Waterford Today | Waterford's free weekly newspaper

Plans underway for this year's St Patrick's Day Festival

Plans are already well underway for this year's St Patrick's Day Festival. The theme of this year's parade is 'Waterford of the three shippes' which celebrates Waterford City's great maritime history and the return of the Tall Ships Race to the City in the summer.

This year is already lining up to be a very entertaining parade. Spraoi, in addition to building their own spectacular entry, have been running workshops sponsored by Waterford City Council for a number of local community groups to help them in preparing their entry. Projects from the Sacred Heart, Inner City, Ferrybank and Larchville Lisduggan are already half way through the four day course which is designed to encourage greater community participation and also to give community workers access to the creative skills of Spraoi.

Also entertaining the crowds

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The February Outing of the Irish Wildlife Trust takes place on Sunday February 13th, starting from Dunmore East lighthouse at 2 pm. Ray McGrath will lead a walk along the harbour and through the woods, highlighting the biodiversity of the area and sustainable fishing. Views of the harbour and coastline are particularly good on this walk.

This walk takes 2.5 hours approx and is suitable for all with a good walking surface throughout. All are welcome. Check out www.iwt.ie or www.irishwildlifetrust.blogspot.com or tel. Ray at 051 382629 for more details.

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The next round of the South East orienteering league will be held at Kilbunny wood, Portlaw on Sunday 13th February.

Start times between 11 and 1. All are welcome. For more information check out the Wato blog www.waterfordorienteers.blogspot.com or phone Andrew Cox on 087-2229677.

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Volunteers in Waterford needed for Lollipop Day 2011!

The Oesophageal Cancer Fund (OCF) needs your help this March! With just one month to go until the 10th annual Lollipop Day, the OCF is calling for more volunteers in Waterford to help raise vital funds for its services on Friday 4th and Saturday 5th March 2011.

Lollipop Day involves thousands of people selling lollipops nationwide, in an effort to raise funds for oesophageal cancer. So if you have a few hours to spare on the 4th or 5th March, please come down with some friends and help the OCF make a little lolly go a long way!

"We are very fortunate to have an ever increasing number of dedicated volunteers, all of whom make Lollipop Day a success every year," said Noelle Ryan, chairperson of the OCF. "But we still need more volunteers

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IBEC South East, the group that represents business in the region, said that new figures that show 57,451 people on the Live Register in the South East highlighted the need for all political parties to focus put jobs at the top of their agenda. The group said that the new government must provide the conditions for businesses to create jobs and must base all decisions on the likely impact on jobs. 

The CSO Live Register figures published today (2 February) showed 57,451 people on the South East Live Register - a monthly increase of 431. 11,236 of the total are under the age of 25, and 46,215 are over 25.

Commenting on the figures, IBEC regional director John Farrell said: "The South East has been devastated by job losses in the last few years. We owe it to the 57,451 people

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Cllr. Dr. Tom Higgins has resigned his membership of Fine Gael and is declaring his intention to contest the General Election as an Independent candidate for Waterford.

As Mayor of Dungarvan Cllr. Dr. Tom Higgins is extremely concerned as to the lack of employment opportunities in Waterford City and County. His view is that while the main political parties will focus on Foreign Direct Investment for the creation of Jobs in Waterford, the more realistic opportunity to immediately stem the loss of jobs and create new employment is through the SME sector. If elected to the 31st Dáil, Tom will work as a personal conduit between local small business people in Waterford, and Dublin based Governments departments to secure the support needed on the ground to deliver real jobs locally.

As a local doctor servicing Dungarvan and West Waterford for more that thirty

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City Square Shopping Centre in Waterford have just launched a redesign of their website city-square.ie 

The site is being relaunched with a Love City Square competition whereby two people will win €300 shopping vouchers for the centre. It is so easy to enter. All one has to do is log on and complete the entry form all from the comfort of your own home. Closing date is midnight on Sunday 13th February with the winners announced on Valentines Days.

On Sunday 13th February there will be a DJ blasting out the most romantic Valentines songs on the mall. Spot prizes and giveaways will be up for grabs throughout the afternoon from 2 – 5pm.

Special Offers

The newly designed site will feature a section dedicated to "Special Offers" from the stores throughout City Square. It is not possible to put all the special

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Top Waterford Hotels Train Managers Of The Future

Thirty-five trainee hotel managers recently graduated from Fáilte Ireland's Trainee Manager Development Programme (TMDP) - the highest number of students to graduate over the 21 year history of the programme.

