Donie's ireland daily news BLOG update

The self-employed among the winners in Irish Budget as smokers suffer another 50c & cuts to USC rates the main tax measures

MOST UNUSAL IN THAT CIGARETTES @ 50C RISE IS ONLY CLAWBACK

      

THE MINISTER FOR FINANCE, MICHAEL NOONAN, INCREASED THE EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT BY €400 TO €950 AND WHILE THE RISE WAS LESS THAN EXPECTED IT WAS STILL ENOUGH TO LEAVE THE SELF-EMPLOYED AS AMONG THE BIGGER NET GAINERS FROM THE BUDGET TAX MEASURES.

Self-employed taxpayers are among the main winners from Budget 2017, with a combination of an increased tax credit and cuts in USC rates delivering gains to many of around 2 per cent in take-home pay.

The Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, increased the earned income tax credit by €400 to €950 and while the rise was less than expected it was still enough to leave the self-employed as among the bigger net gainers from the Budget tax measures. Like their PAYE counterparts, they also benefited from the USC cuts.

A married couple on one income from a self-employed person earning €55,000 will gain €778, or €15 a week. A couple in similar circumstances with the earner taxed on PAYE will gain €278 from the tax changes, or €5 a week.

Main tax measures

The USC cuts were the main tax measure in the budget, benefiting anyone earning over €13,000, the income limit at which people are brought into the USC cut. The cuts in the three lower USC rates by 0.5 of a point each will deliver just under €230 to someone earning €45,000 and the maximum cash gain is €353, which benefits anyone earning €70,000 or more.

There were no measures this year to claw back any gains from higher earners. While the three lower USC rates were cut, the entry level of €13,000 on which people become liable for the tax on all their income was left unchanged. The main income tax bands and credits were also left unchanged, meaning taxpayers will pay a bit more tax if they get wage and salary increases.

In an unusual budget package, the only clawback from taxpayers was a 50 cent hike of a pack of cigarettes. Earlier plans to increase the tax on diesel were abandoned and the only other revenue raiser was a promised crack-down on tax evasion and a limited €50 million extra from vulture funds from the closure of a tax loophole.

Major concessions

Elsewhere the other major tax concession was directed at first-time housebuyers, with a tax refund of up to €20,000 on those buying newly built homes valued at up to €600,000. Young families will also gain from a new childcare package which will kick in from next September.

The Minister for Finance announced that the budget deficit target for next year would be 0.4 per cent of GDP and that he planned in future to set a target to reduce the debt to GDP ratio below the 60 per cent required by the EU rules to around 45 per cent. Department of Finance briefing papers on the budget pointed out that the revision of the GDP figures had complicated the key budgetary figures.

A separate study by the Department of Finance published along with the budget outlined the threat of Brexit. The Department’s economic forecasts were completed on the basis of a sterling forecast of 85p against the euro, but by yesterday sterling was trading at 91p. The analysis said that the exposed Irish sectors were mainly Irish owned, based in the regions outside Dublin, have low profits levels and account for significant employment.

Caution

In response to the budget, Moody’s, holder of the most cautious view of Ireland’s creditworthiness among leading credit rating agencies since the financial crisis, has said its concerns about the State’s finances remain unchanged after Budget 2017.

“The economy’s high level of volatility due to the openness and large presence of multinational corporations implies that Ireland needs larger fiscal and financial buffers to deal with economic shocks than its peers,” said Kathrin Muehlbronner, Moody’s lead sovereign analyst for Ireland.

Sterling slumps to seven-year low of 91.4p against the euro?

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE ECONOMIC FORECASTS BASED ON 85P EXCHANGE RATE FOR NEXT YEAR

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THE EURO HAS APPRECIATED BY MORE THAN 19% AGAINST STERLING SINCE THE UK VOTERS DECIDED IN JUNE TO EXIT THE EUROPEAN UNION.

Sterling plunged 1.2% against the euro in late trading on Tuesday to hit a seven-year low of 91.4p as investors continued to fret about a hard Brexit.

The euro has appreciated by more than 19% against sterling since UK voters decided in June to exit the European Union, with the pace accelerating since British prime minister Theresa May said on October 2nd that she will start the formal Brexit negation process by the end of March.

Sterling also hit a fresh 31-year low against the dollar, falling almost 2% on Tuesday, to $1.209 after European markets closed.

Anil Kashyap, a newly appointed member of the Bank of England’s financial policy committee, added to nervousness around sterling on Tuesday after telling a British parliamentary committee that that a hard Brexit, where the UK gives up membership of the single market, could lead to a further drop in the value of currency. Bank of England monetary policy committee memberMichael Saunders said in written testimony that he would not be surprised if sterling falls further.

“The sentiment on sterling is closely tied to expectations of hard Brexit,” said Georgette Boele, a currency and commodity strategist at ABN Amro in Amsterdam, adding that the Bank of England officials’ “comments are not helpful at all”.

A Euro’s surge

The Department of Finance highlighted in documents published in conjunction with Budget 2017 that the euro’s surge against sterling “will pose significant challenges, particularly for parts of the exporting sector and areas sensitive to cross-border trade.”

It warned that the long-term impact of Brexit will “crucially” depend upon the post-exit relationship between the UK and the EU, with a “soft exit” clearly preferable to a “hard” one what would involve trade restrictions.

