Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG Tuesday

Long-awaited Irish banking inquiry to get under way

 

the ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT NATURE AND SCOPE OF COMMITTEE TO BE MADE WITHIN TWO WEEKS

A new Oireachtas committee will be established in the next two weeks to preside over the long-awaited banking inquiry.

Government chief whip Paul Kehoe tonight met the whips of the Opposition parties to present them with a proposed set of standing orders for the new committee.

These standing orders will be discussed by the Committee on Procedure and Privileges tomorrow evening.

An announcement about the nature and scope of the committee will be made within two weeks.

It is understood one of the key elements of the standing orders will be a requirement that no member of the committee should have made any public comments about the banking crisis that could be regarded as biased.

This requirement will mean that many prominent political figures who have made trenchant speeches about the banking crisis will not be eligible to serve.

Government sources said no decision had been made as to whether the new committee will be composed of TDs and Senators or whether it will be restricted to TDs.

However, the indications are that the Government favours the establishment of a small committee composed of around six TDs to handle the complex issues involved in the banking inquiry.

The sub-committee of the public accounts committee that inquired into the Dirt tax scandal in 1999, chaired by the late Jim Mitchell, has been widely cited as a template for the banking inquiry.

The then attorney general David Byrne pointed out that an essential element of the Dirt committee’s success was that it operated to a strict set of parameters laid down by his office, which prohibited findings relating to the responsibility of individuals.

That committee concluded its business in 26 days and issued a comprehensive report within a few months.

Irish house prices now rising at a faster rate than most EU states

 

Eurostat figures indicate property prices here rose by 4.1% in third quarter of last year

According to the latest Eurostat figures, house prices here rose by 4.1 per cent in the third quarter of last year compared with the previous quarter.

Irish house prices are now rising at a faster rate than in nearly every other European Union country.

According to the latest Eurostat figures, house prices here rose by 4.1 per cent in the third quarter of last year compared with the previous quarter.

This was the second-highest rate of acceleration recorded across the EU, eclipsed only by Estonia where prices jumped by 5.3 per cent.

Compared with the second quarter of 2013, house prices rose by 0.6 per cent in the euro area and by 0.7 per cent in EU in a sign that economic recovery was slowly gathering pace.

On an annual basis, house prices fell by 1.3 per cent in the euro zone and by 0.5 per cent in the EU in the third quarter compared with the same quarter of 2012.

The quarterly gain was the strongest since a 1.1 per cent increase in the second quarter of 2011, while the annual drop was the smallest since the fourth quarter of 2011.

Among the EU member states for which data are available, the highest annual increases in house prices in the third quarter of 2013 were recorded in Estonia (+11.1 per cent),Luxembourg (+6.5 per cent) and Latvia (+6.2 per cent), with the largest falls in Croatia (-16.9 per cent), Cyprus(-8.0 per cent) and Spain (-6.4 per cent).

The highest quarterly increases in the third quarter of 2013 were recorded in Estonia (+5.3 per cent), Ireland (+4.1 per cent), and the United Kingdom (+2.5 per cent), with the largest declines recorded in Slovenia (-4.0 per cent),Denmark (-3.3 per cent) and Romania (-2.4 per cent).

Only five of the 17 euro area countries – Italy, Cyprus,Malta, Slovenia and Finland – saw house prices fall between July and September last year, according to the data.

Meanwhile, mortgage lenders in the UK reported that last month was their strongest December since 2007.

Some £17 billion worth of mortgages were advanced to customers last month, up 49 per cent on the same month a year ago when £11.4 billion worth of loans were issued, according to a report from the UK’s Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

It was also the highest total for a December month since 2007, the CML added.

Woman’s car swept off road by ‘avalanche of slurry’

 

Estimated 50,000 gallons of slurry flows onto road after tank on a hilltop farm ruptures.

How slurry has traditionally been spread on fields. In Co Limerick last night a slurry tank burst and an estimated 50,000 gallons of material flowed over a road.

A woman is recovering after her car was swept off a road by an avalanche of slurry in Co Limerick last night after a tank on a hill ruptured.

