Donie's Ireland news BLOG Monday

Taoiseach Enda Kenny tells the EU to stand by Irish bank debt pledge

   

The Taoiseach Enda Kenny has demanded EU leaders to “stand by” their decision to ease Ireland banking debt, warning of damage to trust between member states.

EU economics commissioner Olli Rehn said yesterday there were “different interpretations” of what was agreed at the June EU summit in relation to using the euro area’s bailout fund to recapitalise banks.

However, Mr Kenny inisted last night the decision was binding and called on fellow leaders to demonstrate they could follow through on the agreement.

“In meetings of EU leaders one of the problems you find is the missing element is trust that if they make a decision they will stand by it,” he said at the International Bar Association conference’s opening in Dublin.

“There is a need for transparency, for decisiveness, for clarity,” he said, departing from a prepared script.

Finance ministers from Germany, Finland and the Netherlands delivered a surprise blow to Ireland’s campaign for debt relief last week when they argued national bodies should remain liable for most bank losses.

Mr Kenny’s comments last night echoed remarks contained in his speech to Fine Gael’s presidential dinner on Saturday night, when he insisted a binding decision had been taken by heads of state.

“There is no resiling and going back from a formal decision made by the leaders of the 27 countries of the European Union,” he said. “I was happy that at that meeting in June there was a clear and unequivocal decision made not by ministers, not by civil servants, not by commentators but by the heads of government of the 27.”

Mr Kenny said the decision had two parts: “Firstly, to break the link between sovereign and bank debt to allow for recapitalisation directly of banks and secondly, that a review of Ireland’s position would be held to improve our capacity to meet our debts and that equal treatment would be given to the country,” he said. “They’re the decisions that were made. They’re the decisions that stand.” Mr Kenny was warmly applauded for his comments.

Ministers are expected to raise the question of Ireland’s debt sustainability when 11 of them fly to Brussels on Wednesday to meet European Commissioners as part of Ireland’s preparation to take up the presidency next year.

Mr Rehn said he was working to resolve disagreements over how the EU crisis fund could be used to recapitalise struggling banks. “It seems there have been different interpretations about the June decision,” he said. “Already this week the member states have begun to discuss with the help of the European Commission on what exact rules could be implemented in bank recapitalisation. This work proceeds in parallel to the work on the banking supervisor.”

Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty accused the Government of having “over-egged” the June decision and said the statement had not said anything about retrospective debt.

Meanwhile, Mr Kenny said additional savings under the Croke Park Agreement would minimise budgetary cutbacks to frontline services.

“What we need to do is to maximise what we can get out of the Croke Park agreement in the shortest time with greatest impact for people, so as not to have to make decisions where frontline services might potentially suffer as a consequence,” he said.

Mr Kenny said he had met three Ministers on Friday to discuss their proposals for “reinvigorating” the Croke Park agreement and accelerating the level of savings to be generated under the deal.

He also said Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore and himself were absolutely focused on implementing the programme for government. He said the level of unemployment was still far too high.

Separately, a spokeswoman for the Department of Social Protection said any decision about taxing maternity benefit would be taken collectively by Cabinet at budget time.

The Ryder Cup 2012:

Memory of Seve Ballesteros’s inspires Europe to greatest comeback in history to beat the USA

  

Rory McIlroy of Europe celebrates after Martin Kaymer holed the decisive putt on the 18th hole.

Europe pulled off the greatest comeback of the Ryder Cup’s history on a final day which emphatically and thrillingly confirmed the Cup’s propensity for the rawest of drama.

Job done: Martin Kaymer celebrates after his putt which confirmed that Europe would be retaining the Ryder Cup in 2012.

  José María Olazábal’s team wore Seve Ballesteros’s outfit and completed an amazing escape which was perfectly apt for the Spaniard’s memory.

Never give up. That is how Seve played his game. But even he would have found this recovery from four points down to retain his most precious trophy miraculous .

