Dublin bus has stopped all services in Dublin City due to the severe weather conditions. There website says:
Dublin Bus wishes to advise customers that due to the recent heavy snowfall there is serious disruption to most services. There are dangerous driving conditions on all main city arteries and we are waiting for roads to be made safe before resuming services. We will have more up to date information available here as soon as possible.
The last of the buses can be seen leaving the city via Dublin City Council cameras:
It’s good to see some passion on Irish media and I think this guy even has a point to make somewhere. Pat Kenny however didn’t seem to see the funny side. The man was brought away and Pat Kenny now uses his skull as a tea cup.
As the Unions position their members for some cold nights outside it’s sure to be a tough time for businesses, workers and the government over the next few months.
Looking at the figures for the first half of this year however and compared to the previous years it seems that things are might not be as tough as the were in the 80’s and 90’s. It seems also that there are many people willing to strike but not for long. It is working out as just over an hour for each person in the first half of 2009. Compare that to 2008 where the average per worker was nearly 12 hours.
The second half of 2009, particularly the last few months, may help to level these figures out. Time will tell.
The winner of RTÉ’s recent Storyland competition is gaining quite a following online. Set in the fictional town of Castletown, Co. Mayo ‘The Hardy Bucks’ follows the lives of a group of twenty-something locals who spend most of their days doing as little as possible. Hopefully RTÉ will give this show the air time it really deserves. It would be a rare thing for them!
A member survey by the Irish Auctioneers & Valuers Institute (IAVI) has confirmed that value of houses has dropped by an average of 9.2% nationwide in the second quarter of the year.
While this will not come as a big surprise to many it is good that this news is coming from the mouths of those who have for so long stoked the fires of the property bubble. If the auctioneers are resigned to the fact that the falls in prices are drastic then you know it must be true.. or even worse.
The economist illustrate how the steady decline in house prices in countries around the world has encouraged some people back into the market very recently. Ireland, however, is one of the few exceptions to this trend. The economist sights Ireland and Spain as having “big supply gluts” which are likely to push down prices for a long time.
It is a fair assumption that the majority of those renting cars in Ireland are tourists. Many arrive into this country on a Boeing 737 having clicked their way into Ryanair’s production line and arrive at the other end with their 15kgs in hand. They have already had their first experience of Ireland before they even know it and if they found the journey here a little less luxurious they are fully aware of what they were getting. They price reflected it.
As many of these budget explorers head to their car rental outlets they assume that their next mode of transport will carry on from their previous. They went online, researched the places to rent from and then proceeded to book their car for their time in Ireland. So it’s a Bank holiday in Ireland, €60 for a car. You can’t beat that.
The car rental companies in Ireland, however, seem to think that the price you pay and the price you were quoted when you book are two different things. It seems that the €60 is more of a ball park for tourists looking to rent a car. As an example, take 2 of the biggest car rental companies in Ireland; Budget car rental and Europcar. It seems that when you collect your car you are told that the insurance you paid for online only covers… well pretty much nothing. If you have a crash you are liable for an excess in the region of a few grand so it makes sense to take out the extra insurance to bring that excess down to around €100. If you’ve booked with Europcar that’ll be an extra €14.09 a day please. There is also an extra Windows and Tyres insurance for €5 a day. How would you like to pay for that? As we don’t accept cash we will accept your credit card so that’ll be €5 extra too. Also, you are collecting the car from us so you’re going to have to pay the €10 “City centre premium” with Europcar and what seems to be €25 for the privilege of collecting the car from the airport. Budget car rental like to treat their customers to a €28 surcharge for both city and airport collections.
So let’s add that all up for our tourist. A car rental for 3 days which was quoted online at 60.78 will actually cost our tourist (AFTER V.A.T.) €151.01 from Europcar and budget are no different. That’s almost 250% of what the budget tourist was quoted.
You’ve been in Ireland 30 minutes and you already want to leave. Oh and before you do leave could you please pay our government €10 departure tax.
Welcome to Ireland, why don’t you tell your friends about us while we’re over here shooting ourselves in the foot.
The new Daft.ie rental index published today shows that the Irish property market is struggling under its own weight. Today’s figures are consistent with pretty much all other figures released about Ireland’s waning economy since the start of the year. Rental prices in Ireland are going down and they will continue to go down for the foreseeable future.
The reasons for this are obvious. People have less money to spend on rent; there are less people in the country, there is less money in the country and there are more and more properties coming onto the rental market. This is great for renters and in a way it is great for Ireland as the country tries to combat the serious cost of living which in turn affects the high cost of doing business in this country.
As thousands of students also finish for another summer it is likely that as they struggle to find summer work landlords too will struggle to find tenants.
