Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Ireland can repay loans without special conditions, IMF has said.

  

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Ireland can repay its bailout loans early free of charge and without any conditionality.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said taxpayers could save up to €375m per year if the state was able to pay-off a share of the IMF portion of the €67.5bn bailout.

But repaying the IMF portion of the loan early would automatically trigger the repayment of the less onerous European share also, thereby wiping out any potential benefit.

A proposed deal would see Ireland raise cash on the markets to repay €15bn of the more than €22bn that the Government owes to the IMF.

It comes after the international rescue fund hiked interest rates to almost 5pc, compared to little more than 2pc on the markets.

Mr Noonan said last month that lenders have yet to be asked to waive their repayment rights. The idea will be pursued at ministerial level in September, he said.

Fianna Fail’s finance spokesman Michael McGrath, who received a letter from the IMF assuring him that Ireland could repay its loans earlier, said today that every effort must be made by the Government to achieve this.

“The government now needs to follow up on this with the other international lenders who provided us with funds under the bailout programme as their consent is required to avoid early repayment of the IMF loans triggering proportionate repayments to the other lenders,” Mr McGrath said.

“It is in everyone’s interests that Ireland’s debt position is made more sustainable and that this annual saving is achieved for the benefit of Irish taxpayers.”

The scheme being considered would see the bulk of the IMF loans repaid early in three tranches of €5bn each.

A potential deal would shave €20m to €25m of interest from every €1bn refinanced, the finance minister said. On €15bn that saving would add up to between €300m and €375m a year.

The scheme will require sign-off from all euro zone member states as well as the UK, Sweden and Denmark.

In the letter to Mr McGrath, Ireland mission chief Craig Beaumont said the IMF accepts early repayment with no charge or conditionality attached.

“Early repayments are not unusual, including examples in recent years of Latvia, Hungary and Iceland,” he wrote.

The IMF imposes a surcharge on the loan because of its scale.

That charge was 200 basis points, or two percentage points, but the IMF increased this in mid-January to 300 basis points, or three percentage points, because of the loan duration – pushing up the overall rate of interest.

Unpopular prescription charge is a healthy €120m HSE earner

  

Recently, yet another study has shown that we Irish drink far in excess of other countries. It says that 1.3m of us have a harmful drinking pattern and that 75pc of our episodes of drinking constitute a binge. In other words, we don’t drink to add pleasure to a meal, or oil the social machinery. Ireland drinks to get drunk.

The so-called “nominal” prescription charge for medical card holders has become a lucrative earner for the health service and will generate €120m this year.

The charge – which is now €2.50 per item, compared to 50c when it started in 2011 – was brought in on the pretext of cutting down on card holders getting needless prescriptions.

It means that medical card holders, who shelled out around €27.6m in the first year it was introduced by the last government, have seen a big rise in payouts.

Pharmacists have warned that it is leading to some 
medical card holders rationing medicines because they cannot afford the maximum of €25 a month.

It comes as Health Minister Leo Varadkar has indicated that he is looking at introducing a nominal charge for “free” GP visits when they are extended to non means-testing groups after the under-sixes and over-70s.

The GP fee is seen a method of deterring people from abusing free care – but past experience with the prescription charge has shown how this kind of levy can be hiked.

Around €43m of the income from the charge this year is hived out to help offset the savings of €619m which must be made up by the Health Service Executive (HSE).

Dr Varadkar is also expected to face objections from doctors to the introduction of a nominal fee for people who are given free GP visits, outside the normal means-tested benefit.

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), which is currently negotiating with the Department of Health on the roll-out of free GP care, may also have to oppose a nominal charge for patients when the scheme is introduced. This is because members voted against this kind of charge at the union’s annual meeting when it was proposed for medical card holders as a means of reducing unnecessary visits.

Mayo GP Dr Ken Egan had asked his colleagues to support the introduction of a €5 per visit charge for medical card holders to prevent family doctors being flooded with the “worried well”. However, the proposal was rejected by the gathering of doctors who pointed out that it was akin to the prescription charge which the union opposed.

