Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Ireland needs more indigenous start-ups

 

Forbes magazine’s the choice of Ireland as the best country in the world for business is a big boost. It is an influential publication and it sends out the right signals to the international investment community about doing business here

It just might not send out the right signals at home. The real winners in the current Irish business environment are international investors and multinationals. The investors are punting on a recovery play and, in areas like commercial property, they are being heavily subsidised to do it. The multinationals are simply investing in the country, its workforce and its tax arrangements.

There is no doubt that Ireland is benefiting enormously from the current inflow of foreign capital. You can see it in the job numbers or the big refurbishments that international buyers are doing on hotels and other assets they have bought. But the wider economic benefits of this kind of investment may not be fully flowing through.

I would prefer if Ireland was voted the best country in the world to start a business. That would suggest start-ups by Irish people and entrepreneurs moving to the country, would flourish. This would create more jobs.
Those jobs would be a lot “stickier” in terms of remaining when things get tough. And enterprise jobs would deliver a greater return to the economy as a whole.

According to the World Bank’s Doing Business Index, Ireland is 15th. On starting a business we came in 12th this year, down from ninth. It’s a limited measure and it doesn’t carry anything like the PR cache of Forbes.

Would you prefer, from an economic point of view, to live in Germany which came in 24th on the Forbes list, but has an unemployment rate of just five per cent and a debt to GDP ratio of around 81 per cent. We came first and have an unemployment rate of 12.5 per cent and a debt to GDP ratio of 124 per cent.

Commercial property investors and multinationals are the big winners here right now. That is no bad thing, except Ireland needs to be a better place for indigenous start-ups.

Just 69 buyers spent around €1.2bn buying commercial property worth over €1m in the 18 months from January 2012 to July 2013. Michael Noonan’s decision to cut stamp duty in December 2011 from 8 per cent to two per cent saved those buyers €72m.

If commercial property values grow by an average of five per cent per year for the next seven years, those same buyers will save €126m in capital gains tax exemptions when they sell. That is a subsidy of almost €200m on just 18 months of property sales to 69 purchasers.
Contrast the cut in stamp duty on commercial property with the pension levy, where the minister grabbed a chunk of everybody’s pension.

A decade ago, the Exchequer took in €5.1bn in corporation tax, around 16 per cent of its total tax take. Next year it is expected to be around €4.3bn or 10.9 per cent of its total tax take.

We have chosen our route to economic success and it is as an open exporting economy, attractive to inward investment with low business tax. By and large it has worked up to now and is yielding positive results.
The question is whether we need to do more on the indigenous side by incentivising people to set up small, but real companies, which make and sell real things. The answer is yes we do.

Former Tánaiste Mary Coughlan says she knew the Troika move would cost her a Dáil seat

  
Former Tánaiste Mary Coughlan has stated she knew she was in line to lose her Dáil seat as a result of calling in the Troika and the IMF.

In an interview to be broadcast on Raidio na Gaeltachta, she reveals Brian Cowen appointed her as his go-between with anxious ministers in the run-up to the infamous bailout.

Ms Coughlan said she knew she was in line to lose her Dail seat as a result of calling in the troika and the IMF. “We did what we knew needed to be done, we knew we had to make those difficult decisions.
“We also understood the implications for the party, that we would lose seats, including our own, but we were doing the right thing for the State.”

The former Donegal TD, who is said to be testing the water for a possible political comeback, said she got the job to brief others because Mr Cowen and the late Finance Minister Brian Lenihan “couldn’t meet everyone”.

Following on from an interview almost one year ago given in the Abbey Arts Centre in Ballyshannon where she spoke openly about her own position following the death of her husband, David, and in which she alluded briefly to the dying days of the Fianna Fáil government, Ms Coughlan has repeated her belief that the Fianna Fail government “had no choice” but to call in the IMF, adding that the Cabinet acted on the advice of the Central Bank.

“The Taoiseach wanted everyone to have a chance to offer their opinion and that there would be a big debate about the matter,” Ms Coughlan told RTE’s Raidio na Gaeltachta.

She tells Raidio na Gaeltachta in an interview to be broadcast on December 10th, that the government was not aware of the gravity of the looming crisis, particularly in relation to the state of the banking sector.
“I understand that people want someone to blame, but there were lots of people involved, not just one person. It’s clear now that the government didn’t have all the information about the situation – in particular, the state of the banks.

QUESTIONS NEED TO BE ANSWERED.

“We got advice from the Central Bank etc and we had no other choice.
“There was huge pressure on the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance coming from the ECB and the (European) Commission.
“We had no choice but to look for support from the IMF and the Commission,” Ms Coughlan said.

