www.impact.ie

work &lifeISSUE 7 • WINTER 2009

THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

PLUSYOUR PUBLIC SERVICE CAMPAIGN

WE MEET MCLOONECASH-STRAPPED LIVING

FIRM UP YOUR SOFT SKILLSSOUPED-UP COOKINGALSO INSIDE

NYC. OFFENSIVE SONGS. PHYSIOTHERAPISTS. GAELTACHT SCHOLARSHIPS. GOING OUT GEAR.REDUNDANCY RIGHTS. YOUR LETTERS. YOGA. HOLMES MOVIE. WINTER GARDENS. HURLINGDUBS. WIN BOOKS. COMPETITIONS.

FIGHTING IRISH

Meet the IMPACT man behind 2009’s top exhibition.

Win Win Win…

In this issue

1WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

work &life – Winter 2009

NEWS

39 STRIKE BALLOT

39 COMMUNITY CUTS

40 IMPACT CAMPAIGN

40 LISBON

41 PUBLIC SERVICE BASHING

41 LOCAL GOVERNMENT

41 AER LINGUS

19Put pen topaper and win€50.

36Win a copy ofAnna McPartlin’snew novel.

46Enter ourprize quiz and win €50.

47Tell us what you think and win €100.

REGULARS

16 PUBLIC SERVICE

We look at the vital work ofunder-pressurephysiotherapists.

19 YOUR LETTERS

Globalisation, NAMA, unionsubs. And smiles!

20 WORKPLACE RIGHTS

MARTINA O’LEARY outlinesyour rights in redundancysituations and says you shouldact fast to get your fullentitlements.

24 FASHIONFESTTRISHO’MAHONYtweaks herwork gear tocreatefantasticoutifts for anight on thetown.

26 TRAVEL & TRIPS

New York City has it all. Andit’s tempting enough to get theteenagers along too.

28 BE GOOD TO YOURSELF

Why not sign up for yogaclasses, asks KAREN WARD.

32 GREEN FINGERS

JIMI BLAKE is spending thewinter getting the garden intoshape.

MORE REGULARS

34 AT THEMOVIESThe silverscreen’sfavouritefictionalcharacter is coming to acinema near you. Again.

36 BOOKS

Top Irish author andscreenwriter ANNA McPARTLINspeaks to Work & Life.

42 MUSIC

RAYMOND CONNOLLY looksat some daft censorshipdecisions.

44 SPORT

The Dubs need to keep holdof Anthony Daly, says KEVIN NOLAN.

COVER FEATURES

4 FIGHTING IRISH

Meet the man whose NationalMuseum team has just won aprestegious award.

6 DEFENDING PUBLICSERVANTS

NIALL SHANAHAN gets behindIMPACT’s massive publicitycampaign, which aims todefend public services and thepeople who deliver them.

11 MAKING A STAND

Work & Life gets IMPACTgen eral secretary PETERMcLOONE’s take on the strikeballot, pay cuts and thepension levy.

13 LESS CASH

Get advice on how to cope withliving on less money.

22 SOFT SKILL SHUFFLE

Now’s the time to brush up onyour so-called soft skills.MARTINA O’LEARY says how.

30 SOUPED UPKITCHENMARGARETHANNIGANis rattlin’those potsand pans andcoming up withsome souperwinter recipes.

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Winter warmerThe indusTrial relations temperature is rising this winter as iMPaCT ballots its 55,000 public service members for industrial action. in this issue we interview the union’s general secretary PeTer MclOOne, who outlines why the growing threat to your pay, pension and job security make a ‘Yes’ vote a must.

Our main feature article looks at the background to iMPaCT’s massive new public relations and advertising campaign, which is now making the case for public servants and their pay. Continuing our theme of dealing with the recession, MarTina O’learY looks at ways of living on less money. and she outlines your rights if redundancy looms in your workplace.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Trish O’MahOnY explains how she convinced her teenagers to join the family holiday – albeit with a trip to new York. (Kids these days? They don’t know they’re born!). Trish’s regular fashion piece could also help you save money while looking deadly on an after-work night out.

We also profile the iMPaCT museum worker whose team has just won a prestigious award, and we unlock the vital work of physiotherapists in hospitals and community settings across the country. like the rest of us, they’re under pressure from budget cuts and rising demand.

We’ve got another books giveaway and raYMOnd COnnOllY’s music column looks at the changing sensibilities of pop music’s occasional censors. remember Frankie Goes To hollywood? Meanwhile, MOrGan O’Brien takes a look at the new sherlock holmes movie.

and we’ve got all the usual competitions and prizes – plus your letters. Oh yes, and MarGareT hanniGan’s souped-up kitchen is producing some comforting broths to get you through the winter nights.

Why not close the curtains, cosy up by the fire and enjoy this issue of Work & Life.

Work & Life is produced by IMPACT trade union’s Communications Unit and edited by Bernard Harbor.

Front cover: Lar Joye in the National Museum, Collins Barracks. Photo by Michael Crean Photography.

Contact IMPACT at:Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1.Phone: 01-817-1500.Email: rnolan@impact.ie.

Designed by: O’Brien Design & Print Management.Phone: 01 864-1920.Email: nikiobrien@eircom.net.

Printed by Boylan Print Group.

Advertising sales: Frank Bambrick.Phone: 01-453-4011.

Unless otherwise stated, the views contained in Work & Life do not necessarily reflect the policy of IMPACT trade union.

Work & Life is printed on environmentally friendly paper, certified by the European Eco Label. This magazine is 100% recycable.

All suppliers to Work & Life recognise ICTU-affiliated trade unions.

WINTER 2009

work&lifeTHE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

IMPACT is Ireland’s fastest growing trade union with over 65,000 members in the public services and elsewhere.

We represent staff in the health services, local authorities, education, the civil service, the community sector, aviation, telecommunications and commercial

and non-commercial semi-state organisations.

Find out more about IMPACT on www.impact.ie

IMPACT TrAde unIon

Work & life Magazine is a full participating member of the Press Council of Ireland and supports the Office of the Press Ombudsman. In addition to defending the freedom of the press, this scheme offers readers a quick, fair and free method of dealing with complaints that they may have in relation to articles that appear on our pages. To contact the Office of the Press Ombudsman go to www.pressombudsman.ie or www.presscouncil.ie.

25 years ago The Dublin telephone system collapses on 28th September 1984 after a pirate radio station’s phone-in competition overloads the network. The following month, Dunnes stores workers begin a sit-in three months into their anti-apartheid strike over the handling of South African fruit.

Charles Mitchel, RTÉ’s first news reader and one of the founding members of the actors’ union Equity, reads his last news bulletin in November. He had read the very first Irish television news bulletin on 31st December 1961, minutes after the station was launched.

60 years ago The People’s Republic of China is officially proclaimed on 1st October 1949, followed swiftly by the official establishment of the Democratic Republic of Germany (DDR) on 7th October. November sees the banning of street names in any language other than English in Northern Ireland.

80 years agoIn October 1929, the Shannon hydro-electric scheme is handed over to the ESB bringing electricity to Galway and Dublin.

90 years agoIn November 1919, Irish labour leader James Larkin is arrested in New York and charged with circulating a publication advocating the forcible overthrow of the government.

118 years agoCharles Stewart Parnell, Irish Protestant landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, Home Rule MP and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, dies of a heart attack in his home in Brighton, England on 6th October 1891. He was 45 years of age. Five days later, his funeral in Dublin’s Glasnevin Cemetery was attended by more than 200,000 people.

WORk & LIFE: THE MAGAzINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 3

That was then…

SCARY PLANS by a British local council to adopt a budget airline ‘business model’ may offer an insight into how public services will be devalued if the Tories win next year’s general election.

Barnet’s Tory council leader Mike Freer says the ‘no frills’ approach is not about “rolling back the frontiers of the state, but about targeting our interventions.” In

practice, this translates into adult social care recipients having to choose which vital services they will keep after budgets are slashed. Oh, and rich residents can pay to

jump queues for planning applications.

Unofficially dubbed ‘Easycouncil’, after the British-based airline Easyjet, the initiative is apparently

accompanied by “a relentless drive for efficiency,” codeword for outsourcing and cuts in the 3,500-strong workforce.

In a development reminiscent of the late 1970s, this model of “new conservatism,”

which is spreading among Tory-controlled councils, is being seen by some as an indication

of how a national Tory government would treat public services. The unlamented Margaret Thatcher’s privatisation policies were eagerly driven by zealots in Tory local authorities.

Pressed on the issue by the British Guardian newspaper, Freer revealed that his “new relationship with citizens” boiled down to their accepting that councils would provide fewer services. Happily for him the ‘budget airline’ rebranding, rather than the cuts agenda, grabbed the headlines.

Crash landing for UK local services?

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STRANGE WORLD

IMPACT people

4 WINTER 2009

The National Museum of Ireland has just won the 2009 Heritage Council and Northern Ireland Museum biennial award for best exhibition with its ‘Soldiers and chiefs: The Irish at war at home and abroad since 1550’. IMPACT representative LAR JOYE is one of the curators of the winning exhibition.

Describe yourself.Being a historian and a curator of history I have a passion for history, a passion for explaining history to others and engaging with visitors to the museum. In Ireland everyone has a view of Irish history; it can be controversial and challenging.

My job is to reignite a type of passion for history. In Ireland history is very much family-based. It’s about what your grandfather or your father, grandmother or mother did. It can be a mixture of oral history and folklore. The stories you’ve grown up with are sometimes more interesting than the history you learn in school.

Tell me about the exhibition.Although it is a military history exhibition, we realised that most visitors relate to the personal stories, so we expanded into the social and economic history. Museums can be perceived as old fashioned and stuffy. We tried to tackle that. We strived to focus on the soldier and not generals or officers.

The most common experience of Irish soldiers abroad nowadays is on United Nations service. In the 19th and 18th centuries it was fighting in someone else’s army. It’s a very large and complex story.

This is the largest exhibition the museum has ever done and it is also the largest exhibition in the country. Irish people are so well travelled now and we found that they are looking for very hands on, interactive exhibition that has a story line and gives a good academic grounding in history.

Museums need to be more customer-orientated in the modern world as people have less free time. There is a need

for keeping academic standards high, but also engaging and listening to people. If you don’t listen to feedback from the audience, they will not visit.

How did you get into history?I had a really good history teacher at school. I was terrible at other subjects, but always did very well at history. After college, I was lucky that the Celtic Tiger started to roar. Prior to that, I don’t think many history graduates got a job using their history degrees. With good timing, I was lucky that I could turn a hobby into a profession. I appreciate that, particularly in the current downturn.

What are your other interests?It has been a busy couple of years for my wife and I and we now have two girls, aged six and four. I grew up in a house of boys so it has been steep learning curve. But they are wonderful and keep us busy.

Have you had any other interesting jobs?I first joined the museum in 1995. I was one of the first to be employed at the end of the civil service staffing embargo, which had been introduced in 1980s. I left for two years in 1999 and was head of the Irish Film Archive in the Irish Film Centre in Temple Bar.

The film archive was a fascinating job. I always had an interest in films and had worked on Braveheart and Michael Collins as an extra. In the archive we collected films, documentaries, home movies and TV programmes dating from 1896 up to the 1990s, and major films in Ireland.

The dangerous aspect of film archiving is that most early movies were filmed on 35mm film and are made of nitrate, which can self-combust. So you could have a can of film, u

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The fighting Irish

WoRk & LIFE: ThE MAgAzINE FoR IMPACT MEMBERS

which could simply go on fire one day. You can’t put out nitrate with a fire extinguisher, it burns until the fire extinguishes itself. one of my colleagues in Scotland found a great collection of early movies and put them in the back of her car. The film went on fire as she was driving to the archive and she lost her car.

What’s the best advice you ever received?I was lucky to do a Masters in museum management in the

we go over as often as we can, he lives with his family in the lower east side. It has a very good museum called the Tenement Museum, which looks at how emigrants from Europe and Ireland lived in the 19th century.

Tell me about your IMPACT involvement.We re-established the IMPACT branch in the museum back in 1996. I have been involved on and off since then. When I was doing the exhibition I couldn’t do much, but have got

“One of my colleagues found a great collection of early moviesand put them in the back of her car. The film went on fire as she was driving

to the archive and she lost her car.”

1990s and the first part of the course focused on ethics and museums, particularly accountability. Working in the public sector we need to be accountable for actions both for in a museum setting, but also to the Irish taxpayer.

What’s the best museum you’ve ever visited?My wife is from America and this summer we went on holidays to Connecticut. There was a brand new $50 million science museum in the state capital hartford. My kids enjoyed this but then we went down the road to the Trash Museum. It was all rubbish, but my kids got more out of the cheaper-run Trash Museum than the bells-and-whistles of the $50 million science museum. What’s your favourite place in the world?I love New York. My brother lives there with his family and

more involved the last year or two. IMPACT represents the needs of our members, in particular the professional staff, through dealing with the usual union issues.

What really annoys you? Inefficiency, lack of accountability and people not living up to their full potential annoy me Alive of dead who would you like to have a quite drink with? After the fascinating Presidential election of 2008 I think it would have to be President Barack obama especially as he seems to be over the honeymoon period and is meeting strong opposition over health care proposals. he probably could do with a beer.

Interviewed by Martina O’Leary l.

So the year begins with a flourish of bad news and grim prospects. Social partnership talks collapse and public servants are hit with a pay cut. the so-called ‘pension levy,’ worth an average of 7.5% of gross income, is imposed by legislation on all public servants in March. It is the first pay cut imposed on public servants in decades. Despite the lobbying efforts and protests by the union and its members, the legislation is passed.

elsewhere, the economic news gets progressively worse. In the maelstrom of rolling bad news, the pension levy is quickly forgotten by most commentators. eaten bread is soon forgotten. the Government has probably formed the view that public servants are a soft target. In subsequent talks, they refuse to give any guarantees on public service pay, pensions or job security. It becomes obvious that they will soon be back for more.

In the course of a summer punctuated by the publication of the McCarthy ‘Bord Snip’ Report, the unfolding saga of toxic debt, NAMA legislation and the report from the Commission on taxation, we begin a discussion with IMPACt members about what will come next. Vitally, we talk about how we will respond when the Government makes its move.

Industrial action, in the event of any attempt by Government to impose cuts in pay, is on everyone’s mind. We know that strike action in the public sector is not a popular idea, and levels of public support for such action to be low.

In fact, research indicates that not alone is there little sympathy for any sanction against people who work to provide public services, there is a measurable degree of hostility directed toward them. News organisations continue to publish polls indicating that a majority would support further cuts in pay and public service numbers.

So, for the time being at least, we’re not going to win any popularity contests. Let that be our starting point.

But who pursues a career in the public service in order to make themselves popular? Well, apart from politicians (who have to try to maintain their popularity) I think it’s fair to say nobody. Similarly, who pursues a career in the public service in order to make themselves rich? Well, apart from a few politicians (who are on record as having accumulated large fortunes) I think it’s fair to say nobody. of all of the perceived perks of working in the public sector, popularity and the accumulation of a large personal fortune cannot be included in the list.

Building your own soap box

6 WINteR 2009

economic crisis. A year ago, all of this was probably quite a bit easier, so don’t let anyone try to tell you that you have been ‘immune’.

In February this year we ran a series of press advertisements highlighting our opposition to the imposition of the pension levy. It gave us an opportunity to make our case beyond the confines of the news coverage that week. the campaign was aimed primarily

7WoRk & LIFe: the MAGAzINe FoR IMPACt MeMBeRS

“Public servants are under attack from virtually every political party and media commentator. With the best will in the world, it’s been

impossible to counter all this propaganda.”

