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Scapegoat

Scapegoat The banking crisis blame game has gone official. In the court of public opinion, Sean FitzPatrick is the villain of the piece. But is he being used as a scapegoat? Nick Mulcahy reports

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Inside Mellon's Building Blitz

Inside Mellon's Building Blitz Despite the construction bust, nearly 1,000 volunteers travelled from Ireland to South Africa in November for the annual township building blitz. Jim Aughney sampled the mood of some participants

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The Way I Work

The Way I Work Alan Carroll says that he practices what he preaches when it come to working

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CEO Of The Decade

CEO Of The Decade Ryanair is the most notable Irish business success story of the past decade, and it wouldn't have happened without chief executive Michael O'Leary, our pick as CEO of the Decade. But where does he go from here?

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Decade In Review

Decade In Review Boom To Bust: So how were the Noughties for you? Business Plus asked nine business people from a variety of sectors to look back on the boom to bust decade and reflect on where Ireland goes from her

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Budget 2010

Budget 2010 In this assessment of Budget 2010, the main points are summarised and experts from BDO examine the tax implications

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Redundancy Goes Better With Coke

Redundancy Goes Better With Coke Companies implementing redundancies are legally obliged to pay two weeks' pay per year of service. Determined workers can extract much better terms from their employer, as Coca Cola HBC found out

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The Way I Work

The Way I Work Sean Taaffe found that in his hairdressing business, passion makes the cut

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Food For Thought

Food For Thought Thinking of opening a restaurant, such as Linda Byrne's Diep Chain? A new study of the sector explains why it's so difficult to turn a profit

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Staying Competitive By Outsourcing

Staying Competitive By Outsourcing Cork firm Mary Coppinger has been manufacturing work uniforms for three decades. Business Plus finds out from Noreen Dukelow (pictured) how she changed the business after she bought it from her sister nine years ago

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The World's Top Business Thinker

The World's Top Business Thinker Indian-born academic CK Prahalad recently topped a respected ranking of the world's Top 50 management gurus. Yanky Fachler explains why Prahalad is so influential, as well as listing his top ten thinkers

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Who Ran Ireland Into The Ground?

Who Ran Ireland Into The Ground? Broadcaster Matt Cooper's new book argues that a moneyed crowd, in close association with politicians like former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, did the country down through dodgy dealing. Terence McDonough argues that as a more holistic analysis it must prove t

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Breaking Into China

Breaking Into China Ambitious Irish companies, such as Berkley Recruitments Fergal Brosnan (pictured), know that China should be on their radar map for expansion. Business Plus talked to four Cork companies who are looking east

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The New Economy

The New Economy The New Economy is thousands of individuals or small groups scratching out a living in service sector startups. Most of their focus is digital and they're not afraid of starting a business in the gale of a recession

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Triple Crisis

Triple Crisis Kieran Allen's new book Ireland's Economic Crash recounts how a miracle economy turned into a disaster zone and proposes a radical agenda for change. TCD academic Charles Larkin takes issue with some of Allen's Marxist analysis

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Tiger Poster Boy Bites The Dust

Tiger Poster Boy Bites The Dust Brody Sweeney's O'Briens sandwich bars business model of owning its franchisee properties worked in the good times. But it proved the company's undoing when the recession struck

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The Public Pay Premium

The Public Pay Premium Years of national pay agreements and benchmarking have resulted in the gap between private and public sector pay widening dramatically

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Staying Afloat In Troubled Times

Staying Afloat In Troubled Times Dromoland Castle took a big risk when it bought over the troubled Castlemartyr Resort in Cork. BP finds out from Mark Nolan (pictured) about how the enlarged group has been coping with recession

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Swallowed Up

Swallowed Up Is Niall O'Cleirigh's Macalla's sale to American buyer Roamware a coup for the Irish software sector or merely another indication of its weakness? Probably both

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The Way I Work

The Way I Work Robert Craige explains how the early bird catches the work

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Reykjavik On The Liffey

Reykjavik On The Liffey The banking systems in Iceland and Ireland collapsed as a result of madness and collective myopia. John Sweeney explores why sufficient agreement to take away the punch bowl did not develop in either country to support pre-emptive action

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Snouts In The Trough

Snouts In The Trough While Colm McCarthy (pictured) has advised that the goverment cuts taxpayer funding for grant aid, Nick Mulcahy reports on some of the firms that have done best from government funding

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Freewheeler For Free Market

Freewheeler For Free Market The way I work: Blueface co-founder Feargal Brady explains how he juggles work with family life and his views on Ireland's present economic crisis

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Terminal Doubts

Terminal Doubts UK airline bmi believes the new terminal being built at Dublin Airport should be mothballed until the economy improves, according to Ireland sales manager Dave Walsh

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Adapting To Recession

Adapting To Recession Every SME has had to make adjustments to cope with the recession, from reviewing overheads and supplier costs to looking at new ways to generate turnover. BP sampled the views of a range of small firms, such as Select Digital's Tara Wilson-Black (photo)

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At The M&A Coalface

At The M&A Coalface Corporate finance veteran Martin Cole was a poacher turned gamekeeper when he left Mazars for Boundary Capital. Now he's back in the finance counsel game

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The Long Downturn

The Long Downturn The global recession was triggered by the financial crisis. But American economist ROBERT BRENNER argues that it is symptomatic of a more fundamental crisis in the capitalist system. Brenner explained his views recently in an interview with Korean journal

