Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Many thousands march in anti-water charges protest in Dublin yesterday

Demonstrators burn Irish Water bills outside the GPO on O’Connell Street

  

Thousands of people took to the streets of Dublin in an anti-water charges demonstration in Dublin city centre on Saturday. There was a strong pro Greek element to the protest showing solidarity with their european neighbours debt negotiations.

Demonstrators burned Irish Water bills outside the GPO on O’Connell Street today as thousands turned out in Dublin city centre to protest against domestic water charges.

Following separate processions from Connolly and Heuston railway stations earlier in the afternoon, about 5,000 people converged on the capital’s main thoroughfare to voice dissatisfaction at the billing process which would see householders pay for their water use.

A minimal security presence was in evidence for what was a peaceful and colourful event on a sunny day in Dublin.

Some of those present elected to don fancy dress outfits, while many others brandished signs criticising Government parties, while dozens of Greek flags were flown in recognition of the ongoing bailout talks involving the debt-ridden Mediterranean nation.

Traffic restrictions were in place along the quays, around College Green and on O’Connell Street itself, where north and south bound traffic was temporarily curtailed as the marches merged in front of a flatbed truck parked on the pavement beside the GPO.

Before any of the speakers began their addresses, bills were already being burned sporadically among the crowd. A number of oil drums were eventually placed at various intervals, and were soon filled with the ashes of hundreds of letters as those intending to actively resist the new charges consigned their own bills to the flames.

In her opening speech, Independent TD Catherine Murphyequated the way the Government’ released payment figures for water bills to the manner used to try and prevent her from obtaining sensitive documents carrying details of the sale of Siteserv to Denis O’Brien’s Millington group in 2012.

“Just as I found it difficult to get answers last year on the Siteserv issue, others have asked questions about how many people have paid to date. And you know what, you can’t get it on Freedom of Information, it has to be appealed. If 80 per cent of people had paid, they’d be rushing out to tell you.

“You’re intelligent people , you make up your own mind about that. I believe in conserving water, I believe we need to fix the pipes, but I also believe that Irish Water’s days are numbered,” she announced.

Afterwards, the Kildare deputy said that although she doesn’t actively condone the burning of bills, she does sympathise with people’s anger on the issue.

“I wouldn’t be burning my bill, I’d like to hold onto the evidence for the future… I think people are expressing it in a different way, I can’t tell you the number of people who have told me that they’re not paying but they’re not necessarily here today,” she added.

As opposed to some previous, larger demonstrations which saw isolated scenes of confrontation and occasional skirmishes between protestors and gardaí, a convivial atmosphere was evident throughout today’s rally.

“There’s a good few thousand here, obviously there were bigger ones where we had 100,000 but the campaigns are still there locally, people are still not paying. There’s still dozens of independent groups around the country fighting and sticking to their guns about it,” said campaign organiser Ciarán Heaphey.

He says he remains unperturbed by the potential repercussions of non-payment which will include further fines on top of monies already owned, according to Irish Water representatives.

“I’m not afraid. I would never pay for water, this is the third time we’ve been asked to pay for water through various means- we’re not paying for water again.”

Irish households paying close to double the EU average for broadband?

 

A study shows Ireland is failing when it comes to digital skills.

In terms of integration of digital technology by businesses, Ireland came in 3rd place overall, up 1 place compared to 2014

Charlie Taylor says Irish households are paying close to double the EU average for broadband access, according to a new report that shows Ireland is lagging behind its European counterparts when it comes to digital skills.

Ireland ranks 8th out of 28 Member States in the European Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index, which was published on Friday. This places Ireland in the ’medium-performance’ category, meaning it performs slightly above the EU average. Last year, Ireland was ranked in 11th place in the index.

Irish businesses are ranked 2nd in the EU for use of social media and for e-commerce turnover and also in addition Irish SMEs rank 5th in the EU for selling online, and for use of E-invoices.

In terms of integration of digital technology by businesses, Ireland came in 3rd place overall, up 1 place compared to 2014. This is above the EU average but the report’s authors added that businesses in Ireland could better exploit the possibilities offered by electronic information sharing and RFID.

