Office workers in Cork have been warned not to eat at their desks if they want to help stop the spread of pests in the workplace. An oft-heard statistic is that an office keyboard harbours more bacteria than the average toilet seat and an initiative from Rentokil Ireland offers people tips on how to prevent pests and rodents from becoming a feature in an office.

Eight Cork companies have joined a national campaign to promote Irish manufactured brands to consumers all over Ireland. Love Irish Food, the new independent organisation established by Ireland's food and drink industry, was launched three weeks ago and has gained significant momentum. There are a total of 46 members, now including Cork brands Ballymaloe Country relish, Truly Irish, Hodgins Sausages, Cully and Sully, Barry's Tea, Follain Preserves, Shellfish de la Mer and Roscarbery Recipes.

North American travel agents visited Cork last week and were reportedly impressed by what Cork has to offer. Forty top US and Canadian travel agents enjoyed a fact-finding visit to County Cork. Carefully selected and invited here by Tourism Ireland in New York, their itinerary was put together by Fáilte Ireland. The travel agents enjoyed a walking tour of Cork city, stopping at the famous English Market and also visited The Queenstown Story in Cobh.

www.gstore.ie
Appearance: 4/5
User-friendliness: 4/5
Usefulness: 5/5

In a climate of cutbacks and economic difficulties, there is a view that universities, which benefited from funding during the good times over the last few years, should row in with everyone else and take the cutbacks needed to relieve the strain on the economy. This, according to UCC President, Mr Michael Murphy, is a short-sighted view that would weaken the country for years to come.

A free workshop will take place in Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) to help businesses in the hospitality sector to become green aware and gain environmental certification. The workshop, being run by Green Hospitality Awards (GHA) comes on the back of a survey by Failte Ireland which discovered that 52 per cent of visitors to Ireland would seek to stay in a hotel that has reduced its environmental impact.

A huge proportion, over 90 per cent, of Irish employers believe a yes vote will support FDI in Ireland. This was one of the findings of research carried out by IBEC, which surveyed over 500 employers of every size and from all over the country. 90 per cent of respondents believed a yes vote was very important or important to send a positive message to international investors and attract FDI into the country.

Two Cork companies picked up awards this week at the annual Good Food Ireland Awards. Winner of the award for top regional member in the Southern region was Glebe Gardens and Cafe in Baltimore while Nash 19 Restaurant and Food Shop on Prince's Street, took the award for Host of the Year. The award picked up by Glebe Gardens was sponsored by Tourism Ireland while the Host of the Year award was sponsored by Failte Ireland.

Name: Chris Crowley
Appointment: Resident Manager
Company: Ambassador Hotel
Chris Crowley, a native of Mayfield, has taken up the position of Resident Manager at the Ambassador Hotel & Health Club, Military Hill, Cork City, as of 13 September 2009.

The new weekly market in Douglas was officially unveiled last Friday by the Lord Mayor, Cllr Dara Murphy. The market, which will take place every Friday morning, will be located along the main road through East Douglas Village and will have over 20 food stalls featuring the best of local artisan producers and farmer's market traders. The market will run from 10am to 3pm each Friday.