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[] | 2016-08-31T12:53:14 | null | 2016-08-31T12:40:00 | Enda Kenny says Cabinet members must be given time to raise anxieties and concerns | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fapple-appeal-may-not-be-made-immediately-hints-taoiseach-1.2774281%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2774276.1472646674!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Apple appeal may not be made immediately, hints Taoiseach | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Taoiseach Enda Kenny has indicated that a decision made at Cabinet level to appeal the Apple judgment may not be made immediately.
Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Kenny was asked about suggestions that his Independent colleagues in Government had reservations about an appeal to Tuesday’s ruling ruling from the European Commission which directed Apple to pay €13 billion in back taxes to the Irish State.
“We will have discussions with colleagues” Mr Kenny said. “It is important that colleagues would have the opportunity to have any anxieties or any questions raised that they want answered. This is a complicated document from the European Commission, it is 150 pages. It will need time to absorb and digest properly.”
Independent Cabinet member Katherine Zappone raised the possibility a decision on an appeal should not be made imminently.
“Maybe there is a role for the Oireachtas and the Public Accounts Committee in this. It is really important that we take the time before we make a decision in relation to this,” she said. “I’m going in having these questions and concerns that I am bringing to Cabinet, but we probably need more time.”
Also speaking before Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting, Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan said he was in favour of lodging an appeal and said he hoped Cabinet would “be in a position to have an agreed decision”.
“My party will be proposing that this should be appealed. But of course we have to recognise the political realities. Not only do we not have a Fine Gael government, but we don’t have a majority government,” he said.
Mr Flanagan said he found the decision by the European Commission “quite baffling” and “fundamentally disagreed” with it. “ The Irish Government takes this matter most seriously. We have always enforced our tax laws . . . There are a number of glaring inconsistencies in what the commission says.”
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Minister for Health Simon Harris said he was of the view that the Government should “robustly address this matter”.
“It’s important that all Cabinet ministers, including the Independent ministers, get the opportunity to get fully briefed by the Minister for Finance,” he said. “I’m sure our Independent colleagues are looking forward to that opportunity before we reach a collective Cabinet position.”
The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government Simon Coveney was adamant that the Government “quite frankly” had to appeal the decision.
He said the judgment brought into question the capacity of sovereign governments to make their own decisions relating to tax. “The idea that State aid rule and competition rule would determine a retrospective judgment on a taxation issue is something I’m deeply uncomfortable with.”
Mr Coveney hoped that the Independent members of cabinet, most notably Shane Ross, would come around to the notion that an appeal was the best way forward.
“We fundamentally disagree with it (the judgment) and anybody who needs clarity or reassurance needs to be given the time to do it. The Government needs to work through this and bring a decision to appeal quite quickly,”he said. | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/apple-appeal-may-not-be-made-immediately-hints-taoiseach-1.2774281?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/3185d5e6949d366251a8d691cd922d15b0e6abfb96799c34271738af15b9fda5.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T10:52:11 | null | 2016-08-30T10:31:00 | 19-year-old brought to Mater following incident at Kevin Barry House, Coleraine Street | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fcrime-and-law%2Fman-hospitalised-after-being-stabbed-in-dublin-city-1.2772909%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2772908.1472549514!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Man hospitalised after being stabbed in Dublin city | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | A man has been hospitalised after being stabbed during an attack in Dublin city.
Gardaí confirmed that a 19-year old man had been stabbed at a property at Kevin Barry House on Coleraine Street in Dublin 7.
He was brought to the Mater hospital where gardaí said the extent of his condition was unknown. | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/man-hospitalised-after-being-stabbed-in-dublin-city-1.2772909?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/65807a99d9c23647dfeff48eb13ce0e0cca3cdbf7aa440e77cdeefff6054dff5.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T00:52:24 | null | 2016-08-31T01:02:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fopinion%2Fletters%2Fleaflets-1.2773355%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/assets/images/favicons/irishtimes.png | en | null | Leaflets | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Sir, – We are in the happy position of having our Irish Times delivered each morning. This morning when I opened it, a veritable cascade of leaflets floated from the pages down to the floor. While I realise this is a first-world irritant, I ask myself do I need two Sky Atlantic pamphlets and no less than five identical KBC mortgage leaflets? – Yours, etc,
NORA SCOTT,
Churchtown,
Dublin 14. | http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/leaflets-1.2773355?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/82af100712d5af46e6e033723732731bcacf510fb0bc0d67d6ab9a43007e31f1.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T00:50:37 | null | 2016-08-27T01:03:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fopinion%2Fletters%2Frhyme-and-reason-1.2769575%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/assets/images/favicons/irishtimes.png | en | null | Rhyme and reason | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | X
By using this website, you consent to our use of cookies. For more information on cookies see our Cookie Policy | http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/rhyme-and-reason-1.2769575?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/f333371d4c35d5939d8a63169b46210b999baf49fa9d073048194750858aec9c.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T20:49:09 | null | 2016-08-30T20:27:00 | Merger of world’s biggest potash supplier with rival would result in $30bn business | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fenergy-and-resources%2Fpotashcorp-and-agrium-in-talks-to-combine-and-create-fertiliser-giant-1.2773500.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773497.1472585243!/image/image.jpg | en | null | PotashCorp and Agrium in talks to combine and create fertiliser giant | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | PotashCorp of Saskatchewan, the world’s largest potash supplier, and its rival Agrium are in talks to combine in a deal that could create a near-$30 billion (€27bn) fertiliser giant.
The move comes a year after PotashCorp failed to acquire Germany’s K+S and as the Canadian company continues its efforts to consolidate an industry marred by falling commodity and equity prices.
Although the structure and terms of the deal were unknown, those briefed about the deal said the transaction would be a merger of equals, which suggests that the combination is likely to be all in stock.
‘No decision’
In a short statement PotashCorp warned that “no decision has been made as to whether to proceed with such a combination, no agreement has been reached, and there can be no assurance that any transaction will result from these discussions”.
Shares in PotashCorp, dual-listed in New York and Toronto, were up more than 13 per cent after Bloomberg reported the talks, giving the company a market capitalisation of about $15 billion. Agrium’s stock rose 7 per cent, giving the group an equity value of about $13 billion.
News about a possible deal also lifted the share prices of rival fertiliser producers, such as Mosaic and Intrepid Potash, as a deal might lead to further consolidation in the sector.
Fertiliser companies including PotashCorp and Agrium are struggling with industry overcapacity, although some producers hope a series of mine closures and suspensions over recent years will stabilise the industry.
– (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016) | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/energy-and-resources/potashcorp-and-agrium-in-talks-to-combine-and-create-fertiliser-giant-1.2773500 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/939d963de42878ff8e3559d22582652256403634b1253bce9d4d6ce9f3ba3315.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T06:51:47 | null | 2016-08-29T06:30:00 | Rising standards make it all the harder for exceptional talents to stand out | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fsport%2Fforget-nostalgia-modern-sporting-greats-stand-test-of-any-time-1.2771418%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2771415.1472418575!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Forget nostalgia, modern sporting greats stand test of any time | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Nostalgia can make liars of us all and sporting nostalgia is a particularly seductive invitation to believe what we want. That it’s relatively harmless makes it even easier to view the past as some exemplar of quality control. And maybe some things were better in the good old days, sometimes. But swallowing the nostalgia line whole is a grey autumnal indulgence which doesn’t add up.
Foostering over tickets for instance is hardly a modern phenomenon. And shameless sleveen cronyism has always been the route to the top of any administration anywhere, particularly for those wheezy boys who never got picked but grew up to slalom around boardrooms like Jean-Claude Killy.
For those under 60, Killy was a French skier who won three Olympic medals and is still famed for the louche glamour he brought to the business of frantically falling down a mountain at speed, although, disappointingly, clips of his progress down various Alps now look comparatively stately. That’s nostalgia for you though.
The tail end of the GAA season is always good for similar “fado fado” stuff and even though the summer action isn’t quite finished it will still take an outrageous effort to rival Eamon Dunphy’s Euro 2016 beauty which is set to stand the test of time as an example of nostalgia’s capacity to file away reality’s rough edges.
During yet another discussion about the decline of the beautiful game, and its lack of great players, one of the great purveyors of contrarian click-bait colourfully painted a picture of the past that didn’t so much glint though rose-tinted glasses as take us on a spectacularly trippy hark back to a time which has clearly melted into the walls of Eamon’s radiant psyche, man. [CROSSHEAD]Just barmy[/CROSSHEAD] “When I was a kid there were 50 guys walking the streets of Dublin with the skills Messi had; and I knew them all. Now you wouldn’t get 50 in Europe, ” he professed wistfully.
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Even making allowances for the job of making a point, that’s just barmy. Never mind that the results of the Republic of Ireland football team from the 50s and 60s remain starkly monochrome, belying any idea of a football genius scuffling around every Dublin street corner, there’s a presumption in the statement which reduces the very singularity that makes Messi so special.
It is actually Messi’s obvious and universally acclaimed brilliance right here, right now which makes a compelling case for the little Argentine being the best to play the game ever; because rather than standards slipping, it is in fact the rising median which only makes it all the harder for even exceptional talent to stand out.
It’s the same in all sport. And yet great performers still emerge. In fact we could actually be bang in the middle of a golden age, baby. Just look at tennis and the handful of exceptional players who have still dominated for a decade despite detailed analysis of every fraction of every movement they’ve ever made.
For instance, pondering the standards of modern jockeyship after his retirement in 2009, compared to when he started in the 1970s, the great rider Mick Kinane declared general standards to have improved dramatically although more exceptional talents existed when he started out out.
Considering those included legendary names like Piggott, Eddery and Carson, Kinane was indeed talking about talents as exceptional as his own.
But it doesn’t take too many trips down Youtube’s memory lane to establish while Piggott & Co would have shone through in any era, it isn’t just dodgy camera work that can make their actual real-time competition look more than a little agricultural. The cream is there but the gap in standards is so obvious there’s little problem distinguishing it from the skim.
That’s not the case anymore. It’s not just in racing that standards have improved so radically, and it’s not even just in professional sport either. [CROSSHEAD]Dietary science[/CROSSHEAD] Gaelic games at all levels have been transformed by the application of dietary science and individualised fitness programmes which lose little in relation to what full-time athletes undergo and which makes the demands on these unpaid players all the more remarkable.
The outcome is a general baseline of fitness and proficiency that is literally in another era compared to when Christy Ring’s competitors could have macrobiotic regimes consisting of “hang” sandwiches and 20 Sweet Afton.
Those who saw Ring in action might insist he was a genius. But they can hardly argue it was harder for that genius to shine when monastic devotion wasn’t the norm. It was for Henry Shefflin and he still left no one in doubt they were watching a truly exceptional player.
The contrast to the days of George Best’s superiority of talent being so overwhelming that it was obvious even when he was half-cut is stark. It might have been more fun in Georgie’s day but don’t let anyone pretend Messi’s capacity to stand out doesn’t exceed the myth.
It’s the same with Dan Carter in comparison to rugby giants of the past, who only get more gargantuan with every passing nostalgic year; or Colm Cooper in Gaelic football, Richie Hogan with a hurley, or Ruby Walsh on a horse.
No doubt in time nostalgia will also do its number on such figures too. Maybe weird algorithmic technology will make their careers seem as quaint as Ringy’s. But it’s enough to know that such exceptional sportspeople are around, better than ever, and can be properly acknowledged and appreciated in the here and now.
They’re hardly walking around the streets of Dublin in groups of 50. But the reality is they never were. | http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/forget-nostalgia-modern-sporting-greats-stand-test-of-any-time-1.2771418?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/441d0d417829a5e4b6e8330277ec4cbc85fa8ce3dbc7ea73c76fabefd682b04a.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T06:52:12 | null | 2016-08-30T06:40:00 | Car carrying explosives understood to have rammed embassy’s gate before exploding | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Fasia-pacific%2Fsuicide-bombing-attack-at-chinese-embassy-in-kyrgyzstan-1.2772842%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2772841.1472537812!/image/image.jpg | en | null | ‘Suicide bombing attack’ at Chinese embassy in Kyrgyzstan | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | An explosion near China’s embassy in Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday was a “suicide car bombing attack”, state news agency Xinhua said, citing a Kyrgyz security official.
The driver of the vehicle tried to ram the embassy’s gate, the official was reported as saying.
The healthcare ministry earlier said the driver of the vehicle was killed and three people were injured.
More to follow.
Reuters | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/suicide-bombing-attack-at-chinese-embassy-in-kyrgyzstan-1.2772842?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/1cae3e0c5ed83eb81eaa9d669a731cff5496b53abdcc2a0e729ce4c4a962cd2e.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T08:52:47 | null | 2016-08-31T09:16:00 | ‘I wanted to stay and I know that Ulster Rugby did everything it could to keep me’ | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fsport%2Frugby%2Fpro12%2Firfu-s-succession-policy-forces-ruan-pienaar-to-leave-ulster-1.2774092%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2774091.1472631385!/image/image.jpg | en | null | IRFU’s succession policy forces Ruan Pienaar to leave Ulster | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Ulster has confirmed that Ruan Pienaar will leave the province at the end of the 2016/17 season.
In a statement released on Wednesday morning Ulster rugby has explained that a contract extension was not possible because of the IRFU’s succession policy -
“The club and the player were very keen for him to extend his stay in Belfast, with Operations Director Bryn Cunningham and Director of Rugby Les Kiss working with the IRFU over the past six months to reach a desirable outcome. Unfortunately, a contract extension was not possible due to the IRFU’s succession policy.”
The policy restricts non-Irish qualified players to one per field position across the provinces (excluding Connacht) - in the hope that there will be a minimum of two Irish-qualified players per position playing for the three traditional major provinces.
Pienaar has scored 777 points in 118 competitive games for Ulster to date and he was a starring member of the squad that reached the 2012 Heineken Cup final.
Commenting on the move, Pienaar said:
“I am not moving on for a new adventure or for financial reasons - I wanted to stay and I know that Ulster Rugby did everything it could to keep me in Belfast. Ulster is special to me and my family now, and I would like to thank my wife, Monique, for coming here to support me and for helping to make it home for us.
“I would also like to thank all of the players and staff at Ulster Rugby, the supporters and the general public, for their support and encouragement since our arrival. It has been brilliant to see the progress that the organisation has made in recent years, particularly with the new facilities here at Kingspan Stadium. The club has given me a lot and I’d like to be in a position to give something back in the future if possible.
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“I have many great memories of my time here and I have made some brilliant friends within rugby and outside of it. It is sad that this will be my last season as an Ulster player but I will be doing everything to ensure that we make it a successful campaign.”
Kiss was understandably disappointed with the outcome:
“Ruan has been an outstanding servant to Ulster Rugby over the past six years and he will be a huge loss for us next season. For me, he is a fantastic player, but he is an even better person, who is much-loved by his team-mates, the staff and management, and the wider rugby community here in Ulster.
“His influence within the squad, both on and off the field, is truly remarkable; whether that is through match-winning contributions, or mentoring the promising players coming through our pathway. Indeed, he has played a big part in helping us to develop a large group of talented young backline players who have gone on to represent Ireland in recent years.
“He is a consummate professional and I have absolutely no doubt that he will give everything to the Ulster cause for the rest of the season. Our hope is that he will one day return to the Province to continue to have a positive impact on rugby in Ulster.”
Shane Logan, Ulster Rugby’s Chief Executive, added:
“Ruan’s exploits on the pitch are well-documented, but perhaps his biggest contribution since his arrival in Ulster has been his work with the local community. He has been freely giving of so much of his time and he has helped to inspire young people across the Province, not only in rugby, but in their everyday lives. That impact is something that cannot be easily measured.
“We have continued to show that we have the resources, and more importantly, a positive environment and ethos, that makes us an attractive proposition for prospective players. This culture was one of the main reasons why Ruan, among others, was attracted to the club in the first place and why he was so keen to stay.
“I, personally, will miss having him around Kingspan Stadium, but I am looking forward to seeing what he will deliver for us over the course of this season, and the door is open for a return in the future.” | http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/pro12/irfu-s-succession-policy-forces-ruan-pienaar-to-leave-ulster-1.2774092?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/9071ea3b40a9cef1f908a9e2614aa96929c43997c432526883f076e0849bb392.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T06:52:11 | null | 2016-08-30T06:35:00 | Overconfidence in CEOs not always bad and it’s too early to know if pound has bottomed | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fpersonal-finance%2Fstocktake-sleepy-markets-vulnerable-to-volatility-spike-1.2771156%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2771154.1472404137!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Stocktake: Sleepy markets vulnerable to volatility spike | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | August tends to be a quiet month for markets and things are especially sleepy at the moment.
The S&P 500 hasn’t moved up or down by 1 per cent on a single day since early July; there have been only a handful of days on which the index moved by 0.5 per cent or more. Average daily changes over the last six weeks have been the lowest since 1995.
Trading volumes have plummeted by 30 per cent since January, according to Credit Suisse, compared to a typical January-August drop of 8 per cent. Volatility in emerging markets, too, has fallen to its lowest level in more than a year.
Fear has vanished. The Vix, the so-called fear index that measures the cost of buying insurance against market declines, recently hit its lowest level in two years. Although insurance appears dirt cheap, many expect it to get cheaper – hedge funds’ net short in Vix futures is near record levels,
This is a “red flag”, cautions Merrill Lynch; selling volatility to enhance yield “is now at an extreme level”. In itself, a low Vix doesn’t indicate complacency, and low volatility can persist for years. However, market speculators appear vulnerable to any spike in volatility; traders betting on a lower Vix will be hoping the current sleepy spell doesn’t end any time soon.
Short squeeze drives sterling bounce
Sterling enjoyed a decent bounce last week, following better-than-expected economic data, but it’s far too early to say whether the pound has bottomed.
The recent rebound appears more of a technical rebound than one solely driven by fundamentals. Since sinking to a three-decade low against the dollar two months ago, sterling has remained within a $1.28-$1.34 trading range. The recent rebound coincided with the pound falling to the bottom of that range. More crucially, short bets against sterling had climbed for seven straight weeks; by mid-August, net short positions had hit record highs and were more than three standard deviations above their historical average.
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No asset rises or falls in a straight line; lopsided market positioning meant conditions were ripe for a short squeeze. However, many sellers may reinitiate short bets if sterling rises to the higher end of that aforementioned trading range, especially as the economic impact of Brexit will not become clear for some time. A technical bounce should not be mistaken for a long-term bottom.
Don’t fear low trading volumes
Trading volumes have been extremely low over the last month. Indeed, while volumes soared during the January-February selloff, the subsequent six-month rally has been a low-volume affair, troubling commentators who associate low volumes with low conviction.
However, there is no substance to the oft-repeated notion that volume should confirm price, judging by Bespoke Investment Group research. Since the bull market began in March 2009, the S&P 500 has gained an incredible 826 per cent on days registering below-average trading volumes. In contrast, stocks have fallen by 65 per cent on days recording above-average trading volumes.
In other words, a strategy based on the “low volume bad, high volume good” theory has been a fast way to the poorhouse over the last seven years.
Frustrated investors pulling money from hedge funds
Investors may be losing patience with hedge funds, which last month suffered net outflows of $25.2 billion (€22.5bn) – the biggest monthly redemption since February 2009, according to eVestment.
With similar outflows reported in June, hedge funds appear set to suffer net annual outflows for only the third time in history, and the first since 2009.
It’s surprising it has taken so long. A US 60:40 equity:bond portfolio would have beaten the average hedge fund every year over the last decade. In the UK, too, a 60:40 portfolio would have returned three times as much money as the average hedge fund over the last five years, according to SCM Direct, despite hedge funds’ charging 36 times the fees.
It remains to be seen if 2016 will represent a mere blip for hedge funds or “the first innings of a washout”, as hedge fund manager Dan Loeb warned last April. The latter would be preferable – continuing to pay big fees for lousy returns truly defies reason.
Overconfident CEOs good for stock prices
Overconfidence in chief executives is not always a bad thing, according to a new study (see http://goo.gl/Jw54G9).
. One common way of identifying overconfident chief executives, the researchers noted, is to focus on executives holding deep in-the-money vested stock options (by not selling, they are indicating they expect their company share price will keep rising).
Such CEOs are more likely to provide voluntary earnings guidance, announce stock repurchases and use mark-to-market accounting practices, the researchers found. Increasing information dissemination about the company helps “level the playing field between informed and uninformed investors”, increasing market efficiency and preventing the likelihood of shares becoming undervalued. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/personal-finance/stocktake-sleepy-markets-vulnerable-to-volatility-spike-1.2771156?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/b3e68405bcaecf64844cc3987ff05afa0286485d38ef815c8d42d0e947b72847.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T10:52:54 | null | 2016-08-31T11:17:00 | Labour leader says Government is ‘intrinsically incapable of acting in consort’ | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fmind-numbing-that-government-was-so-ill-prepared-over-apple-howlin-1.2774160%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2774157.1472639961!/image/image.jpg | en | null | ‘Mind numbing’ that Government was so ‘ill-prepared’ over Apple - Howlin | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Labour leader Brendan Howlin has said it is “mind numbing” that the Government was “so ill-prepared to put Ireland’s case forward instantly”following the European Commission’s ruling which directed Apple to pay €13 billion in back taxes to the State.
“There should have been a strategy in place to protect Ireland’s interests, presented by a united front of Government,” the former minister for public expenditure and reform told Newstalk Breakfast.
“This was coming for a very long time. We prepared for it in government, we were briefed on it as it transpired. The only thing that might have come as a surprise was the scale of the money involved, but even that amount would have been signalled to the Irish Government in the past few days.”
Mr Howlin said he was “fearful” that the interests of the country are “being slowly eroded by a Government that can’t make decisions because there is no essential unity. This debate that the Cabinet is having today - they should have had that last week in preparation for all this.
“They mightn’t have had all the details but they could have been briefed by the commission reps.”
Mr Howlin said that the Government is “intrinsically incapable of acting in consort.”
“ If this rag-tag had been in charge in the last five years Ireland would be in a dismal place now.”
When asked about what should happen to the potential tax take, Mr Howlin said he would like to “take the money and run,” and use it pay off debt.
However, he said that the money is not available “ because it will have to be put into an escrow account for five years. But if you listen to what the commissioner said yesterday, there are layers to this, we all say take the money and run. God knows Ireland needs it, but the more fundamental question is what are the consequences of that?”
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Mr Howlin said that Tuesday’s ruling had put a hole in the confidence of the State’s taxation system.
“ There are 360,000 jobs dependent now on inward investment in this country and many hundreds of thousands of jobs into the future in assuring we have a system of taxation designed by Ireland, controlled by the parliament of Ireland that is not messed around by any external forces, many of whom have looked at the success of Ireland at attracting FDIs (foreign direct investment) over the decades with great envy.
“If they can’t get at you one route it’s clear to me they’ll come at you a different route.” | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/mind-numbing-that-government-was-so-ill-prepared-over-apple-howlin-1.2774160?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/ca348a1dc9e109fcdbb3691158f837bda41801d37675e0641285d4555f7e2ddb.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T20:52:26 | null | 2016-08-30T21:39:00 | Man in 50s disappeared on stretch of coastline at Isle of Doagh on Inishowen Peninsula | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fenvironment%2Fsea-search-continues-for-camper-missing-off-donegal-coast-1.2773575%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773573.1472589555!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Sea search continues for camper missing off Donegal coast | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Coast Guard services in Co Donegal are continuing is continuing to search for a man who went missing in the sea while on a camping holiday with his family.
The man, aged in his 50s, disappeared on a stretch of coastline on the Isle of Doagh on the Inishowen Peninsula.
He has been missing since midnight on Monday. Malin Head Coast Guard and the RNLI in Buncrana have been sweeping the area, but have suspended the search due to nightfall. It will continue at first light on Wednesday.
The shoreline where the family was camping is opposite the Doagh Famine Village, about 35 minutes from Derry. | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/sea-search-continues-for-camper-missing-off-donegal-coast-1.2773575?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/5b369f21eb5e8b80445d4a8546f988600142b8eb9c1d6702e9e464314cfd0002.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T12:50:35 | null | 2016-08-27T11:01:00 | Men to appear in Cork District Court following drugs seizure in Blarney on Thursday | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fcrime-and-law%2Fthree-men-due-in-court-following-100-000-heroin-seizure-1.2770739%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2770736.1472296059!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Three men due in court following €100,000 heroin seizure | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Three men are due to appear in court on Saturday in connection with a €100,000 drugs seizure in Cork on Thursday.
Members of the Cork city divisional drugs squad are due to bring the three men, aged 35 and 33 respectively, before a special sitting of Cork District Court at 1pm, in relation to Thursday’s drugs seizure in Blarney.
The three quarters of a kilo of heroin worth €100,000 was found along with €1,000 worth of cocaine in an apartment in Blarney as part of a follow up search operation by gardaí.
Detectives had earlier recovered €8,000 worth of heroin when they searched two parked cars in an industrial estate in the Togher area of Cork city’s southside at around 3.30pm on Thursday.
Detectives arrested the three men, two of whom are from the Blarney area with the third (35) from the Tower area, and brought them to Togher and Gurranebraher Garda Stations.
All three were arrested under drugs trafficking legislation which allows the Garda to hold suspects for up to seven days. However on Friday night gardaí received directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions to charge two of the suspects, with the third suspect charged on Saturday morning.
The arrests were part of an intelligence led operation by members of the Cork city divisional drugs squad investigating the activities of a criminal gang operating in the Cork area. | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/three-men-due-in-court-following-100-000-heroin-seizure-1.2770739?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/01d3b34748874699efefec8f7b24e3af2377815d9e0613bdc014a24ac6b00711.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T22:52:21 | null | 2016-08-30T21:54:00 | Attack claimed by al Shabaab targeted a meeting of security officials in nearby hotel | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Fafrica%2Fcar-bomb-outside-somali-presidential-palace-kills-at-least-10-1.2773612%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773610.1472590459!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Car bomb outside Somali presidential palace kills at least 10 | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | At least 10 people, including soldiers and civilians, were killed in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu yesterday when a car bomb claimed by al Shabaab exploded outside the presidential palace and also damaged two nearby hotels, an official said.
Information minister Mohamed Abdi Hayir told state radio that a meeting of security officials was under way inside one of the hotels, the SYL, at the time of blast and that one minister and some state radio journalists were injured in the attack.
The hotel is frequented by government officials and police said it believed the facility was the likely target.
The SYL and another hospitality facility, both located near the presidential palace, were partially destroyed by the blast, a police officer, told Reuters.
“The blast killed 10 (people) including soldiers and civilians and 30 others were wounded,” Ali said.Gunfire could be heard after the blast and a huge cloud of smoke rose above the palace, outside which were the remnants of the car and splattered blood, according to a Reuters witness.
Al Shabaab’s Radio Andaluz said the Islamist group was behind the attack and their military operations spokesman, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, said the attack had killed 15 soldiers and “injured many others including a lawmaker”.
Seeking to impose its own harsh form of Islam, al Shabaab, wants to topple the Western backed government in Mogadishu and also push out the 22,000-strong African Union mandated AMISOM peace keeping force backing it.
The group was pushed out of Mogadishu by AMISOM in 2011 but have remained a serious threat, launching frequent attacks aimed at overthrowing the government.
The militants have claimed responsibility for several explosions in Mogadishu, including a car bomb and gun attack last week at a popular beach restaurant in the capital that killed 10 people.
– (Reuters) | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/africa/car-bomb-outside-somali-presidential-palace-kills-at-least-10-1.2773612?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/2271e883bf9245ecef0c9bebd50014c853fc7131059bb59f9c6ffd49804d083d.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T14:48:07 | null | 2016-08-26T10:56:00 | Businesses invested more in second quarter as economy showed few signs of reticence | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fretail-and-services%2Fuk-shoppers-upped-spending-just-before-brexit-vote-1.2769306.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2769305.1472218933!/image/image.jpg | en | null | UK shoppers upped spending just before Brexit vote | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | UK consumers stepped up their spending in the second quarter and businesses increased investment as the economy showed few signs of reticence before the June Brexit referendum.
Household spending rose 0.9 per cent from the first quarter, the fastest pace in almost two years, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday. Business investment gained 0.5 per cent.
Growth overall quickened to 0.6 per cent from 0.4 per cent, unrevised from an initial estimate. “Our survey returns, which include the period leading up to and immediately following the referendum, show no sign so far of uncertainty having significantly affected investment or GDP,” ONS chief economist Joe Grice said in a statement.
The decision to leave the European Union cast an abrupt shadow over the economy, prompting the Bank of England to cut interest rates this month and piling pressure on new prime minister Theresa May to deliver a tax and spending boost.
Tough times ahead
While surveys suggest the June 23rd referendum has done little to dampen the spirits of consumers, tougher times may lie ahead as quickening inflation threatens to erode almost two years of real-wage growth.
The rise in businesses investment in the last quarter was driven by spending on transport equipment including cars and planes, the ONS said.
The level of investment was 0.8 per cent lower than a year earlier. Net trade once again dragged on the economy, knocking 0.3 per centage point off growth in the second quarter as exports barely rose.
The 10 per cent fall in the trade-weighted value of the pound since the Brexit vote may aid exports, but not by enough to prevent a sharp slowdown.
The economy will contract by 0.1 per cent in the third quarter, according to economists polled by Bloomberg between August 5th and August 12th.
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The pound showed little response to the figures and was at $1.3218 at 9:41am. London time, up 0.2 per cent on the day.Growth in the second quarter was heavily centred on April.
– Bloomberg | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/retail-and-services/uk-shoppers-upped-spending-just-before-brexit-vote-1.2769306 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/09e301890ff4681fcc7090654c4ca7664f2a7263df4f2d745ef4b05a1ff8eaa9.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T14:52:22 | null | 2016-08-30T14:50:00 | The Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations has, as you might expect, no shortage of Irish entries. Here are 10 of the best | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fculture%2Fbooks%2Fireland-s-wittiest-one-liners-from-oscar-wilde-to-father-ted-and-michael-collins-1.2773100%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773099.1472564897!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Ireland’s wittiest one-liners, from Oscar Wilde to Father Ted and Michael Collins! | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Irish wit and humour is well renowned, whether it comes from our comedians or our politicians – and it comes just as frequently from each contingent. As such, the Irish are well represented in the fifth edition of the Oxford Dictionary of Humorous Quotations, edited by Gyles Brandreth. With more than 1,200 new quotations and 338 pages of quotations, one need never be stuck for a pithy remark again.
Although Irish women are unfortunately underrepresented, many of our most famous men feature at least once, with Oscar Wilde topping the poll with no fewer than 100 quotations. Writers, playwrights and poets appear to be our wittiest grouping, with George Bernard Shaw and Brendan Behan also featuring extensively.
Three quotations from Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews in the form of extracts from Father Ted make it in – including the full opening verse of My Lovely Horse in the Animals section – beating notable wits such as Dara O’Briain and the late Richard Harris, with one and two quotations each respectively.
Here are 10 of Ireland’s wittiest moments, as featured in the Oxford Dictionary.
Pat: He was an Anglo-Irishman.
Meg: In the blessed name of God what is that?
Pat: A Protestant with a horse.
Brendan Behan, The Hostage, 1958
I’m Irish. We think sideways.
Spike Milligan, in Independent on Sunday, June 20th, 1999
I often sit back and think “I wish I’d done that” and find out later that I already have.
Richard Harris, in the Sun, May 19th, 1988
(Of the wallpaper in the room where he was dying)
One of us must go.
Oscar Wilde, 1900
That’s the Irish all over – they treat a joke as a serious thing and a serious thing as a joke.
Sean O’Casey, The Shadow of a Gunman, 1923
Customer’s voice: In six days, do you hear me, in six days, God made the world...And you are not bloody well capable of making me a pair of trousers in three months!
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Tailor’s voice: But my dear Sir, my dear Sir, look – at the world – and look – at my trousers.
Samuel Beckett, Endgame, 1957
It’s nice to have a nun around. Gives the place a bit of glamour.
Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, Father Ted, Grant Unto Him Eternal Rest, 1995
Alcohol... enables Parliament to do things at eleven at night that no sane person would do at eleven in the morning.
George Bernard Shaw, Major Barbara, 1907
I think his fate is rather like Humpty Dumpty’s, quite as tragic and quite as impossible to put right.
Constance Wilde, 1897
(Arriving at Dublin Castle for the handover by British forces on 16 January 1922, and being told he was seven minutes late)
We’ve been waiting 700 years, you can have the seven minutes.
Michael Collins, 1922 | http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/ireland-s-wittiest-one-liners-from-oscar-wilde-to-father-ted-and-michael-collins-1.2773100?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/7330027230e8e05a9b995d7c7f7d548c086169c9014a116fca0fa2eef52ac394.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T00:52:31 | null | 2016-08-31T01:01:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fopinion%2Fletters%2Fgarden-variety-1.2773346%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/assets/images/favicons/irishtimes.png | en | null | Garden variety | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Sir, – Unlike Graeme Guthrie (August 29th), I have had to water my garden plants at least every second day during this summer as little or no rain fell on my garden. Our diverse weather pattern is a puzzle to me, and sometimes I think it is a puzzle also to our meteorological services. No offence intended. – Yours, etc,
GEAROID KILGALLEN,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin. | http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/garden-variety-1.2773346?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/f521f2fd70cf0d7d91248f46b15da7837d711dd459f5dd81d92e8517bcade746.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T06:49:03 | null | 2016-08-30T07:26:00 | Acquisitions and expansion in north America boosts fresh food group as pre-tax profits jump 5.8%; Davy reiterates ‘outperform’ rating | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fagribusiness-and-food%2Frevenues-soar-by-10-4-at-total-produce-1.2772847.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2772846.1472539186!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Revenues soar by 10.4% at Total Produce | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Revenues at Total Produce rose by 10.4 per cent to €1.9 billion in the first half of the year, as the fresh food group got a boost from acquisitions and higher average prices.
In the six months to June 30th, total revenues rose by 10.4 per cent, while adjusted EBITA was up by 13.2 per cent and adjusted fully diluted earnings per share grew by 11.6 per cent. Profit before tax rose by 5.8 per cent to €25.6 million. The fruit distributor spun out of Fyffes said it benefited from acquisitions completed in the period and a circa 5 per cent like-for-like growth in revenue on the back of both volume growth and higher average prices. A strong operational performance was offset in part by a small negative impact on translation to Euro of the results of foreign currency denominated operations.
Chairman Carl McCann said the group delivered “a very strong performance” in the first six months of the year, as the group continued its expansion in north America in 2016, acquiring 65 per cent of Progressive Produce, a company headquartered in Los Angeles, as well as a number of other investments.
“ The group continues to actively pursue further investment opportunities,” Mr McCann said, adding that the interim dividend is up 10 per cent to 0.8096 cent per share.
“The group is now targeting increased full year earnings at the top end of the previously announced range of 10.50 to 11.50 cent per share,” he said.
On the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, Total Produce said while it has “created some macroeconomic uncertainties, it is not expected to have a material impact on the group”.
In a note, Davy Stockbrokers said it was a “strong” set of results, adding that the international segment represents “a significant growth opportunity” for the group, as it reiterated its “outperform” rating. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/agribusiness-and-food/revenues-soar-by-10-4-at-total-produce-1.2772847 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/705a57a2b935c866575f672277c34f3a8302a0f0f5966938316909332287a7ab.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T16:50:27 | null | 2016-08-27T17:10:00 | Belgian grabs second goal in three games as Antonio Conte’s perfect start continues | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fsport%2Fsoccer%2Fenglish-soccer%2Feden-hazard-dazzles-as-chelsea-continue-winning-start-against-burnley-1.2770834%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2770832.1472314225!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Eden Hazard dazzles as Chelsea continue winning start against Burnley | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Chelsea 3 Burnley 0
Eden Hazard inspired Chelsea to a thumping 3-0 win over Burnley to maintain their perfect start to the season.
