An innovative GDPR compliant data management company tracking drug usage in animals in the food chain has been named as Waterford’s Enterprise winner and will go on to represent Waterford at the National Enterprise Awards in Dublin on May 29th.

VirtualVet is at the forefront of changing drug use behaviour in the food chain by reducing the risk of misuse and overuse of animal remedies in food production.

WIT graduate Sinead Quealy astutely observed the implications and increased risks posed to human health by the overuse of antibiotics in animal farming and in 2017, following a meeting with Waterford Local Enterprise Office established VirtualVet. The data management company records dosages for famers, reports to the agri-food and animal health industries and monitors for agencies such as Bord Bia and the Food Safety Authority.

According to Sinead the assistance from the Local Enterprise Office was invaluable as it provided a feasibility grant, a platform at the National Ploughing Championships and financial assistance to help grow the business.

The Waterford judging panel had their work cut out for them as six pioneering companies vied for the Waterford enterprise title. The finalists included Trish’s Honey Products, Hightower Painting Products, Partyrock Travel, Special Branch Carvers and Monkey Cups.

Richie Walsh, Head of Enterprise at Local Enterprise Office Waterford, Richie Walsh congratulated VirtualVet on their award and also praised the high calibre of finalists.

“In Waterford we are lucky to have such a wealth of inventive and resourceful young enterprises. The vision shown not just by Sinead and the VirtualVet team, but by all the finalists demonstrates that entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in our city and county. The onus is on agencies such as Local Enterprise Office to support, encourage and nurture such creativity.”

“The range of Local Enterprise Office services is quite broad, so we would encourage anyone in pre-start, start-up or established phase of business to get in touch and see what supports are available.”

As well as representing Waterford in the National Finals, VirtualVet was also presented with €3,000 and a specially commissioned crystal trophy, designed and hand-cut by award-winning crystal studio, Criostal na Rinne. The runners-up were presented with engraved crystal bowls.

VirtualVet is among one of the 7,000 companies maintaining 36,000 jobs, supported by the network of 31 Local Enterprise Offices, and will represent Waterford in the National Enterprise Awards Final which was established in 1998 to celebrate the achievements of Ireland’s micro-enterprise sector.

With International Women’s Day taking place on Friday, March 8th Waterford Local Enterprise Office will host a Balance for Better morning event as part of the Local Enterprise Week programme running from March 4th to 8th.

International Women’s Day celebrated globally each year highlights the achievements of women and the theme for 2019 is Balance for Better. By noticing its absence and celebrating its presence, the drive to achieve balance will make a better working world.

The event will be MC’d by Karen Tomkins and networking will be top of the agenda in the Greenway Manor Hotel. There will also be a masterclass in connecting with your customer through social media, presented by Sheila Gallogly. Tickets cost €15 and include breakfast and light lunch with registration from 8.30am.

The countdown to Brexit continues as the March 29th deadline fast approaches. With a lot of uncertainty surrounding the implications of Brexit, Waterford Local Enterprise will host a free Brexit advice clinic on March 6th. These one-to-one clinics will give Waterford businesses the opportunity to discuss any concerns they may have about the consequences of Brexit and will also identify supports available that will help allay risks, re-evaluate, diversify and mitigate exposure to the UK markets.

Perfecting your sales pitch is a free workshop that will harness the power of storytelling to reach new customers. Taking place in the Granville Hotel on March 6th, this full day workshop will deal with a host of themes including posture, building your confidence and sales trailers.

Free general business advice clinics will be held in Tramore on March 5th and Ardmore on March 7th. If you have a business idea or are looking to expand your business talk to a Waterford Local Enterprise mentor in confidence and find out more about the supports and services that are available from Waterford LEO.

Head of Enterprise at Waterford LEO Riche Walsh is pleased with the broad range of business clinics and workshops on offer during Local Enterprise Week. “The week-long programme focuses on the issues that are impacting businesses not just now, but in the future.”

“For anyone in business today, whether it’s a pre-start, start-up or an established business it can be daunting to identify what assistance may be available to help them grow and Local Enterprise Week is a great platform to showcase the range of services and assistance available to these businesses.”

During Local Enterprise Week businesses in Waterford can access advice from industry experts and partner agencies in the form of seminars, workshops and talks on a wide array of key business topics, including Owner Manager development, wholesale and retail strategies, navigating the e-commerce maze, intellectual property, trading online, and discovering new export markets.

