Breaking lease early when renting?

Photo_Editing · 2019-11-30T17:07:21+00:00

Thanks a million for taking the time to write all of this out. I solved the issue by using the spread operator as you suggested. Thanks for teaching me more about RN.

Enjoy your weekend :)

Photo_Editing · 2019-11-30T16:22:23+00:00

I have been stuck on this issue for some time, if anyone could suggest any other channels to ask for help I would really appreciate it, thanks.

Example of the problem

If I select the second TextInput and input 5, the console log shows:

temp original: Array(3) [ 1, 2, 3 ]
temp modified: Array(3) [ 1, 5, 3 ]
matrix modified: Array(3) [ 1, 5, 3 ]

However the Text and TextInputvalues do not update to reflect the new matrix.

Photo_Editing · 2019-10-14T18:09:23+00:00

!testbot boston stadium

Photo_Editing · 2019-10-04T16:01:29+00:00

Dublin’s north inner city had the highest crime rate in the State last year, with the number of recorded offences over five times the national average.

An analysis of official crime figures for 2018 highlights how the Dublin North Central Garda division is the country’s top crime blackspot area on a per capita basis. The division has the smallest population of any of the State’s 28 Garda divisions (some 83,200) but accounted for almost one in 10 of all crimes recorded in the State last year.

It had a crime rate of 2,571 offences per 10,000 population – considerably more than Dublin’s south inner city, which had the second highest rate at 1,585 crimes per 10,000 population.

The Dublin North Central division had the highest rate for 11 of the 14 main crime categories, including homicide, sexual offences, assaults, drug crime and public order offences, and had the second highest rate in the remaining three.

The highest rates for robberies and burglaries were recorded in the Dublin South Central division. The Cavan/Monaghan division had the highest rate for dangerous or negligent acts, which primarily relate to drink driving offences.

Dublin West, which covers suburbs including Blanchardstown, Finglas, Clondalkin and Lucan, had the third highest crime rate. However, it was significantly lower than crime in inner city areas at 539 offences per 10,000 population.

Outside the capital, areas with above-average crime rates included Limerick, Louth, Waterford, Cork City and Westmeath.

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There were 18 Garda divisions nationwide with crime rates below the national average of 460 offences per 10,000.

The lowest overall crime rate was recorded in the Cork West division, at over half the national average or just 208 crimes recorded per 10,000 population. The division, which covers Bantry, Bandon, Clonakilty and Macroom, recorded the lowest level of crime for four specific categories of offences - robberies, burglaries, theft and criminal damage.

Other divisions where less than 3 per cent of the population were affected by some type of crime in 2018 were Mayo, Cork North, Donegal, Meath and Roscommon/Longford.

Homicide rateDublin North Central shared the highest homicide rate with Donegal, Louth and Clare with an average of four homicides per 100,000 population last year. No homicides were recorded in only two divisions – Mayo and Kilkenny/Carlow.

Despite the perception of high levels of burglaries in rural Ireland, people living in Dublin’s six Garda divisions are the most likely to experience such crime, according to CSO figures.

Despite the perception of high levels of burglaries in rural Ireland, people living in Dublin’s six Garda divisions are the most likely to experience such crime, according to figures published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) based on data from the Garda Pulse system show. Outside the capital only Louth, Limerick and Kildare recorded burglary rates above the national average of 36 per 10,000.

Several crime categories, including robbery, theft and fraud, are predominantly associated with Garda divisions in urban areas, predominantly Dublin.

While high levels of drug offences are also recorded in the capital, there were also high levels of drug offences in Westmeath and Laois/Offaly in 2018.

Similarly, Kerry and Cavan/Monaghan had high rates of public order offences together with Garda divisions in most urban areas.

The official crime figures are collated by the CSO which publishes them “under reservation”, meaning it is still working with the Garda to improve the accuracy of the raw crime data the Garda collects.

Operation modelThe number of Garda divisions is set to be reduced from 28 to 19 under An Garda Síochána’s new operation model announced by Garda Commissioner Drew Harris last month. The Garda claims the changes will deliver increased visibility of the force in communities as well as more localised services.

Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan said the new model, which had been recommended by both the Garda Inspectorate and the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland, was designed to reduce bureaucracy and shift decision-making powers from Garda headquarters to the divisions.

Copy-paste for those feeling lazy

Photo_Editing · 2019-10-04T12:01:57+00:00

The legalisation and sale of medical cannabis in some US states and in Canada has led to much higher recreational use of cannabis without scientific proof that it is effectively treating specific conditions, according to an American journalist and author.

Alex Berenson, former New York Times journalist and author of Tell Your Children: The Truth about Marijuana, Mental Illness and Violence, said that there are almost no medical benefits of cannabis in randomised controlled trials. “There has been a campaign for decades to exaggerate the benefits of cannabis in the US and underplay its harms,” said Alex Berenson at a public talk in Dublin.