Martin Kaymer was the unlikeliest of heroes, shrugging off his wretched form to hole a six-footer on the 18th green to beat Steve Stricker.

What Bernhard Langer could not do, Kaymer could. In 1991 Langer missed the same length of putt at the same stage and the US grabbed the glory.

Yes, everywhere one looked here ob Sunday night there was symbolism in the European celebrations.

Amazingly, ridiculously, Tiger Woods missed a tiddler on the 18th in the very last game to give Europe the win, by 14½-13½. But then, the Americans don’t like draws, do they?

In truth, the celebrations had begun in earnest and Woods’ match with Francesco Molinari was an afterthought. The cup was heading back over the pond regardless.

The stats say that Europe emulated the staggering fightback in 1999 when the Americans came through from the same 10-6 scoreline going into the singles.

The stats lie. This was way, way beyond Brookline and not just because Europe were 10-4 down at one stage on Saturday and were forced to win 10½ from the next 14 points.

Europe were away from home with the Americans looking invincible and a home support vociferous in the belief that their valiant youngsters were about to win their second match this century.

They failed, thanks to Europe prevailing in the singles by the stunning margin of 8½-3½.

While Kaymer will grab the headlines, it was Ian Poulter who inspired this sporting resurrection with his five finishing birdies on Saturday night to keep the dream alive.

He then won his singles and his 100 per cent record in Chicago means he has won 11 of his last 12 points. He is the finest Ryder Cup player in operation.

In a format as volatile as matchplay his record is totally absurd. Webb Simpson felt the full force of the Englishman’s competitive spirit in the singles when Poulter pulled back a two-hole deficit to prevail on the 18th for his third game in a row.

It took an outrageous shot on the last to see off the American rookie, playing it over a tree on to the green. The great conquistador himself would have been proud of that escape.

When Simpson conceded it meant that Poulter had become the first player to win four out of four in a Ryder Cup in 31 years. A certain Jack Nicklaus achieved the feat at Walton Heath in 1981. Not the worst company to keep.

Poulter rushed back to watch his great friend and Ryder Cup partner, Justin Rose, pull off an astonishing victory over Phil Mickelson.

Rose was on the brink of going two down with two remaining, but he holed a long putt on the 16th to stay at one down.

Then Rose holed a 20-footer on the 17th for a birdie and then a 12-footer for another birdie on the 18th.

As he was fist-pumping, the scoreboard showed the match at 11-11, with Luke Donald having led the team off in textbook fashion with a comfortable 2&1 win over Bubba Watson.

The shock was on. After being a 33-1 shot with Ladbrokes when Donald was on the 14th, the price was now tumbling as quickly as the Americans.

Rory McIlroy had taken down America’s main man for the week, Keegan Bradley. Bizarrely, he only arrived at the course 10 minutes before his tee-off having believed he was off at 11.25am instead of 12.25pm.

He was rushed to the course by a kindly state trooper. He might not have made it without assistance. Somewhere in Chicago a policeman was feeling rather sheepish last night. His kindly gesture may well have won the cup for Europe.

McIlroy duly saw off Bradley 2&1, while Paul Lawrie was immensely impressive in crushing Brant Snedeker by the day’s biggest margin, 5&3. It meant Europe had won the first five games.

Dustin Johnson struck one for the crowd with his 3&2 win over Nicolas Colsaerts and, with Zach Johnson beating Graeme McDowell 2&1, it still looked America’s.

But then Furyk lost the final two holes to Sergio Garcia and everything and anything seemed possible. Furyk needed only to get up and down from the back of the green and they probably, almost certainly would, have still won.

Suddenly the word “Seve” was being mentioned all across Medinah. That and the word “olé” — over and over.

Next up came Jason Dufner beating Peter Hanson on the last and Lee Westwood staging a courageous return to form with his 3&2 win over Matt Kuchar. It was all on the last two games, on the veterans of Stricker and Woods.

