Jim Murphy - PREM Group’s Managing Director

I have been critical in the past of the Irish Governments response to the current credit crises. Yet, given the decline in Banking stocks yesterday, I can only commend the action taken overnight to guarantee deposits, senior debt ,etc. which has had the effect of restoring some confidence in the Irish Banking sector.  The following is the text outlining the Governments action on this matter. “The Government has decided to put in place with immediate effect a guarantee arrangement to safeguard all deposits (retail, commercial, institutional and interbank), covered bonds, senior debt and dated subordinated debt (lower tier II), with the following banks: Allied Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, Anglo Irish Bank, Irish Life and Permanent, Irish Nationwide Building Society and the Educational Building Society and such specific subsidiaries as may be approved by Government following consultation with the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator. It has done so following advice from the Governor of the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator about the impact of the recent international market turmoil on the Irish Banking system. The guarantee is being provided at a charge to the institutions concerned and will be subject to specific terms and conditions so that the taxpayers’ interest can be protected. The guarantee will cover all existing aforementioned facilities with these institutions and any new such facilities issued from midnight on 29 September 2008, and will expire at midnight on 28 September 2010. The decision has been taken by Government to remove any uncertainty on the part of counterparties and customers of the six credit institutions. The Government’s objective in taking this decisive action is to maintain financial stability for the benefit of depositors and businesses and is in the best interests of the Irish economy.The Financial Regulator has advised that all the financial institutions in Ireland will continue to be subject to normal ongoing regulatory requirements.This very important initiative by the Government is designed to safeguard the Irish financial system and to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy caused by the recent turmoil in the international financial markets.”

Over the last few years one of our Sales and Marketing managers ,Therese Mullane and her husband Andrew have been working on adopting a baby from Vietnam . All of us in the PREM head office have been following this story and were delighted to get the news on the 19th of September that Therese and Andrew had got the call to travel to Hanoi . Through our contacts in Intercontinental Hotel Group we were able to get them accommodation in the Intercontinental Hanoi and all we asked them to do was to keep us up to date on how they were getting on . The following are extracts from Therese’s regular email updates which are so uplifting and heartwarming that I thought that they were worth sharing . With all the doom and gloom in the world at the moment maybe we should take time to reflect on what really is important in all our lives . 

“News at last 19/09/2008 

We finally got our call Friday afternoon to say the Vietnamese authorities have finished compiling our paperwork & we have to be in Vietnam by Monday 22nd September !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday afternoon was hectic trying to book flights, contact hotel etc. Flights have been confirmed & we are departing Dublin Sunday 21st September (next weekend) for Hanoi.

Arrival in Hanoi 22/09/2008

As you are aware they had advised notice could be as little as a week & in our case they weren’t messing : ) We have waited 4.5 years for this & now we have a week its going to be hectic but great.

Just to let you know we have arrived in Hanoi : ) Its very hot, 7.20pm & still 30 degrees !

The hotel is amazing we are being treated like royalty, we organised transfer from the airport via the hotel & rather than standard minibus they sent a chauffeur driven Mercedes. Upon arrival we were greeted at the front door & whisked straight to our room (no checking in with the riff raff for us : )) which is beautiful,  overlooks the West Lake & Hanoi City Centre.

Thanks again all of you for your help & support, now we are here & I have time to think (first time since we got the call to travel a week ago) I realise how much everyone has done for us & how good / supportive you have all been.

We finally met our daughter 25/09/2008

The agency contacted us today & have confirmed we are being collected 7am Thursday morning (12pm Wednesday night Irish time) for our first visit to Hana, its approx 2 hours away. I promise to let you all know how that goes, please god that day they will be able to tell us the dates for visits after & also the official Giving & Receiving date & they wont be too far away. 

We finally met Hana this morning, I didn’t sleep a wink last night my stomach was sick with excitement, worry, stress you name it I have felt it last night & since we got the call to come & get her.

We need not have worried she is obviously so well cared for & spent the time with us giggling, laughing & chewing (she has two bottom teeth which she loves to show off when smiling :)) & then for the last few minutes fell fast asleep in Daddy’s arms. She has not changed too much since her photo, big brown eyes, lovely chubby cheeks & a load of spiky black hair.

We are going back again tomorrow morning to spend more time with her & there is a possibility we will have the G&R ceremony early next week. Then a few weeks of getting used to each other before we head on the long journey home.

I thought leaving her would be awful but it wasn’t we were so relieved she was so well & they have done such a good job looking after her for us for the last 7.5 months we are the ones who have not got a clue !!!! We went shopping yesterday for bottles, buggy, nappies etc etc, it was a scene we hadn’t a clue & doubled with the language barrier you can imagine how long it took us but we eventually got there. At one stage Andrew was trying to fold / unfold the buggy & had an audience of about six girls watching him

Anyway as promised some photos of the long awaited little lady herself

Take care all & when were home & settled you will all get to meet her in person.

