Category: Ireland Posts

THE DÁIL APPROVED Ireland’s first-ever carbon budgets last night, setting a limit on greenhouse gas emissions the country must stay under to reach important climate targets.

A motion to approve the budgets passed through the Dáil without a vote, which was deemed unnecessary because of a lack of opposition.

SEE FULL STORY: https://www.thejournal.ie/carbon-budgets-pass-dail-5732308-Apr2022

A VAT reduction on fuel is “not possible” following engagement with the EU Commission, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has told the Dáil. This comes after weeks of engagement with the Irish Government and the EU Commission to see if it would be possible to cut VAT on fuel down from the current 13.5pc to help with the spiralling costs of living.

He told Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty in the Dáil during Leader’s Questions that his proposals to cut VAT are “not possible – In terms of your proposed solution, which you asked us to consider, which is reducing VAT, of course we will consider that, but currently it is not possible…”

SEE FULL STORY: https://www.independent.ie/news/vat-reduction-on-fuel-not-possible-tanaiste-leo-varadkar-41530197.html

TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has this morning said that Dr Tony Holohan’s secondment to Trinity College should be paused to allow for greater transparency.
It emerged earlier this week that Dr Holohan was stepping down as the country’s Chief Medical Officer to take up the role as a Professor of Public Health Strategy and Leadership at TCD in July.

However, speaking to RTÉ in Helsinki this morning, Martin said that process should be paused.
“There has to be transparency. There has to be good process and procedure. I don’t see this just as a human resource issue or a personnel issue in its own right, which I can understand.

“In my view, you know, it should be paused. There should be a reassessment as to how the objectives that are behind this can be realised in a better and more transparent way.”

SEE FULL STORY: https://www.thejournal.ie/tony-holohan-secondment-paused-taoiseach-5733360-Apr2022

A regular query around this time of year is: “Is Good Friday a Bank Holiday?” The answer is yes, Good Friday is a Bank Holiday – i.e. it’s a holiday for banks (and some other businesses). However, it’s NOT a statutory Public Holiday. The terms “Bank Holiday” and “Public Holiday” are commonly confused, and as a result, when someone refers to the Easter Bank Holiday they could be referring to either Good Friday or Easter Monday. Most Bank Holidays are Public Holidays however this isn’t the case on Good Friday.

There is no entitlement to Public Holiday pay on Good Friday and there is no obligation for employers to give their employees the day off unless it is part of an agreement (e.g. ERO). On the other hand, Easter Monday is a Public Holiday and employees have Public Holiday entitlements such as a paid day off.

This year, Good Friday falls on 15th April 2022.

You can read about public holidays and your entitlements at: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment_rights_and_conditions/leave_and_holidays/public_holidays_in_ireland.html

Dr. Tony Holohan has said he has no intention of returning to his role as chief medical officer and that his secondment to Trinity College Dublin is to “develop public health capacity for the future”.

In his first comments on the controversy over his new academic role, Dr Holohan has told the Oireachtas Health Committee: “My secondment to Trinity College Dublin means I have agreed to relinquish my role as Chief Medical Officer; it is not my intention to return to this role at any point in the future. It is important that my successor feels fully empowered and enabled to undertake the role as they see fit.”

The Department of Health is to continue funding his existing €187,000 public service salary while he takes up a newly created role in Trinity, a move that has only emerged in recent days and has prompted questions from ministers and the Opposition.

SEE FULL  STORY: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/tony-holohan-defends-187k-appointment-to-trinity-college-says-it-is-not-his-intention-to-return-to-cmo-role-41529303.html

Dr. Tony Holohan will not be returning as chief medical officer to the Department of Health and his new academic contract with Trinity College is of “indefinite duration”, Department of Health secretary general Robert Watt confirmed today.

He was quizzed at the Oireachtas Health Committee about the controversy over the Department of Health’s decision to continue to pay Dr Holohan’s salary of over €187,000 salary although he will be working as a professor in Trinity College.

Asked by Fine Gael Senator Martin Conway about the decision Mr Watt said Dr Holohan will take on a new role in Trinity and a new permanent chief medical officer would be appointed in his place in the coming months.

Senator Conway said it could mean the Department of Health was funding Dr Holohan’s Trinity post for the “ next 20 years.”

SEE FULL  STORY:  https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/dr-tony-holohans-187k-a-year-civil-service-funded-trinity-college-secondment-will-last-indefinite-duration-he-wont-return-as-chief-medical-officer-41525079.html

A MAN accused of murdering teacher Ashling Murphy has been served with a book of evidence and sent forward for trial to the Central Criminal Court.

Jozef Puska, 31, with an address of Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly, was initially held following a court hearing in Tullamore on January 19.
He is accused of killing the 23-year-old primary school teacher who was attacked after she went for a run along the Grand Canal near Tullamore on January 12.

SEE FULL STORY: https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/trial-order-for-jozef-puska-in-ashling-murphy-murder-case-1285797.html

With prices continuing on an upward trajectory, “real” household income — a measure that factors in the rate of inflation — is expected to fall this year for the first time since 2013, according to the Central Bank of Ireland’s latest economic forecasts — its first set since the invasion of Ukraine.

The pace of growth is unlikely to keep up with soaring prices, according to the forecasts, although “broad-based” wage growth is anticipated.
It means “wages are projected to decline this year in real terms”, the Central Bank said, in line with recent analysis by the Economic and Social Research Institute.

SEE FULL STORY: https://www.thejournal.ie/central-bank-economic-forecast-2-5730294-Apr2022

DR TONY HOLOHAN will be paid by Department of Health when he takes up a new job as a professor in Trinity College Dublin later this year.

It was reported last month that Dr Holohan would be stepping down as the country’s Chief Medical Officer to take up the role as a Professor of Public Health Strategy and Leadership at TCD in July.

Recent reports show the CMO’s salary is around €187,000 per year.

A spokesperson for Trinity said the new post is an “open-ended secondment” funded by the Department of Health under the same terms as Dr Holohan’s existing contract.

FULL STORY: https://www.rte.ie/news/health/2022/0405/1290463-tony-holohan