Digital Ireland

Locke's Distillery Kilbeggan

2008-07-01T13:38:00.001-07:00

Locke's Distillery Kilbeggan, originally uploaded by Inside Whisky.

Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey first appeared as a John Locke's brand over 100 years ago and was sold successfully until Locke's distillery ceased production in the 1950's. Locke's distillery is the oldest continuously licensed whiskey distillery in the world dating back to 1757.

Flickr

2008-07-01T06:21:00.001-07:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

TERMINALFOUR wins EUR1.3m University Website Contracts

2007-10-16T23:08:00.001-07:00

TERMINALFOUR, the enterprise content management company, secured nine major contracts to power university websites with its Site Manager content management system. Among these are high profile third level bodies such as the University of Glasgow, University of St. Andrews, University of Virginia (US) and University College Dublin. The contracts have a combined value of EUR1.3M.

It brings to twenty-nine the number of university and major third level institute customers won by TERMINALFOUR in recent times. Competition has driven the investment in content management systems by these organisations as open days and traditional recruitment techniques are no longer the primary tools used by students researching third level courses. As prospective students are approached by increasing numbers of institutions seeking to recruit them, the website has become the strongest tool in marketing to them.

Stephen Evens, web manager, University of St. Andrews said, "TERMINALFOUR Site Manager will make it very easy to create and customise user-specific areas of our new website. It will help us to engage and attract prospective students by making the site easier to use, accessible and dynamic."

Another significant driver of this strong demand from the third level sector is the need for increased productivity and efficiency and TERMINALFOUR's software helps in many ways. It enables students and staff to interact in a very user-friendly manner via self-service on-line forms. It allows faculty members to create departmental content, publish in multiple languages to cater for international students. It also facilitates potential students to build their own prospectus i.e. a tailored package of content personalised to their needs.

Piero Tintori, managing director of TERMINALFOUR said, "The days of a colourful and information laden brochure for attracting students are over. University websites are now the first port of call for any prospective student seeking information and students are increasingly demanding interactive, engaging and up-to-date websites."

www.terminalfour.com

ASBIS Consolidates Benelux Operations

2007-10-16T23:07:00.000-07:00

ASBISc Enterprises Plc (ASBIS), a supplier of computer components to the EMEA emerging markets, consolidated its operations in Western Europe under the company ASBIS NL BV.

The subsidiary will act as the main distribution outlet for customers based in the Benelux and across Western Europe, selling a broad range of IT components, as well as ASBIS’ own Canyon and Prestigio branded products.

ASBIS NL BV is the successor to Canyon Technology BV, the European sales branch of ASBIS’ subsidiary Canyon Technology Ltd. , an international vendor of consumer electronics products. ASBIS NL BV will operate in conjunction with ASBIS Europe BV which manages the regional distribution hub at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.

ASBIS NL BV will offer its customers the immediate benefit of direct round-the-clock access to its online B2B Marketplace at www.asbisnl.com with a comprehensive product catalogue and the ability to reserve products, place orders and track product delivery. Furthermore, the company has introduced the possibility for E-tailers to make a live link to its warehouse database thus allowing them to make drop shipments directly to their customers.

www.asbis.com.

Cubic Telecom raises 5 million Euro

2007-10-16T23:06:00.000-07:00

Cork-based Cubic Telecom, the international telecommunications operator, announced plans to become the world’s first truly global mobile service provider.

Cubic Telecom’s service aims to eliminate the high cost of international roaming charges by focusing on introducing simple, high-quality telecommunications services. Their breakthrough technology intelligently uses existing mobile phone network resources to drive down costs. Its core target market is aggrieved customers across the globe who don’t understand why they can’t get value for money when making international calls and roaming. Cubic is working towards free speech.

The company was founded in 2005 by telecommunications blogger Pat Phelan, and is headquartered in Cork with offices in Vancouver, Canada and offers service in 160 countries. To date, he has backed his vision of “working towards free speech” by raising a EUR3.5M investment from private backers in order to develop a suite of innovative global mobile and home phone products under the Cubic Telecom brand, together with its own international virtual carrier network. A further EUR1.5M has been raised to fund a series of international launches of products and services in the coming six months.

