Fine Gael TD Brendan Griffin ‘now very close’ to resigning over water charges
BRENDAN GRIFFIN FINE GAEL DEPUTY FOR KERRY SOUTH LEFT AND JOHN TIERNEY HEAD OF IRISH WATER RIGHT,
A Fine Gael TD says he is “very close” to resigning from the party over the water charges debacle.
Party back-bencher Brendan Griffin says he has to consider “where is the red line” which would push him over the edge and leave the Government.
“When the time comes or if the time comes that I feel there is absolutely no more influence that I can change for the better, well then, obviously, you’d be a fool to stay where you are.”
“I am very close to that. I am very close to that,” he said on Radio Kerry.
The Kerry South TD said backbenchers felt they had to work together to bring about change in the way the Dail operated.
“Well I don’t want to get into the numbers at this stage in time but certainly, amongst people on the backbenches, there is a strong feeling that we need to act in numbers and we need to collectively bring about this change,” he said.
Mr Griffin was highly critical of the handling of the water charges by the Government.
“I have to consider also, you know, where is, you know, where is the red line? Where is the point where you can say: ‘No more’? And I can tell you, I know that the people are saying this is getting very close to the point where we can say: ‘No more’. Because what we have here is another example in 2014 of an issue that the Government has completely mishandled.
“That is, you know, in the context of an overall macroeconomic situation that is improving immensely but has a long way to go as well – I absolutely appreciate that – but we have come a huge way from where we were in 2011. So as a government TD I need to balance all of these things, but, as I said, there has to be now, there has to be change in the way that we do business in Dail Eireann,” he said.
During his speech at the meeting, Kerry TD Brendan Griffin told Mr Kenny that the party “can no longer take my vote got granted”.
However, it’s not believed that Mr Griffin has any intentions to quit the party at this point in time.
MEANWHILE:-
Q & A on Water charges and knowing your rights
Question: I live with my 2 small children in a standard town house. The water meter was installed this summer. How much will my water bills be? Can I get tax relief?
Answer: Irish Water provides two services – water supply and waste water (sewage) services. As you are in a town house, I presume that you use both services, so the charge is €4.88 per 1,000 litres in your case.
There is a free allowance of 30,000 litres per year for every household. This is worth €146.40 per year to you. If you are getting Child Benefit for your children, you can claim two free child allowances of 21,000 litres per year. These are worth €102.48 each per year.
You apply to Irish Water for these allowances, either on the form that has issued to every household, online at water.ie or by phone at 1890 448 448. You will need to provide your own Personal Public Service Number (PPSN) and your children’s PPSNs. Irish Water will use these numbers to check that you are entitled to the allowances.
In general, you will be billed for the amount of water you use each quarter, but your first three bills, starting in January 2015, will be capped at standard assessed charges. These assessed charges are based on the standard assessed consumption for each household size.
This capping means that the most you can be charged on these first three bills is the standard assessed charge for your family size – one adult and two children, based on standard quarterly usage of 27,000 litres. Of course, if you use less than this amount of water, you will only be charged for the metered amount.
As you are using both water supply and wastewater services, the assessed charge will be €527.04 for a full year before allowances.
Your free allowances add up to €351.36, giving an annual assessed charge, after allowances, of €175.68. This leaves a quarterly charge of €43.92, so the most that you can be charged for the first three quarters is €43.92 per bill.
If you pay income tax, you can claim relief at 20% on the water charges, up to a maximum of €500 per year. This equates to a maximum tax credit of €100.
Read more about water charges on citizensinformation.ie. Further information is available from the Citizens Information Centre.
Food addiction is not the cause of our obesity problem.
A conference hears
NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO SHOW COMMON FOODS OR PARTICULAR INGREDIENTS ARE ADDICTIVE
Health minister Leo Varadkar below pic. quoted “disturbing statistics” that show three in four Irish adults and one in four primary school children are obese or overweight.
It is not helpful to tell overweight and obese people that they have a food addiction and it’s not their fault, a conference exploring the issue of food addiction has heard.
Prof Julian Mercer, head of obesity and metabolic health at the University of Aberdeen, said labelling overeating as an addiction and blaming the food industry gave people the impression that there was nothing they could do about it.
He said there was insufficient evidence that common foods, or a particular ingredients, were addictive.
“Eating addiction might be a more appropriate term to describe problematic relationships with food, avoiding the implication that food contains addictive chemicals,” he said.
“For most individuals with a weight problem, weight gain occurs rather slowly over periods of years or decades, and it is almost certainly completely inappropriate to suggest that food addiction or eating addiction has any role to play.”
