Irish Government promises to step up attempts to tackle mortgage crisis
Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore have promised that the Government will accelerate attempts to tackle the mortgage crisis.
Marking the Coalition’s second anniversary in office, they pledged to ensure that most families were offered sustainable solutions by next year.
They said they will make sure economic recovery does not bypass families affected by unemployment by making sure any new jobs go to those on the Live Register.
The leaders also maintained that the country will be exiting the International Monetary Fund-EU programme by continuing to reduce borrowing and debt.
During a news conference, Mr Kenny insisted that the Coalition is making serious progress in implementing the Programme for Government.
He said that two thirds of targets had been met and a sense of stability was returning.
The Taoiseach insisted that the jobs haemorrhage had been stopped and the private sector was once more creating employment.
Mr Gilmore said the Government was delivering on its promises.
He said the economy had returned to growth, credit had begun to flow again to small businesses and Troika targets had been met -making Ireland a success story in Europe.
The Tánaiste said more work needs to be done on youth unemployment.
However, he insisted that the Coalition parties were working well together and would run their full course.
He said when they had taken office there was only five months’ money left to pay for Government services.
No one was claiming outright victory, he said, but people could now be confident about the future.
Mr Kenny reiterated that the public sector would have to contribute €1bn of savings over the next three years.
He said people understood that these things have to be done in the public interest.
“It’s not nice, believe you me, as a politician to have to do it, but it’s necessary (and) in everybody’s interests that we sort out this problem.
“Irish people want to see the problem sorted.
“Unfortunately the alternative is to cut frontline services even more, and that’s not palatable and it’s not on”, he said.
Penalties loom if Irish people blunder on their property tax
Revenue Commissioner Chairman Josephine Feehily.
IRISH HOUSEHOLDERS WHO SECOND-GUESS REVENUE’S ESTIMATE OF THEIR PROPERTY TAX COULD BE SLAPPED WITH PENALTIES.
From next Monday, letters will be sent to the country’s 1.6 million householders giving them six options for paying the new property tax.
People who fail to respond by the end of June will face immediate interest penalties and will ultimately have their tax deducted from their salary, pension or social welfare payments.
The Revenue letters will provide an initial estimate of the value of each property but homeowners will still have the right to self-assess their own home value.
But they will ultimately be liable to penalties if they send back a valuation that the Revenue later decides is too low.
The letters will advise people on how to value their homes and how to calculate the amount of tax they owe.
Dublin city residents are likely to pay an average property tax of €405, compared to about €249 for their rural counterparts. The chairwoman of the Revenue commissioners, Josephine Feehily, briefed ministers yesterday about the operation of the new tax, which has caused concerns among Government backbenchers about a possible public backlash.
She expressed confidence that Revenue would get a compliance rate of 97pc when the system is up and running.
Ms Feehily told ministers that the Revenue letters will make it clear to householders that they must make a return by the end of June, indicating how they intend to pay.
Interest penalties of 8pc will apply to people who do not pay and the Revenue will be entitled to deduct the tax and the penalties at source from salaries, welfare payments or bank accounts.
Everyone who receives a letter from Revenue is required to make a return – whether or not they are liable for the tax.
However, it has emerged that about 65,000 people who are registered with the Revenue Online Service (ROS) will not be sent a physical letter, but will instead have to check their email for notification to visit their online revenue account – a move that has been criticised for adding to confusion around the new tax.
Minister Reilly wants a EU ban on flavoured cigarettes
AN EU BAN ON MENTHOL- AND VANILLA-FLAVOURED CIGARETTES WAS VITAL TO “DENORMALISE” SMOKING FOR YOUNGER PEOPLE, MINISTER FOR HEALTH JAMES REILLY HAS SAID.
Stylishly packaged cigarettes were a particular problem, he said yesterday following a two-day meeting of EU health ministers in Dublin. “That’s what they are trying to attract our children to, particularly young girls,” he said.
He said 700,000 European were dying each year and the tobacco industry was looking for people to replace them. “They are focusing on children,” he said.
Plan for ban: Ireland had prioritised a plan for a ban even if this hurt jobs in the tobacco industry in some countries. “We have to remember it should never be a case of jobs or lives,” he said.
He said the EU should help countries to “get out of tobacco production” and to develop other types of industry instead.
European health commissioner Tonio Borg also acknowledged there would be opposition to the proposed ban.
“It is natural in those countries where tobacco production is high there will be considerations other than health which will be put forward, to put it mildly,” he said.
