Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Enda Kenny to stay ‘until North crisis is sorted out?

  

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has risked deepening the increasingly bitter Fine Gael war over when he will step down by saying he has no intention of leaving until the Northern Ireland political crisis is resolved.

Speaking after the St Patrick’s Day parade in New York City, Mr Kenny said the Northern Ireland issue “takes precedence over everything else”, effectively delaying his departure until at least the summer.

In the aftermath of a tentative coup against Mr Kenny last month, the Taoiseach told the parliamentary party he would address the leadership issue conclusively on his return from his week-long US visit.

However, while the position was widely seen to indicate he would step down later this month or in early April, no definitive timeline was given.

In recent weeks, Mr Kenny has caused concern among Fine Gael dissenters that he will not leave due to his repeated references to the need for stability during the Brexit negotiations next month and last Thursday’s meeting with US president Donald Trump.

However, while those close to Mr Kenny have sought to downplay such fears, the Taoiseach poured further fuel on the flames yesterday by saying the Northern Ireland political crisis is now another reason for why he should not step down.

Asked about when he will resign after walking past cheering crowds at the New York City St Patrick’s Day parade, Mr Kenny said he continues to have “a number of priorities” that must be resolved.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Taoiseach Enda Kenny march in the St Patrick’s Day parade on 5th Avenue.

He said the political impasse in the North caused by last month’s Stormont elections, and the fact Sinn Féin and DUP now have just three weeks to form a government or be forced into another election in May, was a new addition to these “priorities”, and stoked backbench anger by saying Ireland must provide “stable” leadership.

“What I’ve always said is I need to deal with a number of priorities here, the first priority is to put in place an executive in Northern Ireland,” said Mr Kenny.

“We have no government, no devolved authority, in Northern Ireland now. I hope the parties who are elected will accept the responsibility of putting together a government within the three-week period.

“What I did say to my party is that I would deal with this effectively and conclusively on my return, that’s my intention. But I think these are priorities that take precedence over everything else.”

Asked directly when he is “going to deal with it [the leadership question]”, Mr Kenny said: “I’m not going to answer that for you. Do you not think it’s appropriate that the immediate priority is to have an executive functioning in Northern Ireland, do you not think it’s appropriate that all the work we put together we should have an agreed negotiating stance for the EU that’s going to affect everybody in our country?

“I intend to follow through on those [priorities] very, very diligently.”

A number of Fine Gael backbenchers known to want Mr Kenny to step down as soon as possible last night declined to comment publicly, but said it has already been made clear to the Taoiseach he cannot continue to ignore the leadership issue.

Mr Kenny’s New York comments came 48 hours after a draft version of his speech to the American- Ireland Fund Gala in Washington DC said this would be his last St Patrick’s Day as Taoiseach before it was deleted from the script.

Asked about the change to the otherwise untouched 1,500-word speech on Wednesday, Mr Kenny simply said it was removed “because it shouldn’t have been in there”.

The McEvaddy brothers get Dubai backing for €2bn airport terminal

   

THE MARKER HOTEL IN DUBLIN’S GRAND CANAL SQUARE WILL HAVE 30 BEDROOMS ON THE NEW FLOOR, AND THE MAIN RESTAURANT WILL BE MOVED TO THE ROOFTOP.

Businessmen Ulick (above pic) and Des McEvaddy have secured the financial backing of a Dubai-based investment group to build a proposed €2 billion terminal scheme at Dublin Airport, according to the media.

Omega Air boss Ulick McEvaddy and his brother Des have been attempting for more than 20 years to develop a third independent terminal on 130 acres of land they own adjacent to the airport. They now have the support of Dubai-based Tricap Investments, an investment fund with a diversified portfolio that spans real estate, energy and aerospace in the Middle East, the US, Asia and Africa.

  Brehon to add new floor to Marker hotel in €10m upgrade

Brehon Capital Partners, the owners of the Marker hotel, in Dublin’s Grand Canal Square, is planning a €10 million investment that will add a new floor and upgraded roof bar to the property.

The expansion will include about 30 bedrooms on the new floor, bringing the hotel up to 217 rooms, while it also involves moving the main restaurant to the rooftop. The roof would be about two-thirds enclosed, with a small, open terrace, allowing it to be used all year round.

JP Morgan may double its Irish workforce.

