Avoid Dublin - and save Money!

Ireland as a whole has always been an expensive country to live in, and it still is. Prices here are on average at least twice as high as in most other EU countries, and often even higher. There is also a clear difference between Dublin and the rest of the island.

Ireland's Central Statistics Office (CSO) has just published its regular comparison of prices in Dublin with the costs for certain goods and services outside the capital. The report shows that many prices are "generally higher" in Dublin, while the prices of most services are listed as "significantly higher" in Dublin.

In May the CSO looked at 79 specific items. Average prices were higher in Dublin for 51 of these and lower for 27, while the price of only one item was the same in the capital than anywhere else. Prices of 34 items were more than 3% higher in Dublin than elsewhere.

On average, prices were 4.4% higher in Dublin than in the rest of Ireland, little changed from the 4.5% gap in the last survey, which was done in November 2008.

The biggest price gap was found in the barber and hairdressing business. A wash, cut and blow dry for a man is on average 47% more expensive in Dublin than elsewhere in the country, while the same service for a woman costs 23% more. A dry haircut for a man is 18.8% dearer in the capital.
These are staggering differences and show how much our capital is still dominated by greed. As I had only one haircut in Dublin in all my life - and that was almost 20 years ago - my experience in that field is well out date. But from my regular visits to the capital I can only confirm that the prices for almost everything are much higher than they are - for example - in Cork, Kilkenny or here in Waterford.

Prices of meat, fruit and vegetables are higher in Dublin, but fish prices are generally comparable with the rest of the country.
The average price of an uncooked chicken is an amazing 27.3% higher in Dublin, while back rashers are 24% and pork steaks 23.8% more expensive.
There follows a long list of food items that are dearer in Dublin, from which I will mention only a few: Cod fillets (+ 11.2%), eggs (+ 10.1%), tinned tomatoes (+ 8.2%), lamb chops (+ 8.1%), pork chops (+ 6.9%), mushrooms (+ 6.4%), onions (+ 6.4%), jam (+ 6.3%), 10 kg of potatoes (+ 6.0%), marmalade (+ 5.8%), broccoli (+ 5.6%), salmon (+ 4.8%), fresh tomatoes (+ 2.8%) - and so it goes on.

The situation in the drink sector is not better: Orange juice (+ 14.9%), draught lager (+ 12%), draught cider (+ 10.9%), draught ale (+ 10.1%), bottled lager (+ 9.9%), draught stout (+ 9.1%), bottled cider (+ 8.5%), vodka (+ 7.1%), whiskey (+ 5.7%) and wine (+ 5.1%).

Bread prices, however, were around 8% more expensive outside Dublin, which is most likely a result of the structure of our food industry. While in most European countries bread is usually baked locally in many independent bakeries, Ireland has very few independent local bakeries. Most of the bread consumed in this country is produced industrially in large factories, and most of them are situated in Dublin. Thus the supply route for bread is the shortest in Dublin, and the extra 8% bread costs outside the capital are likely created by the expenses caused by transport and distribution.

Prices of hotel accommodation and entertainment services such as cinema and theatres are 'significantly higher' in Dublin than elsewhere.

Petrol prices were 2.1% higher in Dublin, while Diesel was 1.7% more expensive.

The overall verdict is that - despite recession - Dublin is not just the capital of Ireland, but still the rip-off capital of Europe. So my advice is simple: Avoid Dublin as much as possible - and thus safe a lot of money.

The Emerald Islander

Ireland's Food & Drink Industry in Decline

About 2000 jobs have been lost in Ireland's food and drink industry since the start of this year and thousands more are currently at risk.

According to a new report, the competitive position of some firms has been "damaged by high business costs and a fall in the value of [the British] Pound Sterling against the Euro".

A key problem for the industry are massive energy costs, which are 20% higher in Ireland than the average paid anywhere across the EU. Industrial electricity prices here have increased 70% since 2001, and 36% across the EU.

More than 40% of Irish food exports go to Britain, but as the Pound Sterling has fallen in value by 30%, this reduces both turnover and profit of Ireland's food products sold to our nearest neighbour.

The report argues for new and special financial supports for Irish companies selling into the UK.

It claims that food and drink production and processing is Ireland's most important indigenous sector with 230,000 incomes directly depending on its future health and stability.

The report also points out that the top three grocery chains control more than 70% of the Irish market. Thus the bargaining power of retailers - especially the big ones - is much higher than that of suppliers.

It calls for the appointment of a 'Supermarket Ombudsman' and a code of practice to protect Irish food suppliers from what it terms as "unfair commercial practices".

Reacting to the report, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment Mary Coughlan (photo) said she had asked the national Competition Authority to investigate the real costs of doing business in Ireland.

That really says it all, plain and simple. She hasn't got a clue!

If she had any idea of her own department and the matter it deals with, she would well know what is going on in Ireland's shops and supermarkets.

I am no genius or minister, but I do not need to ask some faceless and unelected quango. Every time I go shopping I know within a few minutes who is making the money in Ireland and what is going on in the food industry.
Anyone can do the same, including Fianna Fáil ministers. But the problem with Mary Coughlan is that she has neither any personal interest in the matter, nor much intellectual capacity to deal with anything of importance.