Ms Coughlan speaks candidly in the interview about her own treatment at the hands of the press, how she was hounded by them, in particular during the FÁS scandal, and also talks about the government’s media relations.

“One week during the FÁS story I was on the front page of the Independent for the whole week. Things were very difficult at the time, and perhaps we weren’t as good as we could have been about working with the media as a party and as a government.

“It was difficult for David and the children, because they were able to read at this stage, and we banned the papers for a while in the house, so the children wouldn’t see what was being written.’

“I was under huge pressure everywhere I went. Crowds of journalists would follow me, running down the road after me. That doesn’t happen anymore. It was herd mentality, and they took a lot of what I said out of context.”
Asked whether journalists and/or newspapers had an agenda against her, she answers:

“That’s possible”.
On the current government, Mary Coughlan criticises their neglect of rural issues, but says that Enda Kenny is doing well.

‘We (FF) didn’t neglect rural areas, compared to this government. Almost all the ministers, apart from Enda Kenny, are city based – Dublin, Cork, Limerick. They have a policy not to pay attention to the difficulties in rural areas – garda stations closing, small schools under threat … I don’t see the political support for rural areas.

“Enda Kenny as Taoiseach is doing very well. He’s interested, and he’s working hard, but he’s not visible in enough places. I don’t think he’s being asked the hard questions. He’s like a package for the government and the handlers. I’d like to see him travelling around the country more, and getting asked the hard questions.”

Asked whether she will run in 2016, she says that she hasn’t closed the door completely, but that there’s a need for new blood.

Obesity and health do not go together, A study finds

  

For quite a while some experts believed that a little extra body fat would not necessarily trigger health problems like metabolic syndrome, a cluster of diseases that often accompanies weight gain.

There was even talk of an “obesity paradox,” meaning that some people could derive certain benefits from being obese. But all that may just be fantasy, according to a recent study from Canada.

• Greater Fitness Cannot Mitigate Risks from Unhealthy Weight Gain
“Obese persons are at increased risk for adverse long-term outcomes even in the absence of metabolic abnormalities, suggesting that there is no healthy pattern of increased weight,” wrote Dr. Caroline K. Kramer of Mount Sinai Hospital’s Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute in Toronto and lead author of the study report.

Whether being overweight is immediately harmful depends on a number of factors, including a person’s genes, activity level, hormonal functions, and the source of calories, said Dr. David L. Katz, founder and director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center, to HealthDay. Fat accumulation, especially when it affects inner organs like the liver, can do serious damage even at low levels, he warned.
The notion that fat and fit are not necessarily exclusive of one another stems in part from studies

That found overweight but physically active people to be healthier than normal-weight folks who never exercised.
Also, judging someone’s health status based on body-mass index (http://www.timigustafson.com/2009/do-you-know-your-body-mass-index/) (BMI) alone has been widely criticized as an inaccurate measure in terms of overall health. Instead, most healthcare providers now prefer waist circumference as an indicator for weight-related health issues.

According to guidelines published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), overweight people can be considered healthy if their waist size does not exceed 40 inches for men, or 35 inches for women, and if they don’t have high blood pressure, high blood sugar, or high cholesterol.
However, when it comes to obesity (BMI of 30 and above), almost all studies agree that even being relatively fit cannot offset the health risks.

The issue is not so much the extra weight itself but what is called “metabolic health.” For any person – obese, overweight, or normal-weight – to be metabolically healthy, his or her blood pressure must be less than 130/85 mmHg, triglycerides under 150 mg/dL, fasting blood sugar equal to or lower than 100 mg/dL, and HDL (“good”) cholesterol above 40 mg/dL in men and 50 mg/dL in women.

But what about the so-called “obesity paradox,” a finding that overweight and moderately obese patients who suffer from chronic conditions like diabetes or heart disease sometimes outlive their normal-weight counterparts with the same disease? There may be a number of explanations for this, including genetic differences and access to treatment options. Either way, the fact remains that both weight management and fitness are important factors for good health, as is dietary quality.

Big business techies go to work on gourmet fare

 
What do Facebook staff eat? What’s on the Twitter menu? The chef who cooks for Ireland’s tech giants.

Does multinational success trickle down to small business and the ‘real’ economy? Critics of last week’s Forbes Irish coronation doubt it.
But don’t tell Gavin Prendergast (above left) that. From being a man with a van doing dawn patrols four years ago, he has grown a new company to 50 people, thanks to his status as unofficial caterer to Ireland’s booming tech multinationals.

It started in 2009 with 4am solo van runs to Facebook’s small, newly established Dublin office.

“Tech companies need to pull out all the stops to attract high-quality staff, which means top-class food,” said Prendergast. “So that’s what I pitched. I was driving the van in the middle of the night with all of this high-end food. But they seemed to like it. Then when they expanded, they stuck with me so I started to upscale. And then word of mouth got around.”

