Beating the 2009 blues
With 2009 certain to be a difficult year economically, Anton McNulty asked representatives of five different organisations to outline what their approach to the coming 12 months will be
RELIGION – CLAREMORRIS CHURCH
Keeping the Faith
Fr Peter Gannon
NATURALLY 2009 will be a difficult year because people are more worried with the industry side of things. A lot of people have been affected already and a number of young people are emigrating. I have noticed that big time in the last year. There has always been a trend of young people taking time out, which I think was a good thing because travel is a great experience for young people. However, the face of this has changed because a lot of people are leaving not because they want to do it but because they have no choice.
You hear a certain relief from people – especially in the building trade – where they say they have a job that will keep them going until March and hopefully beyond. That was never a topic of conversation up until this year. it was taken for granted that people would have a job. I know societies like St Vincent de Paul are going to be stretched because this has crept up on people in the last three or four months. While we have been talking about this, realistically this has come upon us very quickly and it happened all of a sudden in the last months of 2008. As for putting some kind of support in place in the parish, we have not really gone down that road yet or put our heads together regarding it.
I think a lot more people will start coming to church in the coming months. It is amazing when there is any worry or need in life that people will come and turn to God and prayer and I think there will be an upsurge in people coming to church. We are happy will the numbers of people coming to church in Claremorris which has been very steady over the years. Going to church is a very personal thing and people will be more than welcome to come back. But you don’t want to make a big issue about attracting people back to church because it is a private and personal experience for a lot of people and if they decide to come back, they will be very welcome.
Fr Peter Gannon is a curate in Claremorris. He was in conversation with Anton McNulty.
CAR INDUSTRY – BALLINA NISSAN
Rocky road ahead for garages
Peadar Walsh
This year is about getting through to the end and surviving and that is the reality of the situation. There won’t be any money made – it will be about getting through. In 2008, the market was down 18 per cent on 2007 and this year we could see the 2009 market being down by 25 per cent on 2008.
The commercial sales are going to be well down because the builders are not going to be buying or renewing their vans and that will have an impact. It is going to be a tough year and a year of watching the overheads and trying to get through it. The obvious effect of the slowdown is that companies are struggling and this will mean lay-offs along with short working weeks. You can’t keep selling less and have the same workforce because your company won’t be around for long.
January of last year was a good start but that was based on the pre-sales before Christmas and you could see 2008 dwindling from March onwards. Because of the changes in the VRT regulations in July, people held off buying from April onwards and when July came the recession came and people said they would not bother buying at all. This really impacted on us last year. In previous years, people would have been able to get 100 per cent finance for a car. That is now gone, you need a ten per cent deposit in most cases, unless you are very strong. Existing clients seem to be fine but for new clients the criteria have changed dramatically.
The big crooks we have in this industry are the people selling cars who are not registered for tax or VAT. They are effectively selling illegal cars on the side of the road and this is having a huge impact on our overall business.
The one thing we are all doing is cutting our overheads. If we dropped the price of every new car in the country by 20 per cent, it wouldn’t mean selling any more cars because the second hand values would drop. I don’t think it is the cost of selling that is stopping people buying, it is the fear factor. People are not spending their disposable income because they are unsure of the future. I think by the end of March we will have a fair idea of where we stand regarding new car sales.
Peadar Walsh is the owner of Ballina Nissan and was in conversation with Anton McNulty.Rocky road ahead for garages
LEISURE – WESTPORT LEISURE PARK
Next year to be a healthy challenge
Dermott Langan
I suppose 2009 will be more of a challenging year and we have got to be more cost efficient on all fronts and still continue to provide the high level of service which our clients have come to expect from us. I hope people will still continue to come to the gym and leisure centre and if people have more free time what better place to spend time getting fit than in the gym. Joining a gym could be one of the areas where people may cut back on, but I wouldn’t see keeping fit and healthy as a luxury and I hope people feel the same.
In the last year, our numbers have been good and in the health and fitness side our sales have been up, not huge increases but they have held steady. One of the things we will do is to keep our staff trained and we will continue to invest wisely in staff training, to ensure our staff continue to be the best.
