Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Ireland now set to repay the first installment of it's €9 billion to IMF by next month

 

Money will be paid from cash balances held by the National Treasury Management Agency.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan: “All bilateral lenders have now confirmed the waiver in respect of their loans to us”.

The Government expects to repay €9 billion of the State’s loans with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in December, in what will be the first instalment of the early repayment of our bailout funds from the Washington DC-based body.

This has been confirmed by Minister for Finance Michael Noonan in a reply to a question from Fianna Fáil’s finance spokesman Michael McGrath.

“The early repayment [of the IMF loans] will take place in tranches, with the first tranche of approximately €9 billion planned for next month,” Mr Noonan said.

It is understood this money will be paid from existing cash balances held by the National Treasury Management Agency on behalf of the State.

Ireland intends to repay €18.3 billion of our €22.5 billion IMF loan, which dates back to the financial assistance programme agreed with the fund and the EU in late 2010.

Mr Noonan said this is the portion of the loan subject to the highest rate of interest. The intention was to replace it, in a “measured way”, with “less expensive market funding”.

A clause in our loan agreements with the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM), and with bilateral lenders the UK, Denmark and Sweden meant that waivers from them were required to repay the IMF loans early.

“All bilateral lenders have now confirmed the waiver in respect of their loans to us, in accordance with their national approval procedures,” Mr Noonan said.

“The most recent of these was the Swedish government’s agreement on November 20th … following the Swedish parliament’s approval the previous day. The EFSF and EFSM can now complete the waiver process, which will facilitate the first early repayment.”

Garda Reserve now close to full strength 10 years after its inception

 

Journalists absent from Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan first passing-out ceremony at Templemore

The Garda Reserve is on course to achieve its target strength next year, some 10 years after the part-time unpaid element of the force was established.

It was intended that the reserve would reach 10 per cent of the full-time Garda number. But nine years after the first intake, that figure is yet to be reached.

The latest class of reservists graduated at the Garda College, Templemore, Co Tipperary, yesterday when 62 men and women from home and abroad were officially welcomed into the reserve after completing their training.

In total, 62 reservists passed out: 41 men and 21 women. While most were from the Republic, there were also reservists fromFrance, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.

Target in sight

The passing out brought to 1,173 the full strength of the reserve, with 1,091 fully attested and 82 in training.

If current intake trends continue, the number of reservists will reach some 1,250 next year, or 10 per cent of the full-time force.

The reserve was introduced under theGarda Síochána Act 2005, with the first intake of reservists inducted the following year.

Some organisations that represent full-time Garda members were dissatisfied with what they considered efforts by then minister for justice Michael McDowell to introduce free policing.

Yesterday’s ceremony was the first passing-out event at Templemore over which Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan has presided since her appointment this week.

However while the ceremony is usually open to journalists, who are afforded an interview opportunity with the commissioner and minister for justice of the day, only photographers were invited to yesterday’s passing out.

Media absence

Senior sources said the commissioner had already taken questions from the media at several events since her appointment on Tuesday. And they added that there was “little point” in another media event just days into her term.

The same sources said the commissioner remained committed to creating a more open and transparent force and the exclusion of journalists “should not be misinterpreted in any way”.

In September, Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald and then interim commissioner O’Sullivan faced a barrage of questions at a passing-out in Templemore relating to allegations that gardaí continued to cancel penalty points without reason.

Senior sources at the time believed the allegations had been leaked just before the event in an effort to put Ms O’Sullivan at a disadvantage.

Ireland’s GPs ‘unaware of their medical card powers’

Says the HSE

  

The ability of doctors to extend a medical card for four months was one of the measures included in the package announced earlier this week. 

Some GPs in Ireland have not been made fully aware they could temporarily save a patient from losing their medical card in special cases, the Health Service

A spokeswoman was commenting after the National Association of General Practitioners said doctors encountered a wide range of problems with this facility.

Others were unaware they could extend a card via the HSE computer system even though it has been in place for two years, the GP body said.

The HSE spokeswoman said the HSE and GP representatives worked collaboratively to develop the facilities which are available to family doctors today. “It is clear that not all GPs are fully aware of all of the facilities available and the HSE will be writing again to clarify the situation with them.

“However, many GPs are aware of the facilities and currently reinstate medical cards, extend the expiry date for sensitive renewals and add babies to medical cards.

Sensitive

“To date GPs have reinstated 2,008 medical cards, completed 384 sensitive renewals, removed 19,189 medical cards and added 21,770 babies to the GMS register,” she added.

She pointed out there are “controls in place”. In instances where a family has been fully assessed and it has been established that they are not eligible for a medical card, this decision cannot be overturned by a GP. “However, if a family did not engage with the review process, for reasons of illness for instance, the lapsed eligibility for this family can be re-instated by their GP.