Four years and 46 new staff later, Prendergast’s Urban Picnic company is now serving over 1,000 people daily at canteens in Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Zynga and Hubspot.

What they get is something approximating a sheikh’s wedding buffet. On the day I visited Facebook’s Hanover Quay restaurant-canteen, prime beef, pork and salmon fillets made up a small fraction of the fare on offer, with freshly made cheesecake and strawberry vanilla chocolate sauce – among other things – for dessert. One would struggle to find a better meal anywhere in Dublin.

And this is the point: the ultra-competitive market for skilled engineers and coders means that big tech companies now have to lay on the best food in the city. That means serious chefs, fresh food and a constantly changing menu.

“Eating habits have changed,” he said. “People are no longer interested in simply chicken and chips. So all of our chefs comes from high-end restaurants. We operate more as a restaurant ourselves than a canteen. We rarely have the same menu twice. We do a lot of ethnic food days, too. The idea is that people will genuinely find it difficult to get better food anywhere else in the area.”

Ironically, the only place to arguably challenge Facebook’s canteen in this part of Dublin is another tech multinational’s restaurant: Google.
“A lot of staff here came from Google and, yes, they have a pretty good restaurant there. We needed to make sure that we were at least as good.”

Prendergast is not a newbie to fine dining. After college, he went to work in the Four Seasons George V in Paris, before joining up with Gordon Ramsey and a stint with the Ritz Carlton in Powerscourt. This has led to a few high-end habits.

“We employ one person just to research menus,” he said. “What we’re doing differently is we put everything on site. Almost everything is sourced in Ireland. We also operate a ‘clean food’ system and don’t use butter or cream. In fact, we try to limit dairy altogether. It’s light food, with lots of fruit and vegetables.”

Prendergast’s operation works in two ways. For large companies such as Facebook (which has 500 employees now), it occupies a permanently staffed restaurant canteen. For smaller firms (those under 250 employees), it prepares food from a communal kitchen in Sheriff Street.

It seems to be keeping coders and tech engineers happy.
“It’s a pretty superb restaurant,” said Gareth Lambe, director of operations and head of office at Facebook Dublin. “The staff love it.”
Dublin’s digital docklands continues to boom, with new tech firms setting up every month. While rising companies such as Dropbox and Airbnb have recently established European bases here, others such as Evernote are strongly tipped to follow suit.

This should provide Prendergast with opportunities for his next wave of potential clients. However, he has also started to add some non-tech customers to his corporate logs. This includes Communicorp, the media company that owns Today FM, Newstalk FM and a range of other radio and media interests.

“People want good food,” he said. “That’s really the bottom line. There’s a new market here and that’s what we’re doing. The detail we put into the food and the menus is, we think, very high.”

Prendergast’s fortunes mirror the cultural and economic expansion of Facebook, Urban Picnic’s biggest client. The social networking giant recently announced a move into an adjacent building which has the space to accommodate up to 1,000 people. Because of the diversity of roles and nationalities at the company, catering provides a unique challenge.

“We have people working here from countries who never see their national food prepared in Dublin restaurants,” said Prendergast. “You have to respect where people come from and what they want, while keeping it interesting for everyone. The nice thing about companies like Facebook is that the people here are very open-minded and willing to try new things.”

Despite the haute cuisine on offer, Facebook’s canteen restaurant fills and empties in a militaristically scheduled way. There are three two-hour windows throughout the day in which to eat.
“People leave this restaurant motivated and satisfied,” said Facebook’s Lambe. “What you need to understand is that all of this high-end food and other benefits we have here allow people not to have to worry about things or waste time on small issues.”

At the rate of growth in Dublin’s tech sector, will Prendergast’s Urban Picnic remain a boutique corporate caterer? Or is mass-market expansion on the way?
“Right now, we’re happy with what we’re doing,” said Prendergast. “It’s all about the food.”

The number of families going homeless in Dublin doubles in last 6 months

    

The number of families becoming homeless in Dublin has doubled in the last six months, a charity has warned.

With 16 families now losing their home every month in the capital, there are currently five children a week being made homeless in the city, according to Focus Ireland.

The charity said it had recorded an almost 20% increase in enquiries from people across Ireland who have been made homeless, or were in fear of becoming so, over the last year.

It supported a total of 9,237 people so far this year who were homeless or at risk of losing their home, compared to 7,819 people during this same period last year.

The charity highlighted the problem as it appealed for public donations to help its work.
It said it had been affected by state funding cuts at a time when demand was on the rise.