In other areas, Ireland underperforms when ranked against its neighbours. In terms of broadband value, for example, the country ranks in 23rd place with households paying significantly more than the EU average for access. Ireland also ranked poorly for digital skills, coming in 20th place with only 53% of people having the required skills to operate effectively online.

At 76%, Ireland exhibits a rate of internet use amongst its population similar to that of the EU average.

With regard to internet connectivity, Ireland ranked 16th among EU countries. According to the index, 96% of Irish households are now covered by fixed broadband – a type of high-speed Internet access where connections to service providers use radio signals rather than cables – and take-up of fixed broadband is at 62%, below the EU average of 70%. This places Ireland in 19th place in terms of fixed- broadband use. Mobile broadband take-up increased from 67% to 82% between 2014 and 2015.

Online news, music, video and games, video calls, social networking, banking and shopping consumption all saw increases over the last year. Music, video and games, rose 20 percentage points from 23% to 43%. Video-on-demand (VOD) declined by 2 percentage points from 70% to 68%. However, VOD use is still very high in Ireland compared to the EU average of 41 per cent, placing Ireland 5th out of 28 countries.

The common (BCG) jab could hold key to finding cure for Type 1 diabetes

 

Millions of diabetes sufferers worldwide could have fresh hope after research found a commonly used vaccine could “cure” the condition.

The breakthrough could now get rid of insulin injections?

Scientists are convinced the debilitating effects of Type 1 diabetes can be reversed with a cheap jab used to combat tuberculosis.

Unlike lifestyle-driven Type 2 diabetes, which is often linked to obesity, Type 1 is an auto immune disease that, until now, was thought to be incurable.

But a major breakthrough could see the chronic condition – known as early onset diabetes – wiped out within years.

Researchers think the generic Bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) jab, administered to tens of millions of children each year, can help regenerate insulin-making cells, effectively reversing the condition.

The BCG vaccine is up to 80 per cent effective in preventing TB for 15 years.

Results of initial tests in those who had diabetes for an average of 15 years suggest insulin production can be restored, albeit briefly, by a simple booster injection.

This is a cheap and generic drug that could be very effective and we’ve been saying that message over and over ahead since the start

The astonishing outcome is considered so significant £12million is being ploughed into a second five-year trial.

Experts in Britain described the quantum leap as “very exciting”.

Dr Denise Faustman, who is leading the research, said: “We decided to use a safe 100-year-old vaccine to make this happen and we’ve found that it works.

“We saw early signs that even at low doses of this vaccine the bad white blood cells that were killing the pancreas were killed and the good white blood cells that quiet down Type 1 diabetes were up-regulated.

“This is a cheap and generic drug that could be very effective and we’ve been saying that message over and over ahead since the start.”

Diabetes occurs when the amount of glucose in the blood becomes too high because the body cannot use it properly.

The new research could be a medical breakthrough for diabetes

This happens when the pancreas does not produce any insulin (Type 1), or not enough insulin to help glucose enter the body’s cells – or the insulin that is produced does not work properly, known as insulin resistance (Type 2).

Type 1 can develop at any age, but usually appears before the age of 40, particularly in childhood.

Patients lose their ability to make insulin and have to replace it for the rest of their lives.

Sufferers have a relative deficiency in a hormone known as TNF but scientists believe by administering a natural vaccine boosting TNF, bad white blood cells could be zapped and the pancreas regenerated.

Dr Faustman of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston said: “In long-term diabetics we could see the targeted death of bad T-cells.

“We also saw the beginnings of pancreas regeneration. Sure, no one was throwing insulin syringes away yet, because it was just the beginning…but it showed that this could be done. And importantly, this was in long-term Type 1s with 15 to 20 years – that rattled a lot of people.

“We are going to look at how much BCG is needed and how frequently. That’s the key, the secret: knowing how much to dose.

“These aren’t fast trials by any means. We have a five-year follow-up but that’s important because after more than two years the effects become monumentally more significant.

