Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

Ireland most expensive EU country due to taxes and retail, says academic

NEW DATA SHOWS IRELAND MOST EXPENSIVE COUNTRY IN EUROPE IN WHICH TO BUY ALCOHOL

   

IRELAND IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE COUNTRY IN THE EU IN WHICH TO BUY ALCOHOL, ACCORDING TO RECENT DATA.

An Irish academic says higher taxes, a different retail structure and market factors are the reason why Ireland is one of the most expensive countries in Europe.

Damien O’Reilly, a lecturer in retail management in DIT, told Morning Ireland that market factors tend to drive up the cost of food. He was responding to new data from Eurostat which show that Ireland is the most expensive country in Europe in which to buy alcohol with prices at 175% of the EU average.

On average the cost of food and non-alcoholic drinks in Ireland is 119% of the EU average, the fourth highest in the EU.

The EU’s statistics agency also said Ireland is the second most expensive for tobacco at 189% of the EU average, with only the United Kingdom higher at 218%.

Only Denmark (145%), Sweden (124%), Austria (120%) are more expensive.

In Ireland, bread and cereals (111% of EU average), meat (106%) and milk, cheese and eggs (128%) all cost above the EU average.

The data is based on a 2015 price survey covering 440 products across Europe.

Donall O’Keefe of the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) said the high price of alcohol in Ireland is directly related to the unfair excise rate and that this is a direct tax on jobs, tourism and consumers.

“Excise is a tax on jobs, it is a tax on tourism and it is a tax on Irish consumers,” he said.

The Eurostat figures also show Ireland had the second highest per capita GDP in the EU in 2015 at 145% of the EU average.

Luxembourg had the highest per capita GDP in the EU at 271% of the average, while Bulgaria (46%) had the lowest.

However, when it comes to Actual Individual Consumption (AIC) – which measures the material welfare of households – Ireland was at 95% of the EU average.

Mr O’Reilly said that the reason Ireland’s dairy products cost so much even though there is a large dairy industry here is because 90 per cent of the milk produced in Ireland is for export.

“A lot of it is then re-imported as finished product which drives up the cost,” he said.

He also said supermarkets in Ireland have higher margins than elsewhere in Europe and that Irish shoppers are attracted to brands when they could buy cheaper own brands.

He said Irish shoppers tend to go for “higher quality foods”

EU may rule on Apple tax case next month

EU FOUND AGAINST IRELAND IN INITIAL FINDINGS ON APPLE IN 2014

   

MINISTER FOR FINANCE MICHAEL NOONAN SAYS THERE IS SPECULATION THAT THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION IS TO DECIDE NEXT MONTH ON WHETHER APPLE’S TAX DEALINGS IN THIS COUNTRY BREACHED STATE-AID RULES.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan says there is speculation that the European Commission is to decide next month on whether Apple’s tax dealings in this country breached state-aid rules.

“The speculation now is that the Commission may make a decision sometime in July,” Mr Noonan said in an interview with Bloomberg in Luxembourg. “But we don’t know that with certainty. It’s the general feel around Brussels that they’re walking toward a July decision.”

Initial findings by the commission in 2014 said that Apple’s Irish tax arrangements were improperly designed to give the iPhone and iPad maker a financial advantage in exchange for jobs in the country. In a worst-case scenario, JP Morgan analysts estimate Apple could end up having to pay a $19 billion (€16.7 billion) in back taxes, though the expectation is that any negative ruling would end up with a much smaller bill.

The Government has repeatedly said that it will appeal any negative finding to the EU Court of Justice.

In the past, Apple has said it doesn’t use “tax gimmicks”, while the Government has repeatedly said that no State-aid rules were breached in this case.

Jobs lost shock as receivers shut McCormack Stores in the North West

     

SOME 208 JOBS HAVE BEEN LOST AND 15 BUSINESS LOCATIONS CLOSED ACROSS THE NORTH WEST FOLLOWING A RECEIVERSHIP ORDER BY BANK OF IRELAND AGAINST MCCORMACK OILS.