“The HSE will work with GPs to strengthen the facilities available to them.”

The ability of doctors to extend a medical card for four months was one of the measures included in the package announced earlier this week to reform the discretionary medical card scheme.

If the patient has a mental illness, it may be extended by the GP for a year after notifying the HSE.

Ireland records its second highest fertility rate in the EU

 

Significant developments and trends noted in 2012 CSO Vital Statistics report

A report on Vital Statistics 2012 published by the Central Statistics Office notes that France had the highest fertility rate at 2.01, Ireland was next at 1.99.

Ireland recorded the second highest fertility rate in the EU in 2012, the figures released by the Central Statistics Office show.

A report on Vital Statistics 2012 published by the Central Statistics Office notes that France had the highest fertility rate at 2.01, Ireland was next at 1.99 followed by the UK with a rate of 1.94. Portugal had the lowest rate at 1.28.

Referred to as the Total Period Fertility Rate (TPFR) the fertility figure represents a theoretical average number of children who would be born alive to a woman during her lifetime.

A 2.1 score is considered to be the population replacement rate – the number of births necessary to maintain current population levels.

Ireland’s TPFR has fallen by 33 per cent in the last 30 years, from 2.96 in 1980 to 1.99 in 2012. It has been below the replacement level since 1991.

The number of births to women aged 30 to 34 in 2012 was 26, 028, the highest number of all 5-year age groups and representing over a third of all births (36.3 per cent).

The percentage of births to teenage mothers remained the same in 2012 as in 2011, at 2.3 per cent (1,616) of births to mothers under 20 years of age.

Excluding 2011, it was 1963 since the percentage of births to mothers below 20 was this low.

As the decline in the rate births to mothers under 20 might suggest, Irish women are choosing to have their babies later in life and the rate of births to mothers over 40 is increasing.

In 2012, 5.6 per cent (4,007) of births were to mothers over 40. This was the highest percentage of births to this age group since 1971 when it was 5.7 per cent.

In 2012, 7 per cent of females in their 20s gave birth while 11 per cent of those in their 30s gave birth.

The average age of mothers at maternity in Ireland in 2012 was 32.0 years. This compares with 30.0 in Northern Ireland and 29.8 in England and Wales.

In 2012, 71,674 children born in Ireland. This represents a fall of 3.2 per cent (2,359)from 2011. Despite recording a fall, 2012 still saw the fifth highest number of births in Ireland since 1980.

The birth rate was 15.6 per 1,000 of the population compared with 16.2 in 2011 and 15.5 in 2002.

The report also highlights some other significant developments and trends. In 2012, just over 23.2 per cent of births were to mothers of non-Irish nationality.

The number of births outside marriage/civil partnership in 2012 was 25,179 or 35.1 per cent of all births.

Wednesday the 4th of July saw the highest number of babies born on one day (269). The lowest number of babies born on the one day was 107 on April 22nd.

There were 29,186 deaths recorded in Ireland in 2012, of which 14,945 were males and 14, 241 were females. This equates to 6.36 deaths per 1,000 total population compared with 6.22 in 2011 and 7.58 in 2002.

There were 541 deaths due to intentional self-harm in 2012 of which 445 were male and 96 female.

The risk from extreme weather is set to rise for all of us in the long term.

  

The UK is comparatively resilient to extreme events – but vulnerable because of high population density.

Climate change and population growth will hugely increase the risk to people from extreme weather, a report says.

The Royal Society warns that the risk of heatwaves to an ageing population will rise about ten-fold by 2090 if greenhouse gases continue to rise.

They estimate the risk to individuals from floods will rise more than four-fold and the drought risk will treble.

The report’s lead author Prof Georgina Mace said: “This problem is not just about to come… it’s here already.”

She told BBC News: “We have to get the mindset that with climate change and population increase we are living in an ever-changing world – and we need much better planning if we hope to cope.”

The report says governments have not grasped the risk of booming populations in coastal cities as sea level rises and extreme events become more severe.

“People are increasingly living in the wrong places, and it’s likely that extreme events will be more common,” Prof Mace says.

“For most hazards, population increase contributes at least as much as climate change – sometimes more. We are making ourselves more vulnerable whilst making the climate more extreme.

“It is impossible for us to avoid the worst and most unexpected events. But it is not impossible to be prepared for an ever-changing world. We must organise ourselves right away.”

The report’s team said the UK was comparatively resilient to extreme events – but still vulnerable because of the high density of people living in areas at risk.

The report says governments have not grasped the risk of booming populations in coastal cities

The report advises all levels of society to prepare – from strategic planning at an international and national level to local schemes by citizens to tackle floods or heatwaves.

Its scenarios are based on the assumption that the world stays on the current trajectory of emissions, which the authors assume will increase temperature by 2.6-4.8C around 2090. It assumes a population of nine billion.

