Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Asset seizing powers toughened up in Ireland’s gangland crimes

  

JUSTICE MINISTER FRANCES FITZGERALD SAID ‘WHATEVER RESOURCES ARE NECESSARY, WE WILL FACE DOWN THE ACTIVITIES OF THESE RUTHLESS GANGS’

New spy laws are being created and drug dealers and gangsters face having assets worth as little as 5,000 euros seized in a renewed blitz on gangland crime.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has arranged summits next week with her counterparts in Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium as security chiefs look to break an unprecedented cycle of underworld feuding that has left seven men dead.

And as the Government ratchets up pressure on organised crime, security chiefs have been asked to devise ways of toughening surveillance laws to monitor gangland bosses and their associates.

The first step is to extend the powers of the Criminal Assets Bureau.

In future officers will be able to freeze assets worth just 5,000 euros rather than 13,500 euros and seize sums of cash of 1,000 euros or less if detectives suspect they were the proceeds of crime.

“We have seen unprecedented gangland violence in the last few weeks. However long it takes, whatever resources are necessary, we will face down the activities of these ruthless gangs,” Ms Fitzgerald said.

“I want to acknowledge the great work of An Garda Siochana in dealing with this situation. My proposals are aimed squarely at helping them in this work.

“I intend to introduce legislative measures to strengthen the powers of the Criminal Assets Bureau to make it easier to seize assets and money from criminals.”

The proposed new covert surveillance powers will be published “in the near future”, Ms Fitzgerald said, and they will focus on intercepting phones and other communications as well as other electronic spying.

Another initiative is the creation of a special crime task force which will work alongside the Revenue Commissioners and Department of Social Protection, and their job will be to “focus relentlessly on persons involved in gangland activities”.

Ms Fitzgerald said: “The message we are sending to these criminal gangs is that there will be no let-up in the pressure upon them. Communities have been put in fear by the cycle of mindless killings we have witnessed.

“These measures are aimed at breaking that cycle and to bring home to these people that no-one is above the law.”

Justice chiefs and Garda management have been asked for their ideas on other law reforms which are needed to crackdown on gangland crime.

Ms Fitzgerald said her talks with ministers in Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium will focus on the transnational dimensions of organised crime.

EC insists Ireland are unable to abolish water charges

SINN FÉIN DISPUTES INTERPRETATION OF EUROPEAN WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE

      

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION HAS INSISTED IRELAND CANNOT BREACH THE EUROPEAN WATER FRAMEWORK DIRECTIVE AND ABOLISH WATER CHARGES.

Sinn Fein MEP Lynn Boylan had asked the commission whether charges can be abandoned in Ireland and in response, the commission said all member states must adhere to the directive.

However, M/s Boylan insisted this does not mean water charges could not be abolished and she said the response was vague and did not mean the levies must remain in place.

The answer from the commission states: “Article 9(4) of the Water Framework Directive[1] provides that Member States shall not be in breach of the Directive if they decide in accordance with established practices not to apply the provisions of Article 9(1), second sentence, and for that purpose the relevant provisions of paragraph (2), for a given water-use activity, where this does not compromise the purposes and the achievement of the objectives of this Directive.

“If the established practice is to have a system in place implementing the recovery of the costs of water services, in accordance with the polluter pays principle, the Commission considers that the flexibility afforded to Member States as outlined in Article 9 paragraph 4 would not apply.”

Ms Boylan said the use of the phrase ‘established practices’ was key.

“Irish Water and water charges are not established practice. The established practice is to pay for water charges through general taxation,” she said.

“The interpretation of this as a refusal to abolish water charges is wrong and bizarre.”

As much as 86% of Irish people in Britain want the UK to remain a part of Europe

     

ENDA KENNY PLEADS WITH THE IRISH IN GREAT BRITAIN TO VOTE TO STAY IN JUNE’S BREXIT REFERENDUM.

A survey commissioned by European Movement Ireland shows that 86% of people in the Republic of Ireland believe that the United Kingdom should stay in the European Union. On June 23, 2016 British voters will decide whether the UK will leave the EU in what the British media refers to as the “Brexit” referendum.

The results of the survey, carried out by Red C poll, show that while 86% of Irish people think the UK should remain in the EU, this rises to 92% among young people. The same poll also indicates that 81% of people in the Irish Republic believe the country should remain in the EU regardless of the United Kingdom’s position.

Of the Irish adults polled, 87% believe that the Republic of Ireland has benefited from being a member of the EU. These figures represent a slight rise in pro-EU sentiment as compared with 2013, when 83% believed Ireland had benefited from EU membership, and 2015, when that figure was 84%.

The recent survey found the Connacht-Ulster region, which borders Northern Ireland, is the largest supporter of the EU membership at 96%.