The news that the stores at Leitrim Village, Drumshanbo and Manorhamilton had been closed down with immediate effect was met with shock and astonishment by staff and members of the public.

The receivers arrived at the 15 premises located across Leitrim, Cavan, Sligo and Meath on Monday morning after 10am.

It is understood the three stores in Leitrim were open as per normal when the receivers entered the premises and told staff to close the doors and proceeded to put up the closure notice and seize assets.

In the ensuing hours other staff members arrived at the doors to be informed they no longer had jobs and were handed letters of redundancy from the receivers.

A statement from Receivers to the Leitrim Observer said, “Grant Thornton can confirm that Aengus Burns and Michael McAteer have been appointed as receivers to Excol Oil Limited which operates ten filling stations across the North West, two oil distribution facilities (McCormack Fuels Limited, Sligo and Breffni Oil Distribution, Cavan) and McCormack’s car sales and garage businesses in Sligo.”

They told the paper, “Our first priority is to brief employees at all 15 locations and process their entitlements for redundancy. The receivers are making every effort to sell the various businesses.” It is understood they do not intend to re-open the businesses and are hoping to sell them as soon as possible.

The umbrella company operated filling stations in Drumshanbo, Leitrim Village and Manorhamilton as well as in Killeshandra, Belturbet and Virginia, Co Cavan, Athboy, Co Meath and more in Castlebaldwin, Carraroe and the Mail Coach Road, Sligo.

Staff who were not at work on Monday were called to the businesses and handed letters of redundancy. It is understood the offer is the statutory redundancy of two weeks pay for every year worked. The letter explained that Bank of Ireland has appointed receivers to the business and also outlined entitlements for social welfare payments.

The businesses employed many local people, including a number of couples and workers from the same family.

Staff told the Leitrim Observer they are “devastated” and that the news came as a “huge shock” as they felt local stores were performing well.

A spokesperson for Grant Thornton told the paper he was unaware if the owners had knowledge of the order for receivership before Monday morning, as sometimes they are not notified beforehand.

The McCormack Family were contacted for a comment but they declined to speak at this time. Security remains outside all stores this week.

Local people were shocked and annoyed at the closures with many calling it “sad news” on Monday.

On Facebook, locals poured out their sadness and disbelief. Kelly Hewitt Kelly said, “It’s bloody awful. My husband worked in Manor and they were just handed stupid letters and told they have no job at all – out, that was it terrible way to be treated – we have 4 young kids to think about.”

Noeleen Moffatt commented, “Terrible News for Leitrim Village and surrounding areas. Travel to Drumshanbo, Carrick-on-Shannon or Pauline Skeffington’s Shop in Drumboylan for essential items.”

Mar Kelly sympathised saying, “Terrible for the McCormack family and their loyal staff.”

About 15 minutes of exercise may lower death risk in elderly people

NEW STUDY FINDS

   

EXERCISING IS AS IMPORTANT FOR THE ELDERLY AS IT IS FOR THE YOUTH. A STUDY HAS FOUND THAT EVEN AS LITTLE AS A 15-MINUTE WORKOUT COULD DO WONDERS FOR THE ELDERLY AND DECREASE DEATH RISK.

The study, in fact, goes on to say that it may help them cheat death, by linking it to lower death risk among the elderly, which showed how exercising lesser than the recommended number of hours might help them.

The Tech Times, French researchers analyzed a group of 1,011 French individuals aged 65 in 2001 and were followed for 12 years. They also looked at a huge group of more than 122,000 people from an international cohort who were about 60 years old and were followed for about 10 years.

The team measured physical activity via Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) minutes every week, meaning calories spent per minute of physical activity. A MET minute every week equates to the amount of energy expended by sitting; recommended levels of exercise, for instance, are from 500 to 1,000 MET minutes a week.