The Doon to Cappamore Road in east Limerick remains closed after the spillage of an estimated 50,000 gallons of slurry onto the road.

It is expected the route will re-open later today.

The surge was so powerful that a Ford Fiesta carrying a woman was washed off the road and into a field at around 9.45pm .

The female driver was taken from the car by a local man who responded to her screams .

The woman, who is from Cappamore, did not sustain any injuries but is said to suffering from shock.

A hearse and another car narrowly escaped the spillage which came from a slurry pit on a hilltop farm.

A number of houses nearby were damaged by the spillage and will have to be cleaned and the cost of the incident is expected to be several thousand euros.

A source at the scene said: “It must have been like an avalanche. The slurry smashed through the slurry tank wall and it ran down a hill about 50 yards from the road. There was a woman driving a car and she was swept across the road with the force if it. There was a hearse and another car in front of her and they got through it.”

Members of the Limerick City and County CouncilEnvironment Department have attended the scene to assess the cost of the clean up and the damage to the local environment.

A Council spokesperson said engineers have inspected the slurry tank.

“Engineers from the council have discussed the matter with the farmer. They have expressed concern about the condition of the tank. It is believed the tank is fifty to sixty years old,” the spokesperson said.

“The road embankment was removed by the slurry flow. The Council is currently building it back up. There is some structural damage to the road boundary, it is being rebuilt by staff from the (Council’s) Roads Department,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added: “The council is confident it will be able to contain the slurry spill and minimise any environmental impact”.

He said because the material had flowed onto a flat area without any rivers or streams the council did not anticipate any issues with local water supplies.

Pharmacists want to spare Irish patients a visit to their GP?

  

Pharmacists in Ireland should be allowed provide a greater range of services to spare many patients an expensive visit to the GP.

The call was made at a conference in Dublin today which was told that pharmacists in Canada and Scotland are already being given an expanded role.

Already the  introduction of the flu vaccination service and loosening of restrictions on the way women can access the morning after pill have shown that pharmacists here can prove an accessible, convenient and cost-effective,” said Rory O’ Donnell, President of the Irish Pharmacy Union which organised the conference.

But overall Ireland has been “laggard “in unleashing the power of pharmacists in the provision of health services.

“Internationally the argument for expanding the role of pharmacists is settled and the question now is only on what more services they can do,” he said.

Research in the UK “suggests that greater use of pharmacists there could reduce the number of visits to GPs by 51 million a year.

“The same approach in Ireland could make a significant impact on reducing pressures on GPs and A&E visits.”

There are over 20 million visits to GPs in Ireland each year. The bulk of these will require a GP but a significant percentage doesn’t and could be dealt with by a pharmacist.”

Advantages of using pharmacists would:

•     Improve access to professional healthcare;

•     Reduce overall Exchequer spending on healthcare;

•     Ease some of the existing burden on GP services and free up crucial resources; and

•     Improve health outcomes for patients and the public.

He said:“There is clear evidence internationally to show that these additional pharmacy-based services have led to considerable improvements in patients’ health outcomes and considerable savings to healthcare budgets.

“The focus of the system must be towards the creation of a patient-centred health service delivered at the lowest level of complexity.”

Pat Rabbitte defends new Irish postcode system

  

The Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte has defended his decision to choose a new form of postcode for Ireland.

A private firm is being given a 10-year contract to roll out a postcode system in Ireland, with the process beginning this year.

At an Oireachtas committee Minister Rabbitte was criticised over the decision not to use a free system for assigning codes to every property.

Mr Rabbitte said the only difficulty with the process will be the need to update existing Government systems.

He said: “Ours will be a unique system.

“The reason that it will take 12 months to be brought into play is that other systems with which it is doing business and interacting will have to be brought into line.

“Databases will have to be brought into line and Government departments for example,and so on.”

Overcrowding in our hospitals cannot not be tolerated

 

A Letter to Hiqa highlights staffing issues, overcrowding and unsafe work conditions.

