Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Ray MacSharry seeks Ansbacher dossier from PAC

  

Committee expected to respond it is not in a position to hand over the documents. 

Ray MacSharry is one of five former politicians named in the Dáil by Sinn Féin TD Mary Lou McDonald as having been in a dossier of alleged offshore account holders. All five have rejected the claims.

Former Fianna Fáil finance minister Ray MacSharry’s lawyers have written to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) seeking the so-called Ansbacher dossier in which he is named.

Mr MacSharry is one of five former politicians named in the Dáil by Sinn Féin TD Mary Lou McDonald as having been in a dossier of alleged offshore account holders. All five have rejected the claims.

Contacted by The Irish Times this morning, Mr MacSharry said: “My lawyers are dealing with matters”.

The law firm Arthur Cox, acting for Mr MacSharry, has written to the PAC requesting access to papers given to individual members of the committee.

However, it is understood that the Ansbacher dossier is not considered to be a committee document and therefore the committee is expected to respond that it is not in a position to hand over the dossier.

Mr MacSharry previously described the allegations as “absolutely outrageous” and last week said: “I have never had an Ansbacher account, I never was the beneficiary of one.”

He said he would be consulting his legal representatives to see what recourse he has, both against Gerry Ryan, the whistleblower who submitted the dossier about tax evasion to the Dáil Committee on Public Accounts, and Ms McDonald.

Ms McDonald last Wednesday also named under privilege on the Dáil record former PD leader Des O’Malley, former Fianna Fáil politicians Máire Geoghegan-Quinn and Gerard Collins, an ‘S Barrett’, assumed to be former Fianna Fáil TD Sylvie Barrett, and former Fine Gael minister Richie Ryan.

Mr MacSharry’s tough persona while overseeing public spending cuts while Charles Haughey’s minister for finance in the late 1980s earned Ray MacSharry the title “Mack the Knife”.

He became an MEP in 1984, before returning as a TD and minister for finance in 1987 in another Haughey-led government and he was appointed Ireland’s European commissioner in 1988.

Donegal people are most likely to die at home says IHF

   

A new report commissioned by the Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF) has found that the chances of dying at home or in hospital are dictated by where you live in Ireland, with those in Donegal nearly twice as likely to die at home than those living in Dublin.

Launched last week (December 4) by Senator Prof John Crown, the report — ‘Enabling More People to Die at Home; Making the Case for Quality Indicators as Drivers for Change on Place of Care and Place of Death in Ireland’ — sets out the case for key quality indicators on place of care and death, and calls for health policy to focus on providing more care in the home and in communities.

Supported by a paper written by social and economic research consultant Dr Kieran McKeown, the report draws on data published by the CSO that shows people living in Donegal are more likely to die at home (34 per cent), followed by Kilkenny and Kerry (33 per cent), Mayo (32 per cent), and Leitrim and Wexford (31 per cent).

Despite findings of a recent national survey showing that 74 per cent of Irish people want to die at home, only 18 per cent of people in Dublin do so, followed next by Sligo (26 per cent), and Roscommon and Galway (26 per cent — the national average).

The report finds that areas with no hospice that deliver specialist palliative care services through home care teams — including the South East, the Midlands and the North East — have a higher proportion of deaths in the usual place of residence (home or long-stay places of care) compared to areas with a hospice.

Irish Hospice Foundation CEO Sharon Foley said that quality indicators on place of care and death would show how well the health services were meeting the deepest wishes of people approaching the end of life. “It may be that those areas without hospices have better developed homecare teams. Other reasons may be at play, such as urban/rural differences in allocation of community supports. But we need to find out.”

She added: “The IHF believes that enabling people to fulfil their wish to die at home is not just a matter of effective health services and flexible, responsive, people-centred systems.

“It is fundamental to the very basis of humanity in an evolved society. Allowing choice and dignity in end-of-life care, and in the experience of dying, is a strong indication of how we care for Irish society as a whole.”

Regional airports get €2M funding boost for core services 

   

Minister for Transport agrees to provide more than €2m to help offset subventible losses. 

