Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

Ryanair shares soar as third quarter profit more than doubles

AIRLINE ANNOUNCES €800M SHARE BUYBACK PROGRAMME, RAISES FULL-YEAR TRAFFIC GUIDANCE

   

RYANAIR CHIEF EXECUTIVE MICHAEL O’LEARY. THE AIRLINE RAISED ITS FULL-YEAR TRAFFIC FORECAST AGAIN TO 106 MILLION FROM A PREVIOUSLY GUIDED 105 MILLION.

Shares in Ryanair surged on Monday after it announced third quarter pre-tax profits that were 110% higher.

The airline said pre-tax profit for the three months to the end of December rose to €103 million from €49 million a year earlier, while passenger traffic jumped 20% to 25 million.

The company also reported revenues that were up 17%, rising from €1.13 billion to €1.33 billion.

Ryanair attributed the jump in profits and passenger numbers to a 1 per cent decline in average fares to €40 million and improved customer service.

The airline raised its full-year traffic forecast again to 106 million from a previously guided 105 million and is up 17% on the 90.6 million customers recorded 12 months earlier. Ryanair said fourth quarter traffic is expected to be up by 26%.

The company also announced an €800 million share buyback programme, which is to commence later this week. It said by the time the buy-back is completed, it will have returned in excess of €4 billion to shareholders since 2008.

Shares in the airline were up by nearly 6% to €14.48 in Dublin in afternoon trading.

“We are pleased to report that our low fares policy delivered strong third quarter traffic and profit growth. It is clear that millions of new customers are switching to Ryanair for our “load factor active/yield passive” pricing, our expanding route network and the success of our Always Getting Better customer experience programme,” said chief executive Michael O’Leary.

“Following a strong first half of the third quarter, we noted weaker pricing and bookings immediately after the terrorist events in Paris and Brussels. We reacted to this softness by running price promotions and discounted fares to stimulate double digit traffic growth. While average fares fell 1%, this was offset by lower unit costs,” he added.

Ryanair said unit costs fell by 5% during the three months to the end of December. Fuel, which represents some 40% of the airline’s cost base, was down 10% per customer.

The airline said again it expected full-year net profits to be towards the upper end of the €1.175 billion and €1.225 billion range. However, it stressed the guidance is dependent on the absence of unforeseen events impacting close-in bookings and yields, especially over Easter.

Davy, in a note to investors said Ryanair continues to demonstrate an industry-leading cost position with cash generation continuing to be “spectactular.”

“Despite the announcement of the share buyback programme of €800 million for a nine-month period and likely aircraft funding in cash, we expect Ryanair to continue to have a significant net cash balance sheet. We are likely to broadly maintain our forecasts at current levels and retain our €16.50 price target,” it said..

New Irish car sales up 34% as Hyundai topples VW from top spot

VOLKSWAGEN SLIPS TO FOURTH PLACE AS KOREAN BRAND HYUNDAI BECOMES THE BEST-SELLING BRAND

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HYUNDAI IS THE BEST-SELLING NEW CAR BRAND ON THE IRISH MARKET THIS YEAR, WITH THE TUCSON BEING THE MOST POPULAR MODEL ON THE MARKET LAST MONTH

New car sales rose 33.6% in January compared to the same month last year, with 39,812 new 161 registrations.

Hyundai finished the month as the best-selling brand with 5,062 registrations, ahead of Toyota with 4,852. Ford took third place with 4,383 but Volkswagen has slipped down to fourth with 3,748. The German brand, at the centre of an emissions scandal since last September, previously led the Irish car market for several years.

Of the rest, Nissan takes fifth place with Renault in sixth and Skoda – another brand in the VW Group – slipping to seventh.

Hyundai’s Tucson was also the best-selling model for the all-important first month of the new 161 registration plate, well ahead of the Ford Focus in second place and the Volkswagen Golf in third.

According to Stephen Gleeson, managing director of Hyundai Ireland, a strong order bank for February suggests the Korean brand will retain its lead, but with global demand strong and factories operating at capacity levels supply might become an issue later in the year and that may limit the brand’s ability to finish the year on top.

In the premium segment Audi finished January ahead of BMW, despite trailing it for most of the month.

