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Rehab Ireland received €82.2 million in Irish state payments in 2013

 

CEO Angela Kerins

Angela Kerins: pressure on her to disclose all her remuneration details as chief executive of Rehab is growing

The Rehab Group received €82.2 million in State payments last year, new figures given to the Public Accounts Committee show. The disclosure comes amid controversy over Rehab’s failure to reveal the pay of its chief, Angela Kerins.

Ms Kerins and Rehab have defended that stance by saying 60% of Rehab’s income comes from the commercial arena, but the Rehab board has been called to a special meeting on Monday week to discuss releasing the figure.

Disclosure is increasingly likely, given Government pressure for all elements of her remuneration package to be revealed. With the scale of State payments to the organisation now apparent, the committee will next week discuss how to proceed with its examination of Rehab’s finances.

The committee received correspondence on Thursday showing payments made to Rehab by the former State training body Fás and its newly established successor, Solas. The figures show that Rehab received more than €135 million from Fás/Solas in the past five years.

The information casts further light on the amount of public money flowing into Rehab. This comes at a time when Rehab’s defence against disclosing Ms Kerins’ pay rests on the argument that its commercial income exceeds its income from all other sources.

Private correspondence

Solas told the committee in private correspondence on Thursday that Rehab received €27.03 million in fees for training and other services in 2013.

This is on top of the previously disclosed €50 million it received last year from the Health Service Executive. The organisation is also known to have received €2.61 million from the Department of Social Protection and another €2.58 million under the Charitable Lotteries Fund from the Department of Justice.

The decision to phase out the Charitable Lotteries Fund is at the root of tension between Rehab and Minister for Justice Alan Shatter. He has raised concerns over the low profit margins in Rehab Lotteries and questioned the “costly” legal action the group has taken against the State .

Rehab’s payment under the lotteries fund in 2012 was €3.92 million, and from Fás in 2012 was €27.92 million.

Some people in Catholic church could be homophobic,

SAYS ARCHBISHOP DIARMUID MARTIN

  

SOME PEOPLE IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN IRELAND MAY BE HOMOPHOBIC, ACCORDING TO ARCHBISHOP OF DUBLIN DR DIARMUID MARTIN

Speaking on RTE radio this afternoon, Dr Martin said that it is also possible that Catholic Church teachings could be used  “in a homophobic way”, which the Church should be careful not to do during debates on same sex marriage in the run up to the referendum.

“Debates on issues like this have to be carried out in a mature way so that people can freely express their views” while at the same time being respectful and not causing offence,” he said.

“Anyone who grew up in Ireland would have told jokes that were pointed at the gay community, at Travellers. It is part of the culture we grew up in, but we have to grow out of it.”

He reiterated Church beliefs that marriage is a union between a man and a woman only, but that same sex couples can form a union through other methods.

Since the first public civil partnership was celebrated in April 2011, more than 2,600 people become civil partners, up ntil the end of 2013.

3 Sligo families the victims of abysmal building practices

SAYS HIGH COURT JUDGE

  

Three families were “victims of abysmal building practices” and of massive systemic breaches of building regulations, a High Court judge said yesterday. Mr Justice Gerard Hogan made the comments when he awarded the families a total of €1.09m over defects in their homes. 

He is to send his judgment to Environment Minister Phil Hogan and to the chairman of the Oireachtas Environment Committee so the Government “may give such consideration to the policy issues raised by the judgment as they may consider appropriate”. 

What had happened to the families was “simply unconscionable” and he expressed the hope their appalling plight “may yet prove to be a clarion call for action in relation to the proper enforcement of building standards”. 

The case concerned houses in the Ocean Links estate, Strandhill, Co Sligo, built in the early 2000′s by Mulvey Developments. 

Among the purchasers were Michael and Margo Mitchell; Ciaran Adams and wife Niamh Deasy; and Mary Brett, who initially only used the house during holidays before living permanently in it from 2009. 

They sued the Mulvey firm and Thomas Mulvey over multiple defects. Both did not defend the case and judgement had been entered against them previously. 