Erin go broke, Paul Krugman would say (see guest column of April 23rd). But 'the Cow' Mary Coughlan never gives a damn, as long as she gets paid her high ministerial salary and is driven around the country like a fairy queen.

The rest of us are only here to pick up the bill and suffer...

The Emerald Islander

Shopping as it should be

Being a single man, living with a cat as my only companion, I do all the cooking and household chores that many other men have done for them by a woman. But I am not complaining. In fact, I like cooking and see it as one of the creative arts.

I also like to go shopping for groceries, which has of course to come before I can start cooking. And unlike many women I see in the supermarkets each week, filling their trolleys thoughtless and senseless with piles of expensive and unhealthy items of processed food, I am a discerning and selective shopper. I am also very price-conscious, a trait I have inherited from my mother.

So when I go shopping, I always look out for bargains or special offers, and in general I seek good value for my money. This does not mean that I always buy the cheapest items. Good value for money means getting quality for a fair price. As Ireland is quite an expensive country, with most things costing about twice as much as they cost in most other EU countries, it is worth to shop around.

Over the years I have developed personal shopping habits, buying a range of particular items in various shops, depending on quality and price. For my normal weekly grocery shopping I usually frequent three different local supermarkets (two Irish-owned and one foreign) and one small Polish shop that has opened here a few months ago and stocks certain continental delicacies one would not find in Irish shops or supermarkets.

One of the Irish supermarkets I use regularly is SuperValu, a chain of franchised stores under the umbrella of the Cork-based Musgrave Group. It is located in a small shopping centre, only a short walk from my house, and offers a wide range of quality food at fair prices.
The same also applies to the other two supermarkets I frequent, so I always decide carefully what I buy in one or in the others.

What makes SuperValu stand out from their competitors in recent weeks and months is their pro-active response to our current recession.

For the past nine months the Irish economy has not only seen a massive downturn in the wake of the global financial crisis, it has actually crashed and created widespread economic stagnation and the highest rate of unemployment this country has seen for decades.
Our current government, which is chiefly responsible for the terrible mess we are in, has no idea how to lead us out of it again. Facing a huge budget deficit - due to a drastic fall in tax revenue - Finance Minister Brian Lenihan just raises taxes all over the place and imposes extra levies on all those who still have a job. This gives him some extra money on the short-term, but it means of course that most people in Ireland have now less money in their pockets.
Subsequently everyone is tightening the proverbial belt and tries to spend less. And this has of course a direct and significant impact on all Irish shops and businesses.

People still need to eat, to wash their clothes and to clean their houses, but supermarkets and shops feel already the pinch of the nation's reduced spending power.
Some grocery shops just carry on as usual, hoping that people might still buy their products at the normal prices and make their personal spending cuts elsewhere. But the major supermarket chains are beginning to wake up and present their customers with ever more bargains and special offers.

This is a very welcome development and can only be further encouraged.

And though all supermarkets are making efforts now to retain their regular customers and gain new ones as well, the one that stands out from the rest and truly deserves a special mention is SuperValu.

Like most supermarkets, they always have - and had for years - special offers and promotions, usually on a weekly basis. But now SuperValu is going even a step further and offers special deals I have not seen anywhere else.
They actually give away certain food items for free, usually in very lucrative combination offers that are particularly suitable for families.

In recent weeks they offered nice cuts of Irish round roast (beef) at half of the normal price, and for every piece of meat one bought, one got either a small bag of potatoes, a bag of carrots, or a net of onions thrown in free of charge.

This is - in my humble opinion - the right attitude towards loyal customers and a proper and sensible reaction to the current recession and the general shortage of money in people's pockets. Or, to say it with SuperValu's own motto: Shopping as it should be.

When I went there yesterday and saw the week's specials, my heart actually leapt in joy. There were large bags of Irish apples and punnets with clementines, strawberries and blueberries on offer, and all of them for just € 1 each! There were also some other items available for the great price of € 1, including a pound of butter, a large bag of potato crisps (which I don't eat, although they are very popular in Ireland) and a litre block of vanilla ice cream.

I bought plenty of the fruit and went home with a heavy bag, but had actually spent less money than I would normally spend on a Friday. And I think that such commendable action by an Irish retailer deserves to be mentioned to the readers of this weblog.

I also obtained a brochure with special offers for next week, and they are again very attractive, but too many to mention them all here. However, let me tell you that they include sirloin steaks at half of the normal price, with a bag of chips thrown in free of charge for every purchase. So, if you want to treat yourself to a traditional Irish dinner of steak & chips, next week (May 25th - 30th) is the time to go shopping at SuperValu.

The Emerald Islander


P.S. To avoid any misunderstandings, I should mention here that I received no payment or compensation in kind for the article above. I wrote the piece because I think that in hard times, when money is tight and everyone is trying to make ends meet, one should know who cares for the needs of the nation. And when I see good deeds done, I like to share them with my readers, in the same way as I will always expose those who are trying to exploit or overcharge us.

Jacob's end Production in Ireland

Jacob's, Ireland's famous manufacturers of biscuits, crackers and wafers (and one of the oldest and best-known brand names on this island), have baked the last biscuits at their factory in Tallaght, County Dublin yesterday afternoon.

As Tallaght was the company's last manufacturing facility in the Republic of Ireland, this means the end of production of our favourite biscuits in our own country.

