Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

Bill providing free GP care for children under six years now passed

 

Minister Lynch accepts amendment lifting ‘gagging clause’ on GPs

Minister of State Kathleen Lynch: “It is the first step along the way to ensuring that all our citizens have GP cover.

The Minister for Health has removed the “gagging clause” in the legislation providing free GP care for children under six. The Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill, passed all stages in the Dáil yesterday.

Leo Varadkar accepted an amendment removing the restriction on GPs speaking out, which was moved by Independent Prof John Crown in the Seanad recently and passed by the House. Prof Crown had argued that GPs would be prevented from expressing their views under the Bill’s terms.

Mr. Varadkar said that while it was always the intention to ensure freedom of expression for GPs, Prof Crown’s amendment copper fastened their freedom to voice their opinions or concerns about the health service.

“This Act is a significant step in the Government’s plan to provide universal health care,” he added, “starting with access to general practitioners without fees for children under six. This particular measure is the keystone of the Government’s policy in the area of primary care. We are shifting the focus of healthcare from hospitals to the community, and from treating illnesses to maintaining good health.”

Minister of State for Primary Care, Mental Health and Disability Kathleen Lynch said: “It is the first step along the way to ensuring that all our citizens have GP cover. It will be of enormous benefit to hard-pressed families with young children, helping them to overcome the obstacle of the financial burden of GP care.”

Over a thousand pubs have closed in Ireland since 2007

  

Over a thousand pubs have closed in Ireland since the economic crisis hit in 2007 leaving the industry in a state of despair, according to the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI).

Speaking to the Joint Oireachtas Committee of Finance, DIGI said that a higher tax rate on alcohol, coupled with a poor economy, has left the industry in tatters.

“Excise damages our rural pubs and independent off-licences,” said Padraig Cribben, CEO of the Vintners Federation of Ireland.

“Since 2007 over 1,000 pubs throughout Ireland have been forced to close. The small pubs in rural communities cannot soak up excise increases across a wide product mix, like a supermarket can.”

In the case of small pub operators they have no recourse but to pass the costs on to consumers. Cribben added that Ireland’s high alcohol prices is also having a detrimental effect on tourism, as visitors flock to Northern Ireland, where hospitality is more affordable.

He said that Ireland is the most expensive country in Europe to buy alcohol, which should be a chief concerns to the country, “second only to the weather”.

“There has been rise in cross-border activity as a result of excise increases, causing pubs, independent off-licences and the exchequer to lose out,” Cribben said.

“On average, there is a 35% price difference between the Republic and Northern Ireland across all categories of alcohol, with Revenue Commissioner Figures showing that a bottle of Irish whiskey is €5.50 cheaper in the north.”

Job-seeker benefit payments of 14.7% goes to non-Irish nationals

  

NEW RESEARCH SHOWS 14% OF PEOPLE IN RECEIPT OF JOBSEEKERS BENEFIT ENTITLEMENTS ARE NON-IRISH NATIONALS.

That represents an under-representation of the group, compared to the proportion of the workforce they comprise.

A new report published by the ESRI looks at the proportion of non-nationals in receipt of key social security benefits during January of this year.

The research shows a mixed picture with regards to various welfare payments.

“There was no consistent pattern of over-representation among recipients of social welfare benefits,” said author of the report, Emma Quinn, who is also the National Programme Coordinator with the European Migration Network.

There was a distinction, she found, between the two types of unemployment payment – Jobseeker’s Benefit, paid to those covered by their past PRSI contributions, and Allowance, a lower rate paid to those who do not qualify for Benefit.

“I would consider benefits paid to people who have made PRSI contributions – contributory jobseekers’ benefit – non-Irish nationals are under-represented among all recipients of those types of benefits,” she said.

“[But] non-Irish nationals are over-represented among recipients of means-tested benefits – so those are benefits paid to people whose contribution has expired.”

Migrant workers make up 15.4% of the Irish workforce, but only 14.7% of Jobseekers Benefit recipients. The same group makes up 17.5% of Allowance recipients.

Common medications now switched to over the counter sale

 

THE REGULATOR SWITCHES DOZENS OF POPULAR PRODUCTS AWAY FROM PRESCRIPTION ONLY STATUS.

The Health Products Regulatory Authority today published a list of 12 active substances that are currently classified as prescription-only but are being switched to over-the-counter sale.

Dozens of commonly used medicines will be made available over the counter for the first time following a decision by the drugs regulator to remove their prescription-only classification.

The Health Products Regulatory Authority (formerly the Irish Medicines Board) today published a list of 12 active substances that are currently classified as prescription-only but are being switched to over-the-counter sale.

As a result, 34 medicines containing the substances singly or in combination will henceforth be available in pharmacies without prescription.

The list includes medicines used for the treatment of migraines, acid reflux symptoms, hay fever, cold sores, muscle pain and inflammation, fungal skin and nail infections and other inflammatory skin conditions.

Pharmaceutical companies that hold the marketing authorisation for the medicines will first have to apply to the authority to have their products reclassified before the change takes effect.

The decision was taken following examination by the authority of unmet needs in the availability of non-prescription medicines as well as recommendations by an independent consultative panel.

“The authority is pleased to bring this reclassification initiative forward with this initial list of products,” saidLorraine Nolan, director of human products authorisation. “This will see an increase in the range of medicines that can be made available to patients through pharmacies without prescription.