They also sued supervising engineer during building, Stephen Garvey of Adept Consulting Engineers, along with Design Development Ltd, since gone into liquidation. Judgment was also entered previously against those two defendants in default of them putting in a defence. 

They further sued National House Building Guarantee Company Ltd which operates the Homebond repair scheme and that case is pending. Six similar claims by other householders are also pending. 

Mr Justice Hogan was yesterday dealing with assessment of damages only in relation to the first three cases. He awarded €424,090 to the Mitchells, €250,175 to Ms Brett, and €424,805 to Mr Adams and Ms Deasy.

Thousands of Irish children with disabilities “deprived of vital early help”

  

Large sections of the country have no early intervention teams to help children with serious disabilities — risking potential havoc for their development.

Official figures show that while the HSE is attempting to shore up gaps in the disability sector, thousands of children are being left without vital early help for years — guaranteeing their conditions only get worse.

According to a parliamentary question response to Fianna Fáil’s disability, mental health, and special needs spokesman, Colm Keaveney, Dublin and Cork City have no early intervention teams for those in need of speech and language, occupational, and physiotherapy help.

The same service gap is apparent in Carlow, Kilkenny, Kildare, and Wicklow — with just 58 early intervention teams tasked with supporting 6,399 children across the country.

The data shows 1,940 children wait over a year to be assessed for speech and language difficulties which will deteriorate without intervention. A further 2,090 children are waiting the same length of time for occupational therapy help.

“The whole idea of early intervention teams is to provide assessment and support to children with special needs as soon as their needs become apparent,” said Mr Keaveney.

“Research shows that by identifying a disability at a young age and mapping out an appropriate care plan, a child has a much better chance of quality of life and a much better chance of managing their disability. But this service is completely crippled by a lack of resources.

“This comes down to the simple question: ‘How seriously does the State takes its duty to care towards children with special needs?’

“These figures must act as a wake-up call for the Irish Government. 

“If the Minister for Health, James Reilly, and Junior Minister, Kathleen Lynch, truly believe in the need to provide the most basic level of support for children with disabilities, they will intervene now and ensure this crucial service is properly resourced.”

The stance was supported by Special Needs Parents Association spokeswoman Lorraine Dempsey, who said the problem is a “scandal” to rival that of the ongoing charity top-ups controversy.

While she accepted the HSE is attempting to tighten gaps in the service through a new Progressing Disability Services system which will allow families to apply for help regardless of what area they are in, Ms Dempsey said if nothing changes the issue is only going to get worse.

“Without long-term investment, you’re going to have problems developing for the rest of these children’s lives,” she said.

2014 of the Best Diets in order of ranking

  

Every year, US News assembles a judging panel of top nutrition experts to adjudicate on the best popular diets.

The diets are ranked on how easy they are to follow, their ability to produce short-term and long-term weight loss, their nutritional completeness, their safety and their potential for preventing and managing diabetes and heart disease.

In his assessment of the 2014 Best Diets ranking process, Prof David Katz, director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Centre, pointed out that many diets are more likely to be marked by their similarities than differences.

For example low glycaemic index and Mediterranean dietary patterns such as high fruit and vegetable consumption are characteristics of virtually all healthy diets. However, he welcomed the fact that the ranking list provides some clarity, helping dieters to make a more informed decision about which diet to run with, in what has become a bewilderingly, over-crowded playing field.

Of the 32 diets assessed this year, top of the list was the DASH Diet, a plan initially developed to reduce blood pressure in the mid-1990s, but which has since been discovered to enhance weight management and improve skeletal health.

The original dash diet focused primarily on the increased intake of fruit and vegetables (at least four servings per day of each) and low-fat dairy products such as semi-skimmed milk and low-fat yoghurt (three to four servings per day). These dietary patterns are associated with increased intakes of potassium, calcium and magnesium, and it’s been suggested that these are the nutrients which actually do the business for us in terms of enhanced health outcome.

However, the tendency of these “healthy” foods to simultaneously push other “unhealthy” foods out of the diet is another important advantage which can’t be ignored. More recent incarnations of the DASH Diet have incorporated salt restriction, reduced red meat intake, portion control and limited alcohol intake, all of which have enhanced its health-promoting properties.

