Ireland’s septic tank owners told to register or face fines of up to €5,000
Irish homeowners who refuse to register their septic tanks will be among the first to be hit with inspections from early next year — and face fines of up to €5,000.
Officials from city and county councils will begin inspecting tanks in high-risk areas from February 1, and properties with unregistered systems “will be more likely to be inspected”, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warned.
Some 500,000 systems are located across the country and many are in areas with significant water pollution problems.
But despite the looming deadline to register, details of just over half of all tanks — 251,000 — have been sent to local authorities.
New figures show just 169,611 tanks have been registered so far, with another 82,000 forms yet to be processed.
The registration regime was introduced by Environment MinisterPhil Hogan last February after the European Court of Justice ruled that Ireland was not doing enough to protect drinking water sources.
But the move has been dogged by setbacks.
The majority of homeowners spurned the opportunity to register by June 1 for a reduced fee of just €5, forcing the Government to extend the deadline to September 28.
After that date the fee increased to €50 — but just over half of all tanks have been registered. Rural groups oppose the charge, describing it as an attack on rural Ireland.
But the EPA has said that tanks will be inspected, and that homeowners will be given just 10 days’ notice that an inspection will take place.
If there is a problem, the property owner will be told within 21 days of the inspection. Details of the works to be carried out will be forwarded in another three weeks, and homeowners will be given a deadline to complete the works.
The deadline will be based on the amount of work needed, and owners who refuse to comply face the prospect of being fined up to €5,000.
A two-pronged approach to inspections will be used, with the first part involving giving guidance to homeowners about how to operate and maintain their system, followed by an inspection process.
This will involve an inspector, carrying identification, checking that the treatment system is working properly and that untreated waste water is not escaping into the soil.
The system will then be checked to see if there is odour, sewage backed up in the system or visible on the ground, signs that rainwater is entering the system or any discharge.
“The inspection regime will be pragmatic and risk-based to target resources where they are needed most and to deliver the best outcome for public health and the environment at the lowest possible cost,” EPA spokesman Gerard O’Leary said.
Mothers of Ireland urged to steer their children towards IT courses
The mothers of Ireland as recently established hold the key to filling 4,500 job vacancies in the IT sector.
A new report has found that an increase in the number of young people choosing IT courses is needed to solve the recruitment crisis in the sector — with nobody available to fill jobs paying up to €637 per day.
It also said that three-quarters of secondary-school teachers who do not have above-average IT teaching skills need to be helped.
But the Higher Education Authority chief executive Tom Boland said the “mothers of Ireland” would be a key influence in solving the problem, if they could be convinced to guide their children towards studying IT courses.
Recalling the dot.com bubble of 2000, Mr Boland said: “It really shook confidence in the mothers of Ireland because a lot of people were seriously disappointed. I’m hopeful, looking at current figures for CAO applications, that the tide is beginning to turn.”
Mr Boland said the State was currently on track to meet its target of doubling the number of young people choosing third-level IT courses, from 1,000 to 2,000 per year, by 2018.
He was speaking after the launch of the Oireachtas jobs committee’s detailed report into how to increase the level of IT skills here. It said there were “lucrative careers” in IT companies which were hungry for young talent.
But the current European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL), which is taught in half of secondary schools, came in for criticism in the report. It said that schools needed to go beyond teaching such “basic functions”.
Lucrative: Fine Gael Senator Deirdre Clune said students had “passed out” the ECDL by the time they reached school, while Labour Dublin North West TD John Lyons said there was an “iPhonegeneration” out there who needed to be catered for by schools.
The report noted evidence from experts that children need to be exposed to computer programming between the ages of 13 and 15. However, the committee said it would be too late if this did not happen until they got to university.
Junior Minister for Education Ciaran Cannon pointed to the voluntary efforts of groups like Coderdojo — which now teaches computer programming to students in almost 50 locations nationwide — as an important way forward.
“There is no reason why we can’t have one in every single community in this country,” he said.
