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Monday, December 31, 2012

Donie's Ireland news BLOG New years eve


2013 Ireland Gathering starts tonight in Dublin

 Philip McCarthy and Eileen O'Toole from Dublin at Trinity College's facade which was transformed into a light projection show ahead of the New Year's Eve Dublin Festival marking the start of The Gathering. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times   
Philip McCarthy and Eileen O’Toole from Dublin at Trinity College’s facade which was transformed into a light projection show ahead of the New Year’s Eve Dublin Festival marking the start of The Gathering.
The year-long Gathering got under way this evening with a torchlight procession through Dublin city centre.
A colourful phalanx of jugglers, giant inflatable lanterns, stilt walkers and tandem riders, all supplied by the Donegal-based creative arts group LUXe, led more than 2,000 lantern bearers through the streets of Dublin. Children also carried balloons during the parade.
All those with lanterns had registered for the parade and each carried the names of the bearer. Among them was New Orleans native Sarah Wellman (25), who is in Dublin for New Year’s Eve with friend Ashley Veade.
“Who wouldn’t want to spend New Year’s Eve in Dublin?” she said. She confessed to hearing nothing about The Gathering, but was delighted with her first visit to Dublin. “It’s been awesome,” she said, “we’re about to leave but we are already talking about coming back”.
This evening will see a fireworks display in St Stephen’s Green followed by a New Year’s Eve concert in College Green headlined by Imelda May and Bell X1.
Fáilte Ireland director of market development John Concannon defended the €20 cost for the concert.
He said mounting such a public event was an “enormous cost”. Some 40 per cent of tickets for the event have been sold to overseas visitors. “It is well ahead of what we thought it would be,” he said.
The Gathering, which has been modelled on a Scottish homecoming event four years ago, will last until December 31st next year.
Though it has its critics – most notably the actor Gabriel Byrne, who described it as a “scam” – The Gathering has already been deemed a success given the response from local communities.
Some 2,500 events were registered by Christmas week – some 700 more than had registered by the time of the official launch last month.
Tourism Ireland chief executive Niall Gibbons said he was sure the sceptics would be confounded when The Gathering got under way.
“Its a bit like the Olympics. You need to see it to believe it. The atmosphere will catch on. The whole thing has really moved on in the last month and a half.”
The Gathering has been set a goal of inviting 350,000 people, or 5 per cent extra visitors to Ireland, who otherwise would not have come.

Shannon Airport looking forward to new independent status

   

Airport will be separate to Cork and Dublin airports

Management at Shannon Airport are hoping its new independent status will be good for business and jobs in the mid-west.
The airport’s being merged with a restructured Shannon Development to form a new, publicly-owned, commercial entity in 2013 – making it independent of Dublin and Cork airports.
850 jobs have already been secured – though the airport’s debt free status has come at the cost of the profitable Aer Rianta International Duty Free Business which remains with the DAA.
It’s business as usual at Shannon today as the post-Christmas rush continues, but Head of Operations Niall Moloney told Clare FM they’re welcoming the new era with optimism:

Irish Health chiefs urge smokers to quit for 2013

     
The Health Service Executive has launched a new Facebook page to help people quit smoking
Health chiefs have urged smokers to make a new year’s resolution to kick the habit.
With 5,500 people expected to die from a tobacco-related illness in Ireland in 2013, the Health Service Executive (HSE) insisted quitting is easier with the right support.
Director of public health Dr Fenton Howell said a new Facebook page for helping smokers quit could help increase their chances of success.
“It’s never too late to make a quit attempt, and while any time is a good time, new year always provides a fresh incentive to try, or to try again,” Dr Howell said.
“I encourage all smokers to consider trying to quit, and to get some help – and I encourage people who know or love a smoker to offer them your encouragement and your support to try to quit. It will make all the difference.”
Dr Howell said seven in every 10 smokers want to quit, while four in 10 attempt to every year. He said while many of the one million people who have successfully given up cigarettes across the country did so “cold turkey”, using public services can double a person’s chances.
A new HSE “You Can Quit” page on Facebook is made up of a community of past, present and future quitters.
The executive will also launch a new app on January 1 called “I Quit”, which allows people to announce their plans to give up smoking. The app also gives people access to available help and support, and allows them to invite their Facebook friends to back them up.
Dr Howell said other parts of the campaign can be found on the HSE website, through its quit helpline, GPs and pharmacists and dedicated HSE quit clinics. “The quit campaign will also be active on TV, radio and online over the coming weeks and a number of local radio stations will be supporting us, broadcasting special tips on how to quit, and encouraging listeners to call or text their reasons for quitting or their message of support for a quitter,” he added.
For more information, visit http://www.quit.ie or call the quit helpline on 1850 201 203, or find the HSE quit page on Facebook.

