Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

Minister Charles Flanagan confirms three Irish deaths in Tunisia attacks

  

Relatives of Co Westmeath couple Laurence and Martina Hayes contacted by officials.

A German tourist recounts the moment a gunman began firing on beachgoers in an attack that killed at least 38 people.

Irish tourists intending to travel to Tunisia over the coming weeks should “exercise extreme caution”, the Minister for Foreign Affairs has said.

Charlie Flanagan issued the warning has he confirmed that three Irish citizens died in Friday’s terror attack. Mr Flanagan said he had been in contact with their families over recent days.

Laurence and Martina Hayes, a couple in their 50s from Athlone, Co Westmeath and Lorna Carty from Robinstown, Co Meath, were killed in the attack on Sousse.

The Minister said he did not believe any further Irish people were injured in the incident and he urged those planning to travel to the region to be “extremely vigilant and extreme caution”.

He told RTE’s This Week programme: “I would urge those there to continue to liaise with tour operators on the ground and with the consular assistance from Foreign Affairs.

“My travel advice for Tunisia is to exercise extreme caution. Anyone wishing to visit the region, anyone with holiday plans over the next few days or weeks I wish to acknowledge the Tunisian authorities have declared the incident to be over but nevertheless I would urge Irish citizens heading there and those in Tunisia to remain extremely vigilant, to follow instructions given to them by the police, the tour operators, the hotels.”

Mr Flanagan said he was not in the “business of imposing travel bans” but his advice for anyone travelling there was to exercise “extreme caution”.

Relatives of Laurence and Martina Hayes have been contacted by Irish officials, a Department of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said. The department has set up an information line for those affected by the attack: 00353 1 408 2000.

Westmeath Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) has tweeted a message of condolence to the family. “Sincere sympathy to the Hayes family Athlone who suffered their tragic losses in the terror shooting in Tunisia,” it said.

The Irish ambassador accredited to Tunisia, David Cooney, is working with Irish citizens still in the country.

Ms Carty, a nurse and mother of two adult children, had travelled to Tunisia with her husband Declan, a well-known dairy farmer.

The couple received the Tunisian holiday as a gift from a relative as Mr Carty was recovering from heart surgery.

Their daughter Hazel (18) had just completed her Leaving Cert and is believed to have been notified of her mother’s death while on holiday in Turkey.

Their son Simon (21), a science student at UCD, was at home in Robinstown. The authorities are gradually identifying those killed in the attack.

One of the British victims has been named as Adrian Evans, who worked for Sandwell Council in the WestMidlands. Joel Richards, reported to be Mr Evans’s nephew, was also named as a victim.

It is understood Mr Richard’s was a student at the University of Worcester.

Birmingham-based Gaelic football club James Connolly’s GFC also paid tribute to Mr Richards, tweeting that the club was “devastated” to learn of his death.

They said he was an “exceptionally-talented footballer” who represented both club and county “with conviction” on numerous occasions. Mr Richards’s 16-year-old brother Owen is reported to have survived the attack.

The attack has seen thousands of tourists rush to leave Tunisia. An Aer Lingus flight from Monastir arrived in Dublin last night and other Irish holidaymakers in the country are expected to cut short their holiday and return home. It is unclear how many Irish nationals were in Tunisia at the time of the attack.

Sunway managing director Tanya Airey has offered her “sincere condolences” to all Irish nationals affected by the attack. The Irish tour operator provides holidays to Tunisia.

The company flies weekly on Friday’s to Tunisia. She said a number of Irish Sunway holidaymakers had decided over the weekend to remain in Tunisia.

The tour operator is expected to make a call this week on whether to allow those booked to depart on Friday to travel to Tunisia.

In a tweet she noted that the department advises extreme caution but has not issued a “do not travel” notice.

Irish citizens returning on Friday night told RTÉ of the chaos during the attack, describing a large explosion and gunfire. Many praised the staff for the assistance they gave guests.

Six nationalities are among the 39 dead.

They are thought to have been killed by a 23-year-old Tunisian aviation student Seifeddine Rezgui who disguised himself as a tourist and began firing at holidaymakers on a beach using a Kalashnikov hidden in a beach umbrella. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Fifteen of the dead are from Britain.

Confirming the figure, British foreign minister Tobias Ellwood said the Sousse atrocity was “the most significant terrorist attack on British people” since July 7th, 2005, when 52 people were killed.

Speaking at the Foreign Office, Mr Ellwood said: “Sadly, I can confirm that at least 15 British nationals were killed in yesterday’s atrocity but I should stress that the number may well rise as several more have been seriously injured in this horrific attack.”

Tánaiste Burton concerned over universal health insurance cost in Ireland

  

Joan Burton criticises some of the models put forward for the scheme as very expensive.