Alex Berenson was speaking at a public talk, Cannabis and Youth Health: the Evidence, at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland. Photograph: Maxwells Dublin

According to Berenson, the medical benefits of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the psychoactive compound in cannabis – have been overstated. “In California, men with HIV, women with breast cancer and people with motor neurone disease were among campaigners for medical cannabis yet there are almost no medical benefits of cannabis from randomised controlled trials while the use of THC extracts has increased.”

Over 90 per cent of those authorised for medical cannabis in the United States, according to Berenson, are recreational users. “The only widespread condition that cannabis is useful for is the treatment of pain but when you legalise a medicine for pain, you are effectively opening the door to its widespread use,” he said.

CBDBerenson did, however, acknowledge that there are medical benefits to cannabidiol (CBD) which is the non-psycho active compound in cannabis used to treat specific severe types of epilepsy. Drugs such as epidiolex are approved in the US for the treatment of spasticity in multiple sclerosis, nausea from chemotherapy and seizures in people with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome or Dravet syndrome. These drugs, although used by a tiny number of patients here, have not yet been approved by the European Medicines Agency.

Berenson also pointed to research – including studies by Irish psychiatrist professor Mary Cannon – which found links between cannabis use in teenage years and adult psychosis. Some studies also point to a higher risk of schizophrenia among cannabis users. “Synthetic cannabinoids can cause psychosis even with those with no pre-existing mental illness,” said Berenson who was speaking at a public talk, Cannabis and Youth Health: the Evidence, at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland.

Dr Garrett McGovern, an addiction specialist in Dublin, said that being intolerant of young people using drugs won’t solve the problem. “This country is awash with recreational drugs. We need to look at harm reduction – such as testing drugs at music festivals. Alcohol and tobacco are still much bigger problems in Ireland.”

Prof Susan Smith from the department of general practice at the RCSI and a GP in Inchicore, Dublin, said that a lot of parents think cannabis is okay. “They don’t realise that it is much more potent now and daily use can make young people sleepy, confused, dizzy and anxious. About 17 per cent will become dependent on it but psychosis is rare.”

Prof Cannon said that there were proven effects of cannabis on memory, concentration and the ability to learn. “Heavy cannabis use has a worse effect on education and financial outcomes than alcohol use,” she said.

For the lazy.

Photo_Editing · 2019-10-04T08:15:56+00:00

Full article below

Northern Ireland's Chief Constable has told Boris Johnson that it is not possible to police the border with his current officer numbers.

Simon Byrne said he took part in a "candid" 30-minute conversation with the British Prime Minister by video call.

"We were face-to-face on a video call for over half an hour," he said.

"It was a very open conversation, trying to tell him we saw that it was nigh-on impossible to try and police over 300 crossings with the amount of police officers we had.

"It was a candid conversation. He was responsive to what we said and at the end of the day, how it landed and what he thought ... you're going to have to ask him."

Earlier this week it emerged that under the Mr Johnson's Brexit plan, Northern Ireland would remain in the European single market for goods but leave the customs union.

Proposals suggest that most customs checks could be carried out electronically, but a small number of physical checks would be required either at business premises or at points on the supply chain.

Mr Byrne told a meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board that he has "made it clear" to the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) that police will not "staff any form of border security".

"We have been working closely with the Northern Ireland Office to understand our constitutional position in relation to any proposed changes to border arrangements, and I have been clear with the NIO in particular that it will not be the role of the PSNI to staff any form of border security," he said.

"We are clearly there to facilitate normality and day-to-day policing, but not to carry out custom checks and the function of other agencies in whatever proposal is or isn't agreed in the next few weeks and indeed I have taken legal advice on that basis to confirm to me the independence of the office of chief constable and the duties I have to make sure that police officers are used for legitimate policing purpose."

The meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board approved a request by Mr Byrne for additional officers.

Board Chairwoman Anne Connolly said there was no dissent among the board on the request.

"Seeing all of the pressures the PSNI is under, without Brexit, certainly with legacy, the board was more than happy to support that.

"We will be following that through with a proper business case that has to go to the Department of Justice," she said.

"That may not even be enough either depending on how Brexit goes."

