Donie's news Ireland BLOG by Monday

Flag vote stirs Loyalists protesters to storm Belfast city hall

 

Protesters have tried to storm Belfast City Hall and burnt Irish tricolours after councillors voted to remove the Union flag from the building.

Hundreds of loyalists took to the street and burnt Irish tricolours to show their opposition to a motion to have the Union flag removed for the first time in over a century.

Minutes after the vote was taken, hooded loyalists tried to kick down the back doors of City Hall.

Loyalist protestors carrying Union flags (pictured) had been blocking the back of the City Hall while the vote was being taken.

Currently the flag is flown every day of the year at the building.

However Nationalist councillors want it removed as they argued that it would create a more equal and neutral environment.

Asperger’s disorder dropped from psychiatric manual as it is revised

 

The term ‘Asperger’s disorder’ has been dropped from one of the world’s most influential psychiatric manuals.

And abnormally bad and frequent temper tantrums will be given the scientific-sounding diagnosis ‘DMDD’.

But ‘dyslexia’ and other learning disorders remain.

  The revisions come in the first major rewrite in nearly 20 years of the American Psychiatric Association’s ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual’ (DSM), approved by the board on Saturday.

Full details of all the revisions will come next May when the new manual is published, but the impact will be huge, affecting millions of children and adults worldwide because the manual is one of the most influential reference points for mental health professionals.

This diagnostic guide “defines what constellations of symptoms” doctors recognise as mental disorders, said Dr Mark Olfson, a Columbia University psychiatry professor.

More important, he said, it “shapes who will receive what treatment. Even subtle changes to the criteria can have substantial effects on patterns of care.”

The changes were approved in the US over the weekend by the psychiatric association’s board of trustees.

One of the most hotly argued changes was how to define the various ranges of autism. Some advocates opposed the idea of dropping the specific diagnosis ‘Asperger’s disorder’.

People with that disorder often have high intelligence and vast knowledge on narrow subjects, but have poor social skills. Some who have the condition embrace their quirkiness and vow to continue to use the label.

Severe

And some families opposed any change, fearing their children with Asperger’s would lose a diagnosis, and no longer be eligible for special services.

But the revision will not affect their education services, experts say.

The new manual adds the term “autism spectrum disorder,” which is already used by many experts in the field. This new category will include kids with severe autism, who often don’t talk or interact, as well as those with milder forms.

Asperger’s disorder will now be incorporated under that umbrella diagnosis.

Millions more women are getting behind the wheel today than men according to a new study

    

Millions more women are taking to the road, while driving among men in their 20s is on the decline.

The number of women holding driving licences rose 14% between 1995 and 2010, and has increased to 2.5 million.

A new study has revealed that the number of women drivers has increased dramatically while the number of male motorists has dropped. The survey was conducted by Professor Peter Jones at University College London. Women are also driving greater distances with the average mileage up 22 per cent during the same period.

More women are also choosing to travel by train. There has been an 86 per cent increase in the number of women passengers in their 30s. This is compared to an increase of 54 per cent for the total number of rail passengers.

Professor Jones found that the number of men in their 20s with driving licences fell between 1995 and 2010 by 13 per cent. Mileage figures for company cars, usually associated with men, are down more than 50 per cent.

Although the average mileage for all cars across the UK is rising, in London the distances being covered by both company and privately owned vehicles is dropping.

A growth in the number of women behind the wheel has been attributed to increased independence. Since the 1980s more women are likely to be working and there are more women living by themselves.

Dropbox file storing company to establish Dublin office

  

Taoiseach Enda Kenny welcomed announcement that Dropbox is to locate international headquarters in Dublin.

Dropbox, a free service that lets users access documents, photos and videos everywhere and from different devices and share them easily, is to establish a Dublin office.

The Dublin office will be the centre of the company’s international operations and will provide technical support to its more than 100 million service users, one third of whom are in Europe. The service is available in eight languages.

“As part of Ireland’s mission to become the best small country in the world for business we have become the European hub for many of the world’s leading digital companies and the arrival of a top cloud company like Dropbox indicates Dublin’s growing capacity to usher in the next generation of internet companies,” Taoiseach Enda Kenny said.

“Ireland has many advantages to offer international companies, including our young, passionate and talented workforce, all of which will be a great asset to Dropbox as they make their new home in Dublin.”

“We’re delighted to be closer to tens of millions of our European customers,” said Drew Houston, Dropbox chief executive officer and co-founder.

“By opening our international headquarters in Dublin and tapping into the large talent pool that exists there, we’re better positioned to serve even more people locally while we continue to grow.”