“We know this is worth it, because data now shows from Europe that using BCG compared to the standard of care is most effective.

“Ten years ago no one used the R-word (regeneration) and we weren’t allowed to use that in our science papers.

“That’s changed over time and now it’s a common concept everyone is going after. We have come a long way in thinking how the human pancreas does this very slowly, like in MS where it takes five years.”

The lives of 4million people are now blighted by diabetes and the scale of the epidemic gripping Britain is so great treating the condition costs the NHS £10billion a year, or £1million an hour.

Diabetes can lead to a number of serious long-term health problems like blindness, heart and kidney disease and stroke and the furring and narrowing of blood vessels.

Karen Addington, chief executive of Type 1 diabetes charity JDRF, said: “Those diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes must inject insulin every day simply to stay alive. It is a serious and demanding condition and it’s on the rise in the UK, especially in children under the age of five.

“Vaccine research holds real potential for helping to delay or even prevent Type 1 diabetes in those at high genetic risk. Achieving this would be an important step towards discovery of the cure for the condition, taking us towards a world without Type 1 diabetes.

Sitting down too much might could be causing you Anxiety

  

“It’s time to get up and shake a leg you people” because sitting down could be your worst enemy?

Sitting down has been getting a bad rap of late. First we were told that it’s probably killing us (which, you know, is obviously not ideal), and now it’s emerged that sitting down may be affecting our mental health too.

Research by Deakin University’s Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research (C-PAN) in Australia has found that there is probably a link between sitting down and anxiety.

Functional brain abnormalities are evidence in some individuals suffering from anxiety and panic disorders as well as post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Many brain disorders are accompanied by abnormal patterns of cortical activity (EEG or brain wave patterns).

Psychiatric treatments often rely on the use of medication for the treatment of anxiety; however evidence suggests that meds are not especially effective in treating this condition. Researchers estimate improvement in OCD from treatment with drugs to only be 30% to 35% only, for instance.

Talking about the motivation behind the study, Megan Teychenne, lead researcher and lecturer at C-PAN, explained: ‘Anecdotally – we are seeing an increase in anxiety symptoms in our modern society, which seems to parallel the increase in sedentary behavior. Thus, we were interested to see whether these two factors were in fact linked.’

In fact, according to the NHS, GAD (generalised anxiety disorder) is estimated to affect about 1 in every 25 people in the UK.

Maybe it’s better to not get a seat on the train after all?

Back to the research the team at C-PAN analysed the results of nine studies looking into the relationship between sedentary behaviour and anxiety, and found that there did seem to be a link.

Talking about the results, Megan Teychenne, said: ‘Our research showed that evidence is available to suggest a positive association between sitting time and anxiety symptoms’

But conceded that more research was needed, saying: ‘however, the direction of this relationship still needs to be determined through longitudinal and interventional studies.’

In the meantime however, it might be worth getting off your backside and taking a walk every now and then. You know, just to be on the safe side.

Humpback whales get friendly in Cork with some paddle boarders

 

Humpback whales were spotted near Inchydoney beach, near Clonakilty in West Cork earlier this week.

A humpback whale was seen Inchydoney beach, near Clonakilty in West Cork earlier this week, and even got friendly with a paddle boarder.

According to the website Ireland’s Wildlife, the whales were possibly drawn into the area by the small fish called sand eels, a crucial food source to the whale. While humpbacks are regular visitors to the Irish coast, what was unusual was how close to shore the whale was feeding.

A whale got extremely close to paddle boarder Jason Coniry.

“I still can’t believe this happened but she swam right toward my board, rolled on her back and submersed just feet in front; she lifted me and the board very gently out of the water with her pectoral fin and then circled a few times passing under again,” the Cork man told BreakingNews.ie.

“After being lifted from the water I ended up on the whale’s side for a moment.

They are such a magnificent creature and such a magical experience. I feel very grateful.”

He warned that whales need to be treated with utmost respect.

“It’s not a good idea for everyone to jump in the water with these animals,” said Coniry, a lifeguard who has surfed and paddleboarded regularly for years.