The HSE said work is “well under way” to implement all of the recommendations in the Tallaght report in hospitals.

Frontline doctors have warned that emergency departments (EDs) in hospitals across the country are “unequivocally dangerous” to patients due to severe overcrowding.In a letter addressed to the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa), which was also sent to the directorate of the HSE, the doctors highlight issues with staffing coupled with increasing numbers of patients and an ageing population.

“ED overcrowding should not be tolerated,” wrote Dr Aileen McCabe, president of the Irish Emergency Medicine Trainees Association (IEMTA). “We believe that current ED conditions are unequivocally dangerous for patients and staff and there is substantial medical evidence that overcrowding leads to higher mortality and poorer patient outcomes.”

In the letter, which was sent on January 9th, Dr McCabe says doctors around the country “whole-heartedly” welcomed the Hiqa Tallaght Hospital Investigation Report published in May 2012. “We felt that your report signalled clearly and unambiguously to hospital management and the healthcare commissioners that these unsafe systems of healthcare provision would no longer be accepted.”

She said doctors working in Tallaght at the time of the report saw “immediate improvements in conditions and quality of care for ED patients”. However, she argues that the HSE has not issued directives to hospital managers and is relying on a “recommended compliance”.

In response, Hiqa said it would have “serious concerns” if the recommendations from its Tallaght investigation report had not been implemented in full, in particular those relating to emergency departments. “We will be in contact with the HSE seeking assurance on the issues raised by the IEMTA.”

The HSE said work is “well under way” to implement all of the recommendations in the Tallaght report in hospitals.

Meanwhile, all “non-urgent” surgery continued to be deferred at University Hospital Galway (UHG) for a sixth day today due to a “significant” increase in demand at its emergency department.

UHG was overall top of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) trolley and ward watch table today, with 27 people on trolleys in corridors and 17 people on trolleys or chairs in wards or “inappropriate settings”, according to the union.

This compares to 20 on trolleys in corridors and 17 in inappropriate ward settings today in Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, Dublin, and 30 on corridor trolleys and three in inappropriate ward settings in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, Co Louth.

Deep-space Rosetta a comet hunter wakes up from hibernation & gets back to work

 

Rosetta, a dormant billion-dollar comet-chasing spacecraft, arose from its deep-space slumber and sent a message back to Earth, but not before an unanticipated 18-minute delay in waking up.

Scientists waited with bated breath to hear back from Rosetta, the slumbering billion-dollar comet-chasing spacecraft.

“But an unanticipated 18-minute delay made everybody nervous, as you can imagine” Stephen Fuselier, co-investigator of one of the instruments on Rosetta, told the Monitor.

Rosetta did eventually wake up, though.

The spacecraft, which was made to fall asleep in mid-2011 after it cruised far from the Sun and out toward the orbit of Jupiter, sent out the first signal that was received by both NASA’s Goldstone and Canberra ground stations, according to a press release by the European Space Agency.

Rosetta was launched in 2004 and is chasing comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.

Currently, the spacecraft is within about 400 million miles of the Sun, which means that Rosetta will continue to get enough solar energy.

“We have our comet-chaser back,” said Alvaro Giménez, ESA’s Director of Science and Robotic Exploration.

The successful wake-up mission was announced to the world via the @ESA_Rosetta twitter account, which tweeted: “Hello, world!”

“This was one alarm clock not to hit snooze on, and after a tense day we are absolutely delighted to have our spacecraft awake and back online,” said Fred Jansen, ESA’s Rosetta mission manager.

In a press release, NASA announced that it will also be participating in the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission, which aims to observe “one such space-bound icy dirt ball from up close — for months on end.”

“We are going to be in the cometary catbird seat on this one,” said Claudia Alexander, project scientist for U.S. Rosetta from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.  “To have an extended presence in the neighborhood of a comet as it goes through so many changes should change our perspective on what it is to be a comet.”

The scientists are now trying to increase the data rate so that they can study the comet in detail, says Dr. Fuselier. They are looking at the data for the entire time period during which Rosetta was asleep, he adds.

