Mary Lou challenges Joan on Government’s social housing targets
Mary Lou McDonald says Coalition has given little detail on how housing units will be delivered
Mary Lou McDonald and Joan Burton: the Sinn Féin deputy leader told the Tánaiste the the additional €210 million for social housing in budget 2015 !will not cover the cost” of the planned new homes.
Tánaiste Joan Burton was challenged to say if the Government’s target of 5,384 new social housing units would be met this year, during sharp Dáil exchanges.
Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said although the Government had produced a glossy 90-page social housing strategy, there was very little detail about how the units would be delivered.
“The additional €210 million for social housing in budget 2015 will not cover the cost of these homes. Talk of off-balance-sheet borrowing and public-private partnerships is just that, talk.”
Ms McDonald said Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly had not even told local authorities what their social housing budget would be this year.
“If and when he does, it will take up to 15 months before any new social housing units are designed, built and tenanted.”
Ms Burton said the Government had committed a significant amount of capital financing to a new housing programme, which was one of the biggest in the State’s history.
“The deputy is correct in saying it is not possible to plan, design, build, fit out and hand keys over for houses within a short period.’’
Ms Burton said there were several elements to the Minister’s proposals, the most significant being to deal with the boarding up of perfectly good houses and apartments by local authorities.
Refurbished
She said those properties were left to languish for up to two years, and even three in some case, before being refurbished and handed over to tenants.
The first part of the strategy was to bring all available units up to a certain standard and hand them over to tenants, both families and individuals, who were waiting on accommodation, said the Tánaiste. The second part was to provide finance, and that was what the budget had set out to do.
M/s Burton said Mr Kelly had been meeting local authority representatives regularly up and down the country.
M/s McDonald said the Government’s strategy document, launched to much fanfare before Christmas, specifically promised 5,384 new social housing units this year.
“I did not write the document; it is a document of the Tánaiste’s Government and of a Labour Party Minister.’’
M/s McDonald said if she had heard the Tánaiste correctly, she was conceding there was not a chance of delivering the 5,384 units. “No,’’ replied Ms Burton.
M/s McDonald said irrespective of the meetings the Minister might have had, local authorities had not been given their budgetary allocation for this year.
Ms Burton said Ms McDonald seemed slightly irritated over the fact that the Minister was meeting the county managers on a weekly basis. “That is to the Minister’s credit.’’
Your child, my child, everybody’s child?
A nine year old girl with lymphomacancer is denied a medical card, Now what’s going on?
A woman who quit her job to help her nine-year-old daughter battle cancer has claimed that the HSE is still failing vulnerable patients after their medical card request was turned down.
Mother-of-four Angela O Connor made the allegation a day after her daughter Lucy was told the HSE cannot provide the support because her family falls outside the income threshold for the aid.
Speaking recently, the Kildare woman said she brought Lucy to her GP after she complained of a stomach ache last September.
After blood tests and an examination, Lucy was sent to Tallaght Hospital for further scans, which resulted in a large part of her bowel being removed.
Despite the operation, it subsequently emerged that the nine-year-old had developed cancer of the lymphatic system, known as lymphoma.
She began an “aggressive” form of chemotherapy to tackle the condition a week after the shock diagnosis, losing her hair in the process.
After learning a specially designed wig for their daughter would cost upwards of €800, Lucy’s parents were told they should apply for a medical card to help lessen the financial burden involved.
The O’Connors subsequently applied on their daughter’s behalf. However, earlier this week they received a letter from the HSE telling them their application was unsuccessful.
“Someone has to have a heart,” said Angela, who quit her job to look after her daughter but after the application was sent, meaning the family’s income should now fall within the medical card remit.
“We thought we might get a discretionary medical card because Lucy has cancer. We’re not looking for anything other than a medical card for Lucy or a GP card because each visit is €50.
“We had a certificate from the oncologist saying Lucy has cancer, and it was still refused.
“We don’t know the outcome for Lucy, we don’t know if she’ll survive. I’d like someone from the HSE to go into the oncology ward in Crumlin and see the families and the parents and the children.
“Someone must understand, someone must have a heart and think ‘oh my god’.”
A HSE spokesperson said that while the service is aware of the case, the original application from the O’Connors “put the applicant well beyond the acceptable threshold for the granting of a medical card”.
However, the spokesperson added that if the family’s circumstances have changed “the HSE urges the applicant to submit all of the new relevant details in order that a full and thorough re-examination can take place”.
“What is of absolute importance to the HSE is that this or any sick child receives all necessary care and attention that it requires,” said the spokesperson. “The HSE is very anxious to ensure open lines of communication exist between it and the applicant in this case.”
Since the Keane report last November, the HSE has been tasked with making applying for a medical card and the discretionary medical card process more sensitive to people’s needs.
While it said this process “will not be easy and will take some time to complete”, it said the number of people receiving medical cards on a discretionary basis now stands at more than 75,000, up from 53,000 last summer — before the recommendations were made.
Motor premium’s going up from €520 to €1400 in a year’
Jane Last is one of many people not happy at a massive increase in their insurance premiums.