“Instinct guides us as to when it’s unsafe. The whale’s movements are very intentional and accurate. If it did not want us near it, we would definitely have known.”

“We all should be respectful of our own limitations, and we must be respectful of these animals.”

“Our Irish coastline is largely unexplored and untapped, the West coast is one of the best places in the world to explore by paddleboard and we have amazing lakes and waterways all over the country. It’s great to be able to make the most of that,” he said.    

Donie's Ireland daily NEWS BLOG

The UK Conservative Party’s victory & what it means for Ireland next year?

  

‘THE LESSON FOR ENDA KENNY AND JOAN BURTON IS THAT POOR POLL RESULTS MAY MEAN NOTHING WHEN PEOPLE ARE FACED WITH CHOOSING A GOVERNMENT’

‘Fine Gael will aspire to a similar share of the national vote as the Conservatives but will get nothing like the seat bonus provided by the straight vote system.’ Above, people in London take copies of a free newspaper showing the Conservative Party’s election victory.

David Cameron’s stunning election victory has a number of implications for Ireland and one of them is that the Coalition has every chance winning a second term if the two parties in power hold their nerve and fight a coherent campaign.

Fine Gael TDs in particular were buoyed up by the result in the UK on the basis that it showed that voters are prepared to reward a party in power that has taken some very unpopular decisions in the national interest.

The reaction of Labour TDs in Leinster House was more nuanced. They were all naturally disappointed at the dismal failure of their sister party across the water to do better, but some were also quietly heartened by the lesson that governments can retain power in a time of “austerity”.

The twin planks of the Conservative victory were the promise of stability based on the party’s record in government and the attack on the Scottish nationalists as an insidious force who wanted to hold the rest of the UK to ransom.

“There is an obvious parallel here,” said one excited Fine Gael TD. “We are the only party that can offer the voters stability and Sinn Féin represents the same kind of bogeyman for middle Ireland as the Scots nats do for middle England.”

Of course there are some very important differences between Ireland and the UK and there are no guarantees that the electorate here will view the world in the same terms as British voters.

The difference in the electoral systems is also very important. Fine Gael will aspire to a similar share of the national vote as the Conservatives but will get nothing like the seat bonus provided by the straight vote system.

The converse, though, is that while the Labour Party here is in a position very akin to the Liberal Democrats, proportional representation should ensure that the loss of seats will be on nothing like the same scale.

Another feature of the British outcome that has given both Coalition parties here a shot in the arm is that nobody saw it coming. The polls, the pundits and the politicians all forecast a hung parliament but in the event it was nothing like that.

The lesson for Enda Kenny and Joan Burton is that poor poll results over the past two years may mean nothing when people are faced with the responsibility of choosing a government.

The Conservatives won because the British electorate did not see a viable alternative government on offer. The Irish electorate will be confronted with the same dilemma and if Fine Gael and Labour play their cards right they could win the extra votes needed to get them over the line.

There are no obvious UK parallels with the position Fianna Fáil finds itself in. Making itself relevant to the formation of government is the big challenge facing the main Opposition party given that it has ruled out coalition with either Fine Gael or Sinn Féin.

As for Sinn Féin, the party’s prospects lie somewhere between those of the SNP and UKIP, both of which place nationalism at the heart of their appeal. The straight vote system means that the SNP got far more seats than its vote warranted while UKIP got far fewer. Sinn Féin will certainly improve its position here – the only question is by how much.

The setback for Sinn Féin in Fermanagh South Tyrone and the slight drop in its support on other constituencies was welcome news for the Government parties in Dublin and for Fianna Fáil.

It demonstrated that the rise of Sinn Féin is not as inexorable as is so widely assumed while the performance of the SDLP and the Ulster Unionists showed there is still room for moderate parties on both the nationalist and unionist sides of the sectarian debate.

In terms of its most immediate direct impact on this country, Cameron’s victory means that a referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union is now certain to happen in the next couple of years.

