2. Current Problems Economic crisis in the Republic Continued communal division in the North Health care reform Coming to terms with past sexual abuse in Catholic institutions
6. Factors ~20% of employment in construction Banks depended on recapitalizing short term loans in a declining world market Housing prices up in Dublin ~500% since 1994
10. 2009 Budget Means test medical treatment for over 70s Withdraw vaccine for cervical cancer Reinstate University fees Reduce grants to protestant schools Increase taxes Increase pensions
11. Health care “The law on entitlement to health services in Ireland is quite complex” Medical Cards for those over 70; low income (couple - €298/week) GP cards for slightly higher incomes Free maternity and child care Emergency room €120
12. Health Care Private insurance through Voluntary Health Insurance Board € 1633.00/year Treatment not available in Ireland - €100,000
13. Taxes Pay Related Social Insurance 4% Income tax [Married Taxpayers -two incomes] 20% on the first €65,600 ; 41% on the balance Deduction for health insurance, tuition, pension contributions Universal Social Charge Graduated - 7% on income over €16,016
19. National Budget Estimates 2011 Revenues €35,025 million Income 11,530 VAT 10,680 Corporate 4,075 Expenses € 49,023 Discretionary 42,229(Includes social protection, health and education)
20. International Loans €22.5 billion from Europe's EFSM ~5.7% €17.7 billion from the EFSF--the Luxembourg-based bailout fund for troubled euro-zone countries ~6.05% €22.5 billion from the IMF 5.7% €4.8 billion in bilateral loans from Britain, Sweden and Denmark. ~6.05%
21. EU Projects RoI Leitrimdesign house Moher visitors center Microfinance Roads NI High speed cable connection Creggan micro-enterprise center Data management for farmers
30. Fine Gael-Labour Program Banks Seek interest rate reduction Discontinue putting more money into banks Seek a smaller, less leveraged, banking system Dispose of the public stakes in the banks as soon as possible Promote and protect credit unions
31. Fine Gael-Labour Program Jobs Cut the 13.5% VAT to 12% up to end 2013; Exempt companies with 90% exports Halve the lower 8.5% rate of PRSI up to end 2013 on jobs paying up to €356 per week; Reverse the cut in the minimum wage Accelerate capital works that are ‘shovel ready’ and labor intensive New job placement and graduate and apprentice internship schemes
32. Deficit Reaching the 3% of GDP target for the General Government Deficit by 2015 Keep taxes as is; minimum effective tax rate of 30% for very high earners;
34. Reforms Abolish Seanad Review Dáilelectoral system. Limit contributions Reducing the presidential term to 5 years Provision for same-sex marriage. Amending the clause on women in the Constitution Removing blasphemy from the Constitution Possible reduction of the voting age to 17. FOIA, whistleblower
35. Fine Gael-Labour Program - Banks Seek interest rate reduction Discontinue putting more money into banks Seek a smaller, less leveraged, banking system Dispose of the public stakes in the banks as soon as possible Promote and protect credit unions
36. Fine Gael-Labour Program Jobs Cut the 13.5% VAT to 12% up to end 2013; Exempt companies with 90% exports Halve the lower 8.5% rate of PRSI up to end 2013 on jobs paying up to €356 per week; Reverse the cut in the minimum wage Accelerate capital works that are ‘shovel ready’ and labor intensive New job placement and graduate and apprentice internship schemes
37. Deficit Reaching the 3% of GDP target for the General Government Deficit by 2015 Keep taxes as is; minimum effective tax rate of 30% for very high earners;
39. Social Issues Abortion 70% support constitutional protection for the unborn; 13% oppose ; 16% don’t know or no opinion. [71% support relaxation of Church ban on contraception] Same-sex relationships 2011 Civil Partnership Act goes into effect 84% support civil marriage or civil partnerships; 58% support full marriage rights in registry offices (2008)
40. Northern Ireland Abortion Not governed by UK law of 1967 allowing abortion in many cases 1980 Vote 20-1 against change Opposed by Unionist and Labour parties Civil partnerships Prohibited to include religious readings, music or symbols and for the ceremonies to take place in religious venues
41. Civil Unions 2010 Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act Went into effect Jan. 1 with 3 month waiting period April 5 First non-court ordered civil union
42. Sources of energy Oil Natural gas from UK Corrib Gas Field – controversial Wind power – on shore and off shore Traditional Hydro and peat
45. Defence Forces Army (8500) Air Corps (750) - serve Army Naval Service (1144) ~530 to join UNFIL (Lebanon)
46. Defence Forces – Major roles Defend the state against armed attack. Assist the Garda Síochána (police force). Peace-keeping, crisis management and humanitarian relief operations in support of the UN. Policing the fisheries Civil contingency duties search and rescue, air ambulance, secure air transport for ministers, assistance in natural and other disasters, ensure the maintenance of essential services, and assisting in dealing with oil pollution at sea.
