L-R: President of Limerick University, Professor Dr. Desmond Fitzgerald & leading heart Consultant Professor Dr. Sherif Sultan.
Dr. Desmond Fitzgerald(President of the University of Limerick; professor of molecular medicine and former chief academic officer for the Ireland East Hospital Group), is urging the Department of Education to ban Vaping across all Irish educational institutions.
Dr. Fitzgerald has warned that Vaping; latter the practice of inhaling and exhaling the vapour produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device, is a real health risk and is being directly implicated in health crises and even deaths among those using the product.
Limerick University banned vaping and smoking on campus in 2018 and is currently the only University campus in Ireland to have initiated such a regulation.
Dr. Fitzgerald has critized ‘big business’ whom he correctly states are using aggressively marketing to push flavoured vaping products on young people, in particular. In calling for a ban, the professor strongly believes that we should waste no further time in mounting a robust challenge to these forces.
President of the International Society for Vascular Surgery, Professor Sherif Sultan, latter a leading heart consultant based in the Galway Clinic, has described e-cigarettes as “the disaster of the century” and the products are he claims “more dangerous than smoking and booze combined.”
Professor Sultan is now calling on the Health Minister Simon Harris to step in, before it’s too late, to ban the use of e-cigs with immediate effect.
Professor Sultan claims that “When Micheál Martin (Fianna Fáil leader) brought in the smoking ban some 15 years ago, it was the best thing that ever happened to this country, and now the present Health Minister needs to act similarly. This is an epidemic that must stop immediately. E-cigarettes are like a fashion accessory to young people, who fail to realise the amount of toxins in e-cigarettes. We have to warn people because many are under the impression this habit is safe”.
Professor Sultan joins Dr. Desmond Fitzgerald in his stance, calling on the Minister for Education and Skills to immediately institute a ban on vaping and smoking in any institution which is in receipt of Exchequer funds.
Already, internationally, (A) New York and Michigan have introduced a ban on flavoured vaping products. The US Senator Mr Mitt Romney has published legislation to prohibit flavoured vaping products and to apply cigarette taxes to vaping devices. (B) India has announced a ban on the production, importation and sale of electronic cigarettes.
“We are facing into unchartered territories and the Irish health system cannot cope”, Professor Sultan continued.
A tax refund of up to €20,000, which currently helps first-time buyers with a deposit for the purchase of a new-build home, up to the value of €500,000, is due to expire at the end of 2019.
The Help-to-Buy scheme, which cost the Irish exchequer €73.2m last year and €35.4m in the first five months of this year, is now expected to be extended in next month’s Budget. On average the grant for each home is just under €15,000.
Costing the Exchequer around €200m, the Construction Industry Federation in its pre-Budget submission, have also called for the further extension of this scheme, availed of by some 30,000 first-time buyers, since it was rolled out in 2016; stating the scheme has had a massive impact in driving growth.
The present Fine Gael minority Government now believe that allowing this existing scheme to end could cause upset and disruption within the housing market. Current Ministers of Finance and Housing are both agreed on the need for same to be retained, with some possible modification to lowering the €500,000 cap.
Fianna Fail has also demanded that the scheme be retained at its current level in the Budget and where possible be further extended, but Government sources have suggested the €500,000 cap could be changed.
Discussions around the cap being lowered to include properties worth €250,000; a level that would exclude the majority of properties held in Dublin, have been summarily dismissed.
Independent TD Mr Michael Lowry has confirmed that the time period to appeal against Tipperary County Council’s decision to the granting of planning on the former Erin Foods Site, for a new Retail Outlet, has now closed without objection. Planning is therefore formally confirmed by An Board Pleanala for this site, together with a 60,000 sq.ft. ‘Business and Innovation Centre’.
Lidl’s New Retail Outlet
Lidl, latter who had submitted the planning application last December, will now immediately commence the demolition phase of their initial proposal, which will involve a 10-12 week program. This will be followed by construction in the coming months.
Business and Innovation Centre
Mr Lowry, speaking to Thurles.Info today, welcomed the news, which he stated “Heralded a bright and progressive future for the town. This investment and state of the art development will generate jobs, wealth and create a massive boost to the local economy.”
He further added, “The Erin Foods site project will also facilitate the future development of the town providing the first phase of the long-awaited Thurles Inner Relief road, which will link Slievenamon Road to the Mill Road. This link road will afford the opportunity to access lands for commercial and residential development while also facilitating the proposed future expansion of Mary Immaculate College. (Note: latter formally St. Patricks College).
New accommodation and facilities in Thurles to attract business and Industry
Deputy Lowry also confirmed to Thurles.Info that Tipperary County Council have reached agreement, exchanged contracts and are about to close on the purchase of land in excess of 20 acres at Clongour, Thurles for a Business Development Campus.
These lands will be then be serviced with sewerage, water, telecommunications and road infrastructure. The lands will be developed by Tipperary County Council, as serviced sites and available for marketing by the Council, Enterprise Ireland and I.D.A.
Thurles had lost out on inward investment because it did not have accommodation and facilities to attract business and Industry.
The combination of these projects should now have a formative impact on the economy of Thurles. It will create opportunities to attract business / enterprise and during the process deliver much needed jobs and economic regeneration within the town.
After a period of stagnation these developments should now herald a new bright beginning and positive future for Thurles.
“We can now look forward with optimism and with greater confidence in the future of Thurles”, the Deputy concluded.
Western Building Systems, latter a company that built 42 schools, many of which have been found to have structural defects, has been awarded the contract to build a new ward block at the constantly over crowed University Hospital Limerick, which serves patients in the North Tipperary region.
RTE journalist Emma O’Kelly reports that the Health Service Executive (HSE), together with University Hospital Limerick, have both confirmed that, in May 2019 last, it awarded a contract for a new 60 bed ward block to Western Building Systems, at a cost of some €14 million, excluding VAT.
However, of the 42 schools previously built by this company; serious structural flaws, including breaches of fire safety had previously been uncovered at 23 of the school buildings since late last year. Only last week the Department of Education announced that similar structural defects had now been discovered during more recent investigations at a further 17 school buildings constructed by this company.
RTE’s reports that University Hospital Limerick confirms that this contract is now “under way and progressing well through the design development process”, with the essential new ward block expected to be completed by late 2020.
RTE understands that the Department of Education is presently pursuing legal action against Western Building Systems for the cost of remedying and the reversing of both the temporary and long-term building defects, which were discovered at the schools constructed by the company and which are expected to run into millions of Euro.
Attention all you Thurles Social Warriors, Thurles Lobbyists, Thurles Community Facebook Activists; failed, power hungry, would-be, Thurles Local Councillors and Sleepy, Powerless, Crusading Tipperary County Councillors, who once again have managed to fool the local electorate.
Please find a new task requiring your active lobbying; same shown above to be shared on Facebook. [Pictures make it easier for those lobbyists unable to read.]
The above are called drains; their purpose, to remove excess water from road surfaces. Unfortunately every 5 years or so, they require cleaning, a process quite difficult when no council workers are being employed. [Check Golf Club and Nenagh roads entering the town.]
However, I think all would agree that come winter, especially when leaves begin to fall, expect severe flooding and ice patches, if this neglect is allowed to continue.
Oh, and when you are finished with solving the former problem do what you do best, go “Calling” for action on this other problem shown immediately above, before a pedestrian falls over them on the pavement in the dark.
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