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The Way I Work

The Way I Work Iarfhlaith Kelly explains that his work is a daily adventure in code

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Engaging With Social Media

Engaging With Social Media Changes in consumer behaviour in utilising digital platforms and technologies such as online communities and social networking sites have seen consumers taking control over where when and how content is consumed, writes Simon Hughes

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Bank Lending Facts

Bank Lending Facts The findings of a review of bank lending to the SME sector in the June 2008 to February 2009

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Cold As Ice

Cold As Ice Looking for a snowy winter break with more than queues for ski lifts? Lillehammer in Norway offers a range of activities for active types

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50 Business Ideas That Can Get You Funding

50 Business Ideas That Can Get You Funding Technology, healthcare and pharma/bio ventures attract the big grants from Enterprise Ireland and most of the attention from VCs. But there are lots of other ideas which receive backing from EI, enterprise boards and BES investors

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The Poacher

The Poacher Andrew Doyle, managing partner of Maples and Calder, is taking on Dublin's legal establishment by hiring in top talent

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It's Gettin' Gloomier, Not Boomier!

It's Gettin' Gloomier, Not Boomier! The Diary of a Sinking D4 Socialite

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Flat Pack Magnet

Flat Pack Magnet Furniture giant Ikea has finally opened in Dublin Here are some of the financial and stock numbers of the behemoth

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Special Report: Startups

Special Report: Startups Could You Be Your Own Boss? With unemployment on the rise, more people are thinking about starting their own business. But think it through very carefully before you take the plunge, writes Brian O'Kane

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Father & Daughter

Father & Daughter Fran Rooney's niche broadband venture has cash investment of €1.6m, and in charge day-to-day is his daughter Yvonne. The Rooneys told Business Plus how they work together

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Just In Time

Just In Time Pat Gunne wasn't the only company vendor who sold out before the crash. Business Plus recalls some other companies, such as Gerry McCaughey's Century Homes, and entrepreneurs whose timing was immaculate

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Plastics Firm With Handle On Growth

Plastics Firm With Handle On Growth Can small Irish manufacturers compete on the world stage? Yes we can, Smallwares managing director Ann Jevens tells Graeme McQueen

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Pat Gunne Goes Green

Pat Gunne Goes Green Though some of his former clients are now over-stretched, estate agent Pat Gunne Jnr called the top of the property market very well. Now he has teamed up with Stephen Vernon to relieve banks of rubbish securities

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The Letters Game

The Letters Game An Post was profitable for the fifth consecutive year in 2008, but even Ireland's post boxes aren't immune from the economic downturn

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Budget From Hell

Budget From Hell Finance minister Brian Lenihan's supplementary Budget risks sending the economy into a tailspin from recession to depression

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Travel Software Makes Big Profits

Travel Software Makes Big Profits The three founders of OpenJaw Technologies built an equity investment of €215,000 into a company net worth of €4m in six years. Chief executive John McQuillan explains the success factors to Business Plus

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Four Star Parachute

Four Star Parachute Lots of guys dream about changing career in mid-stream. Jason Sheehy actually did it, swapping Excel sheets at BDO Simpson Xavier for mozzarella and pepperoni

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Finance Bill 2009

Finance Bill 2009 Tax Breaks For IP: Tax experts such as Eoin Whelan from BDO Simpson Xavier discuss the new intellectual property tax regime, the future for allowances on health-related projects, VAT treatment of secondhand cars and the impact of levies on incomes

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Carrying A Heavier Load?

Carrying A Heavier Load? PLC millionaires like Fyffe's David McCann are helping to prop up the Exchequer coffers

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Why The Bubble Happened

Why The Bubble Happened Derek Brawn, author of Ireland's House Party, gives his views on why the property market bubble burst and the lead up to it

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How Creative Thinking Can Help Business

How Creative Thinking Can Help Business Yanky Fachler sat down with Dr Edward de Bono recently to discuss how creative thinking can signpost business through the recession

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Bypassing Heathrow For Abu Dhabi Hub

Bypassing Heathrow For Abu Dhabi Hub The Etihad Airways daily service from Dublin to Abu Dhabi has caught on in a big way for Irish people flying east of Suez

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NERA's Ninjas

NERA's Ninjas Outside of the HSE, it's rare that a State body gets the sort of kicking that Ger Deering's (pictured) National Employment Rights Authority received from TDs recently. Nick Mulcahy explains why small business is fed up with NERA

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How Banjaxed Are The Banks?

How Banjaxed Are The Banks? With no sign of residential and commercial property markets improving, Nick Mulcahy examines just how stretched are the balance sheets at Bank of Ireland, AIB and Irish Life & Permanent

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Dragon In A Monkey Suit

Dragon In A Monkey Suit Dragons' Den contestants would love to emulate the lifestyle of dragon Niall O'Farrell. But the business cycle brings challenges for even the most successful entrepreneurs

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Retail Route Pays Off For McGuirks

Retail Route Pays Off For McGuirks Golf club professionals John and Michael McGuirk were never Ryder Cup class. But they're no slouches in the retail game

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Bashes to Bashes Bust to Bust

Bashes to Bashes Bust to Bust The Diary of a Sinking D4 Socialite

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New Media, No Money

New Media, No Money Many young entrepreneurs naturally gravitate towards music and television. But developing a successful business model centred on youth culture can be difficult, as Balcony TV's Stephen O'Reagan (pictured) found out

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Too Big For His Boots

Too Big For His Boots He's the TV tough guy who humiliates his aspiring apprentices. But what's Bill Cullen's own track record in business?