“All other comet missions have been flybys, capturing fleeting moments in the life of these icy treasure chests,” says Matt Taylor, ESA’s Rosetta project scientist. “With Rosetta, we will track the evolution of a comet on a daily basis and for over a year, giving us a unique insight into a comet’s behaviour and ultimately helping us to decipher their role in the formation of the Solar System.”

THE SPACECRAFT WOKE UP AFTER 957 DAYS OF HIBERNATION.

In November, Rosetta will release a lander – another spacecraft within the larger spacecraft – whose shock absorbers will touch down on the surface of the comet. 

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Ireland does not have any cavemen left, Pat Rabbitte re-assures us all

 

Having no TV won’t help in escaping the incoming broadcasting charge

So confident is Mr Rabbitte of the technological nous of Irish citizens that anyone who claims not to watch television won’t be believed.

This morning, Mr Rabbitte said exemptions to the new charge would not apply to individuals who don’t -or at least claim not to – watch television.

“I don’t believe that we have cavemen in the country,” he told RTE Radio.

To Mr Rabbitte, cavemen are “people who don’t watch television and don’taccess content on their iPad or their iPhone or whatever”.

Pensioners will, however, be off the hook when it comes to the charge, as will the owners of second homes, provided the occupier has paid up for his or her principal residence.

But hotels face higher bills in the future. As it stands, hotels only pay the price of a single licence fee despite often having dozens of television sets. This morning. Mr Rabbitte said the new charge would address this “serious anomaly”.

Separately, Mr Rabbitte told Morning Ireland he didn’t have any concerns over the Government’s extension of an invitation to businessman Denis O’Brien to attend the Global Irish Economic Forum in October.

He said he didn’t know “what kind of tests you would expect the Government to cause invitees to the Global Economic Forum to jump through”.

The Moriarty inquiry found in 2011 that then minister for communications Michael Lowry “secured the winning” of the 1995 mobile phone licence for Mr O’Brien’s company Esat Digifone. The tribunal also found Mr O’Brien made two payments to Mr Lowry in 1996 and 1999 totalling £500,000 and backed a loan of stg£420,000 to Mr Lowry in 1999.

Ireland at risk of losing status as the reddest-headed people

  

THE TRADITIONAL VIEW OF IRELAND AS THE HOME OF RED-HAIRED CAILÍNÍ IS OUT OF STEP WITH NEW RESEARCH.

There is at least the potential that Ireland will be knocked off its perch as the true home of flowing red hair, as a genetics study shows more people in Scotland and Wales carry the genes that could produce future foxy generations.
Over the past year, commercial research company IrelandsDNA worked with more than 2,300 people whose four grandparents were all from England, Ireland, Scotland, or Wales, to check if they carried one of the three most common gene variants that predict red hair. If both parents carry one of the variants, there is a one-in-four chance their children will have red hair, but millions of people could have it without knowing.

“Nobody needs a DNA test to tell if they have red hair; all they need is a mirror,” said IrelandsDNA managing director Alistair Moffat. “What we set out to discover was a hidden story, one never before told, of the secret carriers.”

And the results, revealed at the Redhead Convention in Crosshaven, are shocking to anyone who thinks this country holds eternal sway in the redhead stakes. While almost 35% of Irish people carry one of the three red hair gene variants, the figure is 36.5% in Scotland and as high as 40% in Edinburgh and south-east Scotland.

Even Wales has a higher proportion, with 38% carrying the red-head genes.

Yorkshire’s level of carriers is less than 1% lower than Ireland’s and the researchers were surprised that England was as high as 32% overall.

The actual numbers who have red hair do not directly relate, as around 6% of Scots and 4% of English people are red-heads, but the genetics show the potential.

So, with a greater chance of a red-headed child if both parents have the gene, are some extraordinary tactics in order? The new King of the Redheads, Jack Daly, certainly thinks so.

“There was always that Spanish Armada link up in Connacht that has introduced more dark-haired people. So maybe we could have a Take Me Out, redhead-style, to get more redheads in the population again,” he suggested.

