New Tánaiste Burton aims to reform tax system to ‘incentivise people to work’
JOAN BURTON, WHO HAS BEEN APPOINTED TÁNAISTE AFTER EASILY WINNING THE LABOUR PARTY LEADERSHIP ELECTION, WILL FOCUS ON REFORMING THE TAX SYSTEM TO MAKE WORK MORE WORTHWHILE FOR LOW- AND MIDDLE-INCOME EARNERS, ACCORDING TO PARTY SOURCES.
Joan Burton will begin talks on next Monday morning with Taoiseach Enda Kenny on renewed priorities for the remainder of the Coalition’s term of office.
The Taoiseach and the new Tánaiste spoke by telephone yesterday evening following her election and reaffirmed their commitment to the Government seeing out its full term until the spring of 2016.
She defeated Minister of State Alex White by 2,094 votes to 607in a ballot of Labour members for party leader. In the contest for deputy leader, Tipperary TD and Minister of State for Transport Alan Kelly won with more than 51 per cent of the vote and said he expected to be appointed to Cabinet.
M/s Burton yesterday emphasised her belief that the Government must now focus on social as well as economic recovery.
A key aspect of this will be a “streamlining” of the tax system, which had been built up on an “ad hoc” basis during the economic crisis with the addition of levies and the Universal Social Charge. Although yet to outline specifics, the new Labour leader would like to simplify the system to “incentivise people to work”, according to sources.
“We can’t do it all in 21 months but we can make a start on reforming the tax system to remove some of the obstacles and cliffs people face when taking up work,” a source said.
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has already spoken of changing the tax bands to take middle-income earners out of the higher tax bracket, so there is already common ground between Labour and Fine Gael.
Housing supply
M/s Burton also said that increasing the housing supply, by both public and private means, was a priority, and recent ideas from the National Economic and Social Council on increasing affordable housing from off balance-sheet funding are likely to be used.
She also laid emphasis on increased living standards, saying she will “strongly make the case for a low-pay commission” to advise the Government on adequate levels of pay.
Fine Gael figures last night said they did not see a problem with such an idea but they expressed serious doubts about giving up the Jobs and Enterprise portfolio to Labour.
Jobs platform
One Fine Gael source emphasised, however, that the party will be aiming to fight the next election on a platform of jobs and the economy. “Keeping the Department of Jobs is crucial to being able to do that,” he said.
The Fine Gael source said a low-pay commission to examine the minimum wage, if not handled carefully, could undo much of the Government’s job creation programme.
One of the key issues for M/s Burton is whether her priority is to win the European commissioner post for former leader Eamon Gilmore or whether she places greater emphasis on her ambition to get the Jobs and Enterprise portfolio for Labour.
It is understood the new deputy Labour leader would like to be take this post.
The Tánaiste is expected to promote a woman to the Cabinet and junior minister Kathleen Lynch is widely tipped for that role.
MEANWHILE:-
Joan Burton takes office as new Tánaiste and calls for a low-pay commission
New Labour Party leader also seeks examination of minimum wage and affordable housing
TÁNAISTE JOAN BURTON, THE NEW LEADER OF THE LABOUR PARTY,
Newly-elected Labour leader Joan Burton took office as Tánaiste last evening with an immediate call for a low-pay commission to examine the minimum wage and for a big social and affordable housing programme.
Ms Burton said she spoke with Taoiseach Enda Kenny by phone from the parlour of the Mansion House in Dublin after she was declared winner of the Labour leadership contest with some 77 per cent of the vote.
Mr Kenny appointed her Tánaiste at that point and they arranged to meet early next Monday to discuss the Cabinet reshuffle and the work of the Government for the remainder of its mandate.
At a press conference later in the Royal College of Physicians, Ms Burton offered no guidance as to who she would bring into Cabinet. She also made the point that her predecessor, Eamon Gilmore, was “eminently qualified” to become Ireland’s next European Commissioner.
M/s Burton told reporters that Labour had focused relentlessly on economic repair since taking power with Fine Gael and “governed perhaps too much with the head and not enough with the heart”.
Her task was to put that right by governing with “head and heart in balance” with an equal emphasis on social as well as economic repair.
“When I being talks with the Taoiseach about a renewed set of policy priorities for the Government, I will strongly make the case for a low-pay commission – an independent body to advise on the appropriate level of the minimum wage and related matters,” she said.
“By taking the politics out of low pay, we will ensure that there will be no more attacks on low-paid workers to suit the demands of the comfortable.”
Saying she also wished to broaden the tax base to put it on a sustainable foundation, Ms Burton such work would gradually allow a reform of income tax for low and middle-income workers.
“As leader, I intend to drive an ambitious programme of social and affordable housing.”
Asked whether she would open the door for former Labour TDs such as Róisín Shortall and former councillors to return to the party, Ms Burton said they could apply to rejoin but would have to follow party policy.
Ms Burton was years a critic of the Economic Management Council (EMC) at which Mr Kenny set the thrust of fiscal policy with Mr Gilmore, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin.