US investment bank JP Morgan may add up to 500 people to its operations in Ireland, which would more than double its workforce here, the Sunday Business Post suggests. The bank is among those to have instructed property agents to find additional office space in Dublin, it reports.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said on St Patrick’s Day that more than 120 overseas banks, insurers and other financial companies are currently in talks to move operations to Ireland as a result of the UK’s decision to quit the European Union.

Mr Noonan made the comments on Friday at an event in Singapore.

Aryzta sets four-year target to cut debts by €1bn.

Aryzta chairman Gary McGann has told analysts that he plans to cut debt levels at the troubled frozen baked goods company by €1 billion within four years, according to the Sunday Times.

Mr McGann, in his first public outing as chairman of Aryzta, said the company would undertake an overhaul of the board and a review of its business model. He also said he had received “very, very clear feedback” from shareholders that they did not see “the strategic fit” between Aryzta and Picard, its French frozen-food retailing associate.

Unilever may sell off its margarine division for €6bn.

Consumer goods giant Unilever is eyeing the £6 billion sale of its margarine division, which produces Flora and Stork, says the Sunday Telegraph. The FTSE 100-listed manufacturer has been forced into a strategic review of its operations after an audacious £115 billion takeover approach from Kraft Heinz, it reports.

The newspaper understands that rather than opt for a defensive bid for a rival such as Colgate-Palmolive, or a spin-off of its entire food arm, Unilever is leaning towards a sale of the margarine business, which controls just under a third of the entire global margarine market.

Eight men rescued off the Sligo coast after dive boat capsizes

Two men taken to hospital following the incident east of Sligo town

  

RESCUE 118 WAS CALLED OFF FROM ITS SEARCH AT BLACKSOD BAY, CO MAYO TO ASSIST WITH THE OPERATION.

Eight men have been rescued from the sea off the coast of Co Sligo after a dive boat capsized.

Two of the men were taken to hospital following the incident which occured off Aughris Pier, east of Sligo town.

A mayday call was received by Malin Head Coast Guard at 11.24am on Sunday. Fortunately, the Sligo Bay RNLI lifeboat crew were on a training exercise in the area and arrived at the scene of the incident at 11.43am.

The lifeboat crew rescued all eight people from the water and one man was airlifted to hospital by the Irish Coast Guard Helicopter Rescue 118. He suffered a head injury when the boat capsized in heavy seas.

The remaining seven men were taken to Aughris Pier where one person was taken by ambulance to hospital. Following the rescue, the lifeboat crew returned to the scene to tow the vessel back to the pier.

Rescue 118 was called off from the search at Blacksod Bay, Co Mayo for the missing crew members of Rescue 116, the Sikorsky helicopter which crashed into the sea on Tuesday morning.

Sligo Bay RNLI lifeboat operations manager Willie Murphy said the incident happened at the end of a difficult week for the rescue services following the loss of Rescue 116.

He said: “This morning’s callout shows that the professionalism and dedication of the search and rescue community remains unchanged.

“The RNLI crew at Sligo Bay along with their colleagues at Rescue 118 were on scene minutes after the call for help was raised and rescued eight people from the water. Our thoughts are with the man who was airlifted to hospital and with our colleagues still searching in Blacksod Bay for the three missing crew members of Rescue 116.

Cancer the dreaded disease of women

    

Cancer is a dreaded disease, and rightly so because hitherto treatment was vague and patients were generally doomed to die of it. Advances in surgical technique and adjuvant treatment have now made cancer a treatable and possibly curable disease in early stages.

Women suffer nearly half the burden of cancer even though they are not pre-disposed to the conventional causative factors like tobacco and alcohol. The causal factors in women are generally age, lifestyle, hereditary, infections and environmental factors.

Social factors, especially inequalities, are major determinants of cancer burden in females, with poorer females more likely to die of their disease than affluent ones. Cancer can have profound social and economic consequences for the people of India, often leading to family impoverishment and societal inequality.

Common cancers and their screening?

Females generally postpone their first contact with a health facility, leading to a delayed diagnosis in an advanced stage. Unfortunately, the four most common cancers afflicting females can be screened and diagnosed at an early stage.

1. Firstly, Breast cancer, can be screened by monthly self-breast examination, annual clinical examination and mammograms after the age of 50 years.
2. Second, cervical cancer, a sexually active female should undergo a pap smear every three years from the age of 21 years and co-testing with HPV after the age of 30 years.
3. Third, ovarian cancer, can be diagnosed by having a high clinical index of suspicion in a female presenting with vague abdominal symptoms, early satiety and a timely investigation by tumour markers and an ultrasound examination.
4. Fourth, uterine cancer, presents as inter-menstrual or postmenopausal bleeding usually in an obese elderly female. The sad common denominator in all these cancers is that they can all be diagnosed early with minimal effort and cured by surgery.