This was adopted as policy and negotiators may find it difficult to sell the concept of a nominal visit fee to its membership as a result.

Such a fee would have to be collected by GPs from a reluctant public and would also mean a lower fee paid per patient by the State.

The original estimate for the extension of free GP care to the entire population was put at €332m, based on the rates which are currently paid to GPs.

However, these capitation fees have already been condemned as inadequate and they will not compensate GPs for the loss of income from private patients who pay around €60 a visit.

The IMO is expected to demand higher State fees for providing free visits to the over-70s, who are guaranteed to make regular use of the benefit.

Tens of thousands expected at Knock novena this week

   

An estimated 150,000 pilgrims are expected to take part in this year’s national public novena at Knock which begins on Thursday. It continues until the following Thursday August 22nd.

Novena speakers this year will include Jesuit Fr David Neuheus on Thursday next, Dominican Fr Timothy Radcliffe on Friday, Bishop of Raphoe Philip Boyce on Saturday, Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran on Sunday, Fr. Padraig Devine of the Shalom Centre for Conflict Resolution in Kenya on Monday, and Elma Walsh, mother of the late Kerry teenager Donal Walsh, who will speak on Wednesday August 20th. Rev Professor Eamon Conway of Mary Immaculate College in Limerick will speak on Saturday next also.

The novena theme this year is ‘Witness to hope’ and it will focus on honouring the 15 people who were witnesses to the Marian apparition at Knock 135 years ago in 1879. It is also intended to highlight the hope and prayers of the faithful for the renewal of the Church in Ireland at this time.

Knock parish priest Fr Richard Gibbons, who will himself speak during the novena on Thursday August 21st, said: “There is a new departure this year with the national novena – and as part of the 135th anniversary celebration of the apparition – we have developed a faith renewal programme incorporating seminars and workshops designed to give people a practical as well as an intellectual approach to the lives of pilgrims.

“There is something for in Knock for everyone in 2014! As usual our novena sessions will give everyone a great sense of encountering The Lord, together through the Eucharist, and also other sacraments such as Reconciliation/Confession. All are welcome.”

Daily Mass and prayer sessions will be complemented by seminars and workshops to assist the faith development, and faith renewal, of the pilgrims in attendance.

‘The majority of begging in Dublin city centre is organised’

   

Richard Guiney, who represents thousands of businesses in the capital, said the government needs to do more.

THE MAJORITY OF begging in Dublin city centre is of an organised nature, the head of an organisation representing thousands of businesses in the capital has said.

Richard Guiney, the head of DublinTown, said that current begging legislation “isn’t worth the paper it’s written on” and called on the government to do more to tackle the problem.

“Certainly we would see that the majority of the begging in the city would be of an organised nature,” he told reporters on O’Connell Street this morning.

Guiney went on to say that it is the biggest issue in the city today, saying it is “definitely impacting on people’s enjoyment of the city”.

He added: “We would see pitches in the city that are basically one person goes, another person comes and there’s a bit of interaction – it’s almost a changing of the shifts.

“We would also have observed people collecting money from people who are begging on the street. It’s like a cash collection in a shop and certainly prima facie [evidence] from where we’re at.”

He was speaking at the launch of DublinTown, the new name for the Dublin City Business Improvement District (BID) which is made up of 2,500 businesses in the capital’s city centre.

Dublin City BID was established six years ago with the aim of winning back customers in the wake of the financial collapse and providing a strong city destination for tourists.

Guiney said the name change made sense given that most people living in the capital refer to the city centre as “town”. “It has an awful lot of resonance with the general public,” he said.

He also said he supported the Lord Mayor Christy Burke’s call for a task force Lord Mayor Christy Burke’s call for a task force to tackle the drugs problem in the city but Guiney claimed that despite its reputation O’Connell Street is “probably one of the safest streets” in the capital.

“It’s an extremely safe street,” he said while acknowledging there is a “reputational” and “perception” issue.

