NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 26 March
26-03-2009
by Bryan Collins
PayPal creates 35 jobs in Dublin | No data destruction policy in half of firms
PayPal is to open a European Centre for Operational Excellence and create 35 highly-skilled jobs in Dublin. The online payments services provider is investing more than EUR15 million in its centre in Blanchardstown, where it currently employs around 900 staff. The investment comes following support from IDA Ireland under its Research, Development and Innovation programme. PayPal has also designated the area as its first regional centre of excellence and a model for international operations. "Ireland will continue to invest heavily in education to ensure a supply of skilled, multilingual graduates in order to assist companies, such as PayPal, to develop and grow their businesses here," said the Taoiseach Brian Cowen.
The Irish Computer Society's Privacy Forum has revealed that 94.2 percent of Irish organisations store personal data, while 57.7 percent transfer data to external organisations or individuals. Despite these figures, over half (50.7 percent) of respondents said they do not have a formal data retention or destruction policy. The society revealed the figures in advance of the ICS Data Protection Conference, which will be held in the Hilton Hotel in Dublin on 2 April. When it comes to data breaches, just over three out of ten (31.6 percent) respondents said they have a formal data breach policy; 33.8 percent said they have an informal policy; 14.3 percent of respondents aren't sure if there is a data breach policy in place at their firm; and 20.3 percent said they do not have any data breach policy.
The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dermot Ahern, has said the electronic monitoring of high-risk sex offenders is being considered. Minister Ahern was speaking at a Forum on the Management of Sex Offenders in Dublin and told those present that government officials were examining the legislative and administrative implications of electronically monitoring high-risk sex offenders after their release from imprisonment. "New statutory powers will be given to the Gardai and the Probation Service to carry out this task and to more effectively and efficiently monitor released sex offenders. This may involve electronic monitoring," said Minister Ahern.
Broadband provider Digiweb has launched an enhanced national satellite broadband service. Digiweb claims its Tooway service is four times faster than current satellite broadband offerings, and says the service will reach the parts of Ireland not covered by the National Broadband Scheme. The broadband provider has partnered with European teleport operator Skylogic to deliver this service.
The National Biophotonics and Imaging Platform Ireland (NBIP Ireland) officially launched on Thursday in the Royal College of Surgeons. The organisation, which has received EUR30 million from the Higher Education Authority (HEA), will help the industry collaborate on Ireland's investment into scientific research about the inner workings of cells and tissues in living organisms. There are currently over 150 Irish researchers working within the programme. "NBIP Ireland will enable post-doctoral and post-graduate researchers to develop their career prospects and become independent investigators and senior scientists in academia or industry," said Dr Jimmy Devins, Minister of State for Science, Technology and Innovation.
The EU has launched a special web portal aimed at making cross-border business easier. The 'Your Europe – Business' portal has been established as part of the implementation of the Small Business Act and gives entrepreneurs access to information on doing business in other EU Member States. It also offers direct access to e-government services, such as VAT refund procedures, and gives companies a run-down of the business support services in various countries. "This initiative is another step to make life easier for SMEs and to help them to do business in other Member States. The single market is too big an asset for European businesses to waste opportunities due to a lack of information," said European Commission Vice-President Gunter Verheugen. 'Your Europe – Business' is available at http://europa.eu/youreurope/business.
Sword Ciboodle has won a contract to supply VHI Healthcare with a CRM solution. The business software provider has already rolled out the first phase of the project in VHI contact centres in Kilkenny and Donegal. The solution provides staff with information about VHI members, such as their payments history or when they last contacted the healthcare provider. Sword Ciboodle said further phased deployments in 2009 could see the addition of features including computer telephony integration, e-mail blending, cross-selling and up-selling, and campaign management. Financial details of the agreement were not released.
A new website has been launched to help homeowners and estate agents find building energy rating (BER) assessors. BerCert.com allows homeowners and estate agents to make online requests for quotes from over 300 Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) registered BER assessors. The website follows legislation which came into effect 1 January 2009 making it compulsory for all property owners seeking to sell or rent their property to have a BER Certificate. "It saves homeowners the laborious task of having to trawl various internet sites and phone directories to locate assessors and check their credentials," said Gerard Brady, co-founder of BerCert.com. Homeowners can use the service for free and BER assessors can register online at www.bercert.com.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 