Donie's news Ireland BLOG Monday

Irish bailed out Banks public interest directors to meet Oireachtas for first time

     

Public interest directors on the boards of bailed-out banks are to appear before the Oireachtas Finance Committee on Wednesday and Thursday.

It will be the first time the government-appointed gatekeepers will have reported to the State since they took up their positions in 2008.

Ciaran Lynch TD, chairman of the finance, public expenditure and reform committee, said they would be quizzed on their roles and responsibilities during three separate sittings next week.

Mr Lynch said: “Among the other issues we will want to address with the public interest directors are: what distinguishes them from the other directors on the banks’ boards; how do they invoke and carry out their roles; what are their responsibilities; how have they reported on their role and to whom do they report; what is their contribution to the banks’ policies, in particular the function they have in setting the rates of pay and the remuneration policy at their particularbank for management and senior executives.”

The decision to haul the directors before the committee comes amid public concern over rising mortgage interest rates, increasing deposit charges and an unwillingness to lend to businesses.

Mr Lynch added: “We will also be keen to consider what scrutiny they apply to the banks’ lending policies, such as lending to SMEs and assisting struggling mortgage holders.”

Public interest directors were appointed in late 2008 after the banks were guaranteed by the State. Former Finance MinisterBrian Lenihan said the non-executive directors would promote the public interest as a way of easing pressure on consumers.

Margaret Hayes and Ray MacSharry, PTSB public interest directors, will appear before the committee at 3pm next Wednesday.

Duties

Tom Considine and Joe Walsh, who sit on the Bank of Irelandboard, will attend the committee meeting at 9.30am, while Dick Spring, public interest director at AIB, and Dr Michael Somers, the government-appointed nominee at AIB, will attend at 12.30pm the same day.

Mr Lynch said: “Our meetings provide us with an opportunity to get an overview of the roles, responsibilities, duties and contribution of the public interest directors on the boards of banks which have been bailed out by the State.

“We will also be interested in receiving an outline of how the public interest directors have reported on their roles.”

Public interest directors on the boards of bailed-out banks have earned over €1m since being appointed in 2008.

The top paid include Dick Spring (€132,000) in AIB, Tom Considine (€240,000) and Joe Walsh (€217,000) in Bank of Ireland, as well as Margaret Hayes (€207,000) and Ray MacSharry (€183,000) in PTSB.

These fees do not include amounts those directors are being paid this year.

Most of the directors were appointed around the same time of the bank guarantee four years ago by Brian Lenihan.

Ireland’s elderly population will double in 20 years

 

The number of people in Ireland over the age of 65 years is projected to almost double to over one million by 2035, according to a new report from the Department of Health.

The report says the greatest increase will be in the 85-plus age group.

The report for health in Ireland key trends 2012. provides a range of data on significant trends in healthcare over the past decade.

The report says over the past 10 years, Ireland has achieved a rapid and unprecedented improvement in life expectancy.

During a period when the average life expectancy in the EU has continued to rise, life expectancy in Ireland has increased from below the EU average life expectancy, to almost one year above it.

Much of this increase is due to significant reductions in major causes of death such as circulatory system diseases, including heart disease and stroke, the report says.

The report says according to Census 2011, while we still have very high proportions of people reporting good and very good health, those in higher social classes and those without a disability report being in better health.

In comparison to other EU countries, Ireland continues to have the highest levels of self-perceived health of any EU country.

The report says 37% of the population is now covered by a medical card. Numbers covered have increased by almost 45% over the decade and by nearly 5% between 2010 and 2011.

This is in contrast to the numbers covered by private health insurance, which has declined since 2008, the report points out.

United Nations concerned over the welfare of Irish women’s health

     

Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar died at Galway University Hospital in October, 17 weeks into her pregnancy

A United Nations watchdog has raised particular concerns about the welfare of women in Ireland since the death of a woman after she miscarried.