Kaymer has been awful for months but grimly stuck in there and when Stricker messed up the par-three 17th the former world No1 holed a brave six-footer to go one up.

It was not anywhere near as gutsy as the one on the 18th, however.

He rammed it in, raised his arms and was soon engulfed by his team-mates. Back on the fairway, Woods looked on bemused; all the Americans were bemused.

They were certain their new generation would finish off all their good work, certain that Europe’s run of five wins from six games would be halted. Make that six from seven and make this just the second away win from the last eight .

On the green Olazabal cried and thought of his old compadre. How Seve would have loved to be here.

But in the chutzpah and the complete audaciousness of the comeback his presence could be felt here. The spirit of Seve lives on and on.

Global climate change ‘may shrink fish’

Fish body size is related to the water’s temperature and oxygen levels, says scientists

   

Fish species are expected to shrink in size by up to 24% because of global warming, say scientists.

Researchers modelled the impact of rising temperatures on more than 600 species between 2001 and 2050.

Warmer waters could decrease ocean oxygen levels and significantly reduce fish body weight.

The scientists argue that failure to control greenhouse gas emissions will have a greater impact on marine ecosystems than previously thought.

Previous research has suggested that changing ocean temperatures would impact both the distribution and the reproductive abilities of many species of fish. This new work suggests that fish size would also be heavily impacted.

The researchers built a model to see how fish would react to lower levels of oxygen in the water. They used data from one of the higher emissions scenarios developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Warming the fish

Although this data projects relatively small changes in temperatures at the bottom of the oceans, the resulting impacts on fish body size are “unexpectedly large” according to the paper.

As ocean temperatures increase, so do the body temperatures of fish. But, according to lead author, Dr William Cheung, from the University of British Columbia, the level of oxygen in the water is key.

“Rising temperatures directly increase the metabolic rate of the fish’s body function,” he told BBC News.

“This leads to an increase in oxygen demand for normal body activities. So the fish will run out of oxygen for growth at a smaller body size.”

The research team also used its model to predict fish movements as a result of warming waters. The group believes that most fish populations will move towards the Earth’s poles at a rate of up to 36km per decade.

“So in, say, the North Sea,” says Dr Cheung, “one would expect to see more smaller-body fish from tropical waters in the future.”

Conservative model

Taking both the movements and the physiological impacts of rising temperatures together, the research team concludes that fish body size will shrink between 14% and 24%, with the largest decreases in the Indian and Atlantic oceans.

When compared with actual observations of fish sizes, the model seems to underestimate what’s actually happening in the seas.

The researchers looked at two case studies involving North Atlantic cod and haddock. They found that recorded data on these fish showed greater decreases in body size than the models had predicted.

Other scientists say the impact could be widely felt.

Dr Alan Baudron, from the University of Aberdeen, UK, has studied changes in the growth of haddock in the North Sea. He says this latest research is a “strong result”.

He believes it could have negative implications for the yields of fisheries. And it could also seriously impact the ability of fish to reproduce, he adds.

“Smaller individuals produce fewer and smaller eggs which could affect the reproductive potential of fish stocks and could potentially reduce their resilience to other factors such as fishing pressure and pollution,” he told BBC News.

The authors point out a number of limiting factors in their study, including uncertainties in the predictions for the climate and the oceans. According to Dr Cheung, further research is required.

“Our study shows that climate change can lead to a substantial decrease in the maximum body weight of fish. We need to look more closely at the biological response in the future.”

SME Credit Watch Survey finds

‘payment delays putting massive pressure on Ireland’s SMEs’

   

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association is calling on the Government to put pressure on big companies to pay their bills on time.

  The Autumn SME Credit Watch Survey has found that small companies are waiting on average 69 days to receive payment from larger businesses.

The survey revealed that 41% of companies are waiting three months or more for payment.