How is cancer treated?

Once a patient is suspected of having symptoms of cancer, a general evaluation followed by a staging workup including a tissue biopsy is done. Once the diagnosis has been confirmed, treatment options are discussed and if possible an appropriate radical surgery is planned. Radical surgery for cancer is the only curative treatment modality for solid organ cancers. Radical cancer surgeries require a centre where trained surgical oncologist interact with their medical and radiation oncology colleagues and have adequate post -operative ICU care  to obtain best results.

The first attempt at treatment is generally the best chance of cure as recurrence is resistant to most forms of treatment. After surgery the patients are followed up by designated protocol and undergo adjuvant therapy (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy) as needed.

The role of women in cancer is prevention?

Women have a central role in the fight against cancer, not only can they encourage their family members to change to a healthy lifestyle (abstinence from smoking/alcohol, healthier food habits, exercise) leading to cancer prevention, they can also be an observant family member who encourages an early medical consultation for a possible cancer symptom leading to early detection and cure. We must therefore, empower women with knowledge and use them as our sentinels in the war on cancer.

Scientists say the ‘five second’ rule is correct when dropping food on the floor

    

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU DROP SOME FOOD ON THE FLOOR? DOES IT GO STRAIGHT IN THE BIN OR DO YOU ADHERE TO THE WIDELY-USED ‘FIVE SECOND’ RULE AND EAT IT?

A study, undertaken by scientists at The Big Bang Fair in Birmingham, shows that four out of five people or 79 per cent of us admit to popping fallen food in our mouths.

Of course most people think their own floors are cleaner and thus it’s more acceptable to eat food off – 56 per cent of them in fact – but that figure drops considerably to just 17 per cent if eating off another’s floor.

The research also shows people are just as likely to serve food that’s fallen on the floor to their dog (18 per cent) as they are their partner (17 per cent).

The most radical examples of ‘hoovers’ include people eating snacks off the floor of the cinema (2 per cent) or public transport (1 per cent).

But when asked to justify why they would do thus, a fifth of people admitted to following ‘five-second rule’, which scientists have now revealed as legitimate and safe in most cases.

Germ expert, Professor Anthony Hilton from Aston University, told the Birmingham Mail: “Eating food that has spent a few moments on the floor can never be entirely risk free.

“Obviously, food covered in visible dirt shouldn’t be eaten, but as long as it’s not obviously contaminated, the science shows that food is unlikely to have picked up harmful bacteria from a few seconds spent on an indoor floor.

“That is not to say that germs can’t transfer from the floor to the food.

“Our research has shown that the nature of the floor surface, the type of food dropped on the floor and the length of time it spends on the floor can all have an impact on the number that can transfer.”

Supermarket soups can be laced with up to seven spoons of sugar

    

SOME “HEALTHY” COMMERCIAL SOUPS CONTAIN A STAGGERING SEVEN TEASPOONS OF SUGAR, A TOP CHEF HAS REVEALED.

Hilary O’Hagan-Brennan said one spiced chicken soup was made with 28 grams of sugar per tub. The World Health Organisation recommends people take no more than 24 grams a day.

Ms O’Hagan-Brennan said on the RTE’s What Are You Eating? programme that even a root vegetable soup, which people might assume was healthy, contained 16 grams of sugar, or four teaspoons.

She says “There is no place for added sugar in soup”?

And sugar wasn’t the only hidden ingredient in our convenience foods, presenter Philip Boucher-Hayes discovered when he investigated.

He found that one third of us believe wraps are more healthy than traditional sandwiches.

But a large wrap can be equal to two slices of bread. And commercial tortillas are made with glycerol – a form of sugar – to keep them moist, and emulsifier to bind the ingredients together and extend their shelf life.

“Some chicken wraps have as many calories as a 12-inch pizza,” he discovers.

Consultant dietitian Aveen Bannon reveals that while salads are good for you, the benefits are often undone by large amounts of dressing. An average tablespoon of mayonnaise contains 94 calories – and people often use two or three spoons with a salad.

What would happen if the Earth’s rotation change direction or stop

    

The Earth, is the only planet in our solar system, that as long as we know it has life, and moves with a certain pattern, which we assume. Our planet rotates around its axis, a drive that takes about 24 hours, which seems to be from east to west at a speed of about 30 km per second.