With economic recovery taking hold, only four brands recorded a drop in sales: Citroen, Subaru, Seat and Porsche, the last two members of the VW Group.

There was strong activity towards the end of the month in the car hire market, with 1,714 vehicles registered for hire drives. Renault, Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda and Audi were the most active brands in this sector.

Diesel remains the most popular engine type with 69.3% of sales, but that is down from nearly 72% last year. There has been a slight pick-up in petrol sales, rising to 28.9% of the market. Electric cars sales have fallen back, with just 50 sold last month compared to 115 for January last year, but this may be accounted for in the growth in sales of plug-in hybrids models, recording 619 registrations last month compared to 358 for the same time last year.

New charges for green bins, but overall waste bills are likely to fall

LOWER BILLS WILL COME TO THOSE WHO SEPARATE WASTE PROPERLY AND INCREASE RECYCLING

   

THE CHARGE FOR GREEN BINS WAS INITIALLY DUE TO BE IMPLEMENTED LAST SUMMER, BUT WAS POSTPONED.

A new system of household bin charges involving payment by weight will cut bills for 90 per cent of householders, according to a spokesman for the Department of the Environment.

The new system, which will come into effect across the State on July 1st, involves a fee for green bins for the first time. It was due to be implemented last summer but was postponed for a year.

The department spokesman said the new arrangements would mean the vast majority of households would pay less if their refuse was sorted properly.

“This is an environmentally sound policy that will benefit most householders and ensure the polluter pays,” he said.

The department says that on average each household produces about 1,000kg of waste a year.

It says an estimated 87% of households will get a reduced bill if they segregate their waste properly, 8.5% of people will pay the same and only 4.5% may be liable for an increased charge.

The new scheme is being backed by the Irish Waste Management Association which represents companies collecting almost 75 per cent of the country’s waste.

It says the system will ensure all domestic waste customers will have a clear and consistent service that they will be able to influence through the correct segregation and recycling of all household waste into the correct bins.

Statin use doubles type 2 diabetes risk and increases risk of complications,

A STUDY FINDS

   

STATIN USE DOUBLES TYPE 2 DIABETES RISK AND INCREASES RISK OF COMPLICATIONS, A STUDY FINDS.

Statin use triggers weight gain and increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and diabetic complications, according to a new 10-year study.

However, the research, which was conducted at the University of Texas, does not indicate that patients at risk of heart diseasewho currently take statins should stop taking them. Rather, it urges healthcare professionals to weigh up the potential risks associated with statin treatment before prescribing.

How was the study conducted?

The study involved more than 25,000 participants. 3,982 participants were on statin treatment, and 21,988 were not. All of the study’s participants were considered “healthy adults”.

Over the ten years, the participants who took statins had double the risk of type 2 diabetes, and their risk of being diagnosed with complications was 2.5 times that of the non-statin group.

“The risk of diabetes with statins has been known, but until now it was thought that this might be due to the fact that people who were prescribed statins had greater medical risks to begin with,” said Dr. Ishak Mansi, of the University of Texas, who led the study.

“I am sceptical about the prescribing guidelines for people at lower risk [of heart disease]. I am concerned about the long-term effects on the huge population of healthy people on these drugs who continue for many years.”

However, Mansi was keen to point out that this study does not mean that patients should stop taking their statins. Rather, it should be used to inform the prescription guidelines for statins. For those at risk of heart disease but not yet taking statins, the study may encourage them to find alternative ways to lower their risk.

“No patient should stop taking their statins based on our study, since statin therapy is a cornerstone in treatment of cardiovascular disease and have been clearly shown to lower mortality and disease progression,” he said to Medical Research.

“Knowing these risks may motivate a patient to quit smoking to lower risk rather than swallowing a tablet, or may motivate a patient to lose weight and exercise.”

The findings are published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Diabetes and statins: a complicated relationship

Statin treatment and type 2 diabetes have a complicated relationship. More than half of people with type 2 diabetes are taking statins at the time of their diabetes diagnosis. Statins are frequently prescribed for people with diabetes, because diabetes increases the risk of heart disease.

However, numerous recent studies have indicated that statin use increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, leading many commentators to question the wisdom of prescribing them. When one weighs up the risks of statin treatment against the benefits, it does not seem like a good idea. Research shows that 99 per cent of users will not benefit from their treatment. For every 1,000 people at risk of heart problems, statin use over three years prevents seven heart attacks, four strokes and two deaths.

