Diarmuid MacShane's public updates
November 10th, 2009
H&M added to the “dual pricing rip off” hall of shame
This e-mail came through recently.
I have just returned from a shopping expedition with my wife and 2 daughters in Dublin city centre. My daughters are very fond of H+M and I also found 3 pairs of trousers that I liked. The Sterling price
representing ValueIreland.com
November 9th, 2009
emailtheceo.ie – can you help?
It’s over a month now since I published details of a new initiative here on ValueIreland.com – emailtheceo.ie. This aims to create a listing of e-mail addresses for the CEOs and senior management of Irish companys so that cons
representing ValueIreland.com
November 5th, 2009
Readers E-Mail: Economy is in our hands
This e-mail came in some time ago from a ValueIreland.com reader – soon after the Lisbon ReReferendum. I don’t think I’m giving anything away by letting you know that the writer is the owner of a grocery store – gi
representing ValueIreland.com
November 4th, 2009
How come we still can’t stop “Tiger Kidnappings”? Ability or inclination?
Tiger Kidnappings
Right, before I get into this post, regular readers are probably familiar that I’m quite keen on my conspiracy theories, but I’m not trying to build one in this article.
Having said that, I really really can’t gras
representing ValueIreland.com
November 2nd, 2009
TopTips.ie – Another domain available for a good home
I wrote in October how I had NameAndShame.ie available for a good home. Going through a few things in the last while, I decided that I don’t really need another .ie domain that I have registered.
It’s a couple of years since I
representing ValueIreland.com
October 29th, 2009
Christmas is coming – and the scams warming up
I know, I’m writing about Christmas and it’s only September – I’m sorry. However, I’m not the first and the following definitely should be noted.
I’m going to come back to the issues and dangers of gett
representing ValueIreland.com
October 22nd, 2009
World Cup Play Off Flights Uproar – ignore the grandstanding!
Following a close second in the pointless and non-newsworthy headlines stakes, we saw this beauty last Tuesday “Shameless rip-off as airlines hike Paris football flights to €300”.
If you remember, I wrote yesterday about the number
representing ValueIreland.com
October 21st, 2009
@reverbstudios I got mine through Pixmania - ...
@reverbstudios I got mine through Pixmania - not cheap though, but couldn't find better at time. Think its coming to Ireland first on meteor
sent to Reverb Studios Multimedia & Web Design
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@reverbstudios I have a Hero for the past 2 weeks and I love it so far. Haven't fully set it up to give me full extras, but so far so good.
So would people recommend getting a HTC ....
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So would people recommend getting a HTC ....
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Survey shocker – groceries still more expensive down south!
The shocker is that people are still spending time and money on this kind of survey. This newspaper report on a report in the most recent edition of the Consumers Association of Ireland magazine, Consumer Choice, completely passed me my l
representing ValueIreland.com
October 20th, 2009
Brian Lenihan is an unwitting genius – he’s worked it out!
Karl Whelan, over on IrishEconomy.ie, this week picked up on something said by the Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan TD over the weekend in a radio interview.
I didn’t hear the interview myself, and with regards to the specifics of wh
representing ValueIreland.com
October 19th, 2009
Dublin Bus – Consumer Watch “Bad Value of the Week”
Gareth Naughton gave Dublin Bus his “bad value of the week” dubious award yesterday in the Sunday Tribune. His reasoning is here:
I don’t know about you but I have no desire to subsidise Dublin Bus any more than I alread
representing ValueIreland.com
October 18th, 2009
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-10-18
This looks like a cool job and an interesting move for Eircom – they are looking for a Community Manager http://short.ie/kzrmjy #eircom #
RT @EvertB Enterprise Ireland, spends @ €100m on pay & admin, & €56m on grants
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October 12th, 2009
NameAndShame.ie – Domain available for a good home
It’s a while now since I reserved myself the Irish domain name www.NameAndShame.ie, and it’s due for renewal this coming January.
I never really had a definite plan for the domain and anything I’ve attempted recently jus
representing ValueIreland.com
October 9th, 2009
THAT Ryanair John O’Donoghue newspaper advert
Find this useful? Share with others:
More Related ValueIreland.com Posts:October 5, 2009 -- John O’Donogue and his expenses – I don’t careOctober 1, 2009 -- Ridiculous consumer views a
representing ValueIreland.com
October 8th, 2009
Are you interested in Irish culture? How would you define it?
Did you attend Culture Night anywhere around the country recently? Someone asked me in the last few weeks:
Have you any interest in Irish culture?