“More recent developments in the euro-sterling bilateral rate, if sustained, could be problematic for some firms, especially those in labour-intensive industries with tighter profit margins,” the Department said.

Indeed, the Department’s forecasts that the economy, as measured by gross domestic product, will grow by 4.2% this year and 3.5% in 2017 is premised on the euro being valued at 81p in 2016 and 85p next year.

Department documents place a “high” risk against the foreign exchange rate in its list of external factors facing the economy.

Buffer

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said in his Budget speech on Tuesday that he decided to retain a 9% value added tax (Vat) rate for tourism related activities next year to underpin the industry in the wake of Brexit.

“This will act as a buffer for the sector against the weakness in sterling, which increases the cost of holidaying in Ireland for British tourists,” he said.

Ireland’s tourism sector, which accounts for over 150,000 jobs, is highly dependent on UK visitors, who accounted for 3.5 million overseas trips to this country last year, according to the Government.

New (PEM) gateway network of opportunity opens at IT Sligo

   

THE OPENING OF THE NEW PRECISION ENGINEERING, MANUFACTURING (PEM) TECHNOLOGY GATEWAY AT THE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY OF SLIGO HAS HERALDED THE BEGINNING OF GREATER OPPORTUNITIES AND DEVELOPMENTS IN THIS AREA.

Funded by Enterprise Ireland, the PEM Technology Gateway was launched by the Minister of State for Employment and Small Business, says Deputy Pat Breen.

The PEM Gateway provides a resource network targeted at companies based both in the North West and nationally. It aims to give companies an opportunity to develop their business through collaborative research and development while networking with other businesses in the area.

The network has a particular focus on start-ups and SMEs, enabling companies to source technology solutions for their ‘close-to-market’ needs.

The Technology Gateway Programme was established by Enterprise Ireland (EI) to provide business development resources to the Institutes of Technology to help them interact with industry on a local, regional and national basis.

As part of this network IT Sligo is receiving €275,000 over a two-year period (Jan 1, 2016 – Dec 31st 2017) from EI.

Gearoid Mooney, Divisional Manager Research & Innovation, Enterprise Ireland said: “Since its formation in 2013, the Enterprise Ireland Technology Gateway Programme has created a nationwide network of 15 industry focused Gateways located in 11 Institutes of Technology.

“The PEM Gateway now established in IT Sligo is a significant addition to this network, delivering high tech innovative solutions in precision engineering, manufacturing and materials. The Technology Gateways have a proven track record of working seamlessly with industry and the PEM Gateway will further incentivise business ideas with potential for growth in the North West region, providing access points to companies of all sizes, particularly start-ups and SME’s.”

The new President of IT Sligo, Dr Brendan McCormack, said the new Technology Gateway was an endorsement of region’s expertise and heritage in precision engineering, tool making and manufacturing over the past forty years, and also represented another pillar in the collective industry ambition for region to establish a world class Centre of Excellence in the manufacturing of precision engineered products.

“The North West of Ireland is striving to build an economic base that will provide livelihoods for its people and that will support vibrant communities across the region,” he said.

Dizziness when standing suddenly “increases the risk of dementia”

     

FEELING A BIT LIGHT-HEADED AND DIZZY WHEN STANDING UP SUDDENLY MAY BE A WARNING SIGN OF ALZHEIMER’S, RESEARCH HAS NOW SHOWN.

Scientists who studied the effect in more than 6,000 healthy individuals found that it increased the risk of dementia by up to 39%.

The sensation is caused by a temporary drop in blood pressure, which is thought to trigger brain damage if it occurs repeatedly.

The dizzy spell phenomenon has the medical name orthostatic hypotension (OH) and is especially common among the elderly, affecting 20% to 30% of this population.

For a brief period of time it can result in a shortage of blood flowing through the brain, depriving nerve cells of oxygen and nutrients.

The study tracked 6,204 men and women aged 55 and over for 15 years on average and recorded how many of them developed any type of dementia, including Alzheimer’s.

Almost a fifth of participants regularly experienced a significant drop in blood pressure within three minutes of standing from a resting position. They were classified as being prone to OH.

Compared with those who did not feel dizzy when standing up, this group was 15% more likely to develop dementia.

The association was especially strong when a person’s heart rate did not speed up to compensate for the momentary drop in blood pressure, the Dutch study showed.

For individuals in this category, the long-term risk of dementia was raised by 39%.

The research, led by Dr Arfan Ikram, from Erasmus Medical Centre, is reported in the online journal Public Library of Science Medicine.

Summing up their results, the authors wrote: “We found OH to be associated with long-term risk of dementia on continuous follow-up, independent of various other risk factors.

“The most apparent explanation for our findings is that OH causes brain damage due to recurrent transient cerebral hypoperfusion (low blood flow).

“Brief episodes of hypoperfusion elicited by sudden blood pressure drops may lead to hypoxia (oxygen deprivation), with detrimental effects on brain tissue via, for instance, neuro-inflammation and oxidative stress.”

Of the study participants who developed dementia, almost 80% had Alzheimer’s disease and 8% had a vascular form of the condition linked to impaired blood supply.

The relative risk of both was increased to the same extent by recurrent episodes of OH, the scientists said.

Dr Laura Phipps, from the charity Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “This study highlights the important role of the blood supply, not just in contributing to vascular dementia, but potentially playing a role in other forms of dementia too.

“While many studies have focused on the risks of high blood pressure, this study suggests that transient low blood pressure could also have a long term impact on the brain.