Guiney claimed that there were just 18 assaults on the busy city centre street last year out of a footfall of around 27.5 million people. He said that most of the people involved in the assaults knew each other.

Scientists prove grouse shooting and hen harries can co-exist

   

Researchers at Aberdeen University have proved that hen harrier chicks could be reared in captivity and released into the wild elsewhere, protecting both bird numbers and grouse shooting

Scientists have shown that hen harriers and grouse shooting can successfully co-exist by rearing the chicks in captivity and releasing them in areas where they won’t pose a significant impact to shoots.

The research, led by Professor Steve Redpath of the Aberdeen University, proved that at certain population densities, hen harriers and grouse could live harmoniously.

“The model suggested that across the grouse moors of England there was room for 70 pairs of hen harriers at relatively low cost for grouse shooting,” said Professor Redpath.

“Any decision about how to use this model depends as much on politics as on science. However, if both sides are interested in pursuing the idea, this model provides a framework for this dialogue to take place.

“Ecology has a vital role to play in understanding and tackling these conflicts by providing impartial evidence and exploring various technical solutions. However, this must be done with those involved in the conflict so that science addresses the issues people are most concerned about, and that they therefore have ownership of the results.”

The next step is for all stakeholders to use the model to agree on an acceptable number of hen harriers and test this in a field trial.    

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG Thursday

The Department of Finance sets aside a spend of €9m on outside consultants?

 

The Department of Finance has set aside about €9m for outside consultants this year.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan said most consultancy fees go toward legal issues, including fighting cases taken against the department.

Some €700,000 has been pencilled in to pay experts to implement the Medium Term Economic Strategy, unveiled after the state left the bailout programme last year, the Oireachtas Sub Committee on Finance heard yesterday.

However, the estimated money to be spent overall by the department will be down this year on 2013.

Mr Noonan, pictured, told the Sub Committee that no money was being wasted and claimed the department could not be expected to have extensive expertise in-house.

“In a public service which is by its nature generalist, expertise is always required and expertise is brought in by getting consultancy. It’s cost-effective when it’s operated properly,” Mr Noonan said. “I would argue very strongly that there’s no waste of money in this respect in the Department of Finance.”

Sinn Fein’s Pearse Doherty said about €3.8m was actually spent in 2013. About €2m of the €3.3m in legal fees last year was recouped, the committee heard. The estimated spend last year was about €1m less than this year.

Mr Noonan said that having permanent in-house experts would be like running a hotel and “you’d have painters and electricians and plumbers on permanent staff in-house rather than hiring them in”.

A spokesman for the minster said the lion’s share of the money would go on banking services, which also includes legal fees.

United Nations pushes the Vatican to reveal extent of child abuse scandal

   

POPE FRANCIS TELLS WORSHIPPERS AT VATICAN MORN MASS PAYING DAMAGES WAS ONLY RIGHT

Pope Francis told worshipers at morning Mass in the Vatican that abuse scandals had ‘cost us a lot of money, but (paying damages) is only right’.

United Nations child protection experts pushed Vatican delegates today to reveal the scope of the decades-long sexual abuse of minors by Roman Catholic priests that Pope Francis called “the shame of the Church”.

The delegates, answering questions from an international rights panel for the first time since the scandals broke more than two decades ago, denied allegations of a Vatican cover-up and said it had set clear guidelines to protect children from predator priests.

But members of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and abuse victims attending the session in Geneva, demanded far more transparency on crimes that have rocked the Church, from the United States to Europe and Australia.

“The best way to prevent abuses is to reveal old ones – openness instead of sweeping offences under the carpet,”Kirsten Sandberg, chairwoman of the 18-strong UN committee, told the Vatican delegation. “It seems to date your procedures are not very transparent.”

Ms Sandberg repeatedly pressed the officials to open up Vatican archives on cases of sexual abuse and pay compensation to young people raped or sodomised by priests.

“We will take your questions seriously but we are not in a position to answer now,” Vatican delegation head Archbishop Silvano Tomasi told her at the end of the day-long session.

