Coward Taoiseach Enda Kenny
Still afraid to debate the Fiscal Treaty on live TV
TV3 
You’d think the leader of our country would have the ‘marbles’ to stand up and debate the pros and cons of a treaty which he is putting before the country – but coward Enda’s is still in hiding.
The Taoiseach has been invited no less than four times to debate the Fiscal Treaty with other party leaders on the national airwaves.
Each time he has come up with a feeble excuse to get out of it. With TV3 it was his hatred of Vincent Browne, but what’s his reason dodge RTÉ’s invitation?
Enda claims he wasn’t told about the national broadcaster’s invitation. Actually his press secretary did too, until he quickly backtracked and admitted they had.
Even though he is flatly refusing to debate the treaty, Enda’s spokesperson claims the Taoiseach is: “playing a leading and active role in informing people about the stability treaty”.
However, before you get worried that Enda will only address private functions, he has confirmed a state of the nation-style address on Sunday. The purpose of the broadcast? Basically he wants to contradict everything the Sinn Féin leader, Gerry Adams, will have said in his Ard Fheis speech the night before.
So he can debate with Adams, just once there’s a 24-hour delay between what they say.
The provision of new Galway port facilities would attract more cruise liners
Galway shops, restaurants, and services could be major beneficiaries from the world popular cruise liner business once the new city port is up and running. Planning permission for phase one of the development is being submitted tomorrow.
This first phase, estimated to cost €51 million, will see the harbour quay extended out to a line between Hare and Mutton islands. It will involve a landfill of 24 hectares, and is planned to be completed by 2016.
A vital spur to this major development is the interest expressed by some of the largest cruise liner companies in the world in using Galway as a regular destination.
Last week the Mayor of Galway Hildegarde Naughton led a high powered delegation to Miami, Florida, to discuss the liner prospects for the city. Even though 10 liners are due into Galway Bay this summer, the facilities at present are not suitable. This is because liner passengers prefer to embark onto land rather than descending to a waiting tender at sea.
Harbour board chief executive Eamon Bradshaw confirmed that the meetings in Miami were hugely encouraging, and very positive. Kevin M Sheehan of Norwegian Cruise Line, the third biggest liner company in the world, said his company will come to Galway. However, the provision of the facilities planned for the new port would copper-fasten their arrival. His company’s biggest liner carries 5,000 passengers and 7,000 crew.
Robert W Lepisto, president of Seadream, which specialises in longer stays and smaller numbers, asked for a seven-day itinerary which would include visiting such local attractions as theatre, sport, restaurants and pubs, and the Aran Islands. Emelio Freeman of Azamara, also expressed similar interest.
All three executives stated their pleasure that Galway had sought them out. They also said there was a demand to explore new destinations in this business.
Galway will see as many as 10 liners in the bay this summer. The first is the Silver Explorer from Silverseas, which arrives tomorrow. The famous World, where some people have bought apartments on board, and many live permanently on the ship, will anchor in the bay July 8/9.
‘Very positive’
Mayor Naughton, who is committed to winning jobs for Galway, and tackling its clogged traffic flow, said she was delighted with the reception the Galway delegation received in Miami, and the “very positive prospects” for Galway business.
Miami city commissioner Marc D Sarnoss, and chair of Miami Development, Alyce Robinson, hosted the Galway delegation. They emphasised their desire for more co-operation with Galway and feel there were links worth exploring between the city’s respective chambers of commerce, as well as commercial and industrial interests, the universities, and the promotion of holidays and wedding destinations.
The Galway delegation included Fianna Fáil city councillor Ollie Crowe, Frank Gilmore (Galway County Council), Eamon Bradshaw (Galway Harbour Board), Fiona Monaghan (Fáilte Ireland), Fergus O’Halloran (Irish Restaurants’ Association), president Chamber of Commerce Declan Dooley, Anthony Ryan (chair of the Galway City Business Association), Mary Bennett and Brian O’Higgins of Skal, and Charles Lynch.
The delegation was facilitated by Bob Burke and his business partner David Ross who head up e-Group Communications, which offers incentive tours to the cruise liner business. Messrs Burke and Ross were thanked by Mayor Naughton for their interest in Galway, and the success in promoting the Galway destination. Presentations were made to Mr Burke on behalf of Galway city and county.