Belgian playmaker Hazard grabbed his second goal in three matches as Chelsea pummelled the Clarets at Stamford Bridge.
Burnley may have beaten Liverpool with 19 per cent possession of the ball last weekend, but Antonio Conte’s rampant side never looked remotely like falling for the counter-punch.
In fact the only surprise was that they only scored three as Hazard and Diego Costa could probably have bagged a hat-trick apiece.
As it was, they had to settle for Hazard’s fine ninth-minute opener, Willian’s first of the campaign shortly before half-time and a late strike from Victor Moses to make it three wins out of three.
Hazard got the ball rolling when he collected Nemanja Matic’s pass inside his own half and galloped unchallenged down the left towards the Burnley penalty area.
The Belgian skipped inside Clarets defender Michael Keane before curling his shot past goalkeeper Tom Heaton and inside the far post from 20 yards.
Hazard almost had a second five minutes later when he turned Matic’s cross goalwards but Ben Mee cleared his effort off the line.
Costa was having a quiet first half but he could have doubled the lead when Oscar cut the ball back in the area, but the Spaniard’s first-time shot was straight at Heaton.
Instead Costa turned provider five minutes before half-time, knocking a square ball to Willian who instead of playing the one-two, simply stepped past Matt Lowton and lashed an angled drive past Heaton.
Burnley did not manage a single effort on goal in the first half and Dean Marney’s shot at the beginning of the second was barely worthy of the name as it flew high over the crossbar.
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Hazard was still enjoying himself at the other end, though, and his darting run and ball into the box was touched on by Matic to Costa, who once again fired too close to Heaton.
The busy Burnley goalkeeper got down well to keep out a Hazard volley from the edge of the area, with John Terry skying the rebound.
Hazard fizzed another effort inches over the top before wriggling clear and forcing Heaton into another save, with Costa this time unable to snaffle the loose ball.
With Hazard and Costa given the last few minutes off it was left to substitute Moses to put the gloss on the scoreline in the dying moments when he arrived at the far post to tuck in Pedro’s cross. | http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/english-soccer/eden-hazard-dazzles-as-chelsea-continue-winning-start-against-burnley-1.2770834?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/843d7f8772022fab5f2f713a0c5a83ae9a44c12a3d3bf5cc79cac58efc4f298c.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T18:49:11 | null | 2016-08-30T15:58:00 | iPhone maker’s market value stands at $571bn while cash pile tops $230bn | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Ftechnology%2Fapple-s-cash-pile-cushions-shares-following-eu-ruling-1.2773112.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773197.1472580413!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Apple’s ‘cash pile’ cushions shares following EU ruling | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Shares in Apple fell slightly in New York as investors largely shrugged off a European Commission ruling that the company must pay up to €13 billion in unpaid taxes, plus interest, to Ireland.
On Tuesday, Apple shares were down 0.7 per cent at $106.09 on the Nasdaq exchange by the time trading closed for the day in Europe, giving the group a market value of $571.4 billion (€510.7 billion).
Investors in the California-based group are likely to be “unconcerned on a relative basis” about the news, as the penalty, while large in absolute terms, “represents a small portion of Apple’s overall valuation”, said Gene Munster, an analyst with US investment bank Piper Jaffray.
Apple and the Irish Government have strongly rejected the commission’s findings that the iPhone maker secured selective tax advantages in this country under agreements with the Revenue Commissioners in 1991 and 2007. Both said on Tuesday they would appeal the ruling through the European Court of Justice.
Free cash flow
“Given Apple’s cash pile of over $230 billion dollars, and the more than $53 billion in free cash flow expected this year, the company can easily afford to pay any potential bill,” Dublin-based Cantor Fitzgerald analyst David Donnelly said before the tax bill figure was unveiled by the EU on Tuesday.
“Long term, we remain positive on the stock given its highly cash-generative nature and its potential for acquisitions to bolster its services range, which we see as necessary given declining iPhone sales, on which Apple is reliant,” Mr Donnelly said.
Mr Donnelly said Apple’s launch next week of its iPhone 7 is unlikely to amount to much by way of “game-changing” technology in a way that would dramatically improve phone sales. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/apple-s-cash-pile-cushions-shares-following-eu-ruling-1.2773112 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/4be3052a4ab5e866ebcabd9dbe1006c518629e1368d75be73a4f4ae7c374ea7a.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T10:52:08 | null | 2016-08-30T10:50:00 | Sum is far in excess of what had been envisioned by Irish authorities; Government says it will appeal the decision | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Feu-orders-ireland-to-recoup-up-to-13bn-in-unpaid-taxes-from-apple-1.2772919%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2772920.1472553889!/image/image.jpg | en | null | EU orders Ireland to recoup up to €13bn in unpaid taxes from Apple | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Ireland has been ordered to recoup up to €13 billion from US tech company Apple in unpaid taxes in a landmark ruling by the European Commission this morning.
The EU’s powerful competition arm said on Tuesday that Apple had been granted selective treatment by Ireland through two tax rulings granted to the company in 1991 and 2007 by Irish tax authorities.
That treatment allowed Apple to avoid taxation on almost all profits generated by sales of its products in the EU single market, because Apple recorded the sales in Ireland rather than where products were sold, the commission said. This was achieved by funnelling sales through a “so-called” head office in Ireland with “no employees, no premises and no real activities,” commissioner Margrethe Vestager said.
In a statement, the commission said it “substantially and artificially” lowered the tax paid by Apple in Ireland since 1991, giving Apple a “significant advantage” over other businesses subject to the same national taxation rules.
“Member states cannot give tax benefits to selected companies – this is illegal under EU state aid rules,” said Ms Vestager. “The commission’s investigation concluded that Ireland granted illegal tax benefits to Apple, which enabled it to pay substantially less tax than other businesses over many years. In fact, this selective treatment allowed Apple to pay an effective corporate tax rate of 1 per cent on its European profits in 2003, down to 0.005 per cent in 2014.”
Apple said it would appeal and it was confident the decision would be overturned.
While the precise figure will be worked out by the Irish Revenue Commissioners, the commission estimates that the total money recovered will amount to about € 13 billion – far in excess of what had been envisaged by Irish authorities.
The US treasury said it declined to comment on specific cases, but expressed disappointment that the commission was “acting unilaterally and departing from the important progress the US, the EU, and the rest of the international community have made together to combat tax avoidance”.
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“As we have said, we believe that retroactive tax assessments by the commission are unfair, contrary to well-established legal principles, and call into question the tax rules of individual member states,” the treasury said in a statement. “The commission’s actions could threaten to undermine foreign investment, the business climate in Europe, and the important spirit of economic partnership between the US and the EU. We will continue to monitor these cases as they progress, and we will continue to work with the commission toward our shared objective of preventing the erosion of our corporate tax bases.”
The Apple tax ruling The EC issued a ruling on August 30th in relation to the tax arrangements of Apple in Ireland, where it has its European HQ. The EC said Apple had been granted selective treatment by Ireland through two tax rulings in 1991 and 2007. The EC has ordered Ireland to recover up to €13 billion from the tech giant. Minister for Finance Michael Noonan indicated Ireland would appeal the decision "to defend the integrity of our tax system; to provide tax certainty to business; and to challenge the encroachment of EU state aid rules into the sovereign member state competence of taxation”. Q&A: Cliff Taylor answers the key questions I found this helpful Yes No
Though the Apple case follows similar cases against Fiat, Amazon, and Starbucks, the total tax liability is by far the largest judgment handed down by the EU’s competition division in relation to a member state’s tax arrangements. In contrast to the multibillion-euro figure proposed, the commission ordered the Netherlands to recover between €20 and €30 million from Starbucks, and Luxembourg to recover the same amount from Fiat.
The EU’s powerful anti-trust arm, which typically rules on mergers and acquisitions, has increasingly turned its attention to corporate tax arrangements in recent years, focusing particularly on transfer pricing arrangements.
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan is to seek Cabinet approval to appeal the decision to the European courts, a process that is likely to take up to four years. In the interim, Apple will be obliged to pay the tax shortfall to the Irish exchequer. It is expected the money will be held in a frozen account.
Reacting to the announcement, Mr Noonan said the decision left him with “no choice” but to appeal the decision. “This is necessary to defend the integrity of our tax system; to provide tax certainty to business; and to challenge the encroachment of EU state aid rules into the sovereign member state competence of taxation.”
Today’s findings follow more than three years of investigations by the European Commission into Ireland’s tax arrangements with Apple, since it first sought information from Dublin in June 2013. A year later, the commission launched its investigation, arguing that its preliminary assessment was that Ireland had illegally granted selective treatment to Apple, in breach of EU state aid law.
Irish officials insisted on Tuesday that the full amount of tax due by Apple has been paid, arguing that, because most of Apple’s profits were not generated in Ireland, they could not be taxed in Ireland. The kind of “stateless”, non-resident companies that were investigated by the commission have since been phased out by the Irish government, which means that the Apple judgment is unlikely to impact on Apple’s future tax arrangements in Ireland.
Much of the commission’s investigation focused on how Irish Revenue officials calculated “transfer pricing” arrangements for Apple in two separate tax rulings offered to the company. Also known as advance pricing arrangements, transfer pricing governs how transactions between different entities of a corporation are priced, a process that can have implications for profit allocation and the company’s tax bill.
The commission believes that the Revenue Commissioners did not apply the proper “arm’s length principle” when calculating the transfer pricing arrangements for Apple. But officials briefed on the matter believe that because transfer pricing is notoriously difficult to price – the OECD outlines five different methodologies for calculating transfer pricing – the commission’s case can be tested in court.
However, minutes from meetings between Apple and the Revenue Commissioners in 1990 and 1991 supplied by Revenue to the European Commission as part of the investigation show how a transfer pricing figure was negotiated between the two parties. The commission has argued that this arrangement was motivated by employment considerations.
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MEP Brian Hayes said credibility of the business environment in Ireland, along with its ability to attract foreign direct investment here, was on the line, and the taxation system should not be targeted for reasons of “anti-American bias”.
He accused the commission of overstepping its role and mandate, and said the ultimate decision in this case must be taken by the European Court of Justice.
“It’s in Ireland’s long-term interest that the Government appeals this,” he said “The figure of €13 billion shows just how politically motivated this decision was. This was a clear statement that the commission wanted to hit US multinationals hard with this announcement.”
Oxfam Ireland chief executive Jim Clarken called on the Government to shut down tax loopholes and reassure citizens that “sweetheart deals” with companies or individuals are a thing of the past.
“Ireland has benefited from multinational investment but all companies should operate here under rules which are fair and which do not benefit some companies over others,” he said. “Deals that exempt companies from paying their legitimate share of tax mean the ordinary taxpayers have to foot the bill.
Today’s announcement comes a week after a US treasury White Paper strongly criticised the European Commission’s recent investigations into the tax affairs of US multinationals. The issue has soured EU-US relations, amid accusations from Washington that Brussels is unfairly targeting US companies, a charge the European Commission denies.
The commission’s findings mark the latest move by the European Commission to clamp down on corporate tax avoidance, a priority prompted by revelations such as the Luxembourg Leaks and Panama Papers scandals. A revised proposal on a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB), to which Ireland has traditionally been opposed, is expected to be announced by the end of the year. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/eu-orders-ireland-to-recoup-up-to-13bn-in-unpaid-taxes-from-apple-1.2772919?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/845d96dff8f4299f49915c6d47e56422d261e37d1c638aa77850aa29db75248f.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T12:51:32 | null | 2016-08-29T13:34:00 | Restaurant run by Laura Peat and backed by founders of private equity firm FL Partners | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fagribusiness-and-food%2Flosses-widen-at-dublin-restaurant-brookwood-1.2771932%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2771931.1472474223!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Losses widen at Dublin restaurant Brookwood | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Brookwood, a popular Dublin steak and seafood restaurant set up by Mulberry Gardens owner Laura Peat and backed by the founders of private equity firm FL Partners, saw accumulated losses widen last year.
Newly filed abridged accounts for PNL Restaurants Limited, the owners of Brookwood, show accumulated losses increased from €172,774 to €232,522 for the 12 months ending December 2015.
The company, whose directors are named as accountant turned restaurateur Laura Peat, and FL Partners founders Neill Hughes and Peter Crowley, had cash at hand of €54,286 at the end of the year, up from €44,791.
It also had net assets of €42,478 as compared to assets of €102,226 a year earlier.
The restaurant employed 22 people with related costs, including wages and salaries, totalling €232,425.
Brookwood opened on Baggot Street in Dublin 2 in 2014.
Ms Peat previously set up Eatery 120 in Ranelagh and Mulberry Gardens in Donnybrook. Mr Crowley and Mr Hughes established FL Partners in 2006. Previous investments have included Racing Post, Sunseeker, UTV, Kaymed and ATA Group. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/agribusiness-and-food/losses-widen-at-dublin-restaurant-brookwood-1.2771932?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/650b56e8c69c8361562c83c6440d205a6a1f68a56cbeb999d00a700aa4cbf9f7.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T22:51:59 | null | 2016-08-29T22:30:00 | Psychologists support teachers dealing with tragedy at Cavan national school | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fireland%2Firish-news%2Fballyjamesduff-schools-pay-tribute-to-couple-and-wonderful-children-1.2772365%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2772364.1472511067!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Ballyjamesduff schools pay tribute to couple and ‘wonderful children’ | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Two schools have paid tributes to Alan and Clodagh Hawe, who died along with their three children on Monday in a suspected murder-suicide.
Mr Hawe was a deputy principal at Castlerahan National School in Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan, where his sons Niall and Ryan were pupils and Liam (13) was a past pupil.
Principal Anne Foley issued a statement on Monday evening. “They were wonderful children who will be greatly missed by all who knew them.
“This is a terrible tragedy for the family, our school and our community. We are deeply saddened by this event. Our sympathy and our thoughts are with the extended family and friends.
“Alan was a valued member of our school staff and community.”
Psychologists
Ms Foley said that psychologists from the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) had visited the school, and were supporting and advising teachers in their efforts to help students to deal with the tragic event.
Clodagh Hawe was a teacher at Oristown National School in Kells, Co Meath. Principal Ann O’Kelly Lynch said the school was “deeply saddened” to hear of the death of their colleague .
“This is a terrible tragedy for the families, schools and the communities involved,” she said.
“We are deeply saddened by this event. Our sympathies and thoughts are with Clodagh’s family and friends.
“Clodagh was a much-loved and valued teacher in our school, and will be greatly missed by all who knew her.”
She said the school had also brought in psychologists from the NEPS to provide support.
“It was with great sadness that I heard the news today of the deaths of the five members of the Hawe family, who lived in Barconey, in the parish of Castlerahan in our diocese.
Bishop of Kilmore and Leo O’Reilly and patron of Castlerahan school offered prayers for the family. “The sudden loss of one young family, in such a shocking way, is unbearable and near impossible to comprehend . . . Especially now – as the new school year begins.
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Married for 15 years, both Mr Hawe, originally from Kilkenny, and Ms Hawe, from the Cavan area, were well known in the community.
Mr Hawe was in his first year as treasurer at Castlerahan GAA club . The club on Monday night said: The family were “well-known and widely-respected within our club and community and the news has come as a dreadful shock to everyone involved in the club.”
Neighbours were in disbelief and struck “speechless” with grief at news of the tragic occurrence. One person described the family as “lovely”, and the husband as a “nice and pleasant” man.
Local councillor Paddy Smith said the tragedy was “completely unbelievable”.
‘Beggars belief’
“The whole family were involved in community work and anything that was good in the Castlerahan and Ballyjamesduff area. Anything that was good for the town or the community, they were involved in it,” he said. “It is a complete shock that this should happen to a happy family. “
“It is going to take a long time for the community to recover from this ,” he said. | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/ballyjamesduff-schools-pay-tribute-to-couple-and-wonderful-children-1.2772365?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/176fdb225ce819c912a8e8b20e986bfb2395d183fc7df14a8b1deb7ec91ba5ae.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T16:50:08 | null | 2016-08-26T16:19:00 | Irish lessor provides AgustaWestland to not-for-profit Canadian group Ornge | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Ftransport-and-tourism%2Fwaypoint-leases-air-ambulance-to-ontario-emergency-medics-1.2769587%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2769585.1472227477!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Waypoint leases air ambulance to Ontario emergency medics | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Irish helicopter financier Waypoint has leased a recently bought air ambulance to the emergency medical services in Ontario, Canada.
The Limerick- and US-based company confirmed that it bought an AgustaWestland 139 helicopter, configured for use by emergency medical services, and leased it to Ornge, which runs the service.
Ornge is a not-for-profit organisation that provides airborne emergency medical services and transport to Ontario. It has the largest fleet of air ambulances in the north American country and is responsible for an area the size of Spain, France and Holland combined.
Welcoming news of the deal, Waypoint chief executive, Ed Washecka said Ornge was an important customer.
“Expansion into the Canadian helicopter emergency medical services market further diversifies our customer base and expands our emergency medical services business, which has been a strategic focus since our inception in 2013,” he said. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/transport-and-tourism/waypoint-leases-air-ambulance-to-ontario-emergency-medics-1.2769587?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/df120ba5a8924cbf7ace83c219f7042557d746de7f5646835ae31a4b4c0eadc0.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T18:49:08 | null | 2016-08-30T18:10:00 | Financial Conduct Authority sanctions Aermont Capital takeover of UK film studio | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fretail-and-services%2Fpinewood-studios-takeover-gets-a-green-light-1.2773399.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773383.1472576953!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Pinewood Studios takeover gets a green light | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | The proposed takeover of Pinewood Studios by an international property fund for £323 million (€379m) has been given the green light by Britain’s financial regulator.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has rubber-stamped the deal by Aermont Capital, headed by French property tycoon Leon Bressler, to acquire the famous home of the James Bond and Star Wars films.
“The boards of directors of Bidco and Pinewood are pleased to announce that they have received approval from the FCA,” the firms said in a statement. Shareholders will vote on the deal on September 19th.
In July, Pinewood said the plunge in sterling following Britain’s decision to quit the European Union would give it a boost, adding that the impact of Brexit would be “largely mitigated” as its most significant customers are based in the US.
Chief executive Ivan Dunleavy said at the time: “The result of the UK’s referendum on membership of the EU is now known. In the context of our business, the decline in the sterling exchange rate is undoubtedly positive for our international customers.”
Revenues at Pinewood, which is based in Buckinghamshire, grew 10.9 per cent to £83.2 million last year while operating profit soared 136.3 per cent to £13.6 million.
– PA | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/retail-and-services/pinewood-studios-takeover-gets-a-green-light-1.2773399 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/74517b456afed3faf9ae4d3c7d1b760fed8bad7eb109b8a7044c6509a9650d7e.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T18:49:14 | null | 2016-08-30T18:22:00 | Ireland seen as attractive alternative post Brexit vote given similarities with UK structures | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fmore-than-35-london-financial-firms-eye-dublin-switch-1.2773412.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773164.1472577702!/image/image.jpg | en | null | More than 35 London financial firms eye Dublin switch | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Irish officials say they have had more than 35 concrete enquiries from London-based financial groups looking at setting up a base or expanding in Ireland following the Brexit vote.
Dublin is one of a handful of European cities trying to draw business away from Britain’s financial centre.
“Post-Brexit, it’s meant a lot more meetings, more phone calls and a lot more travel,” said Eoghan Murphy, Minister of State for Financial Services. “I’m in daily contact with different players in the industry.”
Ireland is trying to woo companies with the offer of a contracting entity, a legal toehold on the island that could be expanded when Britain leaves the EU, allowing them to keep the same access to the European market.
Businesses are being courted by other financial centres including Frankfurt and Paris as executives consider alternatives to London while British prime minister Theresa May weighs when to trigger two-year-long exit negotiations.
Some, particularly in fund management and insurance, say they are warming to Dublin.
Insurers Admiral and Beazley have said they are considering moving more business to Ireland while the funds arm of insurer Prudential is looking at expanding Dublin operations.
Mark Hemsley, the European head of pan-European stock exchange Bats, said that Ireland was “attractive because it’s the most similar to the UK structure”.
Two lawyers who advise financial services firms told Reuters that a group of fewer than a dozen executives would be enough to open an arm for an insurer or fund manager in Ireland. Moving part of a bank, however, would typically be a bigger task, requiring more capital and staff to be relocated.
‘Historic opportunity’
“Brexit represents a historic opportunity,” said Kieran Donoghue of IDA Ireland. “Over the next few weeks, our approach will be dialled up.”
Jim Stewart, an academic with Trinity College Dublin, said Ireland’s financial centre had hosted many of the vehicles involved in the financial crash and that it used “smoke and mirrors” to “camouflage” some activity.
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“It is not just the tax concession,” he said. “It’s regulatory as well. The concession is that there is sometimes no regulation.”
Stewart points to the extensive use of special purpose vehicles, including section 110 companies, allowing deductions to cut tax on profits to as little as zero.
Reliance on tax breaks may have spawned a financial sector with little real activity with Stewart saying investment funds are largely administrated rather than run from Dublin’s International Financial Services Centre.
‘Low skilled’
“A lot of the jobs in the IFSC are fairly low skilled,” he said. “The thinking is always done in a major financial centre.”
Such criticism is rejected by Irish authorities, including the Central Bank, which said licensing procedures are rigorous.
“It’s the opposite to a brass plate financial centre,” said Padraic White, a former head of the IDA agency. “Ireland has a transparent tax system. There is no such thing as a tax deal. There is an aspect of sheer jealousy and envy.”
After years of cutbacks, Ireland also has other problems. As construction of new homes lagged, rents in Dublin have risen above the peak at the height of the property boom.
Many in London are still biding their time, listening carefully to the campaigns from Ireland, Paris and Frankfurt as well as keeping an eye on Brexit progress in Britain.
“Most thought this would never happen,” said Simon Tilford of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think tank. “The test will come when they realise that there’s no going back. Then the real reaction will kick in.”
– Reuters | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/more-than-35-london-financial-firms-eye-dublin-switch-1.2773412 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/af6540619be9c82b2a5c01cdd51d943489ec39260ef402331cf6ee461dfdfa88.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T16:52:29 | null | 2016-08-30T17:34:00 | The City striker looks likely to miss Manchester derby after elbow on Winston Reid | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fsport%2Fsoccer%2Fenglish-soccer%2Fsergio-aguero-set-for-ban-after-fa-misconduct-charge-1.2773327%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773326.1472574848!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Sergio Aguero set for ban after FA misconduct charge | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Sergio Agüero has been charged with violent misconduct and could miss next month’s derby with Manchester United after the City striker appeared to elbow West Ham’s Winston Reid during the Premier League match on Sunday.
A statement from the FA said: “Sergio Agüero has been charged for an alleged act of violent conduct which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video.
“The Manchester City forward was involved in an incident with West Ham United’s Winston Reid in the 76th minute of the game on Sunday [August 28th 2016]. He has until 6pm on Wednesday August 31st to reply.
“Off the ball incidents which are not seen at the time by the match officials are referred to a panel of three former elite match officials. Each panel member will review the video footage independently of one another to determine whether they consider it a sending-off offence.
“For retrospective action to be taken, and an FA charge to follow, the decision of the panel must be unanimous.”
The incident occurred in the second half of the 3-1 win over West Ham. After Andre Marriner, the referee, did not act the Football Association was able to take retrospective action if the official’s report confirmed he had not seen the alleged elbow.
If found guilty Agüero will receive a three-game ban, meaning in addition to the derby, which is at Old Trafford, the Argentinian will miss the visit of Bournemouth and the trip to Swansea City in the Capital One Cup.
(Guardian service) | http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/english-soccer/sergio-aguero-set-for-ban-after-fa-misconduct-charge-1.2773327?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/58bd7b9e7833e005224c76a1a74b3beccf8f18144aa7c8324e6c85cffdaae35d.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T00:52:44 | null | 2016-08-31T01:00:00 | Parents talking about death in such circumstances should be simple and truthful | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fcrime-and-law%2Fcavan-deaths-explaining-tragedy-to-children-without-scaring-them-1.2773463%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773460.1472582533!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Cavan deaths: Explaining tragedy to children without scaring them | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | The tragic death by murder-suicide of the Hawe family in Co Cavan is outside the normal experience of most people. Parents can struggle to explain such sad events to their children and worry that, in their efforts to support their child, they will say the wrong thing and perhaps add to their distress.
For those children at the epicentre of the tragedy, the highly trained National Educational Psychological Services (Neps) psychologists are helping their schools to implement critical incident plans. Neps psychologists do not usually provide direct therapeutic input to children in these situations and their role is more around advising and supporting staff in how to best assist their pupils.
The logic is that such tragic news is best discussed in a safe and controlled environment, with people the children know and trust, rather than with strangers. A child’s response will be very individual and will, in part, depend on their age and developmental stage. It is generally agreed that children under four will not understand the significance of such events and the best approach is to try to shield them and avoid discussing it in their presence.
The biggest worry for older children aged five to 11 is that something similar will happen to them, while adolescents may experience intense sadness and loss but may not necessarily want to talk about it with you.
Do not hide sadness
If a child has any worries or concerns about the incident, it is important that they can openly discuss these. It is best to ask them if they want to talk about it first, rather than assuming they are affected.
Children take their emotional lead from those around them and it is important to be calm, reassuring and in control.
However, parents should not hide their sadness as this gives them the message that they too should hide their emotions. Parents should reflect on their own response and emotions, compose themselves and think about what they might say. They should put events in context and say that, while this seems very close right now, such events are unusual and extremely rare and unlikely to ever happen again.
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Parents should be truthful but simple: Younger children do not need to know all the facts and too much detail can frighten and overwhelm them.
Older children may have already picked up a lot of detail from social media so first establish what they know and then try to correct any misinformation or rumours. Use clear language: Do not use phrases such as “on the other side” or “with the angels”. These can confuse and frighten children. Be gently clear that the person is “dead” and that this means they are not coming back.
Accept their individual response: Every child will react differently. Some children will appear unconcerned while others may be distraught; there is no right or wrong response to such extraordinary events. Accept that adolescents may prefer to get support from their friends rather than their parents , but always remain in the background in case .
Normalise reactions for them: Explain that it is normal to feel shocked, sad, anxious or worried but that this will pass. Accept that they may experience some of the normal but short-term reactions to grief and stress: fatigue, sadness, sleeplessness, anger and regression to more childish behaviours such as thumb-sucking or bed-wetting.
Monitor: Grief is a process and a child’s reaction and understanding can change with time. Parents who are still worried about their child’s reaction after two months should ask school to contact their Neps psychologist or ask their GP for a referral to your local primary care or adolescent mental health service.
And lastly, all the evidence shows the best way of supporting a child through tragedy is simply to spend uncomplicated and calm time with them. This rebuilds their sense of safety and security and enables them to understand that while terrible things happen, the world is generally a safe place.
While aimed at schools, the Neps website (see education.ie under Schools and Colleges) contains practical information around supporting children in these situations which could also be used by parents. The Irish Hospice Foundation’s leaflet “Talking to Children about Traumatic Death” (hospicefoundation.ie) also contains a lot of advice.
Dr Sarah O’Doherty is a clinical psychologist | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/cavan-deaths-explaining-tragedy-to-children-without-scaring-them-1.2773463?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/cd1d2618822e0b9fc0846ad132de23a9f183aee6403883fd9b734b3d2547645c.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T18:52:20 | null | 2016-08-30T18:20:00 | New programmes include a comedy-drama described as ‘Spinal Tap with a bodhrán’ | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fculture%2Ftv-radio-web%2Ftg4-launches-autumn-schedule-ahead-of-20th-birthday-1.2773411%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773409.1472577617!/image/image.jpg | en | null | TG4 launches autumn schedule ahead of 20th birthday | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | A comedy-drama showing “the underbelly of traditional music” and a new series about Ireland’s most dramatic seaside houses are among the offerings in TG4’s autumn schedule.
The schedule was unveiled on Tuesday in Dublin’s Smock Alley Theatre.
It includes Fir Bolg, a new four-part comedy-drama series described as “This is Spinal Tap with a bodhrán”, which tells the story of a group of musicians who decide to hit the road again 25 years after an acrimonious split.
The cast includes Seán McGinley, Don Wycherley, Aonghus McAnally, and Caroline Morahan, as well as cameos from many Irish showbusiness personalities.
TG4 received €32.54 million in State funding in 2016 and is the eighth most popular channel in the country, with an average audience share of 2 per cent.
The Connemara-based Irish-language broadcaster celebrates its 20th birthday at Halloween (it was known as Teilifís na Gaeilge, or TnaG, until a rebranding in 1999).
It plans on screening a selection of documentaries from its 20-year archive to mark the occasion.
Brand new factual programmes this autumn include documentaries on John Phillip Holland, the Clare-born inventor of the submarine, and Mary Elmes, a Cork-born humanitarian who survived the Spanish Civil War and the second World War.
Seaside houses
Meanwhile, Tithe Cois Farraige will allow viewers to visit houses - some centuries old, others very modern - that overlook the sea, while An Ríl Deal will see well-known faces attempt to speed-learn Irish dancing.
In the new travel programme Hector Central, Hector Ó hEochagáin takes an adventurous journey along the Pan-American Highway from Panama to Belize.
Programmes for young people include the newly-commissioned Irish language originals Is Eolaí Mé, a science series, and Na Dúlradóirí, in which young people are encouraged to get off their sofas and enjoy the beaches, forests, parks and gardens of Ireland.
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TG4 also retains rights to broadcast live Gaelic games and Pro12 rugby on its GAA Beo and Rugbaí Beo programmes, along with delayed same-day highlights of rugby’s European Champions Cup. | http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/tg4-launches-autumn-schedule-ahead-of-20th-birthday-1.2773411?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/c586a7cbd6e9223b16ea7e8f74ae975dcf1dfc31830388b1fa14d16f70f4c9f8.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T20:50:56 | null | 2016-08-27T19:47:00 | Some 140 passengers initially told next flight from Portuguese capital not until Wednesday | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fireland%2Firish-news%2Fryanair-lisbon-dublin-flight-cancelled-just-before-takeoff-1.2770866%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2770864.1472323584!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Ryanair Lisbon-Dublin flight cancelled just before takeoff | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Ryanair passengers due on a flight set to travel from Lisbon to Dublin today that was then cancelled were told the next flight was not until Wednesday and they should make their own arrangements for travel.
The 10am flight was waiting on the tarmac and 140 people were due to board when they were told the flight was being cancelled.
Ryanair said this was because of a strike by security staff at Lisbon Airport.
However, passengers said other aircraft were able to get away from the Portuguese capital despite the strike.
‘Complete mayhem’
Passenger Marijn Kamperman said they were not given any explanation for the cancellation and that it was “complete mayhem” in the airport.
“Without any other explanation we were sent back to the Arrivals. No clue where our luggage was and what the next steps would be. Ryanair literally refused to give me answers when I called customer service,” she told The Irish Times.
“They claimed that I was late and missed the plane as the plane had departed. After my fourth call with Ryanair I still didn’t know anything, I was told to go to the local ticket desk at Lisbon airport. The queue there was gigantic.
“Ryanair showed once again what an unprofessional and incompetent organisation it is.”
‘Absolute joke’
A passenger, Hannah Rogers, tweeted: “@Ryanair what an absolute joke. Waiting in Lisbon at bag drop-off. There is only 1 staff member here. Ridiculous wait time.”
Another, @dancingbighare, tweeted: “@Ryanair hi we are stuck in Lisbon all 140 of us... There [sic] saying no flight till Wednesday. The plane left us empty and went back to Dublin.”
Eventually a member of the consulate staff from the Irish Embassy came to the airport, and the flight has now been rescheduled for 12.20am on Sunday morning.
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A Ryanair statement blamed the strike by security staff for the problem. “Ryanair has now added an extra flight from Lisbon to Dublin tonight and expects all customers delayed by today’s security strike to return on it.
“We sincerely apologise for this disruption, which is entirely beyond our control, and further information will be posted on Ryanair.com.” | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/ryanair-lisbon-dublin-flight-cancelled-just-before-takeoff-1.2770866?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/87e2dc9f6422c6ef68badfdc0759da0427c602aee221f76ab32073636dd8d9d4.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:52:01 | null | 2016-08-29T15:39:00 | Michael D Higgins and Enda Kenny among mourners at funeral of businessman | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Ffuneral-of-former-t%25C3%25A1naiste-peter-barry-held-in-cork-1.2772036%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2772035.1472482063!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Funeral of former tánaiste Peter Barry held in Cork | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Former tánaiste Peter Barry’s greatest love was his wife Margaret, who supported him throughout his career as a businessman and politician frequently rescuing him in awkward situations given his “terrible head for names,” his funeral heard on Monday.
Mr Barry’s son Tony said his father was never the same after the passing of his beloved Margaret three years ago. Tony recalled how the pair’s first date was at a tea room followed by the cinema. After that they were pretty much inseparable going on to have six children and 21 grandchildren.
He spoke of his father’s great dedication to his mother when her health started to fail. “When Margaret got sick he cared for her with huge love and commitment. Things weren’t the same for him afterwards.”
Tony said his father also had a great passion for rugby. He also supported the GAA which he jokingly described as being the best organisation in the country after Fine Gael.
He told the hundreds of mourners at St Michael’s Church in Blackrock, Cork about how his father built up Barry’s Tea from humble beginnings in a small family grocery. Peter was approached by a market researcher in the 1950s and had the foresight to set up his own affordable tea line which went on to be synonymous with Cork.
Peter Barry had wanted to be an engineer when he finished school at Christian Brothers College but he ended up in the family grocery as the small shop was not striving financially at the time. Tony said his decision to work in the shop was “probably the best thing to ever happen to him” and that his father became a master tea-taster.
He said his father served his country well politically. However, one of the sweetest periods of his life was his retirement when he was able to relax, read, and spend time with his wife, children and grandchildren.
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Chief celebrant Fr Kieran Twomey recalled that he first met Peter Barry when he was asked to administer the Eucharist to him at his home. He said such was the class of the man that he apologised for not being able to stand up when the priest walked in.
“He had tremendous respect and because he couldn’t stand on his feet he said ‘I apologise I can’t stand to greet you.” That’s the gentleman that was Peter Barry. He was respected by all because God blessed him with special gifts.”
Fr Twomey said many of the mourners would have their own memories of the “generosity and kindness” of Peter Barry. He described him as a man of his word who lived his life with great integrity and principle.
Among mourners at the mass were President Michael D Higgins, Taoiseach Enda Kenny with Government Ministers in attendance including Leo Varadkar, Simon Coveney, Simon Harris and Michael Creed. Cork Fine Gael TDs and councillors past and present were in attendance including Deputy Jerry Buttimer, Senator Colm Burke, Deputy Dara Murphy and former FG TDs Bernard Allen, Gerry Reynolds and John Browne.
Fianna Fail leader Micheál Martin attended the 11.30am requiem Mass with his wife Mary whilst party finance spokesman Michael McGrath was also among the mourners.
