Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

ECB to simplify European bad loan definition in pending health checks

 

Fireworks illuminate the sky around a huge euro sculpture, designed by German artist Ottmar Hoerl, in front of the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, January 1, 2002. UNICS

(Reuters) – The ECB is set to allow the euro zone’s top banks to meet less stringent definitions for bad loans than previously planned when it makes an unprecedented review of lenders’ balance sheets this year.

The 128 lenders under scrutiny by the European Central Bank were allowed to apply the softer “simplified definitions” for bad loans in their first data submissions for the asset quality review (AQR).

Two sources with knowledge of the matter said the banks, which will come under ECB supervision later in 2014, will be able to use the easier definitions for the rest of the assessment too.

An ECB spokeswoman said the issue was still being discussed and a decision was expected soon.

Some at the ECB had hoped to apply the full definitions rolled out by the European Banking Authority (EBA) in October, for assessing when loans go bad and the impact of restructured loans. However, many banks cannot adapt to the new guidelines in time for the review.

The compromise takes some shine off the ECB’s exercise, which is meant to show investors that euro zone banks have cleaned up their balance sheets after years of crisis and are now fit to support economic recovery.

Even so, applying a minimum standard is still more rigorous than using national definitions, which make it hard to draw up cross-border comparisons and raise the risk that banks could hide problems behind domestic obscurities.

The EBA defines a loan as non-performing when a repayment is more than 90 days overdue or when repayment is unlikely. A second rule defines when forbearance on a loan has taken place, meaning the bank has allowed the borrower to skip or reduce payments. The rules will become binding at the end of the year.

A simpler version of them would mean skipping certain criteria for the time being, such as accounting for the wider impact once a company defaults on a loan.

The ECB will publish more details of the AQR and the EBA’s stress test at the end of January or early February.

Only 18% of Irish firms allow their employees unrestricted access to social media platforms like Twitter etc

 

Just 18% of Irish firms allow unfettered access to social services such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook at work, according to new research from Amarach and McCann Fitzgerald.

The survey of 250 firms found that 48% of companies in Ireland allow limited access to social media at work, while a further 18pc block it altogether.

Among ‘business leaders’, Facebookis the social media channel of choice, with 37% using it daily. This compares to just 14% using LinkedIn daily and 15% using Twitter daily. Twitter is the least used major social media service among Irish business leaders, with 50% reporting no account.

Despite the moderate access to social media for staff, Irish companies are starting to take social media seriously as a business channel. According to the Amarach research, 63% of firms here categorise social media as “very relevant” or “somewhat relevant”. Asked why, almost half said it was useful for advertising, while a quarter said it could be used for communicating directly with customers. Just 20% regard social media as “irrelevant”, according to the research.

Meanwhile, a majority of Irish companies expect to move sales online this year, with over half predicting at least 10pc of their revenue from internet trade in 2014.

The online sales trend marks a shift in attitudes from Irish companies, which have been reluctant to invest in internet trade channels up to now.

In 2013, 69% of Irish companies recorded less than 10% of sales online, according to the Amarach. However, that figure is set to fall to just 49% this year, according to the same companies.

And while 47% of Irish companies took in no sales at all online last year, just 35% of Irish firms intend to stay away from internet sales this year.

Meanwhile, the number of Irish companies measuring between 10pc and 50pc of sales online will jump from 23% to 31% this year, according to the research. 7% of Irish firms will record over 70pc of their sales online this year.

Among business sectors, smaller companies expect to see a larger share of online sales than corporate firms. A third of hospitality sector sales will be online, according to the research, while 40% of sales from firms selling mostly overseas will be over the internet.

Irish Health Service will struggle to meet budget demands says Minister Reilly

  

Health Minister James Reilly has said the HSE’s budget restrictions for 2014 represented an unprecedented challenge for the Irish health system.

He told the Oireachtas Health Committee this evening that significant improvements had taken place in productivity and services in health against a background of a 20% cut in health spending in recent years.

At the Committee hearing, HSE Director General Tony O’Brien denied that there was provision for €1 billion in health cuts this year, even though the two deficit and savings figures stated amount to well over this amount.

He admitted that some service priorities and demographic pressures may not be met, and it would not be possible this year to meet fully all of the growing demands on our health services.

Mr O’Brien said the planned €108 million in unspecified pay savings would be brought about through flexibility measures under the Haddington Road pay agreement, and there would be no additional measures other than those already agreed under Haddington Road.

The Committee was told there there was a savings target of €619 million identified for the HSE this year, in addition to an underlying projected deficit of €419 million.

