D Monday, January 25, 2010 Business 17 By Colm Kelpie Cowen predicts growth for 2010 and further cuts Business Bites business@metroherald.ie Business & Finance TRAVEL agent Club Travel is to buy the name of its rival Budget Travel, Irelands largest tour operator, which collapsed before Christmas. Club Travel managing director Liam Lonergan said: Budget is a wonderful brand and we are looking forward to offering great value holidays to Budget customers. THE Irish Exporters Association has called for a no strike rule for air traffic controllers, saying the flow of goods is vital to Irelands economic survival. It follows last weeks industrial action that disrupted flights for 20,000 passengers. The IEA wants Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey to introduce the clause into the controllers terms of employment. IEA chief executive John Whelan said that every day we export approximately 215million of goods by air, much of which is temperature-controlled, time-sensitive pharmaceuticals. The news comes as BA cabin staff are due to vote on strike action in a bitter row over pay. Strike ban call for air traffic staff CURTAIN CALL: Niamh McCann, age 14, from Malahide, at the Mucros Weavers exhibit at the Showcase Ireland Creative Expo, which runs until Wednesday at the RDS Picture: Robbie Reynolds FURTHER cuts to the States fi- nances will be necessary despite predictions that the economy is set to return to growth in the second half of this year, Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said. Speaking on RTs This Week programme, Mr Cowen said Theres still a long way to go, but I think 2010 and 2011 is about re- building the economy. The Taoiseach said that while last year was spent working to get the public finances under control, it would be necessary to make further cuts to maintain stability in the states finances. He warned that the structural defi- cit meant that there was still a gap between tax receipts and expendi- ture. That means further cuts are provided for next year and in the following year. He said the 10.5 per cent reduc- tion in GDP last year was unprece- dented. Weve come through a very difficult period and now what Ireland has to do is reposition it- self, he said. Were very conscious of the fact that weve had to take some deci- sions which, in normal circum- stances, you wouldnt have to con- template. But I think there is a growing understanding that they were necessary, he said. What we showed in the Budget was that by taking 4billion out of expenditure we were indicating that what we said wed do, was in fact what we did. The Taoiseach said the economy will return to growth towards the second half of this year as a result of the fiscal measures taken by the Government. Cowen: Growth return LOW-paid workers face wage cuts under Government plans to allow employers in the hotel, catering and retail sectors to claim an inability to pay the minimum wage of 8.65 per hour. According to reports, Dara Calleary, the junior minister for labour will include the provision in the Industrial Relations Amendment Bill 2009 to go before the Dil, in plans that have angered trade unions. THE gap in energy prices between Ireland and EU is closing, a Sustainable Energy Ireland report has shown. Gas and electricity prices to Irish firms fell by 15 per cent in the first half of 2009 from the second half of 2008, compared to an EU increase of 2.2 per cent. Medium- sized firms paid 38 per cent more for electricity than the EU average in the second half of 2008 and 15 per cent more in 2009. RYANAIR has claimed victory over screenscrapers in Germany after a court ruled that reselling its flights is unlawful. German website Vtours has been banned from screenscraping the airlines website copying the flight information from the screen and reselling the tickets to consumers, with additional charges. The ruling against overcharging ticket-touts is a milestone achievement, said the airlines Stephen McNamara. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html