The approved funding brings the total financial support by the Exchequer under the Regional Airports Programme to just under €13 million in 2014

More than €2 million in funding is to be given to regional airports to compensate them for costs incurred in providing core services that cannot be fully recovered.

The approved funding brings the total financial support by the Exchequer under the Regional Airports Programme to just under €13 million in 2014.

Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe said the funding is to cover so-called “subventible losses,” that is costs for services that can’t be recovered from non-core income coming from activities such as restaurants, bars and parking.

Under the Regional Airports Programme, which is due to end this year, financial support has been provided to Kerry, Knock,Waterford and Donegal airports under three main schemes, including the Public Service Obligation Scheme, which provides funding to airlines to operate essential services.

Earlier this month, Mr Donohoe confirmed that regional air services from Donegal and Kerry to Dublin would continue to be subsided under the PSO scheme. Stobart Air, the former Aer Arran, was awarded the contracts to operate the two routes until 2017. It currently runs the Kerry to Dublin-subsidised service while Loganair operates the Donegal route.

The Regional Airports Programme is due to end this year and the Government has submitted a new proposal for a replacement scheme to the EU commission for consideration.

‘The Government’s aim is to give regional airports the opportunity beyond 2014 to grow to a viable, self-sustaining position, particularly considering the contribution that they make to their regional and local economy. As a result, Exchequer support for the four regional airports will be continued beyond 2014,” said Mr Donohoe.

“The decision to continue providing these necessary supports will facilitate the airports in developing and implementing new business plans leading to self-sufficiency within a ten year period. Central to these will be the need for regional and local business investment,” he added.

Irish Men at Risk of Ill Health Because of Diet, Claims Study

   

Men often have a preference for larger portions, according to the study

A new report launched by safefood has found that Irish men’s food behaviour puts them at a disadvantage health-wise compared with women.

The safefood report, Men’s Food Behaviour, gives an overview of research on men and food behaviour across the island of Ireland and illustrates the need to help change how men interact with food.

The report highlights that men are generally less engaged with food both in terms of food hygiene and healthy eating. It also finds men have less healthy diets, eat more fat and salt, less fruit and vegetables, and tend to see food as fuel.

Men also show greater preference for larger portions of food, are less likely to be aware of healthy eating guidelines and are less likely to regard healthy eating as an important factor influencing their long-term health. And although more men than women are overweight or obese in Ireland, they are less likely to attempt to lose weight or to monitor their diet.

At present, 70% of Irish men are overweight or obese, compared with 50% of women.

Dr Cliodhna Foley-Nolan, Director, Human Health and Nutrition, safefood said: “When it comes to food skills such as planning, purchasing, shopping, cooking and cleaning, women are more likely to be skilled in this area and still do most of this work. This report identifies how men view themselves and their relationship with food and is of importance for men’s health given their levels of overweight and obesity.”

Report places Ireland 25th in Europe for drink-driving related deaths

  

Ireland has come in 25th place in Europe for drink-driving related deaths.

One in ten fatal car crashes globally are caused by alcohol, with men more likely than women to drink drive, according to a new report by Allianz.

When it comes to Europe, alcohol-related fatalities are highest in eastern countries, while Italy has the lowest number.

In most countries men are twice as likely to be killed in drink-driving crashes as women and Ireland is no exception.

Almost 20% of fatal accidents involving men are down to alcohol consumption while the figure for women is just 8%.

Fathering offspring is more than just a race to the egg

  

The chance of a male fathering offspring may not be a simple race to the egg, but is influenced by the length of the male’s sperm, say scientists from the University of Sheffield.

Using a captive population of zebra finches, the researchers carried out sperm competition experiments between pairs of males, where one male consistently produced long sperm and the other male always produced short sperm. These experiments showed that more long sperm reached and fertilised the eggs compared to short sperm. The long sperm advantage was evident even when the short sperm males mated with the females first, and were effectively given a ‘head start’.

The findings demonstrate that in birds, in a competitive scenario, the fertilisation success of a male can be influenced by the length of his sperm. The results also suggest that the final outcome of sperm competition may be partly dependent on the female bird.

