Chief Fire Officers issue Carbon Monoxide warning

The Irish Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) is urging householders to be aware of the dangers associated with carbon monoxide (CO) build-up in the home as part Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week 2014.

Significant Drop in Fire Fatalities during 2012

New figures from the Irish Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) show a dramatic reduction in the number of deaths from fires in Ireland so far this year.

Killeen Welcomes Reopening Of Moroccan Market To Irish Beef

The reopening of the Moroccan market to Irish beef and live cattle after more 15 years has been welcomed by Minister for Defence and Clare T.D. Tony Killeen.

A certificate, which allows the export of live cattle from Ireland to Morocco was agreed by both countries last month and a Veterinary Health Certificate for the export of Irish beef to Morocco was ratified this week.

Irish beef from animals aged under 48 months will now be allowed into Morocco without BSE testing and beef from animals over 48 months, which have tested negative for BSE, will also be approved. This is the same testing regime, which applies to beef exports destined for the EU.

Reacting to the news, Minister Killeen said: “This market has been closed to Ireland for almost a decade and a half and its reopening follows a successful visit to Ireland by a delegation of senior Moroccan veterinarians last March.”

“The successful reopening of this vital market is testament to the ongoing work of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Bord Bia and the Department of Foreign Affairs to ensure that Irish exporters will have access to as many global markets as possible”, he added.

“We cannot underestimate the importance of the food sector to the Irish economy and I remain committed to ensuring that Department and I, together with Bord Bia and the Department of Foreign Affairs, will continue to actively work together in order to make this goal a reality”, concluded Minister Killeen.

Following the reopening of the Tunisian market to Irish beef in April, a veterinary health certificate has now been agreed which will permit the export of sheep meat from Ireland to Tunisia.

EU Agriculture Ministers To Discuss Supports For Dairy Market

Junior Agriculture Minister and Fianna Fail T.D. for Clare, Tony Killeen has welcomed the decision of the European Union’s Agriculture Ministers to meet on October 5th next to discuss the introduction of additional measures to support and stimulate the dairy sector.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Minister of State Killeen reiterated his call on the EU Commission to increase the level and scope of export refunds and to continue to apply all available market support measures. He said: “I recognise that the Commission has been quick to deploy aid to private storage, intervention and export refunds to support the sector to date. However, the fact is that these measures, while stabilising the market, have proved insufficient to lift the market, and we now need to act on the proposals from a large and growing number of Member States.”

“Ireland, for its part, recently joined a number of other nations in pledging support to a set of detailed proposals to support the sector”, added the Clare Deputy.

Clare Rally Win For Monaghan's Niall Maguire

The S10 Subaru of Monaghan's Niall Maguire, who was co-driven by Enda Sherry, had too much power and pace for their rivals on today's Auburn Lodge Clare Rally.

They led throughout the Ennis-based nine-stage rally and won by a convincing margin of two minutes and 14 seconds, reports Breakingnews.ie. Mike Quinn/Grainne McEnery (Ford Escort) took second spot followed by the similar car of Ed O'Callaghan/Ger Clancy, who were 10 seconds further behind in third.

Maguire was quickest on the first pair of stages, while Clare ace Anthony O'Halloran (Mitsubishi) set the best time on the third stage. By then, Maguire was 21 seconds clear. He set the pace on all three stages of the second loop and duly stretched his advantage to 52 seconds.

Second placed O'Halloran had opened up a 25 second advantage over Quinn. Maguire cantered to victory but on the penultimate stage, O'Halloran retired after his Mitsubishi punctured. Quinn (Escort) took second followed by Ed O'Callaghan. Irish and British Fiesta SportingTrophy winner, Craig Breen brought the M-Sport Fiesta R2 home in fifth place.

1. N. Maguire/E. Sherry (Subaru WRC) 1h. 04m. 56s.
2. M. Quinn/G. McEnery (Ford Escort) 1h. 07m. 10s.
3. E. O'Callaghan/G. Clancy (Ford Escort) 1h. 07m. 20s.
4. T. Bustard/K. Bustard (Mitsubishi) 1h. 07m. 31s.
5. C. Breen/G. Roberts (Ford Fiesta) 1h. 07m. 57s.
6. B. Brogan/D. McGettigan (Ford Escort) 1h. 08m. 04s

For full results click here

Climate Change Strategies Must Consider Security Of Food Supply - Killeen

The need to ensure security of food supply and the doubling of global food production in Europe over the next forty years should be considered when addressing the challenge of reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions, stated Junior Agriculture Minister Tony Killeen, T.D., today.