The original savings target for the medical card scheme had been reduced from €133 million to €23 million, the Minister said.

He said following a review he had initiated, it was found that the original probity target had not taken into account the extent of savings that already had been achieved or could be achieved through medical card applications scheme centralisation and probity measures without changing the current guidelines for medical cards.

He said the previously quoted probity savings figure of €113 million had been based on an estimate in a PWC consultants’ report of €65 million to €210 million in possible savings, but this figure had been ‘indicative and speculative’.

Minister Reilly denied that medical cards were being indiscriminately withdrawn.

He admitted the wording of the draft HSE service plan had been changed prior to its publication before Christmas, but this was because it had been possible to agree additional funding of €47 million at cabinet committee level.

Mr O’Brien also admitted the version of the introduction of the draft service plan that existed prior to it going to the cabinet committee had been changed. He said the reference he had made in the draft plan to critical service pressures had been deleted after it emerged that this risk no longer existed following decisions made on the health budget at cabinet committee.

Minister Reilly said a number of reform measures would be progressed this year, including ‘money follows the patient’, where hospitals would be funded based on activity levels, the interim establishment of a patient safety agency, and the reorganisation of hospitals into groups.

Mr O’Brien said there was an underlying projected deficit of €419 million for the HSE in 2014, in addition to the €619 million savings target for this year. The key message is that patient safety isparamount, he said.

Fianna Fail Health spokesperson Billy Kelleher told the Committee that the health service was facing an overall reduction of over €1 billion this year. However, Mr O’Brien denied there were cuts of €1 billion, but there would be a ’swing’ of this amount.

“The health service is facing a very significant financial challenge in 2014. This challenge comes at a time when the demand for health services is increasing every year, which in turn is driving up costs,” Mr O’Brien told the Committee.

HE TOLD THE COMMITTEE HEARING ON THE HSE’S 2014 SERVICE PLAN THAT SAID SAVINGS MEASURES TO BE IMPLEMENTED INCLUDED:

1.  A reduction in the lump sum provision for pensions which will be used to offset, in part, theincoming deficits from 2013.
2.  Making use of savings which will accrue from the phased implementation of new developments during 2014.
3.  Additional savings targets of €129 million in areas such as procurement (€30 million), shared services (€10 million), value for money initiatives (€10 million), hospitalreconfiguration (€7.5 million), energy efficiency savings (€15 million) and ’full delivery of costcontainment plans of €56.5 million for hospitals’. Hospitals also have to deal with a ‘run-over’ deficit of €190 million from last year.

Mr O’Brien said other measures would include pay and flexibility reductions totaling €268 million, of which Haddington Road would facilitate up to €140 million – €108 million of this related to ‘unspecified savings’.

He said if the unspecified savings figure was not achieved, there was no mechanism in Haddington Roadd to seek cuts elsewhere. If the pay savings were not acheived, there was a process within Government to have those issues addressed.

Sinn Fein Health spokesperson Caoimhghin O ‘Caolain said there had been no additional fundingmade available this year for nursing home places.

Mr O’Brien said the reduction in the health service budget between 2008 and 2013 amounted to €3.3 billion and when coupled with reductions in 2014, the total budget reduction over six years amounted to almost €4 billion.

What is the secret to the Human beings longevity?

  

Human beings and other primates have an extremely slow metabolism rate. They burn almost 50 percent fewer calories each day than other mammals, which is why they have a longer lifespan, say scientists.

The key to longevity is a slow metabolism rate, say scientists.

Humans and other primates burn 50 percent fewer calories each day than other mammals and due to their low metabolism rate, they have a longer life span, according to a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Overall, 17 primate species, such as humans, gorillas, and mouse lemurs were examined for the purpose of the study.

The international group of scientists who carried out the study worked with animals in zoos, sanctuaries in Africa, and in the wild.

Daily energy expenditure of the primates was calculated using a technique called “doubly labeled water,” Herman Pontzer, an anthropologist at Hunter College in New York and the lead author of the study, told The Monitor.

Water contains hydrogen and oxygen. Some of the hydrogen and oxygen in the water were being replaced with their variants, also called isotopes, Dr. Pontzer says. After animals drink water, these isotopes would then act as tracers and their presence could be found in their urine. By determining the concentration of isotopes from the urine sample, Pontzer and his team determined how much carbon dioxide the body produced. Over a 10-day period, scientists measured the number of calories primates burned, says Pontzer.

Comparing the results of the experiment with similar data from other studies, the team compared daily energy expenditure among primates to that of other mammals, according to a press release by Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo. Chimpanzees and gorillas from the zoo were examined for the study.