Cubic has just completed its first round of telecommunications partnerships, which will see its services becoming available in 160 countries. It is now commencing its marketing partnership round, which sees it seeking wholesale and resale partners. Its initial focus will be on Europe, North America and Australia.

Cubic Telecom’s chief executive officer, Pat Phelan, commented, “We want a world in which you can pick up your mobile phone anywhere and call anyone for as long as you like and not worry about the price. When most people think about driving down the cost of telephone calls, they think of calling from computer-to-computer. We don’t. We deliver simple, high quality, high value telephone services direct to the devices that people like to use - their mobile phones.

There’s no software to download, nothing to configure, nothing new to learn. Our service is straightforward and our network caters to all.

www.cubictelecom.com

Enterprise Ireland funded start-up signs €10m deal with Canadian investors

2007-10-16T23:05:00.001-07:00

Eirzyme Ltd., which has been founded on technology developed at The National University of Ireland, Galway and a €10m investment from Canadian company Micromill System Inc., is set to be a major player in the biofuels sector.

The new compnay has incorporated in Ireland and has set up initial R&D laboratories at the Enterprise Ireland funded bioincubator facility at NUI Galway.

It will produce low-cost enzymes to convert biological materials such as brewers' grains into bioethanol and biogas. These renewable fuels produce environmental benefits by reducing overall emissions of greenhouse gases and are sustainable alternatives to petrol and diesel. The ultimate goal for Eirzyme is to set up a large scale enzyme production facility which will manufacture specific enzyme cocktails to work on a range of raw materials.

Dr Daniel O'Mahony, Director of Technology Transfer at NUI Galway said, "There has been considerable industrial interest in the patented technology developed by Dr Maria Tuohy and her research team at NUI Galway. The formation of Eirzyme is the first step towards unlocking the inherent commercial potential of their breakthroughs. Eirzyme will have global reach and we are confident that the company will make a valuable contribution to addressing future energy needs."

He also added, "In the past 12 months the university has executed 8 license agreements across different industry sectors and looks forward to executing a number of other licensing agreements on other technologies later this year."

ISA welcomes approval of Business Expansion Scheme

2007-10-16T23:03:00.002-07:00

The Irish Software Association welcomed the European Commission’s approval to expand the Business Expansion Scheme (BES) and Seed Capital Scheme (SCS), but expressed concern at some of the conditions the Commission has made.

ISA Chairman Pat Brazel said: “There are many small firms, particularly in the software and technology sector, that depend on BES investment to survive the difficult start-up and development phase. The approval of the extension and expansion of the BES and Seed Capital Scheme, will give a boost to the indigenous technology industry, which is a highly productive and knowledge intensive sector.”

Mr Brazel, however, expressed concern about the conditions that the Commission attached to the approval of the schemes: “Companies that raise funds under either the BES or Seed Capital Scheme will see the amount offset against most other state aid that they would otherwise be entitled to. The purpose of the BES is to inject much needed funding to early stage companies and is part of a range of supports available to companies. If Commission conditions mean companies cannot avail fully of other state supports, such as employment and training assistance, this will restrict their development."

The maximum aid levels will be reduced by 50% for companies located in non-assisted areas (Dublin, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow) and by 20% for companies located in assisted areas (other 22 counties).

http://www.software.ie

IL&P beats market expectations

2007-10-16T23:03:00.001-07:00

Irish Life & Permanent plc has reported a rise of 33% in operating profit for the first six months of the year. Operating Profit for the period was €321 million – up from €242 million for the same period in 2006.

This rise was secured on the back of strong performances in both the life & pensions business and in the banking business of permanent tsb bank.

Life & Investment sales rose by 66% to €594 million [including sales in retail, corporate business and Irish Life Investment Managers]. Operating Profit in the life & pensions business rose by 45% [€194 million].

Within the bank, the value of the permanent tsb loan book rose by 23% during the period with a strong performance by the bank in terms of “retention” of existing mortgages and very strong growth in new mortgage lending in the UK.

