As the Leaving and Junior Certs start soon we’re virtually guaranteed a heatwave. We’re sending positive vibes to all those sitting the exams. For us here at PeopleSource, our holiday plans for the summer are well underway. Flights booked and destinations both home and abroad await. If you’re off on your foreign travels or a staycation this summer, stay safe and have a great time! Water safety Ireland has some great tips that might be worth reading before you head off.
US and UK elections are ramping up, many thought the world wouldn’t survive Boris and Trump, and yet the sun continues to rise daily; what will the results bring us this time around? Don’t forget we have our own local and European voting day on June 7th. Check you are registered to vote here. Immigration is the key issue according to a recent Irish Times Survey.
If you weren't 'looking for a man in finance, six five, blue eyes' (when you know, you know), then you might have missed the following... Great to see the Credit Unions making serious waves in the mortgage market with a 71% increase in mortgage lending last year. A more ‘turbulent’ picture in the aviation sector last month, with Ryanair posting very healthy results, but against a backdrop of continuing problems for Boeing and some very high profile instances of turbulence causing serious injuries, including on a flight from Doha to Dublin.
In finance news, kudos to Irish fintech payments company CR2 who have been acquired by Moroccan company, HPS. Congratulations to Spectrum.Life for raising €17m this month!
Meanwhile, Aon have conducted a survey which has found that two thirds of businesses are concerned about the introduction of pension auto-enrolment. While KPMG make a compelling case for a simplification of the tax system especially for SME’s, some very good points in here, as we can attest to as an SME ourselves!
Having attended the annual Renatus Real Deal event in Goffs, we would highly recommend watching the interview between Matt Cooper and Echelon founder Tim Molloy when it comes out!
Finally, the quarterly Parliamentary Budget report came out this month, you can read it here, but a few interesting stats are…
- The top ten corporate businesses accounted for 60% of receipts in 2022 and 56% of receipts in 2023!
- 38% of those employed in the ICT sector are not of Irish citizenship compared to an average across Ireland of about 20%
- 7.7% of top earners are responsible for 54.1% of Income Tax payments
- Inflation rate stands at 1.6%, down from 2.7% in January 2024
Oh, and of course, while you’re out for a walk or on a sideline, listen to this fabulous podcast The Bookshelf with Ryan Tubridy interviewing – Paul Howard (aka Ross O’Carroll Kelly), John Boyne (one of Ireland’s finest authors) and Brian Cox (if you watched Succession, you’ll love this!)
Infographic...
As we are almost halfway through the year and our new year’s resolutions are long forgotten, it’s ok to start today! This infographic might inspire and maybe motivate you if you’re having a low/slow or bad day! Follow Justin Mecham for more.
During 2024 our ‘hot topics’ have concentrated on matters related to the wonderful world of recruitment (close to our hearts, obviously). We had intended to break the sequence this month until we had a very interesting chat among the PeopleSource folk following a conversation between a candidate and Rachel Tubridy.
The candidate, who we had placed in a great role, called in for a confidential chat, following a counter-offer. Here is a topic which will be with us to the end of time. So, what did we advise the caller? Well, we never advise people to take the role we have placed them in (honestly!); what we say, is the following:
It is a big thing to leave your employment, and we at PeopleSource believe that neither a decision to stay, or go, should be taken lightly. Take your time, take advice, and arrive at the decision that is best for YOU.
How do you feel about movie franchises? Will you be heading out to see Furiosa, the latest in the Mad Max saga? Love Marvel, Star Wars, Harry Potter etc? We were taken by the George Lucas lament of the absence of original ideas in Hollywood. However, whatever your taste, The Examiner has listed 15 movies you might want to catch this summer.
We’re heading into the thick of the concert and festival season now, have you many gigs lined up? Are you more Taylor Swift than Bruce Springsteen? Incidentally, we were very amused by the roasting of The Boss by Paul McCartney at the Ivor Novello awards.
So, to lose one presenter is unfortunate, to lose four in a couple of weeks is downright careless. 2FM has had a rough couple of weeks and it will be interesting to see how the station emerges. As the Examiner supposes, we’ll probably still be able to hear from the dearly departed on their various podcasts.
So, Manchester has dominated the UK soccer scene picking up the Premiership (City) and the FA Cup (United) in May and we’ll be seeing them square up in the Community Shield in August. The cynics will say that it was Ten Hag’s last game in charge and that Pep should be thanking City’s lawyers more than their players. A sad nod to the many Irish supporters of Leeds United as they came 3rd in the Championship and for the 6th(!!) time, failed to gain promotion to the Premiership via the playoffs. Fair play to Duff’s Shelbourne who are starting to look like real Champions rather than a flash-in-the-pan.
Dublin did the UEFA proud with its hosting of the Leverkusen Vs Atalanta game, great to see a clear-cut victory and a great hat-trick from Lookman on the night. PeopleSource folk happened to be in Dublin Airport and noted the great atmosphere created by both sets of fans.
Closely behind Leeds and their blind spot to get promoted is Leinster and their inability to win European finals, it was a tough day at the office for the travelling fans.
Two fantastic provincial hurling titles to be decided in June where old foes Clare and Limerick go toe-to-toe again while Kilkenny chase a five-in-a-row against Dublin, who put an end to the involvement of Henry Shefflin’s Galway.
As you know, it wouldn’t be a PeopleSource newsletter without an impressive list of the roles we are working on right now. Maybe, just maybe, your dream job is in here; even if you are currently well settled, have a look, as you may know somebody who would be a great fit for one of these exciting opportunities. Here they are;
Each month we ask our readers to answer a question for a chance to win €100 One4all voucher.
Our question for the April newsletter was:
Do you leave voice messages anymore?
Yes - 44%
No - 56%
Oooh, this was a close result. Our guess is that in a year’s time more than half of people will no longer be leaving a message, or perhaps the voice note will be all the rage!
And the winner of our €100 voucher is a very loyal reader of this newsletter – Mark O’Shaughnessy – he last won the prize in June 2020! It pays to enter! We’ll be in touch!
Our question for the May newsletter is:
Does your company and its employees understand pension auto-enrolment?
Yes
No
The winner will be chosen at random and will receive a €100 One4All voucher. Enter here to be in with a chance to win.
PeopleSource is a specialist finance & accounting recruitment firm.
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