However, with more than 17.5m people in the UK at risk of heart problems, preventing those problems in just one per cent of that population prevents thousands of deaths. Many commentators, therefore, argue that statin treatment has its values, but that the guidelines for prescription should be more carefully considered.

Mutant fish with ‘feet, toes and a human nose? stuns scientists

AN ALIEN-LOOKING CREATURE COMPARED TO “SOMETHING OUT OF A SCI-FI HORROR FILM” HAS TERRIFIED FISHERMEN AND STUNNED SCIENTISTS.

    

THE WEIRD ANIMAL (PICTURED ABOVE) HAD SCALES LIKE A FISH BUT TWO FEET WITH TOES, NO FIN, A LONG BONE ON ITS BACK AND EVEN A “PERFECTLY FORMED” HUMAN NOSE ABOVE ITS MOUTH.

It is thought the “alien” cannot swim but instead walks on the seabed.

It was found by disbelieving fishermen on the tiny island of Carriacou in the Caribbean.

The find comes just a week after a bizarre “alien” fish with legs and a bullet-fast bite was discovered in New Zealand.

One islander said: “Everyone crowded round to look – nobody had ever seen anything like it.

“Quite a few people were pretty scared and thought it looked like something out of a sci-fi horror film.”SSEX

“It looked like something out of a sci-fi horror film.”

Carriacou is just 200 miles from Barbados, a favourite winter hangout for Brits and even celebrities such as Rihanna and Simon Cowell.

Veteran fisherman Hope McLawrence, 74, said: “I have never seen anything like it.

“The wings and tail looks extremely complicated.

“By the look of the creature it cannot swim but apparently walks on the sea bed.

“This has shocked me since I never thought that a creature like this even existed, much less in the harbour of these shallow, unfriendly waters.”   

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Restoration work starts on Easter Rising headquarters for 2016 celebrations

The Moore Street site where 1916 rebels surrendered will become a commemorative centre.

    

The site of Easter Rising headquarters on Moore Street in Dublin.

Restoration work has begun on the site of the final headquarters of the Easter Risingrebels on Moore Street in Dublin ahead of next year’s centenary celebrations.

The Government purchased14-17 Moore Street for €4 million earlier this year.

The site is to be turned into a commemorative centre, which Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphreys expects to be completed next year.

Number 16 is recognised as the site where the Rising leaders agreed to surrender.

All four of the buildings will be restored to their 1916 condition following structural stabilisation work and the reinstatement of contemporary interiors.

It was announced that the company behind the recent restoration of Kilmainham Courthouse, Dublin-based conservation and heritage specialists Lissadell Construction Ltd, will undertake the Moore Street project.

A National monument?

The buildings in question date back to the 18th-century, and were declared a national monument in 2007.

“I am delighted to see this project moving ahead. The national monument at numbers 14-17 Moore Street has such special historical significance in the context of the Easter Rising,” Ms Humphreys said.

“This project is a very important element of the Government’s plans for the 1916 centenary commemorations.

“The conservation work will reveal the period architectural detail, the living conditions and, above all, the imprint of the insurgency.

“The primary focus of the work is to reveal the buildings as they were during the Rising, allowing them to illuminate that period in our history.”

Preservation campaigners have praised the Government for its actions in securing the future of numbers 14 to 17, but some have voiced concerns about development proposals for adjoining houses.

Planning permission still stands for a stalled retail development in the neighbouring area, which may be resurrected after Nama sold its stake in the premises to UK-based property group Hammerson last month.

As much as 38,519 killed on roads across the island of Ireland

   

More than 38,500 people have been killed on roads throughout the island of Ireland since records began.

Just over 38,500 people have been killed on roads throughout the island of Ireland since records began.

A total of 38,519 people have died on the roads on both sides of the border, including 23,752 in the Republic of Ireland and 14,767 in Northern Ireland.

The records of road deaths in Northern Ireland go back as far as 1931, while fatalities in the Republic of Ireland were only counted from 1959 onwards.

The statistics were released as events are being planned around the island for Sunday to mark World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.

