Central government in Ireland now holds all the cards ‘Says Phil Hogan’
The controversial property tax could be set by each local authority under new plans to reform the sector, Environment Minister Phil Hogan revealed.
Up to 500 public sector workers will be made redundant and more than a third of councillors axed as 80 town councils are abolished under the proposals.
All borough and town councils are to be abolished and replaced by sub-county “municipal districts” peopled by councillors who would then collectively constitute county councils.
In effect, the chairs are being arranged on the deck of the Titanic, with many thrown overboard.
And while the two Tipp. County councils are to be merged, along with the city and county councils in Limerick and Waterford; it leaves in place the arbitrary division in 1994 of Co Dublin into four separate local authority areas, on the basis that the capital is a “special case”.
“It is not proposed to consider reorganisation of local government structures [in Dublin] ahead of the 2014 local elections”, it says, adding that the idea of having a directly elected mayor would be considered by a “special forum of the elected members of the four local authorities”.
Putting People First: “the most fundamental set of changes in local government in the history of the State”, in the Minister’s words – claims to be an action programme to deliver effective local government throughout the State. But the devil is in the detail of its 198 pages.
Even though it admits there is a “democratic deficit” and a need for more “civic engagement” in the affairs of local government, the document fails to acknowledge that this would be encouraged if there was a direct, tangible link between taxation and representation. Instead, the Government decided on July 24th that the Revenue – rather than the local authorities – will be responsible for collecting the local property tax; the proceeds will be distributed (by central government) to the surviving councils.
It talks about the need for “devolution of specific functions from central level and . . . relaxation of specific central controls on local authorities”. However, apart from giving city and county councils a new role for social and economic development, it singularly lacks specifics.
On the one hand, it talks about the “delegation of greater responsibility for certain functions in which local authorities are involved”, such as water services. On the other, it notes that this function is to be taken over by a new State agency, Irish Water.
National primary and secondary routes are under the control of the National Roads Authority, public transport provision and regulation are under the control of the National Transport Authority, health services under the control of the Health Service Executive, etc.
While the document acknowledges the “compelling rationale for an effective system of local government, as distinct from purely ‘local administration’ . . . where local authorities act as mere agents of central government”, it does little to change the current balance of power. It even concedes that the authority of local government in Ireland had been “eroded” by the removal of several of its functions. As a result, its potential “is underutilised”.
The 1991 Barrington report on local government reform is cited as saying that Irish local authorities had a “narrow range of functions” compared to their European counterparts, in such areas as social welfare, health, education, policing, transport and consumer protection.
The document also refers to the Devolution Commission’s 1997 report, which “recommended a devolution programme that should aim to develop the widest possible role for local authorities in specific functional areas”, and then admits that this “has not happened”.
It blames the absence of reform on a “lack of confidence in the local government system, reinforced by a mixed track record in the performance of some existing functions”, but says very little about the real reason: central government’s unwillingness to cede power.
“The range of functions proposed for devolution by departments so far is relatively limited and there will be further engagement with relevant departments with a view to identifying additional potential functions for devolution to local government” – in advance of the legislation.
A trawl through various departments and agencies to find out what functions they’d be prepared to devolve to local authorities turned up this telling line from the Garda Síochána: “Certain functions in relation to the assignment and use of bus stops”.
Food poverty is affecting 10% (450,000) of Ireland’s population as diets hit by recession
10% 
The recent news that one in 10 people (10%) are living in food poverty is a major call for change,
Jerry Buttimer, the chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Health, said yesterday.
He was speaking as he launched research commissioned by the Department of Social Protection which found a three percentage point increase in food poverty between 2009 and 2010.
The incidence of food poverty has been hovering between 7 and 8 per cent since 2005 but rose to 10 per cent in 2010. When determining food poverty, issues taken into account include the inability to afford a meal with meat – or a vegetarian equivalent – every second day; the inability to afford a roast – or vegetarian equivalent – once a week; and the missing of a meal in the past two weeks due to a lack of money.
Mr Buttimer said it was not good enough, in the 21st century, that 10 per cent of the population was suffering in this way. He said the lack of food, or the right type of food, was affecting children’s concentration, behaviour and learning at school.