European Movement Ireland Executive Director Noelle O’Connell welcomed the high levels of support for the EU saying, “There is unprecedented support for Ireland’s EU membership, at 90%, since we began tracking sentiment in 2013. Perhaps the forthcoming UK referendum on its EU membership has focused minds here in Ireland? It is very noteworthy that in the last two years, a growing number of Irish people believe that even if our nearest neighbors leave, that Ireland should remain in the EU, notwithstanding that we both joined on the same day in 1973.

“The results also indicate that young Irish people in particular overwhelmingly believe that Ireland has benefited from EU membership, with 91 percent agreeing with this statement in the poll.”

The highlights of the results are as follows:

Some 90% of Irish people want Ireland to remain in the EU; for young people this is 94%, up from 85% in 2015. Support for EU membership is highest in Connacht-Ulster at 96%

Some 87% of people believe Ireland has, on balance, benefited from membership of the EU. This increases to 91 percent for those aged 24 and under and was again highest in Connacht Ulster at 91%

And 81% want Ireland to remain in the EU, even if the UK leaves; this rose to 84% in Dublin

As much as 86% of Irish people think the UK should remain in the EU, rising to 92% for young people

When asked if they are aware that the EU will abolish mobile ‘phone roaming charges by June 15, 2017, 92% are aware, with the lowest levels of awareness among young people, at 82% and farmers at 79%. Those living in Munster are most aware of this as 94%.

The poll was conducted among a representative sample of over 1,015 people aged 18 and over from across the country. The full results are available from the European Movement’s site here.

This weekend Taoiseach (Ireland’s Prime Minister) Enda Kenny asked the Irish in Britain to vote to remain in the EU. Speaking in London he commented on the fact that customs controls would have to be established at the border between the Republic and Northern Ireland if Britain left the EU.

Kenny urged the Irish in the UK, who make up a “substantial” part of the electorate, to use their vote. The campaign group Irish 4 Europe estimates that there are half a million first generation Irish people living in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). This figure rises to the millions when second and third generation Irish are considered.

Speaking in London, the Taoiseach said, “We would say, with particular reference to the Irish people living in Britain, this is a really important decision. Its outcome would affect people in the North, it would affect Ireland itself and obviously will have an impact upon the European Union for many years to come.”

He said that in the event of the UK leaving the EU there would have to be “significant, complex and difficult negotiations.”

Kenny continued, “Ireland in Europe would still stand by Britain being a member of the Union and of its importance, but I have no idea what other European countries, how they would look at Britain whether they decide to leave, given the fact that we’ve come a long way since the 1970s.

“So whether there would be border controls or custom controls, these things are a possibility, but obviously they would require some very serious negotiations and my preference for the Irish electorate who have a significant part in this referendum is to vote to stay, for Britain to stay as a strong and central member of the European Union for the future.”

Hard facts data on Irish suicides nationwide reveals sharp differences

SOME 375 MEN TOOK THEIR OWN LIVES ACROSS THE REPUBLIC IN 2015, IN ADDITION TO 76 WOMEN?

    

WATERFORD CITY WAS THE ONLY PLACE WHERE NO SUICIDES WERE RECORDED WHATSOEVER.

New figures show sharp differences in the number of suicides around the country, according to provisional statistics from the Central Statistics Office(CSO).

The data shows 451 recorded suicides across Ireland in 2015 – a fall from the 459 recorded in 2014, leaving the suicide rate per 100,00 of population down from 10 to 9.7.

However, the suicide rate actually increased across all regions apart from Leinster, which is Ireland’s most populous.

In particular, the provisional figures, which remain subject to change, show a large disparity in suicide rates between some cities and the surrounding county area. Whereas there were no recorded suicides in Waterford city in 2015, the suicide rate in Co Waterford more than doubled from 8.8 in 2014 to 19 last year.

A similar difference was evident in Co Galway, where the rate jumped from 10.2 to 17.4 compared to a more modest increase in the city, where it rose from 11.1 in 2014 to 12.7 last year. The suicide rate in Limerick city dipped to 16 from 23 in 2014, while there was more than a twofold increase in the rate in county Limerick, up to 12.7 from 5.2 in 2014.

A decline in Leinster

Of the 451 recorded suicides in 2015, 202 occurred in Leinster, which includes Dublin, but the suicide rate dropped across the province to 7.9 from the previous level of 8.9.

Munster (at 12), Connacht (at 12.5) and Ulster figures for Cavan, Donegal andMonaghan (at 11.3) all demonstrated varying degrees of increases compared with rates in 2014.

There were also large fluctuations across individual counties. Suicide rates fell by more than half in areas such as Carlow, Dún Laoghaire and Sligo, but there was a near doubling of the rate in Kilkenny as well as Wicklow.

Waterford city was the only place where no suicides were recorded whatsoever. Some 375 men took their own lives across the State in 2015, along with 76 women.