“Dependent on the nature, quality of applications and the relevant engagement process with marketing authorisation holders, further lists of appropriate substances may be considered in the future.”

Earlier this month, the authority switched the classification of a first nicotine replacement product from prescription-only to over-the-counter.

The medicines affected by the latest switch include diclofenac salts for muscle pain relief, penciclovir for cold sores, sumatriptan for migraine and mixtures of hydrocortisone with other drugs for skin problems.

Most of these drugs are better known under their commercial names.

Coral reefs face increased risk of fatal disease from dredging

 

WORLD-FIRST STUDY IN AUSTRALIA SHOWS IMPACT OF UNDERWATER DEVELOPMENT ON CORAL REEFS AND RAISES FURTHER CONCERNS ABOUT THE THREAT TO THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

Australian scientists have discovered that coral reefs face a serious threat of disease from underwater excavation activity, raising further concerns about the future of the Great Barrier Reef.

The world-first study examined the impact of 7 million cubic metres of dredging on 11 reefs off the coast of Western Australia and found that underwater excavation doubles the level of disease in nearby coral. It found that dredging forces corals to spend more energy cleaning the sediment from their surface and this can lead to chronic stress.

“Just like in any other organism, it seems that chronic stress can lead to increased levels of disease in corals,” said Joe Pollock, a marine scientist who led the study for the Australian Research Council’s Coral Reef Studies Centre of Excellence.

“Dredging is a pressing issue on many coral reefs throughout the world, including the Great Barrier Reef.”

The study, published in PloS ONE, comes amid growing concerns about the impact of a series of ports being built along the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest reef system.

The United Nations has expressed concern about the development activity along the 1,500-mile stretch of reefs and cays off Australia’s east coast and is considering downgrading the reef’s heritage status.

In January, Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott approved a controversial port expansion which will allow three million cubic metres of dredged sediment to be disposed of in the Great Barrier Reef waters. A separate project to expand the port of Gladstone has involved significant dredging in the reef marine park and led to claims that it has affected water quality, sea grass cover and creatures such as turtles and dugongs.

Scientists and environmentalists have warned that the dredging will further endanger the reef, which they say is already facing widespread loss of coral cover due to coastal development, climate change, agricultural and industrial pollution, storms and the crown-of-thorns starfish.

The latest research examined large-scale dredging conducted to build a channel to transport liquefied gas from a resources project in the state of Western Australia and is believed to be the first study examining the link between dredging and coral disease.

“Corals require both light and food to survive,”

Mr Pollock said. “Unfortunately, dredging impacts corals reefs on two fronts, increased turbidity mean less light for photosynthesis, while increased levels of sediment falling onto the coral can interfere with their ability to feed.”

MEANWHILE:-

Climate changes happening more rapidly than at any point on record

  

A new look at the “vital signs” of Earth’s climate reveals a stark picture of declining health. As global temperatures rise, so do sea level and the amount of heat trapped in the ocean’s upper layers. Meanwhile, mountain glaciers and Arctic sea ice are melting away beneath an atmosphere where concentrations of three key planet-warming greenhouse gases continue to rise.

“Data show that the climate is changing more rapidly now than it has at any time in the historical record,” says Thomas Karl, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina. “The numbers speak for themselves.”

The numbers speak pretty loudly, too. Depending on which data set scientists look at, 2013 falls somewhere between the second warmest and sixth warmest year since record keeping began in 1880. Global sea level reached a new record high last year—about 3.8 centimeters (1.5 inches) above the average measured by satellites between 1993 and 2010. Overall, sea level is rising about 3 millimeters (one-eighth of an inch) each year. And for the 23rd straight year, mountain glaciers on the whole lost more ice than they gained, says Jessica Blunden of ERT Inc., who works with Karl at the climate monitoring agency in Asheville. “Changes in these [glaciers] are visible and obvious signs of climate change,” Blunden says.

The new study, State of the Climate in 2013, was released online today in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. The detailed, peer-reviewed analysis was based on data from environmental monitoring stations on land, sea, and ice and from sensors on satellites and planes. More than 400 scientists from 57 countries contributed to the report. (Previous State of the Climate reports, issued annually since 1991, can be found here.)

Increases in the levels of three key greenhouse gases are likely to be the root of recent warming, scientists suggest. The global average concentration of carbon dioxide reached more than 395 parts per million last year, a 2.8 ppm increase over 2012 levels, according to the new report. Levels of both methane and nitrous oxide (N2O), which on a pound-for-pound basis trap heat more effectively than CO2, rose last year about 0.3%. 

(Nevertheless, about two-thirds of the atmosphere’s heat-trapping power comes from CO2, which is much more prevalent than the other two gases, the researchers report. Carbon dioxide levels are now in uncharted territory, the scientists say: Ice core records reveal that until the early 20th century, CO2 concentrations hadn’t risen above 300 ppm during the previous 800,000 years.)

From pole to pole, few parts of the globe are being spared warm-up. In the Eurasian Arctic, average temperatures last summer ranged between 1°C and 3°C warmer than the average temperatures there from 2007 through 2012. Fairbanks, Alaska, had a record number of days (36) in which the daily high temperature reached 27°C (80°F) or higher. All that warmth is seeping into the ground, too.

