A roundup of today's other news stories in brief
Gulf Air to cease Dublin flights in July
Gulf Air will cease flying from Bahrain to Dublin from July 1st as part of a worldwide restructuring of its activities.
The route was launched in December 2005 and is believed to have achieved load factors of 86 per cent. The airline is also thought to have established itself as the fifth-biggest carrier of cargo using Dublin airport.
Nine Dublin-based staff will be made redundant. It is understood that James Harrison, Gulf Air's Ireland manager, has been given the option to relocate.
Services to Johannesburg, Singapore, Sydney, Jakarta and Hong Kong will also cease in July.
Viridian names Bourke as chief
Energy group Viridian, which owns Huntstown power station in Co Dublin, has appointed Patrick Bourke as chief executive. Patrick Haren will become non-executive deputy chairman.
Mr Bourke has already served as group finance director, and previously worked with Powergen and Barclays.
Galtee staff vote for industrial action
Workers at Breeo Foods' Galtee Meats plant in Mitchelstown, Co Cork, voted overwhelmingly yesterday for industrial action in a dispute over the transfer of 10 workers from the plant to another Breeo Foods operation in the town.
According to John Cooney of Siptu, the dispute centres on the company's failure to abide by an agreement to give two months' notice to staff regarding the closure of the sausage processing section of Galtee Meats and the outsourcing of processing.
Talks on buyout bid for Calyx
IT service firm Calyx, which has a market value of €99.3 million, said yesterday that a management-led buyout team, headed by chief executive Maurice Healy, was in negotiations to secure equity and debt funding for its proposed bid. The announcement came alongside results showing turnover for 2006 rose 130 per cent to €88.5 million while pre-tax profit increased by 29 per cent to €2.2 million. The figures were boosted by the acquisitions during the year of Entropy, Matrix Companies and Mentec International.
Galmoy mine output declines
Production at Lundin Mining's Galmoy lead and zinc mine in Co Kilkenny fell in the first quarter after an accident closed the mine temporarily and a separate dispute hindered activity.
Ore mined at Galmoy fell 40 per cent, to 92,770 tonnes, in the three months to the end of March, from the year-earlier period.
Medical firms to win €20m orders
Irish medical device firms are expected to close €20 million in new business at an Enterprise Ireland showcase being held in Croke Park. Twenty-seven firms are exhibiting at the MedinIreland 2007 event which is being attended by 150 senior buyers from 70 international companies.
Ken McDonnell, global business development manager with Terumo, one of the largest medical device manufacturers in the world, said he was impressed by the technology on display from indigenous companies.
Jobs increase in construction
Employment in construction continues to rise despite signs of a slowdown in activity in the sector. According to the Central Statistics Office, the number of jobs increased in February by 1.4 per cent year-on-year.