Asked whether she get rid of the EMC, Ms Burton said he had not made any decisions as yet but said the council should have greater input and perspective from big spending departments such as social protection, health and education.
ASH Ireland welcomes new move on nicotine replacement therapy
ASH Ireland has welcomed the announcement by the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) — formerly the IMB — that nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) will be now become available on general sale.
This wider availability of NRT outside of pharmacies should be of assistance to smokers who wish to quit, both in respect to greater availability and reduced cost, which hopefully will now emerge, it added.
The HPRA’s decision to switch Nicorette NRT from ‘Pharmacy Only Status’ to ‘General Sale Status’, follows an application from the authorisation holder. This will be the first NRT product range available for general sale in Ireland. It is anticipated that the products within this range will become available on general sale in retailers in Ireland from later this year — late August or early September, the Authority added.
The decision follows a detailed assessment of the safety and efficacy of several NRT products that have been available in non-pharmacy outlets in other EU countries for some time.
Chief Executive of the HPRA Pat O’Mahony said the switching of NRT products to general sale status was aligned with the Authority’s policy to make healthcare products available at the most convenient point of access for people, where it is safe to do so.
“NRT products have been in use since the late ’70s and are a well-established treatment for smoking cessation. We have reviewed supporting evidence and experience of NRT use; this includes experience of other EU countries and we are satisfied that it is appropriate to classify them for general sale in Ireland.”
NRT medicines in various forms including gums, oral lozenges, inhalers and patches will be on sale in retail outlets such as grocery shops in the near future. NRT medicines will also continue to be available in pharmacies.
Consumers must be aged 18 to purchase NRT medicines from retail and grocery outlets and could be asked for proof of age at the time of purchase.
The HPRA advises that the product information for NRT medicines will continue to recommend that pregnant or breastfeeding women and those with heart, circulatory or stomach problems should seek the advice of a healthcare professional before taking NRT medicines.
TV now gives children a bad example of values on food
Unhealthy food choices that carry bad consequences in real life are shown in a positive light by television programs aimed at children, an analysis of broadcast output has found.
The research, into TV shown to kids in England and Ireland, has been published in the BMJ journal Archives of Disease in Childhood.
Of all the programming watched by the children, just under 40% of it originated from the US. Almost all of the food and drink “cues” were presented by positive characters – the goodies:
1 In a positive light in 1 in 3 instances (32.6%)
2 Portrayed negatively on almost 1 in 5 occasions (19.8%)
3 Neutrally in about half of instances (47.5%).
Some 1,155 food and beverage cues were recorded in total in this largely positive framing, but the placements were usually bad examples for health, say the authors:
“Unhealthy foods, such as sweet snacks and candy, accounted for 47.5% of all food-specific placements, and sugar-sweetened beverages accounted for 25% of all beverage-specific placements.”
Whenever food or drink formed part of the children’s television content, usually it:
- Was outside the home and not part of a meal
- Involved “non-overweight human characters, most commonly a white adult male playing a major role within the program plot.”
Contexts for food and beverage depictions were most often social or celebratory (25.2%). Hunger or thirst was almost as frequent (25.0%), and only 2% of “motivations” were health-related.
The food and drink appearances made up 4.8% of the total broadcast material, and averaged 13.2 seconds for each cue.
‘Not helpful or accurate’
Professor Colum Dunne, co-author and director of research at the University of Limerick’s Graduate Entry Medical School in Ireland, says: “Over 90% of characters were not overweight, despite consuming unhealthy products.
“This is not a helpful or accurate portrayal of current Irish or UK populations, where overweight and obesity are prevalent and increasingly problematic.”
Lead author Prof. Clodagh O’Gorman adds: “While there is a clear link between exposure to advertising of unhealthy foods and their consumption in young children, the impact of unhealthy food/drink content in TV programs aimed at children, is not clear.
Prof. Clodagh O’Gorman says: “While there is a clear link between exposure to advertising of unhealthy foods and their consumption in young children, the impact of unhealthy food/drink content in TV programs aimed at children, is not clear.”
“Eating and drinking are common activities within children-specific programming, with unhealthy foods and beverages especially common and frequently associated with positive motivating factors, and seldom seen with negative outcomes.”
The research, the authors say, adds to a small number of studies that have examined the issue, which “have largely been based on prime-time viewing in the US, and not on children-specific programming.”
Results of the previous US research show that sugary and low-nutrient foods and beverages represent up to 60% of all cues in prime-time TV. Other US findings cited by the present paper include:
- Over two-thirds of movies contained at least one food, beverage or food retail establishment
- There were more brand placements in movies for younger children than for other age groups.
Another previous US study “showed that unhealthy food with high fat or sugar was significantly more prevalent in youth-oriented shows than in adult-oriented shows.”
The paper is full of stats – here is another indictment: “Disney channels show 16.6 food and beverage scenes per hour, contrasted with 6 to 9 on prime-time programming.”