They say they have built upon earlier work by calculating the effects of climate change coupled with population trends. They warn that the effects of extremes will be exacerbated by the increase in elderly people, who are least able to cope with hot weather.

Urbanisation will make the issue worse by creating “heat islands” where roads and buildings absorb heat from the sun. As well as building homes insulated against the cold, we must also ensure they can be properly ventilated in the summer, the report says.

The authors say cutting greenhouse gas emissions is essential. But they argue that governments will also need to adapt to future climatic shifts driven by climate change.

They suggest threats could be tackled through a dual approach. The simplest and cheapest way of tempering heatwaves, they say, is to maintain existing green space. Other low-cost options are planting new trees, encouraging green roofs, or painting roofs white to reflect the sun.

The authors say air conditioners are the most effective way of keeping cool – but they are costly, they dump heat into city streets and their use exacerbates climate change.

Flooding is another priority area, the report says. It finds that large-scale engineering solutions like sea walls offer the most effective protection to coastal flooding – but they are expensive, and when they fail the results can be disastrous.

Urbanisation creates heat islands which can exacerbate the effects of hot weather

The ideal solution, the authors think, may be a combination of “hard” engineering solutions like dykes matched with “soft” solutions like protecting wetlands to hold water and allow it to seep into the ground.

A scheme at Pickering in Yorkshire previously featured by BBC News is held as an example. The report concludes more research is needed to measure the effectiveness of these ecosystem solutions.

It insists that governments should carefully prioritise their spending. They should protect major infrastructure like electricity generation because of its knock-on effect on the broader economy. They should expect some lower-priority defences to fail from time to time, then work to minimise the consequences of that failure .

The authors identify excess heat as another potential threat to economies and agriculture if temperatures climb too high for outdoor workers.

They examine projected rises in the “wet bulb” index used by the US Army and others to measure the temperature felt when the skin is wet and exposed to moving air.

Some areas may experience many weeks when outdoor activity is heavily restricted, they fear – although the trend of agricultural labour loss may be offset through the century as more and more people move to cities.

It puts a figure on those at greatest overall risk: populations in poor countries make up only 11% of those exposed to hazards but account for 53% of the disaster deaths.

Some economists argue this shows that poor nations should increase their economies by burning cheap fossil fuels because that will allow them to spend more later on disaster protection.

The authors also call for reform of the financial system to take into account the exposure of assets to extreme events.

They say: “Unless risks are accurately evaluated and reported, companies will have limited incentives to reduce them. And valuations and investment decisions will continue to be poorly informed.”

One author, Rowan Douglas, from the Willis Research Network, said he suspected this might be the most significant contribution of the report.

The authors want organisations to report their maximum probable losses due to extreme events, based on a 1% chance of the event on any given year.

“The 1% stress test is not as extreme as it might sound – it implies a 10% chance of an organization being affected once a decade,” they say.

They say decisions made over the next few decades as the world builds vast urban areas will be key to the resilience of people by the end of the century.       

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

New Government rules will allow blood samples to be taken from unconscious drivers

  

Tightening of drink driving rules as part of Christmas road safety campaign

Under the new rules, medical authorities may take a sample from a driver who has been incapacitated and is unable to provide consent to the procedure.

A major tightening of road safety rules, including measures to take blood samples from drivers injured in crashes, will come into effect on Thursday.

Minister for Transport Pascal Donohoe will announce the closure of a loophole, which allowed drunken drivers to avoid blood tests through being unconscious or by claiming injury, at the launch of the annual Christmas road safety campaign.

Under the new rules, medical authorities may take a sample from a driver who has been incapacitated and is unable to provide consent to the procedure.

A driver will be asked on regaining capacity whether they consent to the issuing of a certificate of the test results based on the sample.

The certificate stating the level of alcohol in the bloodstream may be used in a subsequent prosecution.

If  the driver refuses to allow the sample to be used, the refusal will be an offence in much the same way that refusing to provide a sample to the gardaí is currently an offence.

Penalties for this offence can include disqualification from driving.

New drug testing

Mr Donohoe will also announce the immediate introduction of new roadside impairment testing for drugs.

The testing will provide An Garda Síochána with additional powers.

Drivers can be asked to perform a range of balance and co-ordination movements, which may indicate if they have been driving while under the influence of drugs.

These tests are non-technological, cognitive tests and will typically involve touching the nose or walking in a straight line.

The Department of Transport was told international experience has shown these tests to be sufficiently precise and objective enough to be used in court.

The new tests will be an important added resource to gardaí in identifying and prosecuting intoxicated drivers, and are seen as a significant new tool for the gardaí in enforcing the law against drug driving.

New breathalyser machines.   

Further development of the drug testing system will be incorporated in the forthcoming Road Traffic Bill, the heads of which are expected to be published in coming weeks.

