ECB chief Mario Draghi says Ireland are on way back to private debt markets
The European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi insisted that Ireland was well on its way back to private debt markets but said the vote for the fiscal treaty was not a “quid pro quo” for bank debt relief.
Two days after Germany said any new banking deal would send the wrong signal about the Irish EU-International Monetary Fund bailout, Mr Draghi said the implicit message to the Government now was to continue on its present path.
Ireland’s prospects of regaining access to private financing were stronger than last autumn, he said.
Asked yesterday whether the outcome of the referendum would strengthen the Government’s campaign to ease the burden of the bank rescue, Mr Draghi said he was glad to have been proven right in his prediction that the treaty would pass.
“I do not think there was any ground or any statement of a quid pro quo for this. I think that decisions should be taken for what they are,” he told reporters.
Mr Draghi welcomed the outcome of the referendum. “It shows that the Irish people consider fiscal consolidation and fiscal stability a basic pillar for growth and for further European integration, so it is really a testimony of their responsibility and for this they should be complimented.”
Asked about the European Commission’s anxiety about risks to the Irish bailout programme, Mr Draghi said the State has achieved “remarkable, very significant, substantial progress” in respect of fiscal consolidation and bank restructuring.
“In a sense, in that case we already see the signs: the spreads are going down for Ireland much more than any other country, so that one would not be excessively optimistic that if Ireland continues in these efforts, the return to market – market access – is not a far distant perspective,” he said. “In fact it would be much closer than we all expected nine months ago.”
Mr Draghi was speaking as Taoiseach Enda Kenny came under pressure in the Dáil to reveal what assurances, if any, he had received from German chancellor Angela Merkel about the Irish banking debt during the telephone conversation they had in the aftermath of the referendum.
During noisy exchanges, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin claimed the outcome of the conversation between the two did not appear to be positive, going on the comments by German officials since then.
Mr Kenny said that during his conversation with Dr Merkel she had commended the Irish people on their referendum decision but had pointed to a number of factors including the Greek and French elections that would have an impact on the situation over the next few weeks.
“This is a tortuous and complex process and there are no simple, quick-fix solutions. I remind Deputy Martin that named officials quoted in newspapers are not politicians,” said Mr Kenny.
New cloud computing subsidiary firm targets Ireland’s SMEs
A new Irish-owned cloud computing subsidiary of the IT Alliance Group, Auxilion, has launched this week, targeting Irish and international SMEs that are looking for cloud computing support.
Auxilion’s launch follows a €1 million investment. The firm already employs 10 staff and will operate from a contact centre in Dublin.
Auxilion recently signed an agreement with Microsoft to use its Windows Azure cloud platform to power the service.
Latest study warns & claims too many CT scans could lead to brain cancer
Research says children under 15 could face tumour’s or leukemia later in life if they have three or more scans
CT scans should be clinically justified, says the study.
Researchers have warned doctors to ensure that CT scans carried out on children are clinically justified, after a government-funded study found that exposure to ionising radiation during such scans could triple the risk of under-15s developing brain cancer or leukemia later in life.
Two or three scans would be sufficient to heighten the risk to such levels for brain cancer, while five to 10 would similarly lift the risk of leukemia, according to a study funded by the Department of Health and the US National Cancer Institute.
Brain tumours and leukemia, while the most common childhood cancers, are still relatively rare. While the risk of developing them after scans remains low in absolute terms, and CT scanning could be vital in saving young people’s lives, the figures reported in Lancet Online will encourage doctors to seek alternative diagnostic procedures to computed tomography scans where possible. These include ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging.
Children are more sensitive to radiation than older people. The research, involving experts from the UK, US, the Netherlands, South Korea and Canada, is the first to provide direct evidence of a link between exposure to radiation from CT scans in childhood and cancer risk, and to quantify that risk.
The study looked at data covering nearly 180,000 patients under 22 who had not already been diagnosed with brain tumours or leukaemia and who had had CT scans between 1985 and 2002 at seven in 10 UK hospitals; estimated doses of radiation energy absorbed through the brain and bone marrow (which varies by age and body part scanned); and data linked to cancer incidence and mortality across the UK between 1985 and 2002. From this they calculated “excess incidence” of leukaemia and brain tumours.
The researchers found the relative risk of leukaemia increased 0.036 times for every milligray (mGy) of radiation exposure. For brain turmors, the increased risk per milligray was 0.023. One mGy is the amount of radiation energy absorbed by 1kg of human tissue or other material. For children under 10 receiving head scans, about one extra case of leukaemia and one extra brain tumour per 10,000 patients would be expected after the procedure.
CT scans were introduced in the 1970s and their use in the UK, for examining patients for a range of conditions including tumours, bone disorders and internal injuries, rose by 68% between 1998 and 2008. In 2007, an estimated 72m scans were carried out in the US.
Lead researcher Mark Pearce, from the University of Newcastle, said: “The immediate benefits of CT outweigh the potential long-term risks in many settings and because of CT’s diagnostic accuracy and speed of scanning, notably removing the need for anaesthesia and sedation in young patients, it will, and should, remain in practice for the foreseeable future.”
But, said Pearce, “further refinements to allow reduction in CT doses should be a priority, not only for the radiology community, but also for manufacturers. Alternative diagnostic procedures that do not involve ionising radiation exposure, such as ultrasound and MRI, might be appropriate in some clinical settings.
“Of utmost importance is that where CT is used, it is only used where fully justified from a clinical perspective.”
In a comment accompanying the research, Andrew Einstein, from Columbia University medical centre in New York, said it confirmed that CT scans “almost certainly produce a small cancer risk”, but with their use rising, “we must redouble our efforts to justify and optimise every CT scan”.
The DoH said: “Clinicians should make decisions on a case-by-case basis, making sure scans are given only when the benefits outweigh the risks.