Mark Fielding, CEO of ISME, said the Government needs to act fast to protect businesses going under and to protect jobs.

Mr Fielding said: “While the main government departments have improved their payment days, the main offenders are the state agencies and big business where delays continue to put massive pressure on SMEs.

“SMEs have to pay their VAT to government long before they themselves are paid, which is placing undue pressure on smaller businesses who are being let down by the bailed-out banks reducing overdrafts left, right and centre.

“The Government refuses to tackle this issue, as businesses go to the wall and jobs are lost because of totally inadequate legislation.”

A new study finds similarities between ovaries and breast cancers

 

A new study found marked molecular similarities between breast and ovarian cancer which scientists said could help lead to new treatments for hard-to-treat forms of breast cancer. 

  The study, which was published online on September 23 in the British journal Nature, uncovered pronounced genomic similarities between the basal-like subtype breast cancer and serious ovarian cancer, and as well as similarities in the types and frequency of genetic mutations. 

The research found that the two ailments share genomic features that could aid in finding future treatments breast cancer – the leading cause of cancer deaths among women. 

“The molecular similarity of one of the principal subtypes of breast cancer to that found in ovarian cancer gives us additional leverage to compare treatments and outcomes across these two cancers,” said Harold Varmus, director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) which provided some of the funding for the study. 

“This treasure trove of genetic information will need to be examined in great detail to identify how we can use it functionally and clinically,” Varmus said. 

The research used data generated as part of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), a comprehensive study that catalogued the cancer information from 825 breast cancer patients. 

Researchers said findings that the two cancers are of similar molecular origin could help narrow down potential future therapies for related subtypes of breast and ovarian cancers. 

“TCGA’s comprehensive characterization allows researchers an unprecedented look at these breast cancer subgroups,” said Francis Collins, director of the US National Institutes of Health, which also supported the study. 

Another scientific agency which played a part in study was similarly upbeat about the findings. 

Donie's daily Ireland news BLOG Thursday

The 12 public sector worker perks that the Irish Government will not cut

U turn cave in by Brendan Howlin surrendering to the unions costs €75 million of savings

  

Minister Brendan Howlin has reduced the €1.5bn allowances bill for public sector workers by just a paltry €3.5m as the Government backed down on cutting perks.

This means the Government has fallen short of the €75m targeted for savings from reducing allowances.

The move was described as a ‘joke’ today.

Here are 12 of the perks:

Chester Beatty Library boxmaking allowance: The business case for retaining the allowance said it is necessary for the continuing “housing and conservation” of collections in the library in special boxes. Staff members receive up to €20 for each box.

National Museum of Ireland camera allowance: For the operation of all security equipment in the camera room on a 24 hour basis in the museum on Kildare Street. It was argued that the duties attached to this allowance do not form part of the core duties for science and arts attendants. No amount was given.

National Museum of Ireland lock up allowance: Staff members receive this allowance for the daily lock up of the Kildare Street site and security checks. It was argued that the duties do not form part of the core duties for the majority of science and arts attendants. No amount was given.

Inland fisheries eating on site allowance: This is described as compensation for lunch breaks taken away from the “designated base”. In return for this allowance, the Government receives the agreement of operatives to take their lunch break away from the base. The department is working on revising their rotas and are hoping to eliminate the payment. No amount was given.

Civil service footwear allowance: This agreement was made in 1990 when staff agreed to wear black or navy shoes along with their uniform. The cost of this allowance is €65. Only a relatively small number of staff qualify for it.

Bus allowance for CSO staff: Given to six full-time tourism enumerators at Dublin Airport with a daily rate calculated at €4.40. The Central Statistics Office said the case was “hard to justify” as it paid the Dublin Airport Authority for parking facilities at the airport. But ceasing the allowance “might cause some Labour Relations issues” and “affect the level of co-operation from enumerators.”

