Health Minister Reilly says: No pay cuts in the HSE if productivity increases
The Health Minister has said that if there is increased productivity in the health service – there will be no pay cuts.
James Reilly addressed around 360 nurses and midwives at the INMO conference in Killarney earlier today – where he received a mixed response.
Nurses say any move to cut their allowances will be met with resistance – because they are protected under the terms of the Croke Park deal.
Minister Reilly says the issue is being discussed – in the context of the agreement:
“Croke park is very clear, increased productivity there won’t be mean any pay cuts”, he said
“…this is a matter for the government and for Minister Howlin, and we will discuss all this around Croke Park in terms of getting results for patients and that is what this is all about”
Businessman Declan Ganley to campaign NO against the EU Fiscal Treaty
Businessman Declan Ganley has said he will campaign against the EU Fiscal Treaty because he feels it does not deliver a deal on Ireland’s bank debt.
He said it would be irrational to vote ‘Yes’ to what he said would be bank debt that we have no moral responsibility for and he said there would be no economic recovery without such a deal.
Mr Ganley, who previously said he was undecided on the referendum, said he had to wait to allow European partners to respond to calls for a deal on bank debt. In the absence of a deal, he said he is now advocating a ‘No’ vote.
He said Libertas no longer existed as a political party and was now a think tank, but it would have a “limited poster campaign”. Asked about his lack of mandate as an unelected representative, Mr Ganley said the truth had no mandate.
Minister for Agriculture and director of Fine Gael’s referendum campaign Simon Coveney dismissed Mr Ganley’s suggestion that a ‘No’ vote would help Ireland get a better deal on bank debt.
Mr Coveney said rejecting the treaty would have the opposite effect and would damage Ireland’s capacity to secure better terms on bank debt.
Meanwhile, Socialist Party MEP Paul Murphy has said that the Government’s campaign for the EU Fiscal Treaty has consisted overwhelmingly of scaremongering about access to second funding and that this seems to have had some impact.
Mr Murphy was commenting on the results of an opinion poll published in today’s Sunday Business Post newspaper, which shows support for the treaty has increased significantly over the past fortnight.
The Red C poll of 1,000 voters found that 53% said they would vote ‘yes’, an increase of six points on the last poll a fortnight ago.
When undecided voters are excluded the ‘yes’ side leads by 63% to 37%.
The Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore gave a cautious welcome to the opinion poll results.
Speaking at a James Connolly commemoration in Dublin, Mr Gilmore said the government was mindful of the lessons of past elections and would continue to campaign up until polling day.
On Declan Ganley, Mr Gilmore said he was not surprised by his intervention but he said any deal on the bank debt was a separate set of negotiations.
Asked if the government was burying bad news until after polling day, Mr Gilmore said they were continuing as normal.
The Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said that what is important now for the Yes side in the referendum is to explain the magnitude of the decision and what is in the Fiscal treaty and what is not.
Speaking in Drogheda at a famine commemoration, Mr Kenny said that he did not comment on opinion polls.
Asked about Declan Ganley’s intervention, he said it was a free country and everyone was entitled to their viewpoint although he said bank debt was not the issue and the Treaty was about good housekeeping.
Mayo woman & fellow students build renewable wind energy generator for research
Above right, Karen Barrett, Belmullet, a Mechanical Engineering student at IT Sligo, pictured discussing her project withthe Institute’s President, Professor Terri Scott at the annual Mechanical Engineering Gradate Exhibition.
As energy prices soar and more and more people consider renewable energy options, Belmullet IT Sligo student, Karen Barrett, chose a timely theme when picking her end of year project. Karen (29) and three fellow students built a wind generator which will now be used as a research and teaching aid at the Institute.
Karen, who worked as an office administrator before deciding to follow her heart and enrol on IT Sligo’s Mechanical Engineering programme as a mature student, has had no regrets.
“I am interested in design and this project was a real challenge,” said Karen, who used copper coils and rare earth magnets to build the generator.
Karen’s project was on display at the Institute at the annual end of year Graduate Exhibition recently. She’s hoping that the practical experience the course has provided will be useful in the workplace.
Had to emigrate
“All the other members of my family have had to emigrate to Canada and Australia, so I’d like to stay in Ireland and there is work out there”.
Head of School of Engineering, Shane Fanning, said that a mechanical engineering degree is a very broad qualification which allows graduates to diversify as their interests and the economy change.
For instance, he said, Mechanical Engineers are working at the centre of the energy industry.
“There are opportunities for engineers in the growing green energy industry, whether that’s in the development of products that will allow us to access energy from renewable sources or in the creation of new, more durable materials,” he said.
Students can study Mechanical Engineering at IT Sligo through a range of flexible learning methods. To find out more see http://www.itsligo.ie.
Man dies in Co Cavan articulated lorry crash
Gardai have appealed for witnesses after a fatal crash in Co Cavan today as a man has died in a single-vehicle road crash in Co Cavan.
At about 9.20am, an articulated lorry left the road on the R199 Crossdoney to Killeshandra Road at Drummora, Crossdoney, and hit a ditch. The driver, a man in his late 30s, died at the scne.
The road is closed, and diversions are in place.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Cavan Garda station (049-4368800) or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.
McIlroy’s & Co? in €180m property tax deal
THE HAPPY COUPLE: Rory McIlroy and his partner, Danish tennis star Caroline Wozniacki
NORTHERN IRELAND GOLFING STAR Rory McIlroy has teamed up with Manchester United stars Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney to invest in a €180m tax-driven property deal.
The Co Down golfer, who is dating the Danish tennis beauty Caroline Wozniacki, has emerged as an investor in Waverton Property LLP, a partnership set up to convert a Birmingham warehouse into a data centre.
Through his investment, McIlroy, whose fortune is estimated at €15m, can take advantage of lucrative tax breaks introduced in 2007 in the UK to encourage investors to regenerate commercial premises. Under the tax rules McIlroy and fellow investors — who also include the Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish and West Ham boss Sam Allardyce — will have to hold on to the data centre for seven years to avail of the tax breaks before they can sell it on.
Investors in the partnership are putting €72m in cash into the property redevelopment, with the remainder funded by debt. Filings in Britain’s Companies House do not reveal how much individual investors have put in.
The 23-year-old is currently the world’s number one golfer, positioning him to earn mega-bucks in sponsorships.
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