Focus Ireland’s director of fundraising and marketing Lisa Nicole Dunne said: “We are now seeing more people at serious risk of losing their homes due to the impact of the recession and it’s highly concerning to see the rise in the number of families becoming homeless.

“In Dublin alone the number of families becoming homeless has recently doubled from 8 to 16 every month. Worryingly, five children a week are losing their family home.”

She added: “Focus Ireland will simply not be able to cope with the massive spike in demand for our services in to 2014 without public donations. Every euro counts in the drive against homelessness and people can rest assured 90 cents of every euro raised is spent directly on services to combat and prevent homelessness.”

DONIE'S Irish daily news update Tuesday

What will the Irish Government target next to milk taxes from the Irish people 

 

While income tax is unlikely to rise, the Government may target pensions, USC, DIRT and capital gains tax

There’s no avoiding it. On October 15th, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan will deliver yet another austerity budget. It will be the seventh budget since 2007 with a common theme – falling social welfare payments and rising taxes.

While most people might be saying “enough” by now, the Government has to make further cuts if it is to stay on course with its adjustment of up to €3.1 billion. So how might it be done?

Extending USC
The Government has stressed that no income tax hikes are on the agenda. However, Anne Bolster, tax director with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), says it is possible that an increase in the Universal Social Charge (USC) might be on the way for PAYE employees earning more than €100,000. A surcharge of 3 per cent already applies to self-employed people earning above this level. As such, Bolster notes, such a move would be perceived to be equitable.

  Tax on unearned income
Another way of ensuring parity between those who are self-employed and those who are in the PAYE sector is to broaden the applicability of PRSI on unearned income.

Self-employed people have already been paying this, but from January 1st, 2014, it’s possible that everyone will have to pay tax on so-called passive income – which includes rental income, investment income, dividends and interest on deposits and savings.

“It would follow through that introducing PRSI for employees on other income would seem to be fairly fair,” says Bolster, although she adds that a “big question” would be how the tax might be implemented, given that PAYE employees typically – unless they own an investment property – do not file annual tax returns.

On the topic of PRSI, it might also be the case that the rate will be increased to 6 per cent for self-employed people, in return for better social welfare benefits.

Property tax
It was only introduced this year, but it was done so at a rate – 0.18 per cent – lower than that originally envisioned. So is there scope for an increase?

Padraig Cronin, tax partner with Deloitte, thinks so, but adds that it’s unlikely to come this year.

“It would be very easy to move it up,” he says, but adds that he doesn’t think the timing is right for an adjustment in the short-term.

“When higher rate income taxes are back down at 40 per cent, you could counter it by increasing property taxes.”

In any case, it will feel like the rate has increased next year given that it will be the first year that people have to pay the tax at the full rate.
DIRT
Tax on deposit interest has moved upwards steadily in recent years and, if the aforementioned application of PRSI on unearned income comes to pass, DIRT could be pushed up to 37 per cent.

Some 1.18 million Irish adults have €50 left after all bills are paid

A recent SURVEY FINDS 

  

FINANCIAL POSITION IMPROVING FOR MANY, CREDIT UNION STUDY FINDS

The number of people with nothing left to spend at the end of the month once all essential bills have been paid has fallen sharply since last summer. Figures published by the Irish League of Credit Unions also suggest the level of disposal income is continuing to stabilise.

The figures indicate that the financial circumstances of many are improving, but nearly half of all adults are still struggling to pay their bills on time, with a growing number cutting back on food to make ends meet.

The credit unions’ latest “What’s Left” income tracking survey shows that 493,000 adults have nothing left at the end of the month once bills have been taken care of compared with 602,000 who said they were in the same financial position in June of last year.

Disposable income
The survey has also found that disposable income has increased to €172 this month from €163 in May for an average adult.

The increase in monthly disposable income for working adults has gone up from €188 in May to €205, a jump of 9 per cent.

Mortgage repayments, the cost of utilities and the amounts people are paying to clear credit card debt have all fallen, which accounts for much of the increase in disposable income.

Struggling
The figures are improving but 1.18 million adults say they have €50 or less left at the end of the month once all bills have been paid while 40 per cent say they are struggling to pay their bills on time and have to sacrifice spending in areas such as health and life insurance to cover everyday expenses.

“Once again we see further and continued signs of disposable income stabilisation into the second half of 2013,” said chief executive Kieron Brennan.

“There is a long way to go in terms of building confidence in the economy. It will be interesting to see where the Government has made cuts in the upcoming budget and how this will impact disposable income levels and indeed the finances of families around the country.”

Irish rural farmers fear for safety and want guns to protect themselves

  

EIGHT OUT OF TEN IRISH FARMERS SAY THEY SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO OWN A GUN TO PROTECT THEMSELVES AND THEIR PROPERTY. 

