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Litter survey shows that 76% of towns and cities in Ireland are clean

   

A survey by Irish Business Against Litter has signalled an improvement in the cleanliness of cities and towns.

A survey by Irish Business Against Litter has signalled an improvement in the cleanliness of cities and towns.

The group deemed 76% of cities and towns to be clean, with Cavan, Kilkenny and Longford said to be the cleanest towns in Ireland.

To know where your town or city came on the league table see below.

However, Dublin’s north inner city found itself at the bottom of the table and branded a litter blackspot, registering one of the worst results since the league began ten years ago.

While, the survey described the grounds of Dublin Airport as “immaculate”, tourists arriving there were being greeted by litter on surrounding roads.

However, the overall result is generally positive, with 43% of Irish towns and cities cleaner than the European average.

The league table.

Ranking	Town/City	Status
1	Cavan	Cleaner than European Norms
2	Kilkenny	Cleaner than European Norms
3	Longford	Cleaner than European Norms
4	Castlebar	Cleaner than European Norms
5	Tramore	Cleaner than European Norms
6	Killarney	Cleaner than European Norms
7	Trim	Cleaner than European Norms
8	Fermoy	Cleaner than European Norms
9	Ballina	Cleaner than European Norms
10	Wexford	Cleaner than European Norms
~	Waterford City	Cleaner than European Norms
12	Drogheda	Cleaner than European Norms
13	Swords	Cleaner than European Norms
14	Dun Laoghaire	Cleaner than European Norms
15	Buncrana	Cleaner than European Norms
16	Clonmel	Cleaner than European Norms
17	Cobh	Cleaner than European Norms
18	Youghal	Cleaner than European Norms
19	Tralee	Clean to European Norms
20	Bray	Clean to European Norms
~	Naas	Clean to European Norms
22	Mullingar	Clean to European Norms
23	Galway City	Clean to European Norms
24	Kildare	Clean to European Norms
25	Sligo	Clean to European Norms
26	Tallaght	Clean to European Norms
27	Tullamore	Clean to European Norms
~	Roscommon	Clean to European Norms
~	Athlone	Clean to European Norms
30	Dundalk	Clean to European Norms
31	Ennis	Clean to European Norms
32	Carlow	Clean to European Norms
33	Monaghan	Moderately Littered
34	Cork City	Moderately Littered
35	Limerick City	Moderately Littered
36	Maynooth	Moderately Littered
37	Dublin City	Moderately Littered
38	Navan	Moderately Littered
39	Portlaoise	Moderately Littered
40	Tipperary	Moderately Littered
41	Dublin Airport Enviorns	Litter Blackspot
42	North Inner Dublin City	Litter Blackspot

New HSE chief says: Cutbacks will ‘absolutely’ mean bed closures

TONY O’BRIEN ALSO SAYS THE €130 MILLION IN CUTS IS ABSOLUTELY VITAL IF THE HSE IS TO ENSURE IT DOESN’T RUN OUT OF MONEY.

  

The HSE’s incoming chief executive Tony O’Brien says cuts are necessary to stop the agency running out of cash before the end of the year.

The incoming head of the Health Service Executive has admitted that the latest package of financial cutbacks in the health service this year will “absolutely” result in the closure of beds and loss of personnel.

Tony O’Brien said the cuts – announced on Thursday – were a necessity if the HSE was to avoid running out of cash before the end of the year.

O’Brien said that if the latest €130 million of cuts were not effected, the service would run a deficit of €500 million – which would mean the HSE was in line to run out of cash before the end of the year.

He added that the cutbacks – which include a reduction in overtime and clampdowns on the use of agency staff to fill the gaps left by the public service recruitment embargo – would “absolutely” mean that the overall capacity of the system would be lowered.

“In my intray, when I became effectively the acting CEO of the HSE less than two weeks ago, was a clear requirement from the government, by the end of last week, to identify €130 million of cuts which could be definitively be delivered this year,

This had been demanded by the government in order to provide assurances to the Troika about the ability to deliver savings in the sector, he said – before adding that he was committed to enacting further cuts, though in ways that would not affect the care afforded to patients.

Areas in which further savings could be made include managing the HSE’s purchasing system, and improved management of the executive’s cash and stock resources.

RISK OF RUNNING OUT

“Nobody takes any pleasures in identifying this list,” O’Brien said.

If we do not bring the €500 million back into line… we face the very real prospect of running out of cash before year-end.

A draft report from the European Commission, leaked to TDs earlier this week, noted that the health sector had delivered only just over a fifth of the €543 million it was due to cut back in 2012.

O’Brien also assured that a HSE release earlier this week, which suggested that the number of medical cards in issue was 125,000 more than originally budgeted for, was incorrect.

O’Brien said a subsequent release had clarified that the correct number was 33,000 – an increase attributed to the higher-than-expected unemployment figures.

Anti-household charge group to step up campaign on water & household taxes

  

The Campaign Against Household and Water Taxes has pledged to step up its campaign in the coming weeks as concern grows that those who have not paid the household charge may get a court summons. 

It is estimated around 600,000 people have yet to register for the €100 which was introduced by the Government in January.

A series of protests will be held at local council meetings throughout the country in the coming weeks as campaigners demonstrate against planned cuts to local services.

The campaign group has also distanced itself from Independent TD Mick Wallace, who made a false VAT declaration to Revenue, and who once spoke publicly in support of the group.

Spokesperson for the Campaign Against Household and Water Taxes and Dublin councillor Brid Smith denied any inconsistency in the group’s distancing itself from Mick Wallace, while urging householders not to pay the household charge.