In case we get complacent, remember that Edinburgh hosted Britain’s first Ginger Pride march this month, standing up against ‘gingerism’ prejudice.

How eating raspberries could increase your chances of becoming a father

 

• Raspberries contain very high levels of antioxidants, which protect sperm from oxidative stress
• It is also thought that antioxidants may decrease risk of miscarriage
• One portion provides same amount of Vitamin C as 173 grapes
• The berries also help to maintain a healthy body weigh

Eating raspberries could help increase the chances of becoming a father, it has been claimed.

They contain high levels of Vitamin C, a key nutrient in male fertility, and magnesium, which is involved in the production of testosterone.

They are also thought to protect sperm from ‘oxidative stress’.

Wellbeing: Eating fresh raspberries could help boost chances of fatherhood because of their Vitamin C and antioxidants

A study by the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that men over 44 with the highest intake of Vitamin C had 20 per cent less damage to their sperm DNA than men who did not eat those foods.

It is also thought that after conception antioxidants may decrease the risk of miscarriage.

Juliet Wilson, a fertility nutritionist, said: ‘Raspberries provide essential nutrients that are known to enhance fertility in men and women.’

A recent study in the USA found that men over 44 with the highest intake of Vitamin C – found in foods such as raspberries, broccoli and potatoes – had 20 per cent less damage to their sperm DNA than men who did not eat those foods.

Juliet Wilson, a leading fertility nutritionist said that one portion of raspberries provided the same amount of Vitamin C as eating 173 grapes.

She said: ‘Raspberries have not yet been given the ‘super-food’ recognition of other berries, but they have a comparable bounty of nutrients which shouldn’t be ignored.

‘Alongside their many health benefits, raspberries are a perfect snack for couples trying to conceive.

‘Together with their high vitamin C content – one portion of raspberries provides the same amount as 173 grapes – they are also a good source of folate, which is known to be essential in key stages of female fertility and early embryo development.

‘Raspberries provide essential nutrients that are known to enhance fertility in men and women.’

Beneficial: Antioxidants in the fruit may decrease the risk of miscarriage

With sperm counts in the average British male falling by almost half in the past 60 years, experts have claimed raspberries maybe the saviour to help fathers-to-be.

The popular fruit contain folate, a key nutrient during conception and throughout pregnancy.

Juliet added that it is not just the vitamins and minerals in raspberries which are beneficial in the bedroom.

The berries also help to maintain a healthy body weight, which is the key to balancing sex hormones and increasing the likelihood of conceiving.

They have the lowest GI of any fruit, meaning their sugar is absorbed into the body slowly.

This, combined with their high fibre content means raspberries are an effective way to control hunger and cravings at only a few calories.

Nick Marston of British Summer Fruits, the body that represents 85 per cent of British berry growers, said: ‘Raspberries are often overlooked, but their numerous fertility-boosting properties and antioxidants make them the perfect bedtime snack.

‘This year we’ve had faultless growing conditions with the cool spring and recent warm weather, which have resulted in exceptionally tasty and juicy raspberries – so there’s no excuse not to take advantage of this superfood.’

British raspberries are in season now and available in abundance in all major supermarkets until November.

Spinal fluid test could give early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease

 

The first signs of having the disease include body tremors, but this new test could give a diagnosis before symptoms present.

TESTING FOR PROTEIN biomarkers in spinal fluid could show up the early stages of Parkinson’s disease, giving an early diagnosis, a study has found.

New research by the Perelman School of Medicine researchers at the University of Pennsylvania has found that people with early Parkinson’s had lower levels of amyloid beta, tau and alpha synuclein in their spinal fluid.

Symptoms

Those with with low levels of amyloid beta and tau were more likely to have the postural instability-gait disturbance- dominant (PIGD) motor type of disease. This form of the disease can cause those who have the disease to fall and walking can be difficult.

The study, which was published in JAMA Neurology, came from the five-year Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI). Spinal taps were carried out on 102 participants.