Former Fine Gael leader Alan Dukes and former Fine Gael minister Nora Owen was in attendance along with Labour leader Brendan Howlin, former Labour Minister Kathleen Lynch, Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Des Cahill, Sinn Féin councillor Chris O’Leary , former Independent councillor Mairin Quill and Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh O’Laoire.
The Bishop of Cork, Dr John Buckley, was one of eight celebrants on the altar for the requiem Mass. The Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, Dr Paul Colton was also in attendance. The world of sport was represented by Cork GAA County secretary Frank Murphy.
Mr Barry was laid to rest at St Michael’s Cemetery in Blackrock. The 88-year-old died in Marymount Hospice in the city after a short illness. He is survived by his children Deirdre (Clune), Tony, Fiona (MacCarthy), Donagh, Conor and Peter. Deirdre Clune is currently an MEP for Ireland South. | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/funeral-of-former-t%C3%A1naiste-peter-barry-held-in-cork-1.2772036?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/26e03963b20aeed8f227c46d27b6f40a13797b314ab5a9d30082ab260ed03bc2.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T12:51:08 | null | 2016-08-28T13:02:00 | New organisation set up to support teachers who wish to offer Junior Cycle short course | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Feducation%2Fsabina-higgins-backs-campaign-for-teaching-philosophy-in-schools-1.2770953%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2770952.1472385756!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Sabina Higgins backs campaign for teaching philosophy in schools | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Teaching philosophy in schools is essential to prepare children for modern life, Sabina Higgins has said at the launch of a new organisation aimed at promoting “thinking time” in the classroom.
“If we believe that all our children, the citizens of the future, should be offered the opportunity of understanding the decisions that affect their lives then we must offer them the capacity to do so,” Mrs Higgins, wife of President Michael D. Higgins, told the inaugural gathering of Philosophy Ireland at City Assembly House, Dublin.
Secondary schools will be able to offer philosophy as an optional short course under the new Junior Cycle programme, being rolled out on a limited basis this year.
While welcoming this initiative, Mrs Higgins said philosophy should form an integral part of the curriculum, not just as secondary level but at primary level too.
Being able to tackle today’s complex, global problems requires a “preparation in thinking”, she said. “Philosophy is a powerful preparation for the journey upon which young people, from wherever they come, will embark.”
Philosophy Ireland is developing a new training programme this autumn for teachers who want to offer the new Junior Cycle short course. Teachers doing Philosophy for Children (P4C) - an internationally-recognised model for primary level - are also making resources available through the organisation.
Representatives of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) attending the conference said there was scope for “thinking time” within the “Goodness Me, Goodness You” multi-belief curriculum for Community National Schools. There was also a chance to explore moral reasoning within the planned new Education about Religions and Beliefs (ERB) and Ethics programme.
However, Mrs Higgins - who is patron of Philosophy Ireland - questioned whether such programmes were sufficiently ambitious or inclusive. Since ERB and Ethics was “only starting out, now is the time to get it right,” she said. “I think we are at an important juncture in Irish education.”
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Dr Charlotte Blease, one of the organisers of the event, described philosophy as a corrective to today’s “app addicted” lifestyles. “Young people are seldom alone with their thoughts,” she said.
Studies in the UK show that P4C helps to boost exam results but more importantly, she said, the skills developed through philosophy - such as thinking across disciplines and sometimes asking “naïve questions” - were needed for students and graduates to flourish. | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/sabina-higgins-backs-campaign-for-teaching-philosophy-in-schools-1.2770953?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/f415e898d6331963592c0bc32bbc591b31666ed1afbb8590c054efd56eb94d8d.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T12:53:10 | null | 2016-08-31T11:59:00 | MLS club takes out advertisement ahead of striker’s final Republic of Ireland match | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Foffbeat%2Fla-galaxy-pays-tribute-to-robbie-keane-on-irish-times-front-page-1.2774213%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2774212.1472641388!/image/image.jpg | en | null | LA Galaxy pays tribute to Robbie Keane on ‘Irish Times’ front page | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy has paid tribute to Robbie Keane ahead of his last game in an Irish jersey by taking out a front page ad in The Irish Times.
Keane is due to line out for his last international cap on Wednesday night as the Republic of Ireland take on Oman at the Aviva Stadium. The game will bring his impressive 18-year international career to an end.
Marking the occasion, Keane’s US club took out an ad on the front page of Wednesday’s Irish Times.
Accompanying a photo of the Dubliner with his fist held up, the ad reads: “Congratulations Keano! The LA Galaxy would like to congratulate Robbie Keane for all of his accomplishments in his remarkable 18-year career with the Republic of Ireland.”
Speaking on Monday, Keane said he was grateful to Martin O’Neill for giving him the opportunity to play on Wednesday.
“I’m going to take it all in as much as I can and enjoy it - everything I’ve done - but it will be an emotional night for me and my family,” he said.
“Physically, I feel I can go on for another couple of years and I’ll keep on playing as long as I can, but in terms of international football this is the right time for me to go.
“It’s important to focus on my club career for a couple of years; after that we’ll see what happens.”
Keane said Ireland had a special place in his heart and he never imagined he would earn 145 caps.
“I played for a lot of teams, wore a lot of shirts, but it always seemed to be the Irish one that fitted me the best.”
Ireland versus Oman kicks off at the Aviva at 7.45pm and can be viewed on eir Sport 1 from 7pm. | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/offbeat/la-galaxy-pays-tribute-to-robbie-keane-on-irish-times-front-page-1.2774213?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/2318f79c3e54467272fe88bac33f78e55d3a6616efc3b47f4aced7d63d47afd9.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:11:33 | null | 2016-08-26T05:55:00 | Caveat: Built in the 1970s, the Burlo's huge functions became the stuff of legend | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fcommercial-property%2Fdid-you-hear-the-one-about-the-burlington-and-the-teaspoons-1.2768471.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2768467.1472142210!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Did you hear the one about the Burlington and the teaspoons? | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | If Ireland’s recent economic history could be compared to a hotel, it would be the Burlington in Dublin. From a bonkers boom-time property play to bust almost overnight, followed by a stunning comeback that generated huge profits for foreign investors, the parallels with this country’s macroeconomic fortunes are striking.
Built in the early 1970s, the 500-bed “Burlo”, which now trades as the DoubleTree by Hilton and is about to be sold, spent the next three decades as Ireland’s function room.
The country crowd came to associate it with the big team dinners that followed All-Ireland finals, while the pinstriped Dublin corporate set also knew every inch of the place. Until Convention Centre Dublin and the Citywest Hotel were built, the Burlo’s 1,500-seat function room was by far the largest available for conferences and events.
Its huge functions became the stuff of legend within the hospitality industry. One particular story did the rounds, although nobody knows how true it really is.
Teaspoons
In the 1980s and early 1990s, the hotel’s “dinner dances” were served by casual, mostly female waitstaff. The “trolley dollies”, as they were very unkindly referred to by some other staff, were often related to one another and spanned generations. The like of these ladies have worked in every hotel function room in the land.
As anyone who worked in a hotel will attest, teaspoons are virtually a currency among waitstaff. They disappear fast when needed. So the older, wiser Burlington function staff apparently used to stash teaspoons in all sorts of odd places – behind cabinets, under corners of carpet, even high up amongst ceiling tiles – ready for their next shift.
As these ladies retired and stopped working functions, the location of their precious stash would go with them. When the function room was being revamped years later, so the legend goes, workers who lifted the carpets and ceiling tiles discovered thousands of hidden teaspoons, like piles of buried treasure.
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By the time the Jurys Doyle group offloaded the Burlington at the height of the boom, the hotel was viewed through the same prism as Ireland before the Celtic Tiger: full of stories and character, but quite dated and unfashionable. It was a place full of sepia-tinted memories. Or were they simply brown?
Then Bernard McNamara paid €288 million for the hotel just before the tide went out, with plans for a glitzy €1 billion development, and it eventually ended up in receivership.
When Blackstone paid €67 million for it in 2012, people still spoke of the so-called “zombie hotels” that littered Ireland and the havoc that had been wreaked on the industry. The industry’s turnaround since, however, has been simply stunning.
In hindsight, the price paid for the hotel by Blackstone was buttons and simply a factor of Bank of Scotland (Ireland)’s desire to get the hell out of Dodge.
When Blackstone bought it, it was said to be generating annual profits of about €5 million to €6 million, even as Ireland was only emerging from the economic haze. When it was put on the market earlier this year, prospective buyers are said to have been informed the hotel now generates profits of about €14 million.
Its returns have more than doubled in four years. So has its value. Blackstone drove growth at the hotel by spending in excess of €15 million on a total revamp of its rooms and public areas. All told, the US fund put less than €90 million into the property. DekaBank, a German asset manager, is now reputedly on the verge of paying somewhere close to €180 million for it.
Constrained capacity
What now for one of the city’s best-known hotels?
Hotel room rates in Dublin are still rising by more than 20 per cent annually, and things will stay rosy while capacity remains constrained. Competition for the hotel within its immediate locality will actually lessen in coming years, once the Ballsbridge hotel closes its doors.
Barring another economic crash, the Burlington will be extremely busy.
As announced this week, the Irish hotel group Dalata is in exclusive talks to lease the hotel from the would-be buyer. Pat McCann, the founder of Dalata, is a former chief executive of the Jurys Doyle group that sold the hotel to McNamara. He might not know where all the teaspoons are buried, but McCann is as familiar with the quirks of this property as anyone. Dalata is unlikely to do anything drastic with the hotel.
What about its name?
When Blackstone bought the hotel, it also owned the Hilton group, hence the convenient marriage with the brand. Blackstone has since floated Hilton, however, although it retains a stake of more than 40 per cent. Dalata is only at due-diligence stage, so it is unclear what brand the hotel will operate under, if a deal is done.
Since the Burlington was last sold, Dublin got a second DoubleTree – the Morrison Hotel on Dublin’s quays. Dalata also doesn’t operate any international brands such as Hilton in its existing portfolio. Depending upon the contractual arrangements, there may be no compelling reason for a buyer to retain the DoubleTree by Hilton brand.
Given that it is synonymous with the city, and given its putative new operator’s familiarity with the hotel’s history, will we see a return of the Burlington moniker – or its affectionately shortened version, the Burlo – in some shape or form?
FOOTNOTES
Meath man Peter Bellew has given his first big television interview in Malaysia since taking over from Christophe Mueller as chief executive of troubled Malaysia Airlines. The former Ryanair man, who was headhunted by Mueller before the German threw in the towel early in the summer after just a year, was in flying form, obviously.
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Ethnic Malays are proud people, and just as there was for Mueller’s appointment, there is consternation in some quarters in Malaysia as to why a foreigner – an orang putih (white man) – got the top job. Bellew was asked if he understood why.
“Of course I understand. If there was a Malaysian in charge of Ryanair or Aer Lingus, there would be a lot of noise about it,” he replied, somewhat comparing apples with, er, orangs.
Showing his grip of the local lingo, he then used another Malay term for a white man to tell his detractors where to go: “But there will always be people who are not happy a mat salleh is in charge. Just get over it.”
Mueller landed in hot water with the same detractors shortly before he left in June, with an interview in which he said he had found Malaysia workers asleep in hangars. Bellew was also asked about this.
“I haven’t found anyone asleep, and I’m not sure Christophe did either,” he replied, effectively throwing Mueller under a Boeing. He was then asked to explain how new productivity measures were being implemented. “People are walking faster,” he replied. Talk about getting back to basics.
Like every self-respecting aviation executive, Bellew is also getting into scrapes with print journalists. Two weeks ago, he had a letter published in the New Straits Times lambasting the editor over a “sensationalised” front-page story. The fate of Malaysia’s missing flight MH370 is still unknown, but the story was illustrated with a picture of a plunging aircraft.
“To place such a report on the front page is not befitting of a national publication such as NST,” Bellew scolded. “ We respectfully ask that NST be more sensitive and responsible in its reporting, which should be based on fact not speculation.”
Tullow Oil chief executive Aidan Heavey this week received about 334,000 shares in the company under a 2005 bonus and incentive scheme. According to filings, he sold them at about £2.26 per share, netting himself about £750,000.
In February 2012, Tullow’s shares peaked at more than £15 – that is roughly seven times their value today. Tullow has also in recent years snubbed would-be approaches from prospective bidders at just slightly below that level.
Tullow has been extremely good to Heavey, who built the company. But if his timing was more clinical, it could have been so much better. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/did-you-hear-the-one-about-the-burlington-and-the-teaspoons-1.2768471 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/ca87a3ebe2b774fe5823a666845b88a19cc6e4e5581e2d8af4a074fc1ea8c4b5.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T16:52:22 | null | 2016-08-30T17:30:00 | Hundreds pay tribute to the innocent victim of gang feud after his killing in Mallorca | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fireland%2Firish-news%2Ftrevor-o-neill-was-nothing-but-good-and-kind-funeral-hears-1.2773325%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773312.1472574677!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Trevor O’Neill ‘was nothing but good and kind’, funeral hears | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Trevor O’Neill’s three children – Céadaoin, aged 12, Layla, aged seven, and Cody, aged five – sat in the front pew of his funeral Mass on Tuesday, along with their mother Susanne and Trevor’s father Vinny, who sat buckled over, sobbing and looking like a broken man.
The man they all loved, 41-year-old Dublin City Council drainage inspector O’Neill, a wholly innocent, collateral damage victim of the Kinahan gang’s war against the Hutch family, was remembered with sorrow and humour by a congregation of about 1,000 at St Bernadette’s church on Clogher Road in Crumlin, Dublin.
“I am appalled at expressions like ‘mistaken identity’, ‘the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time’ – expressions and clichés that are very shallow . . . they are empty expressions because they do not mark what is the true story,” said the presiding priest, Fr Melvyn Mullins.
That true story, he said, was that “Trevor O’Neill was murdered, shot when he was doing something that an ordinary father would do: enjoying a holiday in Spain with his partner and their children.
“And Trevor, being the social guy that he was, did nothing but talk to everyone, no matter where he was, and he talked to people around the pool, he talked to people who were there at the hotel, and as he walked out into the evening, we find ourselves here.”
One such chat appears to have been with a member of the Hutch family, who happened to also be staying in the Ola Apartamentos Bouganvilla hotel in the Mallorcan resort of Costa de la Calma.
It was this chat that led to Trevor’s execution-like murder on August 17th – when he was shot dead in front of his partner and their children.
Male members of his family carried his coffin, bedecked by a single red rose, into the church to the strains of Be Not Afraid.
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Present among his family, friends and work colleagues at the church were Lord Mayor of Dublin Brendan Carr, city manager Owen Keegan, assistant CEO Brendan Kenny and council workers in highlighter vests and jackets.
The symbols offered spoke of the life of an ordinary man cut down in his prime.
They were a pair of sunglasses and a black cap with a BMW logo on it; his bodhrán; the flag of the Dublin GAA football team (an FAI soccer shirt was also draped on the coffin); a clutch of CDs; a Liverpool Football Club shirt; medicine (“for his dodgy hip,” said his cousin Gary to laughter); several bookie dockets (“He was the worst gambler in history,” Gary said); a photograph of his three children; and a DCC Inspector-on-Call car windscreen sign.
“He got more satisfaction from that than being promoted inspector,” said Gary. “It was a free parking sign!”
Readings
Readings from the Book of Isaiah and from St Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians spoke of the everlasting light of God and the greatness of love.
“This was no accident,” said Fr Mullins in his homily, before going on to describe a man who worked hard to give his partner and their children a home, and to care for them “in a wonderful fashion”.
He loved people, music and telling stories; he was obliging, kind and helpful, and was also just a little mad, said the priest.
“He was one who, in the great Dublin expression, could be described as ‘mad’ - mad in the sense that he was full of energy, tricks and jokes . . . He was nothing but a good and kind person.”
Fr Mullins was assisted by Fr Pat Gayer of the Augustinians in Thomas Street, representing the residents of Meath Street who were often helped by Mr O’Neill, and by Fr Gerry Kane of Holy Rosary Church in Harold’s Cross.
In a brief but heartfelt eulogy, Gareth Connolly, Trevor’s first cousin, spoke affectionately of him.
“Trevor was a beautiful person in every way,” he said. “He was completely full of life – full of laughs, full of joy, full of stories but most of all, full of love.”
He liked nothing more than jumping into his car on a sunny day and heading off to Brittas Bay with his children.
“He never went anywhere without his children,” said Mr Connolly.
As his coffin was blessed, Susan Dowling sang May The Road Rise Before You and as they carried Trevor O’Neill’s remains from the church to his final resting place in Mount Jerome, it was to the sounds of Gerry and the Pacemakers’ singing You’ll Never Walk Alone.
The single stem rose remained behind by the altar. | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/trevor-o-neill-was-nothing-but-good-and-kind-funeral-hears-1.2773325?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/2ee6eea5d51667ecf445ef2cc3417d0ff900edba8a94e8e4864b7cd392a03a1e.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T12:49:11 | null | 2016-08-30T11:24:00 | Cliff Taylor unravels the complexities and consequences of the European Commission’s ruling | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fireland-now-caught-in-multinational-tax-row-1.2772940.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2772950.1472559859!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Ireland now caught in multinational tax row | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | The final details of the European Commission’s decision on Apple is full of complexity and obscure points of tax and competition law. But the essence of this is simple.
The European Commission is arguing that the profits which Apple earned outside the US between the years 2004 and 2014 should have been taxed in Ireland. The Revenue Commissions here had decided – on the basis, Ireland says, of international practice – that Apple should pay corporation tax in Ireland only relating to what it sold in the Irish market.
The difference between these two numbers is very large – some €13 billion on the European Commission estimates – and hence the demands from the Commission that the Government collects this amount in tax. Apple’s international accounting practices meant that in the period under review it generally paid tax of less than 2 per cent on profits earned outside the US, or even less in some years. The Commission has said that Irish tax should have been applied to much of these profits.
The scale of the finding means that the whole issue of multinational tax will be front and centre again in international business debate, and this is bound to spark off serious tensions between the European Commission and the US, which will be furious at what has happened.
Ireland is caught right in the middle. It is a decision which will involve significant collateral damage for Ireland, which has always claimed to have a transparent and legally based tax system. The Revenue is merely meant to apply the rules in collecting tax here.
Rules
The European Commission has found that it offered Apple a “selective advantage” by the way it applied the rules to the US multinational - in other words it gave it too generous a deal, and one which was not on offer to other companies.
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The Government and the Revenue strongly deny this and Ireland will take the fight to the European courts. However the scale and high profile of the judgement means Ireland – and the IDA – will have a fight on their hands.
It remains to be seen if the European Commission now targets other Irish-based companies. And while the Irish tax system has changed in recent years, the decision will may create some uncertainty about the tax structure on offer to inward investors, even if the Government will loudly argue that this is not the case. This will not help Ireland’s drive to attract FDI -or Europe’s. The Commission has done damage which will not be easily undone, though Apple has underlined its commitment to Ireland.
The amount of money involved will put the Government on the defensive, both at home and internationally. The Government says it “profoundly” disagrees with the decision and a Cabinet meeting will be held on Wednesday at which Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan will seek approval to appeal the case to the European courts. Apple, now a party to the case after the decision has been reached, is also expected to appeal.
One of the unusual factors here is that Margrethe Vestager, the EU Competition Commissioner, has said that it is possible that all the tax would not accrue to Ireland. Other European countries could stake a claim to it, she said. Or more tax could be paid by Apple in the US. Given that this is a binding judgement, this uncertainty about where the tax is due seems unusual.
Apple established its European headquarters in Ireland in the early 1980s and for many years paid no tax on sales outside Ireland under the old export sales relief rule.
This was abolished on April 5th, 1990, to be replaced by the 10 per cent corporation tax rate, since raised to 12.5 per cent. And so Apple entered into talks with the Revenue about how tax would be applied to its operations here, culminating in a so-called tax ruling, a non-binding letter given by the Revenue outlining the principles it would use to tax Apple here.
It is here that the dispute lies. The Government says Apple did not get a special deal. The Commission disagrees and holds that the two tax rulings - one in 1991 and one in 2007 – represents illegal state aid from the country to the company. The demand that Ireland collect the tax involved follows as the legal remedy to recoup this “illegal” aid to Apple.
Case
Ireland’s case will be that it offered Apple no favourable deal and that the European Commission has taken an extraordinary use of state aid rules without any proper legal basis. The view in Dublin is that this is something of a power grab by the Commission, which has seen the OECD emerge as the main international body in the tax arena.
The Department of Finance also believes that the commission has moved away from taxing economic activity where the “ substance” of it takes place - as favoured by the OECD. It points out that much of the money moving through Apple’s Irish subsidiaries related to products such as the iPhone, on which key research and development work was undertaken in the US, and sales of which were greatest in big European markets. The Commission was, Ireland will contend, operating on the basis that “if it is not taxed elsewhere, it should be taxed in Ireland.”
The commission’s ruling will now be for the European courts to decide, though Irish officials say it goes against established international tax practice.Ireland has also moved to change some of the tax structures in question.
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Apple used the double Irish structure – with a company registered here but not tax resident in Ireland. In fact one of its key companies – as a US Senate hearing discovered - was not tax resident anywhere. A change in Irish tax rules means this loophole allowing the registering of a company here with no tax residency anywhere has been closed.
And the whole double Irish structure is being phased out by 2020. In hindsight it was the right move to make these changes in 2014, but it will not stop Ireland being the butt of huge international criticism.
Ireland’s case will be that it collected all the tax which Apple declared and was due here – and it was not its job to police its worldwide structures. The commission argues that the Irish Revenue authorities, influenced by jobs in Ireland, gave Apple a favourable deal.
Law
A lot of this comes down to complex tax law on transfer pricing - the way big companies allocate costs between their subsidiaries, vital in the case of Apple where a huge intellectual property or IP charge was levied on sales across Europe, pulling money back into Irish registered subsidiaries. This was key part of the chain through which Apple has now built up a cash pile of over $200 billion held outside the US - if the money is returned to the US, Apple would be subject to US tax on it.
Ireland will now be forced to raise a tax demand on Apple and the money will, as Father Ted put in, be “resting in our account” – or some kind of escrow half way house – as the case wends its way through the European courts. With Apple also certain to appeal, Irish officials say that “the idea that we could ever get our hands on this cash could be seen as fanciful.” This will not stop a huge political debate at home.
However such is the scale of the money involved that this is bound to have significant political implications internationally, too.
The US reaction will be furious – and retaliatory measures may be threatened – and Ireland’s competitors for foreign direct investment elsewhere in Europe will make hay.
This one will run and run. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/ireland-now-caught-in-multinational-tax-row-1.2772940 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/47b246b8600e7aec238bc99a6babe13c303c3a1f11b87f2c2a47e5a39e7a9c88.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T00:48:56 | null | 2016-08-30T01:00:00 | Firm behind Kenny energy project has reasonable prospect of survival, court hears | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fenergy-and-resources%2Fhigh-court-appoints-interim-examiner-to-mayo-renewable-power-1.2772253.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2772252.1472494993!/image/image.jpg | en | null | High Court appoints interim examiner to Mayo Renewable Power | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | The company behind a renewable energy project launched last year by Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been granted High Court protection from its creditors.
The court on Monday appointed Michael McAteer of Grant Thornton as interim examiner to Mayo Renewable Power, which plans to build a wood-chip burning electricity generator at Killala at a cost of €180 million.
Mayo Renewable Power’s plans ran into financial difficulty in recent weeks and this was compounded when a company that had been hoping to supply the Irish plant with fuel sued its promoter for $60 million in a New Jersey court in the United States.
In May, British bank, Barclays, one of three lenders that were originally meant to contribute €118 million to the project, pulled out as a result of the uncertainty surrounding the UK vote to leave the European Union.
Neither it, nor the project’s other lenders, AIB and Ulster Bank, have provided any finance. Mayo Renewable’s lead backer, Irish American businessman’s Gerald C Crotty’s Weichert Enterprises has spent €90 million on the development, €10 million more than it originally planned, through its parent, US-registered Rockland Mayo LLC.
Mr Kenny laid its foundation stone last October but the project ran into a number of difficulties and building was suspended last month.
One of the problems was with sourcing a boiler, a key component. The banks’ consent to a change of supplier was required, and this delayed funding.
The High Court heard that builder John Sisk & Son is the main contractor and there are 130 sub-contractors and suppliers. The construction company has sought €17.5 million for work done.
If the court confirms Mr McAteer’s appointment when the case is returned on September 12th, he will have up to three months to come up with a rescue plan for the company.
Creditors will not be able to enforce debts against the business during that time, although it is open to the examiner to pay suppliers if he believes it is in the company’s best interest.
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At the High Court on Monday afternoon, Mr Justice Tony O’Connor said that he was satisfied to appoint Mr McAteer of Grant Thornton as interim examiner to Mayo Renewable Power Ltd after being informed that the company has a reasonable prospect of survival as a going concern if certain steps are taken.
These include the examiner helping to securing additional investment that would allow the plant to be built. He said that nine potential investors have expressed in the venture from some nine major investors.
The examiner would also put together a scheme of arrangement with creditors, which if approved by the High Court, would allow the company to continue trading.
Mayo Renewable Power’s lawyer, James Doherty SC, told the court that an independent experts report said in the event of it being wound up the deficit would be more than €100 million. On a going concern basis, that shortfall was a little over €200,000.
The company intends to initially import fuel from north America, but ultimately plans to buy it from Irish suppliers. It will employ 130 people when it is up and running. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/energy-and-resources/high-court-appoints-interim-examiner-to-mayo-renewable-power-1.2772253 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/6e45124dd19c4dc70391ef0944f0414d9340e5a62fb48244e1437f8b5fa4eca8.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T00:51:36 | null | 2016-08-29T01:07:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fopinion%2Fletters%2Fremembering-peter-barry-1.2769821%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/assets/images/favicons/irishtimes.png | en | null | Remembering Peter Barry | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Sir, – At a time when much ill-informed and ignorant comment on the worth of “establishment” politicians is rife, it is opportune to reflect on the huge contribution of the late Peter Barry to Irish public life.
It is arguable that were it not for his central involvement with then taoiseach Dr Garret FitzGerald in the negotiation of the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, the relative normality of life now enjoyed by the people of Northern Ireland might not have been achieved.
It is a testament to Peter Barry’s tenacity and considerable political skill that the historic agreement was successfully negotiated in the face of intense opposition from both sides of the political divide in Northern Ireland and deeply cynical opposition here in the Republic.
For this achievement alone, Peter Barry deserves our gratitude and deep respect. May he now rest in peace after a life’s work so well done. – Yours, etc,
PJ McDERMOTT,
Westport,
Co Mayo.
Sir, – My most enduring memory of Peter Barry was the sense of calm he exuded, even in the dark days of the Troubles and the difficult negotiations leading to the Anglo-Irish Agreement. He allowed the political attacks to simply wash over him. All in all, he was a great testament to the calming and restorative powers of a nice cup of tea. He will be missed. – Yours, etc,
ANNE BYRNE,
Bray,
Co Wicklow. | http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/remembering-peter-barry-1.2769821?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/5123a3355b7d2b1bc51b95d05046e40a554bc79c8897fb20e0a927209e4b81f2.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T12:50:20 | null | 2016-08-27T13:43:00 | THG employee was arrested in possession of 823 Olympic Council of Ireland tickets | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fireland%2Firish-news%2Firishman-kevin-mallon-to-be-released-from-jail-in-rio-1.2770769%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2770768.1472301807!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Irishman Kevin Mallon to be released from jail in Rio | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Irishman Kevin Mallon is set to be released from prison in a matter of hours after a federal judge in Brazil granted him a temporary writ of habeas corpus.
Mr Mallon has been held in jail since his arrest on August 5th in possession of 823 Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) tickets for the Olympic Games.
Police have accused him of ticket touting. Mr Mallon’s company THG denies any wrongdoing even though it was not authorised to sell tickets or hospitality packages for the Games in Rio.
In a ruling published in the early hours of Saturday judge Ribeiro Dantas of the superior court of justice in the capital Brasília reversed his previous rejection on August 15th of a request for habeas corpus and granted one to lawyers representing Kevin Mallon.
A court official will convey the writ to the Bangú 10 prison in the western suburbs of Rio where Mr Mallon has been sharing a cell with Patrick Hickey following his arrest on August 17th. Both men and the OCI have denied wrongdoing.
On receiving the writ prison authorities must free Mr Mallon.
The writ is temporary and must be confirmed by a panel of the court in Brasília. No date has yet been set for the panel to rule on Judge Dantas’ decision. Mr Mallon’s passport will not be returned to him to ensure he remains in Brazil.
Mr Mallon’s lawyer Franklin Gomes said the granting of the writ to his client does not necessarily mean that Mr Hickey will be entitled to one as the two men are the subject of separate police investigations into OCI ticketing arrangements at the Olympics.
A THG statement this morning read: “Following intensive efforts by our lawyers in Brazil, THG welcomes the news that our colleague Kevin Mallon is shortly to be released from preventative detention in Rio.
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In line with our previous statements on this matter THG has welcomed the public enquiry in Ireland into these matters and believes that the company and its executives will be vindicated when all of the evidence is reviewed.
We will continue to work to secure Kevin’s full release and his return to Dublin. Meanwhile, THG is providing full support to Kevin and his family and will continue to seek to ensure their privacy at this difficult time.” | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/irishman-kevin-mallon-to-be-released-from-jail-in-rio-1.2770769?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/8593ccf939a00498394222cb777be3ae16bdbb9c780245d18c17b260f4626053.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T22:51:57 | null | 2016-08-29T23:00:00 | Manchester City goalkeeper retains England place but is told he must play regularly | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fsport%2Fsoccer%2Fenglish-soccer%2Ftorino-could-be-loan-solution-for-joe-hart-1.2772245%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2772243.1472493690!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Torino could be loan solution for Joe Hart | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Joe Hart is considering a loan move to Torino, with the goalkeeper conscious that his career could be seriously affected if he fails to leave Manchester City before the transfer window closes on Wednesday.
Hart has been demoted as City’s number one by Pep Guardiola and was again on the bench for Sunday’s 3-1 victory over West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium, where Willy Caballero started.
Torino finished 12th in Italy’s Serie A last term and are seventh with three points after the opening two games of this season. Hart is keen to play regularly and knows that if he does not join the Italian club or go elsewhere his status will drop to third choice. Sunderland, who want a goalkeeper after Vito Mannone was ruled out for a minimum of three months, is not an option for Hart.
Last Thursday, Guardiola signed Claudio Bravo from Barcelona for about £17 million (€19.9 million) to be Hart’s replacement. Caballero is expected to be Bravo’s deputy.
Hart also has his status as England’s number one to protect. He is in Sam Allardyce’s first squad, for Sunday’s World Cup qualifier against Slovakia, but Allardyce has warned Hart that he will have to play on a weekly basis to be considered in the long term.
Allardyce said that omitting Ross Barkley from his first England squad was the toughest decision he had to make. The new England boss, who also confirmed that he would name his captain on Tuesday, left Barkley out of his 23-man squad for this weekend’s World Cup qualifier in Slovakia despite the Everton midfielder having enjoyed a promising start to the season.
The 22-year-old, who was an unused member of England’s Euro 2016 squad, has scored twice in his first four games for Everton, but that was not enough to prevent him being left out by Allardyce.
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The former Sunderland and West Ham boss said: “We’ve had to make some very, very difficult decisions, none more so than Ross Barkley. It’s disappointing for him. The door will always be open for Ross, but at this moment I think the squad I’ve named is right.” | http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/english-soccer/torino-could-be-loan-solution-for-joe-hart-1.2772245?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/427e751e37048f5dd79307086fd80a8fad9ad3d6606aba48494fba72566e8651.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T18:51:21 | null | 2016-08-28T18:24:00 | Administrators shut final 22 shops across UK in chain that had more than 150 outlets | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fretail-and-services%2Fbhs-exits-british-high-street-after-88-years-1.2771179%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2771203.1472407016!/image/image.jpg | en | null | BHS exits British high street after 88 years | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Once a staple of the British high street, BHS closed its doors for good yesterday, ending 88 years of British retail history.
The last bargain hunters could be seen emerging from the retailer’s Walthamstow branch in north London clutching heavily discounted items as administrators shut 22 stores across the UK, the last of more than 150 branches.
The department’s only overseas store was on O’Connell Street in Dublin, a space now occupied by Penneys. However, the shop fell victim to recession and was closed in the 1980s.
Heatons later took up the Irish franchise, opening three outlets in Kilkenny, Letterkenny and Dublin’s Jervis Centre under the British chain’s name. But in 1998 all three were changed to Heatons shops.
In the UK, Duff & Phelps and FRP Advisory have already overseen 141 closures over recent weeks, including BHS’s flagship Oxford Street store in London’s West End.
Parliamentary inquiry
The department store’s collapse in April has affected 11,000 jobs, 22,000 pensions, sparked a lengthy parliamentary inquiry and left its high-profile former owners potentially facing a criminal investigation.
Retail billionaire Sir Philip Green has borne the brunt of the public fallout, having been branded the “unacceptable face of capitalism” by furious MPs.
Green owned BHS for 15 years before selling it to serial bankrupt Dominic Chappell for £1 in 2015.
Green has come under fire for taking more than £400 million in dividends from the chain, leaving it with a £571 million pension deficit and for selling it to a man with no retail experience.
Veteran Labour MP Frank Field has asked the serious-fraud office to launch a formal investigation into the pair to ascertain if any criminal wrongdoing occurred during the sale of the chain and throughout their respective ownerships.
It has also emerged that Mr Field is investigating Green’s Arcadia retail empire, which includes Topshop.
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Discounted goods
In Walthamstow, shoppers rummaged through boxes of heavily discounted goods, with discarded items strewn across the floor.
Paul Campbell, who lives locally, left the store shortly after 4pm with a trolley full of DVDs. He said: “I’ve paid a pound for this lot. I reckon it’s about 200 or so DVDs, if they are all there in the right cases.
“There are some Rugby World Cup box sets, golf DVDs which I’ll give to my mate, the rest I will sell or give to the local charity shops. “At the end of the day, I’ve paid a pound for all this. It’s not really much of a risk.”
Veedoo Clash, from Tottenham, said she was sad to see BHS leave the high street, having shopped at the branch for 28 years. She said: “I just grabbed whatever I could.
“I went to Oxford Street when it closed, I bought lots of things for my husband and the grandchild, but I hid them because I didn’t want my husband to see. Then I came here to Walthamstow.” – (Additional reporting by PA) | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/retail-and-services/bhs-exits-british-high-street-after-88-years-1.2771179?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/95160914ff148088bf410890cb82d9633fbc39db9b539d4ffe26ba41e34a07ba.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T10:51:41 | null | 2016-08-29T10:48:00 | Proposed ‘Help-to-Buy’ scheme which could offer incentive of up to €10,000 may exclude returning emigrants who have previously bought property abroad | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fwill-new-first-time-buyers-package-hit-home-what-we-know-so-far-1.2771852%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2771851.1472464118!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Will new first-time buyers package hit home? What we know so far | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | First-time buyers are expected to get a filip this October, with plans afoot for a new incentive type scheme which should help them get a first step on the property ladder.
The so-called “Help to Buy” scheme for first time-buyers (FTBs) will be outlined by Minister for Finance Michael Noonan on budget day, and should offer some form of monetary incentive for beleaguered home buyers stymied by restrictive mortgage lending rules and exorbitant rents.
The Help to Buy initiative is part of the Government’s overall housing strategy, which aims to increase the n umber of homes built per year to 25,000 by 2021, as well as providing 47,000 social housing units in the same period.