It was observed that, during the study, as people exercised more, their potential death risk dropped considerably. Furthermore, those with low activity levels, recorded approximately 22% decreased death risk, while those with medium and high levels had 28% and 35% lower risks.

Tech Times interviewed study author and University Hospital of Saint-Etienne physician, Dr. David Hupin, who said that, “Age is not an excuse to do no exercise. It is well established that regular physical activity has a better overall effect on health than any medical treatment.”

Top professionals are twice as likely to marry as unskilled workers

A RECENT SURVEY REVEALS ‘MARRIAGE CHANCES’ BY CLASS WHICH DIMINISH RIGHT DOWN THE ECONOMIC SCALE?

     

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME SUCH DATA LOOKING AT THE GAP IN “MARRIAGE CHANCES” BY CLASS HAS BEEN BROUGHT TOGETHER IN IRELAND.

Highly paid processionals are almost twice as likely to be married as unskilled workers, a report published this morning finds.

Some 65.7% of adults, aged 18-49 in the best off groups, were married at the end of last year, while 31.8% of the same age in the least well off group were married, notes the study, Mind the Gap, published by the Iona Institute Christian think tank.

The report also shows the likelihood of marrying diminishes right down the economic social scale, apart from in the second least well off group, which are described as “process, plant and machine operatives”.

Some 53.6% of adults in this class were married, according to the report which draws on data contained in the Central Statistics Office’s Quarterly National Household Survey from the end of 2015.

This is the first time such data looking at the gap in “marriage chances” by class has been brought together in Ireland. The findings reveal a phenomenon replicated in other western societies. It is an issue which receives much discussion and scrutiny in the United States.

This study maps likelihood of marriage by area, in Dublin, Cork and Galway cities, showing huge variations aligning by levels of prosperity or disadvantage.

In Dublin marriage rates range from highs of up to 59 per cent in Clontarf and Rathgar/Terenure to as low as 19% in north and south inner city.

WORST CHANCES

In Cork, they range from 60% in Ballinlough, to 17% in Shandon, Gilabbey and South Gate, while Galway adults with the best prospects of marriage are those in Rockbarton, Knockacarragh and Taylor’s Hill where rates are up to 53%. Galwegians with the worst chances are in Nun’s Island and St Nicholas, with rates as low as 19%.

Prof Patricia Casey of the Iona Institute said the inequality in access to marriage were “deeply concerning”. She said those entering marriages had better social and economic prospects, while children in lone parents households were at the greatest risk of poverty.

The Institute said it was publishing the report in the hope of sparking a debate on why some groups were not marrying.

Marriage, she said, was one of the greatest bulwarks against poverty and yet those in poverty had far less access to it.

“Why is it that the better off a person is the more likely they are to be married? Social disadvantage clearly diminishes a person’s chances of marrying and not marrying in turn increases the odds of remaining socially disadvantaged, It’s a vicious circle and one which obviously affects children.”

Irish society had shown it believed the gay and lesbian community should have access to marriage. So too should the poor, said Prof Casey.

The increasing proliferation of low-paid, insecure jobs at the lower end of the economic scale undoubtedly had an impact on people’s sense of their financial ability to enter into marriage, she added.

“There are also disincentives to marry built into the social welfare system . . . It can be more financially advantageous for two people on social welfare to remain single than to marry.”

Gravitational waves detected for the second time

Scientists spot ripples in space-time caused by two colliding and merging black holes

   

AN ARTIST’S RENDITION SHOWS TWO BLACK HOLES 14 AND 8 TIMES THE MASS OF THE SUN JUST MOMENTS BEFORE THEY COLLIDED AND MERGED TO FORM A NEW BLACK HOLE 21 TIMES THE MASS OF THE SUN.

Gravitational waves, ripples in space-time predicted by Albert Einstein a century ago, have been detected for the second time, scientists have announced.

An international team spotted the phenomenon on St Stephen’s Day but has only now made the news public.

As with the earlier detection in September 2015, the source was found to be two colliding and merging black holes unleashing titanic forces.