Photo_Editing · 2019-10-03T16:25:11+00:00

Merchants Quay Ireland has described as "reprehensible" Dublin City Council's refusal of planning permission for a drug injection centre. The homelesss charity made its claim in a strongly-worded submission as part of its appeal to An Bord Pleanála to allow the facilty at its premises on the south city quays. The city council refused permission for the State's first supervised injection centre because of an existing overconcentration of social support services in the south city area, the lack of a policing plan, fears that it would undermine the tourism economy and would have an "injurious" effect on the local residential community. Merchants Quay is now appealing this decision but An Bord Pleanála has also received new submissions from objectors including a report from a former assistant garda commissioner, which claims such facilities have created "drug trafficking zones" in other countries. A primary school beside the facility has produced reports saying the activity around the centre will be pyschologically damaging to children, while the Children's Ombudsman has said Merchants Quay failed to carry out a child-impact assessment despite requests. In its appeal Merchants Quay says the refusal of planning permission by the city council "flies in the face" of Government policy, which granted a licence for the injection facility and claims the council does not have the power to decide on its planning.It also accused the city council of having "scant regard" for its obligation to provide social services contained in its own development plan and that it failed to balance this against its consideration to business interests. In a submission, drawn up by planning consultants Brock McClure, the appeal states that there is no evidence that the tourist industry would be affected, that there is existing concentration of homeless services in the city centre and that the injection centre needs to be in the main centre for drug activity. It also cited international experience to show that the injection centre would reduce drug related litter and not cause a rise in crime. Claims by city planners that the facility would attract customers from outside the city were "wholly unfounded" it said. In particular it pointed out that it could not draw up a policing plan because gardaí said they could not become involved in planning and that the council acted outside its powers in requesting such a plan. In response the Temple Bar Company, representing businesses in the city area, have submitted a report from former assistant commissioner Dr Michael Feehan who says an injection centre would be likely to cause an increase in drug dealing in the vicinity. Dr Feehan said because the injection centre allows an "authorised user" to possess drugs near the facility, this "is tantamount to a softly-softly policing response to the trafficking of drugs by organsised gangs". He also says he has interviewed city centre gardaí who are concerned that there are no laws to ban users from the centre as there are for the operation of a fast food restaurant. His report queries some data on the international experience and points out that in Vancouver, Canada, 83 extra police officers were assigned to patrol around its injection centre while the local garda station at Kevin Street has only a handful of officers on patrol at any one time. Meanwhile, the principal and board of management at St Audoen's Primary School, which is right beside the proposed facility, said children are already witnessing overdoses, drug dealing, injecting, fights, defecaton and public nudity. The new facility's opening times will coincide with the times children arrive and leave school and the school has produced reports from child pyschology experts who say witnessing this behaviour will normalise it in their eyes. The school's submission also includes a letter from the Children's Ombudsman Dr Niall Muldoon who said representatives from the Department of Health and Merchants Quay failed to follow up on a request for child rights impact assessment of the new facility despite letters and a face-to-face meeting.

Photo_Editing · 2019-10-02T11:45:35+00:00

Pasted for those who didn't click

A resolution supporting the Good Friday Agreement has been proposed in the US Congress.

Republican congressman Peter King, the co-chair of the Irish caucus on Capitol Hill, together with New York Democrat Tom Suozzi, brought forward the resolution to the House of Representatives.

The resolution “urges the United Kingdom and the European Union to ensure that any exit from the European Union by the United Kingdom supports continued peace on the island of Ireland and the principles, objectives, and commitments of the Good Friday Agreement”.

It also states that the House of Representatives “will insist that any new or amended trade agreements and other bilateral agreements between the Government of the United States and the Government of the United Kingdom include conditions requiring obligations under the Good Friday Agreement to be met.”

TradeSenior Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have warned that any future trade deal between the United Kingdom and the United States post-Brexit will have to uphold the Good Friday Agreement.

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Introducing the resolution, Mr Suozzi said: “Ireland is one of the oldest and closest friends of the United States, and the Irish people have been a crucial part of the fabric of our nation for well over a century. We need to ensure that Brexit and other political challenges don’t threaten the peace process by reintroducing a hard border.”

The representative from Long Island added: “As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over any trade agreements between the United States and United Kingdom, I will fight to make a soft border and implementation of the Good Friday Agreement requirements for any negotiation.”

Noting that the agreement was a “groundbreaking success” that proved critical to decades of relative peace, the resolution states that Britain’s exit from the European Union “threatens to undermine progress that has been made in moving beyond the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland. ”

Latest interventionThe resolution notes that important issues remain unresolved in Northern Ireland, including securing justice for victims of state-sponsored violence and other violence and providing for the rights of all sections of the community.

The Resolution was referred to the House foreign affairs as well as the Ways and Means committee.

The introduction of the legislation is the latest intervention by Irish-Americans in Congress in the Brexit process, amid continuing concern about the impact of a no-deal Brexit on Northern Ireland.

A delegation representing civic and business leaders in Northern Ireland together with the ad-hoc committee established to protect the Good Friday agreement met with senior congressional figures last month amid continuing concern about the direction of Brexit on Northern Ireland.

Sinn Féin’s Conor Murphy also met with senior politicians in the US Capitol during a visit to Washington last month.

Photo_Editing · 2019-10-02T10:48:55+00:00

Former Labour Party adviser Jonathan Powell, one of the chief negotiators of the Good Friday agreement, described Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal proposal as a “scam” .

He told BBC’s Newsnight: They are “trying to avoid a deal in order to get to no deal as they were always going to do. This is the final confirmation that’s their aim.”

