REPUBLIC RANKS 16th IN WORLD ON SIZE OF GENDER GAP - The Republic has been ranked 16th in the world and 13th out of the 25 EU countries in terms of narrowing the gender gap, according to a new study by the World Economic Forum says the Irish Times. The study is the first attempt by the forum to assess the current size of the gender gap by measuring the extent to which women in 58 countries have achieved equality with men in five critical areas: economic participation, economic opportunity, political empowerment, educational attainment, and health and well-being. Despite being placed just ahead of the US, the Republic is ranked behind new EU entrants Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, and fares particularly poorly on economic participation and economic opportunity for women. In terms of economic participation of women, or their presence in the workforce in quantitative terms, the Republic is ranked 37th, while it is ranked 51st in terms of economic opportunity, which measures the quality of women's economic involvement beyond their mere presence as workers.
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JOINT CALL FOR CREDIT CARD DUTY TO BE SCRAPPED - Banks, consumers and businesses have joined forces to call for the scrapping of stamp duty on debit, ATM and credit cards, says the Irish Independent. In an unprecedented initiative, the Irish Bankers' Federation, the Consumers' Association and Chambers Ireland have come together calling for the abolition of stamp duty on cards. The stamp duties range from €10 to €40 a year, depending on the card. The tax raises around €100m a year for the Exchequer. However, the Irish Bankers' Federation (IBF) argued yesterday that a report commissioned by the Government found that the cost of using cash and cheques amounts to €640m a year. The case for the abolition of these stamp duties is a central theme of IBF's pre-Budget submission.
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HUGE POTENTIAL FOR FOOD SECTOR - Innovation and technology will be the driving force in realising the enormous potential of the €18.7 billion Irish food industry, an international conference was told in Dublin yesterday says the Irish Examiner. Food Minister Brendan Smith, who officially opened the fifth annual World Food Technology and Innovation Forum, said innovation through new, market-led products is imperative for companies that want to be part of this growth. Consumers are demanding new products, new tastes, a focus on health and wellbeing and convenience - and all without compromising on quality or cost. 'Only those food companies with an eye to the market and a focus on the customer will be in a position to innovate and respond speedily and imaginatively to these changing market demands,' he said.
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CASHPOINT CRIME UP AS CHIP & PIN CUTS FRAUD - New 'chip and PIN' technology has proved so successful in combating criminals that total debit and credit card fraud in the UK fell 5 per cent during the first half of the year, reports the London Independent. Apacs, the UK payments' association, revealed yesterday that the technology, which became compulsory in February, had prevented enough fraud to offset the value of increases in scams where chip and PIN is not used. Total card fraud fell from £219.5m in the first half of last year to £209.3m during the six months to the end of June 2006. Almost half the total is now accounted for by 'card-not-present' fraud, where chip and PIN technology is not possible. Card-not-present fraud - typically where criminals use other people's credit card details to commit fraud online, by phone or by post - rose by 5% to £95.3m during the first half of the year. There is also increasing evidence that fraudsters are targeting cashpoint crime or overseas markets, now that chip and PIN is preventing them using lost or stolen plastic.