The closure of the plant, which had started production in the 1970s, had been already announced in September 2008, and a gradual wind-down process of production took place since then. However, the closure means that another 220 jobs are lost in Dublin, and in the harsh recession we are in, that hurts.
Jacob's sales, marketing and administration departments, which together still employ about 100 people, will remain in Tallaght, at least for the time being.

The 15 popular brand lines of the company (most of which are market leaders) will from now on be manufactured in several plants in Britain and on the European continent, where - according the company's chairman Michael Carey - "the production is more efficient and less costly".

In modern business language this is called 'outsourcing'.

The Jacob's plant at Belgard Road in Tallaght had been working with only 16% of its full capacity for years, and in times of recession this is a situation few companies would or could maintain.

Even though Jacob's have been in Dublin for more than a century, the company was not founded in the capital. Like so many good and important things in Ireland, Jacob's biscuits came originally from the Emerald Isle's oldest city - Waterford.

In 1881 two brothers - William and Richard Jacob - opened a small biscuit bakery here in Bridge Street, close to the river Suir (and leading onto the city's only bridge).

They did very well, and soon their products became popular all over Ireland.
As the business began to grow and expand, W & R Jacob moved to larger premises on Dublin's Bishop Street (left), a site now occupied by the National Archive of Ireland. The brothers also had another Dublin factory in Peter's Row and later opened an English branch in Liverpool as well.

In 1916 the Bishop Street factory was one of several prominent Dublin buildings occupied by members of the Irish Citizens Army during the Easter Rising.

In the 1920s the company's two branches separated, with the Dublin branch retaining the W & R Jacob name, while the Liverpool branch was renamed Jacob's Bakery Ltd.
In the 1970s W & R Jacob merged with Boland's Biscuits to form Irish Biscuits Ltd. and moved to Tallaght, into the then new manufacturing plant that has produced its last biscuits yesterday.

Since 1990, when the company was bought by the French food giant Groupe Danone, Jacob's is strictly speaking no longer an Irish company. After several changes, the English branch is now part of the multi-national United Biscuits, while the Dublin branch was acquired a few years ago by the Fruitfield Food Group, which then changed its name to Jacob Fruitfield Food Group.

Jacob's biscuits are very popular here, and an almost essential part of every Irish childhood and growing-up process. And even as an adult I still like them very much. In fact, while I am writing this, I have two of Jacob's famous fig rolls sitting beside my mug of tea.

I presume that we will see Jacob's products on the shelves of our shops and supermarkets in the future, as we have seen them for all our lives. But I wonder if we will from now on have the same sentimental feelings that we always had when buying them.
Although we knew perfectly well that they were made in Dublin and Tallaght, for us they were somehow still 'our own' Waterford biscuits from Bridge Street.
Now they are not even made in Ireland any longer, and it is sad to see a great manufacturing tradition end after 128 years.

The Emerald Islander

Dirty bottled Water - guaranteed Irish

The Irish Food Safety Authority (FSAI) has confirmed that - back in 2007 - a survey found that 1% of samples of bottled water in Ireland contained E. coli bacteria, which can be fatal.
A further 6.3% of water was found to have coliform bacteria, indicating possible faecal contamination.

Wayne Anderson, the FSAI Chief Specialist in Food Science, declared that the level of this contamination was "unacceptable" and that any problems found were corrected immediately.

He also said that "consumers should not be concerned about the quality and safety of bottled water on the market today".

It was found that one in every 11 of Irish produced bottled water was contaminated - which is nearly 10% - compared to one in 119 of imported water.
The study also found that over 7% of bottled water was in breach of Irish or EU guidelines.

Is there actually anything we can get right and do well, or does being Irish always mean messing things up?

Bottling water - despite certain hygienic requirements, which we seem to breech a lot more often than others - is not rocket science! But I suppose the "I don't care" attitude that has been one of the hallmarks of Irish society in recent years, comes to the fore everywhere now, even in water bottles.

Personally I never buy bottled water, as tap water is at least as good - perhaps even better - than the bottled liquid. And it is - still - free of charge. So why spend good money on bad bottled water?

Since bottled water became fashionable in Ireland about 20 years ago, it has risen steadily in price, but obviously not increased in quality. In most pubs bottled water costs almost the same as a pint, in some places even more. And someone told me last week that in a certain Dublin establishment he had paid more than € 8 for a bottle of branded water.
I told him that he must either be mad or in possession of too much money, and he replied that it had "gone on expenses". Which means he had not to pay it himself, but it still does not make it right.
I would never spend such a sum on a bottle of water. In fact, I boycott bottled water even in public and always ask for tap water. Over € 8, just think about it... that would have bought you ten Bank of Ireland shares this morning.

The Emerald Islander

Chicken Processing resumes at Cappoquin

Work has resumed again at the premises of Cappoquin Chickens - recently renamed Cappoquin Poultry - in Cappoquin, Co. Waterford, after many of the employees began accepting new work and pay conditions.

The new (English) management team suggested that employees would have to take a 17% cut in hourly pay, with most of them having to work for the minimum wage of € 8.65. Under the plan 25 people would lose their jobs.
A majority of employees present rejected this and a new offer was put to them which would entail a further ten job losses, but those remaining would be offered € 9 per hour and time and a quarter for overtime.

