Marianne Heron

You wouldn’t wish it on your granny...

AS I SEE IT

MARIANNE HERON

NO matter how welcome the Housing For All plan, I don’t believe that I am the only person to be alienated by the cavalier way Government view older people as a group to be conveniently pushed around to solve their problems.

Is anyone in the corridors of power listening to what older people actually want? It’s easy to excuse the Government and civil servants for being overworked and preoccupied with the pressures of Covid, Brexit and whatever other crisis happens to hit them.

But when the evidence is presented to them on a plate in fact- nding surveys, sometimes they still adopt the headless chicken approach and ignore the information which would help them make appropriate decisions.

Take the suggestion in the Housing For All that older people should move from their family homes in order to help solve the housing crisis. Preferably they should move into apartments, according to Housing Minister Darragh O Brien, encouraged by his o er of a mere half a percent reduction in stamp duty as an incentive. is completely ignores several surveys which show clearly that over 55s, (hardly half way through life when you consider that half the people born today are going to live to be 100 ) don’t want to move. A survey by TCD and DIT published this month showed that 88% of over 55s say don’t want to move for understandable reasons. ey are attached to the area where they live, they like being near shops, their families and they enjoy the peace and quiet of their gardens. Does this suggest would they would enjoy being in apartments? It’s not the kind of thing that you would wish on your granny or granddad, to be made to feel that they should be pushed out the home where they raised their family in familiar surroundings and moved into anonymous atland, to help the State solve the housing crisis.

If the powers-that-be did their homework they might notice that in an earlier survey carried out in 2019 only 4% — yes 4% — of mature home owners with two or more vacant bedrooms were prepared to move home. If there were smaller purpose built, less expensive houses, (houses not apartments) suitable for older people, the percentage prepared to move went up to 15 to 20%. is shows up clearly the glaring gap in the housing market for elders where there is a lack of options between care homes and ageing in place in existing homes. e kind of solutions like retirement villages (though these are not for everyone,) or purpose-built housing in the community available elsewhere in the world barely exist here. ere are plenty of solutions, too, which would enable owners to age in place with the assistance of grants. A previous paper on Housing for Older People lists a variety of ways in which this could be achieved from dividing homes into apartments to making them age friendly and states:” Research suggests that older people wish to remain in place… and lead full and meaningful lives in their own terms.” e Minister also has his eye on the homes lying vacant because their elderly owners are in nursing home care and has proposed that the Fair Deal scheme should be amended to push these homes onto the rental or for sale market. Previously 80% of rental from such homes had to be contributed towards the Fair Deal scheme to cover nursing homes costs. Will it work? e assumption here is that granny or granddad and family will be happy to have strangers move into the home, possibly emptied of family furniture or to sell it o while the owner is still alive.

Would you wish that one on granny?

Boost your mental health by reviewing your social media use

ANDREW MCDONALD HYPNOTHERAPIST

OVER the past weeks and months that I’ve been writing this column, I’ve provided bits and pieces of advice for dealing with anxiety, depression and mental wellness. Something which is rarely mentioned is the damage social media can have on how you feel mentally.

Don’t get me wrong, the internet is a fantastic tool. ere is so much that is good about it that you could ll several tombs, nevermind a few column inches, discussing the bene ts of being online. Everything in life has two sides though and the web de nitely has some very negative aspects.

Let’s say you’re one of the lucky ones who has never experienced the toxicity of trolling and keyboard warriors. Even so, the chances are social media, as well as a positive, also has a negative in uence on your life.

Why do I say this? Open up your Facebook or other social media account. Scroll down through your friends’ and family’s content. What do you see? Probably a whole lot of people enjoying their “perfect lives”. Now take a look at your own experience of the last days, weeks and months. Is your life A1? Do you have any worries? Anything causing you to feel down, stressed or gloomy? Certainly.

How do I know this? Simple. ere isn’t a single person on this planet whose life is nothing but endless joy (the good news is there are also exceptionally few of us who have nothing to be happy and grateful for either).

Now look back at your friends’ and family’s Facebook feed. Do you see the negative that rational logic tells you they must have in their own lives? Probably not. What you are seeing by following what they’re up to via Facebook is a shrouded window. All the positivity is there. e parties, the meals out, the holidays. What is hidden behind the shroud are the things causing them distress. People are very slow to share these, particularly online. e problem is you unconsciously compare yourself with those carefully-constructed representations of other people’s lives you’re viewing online. is leaves you questioning “why is my life not perfect when everybody else’s is?” In short, because you’re being very tough on yourself by putting your own life in comparison with a perfection which only exists in fantasyland. at’s like watching Superman and giving yourself a hard time because you can’t y. It isn’t real.