An Irish Examiner/ICMSA survey reveals the level of fear that exists in large parts of rural Ireland, with 81% of farmers polled in favour of gun ownership to combat rising crime levels.

The ICMSA said the findings were not surprising given that criminals were now targeting rural families and the scale of recent garda station closures.

The survey found support for gun ownership was higher amongst male farmers than female farmers. Farmers under 35 showed the least support for the provision. However, support for gun ownership was well over 70% across all age groups and irregardless of sex.

Gun ownership and the right to use it for self-defence has long been a contentious issue in rural Ireland.

It first hit the headlines in 2004 after traveller John ‘Frog’ Ward was shot dead by Mayo farmer Padraig Nally, for trespassing on his property. The farmers stated that he had acted in self-defence at all times.

Following a trial in 2005, Mr Nally was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter. It was the first murder trial to be held in Mayo in nearly a century.

A retrial took place took place in December 2006, where Mr Nally was acquitted of manslaughter. In total, he served 11 months in prison.

During the trial, the Mayo farmer became something of a pin-up for rural homeowners and farmers arguing they should have the right to protect themselves using force, if necessary.

The issue also came back into focus earlier this year focus again this year following the decision by the Government to close 100 rural Garda stations across the country.

 Of the regions surveyed for the study, Athenry in Galway expressed the most support for the measure at 98%.      Skibbereen in Cork expressed the least support for the provision, with 69% stating they either agreed strongly or agreed with the measure.

Amongst farmers who vote Sinn Féin, gun ownership received 100% support. This was followed by those who are undecided (87%), independent (85%), Fianna Fáil (83%) and Fine Gael (71%).

John Comber, ICMSA president said it was understandable that farmers feel they have the right to protect themselves. 

Auld Arthur may call time on his big day as backlash gathers momentum

  

Company anxious celebration is recognised as expression of Irish conviviality

ARTHUR’S DAY CELEBRATES ITS FIFTH ANNIVERSARY ON THURSDAY.

It’s a celebration of “great people who make things happen”, suggest stout supporters of Arthur’s Day. Those calling for last orders on the boozy affair, meanwhile, insist it is a crass exploitation of a nation’s weakness for alcohol by a multinational corporation profiting handsomely from products linked to some of our society’s gravest ills.

Arthur’s Day celebrates its fifth anniversary on Thursday with events in several countries. About 1,000 performers will be paid handsomely by Diageo to raise a glass to Arthur at 500 venues around Ireland.

The company, which records profits of more than €3 billion annually, is anxious its brainchild is recognised as a joyous celebration of the Irish pub, Irish conviviality and Irish culture. But no matter how loudly it urges people to “drink responsibly” and despite all its talk of the good things it does with (a tiny portion) of the money it makes, it is struggling to shake off some awkward truths. The most awkward one being the damage its products do.

Dangerous
More than two years ago, Minister for Health Dr James Reilly was told by experts that adults here drink “in a more dangerous way than nearly any other country”, while children “drink from a younger age” and “more than ever before”. He heard that alcohol was “a contributory factor in half of all suicides and it accounts for up to 10 per cent of bed days in hospitals, while alcohol-related road accidents cost an estimated €530 million in 2007”. Alcohol-related liver disease, meanwhile, has doubled over the past decade.

That is the bigger picture. The smaller picture is not too pretty either. It is plain to see for anyone who has ever wandered the streets of Dublin, Cork or Galway, stepping over the rivers of urine and vomit which flow freely, and dodging the rows that break out as closing time looms just what impact Arthur’s Day can have. This viewwas confirmed by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland yesterday, which reminded people that Arthur’s Day was behind a 30 per cent increase in ambulance call-outs.

In the doctors’ corner are musicians such as Christy Moore,Steve Wall and The Waterboys, while across a wider spectrum, calls for a boycott of Arthur’s drinks on the big day are growing, with even some Diageo people privately admitting that the hangover may not be worth it.

But just how much responsibility rests with the company? It has done all it can to insert an elaborate and expensive marketing wheeze into the Irish social calendar. But it doesn’t hold people down and force the black stuff down their throats with a funnel.

Choices
People make choices. People will choose to go out on Thursday. And some of them will choose to get drunk – and
some may possibly end up in life-threatening situations as
a result.

The drink-related problems besetting the country willcontinue until those who can make a more tangible difference do something.

The Government said there would be an overhaul of legislation once the National Substance Misuse Strategy steering group published its report 18 months ago, with controls on pricing and advertising and greater enforcement of existing laws aimed at curbing problem drinking.

Nothing has happened yet and until it does, the palaver about Arthur will be nothing more than a sideshow to be forgotten as soon as the bad Friday hangover lifts.

