Richard Bruton jobs Minister is determined to ensure a fair Budget
The Jobs and Enterprise Minister says the government is determined to ensure the Budget is compiled in a “fair fashion”.
The target of €3.5bn euro in tax hikes and spending cuts for 2013 will be announced next week.
Richard Bruton says that while the “broad parameters” have been set out people don’t want to see any advanced speculation.
The Minister says he won’t confirm or deny rumours on the Budget contents but he says difficult decisions are being made.
“We have the pressure to find €3.5bn and want to make decisions collectively. I’m not going to add speculation to comments from any source.
“We have difficult decisions to make but we’re going to take them with the best interests of the community and make sure what we do is done in a fair fashion. That is our determination.”
Cancer and strokes with Irish women rate the worst health record in the EU
Irish women have one of the worst health records in Europe with huge numbers affected by heart disease, cancers and strokes.
Females from Ireland are more likely to die from preventable diseases than their counterparts in Europe.
And researchers put this down to high alcohol and cigarette consumption among women here.
However, Irish men are much closer to the EU average, the new study from the EU/OECD has found.
Despite this poor ranking, Ireland is listed near the top in terms of spending on health. This figure was listed until 2010 — but spending has been reduced since that date.
The number of Irish women dying from the preventable disease of cervical cancer actually increased in the period.
And the death rate for breast cancer is the third highest in the EU. Despite the improved screening regime, this figure is the same as 10 years ago.
Researchers say that risks are increased due to family history, oestrogen replacement therapy and alcohol intake.
More Irish women are admitted to hospital with chronic obstructive pulmonary lung diseases than their European sisters — reflecting the fact that more Irish women smoke cigarettes than females in the rest of the EU.
Ireland is the only country in Europe aside from Greece where more women die from strokes than men.
And our obesity levels are not much better. A quarter of all Irish women are obese, which equates to the third highest in the EU.
In general, women in the EU regard themselves as healthy or very healthy.
Across all ages in all countries, the most frequent causes of death among women are diseases of the circulatory system, accounting for 43pc of all deaths, and cancer, which accounts for 26pc of these.
Suicide and accidents account for 5pc of the deaths.
Cancer, specifically ‘female cancers’, such as breast and cervical cancer, is the main cause of death for women aged 35-64 years.
Up to 94% of Irish people favour generic medicines
Up to 94% of people are in favour of using more generic medicines to keep costs down, according to a survey by Teva Pharmaceuticals Ireland.
It also shows that a third of medical card holders are not using generic brand medicines and pharmacists are “three times more likely to recommend generic medicines than doctors”.
The survey measured attitudes on the cost of medicines, the use of generic alternatives and Government efforts to achieve savings while comparing findings to a similar survey conducted in 2009.
The 67% of adults using generic medicines is an increase of 35% on 2009 findings, with a majority (54%) of those surveyed citing cost as the dominant reason for switching to generics.
The survey also found that 91% believe generics are as safe and effective of the more expensive branded alternatives.
It also found that people 65 years or older, and non-medical card holders, are more likely to use generic medicines than people aged under 34 and medical card holders.
Ms Sandra Gannon, General Manager, Teva Ireland said: “What stands out from this survey is that consumers are increasingly aware of generic medicines, are confident of the safety and enhanced affordability offered by generics, and want a wider availability of generic alternatives.
“This survey also makes it clear that Government, the industry and medical professionals must do more to meet consumer demand.
“Implementation of published legislation giving more dispensing powers to pharmacists is still to be enacted.”
Young people of Ireland now can party in the revamped Pope-mobile
The high-security Popemobile that was created for one very holy passenger but now could be rented out to raucous stag and hen party groups of Ireland.
The vehicle was used to transport John Paul II from the airport to the Phoenix Park on his state visit to Ireland in 1979.
Over one million people crammed in to catch a glimpse of the Holy See — the first ever Pope to set foot in Ireland.
Ford Ireland created the elevated platform on a Transit chassis, which afforded the throngs of spectators a good view of the special visitor from the Vatican.
No expense was spared — with the original silk-and-teflon carpet reputed to have cost €950 a square yard.
Former Senator Donie Cassidy acquired the cab in 1984 and it later went on view in the National Wax Museum in Parnell Square alongside models of the late Pope, Monsignor Horan and Cardinal O Fiaich.
The vehicle was retired, dismantled and put into storage in Santry in 2006.
But businessman Paddy Dunning came into ownership of the yellow and white vehicle when he acquired the Wax Museum in recent years.
It has undergone a €60,000 renovation and now sits astride a Mercedes chassis.
