Having confidence is essential for the Irish consumer when it comes to food
The discovery of horse and pig meat in beef burgers is disheartening not just for consumers, but the entire food industry.
Bulking up food with cheaper substitutes is an age-old trick. Some of it, such as injecting chicken with water, is legal. At the other end of the scale, scandals such as the melamine baby formula fiasco in China in 2008, have lethal consequences for both consumers and producers.
Luckily, nobody is going to die from the latest scam uncovered in our meat trade. And as technology develops, it is becoming more difficult for dodgy food producers to get away with selling fake food.
But like any reputation, brand awareness takes time and money to build. The Irish food industry has worked hard in recent decades to shake off the image of a weak seller with an inferior or run-of-the-mill product.
There were a number of significant hurdles along the way.
In the 1980s, unscrupulous farmers continued using growth-promoting hormones, better known as angel dust, long after they were banned. Then came BSE in the ’90s.
For the last 10 years, it looked like we had not only left all that behind us, but that we had gone a step further than the rest of the competition.
When dioxins were discovered in pigmeat, the recall was swift and complete. Consumer confidence was shaken but still intact.
Since then, millions have been pumped into turning Ireland’s food industry into a world leader.
Bord Bia’s Origin Green programme aims to make Ireland the first country in the world to have a carbon footprint for every litre of milk and kilo of meat produced within the next year or two.
There is one important caveat though. The consumer has got to be able to trust that we are telling them the truth.
If they discover that they have been conned, even the most mild-mannered consumer will be merciless in abandoning their previously trusted brands.
By including up to 29pc horsemeat in beef burgers, our biggest meat processors have broken that trust.
Unfortunately, the entire food sector will suffer the reputational damage as a result.
Marie Fleming to appeal her infringed rights to assisted suicide case (to Supreme Court)
Marie Fleming argued the law on assisted suicide infringes her rights under the Constitution
Marie Fleming, the 59-year-old Wicklow woman who lost her landmark challenge to the ban on assisted suicide, has confirmed she is to appeal her case to the Supreme Court.
Ms Fleming, who has multiple sclerosis, would need help to end her own life. She sought to have the law on assisted suicide declared invalid.
She claims it infringes her rights under the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.
She said the law discriminated against her, as an able-bodied person is free to take their own life.
A three-judge divisional High Court last week ruled against her, saying any relaxation of the ban would affect wider society and was not in the public interest of protecting vulnerable people.
The court also ruled the DPP should not be obliged to issue guidelines on the criteria used for prosecutions for assisted suicide.
Papers were lodged this afternoon and the case is expected to be mentioned before the Supreme Court tomorrow.
Shatter condemns Donegal burglaries
Burglaries on elderly people’s homes in rural parts of the country have been condemned as “inhuman and appalling” by Minister for Justice Alan Shatter.
Mr Shatter said criminals who targeted the homes of pensioners had no moral compass.
He made the comments as gardaí continued to hunt for a five-man gang suspected of carrying out two more aggravated burglaries 20km apart in Co Donegal last night.
“I want to totally condemn the atrocious events of last night,” Mr Shatter said.
“I think any individuals who would burglarise the homes of isolated elderly people have absolutely no moral compass of any description whatsoever.
“Individuals who would assault individuals in their homes at any age is unacceptable, but at this age is incomprehensible.”
A man in his 60s was assaulted and locked in a shed when five men forced their way into his home in the townland of Linsfort in Buncrana at 7.30pm last night and fled with cash.
The man managed to free himself a short time later and raise the alarm.
Less than two hours later, an 80-year-old woman was injured when five men, believed to be the same gang, targeted her home near Muff, which is close to the Border.
A Garda spokesman said it was believed a blue/grey Proton car with a Northern Ireland registration plate may have been used in both incidents.
Gardaí are appealing for anyone with information to contact them at Buncrana 074-9320540, the Garda Confidential Line 1800-666-111 or any Garda station.
Several similar incidents have been reported across the country in recent weeks, including on 96-year-old Greta Lily who was punched and gagged during a raid in Buncrana and Phyllis McGee (78), who was thrown to the ground as thieves ransacked her home near Pettigo for the second time in two months.
Mr Shatter said he hoped the victims recovered from the trauma of having their homes violated and stressed there was great co-operation between gardaí and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in catching the perpetrators.
“What happened in Donegal can only be condemned and is inhuman and appalling,” he added.
“But we have had burglaries in other parts of the country. Donegal isn’t a special case.”
The Minister insisted cuts to numbers of rural Garda station meant more officers would be on the road instead of behind desks.
He revealed almost 2,000 charges had been brought against some 3,600 suspected burglars arrested following a garda crackdown last year.
“What’s important isn’t that gardai are sitting in Garda stations, what’s important is that they’re engaged in frontline policing,” he added.
Irish Farmers’ Association president John Bryan said yesterday that people are living in “increasing fear” in rural Ireland because of reduced Garda patrols and closed Garda stations.
He said criminal gangs that had been operating in Dublin were now targeting rural areas because of the strong Garda presence in the city. “The odds of them being stopped on the way back from Galway or Donegal are much less than moving around the city.”