I was a little taken aback at the question, but even more taken aback that my own init
representing ValueIreland.com
October 6th, 2009
ValueIreland on CheapEats.ie for Blogger Recommends
Check out CheapEats.ie from yesterday where Peter and Jean kindly invited me to take part in their Blogger Recommends series.
I’ve written about a few of my favourite places to eat, and about something that I think is missing still from
representing ValueIreland.com
October 5th, 2009
John O’Donogue and his expenses – I don’t care
I don’t care about John O’Donoghue’s recent apologies for the size of his expenses since 2004. I don’t care that he regrets running up a bill of €0.5m over a period of time when the other 165 members of the house ran up expenses
representing ValueIreland.com
October 3rd, 2009
Tiger Robberies
> EUR 370,000 recovered after gang takes partner of banker hostage
>
> GARDAI HAVE arrested a man and have recovered EUR 370,000 in cash
> after
> a banker was told via phone in her Dublin workplace that her
representing ValueIreland.com
October 1st, 2009
Ridiculous consumer views about Ryanair
This thread on Pricewatch recently, which I’ve referred to a few times already, is a gold mine of information and absolute stupidity. It’s a “must read” to see the two extremes of opinion when it comes to flying with Ryanair.
You
representing ValueIreland.com
September 29th, 2009
@lecraic Don't forget Mary Harneys words of ...
@lecraic Don't forget Mary Harneys words of wisdom though - shop around. I've recently been quite happy with @fbd_ie
sent to FBD Insurance
representing ValueIreland.com
Political Representation – Comparing Cabinet Ministers vs EU Commissioners
I was struck by this comment earlier this week by Daragh Lally on Twitter-
If you were to take the Irish Government – Senior and Junior Ministers – nearly every county in Ireland is represented. That is, unless you live in Sl
representing ValueIreland.com
September 28th, 2009
emailtheceo.ie – privacy guaranteed
Following on from this mornings post, I thought it worth a mention – if you do send me in the contact details of any CEOs or senior management for any Irish companies, I won’t reveal where I got this information from.
So, if you ha
representing ValueIreland.com
September 22nd, 2009
E-mail the CEO – a new ValueIreland.com consumer resource
I’ve written a couple of posts already about my initiative to create a listing of e-mail addresses for the CEOs and senior management of Irish companys so that consumers can escalate their customer service issues to them when they come
representing ValueIreland.com
September 21st, 2009
Ireland deserves foreign holidays!
A few times over the past couple of weeks (over a few pints mind you), the term entitlement and the Irish race came up.
One particular acquaintance of mine referred again and again to how they view that many (their term, not mine) Irish p
representing ValueIreland.com
September 15th, 2009
E-mailing a company CEO or senior management – a new resource for consumers?
Following on from my post recently about the use, or otherwise, of e-mailing a company CEO or senior management in order to escalate a customer complaint where that companies customer service team are not helping or responding, I thought
representing ValueIreland.com
September 3rd, 2009
I love this campaign slogan from Our Lady’s Children Hospital
Through something at work, I came across this web page and thought the slogan was fantastic – “We can’t build a wing on a prayer”.
It’s the A&E Appeal for Our Lady’s Children Hospital in Crumlin. According to the website:
representing ValueIreland.com
August 28th, 2009
@reverbstudios sounds like a deal to me! ...
@reverbstudios sounds like a deal to me! was thinking of their service plus mifi for the house. already using the bb on the phone
sent to Reverb Studios Multimedia & Web Design
representing ValueIreland.com
August 21st, 2009
Do you know what the Dolceta Project is?
Dolceta is an online consumer education website, or the Development of Online Consumer Education Tools for Adults. According to the website:
Consumer Education is one of the declared objectives of the European Union (EU) [1]. Political st
representing ValueIreland.com
August 19th, 2009
Thrift.ie follow up – suggestions or help welcome
Yesterday I wrote about my proposal for an Irish Consumer Information Aggregator – Thrift.ie.
Remember, if you publish a consumer related website, and if you’re interested in allowing a signpost to your content be included in this new
representing ValueIreland.com
August 18th, 2009
Thrift.ie – An Irish Consumer News & Offers Aggregator?
As I mentioned in my post marking the 6th birthday of ValueIreland.com, the growth in the number of consumer related websites in Ireland in the past couple of years has been phenomenal.
There is a huge amount of information available out
representing ValueIreland.com
August 13th, 2009
i just found out how to get ...
i just found out how to get rich quick ;))) - £65 for this..... ?? http://twurl.nl/37v05x WTF (via @doneganland)
sent to Peter Donegan Landscaping
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@doneganland Unreal! And £20 for postage on ...