Pictured at the recent TMDP graduation ceremony, which was held in Fáilte Ireland's head office, were (l. to r.): Sean O'Malley Manager of Education Operations, Fáilte Ireland; Ellen Reidy, General Manager, Tower Hotel; with graduates - Chloe Martin, Tower Hotel; Mary Theresa Walsh, Faithlegg House Hotel; and Thomas King, Tower Hotel.

The Trainee Manager Development Programme (TMDP) is an industry based management programme for undergraduates to train in hotels and gain an academic qualification at the same time. The programme has seen over 435 successful graduates enter the industry to date and

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The Free Legal Advice Centre (FLAC) Service in Dungarvan will be held on the first Thursday of every month at 1.00pm in the offices of the Citizens Information Centre in Scanlon's Yard.

Appointments for the FLAC service can booked by ringing 058 44633. 

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Waterford teachers in primary and second level schools, whose pupils take part in the annual Texaco Children's Art Competition, are reminded that the closing date for receipt of entries this year is Friday, 25th February next. Last year, 444 pupils from schools in Co. Waterford submitted entries to the Competition.

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Ó Cuív  encourages Returning Officers to employ  the unemployed as staff at polling stations and the counts on polling day

Referring to the forthcoming general election, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Éamon Ó Cuív, today (4 February, 2011) took the opportunity to encourage Returning Officers to consider employing unemployed people on polling day and at the subsequent counts in each constituency.

"While the smooth conduct of polls and the count is clearly dependent on maintaining a cadre of sufficiently skilled and experienced people, I would ask Returning Officers, within that overall framework, to give consideration, where possible, to employing suitable persons who are unemployed", the Minister said.

Minister Ó Cuív acknowledged that Returning Officers at the General Election are responsible for all matters in connection with the actual conduct of the election, including the selection, appointment and training

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Mayor of Waterford, Cllr. Mary Roche to present JobFit Waterford Participant Awards

Mayor of Waterford, Cllr. Mary Roche will present the JobFit Waterford Participant Awards on Friday February 11 at the JobFit centre Unit 7, Wallace House, 1st Floor, Maritana Gate, Waterford

Over the past six months or so, JobFit Waterford has provided support to unemployed people in the area and helped them to move on to employment, training or further education. The Awards ceremony will celebrate participants' successful completion of the programme.

Aimed at those who are unemployed for three months or more and are qualified to Junior Certificate or below, the programme has offered participants free skills training, free job search support and free work placements with local employers.

JobFit is delivered by Rehab Group companies TBG Learning and National Learning Network and funded by the Labour Market Activation Fund

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Engineers Week is coming to Waterford this February. During Engineers Week, which runs from Monday, February 14th to Sunday, February 20th, there will be two events taking place in Waterford including an opportunity to build your own electric motor in Waterford Institute of Technology. The week-long series of activities across the country and in Waterford is run by Engineers Ireland, the representative voice of the engineering profession in this country, and is focused on creating a positive awareness about engineering in Ireland. To see a full list of events taking place during the week log onto www.engineersweek.ie

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Foreign property - it really is a buyer's market

The recent economic storm has caused quite a lot of uncertainty and fear. People wonder if their investments are safe and many query the future quality of their everyday lives.

What does the economic situation mean for people wanting to buy an overseas property now? Buyers fall into three categories: investors, holiday home buyers and those emigrating. Each category is fundamentally interested in increasing their quality of life in different ways. Investors want to make money, holiday home buyers want a second home in the sun, with perhaps the option of having renters contribute to their costs and those emigrating want a new lifestyle – one that provides better weather, less expenses and more enjoyment.

Despite the recent economic uncertainty it's possible for all three categories to find success. Investors can currently scoop

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Pictured launching Aer Arann's new gateway to London with direct routes from Waterford to London Southend were Aer Arann cabin crew Kerry Crozier and Sarah Baggott

Aer Arann, Ireland's regional airline, today announced new direct scheduled services between Waterford and Galway and London Southend Airport, marking the opening of Ireland's new gateway to central London and the English south east.

From March Aer Arann will fly twice a day into London Southend Airport offering excellent access to central London and unrivalled convenience for business and leisure passengers.

There will be two return flights each day, morning and evening, operating direct between Waterford and London Southend Airport.

The new services, beginning on March 27th, will be the first to be operated into London

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