theirishtimes--2020-02-17--Public outreach clinics make significant carbon emission cuts

Dermatologists who provide outreach clinics for public patients in rural locations have cut carbon emissions by 52 tonnes , the equivalent of 25 round-trip flights to Australia annually because of fewer car journeys by clients .
A study of the service offered by consultants in the South Infirmary and University Hospital Cork who travel to Bantry and Tralee for patients from across counties Cork and Kerry , also found the clinics cut the distance each patient had to travel by 142km and saved them an average of 129 minutes in journey time .
The outreach clinics also reduce the burden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ city .
Specialist registrar in dermatology Dr Cathal O ’ Connor said the operation of the outreach clinics also meant diseases are being picked up a lot earlier .
Patients in remote areas such as Allihies in west Cork “ are much happier to go to Bantry , and they would go at a much earlier stage to a more local centre , rather than having to drive for four hours to Cork city ” .
Dr O ’ Connor , a trainee clinician scientist and PhD fellow with the Irish Clinical Academic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tend to leave things longer if they have to travel further .
There is a lot of evidence that rurality is associated with mortality with cancer , particularly with skin cancers.
” Catching diseases earlier has a knock-on effect “ because people don ’ t need as much follow-up ” , he added .
Skin cancer is more prevalent than every other kind of cancer combined , he said .
“ So about 70 per cent of people will develop a skin cancer in Ireland by the time they ’ re 70.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ older population so they would be much higher risk of skin cancer from cumulative sun exposure over the years ” .
Under the scheme there are four half-day clinics in Bantry and a similar number in Tralee as well as two pigmented lesion clinics to treat conditions such as melanoma .
For some treatments patients are required to travel to a clinic three times a week for three months and for many it would not be possible for them to travel so frequently to Cork city .
To establish the environmental benefit the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the names ) of patients who attended the Bantry and Tralee clinics in the first six months of last year .
“ We put their addresses into three different apps – Google maps , the Apple maps and maps.me .
We looked at the difference between their home address and the South Infirmary , and the home address and the local centre and subtracted the difference.
” In Bantry they saved an average of approximately 115km round trip , about an hour-and-a-half of reduced driving time .
There were more patients in Tralee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ round trip of 2½ hours of driving .
They pooled the numbers and subtracted the carbon emissions for each consultant who had to drive from Cork to the clinic .
Dr O ’ Connor said the outreach clinic model is “ perfect for highly specialised services like dermatology ” where there are only about 40 consultants in the country and where the resource allocation is “ very reserved ” .

Dr Cathal O’Connor: ‘About 70 per cent of people will develop a skin cancer in Ireland by the time they’re 70.’
Dermatologists who provide outreach clinics for public patients in rural locations have cut carbon emissions by 52 tonnes, the equivalent of 25 round-trip flights to Australia annually because of fewer car journeys by clients.
A study of the service offered by consultants in the South Infirmary and University Hospital Cork who travel to Bantry and Tralee for patients from across counties Cork and Kerry, also found the clinics cut the distance each patient had to travel by 142km and saved them an average of 129 minutes in journey time.
The outreach clinics also reduce the burden on the primary dermatology clinic in Cork city.
Specialist registrar in dermatology Dr Cathal O’Connor said the operation of the outreach clinics also meant diseases are being picked up a lot earlier.
READ MORE
Patients in remote areas such as Allihies in west Cork "are much happier to go to Bantry, and they would go at a much earlier stage to a more local centre, rather than having to drive for four hours to Cork city".
Dr O’Connor, a trainee clinician scientist and PhD fellow with the Irish Clinical Academic Training programme, said: “They tend to leave things longer if they have to travel further. There is a lot of evidence that rurality is associated with mortality with cancer, particularly with skin cancers.”
Catching diseases earlier has a knock-on effect “because people don’t need as much follow-up”, he added.
Skin cancer is more prevalent than every other kind of cancer combined, he said. "So about 70 per cent of people will develop a skin cancer in Ireland by the time they're 70."
Patients in Bantry “are a much older population so they would be much higher risk of skin cancer from cumulative sun exposure over the years”.
Resources
Under the scheme there are four half-day clinics in Bantry and a similar number in Tralee as well as two pigmented lesion clinics to treat conditions such as melanoma.
For some treatments patients are required to travel to a clinic three times a week for three months and for many it would not be possible for them to travel so frequently to Cork city.
To establish the environmental benefit the authors got the addresses anonymously (not the names) of patients who attended the Bantry and Tralee clinics in the first six months of last year.
"We put their addresses into three different apps – Google maps, the Apple maps and maps.me. We looked at the difference between their home address and the South Infirmary, and the home address and the local centre and subtracted the difference."
In Bantry they saved an average of approximately 115km round trip, about an hour-and-a-half of reduced driving time. There were more patients in Tralee where the average saving was a 177km round trip of 2½ hours of driving.
They pooled the numbers and subtracted the carbon emissions for each consultant who had to drive from Cork to the clinic.
Dr O’Connor said the outreach clinic model is “perfect for highly specialised services like dermatology” where there are only about 40 consultants in the country and where the resource allocation is “very reserved”.


theirishtimes--2020-02-17--Magdalene survivor takes case to UN torture committee

A Magdalene survivor , who says she has been denied justice by the State for over 20 years , is taking her case to the United Nations .
The UN Committee Against Torture has begun an investigation into the State ’ s treatment of Elizabeth Coppin ( 70 ) which could have implications for the State ’ s approach to historical abuse .
It is a landmark case , being the first before the committee from a Magdalene survivor .
Originally from Listowel , Co Kerry , Ms Coppin was born to an unmarried woman ( 19 ) in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1951 , she was committed by the courts to an industrial school in Tralee .
From age 14 , she spent four years in laundries in Cork and Waterford .
Now living in England , Ms Coppin alleges she was subjected to severe abuse and “ the State still fails to investigate , acknowledge or address that abuse ” .
She says she has exhausted all domestic remedies .
Her case has been deemed admissible by the committee despite the fact she received ex-gratia payments for the abuse endured in the industrial school @ @ @ @ @ @ @ laundries , and signed a statutory declaration waiving her right to take action against the State .
Speaking to The Irish Times from Cambridgeshire , she said : “ What we got wasn ’ t good enough .
We have been conned and scammed and they ’ re still denying our human rights were violated.
” The Government was notified by the committee it was admitting Ms Coppin ’ s case on 20th January .
“ The Department of Foreign Affairs are taking the lead on co-ordinating a response and a number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” a Department of Justice spokesman said .
“ The deadline for providing a response is 20th May , 2020 , ” he added .

Elizabeth Coppin: ‘We have been conned and scammed and they’re still denying our human rights were violated.’ Photograph: Joanne O’Brien
A Magdalene survivor, who says she has been denied justice by the State for over 20 years, is taking her case to the United Nations.
The UN Committee Against Torture has begun an investigation into the State's treatment of Elizabeth Coppin (70) which could have implications for the State's approach to historical abuse.
It is a landmark case, being the first before the committee from a Magdalene survivor.
Originally from Listowel, Co Kerry, Ms Coppin was born to an unmarried woman (19) in a Killarney mother-and-baby home in 1949.
READ MORE
In 1951, she was committed by the courts to an industrial school in Tralee. From age 14, she spent four years in laundries in Cork and Waterford.
Now living in England, Ms Coppin alleges she was subjected to severe abuse and "the State still fails to investigate, acknowledge or address that abuse". She says she has exhausted all domestic remedies.
Rights ‘violated’
Her case has been deemed admissible by the committee despite the fact she received ex-gratia payments for the abuse endured in the industrial school and the time she spent in the laundries, and signed a statutory declaration waiving her right to take action against the State.
Speaking to The Irish Times from Cambridgeshire, she said: “What we got wasn’t good enough. We have been conned and scammed and they’re still denying our human rights were violated.”
The Government was notified by the committee it was admitting Ms Coppin’s case on 20th January.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs are taking the lead on co-ordinating a response and a number of departments will be required to provide input,” a Department of Justice spokesman said. “The deadline for providing a response is 20th May, 2020,” he added.


theirishtimes--2020-02-17--Serious drug offenders twice as likely to go to prison as they were a decade ago

Serious drug dealers and drug mules are almost twice as likely to receive a prison sentence as they were a decade ago .
They are also about twice as likely to receive the mandatory minimum 10-year sentence which legislation says must be handed down for serious drug offences except in exceptional circumstances .
Figures obtained by The Irish Times suggest that , contrary to widespread perception , judges have become more punitive on serious drug offenders since 2011 .
Nineteen per cent of the 234 offenders convicted of possessing more than €13,000 of drugs in 2017 and 2018 received a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to sentencing data released under Freedom of Information legislation .
This figure which has declined every year since 2011/2012 when it was 38 per cent .
By comparison , 58 per cent of those convicted in the Circuit Court of possession of online child abuse material are spared a prison term .
The maximum sentence for possession of more than €13,000 worth of drugs for sale or supply is life imprisonment with the legislation mandating a 10-year minimum term unless there are “ exceptional circumstances ” .
The legislation was part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the late 1990s following the murders of journalist Veronica Guerin and Garda Jerry McCabe .
Since then critics have maintained the law unfairly targets low-level mules who are forced to hold drugs by those higher up the criminal ladder .
“ We know that mandatory minimum custodial sentencing is expensive and largely ineffective , ” said the head of the Irish Penal Reform Trust ( IPRT ) Fíona Ní Chinnéide .
“ Instead of introducing ineffective laws that will require more prison spaces , we need investment in community policing , community sanctions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ services.
” Calling for the abolition of the mandatory minimum sentence in 2013 , the Law Reform Commission said the drugs trade “ adapted ” to the new sentencing regime “ by using expendable couriers to hold and transport drugs ” .
Although the law states offenders should receive at least 10 years , save in “ exceptional and specific ” circumstances , in practice a 10-year sentence is the exception rather than the rule .
Typically judges treat factors such as guilty pleas and garda co-operation , as amounting to exceptional circumstances @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the superior courts .
However the figures suggest the proportion of offenders receiving the minimum term is increasing .
In 2017/18 , 7 per cent of offenders received 10 years or more ( including suspended portions ) .
Between 2011 and 2015 this figure was three per cent .
In 2018 , judges handed down a total 701.75 prison years to serious drug offenders , of which 284½ were suspended .
This was a large increase on 2017 , when 446½ years were handed down with 190.7 years suspended .
The average @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both years was 4.89 years .
The average effective prison term was 2.86 years .
The longest sentence handed down in 2017 and 2018 was 15 years which was imposed on Sean MacManus of Baldoyle , Dublin , for his role running a sophisticated cocaine laboratory in Cork .