The delegation saw first hand the value of the Irish network. Kevin M Sheehan, the chief executive of the Norwegian cruise line, had visited Galway on a number of occasions.
All this was carried on under the watchful eye of Enda O’Coineen, one of the instigators of bringing the Volvo Ocean Race to Galway, and a promoter of Lets Do It Galway Global. He asks the city to look to the ocean for opportunities, and to capitalise on the Volvo which concludes in Galway on July 8.
More than 600,000 people are expected to join in a 10-day celebration surrounding the race which will include free concerts, entertainment, exhibitions and events. It will be Ireland’s biggest festival this summer.
Big decrease shown in Ireland’s health insurance numbers
More people are expected to abandon their private health cover this year
A further 75,000 people could drop their private health insurance cover by the end of the year, the regulator for the sector has forecast.
A new report published this morning from the Health Insurance Authority said that at the end of March there were 2.14 million people covered by private health insurance. This is down from 2.3 million at the peak of the market at the end of 2008.
It has published a survey of the health insurance market in 2011 which found that 43% of people have insurance.
That is down from 46% in 2009.
And only 43% of people have even considered switching policies or insurer.
Chief Executive of the HIA is Liam Sloyan.
He says 23% of policy holders have switched and 20% have considered it.
The authority forecast that based on current trends, the number of subscribers would fall by a further 75,000 in the 18 months from June 2011 to December 2012.
A survey published by the authority today said that 23 per cent of consumers have switched health insurance company at one point or another.
The survey also indicated that affordability, the impact of price rises, employment status and general economic conditions are all affecting consumer sentiment towards private health insurance.
Fifty per cent of respondents to the authority’s survey who had cancelled their cover, said the reason for cancelling was that premiums were too high and they couldn’t afford it.
Sixteen per cent of those who left the insurance market cited job losses and a further 11 per cent said they had cancelled their cover because their employer no longer paid for it.
Irish Catholic Church to let married men be ordained as deacons
The first married men to be permitted to baptise children and officiate at weddings will be ordained in the Irish Catholic Church next month.
The church is looking to deacons to do some of the jobs of the clergy because vocations to the priesthood are at an all-time low.
And eight married men are to be ordained deacons in Dublin next month.
Deacons are sometimes described as ‘priests-lite’. They can do almost everything a priest can do except say Mass or hear confession. The men who will be ordained in Dublin next month have been in training for a number of years.
They will assist hard-pressed priests who are struggling to keep up with parishioners’ needs, and will also preach at Masses and officiate at funerals.
While married deacons are common in the church in other parts of the world, Ireland was reluctant to restore the ancient ministry and Irish bishops only agreed to do so in 2001.
The eight will be ordained to the permanent diaconate by Dublin’s Archbishop Diarmuid Martin on Monday, June 4.
Under church law, deacons must be at least 25 years old, if unmarried, and at least 35 years old, if married.
A married man also needs the consent of his wife before he can be ordained.
However, if an unmarried man is ordained a deacon, he commits to a life of celibacy.
Married men also vow to become celibate if their wife should die before them.
Dublin will be the country’s first diocese to introduce permanent deacons, who are expected to work in their home parishes.
The Archdiocese of Dublin and the Diocese of Elphin are currently in the process of completing training for their candidate permanent deacons.
Spiritual, The study covers academic, pastoral, spiritual and human preparation for ordination and is similar to programmes for those being ordained to the priesthood and takes four years.
Other dioceses which are currently running programmes for candidates deacons include Dromore, Kilmore, Kildare and Leighlin, Waterford and Lismore and Kerry.
In all, 15 dioceses have said they intend to reintroduce the permanent diaconate.
A student’s vision brings national honours to Loreto School, Milford Co Donegal
Donegal school student wins Smart Class digital education prize
Shaun Sweeney with I.T. teachers Anthony Harkin and Mairead Mc Daid, and right picture sixth-year student Sean Sweeney pictured with Taoiseach Enda Kenny at Loreto Community School in Milford, Co Donegal.
The award-winning work of a Leaving Certificate student at Loreto Community School in Milford will change the way future students learn.
