Category: Ireland Posts

Ticket prices for summer festivals and shows are set to rise because of soaring insurance premiums and rocketing expenses.
Event organisers have indicated customers are likely to be hit in the pocket, with entry fees increasing by up to €10 in some cases.
Agricultural shows have faced insurance premiums increasing by as much as 25pc, while festivals have also seen a huge spike in running costs.

SEE FULL FEATURE: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ticket-prices-to-rise-as-summer-festivals-and-events-face-soaring-insurance-costs-41669015.html

The Household Benefits Package (HBP) helps with the cost of your electricity or gas bill and the TV licence. Only one person in a household can get the Package.
You can get the Household Benefits Package if you are aged 70 or over. You do not need to be getting a State pension and the package is not means tested.
People under 70 can also get the HBP, but additional rules apply..

SEE FULL FEATURE: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/extra_social_welfare_benefits/household_benefits_package.html

Families could save about €60 a month by wasting less food, a report published on Tuesday finds.
About a third of all food produced in the world is wasted every year, and households are the biggest culprits, accounting for 70 per cent of it in the developed world.

A report from Goodbody Stockbrokers, calculates that Irish homes waste about 55kg of food every year.
Analyst Jason Molins, the report’s author, says inflation could prompt shoppers to pay closer attention to spending, renewing their focus on food waste.

SEE FULL FEATURE: https://www.irishtimes.com/business/agribusiness-and-food/families-could-save-60-a-month-by-wasting-less-food-report-says-1.4880038

Those heading abroad this summer should prepare to budget more for their time away according to a new warning from Ryanair.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary has said Ryanair passengers will see flight prices potentially increasing this summer and that people should also expect some delays.

Speaking to BBC’s Radio 4 about the changes facing customers, Mr. O’Leary said they expect prices to be up by a “high single-digit percent,”, particularly in the peak of summer.

SEE FULL FEATURE: https://www.irishmirror.ie/lifestyle/travel/ryanair-boss-michael-oleary-shares-26981948

Gardaí have issued a warning urging people to be aware of a “clever but costly” scam doing the rounds again.
Members of the force in Kilkenny are advising what to look out for, as the scam begins when potential victims “miss a call from a +44 number (UK) and ring back the number”.

Gardai state that the curiosity to ring back is natural, but could prove “expensive”.

SEE FULL FEATURE: https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/gardai-warn-over-latest-clever-26980048

Nearly 3,000 thoroughbred horses were slaughtered for meat in Ireland since the start of 2020, figures have revealed.
It is the first time official data has been published showing the number of animals bred for racing have ended up as food.

A total of 1,549 thoroughbreds with passports issued by horseracing conglomerate Weatherbys were slaughtered in 2020, followed by another 1,105 last year. Since January, 305 have been put down.

SEE FULL FEATURE: https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/horrifying-figures-reveal-thousands-horses-23968427

Republic of Ireland at a glance
• 235 people are in hospital with Covid-19, 28 of whom are receiving intensive care
• 30 deaths were reported over the last seven days up to yesterday
• 79.7% of the population are fully vaccinated, and 60.1% have received a booster dose*
• The seven-day average for confirmed cases is 710 – but includes only PCR-confirmed cases and not self-reported antigen test results.

Ireland’s Covid vaccine programme is now a well-oiled machine.

More than 8 million doses have been administered in total, at a rate that once came close to 400,000 per week.

But this is still a machine with many moving parts: the logistics to deliver vaccines and equipment; the systems to book and log vaccinations; the involvement of GPs and pharmacies; and not forgetting the databases the communications, the call centres, etc.

SEE FULL FEATURE: https://mailchi.mp/thejournal/coronavirus-newsletter-630974

Buyers on incomes of €100,000 will be eligible for a government affordable homes scheme that will give them interest-free subsidies, the Irish Independent can reveal.
This has been described as unacceptable by the opposition.

There is an allocation of €60m this year to deliver around 550 homes under the Affordable Housing Fund, a scheme signed into law by Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien.
However, it has emerged that the just-published regulations underpinning the scheme will allow home buyers on incomes of up to €100,000 qualify for it.

SEE FULL FEATURE: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/backlash-as-100k-earners-qualify-for-affordable-homes-scheme-41653140.html

Close to 6,000 Ukrainian pupils are now enrolled in Irish schools, with more than two thirds taking their places in primary schools, as refugees from the war-torn country settle into Irish life.

The Department of Education said that as of the end of last week, some 5,843 Ukrainian pupils are in schools across the country, with 3,968 in primary schools and 1,875 pupils in post-primary.

Specialist teams have been set up across the country’s education and training boards to assist in the transition, the department has said.

SEE FULL FEATURE: https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40873169.html

The Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys, TD., has announced that the extra Fuel Allowance Payment will be paid this week, commencing 16th May.
In all, over 371,000 households will benefit from the €100 payment. This is equivalent to over 3 weeks Fuel Allowance for these households.

The Government approved the additional lump sum payment of €100 to be paid to all households who were in receipt of the Fuel Allowance from the Department of Social Protection in the last week of the Fuel Allowance season which was the week commencing 4th April 2022.

The total cost of the extra payment amounts to €37.1 million, which is paid out of the Exchequer.

SEE FULL DETAILS: https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/b7d7a-extra-fuel-allowance-payment-of-100-will-be-made-this-week-minister-humphreys