The Vatican angered victim support groups last month by refusing to answer the committee’s written questions in advance, saying its inquiries were confidential and that responsibility for dealing with abusers lay with local bishops. Barbara Blaine, president of the US-based Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said the Vatican response fell far short of what victims wanted.

“What we want to see is the Vatican punish bishops who covered up sex crimes, and we want them to turn over information they have about crimes to police,” she said. “The Vatican attempted to relegate the issue to the past and claim it is a new era,” said Pam Spees, an attorney for the US-based Center for Constitutional Rights.

Victims accuse bishops of covering up crimes and switching priests to other parishes to avoid prosecution. Courts have ordered dioceses to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, bankrupting a string of them in the United States. Pope Francis told worshippers at morning Mass in the Vatican today that abuse scandals had “cost us a lot of money, but (paying damages) is only right.” He said bishops, priests and lay people were responsible for this “shame of the Church”.

In December, the pontiff ordered the formation of a team of experts to look into the sexual abuse of minors in the Church, in his first major step to tackle the issue. Vatican officials long played down the abuse scandal as a limited problem, but shocking revelations in the United States,Ireland and then several European countries have turned it into a crisis in recent years.

St Vincent’s Healthcare group claims it will turn dispute around with compliance on pay rules

  

Group chief executive to be paid exclusively from private funds in future

Noel Whelan, chairman of St Vincent’s Healthcare Group: said the group was now in a process aimed at resolving a dispute with the HSE over whether it actually was in compliance with Government pay policy.

The chairman of the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group Prof Noel Whelan has said the organisation is going to “swing around into compliance” with Government public service pay policy.

The group has come under fire over the payment of additional sums to senior executives over and above HSE-approved salaries for work carried out in its private hospital.

Prof Whelan said the group had received legal advice, including from Michael McDowell SC, which indicated that it was in compliance with pay policy as public money was not being used to make the additional payments to senior executives. However, he said the group was now in a process aimed at resolving a dispute with the HSE over whether it actually was in compliance with Government pay policy.

Prof Whelan told the Dáil Public Accounts Committee that he hoped this process would be completed by March 21st.

He told the committee yesterday that in future, the salary of its group chief executive would be paid entirely from funds generated from the private hospital and that the role of group chief executive and the chief executive of publicly funded St Vincent’s University Hospital would be separated and not occupied by the same person.

Just before Christmas, the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group said that its chief executive, Nicholas Jermyn, was receiving a package of more than €292,000 a year. It said this was made up of €136,282 from the public sector and €136,951 from the private sector, as well as a privately funded car allowance of €19,796.

The group’s director of finance, Cormac Maloney, earned €140,876, including a privately funded payment of €32,544. Director of nursing Mary Duff received €96,405, including a privately funded payment of €14,853.

Meanwhile, Minister for Health James Reilly said yesterday it was “unsustainable” for St Vincent’s Healthcare Group to have the same chief executive for both its public and private hospitals.

At an Oireachtas committee, Dr Reilly said the HSE was in the process of addressing issues such as top-up payments for staff and governance issues at the organisation.

“There is only one hospital where the CEO is both the CEO of a public and private hospital,” Dr Reilly told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children. “I believe that to be a conflict of interest and to be unsustainable.”

Mr Jermyn on a number of occasions yesterday declined to answer questions put to him by the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee John McGuinness on whether he would retain a salary of close to €300,000 if he relinquished his existing role in St Vincent’s University Hospital.

Mr Jermyn said the issue of the salary of the group chief executive was one for the board of the organisation. He said in the future he would not receive any remuneration from the public sector.

South & North Irish governments did not step back from Northern talks

SAYS THE TÁNAISTE eamon gilmore

 

THE ROLE OF the TWO GOVERNMENTS NORTH & SOUTH ON THIS OCCASION WAS TO PROVIDE SUPPORT, SAYS EAMON GILMORE

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore: “I described the failure to reach agreement as a step not taken rather than a step back. I still take that view.”