Most of the 200 employees said they were unhappy with pay terms and conditions first proposed.
They were told that they can either apply for a job with the new company or take redundancy terms set out by the liquidator of Cappoquin Chickens.

Eventually, many of the workers did accept the second offer of the new management, even though they will still earn less than they did before in the old company.
With few jobs available in the rural western part of Co. Waterford and unemployment rising fast all over Ireland, they do not have much of a choice. Especially as most of the people in question have worked in the poultry business for a long time and would not find it easy to change over into other industries.

Under the new regime there are expected to be at least 40 fewer staff required from the 200 which were employed last month. Negotiations are continuing with office and delivery staff.

Cappoquin Chickens, which had been in liquidation for a month, was bought by a consortium led by the British-based company Derby Poultry Processors. (see my entries of September 17th and October 3rd)

It remains to be seen if the business will flourish again under its new ownership, and if market shares lost in the past can be regained.
For the moment it is good news that the business is kept in operation, in particular as Co. Waterford has one of the highest unemployment figures in the country and every person in work is a step forward, out of the current recession.

The Emerald Islander

Cappoquin Chickens bought by UK Company

Cappoquin Chickens, the well-known Irish poultry processor from Cappoquin in the western part of Co. Waterford, has been sold to the little known British company Derby Poultry Processors.

More than two weeks ago the management of the family-owned local business, which was of great importance for the area, had announced the end of operations and closure of the company, which had run into financial difficulties and accumulated debts of about € 7 million. More than 200 local jobs were lost due to the liquidation.
(for more details see my entry of September 17th)

Throughout the whole summer Cappoquin Chickens had tried to rescue the business, but failed in the end. There were also negotiations with potential buyers in the UK, but they came to no conclusion. So eventually the O'Connor family, who founded Cappoquin Chickens and ran it for nearly 50 years, had no choice but to give up.

Now it emerged that one of the English companies they were in contact with is picking up the remaining pieces of Cappoquin Chickens as a bargain. So the economic neo-colonialism we have seen many times before is raising its head once again.

In a statement Cappoquin Chickens said: "This sale will safeguard the future of the facility. The new structure will require a period of re-organisation, which will result in continued employment for the majority of the existing employees. Cappoquin Poultry Limited will now engage in a period of gradual growth to re-establish market share."

The company also said it intends to source a new hatchery, following the sale of its hatchery in recent weeks.

For the local workers this is good and bad news at the same time. Most of them will get their jobs back (which is the good news), but only under new terms and conditions, which are not as good as what they had been before.

Two of the previous owners, Paul O'Connor and Michael O'Connor Jnr., along with their former financial officer Tom Vaughan, have taken minority stakes in the new company.

The Emerald Islander

My own little private Oktoberfest

In Munich, capital of the Bavarian Free State in Germany, this is the second weekend of the annual Oktoberfest, the world's oldest and largest beer festival, which is celebrated this year for the 175th time. (see my entry from September 21st)

It is a long time now that I lived there, but I still have good memories of those years.
Even though I have never been a fan of crowds, noise and large celebrations, I did visit the Oktoberfest while I was living literally on its doorstep. There were always friends who would go anyway, and so I went along with them, drinking a few beers, eating traditional food and then having a congenial Virginier cigar with another beer or a coffee.

I haven't been back since I moved to Ireland, and I really don't miss it. But even a serious man like me who is not very emotional has his sentimental moments. I am a human being after all...

So when I encountered - quite unexpectedly - the stall of a traditional German bakery on the annual French Market here in Waterford today (see my earlier entry below), I was touched in a rare and positive way. For the first time in nearly two decades I saw Brezn and Salzweckerln (traditional Bavarian glazed bread roles, sprinkled with large salt crystals) right in front of me, and I could hardly believe my eyes and my luck.

There was no possibility to pass the stall without buying some of them. Sentimental feelings and old memories were much too strong. So I bought a couple of each and went home a happy man.
But on the way it dawned on me that this was only one element of the traditional Bavarian meal, known as a Brotzeit. To make it complete, I would also need some Weisswurst (white sausage), a Radi (large white radish, also known as Muli, as depicted here) and some Bavarian beer, preferrably from Munich. Sweet Bavarian mustard, which is the final ingredient to make it perfect, I have at home anyway.

So I made a little detour and stopped at ALDI, a German supermarket nearby, which has all the traditonal German food, as well as the usual Irish items. I found what I was looking for, including original Spaten beer from Munich, the very same that is served in the Schottenhamel beer hall at the Oktoberfest. (The Schottenhamel is traditionally the place where the Mayor of Munich declares the festival open by tapping the very first keg of beer himself.)

I should mention that I am a vegetarian for more than ten years now, and that I seldom drink alcoholic beverages. But I am not a fanatic and there is no ideology behind my choice to live on a vegetarian diet. And as much as I abstain from meat and meat products normally, an authentic Munich Brotzeit simply needs Weisswurst. It wouldn't be the same without it.

So this is a very special day for me, and earlier this evening I sat down and had my Brotzeit with everything one would have in Munich. I even put a CD with traditional Bavarian music into my player, to make it a perfect experience and celebrate my very own little private Oktoberfest here in the heart of Waterford, the oldest city in Ireland.