Some 30-40 new jobs will be created with the establishment of the international headquarters, with the comapny seeking to hire multi-lingual sales teams, account management and user operations staff.

Elsewhere, healthcare provider Centric Health said it will create 200 jobs at 10 new centres.

The first is due to open in Newbridge, Co Kildare, next February, with new builds also under way in Celbridge on the Navan Road.

About 50 are expected to be filled within the first year and include medical, paramedical and administrative posts.

HSE services will also be facilitated on to the sites in line with the Government’s primary care strategy.

Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton said the substantial capital investment and the associated jobs by investment by partner Metric Capital Partners (MCP) — the European private capital group was very positive news.

Half of us fail to save as we can’t afford it as Cash crisis hits home

     

Almost half of all Irish adults cannot afford to put anything aside in savings, shocking new research has indicated.

The level of non-savers has hit critical levels and is at the highest point in the two-year history of the Nationwide UK Ireland and the ESRI index.

Just three in 10 people are putting something aside regularly, the research has indicated.

A total of 47pc of adults are not saving at all — this is a marked increase from the 42pc measured in October.

This time last year, the level was at 33pc.

The figures of those who are saving regularly are also at a record low.

Within the bracket of individuals that are saving, only 28pc of people are doing so regularly. This is a record low for the index and is down from a reading of 41pc from November of last year.

But despite being unable to put aside money, most people think that now is a good time to save — jumping from 27pc of respondents to 30pc in the last 12 months.

decline

Nationwide UK Ireland managing director Brendan Synott said throughout the year, there has been a consistent increase in the number of people who are not saving and a steady decline in those that save on a regular basis.

“At the same time, however, people continue to believe that they should save,” he said.

“There is positivity towards the idea of saving, given the economic environment, and the preference to pay down debt or save as opposed to spend also remains.

“This diverging attitude and behaviour has been apparent throughout 2012 and the budget is likely to further re-enforce this trend.”

But the Government could do more to encourage people to save, according to the research. Some 57pc of people think that the Government is discouraging the habit of saving — 5pc more than thought so this time last year.

Consumers were also asked what they would do if they came across spare cash. A total of 50pc said that they would pay off some of their debt, 39pc said they would save and just 9pc would consider spending it.

“Consumers appear to be no closer to achieving the spend-and-save balance than they were in 2011,” Mr Synott added.

“Although there is an appetite to save more money, most can ill-afford to do so.”

Look He’s behind you! Whale watchers look the wrong way

as huge creature breaches the waves

 

A dolphin, bottom right, looks tiny next to the huge giant of the deep as it rises up for air in the chilly November waters of the Atlantic. A whale Causing a splash in the calm waters off the Cork coast, this humpback is certainly having a whale of a time, but the passengers on board seem oblivious to the 45 ft giant leaping up behind them.

It is one of the five humpback whales which have made the south-west Irish coast their home over the past few weeks, as they feast on native shoals of sprat and herring.

Sightings of the magnificent humpbacks throwing their 30-tonne bodies into the air have triggered an upsurge in interest at nearby Baltimore Harbour – to the delight of tourist bosses and businessmen.
A boat of whale watchers look the wrong way as a humpback dramatically breaches off the coast of Ireland, the moment was captured by crew aboard a nearby lifeboat

The humbacks have even been joined by a number of fin and minke whales and common dolphins.

Nic Slocum, who runs Whale Watch West Cork, would normally have stopped his seasonal whale-watching trips by now.

But he said he is extending his daily cruises in his 32ft catamaran for as long as the whales remain off the coast.

He said: ‘Baltimore has been given a huge boost. I would normally be operating until the end of November, but I’ll keep going while the whales are there.
‘Although they can be seen from the shore, there’s been a big demand from tourists to go out in a boat to look at them. It’s been great for business.

‘But it’s impossible to say how long the whales will be around for. There’s lots of herring for them here at the moment, but they could be gone any day.

‘I’ve rarely known the seas off Baltimore as active as this.’

Kate Cottrell, whose husband Micheal runs Baltimore Sea Safari, said her phone hasn’t stopped ringing over the past few days after word of the humpbacks spread. She said: ‘Everyone’s hoping the whales will be around for a good bit longer. Everyone’s  benefited and it would be great if the humpbacks did for Baltimore what Fungi has  done for Dingle.’

‘Although they can be seen from the shore, there’s been a big demand from tourists to go out in a boat to look at them. It’s been great for business.

‘But it’s impossible to say how long the whales will be around for. There’s lots of herring for them here at the moment, but they could be gone any day.

‘I’ve rarely known the seas off Baltimore as active as this.’