Defending public servants

As IMPACT prepares to launch its biggest advertising campaign, NIALL SHANAHAN looks at the background, and the process of developing a campaign as it nears completion.

Nevertheless, the degree of relentless hostility and the mythical perceptions of overpaid, underworked, cosseted and over-pensioned public service workers continue. there is little doubt that these have been fed by a consistently negative media portrayal, which entertains the idea that public servants are immune to the effects of the current economic crisis.

Further contempt is fostered by reports that public sector workers earn considerably more than their private sector colleagues. only last month, the eSRI published three year old data, using very broad statistical averages, to prove that the public sector premium was worth up to 25%. It did this while, by its own admission, it ‘largely ignored job content’.

So much for an objective analysis then.

the publication of the report, and the comments of senior ministers that followed it, was yet another indication of direction the Government is taking.

So, as you balance the household budget this month, pay another chunk off the mortgage, the car loan, the credit card, the utilities and unforeseen expenses for the new school term, consider your immunity from the current u

important boost to our efforts to inject some reality into the debate about our public services and the people who provide them.”

We turned to Public Communications Centre (PCC), an award-winning communications agency which specialises in working with non-profit campaigning. PCC have worked with IMPACt previously on the Quality Public Services campaign and the pension levy press ads in February this year.

IMPACT members joined the 150,000 strong protest in February calling for a better, fairer way to economic recovery.

at IMPACt members, but also at commentators and the political establishment.

It helped to arm our members with the arguments they needed. the response to that campaign from IMPACt members was overwhelmingly positive. Members contacted the union offices to say how important it was to them to see their point of view in full public view. on his radio programme, Gerry Ryan went as far as to read one of the ads live on air, a letter to the taoiseach from Deirdre, a public service worker. For members, it was a

good moment in an otherwise bleak period.

Facing into the prospect of industrial action, in a potentially hostile environment fuelled by misperception, it is important for IMPACt to, once again, try and bring a little balance to the argument. And while we have been successful in some instances making our case through the available media channels, the sheer volume of opinion of those opposed to us, from business groups, economists and politicians, to several journalists and broadcasters, requires something more.

IMPACt’s head of communications Bernard harbor says it is vital to use every possible way of communicating the message that Irish public services are valuable and under threat. “Public servants are under attack from virtually every political party and media commentator, to say nothing of the business lobby and others. With the best will in the world, it’s been impossible to counter all this propaganda.”

this month, IMPACt launches a much broader advertising campaign, which has been designed to engage with the wider public about public services, and the people who work to deliver them. Bernard adds, “this campaign will be an

our ‘brief’ to PCC was to focus public attention on the real story behind public services, to challenge the myths, but crucially, to forge a sense of solidarity by highlighting the risk posed to every citizen if a cuts agenda is allowed to permeate public services. u

IMPACT’s advertisement in the Star newspaper in February protesting against the pension levy.

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We spoke to groups of workers, both part time and full time, from the private sector. There was broad agreement among the groups we spoke to that public services are an essential part of our economy, delivering vital services to the public. There was a strong sense that public services continue to be valued.

However, many were sensitive on the issue of jobs that are perceived to be secure in a stressed employment climate. Our researcher reported this to be a very emotional subject. Others spoke about ‘cushy’ jobs and a mass of institutionalised workers. What was particularly interesting is that those who participated in the research were themselves surprised at their own negative disposition when stimulated to discuss the public sector.

If it tells us anything, it is that the negative propaganda has been very successful, and with sensitivities running so high, that we do need to strike the right chord with the campaign.

The research gave us all reason to stop and consider the direction of the campaign. We had been developing a campaign based on public servants talking about their own situation, from their own point of view. Ultimately, we realised we could end up talking to IMPACT members and no-one else.

Another option was for us to focus on a particular role in the public service, or a number of roles in the public service, and address the effect of cuts on those services. But this narrowed the focus too much, and we risked losing any sense of the range and diversity within the public sector.

As it happened, we were offered a third option, which developed from the research we had conducted; focusing on the customer, looking at the effects of service cuts from their point of view. It was a crucial decision, and one which gave us the campaign we had been looking for.

John Power, President of IMPACT, agreed that the campaign needed to focus on the idea of putting the customer at the heart of the campaign. “As things stand, we cannot afford to be demonising each other or taking divisive positions. The customer, the service user, must be at the heart of this, we u

8 WINTER 2009

“Crucially, we also wanted to spread the word that IMPACT has proposed

alternatives to the cuts agenda.”

need to be part of a true social partnership that is committed to solving the problems we all face,” he said.

The campaign itself will be very visible. We have placed billboard ads throughout the country from October 6th, as well as advertising on Dublin bus and DART services. In addition, we have placed full page ads in all the national newspapers.

Approximately one million households around the country will receive a copy of our leaflet, and the campaign will have an online presence on a dedicated website, the IMPACT Facebook page, and a dedicated YouTube channel. The online elements of the campaign will give IMPACT the scope to conduct additional low cost campaigns as more of our members use

9WORk & LIFE: THE MAgAzINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERs

Defending public servants

IMPACT general secretary Peter McLoone was very clear on what the campaign needed to capture about public servants, and that it also offers solutions. “We wanted the campaign to emphasise that public servants earn modest incomes, work hard, have had their pay cut, and face the same challenges as everyone else when it comes to balancing the household budget” he said.

Peter added, “Crucially, we also wanted to spread the word that IMPACT has proposed alternatives to the cuts agenda; alternatives that recognise the challenges of a massive decline in public finances, but which does not require hacking another slice from workers’ incomes. That we are an organisation who can help solve the problems.”

social networking sites and link to us.

It is a massive undertaking, and one which the IMPACT executive doesn’t take lightly. The campaign is costing in the region of €450,000 to produce.

The campaign is designed to get the nation talking. Our hope is that we can get a meaningful conversation going about the kind of public services we want as we head into a very uncertain future. A conversation that does not rely on myth, rumour or scapegoating public servants.

It’s that simple l

PCC Director John sutton says while developing the campaign has been very challenging, it is also very compelling. “This is a campaign that has to be done now, however difficult the proposition, people do have to stand up and answer back to the very real threats that are coming. The economic challenge is critical, and a meaningful response to it is urgent.”

John believes that if public servants don’t challenge the cuts agenda now, there is worse to come. “I don’t believe that there are any ‘green shoots’, the cycle we are in now is likely to continue for another five or even ten years. That could mean that we are into another vicious cycle of cuts, and I am not convinced it has to be that way. This campaign is a major step, I believe an essential step, and I think other groups will follow where IMPACT have led on this.”

As work got underway, we also began a process of focus group research to gauge the public view on public services and to road test some of the messages that were in development. It was important to learn more about the views of the general public; how they feel about public services and people who deliver them. How they feel about the economy, about what has gone wrong and where the solutions lie.

IMPACT A ‘work in progress’- The agency get creative, IMPACT officers sift through the many options for the campaign and, having

made their choice, IMPACT’s ad goes to print.

The IMPACT campaign, launched October 6th 2009.

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Battle stations

THERE HASN’T been a tougher year for IMPACT and itsmembers since the union was formed in 1991. Indeed, youhave to go back a lot further – even beyond the savage cuts ofthe 1980s – to find such a sustained attack on public servicesand the people who provide them.

Yet there’s a surprising air of confidence in the IMPACT headoffice where officials, backed by branches, have spent thesummer preparing for a strike ballot. It’s a far cry from thedepressed atmosphere that followed the last union ballot inMarch, when we fell agonisingly short of the two-thirdsneeded to sanction industrial action.

IMPACT general secretary Peter McLoone puts this down tothe union’s programme of summer workplace meetings, inwhich its representatives made face-to-face contact with upto 10,000 public servants – almost a fifth of our membershipin the sector.

“Two-thirds is a very high standard and, last time round, welacked the preparedness needed to convince enough membersthat industrial action – or the threat of it – could make adifference. That’s changed completely this time,” he says.

McLoone also concedes that the union had a confused mess -age in February and March. “Members couldn’t relate thatballot to the specific issue of the pension levy. This time we’vefocussed exclusively on the issues that really matter tomembers: The spectre of compulsory redundancies and newattacks on pay and the value of pensions. That’s making a bigdifference at every level of the union.”

SuccessIt’s over 30 years since McLoone became a full-time unionofficial in 1978 and he’s steered many impressive campaignsand successful strikes in that time, including the 1980’s cutscampaign and national strikes involving nurses, health pro -fessionals and others.

He’s been predicting for months that the Government wouldcome back to attack public service pay again following theearlier imposition of the pension levy. But he tells membersthat a resolute strike threat can make the Government thinkagain.

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

As the union’s strike ballot gotunderway in October, Work &Life spoke to IMPACT generalsecretary PETER McLOONE

about strikes, pay cuts, publicservices and the pension levy.

IMPACT boss isup for the fight

Photo: C

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“Statements by the Taoiseach and other ministers make itvery clear that further pay cuts are their preferred course ofaction. We don’t want strikes. The public don’t want strikes.But public servants’ pay has already been cut and we’reentitled to take measures to protect what we have left,” hesays.

“We need to mobilise the entire public service membershipthrough this ballot. You can’t guarantee success in any strike.But I can guarantee two things. First, if we don’t support thiscampaign there will be more pay cuts. Second, if we do getbehind it with resolve, there’s a good prospect that we’llsucceed.”

PassionThe former psychiatric nurse is a passionate defender ofpublic services and says the people who deliver them are fullyentitled to be angry at a Government that’s made them theonly targets for cuts. “Between last December and February,we sought to negotiate an agreement to manage our waythrough the economic crisis fairly, with measures that wouldapply across the economy. That collapsed when it becameclear that the Government’s only real intention was to targetpublic services and put the entire burden of the country’sBudget problem on the people who deliver them. That isn’tfair,” he argues.

The Donegal man is often presented in the press as a‘moderate’. But he’s scathing about the people now heapingunfair criticism on IMPACT members and other publicservants. “Society should have no time for those whoadvocate profit from essential services. I’ve been around along time and I can tell you that, in these attacks, the samenames crop up today as in the 1980s and 1990s. This may

Battle stations

12 WINTER 2009

“We need to mobilise theentire public service

membership through thisballot. If we get behind it with

resolve, there’s a goodprospect that we’ll succeed.”

sound extreme, but if you listen carefully to their utterances,the simple fact is that they are fundamentally opposed to theexistence of public services or the right of working people tobe in unions.”

“Their agenda is to dehumanise public servants so thatthey’re easier targets for governments to attack. There’s noregard for our skills, the heavy responsibility that we have indelivering services, or the increasing stress under whichmany public servants are operating. They don’t want to talkabout that at all,” he says.

He’s also acutely aware of the real hardship caused by joblosses among temporary staff and the imposed pension levy.“My in-tray is filled with stories from individual members whoare struggling to pay bills or the mortgage. I don’t want tomention particular cases but these are real people living inthe same economy as the people who constantly criticisethem. They know what it means to suffer a pay cut or have afamily member on the dole,” he says.

CriticisedEarlier this year McLoone spoke at the MacGill summerschool, where he said public services defined society andgave it its humanity. “When you strip away all the economics,the number-crunching, and the ‘slash and burn’ opportun -ism, that remains the fundamental truth,” he said.

His MacGill speech was criticised in some union quarters forsaying that public servants were up for big changes in workpractices as part of a transformation of public services – solong as pay, pensions and jobs were protected. “Right nowthe demands on the public services are increasing becauseof the recession and that will continue. It’s not enough toagree that the public sector has to make a contribution. Aschampions of public services we have to go further and arguethat vibrant public services are fundamental to society and toeconomic recovery,” he argues.

This view is informed by the diversity of IMPACT’s member -ship. “Our members are not detached from society and allof them depend on public services too. If I work in the healthsector, I’m entitled to top quality education services for mykids and vice versa. Members don’t just understand that –they firmly believe it.”

McLoone has seen IMPACT’s membership more than double,from 29,000 to over 65,000, since he became generalsecretary in 1996. But these days his decade of nursing inClonmel might seem a lot simpler than running the country’sleading public service union. “I don’t look back that far. It’sa great privilege to be in this job and to represent people whomake such a massive contribution to society,” he says. Rightnow, he’s totally focussed on the challenges ahead �

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Living life on less Falling incomes

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As public servants and others face up to falling incomes, MARTINA O’LEARY investigates what you can do to deal with your

changed financial circumstances.

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THE SIMPLISTIC view that public servants should simply tighten their belts and take another hit is frightening for hospital worker Sharon D’Arcy, who’s suffered a 15% fall in her income this year. Like many IMPACT members who’ve been hit by the so-called ‘pension levy’ and other new taxes, she’s found that rapidly falling income means more than just cutting back on a second holiday.

Life is even worse for thousands of others who’ve lost their jobs as state agencies and voluntary organisations cut back, or temporary contracts come to an end.

For the better off, it might mean forgoing the mini-breaks or cutting back on socialising. But for a growing number of public servants, drastically falling income means struggling to pay bills, put food on the table, or clothe the kids. (Don’t believe it? Read Sharon’s story over the page).

The dominant media view that public servants are uniformly overpaid, while all private sector workers are taking wage cuts, literally adds insult to injury.

A pay cut is a pay cut, regardless of whether you work in the private sector, the public service, or in a community organisation. But recent research by private sector consultants Mercer shows that less than 10% of private companies have imposed wage

WoRk & LIFE: THE MAgAzInE FoR IMPACT MEMBERS

cuts. Meanwhile, and with the exception of judges, 100% of public servants have had pay cuts averaging 7.5% imposed this year.

Below averageThey weren’t overpaid in the first place. For instance, recent figures from the Central Statistics office (CSo) show that, with average annual earnings of just €34,000 before tax and levies, Ireland’s health workers are paid less than the average worker in the finance sector, business services, transport, or even manufacturing.

official figures also show that the vast majority of public servants earn less than €60,000 gross a year, while 55,000 of them are paid less than €30,000. The biggest block is paid between €40,000 and €60,000 a year before tax.

Speaking at the Macgill Summer School in July, IMPACT general secretary Peter McLoone said he was getting hundreds of emails from desperate members. “These are coming from women in the public service, earning just €30,000 or €40,000 a year. Their husbands may have lost jobs in construction or elsewhere, and their own take-home pay has fallen by €50 or €100 a week because of the so-called pension levy and other new taxes and levies,” he said.

Although the inflation figures are coming down a bit, mortgage repayments, utilities and food bills are relatively unchanged. What’s more, many people have emerged from the so-called boom years with big mortgages and substantial debts, including on credit cards. Add in the threat of further pay cuts or tax increases, and

it starts to look pretty frightening. More and more people are asking themselves how they’ll survive

with a substantially reduced income.

no doubt there are many public servants among the 10,000 new

clients that have contacted the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) since the start of the year. MABS gives help and advice to people who are having difficulties managing their money, and offers individual advice from money advisors.

on average, people who’ve turned to u

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Falling incomes

WINTER 2009 15WoRk & LIfE: ThE MagazINE foR IMPaCT MEMbERs

MABS this year owe just over €15,000. MABS won’t tell you off or ask you how you got into trouble. But they’ll help you to manage your debts. Among other things, their non-judgemental service could help you deal with banks, mortgage lenders and credit card companies, as well as the ESB and Bord Gáis.

Face itMABS social, policy and communications officer Michael Culloty says you mustn’t ignore the problems that come with a reduced income. “If income is reduced to the extent that you may not be able to meet all your commitments, it’s important to make contact with the people you owe money to at the earliest possible stage and tell them about your changed circumstances. Initially it’s best to write. By writing you are creating a record of your willingness to address your changed situation,” he says.