Young Irish scientists win the top award in Prague at European union event

 

Irish projects outperform all other countries. 

Right Pic. (From left) Ciara Judge, Sophie Healy-Thow and Emer Hickey, 2013 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibiton winners and now winners of a first prize at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists.

Ireland’s young scientists have done it again, winning a major prize at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists in Prague today.

Ciara Judge, Emer Hickey and Sophie Healy-Thow won a first prize in the biology section at the competition in Prague.

Last January their project on plant germination won the top prize in the 2013 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition at the RDS.

Their win entitled them to compete in the European Contest representing Ireland. The competition was intense with 120 students from 38 countries taking part. Their prize was € 7,000 plus an all expenses paid trip to the London International Youth Science Forum.

“In 25 years of competing at the EU competition, Ireland has now taken home the top honours 15 times, out-performing all other countries,” said BT’s chief executive officer Colm O’Neill.

The three students are transition years attending Kinsale Community College, Cork.

The 2014 BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition will take place in the RDS, Dublin from January 8th – 11th 2014. Students are being urged to get their entries in by the 2nd October 2013 deadline. For more information on the exhibition, log onto http://www.btyoungscientist.ie.

How old is the moon? Scientists bring forward age 100 million years

    

Rock samples from Apollo 16 mission finally analysed show the moon is millions of years younger than previously thought.

The moon is much younger than scientists have been led to believe, according to researchers analysing samples taken from the Apollo 16 mission.

The prevailing theory surrounding the creation of the moon is that a Mars-sized body known as ‘Theia’ collided with a newly formed proto-earth approximately 4.56 billion years ago, shortly after the formation of the solar system.

The massive impact caused melted material to break off into pieces in space, before eventually re-joining to form the moon.

As the Moon cooled, this magma ocean solidified into different mineral components, the lightest of which floated upwards to form the oldest layer of crust.

New analysis of material collected from it’s surface suggests that the moon is 100 million years younger than previously thought.

A piece of lunar rock sample gathered in the Apollo 16 mission of 1972 has been analaysed by researchers at the University of Copenhagen, using newly refined techniques to assess the age of the sample.

The team of scientists, led by James Connelly from the Centre for Star and Planet Formation, examined the isotopes of the elements lead and neodymium to place the age of a sample of a FAN at 4.36 billion years.

This is significantly younger than earlier estimates, which put the moon’s age as nearly as old as the solar systems – 4.567 billion years.

Mr Connelly said: “Although the samples have been carefully stored at NASA Johnson Space Center since their return to Earth, we had to extensively pre-clean the samples using a new method to remove terrestrial lead contamination.

“Once we removed the contamination, we found that this sample is almost 100 million years younger than we expected.”

The new, younger age obtained for the oldest lunar crust is similar to ages obtained for the oldest terrestrial minerals – zircons from Western Australia – suggesting that the oldest crust on both Earth and the Moon formed at approximately the same time.

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Nuns say they will not pay compensation to the Magdalene laundries fund

FOUR CONGREGATIONS WILL NOT CONTRIBUTE TO FUND, WHICH COULD COST STATE UP TO €58 MILLION

     

The four religious congregations that ran the Magdalene laundries have told the Government they will not make any financial contribution to the multi-million-euro fund set up to recompense former residents.

The Mercy Sisters, the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, the Sisters of Charity and the Good Shepherd Sisters have informed Minister for Justice Alan Shatter in recent days that they will not pay into the fund, which could cost up to €58 million.

However, it is understood they have said they are willing to assist fully in all other aspects of the package recommended by MrJustice John Quirke in his recent report, including the assembly of records and looking after former residents who remain in their care.

A spokeswoman for Mr Shatter said he was “disappointed” with the decision of the four orders not to make a financial contribution.

He will brief his ministerial colleagues about the situation at the weekly Cabinet meeting this morning.

No comment
Three of the four orders contacted through a spokesman were not prepared to make any comment at this point in time.

The Government announced the scheme last month after Mr Justice Quirke had conducted an examination of the various options to compensate the women who lived in the laundries, many of whom are now elderly.

The minimum payment was €11,500 for women who spent three months or less in a laundry and the maximum approved was €100,000 for those who were residents for 10 years or more.

Groups representing the women argued that higher awards should have been made available to those who had been long-term residents.

There was no onus on any applicant to show they had suffered hardship, injury or abuse. Some 600 women are reckoned to be eligible. The scheme is expected to cost between €34.5 million and €58 million.

When the scheme was announced, Mr Shatter said taxpayers expected the four religious orders to share the burden and make a contribution to the scheme. He would not be drawn on the amount he expected them to contribute.