Kate Cottrell, whose husband Micheal runs Baltimore Sea Safari, said her phone hasn’t stopped ringing over the past few days after word of the humpbacks spread. She said: ‘Everyone’s hoping the whales will be around for a good bit longer. Everyone’s  benefited and it would be great if the humpbacks did for Baltimore what Fungi has  done for Dingle.’

The playful pod have been seen feeding and appearing to play as a group.

And these pictures were captured by lifeboat man Youen Jacob, 37 – as he and his crewmates were treated to a spectacular display.

He said: ‘They have been bubble feeding for the past two weeks, using bubbles from their blow holes to push fish to the surface, and they have been tail slapping and seeming to play with one another.

‘They looked like they were enjoying themselves as well, blocking each other and breaching out of the water.

‘When this one whale breached by our boat we knew about it, he was massive, and when I looked at the photo I realised everyone else was looking the wrong way.’

Donie's Saturday news Ireland Blog

Martin McGuinness is to meet with the Queen next week

‘He gets the green light from Sinn Féin Ard Comhairle’

  

The Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has acknowledged that the planned meeting between the Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and Queen Elizabeth II will cause difficulties for republicans.

At a press conference announcing the decision of the Sinn Féin Ard Comhairle to effectively give McGuinness the green light to meet the English monarch next Wednesday at a luncheon in Belfast, Adams said that the decision was part of a process of “reconciliation”.

He acknowledged that the decision will “cause difficulty for Republicans and nationalists who have suffered at the hands of British forces in Ireland over many decades” but added that “this is a significant initiative involving major political and symbolic challenges for Irish republicans”.

“As the record of the peace process demonstrates Irish republicans have frequently been prepared to take bold and historic initiatives and risks for peace to break stalemates and find agreements,” he told the media.

The meeting at the Co-Operation Ireland event in the Northern Ireland capital next week will, according to Press Association’s Deric Henderson, be strictly private with no cameras allowed.

It marks the first time that a senior leader of the republican movement and a former member of the IRA has met with a reigning monarch and will by a symbolic first in the peace process set up by the Good Friday Agreement 14 years ago.

Adams said that the decision today reflected his party’s commitment to the peace process and to unite Ireland saying that it was Sinn Féin’s “genuine desire to embrace our unionist neighbours”.

“It reflects the equality and parity of esteem arrangements which are now in place,” he said adding that it was clear that there were “legacy issues” that had to be dealt with by the party.

He added: “I accept that this decision will cause genuine and understandable difficulties for some people, not least some of the victims of the British crown forces in Ireland.”

Irish Government and Politicians castigate the Ulster Bank over customers cash crisis

    

The Ulster Bank has been castigated by both the Taoiseach and the Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton over its failure to deal with a technology crash which has affected 100,000 Irish customers.

Some 53,000 social welfare payments have been affected by the Ulster Bank’s systems failure, with thousands of customers unable to receive payments over the weekend.

In an attempt to meet customer demands Ulster Bank will open 70 branches today until 3pm, and a further 20 will open tomorrow until 1pm.

Both Enda Kenny and Ms Burton said the debacle would only worsen the already dim view that Irish people have of banks.

Speaking in Scotland after a meeting of the British-Irish Council, Mr Kenny said Ulster Bank’s failure to deal with the three-day IT failure, which has seen customers unable to get cheques lodged to their accounts, “only exacerbates the cynicism” Irish people have for financial institutions.

Ms Burton said she estimated some 30,000 social welfare recipients have been affected by the glitch. Many have been left without money for the weekend. She described herself as being “extremely disappointed” by the delay.

“Given all of the grief that banks have caused to people in Ireland, I really think that the bank needs to address this particular situation with absolute urgency.

“They have to look at the situation of people over the weekend, particularly older people who spend all their social welfare income.

“For some of the people at the top of the banks €100 might not seem a lot, but it is to a pensioner,” she said.

One of those affected, a man named John from Mullingar, said his disability payment “is all I have”. The man, who would not give his surname, said he only found out about the computer glitch from a news report yesterday morning.

“I have been with the bank for years and they have my contact details, but they haven’t even sent out a text.

“I am only one person – how many others are out there like me?”

The breakdown has meant that customers who go into branches cannot access their accounts because the bank officials cannot access them either.

However, some customers have been advanced payments based on their social welfare entitlements or their salaries.

Sean Kearns from Sligo was almost left without a way to get to work and back when he discovered he could not withdraw money from a cash machine.

“It told me I had insufficient funds as my wages were unable to come through.

“It costs me €100 to get to work for a tank of petrol as I work near Dublin, so it would be impossible for me to go home and get to work Monday.”