The event, some 1.4 billion light years away, caused a quantity of energy roughly equivalent to the mass of the Sun to be converted into gravitational waves.

After travelling an unimaginable distance across space, the waves were “captured” by the twin Ligo (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) detectors located in Livingston, Louisiana, and Hanford, Washington, US.

Team member Dr Stephen Fairhurst, from Cardiff University, said: “This event heralds the true beginning of gravitational wave astronomy and the opening of a new window on the universe.

“The different masses and observable spins that we witnessed in the Boxing Day event show that we’re starting to collect vital information about the population of black holes that exist in the universe.

“Future gravitational wave observations will allow us to understand how black holes form from the death of massive stars, and test whether they are really as predicted by Einstein’s theory.”

THE THEORY OF GENERAL RELATIVITY?

Gravitational waves are predicted in Einstein’s Theory Of General Relativity, which shows how gravity arises from mass curving space and time.

They are ripples in space-time that propagate as waves. Anything in their path, from humans to whole planets, is made to stretch and compress slightly as the fabric of space-time is distorted.

Each of the Ligo detectors, consisting of an incredibly sensitive system of mirrors and lasers, is also made to “wobble”. But the effect is really tiny.

The amount of movement is thousands of times smaller than the width of the nucleus of an atom.

Scientists hope gravitational waves will offer a completely different view of the universe, allowing them to study events that might be hidden from traditional optical and radio telescopes.

An illustration of this was seen in results from the December 26th detection, presented at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society in San Diego, US.

By analysing the signal, the scientists were able to tell that the colliding black holes were 14 and eight times more massive than the Sun.

They orbited each other at least 27 times before merging into a more massive spinning black hole 21 times the Sun’s mass.

Using two detectors spotting the waves 1.1 milliseconds apart made it possible to determine the source’s rough position in the sky.

‘KEY QUESTIONS’

Prof Sheila Rowan, director of the University of Glasgow’s Institute for Gravitational Research, who took part in the discovery, said: “We know from this second detection that the properties being measured by Ligo will allow us to start to answer some key questions with gravitational astronomy.

“In future we will be able to study this and better understand cosmic history, aiming to fill in the ‘missing links’ in our knowledge.”

The findings have been accepted for publication in the journal Physical Review Letters.

Dr Chad Hanna, from Pennsylvania State University in the US, who co-led the detection team, said: “We now have far more confidence that mergers of two black holes are common in the nearby universe.

“Now that we are able to detect gravitational waves, they are going to be a phenomenal source of new information about our galaxy and an entirely new channel for discoveries about the universe.”

The Ligo Scientific Collaboration consists of more than 1,000 scientists from 17 countries.

Each Ligo site has two tubes, both 4km long, arranged in an L shape.

A laser is beamed down each tube to monitor very precisely the distance between mirrors at each end.

If a gravitational wave is present, it will alter the distance between the mirrors by a minute amount.     

Donies Ireland daily news BLOG

FG deputy leader James Reilly calls to repeal the Eighth Amendment

     

Fine Gael deputy leader James Reilly has demanded an abortion referendum early in the next term of government, claiming Irish women who have terminations in the UK are being forced to “sneak back in like criminals”.

In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Independent, Dr Reilly said the Coalition must move quickly to repeal the Eighth Amendment, which gives equal right to the life of the mother and the unborn.

The Children’s Minister said he “cannot countenance, as a doctor or human being” the scenario whereby women are forced to go through with their pregnancies in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities.

“But most repugnant of all to me is that they have to leave this country for a termination and then sneak back in like criminals to bring their babies’ remains back. That’s patently wrong,” he said.

While admitting he is “less clear-cut” on cases of rape, Dr Reilly said he believes it is “very difficult to ask a woman who has been raped and violated to continue to carry a child.”

His intervention in the abortion debate comes as a new Sunday Independent/Millward Brown opinion poll shows a slip in support for a referendum on repealing the Eighth Amendment.