Previous efforts to incentivise first-timber buyers through Dirt free savings have failed to take off so will the Government strike the right note with its new plan? All will be revealed when Budget 2017 is announced, but here are some preliminary pointers:
1) It will be revealed on Budget day: Minister for Housing Simon Coveney has indicated that the new scheme will be revealed on Budget day, October 11th 2016.
2) It could be worth up to €10,000 per couple: In its manifesto, Fianna Fail previously proposed a type of Special Saving Incentive Account (SSIA) scheme, which would see the Government give people €50 for every €200 they saved towards a mortgage deposit. The incentive would be capped at €5,000 for a single buyer and €10,000 for couples. However, while the Government’s scheme is thought to be of a similar order, it’s understood to work around a tax rebate scheme. This means that rather than incentivise people to save for a deposit for a property, the Government will give you money back once you purchase, something akin to the Home Renovation Incentive scheme, which gives you 13.5 per cent VAT refund on new kitchens/extensions etc . The new scheme could however, be a combination of the two. The UK’s Help to Buy shceme for example, gives those saving for a home a 25 per cent reward on savings of up to £3,000, so a maximum reward of £750. However, while the scheme was originally understood to be introduced to help those saving for a deposit, it now appears that the reward can only be used
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3) It will be backdated to July 19th. Announcing the scheme on July 19th, Minister for Housing Simon Coveney said that any incentive will be backdated to this date, which should reassure FTBs who are hoping to buy before the Budget. However, it is not yet clear what this date actually means - ie does it apply to property buyers who go sale agreed after this date? Or does it apply to mortgage drawdowns? This could potentially exclude FTBs who bought a property in June, and drew it down in August.
4) The scheme may be limited to particular homes: Conal MacCoille, economist with Davy Stockbrokers, notes that the scheme may be limited to homes under a certain value and/or new build properties only. Given that the scheme is to be introduced to “incentivise the construction of more starter homes”, the latter could make sense, while a cap on values is pretty much a certainty. As Mr Coveney said when launching his housing plan in July, “We’re not in the business of supporting the purchase of mansions.”
5) It could push up house prices: If, as is expected, the rebate is as much as € 10,000 for a couple, when this is set against an average mortgage loan of € 197,000 for the second quarter of this year the rebate “could push up house prices significantly” Mr MacCoille says. The aforementioned Help to Buy scheme in the UK for example, is said to have added an average £8,250 to the cost of a home.
6) It’s for first-time buyers only: Under Revenue rules, a FTB is someone who has never - either jointly or individually - purchased or built their own house in Ireland or abroad. FTBs must intend to live in the property, and can’t earn rent on the property (for the first 5 years) apart from letting a room under the rent-a-room scheme. If the Government applies this understanding of a FTB to its new scheme, it means that if your partner previously purchased a property and you now hope to buy one together, you won’t be entitled to avail of the scheme. Moreover, if you’re a returning emigrant and previously purchased a property abroad, you won’t be considered as a FTB either. And if you leave the country or move to another property and rent out the entire property within the first five years, you may face a claw-back of any incentive you received.
7) It’s part of a review of mortgage lending limits: The Department of FInance is working on the scheme in conjunction with the Central Bank, as part of its review of its mortgage lending limits. Whether or not this means changes to the mortgage lending review remains to be seen however.
8) Mortgage insurance may be part of the scheme: In its housing plan, “Rebuilding Ireland”, the Government noted that the goal of Help to Buy is to provide “affordable mortgage finance or mortgage insurance” for FTBs. Mortgage insurance is a way of allowing homeowners borrow more than the 80 per cent or so of purchase price allowed under the Central Bank’s new rules, as some of the mortgage risk is transferredfrom lenders to insurers. However last year a senior economist with the Central Bank expressed concern about the potential cost of mortgage insurance, warning that it could “act counter” to the regulator’s lending rules. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/will-new-first-time-buyers-package-hit-home-what-we-know-so-far-1.2771852?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/299c5a0bd2d096798dfe183ee91e1f5d50606ef90b5756129aea475a007d071b.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T14:52:16 | null | 2016-08-30T15:37:00 | Man’s best friend processes vocal communication in same way as humans, study shows | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fscience%2Fdogs-understand-human-words-and-tones-research-says-1.2773172%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773169.1472567827!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Dogs understand human words and tones, research says | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Dogs might know a lot more than we give them credit for, according to a research team in Budapest.
The researchers have shown that man’s best friend readily understands spoken words and also gains information from the intonation used.
The team also discovered that the words and tone are processed in the dog’s brain in the same way as humans, suggesting the evolution of language could go back much further than currently thought.
Most dog owners would contend that their pets respond to different words as if they fully understood the meaning.
Scientists at Eötvös Loránd University decided to examine this phenomenon and see what was going on inside the dog’s head when listening to its master’s voice.
Lead researcher Attila Andics and colleagues used brain scans to study how dogs processed the words.
The results showed that, just like in people, dogs process the meaning of words in the left half of the brain, while the right side of the brain comes into action when the intonation is processed.
More importantly, humans and dogs are both able to integrate the two types of information in order to come up with a unified meaning.
“Our findings suggest that dogs can . . . do all that, and they use very similar brain mechanisms [as humans],” said Dr Andics.
Details of the research were published on Tuesday by the journal Science.
Test
The researchers used a mix of meaningful and meaningless words and changed between praising and neutral intonation to test responses.
The best reaction occurred when the dogs heard praising words used in a praising tone.
This double whammy triggered the “reward centre” in a dog’s brain, the place activated by a scratch behind the ears, food and other good things.
It is unclear how a dog’s understanding of words and tone evolved, the researchers said.
The skill could have evolved as dogs were gradually domesticated, but this is unlikely because their ability to process words emerged too quickly.
This suggests older origins for the emergence of vocal communication. | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/dogs-understand-human-words-and-tones-research-says-1.2773172?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/3431c8bab210a487a1daf358c49afba75415d139630334bee2e5332c036a8329.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T12:49:02 | null | 2016-08-30T13:25:00 | iPhone maker says EU’s tax ruling ‘an effort to rewrite Apple’s history in Europe’ | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Ftechnology%2Fapple-says-eu-ruling-will-hit-investment-job-creation-in-europe-1.2772963.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773033.1472559941!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Apple says EU ruling will hit investment, job-creation in Europe | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Apple, the iPhone maker, said the EU’s ruling on Tuesday that it owes Ireland up to €13 billion in unpaid taxes “will have a profound and harmful effect on investment and job-creation in Europe”.
“The European Commission has launched an effort to rewrite Apple’s history in Europe, ignore Ireland’s tax laws and upend the international tax system in the process,” the technology giant said in a statement.
The EU’s competition arm said that Apple had been granted selective treatment by Ireland through two tax rulings granted to the company in 1991 and 2007 by the Revenue Commissioners in Dublin.
That treatment allowed Apple to avoid taxation on almost all profits generated by sales of its products in the EU single market because Apple recorded the sales in Ireland rather than where products were sold, the commission said.
However, Apple said the EU’s case was not about how much Apple pays in taxes, it’s about which government collects the money.
“Apple follows the law and pays all of the taxes we owe wherever we operate. We will appeal and we are confident the decision will be overturned,” it said. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/apple-says-eu-ruling-will-hit-investment-job-creation-in-europe-1.2772963 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/2b8f9d0dd96fe9e5516bf443ae83a92a779807bb4330afa236cc4032403b01c0.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T12:49:22 | null | 2016-08-31T13:14:00 | Outspoken airline boss weighs into row between firm and Brussels | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Ftransport-and-tourism%2Fapple-tax-government-should-tell-eu-to-f-k-off-says-ryanair-s-o-leary-1.2774314.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2774332.1472647332!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Apple tax: Government should tell EU to ‘f**k off’, says Ryanair’s O’Leary | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has weighed into the tax dispute between Apple and the EU, saying the Government should write a letter to the EU telling them to “f**k off”.
Dubbing the EU’s ruling “bizarre”, the outspoken airline chief said: “One of the fundamental principles of the European Union is that each country has its autonomy to make its own tax decisions.
“Frankly the Irish Government should turn around - they shouldn’t even appeal the decision - they should just write a letter to Europe and tell them politely to f**k off.
“The idea that you have the state aid mob - who’ve had more court verdicts overturned than any other department in Europe in the last 20 years - come along 10 years after the fact and say, ‘no we didn’t like that, we think you should have done something else’, is frankly bizarre.”
On Tuesday, Europe’s antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager slapped the maker of iPads and iPhones with a €13 billion tax bill.
She claimed Apple paid just 1 per cent tax on its European profits in 2003 and 0.005 per cent in 2014, and said its arrangement with the Irish government is illegal under state aid rules.
Apple is set to challenge the decision, and Mr O’ Leary added: “I think there’s no chance of this surviving a court ruling in Europe. There’s certain things that Europe has no competence in.”
Mr O’Leary went on to claim that Ryanair was “one of the most compliant taxpayers in Ireland”, having paid a tax rate of about 11.9 per cent on profits last year.
On Brexit, the chief executive, who backed the Remain campaign during the EU referendum, expects the UK to suffer “significant economic damage” as a result of its decision to quit the single-bloc. However, he added that it is too soon to revise the company’s financial guidance.
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In July, Ryanair said it would “pivot” growth away from UK airports and instead focus on hubs in the European Union following the Brexit referendum result. The firm said its growth rate in the UK is expected to slow from about 15 per cent to 6 per cent next year.
However, with long-term growth in mind, Mr O’Leary is now calling on the UK Government to approve three new runways in a bid to end Britain’s airport capacity conundrum for “the next 50 years”.
He urged Theresa May’s government in Britain to be “radical in its decision making” and rubber-stamp new runways at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. The proposal would mean ending the battle between Gatwick and Heathrow for a new runway.
“Ryanair calls on the new UK Government to be radical in its decision making on new runways for London instead of picking just one (Heathrow or Gatwick) and calls on prime minister Theresa May to approve three new runways — one each at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, which will finally resolve the runway capacity issue for the next 50 years, while ensuring competition between airports delivers efficient facilities and prevents airlines and passengers being ripped off by gold-plated monopoly runways,” he said.
Last year, the Government’s Airports Commission said a third runway at Heathrow is the best route to expanding airport capacity. David Cameron stalled on backing the recommendation, saying the Government required more time to assess the environmental impact.
A decision is now expected before the end of the year. Mr O’Leary said that expanding only one airport would allow airlines to justify raising prices for customers, who might subsequently help foot the bill.
But competition between three airports would be a boon for travellers and benefit Ryanair long-term, he claimed. “We’ll have more capacity to grow, fares will fall and in a declining fare environment, we’ll win,” Mr O’Leary said. Mr
O’ Leary made the announcement as he trumpeted new routes to Strasbourg and Faro and more flights to Sofia and Nuremberg from Stansted, Gatwick and Luton airports.
He also warned Ryanair may reduce its full-year profit guidance if a drop in ticket prices accelerates. “We’re not yet revising the guidance,” chief executive Michael O’Leary said to reporters Wednesday in London.
“But we’re very cautious on the full-year guidance. If winter fares fall by more than 10 or 12 per cent, we will have to review.”
The carrier said last week it’s seeing fares in its core summer period fall by 9 per cent, sharper than the 6 per cent to 8 per cent dip expected at the start of the budget airline’s fiscal year.
After the comments, Ryanair shares fell as much as 2.5 per cent and were down 1.6 per cent on Wednesday morning.
PA | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/transport-and-tourism/apple-tax-government-should-tell-eu-to-f-k-off-says-ryanair-s-o-leary-1.2774314 | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/dd42d77a7f18be437e06bd297a7bc5f023cadfd6b6074eb2fd476963e3b4bcd5.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:00:14 | null | 2016-08-26T06:00:00 | As rents reach new peak, experts says situation likely to get worse before getting better | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fno-quick-fix-for-home-rental-crisis-say-experts-1.2768185.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2769225.1472190936!/image/image.jpg | en | null | No quick fix for home rental crisis, say experts | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Anyone who has ever rented has horror stories. Whether those involve dodgy landlords, difficult housemates or almost-uninhabitable dives, the experiences renters gain are character-building, if nothing else.
But while those who moved on to buy their own homes often look back on their days in the rental sector with fondness and amusement, it’s anything but a laughing matter for those currently renting.
A Daft.ie study confirmed this week what tenants have known for some time, which is that the residential rental sector in Ireland is in crisis mode. And things are likely to get a whole lot worse before there is any prospect of them getting better.
According to the latest report, rents reached their highest level on record during the second quarter of 2016 and are nearly 10 per cent higher than they were a year ago. At the same time, the number of properties available to rent continued to decline, with a little over 3,600 available across the country on August 1st. Of those, just 1,100 were in Dublin.
Rent increase
Rents in the capital are now 5.2 per cent higher than their previous peak in early 2008. Nationwide, rents rose by an average of 3.9 per cent in the second quarter, to €1,037, the largest three-month increase since the peak of the Celtic Tiger in 2007.
With an influx of students about to move into our biggest cities ahead of the new academic year, an already struggling market will strain to accommodate them all.
Ronan Lyons, assistant professor of economics at Trinity College Dublin and author of the Daft report, noted earlier this week that average rent had jumped by more than 39 per cent since bottoming out in 2011, meaning students face tough choices when it comes to deciding where to study and live.
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While the current spike in construction of student accommodation should help alleviate the problem, much of it is not due to be completed for some time. Moreover, the high costs involved mean many developers aren’t prepared to invest in such projects.
“Construction costs are very high in Ireland compared to other countries and in particular compared to what students can afford. Roughly speaking, no one is able to build new student accommodation for less than rent of about €200 per week whereas students in the private rented sector are typically paying less than €150 a week, so there’s a gap that to be bridged,” Mr Lyons told The Irish Times.
Students are just one segment in the rental market that needs to be catered for. While there may be specific measures that could assist them, some commentators argue for increased action to support all of those currently renting.
Sector neglected
The crisis in the rental sector has not gone unnoticed in official circles, even if it took some time to be given due consideration.
“Until recently when we looked at the housing market we were looking at mortgages and house prices. The rental sector was neglected for a long time because there was a perception that people who rented were somewhat unfortunate. They were students who didn’t have much money, youngsters starting out on their careers or those who had separated or divorced or through some other reason had fallen on hard times,” said Peter Stafford, director of Ibec-affiliated Property Industry Ireland.
“In addition, there was also the idea that any problems that happened in the rental sector were temporary and would soon go away because everyone aspired to getting a mortgage and a foot on the property ladder and doing so would resolve any issues that existed. Unfortunately, it has taken a crisis for renting issues to get on the table,” he added.
The Government has introduced measures to address the sector’s problems, as the previous Fine Gael/Labour coalition also did, such as a hike in rent supplement, a promise of additional social housing and the enactment of legislation limiting rent increases, which came into force last November.
Scorn
Such measures are aimed at curtailing rising rents and providing increased support for tenants. But how effective are they? Some commentators pour particular scorn on the move to control rent by limiting increases to every two years.
“Rent control measures only tend to benefit those in situ. They don’t help those who are looking for a place to live. In fact, it ensures that if someone is in a rent-controlled apartment they are going to stay there as long as they can and so it doesn’t help the natural churn of property,” said Mr Stafford.
“Controls can also undermine landlords who are charging below-market rents, because it unnecessarily penalises them if they do need to increase prices for whatever reason,” he added.
Minister for Housing Simon Coveney admitted earlier this week that rising rents may, in time, be the result of the stability measures introduced late last year. Others believe their introduction has simply postponed even bigger increases that will come into play in 2017.
“I think the measures have just pushed the problem back till next year,” said Davy Stockbrokers research analyst Ray Crowley.
“There will be a series of rent reviews next year where potentially you could see double-digit rent increases on the cards. All the measures did was kick the can down the road,” he added.
From linking the cost of renting to the consumer price index, to bringing in additional tax breaks for landlords, introducing greater security of tenure and reversing plans to restrict the height of apartment blocks, plenty can be done to alleviate the rental crisis. However, the overriding problem is supply, according to the experts. Or rather the lack of it .
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Supply imbalance
When the chief executive of Ireland’s largest private residential landlord warns that rents are reaching the limits of sustainability, then you know you have a serious problem. David Ehrlich, chief executive of Ires Reit, which has a portfolio of 2,377 apartments spread across Dublin, did just this earlier this year when he expressed concern about the imbalance between supply and demand.
“There are still limited levels of activity in housing construction happening and so there are no quick fixes here. This is a problem that is going to be with us for the rest of the decade,” said Mr Crowley.
He added that while policymakers can do little about land costs, they can influence issues such as building heights that could persuade investors to take a punt on the residential property sector, rather than the commercial one.
“Engagement between the various councils in Dublin and government departments on the mix of density could be improved and that would certainly increase viability and encourage more capital into the development market. Issues such as reducing car-parking loads in downtown developments in favour of greater use of public transport to move people is also something that could be looked at,” said Mr Crowley.
“From a capital point of view, there is a lot of overseas capital that would like to invest in the residential sector in Dublin. It is within the grasp of policymakers to open up the gates for that capital to come in and fund local developers to build apartment blocks,” he added.
Mr Stafford is also keen to see more done to encourage other investors into Ireland: “We need to get a huge number of professional build-to-rent landlords coming into the market so that we end up with thousands of purpose-built apartments that are made to be rented out for the long term. If it was up to me to make changes I’d go all out to create so many landlords in Ireland so that they would be chasing tenants rather than the other way round.
“The Government policy in Britain has been to do this in London so that you effectively flood the market and then don’t really need to have rent control as things stabilise.”
Plenty of other factors have contributed to the current crisis. Not least of these is the introduction of stricter lending measures by the Central Bank, which has effectively locked many people out of the property market. And growing numbers of individuals and families are staying renting through choice rather than necessity.
Balancing the needs of competing commercial interests while also ensuring those renting don’t find themselves in a worse situation will be tricky. Ensuring the rental sector is given proper attention will at least be a start.
“We’re going to have to get used to the idea that the cohort of people who are renting is going to get bigger. We can’t just assume that anything which improves the housing market will by default improve the rented sector,” said Mr Stafford.
Institutional landlords
Over the last few years, property funds such as Kennedy Wilson, and real estate investment trusts (Reits) such as Hibernia and Ires, have been busy snapping up apartment blocks across Dublin. While these don’t try to hide the fact that they are going all out to make a profit, they also promise to bring a level of sophistication to the rental sector that will come as a shock to anyone who ever lived in a grotty bedsit in Rathmines.
“From a tenant point of view, experience elsewhere shows that bigger institutional owners of apartment blocks are able to provide a better service to tenants and equally manage better for their shareholders,” said Mr Crowley.
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However, some are highly critical of the arrival of institutional landlords in Ireland.
“Reits are playing a role in fuelling the crisis by pushing up rents and house prices further. Furthermore, the issue has been raised of large vulture funds using Ireland’s low and zero tax regime to pay little or no tax on their speculative residential activities here,” said Rory Hearne, a senior policy analyst with the think tank Tasc.
He believes the answer to the current crisis is to invest further in social housing. However, Mr Hearne sees little in the Government’s action policy for housing and homelessness that will lead to significant change.
“The mechanisms which the plan relies on to provide social housing – the private finance-, investor- and developer-led initiatives – have failed over and over again to provide affordable and quality housing,” he said.
Buy-to-let investors
Even if property funds continue to buy apartment blocks, additional investors enter the market and more social housing comes on tap, the rental sector is likely to remain fragmented, meaning that small-time buy-to-let will remain important players.
Responding to the latest Daft report, the Irish Property Owners’ Association (IPOA) said the Government was relying on the private rental market to cover its obligations to provide housing, while penalising the sector with additional taxes and charges. The IPOA claims that some 40,000 private landlords left the rental sector between 2012 and 2015.
Mike Allen, director of advocacy at Focus Ireland, agrees. He said the increase in costs inflicted on landlords in recent years, such as the property tax and a reduction in relief, has had a double negative impact.
“The additional costs are passed on to tenants, making rent levels unaffordable, while at the same time making being a landlord a less attractive option,” he said.
Fintan McNamara of the Residential Landlords’ Association of Ireland believes that while large property funds get tax breaks, smaller landlords are penalised.
“You’d expect more people to be interested in getting into the market due to rising rents but the net yield to investors is a lot lower than it should be, because of all the extra taxation,” he said.
“Investors are coming in at the top end of the market who get great tax breaks and who are rolling in money after buying up apartment blocks on the cheap. Small-time operators, who are the backbone of the industry and who for the most part are decent people not there to rip off tenants, experience huge difficulties,” Mr McNamara added. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/no-quick-fix-for-home-rental-crisis-say-experts-1.2768185 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/731e755ab8b919a398a22a0c30a89bdfe82a255f73809646a5e7febc7996b5b1.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T12:51:52 | null | 2016-08-29T13:35:00 | Children invited to suggest name for calf of mother Ashanti and father Chaka | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Foffbeat%2Fdublin-zoo-thrilled-with-birth-of-baby-rhinoceros-1.2771935%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2771934.1472474108!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Dublin Zoo ‘thrilled’ with birth of baby rhinoceros | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Dublin Zoo has welcomed a new 60kg baby – an as yet unnamed white rhino calf.
It was born last Thursday afternoon, and becomes the seventh member of a growing herd of the once-endangered animals alongside mother Ashanti and father Chaka in the zoo’s African Savannah section.
There are now 20,000 white rhinos left in the wild after poachers whittled their numbers down to a low of around 50 in the early 1900s. Dublin Zoo’s latest arrival comes as part of the European Endangered Species Programme which was established to assist the survival of the species.
“We are absolutely thrilled with the new arrival. Ashanti is an experienced mother and the birth was very relaxed. The mother and calf are bonding and will remain very close for the first year of his life,” said African Plains team leader Helen Clarke-Bennet.
Male rhinos can grow to be up to 2,300kg in size, and are mostly found in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Zimbabwe, where Dublin Zoo is teamed with the Lowveld Rhino Trust.
Children have been invited to suggest a name for the new calf at www.DublinZoo.ie, and it will host a “Rhino Awareness Weekend” on September 24th and 25th to teach visitors about the animals and the threats they face in the wild. | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/offbeat/dublin-zoo-thrilled-with-birth-of-baby-rhinoceros-1.2771935?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/4196c7e1ec716aeaa66a2c9e55a7a75a5c258d04df0e827a535e16b4b6c068c9.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T06:50:46 | null | 2016-08-27T06:00:00 | ‘I don’t have the time to paint any more. Now I just finger-paint with my three-year-old daughter’ | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Flife-and-style%2Fhomes-and-property%2Ffine-art-antiques%2Flife-s-work-kieran-o-boyle-auctioneer-and-valuer-adam-s-dublin-1.2768333%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2768331.1472136999!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Life’s Work: Kieran O’Boyle, auctioneer and valuer, Adam’s, Dublin | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Kieran O’Boyle is an auctioneer, valuer and associate director at Adam’s Auctioneers, St Stephen’s Green, Dublin. He is involved in all aspects of the business, particularly the Adam’s history auctions, the antiques and decorative arts auctions and the annual Country House Collections auction.
What's your background?
I grew up in Dublin but spent a lot of my childhood holidays in the Erris peninsula in Mayo, visiting my maternal grandparents. The landscape is so beautiful there with rugged coastlines and big dramatic skies, it really is a visual feast and easy to see how that part of Ireland attracts so many artists. I also have strong memories of my grandmother taking me to the local church as a young boy, I think it was her escape! I was fascinated by the sculptures and artworks, the batik depictions of the Stations of the Cross and how these pictures told their story. I learned later that some pieces were by the sculptor Imogen Stuart. I suppose it was my first exhibition.
So it was no surprise that after completing a degree in history of art and information studies and a graduate diploma in business and IT, both from UCD, I was drawn to a business such as Adam’s.
Along the way I’ve also studied in Italy at the Florence Academy of Art, practicing classical realist figurative painting, which was a wonderful experience allowing me to push paint around in such a captivating city.
I don’t have the time to paint any more. Now I just finger-paint with my daughter Emily ( 3). I am one year through a two-year part-time masters in digital marketing at Smurfit Business College, which is incredibly interesting. The digital space is where our industry has most transformed over the last decade.
Internet bidding means markets have become smaller and collectors’ access to specialist items has become dramatically easier. The way clients browse, buy and communicate with us has changed forever.
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Career highlights?
Without doubt, it has been a real privilege to handle the rare and unique Irish historical items we have sold and valued over the years. Items that have shaped this country’s history such as Patrick Pearse’s 1916 surrender letter which we sold in 2005 for €830,000 and will be offering again in December this year. Peadar Kearney’s first draft of Amhrán na bhFiann which we sold in 2006 for €900,000 and the iconic Irish document, the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic. Out of an estimated 25 original copies in private hands we have been fortunate to have handled nearly half of them at some stage. These documents provide a real and tangible link to those pivotal days in our past and it can be quite profound to think they were witness to those times, conveying both the aspirations and the struggles.
What advice would you give collectors/investors?
Always buy what you like or enjoy, you will always gain value from a piece that way.
Follow your curiosity and educate yourself through looking and reading. Enquire about the provenance of an item which is important to know for any piece but vital when it comes to historical items as their value can often be directly linked to it.
Finally, ask advice from the experts. People in this business are in it because they love it and are very happy to share whatever information they can.
What do you personally collect and why?
I collect all sorts of things and tend to collect an item, live with it for a while and then let it go.
Owning a piece and living with it can be a great education as the best artworks and objects reveal themselves over time and you spot things you didn’t see initially. I do have a fascination with drawings from all periods, especially sketches and preparatory drawings as they offer an insight into how an artist is thinking and their working processes that may not be evident in a finished piece.
What would you buy if money were no object?
I’d like to reward the creators of today by commissioning contemporary architects, artists and craftspeople to do their thing.
My first purchase would be a piece by Kinsale-based furniture maker Joseph Walsh – his work is phenomenal and it is exciting to know that work of that reputation is being produced in Ireland.
Second would be a work by the influential painter Alex Kanevsky, who has spent a bit of time painting in Ireland and who I have been following for a number of years.
And I’d love to resurrect my old friend Dave Smith’s Mabos initiative which described itself as a space to create, connect, share and play and did so much for creativity and integration in Dublin.
Ironically, it thrived in a disused warehouse on Hanover Quay in Dublin during recession times until the property market picked up in 2014 and sadly the lease wasn’t renewed for the building.
What’s your favourite work of art and why?
This changes all the time but the first thing that springs to mind is the Italian sculptor Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne for its sheer skill and craftsmanship.
I was blown away when I first saw it and other Bernini masterpieces in Galleria Borghese in Rome. Since then, Villa Borghese is on my must-see list when in Rome and I’ve been lucky enough to have returned a few times. It is hard to believe these pieces were created by human hand in cold hard marble almost 400 years ago but inspiring to know that they were.
See adams.ie
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In conversation with Michael Parsons | http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/fine-art-antiques/life-s-work-kieran-o-boyle-auctioneer-and-valuer-adam-s-dublin-1.2768333?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/216a2c20df65a3c5cc04387dddae83d2a4da9c4e83504213ef9270676c3bab0b.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T16:51:07 | null | 2016-08-28T12:59:00 | Little progress on Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, says minister | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Feu-us-free-trade-talks-have-failed-says-german-minister-1.2770951%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2771115.1472401744!/image/image.jpg | en | null | EU-US free-trade talks have failed, says German minister | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Germany’s economy minister says free-trade talks between the European Union and the United States have failed.
Negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) have made little progress in recent years.
Sigmar Gabriel, who is also Germany’s vice-chancellor, said: “In my opinion the negotiations with the United States have de facto failed, even though nobody is really admitting it.”
He noted that in 14 rounds of talks the two sides had not agreed on a single common chapter out of 27 being discussed.
Mr Gabriel compared the TTIP negotiations unfavourably with a free-trade deal forged between the EU and Canada, which he said was fairer for all sides.
If reached, the deal could encompass almost half the global economy, potentially generating €92 billion in added output for the EU and US. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/eu-us-free-trade-talks-have-failed-says-german-minister-1.2770951?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/0c0570a97d9b1315a13c38d60e185bb54b449e41b16d3507b1a810ac7bb949ff.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T06:47:43 | null | 2016-08-27T06:36:00 | INM chief Robert Pitt warns online publishers on use of annoying interstitial ads | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fmedia-and-marketing%2Fcantillon-intrusive-ads-fuel-for-the-ad-blocking-fire-1.2769817.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2769815.1472243771!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Cantillon: Intrusive ads fuel for the ad-blocking fire | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Independent News and Media (INM) chief executive, Robert Pitt, warned on Friday that online publishers need to be careful about the type of ads to which website users are exposed, or in some cases, subjected.
In recent weeks, visitors to Independent.ie have been confronted with a so-called interstitial ad – one that covers the whole screen and must be swiped away before you can look at the content you came to see – for Eir Sports, featuring Leicester City footballer Riyad Mahrez.
In the ad, Mahrez reached for the camera facing him and the screen of the viewer’s smartphone appeared to crack. If regular visitors to Independent’s homepage had to keep negotiating this form of annoying ad, one can imagine how the screen could be cracked in reality after the iPhone was flung against a wall in frustration.
Pitt quite rightly pointed out that interstitials – used by many publishers, and not just INM – and other intrusive ad types rub customers up the wrong way. “We need to find less intrusive ways; there had to be a balance,” he said.
Intrusive ads are the fuel for the ad-blocking fire. Hordes of customers annoyed by unwanted ads go on to install software that rebuffs all advertisements, which is a putative disaster for the online publishing industry. Pitt said the potential impact of ad-blocking software on the industry is overblown.
But what about network-level ad-blocking, where network operators such as mobile phone companies install software that weeds out all ads, all of the time? Three is testing this technology in the United Kingdom. Three is also the second biggest network in Ireland. Wouldn’t this be a disaster for Irish publishers?
“It would be very problematic,” said Pitt, with no little understatement.
Perhaps the most vocal proponent globally of network-level ad-blocking is Denis O’Brien, who has rolled it out across all of Digicel’s network, as part of his battle to get a slice of Google and Facebook’s advertising revenues.
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O’Brien is, of course, by far the biggest and most influential shareholder at INM. His right-hand man chairs the board. If the billionaire succeeds in his aim of rallying other mobile operators to install ad-blocking software, it may rebound on his Indo investment. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/cantillon-intrusive-ads-fuel-for-the-ad-blocking-fire-1.2769817 | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/fdd7f23f178f2bbcd51455a837d23111c4f3239a4558ff330c44824547e28e83.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T00:50:30 | null | 2016-08-27T01:00:00 | Party politics risks pushing the tax system back to looking like it did before the ‘bust’ | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fopinion%2Freality-check-needed-on-election-promise-to-abolish-usc-1.2769685%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2769660.1472233042!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Reality check needed on election promise to abolish USC | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | The Government is skewered on a stick entirely of its own making. By refusing to sneak gently away from its election promise to “abolish the USC”, it has stored up political trouble and risked pushing the tax system back to looking a bit like it did before the “bust”. And that worked out well, of course.
We tend to associate the economic collapse with the failures of our banking system. But we also had a fundamental problem in our public finances. We were spending too much, based on a tax system that drew revenue from a base that was way too narrow and was too reliant on property.
Now it will be a long time before we get a massive wedge of property tax revenue again. But we are at risk of narrowing the tax base again, of becoming too reliant on a small group of sources – a dozen big companies and a few hundred thousand middle- to higher-income taxpayers.
It may all work out fine. But if a few companies change their accounting policies, or there is a downturn that hits incomes, we will be in trouble again.
Something for nothing
The election promise – peddled in different ways by most, though not all, of the political players – was that there was something for nothing here. We could abolish the USC without raising new revenue elsewhere. We could do without water charges and still invest. We could put more cash in our public services and still cut tax.
Growth in the years ahead may give us a cash dividend to tax a bit less and spend a bit more. The economic signs this week were good – employment is up and so far the British economy has not taken too much of a hit after the Brexit vote. The omens for the October budget are okay, though you would reckon that sterling weakness and a slowdown in the UK could hit us a bit next year.
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However, we need a reality check. The scope for reducing the overall level of taxation will be small. If it isn’t taken out of one of your pockets via the USC, it will be taken out of the other via income tax, or excise duty, or whatever. Even in the short term, you may gain a bit from the USC cut next year, but, as tax bands and credits will probably not be adjusted for inflation, more of any wage increase you get will go in income tax. There is also the possibility that PRSI may also be adjusted to claw back some of the cash.
Narrow base
The danger is that what tax reductions there are will actually narrow the tax base, rather than keeping it as wide as possible. Consider where we are going. What spare cash there is will go to reducing the USC. A Department of Finance analysis showed that to achieve a substantial cut in the charge by 2020 – roughly halving the amount of revenue it raises – would require all the budgetary cash set aside for tax reductions to be used for this purpose.
We will thus be using all our room for manoeuvre – and a bit more – to reduce a charge that has a very wide base. It levies a charge on parts of income exempt from income tax. The USC burden on lower earners has been cut sharply. But the charge still takes a small contribution from some lower earners exempt from income tax – 29 per cent of income earners pay no USC, while 36 per cent pay no income tax.
But the USC hits higher earners much harder, and limits their ability to shelter income from tax through pension payments and the like. The top 1.2 per cent of income earners, taking in €200,000 plus a year, earn around 11 per cent of total income and pay over 22 per cent of total USC.
Chipping away at the USC will thus narrow the tax base, making it more reliant on old-fashioned income tax. Extending PRSI a bit to compensate would limit the damage, a bit. But shouldn’t we start from the position of having the best possible tax system, rather than from the obsession of USC abolition?
Of course reducing taxes on income makes sense, if the cash is made up for by new revenues elsewhere. Here we run into the other problem. After the water charge fiasco, no Irish government is going to introduce a new charge, or hike an existing one, if it can possibly avoid it.
Local property tax
Take the local property tax. The headlines during the week were that if the abolition of the USC was to be paid for by higher capital taxes, then local property tax would have to increase sixfold. The reality is that the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan , has frozen the tax until 2019, removing a potential source of extra revenue. Also, the levy will not apply – until then at least –to new homes. So you could be paying €1,000 a year on your €550,000 home bought in 2012, and down the road someone who bought a new home with the same value last year could be paying nothing.
Similar anomalies eventually killed off the old domestic rates system in the late 1970s. The local property tax could also be heading for a slow death.
And so two of the big expansions of the tax base after the economic collapse – the USC and the local property charge – are both in danger. One of the key lessons of the crash was that we need a wide and stable tax base. Party politics at the moment is leading us in precisely the opposite direction. | http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/reality-check-needed-on-election-promise-to-abolish-usc-1.2769685?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/d16d49adb5f06ad0e4603382ea1a8d70e8b309dafddda4c019555564c2b6718e.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:48:53 | null | 2016-08-29T14:03:00 | Central Bank study finds employers cut earnings for new workers as unemployment rose | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fsalaries-for-new-hires-fell-15-during-recession-study-1.2771955.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2772012.1472481014!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Salaries for new hires fell 15% during recession - study | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Salaries for new hires fell by an average of 15 per cent in the years 2005-2014, as employers responded to a surge in unemployment by cutting earnings for new employees, a new study from the Central Bank shows. However the authors noted that right at the end of 2014, as unemployment continued to decline, earnings for new hires started to improve.
The study showed that while many people were grateful simply to get a job during a recession, it was a bad time to get hired as employers tend to lower what they offer new hires.