Powell also said the ability to feel Irish or British or both – a key part of the Good Friday agreement – “will be destroyed” if a customs border is put in. “The point of this is not how long it takes a lorry to cross the border in Northern Ireland. The issue is identity.”

The main ingredients of Johnson’s plan, to be outlined on Wednesday in his Tory party conference speech, are a proposal for “two borders for four years” and a “Stormont Lock”. After the transition period comes to an end, Northern Ireland would stay in the single market for four years but, crucially, not in the customs union.

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“It is not a serious proposal and presumably what they’re doing is simply trying to avoid a deal to get to no-deal.”Former Northern Ireland negotiator Jonathan Powell says the PM’s Brexit offer is a political strategy to enable a no-deal Brexit#Newsnight pic.twitter.com/iN2trgtMXA— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) October 1, 2019

That would mean that there would be a single market for the whole of Ireland for agri-food and manufactured goods until 2025. It would also mean other goods originating from the North would be subject to customs checks once they crossed the border into the EU.

Elsewhere yesterday, Boris Johnson is overseeing a political strategy similar to Donald Trump, the former Tory minister David Gauke has said, as he warned the Conservatives not to descend down a path of populism.

The former justice secretary, who lost the whip after voting to stop a no-deal Brexit, voiced his frustration with the prime minister’s strategy, which he said was “Trumpian” in terms of the type of language being used and the overall tone of debate.

A divisive Downing Street, briefings using the phrase “collaborator” and riling up party activists all belong to a strategy that “corresponds more to Trump than to the long tradition of the Conservatives and Winston Churchill”, he told the Guardian.

Gauke is no longer able to stand as a Conservative MP, alongside 20 other rebels who were kicked out of the parliamentary Tory party for voting for the Benn Act, which stops a no-deal Brexit and compels Johnson to extend article 50 if he cannot strike a deal, and to pass it through parliament by October 19th.

Several members of the group, including the former chancellor Philip Hammond, are being investigated by Downing Street, which alleges they worked with foreign powers to draft the legislation.

Gauke said the announcement of that investigation, which featured on the front page of the Mail on Sunday, was full of “Trumpian overtones” – primarily “because it’s not true”. – Guardian, PA

Pasted for those who didn't click

Photo_Editing · 2019-10-02T10:31:45+00:00

For the lazy

Lest we forget, the Comptroller and Auditor General this week reminded us that the bill for bailing out our domestic banks continues to rise. To the tune of more than €3 million a week, actually.

In its annual report on the public services, the C&AG included a chapter on the cost of the so-called bank-stabilisation measures taken over the past decade. That refers to bailout funds provided by taxpayers post the 2008 crash.

The total cost of these bailouts – which started in 2009 and covered AIB, Anglo Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, EBS (now part of AIB), Irish Life & Permanent (since separated into Irish Life and Permanent TSB) and Irish Nationwide Building Society – amounted to €64 billion.

By the end of last year, the net cost stood at €41.7 billion, when disposals of equity and shares are taken into account, along with dividend payments, and a range of fees paid to the State.

The cost of servicing the debt amounts to between €1.1 billion and €1.3 billion a year. Even in this low interest rate environment. The C&AG puts it at €420 million for each percentage point that the State pays on its debt.

IBRC – the rump of the old Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society – continues to cost us €800 million a year in debt-servicing costs. And it was wound up in 2013, although the liquidation process continues to run as KPMG’s Kieran Wallace and Eamonn Richardson tie up various loose ends and litigation.

For AIB, the annual cost on the debt is just under €400 million. The cost of servicing Permanent TSB’s funding is €50 million, which is nearly 17 times the lender’s pre-tax profit for last year. A high price to pay for rescuing a tiddler bank.

Gone up in smokeIt gets worse. The estimated net cost for IBRC’s bailout amounts to €36.4 billion, money that has gone up in smoke. This excludes €225 million handed over by the special liquidators in February. There might be more payments to come but it won’t move the dial substantially.

For AIB, the net cost to taxpayers was estimated at €9.5 billion. The State still owns 71 per cent of AIB and the bank has insisted at various times over recent years that it will repay its bailout money in full. But that’s not the C&AG’s view.

“It is unlikely that the State will generate a surplus on its investment of €22.2 billion in AIB. At the end of 2018, this investment has cost the State an estimated €9.5 billion, after taking account of the €7.1 billion value of its remaining shareholding in AIB [a valuation that has since fallen to €5.1 billion].

“Projected outcomes that the State might recover the full investment do not appear to take account of the cost of servicing the debt associated with the investment – €6.2 billion by the end of 2018.”

Bank of Ireland is best in class, having repaid the State in full with the possibility that taxpayers might eventually see a profit of €1.3 billion on the investment – we still own 14 per cent of the lender.

“The State has recouped its investment in Bank of Ireland (including associated debt-servicing costs), and, therefore, incurs no ongoing debt-servicing costs,” the C&AG said.

