Donie' Ireland daily news BLOG

Repaying most of Ireland’s IMF debt early will save the State €2.1bn Euros interest

   

Finance Minister Michael Noonan has previously said the deal would save taxpayers about €1.5bn over a five to seven year period.

Repaying the bulk of Ireland’s IMF debt early will save the state €2.1bn in interest payments, the troika has said.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan has previously said the deal would save taxpayers about €1.5bn over a five to seven year period.

But a document prepared by the troika said that if Ireland was to repay €18.3bn between the end of this year and next year in three equal tranches, the interest saving would equate to €2.1bn.

“IN light of currently very favourable market conditions, an early repayment of IMF credit can generate significant savings on government interest expenditure for the Irish sovereign,” the document states.

It also said that the early repayment of the IMF debt would measurably improve the sustainability of Ireland’s public finances.

The deal was approved by Europe’s other 27 Finance Ministers at a meeting in Milan earlier this month.

But it warned any improvement in the debt position would be diminished by using the savings to boost spending or cut taxes.

Credit union alliance with post offices gives hope to Ireland’s villages

  

A COMBINED LOANS TRIAL IS THE FIRST STEP IN A NEW FINANCIAL SERVICES ALLIANCE.

The plan has the potential to revitalise both organisations and could breathe new life into smaller towns and villages around the country.

The Credit unions and post offices are forging an alliance which will help secure their futures and present a viable alternative to banks in local communities.

The plan has the potential to revitalise both organisations and could breathe new life into smaller towns and villages around the country.

A trial in Limerick will see post offices and credit unions jointly offer small loans for the first time. The funds will be provided by credit unions with money available through post offices.

If the initiative gets rolled out nationally, it will be the first step towards a stronger alliance, with plans for a wider pooling of services nationwide.

The deal could lead to the possibility of credit unions taking over post offices in rural towns.

Such a third force would help offset the effect on communities of bank branch closures, emigration and the closure of hundreds of pubs and shops that were once the heart of village life.

An Post, the Irish League of Credit Unions and the Irish Postmasters’ Union all said they were in favour of the coming together of credit unions and the State post office network to offer financial services.

Such a move would counter the contraction of banks’ branch networks, and provide a boost to credit unions and post offices, as both bodies are under pressure in rural areas.

Banking expert Professor Ray Kinsella told an Irish Postmasters’ Union conference recently that an alliance between the post office network and the credit unions could provide a radical new model for delivering financial services.

“Together they could provide social and community-focused banking, greater competition and also strengthen a domestic banking sector that is still in crisis,” he said.

The Irish Independent has learned that six credit unions and 15 post offices in Limerick are seeking permission to launch a trial to offer loans of up to €1,000 to jobseekers.

The aim of this plan is to steer low-income groups away from moneylenders.

A spokesman for the Irish League of Credit Unions said the initiative was at an early stage. But he stressed other areas where the two bodies can pool their offerings are being explored.

“The participating credit unions in Limerick and An Post are also examining whether there may be common ground to explore other methods of cooperation, which would offer mutual benefit.”

The spokesman added that credit unions were now looking at a number of other areas where co-operation can be fostered nationwide. The proposals include:

Credit unions using An Post’s Post Point terminals to offer members a range of bill-paying services.

An Post accepting cash lodgements and loan repayments from credit unions members.

Seeing if post offices could be housed in credit unions, and vice versa, in certain circumstances.

Loans offered from cash-rich credit unions via post offices.

The proposals would be implemented on a phased basis over the next year, following pilot projects. There are 386 credit unions in the State but they are under pressure due to low demand for loans, despite being flush with cash, and strict new regulatory rules.

They are also grappling with loan arrears and they are under pressure to perform mass mergers across the sector in order to bulk them up.

There are 1,100 post offices, but they are overly-dependent on processing social welfare payments to make an income.

The planned link-up between six credit unions and 15 post offices in Limerick involves allowing people on social welfare access to loans worth up to €1,000 each.

The funds would be provided by the credit unions, but loans would be granted through the post offices.

To get a loan people would have to sign up to An Post’s household budget scheme, and make repayments weekly.

This scheme allows people to pay regular amounts towards household bills, deducted from social welfare payments.

The idea is to give families on low incomes cheap access to small amounts of credit for the likes of Christmas and communions.

The Department of Social Protection told the Irish Independent it was happy to consider any proposal that progresses financial inclusion.