It is understood this will involve legal provision for new “breathalyser type” machines that can test spittle for drugs.

Mandatory Alcohol Testing will become known as Mandatory Impairment Testing to reflect the changes.

Mr Donohoe will also name a number of driving offences to be added to the penalty points list.

It is understood these will affect learner and novice drivers among others.

The tightening up of the rules comes amid mounting concern over the number of people being killed on the State’s roads, which is set to rise for the second year in a row.

As of Wednesday morning, 179 people had lost their lives on the State’s roads since the beginning of the year, eight more than the figure of 171 for a similar period in 2013.

The total number of deaths in 2013 was 190 and there is concern figures for 2014 will exceed that number.

Road deaths numbers hit a record low in 2012 when 162 people lost their lives.

Majority of undocumented migrants are long-term residents in USA

  

One in five undocumented people have lived in the State for more than 10 years, according to new research.

The study for the Migrants Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI) estimates there are between 20,000 and 26,000 undocumented migrants living here at present.

The overwhelming majority (81%) have been in Ireland for five years or more and 21% have been in the country for more than 10 years.

Some 86.5% of those entered the country legally and subsequently became undocumented.

A similar percentage of (87%) are working and more than half have a third-level education.

The five most common nationalities among undocumented people living here are: Filipino, Chinese, Mauritian, Brazilian and Pakistani.

The research is the first of its kind and involved 540 responses from undocumented migrants.

MRCI spokeswoman Helen Lowry said the survey was the first of its kind and provided an accurate picture of undocumented migrants in the country.

She said it was clear most undocumented migrants were long-term residents in Ireland.

She added: “Given that one third of those surveyed have children living in Ireland, the Government simply cannot continue to ignore this population and hope they will all just leave.

“Undocumented migrants are part of our communities, they have put down roots, made Ireland their home – and for many of these children, Ireland is the only home they have known.”

In a case study published as part of the research one undocumented person living here, referred to as Abdullah, compared the experience of undocumented migrants living in the State with undocumented Irish in the United States.

“This research shows that most undocumented people are like me: young, hard-working, educated and committed to Ireland both financially and emotionally,” he said.

“Last year my father passed away; it was so hard for me not being there. All we’re asking for is a chance to come forward and regularise our situations – to be able to visit our families, to move on with our lives and to stop constantly looking over our shoulders.”

The research will published by John Douglas, president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, this morning.

Ted Nealon was an ‘unique smart politician with a very smart & good brain’

Say’s Taoiseach Kenny

 

Cross-party tributes paid to late politician, journalist and broadcaster

Ted Nealon: Taoiseach Enda Kenny said of him: “In every role he gave of his best, not alone as an exemplary public servant, but as an exemplary, compassionate and dignified human being”

The late Ted Nealon had a “unique political brain of enormous capacity”, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has told the Dáil. In a tribute to the former Fine Gael TD and minister of state, Mr Kenny said Mr Nealon had an exceptional career in politics and journalism. He died in January, aged 84.

“In every role he gave of his best, not alone as an exemplary public servant, but as an exemplary, compassionate and dignified human being,” Mr Kenny said. “In every interaction, he recognised the other person’s humanity and dignity, which explains why when Ted’s passing was announced it was met with such personal sadness and fond affection in the former constituency of Sligo-Leitrim.’’

On behalf of the Labour Party, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin said Mr Nealon had carved that rare path from prominent current affairs journalist and broadcaster to minister of state.

Mr Howlin recalled that he was editor and founder of Nealon’s Guide to the Dáil and Seanad. “It was one of the most important works in introducing the innate love most Irish people have of the political systems here and giving us the factsheet to work on,” Mr Howlin added.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said Mr Nealon was a “ground-breaking person in terms of media and politics’’. He himself could trace his real engagement with politics toRTÉ 7 Days TV programme, on which Mr Nealon had worked as a journalist.

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said people like Ted Nealon and Brian Farrell had modernised people’s understanding of politics, particularly in their detailed approach and the encyclopaedic knowledge they had. “His work as a journalist obviously empowered him and gave him particular insights as to how he would function as a deputy,” Mr Adams added.

Independent TD Shane Ross, on behalf of the technical group, said Mr Nealon had starred in RTÉ’s general election programme of 1973 because of his extraordinary amount of knowledge.

As a young man, Mr Ross added, he had a versatile sporting career as a Gaelic footballer with Sligo and playing rugby for Lancashire.

Deadly future heatwaves in the UK could kill thousands

“warn our scientists”

 

Britain will experience three times as many heatwaves as it does now by 2100

Today’s children will face deadly heatwaves which could kill thousands more people by the end of the century, the Royal Society has warned.