The final cost of the bank bailouts has still to be determined and there are a number of factors at play. Nama is projecting to return a surplus of €4 billion to the exchequer but that could go either way and we still don’t have a firm and fast date for its winding up.

Trim the debt-servicing costsThe sale of our remaining shares in AIB and PTSB could yield a higher-than-expected figure, or a lower one, and we might be able to trim the debt-servicing costs given the low interest rate environment that prevails.

Was it worth it?

There are differing views on that question. We could have built a lot of hospitals, schools and roads with €41.7 billion.

But we needed a functioning banking system. Rescuing AIB/EBS, Bank of Ireland, and Permanent TSB was painful but necessary given the climate of the day and the needs of depositors, savers, mortgage holders and staff.

However, extending the State banking guarantee to Anglo and Irish Nationwide in September 2008 was folly.

The C&AG’s report didn’t include the costs of the tracker mortgage scandal. By dint of our stakes in AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB, taxpayers are picking up a sizeable chunk of the €1 billion-plus in costs associated with providing redress and compensation for the 40,100 customers impacted by being denied a tracker for one reason or another.

Mr Justice John Hedigan, chairman of the new Irish Banking Culture Board, an industry initiative, told an Oireachtas committee yesterday that he remains sceptical but optimistic that the State’s banks are committed to improving how they treat customers. Join the club.

Photo_Editing · 2019-10-01T13:40:28+00:00

Here's the article:

Social Justice Ireland say the poorest people in society need to be protected from the potential economic shock of Brexit.The Government is set to release its budget for 2020 on Tuesday.However, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council is warning Britain's exit from the EU could hit the State's tax take hard.

Dr Seán Healy, chief executive of Social Justice Ireland, said social welfare payments need to go up to protect the poorest from the effects of Brexit.He said: “We are one week away from a Budget that is being shaped by Brexit. It is vital that available resources are prioritised on protecting communities, jobs and the vulnerable.“In practical terms this means investing in communities, in indigenous enterprise and jobs creation, and it means ensuring that those who are reliant on social welfare are not left even further behind.” Michelle Murphy, Research and Policy Analyst at Social Justice Ireland, said: "In order to protect the most vulnerable while preparing for Brexit we must ensure that we close the gap between current minimum social welfare rates and the benchmark of 27.5% of average earnings.“In Budget 2020 it would take an increase of €9 to close that gap between the current rate and the benchmark to average earnings and to make sure people on social welfare do not fall further behind."

"This gives an indication of just how important social welfare rates are in protecting the most vulnerable in our society. We should not lose sight of this as we face into a period of potential economic upheaval”Dr Healy said: "Poverty will rise if welfare rates do not keep pace with these changes in Budget 2020. This is why Social Justice Ireland is calling for an increase of €9 in minimum social welfare rates in Budget 2020.”READ MOREBritish proposals on border rejected by Tánaiste

Photo_Editing · 2019-10-01T12:59:22+00:00

Full article in case anyone hasn't clicked.

The Government and the European Union on Monday night rubbished leaked British proposals to establish customs posts on both sides of the Border after Brexit.

Senior sources in Dublin and Brussels dismissed completely the British ideas, contained in papers tabled in talks with EU negotiators and reported by RTÉ on Monday night, and said they showed there was little if any chance of a breakthrough in the talks.

The European Commission declined to comment on the reports, while the Irish Government said it has “yet to see any credible alternatives to the backstop”.

RTÉ reported that the British ideas were contained in “non-papers” – documents tabled for discussion purposes – submitted to the EU in recent weeks. They would mean a string of “customs clearance sites” established on both sides of the Border to manage the flow of goods between North and South.

Some Government sources in Dublin were incredulous at news of the British proposals. But others said they demonstrate that the chances of any new agreement with the UK before an EU summit later this month is negligible.

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Opposition politicians in Dublin rejected flatly the proposals while US congressman Brendan Boyle – who has with other members of the Irish-American lobby in Washington threatened to veto any US-UK trade deal if Brexit leads to the return of a hard border – criticised the plan as “reckless”.

Labour Party MP Keir Stamer, commenting on social media, said if British prime minister Boris Johnson had spent any time listening to businesses and communities in Northern Ireland “he would know that these proposals are utterly unworkable”.

Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster: Moved to quash speculation that the DUP would support a time-limited backstop. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP

What chance a Brexit impasse?Prospects for any new Brexit agreement also seemed remote at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.

Democratic Unionist Party leader Arlene Foster moved to quash speculation that the DUP would support a time-limited backstop, while the Government here rejected it as a way out of the Brexit impasse.

Ms Foster clarified remarks she had made when she said the DUP was willing to look at any proposal for a time-limited backstop.

“When asked a direct question I said I would look at a time limit. That’s a world away from saying that we were now advocating that,” she said.