@doneganland Unreal! And £20 for postage on top of that as well.
sent to Peter Donegan Landscaping
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B&B – I didn’t use my room, should I have to pay?
Irish News of the World
Sunday May 31st, 2009
Diarmuid MacShane
Question:
I booked a B&B in Kilkenny last weekend for three of us to share a triple room. I booked over the phone and gave my Laser card details to secure the booking.
I
representing ValueIreland.com
August 7th, 2009
NAMA. Some worthwhile reading.
I wrote back in April what my thoughts are with regards to how NAMA might actually be a good thing for some developers.
With the recent publication of the NAMA legislation (actually more like a wish list rather than legislation) by Minist
representing ValueIreland.com
July 23rd, 2009
@fbd_ie Thanks for the link - always ...
@fbd_ie Thanks for the link - always aim to please
sent to FBD Insurance
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July 22nd, 2009
Tips for Cheaper Home Insurance
From our original ValueIreland.com Tips pages, here are some top tips which should help you get cheaper home insurance compared to what you’re paying at the moment. These tips are items that you should consider when either renewing your
representing ValueIreland.com
July 21st, 2009
How to identify a clocked car
A little later than I intended, here is our Value Ireland Top Tips on how you might be able to identify if a second hand car that you might be thinking of buying might be clocked.
Back in July, the NCA prosecuted 3 garages for the “misl
representing ValueIreland.com
July 20th, 2009
How to Complain
We Irish are terrible at complaining. It’s not in our nature. Well, at least complaining directly. Much of the time, we are expecting others to look out for our interests, rather than doing something for ourselves.
Is it possible th
representing ValueIreland.com
July 14th, 2009
Back soon!
I’m taking a few days off, finally. My first holidays of the summer. Over the next few days, instead of the usual content, I’ll republish some of the more popular top tips listing of consumer hints, tips and advice that have b
representing ValueIreland.com
Positive steps towards a national grocery price comparison website?
According to this article in this mornings Irish Times, the National Consumer Agency are in the process of trying to put together “a grocery database containing real-time price information which consumers could use to make accurate
representing ValueIreland.com
July 13th, 2009
What can I do about petrol station changing its prices?
Irish News of the World
Sunday June 14th, 2009
Diarmuid MacShane
Question:
My local petrol station is well known in the area for increasing their prices at certain times during the day when they know they’re going to be busy. Then, in t
representing ValueIreland.com
How to really save money on the “Sales”
Irish News of the World
Sunday June 14th, 2009
Diarmuid MacShane
How to really save money on the “Sales”
Though it seems like every shop has a sale nearly all the time, we’re coming soon to the time of year when we normally see the
representing ValueIreland.com
July 10th, 2009
Deceptive spam - the Irish 419 scam?
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve started to get a huge amount of spam e-mail that when I first saw it, I didn’t actually recognise as spam. Here’s a few examples:
Do i fix my mortgage for 5 years?
What are the best op
representing ValueIreland.com
July 9th, 2009
Watching out for clocked cars
Irish News of the World
June 14th, 2009
Diarmuid MacShane
Watching out for clocked cars
The National Consumer Agency released their 2008 annual report during the week. According to the Chief Executive, Ms. Ann Fitzgerald, one of the bigge
representing ValueIreland.com
Can petrol stations change their prices throughout the day?
I received this e-mail from a ValueIreland.com reader some time ago.
Hi there, came accross your website for the first time today, I was wondering if you might know if something I’ve heard is true? That Petrol Garages can only
representing ValueIreland.com
July 8th, 2009
Make your cash work harder for that rainy day
Irish News of the World
May, 2009
Diarmuid MacShane
Working Cash Hard for Rainy Day
Sometimes these days it’s hard to know whether to laugh or cry. As jobs are lost nearly every day, yet with the end of the Celtic Tiger comes cheaper sh
representing ValueIreland.com
20% off your smellies from PerfumeIreland.com
Here’s a few words from Shane Barron of PerfumeIreland.com explaining the special offers that you can get on your smellies:
www.perfumeireland.com, is the first Irish dedicated site in the marketplace, stocking more than 9,000 beaut
representing ValueIreland.com
July 7th, 2009
Argos - more sterling to euro conversion issues
Following on from this mornings post, here’s another example sent through from a ValueIreland.com reader. Same response applies for this afternoon, but interestingly, you can also see the Argos justification also:
Just another examp
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So when you buy a SIM free ....
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