News Ireland daily BLOG by Donie

Abortion Act to become law from start of January 2014

 

Minister for Health James Reilly signs commencement order and regulations

An order commencing the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 from January 1st has been signed by Minister for Health James Reilly.

The move was welcomed by a number of Government TDs and condemned by the Pro Life Campaign.

The Act provides for a termination of pregnancy where there is a real and substantial risk to a woman’s life from a physical illness, including from the risk of suicide.

In a statement today the Department of Health said the commencement order and regulations were signed by Dr Reilly yesterday and the HSE had been informed of the commencement date.

The regulations cover the content of “the prescribed forms for the purposes of certification, notification and for applying for a review of a medical opinion”.

In order for a termination to take place, two medical practitioners will have to examine the woman and jointly certify that the risk to her life can only be averted by carrying out the procedure.

Review
The regulations also provide for the review of a decision to allow a termination and they set down the procedures for recording terminations and notifying them to the Minister for Health.

The hearings by the Oireachtas health committee which marked the first stage of the legislative process began in January of this year.

The Bill was passed by the Dáil and Seanad in early July and signed by President Higgins later that month after he had convened a meeting of the Council of State to advise him.

Clearer boundaries
Labour Party TD Anne Ferris of Wicklow said she had campaigned for many years for modern laws to give more rights to pregnant Irish women while providing clearer legal boundaries for healthcare staff managing pregnancies.

“Irish women have had to wait 22 years for their constitutional rights as determined by the Supreme Courtin 1992 to be underwritten by the law,” said Ms Ferris. She added that the legislation removed from doctors the fear of a possible Medical Council investigation for exercising their moral duty to save a woman’s life. “This is a good day for women and for the medical professionals in our hospitals who care for pregnant women.”

Waterford Labour TD Ciara Conway and Senator Ivana Bacik also welcomed the decision.

Cora Sherlock of the Pro Life Campaign accused the Government of engaging in a dishonest debate leading to the passage of the Bill. “Everyone in Government knows that the legislation was not needed to save women’s lives. That is why the Government had to browbeat their TDs to vote with their party and against their consciences,”she said.

Ms Sherlock added that the Government had spent time and money on focus groups to come up with language that would confuse the Irish people into believing the legislation would be good for women.

“It will take time but the lies that have been told will eventually be exposed,” she said.

Aras an Uachtarain valued at only €750,000 for property tax purposes?

 

Hard-pressed taxpayers will be surprised that Aras an Uachtarain has been valued at just €750,000 for property tax purposes.

While many three-bed semis in Dublin are valued at the same rate, President Michael D Higgins’s palatial home will only cost the same €1,305 in property tax for the coming year.

In a written Dáil response to Kevin Humphreys of Labour, Minister for State Brian Hayes confirmed the Commissioners has included the Áras in the Revenue’s Band 14, valuing the house between €700,000 and €750,000.

When one considers the State residence contains a large ballroom, a drawing room, large and small dining rooms, and a number of 18th and 19th century bedrooms, the value placed on it is ridiculously low.

President Higgins won’t be footing the €1,305 property tax bill whiel will be paid by the State.

Mr Hayes said the State has put a higher value on the much lesser known Steward’s Lodge — official residence to the Taoiseach.

Twitter suspends account after topless pic at Dublin concert emerges

 

A picture of a young woman in her underwear at last night’s Calvin Harris gig has gone viral.

The picture shows the young woman topless and wearing just her underwear. A man appears to be kissing her chest.

It’s been reported that the young woman was attending the Calvin Harris concert last night at the O2.

There are fears that the young woman is identifiable from the image, and fears are growing that she will be targeted online.

DJ Tiesto was the supporting act and it’s been alleged the image was taken during his set.

The image was uploaded by a Twitter user whose account has since been suspended.

Despite this, the image has gone viral and is attracting a lot of negative comment online.

In August, a similar incident occurred involving an underage schoolgirl performing a sex act on a man during the Eminem concert.

The image subsequently went viral, with the girl subjected to abuse online.

Gardai did investigate but the upset schoolgirl chose not to make an official complaint.

Calvin Harris and Tiesto played Dublin’s O2 last night.

Separately some 23 people were arrested by gardai last night – 18 were arrested for public order offences, while the remainder were arrested for drugs offences.