Joan Burton: The Labour Party is fully committed to UHI, though not at any cost.

Tánaiste Joan Burton has criticised some of the models put forward for universal health insurance (UHI) as potentially very expensive.

Ms Burton was speaking as the drift in Government over the roll-out of UHI continued to increase.

She said the Labour Party is fully committed to the plan, though not at any cost.

“I have said we want a better service, but in the context of health insurance we want an affordable health insurance system,” M/s Burton said.

“Some of the models that have been put forward have suggested very high charges potentially for individuals and families. Some of the figures being spoken about would concern me.

“We need to look for a model that is efficient, effective and good value for money.”

UHI is a major commitment in the Programme for Government, but there has been no progress on bringing forward the scheme.

Both M/s Burton and Minister for Health Leo Varadkar have separately cast doubts over the roll-out.

Mr Varadkar said a “big bang approach” was not the right way forward and small steps needed to be taken.

Reilly cornerstone

Within weeks of entering office, Mr Varadkar began playing down introducing the scheme in its current form. It was one of the cornerstones of his predecessor James Reilly.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has insisted he wants the model introduced in full.

Asked if he was watering down previous proposals, Mr Varadkar said: “No, we are modifying them and making them achievable and setting out realistic timeframes.

“One of the things I wanted to do when I took over in health,” he added, “was to start making concrete steps to universal health care, and we see that now with under 6s.”

Private patients

UHI would seek to eliminate Ireland’s two-tier health system by effectively making everyone a private patient. It is officially the Government’s healthcare reform blueprint.

Under a White Paper published by Dr Reilly, the system was to involve a multipayer model of competing private health insurers and a State- owned VHI.

The paper proposed that everyone would be covered for standard services, including GP and hospital treatment.

Mr Varadkar slowed down the introduction of UHI when he took office last summer.

Speaking yesterday, the Minister said making the change in small steps was the best way forward.

“There is a total commitment from both parties that we want to achieve universal health care, a single-tier health service based on need and not on ability to pay. But how we get there needs to be mapped out,” Mr Varadkar said.

“If we learned anything from the last couple of years, even from the difficulties we had getting the over-sixes and the over-70s over the line, it has been quite how difficult making change in health service can be. But we are still committed doing it.”

The Tánaiste Joan Burton is to enforce lone parent changes despite childcare fears

  

The Tánaiste Joan Burton has insisted she will press ahead with changes to the lone parent allowance despite accepting that childcare issues remain a serious problem in Ireland.

From next Thursday parents of children aged seven and older will no longer be entitled to the one-parent family payment.

Ms Burton defended the changes which come into force for over 30,000 families and insisted the move was not a cut.

The changes have been met by opposition from a number of groups including One Family which said that it would not work without childcare and after school services.

Ms Burton said she had set up a “significant number of supports” for families but acknowledged childcare remains a serious issue.

“I also want to stress as well that really I have put into place a seven-year transition period and one of the reasons I did that is I would be very anxious to see childcare in general improved in this country.

“I’m conscious as a society and a country we’ve a long way to go to get the kind of childcare system that I would like to see,” she told the Irish Independent.

The Labour leader said funding had been provided to the Department of Children for the provision of after school care services. She added that the changes would result in more single parents returning to work.

However, One Family said it has seen a surge in calls from worried parents who have worked out that they are set to lose between €30 and €140 under the plans.

Speaking about the claims from One Family, Ms Burton said her department would look at these cases if given the details.

“But the key thing we’re doing is that over the next period we will be calling in and inviting in to their local Intreo office any lone parent who has queries, we’ll work with them, we’ll work with their employers, if they give us the permission to do that, to seek to help them actually get back to work,” she added.

Meanwhile Ms Burton said the country could face “significant risks” if the Labour Party does not have a strong presence in the next government.

While Labour is facing a huge challenge at the next election, she said she remained optimistic about the return of sitting Labour TDs. Ms Burton said it was difficult to envisage how the Government would have operated fairly in terms of the difficult decisions that had to be made without the presence of Labour.

“It is the Labour Party which has held the line in terms of having fairness, in terms of protecting the basic rates of social welfare, in terms of insisting, given our demographics, on investment in new schools, in terms of addressing other deficiencies in our infrastructure,” she said.

She said it would be difficult to look at a post-election government without a strong Labour presence warning there might be “significant risks not just to economic growth but also to fairness in society and to addressing key social problems” without the party.

She refused to accept the party was facing a significant drop in TDs saying: “I’m an optimist and I believe that we have a very good story to tell”.

10 top tips to ensure your farm tyres are in tip-top shape before you go harvesting

  

Leaving machinery checks until the last minute before doing a job on the farm can result in unexpected machine downtime, according to Gordon Brookes, Michelin’s Technical Manager.