INMO SAY CHALLENGES FACING GALWAY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL IN 2013

 

The Irish Nurses and Midwives organisation says the challenge going into 2013 is the high volume of patients and a shortage of staff at Galway University Hospitals.

Almost 4,200 emergency patients spent time on trollies at the Emergency Department at University Hospital Galway this year – the second highest number since 2006.
And while that’s down significantly on the figure of 6,500 patients on trollies in 2011 the INMO says emergency protocol has been activated much more this year.
The protocol involves transferring patients from the emergency department to other wards in the hospital, where they are monitored until a bed becomes available.
The overcrowding measure is activated by senior management to act as an alert to the county health system, and in April alone – was in place for 12 days.
The INMO say it’s been a particularly busy few weeks with patients – 13 are on trollies today at UHG while one patient is on a trolley at Portiuncula in Ballinasloe.

4,800 Irish jobs at risk’ as pub sales plummet

  

Up to 800 pubs are in serious financial trouble as they face the new year, putting more than 4,800 jobs at risk, the Vintners’ Federation of Ireland (VFI) has warned.

The VFI said 2012 was “one of the worst years on record for our members” as breweries increased prices and the authorities increased taxes.
“We face into another 12 months under a Government that doesn’t appreciate the role we play and with some suppliers that don’t appreciate the business that we give,” the VFI said.
Consumers are drinking less as incomes shrink, the population ages and concerns about heath grow.
They are also switching to off-licences where alcohol is cheaper and there is more choice.
The VFI called on Finance Minister Michael Noonan to slap a 15pc tax on off-licence sales in this month’s Budget.
He ignored the calls and increased the cost of a bottle of wine by €1 and added other taxes for drinks such as champagne.
Trade among publicans was down by one-third in the past five years, the VFI said. “Without doubt, the announcements made in Budget 2013 will put further pressure on a consumer that is already struggling and has no confidence in their purchasing power.
“When we should be encouraging people to spend and to support local business, we have driven them away,” the VFI added.
In a downbeat statement that contrasts with many other retail organisations that are reporting an increase in sales and profits, the VFI blamed the Government for failing to understand the industry.
“The year just gone saw our Government put further pressure on an industry already on its knees with a massive increase in excise,” the lobby group added.
The VFI says it represents 4,000 pubs outside Dublin, which support more than 54,000 jobs.
“At a time when we should be celebrating, there is a dark cloud over these 54,000 jobs.
“Successive governments have watched as the corner shop, the local post office, rural schools and garda stations have been driven to the wall and the present administration seems happy to do the same to the Irish pub,” it added.