Dr Clair Bennison from the University’s Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, said: “We know that in the zebra finch, long sperm swim faster than short sperm, so we might expect longer, faster swimming sperm to simply reach the egg first. However, this reasoning does not explain why long sperm outcompete short sperm in our study. Long sperm win at sperm competition, by fertilising more eggs, even when short sperm are given a head-start.”

Scientists at the University allowed each pair of male zebra finches to mate with a female bird so that the long and short sperm from the males could compete to fertilise the female’s eggs. Female birds store sperm inside their bodies for many days, and this is one way that the females themselves could influence the fertilisation success of the males. It is possible that long sperm are better at reaching and and staying inside these storage areas than short sperm. Long sperm may even be ‘preferred’ by the female, by some unknown process.

Dr Bennison, added: “Our findings are important because they demonstrate for the first time in birds, using a controlled competitive scenario, that sperm length can influence the fertilisation success of a particular male. The results also add to the body of evidence suggesting that the final outcome of sperm competition may be partly dependent on the female, and that the chance of a male siring offspring may not be an outcome of a simple ‘race to the egg’.”

Scientists believe that a better understanding of how sperm length influences fertilisation success in non-human animals such as the zebra finch may point us in new directions for investigation in human fertility research.

Researchers now plan to investigate if sperm storage duration in female birds varies according to the length of the male’s sperm, and the possible mechanisms responsible for this.    

Donie's news Ireland daily BLOG

Donegal council calls for water charges to be abolished

 

Fine Gael chief whip Barry O’Neill votes for motion seeking Irish Water referendum

Donegal County Council last night passed a motion calling on the Government to abolish water charges.

The Fine Gael chief whip on Donegal County Council was among those who tonight passed a motion calling on the Government to abolish water charges.

The resolution proposed by Independent Cllr Frank McBrearty Jnr also urged the Government to hold a referendum to ensure Irish Water would not be privatised.

Speaking at a special meeting of the council in Lifford today, Fine Gael chief whip Cllr Barry O’Neill said the establishment of Irish Water had been “an utter fiasco”

An unsuccessful by-election election candidate in Donegal South-West in 2010, Cllr O’Neill said from “the seeking of PPS numbers to reports of bonus cultures” Irish Water had been “nothing short of a disaster.”

Proposed water charges were “a step too far for the Irish people” who have had enough, he said.

His comments were greeted by some applause from over 60 anti-water protestors crammed into the council chamber.

The motion called on the Government to abolish water charges on residential homes to “commit itself to holding a referendum not to privatise our natural resource of water that belongs to the Irish people”.

The result of the vote was 33 for, none against and one abstention (Cllr Bernard McGuinness of Fine Gael.)

Another month of growth for Aer Lingus Regional Airports

  

Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Stobart Air, enjoyed its 16th month of consecutive growth last month, according to new figures released by the airline.

Between January and October 2014, 1,137,239 passengers flew with Aer Lingus Regional, an additional 197,000 passengers, or 21% more, than the same period in 2013.

In October alone, passenger numbers were up 9% when compared to same month last year.

There was 13% growth on the Dublin to Glasgow route in October 2014 compared to October 2013, due to new aircraft, and improved flight frequencies and schedules better aligned to business hours.

The airline will provide additional flights for the Ireland versus Scotland game today.

Dublin to Kerry experienced its eighth consecutive month of growth, with a 22% increase in passenger numbers, a figure helped by connecting traffic to North America via the Dublin Airport transatlantic hub.

The airline’s Cork base enjoyed its seventh consecutive month of growth, flying 10% more passengers than October last year.

Some 20,000 additional passengers were flown in the summer months, a growth of 13% on summer 2013.

The Dublin to Newcastle route completed its first full year of service with 70,000 passengers flown.

Elsewhere, the Dublin to Leeds Bradford route commenced in October, with full inaugural flights and strong initial demand for connections to North America.

There was 10% growth on the Dublin to Isle of Man route last month, due to midterm break and Bank Holiday.

“We are, once again, pleased with Aer Lingus Regional’s continuous growth. This is the direct result of frequent, reliable services to key cities in the UK,” said Julian Carr, managing sirector at Stobart Air.