“Such a proposal would also have to be examined for compatibility with the existing legislation that governs the household budgeting scheme and any implications for modification thereto considered.”

Irish property prices up 14.9% this year to August

 

NEW CSO FIGURES SHOW THAT IRISH RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY PRICES ARE NOW 14.9% HIGHER THIS YEAR THAN IN AUGUST 2013

Residential property prices increased again last month, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office.

The CSO figures show that national prices were 14.9% higher in August compared to August 2013 – the 15th annual increase in a row.

Residential prices across the country rose by 2.3% in the month of August compared to July.

Dublin saw property price increases of 3.5% in the month, while they were 25.1% higher than a year ago.

In the rest of the country, prices rose by 0.8% in August on a monthly basis, while they were 5.6% higher than this time last year.

The CSO said that Dublin house prices rose by 3.5% in the month of August, and were 24.7% higher compared to the same month last year.

It also noted that Dublin apartment prices were 32.6% higher on an annual basis, but it added that apartment transactions are based on low volume levels and therefore suffer from greater volatility.

Today’s figures show that house prices in Dublin are more than 39% lower than at the peak of the market at the start of 2007. Dublin apartments are 45.8% lower than their 2007 peak.

The price of residential properties outside of Dublin are 44.6% lower than their highest level in September 2007.

Today’s CSO figures are based on mortgage draw-downs and do not include cash transactions.

But they show that the number of transactions increased markedly over the past year. Between January and July 2013, 11,800 houses and apartments changed hands. During the same time this year there were almost 20,000 transactions.

Alan McQuaid, chief economist with Merrion, said August’s numbers represented the 15th annual increase in a row.

He pointed out that the underlying housing market was a lot more robust than the official data would suggest as the figures are based solely on mortgage draw-downs.

“Although cash sales are not as high now compared with the start of the year, they are still significant, with three to four of every ten transactions a cash purchase,” he said.

“The generally improving economic backdrop should help to sustain the house price recovery in the short-term even with limited credit availability for potential buyers.”

“Longer-term, however, the flow of credit needs to be a lot higher than it is now. Following an average increase of 1.8% in house prices last year, we are now looking for an increase of around 13.5% in 2014.”

Conall Mac Coille, chief economist with Davy, said there appeared to be little evidence that the recovery in Irish house prices was abating.

He pointed out, however, that the market was exceptionally illiquid with just 15,688 residential property market transactions in the first half of 2014, comprising around 0.8% of the housing stock.

“This suggests that the average house is being sold once every 64 years at current transaction rates. That said, year-to-date transaction levels are up almost 50% on 2013,” he said.

“The pick-up in house price inflation increasingly reflects negative factors, preventing the Irish economy from achieving its potential. Specifically, activity and employment in housing construction remain at moribund levels, holding back the supply of fresh homes to satiate demand from first-time buyers,” Mr Mac Coille concluded.

“Good News” Sligo to host the 2015 All-Ireland Fleadh for another year

  

THE ALL IRELAND FLEADH CEOL NA EIREANN 2015 WILL BE COMING TO SLIGO AGAIN, IT WAS CONFIRMED YESTERDAY.

The dates will be from August 9th untill the 16th.

Martin Enright of the Fleadh committee, said that it is tremendous news for Sligo.

He said: “We are delighted that it is coming back, this has worldwide implications for the region.

“It is not just for the week, for the long-term.

“I have been getting messages from America, Russia, all over about how well Sligo did.

“It has been a real positive for Sligo.” He said that the Ard Comharlas, that grant who gets the Fleadh, met at the weekend and had a vote.

“In principle it is fully ratified, depending on whether the Fleadh committee can come up with the required funding by early December.”

He said that the pressure is on now to get these funds, through grants and various stakeholders, such as the vintners and hoteliers.

“We are delighted that it is coming back,” Martin added.

Typical children in Ireland are eating more than 16kgs of treat type foods each year

 

Foods such as biscuits, sweets and crisps are now an every-day staple of kids’ diets, making up a fifth of their daily calorie intake.

As part of its campaign to take on childhood obesity, Safefood is urging parents to tackle the amount of “treat foods” that their children are eating.

“At present 20% of children’s daily calorie intake is from these foods with little or no nutritional value,” it said.

The body estimated that on average a child typically consumes over 16kgs of treat foods per year – the equivalent of 140 small chocolate bars, 105 tubes of sweets, 36 packets of jam-filled biscuits and 118 bags of crisps. And this doesn’t include foods like ice-cream, cakes, pastries and buns and puddings that a child would typically eat.

