Marianne Heron

Why the Silver Sector are spitting over downsizing

AS I SEE IT

MARIANNE HERON

WHILE there is much to be welcomed in the Governments Housing For All plans, it’s hard not to see one aspect of the scheme as yet another heavy handed hint that older people should do their bit to solve the housing crisis by moving out of their homes.

One of the ideas being oated by Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien is that people should be o ered an incentive to downsize from family homes particularly to apartments.

Apart from the fact that the incentive involved — a mere half a percent of the 1pc Stamp Duty on the purchase of a downsized property — is insultingly small there are a number of issues involved, not least that older people should not be made to feel guilty about continuing to live in their own homes. ey may not wish to move from loved, familiar surroundings, nor if they are open to a move, do they necessarily want to move into a at, without a garden, without the bene t of being able step out their own front door talk to neighbours or take the air.

Retirement villages purpose-built for folk over 50 and popular in the US, Australia and South Africa have barely registered on the horizon here. We simply aren’t attuned to the idea that when you reach a certain age, you can downsize, opt for the convenience of a secure, managed estate, often with nursing care or frail-care facilities on site and still have some money to trouser from the sale of the family home.

Unreadiness for the notion was signalled by a loud ouch! of protest when Minister for Older People Jim Daly trod on a collective corn by suggesting that seniors might be encouraged to downsize to age friendly accommodation and free up family size homes to help solve the housing crisis. Sadly, the age dividend, as life expectancy stretches by a dramatic three years every decade, is too often framed in negative terms like bed blocking and pension costs, rather than celebrated. On top of this the veiled give me your homes demand- a bit like adding insult to injury- isn’t going down too well with silver sector. e only options as you get older are stay home or go to a nursing home. e idea of being turned out of a hard- won family home is di cult for folk to stomach when alluring alternatives are barely in evidence.

Having lived in Cape Town for 20 years I could see at rst hand the boom in retirement villages in the Cape . Seniors are freed of the M word (maintenance in larger homes), safer, for security is a big issue there, able to avail of facilities like swimming pools, communal dining halls and organised social events and enjoy themselves with their peers. Ownership arrangements like life rights, where retirees buy a life time ownership of homes in retirement villages help to keep the price of those properties down.

Older people value their communities why should they move away from the supportive familiar? Smaller homes are relatively more expensive and the cost of moving high. And so far developers have been slow to spot the silver opportunity in building age friendly estates for what is now the fastest growing sector in Irish society where the number of over 65s will double to 22pc of the population over the next 30 years. Another idea proposed by the Minister in the paper Housing Options for Our Ageing Population was home splitting or sharing. Hmm, home splitting isn’t exactly cheap and what about the di culties local authorities over planning applications and there are the tax disincentives to consider. And home sharing? Well that idea may have the sting of tenement dwelling, something we have left behind to the extent that Dublin now has its own tenement museum.

Collapse in dental services at crisis point in Kilkenny

BY: DEPUTY KATHLEEN

FUNCHION

SINN FEIN TD FOR KILKENNY CARLOW

SINN FÉIN TD for Carlow Kilkenny Kathleen Funchion has expressed alarm at the collapse in dental services for Kilkenny in the last two years. ey have said that this has reached crisis point as waiting lists for dental and orthodontic treatments soar and dentists drop out of medical card scheme in record numbers.

Teachta Funchion said:

“ e collapse in dental services for Kilkenny is at crisis point, with more than 30% of dentists in the Carlow and Kilkenny area having left the medical card dental scheme in the last 5 years.

“ is crisis is underlined in the collapse in spending on dental treatment in Carlow and Kilkenny by 39%.

“ e Irish Dental Association highlighted their concerns recently in the Health Committee, stating that di culty in accessing dental treatment contributes to poor oral health and greater healthcare costs.

“ e burden of this disproportionately falls on lower income groups, especially those who rely on medical cards.