Cocaine seized by the Garda following a search in 2019.
Serious drug dealers and drug mules are almost twice as likely to receive a prison sentence as they were a decade ago.
They are also about twice as likely to receive the mandatory minimum 10-year sentence which legislation says must be handed down for serious drug offences except in exceptional circumstances.
Figures obtained by The Irish Times suggest that, contrary to widespread perception, judges have become more punitive on serious drug offenders since 2011.
Nineteen per cent of the 234 offenders convicted of possessing more than €13,000 of drugs in 2017 and 2018 received a suspended sentence instead of a prison term, according to sentencing data released under Freedom of Information legislation. This figure which has declined every year since 2011/2012 when it was 38 per cent.
READ MORE
By comparison, 58 per cent of those convicted in the Circuit Court of possession of online child abuse material are spared a prison term.
The maximum sentence for possession of more than €13,000 worth of drugs for sale or supply is life imprisonment with the legislation mandating a 10-year minimum term unless there are “exceptional circumstances”.
Drug mules
The legislation was part of a raft of measures introduced in the late 1990s following the murders of journalist Veronica Guerin and Garda Jerry McCabe.
Since then critics have maintained the law unfairly targets low-level mules who are forced to hold drugs by those higher up the criminal ladder.
"We know that mandatory minimum custodial sentencing is expensive and largely ineffective," said the head of the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) Fíona Ní Chinnéide. "Instead of introducing ineffective laws that will require more prison spaces, we need investment in community policing, community sanctions, housing, mental health and addictions services."
Calling for the abolition of the mandatory minimum sentence in 2013, the Law Reform Commission said the drugs trade "adapted" to the new sentencing regime "by using expendable couriers to hold and transport drugs".
Although the law states offenders should receive at least 10 years, save in “exceptional and specific” circumstances, in practice a 10-year sentence is the exception rather than the rule. Typically judges treat factors such as guilty pleas and garda co-operation, as amounting to exceptional circumstances, an interpretation which has been accepted by the superior courts.
However the figures suggest the proportion of offenders receiving the minimum term is increasing.
In 2017/18, 7 per cent of offenders received 10 years or more (including suspended portions). Between 2011 and 2015 this figure was three per cent.
In 2018, judges handed down a total 701.75 prison years to serious drug offenders, of which 284½ were suspended. This was a large increase on 2017, when 446½ years were handed down with 190.7 years suspended.
The average sentence, including suspended portions, across both years was 4.89 years. The average effective prison term was 2.86 years.
The longest sentence handed down in 2017 and 2018 was 15 years which was imposed on Sean MacManus of Baldoyle, Dublin, for his role running a sophisticated cocaine laboratory in Cork.


theirishtimes--2020-02-17--Local authorities face rent hike on Nama-owned social housing properties

Local authorities and housing organisations are facing a rent hike on hundreds of Nama-owned social housing properties in the coming months , documents show .
The houses , which were acquired by Nama from their debtors for use as social housing , are leased out to county and city councils , and housing groups known as approved housing bodies ( AHBs ) .
In total , the toxic loan agency has more than 1,300 social housing units leased in this manner .
Former Nama chairman Frank Daly , who retired in December last year , warned Minister for Finance Paschal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rent reviews were “ likely to impact the AHBs and local authorities ” , but not tenants , whose contribution to rents will not be affected .
A briefing note prepared for Mr Donohoe said that the rent review clauses “ could give rise to some commentary ” .
The rent reviews , which will trigger increases as they are indexed to ever-increasing rental indices , are beginning to fall due this year as Nama entered the first of the leases in 2014 , and the rent reviews fall every six years under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the department said the increased income from the Nama social housing units “ will form part of the Nama surplus which will begin to return to the State later this year .
Even with these index-linked increases , the rents in most cases will still be well below current market prices ” .
Nama manages its social housing through a separate entity called National Asset Residential Property Services ( Narps ) .
Late in 2018 , the agency was considering a sale of the social housing vehicle , according to separate briefing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Information laws .
They showed that “ Nama had expected to bring Narps to the market later this year ” and that Mr Donohoe had indicated “ cautious approval ” for this strategy , if it could be guaranteed that all the housing contained within Narps would be used for the same purpose into the future .
However , such guarantees could not be given , and therefore the Minister decided that Nama would retain ownership of the entity , and that it would be transferred to the State when Nama winds up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the vehicle ’ s social housing mandate into the future ” .
The briefing notes contain lengthy sections on the investigation by the Comptroller and Auditor General into a Nama loan sale called Project Nantes .
The sale of loans linked to boom-era property developer Derek Quinlan is under examination by the State ’ s spending watchdog after allegations emerged that the loans were sold to a party connected to Mr Quinlan .
Former Independent TD Mick Wallace claimed in the Dáil that an ex-Quinlan executive , Mark Donnelly , was a director @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a discount of 92 per cent in 2012 .
Nama ’ s legal review of the sale deemed it did not breach rules on sales to parties connected to loans , and the agency has staunchly defended the price achieved on the deal .
While the C & AG has finished its report , it remains unpublished , and the sections in the briefing notes for Mr Donohoe related to Project Nantes are redacted entirely .
The final report was sent to Mr Donohoe at the end of December , and he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Dáil within three months of receiving it .

Nama has more than 1,300 social housing units leased out to councils and housing groups known as approved housing bodies. Photograph: Cyril Byrne
Local authorities and housing organisations are facing a rent hike on hundreds of Nama-owned social housing properties in the coming months, documents show.
The houses, which were acquired by Nama from their debtors for use as social housing, are leased out to county and city councils, and housing groups known as approved housing bodies (AHBs). In total, the toxic loan agency has more than 1,300 social housing units leased in this manner.
Former Nama chairman Frank Daly, who retired in December last year, warned Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe in October last year that upcoming rent reviews were "likely to impact the AHBs and local authorities", but not tenants, whose contribution to rents will not be affected. A briefing note prepared for Mr Donohoe said that the rent review clauses "could give rise to some commentary".
The rent reviews, which will trigger increases as they are indexed to ever-increasing rental indices, are beginning to fall due this year as Nama entered the first of the leases in 2014, and the rent reviews fall every six years under the lease agreements struck.
READ MORE
‘Cautious approval’
A spokesman for the department said the increased income from the Nama social housing units “will form part of the Nama surplus which will begin to return to the State later this year. Even with these index-linked increases, the rents in most cases will still be well below current market prices”.
Nama manages its social housing through a separate entity called National Asset Residential Property Services (Narps). Late in 2018, the agency was considering a sale of the social housing vehicle, according to separate briefing notes released last year under Freedom of Information laws.
They showed that “Nama had expected to bring Narps to the market later this year” and that Mr Donohoe had indicated “cautious approval” for this strategy, if it could be guaranteed that all the housing contained within Narps would be used for the same purpose into the future.
However, such guarantees could not be given, and therefore the Minister decided that Nama would retain ownership of the entity, and that it would be transferred to the State when Nama winds up next year “in order to protect the vehicle’s social housing mandate into the future”.
Allegations
The briefing notes contain lengthy sections on the investigation by the Comptroller and Auditor General into a Nama loan sale called Project Nantes. The sale of loans linked to boom-era property developer Derek Quinlan is under examination by the State's spending watchdog after allegations emerged that the loans were sold to a party connected to Mr Quinlan.
Former Independent TD Mick Wallace claimed in the Dáil that an ex-Quinlan executive, Mark Donnelly, was a director of the company which bought the loans at a discount of 92 per cent in 2012. Nama's legal review of the sale deemed it did not breach rules on sales to parties connected to loans, and the agency has staunchly defended the price achieved on the deal.
While the C&AG has finished its report, it remains unpublished, and the sections in the briefing notes for Mr Donohoe related to Project Nantes are redacted entirely. The final report was sent to Mr Donohoe at the end of December, and he is required to present its findings to the Dáil within three months of receiving it.