“Time, weather and crop constraints make it essential that machinery is ready for use,” Brookes says.

“The worst possible time to suffer tyre-related downtime is during the busy harvest period, so it really pays to ensure your machines are set up perfectly and ready to roll in advance.”

1. Check your combine’s tyres for damage

During previous harvests tyres may have suffered accidental damage, leaving them with bulges, cuts or tears.

Checking the tread area and sidewalls right down to the wheel trim now guarantees that any problems can be detected as soon as possible.

Leaving damage unchecked can result in costly tyre failure and harvest interruptions.

2. Check for flat spots

Long periods of inactivity can leave tyres with a ‘flat spot’ due to one section of the casing being deflected, creating massive vibrations on the road.

To combat this, mark the affected area of the tyres, move the combine into direct sunlight with other sections of the tyres deflected.

If possible inflate the tyres above your standard operating pressure for a couple of hours, whilst ensuring the manufacturer’s maximum inflation pressure is not exceeded.

Warming the tyres in the sunlight will prompt the casing to return to its normal shape.

3. Check your tyre pressures

Ensure that tyres are inflated to the correct pressure in readiness for harvest, considering maximum cyclic load in the field and whether the combine will be used on side slopes or intensively on the roads.

4. Tyre choice

If you need new tyres, or a new machine, take tyre choice seriously.

Tyre choice can make the difference between a good harvest and a great one and for most combines and foragers.

There is now a tyre that contains Ultraflex Technology, which limits soil compaction and disturbance on headlands whilst offering greater operator comfort, manoeuvrability and load capacity.

5. Transport width

Is your combine too wide for the road or gateways and would a narrower tyre speed up the harvesting process?

If so, there are now tyres for combines that are narrower but have a greater contact with the ground.

For example, a Michelin 900/60 R32 conventional tyre assembly could be replaced by a Michelin IF 800/70 R32 assembly, giving a 15% larger footprint whilst making the combine 200mm narrower.

6. Rear tyres

Rear tyres can affect the efficiency of the combine but are more commonly neglected. Rear tyres should be operated appropriately in line with manufacturer recommendations.

Farmers often don’t always realise that many of these tyres are designed for industrial machinery and require very high pressures which can cause damage on headlands.

It’s therefore important to allocate the same time specifying rear tyres as you would the front set.

7. Regular tyre inspections

Daily tyre inspections can often be overlooked but are essential in prolonging tyre life and machine availability.

Spotting cuts and tears as they appear helps ensure they can be repaired in a timely manner and limits machine downtime.

8. Watch those wheels

To prolong tyre life, wheels need to be kept in tip-top condition too. Kerbing or hitting a pothole can affect a machine’s wheel alignment, leading to rapid and uneven wear on the rubber.

9. Putting the brakes on

It’s common sense advice that accelerating slowly and braking progressively maximises tyre life.

Easing off the brakes and making a conscious effort to accelerate gently can pay dividends in keeping rubber in service for longer.

10. Other tyres are just as important

Make sure that all machinery involved in the harvest is in excellent condition and tyres inflated to the correct pressure, not just the harvester itself.

Consider grain carting as an example; is the road work intensive? If so, the tractor and trailer tyres need to be inflated accordingly to reflect this intensive operation.

Marital separation Sometimes ‘Morally Necessary’

Say’s Pope Francis

  

Nuns greet Pope Francis as he arrives to lead the weekly audience in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Thursday. The pope, speaking at his weekly general audience, said sometimes separation is “morally necessary.”

Pope Francis, speaking on family issues, says that sometimes marriages are so damaged that it is “morally necessary” for a husband and wife to separate.

“There are cases in which separation is inevitable,” the pontiff said at his weekly general audience. “Sometimes it can become even morally necessary, precisely when it comes to subtracting the weaker spouse, or small children, from more serious injuries caused by arrogance and violence, by humiliation and exploitation … and by indifference.”

“Let us ask the Lord for a strong faith to see with his eyes the reality of family life, and for a deep love to approach all families with his merciful heart,” he said.

The Associated Press notes: “Francis has been making a series of statements about family issues ahead of a much-anticipated October synod, or meeting, of bishops to address the topic. The bishops will take up many issues, including how the church can be more welcoming to divorced Catholics who remarry without going through the church process that declares their first marriage null.”

The church has long said that divorced members cannot participate in communion. Time magazine writes: “There’s no precise estimate worldwide, but according to Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, some 4.5 million Catholics in the United States (alone) are divorced and remarried without an ‘annulment,’ a declaration from a church court that the first marriage was invalid.”

In December, speaking in an interview with the Argentine newspaper La Nacion, Francis said the church must consider ways to integrate divorced and civilly remarried people.”