One in three Irish people has not registered for property tax
Local property tax returns have been issued to owners of 1.66m residential properties either by post or by way of their ROS (Revenue Online Service) inbox, a Revenue Commissioners spokeswoman said.
By Wednesday lunchtime, more than one million LPT returns had been received.
“The level of filing to date is in keeping with normal trends for a tax of this nature,” the spokeswoman said.
“As with all online tax returns, Revenue would encourage people to file as early as possible.
HONESTY: “Revenue reminds those filing online to print the acknowledgment that appears on-screen or to copy the details to their online record of choice.”
The LPT is a self-assessed tax, she said, meaning home owners decide how much their property is worth.
“An essential feature of self-assessment is the presumption of honesty, the same as all other taxes. All residential property owners are obliged to file an LPT return,” she said.
“Revenue’s initial focus in terms of compliance will be on ensuring that the register is as complete as possible, i.e. that all liable persons submit the LPT return and, unless they qualify for a deferral, they either pay or make arrangements to pay the self-assessed amount.”
Following the deadline, if a person does not file a return, the amount set out in the Revenue Estimate will be collected, using the usual range of Revenue powers, including deduction at source from salaries.
Last Thursday, Revenue said more than 30,000 returns a day had been filed in the last week.
The deadline for registering online for the LPT is Tuesday.
Revenue say that people who have not done so should file their return by logging on to LPT Online,
http://www.revenue.ie
Those liable can make one single payment or payments in equal instalments from July 1 until the end of the year.
If you own a residential property and have not received a return form, you are still liable for the tax.
People can file online at
http://www.revenue.ie by clicking on the “I have not received a Property PIN” tab or over the phone by ringing 1890 200 255.
CHEQUE: “You will need your property details and details of your bank account or other source from which you want the payment deducted,” Revenue said.
And if you are a single property owner and prefer not to pay online, you can file online by phone via the LPT helpline and still pay by cheque made payable to the Collector General, or by cash.
“If you want to have LPT deducted at source in equal payments from your salary, occupational pension or Department of Social Protection payment, “it is most important that you file your return on time before May 28″, Revenue said.
“If you’ve received an LPT return but are not the owner of the property, you need to contact Revenue immediate with the name(s), address(es) and PPSN (s) of the liable person (s).”
“If you don’t, we will still think you’re liable and will pursue you for the LPT in respect of the property,” Revenue warn.
Anyone with queries or who needs assistance filing a return, can contact the LPT helpline on 1890 200 255.
The helpline will be open 8am-7pm today, 9am-5pm tomorrow, and 8am-8pm on Monday and Tuesday.
65% of patients unaware of HSE complaints procedure – survey results
Survey carried out for the Irish Society for Quality & Safety in Healthcare
A survey of 1,200 in-patients has highlighted problems with emergency department conditions and waiting times.The survey also highlighted issues with a lack of information about hospital routines and tests, medication side effects and aftercare following discharge.
The 2011 National Acute Inpatient Study for the Irish Society for Quality & Safety in Healthcare (ISQSH) shows that 65% of respondents were unaware of the complaints procedure in the hospital.
It found that 18% wanted to make a complaint but over a third of those did not do so, with many feeling they did not have the opportunity.
The Society said this means that based on 350,000 patients discharged in 2011, around 63,000 wanted to discuss an area of dissatisfaction and a third of these may never have had the opportunity.
Of those who underwent a procedure, 52% said the doctor marked the site for surgery in advance.
The survey also showed that 93% of patients reported satisfaction with the service they received and 96% felt they were treated with dignity and respect.
A second survey on Compassion in Healthcare reveals that over one in three people believe the Irish system does not provide a compassionate service.
Most people expressed concern that the increased emphasis on controlling costs will decrease compassion in healthcare professionals.
The compassion survey was conducted last year and involved 236 past patients.
ISQSH chief executive Dr Hilary Dunne said this may be the last independent survey of patient experiences in Ireland as the Health Service Executive has terminated its research grant, leaving further patient experience surveys to be conducted by the Government and related bodies such as the HSE.