Delivery and footwear at chief state solictor’s office: A “special” allowance of €47.92 weekly is paid to service officers for the delivery of post before 9.15am, so that staff have received it before going to court. Four service officers also receive a €65 annual footwear allowances to attend the post office and assist in moving legal files in and at court.

Tourism Ireland directors travel allowance: The perk entitles the three staff who currently receive it to claim €4,952. As a result of the Financial Emergency legislation of January 2010 this was reduced to €4,556.

Tourism Ireland unsocial hours allowance: This is a form of overtime payment. It is most usually claimed by staff for weekend work at events.

Civil Service forklift allowance: An allowance for driving a forklift. “This duty is necessary. Very few officers across the civil service are in receipt of this,” the argument for its retention states. No amount is given.

Civil Service paperkeeper allowance: When the Paperkeeper grade was abolished, staff who worked alongside the former Paperkeeper “were unhappy about not getting the increased pay”. The duties of the former Paperkeeper included “the control of supplies and stationery”. No amount was given.

Chief state solicitor’s allowances: €5,617.16 is paid annually to a member of the office. It was argued it represents good value for money as the Office provides a legal service to the AG and Government which requires contact with staff outside normal working hours.

The climb-down on allowances, which cost the taxpayer €1.44bn, a year was today described as “an utter joke”.

And Mr Howlin was accused of performing one of the most humiliating u-turns in this Government’s term.

Opposition politicians said the Labour minister gave in to his fear of trade unions after an “intense lobbying campaign”.

Paltry savings of just €3.5m were announced by Mr Howlin, even though €75m had been promised.

Economist Dr Constantin Gurdgiev told the Herald: “It’s not a good signal. It shows the Government is heading rapidly down the slippery slope of only delivering on tax increases. That is extremely unfortunate. You cannot tax your way out of a recession.”

And Mark Fielding, chief executive of ISME, which represents small and medium businesses, said the U-turn is “an utter joke”. He said that Ireland was being turned into a “laughing stock” by not stopping such allowances.

The allowances include a series of bizarre payments for underwear, minding keys, driving forklifts and box making.

“Clearly the minister came under huge pressure from the public sector unions and he did a complete U-turn in what can only be described as a humiliating climbdown,” said Fianna Failfinance spokesman Micheal McGrath.

”I think (the issue) was far more complicated than what the minister understood it to be. It doesn’t augur well for the challenges that the Government faces over the next number of months.”

Dr Gurdgiev told the Herald the allowances are a “legacy of social partnership” but that they should be scrapped across the board.

He said abandoning the plans is “another U-turn by the Government when it comes to any sort of change”.

But Minister Howlin pointed out that public sector numbers are expected to be reduced to 292,000 by the end of this year – 2,000 over target.

He also said the overall spend on overtime has fallen by €150m since 2010.

“The Government has consistently aimed to contain or reduce the pay-related costs of delivery of services. The aim is to reduce the total cost of the Exchequer pay bill by some €3.8bn in the period from 2009 to 2015,” the minister said in a statement.

According to Mr Fielding of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprise Association, Mr Howlin “has to take the blame for leading us to believe he could bring in these cuts.”

“Giving allowances for the introduction of franking machines which stopped people from having to stick out their tongues to lick stamps, a ‘Mrs Doyle’ allowance for chaplains, a working in the dark allowance in education, Its turning it into an utter joke.

“Staff of small businesses are taking cuts left right and centre and managers are not taking salary rises. So many people are working short time and the cossetted public sector is getting ‘raised eyebrow allowances”.

But while existing State employees have been spared, young staff will face cuts.

Teachers’ representatives say they are to “look at” the legality of the decision to abolish some allowances for new entrants only.

Under plans announced by the Coalition, established teachers will retain a raft of allowances worth more than half a billion euro annually.

But new entrants will not receive any qualification allowances, which are worth about €4,500 a year to individual staff members with an honours degree in education.