The Emerald Islander

French Market in Waterford

Waterford, Ireland's oldest city and my home now for nearly two decades, is twinned with the town of Saint-Herblain, the largest suburb of the city of Nantes in France.

Usually one does not see a lot of evidence of this relationship, except that there is a housing estate in Waterford named St. Herblain Park. But once a year the twinning brings a traditional French street market to Waterford, occupying the Jenkins Lane area close to the western end of the old city wall.

This weekend - Friday, Saturday and Sunday - the market is here again, and of course I went for a strole and a good look today. Even though the availability of foreign - including French - food in the Republic of Ireland has much increased during the past ten years, there are still certain kinds of food and special delicacies one cannot find in Irish shops.

The annual French Market brings those rare treats to the city, and many local people go there and take the opportunity to buy good French wines and cheeses, nice home-made biscuits and sweets, meats and sausages of high quality and many other continental delicacies. Or they might try one of the enticing crepes that are made there fresh to order.

I had a good look around this afternoon, and once again encountered a number of the traditional stalls with food we don't see here normally. This is always a great experience.

However, I have to admit that I am a little disappointed. There are a lot less traditional French stalls here this year, and I wonder why. The gaps have been filled with plenty of market traders from all parts of Ireland, who of course do not offer French food and delicacies. There are instead plenty of stalls selling clothes, fashion items, jewellery, children's toys and all sorts of nick-nack.
As much as there is certainly a time and place for such as well, it changes the character of the market, which is no longer what it once was - a traditional French food market.

What surprised me most was to see not one, but two so-called 'bouncy castles' at the western end of the market. These strange contraptions of inflated plastic are one of the many bad things we have adopted from the USA. In my opinion they have no place on a traditional street market, and parents who bring their small children should well be able to look after them and show them the lovely things the market offers, instead of parking them at the 'castles' where they hop up and down in a rather senseless way. It is also worth mentioning that these 'bouncy castles' need a permanent supply of compressed air, provided by a generator that uses up energy and creates noise and pollution.

So I went home today slightly disappointed, and with a lot less goods than I had bought there in previous years. Sad really, that a good idea has been altered in this way, and I hope that next year the traditional French market stalls will be back with all their rare and delicious treats.

However, there was one unexpected positive encounter, which compensated me for the missing French stalls and really made my day. Among the many market traders I found a stall from a traditional German bakery, offering breads, bread rolls and numerous cakes and pastries I have never seen offered in Ireland before.

Having lived in Germany for quite some time, I am familiar with these delicious bakery products and seeing them suddenly right in front of me here in Ireland almost transported me back in time and space to the many traditional bakeries one can find all over Germany. For reasons I do not know there are very few such bakeries in Ireland, and most Irish people eat fluffy soft white 'bread' that I would not call by that name. It is produced in large factories, sold in all shops and supermarkets, and it is totally tasteless as well as unhealthy.

What a difference between two countries and cultures! But today I saw this German bakery stall and bought traditional bread and pastries I have not eaten for nearly twenty years. So despite a lack of French delicacies I anticipated to buy, I went home with a bag full of lovely German bread and pastries. That made me very happy, and as I write this, there is a pot of tea to my right and a nice round German pastry with plums, crumble and icing sugar to my left. What more does one need to have a good weekend...

The Emerald Islander

175th Oktoberfest opened in Munich

Yesterday the traditional Oktoberfest, the world's oldest and largest beer festival, opened in the Bavarian capital Munich.
This year the 16-day-long event will be special for two reasons: It is celebrated for the 175th time, and it will be the first Oktoberfest under the newly introduced German ban of smoking in public.

Precisely at 12 o'clock noon Munich's Mayor Christian Ude performed the traditional tapping ceremony (photo right). It took him just two swift strokes to pound a spigot into the first of the many massive wooden kegs of beer before shouting the traditional "Ozapft is!" (It's tapped!) which gives the official permission to all the beer masters at the festival to open their taps as well.

Following the festival protocol, he handed then the first Mass (the traditional Bavarian beer mug, holding one litre) of fresh beer to Bavarian Prime Minister Günther Beckstein.

A 12-gun salute, also part of the nearly 200-year-old tradition, signalled to the hundreds of thousands of citizens and visitors, who had come to the Wiesn (the festival meadow) on a cool September day, that it was time to start drinking, eating and enjoying themselves.

The organisers are ready to welcome about 6 million visitors from all over the world to the large festival ground in the centre of Munich and expect to sell them even more than the 6.9 million litres of beer that were consumed last year. About 500,000 roasted chicken are also consumed by the visitors each year, together with vast amounts of bread and bakery products (especially the famous salted Brezl), cheeses, gingerbread, roasted almonds and many other kinds of food.

Today saw the also traditional Oktoberfest parade, which always takes place on the Sunday after the opening and brings thousands of people - including hundreds of Bavarian musicians - to their feet, while hundreds of thousands line the streets and watch them march past.

