Donie's news Ireland BLOG by Monday

Flag vote stirs Loyalists protesters to storm Belfast city hall

 

Protesters have tried to storm Belfast City Hall and burnt Irish tricolours after councillors voted to remove the Union flag from the building.

Hundreds of loyalists took to the street and burnt Irish tricolours to show their opposition to a motion to have the Union flag removed for the first time in over a century.

Minutes after the vote was taken, hooded loyalists tried to kick down the back doors of City Hall.

Loyalist protestors carrying Union flags (pictured) had been blocking the back of the City Hall while the vote was being taken.

Currently the flag is flown every day of the year at the building.

However Nationalist councillors want it removed as they argued that it would create a more equal and neutral environment.

Asperger’s disorder dropped from psychiatric manual as it is revised

 

The term ‘Asperger’s disorder’ has been dropped from one of the world’s most influential psychiatric manuals.

And abnormally bad and frequent temper tantrums will be given the scientific-sounding diagnosis ‘DMDD’.

But ‘dyslexia’ and other learning disorders remain.

  The revisions come in the first major rewrite in nearly 20 years of the American Psychiatric Association’s ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual’ (DSM), approved by the board on Saturday.

Full details of all the revisions will come next May when the new manual is published, but the impact will be huge, affecting millions of children and adults worldwide because the manual is one of the most influential reference points for mental health professionals.

This diagnostic guide “defines what constellations of symptoms” doctors recognise as mental disorders, said Dr Mark Olfson, a Columbia University psychiatry professor.

More important, he said, it “shapes who will receive what treatment. Even subtle changes to the criteria can have substantial effects on patterns of care.”

The changes were approved in the US over the weekend by the psychiatric association’s board of trustees.

One of the most hotly argued changes was how to define the various ranges of autism. Some advocates opposed the idea of dropping the specific diagnosis ‘Asperger’s disorder’.

People with that disorder often have high intelligence and vast knowledge on narrow subjects, but have poor social skills. Some who have the condition embrace their quirkiness and vow to continue to use the label.

Severe

And some families opposed any change, fearing their children with Asperger’s would lose a diagnosis, and no longer be eligible for special services.

But the revision will not affect their education services, experts say.

The new manual adds the term “autism spectrum disorder,” which is already used by many experts in the field. This new category will include kids with severe autism, who often don’t talk or interact, as well as those with milder forms.

Asperger’s disorder will now be incorporated under that umbrella diagnosis.

Millions more women are getting behind the wheel today than men according to a new study

    

Millions more women are taking to the road, while driving among men in their 20s is on the decline.

The number of women holding driving licences rose 14% between 1995 and 2010, and has increased to 2.5 million.

A new study has revealed that the number of women drivers has increased dramatically while the number of male motorists has dropped. The survey was conducted by Professor Peter Jones at University College London. Women are also driving greater distances with the average mileage up 22 per cent during the same period.

More women are also choosing to travel by train. There has been an 86 per cent increase in the number of women passengers in their 30s. This is compared to an increase of 54 per cent for the total number of rail passengers.

Professor Jones found that the number of men in their 20s with driving licences fell between 1995 and 2010 by 13 per cent. Mileage figures for company cars, usually associated with men, are down more than 50 per cent.

Although the average mileage for all cars across the UK is rising, in London the distances being covered by both company and privately owned vehicles is dropping.

A growth in the number of women behind the wheel has been attributed to increased independence. Since the 1980s more women are likely to be working and there are more women living by themselves.

Dropbox file storing company to establish Dublin office

  

Taoiseach Enda Kenny welcomed announcement that Dropbox is to locate international headquarters in Dublin.

Dropbox, a free service that lets users access documents, photos and videos everywhere and from different devices and share them easily, is to establish a Dublin office.

The Dublin office will be the centre of the company’s international operations and will provide technical support to its more than 100 million service users, one third of whom are in Europe. The service is available in eight languages.

“As part of Ireland’s mission to become the best small country in the world for business we have become the European hub for many of the world’s leading digital companies and the arrival of a top cloud company like Dropbox indicates Dublin’s growing capacity to usher in the next generation of internet companies,” Taoiseach Enda Kenny said.

“Ireland has many advantages to offer international companies, including our young, passionate and talented workforce, all of which will be a great asset to Dropbox as they make their new home in Dublin.”

“We’re delighted to be closer to tens of millions of our European customers,” said Drew Houston, Dropbox chief executive officer and co-founder.

“By opening our international headquarters in Dublin and tapping into the large talent pool that exists there, we’re better positioned to serve even more people locally while we continue to grow.”

Some 30-40 new jobs will be created with the establishment of the international headquarters, with the comapny seeking to hire multi-lingual sales teams, account management and user operations staff.

Elsewhere, healthcare provider Centric Health said it will create 200 jobs at 10 new centres.

The first is due to open in Newbridge, Co Kildare, next February, with new builds also under way in Celbridge on the Navan Road.

About 50 are expected to be filled within the first year and include medical, paramedical and administrative posts.

