Farm 'Comforts' In Focus

Today's Winter Fair at Balmoral is to feature cattle comfort and a little style too with a Galway-based firm that specialises in rubber matting exhibiting its products. EasyFix - which exports to New Zealand and even Saudi Arabia - delivers comfortable cows for farmers across Ireland too. Managing Director, Michael Earls said that cattle that have access to better flooring systems are happier - and product more milk too. He said they hoped that Trache III of the Farm Modernisation Scheme would next year again recognise their interlocking rubber matting systems as eligible for grant support, as in previous years. See: www.easyfix.ie

Santa Buses Expand

Shoppers will be able to get in to the city centre from south Belfast a little easier this Christmas after NI Transport Minister Danny Kennedy announced an extension to park and ride facilities. He said that the Cairnshill Park and Ride on the Saintfield Road will be open later during weekdays and on Saturdays to provide an alternative for shoppers travelling into Belfast, from 12 December. "Regular users will know the benefits of parking their vehicle at a Park and Ride facility and then continuing the rest of their journey into the city centre by public transport. As the traffic builds up in the city centre in the run up to Christmas, the Park and Ride services at Cairnshill will offer a convenient and less stressful alternative to the car. With a dedicated bus every half hour, shoppers and families can benefit from a quick and reliable journey into the city centre avoiding congestion," he said.

Business 'Students' Praised

Bangor Academy and Sixth Form College has emerged as winner of Invest Northern Ireland's inaugural Step 'N Zones Competition. The competition, which was held during Global Entrepreneurship Week attracted almost 1,000 students from 40 schools across Northern Ireland. Alastair Hamilton, Chief Executive of Invest Northern Ireland, said: "The students who participated will be the business leaders and self starters of the future. It is therefore important that we do all we can to help and encourage them to develop vital business skills such as communication, negotiation and creative thinking. The competition challenged the schools who took part to develop a business idea through a series of enterprise zones, which helped them with ideas, plans and brands. The winning team, 'The Inbetweeners' from Bangor Academy and Sixth Form College, developed an online gaming strategy guide idea. The judges were particularly impressed with the team's attention to detail, their sales strategy and their plans to develop mobile apps and sales channels."

Voting In Focus

The UK Minister for Political and Constitutional Reform, Mark Harper, has this week visited Grosvenor Grammar School in Belfast to watch Electoral Office for Northern Ireland staff in action as they helped sixth-formers at the school to register to vote. The schools' outreach programme is being run by the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland to encourage young people to register to vote. Under the scheme, Electoral Office staff visit every post primary school in Northern Ireland where there are eligible 16 and 17 year olds. The outreach programme captures approximately half of the young people in Northern Ireland within the 16-17 year old age group. Mark Harper said: "Democracy is the cornerstone of a fair society, and I am committed to making sure everyone who is eligible to vote has the opportunity to have their say at the ballot box. That's why we will introduce a fairer and more robust system of voter registration in Great Britain. I would like to congratulate the Chief Electoral Officer of Northern Ireland and his staff for all of the hard work that has gone into making this registration scheme a success."

(BMcC/GK)