Mr Cannon said that €10m would be spent per year on teacher training for the new Junior Cert syllabus, which will also include new courses on computer programming.
But he cautioned against relying on the State, as he called on industry to help schools in their areas.
“Frankly, the days of throwing money at a problem and hoping it will go away are over,” he added.
There are currently 74,000 people working in the information and communications technology sector here, which includes world-leading companies including Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft.
HSE recommends that Irish State works with Church on child protection efforts
Irish Minister Fitzgerald minister for children with Enda Kenny an Taoiseach and CARDINAL SEÁN BRADY right pic., head of the Catholic Church in Ireland
The Health Service Executive (HSE) has recommended that the State works with all Catholic dioceses in the Republic to ensure children are properly protected.
In a major audit published yesterday, it recommended “that the State applies its resources to intervene and work with all dioceses in a systematic way to address the shortcomings outlined”.
The Audit of Safeguarding Arrangements in the Catholic Church in Ireland dealt with the 24 dioceses that are wholly or in part located in the Republic. Covering the period from January 1st, 1996 to November 30th, 2011, it found that a total of 579 child abuse allegations had been made against 189 priests in the 24 dioceses.
Of those accused priests, 31 diocesan priests have been convicted in the courts.
Dioceses which performed well when it came to child safeguarding included Armagh, Waterford Lismore, Clonfert, Elphin and Dublin.
“Significant improvement” had been found in Kilmore and Killala, with Limerick and Kerry “making steady progress”. Kildare Leighlin was found to have demonstrated “examples of good practice over a consistent period.”
Some dioceses, however, “did not perform satisfactorily” across key areas. Their shortcomings were “not numerous” and did “not reflect any unwillingness . . . to put good safeguarding systems in place.”
Three dioceses, Meath, Raphoe, and Ossory, were found to have “inadequate collection and retention of data . . . whilst improving”.
The purpose of the audit was to assess whether the dioceses were complying with church guidance and best practice when it came to child protection, including the reporting of allegations to the civil autorities.
Yesterday’s publication was the first volume of the overall audit. Another volume, dealing with the religious congregations, will be published at a later date.
Such State intervention as it recommended yesterday, it said, might be achieved by “putting all necessary resources in place to achieve closer monitoring by the State of the dioceses.”
This would “include a requirement for them to report regularly on matters such as the progress being made in achieving an acceptable standard of compliance with agreed safeguarding standards and practices, as well as a requirement to report on the number of allegations made and the actions by the church in relation to them.”
It continued that “an initial ‘hands-on’ approach of proportionate intervention on the part of the State is envisaged until such time as there has been a substantial and demonstrable improvement in child-protection practices across all dioceses”.
It further recommended “that church resources be devoted to this developmental activity”.
It recommended that the church’s child-protection watchdog, its National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC) “continues its work with the dioceses” to ensure child protection criteria in each “are fully satisfied to an adequate standard by all”.
It also recommended that “a single child-protection policy should be provided for all dioceses and maintained by a single body such as the NBSC. All dioceses would sign up to and commit to following such a policy and procedure.”
In the interagency context of the Garda, the HSE and the dioceses, it recommended as “imperative” that dioceses are advised of allegations coming to the attention of the Garda and/or HSE.
This is so that the relevant individual can be appropriately managed, particularly in relation to his/her access to children.
“Any legal impediments to such a strategy . . . must be addressed to ensure the safety of children,” it said.
Where the three agencies were concerned it also recommended that their records be revised “to facilitate better co-ordination between all three” and that the policies and procedures of the church be extended to include the safeguarding of vulnerable adults in contact with the Church.
Is 30 the age where it all starts to go downhill for women?
Women worry about ageing in the early 30’s
It is according to new research which has found that a woman’s battle against the effects of ageing begin just before they hit their 30’s.
The Star tells us that women are generally at ease with their looks during their 20’s but as their 30th birthday looms, they begin to worry about wrinkles, sagging boobs, bingo wings and crows feet.