Despite its name, the Oktoberfest starts every year in the second half of September and ends on the first Sunday in October. The name comes from the first festival, which was held in October 1810 to celebrate the marriage of the then Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I of Bavaria) and his bride, Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen (whose name lives on in the festival venue, the Theresienwiese - Therese's Meadow).
But in the 198 years since then there have only been 175 festivals. The reason is that in times of war Bavarians fight and don't hold their harvest festivals. Twice in the 19th century the event was also cancelled because of Cholera, and in several years after the two World Wars there was no Oktoberfest for reasons of severe economical hardship.

Originally really only a local event, the festival has meanwhile become one of the world's most visited public attractions. Unfortunately it has become quite commercial in the process, and the traditional Bavarian Gemütlichkeit (jolly cozyness) is not that common anymore. Making money is nowadays the name of the game, and from my own experience I can tell you that the Munich brewers and the proprietors of beer halls and amusement venues are masters at that.

Having lived in Munich for some years myself, I remember the old-style Oktoberfest, before the globalisation took hold of it and replaced - among other things - the traditional Bavarian felt hats with tacky baseball caps, decorated with a chamois beard (which looks proper on a hat, but most ridiculous on a baseball cap).

As it happened, I lived close to the huge festival ground. From my windows I could look straight down at the amazing spectacle with its large beer halls, tends, entertainments and - at night - thousands and thousands of lights in many colours (photo left).

Beer prices this year are similar to Ireland (other beer outside the Oktoberfest is a lot cheaper in Germany) and most of the food is still reasonably priced (and cheaper than food in Ireland).
But it remains to be seen how the millions of visitors react to the newly introduced German ban on smoking in public places, which now also includes the Oktoberfest.
I remember very well that it was part of the 'ritual' to have a beer, some traditional food, and then smoke a Virginier cigar. It was simple joy of life and did no harm to anyone. But now, in an era when everything is more and more dictated to us and regulated by governments, one cannot even enjoy a cigar with one's Munich beer any longer...

We live in sad times for taste and culture, but nevertheless I wish the people of Munich all the best, including good weather, for the 175th Oktoberfest.

The Emerald Islander

No more Cappoquin Chickens

Another serious blow has been dealt to the local economy in Co. Waterford.
The owners and management of Cappoquin Chickens, a well-known poultry producer in the rural western part of the county, has confirmed that the company, which employed up to 250 people at certain times of the year, will close with the loss of all full-time and seasonal jobs.

The winding down process has already begun and will take about six weeks to complete. Talks to save the company, including with a potential buyer from England, broke down on Monday and management say they have been "left with no option but to close".

For nearly 50 years Cappoquin Chickens has been a household name in Ireland, especially in the south and south-west of the country. Privately owned and operated by several generations of the O'Connor family from the town of Cappoquin in the west of Co. Waterford (best known as the home of the Cistercian Abbey of Mount Mellery), the company saw a steady growth since the 1960s. But more recently Cappoquin Chickens had been in financial difficulties for a number of years. The company revealed during the summer that it had accumulated debts of at least € 7 million.

I am no agricultural expert and know nothing about the production of poultry, but it seems a bit strange that the company's difficulties coincide with the 'Celtic Tiger', the massive and widely unexpected economical boom that brought nearly half a million immigrants to Ireland. One would think that such an enormous increase in the population of the country would also create more demand for food, including chicken, which are by now (after the scares of the BSE crisis) probably the most popular form of meat consumed in Ireland.

So why has Cappoquin Chickens to close, despite an enlarged market? I don't know, and I would not feel competent to speculate, as I know neither the internal situation of the company, nor the quality and competence of its managers.

Local people blame the global food crisis, which has dramatically increased the price of grain. But that is not entirely logical, as the price for all kinds of food - including chicken - has risen here in the past two years overproportionally. So when the price of grain, that is fed to the chicken, goes up, the price of the chicken rises as well. And there is no shortage of chicken in Irish shops. The canandrum remains why other producers can cope with the situation, while the O'Connor family in Cappoquin can not...

The Waterford branch of the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) held a demonstration (see photo left) some time ago, in order to highlight the expected job losses in the area and in the faint hope that someone - perhaps a local politician - might actually do something before it was too late. Today the organisation is in shock, and in a statement it calls the closure of Cappoquin Chickens "another devastating blow for the Irish poultry industry".

Between 40 and 50 local egg suppliers and chicken producers, who were suppliers of Cappoquin Chickens and dependent on the company, are also deeply affected by the closure. One local producer, who has seven chicken houses with 180,000 birds, describes his future as "very bleak" without Cappoquin Chickens. "Well, chickens is all I know," he told a reporter.

Again, I feel reluctant to comment in detail, as I have no experience in the poultry business. But on a more general note I have to say that such a view is rather narrow. Millions of people around the world - and thousands in Ireland - have lost their jobs in many different industries. Quite a lot of them have no chance to stay in their line of business, trade and expertise. So they have to find something else to do, some other way to earn a living. And there are always possibilities, as new doors open the moment another door closes. All it needs is common sense, flexibility and the will and ability to learn and adapt.

Some help from the government would certainly be welcome, though I doubt that it will be a lot in the current economic recession, especially as the Minister for Finance is trying to save as much money as possible everywhere.