For some people, the main priority was to put food on the table. “Nutritional content is often a secondary thought, if indeed it is a thought at all.”
The research was outlined at a conference organised by Safefood, the all-island agency that promotes food safety and healthy eating.
Chief executive Martin Higgins said it was well recognised that people with little money tended to eat less healthily than others but this research would help to identify those groups at most risk and would allow for more targeted interventions.
The research found that those most at risk of food poverty included unemployed people; low-income households; people with disabilities or poor health; people with low education; families with more than three children under 18; and lone parents.
Previous research by Safefood found food was often seen as a “flexible expense” with expenses such as rent and fuel taking priority if money was scarce.
Irish Medical Organisation president Dr Paul McKeown said the fact that 10 per cent of the population was experiencing food poverty was a moral issue.
Poor diet was linked with illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes as well as problems such as low birth weight, dental caries and increased fractures because of a lack of calcium.
The full report Constructing a Food Poverty Indicator for Ireland Using the Survey on Income and Living Conditions is available on welfare.ieor socialinclusion.ie
‘A real Irish story’
There are weeks I can’t put food on the table 'says wife of a Garda sergeant'
The financial difficulties of middle-income families in Ireland who bought their home during the property boom have been highlighted by the wife of a Garda sergeant in a letter to a number of Government ministers.
The woman describes how a €1,400 monthly mortgage payment on a four-bedroom semi-detached family home bought seven years ago along with the repeated cuts to her husband’s wages have left them “living a nightmare”.
There are weeks when I can’t put food on the table. I call them ‘cornflakes days’ when all we eat all day is cornflakes . . .”
The woman wrote that even though her eldest child got enough points to go to a prestigious college they couldn’t afford the fees: “Imagine how upsetting that is?”
The letter – unsigned to protect her husband’s identity – was written after a Mabs (Money Advice and Budgeting Service) adviser had offered to refer the couple to the St Vincent de Paul Society for assistance.
Her husband has gross earnings of more than €65,000 – including allowances and unsocial hours coverage. After tax, Universal Social Charge, pension, health insurance, mortgage and utility deductions, a typical weekly payslip shows a net payment of €109.
By the Mabs analysis, however, the weekly household budget was running a deficit of nearly €300 and there appeared to be no means of reducing it.
The woman wrote that she and her husband “have no savings, no holiday homes, no fancy cars. We have never done anything to put ourselves at risk, only move house to have an extra bedroom . . . We live in constant terror of the washing machine breaking down or the car . . . If it wasn’t for my mother bailing us out all the time, we would be right under.”
A spokesman for the Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar said the woman had been in regular correspondence with the minister. “He understands that her husband is in secure public sector employment but they bought their home at the height of the boom and are struggling to pay a large mortgage on reduced pay.” He hoped she would be “able to resolve her financial problems with [the] assistance of Mabs and others.”
Irelands Nama made €89m profit in second quarter of this year
The National Asset Management Agency NAMA, the State loans agency, made a profit of €89 million in the second quarter of the year after taking a further impairment charge of €129 million during the three-month period.
This brought Nama’s net profit for the first half of the year to €222 million, according to its report for the second quarter.
Total impairment charges taken by the agency totalled €2.9 billion on loans of €74 billion acquired for €32 billion from five lenders. The charges were taken to cover property market declines since the loans were valued in late 2009.
Nama generated €8.1 billion in cash receipts from borrowers between December 2009, when it was set up, and June 2012. Of this, €5.2 billion was generated from asset disposals and €2.9 billion related to “non-disposal activity”.
The agency had approved working and development capital of €1.34 billion by the end of June 2012, of which €863 million had been drawn down at the half-year.
Loan balances, based on the value at which Nama acquired the loans from the banks, stood at €24.8 million at the end of June, after taking account of impairment charges and the disposal of assets.
The agency received cash of €909 million in the second quarter, down from €1.1 billion received in the first three months of the year. It had cash of €3 billion at the end of June, down from €4.6 billion three months earlier.
Nama had placed €850 million of cash as collateral with the National Treasury Management Agency at the end of June. No cash was placed as collateral with the NTMA three months earlier.