The spiraling cost of insurance is hitting hard pressed motorists.
We put out a call on social media for your experience with car insurance costs – and we got a huge response.
Here is a selection of readers’ experiences with insurance:
Rebecca Cuthbert said: “Mine went up by €140. Almost a 30% increase. Still the best quote out there though.”
Aoife Ni Riain said: “I have five years no claims this year and somehow my insurance seems to have jumped from €514 last year to everyone quoting me between €600 and €1000 this year!!”
Catriona McGuire said: “Yes 123 increased by €200 I’ve ten years no claims and with them a number of years nothing for loyalty or being a good driver”
Conor Tyrrell had a similar story: “Mine went up a few hundred. Rang everywhere and the increased price was still by far the cheapest. Checked their website and I could get it for “only” €100 more than last year, so I rang them and told them their website could give it to me cheaper than their renewal quote. No points, no accidents, in my 30s, I can’t understand it at all.”
Nicola Joyce shared her experience as a student: “I think it’s an absolute joke! I’m an student who has four years driving experience. Two years as a named driver and two years under my own name.
“For the first year under my own name which was insurance I took out on a provisional licence, it cost me €1250.
“Then last January, my insurance cost €900. So next week I have to renew my insurance, and one price I’ve got quoted so far is €1400!
“How am I supposed to be able to pay insurance with that much if it increases that much?
“And look how that quote is more expensive than my first year of being insurance! I’ve had no accidents, no claims or penalty points so I don’t understand why I am being penalised so much?!”
Lucille Furlong was shocked by her quote: “Mine went from €298 up to €404!!
“Some quotes I got were almost €200 in the difference. I’m 40, nine plus years driving and no claims bonus for the same period and I’ve no penalty points and never had!! Ridiculous.”
While Elaine Culloty’s quote more than doubled: “I went from €520 to €1400 same car and nothing different.. fully qualified six years and never had to pay over €600.”
However some readers revealed that shopping around helped them save money.
John McHale said: “Shop around, it’s easy to switch insurance companies. Last year Liberty increased my renewal and couldn’t tell me why when I challenged them so I switched to Zurich who I was just over €100 cheaper than my original premium with Liberty.
“Then this year Zurich increased my renewal bit again they couldn’t tell me what the reason was so I shopped around and switched to 123.ie for €313 for fully comprehensive, which was €140 cheaper than my original premium with Zurich.”
Sean Carolan said: “Seems to me you need to switch insurer each year to make a saving – was over €100 cheaper for me to switch this week than stay with previous insurer – really is worthwhile ringing around for a few quotes.”
Paula Fegan said: “In my experience a company will give you a good quote the first year you ring them in order to get your business and then automatically hike it up the next year hoping it takes too much time and effort for you to shop around for a new quote.
“Chopping and changing every year is the only way to keep costs down but it’s a pain in the backside and can take hours to go through quotes from all the different companies
A FEMALE MEMBER OF THE GARDAI WAS ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH ‘DRUG-RELATED ACTIVITIES’
Gardai in Sligo City arrested a serving Garda and another person (believed to be a man) with the assistance of the National Support Services.
A female member of An Garda Siochana from Sligo has been arrested in connection to “drugs-related activities”.
The woman who is a serving officer in a North Dublin city station – was arrested in Sligo yesterday evening at around 6.30pm.
It is understood the woman, who is in her 30s, is originally from Sligo. A man, also in his thirties, was arrested.
Both are being questioned today in relation to suspected involvement in drug-related activities.
Gardai in Sligo town arrested both with the assistance of the National Support Services, a spokesperson said.
The arrests resulted from an investigation by the Organised Crime Unit and Sligo Gardai into the activities of a criminal gang operating in the north-west of the country, the Independent reports.
The investigation was the result of suspicions that garda information was being passed to the criminal gang. A number of the gang’s key figures are currently serving prison sentences, it was reported.
Both are currently detained in Sligo Garda Station under Section Four of the Criminal Justice Act at Ballymote Garda Station in Sligo.
Devon surfer earns award as nomination for catchingn Mullaghmore Sligo wave
Andrew Cotton describes the ‘exceptional’ week of surfing at Mullaghmore Co Sligo
Professional surfer Andrew Cotton rides a large wave at Mullaghmore, Co Sligo.
Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow! You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout . . .
While coastal and island communities were seeking respite from Storm Rachel, several of Europe’s top surfers were invoking Shakespeare’s King Lear this week as they rode nine to 12 metre-high waves off the Sligo coast.
Devon-born professional Andrew Cotton, Portuguese colleague Hugo Vau and photographer Finn Mullendescribed it as an “exceptional” week at Mullaghmore, with a rare run of consistently strong swell over a five-day period.
“The waves have been the biggest and best, [possibly better] than the Viking storm almost three years ago,” Cotton told The Irish Times. “It’s the fact that we got out so often that made it particularly good.”