“Tell your creditors that you are assessing your full financial situation and are working out how much you can pay to each of them, while taking account of all your living expenses and other commitments. If you are already in arrears, ask them to hold any action to recover this debt while you’re doing this. And ask for the suspension of the interest and charges currently being added to your account,” he says.

He also advises that you keep a copy of your letter as you may need it as evidence of your efforts to address your new financial situation.

Drastically falling income means struggling to pay bills, put food on the

table, or clothe the kids.

The Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) has some essential steps in dealing with changed financial circumstances and debt.

1. List and evaluate your debts2. Make contact with your creditors to outline your changed circumstances. By writing you have recorded your willingness to deal with the situation 3. Ask them not to do anything about your debt until you’ve reassessed your situation, and ask them to suspend any interest or charges being added to the account4. Prioritise your debts5. Make a budget6. Make a written offer of payment to your creditors7. If accepted, make sure you keep to your commitments8. If rejected, contact them again and ask them to reconsider

Contact the MABS helpline on 1890-283-438 anytime between 9am to 8pm, Monday to Friday. Or visit www.mabs.ie, where you’ll find lots of information on budgeting and dealing with creditors, including sample letters.

WELL-PAID politicians, businessmen and analysts want more cuts in public service pay. They reckon you can afford another 10% or 20% - even 50% in one recent newspaper column. But what does that mean for real people struggling to pay their bills?

IMPACT member Sharon D’Arcy has recently lost almost 15% of her take-home pay on foot of new taxes and levies, including the so-called pension levy. That means she’s shy €300 a month from a modest salary of just over €2,000 after deductions.

She lives with her sister who’s just been made redundant, leaving Sharon’s as the only income in the house. Factor in a young nephew and a mortgage of €600 a month, and this Dublin hospital worker of nine years starts to look a lot less ‘bloated’ than the public servants we keep reading about in the press.

“It’s no joke. It’s frightening and quite depressing,” says Sharon, who has fallen back on some of her bills. “I’ve come to an arrangement to pay back as much as I can. I had to get a mortgage break for three months, but the payments will then go up. The oil heating is leaking, but I’ve no money to get it fixed,” she says.

How things have changed in the short time since

2008. “I can’t buy myself clothes or go out with my friends at the weekend. I don’t drink much, but I like an odd glass of wine. The Friday night luxury of a DVD, a curry and a bottle of wine – that’s gone. Sometimes I don’t have money for petrol to get into work.

“It’s dreadful. Even to bring my nephew to the pictures is a struggle. My sister has spent all her money on school books and clothes. Little things like that have become a nightmare,” she says.

Surprisingly, Sharon’s not angry. “I’m gone beyond that to be honest. There was a terrible amount of anger at first, but now it’s turned to fear. I’m worried about the postman coming the next day. I’m worried if I can’t pay a bill. It’s a very frightening thing to be afraid and anxious with a knot in your stomach every morning. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. It’s a horrible, horrible feeling.”

No doubt the well-paid advocates of another pay cut for Sharon would say she’s lucky to have a secure job. “I want people to know that my job is not safe. We’ve been told at a general staff meeting that the hospital is down millions and the HSE could come in and tell people they are not needed. Please let it be known that jobs in the HSE are not safe,” she says l

“It’sahorrible,horriblefeeling. Iwouldn’twishitonmyworstenemy”

The next step is to look realistically at your situation and make out a budget. There is nothing mysterious about it. “It’s simply a plan for the money you expect to receive and how you intend to spend it. A budget is important because it will show you, in your new changed circumstances, how much money is now coming into your household, how much money is going out, and where it’s going to,” says Michael.

It will also show how much you can realistically afford to offer towards outstanding debts and how you can best plan your spending. “Working out a budget that reflects your new circumstances is essential in managing on a reduced income. And do include some amount for a social life for you and your family,” he adds.

There is an interactive budget sheet on the MABS website www.mabs.ie.

After you’ve done your budget, MABS advise you to write to your creditors again. Restate your changed circumstances, what caused them, what you can afford to pay in the present circumstances, and when you propose to make payments.

Include a copy of your financial statement to creditors outlining your financial situation.

Sample letters to creditors can be downloaded from the MABS website www.mabs.ie, where you can get more advice about how to deal with creditors l

Hospital worker Sharon D’Arcy’s income has reduced by almost 15% this year.

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Intensive careJunior staff are rotated to different areas every four months.The senior will have a junior working with them for this pe-riod, during which they impart their skills. Meanwhile, the jun-iors learn if they like that particular work area over anotherand then start looking towards doing post-graduate study.

It’s very serious work. A visit to the intensive care unit remindsyou that physiotherapists, along with other medical staff, areworking in life and death situations. If you don't get air into thelungs you don't live. “Our job, all of the time, is motivatingand educating the patient and getting them up and ready togo home well,” says Doreen.

Take a stroke victim for example. As soon they’re admitted tothe hospital, the physio team wants to speak to the medicalteam to see if it’s safe to start treatment. Once the blood pres-sure and bleed are stabilized, usually within the first 24 to 48hours, the physiotherapists assess the patient’s loss of skillsand look at their breathing function and balance. They alsostudy their medical history before starting treatment. “You arecontinually making a plan of treatment for the patient,” saysDoreen.

ChangeThings have changed a lot. In 1976, when Doreen first startedmanaging the Connolly physiotherapy department, there werefive or six in the team. Now they have 24 physiotherapists,some working on a part-time basis, and four physiotherapyassistants. Each month the department sees between 600 and750 new patients, a combination of in-patient and out-patient.They have 25 students coming through each year.

Like any job in Ireland’s health service there are many pres-sures and stresses. Take the two physiotherapists working inthe in-partient rehabilitation service who have 55-60 patientson their case list in any given day. Inevitably, they have to bal-ance the patients’ needs with what two pairs of hands can re-alistically provide. That means making priorities.

Treating patients early is really vital and means they will bemobile and homeward bound much quicker. A long wait forphysiotherapy can lead to treatable conditions becomingchronic.

But Doreen’s face lights up when she talk about the highs ofthe job. It’s obvious that she loves the work, even with its pres-sures. “The real joy is the discharging of a patient – being ableto use the skills that you have to the best advantage of the pa-tient. You could work with a patient for weeks in intensive care,so focused on ensuring that they have the very best chance ofrecovery.”

“I've been really lucky. When I worked in the Royal Victoriahospital in Belfast, the management team was very visibleand supportive. It was the same when I came to Connolly.Since then I’ve had a number of managers come through hereand there has been a marked change over the years. Man-agement now seems to be supporting the HSE corporateagenda rather than supporting frontline staff,” she says �

1716 WINTER 2009

Public service

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

DEEP MASSAGE? I discovered I couldn’t have been more offthe mark if I tried when I met IMPACT activist and physio-therapy manager Doreen Bracken.

Speaking to her at the physiotherapy department in Dublin’sConnolly hospital, which she’s managed since 1976, I quicklylearned that physiotherapists play a crucial role in getting youout of bed after major surgery, regaining mobility after astroke, and walking again if injured after a car crash.

And they treat patients for a range of other ailments likesports injuries, falls, back pains, women’s health problems –the list goes on and on. But the main focus is always on pa-tient care and team work, while all the while working withother health care professionals.

Physios use knowledge and experience from their extensivetrain ing to assess, diagnose and treat people of all ages andsocial groups. They help patients avoid injuries in the work-place or on the sports field, and promote healthier lifestylesfor all.

Every acute hospital has its physiotherapists. But they alsowork in community and primary health care settings, visitingpeople in their homes to give treatment and advice. They helpchildren in special schools achieve their full potential. Andsome work in private practice dealing with a wide variety ofmuscle, joint and ligament problems.

SkillsDoreen is quick to point out that her job of managing a busyphysiotherapy department means ensuring that the skills arein place for all the different areas of physiotherapy. And eachof them can run very well without being heavily overseen.

“You know and trust the skills are on board and people aregiving their all. I have been really lucky here. We have such agood team and we all support each other. It’s a learningprocess all the way up and it's a poor day that I don't learnsomething from the younger people,” she says.

It takes four years to become a qualified physiotherapist. Butthe training doesn’t stop there. After 44 years as a physio,Doreen puts it like this: “On the job training is very much partand parcel of the job. It’s highly skilled work.”

Connolly hospital has weekly and monthly in-service trainingcovering anything from respiratory, care of the elderly, neu-rology, orthopaedics, orthopaedics medicine, joint injuries,back care, cardiac care, women's health, and strokes. Many ofthe team have completed, or are completing, masters degreesin specialist areas of physiotherapy.

“That is stressful for the physiotherapist. Each of them is pri-oritising on almost an hourly basis. If a patient doesn’t showup for their appointment, time is wasted. We have no clericalsupport to answer calls. If there’s a cancellation, the physiohas to look for the list and try to get a replacement. That’s awaste of a physiotherapist’s time, when an admin workercould co-ordinate it so well – and more cost-effectively,” saysDoreen.

PressureStaffing cuts are making things even more difficult. Doreenhad to terminate the contract of an agency physiotherapist re-cently. She isn’t sure if another staff member, who’s goingback to education, will be replaced. These two physiothera-pists dealt with 200 patients a month and Doreen is con-cerned that the remaining team members will have to takeup the slack.

That is on top of the normal outpatients’ service, which couldsee 300 patients per month. “It's a major balancing act. Youhave 300 people – who do you take first?”

Pains, tripsand automobile accidents Like most of us, MARTINA

O’LEARY gleans a lot of her medical knowledge from Holby Cityand Private Practice. But she found out that physiotherapy is about more

than a quick deep massage.

Photo: M

oya Nolan.

Doreen Bracken in Connolly Hospital’s

physiotherapy department.

Treating patients early is really vitaland means they will be mobile and

homeward bound much quicker. A longwait for treatment can lead to treatable

conditions becoming chronic.

�

Small worldI had the good for -tune to attend theICTU global solidar ity

summer school inAug ust. Up to this point,

my understanding of thefunction of trade unions was that theirwork centred on disputes between staffand management in the workplace. Aslong as things were running smoothly,the union was dormant in my view.

My mind went back to the time I becamea member of ‘the union’ in my first job atthe age of 18 in Lusaka, Zambia. Iremembered that the meet ings, whichwere mostly punctu ated by heateddiscussions on pay-related issues andconditions of service, presented ascenario which was not very different tothe one prevailing in my current job inIreland.

However, over the two days, I gained areal insight into the global perspectiveand expansive range of activities under -taken by the trade union move ment –from community mobilis ation at grassroots level to world networks.

Input from the Lesotho delegates, whoare in the forefront of union capacity-building in their country, included amessage of solidarity to their Irishcounterparts. Other delegates, local andinternational, highlighted the need forraising awareness on the effects ofclimate change, forced labour, humantrafficking, global recession and theinterconnectedness of world financialsystems.

With the experience of Ireland and thecollapse of the economy, this broughthome the fact that the message shouldbe communicated within our union thatwhat we do locally affects the rest of theworld. We can all contribute to make adifference.

Mutale KampuniBoards & Voluntary Agencies' branch

NAMA and cutsUnemployment has increased from 4%to 13% in the last 18 months. With thisdisastrous change in fortunes, one mightdraw solace that the change would leadto an influx of skilled and motivatedvolunteers to enhance the work done bycommunity and volun tary organisations.

However, as people might seek to con -tribute their time to organisations theysupport and value, they will be disheart -ened that the very organis ations thatpeople turn to in time of need are at thesharp end of the cuts with drug treat -ment, disability, comm un ity devel op -ment, older and youth services affected.

The implementation of NAMA means weare expected to swallow a concept of'long term economic value' which, inplain language, is nothing more than anaspiration by the Govern ment and theirbuilder, banker and speculator friends ofa return of the property bubble in thenot too distant future.

IMPACT members need to get organ isedto fight the cuts in community services,be cause there is more to come if theGov ern ment tries to implement BordSnip. IMPACT can play a crucialrole in asserting theimpor tance of the vol -untary sector. The ag -enda of this gov ern mentseems only to offer des -pair and hope lessness tocomm unit ies, and com -fort for bankers and exec -u tives.

Garrett MullanBoards & VoluntaryAgencies’ branch

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Work & LifeWork & Life is the magazine for members of IMPACT trade union. IMPACT mem bers can have it mailed to them by con tacting Work & Lifeat IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1 or by emailing rnolan@impact.ie. Or call Roisin Nolan on 01-817-1544.

IMPACT also produces a monthly e-bulletin with more detailed in for mation about the union’s activities and cam paigns, and developmentsin your work place. Sign up via the website on www.impact.ie.

IMPACT is Ireland’s largest public sector union with members in health, local government, the civil service, education, the communitysector, semi-state org anisations, aviation and tele communications.

Work & Life pays €50 for the best letter

published each issue and €30 for the rest.

Let us know what you think about the

magazine or the issues we’ve

covered. Come to think of it,

let us know your views on anything

at all! Get out your pen and paper

today. And don’t forget to keep it

nice and short.

Write to Roisin Nolan, Work & Life,

IMPACT Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1.

Or email rnolan@impact.ie.

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you never phone...

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edit your letter for size.

Union subsOur IMPACT contribution is a percentageof our gross wage and, although our netwage has decreased due to the levy, ourIMPACT contribution has not decreasedat all. I think IMPACT should show soli -darity with members by reducing thepercentage of the contribution.

Angela GunningKildare branch

SASH daysIn the financial climate we all find our -selves in today, I think it would be lovelyif we could make every day a ‘SASH’ day– Smile And Say Hello! Yes, we are allunder financial strain, extra pressureeverywhere we look, and the stress ofhaving to deal with all these changes. Sonext time you’re out and about, smileand say hello to everyone you meet.We’re all in the same boat together.

Rose Bradley MolloyMeath

Your rights at work

A growing number of IMPACT membersare finding themselves out of work astemporary contracts end and organisationscut back. MARTINA O’LEARY looks at howyou should approach the social welfaresystem if you lose your job.

SIGNING ON the dole is no joke. It’s traumatic, worrying andunfamiliar territory for people who’ve been used to being inpaid employment.

The social welfare system can be confusing, but Brid O'Brienof the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU)says there’s lots of good advice and information available.And, if you find yourself out of work, it’s important to interactwith social welfare quickly and sign on as soon as you can.

“Some people delay. They may hope to get another job quicklyand find this doesn’t work out. Or they are discouraged fromsigning on because they’ve never been unemployed before andhate the thought of dealing with the social welfare system,”says Brid.

To avoid delays in social welfare payments, it’s really imp -ortant to get the necessary documents quickly, especiallythose you need to get from your employer. It’s equallyimportant to sign on fast because social welfare paymentsaren’t backdated. If you’re entitled to a payment, you will onlyget it once you sign on.

Bear in mind that average waiting times for job seekers’benefit and allowance payments is 3.3 weeks and 5.9 weeks,respectively. But the figures vary widely and are currently upto 22 weeks in some areas. That’s a long time to be withoutincome, so don’t delay.

If you’re not entitled to job seeker benefit or allowance, youmay be entitled to a supplementary welfare allowance fromthe community welfare officer in your local health centre. Theymay also be able to help if you have a financial emergency.

EntitlementsThere are two main payments that you may be entitled to: jobseekers benefit and job seekers allowance. Your entitlementsdepend on how long you have been paying PRSI and the PRSIrate you have been paying. The full details are available on

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Act fast if you lose your jobFull and modified PRSIVirtually all private sector employees, and public servants whostarted work after April 1995, pay class A PRSI. That meansthey will be entitled to job seekers benefit if they’ve paidenough contributions. The same goes for all ‘non-officer’public servants, most community sector workers and, untilrecently, most temporary public servants.

But most public servants who started work before April 1995pay a modified PRSI rate - either class B, C or D – whichmeans they don’t qualify for jobseeker’s benefit. However, theymay qualify for the means-tested jobseeker’s allowance.