theirishtimes--2020-02-17--Eircodes never or rarely used by over 60% of people

More than six in 10 Irish people never or rarely use the Eircode system , more than four years after its introduction at a cost of €38 million , an official report has found .
The latest civil service customer satisfaction survey asked a nationally representative sample of people for the first time about individual usage of the postal code .
Specifically , it asked “ when providing your address ( for example , for postage or deliveries ) , how often , if at all , have you used your Eircode in the past year ?
” The survey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ MRBI , found that 30 per cent of the population never use their home or business ’ s unique seven-character code .
Another 32 per cent said they only used it occasionally .
Just over a fifth ( 22 per cent ) of the population use Eircode frequently while 14 per cent said they always used it , according to the findings , which were commissioned by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform .
The face-to-face survey of more than 2,000 people was carried out in March last year .
Jack Chambers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , said : “ After the big launch a number of years ago it appears the Government have a hands-off approach in ensuring full operational delivery and effectiveness of Eircode , with the majority of the population not using the service.
” “ Eircode was developed at a cost of €38 million – which was nearly €20 million more than it was budgeted for .
“ For a government that was so obsessed with spin and PR , they have been silent on highlighting the use of this multimillion euro endeavour to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Climate Action and Environment spokeswoman said “ an independent survey ” carried out by another pollster , Ámarach , in November “ found that 94 per cent of people are using Eircodes ” .
Asked why there was such a stark discrepancy in the findings of both surveys , the spokeswoman said “ research methodologies , sample size and demographic can all affect outcomes of surveys ” .
The spokeswoman said there were other indicators of its growing use , citing hits on the Eircode Finder website , a rise in businesses using @ @ @ @ @ @ @ providers and the National Ambulance Service .
Mark Griffin , secretary general of the Department of Communications , Climate Action and Environment , which oversees Eircode , told a parliamentary committee in January 2016 that the postcode system ’ s use would increase dramatically that year .
Launched in July 2015 , the system was expected to cost about €18 million .
The State ’ s spending watchdog , the Comptroller and Auditor General Séamus McCarthy , who put the final bill at €38 million , has said “ It is not clear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ achieved .
”

People surveyed were asked how often, if at all, they had used Eircode for example, for postage or deliveries in the past year. Photograph: Eric Luke
More than six in 10 Irish people never or rarely use the Eircode system, more than four years after its introduction at a cost of €38 million, an official report has found.
The latest civil service customer satisfaction survey asked a nationally representative sample of people for the first time about individual usage of the postal code.
Specifically, it asked “when providing your address (for example, for postage or deliveries), how often, if at all, have you used your Eircode in the past year?”
The survey, carried out by polling firm Ipsos MRBI, found that 30 per cent of the population never use their home or business's unique seven-character code. Another 32 per cent said they only used it occasionally.
READ MORE
Hands-off approach
Just over a fifth (22 per cent) of the population use Eircode frequently while 14 per cent said they always used it, according to the findings, which were commissioned by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
The face-to-face survey of more than 2,000 people was carried out in March last year.
Jack Chambers, Fianna Fáil's communications spokesman, said:"After the big launch a number of years ago it appears the Government have a hands-off approach in ensuring full operational delivery and effectiveness of Eircode, with the majority of the population not using the service."
“Eircode was developed at a cost of €38 million – which was nearly €20 million more than it was budgeted for.
“For a government that was so obsessed with spin and PR, they have been silent on highlighting the use of this multimillion euro endeavour to the public.”
A Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment spokeswoman said “an independent survey” carried out by another pollster, Ámarach, in November “found that 94 per cent of people are using Eircodes”.
Stark discrepancy
Asked why there was such a stark discrepancy in the findings of both surveys, the spokeswoman said “research methodologies, sample size and demographic can all affect outcomes of surveys”.
The spokeswoman said there were other indicators of its growing use, citing hits on the Eircode Finder website, a rise in businesses using the code and its use by satnav providers and the National Ambulance Service.
Mark Griffin, secretary general of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, which oversees Eircode, told a parliamentary committee in January 2016 that the postcode system's use would increase dramatically that year.
Launched in July 2015, the system was expected to cost about €18 million.
The State’s spending watchdog, the Comptroller and Auditor General Séamus McCarthy, who put the final bill at €38 million, has said “It is not clear that benefits to the value-projected will be achieved.”


theirishtimes--2020-02-17--Email overtakes phone as most popular way to contact public services

Email has overtaken the traditional telephone call for the first time as the most popular way people get in touch with the State ’ s public services .
The number of people contacting the likes of social welfare offices , Revenue and the Passport Office electronically has more than tripled over the past two years , findings in an official study show .
In 2017 just 9 per cent of people used email to make queries or carry out transactions with public services .
Last year the figure soared to 29 per cent .
Over the same period , numbers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make queries or carry out transactions has fallen sharply , from 42 per cent to 28 per cent .
The findings are published in the latest civil service customer satisfaction survey , which is carried out by Ipsos MRBI for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform .
“ [ Email ] is now the main interaction method , narrowly ahead of telephone for the first time , ” the report notes .
There has also been a steady decline over the past decade in the number of people turning up at Irish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staff over the counter .
The survey shows that in 2009 more than four in 10 ( 41 per cent ) interactions with public services were face to face .
By 2015 that had dropped to just over three in 10 ( 31 per cent ) and it was down again to 29 per cent in 2017 .
Last year , less than a quarter ( 23 per cent ) of people chose to , or were able , to have a conversation in person with their local public services offices .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use pen and paper to engage in written correspondence with public servants , letter writers are also in steep decline , the study confirms .
Two years ago , 12 per cent of people dealing with public services did so through the post .
Last year the proportion had halved to just 6 per cent .
The survey showed more than a tenth ( 11 per cent ) of interactions are now through online portals and websites , with smaller numbers getting in contact through apps ( 2 per cent ) and webchat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carried out face-to-face interviews with a nationally representative sample of more than 2,000 adults in March last year for the study , the eighth of its kind since 1997 .
They found that less than half ( 48 per cent ) of the population had any dealings with public services over the previous 12 months .
The three most contacted offices are Revenue Commissioners ( 18 per cent ) , the Passport Office ( 15 per cent ) and offices under the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection ( 13 per cent @ @

In 2017 just 9 per cent of people used email to make queries or carry out transactions with public services. Last year the figure soared to 29 per cent. Photograph: iStock
Email has overtaken the traditional telephone call for the first time as the most popular way people get in touch with the State’s public services.
The number of people contacting the likes of social welfare offices, Revenue and the Passport Office electronically has more than tripled over the past two years, findings in an official study show.
In 2017 just 9 per cent of people used email to make queries or carry out transactions with public services. Last year the figure soared to 29 per cent.
Over the same period, numbers choosing to pick up the phone to make queries or carry out transactions has fallen sharply, from 42 per cent to 28 per cent.
READ MORE
The findings are published in the latest civil service customer satisfaction survey, which is carried out by Ipsos MRBI for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
“[Email] is now the main interaction method, narrowly ahead of telephone for the first time,” the report notes.
There has also been a steady decline over the past decade in the number of people turning up at Irish public offices to deal in person with staff over the counter.
Survey results
The survey shows that in 2009 more than four in 10 (41 per cent) interactions with public services were face to face. By 2015 that had dropped to just over three in 10 (31 per cent) and it was down again to 29 per cent in 2017.
Last year, less than a quarter (23 per cent) of people chose to, or were able, to have a conversation in person with their local public services offices.
And although a small proportion of people still use pen and paper to engage in written correspondence with public servants, letter writers are also in steep decline, the study confirms.
Two years ago, 12 per cent of people dealing with public services did so through the post. Last year the proportion had halved to just 6 per cent.
The survey showed more than a tenth (11 per cent) of interactions are now through online portals and websites, with smaller numbers getting in contact through apps (2 per cent) and webchat (1 per cent).
Pollsters carried out face-to-face interviews with a nationally representative sample of more than 2,000 adults in March last year for the study, the eighth of its kind since 1997.
They found that less than half (48 per cent) of the population had any dealings with public services over the previous 12 months.
The three most contacted offices are Revenue Commissioners (18 per cent), the Passport Office (15 per cent) and offices under the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (13 per cent).


theirishtimes--2020-02-17--Magdalene survivor’s UN case of key importance, lawyer says

A case before the United Nations , in which a Magdalene survivor alleges she is being denied justice by the Irish State , could have far-reaching implications for the approach to historical abuse , a lawyer has said .
Maeve O ’ Rourke , a leading lawyer on the case was speaking as the UN Committee Against Torture ( UNCat ) begins an investigation into the treatment of Elizabeth Coppin ( 70 ) .
“ It raises significant issues of accountability .
It is about proper acknowledgement of the legal wrongs done and the State ’ s role in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ O ’ Rourke .
Ms Coppin alleges her human rights continue to be violated by the State ’ s “ refusal to properly investigate ” the alleged abuses she experienced in laundries between 1951 and 1968 .
Now living in Cambridgeshire , England , Ms Coppin was born in Co Kerry to an unmarried woman ( 19 ) in 1949 .
The courts committed her to an industrial school in Tralee when she was two , be detained until her 16th birthday .
In 1964 , aged 14 she was transferred to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 1966 but was apprehended , returned , and transferred to another laundry in Sunday ’ s Well , Cork .
In 1967 she was moved to St Mary ’ s laundry in Waterford and released in 1968 , aged 18 .
She emigrated to England in 1969 .
During her 16 years in institutions Ms Coppin alleges she was subjected to arbitrary detention , beatings , forced labour without pay , human trafficking , humiliation , denial of education , denial of identity , denial of a family life , neglect , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alleged abuses preceded Ireland ’ s ratification of the UN Convention Against Torture in 2002 , Ms Coppin argues the continued failure of the State to investigate her complaints or to provide the means for full rehabilitation , constitute ongoing breaches of her rights , under articles 12 to 14 , and 16 .
These guarantee a “ prompt and impartial investigation ” for alleged victims of torture , or cruel or degrading treatment ; and “ fair and adequate compensation , including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible ” .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ other acts of cruel , inhuman or degrading treatment .
.
.
committed by or .
.
.
with the consent or acquiescence of a public official ” .
She “ has exhausted all available domestic remedies ” in seeking an impartial investigation .
Statements to gardaí in 1997 and 1998 were not investigated , she says .
Her 2000 High Court proceedings against the religious and the State were struck out due to the lapse of time .
An award from the Residential Institutions Redress Board in 2005 entailed no admission of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Magdalene laundries , chaired by then senator Martin McAleese , had no remit to investigate criminal abuse .
The 2013 Magdalene Laundries Restorative Justice Scheme offered Ms Coppin an award based only on the time she spent in laundries with no admission of liability .
Ex gratia payments to Ms Coppin and other survivors are “ not enough ” , says Ms O ’ Rourke .
“ Survivors must have access to all their files showing how decisions were made that allowed these abuses to happen.
” A spokesman confirmed the Department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ admissibility of Ms Coppin ’ s case on January 22nd , 2020 .
“ A number of departments will be required to provide input .
.
.
The deadline for providing a response to the office of the High Commissioner is 20th May , 2020 .
”