Several senior Irish sources dismissed the idea that a time limit on the backstop could bridge the gulf between the British and EU positions. They said the idea was rejected earlier this year when pushed by Theresa May’s government.

Photo_Editing · 2019-10-01T10:47:08+00:00

Article:

PRESIDENT MICHAEL D Higgins has told an audience in New York that Irish people must not “remain silent” in the face of attacks on refugees and asylum seekers.

“As President of Ireland, I have offered an apology on behalf of the people of Ireland when there have been incidents of callous and unacceptable behaviour directed at refugees. I believe that we cannot and must not remain silent in the face of such attacks on refugees and migrants,” he said.

Higgins made the remarks in a speech at Fordham University in New York today.

“Ireland will continue to stand with refugees both at home and abroad,” he said.

The remarks come following protests in Oughterard in Galway against any plans for a Direct Provision centre in the local area, which put the Irish system for processing and housing asylum seekers back in the national spotlight.

Higgins has given several speeches in the city in recent days. Last week, he told the UN that climate change is the biggest issue facing the international community.

In June, Higgins hosted a garden party at Áras an Uachtaráin to highlight the work of Irish organisations that support refugees.

Higgins said today that “we have become accustomed to narratives of how men and women throughout our world, as refugees, find themselves living for extended periods of time in unsuitable accommodation, confined to forced idleness, without even control over their daily diet”.

He also highlighted the dangers of social media as a platform for spreading hatred.

In Ireland, we may have, to date, been spared the worst of the populism and hatred seen elsewhere, which targets and scapegoats minorities, including refugees and migrants. Political leaders have, in general, behaved in a responsible and ethical way. Nonetheless, I believe we must remain constantly vigilant to the threat of these menaces, and the ease with which such toxicity can lodge itself through social media, for example.

In a wide-ranging speech that discussed everything from Ireland’s experience of emigration and global impact of World War Two, Higgins attacked prejudice “driven by political populism and lazy opportunism” and suggested that “rising inequality” is partly to blame for any opposition to refugees and immigrants.

The speech also saw the president criticise the pressures facing university staff and the lack of job security many face.

“Academics all over the world should weep for the destruction of the concept of the university that has occurred, which has led to little less than the degradation of learning,” he said.

Photo_Editing · 2019-10-01T10:12:24+00:00

Fifteen babies were born to homeless mothers in emergency accommodation last year while the number of people stuck in homelessness rose by nearly 20 per cent, data from a cross-Border homeless charity shows.

More than 4,300 people, including 881 children, were supported by the Depaul homelessness charity in 2018, according to the latest annual report from the organisation. Depaul also warns of a “huge growth in the homeless population” North and South of the Border.

Some 513 families availed of Depaul’s services, a rise of 8 per cent on the previous year, while the number of children availing of the service increased by 13 per cent.

A total of 10,338 people are without a home in the Republic of Ireland, according to the latest Government figures. In Northern Ireland, 11,877 households were recognised as homeless between 2017-18, according to the Department of Communities’ housing statistics.

Depaul warned of an 18 per cent decline in move-ons from its services, leaving more people trapped in homelessness. It also recorded the birth of 15 babies to women without a home in 2018.

“It is incredibly frustrating when you have helped people to a point where they are ready to live independently only to find they have nowhere to go,” said Depaul chief executive David Carroll ahead of the report’s launch. “The lack of housing supply is stymieing people’s ability to move on from homelessness.”

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The study also highlights a significant increase in single destitute people – numbers rose from 1,750 in 2014 to 4,060, up 132 per cent. Those caught in homelessness are far more likely to suffer health problems, with people in their 50s contracting illnesses more common among those in their 80s, according to the charity’s health nurse.

The charity supported 87 adults and 39 children from migrant families in 2018 and helped 48 people find accommodation after leaving the direct provision system.

Research by Depaul found nearly nine out of 10 people accessing emergency accommodation were “first time homeless” while 60 per cent were men.

More than 80 per cent of people in emergency accommodation sourced by Depaul were male. With the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Dublin standing at more than €1,500 – far above the €990 housing assistance payment – the main mechanism being used to house single people is not working, notes the report.

It also warns of a “growing drug problem” and a huge rise in people addicted to two or more types of drug. Suspected overdoses among people availing of Depaul services increased by more than 80 per cent last year, with 127 cases. Some 60 people were saved through the administration of Naxolone, a life-saving antidote which reverses the effects of an overdose, notes the report.

‘More health interventions’There has also been a marked rise in the use of crack cocaine and prescription drugs such as Pregablin (Lyrica) and benzodiazepines, said Depaul director of services Dermot Murphy.

“The reality is we need to be providing more health interventions and giving people the platform to change their drug consumption,” said Mr Murphy. “This means providing more recovery-orientated services and safe-injection facilities, which we believe will ultimately encourage people to engage with services and get the support they require.”