The maximum payments for both job seekers’ benefit and jobseekers’ allowance is currently €204.30 a week, plus €135.60for a qualified adult dependent, €26 for each dependent childand €13 for other dependent children – although most newclaimants under 20 years of age are only entitled to weeklypayments of €100. A qualified child increase may be payablefor a child who lives with you and is maintained by you (up toage 18 and in some cases 22). The child need not be yourchild. You may also be entitled to various supplementarybenefits, like medical cards or the national fuel scheme. Thefull details are available on www.inou.ie, www.welfare.ie orwww.citizeninformationboard.ie �

www.welfare.ie /EN/Pages/ jajbfaq.aspx, www.inou.ie,or www. citi zen infor mationboard.ie.

Jobseeker's benefit is a social insurance payment. It’snot means tested and you can qualify for up to 12months of payments if you are made unemployed,meet the general qualification criteria and haveenough PRSI contributions or 'stamps' to qualify fora social insurance payment. You may be disqualifiedfrom jobseeker’s benefit for up to nine weeks if youare under 55 and received a redun dancy payment ofover €50,000.

Job seekers allowance is a means tested socialassistance payment. If you don’t qualify for jobseekers’ benefit, you could be entitled to job seekersallowance if you are unem ployed and meet thegeneral qualific ation criteria. To qualify, you mustprove that your means are below the maximum rateof job seeker's allowance for your family size. Yourspouse’s or partner’s income is also assessed.

You can do some casual or part-time work and stillqualify for jobseeker’s allowance, but your allowancewill be reduced to take account of some of yourearnings. The full details are available on www.inou.ie,www.welfare.ie or www.citizen information board.ie.

To qualify for either benefit or allowance you must beunder 66, resident in Ireland, unemployed for at leastthree days in any period of six consecutive days, andcapable, available and genuinely seeking work. Youhave to sign on once a month, but collect weeklypayments from a designated post office. After sixmonths you can apply to be paid directly into yourbank.

Becoming unemployed� Register with FÁS.

� Claim benefit or allowance

� Ask about signing for credits if you’re not entitled to payments

Claiming� Bring your passport, driver’s license or birth certificate

� Bring a household bill, bank statement or tax documentwith your name and address on it.

� Bring your P45 or a letter from your employer sayingwhen you finished work

� An employers’ letter explaining why your job finishedmay speed up your claim

� Bring recent P60 forms if you’re applying for jobseeker’s benefit

Appealing� Appeal the decision as soon as possible if you’re

refused jobseekers benefit or allowance, or a socialwelfare payment. Contact the INOU for advice.

This article is for information only and is not a legal interpretation.

More info� The INOU publication Working for Work will help you on the

welfare system, getting back to work, and education and trainingoptions. Get it from www.inou.ie or phone 01-856-0088. TheINOU’s welfare rights section will help you with individualqueries. They also do workplace meetings in organisations whereredundancies are looming.

� Get details of your PRSI contributions from your local socialwelfare office or the Department of Social and Family Affairs at1890-662244.

� Try these websites– www.welfare.ie – www.losingyourjob.ie– www.fas.ie – www.socialwelfareappeals.ie– www.inou.ie – www.redundancy.ie– www.citizensinformationboard.ie

CHECKLIST

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 21WINTER 200920

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23WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

Your career

Time to firm upthose soft skills

MARTINA O’LEARY says you canincrease your future prospects byimproving so-called soft skills.

WINTER 200922

YOU MIGHT be out of work or worriedabout your job security. Either wayyou can do something about it, by im-proving your skills.

Even if you have no plans to move job,there may be skills you can develop orimprove which would be useful withinyour current organisation or on a per- sonal level. It doesn’t necessarilymean going back to the classroom.

Start with the ‘soft’ or transferableskills that keep reappearing in job de-scrip tions and recruitment ads.

Soft skills relate to personality traits,social graces, communication, lang -uage, personal habits, friendliness,and optimism that characterise relat -ionships with other people. They com- plement the hard professional andtechnical skills you need to do yourjob.

They include interpersonal skills,organ isational skills, team worker,managing and motivating people, att - en tion to detail, working on your owninit iative, flexibility and communic -ations skills.

Excellent interpersonal skills, an ex- cellent phone manner and customerrelations skills are all shorthand forgood communications. Think about it,no matter what your job is, particu-larly working in the public service, youwill be dealing with people throughoutyour working life. To provide a goodservice you need to communicate ef-fectively with them.

Communications is one of the mostvital soft skills. Everyone has them,but may not use them effectively. Ac-cording to training consultant FabiaGavin: “People could be stilted in anorganisation. You don’t have to beover confident, but by communicatingeffectively you can build relationshipsand make yourself an integral part ofthe team.”

Fabia says this involves some soulsearching, like looking at how youcommunicate, and confronting thebarriers that stop you communicatingeffectively. “These could be physicalbarriers, like where you’re located inthe building, system faults or attitudi-nal barriers. They could be simple as-sumptions people make that stopthem comm unicating.” Workplaceper sonality issues can also be barri-ers. You might feel that people don’tlisten to you, so this stops you fromgiving your ideas and participatingfully. That could stop you from gettingyour best side across. Take a moreproactive approach. For in stance, youshould try to present your manager

with a solution to a work problemrath er than simply focussing on thenegative,” says Fabia.

You may feel you are stuck in a roleand it’s not always possible to moveupwards in your organisation. But itmay be possible to move sidewaysand get involved in parts of the or-gan isation you hadn’t in the past.“Get involved in other aspects orareas of the organisation,” saysFabia. This could be as simple asgetting involved in a project or so-cial event where you will meet dif-ferent people.

No doubt you alreadypossess somesoft sk ills butyou probablyhaven’t th ou -ght about it inthat way. Youmay well bein volved in anactivity out side ofwork where you aredeveloping skillsthat can be used inevery walk of life, in-cluding the work-place. Perhapsyou’ve developed aproject with the res-idents’ associationor worked to raisefunds for the localschool – while allthe time improvingyour team work-ing, motiv ation andleadership skills.

If you have decided totry and improve someof those soft skills,there are a huge num- ber of useful eveningcourses being run bypublic and private col-leges throughout thecountry. You should in-vestigate what thelocal comm unity coll -eg es, sch ools, librar -ies and VECs have onoffer as most ofthese run eveningcourses, and somedo morn ing class es.

When the train ing isdone, you must tryto show case thesenew found skills. Thekey places for this isin your everydaywork and if the opp -ortunity arises in yourcurriculum vitae and

then at interview. The main advicehere is to tailor your CV to the specificjob description, giving enough totempt prospective employers into call-ing you for an inter view.

At the interview you shouldtry to highlight your skillsand exper ience withstrong exam ples, tailor-ing your CV to the jobprofile.

You might find that firm-ing up those soft skills

can deliver hard cashand a per sonalboost �

Pho

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Imag

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Communications is one of the

most vital soft skills. Everyone

has them, but may not use

them effectively.

Lavish layeringRemember it’s Ireland’s winterwe’re bracing ourselves for, soyou need to layer up. Especiallyif it’s going to be a late night. Trying to make this look

glamorous involves chunky scarves, leather cuff gloves, handwarmers and woolly berets. Warehouse have a good selection,with bling included from around €16.

Boyfriend jacketsBoyfriend jackets are so every whereand are a key staple, looking good with

your dress, Capri pants or skinny jeansand a t-shirt. Take a fresh look at last year’s suit.

Failing that, borrow from the boyfriend’swardrobe. Roll up the sleeves and

you’re good to go. I’m putting mymoney on a River Island longstyle, and by the time I’ve worn

it everywhere it will owe menothing �

I’VE BEEN a fan of ‘very versatile clothes’ for a good manyyears now. Sometimes, admittedly, I get a bit carried away bythe whole thing. If I can’t wear it as I’m haring off to catch thetrain to work, and the Ball tonight (you know what I mean),and everything in between, then it’s failed the versatility test.

Until recently I’ve felt quite alone in this quest. But it nowseems to be becoming a fashion in itself. The financialspin off is obvious – you spend less.

Now that we’re coming into the work parties andfunctions time of year, or maybe just heading out withyour workmates to catch an early bird and a couple ofdrinks, the conundrum of not having anything to wear canbe enough to make you cry off. But it doesn’t have to be likethis. Adopt an eclectic approach to fashion. Mix the best ofwhat suits your personality, body shape, colouring, lifestyle,and your pocket with the latest trends.

Man about townA suit with a hint of sheen works well bothday and night. Emphasis on ‘hint’ or you risklooking like Jake Stevens in Naked Camera.Wear with open necked shirt for après worktimes. French Connection (pictured left)always has a good range to choose from.Wear jeans and t-shirt with your suit jacketfor a relaxed, casual effect. Break the rulesand wear black, or grey, with navy.

The 24 hour shiftThere’s nothing quite like the shift dress totake you from day to evening with ease. Wearwith a long cardi, wool tights and brogues fora relaxed look; sheer tights and heels whenyou mean business. Switch from sheer tofishnet, oversized jewellery and boyfriendblazer, and you’re ready to go anywhere youlike after six. New Look have one priced at€24. Or try Wallis who have a purple and

Looking good

black embellished dress at €76 or aburnt orange beaded shift for €91.Summer dresses can be ‘re-seasoned’by wearing with coloured tights andchunky cardigans

Made for walkingAsk yourself how versatile are thoseover-the-knee boots? Can you reallywear them every where? Ankle

boots, with not too high aheel, will take you from a

day at the desk to anight at the disco with -out too much hard ship

on those heels. SchuhCalvin 2 buckle shoe boot, come inpurple suede, grey leather and blackpatent priced at €85. Wallis alsohave black or purple suede ankleboots (above), trimmed in patent,priced €68.

Billowing blousesBlouses look good, both day andnight and they’re an inex pensive,feminine, way to up date your look.Choose sheer and satin fabrics,with ruffles for a glamorous feel.Wallis have plenty to tempt you.The high street is full of the oneshoulder style. Penneys willhave a good range of satinblouses from October, cateringfor day and night. If you wantsomething a little more daringcorsets are de rigueur forevening wear with fitted skirtor trousers.

Glam up your work wear for the perfect eveningoutfit. TRISH O’MAHONY reveals how.

A S N I G H Tfollows day

Main pic: Collection from Ware-house. Coat €63. Dress €60. Hat€18. Gloves €16. Scarf €29. 1.Purple moc-croc tote bag, Houseof Fraser, €109. 2. Brown resinbangle, Brown snakeskin bangle,House of Fraser €15 each. 3. Topright pic: Collection from NewLook. Dress €24. Shoes €80. 4.Purple shiffon embellished bl -ouse, Wallis €53. 5. Jasper Con-ran Felt Bow Trilby €28.00. 6.Red leather gloves, Accessorize€34. 7. Boyfriend jacket, River Is-land €50. 8. Silver ribbon top,Next €41. 9. Metallic skinny ziptrous ers, Next €49.

24 WINTER 2009 25WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

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IF YOU’VE got teenagers, youknow it gets harder andharder to convince them tojoin the family holiday. Itempted my three with a mid-July trip to New York. And itworked.

Our base was the Beacon hotelon Broadway at 75th Street. Theself-described ‘jewel of the UpperWest Side,’ with views of CentralPark and the Hudson River, is verywell appointed. It has a neigh -bourhood feel, in a residential areawith a great selection of nice rest -aurants, bars and boutiques close by.

With a subway stop across the road, it’svery central with a pleasant 25-minutewalk to Times Square. Managed byIrishman Tom Travers, the Beacon tickedall the boxes for our group. No doubtheavily influenced by Sex and the City,one daughter took to joining the earlymorning joggers in nearby Central Park.

If you want to get to the heart of theaction, try the very central four-starHelmsley hotel for special deals, someof them offered in conjunction with theIrish Times travel department.

Food first A lot of the restaurants around TimesSquare are overpriced and aimed attourists. Head uptown or downtown forbetter quality and value.

Isabellas is a very good Italian restaurantif you’re near Columbus Avenue and79th Street. Even if you’re not staying inthe area it’s worth a taxi ride. It hasgreat food, atmosphere, decor andprices, and you can have the pleasure ofeating alfresco. While you’re in the areayou’ll notice a selection of other finerestaurants and bars.

The Blue Smoke on 116 East 27th Streethas it all: Great food, steaks and ribs thespeciality, along with other regionalbarbeque styles in a relaxed atmos -phere. Head downstairs to the JazzStandard to be entertained by worldclass artists. If that puts you in themood for more try Dizzy’s Club, Jazz atthe Lincoln Centre, where you will get

greatmusic and magnifi -

cent views over Central Park.

See the cityThe View at the Marriott Hotel on TimesSquare is the perfect place to spend anhour or so, especially on your first,jetlagged, day. It’s New York’s onlyrevolving roof-top restaurant, with greatviews over the Hudson, Empire StateBuilding, Rockefeller Centre, CarnegieTower and lots more. Call in for a drinkand, literally, sit back and watch theworld go by!

We also had a great day at the YankeeStadium, where the New York Yankeesbeat the Toronto Blue Jays. We felt partof a truly national pastime. I don’t knowmuch about the game, but theexperience was as much about thecrowd, the lively music, and the dancing.

Try the world-class Museum of ModernArt, which is free between 4pm and 8pmon Fridays. But be warned, it’s verycrowded. I must confess my motivationhad more to do with impressing theeditor than marvelling at the Picassosand Van Goghs. Nonetheless I did enjoy– until my enthusiasm to touch an exhibitearned me a stern reprimand.

I’ve never been disappointed with aBroadway show and ‘In the Heights’ wasno exception. Full price tickets can cost$100-plus, but special offers available atthe booth in Times Square might set youback half that.

Don’t miss the Staten Island ferry, whichlinks lower Manhattan to the island. Thisfantastic public service in the heart ofAmerican capitalism is free and runsevery half hour. It’s well worth building aday around. The financial district, WallStreet, World Trade Centre, and TrinityChurch and graveyard, can all be takenin en route.

Enjoy panoramic views of Manhattan’sskyline on board the ferry. And the bestbit is how close it sails to the Statue ofLiberty. We didn’t spend time on theisland, opting to get the next ferry back.But there’s plenty to do there, includinga zoo, a variety of museums, parks orjust strolling around.

You might find the Big Apple a bitoverwhelming if it’s your first time.Escape the high rise and head

downtown to Greenwich Village andSoHo, where everything moves at amore relaxed pace and you canmix with the bohemian arty types.

Make for Canal Street for someof the most interesting, quirkyshops in Manhattan. There aresome great cafes and rest -aurants, made for relaxing andsome serious people-watching.

I must confess this was when I was at myhappiest.

As soon as you enter it you’re likely tofeel a familiarity with Central Park be -cause of its exposure on TV. Nothingprepares you for how well that familiaritysits, though.

Joggers, cyclists, roller-bladers, dog-walkers and sunbathers make use of this843-acre public playground right in theheart of Manhattan. Approximately 25million people visit it each year. It’s ahive of activity, yet an easy escapismfrom skyscrapers and traffic.

Hire a boat on the lower lake if you’refeeling energetic, then relax over a long,lingering lunch in the boathouserestaurant, which overlooks the lake. It’svery popular so you might need to pre-book.

Retail therapy It’s almost impossible to avoid shoppingin New York. A pre-recession 2007survey found the average New Yorkspend of Irish shoppers ranged between€1,500 and €5,000. For serious discountshopping, take the hour-long bus tripfrom Grand Central Station to WoodburyCommon. Jersey Gardens was voted thebest shopping by the younger ones andSoHo would have to be my preferredchoice.