Of those that took part in the study, 63 people either had early and untreated Parkinson’s disease. The tests were compared to 39 individuals unaffected by the disease.

Parkinson’s progression

Protein bio-markers were found to be low in those suffering from the disease which researchers stating it could be key in further research on how Parkinson’s progresses.

ScienceDaily.com reports that Dr. John Trojanowski, director of the Penn Udall Center for Parkinson’s Research said that “early prediction is critical, for both motor and dementia symptoms.

This spinal fluid testing procedure is only being used in research studies at the moment and will be evaluated in a larger study at a later date.

NASA mission to capture near-Earth asteroid for study

 

NASA HAS RELEASED AN ANIMATION OF AN AMBITIOUS PROJECT THAT INCLUDES CAPTURING A NEAR-EARTH ASTEROID AND SENDING ASTRONAUTS INTO SPACE TO STUDY IT.

While it sounds like science fiction, President Obama has added the asteroid initiative to his fiscal year 2014 budget request. He initially announced plans for the mission in April 2010 and it could be executed as early as 2021.

The near-Earth asteroid would first be robotically captured in a maneuver akin to throwing a bag over something. The mission would seek an asteroid that is 7-10 meters in diameter, weighing about 500 tons.

From Earth a team of astronauts would blast off in an Orion spacecraft atop a heavy liftrocket. Once in space, the crew would set off on a nine-day journey to the asteroid, which would include a slingshot maneuver, or what’s called a lunar gravity assist, around the moon to gain speed toward the target asteroid.

After carefully docking the spacecraft with the robotic capture vehicle, astronauts would don space suits and begin a space walk towards the asteroid. After lifting one of the covers on the material surrounding the asteroid, the team would collect rock and soil samples that would be analyzed later on Earth.

Once the team undocked from the capture vehicle, Orion would complete another lunar gravity assist on the trip home.

The mission is still in the very early planning stages and NASA will host a technical workshop at the end of September to discuss potential approaches. The asteroid mission is one step in the agency’s strategy to send humans to Mars in the 2030s.

The mission is somewhat reminiscent of the 1998 blockbuster action movie “Armageddon” where Bruce Willis has to land on an asteroid to save Earth from the rock’s deadly path. Among the real life goals of the asteroid initiative is, in fact, protecting Earth in addition to advancing technologies for human space flight and learning how to utilize space resources.

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG Wednesday

Dunne’s Stores victory as judge chops rent by a third

 

THE DECISION TO SLASH DUNNES STORES RENTAL PRICE BY 35PC HAS BEEN WELCOMED BY THE BUSINESS GROUPS AS A POSITIVE MOVE TO “CURTAIL THE MADNESS”.

The retail giant led by Margaret Heffernan (pic above) secured a cut in rental prices for its George’s Street property from a Circuit Civil Court yesterday.

Judge Jacqueline Linnane said that the supermarket chain was entitled to its own reduction and slashed the amount of rent Dunnes was paying.

Decline: ”The economy is in recession, there is a high rate of unemployment and there has been a fall in retail sales and a decline in consumer spending,” Judge Linnane said.

Dunnes Stores Dublin will now pay 35pc less to Layden Properties George’s Street Ltd for 10,500 square feet of retail floor space in the 125-year-old listed building it also uses as a head office.

ISME chief Mark Fielding said that it is a positive step in the battle to renegotiate rent prices for businesses.

“It seems as if the courts are at long last copping on to the fact that businesses cannot afford the Celtic Tiger rents that have been foisted on them,

“Any move to curtail the madness in the rental prices is welcomed. Landlords themselves are under the pressure from the banks and insurance companies but we would welcome it, obviously, if it is setting a precedent.”

However, the representative for small and medium businesses lashed out at Government bodies who have failed to step up and take action on this issue.

“There is still a long way to go,” he said.

Tackle: “I would have numerous cases of smaller businesses – that would be nothing like the likes of Dunnes Stores – and are unable to meet the rent. They don’t have the wherewithal to take a High Court case.

“With the Government chickening out on their promise to tackle upward only rent reviews – which they promised to do in their programme for Government – it is good that the courts are taking charge.