If governments do not get a handle on global warming by 2100, Britain will experience three times as many heatwaves as it does now with the death toll rising

Around 2,000 people die each year in the UK because of hot weather, with the elderly at most risk. But that could rise to at least 6,000 in the next century and probably higher because the percentage of over-65s is rising dramatically.

There will also be three times as many floods annually and twice as many droughts, the Royal Society predicts in its new report ‘Resilience to Extreme Weather’ which was published on Thursday.

Experts claim the government must implement new strategies for mitigating the devastation caused by extreme weather including res-establishing flood plains; building dams; increasing reservoir capacity; planting new forests near coasts and creating artificial reefs and coastal barrages.

Professor Georgina Mace, Chair of the working group for the report said: “We are not resilient to the extremes of weather that we experience now and many people are already extremely vulnerable.

“If we continue on our current trajectory the problem is likely to get much worse as our climate and population change.

“By acting now we can reduce the serious risks for our children and grandchildren.”

Scientists calculated the impact of climate change and population changes on the chances of people being affected by floods, droughts and heatwaves around the world.

In the UK a dense and increasingly ageing population means that heatwaves were the most serious threat. The British population is expected to swell to 75 million by 2011 with a huge rise in the number of pensioners.

More than 2,000 British deaths were attributed to the warmest summer for 500 years in 2003. Last year, up to 760 people died in England alone during the July heatwave.

Scientists adopted a “worst case” scenario by assuming an increase in average temperatures around the world of 2.6 – 4.8C by 2100.

But global warming is on course to reach this level unless governments agree to a meaningful strategy for cutting greenhouse gas emissions at critical talks next year.

The researchers defined a heatwave as a run of five days during which night-time temperatures are at least 5C above the norm.

The report issued an urgent call to both governments and private companies to do more to address extreme weather hazards.

The experts recommended that big engineering projects should be combined with natural ecosystem-based approaches such as re-establishing flood plains, protecting coastlines with mangrove forests, and planting vegetation.

The scientists also warned that unless companies improved the way they handle weather risks their credit ratings could suffer.

Co-author Rowan Douglas, chairman of the Willis Research Network – which advises public and private institutions on risk, said it was important that city planners also factor in the increased likelihood of extreme weather events.

“At a macro level, we will re-build most of the world’s cities in the next 30 years, literally,” he said. “We have a choice whether to build them to be vulnerable or resilient.”

The report did not look at wind damage, which poses the greatest potential risk to property in the UK.

Prof Joanna Haigh, Professor of Atmospheric Physics and Co-Director of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and Environment, Imperial College London, said:

“Following widely-reported projections of global mean temperature rise this report spells out very clearly the potential impact of climate change on the lives of real people across the globe.

“While it is impossible to predict the occurrence of a particular extreme weather event in a given place it is clear that the risk of occurrence of such events is increasing, and the potential impacts disastrous.”

Prof Andrew Watkinson, Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia (UEA), added:“This timely report reminds us that extreme weather events affect us all, that we are not as resilient to current extreme events as we could be and that the nature of extreme events is likely to change in the future.”

Dr Grant Allen, Atmospheric physicist at the University of Manchester, said: “One thing is for sure – what once was an extreme weather event will become more normal. It is essentially a widening of the weather spectrum: more frequent floods, droughts, heatwaves and hurricanes.”

Our brain neurons know what is virtual or what is real

A new study shows us?

 

Neurons in the brain react differently to virtual reality than they do to real-life environments, shows a study. 

The finding can be significant for people who use virtual reality for gaming, military, commercial, scientific or other purposes.

“The pattern of activity in a brain region involved in spatial learning in the virtual world is completely different than when it processes activity in the real world,” said Mayank Mehta, a professor of physics, neurology and neurobi ..

For the study, Mehta led a team focusing on the hippocampus, a region of the brain involved in diseases such as Alzheimer’s, stroke, depression, schizophrenia, epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder.

To test whether the hippocampus could actually form spatial maps using only visual landmarks, the researchers devised a non-invasive virtual reality environment.

They studied how the hippocampal neurons in the brains of rats reacted in the virtual world without the ability to use smells and sounds as cues.

The scientists were surprised to find that the results from the virtual and real environments were entirely different.

“The neural pattern in virtual reality is substantially different from the activity pattern in the real world. We need to fully understand how virtual reality affects the brain,” Mehta noted.

When people walk or try to remember something, the activity in the hippocampus becomes very rhythmic.

Those rhythms facilitate the formation of memories and our ability to recall them.

Mehta hypothesizes that in some people with learning and memory disorders, these rhythms are impaired.

By retuning and synchronising these rhythms, doctors will be able to repair damaged memory as “the need to repair memories is enormous,” he concluded. 

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

People with terminal illnesses will no longer face a medical card review

 

Major medical card changes announced by Leo Varadkar

Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has announced major changes to the medical card system to make the processing of applications more sensitive to the needs of people with serious illnesses.