Elizabeth Coppin: alleges her human rights continue to be violated by the State’s “refusal to properly investigate” the alleged abuses she experienced in laundries between 1951 and 1968. Photograph: Joanne O’Brien
A case before the United Nations, in which a Magdalene survivor alleges she is being denied justice by the Irish State, could have far-reaching implications for the approach to historical abuse, a lawyer has said.
Maeve O'Rourke, a leading lawyer on the case was speaking as the UN Committee Against Torture (UNCat) begins an investigation into the treatment of Elizabeth Coppin (70).
“It raises significant issues of accountability. It is about proper acknowledgement of the legal wrongs done and the State’s role in the suppression of evidence,” said Ms O’Rourke.
Ms Coppin alleges her human rights continue to be violated by the State’s “refusal to properly investigate” the alleged abuses she experienced in laundries between 1951 and 1968.
READ MORE
Now living in Cambridgeshire, England, Ms Coppin was born in Co Kerry to an unmarried woman (19) in 1949. The courts committed her to an industrial school in Tralee when she was two, be detained until her 16th birthday.
Detention and beatings
In 1964, aged 14 she was transferred to a Magdalene laundry in Cork. She escaped in 1966 but was apprehended, returned, and transferred to another laundry in Sunday's Well, Cork. In 1967 she was moved to St Mary's laundry in Waterford and released in 1968, aged 18. She emigrated to England in 1969.
During her 16 years in institutions Ms Coppin alleges she was subjected to arbitrary detention, beatings, forced labour without pay, human trafficking, humiliation, denial of education, denial of identity, denial of a family life, neglect, starvation and religious denigration.
Though the alleged abuses preceded Ireland’s ratification of the UN Convention Against Torture in 2002, Ms Coppin argues the continued failure of the State to investigate her complaints or to provide the means for full rehabilitation, constitute ongoing breaches of her rights, under articles 12 to 14, and 16.
These guarantee a “prompt and impartial investigation” for alleged victims of torture, or cruel or degrading treatment; and “fair and adequate compensation, including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible”. Signatory states are obliged to prevent “other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment . . . committed by or . . . with the consent or acquiescence of a public official”.
She “has exhausted all available domestic remedies” in seeking an impartial investigation.
Admission of liability
Statements to gardaí in 1997 and 1998 were not investigated, she says. Her 2000 High Court proceedings against the religious and the State were struck out due to the lapse of time. An award from the Residential Institutions Redress Board in 2005 entailed no admission of liability. The 2011 Interdepartmental Committee on the Magdalene laundries, chaired by then senator Martin McAleese, had no remit to investigate criminal abuse.
The 2013 Magdalene Laundries Restorative Justice Scheme offered Ms Coppin an award based only on the time she spent in laundries with no admission of liability.
Ex gratia payments to Ms Coppin and other survivors are “not enough”, says Ms O’Rourke. “Survivors must have access to all their files showing how decisions were made that allowed these abuses to happen.”
A spokesman confirmed the Department of Justice received notification from UNCat of admissibility of Ms Coppin’s case on January 22nd, 2020. “A number of departments will be required to provide input . . . The deadline for providing a response to the office of the High Commissioner is 20th May, 2020.”


theirishtimes--2020-02-17--Magdalene survivor: ‘It feels like Ireland is abusing us again’

Elizabeth Coppin ( 70 ) feels “ very bitter ” towards the Catholic Church but “ much worse towards the Irish State ” .
“ They failed to protect me and thousands of other women like me , ” she says , “ and they ’ re still bullying us.
” The survivor of three Magdalene laundries , where she says she endured extreme physical and psychological abuse for 16 years , has been seeking justice from official Ireland for more than 20 years .
Having exhausted all avenues – including the gardaí , the courts , redress bodies and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she is now taking her case to the United Nations .
The UN Committee Against Torture , which has deemed her case admissible , has given the State until May 20th to respond .
It is a landmark case , being the first before the committee from a Magdalene survivor .
It challenges how the State engages with these women .
Ms Coppin is not asking the Geneva-based committee to decide whether she experienced “ torture and other cruel , inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment ” in the laundries – this is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ongoing failure of the State to properly investigate the human rights abuses perpetrated on the women ; to instigate criminal proceedings against the perpetrators ; to open up records which could elucidate why or how the abuses happened , or , even to acknowledge that the women ’ s human rights were violated , constitutes ongoing cruel , inhuman and degrading treatment by the State .
Ms Coppin ’ s 19-page statement to the committee , seen by The Irish Times , sets out over nine pages the abuses she says she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after that list her attempts to report the abuses and have them investigated .
She was born Elizabeth Riordan to an unmarried 19-year-old woman , in a mother and baby home in Killarney on May 21st , 1949 .
Her grandfather paid the nuns £100 to get his daughter out and bring her home to Gurteen , Listowel .
She was committed by the courts to Pembroke Alms industrial school for girls in Tralee , run by the Sisters of Mercy in August 1951 .
She was aged two .
“ I was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there by the nun in charge , ” she says .
She was beaten , starved and at one point tried to kill herself by “ setting herself on fire ” , she says .
On March 19th , 1964 she was transferred to another Magdalene laundry in Cork , perhaps the worst day of her youth , she says .
Speaking from her home in Cambridgeshire , England , she says she had always been told in the school there was somewhere worse .
“ It was a terrible shock ” to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I was so scared .
I had been always with children and babies .
Seeing all these old women and hearing them crying out at night was terrifying.
” The work was “ exhausting ” .
The women were not allowed to speak to each other .
They slept in “ cells ” locked from the outside .
“ I was in perpetual fear , ” she says .
She says the Good Shepherd laundry in Cork , to which she was transferred in 1966 , was worse and that her hair @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Enda .
In March 1967 she was moved to St Mary ’ s Magdalene laundry in Waterford , where she was happier .
She left in April 1968 , got a job in Dublin and in February 1969 “ had saved enough ” to go to England .
She married Peter Coppin in 1973 , had two children , and qualified as a school teacher .
However she says she “ suffered from profound depression and anxiety ” and had nightmares about being back in the laundries .
Having reconnected with her birth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much she had lost and in October 1997 “ decided to report what had happened [ to her ] ” to the gardaí .
Her statement was not followed up on , she says .
Further efforts to make the religious accountable were unsuccessful , while the State ’ s response has been to “ dangle money and hope we ’ d go away ” , she says .
She remains “ haunted ” she says by the lack of information about what was done to her , why and by whom .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of what happened in the laundries .
In my position you ’ re very dependent on the State to see you right , but it feels like all Ireland is doing is abusing us again .
I ’ m hoping the UN will condemn Ireland for what they ’ re still doing to us.
” In a statement , the Sisters of Mercy said : “ Such matters have been examined by the state authorities , who have had our fullest co-operation .
We have nothing further to add ” The Good Shepherd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a comment .

Elizabeth Coppin, at her home in England. ‘Ireland has never acknowledged the truth of what happened in the laundries.’ Photograph: Joanne O’Brien
Elizabeth Coppin (70) feels "very bitter" towards the Catholic Church but "much worse towards the Irish State".
“They failed to protect me and thousands of other women like me,” she says, “and they’re still bullying us.”
The survivor of three Magdalene laundries, where she says she endured extreme physical and psychological abuse for 16 years, has been seeking justice from official Ireland for more than 20 years. Having exhausted all avenues – including the gardaí, the courts, redress bodies and an appeal to a government minister – she is now taking her case to the United Nations.
The UN Committee Against Torture, which has deemed her case admissible, has given the State until May 20th to respond. It is a landmark case, being the first before the committee from a Magdalene survivor. It challenges how the State engages with these women.
READ MORE
Ms Coppin is not asking the Geneva-based committee to decide whether she experienced “torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” in the laundries – this is a given she says.
She argues the ongoing failure of the State to properly investigate the human rights abuses perpetrated on the women; to instigate criminal proceedings against the perpetrators; to open up records which could elucidate why or how the abuses happened, or, even to acknowledge that the women’s human rights were violated, constitutes ongoing cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by the State.
Ms Coppin’s 19-page statement to the committee, seen by The Irish Times, sets out over nine pages the abuses she says she suffered in her youth. The pages after that list her attempts to report the abuses and have them investigated.
She was born Elizabeth Riordan to an unmarried 19-year-old woman, in a mother and baby home in Killarney on May 21st, 1949. Her grandfather paid the nuns £100 to get his daughter out and bring her home to Gurteen, Listowel.
She was committed by the courts to Pembroke Alms industrial school for girls in Tralee, run by the Sisters of Mercy in August 1951. She was aged two.
“I was subjected to horrific emotional and physical abuse there by the nun in charge,” she says. She was beaten, starved and at one point tried to kill herself by “setting herself on fire”, she says.
On March 19th, 1964 she was transferred to another Magdalene laundry in Cork, perhaps the worst day of her youth, she says. Speaking from her home in Cambridgeshire, England, she says she had always been told in the school there was somewhere worse. "It was a terrible shock" to realise she was being sent there. "I was so scared. I had been always with children and babies. Seeing all these old women and hearing them crying out at night was terrifying."
The work was “exhausting”. The women were not allowed to speak to each other. They slept in “cells” locked from the outside. “I was in perpetual fear,” she says.
She says the Good Shepherd laundry in Cork, to which she was transferred in 1966, was worse and that her hair was shorn and her name changed to Enda. In March 1967 she was moved to St Mary's Magdalene laundry in Waterford, where she was happier. She left in April 1968, got a job in Dublin and in February 1969 "had saved enough" to go to England.
Married
She married Peter Coppin in 1973, had two children, and qualified as a school teacher. However she says she "suffered from profound depression and anxiety" and had nightmares about being back in the laundries. Having reconnected with her birth family in the 1980s she realised how much she had lost and in October 1997 "decided to report what had happened [to her]" to the gardaí. Her statement was not followed up on, she says.
Further efforts to make the religious accountable were unsuccessful, while the State’s response has been to “dangle money and hope we’d go away”, she says.
She remains “haunted” she says by the lack of information about what was done to her, why and by whom.
“Ireland has never acknowledged the truth of what happened in the laundries. In my position you’re very dependent on the State to see you right, but it feels like all Ireland is doing is abusing us again. I’m hoping the UN will condemn Ireland for what they’re still doing to us.”
In a statement, the Sisters of Mercy said: “Such matters have been examined by the state authorities, who have had our fullest co-operation. We have nothing further to add”The Good Shepherd Sisters did not respond to a request for a comment.