The Clare Deputy said he believed the European Union should assume a lead role in the effort to ensure sustainable food production in Europe, and to achieve global food security while effectively addressing the challenges of climate change. He commented: “These objectives will not be easy to reconcile. However, improved efficiency and productivity has already had a significant impact on Greenhouse Gas emissions from European agriculture. Much has been achieved through better farm management, progress in animal breeding and better use of fertiliser.”

Minister Killeen noted that, in Ireland’s case, efficiency improvements have led to a reduction of approximately 12% in the methane emissions associated with each tonne of milk output since 1990. “Emissions from agriculture represent 27% of Ireland’s overall emissions and almost 40% of Ireland’s non-trading sector emissions. This is the highest level of any Member State”, he added.

“Carbon efficiency can be further improved somewhat, without reducing food production. However, the scale of the challenge of climate change, and the manner in which we choose to address it, may result in unintended negative impacts, both in terms of Europe’s role in global food production and global Greenhouse Gas emissions levels. Therefore, there should be a consolidation of European research into technologies that will deliver mitigation and assist in adapting to the changes that are unavoidable”, concluded Minister of State Killeen.

Ganley Calls Lisbon Referendum Undemocratic

Libertas founder and former Northwest Constituency European Election candidate Declan Ganley has said next month's referendum on the Lisbon Treaty is 'profoundly undemocratic'.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Mr Ganley said the electorate was being asked to vote again on exactly the same treaty. He dismissed suggestions that a No vote would hurt the economy and said the only people voters risked annoying were 'a bunch of unelected bureaucrats' reports RTE. 'The Irish people had a vote on the Lisbon Treaty. They voted No. A higher percentage of the electorate voted no than voted for Barack Obama in the United States of America. No one's suggesting he should run for re-election next month.'

Last June, Mr Ganley failed to win a seat in the European Parliament in the Ireland North West constituency.

Brucellosis-Testing Programme Is Scaled Down

Junior Agriculture Minister, Mr. Tony Killeen T.D., has said that the brucellosis-testing programme will be scaled down over the next two years following the recent European Commission decision granting Ireland officially brucellosis-free status.

The Clare T.D. confirmed that significant changes to the brucellosis programme have already been implemented with effect from 9th September 2009. The changes include an increase in the age threshold for annual round testing to 24 months; an increase in the validity period of the pre-movement test from 30 days to 60 days; an increase in the age-limit for the pre-movement test for female animals from 12 to 18 months and, in view of the lower risk attached to their movement, to 24 months for bulls; and the pre-movement test "one sale" rule applying to female cattle aged 18 months or more is retained. However, as a result of the change in age threshold for bulls, the "one sale" rule for bulls is being increased from 12 to 24 months.

According to Minister Killeen: “The new arrangements will reduce the cost of testing to farmers by removing the need to test approximately a quarter of all eligible animals during the course of annual herd testing. In addition, the extension of the pre-movement test to 60 days combined with the increase in the age threshold to 18 months for female animals will result in further significant savings for farmers. The total saving from these changes is estimated to be in the region of EUR5m.”

He continued: “In addition to the changes that came into effect this week, I welcome the move to initiate further changes in 2010 and in 2011. Commencing on 1 January 2010, dairy herds scheduled to be tested in 2010 and 2011 will now be tested every second year. This will exclude some 550,000 animals each year from the round test and, when taken in conjunction with the increase in the age threshold to 24 months which is being introduced immediately will remove some 1.35m animals from the annual testing programme".

"The steps taken by the Department of Agriculture are risk-based and focussed on reducing costs on farmers generally. They strike a balance between reducing significantly herd-based surveillance testing whilst maintaining vigilance regarding movement of animals. Reducing the burden of testing at herd level in a strategic way gives greater all-round cost reduction benefit while continuing to mitigate the overall level of risk of disease spread", added Minister of State Killeen.