This means that if you started a new job during the recession, you may have been offered 15-20 per cent lower than what a similar job would have paid before the downturn. Average hourly earnings for new hires fell from €13 in 2007 to €11 in 2013.
The Central Bank said the finding is “remarkably robust” and echoes previous studies in the United States, which show that when unemployment rises by about 5 per cent, earnings for new hires drops by 7.5 per cent.
The rise in unemployment was about double that in Ireland during the recession, which accordingly gives rise to the 15 per cent drop in new hire earnings.
The findings of the study are more stark than a previous report from Central Bank author Reamonn Lydon, which showed that during the early-1990s slowdown, new graduates’ earnings fell by about 8 per cent, significantly less than the 15 per cent decline across all earnings evidenced in this report, although the rise in the unemployment rate this time around was much higher than during the 1990s (c10 per cent compared with 2 per cent).
The study considers “new hires” to include: new graduates; “inactive” workers, ie those who worked in past and exited the labour market for family or other reasons; and the unemployed.
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The average age of new hires in the study was 32-33, which shows that even those with considerable experience suffered a decline in starting rates of pay during the recession.Those who simply changed their job during the recession do not appear to have suffered from a similar cut in earnings.
Professional earnings
The study found more highly educated workers escaped the worst of the cuts, as their earnings appeared to be less correlated with a rise in unemployment, but the decline was even greater than 15 per cent for those with lower levels of education, while employees aged between 45-60 also fared worse than younger workers.
“Earnings of new hires from unemployment tend to become more sensitive to the state of the business cycle when workers are likely to have less attractive outside options. These are typically workers with lower education or workers that are older, yet not sufficiently old to wait out the unemployment spell until they become eligible for retirement,” the report said.
The findings showed no distinction between public and private sector workers during the period.
The data was based on the pre-tax earnings of employees in Ireland between 2005 and 2014 with the data from 2013 Household Finance and Consumption Survey. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/salaries-for-new-hires-fell-15-during-recession-study-1.2771955 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/54ca9bec8c354018cb443d0fe333d5146f1d20674aa65a514f3de8e7bcfbc865.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T10:49:27 | null | 2016-08-31T10:50:00 | Houston-London flight experienced ‘severe and unexpected turbulence’ | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Ftransport-and-tourism%2F16-in-hospital-after-jet-makes-emergency-landing-at-shannon-1.2774126.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2774125.1472637030!/image/image.jpg | en | null | 16 in hospital after jet makes emergency landing at Shannon | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Fourteen passengers and two crew members were taken to hospital after a transatlantic jet encountered turbulence over the Atlantic on Wednesday morning.
United Airlines flight UA-880 made an emergency landing at Shannon shortly before 6am.
The Boeing 767-300 jet, with 207 passengers and crew of 13 on board, was flying from Houston in the US to London Heathrow.
The jet diverted and landed safely and was met at the terminal by ambulance paramedics.
A total of 14 passengers and two cabin crew were taken to University Hospital Limerick with minor injuries.
The airline has confirmed that it is providing care and support to customers and crew. A spokesman confirmed that the aircraft “experienced severe and unexpected turbulence. We wish these passengers and crew a quick recovery from their injuries.” | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/transport-and-tourism/16-in-hospital-after-jet-makes-emergency-landing-at-shannon-1.2774126 | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/6d7d5c69e5068678e8d9d6f6c758303dbfc636612c3684891656420df90b0350.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T04:52:34 | null | 2016-08-31T05:05:00 | Decisions on the business will now be made in Tokyo rather than Cambridge | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Ftechnology%2Farm-shareholders-to-approve-24bn-softbank-takeover-1.2773385%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773352.1472576710!/image/image.jpg | en | null | ARM shareholders to approve £24bn SoftBank takeover | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | As shareholders prepared to vote on SoftBank’s £24 billion (€28bn) takeover of ARM, former City minister Lord Myners made a last minute plea for the Cambridge-based technology company to remain under British ownership.
“We are selling our winners,” he said, “and we are being left with companies which are either not globally successful or businesses which are controlled from overseas.”
His words went unheeded, however, and just hours later, shareholders in Britain’s most successful technology company gave their overwhelming approval to the £17-a-share, all cash bid from Japan. Friday will be the last day ARM shares are traded on the London stock market and the deal will be formally completed next Monday.
ARM is the closest Britain has to a global technology giant and the loss of its independence has raised fears over the future of Britain’s technology industry. ARM chief executive Simon Segars sought to ease these concerns after yesterday’s shareholder meeting, insisting: “We are not going anywhere. We are still going to be at the heart of British technology.”
SoftBank has given a number of assurances over the future of ARM, whose microchip designs are used in the Apple iPhone and billions of other devices. It has pledged it will double ARM’s British workforce of around 1,700 over the next five years and keep its headquarters in Cambridge. It will also maintain its “unique culture and business model”.
As Myners pointed out, however, decisions on the future of the business will now be made in Tokyo rather than Cambridge. He dismissed the Japanese company’s promises as “not worth the paper they are written on”.
New takeover rules were brought in after Pfizer’s attempted takeover of AstraZeneca in 2014, making such pledges binding, although it’s not clear whether such promises are legally enforceable – and five years can be a very long time in the technology industry.
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Government response
The takeover was warmly welcomed by Theresa May’s government when it was launched last month, just a few weeks after the Brexit vote. It was proof, the prime minister said, that Britain remained attractive to international investors despite the result of the referendum.
For Myners, though, the deal underlines the City’s failure to back British business. “This is evidence once again of the City’s predilection to sell at a premium, get out, don’t invest for the future, don’t back the British economy and don’t back Britain’s future.”
Such a takeover would never have been allowed to go ahead so swiftly in America, Germany, France, or, indeed, Japan, he believes. “There would be a question of national significance and public policy to determine whether we should sell.”
But the sale of ARM was inevitable once SoftBank delivered its terms, a knockout 43 per cent premium on the Cambridge company’s previous share price – and in cash.
The ARM board recommended the deal and urged shareholders to do the same; not that they needed much urging at £17 a share. The only thing that might have derailed the move was unrest from SoftBank’s own shareholders, who fear that it already has too much debt.
Its borrowings are a hefty £90 billion and its shares fell sharply immediately after the deal was announced.
Shareholder windfall
ARM shareholders are not the only winners – the deal has triggered windfalls in the Cambridge company’s boardroom, with chief executive Segars and chief technology officer Mike Muller collecting £55 million between them. Employees at the group could also ultimately benefit to the tune of almost £400 million through share incentive schemes.
It has also been a hugely lucrative deal for the City, with fees for financial advisors and lenders running to just over £200 million. One can only imagine what they would have charged had the takeover been hostile rather than an agreed deal. Include taxes, and the final bill jumps to £350 million.
The firms sharing in the fees bonanza include Goldman Sachs, Lazards, UBS and Barclays, along with law firms Slaughter & May and Freshfields. The bill for financial public relations advice alone is put at £6 million, shared between Brunswick and Finsbury.
The biggest beneficiary, though, is the UK government, which will receive £120 million in stamp duty as a result of the deal. Not enough to make much of a dent in the deficit but welcome nonetheless.
There are plenty of winners in the ARM deal, but will Europe’s biggest technology takeover be good for Britain, as the prime minister believes, and for ARM employees? That will largely depend on whether its new Japanese owner keeps its promises – and sorts out its own debt mountain.
Fiona Walsh is business editor of theguardian.com | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/arm-shareholders-to-approve-24bn-softbank-takeover-1.2773385?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/17240be3e81bde13fe157d70bda40becf84778425aea0bb9fd1b2583f34fca8b.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T00:51:48 | null | 2016-08-29T01:00:00 | Running fast up the hill with long strides will not make it easier to get to the top | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Flife-and-style%2Fhealth-family%2Ffitness%2Fout-of-breath-thinking-of-hill-running-follow-our-tips-1.2764339%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2764337.1472215279!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Out of breath thinking of hill running? Follow our tips... | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Mention hill running to most runners and they are out of breath just thinking about it. Most of us associate running uphill with effort, muscle soreness, breathlessness and fatigue. For this reason, many runners avoid hills in training and struggle on race day or on a new training route when they do encounter a hill they cannot avoid.
A spectator’s point of view
When supporting a race, I will always cheer at a point where runners are on an uphill stretch. It’s the time when they need most support, when their motivation is at its lowest and when their head is telling them to walk.
It’s interesting to watch the different runners from this spectator position. I notice how many runners seem to make hills a lot harder on their bodies than they need to. It’s interesting to observe how few runners use simple strategies to make their uphill running easier on their bodies.
The different approaches
The majority of runners attempt to run fast up the hill with long strides, with a view to completing it as quickly as possible. Other runners appear to be in denial and keep their heads down, hoping they will reach the top quicker by not knowing what’s ahead.
Both of these types arrive at the top breathless with their legs burning. This is no surprise as they have tensed their faces and bodies, reduced their lung capacity and overworked their leg muscles on the way.
Alongside these runners are those who don’t even allow their bodies to take on the hill so they start walking long before their bodies need to. None of these runners seem to consider that running a little slower might make the hill slightly easier.
The perfect hill runner
The other type of runner I observe are those lucky runners who embrace hills as they effortlessly glide upwards. These are the runners we aspire to be, yet we think their approach is beyond our capability. It doesn’t have to be.
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These runners have no great secret. They have just approached the hill with a different attitude and technique. If you aspire to be one of these runners, it might be time to think about approaching hills in a different way.
Think technique
Applying a few simple strategies to making the hill easier helps runners of all levels. The larger the steps we take, the more we use our calves and leg muscles to power the hill. Deciding to run using all the body, rather than the lower leg muscles, can take pressure off the legs, the breath and share the effort of the hill across the full body.
Take small steps
Small steps are key to taking pressure off your calves and quads. They also prevent you from over-striding and bending at the waist. Use the image of the hill being a stairway and run up like you are running upstairs. Avoid running on your toes. Relax your lower legs. You will use less effort in your legs, your feet will land much closer to your body and you will need a lot less muscle power to move forward into the next step.
Use your upper body
We cannot use gravity to help us on an uphill unfortunately, so it’s helpful to call on the extra resources of our back muscles and our arms. Driving the arms upwards and forwards at the same beat as your small steps will help lift you up the hill. Avoid tensing the shoulders and wrists. Keep the shoulders down but imagine you are punching up towards your cheeks.
Look where you are going
If you are bending at the waist and looking down at the ground, you have instantly reduced your lung capacity and started to overuse your legs. Make the uphill a whole body effort. Get in good posture and look where you are going. Being tall gives you more space for air. If you need a little help with this, imagine that the person in front of you has a string pulling you along behind them. Keep your eye on their back.
Smile
If you are still not enjoying it, try faking it. Our bodies relax when we smile and tension can disappear. You will be surprised how a smile may give you the lift you need and take pressure off a tense and negative mindset. At the very least the onlookers will think you are making the hill look effortless.
Reframe the hill
If you think you cannot run up the hill, you probably won’t. Break the hill into small chunks. Distract yourself from getting to the top by focusing only on getting to a particular landmark. Imagine you are just going upstairs. Count to 50 steps and see where you are then. Focus on the step you are in and what you are doing in that step to make your body as relaxed and comfortable as possible.
Use imagery
Imagery can work great on a hill. Most of us fill our heads with negative thoughts on a hill, believing we cannot run it or won’t enjoy it. Remember everyone else is feeling similar to you and you are not the only one struggling. Changing our mindset can make a big difference. I like to imagine that I’m running on an escalator so the ground is moving upwards with me and carrying me along with it.
Decide when to walk
There may well come a time on a hill where walking makes more sense than running. On a very steep uphill, it’s very common to overuse calf muscles by running on your toes. This might be the perfect time to walk and preserve energy. Don’t feel like a failure walking certain hills. Even the best ultra-runners are humble enough to realise that walking can be better than running on certain terrain.
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Change your mindset
Wherever there is an uphill, there is a downhill close by. In order to have the freedom and ease of a downhill, we have to run the uphill. Running on different terrains makes us stronger and more capable on the flat and over time our bodies will adapt and eventually enjoy the hills.
The more practice you get, the less intimidating hills become and your body will get stronger and your mindset more positive. Choose to decide that hills are good for you, that you are able for them and that you are good at running them. The more practice you get, the more you will start to believe that. After that, any hill becomes a welcome challenge.
Mary Jennings is founder and running coach with ForgetTheGym.ie. Mary is also the creator of our Irish Times Get Running programmes – Beginners Get Running, Get Running 10k and Get Running Stay Running.
Sign up to Get Running at irishtimes.com/GetRunning or follow us on Facebook (Irish Times Running). | http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/fitness/out-of-breath-thinking-of-hill-running-follow-our-tips-1.2764339?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/5121f4bd1934f3d54addd2d5e059f8912e542c0dc54dd27f811748d1c2f5facc.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T00:52:05 | null | 2016-08-30T01:00:00 | Links with Turkey and Russia, refugee issues and Brexit all signal a divided bloc | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Fangela-merkel-facing-discord-from-central-europe-1.2772316%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2772313.1472500359!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Angela Merkel facing discord from Central Europe | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Tallinn, Prague and Warsaw are pleasant destinations in late summer, but Angela Merkel’s recent visit may have left her with a nasty chill.
The German chancellor might have hoped her whistle-stop tour of central Europe would boost relations with regional leaders ahead of an autumn of daunting challenges, but all it actually strengthened were fears for an increasingly fractious and divided bloc.
On key issues from the refugee crisis to Brexit to relations with Russia and Turkey, differences between member states are growing and populists across the continent are challenging Germany’s leading EU role.
A year on from the peak of the refugee emergency, when thousands of asylum seekers reached Germany daily via the “Balkan route”, Merkel was confronted last Friday with the prospect of renewed chaos.
Turkish prime minister Binali Yildirim essentially warned Bulgarian counterpart Boiko Borisov that Ankara may use asylum seekers to wreak havoc in the EU unless it eased visa rules for Turks and sent the aid agreed in a controversial refugee deal.
“We want our European friends to understand that the time to take more responsibility on the migrant question has come,” Yildirim said, according to the Balkan Insight news service.
“It is vitally important the agreement for visa liberalisation enters into force by the end of October. If the readmission agreement and the visa liberalisation do not enter into force, this would put Europe under huge risk.”
Migrant movements
Yildirim suggested Turkey would let migrants and refugees cross freely to Greece, just like last year, saying they would “not remain within Turkey’s borders” but become “a huge regional problem that will concern the whole of Europe”.
On the same day, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban announced plans to build a second “massive” fence on his country’s border with Serbia, “capable of stopping several hundreds of thousands of people”.
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Several EU members baulk at bending to the will of an Ankara they see as increasingly authoritarian, but states like Bulgaria – which lie on Turkey’s borders and the migration “frontline” – believe Europe has little choice.
“I do not see a perspective on a solution to the migrant crisis in Europe. All I see is every country trying to save itself in panic and looking for a clause in their EU membership contract that would allow them to act separately,” Borisov said. “Our only option is to look for a partnership with Turkey.”
Merkel reiterated support for a system to distribute refugees around the EU and criticised those who say “‘we don’t want to have Muslims in our countries’.”
Orban, Slovak premier Robert Fico and Czech president Milos Zeman have all made such comments and, now, top Polish officials also reject Merkel’s refugee plan and her criticism of its opponents.
In Ukraine, too, a continuing crisis finds the EU divided on how to tackle it.
Economic sanctions
Just days after Merkel said there was no reason to lift economic sanctions against Russia over its aggression in Ukraine, the leader of Slovakia – the current EU presidency holder – met Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
“Personally, I think it is time to view the sanctions rationally and to say that they harm both the EU and Russia,” Fico said afterwards – a few hours before he met Merkel.
“They have brought absolutely nothing to [solving] the sensitive questions which they were supposed to influence. We agreed with Vladimir Putin that our common pursuit is to revive our mutual trade again.”
Orban and Zeman, as well as senior figures from states including Italy and Cyprus, have expressed a similar view– one that is anathema to the Baltic states and Poland.
June’s Brexit vote strengthened those who oppose efforts – often led by Berlin and Brussels – for deeper EU integration, and the bloc’s handling of Britain’s departure could further divide the states that remain.
Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto confirmed last Friday – to no one’s surprise – that the EU was not remotely ready for Brexit talks with London.
“We don’t have a European strategy put together yet,” he told Bloomberg, “and it’s not in the EU interest to start talks before we have a strategy.” | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/angela-merkel-facing-discord-from-central-europe-1.2772316?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/9b0a06b0f8198a322e0fb8f828d9fa9bcdda1e51aa1ce1fb50ea233a1d40e550.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T00:51:56 | null | 2016-08-30T01:04:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fopinion%2Fletters%2Fremembering-louis-stewart-1.2772138%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/assets/images/favicons/irishtimes.png | en | null | Remembering Louis Stewart | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Sir, – When I read about the passing of Louis Stewart, I felt great sadness and a sense of nostalgia for his early gigs in 1970s Dublin (“Legendary jazz man known by all as Louis”, Obituary, August 28th).
At one such gig, when I felt the need to tell him how much I appreciated his music, he looked at me for what seemed to be the longest time before assuring me that I had “excellent taste”. – Yours, etc,
MARY WILKINSON
Boleybeg,
Co Galway. | http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/remembering-louis-stewart-1.2772138?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/6ac7c685a7eb3eaa3b159b706c8f4407e6257bac8c5471e1d27cb35d45eefccb.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T08:50:55 | null | 2016-08-28T09:44:00 | Concerns about how to integrate migrants into the labour market are now rife | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Fmerkel-s-deputy-says-she-underestimated-migrant-integration-challenge-1.2770911%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2770910.1472373826!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Merkel's deputy says she underestimated migrant integration challenge | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | German vice chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said in an interview on Saturday that chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives had “underestimated” the challenge of integrating a record migrant influx.
Mr Gabriel is also leader of the Social Democrats (SPD) - the junior coalition partner in Dr Merkel’s government - and his comments to broadcaster ZDF come as campaigning gets under way for a federal election next year.
More than a million migrants flocked to Germany from the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere last year.
Concerns about how to integrate them all into German society and the labour market are now rife and support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) has grown.
“I, we always said that it’s inconceivable for Germany to take in a million people every year,” Mr Gabriel said in extracts of an interview released on Saturday.
The IAB German labour office research institute says around 16,000 are still arriving each month, compared with more than 200,000 in November.
Mr Gabriel also criticised Dr Merkel’s catchphrase “Wir schaffen das”, meaning “We can do this”, which she adopted during the migrant crisis last summer and has repeatedly used since.
Dr Merkel used the phrase at a news conference she held in late July after a spate of attacks on civilians in Germany, including two claimed by Islamic State, that have put her open-door migrant policy in the spotlight. Her popularity has slipped since those attacks.
Mr Gabriel said repeating that phrase was not enough and the conservatives needed to create the conditions for Germany to be able to cope, adding that the conservatives had always blocked opportunities to do that.
Reuters | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/merkel-s-deputy-says-she-underestimated-migrant-integration-challenge-1.2770911?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/aa21368c9498b04dcd9539d76989d637d4046fa6c05da26f2b911a637a316572.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T14:50:28 | null | 2016-08-26T14:16:00 | Elderly woman swindled out of €5.5m by conmen in elaborate Qing dynasty hoax | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Fasia-pacific%2Fchinese-scammer-convicted-after-posing-as-18th-century-emperor-1.2769465%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2769464.1472218401!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Chinese scammer convicted after posing as 18th century emperor | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | There have been a raft of high-profile scams in China of late, most recently the “straddling bus” supposedly capable of gliding over traffic jams which has been revealed as a suspected Ponzi scheme, but the latest swindle out of Guangdong province is of truly imperial standing.
Masquerading as a Qing dynasty emperor who died over 200 years ago to swindle an elderly woman in southern China out of 40 million yuan, nearly €5.5 million, is a new level of con artistry.
The hoax took place about four years ago, with one of the two swindlers, Wan Jianmin, presenting himself to a wealthy woman, Zheng Xueju, as a Vietnam War veteran – China also fought, and lost, a war with Vietnam in 1979 – who had previously been commissioner of Jiangxi province.
He professed to manage a 300 million yuan (€40 million) investment fund and claimed to have great connections in the Communist Party. However, what really impressed Ms Zheng was the fact that he personally knew Qianlong, the most famous of all the emperors in China who ruled from 1735 to 1796.
Qianlong is revered in China for his military prowess against the Turks and the Mongols, and for his lengthy six-decade reign. He is best known in the West for receiving an enormous British trade delegation led by the Antrim-born, Trinity College Dublin graduate George Macartney, although some mystery remains over whether or not the Irish peer kowtowed to Qianlong when presenting his credentials.
Elixir of life
Mr Wan introduced Ms Zheng to his accomplice Liu Qianzhen, who claimed that he was indeed the storied leader and that he was still alive because he drank the elixir of life, a potion that many of China’s past emperors spent huge amounts of time and resources trying to track down.
Not only was Qianlong still alive, he also still had all the riches of the Qing dynasty, which ended in 1911. In language that sounds eerily familiar to that used in email scams, Mr Wan said he would be able to “unfreeze” the royal funds.
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In 2014 she gave them 10 million yuan (€1.33 million) towards an investment opportunity involving the purchase of jade cabbage sculptures – one of the centrepieces of Jianlong’s formidable art collection is a jade cabbage sculpture, which is still on display at the Imperial Palace museum in Taipei, brought there by fleeing nationalists after the 1949 revolution.
Ms Zheng later transferred another 30 million yuan (€3.99 million) of her husband’s money to the two conmen towards a start-up in Shenzhen.
The two were caught after splashing the cash on apartments, cars and medicines, and have been convicted of fraud and impersonation by a Shenzhen court, they are awaiting sentencing.
Elevated bus
Meanwhile, although it looked like the future: a wide, elevated bus that would speed atop tracks straddling Chinese roads while multiple lanes of traffic flowed below, the Transit Elevated Bus (TEB) has been consigned to the annals of ignominy.
Just as international excitement began to build following a test of the prototype in August, the TEB story went off the rails. According to China’s state media organs, previously big boosters of the project, the TEB was little more than a publicity stunt – one of the dozens of peer-to-peer lending scams that have duped retail Chinese investors in recent years by promising unreal annual returns.
– (Additional reporting: Bloomberg) | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/chinese-scammer-convicted-after-posing-as-18th-century-emperor-1.2769465?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/79e73215f7631f8fa85579a468a1905e41d216a4ff5fec5fe3370ba636aa64f9.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T10:51:32 | null | 2016-08-29T10:09:00 | Tipperary TD says nothing has been approved for Clonmel facility | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fmcgrath-criticises-lowry-s-solo-run-hospital-announcement-1.2771828%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2771827.1472461748!/image/image.jpg | en | null | McGrath criticises Lowry’s ‘solo run’ hospital announcement | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Independent TD for Tipperary Mattie McGrath has said Michael Lowry’s “solo run” on the issue of a patient hotel at Clonmel Hospital is “a retrograde step”.
At the weekend Independent TD Mr Lowry announced details of a 40 bed extension to Clonmel hospital – a patient hotel. He told local radio station Tipp FM that the HSE had confirmed to him that they are fully committed to a patient hotel.
“It’s a retrograde step,” said Mr McGrath. “We need the services to the public to be improved and we need unity, united action, not solo runs like this, they’re not helpful. Nothing is sanctioned yet.”
Mr McGrath told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland: “Michael has a habit of announcing things, we had a casino announced before — that didn’t develop, we had a by pass in Thurles announced which we should have had ten years ago, the town is chronic with traffic, there’s many issues.
“This is the first time that this issue of the hospital has been politicised in an individual way. We’ve worked together as a team, the former minister Tom Hayes, former minister Martin Manseragh, Seamus Healy, myself, we all go in tandem, this is the first time that some consultants have gone off with one politician, some of them have even campaigned with him.”
Mr McGrath added: “They are prepared to proceed on the basis that Clonmel will be the first, a pilot project of its kind in the country. It will be used for pre and post operative patients as a step down facility, where they still require to be close to medical facilities.”
Mr McGrath said that when a consultant in the hospital in Clonmel contacted him with this idea he took it straight away to the Taoiseach, the then Minister for health Leo Varadkar and Simon Harris when he was appointed.
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“Nothing has been decided — it’ s not the first of its kind, there is a similar facility operating in Cork at University Hospital. You cannot get staff and in this system the staff are provided with it.
“It’s a very expensive temporary solution. We need something before the winter comes in. During the government talks €40million was agreed for the winter months to alleviate the crisis in A&Es and we only want a share of that. We need to get investment in our hospital and the patient hotel will be only a temporary arrangement.”
He continued: “It’s a pity Deputy Lowry, under the previous government, allowed Nenagh general hospital to be down graded and the A&E to be closed, that put massive pressure on Clonmel, it’s not a matter of credit or who got what, something has to be done to help the situation in south Tipperary.” | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/mcgrath-criticises-lowry-s-solo-run-hospital-announcement-1.2771828?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/cfa258eac8b48aa1cdb95921fdee0120dd56b515a4e08a06b5d5211fea91a5ce.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T08:52:02 | null | 2016-08-30T08:37:00 | Maker of Cadbury chocolates shelves deal two months after Hershey turned down its $23 bn bid | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fagribusiness-and-food%2Fmondelez-abandons-pursuit-of-us-chocolate-maker-hershey-1.2772857%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2772856.1472542652!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Mondelez abandons pursuit of US chocolate maker Hershey | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Mondelez International, the maker of Oreo cookies and Cadbury chocolates, said it was no longer pursuing the acquisition of Hershey Co, two months after the US chocolate company turned down its $23 billion cash-and-stock bid.
The abandoned deal, which would have created the world’s largest confectioner, underscores the grip that a charitable trust has on the maker of Hershey’s Kisses and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. The trust which controls Hershey was set up by the company’s founder over a century ago to fund and run a school for underprivileged children.
Hershey rejected a $107 per share acquisition offer from Mondelez at the end of June.
An unrelated row between the trust and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office ensued over the trust’s governance, which resulted in a reform agreement being announced at the end of July. The agreement calls for the trust’s board to be expanded from 10 members to 13, and for five members to resign in order for 10-year terms to be enforced. One trustee resigned last month, leaving a total of nine openings.
Mondelez’s chief executive Irene Rosenfeld approached Hershey chief executive John Bilbrey again last week, and indicated that Mondelez would be willing to offer up to $115 per share for Hershey, according to a source familiar with the discussions who asked not to be identified because they were confidential.
Hershey responded that the trust would not be able to consider an offer until it is reconstituted next year, the source said. Even then, Hershey would not be willing to enter into deal negotiations for an offer of less than $125 per share, the source added. Hershey did not respond to a request for comment.
Its shares fell 11.4 per cent in after hours trading in New York on Monday to $99.00. “Following additional discussions, and taking into account recent shareholder developments at Hershey, we determined that there is no actionable path forward toward an agreement,” Rosenfeld said in a statement. The Hershey trust holds 81 per cent of the company’s voting stock, and so a sale is not possible without its approval. About two-thirds of its $12 billion in assets are in Hershey stock.
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Mondelez’s offer was half in cash and half in stock, sources have said. This means new board members of the trust, which must approve any sale of Hershey, could use such a transaction to substantially reduce its exposure in Hershey by partially cashing out on its stake. “While we are disappointed in this outcome, we remain disciplined in our approach to creating value, including through acquisitions,” Rosenfeld said on Monday. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/agribusiness-and-food/mondelez-abandons-pursuit-of-us-chocolate-maker-hershey-1.2772857?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/7d833ab7b53da7e2e2c876e239b23e8a40fb77a0a22c0c17f8626a8c4abb7ed4.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T20:52:19 | null | 2016-08-30T19:54:00 | William Porterfield hit an excellent 88 to add to Wilson’s 95 on the opening day in Belfast | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fsport%2Fother-sports%2Fgary-wilson-helps-ireland-to-strong-start-against-hong-kong-1.2773469%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773468.1472583284!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Gary Wilson helps Ireland to strong start against Hong Kong | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Gary Wilson fell short of a century as Ireland posted 316 on the opening day of their Intercontinental Cup match against Hong Kong in Belfast.
Wilson top-scored with 95, while skipper Will Porterfield hit 88 at the top of the order, as the hosts made a confident start in pursuit of their fourth win to start the tournament.
Tanwir Afzal and Nadeem Ahmed claimed four wickets each for Hong Kong, who reached stumps at two without loss after negotiating seven overs.
Ireland have won their three matches in the tournament so far and are a point behind Afghanistan, who have played a game extra.
The prize for the team that finishes top of the table is a play-off against the bottom-ranked Test nation in 2018, for the right to play Test cricket. | http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/other-sports/gary-wilson-helps-ireland-to-strong-start-against-hong-kong-1.2773469?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/fb0eabaa86ade250b0bbaa64f67330180de7d8e4c7928aef6e82bb7e711f5cf5.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T04:48:56 | null | 2016-08-30T05:05:00 | Minister for Finance under pressure to resign is due to visit Interface’s Lurgan plant | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fm%25C3%25A1irt%25C3%25ADn-%25C3%25B3-muilleoir-finds-himself-battling-on-nama-and-brexit-fronts-1.2772095.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2772089.1472506257!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Máirtín Ó Muilleoir finds himself battling on Nama and Brexit fronts | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | The North’s Minister for Finance Máirtín Ó Muilleoir will be keen to ensure there are no slip-ups this week during a scheduled visit to the Lurgan plant of an American-owned manufacturer of commercial carpet tiles.
Interface, a key employer in Lurgan, is due to play host to Ó Muilleoir as part of an initiative that aims to give the North’s business community an opportunity to get up close and personal, so to speak, with Executive Ministers.
During the event, organised by the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce, Ó Muilleoir wants to update local businesses about what his department has been doing recently and probably talk about his own endeavours to, as he puts it, “maximise EU funds” as the Brexit clouds hang overhead.
But probably what the business community would be more interested in hearing about is whether Ó Muilleoir is likely to have the rug pulled from under his feet any time soon.
In the last seven days while carrying out the responsibilities of Minister for Finance, Ó Muilleoir has also repeatedly rejected calls to temporarily step aside – or resign – primarily because of the latest Nama-related drama to unfold in the North.
Leaked Twitter exchanges obtained by BBC NI and the Irish News between former Sinn Féin MLA Daithí McKay, the previous chairman of the ongoing Stormont inquiry into the sale of Nama’s Northern Ireland portfolio and the loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson, have cast a shadow over not only the work of the previous committee, but also the way Stormont operates behind the scenes.
It is claimed that the Twitter exchanges suggest McKay and another Sinn Féin member Thomas O’Hara coached Bryson before he appeared in front of the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Committee for Finance to give evidence about the North’s then first minister Peter Robinson. Robinson has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
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Ó Muilleoir, who at the time was also a member of the committee that conducted the inquiry, is also referenced in the Twitter exchange.
The Minister for Finance has strenuously denied any knowledge of any communications between McKay, Bryson or O’Hara and has said accusations that he did, are “no more than petty party politicking”.
For Ó Muilleoir , who consistently and very loudly condemned Nama throughout the previous Stormont inquiry, these twittergate revelations are far from helpful as he continues less than four months into the job to try to win the support of the local business community.
One of his first actions as Minister was to release additional information to the current Stormont Committee for Finance relating to the Project Eagle sale in the “interests of transparency and public confidence”.
When he first became Minister back in May he spoke of the “great responsibility” of the job and said it was “not a role I will take lightly”.
He has embraced it with some enthusiasm – there has been no shortage of ministerial visits to small firms and inward investors alike while the North’s Assembly has been on holidays. But Ó Muilleoir is facing into a key period.
First up he has the “Brexit effect” to contend with including the questions about what could potentially happen to the €1.2 billion structural and investment fund programmes that the European Union had pledged to Northern Ireland to run between 2014 and 2020.
Then there is the looming likelihood of further intense budgetary pressures for the North as the UK government continues to regroup after the EU referendum vote. Ó Muilleoir is already hearing in person from firms who are deeply worried that the Executive may not be doing enough at the moment to make sure that Northern Ireland will get its own “bespoke arrangements” post-Brexit.
A coalition of 11 industry organisations, convened by the Derry Chamber of Commerce, have also urged the Executive to step up and provide “reassurance and confidence” at this time of economic uncertainty.
In the short term, however, Ó Muilleoir will focus on holding on to his job. The UUP, Alliance, SDLP and the Finance committee have all called for him to stand aside, as the Project Eagle inquiry takes yet another unexpected twist. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/m%C3%A1irt%C3%ADn-%C3%B3-muilleoir-finds-himself-battling-on-nama-and-brexit-fronts-1.2772095 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/6936431bb1308373a9ef732a862dbc4f7720752b987146c9ba45aef8a28507ac.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T08:51:27 | null | 2016-08-29T08:00:00 | An extract from 'Game of Throw-ins' by Ross O’Carroll-Kelly, published by Penguin Ireland on 1st September | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Flife-and-style%2Fpeople%2Fross-o-carroll-kelly-what-career-i-haven-t-kicked-a-ball-since-the-backstreet-boys-were-together-1.2771792%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2746602.1470411175!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Ross O'Carroll-Kelly: 'What career? I haven’t kicked a ball since the Backstreet Boys were together' | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | The Saint Ignatius of Loyola Church is packed for the annual Castlerock College Thanksgiving Mass. There must be, like, five hundred past pupils here, filling out every pew and even spilling outside into the freezing cold night. We’re all belting out the words of what used to be Father Fehily’s favourite Christmas hymn, making sure we do him proud.
Joyful, all ye nations rise.
Join the triumph of the skies.
With angelic host proclaim:
Christ is born in Bethlehem.
Hark! The herald angels sing:
Glory to the newborn King!
When it’s all over, we shuffle out of the church and into the cor pork. Then everyone stands around in the cold for half an hour, hundreds of old school friends just catching up with each other, sharing memories, exchanging news and generally talking about how the whole recession thing never really affected them at all.
“I was just remembering,” JP goes, “how much Father Fehily loved that song,” JP goes. “I was thinking about him conducting with his hands as he belted out the lines.”
We all laugh. He used to do that.
Oisinn goes, “You’d miss his Christmas Mass, though – and that’s not being disrespectful to Father Jehoiada. By the way, has anyone got plans for New Year’s Eve?”
“I’m having a porty in the George,” Oisinn goes. I presume he’s talking about the yacht club, not the gay bor. “Look, it’s not a major deal. It’s just a few drinks to celebrate my dischorge from bankruptcy.”
Me and JP are just like, “What?” because it’s come around so quickly.
“Yeah, no,” Oisinn goes, “as and from the first of January 2015, I’m back in the black – my debt to society paid. I thought, you know, it might be worth ringing in the New Year properly this year.”
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I’m like, “Fair focks, Dude. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
I suddenly spot my old man tipping over. He’s got on his lucky Cole Haan camel hair coat on – so-called – and that ridiculous hat he insists on wearing.
“There they are!” he goes. “The backbone of the team that brought Leinster Schools Senior Cup glory to Castlerock College in the year of Our Lord, one thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine!”
He’s the wrong side of a bottle of brandy, judging by both his volume and the hum him off him.
The goys are all like, “Hey, Charles!” because for some bizarre reason they all think he’s great.
He goes, “Gloria filiorum patres! Parare Domino plebem perfectam!”
Courvoisier always brings out the Latin in him.