“The results were a real surprise,” said Pontzer. “Humans, chimpanzees, baboons, and other primates expend only half the calories we’d expect for a mammal. To put that in perspective, a human – even someone with a very physically active lifestyle – would need to run a marathon each day just to approach the average daily energy expenditure of a mammal their size.”

The findings present an alternative explanation and help to look at the slow life history of primates differently, Steve Ross, coauthor of the paper and the Director of the Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes at Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo, told The Monitor.

It was earlier believed that primates have a slow life history because they do not invest their energy in growth; instead they allocate energy towards development and maintenance of their brain, Dr. Ross says.

“The environmental conditions favoring reduced energy expenditures may hold a key to understanding why primates, including humans, evolved this slower pace of life,” said David Raichlen, an anthropologist at the University of Arizona and a coauthor of the study in a press release by Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo.

The study has major implications for understanding how evolution has shaped human metabolism and why human beings differ from their ancestors, says Pontzer. He added, “It can also help us to better understand obesity and other metabolic diseases.”

How transparent is Irish Water?

 

The Fianna Fáil party makes a strong argument in its latest video offering on the controversy.

Fianna Fail has produced a video to highlight its concerns about how Irish Water established itself within Bord Gáis.

Uploading the clip to YouTube, the Opposition party described it as “random selection from the document released to explain why Bord Gáis was chosen as home for Irish Water despite advice from independent experts”. The 39-second video shows a number of almost-completely redacted pages of text.

Earlier today, the Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Brendan Howlin confirmed that the new State utility will be brought “fully” into Freedom of Information.

“All the documents pertaining to Irish Water should be available to public scrutiny,” he said at a press briefing.

Information can still be redacted for commercial sensitivity purposes.

Irish Water today insisted that it awarded all of its contracts in line with EU rules on procurement. It also noted that it wanted to ensure transparency and value for money throughout the setting up process.

CEO John Tierney is due to face questions from the joint Oireachtas Environment Committee this afternoon. Irish Water has been subject to scrutiny over the past week after it emerged that it had spent €50 million on consultancies. That figure is now expected to jump to €86 million of its entire €180 million set-up budget.

Scientists brace themselves for the incredible sight of a black hole swallowing a gas cloud

  

Scientists around the globe are bracing themselves for what could be the best view yet of the black hole ahead of its collision with a gas cloud.

The black hole, called “Sagittarius A*”, could provide a stunning series of galactic fireworks if it collides with the gas cloud – which has a mass about three times that of Earth – currently heading in its direction.

First identified by German scientists three years ago, they originally believed the collision would occur last year. However, astronomers have predicted that the collision will now happen sometime in March.

The gas cloud, dubbed “G2″, is expected to travel so close to the black hole that it will cause it to heat up and create a chain of sensational bright lights.

Many scientists are eagerly anticipating the event due to the educational value of the experience, with information about the gravitational effects of the hole and the extent of its power likely to be revealed.

Sagittarius A* is one of the dimmest black holes of the supermassive variety – which are much less visible than other black holes – so the event could provide the opportunity for a better viewing for scientists in the future.

Jon Miller, an associate professor of astronomy at the University of Michigan, said: “I would be delighted if Sagittarius A* suddenly became 10,000 times brighter. However, it is possible that it will not react much – like a horse that won’t drink when led to water.”

He added: “If Sagittarius A* consumes some of G2, we can learn about black holes accreting at low levels – sneaking midnight snacks. It is potentially a unique window into how most black holes in the present-day universe accrete.”

To give interested viewers a taste of what they can expect, astronomers have created a simulation of the events which they predict will happen in the spring.  

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Major shake-up of Irish hospital system coming says Minister Reilly

  

The country’s hospitals are to be organised into six groups, while smaller hospitals are set to have some major services transferred to larger centres, following changes announced today by Health Minister James Reilly.

The changes, some of which are already being put in place, when completed will mark the biggest revamp of the hospital system for many decades. Work on implementing the revamp is to start imediately.

Health Minister James Reilly, launching the new plans, said patients would not notice an immediate change in care provision, but they would gradually see a greater range of services being provided, particularly in smaller hospitals. He said changes were already being seen in hospitals such as Mallow and Roscommion.

Under the plan, hospitals will be divided into six groups, which will eventually become independent, self-governing trusts as part of the planned overall reform of the system that involves the abolition of the HSE and the advent of universal health insurance (UHI)

The groups have been designated as Dublin North-East; Dublin Midlands; Dublin East; South/South-West; West/North-West and Mid-West. Each group will have between six and 11 hospitals and includes at least one major teaching hospital. All groups will be attached to university medical schools and services and staffing will be spread among hospitals within each group.

