been to every cattle mart in Ireland worth talking about from Tullamore …

CLARE women looking to begin or grow their own business have until the end of this week to apply for the latest cycle of development initiative ACORNS. Friday, September 10, is the final deadline for early-stage female business entrepreneurs in rural areas to apply for the mentoring programme. This is the 7th year of the Government-backed ACORNS programme, which is supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, under its Rural Innovation and Development Fund. A total of 50 new entrepreneurs will be selected from those who apply but applications have to be completed and submitted by midnight on Friday, September 10. The is no charge to those selected to participate in ACORNS 7 and the free initiative will run over six months from October 2021 to April 2022. More than 300 female entrepreneurs have taken part in the ACORNS initiative to date. Among the 50+ early stage entrepreneurs that took part in the last cycle of ACORNS …

Some people are lucky enough to have more money in their bank account as a result of the lack of spending opportunities over the last 18+ months. Just the other day a friend asked me where do you think would be a good place to invest €10,000 today? Well, everyone seemingly has an opinion on this question and will give you a quick answer to it! Well, that is anyone with the exception, of a Financial Broker, who is unlikely to give you a quick answer to such an important question. This is the case whether you have 10K or 100K because what to invest in, is not about going with fads or trying to pick a winner as you might in a horse race (anyone make any money at the Galway Races?). Instead finding the best investment opportunities needs to be based on a very systematic approach and on your own circumstances. And that is where a Financial Broker …

MOST people’s eyes glaze over if the topic of pensions is raised! Saving for retirement is extremely important. People are living longer and leading more active lives in retirement. As a result, it is more important than ever for you to think about where your income will come from when you retire. Pension saving is one of the few areas where you can still get tax relief. Unfortunately, only about half of the people working in Ireland are members of pension arrangements. Today let’s discuss a defined benefit pension. What is a defined benefit pension scheme? A defined benefit pension, or sometimes know as final salary pension, is a special type of workplace pension. Instead of building up a pension pot over time, it provides you with a guaranteed annual income for life, based on your final or average salary (hence the name). DB pensions are most often provided by the public sector (health, education etc) and government employers. Some private …

THE cost of accommodating patients in public long-stay residential facilities is almost double private nursing homes, with a €790 gap between the dearest and cheapest beds in Clare, new figures have revealed. The maximum weekly Fair Deal rate for a bed in St Dominic Savio Nursing Home is €860, according to latest figures obtained by The Clare Champion. This compares to a weekly fee of €1,650 in Raheen Community Nursing Unit, €1,607 in St Joseph’s Community Hospital, €1,481 in Ennistymon Community Nursing Unit and €1,422 in Regina House Nursing Unit. The cost of care in publicly-run facilities throughout the country was set in January 2020, but the figures for private and voluntary nursing homes came into force at the end of last month. The average Fair Deal rate in Clare is in the region of €910 weekly. Carrigoran House Newmarket-on-Fergus is the dearest of the privately-run facilities in the county, with a weekly rate of €1,010. Other facilities charge the …