JP goes, “Couldn’t have said it better myself, Charles,” loving my embarrassment. “Although I’d throw in a pendent opera interrupta for good measure.”
“And I wouldn’t stop you,” the old man goes. “No, indeed! By the way, Kicker, there’s a chap over who’s rather keen to meet you. Brother Melchior?”
I’m there, “I don’t know a Brother Melchior.”
“Well, you wouldn’t know him – he’s lived in Tanzania for the last fifty years. But he knows all about you and your extraordinary exploits on the field!”
“Continue.”
“Well, he said it to me just now. He said, ‘Your son was the famous rugby player – is that correct?’ I said, ‘You’re absolutely right – got it in one!’ and he said, ‘Well, I would love to meet him – just to say I shook his hand.’”
I suppose I did bring glory to the Jesuits as much as I did to the school.
“Oh,” the old man goes, “here he comes, look!”
Brother Melchior ends up being this, like, old dude – we’re talking ninety, possibly even older – and he’s literally bent over double, moving really slowly, like someone who’s dropped a contact lens and is terrified of stepping on it.
He just, like, extends his hand to me and goes, “I’ve always wanted… to meet you.”
His voice is sort of, like, high-pitched and a little bit shaky.
I’m like, “Yeah, no, cool,” giving his hand a good shake.
“I’m Brother Melchior,” he goes. “I don’t know if Denis… ever mentioned me… We were in Africa… together... oh, many, many moons ago.”
I’m there, “He may have done. He said a lot of stuff. I mostly remember his quotes.”
“Oh, he loved his quotes… Loved them… Well, he told me all about you… in his letters, you see.”
“This is all good stuff for me to hear.”
“He was the first one to tell me… about this player he’d seen… He said watching him play rugby… was like looking into the face of God.”
I was good. I could try to be modest about it but I’d just come across as a dick.
I’m there, “What specific qualities of mine did he mention that set me aport from other players – the likes of Gordon D’Arcy especially?”
I’m a sucker for a compliment. I can hear Oisinn and JP both groan.
“He said you had… everything,” Brother Melchior goes. “The most complete player… that he’d ever… ever seen.”
I’m there, “Like I said, this is a definite boost to the old ego. Of course, the man definitely knew his rugby.”
“Oh, he loved his rugby… He said to me, ‘This boy will be… one of the all-time greats… And I’m talking about on a world stage…’”
“If only I’d met a coach like Joe Schmidt,” I go, “who could understood what I could bring to the set-up and maybe stop me drinking like a rock star. Johnny Sexton has said that about me in interviews. I could have had it all. On the record.”
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“Well,” the dude goes, “it gave me great pleasure… later on… to watch your career… and to see that Denis… was absolutely right about you.”
Of course I’m enjoying the praise so much that it never occurs to me to go, ‘What career? I haven’t kicked a rugby ball since the Backstreet Boys were still together.’
“Grand Slams… Heineken Cups... Captaining your country…”
Oisinn is the first one to cop it – he actually laughs? Then I hear him turn around to the old man and go, “He thinks it’s Brian O’Driscoll!”
The old man’s like, “Good Lord!”
“I used to read about you,” Brother Melchior goes, “in the papers… I had the Irish Times sent to me in Tanzania… Every day… I read about all those important tries you scored for Ireland...”
Okay, this is embarrassing.
The old man has to stick his hooter into the conversation then. He goes, “The thing is, Brother Melchior, he’s not actually the chap you think he is!”
I turn around to the old man and I go, “Yeah, shut up, will you?”
“You were a credit,” Brother Melchior goes. “to yourself… a credit…to the country... and a credit… to the game of rugby.”
I’m there, “I’ll take all of that.”
“Even though he thinks he’s talking to Drico,” Oisinn goes.
I’m like, “Don’t listen to them.”
The dude goes, “I want to shake your hand again… and tell you thank you… Thank you… Thank you…”
So I let him shake my hand again, then off he goes, delighted with himself for having met one of the true legends of the game.
The old man goes, “Sorry, Kicker. I should have suspected something when he mentioned the hat-trick of tries you scored in Paris. It should have rung an alarm bell with me.”
JP goes, “I can’t believe you stood there and let him think you were Drico.”
I’m there, “Hey, I just didn’t want to hurt the dude’s feelings, that’s all.”
Oisinn and JP both laugh. Even the old man looks away in embarrassment. “Good Lord,” he goes, “isn’t that what’s-it over there? I haven’t seen since God-knows-when,” and then off he goes as well.
As we all head off into the night, I can’t help thinking about the conversation with Brother Melchior, which has left me a little bit, I don’t know, sad? Look, I’m not knocking Drico. He achieved all the things he achieved in the game and I’d still consider him a hero of mine as well as possibly a mate. But talking to Brother Melchior has made me suddenly realize more than ever that it could have been me – that it should have been me?
I know there were a lot of factors – we’re talking bad luck, we’re talking issues with my famous rotator cuff, we’re talking switching from pints to shots the night I told Warren Gatland a few home truths in the Berkeley Court Hotel. All those things played a port in me not actually making it.
But suddenly tonight – at the age of, what, nearly thirty-five? – I’ve been reminded of the amazing career that I could have potentially had. And it’s got me dreaming all sorts of crazy dreams about making a comeback.
Extracted from 'Game of Throw-ins' by Ross O’Carroll-Kelly, published by Penguin Ireland on 1st September. Take your photo with the pack: you will find the scrum in bookshops, tweet your pic to @rossock using #prettiestpack or email prettiestpackinireland@gmail.com to be in with a chance to win a trip for two to Rome to see Ireland V Italy in the Six Nations | http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/ross-o-carroll-kelly-what-career-i-haven-t-kicked-a-ball-since-the-backstreet-boys-were-together-1.2771792?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/1efeb5aa5eac1b7fe731021b73d89c333d381ae48de6786a8f56f74e6b5a983f.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T08:49:17 | null | 2016-08-31T09:21:00 | iPhone maker posts questions and answers document for investors on Thursday | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Ftechnology%2Fapple-disputes-eu-sums-as-it-paid-800m-tax-on-european-profits-in-2014-1.2774094.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2774093.1472631684!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Apple disputes EU sums as it paid $800m tax on European profits in 2014 | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Apple said it paid a total of $800 million (€718.6 million) of tax on European profits routed through its Irish entities in 2014, disputing a key element of the European Commission’s case that it received selective tax advantage in Ireland.
The Commission ordered Ireland to collect up to €13 billion in unpaid taxes, plus interest, from Apple for the period between 2003 and 2014, after ruling that the iPhone maker received special tax advantages in Ireland, amounting to state aid.
EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestage said this allowed Apple to pay an effective corporate tax rate of 1 per cent on its European profits in 2013, down to 0.005 per cent in 2014.
In a questions and answers document for investors, published on Apple’s website on Wednesday morning, the company said that the figure quoted by the Commission were “extremely misleading and deceptive”.
“We paid $400 million in taxes in Ireland in 2014 - considerably more than the Commission’s figure suggests,” Apple said. “We were certainly one of the largest corporate taxpayers in Ireland that year, if not the largest.”
In addition, Apple paid $400 million of current US taxes on those profits, bringing total current taxes paid to $800 million, it said.
“Most importantly, the Commission completely ignores the fact that the vast
majority of those profits was subject to US taxation,” Apple said.
While both Apple and the Irish Government plan to appeal the EU’s decision, the California-based group said it expects it will have to place “a small amount of cash in an escrow account”, pending the final outcome of the appeals process, which is likely to take several years.
Apple said it does not expect any near-term impact on its financial results or a restatement of previous earnings as a result of the decision.
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“We have previously accrued US taxes related to the income in question,” it said, adding that it does not currently expect the EU ruling to impact its tax rate in future. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/apple-disputes-eu-sums-as-it-paid-800m-tax-on-european-profits-in-2014-1.2774094 | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/77a52248d5b455b598ed3006be37c79e0ee83dcc4dce3c98eee4fb2b7d3bcc76.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T10:51:34 | null | 2016-08-29T10:00:00 | Keep your kissers in rude good health | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Flife-and-style%2Ffashion%2Fbeauty%2Fsix-products-that-give-great-lip-service-1.2765658%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2765657.1471949767!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Six products that give great lip service | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Clarins Instant Light Lip Comfort oils €21
These are somewhere between a gloss and a skincare treatment – but won’t weld wisps of hair to your lips. Although they look strongly pigmented, they are not – it is really more of a hue than a tint. They leave a sheen and can be worn over lipstick or on their own. The real benefit here is that they feel luxurious and nourishing on the lips without having a massive price tag.
Kiehl’s Facial Fuel No-Shine Moisturising Lip Balm €10.50
Want to retain your manly, gruff exterior but keep that pursed pout in tip-top condition at the same time? This balm doesn’t leave a shine, unlike most others, and is packed full of moisturising ingredients, such as shea butter. This isn’t just for men, either: a Kiehl’s sales assistant told me the male version of their balm has more potent nourishing qualities than the female version because men tend to have rougher skin. It also has a lovely peppermint smell to keep you fresh.
Guinot Stick Anti UV Sun Defense with SPF 50 €30.25
I’ve found my lips becoming dry and tight over the past few weeks and realised it was probably because I wasn’t using an SPF on one of the most sensitive areas of my face. This stick comes out clear on the skin and gives a very high SPF 50 coverage. It is pricey, given its size, but can be used on all sensitive areas of the face without leaving residue.
Clinique Repairwear Intensive Lip Treatment €32
This balm serves two purposes: is moisturises while also reducing wrinkles. The gel-based treatment works to repair the natural moisture barrier and protect against environmental toxins. It also claims to boost natural collagen production. Although it does feel smooth and filling on the skin, providing a good base for lipstick, we’re not sure of its long-term impact on wrinkles.
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Blistex relief cream €4
This is great if you already have sore, chapped lips, because it relieves the pain of that while also working to moisturise and repair them. It contains camphor, which acts as a painkiller on the skin, and lanolin, which is a natural moisturiser. I use this when my lips are already in a dire state, not as a regular conditioning treatment.
NIAMH LOVES . . .
Lush Lip Scrub in Mint Julips €7.50
Buff away any flaky skin or leftover lipstick with this all-natural lip scrub from Lush, a brand of hand-made cosmetics. With caster sugar, jojoba oil and tagetes oil, this scrub smells like after-eights. Unlike the other popcorn and bubblegum flavours, this has an added benefit of giving a slightly plumping effect, and also smells the best. It works really well for me and gives a real clean base for a deeper conditioning treatment. | http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/fashion/beauty/six-products-that-give-great-lip-service-1.2765658?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/80281c58d0b88199c0291f7cde50ea877e9c59d6a3bea79434308c5a6a730317.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T16:52:14 | null | 2016-08-30T16:19:00 | Kingston family must not interfere with receivers appointed over their Cork farm | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fcrime-and-law%2Fcourts%2Fhigh-court%2Finjunctions-against-ireland-s-fittest-family-winners-extended-1.2773223%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773220.1472570392!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Injunctions against ‘Ireland’s Fittest Family’ winners extended | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Orders preventing former winners of RTÉ TV programme Ireland’s Fittest Family from trespassing or interfering with receivers appointed over their farm were extended by the High Court on Tuesday.
Receivers Kieran Wallace and David Swinburne, of KPMG, had secured temporary injunctions against Peter Kingston, his wife, Tracey, and their son, Richard, in respect of their 170-acre farm at Crayden Hill, Nohoval, Co Cork.
The receivers, for ACC Loan Management Bank, claimed the Kingstons had in early August unlawfully retaken possession of the farm, which the bank intended to sell to satisfy a €2.4 million debt.
The receivers claimed the Kingstons, who won the RTÉ programme in 2014, were not entitled to retake possession of the land and were trespassing.
Mr Justice Tony O’Connor extended the injunctions until all disputes between the bank and the family are determined by the High Court.
New proceedings
James Doherty SC, who appeared with barrister Stephen B Byrne for ACC, said new related proceedings against the receivers and the bank by the Kingstons had the effect of frustrating the bank’s efforts to sell the lands. | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/injunctions-against-ireland-s-fittest-family-winners-extended-1.2773223?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/7a62c42e3f011346764a7a441a7dd1927c439ce378dac6da81b384d7ece203c1.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T12:52:15 | null | 2016-08-30T11:59:00 | Minister orders report on ‘terribly upsetting’ incidents at youth detention campus | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fcrime-and-law%2Fzappone-defends-oberstown-following-disturbances-and-fire-1.2772968%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2772976.1472555312!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Zappone defends Oberstown following disturbances and fire | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs has defended the Oberstown youth detention campus, saying it is fit for purpose after residents climbed onto the roof during disturbances.
Katherine Zappone said the incidents on Monday were “terribly upsetting” and said she is seeking an “urgent” report from management on how the teenagers got out of their rooms.
The episode began on Monday afternoon when some of the 38 children escaped from their rooms, where they had been detained by the remaining staff members as their colleagues protested outside in relation to an industrial dispute.
The children then gained access to the facility’s roof where a large fire later broke out, and emergency services, including members of the Garda’s Emergency Response Unit, had to be called in.
“The Oberstown campus is in the process of transition… it is terribly upsetting what has gone on but I do believe that in terms of what I witnessed there that we will move to a better future,” said the minister.
“Yes, it is true [that] over the course of the last couple of years there have been some difficulties that have emerged but those, I think, are being looked after. I do believe that [Oberstown]is fit for purpose,” she added.
Ms Zappone revealed that staff did not call gardaí for assistance until a number of hours after the children had escaped from their rooms, despite there only being minimal cover on campus due to the strike.
She said those who scaled the roof had been “locked up for at least four hours knowing that they were going to be there for another couple of hours”.
The Minister refused to criticise safety and security arrangements at the centre during the work stoppage and said she is awaiting the outcome of a report from Oberstown director Pat Bergin before commenting further.
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She extended her sympathies to a member of staff who was injured during the disturbances, but said she could not give an update on his condition or that of the fire-damaged section of the facility.
‘Appropriate response’
“My understanding is the injury was not as a result of a direct assault. I am looking forward to hearing that he will eventually be okay,” she said.
The Minister denied suggestions that gardaí had been heavy-handed when dealing with the disorder and praised them for their “appropriate” response.
The disturbance was the latest in a litany of security breaches which have happened at Oberstown over the last year, including multiple breakouts by inmates and repeated reports of injuries caused to staff while performing their duties.
Staff represented by the Siptu and Impact trade unions have lodged repeated complaints about their working conditions, and are scheduled to engage in further industrial relations action on September 5th, 12th and 19th.
Ms Zappone urged management, staff and unions to resume talks which had earlier broken down.
Meanwhile, Labour Party spokeswoman for children and youth affairs Jan O’Sullivan has called on the Minister to personally intervene in discussions between the two parties, and she commended members of staff who left the picket line to help their colleagues.
“At this stage it is not good enough for Minister Zappone to step back from an escalating situation and merely suggest that all should be fine in the world.
“The risks to all of those at Oberstown from such demonstrations and the setting of fires are simply life-threatening. A hands-off approach from the Minister isn’t good enough anymore,” she said. | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/zappone-defends-oberstown-following-disturbances-and-fire-1.2772968?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/44739d4c85c33a27fca461b0ed4432a5aeae8cb56116c5a8956f4a1635604301.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T20:51:45 | null | 2016-08-29T20:42:00 | Wilder was well-known for his roles in ‘The Producers,’ ‘Blazing Saddles’ and ‘Young Frankenstein’ | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Fus%2Factor-gene-wilder-star-of-willy-wonka-has-died-aged-83-1.2772306%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2772317.1472500958!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Actor Gene Wilder, star of ‘Willy Wonka’, has died aged 83 | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Gene Wilder, whose kinky curls and startled blue eyes brought an enduring and frantic air to roles in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Blazing Saddles,” died on Monday at the age of 83, his family said.
Wilder, whose best work came in collaborations with director-writer Mel Brooks and actor Richard Pryor, died at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease, the family said in a statement.
Wilder’s nephew, Jordan Walker-Pearlman, said the actor had chosen to keep his Alzheimer’s secret so that children who knew him as Willy Wonka would not equate the whimsical character with an adult disease.
Wilder’s barely contained hysteria made him a go-to lead for director-writer Mel Brooks, who cast him in “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein” and “The Producers” in the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Besides his classic collaborations with Brooks,
Wilder paired memorably with comedian Richard Pryor in hits “Silver Streak” and “Stir Crazy.”
Wilder also was active in promoting ovarian cancer awareness and treatment after his wife, “Saturday Night Live” comedienne Gilda Radner, whom he married in 1984, died of the disease in 1989.
He helped found the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Detection Center in Los Angeles and co-founded Gilda’s Club, a support group that has branches throughout the country.
Reuters | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/us/actor-gene-wilder-star-of-willy-wonka-has-died-aged-83-1.2772306?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/6f63d54e172cd0f4cabf346b9aae7f36cddec185ddbdca1b94c8c555f7960acb.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T16:51:42 | null | 2016-08-29T15:44:00 | Jeff Hendrick may miss Oman game to complete €11.5m Hull switch | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fsport%2Fsoccer%2Finternational%2Fs%25C3%25A9amus-coleman-winning-race-to-play-against-serbia-1.2772050%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2772048.1472481887!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Séamus Coleman winning race to play against Serbia | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Séamus Coleman trained by himself at Abbotstown on Monday afternoon but there is considerable optimism about the progress he is making after picking up an ankle injury a couple of weeks ago, so much so that the Everton full back looks increasingly likely to be involved in the Serbia game in Belgrade next Monday.
Four players, John O’Shea, Keiren Westwood, Daryl Murphy and Paul McShane had not arrived into Dublin by the time the team trained today but all are expected to join up with the squad either this evening or tomorrow and although the likes of O’Shea and Coleman are almost certain to be rested for the Oman game, nobody has been definitely ruled out.
Jeff Hendrick, who has been linked with a move to Hull, who are reported to have bid around €11.5 million for the Derby County midfielder, is another who may sit out Wednesday’s friendly but Murphy looks set to be involved with the Waterfordman due in once he has wrapped up the final loose ends relating to his move from Ipswich to Newcastle.
McShane picked up a minor hamstring problem playing for Reading over the weekend but is still expected in, as is Westwood, whose arrival was delayed by a family commitment.
Shane Long and Robbie Keane sat out this afternoon’s session with minor knocks while James McCarthy skipped the training session completely in order to have his groin strain assessed by the association’s medical staff. | http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/international/s%C3%A9amus-coleman-winning-race-to-play-against-serbia-1.2772050?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/a4c9c25239620e2f08fed71150481f8ba416381e375884ec4f3325bbf03bf31a.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T06:51:34 | null | 2016-08-29T06:00:00 | Chartered Land appoints JJ Rhatigan for scheme on site of former Berkeley Court | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fcommercial-property%2Fgalway-firm-hired-as-contractor-for-dublin-4-residential-scheme-1.2771053%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2771051.1472397514!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Galway firm hired as contractor for Dublin 4 residential scheme | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Irish property group Chartered Land has appointed Galway-based JJ Rhatigan & Company as the main contractor for its high-end residential scheme on the site of the former Berkeley Court hotel in Ballsbridge.
The appointment followed a competitive tendering process for the multimillion-euro project. Site preparation works are currently under way, with initial construction work on the basement car park due to begin in September.
Pavilion-style development
Chartered Land, which is controlled by founder and executive chairman Joe O’Reilly, plans to build about 200 exclusive apartments in a pavilion-style development on Lansdowne Road.
The apartments are expected to come to market in the spring of 2017 with more than 500 jobs to be created during the construction phase.
The mature boundary trees and iron railings along Lansdowne Road, which date back to the mid-1800s, are being retained as part of the scheme.
The site was the Trinity College botanical garden from 1806 until the 1960s when the Jurys (now the Ballsbridge Hotel) and the Berkeley Court hotels were developed.
Planning modifications
Chartered Land is developing the site in accordance with the 10-year master planning permission granted in 2011. A number of recent planning modifications have been made to make the development more efficient but the overall height and mass of the scheme as originally granted remains intact.
Commenting on the appointment, Chartered Land’s chief executive Andrew Gunne said: “We look forward to working with JJ Rhatigan & Company in delivering a residential development to an international premium standard that befits this unique Ballsbridge site.”
Founded in 1999, Chartered Land is one of the largest property development and investment companies in Ireland.
The company, which has exited the National Asset Management Agency, has developed close to two million square feet of space. Its developments include the Dundrum Town Centre, the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre and Grand Canal Square office scheme in Dublin’s docklands, the Swords Pavilions retail centre, and a mixed-use retail led development on South King Street in central Dublin.
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Other projects include the completion and repositioning of Elm Park campus on 17.3 acres in Dublin 4 in partnership with Starwood Capital Group.
Established in 1952, JJ Rhatigan is a leading Irish building contractor, with offices in Dublin, London, Galway, Sligo and Cork.
Its projects include Heuston South Quarter in Dublin, NUI Galway’s IT building, phase two of the Crumlin hospital redevelopment, the Radisson SAS hotel on Golden Lane in central Dublin, the Athlone Town Centre and, in Galway, the Bon Secours expansion.
The contractor has also worked on a number of recent residential developments in Dublin, including the Grange, Wyckham Point in Dundrum, and St Edmunds near Liffey Valley in the west of the city.
Project Trinity
Known as Project Trinity, the overall 6.8-acre site in Ballsbridge has planning permission for 490 apartments, 152-bedroom hotel, retail, a cafe, bar and restaurant.
The first phase involved the demolition of the Berkeley Court, with development of the Ballsbridge Hotel to come at a later date.
The site was originally acquired by Carlow developer Seán Dunne for about €400 million at the height of the property boom.
Chartered Land partnered with the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund to acquire the site from Ulster Bank last year. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/galway-firm-hired-as-contractor-for-dublin-4-residential-scheme-1.2771053?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/980c86562955e7345ef60023fb0c95b93a166d9b70938abc73d2a914037c7d8c.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T06:49:18 | null | 2016-08-31T07:19:00 | UK merchanting sales were ‘relatively flat’ in July and August after Brexit vote | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fconstruction%2Fgrafton-profits-rise-even-as-uk-merchanting-struggles-1.2774071.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2774070.1472624380!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Grafton profits rise even as UK merchanting struggles | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Grafton Group posted a 12 per cent increase in adjusted operating profit in the first half as strengthening Irish and Dutch economies offset weakness in its UK builders merchanting business amid concerns about Brexit.
Adjusted operating profit rose to £68.4 million (€80.3 million) from £61.2 million for the same period last year, helped by the €91.5 million acquisition late last year of a Dutch took distributor, Isero.
However, the Dublin-based company said its trade-only Selco Builders Warehouse business continued to see its profits grow during the first half even as the group’s traditional UK merchanting businesses faced “more challenging markets”.
“Progressively weaker trading conditions were encountered during the period at a time of increased uncertainty in the lead-up to the UK’s EU referendum,” Grafton said on Wednesday.
The group had previously warned in mid-July that its UK merchanting sales had dipped in June and that Brexit is likely to dampen demand for new housing and home improvements for the remainder of the year in its most important market.
On Thursday, it said: “It is still too early to assess the likely impact on the UK economy of the vote to leave the European Union. Following weak trading in June, demand in the UK merchanting business was relatively flat during July and August with markets remaining very price competitive.”
Grafton said its Woodie’s DIY retailing business in Ireland performed well as a result of management actions combined with increased household spending in the sector.
The interim dividend approved by the board has been increased by 6 per cent to 4.75p, in line with its progressive dividend policy. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/construction/grafton-profits-rise-even-as-uk-merchanting-struggles-1.2774071 | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/0e83b4c2296211b3d97894d75ade2385968b11a09d0801a0da5bd95d98c213a0.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T10:50:20 | null | 2016-08-27T10:00:00 | American country singer Carlene Carter is the final Music Month guest on the Róisín Meets podcast & plays her version of her stepfather’s biggest hit, Ring of Fire | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Flife-and-style%2Fpeople%2Fcarlene-carter-johnny-cash-was-such-a-good-dad-to-me-he-was-unique-1.2769283%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2769282.1472203721!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Carlene Carter: ‘Johnny Cash was such a good dad to me. He was unique’ | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | “He was such a good dad to me. We had a special relationship, I will say. He called me Sparkle and I called him Big John. He was unique,” says Carlene Carter of her stepfather Johnny Cash, who was married to her mother June for over 30 years.
“I got the greatest chance in my life to witness two of the greatest entertainers on the planet perform all the time and I also got to grow up seeing them being very human. The thrill that John would have when he had a new song was inspiring,” she told Róisín Ingle, presenter of the Róisín Meets podcast.
Growing up a Carter meant a life on the stage was inevitable and she got her first outing at the age of four.
“They just threw me out on stage and said: ‘sing this song’. I was really shy and boy did I sound country. If you think I got a country accent now, you should hear that recording,” she said.
Carter says she is used to being introduced as the daughter of country music legend June Carter, the stepdaughter of Johnny Cash, and granddaughter of “Mother” Maybelle Carter of the original Carter Family. She was never intimidated by it though.
“I do recognise they were iconic performers and contributors to music, so I have a great amount of respect for that. But to me they were my family and I never was in awe of it in a way that made me feel like I couldn’t’ do that. I wanted to do it and carry it on,” she said.
Married three times before the age of 23, Carter has a wild past and has battled drink and drug problems over the years. She spoke candidly about the difficulties she has faced staying sober, particularly in 2003 when she lost her sister Rosie, her mother June and stepfather Johnny Cash within months of each other.
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She has no regrets in her life, however, and she says she is determined not to miss anymore.
“I feel like I missed some stuff because I was not present. Now I have seven granbabies and I don’t want to miss anything about them, I don’t want to be worrying about that.”
You can hear Carlene Carter play three songs live, including her version of Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire, and listen to the full conversation with Róisín Ingle in the latest Róisín Meets podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher or irishtimes.com | http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/carlene-carter-johnny-cash-was-such-a-good-dad-to-me-he-was-unique-1.2769283?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/091167a08c7d1dc5d005235ed5bdd924657ef5a2e376346a5a21391236f1b521.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T20:50:10 | null | 2016-08-26T20:13:00 | Some 80,000 drivers would have been affected had agreement not been reached | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fireland%2Firish-news%2Feflow-toll-tags-dispute-resolved-ahead-of-switching-off-deadline-1.2769851%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2769850.1472238794!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Eflow toll tags dispute resolved ahead of switching off deadline | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | A dispute which would have seen tens of thousands of eFlow tag holders have their barrier-lifting tags turned off was resolved on Friday night.
Some 80,000 regular users of the M1, M7/M8 tolls, and the N25 Waterford city bypass would have been affected had agreement not been reached by Wednesday.
The dispute was between Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), formerly the National Roads Authority, and road builder Celtic Roads Group.
A number of tags are available from different providers and TII is the clearing house for these, including its own branded eFlow tag. It collects money from all tag holders and distributes it - less a handling charge - to the toll operators.
However, TII had said it was in danger of losing money on the service and had negotiated new contracts with most toll operators. The notable exception was the Celtic Roads Group, which objected to the existing agreement being changed.
Minister for Transport Shane Ross has welcomed the renewal of contractual arrangements between eFlow and Celtic Roads Group regarding toll tags.
“Negotiations between eFlow and Celtic Roads Groups have been ongoing for some time and I am pleased to say that a satisfactory agreement has now been reached between the parties,” he said.
In a statement Celtic Roads Group said it was “very pleased to inform all drivers that they will continue to experience normal service at our plazas without the disruption that was feared.” | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/eflow-toll-tags-dispute-resolved-ahead-of-switching-off-deadline-1.2769851?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/cd1dbf8b9b7bc3c8707823788d99377ed4b04bcc2882f071a54c7960ec15ea32.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T02:50:28 | null | 2016-08-27T02:00:00 | Paddy McKenna and Marie Donnelly didn't expect to find love after both of their spouses passed away. And then they went dancing... | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Flife-and-style%2Fpeople%2Fweddings%2Four-wedding-story-finding-love-second-time-around-1.2768535%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2768534.1472144518!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Our wedding story: finding love second time around | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Paddy McKenna and Marie Donnelly each have a story that led them to where they are today.
A retired marketing director for Guinness Group Sales Ireland, Paddy’s late wife was in the final stages of Alzheimer’s when his doctor advised him to “develop another life”. On the suggestion of a close friend, he went dancing and one such outing ended up in the Red Cow hotel.
“Initially I didn’t find it very interesting . . . but then I saw this beautiful, elegant woman who was a superb dancer. I just had to ask her for a dance. I was intrigued and planned there and then to dance regularly with her.”
Although he and Marie, a retired banker with AIB, gradually became good friends, “she refused to socialise outside of dancing. She would never allow me to sit with her, never let me buy her a drink or in any way compromise her.”
In February 2012, Paddy’s wife died.
“At this stage, I was very sad and lonely, so I developed my friendship with Marie. I was now able to persuade her to have a drink with me and even persuaded her to have a meal with me . . . what progress! So we dated and danced for four years,” Paddy says.
After Marie’s husband died of cancer in 2008, she joined Beginning Experience, a peer support group for widows, separated or divorced people.
“I met fabulous people there who changed my life . . . one took me to Jury’s to dance. I hated it at first and then I found it a great outlet and became addicted to the freedom of being able to socialise on my own with other singletons,” she says.
“The nights are the worst when you first find yourself alone . . . when the children visited, they usually left about 9.30pm and sure that’s when you go out dancing.
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“One night in the Red Cow, Paddy asked me to dance and from then on I was sure of a dance if Paddy was there . . . he then turned up at Jury’s hotel and I was suddenly sure of a dance there too.”
The couple chatted occasionally by Skype and the following year Paddy asked Marie out. By then, she says, “it was quite natural to accept. This was a strange one for me because I never did want another relationship.”
Paddy says: “Finally, I persuaded her that we could have a fabulous life together if we married.”
He subsequently proposed on February 7th, 2016.
“Of course, I said yes,” says Marie, “I love him. I always said I wouldn’t marry again but it took someone very special to change my mind.”
On June 25th, 2016, they were married by Marie’s friend from Beginning Experience, Fr Eugene Curran in St Columbanus and Gall in Milltown.
While they went without bouquets, booklets, a cake and favours, the bride (accompanied up the aisle by her son Peter) wore a full-length dress, headdress and a white orchid on her pearl bracelet.
The couple’s witnesses were Marie’s daughter Collette and Paddy’s daughter Roisin. The bride’s other daughter Imelda was bridesmaid, her grand-daughter Siena (4) was the flower girl and grandson Luca (18 months) was the pageboy. Grandsons Niall (11) and Patrick (15) were the readers and both families were involved in the bidding prayers and offertory.
The newlyweds, who describe themselves as “ content, fulfilled and excited about the future”, had their first dance to Could I Have This Dance For The Rest Of My Life? Photographs: Richard Gavin | http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/weddings/our-wedding-story-finding-love-second-time-around-1.2768535?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/5cf3d722c26eda94885d98ade2680d983c437f84febc8520a068132e1aaff338.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T12:51:20 | null | 2016-08-28T13:00:00 | Dublin Guitar Night, Eric Bogle, Guitar Through Time, Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop and A Great Arrangement | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fculture%2Fgoing-out-the-best-of-what-s-on-this-week-1.2768263%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2768261.1472135434!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Going out: the best of what’s on this week | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Monday
I like to eat with my hands
Taro Furukata, Ann Maria Healy, dancer/choreographer Claire Huber, and writer/artist duo KVM – Ju Hyun Lee and Ludovic Burel. RGKSKSRG (Rachael Gilbourne and Kate Strain) curated.
Wexford Arts Centre, Cornmarket, August 29-October 5
wexfordartscentre.ie
Last autumn, five artists spent eight weeks in residence at Cow House Studios in the foothills of the Blackstairs Mountains. Were they changed by the experience? The answer seems to be a Big Yes if this show is anything to go by. Witness Taro Furukata’s homesick loneliness, Claire Huber’s “wild and comic reach for meaning”, Ann Maria Healy’s search for spiritual guidance and KVM’s drastic “transference of cultural mores”. Curators RGKSKSRG try to make sense of it all.
Tuesday
Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop
Olympia Theatre, Dublin, 8pm, €28.50/€26
ticketmaster.ie
The indie folk/pop genre covers a multitude, but before you can throw words like “quirky” and “idiosyncratic” at Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop, make sure you know their distinct backgrounds. The former is the constituent part of the much-acclaimed Iron & Wine, while the latter is individualism personified. New album, Love Letter for Fire, will be aired, as will selections from each songwriter’s solo albums.
Dónal Lunny and Paddy Glackin
Ionad Cois Locha, Dunlewey, 8pm, €8
086-6050110
Donegal’s always punched way above its weight in the traditional music stakes, and this duo share roots deeply bound to the county. Both veterans of The Bothy Band, and so much more besides, they bring bouzouki, guitar and fiddle to the final concert in this Tionscnamh Lugh summer series.
Dublin Guitar Night
JJ Smyths, Aungier St, 8.30pm, €10
jjsmyths.com
Guitarist Hugh Buckley’s monthly salon of all things six-string never fails to deliver a high-quality and diverse programme. This month, visiting Turin guitarist Moreno D’Oforio teams up with Buckley himself, with bassist Dave Fleming and drummer Dominic Mullan; Dublin’s favourite Texan Ben Prevo showcases his own eclectic mix of blues, rock and jazz; and noted Ennis traditional guitarist Graham Dunne takes proceedings in another direction entirely. Catnip or the guitaristically inclined.
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Wednesday
Eric Bogle
National Concert Hall, Dublin, 8pm, €35/€30
nch.ie
It had been thought that Scottish-born (and Australia-based) Eric Bogle had retired from touring this side of the world. Yet here he is, a fine folk songwriter, best known, perhaps, for songs such as The Band Played Waltzing Matilda and The Green Fields of France. Special guest is Irish singer-songwriter, Declan O’Rourke.
On Nothing
Four works by Justyna Gruszczyk, all imparting ‘some aspects of uncertainty’.
Linenhall Arts Centre, Linenhall St, Castlebar, Co Mayo. Until October 1
thelinenhall.com
In an age of material excess, Wicklow-based Polish artist Justyna Gruszczyk dares to opt for next to nothing. She makes map drawings of unknown cities – with water – immerses sculptures and found objects in black, opaque liquid, narrates a dream about a non-existent house and records words in languages (subject to “violence or extinction”) that she does not understand.
David Hockney: I draw, I do
The MAC, Edward Street, Belfast Until October 16th
themaclive.com
The first major Irish show devoted to David Hockney, one of the most celebrated, popular living artists, concentrates on his lifelong commitment to drawing and extends from his years at art school in Bradford, through some of his great London graphic work and on to his more recent use of new technologies. A nice primer to the largest ever retrospective of his work scheduled to open next February at Tate Britain.
Thursday
Guitar Through Time
Grand Social, Dublin, 7.30pm, €10
thegrandsocial.ie
Talk about ambitious – for over three hours, this show – featuring a 10-piece band, including brass, violin, flute, Hammond organ and special guests – aims to explore the development of guitar music from early music and classical through to jazz, swing, blues, rock’n’roll and all (or most, as time allows) points beyond. Greensleeves, anyone?
