Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

Now only one point between Sinn Féin 24% and Fine Gael 25% in latest poll

 

An Irish voter survey shows a four point fall in support for Enda Kenny’s party to 25%.

Support for Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s Fine Gael is down four percentage points while support for Sinn Fein was up four points.

A new opinion poll has put voter support for Sinn Féin just one point behind Fine Gael.

Sinn Féin is at 24% while Fine Gael is at 25%, when ‘don’t knows’ are excluded, according to the Sunday Independent/Millward Brown poll which was published today.

Support for Fine Gael is down four percentage points while support for Sinn Féin is up four points since the last poll was taken in April , before the local and European elections. Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s satisfaction rating remains unchanged at 27% while support for Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams is down one point to 25%.

Support for Labour was up by one point to seven per cent. The party has changed leader since the last poll was taken. However the polls shows the party’s new leader Tanaiste Joan Burton is far more popular than her predecessor Eamon Gilmore. Ms Burton’s satisfaction rating is at 27%, 11 points higher than Eamon Gilmore in a previous poll (16%).

Despite this boost for Ms Burton dissatisfaction with the Government is up by three points to 69 per cent while half of voters believe the Government will run its full term.

Fianna Fáil has also seen a rise in support, up by two points to 20%. Its leader Micheál Martin has seen a one percent rise in his satisfaction rating to 27% while The poll shows support for the Greens is down one point to one per cent while Independents and others are up two points to 23%.

Some 2,000 march in Dublin to call for an end to Gaza violence

 

Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign calls on people to ‘boycott Israel’

A march protesting the Israeli treatment of Gaza, organised by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) today, which started at the Garden of Remembrance and finished at the Dept of Foreign Affairs on St Stephen’s Green.

At least 2000 people marched from the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin city centre today, to call for an end to the violence in Gaza.

Marchers chanted, “free Palestine, free Gaza,” while protestors carried signs which read ‘Stop the slaughter, end the siege’, ‘boycott Israel’, ‘Obama could stop this with one phone call’, ‘boycott and Israel goods stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.’

Sinn Fein Cllr Chris Andrews and Sinn Fein MEP Lynn Boylan were among those who led the march, carrying a banner which read ‘end the siege of Gaza.’

Fliers were handed out calling on people to boycott Israeli goods.

Thousands of people are taking to the streets across Ireland today, to call for an end to the violence in Gaza.

This is the fourth Saturday in a row that the protests have been held.

It is organised by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) and supported by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, SIPTU, Trade Union Friends of Palestine, Gaza Action Ireland, TEEU (The Power Union), Academics for Palestine, Irish Anti-War Movement, Sadaka – The Ireland Palestine Alliance and the Peace and Neutrality Alliance.

Protests will also be held in other towns and cities including Cork, Derry, Limerick, Galway, Armagh, Killarney, Clomel, Nenagh, Bundoran, Ennis and Sligo.

IPSC national coordinator Kevin Squires said: “The Minister for Foreign Affairs has made it clear that Ireland will not support any meaningful concrete action aimed at ending either the Israeli onslaught on Gaza or Israeli impunity in general.

“We find this very disappointing, as Ireland has supported sanctions on other countries in the past, so why not Israel? Therefore we are asking people to join us in bringing our anger to the government and demand they take action that will help end Israel’s occupation and serial violations of international law.”

Mr Squires said the IPSC wants the Government to call for the suspension of Israel from the Euro-Med Agreement, for an international and EU arms embargo on Israel, to enact legislation to ban the importation of Israeli goods, and to expel the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland.

Mr Squires also urged people to join the growing Boycott Israel movement,

“Many businesses, notably The Exchequer bar in Dublin, and the whole town of Kinvara have pledged to boycott Israeli products. The trade union of retail workers, Mandate, has called on shops not to sell Israeli goods and last night Irish rugby legend Gordon D’Arcy tweeted his support for the boycott campaign.”

Since fighting began on July 8th, more than 1,650 Palestinians — mostly civilians – have been killed and more than 8,000 wounded, according to al-Kidra. Israel has lost 63 soldiers and three civilians, its highest death toll since the 2006 Lebanon war.

A march for suicide prevention & mental health held in Dublin

  

Young people call on Government to re-instate enough funding for mental health services. 