One garda was injured during an arrest, but did not require hospital treatment.

Concert promoters MCD issued a statement to Independent.ie this evening, saying they ‘fully support’ the zero tolerance approach enforced by Gardai.

“20 people were arrested within the vicinity of The Point Village last night for illegal activity/criminal behaviour. A total of 12,500 people attended the concert,” a spokesperson said.

“The O2 and MCD fully support An Garda Siochana in their policing of the event and these arrests send a clear message that such activities/behaviour will not be tolerated at public events.

“We would like to thank An Garda Siochana and security staff with the success of last night’s Garda operation.”

AIB apologises to customers for withdrawal issues

 

AIB have apologised to customers who have not been able to withdraw cash from non-AIB ATMs.

It is the second day in a row that this issue has affected customers.

A spokesperson for the bank said work is continuing to have the problem resolved.

They are being told that the €600 withdrawal limit on non-AIB ATMs will be reset at midnight tonight.

A spokesperson for the bank told independent.ie yesterday that the problem had been resolved. ”AIB experienced some issues with AIB Debit Cards earlier today and this has now been resolved. AIB apologises to customers for any inconvenience caused.

Bank of Ireland customers also had problems earlier yesterday.

The bank confirmed that an incoming payment file was delayed overnight but said yesterday morning that the issue had been resolved.

It is not known how many customers were affected by the delay to the payment file.

5 Things to Know About the Winter Solstice

The event marks the longest night in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest day in the Southern Hemisphere

The sun rises behind the Temple of Karnak Temple during the alignment of the winter solstice sunrise to the temple in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor on Dec. 21.

Behold! A year has passed since the great Mayan apocalypse of 2012 — newsflash: we’re all still here — and the winter solstice is again upon us. The solstice marks the shortest day of the year for dwellers in the Northern Hemisphere, and the longest day of the year for those south of the equator. But that doesn’t just mean darkness will cast a great shadow over the Northern Hemisphere. In fact, the sun will halt its orbit and change paths, eventually moving northward and inching toward more sunlight for those of us in the north. Here’s a look at why you should care about today’s astronomical event.

What is it?
The winter solstice occurs at a specific time, not just day. This year, at 12:11 p.m. EST on Saturday, Dec. 21, the sun shone directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, the farthest south the sun reaches, leading to less light and colder temperatures in the north. In the Southern Hemisphere, it was the longest day of the year.

So then what happens?
The sun begins moving northward in the sky each day, slowly leading to more sun north of the equator and ushering in a darker, colder season in the Southern Hemisphere.

Is it related to Christmas? 
Sort of. There’s no date in the Bible specifically pointing to Dec. 25 as the birth of Jesus Christ, so some experts believe the Christian church selected the date several centuries later, tying it to the Roman holiday Dies Natalis Solis Invictus, or the Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun. The winter solstice serves a turning point in many cultures, which is why it was tied to the Mayan apocalypse scare that marked the end of the calendar and to some believers, the end of the world.

Just how short is the day? 
North America will only see nine hours and 32 minutes of daylight during the solstice, and 14 hours and 28 minutes of nighttime. But the winter solstice doesn’t always happen at the same time. Next year northern dwellers can brace for the solstice at 11:03 p.m. In 2015 it will occur on Dec. 22.

What are other important dates for the sun?
The summer solstice occurs on June 21, the longest day of the year in the north. On March 21 and Sept. 21, Earth’s equator passes the center of the sun, which are known as “equinoxes.” These two dates mark the point at which hours of day and night are nearly equal.

MEANWHILE IN NEWGRANGE CO MEATH: 

Sun scenes at Winter Solstice in Newgrange Co Meath 

  

The sun rises over Newgrange this morning & The scene inside the passage tomb at Newgrange this morning.

Around 200 people have gathered around the ancient passage tomb at Newgrange, Co Meath to mark the Winter Solstice.

In the past few minutes, a narrow beam of sunlight broke through the opening known as the roof box and lit up the chamber of the 5,000-year-old tomb.

Built 1,000 years before the Great Pyramids of Giza, the passage tomb at Newgrange was designed and constructed by Stone Age man.

A number of other events are taking place around the country to mark the shortest day of the year.

At one of them, South Kilkenny Historical Society gathered for the Winter Solstice at the Knockroe passage tomb in the county.