“While the risks found in this study are reasonably small compared to other known risk factors for dementia, it adds to a growing and complex picture of how blood pressure changes throughout life can impact the brain.”

Mice produce ultrasonic songs with a unique way of making sounds

     

RESEARCHERS HAVE JUST DISCOVERED THAT MICE HAVE A UNIQUE WAY OF MAKING ULTRASONIC SOUNDS. THESE HIGH FREQUENCY VOCALIZATIONS ARE MOSTLY USED AS MATING CALLS. THE FINDINGS ARE IN A PAPER THAT WAS JUST PUBLISHED IN THE CURRENT/JOURNAL BIOLOGY.

Mice communicate with high pitched noises and some of these vocalizations are at a frequency not detectable by humans. Their ultrasonic songs are generally used for courting behaviors but are sometimes used in territorial disagreements. Researchers study the songs because it allows them to discover how different drugs may affect mouse vocalizations. For example, scientists want to know when the songs change if they’re testing autism treatments or speech disorders. While researchers had known about mouse songs for a long time, scientists were unsure how the animals created these noises.

Researchers from Washington State University collaborated with laboratories in Denmark and the United Kingdom. The research team used high-speed video to determine how mice make their ultrasonic calls. They were surprised to find that the rodents weren’t vibrating vocal folds in the larynx, like most animals, to create the noises. Instead, mice push a tiny jet of air from the windpipe onto the laryngeal inner wall. The jet of air hits the wall of the larynx and creates a very high frequency whistle. The research team notes that this technique has never been seen in an animal. In fact, this unique mechanism is currently only seen in jet engines.

Mice use a novel method to produce ultrasonic noises when courting mates. Their technique of pushing a stream of air onto the inner wall of the larynx has never been seen in an animal. The findings will provide new insights into mouse vocalizations, helping researchers understand how different drugs affect speech. When testing a medication for stuttering, for example, researchers need to know how it affects mouse songs. The research team believes their research will help scientists develop better methods for studying speech disorders and autism.   

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

Sterling slump less a problem for State than in past, Central Bank says

RISKS TO ECONOMY REMAIN ‘CLEARLY TILTED TO THE DOWNSIDE’, SAYS REPORT FROM REGULATOR

     

THE CENTRAL BANK MAINTAINS THAT DEMAND FOR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES IN TRADING-PARTNER COUNTRIES OUTWEIGHS EVERYTHING, INCLUDING FOREIGN-EXCHANGE RATES.

Ireland’s economy is better able to deal with a slump in sterling than it has been in the past, the Central Bank has said, as the euro hovers at a five-year high against the British currency as a result of the UK Brexit vote.

The euro has surged by more than 14% since the UK referendum on June 23rd to more than 88p and some, including analysts in Investec and UBS, see the exchange rate reaching 90p by the end of the year.

The Central Bank’s latest economic forecasts, published on Thursday, which see Irish gross domestic product expanding by 4.5% this year and 3.6% in 2017, is based on a euro-sterling rate of 84p, said John Flynn, the head of Irish economic analysis at the bank.

Mr Flynn said that if the current rate persisted it would have some impact on future forecasts.

However, he added: “We’ve seen over a long period of time the economy demonstrate considerable flexibility and it’s able to deal with the sterling rate at quite different levels. The Irish economy is a much more flexible economy now than it was at various times in the past, when sterling was a challenge for us.”

The demand?

The Central Bank maintains that demand for products and services in trading-partner countries outweighs everything, including foreign-exchange rates. While recent UK economic data suggested the British economy was faring better than many had feared following the Brexit vote, the Central Bank’s chief economist, Gabriel Fagan, said it was “far too early” to determine the real impact of the decision on the world’s fifth largest economy.

Meanwhile, Mr Flynn noted that the euro-sterling rate was much more important to companies in the food, clothing and footwear sectors, as well as tourism, than elsewhere in the economy.

“And the exchange rate is generally more important for indigenous firms because the UK accounts for a greater share of export markets for those groups,” he said.

The comments follow the Central Bank’s publication of its latest quarterly bulletin in which it shaved its forecasts for personal consumption, exports and overall economic growth for this year and warned risks to these projections “remain clearly tilted to the downside” as a result of Brexit.

The organisation lowered its forecast for gross domestic product growth for this year by 0.4% points to 4.5% and left its 2017 projection unchanged at 3.6%, having downgraded its estimates more materially in July in the wake of the surprise Brexit vote.

Mixed signals confusing?

“Signals in relation to consumer spending have become more mixed, although the balance of evidence across a range of indicators points to only a marginal slowdown, with consumer spending supported by solid gains in employment and rising earnings,” the Central Bank said.

The Central Bank lowered its forecast for personal spending growth, which rebounded two years ago following years as consumers showed the first signs of recovery from the financial crisis, to 3.8% for this year from 4% previously. Its 2017 forecast has come back to 2.2% from 2.3%.

It sees underlying domestic demand, a measure of the economy preferred by some analysts given how multinationals’ activities can skew the headline figures, slowing to 4% this year from 5% in 2015, before easing further to 2.7% in 2017. It has raised its forecasts for the economic contribution from activity in aircraft leasing and multinationals moving intellectual property.

Export growth is likely to slow to 5.6% this year from a previous projection of 6.4%, before easing back to 4.4% in 2017, according to the Central Bank.