I’m not saying you should never use Facebook or other social media. It can be a great way of keeping in touch with people, particularly friends and relatives who live in other countries. Be careful not to overuse it though and keep in mind that what you are seeing online is very much a false representation of lives which, despite their online window, are very far from perfect.

Next week, we’ll look at what to do with trolls and keyboard warriors and how to stop them destroying your wellness.

EY Ireland creates 816 new jobs

ECONOMIC analysts and advisors EY plans to create 816 new jobs, adding to its current headcount of 3,400 on the island of Ireland. Some of the new jobs will be created in its Waterford offices. This announcement will bring the headcount in EY to over 4,200 across the island of Ireland. 606 of the roles will be Dublin-based, while the remaining 210 roles will be located in Waterford, Cork, Galway, Belfast, and Limerick .

The 414 experienced hire roles will be advertised and filled by the end of EY’s current financial year, June 30, 2022, while a further 402 roles will be filled by university graduates starting this autumn.

EY will now actively recruit candidates to fill a variety of roles across its core areas of tax, audit, corporate finance and consulting as well as in new growth areas including technology consulting, digital and emerging technology, data analytics, cyber security, sustainability, law, strategy and transformation.

The firm is also recruiting heavily across other growth areas such as workforce and organisation design and planning, change management, transaction diligence, and valuations, modelling and economics.

New employees at EY will have the opportunity to join the firm’s great teams who work with Ireland’s top entrepreneurs, multinationals, private and public sector clients.

Frank O’Keeffe, Managing Partner, EY Ireland, said: “The fundamental changes brought about by the pandemic, coupled with wider macroeconomic headwinds and shifting business models, have created increased demand for our services as we help our clients tackle their most complex business challenges.

“Our clients are increasingly looking to EY to help them navigate change but also to seek out opportunity to help them transform, grow and prosper into the future.

“We’re looking for the best talent to join our world class teams as we support our incredible clients to unlock their full potential,” Frank O’Keefe said.

Nestlé plans to support a better climate

FOOD giant Nestlé is laying out its plans to support and accelerate the transition to a regenerative food system – one that aims to protect and restore the environment, improve the livelihoods of farmers and enhance the well-being of farming communities.

Nestlé will work with its food system partners, including the company’s network of more than 500,000 farmers and 150,000 suppliers to advance regenerative farming practices at the heart of the food system. As part of this journey, the company will also initiate new programs to help address the social and economic challenges of the transition. e announcement is being made in the lead up to the UN Food Systems Summit in New York, as part of Nestle’s contribution to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. It also follows the recent report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that shows the climate crisis is intensifying.

“We know that regenerative agriculture plays a critical role in improving soil health, restoring water cycles and increasing biodiversity for the long term,” said Paul Bulcke, Chairman of Nestlé.

“ ese outcomes form the foundation of sustainable food production and, crucially, also contribute to achieving our ambitious climate targets.”

Nestlé is a signatory of the UN Business Ambition for 1.5°C pledge and was one of the rst companies to share its detailed, time-bound climate plan in December 2020. e company is taking measures to halve its emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050.

“With our long-standing partnerships with farming communities globally, we want to increase our support for farming practices that are good for the environment and good for people,” said Mark Schneider, Nestlé CEO. “In the spirit of enabling a just transition it is vital that we support farmers around the world that take on the risks and costs associated with the move towards regenerative agriculture.”

Nestlé is investing CHF 1.2 billion over the next ve years to spark regenerative agriculture across the company’s supply chain, using three primary levers to help farmers adopt regenerative practices.

Beef farm scheme a disaster, says IFA

IFA President Tim Cullinan has said the Department of Agriculture’s handling of the BEAM scheme from the outset has been disastrous.

“ e BEAM monies were provided to suckler and beef farmers to o set the enormous losses experienced on their farms arising from Brexit,” he said.

Since the money was committed, he said the Department of Agriculture had put obstacles in the way of farmers receiving the vital supports and in holding onto them. e Department of Agriculture has further compounded the di culties for farmers now by threatening interest on money owed, and has moved ahead of this by deducting the monies from other farm scheme payments.