The CSO’s provisional figures refer only to deaths registered in 2015 even though some may have occurred in the preceding years, whereas the more comprehensive final data for suicides expected in either 2017 or 2018 will only include deaths which happened during 2015 itself.

Classification difficulties

The process of categorising deaths is an added complication, and the outcome of a full coroner’s report is needed before a death can formally be classified as suicide.

On top of this, statistics generally tend to underestimate the overall number of suicides, as it is not possible to definitively determine a cause of death in some cases.

Dr Ella Arensman of the National Suicide Research Foundation said regionalised figures in the provisional data may change by up to 50 per cent in the full report, and she questioned the wisdom of releasing incomplete data.

“On the one hand, you could say it’s very good that we have figures for 2015, but they are not reliable . . . There is a big question as to what is the use of this data when it is not reliable,” she said.

She advised that the best course of action would be for the CSO to avoid releasing provisional figures, and to instead await the completion of a more comprehensive analysis.

Bees find flowers as static electricity zaps small hairs on their body, a study finds

RESEARCHERS KNEW THAT BEES USE ELECTRICITY FROM FLOWERS TO NAVIGATE – BUT NOW HOW THAT WORKED

     

A POLLEN COVERED BUMBLEBEE SITS ON A FLOWER IN NORTHERN FRANCE AS BEES HAVE TINY VIBRATING HAIRS THAT LET THEM FIND FLOWERS, A NEW STUDY NOW SHOWS.

The small hairs are used to sense electric fields coming out of flowers and then use them to find sources of pollen, according to the new research.

Even more animals might use the same static electricity-finding hairs to navigate around, according to the University of Bristol researchers behind the study.

Researchers already knew that bumblebees were able to sense and act on electrical signals from flowers. But they haven’t known how that process works – until now.

The new study shows that the hairs are able to pick up static electricity and then send messages through the nervous system.

Lead researcher Dr Gregory Sutton, from the University of Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences, said: “We were excited to discover that bees’ tiny hairs dance in response to electric fields, like when humans hold a balloon to their hair.

“A lot of insects have similar body hairs, which leads to the possibility that many members of the insect world may be equally sensitive to small electric fields.”

Many of the most beautiful and attractive parts of flowers are mechanisms for attracting pollinators like bees. Their bright colours and smells help them catch the attention of insects.

But the research shows the ways that flowers also are able to use static electricity to tap straight into the bees’ nervous systems.

Since the flowers are negatively charged, and the bees are positively charged, the two interact with one another and cause a spark that comes through the bees’ hairs.

In the research, the scientist used a laser to measure the vibrations that spark caused. They published their work in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.      

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG Wednesday

Ireland’s justice minister Shatter resigns over allegations by Garda whistleblower

  

Your time is up Alan? Enda Kenny seems to be whispering to the Justice Minister (above right pic.)

Alan Shatter steps down after claims of corruption within the police force and political interference in policing

Alan Shatter has resigned as Ireland’s justice minister in wake of report into alleged police corruption and political interference. Photograph: Peter Morrison/AP

Ireland’s justice minister has resigned over a critical report concerning allegations by a police whistleblower.

Alan Shatter offered his resignation to the Irish premier, Enda Kenny.

In response to the report into the Garda whistleblower’s claims of corruption within the force and political interference in policing, Shatter sent a letter to the taoiseach stating: “I am anxious that any controversy that may arise on publication of the report does not distract from the important work of government or create any difficulties for the Fine Gael or Labour parties in the period leading into the … elections.”

Shatter, who is also minister of defence, told Kenny: “It is my judgment that the only way in which such controversy can be avoided is by my offering you my resignation from cabinet.

“It has been a particular privilege to serve as both minister for justice and equality and also minister for defence.

“I want to thank you for affording me the opportunity to be of public service in these positions and I hope that the reforms and change implemented over the past three years will endure and prove to be of lasting benefit to all reside in our state”

His resignation comes before the publication of the report on Friday that is expected to be highly critical of Shatter’s handling of whistleblower claims.

Kenny announced the news of Shatter’s resignation to the audible gasps of members of parliament.

Bank of Ireland denies turning a blind eye to loans security

 

(RIGHT PIC.) Blaise O Donnell, daughter of solicitor Brian O Donnell, pictured leaving the Four Courts yesterday after a Supreme Court action.

Brian O’Donnell provided family’s home as security for loans taken out by himself and his wife

Gorse Hill, Killiney: owned by a company, Vico Ltd, which in turn was wholly owned by a trust set up for the benefit of the couple’s four children.

Bank of Ireland has denied claims it “turned a blind eye” when solicitor Brian O’Donnell provided the family’s luxury home in Co Dublin as security for loans taken out by himself and his wife although that property was not owned by them.