47. Primary Care Same day access Republic 68% Northern Ireland 31% Sought access (experiencing medical problems) Republic 75% Northern Ireland 98% GP force 1/3 female; aging
48. Hospital Care Waiting times 2002 two to five years 2007 for 18/20 targeted procedures – two to four months Secondary care – specialists Pro-rich
Boomtown - a vast shantytown bedecked in Irish tricolours with an unfinished Tower of Babel looming in the background.Artist Brian McCarthy's 'Boomtown' series captures Ireland in 2010 in which the country is portrayed as a vast shanty town, or the Irish nation as boat people in a small craft on treacherous seas.The 50-year-old said the inspiration for his 'Boomtown' work came from listening to RTE programmes like 'Liveline' each day."It's the anger of the callers. I never planned to do a series of paintings on this subject but when the first piece 'Boomtown' got such a great reaction, I decided to turn it into a series. I've never known such a response. People seem to identify and understand perfectly what I'm feeling because they feel the same," Mr McCarthy told the Irish Independent.Another picture in the series, 'Exodus', depicts the Irish nation in a small boat making a desperate attempt to flee."The idea came from the Vietnamese boat people who were forced to set sail for a better life."This is true for so many young people leaving Ireland now. I choose the backdrop of pointed peaks because it's as far away from an Irish landscape as you can get."
he December 2008 hidden loans controversy within Anglo Irish Bank led to the resignations of three executives, including chief executive Sean FitzPatrick. A mysterious "Golden Circle" of ten businessmen are being investigated over shares they purchased in Anglo Irish Bank in 2008.Anglo Irish was nationalised in January 2009 when the Irish government determined that recapitalisation would not be enough to save the bank. Since then it has emerged that Anglo Irish falsified its accounts before it was nationalised, with circular transactions between it and another bank, Permanent TSB, being uncovered.[1] Denis Casey, the chief executive of Irish Life and Permanent, the company that owns Permanent TSB, resigned in the aftermath of this revelation.Recapitalisation was however carried out at Ireland's two largest banks, Allied Irish Bank (AIB) and Bank of Ireland (BoI), with bailouts of €3.5 billion confirmed for each bank on 11 February 2009.
One Plan Hospital cover Full cover for a private room and treatment in public hospitals. Full cover for day care procedures in public hospitals. Full cover for day care procedures in private hospitals, subject to an excess of €125. Full cover for a wide range of treatments in semi-private accommodation in most private hospitals, subject to an excess of €125 - for further information please refer to the Table of Benefits on www.vhi.ie/downloads Limited cover for specified hip, knee and shoulder joint replacement procedures and specified ophthalmic procedures in private hospitals. Cancer care support benefit of up to €100 for one night's accommodation for each treatment, to a maximum of €1,500 per calendar year. Full cover for out-patient procedures provided by Vhi Homecare (subject to specified criteria). Access to over 2,100 consultants.
EFSM essentially reproduces for the EU 27 the basic mechanics of the existing Balance of Payments Regulation for non-euro area Member States. When the mechanism is activated, it allows the Commission to borrow in financial markets on behalf of the Union under an implicit EU budget guarantee. Ireland’s contribution to the Programme funding will amount to €17.5 billion, with €12.5 billion coming from the liquid assets of National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) and €5 billion from accumulated Exchequer cash balances. This brings the total size of the Programme to €85 billion. Rates depend on market rates at the time the money is drawn.
166 members
On Sunday, February 20, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, the archbishop of Dublin, washed the feet of victims of clerical abuse in what was called "one of the most visible acts of contrition for the systemic mistreatment of children that has shattered the Irish Catholic Church.”Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston was present as well. Both clerics prostrated themselves in front of an empty stone altar when the service began, and later invited five female and three male victims of abuse to the altar. At that point, Martin and O'Malley knelt down and washed their feet."For covering up crimes of abuse, and by so doing actually causing the sexual abuse of more children...we ask God's forgiveness," the archbishop told the congregation. "The archdiocese of Dublin will never be the same again. It will always bear this wound within it.
In South consultation fees apply for those without medical cards charges levied by GPs for aconsultation (typically €60–80) might act as an inappropriate deterrent toservice useEducation The first two or three years of the course are university based, concentratingon the core sciences of anatomy, biochemistry, physiology and cognitivesciences, while for the last three years students are based in university teachinghospitals where teaching is focused on clinical medicine and related subjectssuch as pathology, pharmacology and public health medicine.Students can receive an MB (Bachelor in Medicine), BCh (Bachelor inSurgery) or BAO (Bachelor in the Art of Obstetrics). Graduates are then entitledto work in Irish hospitals and recognized hospitals elsewhere to complete a12-month internship, usually consisting of six months in medicine and sixmonths in surgery, during which time they are provisionally registered with theMedical Council. Following successful completion of this internship, indicatedby a Certificate of Experience issued by the Dean of their medical school,doctors are entitled to proceed to full registration with the Medical Council.
It is possibleto directly access secondary care, but a standard fee (€60) is charged for anon-emergency visit to an A&E department in acute public hospitals.Consultations are free if the individual has a letter of referral from their GPor is a Medical Card holder.GPs working solely in the private sector may stillhave a contract with the HSE to provide publicly funded care for their privatepatients when they reach the age of 70 (and thus qualify for a Medical Cardautomatically, irrespective of income level) or if they have patients who havebeen infected with hepatitis C (see Chapter 3 Financing). More generally, mostGPs provide public maternity,
A total of 78.3% of all health expenditure, both public and private, was raisedfrom taxation, including pay-related social insurance (PRSI) and othersources of government income, such as excise duties, in 200625.3% of all government expenditure