But his demands for a referendum early in the next term of government will heap significant pressure on Taoiseach Enda Kenny to give a similar public commitment. Mr Kenny’s refusal to pledge a public vote on the abortion issue has caused deep unease within sections of Fine Gael. Any failure to back the stance of his deputy leader will heighten those tensions.

Meanwhile, Dr Reilly admits he considered quitting politics twice in recent months – following the row over discretionary medical cards and after being sacked as health minister.

“I wondered if there was any point in staying in politics at that time. I couldn’t do what I wanted to do in health and when I reflected upon it, I wanted to end the unjust two- tier system – that everybody be treated the same.”

And in a clear indication of his deep frustrations while serving as health minister, Dr Reilly says he wasn’t given the resources to carry out necessary reform

“When you didn’t have the money to do the job, how could you do the job?”

It’s the first time the TD has ever spoken about being close to exiting politics as a result of his battles in the Department of Health and at the Cabinet table.

Within Fine Gael, Dr Reilly’s popularity has risen significantly in recent months, as backbenchers turn to him for support.

But as the party agonises over how best to address the abortion issue in its election manifesto, Dr Reilly’s comments will put it back on top of the agenda.

“I can’t countenance, either as a doctor or a human being, the situation that women find themselves in relation to fatal foetal anomalies and the nightmare they have to live on a daily basis,” he said.

“People asking: ‘When is the baby due? Is it a boy or girl? Have you got the cot yet? Is the room ready?’ Knowing that this baby has no chance of survival.”

He wants to see the Eighth Amendment repealed early in the next term – but insists the process needs to be carefully managed so that something concrete is put in its place.

There cannot be a scenario of abortion on demand, he insists.

In relation to the choice facing voters at the next election, Dr Reilly admits that people may feel reluctant to support the Government again because of the austerity they endured.

“I hope, when the time comes, they’ll perhaps think about why that is and why they had to endure it – because of the mess that was left behind by the previous government. After 14 years of unrivalled money, they left us not just with the cupboards bare but with IOUs all over the place.

“Nonetheless, we can’t predict what will happen. A week is a long time in politics, months are an eternity.”

Latest Independent/Millward Brown pollindicates public mood now good

The few months ahead will be a long time in politics

    

The public’s mood is up so Kenny might rue abandoning a November election.

It could be all over and done with at this stage. Enda Kenny could have been chauffeured to the Phoenix Park after the Budget was announced on October 13 to tell President Michael D Higgins he wanted to dissolve the Dail.

Of course, Joan Burton would have been upset, but Chairman Mayo has the final say and the lowly Tánaiste would have to put up with it.

An overexcited electorate buoyed by news of all the extra money they were promised by Finance Minister Michael Noonan could have rushed to the polls and voted the Coalition back into power.

Well, maybe some of the Coalition anyway, mostly those who commemorate Michael Collins’ passing.

A bunch of obedient Independents would also have been necessary, but forming a stable Government may not have been an impossible task.

Alas, Burton had her way and Kenny agreed to hold off calling the election until the new year – around early spring, we’re told.

So now the Coalition will spend at least two-and-a-bit months walking on eggshells as the countdown to the election overshadows its every move.

But did Kenny really miss the ideal opportunity to go to the polls? A recent Sunday Independent/Millward Brown poll suggests he may rue listening to the increasingly combative Burton.

The poll showed Fine Gael support was up, as was public confidence in the Fine Gael boss. Even Burton’s satisfaction rating increased, despite Labour’s static support remaining in single figures.

But, more importantly, the polls showed public optimism is improving and people are beginning to feel a little bit more content with their lot.

And, not only that, people see a future where October is not a month filled with announcements of cuts to services and increases in tax.

In fact, the poll showed one in five people believe they will be personally better of this time next year – a level of optimism not recorded in the same survey since September 2008. Those who said their situation had improved on this time last year is unchanged at 16pc, but again this is a rating not seen for seven years.