The property at Gorse Hill, Vico Road, was owned by a company, Vico Ltd, which in turn was wholly owned by a trust set up for the benefit of the couple’s four children and from which their parents were excluded, Ross Maguire SC, for the children, told the Supreme Court yesterday.

The Bank of Ireland knew of the existence of the trust from at least 2000 and should have made inquiries in 2006 when Vico Ltd guaranteed Gorse Hill as security for the loans, counsel said. That guarantee amounted to a “fundamental breach of trust” and, had the bank looked, it would have found the parents were not beneficiaries of the trust.

Mr Maguire was continuing his arguments on behalf of the children – Blaise, Blake, Bruce and Alexandra O’Donnell – in their appeal against a July 2013 High Court finding the bank was entitled to possession of Gorse Hill. The bank wants possession as part of its efforts to enforce a €70 million judgment obtained in December 2011 against Brian and Mary Patricia O’Donnell arising from unpaid loans. The house and land is worth €6-7 million.

Opposing the appeal, Cian Ferriter SC, for the bank, said there was evidence to support the High Court’s findings Vico Ltd acquired full legal and beneficial title to Gorse Hill in 2006 and that, while the children were entitled to a beneficial interest in shares of Vico Ltd, the trust held shares, not any interest, in Gorse Hill.

There was no evidence to support the claims the bank knew, when it obtained the guarantee over Gorse Hill, the security amounted to a breach of trust, he said. The appeal continues before the five-judge court.

EU Commission gives the green light to AIB’s restructuring plan

 

The Plan will see bank return to profitability without distorting competition; bank will be banned from making acquisitions and will be required to distribute marketing material for competitors. 

David Duffy, CEO AIB, welcomed the European Commission’s approval of the bank’s restructuring plan and said that the bank “remains focused on delivering against its strategic objectives, while supporting the ongoing recovery of the Irish economy”.

Allied Irish Bank must set targets for cost reductions and abstain from acquisitions until the end of 2017 under the terms of a new restructuring plan, which was approved today by the European Commission.

The plan, which is tied to the pillar bank’s €21 billion taxpayer rescue, will also see the bank distribute marketing material for competitors to ensure that competition in the market isn’t distorted as a result of its bail-out. A limitation on AIB’s total holdings of Irish sovereign bonds during the restructuring period will also apply, excluding those bonds issued by Nama.

In a statement released today, Commission Vice President in charge of competition policy Joaquín Almunia said: “Today, the Commission closed an important chapter in the ongoing restructuring of the Irish banking sector.

AIB is one of the two largest Irish banks. Its restructuring plan sets out the right measures for this bank to return to profitability without unduly distorting competition in the Single Market. In particular, AIB will implement market opening measures over the next three years to attract new entrants to the concentrated Irish banking market”.

David Duffy, chief executive officer of AIB welcomed the announcement. “AIB has made significant progress and has successfully implemented a number of restructuring measures as the bank progresses with its aim of returning to profitability this year. The commitments as outlined are in line with our existing operational plans. The bank remains focused on delivering against its strategic objectives, while supporting the ongoing recovery of the Irish economy.”

In 2009, AIB and EBS received repeated State support in the form of guarantees, recapitalisations and asset relief. In 2011, when AIB and EBS were merged, the merged entity also received capital support. In September 2012, Ireland submitted a restructuring plan for AIB which was complemented by several additional submissions.

Under the restructuring plan, AIB will operate as a smaller domestically focussed bank with an improved funding profile. The bank will increase its level of profitability “notably by enhancing the net interest margin and further curbing its operating expenses”.

Finally, AIB will maintain a strong capital buffer during the restructuring period. AIB also has contingent capital instruments which can be converted into equity, if needed. These measures will enable AIB to return to long-term viability without further State support.

The restructuring plan also includes a set of commitments which AIB will respect until the end of 2017. Those commitments comprise, among other things, targets on cost reduction and a ban on acquisitions. Moreover, AIB will operate “market opening measures” to facilitate the market entry of competitors, comprising a “services package” and a “customer mobility package”.

Under the “services package” AIB will provide to competitors access to certain services, such as cash supply and distribution services, and access to market intelligence. Under the “customer mobility package” AIB will distribute advertising material on behalf of a competitor to its clients to promote customer switching. The commitments will ensure that the competition distortions brought about by the aid are limited.

Many Irish patients complain about dental fees and quality of service standards

 

The amount of complaints made about dentists in Ireland could be reduced by around 40% if they and their patients communicated more clearly with each other, the Dental Complaints Resolution Service (DCRS) has said.

It has published its second annual report, which provides details about the 130 complaints it dealt with last year.

The DCRS is a voluntary service that offers an independent mediator service to patients who wish to make a complaint about their dentist. It is free of charge and while it operates independently of the Irish Dental Association, it does have the association’s support.