“We are especially pleased by the clear success of the Dublin to Newcastle route after a full year of service, and we are equally encouraged by the very positive commencement of the Dublin to Leeds Bradford route.”

Stobart Air is the franchise flying partner to leading Irish carrier Aer Lingus and more recently, international carrier Flybe, operating its services from London’s newest gateway, London Southend Airport, to six key European destinations.

Type 2 Diabetes is reversible, says ESC on World Diabetes Day

 

Type 2 diabetes can be prevented, or reversed with simple lifestyle changes, one diabetes expert representing the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) is stressing on World Diabetes Day.

Given that the theme this year is Healthy Living and Diabetes,Dr Eberhard Standl (Munich Diabetes Research Group, Germany), an ESC spokesperson, is urging use of a simple questionnaire that can help people find out if they are at risk and whether they need to take action.

“The dramatic increase of type 2 diabetes worldwide has exceeded expectations. Globally there are 400 million people with type 2 diabetes and a similar number with the pre-stages of type 2 diabetes,” says Dr Standl.

The epidemic seems unstoppable, “but there is very good and strong evidence that people can stop diabetes with lifestyle changes,” he urges in an ESC statement issued to coincide with World Diabetes Day.

Meanwhile, the charity Diabetes UK is highlighting “10 Things to Think About on World Diabetes Day.”

Globally, someone dies every 7 seconds from diabetes, with an estimated 5 million deaths attributable to the disease in 2014. And 77% of the total number of people with diabetes now live in low- and middle-income countries with emerging economies, it stresses.

Also, type 1 diabetes is on the rise, it notes.

Researchers are trying to pinpoint the causes of the 3% increase, which means that currently almost 80,000 children every year under the age of 15 develop the disease.

Simple Questionnaire Can Help Guide People as to Risk

The ESC questionnaire asks about age, body mass index, waist circumference, physical activity, consumption of fruits and vegetables, use of antihypertensive medications, history of high blood glucose, and family history of type 1 or 2 diabetes.

Points are given depending on the answers provided, with a score lower than 7 indicating very low risk; 7 to 11, a slightly elevated risk (1 in 25 chance of developing type 2 diabetes); 12 to 14, a moderate risk of 1 in 6; 15 to 20, a high risk of 1 in 3; and more than 20, a very high risk of 1 in 2.

“The questionnaire is very easy and people can do it themselves. A score of 12 or higher indicates that you should take some preventive action. Regular physical exercise is the most important thing you can do, followed by eating fiber-rich foods, limiting saturated fats, and losing weight,” says Dr Standl.

“Many people hardly move during their working day and even during leisure time. To reverse or prevent type 2 diabetes, the goal is 30 minutes of decent physical exercise every day. This could be brisk walking, jogging, swimming, or cycling, and should be combined with muscle training,” he added.

People who want to reverse early diabetes into a pre-stage of diabetes, or prevent type 2 diabetes from developing, need to lose about 5% of their body weight.

“There is no question that people who have had type 2 diabetes for just a short period of time can reverse it with a low calorie diet. This can be effective within 3 to 5 days. Of course the continuing challenge is to maintain the lower body weight,” he says.

And adopting lifestyle changes that prevent or reverse type 2 diabetes in the short term can also prevent death from cardiovascular disease over the long term, Dr Standl stresses.

“If you take the questionnaire and find out you’re at risk of diabetes, it’s not too late. Making positive changes by being more active, eating a healthy diet, and losing weight can reverse diabetes and is also good for your heart.”

Enjoy Food: People With Diabetes Can Eat the Same as Others

Diabetes UK is also marking World Diabetes Day by launching Enjoy Food, a program to help people with diabetes and their families eat more healthily.

The charity stresses that although having a healthy diet is an important part of managing diabetes, people with the condition can eat the same foods as anyone.

This is important to note, it says, because a recent survey commissioned by the charity indicates that only 40% of people would find it easy to tailor a meal for someone with diabetes, and only 62% of people would feel confident asking a guest with diabetes outright what they can and can’t eat.