With an eye on the unveiling of Budget 2017 next week, the Central Bank said “a prudent fiscal strategy remains essential, given the negative loops between fiscal stability, financial stability and macroeconomic stability.”

It also said the Government set long-term targets that were “robust to statistical issue”, clearly a reference to the 26% GDP growth rate for 2015 that had little to do with the underlying economy.

Uncertainties

“While the uncertainties in relation to the measurement of economic growth make it more difficult to calculate the underlying path for tax revenues, it would be prudent to assume that some fraction of the recent surge in corporation tax revenues might be temporary in nature,” it said.

Corporation tax rose to €4.16 billion for the first nine months of the year from €3.9 billion for the same period in 2015, according to the latest exchequer return figures, published earlier this week.

Nóirín O’Sullivan ‘doing so much damage to An Garda Síochána’, says Mick Wallace

   

THE GARDA COMMISSIONER NÓIRÍN O’SULLIVAN IS DOING “SO MUCH DAMAGE” TO THE FORCE THAT IT IS IN “TURMOIL”, THE DÁIL HAS HEARD.

Revelations in this week’s Irish Examiner, about a campaign by senior officers to destroy a whistle-blower, dominated leaders’ questions yesterday

Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald came under serious fire over the scandal from Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin, as well as Independents.

The Dáil heard claims that Ms O’Sullivan had given some members of An Garda Síochána carte blanche to hound and discredit whistle-blowers.

Independents4Change TD Mick Wallace, in a heated exchange, pleaded with Ms Fitzgerald to remove the commissioner.

Mr Wallace said he and his colleague, Clare Daly, have met with the two whistle-blowers who made the latest protected disclosures. he said Ms O’Sullivan has failed to end the persecution of whistle-blowers in the force.

“The Garda is in turmoil. There is a split in it with two camps. The Garda commissioner has promoted a ring around her. It is corrosive,” said Mr Wallace.

Nóirín O’Sullivan

“She is doing so much damage to An Garda Síochána that there are many good gardaí shocked at how she is operating. The Tánaiste and minister for justice and equality cannot leave her in position.”

Asked if she had any other protected disclosures on her desk, Ms Fitzgerald said: “There are no other protected disclosures on my desk.”

Mr Wallace informed the Dáil that whistle-blower Nick Keogh has written to the minister four times, but received only one reply.

“Nicky Keogh wrote to the minister four times and she replied once,” said Mr Wallace. “When he told the minister about the harassment and that he could not have been suffering without the commissioner’s knowledge, the minister wrote back to him to say she was looking for an urgent report from the Garda commissioner.

“That was May this year. The minister says she follows things up quickly. May was a long time ago.”

Ms Fitzgerald said while details of the disclosures are in the public domain, she is precluded by law from commenting. She said those involved are entitled to due process and that she would not be rushing to judgment.

“I will follow the legislation, passed in this House, where people have a right to confidentiality and due process,” she said.

“I would not be doing my job as minister for justice and equality if I did not follow due process and the law laid down regarding protected disclosures, a law on which we have all agreed should be followed.”

In response to Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald, Ms Fitzgerald said Ms O’Sullivan is entitled to her full confidence.

“I want to be very clear about one thing: No findings of wrongdoing of any kind have been made against the Garda commissioner and I believe in those circumstances she is entitled to our full confidence,” said Ms Fitzgerald, adding that she would not be slow in establish a full inquiry into the allegations should it be merited.

Fianna Fáil’s Charlie McConalogue asked Ms Fitzgerald to state whether it was true that the two people behind the disclosures are likely to refuse to co-operate with any pending inquiry.

“The dysfunctionality of the Garda Síochána because of perceived system and management failures — it is hard to see beyond the saying, ‘something is rotten in the state of Denmark’,” said Mr McConalogue.

People are sheltering in libraries as they cannot afford fuel, claims Willie O’Dea?

VARADKAR HOPES TO INCREASE FUEL ALLOWANCE IN BUDGET BUT ‘CANNOT GUARANTEE IT AT THIS STAGE’

       

Willie O’Dea of Fianna Fáil: “Growing older increasingly seems to mean growing colder.

PEOPLE ARE USING PUBLIC TRANSPORT OR SHELTERING IN LIBRARIES BECAUSE THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO HEAT THEIR HOMES DURING THE DAY, ACCORDING TO FIANNA FÁIL SOCIAL PROTECTION SPOKESMAN WILLIE O’DEA.

Appealing to Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar to increase the fuel allowance in next week’s budget, he said organisations representing the elderly had conducted surveys showing “people who do not light a fire until the afternoon and who go to bed early in the winter to save fuel”.

“Other people resort to taking public transport or taking shelter in public libraries and other public buildings because they simply cannot afford to heat their homes properly for a sufficient period of time to enable them to live comfortably in their homes.” The Limerick city TD said, “Growing older increasingly seems to mean growing colder.”

Mr Varadkar said the fuel allowance was increased 10 per cent last year from €20 to €22.50, and he hoped they could continue “in the same direction” next year “but I cannot guarantee that at this stage”.

The allowance is given for 26 weeks to 380,000 households at a cost of €224 million, along with an electricity or gas allowance at a cost of €228 million.

Mr O’Dea said recent research found that the island of Ireland “has the highest rate of excess winter mortality in Europe, with an estimated 2,800 excess deaths each winter”, and fuel poverty was a factor in this.