Figures show that approximately one-in-four primary school children is overweight or obese. The prevalence of excess weight is also beginning earlier in childhood, with 6pc of three-year-olds currently being obese.

“We are giving our children treat foods every day and in many cases several times a day. These nutritionally poor foods, which are often referred to as ‘empty calories’, are given at the expense of nutritionally-rich foods in our children’s diets. Eating patterns developed in early childhood tend to last,” said Dr Cliodhna Foley-Nolan, director of human health and nutrition with Safefood.

“Parents need to be aware of the health risks associated with over-consumption of these types of foods. It’s simply a matter of cutting down on treat foods to a more sensible level, basically much smaller amounts and not every day.

“One of the big things we are trying to get across is the difference between a snack and an indulgence. The difference has become blurred.”

She suggested that fruit or a slice of toast, depending on the age of the child, is suitable if they are hungry.

In addition, quantities are another big issue for parents to cut down on, according to Dr Foley-Nolan.

“The other thing we are saying is in general not to have a ‘treats’ cupboard at home.

“If it is there, you are tempted, they are tempted,” she added. “Treats should be a luxury.”

Meanwhile, in relation to meal size and quantity, she said: “If you look at a plate of food, a good third should be vegetables, a third should be the starchy food, whether rice, pasta and potatoes, and a third should be the meat or fish.”

John Sharry, a senior lecturer in the School of Psychology at UCD, added: “Parents want what’s best for their children and no one wants to take the fun out of childhood. But we’ve reached a point where these so-called ‘treat’ foods are consumed far too frequently and just aren’t treats any more.

“As parents, we’ve lost the ability to say ‘no’ to our children and we need to re-learn that setting these clear boundaries is an important step in our children’s well-being and development.”

The Safefood campaign will feature on TV and poster advertisements.

Irish teenagers bag top prize at Google Science Fair 2014

  

The Google winners – Ciara Judge, Émer Hickey and Sophie Healy. 

The 18 finalists were selected from over 5,000 entries in 90 different countries.

It marks a remarkable 12 months for Ciara Judge, Sophie Healy-Thow and Emer Hickey who have literally conquered the world of science competitions.

The Cork trio won the BT Young Scientist title in January 2013 before heading to the Czech Republic last September and winning the €7,000 top prize in the EU Young Scientist competition.

As if that wasn’t impressive enough, last September Ciara scored a whopping 12As in her Junior Cert.

In a remarkable twist, Ciara’s older sister, Ashling, was the 2006 Young Scientist champion.

Ciara’s proud parents, Eamon and Maureen, admitted that it has been an astonishing 18 months for the girls and their school.

The girls’ project on seed germination has already received worldwide plaudits.

It revolves around their discovery that bacteria which occur naturally in the soil can help kick-start the germination of some crops by as much as 50%.

The Cork girls’ winning project examined how a particular bacteria, a diazotroph, can increase germination rates and crop yields.

Experts believe the commercial applications of their discovery are absolutely enormous.

“It has been an absolutely fantastic couple of months,” Ciara admitted.

Their top prize for winning the US title in California is a €30,000 scholarship from Google and an all-expenses paid field study trip to the Galapagos Islands where Charles Darwin formulated his theory of evolution.

They will also get the chance to sample astronaut training with NASA.

Ciara has already set her sights on studying veterinary science in university after her Leaving Cert.

Former EU Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn said she was very impressed by the Kinsale girls and their project.

“The future is bright if this is the level of talent we are producing in Europe. It is particularly great to see the mix of curiosity-driven research and more applied projects,” she said.

The Kinsale Community School triumph continues a remarkable Irish success story in the EU Young Scientist competition with Irish entries having won the overall prize 15 times in 25 years.

Ciara’s parents, Eamon and Maureen, said their daughter, who is now in Fifth Year, is ultimately hoping to study veterinary in university.

KCS principal Fergal McCarthy said they were absolutely delighted by the girls’ latest triumph.

It was the third time in seven years that the Cork school won the overall national title.

The school proudly held the joint record this year for the greatest number of entries and had a remarkable total of 38 students participating.  

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

Good news for Ireland as it leaves Eurozone behind with exports booming

 

Finance minister Michael Noonan said GDP surged 7.7% this year to June, but is the austerity poster childrepeating history?

Ireland’s gross national product grew 9%, an astonishing pace for a more mature industrial state.  