The potential damage that a UK exit would have on Ireland has caused considerable unease in this country across the political spectrum as well as among business and trade union leaders.

However, the scale of Mr Cameron’s victory is something of a silver lining from an Irish point of view as it puts him in a strong position to lead the EU referendum debate and fight the campaign on ground of his choosing.

If it had been a hung parliament, as almost all of the polls and pundits were suggesting, Cameron might have retained power but would have been dependent on his own anti-EU right wing or even UKIP.

That would have made it very difficult for him to get an EU reform package strong enough to placate the variety of anti-European forces in the UK and the referendum campaign could have turned into an unwinnable proposition.

“David Cameron wants the UK to remain in the EU. This election victory puts him in a strong position to get a good deal from his EU partners and to convince the British public to stay, so it’s not a bad result at all,” said one senior Government politician.

The Brussels think-tank Open Europe came up with a similar analysis in advance of the British election. In a detailed report last week it argued that in the long term a Labour victory would have made a British exit from the EU more rather than less likely.

That said, real concerns remain in Ireland about the outcome the referendum on EU membership. The Government here will have to do everything in its power to ensure that the British get the kind of deal that will enable Cameron to sell it to the British public.

Taoiseach Kenny heckled by anti-water charge protesters in Sligo

     

ABOUT 100 PEOPLE TURN BACKS ON ENDA KENNY AND US AMBASSADOR AT CIVIL WAR EVENT in Sligo

Taoiseach Enda Kenny was heckled by anti-water charges protesters in Sligo on Saturday.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and US ambassador Kevin O’Malley were heckled and jeered by protesters at a ceremony in Co Sligo on Saturday to honour the Irish who fought in the American Civil War.

About 100 anti-water charges and anti-war protesters turned their backs on speakers including Mr Kenny and the ambassador as a monument was unveiled in Ballymote marking the 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War.

Throughout the ceremony the protesters practically drowned out the speakers – who also included local Fine Gael TD John Perry – calling them “traitors”.

They repeatedly shouted “war mongers” and “American troops out of Shannon” throughout the Ambassador’s speech.

Before the ceremony began, those taking part in the rally were urged to turn their backs in silence by one participant who said that otherwise they would be demonised by the media.

Afterwards Mr Kenny said he was well used to peaceful protests which were part of our democracy but “but you would expect in a place like this that respect would be shown for the national anthems and for visitors from the US especially for the ambassador, himself the son of Irish emigrants”. He noted that the protesters did “respectfully” observe a minute’s silence for those who died in the war.

The Taoiseach was in Ballymote for the unveiling of a monument , a sculpture in bronze, of a solider on horseback, dedicated to the memory of the Irish who served and died during the American Civil War.

The ceremony was attended by a few hundred people including locals who shook hands with Mr Kenny on his arrival, and some of whom expressed disapproval at the nature of the noisy protest.

There were angry scenes when the ceremony ended as gardaí erected a barrier and refused to allow some of those who had been involved in the demonstration to exit the area until the Taoiseach’s entourage left. Some of the protesters sat on the road in protest as Sligo county councillor Seamus O’Boyle (People Before Profit) pleaded with gardaí to let them through.

On arrival Mr Kenny was greeted with placards saying ‘No attachment orders for the bankers’ , ‘US war machine out of Shannon’ and ‘Where’s the monument for one million dead Iraqis’.

Throughout the speeches about a dozen uniformed gardaí and members of the Garda public order unit separated the demonstrators from the podium where singer Eunjoo Goh performed both the Irish and US national anthems.

Members of the Irish UN Veterans association also attended including 72-year-old James Taheny from Riverston Co Sligo who fought at the siege of Jadotville in The Congo in 1961. “Today is very important to me”, he said.

Irish Life’s profits rise 54% to €57m in quarter

  

PROFITS AT IRISH LIFE SHOT UP 54% IN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THE YEAR TO €57M.

The insurer was sold by the State to Canada’s Great-West Lifeco for €1.3bn in 2013.