According to its 2013 Annual Report, the service received over 1,200 letters and emails and over 250 phone calls last year, and dealt with a total of 130 complaints. Twenty-eight of these complaints were resolved during the year and 16 of the other 102 cases have since been resolved or are almost resolved.

The majority of complaints made in 2013 related to fees, although a large number of complaints were also made about the standard of work received. Almost one-third of complaints related to dentists failing to communicate properly with their patient.

“Communication failures remain the main cause of disputes. If the patient and dentist communicated clearly with each other about an issue it would reduce the amount of complaints made by about 40%. Dentists need to keep patients informed of the treatment plan and to deal with complaints promptly,” commented DCRS facilitator, Michael Kilcoyne.

Some of the most difficult cases seen by the DCRS concerned crowns, bridges and veneers and of the 28 cases resolved in 2013, some of these results involved an apology by the dentist, a full refund, or further work carried out at no extra cost.

The report highlighted that in many cases, a patient will come back to a dentist with a problems, but the dentist will not listen to them. It advises dentists to deal with complaints ‘immediately’ as the issue ‘is not going to go away’.

It is also essential that the patient is kept fully informed of their treatment plan and the costs this will incur.

Meanwhile, Mr Kilcoyne also expressed concern about companies that fit out a premises as a dental practice and then let it out to dentists.

“There certainly needs to be tighter regulation of these kinds of businesses and they need to be liable in some way if the practicing dentist carries out work of a sub-standard nature and then vacates the premises. In these circumstances, the patient has very little comeback” he pointed out.

Peoples handshake grip is an age indicator

  

The strength of someone’s handshake is an indicator of their true age, scientists have claimed. 

A person’s true age can be discovered simply by shaking hands, researchers claim.

Scientists found hand-grip strength correlated with known markers of ageing such as disability, mental decline, recovery time after hospital treatment, and death.

They believe a “handshake test” could be used as a viable test for biological age.

“Hand-grip strength is easily measured and data on hand-grip strength now can be found in many of the most important surveys on ageing worldwide,” said Dr Warren Sanderson, a member of the team from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria.

The research, published in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE, reviewed findings from more than 50 studies looking at people of all ages from around the world.

It found that higher grip strength corresponded with indicators of younger biological age in different population groups.

Co-author Dr Serguei Scherbov, also from the IIASA, said: “We found that based on this survey, a 65-year-old white woman who had not completed secondary education has the same hand-grip strength as a 69-year-old white woman who had completed secondary education.

“This suggests that according to hand-grip strength characteristic their ages are equivalent and the 65 year-old woman ages four years faster due to lower education attainment.”

Previous research has shown that simply measuring the number of years people have lived does not provide an accurate picture of biologically how old they are.

Dr Scherbov added: “Our goal is to measure how fast different groups in a society age. If some group is getting older faster than another, we can ask why that might be and see whether there are any policies that could help the faster ageing group.”

Giant Meteor leaves huge crater in Bow City Alberta Canada

  

A giant meteor struck Canada within the last 70 million years, creating a crater five miles (8km) wide, scientists believe.

The force of the blast in southern Alberta would have been powerful enough to destroy present-day Calgary.

Seismic surveys have revealed a ring-like structure in the Earth’s surface at the impact site near the hamlet of Bow City.

All that remains today is a semi-circular depression five miles (8km) across with a central peak.

Wei Xie, from the University of Alberta, said: “An impact of this magnitude would kill everything for quite a distance. If it happened today, Calgary (124 miles/ 200km to the north-west) would be completely fried and in Edmonton (310 miles/499km north-west) every window would have been blown out.

“Something of that size, throwing that much debris in the air, potentially would have global consequences; there could have been ramifications for decades.”

When it formed, the crater probably reached a depth of up to 1.5 miles (2.4km), said the researchers, whose findings appear in the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science.                

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

Europe forecasts a lower growth rate for Ireland in 2014

 

The European Commission’s forecast of 1.8% GDP growth is lower than rate cited by Minister for Finance Michael Noonan last week as being a trigger for income tax cuts.

Ireland’s economy is expected to grow by 1.8% this year, the European Commission said this afternoon, putting it at odds with Central Bank estimates last month which predicted that the economy would grow by 2.1% in 2014.

According to the European Commission’s economic growth forecasts published today, Ireland’s economy will grow by 1.8% this year, and 2.9% in 2015. Unemployment is expected to come in at 11.9% this year and 11.2% next year, slightly below the European average.