“ e inclusion of the 5% reduction in the rst instance should never have been part of the scheme. e lack of detailed upto-date information for farmers in meeting this requirement; the failure to appropriately recognise the impact of TB restrictions on farmers trying to meet the 5% reduction; and the draconian penalties for farmers who just missed out on meeting the 5% reduction, all contributed to the problem,” he said. e IFA is meeting with the Department of Agriculture on this issue and has called on the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue to ensure there is an acceptable resolution to this issue.

Looking at the work of your county councillor

WHAT is the job of a county councillor really like; why should more young women think about it as a career option; and what can someone with nine election victories tell us about running for election? ese are just some of the questions which See Her Elected aims to answer as part of a free online event with Ireland’s longest serving continuously elected woman councillor and Ireland’s newest and youngest woman councillor.

See Her Elected will host an interview with Cllr Mary Hilda Cavanagh from Kilkenny (pictured) and Cllr Emer Kelly from Co. Roscommon to hear their unique perspectives on local politics. is free online event will take place on Wednesday, September 29 at 7pm via Zoom and you can register on Eventbrite with a link on www. seeherelected.ie/events or simply email info@seeherelected. ie e online event is part of a series of educational talks in the Women Learning from Women series hosted by See Her Elected. SHE is a joint initiative between 50:50 Northwest and Longford Women’s Link. e project is funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Mary Hilda Cavanagh (Fine Gael) was rst elected to Kilkenny County Council in 1974 and is the longest serving continuously elected councillor in Ireland. Emer Kelly (Ind) was co-opted to Roscommon County Council in April 2021 and at just twenty-two-years of age is one of the youngest councillors in the country.

Dr Michelle Maher, Programme Manager with the SHE Programme, said: “ e overall aim of the SHE Programme is to empower women to engage in electoral politics. We want to see more women being elected to councils, especially in our rural constituencies.”

Register now on Eventbrite with a link on www.seeherelected.ie/events or contact the SHESchool on 086 0320455 or email info@seeherelected.ie

Mid-October deadline for WIT’s €5,000 bursaries

WATERFORD Institute of Technology (WIT) students have until mid-October to apply for the 1916 Bursary Fund, for rst years (who are rst time entrants to third level education). e bursary, which is designed to support students who are most economically disadvantaged and who are from communities signi cantly underrepresented in higher education, has been expanded for the 2021/22 academic year. is year there are three tiers of bursaries available.

Robin Croke from WIT’s Access O ce says the additional funding is welcome. “ is year the number of students the bursary supports has been expanded substantially. Each year the bursary supports 35 students to the tune of €5,000 each a year.

“An additional 29 students will receive €2,000 a year of study, and a further number of students will bene t from a once-o payment of €1,500.” • Tier 1 Bursaries: 35 students in the South Cluster will receive €5,000 per year for the normal duration of an undergraduate programme and up to a maximum of six years for a part-time programme. e bursary will also be paid if the awardee progresses to

postgraduate study. • Tier 2 Bursaries: 29 students in the South Cluster will receive €2,000 per year for the normal duration of an undergraduate programme and up to a maximum of six years for a part-time programme. • e bursary will also be paid if the awardee progresses to

postgraduate study. • Tier 3 Bursaries: A number of students in the South

Cluster will receive a onceo bursary of €1,500 for the 2021/2022 academic year only.

Email 1916BursaryQueries@ soarforaccess.ie with queries. See www.wit.ie/1916-

Food & drink ‘needs cash’ from Brexit funding aid

THE Ibec group representing the food and drink sector, Food Drink Ireland (FDI), has published its Budget 2022 Submission which calls for substantial funding for the sector from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve.

FDI Director Paul Kelly (pictured) said: “ e food and drink sector is deeply resilient but now faces major disruption to its markets from Brexit while still contending with the impact of a global pandemic.

“ e EU/UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement has introduced signi cant additional costs for Irish food and drink companies at each step of production and distribution.

“In addition to Brexit related transport and logistics cost hikes, Irish food and drink businesses are also experiencing in ationary pressures across most cost headings due to a combination of macro external factors which include global and domestic supply chain constraints and raw material inputs as well as Brexit and Covid-19.”he said.

