Irish Success at the Great Taste Awards

The Irish have done it again. Peter Hannan, the Meat Merchant from Moira in Co Down, won the overall prize at the Great Taste Awards on Monday. This is the second time Hannan’s company has won the overall award. In fact, Hannan Meats received 36 awards at the ceremony held in Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington last week. Dunnes Stores’ Simply Better Irish Handmade All Butter Sticky Toffee Butter also won the top award in the Republic of Ireland category. Judges described the pudding as a “dollop of cream or custard away from a heavenly experience”.

Over 300 guests from around the world attended the meal, where the winners were announced from over 10,000 entry products. Some of the judges who tasted the food included Master Chef Judge, Charles Campion and TV chef and author Valentine Warner. Great Taste was founded in 1994 and has judged over 110,000 products in the last 22 years.

Premiums on the Rise ... Again

How much has your car insurance increased in the last year? Do you now open your renewal with trepidation? The average cost of running a family car has increased by €255.82 compared to 2015, according to the AA. Despite a large drop in fuel, any gain motorists make is lost to a 36.8% rise in premiums.

Conor Faughnan, director of consumer affairs for the AA says: “The insurance crisis is particularly frustrating, because much of it is unnecessary. While it is true that motor insurance was losing money a few years ago and the price had to rise a bit, there are things the Government and the industry could do right now that would pull prices downwards.”

In some good news for motorists, fuel prices are down significantly compared to last year. The average price of petrol at 127.5c per litre in August is just over 11% less than it was 12 months ago. For a typical motorist in a Band B car that works out at a saving of €196.80 annually. However, they will still pay €1,554 for their year’s fuel, with tax making up more than 60% of this figure.