To register for Local Enterprise Week events taking place in Waterford city and county from March 4th to 8th, or if you would like to find out more about what business support services are available visit www.localenterprise.ie/Waterford/

Ireland South East Development Office has published a new statistical bulletin Ireland South East: Economy at a Glance.

Ireland South East: Economy At A Glance has been developed to measure a broad range of regional economic data to assess the performance of the region and track its growth along key metrics.

The first publication from February 2019 is available here or by clicking the images above.

Ireland South East Development Office works with leaders of the major regional industries as well as the chief executives of the councils of the five counties in the South East (Carlow, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford). Its priority is to make the South East the first choice for business, careers, inward investment and tourists. Visit www.irelandsoutheast.com for further details.

Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) is delighted to host the prestigious Electric Ireland Fitzgibbon Cup finals weekend on Friday, February 22nd and Saturday, February 23rd 2019 at the WIT Arena. The Fitzgibbon Cup weekend throws in on Friday from 12pm where it plays host to a number of semi-final encounters in both the Fergal Maher and Ryan Cup competitions as well as the Intermediate Hurling Final.

Saturday’s proceedings start off at 11am where the final of the Fergal Maher followed by the Ryan Cup (12.30pm). Both games are expected to be serious curtain raisers for the 2019 Electric Ireland Fitzgibbon Cup Final. The race for this year’s crown has been whittled down to two teams with the highly anticipated final between UCC and MICL taking place on Saturday 23rd February at 2.45pm.  Speaking on behalf of WIT Vikings GAA Club, Development Officer Katie Redmond said: “The Club and the WIT Arena are delighted to have the opportunity to host this year’s event. We are looking forward to welcoming all teams and spectators to our wonderful facilities here in WIT and to an exciting climax to this year’s Fitzgibbon Cup, which has been one of the best and most competitive in the competition’s long and illustrious history. It promises to be a great occasion and I would like to wish all the teams involved the very best of luck”.

This is the fourth time that the Fitzgibbon Cup final has been hosted here and it is an opportunity for both visitors and local hurling followers to experience first-hand the range of facilities at the WIT Arena. In existence for over 100 years, the Fitzgibbon Cup is the premier hurling championship among higher education institutions and features some of the best and brightest young talent in the sport. The competition continues to grow in popularity with a Fitzgibbon Cup medal being as much sought after as any county, provincial or All-Ireland medal.

Under the guidance of WIT Novus, sport continues to grow and develop at WIT and given its proud and rich history in the competition, it is fitting that the WIT Vikings GAA Club and the WIT Arena should host this year’s Fitzgibbon Cup. Between 1999 and 2008, WIT won seven of its nine Fitzgibbon Cups, with the most recent being celebrated in 2014. Ranked fourth on the Fitzgibbon Cup roll of honour behind record holders UCC, UCD and NUIG, WIT has played a key role in the development of many outstanding hurlers, including current inter-county stars TJ Reid (Kilkenny), Kevin Moran, Jake Dillon, Pauric Mahony, Austin Gleeson and Stephen O’Keeffe (Waterford) and Mark Fanning and Harry Kehoe (Wexford).

Waterford Local Enterprise Office has announced a large number of innovative business events for those planning, starting or growing their business in 2019 during Local Enterprise Week, taking place throughout Waterford City and County from March 4th to 8th.

The week-long programme compiled by Waterford Local Enterprise Office will focus on the issues that impact businesses, whether it’s a pre-start, start-up or an established business looking to grow.

Local Enterprise Week Waterford kicks off its jam-packed programme at 8am on Monday, March 4th with a free Owner Manager Development information and recruitment workshop.  The workshop will enable owners and managers, planning the next stage of their business, to learn about the upcoming Owner Manager Development Programme, which will be delivered over nine months by Blaise Brosnan, a practical top management specialist.

On Tuesday, March 5th Eddie Shanahan will deliver a Wholesale & Retail Strategy for Craft Business Workshop.  If you’re a craft business in Waterford, are passionate about your product but need help with sales, this free three-hour workshop will focus on developing an effective sales strategy to benefit your business and takes place in the Town Hall Theatre in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford from 1pm to 5pm.

On Thursday, March 7th, media disruptor, social media entrepreneur and creative innovator Seanie Walsh will bring “The E-Commerce Maze” to Waterford.  A successful practitioner in sales and marketing, Seanie will reveal the macro and micro strategies it takes to build a brand, along with a fascinating insight into social media activity, monetisation and exploitation.