The figures show that Ireland’s debt to GDP ratio remains stubbornly high at 122.3% last year, though this is expected to dip slightly to 120.3% this year, and 119.7% next. Ireland has the fourth largest debt to GDP ratio in the EU after Greece, Italy and Portugal.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said last week that income tax cuts could be made in this year’s budget. He also hinted that a growth rate of over 2% would strengthen the case for income tax cuts. “If various independent forecasters are correct, and the economy is growing faster than the 2% forecast, that should give taxation buoyancy,” he said last week at a conference in Brussels.

Ireland’s relatively high debt to GDP ratio has previously been cited by officials in Dublin as one rationale for Ireland’s bid for further debt relief for its banks through the euro zone’s rescue fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). About a third of the debt to GDP figure relates to the bailout of banks in Ireland.

According to the Commission’s analysis of the Irish economy, the expiry of patents in the pharmaceutical sector could pose a threat to Ireland’s economic progress. However, the country is poised to benefit from faster-than-expected economic growth in the UK, it said.

“Given the importance of UK trade, in particular for indigenous Irish firms, the accelerated rate of UK recovery represents an important upside risk for growth, employment and the current-account position, “the Commission said.

The analysis notes that, after a slow start to 2013, growth began to pick up in the third quarter of last year. “There are indications domestic demand is starting to perform more strongly, as the labour market has continued along a steady path of improvement across different sectors.”

In its forecasts the European Commission also downgraded its forecasts for Italy. It predicts that the Italian economy will expand by 0.6% this year, compared to the figure of 0.7% forecast in November. Italy’s debt will rise to 133.7% of GDP in 2014, one of the highest in the European Union.

Today’s forecasts also suggest that France will miss its deficit targets next year, although the commission raised its forecast for French growth this year to 1 per cent from 0.9%, boosted by consumer spending. France has been under pressure from Brussels to implement structural economic reforms in order to reduce its budget deficit. Among the issues highlighted by the European Commission in today’s report is France’s shrinking share of the export market. “Net exports are expected to provide nil contribution to growth in 2014 and to dampen it again in 2015,” the Commission said.

James Reilly to ban hospital queue jumping under new health insurance plan

  

But patients can still pay out of their own pockets to get the treatment that they can afford.

Families will not be able to jump queues for medical treatment by paying extra under Health Minister James Reilly’s radical health insurance plan.

The reform will have massive implications for the two million people who currently hold private health cover.

Insurance companies will be specifically banned from offering quicker access to hospitals for standard treatments – though they will still be able to offer other benefits such as private rooms.

Regardless of the restrictions that may be placed on companies, it will remain possible for patients to pay upfront out of their own pockets to see a specialist or have an operation if they have fears for their health.

The Universal Health Insurance (UHI) plan, which the minister hopes to have implemented in five years’ time, will ensure everyone gets the same basic package of benefits.

The aim is to end the two-tier health service, where public patients wait longer than private insurance holders for treatment.

The core principle of UHI is healthcare being equally available to each member of society and treatment based solely on medical need, not income. Under the new system, private health insurance companies like the VHI will continue to trade and are likely to have an increase in the number of customers as everyone will have to acquire some form of cover.

Those who can’t afford the premium will have it paid for fully or be heavily subsidised by the State.

Dr Reilly estimated yesterday that the 40pc of the population that holds a medical card will get their health insurance paid in full, with another 30pc getting a heavy subsidy.

But in a complete break from the current two-tier system, which allows private policy holders fast access to specialists and treatments, the new system will specifically forbid queue-jumping – even if you pay more.

The change will mean the 2,052,000 people – roughly half the population – who hold health insurance will no longer have the edge over everybody else in getting treatment faster.

UHI will cover basic GP and acute hospital needs and some people may wish to obtain cover for services outside of that standard package of care.

But paying more for ‘Supplementary Health Insurance’ won’t grant quicker access to treatment.

In explaining how UHI works specifically, the government document says: “No insurer may sell a supplementary health insurance policy conferring faster access to services covered by the standard package of care.”

The reference to preventing faster access is actually contained twice in the document as it also says it won’t be allowed under the basic package under the “principle of social solidarity”.

“Neither insurers nor providers operating within the UHI system will be allowed to sell faster access to services covered by the UHI standard package of care.”

The specific services to be covered by UHI have yet to be determined. The minister plans for the public to be consulted on what to be included.

However, this document does list the components of a “preferred policy option” for inclusion under UHI, as follows:

1. * Universal primary care, including core GP and community nurse services and the maternity and infant care scheme.
2. * Chronic disease and case management for those who meet specific critical criteria.
3. * Rehabilitative care, for a period not exceeding 12 months.
4. * Acute hospital care, including all inpatient, daycare and outpatient care.
5. * Acute mental health care, including acute mental health services provided by community mental health teams, in outpatient clinics, day hospitals, day centres and acute inpatient setting for a period not exceeding 12 months.
6. * Step-down care, provided in a residential care setting or in a person’s home for a defined period of time.