But what does this all mean and who are these people who seem to be living great old lives while others, some 35pc, said they are worse off on last year?

A closer look at the survey shows – and this will be of some relief to mothers and fathers fearing they will lose offspring to emigration – almost a quarter of all young people aged between 18-24 feel they are better off since last polled.

More than one in three think their personal circumstances are going to be improved this time next year.

This improved optimism is to be expected with falling unemployment and means fewer young people will be forced to travel to Canada and Australia to find work.

But maybe these bright-eyed young things are naive in their hopes and aspirations, as their above-average optimism is not shared in other age categories. Older people certainly do not feel the same, with just 11pc of those aged 55-64 saying they feel better off since the last survey, and a mere 8pc of people over 65 years old said the same.

Looking to the future, older people are also less optimistic than the younger people interviewed by Millward Brown researchers.

Less than one in ten people aged 55-64 believe they will be better off next year, while three in ten believe they will be worse off.

In the over 65 category, similar pessimism for what the future holds was also expressed. This will be of concern to Fine Gael and Labour election strategists, who know these age categories need to be targeted for votes.

Equally concerning for Kenny will be the finding that people aged 55-64 are more than twice as likely to vote for Fianna Fáil (38pc) than Fine Gael (16pc), and Micheál Martin’s party is also marginally ahead with the over 65s.

The findings suggests the small increases to the pension have not won over those retiring ¬¬- or close to retiring – and election manifestos are likely to be filled with pledges aimed at attracting the grey and greying vote.

Unsurprisingly, those in the higher socio-economic demographic categories feel better off and are more optimistic about the future than those in the lower classification, which includes pensioners.

It will also be of no surprise that more people living in Dublin (27pc) feel better off compared to those living in the rest of Leinster (12pc), Munster (11pc) and Connaught/Ulster (13pc).

Interestingly, when it comes to looking to next year, those living in Connaught/Ulster (25pc) are not far off people in Dublin (27pc) in thinking they will be better off, but the same optimism is not felt in the rest of Leinster (15pc) and Munster (16pc).

There is also a significant gap in attitudes between urban and rural dwellers, which is not surprising given the commonly held view that the economic recovery has yet to spread beyond the Capital.

Nonetheless, things have improved and people are more upbeat about the future. For the time being, Fine Gael is seeing some benefit in the polls – but if a week is a long time in politics, two-and-a-bit months is a lifetime.

More grey matter mass may be the secret to happiness

The secret to happiness may lie in having more grey matter mass in a region of the brain called precuneus, a new study suggests.

    

The secret to happiness may lie in having more grey matter mass in a region of the brain called precuneus, a new study suggests.

According to the study by Wataru Sato and his team at Kyoto University in Japan, overall happiness is a combination of happy emotions and satisfaction of life coming together in the precuneus, a region in the medial parietal lobe in the brain that becomes active when experiencing consciousness.

People feel emotions in different ways; for instance, some people feel happiness more intensely than others when they receive compliments.

Psychologists have found that emotional factors like these and satisfaction of life together constitutes the subjective experience of being “happy”.

The neural mechanism behind how happiness emerges, however, remained unclear. Understanding that mechanism, according to Sato, will be a huge asset for quantifying levels of happiness objectively.

Researchers scanned the brains of research participants with MRI. The participants then took a survey that asked how happy they are generally, how intensely they feel emotions, and how satisfied they are with their lives.

Their analysis showed that those who scored higher on the happiness surveys had more grey matter mass in the precuneus.

In other words, people who feel happiness more intensely, feel sadness less intensely, and are more able to find meaning in life have a larger precuneus.

“Over history, many eminent scholars like Aristotle have contemplated what happiness is,” Sato said.

“I’m very happy that we now know more about what it means to be happy,” Sato said.

“Several studies have shown that meditation increases grey matter mass in the precuneus. This new insight on where happiness happens in the brain will be useful for developing happiness programmes based on scientific research,” he said.