People with terminal illnesses will no longer have to have their medical card reviewed, Minister for Health has announced as part of a major change to the system.

Leo Varadkar also said the Health Service Executive can provide people with therapies or appliances, even in the absence of a medical card.

Changes in the medical card system will see more account taken of the burden of an illness as part of an “enhanced” assessment process.

The power of a GP to extend a medical card in difficult circumstances is to be extended to four months and to 12 months in sensitive cases.

There will be greater exchange of information between the medical card central assessment office and local health offices when applications are considered.

More than 10,000 people, who had their medical cards removed and later reinstated, have been told they will retain the cards pending implementation of actions to improve the scheme.

“From now on, wider discretion and greater humanity will be exercised as part of an enhanced process that takes into account the burden of an illness or condition,” Mr Varadkar said.

His initiative is the second attempt by the Government to lay to rest the controversy surrounding the award of discretionary medical cards, which was a major issue contributing to electoral difficulties for Fine Gael andLabour earlier this year.

Last May, former Minister for Health James Reilly tried to defuse the controversy over the withdrawal of cards by promising they would henceforth be given out on the basis of medical condition.

Mr Varadkar abandoned this approach after Prof Keane’s group found this was not possible.

Mr Varadkar said the controversy had convinced him more than ever that the only solution was a move to universal healthcare.

Without this, there would always be people above the financial threshold for qualifying for a card.

New legislation may be needed to ensure the burden of an illness was taken account of when awarding cards, he admitted; “We’re already pushing the existing legislation to the boundaries”.

Prof Frank Keane, who chaired a review group on medical card eligibility, said measuring illness burden would be a difficult process.

It had not been done anywhere else in the world but it was not impossible.

Prof Keane’s group, whose report has been published, found it was neither feasible nor desirable to move away from the present system of awarding cards on financial grounds and listing medical conditions in priority order of eligibility.

“The present system works well in 95 per cent of cases but we’re trying to respond to the public demand for greater discretion in the remaining 5 per cent,” Mr Varadkar said.

He admitted he now regretted the Cabinet decision to impose “probity” savings on the HSE in the 2012, which had resulted in cards being taken away from sick people.

Two-thirds of people who applied for cards this year and were over the income limits were given a card on discretionary grounds, Minister of State for Primary Care Kathleen Lynch revealed.

The Irish Medical Organisation and children’s campaign Jonathan Irwin of the Jack & Jill Foundation both gave the measures a “cautious welcome” for the greater exercise of discretion proposed.

The Irish Cancer Society said it would campaign for a complete overhaul of legislation to decisions were made on medical rather than financial grounds.

The controversy over the removal of discretionary medical cards escalated in the run-up to the local elections earlier this spring and was widely blamed within Fine Gael and Labour for the parties’ poor performance.

Shortly after the election, the Government rowed back by re-instating up to 15,000 discretionary cards which had been removed during HSE reviews in the preceding years.

Ryanair partners Booking.com, now to add some 550,000 hotels to its website

   

Ryanair has announced a strategic partnership with Booking.com, offering over half a million hotels for booking on its website.

The new partnership will allow customers to book accommodation directly on Ryanair.com while booking flights, the airline says.

Booking.com is a world leader in online hotel and accommodation booking, and will facilitate the airline in offering competitive prices on “any type of property” in 209 countries.

The partnership is the latest step in Ryanair’s “Always Getting Better” programme, following a new website, an app with mobile boarding passes and a Business Plus service.

“Ryanair will carry 89 million passengers this year at our lowest fares and our partnership with Booking.com guarantees the lowest hotel prices, allowing Ryanair customers to book their flights and accommodation together,” said Ryanair’s Chief Marketing Officer, Kenny Jacobs.

Andre Manning, Booking.com’s Global Head of PR, added:

“We are excited to be the exclusive partner of Ryanair and to see reservations of accommodations grow rapidly in a very short time via their website.”

Over 750,000 room nights are reserved daily on Booking.com.

The company is based in the Netherlands, but  is supported internationally by 150 offices in over 50 countries including Dublin, Ireland. It hosts over 40 million guest reviews.

How genetic screening can reduce the risk of cystic fibrosis

 

Patrick Mullane and Dr John Waterstone with baby Bridget.

Genetic testing of an embryo prior to implantation gives people with genetic diseases the chance to become parents without passing on inherited condition.

All babies are special but baby Bridget Mullane is particularly precious as her parents thought they might never be able to have a family together. They are at high risk of having a baby born with cystic fibrosis (CF), a disease that primarily affects the lungs and the digestive system.

Bridget’s birth this year following a technique used to screen embryos for genetic conditions such as CF was hailed as a major milestone for Irish reproductive medicine.