During that storm in March 2012, Cotton was nominated for a global surfing award for catching a 15.2m (50ft) wave off Mullaghmore – having waited three months in the Bundoran area for the right conditions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTqcfdfFvHk This is it:- as he received another Big Wave nomination at the 2015 Billabong awards for catching a “barrel” at Mullaghmore on Monday.
The father-of-two escaped with minor arm and shoulder injuries last month after he was pummelled by a series of four waves off the Praia do Norte beach in the Azores.
“I was meant to be at the chiropractor, but I saw the storm coming in and had to get over here,” Cotton said. “We’ve been out most days since last Friday, but Monday of this week was particularly good, with terrible conditions in the morning, and the wind then switched at 3pm.”
“So while everyone else had written the day off, myself and Hugo had the waves to ourselves.”
The pair are involved in making a documentary, entitled Behind the Lines, and the north Sligo coast provided the backdrop for filming throughout this week.
The pair set their alarms for Thursday morning, when winds of 80km per hour with gusts of 150km per hour were forecast. The “apocalyptic” conditions were just a bit too risky, and they packed up their boards and jetski to take the ferry to Britain.
Mullen explained that the series of depressions had been triggered by exceptionally cold weather in the US. As he explained, it is swells created from storms far from shore, rather than close to the coast, that creates the best surf.
“Ideally, surfing takes place in little or no wind, and offshore in direction to hold the wave faces up and groom their shape,” he explained.
The best tide is normally an incoming tide as it helps “push” the swell, while wind against tide normally creates surface chop which roughens the wave face, Mullen added.
The record breaking year 2014 was was the hottest in modern history?
Record-breaking temperatures scorched the planet last year, making 2014 the hottest in more than a century and raising new concerns about global warming, US government scientists said Friday.
The much-anticipated report by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was confirmed by an independent analysis from the US space agency NASA that reached the same conclusion.
“Record warmth was spread around the world,” said the NOAA report.
The much-anticipated report by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was confirmed by an independent analysis from the US space agency NASA that reached the same conclusion.
“The globally averaged temperature over land and ocean surfaces for 2014 was the highest among all years since record keeping began in 1880.”
For the year, the average temperature was 1.24 degrees Fahrenheit (0.69 Celsius) above the 20th century average, beating the previous record-holding years of 2005 and 2010 by 0.07 F (0.04 C).
Parts of the world that saw record heat included Russia, western Alaska, the western United States, parts of interior South America, parts of eastern and western coastal Australia, north Africa and most of Europe.
Record cold for the year was apparent only in some parts of the eastern and central United States.
Experts said the report offers more evidence that humans are driving global warming by burning fossil fuels that boost harmful greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
“People are always asking, of course, why do we think this is going on,” said Gavin Schmidt, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York.
“The data shows quite clearly that it is the greenhouse gas trends that are responsible for the majority of the (warming) trends that we have actually seen,” he told reporters.
The research group Climate Central said the odds were one in 27 million that the warming trend — in which 13 of the hottest 15 years on record have all occurred since 2000 — could have happened randomly, without human-driven influence on the planet’s temperatures.
“What’s surprising is that anyone is surprised that 2014 was the hottest year on record. The science has been screaming at us for a long, long time,” said Secretary of State John Kerry.
“The question is when and how the world will respond. Ambitious, concrete action is the only path forward that leads anywhere worth going.”
- Land and sea -
Globally averaged sea surface temperature was the highest ever, at 1.03 F (0.57 C) above the 20th century average.
Land surface temperature was 1.80 F (1.00 C) above the 20th century average, marking the fourth highest in history.
Sea ice continued to decline in the Arctic, depriving polar bears of habitat and driving global warming changes that are felt in distant corners of the world.
The average annual sea ice extent in the Arctic was the sixth smallest in the 36 years that experts have on record.
Meanwhile, sea ice in the Antarctic reached record highs for the second year in a row.
December also broke records, with the highest combined land and ocean average surface temperature for any December in modern history.
- Call to action -
“It’s particularly striking that we set a global temperature record,” despite a lower than expected effect from El Nino, an ocean condition that brings warmer weather, said Brenda Ekwurzel, a senior climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
“Long-term, we can expect this record to be broken again and again,” she said.
Environmentalists said the report should serve as a call to action.
“The record temperatures last year should focus the minds of governments across the world on the scale of the risks that climate change is creating,” said Bob Ward, policy and communications director at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change.
He called for an international deal “to strongly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to be reached at the United Nations climate change summit in Paris in December 2015.”
In the meantime, Schmidt said there are things people can and should do in their everyday lives to turn the tide.
“There are things that people individually can do to reduce their carbon footprint, like having better appliances, driving less, walking more, biking. I try and do those things,” he said.
“This is an issue that is not going to go away.”
Russia was among the countries which experienced record heat in 2014, alongside western Alaska, the western United States, and most of Europe ©Vasily Maximov (AFP/File)
The cracked bottom of a canal in Xunxian, in central China’s Henan province, hit by severe drought, on July 28, 2014
Globally averaged sea surface temperature was the highest ever in 2014, at 1.03 F (0.57 C).
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