A call to Ireland’s diaspora world wide for a Gathering back home in 2013 by Leo Varadkar
Leo Varadkar invited the world to Ireland next year during the launch of The Gathering Ireland 2013 at Dublin Castle
A call has been made to Ireland’s diaspora to come home to where the heart is.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny urged the 70 million people worldwide of Irish descent, and even those who just want a touch of Irishness, to make a trip to the Emerald Isle next year to be part of The Gathering 2013
Villages and towns in every county have been urged to stage events celebrating their history to attract their long lost emigrants for a holiday back home.
“This is actually a brilliant opportunity for the country to unite, north and south, in standing up to the economic challenge that we have,” he said. “We are calling now on every community, from city suburbs to rural villages, as well as clubs, associations and businesses to start thinking about how they might work together to develop events which celebrate their own unique stories and engage connections around the world.”
The Gathering Ireland 2013 aims to be the biggest tourism event ever held in the country, bringing in 325,000 extra visitors and an additional 170 million euro in revenue. Traditional festivals, like a New Year’s Eve Festival to mark the start of the year, will form the spine of celebrations.
Several clans – including the O’Deas of Co Clare, the Gallaghers of Donegal and Fitzgeralds of Co Limerick – are inviting their namesakes back to a gathering of their people.
Irish food, music and sports will also be celebrated, including a new show by Riverdance creators John McColgan and Moya Doherty which has been added to the bill to boost numbers.
International firms such as Google and Facebook, the Irish Farmers’ Association and Scouting Ireland have got involved, while KPMG and PwC are also staging their international alumni events on Irish soil bringing 1,000 international visitors.
Tourism Minister Leo Varadkar invited the world to Ireland next year for the festival of festivals. He said the response from people at home and abroad has been fantastic with ideas for events coming in every day throughwww.thegatheringireland.com.
“These range from family gatherings, school reunions and even a gathering of twins,” he said. “Towns and communities are also pitching in.”
EU Commission forecasts Irish economy will grow by 2% in 2013
The EU Commission has forecast that the expansion of the Irish economy will pick up next year as domestic demand stabilises and growth increases in Ireland’s trading partners.
As the EU executive maintained its forecast for “modest” growth this year of 0.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), it said the economy was likely to grow by 1.9 per cent in 2013.
“The effects of public and private sector deleveraging will continue to weigh on growth in 2012. However, this will be offset again by external demand,” the commission’s spring forecast said.
The report said Ireland’s fiscal adjustment was on track.
The general government deficit is projected to drop to 8.3 per cent of GDP this year, below the Government’s 8.6 per cent forecast in the budget.
The commission said the Government was taking the benefit from lower interest expenditure, higher revenues from both fees for bank guarantees and bank dividends, as well as the stronger-than-expected employment figures.
Economics commissioner Olli Rehn declined to comment when asked whether he had any message for prospective No voters in the fiscal treaty referendum.
Neither had he anything to say when asked whether Europe would leave Ireland without aid in the event that a second bailout was required and access to the European Stability Mechanism was barred due to any No vote.
“I want to deprive you from the joy and benefit of having big headlines on this issue. I leave it to the Irish people to decide on the fiscal compact treaty,” he said.
“It is self-evident that the European Commission is supportive of the fiscal compact treaty in all member states of the EU.”
The commission said domestic demand fell for the fourth successive year in 2011. “For 2012, the contribution to growth from domestic demand is set to be negative once again, albeit smaller. In 2013 the contribution to growth from domestic demand will be essentially flat, as investment levels stabilise, household consumption returns to growth and public consumption continues to be reduced.”
Mr Rehn said Ireland – alongside Spain and Greece – reported the largest declines in relative unit labour costs, and projected further adjustments this year and next.
“In particular, Ireland shows a remarkable adjustment.”
“The cocktail effect” of Common household chemicals is causing cancer’s and reduced fertility’
Everyday common chemicals found in household products may be causing a range of medical problems such as cancer, reduced fertility and obesity.
Common chemicals found in household products may be causing a range of medical problems such as cancer, reduced fertility and obesity, Europe’s environmental watchdog has warned.
The European Environment Agency (EEA) warned other items such as cosmetics and medicines which contain endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) could be harmful to humans.
In a study published on Thursday, officials said there was strong evidence of harm and cautioned against their use but stopped short of recommending a complete ban.
The agency warned that five classes of chemicals needed more scrutiny.
These included phthalates, which are often found in pesticides bisphenol A and other PCBs, which are used to make plastics parabens that are increasingly found in sunscreen and chemicals used in contraceptive pills.
It found those chemicals which disrupt the hormone system “may be a contributing factor behind the significant increases in cancers, diabetes and obesity, falling fertility and an increased number of neurological development problems in both humans and animals”.
The agency said that in recent decades, there has been a “significant growth” in many human diseases and disorders including breast and prostate cancer, male infertility and diabetes.
It added that many scientists believe the growth was connected to the “rising levels of exposure to mixtures of some chemicals in widespread use”.
The agency said the link between some diseases and these disrupter chemicals was now fully accepted.
The findings, in a report titled “The impacts of endocrine disrupters on wildlife, people and their environments”, were made following a review of scientific studies literature commissioned by agency over the past 15 years.
“Scientific research gathered over the last few decades shows us that endocrine disruption is a real problem, with serious effects on wildlife, and possibly people,” said Jacqueline McGlade, the EEA Executive Director.
“It would be prudent to take a precautionary approach to many of these chemicals until their effects are more fully understood.”
She said the real problem was not a single chemical but the “cocktail effect” of many of them together.
The human and animal endocrine system is the source of several hormones that control bodily functions such as the reproductive system, metabolism, growth and a person’s mood.
HIQA (Health Information and Quality Authority) finds Buncrana nursing home breached Irish regulations
A Donegal nursing home where seven elderly residents died due to a flu outbreak in March and April appeared to have “no established procedure” to enable early detection of flu, a HIQA report has found.
A report of inspections conducted by the Health Information and Quality Authority published yesterday finds that, while the residents of Nazareth House home in Buncrana were well cared for, there were a number of deficiencies in areas such as staffing arrangements, reporting procedures and cleanliness.
Two inspections at the home on April 2nd, 3rd and 4th were triggered by a report of a significant number of resident deaths in March and April, the report said.
Nine residents died between March 22nd and April 8th. Seven were classified as possibly consequent to an A (H3N2) influenza-related illness. The other two died of unrelated causes.
Nazareth House responded to all the issues raised by the authority’s inspectors and has indicated that, in many cases, the problems identified have already been addressed or procedures tightened.
Inspectors found the home had failed to comply with regulations in a number of respects, including in its arrangements for cover in the absence of the person in charge, in relation to the staffing mix to meet the needs of residents, and in some aspects of infection prevention and control.
“Robust communication procedures were not in place. Senior management was not communicated with in a timely manner and there was a lack of clarity and accountability about how the information on the outbreak had been reported,” the report said.
However, the inspectors found that “in general the healthcare arrangements for residents was satisfactory”, with significant interventions and specialist advice from local doctors and other professionals.
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