State apology
The scheme follows on from a full apology on behalf of the State made to the survivors by Taoiseach Enda Kenny in the Dáil this year, in which he said that nobody should have been subjected to the conditions they endured.

That apology came in the wake an investigation by former senator Martin McAleese into the running and conditions within the laundries which were in operation for the best part of a century.

The report also established that the State had played a significant role in the continued operation of the laundries.

Fewer Irish people saving now as austerity erodes our disposable income

 

PROPORTION OF PEOPLE NOT SAVING AT ALL INCREASES TO 46 PER CENT AS AUSTERITY BITES

Fewer Irish people are saving money because of the ongoing pressure on disposable income caused by austerity and recent hikes in Dirt tax.

According to the Nationwide UK (Ireland)/ESRI Savings Index, regular saving has declined across all age groups with only 32 per cent of people putting money aside regularly compared with 36 per cent a year ago.

The proportion of people who are not saving at all increased to 46 per cent in June from 43 per cent a year ago.

The overall index remained flat at 86 in June but was down 15 points on the same month last year on account of “increasing negativity about the amount being saved and the environment for saving”.

The report suggested negativity towards saving, however, was different for each age group.

People under 50 are concerned with the amounts they are currently saving, with 68 per cent saving less then they think they should and only 12 per cent happy with the amount they are saving, the report revealed.

In contrast, those over 50 are more concerned with the savings environment as 62 per cent believe that Government policy discourages saving, an increase from 53 per cent a year ago.

Managing director of Nationwide UK (Ireland) Brendan Synnott said: “In the past year sentiment towards saving has decreased considerably as people continue to manage their way through austerity.

“We are now seeing clearly diverging opinions being expressed by those aged under 50s compared to those aged over 50.”

“The younger consumer is clearly not satisfied with their ability to save, presumably due to their on-going day to day expenses and reduced disposable income.”

“The over 50s are the traditional saver in the economy and this group has seen the return on their savings reduced as Dirt tax has increased and savings rates for the most part have decreased.”

“Despite these immediate concerns around saving, the fact that 37 per cent of people would save any spare cash available is a positive indicator about the overall savings culture in Ireland. ”

Pension bonanza for retiring senior members of An Garda Siochana

Assistant Garda commissioner received golden handshake of over €200,000 last year

New figures show that one retiring assistant Garda commissioner received a golden handshake of over €200,000 last year as part of a pension arrangement.

According to figures released by the Department of Justice under the Freedom of Information Act, the State paid out €41.94 million in lump sums to retiring gardai of all ranks last year. This followed a lump sum pension pay-out of €46.81 million in 2011.

The pension lump sum payout last year is slightly more than the entire Garda overtime bill of €41.5 million in 2012.

The figures show that the only assistant commissioner to retire last year received a lump sum of €207,927 with five chief superintendents receiving pension lump sums of between €170,000 and €183,005.

The department confirmed that 81 retirees received lump sum payments of over €100,000 in 2012.

The statistics show that the top 25 recipients – made up of the assistant commissioner, five chief superintendents and 19 superintendents – last year shared a pension payout of €3.8 million.

The department also confirmed that there are five retired members of the force receiving annual pension payments in excess of €100,000 with a further two receiving annual payments of between €70,000 and €79,999.

The figures reveal that 30 retired members are in receipt of annual pension payouts of between €60,000 and €69,999, with 120 in receipt of pension payouts of €50,000 and €59,999 per annum.

The deptartment did not disclose the location details of the top 25 recipients “as it may lead to identification of the individuals concerned”.

Last year, 462 gardai retired receiving on average lump sum of €90,799 each.

Separate figures provided by Minister for Justice Alan Shatter show that last year one assistant commissioner retired along with five chief superintendents and 19 superintendents.

They were joined by 24 inspectors, 119 sergeants and 294 rank and file gardai.

The 462 gardai who retired last year followed 480 who retired in 2011. This followed 407 who retired in 2010; 776 in 2009 and 341 in 2008.

Since 2008, 143 members of the force with a rank of superintendent or higher have received the bumper pension lump sums after retiring from the force.

According to Mr Shatter in a written Dail response to Fine Gael TD Andrew Doyle, 95 superintendents have retired; 34 chief superintendents; 12 assistant commissioners; one deputy commissioner and one commissioner have retired during that time.

Fianna Fail justice spokesman Niall Collins said yesterday the large number of retirements from senior ranks from the force “has left a leadership vacuum in the force and it is demoralising for the force to see vacancies unfilled up along the chain of command”.

Mick Wallace TD calls for stronger oversight of the An Garda Síochána

  

INDEPENDENT TD MICK WALLACE HAS PROPOSED RADICAL CHANGES TO THE SYSTEM OF OVERSIGHT OF AN GARDA SÍOCHÁNA.

