Opposition to IAG’s potential takeover of Aer Lingus is growing, with a host of business, political, and academic commentators calling on the Government to use its stake in the carrier to block the advances.

In this Small Business Show special, Limerick Chamber of Commerce economist Orlaith Borthwick looks at our main shopping streets and says elasticity is the key to getting consumers shopping again.

Orlaith Borthwick, economist at Limerick Chamber of Commerce, talks with Kehlan about the commercial rates revaluation going on across the country.

Kehlan Kirwan looks at plans for a new system of fees for tobacco retailers and asks why many small businesses feel there is still a gap between the Government’s talk on SMEs and its policies.

Limerick is preparing for a tasty €10m economic French dressing as thousands of Toulouse supporters throng the city today in advance of the Heineken Cup quarter-final clash with Munster in Thomond Park tomorrow.

As Limerick city centre stands on the cusp of massive transformation through major initiatives by the Limerick City/County Council and the University of Limerick, three businesswomen who steered commercial ventures for decades amid great challenges, are now looking forward to exciting times in the projected new capital of the Mid-West.

AN awards ceremony in Limerick. A newspaper apology in the US. The Gettysburg Address. This weekend crafted an odd connection between the three.

Marks and Spencer will open a new flagship store in Co Limerick and will overhaul its Grafton St store in Dublin following a review of its Irish operations.

As one plan to transform Limerick City got its baptism yesterday, another framework with a vision for the Shannon Estuary gave birth to its first big investment at the port of Foynes.

A forecast of cold weather over the next few days combined with the potential impact of the budget on spending has sent a chill through retailers across the county.

Judge Olann Kelleher’s pronouncements on the commercial rates system in Cork have struck a chord with business owners across Munster.

The news that former US president Bill Clinton will visit Limerick to present third-level scholarships has been hailed as “a god-send” to the Mid-West.

A planned rebranding of Limerick will change the image of the city, business leaders were told yesterday.

Limerick Institute of Technology has unveiled two major funding initiatives to help companies get off the ground.

Major decisions will be taken by Easter to change the fortunes of troubled Shannon Airport, Transport Minister Leo Varadkar pledged yesterday.

Limerick publicans have their fingers crossed that they are not facing into another Good Friday drink court battle with the huge Munster versus Ulster Heineken Cup quarter-final set for the Easter weekend at Thomond Park.

AGENCIES responsible for promoting Limerick have been accused of falling down on the job after it emerged that the city was virtually non-existent for industrialists and tourists searching for it on Google Maps.

LIMERICK Institute of Technology (LIT) is finalising plans for the biggest ever business exhibition and seminar to be held outside of Dublin.

A MOVE to develop a “ghost” shopping site in a Limerick suburb is causing fears it may further erode city centre retailing.

A FIRM that develops computer programmes to help children with learning difficulties has secured a €50,000 investment by taking top prize at an awards ceremony.

ALMOST 29 months to the day since “Black Thursday” heralded 1,900 job losses at Dell’s Limerick facility, a spring returned to the city step yesterday with the jobs announcement from the US computer giant.

A FORUM has been formed to stem thefts from shops and to fight other city-centre crime in Limerick.

THE president of the Limerick Chamber of Commerce Kieran MacSweeney received a pay-off of $460,301 (€347,660) on stepping down as managing director of a Shannon-based IT firm last year.

A LIMERICK company which installed the floodlighting at Thomond Park and the new greyhound stadium in the city has gone into liquidation with the loss of 50 jobs.

LIMERICK will stagnate and face prolonged decline if the recommendations of Denis Brosnan’s report on the future running of the city are not implemented, Limerick Chamber of Commerce has warned.

THE so-called heavy hand of a local authority is proving too much for a businessman running one of Limerick’s smallest shops.

ENTREPRENEURIAL activity is expected to “flourish” across the mid-west region in the coming years, but up to 80% of start-up companies will fail within their first five years of trading, unless they have the right experience mix, it has been warned.

LIMERICK Chamber of Commerce yesterday accused the city council of turning a blind eye to a big decline in city centre business.

MOVES are under way to find a compromise between councillors and city hall management over proposals to provide a dedicated bus lane on Limerick’s busiest city route.

RESIDENTS opposed to a new bus lane being developed on a key Limerick city route are expected to pack a specially convened meeting of Limerick City Council this afternoon, when a vote will be taken.

Debate rages as pubs make legal history by serving drink on Good Friday.

ONE of the biggest challenges facing business in the mid-west is reviving the flagging competitiveness of Limerick city centre. A number of major developments including the Opera Centre are on hold due to the recession.

LIMERICK publicans will meet today to decide on their legal strategy to get court permission to open on Good Friday for the big Munster v Leinster Magners League game at Thomond Park.

FORMER rugby great and Limerick publican Peter Clohessy has added his weight to a growing campaign to reschedule the Munster versus Leinster Magners League game in Thomond Park from Good Friday when all pubs are closed.

IT’S the most mouth-watering fixture of the domestic rugby calendar — but the forthcoming clash of Munster and Leinster in the Magners League will be a dry affair after it was switched to Good Friday.

MULTI-STOREY car parks in Limerick cost less than those in Cork and Galway, according to a survey carried out by the Limerick Chamber of Commerce.

AS MUNSTER squeezed past Northampton last night in Thomond Park, the business community in Limerick were toasting a €10m bonanza to lift the New Year blues.

GIOVANNI Trapattoni is the toast of Limerick, even before a ball is kicked at Thomond Park where the Republic of Ireland this evening take on Australia in a friendly soccer international.

THE decision to defer the International Rules Series looks set to cost the Limerick economy €10 million.

THE 370 jobs lost at Element 6 are to follow an overseas route just as the 2,000 wiped out at Dell.

A SOLE objector has succeeded in halting a massive €40 million commercial and retail development in Limerick city centre which would have given work to 600 people.

FEARS of a Dell backlash against Polish people living in Limerick were voiced yesterday.