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Over The Counter: Cork's Retail Heritage

Over The Counter: Cork's Retail Heritage Extracts from 'Over The Counter: Cork's Retail Heritage', a book dealing with small shops and retailers

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Fighting Talk

Fighting Talk Business Plus canvassed the opinions of entrepreneurs and managers - such as Shoe La La MD Maria Smith (pictured) - for how they're preparing to cope with the worst the new year can throw at them

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The Cat's Whiskers

The Cat's Whiskers Jim Aughney joined the annual migration of Irish volunteers to South Africa to build new homes in the townships. He caught up with Niall Mellon (pictured), the man responsible for the biggest ever humanitarian aid project from Ireland

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Bucking The Trend

Bucking The Trend Audi survived the carnage in the car market last year better than most. Diesel was a big reason, John Hayes tells Olive Keogh

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Freedom's Call

Freedom's Call Entrepreneurship and innovation in Ireland are held back by our political class. The closer you get to government, the more obvious it is that you're looking at a cardiovascular system whose arteries are not just clogged, but caked and calcified

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Anglo Nationalisation

Anglo Nationalisation The State saved a bundle when Finance Minister Brian Lenihan (pictured) seized control of Anglo Irish Bank. And now Fianna Fáil appointees will decide the fate of property kingpins

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Spooked By The Debt Pile

Spooked By The Debt Pile Independent News & Media is highly profitable but its share price is on the floor. Nick Mulcahy explains why

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Stock Market Guide 2009

Stock Market Guide 2009 Irish shares are on average 75% cheaper than two years ago. Nick Mulcahy and Graeme McQueen run the rule over some leading counters to see if any of them offer value

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Touch Wood!

Touch Wood! Oakline has been making and selling furniture in Dublin for half a century. Bill Roche, chief executive of the family firm, tells Roisin O'Sullivan about the challenges the firm currently faces

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Taking On ESB

Taking On ESB Bord Gáis is looking to challenge ESB by launching itself into the domestic electricity market, John Mullins (pictured) tells Graeme McQueen

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Instore Subways

Instore Subways To boost trade, Seamus Griffin has installed a Subway counter in five of his Londis outlets

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Public Spending - What Welfare Costs

Public Spending - What Welfare Costs The cost to taxpayers of paying for social welfare will escalate sharply in 2009. NICK MULCAHY examines where some of the money is going and wonders how long before Social Welfare Minister Mary Hanafin makes the welfare class take their medicine too

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Ideal For Lemass

Ideal For Lemass Having a famous name may help in politics but it means little in the world of exhibitions, Sean Lemass tells Business Plus

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Flying With Mike

Flying With Mike Waterford is home to one of Europe's top pilot training colleges. Now promoter Mike Edgeworth has bolted on a third level degree to the venture

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Alliance Merits

Alliance Merits The business model for indigenous Irish airlines is point to point. Alan Sparling, Ireland manager for Scandinavian Airlines, tells Business Plus that business fliers should give more support to the alliance alternatives

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Seanie's Comeback

Seanie's Comeback Sean FitzPatrick stepped down from the top job at Anglo Irish Bank three years ago but now he's back in the limelight

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Banks Wipeout

Banks Wipeout Concern of the amount of capital Irish banks will have to raise have decimated their share prices. Trying to work out if there's an upside is next to impossible

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Budget 2009

Budget 2009 In this assessment of Budget 2009, experts from PricewaterhouseCoopers summarise the main Budget measures, discuss the impact on business and examine how the tax changes affect individual incomes

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Chairman Of The Boards

Chairman Of The Boards Internet discussion forum Boards.ie has meagre revenues but an investment by Daft values the site at €3.3m. Gerry Shanahan tells Business Plus about the site's commercial potential

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The Pioneers

The Pioneers In 1958, Brother was the first Japanese multinational to establish a presence in Ireland. Business Plus recounts how the sewing machine company ended up on Howth Pier

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Room For Expansion

Room For Expansion Hotels may be facing tougher times but that hasn't deterred the Camden Court in Dublin from investing in its facilities

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Regency Targets Business

Regency Targets Business The McGettigan family has re-positioned the Regency Hotel in Whitehall to attract more conference and meetings business from around the city

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Corporate Recovery

Corporate Recovery Insolvencies are on the rise because of the economic downturn. Business Plus canvassed the experts, such as Mazars' Simon Coyle (pictured), for advice on what steps ailing firms must take to avoid going bust and facing the consequences

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Sexual Harassment

Sexual Harassment Lads who get fresh with female colleagues in the pub after work can cost their company a fortune if proper policies are not in place

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Expanding The Pantry

Expanding The Pantry Convenience food retailer The Butler's Pantry is on the expansion trail, but the cost of new premises is proving to be a bugbear

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Stress Retreat

Stress Retreat Liam Griffin took his family hotel business in a whole new direction with a big investment in Monart, a luxury spa resort near Enniscorthy

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How Low For House Prices?