theirishtimes--2020-02-17--Almost 50 nursing homes risk denial of registration due to building standards

Almost 50 nursing homes are at risk of being denied re-registration due to the buildings failing to meet required standards , the health and safety watchdog has warned .
A nursing home must be registered with the Health Information and Quality Authority ( Hiqa ) in order to be allowed to operate .
In March , Hiqa sent a briefing note to the Minister for Health Simon Harris warning of issues relating to the suitability of the centres due to their construct infringing on the “ privacy , dignity and safety of patients ” .
Hiqa said that the way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ residents typically experience institutional care , with people having to live in multi-occupancy rooms , have a service which dictates when they get out of bed and can get a meal , and staff who are overly risk-averse and can not support people to live meaningful lives .
The correspondence , obtained under the Freedom of Information Act , states there was a risk in 2015 that the failure to comply with regulations would “ result in the closure of a number of nursing homes across the country ” .
To avoid this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to allow the services to carry out extensive capital works and come into compliance with directives pertaining to the physical environment and bedroom sizes .
However , at least 45 residential centres for older persons have now informed Hiqa that it is unlikely they will meet this deadline , putting their registration at risk .
“ It is now becoming apparent that agreed plans for particular centres are either not happening at all or are not advancing at the required pace , ” the briefing note states .
“ Thus there is now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ centres will be in breach of the conditions of their registration , which could result in the cancellation of their registration.
” A reduction in the number of beds in centres could result in the non-compliant centres being brought back into compliance and being permitted to continue operating , a spokeswoman for Hiqa said .
However , this will have an impact on the capacity of the sector .
To date Hiqa has had to request six centres to reduce the number of residents they take in to secure re-registration .
The majority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are either operated or funded by the HSE .
“ It is of concern to the chief inspector that the HSE ’ s service plan for 2019 makes little reference to any plan for substantial capital investment in designated centres , ” the correspondence said .
“ For example , there is no mention in the section on older person ’ s services of any capital programme to bring centres into compliance with regulations by the 2021 deadline.
” A spokeswoman with the HSE said the executive was currently in the process of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for older people , and it had seen a “ significant progression of refurbishment ” .
“ This capital programme commenced in 2016 , and in its lifetime from 2016-2021 , a value of over €500 million was assigned for this particular purpose , including the build/refurbishment of approximately 90 centres requiring such upgrading of infrastructure.
” The spokeswoman added that the HSE would continue to work with Hiqa where any issues of concern were raised in a centre .

To date Hiqa has had to request six nursing homes to reduce the number of residents they take in to secure re-registration.
Almost 50 nursing homes are at risk of being denied re-registration due to the buildings failing to meet required standards, the health and safety watchdog has warned.
A nursing home must be registered with the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) in order to be allowed to operate. In March, Hiqa sent a briefing note to the Minister for Health Simon Harris warning of issues relating to the suitability of the centres due to their construct infringing on the "privacy, dignity and safety of patients".
Hiqa said that the way in which the centres were built means residents typically experience institutional care, with people having to live in multi-occupancy rooms, have a service which dictates when they get out of bed and can get a meal, and staff who are overly risk-averse and cannot support people to live meaningful lives.
The correspondence, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, states there was a risk in 2015 that the failure to comply with regulations would “result in the closure of a number of nursing homes across the country”.
READ MORE
To avoid this the government introduced an extension until 2021 to allow the services to carry out extensive capital works and come into compliance with directives pertaining to the physical environment and bedroom sizes.
However, at least 45 residential centres for older persons have now informed Hiqa that it is unlikely they will meet this deadline, putting their registration at risk.
“It is now becoming apparent that agreed plans for particular centres are either not happening at all or are not advancing at the required pace,” the briefing note states. “Thus there is now an impending risk that a number of centres will be in breach of the conditions of their registration, which could result in the cancellation of their registration.”
A reduction in the number of beds in centres could result in the non-compliant centres being brought back into compliance and being permitted to continue operating, a spokeswoman for Hiqa said.
However, this will have an impact on the capacity of the sector. To date Hiqa has had to request six centres to reduce the number of residents they take in to secure re-registration.
Chief inspector
The majority of the centres that require capital investment are either operated or funded by the HSE.
“It is of concern to the chief inspector that the HSE’s service plan for 2019 makes little reference to any plan for substantial capital investment in designated centres,” the correspondence said.
“For example, there is no mention in the section on older person’s services of any capital programme to bring centres into compliance with regulations by the 2021 deadline.”
A spokeswoman with the HSE said the executive was currently in the process of implementing its capital programme for residential services for older people, and it had seen a “significant progression of refurbishment”.
“This capital programme commenced in 2016, and in its lifetime from 2016-2021, a value of over €500 million was assigned for this particular purpose, including the build/refurbishment of approximately 90 centres requiring such upgrading of infrastructure.”
The spokeswoman added that the HSE would continue to work with Hiqa where any issues of concern were raised in a centre.


theirishtimes--2020-02-17--Everything you need to know about pensions but were afraid to ask