Anand Grover said abortion should be legal if a pregnancy is adversely impacting on a woman’s health, and not just her life.

Arguing that the life of a mother is much more important than the right of the unborn, the UN special rapporteur on the right to health also accused countries that criminalise abortion of discriminating against woman, particularly the marginalised, poor and minorities.

“You cannot limit availability and accessibility of health services, goods and facilities only on the basis of life exception,” said Mr Grover speaking on the grounds for terminations.

“If it impacts adversely on the woman’s health or the right to health, that should be a ground.”

The Cabinet is due to decide on Tuesday on whether it will introduce legislation, or a combination of legislation and regulation, to reform the country’s limited ban on abortion in the new year.

Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar died at Galway University Hospital on October 28, 17 weeks into her pregnancy. She suffered septicaemia following her miscarriage.

The dead woman’s husband Praveen claims doctors refused to carry out an abortion because a foetal heartbeat was present. He says they were told Ireland “is a Catholic country”.

A statutory inquiry and an HSE clinical inquiry in to the death of the 31-year-old are continuing.

Mr Grover, a lawyer, was in Dublin to give a keynote address at a conference and not in his official role. But he said he has already had discussions with Government officials in Ireland over the abortion controversy.

New grant scheme for septic tank upgrade works

  

A new grant scheme for households who need to upgrade their septic tanks has been announced by Minister Phil Hogan.

The scheme is being established to provide financial assistance to householders and grants of up to €4,000 will be made available to householders who need to upgrade their treatment systems.

The move was welcomed by Galway Fine Gael TD Brian Walsh, who said it would go “a considerable way” to ensuring that the remedial works will not place undue financial pressure on the householders involved.

Only householders who register their systems before the deadline of 1 February will be eligible for the grant.

“Minister Hogan gave a commitment last year to introduce a grant scheme for septic tank owners. Today’s announcement will be of particular benefit to lower income families. Households with an income of less than €50,000 will be able to apply for up to 80 per cent of the cost of remedial works,” said Deputy Walsh.

“People living in rural areas fully understand the importance of protecting our water supplies. This new inspection regime will not only enhance our water supplies, it will have a positive effect on the tourism, recreation, agricultural and food-producing sectors, all of which rely on clean water.”

Dog’s can be trained to sniff out hospital super-bug

   

Dogs can sniff out one of the most dangerous hospital superbugs in the stool samples of patients and even in the air surrounding them, a new study suggests.

Clostridium difficile, known as C.diff, can occur in the community, but usually occurs following antibiotic therapy in hospitals. It has been described as potentially an even bigger killer of people than MRSA.

It causes diarrhoea, abdominal pain, inflammation of the colon, fever, vomiting and dehydration. In severe cases, the inner lining of the colon becomes severely inflamed and sometimes the walls of the colon wear away causing perforation. This can lead to a life-threatening infection of the abdomen.

According to Dutch scientists, diarrhoea caused by C.diff has a particular smell and as dogs have a far superior sense of smell than people, they decided to see if the animals could be trained to detect it.

A two-year old beagle was trained for two months in how to identify C.diff in patients’ stool samples and in infected patients themselves. The dog had never been trained in this kind of work before, but was taught that if he detected the bug, he should sit or lie down.

After the two months, he was tested on 50 C.diff positive stool samples and 50 negative samples. He correctly identified all 50 positive samples and 47 of the negative ones.

The animal was then taken into two hospital wards to sniff actual patients. He correctly identified 25 out of 30 patients who had C.diff and 265 out of 270 patients who did not have the bug.

The scientists noted that it only took the dog 10 minutes to screen an entire hospital ward. Diagnostic tests for C.diff can be slow and expensive, which can lead to delays in treatment.

While they acknowledged that it can be unpredictable using animals, the team emphasised the high degree of accuracy the dog had.

“This could have great potential for C.diff infection screening in healthcare facilities and thus contribute to C.diff infection outbreak control and prevention.”