We might think that these rules are insignificant and do not affect our existence. Only if our planet “rebels” and change course or reduce speed, then nothing will be the same.

According to the BBC, if the Earth began to move east, the climate in most regions would change drastically. The Sahara would be more rainy and desert will be turned into a jungle. Another case is that of anhydrous California which will also have more rain, as opposed to Florida we would see the swamps to dry up.

If again our planet began to move very slowly, then life on the planet would not survive as well, cause the side that would strike the sun would burn, and the “dark” side would freeze. In just one day we would have a transition from the Ice Age … the planet Venus. It’s a fact that the Earth actually reduces its speed, but it will spend trillions of years until it stops completely.

BUT HERE IS A SUMMARY OF THE QUESTION ANSWERS.?

1. The Earth would become an even more imperfect sphere and this would reduce the acceleration due to gravity; it would decrease at the equator and increase at the poles. Also, the days would shorten.
   2. Since the effect of gravity has decreased near the equator, we would observe tides much higher than usual in these areas, much more land would go underwater during high tides. I assume Venice would cease to remain habitable.
   3. The precession of the Earth’s axis would change. As the Earth becomes an even more Oblate Spheroid, the gravitational differences (of the Sun on Earth) would be larger on different parts of the Earth, this would make the axis precess even faster. The current cycle is 26,000 years long for one complete precession, this would shorten depending on the increase in rotational velocity. Axial precession
   4. North Star would change faster. Currently the North Star is Polaris which is set to be replaced by Deneb in 8,000 years. Due to the above reasons, it would occur faster.
   5. It is also possible that the axial tilt of the Earth would increase. This would mean that winters would be colder and summers would be hotter.
   6. Since the Earth now rotates faster and the Coriolis effect depends on the rotation of the Earth, the impact of Coriolis effect would increase and we would experience faster wind speeds. Coriolis force
   7. This would be a boon for geostationary satellites as the operational altitude would reduce due to Earth’s increased rotational velocity. Geostationary orbit
   8. Since the Sidereal day (Sidereal time) would now be shorter, we would have to redefine our present units of time.
   9. Since we would have to redefine our units of time and also the orbit of our satellites, it would be a disaster for the GPS system, I can safely say that it would be unusable for at least a few years until all the corrections have been made.
   10. Since the Coriolis Effect would alter the wind speeds, and the rotational velocity of Earth has increased, the travel time of aeroplanes would change.    

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Irish tax take €800m more than expected in first half of 2015

Total returns between January and June exceeded €20bn for first time since 2007

  

Michael Noonan’s department said the exchequer balance had been enhanced by a number of one-off transactions

Tax payments in the first half of the year were some €800 million ahead of target as the total return in the six-month period came in ahead of €20 billion for the first time since 2007 .

Figures released this afternoon by the Department of Finance show that the State collected €20.62 billion in tax between January and June, €2.16 billion more than in the same period last year and €805 million more than foreseen in the budget . An unexpected advance in corporation tax payments accounts for €606 million the improvement over budget-day forecasts for tax receipts.

Overall net voted expenditure in the half year reached €20.42 billion, 1.5 per cent or €304 million below profile and €107 million or 0.5% lower in year-on-year terms.

The Exchequer had a €292 million deficit at the end June, down from €4.93 billion on year ago. “The improvement in the Exchequer balance is driven by increased tax and non-tax receipts and a number of one-off transactions,” the Department said.

Once-off transactions

The once-off transactions included receipts from the sale of Permanent TSB contingent capital notes and from the sale of shares in the institution.

“Without the one-off transactions the improvement in the deficit would be €2.7 billion.”

While the jump in tax collection marks big improvement on 2014, the Department emphasised that €285 million in corporation tax receipts were delayed from June into July last year as a result of a new European payments system.

“Taking this into account, tax receipts are up €1.87 billion (10%) year-on-year. Tax revenues for the month of June were up €71 million (2.2%) against the monthly profile.”

The figures reflect big corporation tax payments last month, with receipts in the month up €121 million on profile.

“On a cumulative basis, corporation tax receipts have been very strong so far this year and are now €606 million (28.1%) higher than expected at €2.77 billion,” said the Department.

Tax heads

Adjusting for delayed payments last year, corporation tax receipts are up €724 million or 35.5% year-on-year. “This reflects an improved trading performance across the board and some one off factors,” the Department said.