Cyber crime very rampant against the elderly in Ireland

     

Cyber fraud & crime is usually carried out offshore and on the dark web.

Cyber crime is “rampant” in Ireland, with gardai investigating up to 30 businesses targeted by offshore hackers and 100 cases of mostly older people who were tricked into disclosing their bank details.

The cases just some of those reported to the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation – represent just the “tip of the iceberg”, according to Chief Superintendent Pat Lordan.

Between 10 and 20 Irish companies have reported to gardai that their systems were subjected to “denial of service” attacks, in which they were infiltrated by hackers demanding ransoms, sometimes for as little as €5,000, in order not to shut them down.

The companies that came forward to gardai did not meet ransom demands, but it is suspected that other companies did, but did not to report it.

Another cyber fraud has prompted 15 complaints to gardai this year alone. The so-called ‘invoice re-direction’ fraud involves cyber criminals hacking into a company’s systems, finding out who it is doing business with and posing as a supplier. They send mock-up emails directing a change of bank details.

“Sometimes it might be five or six weeks before a company is aware that it is a fraud, and at that stage, the money is gone,” said Detective Superintendent Gerry Walsh.

As a result, the crime is difficult to investigate and “the guy who actually benefits is not known”.

One firm was almost stung for €3.7m after receiving a bogus “change of bank details” email. The money was transferred out of the company but the transaction was stopped.

Detectives have been told there is a trade in inactive or little used bank accounts that are used by hackers as “mule” accounts. In particular, they have been told that Irish students are being “touted” on behalf of offshore hackers to sell their inactive bank accounts for up to €100 a go.

They say Irish criminals are beginning to get in on the act, using the dark web to move drugs and organise deals and are “bringing in expertise” into their organised crime gangs, by recruiting youngsters who can hack.

A small number of teenagers, aged from 14 to 18, are currently under investigation for suspected hacking of businesses and websites.

While they are not linking up with criminals, they are capable of wreaking enormous damage, detectives said.

According to detectives, amongst the biggest victims of computer crimes are elderly people. Of the 100 reports of “vishing” currently being investigated, the victims were mostly older people. Detectives believe their names were chosen randomly from telephone books, as the scam can only operate on a landline.

In one case under investigation, the caller rang landlines posing as a security manager for a store, claiming their bank card details were being used without authorisation.

The householders were asked for their credit card details and those who did not disclose them were advised to ring gardai or banks.

The caller did not hang up, so when the victim tried to ring out they were still unknowingly connected to the fraudster, who posed as the bank agent or police officer.

One of the “vishing” victims lost €62,000 that was transferred to the fraudster’s bank account.

Chief Superintendent Pat Lordan appealed to businesses that have been targeted by cyber criminals to report the attacks.

He said: “If businesses don’t let us know they have been hacked, we are lacking then in information for the next time it occurs.

“I think we are only getting the tip of the iceberg.”

Yea that’s correct? the Paris climate change conference can save our planet

    

“The deal’s dead.” These were the words of my chief negotiator, approximately some six years ago? 

In the middle of the night and in the final hours of the sleep-deprived Copenhagen summit. I was standing in my bedroom as I took his call, about to go to bed for the first time in 36 hours. Thanks to the efforts of a number of countries into the night and the next day, it turned out that the deal was not quite dead, and something did survive.

Ed Miliband urges UK to enshrine zero carbon emissions target in law

But in truth, it is what has happened in the years after Copenhagen that made it not quite the disaster it appeared at the time. Slowly, steadily, the unwieldy, spatchcock UN process has rumbled on. Lessons have been learned from that chaotic episode. The idea that we should build an agreement bottom-up with countries making individual pledges, first conceived at Copenhagen, has become more serious, and every big emitter has put one forward.

And now we approach next week’s Paris climate talks, the most important summit since Copenhagen, in a significantly better place than we feared back in 2009. However, we are not where we need to be.