Now that the dust has settled on the election – sort of – it ’ s as good a time as any to look at one of the topics that threatened to become hot during the course of the campaign .
Pensions–- and yes , that might well be the first time pensions have ever been described as hot .
Just how hot pensions were is open to debate , mind you .
According to the exit poll published by The Irish Times , it was the third most important issue people voted on .
But just 8 per cent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voting and it was a long way behind housing and healthcare .
Proposed changes to the pension age did not rate as an issue at all for the youngest voters .
So if it mattered to only 8 per cent of voters and the election has now passed , can we forget about the topic until the next election ?
Sadly no .
While pensions and election cycles are not easy bedfellows , with the former playing out over several decades and the latter focusing on what happens over a five-year period , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ matter what your political persuasion is , we are living in troubling times because we are all living longer .
While that is obviously good news , it is not problem-free .
When German chancellor Otto Von Bismarck introduced a state pension in the 1860s , he set the age at 65 , knowing full well that few of his countrymen would live to collect it .
However , life expectancy in this part of the world has increased dramatically over the last 150 years and women can reasonably expect to live beyond @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – men will live until they hit 80 .
People in Ireland who turn 65 in 2020 will , on average , live 50 per cent longer than people who reached that age in 1970 and while there are now about five workers paying tax and PRSI for every retiree , in 30 years ’ time that figure will be two workers per retiree .
That is going to place a large burden on the State ’ s coffers in the years ahead and private pensions do not look like they are remotely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ study published earlier this month found that almost half of Ireland ’ s workers have no private pension , with 37 per cent of this cohort saying high rent and other day-to-day bills were making it impossible for them to afford it and almost one in five saying they did not know how to start a pension .
According to the Matrix Recruitment pension survey , of the 52 per cent who said they contributed to a pension , 41 per cent said they were not confident it would be enough to live @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cent responded that they simply didn ’ t know if their pension would be enough for retirement .
And how much is enough ?
Probably more than you think .
“ Irish people ’ s standard of living has rocketed in the past 30 years and most people want to maintain their standard of living in retirement , so it is important to save enough to live comfortably , ” says Sinéad McEvoy , pensions technical manager with Standard Life .
“ People owning pensions and , secondly , saving enough into them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” she says .
If about half of the private sector has a pension and the average size is about €5,400 is that enough ?
No , McEvoy says .
“ This is not enough to live on even if you qualify for the maximum State pension of €12,900 .
A combined retirement income of €18,400 per annum will not stretch to paying the bills , running a car , holidays abroad , ” she says .
The cost of paying into a pension is a big concern for many people .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ starting a pension have been well documented , ” says Breda Dooley of Matrix Recruitment .
“ Lack of knowledge , inertia and the assumption that a pension is not relevant are all issues people generally reference .
“ But now , according to these findings , we are seeing a significant number of people without a pension saying that they can ’ t afford it .
What makes this more worrying is that with Ireland ’ s growing ageing population and the pension savings gap getting wider , the real question is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a pension ?
” So when it comes to pensions what more do you need to know .
Pricewatch asked some questions and then tried to answer them .
Do I need a private pension ?
Will the State not look after me ?
Don ’ t count on it .
The maximum State pension right now is €12,900 – that is just under €250 a week , so if you fancy spending your golden years taking round-the-world trips , trekking to Machu Picchu and doing other fun things you had put off @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family commitments , then you will need more than that .
How much more will I need ?
That depends .
Most experts suggest that an “ adequate ” gross retirement income is about 50 per cent of gross pre-retirement income .
So if you earn €80,000 on the day you retire , you need a pension income of €40,000 .
If you are one of the lucky ones who get the maximum State pension of €12,900 then you will need about €27,000 .
To get to that magic number you would need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Is that a lot ?
It sounds like a lot .
It is .
Pricewatch asked asked the number-crunchers at Standard Life to work out how much we would need to put aside .
To retire with a private pension of €19,500 a year – which is half the average industrial wage – at at age 68 , you need to save a fund of €463,900 .
The cost of saving to get to the same final amount almost doubles every 10 years you delay saving .
So if you start saving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aside a gross sum of €301 per month .
With tax relief at the top rate , it is actually €164 .
If you start at 35 , then you need to put aside €519 a month before tax , which works out at €283 with the reliefs in place .
And if you start at 45 then the monthly gross savings come in at €969 , which is €529 with tax relief .
The above excludes the maximum State pension of €12,900 .
If you combine it with the €19,500 , you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which is close to the average person ’ s desired retirement income of about €35,000 .
There ’ s a big difference between starting at 25 and 45 ?
Yep : every 10 years that you delay starting saving means you double the cost of how much you need to put away to get to the same place when you retire .
When will I get the State pension ?
Well isn ’ t that the €13,000 question .
As it stands the qualifying age for the old-age pension is 66 but it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then 68 in 2028 , with a jobseeker ’ s payment for those who retire now at 65 to take them to age 66 when the pension kicks in .
But the jobseeker ’ s allowance lasts only nine months : after that , applicants are subject to a means test .
In 2021 , the situation gets worse with the gap moving from one year to two and people relying on means-tested allowances for even longer .
Of course , all this depends on what a new government will do , with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the age return to 65 .
Will that fix the pension crisis ?
No .
It can only really be solved by working longer , paying more PRSI or accepting a lower or even a means-tested State pension .
It is worth noting that a pension age of 65 came in only in the 1970s – before that , the pension age in Ireland was 70 .
Absolutely .
A good employer will pay between 5 and 10 per cent of your annual salary into a pension scheme .
If your company has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ per year , the company will put between €2,000 and €4,000 into your pension pot every year .
You will have to match at least some of this contribution .
What are the tax implications ?
Saving into your pension is arguably the best and most needed tax break left .
It takes a good chunk of time , adequate saving and good investment choices to produce a decent-sized pot .
Revenue knows this , hence the tax breaks provided .
Most people still don ’ t realise saving into a pension is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A Standard Life survey last year found that 59 per cent of people either do not know pensions are tax-efficient or think they ’ re not .
Tell me more .
Well , pensions have a triple tax efficiency – contributions , investment growth and 25 per cent tax-free at retirement .
On contributions you can receive up to 40 per cent income tax relief ( after USC and PRSI are paid ) if you are a higher-rate taxpayer earning €35,501 or more .
Why would you pay 40 per cent of your @ @ @ @ @ @ @ afford for it to go directly to your pension pot and pay for a decent retirement ?
Standard-rate taxpayers receive tax relief at 20 per cent – which is still a valuable tax relief for savers .
This contrasts with deposits in banks , credit unions , etc , where Dirt is charged at 33 per cent .
Investment growth of the fund over 30-40 years or more is tax-free and compound interest also performs its magic .
For defined-contribution pension savers based on your own savings , employers ’ contributions – if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at retirement age you are entitled to take 25 per cent of your fund tax-free .
Back up for a second : where does the State pension actually come from ?
It is paid from the social insurance fund – PRSI payments go into this fund and welfare payments , including the State pension , come out of it .
How is that fund doing right now ?
Not badly , as it happens .
The fund recently returned to surplus as a surge in employment saw more PRSI payments going into the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pointing to trouble in the future as an increasing number of older people as a proportion of the population will mean the fund will struggle .
What can be done ?
Well , the State pension can be tackled and people can be encouraged to start saving towards their retirement income needs using something called “ auto-enrolment ” .
What is that ?
It would see every worker automatically enrolled in a pension scheme – obviously enough .
The move would affect about 600,000 private-sector workers who are not part of a private @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The idea is that all workers between the ages of 23 and 60 who earn more than €20,000 per year would be enrolled in the scheme unless they were already members of an occupational scheme .
As a starting point they would pay 1 per cent of their gross income into the scheme , rising over time to 6 per cent .
That would be matched by the employer .
The State would also make a contribution – this was suggested at €1 for every €3 contributed into the scheme .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proactively to opt out at a point within the first year of membership .
The thinking is that most people , once they were in , would simply stay in .
But , if not , the proposal is that they would be re-enrolled at a later point when , possibly , they would be more mature and more open to the concept of pension saving .
Workers would have a choice of investment funds , albeit a fairly select one : if they didn ’ t make a choice , their money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The pension they got on retirement would be determined by how much they contributed and how good the investment fund performance was .
That sounds sensible – is it going to happen ?
The finer details are still being ironed out and , as with all things in Ireland , just because something is sensible does not mean it will happen , particularly if it is politicised .
And make no mistake , pensions are a political hot potato .
So I need a private pension : where should I start ?
According @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are “ lots of different type of pension pots with varying returns .
That said , the oldest and one of the best-owned pension funds in the marketplace over the last 30 years is the pension managed fund ” .
At the risk of sounding like the tracker mortgage guy on the bus , I don ’ t know what a managed fund is .
Typically it contains a spread of equities – somewhere between 50 and 70 per cent , usually – with the remainder in lower-risk assets such as bonds , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ returns ?
They are not bad really , all things considered .
Over the last 30 years the average active-managed pension fund has returned a very healthy 8.24 per cent per annum .
McEvoy says her own company ’ s active-managed pension fund “ returned a chunky 8.9 per cent per annum over almost 36 years ” .
What does that mean in cash terms ?
If you had saved €250 per month over this 36-year period , your total savings would have been €107,750 and your total pot would have been €627,665 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your money back .
Generally speaking , how are pension funds doing ?
There are good years and there are bad years .
Last year was a good one – the average Irish active-managed pension fund produced bumper returns in 2019 , making it the best year for investment returns in a decade .
Its value increased by more than a fifth or a return of 20.6 per cent over 12 months , according to Rubicon Investment Consulting , And what about 2018 ?
You had to ask , didn ’ t you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pension fund investors in the previous 10 years , as all funds lost ground , with the average loss coming to 5.2 per cent .
Rubicon has figures for the past 20 years , which show that the average annual return over the period was 4.7 per cent .
That covers a period that includes the heady years of the Celtic Tiger and the subsequent markets crash and recession .
Charges occur at various stages : when a pension plan is set up , during the contribution phase and when a member exits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be borne by either the employer or the member .
Anyone making a pension move or decision should consider the effect of charges .
What about topping up my pension ?
Additional voluntary contributions ( AVCs ) are most useful for those behind in their retirement saving or uncertain about the future value of their final-salary pension scheme .
If you are starting out and have no serious drains on your finances other than nightclubs and fancy shoes , put a few bob into AVCs .
They will grow your pension pot quickly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from pension shocks .