Ireland’s economy is growing at an explosive pace not seen since the glory days of the Celtic Tiger, setting off a scramble for Dublin property.

Finance minister Michael Noonan said GDP surged 7.7% in the year to June as rising exports to the US, Britain and China transform the former crisis-state into the eurozone’s star economy, reaching “escape velocity” as the rest of the currency bloc languishes in a slump.

Gross national product — a better gauge of Ireland’s internal economy – grew by 9%, an astonishing pace for a mature industrial state. The turnaround comes less than a year after Ireland regained economic sovereignty, the first of the eurozone bail-out countries to emerge from its EU-IMF Troika regime.

The collapse of the banking system in 2008 and the country’s €67bn (£53bn) rescue already seem like another age. The Irish treasury can now borrow for two years at an interest rate of -0.016%, lower than for Sweden, France, Britain or the US.

Dublin house prices have risen 24% over the past year, though they are still far below their peak and 135,000 households are still in arrears from the last crisis. The Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation said the city is once again in the grip of an “irresponsible property bubble”.

Ashoka Mody, former IMF chief in Ireland, said it was still too early to judge whether the country was out of the woods. There have been false dawns before, including a slide back into recession in 2013.

“Irish GDP is very erratic. When you get a bounce-back from a deep slump it always looks impressive: that can be misleading. Investment is still down 20% since 2008 and the country has a lot of debt. Until we see steady growth, we can’t say this is a turning point,” he said. Ireland has been held up as the poster-child of Troika austerity, an example of what can be achieved if a country takes its medicine and regains competitiveness within EMU through an “internal devaluation”. Ireland has slashed wages by roughly 20%.

Yet Mr Mody said the Irish economy is unique, with an “enclave” export industry of pharmaceuticals and computer software, led by US multinationals exploiting Ireland’s 12.5% corporation tax.

The country has a high trade gearing, with an export to GDP ratio of 108%, compared with 40% for Portugal, 34% for Spain, 30% for Italy and 29pc for Greece. This makes it much easier for Ireland to trade its way out of trouble. “The idea that this could be replicated in a country like Portugal is far-fetched,” Mr Mody said.

Irish exports rose 12% over the past year at a time when world trade was almost flat. “Exports of dairy products and baby food to China are soaring. But the high-value goods to the US are also doing very well,” said Simon McKeever, head of the Irish Exporters Association.

Ireland’s biggest exporters are Google (€17bn), Microsoft (€15bn) and Johnson and Johnson (€10.5bn). Pfizer (€5bn) supplies half the world’s patented Viagra from plants near Cork. These sectors are the fruit of an industrial strategy dating back to the 1990s that turned Ireland into an aircraft carrier for US companies.

This has been a success but it is unclear how much benefit stays in Ireland, creating a split economy that has left large numbers on the margins. Unemployment is still 11.2pc despite mass emigration. Investment has stopped falling but only after touching the lowest level in Irish history last year as a share of GDP. Credit is contracting.

Ireland’s public debt has rocketed to 124pc of GDP from 25% in 2007, partly due to the toxic effects of prolonged recession, and partly the result of a taxpayer rescue for Anglo Irish Bank and four other lenders in the white heat of the financial crisis.

This was done under intense pressure from the European Central Bank, worried that a collapse of Ireland’s €800bn banking nexus would set off unstoppable contagion.

The IMF expects the debt ratio to drop to 111pc by 2018, yet warns that the debt trajectory is still on a knife-edge and could be blown off by any fresh shock or banking woes.

Megan Greene, from Trinity College Dublin, said it was far from clear Ireland had really sorted out its problems. “There has been a lot of austerity but very little structure reform. They are still relying on the same old sectors. We have a housing market that is absolutely booming, and people are spending because they are feeling wealthier again,” she said.

The risk is that Ireland lurches back into another property cycle with interest rates stuck at zero, set for the needs of core-EMU. This is starting to look like a carbon-copy of what went wrong a decade ago when Ireland was growing much faster than Europe, forced to import a monetary policy that was far too loose. “There is a risk that we could be seeing a repeat of history,” she said.

Permanent TSB reports 21% decline in its mortgage arrears books

 

THE STATE-OWNED LENDING TSB BANK SAYS 25,000 BORROWERS HAVE NOW BEEN OFFERED RESTRUCTURING ARRANGEMENTS

Permanent TSB has reported a 21% decline in mortgage arrears of over 90 days since the start of the year.