Donie's news Ireland daily BLOG


Minister for Social Protection plans to encourage more people to sign up for private pensions

 

Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton says plan will automatically apply to employees who will have to opt out if they do not want to be part of it
Staff and volunteers with the Irish Coast Guard saved 161 lives so far this year.The Coast Guard, which is a division of the Department of Transport, saw an 8% increase in incidents in 2012, compared to the previous year.
Based on callouts up to St Stephen’s Day this year, it has dealt with 1954 incidents.
The Coast Guard also assisted 2,593 people.
The Coast Guard reports dealing with 8% more incidents than last year.As well as employed staff, the Coast Guard uses 900 volunteers to respond to emergencies.
Together with 2000 RNLI volunteers, 300 on commuinty rescue boats and 500 mountain and cave rescue volunteers, they provide year round 24-hour rescue services on the sea, on lakes, on cliffs and around the coastline.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Donie's daily Ireland news BLOG


Suicide awareness groups urge Government to fill jobs promised in mental health sector

  
The Department says it expects all of the posts will be taken up by the end of January

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Donie's Ireland news daily BLOG Friday


Could this be Irish bank executives?

Former Icelandic bank executives jailed for fraud

Lárus Welding, fyrrverandi forstjóri Glitnis. Hann og Guðmundur Hjaltason, fyrrverandi framkvæmdastjóri fyrirtækjasviðs Glitnis, hafa verið ákærðir fyrir umboðssvik vegna láns til Milestone.    
Two former executives at an Icelandic bank which collapsed in the 2008 financial meltdown were sentenced to jail on Friday for fraud which led to a €53m loss, in the first major trial of Icelandic bankers linked to the crisis. above left Gudmundur Hjaltason jailed for nine months.
All three of the small North Atlantic island’s top banks collapsed in quick succession in October 2008 due to big debts incurred during a rapid overseas expansion.
Glitnir was the first to fall after the collapse of Lehman Brothers caused international credit markets to freeze up.
A Reykavik court sentenced Glitnir’s former chief executive, Larus Welding, and former head of corporate finance, Gudmundur Hjaltason, each to nine months in jail, of which six months were suspended for two years. They had denied the charges.
Prosecutors said the two approved a loan to a company which owned shares in Glitnir so that the company could in turn repay a debt to Morgan Stanley.
The decision, taken outside the regular decision-making process, meant Glitnir was too exposed to the company and cost the bank at least 53.7 million euros ($71 million), the prosecution said.
The sentence was less than the jail terms of at least five years demanded by Iceland‘s special prosecutor, who is looking into alleged wrongdoing connected to the crisis.
“We have a conviction, which is of course the main thing,” prosecutor Holmsteinn Sigurdsson told reporters outside the courtroom when asked whether he was disappointed with the length of the sentence.
The special prosecutor is also looking into alleged wrongdoing linked to the collapse of the other two former top banks, Landsbanki and Kaupthing.

After 90 years as an illegal citizen in US, Josephine gets her green card at last

     
Josephine Stout with great-granddaughter Jolisa Stidhum at home in Chicago
IT’S taken 90 years since she was born in a poorhouse in Co Limerick for a woman dubbed America’s oldest illegal immigrant to get her Irish passport.
And it will be a few more months before Josephine Stout will finally be declared a US citizen, entitling her to a pension and other benefits.
Despite having lived in America for most of her life, since she arrived on the RMS Franconia in 1923, the great-grandmother was declared an undocumented alien in 1999 when she tried to claim state aid to help raise her seven grandchildren who were left orphaned when her daughter was stabbed to death by a robber over $20.
Even though she has never considered herself Irish, noting “I don’t even have an accent”, she didn’t officially exist as an American when officials in Chicago insisted that she prove her citizenship in order to qualify for benefits.
But she had no birth certificate or passport when she arrived on an immigrant ship from Ireland with her parents who had 12 other children.
She never gave the matter much thought until 1999 when she was nearing the age of 70 and needed assistance to raise her grandchildren.
For 12 years Mrs Stout managed to eke out a meagre living through odd jobs. But her life was hard and marked by tragedy. Her husband died in 1996 and her son Thomas was stabbed to death with his girlfriend in 1985. Her only surviving child, Rosemary, died of cancer in 2009.
A Catholic charity referred her case to the Chicago Irish Immigrant Support Centre, which alerted the Irish Consulate. Through them they tracked down her birth certificate, it was reported on website irishcentral.com and in the ‘Chicago Tribune‘.
The document in turn allowed her to receive her Irish passport and eventually her American green card in September 2011 which was backdated to November 1, 1923.
She has been promised that her case for American citizenship will now be fast-tracked.