“The Government has instead scurried into the corner and said that they can’t tackle upward-only rent reviews.”

The review reduces the pre-existing rate for the retail area of €50 per square foot by 35pc to €32.50 per square foot.

Irish Government reviewing tax on oil, & gas exploration

  

Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte has said an examination of tax rates for oil and gas exploration was being done to try to attract more investment offshore to increase the level of prospectivity.

Mr Rabbitte said he did not think Ireland was very much out of line with other countries in terms of rates and he said very high rates would deter exploration.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme, Mr Rabbitte said the alternative of setting up a State exploration company was not possible as Ireland did not have the money.

Mr Rabbitte’s comments came as Sinn Féin proposed new legislation seeking up to 80% tax on major Irish oil and gas discoveries.

Sinn Féin spokesperson for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Michael Colreavy said the party favoured a new tax regime which collected a graduated range of higher taxes from companies involved in oil and gas production but which did not discourage other companies which specialised in exploration.Under Sinn Féin’s plan, taxes on petroleum finds would rise depending on the size of the energy discovery.

Ireland currently applies a 25% corporation tax levy on petroleum firms while oil and gas field profits are hit with a graduated series of tax bands from 0-15%.

Mr Colreavy said that the party had not fixed a specific value for a major discovery. The proposed tax increase would not be retrospective and would only apply to future petroleum finds, he said.

Why don’t our GPs prescribe generic drugs more?

        

Moves by generic medicines maker Teva Pharmaceuticals to encourage greater awareness of post-patent drugs is very welcome. The company announced that it is using broadcaster Gay Byrne to front a new campaign to broaden awareness of generic medicines.

The state has been trying to save money by changing its purchasing policies in relation to medicines, with some success. One of the state’s biggest expenses in relation to medicine is through the medical card system.

Surveys have found that one third of medical card holders in Ireland are not using generic medicines. Ireland lags other EU countries in its usage of generic medicines.

The latest campaign is being supported by around 400 pharmacies. The only occasions I have ever been encouraged to use a generic drug were when offered it as an option by a pharmacist.

Ordinary consumers like me are not aware that a generic version of something even exists. We need our pharmacist to tell us there is an alternative, cheaper option. In the last 12 months pharmacists have suggested to me that I could consider trying a generic alternative to something that I asked for at the counter. Prior to that I don’t think I was ever offered a generic option.

I have never had a doctor prescribe a generic drug to me. At least, I am not aware of having been prescribed a generic drug. Promoting the generic option has all kinds of benefits. It is often cheaper for paying customers like me. If used by medical card holders, it should reduce the state’s medicines bill.

But surely, a public awareness campaign has to examine the role of the GPs. Why are GPs not prescribing or at least recommending enough generics? Consumers and pharmacists can heighten awareness, but GPs also have a big part to play.

Research has indicated that pharmacists are three times more likely to recommend generic medicines than doctors, according to Teva. New legislation makes it obligatory for pharmacists to offer patients generic medicines rather than the more expensive branded alternatives.

If the use of generics in Ireland is so much lower than our EU counterparts, then doctors have a role in helping to turn that around.

Why would doctors not prescribe more generics? Do they believe the generics are inferior in some way? If so, that is a worrying issue for all of us and we should know about it. Is it habit?

Perhaps doctors are used to recommending particular branded products they know will work and they need an awareness campaign for themselves.

Are they too close to certain pharmaceutical companies? What kinds of freebies, junkets or paid for conference trips are going on within the industry? Ordinarily, these kinds of things are simply part of commercial life. Insurance reps take clients on golf outings. Lots of companies pay for journalists to go on trips. It is very hard to ban and there is a case that perhaps it couldn’t or shouldn’t really be banned. That would mark a very direct state interference in the workings of industry.

But one would have to ask what role or influence such commercial relationships could play in the area of generic medicines, which affects us all in different ways.