The biggest hospital in each group is Beaumont; St James’s; the Mater; Cork University Hospital; University Hospital Galway and the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick. Each group will include a major cancer treatment centre.

Letterkenny and Sligo Hospitals are to be designated as a formal sub-unit within the new West/North-West group.

Hospital groups have already been operating in the west and the north-east.

The changes will mark the biggest revamp of the hospital system for many decades.

Some hospitals that are currently linked for service provision will be split into separate groups.The Rotunda and the Mater are to be separated while Mullingar Hospital is to be separated from Portlaoise and Tullamore Hospitals.

Waterford Regional Hospital does not get to head up it own regional south-east group, but has been included in the new South/South West group. Its potential downgrading under the new plan has cause local protests.

However, the plan says Waterford Hospital will continue to be a regional trauma and orthopaedic centre and to provide an expanded invasive cardiology service. It will have academic consultant appointments at UCC and will be renamed Waterford University Hospital.

Under plans announced for smaller hospitals, nine hospitals have been earmarked for a changed role – Navan; Dundalk; Loughlinstown; Mallow; Bantry; Ennis; Nenagh; St John’s in Limerick and Roscommon County.

All except Navan and Loughlinstown have already had 24-hour emergency departments cover removed, and Loughlinstown and Navan are expected to lose their major A&E services shortly. Smaller hospitals are, however, retaining many services and getting expanded services under the plan, including day surgery and diagnostics.

All nine hospitals, under the plan, will have local injury units, instead of full A&Es, and these units will operate from 8am to 8pm. Some already have these injury units as well as other new services.

The smaller hospitals plan provides for some of these hospitals to still carry out some more complex planned surgery in certain cases. Otherwise, the smaller hospitals would mostly carry out day surgery.

Under the plan, none of the smaller hospitals – designated ‘model 2 hospitals’- can provide major acute surgery or critical care. These can only be carried out in the larger Model 3 and Model 4 hospitals.

Model 3 hospitals will have 24/7 EDs, acute surgery, acute medicine and critical care, while Model 4 hospitals will have these services plus specialist, supra-regional care. The smaller model 2 hospitals will continue to provide some acute medical care.

The plan stresses that the traditional practice of providing as many services as possible in every hospital is neither sustainable nor safe and the system is being reformed to meet these challenges.

Minister Reilly said while we had some of the best doctors and nurses in the world, we did not have the best health system, and that needed to change.

The plan says other hospitals such as Letterkenny, Wexford and Kerry General, because of their location, will retain their full range of ED services, as well as surgical, maternity and paediatric services.

The chair of the expert team that drew up the report on hospital groups, Prof John Higgins, said no hospitals would get any surprises in the recommendations of the report. A separate report recommended the changes in the role of smaller hospitals.

Minister Reilly, asked about the splitting up of closely-located hospitals in both Dublin and the Midlands into different groups, said existing clinical care pathways would not be disrupted.

He said the addition of some new services to smaller hospitals would free up the larger hospitals to do more appropriate work.

The Minister said over a period of time, people would see that more services are available to them locally and that these services would be safe. He said there would be no downgrading of Waterford Hospital under the plan.

Work on the roll-out of the hospital groups is to start immediately, according to the Minister, with group chairpersons and CEOs (who will be appointed from within the HSE system) to be put in place as soon as possible.

Each group must develop a strategic plan for their future services in the first year of their operation. These plans must describe how they will reorganise these services to provide optimal care to the populations they serve. They must also show how they plan to link their services effectively with GP and primary care services in the community.

The hospital groups will be converted into independent trusts in 2015 – the CEO positions for these trusts will be advertised internationally.

The new hospital system will eventually operate under a ‘money follows the patient’ basis under UHI, which means they will be not receive fixed budgets but will be funded according to the level of services they provide and the number of patients they treat, thereby incentivising staff to work more effectively.

Young Irish households ‘dramatically’ cut consumption compared older ones

      

Young households in Ireland ‘dramatically’ cut consumption after the onset of the financial crisis according to research published today by the Economic and Social Research Institute. The research shows ‘that this drop in consumption stands in contrast to the experience of older households, whose average expenditure did not decline.

‘The ESRI research note [pdf] says Figure 1 above presents average weekly income and consumption for households with a head below 45 years of age in the left plot and for households with a head aged 45 and up in the right plot. ‘By choosing a split at 45, we capture almost exactly half of the Irish households in each of the plots.” The data cover the last four Household Budget Survey (HBS) waves from the CSO and are inflation adjusted to the 2010 price level.