And, of course, Fifth Avenue is great ifyou’re content with looking or you’replanning a lotto win! �

New York maynot sound like atypical familyholidaydestination. But TRISHO’MAHONY saysit’s one sure placeto entice threebusy teenagers onwhat could be thelast family holidayfor a while.

So good they

named it twice

Travel and trips

Bow Bridge, Central Park.

Phil Coke winds up at

Yankee Stadium.

Staten Island Ferry links lower

Manhattan to the island.P

hotos: Dream

stime

26 WINTER 2009 27WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

xx AUTUMN/WINTER 2009

Gxxxxx Gxxxxx

28 WINTER 2009

quite rigorous, is like squash. So you would need a good level of flexibility and knowledge of yoga to start. (The format of a classic Ashtanga class is set in the same advanced postures for a two-hour practise period as devised by Pattabhi Jois, the Indian founder of the method. But many teachers break down the postures and focus on different ones each week to provide variety.)

So, in other words Hatha is perfect for yoga beginners.

Iyengar is ideal for those who are slightly more flexible. And

Ashtanga is great for those who are sporty and very flexible.

Many people start with Hatha and move up to either Iyengar or Ashtanga. Some flexible people start with beginner’s Iyengar or Ashtanga. Many are very happy to stay with Hatha because of its relaxation and stress management benefits.

Hot yogaThere is now an increasing number of ‘hot’ yoga or Bikram yoga classes around the country. This is a Hatha yoga class level in a very hot room. The idea is that in the heat your muscles and ligaments loosen to allow you to stretch more. There’s also a natural detox which happens because of the high temperature. Anyone who

loves exercising in heat will love this.

Some teachers now combine Ashtanga yoga in a Hatha style

of class, which involves the flow u

IT’S THAT time of year again when we start thinking about evening classes. The trouble is that many of us do just that. We think about them, but never actually get around to doing anything about it.

Well, how about combining the idea of an evening class with some healthy living? Here are some descriptions of interesting classes you might consider to put a pep in your step while losing a few inches as well.

Yoga Yoga offers a classic way to relax and unwind while becoming more flexible and energetic. The classes involve physical postures or asanas, a special type of breathing with a relaxation meditation at the end.

There are three main types of courses available in Ireland: Hatha, Iyengar and Ashtanga. The easiest way to describe the difference is a simple analogy to ball games.

Hatha, the most popular type, is a bit like playing tennis. It’s easy to learn with a qualified teacher. Most people who have done no exercise in a while, but are otherwise healthy, find this a terrific way to combine gentle stretching and relaxation.

Iyengar, which focuses on detailed alignment, is like badminton as it requires more flexibility and therefore a degree of fitness to start.

Ashtanga, which is

It’s not too late to sign up for an evening class, which can be a cheap and enjoyable way to feel better and get fitter as the darker evenings approach. KAREN WARD advises on some of the options.

Be good to yourself

Karen Ward is a holistic therapist based in her Rhiannon Clinic, Smithfield, Dublin www.karenwardholistictherapist.com

29WoRK & LIfE: THE MAgAzINE foR IMPACT MEMBERS

Time for change

Have fun and tone up for a few euro a week

oUR REgULAR health writer Karen Ward has just published her new book, Change a little to change a lot.

It’s a tried and tested guide on how to cope with life’s ups and downs in a holistic way. The book offers simple, practical advice on living naturally in our busy, modern world while enjoying life to the full.

Change a little to change a lot looks at issues like dealing with change and doing your personal NCT. It also gives holistic tips and tells you how to keep your personal health file.

Importantly it teaches you how to identify your own – and your families’ – health red flags. for instance, there may be a history of heart disease or back problems, so you have to learn to read and act on the warning signs.

Keep it simple is the book’s message. You try to change everything at once at your peril. The message is to take one manageable step at a time, stick to it and, once it’s part of your life, take the next logical step.

Change a little to change a lot is available at all good book stores priced €10 l

Finding your courseTo find the right class for you, go along to your nearest health food shop as most teachers advertise there. The golden Pages and the internet are also good sources of information. Classes usually involve an hour a week for six to eight weeks and are likely to cost between €85.00 and €100.00.

of movement with the breath in a less formalised routine called Viniyasa. Again if we use the ball analogy this would be at the badminton level.

Tone up with pilatesIf you want to tone your abdomen and improve your posture then pilates is definitely for you. If you can imagine the relaxed pace of yoga using simple floor exercises then you have an idea of what it offers.

All the exercises focus on the core of the body – the abdomen and the low back. It’s amazing how much strength you can gain in this area over a short period of time. Some classes use ‘fit ball’ or ‘fit circle’ in the exercises to target different muscle groups in the body.

Yogilates: the best of bothYogilates is an amalgam of yoga and pilates, which is fairly new to Ireland. It’s a very natural progression to link the two as Joseph Pilates, the guy who designed the exercise system, took much of his inspiration from ancient yoga techniques.

Basically the yogilates teacher uses yoga stretches to warm everyone up then combines yoga and pilates

moves throughout the class before end-

ing with a yoga relaxation.

Sculpt that body

Here is a way to literally sculpt each part

of your body in a fun and easy method. Everyone uses light

hand weights and the pace is relaxed. The music has a good beat but is not loud

and pulsating, so it suits those who like to keep in shape but don’t like the classic gym music loudness.

Some classes specify that weights are provided; others ask you to bring your own l

MARGARET HANNIGAN has beenchecking out the special offers,as one of the few advantages ofthe recession is keener prices inthe supermarkets. Keep an eyeon those promotions, as winebought now will happily keepuntil Christmas and beyond.

RedVeja Roja – Rioja: Gentlered berry aromas, elegantfruity flavours and asmooth finish. Glowingruby red colour, and noharsh tannins. Well pricedfor this varietal €8.99,Tesco.

Andes Peaks - Carmenere2007 Reserva, from theGenesis Vineyards in theColchuaga Valley, Chile. Aninteresting new varietal,

much smoother than the ro-

bust Cabernet, tasting of plum, blackcur-rant, chocolate and a hint of coffee. Hand-harvested, and aged in oak barrels, one fora good lamb roast. €11.99, O’Briens.

WhitePalo Alto Sauvignon Blanc : Chilean whitefrom the Maule Valley - sharp, cleanflavours, zingy tastes. €8.49 from DunnesStores, usually €16.99. Check out the PaloAlto Shiraz Rose while you’re at it - beauti-ful fuschia colour, redcurrants and cherryflavours, with a zing of summer days. Alsoon special at €8.49.

Wolf Blass Eaglehawk Semillon Chardon-nay 2007. The Eaglehawk range seems tobe a type of diffusion line from the mainWolf Blass wines. This blend of varietals of-fers a compromise between the oakey but-tery flavours of chardonnay, and the crispdry Semillon. More mellow than SauvignonBlanc, but not as heavy as chardonnay.€8.99, Supervalu.

MARGARETHANNIGAN ispreparing to eat wellthis winter, with goodold reliable soup.

MY OXFORD Dictionary, to which I turn insearch of clarity and focus, advises me thatsoup is “liquid food made of stock fromstewed meat etc and other ingredients”. Italso helpfully suggests that to “soup up” isto “increase power of (engine), super-charge”, while a soup kitchen is “a publicestablishment for supplying soup free to thepoor or in times of distress”. So from this,can we deduce that soup is some kind of

liquid super-food that will make even avery bad situation better?

In fairness, a lot depends on the soup.When it’s properly made, from fresh in-gredients, and served in a proper bowl,with good bread, or a dusting of parme-san, maybe a swirl of cream, soup is themedicine to cure all ills.

If on the other hand, you regard soup assomething that comes in a packet, towhich you add boiling water and a coupleof vigorous stirs, then you are on thewrong track entirely. Similarly, sludge thatis poured from a tin, then thinned withwater to form a reconstituted liquid is notwhat we are discussing here. These are notsoup. No, we are talking about soup madefrom fresh ingredients, cooked with con-sideration and care.

Lighter soups like those made from toma-toes, mushrooms or vegetables generallyare a snack, or starter, or maybe a lightlunch when served with bread and cheese,while a bowl of minestrone, or Spanishchorizo and chickpea soup, could see youthrough the day on its own. There are asmany recipes and variations as you couldever hope for, but in my experience, thegolden rules are fresh ingredients, followthe recipe, and gentle cooking.

This last bit, what the Italians call “sof-fritto” slowly, slowly, is quite important. Alot of recipes require that you sweatonions/garlic/carrots/potatoes etc, inolive oil or butter for a while before adding

any liquid. This has to be done slowly, overa gentle heat to allow the flavours toemerge and intensify. If the heat is toostrong and they stick to the bottom of thepan, this will taint the flavour of the soup.When the liquid has been added, keep theheat low – simmer – means that an occa-sional bubble of air lazily breaks acrossthe surface of the soup, anything more en-ergetic is probably too hot.

So it’s slow-cooking food, but in mostcases only for around 20-30 minutes, thenyou can turn it off. The flavours of mostsoups intensify overnight, but rememberto put them in the fridge or somewherecool, as they will go off if left out in theheat of the kitchen. Most soup freezes verywell, so once made, it can be defrostedand heated up very quickly, and will takethe chill out of the worst rainy night.

A word on stock. I don’t make homemadestock, as I never quite got the hang of it,and I think there are some great alterna-tives in the supermarkets. I always look foran organic brand, one low in salt – as Iwant to decide the seasoning myself, thankyou – and without any mysterious additivesand chemicals.

I’ve included a classic recipe, if you canmaster this recipe, you can cook any soupwith confidence. The French onion soup isan exercise in restraint, you just can’t rushit, but looks and tastes so impressive whenit’s done, and you can serve it without thecroutes, if that suits you better �

3130 WINTER 2009

From the kitchen

1. Always use fresh ingredients,the best quality you can get.Wilted leaves, rubbery carrots,slimy mushrooms, they don’ttaste any better when you putthem in liquid, they just com-promise the whole thing.

2. Cook what’s in season, it shouldbe plentiful, and thereforecheaper, and you can makesoup out of almost everything.

3. Use a heavy bottomed sauce -pan, which should give a moreeven heat.

4. Always have tins of tomatoes,onions, garlic, and some decentstock cubes or powder to hand.

5. Always check the seasoninglast, it‘s easy to add more, butimpossible to take some out.

6. Soups love herbs.

7. Whizzing in a blender willachieve a velvety smoothness,which can improve the flavours.

8. Soup is an excellent way of in-creasing the vegetable intake ofadults and kids alike, and fits sohandily into a flask.

9. Wide shallow soup plates aregenerally better for serving andeating soup, than round deepbowls.

10. Leave the tin opener and thescissors in the drawer – forgetAndy Warhol and his Campbell’ssoup tins – just don’t go there!

Soupedup

Ingredients: (For 6)

• 1.5lbs/700g thinly sliced onions

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• 2oz butter

• 2 tbsps olive oil

• Half tsp sugar

• 2 pints/1.2ltrs good beef stock

• 10 fl oz/275ml dry white wine

• Salt and black pepper

• 1-2 tbsps brandy (optional)

For the cheesy croutes:

• 2-3 1cm slices baguette per person

• I clove garlic, cut in half

• 1oz/25g butter, melted

• 5oz/25g gruyere cheese, grated

To make the soup:

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heatthe oil and butter together. Add theonions, garlic and sugar, and cookslowly over a low heat for about 30minutes, or until the bottom of the panis covered in a nutty brown caram -elised film. Add the stock and wine,and simmer gently, covered, over a lowheat for about an hour. Season to taste,and if you need something extra spe-cially warming, add 1-2 tablespoons ofbrandy.

While the soup is cooking, preheat thegrill to high, and arrange the slices ofbaguette in a single layer on a bakingtray. Rub each slice with the cut garlic,and brush with melted butter. Grilluntil golden, then turn and cover withmelted cheese, grill until the cheese ismelted.

When ready to serve, ladle the soupinto warm deep bowls, and float 2-3croutes on top, or serve on the side.

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

Stock up on wine

Frenchonion soup

Top 10 tipsfor makingsuper soup!

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LAST SPRING I started renting out allotments at Hunting Brook. It was fascinating watching each allotmentor getting stuck into growing their own food.

At this time of year I am trying to encourage them not to let their allotment turn into a jungle of weeds over the winter months. Because weeds don’t stop growing like most other plants!

Now is a good time to prepare for next spring by covering areas of your vegetable garden with well rotted farm yard manure and a sheet of mypex or black plastic until next spring. By February or March, when you uncover this area, the worms will have done the digging for you and the soil will be lovely and clean and beautifully enriched.

If you did not get around to sowing winter salad crops it might be worth having a look in the garden centres for some plants. If you can find some I would suggest planting them in containers with organic compost and hopefully give you delicious salads through the winter. I remember when I lived in Dublin my rocket would grow and crop abundantly through the winter but since moving to the Wicklow hills it’s just too wet and cold.

Autumn plantingBroad beans are hardy and can be sown in late autumn. This will produce the earliest crops for picking in late spring next year. If you’re in a very cold area it can be a bit of a gamble, but, sure, why not give it a go anyway. Sow a variety called ‘Aquadulce Claudia’ which is available in most garden centres.

Sow plants into module trays or small pots and plant out when one-inch high before the onset of real winter. Or for the cold areas, keep them in pots for spring planting. They can be protected with clothes or fleece through the winter. Keep an eye out for Mr Mouse as broad beans are his favourite! He devoured tray after tray on me this year!

Plant spring cabbage early in October in soil that does not become waterlogged in the winter, and give them as much sun as possible. I was shocked the first winter in Hunting Brook, how little light my vegetable garden got compared to the summer. So make note this winter how much sunshine your veggie patch is getting l

A FEW weeks ago I brought Carol Klein, the presenter of the BBC’s Gardeners World programme, over to Hunting Brook to teach a day course with me. Carol was the most inspirational gardener I ever met and she inspired me to keep gardening at this time of year, and to walk around my garden and pick out my favourite plants and propagate them.

This is the perfect time to collect seeds from your favourite plants for sowing now or in the spring. Try to collect seeds on a dry day into paper envelopes, then clean the seed as soon as possible and sow.

My favourite six Hydrangeas are back in fashion, and rightly so. They flower late in the season when most shrubs have finished flowering. My favourite types are the paniculatas, so-called because the flower heads are not rounded but in a broad cone. Thanks to the wonderful plant man Jan Ravenberg from Clara, who sourced a large selection of them in Holland for me early in the year, I have now become slightly obsessed with them!

Hydrangea paniculata cultivars make medium-sized shrubs. They are deciduous, with green,

Green fingers

deeply veined leaves. The panicles of most cultivars appear in late summer but last into autumn and are at least 20cm (eight inches) long.

The flowering times vary somewhat depending on the cultivar grown. Early Sensation starts flowering at the end of July and changes from beautiful shades of cream to reds into the autumn. Lime Light opens a clean, bright acid green, with a brilliant architectural chiselled flower form unfurling to green-washed cream. They then turn pure ivory, before being washed with rich pink, the last stage before they gracefully brown and dry on the stem. It’s an

amazing succession that lasts from August until January, or sometimes longer.

FussyOther excellent cultivars that are thriving in my garden are Chantilly Lace, Pinky Winky, Pink Diamond and Last Post. These shrubs are not as fussy about soil pH as some hydrangeas. But it must be fertile, well-fed, and slow to dry out in dappled shade. Give them a good mulch of manure and garden compost in spring. u

JIMI BLAKE advises on how to prepare your garden for the long winter months.

WINTER 2009 32 33WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAzINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

Inspiring ideas

Panicle hydrangeas can be kept compact by pruning. This will also produce larger, if fewer, flowers. Pruning is easy: simply cut back last year’s side shoots to within five centimetres (two inches) of the older wood in early spring.