Mr Shatter was speaking ahead of a two-day informal meeting with more than 50 other European justice and home affairs ministers in Dublin Castle.
Discussions will focus on data protection, insolvency law, seizure of criminal assets and a European missing persons day.
It will also consider the plight of the refugees arising from the Syrian conflict, as well as concerted EU action that can be taken to counter hate crime and intolerance, including racism, homophobic attacks and anti-Semitism.
Over 60% of Ireland’s septic tanks are now registered
Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan says only those registered by February 1st will be eligible for support if they fail inspections.
Over 60 per cent of septic tank owners have registered for the Government charge with two weeks left until the deadline, Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan said today.
“Only those who have registered their systems by 1st February will be eligible for financial support if their system fails an inspection,” Mr Hogan said.
Donegal residents have the second lowest registration level with just 32 per cent (10,400) of tanks and waste water treatment systems registered.
Kerry residents have the highest compliance rate (at 86 per cent or 24,000), followed by residents of Clare (73 per cent) and Roscommon (67 per cent).
The Dublin City Council area has the lowest levels of registration (3 per cent). However, the council has said people may have mistakenly stated in the census that they had a tank. The city is served by an extensive piped drainage network.
Mr Hogan said he was conscious of householders’ concerns over repairing their systems if they fail inspections.
“I want to reassure people again that they will be assisted in meeting those costs if remedial works are necessary,” he said.
Last month, he announced a grant scheme of up to 80 per cent of repair costs for those earning up to €50,000, up to a maximum of €4,000, and a 50 per cent grant for those earning up to €75,000, up to a maximum of €2,500.
The Local Government Management Agency has reported an increase in online registrations in recent days. Over 1,000 people have reportedly registered online in the past 24 hours.
Registration for the €50 fee can be done online at ProtectOurWater.ie, by post or through local authority offices.
How to increase the fertility chances of Irish women
Getting pregnant isn’t always easy – but there is no need to panic, says Dr Nina Byrnes
Many newspapers over the New Year period spent time predicting the trends of 2013. A theme that raised its head in virtually every one I read was that 2013 is going to be the year of the celebrity baby.
From Kate Middleton to Kim Kardashian, and Amy Huberman to Pippa O’Connor, lots of high-profile women are with child. Of course it’s not just celebrities that are having children – there is a baby boom in Ireland.
All our maternity hospitals report increased numbers and we have the highest birth rate in the EU. So, for the majority of you hoping to also have your own little bundle in 2013, the outlook seems positive.
Despite all the talk of baby booms though, humans are estimated to be one of the least fertile species on earth with, on average, a 20pc chance of conception with each fertile cycle.
For one in six couples, achieving that much-wanted pregnancy can be a stressful and heart-wrenching journey. Predicting and assisting fertility becomes a crusade for many would-be parents.
A report released in 2010 looked at the difference between index and ring-finger length in men stating that those who have a lower index/ring-finger ratio were more likely to be infertile. I wonder, did a lot of women check out the fingers of their partner after reading that one?
We know that when infertility occurs, about one-third of the causes are female, another third male and yet another third due to no apparent cause.
So how can the average person improve their fertility? It may seem like stating the obvious, but having regular unprotected intercourse is essential to maximise the chance of conception.
Having sex every day, however, is not recommended. Sperm can live for up to 72 hours in the female genital tract but take up to 24 hours to regenerate, so intercourse every two to three days all month provided the greatest chance of conception. Ovulation kits are not recommended, especially as they can add a lot of stress to the whole process which in itself can throw off fertility.
The biological clock is unfortunately a real phenomenon. A woman’s fertility peaks in her 20s, starts to wane in her 30s and declines rapidly over the age of 40.
Women are born with all the eggs they will ever have, but only about 12% remain by the age of 30. However, only 20-25% sperm actually swim in the right direction! Up to 80% of couples conceive within a year of unprotected intercourse. The average woman in Ireland today gives birth to her first child at the age of 31.
Nearly everyone knows someone who either conceived in the first month of trying or has had fertility problems, so many prospective parents panic if they haven’t conceived within a few months.
Investigations are not actually advised until you have been trying for a year under the age of 35 or for six months over this age. At that point a simple visit to the GP can help identify potential problems or do a lot to reassure a couple the odds are in their favour. Further investigations involve referral to a fertility clinic.
The pregnancy rate with assisted fertility is about 28% per cycle, but varies according to clinic, maternal age and other factors.
Lifestyle is one way which we know that people can maximise fertility. Smoking and using narcotics reduces fertility in both sexes, as does excess alcohol consumption. Being over or underweight also affects fertility, so try and keep your BMI between 20 and 25. A good rule of thumb is to act as if you are pregnant while trying to conceive. Eat well, reduce stress and avoid cigarettes and regular alcohol. It’s the ultimate detox!
So those of you hoping to conceive in 2013, check out your man’s hand – you know you want to!
Then digest the advice above and make it part of your lifestyle for the year ahead. Most of all, have fun trying.
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