Dozens marched in Dublin this afternoon to call for increased funding for mental health services.

More than 40 young people joined a march in Dublin City Centre today calling for increased funding for mental health services.

One of the march organisers, Jamie Harrington (16), said he had been prompted to get involved after two of his friends died by suicide. He volunteers with TeenLine Ireland, a part-time phone service which had its funding cut earlier this year.

“This country has a huge problem with suicide and people taking their own lives unneccessarily. We’re here today to say you’re not alone,” he said.

Luke Clerkin (22) co organiser of the march said Action For Suicide Prevention Dublin will continue to hold protests against cuts to mental health services.

Both Mr Harrington and Mr Clerkin said they have battled with depression in the past but have managed to overcome it.

“We want to make sure the Government know that so many people are suffering with mental health problems and that Teenline is a vital service. Most people will have to deal with mental health issue at some stage in their life so we need to ensure that the funding for mental health services isn’t cut,” Mr Clerkin said.

Linda Arnold, a parent who had come up from Mullingar, said the Governmentis ignoring a “whole generation of young people”.

“Our President Michael Higgins is a patron of Console Ireland and I find it offensive that the adults in our Government are not taking care of our teenagers,” she said.

“All behaviour is learned and if the young people here today have to learn that walking the streets is the only way they can get funding while the Government lines the pockets of bondholders overseas, then there’s something seriously wrong.”

Irish Helplines: Samaritans (samaritans.org), 1850 609090

Pieta House (pieta.ie), centre for prevention of self-harm or suicide, 01- 601 0000

Console (console.ie), national suicide prevention and bereavement charity, 1800 201890

Aware (aware.ie), helping people with depression and concerned family members and friends, 1890 303302 and Teenline (teenline.ie), 1800 833 634

CONNACHT’S FIRST DISTILLERY TO OPEN IN OVER 100 YEARS

 

Mayo will open it’s  first whiskey distillery in over 100 years in Lahardane which will become the home of the Nephin Irish Whiskey brand which was created by Paul and Jude Davis a husband and wife team whose aim is to have the distillery up and running in the next year . The Whiskey is described as a distilled Peated Single Malt Whiskey.

Paul explains the reasons for choosing the Lahardane area  as the prefect location to make whiskey and what make this whiskey different to other whiskey’s produced in Ireland ,“The location is one of the best in Mayo and probably in Ireland because it is situated between Nephin and Lough Conn and that is a perfect situation. To me this is the best location, you could not ask for better. What we do differently is that we will produce peated whiskey where in Ireland you would not normally use peat to dry the barley. They would not have used coal or gas 150 years ago but we are going back to that traditional side.

Paul went on to explain that he was been working closely with ex-distillers from alcohol giant Diageo who will advise them on putting in a ‘state of the art distillery’ as paul hasn’t a background in the alcohol industry, their expertise are a vital component to the company success.  The distillery will be located in the heart of the village near Barrett’s shop and as well as distilling whiskey Paul envisages the plant being part of the north Mayo tourist trail which he believes can attract up to 40,000 visitors per year to the area.

He hopes to create 18 full time jobs and believes the business has a huge growth potential. Planning for the distillery has not been approved but Paul explained that investment in the region of €3 to €4 million has been lined up by international investors with links to the county. The project involves the renovation of several vacant buildings in the village, including a stone granary from the 1800s.

Paul says, will be targeted at the international market with an emphasis on the United States and will be a long term venture. “We will be targeting the premium and super premium side of the market but we will look to use the Mayo links abroad with the States being the premium market place. We will be using different flavours such as heather and gorse because we feel that flavour is more important now than before.

An Taoiseach Enda Kenny will officially launch Nephin Irish Whiskey  in Murphy’s Bar in Lahardane next Monday at 3pm.

Testosterone levels fell with the emergence of modern-man traits.

  

A new research has found that the emergence of modern society caused the fall in the levels of male reproductive hormone testosterone.

According to scientists, the first Homo sapiens appeared 200,000 years ago but they picked up traits such as language, cave painting, economic trade and hunting after 500 centuries.

For the study, about 1,400 ancient skulls were examined by the researchers. A total of 13 skulls were more than 80,000 years old, 41 were between the age of 10,000 and 38,000 and 1,367 skulls from various modern groups of people.