It is all about offering value for money and Westport Leisure Centre does offer good value for money. When you compare nationally, we would be a couple of hundred euro cheaper than leisure centres across the board. We will have special deals for January which will be very attractive and there are superb offers for both six-month and 12-month membership.
To be honest, I wouldn’t be too pessimistic about 2009 and I would be confident we will have a good year. The things that will help us will be a reduction in energy costs, which hopefully will remain lower than last year. At the end of the day, we are a public facility and we do produce a service for people from south Connemara to north Mayo. I think people know we provide a good value for money service and I honestly don’t expect a big fall-off. I think people will be wiser with their money and if they are wise with their money they will know we offer exceptional service for their money.
Dermott Langan is the Manager of the Westport Leisure Centre. He was in conversation with Anton McNulty.
School – ROXBORO NS, BALLINROBE
A matter of support
Ita Delaney
WE’RE very lucky in Roxboro – we got a new school extension two years ago, we won’t be affected by the change in pupil/teacher ratio and we have a wonderfully supportive community around so. So, for us 2009 doesn’t hold any great fear.
In any case, the enthusiasm of our children – 38 in total – and of their parents is such that no monetary constraints could dampen it. We’re blessed with the support we receive from the Board of Management, from the parents and from the local community in general.
We don’t have to fundraise throughout the year, but if we do in the future I am confident that we will be supported. The one thing we are lacking is an outdoor pitch, and that’s something we will be aiming to get in the next couple of years, so we may need assistance at that stage.
We ended last year on a happy note with the ‘Fairytale Land Nativity Show’ by the junior classes, which brought a packed audience, and we are looking forward to the start of the new year at school tomorrow.
In a way, you’re insulated from the gloom around you when you’re at school, because the children are so full of hope and so positive. They’re like a tonic really. I suppose they hear bits and pieces about the recession, but most of it goes over their heads. It’s only when you go home in the evening and turn on the news that you realise how bad things are.
But that’s how it should be for children. They should be allowed to retain their innocence and their sense of hope and should be encouraged to be happy. When they’re happy and content, they learn best; there’s no doubt about that. So Maura (Murphy, teacher of the senior classes) and I try to make the learning environment as enjoyable as possible and we try to be creative in our approach to teaching.
For 2009, our approach won’t change, whether there are further education cutbacks or not. We have huge support around us, so we’re not afraid of what the future holds.
Ita Delaney is Principal of Roxboro NS, Ballinrobe. She was in conversation with Denise Horan.
HOTEL – PONTOON BRIDGE HOTEL
Looking on the bright side
Ann Geary
THE indicators are not great at the moment but, having said that, this kind of thing happens every winter. I’ve been in business over 40 years and we worry every January, February and March because bookings are not coming in, but with the internet they now come in overnight. I would be positive that once we get near Easter, things will pick up.
There is a depression In the country and we are talking ourselves into it. We all know we have to tighten our belts and we know things are not as good as they used to be but this happens every few years and we’ve just got to get our heads down and work harder. When spring comes there is a new feeling and if the weather picks up people will be up and alive. You have to be optimistic, we had the oil and petrol shortages, and we got over them all and we will get over this.
The last number of years have been good for the tourism industry in Ireland and they were starting to get really good until the Government allowed every builder in the country to build a hotel. Now we have loads of hotels and they are half-empty – the cake just doesn’t go around. On the other side our wages are very high and people’s expectations are very high. They want all hotels to have five-star services like they would get in the middle of Dublin. If they come down to the country they take what we have, which are high standards, but we don’t do things instantly.
The business has totally changed and a lot of the new developments have devastated the tourist industry. Our prices are so low now, there is no margin of profit. You can get a room in any hotel for €50 and a room in Ashford Castle for €85, that speaks louder than words. We are trying to keep our staff in jobs and do the business we know and a big help would be if the Government could do something with the VAT and PRSI.
People like to come to country hotels which are still run by people and families they can talk to. I would be optimistic for the hotels in the west of Ireland because it is the real Ireland.
Ann Geary is the co-proprietor of the Pontoon Brdge Hotel. She was in conversation with Anton McNulty.
