Category: News from Ireland

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Big Increase in Smoking Among Irish Women

Michael Green

There has been a big increase in the number of Irish women who smoke cigarettes. One in three Irish women now smoke regularly with lung cancer now overtaking breast cancer as the main cause of cancer death among women in Ireland. Tobacco companies have been blamed for targeting women, depicting their products as glamorous and buying high-profile endorsements in television programs such as ‘Sex in the City’, among others. The desire of younger women especially to curb their weight has also led to an increase in smoking since the use of cigarettes curbs appetite. Perhaps most depressing is the statistic … Continue reading Big Increase in Smoking Among Irish Women

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Flag Protests Continue in Ulster

Michael Green

The demonstrations by Ulster Unionists over the Union Jack Flag controversy have continued with no end in sight. The protests were sparked by the recent decision by Belfast City Council to restrict the number of days that the British Union Jack flag would be flown above Belfast City Hall from 365 days to 17. Increasingly violent protests have been taking place with Belfast business owners despairing at the loss of revenue and warning of possible job losses. Unionist protesters are even planning to demonstrate outside the Irish parliament building (Dail Eireann) in an event that is certain to be met with … Continue reading Flag Protests Continue in Ulster

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Irish Property Market May Rebound

Michael Green

The part that the collapse in the Irish property market played in destroying the Irish economy has been well documented. The 2007 height of the market now seems like an eternity ago with prices falling by as much as 47% according to the Irish Central Statistics Office (CSO). The market collapsed, the banks collapsed, the economy collapsed. The EU, IMF and ECB provided loans to Ireland to keep the country running on condition that part of these loans was used to pay back bondholders in Europe, many of whom were based in Germany and France. The punitive rate of interest … Continue reading Irish Property Market May Rebound

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Sixth Successive Austerity Budget May Be The Final Straw

Michael Green

The annual budget announced by the Irish Government has been received with a greater degree of anger and protest than previous announcements. This is the sixth successive austerity budget that Irish Governments have enacted. All have been unpopular but this latest budget may represent a tipping point. Already reeling from years of tax hikes and cuts in services the Irish public had elected Fine Gael and the Labour Party on the basis that a new direction would be taken. A very different direction from that followed by the previous Fianna Fail administration. It is not that the Irish people expected … Continue reading Sixth Successive Austerity Budget May Be The Final Straw

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Irish Among the Busiest Texters as World Marks Twentieth Anniversary

Michael Green

The twentieth anniversary of the first ever text message being sent has now passed. It is a mere two decades since UK engineer Neil Papworth sent his ‘Merry Christmas’ message to a colleague. It is hard to imagine that the telecom companies knew what would follow. Hundreds of Billions of messages later and the Irish are among the most prodigious texters in the world, sending over a billion messages every month in 2012 so far. It is an astonishing statistic that the Irish send an average of at least 142 message per person every month. So the next time you are … Continue reading Irish Among the Busiest Texters as World Marks Twentieth Anniversary

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Ireland is Twelfth Best Country to be Born in During 2013

Michael Green

A survey released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has revealed the best countries in the world to be born in during 2013. The results mirror a recent OECD ‘Better Life Index’ which listed Ireland as the fifteenth happiest country in which to live. That survey placed Ireland behind Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Australia, Canada and Sweden while the US placed twelfth and the UK fourteenth. It is no great surprise that the Scandinavian countries once again dominate the EIU list but it is Switzerland that tops the list on this occasion. Canada and Australia also placed highly … Continue reading Ireland is Twelfth Best Country to be Born in During 2013

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Ireland is Tenth Best Educated Country in OECD

Michael Green

One of the many consequences of the ‘Celtic Tiger’ economic boom in Ireland during the late nineties and early part of the new century was that there was a lot of investment in education. A recent report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) measured the extent to which the population of a country held a college or college equivalent degree. Between the years 2000 and 2010 the percentage of people with a higher level qualification in Ireland almost doubled, increasing at an annualized average rate of 7.3% – an amazing increase by any standard and this is … Continue reading Ireland is Tenth Best Educated Country in OECD