Sligo Food train leaves Dublin for theWild Atlantic Way

   

L-R: Anthony Gray, Sligo Food Trail; Eva Dearie of Failte Ireland; Finbar Filan, Sligo BID; and Marguerite Quilann, Beltra Country Market.

FÁILTE IRELAND IS PARTNERING WITH IARNRÓD ÉIREANN AND THE SLIGO FOOD TRAIL TO BRING A GROUP OF VIP WRITERS TO SLIGO, AS PART OF A SERIES OF NEW INITIATIVES TO STIMULATE REGIONAL DISPERSION AND SEASONAL EXTENSION ALONG THE WILD ATLANTIC WAY.

The media VIPs will board a Sligo Food Train from Connolly Station to Sligo, where passengers will get to sample food from Sligo and also receive information on the Sligo Food Trail as they make their journey to the Wild Atlantic Way. Fáilte Ireland will also give a brief talk on the coastal route to the media as the train progresses towards Sligo.

The focus for Failte Ireland is to help businesses and regions broaden the so-called ‘shoulder seasons’ immediately prior to and following the main summer season in tourist destinations. This is especially important along the Wild Atlantic Way, where many businesses close outside of the peak months.

To this end Failte Ireland is supporting the Sligo Food Trail by partnering with Iarnród Éireann and bringing food writers and bloggers by train from Connolly Station to Sligo, where they will be treated to a 24 hour foodie experience in and around Sligo for this Sligo Harvest Feast event.

Fáilte Ireland’s Head of the Wild Atlantic Way, Fiona Monaghan said: “The Wild Atlantic Way has been incredibly popular with the domestic market and we believe there is great potential to grow activity outside of the summer season. We have been working with hundreds of businesses along the route – who have traditionally experienced a short tourism season – to help them become ‘autumn-ready’ and grow their trading season. With an emphasis on some of the quieter places, we are working to boost visitor traffic all along the route and especially beyond the usual hotspots throughout this autumn.”

For older women, caffeine could be pill needed in warding off dementia

   

Among a group of older women, self-reported caffeine consumption of more than 261 mg per day was associated with a 36% reduction in the risk of incident dementia over 10 years of follow-up. This level is equivalent to two to three 8-oz cups of coffee per day, five to six 8-oz cups of black tea, or seven to eight 12-ounce cans of cola.

Could drinking coffee be linked to a reduced risk of dementia?

Among a group of older women, self-reported caffeine consumption of more than 261 mg per day was associated with a 36% reduction in the risk of incident dementia over 10 years of follow-up. This level is equivalent to two to three 8-oz cups of coffee per day, five to six 8-oz cups of black tea, or seven to eight 12-ounce cans of cola.

“The mounting evidence of caffeine consumption as a potentially protective factor against cognitive impairment is exciting given that caffeine is also an easily modifiable dietary factor with very few contraindications,” said Ira Driscoll, PhD, the study’s lead author and a professor of psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. “What is unique about this study is that we had an unprecedented opportunity to examine the relationships between caffeine intake and dementia incidence in a large and well-defined, prospectively-studied cohort of women.”

The findings come from participants in the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study, which is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Driscoll and her research colleagues used data from 6,467 community-dwelling, postmenopausal women aged 65 and older who reported some level of caffeine consumption. Intake was estimated from questions about coffee, tea, and cola beverage intake, including frequency and serving size.

In 10 years or less of follow-up with annual assessments of cognitive function, 388 of these women received a diagnosis of probable dementia or some form of global cognitive impairment. Those who consumed above the median amount of caffeine for this group (with an average intake of 261 mg per day) were diagnosed at a lower rate than those who fell below the median (with an average intake of 64 mg per day). The researchers adjusted for risk factors such as hormone therapy, age, race, education, body mass index, sleep quality, depression, hypertension, prior cardiovascular disease, diabetes, smoking, and alcohol consumption.

A 7,000 year-old York dog is forcing experts to rethink on Stonehenge

  

EVIDENCE OF THE EARLIEST JOURNEY IN BRITISH HISTORY HAS BEEN UNCOVERED AND A PET DOG CAME ALONG FOR THE GRUELLING 250-MILE TRIP FROM YORK TO STONEHENGE IN WILTSHIRE.

Archaeologist David Jacques has found evidence that Mesolithic man’s best friend was an Alsatian – and bones found nearby suggest the dog would have feasted on salmon, trout, pike, wild pig and red deer.

The domesticated dog tooth was dug up at Blick Mead, a site a mile from the World Heritage Site and scientific tests have shown the dog most likely came from the York area.

Mr Jacques said the findings were significant because archaeologists did not know people travelled such long distances 7,000 years ago and the journey adds to the weight of evidence of people coming to Stonehenge 2,000 years before the monument was built.

He said previous excavations uncovered a slate tool from Wales and stone tools from the Midlands and the West of England.

As the Ice Age had just ended, one of the attractions of Blick Mead would have been a natural spring in which the only puce stones in the country could be found.

It would also have been relatively easy to reach because the nearby River Avon was the M1 of its time. Large numbers of deer and aurochs – extinct massive prehistoric cattle – grazed there.

Burnt stones, wood and auroch bones from the site indicate that it was popular for feasting, an important ritual activity.

Mr Jacques, a senior research fellow at the University of Buckingham, said at that time prehistoric people were starting to tame dogs and keep them as pets and the Alsatian may even have been brought to Stonehenge to exchange.