Permafrost temperatures measured 20 meters below ground at many sites in Alaska reached record highs last year, the scientists report. And 2013’s Arctic sea ice coverage in September, the month it usually falls to its lowest for the year, was 18% below the average coverage for that month from 1981 through 2010. Although not a record low amount, the scientists note that September sea ice coverage is declining almost 14% per decade since satellites started measuring sea ice extent in 1979.

At the other end of Earth, 2013’s average annual temperature at the South Pole was –47.4°C (–53.3°F): chilly, yes, but nevertheless a record high since scientists started collecting weather data there in 1957.

In between, China, Japan, and South Korea suffered their warmest summer on record, and Australia really suffered: With large swaths of the Land Down Under tallying summertime highs above 45°C (113°F), Australia had its warmest year since record keeping began in 1910.

The amount of heat stored in the upper 700 meters of the world’s oceans, which has increased substantially over the past 2 decades, also reached a record level last year. That increased heat content helps boost the strength of typhoons and hurricanes, Karl suggests. In the next couple of months, he notes, NOAA will release a report that discusses how climate change might be related to several episodes of extreme weather last year. 

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Its the end of the line for drink after the 1pm Galway train joins the banned booze list

 

IRISH RAIL CUSTOMERS WILL HAVE ALCOHOLIC DRINKS CONFISCATED ON A TRAIN SERVICE AFTER COMPLAINTS ABOUT ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR.

The action will immediately come into force on Sundays on the 1pm train from Galway to Heuston Station in Dublin, and catering staff will no longer sell alcohol on board.

Customers boarding the service with alcohol will have it taken away by Irish Rail staff.

Details of the ban will be displayed at stations, and customers booking online will also be notified during the reservation process.

It comes in addition to the ‘alcohol-free’ services operated on certain weekend routes, including the 1.15pm and 3.15pm services from Heuston Station to Waterford on Fridays, and the 3.05pm service from Waterford to Heuston Station on Sundays.

An Irish Rail spokesperson told the Irish Independent the decision had been made following a “high number” of complaints about anti-social behaviour on the train.

“The vast majority of customers who wish to enjoy an alcoholic beverage on board our services do so without impacting in any way on their fellow passengers.

“Unfortunately, there is a minority that do over-indulge, particularly those travelling in large groups such as stag and hen parties, who can disrupt others in a negative way.”

This type of behaviour was most common during weekend services, when customers may be going away for or returning from weekend breaks, Irish Rail said.

“It is a measure we take reluctantly, but we must act when our customers are regularly having their journeys disturbed by a minority.”

The spokesperson confirmed that the measure would be imposed for the “foreseeable future” and, as with all routes, would continue to be monitored for anti-social behaviour.

Irish Rail said said there were no plans at present to introduce the ban on other routes.

Irish Rail also deploys security staff on a number of routes known to play host to anti-social behaviour, including the aforementioned services between Waterford and Heuston Station and from Heuston Station to Galway on Friday afternoons.

It also prohibits the possession or sale of alcohol on some trains on major GAA match days.

Fionnuala Sheahan, director of Mature Enjoyment of Alcohol in Society (MEAS)said that for years Irish people had given social permission for people who drink too much to participate in anti-social behaviour, and that this was a clear message that Irish Rail “has had enough”.

Some 38.8 million passengers travelled with Irish Rail in 2009, down from 43.3 million passengers in the previous year.

€10m western Wild Atlantic Way driving route now launched

 

The Government is spending €10m on the Wild Atlantic Way this year, a 2,500-km driving route from Donegal to Cork aimed at attracting more visitors.

Launching the new initiative today, Junior Tourism Minister Michael Ring described it as “the world’s longest touring route”.

 It stretches along the coast from Malin Head in Donegal to the Old Head of Kinsale taking in over 500 visitor attractions, as well as 53 Blue Flag beaches, 120 golf courses and 50 loop walks.

Mr Ring said it was already providing a hit in key overseas markets like Britain, the US, France and Germany.

“It has massive potential to bring more visitors and jobs to rural communities right along the western seaboard. That’s why we will soon be promoting it even further afield in places like Spain, Italy and the Netherlands,” he said.

The government has allocated €8m for the project this year with Failte Ireland spending another €2m on some 159 “Discovery Point” sites highlighting key attractions such as the Cliffs of Moher in Clare and Dursey Island in Co Cork.

Nearly 4,000 new signs are being erected along the route in time for the start of the tourist season, while a new app is also being developed to assist visitors on the route.

One of Germany and Austria’s largest tour operators Dertour said it was featuring the route on the cover of its current brochure because it would appeal to customers.

“Germans love the coastline and they are always looking for outstanding scenery which they wouldn’t find at home,” said Dino Steinkamp of Dertour.

Irish action Plan for Jobs has 385 item to-do list but no strategy

  

The Irish Government has published its latest Action Plan for Jobs and it has a 385 item to-do list but there is still lack of a strategy.

So there are lots of points to cover but there is no evidence that ministers know what works and what doesn’t.

We noted last December that the much-hyped medium term strategy 2014-2020 would likely be a brochure rather than a plan with an unvarnished analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. That is what was published.

It came just three months after the OECD’s Economic Survey of Ireland recommended empirically-proven policies and sunset clauses in enterprise and innovation supportsand we noted that there is no experience of this in the Irish system.