The change-over to UHI to end the two-tier system of access is the agreed policy of the Coalition.

Fine Gael and the Labour Party both campaigned for the policy and it is included in the Programme for Government.

Labour was making the case for UHI for almost a decade before Fine Gael came on board.

Dr Reilly’s draft of the consultation document, known as a White Paper, was discussed by ministers last night and is due to be published in the coming weeks.

The paper has come under fire for lacking detail on the cost of UHI, with the Department of Finance and Department of Public Expenditure expressing concern about the financial implications.

Dr Reilly has sought to assuage these concerns by saying there will be a cap on the amount of money to be spent by the State, which will be linked to national income.

Nonetheless, the document contains no specifics on the costs associated with the switch to UHI – either to the public or the Exchequer.

Son receives suspended sentence for attempted murder of his Mother

   

GERALD VOLLRATH 2ND FROM RIGHT PIC. ABOVE ADMITTED HOLDING A PILLOW TO HIS DYING MOTHER’S FACE

Gerard Vollrath has been spared jail and given a suspended three-year sentence after pleading guilty to the attempted murder of his elderly mother in a nursing home , after the judge ruled that his motivation was entirely compassionate

A 47-year-old Waterford man has been spared jail and given a suspended three-year sentence after pleading guilty to the attempted murder of his elderly mother in a nursing home , after the judge ruled that his motivation was entirely compassionate.

Mr Justice Paul Carney said that in Mr Gerald Vollrath’s case, he could be facing life imprisonment were it not for the prosecution’s inability to prove that Mrs Veronica Vollrath was still alive when he pressed a pillow to her face.

He noted that the DPP had accepted his plea to attempted murder and said the available penalties ranged from a suspended sentence to life imprisonment.

Veronica (Vera) Vollrath (83) was pronounced dead on January 9th, 2012 at Killure Bridge Nursing Home, Killure, Co Waterford.

Her death was expected but her son admitted holding a pillow over her face while keeping vigil by her death bed, and the Austrian resident was charged with her murder.

Gerald Vollrath, an aviation worker, of Tramore Heights, Tramore pleaded not guilty to her murder, but the murder charge against him was dropped in December, and he pleaded guilty to attempted murder instead.

The Central Criminal Court was told last week that this was because pathological exams had found no sign of suffocation and that it could not be said with absolute certainty that she was not already dead.

Mrs Vollrath had suffered a severe stroke, had Alzheimer’s, diabetes, heart and kidney problems and was receiving end-of-life care.

He was keeping vigil by her side on the night of January 8th when he put a pillow over her face and held it there for up to two minutes. Staff did not suspect anything other than a natural death.

Mr Vollrath revealed what he had done later that morning. He told Gardaí that his mother previously indicated that she would not like to be helpless in the situation in which she was.

The court heard that the Gardaí’s view was that Mr Vollrath’s only concern was his mother’s suffering.

Mr Justice Paul Carney said last week that this was the first time he had encountered anything of this nature in 50 years and adjourned sentencing.

Before passing sentence today, he described the case as distressing.

He said that mercy killing was a concept totally unknown to our law. He then quoted from an English case, where a mother had taken the life of her severely disabled son with the intention of ending his suffering.

“The law of murder does not distinguish between murder committed for malevolent reasons and murder motivated by familial love… Mercy killing is murder,” he said, quoting a judicial decision in that case.

“Even a life lived at the extremes of disability is not one jot less precious than the life of an able-bodied person,” it continued.

“Until parliament decides otherwise, the law recognises a distinction between the withdrawal of treatment supporting life, which, subject to stringent conditions, may be lawful, and the active termination of life, which is unlawful,” concluded the quotation.

Mr Justice Carney noted that the mother in that case had been captured by the mandatory life sentence.

In relation to sentencing Mr Vollrat,h the judge said he took a number of mitigating factors into account when deciding on a sentence.

“The motivation was entirely compassionate and not at all malevolent,” he said.

He also noted Mrs Vollrath’s family’s desire for compassion, Mr Vollrath’s early plea and genuine remorse, his work history, employer support, lack of previous convictions and the support of his wife and family.

He imposed a three-year sentence, but suspended it on Mr Vollrath entering into a € 1,000 bond to be of good behaviour for three years.

Mr Vollrath, who had his eyes closed throughout the sentencing, winked at family members on hearing the outcome.

Outside the courtroom, he embraced family members as well as members of the gardaí.

Flanked by his family, he paused outside the courthouse while his solicitor, Ken Cunningham, spoke on his behalf.

He thanked all of those who had offered their support and encouragement over the past two ‘very difficult’ years. He thanked his legal team for their expertise, dedication, and commitment to bringing the matter to a conclusion.

He thanked his family for the unwavering support, sympathy, compassion and love they had shown him through ‘this very difficult time for all concerned’.