Income tax receipts rose €478 million year-on-year to €8.31 billion, “slightly above” profile by €54 million or 0.7%. “For the month of June, income tax receipts amounted to €1.27 billion, which were exactly on profile,” the Department said.

VAT receipts of €6 billion represented an increase of €441 million or 7.9%, above profile €36 million.

“VAT receipts for June, were €54 million (15.6%) below profile, but as June is a non-due month, these monthly figures are of limited use on their own.”

The figures reflect €500 million in Central Bank surplus income, and a €1.55 billion rise to €4.98 billion in capital receipts.

“The main reasons for the increase is the transfer from the National Pension Reserve Fund to the Exchequer earlier this year and the sale of the Permanent TSB contingent capital note and the receipt of proceeds from the sale of shares in PTSB.”

Controversial water charges amendments passed by Dáil yesterday

Changes aimed at ensuring payment of bills carried by 63 votes to 35

  

Protesters burn their water bills during a protest against the charges on O’Connell Street in Dublin last month.

Controversial legal changes to ensure householders pay their water charges have been passed in the Dáil by 63 votes to 34 after the Opposition called for a walk-through vote.

After the first electronic vote, TDs had to walk through the ’Tá’ and ’Níl’ lobbies to cast their vote “by means other than electronic”.

The provisions were included in the Environmental (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, originally dealing mainly with air pollution, waste collection management, Killarney National Park and dog breeding penalties.

After nine-and-a-half hours of debate on Thursday and several hours on Wednesday the legislation was passed.

The Opposition also called two quorums, which obliges the Government side to ensure 20 TDs are in the House.

For much of the debate, about half a dozen TDs were present including a number of Independents and environment spokespeople for the political parties.

The Government amendments included provisions to ensure no home can be sold until all water charges have been paid.

The legislation also provides for the creation of a database of applicants for the €100 water conservation grant and it obliges local authority tenants to make water charge payments.

TDs also accepted amendments related to the original provisions of the Bill on waste collection and on-the-spot fines of €500 for waste collectors who breach the conditions of their permit.

Leo Varadkar is not tackling the HSE dis-function problem

  

Mary Harney’s legacy of her years as an effective politician and minister will forever be tarnished by her years as the Minister of Health and the driver of the HSE.

Her legacy is an organisation that cannot be described as fit for purpose. Sure, many parts of it appear to work pretty well but that is down to conscientious and professional staff. As an entity, it has been one huge and massively expensive disappointment.

Her successors as minister have not fared any better and that includes the current minister, Leo Varadkar, who appears to be at the helm but not in charge. Indeed, his job would appear to be, as Fine Gael poster boy and possible future leader, to ensure that a lid is kept on the department and its profile stays low.

The trick is for Leo to keep the department profile low while continuing to be seen as an effective minister and to maintain his personal profile while not actually doing very much to turn the HSE from dysfunctional monster into an effective health service.

It is some balancing act and, given the importance of an effective health service, is one that we can and should do without. Mind you, given the ongoing reports of dysfunction, Mr Varadkar’s job is not easy.

These days, it is almost impossible to pick up a newspaper without seeing some article or other about another failing by the HSE. Earlier this year, we had the reports of the failings of the HSE with respect to a hospital in Portlaoise where several infants died.

Similar failings had occurred elsewhere in prior years, some of which were the subject of major expensive enquiries, but lessons did not seem to have been learned, and may even have been ignored.

In February this year, the HSE had to shelve plans to open a state-of-the-art psychiatric unit at Cork University Hospital (CUH) because of staffing and health and safety issues. On that occasion, the organisation went so far as to suspend an individual because he had spoken out, only to have to back-track later and reinstate him. It has now been announced that a staffing deal has been done — six months later.

In the last couple of days, we learned that a new €3m high-observation unit in the Kerry General Hospital in Tralee remained shut due to a nursing shortage. The unit was completed in December.

Last week, it was reported that €9m compensation had to be paid because of late payment of invoices. Earlier this week, we learned of yet another delay to the opening of the new cystic fibrosis (CF) unit in CUH. This time the delay is down to a lack of nursing staff, apparently.

To recap quickly, this unit was funded by the work of Build4Life, a CF charity. The management of the hospital declined to give any guarantees regarding the usage of the unit by CF sufferers. Build4Life decided to withhold the funds until they got necessary guarantees.

Now that the ward is built, it cannot open. Build4Life founder Joe Browne has noted that staffing has been on the agenda of the project group’s monthly meetings since January 2012.