Some 38,000 HSE employees who are paid through Ulster Bank can get an advance of up to €500.

The bank has blamed its parent, the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS Group), for the difficulties.

RBS said it had fixed the technology problem, but it would be Monday before the backlog of transactions was sufficiently dealt with.

In a statement Ulster Bank apologised “unreservedly” to customers.

“We appreciate that this is having a significant impact on many of our customers and customers of other banks,” it said in a statement.

“Customers who have incurred fees or charges as a result of this issue will be fully refunded in due course.”

New SME loan funding scheme by Irish Government hopes to create 7,700 new jobs

   

The Irish Banks and small businesses alike have welcomed the Government’s announcement of a new funding scheme for micro-enterprises.

Minister for Enterprise Richard Bruton yesterday unveiled details of the Microenterprise Loan Fund Scheme, which will make over €90 million in extra lending available to 5,500 businesses over the next decade. The Minister predicted the scheme, which is due to become operational this autumn, will create 7,700 jobs.

In the initial stage of the scheme, €40 million will be made available for lending to businesses with no more than 10 employees. This phase will span five years, but provision has also been made for an additional €50 million to be provided over a further five-year period.

The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation said start-ups, existing microenterprises and sole traders will be eligible to apply for loans. In order to qualify, applicant firms must have already had a request for credit declined by banks.

“The scheme will provide loans for commercially viable proposals that do not meet the conventional risk criteria applied by the banks for various reasons, including the absence of collateral,” it said.

The average loan is expected to be €16,000, but sums of up to €25,000 will be available.

The scheme will be operated by Microfinance Ireland, a subsidiary of Social Finance Foundation.

Patricia Callan of the Small Firms Association said the scheme has real potential to deliver credit to viable businesses that do not fit the “risk-averse criteria” set out by the mainstream banking sector.

The Irish Banking Federation and business lobby group Chambers Ireland also welcomed the announcement.

‘Graphically innovative leaving cert paper’

 Shows a modern appeal to Irish students

  

It was a “graphically innovative” and “modern” end to the Leaving Cert for students of technology yesterday afternoon.

The subject, which was the last to be examined in this year’s Leaving Cert exams, has attracted almost a thousand students since it was first examined two years ago.

Technology is a wide-ranging subject incorporating elements of design, computing, electronics and mechanics. Four times as many boys as girls are currently studying it for the Leaving Cert.

“Students were pleased with both technology papers yesterday,” said Kieran Christie, ASTI member and teacher at St Attracta’s Community School in Sligo.

“The section A paper was of a particularly high standard, with innovative graphics throughout.”

Graphics included a picture of the famous tubular steel and red leather Bibendum chair by Irish furniture designer and architect Eileen Gray, which was inspired by the Michelin Man.

“The higher paper had a very modern feel. Concepts such as upcycling were topical but also well explained for those students who might not be familiar with the term,” said Mr Christie.

Teachers also praised references to current events in the paper, including constructive design in the context of the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake.

There was also a question referencing the 2012 London Olympics. The materials technology section focused on design for disability.

Students were also asked to look at the advantages of a wind energy system for Ireland.

“Technology is still a minority subject but it is very rewarding, and yesterday’s paper reflected its modernity and relevance to Ireland today,” said Mr Christie.

Tickets to the Moon are now available for new passenger service for just $100 million

Excalibur Almaz brings out their refurbished Russian spacecraft

  

One of Excalibur Almaz’s space stations above at the Royal Aeronautical Society’s European Space Tourism Conference.

Excalibur Almaz has announced that it is selling tickets to lunar orbit. The price is $100 million. Your golden ticket will entitle you to a complete astronaut experience.

You’ll begin with astronaut training, not just a course on how to make it to the escape capsule in the event of an emergency, but also how to pilot the spacecraft back to Earth in the event that something goes wrong with its onboard navigation. The price includes a ticket to a suborbital flight to space aboard the XCOR Lynx suborbital spaceplane, so you’ll have already been to space and experienced weightlessness before you board the Excalibur reusable capsule.

On the big day you’ll ride the Soyuz rocket with your two fellow passengers up from Baikonur to one of the company’s two 90-cubic-meter space stations. Once you’re aboard the station with your two fellow passengers, an electric thruster will slowly spiral the three of you up to an elliptical orbit around the Moon. After several days you’ll spiral back the way you came, re-enter Earth orbit, board a small reusable capsule and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere, leaving the station behnd you. Home again, home again.

Excalibur Almaz has based its business around a fleet of Soviet spacecraft purchased by its somewhat-legendary founder, Art Dula of Houston, Texas, who has been involved with several other successful space companies. The age of the thirty-year-old spacecraft means very little; most current Russian spacecraft date from the Soviet-era and they are considered to be among the safest and most reliable spacecraft ever built.