It means the mainly younger teachers will earn about 20pc less than their colleagues whose pay and allowances are protected by the Croke Park Agreement.

“It is grossly unfair to single out one section. We have not been consulted. This was done behind closed doors. We are calling on Minister Howlin to be decent and fair about this,”Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) general secretary Pat King said today.

However, he did not specify what action would be taken, other than to call on Mr Howlin to reverse his decision.

Only one of 1,100 different payments will be cut from existing members of the public service after the Cabinet caved in to union opposition.

More than 100 allowances being paid currently to civil servants will be halted for new entrants to those posts.

The review of the 800 allowances was a big initiative planned by Mr Howlin for this year. He had planned to get €75m in savings this year and €150m next year – almost as much as the target for the Household Charge.

Ireland’s Credit unions ‘would be undermined’ by new legislation changes

   

Pictured above at the credit union year end press conference were Kieron Brennan, CEO, Irish League of Credit Unions, Mark Bailey, President, Irish League of Credit Unions, Tom Kiely, Head of Monitoring, Irish League of Credit Unions.

The chief executive of the Irish League of Credit Union, Kieran Brennan, said he was aghast? At the list of prohibitions that were being proposed.

The list of prohibitions proposed for who can act as a director of a credit union in proposed new legislation will militate against smaller credit unions, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure & Reform has been told.

A draft general scheme for the proposed new legislation includes a lengthy list of people who cannot serve as directors of a credit union, including people whose spouses, siblings, partners or children work for the credit union, including as volunteers.

The chief executive of the Irish League of Credit Union, Kieran Brennan, said he was “aghast” at the list of prohibitions that were being proposed. “Who is being allowed to serve on the board of credit unions?” he asked.

Mr Brennan said small credit unions could be undermined by some of the measures being proposed as they would require the engagement of a whole range of new volunteers. The proposed bill would prevent people who currently carry out more than one function on a volunteering basis from doing so.

He said the league also had a difficulty with the imposition of term limits for members of credit union boards because this was contrary to the democratic idea that was inherent to the credit union model.

The vice president of the World Council of Credit Unions, Michael Edwards, told the committee that as far as he was aware, no jurisdiction had such a law. He thought the issue of term limits was best dealt with by way of by-laws. Making them mandatory in law could be detrimental, he said.

Committee chairman Alex White noted that the proposed limit for an ordinary director was 9 years out of any 15 years. Mr Brennan said the rule that was being proposed did not exist for the financial institutions that had done so much damage to Ireland’s economy.

Mr Brennan said the proposed legislation would assign credit unions to different tiers of regulation depending on their asset size. However the league believed the model used in the UK and Northern Ireland was superior. That model involved assessments as to a credit unions complexity and level of risk. However he agreed that big and small credit unions needed to be treated differently.

He also suggested that a memorandum of understanding be drafted that would govern relations between the Financial Regulator and individual credit unions, particularly in the area of communication.

The committee was told the league would like to see the law enable electronic payments and the facilitation of alternative methods for credit unions to raise capital.

Mr Brennan told deputy Michael McGrath that the volunteering principle should be promoted but some of proposed changes in the bill would work against that principle.

Deputy Arthur Spring said it was high time the Central Bank was told that no credit union ever provided finance for the building of office blocks in Ballsbridge, Dublin, or for speculative property investment abroad. The credit union movement is in very good shape compared to other financial institutions. “What they are looking for here [in the bill] is way over the top,” he said.

League president Jimmy Johnson told deputy Joe Higgins that the points being made to the committee came from feedback the league had received from its member credit unions.

Targeting students for household tax charge with links to 3^rd level grants a total disgrace

   

Fianna Fáil Senator, Paschal Mooney, has said it is deeply unfair that students in Counties Roscommon and Leitrim could face a threat to their third level grants because of the mess the Government made with the household charge.

It follows reports that Leitrim and Roscommon County Councils will follow other local authorities in demanding proof of payment for the household charge from all students applying for third level grants.