The State-owned lender said 25,000 borrowers had now been offered restructuring arrangements through its asset management unit (AMU).

The unit was set up in 2012 to tackle the high number of problem mortgage accounts left on its books in the wake of the crash.

The bank’s figures show there were 4,357 fewer home-loan customers in arrears of over 90 days at the end of August than at the beginning of the year – a fall of 21 per cent.

The unit received 27,500 completed Standard Financial Statements (SFSs) from customers between January and the end of August this year.

About 300 completed SFSs were now being received each week, down from highs of 600 to 700, the bank said.

On average the AMU proposes a solution to customers within just 10 days of receipt of completed statements, it said.

Shane O’Sullivan, managing director of the AMU, said that split mortgage arrangements – where part of the loan is put aside for a fixed term – accounted for 26 per cent of the proposed solutions.

“The split mortgage is a key offering and our experience is that home loan customers are very positive about the arrangement.”

“We charge 0 per cent interest on the warehoused section of the mortgage and we review a customer’s circumstances – typically every three years – with a view to ultimately eliminating the warehoused amount,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

“Our experience is very clear on this; when customers engage with the bank on their arrears they are receiving practical and workable restructurings which they understand and which they can live with.”

Repossession of properties is a last resort and the vast majority of our proposals see customers remain in their homes – once they engage with us on their situation.”

The bank’s half-year accounts, published last month, show it wrote off €73 million in Irish residential mortgage loans in the first six months of this year.

This was almost seven times the level of write-off in the same period of last year.

University Hospital Galway patients ‘lack privacy and dignity’ and a bed shortage problem

 

UHG ACKNOWLEDGES OVERCROWDING IN EMERGENCY UNIT AND THAT BUILDING NEEDS UPDATING

The West/North West Hospital Group has said some patients have experienced ‘difficulties’ attending the emergency department at UHG despite the efforts of staff and management.

University Hospital Galway has admitted a lack of privacy and dignity for some patients attending its emergency department.

The West/North West Hospital Group, which includes UHG, says some patients have experienced “difficulties” attending the emergency department despite the efforts of staff and management.

The group was responding to criticisms of conditions made by nurses who are today staging a lunchtime protest to highlight overcrowding in the department.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation says patients are being deprived of care with dignity because of the overcrowding and the use of corridors in which to treat them.

In its statement, the hospital group says the build-up of patients in the department is linked to bed availability throughout the hospital.

It says there is a commitment from community services to source more beds in the community so that hospital beds currently filled by long-term care patients can be freed up.

“The nursing staff shortage in the ED is being addressed and the applications of 11 new nursing staff are being processed at the moment and nine more job offers have been made.

“We also expect to shortly commence recruitment of four new paediatric nurses,” according to the statement.

Stress management support is being provided to nursing staff, the hospital says, adding that the emergency department building needs to be updated and an application for capital funding is being made.

Today’s protest is being supported by the INMO and Siptu. It is not expected to lead to any disruption of services.

IMO warns Ireland’s health services ‘at critical point’

 

Doctors call for increased health funding, abolition of prescription charges.

IMO president Professor Trevor Duffy: said professionals in the health services now believe the situation is at a critical point.

  Patient safety is being compromised across the health services as a result of successive budgetary cuts in recent years, the Irish Medical Organisation has warned.

Professionals in the health services now believe the situation is at a critical point, according to IMO president Professor Trevor Duffy.

“I think everyone in health has watched with frustration in recent months at how the debate on the health budget is seen almost like a spectator sport by the political class when it is actually a matter of life or death for many people in the system,” Prof Duffy said at the launch of the organisation’s pre-Budget submission.

“We are close to a point where the damage to the infrastructure of our health services will be so great that it will take decades to repair and we simply can’t bequeath this crisis to the next generation. We must act now.”

The IMO says the Government must take five steps to protect patient safety, starting with an increase in funding and staffing across all sectors. It must ensure any cost containment measures are rigorously assessed against risk to patient safety before commencement.

The union also wants GP care to be introduced based on income levels and medical need, together with chronic disease care packages. Co-payment models such as the €2.50 prescription charge should be abandoned because they are “proven to be detrimental to long-term health and disproportionately affect the most vulnerable in society”.

Prof Duffy said young doctors and established GPs and consultants were leaving the country out of frustration. “We need to decide now if we want to be part of a society that provides a health system which can offer the people of this country the kind of world-class care that they expect or if we are going to settle for a fractured service that is detrimental to the long term health of our nation.”

