Pope Benedict ‘considering’
Coming to Ireland maybe for the International Eucharistic Congress?
The Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin said the pope was actively considering an invitation to come to Ireland soon.
Pope Benedict would visit Ireland “soon rather than later” and was “actively considering” an invitation from the Irish Catholic Church, the Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has said.
Dr Martin also said, however, that the Irish Church was not ready for a papal visit. Speaking on RTÉ radio today, in advance of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress which takes place in Dublin in June, he said the pope had been invited.
“We haven’t got a response. He did say to me that he would be open to coming but he said, and this I agree with, that his coming would have to fit into the overall timetable of the renewal of the Church in Ireland.
“Short-circuiting that programme wouldn’t bring the benefits that a papal visit would bring and I am not sure that we are at that stage yet.”
He said in the wake of the sexual, emotional and physical abuse scandals in Catholic-run institutions and the subsequent fall in Mass attendances, the Church here was in need of radical renewal and reform. This process would have to be further progressed before a papal visit would be of significant benefit.
“We have to see and understand ourselves where we want to go with the Catholic Church. I think a papal visit will only have a significance when many of these issues of our past are fully addressed.”
Asked when the pope might visit, Dr Martin said he didn’t know, “but I would say soon rather than later. When Pope John Paul came to Ireland the notice was very, very limited.
Asked whether he was expecting the pope to visit for the Eucharistic Congress he said: “I have plan A and Plan B.”
The Congress will take place over eight days from 10th to 17th June with events at the RDS. Up to 25,000 people per day are expected, about half of them from overseas. The theme will be The Eucharist: Communion with Christ and with one another .
The Congress is an international gathering which takes place every four years in different locations of the world. It was last held in Ireland in 1932.
The Irish Government are criticised for lack of update’s
On child safety proposals from a Garda report
Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald needs to tell us what’s happening.
THE GOVERNMENT has been criticised for failing to give an update on 19 recommendations in the Garda Inspectorate’s report on the force’s investigation of sexual offences against children.
Fianna Fáil spokesman on children Charlie McConalogue said the Government had had the report for 14 months. He asked what was being done “to ensure they are being implemented” quickly.
“Many of the recommendations are straightforward and urgent. They need to be implemented in order to ensure that some of the mistakes of the past are not repeated.”
Even though the report was only published on Wednesday, “the Government has had it for a long time. I would expect significant progress to have been made in that time in terms of dealing with many of the recommendations and problems highlighted in the report.”
The inspectorate’s report found basic record-keeping so poor that official crime figures did not capture up to 65 per cent of the sex crimes against children reported to the Garda in recent years.
Almost one-third of cases were not classified as criminal offences and the report also showed inadequate co-operation between the Garda and the HSE. Plans on how cases would be investigated between the two agencies of State had only been put together in 1 per cent of cases.
Minister of State for Health Róisín Shortall said Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald was involved in addressing the issue and it was “being treated with absolute urgency in her department”.
Mr McConalogue said the report “showed there were turf wars between the Garda and the HSE in terms of how reports were dealt with”.
Ms Shortall, however, rejected claims of turf wars. She said the Dáil debate stemmed from an article in The Irish Times on the Garda Inspectorate report which referred to a turf war. Ms Shortall said this contention was not in it.
She quoted from the report, which said an international body for the prevention of child abuse recognised that “turf issues will inevitably arise when work begins on a multidisciplinary response to child abuse. Turf issues are the result of each agency or professional group’s identification of its own mandate and the concerns that somehow the co-operation being sought will negatively affect this mandate.”
Ms Shortall said the inspectorate’s statement “clearly seeks to comment on so-called turf issues in the general sense and is not a statement aimed particularly at either the HSE or the Garda authorities”.
Cancer cases in Ireland
Could increase by 72% by 2030
The WHO estimates that Ireland will have 33,416 new cases of cancer in 2030
New cases of cancer in Ireland could rocket up to 72% by 2030, health experts have warned.
Ireland has topped a list of 27 countries in the European Union with cases predicted to rise from 19,454 in 2008 to 33,416 in 18 years.
The league table was compiled by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and issued to publicise World Cancer Day on Saturday.
It showed Cyprus ranked a distant second with a 55% rise, followed by Luxembourg with 53%. The UK, where cases of the illness are expected to rise by 30%, ranks 16th on the list.
WCRF spokesman Andy Wilks said the organisation could not speculate why Ireland had been predicted with such a drastic hike compared with its British neighbours.
“You would have to look at the factors relating to the causes behind cancer,” said Mr Wilks. “Things like smoking, diet, body weight, obesity is becoming a bigger issue.”
He explained that the European-wide increase in figures, sourced from the World Health Organisation, are based on population changes. “Population is growing and also ageing, so you are going to have a high portion of an age group in which cancer is prevalent,” Mr Wilks said.