In Ireland the value of the loan book rose 21% in value despite a reduction in new mortgage lending of some 19% compared to the same period last year. Operating Profit in the bank was up 23% to €111 million.

IBM Showcase builds on 'Second Life' Virtual hospital ward

2007-10-16T23:02:00.001-07:00

MSoft e-Solutions' clinically acclaimed blood tracking solution has taken the virtual centre stage in IBM's latest innovation centre in Dublin.

Virtual Reality is used to replicate a clinical hospital scenario showing how blood can be tracked from IBM kiosk controlled fridges to transfusions on the ward using hand held devices to guide staff through the process and providing the audit trail demanded by recent EU legislation.

“Clinical scenarios are notoriously difficult to demonstrate which makes them ideal to showcase what we can deliver with 3D Internet and create a safe, controlled environment where people can actually use the technology in practice. It's also a good example of how our kiosks can help develop real time supply chain solutions in clinical environments.” said Chris Howard, IBM Innovation Centre Manager, Dublin.

Anyone familiar with Second Life will recognise the virtual, computer generated environment that has been developed and plans are underway to develop the system into a fully functioning blood transfusion system complete with virtual patients, blood bags and barcodes.

“This kind of immersive visualisation environment can help address issues such as training and the promoting the development of a Global user community on issues such as best practice across a range of clinical areas. Apart from the kudos and increased exposure our participation in the innovation centre has brought us, there's also some very tangible benefits from being involved from working with a company with such a strong presence as a Golbal healthcare solutions provider, ” added Matt McAlister, Managing Director of MSoft e-solutions.

In April 2002, MSoft was awarded the contract to supply the Greater Glasgow Independent Living and Equipment Service (GGILES) with an asset management and ordering system, saving Glasgow City Council and Glasgow NHS millions of pounds for the return and re-use of assets in the community. More recently, in April 2006, MSoft and Glasgow won a Government Computing Award for the "best project delivering efficiency" based on asset tracking, recovery and recycling.

http://www.msoftblood.co.uk

Proposal for Advertising Services

2007-09-20T03:31:00.001-07:00

The Department of Agriculture & Food has issued a tender for the supply of advertising services.

It seeks advertising services to cover the print media, radio, television and other advertising services requirements of the Dept of Agriculture and Food.

Read more: http://www.etenders.gov.ie/search/search_show.aspx?id=SEP091772&ln=EN

European Games Support Centre in Cork

2007-09-20T03:30:00.000-07:00

Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., with the support of IDA Ireland, is to create a European customer support centre in Cork. An initial 50 positions will be created by this investment, rising to over 100 within three years.

World of Warcraft
The US-based company has developed entertainment software, such as World of Warcraft®, Diablo® and StarCraft®. More than 9 million players worldwide subscribe to World of Warcraft.

Interactive entertainment
Interactive entertainment is one of the fastest-growing and most popular recreational sectors globally, and this demand is creating new opportunities for Ireland as a platform for this highly innovative industry,” said Minister Martin. “It is a strategic target for IDA Ireland and we are fast becoming a location of choice for many of the world’s most advanced Internet and digital content companies, as Blizzard has shown today.”

Blizzard is establishing the European customer support centre in Cork City to meet the demands of its expanding player base and increase the level of support it can offer European players. The Cork facility will complement and strengthen Blizzard’s existing primary European offices, located near Paris, and also work closely with the company’s global teams to provide high-quality customer service and online infrastructure maintenance.

KCI Create 250 high quality jobs

2007-09-20T03:28:00.000-07:00

The medical technology company plan to setup a global manufacturing operation at the IDA Business & Technology Park, Garrycastle, Athlone, Co. Westmeath.

250 New Jobs
The investment, supported by IDA Ireland, will create up to 250 new jobs over the next five years, with about one fifth of the jobs requiring third level graduates. Circa. 50 jobs will be created by the end of Q4 2007, with a further 200 jobs linked to the future growth requirements of the business.

Improving clinical outcomes
KCI has leadership positions in advanced wound-care and therapeutic surfaces. It designs, manufactures, markets and services a wide range of proprietary products that can improve clinical outcomes and can help reduce the cost of patient care.