ISQSH said it has not been offered an opportunity to meet with Minister for Health James Reilly to discuss its call for the research grant to be reinstated.
Asked about the issue and the decision of the HSE to also cease funding the Irish Patients’ Association, Mr Reilly thanked the organisations for their “sterling work to date”.
He said he was exploring new ways of more effective patient representation, including having patient champions in hospitals.
Mr Reilly was speaking at the 3rd National Patient Safety Conference in Dublin.
€1m funding for NUI Galway projects
EIGHT PROJECTS AT NUI GALWAY ARE TO RECEIVE OVER €1M IN FUNDING FROM SCIENCE FOUNDATION IRELAND (SFI).
Eight projects at NUI Galway are to receive over €1m in funding from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI).
The investment is being made through SFI’s Technology Innovation Development Award (TIDA), in collaboration with Enterprise Ireland, and will focus on commercially relevant projects.
The projects in receipt of the funding will include those focusing on acute leukaemia, bovine mastitis, biological oxygen demand monitoring system for wastewaters, GlycoShield, cancer therapy, drought stress tolerance in crop plants, social semantic journalism and the development of a data mapping system for retail business planning.
The news was welcomed by Galway TD Derek Nolan, who said that it would enable numerous research teams to take the first steps in developing new discoveries and inventions with commercial potential.
“This vital funding will help support the commercialisation of excellent research and more importantly help create quality sustainable jobs that we need in Galway and in this country as a whole,” he said.
“Some of the new projects in NUI Galway that will benefit from the funding include software that will support retail business planning and the development of drought resistant genetically modified crops. These projects are incredibly innovative and full of marketable potential so I am pleased that they are getting the support necessary to help them in the path to becoming viable commercial products.”
The Labour Deputy continued to say that the announcement was a “huge vote of confidence” for Galway and showed that the city was an attractive place for doing business and for starting a viable enterprise.
“The talent of its people is evident and it is only by nurturing and supporting this talent that we will return to a stable local economy. NUI Galway has always been a pioneering and forward thinking university and the investment in these projects is a further example of how economically viable this institution is.”
Statin Drugs may increase the risk of Diabetes
Certain statins – also known as cholesterol-lowering medications – could increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a new study suggests.
The risk was most significant in patients taking atorvastatin (Lipitor), rosuvastatin(Crestor) and simvastatin (Zocor), according to the study, published in BMJ.
Statins are the most widely prescribed medications for the prevention of cardiovascular events. Generally, these medications are well received, however, a new link to diabetes has been suggested.
Previous studies have indicated a 27% elevated risk of diabetes with rosuvastatin. One found that taking pravastatin actually lowered the risk by 30%.
Research on this topic is scarce, which led investigators from Canada to conduct a population-based study on 1.5 million residents in Ontario, Canada, to analyze the link between individual statin use and new-onset diabetes.
The participants were all the age of 66 or older and began statin therapy between 1997 and 2010. The median age was 73 years. Follow-up occurred at the end of 2010 or a maximum of five years after the start of the statins – whichever came first. The primary outcome was incident diabetes.
Data was analyzed from the Ontario Drug Benefit database, the Canadian Institute for Health Information Discharge Abstract Database and the Ontario Diabetes Database.Statins examined in the study included:
fluvastatin lovastatin pravastatin simvastati atorvastatin rosuvastatin
All studies used pravastatin-treated participants as the comparison group because this drug has been established to have advantages for new diagnosed diabetes in animal models and clinical trials.
The researchers analyzed data on 471,250 participants who had no history of diabetes and who were newly using statins – 54% were women.
The total risk of developing diabetes was low, but this risk rose among some subjects taking statins. Between 162 and 407 patients would have to be treated with different statins for one extra patient to develop diabetes.
Subjects treated with atorvastatin were found to have a 22% elevated risk of new-onset diabetes, rosuvastatin an 18% elevated risk, and simvastatin a 10% increased risk, relative to pravastatin.