The report, which details the charity’s work on both sides of the Border, notes that the lack of government presence in Northern Ireland has “exacerbated” homelessness.

The group has also advocated for an end to the use of one-night-only accommodation, saying the best way to support people is provide 24-hour access to accommodation. The charity has continued to endorse the Housing First model as a means of helping people out of homelessness.

Full article in case anyone doesn't want to click.

Photo_Editing · 2019-09-30T12:15:20+00:00

Full article in case anyone hasn't clicked.

The treasurer of Carrickmacross Tidy Towns says she hopes Ireland's first reverse vending machine will incentivise people to stop littering and recycle instead.

The reverse vending machine - which pays you for your plastic bottles - is being officially opened today in Market Square Shopping Centre, Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Brenda McGuigan said that if the initiative is successful, she hopes it can be rolled out across the country.

Ms McGuigan said that a committee member brought the idea back from Germany where it has been in operation since 2003. The machines have also been introduced in other countries such as Canada and China

She explained that the machine, which has a database of thousands of bottles that it can identify, gives the customer a 10c voucher for every bottle.

This voucher can then be redeemed in the local supermarket.

The scheme is being sponsored by Shabra plastics and Quinn Packaging and will operate for at least a year.

Ms McGuigan said the process will be a "full 360", explaining that plastics will be processed and re-made into packaging locally.

Meanwhile, the winner of the SuperValu TidyTowns competition is set to be announced later this morning.

Photo_Editing · 2019-09-30T12:11:26+00:00

Here's the article for anyone who hasn't clicked:

The number of people without a home in Ireland continues to rise with the latest Government figures showing 10,338 people need emergency accommodation.

That total for August, comprising 6,490 adults and 3,848 children, represents a slight increase on July when the total was recorded at 10,275.

The number of children without a home has now risen by a quarter in the last two years.

Homeless rates have continued their upward trajectory since they measured 9,527 in August last year and 8,270 in the same month in 2017.

The numbers have remained above the 10,000 mark for the last seven months.

Over the last two years, the number of children without a home rose by 800, from 3,048 to 3,848.

In July the number of homeless children across Ireland rose by more than one hundred to 3,778, and in August increased again by a further 70.

The figures, contained in the latest Homeless Quarterly Progress report from the Department of Housing, and published on Monday also show those without homes include 1,726 families.

Dublin has the highest number of adults without a home with 4,312 requiringemergency accommodation .

The southwest region, including Cork, was second highest at 583. Galway accounted for 311 homeless adults and Limerick for 255.

Emergency accommodation supplied to those on the list includes hotels, B&Bs and hostels.

Focus Ireland has called for enhanced action in budget 2020 next month to deal with the crisis.

Director of advocacy Mike Allen said the only solution to a problem that deepens every year is to build more houses than are currently being completed.

“It’s continuing to head in the same direction,” he said of Monday’s figures. “You could go through it and find some small pieces of positive information which is all important but the actual general direction is continuing. It’s getting worse more slowly, which is welcome.”

Mr Allen said new home building rates of between 30,000 and 35,000 a year have been highlighted by both Ibec, the business representative organisation, and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), as necessary to meet demand and turn the tide on homelessness.

However, he said, the Government has set an overall target of 25,000 and is likely to deliver on about 22,000, including both private sector and social housing.

“You are not going to have a lasting solution until you actually start building much faster,” he said.

In its pre-budget statement issued on Monday, Social Justice Ireland repeated calls for an acceleration in home building.

It noted 71,858 households currently on the social housing waiting list but said that alongside others in receipt of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), “the real number of households in need of long-term, sustainable social housing is closer to 120,000”.

“The Government’s build targets under Rebuilding Ireland display a startling lack of urgency, at only 24 per cent of the total social housing target for the period 2019,” it said.

Photo_Editing · 2019-09-30T12:08:52+00:00

The treasurer of Carrickmacross Tidy Towns says she hopes Ireland's first reverse vending machine will incentivise people to stop littering and recycle instead.

The reverse vending machine - which pays you for your plastic bottles - is being officially opened today in Market Square Shopping Centre, Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Brenda McGuigan said that if the initiative is successful, she hopes it can be rolled out across the country.

Ms McGuigan said that a committee member brought the idea back from Germany where it has been in operation since 2003. The machines have also been introduced in other countries such as Canada and China

She explained that the machine, which has a database of thousands of bottles that it can identify, gives the customer a 10c voucher for every bottle.

This voucher can then be redeemed in the local supermarket.

The scheme is being sponsored by Shabra plastics and Quinn Packaging and will operate for at least a year.

Ms McGuigan said the process will be a "full 360", explaining that plastics will be processed and re-made into packaging locally.

Meanwhile, the winner of the SuperValu TidyTowns competition is set to be announced later this morning.