“The fact that a dog and a group of people were coming to the area from such a long distance away further underlines just how important the place was four millennia before the circle was built,” he said.

“Discoveries like this give us a completely new understanding of the establishment of the ritual landscape and make Stonehenge even more special than we thought we knew it was.”

Andy Rhind-Tutt, chairman of Amesbury Museum and Heritage Trust, said: “These amazing discoveries at Blick Mead are writing the history books of Mesolithic Britain.

“A dog tooth from York, a slate tool from Wales and a stone tool from the Midlands show that this wasn’t just the place to live at the end of the Ice Age, but was known by our ancestors for a long time widely across Britain. They kept coming here.”    

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

It’s time for Micheál Martin and Enda Kenny to take responsibility for forming a Irish government

THE ROLE OF THE PRESIDENT IS NOT TO KNOCK HEADS TOGETHER?

  

Irish democratic parties are expected to seek political advantage. It is what they do in order to remain relevant. But a time comes when the interests of the State and the general public should take precedence. That is not happening and voters are faced with another election at a time of threatening economic circumstances.

Bleating from Fianna Fáil that Fine Gael attempted to bounce it into government is a joke. Getting into power has been Fianna Fáil’s raison d’etresince its foundation and it formed the basis for its election campaign. But Micheál Martin, with fewer votes and seats than Fine Gael, wants to be in the driving seat.

He decided that participation in government with the ancient enemy could have a dampening impact on the party’s recovery and he has opted to stay out. His position is no different from that of Sinn Féin where Gerry Adams insists it will only enter government as the leading party.

Fine Gael also sought political advantage. It received a thrashing in the election but emerged as the largest party and the one favoured – on the basis of Dáil arithmetic – to lead the next government. Mindful of Fianna Fáil’s visceral opposition to a formal, two-party coalition, however, it engaged in intensive negotiations with Independent TDs over a number of weeks. It put together a draft partnership programme, involving Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Independents and presented it to Mr Martin.

The inclusion of Independents was a creative approach. The longer the idea of a three-way government remained alive, the more appealing it would become. So, within 24 hours it was killed stone dead. Having rallied his parliamentary party, Mr Martin found that such a partnership would not be in the national interest. He would, however, consider supporting a Fine Gael-led minority government.

Where to from here? Sinn Féin’s view was unequivocal. Mr Martin was attempting to assert control over both an incoming government and the opposition benches and Sinn Féin would not tolerate it. No quarter would be given. Within Fianna Fáil, the search was on for a defensive position. Some TDs suggested the party should abstain in next Thursday’s vote for Taoiseach.

That way, Enda Kenny would be elected with responsibility for forming a government and pressure would be reduced on Fianna Fáil. Anticipating this development, Leo Varadkar called for a written agreement between the two parties on government longevity, along with agreement on common policies.

It has been suggested that President Higgins might knock heads together and facilitate the establishment of a stable and effective government. That is not his role. His power under the Constitution extends only to granting or withholding permission to dissolve the Dáil. Mr Martin and Mr Kenny must shoulder their own responsibilities.

How the Donegal Mountain Rescue Team is using drones to save people

TESTS FROM THE DONEGAL MOUNTAIN RESCUE TEAM WILL HELP SHAPE EU REGULATIONS.

    

DONEGAL WILL BE AT THE CENTRE OF A PILOT SCHEME WHICH WILL HELP SHAPE THE RULES REGARDING DRONE USAGE AMONG EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAMS.

Both the European Emergency Number Association (EENA), an NGO dedicated to improving emergency services, and drone company DJI announced a partnership which would see it training first responders to use drones in emergency situations.

One of the two groups taking part in this trial is the Donegal Mountain Rescue Team, a organisation made up of volunteers across the county.

Team member, Leo Murray, said the organisation had been testing drones for the “past nine months” conducting tests, but the new partnership allows further testing over the summer.

“The announcement [from EENA and DJI] was on the back of the relationships we’ve built up,” he said. “DJI and EENA have come on board toe be part of a pilot test for the summer because they’re putting together compliance and regulations of drone applications in emergency services and they want to see the best way of doing it”.

We’ve been at it for about nine months testing it and we’ve had positive results but there are further tests needed over the summer.

Since the volunteer organisation has experience in drone usage, partly thanks to a Donegal startup called Drone App Labs developing some of the software needed for live feeds and tracking, the pilot scheme will look at developing networking and crowd-sourcing capabilities.

That’s something the rescue team already does as it regularly works with the Irish coastguards’ ground-based teams and boat units since some of the mountainous areas are based along the coastline. Roughly 40% of its calls are coastline based according to Murray so it makes sense to expand upon this.

“We would be looking at doing trials with them as we know they’re interested as well,” says Murray. “So you’re looking at cliff areas, bays and areas that are inaccessible or hard to get to so that’s where we see the application”.

The main objective of a drone is to enhance the personal view and get a visual overview in advance of the team actually reaching it… we can get a drone to send back live imagery. We would be able to asses that imagery and inform the different search parties to go to different areas.

A live view of remote or hard to reach areas is one of the things drones can be used for, but the team is experimenting with other uses.

One would be dropping payloads to someone remotely to help them out while another area they’re looking at is thermal imagery, giving it the ability to perform night searches using heat signals to find people.

Overall, such a scheme allows the organisation to further step up their tests and see where their strengths lie. Yet they’re not seen as a replacement for anything, just as a way to compliment existing protocol.