“There’s a big difference between paying a tax on the family home and a businessperson who makes lots of money refusing to pay his taxes on the profits that he’s taking in,” she said.

“I don’t think it’s at all hypocritical of us to defend ordinary people for refusing to pay a tax on the family home that they paid dearly for.”

Alzheimers can creep in very often unnoticed

  

September is World Alzheimer’s Month and former Tauranga branch manager Jane Moore said the organisation’s main concern was identifying people with early onset dementia.

People barely at retirement age are among a growing number of Tauranga residents showing signs of dementia – and those at the coalface say it will only get worse as the city grows.

Alzheimers New Zealand’s Tauranga branch has seen a 19 per cent increase in the number of people with the condition in the past year alone.

The non-profit organisation provides support, information, education programmes with services such as support for families, information, plus befriending services and day programmes for people with dementia.

September is World Alzheimer’s Month and former Tauranga branch manager Jane Moore said the organisation’s main concern was identifying people with early onset dementia.

“That’s people about 65 and younger now presenting with dementia and the social issues with that are huge,” she said.

“They might still be at work and active in clubs. This is when people are still driving and probably managing quite well but there are early signs of dementia.”

It is estimated 900 people aged 65 will be diagnosed with dementia in the Bay of Plenty by the year 2026. By 2050 that figure is expected to double.

M/s Moore said it was important to recognise the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia to help families plan ahead and manage affairs.

Breaking through the stigma that often surrounded dementia was crucial for this to happen and Tauranga had a unique problem in the amount of people who moved to the area to retire, Ms Moore said.

They often left long-time friends or family, who would normally be in a position to help or recognise the early stages.

“Tauranga has 5.6 per cent more of an ageing population than the rest of New Zealand. There’s a lot of older people living here,” Ms Moore said. “They move away from their community and possibly more loyal friends. . . they end up isolated.”

Betty*, a Pyes Pa woman in her early 70s, whose husband died several weeks ago, said not enough people were aware of the disease .

“About two months before John* was admitted we went to the supermarket and I did what women do and got chatting with a friend and here was John getting into a person’s car. A woman came along and I said ‘I’m sorry, my husband has Alzheimer’s’ and her words just stunned me.

“She said ‘I think I’ve heard of that disease’. This was a woman in my age group. People just don’t know.” Betty said the couple moved back from overseas after John’s diagnosis hoping for family help, which did not happen.

If it were not for the support she and her husband received from Tauranga Alzheimer’s and the Aged Mental Health unit at Tauranga Hospital, she would not have survived, she said.

* Betty and John’s real names have not been used to protect their identity.

Ford Focus the world’s top-selling motor car

  

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) today celebrates the company’s 350 millionth vehicle – a Ford Focus, which is the world’s best-selling car for the first half of 2012.

Ford is celebrating the production milestone at its newest global manufacturing facility located in Rayong, Thailand, approximately 200 kilometers (120 miles) southeast of Bangkok. Ford Thailand Manufacturing (FTM) plant is a $450 million facility, opened in May to produce the new Focus, which also is built in four other countries. FTM represents the latest in Ford’s global manufacturing capabilities, with new stamping presses, flexible body shops and robotic capabilities that enable it to produce up to six different vehicles simultaneously.

“Producing 350 million vehicles is equivalent to producing one vehicle every 10 seconds for our 109-year history. If placed end to end, the vehicles would stretch to the moon and back – twice,” said John Fleming, Ford executive vice president of global manufacturing. “Producing this vehicle in Thailand also is significant. It underscores the power of our One Ford plan to deliver profitable growth with great products built in ultra-flexible and efficient facilities everywhere around the world.”

In addition to the manufacturing milestone, for the first six months of this year, Focus became the best-selling single car nameplate in the world, based on global data from IHS Automotive.

According to IHS Automotive, the Ford Focus sold 489,616 units in the first half of this year. The nearest competitor, Toyota Corolla, sold 462,187.

“Embracing its performance, value, versatility and fuel economy, the Focus is attracting many new customers to the Ford brand for the very first time, particularly in Asia where we are growing every day,” said Jim Farley, Ford’s group vice president for global marketing, sales and service. “The Focus is a winner on so many levels because it successfully provides customers with what they want most – a safe, smart, fuel-efficient, good-looking, fun-to-drive, affordable car.”

Coconut oil helps to fight tooth decay

NEW RESEARCH SAYS

   

Coconut oil fights tooth decay and could find its way into toothpaste and mouthwash, research suggests.

Scientists found that when the oil was treated with digestive enzymes it became a powerful killer of mouth bugs.

The bacteria it attacked included Streptococcus mutans, an acid-producing microbe that is a major cause of tooth decay.

Researchers were following up earlier work which showed that partially digested milk made S mutans less likely to stick to tooth enamel.

Further studies will look at how coconut oil interacts with the bacteria at the molecular level, and what other microbe strains and yeasts it may combat.

Tests already suggest that enzyme-treated coconut oil is harmful to the yeast Candida albicans, the cause of thrush.

The findings were presented at the Autumn meeting of the Society for General Microbiology at the University of Warwick.

Lead researcher Dr Damien Brady, from the Athlone Institute of Technology in the Republic of Ireland, said: “Dental caries is a commonly overlooked health problem affecting 60%-90% of children and the majority of adults in industrialised countries.

“Incorporating enzyme-modified coconut oil into dental hygiene products would be an attractive alternative to chemical additives, particularly as it works at relatively low concentrations. Also, with increasing antibiotic resistance, it is important that we turn our attention to new ways to combat microbial infection.”

He added: “Our data suggests that products of human digestion show antimicrobial activity. This could have implications for how bacteria colonise the cells lining the digestive tract and for overall gut health.”