An Post to raise the price of stamps by 5%

   

AN-Post has a New Year delivery that won’t please many customers — a 5% hike on the price of a stamp.

The postage company wanted to raise the standard price of a stamp by 10 cent to 65 cent but was limited to a 5% by the communications regulator.
As a result it will soon cost up to 60c to send a letter weighing up to 50g within Ireland.
ComReg rejected a request by An Post for a 10c increase.
An Post will now have to find another way of dealing with its deepening financial woes.
It believed it would make an extra €14m this year if it got the regulator’s backing for the 10c stamp price hike.
The State-owned postal service already stands to make €8m from a hike in the cost of posting packages, which was approved last summer.
It argued that it had not put up the price of standard post since 2007.
But ComReg did not believe allowing the price hikes would address An Post’s “cash burn” problems. It said the extra revenue of €22m it expected from the price hikes would only cover a third of its losses this year.
It expects An Post to lose €65m as it struggles to cover its costs as the only universal service provider in the State, following €50m losses last year.
The regulator has told An Post it must find an extra €43m savings on top of any increase in the price of delivering mail.
It fears it could run out of money in the next two years after its cash balance fell from €350m in 2008 to €150m at the end of 2011.
The regulator believes that price hikes would bring a bigger decline in the volume of mail this year than the 5pc per year fall predicted by An Post.
An Post complained that delays by ComReg in approving its application had made its financial situation worse.

Dublin house prices up 4.2% in 2012

  

The relatively modest growth came as a result of a rise in prices for houses in Dublin, with many first time buyers taking advantage of the valuable mortgage relief scheme which ends this month.

House prices in Dublin are showing tentative signs of recovery with latest figures showing an increase of 4.2 per cent so far this year.
However, while that jump can be seen as a partial return to health, the overall picture remains bleak with values still down 54 per cent on their peak 2007 levels.
The Residential Property Price Index figures for the month of November, released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) today, also reveal that Dublin based apartments have plummeted in value by 11 per cent to date in 2012.
And at a national level, residential properties have reduced in value by 5.7 per cent this year.
Rises and falls in specific areas of the country outside Dublin are not easy to calculate accurately due to the low level of sales.
There was a total of 2,752 property transactions recorded in November although not all of these represent full market value.
The performance of the housing sector is recorded on a monthly basis but the overall picture is best viewed towards the end of any given year, or as a year-by-year comparison.
The ‘year-to-date’ figures are likely to identify early signs of recovery across the market which has been decimated in the last five years.
“The good news has to start at some stage and it does take time to work its way through these [other] indicators,” said a CSO spokesperson.

More than 70% of pharmacies targeted by shoplifters

  

Almost three quarters of Irish pharmacies were victims of crime this year, according to the Irish Pharmacy Union.

The union have called for more Garda protection for their businesses, and tougher sentences for those who break the law.
In 2012, 71% of pharmacies surveyed had experienced shoplifting, with one in four raids involving the use of a weapon.
Figures show that cosmetics and fake tan are the most likely targets for shoplifters.

New arrival at Fota Wildlife Park Cork

Cuileann and mum Roisin

Cuileann and mum

There was a Christmas addition to Cork’s Fota Wildlife Park, as a giraffe calf named Cuileann made her public debut.

She was born a week before Christmas.

Fota Wildlife Park’s Facebook page says: “The arrival of Cuileann is the third giraffe calf in 5 months at Fota Wildlife Park following the births of Casey in July and Aoibhinn in August.
“Cuileann was born to mum Roisin and dad Tadgh, the oldest giraffes at the park.”
Head warden Willie Duffy told The Irish Independent: “With Roisin being 21, we were worried about her giving birth and how the stress would impact on her and the little calf. But she coped very well.”