A Great Arrangement
Everyman Theatre. Ends Sep 3 8pm €26/€23
everymancork.com
For all the violence, deaths, defeat and executions, it’s sobering to think that, after the Rising, the worst was still ahead. Patrick Talbot’s new play, introduced earlier this year in Cork and now returning for a national tour including engagements in Cork’s Everyman and Dublin’s Gaiety, rushes straight into a sundered time where others might tread warily, towards the War of Independence and the precipitous events that created both the Irish Free State and the Irish Civil War. It has been telling that, this year, no single figure has been as roundly revisited as that of Roger Casement, a man whose double-agency, politically and sexually, made him more than ripe for reevaluation through various dances, dramas, documentaries and discussions that celebrated 1916.
But Michael Collins, lover, speaker, soldier, statesman and martyr of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, has always been a less complicated romantic protagonist. My guess is we haven’t heard the last from him. Talbot draws from Collins’s famous correspondence with Kitty Kiernan, his galvanising public speeches and the fiery Dáil debate on the Treaty to create the text for this production, performed by Dominic McHale as Collins and Irene Kelleher as Kitty Kiernan with a supporting cast. But if the history of Ireland has always been cradled between high ideals and realities more ragged, this may be the timeliest narrative, a romance of disunity. | http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/going-out-the-best-of-what-s-on-this-week-1.2768263?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/664430161a3892b51584be19266040771d67e1411c58803fcdd84208303128e9.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T20:52:18 | null | 2016-08-30T20:25:00 | Bert Koenders met with Charlie Flanagan in Dublin to discuss the UK’s exit from the EU | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Fdutch-minister-offers-support-to-ireland-ahead-of-brexit-1.2773498%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773495.1472585134!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Dutch minister offers support to Ireland ahead of Brexit | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | The Dutch minister for foreign affairs Bert Koenders has become the latest EU official to offer support to Ireland ahead of the UK’s exit from the European Union following June’s referendum result.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan met with his Dutch counterpart in Dublin on Tuesday.
Following the meeting, Mr Flanagan said the talks had focused on Brexit and the wider EU and global agendas.
“I had a very good and productive meeting with my Dutch counterpart this evening,” Mr Flanagan said in a statement.
“It was a timely opportunity, as we prepare for what will be a busy and challenging period ahead, to discuss with a key partner the implications of the UK decision to leave the EU.”
Impact
The Minister said he set out Ireland’s concerns about the potential impact of Brexit on the peace process, the Border and the Common Travel Area.
“Since the UK referendum, I have had the opportunity to set out our specific concerns to all of my EU colleagues and have found a wide degree of understanding for our position, as was again the case this evening,” Mr Flanagan said.
“My discussions with Minister Koenders also covered a range of global issues, including migration, EU relations with key partners like Turkey and Russia, and the humanitarian crisis in Syria. ” | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/dutch-minister-offers-support-to-ireland-ahead-of-brexit-1.2773498?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/9c4a879274d41c93f44b7f4006223ceccd7ba0d5ec199b4c9d255bff5ce093f5.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T00:52:23 | null | 2016-08-30T01:00:00 | Industrial action follows rejection of Labour Court pay recommendation | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fireland%2Firish-news%2Fdublin-bus-drivers-set-to-stage-six-days-of-strikes-in-september-1.2772394%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2772392.1472507678!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Dublin Bus drivers set to stage six days of strikes in September | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Hundreds of thousands of Dublin Bus passengers are facing six days of disruption in September with staff set to stage a series of strikes.
Trade unions will today serve formal notice on the company of the planned stoppages, with the dispute believed to involve up to three strikes of 48-hours duration each next month.
More than 330,000 passengers use Dublin Bus services every day.
Five trade unions representing the 3,200 staff at the State-owned bus company met yesterday to consider a joint strategy for the forthcoming industrial action.
Formal notice
Details of the stoppages will not be announced until formal notice is served on Dublin Bus by trade unions today.
However, it is expected that the dispute will involve a series of strikes, each lasting a full two days.
Unions have to give the company seven days notice of strike action so any stoppages will not take place until the middle of next week at the earliest.
The industrial action comes after staff at the company rejected a Labour Court recommendation of pay increases of 8.2 per cent over three years.
Unions at the company are seeking increases of about 15 per cent over three years, dating back to January this year, as well as a 6 per cent rise originally due in 2009 under the former “Towards 2016” national agreement that was never paid.
However, bus drivers represented by the National Bus and Railworkers’ Union are looking for pay parity with drivers on the Luas light rail system, which could involve increases of up to 31 per cent.
Luas increases
Drivers operating the privately run but State-funded Luas light rail system secured increases of about 18 per cent over four years in June, following a lengthy industrial dispute and several days of strike action.
Staff at Dublin Bus have argued that the Luas dispute revealed for the first time the pay gap that existed between them and workers in the privately operated light rail system.
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The unions involved in the talks yesterday included Siptu, the National Bus and Railworkers’ Union, the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association, Unite and the TEEU.
Minister for Transport Shane Ross expressed his disappointment at the outcome of the recent union ballots to reject the Labour Court pay recommendation and urged unions and management “to re-engage as soon as possible with a view to an early settlement”. | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/dublin-bus-drivers-set-to-stage-six-days-of-strikes-in-september-1.2772394?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/1a052f9e166ad49982723b808f79c8bbc65dd5d44476eb275779174f553f6dcf.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T18:50:26 | null | 2016-08-27T18:12:00 | Protest held as UN envoy urges all sides to allow delivery of relief supplies to ravaged city | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fireland%2Firish-news%2Fprotest-against-aleppo-bombing-at-russian-embassy-in-dublin-1.2770858%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2770856.1472319066!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Protest against Aleppo bombing at Russian embassy in Dublin | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | A protest against the bombing of Aleppo in Syria was mounted today outside the Russian embassy at Rathgar, Co Dublin.
A group of activists from the Irish Syria Solidarity Movement help up a large banner proclaiming “We Stand With Children of Syria”, and statements such as “Ireland Solidarity with People of Aleppo.”
One said: “Assad + Russia - 260 airstrikes in 8 days. #AleppoSolidarity.”
A boy held a poster with an image of destruction and the slogan, “This isn’t happening in a galaxy far, far away.”
A man also held up a letter for sending to the Russian ambassador to Ireland, Maxim Peshkov.
“The continuing unrelentless [sic] bombing of Aleppo,” he wrote, “with the resultant indiscriminate civilian deaths must cease.
‘Pivotal role’
“Your government plays a pivotal role with the Syrian government, and is in a position to bring about an immediate ending of the bombardment of Aleppo.”
He added that the Russian government should facilitate the United Nations in its efforts to bring about a 48-hour ceasefire so that humanitarian aid including medicines and food may reach the beleaguered civilian population of the war-ravaged city.
“Please forward our request to your government in Moscow,” the letter concluded.
“Yours sincerely, Brendan Butler. ”
A call was placed to the embassy seeking comment on the protest and The Irish Times was asked to call back on Monday.
The protest was held as the United Nations special envoy for Syria called for all warring sides to agree by Sunday to allow the first safe delivery of relief supplies to Aleppo.
Humanitarian pause
The UN is seeking a weekly 48-hour humanitarian pause to deliver food, medicines and other aid to people in rebel-held eastern Aleppo as well as those in the government-controlled western part of Syria’s second city. It also wants to repair the electricity system to deliver power and clean water supplies to 1.8 million people, amid fears of disease outbreaks.
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Staffan de Mistura said in a statement on Saturday that for logistical and operational reasons convoys must go via the Castello Road during the first pause, although he was aware of rebel opposition to using that government-controlled route.
“The Special Envoy calls for all concerned to exert every effort so that, by this Sunday, 28 August 2016, we know where we stand,” de Mistura said. There should be “no (military) escalation in areas adjacent or around the area of the pause”.
Russia, the main ally of the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad, has already accepted the UN plan saying it is ready to ensure compliance, while the US and other states are working to get other parties to commit, Mr de Mistura said.
Baby milk removed
UN agencies have said supplies including surgical material for treating war wounds and even baby milk have been removed from UN convoys at government checkpoints throughout the five-year conflict.
The main alliance of rebel groups in Aleppo, in a statement, gave conditional approval to use of Castello road but said the “shortest and fastest” Ramouseh road south of Aleppo should be used in parallel to deliver supplies to eastern Aleppo.
The US and Russia failed on Friday to reach a breakthrough deal on military cooperation and a nationwide cessation of hostilities in Syria, saying they still have issues to resolve before an agreement could be announced.
Mr de Mistura took part in those Geneva talks between US secretary of state John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.
Additional reporting: Reuters | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/protest-against-aleppo-bombing-at-russian-embassy-in-dublin-1.2770858?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/2343b427f1322ffc4525e5477d032532a33a2dfe429da94a3ebc95f3781b5a79.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T14:52:17 | null | 2016-08-30T15:14:00 | The Deportivo La Coruna striker joins the Gunners after 19 goals in 17 games last year | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fsport%2Fsoccer%2Fenglish-soccer%2Farsenal-continue-spending-with-lucas-perez-signing-1.2773142%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773141.1472566468!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Arsenal continue spending with Lucas Perez signing | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Arsenal have announced the signing of forward Lucas Perez from Deportivo La Coruna.
The 27-year-old appeared set for a move to Everton before Arsenal rekindled an interest to capture the Spaniard. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Spanish forward Lucas Perez is joining us from Deportivo La Coruna,” Arsenal wrote on their official website.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said: “He’s not only a goalscorer, he’s a guy who combines well with partners, who can give a final ball and makes good runs.
“He’s got a good eye for goal and had an outstanding season last year.”
Lucas scored 19 goals in all competitions and 17 in LaLiga last season. He also netted in seven successive games.
He began his career with Atletico Madrid C and then moved to Rayo Vallecano before spells with Ukraine’s Karpaty Lviv and PAOK in Greece. He joined Deportivo in 2014, initially on loan.
Lucas becomes Wenger’s third summer signing — after midfielder Granit Xhaka from Borussia Monchengladbach and Rob Holding from Bolton — but more could follow, taking the Gunners’ spending close to £100million.
Valencia’s Germany defender Shkodran Mustafi is a summer-long target and a #30m deal is reportedly close.
Speaking last Friday, Wenger denied Lucas was a panic buy, but welcomed comparisons with Jamie Vardy, the Leicester striker the Frenchman tried and failed to lure to the Emirates Stadium earlier in the summer.
“He is a late developer, he played in a different position,” Wenger said last Friday.
“He moved centrally in a successful way. I think he has good link up qualities, good finishing qualities. Let’s see if we can finish the job.”
When comparisons to Vardy were mentioned, Wenger said: “Yes, I like that one.” | http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/english-soccer/arsenal-continue-spending-with-lucas-perez-signing-1.2773142?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/7e49284fb14e4dcfa4b4e64debc0415f0d8622c33b0ffa6a7585c74b9943b5fc.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T06:47:41 | null | 2016-08-29T06:08:00 | Bragging about not toiling on holiday part of wider trend of shorter working hours | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fwork%2Fpoolside-working-no-longer-a-sign-of-importance-1.2770991%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2770989.1472393563!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Poolside working no longer a sign of importance | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | When I was at university I spent a summer travelling around Europe with some friends, and one of them suggested we drop in on his parents’ place in the south of France.
There are two things I remember about that visit. There was the mortification of being greeted by a butler who ceremoniously carried my tatty luggage – a few things stuffed into a plastic bag – to the suite of rooms I’d been allocated. But what stays in my mind even more was the image of his father – who turned out to be a famous tycoon – clad in small swimming trunks with cigar clamped between teeth, holding a gin and tonic in one hand and a telephone receiver in the other.
The year was 1979 and this was what power looked like. The man was too important to be out of touch with the deals he was doing. So he had installed a telephone line by the swimming pool and passed his summers issuing instructions from a lounger by the water.
A quarter of a century later, technology allowed all of us to pretend to be tycoons. We might not have had the butler or the pool house but everyone could head to the beach with a BlackBerry packed along with their towels. And because we could, we did. Only for most of us, what we were doing was not deals, it was responding to mundane inquiries that could have waited two weeks – or forever.
This year, I decided to do something radical that I hadn’t done for almost a decade. I took a proper holiday. I disconnected myself from work altogether. I didn’t open any work messages. I spent time reading, walking, looking at the sea – and sometimes getting into it – while I thought about not much at all.
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Immersion in work
When I returned to work and reacquainted myself with email, it was perfectly straightforward. I deleted almost all of them unread, responding only to the things that looked interesting. Far from feeling overwhelmed, I felt a certain excitement in the sudden immersion in work. It was a new-shoes and sharp-pencil sort of feeling that used to go with the beginning of a school term.
Over the past week it has started to dawn on me that my radical action was not radical at all. I was merely following the latest fashion.
Last week I sent an email to an entrepreneur I know, and within seconds the automatic reply came back: “I am on holiday until August 30 and will not be checking messages.” This was particularly remarkable given that last time I’d seen him – some five years ago – he had told me how he expected all his employees to respond to messages instantly wherever they were and whatever they were doing.
So I emailed back asking what had made him change his mind – but all I got in return was the same automatic message telling me he wasn’t reading whatever I was sending.
The very next day I got an email from a woman who I had contacted before I went away. It began: “Sorry for my radio silence – I have had a blissful two-week holiday and am just catching up on emails on my return.” Here was the same thing again: a driven, thirtysomething entrepreneur who wanted me to know not how hard she worked on holiday but how she loafed around, and how much she enjoyed it.
Experiment
To see how widespread this change is, I’ve done a little experiment. I’ve collected all the out-of-office emails I’ve had this summer, and counted the number that were followed at once by an email sent from the beach. Three years ago, it was very unusual for an automatic message not to be quickly followed by a real one. This year I’ve had a total of 38 automatic messages telling me the sender was away, only six of which have been succeeded by a personal, poolside reply.
Bragging about not working on holiday seems to be part of a wider trend - which I wrote about a few months ago – in which fashionable execs flaunt not their long hours, but their short ones. To be emailing from the pool does not prove you are powerful, it is starting to be seen for what it is – a sign of weakness, poor time management and an inability to delegate. If you can take two weeks off altogether it shows you have overcome all gadget addiction, and like a modern-day tycoon can control when you work – and when you don’t. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016) | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/work/poolside-working-no-longer-a-sign-of-importance-1.2770991?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/f23218e3c6ee5de2efc175269a47d31d1e0ada0adb27e563d3dfd60da7cd9d54.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:51:44 | null | 2016-08-29T16:15:00 | Star Wars and Game of Thrones have raised Ireland’s profile in Japan, says Niall Gibbons | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fireland%2Firish-news%2Ftourism-ireland-launches-website-aimed-at-japanese-tourists-1.2771987%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2771988.1472491894!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Tourism Ireland launches website aimed at Japanese tourists | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | A new Tourism Ireland Japanese language website has been launched to capitalise on a growing market for Irish tourism.
About 20,000 Japanese tourists visit Ireland every year. It is a small fraction of the nearly 18 million trips taken abroad annually by Japanese tourists.
It makes Japanese the 11th language featured on the Tourism Ireland website at ireland.com.
Tourism Ireland chief executive Niall Gibbons said the Japanese market into Europe is on the rise after a dramatic decline following the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001.
“We had a presence in the market a number of years ago, but we pulled back from it,” he said.
“The numbers had declined to 12,000 in 2010, but are on the rise again Ireland.com has been a very strong portal for us and this gets us into another market.”
Mr Gibbons said the Star Wars franchise and Game of Thrones had help increase Ireland’s profile in Japan.
Skellig Michael features on the front page of the Japanese version of the Tourism Ireland website.
The new portral was launched by Minister for the Diaspora and International Development Joe McHugh at the Chester Beatty Library.
Mr McHugh said the website was part of an attempt to strengthen the Irish presence across Asia.
The Japanese language version of the website can be found atireland.com/ja-jp/. | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/tourism-ireland-launches-website-aimed-at-japanese-tourists-1.2771987?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/2eb9eb60ba91e4db576e0983de3de4f0d2fa1d52fe7333239c55d04864e9f382.json |
[
"Freya Mcclements"
] | 2016-08-26T20:50:09 | null | 2016-08-26T20:47:00 | Browser review | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fculture%2Fbooks%2Fspindles-stories-from-the-science-of-sleep-1.2769872%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/assets/images/favicons/irishtimes.png | en | null | Spindles: Stories from the Science of Sleep | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Book Title:
Spindles: Stories from the Science of Sleep ISBN-13:
9-781905-583690 Author:
Penelope Lewis and Ra Page (Eds.) Publisher:
Comma Press Guideline Price:
£9.99
Though we spend roughly a third of our lives sleeping, many of us struggle to get a proper night’s rest. The short stories in this collection are all imaginative responses to cutting-edge research into sleep, each accompanied by a scientific synopsis from a leading expert. Some of the most interesting explore the impact of modern technology on sleep patterns. In Andy Hedgecock’s Counting Sheep, a sleep-monitoring app is introduced to improve efficiency, but ends up destroying lives. Similarly, in The Rip Van Winkle Project by Sara Maitland, Hypnos – the god of Sleep – tries to save foolish mortals who believe “sleep is for wimps”. Sleep disorders are also addressed, most notably in Deborah Levy’s touching story of a wife whose husband suffers from narcolepsy. From Sleeping Beauty to Kubla Khan, sleep and storytelling have had a long association, and it is one that this collection does much to highlight. Perfect bedtime reading, needless to say. | http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/spindles-stories-from-the-science-of-sleep-1.2769872?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/a9913d1276bcc8bf6260a2e1e282b14ab6e05a85fac3833e6f61533e9d71c6fd.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T16:52:10 | null | 2016-08-30T17:45:00 | Do chia seeds really make you live for ever? We examine the evidence ... and look at the hipster ratings | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Flife-and-style%2Fhealth-family%2Ffrom-kale-to-goji-berries-what-s-the-truth-about-superfoods-1.2773309%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773308.1472573833!/image/image.jpg | en | null | From kale to goji berries: what’s the truth about superfoods? | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Few lies can be told in one word, but “superfood” manages it. It is such an appealing idea: that some foods are healthy, some unhealthy and some superhealthy. Why change your habits, when you can correct them by adding goji berries? Why settle for boring old good health, when chia seeds on your cereal can make you superhealthy?
Of course, there is always science talk, of omega-3s and glucosinolates and anthocyanins. Many of us may feel we understand the value of antioxidants that “mop up” the free radicals that damage our cells, causing ageing and cancer. Yet in 2011, the European Food Safety Authority (Efsa) reviewed the evidence and found no actual benefit to health. Indeed, as Ben Goldacre pointed out in his book Bad Science, the body actually uses free radicals to kill bacteria. Does that mean a surfeit of antioxidants might weaken your immune system? The point comes when you have to give up and ask a doctor (a real one, not Gillian McKeith).
The truth – so unappealing – is that nutrition is fabulously complex, different for everybody and mostly mysterious. We know that if you eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables and do regular exercise, nothing is a superfood. And if you don’t, no superfood will save you.
Kale
Currently one of the coolest superfoods around, kale is also one of the most perplexing. Isn’t it just one of the “greens” people have been told to eat for about as long as they have had a choice? Certainly, you would struggle to find a less exotic vegetable. Kale has grown in northern Europe, and plenty of other places, for thousands of years. In wartime, it was one of the stolid, practical crops that people were advised to grow in their gardens.
Along with cavolo nero and red Russian kale, it is one of many cultivars of the magnificent Brassica oleracea species, which also gives us cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi and brussels sprouts, and is closely related to turnips, bok choy and Chinese cabbage.
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Health benefits? Well, we know that it is healthy to eat a diet containing plenty of vegetables, so really the question ought to be: is kale significantly better than the rest of them? And that is easy. No, it isn’t.
Fans of superfoods like to list the things that kale contains a lot of (iron, vitamins, fibre, antioxidants) and point out what those things do (make red blood cells; miscellaneous; help you poo; “mop up free radicals”/don’t know), but that doesn’t mean your body gets superpowers if you eat more than you need, especially if you’re already getting enough from other sources.
It’s like trying to make your car go faster by putting in more petrol. All vegetables contain different amounts of vitamins and minerals, which also vary depending on the soil they are grown in, so there is not much point making them compete in a nutrient competition.
Sure, by weight, typical kale contains more calcium, vitamin B6 – and indeed calories – than typical cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, spinach or carrots, but eating more of them will get you to the same place. Typical kale also contains less vitamin A than carrots, less iron, magnesium or potassium than spinach and less fibre than brussels sprouts. Big deal. No good evidence shows that eating plenty of fruit and vegetables with kale is any better than eating plenty of them without.
Eco rating? Close to perfect – you can grow it easily yourself (under a net to keep off the cabbage white butterflies).
Hipster rating? Sky-high.
Stars in: Crispy chips, colcannon, not-very-nice salads.
Avocado
A true delicacy, when just ripe, and now one of the most popular fruits in the US . (It is technically a fruit rather than a vegetable. Very technically, it’s a large berry.) So high is the demand for avocados, in fact, that the crop has recently caught the attention of Mexico’s criminal gangs . To look at, use, and taste – and, indeed, in its nutritional content – avocado is certainly unusual. Whether it has superpowers is another matter.
Health benefits? The high fat content stands out immediately. It is monounsaturated fat, which helps to protect your cardiovascular system, but you can also get that from oily fish, nuts, uncooked olive oil, sunflower oil … loads of things. And you should. As result, despite seeming so light and barely filling you up at all, avocados are hugely calorific. A whole one provides about 240 calories. A Mars Bar provides 228. An excellent way of getting fat by mistake is to go on a misguided avocado binge. A review of eight preliminary studies in 2013 found that eating hass avocados may benefit the cardiovascular system. However, this is far from established and, more importantly, the review was paid for by – who else? – the Hass Avocado Board.
Currently, there are no good-quality independent systematic reviews of the effects of avocados on health. There have been reports that an extract of avocados might treat leukaemia , but the extract in question – avocatin B – comes from the seed in the middle, so you’ll get none from eating it.
Eco rating? Not good, I’m afraid . Deforestation to make way for avocado trees is now a problem in Mexico. Even those trees that already exist need a very large amount of water – perhaps as much as 272 litres for every half-kilo of fruit (two or three avocados).
In California, where there is a long-term water shortage, this is an even more serious problem. On top of all this, avocados are heavy, have to be shipped from the tropics and kept cool en route.
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Hipster rating? Low. So predictable.
Stars in: Guacamole, avocado toast, milkshakes, ice-cream, prawn cocktail (don’t knock it).
Pomegranates
Pink, sweet, tasty and a little bit exotic, pomegranates are an easy fruit to like – especially when someone has already juiced them for you and removed the seeds (which contain all the fibre, by the way).
Grenadine, the red syrup you last saw at the bottom of a tequila sunrise in 1992, was traditionally made from sweetened pomegranate juice. It is often replaced with less expensive fruit these days, since no one really notices.
Health benefits? In 2012, a US judge ordered POM Wonderful to stop making bold health claims for its products. As things stand, studies only hint at benefits for people with existing health problems. It has been suggested that drinking lots of pomegranate juice might help to reduce the artery damage caused by cholesterol and improve blood flow to damaged hearts, but the evidence is neither decisive nor well understood.
There is also a very faint suggestion that it may slow the progress of prostate cancer. You will not be surprised to hear that there are lots of antioxidants in pomegranates (especially in the peel, which you can’t eat), but that means exactly nothing until large doses of antioxidants, per se, are shown to improve people’s health.
Eco rating? Pomegranate trees grow easily in hot places and manage well with limited water . Even so, the rush to get into the pomegranate business has left many central Indian farmers in trouble after years of inadequate rain .
Hipster rating? Low, now that you can get it in washing-up liquid. Pomegranate molasses, which is basically sugar, is very cool.
Stars in: Juice, couscous, and Persian, Indian and Pakistani stews.
Goji berries
Once known as wolfberries, this fruit of the boxthorn has become highly prized, and fairly expensive, under its sort-of Chinese name. When fresh, the fruits look like pink, elongated grapes. When dried, they look like pink raisins. As such, they are very easy to snack on and mix into things. The Chinese herbalist Li Ching-Yuen was said to have lived for 197 (or even 256 years) on a diet high in goji berries, but didn’t.
Health benefits? Goji berries have played a big part in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years, but don’t take that as an endorsement. The best evidence suggests that traditional Chinese medicine, like traditional European medicine , was and is mostly a reassuring waste of time or actually harmful. Eating goji berries, or drinking the juice, almost certainly isn’t bad for you, but there is simply no evidence that they do anything more useful than any other fruit.
Studies claiming they treat cancer, heart disease and various other things have been tiny, badly run and generally based on large doses of goji extract that you couldn’t possibly get by eating them normally.
Eco rating? Fine. You can even grow your own , although most are shipped from China.
Hipster rating? Good, especially if you can talk about how you grew them.
Stars in: Juice, granola.
Chia seeds
An obscure Central and South American seed with an ancient history and a weirdly high omega-3 content: chia seeds were destined to become a superfood long before anyone knew what, if any, good they did. They also behave quite excitingly in the kitchen, forming a gloopy kind of gel when mixed with liquids, which means you can use them to thicken drinks or even make strange jellies. Otherwise, you can scatter them on almost anything or grind them into a flour to bake with. They don’t taste of very much.
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Health benefits? Chia seeds are all about the small print. Omega-3 fatty acids, in case you hadn’t heard, are found in oily fish, and a broadly Mediterranean diet including oily fish seems to be a very healthy way to eat . One hundred grams of chia seeds contain about 17g of omega-3s, which is enormous – about eight times as much as salmon. However … the omega-3s in chia are different from the ones in fish, and your body turns the chia kind into the fish kind very inefficiently, meaning that you will actually absorb less, by weight – about 1.8g per 100g, compared with 2.3g. Nor is it easy to eat a full 100g of chia seeds, which, by the way, also contain 486 calories, almost as much as a Big Mac. And however part two: why do you want to eat lots of omega-3s? Fish is definitely good for you, helping to protect against cardiovascular disease. (The government recommends two portions, one oily, a week.) But the evidence for omega-3s from other sources is vague, and there is little evidence to suggest health benefits for chia in particular .
Eco rating? Certainly an ecological improvement on fish, if you’re determined to get omega-3s from somewhere.
Hipster rating? Getting a bit passé now.
Stars in: Bread, granola bars, smoothies, weird jelly.
Beetroot
Not long ago, beetroot was a relic. You would see mushy spheres of it sealed in plastic, maybe soaked in vinegar. Only the old still had a taste for beetroot, like condensed milk or tongue. Now, like so many relics, it is cool again, and deserves to be. Freshly roasted, or grated, or pickled (carefully), or juiced, it is one of the great vegetables.
You can eat the leaves, which are basically chard, and the classic purple beetroot has the jolly side-effect of dyeing you, your plate, your kitchen and your excreta red for the rest of the day.
Health benefits? As vegetables go, beetroot is a fairly unspectacular source of vitamins and minerals. (Not that this matters. See kale.) Yet, like many vegetables, it is rich in nitrates, which somehow manage to make it a superfood, a sports supplement and a health scare, all at the same time. The good part is that beetroot juice does seem to lower blood pressure, a little , probably because of the nitric oxides that your body converts nitrates into.
In practice, this is is not much use, however. If your blood pressure needs to be lowered, you are much better off doing exercise, eating less salt and taking the drugs your doctor gives you.
Other research suggests that drinking beetroot juice before exercise improves the endurance of casual athletes by allowing more oxygen to be delivered around the body (but has little effect on serious ones). When added to red meat, however, nitrates worry people, as they form nitrosamines, and do lead to an increased risk of bowel cancer (from about a 5.6 per cent lifetime risk in people who eat almost none, up to about 6.6 per cent in people who eat lots).
It is possible that the nitrates in beetroot could also form nitrosamines in your body, so Efsa recommends eating no more than about two beetroots a day.
Eco rating? Excellent. Grow it yourself.
Hipster rating: High, given its traditional unpopularity.
Stars in: Everything. Salt-baked slabs with cheese, pickled in a jar, julienned in a salad, juiced for breakfast … You can even make beetroot cakes, or turn puddings pink with the dye.
Seaweed
Seaweed is definitely having a moment right now . It plays a big part in east Asian food, especially in Japan, and also crops up in the Philippines and in Welsh laverbread which, in case you’ve never tried it, is very unlike bread. Given its weirdness to those not used to eating algae, it is surprising that seaweed hasn’t had its moment sooner.
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It comes in many edible forms – laver or nori (they are similar), kelp, sea grapes, dulse and plenty more. All are different, and some have special claims attached to them, but it is possible to generalise a bit.
Health benefits? Brace yourself, because seaweed is a rare example of a non-animal product that is rich in vitamin B12 , which makes it an important food for vegans who don’t want to take supplements. Thus, for this small group of people who choose to have a nutrient deficiency, but hate pills, seaweed is a kind of superfood. For everybody else, however, it is just tasty and healthy (as part of a balanced diet).
Yes, seaweed generally contains a lot of calcium and iron, but you should be getting those from a variety of sources anyway. Plus – and this is a big problem with superfoods – eating more of one mineral than your body needs may stop it properly absorbing something else.
The iodine, fibre and alginate in seaweed have been promoted for weight loss , but the effect, if there is any, is far from proven. Besides, iodine is another thing you don’t want to eat too much of. Iodine toxicity can cause thyroid problems and weight gain. Depending on where it grew, some seaweed may even contain a lot of heavy metals, which – in large quantities – could do you actual harm.
Eco rating? In some places, such as the Philippines and Tanzania, mangroves have been chopped down to make way for seaweed farming. On the other hand, seaweed farms may create good habitats for other species. On balance: fine.
Hipster rating? Cool as hell, especially if you seem to know anything about it.
Stars in: Dashi, laverbread, sushi.
Source: the British Dietetic Association.
Guardian service | http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/from-kale-to-goji-berries-what-s-the-truth-about-superfoods-1.2773309?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/8e2d51d88cc934b5cadb860f751e2f7626cfc7bdd8c7b4f786381eb1688ad576.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T06:51:38 | null | 2016-08-29T07:40:00 | Investors turn cautious before a keynote speech by Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen that could map out a clearer path for US interest rates | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fmarkets%2Fglobal-shares-slip-to-two-week-low-1.2771796%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2771795.1472452812!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Global shares slip to two-week low | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Global shares slipped to a two-week low and the dollar edged down on Friday as investors turned cautious before a keynote speech by Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen that could map out a clearer path for US interest rates.
The MSCI All-Country World index was down 0.1 per cent by 1041 GMT, after slipping to its lowest level since August 9th earlier in the session. The pan-European STOXX 600 index also fell 0.1 per cent.
Investors were wary of Yellen hinting at a near-term interest rate hike, which could divert some of the liquidity that has underpinned riskier assets worldwide, though others predicted she would strike a more equivocal note.
The dollar index, which tracks the currency against six major peers, slipped 0.11 per cent to 94.675, while euro zone government bond yields crept up. Recent hawkish comments from other Fed officials have raised expectations of a US rate hike this year, though markets are not fully pricing one in till 2017. “Markets are a bit worried about the upcoming comments from Yellen, which is understandable given how much of the market strength is due to central bank action,” said Philippe Gijsels, head of research at BNP Paribas Fortis in Brussels. “The fact that some of her disciples have indicated that it may be time to raise rates again has not done much in terms of calming sentiment. She will probably try to strike a balance between an improving US economy and risks abroad.”
Chris Scicluna, head of economic research at Daiwa Capital Markets, took a similar line, saying: “Yellen won’t be able to ignore the current debate but she can’t make a commitment either because there’s a range of views on the FOMC.”
On Thursday San Francisco Fed President John Williams and Kansas City Fed President Esther George defended the need to raise rates, albeit gradually, to keep the US economy from overheating. Emerging equities were set for their first weekly loss in seven. The benchmark emerging market stocks index edged up 0.1 per cent in wafer-thin trading, but was on course to end the week down 1.2 per cent and in the red for the first time since the start of July.
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Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei index fell 1.2 per cent after US stocks closed modestly lower on Thursday. However, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan were flat. On the commodities front, oil prices fell and was set for its largest weekly decline in a month after the Saudi energy minister tempered expectations of strong market intervention by producers during talks next month, and as analysts pointed to a supply overhang. Zinc prices touched their highest level in 15 months as fresh shutdowns in China’s steel sector added to mine supply concerns. As China steel mills shutter, steel prices lift, meaning the remaining mills can pay more for ingredients such as zinc. Wariness ahead of Yellen’s speech also gave spot gold a leg-up. It rose 0.3 per cent, narrowing this week’s losses.
Reuters | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/markets/global-shares-slip-to-two-week-low-1.2771796?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/4a304fe30d487b58bdcfaab22548ac9097741df9986f53dc0cc8b2b0f6c9b2fd.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T00:51:19 | null | 2016-08-29T01:10:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fopinion%2Fletters%2Freforming-the-leaving-certificate-1.2769825%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/assets/images/favicons/irishtimes.png | en | null | Reforming the Leaving Certificate | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | A chara, – Clive Byrne draws an important distinction between “being educated” and “getting an examination grade” (“Leaving Cert reform should focus on ‘real world’ skills”, Opinion & Analysis, August 26th). Since the meanings of such examination grades have not been defined in terms of student learning outcomes, it is hardly surprising that students see them in terms of CAO points’ values – a sad commentary on our education system. In the absence of such definitions, the goalposts are movable from year to year as marks are massaged to ensure that patterns of grade distribution fit the normal curve. This means that standards are determined by the overall performance of the population taking a particular exam rather than by objective criteria made available in the public domain. For example, when the number of A grades is capped, able students are essentially in competition with each other and their individual rankings in particular subjects assume greater significance than the educational worth of their work. The narrowing of grade bands to 5 per cent during Mary O’Rourke’s time as minister for education, on grounds of administrative convenience, rendered futile any attempt at defining the meanings of grades. Arriving at meaningful distinctions between 15 letter grades across two or three levels would be an impossible task.
Now that the number of grades has been wisely reduced to eight, the development of clear criteria associated with each grade is somewhat more feasible. This would enable students, third-level colleges and the public to understand grades in an educationally meaningful way, while providing consistent criteria to guide students and their teachers and ensuring that students are neither advantaged or disadvantaged by the vagaries of the system.
This whole question of grading does, of course, raise the broader issue of our dependency on terminal, externally marked, examinations. Is it ever possible to define the meanings of grades that are arrived at by aggregating an individual student’s marks across large numbers of extremely diverse test items, answered under stressful and unreal conditions?
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Clearly, the broader generic outcomes identified by Clive Byrne are not catered for in such a system. – Is mise,
Prof JIM GLEESON,
Australian Catholic
University,
Brisbane, Australia. | http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/reforming-the-leaving-certificate-1.2769825?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/1321dd8c32922da3e9e49ad93a5c5886eb801e9658a096a805e112f10d23636f.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T04:50:18 | null | 2016-08-27T05:24:00 | Fáilte Ireland tenders for company to help market ‘Ireland’s Lakelands’ | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Ftransport-and-tourism%2Fstate-seeks-adviser-to-help-boost-midlands-tourism-1.2769920%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/assets/images/favicons/irishtimes.png | en | null | State seeks adviser to help boost midlands tourism | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Fáilte Ireland has tendered for a company to help it develop a new tourism strategy for the swathe of land down running down the middle of Ireland that falls outside the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Ancient East, the two linchpins of the State’s tourism marketing strategy.
The area, generally referred to in tourism marketing circles as “Ireland’s Lakelands” district, takes in parts of east Galway, Roscommon, Leitrim, much of north Tipperary, and runs down as far as the northern reaches of Cork.