He asked the media to respect the privacy of his family and to allow them to rebuild their lives.

Mortgage lending in Ireland 5.6% down last year on 2012 

 

Value and volume of mortgages issued falls but estimates suggest that less than one in two purchases is now made with a mortgage

Figures show that the average loan size increased to € 172,118 in the fourth quarter of 2013, up 4.1% on Q4 2012. The average mortgage drawn down for property purchase increased on a year-on-year basis for the first time since Q2 2008, reaching € 179,934

Despite an ongoing resurgence in the property market, mortgage lending fell in 2013, as the number of mortgages issued fell by 5.6% down to 14,985 and the value of mortgages dropped by a similar percentage, down to €2.5 billion.

The decline was evident in the fourth quarter of last year, with the IBF/Pwc Mortgage Market profile pointing to a decline of 13.9% in the number of mortgages given out, and a 10.3% decline in value, when compared with the same quarter in 2012.

Dermot O’Leary, economist with Goodbody Stockbrokers, described the outturn as “underwhelming”, adding that it can be partly explained by the low level of supply of properties and the presence of cash transactions.

“On the latter issue, we estimate that only 46% of transactions were carried out using a mortgage last year, down from 56% in 2012,” he said.

The figures may also be distorted by the effect of people rushing to buy at the end of 2012 in order to take advantage of mortgage interest relief before it was abolished.

First time buyers and mover purchasers, continued to dominate the market in 2013, accounting for almost 90% (87.8%) of new mortgages issued. In effect, over 90% (93%) of all mortgage credit now goes to the home purchasing segments of the market.

The average loan size increased to € 172,118 in the fourth quarter of 2013, up 4.1% on Q4 2012. The average mortgage drawn down for property purchase increased on a year-on-year basis for the first time since Q2 2008, reaching € 179,934.

Goodbody is forecasting growth in the value of mortgages drawn down of 29% to € 3.3 billion this year, with a further expansion to € 4.2 billion in 2015.

Cyber-bullying of Irish children and teens up 33% on 2013

 

The cyber-bullying of children and teenagers is on the increase with 33% more students reporting cyber-bullying this year 2014 compared with 2013.

Results show that only one in four parents monitor their children’s internet activity.

Thousands of parents and children were interviewed as part of the annual survey, carried out by the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD)

The survey revealed that bullying is not just within the grounds of the school yard, with an 80% increase from last year in students admitting to having been bullied by a peer online.

The aim of the survey is to highlight the presence of cyberbullying among Irish young people and to help schools and parents to tackle the problem.

The results show that younger parents tend to be more aware of the dangers of online bullying with 64% of parents under the age of 35 saying they monitor their child’s online activity on a weekly basis.

This figure was much smaller among older parents with only 40pc of parents over the age of 45 making the same inquires with their kids.

RESULTS

Fifteen % of parents admitted to never checking up on their children as they use the web. Director of NAPD Clive Byrne said the results show that much more needs to be done to tackle online bullying, stressing the difference between “what parents are aware of and what is actually happening,” in the lives of Irish children.

She urged parents to remember that cyberbullying can follow their children home “through the medium of their phones or on the web”.

She added that parents who don’t monitor their children’s online activity “will be less likely to detect online bullying when it occurs”.

Large volcanoes helped slow global warming

LIVERMORE SCIENTISTS CONCLUDE

  

Large volcanoes erupting earlier this century have helped cool the planet, partially offsetting warming produced by greenhouse gases, according to a study led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

In a paper published in the Feb. 23 edition of the journal Nature Geoscience, researchers say that despite increasing greenhouse gas emissions, global mean temperatures on the Earth’s surface and those in the troposphere — the lowest portion of Earth’s atmosphere — have shown relatively little warming since 1998.

According to the study, scientists looking for a cause have found “significant correlations” between tiny droplets of sulfuric acid released during larger volcanic eruptions — also known as “volcanic aerosols” — and satellite estimates of lower tropospheric temperatures. The study concludes volcanic eruptions have contributed to a “warming hiatus”; the aerosols reflecting sunlight back to space, cooling Earth temperatures.

“In the last decade, the amount of volcanic aerosol in the stratosphere has increased, so more sunlight is being reflected back into space,” said Lawrence Livermore climate scientist Benjamin Santer, the study’s lead author. “This has created a natural cooling of the planet and has partly offset the increase in surface and atmospheric temperatures due to human influence.”

The study indicates other possible factors for the slowdown, including the temporary cooling effect of internal climate noise, an unusually low and long solar cycle, and an increase in sulfur dioxide emissions from China.

Livermore scientists Céline Bonfils, Jeff Painter, Mark Zelinka and Karl Taylor contributed to the study. Other contributors include Remote Sensing Systems, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and the Canadian Centre for Climate Modeling and Analysis.