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin said “This is excellent news for Athlone and the whole of the Midlands as it will bring new high quality employment opportunities to the region and new benefits for local suppliers in areas such as plastics, electronics, logistics and packaging as KCI plans to locally source a number of components. Ireland faced strong competition for the investment and the factors which influenced the decision in favour of Athlone included the availability of a workforce with experience in the medical technology industry and the Midlands’ record of success with companies in the industry.”

The operation will manufacture KCI’s V.A.C.® Therapy Units and associated sterile products for global markets. In addition, it will manage the supply chain for third party manufacturers, global purchasing, supplier agreements and distribution of KCI’s products.

KCI’s proprietary products include advanced wound-care systems and therapeutic surfaces. Its advanced wound-care systems incorporate its proprietary Vacuum Assisted Closure®, or V.A.C.® Therapy technology. This has been demonstrated clinically to help promote wound healing and can help reduce the cost of treating patients with serious wounds.

KCI’s therapeutic surfaces, include specialty hospital beds, mattress replacement systems and overlays. These are designed to address pulmonary complications associated with immobility, to prevent skin breakdown and assist caregivers in the safe and dignified handling of obese patients. KCI’s infrastructure is designed to meet the specific needs of medical professionals and patients across all healthcare settings, including acute care hospitals, extended care organisations and patients’ homes.

€7 million R&D investment by Schwarz Pharma

2007-09-20T03:24:00.000-07:00

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Micheál Martin TD, announced a €7million R&D investment by UCB Schwarz Pharma, supported by Shannon Development.

The announcement took place during a visit by the Minister to a number of companies located in the Shannon Free Zone. The Free Zone is Ireland’s leading multi-sectoral business park with over 7,200 people employed in 110 companies generating over €3.3 billion in annual sales.

Capital Investment

During the visit Minister Martin was briefed at the UCB Schwarz Pharma plant on the capital investment the company is making in 2007. Total investment volume by the company is expected to be in excess of €100 million. The company is currently redeveloping a manufacturing plant on its site to manufacture a new drug which they have recently developed.

Shannon Free Zone
The investment also includes a major upgrade in facilities and infrastructure.
Minister Martin’s visit to the Shannon Free Zone also included visits to aircraft leasing company, Genesis Lease; financial securities company, Genworth Financial; and. underwear manufacturer, Maidenform International.

Speaking at the official opening of their new offices by Minister Martin, Chairman and CEO of Genesis Lease, Mr John McMahon, said ‘We are grateful to Minister Micheál Martin for officially opening our new offices. It is particularly appropriate that he, as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, has done so because Genesis Lease is a testament to the enterprising nature of Irish Aviation, is focused on international trade in the form of aircraft leasing and is committed to providing high quality employment opportunities as we grow the business.’

Pharma-Bio Serv Open Ireland Office

2007-09-20T03:22:00.000-07:00

The Puerto Rico based provider of regulatory compliance and validation services is to open an Irish affiliate to serve the Ireland and United Kingdom markets.

The Ireland affiliate will be headed by Jackie Dornan. Ms. Dornan has 18 years of experience in the Ireland pharmaceutical industry, where she has been head and principal of CompuCal Software Solutions since 1995.

Ireland's strategic objectives

Ireland Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Michael Martin, said, "This development supports Ireland's National Development Strategy of establishing itself as a knowledge intensive hub. Pharma-Bio Serv (Ireland) introduces new knowledge-intensive service skills, such as compliance, validation, technology transfer and technical support services to the Irish market; thus strengthening Ireland's position and ability to deliver on innovative knowledge intensive services. This will support Ireland's strategic objectives of delivering the skill sets required to meet the challenges of today's biopharmaceutical sector."

Pharma-Bio Serv offers consulting services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and chemical manufacturing industries, including many of the World's major international pharmaceutical firms.

Marine Institute issue RFP for Professional Services

2007-09-19T02:16:00.000-07:00

The Marine Institute is inviting tenders for the provision of professional services for the development of a research agenda in the area of maritime economics and transport.