Modern European’s gene pool drawn from three ancient ‘tribes’

  

The modern European gene pool was formed when three ancient populations mixed within the last 7,000 years, Nature journal reports.

  Blue-eyed, swarthy hunters mingled with brown-eyed, pale skinned farmers as the latter swept into Europe from the Near East.

But another, mysterious population with Siberian affinities also contributed to the genetic landscape of the continent.

The findings are based on analysis of genomes from nine ancient Europeans.

Agriculture originated in the Near East – in modern Syria, Iraq and Israel – before expanding into Europe around 7,500 years ago.

It really does look like the indigenous West European hunter gatherers had this striking combination of dark skin and blue eyes that doesn’t exist any more”

Multiple lines of evidence suggested this new way of life was spread by a wave of migrants, who interbred with the indigenous European hunter-gatherers they encountered on the way.

But assumptions about European origins were based largely on the genetic patterns of living people. The science of analysing genomic DNA from ancient bones has put some of the prevailing theories to the test, throwing up a few surprises.

Genomic DNA contains the biochemical instructions for building a human, and resides within the nuclei of our cells.

In the new paper, Prof David Reich from the Harvard Medical School and colleagues studied the genomes of seven hunter-gatherers from Scandinavia, one hunter whose remains were found in a cave in Luxembourg and an early farmer from Stuttgart, Germany.

The hunters arrived in Europe thousands of years before the advent of agriculture, hunkered down in southern refuges during the Ice Age and then expanded during a period called the Mesolithic, after the ice sheets had retreated from central and northern Europe.

Their genetic profile is not a good match for any modern group of people, suggesting they were caught up in the farming wave of advance.

If you look at all the reconstructions of Mesolithic people on the internet, they are always depicted as fair skinned… This shows the opposite”

However, their genes live on in modern Europeans, to a greater extent in the north-east than in the south.

The early farmer genome showed a completely different pattern, however. Her genetic profile was a good match for modern people in Sardinia, and was rather different from the indigenous hunters.

But, puzzlingly, while the early farmers share genetic similarities with Near Eastern people at a global level, they are significantly different in other ways. Prof Reich suggests that more recent migrations in the farmers’ “homeland” may have diluted their genetic signal in that region today.

Prof Reich explained: “The only way we’ll be able to prove this is by getting ancient DNA samples along the potential trail from the Near East to Europe… and seeing if they genetically match these predictions or if they’re different.

“Maybe they’re different – that would be extremely interesting.”

Pigmentation genes carried by the hunters and farmers showed that, while the dark hair, brown eyes and pale skin of the early farmer would look familiar to us, the hunter-gatherers would stand out if we saw them on a street today.

“It really does look like the indigenous West European hunter gatherers had this striking combination of dark skin and blue eyes that doesn’t exist any more,” Prof Reich told BBC News.

Dr Carles Lalueza-Fox, from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC – UPF) in Barcelona, Spain, who was not involved with the research, told BBC News: “If you look at all the reconstructions of Mesolithic people on the internet, they are always depicted as fair skinned. And the farmers are sometimes depicted as dark-skinned newcomers to Europe. This shows the opposite.”

So where did fair pigmentation in present-day Europeans come from? The farmer seems to be on her way there, carrying a gene variant for light skin that’s still around today.

“There’s an evolutionary argument about this – that light skin in Europe is biologically advantageous for people who farm, because you need to make vitamin D,” said David Reich.

“Hunters and gatherers get vitamin D through their food – because animals have a lot of it. But once you’re farming, you don’t get a lot of it, and once you switch to agriculture, there’s strong natural selection to lighten your skin so that when it’s hit by sunlight you can synthesise vitamin D.”

When the researchers looked at DNA from 2,345 present day people, they found that a third population was needed to capture the genetic complexity of modern Europeans.

This additional “tribe” is the most enigmatic and, surprisingly, is related to Native Americans.

Hints of this group surfaced in an analysis of European genomes two years ago. Dubbed Ancient North Eurasians, this group remained a “ghost population” until 2013, when scientists published the genome of a 24,000-year-old boy buried near Lake Baikal in Siberia.

This individual had genetic similarities to both Europeans and indigenous Americans, suggesting he was part of a population that contributed to movements into the New World 15,000 years ago and Europe at a later date.

The ancient hunter from Luxembourg and the farmer from Germany show no signs of mixture from this population, implying this third ancestor was added to the continental mix after farming was already established in Europe.