Mr Kelly FDI’s Budget 2022 recommendations were framed to ensure that Ireland’s most important indigenous manufacturing sector could control its cost base while also innovating and improving both productivity and sustainability. ese state aid supports and funds from Ireland’s €1 billion allocation from the Brexit Adjust-

ment Reserve should be targeted as follows: • Introduce a State-supported export credit insurance scheme. • Invest €300 million in competitiveness and trade promotion. • Keep the EWSS and grant support under review including for those signi cantly impacted by Brexit. • Extend the Revenue Warehousing Scheme to Brexit impacted companies. • Extend the Foreign Earnings Deduction to more markets. • Extend and re- nance the ‘Ready for Customs’ grant scheme. • Other recommendation in the FDI Budget 2022 submission include: • Provide an additional €400m to drive low carbon investment in industry by scaling up and expanding industry supports. • Reduce alcohol excise rates by 7.5%, introduce a new craft cider excise exemption scheme and allow alcohol excise on bad debts to be written o . • Revamp the commercial rates exemption scheme to incentivise food business operators and cold storage while also inno- companies, as occupiers of vating and im- commercial property, to proving both carry out much needed productivity maintenance, imand sustain- provements and retroability. tting or energy saving ese state investments. aid supports • e ongoing review and funds of the Employment from Ireland’s and Investment In€1 billion allo- centive Scheme (EIIS) cation from the should amend the Brexit Ad- scheme so as to just- enhance its support for startups in the Irish whiskey / spirits sector.

operators and cold storage companies, as occupiers of commercial property, to carry out much needed maintenance, im provements and retro tting or energy saving investments. • e ongoing review of the Employment and Investment In centive Scheme (EIIS) should amend the scheme so as to enhance its

And flying with us today, we have ...

A LOGGERHEAD sea turtle discovered in Co. Donegal in 2019 will soon nd sanctuary in the sun thanks to the combined e orts of Exploris Aquarium, in Portaferry Co. Down and Aer Lingus sta pictured repatriating the young endangered reptile on ight EI 782 from Dublin to Gran Canaria.

Now three years old, Julius Caesar, ‘JC’ to friends, was found washed up on a Donegal beach in January 2019 when he was just nine months old. ought to have been caught up in the wrong current and swept along the gulf stream, he was su ering from hypothermia, stunned by the cold water, and weighed just a few hundred grams.

Loggerhead sea turtles are an endangered species and thrive in a warm climate.

Discovered by a local family, JC was named for his ghting spirit and was brought to Exploris where he has since been recuperating in a tropical tank and enjoying a diet of sh mixture, squid and gel in preparation for his voyage to Tarifa Wildlife Recovery Centre (Centro de Recuperación de Fauna Silvestrede Tarifa) in Gran Canaria.

COVID-19 restrictions previously prevented the repatriation e orts but JC, now weighing 25kg.

Pilot Captain Peter Lumsden said: “It is our pleasure to welcome aboard a very special passenger today and to ensure the safe transportation of JC the Turtle to Gran Canaria.”

Set for take o : JC, a loggerhead turtle, being repatriated to Gran Canaria aboard Aer Lingus flight EI 782

Local history to be recorded in census

ARE you interested in helping to co-ordinate the rst draft of your local area’s history? e Central Statistics O ce (CSO) is seeking sta to supervise the next census in Kilkenny. e State agency has reopened the Census Field Supervisor competition due to a shortage of applicants in a limited number of areas, including Kilkenny.

Applications will be accepted on the CSO website.

CSO Head of Census Administration Eileen Murphy said: “ ere are a number of census areas around the country where there is a shortage of applicants. Census Field Supervisors will work near their own locality, so it is important to have applicants from local areas.” e next census will take place on April 3 next year.

Each supervisor will be based in their homes and will manage a team of 10 to 13 census enumerators.

Ms Murphy said the advertised roles are “home-based” and eld supervisors will earn €564 a week plus allowances.

She added: “ e contract will begin in January 2022 and conclude in early May of that year. “Field Supervisors will have responsibility for interviewing and training their team as well as ensuring that their team of enumerators are successful in delivering and collecting census forms to and from every home and communal establishment.”

Next year’s census will be the 27th census taken in Ireland and is the biggest survey undertaken in the history of the State. e census provides invaluable information on a range of topics and is used by every government department and local authority in the country to help plan for our future.

Census data feeds into the planning stages of most aspects of Irish life, such as schools and hospitals, transport and community services.