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An SOS has been issued to help find an assistance dog which has gone missing from his home in Castleconnell, County Limerick. “One of our dogs, Toby who lives with a family as an assistance dog for their teenage son, went missing last night, Monday from their home in Castleconnell. Toby did not have his collar on as it was being washed at the time,” explained John Lenihan of Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland. “He appears to have vanished of the face of the earth and as you can imagine the family are distressed at the loss. Toby is not just a pet but a lifeline to his best buddy, Peter who needs Toby back ASAP,” John added. Since then, Toby was reunited with his owners after he was found on the side of the road at Castleconnell. Anybody who can help reunite Toby with Peter should Tel: 022 43851, Mobile; 0864112123 or email; john@aadi.ie.

Recent CSO job creation figures represent a vindication of the Government’s decision to retain the 9% VAT rate for tourism services, the scrappage of the air travel tax, the separation of Shannon Airport from the DAA and the creation of the Wild Atlantic Way, according to Fine Gael TD, Joe Carey. Over 8,000 of the 31,600 jobs created nationally in the last twelve months were in the hospitality sector. The Clare deputy said the reduction of VAT on tourism services from 13.5% to 9% has had a direct and significant impact on job creation. “Here in County Clare we have also seen huge benefit from Government policies in this sector. The creation of the Wild Atlantic Way is opening up aspects of our coastline to increased tourist numbers, with the Cliffs of Moher set to break the one million visitor number mark for the first time this year. Passenger numbers are up at Shannon with increased routes and destinations. “The reduction …

The Small Firms Association’s Jobs Sentiment Survey for the second half of 2014, indicates an increase in employee numbers within small firms, reflecting the recent upturn in labour market performance. However, for some firms retaining and creating employment remains a challenge, SFA director, Patricia Callan has cautioned. “Although the recovery path for the labour market won’t entirely be smooth, this survey shows that just over 30% of small firms plan to increase employee numbers in the second half of 2014 and 63% will retain their current employment levels. While the figures are positive, 7% of firms will reduce employee numbers, as business input costs and labour costs remain challenging.” Ms Callan said. “There are sectors such as traded services and hospitality that are showing strong job growth, for other sectors job creation will be fragile and every step must be taken to ensure no additional taxes are placed on labour to ensure job retention and growth,” she added. The SFA …

Deputy president and chairperson of ICMSA’s Dairy Committee, Pat McCormack has advised farmers to be alert to the fact that this Friday is the deadline for the Milk Quota Appeals Tribunal Hardship Scheme. With a super levy fine almost inevitable for the final year of milk quotas, an additional allocation under the Hardship Scheme would alleviate some pressure for the farmer in question, he said. Mr McCormack reminded farmers that the tribunal gives priority to small scale producers who are committed to and highly dependent on dairying and that only those producers with a total permanent quota of less than 280,000 litres, at the date of application, will be considered for an allocation under this scheme. Mr McCormack noted that if successful, the allocation is free of charge and he said that any farmer under 280,000 litres who expects to have a superlevy problem should consider applying with application forms available from the Department of Agriculture and the co-op.

When Agriculture Minister, Simon Coveney visited Liscannor on Sunday to participate in the John P Holland commemorations, he took time out to reassure Clare farmers that the Government is striving to help those who need it. His comment comes and pressure grows on State agencies and Clare County Council to redouble their efforts to assist farmers whose lands were hit by flooding in January and February. Many farmers are living in fear that there will be a repeat of the serious flooding unlesss repairs and restoration works are addressed immediately. Minister Coveney was given a tour of the worst affected arears when he visited Clare shortly after ther storms had abated. Clare IFA Rural Development chairman, Seamus Murphy said they want the county council and the relevant government agencies to ensure the engineer’s report they had commisioned document is acted on before the bad weather returns.

More than 30 Munster IFA livestock farmers staged a tractor protest outside the Aldi supermarket in Mitchelstown, County Cork earlier this Monday. At the protest, IFA president, Eddie Downey said livestock farmers are stepping up their campaign against the price and specification cuts imposed by retailers and factories. He said farmers feel betrayed by the unacceptable behaviour and lack of corporate responsibility on the part of the powerful retailers and meat factories to their farmer suppliers. Mr Downey warned all of the major retailers, including SuperValu, Dunnes, Tesco, Aldi and Lidl, and the factories that the anger and frustration of farmers is at boiling point and the unjustified price and specification cuts, which are severely damaging farmers and the Irish beef sector, must be reversed. “With beef prices in our main markets in the UK and across the EU stable and recovering, the current attack on prices led by the factories cannot be justified,” he said. The president pointed out …

To coincide with September being World Alzheimer’s Month, a free app has been launched to help the 50,000 family carers in Ireland cope with difficult dementia care situations. The Daily Companion App has been created by Home Instead Senior Care, as pocket guide to dementia care providing access to quick, helpful tips from experts and other caregivers. To  support family caregivers in the local community, Home Instead Senior Care is offering a free dementia care education workshop on Tuesday, September 16  in Ennis Library from 5.30pm to 7.30pm. Participants are asked to register by phoning 061-4620701. Attendees will  be advised how the on-the-go guide for dementia caregivers is available for download at no cost in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. It offers immediate advice with close to 500 searchable tips and practical solutions to help deal with behaviours and situations related to Alzheimer’s and other dementias. Features include: * 25 topic categories regarding behaviours and situations; emotional support and helpful …

A Marie Keating Foundation mobile information unit, staffed by a trained nurse, will be at Midwestern Regional Hospital, Ennis on this Thursday from 11am to 3pm. This service is available to both men and women and is free of charge. The mobile unit is equipped with take-home information leaflets on each of the key cancers. The Marie Keating nurse can also provide practical advice on healthy lifestyle choices. The nurse will give cancer information presentations on the unit and use practical awareness tools such as the smokerlyzer, tar in a jar and body fat and scales to help to illustrate health massages. The trained nurse can talk to people on a one-to-one basis in a private area on board about any concerns that they might have about cancer, either for themselves or for someone else, such as a family member or friend. For more information see www.mariekeating.ie.