Petra Gerlach-Kristen, the ESRI economist, says that from a policy perspective, ‘the analysis suggests that the main burden of the crisis is borne by the younger half of the Irish population, both because young households have been particularly likely to become unemployed in the crisis and because many of them purchased a house/apartment prior to the crash. While unemployed young households are likely to find new jobs relatively quickly once the economy recovers, this Note nevertheless raises the question how policy can best address the disproportionate impact the crisis has had on Ireland’s young households.’

Irish Health insurance cover set to go up by 30%

  

Economist Colm McCarthy has warned of excessively high health insurance costs arising out of the Government’s plan to charge privately insured patients for occupying public beds.

Mr McCarthy’s report, produced in association with Aviva Health, estimates that premiums are likely to increase by 25-30%.

He said that overall private membership has fallen from 50.9% to 45.7% – particularly in the 20 to 29 age group. At the same time, the number of customers over 60 has grown by 52,000. Alison Burns, chief executive of Aviva Health, said that a community-rated system requires a sizeable cohort of younger and healthy members to offset the high costs associated with claims from the rising numbers of older members.

Irish Court orders Peter Darragh Quinn to pay €145m damages to IBRC

  

Peter Darragh Quinn has been ordered to pay €145m damages to Irish Bank Resolution Corporation over his “pivotal” role in stripping assets from the Quinn family’s international property group.

Three Russian companies were also ordered to pay damages of €252m, €178m and €154m over their involvement in the scheme to place assets beyond the reach of the bank.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly assessed damages in those amounts at the Commercial Court following the entry of judgment last February against Mr Quinn after he failed to enter a defence to the bank’s claim.

Justice Kelly noted IBRC had limited its claim to €145m for now against Mr Quinn but was reserving its position in relation to other possibly quantifiable losses.

He was satisfied the bank was entitled to judgment in that sum over Mr Quinn’s wrongful conduct.

He also continued an order restraining Mr Quinn from reducing his assets below €50m.

IBRC special liquidator Kieran Wallace had said the €145m sum reflected the lost value of the Kutuzoff Tower in Moscow, owned by a Russian company of which Mr Quinn was the general director.Mr Wallace said he was concerned the actions of Mr Quinn, the companies and others meant the bank would be unable to recover various assets in the IPG.Mr Quinn was not in court and has remained at his home in Lisbellaw, Co Fermanagh in Northern Ireland, since the High Court made findings of contempt against him, his cousin Seán Quinn Jnr and uncle Seán Quinn Snr in June 2012.

A warrant for his arrest to serve a three-month sentence for contempt remains unexecuted.

While Mr Quinn had not entered a defence to the bank’s application for judgment against him, he wrote to the Commercial Court last month, and again last weekend, asking it to defer the assessment of damages pending the outcome of his appeal to the European Court of Human Rights against the contempt finding.

Alternatively, he asked that he be allowed adopt the defences entered by other members of the Quinn family to the bank’s claim. The bank knew he was not a “mark” for damages and would not be prejudiced by an adjournment, he added.

Shane Murphy SC, for IBRC, opposed the adjournment application on grounds including that Mr Quinn had taken no steps to advance his Supreme Court appeal against the contempt finding. The bank also had no details of the ECHR appeal, he added.

Mr Quinn had himself decided not to enter a defence to this case or to attend court, counsel also argued.

Mr Justice Kelly, refusing the adjournment application, said Mr Quinn remained in flagrant contempt of court and there was no merit to his application.

The judge then heard the bank’s application for assessment of damages against Mr Quinn and a number of companies. He granted €145m damages against Mr Quinn and damages in various sums against three Russian companies over their involvement in the asset stripping scheme.

In 2011 IBRC initiated its proceedings against several companies and various Quinn family members, including Peter Darragh Quinn, alleging the stripping of assets from the IPG.

Just 18% of Irish doctors want patients to have full access to their medical records 

 

One in five GPs do not have high speed internet access

Fewer than one doctor in five believes that their patients should have full access to their medical records, a new survey reveals.

The Accenture Ireland survey of doctors and consultants in Ireland was commissioned to ascertain how far the medical profession has embraced digital technology in their surgeries.

It found a general unwillingness among doctors to give their patients access to their records, a pattern also repeated in the eight other countries surveyed by Accenture – Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Singapore, Spain and the US.

Just 18 per cent of Irish doctors were in favour of full access, 61 per cent limited access and 19 per cent wanted no access at all.