The OECD said the number of programmes and agencies multiplied during the period of booming growth. “There are now over 170 separate budget lines, sometimes for very small amounts of money, and 11 major funding agencies involved in disbursing the Science Budget, although it is small by international standards.”

This is boring to ministers but nobody else is in charge and for example enterprise agency heads say nothing of substance in public and possibly also in private.

Focus limited fiscal resources on policies empirically-proven to improve employability; this will require systematic evaluation of labour-market programmes through consistent tracking and randomised trials, followed by decisions to close down ineffective schemes while strengthening successful ones.

Reflecting significant uncertainties about the effectiveness of various innovation policy tools, independently and regularly evaluate all actions in this area, strengthen programmes with proven higher returns, and wind down the others. To promote effective evaluation, ensure all innovation and enterprise supports have sunset clauses.”

The latest university rankings shows that Ireland does not have a single university in the top 100 includes mathematics, physics, computer sciences, and all four of the engineering disciplines.

It’s daft to aspire to be world class in science and technology in a country with a tiny indigenous research base and more than 70% of foreign firms spending nothing on R&D.

The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation said last December:

Minister Bruton and the Department of Jobs are unashamedly ambitiousfor the potential of scientific research in Ireland to support economic growth and job-creation in Ireland. In recent years we have improved our ratings for basic research to the point where we are now very competitive internationally – the challenge now is to achieve greater returns in terms of commercial outcomes and jobs from this research.”

So they are “unashamedly ambitious for the potential of scientific research in Ireland” and this is effectively the main enterprise policy. An inflation adjusted €24bn has been spent in the past decade in this area and all they can cite are citations in journals while patent applications are at a 30-year low.

Phased redeployment of Irish hospital staff on the way

  

Staff from St Brigid’s Hospital in Ballinasloe will be redeployed on a phased basis to both community mental health teams in Ballinasloe, and to acute services in Galway and Roscommon, following a consultation process with “no impact for current inpatients in Ballinasloe,” Minister of State with responsibility for Mental Health Kathleen Lynch has stated.

Galway and Roscommon Mental Health Services operate as one administrative unit. At present, there are 35 acute psychiatric beds in Galway city, and 22 acute psychiatric beds in both Ballinasloe and Roscommon. This gives a total of 79 beds, serving a population of some 315,000.

A Vision for Change recommends 50 beds for a catchment population of 300,000. In line with policy and operational norms nationally, the provision of 22 beds in both Ballinasloe and Roscommon means that the current overall stock of 79 in the HSE West is too high in relative terms, allied to a corresponding under-development of community-based mental health services, Minister Lynch said in response to Dáil questioning by Deputy Denis Naughten.

In the context of the service improvements now underway, a purpose-built, 50-bed acute mental health unit will be completed in Galway University Hospital in 2015, to replace the existing smaller unit. This unit will consist of 35 general adult mental health beds, with the remaining 15 beds relating to psychiatry of later life, eating disorders and mental health and intellectual disability. The acute unit in Roscommon will continue to provide 22 general adult mental health beds.

The proposed reorganisation of services, following a detailed assessment by HSE West, will provide for a total of 57 general adult mental health beds. This will be a sufficient number of acute psychiatric beds, in line with A Vision for Change, and will also allow the Executive to enhance community-based services through redeployment of some staff from acute services, said Minister Lynch.

10 of the hottest Exercise trends for you to try out

 

Fed-up with your usual workout? Don’t despair, we have the solution. Our expert rates the 10 hottest exercise trends.

Bored of bootcamp and fed up of fitness DVDs? A new survey has found that we’d rather do anything OTHER than exercise, and this includes filling out tax returns, doing house work and even going to a Justin Bieber concert.

Here we reveal 10 new ways to take the weariness out of your workout – and personal trainer Darragh Hayes gives his expert verdict on each.

1 ONLINE TRAINING:

From broadband to waistband, virtual fitness could soon replace fitness DVDs for those looking to shape up at home. Dodging Storm Darwin while doing an exercise class with a real instructor anywhere in the world is just one of the advantages. But the Skype’s the limit.

EXPERT VIEW: “I do online training with clients, but I would only do it with those who already know what they’re doing. If you’re just starting out, it’s better to have somebody standing over you telling you exactly what to do.”

TRY IT: Natalie Portman’s trainer Mary Helen Bowers offers online ballet classes at http://www.balletbeautiful.com

2 RAVE FITNESS:

Dust down your Scooter CD and dig out those glow-sticks. Nineties-style aerobic raves – but with no booze or boys – are back. Clubbers burn up to 600 calories by dancing non-stop for an hour. Best of all, you wake up feeling perky not pukey the next morning.

EXPERT VIEW: “Jumping around like a maniac for an hour will certainly burn calories, but I’m not convinced it will actually burn fat or make you stronger. Be sure to drink lots of water.”

TRY IT: Women-only freestyle dance session ‘Dance Dance Party Party’ (see dancedancepartyparty.com for upcoming Irish dates)

3 OBSTACLE COURSES:

Beanbags are for babies. Today’s toughest obstacle courses for adults include crawling through mud, plunging into ice-cold water and scrambling over 12-foot walls.