Perhaps it might have been wiser to invest some money in the area while the going was good and there was plenty of cash in the Treasury. But that chance has been missed, as so many others.
It is worth mentioning that the area had with Ollie Wilkinson (Fianna Fáil) a local TD (member of parliament) until the 2007 election, when he lost his seat. Being a Cappoquin man himself, and a member of the main government party, Ollie might have been able to pull a few strings in favour of his town and the local poultry industry, if he were still in Dáil Éireann. But since he was hardly ever heard of during the five years he was a TD, voters elected someone else in his place. And this TD is a city man with not much concern for chicken production.

As much as the loss of another 250 jobs in the South-East of Ireland is a concern for everyone, including myself, there is another aspect to the event. Being a vegetarian and active member of the ISPCA (Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), I feel rather relieved that we will now have millions of battery chicken less in this country. The Irish diet is still too much centred on meat - including and increasingly chicken - and the consequences are manifold, but entirely negative. Perhaps the closure of the poultry industry in Cappoquin, as shocking as it may be for the local producers, could be another step forward on the way to better, healthier and more sensible food production in this country.

The Emerald Islander

Meat Products withdrawn over Salmonella Scare

Dawn Farm Foods, an Irish food production company that supplies - among others - the fast food franchise group Subway, has withdrawn some of its cooked meat products, due to a scare of salmonella.
The company says that "as a precaution" it has withdrawn batches of beef, chicken and bacon from the made-to-order sandwich trade.

Potentially contaminated meat had been supplied to Subway, which has confirmed that specific batches of its 'Philly Style Steak' and 'Chicken Fajita' products were also withdrawn from sale.

One of Dawn Farm Foods' production lines will remain closed until an investigation by the Food Safety Authority (FSAI) is completed.

While salmonella is not a life-threatening illness for most people, the FSAI warns that it can have "serious complications for older people, young children, pregnant women and people with already weakened immune systems".

Symptoms of the food poisoning through salmonella can include diarrhoea, stomach cramps, vomiting and fever.

The FSAI is working to identify the exact source of the salmonella outbreak and a list of affected products is available (and updated) on the FSAI's website www.fsai.ie.

World Bank warns of severe Food Shortages

The World Bank has announced emergency measures to tackle rising food prices around the globe.
World Bank president Robert Zoellick (right) warned that "100 million people in poor countries could be pushed deeper into poverty by spiraling prices". The crisis has already sparked recent food riots in several countries, including Haiti, the Philippines and Egypt.

The World Bank endorsed Mr. Zoellick's "new deal" action plan for a long-term boost to agricultural production. Emergency help would include an additional $ 10 million to Haiti, where several people were killed in food riots last week, and a doubling of agricultural loans to African farmers.

Robert Zoellick's proposals were endorsed by the World Bank's steering committee of finance and development ministers at a meeting in Washington.
The World Bank and its sister organisation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), held a weekend of meetings addressing the rapidly rising food and energy prices as well as the credit crisis that is upsetting global financial markets.

IMF president Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a former French Finance Minister, said last week that hundreds of thousands of people were at risk of starvation because of food shortages. Prices have risen sharply in recent months, driven by increased demand, poor weather in some countries that has ruined crops, and reduced production area, due to an increase in the use of land to grow crops for transport fuels.

According to the World Bank the price of staple crops such as wheat, rice and corn have all risen, leading to an increase in overall food prices of 83% in the last three years.
The sharp rises have led to protests and unrest in many countries, including Egypt, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, the Philippines and Indonesia. In Haiti last week's protests turned violent, leading to the deaths of five people and the fall of the government.

Restrictions on rice exports have been put in place in major producing countries such as India, China, Vietnam and Egypt. Rice importing countries such as Bangladesh, the Philippines and Afghanistan have been hit hard.

"We have to put our money where our mouth is now - literally - so that we can put food into hungry mouths," said Zoellick. "It's as stark as that."

He called for more aid to provide food to needy people in poor countries and help for small farmers. He said the World Bank was working to provide money for seeds for planting in the new season. He also urged wealthy donor countries to quickly fill the World Food Programme's estimated $ 500 million funding shortfall.

Mr. Zoellick, who was appointed to his post by George W. Bush after the previous World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz (who had earlier, as Deputy Defense Secretary, planned the illegal war against Iraq) had to resign in disgrace over a personal favours scandal forgot to mention only one point.
If the costs of only two days of US operations in Iraq would be re-directed to the World Food Programme, there would be no funding shortfall. In fact, the money the USA spend in Iraq in one month could end starvation and world poverty for good.
But in contrast to Robert Zoellick, his master G. W. Bush is not interested in people and how they live. All he cares for is money and oil.

The Emerald Islander

Inflation rises to 4.8%

The newest data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in Dublin show that the annual rate of inflation in the Republic of Ireland has risen to 4.8% in February, from 4.3% the previous month. Consumer prices in February rose by 1.2% in the month, compared with a rise of 0.8% the same time last year. Inflation last stood at 4.8% in October of last year.

According to the CSO the rise is mainly a result of the continuing increases in food prices, which I already observed and wrote about two weeks ago. (see my entry "Irish Food Prices are rising too fast" of February 28th)
Prices for food are rising indeed, on average by 1.8%, with significantly higher prices seen in a wide range of products, including milk, butter, cheese, meat, bread and cereals.