Therese”

There was a sharp downturn in the numbers of British, other Europeans and Americans coming to Ireland in the peak tourist month of July, the latest data from the CSO shows.Trips to Ireland by residents of Great Britain fell the most at just over 17pc to 341,800, followed by

North America, down 6.1pc to 137,100 and those from Other Europe falling marginally to 311,600.

Overall, trips to Ireland fell by 8.1pc to 835,300 in July 2008 compared with July 2007, the CSO said.

A total of 4,537,000 trips have been taken to Ireland so far in 2008 which was just slightly more than the same period in 2007. This contrasts with a growth of just over 4pc in 2007 from 2006.

While the number of trips from Other Europe and Other Areas maintained some growth, this was somewhat offset by a fall off in the number of trips by residents of Great Britain and North America.

Overseas trips by Irish residents increased by just under 6pc to 856,400 in July 2008 compared with July 2007. This brings to 4,669,700 the number of overseas trips so far in 2008, which grew by 5.4pc from the same period in 2007. However, the rate of growth has declined from the 12.2pc growth rate between the corresponding periods in 2006 and 2007

A successful business Career that has emphasized partnership  September 4, 2008: New York, NY:The Ireland U.S. Council will present its Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2008 to Patrick Kelly for the remarkable business success he has achieved and the creditable work he has done in building the business relationships between American and Ireland. The awards will be the centrepiece of the Council’s 46^th Annual Dinner to be held at the Metropolitan Club in New York City on Thursday November 6, 2008. Michael J Gibbons, the President of the Council in New Yorksaid “The members and Directors of the Council are very pleased to formally recognize the extraordinary achievements of Paddy Kelly whose business interests have shaped a unique two-directional flow of investment ventures across the Atlantic between the United States and the Emerald Isle.” Mr Kelly’s privately-held family investment corporation is pivotal in over $2 billion in development projects either completed or underway in the United States. His Redquartz Development is a principal investor with Dublin-based Boundary Capital, in structuring RQB Partners, the Ireland-based consortium that purchased and is expanding the TPC Sawgrass Marriott development complex in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The property has over 500 rooms and will develop a new club wing, and has entitlement for 500 additional condo units. In Sarasota, also in the Sunshine State, Kelly is the prime mover in a major redevelopment project in the city’s waterfront area that will involve the building of 1.5 million square feet of hotel, offices, residential and retail space. Brian J Goggin, President of the Council’s Chapter in Ireland noted “We are so pleased to recognize the great contribution that Paddy Kelly has made to building investment flows in both directions across the Atlantic. His business deals have seen a major expansion of U.S. hospitality franchises entering Ireland. He is the main shareholder in PREM Group, which has 2,531 rooms and 464 apartments in Ireland, UK and Europe” Mr Goggin added “In addition to a major presence in the Irish real estate market Paddy Kelly’s four decades of consistent and successful investing have been characterized by his notable philosophy of partnership as a way to access expertise and resources and, at the same time, reduce the risk profile of projects. In building relationships in the United States, in Ireland and in other places around the world, such as Russia and Italy, he has moulded partnerships, consortiums and joint ventures that have brought him great success and generated ambitious and highly-regarded real estate developments.” Paddy Kelly lives in Dublin with his wife Maureen. They have four children and six grandchildren. The Ireland-U.S. Council was founded in 1963 by American and Irish business leaders. Its principal objective is to encourage closer business links between Ireland and the United States. The Council operates a variety of scholarship and internships programs, stages lectures, seminars and hosts frequent events in Ireland and in America aimed at building communications between business and political leaders on both sides of the Atlantic.

On behalf of all in PREM Group I want to congratulate Paddy on achieving this award . Paddy ,apart from been a major shareholder in PREM Group ,has been a source of inspiration to all of us since we met first back in 1995 . His  infectious enthusiasm and energy has created the platform for everything we have achieved in PREM Group . This award could not have been given to a more worthy person , we all value his friendship and continued support .

PREM GROUP Golf Society held its third annual charity golf outing in aid of BEYOND THE MOON at Tulfarris Golf Club, Blessington, County Wicklow on Friday August 29^th and a really fun and enjoyable day was had by all that participated, bearing in mind the poor summer that we have had, the day itself was thankfully dry with even some sunny periods. PREM GROUP Golf Society is close to its objective of raising € 8,000 for BEYOND THE MOON which is enough to send two families with sick children on a once in a lifetime vacation experience. We had 70 golfers that participated in this event and special thanks goes to Paddy Kelly, Vanessa Murphy and all the team at Tulfarris for the use of the course and the courtesy extended to all that played on the day and also for the meal afterwards.  We would also like to thank all our suppliers that donated prizes for the prize giving and to all our suppliers and clients that played on the day. Jim Murphy made the after dinner speech on behalf of PREM Group & BEYOND THE MOON & Peter Flood, Secretary of PREM Group Golf Society presented the prizes. The winners of prizes were as follows: 1^st) LENFESTY & CO AKA “ The Dream Team”  (winning for the second year in succession) 2^nd) PREM GROUP (Phil Sweeney) 3^rd) REDQUARTZ LTD Nearest the Pin (Ladies) : Mary Louise Colbert  Nearest the Pin (Men):      Colm Connolly Longest Drive (Ladies):      Vanessa Murphy Longest Drive (Men):          Brian Mc Kee 

Plans are already afoot for the 2009 Charity Outing.