The researchers claimed that the reduction of testosterone however proved a blessing a disguise for humans as it allowed them to cooperate more and became less aggressive. This helped the people in developing new tools and arts.

Robert Cieri of the University of Utah says that the cooperation helped in cultural exchange and technological innovation.

The shape and size of the skulls were used by the researchers to estimate the relative levels of testosterone. Human heads get rounder as the eyebrow ridges receded. The researchers, however, failed to explain r whether it was the testosterone levels that decreased or whether the humans had less testosterone receptors as they started to develop.

The researchers observed the levels of the hormone to affect social interactions in primates, our closest cousins. The study showed that testosterone surges in male chimpanzees during puberty while it remained low in bonobos.

Under stress, a chimp releases more testosterone while a bonobo releases the stress hormone cortisol. In chimpanzees, social interaction are estimated to be violent than in bonobos the brow ridges are larger in chimps than in bonobos. The findings of the study are published in the journal Current Anthropology.

Umami ‘could help people to lose weight’

  

UMAMI IS THE CHEMICAL GLUTAMATE, A PROTEIN FOUND IN MEAT AND OTHER SAVOURY FOODS SUCH AS MARMITE, WHICH GIVES FOOD ITS TASTINESS

Scientists claim the flavour that gives food its “deliciousness” could help with weight loss and regulating appetite.

Umami, which means delicious in Japanese, is recognised as the fifth sense of taste – the others being sweet, salty, sour and bitter – and helps people to fill full, according to new research from the University of Sussex.

It is the chemical glutamate, a protein found in meat and other savoury foods such as Marmite, parmesan and shiitake mushrooms, which gives food its tastiness, a spokeswoman said.

Professor Martin Yeomans, who was involved in the study based on the psychology research of Dr Una Masic, said: “We know from past research, including previous work at Sussex, that foods with a high protein content tend to satisfy your appetite better than carbohydrate and fat-rich foods.

“So if protein is satisfying, and umami signals the presence of protein; in this study we asked whether the presence of the umami taste itself reduced subsequent appetite.”

The research, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, looked at the effects of two common food additives on levels of hunger: monosodium glutamate (MSG) and inosine monophosphate (IMP), which are known to produce the flavour of umami.

They were added to both a low-energy version of a spiced carrot soup and the same soup with energy added covertly as a mixture of protein and carbohydrate.

Dr Masic then tested how hungry 26 healthy volunteers felt and how much they consumed at a later meal.

The soups enhanced with the umami-taste were found to reduce the amount subsequently eaten by participants when compared to the same soup without added umami, tests suggested.

Those who ate the umami soup also did not feel hungrier as a consequence of eating less, the university spokeswoman said.

The effects of umami proved stronger when consumed in the higher-energy soup which suggested that umami-enriched foods may help people with weight concerns to regulate their appetite.  

Donie's all Ireland news BLOG by Donie

EU commission release an additional €1.7bn in loans to Irish Government under bailout scheme

  

The EU commission have now cleared the release of another €1.7 billion in emergency loans to the Government under the bailout scheme.

The disbursement brings to some €36.7 billion the total amount of European loans released to Ireland since the EU-IMF-ECB programme began in late 2010.

The latest payment includes €1 billion from the funding stream controlled by the European Financial Stability Facility, owned by euro-zone countries, and the European Financial Stability Mechanism, which is operated by the EU Commission.

A further €700 million comes from the bilateral loan scheme through which Britain, Sweden and Denmark are contributing to the bailout.

The latest payments follow the summer review of the Ireland’s bailout performance by the EU-IMF-ECB “troika” which was carried out in July.

That review, which went to finance ministers last weekend, found the programme is on track despite a challenging domestic and external backdrop.

The commission’s report, details of which were published last month by The Irish Times, said downside risks to the programme have increased, mainly due to “growing headwinds” in the economies of Ireland’s main trading partners. It called for “better targeting of the social support schemes” and said there should be a “further broadening of the tax base”.

This would help mitigate the adverse impact of the necessary consolidation on growth and the most vulnerable, it added.