How Low For House Prices? The government's attempt to bail out distressed builders in the Budget is unlikely to stop house prices tumbling through 2009

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Can He Say No?

Can He Say No? Rookie Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan faces a baptism of fire with a make-or-break Budget

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CEO Pay - Are They Worth It?

CEO Pay - Are They Worth It? Despite plummeting share values all round, there isn't much sign of pay restraint among plc chief executives, such as CRH's Liam O'Mahony. Business Plus reports on how the top fat cats are rewarded

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Competition Bites

Competition Bites Hoteliers are being urged to get a grip on financial and operating information systems as the sector faces into tougher times

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Reviving Cross

Reviving Cross AT Cross shuttered its factory in Ballinasloe at the start of the decade. The firm hasn't looked back since

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Taking Their Toll

Taking Their Toll The new tag-licensing system has shot Ciara O'Brien's eTrip Services to the forefront of the motorway toll tag business

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Leap Of Faith

Leap Of Faith Even though it has its supporters, such as DCU professor Brian McCraith, what benefit has the economy reaped from the €1 billion ploughed into Science Foundation Ireland?

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Setting The Stage

Setting The Stage As the property slump rolls on, Upstage's Sinéad Considine is hoping that more vendors will turn to her for home staging

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Tough Out West

Tough Out West Hotels west of the Shannon are facing tough times, Lahinch hotelier Michael Vaughan tells Business Plus

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Sean Quinn's Anglo Irish Play

Sean Quinn's Anglo Irish Play Sean Quinn dropped a bundle with his CFD play in Anglo Irish Bank. However the extent of his loss is mostly a matter of conjecture

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Kylemore

Kylemore The decision by café chain Kylemore to move into the contract catering arena is paying dividends for Brian Hogan, he tells Business Plus

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Digging Deep

Digging Deep Denis O'Brien is nursing big paper losses from his stake-building in Independent News & Media

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On The Pig's Back

On The Pig's Back Farmers would be in the poor house without handouts from the EU and Irish taxpayers. Yet still they voted to banjax Europe's progress

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Economy: Is Brian Cowen Up To The Job?

Economy: Is Brian Cowen Up To The Job? Brian Cowen is in charge of a €62 billion spending budget. The only problem is that the new Taoiseach is having to borrow to keep the show on the road

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The Integrator

The Integrator System Dynamics boss Tony McGuire believes the only way his company can compete with the big boys is to scale up. He talks to Business Plus about growth through acquisition

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Made To Measure

Made To Measure Executive women need to look sharp and their clothes have to be hard-wearing. Tyrell & Brennan has the bespoke solution

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Over A Barrel

Over A Barrel Ryanair's annual profit of over €500m could be wiped out if oil prices continue their current upwards trend. Like Ryanair, Aer Lingus is battening down the hatches as its faces a profit wipe-out this year

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Special Report: Startups

Special Report: Startups Third level colleges now provide all sorts of assistance for entrepreneurs. Who offers what, and advice from entrepreneurs who've been through the mill

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China: Growing Pains

China: Growing Pains A stockmarket bubble, soaring inflation and a jittery property prices have put a dampener on what was supposed to be a triumphant year for China

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Aviation Champion

Aviation Champion CityJet chief executive Geoffrey O'Byrne White tells Business Plus why the Irish government needs to be much more robust in defending the interests of the Irish aviation sector

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Winner All Right

Winner All Right Young people with an entrepreneurial urge shouldn't waste time doing third level degrees, writes former Fine Gael politician turned bookie Ivan Yates

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Burgers & Beere

Burgers & Beere Abrakebabra is one of the country's most successful franchise businesses. Now founder Graeme Beere is going for growth by rolling out franchise concepts from the UK

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Rescuing Festa

Rescuing Festa Festa Fine Foods was rescued from a near death experience but trade creditors still took a big bath

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Meg's Blunder

Meg's Blunder Meg Whitman did a super job during her decade at the top of eBay - except for wasting a fortune on the Skype hype

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Ballinasloe Gateway

Ballinasloe Gateway The Carlton Group believes that Ballinasloe's location on the much improved Dublin-Galway road can attract conference business to the Shearwater Hotel

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Banking Online

Banking Online Are all online banking services for business the same? Mostly yes, but there are some differences in functionality

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Slowdown Strategies

Slowdown Strategies Eighteen years ago, Colin Culliton started a printing business focused solely on the marketing sector. The strategy paid off but this year there are no low-lying plums, he tells Business Plus

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Falcon Holidays

Falcon Holidays The package holiday market in Ireland is worth around €650m. Nick Mulcahy finds out from Falcon Holidays boss Damien Mooney about the recent musical chairs in the sector

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Maurice Hennessy

Maurice Hennessy Maurice Hennessy is the eighth generation of the family employed by the cognac firm, and he may be the last

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Lough Erne Golf Resort

Lough Erne Golf Resort Jim Treacy has built a hotel and golf facility on the shores of Lough Erne to rival the K Club

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Oyster Circle

Oyster Circle If you've got €330,000 to spare, Bill McCabe's Oyster Circle is a gateway to luxury getaways around the world

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Bulger's Education

Bulger's Education Experience counts for a lot in business but Duolog chief executive Ray Bulger found there are times you need to go back to the classroom

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How To Succeed In 2008

How To Succeed In 2008 It's always a good idea to start the business year with good intentions. Business Plus canvassed the views of entrepreneurs and senior executives for their counsel on how to stay ahead of the competition