33% of women asked in the survey taken by chemist Superdrug said that they worried about their hair going grey, while 3 in 10 worried about thinning hair.
Other top ageing concerns include getting facial hair, the middle aged spread , double chins and thinning lips. A further third of women are worried their bottom with head south, while 29% want to avoid a wrinkly cleavage at all costs.
Andrew Groom, Buying Director at Superdrug, said, “Some women may always worry about how they look, but it is incredible to think that those who are still in the prime of their life at 29 are already worrying about the effect ageing will have.”
He added, “That said, it’s really never too early to take care of your skin, and today’s women are lucky that products on our shelves really work. A quick skincare routine started at 29 really will combat the signs of ageing and it’s got to be worth the effort.”
The average female reckons she spots her first wrinkle at 29, and will then spend 12 minutes a day fighting their spread by applying lotions and potions.
Latest ECB rate cut helps push Ireland’s inflation down to 1.6%
Headline inflation for Ireland eased to 1.6 per cent over the year to September, falling from the 2 per cent level recorded in August, new data from the Central Statistics Office showed.
The decline followed an increase in the cost of living in August, when prices rose by 2 per cent year-on-year.
The CSO highlighted increases in September in the cost of education and transport, which rose by 9.6 per cent and 7.9 per cent respectively over the year, as key factors in pushing Irish prices higher.
Those rises were partially offset by a decrease in the cost of housing and utilities, which was 2.8 per cent lower compared with September 2011; and communications, which fell by 2.6 per cent.
But although consumers were cheered by the European Central Bank’s decision to cut interest rate, bringing some relief to tracker mortgage holders, rising energy prices were likely to have piled pressure on struggling consumers.
“The upward pressure on energy bills is likely to continue, with a number of energy providers set to increase prices over the coming months,” Goodbody economist Juliet Tennent said.
Headline inflation eased month on month, with prices falling by 0.1 per cent in September compared with August.
Over the month, the cost of transport was 1.1 per cent lower, as the price of air fares fell by almost 17 per cent.
Fuel costs were higher, however, with both petrol and diesel rising by 3 per cent.
Transport costs are set to increase further for hard-pressed motorists and businesses.
The National Roads Authority is to meet next week to discuss an increase in road tolls, and it is widely believed that a 10 cent rise will be implemented from January 1st. Independent operators are expected to follow suit.
Clothing and footwear prices rose by 2.9 per cent in September as the traditional seasonal sales came to an end.
Garments and accessories showed the highest jump, rising by 3.5 per cent and 2.1 per cent respectively, with footwear rising by 0.9 per cent.
The annual rate of inflation for services was 1.2 per cent, with goods rising by 2 per cent.
The HICP rate, which is used for EU comparative purposes and eliminates certain items such as mortgage interest and motor tax, rose by 2.4 per cent over the year, falling from the 2.6 per cent rate recorded in August.
“Looking ahead, announced increases in mortgage costs, energy prices and public transport fares will place upward pressure on overall consumer prices over the coming months,” NCB chief economic Philip O’Sullivan said.
“This pressure, allied to the further tax increases planned for December’s budget, will act as a headwind to consumer spending growth for some time to come,” he predicted.
Merrion stockbrokers predicted an average rise in prices of 1.9 per cent for the year, compared with 2.6 per cent in 2011.
“Still, it would be the second year in a row of an overall increase in the consumer price index after the two deflationary years of 2009 and 2010,” said economist Alan McQuaid.
He predicted a further decline to 1.6 per cent in 2013.
Dailwatch Website to connect Irish citizens to their TDs
The Dailwatch website allows citizens to publicly post questions to their local TD. The website is aiming to boost political transparency and communication was launched today in Dublin.
Dáilwatch.ie allows constituents to publically put questions to TDs, which they can reply to using their Oireachtas email address. The answers will also be made public and will not be removed.