The study also revealed that the early farmers and their European descendants can trace a large part of their ancestry to a previously unknown, even older lineage called Basal Eurasians. This group represents the earliest known population divergence among the humans who left Africa 60,000 years ago. 

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

OECD proposals target aggressive tax avoidance by Multinational Corporations

Big companies like Amazon, Starbucks and Google have been at the centre of a debate over corporate tax avoidance for a while now

  

The OECD has announced potentially ground-breaking new proposals to clamp down on aggressive tax avoidance by multinational corporations such as Amazon and Google.

The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development unveiled an array of recommendations, including the demand that the world’s major economies impose a new “country-by-country” reporting regime on multinationals in order to increase the transparency of their corporate activities and limit the scope for them to shift profits offshore to avoid tax.

“The country-by-country reporting will provide a clear overview of where profits, sales, employees and assets are located and where taxes are paid and accrued,” it said.

The OECD also said a rule that allows a company to operate a warehouse within a country, without also registering a tax residence, should be reconsidered. This could potentially affect the online retailer Amazon, which reduces its tax bill by selling to the rest of Europe, including Britain, through a subsidiary in Luxembourg.

The suite of proposals, which also includes a curb on businesses artificially channelling profits to tax havens through the abuse of “transfer pricing”, will be presented to G20 finance ministers in Australia later this week and will go before the full leaders’ meeting for approval in November. The new regime is scheduled to be finalised next year, when national governments will be tasked with enacting legislation to bring it into force.

Tuesday’s announcement was given a mixed reception by campaigners and tax experts. Richard Murphy of Tax Research UK described the new reporting proposals as “good news” and added: “No multinational corporation can argue ever again that it does not have this data or that it would be too costly to publish it.”

However, Sol Picciotto, a senior adviser to the Tax Justice Network, told the New York Times that most of the measures were “just tweaks” and that a wholesale restructuring of the global tax system was still necessary. “They’re trying to repair an old motorcar, but what they need is a new engine” he said.

It also emerged that the UK was among a group of four countries which blocked attempts to make the new regime tougher by clamping down on the poaching of tax revenues that flow from intellectual property (IP) assets. The Coalition has introduced a controversial “patent box” which offers a significant tax break to pharmaceutical companies and other that register their IP in the UK.

University Hospital Galway working to alleviate Emergency Department difficulties

   

Nursing staff at the Department will hold a protest tomorrow to highlight the pressure caused by shortages

Management at Galway University Hospital say they are working to alleviate difficulties experienced by patients at the Emergency Department.

In a statement tonight, the hospital admitted that some patients were not getting the privacy or dignity that should be afforded to them during treatment.

Nursing staff at the Department will hold a lunchtime protest tomorrow to highlight the pressure caused by staff and bed shortages.

They say the situation is compromising patient care and causing severe stress to nurses.

The hospital says efforts to hire up to 20 new staff are under way.

Management says it hopes to free more acute beds in the coming weeks to ease overcrowding in the Department.

More than 5,500 people die in Ireland from lung disease every year,

NEW FIGURES SHOW

  

Statistics were released in a survey yesterday by Ipsos MRBI, ahead of the first National Lung Health Awareness Week, which runs from Monday

More than 5,500 people die from lung disease here every year, according to new figures.

Ireland has Europe’s third highest death rate for the killer condition yet more than half of us still can’t recognise the symptoms.

The study also showed 49% of people will be affected by deadly respiratory conditions, either directly or through family members.

The statistics were released in a survey yesterday by Ipsos MRBI, ahead of the first National Lung Health Awareness Week, which runs from Monday.

The initiative is the result of 16 charities coming together to form the Irish Lung Health
Alliance, supported by a grant from pharmaceutical giant GSK.

It is part of a worldwide scheme to fight lung disease, co-ordinated by the European Respiratory Society and the European Lung Foundation.

The Alliance wants the Government to establish a National Programme for Healthy Lungs.

It will host roadshows and offer free medical tests in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Portlaoise.

Spokesman Professor Anthony O’Regan said: “The Government’s work in leading the world in tobacco and air quality control legislation is to be commended but there is still substantial work to be done. We need to make much more significant strides in improving disease prevention, early diagnosis and improved access to care.

“The aim of this would be to map out a detailed strategy for improving lung health and the resources required, as well as to identify ambitious but achievable targets in improving this area of health.”

Health Minister Leo Varadkar said: “The Alliance is giving useful advice on how to minimise the risk of lung diseases, the importance of early diagnosis and being aware of the symptoms.”