Among the extreme outdoor challenges taking place here are Hell & Back, Tough Mudder and Runamuck. Less marathon than mad-athon.

EXPERT VIEW: “In terms of motivation, setting a goal to complete an outdoor challenge is a great idea. Just remember to get into the gym and start lifting to build strength as well!”

TRY IT: Tough Mudder Ireland 2014 takes place on October 4-5 at Punchestown Racecourse, Naas, Co. Kildare (see tough mudder.co.uk)

4 HYBRID EXERCISE:

First Brangelina and now ‘Piloxing’. That’s just one of the hybrid exercise classes springing up all over the country. As well as the fusion of Pilates and boxing, designed to offer the best of both, there’s ‘yogilates’ (yoga and Pilates), ‘zennis’ (zen and tennis) and ‘YAS’ (yoga and spinning). Perfect for indecisive exercisers – or is it?

EXPERT VIEW: “If you want to do Pilates, just do pilates; if you want to box, then box. Any good personal trainer should be able to integrate the strength and conditioning offered by both into your regular fitness regime.”

TRY IT: For a full list of Piloxing instructors in Ireland seehttp://www.piloxing.com

5 BODY-WEIGHT TRAINING:

Feel the burn using nothing but your own body. Forget the fancy gym equipment and go back to basics with press-ups, sit-ups, squat and lunges. It helps prevent osteoporosis, especially for women, by building stronger bones, costs nothing and you don’t even have to change out of your jammies. Triple whammy.

EXPERT VIEW: “Since injuring my back last year, body-weight training has helped recover my strength. I see people coming into the gym who can’t even hold a side plank for 10 seconds. It’s vital to get the basics right before so much as picking up a dumbbell.”

TRY IT: “When it comes to squatting, it’s a myth that you have to go ‘ass to grass’,” says Darragh. “Keeping your knees in front of your toes, squat until you’re parallel with the floor.”

6 ACTIVE SITTING:

Now you can shape up by literally sitting on your backside. Sedentary workers are increasingly throwing away their chairs in a bid to burn calories as they work. Instead, you balance on an inflatable exercise ball, which engages tummy muscles and improves your posture – not to mention your balance.

EXPERT VIEW: “Sitting on an exercise ball intermittently is fine, but for eight hours a day it could cause your core muscles to become fatigued. Doing bodyweight core exercises like the plank or side plank will have the same effect.”

TRY IT: Pro Fitness 65cm Gym Ball, €8.95, available from Argos.ie

7 GET-FIT GADGETS:

Fitness gadgets have come a long way since the humble pedometer. From smart scales that gauge your body-fat percentage to sweat-resistant headphones, losing weight has gone all hi-tech. Nike’s FuelBand activity tracker even reminds you to move if you’ve been watching telly for too long. Big blubber is watching you!

EXPERT VIEW: “No gadget is going to get your body fat down or build muscle, so don’t expect them to. If you’re hungry, eat. If you’re not, don’t. It’s as simple as that. Unless you’re training for a competition, I think fitness gadgets are a waste of time.”

TRY IT: Nike+ Fuelband SE, €139, available from store.nike.com

8 HIIT:

If you’re time poor, and not so flush with cash either, this year’s hottest trend for ‘High-Intensity Interval Training’ could be just the trick. Torching around 15 calories per minute, studies show that a 10-minute HIIT – including push-ups and burpees – burns more calories than half an hour on the treadmill. And, as it’s over in mere minutes, the boredom excuse is invalid.

EXPERT VIEW: “High-intensity interval training blows training on a treadmill or cross trainer out of the water. It’s great for losing fat and building muscle. Do it using your own body weight, or add weights for a tougher workout.”

TRY IT: The Fit Factory, Kells, Co Meath offers HIIT classes (see facebook.com/ fitfactorymeath)

9 ANTI-GRAVITY YOGA:

Super-toned singer Pink wowed with her aerial performance at the Grammys last month. And now more and more people here are hanging out at the gym too. The Cirque de Soleil-style classes involve practising yoga moves in a hammock for maximum flexibility.

EXPERT VIEW: “I have Olympic rings and TRX equipment in my gym that I use as part of any session. But I wouldn’t base a whole session around suspension training as there’s only so much you can do with it.”

TRY IT: For details of anti-gravity yoga classes available in Ireland, seehttp://www.antigravityyoga.ie

10 GROUP TRAINING:

You don’t have to be a celeb to afford a personal trainer – any more. Tighten your belt in more ways than one by simply sharing a trainer with one or more gym buddy. Mind you, even counting our Facebook friends, we probably still can’t afford trainer to the stars Tracy Anderson.

EXPERT VIEW: “I’m a stickler for technique. When you’ve got 25 or 30 people in a class, like some bootcamps, there’s no way you can ensure everyone is exercising correctly. For those who can’t afford one-to-one training, sharing a trainer is a great idea.”

TRY IT: The Cover Model Body Gym offers ladies-only group training (limited to six per class), €300 for 12 sessions (see covermodelbodypersonal training.com)

Wild beavers in England seen for first time in centuries

 

Footage of a family of beavers filmed in a Devon river is believed to be the first sighting of its kind in up to 500 years

Two beavers were caught on camera playing at night while a third one (in background) is gnawing a tree on the banks of the River Otter, Devon. Tom Buckley got the footage with a hidden infrared motion sensor camera. Photograph: Tom Buckley

A family of wild beavers has been seen in the England countryside in what is believed to be the first sighting of its kind in up to 500 years.