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Budget 2008

Budget 2008 In this assessment of Budget 2008, experts from PricewaterhouseCoopers summarise the main Budget measures, discuss the impact on business and examine how the changes affect individual incomes

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It Was A Very Good Year

It Was A Very Good Year The Doyle and Roche families saw their hotel and utility interests sweep up billions of euro during 2007

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A Flying Time

A Flying Time The new hotel at Cork Airport has opted for an aviation theme to provide atmosphere for its guests,

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PCH International - Liam Casey

PCH International - Liam Casey Eyebrows were raised when Liam Casey was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, as few people had ever heard of him

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Seabreeze

Seabreeze A change in sales strategy has paid dividends for oyster producer Seabreeze

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Toxic Transactions

Toxic Transactions Traders, Guns & Money provides a compelling insight into the recurring pattern of greed and indiscipline in derivatives trading

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Zamano

Zamano Red Circle founder Ger Dowling has hit the jackpot after selling his business to Zamano

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Cape Verde Developments

Cape Verde Developments Irish entrepreneur Tom Sheehy is playing a leading role in transforming the tropical backwater of Cape Verde into an upmarket tourist trap

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Feuds Of The Year

Feuds Of The Year The normally humdrum business scene was enlivened by some entertaining clashes through 2007. A brief review of some of the highlights, including O'Brien v O'Reilly; Ryanair v Aer Lingus; and EBS v Ethna Tinney

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Size Doesn't Matter

Size Doesn't Matter E&Y's entrepreneur of the year programme spans companies of all sizes. Alternative's Sandra Lawler recounts her experience of mixing with some big hitters

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Boost For Athlone

Boost For Athlone The capital of the midlands is benefiting from major investment in quality hotels

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Startups: CustomerMinds.com

Startups: CustomerMinds.com What Salesforce.com did for sales, CustomerMinds.com plans to do for marketing. But while it is well funded and its product almost ready to go, can it pull it off?

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Silver Goes Green

Silver Goes Green William Doyle of Newbridge Silverware believes it makes business sense to shun fossil fuels

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Design For Business

Design For Business The annual Irish Design Effectiveness Awards showcase design firms who deliver real commercial benefit

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Public Pay

Public Pay The benchmarking of top public service posts against the private sector resulted in huge pay increases only two years after a previous top-up. Business Plus reports that the workings of the review body are shrouded in secrecy

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Richard Branson

Richard Branson Virgin Megastores, where it all started for Richard Branson, is soon to lose its virginity after the loss-making chain was sold by the tycoon. Other ventures aren't going too well either

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DPS Engineering

DPS Engineering It's a big move for a partnership to bring in an outsider as chairman. At DPS Engineering, they've turned to a lawyer for the role

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McGowans Furniture

McGowans Furniture Frank McGowan and Thomas McGowan of Frank McGowan furniture both hope to keep the business in the family in future generations

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Chambers Ireland

Chambers Ireland The 'commerce' bit got dumped, that's what, in a radical break with over two centuries of tradition. BP reports on why commerce is deemed to old-fashioned for the country's largest business organisation

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Netsource

Netsource Internet entrepreneur Tom Kelly has sold his internet service provider business to Americans for the second time

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Moriarty Tribunal

Moriarty Tribunal A Supreme Court judge has poured scorn on the Moriarty Tribunal for taking so long to conclude

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Sunway Travel

Sunway Travel Tanya Airey heads up a 40-year-old family firm that is pushing for growth in a rapidly changing marketplace

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Norkom Technologies

Norkom Technologies Norkom Technologies started out making CRM software and got nowhere. Now it has developed into a niche player in financial security software. Founder Paul Kerley explains the journey so far

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Stockbyte

Stockbyte Why did Getty Images pay €110m for a Kerry company which made €3.5m last year?

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Robert Chambers

Robert Chambers Robert Chambers is one of Dublin's most successful hairdressers, and his daughter Tamara is following in his footsteps

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Divorce

Divorce SME owners take note. If your marriage breaks down, just because your firm is cash poor won't stop your wife receiving a huge separation settlement

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Talbot Hotel Group

Talbot Hotel Group The country is coming down with tax-driven new hotels. Philip Gavin explains how the Talbot Hotel Group is facing the competition by expanding to compete more efficiently

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Buy4Now

Buy4Now Best known as the online gateway for Superquinn, Ali Murdoch's Buy4Now looks like rewarding investors' patience

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Delta Index

Delta Index Delta Index has gone through €1m in funding as it seeks traction in the spread betting market. But it's getting there

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Nature's Best

Nature's Best Ready to go salads company Nature's Best had surging sales and meagre profits. Then Paddy Callaghan decided to focus on cashflow

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Pacific Technology

Pacific Technology The margins in reselling and distributing IT are low but Cork entrepreneur Ger Scrivens is doing his best to add scale

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CMS Marketing

CMS Marketing Want a celebrity to give your brand a boost? Noel Kelly in CMS Marketing is the guy to talk to

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Power City

Power City Owning the business premises can make a big difference to profit margins, as evidenced by electronics retailer Power City

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Dwyer Nolan

Dwyer Nolan The super-sized profits at Dwyer Nolan Developments makes one wonder about the Dublin housing market