Fianna Fail Must Support The Greens In Government

Clare Green Councillor Brian Meaney, one of three sitting Green County or City Councillors in the country, has said the Government will collapse if Fianna Fail ignores his Party's stance on the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) and the Commission on Taxation Report.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Green Party's membership this Saturday, the Clare County and Ennis Town Councillor said the Green party was prepared to implement change regardless of the political consequences or its popularity ratings in the opinion polls. He said: "Being in Government right now is the most fantastic place the Green Party can be. Ireland is at a critical juncture and the Greens are in a position to demand the implementation of measures required to influence the establishment of sound fundamentals to Irish electoral, financial and planning structures. A question remains, however, over Fianna Fail's willingness to accept the change that is necessary and the unknown political consequences of that".

Councillor Meaney, who has been a party member for 20 years, added that the redrafting of the proposals on NAMA was only one element of the demands being sought by the Green Party of their Government partner. He continued: "The NAMA Legislation only deals with consequences of the Wild West that was, or perhaps still is, the Irish banking sector. This lawless sector was presided over by our senior Government partner and made worse by the Dodge City planning and zoning decisions around the country. We possibly have the opportunity to set it right though I do not conceive the electorate will thank us for it. We should be prepared to take the hard decisions by securing the future of this country. Any party that fails to do so should not be in government."

Councillor Meaney admitted that, despite the pressure his party was placing on their Government partner, a General Election would undermine the country's ability to tackle the problems it now faced. "The authority and mandate of this Government to introduce the measures required to correct national finances and the banking sector may be open to question. However, the political posturing and opportunistic headline-grabbing positions taken by political parties and opinion makers over the last number of weeks is an indication of the debate that would take place during a general election campaign. It is clear to me that a General Election would solve nothing and would only lead to more confusion, false promises, and the general appeasement of various interest groups due to the parochial and clientelist nature of the Irish political process.

"The focus, media and otherwise, should not be on whether the Greens walk from Government but on Fianna Fail shirking doing what is right and supporting the measures the Greens are prepared to support and once and for all put the Governance of this State on the right track. Any capitulation by Fianna Fail on this would require them to leave Government. This would spark a General Election that Ireland's reputation can ill afford, potentially transforming this country into a political basket case as well as an economic basket case.

"For the first time in our political history the Greens are not irrelevant and we would be foolish if we allowed that opportunity slip. We face political oblivion if we, as a small, policy orientated political party fail to use our position to shove our political partners down the route this State has failed to take in the past. Fianna Fail must support the Greens in Government", concluded Councillor Meaney.

Reopening Of Indonesian Market To Irish EU Beef Welcomed By Killeen

Junior Agriculture Minister and Clare T.D., Mr. Tony Killeen has warmly welcomed the Indonesian Government’s decision to lift its 8-year-old ban on the importation of Irish beef.

The Asian country imposed the ban for BSE-related reasons in 2001. The market is being re-opened under the conditions recommended by the Indonesian experts who visited Ireland last June. These include a requirement that the meat originate from cattle under 48 months of age. Initially access is being limited to those four plants that were inspected in June but the possibility of approving other plants, following similar inspection, remains open.

According to Minister of State Killeen: “The re-opening of this valuable market reflects intensive efforts by Government at political, diplomatic and technical level. Prior to the ban exports of Irish beef to Indonesia exceeded 24,000 tonnes, valued at in excess of EUR28.5 million.”

“This development represents another significant breakthrough in regaining markets closed because of BSE and added that it will provide a welcome additional outlet for Irish beef on the world market. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will continue to work with An Bord Bia and the Department of Foreign Affairs to develop new overseas opportunities for Irish beef exporters”, he added.

REPS Slurry Spreading Period Extended

REPS farmers unable to spread slurry on their land due to the recent poor weather conditions have been buoyed by a six-week extension of the REPS slurry-spreading period.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food this week announced the temporary measure to assist REPS farmers. According to Tony Killeen T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food: “The measure applies to farmers in REPS 3 who are required to have spread all the slurry produced during the winter housing period by 31 August”. The Clare T.D. said: “The atrocious weather conditions of the past two months have made it extremely difficult for some local REPS farmers to get their slurry spread by the end of this month”.

He continued: “The Nitrates Regulations would rule out spreading in many areas at the moment. I am delighted, therefore, that Minister Smith has agreed to extend the deadline to 15 October, which is the deadline in the Nitrates Regulations themselves and also applies to farmers in REPS 4”.