Her father, Patrick Mullane, who is 34, has CF, the most common genetic disease in Ireland, while her mother, Lisa Cooke, who is 24, discovered she was a carrier of the CF gene after being tested. The couple, from Dromahane near Mallow, Co Cork, were facing the possibility that they would never be able to have children together when they heard about Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) which had just been introduced to Ireland.

PGD is a technology that allows genetic testing of an embryo prior to implantation. Conception takes place through IVF and only the embryos diagnosed as being free of a specific genetic disorder are transferred into a woman.

The treatment is suitable for couples who are at risk of transmitting an inherited genetic disease to their children such as CF, Batten disease, muscular dystrophy, Fragile X or Fanconi Anaemia.

Prior to the development of the PGD technology, the only option for such couples was either to avoid becoming pregnant, or to become pregnant and undergo chorionic villus sampling or CVS (which involves taking a sample of cells from the mother’s placenta) at 11 weeks, or amniocentesis (which involves taking a small amount of amniotic fluid from around the baby) at about 14 weeks. If the foetus was affected by a life-threatening, inherited disease, the couple faced the awful decision of whether to continue with the pregnancy.

After her first round of PGD at Cork Fertility Clinic, Cooke discovered she was pregnant and the couple were thrilled when their little daughter was born weighing a healthy 7lbs 9oz (3.4kg) at Cork University Maternity Hospital on June 27th. Bridget was tested for CF at birth and was found to be a carrier of the gene.

“We realise how lucky we were to get pregnant on the first attempt. I was nervous at the start but the treatment wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I was told to do a pregnancy test two weeks after the embryo was transferred into me, and I was actually on a train in London when I found out I was pregnant,” she says.

Genetic counselling: Mullane and Cooke had genetic counselling before the treatment and Cooke was put on medication to stimulate ovulation. The treatment involved removing 28 eggs from her, and fertilising them through IVF. On day five, using laser-assisted biopsy, cells were removed from the embryos and sent to a genetic lab in the UK for analysis. Of the healthy embryos that survived, one was transferred back into Cooke’s uterus and the others were frozen.

The couple are already talking about having a second baby, and they are planning to use some of the other embryos that are in storage at the fertility clinic. Mullane is optimistic about the future.

“I lead a fairly normal life. I go to the gym to keep myself healthy. Staying fit helps to keep my lungs clear. I’m on a mild antibiotic all the time and I take tablets to help with my digestion. There’s a new drug for my mutation of the disease in stage 3 trials so hopefully that will become available some time soon.”

Ireland has the highest incidence of CF in the world with about one in 19 Irish people said to carry one copy of the defective gene that causes it. Many people with the disease in Ireland can now expect to live into their 30s, 40s and beyond; a 76-year-old woman recently became the oldest woman in the country to be diagnosed with CF.

High price? The cost of PGD is very high, at more than €10,000, as it includes genetic counselling and genetic analysis fees on top of IVF treatment. Cystic Fibrosis Ireland provided Mullane and Cooke with a first-time applicant grant of €3,000 through its fertility treatment scheme but Mullane feels strongly that the HSE should fund the procedure for people with CF. He points out that infertility is directly linked to CF and the cost of PGD treatment to ensure a child is born without CF far outweighs the lifetime cost of treating a CF patient.

Alicia May of CF Ireland agrees that the treatment should be funded by the HSE, saying that infertility should be treated like any other secondary complication of CF such as diabetes or osteoporosis. The organisation is currently drafting a policy document to advocate for the State funding of fertility treatment in CF.

“Our fertility grant has been operating for a few years, it is hugely beneficial and hugely valued by people with CF, and we have had quite a few success stories. We have not had to turn anybody down yet, but there is more demand for the scheme with people living longer and wanting to start families, which would not have been possible in the past.

“Unfortunately, PGD is so expensive that it excludes many people with CF who cannot work and are dependent on disability allowance.”

Dr John Waterstone, medical director of the Cork Fertility Centre and a consultant obstetrician at Cork University Maternity Hospital, stresses that PGD is not an easy process and is “not for everybody”.

He says that Cooke was a very favourable candidate for the treatment due to her age and the large quantity of good-quality eggs she produced. “This is not an easy process and we have to be very sensible about who we offer it to. IVF is more successful for younger couples and PGD is a form of IVF. Some of the embryos are not going to be usable because of the genetic condition involved, and in older women, there will be fewer eggs to start with.

“If a woman is older and less likely to produce a lot of eggs, it is less likely that the treatment will take, so unfortunately she would not be a good candidate and we would not offer her this treatment. Obviously, when it does work, it’s fantastic and is the neatest solution to the problem of couples at risk of passing on a genetic condition.”

The Cork centre has a number of couples going through PGD at the moment and one other couple with a rare genetic disorder are expecting a baby. The treatment is also being offered by Beacon Care Fertility in Dublin, part of the Care chain in the UK, where some 23 couples have been through PGD to date but there have been no successful pregnancies yet.

