Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Irish Government may not win the Seanad vote on water charges

 

Leo Varadkar warns of higher bills in January if concessions and lower charges are not agreed.

The Minister for Health Leo Varadkar said that if the Seanad does reject the Water Services Bill, the existing arrangements apply.

The Government is uncertain of the voting intentions of some Senators nominated by the Taoiseach as it prepares for crucial votes on water charges legislation.

The Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has warned Senators that if they reject the revised legislation this week, people will face higher bills in January rather than reduced bills in April. His comments were described as “unhelpful” by Independent Senator Fiach MacConghail.

The controversial Water Services Bill 2014 is due to be debated in the Dáil on Tuesday and Wednesday before proceeding to the Seanad on Thursday and Friday.

Leo Varadkar, who was speaking at an event in Dublin, said the concessions and reduced charges announced by Government recently needed to be agreed by both Houses of the Oireachtas.

The Status quo

“As I understand it, if the Seanad does reject the Water Services Bill, the existing arrangements apply. So what they would in effect be doing is allowing the status quo to stand, which would mean higher bills landing in January rather than the reduced bills in April,” he said. “So I think the Seanad need to think about whether they want to be responsible for that or not.”

Mr. Mac Conghail said Senators were waiting to see the shape of the Bill when it emerged from the Dáil after amendments had been debated, and were continuing to seek clarity on various issues, such as privatisation and data protection.

“Leo’s comments were unhelpful. The Seanad has a very independent mind,” he said. “I’ll consider the Bill when it comes through. I just want clarification on privatisation; I need more clarity around data people have already submitted.”

The Government is in a minority in the 60-seat Seanad with 17 Fine Gael and 11 Labour Senators. The other seats belong to Opposition and Independent members who sometimes support the Government.

Another Taoiseach’s nominee, Marie-Louise O’Donnell, said she had “very mixed” feelings about the Bill.

Grave doubts?

“I’m not against paying for water but my big worry was privatisation. I’m not too sure my fears have been allayed,” said M/s O’Donnell.“I also have grave doubts about the structure of Irish Water.”

She predicted the debate on the contentious legislation would not conclude this week but would continue into next week.

Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly predicted the legislation would be supported by the Seanad this week.

The Gardai are given 700 new nursing home complaints by F.G. TD Fergus O’Dowd

 

A file of 700 separate complaints about nursing and care homes has been passed by a Government TD to the Garda Commissioner, it has emerged.

The revelation comes in the wake of the Aras Attracta care home scandal last week.

Speaking to the Herald, Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd has said the separate complaints about nursing and care homes that he received through a Freedom of Information request were passed on to Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan.

Mr O’Dowd said the complaints centred around the failure to provide proper care in homes around the country and were included in documents he received from the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).

He confirmed that the files are also being forwarded to the Medical Council and the Nursing Board for their consideration.

“Some of the complaints deal with shocking cases and such is the seriousness of what was included I felt the need to refer the matter to the Garda Commissioner,” he said.

Mr O’Dowd got an initial file of 300-odd complaints dating from 2013 a couple of weeks ago and has since received a further file of about 400 complaints lodged throughout 2014.

Mr O’Dowd said he obtained a redacted file which omitted the names of the nursing and care homes involved, but said he expected the gardai to get the un-redacted file.

POWERS

The former junior minister has also called for greater powers for HIQA to investigate complaints concerning the treatment of patients.

Meanwhile, HSE Director General Tony O’Brien is to be questioned by the Oireachtas Health Committee this week about the Aras Attracta scandal.

Mr O’Brien will appear before the Joint Committee on Health and Children tomorrow evening to address the controversy.

Confirmation of his appearance comes as families of those who suffered abuse at the care home said they have been “betrayed” by what was allowed to happen.

Committee Chair Jerry Buttimer TD said: “As a Committee, we were shocked at appalling evidence of alleged abuse of residents at Aras Attracta uncovered by RTE.

“This Tuesday, we have asked senior HSE officials to discuss how they propose to respond to the serious issues highlighted.”

Irish Government should stand up to big business on prompt payments

   

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprise association says the Government needs to stand up to big businesses and ensure prompt payments for small and medium firms.

ISME says businesses are waiting more than 60 days to be paid by bigger companies and government agencies.

The business group is calling for a change in the Prompt Payments legislation, calling for the introduction of a statutory 30-day payments regime for all businesses trading within Ireland with other Irish based enterprises.

The CEO of ISME Mark Fielding says the Government needs to stand up to big business much more.

He said: “Small and medium businesses rely heavily on a smooth cash flow from their customers in order to pay their bills, buy the stock and take advantage of market conditions and pay wages and taxes.

“The Government themselves are lax on this one, while their own collector general doesn’t wait around to get their taxes.

“So what we are saying is that the Government should stand up to big business and insist on prompt payments across the board.”

Here is some good news if you earn the minimum wage

 

A new Low Pay Commission is being set up to examine the current rate of €8.65 and whether it should be increased.

A Government Minister has given strong indications that the national minimum wage is likely to be increased as soon as next year as he seeks members for the new Low Pay Commission.