Accenture Ireland head of health Pat Power said several international health systems had found the benefits outweighed the risks in allowing patients open access to the medical records “and we expect this trend to continue”.

The poll was carried out by Millward Brown on behalf of Accenture Ireland and involved 248 doctors and consultants, of whom 23 were in Northern Ireland. It revealed a patchy record among doctors of the use of electronic medical records (EMR).

One in five GPs do not have high speed internet access and a similar number did not have access to EMR, with over half of those being consultants.

Some 69 per cent of doctors do not currently have the facility to communicate electronically with patients (for example, via secure email) to support remote consultation and diagnostics.

Nevertheless, two-thirds of doctors agree that electronic health records are integral to effective patient care today, while over half (55 per cent) agree they will become integral to effective patient care in the next two years.

Mr Power said it was clear that Irish doctors saw the benefits of healthcare information technology but many were slow to apply it.

Mobile phones the most commonly used tele-communications device

  

97% USE MOBILES, 69% USE LANDLINES: COMREG ict survey

A survey of consumers has found that mobile phones are the most commonly used telecommunications service at 97% and landlines were used by 69% of those surveyed.

Figures from ComReg’s Consumer ICT survey for 2013, in research carried out by RedC, suggests television ownership is at 95%, 75% of those surveyed had laptops and 54% had smartphones.

ComReg says household access to broadband now stands at 78%, which includes respondents who receive broadband over mobile devices.

33% of those with broadband use the technology to make video-calls.

50% of those surveyed are unaware of the broadband speed they are receiving.

The survey’s findings also show that just over half of those surveyed use Sky for a TV service, 29% use UPC and 9% use Saorview.

77% of those questioned expressed satisfaction with their landline service and 76% expressed satisfaction with their mobile phone service.

Consumers ranked cost and service quality as the most important factors when using a telecommunications service.

Over half of respondents said they took a bundle of telecommunications services from their telecoms supplier while 65% of residents in urban areas opted for a bundle of services.

A combination of landline and fixed broadband is the most popular bundle.

Telecommunications Commissioner Kevin O’Brien said the survey reveals Irish consumers are looking for value for money when choosing a telecommunications service.

The survey was made up of responses from 1,000 people nationwide, with an additional 500 surveyed in urban areas.

Eating insects could help fight the obesity problem, 

  

The thought of eating beetles, caterpillars and ants may give you the creeps, but the authors of a U.N. report published on Monday said the health benefits of consuming nutritious insects could help fight obesity.

More than 1,900 species of insects are eaten around the world, mainly in Africa and Asia, but people in the West generally turn their noses up at the likes of grasshoppers, termites and other crunchy fare.

The authors of the study by the Forestry Department, part of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said many insects contained the same amount of protein and minerals as meat and more healthy fats doctors recommend in balanced diets.

“In the West we have a cultural bias, and think that because insects come from developing countries, they cannot be good,” said scientist Arnold van Huis from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, one of the authors of the report.

Eva Muller of the FAO said restaurants in Europe were starting to offer insect-based dishes, presenting them to diners as exotic delicacies.

Danish restaurant Noma, for example, crowned the world’s best for three years running in one poll, is renowned for ingredients including ants and fermented grasshoppers.

As well as helping in the costly battle against obesity, which the World Health Organization estimates has nearly doubled since 1980 and affects around 500 million people, the report said insect farming was likely to be less land-dependent than traditional livestock and produce fewer greenhouse gases.

It would also provide business and export opportunities for poor people in developing countries, especially women, who are often responsible for collecting insects in rural communities.

Van Huis said barriers to enjoying dishes such as bee larvae yoghurt were psychological – in a blind test carried out by his team, nine out of 10 people preferred meatballs made from roughly half meat and half mealworms to those made from meat.

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG Thursday

M2M deal with Telefónica o2 and Jasper Wireless brings ‘internet of things’ to Ireland

  

Telefónica forges M2M deal with Jasper Wireless to bring ‘internet of things’ to the business world of Ireland.

The machine-to-machine (M2M) world of connected devices and sensors communicating data wirelessly – also known as the ‘internet of things’ – has arrived in Ireland via a deal between Telefónica Ireland (O2) and Jasper Wireless.

  Early adopters of M2M include fleet management and transport companies that have installed M2M boxes in their vehicles to enable real-time location updates.

Machina Research has estimated there will be 2.1bn cellular M2M connections worldwide by 2020 and that the addressable global market for mobile operators in M2M will total US$373bn.

Technology market research company Beecham Research projected M2M network connections in Ireland growing by more than 50pc between 2011 and 2014.