Now that the dust has settled on the election – sort of – it’s as good a time as any to look at one of the topics that threatened to become hot during the course of the campaign.
Pensions–- and yes, that might well be the first time pensions have ever been described as hot.
Just how hot pensions were is open to debate, mind you. According to the exit poll published by The Irish Times, it was the third most important issue people voted on. But just 8 per cent said pensions mattered most to them when voting and it was a long way behind housing and healthcare. Proposed changes to the pension age did not rate as an issue at all for the youngest voters.
So if it mattered to only 8 per cent of voters and the election has now passed, can we forget about the topic until the next election?
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Sadly no. While pensions and election cycles are not easy bedfellows, with the former playing out over several decades and the latter focusing on what happens over a five-year period, the conversation must continue. Because no matter what your political persuasion is, we are living in troubling times because we are all living longer. While that is obviously good news, it is not problem-free.
For the past six years, a large cohort of people has retired at 65 to find that they cannot access their State pension until they turn 66. From next year, that gap widens to 67. Video: Enda O'Dowd
When German chancellor Otto Von Bismarck introduced a state pension in the 1860s, he set the age at 65, knowing full well that few of his countrymen would live to collect it. However, life expectancy in this part of the world has increased dramatically over the last 150 years and women can reasonably expect to live beyond 84 while – all things being equal – men will live until they hit 80.
People in Ireland who turn 65 in 2020 will, on average, live 50 per cent longer than people who reached that age in 1970 and while there are now about five workers paying tax and PRSI for every retiree, in 30 years’ time that figure will be two workers per retiree.
That is going to place a large burden on the State’s coffers in the years ahead and private pensions do not look like they are remotely ready to fill the gap.
A study published earlier this month found that almost half of Ireland’s workers have no private pension, with 37 per cent of this cohort saying high rent and other day-to-day bills were making it impossible for them to afford it and almost one in five saying they did not know how to start a pension.
According to the Matrix Recruitment pension survey, of the 52 per cent who said they contributed to a pension, 41 per cent said they were not confident it would be enough to live off in retirement, while 31 per cent responded that they simply didn’t know if their pension would be enough for retirement.
And how much is enough? Probably more than you think. “Irish people’s standard of living has rocketed in the past 30 years and most people want to maintain their standard of living in retirement, so it is important to save enough to live comfortably,” says Sinéad McEvoy, pensions technical manager with Standard Life.
“People owning pensions and, secondly, saving enough into them are two major issues in Ireland,” she says.
If about half of the private sector has a pension and the average size is about €5,400 is that enough? No, McEvoy says. “This is not enough to live on even if you qualify for the maximum State pension of €12,900. A combined retirement income of €18,400 per annum will not stretch to paying the bills, running a car, holidays abroad,” she says.
The cost of paying into a pension is a big concern for many people. “The more traditional reasons for people not starting a pension have been well documented,” says Breda Dooley of Matrix Recruitment. “Lack of knowledge, inertia and the assumption that a pension is not relevant are all issues people generally reference.
“But now, according to these findings, we are seeing a significant number of people without a pension saying that they can’t afford it. What makes this more worrying is that with Ireland’s growing ageing population and the pension savings gap getting wider, the real question is: can people afford not to have a pension?”
So when it comes to pensions what more do you need to know. Pricewatch asked some questions and then tried to answer them.
Do I need a private pension? Will the State not look after me?
Don’t count on it. The maximum State pension right now is €12,900 – that is just under €250 a week, so if you fancy spending your golden years taking round-the-world trips, trekking to Machu Picchu and doing other fun things you had put off earlier in life because of work and family commitments, then you will need more than that.
How much more will I need?
That depends. Most experts suggest that an “adequate” gross retirement income is about 50 per cent of gross pre-retirement income. So if you earn €80,000 on the day you retire, you need a pension income of €40,000. If you are one of the lucky ones who get the maximum State pension of €12,900 then you will need about €27,000. To get to that magic number you would need a fund of between €700,000 and €950,000.
Is that a lot? It sounds like a lot.
It is. Pricewatch asked asked the number-crunchers at Standard Life to work out how much we would need to put aside. To retire with a private pension of €19,500 a year – which is half the average industrial wage – at at age 68, you need to save a fund of €463,900.
The cost of saving to get to the same final amount almost doubles every 10 years you delay saving. So if you start saving at 25 you will need to put aside a gross sum of €301 per month. With tax relief at the top rate, it is actually €164. If you start at 35, then you need to put aside €519 a month before tax, which works out at €283 with the reliefs in place. And if you start at 45 then the monthly gross savings come in at €969, which is €529 with tax relief.
The above excludes the maximum State pension of €12,900. If you combine it with the €19,500, you get an annual income of €32,400, which is close to the average person’s desired retirement income of about €35,000.
There’s a big difference between starting at 25 and 45?
Yep: every 10 years that you delay starting saving means you double the cost of how much you need to put away to get to the same place when you retire.
When will I get the State pension?
Well isn’t that the €13,000 question. As it stands the qualifying age for the old-age pension is 66 but it will rise to 67 in 2021 and then 68 in 2028, with a jobseeker’s payment for those who retire now at 65 to take them to age 66 when the pension kicks in. But the jobseeker’s allowance lasts only nine months: after that, applicants are subject to a means test. In 2021, the situation gets worse with the gap moving from one year to two and people relying on means-tested allowances for even longer. Of course, all this depends on what a new government will do, with some parties suggesting they want to see the age return to 65. However, if a person aged 65 or over has at least 156 PRSI contribution weeks paid they will continue to receive Jobseekers Benefit even when benefit exhausts, until they reach State pension age.
Will that fix the pension crisis?
No. It can only really be solved by working longer, paying more PRSI or accepting a lower or even a means-tested State pension. It is worth noting that a pension age of 65 came in only in the 1970s – before that, the pension age in Ireland was 70.
Should I join my company scheme?
Absolutely. A good employer will pay between 5 and 10 per cent of your annual salary into a pension scheme. If your company has a decent scheme and you earn €40,000 per year, the company will put between €2,000 and €4,000 into your pension pot every year. You will have to match at least some of this contribution.
What are the tax implications?
Saving into your pension is arguably the best and most needed tax break left. It takes a good chunk of time, adequate saving and good investment choices to produce a decent-sized pot. Revenue knows this, hence the tax breaks provided.
Most people still don’t realise saving into a pension is tax-efficient, which is a shame. A Standard Life survey last year found that 59 per cent of people either do not know pensions are tax-efficient or think they’re not.
Tell me more.
Well, pensions have a triple tax efficiency – contributions, investment growth and 25 per cent tax-free at retirement.
On contributions you can receive up to 40 per cent income tax relief (after USC and PRSI are paid) if you are a higher-rate taxpayer earning €35,501 or more. Why would you pay 40 per cent of your income to the taxman if you could afford for it to go directly to your pension pot and pay for a decent retirement? Standard-rate taxpayers receive tax relief at 20 per cent – which is still a valuable tax relief for savers.
This contrasts with deposits in banks, credit unions, etc, where Dirt is charged at 33 per cent. Investment growth of the fund over 30-40 years or more is tax-free and compound interest also performs its magic.
For defined-contribution pension savers based on your own savings, employers’ contributions – if they contribute – and stock-market returns, at retirement age you are entitled to take 25 per cent of your fund tax-free.
Back up for a second: where does the State pension actually come from?
It is paid from the social insurance fund – PRSI payments go into this fund and welfare payments, including the State pension, come out of it.
How is that fund doing right now?
Not badly, as it happens. The fund recently returned to surplus as a surge in employment saw more PRSI payments going into the pot. But all the signs are pointing to trouble in the future as an increasing number of older people as a proportion of the population will mean the fund will struggle.
What can be done?
Well, the State pension can be tackled and people can be encouraged to start saving towards their retirement income needs using something called “auto-enrolment”.
What is that?
It would see every worker automatically enrolled in a pension scheme – obviously enough. The move would affect about 600,000 private-sector workers who are not part of a private work-based, or occupational, pension scheme.
The idea is that all workers between the ages of 23 and 60 who earn more than €20,000 per year would be enrolled in the scheme unless they were already members of an occupational scheme. As a starting point they would pay 1.5 per cent of their gross income into the scheme, rising over time to 6 per cent. That would be matched by the employer. The State would also make a contribution – this was suggested at €1 for every €3 contributed into the scheme.
In an auto-enrolment scheme a worker could choose proactively to opt out at a point within two months after making six months of contributions . The thinking is that most people, once they were in, would simply stay in. But, if not, the proposal is that they would be re-enrolled at a later point when, possibly, they would be more mature and more open to the concept of pension saving.
Workers would have a choice of investment funds, albeit a fairly select one: if they didn’t make a choice, their money would go to a default fund. The pension they got on retirement would be determined by how much they contributed and how good the investment fund performance was.
That sounds sensible – is it going to happen?
The finer details are still being ironed out and, as with all things in Ireland, just because something is sensible does not mean it will happen, particularly if it is politicised. And make no mistake, pensions are a political hot potato.
So I need a private pension: where should I start?
According to Standard Life’s McEvoy there are “lots of different type of pension pots with varying returns. That said, the oldest and one of the best-owned pension funds in the marketplace over the last 30 years is the pension managed fund”.
At the risk of sounding like the tracker mortgage guy on the bus, I don’t know what a managed fund is.
Typically it contains a spread of equities – somewhere between 50 and 70 per cent, usually – with the remainder in lower-risk assets such as bonds, cash and property.
What are the returns?
They are not bad really, all things considered. Over the last 30 years the average active-managed pension fund has returned a very healthy 8.24 per cent per annum. McEvoy says her own company’s active-managed pension fund “returned a chunky 8.9 per cent per annum over almost 36 years”.
What does that mean in cash terms?
If you had saved €250 per month over this 36-year period, your total savings would have been €107,750 and your total pot would have been €627,665 after charges, or almost six times your money back.
Generally speaking, how are pension funds doing?
There are good years and there are bad years. Last year was a good one – the average Irish active-managed pension fund produced bumper returns in 2019, making it the best year for investment returns in a decade. Its value increased by more than a fifth or a return of 20.6 per cent over 12 months, according to Rubicon Investment Consulting,
And what about 2018?
You had to ask, didn’t you? That was the worst for Irish pension fund investors in the previous 10 years, as all funds lost ground, with the average loss coming to 5.2 per cent. Rubicon has figures for the past 20 years, which show that the average annual return over the period was 4.7 per cent. That covers a period that includes the heady years of the Celtic Tiger and the subsequent markets crash and recession.
What about pension charges?
Charges occur at various stages: when a pension plan is set up, during the contribution phase and when a member exits from a plan. The charges can be borne by either the employer or the member. Anyone making a pension move or decision should consider the effect of charges.
What about topping up my pension?
Additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) are most useful for those behind in their retirement saving or uncertain about the future value of their final-salary pension scheme. If you are starting out and have no serious drains on your finances other than nightclubs and fancy shoes, put a few bob into AVCs. They will grow your pension pot quickly and give you greater control and independence from pension shocks.


theirishtimes--2020-02-16--Storm Dennis washes abandoned ‘ghost ship’ onto rocks off Co Cork

A ghost ship was washed up onto the rocks off east Cork by Storm Dennis on Sunday , after drifting across the Atlantic over the last year .
Locals in Ballycotton alerted the Irish Coast Guard Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre at Valentia at about 1.15pm when they spotted the freighter driven high on to rocks at Ballyandreane .
According to the Coast Guard , the vessel is the MV Alta , a 77-metre freighter that has been derelict since the US coast guard rescued the 10-man crew from the vessel in October 2018 .
The ship had been en route @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and had been drifting for almost 20 days when the crew radioed for help after their food and water supplies began to run low .
The crew was taken off the vessel about 2,220km southeast of Bermuda in October 2018 but since then the ship has continued to drift being driven eastwards by the prevailing winds .
The Royal Navy ice patrol ship , HMS Protector came across the abandoned vessel off Africa on August 30th 2019 as it sailed towards the Bahamas to assist with hurricane relief efforts .
The Royal Navy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but received no response and it now appears it continued to drift before coming to lodge on the rocks at Ballycotton .
According to the Coast Guard , it is continuing to monitor the vessel amid fears it may pose a pollution risk from its fuel tanks if it breaks up on the rocks due to stormy seas .
It is expected that the Coast Guard will be liaising closely with Cork County Council , the Port of Cork and the Commissioners of Irish Lights in the coming days to decide what to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ understood the Coast Guard will also be liaising with a number of international agencies to try and establish the ownership of the vessel , which was built in 1976 as a general cargo ship .
The ship has been the subject of an ownership dispute in the past , with claims it was once hi-jacked and towed to Guyana , but efforts will be made to establish where it was last registered .
Some reports suggest the MV Alta was sailing under a Panamanian flag when its crew were rescued and it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suggest it was registered in Tanzania .
Meanwhile Cork County Council has convened its Oil Spill Assessment Team as part of its Oil Spill Contingency Plan in response to the grounding of the cargo ship in Ballycotton on Sunday afternoon .
The council is currently liaising with the Irish Coastguard in relation to the pollution risk and with the Receiver of Wreck in relation to ownership of the vessel , the council confirmed in a statement .
Cork County Council , which has responsibility for land based oil pollution risk , is continuing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any possible oil spillage or risk arising from cargo .
The Council said it understands that the vessel was most likely diesel fuelled which poses less risk of pollution than heavy fuel oil but said it could not confirm the exact risk level at this time .
The ship will be inspected in day light on Monday and from a land vantage point in order to access further the risk of the vessel breaking up and discharging its fuel into the sea at Ballycotton .