Cortaderia Richardii is native to moist areas of New zealand and can grow up to ten feet with its off-white inflorescences reaching up to 100 stems on mature clump. It blooms from mid-summer until autumn. In Airfield I planted a large bed of them with Silver Birch dotted amongst them which look delightful all year. I do suggest you give them plenty of room to show their graceful elegance.

Cardiocrinum Giganteum (The giant Himalayan lily) has fragrant trumpets on stems up to ten feet tall in summer. They have the most spectacular seed head in the autumn and winter. I will talk about these again in the spring when I will be encouraging planting the bulbs in your garden.

Acer Japonica ‘Aconitifolium’ is a small tree or shrub with wonderful cut leaves producing a fern like texture, turning from green to orange to the most stunning rich ruby-crimson in autumn. It will grow best in moist, well drained soil, sheltered from cold winds. Suitable for a larger garden rather than a small one.

Jobs to doDon’t bin the leaves that are falling. Collect them up into black bin bags with some air holes punched into it to make compost. You can speed up the process by mowing the leaves first when the bag is full, tie it up and put it out of the way

until next autumn, by which time the leaves will have rotted down into a rich compost to add to the soil.

Adopt a lax attitude to cutting back your perennials, leaving food for the birds and insects to feed on over the winter. Keep planting spring flowering bulbs. Tulip bulbs can be planted into December deeper then than other bulbs. This year I am buying all my bulbs from Heritage bulbs. Check them out at www.heritagegardening.com.

• Bring tender plants under cover in early October before first frosts.• Take hardwood cuttings in October.• Dry off tuberous begonias and Dahlias. Cut away the old stems and store in a dry shed until spring.• In late October, sow sweet pea seeds in pots for early flowering next year l

Your vegetable garden

Cortaderia richardii.

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Early Sensation’.

Hydrangea paniculata ‘Lime Light’

Television has traditionally been more att -entive than cinema to Doyle’s work. Inparticular, Granada’s long-running seriesThe Adventures of Sherlock Holmes withJeremy Brett remains a fan favourite for itsfidelity to the Holmes canon.

By contrast, my own favourites, the Rath -bone-Bruce series of films from the 1930sand 1940s, play fast and loose with bothcharacterisation and historical accuracy,with propaganda motivated deviations inc -luding Holmes pitting his wits against theNazis.

More recently, the BBC has faithfully pro -duc ed an adaptation of the Hound of theBaskervilles and an original story, SherlockHolmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking, buthas also announced a new series Sherlock,which updates the character to the presentday.

Contrary to the more dramatic tenor ofthis work, a number of films have tendedtoward parody, including Billy Wilder’s ThePrivate Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970), andalso The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Sm -arter Brother (1975) and Without A Clue(1988). In this same vein, a Holmes com -edy starring Sacha Baron-Cohen and WillFerrell is currently in the works.

While Sherlock Holmes has been criticisedfor its take on Doyle’s characters, the film -makers can, and do, claim a proven ancefor their conceit in the author’s work, withthe original stories referring to the detec -tive’s skill as a fighter, swordsman, andmarksman – if not necessarily as a ladies’man.

A greater concern than any of the film’sperceived creative liberties is its director.While the film boasts, in Downey Jr, anactor, who seems equipped to captureHolmes’ more idiosyncratic quirks andtics, the impoverished quality of Guy Ritch -ie’s work and its characteristic ‘cor blimey-crash, bang, wallop’ style seems ill-suitedto capturing even the remotest of cine -matic subtleties.

The director’s past record of asinine‘mock ney’ gangster stories and the legend -arily awful Swept Away do little to inspireconfidence. Of course, I may be wrong andthe film may succeed brilliantly, in whichcase I’ll eat my deerstalker �

ARTHUR CONAN Doyle’s iconic and enduring literary creat -ion returns to the big screen this December with the releaseof Sherlock Holmes. Directed by former ‘Mr Madonna’ GuyRitchie, the film stars Hollywood’s favourite reformed char -acter Robert Downey Jr as the titular detective with JudeLaw as his associate Dr Watson.

Such adaptations are always fraught with peril, with fansinterrogating every perceived or potential departure fromthe source. Witness, for example, the handwringing andgnashing of teeth amongst comic book guys (and girls) atthe recent news that Disney has acquired the rights to aslew of Marvel Comics characters, and all before anycamera has rolled.

Following trends set by the newly toughened-up Bondfranchise and Christopher Nolan’s crepuscular Batmanseries, Sherlock Holmes is a reinvention of the char -acter in action-adventure mode. Early trailerssuggest an image of the great detective as awisecracking pugilist, who’s given to beating thedeuce out of ne’er do wells as he is to applyinghis famous powers of deduction.

It is of little surprise that the film has beensubject of plenty of green inked invective,with the films action-packed style andsupernatural plot irking purists. Certainly,scenes of Downey Jr. brawling bare-chestedand cavorting with Rachel McAdams’ femmefatale seem inconsistent with the morecerebral Holmes archetype.

However, no less an authority than theGuinness Book of World Records pro -claims Sherlock Holmes to be ‘the mostportrayed fictional character in film’,and within this expanse of work thecharacter has been subject to a div er -se range of interpretations. Indeed,the most recognisable attributes ofHolmes – deerstalker and ‘Elemen -tary, my dear Watson’ – are notmentioned in Arthur ConanDoyle’s original stories.

At the movies

34 WINTER 2009

MORGAN O’BRIEN wondersif Guy Ritchie’s latest offering

on Sherlock Holmes willdo justice to film’s most

portrayed fictional character.

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS 35

The Invention of Lying (2nd October)

A high-concept comedy starring Ricky Gervais, whoalso writes and directs, as the first man to discoverlying.

The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus(16th October)

Terry Gilliam’s Faustian fable came unstuck withthe untimely death of its star Heath Ledger. The

director, however, was able to call on Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law tohelp complete this long-awaited film.

The Fantastic Mr Fox (23rd October)

Rendered in curious-looking stop-motion an -im ation, director Wes Anderson lends hislightness of touch to a loose adaptation ofRoald Dahl’s story.

Jennifer’s Body (6th November)

A high school horror film scripted by DiabloCody (Juno) and starring Megan Fox as apossessed killer.

A Serious Man (20th November)

The Coen Brothers assemble a largely unknown cast for a blackly comic tale of aJewish academic undergoing a series of personal crises.

Twilight: New Moon (20th November)

The second film based on author Stephanie Myers’ teen-vampire series – this timewith added werewolves!

Bunny and the Bull (27th November)

Described as a road trip set entirely in a flat, with The Mighty Boosh collaboratorsPaul King, Julian Barrett and Noel Fielding on board, this is sure to be a surrealcomic caper.

The Box (4th December)

Based on Richard Matheson’s shortstory ‘Button, Button’, previously aTwilight Zone episode, RichardKelly directs Cameron Diaz andJames Marsden in this suspensefulthriller.

Where the Wild Things Are (11th December)

Spike Jonze directs this adaptation of Maurice Sedak’s children’s book about ayoung boy who embarks on an adventure of imagination.

Avatar (18th December)

Already over-hyped by its director James Cameron, who claims his film is arevolutionary leap in 3-D cinema, those who have seen the trailer may already beunderwhelmed.

AS THE long winter evenings approach, MORGAN O’BRIEN gives you a sample of theinteresting titles on the horizon.

Elementarymy dear Watson

�

From the author

37

ANNA McPARTLIN has had a varied career. Actress,stand-up comedian, claims examiner, novelist andscreen play writer, she’s not one to sit on her laurels. Eventhough she’s just launched her fourth novel, she’skeeping busy writing her next book and a film script.

You may know her from her debut television dramaSchool Run, which was nominated for several Irish TV

awards, or her other books Pack up the Moon, Apartfrom the Crowd and The Truth Will Out.

36

A woman writes a bookfeaturing the music of Jack L,who then writes a song aboutthe book. MARTINA O’LEARYinvestigates.

Irish publishers Poolbeg Press are known for giving Irishwriters a break. They’ve given Work & Life five copies of AnnaMcPartlin’s new novel So What If I’m Broken to give away.

To be in with a chance of winning, answer the questionbelow and send your entry to Roisin Nolan, Work & LifePoolbeg Competition, IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1.Entries must reach us by Friday 4th December 2009.

Who is the musician featured in So What If I’m Broken?

Twisted plotPOWER PLAY by Gavin Esler (Harper Collins, £12.99 in the UK).

ALEX PRICE is theBritish ambassador in Washing-

ton where the war-mongering vice-pres-ident Bobby Black is the dominant forcein a US administration constantly poisedfor war. The British prime minister,Fraser Davis, disagrees strong ly with thevice president and relations between thetwo countries are cool.

In an attempt to forge a bond betweenBlack and the UK, Alex sets up a shoot-ing trip in the Scottish highlands, withthe Queen herself and important mem-bers of the British Government present.Initially all seems to be going well butsuddenly the mountains are envelopedin mist and Bobby Black disappears.

A major international incident is nowunder way with Alex at the centre of it.

This political thriller will appeal to any-one who has an interest in the backroomdealings of the world stage. Althoughthere is a love interest, the characters

�

Writing was always her passion, but she had to gain a bit of confidenceto pursue it. “When I was younger, I looked at these literary figures andthey just seemed so far removed from what I thought was possible for

me. I thought I’m never going to be one of the Bronte sisters,” she says.

What I found incredible about Anna was her modesty in dealing withher dyslexia, which she mentioned as a passing comment at theend of our meeting. “I was caught very early, which was brilliantin the 1970s. I was given coping skills very early. That was oneof the reasons I was so afraid to tell the stories.”

Anna’s latest offering So What If I’m Broken is based around Janeand Elle Moore, who find themselves stuck in a lift with twostrangers, Tom Kavanagh and Leslie Sheehan at a Jack L gigin London. After less than an hour together these four people’slives become irrevocably intertwined. Four broken people cometogether accidently and in one another they find strength,friendship and hope that was all but lost.

The inspiration for the book was musical. “Iwas at one of Jack’s concert a good few yearsago. He started to sing a cappella and thewhole room fell into a dead silence. Lookingdown on this was fascinating. It was like thechurch of Jack, like he was the evangelist atthat moment. The cornel of an idea came.Who are these people who come to see Jack?What are their lives? They are all engaged inone thing, but they will all go away and livetheir separate lives. Yet they share thatmoment.”

Anna has an unusual way of writing. “Withthe other books, I would think of the storythen create a sound track. There could be100 songs on the computer, varied music,and I would listen to this for the durationof writing the book. It inspires me; it helpsme to write my story. It was one of thosetricks I used,” she says.

With So What If I’m Broken Anna spentfour or five months listening to Jack L’smusic, then told the story. “Thesepeople came from the music,” saysAnna. “Jack got really excited aboutthis. He was really supportive.” Somuch so that he has written a songabout the book.

What’s next? “I'm actually writ inga film at the moment and I haveanother book to write.” Annahas definitely found her niche.“Writing, once it’s story telling.That’s really what I do whetherit is in the form of a novel ora tele vision series or a film.My interest is telling stories.”

So What If I’m Broken ispublished by Poolbeg,priced €12.99 �

WINTER 2009

“You look at these literary figuresand they just seem so far removed.I thought I’m never going to be one

of the Bronte sisters.”

A musical encounter

WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

are largely defined by their high-poweredcareers. So not a lot of space is given tofiner feelings.

Neither will you find lyrical prose. Butyou will find intrigue and layered plottwists with an insider’s knowledge of thewheels of power. Well-paced with plentyof surprises, this book should keep youinterested to the end.

Kathryn Smith

Magnifico!GALILEO’S DREAM by Kim StanleyRobinson (Harper Voyager, £18.99 in the UK).

BEFORE I read this book I knew verylittle about Galileo and even lessabout Jup iter and its four moons. NowI’m reasonably well-informed about theformer and only slightly less ignorantabout the latter.

The story focuses on Galileo, the re -nowned astronomer, mathematician, in-ventor and philosopher, who lived in Italyin the 1600s. Regarded as the first truescientist, he discovered the four moonsof Jupiter with a singularly powerful tel-escope he designed and built himself.

Jupiter’s moons feature here becauseGalileo visits them, accompanied by analien native of the planet, via a quicktumble into his suddenly enlarged tele-scope. Apparently, they’ve been having ahuge problem with another highly intel-ligent lifeforce on one of the moons andwant Galileo’s help to sort it out.

Galileo’s findings challenged the Vaticanand the Roman Inquisition’s assertionthat the earth is the centre of the uni-verse, round which everything else re-volves. This almost costs him his life,just as it did in reality. He escapeddeath, but was found guilty of heresyand placed under house arrest for thelast years of his life. All his scientificwritings were banned.

This is an entertaining, vivid read withthe character of Galileo beautifullydrawn as a grumpy genius struggling toshape his theories to suit lesser minds.The historical parts of the book were atreat to read. The trips to Jupiter less so,despite their being well-imagined and re-alised.

But the truth of Galileo’s discoveries isstill more impressive than anything sci-ence fiction can invent. Somewhat lessimpressive is the fact that it took the Vat-ican 350 years to shuffle to the podiumand admit Galileo was right. For sciencefans everywhere.

Margaret Hannigan

Missed you THE WHOLE DAY THROUGH by PatrickGale (4th Estate, £7.99 in the UK).

THE OPPORTUNITY missed, the roadnot taken, is as sad a thing in literatureas in life. This book tells the story of alove affair, not valued enough at thetime, which years later seems to havebeen the perfect match.

Laura has been living in Paris when herelderly mother takes a fall and loses hermobility. Laura goes home to Winches-ter to care for her. A self-employed ac-countant, she returns with a certainParis ian stylishness to a life of dull do-mesticity.

Ben is a doctor living in London with hisbeautiful wife. When his mother dies,leaving his younger brother alone and

Book reviews

continued on page 38

�

38 WINTER 2009

depress ed, Bentem porarily movesback to Winches-ter to care for himand takes a job ina local hospital.

Laura and Benhad been a cou-ple back intheir studentdays but, withthe superfi-ciality ofyouth, hadallowed theirrelationshipto be tornapart. Now

they inadvertently meet 20years later. Their love reignites immedi-ately and passionately as they both re-alise the mistake they have made. Nowthough, they have commitments andbeing together would mean destroyingthe life of at least one person, Ben’swife Chloe.

Written almost as a short story, the ac-tion takes place over the course of a daywith the sights, smells and conversa-tions of a life depicted in loving detail.Ben and Laura’s life stories weave in

man of Scotland Yard. Oliver, sad ly, isone of those characters who justdoesn’t ring true. For someone withsuch a high profile job, he has an awfullot of time on his hands and is re -markably dim when it comes to hiswife’s adultery. That’s where the storystarts, then it wanders round in circlesfor a bit, runs into a cul de sac, dashesacross a motorway, and finally arrivesbreathlessly back where it started.

Unfortunately, it all falls flatter than anRTÉ New Year’s Eve special. It’s a by-the-numbers affair, with no surprisesand no flashes of humour or insight.This is the kind of book that allows oth-ers to sneer at the chick-lit genre,which seems to be fending off a take -over of it’s own from brand-name cel -eb rities like Amy Huberman and KatiePrice.

It’s the fast-emerging, my-publicist-said-I-should-write-one-of-those-book-t h i n g i e s - a f t e r - a l l - A m a n d aBrun ker-got-away-with-it genre.

But back to Ambition. Actually, let’s notgo back. In fact let’s not go there in thefirst place. Just keep on moving to thenext pile of books.