Three European beavers (Castor fiber), believed to be adults, have been filmed together on the River Otter in east Devon and can be seen gnawing at the base of trees, grooming themselves and playing together.

Experts said the sighting was “highly significant” as it strongly suggested a small breeding population of beavers now existed outside captivity.

European beavers were once widespread in the UK but were hunted to extinction by the 16th century in England and Wales for their fur, medicinal value and meat.

There have been successful reintroduction schemes in other parts of the UK. In 2009, three beaver families were released into forest lochs near the Sound of Jura in Argyll, while plans to release the species into the wild in Wales have also moved a step closer. The sighting in Devon would be the first time in centuries that European beavers have bred in the wild in England.

Wild beavers return to Scotland Link to video: How wild beavers made their return to Britain

The footage was captured by local retired environmental scientist Tom Buckley, who noticed some trees had been felled in the area in late last year. Together with landowner David Lawrence, he installed three motion sensor cameras along a 400-500m stretch of the river. A lone beaver was spotted on the farm in January and last July a woman claimed she saw a beaver on the river.

“We’d seen bits of trees chewed and cut down and I was starting to think that it was a sign of beavers even though I couldn’t believe it,” Buckley said.

Beaver expert Derek Gow confirmed that one of the animals filmed by Buckley was a juvenile and the family may have been in the wild for years. Buckley does not know where they have come from or exactly where their home is.

“When I first saw that first beaver it was such a shock. When I saw three it was slightly different – we knew there was one around and we were tracking its activities. When we watched film and all of a sudden another appeared, and then another – I would not just say that was amazing – one was speechless realising what was happening. We had no idea there was more than one, and they are all quite large and active as well.”

Devon Wildlife Trust has been running its own Beaver Project since 2011, when an adult male and female were introduced to a securely fenced compound in the north-west of the county.

But the beavers remain in their compound and are not the source of the population now seen on the River Otter.

Steve Hussey from the Devon Wildlife Trust said he supported the reintroduction of beavers to England but that it had to be “properly planned”.

“In principle, we would like to see the European beaver reintroduced to England but recognise that a great deal of work needs to be done before this can happen.”

He said the beavers should be left alone and observed using a rigorous monitoring programme.

“This group of beavers provides us with a unique opportunity to learn lessons about their behaviour and their impact on the local landscape … [the group] could contribute to this process if they are subjected to thorough scientific study.

Beavers are a “keystone species”, meaning they provide more important ecosystem services than their numbers alone would suggest. Known as “ecological engineers”, their dams, burrows and ditches and the branches they drag into the water create habitats for a host of other species. Their dams slow rivers down, reducing scouring and erosion, and improving water quality by holding back silt.

During the recent wet weather and flooding crisis, naturalists called for the reintroduction of beavers to control floods.

Otter tracks and spraint was found alongside the beaver prints, indicating they may have been interacting with wild otters too.

Hussey added: “There’s evidence that otters, beavers are coming together here face to face perhaps for the first time in two or 300 years.”

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is investigating the sighting as it is against the law to release beavers in England. A spokeswoman said the department would “look into this case and will consider what action to take”.

She said she could not comment on whether the beavers could be removed from the site or destroyed.

Buckley said: “This beaver family has been around for at least a couple of years and no one seems to have noticed them. They haven’t caused any trouble for anybody and it’s only because they’ve been caught on camera that people know they are here. To think about destroying them is totally out of order. This is an insight into what the potential impact is if they are already in a place and at the moment that impact would seem to be zero.”  

Donie's news Ireland daily BLOG

Irish Hospital’s face major disruption’s as junior doctors to vote on strike action

 

Irish Hospitals are now facing major disruption’s as thousands of junior doctors prepare to vote on industrial action in protest at their working hours.

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) will announce today that its 2,000 junior doctor members will begin balloting for industrial action next month as part of the ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign.

The doctors by law should work no more than 48 hours a week, but many are clocking up more than 100.

And some are working shifts of up to 72 hours, with major implications for patient safety and the medics’ own health.

Hospitals, particularly outside Dublin, are hugely reliant on around 4,900 junior doctors to maintain services, and any protest action would have a serious effect on patient care.

Action by the doctors, who will begin balloting early next month, could see them walking off the job after a certain number of hours.

They could also refuse to do tasks which they say can take up to 30pc of their time and are outside their training, such as taking blood samples, scans and administering intravenous drugs.

Due to the need for notice to be given of any action, it would take until early autumn before it would begin.

The last major ballot on industrial action was in 2009, but disruption was averted after the Labour Relations Commission intervened.

Strike action by junior doctors last occurred more than 20 years ago, and although there have been ballots since and protests at individual hospitals, the medics have not taken en masse to the picket lines.

The IMO has lost many junior doctor members in recent years because of disillusionment with its failure to win improvements in their working conditions.

A social media campaign on Twitter earlier this year gained publicity, but one of the main problems in organising large-scale protests is that junior doctors are difficult to mobilise.

JEOPARDISE: This is because many are from abroad and cannot afford to jeopardise their income.

A spokesman for the IMO said it would embark on a “major campaign to force the Government to reduce the excessive hours”.