“It’s really just an extra tool in the toolbox,” says Murray. We are thankful [for the pilot scheme] because we are voluntary and we don’t have money to buy this equipment… it’s an opportunity for us to use and get the benefits of them”.

I do see their use coming into emergency services just because we can get live imagery for remote locations very quickly… [and] speed up search and rescue operations.

Gene specifically responsible for stroke may have been discovered

     

A NEW STUDY IN THE US HAS IDENTIFIED THE GENE THAT RESEARCHERS BELIEVE IS A PRIMARY CAUSE OF BOTH STROKES AND DEMENTIA.

FOXF2. THAT’S THE NAME OF THE GENE THAT BOSTON RESEARCHERS BELIEVE IS THE CAUSE OF TWO OF HUMANITY’S MOST COMMON NEUROLOGICAL  CONDITIONS: STROKE AND DEMENTIA.

Small vessel disease on the brain can cause strokes, and it’s here that researchers from Boston University decided to look, and it’s also where they hunted down FOXF2. This is a first, though some genes associated with familial small vessel diseases, such as CADASIL, are known.

The discovery increases researchers’ understanding of ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, potentially improving treatments and prevention. This could, in theory, stretch to treatments for Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, too.

Stroke of genius

“Unravelling the mechanisms of small vessel disease is essential for the development of therapeutic and preventive strategies for this major cause of stroke,” said Sudha Seshadri, one of the paper’s authors.

Small vessel disease stretches far beyond ‘just’ strokes and dementia, though, with depression and gait issues also related.

“Hence, it is exciting that we are beginning to better understand the cause of this very important and poorly understood type of stroke,” said Seshadri.

Stroke is the leading neurological cause of death and disability worldwide. Given the different types of strokes, different sets of genes have been said to cause it in the past.

Huawei’s new P9 smart-phone is a photographer’s dream

   

Huawei today (above left) announced the P9 new phone, which is designed with the art of photography in mind with improvements and innovative features across the board.

Huawei today lifted the lid on its latest flagship, the Huawei P9, which like the P8 before it puts a focus on photography. In fact, Huawei wants to change the way we view smartphone photography.

Rather than just being clear, Huawei wants to enable users to be artistic with smartphone photography. As previously reported, Huawei worked with Leica to develop a smartphone photography system, which “brings together best-in-class hardware and software.” This, Huawei says, will enable users to capture the highest quality pictures.

If you want more control, or you want to improve your grasp of photography, the Huawei P9 offers professional mode with full manual control, so you can tweak a variety of settings at your leisure.

The Huawei P9 features a dual-camera design, which means it can create incredibly detailed images packed with depth and colour. The RGB camera specialises in capturing colour, working in tandem with the monochrome camera, which focuses on picture detail. This dual-camera system also ensures that the Huawei P9 excels in low-light and high-contrast conditions.

There are three Leica film modes available – Standard, Vivid Colours, and Smooth Colours – while the P9 can also be used as a monochrome camera to capture stunning black and white images.

The Huawei P9 features a 5.2-inch display, is powered by Huawei’s own Kirin 955 processor, 3GB RAM, 32GB of internal storage, and packs a 3,000mAh battery. The front of the device features an 8MP auto-focus camera that should cater for taking selfies in low light.

Huawei also announced the P9 Plus, which features a larger 5.5-inch display – but slotted into a more compact body than the iPhone 6S Plus – 4GB RAM, even more storage space, and a larger 3,400mAh battery. Best of all, it offers dual-IC Rapid Charge, so you can top up your phone’s charge quickly just before heading out.

Both handsets feature a virtual-triple-antenna architecture, which is designed with those who need robust and seamless connectivity to cellular and Wi-Fi networks in mind. And they also emphasise security with an enhanced fingerprint sensor.

The Huawei P9 will be available in six colours, including several shades of gold, a stunning Ceramic White, a Titanium Grey, and Mystic Silver, while the P9 Plus will be available in four colours – Ceramic White, Rose Gold, Haze Gold, and Quartz Grey.

David Attenborough rediscovers the Great Barrier Reef in a submersible

   

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH TAKES US INTO A DREAM PLACE WITH MAGICAL RESIDENTS AND GOES BELOW THE SURFACE TO INSPECT THE REEF FROM THE NADIR.

‘When you are a boy and at least when I was a boy yes you dreamt of being able to move freely into any part of the world in some magical craft that would transport you there without any problems and you would be able to see and witness all these strange things,” David Attenborough is saying from London.

He’s discussing his latest series in which, after an absence of almost 60 years, the ¬89-year-old revisits what he calls “the most magical thing” he has seen in his long career as a naturalist, the Great Barrier Reef, then mostly inaccessible and shrouded in mystery.

When asked to define that experience, his answer is always the same. “I always say the first time I put on a mask and went below the surface and moved in three dimensions, just with a flick of my fins, and suddenly saw all these amazing multicoloured things living in communities right there, just astounding things, unforgettable beauty,” he says at the start of the three-part series, produced in hi-tech 3-D by the prestigious factual company Atlantic.

It’s another fine blue-chip affair with all the cinematic stature and intellectual gravity that expression properly signals. In this groundbreaking and at times intensely moving series, as he has done for so many decades, the magisterial Attenborough — now stooped like a heron but surprisingly robust and agile — manages to tread that fine line between education and entertainment.