Margaret Hannigan

Honor Benson (Mayo), Michael Brennan (Aviation Safety), RoseBuckley (Cork), Aileen Byrne (Westmeath), Margaret Byrne (SpecialNeeds Assis tants), Thomas Byrne (Agriculture No.1), Mena Caldwell(Sligo), Fiona Campbell (Mayo), Aine Caulfield (Ballinasloe), AnnemarieColeman (Dublin Care Services), Adrienne Collins (Boards & VoluntaryAgencies), Michael Collins (Cork), Mary Connell (Westmeath), HelenConroy-Hill (North Tipperary), Mary Conway (Agriculture No.1), OliveCorrigan (Louth), Caroline Creane (Wexford), Mairead Cullivan (SouthDublin), Catherine Dalton (Longford), Patricia Davis (South Dublin),Declan Donnelly (Probation), Michael Donovan (State Enterprise No.1),Tim Drea (PAOB), Pamela Farrell (South Dublin), Agnes Feerick (Fingal),Jonathan Finegan (Municipal Employees), Patrick Foley (LimerickHealth), Helen Frayne (Wexford), Caroline Gallagher (Westmeath), BridieGallagher (Mayo), Paul Harrington (Donegal), Philip Harrington (Ord -nance Survey), Maeve Hartmann (VEC), Evelyn Keenan (Longford), MariaKelly (Cork), Briege Kelly (Teagasc), Mary Kennedy (IOT), Georgina KielyPower (Waterford), Mary Kierans (Limerick), John Lahert (Dublin NorthHSE), Barbara Lawless (Hospitals), Sandra Lawton (Cork), Nora Lee (For -ensic Science), Christina Lynch (Mayo), Monica Mahon (Leitrim), Paula

Mahon (Kilkenny), Cora Marchetti (Special Needs Assistants), FeargalMcGirl (Donegal), Michele McGirl (Donegal), Paul McGuinness (Long -ford), Oliver Mc Kevitt (Municipal Employees), John McCullough (For -ensic Science), Carol McDonnell (South Dublin), Mary McGrath (NorthTipperary), Maureen McHugh (Leitrim), Eilish McKenna (Monaghan),Breeda Melvin (Dublin City), John Melvin (Dublin City), Collette Molloy(Wicklow HSE), Louise Mullen (HSE Dublin South), Martina Mulligan(Mayo), Noeline Mulligan (Roscommon), Gabrielle Murphy (Wexford),Claire O’Brien (Louth), Deirdre O’Donnell (Donegal), Liz O’Donoghue(Probation), Philip O’Dwyer (Limerick), Corinne O’Hare (HSE DublinSouth), Catherine O’Reilly (Boards & Agencies), Angela O’Shea(Waterford), Bernadette O’Shea (Teagasc General), Raymond Parkinson(Meath), Anne Prendergast (Kildare VEC), Bernadette Rock (Leitrim),Elaine Scanlon (HSE South Dublin), Joseph Shannon (Dublin Hospitals),Claire Smith (Donegal), Noel Smith (Coillte), Ann Spain (Offaly), MaryTracey (State Enterprises No.1), David Twomey (Mayo), Caitriona Whelan(NEPS), Paula Whyte (Roscommon).

OVER 100 IMPACT members applied for a grant towardstheir child’s trip to the Gaeltacht this summer. A draw washeld by IMPACT’s membership services committee. Theseare the lucky members who have each received of ascholarship award of €150.

GAELTACHTScholarship Awards 2009

More book reviewsand out of this introducing such var-ied themes as difference, ageing andduty. It is a thoughtful and engagingbook, which could be read in one long,comfortable sitting.

Kathryn Smith

Retail hostilitiesAMBITION by A O’Connor (Poolbeg, €8.99).

THIS BOOK involves an attempted buy-out of Franklyns “the most glamorousstore in Knightsbridge” and the re-moval of its sinister Scandinavianowner Karl Furstin. Leading the take -over team we have Stephanie Holden, arags-to-riches single mum, assisted byher financial director David Stewart.They go head-to-head against well-con-nected, ice-cool blonde HR directorNicola Newman, and general man-ager/chief womaniser Paul Stewart.

Added to the mix are ambitious goodgirl Rachel Healy from Dublin, Steph -anie’s bad boy son Leo, and Nicola’shusband Commissioner Oliver New -

Union business

IMPACT members get news fasterIMPACT members can sign up for full access to

our website plus a monthly emailed news bulletinvia www.impact.ie.

39Work & LIfe: The MAgAzIne for IMPACT MeMbers

PAY

ImPAct strike ballot now underwayIMPACT hAs started its ballot for industrial action in the public service amid growing evidence that the government is planning further cuts in public service pay.

The union spent the summer preparing for the ballot and possible industrial action after the government failed to give guarantees over jobs, pay and pensions in negotiations earlier this year. but the government turned up the heat in september when the Taoiseach publically refused to rule out further pay cuts.

After reports back from scores of workplace meetings attended by some 10,000 IMPACT members in July and August, the union officers decided to commence the ballot, which will close on 19th october.

The union requires a two-thirds majority to sanction industrial action, which would only be triggered if the government or individual public service employers moved to impose compulsory redundancies, unilateral changes in working hours, or cuts in pay or the value of pensions.

IMPACT has been warning members that the government was considering further public service pay cuts, compulsory redundancies or pension changes. This was confirmed with the Taoiseach’s admission, at a september Institute of Public Administration (IPA) conference, that public service pay cuts are among the options being considered by the government in the run-up to the budget.

This followed earlier comments by the Minister for health that pay cuts were an option in the health sector. over the summer

it also emerged that the Department of finance had argued strongly in favour of pay cuts in its submission to the review body on higher remuneration because, it said, they would have significant “demonstration effects” and “downstream effects” on people at lower pay levels.

earlier, in July, the Colm McCarthy report recommended 17,300 public service job cuts and radical changes to public service pension benefits. The report also said that the government “will have to consider further cuts in pay and allowances.”

IMPACT’s elected executive now believes that the threat of industrial action is the only way to deflect the government from this course. It is strongly urging members to support strike action in the ballot.

The union is balloting members directly employed in the public service. ballot papers have been distributed to branches, who will be organising the ballots locally.

Meanwhile, the union has launched a national publicity campaign involving newspaper and billboard ads and a leaflet drop to over a million households in Ireland (see main feature article in this issue).

IMPACT general secretary Peter McLoone said there were no grounds for optimism that the government position will change. “The most effective way to stop these serious threats to pay, pensions and jobs is to send a clear and resolute message to the government that we are not a soft option. That means we need a very strong ‘yes’ vote in the ballot,” he said.

Peter mcLoone: Leading fightback.

Pho

to: C

onor

Hea

ly.

ImPAct backs community sector

IMPACT MeMbers marched in Dublin as part of a joint campaign against cuts to community and voluntary organisations that provide vital services in communities across the country. hundreds of vital jobs have gone or are under threat because of government cuts, and the McCarthy report proposals would see another 6,500 community jobs lost. The campaign is backed by the Community sector employers’ forum as well as IMPACT and siptu.

Work & Life: The Magazine for iMPaCT MeMbers

Union business

CAMPAIGN

40 WinTer 2009

EUROPE

IMPACT backed Lisbon ‘yes’iMPaCT’s eLeCTeD Central executive Committee backed a ‘yes’ vote in the Lisbon referendum. The union said it was supporting the treaty because it would give legal effect to the european Charter of fundamental rights, which includes a range of enhanced rights to union representation and workplace protection.

The treaty was also backed by the irish Congress of Trade Unions, siptu and most other unions.

general secretary Peter McLoone said: “although the Lisbon Treaty is not a panacea for improved workers’ rights, it would oblige both the european Court of Justice and the irish supreme Court to take account of the very positive european Charter of fundamental rights when ruling on collective bargaining rights and a range of other workplace issues.”

McLoone said the union disagreed with irish government policy on employment rights and other issues, but the Lisbon Treaty itself would not erode workers’ rights. “Most trade unions, here and across europe, believe it has the potential to significantly enhance employment rights, and other civil rights, by establishing the european Charter of fundamental rights as primary eU law for the first time,” he said.

The union backed the production and launch of a ‘charter group’ document on Lisbon and workplace rights. Lisbon and your Rights at Work argued that working people should back the Lisbon Treaty because it would help trade unions to win improved workplace rights and employment protections.

Described by european Trade Union Confederation (eTUC) general secretary John Monks as “a compelling case for all irish trade unionists to vote yes,” the publication said that, by strengthening the legal status of the Charter of fundamental rights, Lisbon ratification could also help unions in cases concerning collective bargaining rights in ireland. and it refuted claims that Lisbon would damage any existing workplace rights and protections.

IMPACT HAS launched a €450,000 advertising campaign to bolster its defence of public services and the people who provide them.

full-page newspaper ads appeared in the first week of october and a massive billboard advertising campaign is also underway in major cities and towns across the country. This is to be followed up with ‘commuter’ advertising inside buses and DarT trains, and a leaflet drop to over a million households.

as part of the campaign, members can also expect to see some imaginative ‘viral’ communications, via the internet, over the coming weeks.

The theme of the campaign – ‘support iMPaCT’s campaign to save your vital public services’ – highlights the vital work that public servants do and the dangers of cutting services and pay.

although the union took out full-page newspaper ads earlier this year, as part of the campaign against the so-called pension levy, this is easily the largest public service union campaign ever seen in ireland.

iMPaCT’s head of communications bernard harbor said it was vital to use every possible way of communicating the message that irish public services were valuable and under

Union launches €450k campaign

iMPaCT has rejected the findings of a september esri report, which said public servants were earning up to 25% more than private sector workers. The union said the esri paper, which is a re-hash of a report published last year, itself admits that its research “largely ignores job content.” in other words, it made no comparison of real jobs in the public or private sectors.

The union also said that the report uses 2006 figures, which take no account of the current public service pay freeze or the 7.5% average cut in gross pay suffered by all public servants under the so-called ‘pension levy’. nor does it include incomes for self-employed professionals, who are the obvious private sector ‘comparators’ for thousands of public service professional staff.

iMPaCT official bernard harbor said: “The esri is on record as saying that pay should be cut in the private sector as well as the public service. The re-issue of this report clearly suggests that it’s part of the softening up exercise for public service pay cuts in the forthcoming budget. but the pay of private sector workers is firmly in the esri’s sights as well.”

iMPaCT says the esri figures are not a true comparison of pay rates in the public and private sector because they are based solely on statistical averages, which take no account of the actual jobs undertaken by people in the various sectors.

Fantasyearlier this summer the union dismissed as “fantasy figures” claims by the Professional Insurance Brokers Association (PIBA) that private sector workers were paying €8 billion a year to pay for public service pensions.

The union said that PIBA’s own statement conceded that half of its €8 billion figure referred to ordinary social welfare pensions. according to Piba’s statement, another €1.7 billion of the alleged €8 billion went to the National Pension Reserve Fund, which did not represent any payment to public or private sector pensioners.

iMPaCT national secretary Paddy keating said the Piba press release was littered with other inaccuracies, including the ridiculous assumption that only private sector workers paid tax. “These are fantasy figures, which take no account of the 6.5% of gross salary that most public servants pay towards their pensions or the 7.5% pension levy imposed in March. This interest group, whose objective is to drum up business for companies selling private pensions, also fails to mention that the headline figures paid to public service pensioners include their social welfare entitlements, paid for out of their Prsi payments,” he said.

Public pay defendedPUBLIC SERVICE BASHING

41

Short time rumours persistDUbLin CiTY Council’s city manager told iMPaCT he was not planning a three-day week for the council’s staff, following the union’s demands for clarifications of press reports over the summer. The union’s Local government and Municipal employees divisions both contacted management after a report in the irish Times said the state’s largest council was considering a three-day week.

on foot of this, the city manager confirmed “that there is no proposal for a three-day week.” he also confirmed that all issues relating to the latest financial situation, and the potential implications for staff and services, would continue to be discussed with iMPaCT and other unions.

but most local authorities are facing massive budget problems as central funds are squeezed and income from rates, planning and other sources dry up because of the recession. iMPaCT national secretary Peter nolan has written to the chief of the Local government Management services board (LgMsb), which represents all councils in the state, to express the union’s concern at the increasing number of media reports about potential plans for forced reductions in working time.

Aer Lingus cutsinTense sPeCULaTion about further cuts in aer Lingus pay and staffing followed news of heavy losses in the airline. new chief executive Christophe Mueller has told workers to brace for “amputation” rather than “cosmetic surgery.” early signs of the airline’s intention to cut deep came to light in september when over 60 cabin crew on temporary contracts were told they would be let go.

Lucky numberone LUCkY iMPaCT member, Mary boyle of Donegal county council, has won a competition run by Cornmarket for iMPaCT members. Mary was presented with a cheque for €8,000, which will cover her bills for this year. Congratulations and well done.

Briefly...

threat. “Public servants are under attack from virtually every political party and media commentator, to say nothing of the business lobby and others. With the best will in the world, it’s been impossible to counter all this propaganda. This campaign will be an important boost to our efforts to inject some reality into the debate about our public services and the people who provide them,” he said.

The campaign adds to the union’s public relations work which, over the summer, achieved substantial press and broadcast coverage mainly focussed on defending public service pay and warning that the union would react strongly to any further attempts to impose compulsory redundancies or pay and pensions cuts.

The campaign package also includes focus group research and opinion polling, which both helped shape the campaign messages and ensured that the impact of the campaign can be measured later in the year.

The union hired top consultants the Public Communications Centre (PCC) to help develop the campaign. as well as working with iMPaCT on earlier public service campaigns, PCC have run successful campaigns for Trócaire, save the Children, older & bolder, Citizen Traveller and Dial to stop Drug Dealing.

Read more about the campaign on pages 6-9.

43WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS42 Solution difficultSolution easy

Across: 1. Kenmare 5. Byrne 8. Nally 9. Donegal 10. Avignon 11. Adler 12. Keyman14. Decree 17. Plant 19. Abandon 22. Indoors 23. Trent 24. Gorey 25. Encased.

Down: 1. Kenya 2. Nullity 3. Aryan 4. Ending 5. Bandage 6. Regal 7. Enlarge12. Kipling 13. Anthony 15. Redress 16. Hassle 18. Adder 20. Aztec 21. Noted.

Autumn 2009 Crossword SolutionsSee page 48 for the competition winners from Issue 6.

Winter 2009 Soduko Solutions(From page 48.)

And yet, back in thefree and swingingsixties, the RollingStones were forcedby broadcasters tochange the title ofLet’s Spend theNight Together toLet’s Spend SomeTime Together asthe original, appar -ently, made a com -pelling case infav our of promis -cuity.

In the late 1970sThe Only Ones rel -eased Why Don’tYou Kill Yourself,which passed with -out remark. Boththe title and thelyrics (“you ain’t nogood to no oneelse…”) do exactly

what they say on the tin. There is noway on earth that a song of similarsentiment would escape censorship,banning, moral panic – or all three – inthis suicide-sensitive day and age.

RidiculousA cursory glance back at bannedplaylists throughout the years reallydoes throw up some ridiculous scen -arios. Would you believe that RichieKavanagh’s flawed, ahem, masterpieceAon Focal Eile was banned in Britainfor use of the F-word? I mean for focalssake! This song should have beenbanned for the damage it inflicted onthousands of audio systems, not tomention our collective psyche and,erm, Irish grammar.

In 1984, former DJ Mike Read (one ofBBC Radio One’s ‘Smashy and Nicey’generation of syrupy jocks) madechart history by imposing his own banon Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Relax.The BBC quickly followed his lead withan outright ban catapulting the song,

RAYMONDCONNOLLYremembers fivesongs that narrowlyescaped a ban.

WINTER 2009

BASIL FAWLTY was a genius comiccreation, way ahead of his time. Talkabout seeing the future. The stiffupper-lipped anti-hero, of the dysfunc -tional guesthouse on the delightfulEnglish Riviera resort of Torquay, tookthe absolute Micháel out of politicalcorrectness in an era where there wasnone.