   Senator Mooney said, “This is a new low for the government. Linking the household charge to student grants is simply unacceptable. I am appalled that instead of standing up for students, the Education Minister Ruairí Quinn has described this practise as ‘reasonable’ and seems to see nothing wrong in targeting students from lower-income families.

“Students who are seeking financial support for college are not homeowners themselves. Why should they be penalised because their parents can’t or won’t pay the household charge? Why should their third level education be put in jeopardy because this Government made a complete and utter mess over the roll out and collection of the household charge?

“A dangerous precedent is being set here and it must be stopped. Linking the household charge and student grants raises serious questions about what comes next. There are now reports that a raft of other state supports and entitlements will also now be linked to payment of the household charge. This could include grants to people with disabilities and social welfare supports.

“The funding for student grants and an individual’s entitlement to apply for a grant has absolutely nothing to do with the Household Charge. This controversy has caused panic for students and their families not just in Leitrim and Roscommon, but right across this region. While I understand that both councils are under severe financial pressure as a result of Minister Hogan’s heavy handed cuts to funding, it is wrong to make students pay for the Government’s mistakes.”

New collaboration link-up will enable the sharing of resources and boost cancer research in Ireland

       

The Irish Cancer Society has allocated €7.5 million in funding to set up a Collaborative Cancer Research Centre in Ireland. €1.5 million in funding will be allocated per year, for up to five years, under the initiative.

The centre aims to stimulate collaboration and enable sharing of resources, by linking already-established cancer research disciplines and institutions in Ireland. 

It is expected the new arrangement will provide a solid foundation for better integration of cancer research and cancer care in Ireland, for the benefit of the public and patients, according to the Cancer Society.

It says it is expected the new model will provide a solid foundation for better integration of cancer research and cancer care in Ireland, for the benefit of the public and patients.

“The Irish Cancer Society believes the future of cancer research in Ireland is best served by collaboration, not only between institutions, but also between research disciplines,” said Prof John Fitzpatrick, head of research at the Society.

The Irish Cancer Society is also calling on existing cancer research groups throughout Ireland, interested in collaboration, to make a joint pre-proposal submission by October 26.

Ireland’s children pushed into obesity through parents bad shopping choices

    

Parents here are making simple shopping mistakes that are making their children overweight.

A child obesity expert has warned that little mistakes such as cereal choices and the selection of milk and bread has a massive impact on the waistlines of the country’s children.

Claire Kerins, dietician with Croi, the heart and stroke charity, said parents need to learn how to shop better.

“Sugary cereals are among the worse mistakes parents make. They don’t check that the cereals are high in fibre. The sugar can be forgiven as long as the fibre content is high.

Massive

“I would prefer someone eating Cheerios or Shredded Wheat than Rice Krispies or Coco Pops. There is a massive difference between Cheerios and Rice Krispies. Children eating the low-fibre cereals won’t feel full as long and so will be snacking,” Ms Kerins said.

And she warned that the problem of childhood obesity is increasing at an alarming rate.

“I’m certainly coming across childhood obesity more often. The statistics say one in five, five to 12-year-olds are obese, but through our work we would meet an awful lot of overweight parents who are concerned that their children are obese.”

Croi has now launched a pocket-size card as a guide to healthy shopping. It uses traffic- light colours to guide shoppers on healthy and unhealthy amounts of sugar, fat, fibre and salt while they are shopping.

The charity will also host a half-day seminar, Wise2Weight, on Saturday.

“There are not an awful lot of courses for people on how to shop healthily for children. There isn’t enough practical programmes to meet the need. Reading food labelling is a skill, it’s an easy one to master but it takes explaining,” she said.

According to the dietician, no child over the age of two requires full-fat milk for their calcium needs. “It’s a common mistake that children need full-fat milk. The only difference between full-fat and low-fat milk is the saturated fats and no child needs that,” she added.