In a statement, Barbara Young, chief executive of Diabetes UK, said: “It is worrying that so few people would find it easy to tailor a meal for someone with diabetes, as it suggests that there is a common misconception that having the condition has to mean substantial changes to what you eat.”

By making small changes to the way they shop, plan, and prepare their meals, people can eat food that is healthy as well as delicious, she says.

Enjoy Food includes recipes, expert diabetes nutritional information, as well as practical guides about shopping for food, meal planning, and healthy swaps.

Eating walnuts every day could reduce the chance of prostate cancer, study finds

 

Scientists found diets rich in nut or its oil slowed tumour growth in mice, also reduced cholesterol and increased sensitivity to the insulin

A daily handful of walnuts may stave off prostate cancer, according to new research.

Scientists have found diets rich in the nut, or its oil, slowed tumour growth in mice.

They also reduced cholesterol and increased sensitivity to the hormone insulin which helps prevent diabetes.

The secret to staving off prostate cancer? Scientists have found diets rich in the nut, or its oil, slowed tumour growth in mice.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men (after skin cancer), but it can often be treated successfully. More than 2 million men in the US count themselves as prostate cancer survivors.

Some 35,000 Britons are diagnosed with it each year, and 10,000 die.

It is cancer that starts in the prostate gland.

The prostate is a small, walnut-sized structure that makes up part of a man’s reproductive system.

It wraps around the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the body.

Walnuts are a ‘superfood’ naturally high in a host of health boosting chemicals, including omega-3 fatty acids, and have already been shown to protect against breast cancer and heart disease.

The latest findings showed they cut levels of the hormone IGF-1, which has been implicated in both prostate and breast cancer.

Dr Paul Davis, of the University of California at Davis, said: ‘For years, the United States government has been on a crusade against fat, and I think it has been to our detriment.

‘Walnuts are a perfect example. While they are high in fat, their fat does not drive prostate cancer growth.

‘In fact, walnuts do just the opposite when fed to mice.’

Some 35,000 Britons are diagnosed with it each year, and 10,000 die.

The new study, published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, was aimed at finding out if the beneficial properties were unique to walnuts, or whether it was a particular ingredient such as omega-3 fatty acids found in other foods.

The mice were fed whole walnuts, walnut oil or a walnut like fat for 18 weeks.

While the two former reduced cholesterol and slowed prostate cancer growth, in contrast, the latter did not have these effects, proving other nut components caused the improvements.

Dr Davis said: ‘We showed it is not the omega-3s by themselves, though, it could be a combination of the omega-3s with whatever else is in the walnut oil.

‘It is becoming increasingly clear in nutrition it is never going to be just one thing, it is always a combination.’

While the study did not pinpoint which combination of compounds in walnuts slows cancer growth, it did rule out fibre, zinc, magnesium and selenium.

In addition, the research demonstrated walnuts modulate several mechanisms associated with cancer growth.

Dr Davis said: ‘The energy effects from decreasing IGF-1 seem to muck up the works so the cancer cannot grow as fast as it normally would.

‘Also, reducing cholesterol means cancer cells may not get enough of it to allow these cells to grow quickly.’

The mice were fed whole walnuts, walnut oil or a walnut like fat for 18 weeks.While the two former reduced cholesterol and slowed prostate cancer growth, in contrast, the latter did not have these effects, proving other nut components caused the improvements.

In addition, the research showed increases in the chemical adiponectin and a tumour suppressor known as PSP94, as well as reduced levels of the COX-2 molecule, all markers for reduced prostate cancer risk.

Although results in mice do not always translate to humans, Dr Davis said his results suggest the benefits of incorporating walnuts into a healthy diet.

Other research which has assessed the Mediterranean diet also found eating walnuts reduced cancer mortality.

Added Dr Davis: ‘In our study the mice were eating the equivalent of 2.6 ounces of walnuts.

‘You need to realise 2.6 ounces of walnuts is about 482 calories.

‘That is not insignificant, but it is better than eating a serving of supersized fries, which has 61O calories.