It will be available for hire for parties and corporate groups for €300 per hour and has 15 seats including the original ‘Pope’s chair’.
Mr Dunning said that they would be “selective” about who it is rented out to and that he would like to develop the transport system as a “hopemobile” to travel around the country, building a collection of stories of local heroes.
The revamped Popemobile will hit the road tomorrow when it is showcased alongside the latest wax statues of Jedward at the Wax Museum on Dame Street.
Health Minister Reilly ‘seriously undermined’ by primary-care centre revelations
Health Minister James pre-Budget battle with his ministerial rivals over cuts has been “seriously undermined” by revelations about the selection of locations for primary-care centres.
The Health Minister was facing down calls for his resignation as he heads into a tough week of Cabinet negotiations.
Spending at his department is running at €336m over budget and the HSE is heading towards a deficit of €400m by the end of the year.
“Others in Cabinet are already annoyed that he has missed these targets. Now there is all the extra information about what went on behind the scenes when the locations for the care centres were being picked,” said a Fine Gael source.
“It will make it hard for him to facedown calls for extra cuts in his department when everybody sits around the table later in the week.”
Minister Reilly’s botched handling of his inquiry into the death of Savita Halappanavar has also weakened the political goodwill towards him from other ministers.
The source added that the Budget has to be very carefully crafted to make sure that there are no “over 70s-style medical card issues” buried in the detail.
“He’s on thin ice with everybody at this stage — the Government, the backbenchers and the public. You name it, he has upset them,” the source told the Herald.
Over the weekend it was revealed that the Department of Health added four sites to the list of 35 locations for primary care sites on the evening before the list was announced in July.
It has also emerged that the top civil servant in the department launched an audit to see if there was any links between Dr Reilly and the primary-care sites in his constituency.
Locations in Balbriggan and Swords were among the late additions to the list.
The internal inquiry found that there had been “no impropriety” on the minister’s part but Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein are trying to force the Dublin North TD out of office.
And former junior minister Roisin Shortall — who resigned over the affair — has said Dr Reilly’s Dail explanation that his 15 additions to her original list of 20 were based on “logistical, logarithmic progression” was “absolute codswallop”.
Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said today that other ministers have been concerned about James Reilly “for six months”.
“Where is the Labour party in all of this and where is the Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore?” he asked.
Mr Martin described Minister Reilly’s handling of the primary care centres as “shambolic”.
“The minister was not telling us the truth, neither was the Government, in relation to how that process occurred.”
Smoking rots the brain, says King’s College study
Does smoking affect the health of the mind as well as
Smoking “rots” the brain by damaging memory, learning and reasoning, according to researchers at King’s College London.
A study of 8,800 people over 50 showed high blood pressure and being overweight also seemed to affect the brain, but to a lesser extent.
Scientists involved said people needed to be aware that lifestyles could damage the mind as well as the body.
Researchers at King’s were investigating links between the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke and the state of the brain.
Data about the health and lifestyle of a group of over-50s was collected and brain tests, such as making participants learn new words or name as many animals as they could in a minute, were also performed.
They were all tested again after four and then eight years.
Decline
The results showed that the overall risk of a heart attack or stroke was “significantly associated with cognitive decline” with those at the highest risk showing the greatest decline.
It also said there was a “consistent association” between smoking and lower scores in the tests.
These results underline the importance of looking after your cardiovascular health from mid-life”
One of the researchers, Dr Alex Dregan, said: “Cognitive decline becomes more common with ageing and for an increasing number of people interferes with daily functioning and well-being.
“We have identified a number of risk factors which could be associated with accelerated cognitive decline, all of which, could be modifiable.”
He added: “We need to make people aware of the need to do some lifestyle changes because of the risk of cognitive decline.”
The researchers do not know how such a decline could affect people going about their daily life. They are also unsure whether the early drop in brain function could lead to conditions such as dementia.
Heart and brain
Dr Simon Ridley, from Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “Research has repeatedly linked smoking and high blood pressure to a greater risk of cognitive decline and dementia, and this study adds further weight to that evidence.
“Cognitive decline as we age can develop into dementia, and unravelling the factors that are linked to this decline could be crucial for finding ways to prevent the condition.
“These results underline the importance of looking after your cardiovascular health from mid-life.”
The Alzheimer’s Society said: “We all know smoking, a high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and a high BMI [Body Mass Index] is bad for our heart. This research adds to the huge amount of evidence that also suggests they can be bad for our head too.
“One in three people over 65 will develop dementia but there are things people can do to reduce their risk.
“Eating a balanced diet, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, getting your blood pressure and cholesterol checked and not smoking can all make a difference?”
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