Dell move will hit Wicklow's coffers

CurrentAccount: Wicklow County Council is going to loose a few bob as a result of Dell's recently announced expansion.

The US multinational is moving from Bray, Co Wicklow, to Cherrywood, which is only a few miles up the road, across the county bounds in Dublin.

Its decision means that Wicklow will be deprived of a large chunk of commercial rates income.

Although the company itself is coy about the amount it handed over, Current Account has established that Dell paid the local authority €117,000 in commercial rates last year. This came to around 2 per cent of Wicklow's business rate-paying base.

It's not a major loss but, despite its closeness to the capital, Wicklow does not have a huge level of commercial rate payers - although it does have bigger contributors than Dell.

The company will be paying a rent of around €1.2 million for its new premises in Cherrywood, which is 5,574 sq m. On the basis that the premises is bigger, it will presumably be paying more to its new local authority, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown.

Bank union officials find India a tough call

Three members of the Irish Bank Officials Association (IBOA) were refused entry to India last week because their visas were not in order.

IBOA president Mr Gerry Flynn and two colleagues travelled to Bombay from London last week, on their way to the All India Bank Employees Association conference. However, they never got past immigration and, soon after their arrival, found themselves on another flight back to London.

Among the matters due to be discussed at the conference was outsourcing in the banking industry. All the IBOA has to do now is organise it that Irish banking jobs never get entry to India.

SmartForce not so smart at forecasts

The decision by the e-learning firm SkillSoft to shed 120 jobs at its Dublin offices this week was the first bad news to hit the technology sector for some time.

The US firm, which acquired the Irish company SmartForce in 2002, said it was outsourcing its content division to cut its costs following an operational review.

No doubt the weakening dollar played a role in its decision by making Irish staff more expensive to employ for US firms. And the loss of 120 skilled technology jobs is a blow to confidence, but given several recent positive job announcements by IDA client firms it is hardly a looming crisis.

SkillSoft and SmartForce, have lurched from profit warning to profit warning throughout their history as listed firms. Both firm's management proved particularly inept at setting earnings forecasts, provoking regular collapses in their share price.

This weak forecasting is one of a number of issues that has provoked the US Securities and Exchange Commission to trawl through SmartForce's finances.

SkillSoft will hope the findings from this investigation won't put further strain on the firm as it struggles to put its house in order in 2005.

Cowen's Budget gives boost to consultants

A post-Budget fiesta is on the way for the consultancy sector, as the new Minister for Finance, Mr Cowen, puts in place procedures to examine a range of tax reliefs and allowances.

The magic phrase "external consultancy" work is included in the Budget documentation outlining the reliefs to be examined.

And the Department will not be the only ones looking for help in assessing schemes.

No doubt the sectoral beneficiaries will also be looking for some "expertise" to add to the submissions which they are being invited to make.

Naturally the stallion industry is ahead of the game, with a thick report already to hand from Indecon consultants outlining the many benefits of their industry.

Expect the property industry , the third-level sector and a range of others to also come forward to defend the reliefs without which their particular piece of business will wither and die and the economy will lose, er, many millions of euros.