This is an open invitation to tender with any suitably qualified and experienced expert or team of experts invited to respond.

More at: http://www.etenders.gov.ie/search/search_show.aspx?id=SEP091749&ln=EN

RFP for Multi-function and Desktop Printers

2007-09-18T04:11:00.000-07:00

The Health Information and Quality Authority "invite tenders for the supply, installation, commissioning and maintenance of a number of high end multi function printers and a number of desktop laser printers."

It is proposed to acquire three multi function printers and a number of desktop laser printers. Each multi function printer must be a power efficient, business level machine capable of competent high level performance, with a low total cost of ownership. It must be able to print, scan, copy and fax.

The desktop laser printers are for single user confidential printing and must be easy to use, quiet with good efficiency and low total cost of ownership.

More at: http://www.etenders.gov.ie/search/search_show.aspx?id=SEP091638&ln=EN

Intel Get Havok

2007-09-18T04:08:00.000-07:00

Intel are to acquire Havok Inc., the developer of interactive software and services used by digital media creators in the game and movie industries. Havok will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel.

"Havok is a proven leader in physics technology for gaming and digital content, and will become a key element of Intel's visual computing and graphics efforts," said Renee J. James, vice president and general manager of Intel's Software and Solutions Group.

Havok's modular suite of software development tools is used by game and digital animation creators to build realistic video games for all types of hardware and digitally animated movies.

The company's combination of superior technology and dedication to customers has led to its technology being used in more than 150 of the world's best-known game titles, including "BioShock," "Stranglehold," "Halo 2," "Half Life 2," "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion," "Crackdown," "Lost Planet: Extreme Condition," "MotorStorm" and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."

Havok will be a wholly owned Intel subsidiary and continue to operate as an independent business working with its customers in developing digital media content.

Get Your Own IE Domain Name

2007-09-18T04:02:00.000-07:00

The IE Domain Registry (IEDR), the managed registry for Ireland's dot.ie domain names, are to relax the rules for registering personal dot.ie domain names for individuals.

Registration of personal domains will be available to individuals from Wednesday, 31st October, 2007.

This follows a seven week notice period, to allow time for sole traders, professionals, politicians, trademark holders who have not already registered their .ie Internet address, to do so under existing non-personal domain categories.

RFP for Laptops

2007-09-18T03:48:00.000-07:00

The Health Information and Quality Authority has issued a proposal "to provide laptop computers to its national workforce which includes a significant number of inspectors and surveyors who will use laptops in the performance of fieldwork."

The Health Information and Quality Authority invites tenders (proposals) for the supply of light weight laptop computers and the installation and configuration of an operating system and application software.

Further information is available at http://www.etenders.gov.ie/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=54958.

AGI Therapeutics start Phase III study of Arverapamil

2007-09-18T02:06:00.000-07:00

AGI, a speciality pharmaceutical development company focused, report that enrolment has opened into ARDIS-1, the first of three pivotal Phase III studies of arverapamil, (AGI-003), AGI’s lead programme for the treatment of diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, (IBS-D), a major unmet medical need.

Details were also released of inancial highlights for this period:

Revenues of €196,000 compared with no revenues in the same period of the previous year
Cash and short term deposits at 30 June 2007 of €37.4 million (2006: €40.4 million)
R & D spend of €4.8 million (2006: €1.7 million)
Net loss of €5.2 million (2006: €2.3 million)
Loss per ordinary share of €0.08 cent (2006: €0.04 cent)

Highlights of the first half of the year include:

AGI filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its lead development candidate, arverapamil (AGI-003), for the treatment of IBS-D.
In 2006 and early 2007 AGI reported the Phase II proof-of-concept data for our arbaclofen (AGI-006), 4-ASA (AGI-022) and mecamylamine CR (AGI-004) product candidates. Since then it has focused on the development programmes for these products and we expect to initiate Phase II clinical studies in gastroparesis, ulcerative colitis and chemotherapy-induced diarrhoea respectively later this year or early in 2008.
AGI continued to progress its co-development programme with Axcan Pharma Inc. for CHRONAB-omeprazole for the treatment of nocturnal acid breakthrough (NAB) in patients with gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), and expect to provide a further update by year end.