The authors conclude that future children’s television programs should address the issue “by including frequent and positively associated connotations with healthy foods and behaviors.”
Industry and government action is limited
Hundreds of corporations, from Burger King to PepsiCo, have signed up to an industry codeon TV advertising aimed at children. The initiative is designed to “shift the mix of foods advertised to children under 12 to encourage healthier dietary choices and healthy lifestyles” – but is not compulsory and governs only advertising, not programming content.
The US Federal Communications Commission issued a notice of inquiry, “Empowering parents and protecting children in an evolving media landscape” – but nor does this deal with programming content, focusing instead on control over advertisers.
The power of TV programs is well-established, however – including having the ability to influence children positively. For example, TV shows can improve behavior among children – the February 2013 study in Pediatrics found that children can imitate good as well as bad behavior seen on television. The intervention group in the trial showed less aggression and an overall increase in pro-social behavior.
It is not just the influence of what is being shown on TV that affects children – the physical act of watching TV can itself be unhealthy.
There was news in June 2013 of research that concluded bedroom TVs were associated with childhood obesity. “A bedroom TV may create additional disruptions to healthy habits, above and beyond regular TV viewing,” said one of the authors of the paper published in theAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine.
GOOGLE IS EASILY THE MOST POPULAR SEARCH ENGINE,
BUT HAVE YOU HEARD WHO IS IN SECOND PLACE
According to Net Market share, Google is the world’s most popular search engine. No shocker there, but you have probably never heard of the search engine that’s in second place.
It’s called Baidu, and it’s from China. Though Baidu isn’t exactly a household name here in the U.S., it’s pretty big. In fact, the company is even referred to as “China’s Google.”
As of this past June, Google occupies 68.75 percent of the global search engine pie. Baidu is a distant second, carving out 18.03 percent for itself. That’s more than Yahoo and Bing combined. Yahoo holds third place as of June, with 6.73 percent. Bing trails it, eating up only 5.55 percent of the global search engine market, as of last month.
On top of that, Baidu’s share has consistently grown in recent months, Net Marketshare’s data indicates. For instance, back in March, its share was rated at 16.77 percent. Fast forward to June, and that number has risen, without any drops in between, to 18.03. That’s a growth rate of almost 1.3 percent from March to June – not bad at all, considering that Baidu’s competition consists of some of the biggest tech and web companies in the history of the world. Plus, their U.S. penetration is likely close to nil at this point.
Though Baidu is the search engine of choice for many Chinese people, the company has made moves to woo the interest of English speaking developers. Back in 2013, Baidu launched an English-language site tailored towards devs. They have even hired people away from Google, like Andrew Ng, the company’s former head of artificial intelligence. Though Google’s search engine share easily trumps Baidu’s at this point, could we someday be saying “Baidu it,” instead?
That doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as well though, does it?
Here’s how you can see the first White Tailed Sea Eagles born in Ireland in over a century
THE NEW VIEWING POINT IN COUNTY CLARE ALLOWS THE PUBLIC VIEW THESE MAGNIFICENT BIRDS WITHOUT DISTURBING THEM.
The first white Tailed Sea Eagles born in Ireland in over a century can now be viewed by the public in a new viewing and information point launched in County Clare.
In 2011, the Mountshannon breeding pair, a six-year-old male and five-year-old female, were collected as chicks on the island of Frøya off the west coast of Norway by the Golden Eagle Trust.
The birds were released in Killarney National Park before relocating to Lough Derg in 2011.
The pair, named Saoirse and Caimin, created history in 2013 when they reared the first chicks to fly from a nest in Ireland in 110 years. The pair successfully hatched another chick in late April of this year.
The new viewing and information point officially opened on the shores of Lough Derg today in County Clare.
Located at Mountshannon Pier and operated by Mountshannon Community Council, the Golden Eagle Trust and Clare County Council, the new viewing point features telescopes and information and displays about the White Tailed Sea Eagles.
The facility will remain open until the end of September.
Norway’s Ambassador to Ireland, Roald Næss joined Mayor of Clare Councillor John Crowe in Mountshannon today as his country has been closely linked with the Golden Eagle Trust’s programme who are helping to reintroduce the bird to Ireland.
Mayor of Clare John Crowe said the viewing point is a great way for the public to view the birds without disturbing them.
He said the new viewing point “will help to further safeguard these impressive birds and their nesting activities, as well as to promote their ecology and conservation”.
Norwegian Ambassador to Ireland, Roald Næss said:
Norway is home to one of the largest White Tailed Sea Eagle populations in the world and has been instrumental in helping organisations such as the Golden Eagle Trust to reintroduce the species to countries where the bird once flourished but is no longer found. Being able to view this breeding pair thrive here in County Clare is a tribute to everyone concerned and I hope the people who visit this viewing point truly value what is happening here.
Dr. Allan Mee, White Tailed Sea Eagle project manager said having a nesting pair of eagles “here on our doorstep is a unique and one that the local community in Mountshannon will I’m sure help nurture into the future”.