Closing Date Nears For Submissions To Organic Farming Scheme Review

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Mr. Tony Killeen, T.D., has reminded stakeholders in the organic sector and the general public that the deadline for submissions to the review of the Organic Farming Scheme is Friday, 4 September.

Last month the Department of Agriculture announced a review of the Organic Farming Scheme under which support is paid to farmers in the sector. According to Minister of State Killeen: "The review will look at how available funds can be used to best effect to deliver increased organic production and expand the area of farmland in the sector. As part of this review, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food is developing a set of criteria for selecting those applications that are most likely to contribute to the scheme objectives."

The Clare Deputy added: "The Department is inviting submissions from stakeholders in the organic sector and from the general public. The deadline for submissions is Friday, 4 September." Submissions should be sent by email if possible to organics@agriculture.gov.ie or by post to the Organic Unit, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Johnstown Castle Estate, Co Wexford.

Meanwhile, Minister of State Killeen has reiterated his call for the European Commission to introduce further measures that will help stimulate the Irish dairy sector. The Junior Agriculture Minister said further action was needed to increase dairy intervention prices, along with the scope and level of export refunds. "The European Commission must urgently consider such actions due to the current downturn in milk prices. I believe there is an urgent need for the Commissioner to develop a medium term strategy to enable the sector to manage the transition to a post-quota era and to deal with the effects of market volatility", he commented.

Minister Killeen noted that Agriculture Ministers from throughout the Union would have an opportunity to address the problems in the dairy sector at the next meeting of the Council of Ministers on 7 September next.

New Post Grad Course In Veterinary Public Health

Junior Agriculture Minister, Mr. Tony Killeen has welcomed the launch of a new Post Graduate Certificate in Veterinary Public Health.

The course has been developed by the universities in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to meet the continuing educational needs of Official Veterinarians involved in regulating the food industry. “The course, which will be jointly conferred by University College Dublin and The University of Ulster, is delivered entirely on-line and is the first of its kind to be available anywhere in Europe”; explained Minister of State Killeen. The Co Clare Deputy added: “The Department of Agriculture’s contribution to developing this new course and continuing education for official veterinarians engaged in veterinary public health, demonstrates the importance it gives to the proper regulation of the food industry. This regulation is essential if Ireland is to maintain and enhance its position as a producer of food of the very highest quality in European and world markets.”

“This type of continued collaborative work is mutually beneficial to us all and anything that strengthens our controls can only enhance Ireland’s profile within the agri-food sector,” concluded Minister Killeen.

Ireland Is Declared Brucellosis Free

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, with special responsibility for Forestry, Fisheries and the Marine, Mr. Tony Killeen has warmly welcomed the EU Commission’s approval of Ireland’s application for official brucellosis free status.

“For some time, Ireland has been in a position to be declared Brucellosis-free because of the dramatic reduction in the incidence of Brucellosis over the past decade and because there has been no confirmed outbreak of this disease here since April 2006”, explained Minister of State Killeen.

The Fianna Fail TD for Clare described the EC’s approval as a “significant development” for Irish agriculture. He pointed out that securing Brucellosis-free status for Ireland would now enable the Department of Agriculture to reduce some of the control elements of the eradication programme over the coming years with a beneficial impact on farmers, particularly in relation to trade.

Minister of State Killeen continued, “I acknowledge that the eradication arrangements have been disruptive and costly both to farmers and to the Department of Agriculture, in terms of compensation and the substantial additional costs incurred on testing and other economic losses arising from the premature removal of infected cattle. Our combined efforts and success in combating Brucellosis is due to a number of factors, not least the full cooperation of all stakeholders with the eradication regime.”

Minister Killeen welcomed the confirmation from his colleague and Minister for agriculture Brendan Smith that a controlled reduction in the brucellosis eradication programme would take place over a period of years. He stated: “There will be an increase in the period of the pre-movement test from 30 to 60 days, while the age threshold for round testing will be increased to 24 months. However, in view of the greater risk attached to the movement, particularly the movement of breeding animals, the age limit for the pre-movement test will be retained at 12 months except in the case of bulls, for which the age limit is being increased to 18 months, given the lower risk of transmitting the disease.”

Minister Killeen said that the new arrangements would be implemented as soon as possible after the publication of the Commission Decision and the necessary amendments are made to national legislation.