Prof Mercer said headlines saying cookies were as addictive as crack cocaine or fast food was as addictive as heroin were exasperating and misleading. Scientists must work harder to get sensible messages out there.
Prof Mercer was speaking at a conference on food addiction organised by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland’s consultative council.
Opening the conference, Minister for Health Leo Varadkarsaid studies now showed that two out of three Irish adults, and one in four primary school children, were overweight or obese. “These disturbing statistics represent a major challenge. It’s a challenge for health professionals, for parents, for individuals and for society as a whole,” he said.
Nutritionist Paula Mee encouraged people wishing to reduce their calorie intake to use smaller plates and more slender glasses. She said people should practise mindful eating, slowing down so that they enjoyed their food more.
Irish families will spend an average of €620 on gifts this Christmas
OVERALL COST OF FESTIVE SEASON WILL BE CLOSER TO €1,500 AS TOYS FROM THE MOVIE FROZEN TO FEATURE
Irish families will spend up to €1,463 this Christmas, with the average family spending €620 on gifts alone, according to research by Aviva Home Insurance.
Other costs include €340 on food and drink; €228 on socialising, including Christmas parties, pantomimes and family parties; and € 210 on home decoration and ad hoc costs such as Christmas crackers, carol singing donations, clothes on Christmas day.
However, a fifth of respondents said that they will spend less on gifts this year, while a further fifth intend to consume less food and drink (18%) and 23 per cent said they would spend less on socialising and events such as pantomimes.
Given the cost of gifts that many families keep at home, Aviva is recommending that people check their home insurance policy to make sure these gifts are covered in the event of a burglary. Aviva for example, automatically increases your contents sum insured by 10 per cent for the month of December.
Meanwhile, the top 12 toys that children across Ireland are expected to find under their Christmas tree this year were unveiled at the launch of the Christmas Toy Show in the RDS.
Chosen by the Toy Retailers Association, which expects 2014 to be the biggest year for toy sales since 2010, this Christmas looks set to be dominated by the movie Frozen, wearable tech watches, and interactive pets, dolls and dinosaurs.
The top toys this year are expected to be:
Boomer Dino (Spinmaster): € 130
Bop It Beats (Hasbro): € 29
Frozen Snow Glow Elsa (Jakks Pacific): € 45
Frozen Sparkle Dolls (Mattel): € 21
Lego Benny’s Spaceship (Lego): € 105
Little Live Pets Birdcage (Character Options): € 25
Kiddizoom Smart Watch (Vtech): € 50
Minecraft Figures (Character Options): € 10
My Friend Cayla: (Vivid): € 75
Nerf N-Strike Elite Demolisher 2-in-1 (Hasbro): € 59
Toot-Toot Animals Safari Park (VTech): € 50
Science women to receive €1.7m from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI)
Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation Damien English has announced the 10 recipients of €1.7m delivered through the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Advance Award Programme.
The programme is aimed at encouraging women to return to or stay in a career in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Recipients included Dr Aleksandra Kaszubowska-Anandaraja, Dr Elisabetta Arca and Dr Hye-Young Kim of Trinity College.
Thai airports in sky lantern alert
RevelLers in northern Thailand have been asked not to launch lanterns into the sky near airports to avoid airborne accidents during a popular festival.
The air traffic control centre in Chiang Mai province declared a 5km zone around the airport where people were advised not to launch lanterns from yesterday to Friday, when Loy Krathong festival celebrations will take place.
Thais believe that launching lanterns will rid them of bad fortune. Authorities and airlines, however, have expressed safety concerns over the lanterns.
Fundraiser (5) climbs BT tower
A five-year-old fundraiser has become the youngest person ever to climb the 842 steps of London’s BT tower.
Reuben O’Hara climbed the 34 floors in 19 minutes, with his mum Elizabeth following closely behind.
The schoolboy, from west London, took up the challenge to raise money for Action On Hearing Loss, and has collected £600 (€765) to date. “I really like towers and I also wanted to help my granddad who can’t hear well,” he said.
Paul Simon yes to biography
Paul Simon has agreed to cooperate with author and music critic Robert Hilburn for a planned biography.
Publishers Simon & Schuster said the book was still untitled and did not yet have a release date. Hilburn’s previous books include the memoir Corn Flakes With John Lennon and a biography of Johnny Cash.
“I enjoyed and admired his biography of Johnny Cash and I think he’ll tell my story well,” Simon said.
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