Shaun Sweeney of Doaghbeg, Fanad, who prepared, designed and presented an e-book detailing “The Smart Class of the Future 2025”, is the young man whose work brought the inaugural SmartClass award, €150,000 worth of technology and training, to the Milford secondary school.
His proud parents, Elizabeth and Tommy, were at the school on Monday to see their son on stage with Taoiseach Enda Kenny, TD, principal Andrew Kelly, other school administrators, politicians and representatives of Intel, Steljes and The Educational Company of Ireland, the companies that ran the collaborative, national competition.
The award includes a Fizzbook laptop for each incoming first-year student with the entire Junior Cycle curriculum content pre-loaded on to the tablets, including textbooks and workbooks. The award also includes technical support and a wireless local area network for the school. CASETeL at Dublin City University will provide teachers with ongoing professional development.
Mr. Kenny, who presented the award on Monday, said the digital curriculum prize “will make a huge difference not only to the 140 first-years, but to everyone in the school, to all their families, their teachers and the wider Milford community”.
The competition asked students to consider how technology in the classroom could change ways of thinking, working and living. Shaun said deputy principal Anthony Harkin brought the project to his attention last June. Shaun spent the month of July designing a school building using a computer design programme, then spent August developing videos on aspects of his vision, 40 minutes in all. Shaun said he spent at least two hours a day on the work, some days up to five or six hours. Most of the work was done by the end of August, he said.
When school resumed, Anthony and Mairéad McDaid, assistant principal, guided Shaun in his work until the project was completed in October.
Shaun envisioned a school with different environments for general purpose learning, languages, science and commons areas. Each student would have their own “tri-tab”, which he described as “basically like three iPads stuck together”. Students would work on one screen. On another they would see their timetable and a three-dimensional virtual representation of the classroom, showing which students were on line and where they were: A student could log on from home, watch the classroom through a video set-up in the school and message the teacher.
The student would use the third screen to read their textbooks or take part in virtual learning environments. Designed like video games, those environments would enable students to create their own avatars to explore the subject.
“That would be kind of targeting people who would find it difficult to learn at home with a book,” Shaun said.
Shaun’s 2025 school had spaces for students to sit in small groups and work together, and the commons gave students lounge space where they could be on their own. “I think that’s also important,” he said.
His students in 2025 wear e-monitors on their wrists that alert them each time their classes start, and that can download email and messages and monitor heart rate and blood pressure. Students would use an e-card to mark themselves present at class and to pay for things. A discipline meter he devised would work off a system would accumulate credits for infractions.
Shaun made online learning an important feature of the school.
“I explained how it would work and that it wouldn’t be for every student, but it would be based on motivation and the type of learner you are,” he said. The Loreto student also designed a building that employed different types of sustainable energies, with conservation and recycling woven into the design.
Some Loreto teachers will receive their first day of training in the new system on Monday, said Mairéad McDaid. “Students are the digital natives and the teachers are kind of the digital foreigners,” she said. The Loreto staff are looking forward to getting involved in the SmartClass initiative.
“It seems to be the way forward,” Mairéad said. “It’s exciting, it’s new and it’s innovative.”
The first-year students will have all their texts loaded into their Fizzbooks, eliminating the need for heavy bookbags. And classroom teachers will have control over every screen in the classroom, so they can monitor students’ work.
“We’re hoping this will be beginning of a new system of teaching and learning,” Mairéad said.
Shaun was glad he took part in the competition. “I learned a lot from it that made you think about things you weren’t normally thinking about,” he said. Shaun, who has always been good at computers, said he would like to pursue electronic engineering and computer engineering.
He takes computers as an elective subject but believes firmly that it should be an exam subject – it is in the school he designed for the SmartClass project.
“Information technology is being used everywhere,” he said. “There’s so much to it.”
Shaun is modest about his achievement. He learned in late December that his project had won the inaugural award.
“I did it for myself more than anything,” he admitted. “I wasn’t doing it to win.
“But it was nice to win just the same,” he said.
After the awards presentation, Mr. Kenny visited a Loreto classroom, where Shaun explained his project to him.
“He thought it was very positive,” Shaun said. “He asked me to email him the whole project.
Still, Shaun was unhappy with the way the protest dominated media accounts of the taoiseach’s visit
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