Space launches are very public, and Mr. Dula’s fleet was built during a time when any public failure meant dire consequences not only for the cosmonaut but also for anyone connected with the failure (people who make mistakes still die, but from “stress“). Because of their stout engineering, old Soviet launchers and spacecraft have consistently excellent safety records.

Several years ago Dula procured two Almaz space stations, designed for Soviet military reconnaissance, and four very stout reusable return capsules along with their escape systems. The space stations are closely related to the Zvezda and Zarya modules on the Russian side of the International Space Station, and although the reusable return vehicles have never been flown manned, they have been extensively tested. For the last seven years the new company has been quietly working on the equally-expensive tasks of filling out paperwork and engineering.

A myriad of licenses were necessary to bring the equipment out of Russia and on to the Isle of Man, an aerospace hotbed where Excalibur Almaz is based. Eventually the collection of stations and reusable return vehicles arrived at their new home, and EA began their refurbishment with modern off-the-shelf parts from the various space industry catalogs.

The spacecraft received new solar arrays, environmental controls, flight controls and communications equipment. The kitchen, crew quarters, exercise rooms, storage racks, laboratory and telescope are all being brought up to date. On the outside, the craft are receiving electric and hypergolic thrusters. The Excalibur Almaz paint scheme is a glossy white, devoid of Soviet insignia.

The Soviet spacecraft by themselves were not enough to build a complete system. Excalibur Almaz has also contracted with the manufacturers in Russia and the Ukraine for more of the stock pieces. They asked aerospace giant EADS Astrium in Europe to do preliminary designs for an intermediate propulsion stage with new passenger and cargo modules based on the European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV).

They struck a Space Act Agreement with NASA in order to learn how to meet U.S. space agency standards for carrying crew to the space station. For marketing studies, EA went to Futron Corporation, a company which specializes in aerospace markets and knows the space tourism industry well.

Futron told them that launch prices were currently too high for profitable operations in Low Earth Orbit. “I stress that we were quite surprised to find that we can’t operate at a profit in Low Earth Orbit right now,” said Mr. Dula at the ISDC 2012 conference last month. “That takes government subsidy. There aren’t enough customers in LEO. There are more customers that are interested in going beyond LEO for a purely commercial system.”

“Beyond LEO” meant the Moon, and as it happens mathematics has made getting to the Moon a little easier than it was during the Apollo era. For low-energy lunar transfer orbits EA went to Dr. Ed Belbruno, a mathematician who specializes in celestial mechanics, and to Jet Propulsion Laboratories in Pasadena. Orbits were found that would allow the station to use electric propulsion to slowly make its way into lunar orbits. EA contracted with U.S.-based United Launch Alliance (ULA) for phasing studies, the adjustment of a spacecraft’s time-position along its orbit. Plans eventually came together for three different lunar missions. One of them is a lunar cycler orbit based on work done by former Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin, an old friend of Mr. Dula’s.

The first mission begins in low Earth orbit and involves an elliptical lunar flyby, good for tourists who want to see the Moon up close through a window instead of a telescope. The second requires the station to travel up to a circular lunar orbit on a slow low-energy trajectory, where it waits for a crew on a high-energy spacecraft such as an Orion space capsule riding on a ULA Centaur upper stage. The crew vehicle docks with the station and can stay for a month or two. It then does a high-energy return and re-enters the atmosphere.

The third mission is the lunar cycler orbit, wherein the space station flies to the Moon on a low-energy trajectory and gets a gravity boost out of the plane of the ecliptic, up and over the Earth instead of around it. The Moon rotates around and catches the spacecraft two weeks later on the other side, catching the spacecraft and returning it to where a new crew or supply ship can dock with it. The two-week cycles could last quite a long time before the station would need to be refueled.

For now, the only man-rated vehicle capable of launching the small “taxi” vehicles, with their launch escape systems and reusable return capsules, are Soyuz rockets. The Chinese Long March is also the right size and man-rated, but U.S. technology export rules forbid it. In the near future other vehicles could be or will be man-rated, so there will be more choices. The stations themselves will probably go up aboard Russian Proton rockets, for which they were designed, but they could also go up on many other launchers. Excalibur Almaz also has a six-person vehicle, essentially a scaled up version of their 3-person capsule, approaching its Critical Design Review.

A reusable reentry vehicle was displayed at the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Third European Space Tourism Conference in London, where Mr. Dula made another presentation yesterday. It has now been shipped back to the company headquarters on the Isle of Man, where it will wait for the first three customers.