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Java Republic

Java Republic As big companies muscle in on the Fairtrade space, coffee minnow Java Republic has found itself in the firing line

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Peak Oil

Peak Oil Industry expert Colin Campbell warns that the second half of the oil age will herald a discontinuity of unprecedented magnitude, undermining the vary fabric of society and economic wellbeing

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Similarity Systems

Similarity Systems Garry Moroney's software firm Similarity Systems has found stunning success, where investors have made a 600% return on their investment in three years

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Golden Discs

Golden Discs Golden Discs is checking out of Grafton Street at a big profit. But what will the owners do with all their cash

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Alan Scroope

Alan Scroope Smart internet ideas can reap big dividends for entrepreneurs like Alan Scroope

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Liberty Asset Management

Liberty Asset Management There are big margins in advising Tiger Cubs where to park their surplus cash

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Abtran

Abtran The growing popularity of business process outsourcing has turned Abtran into one of Munster's star performers

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Carry On Kenmare

Carry On Kenmare Publicity surrounding Donal Kinsella's sleepwalking in Mozambique has distracted attention from a strategic rift at Kenmare Resources

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Social Networks

Social Networks Who would have thought that a website for eight-year-olds centred on penguins would be worth €500m after two years. Is it too late to join the party?

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Is Restriction Effective?

Is Restriction Effective? Directors of insolvent companies who act irresponsibly can be restricted by the High Court. But is the sanction tough enough?

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Michael O'Leary

Michael O'Leary Michael O'Leary's success is based on a full-frontal assault on anything that stands in his way

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Microsoft

Microsoft Microsoft's huge profit margins on Windows and Office mean that it can shrug off its Xbox fiasco

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Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt

Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt The new Ritz-Carlton hotel in Powerscourt, Co Wicklow, looks set to do well for social functions

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Novum

Novum Freezer-maker Novum, based in Coolock, exports 98% of its output. Joe Jordan, managing director and shareholder, tells Business Plus about the challenges facing this SME manufacturer

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Digiweb

Digiweb After ten years in business, Digiweb has secured its first outside investor. Colm Piercy tells Business Plus about how he grew the company and what he plans to do with €20m

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The Wine Buff

The Wine Buff The Wine Buff is an Irish franchise operation that has fast-growth ambitions

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Calyx

Calyx Ted O'Neill and Maurice Healy are new to the plc scene but that hasn't stopped either from grabbing the headlines with a string of acquisitions

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eTel

eTel eTel has grown its revenues from zero to €100m-plus in seven years and is now looking for an exit for some investors. Founder Sean Melly could net his second big pay day in less than a decade

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Luzern Technologies

Luzern Technologies Dublin firm Luzern Technologies has built a multimillion euro business just by selling on eBay. Founder Ken Doyle explains why more Irish SMEs should follow their example

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Asavie

Asavie Startup Asavie has a low-cost solution for remote access to office networks. It's a good idea but will the customers come?

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First Ireland Spirits

First Ireland Spirits First Ireland Spirits was recently named the country's best SME, despite a recent dent in the bottom line

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Dansk Window Systems

Dansk Window Systems At the age of 44, Chris Foley thought his chance of running his own business had gone. Now the boss of Dansk Window Systems has a shot at becoming Entrepreneur Of The Year

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Realex Payments

Realex Payments Ernst & Young organised a trip to Shanghai for former and present finalists in its Entrepreneur of the Year competition. Colm Lyon, founder and MD of Realex Payments, joined the delegation and brought his diary

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O'Brien Plant Hire

O'Brien Plant Hire William O'Brien Snr and his son William talk about passing the family business from one generation to the next

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Cylon Controls

Cylon Controls Signing up for Enterprise Ireland's Scaling Programme is paying off for Sean Giblin's Cylon Controls

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Classic Furniture

Classic Furniture David Langan learned about selling furniture from his parents in Cabra. Then he did his own thing

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Carlton Hotel Group

Carlton Hotel Group After he left school in Galway, Michael Kearney was a shop assistant. Now he's the driving force behind the fast growth Carlton Hotel Group

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CPL Resources

CPL Resources Entrepreneur of the Year Anne Heraty may be Ireland's most successful business woman ever

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Rock Jewellers

Rock Jewellers Jeweller Dermot Rock says it isn't easy to grab a patch on Grafton Street. But patience paid off in the end

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Digital Hub

Digital Hub The Digital Hub in the centre of Dublin is an incubator for creative companies that focus on the digital future. Four of the hub's entrepreneurs took time out to discuss their prospects

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Elephant Facelift

Elephant Facelift Sports retailer Elverys turned to consultants Bradley McGurk to differentiate the brand from flash rivals

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Smart Telecom's Second Coming

Smart Telecom's Second Coming Smart Telcom has recovered from its near death experience last year, thanks to risk taker Brendan Murtagh

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The House Price Slump. How Long And How Bad?

The House Price Slump. How Long And How Bad? Will the current slump in house prices accelerate into a meltdown or will the market enjoy a soft landing? Business Plus weighs up both sides of the debate and the implications for the economy

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Niche Focus Rewards Botany Weaving Mill

Niche Focus Rewards Botany Weaving Mill How has a textile manufacturer based in the Liberties in Dublin, founded in 1934, morphed into a global player in its sector

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Butlers' Café Bonus

Butlers' Café Bonus Family firm Butlers Chocolates has grown to a new level after going down the retail route with its own cafés

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Niall McFadden - Boundary Capital

Niall McFadden - Boundary Capital Niall McFadden's deal-making skills have made him a paper fortune. But can he add value to his motley collection of assets?