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has rejected claims that the Irish and British governments stood back from the Haass/O’Sullivan Northern Ireland talks on flags and emblems, parades and the past.

He insisted in the Dáil that “the Irish Government was directly involved in this process”. He told Sinn Féin’s Seán Crowe he had to remember “this process was initiated in Northern Ireland” by the First and Deputy First Ministers.

“It was always intended that these would be talks between the parties in Northern Ireland. The role of the two governments on this occasion was to provide support to that, which we did by keeping in regular contact,” Mr Gilmore said.

Mr Crowe had described the “optics” of the talks as wrong and highlighted suggestions by commentators that the two governments “were stepping back” from the talks.

Mr Gilmore said he had been in the North when the talks closed and was in close contact with Richard Haass and Meghan O’Sullivan.

Continuing support
He said the two governments were co-guarantors of the agreement and one of their responsibilities was to provide continuing support. Mr Gilmore added: “I described the failure to reach agreement as a step not taken rather than a step back. I still take that view.”

Discussions broke up without agreement on New Year’s Eve. Three of the five parties in the Northern Executive supported the proposals outlined by the two Americans who chaired the talks.

Fianna Fáil foreign affairs spokesman Brendan Smith said there had “never been a breakthrough in Northern Ireland without the direct hands-on involvement of the two sovereign governments”.

He noted the Tánaiste “seems to have given some urgency to this issue when it was concluding. I would have thought that when the Northern Executive decided to set up a panel of parties to address this issue, it would not have been opposed to the two sovereign governments taking a hands-on approach to dealing with the difficult issues.”

Mr Gilmore insisted “it is not true. . . that the Government became involved at the end of this process”. He said he and Ms Villiers met the First and Deputy First Ministers last year when the flags protest was in a very difficult situation.
Expressed concern
Independent TD Maureen O’Sullivan expressed concern that release “licences are revoked without reasons being given, people are left on remand for three and four years and draconian conditions are proposed when releases are considered”. Such a situation “does not contribute to the process we are discussing”.

Mr Gilmore said the prisoner issue was not directly involved in the talks. He had raised it a number of times, but added “we have seen some very worrying activity in recent months”.

Theory behind V formation of birds flying is revealed

   Researchers have uncovered new evidence supporting the theory that birds fly in a V formation to conserve their energy.

Researchers have found new evidence to support the longstanding theory that birds fly in a V formation to conserve energy during long flights. In accordance with the current theories on aerodynamics, birds use the formation to minimize the consumption of energy during flight.

The current theory implies that birds use the lift provided by the lead birds in a V formation. Lead researcher Dr. Steven Portugal, a postdoctoral researcher at Royal Veterinary College in England, headed the recent study involving the rare and endangered northern bald ibis.

The current theory on birds flying in a V formation was put forward as early as 1989 in a study conducted by researchers from the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany. The theory was further elaborated in a separate study published in 1994 by scientists from the Department of Zoology of the Aberdeen University in Scotland. Both studies came to a conclusion that birds use the V-formation to reduce the energy needed to traverse long distances in flight.

The most recent study, published in the online journal Nature, used technologies that were unavailable during the earlier studies to confirm the theories. GPS tracking units were attached to a group of northern bald ibises to collect data on their flights. Moreover, a microlight aircraft also followed the birds closely to gather video footage of the flying birds.

The data collected during the flights indicate that the birds have a way of knowing where to position themselves to take advantage of the additional lift provided by birds in the front of the formation.

“They’re seemingly very aware of where the other birds are in the flock and they put themselves in the best position possible,” says Dr. Portugal. “This can give a bit of a free ride for the bird that’s following. So the other bird wants to put its own wingtip in the upwash of the bird in front.”

An upwash is an upward flow of air that is created by a moving airfoil, in this case, a bird’s wing. The up-wash provides the additional lift that birds take advantage of using the V formation.

The new study provides solid proof regarding the veracity of the earlier studies. The data collected by Portugal and his team also provides important insights in ornithology and animal behavior.