The aim of the law was to prevent young people from starting smoking, said Mr Borg. “Tobacco products should look like tobacco products . . . and it should taste like tobacco,” he said.
It was hoped the effect would be a 2 per cent reduction in the number of smokers over five years in the EU. This would represent 2.4 million fewer smokers, he added.
Tobacco-producing states: Thirteen EU states produce tobacco, including Italy, which produces the biggest amount, followed by Bulgaria, Poland and Spain.
The ban would affect menthol cigarettes, which are sold in Ireland, and vanilla-flavoured cigarettes.
The Minister said he was hoping to win agreement from other health ministers on the directive during Ireland’s EU presidency. It would then be submitted to the European Parliament for approval. The aim was to have agreement on it by next year and to have it enforced by 2015 or 2016.
Mr Reilly said he supported a proposed law in Ireland banning smoking in cars carrying children under 16, adding it was a “child protection issue”.
The law could be enacted later this year. Since February 1st, all cigarettes sold in Ireland must carry graphic images and health warnings about the dangers of smoking.
HSE West hospitals rejects ‘junk food’ claims
HSE West has rejected claims that it is feeding patients in Galway hospitals and nursing homes a ‘diet of junk food’ as a result of cost containment measures.
It was reported on Monday that tender documents had revealed that sick and elderly patients under the care of the HSE were being fed a ‘high fat, low nutrition’ diet, containing a high volume of frozen chips, sausage rolls, chicken nuggets and processed pies containing just ten per cent meat.
The tender related to patients in Clare, Galway, Tipperary, Roscommon, Mayo, Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim and raised fears that the recent €9 million savings made by the HSE in relation to its food budget may have come at the cost of healthy nutrition for patients.
However, a spokesperson for HSE West refuted the claims, saying it had managed to achieve economies of scale across the food and supplies it purchased, while “still ensuring the highest quality of produce”.
“The tender referred to is the first time the HSE has gone to the market for a national contract seeking a supplier for a range of frozen goods. The approach taken is a ‘catch all’ to test the market for value on a wide-range of products. That is to say, not all products about which information is being sought as part of the tender process will form part of the final contract listing or range of products that may subsequently be purchased by the HSE,” they said.
In a statement, the organisation said that a national advisory group comprised of dieticians, catering managers and procurement sets out the standards and arrangements for food to ensure a high quality content and good nutritional value.
It said the estimated value of the contract would be €800,000, with €36,000 or 4.5 per cent of this relating to processed foods.
“The frozen goods to be purchased include frozen vegetables and poultry, which are used to supplement the fresh produce also in use. These products are used in patient/client catering services, staff canteens and catering for visitors/public restaurants etc.
“The estimated value of frozen burgers as part of this contact worth €800,000 is €480. The value of the pies is estimated to be €360. Hospital menus are planned by trained personnel in order to meet the nutritional standards/requirements.”
The furore comes amid confirmation that University Hospital Galway and Merlin Park Hospital will have to make cuts of €23 million to their budgets in the coming year.
The figure was confirmed by Galway-Roscommon Hospital Group CEO Bill Maher at Thursday’s Regional Health Forum meeting, where the full Service Plan for 2013 was unveiled.
Galway University Hospitals will receive an allocation of €318.5 million for the coming year, an increase of seven per cent or €20.9 million on funding in 2012. However, Mr Maher said this would leave the hospitals with a financial challenge of €26 million for 2013 due to an escalating demand for services within the group.
It is envisaged that this saving would be made through looking at other sources of funding for non-revenue item expenditure, including the procurement of medical equipment, the introduction of legislation to allow hospitals to invoice private patients accommodated in public beds and the possible sourcing of additional funding.
“Our priorities in 2013 are to improve access to services for patients and this means working on admission times from the Emergency Departments, maintaining the inpatients waiting time targets (which includes a reduction to eight months wait time for adults) and meeting the Department of Health’s Special Delivery Unit outpatient waiting time target, which is that no patient should wait longer than 12 months by the end of November,” he explained.
New pictures of Mount Etna’s latest eruption
CHECK OUT THESE PICTURES OF MOUNT ETNA – EUROPE’S LARGEST VOLCANO – ERUPTING!
Plumes of lava and ash filled the night sky over the island of Sicily, in Italy, on Tuesday.
Eruptions of the volcano aren’t uncommon – sometimes planes have to alter their routes to avoid flying through ash clouds.
That didn’t happen this time – though roads close by were covered with volcanic stones.
There are several inhabited villages on the slopes of Mount Etna – which is almost 10 thousand feet high.
There were no reports of any injuries though.
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