Nama said it had completed the final two debtor business plans.
The agency has reduced its liabilities by almost €3.6 billion, including €3.25 billion of the €7.5 billion of debt to be repaid by the end of next year, as directed under the EU-IMF bailout programme.
The quarterly report said 22 per cent of Nama’s loans were performing by number in June, up from 21 per cent in March, and 29 per cent by value, which is unchanged over the three months.
Jehovah’s Witness in Ireland can now get blood transfusion ‘rules high court’
The High Court has ordered that a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in need of urgent surgical treatment can receive certain blood transfusion products despite objections from her husband on religious grounds.
The 27-year-old woman was admitted to a Dublin hospital on Monday suffering from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. She had lost a significant amount of blood, which was replaced with recycled blood from her body using a system known as “cell salvage”.
The court was told she was currently sedated and unable to express her wishes. A procedure needed to prevent serious infection could involve further bleeding and the need for a transfusion.
A dispute had arisen over her wishes, the court heard. Eileen Barrington SC, for the hospital, said on admission the woman had told doctors she was refusing a transfusion of whole blood or red blood cells but would accept platelets or plasma. Her husband told the court she would never accept platelets or plasma even if her life was in danger.
Mr Justice Roderick Murphy said he would grant the hospital the order sought.
Fáilte Ireland says 2012 is best year since beginning of the recession
Some tourism businesses are saying 2012 was the best performing year since the beginning of the recession.
That is according to the latest Fáilte Ireland survey, which shows business sentiment is improving but challenges remain.
The hotel sector, particularly in the cities and traditional tourism hotspots, is benefitting from increased activity in the domestic and overseas markets.
But other accommodation providers and the restaurant sector are still challenged.
Fáilte Ireland welcomed improvements in the number of American visitors, and says Europe is holding steady but our biggest market, Britain, remains depressed.
Curiosity Rover Finds Rock Type that’s has never been seen on Mars
The rock named Jake Matijevic that Curiosity explored for several days on Mars. Red dots indicate areas where the rover shot the rock with laser blasts while purple circles indicate areas investigated with X-rays beams
The rock, a highly fractionated alkalic rock type, is relatively well known to geologists because it is common in rift zones on Earth and island chains such as the Hawaiian Islands.
“This is a rock type which had not been seen before” by previous Mars rovers including Spirit and Opportunity, said Roger Weins, principle investigator for Curiosity’s ChemCam instrument, during a NASA press conference Oct. 11. It forms under relatively high pressure and often in the presence of water. While Curiosity is mostly focused on sedimentary rocks that could indicate the presence of past conditions for life, Matijevic is an igneous rock that likely formed about 5 miles under the Martian surface.
The rover had been investigating Matijevic mostly as an early test of the instruments on its arm, such as the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS), which bombards a sample with X-rays to determine its chemical composition. Curiosity also used its ChemCam instrument to shoot the rock with more than 400 laser blasts, vaporizing microscopic amounts and then analyzing the resulting dust and plasma. This investigation showed that the rock contained a lot of elements such as silicon, aluminium, sodium, and potassium.
“This was surprising because it differed from the composition from what we know of rocks on Mars,” said Edward Stolper, Curiosity science team co-investigator, during the conference.
Scientists think this rock formed in the interior of Mars when magma moved up through cooler rock. As the magma cooled, elements including nickel, iron, and magnesium crystallized out of it first, leaving behind a material rich in silicon, aluminum, sodium, and potassium, as well as a higher fraction of dissolved water. Though the rock was unusual, the Curiosity team was careful to point out that it was just one isolated sample and not to extrapolate too much about early Martian geology based on it.
Engineers also discussed the case of the mysterious plastic object that Curiosity had spotted several days ago while scooping bits of Martian soil. They concluded that it is likely a bit of bonding material that fell off the rover or a piece of tubing that came off the descent stage and was recently blown off the probe. In either case, “it’s completely inconsequential to the rover’s function” and no further pieces have been seen, said engineer Chris Roumeliotis, the lead turret rover planner. Curiosity is continuing to go through its Martian dust rinse and repeat cycle to clean out its sample delivery instrument of any left-over contaminants from Earth.
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