  Ged Nash, the Minister for Business and Employment, today sought expressions of interest for the nine-member panel being set up to examine the current national minimum wage of €8.65 and whether it should be increased.

Speaking today, Nash said he wants to see the minimum wage increased “progressively” in the coming years as the economy improves and said there is an “inevitability” about pay increase demands as the economy improves.

“I want to see the rate of the national minimum wage progressively increased over a period of time. But I will say this, it should increased only in circumstances where circumstances allow,” Nash told reporters today.

He said that the current rate of €8.65, which was reduced to €7.65 by the previous government before being restored by the current administration, has not been properly reviewed since 2007.

The new Low Pay Commission will consist of an independent chairperson, three people with experience of working with low-paid workers, three people with experience of employers’ interests and two members with experience of labour market economics and employment law.

The chair will be paid €20,000 while the members will each earn €11,500 with the commission receiving an overall budget of €500,000.

Nash said he envisages the commission meeting for the first time in February and having its first publicly available report for him by the early spring. He anticipates that its recommendations will be implemented “very soon after that”.

The Louth TD said that while he could “theoretically, hypothetically” ignore the commission’s recommendations but said this would be unlikely as it would provide an “evidence-based approach” using ”a robust set of data sets”.

Martin Shanaghar, assistant secretary in the Department of Jobs, insisted that the UK Low Pay Commission, which has operated for over a decade, has been examined very closely and said its success is based on government usually implementing its recommendations.

More than 82,000 people sought cancer information last year 2013

 

Irish Cancer Society says services need to engage better with men and older people

A report found 70% of people contacting the Irish Cancer Society information services are women.

Cancer information services need to engage better with men, older people and people with disabilities, according to a new report. In total, over 82,000 people contacted theIrish Cancer Society last year and 70% of those contacting for information are women, the report finds.

It says awareness levels of such services are high, but healthcare professionals are slow to recommend them to their patients and families. With cancer numbers set to increase to 40,000 cases a year by 2020, demand for expert information, advice and support is set to increase.

The society commissioned Prof Jonathan Drennan of the University of Southampton to evaluate its information service. He found about 40 per cent of those contacting the service had or were recovering from cancer.

A similar number were making contact on behalf of a family member or friend who had been diagnosed with the disease. People with a disability, such as the deaf and blind communities, may have difficulty accessing the service, according to Prof Drennan.

Donal Buggy, head of services at the ICS, said: “We now have the evidence which will allow us to improve and develop our service to meet the challenges ahead, as well as addressing the recommendations in the report.

“We are committed to evolving and improving in areas such as how we engage with men, disadvantaged communities, older people and non-Irish nationals.”

It was also vital for the society to engage more readily with healthcare professionals, he said.

Geminid meteors photobomb views of Northern Lights

  

What’s cooler than pictures of the northern lights, or pictures of the Geminid meteor shower in progress? How about getting both of those celestial phenomena in one photograph? Veteran sky watchers pulled off that trick last weekend when the Geminids reached their peak just as a high-speed solar wind was sparking heightened auroral displays in high northern latitudes.

“Tonight our group of 10 guests from all over the world enjoyed an amazing display of auroras dancing in the sky with the Geminid meteor shower,” Chad Blakley, the photographer/guide who runs Lights Over Lapland, told SpaceWeather.com in a posting on Sunday. “The auroras started with a burst of energy and slowly calmed down as the meteor shower intensified. At one point we were seeing several meteors per minute.”

Based on the reports gathered by the International Meteor Organization, Blakley and his guests at Sweden’s Abisko National Park weren’t the only ones to enjoy a standout show. Some skywatchers reported seeing 140 meteors or more during one hour of peak time on Saturday night. Sharp-eyed observers can still catch the tail end of the spectacle on Monday night and early Tuesday morning.

Photographer Zoltan Kenwell’s picture captures the aurora’s bright glow over Alberta with the dramatic streak of a meteor’s fall.

About 40 miles (60 kilometers) north of Edmonton, Alberta, photographer Zoltan Kenwell of InFocus Imagery also sampled a double-dip of northern lights and meteor flashes.

“My plan was to capture a few Geminids, and to my surprise I found a little aurora as well,” Kenwell told SpaceWeather.com. “So what does an aurora hunter do when there is a meteor shower on? He kicks back in a recliner, relaxes and enjoys the show!”

The outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center suggests that the show will continue this week, and SpaceWeather.com says there’s a chance that newly emerging sunspots could produce fresh solar flares. As for shooting stars, the next display on the calendar is the Quadrantid meteor shower.

“The bright waxing gibbous moon will wash out all but the brightest Quadrantid meteors,” EarthSky’s Bruce McClure reports. “But if you’re game, try watching between midnight and dawn on January 3 and/or 4.”

In response to our call for Geminid pictures via #NBCmeteor, Roberto De Lorenzo sent this picture of a meteor flash, witnessed in the skies over southern Italy on Saturday evening. “It shows a Geminid meteor crossing the sky between Orion and Taurus,” De Lorenzo wrote in an email. “I shot it with a Canon EOS with standard optics and 15 seconds of exposure.”