In contrast, participants treated with fluvastatin were at a 5% lower risk and lovastatin a 1% lower risk.
The rate of events was highest for atorvastatin (30 outcomes per 1000 person-years) and rosuvastatin (34 per 1000 person-years). Simvastatin made up for 26 outcomes per 1000 person-years with both fluvastatin and lovastatin at 21 outcomes per 100 person-years.
Do Statins Benefits Outweigh the Negatives?
Investigators discovered consistent outcomes in analyses looking at the use of statins for primary prevention (when those without diagnosed disease are treated) and secondary prevention (when those with diagnosed disease are treated).
Their results also suggest that older participants are at an elevated risk regardless of dose for atorvastatin and simvastatin or whether therapy is used for primary or secondary prevention.
Many factors could explain why the risk among people taking certain statins is increased for new-onset diabetes.
The researchers concluded that clinicians need to be aware of questioning statin therapy. They say, “preferential use of pravastatin, and potentially fluvastatin may be warranted,” and that pravastatin could be advantageous to patients at high risk for diabetes.
In an editorial, doctors from the University of Turku in Finland say that “the overall benefit of statins still clearly outweighs the potential risk of incident diabetes.” They also point out that because statins have been shown to decrease cardiovascular events in patients, they are an important factor in treatment.
An unrelated study conducted by Harvard argued that the cardiac benefits of taking statins outweigh the risk of developing diabetes in some patients.
A separate study suggests that older women who are taking statins, those who are in menopause, have a higher risk of developing diabetes.
The Gathering welcome John Wayne’s sons Patrick & Ethan to Ireland
The Gathering Ireland are continuing to roll out the green carpet by welcoming John Wayne’s sons to the official opening of the 2nd John Ford Symposium.
Patrick and Ethan Wayne will talk about their dad John Wayne
The Gathering Ireland are continuing to roll out the green carpet by welcoming John Wayne’s sons to the official opening of the 2nd John Ford Symposium.
Patrick and Ethan Wayne will be in Dublin on Friday 7th June and will join Miriam O’Callaghan for a public interview about their dad and his relationship with legendary Irish-American Director John Ford.
The interview, hosted by Miriam O’Callaghan, will be followed by a Gala Screening ofThe Searchers at the Savoy cinema.
Tickets for the screening and public interview are €15, with all proceeds going to the Irish Cancer Society.
New Atlantic Ocean research alliance to involve EU, Canada and US
The Marine Institute in Galway was today the setting for the signing of an agreement between the EU, the US and Canada to pave the way for collaborative scientific and observational research into the Atlantic Ocean.
The agreement, called the Galway Statement on Atlantic Ocean Cooperation, was signed at the Marine Institute on the second day of a conference on the Atlantic as a shared resource.
The new alliance will see the EU, the US and Canada team up for ocean observation and research.
The two main goals are to better understand the Atlantic Ocean and how to manage its resources in a sustainable way. Another research stream will be to study the interplay of the Atlantic Ocean with the Arctic Ocean, particularly with regard to climate change.
The move comes after the European Commission launched an
action plan for a maritime strategy in the Atlantic area earlier this month.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny attended today’s signing along with EU Commissioners, representatives from the US and Canada, as well as other smaller Atlantic coastal states.
Speaking at the Maritime Institute, the European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, said the economic potential of the Atlantic remains largely untapped.
“We probably know more about the surface of the moon and Mars than we do about the deep sea floor. This alliance can make a big contribution to meeting challenges such as climate change and food security,” she said.
The agreement will seek to co-ordinate research into the Atlantic on a transatlantic basis. Areas that have the scope for co-operation include ocean observation, the sharing of data on ocean temperature, salinity and acidity, seabed mapping and the sustainable management of ocean resources.
European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki said the alliance will build on the Atlantic action plan. And while the initiative will be of particular interest to five EU member states that have Atlantic shorelines – Ireland, France, Portugal, Spain and the UK – Damanaki said it will be open to researchers from all over Europe and beyond.
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