At a news conference, Mr Wallace claimed there is a serious lack of democratic accountability of the force.

  In the Dáil today, he proposed a bill aimed at strengthening the independence of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.

He it was motivated by any antipathy to the force, saying he had a good relationship with the force.

He insisted that the increased accountability would make for better policing, and that a return to what he called policing by consent would make for a better force.

Six in 10 cancer sufferers in Ireland beat the disease

 

SIX OUT OF 10 PEOPLE ARE NOW SURVIVING CANCER IN IRELAND THANKS TO ADVANCES IN EARLY DETECTION AND TREATMENT.

The Irish Cancer Society said that while cases are rising, more people are surviving cancer and going on to live a normal and healthy life.

Figures show that there are now 100,000 people living with cancer here, meaning there is a growing need to understand the “life-changing implications a cancer diagnosis brings,” the charity said.

The society is set to hold a free conference in Dublin for cancer survivors and their families, which will address the needs of cancer survivors across the country.

The two-day National Conference for Cancer Survivorship event will run on September 21 and 22 at the Aviva Stadium, with up to 800 cancer survivors attending.

Dublin to host cancer survivors Ireland event next September

  

UP TO 800 CANCER SURVIVORS AND THEIR FAMILIES ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND A FREE TWO-DAY EVENT IN DUBLIN THIS SEPTEMBER.

The National Conference for Cancer Survivorship will take place on September 20 and 21 at the Aviva Stadium, with the theme ‘Living Well with Cancer’.

More than 60% of Irish people diagnosed with cancer in Ireland survive for five years or longer.

Although the number of cancer cases is increasing in Ireland, with around 100,000 people living with the disease, advances in early detection and treatment have led to more people going on to live a normal and healthy life.

Olwyn Ryan, Patients Support Services Manager at the Irish Cancer Society said: “The transition from cancer patient to cancer survivor can be difficult for those on a cancer journey.

“While many people adapt well, others experience problems in adjusting to life after a cancer diagnosis.

“Access to information and support to deal with issues such as fear of the cancer coming back, financial strain and long-term side-effects of treatment is vital.

“The aim of this unique conference is to identify the issues and support patients and those close to them need to make the necessary adjustments in order to live as well as they can following a diagnosis.

“Delegates will be offered the opportunity to engage with experts in the field of cancer with a particular emphasis on psycho-social adjustment and keeping well into the future.

“Bringing survivors together so that they may befriend, help and support each other is a powerful way of improving the lives of those living with cancer.”

The two-day programme includes practical information on treatment advances, dealing with fatigue, exercise and diet as well as dealing with the emotional and psychological effects of cancer.

There will also be separate tracks for healthcare professionals and affiliated support groups.

Tyrannosaur left a tooth behind in another dinosaur

 

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, even when you are the King of Dinosaurs. A dinosaur discovery points to the hunting strategy of Tyrannosaurus rex.

• Tyrannosaurus rex was a massive meat-eating dinosaur that lived 66 million years ago
• A T. rex tooth left lodged in the healed tail of a plant-eating hadrosaur dinosaur says it was a hunter

Even Tyrannosaurus rex missed a meal now and then, paleontologists report Monday, noting the discovery of a big tooth left in the tail of a plant-eating dinosaur.

Some 40 feet long at full size, T. rex was surely a fearsome beast, famed for its massive jaws, but how much of its diet consisted of captured prey as opposed to scavenged has remained unclear. But this discovery shows T. rex tried to take a bite out of a live hadrosaur, or duck-billed dinosaur, and lost a tooth in the process, says the tooth discovery team led by Robert DePalma of the Palm Beach Museum of Natural History, in Fort Lauderdale.

“We now have conclusive evidence that T. rex indeed engaged in predatory behavior,” they say in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal. Looking at two healed tail bones of the roughly 66 million-year-old hadrosaur uncovered at the Hell Creek site in South Dakota, the team reports the discovery of a T. rex tooth — “indistinguishable,” from ones in the fossilized skulls of other T. rex specimens — lodged therein. This hadrosaur managed to escape from T. rex and keep a souvenir, a dagger-like tooth crown about 1.5 inches tall and 1 inch wide, the discovery team reports.

Modern predators, such as wolves and lions, lose their prey 45% to 62% of the time too, notes the study. So, T. rex can still hold its head high.

Past dinosaur discoveries such as crunched up hadrosaur bones found in the belly positions of T. rex fossils have already pointed to T. rex being a hunter, notes paleontologist Thomas Holtz of the University of Maryland, who was not part of the study team. “So this isn’t the One Key Specimen, but it *is* an important specimen in the argument,” he says, by e-mail.