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Access To All Areas Is Target For O'Rourke

Access To All Areas Is Target For O'Rourke Former media executive Peter O'Rourke knows a thing or two about growing a business and he is applying that knowledge at Access Accounting

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Divorce And Business: Gimme A Break

Divorce And Business: Gimme A Break Ten years after the introduction of divorce, business owners who separate from their spouse can never be sure of a full and final settlement

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Ethnic Businesses: Immigrant Entrepreneurs

Ethnic Businesses: Immigrant Entrepreneurs Olga Gashi is one of Ireland's most successful immigrant entrepreneurs. But access to funding remains a key issue for others who want to emulate her success

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Sambo Biz Tries For Franchise Growth

Sambo Biz Tries For Franchise Growth Sandwich and coffee business Munchies has been on a slow growth path since it started. Now the firm is trying to accelerate by going down the franchise route

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How I Started In Business

How I Started In Business Regina Mangan founded Book A Room ten years ago. She tells Business Plus that only in the past two years has the business come good

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Sean Quinn

Sean Quinn The Sunday Times and RTE say tycoon Sean Quinn is Ireland's wealthiest man. That may be the case - but he also owes €2 billion

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Nailing Dermot Desmond

Nailing Dermot Desmond Dermot Desmond says his cash donations to Charlie Haughey were personal gifts. The Moriarty Tribunal says they weren't. Who's right?

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Netwatch

Netwatch Heard about the security firm operating in Carlow that's protecting Arizona water treatment plants from Islamic terrorists? Business Plus hears from founder David Walsh how the internet platform is helping Netwatch expand worldwide

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The Gloss

The Gloss Jane McDonnell was rebuffed by her employer over the issue of equity participation. Now she is taking him on directly with a rival woman's magazine

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The Best Advice I Ever Got

The Best Advice I Ever Got Business Plus asked some leading executives and entrepreneurs about the best piece of advice they received during their business careers

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Boylesports

Boylesports Bookies chain Boylesports shows how bank debt can be a viable alternative to equity capital to fund fast growth

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Golden Rules

Golden Rules Business Plus canvassed the views of top managers in large corporates and SMEs about what single business mantra they've come to appreciate and follow

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Chemists Dash For Scale

Chemists Dash For Scale Sam McCauley and Paddy Hickey are leading the charge of chemists chains who hope that scale will one day reap Unicare-type rewards

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Intelligo's Payroll Niche Pays Off

Intelligo's Payroll Niche Pays Off Filling in the employer's P60 is a chore for most firms. Intelligo Software has a nifty new form that eases the burden slightly

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Clarion Call

Clarion Call Clarion Consulting is enjoying rapid growth and founder Pat Millar has plans to double the firm's turnover. A bit more even-handedness from the government would help

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Interview: Spectra Photo's Xavier McAuliffe

Interview: Spectra Photo's Xavier McAuliffe Digital photography has impacted significantly on Spectra Photos fortunes, but founder Xavier McAuliffe has many other new business ventures to keep him busy

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Smyths Toys

Smyths Toys Paddy and Bernadette Smyth started Smyths Toys in the backwater of Claremorris in 1986. Now their kids have taken the toy retailer into practically every new suburban retail park

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Sony Centres

Sony Centres It's some achievement to build up a chain of six shops in prime locations on the back of €125 in equity. For Brian Sheehan and Robert Hallam, it helps that Sony is their partner

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Autolaunch: Poster Boys For Enterprise Ireland

Autolaunch: Poster Boys For Enterprise Ireland Who says manufacturing in Ireland is dead and buried? Autolaunch in Carlow is a case study on how ex-pats can bring home the bacon

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RTE: Public Service Or Self Service?

RTE: Public Service Or Self Service? RTE has broadened its definition of what constitutes Public Service broadcasting to justify a taxpayers' subsidy for just about everything that the organisation produces inhouse

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Furlong Investments

Furlong Investments How do you move your operating profit up from 3% to 5%? Carpet czar Noel Furlong shows that taking a slicer to production costs can pay real dividends

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Gleeson Group

Gleeson Group The Gleeson Group beverage business is one bright spot in Tipperary's industrial wasteland

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Bizquip's Jim Leyden

Bizquip's Jim Leyden Jim Leyden celebrates 21 years in the office equipment and furniture business this year.And Bizquip has never been in better shape

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Insomnia

Insomnia Soaring rents are the bain of all retailers, including coffee shops. But shareholders in Insomnia are taking the pain as they build a scale business that could attract a buyer

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Michael McLoughlin Hardware

Michael McLoughlin Hardware Padraig and Kieran McLoughlin have taken their father's business to the next level

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David Ellis

David Ellis David Ellis' big new restaurant on St Michael's Pier in Dun Laoghaire has been a learning curve for the experienced restaurateur

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Public Sector Pay

Public Sector Pay Inside the Public Sector Gravy Train - Is Bertie Ahern really worth €249,000 p.a.