Internet users warned about Revenue scam

Revenue today warned Internet users of a bogus email that lures people into sending personal financial information.

The scam first popped up in March with fraudsters contacting their victims claiming they are owed a tax refund and asking for credit or debit card details and date of birth, reports breakingnews.ie. “The email appears to have issued again today,” a spokeswoman said. “This email did not issue from Revenue. The Revenue Commissioners never send emails which require customers to send personal information via email or pop-up windows.”

Revenue asked anyone who receives a suspicious email to forward it to webmaster@revenue.ie.

(Click on above image to view the bogus email received today by Irish County News)

Supermarket deliveries threatened by Kildare protest

Deliveries to Centra and Supervalu stores across the country could be disrupted by a protest being held at distribution centre in County Kildare.

Hundreds of angry farmers have descended on Musgrave distribution centre in Kilcock today in protest at the prices they are being paid for their produce.

The IFA says supermarkets are forcing farmers to sell them milk, meat and vegetables below the cost of production in a move that is putting their livelihoods at risk. Farmers have responded by blocking the entrance to the Musgrave centre, which distributes to Supervalu and Centra outlets around the country.

Junior doctors face longer working weeks

Junior doctors face longer working weeks if a new Labour Court directive is adopted.

The Court has issued a ruling on the working hours of junior doctors, which recommends that their working day and working week should be extended, and which severely limits the opportunity for doctors to earn overtime pay. Junior doctors are currently rostered to work from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Thursday, and from 9 am to 4 pm on Friday. Any work they do at night and at weekends is considered overtime, reports irishhealth.com.

The recommendation, if implemented, will lead to major savings for the HSE in junior doctor overtime pay at a time when it is trying to cut payroll costs. The IMO is to meet later this week to discuss the proposal and will ultimately ballot its members on it. In excess of €260 milliion per annum is spent on junior doctor overtime.

Killeen Calls On EC To Stimulate Dairy Market

Junior Agriculture Minister Tony Killeen, T.D., has pledged his support to measures being put forward by the Irish Government aimed at securing additional supports for the Dairy Industry.

The Clare Deputy said that the European Commission had been presented with a set of proposals including an extension of closing dates for private storage aid and the removal of the "free at frontier" price for cheese. “The European Commission must continue to support the milk market effectively, and that further support for the Dairy Industry is absolutely essential and urgently needed”, stated Minister of State Killeen.

He continued: “Along with my colleague Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith I urge the EC to consider removing the "free at frontier" price for cheese that is blocking the use of export refunds for certain cheeses. This is a self-imposed technical impediment not warranted in the current circumstances. Furthermore, the EC should consider extending intervention purchases of butter and skimmed milk powder beyond the end of August and extending closing dates for private storage aid.”

Minister of State Killeen stressed the need for the EC to continue to step up efforts to stabilise the situation and stimulate the market.

Undersea telecommunications cable makes land at Portrush

The €30m ‘Project Kelvin’ fibre cable that will link Ireland to 24,000km of undersea cable linking Ireland with the US, Canada and UK came ashore at Portrush yesterday.

The fibre project, supported by €30m in public funding, was brought ashore by Hibernia Atlantic, parent company of Magnet Networks. The telecommunications cable will be connected by high capacity fibre to Letterkenny, Monaghan, Castleblayney, Dundalk and Drogheda, and it will also have points of presence in several locations across the border, reports Silicon Republic.

‘Project Kelvin’ is is a joint cooperation project between the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Belfast and the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, which is part financed by the EU under the North-South cross-border cooperation programme.

AIB seeks to raise capital

AIB is seeking to raise capital by selling and leasing back seven prominent branches in strategic business locations.

According to businessworld.ie, CB Richard Ellis, who have been given the contract to sell the properties, today said the branches are in Swords, Navan, Dundalk, Monaghan, Kells, Castleblaney and Maynooth. This is part of an ongoing strategy by the Bank to unlock capital for its core business activities since the sale of AIB Bankcentre in Ballsbridge in 2005 and 2006.

Following on from the recent sale of three branches in Dublin, Naas and Mullingar, the Bank is releasing another tranche of its branch network in the form of sale and leaseback investments, CBRE said. All of the branches will be secured by long-term leases to Allied Irish Banks plc for a period of 20 years with a break option in year 15 and the initial rents will be subject to upward only reviews at 5 year intervals.