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The Irish Heart Foundation has welcomed provisions in the Programme for Government document to deliver a Public Health (Childhood Obesity) Act, including new restrictions on junk food marketing and the introduction of No-Fry Zones around schools.

Head of Advocacy with the Irish Heart Foundation, Chris Macey, said the plans provided the foundation to implement a programme that could cut the rate of childhood obesity in Ireland by 50% by 2030. ‘The State’s own research estimates that 85,000 of this generation of children in Ireland will die prematurely due to overweight and obesity. By delivering on the agenda put forward by many of the country’s foremost experts in the Irish Heart Foundation’s recent Childhood Obesity Manifesto, this agreement between the parties involved in Government negotiations can transform the future health of our young people.’

He added however that the imposition of a new sugar tax to help pay the economic cost to the State of the COVID-19 emergency must not impact on investment in measures to fight obesity and that a portion of the levy should be ring-fenced to deliver a healthier food environment for our children.

Independent research company TRP Research has launched Media Opinions Ireland a new research project offering a total of €80,000 to fundraising groups about TV, radio, websites, and on-demand programmes.

Individuals are also able to take part and can choose rewards including shopping vouchers and charity donations. Rewards can be converted to iTunes, O’Neills or All4One shopping vouchers or they can be donated to one of seven nominated charities: Pieta House, Focus Ireland, Alone, The Irish Cancer Society, Team Hope and Laura Lynn.

For more information or to sign up visit www. mediaopinionsireland.ie or contact them at info@mediaopinionsireland.ie or 087 208 6703.

The new mandatory rules on face coverings on public transport a ‘creates significant comacross Ireland in return for their opinions

munication barriers’ for over 300,000 people in Ireland who rely on lip reading, according to Chime, the National Charity for Deafness and Hearing Loss.

Brendan Lennon, Head of Advocacy at Chime, stated: ‘Chime fully recognises the value of face coverings to prevent the spread of Covid-19. However, the use of face masks in particular, creates significant communication challenges for people who are deaf and hard of hearing’.

Share a Smile fundraising campaign As part of their efforts to highlight the challenges created by face masks for people who are deaf and hard of hearing, Chime has launched a fundraising campaign. The ‘Share a Smile’ campaign encourages people to upload to social media a smiling selfie, ideally wearing a facemask, to demonstrate the challenge of seeing people’s emotions, facial expressions and lips while wearing a mask. People who upload a selfie are asked to use the #ShareASmile hashtag and then text CHIME to 50300 and donate €4 (€3.60 will go to Chime) so that Chime can continue to provide advice, support and care to those impacted by deafness or hearing loss.

Chime are encouraging any person with hearing loss who needs support to reach out for assistance. Chime’s support line can be contacted on 1800 256 257, email: info@chime.ie, or text 087 922 1046.

Share the Facts, is a new campaign featuring GP Dr. Sinead Beirne

New research commissioned by Reckitt Benckiser reveals that some of the Irish public are feeling confused about information on Covid-19. According to the RB study of 1,044 adults, 45% of people say they feel overwhelmed by the amount of information on Covid-19 and a third (33%) are finding it difficult to determine what information is fact or fiction.

Over a quarter (28%) of the people polled found that the guidance and recommendations on what should and shouldn’t be taken to relieve any coronavirus-like symptoms, may have resulted in people putting up with pain.

Over a third (36%) claim to have largely ignored everyday pain symptoms such as headaches, toothaches and joint pain during the pandemic and worryingly around 1 in 5 (18%) have avoided treating pain altogether.

Some of the common non Covid-19 ailments that people have avoided taking pain relief for are: 1. Back pain (40%) 2. Joint pain (29%) 3. Toothache (21%)

The reluctance to treat pain during this time could stem from the confusion around what medicines can be used to treat symptoms of Covid-19.

Over a quarter (28%) are unsure whether ibuprofen can be taken to relieve some of the recognised symptoms of coronavirus such as fever or headache, of which 41% have read contradictory advice on the use of ibuprofen. To help the public better understand the facts and dispel the myths surrounding effective pain management during the Covid-19 pandemic, RB has launched Share the Facts, is a new campaign featuring GP Dr. Sinead Beirne.

As part of this campaign, Dr Sinead Beirne will appear in a video where she will use her clinical expertise to share facts and dispel myths around effective pain and fever management during Covid-19.

Stena Line has announced a set of safety measures ‘aimed at ensuring ferry travel is the safest form of public transport’. Social distancing, fog machines, fresh sea air inside the ships and the recommended wearing of face coverings, are all seen as key to reassuring customers about the future of ferry travel as countries reopen their borders in the coming weeks.

As part of Stena Line’s safety plan to prevent the spread of the Covid-19, an extensive risk assessment identified three key stages of the customer journey to focus on:

a) During check-in at the Terminal. b) While onboard the vessels. c) During embarkation and disembarkation

‘By providing the ability to social distance the whole journey, our big, bright and spacious ferries have plenty of fresh sea air, both inside and out, and offer the safest way to travel for people who want to take a break after the long lockdown’ says Niclas Mårtensson, CEO of Stena Line.

Drawing inspiration from Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s tale Love in the Time of Cholera about two lovers who wrote to each other for many years, and from love letters either famously public or personally private, this project is inviting you to come together online to dance and share, to create choreography, to write a love letter – and to develop a series of short responses as films, sound recordings and writings. Registration required After you register, you will be sent a confirmasession. Register for each once – then you can pick and choose from the following sessions. The Project started with the first Coffee Morning via ZOOM on 14 July. Weekly dance practice via ZOOM: 22, 29 July, 5, 12, 19, 26 August, 2 September. 2pm until 3.30pm Coffee mornings on ZOOM:

tion email with a link to click to join in each zoom 28 July and 11, 25 August 11am – 12 midday

Send love letters: Send a letter to someone you love, whoever they are or wherever they may be – anytime. Love letter is produced in association with Age & Opportunity / Bealtaine Festival For more info: https://coisceim.com/ love-letters-2020/

A new group 70 volunteers, Covid19 Tech, are offering free computer and smart phone technical support to older people. Commenting group leader Orlas Gibbons: ‘Our helpline was setup when Covid19 started with the objective of providing technical assistance to our self-isolating older community. ‘Covid19 may be starting to dissipate but this is not the case for many people in our older community.

Tech help is still need especially in situations where the person is very isolated and has no family to turn to for help. That is where we come in. We get calls about internet connectivity, video calling, printers, mobile phones and many others. ‘In recent days, We are getting many calls about the Covid Tracker app. We guide callers through the install and help with any issues or errors that may occur. All technical questions are welcome to our helpline. No question is too big or too small.

The group can be contacted by phone on 01-9633288 and line is open from 8-8 every day. They can be found on Twitter @Covid19_tech and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Covid19TechHelp/ too.