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Investec

Investec IFSC veteran Michael Cullen, who heads up Investec in Ireland, sees property and private banking as a growth area for his merchant bank

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Jackie Skelly

Jackie Skelly The Jackie Skelly gym chain grew turnover by 66% last year but margins didn't keep pace. The strategy is on building a scale business that could attract a buyer

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O'Briens Irish Sandwich Bars

O'Briens Irish Sandwich Bars Brody Sweeney is an exceptional entrepreneur who's told his story in a new book. He'll need a second volume to deal with O'Brien's expansion into the UK

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Moritz Holdings - Maplewood Homes

Moritz Holdings - Maplewood Homes Banks have lent Michael Whelan an estimated €550m to play with in London and to fund Dublin's suburban sprawl

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Argus Car Hire

Argus Car Hire Greg Turley's Argus Car Hire has developed a global car hire booking engine. The jury is out on its profitability but the spin-off benefit for the core business is plain to see

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Family Business: Arboretum Garden Centre

Family Business: Arboretum Garden Centre Ongoing training and strict lines of demarcation are keys to the success of Rachel Doyle's garden centre Arboretum in Carlow

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Lorraine Sweeney

Lorraine Sweeney The serial fast food entrepreneur has turned her talents to coffee shops. This time Lorraine Sweeney is going down the franchise route with Barnie's Gourmet Coffee

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Father & Son

Father & Son Louis Copeland Snr and Louis Copeland Jnr reveal how they get on together in their men's clothes business

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Zocalo - John Conran

Zocalo - John Conran For generations the Conran family in Wexford sold wool and potatoes. Now they source furniture from Chinese factories. Inside an amazing transformation

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Beo Fashions - Shamon Boutique

Beo Fashions - Shamon Boutique Sharon Mohan and Monica McGinn started their boutique Shamon with a bank loan of €70,000. The business is treading water but they say that being self-employed is more fun than corporate life

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Prestige Group

Prestige Group Prestige Group is the leading player in sourcing overseas property for Irish investors. Founder Paul Coghlan accelerated his company's growth when he stopped trying to do everything himself

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Coolmore Fresh Foods - Shea O'Dwyer

Coolmore Fresh Foods - Shea O'Dwyer The death of his wife Thecla last year wasn't just a personal tragedy for Shea O'Dwyer - she was also his business partner in the family-owned cakes firm, Coolmore Fresh Foods

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Noel May - From Data Storage To Shoes

Noel May - From Data Storage To Shoes A bad back led entrepreneur Noel May to venture into the retail footwear sector with an innovative 'shoe'. So far he's having more luck than with his previous high-tech venture

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Inside AOL's Fraud

Inside AOL's Fraud Time Warner shareholders took a bath when the media giant merged with AOL. Now it appears that much of AOL's success was a scam

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Financial Engineering Network - Freedom Fighters

Financial Engineering Network - Freedom Fighters Paul Overy and his partner Aidan McLoughlin have grown their financial advice firm from 12 to 40 employees in two years. But to get there they had to hire someone new to call the shots

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Mr Crumb

Mr Crumb According to the SFA National Business Awards, Mr Crumb is the best small business in Ireland. Here's why

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Daft.ie

Daft.ie Property website Daft.ie started off as a hobby for brothers Brian and Eamon Fallon. Now they've learned how to make money from the site

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The Demise Of Bewley's Cafes

The Demise Of Bewley's Cafes Bewley's Oriental Cafés was operated by the Bewley family "for the good of mankind". Patrick Campbell took a less sentimental view when he closed the Dublin cafés in 2004

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Abrakebabra's Magic Trip

Abrakebabra's Magic Trip Doner kebabs made millions for Wyn and Graeme Beere. But the partnership couldn't last forever, as Wyn Beere recalls

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Sean Quinn

Sean Quinn He's Ireland's most successful entrepreneur by a long shot. An in-depth report on how Sean Quinn uses insurance premia to finance his empire

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Sean Fitzpatrick

Sean Fitzpatrick The Anglo Irish boss is Ireland's most successful ever banker. A revealing interview on how he did it

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Jerry Henchy

Jerry Henchy Dairygold boss Jerry Henchy is one of the new breed of ruthless young managers who don't let sentiment stand in the way of building profits. And rural Cork is reaping the whirlwind

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Law Firms' Sale And Leasebacks

Law Firms' Sale And Leasebacks More and more Dublin law firms are hitting on sale and leaseback property deals that deliver millions of euros for the partners

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Conrad Black

Conrad Black Investigators claim that newspaper publisher Hollinger was "looted" to the tune of more than $400m by Conrad Black and others. But how did the Canadian tycoon do it?

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Dawn Of A New Oil Age

Dawn Of A New Oil Age For the past 150 years, oil helped fuel the growth of the world's population, trade and commerce. But but supplies are declining. Ireland and the world need to look at the alternatives, writes Colin Campbell

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Comans: Family At War

Comans: Family At War When Patrick Coman decided to gift half his business to his six sons, to the exclusion of his six daughters, he sowed the seeds of a row that would rip the family apart

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MBO Fiasco

MBO Fiasco The rules governing the use of invoice discounting to facilitate company buyouts need to be tightened up, as the liquidation of Doherty Advertising clearly demonstrates

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Jordan v Vodafone

Jordan v Vodafone Grand Prix legend Eddie Jordan is used to losing. But the scale of his defeat in a High Court action against Vodafone was overwhelming


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