HSE ups number of executives by 10% despite cuts

  

Increase in numbers took place as figures for nurses and support staff fell.

The number of senior mangers in HSE hospitals has increased by more than 10 per cent over the past 3½ years despite significant retrenchment in budgets over the period. The increase in numbers took place at the same time as nursing and support staff levels fell, according to an internal HSE report.

The report, obtained by The Irish Times under Freedom of Information legislation, indicates that overall the numbers of senior mangement staff (grade VIII level and above) in acute hospitals have increased from 273 in 2011 to 303 in 2014, a rise of 10.9 per cent.

The number of directly employed middle management personnel in the acute hospital sector also rose in the same period but there was a fall of about 4 per cent in the number of lower-level administrative personnel.

Officials: The figures were set out by the HSE in an internal report to the Government’s joint monitoring committee for the health service.

The committee comprises officials of the Department of Health, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, and the Department of the Taoiseach.

It said the numbers in staff nurse core grades had fallen by 744 since 2011 although there had been an increase of 121 in the number of staff midwives.

The number of general support staff such as cleaners, caterers and porters fell by 468 between 2011 and 2014, according to the HSE figures.

Numbers of health-care assistants/nurse aides fell by 2.9 per cent (the equivalent of more than 100 staff) in the same period.

The HSE told the monitoring committee that the increase in the number of senior managers was due mainly to a “regularisation process” set out in the Haddington Road agreement on public service pay and productivity which came into effect in mid-2013. It said the vast bulk of the increase in numbers at senior mangement level had taken place last year and this year.

It stated there had been an overall reduction of 8.4 per cent in the number of senior managers in acute hospitals since a peak was reached in 2007.

The HSE also said the increase in the numbers at middle mangement level (grades V, VI and VII) in acute hospitals was due to the Haddington Road deal and “general progression of staff from lower grades”.

It said the middle management cohort had fallen since the Government’s recruitment moratorium was introduced in 2009.

The HSE argued that the number of managers was not excessive when it was considered that in terms of budgets and staffing levels the hospital sector was equivalent to about 250 medium-sized enterprises. The hospital sector employs 48,000 personnel and has a pay bill of over €3 billion.

Paying for sex to be made illegal under new laws

  

The legislation is being brought forward by Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald

PAYING for sex will be made illegal under draft laws coming before the Cabinet today.

But the proposed legislation will not criminalise the prostitute.

The Criminal Purchase of Sexual Services legislation is expected to be approved by ministers and will be finalised over the coming months.

The proposed legislation will specifically penalise the ‘buyer’, but not the ‘seller’.

The legislation is being brought forward by Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, who is also proposing that sex offenders be electronically tagged in exceptional circumstances. The Sexual Offences Bill, drafted by the Department of Justice, will result in a major expansion of the Irish Prison Service’s capacity to roll out electronic tagging.

Under the proposals, probation officers attached to the prison service will make an application in court for a prisoner to be tagged.

Antarctic sea ice could be thicker than thought,

A robot submarine finds

  

Political situation has made submersible surveys tricky

The floating sea ice surrounding the South Pole may be thicker than previous estimates have suggested, according to a study based on a submersible robot that has mapped the sea ice in three key regions of the Antarctic.

Past estimates of Antarctic sea ice were based on satellite measurements from space, which can measure its overall surface area, and ice cores drilled through the sea ice from ice-breaking ships to measure its thickness, which have tended to concentrate on thinner ice regions.

However, unlike the Arctic sea ice, there are no military submarines allowed under the Antarctic Treaty, which means that large regions of thicker sea ice have effectively remained unexplored from below, scientists said.

With the help of a 2m twin-hulled autonomous underwater vehicle, scientists from the United States, Australia and the British Antarctic Survey have drawn up the first detailed, high-resolution 3D map of Antarctic sea-ice in areas that were in the past considered too difficult to study.

Stunning images of Antarctica

“The AUV missions have given us a real insight into the nature of Antarctic sea ice, like looking through a microscope. We can now measure ice in far greater detail and were excited to measure ice up to 17m thick,” said Jeremy Wilkinson of the BAS.

“It gave us a really good basis for what the ice thickness is at present. Over time we hope to make repeat measurements and build up a time series to see how it is changing,” Dr Wilkinson said.

The robotic submersible used upward-looking sonar to map the thickness of the sea ice over an area of 500,000 square miles equivalent to about 100 football pitches, in three locations – the Weddell, Bellinghausen and Wilkes Land sectors of Antarctica.

While the sea ice in the Artic has decreased in surface area by about 40 per cent over the past 40 years, the sea ice in the Antarctic has increased for reasons that are still under debate. Dr Wilkinson said that one cause could be a change in wind patterns that is blowing sea ice further out to sea.