For more information on Beyond the Moon visit www.beyondthemoon.com

Those of us from Ireland who have been travelling to Belgium over the last few years have fund the tradition of kissing, as part of the greeting ,a little difficult to understand . It is a tradition that we Irish are unaccustomed with and always makes us a little uncomfortable . I can across the following bit of advise on the travel site www.use-it.be (see  previous BLOG  “Flanders is hip”).

The instructions on kissing are particularly fun. “One kiss is for friends, three kisses are for birthdays, for New Year and for old grannies you hardly ever see. Two kisses: never. We never kiss someone we’ve never seen before, but it’s quite normal to kiss the girls after just one night out.” So now you know!

I don’t think this helps ,I occasionally get three kisses ,does that make me an old grandad ! Maybe our friends in Belgium can help .

  Something strange happened in Brussels this summer. The weather was awful, one grey day after another – but the city’s youth hostels were constantly full. It seems as if Brussels, once considered a dull bureaucratic city, has suddenly become one of Europe’s hip destinations. And it’s not just Brussels. Other Flemish cities are increasing popular with young travellers as well. They come for the summer festivals, the cafes and the laid-back nightlife. Forget Barcelona or Berlin. This is the place to be. It helps that young people can pick up free city maps that point them in the direction of the fun. They are produced by the alternative tourism organisation Use-It and left lying around the places where backpackers are likely to pass, like bars and music venues and record shops. The maps are crammed with just the sort of information that 20-something travellers need, such as locations of internet cafes, launderettes and bike rentals. They also pinpoint interesting shops, offbeat sights and places where you can pick up cheap food. Throw in the odd picnic spot, beautiful tree or odd urban detail and you have a complete city guide. 

The maps are accompanied by quirky descriptions of various locations and funny snippets of local gossip. On the Ghent map, one Use-It contributor notes, “Ghent will never be a snobby place because the fancy ladies break their high heels on the cobblestones.”

To get your free guides visit www.use-it.be

PREM Group have great hotels ,offering great deals in all the cities mentioned above . For more information see www.premgroup.com

 Stamp duty is to be suspended on sales of houses worth 175,000 or less in Britain in an effort to revive the housing market there.In the mean time in Ireland the Irish Government are conspicuous by there silence and business confidence continues to slide . In these times we need leadership and a Government that is innovative and proactive ,yet all we are getting from our Minister of Finance is silence . There is talk that the Irish Government are going to make an announcement on the state of the economy this month . It better be good as the have lost a lot of momentum ,they would be wise to take there lead from what is happening in the States and the quick response there to the economic crisis .

In the meantime the following is a summary of what was announced in the UK yesterday ,at least someone is making an effort .

The suspension will last for a year from tomorrow, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling announced this morning.

The change raises the threshold on which 1pc stamp duty is paid from its current level of 125,000.

The move will save eligible buyers up to 1,750 when they buy a home.

In a separate announcement, the UK government is to spend 200m to pay off mortgage arrears of “decent” families who have fallen into mortgage arrears and a further 100 million to pay their mortgage interest.

Under the terms of the initiative, a housing association will step in to clear the mortgage debt of homeowners hit by unsustainable mortgage bills or sudden unemployment.

The occupiers will then pay rent at an affordable level to the housing association.

Alternatively, the social landlord would buy a share in the threatened home - allowing some of the mortgage to be paid off - or provide a bridging loan to allow payments to be reduced. The intention is to help tens of thousands of homeowners, provided they have not “acted recklessly or irresponsibly”. There is also to be an expanded shared equity scheme for potential first-time buyers and a big boost in funding for affordable housing. The entire series of measures unveiled today is expected to cost about 1 billion.

The management of Days Hotel Galway produce a very informative newsletter every few months called ” The Galway Grapevine “. This newsletter is a very important communication tool in a hotel with 336 rooms and suites .The current addition is just out and I thought the following excerpts were worth sharing  ;

from Siobhan Burke General Manager

“Overall, we had a busy July and August which is a good complaint for us to have considering the way the economy has turned over the past number of months. We fed and looked after approximately 16,200 adults and 1,700 children during the month of July, an average of 580 per night! So far for August we have looked after 16,700 guests, on average 670 per night. It will give you an idea of how many eggs were cooked for breakfast!!!! “

and from Philip Hogan Head Chef ;

“we have been very lucky this summer to be as busy as we have been; we have certainly worked our way through plenty of supplies.

To give you an idea of the amount of food we go through in a week, Potatoes 950kg, vegetables 600kg & chicken’s 1000 – to put that in context – an average man weighs 80kg so that would make the equivalent of 11.8 men in potatoes & 7.5 men in vegetables (i.e. a football team in potatoes and volleyball team in vegetables!!).”

Despite the huge numbers that stay in the Days Hotel Galway every night the management and staff run this hotel with understated efficiency and style . They manage to give every customer a sense that they are staying in a much smaller property than they actually are .