NEW IRISH LAW WILL ALLOW GOVERNMENT TO SHUT DOWN PHONE NETWORKS

   

Legislation is to be introduced to allow the Justice Minister order mobile phone companies to shut down networks to prevent terrorist attacks. 

The laws are to be introduced in the coming week by the Justice Minister ahead of next month’s G8 summit in the North.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter said that the reason for amending the laws is the fear mobile phones could be used to trigger bomb attacks at the summit of world leaders in Fermanagh.

“The upcoming G8 summit in Co Fermanagh has brought a particular reality for the necessity for this legislation,” he said.

“It’s possible that terrorist groups may try to use the occasion of the summit, to the very least, garner publicity for themselves.

“This is not to ignore the very real danger of the loss of life is such a device was successfully detonated.”

Eight world leaders will jet in for next month’s G8 summit in Co Fermanagh, including US president Barack Obama, who will also use the trip to make his first visit to Belfast.

Details of First Lady Michelle Obama’s travel will be announced at a later date but she is widely expected to return to the Republic and visit her husband’s ancestral homeland in Moneygall, Co Offaly.

Other politicians to attend the G8 conference will include German chancellor Angela Merkel and UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

It is believed the meeting on June 17 and 18 will generate up to £40m (€47m) for the local economy.

Mr Shatter said the summit, at the Lough Erne golf resort on the outskirts of Enniskillen, created a real necessity for legislation to give the Government the power to ask phone companies to cut or limit signals.

He revealed the plan as he announced changes to the new Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Bill.

“The purpose of these amendments will be to allow for direction to issue to mobile phone service providers to cease service provision in a limited area in order to prevent death or damage to property,” the Minister said.

“The provision will contain safeguards to ensure that any interference to services is limited to the extent necessary to deal with the threat.”

Elsewhere, a major public march and rally will be held in Belfast the weekend before the G8 summit.

Trade unions and campaign groups like Amnesty International and Friends of the Earth are organising a Fairer World Festival to coincide with the event.

Mr Shatter announced the amendments to the new legislation – which is yet to be passed into law – at a parliamentary committee meeting.

Scientists seek the secret of comfort eating in NUIG

 

GALWAY RESEARCHERS BELIEVE NEED FOR FOOD MAY STEM FOR CHILDHOOD

Researchers at NUI Galway say ice cream is a favourite for comfort eaters. 

Researchers are finally hoping to unlock the secret of why we turn to comfort eating.

A team at NUI Galway is now looking for volunteers to give them an insight into the real need for late night snacks or why we binge or our favourite food at other times.

The researchers reckon that our need for comfort eating – chocolate, ice cream or ready to eat, convenience foods are favourites with most people – may stem from childhood. And it has less to do with satisfying hunger than meeting a need for stress relief or a reward.

The Galway study aims to examine the influence of emotional factors in childhood on comfort eating and weight. They have devised a questionnaire which investigates these issues, and will also be conducting individual interviews.

“We’re hoping to explore the relationship between a range of factors, such as how people learned to cope with their emotions in childhood, or how people relate to others, and how this influences eating patterns and BMI in adulthood”, said Roisín Finnegan, a trainee clinical psychologist who is carrying out this research under the supervision of Dr Jonathan Egan, lecturer in psychology at NUI Galway.

While the wide availability of convenience foods and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle are recognised as significant contributing factors to the spike in obesity rates, research to date has revealed that psychosocial factors in childhood, such as abuse, lack of parental support, and depression, may also play a role.

“We believe that children growing up in an environment where they feel unable to express their emotions may turn to food as a source of comfort,” said Dr Egan.

“This pattern of coping with emotion through food continues into adulthood, and may well contribute to weight problems. These are just some of the factors we’re interested in investigating further as part of this research.

“We’re also interested in the concept of mindfulness, and how the ability to attend to how one is feeling in the present moment may act as an antidote to emotional eating.”

Volunteers taking part in the project have to be over 18 and interviews will take place in Laois, Offaly, Longford and Westmeath. The research is being funded by the Millennium Research Fund at NUI Galway and further detail are available athttps://www.surveymonkey.com/s/comforteating