He added: “The Government is in blatant breach of the European Working Time Directive and routinely forces young doctors to work longer hours than are tolerated in almost any other profession.

“This puts patient safety and the health and welfare of doctors at risk.”

The HSE promised earlier this year that no junior doctor would have to work more than 68 hours in a week, and that by the beginning of June they would not have to do longer than a 24-hour continuous shift. This has yet to materialise.

Junior doctors last week began their latest six-month rotations in hospitals, but there were around 100 vacancies that could not be filled.

The HSE has said that while progress towards compliance has been made in some locations – including Galway University Hospital and St Vincent’s University Hospital – the most significant challenges are in small- to medium-sized hospitals.

These include Portlaoise, Kerry General and Letterkenny, which have low numbers of doctors on rotas in surgery, anaesthetics, paediatrics and obstetrics, forcing them to work longer hours.

The HSE conceded that many doctors did not receive adequate daily rest, and many worked more than the average 48-hour week.

Hospitals that are short of junior doctors have to resort to agency staff to cover critical service gaps, but these are expensive and do not provide the continuity of care needed.

The core of the problem is that many of the young Irish doctors in training are choosing to go abroad rather than work here.

New technology allows retailers to recognise a celebrity approaching

 

It is a moment of pure panic for a shop assistant – you recognise the person in front of you demanding attention but you cant place them do not have time to deal with them.

Then, as soon as they leave the shop, the penny drops and you realise you have snubbed one of the rich and famous, and your boss is not going to be happy that you have turned away a month’s worth of sales or a glowing celebrity endorsement.

But now a purpose-built facial-recognition system has been designed to ensure no hapless shop assistant accidentally snubs their best customer again, the Sunday Times reported.

The VIP-identification technology, created by NEC IT Solutions, is already being tested in about a dozen top stores and exclusive hotels in Britain, America and the Far East.

The Cambridge based company believe it could help provide a personalised service and improve customer service.

It could prevent blushes such as those of watersports store owner Dave Buckland, who failed to recognise the Duchess of Cambridge when she went in to his shop to buy a wetsuit last year.

The company already supplies software to help security services spot terrorists and other criminals, works by analysing footage of customers’ faces as they walk through the door.

Various measurements of the face are taken to create a numerical code, known as a face template, which is checked against a database of clients.

An alert is sent to staff via computer, iPad or smartphone, providing details that might include their names, dress size, favourite room or previous spending.

Chris de Silva, a vice-president at NEC IT Solutions, said: ” The luxury end of the market is quite interested in it — they’re interested in VIPs.”

Because they use the neural network to create a holistic view of the face, it still works when people wear sunglasses, hats and scarves in an effort to prevent identification, he claimed, dismissing the idea that it could create privacy concerns.

Recent tests had found that facial hair, changes in weight or hair colour and the passage of time did not affect the accuracy of the system.

“Essentially if a human can identify a face, our system can also do so — but it never gets tired or bored,” he said.

Mr De Silva described the recognition software as an extension of the loyalty-card system, and said it may tempt customers back to the high street by bringing back the personal element.

What would Ted think of Pauline now? Mrs. Doyle actress bares all for artists

 

SLIGO BORN ACTRESS PAULINE MCLYNN STRIPPED DOWN TO HER BIRTHDAY SUIT TO POSE FOR THE SKY ARTS PORTRAIT ARTIST OF THE YEAR.

The 51-year-old lay naked across a chaise longue with nothing but a skimpy sheet to cover her modesty.

Pauline was emulating iconic painting The Rokeby Venus by Velazquez. It is Velazquez’s only female nude and the portrait now hangs in the National Gallery in London.

  And Pauline says holding the pose wasn’t easy. “I had the most awkward of positions to keep,” she told the Herald.

“My neck is completely gone at this stage and the rest of me is slowly but surely seizing up.

“But I used to be a history of art student so I love all this,” she explained. “My mother has always painted and one of my first boyfriends was an artist and I posed for him the odd time – never naked mind.”

The former Shameless star admits she was somewhat taken aback when she viewed the paintings.

“You see some of the results and you think ‘Jaysus I’m not looking my best today’ but they are all accurate, I have to say. They’re all great.”

And Pauline will get to keep her favourite painting.

The actress turned 51 last week but a birthday bash was far from her mind. Instead, Pauline spent the day filming Jason Byrne’s upcoming BBC comedy Father Figure.

“It was my last day on set so I worked a 14-hour day,” she laughed.

Pauline wasn’t the only celebrity to pose for painters in Dublin’s RDS.

Moone Boy star David Rawle was a muse along with musician Lethal Bizzle.

Over 1,800 people entered the arts contest. The series finalists will see their work displayed in the National Portrait Gallery.

The winner will be awarded a €11,500 commission to produce a portrait of double-Booker Prize winning author Hilary Mantel.

Kathleen Lynch says people with disabilities will not be asked to help fund their own care

  

Minister of State with responsibility for Disability, Older People, Equality & Mental Health Kathleen Lynch has said that people with disabilities will not be asked to co-fund their care.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Ms Lynch said a review of the Fair Deal scheme, whereby people co-fund their own nursing home care, is under way.

Her comments follow reports at the weekend that the Government was poised to force patients requiring disability and mental health services to co-fund their own care.