NI Environment Minister Mark H Durkan, who lost his sister in a car crash in 2000, said: “Many generations and thousands of families in the North, including my own, have been devastated by the grief of loss and the heartache of road tragedy.

“Almost 15,000 people, just like you and me, have lost their lives. And this is why I am working along with my road safety partners – the PSNI, the NI Fire and Rescue Service and the NI Ambulance Service amongst others – towards reducing the carnage on our roads. We must do everything possible to prevent this loss and suffering touching any more lives.

The Minister added: “The certainty of the unexpected means that it is crucial to reduce speed, wear seatbelts and eliminate high risk behaviours.

“I am fully committed to improving safety for all road users. I firmly believe that by working together, we can rise to the challenge of making our roads safer for everyone.”

So far this year 61 people have been killed on Northern Ireland’s roads.

PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd commented: “Behind each of these statistics are family and friends who have been affected and we must remember them.

“This Sunday provides us with an opportunity to remember all those people who have lost their lives on our roads. Our thoughts are with all their family members and friends not just today, but throughout the year.”

Irish Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe, welcomed the fact that people across the island were coming together to remember all the lives lost on the roads.

He said: “Many lives have been saved and injuries prevented as a result of the collaborative work by road safety agencies on both sides of the border in recent years so it is fitting that we should come together on World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims to remember those who have tragically died on the road and to also think of their families.”

The Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, was first held in 1993 in the United Kingdom and organised since then by non-governmental organisations in a number of countries.

The RSA, along with members of An Garda Síochána, Road Safety Officers in Local Authorities, the Emergency Services and road safety support groups have organised masses, services and commemorative events around the country this Sunday to remember the lives that have been lost and changed forever on our roads.

Undiagnosed diabetes more common among older people outside Dublin

Access to health services may be reason for result of Tilda study

    

Undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes is more common among older people living outside Dublin.

Undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes is more common among older people living outside Dublin.

A new report from Trinity College Dublin’s longitudinal study on ageing (Tilda) shows one in 10 people over 50 in Ireland (120,000) has diabetes.

Led by Prof Rose Anne Kenny at Trinity, Tilda has completed three waves of data collection from its nationally representative cohort of more than 8,000 people living in Ireland, aged 50 and over.

The study found those with private health insurance were less likely to have undiagnosed diabetes.

Distance from GP

Dr Siobhán Leahy said the study covered three areas: Dublin city or county, urban areas outside Dublin and rural areas.

“People in Dublin are less likely to have undiagnosed diabetes. One of reasons potentially for this is access to health services,” Dr Leahy said.

“We haven’t drilled down our research in the rural areas yet . . . two rural areas aren’t comparable so we don’t know the finer detail. However, things like distance from your GP may affect how often you visit them or how early it is diagnosed,” she said.

Dr Leahy said the incidence of diabetes is in line with other European countries. “While it’s not a particularly high prevalence . . . it is a modifiable disease and highly affected byphysical activity and lifestyle. Ten per cent of people with diabetes are undiagnosed.”

70% of Irish population now owns a smartphone

   

Some 70% of the population of Ireland now carries a smartphone device, according to an Eir survey.

This means 2.37m Irish people use smartphones, which is up from 39% of the population using smartphones in 2012.

The study found that there is also growing use of digital technologies among older generations, with 45% of those over the age of 50 going online every day.

The survey found that 75% of the population of Ireland uses the internet at least once a day, up 6% year-on-year. Out of this, 18% claim to be connected during every waking hour, rising to 41pc among 16-to-24-year-olds.

Some 21% of Irish households now use smart TVs, up from 14% last year. The Eir study reveals that with people planning to buy new smart TVs, the number of households with smart TVs will exceed 500,000 by the end of the year.

In terms of what people do online, 66% use the internet to manage email followed by 59% who view YouTube, while on-demand services like Netflix account for 30% of users’ time online.

Older generations are now hopping online more frequently and while laptop usage among over-50s remains static at 53pc, smartphone usage has shown a surprising jump from 6% to 39pc in just a year.

Most parents’ attitudes towards broadband are favourable, according to Eir, with four-out-of-five parents of five-to-17-year-olds saying broadband helps their kids with their homework.

The social nation of Ireland

Unsurprisingly, 94% of 16-to-24-year-olds are power users of social media, with Facebook being used by 92pc of people in this age group.