Among the other plans featuring in the top 10 are the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) Diet and the Mayo Clinic Diet. The TLC Diet is a heart-healthy plan which recommends a reduction in saturated fat from processed meats and fat-rich dairy foods like cheese and cream. It also advises people to cut down their salt and their overall fat intakes, and to take at least 30 minutes of exercise each day.

The Mayo Clinic Diet comprises a “Lose It!” phase for the first two weeks during which significant weight loss of 3-5 kg is targeted, followed by a “Live It!” phase, where sustainable healthy diet and exercise patterns are implemented. These include eating extra fruit, vegetables and whole-grains, as well as moderate portions of lean protein sources like beans and pulses, fish and low fat dairy foods.

Among the commercial plans making the top 10 were: Weight Watchers (no. 3), Jenny Craig (no. 8) and the Ornish Diet (no. 9).

In selecting your own diet plan, remember that the diet industry’s tendency to label diets often neglects the significant overlap that exists between them. Also, try not to be over-prescriptive — the best and most practical diet plan for you and your family may incorporate winning features common to several of these well known plans.

For example, it’s hard to argue against the inclusion of plenty of fruit, vegetables, low-fat dairy, wholegrain cereals and oily fish as positive dietary changes. And limiting the sources of sugar, fat, salt and alcohol are probably no-brainers, too.

IN THE FRIDGE

A delicious salad, 
Cucumber and rocket salad:

Dice a large fresh cucumber and 200g of feta cheese into 1 cm cubes. Add 50g of roast pine nuts, 50g of chopped sundried tomatoes and two to three handfuls of fresh rocket leaves. Add 30mls of balsamic vinegar and 30mls of good quality olive oil and toss thoroughly before serving cold… delicious.

VITAMIM WATCH
Vitamin D

An Irish paper from researchers at UCC published in the British Journal of Nutrition has highlighted the issue of vitamin D insufficiency in the Irish population.

This study showed that 76% of Irish adults tested had blood levels of vitamin D which were lower than the threshold for optimal bone health.

Also, more than half of those identified to have low blood concentrations of vitamin D had levels which placed them at high risk for osteoporosis.

While there’s emerging evidence implicating low vitamin D status in cancer, heart disease, and other serious health conditions, it’s noteworthy that falls and osteoporotic fractures alone have been estimated to cost the Irish economy €551m a year.

Vitamin D food sources include: salmon, eggs, avocado, and mushrooms.

A Tomato treat 

The tomato originated in the South American Andes, and was first used as a foodstuff in Mexico. Packed full of vitamins A and C, and with folate, iron and potassium, tomatoes are also rich in lycopene, an antioxidant that becomes even more available for use by the body when it’s derived from pulped, pureed or fried tomatoes.

Curiosity shows us how Martians would see the Earth?

AND IT’S STUNNING

  

It’s a stunning image of Earth and it’s an intimate portrait of our home planet.

In late January, according to NASA, its Curiosity rover snapped the first ever picture of Earth from Mars. In the photo Earth resembles an evening star with the moon, a smaller point of light, shining nearby.

Curiosity utilized its “Mastcam” or its left eye camera to snap the photo. This intensely significant event occurred on the rover’s 529th day of its mission on Mars, and just about 80 min after sunset on the red planet. At the moment the camera shutter blinked, Earth and Mars were approximately 99 million miles away from each other.

The publicly released image has been slightly edited, though only to eliminate the effects of cosmic rays. The image can be seen on Curiosity’s official Twitter feed, along with the text, “Look back in wonder. My first picture of Earth from the surface of Mars.”

This picture will no doubt go down in history as one of the most famous pictures taken from the explorations of space. Another of the famous shots from space includes the one captured by Voyager 1 Spacecraft, where Earth appears as a “pale blue dot.”

Since arriving on Mars’ surface in 2012, Curiosity has been continually providing scientists with large amounts of data and as well as supplying the public with exciting new discoveries. Curiosity has already made a huge impact and established its place as one of the most successful rovers ever to roam the surface of Mars.