In a recent outburst of generosity andcreativity, Mrs C was kind enough tobuy me a t-shirt off t’internet. The

2 1 9 6 4 5 7 3 8

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RAYMONDCONNOLLY museson the changingsensibilities ofpop’s censors.

shirt is emblazoned with the immortalwords: “So, that’s two egg mayonn -aises, a prawn Goebbels, a HermannGoering and four Colditz salads.” Itrecalls one of the greatest sitcommoments of all time as Fawlty, dazedand confused from a head injury,attempted to read back a lunch orderto a group of faultlessly polite Germanguests who became understandablydistressed.

The target of the joke wasn’t theGermans of course. It was Fawltyhimself, the archetypal ‘little Englan -der’, as John Cleese lampooned someof the prevailing attitudes of 1970sBritain. Delighted as I was at a t-shirtpaying homage to such comic genius,I was reluctant to wear it out in publicfor fear that some people might not getthe joke and, worse still, take umbrage.

SensitiveWe live in an era where, in my book,political correctness has significantlyover-achieved. And music is no differ -ent. If you consider the songs that havebeen banned on radio and televisiondown through the years, you’ll noticeseveral shifts of emphasis as to whatis considered politically sensitive at anygiven time.

For example, in this enlightened agegirl bands and female pop stars, whoenjoy iconic status among teenagersand younger kids, can belt out materialwhich is high on sexual innuendo.Indeed, some are so overtly sexual thatyou might need Regan and Carter fromThe Sweeney to send the boys ’roundbefore it all gets out of hand.

Play it loudwhich had made modest progress inthe charts, to the number one spot forfive weeks. Talk about backfiring. Iwonder how Read feels now thatthanks to his ban, the Liverpudliangang’s naughty dance floor favouritehas returned to celebrate 25 years ofRichard Branson’s airline?

During the Gulf War in 1990, there wasa massive blacklisting of songs con -taining war references. The Bristolquartet of ‘trip hop’ architects MassiveAttack were simply called Massive forthe duration, while Bomb the Bassbecame the far less memorable TimSimenon.

StopBut how about this for some FieldMarshall Haig inspired madness? JonaLewie’s brilliant Christmas ditty Stopthe Cavalry was gagged during thesame period. Could it really be that

Lewie’s sentimental anti-war gemoffended the sensibilities of thosewaging war in the Middle East? I doubtit.

But then they also banned the 1982Eurovision Song Contest winner A LittlePeace. The logic of that one escapesme. The best I could come up with wasthat perhaps the An Bord Snip of radioremembered Mel Brooks’ take on thephrase ‘a little peace’ in his comedyclassic To Be or Not To Be, whichfeatured Brooks as Mr Bronski, directorof a Jewish theatre in Poland. Thetheatre runs a play which sends up theNazis and Bronski himself plays thepart of Hitler. In one memorable sceneBronski’s Hitler breaks into songproclaiming: “I’m not such a bad guyafter all; all I want is a little peace; alittle piece of Poland and little piece ofFrance.”

So that’s two egg mayonnaises, aprawn Goebbels, a Hermann Goering,and four Colditz salads please. Andwhatever you do, don’t mention thewar! �

Would you believe that Richie Kavanagh’sflawed masterpiece Aon Focal Eile wasbanned in Britain for use of the F-word?

2

3

4

5

1Dana – All Kinds ofEverything: The usuallypious Rosemary Brownfinally admits she’s into allkinds of everything. Saucy.

Little Jimmy Osmond –Long Haired Lover fromLiverpool: Liverpudliansrevolt as a boy from Ogden,Utah attempts to muscle inon their turf and passhimself off as a local.

Oasis – She’s Electric:Gas users all overBritain feel they are beingexcluded. Liam Gallagherasks older brother Noelif he’s electric. A fightbreaks out, you knowthe rest.

Westlife – UptownGirl: Outrage as theSligo warblersrelease a song thatdoesn’t require themto sit on stools andstand up for thechange of key.

The entire U2 backcatalogue: Well it’sbanned in my houseanyway.

BAN THIS FILTH

Frankie Goes to Hollywood’ssong Relax was

banned in 1984.

�

Sport

44 WINTER 2009

Anthony Daly, drove the Dubs.

Lots done, more to do. That could be the catchphrase for an end-of-season report card for Anthony Daly’s Dublin hurlers, says KEVIN NOLAN.

seemed crippled by nerves and were physically dominated by their more experienced rivals in many key clashes. As a result, Dublin’s best chance of play-ing in an all-Ireland final for the first time in six decades vanished. Who knows for sure when such an opportunity will come knocking again?

Limerick’s subsequent semi-final annihilation at the hands of Munster rivals Tipperary will have done little to lighten the darkness around Daly’s recollection of their championship exit to the Shannonsiders. u

DURING 2009, Daly’s first year at the helm, the Dubs achieved a great deal. And yet, the man himself and his players will have been left with a few nagging regrets.

On the upside, they defeated Wexford for the first time in the championship since 1990, and won themselves a place in their first Leinster senior hurling championship final in 18 years. In that game they successfully subdued Kilkenny – a team on their way to winning four All-Ireland finals in a row – but went under to two Martin Comerford goals (2-18 to 0-18) in the nail-biting closing stages of the game. So close and yet so far.

This followed an encouraging national hurling league division one campaign where they took the scalps of Galway, Waterford and Cork (who were effectively operating with a second string team because of the bitter dispute between the players and then-manager Gerald McCarthy). They drew with Clare and lost narrowly to Kilkenny, Tipperary (both eventual all-Ireland finalists) and Limerick.

But it was Dublin’s loss to Limerick at the end of last July that underlined the road Dublin hurling has to travel before it can reach the top table. It was the performance that Daly will analyse most as the winter approaches and he starts plotting and planning for 2010.

NervesDublin looked the better hurling team in the early stages and got off to a terrific start. But as the game progressed they

The Boomtown Clash

“The challenge is to keep the machine well oiled; to maintain and surpass the higher standards that have been set”.

WORK & LIfE: ThE MAGAzINE fOR IMPACT MEMBERS 45

Next year’s league promises to be a far trickier assignment as the days of taking Dublin for granted are gone. Their strong performance this year has made sure of that.

TalentThe conveyor belt of young talent in the capital has been working well this decade, but sometimes commentators tend to over-talk this, giving the impression that Dublin is the only county building their strength in the game. The same level of work, at least, continues to be done by the likes of the more established forces such as Tipperary, Cork and Waterford, while in Leinster there are signs that Wexford have their act together once again.

Pho

to: s

port

sfile

.com

PAT O’CALLAGhAN (twice), Bob Tisdall, Ronnie Delany, Michael Carruth, Michelle Smith, and Katie Taylor. It’s a line-up, no doubt, already being recited by Irish boxing commentators.

Why? Well, apart from Taylor, the others have already realised their Olympic golden dream. London 2012 can’t come quickly enough for the girl from Bray, County Wicklow, who we profiled in the Spring edition of Work & Life.

Since it became official that women’s boxing will make its competitive debut at the next Olympic games, Katie has been burdened with the potential millstone of massive expectation. It could prove to be her greatest opponent as she strives to become Ireland’s golden girl.

Bookies here have installed her at odds of 1-8 to land gold and odds of 4-7 to be Ireland’s sole gold medallist in London. To put this in perspective, Beijing silver medallist Kenny Egan is 20-1 to capture gold l

London calling

Then there is Clare’s superb all-Ireland under-21 success this year when they defeated Kilkenny in a cracking decider in Croke Park. This team from the Banner, who claimed the county’s first ever under-21 crown, looks set to form the nucleus of a formidable unit in the very near future.

But Dublin will draw strength from the recent Leinster minor championship glories of 2005 and 2007 and the provincial under-21 success in 2007. Dublin club sides

have also acquitted themselves admirably in the national Féile na nÓg division one

final tournaments over the last few years.

QualityBut the challenge is to keep the machine well oiled; to maintain and surpass the higher standards that have been set. The quality of hurling displayed at senior club level in Dublin has also improved, yet you have to go back to the 1979 Crumlin team for the last occasion a Dublin club side won the Leinster club

championship.

Lots done, more to do? The first thing the Dublin county board should do is secure the services of Anthony Daly for two years longer than his original agreement. Daly drove his team through the psychological barrier of beating Wexford in the championship and, with the squad set to be strengthened for 2010 – including the possibility of a few lads defecting from the football squad – the Dubs can continue to climb the hurling rankings l

Photo: sportsfile.com

Across1. Profanity in incur sense (5)5. NO RAD will decorate (5)8. Centre us with uncle (7)9. Grins round the circles (5)10. UN ass will name her (5)11. A rud Peg will promote (5)14. Decline and incline (5)17. Yummy (5)20. Love Affair (7)21. Muscle and meat (4)22. Ancient tribe displayed in

main cart (4)23. Potion ear changes

performance in hospital (9)24. Tense play (5)28. Obtain (3)30. Singing in the rain is a good

example (7)32. Animal for all ma (5)33. Too heavy by far (5)34. Ardent (7)35. Vies will point to strain (5)36. Bring to bear old flame with

Bert losing his head (5)Down1. Ringlets (5)2. John, Paul, George, and _____ (5)3. Follow (5)4. To cloud the pop band (4)5. Strength/Virtue (5)6. Haven for another pop band (5)7. Can the Big Apple name her? (5)12. An apple Fete? (4)13. As extreme (2,5)15. Par amour (5)

46 WINTER 2009

16. Doctors will do this to 23A (7)18. Bless (6)19. Drop by drop slowly (7)24. Guys and ____ musical (5)25. Beat a Storm (5)26. The astonish (5)27. Shut down and be near (5)28. Soil (5)29. ET ART is a pleasure (5)31. W.B’s Lake ____ Innisfree (4)

Crossword composed by Maureen Harkin, Sligo

HOW TO PLAY: Fill in the grid so that every row,column and 3x3 box contains thedigits 1-9. There is no mathsinvolved. You solve it with reasoningand logic.

S U DO K U

Just answer five easyquestions and you could win €50.YOU COULD add €50 to your Christmasbudget by answering five easy questionsand sending your entry, name and ad-dress to Roisin Nolan, Work & Life prizequiz, IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1.Send your entry by Friday 4th December2009. We’ll send €50 to the first com-pleted entry pulled from the hat.* You’llfind the answers in this issue of Work &Life.

1 IMPACT’s new public services campaign will cost:

A An arm and a leg B peanutsC €440,000

2 MABS gives advice on:

A Financial difficultiesB MarriageC Cooking

3 IMPACT general secretary PeterMcLoone became a full-time unionofficial in:

A 1878B 1978C 1918

4 According to Trish O’Mahony’s travelpiece, the Beacon hotel can be foundin:

A Timbuktu B New YorkC Knock

5 Guy Richie’s latest film portrays:

A Sherlock HolmesB Eamon HolmesC Katie Holmes

The small print*You must be a paid-up IMPACT member to win. Only one entry per person (multiple entries will not be considered). Entries must reach us by Friday 4thDecember 2009. The editor’s decision is final. That’s it!

win€50

Win Win Win

Prize quiz

Easy

Winners! The winners from competitions in the Autumn issue were:

1 Survey winner: Zita Russell, Oberstown House

2 Crossword winner: Christina Murray, Westport Town Council

3 Poolbeg competition: Lorna Fahey, Coillte, Cranmore, Sligo

4 Prize quiz: Nial O’Connor, Monaghan

Lots more competitions to enter in this issue!

PRIZE CROSSWORD

win€50

Difficult

Win €50 by completing the crossword and sending your entry, name and address to Roisin Nolan, Work & Life crossword, IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1, by Friday 4th December 2009.

We’ll send €50 to the first correct entry pulled from a hat.

The survey

1. What did you think of the articles in the winter 2009issue of Work & Life ?

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Comments ________________________________________

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5. What subjects would you like to see in future issuesof Work & Life ?

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6. What did you think of the balance between unionnews and other articles?

The balance is about right �

I want more union news �

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7. Any other comments? ______________________________

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How do you likeWork & Life?WE HOPE you enjoyed this issue of Work & Life, the

magazine for IMPACT members. We want to hear yourviews, and we’re offering a €100 prize to one lucky

winner who completes this questionnaire.

Simply complete this short survey and send it to Roisin Nolan,Work & Life survey, IMPACT, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1. You can also

send your views by email to rnolan@impact.ie.

We’ll send €100 to the first completed entry pulled from a hat.*

And don’t forget, we’re also giving prizes for letters published in the next issue.See page 19.

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Your view

The small print*You must be a paid-up IMPACT member to win. Only one entry per person (multiple entries will not be considered).

Entries must reach us by Friday 4th December 2009. The editor’s decision is final. That’s it!

47WORK & LIFE: THE MAGAZINE FOR IMPACT MEMBERS

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WINTER 200948

Commercial membership services

IMPACT has facilitated the provision of a number of national membership services and discount schemes on behalf of its members. These include Additional Voluntary Contribution Schemes (Pensions),Life Assurance, Salary Protection in the case of illness and Car, House and Travel Insurance Schemes. A number of local discount schemes are also negotiated by local branches.

The Union uses the size and composition of its membership base and, where possible, competition between the various service providers, to seek the best possible deals for the widest possible sectionsof our membership. It is probable that the majority of members will get better value from these schemes than if they sought the same service individually. However, this will not be true in all cases andthere will be occasions where individual members may, because of their specific circumstances, be able to get better value elsewhere. It is not possible always to ensure that all schemes will be acces-sible equally to all members and the scheme underwriters will not depart totally from their normal actuarial or risk assessment procedures and rules.

IMPACT does not make any claims as to the quality or reliability of any of these products/services and while advising members of the availability of the National Membership Services and DiscountSchemes does not endorse or recommend any particular product or service. IMPACT's role is that of facilitator to ensure that such schemes are available to its members. All contracts are directly betweenthe product/service provider and the individual member. IMPACT is not in any way a party to these contracts and will not accept any responsibility or liability arising from any act or omission on the partof the product or service provider. Neither IMPACT nor any member of its staff receives any fees or commissions or other rewards from these product or service providers arising from such schemes.

While IMPACT does occasionally provide such product/service providers with limited information regarding IMPACT branch and/or workplace representatives for the purpose of advertising such schemes,the Union does not make any personal data relating to individual Union members available to them for any purpose.

The Union requires that product/service providers agree to ensure that all such schemes comply with all lawful requirements including the Equal Status Act 2000.

Advertisements for agreed membership services will have an logo on them.

Some of the companies providing agreed membership services may offer other products or services (that are not as a result of any agreement or arrangement with IMPACT) directly to IMPACT members.The Union has no role whatsoever in relation to such products or services. Likewise, other product or service providers may make offers directly to IMPACT members through advertisements in the Unionnewspaper or otherwise. These do not arise as a result of agreements or arrangements with IMPACT and the Union does not ask members to consider availing of such products/services and accepts noresponsibility whatsoever for any such offers.

The product/service providers with which IMPACT has agreed the provision of membership services and/or discount schemes are as follows:

Brassington & Co. Ltd. Cornmarket Group Financial Services Ltd.Travel Insurance – all Divisions. Car Insurance – all Divisions.

Salary Protection and Life Assurance – Local Government and Health Divisions only.

Group Insurance Services (GIS) Marsh Financial Services Ltd.Car Insurance – all Divisions. AVC Schemes – all Divisions excluding Municipal Employees.House Insurance – all Divisions. Salary Protection and Life Assurance – Civil Service and Services & Enterprises Divisions only.

December 2004

DISCLAIMER (Approved by CEC 10th December 2004)

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