The series includes snippets of black-and-white footage of him diving — stripped to his togs and looking remarkably like Johnny Weissmuller — from his first exploration in 1957, discovered in the BBC archives by director Mike Davis, and about which Attenborough was initially apprehensive.

He hadn’t thought of harking back 60 years and practically had forgotten the film that was made, using the primitive cinematic technology of the time. (“The camera was a real pain in the butt,” he says with a laugh. “I mean, you get to somewhere exciting — it takes time to get down to any depth in scuba gear — and suddenly you look at the back of the camera and you see you have shot 80 feet out of your 100.”)

While he had considerable doubts as to the quality of the film, he’s now rather proud of it. “The footage gives an element to the program which people seem to enjoy and which I certainly had no part of,” he says, laughing, something he does often. “I am in fact totally incompetent underwater and I had only just started doing it when we started those shots and I’m amazed that we actually managed to get away with it.”

He always wanted to return and his mission, as much personal odyssey as research, is to complete a series of dives never before attempted. To accomplish it he climbs aboard the Alucia, home for his journey across the reef, a 56m exploration vessel, equipped with helicopters, laboratory and advanced mapping systems. It also boasts the latest in technical diving, filming and scientific research equipment, possessed with its own submersible called the Nadir. When he first spotted the sleek vessel he had one thought: “Why can’t I get in it now?” he says. “It just sat there, a fantastic thing, a science fiction object, and of course the only one in the world of its kind.” The Nadir with its eight hi-tech cameras can dive to depths of 1000m and go on missions lasting up to 12 hours.

“It is exactly like Jules Verne and 20,000 Leagues under the Sea; it was like a dream come true,” he says. “Well, it happened, and it’s a fantastic privilege and I found it unbelievable. I had been in submersibles before but only in very cramped circumstances with a tiny little porthole and feeling uncomfortable with all kinds of changes in pressure, but this particular craft is fantastic in that you sit in an easy chair and then just relax and see all this wonderful panorama of things that appear and disappear in front of this kind of transparent bubble in which you are sitting.”

It’s interesting watching him interact with the many technicians, scientists and vehicle wranglers as he’s briefed and boards for the first time. He never imposes himself on the gatherings — it would be against everything in his nature — but his presence is unmistakeable, a shy contented point of reference for everyone who comes into contact with him.

The challenge, he says, was to explore the reef as never before. “You certainly can’t do it in normal scuba gear and no other craft has been able to do this. So nobody has been as deep as that while sitting in an armchair, eating a Mars bar and watching fish.”

As in Verne, the real originality of these “dream machines” lies in their role as powerful stepping stones to a sense of wonder, bridging for the viewer the scientific with the sublime. Verne’s fantastical machines allowed his readers to transcend their earthbound selves and to experience a kind of spiritual voyage extraordinaire into a world where “no one has gone before”.

And like the French writer, Attenborough takes us into a dream place with magical residents like the deep-sea “mesophytic” coral found hundreds of metres below the surface and grand visitors such as the epaulet shark, able to “walk” out of the water.

With his infra-red cameras he shows us the fantastical clownfish that live permanently among the tentacles of anemones and never get stung, and the sublime mantis shrimp that use their hammer-like claws to smash through mollusc shells and dance along the coral like Japanese geisha girls, haughty and elegant.

“There is nothing that the television camera can’t record now, really nothing; lots of things that the human eye can’t even see,” he tells me, his voice quivering with that familiar sense of wonder. “The electronic camera can see in the dark more effectively than your eye can and of course it can speed things up and slow things down, and you put it on drones and you can send it skimming over the top of a reef or indeed on top of a city.” He adds quickly: “If you’ve got a permit; if you haven’t, you are likely to be shot down these days.”

He begins his journey at Ribbon Reef where, to look at the coral and the tiny organisms that create it, he takes a night dive in the Nadir. “Sinking beneath the waves is a surreal experience; your first instinct is to hold your breath.”

He reveals the reef’s architecture, its buildings more than 450 species of hard coral made of limestone, housing thousands of little animals called coral polyps. Their stinging armoury helps them mobilise as they fight for territory, jostling with each other for the best feeding sites. It’s beautiful and mesmerising, like something fromThe Lord of the Rings.

Attenborough is entranced, sitting in his big chair in the Nadir. A large green turtle swims towards the light. He gazes quietly at it for a long time. Then he turns back to the camera with a boy’s smile: “Isn’t that great?”

His series is timely, going to air just as aerial surveys have revealed the worst bleaching on record on the reef’s pristine north, with scientists suggesting few corals escaping damage. Bleaching occurs when abnormal conditions, such as warmer sea temperatures, cause corals to expel tiny photosynthetic algae, draining them of their colour.

As he so often does Attenborough starts his show with the beauty and the marvellous, and concludes with the lesson, illustrating just how the increasing temperature and acidity of the oceans have had a huge effect on the reef’s inhabitants. In the last program, he shows the research that’s going on to see just what those effects may be and what action can be taken.

And this great scientist puts a convincing case that if we don’t increase our commitment to solve the burgeoning stress from local and global sources, the reef will disappear, while expressing his admiration for the way the reef has always been one of nature’s great survivors, adapting to change in the most extraordinary ways.

“The resilience of the natural world gives you great hope really. Give nature half a chance and it really takes it and works with it,” he says. “But we are throwing huge problems at it.”