Dundalk IT received almost €20m in funding last year

Dundalk IT received almost €20 million in funding for the Higher Education Authority last year.

The figure was revealed following a parliamentary question from Deputy John Halligan TD to the Minister for Education and Skills Jan O’Sullivan.

She revealed that €19,981,757 in funding went to Dundalk IT last year. UCD received the most at €113.8m, followed by Trinity College, which received €89.5m.

Dublin IT received the most for an IT at €84.4m, with Cork IT, Waterford IT, Sligo IT, Limerick IT and Galway-Mayo IT amongst the ITs to receive more than Dundalk.

Carlingford to feature in popular Dutch travel series

Carlingford is set to feature in a new series on one of the Netherlands’ most popular travel TV shows, in what will hopefully be a major tourism boost for the area.

3 OP Reis (which means ‘Channel 3 Travels’), visited Ireland this week. Invited here by Tourism Ireland in Amsterdam, the crew filmed some of the many unique and wonderful experiences on offer here for Dutch holidaymakers.

Footage captured here will air this autumn to more than 800,000 people in Holland who have a passion for travel and adventure, on BNN (Bart’s Neverending Network), one of the main Dutch TV channels targeting a young audience.

The 30-minute episode will feature the Carlingford Heritage Centre, as well as Newgrange in Co Meath. In Dublin, the crew captured footage at places like Trinity College, Dublin Castle, St Patrick’s Cathedral, the Dublin Whiskey Club in the Liberties and in Temple Bar. The crew also filmed at Na Fianna GAA Club in Glasnevin, where they tried their hand at hurling; and also took a cruise across Dublin Bay to Howth, where they enjoyed the cliff walk. Their itinerary was designed by Fáilte Ireland.

Karen van der Horst, Tourism Ireland’s manager for the Netherlands, said: “We are delighted that this popular travel show agreed to film in Ireland, showcasing some of the great experiences Dutch holidaymakers can enjoy here. Lifestyle programmes such as this are an excellent way for Tourism Ireland to get positive exposure for Ireland in the Netherlands. The footage filmed here will be seen by more than 800,000 Dutch holidaymakers – encouraging them to come and sample the destination for themselves.”

This was the second television crew invited here by Tourism Ireland in the Netherlands this month – the other was Pluijm’s Eetbare Wereld (Pluijm’s Edible World) – to capture footage for programmes which will be seen by a combined Dutch audience of more than one million people.

Dundalk IT graduates struggling to find work in digital media sector

DUNDALK IT graduates are the least likely to end up in working in digital media, according to a new survey.

The survey of hiring among ecommerce companies found that, in the past 12 months just 2% of those in the sector had attended college in Dundalk.

UCD was the most successful third level college in the survey at 16%, closely followed by DIT (13%), DCU (12%), UCC (12%), Trinity College (12%) and Dublin Business School (9%).

The survey was conducted by digital media recruitment specialists Prosperity and is somewhat worrying for local graduates considering major digital companies such as eBay and PayPal have setup in close proximity to Dundalk IT in recent times.