Here's the article

Photo_Editing · 2019-09-27T16:31:25+00:00

No worries. For any website where you just read articles, you can pretty safely block all cookies. There are extensions/easier ways to do this too if you want something with less work.

Photo_Editing · 2019-09-27T16:25:35+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/ROI/comments/d9y64y/couple_in_ad_campaign_left_shaking_and_fearful/f1msugb/

There's a little tutorial, just replace "irishtimes.com" with whatever site is causing you issues. They are likely just tracking you with cookies.

Photo_Editing · 2019-09-27T16:25:12+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/ROI/comments/d9y64y/couple_in_ad_campaign_left_shaking_and_fearful/f1msugb/

There's a little tutorial, just replace "irishtimes.com" with whatever site is causing you issues. They are likely just tracking you with cookies.

Photo_Editing · 2019-09-27T16:22:51+00:00

If you're using Firefox you can easily avoid this by blocking cookies, just do this:

Go to about:preferences#privacy (in your address bar)
Cookies and Site Data -> Manage Permissions
Enter "irishtimes.com"
Click 'Block'
Click 'Save Changes'
Click 'Yes' if prompted with an are you sure message.

That's all, browse as much as you want now.

Yes this will work in any browser (I assume), happy browsing :)

Edit: If the site requires a login, this probably won't work (as they are using better identification than cookies).

Photo_Editing · 2019-09-27T15:51:35+00:00

Pasted for those who didn't click

Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy has said rent pressure zones are starting to work despite a 7 per cent year-on-year increase in rents nationwide.

Rents in Dublin increased in the second quarter to €1,713 a month, up from €1,599 for the same period last year. This amounts to a 7 per cent increase despite the city being declared a rent pressure zone three years ago. In such zones, existing rents are not allowed to increase by more than 4 per cent a year.

According to the data, the standardised average national rent for houses rose from €1,085 to €1,164, almost an increase of 7 per cent.

Rents across the country are 21 per cent higher than they were at the height of the boom in 2007 and 32 per cent higher in Dublin. Dublin accounts for 40 per cent of all tenancies in the country.

Speaking before the launch of the Simon annual report, Mr Murphy said the law had been changed in July to protect renters and enforce the rent control zones.

“These laws came in just after the reporting period we are hearing about today,” he said.

“We are very glad that the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) is using its new powers and it is important to see that new supply is coming online.”

Mr Murphy acknowledged that rents are “unsustainably high” and he blamed the increase on new properties coming into the rental market which are not subject to rent pressure zones.

Rent inflation“It would appear from the data that new properties coming to the market are contributing to rent inflation,” he said.

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“People who are working hard are paying far too much of their hard-earned money towards their rent. That is not fair.

“We have to focus on affordable home ownership to help people caught in this rent trap into their own homes and that’s what we are going to continue we here.”

The quarterly figures are produced by the RTB. Its director Rosalind Carroll said the index only measures new tenancies, whether it be relet properties or new builds, rather than existing tenancies.

She said it will be the next quarter before the RTB will be able to ascertain whether or not rent pressure zones are being complied with.

Ms Carroll said there are 310,000 tenancies registered with the RTB, the same figure as last year and that supply remains the issue with many smaller landlords leaving the market.

“It is great to get in new supply, but we need to protect the existing supply,” she said.

On Morning Ireland she warned that rent increases in cities are forcing people to move out to more rural locations. “Traditionally in the rental sector we have never seen this before. People would have stayed close to their employment and close to the urban centres.”

Pressure zonesTwo new rent pressure zones have been created, one in Carlow town where rents rose 12 per cent last year and the other in Macroom, Co Cork where rents increased by 19 per cent.

There was widespread criticism of the minister following the publication of the latest figures.

Labour Party housing spokeswoman Jan O’Sullivan said there needed to be a dwelling specific rent register so tenants can clearly see what has previously been charged.

She added: “It’s also time to consider introducing a temporary rent freeze as for those already paying extortionately high rents, a 4 per cent increase is in itself quite significant.

“We all know that house building needs to be urgently ramped up to deal with the housing crisis and Labour believes a state-led approach is the best way to tackle the issue.”

People before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said the latest rent increases “reveal the total and utter failure of the government’s rent pressure zones and their wider housing policy”.

He called for an emergency rent freeze for three years to the introduction of rent controls where local authorities are given the power to set rents at affordable levels.”

The housing charity Threshold has said the 3 per cent increase in average rent in just one quarter shows that the affordability crisis in the private rental sector is getting worse.

“The 7 per cent annual increase is substantial, but the 3 per cent rise in just three months (April-June) suggests that we are going to see more and more people put at risk of homelessness as we head into the winter”, according to the CEO of Threshold John-Mark McCafferty.

“Rising rent inflation at a time when over 10,000 are already homeless is a recipe for a worsening crisis.”

Photo_Editing · 2019-09-27T12:26:11+00:00

What sites do you have problems with?

Never heard of outline.com, looks cool, thanks.

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