“More needs to be done to alleviate or eliminate work disincentives and unemployment traps caused by some features of Ireland’s benefits system (eg, the broadly flat and open-ended unemployment benefits that do not diminish with the duration of the unemployment spell) and the recent move to de-couple housing support from unemployment status should be further advanced.”

However, the Commission said growth would depend in the near-to-medium term on export demand and performance.

Asylum children in refugee centres in Ireland ‘in extreme poverty’

 

An asylum-seeker pictured in the Globe House reception centre in Sligo.

A damning report on the plight of children in the State’s asylum process suggests many families are living in circumstances of extreme poverty in overcrowded accommodation with inadequate food.

The report, published today by the Irish Refugee Council (IRC), paints a grim picture of the State’s system for accommodating asylum seekers, known as direct provision.

It documented frequent instances of malnutrition among children and expectant mothers as well as illnesses related to diet among babies and young children.

The study, which reviewed the provision of direct accommodation in Ireland over the past decade, highlighted cases of weight loss among children and hunger among adults because of strict family rationing.

In one case, a reception centre in Co Mayo stipulated that once a child reached six months, no more baby or toddler foods would be provided and the children would only be supplied with food “consistent with the rest of the residents”.

The report found that, in many instances, asylum-seekers and their families were subject to severe levels of overcrowding, with many families confined to single rooms for long periods. In one case, a family of five was confined to single room, with three children made to sleep in one bed, despite repeated complaints.

Irish scientists invent technology (nano-science) to keep the fizz in our beer

  

Irish scientists invent technology to keep the fizz in beer

Multinational brewing company SABMiller is to invest in a project at Trinity College Dublin’s CRANN that will see nanoscience used to develop a new material to prolong the shelf life of beer in plastic bottles.

The project, led by Prof Jonathan Coleman and his team at CRANN, have used nanoscience to create a new material that when added to plastic bottles makes them extremely impervious.

As a result, oxygen cannot enter and neither can carbon dioxide escape – as a result preserving the taste and fizz.

The team will exfoliate nano-sheets of boron nitride, each with a thickness of about 50,000 times thinner than one human hair. These nano-sheets will be mixed with plastic, which will result in a material that is extremely impervious to gas molecules. The molecules will be unable to diffuse through the material and shelf life will be increased.

As well as increasing the shelf life of the beer itself, less material is required in production, reducing cost and environmental impact.

The technique has been published in the journal Science.

IRELAND IS SIXTH IN THE WORLD FOR NANO-SCIENCE

“This partnership with SABMiller highlights the applicability of nanoscience and its relevance to everyday products,” Dr Diarmuid O’Brien, executive director, CRANN, explained.

“Improving every consumables, from our lighting, our cars, our electronic devices, medicines, clothing, and food and drink, is being researched by nanoscientists worldwide. Ireland is amongst the world leaders in this area, ranked sixth globally for materials science.

“Because of the work like that of Prof Coleman and his peers, last year CRANN received over €5m in non-Exchequer funding to progress research projects. Companies worldwide, like SABMiller, are taking notice. We are delighted to partner on this exciting project and look forward to its results,” O’Brien said.

Ireland’s children’s referendum now set for November 10th 2012

  

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister for Jobs Richard Bruton on their way to a Jobs announcement for Electronic Arts in Galway today.

Mr Kenny told the Dail this afternoon the wording of the Children?s Referendum would be published tomorrow.

The children’s referendum will be held on Saturday, November 10th, the Taoiseach told the Dáil today.

Enda Kenny told the House he would announce the wording of the referendum tomorrow and also name the Referendum Commission chair.

He said he would brief Opposition leaders tomorrow in advance of the wording being published.

Mr Kenny said Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald would also publish the Adoption Amendment Bill tomorrow

The Taoiseach said the Government was “committed to ensuring the Irish people have all the information they need to make an informed decision”.

He said the Referendum Commission would be well-resourced. “The protection of children is an issue that concerns us all,” he said. “Numerous reports over many years have called for dedicated constitutional provisions for children.”

Mr Kenny said the referendum proposals, when combined with other reforms to improve child protection and welfare services, represented an historic step forward. He pointed out that there had been good co-operation on a cross-party basis about the issue over many years.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said the Taoiseach should have consulted the Opposition before making the announcement. It would have been “common courtesy”, Mr Martin said, particularly on an issue pertaining to the amendment of the Constitution and it was “proper parliamentary procedure”.