Snapchat is used by 67% of users, Instagram by 58% of users, Spotify by 39% of users and Pinterest by 23% of users.

“The findings really highlight how, as a society, we have an insatiable desire to be connected,” commented Lisa Comerford, director of brand and communications at Eir’s consumer division.

“Whether it’s keeping on top of work emails in the evening, helping children with their homework, looking up the best recipes, or planning a night out, access to the internet and a love of devices play an increasingly central role in our lives. The trends over the past couple of years only point to one thing: demand for greater and better connectivity is only going to increase.”

E-commerce

Despite recent evidence that over 90pc of Irish businesses can’t transact online, with Christmas looming the propensity of Irish consumers to shop online should be a cause for concern as it means money will leave the economy to go overseas.

Clothes (69pc) are now vying with flights (70pc) and hotels (66pc) to be the top online shopping category, with those in Dublin more active compared with rural areas.

Some 57pc of the population say they shop online, equally divided between men and women.

This rises to 77pc for those between 25 and 34.

Ireland is becoming a nation of DIY online doctors

The big finding of the year is people’s attitudes towards lifestyle and health. It points to the rise of the ‘noodie’, individuals who happen to be nutrition foodies and use the internet to find healthy food and recipes.

The study also found that there is an appetite for remote monitoring of health of relatives and family members.

Some 25pc of those surveyed agreed that the internet has become their first port of call when seeking medical advice.

However, one in five agreed that they had worried unnecessarily about their health after reading something online.

Only 7pc would be willing to order pharmaceuticals online.

But do we need to power down?

A need to power down is becoming evident, with 59pc of the working population revealing they do some form of work from home, either checking email or bringing work home.

One in four said that they often catch up with work in the evening or at the weekend.

The survey also showed that 15pc of the working population now run a business from home.

Search for meteor that flashed across the Irish skies last Sunday.

   

A bright flash illuminated Irish skies on Sunday evening as a meteorite disintegrated hundreds of miles above the Earth. Parts of a meteorite that collided with Earth last weekend may have landed in Ireland, according to Astronomy Ireland.

Last Sunday evening at around 8.13 pm, reports of a flash so bright that it lit up the sky for a few seconds flooded into Astronomy Ireland from all over Ireland. Confirmed sightings came from counties as far apart as Clare, Dublin, Meath and Monaghan.

Astronomy Ireland believe the flash was caused by a rock from space colliding with Earth and breaking up as it hurtled towards the ground hundreds of miles above Irish soil.

“No man-made explosion (except for a nuclear weapon being detonated) could have caused a flash this bright. So Astronomy Ireland reckons it was a rock in space colliding with Earth and burning up in the sky hundreds of miles above Ireland,” said David Moore, editor of Astronomy Ireland magazine.

One amateur astronomer even managed to catch the explosive occurrence on camera. Michael O’Connell captured the video below of the incredible burst of light in the sky from Kildare at 20:12:47 on Sunday November 8. O’Connell writes that it was most likely a northern Taurid [annual meteor shower associated with the comet Encke] and that he believes it occurred over the Irish Sea near Wales.

Astronomy Ireland also believe that such was the force of the flash and the “colossal explosion” in Irish skies that fragments of the meteorite may have made it to ground. They have issued an appeal for further reports from the public to locate any such remnants of the meteor’s collision.

“From a flash this bright it is possible that part of the rock survived the reentry process and landed on Earth,” Moore added.

“From all the sightings we can predict where any meteorite fell and then people can search that area for the highly valuable meteorites. Astronomy Ireland will add anyone who sends in a report to its email list and when the analysis is completed in a few days a message will be emailed to everyone on that list so everyone can search for the meteorite at the same time.”

And as if discovering a bit of outer space wasn’t incentive enough to report a sighting, meteorites can also fetch an astronomical sum, according to Moore.

“A fireball in November 1999 that dropped a meteorite on Ireland was found in Co. Carlow after a similar analysis by Astronomy Ireland,” he said. “Collectors were later selling bits of this meteorite for 50 times the price of gold at the time, so meteorites can be very valuable.”

If you think you may have seen something of interest to Astronomy Ireland you can report the sighting to astronomy.ie.