A ghost ship was washed up onto the rocks off east Cork by Storm Dennis on Sunday, after drifting across the Atlantic over the last year. Video: Irish Coast Guard
A pollution control team has been deployed to east Cork after a ghost ship washed up onto rocks after drifting across the Atlantic over the last year.
Locals in Ballycotton alerted the Irish Coast Guard Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre at Valentia at about 1.15pm when they spotted the freighter driven high on to rocks at Ballyandreane during Storm Dennis.
According to the Coast Guard, the vessel is the MV Alta, a 77-metre freighter that has been derelict since the US coast guard rescued the 10-man crew from the vessel in October 2018.
Rescue 117 was tasked earlier today to a vessel aground near Ballycotton, Cork. There was nobody on board. Previously the @USCG had rescued the 10 crew members from the vessel back in September 2018. The vessel has been drifting since and today came ashore on the Cork coastline. pic.twitter.com/NbvlZ89KSY — Irish Coast Guard (@IrishCoastGuard) February 16, 2020
The ship had been en route from Greece to Haiti but became disabled and had been drifting for almost 20 days when the crew radioed for help after their food and water supplies began to run low.
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The crew was taken off the vessel about 2,220km southeast of Bermuda in October 2018 but since then the ship has continued to drift being driven eastwards by the prevailing winds.
The Royal Navy ice patrol ship, HMS Protector came across the abandoned vessel off Africa on August 30th 2019 as it sailed towards the Bahamas to assist with hurricane relief efforts.
The Royal Navy attempted to make contact with the ship but received no response and it now appears it continued to drift before coming to lodge on the rocks at Ballycotton.
According to the Coast Guard, it is continuing to monitor the vessel amid fears it may pose a pollution risk from its fuel tanks if it breaks up on the rocks due to stormy seas.
It is expected that the Coast Guard will be liaising closely with Cork County Council, the Port of Cork and the Commissioners of Irish Lights in the coming days to decide what to do with the ship.
It is understood the Coast Guard will also be liaising with a number of international agencies to try and establish the ownership of the vessel, which was built in 1976 as a general cargo ship.
The ship has been the subject of an ownership dispute in the past, with claims it was once hi-jacked and towed to Guyana, but efforts will be made to establish where it was last registered.
Some reports suggest the MV Alta was sailing under a Panamanian flag when its crew were rescued and it was abandoned in October 2018 while other reports suggest it was registered in Tanzania.
Meanwhile Cork County Council has convened its Oil Spill Assessment Team as part of its Oil Spill Contingency Plan in response to the grounding of the cargo ship in Ballycotton on Sunday afternoon.
The council is currently liaising with the Irish Coastguard in relation to the pollution risk and with the Receiver of Wreck in relation to ownership of the vessel, the council confirmed in a statement.
Cork County Council, which has responsibility for land based oil pollution risk, is continuing to monitor this ship in relation to any possible oil spillage or risk arising from cargo.
The Council said it understands that the vessel was most likely diesel fuelled which poses less risk of pollution than heavy fuel oil but said it could not confirm the exact risk level at this time.
The ship will be inspected in day light on Monday and from a land vantage point in order to access further the risk of the vessel breaking up and discharging its fuel into the sea at Ballycotton. The council is asking members of the public to stay away from the wreck area due the ship’s unstable condition.


theirishtimes--2020-02-16--Boil water notice affecting 6,500 people issued in Co Cork

A boil water notice affecting about 6,500 people has been issued by Irish Water and Cork County Council .
On Sunday , Irish Water said the decision had been made to issue the notice for the area supplied by the Whitegate Regional Water Supply , following consultation with the Health Service Executive .
“ The Boil Water Notice has been put in place to protect public health due to an issue with the filtration process resulting from burst pipework on the site of Kilva Water Treatment Plant , ” said Irish Water .
“ Irish Water and Cork County Council @ @ @ @ @ @ @ soon as possible .
In the meantime , all customers of this supply are advised to boil water before use until further notice.
” Neil Smyth , Irish Water operations lead , apologised to those impacted by the notice and said there had been previous water quality issues on that supply .
“ We would like to assure the public that we are working to re-instate all stages of the treatment process and to resolve the problem as quickly as possible , ” he said , according to a statement on the Irish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the provision of safe , clean drinking water and protecting public health.
” See water.ie for further information on the affected areas .

A boil water notice has been issues for the area supplied by the Whitegate Regional Public Water Supply. Photograph: File/iStock
A boil water notice affecting about 6,500 people has been issued by Irish Water and Cork County Council.
On Sunday, Irish Water said the decision had been made to issue the notice for the area supplied by the Whitegate Regional Water Supply, following consultation with the Health Service Executive.
“The Boil Water Notice has been put in place to protect public health due to an issue with the filtration process resulting from burst pipework on the site of Kilva Water Treatment Plant,” said Irish Water.
"Irish Water and Cork County Council are working to resolve this situation as soon as possible. In the meantime, all customers of this supply are advised to boil water before use until further notice."
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Neil Smyth, Irish Water operations lead, apologised to those impacted by the notice and said there had been previous water quality issues on that supply.
“We would like to assure the public that we are working to re-instate all stages of the treatment process and to resolve the problem as quickly as possible,” he said, according to a statement on the Irish Water website.
“Our priority is the provision of safe, clean drinking water and protecting public health.”
See water.ie for further information on the affected areas.


theirishtimes--2020-02-16--Humphreys ‘did not interfere’ in dropped animal cruelty case

Minister for Business Heather Humphreys “ did not interfere ” in a case of alleged animal cruelty that was later dropped , her spokeswoman has said .
Ms Humphreys handed in a letter to the Department of Agriculture in relation to the case , which was pending before the courts , the spokeswoman confirmed .
The case involved a farmer who has previously been before the courts for animal cruelty offences , including a case some years ago where the judge described the evidence as “ stomach churning ” and “ shocking ” .
“ A constituent provided correspondence to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to this case and requested that she bring it to the attention of the Department of Agriculture on their behalf , ” the spokeswoman said .
“ The Minister did as requested in her role as a public representative .
She did not give any view on , or make any representations in support of , the correspondence.
” Brian Wright ( 68 ) , of Kilgorman , Newbliss , Co Monaghan , was due in Monaghan District Court earlier this month to face charges under the animal health and welfare laws .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the date the case was due to go ahead .
“ The Minister did not interfere in the case , ” Ms Humphreys ’ s spokeswoman said .
“ She simply passed the correspondence she received to the appropriate department for their information.
” Ms Humphreys spokeswoman said the correspondence set out a number of concerns about the case .
“ The Minister was not in a position , nor was it her role , to investigate these concerns .
She therefore took the appropriate course of action and ensured that the correspondence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attention of the relevant department.
” Wright was before Clones District Court in 2008 when Judge Sean McBride described the evidence presented as “ shocking ” and stomach-churning ” .
The case involved six counts of animal cruelty and one count of permitting carcasses to remain unburied on Wright ’ s 250-acre farm .
The farmer was eventually fined € 3,500 for cruelty to cattle .
In 2017 , Wright was fined €11,950 for another case of animal cruelty , again involving his treatment of the livestock on his farm , which straddles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Sunday were unsuccessful .

Minister for Business Heather Humphreys "did not interfere" in a case of alleged animal cruelty that was later dropped, her spokeswoman has said.
Ms Humphreys handed in a letter to the Department of Agriculture in relation to the case, which was pending before the courts, the spokeswoman confirmed.
The case involved a farmer who has previously been before the courts for animal cruelty offences, including a case some years ago where the judge described the evidence as “stomach churning” and “shocking”.
“A constituent provided correspondence to Minister Humphreys outlining their concerns in relation to this case and requested that she bring it to the attention of the Department of Agriculture on their behalf,” the spokeswoman said.
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“The Minister did as requested in her role as a public representative. She did not give any view on, or make any representations in support of, the correspondence.”
Brian Wright (68), of Kilgorman, Newbliss, Co Monaghan, was due in Monaghan District Court earlier this month to face charges under the animal health and welfare laws.
However, the charges were withdrawn on the date the case was due to go ahead. “The Minister did not interfere in the case,” Ms Humphreys’s spokeswoman said. “She simply passed the correspondence she received to the appropriate department for their information.”
Ms Humphreys spokeswoman said the correspondence set out a number of concerns about the case.
“The Minister was not in a position, nor was it her role, to investigate these concerns. She therefore took the appropriate course of action and ensured that the correspondence and claims therein were brought to the attention of the relevant department.”
Wright was before Clones District Court in 2008 when Judge Sean McBride described the evidence presented as “shocking” and stomach-churning”.
The case involved six counts of animal cruelty and one count of permitting carcasses to remain unburied on Wright’s 250-acre farm. The farmer was eventually fined € 3,500 for cruelty to cattle.
In 2017, Wright was fined €11,950 for another case of animal cruelty, again involving his treatment of the livestock on his farm, which straddles the Border.
Efforts to contact him on Sunday were unsuccessful.