AGI strengthened its management team with the addition Sian Bigora, Pharm D. as Vice President, Clinical Research & Regulatory Affairs and Amir Shojaei, Pharm D., Ph.D. as Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development.

Spreadsheet Risk Mitigation for European Markets

2007-09-18T01:54:00.000-07:00

Trintech has expanded its partnership with Prodiance Corporation, a leading provider of solutions for financial spreadsheet remediation and control, to deliver the XLNET spreadsheet risk and compliance management solution to the European market.

The automated solution enables financial managers to:

Discover and inventory critical spreadsheets
Identify risk conditions and remediate errors
Audit changes down to the cell level
Automate spreadsheet review and approval workflows
Reconcile, review, and certify spreadsheet results
Track the entire process from beginning to end

“We have worked with over 500 global customers to drive successful implementation of our accounting compliance solutions, and we’re confident that XLNET will help financial services institutions in Europe achieve higher levels of efficiency and control,” said John Harte, EVP and General Manager for Trintech.

XLNET, based on enabling technologies from Prodiance, is a market-leading spreadsheet inventory, migration, analysis, reporting, and auditing solution that is intuitive and easy-to-use.

The application complements Trintech’s AssureNET GL and ReconNET reconciliation software solutions to provide enterprises with a compliance framework for managing critical spreadsheets associated with account reconciliation, financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, revenue recognition, and other key financial processes.

INM Results Include Expansion in India

2007-09-18T01:47:00.000-07:00

Key points in Independent News & Media PLC's interim results for the six months ended 30th June 2007 include:

Net profit up 9.7% reflecting INM's diversified growth and rigorous cost management strategy
Good revenue growth of 4.2% in constant currency (2.4% in Euro terms)
Performance significantly better than peers and driven by underlying advertising (+6.3%) and circulation (+2.5%) revenue growth in the Publishing division
Operating profit up 4.5% (6.1% in constant currency), with all divisions showing growth
Continued expansion of business base in India, where JPL associate is thriving
Investment in Independent College - a new education initiative that will be launched in H2 2007

Group revenues increased by 2.4% to €815.5 million (up 4.2% in constant currency), despite adverse currency movements and the loss of some low-margin distribution contracts in Ireland.

BDZ 120m Bond Issue

2007-09-18T01:37:00.000-07:00

Sofia Echo report that state-owned railway company BDZ plans to privately place a 120 million euro, 10-year bond issue.

BDZ plans to use it to repay its debts and upgrade its rolling stock. The issue will have a two-year grace period, state-owned Encouragement Bank said in a statement.

Encouragement Bank, Austrian Dexia Kommunalkredit Bank and Ireland-based Depfa Bank, which are co-managers of the issue, will aim to attract Bulgarian and foreign investors as subscribers, the statement said.

http://www.sofiaecho.com/article/banking-briefs/id_24851/catid_23

Kaupthing Bank exits Costcutter

2007-09-18T01:36:00.000-07:00

AltAssets report that financial services firm Kaupthing Bank has sold UK retail chain Costcutter to Bibby Line.

The sale will generate an IRR of 67% and Kaupthing will double its money, according to Real Deals.

Kaupthing Bank's services to companies, institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals include corporate banking, investment banking, capital markets services, treasury services, asset management and comprehensive wealth management for private banking clients.

Costcutter has 1,400 stores in the UK and Northern Ireland.

UK Banks Drag Europe Down

2007-09-18T01:22:00.000-07:00

The FT highlights the knock-on effect of the current credit crisis, "The banks falling furthest in sympathy with Northern Rock hail from the UK, Spain and Ireland. These included nine of the European sector’s 10 worst performers on Monday. None admits to any difficulties and Spain’s central bank confirmed that no lender had asked for special funding."

Thr Financial Times highlight their common risk as "inflated housing markets, which in turn have transformed banking systems, arguably for the worse."

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/1/cc11983c-64f6-11dc-bf89-0000779fd2ac,dwp_uuid=e8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html