Jasper Wireless’ Control Centre is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that provides customers with global visibility of all SIMs connected to the mobile network. It allows customers to quickly distribute connected devices with self-service tools which allow real-time diagnostics and usage controls. It provides powerful intelligence with a live view of how devices are connecting to and using the mobile network.

“The uses of M2M technology are huge and growing across almost every industry, from point-of-sale connections to smart meters to utilities device usage,” commented Alan Brown, business director at Telefónica Ireland.

He added that the new partnership between Telefónica Ireland and Jasper Wireless will allow organisations to bring to the market powerful and innovative M2M applications and services in a robust and secure way.

The partnership is part of a global M2M strategy supported by Telefónica Digital, Telefónica’s new global business division, and has already been rolled out in Spain and the UK.

“The Irish agreement sees Jasper expand its existing relationship with Telefónica,” added Cindy Patterson, executive vice-president, worldwide sales, Jasper Wireless.

“With our platform, Telefónica in Ireland can provide device partners with a highly configurable M2M management solution that can accelerate market entry of connected devices.”

Sligo Senator Marc MacSharry wants health officials to apologise to PAC over bad manners 

 

Steps should be taken to prevail on two senior officials to apologise to the Irish people for the “flippant and disrespectful way” in which they had addressed the Dáil Public Accounts Committee last Tuesday, Fianna Fáil health spokesman Marc MacSharry said.

Party colleague Jim Walsh said that how people like that got to these positions must raise questions about the whole selection and recruitment processes within our public services.

Mr MacSharry said what had been witnessed at the PAC meeting was an affront to the Oireachtas, the political system and, ultimately, the people of Ireland. Two individuals whose combined salaries amounted to almost €400,000 a year had tried to manipulate a process in advance of a committee hearing to give information they chose to disclose but not information that was being sought.

Their attitude was “Look, lads, we run the health service and we’ll let you know what we want you to know when we want you to know it.” That was unacceptable behaviour, and it was imperative that Minister for Health James Reilly be required to make a statement on it, Mr MacSharry said.

It was highly likely that the HSE cost overrun would reach €500 million, said Mr MacSharry. Politicians had learned from RTÉ, not the people who supposedly ran the health service, that Tallaght hospital was getting a €12 million overdraft. Who would fund the many other hospitals with substantial over-runs, he wondered.

The overall deficit was growing at €45 million a month. “We have a Minister in absolute denial who continues with his headless chicken approach to the management of the finances of the HSE,” Mr MacSharry said.

Calling for a debate on what constituted good governance, Jim Walsh said they had seen an example of appalling governance at the PAC meeting.

Two men charged after Gardai seize up to 50 cute puppies in car boots

  

Two men are to appear in court next month after gardai found 36 puppies in the back of two cars.

The cars were stopped on the Old Malahide Road in the Coolock area of north Dublin on Tuesday night and gardai found the puppies when they searched the vehicles.

The men, in their 20s and 30s, who were arrested and taken to Coolock garda station have been charged with breaches of the Animals Act. They were released on bail to appear before Dublin District Court on November 1.

The trade in puppies is a lucrative one, with animals trafficked from Ireland to the UK market selling as family pets for up to €700 each.

The illegal trafficking of puppies in dreadful conditions is now widespread due to the lucrative illegal profits involved, according to the Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA).

Some puppies rescued by the DSPCA from traffickers require special care as they are too young to be taken away from their mothers.

Inhumane: Anyone convicted of inhumane treatment of animals faces fines and a possible prison sentence.

Popular breeds trafficked for sale abroad include Jack Russells, as well as Labradors, Springer Spaniels, Cocker Spaniels, and Beagles.

DSPCA spokeswoman Gillian Bird said with forged papers for dogs traffickers could get between €600 to €700 per puppy.

“We suspect this is widespread,” she said.

Since July, dog breeders in Ireland with more than six breeding bitches are legally obliged to register with their local councils to protect animal welfare. However, there is concern that smaller operators will operate illegally.

New laws regulating puppy farms have been introduced to prevent hundreds of animals being raised in horrible conditions.

And while it is now compulsory for dogs bred in such centres to be microchipped, the DSPCA wants to see compulsory microchipping of all dogs.

DSCPA chief executive Brian Gillen called on the public to be vigilant when considering buying a puppy, particularly with the increase in online sources.

“Do not buy from the boot of a car or van and always arrange to meet the puppy with its parents at the breeder’s home — the conditions the mother is living in is a good indication of health and welfare.”

The Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett rules that Minister Reilly failed to answer a Dáil question

On the primary care centre locations

    

Minister for Health James Reilly failed to answer a Dáil question about the controversial primary care centres he announced earlier this year, Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett has ruled.

Mr Barrett has found that the Fine Gael Minister failed to answer a question about the criteria he used to identify the 35 priority centres that were announced as part of a Government stimulus package announced last July.

He was also found to have failed to detail the process that led to his decision, which resulted in the inclusion of two locations in his Dublin North constituency in the list, as well as other locations which were the subject of lobbying by Government backbenchers.

Mr Barrett was ruling on a complaint made by Sinn Féin health spokesman Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin over a question he asked the Minister in late September. This was shortly after controversy broke over Dr Reilly’s addition of 15 locations to the primary care list originally drawn up by his then minister of state, Róisín Shortall.

Mr Ó Caoláin asked Dr Reilly to detail the “exact criteria” used to identify the 35 priority centres; to detail the process which led to this decision; and the criteria used by the HSE to draw up an original long list of 200 potential locations. He also asked the Minister to provide both the short and the long lists.

Dr Reilly gave a lengthy response in which he listed the original three criteria used by Ms Shortall to list locations by priority. These were deprivation, an accommodation assessment in each area, and a service priority identified by local officials.

He said additional criteria were then added. These were competition; GP co-operation and GP to population ratio; existing health facilities; pressures on services; funding options; and implementability of a centre by public private partnership.

Mr Barrett has written to the Minister and his response will be included in the official Dáil record.

Providence Resources shares climb higher as oil recovery estimates from Barryroe increases

  

Providence Resources, the oil and gas explorer, climbed in Dublin trading yesterday after saying it now estimates that it can recover 280 million barrels in oil from its Barryroe prospect off the south coast of Ireland.

Providence rose as much as 4.6 per cent in Dublin.

“It’s a very big field,” said chief executive Tony O’Reilly jnr.

Davy analyst Job Langbroek said it was still early in the process. “The study publically confirms that Barryroe offers recovery rates that make for significant economic value and development potential.”

He added: “In fact, the type of development is not so much the issue; rather it is that an economic quantity of oil exits in a secure north European context, close to markets and in relatively shallow water.”

New study sees a rise in young stroke sufferers ‘Lifestyle likely to blame’

  

Strokes are most common in old age, but an American research suggests that lifestyle is putting younger people increasingly at risk for suffering strokes too.

In their study of two U.S. states, researchers whose report appeared in the journal Neurology found that the rate of strokes among adults younger than 55 nearly doubled between 1993 and 2005.

Among whites aged 20 to 54, the rate rose from 26 strokes for every 100,000 people, to 48 per 100,000. Among African Americans, it climbed from 83 to 128 per 100,000.

The researchers said they could only speculate on possible explanations. One might be that doctors are detecting strokes in young people more often, both as a result of better brain-imaging technology and being more vigilant.

“But I really don’t think that’s the major reason,” said lead researcher Brett Kissela, of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. “We’re definitely seeing a higher incidence of risk factors for stroke now.”

Those risk factors include obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure.

“And if you’re developing them at the age of 20, then you may have a stroke at a younger age too,” Kissela said.

But a researcher not involved in the study agreed that better diagnosis and a real increase in young people’s risk of stroke are both probably at work.

“Now MRI allows us to detect smaller strokes,” said Mitchell S.V. Elkind, of Columbia University in New York, who co-wrote an editorial published with the study.

These include subtle symptoms like mild degrees of blurry vision, weakness or numbness. In the past, doctors might not have thought “stroke” when a relatively young person had them – and MRI scans were not used often back in the 1990s.

The study was based on nearly 5,900 Ohio and Kentucky adults who suffered a first-time stroke between 1993 and 2005. Over that time, 20 to 54-year-olds accounted for a growing proportion of strokes – from 13 percent in 1993 to almost 19 percent by 2005.

The study group came from only two U.S. states, but both Kissela and Elkind said the findings likely reflect what’s happening nationally. A government study last year found a similar pattern nationwide.

Kissela’s team found that in 1993-1994, only 18 percent of all stroke patients in their study had an MRI. By 2005, that figure had risen to 58 percent.

“But that probably doesn’t explain it all,” Elkind said, noting that drug abuse can also cause strokes. “We know there’s been an increase in obesity and diabetes.”

Kissela said the findings underscore the importance of a healthy lifestyle and that younger adults shouldn’t see themselves as “invincible” and get to the doctor if they do in fact have health problems like high blood pressure or cholesterol.

“It’s a small percentage of young people who have strokes, but it can happen,