Ms Lynch also said that State-run nursing homes were not facing closure but that massive works were required to upgrade the facilities due to the age of the residential units.

Donegal chiropractor to be sentenced for breaking into ex-girlfriend’s home and assaulting her

 

A Donegal chiropractor will be sentenced next week for breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s home and then dragging her back into the house and assaulting her.

Helen McEvily (33) was at home after a night out when Kevin Ginty (46) climbed in through her sitting room window. She managed to leave the house and call the gardaí.

Sergeant Martin Finnan told Deirdre Murphy SC, prosecuting that Ms McEvily was making her way to a neighbour’s house and was on the phone again to local gardaí when the line went dead. Ginty then wrapped his arm around her neck and dragged her back into the house.

He put the woman at the bottom of the stairs and struck her head off the bottom step before dragging her up to her bedroom.

The gardaí called her phone again but Ginty took it, impersonated a woman’s voice and told officers the victim was at a disco.

Sgt Finnan said Ginty then left the house and she called the gardaí again. When officers arrived at Ms McEvily’s home, Ginty drove up to the house and was arrested for drink driving.

Ms McEvily was left with bruising to her inner arm, upper and lower back and buttocks. There were also abrasions on her breast and chest area and scratches to her left ankle and sole of her left foot.

Ginty of St Columbas Terrace, Letterkenny, pleaded guilty to burglary and assault at the woman’s home on April 4, 2010. He has one previous minor conviction as well as the drink driving offence at the woman’s home.

Ms McEvily read her victim impact report in which she stated that a part of her did not survive that night.

“I am not the same mother, I am not the same sister,” she said, adding that she has had to attend counselling. She said she has trouble sleeping at night and feels paranoid about any noise or movements.

Ms McEvily said everything in her life now revolves around the fact that she was attacked.

“I can barely remember what it is to have a normal life. It is easier to accept how my life is now rather than continuing to fight to try and get back to a person that no longer exists,” the woman continued.

She said she has since moved house and has installed personal alarms in her new home.

“This has incident has prevented me moving on with my life, to me I am no longer living, I survive,” Ms McEvily said.

Sgt Finnan agreed with Gerard Clarke SC, defending that Ms McEvily took out a restraining order on Ginty to prevent him from going near her home or workplace and from contacting her in anyway.

He accepted that Ginty has “operated under this restriction” and that his client is “under no illusion” that their relationship is over and he is no longer welcome in her house.

Sgt Finnan accepted that the Ginty and Ms McEvily had been in an “on and off” sexual relationship since October 2007 and had sex two days before he broke into her home.

He further accepted that Ms McEvily told another prosecuting garda, Detective Garda Martin Mannion, that when Ginty brought her into her bedroom, he lay down on the bed beside her, she screamed for help and he left.

Mr Clarke told Mr Justice Paul Carney that his client came from a highly respected and well regarded family in Letterkenny.

Mr Justice Carney remanded Ginty in custody and adjourned the case to next Monday for sentence

Female mammals can choose the sex of their offspring by controlling sperm

  

New research has backed up a theory that females can speed up or slow down ‘male’ and ‘female’ sperm in the reproductive tract to choose the sex.

A NEW STUDY has shown that females in the animal kingdom have even more control than we thought and can actually choose the sex of their offspring.

The study, published in PLOS ONE, has shown that mammalian species do this in order to beat the odds and produce extra grandchildren, ensuring a stronger bloodline.

“This is one of the holy grails of modern evolutionary biology — finding the data which definitively show that when females choose the sex of their offspring, they are doing so strategically to produce more grandchildren,” said Joseph Garner, PhD, associate professor of comparative medicine and senior author of the study.

Scientists analysed 90 years of breeding records from San Diego Zoo and assembled three-generation pedigrees of more than 2,300 animals.

Major mammal groups were represented, including primates; carnivores, such as lions, bears and wolves; cloven-hoofed animals, such as cows, buffalo and deer; and odd-toed grazing animals, such as horses and rhinos.

The data showed that when females produced mostly sons, those sons had 2.7 times more children per capita than those whose mothers bore equal numbers of male and female offspring.

Researchers found that grandmothers and grandfathers were able to strategically choose to give birth to sons, if those sons would be high-quality and in turn reward them with more grandchildren. The process is believed to be largely controlled by the females, Garner said.

You can think of this as being girl power at work in the animal kingdom. We like to think of reproduction as being all about the males competing for females, with females dutifully picking the winner. But in reality females have much more invested than males, and they are making highly strategic decisions about their reproduction based on the environment, their condition and the quality of their mate.

Though Garner said that the exact mechanism isn’t known, one theory that holds strong is that the females is picking the sperm that will produce the sex that will serve her interests the most.

Garner said that this is done by controlling the ‘male’ and ‘female’ sperm, which have different shapes, as they move through the mucous in the reproductive tract, selectively slowing down or speeding up the sperm they want to select.

There may be some parallels among humans, Garner said, with some studies suggesting that they may be able to adjust their sex-ratios in response to social cues. For examples, in societies where a man can have more than one wife, the top-ranking wife is much more likely to have a son than the lower tanking wife.

A study of 400 US billionaires, published in 2013, also found that they were more likely to have sons than daughters — presumably, the scientists hypothesized, because sons tend to retain the family’s wealth.