D Thursday, October 8, 2009 METRO Information correct as 1st October 09. 80% of Small Business accounts from 1st September 08 to 30th August 09. 75 off offer applies to eircom talktime for business orders accepted before 27th November 09. Terms and conditions apply and are available at www.eircom.ie/telecommunications_scheme. Price quoted ex VAT. More and more small businesses are switching back to eircom With a dedicated business service centre for all our customers, nobody offers better customer service than eircom. Perhaps thats why so many small businesses end up switching back to Irelands leading phone and broadband provider. In fact, in the last year 80% of small businesses who left eircom switched back. For real value and great service, call us today... Switch now and get 75 OFF your bill business broadband voice mobile data online solutions Call 1800 24 54 40 Angel Dahouk from the British Poetry Society relaxes on a giant knitted poem. The Dylan Thomas poem, created by 1,000 people knitting a square each, has been unveiled to help the society celebrate its centenary year Picture: PA sew poetic... Getting to art of the matter in alleged $28m theft TWO men who claim thieves broke into their rental home in a ritzy Californian coastal enclave and made off with millions of dollars worth of art have been named as suspects in the case. Authorities in Monterey said Benjamin Amadio and Dr Ralph Kennaugh may be involved in a criminal enterprise and that other scenarios were being investigated. Police said the two men were not cooperating with investigators and were unable to produce proof that the artworks even existed, let alone that they were stolen. Amadio, 31, has denied the allegations, saying: Were dumbfounded by what the sheriff said. Why would anyone in their right mind make this up? The men reported the alleged theft on September 25. They said works worth $27.5million (18million) by Jackson Pollock, Rembrandt and Van Gogh were stolen. Noisy: a sporty little number Convertibles harm hearing ROARING along the open road in a convertible with the top down may be a thrill but it could leave you deaf. A study has found that the combined noise of the wheels, engine, wind and other traffic can be enough to cause serious hearing loss. UK scientists discovered that motorists were consistently exposed to between 88 and 90 decibels of noise, reaching a peak of 99 decibels. Long or repeated exposure to sounds over 85 decibels is widely recognised to cause permanent hearing loss. By colm kelPie tax on beer nine times eU averageIRELAND has the fourth highest excise duty on beer in Europe, according to new figures. A report found the tax was nine times the EU average, with the Government pulling in 427million last year. But despite the costs, the study by in- ternational consultants Ernst & Young found Ireland was the third highest ex- porter of home-brewed beer. Dermot Quinn, Industrial, Commercial and Technology Partner with Ernst & Young, warned against any possible fur- ther increases to the tax. This report proves that Irelands beer sector remains a key component of our export economy and the Government needs to ensure that their future approach to taxation policy does not further nega- tively impact an industry already heavily burdened by taxation, he said. The continent-wide report carried out on behalf of the Brewers of Europe lobby group found that only the UK, Finland and Norway had higher excise duties than Ireland. Ireland is the third biggest exporter of domestically produced beer behind the Netherlands and Belgium. However, the study found that produc- tion had dropped in recent years to 8.846million hectolitres in 2008 from 9.377 and 9.270million hectolitres in 2006 and 2007 respectively. The report concluded that a greater number of Irish drinkers prefer a tipple in the pub compared with other Europe- ans. Just under a third of people buy al- cohol in supermarkets or off-licences to drink at home here, compared with al- most two-thirds across Europe. But the study found the smoking ban dented the hospitality sector, with hotels and pubs recording a four per cent drop in sales since 2007 while off-licences and shops have seen an eight per cent rise. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html