Ireland is expected to see a 91% hike in cancer cases among the over-65s, compared with 48% among the same age group in the UK. Cancer among the under-65s in Ireland has been predicted to increase 49%, compared with a UK rise of 9%.
WCRF spokeswoman Dr Rachel Thompson said the most common cancers among high-income countries can be easily avoided with healthier lifestyles. She suggested maintaining a healthy weight, being more physically active and eating more healthily could potentially stave off certain illnesses.
Eastern European countries have been predicted to have the least significant increases in cancer. Bulgaria is likely to fare the best, with an increase of just 2.2%, followed by Latvia at 8.8%.
Ireland’s Senators claim a staggering €1.65m expenses in just 8 months
Our expensive to keep Seanad members left and Mary Ann O’Brien who claimed €46,000 in expenses since April 2011. SENATORS have shared a staggering €1.65m expenses pot in just eight months — despite not actually having designated constituencies.
As the furore over the scale of the Oireachtas gravy train continues, the spotlight has now shifted to those in the Upper House.
The 60 senators, many of whom have spoken in just a handful of debates, have clocked up an extraordinary bill of close to €1.65m.
This means the taxpayer must fork out over €20,000 for every day the Seanad sits.
Some €188,000 was handed over in expenses in December alone, compared to the €600,000 claimed by their colleagues in the Dail during the same period.
Salary: Senators are entitled to a “travel and accommodation allowance” as well as a “public representation allowance”, which is used for organising meetings, printing leaflets and other similar costs.
However, the fact that senators have no designated constituencies, unlike TDs, is sure to lead to renewed calls for the house to be scrapped.
And the expenses figures are revealed less than a month after we learned of a €23,000 tax-free sum being paid to 12 independent senators.
The unvouched money is similar to an allowance allocated to party leaders. Despite strong calls to return the cash, no recipient has yet done so.
The expenses comes on top of the €65,000 salary drawn by the average senator.
Topping the list of recipients is Mary Ann O’Brien, who has claimed over €46,000 in expenses since April.
The Independent senator — who was hand-picked for the Seanad by Taoiseach Enda Kenny — took home over €23,000 in travel and accommodation allowance as well as her €23,000 independent payment.
She didn’t respond to the Herald when queried about her expenses. Ms O’Brien is followed by fellow Independents Sean Barrett (€45,000) and Katherine Zappone (€44,500).
Of party senators, Fianna Fail’s Mark Daly claimed over €35,000 in expenses, followed by his party colleague Denis O’Donovan (€33,700) and Fine Gael’s Fidelma Healy Eames (€33,000).
And the huge number of senators that avail of the “unvouched expenses” system will also raise alarm bells.
Some 75pc of the senators choose the unvouched system, with just 15 backing up their expenses with receipts.
An examination of all Seanad debates reveals that several senators are making just a handful of official contributions.
Topping the list is Labour’s Lorraine Higgins, who has spoken in just six debates in the space of six months.
Independent senator Eamonn Coghlan recorded just 11 debate contributions, followed by Labour’s James Heffernan and Fine Gael’s Terry Brennan who made 15 contributions.
Concern is growing over the future of the Galway Airport after BOI recent action
THE ATTORNEY General and the Department of Finance are reportedly looking into a recent decision at Bank of Ireland in which government funding for Galway Airport was used to offset the airport’s loans.
Labour TD Derek Nolan told TheJournal.ie today that he and the Tánaiste met with representatives of the airport’s board and the Galway Chamber of Commerce yesterday to discuss the issue.
Nolan said the bank’s decision was within the terms of its contract with the airport, but that it was unexpected given that “the airport was up to date with its repayments”.
He also said that the Attorney General is looking into the legality of the move, and that the Tánaiste is awaiting a report from the Department of Finance on the issue.
Last week in the Dáil, Eamon Gilmore said it “would not be appropriate for the government to intervene in the relationship between a bank and an individual account holder.”
Deputy Nolan said today that the Department of Transport had given funding to the airport in order to enable redundancy payments and to facilitate ongoing operations at the airport.
Of the €1.6 million the airport had in its account, €1.1 million was transferred to offset against its term loans, leaving €500,000 to cover redundancy payments as well as ongoing operations. The Examiner reports today that €450,000 of that half a million has already been earmarked for redundancies.
Although there are currently no commercial flights from the airport, it is used as a maintenance facility by Aer Arann and is used for private flights into and out of Galway.
Fianna Fáil TD Éamon Ó’Cuív said he raised the issue in the Dáil last week because he was “very concerned about it because the loans are up to date”.
He said that he is also worried about “the possibility of the same clause being used for other companies”.
Ó’Cuív said the latest development meant that the prospects for Galway Airport are “not good”.
Galway Airport could not be reached today for comment, though airport director Declan Dooley told the Examiner that the airport may have to close within days or weeks if the money is not returned to its deposit account.
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