HSE services will also be facilitated on to the sites in line with the Government’s primary care strategy.

Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton said the substantial capital investment and the associated jobs by investment by partner Metric Capital Partners (MCP) — the European private capital group was very positive news.

Half of us fail to save as we can’t afford it as Cash crisis hits home

     

Almost half of all Irish adults cannot afford to put anything aside in savings, shocking new research has indicated.

The level of non-savers has hit critical levels and is at the highest point in the two-year history of the Nationwide UK Ireland and the ESRI index.

Just three in 10 people are putting something aside regularly, the research has indicated.

A total of 47pc of adults are not saving at all — this is a marked increase from the 42pc measured in October.

This time last year, the level was at 33pc.

The figures of those who are saving regularly are also at a record low.

Within the bracket of individuals that are saving, only 28pc of people are doing so regularly. This is a record low for the index and is down from a reading of 41pc from November of last year.

But despite being unable to put aside money, most people think that now is a good time to save — jumping from 27pc of respondents to 30pc in the last 12 months.

decline

Nationwide UK Ireland managing director Brendan Synott said throughout the year, there has been a consistent increase in the number of people who are not saving and a steady decline in those that save on a regular basis.

“At the same time, however, people continue to believe that they should save,” he said.

“There is positivity towards the idea of saving, given the economic environment, and the preference to pay down debt or save as opposed to spend also remains.

“This diverging attitude and behaviour has been apparent throughout 2012 and the budget is likely to further re-enforce this trend.”

But the Government could do more to encourage people to save, according to the research. Some 57pc of people think that the Government is discouraging the habit of saving — 5pc more than thought so this time last year.

Consumers were also asked what they would do if they came across spare cash. A total of 50pc said that they would pay off some of their debt, 39pc said they would save and just 9pc would consider spending it.

“Consumers appear to be no closer to achieving the spend-and-save balance than they were in 2011,” Mr Synott added.

“Although there is an appetite to save more money, most can ill-afford to do so.”

Look He’s behind you! Whale watchers look the wrong way

as huge creature breaches the waves

 

A dolphin, bottom right, looks tiny next to the huge giant of the deep as it rises up for air in the chilly November waters of the Atlantic. A whale Causing a splash in the calm waters off the Cork coast, this humpback is certainly having a whale of a time, but the passengers on board seem oblivious to the 45 ft giant leaping up behind them.

It is one of the five humpback whales which have made the south-west Irish coast their home over the past few weeks, as they feast on native shoals of sprat and herring.

Sightings of the magnificent humpbacks throwing their 30-tonne bodies into the air have triggered an upsurge in interest at nearby Baltimore Harbour – to the delight of tourist bosses and businessmen.
A boat of whale watchers look the wrong way as a humpback dramatically breaches off the coast of Ireland, the moment was captured by crew aboard a nearby lifeboat

The humbacks have even been joined by a number of fin and minke whales and common dolphins.

Nic Slocum, who runs Whale Watch West Cork, would normally have stopped his seasonal whale-watching trips by now.

But he said he is extending his daily cruises in his 32ft catamaran for as long as the whales remain off the coast.

He said: ‘Baltimore has been given a huge boost. I would normally be operating until the end of November, but I’ll keep going while the whales are there.
‘Although they can be seen from the shore, there’s been a big demand from tourists to go out in a boat to look at them. It’s been great for business.

‘But it’s impossible to say how long the whales will be around for. There’s lots of herring for them here at the moment, but they could be gone any day.

‘I’ve rarely known the seas off Baltimore as active as this.’

Kate Cottrell, whose husband Micheal runs Baltimore Sea Safari, said her phone hasn’t stopped ringing over the past few days after word of the humpbacks spread. She said: ‘Everyone’s hoping the whales will be around for a good bit longer. Everyone’s  benefited and it would be great if the humpbacks did for Baltimore what Fungi has  done for Dingle.’

‘Although they can be seen from the shore, there’s been a big demand from tourists to go out in a boat to look at them. It’s been great for business.

‘But it’s impossible to say how long the whales will be around for. There’s lots of herring for them here at the moment, but they could be gone any day.

‘I’ve rarely known the seas off Baltimore as active as this.’

Kate Cottrell, whose husband Micheal runs Baltimore Sea Safari, said her phone hasn’t stopped ringing over the past few days after word of the humpbacks spread. She said: ‘Everyone’s hoping the whales will be around for a good bit longer. Everyone’s  benefited and it would be great if the humpbacks did for Baltimore what Fungi has  done for Dingle.’

The playful pod have been seen feeding and appearing to play as a group.

And these pictures were captured by lifeboat man Youen Jacob, 37 – as he and his crewmates were treated to a spectacular display.

He said: ‘They have been bubble feeding for the past two weeks, using bubbles from their blow holes to push fish to the surface, and they have been tail slapping and seeming to play with one another.

‘They looked like they were enjoying themselves as well, blocking each other and breaching out of the water.

‘When this one whale breached by our boat we knew about it, he was massive, and when I looked at the photo I realised everyone else was looking the wrong way.’