In January of this year, it was reported that the INO repeatedly warned that Irish hospitals are already chronically understaffed in relation to nursing rosters. Mr Varadkar was well aware of it. Minister of state at the department of health and local TD Kathleen Lynch commented on it at the time. Have they solved the problem? Not on your nelly.

These are just some of the problems, replicated across the country. It is a disappointment to see this when we know there are tens of thousands of hard-working, effective, ‘coal-face’ HSE employees. What is needed is effective management.

Unfortunately, given that this does not appear to be possible under the present regime, the present HSE structures need to be redesigned and made fit for purpose. If there are people incapable, or not interested, in meeting these criteria they need to be retired. Most importantly, the vested interests which appear to hold sway in the HSE must be neutralised in all of our interests. There should be no more decisions based on political considerations. But then, can we really take at face value Mr Varadkar’s claim that he had no part in the decision to move the Rotunda to his constituency?

Ryanair reports a 14% increase in passenger numbers on last year

Airline carried a total of 9.5m passengers last month, up from 8.3m in June last year

   

Ryanair has reported a 14% increase in passenger numbers for June.

The airline said it carried a total of 9.5 million passengers last month, up from 8.3 million in June last year.

Its load factor – how many seats are filled on each flight – also rose to 93% from 88% for the same month last year.

Ryanair’s chief marketing officer Kenny Jacobs put the increase passenger numbers down to lower fares, stronger forward bookings and the airline’s new customer experience improvement programme.

Mr Jacobs said the second part of the programme will include new cabin interiors, improved in-flight menus, reduced fees and new digital features such as “hold the fare” and price comparison services.

Dolphin pod puts on summer show at Malin Head Donegal

  

Local divers get up close with Malin Head dolphins.

A large pod of dolphins at Malin Head has been drawing huge numbers of wildlife enthusiasts to Ireland’s most northerly point.

More than 50 dolphins have been spotted in the waters off Malin Head in the last week, playing around fishing trawlers and even letting divers approach them.

Ali Farren, owner of Malin’s Ardmalin caravan park, said local people believed the pod was the same as the group which remained in the area throughout last summer.

“There’s dolphins and basking sharks here all the time but what’s significant about this particular pod is that they remained here all last summer and it looks as if they’ve returned this year.

“There are a lot of fish off Malin Head at the minute so one theory is that the dolphins are happy to stay here because there is plenty of food,” the Inishowen businessman said.

Mr Farren said this week’s fine weather was an added bonus for people hoping to catch a glimpse of the playful sea mammals.

“The thing about dolphins and basking sharks and whales is that they could well be there all the time but you just can see them. With the calm conditions and flat sea this week, people have been able to see the dolphins,” he said.

The sea around Malin Head has already been identified as a possible site for an Irish national “shark park”. Californian expert, Pete Klimley – known throughout the world as Dr Hammerhead after the shark species – believes the waters around the head are rich in sea creature life.

The respected US academic wants the Malin Head area developed as a special centre for the study of giants of the deep, similar to parks in the sea off North America and Africa.

The Malin Head dolphins have proved a huge hit with people living around the headland. Mr Farren said local people have already given two of the more daring dolphins names.

“In Dingle, they have Fungi but here local people decided to name the first two dolphins. They’ve called one of them Bamba (after the local landmark Bamba’s Crown) and the other one Sunny after sunny Malin Head,” he said.

He said the dolphins appear to become most active when local fishing boats are passing.

“Local diving clubs and kayaking clubs have been able to get very close to them but it’s when boats are in the water that they seem to be most active. Some people think it’s the boats’ engines which excites them but you can see them playing in front of the boats as they go past,” he said.

Mr Farren said the return of the dolphins appeared to have attracted more tourists to the area.

“We’ve the new Atlantic Way here now so we’re not just sure if the increased tourist numbers has to do with that or with the dolphins but there’s definitely more people trying to see them,” he said.

Fossil of a Jesus lizard that walked on water found in Wyoming USA

  

Scientists have discovered a 48-million-year-old fossil of a ‘Jesus lizard’, known for its ability to walk on water, in the US State of Wyoming. 

Modern relatives of the Jesus lizard live in an area stretching from central Mexico to northern Colombia, flourishing in the higher temperatures found at the equator.

The 48-million-year-old fossil is the first description of a new species, Babibasiliscus alxi, and may represent the earliest clear member of the Jesus lizard group, Corytophanidae, experts said. This group, which includes iguanas and chameleons, remains poorly understood, due to the small number of fossils available for study.