Irish Life contributing profits of €57m (CAD$80m) to the CAD$700m of net earnings at Great West Lifeco in the first three months of the year, the company said.

Irish profits in the quarter were up from €34m in the same quarter in 2014, the company said. “Assets under management at ILIM exceeded €50bn for the first time at the end of Q1 2015 as markets continued to rise,” according to Bill Kyle, chief executive officer, Irish Life Group.

“In addition we achieved strong sales of our Multi-Asset Portfolio Strategies (MAPS) to the institutional and retail markets.” Irish Life MAPS investment funds doubled in size over the last six months, he said.

Dairy consumption increases well in the US 

Consumption of dairy products increased strongly in the united states during March according to statistics from the US Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service and Foreign Agricultural Service.

Cheese consumption was reported at 1 billion lbs (454,545 tonnes), up 3.8% on March 2014. Despite a decline of 5.1% in total cheese exports to 75.6 million lbs (34,363 tonnes), domestic consumption grew by 4.6% to 938.4 million lbs (426,545 tonnes), which supported the overall increase.

Butter consumption increased by 8.5% on March last year. Weaknesses in exports were offset by a 28% jump in US domestic consumption.

Non-fat dry milk consumption was reported at 205.8 million lbs (94,772 tonnes) up 20.2% on March 2014. The overall increase was supported by a 6.6% increase in exports and a 47.1% increase in domestic consumption.

The improvement in the US economy, which has led to more consumers eating out, is the main reason for increased cheese and butter consumption.

If this increase continues, it will have the effect of reducing quantities of dairy produce on the world export market for the remainder of this year. The US exported 16% of their total dairy production in 2014. This amounted to the equivalent of 15 million tonnes of milk production.

The strong US dollar is leaving US dairy exports much less competitive but the increase in home consumption should prevent any collapse in prices.

Can a computer beat one of the world’s best poker players?

 

Strategy games such as chess have long been considered important ways to measure artificial intelligence. But A.I. researchers at Carnegie Mellon University chose a different method of research, and in some ways, a more challenging game: poker.

Doug Polk, 26, is considered the best heads up, or one on one, no limit Texas hold ’em player in the world. He’s defeated countless opponents and won millions of dollars.

Polk bet his reputation that he could beat Claudico, Carnegie Mellon’s artificial intelligence super computer.

“You’re playing a cold-blooded killer because when he goes all in and you snap him off and win his stack, he’s not scared now, he’s just computing, right?” Polk said.

For the past two weeks, Polk and three other professional poker players each played 20,000 hands against Claudico at Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh.

Viewers from more than 100 countries watched online, but nobody paid closer attention than the man responsible for Claudico, professor Tuomas Sandholm.

“The computer definitely bluffs and does all sorts of other tricks that human poker players know, but the key is that we don’t program in the bluffing,” Sandholm said. “So the algorithms themselves figure out the strategy, how to bluff, when to bluff, in what situations and so forth.*

In 1997, the world watched in wonder when IBM’s Deep Blue, whose research originated at Carnegie Mellon, defeated the world’s best chess player, Garry Kasparov. And again in 2011 when Watson bested “Jeopardy” champion Ken Jennings.

So why is poker a better gauge of A.I. than playing “Jeopardy” or chess?

“In chess it’s a game of complete information, so when it’s your turn to move you know exactly what the state of the world is, what the state of the game is,” Sandholm said. “In poker, you don’t.

“This is really to be able to assist humans and companies in interacting, let’s say in negotiation,” Sandholm said. “Wouldn’t it be nice if you had an agent that helped you strategize in the world when you’re buying a car or buying insurance?”

Jason Les studied computer science in college before becoming an online poker pro. It turns out his education wasn’t much of a help. But he was still happy he signed up to play a computer.

“I thought this was a historic event and a big landmark in poker and artificial intelligence,” he said. “And I’m happy that I came up here and I was able to be a part of the winning team.”

Well, not exactly. According to Carnegie Mellon, the pros’ combined $732,000 lead in fake money makes it a statistical tie. The university plans to rewrite Claudico’s algorithms.