Marketing resources
While the Wild Atlantic Way and, latterly, the Ancient East are heavily backed with State marketing resources, local politicians in the midlands region complain their area is being neglected.
Orla Carroll, Fáilte Ireland’s director of strategic development, said she hopes to have appointed a company to do a feasibility study by the middle of October. It may take a further six months, she said, for a study to be completed, after which any extra State funding that is required will be sought.
Fáilte Ireland on Wednesday tendered for a company “to ascertain the potential for growth and the best mechanism to unlock those areas that lie between the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Ancient East”.
Lakelands moniker
The tender made no mention of the Lakelands moniker, but Ms Carroll confirmed it is area being targeted.
She said the Lakelands term, which is also used in the Programme for Government’s tourism strategy, may not end up being the final slogan that is used for the region.
“We purposely didn’t use the Lakelands term because that’s all open for now. We don’t want to be too proscriptive. We want to see first what the study tells us about the best [slogan] for that geography,” said Ms Carroll.
The study will consider the best way to market the region to foreign visitors, and also predict the possible economic impact of any boost in visitor numbers. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/transport-and-tourism/state-seeks-adviser-to-help-boost-midlands-tourism-1.2769920?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/eb12d14c81908b8e49f0c9728a49fb2d439183cf0da544a310f9162b8a927341.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T08:50:30 | null | 2016-08-27T08:28:00 | Brett Ryan (35) a bank robber, charged with three counts of first-degree murder | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Ffake-beard-bandit-charged-over-toronto-crossbow-deaths-1.2770711%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2770709.1472282888!/image/image.jpg | en | null | ‘Fake beard bandit’ charged over Toronto crossbow deaths | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | A Toronto bank robber known as the “fake beard bandit” was charged with three counts of first-degree murder after three people were killed in a crossbow attack in the city’s east end, police in Canada’s largest city said on Friday.
Brett Ryan (35) who appeared in court briefly on Friday, was arrested in 2008 for committing robberies in disguise, police said. He was charged with more than a dozen counts of robbery and later convicted.
Two men and a woman died in the driveway of a house on Thursday.
One of the people who was killed made a 911 emergency call before dying, according to a local newspaper report, which said the suspect had also been wounded.
The police have not offered a reason for the killings nor have they identified the victims.
Property records showed that the house where the three were killed was in the name of Susan and William Ryan, 66 and 65 years old, respectively. William Ryan died last year, local media reported.
Brett Ryan had previously lived at the same house as Susan and William Ryan, according to government records that indicated bankruptcy proceedings had been initiated for him in 2010.
He was jailed for three years and nine months in the bank robbery cases, according to court records.
Court records showed that Ryan now lives at a condominium building near Toronto’s waterfront. That building was evacuated by police on Thursday due to a suspicious package. They said the incident was related to the east end deaths, but gave no details.
Canada has stricter gun laws than the United States and fewer homicides.
Crossbows that can be aimed and fired with one hand and crossbows with an overall length of 0.5m (19.7 inches) or less are prohibited, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
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The latest three deaths bring Toronto’s homicide count for this year to 47. The city had 56 homicides for 2015. In comparison, Chicago, which is similar in population, had at least 480 homicides in 2015.
Ryan’s lawyer declined to comment. Ryan’s next scheduled court appearance is September 2nd.
Reuters | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/fake-beard-bandit-charged-over-toronto-crossbow-deaths-1.2770711?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/ff1a5b37e3e3d6ebb1bc6ca04bee5f1e9a4e0b16756c777ed7d01c0f7b0c367a.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T16:47:35 | null | 2016-08-26T15:13:00 | Case bolstered by improving labour market conditions and economic growth expectations | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Ffed-s-janet-yellen-says-case-for-us-rate-hike-has-strengthened-1.2769500.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2769499.1472223935!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Fed’s Janet Yellen says case for US rate hike has strengthened | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | The case for raising US interest rates in the United States has strengthened in recent months because of improvements in the labour market and expectations for moderate economic growth, Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said on Friday.
Ms Yellen did not indicate when the US central bank might raise rates, but her comments reinforced the view that such a move could come later this year. The Fed has policy meetings scheduled in September, November and December. Speaking at a three-day international gathering of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Ms Yellen said the “US economy was nearing the Federal Reserve’s statutory goals of maximum employment and price stability”.
“In light of the continued solid performance of the labour market and our outlook for economic activity and inflation, I believe the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened in recent months,” Ms Yellen said in prepared remarks.
‘Gradual’ increases
She added that the Fed still thinks future rate increases should be “gradual”. The Fed raised rates in December, its first hike in nearly a decade, but it has held off further increases so far this year due to a global growth slowdown, financial market volatility and generally tepid US inflation data.
Investors currently see an 18 per cent probability the Fed will raise rates at its September policy meeting and a 53 per cent chance of an increase in December, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Ms Yellen’s comments, by failing to lay out a clear roadmap for what the Fed needs to see to raise rates, will likely not convince some investors that a rate increase is imminent, in part because Fed policymakers are seen as sharply divided over whether to increase rates soon or take a more cautious approach.
Ms Yellen was speaking on Friday at a Fed conference on designing new monetary policy frameworks, with central bankers eager to find new ways to stimulate economies even after they have cut rates to near zero and flooded banks with money.
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Future recessions
She devoted much of her speech to outlining how the Fed may deal with future recessions now that many economists and Fed officials believe that an aging population and other dynamics appear to be slowing US economic growth over the long term. Because slower growth means future US interest rates will likely also need to be lower on average, some analysts have suggested that the Fed will have less room to fight future recessions because there will be less room to cut rates.
Such a view is “exaggerated,” Ms Yellen said, because the Fed will be able to use bond purchases and forward guidance to ease conditions. It may also want to explore other options, including broadening the range of assets it can purchase, raising the inflation target, or targeting nominal GDP, she said.
– (Reuters) | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/fed-s-janet-yellen-says-case-for-us-rate-hike-has-strengthened-1.2769500 | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/1518cab5597dca3d8791460a51e4f836f2dc2f79f5a18bf5ea81261457391e0b.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T12:51:44 | null | 2016-08-29T13:31:00 | Co Tipperary-based trainer enjoyed worldwide success | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fsport%2Fracing%2Fdavid-wachman-to-wind-up-training-career-at-end-of-season-1.2771930%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2771928.1472473865!/image/image.jpg | en | null | David Wachman to wind up training career at end of season | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | The Classic-winning trainer David Wachman has announced he will wind up his training career at the end of this season.
The Co Tipperary based handler, 45, masterminded a Group One hat-trick for Legatissimo last year, including the 1,000 Guineas in Newmarket.
He has been producing winners for 20 years, first over jumps and then on the flat, including a string of top-flight winners for the Coolmore syndicate which includes his father-in-law, John Magnier.
“After much deliberation I have decided to hand in my trainer’s licence at the end of this season. While not taken easily the decision to retire will allow me to spend more time with my family as well as pursuing various other business interests,” he said in a statement.
“Over the last twenty years I have trained for many wonderful owners and I would like to extend my deepest gratitude and thanks to them as they have been absolutely central to the success that we have enjoyed here.
“The nature of training is such that you have plenty of ups and downs but I’ve been lucky enough to have many good days and train some top class horses during that time.
“Also a big thank you also goes to each and every one of my staff members for their unwavering loyalty, dedication and commitment and I wish them all the very best for future,” he added.
Originally from Co Kildare, Wachman produced Group One winners in five different countries. They included Bushranger in the Prix Morny and Luas Line in the Garden City Handicap at Belmont.
As well as Legatissimo’s superb campaign, Wachman also produced Curvy to win the EP Taylor Stakes in Canada in 2015. He secured Irish Classic success with Again in the 2009 Irish 1,000 Guineas. | http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/racing/david-wachman-to-wind-up-training-career-at-end-of-season-1.2771930?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/1898dea57245e92eb72c1080ce734c62a487f33a20dc23ba9ab7b8816d5f8efe.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T12:51:34 | null | 2016-08-29T12:39:00 | The author of Epiphany Jones, a novel about Hollywood sex trafficking, on his life as a reader and writer and the many books that inspired him | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fculture%2Fbooks%2Fmichael-grothaus-q-a-don-t-worry-about-the-first-draft-it-s-always-going-to-be-shit-1.2771838%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2771837.1472463579!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Michael Grothaus Q&A: ‘Don’t worry about the first draft. It’s always going to be shit’ | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | What was the first book to make an impression on you?
The very first book to make an impression on me was the novel Shibumi by Trevanian. It’s a philosophical exploration about democracy, consumerism, Eastern thought and elitism disguised as a spy thriller. I was 16 at the time and was made to read it as part of a Best Novels class in high school. That novel is the first time I realised that commercial fiction could be literary. The novel is so gripping – it’s such a page turner-that there were times I literally was willing to risk my life to keep reading it: like when the school fire alarm went off and I couldn’t be bothered being interrupted from my reading to leave the library.
What was your favourite book as a child?
I really didn’t read a lot up to that Best Novel course in my teenage years. That’s because in America reading American and European classics is often part of the dictated curriculum and as a kid being forced to do anything makes you not want to do it. I always regret how little I read before my late teens. I missed out on so much valuable reading time. However, as a child I did have one favourite series of books. In America they were known as Choose Your Own Adventure and they were known as that because every few pages the book would ask you to make a decision for the character: “Go to page 23 if you want him to open the door where the scary noise is coming from or go to page 79 if you want him to run back outside of the house.” They were great reads and made you feel like you were writing part of the story.
And what is your favourite book or books now?
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There are so many: A Movable Feast and The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway; The Master and the Margarita by Bulgakov; any Hermann Hesse (Demian, The Glass Bead Game); early Tolstoy; A Brave New World by Huxley; We by Zamyatin; Shibumi by Trevanian, of course; The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald; The Beach by Alex Garland; The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.
What is your favourite quotation?
“If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn’t part of ourselves doesn’t disturb us.” – Hermann Hesse, one of my favourite writers.
Who is your favourite fictional character?
That’s a hard one. Forced to pick I would say Nick Carraway from The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald channels brilliant observations through him.
Who is the most under-rated Irish author?
Martina Devlin. About Sisterland will be a future classic among dystopian fiction.
Which do you prefer – ebooks or the traditional print version?
Print, without question. I can’t stand reading ebooks.
What is the most beautiful book you own?
On a recent trip to Japan I bought an original hand-stitched book about the history of the country. It’s from the Edo period (about 1780) and printed on rice paper. It’s so delicate and beautiful.
Where and how do you write?
A few weeks before I begin a big project, like a novel, I stop watching TV, I stop reading. I clear my head and tell everyone to leave me alone. I lock myself in my flat, or I go to another country and rent a flat and lock myself in there. Then I’ll usually begin writing around midnight and write until about 3am. And starting off, it’s always painful, the writing. I hate that first half hour. But then the shit drifts away and I write furiously in the moment and quit in the midst of things when I’m quite satisfied with my words. The next night this starts all over again.
What book changed the way you think about fiction?
It wasn’t a novel, but a collection of poems by Charles Bukowski called The Last Night of The Earth Poems. Some read as short stories and they all had a beautiful rhythm. I thought, why doesn’t the prose in most novels have such rhythm?
What is the most research you have done for a book?
I did a massive amount of research on sex trafficking for Epiphany Jones. Years’ worth of research into sex trafficking and Hollywood and porn addiction. This involved everything from going to different countries to meet people in the trade to reading World Health Organisation trafficking reports and research.
What book influenced you the most?
What The Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula. I read it first in my mid-20s and, though I no longer believe in any gods or spiritual higher power, I still read that book once every few years. It’s such a great belief system and it would be a wonderful way to live.
What book would you give to a friend’s child on their 18th birthday?
Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton. Everyone can benefit from reading that book. It’s one of the most important books written in the last 25 years.
What book do you wish you had read when you were young?
Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. He’s a Hungarian psychologist who has created groundbreaking theories on creativity and happiness. Another book everyone should read.
What advice would you give to an aspiring author?
Don’t worry about the first draft. It’s always going to be shit. The real writing comes in rewriting. Never talk to others about what you are currently writing or you’ll start writing for them instead of for yourself, in which case you’ll probably never write anything good.
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What weight do you give reviews?
None. Both writing and reading are such subjective experiences. Why should one person’s praise or criticism matter? Don’t get me wrong, I’m honoured whenever someone tells me they love my writing, but I don’t write for them or anyone else. I write because other people aren’t writing the book I want to read.
Where do you see the publishing industry going?
I think the rise of ebooks will continue to level off. Print isn’t going anywhere and in the next few years will probably continue to reclaim a majority market share. I also expect some of the best books – and future classics – to be published by independent and smaller publishers as they seem to increasingly be taking more risks than the bigger publishers on new voices – and rightly so.
What writing trends have struck you lately?
There are some annoying writing trends popping up on Twitter, such as the #writingprompt hashtag where a writer starts writing a sentence and want to see how other people will finish it. I don’t get things like this. Writing is a solitary endeavour. You don’t write anything good by committee. It kills me how many times I see writers wasting time on Twitter talking about being a writer instead of actually writing.
What lessons have you learned about life from reading?
That no matter how isolated I feel because of my thoughts or outlook on life – I’m actually not alone. The greatest joy in reading comes from when you stumble upon a thought or observation by a writer that you yourself have had. When this happens, reading makes you feel understood.
What has being a writer taught you?
Three lessons. First, to believe in myself when no one else will. Second, to believe that my thoughts and words have value to others no matter what a rejection letter says. Third, to be patient, and eventually you will find the agent, then the publisher, then the reader who tells you how much your words affected them – vindicating the first two lessons.
Which writers, living or dead, would you invite to your dream dinner party?
Leo Tolstoy to learn how he did it, F Scott Fitzgerald to drink with, Alex Garland because I have so many questions for him – same for Hermann Hesse, George Orwell to tell him he was right, Mark Twain to laugh with, Hiromi Kawakami because she is brilliant, and Ernest Hemingway to arm wrestle.
What is the funniest scene you’ve read?
Any scene in Vernon God Little by DBC Pierre where Vernon makes observations about his family or his mom’s friends.
What is your favourite word?
Fuck. It’s so versatile.
If you were to write a historical novel, which event or figure would be your subject?
Siddhartha Gautama, the man on whose teachings Buddhism was founded.
What sentence or passage or book are you proudest of?
Chapter 24 in my novel Epiphany Jones. The whole chapter is only a thousand words. It’s when Jerry goes off on a riff about God and Catholicism. I wrote that at 4am on one of the darkest nights of my life. It was during the time when I stopped believing in God. I honestly didn’t think I was going to keep it in the book, but it fit the story and where the character was at, and when everyone read it they loved it and told me I couldn’t take it out. So there it is.
What is the most moving book or passage you have read?
The opening fake Translator’s Preface to Mark Twain’s Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc. If that doesn’t stir your soul nothing will. Few people know this, but Twain said that book was the best he’d written.
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Novelist and journalist Michael Grothaus was born in Saint Louis, Missouri in 1977. He spent his twenties in Chicago where he earned his degree in filmmaking from Columbia and got his start in journalism writing for Screen. After working for institutions including The Art Institute of Chicago, Twentieth Century Fox, and Apple he moved to the United Kingdom where he earned his postgraduate degree and began writing for the Guardian, Fast Company, VICE and others. His debut novel is Epiphany Jones, a story about sex trafficking among the Hollywood elite, based on his experiences at the Cannes Film Festival. Michael is represented worldwide by the Hanbury Agency in London, where he lives when not travelling. His writing is read by millions of people each month | http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/michael-grothaus-q-a-don-t-worry-about-the-first-draft-it-s-always-going-to-be-shit-1.2771838?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/c06f3814a1c54b14b8c2cca6a2b9993cd8fadb72083514575571df47e337bd12.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:09:49 | null | 2016-08-26T12:00:09 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Flife-and-style%2Ffood-and-drink%2Frecipes%2Fgriddled-baby-gem-salad-with-toasted-hazelnuts-and-pecorino-1.2768388%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2768386.1472139208!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Griddled baby gem salad with toasted hazelnuts and Pecorino | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Griddled baby gem salad with toasted hazelnuts and Pecorino
Serves: 2
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Course: Salads
Cuisine: Fusion
Ingredients Serves two
1 tbsp olive oil
4 Baby Gem, halved lengthways
For the dressing:
4 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 garlic clove, finely minced
2 tsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp chives, finely chopped
2 tsp pecorino cheese, finely grated
To serve:
25g toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Pecorino cheese, cut into fine shavings
Method
This is a simple recipe that only takes a matter of minutes to prepare and results in a unique smokey salad. Baby Gem lettuce charred on a barbecue, or cooked inside on a griddle pan, is a thing of beauty and well worth trying. Drizzled with a sharp, creamy dressing and garnished with salty Pecorino and toasted hazelnuts, it makes a decent supper on its own, or an alternative side dish. For the dressing, put all the ingredients into a jar, cover it with a lid and shake until combined.
Place a large griddle pan over a high heat. Brush the lettuce halves with a little oil and season them.
Place the lettuce halves onto the griddle and cook for about two minutes either side, until they have nice deep char marks, but still hold their shape. You can also barbecue them.
To serve, place the Baby Gem on a serving platter, drizzle with the dressing, scatter the hazelnuts on the lettuce and sprinkle the Pecorino shavings over the top. | http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/recipes/griddled-baby-gem-salad-with-toasted-hazelnuts-and-pecorino-1.2768388?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/8e8b9f39ec228017fc2704cd98005dd2698af0cf2f82840a0169bc549e298822.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T04:52:52 | null | 2016-08-31T05:00:00 | Head coach will tell IRFU in two weeks’ time whether he will extend his four-year tenure | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fsport%2Frugby%2Finternational%2Fjoe-schmidt-defers-decision-on-ireland-future-1.2773472%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2773470.1472583328!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Joe Schmidt defers decision on Ireland future | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Joe Schmidt has deferred a decision regarding his future as the Ireland head coach for a further two weeks amid increased, if cautious, optimism that the Kiwi will extend his tenure beyond his current contract, which expires at the end of this season.
Schmidt had intimated to the IRFU that he would inform them as to whether he would accept a new contract from the Union, which would most likely run until the 2019 World Cup in Japan or even beyond, by the end of August.
Although that timeframe would technically expire on Thursday, it is understood that Schmidt has a few more family-related matters to consider over the next fortnight before deciding whether to stay or go.
As well as an open-ended offer from the IRFU to extend his stay beyond this season, his fourth at the helm with Ireland, there is pretty much an open door back to New Zealand as well.
NZRU chief executive Steve Tew is understood to back up his admiration for Schmidt by contacting him pretty much any time the two happen to be in the same country – be it on Tew’s trips to this part of the world or Schmidt’s sorties back to New Zealand – and the latest Super Rugby franchise to be linked with him were the Otago-based Highlanders.
However, during the tour to South Africa, Schmidt denied there was a done deal with the Highlanders. “No, that was on the back of one conversation that Roger Clark [Highlanders chief executive] had with me and I have made absolutely no commitment to the Highlanders.
“I’ve made no commitment to anyone other than my current employers.” What’s more, Schmidt maintained that his “very light conversation with Rog [Clarke]” was a relatively normal occurrence.
Smooth transition
Were he to move on, Schmidt is also acutely conscious of the need to ensure a smooth transition to a new head coach, and thus provide the IRFU with ample time to plan for a future without him.
“The one thing I want to do no matter what happens in the future is to leave Irish rugby in as good a shape as possible,” he also said during the tour to South Africa. “If that’s this time next year or if it’s in three years’ time, I’m not sure.”
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It could still be the case that family matters will persuade him to return to New Zealand, but on balance such considerations make it more likely he will stay. Although he and his family have now been a decade in Europe, his wife Kellie is happy here, and while their eldest is based in Auckland, their three children based in Ireland are also happily ensconced in the education system and life in Dublin. They also recently bought a new house in Dublin.
Temptation
As regards a rugby decision, and also after a decade abroad, there is naturally a temptation for him to return home, and work within New Zealand’s Super Rugby framework as, potentially, a prelude to working within the All Blacks’ set-up.
He may also be concerned that after seven seasons coaching some of Ireland’s Leinster contingent they may be weary of his ways and his methods. Yet there is no sign of that, and aside from being hugely popular with the public, the players want him to stay on, not least as they believe in his methods.
In what sounded like another hint of his impending departure, Schmidt also commented in South Africa that “no matter what happens, the coaching group as it is, are in great shape. I have less and less to do with it.”
Yet the notion of Schmidt having less to do with it is risible, and he must surely know that his voracious attention to detail remains the glue that knits the coaching and management ticket together. Besides, the All Blacks will have been listening to Steve Hansen for a dozen years come the next World Cup and there are countless other examples of lengthy reigns being successful, be it Graham Henry, Warren Gatland or Clive Woodward.
Financial considerations would hardly lure him home either, even if his pay wouldn’t be in the same league as Eddie Jones with England.
His decision not to be considered for the Lions tour could be interpreted as a signal that he would soon be cutting his ties with Ireland or, alternatively, he is more of a mind to take a developmental Irish squad to Japan next summer, as a continuation of the build-up to the 2019 World Cup in Japan. | http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/international/joe-schmidt-defers-decision-on-ireland-future-1.2773472?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/68ea87328a02b9565e99054343f132d3be350ac8155e8264e7ee9142b9df8d13.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T04:50:22 | null | 2016-08-27T05:40:00 | A strong August US jobs report will increase probability of September interest rate hike | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fcantillon-wall-street-divided-on-fed-s-janet-yellen-s-speech-1.2769833%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2769831.1472237872!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Cantillon: Wall Street divided on Fed’s Janet Yellen’s speech | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Interpreting what central bank bosses are saying is a dark art, made none the easier by the determination of the monetary bosses to avoid leaving any hostages to fortune. And so we are not a lot wiser after Fed chair Janet Yellen’s much-awaited speech at the annual gathering of central bankers in Wyoming.
The economists in Wall Street were, as economists so often are, divided on what Yellen meant when she said that the case for a rate increase had been “strengthened” by recent data.
Some felt that this upped the odds of an interest rate increase at the end of September, or by December at the latest. Others felt that the fact that Yellen did not specifically hint at September suggested that another rate increase might be delayed.
All this may suit the Fed quite well, as like the rest of us it is not in possession of a working crystal ball to foretell what will happen in the future. The next marker in this regard will be the August US jobs report, due for publication next Friday. As this will be a key piece of data, its publication is likely to attract more than the usual frenzied attention from market analysts. If the number is strong, the odds on a September rate rise will grow.
You can’t help but thinking, however, that despite the market speculation about when exactly the Fed will move, there is a deeper story here. It is that world central banks are being left to do a lot of heavy lifting and that the era of low interest looks likely to go on . . . and on. Remember that even if the Fed does move, it will only bring base interest rates to between 0.25 and 0.5 per cent.
Deutsche Bank boss John Cryan this week accused the ECB’s low interest rate policy this week of “squeezing the margins of Europe’s struggling banks, making it harder for insurers to find profitable investments and dangerously distorting financial market prices.”
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There was more than a little self interest in Cryan’s comments – banks do not thrive when interest rates are low. But he is right too that these are not normal times. Low interest rates, which were meant to be temporary, are now looking at least semi-permanent. | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/cantillon-wall-street-divided-on-fed-s-janet-yellen-s-speech-1.2769833?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/17d036cda46f7e85bd52dbf3ccb1f3d7118e0315a31d67369aae6e3f9bc89722.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T10:48:44 | null | 2016-08-29T07:40:00 | Dollar gains made after Fed’s Janet Yellen indicated a US interest rate increase remains on the cards | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Fmarkets%2Fasian-share-markets-tumble-on-federal-reserve-s-rate-comments-1.2771796.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2771795.1472462290!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Asian share markets tumble on Federal Reserve’s rate comments | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Most Asian share markets tumbled on Monday while the US dollar added to gains made after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen indicated a US interest rate increase remains on the cards for this year.
European markets also looked set for a weak start, with financial spreadbetters expecting Germany’s Dax to open down 0.7 per cent, and the blue-chip Euro Stoxx 50 to begin the day 0.6 per cent lower. British markets are closed for a holiday. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan extended losses to 1 per cent.
Japan’s Nikkei bucked the trend, closing 2.3 per cent higher, the biggest one-day gain in three weeks, as the yen weakened against the resurgent dollar. China’s CSI 300 index and the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.2 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.4 per cent.
The case for a US rate hike has strengthened in recent months, with a lot of new jobs being created, and economic growth looks likely to continue at a moderate pace, Yellen said in a speech at the Fed’s annual monetary policy conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday. While Yellen did not give guidance on what the central bank needs to see before raising rates, she said the Fed already thinks it is close to meeting its goals of maximum employment and stable prices. The odds of a hike in September rose to 33 per cent following the comments, from 21 per cent on Thursday, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. Traders were pricing in a 59.1 per cent chance of a hike in December, up from 51.8 per cent on Thursday.
Uncertainty
“While the move towards another Fed rate hike will likely cause bouts of consternation in investment markets I don’t see the same degree of uncertainty that we saw around last year’s Fed rate hike,” Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital in Sydney, wrote in a note. “It’s clear from the Fed’s actions this year that it is aware of global risks, the impact of its own actions on those risks and any potential blow back to the US economy and of the impact of a rising US dollar in doing some of its work for it.”
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The comments from Yellen and Fischer dragged Wall Street lower at the close. But they proved a boon for the US currency, with the dollar index, which tracks the greenback against six global peers, jumping 0.8 per cent on Friday. It held steady at 95.552 on Monday. The dollar rose 0.5 per cent to a two-week high of 102.34 yen on Monday. That followed gains of 1.3 per cent on Friday, its biggest one-day advance in almost seven weeks.
Stimulus
Japanese household spending and retail sales data for July are due on Tuesday. Investors are seeking some sign that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s massive stimulus programmes are having an effect, after figures on Friday showed a decline in consumer prices by the most in three years in July.
The euro was flat at $1.120 after tumbling 0.8 per cent on Friday, its biggest one-day slide since July 15th. In commodities, crude prices retreated on the rally in the dollar and concerns about growing output after exports from Iraq in August exceeded July levels. Iran also said late last week that it would only co-operate in upcoming producer talks in September if other exporters recognised Tehran’s right to regain market share lost during international sanctions that were only lifted in January. US crude futures dropped 1.5 per cent to $46.95. Global benchmark Brent crude retreated 1.2 per cent to $49.31. The stronger dollar also weighed on gold. Spot gold slipped 0.2 per cent to $1,318.10, after earlier touching a five-week low.
Reuters | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/markets/asian-share-markets-tumble-on-federal-reserve-s-rate-comments-1.2771796 | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/01cedcc2781f176572127053fc5f42f89cdb3725dbe00d7a6908a8d0e14cfe30.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T00:51:32 | null | 2016-08-29T01:09:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fopinion%2Fletters%2Fresearch-and-data-protection-1.2769824%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/assets/images/favicons/irishtimes.png | en | null | Research and data protection | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Sir, – I wonder how upset letter-writers to The Irish Times would be if I obtained their full home address, telephone numbers, date of birth, photograph, place of birth and mother’s maiden name and sold it to anyone who would pay for it, no questions asked?
It is becoming increasingly easy for this type of personal information to be obtained as more and more sets of personal data are made available online. The availability of such data sets and their use with other sources for purposes that were never originally intended are very powerful tools for tracing living individuals, both for legitimate and illegitimate purposes.
Much of the controversy about publication of electoral registers seems to be coming from professional genealogists who provide for-profit services tracing living individuals whether or not they want to be found.
While publication of electoral registers may make it easier to track down the beneficiary of a will or a reluctant debtor, the same tools can also equally used by criminals for impersonation and fraud.
The data protection commissioner is right to object to the publication of recent electoral registers. Members of the public should understand her concerns and respect her decision to intervene. – Yours, etc,
FRED LOGUE,
Dublin 7. | http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/research-and-data-protection-1.2769824?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/1115c33ddc5187ec28f47bf0b53bcb2ec25e867aebea22729ccb6b1595adfc2f.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T12:49:08 | null | 2016-08-30T12:24:00 | Technology company faces interest bill of as much as €6 billion, Grant Thornton says | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fbusiness%2Ftechnology%2Fapple-s-irish-tax-bill-may-hit-19bn-including-interest-experts-say-1.2772984.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2772983.1472560235!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Apple’s Irish tax bill may hit €19bn, including interest, experts say | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | JOE BRENNAN
Apple may ultimately be hit by a €19 billion bill in Ireland on foot of a landmark EU ruling that the US technology giant received selective tax treatment in the Republic, according to Grant Thornton.
The European Commission ordered Ireland on Tuesday to recover unpaid taxes in this country from Apple for the years 2003 to 2014 of up to €13 billion, plus interest.
Grant Thornton tax partner Peter Vale estimates that the interest costs could come to a further €6 billion. However, Apple’s chief financial officerLuca Maestri told reporters on a conference call on Tuesday afternoon that the company believes the interest bill will be “a significantly lower number”.
“Given the nature of the Commission’s ruling, it is difficult to see Ireland having any option other than to defend its position. To do otherwise would result in Ireland bearing the brunt of negative coverage for a period of time, significantly impacting on our reputation,” said Mr Vale.
Both the Government and Apple said they intend to appeal the decision in court.
The EU’s decision, which found that Ireland’s “selective treatment” of Apple allowed the company pay an effective corporate tax rate of 1 per cent on its European profits in 2003, falling to 0.005 per cent in 2014.
The finding comes as Ireland finds itself at a “critical juncture” in terms of attractive foreign direct investment, following the UK’s decision to exit the EU, according to Mr Vale.
While the Revenue Commissioners are obliged, following the EU’s decision, to issue a tax bill to Apple, any monies collected will be held in escrow as the Government appeals the ruling.
“While assessing the likelihood of success at ECJ (European Court of Justice) level is difficult, there would appear to be a strong case supporting an appeal,” said Mr Vale. “In the meantime, while the tax to be collected is hugely significant, this is unlikely to be made available for public expenditure purposes pending the appeal result. “ | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/apple-s-irish-tax-bill-may-hit-19bn-including-interest-experts-say-1.2772984 | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/be1859e1195cf86ab8c2df5a336de6d8d0dd0762da5f65bbcd094857f1e1c0be.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T10:50:54 | null | 2016-08-28T11:35:00 | Charges follow discovery of heroin and cocaine during searches in Cork city and county | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fcrime-and-law%2Fcourts%2Fdistrict-court%2Fthree-men-charged-following-100-000-heroin-seizure-1.2770929%3FlocalLinksEnabled%3Dfalse.json | http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2770927.1472380498!/image/image.jpg | en | null | Three men charged following €100,000 heroin seizure | null | null | www.irishtimes.com | Three men have been remanded in bail after they were charged following the seizure of €119,000 worth of drugs by gardaí in Cork on Thursday.
Garrett Hill (35) was charged with a total of four charges arising from the discovery of €8,000 worth of heroin in Togher in Cork city, and €100,000 worth of heroin at an apartment in Blarney on Thursday.
Mr Hill of Gleann na Rí, Tower, Blarney, Co Cork was charged with one count of possession of heroin and one count of possession of heroin for sale of supply at an address in Togher, on Thursday, August 25th.
He was also charged with one count of possession of heroin, and one count of possession of heroin for sale or supply at an apartment at the Blarney Shopping Centre on Thursday.
Paul O’Rourke (35) with an address at Apartment 3, Unit 5, Blarney Shopping Centre was charged with possession of heroin and possession of heroin for sale or supply at Blarney Shopping Centre.
Mr O’Rourke was also charged with possession of cocaine and possession of cocaine for sale or supply at the apartment at the Blarney Shopping Centre on the same date.
Nicholas Crowley (33) of Belmount Place, Crookstown, Co Cork was charged with possession of heroin and possession of heroin for sale or supply at an address in Togher, also on August 25th.
Gardaí did not object to bail when all three appeared at a special sitting of Cork District Court on Saturday.
Judge Tim Lucey remanded all three on bail to appear again on September 14th. | http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/district-court/three-men-charged-following-100-000-heroin-seizure-1.2770929?localLinksEnabled=false | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.irishtimes.com/5c7ea440022cb6346d9e774cf66a138546f3c689f51e3e36d6a93f87f8a9df78.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:20:47 | null | 2014-08-24T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fapps.chicagotribune.com%2Fcpd-shootings-database%2F.json | http://apps.chicagotribune.com/cpd-shootings-database/img/og_image.png | en | null | Shot by Chicago police | null | null | apps.chicagotribune.com | Shot at 11:06 a.m. , at 9451 S. LaSalle St. in the 6th District .
Victim was 15 , black
One officer fired shots at this person
The officer fired 16 shots in this shooting incident | http://apps.chicagotribune.com/cpd-shootings-database/ | en | 2014-08-24T00:00:00 | apps.chicagotribune.com/3ab9b3b59d982f9d5fc3195bb06cf89832a8c80549524e979ad94baac3101d48.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:48:18 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | Fun Attitudes of Cortland and Red Hat Society had a girls night out at Barrel 33 in Warren. The women are so busy with working, care giving, volunteering and stress from everyday life they | http%3A%2F%2Fthereviewnewspapers.com%2F%3Fp%3D3654.json | http://thereviewnewspapers.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/22-300x214.jpg | en | null | __ Girls’ Night Out at Barrel 33 | null | null | thereviewnewspapers.com | Fun Attitudes of Cortland and Red Hat Society had a girls night out at Barrel 33 in Warren. The women are so busy with working, care giving, volunteering and stress from everyday life they decided to get together and relax at a happy hour. | http://thereviewnewspapers.com/?p=3654 | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | thereviewnewspapers.com/f1958330ec2f157d59d6040af000c74aa14e19f2779dc9e6186ef409ff6b8dd2.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:50:47 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | The 10th Annual Santa Run & Santa Cruise for Santa’s Hideaway Hollow was held at the Cortland Moose Lodge #1012 Saturday, August 20. Santa’s Hide Away Hollow is a place for terminally | http%3A%2F%2Fthereviewnewspapers.com%2F%3Fp%3D3656.json | http://thereviewnewspapers.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/12-300x204.jpg | en | null | __ Annual Bike Run and Car Cruise Benefit Santa’s Hideaway Hollow | null | null | thereviewnewspapers.com | The 10th Annual Santa Run & Santa Cruise for Santa’s Hideaway Hollow was held at the Cortland Moose Lodge #1012 Saturday, August 20. Santa’s Hide Away Hollow is a place for terminally ill children and their families who want to share One Last Christmas together any time of the year.
There was a 50/50 raffle, basket raffle, door prizes and entertainment all afternoon and evening. All net proceeds go to Santa’s Hideaway Hollow.
There were 198 bikes and 90 passengers who came from near and far to support this event, along with over 30 cars for the cruise who received dash plaques.
The nine Kohl’s associates that donated five or more hours, Kohl’s donated $500.00 to the fund raiser. Also we would like to thank our sponsors Cortland Moose Lodge #1012, Jeff’s Towing of Bristol and Middlefield, Geauga Auto Parts of Middlefield, RD Banks Chevrolet of Champion and Lou Wollam Chevrolet of Cortland.
Santa’s Bad Elves work all year on this large successful event. A huge thank you to Santa’s Bad Elves and to all those that supported Santa’s Hide Away Hollow. | http://thereviewnewspapers.com/?p=3656 | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | thereviewnewspapers.com/1ecf10694b3b29776ea3e4800288b0ea50c6a3eb9bb2b6ebd714c13e7e75029e.json |
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