Meanwhile, Ms Fitzgerald said the referendum would be one of the most significant in the history of the State.

“I am very pleased by the decision of Government to hold this historic referendum on a Saturday,” she said in a statement..

“This referendum proposes a child-centred change to our Constitution and I think it is only right that we are taking a similar, child-centred approach to the holding of a Referendum, by naming a Saturday as polling date.”

‘Clear & robust’ wording is needed on Ireland’s children’s rights amendment

   

Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald.

The proposed children’s rights amendment to the Constitution will be “a strong robust article designed to enhance the constitutional protection of children from abusive situations”, Government sources said last night.

The wording agreed at Cabinet yesterday – and to be announced today – would, if approved by the electorate, “provide a clear instruction to judges from the Constitution to place a much greater focus on children”.

This would particularly include “the interests of children in cases that affect the critical elements of their lives”.

The referendum will take place on Saturday, November 10th, when, as usual, much of the balloting throughout the State will take place on school premises.

“It means children don’t have to be taken out of school,” a Government source said.

The wording is to be based on the “core principles” of the text published by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children in February 2010. In particular, it is expected to contain five elements in a single article. The first would recognise the natural and imprescriptible rights of children.

The second would be similar to the current article 42.5, which the amendment proposes to delete, relating to the State supplying the role of the family in exceptional cases. It is expected to contain a form of words making clear this intervention can take place irrespective of parents’ marital status.

The third element is likely to provide for the adoption of children whose parents, again irrespective of marital status, have failed for a period of time prescribed by law in their responsibility. It will also allow for voluntary placement for adoption, meaning married parents can consent for the first time to having their children placed for adoption.

The fourth part is expected to say the best interests of the child must be a “paramount” consideration in judicial and custody proceedings. The fifth element is expected to say that in such proceedings the views of children must be heard and taken into account, having regard to the child’s age and maturity.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald will brief Opposition leaders on the wording in meetings this morning, with a view to achieving all-party consensus.

Fianna Fáil spokesman on children Robert Troy said: “We are still waiting to see the exact wording of the changes proposed for the Constitution, but I welcome the fact that there are indications that the wording will be along the lines of that agreed by the all-party committee during the last Dáil.”

Sinn Féin’s Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said his party was “disappointed we did not have prior sight and a longer opportunity to evaluate the Government’s proposed wording”. However, Government sources said changes could be proposed in the Oireachtas debate on the legislation.

A Good night’s sleep is important & can help you to lose weight

  

Getting a good night’s sleep is just as important as diet and exercise when trying to lose weight, Canadian scientists have claimed.

There is a growing body of evidence that a lack of sleep enhances hunger signals in the brain and increases levels of hormones which affect our appetite, causing us to eat more

A variety of studies suggest that getting at least seven hours’ sleep every night can significantly improve the chance of losing weight while on a diet.

There is a growing body of evidence that a lack of sleep enhances hunger signals in the brain and increases levels of hormones which affect our appetite, causing us to eat more.

Writing in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers said sleeping habits ought to be addressed along with diet and physical exercise in programmes designed to help obese people lose weight.

In one recent experiment, they found that people who shifted their sleeping pattern from less than six hours to between seven and eight hours a night put on 2.4kg less weight over a six-year period.

  A shorter 17-week study of 123 overweight and obese people showed that people who slept for longer and had a higher quality of sleep were more likely to become slimmer while on a diet.

In another recent study by a separate team, participants were allowed to sleep for either five and a half or eight and a half hours each night for two weeks, while eating a low-fat diet.

The experiment showed that the lower amount of sleep resulted in stress which caused participants to burn off muscle while storing their body fat.

Compared with those who slept for eight and a half hours each night, the sleep-deprived group lost 55 per cent less body fat and 60 per cent more muscle over the two week period.

The researchers, from the Eastern Ontario Research Institute and Laval University in Quebec, wrote: “An accumulating body of evidence suggests that sleeping habits should not be overlooked when prescribing a weight-reduction program to a patient with obesity.

“Sleep should be included as part of the lifestyle package that traditionally has focused on diet and physical activity.”

Further research should identify the causes which prevent us getting a full night’s rest, such as watching television in the evening, they added.