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WITH THE LEAVING Certificate results out today, questions are being raised about whether students are being encouraged enough to take subjects that will lead to careers.
The American Chamber of Commerce, which represents major US employers in Ireland, welcomed the proposal from the Irish University Association that bonus points be extended to students that study at higher level as well as those who are taking subjects that are relevant to future study options in university.
Careers
The Chief Executive of the American Chamber Mark Redmond said that the introduction of bonus points for maths has been one of the key successes of recent years, resulting in an almost 70% increase in students sitting the paper.
He called for further reform of the points system, stating:
We should now seek additional ways to encourage students to choose subjects that will support their future careers. New proposals that are being considered such as providing more points for subjects based on their relevance to third level courses, and expanding the range of grades for which points are awarded, are welcome developments.
He added that there should be more supports put in place to encourage students to take on the subjects that will help stem the skills shortages in the tech and sciences industry.
“Unfortunately we continue to see high failure rates in the science subjects, which are key skills for many of the modern foreign direct investment companies located in Ireland. As the lessons of Project Maths continue to be learned, they should be adapted and applied to support students studying in the sciences also,” said Redmond.
Business
The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) says that more needs to be done to encourage school leavers to open their own business, stating that it is not all about going to work for large corporations.
They called on the Government include entrepreneurial education in the school syllabus, in order to promote the “enterprise culture” in Ireland.
They called on teachers and policy-makers to encourage students to consider starting their own business rather than simply focusing on attaining employment.
“All the evidence suggests that a practical approach to business subjects and an exposure to entrepreneurship from an early stage, would lead to an increase in graduates and school-leavers establishing start-ups,” said Mark Fielding, ISME CEO.
“While the perennial cry from big business lobbyists is for more maths and science in schools, to satisfy their multinational masters, the importance of entrepreneurship in the regeneration of the Irish economy must not be overlooked,” he added.
Meanwhile, Labour Labour Senator Susan O’Keeffe has said more still needs to be done to encourage girls to take up science, technology, engineering and maths subjects, stating that just one quarter of these subject related jobs, such as those with Google and Twitter, are currently filled by women. Fine Gael Cork North Central Senator, Colm Burke, has said that now is the time for young people to again consider a career in construction.
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Convenient they can blame the EU now
@Pj Browne: god forbid we follow laws and agreements.
I wouldn’t mind but it’s literally the government’s job to know how to pass laws and give enough notice to those affected. They’re getting away with doing it to renters, but it sounds like the people who have managed to afford a spare room are able to stand up for their agreed legal right to fair notice.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: sorry what do you mean they are getting away with it on renters ? If you mean not extending the temporary winter eviction ban I think you have that all messed up
Slightly confused about this article? What exactly is the delay? There has to be a reason for this but the article implies that it’s the EU who is for some unknown reason delaying the process. Clearer journalism would help
@Dave Phelan: It says they want to “engage with stakeholders”, which to me means they want to present the data from their analysis and need those at the top to prioritise it over other issues based on that data. The real question to me is why wasn’t this analysis done in the beginning when it was first proposed?
If you have bought a house, paid vat, paye, stamp duty etc, then the government should not be able to prevent you doing something lawful with it. Deflecting blame from their own failures
@Dave Harris: in fairness nobody is allowed do what they like once they buy something. It does seem unfair that somebody could suddenly find themselves living next door to an ever rotate number of strangers on holidays who often don’t respect locals. Think there is a place for short lets but it can’t go on as is.
@Dave Harris: lol lawful? The state decides what’s lawful. In this case lawful is changing it so that you have to have planning permission before turning your property in a domestic structure into a business. All the other people in the area/building bought based on it being a residence not being a hotel. And every other lawful accommodation business needs to register with bord fáilte and have the required standards and checks in place so why should these get away with it?
@Dave Harris: Laws change and rightly so as society evolves. Airbnb has had a huge impact on housing crises across Ireland and internationally. The government has failed on a number of fronts in relation to housing and regulating short-term rents is one thing they need to act on. We have tourists in home while homeless and refugees are in hotels.
@Emma Meehan: never sure on this “huge” impact in Ireland. Never saw any figures.
12,000 rental units – what a load of cobblers. As a former Airbnb host, I know that most rural hosts have a couple of rooms in their own house or a granny flat and they are definitely not viable accommodation long term. It’s probably different in the cities. But now the rules mean getting planning permission, registration fees, etc. So it’s an end to the farming community or elderly people getting the chance of a few quid in summer time and bringing much needed tourism to the regions. When something is not broken, why try to fix it? As the hosts I’ve been listening to are just getting out. Same as with small landlords, there’s too much hassle, beaurocracy and expense.
@Shelley Keary: As someone who uses Airbnb regularly for accommodation in rural parts of Ireland, I’d definitely agree that most places even those at the higher end in terms of standards are definitely not suitable for long-term renters. They are often in beautiful parts of the country and ideal for some quiet time away but located in very isolated areas, with limited access to services such as schools, medical centres etc, and only having a one shop village nearby that requires driving to. Flaky internet so not suitable for remote work etc, prone to dampness in winter, no childcare available & absolutely no transport options. A blanket approach to classifying all Airbnbs in the same way is ludicrous. The reality of available, suitable, properties is much less then the projections given.
@Shelley Keary: and taxes
Ireland, behind the curve as usual. https://www.nyc.gov/assets/buildings/pdf/MultipleDwellingLaw.pdf
@zephyrum: what has US laws got to do with Irish and EU laws?
The change of use planning rules which have not been announced for Short Term Rentals by the Housing Minister but form part of the proposed Tourism Register is the reason thousands of self catering tourist accommodation providers voiced their concerns to the EU via the TRIS submission process. Rural and coastal tourist accommodation is being put in the same boiling pot as urban short term let’s who are capitalising on higher rental rates and should be the target of the government but all offering these services will be put into the same net. This will have a significant impact on rural businesses that provide benefit to all local businesses whether food and bev, tourist attractions, etc. These rural businesses are already reeling from reduced numbers if accommodation in Summer 2022 due to 35 percent of accommodation contracted to the government for refugees.
Not sure why a Tourism Register is being linked to housing policy that hasn’t been announced? TRIS requires that such policies should be transparent. There was no indication either on what the registration annual cost would be, so I’m wondering why the Govt is surprised that this proposed legislation is at a standstill till Dec 23. Maybe Housing Dept should be looking at their shortcomings rather than trying to pin the homelessness problem on anyone and everyone but themselves.
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