The science is even more unequivocal than it was six years ago. Just to take one example, 2015 looks like being the hottest year on record by some distance. We sometimes talk about the need to avoid dangerous warming of the planet as if it is a theoretical idea, but its effects are already here, with approaching 1 degree of warming so far.

On the other side of the ledger, technology has thrown us a lifeline. The costs of wind and solar energy have come down far quicker than anyone dreamed of. The constructive side of human ingenuity is holding its own in the fight against its destructive side. And it is now demonstrably the case that the fight against climate change can be job-creating, not destroying, according to the Confederation of British Industry and many others.

Everything you need to know about the Paris climate summit and UN talks

And what about political will? Climate change seems less politically fashionable as an issue. But China and the United States have moved forward a long way from where they were at Copenhagen.

We have moved from a world where everyone said it was someone else’s problem, to one where everyone knows this can be only be solved collectively. We are not in a world of business as usual.

That’s the good news. And in many senses the Paris summit looks set to represent success: every major country taking real action to reduce emissions, a substantially different path from where we would be without that action. Paris will also repeat the international commitment made at Copenhagen to limit warming to 2 degrees.

But the bad news is that the pledges will still be short of what is needed. In reality, the commitments for 2030 would take us towards something like a 3-degree world. That would mean higher temperatures than at any time in the last three million years, with potentially dramatic effects of intense heatwaves, flooding and climate refugees across the world.

So what can be done? Just like at Copenhagen, what matters as much as Paris is what happens afterwards. That is why countries are rightly seeking to build an upwards ratchet mechanism into the agreement. If these pledges are the start, not the final word – a prelude to greater ambition – then we can still avoid the most dangerous effects of global warming.

What does this mean for Britain? The last Labour government introduced theClimate Change Act, with all-party support for an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050 – the first country in the world to legislate for such deep, long-term cuts. It is essential we remain on track for this goal, including making the right decisions about the period to 2030 which will face the government in the coming months.

But what the science now tells us is that we will need to go further and see a complete end to the accumulation of additional greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. The world will need to move to zero emissions at some time in the second half of the century, as President Obama and the other G7 leaders, including David Cameron, have rightly acknowledged. A point will come when the total carbon budget for the world will simply be used up.

Paris must be the start of a journey of the whole world towards this goal

And here is the relevance as far as Paris is concerned: every excess tonne of carbon we emit between now and 2030 brings the date when we need to get to “net zero” emissions forward – the point at which any remaining emissions are balanced out by the capturing of carbon.

Is zero emissions even practical, and can it be done without closing down our economy? The answer to both questions is a strong yes. Indeed, top business leaders such as Ratan Tata as well as Paul Polman of Unilever have recently called on world leaders to adopt a zero emissions goal in Paris.

So how can it be done in the UK? It is about a 100% clean energy supply. It is about making our energy system more efficient and productive. It is about the right infrastructure. And, to cancel out residual emissions from agriculture and industry, it is about capturing carbon from the atmosphere, for example through reforestation and by the use of carbon capture and storage technology.

Already cities and companies are adopting the zero emissions goal. The right step now would be for Britain to become the first major country to enshrine net zero emissions in law, with the date determined by advice from the independent Committee on Climate Change.

This would be consistent with the government’s support for zero emissions at G7 level and would show our determination to face up to this existential challenge. It will provide an essential framework for business and government so that we make the right decisions now on key energy and infrastructure issues. And it will inspire the inventors, engineers and businesses that can deliver on this challenge.

From my conversations with people across the House of Commons, including the Liberal Democrats, the SNP, Caroline Lucas of the Greens and Conservatives such as Nick Hurd and Graham Stuart (chair of Globe, the international parliamentarians group on climate change), it is clear there is cross-party support.

Paris must be the start of a journey of the whole world towards this goal. And far from this commitment holding Britain back, we can be a leader again on climate change. Leadership which does not mean harm to our economy, but will put us ahead in the race for the new jobs, businesses and advantages of this new world.

I hope the government will support this initiative. We can build an alliance, put aside our party differences as we have before, and seize this moment.