Friday, March 8th is International Women’s Day and a celebratory event is planned for Waterford’s female entrepreneurs and professionals at the Greenway Manor Hotel. “Balance for Better” is a networking and business development event in association with Waterford Local Enterprise Office, Waterford Chamber, Network Ireland and Waterford Micro Business Network. Celebrating the remarkable achievements of women in business, tickets cost €15 and include breakfast and light lunch with registration from 8.30am.

Head of Enterprise at Waterford LEO Riche Walsh said, “Each year Local Enterprise Week grows exponentially in order to address the topical business issues of the day.  Waterford Local Enterprise Office, as an agency tasked with assisting start-ups and small businesses to “Make it Happen”, strives to give these businesses the opportunities and resources to unleash their potential and make the path to growth as unhindered as possible.”

“Waterford Local Enterprise Office also gives those thinking of starting or expanding a business access to the full range of supports provided by State bodies and expert third-parties and that cross pollination is well reflected in the 2019 Local Enterprise Week programme.”

To register for Local Enterprise Week events taking place in Waterford city and county from March 4th to 8th, or if you would like to find out more about what business support services are available visit www.localenterprise.ie/Waterford/

St Joseph & Benildus parish is promoting partnership with Ishiara parish, in a poor, rural part of Kenya north-east of Nairobi. Both areas are affected by Climate Change but with different consequences.

In 2018 Ireland suffered the most serious drought in over 50 years and many of our reservoirs are still not replenished.

Ishiara suffer on an on-going basis from not being able to store any rainwater for irrigating their crops which hampers their subsistence farming and hence they often suffer food shortages. As a partnership we hope to raise some funds to help them build a “sand-dam” to retain water for their area.

One of our initiatives is related to water-saving here in Waterford.

The above flyer describes a very inexpensive water-saving button can than be added to many older toilet cisterns, to significantly reduce the flush volume for “liquid waste”. Hence the tag-line “Save 2 cent every time you spend a penny!”. Any business that pays commercial rates for water can save about €50 per employee per annum. Cost of the button is €20 so the payback is short. The installation is extremely simple.

To Order:

Contact Parish Secretary, St. Joseph & St. Benildus Parish Centre, Newtown, Waterford
Tel: 051-878977   (10am-1pm)   Email:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

All major credit/debit cards accepted.

€20 each or 2 buttons for €35   (over 50% of the proceeds goes directly towards the Ishiara Project).

“FastForm installed several Mecon water-saving buttons over 4 years ago and they are working without a problem ever since”, David Sheehan, CEO, FastForm Research Ltd.

“We installed the water-saving button in our dental clinic recently and it was well received by everyone”  Dr. Gus Papathomas, Williamstown Dental Centre.

The Work Placement Office is responsible for work placement programmes for undergraduates in the School of Business, and places over 150 students annually with employers in Ireland and abroad.

Employers - why take a student?

It is a chance to gain access to high caliber, eager, and ambitious undergraduates with different specialisations: Accounting, Marketing, Human Resources, Economics and Finance, Retail and Management. Work Placement is also an opportunity to develop and sustain strong links between your business and Higher Education.

The WIT Work Placement office also works closely with our Careers Centre for employers who want to attract graduates.

Placement of the students is managed closely with the employers including arranging for CV's, interviews and advice to employers.

 The programmes which include placement options are as follow:

• Bachelor of Business Studies (Hons) Placement period : January - August (15 weeks minimum)
• BA (Honours) in Marketing & Dital Media Placement period : June  - December (15 weeks minimum)
• BSc in Retail Management

If you are interested in the Work Placement programme please complete the

Employer Response Form or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. directly for more details at:

Flexible Semester Office (D18)

School of Business

Waterford Institute of Technology
Cork Road, Waterford.

Tel: +353 51 306153
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Motivational Night for Noah will take place on Saturday, 16th February at the Tower Hotel, Waterford. The night aims to inspire and motivate, leaving you& ready to take on this new year with purpose and drive.

There will be three powerful speakers on the night; Enda O Doherty, inspirational speaker and endurance athlete, Derek McGrath, former manager of Waterford senior hurling team & Bryan Teahan, former special forces operator and high performance coach. Tickets are available online at https://wishtowalk.ie/events-page/ with discounts for group bookings.

All proceeds will go to NOAH'S WISH TO WALK, which you may have already seen getting some attention in the local media this week. Noah is a four year old boy from Waterford City. He has Cerebral Palsy and has been accepted for life changing surgery in the USA to help him to walk. His family are trying to raise €100,000 to help him achieve this dream.

If you cannot attend on the night, or if you would like to find out more about Noah, you can visit the website www.wishtowalk.ie where you can donate online.