A Waterford city trader said yesterday he had laid off nine of his 24 staff after CIÉ Tours International instructed drivers to boycott his business.

Former West Cork residence of Anthony O’Reilly overlooking Glandore is on the money, says Tommy Barker.

Winterval kickedoff the festive season last night when Santa delivered a giant ice block to artists at Waterford Crystal, who will transform it into a set of seasonal sculptures.

A fund to help unemployed workers in the Limerick town of Rathkeale get back to work has crossed its first hurdle, with members of the European Parliament giving it their support. 

IT MAY be the country’s oldest city — celebrating its 1,100th birthday this year — but as a tourist destination Waterford city has, perhaps unfairly, suffered from a perception as the poor cousin of the likes of Dublin and Cork.

Plans to turn Spike Island into an Alcatraz-style attraction would certainly prove a magnet for Irish-Americans, according to US sailors who visited the historic site yesterday.

The Taoiseach said he was “annoyed” by top-up payments made to senior hospital management over and above agreed salary scales.

Children as well as adults could soon be seeing some of the country’s biggest attractions in a new light — as they become the settings for interactive treasure hunts.

Waterford City Council will spend €2.2m to buy 11 houses it was informed were worth considerably less than half that amount.

A European court hearing next week in relation to 10 former Waterford Crystal workers could secure them €2.6m in pension entitlements — and many millions more for thousands of other Irish workers.

DUBLIN has one, Cork has one, Limerick and Belfast have their own — now Waterford can be added to the list.

AS The Final Countdown blared around the call centre, staff at Talk Talk in Waterford yesterday gathered in huddles, chatting, reminiscing and looking towards an uncertain future.

WHY is Fine Gael being criticised for removing the Dáil pairing arrangement?

WATERFORD City Council is considering a planning application for a major factory outlet centre that could create up to 500 jobs at a former pitch and putt course on the Cork Road in the city.

UP to 220 people could yet be employed at the €25 million House of Waterford Crystal visitor and manufacturing centre which was officially opened yesterday.

MEMBERS of the UNITE trade union at Waterford Crystal have been asked to attend a meeting this weekend to be briefed by their union officials on more developments regarding the company’s sale.

THERE is strong hope that some of the 480 staff let go by Waterford Wedgwood when the luxury tableware goods company went into receivership in January will be saved.

Up to 120,000 people marched through Dublin today in an emotional and angry national demonstration over the Government’s handling of the economic crisis.

BRIAN COWEN’S passionate call for national unity in the face of economic turmoil drew strong reaction last night.

Thousands of people are expected to attend a public rally today to protest against jobs cuts at Waterford Crystal.

Workers from Waterford Crystal have mounted a demonstration outside the Dublin offices of the receiver overseeing the company's business.

I COMMEND the workers who staged the sit-in at Waterford Crystal. Workers’ pensions won’t be paid, yet the big bosses get their severance packages.

Workers at Waterford Crystal are supporting a bid for the company made by Clarion Capital.

China and crystal maker Waterford Wedgwood has received a “substantial” rescue bid from a US private equity firm, it was reported today.

Hundreds of workers are set to spend a fourth day occupying the Waterford Crystal factory in the hope that a bid from a second US-based consortium could save hundreds of jobs.

Manufacturing at the flagship Waterford Crystal plant in Kilbarry, Co Waterford is to cease, it has been confirmed today.

Almost 600 jobs are to be slashed as Dublin Bus and a leading car components firm today announced major cost-cutting plans.

PERSONAL loan guarantees by Tony O’Reilly and his brother-in-law Peter Goulandris could add a further €40 million to their mounting losses in the collapsed Waterford Wedgwood Group.

More than 2,000 people were made redundant every month last year, new figures revealed today.

Fears are growing tonight for up to 500 jobs under threat at the home of world renowned Waterford Crystal.

WATERFORD Wedgwood has agreed a joint venture with Ballymore Properties to redevelop land at its Kilbarry crystal manufacturing site.

WORLD famous Northern Ireland china manufacturer Belleek Pottery is entering the crystal market where it will go head to head with the equally prestigious Waterford Crystal.

CASH-STRAPPED Waterford County Council, whose capital account is in debt to the tune of a massive €7.2 million, splashed out almost €20,000 on funding last month's controversial visit by an eight-member delegation to New York for the St Patrick's Day celebrations.

HOPES that a €10 million marina will be constructed in Dungarvan have been revived by a former mayor of the town.

AN American-owned financial services group which already employs over 400 in Dublin is to bring 250 jobs to Waterford over the next two to five years.

IRELAND’S aspirations in the European Show Jumping Championships were dealt a crushing blow yesterday with the withdrawal of Clarion Hotels Coolcorron Cool Diamond and Roberts Splaine.

Niamh Nolan

The ISEQ had the 6000 barrier within its sights after it surged in early trading today.

Luxury goods group Waterford Wedgwood said today it planned to cut 1,800 jobs as part of a major restructuring of its operations in Ireland and the UK.

Irish showjumper Cian O’Connor lost his Olympic gold medal tonight after the sports governing body ruling that his horse had tested positive for banned substances.

PROCEDURAL defects with the testing of the blood samples from Waterford Crystal are likely to form a crucial plank of showjumper Cian O’Connor’s defence when he appears before the Judicial Committee of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) on Sunday.

CONCERN has been expressed about the future of Waterford Crystal’s Dungarvan operation and its 330 employees.