“The UK uses lower levels of radiation in CT scans than other countries. We also have clear regulations to ensure a CT scan is only carried out when clinically justified. These regulations are based on expert knowledge of anatomy and medical radiation physics to ensure that scans are not given unnecessarily.”
Also in study findings: CT scans can ‘triple the risk of leukaemia’
CT scans can triple the risk of children developing leukaemia and brain cancer, a major study has found.
Despite a very small absolute risk, scientists called for greater efforts to ensure use of the 3D X-rays is justified.
Previously it was widely assumed that low-dose CT, or computed tomography, scans posed negligible risks even to children, who are more sensitive to radiation than adults.
This belief was based on risk estimates derived from survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan at the end of the Second World War.
But many experts acknowledge there are crucial differences between exposure to radiation from an atomic bomb and a medical procedure.
For instance, CT scans are usually focused on a particular region, such as the head, rather than the whole body.
British-led scientists conducting the new research, published in the latest online edition of The Lancet medical journal, studied data on around 180,000 patients under the age of 22 who had CT scans at UK hospitals between 1985 and 2002.
Their cancer rates were compared with those from the general population, reported in the UK National Health Service Registry.
The results showed that children younger than 15 would receive enough radiation from two to three head CT scans to triple their risk of developing brain cancer.
Because brain and bone marrow do not absorb X-rays at the same rate, the figures for leukaemia are slightly different. In this case, five to 10 head scans was sufficient to triple the cancer risk.
Large Chinese state run broadcaster to make programmes on Galway tourism
China’s largest state-run TV broadcaster, Xinhua, is to visit Galway next week to make programmes on tourism here, with a second programme in the pipeline focusing on trade and investment, that is according to Fine Gael Senator for Galway West, Fidelma Healy Eames.
Senator Healy Eames yesterday confirmed that Xinhua is to come to Galway and that the visit has come about as a result of the activity of the China-Ireland relations committee, of which Senator Healy Eames is chairperson.
Commenting on the planned visit, Senator Healy Eames said: “I am delighted that Xinhua has chosen Galway as the location for its programmes about Ireland. Xinhua is the largest state-run news agency in China with a TV audience of around one billion people. They are sending a TV crew of four people to work with our China-Ireland Relations Committee in Galway in the making of two TV programmes; one on tourism from June 10 -12 with a further programme planned on trade and investment at a later date.
“I am hugely excited that Galway and Ireland will be showcased to this massive audience in what is a hugely important tourism and business market for Ireland for the future. This can only be good for Galway and for Ireland. We are building the tourism package around special features in the Oranmore/ Clarinbridge area and Connemara. We have so much to offer. This is a superb opportunity to profile Galway and to showcase some of our best tourism features to an audience of one billion people.
“The second programme on trade and investment will focus more on Galway city and how it has managed to attract a massive amount of foreign investment, especially in the high tech, pharma and life sciences area.”
Senator Healy Eames concluded: “The China-Ireland Relations Committee has no funding base and is non-profit so we are reliant on local providers coming up with accommodation and food for the two day event. There has been a marvellous response, including from Fáilte Ireland, and an exciting itinerary is planned.”
West Mayo seaboard earthquake rattled windows of houses in surrounding counties
‘IT FELT LIKE A STEAMROLLER GOING UP THE ROAD’ – SEISMOLOGIST
The west of Mayo earthquake which rattled windows in an Irish town felt like a steamroller, one international expert has said.
The magnitude four tremor off the west coast of Ireland happened this morning and was the strongest in Britain or Ireland for around two years, a scientist at the British Geological Survey said.
Shifting seabed 37 miles from Belmullet in Co Mayo was not enough to produce high waves never mind a tsunami – but the geoscience centre warned it was significant for the region.
Seismologist David Galloway said it would have been felt in counties Mayo, Galway and Sligo in the far west of the Republic.
“We have been getting reports of the windows rattling, that the shaking felt like a lorry or some vehicle smashing into the back of the house, which is typical of the felt reports of earthquakes,” he said.
“One report described it as like a steamroller going down the road.”
Mr Galloway said he had not heard of any damage to property and was not expecting any.
“It is quite a small earthquake, it is only significant for the fact that the UK or Ireland does not get the big earthquakes of Italy or Turkey,” he continued.
The quake, which happened just before 9am, was the strongest in the area since 1984 when an intermediate tremor of 5.4 was recorded in the Irish Sea.
Similar sized earthquakes have been registered across the British Isles, normally every three to four years.
Micro tremors were felt in parts of north County Donegal in January and March near Buncrana in Ireland’s far north-west.
The area where it happened today is in the middle of a plate which is moving further from America, far from a faultline and hence the force was not on the scale of areas where they collide, like California or Japan.
Mr Galloway added: “There would not have been enough dislocation of the sea floor to create any big waves and there is no chance of a tsunami, that is not going to happen.
“It is not a warning of anything bigger to come, we do not usually get the big earthquakes.”
A new bird for Twitter ‘from now on’
On the left the new bird & the old image on the right
In a major announcement today, creative director Doug Bowman revealed that after six years the little blue bird was getting a makeover. He said the company has decided to simplify its branding.
“From now on, this bird will be the universally recognizable symbol of Twitter. (Twitter is the bird, the bird is Twitter.) There’s no longer a need for text, bubbled typefaces, or a lowercase “t” to represent Twitter,” he said.
Our new bird grows out of love for ornithology, design within creative constraints, and simple geometry. This bird is crafted purely from three sets of overlapping circles — similar to how your networks, interests and ideas connect and intersect with peers and friends. Whether soaring high above the earth to take in a broad view, or flocking with other birds to achieve a common purpose, a bird in flight is the ultimate representation of freedom, hope and limitless possibility.
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