The poll found around 18% of respondents had gone for a lung test in the past five years. It revealed 24% of men were checked, compared to just 13% of women.

Irish households pull back spending last month,

NEW FIGURES SHOW

  

Households pulled back spending last month in a move that sent an index that measures consumer confidence down slightly.

It is thought that the reduced spending was due to summer sales ending.

The latest figures from the KBC Bank and the Economic and Social Research Institute show the consumer sentiment index falling to 87.1 in August.

This was down from 89.4 in July, which was a seven-year high.

KBC Bank economist Austin Hughes said the figures suggest that the recovery remains uneven.

He said that trend was for an improving economy, but consumers were unsure how this will impact on their personal financial circumstances.

Mr Hughes said: “For many consumers the recovery they are hearing about is not reflected in their own circumstances at this point in time.”

Archaeologists study a new bog body in Co Meath

 

A BOG BODY HAS BEEN FOUND BY WORKERS IN AN AREA IN THE MIDLANDS WHERE A SIMILAR DISCOVERY WAS MADE TWO YEARS AGO.

Archaeologists at the National Museum of Ireland revealed the lower leg and foot bones of an adult were dug up in Rossan bog in Meath, close to the border with Westmeath.

It is not known if the remains are from a man or woman.

Bord na Mona workers who made the discovery at the weekend reported the find to experts at the museum.

The exact age of the remains is not known and will be established by radiocarbon dating.

It is the second bog body to be discovered in Rossan bog and was found close to where the remains of a headless adult, dating to 700-400BC in the Bronze Age, were found in 2012.

Studies were carried out on site until yesterday when the remains were removed, and further analysis will take place in the National Museum of Ireland’s conservation laboratory at Collins Barracks, Dublin.

Maeve Sikora of the Irish antiquities division in the museum, who led the fieldwork, praised workers for calling in archaeologists.

“I would like to thank the staff at Bord na Mona for reporting the find so quickly and for their assistance on site,” she said.

Raghnall O Floinn, director of the National Museum of Ireland, added: “Every new find helps to bring us closer to understanding the lives and belief systems of our ancestors.”

Oxygen-free conditions in bogs help to preserve organic material such as human tissue.

Surviving bodies give archaeologists the opportunity for more detailed research into past lives than if only skeletal remains are recovered.

Bog bodies have been found across northern Europe from Ireland to Scandinavia, with many showing evidence of violent death which are believed to have been sacrificial offerings connected to kingship and sovereignty.

The National Museum of Ireland holds one of the finest collection of bog bodies anywhere in the world including discoveries from Oldcroghan, Co Offaly, and Clonycavan, Co Meath.

Rossan is believed to be an ancient territorial boundary.

Spider application launched to help arachnophobes identify the creepy-crawlies they find in homes

  

THE ‘SPIDER IN DA HOUSE’ APP HAS BEEN LAUNCHED AS THE CREATURES BECOME MORE ACTIVE DURING THE AUTUMN MATING SEASON

As spiders pop up indoors and in the garden more frequently over the autumn months, scientists have created an app to help arachnophobes understand the creatures they are so terrified of.

The number of spiders increases in the autumn because males search for a mate, often seeing them venture indoors.

To help people learn more about the 12 most common spiders which become temporary house guests at this time of year, the Spider in Da House app by the Society of Biology features tools including photos and information on the creepy crawlies.

Spiders featured on the app include the rare spitting spider, which usually only dwells in older properties and is rarely active in the daytime. It is named after its method for catching prey – which sees it fire a sticky liquid from its modified poison glands to pin down its dinner.

A more common sight is the jumping spider, often found on the walls of houses and easily recognised by its squared off head and two very large eyes, which give it the best vision of all the spiders.

The most common type of jumping spider is the zebra spider, recognisable by the distinctive black and white strips on its abdomen.

Both species remain in webs in sheds, garages and wood piles until the autumn when the males set out on a search for a mate – which often leads them into houses.

The app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play, also helps users to identify whether spiders are male or female – with female spiders often being larger than the males.

Professor Adam Hart, from the University of Gloucestershire, explained that while spiders are feared by many, the creatures are in fact a very helpful pest controllers.

“By eating flies and other insects, spiders are not only providing us with a pest control service, but are important in ecosystems.

“They often feed on the most common species, preventing a few species from becoming dominant. We want to encourage people to respect and learn more about their little house guests.”