Many of the most significant increases are only possible because many consumers with secure incomes seem to be willing to pay any price for food. Would they draw a line for certain items and shop around a bit, they would not only save a lot of money, but also force greedy grocers and supermarkets to re-adjust their prices to the true market value. Prices as they are charged here in Ireland would lead to riots in France and many other EU countries.

The ending of the January sales might also have had some influence on the rise of the inflation rate. The CSO says that the annual rate of inflation for services was 5.6% last month, while goods increased by 3.9% in the year.

The prices of clothing and footwear rose by 12.7%, due to a recovery in prices after the ending of the traditional January sales. Furnishings and household equipment prices also rose by 2.8% after the sales.

Last month also saw increases in average mortgage interest repayments and rents.

The Emerald Islander

Irish Food Prices are rising too fast

A survey of Ireland's top supermarkets has revealed little price difference between Dunnes Stores and Tesco. The National Consumer Agency commissioned the survey to measure the impact of the Groceries Act. They found that in a basket of 61 goods purchased at Dunnes Stores and Tesco there was only a 35 cents price difference between both.

However the survey found that Super Valu is providing real competition to Dunnes Stores and Tesco. The survey also indicates that the most competitive pricing in the retail sector exists between discount stores Aldi and Lidl.

What the agency does not mention in the report is the fact that the prices for food and other groceries in Ireland have risen massively during the past year and keep rising still. I am sure you have noticed that yourself if you do the regular shopping for your household.
I don't want to make long lists of prices here, even though I could. But that would be boring. Let me just give you a few examples of the constant and galloping inflation the current government presides over. Last year a normal pound of Irish butter was € 1.42 in most supermarkets. In the Autumn of 2007 this price rose in one step to € 1.76 (an increase of 24%), and a few weeks ago it rose again to now € 1.89 (which is another 7.5% extra). So in less than a year the price for an ordinary pound of butter - something most of use every day - has actually risen by more than a third!

Strangely enough, I have heard no one complaining yet. People moan about the high petrol prices, yes, but they are - unfortunately - set mainly elsewhere (even though the government puts a hefty portion of tax on it as well). Butter is a homemade product. And even though almost everything gets dearer all the time, nothing does justify a price rise of 33% on such a basic consumer product.
And butter is - as I said - only one very prominent example in a long line. Literally everything is getting more and more expensive, without any added value to the goods and products. And the worst sector is indeed food, the one thing we all need to survive.

While the shops and supermarkets are bad enough, it gets worse when one makes the mistake to eat out. An evening meal that used to cost me around € 20 some time ago is now priced at € 35, which is a rise of 75% in less than two years. Last week I met a friend in a local bistro for a chat. We shared a pot of tea for two, had a bowl of the "soup of the day" with a slice of brown bread, and my friend also had a slice of apple tart as dessert. How much do you think this very simple meal is worth? And how much should it cost? Well, I paid € 24.85 for that and really felt ripped-off in a very bad way. Not so long ago you would have paid with a tenner for that, and received some change back. I will certainly not go back to that bistro, but unfortunately these days the prices are very similar in all of the places one can go to.

So why is all this happening to us? It is not a result of a world crisis, nor anything the EU is forcing upon us - God forbid! No, this is an entirely home-made inflation problem, proudly sporting the "Guaranteed Irish" label. It is born out of the marriage between traditional Irish greed and the recent economic boom that befell us, commonly referred to as the "Celtic Tiger".
Having been poor, neglected and ignored backwoods people on the furthest outlet of Europe, we grabbed with both hands every single Euro we could get hold of. Many have made good and are now basking in wealth and sunshine (somewhere further south, where they bought a second home). But the "Celtic Tiger" has by-passed whole areas of the country, and a significant portion of the population has never been touched by luck, nor have they touched the magic pot of gold the tiger brought along.

These are mainly the old and sick, unemployed, disabled and otherwise deprived people. They live almost on a different planet now and would be shocked if they ever set foot into Dublin 4. But they are also the hardest hit by the enormous inflation, and especially the totally unreasonable increase in prices for food and basic commodities, such as electricity, coal, peat brickets and public transport (as only a small percentage of the poor have free travel passes). It might come as a surprise or even a shock to some of you, but there are meanwhile - once again - people in Ireland who can barely afford the basic items of living. In one of the now richest countries on Earth they struggle to survive, especially due to the prices for food, which are clearly out of control in Ireland. (In comparison, almost everywhere in Western Europe food costs are about half of what they are in Ireland, and in Eastern Europe even lower than that.)

The National Consumer Agency's survey results from small independent butchers and from fruit and vegetable retailers indicate significant price differentials, but no such price difference is found in larger supermarket chains (as they watch each other like hawks, if they don't even rig prices at times). The Agency says that consumers can drive competition by shopping around, and I wholeheartedly agree. It is the only way ordinary people can move things. If something is too expensive or not worth the price asked for, just don't buy it. You might find it cheaper elsewhere, and over time prices will and do come down when shops realise that the level charged is too high and turnover is down. It is all very simple, the basic rule of supply and demand, combined with the willingness to pay a certain price or not.

Ireland has already become a rip-off society, which also hampers tourism, which is still an important source ot income on the island. If we - the consumers - don't make a stand every day we go shopping, it will get worse and worse, to the point that we could well fall back into a real economic crisis. I am sure that no one wants this to happen.

The Emerald Islander