Website users will be able to browse questions and answers by issue, allowing them to see whether a topic they are concerned about has already been addressed.
The platform was created to be mutually beneficial for both constituent and TD said founder of Dáilwatch, Sarah O’Neill.
“Dáilwatch is very much designed to be a collaborative project. People feel disillusioned and disenfranchised with the systems of government and a lot of this discontentment stems from a lack of clarity and openness,” she said.
“This platform which is being launched today is about empowerment and active citizenship, not dirty tricks or political gaffes. We went to ensure that politicians are accountable and have a direct communicative link with the electorate to ensure the individuals that command our highest offices act with integrity, honesty and full transparency.”
The website which is based on a similar German website called Parliamentwatch.com, which has a 90 per cent participation rate among all politicians in Germany. Ms O’Neill has had experience with Parliamentwatch.com in the past and despite still studying for her undergraduate degree from Trinity College, she wanted to help set up an Irish version.
“I was not going to miss an opportunity to bring this to Ireland. It is a necessary and timely development in Ireland’s new political narrative,” she said.
The website may be able to bring positive work done in the Oireachtas to light, said chairman of the Justice, Defence and Equality Committee David Stanton.
“This website will be very useful. There is a negative narrative about politicians and TDs and I personally find it very difficult,” he said.
ASTRONOMERS SPOT “DIAMOND PLANET”
A Planet Made of Diamond, Twice the Size of Earth discovered
Illustration of the interior of 55 Cancri e, an extremely hot planet with a surface of mostly graphite surrounding a thick layer of diamond, below which is a layer of silicon-based minerals and a molten iron core at the center.
Move over, Hope Diamond. The most famous gems on Earth have new competition in the form of a planet made largely of diamond, astronomers say.
The alien planet, a so-called “super-Earth,” is called 55 Cancri e and was discovered in 2004 around a nearby star in our Milky Way galaxy. After estimating the planet’s mass and radius, and studying its host star’s composition, scientists now say the rocky world is composed mainly of carbon (in the form of diamond and graphite), as well as iron, silicon carbide, and potentially silicates.
At least a third of the planet’s mass is likely pure diamond.
“This is our first glimpse of a rocky world with a fundamentally different chemistry from Earth,” lead researcher Nikku Madhusudhan of Yale University said in a statement. “The surface of this planet is likely covered in graphite and diamond rather than water and granite.”
55 Cancri e is the first likely “diamond planet” to be identified around a sun-like star, though such worlds have been theorized before. Planets like this are vastly different from our Earth, which has relatively little carbon.
“By contrast, Earth’s interior is rich in oxygen, but extremely poor in carbon — less than a part in thousand by mass,” said study co-author and Yale geophysicist Kanani Lee.
55 Cancri e is what’s known as a super-Earth, with a radius twice as wide as that of our own planet, and a mass eight times greater. It speeds around its host star, making a full orbit in just 18 hours (Earth takes 365 days). It is so close in to the star that its surface temperature reaches a scorching 3,900 degrees Fahrenheit, making it probably way too hot for life. [Oozing Super-Earth: Images of Alien Planet 55 Cancri e]
Previous studies of this planet suggested it might actually be covered with oozing “supercritical fluids” – high-pressure liquid-like gases — seeping out from its rocks. But this idea was based on the assumption that 55 Cancri e had a similar chemical makeup as Earth, Madhusudhan said. The new findings suggest the planet has no water at all.
The revelation of the planet’s diamond nature means that it could have very different thermal evolution and plate tectonics processes than Earth, which could create bizarre types of volcanism, seismic activity, and mountain formation.
55 Cancri e is one of five planets encircling a sun-like star called 55 Cancri, which lies about 40 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Cancer. This star is so close it is visible to the naked eye in the night sky.
The researchers hope to make follow-up observations of this star system to better determine the star’s composition and to analyze 55 Cancri e’s atmosphere. This information could bolster the idea that the planet is a diamond world.
No comments:
Post a Comment