‘In addition to the cancer benefit, we think you also get cardiovascular benefits that other walnut research has demonstrated.

‘It is the holiday season, and walnuts are part of any number of holiday dishes. Feel free to consume them in moderation.’

Females protect offspring from infanticide by forcing males to compete through sperm

  

Previous research has shown that infanticide by males is widespread in many mammal species, but most commonly occurs in those species where females live in social groups dominated by one or a few males.

Outsiders will fight dominant males for access to the females. When a rival male takes over a group, they will kill the infants of previously dominant males to render the females ‘sexually receptive’ again, so that they can sire their own offspring. This may be the main cause of infant mortality in some species, such as Chacma baboons.

Now, a new study published today in the journal Science shows that these brutal acts are strategic; males may only have a short time in charge before they themselves are deposed, and want to ensure the maternal investment of females is directed towards their own future offspring for the longest time possible.

However, the females of some species – such as the mouse lemur – have evolved a highly-effective counter-strategy to stop males from killing their offspring: by having as many mates as possible in a short amount of time. By confusing the paternity of the infants, known as ‘paternity dilution’, any male act of infanticide risks the possibility of killing his own offspring.

In such species, reproductive competition shifts to after copulation, not before – so that the most successful male is the one whose sperm out competes those of the others. This leads to males producing ever larger quantities of sperm, leading in turn to increases in testis size. The testes of male mouse lemurs swell 5-10 times larger during the breeding season.

“In species in which infanticide occurs, testis size increases over generations, suggesting that females are more and more promiscuous to confuse paternity,” said lead author Dr Dieter Lukas, from University of Cambridge’s Department of Zoology.

The testes of male mouse lemurs swell 5-10 times larger during the breeding season.

“Once sperm competition has become so intense that no male can be certain of his own paternity, infanticide disappears – since males face the risk of killing their own offspring, and might not get the benefit of siring the next offspring.”

Closely related species that differ in infanticide and testes size include chimpanzees (males commit infanticide) versus bonobos (males have not been observed to kill offspring). Bonobos have testes that are roughly 15% larger than those of chimpanzees.

Male Canadian Townsend voles don’t commit infanticide, and have 50% larger testes compared to in fanticidal males of close relatives the North American meadow voles, says Lukas.

He conducted the research with his colleague Dr Elise Huchard, now based at the CNRS Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive in Montpellier.

Fifty years ago, observations of wild Hanuman langurs shattered previous depictions of monkey groups as peaceful, supportive societies, says Lukas, as new males that had just taken control of a group of females frequently killed all juveniles.

Subsequent observations have accumulated over the years on various mammals to show that infanticide by males is a widespread phenomenon, occurring in species from house mice to lions and gorillas. In some species, he says, the biggest risk faced by infants might not actually be predators or diseases, but the adult males of their own species.

In the latest study, Lukas and Huchard compiled and compared detailed field observations for 260 mammalian species to show that male infanticide occurs in species where sexual conflict is most intense, and reproduction is monopolised by a minority of males. The researchers’ findings indicate that infanticide is a manifestation of sexual conflict in mammalian social systems.

Infanticide may be the main cause of infant mortality in some species, such as Chacma baboons.

“While it had previously been suggested that infanticide might be an evolutionary driver in mammalian societies – leading to females allying themselves with other females or forming bonds with a specific male in order to defend their offspring – we’ve now shown that this isn’t the case: male infanticide is a consequence of variation in sociality, most commonly occurring in species where both sexes live together in stable groups,” said Lukas.

The researchers say the new study supports the idea that infanticide isn’t a general trait present in all species, but is strategic and occurs only when it is advantageous to males. The study reveals the reversible nature of male infanticide, and that it is successfully prevented by the ‘paternity dilution’ strategy of female sexual promiscuity.

Added Huchard: “Male infanticide appears and disappears over evolutionary times according to the state of the evolutionary arms race between the sexes. Although infanticide may not have contributed to shape the diversity of mammalian social systems, it has deeply influenced the evolution of sexual behaviour and sex roles.

“This study also highlights that some of the greatest challenges faced by mammals during their lifetime come from others of their own species.”