“Dentists have expressed ethical as well as practical concerns about unilateral cuts to the dental scheme imposed during austerity.

“ is devastated dentists’ ability to deliver quality care to medical card patients.

“ e HSE dental and orthodontic waiting lists continue to spiral out of control.

“Care delayed is care denied and the crisis in health continues to get worse under this Government.”

poor oral health and greater

“ e burden of this disproportionately falls on lower income groups, especially those who rely on medical cards.

“Dentists have expressed ethical as well as practical concerns about unilateral cuts to the dental scheme imposed during aus-

“ is devastated dentists’ ability to deliver quality care to medical card patients.

“ e HSE orthodontic waiting lists continue to spiral out of

CALL me clichéd or childish, but I think Christmas is the greatest of all the holidays. ough I understand it’s a giant consumerist ploy to drain adults of their hard-earned money, that fact doesn’t stop me from launching into Christmas festivities early. So, in preparation for this glorious holiday, I’ve created a list of ways that you can get into the Christmas spirit.

1) Make a Christmas playlist.

First and foremost, everyone must make a Christmas playlist. When it’s snowing outside and everyone is sitting around the dinner table rolling out those pre-made, reindeer and Santa-shaped sugar biscuits, listening to rap music or Britney Spears just doesn’t have the same cheery e ect. e best Christmas playlists include a variety of songs from di erent eras. Some basic suggestions: – Santa Baby by Madonna (a good pick if you can get past its creepiness) – All I Want for Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey (my alltime favorite, judge all you like) – You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch by url Ravenscroft (gotta get some movie soundtracks in there) – Anything from Michael Buble’s Christmas album (the man’s got a Christmas voice) – Underneath the Tree by Kelly Clarkson (Kelly Clarkson is my musical drug, so I’m biased with this one, but it’s a new single and you should all go check it out).

2) Buy/Build a gingerbread house.

Pre-made biscuitss are not the only good that de ne the Christmas season. Gingerbread houses also make for a fun family-bonding event. To clarify, I don’t mean fullsized gingerbread houses. If you have the patience to attempt such a project and the self-control not to eat it along the way, then props to you, but I tend to go for the smaller, more manageable gingerbread structure.

Even if the frosting doesn’t mix right and the walls don’t stay up for more than two seconds and in the end, you end up staring at a pile of gooey gingerbread panels that looks more like a stack of logs than an edible treat, you can say that you tried and that’s all that matters.

3) Decorate. Decorate everything.

As much as I hate walking through the aisles of Penneys or Dunnes in November and seeing decorations for holidays so far, some would argue, in advance, I believe it’s also important to stock up on these decorations for when the actual holiday rolls around. And don’t limit yourself to decorating your house. Decorate the front garden with Christmas chalk drawings. Decorate your face with red and green makeup. Decorate your soul with the Christmas spirit. Go completely overboard...

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4) Watch a Christmas special, or 10, or 100.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. How the Grinch Stole Christmas. A Christmas Story. A Charlie Brown Christmas. ere are so many heartwarming Christmas movies out there, on Net ix and Amazon even YouTube, it’s hard to list them all. And don’t even get me started on Elf. It would get it’s own number if I had room.

5) Create a gift list idea for other people.

Receiving gifts on Christmas is only half the fun. e only thing better than the weeks leading up to Christmas is nding the perfect present for someone you love, whether it’s a joke gift or a serious item that they’ve been needing for awhile. Once you spot that antique typewriter that your hipster brother has been looking for, everything about life seems to fall into place.

6) Start a countdown.

Countdowns can be a very powerful force in nature, if the New Year’s Eve ball drop tradition is any indication. ey can both ease the mind (ie. 10 more minutes until I can escape this English class on Medieval Dinner Plates) and incite anticipation (ie. two more days until I can order my tickets for Riverdance on ice). Advent calendars can also be an acceptable substitution for such events. A friend of a friend (de nitely not me) mentioned that Dealz have a good advent calendar, but I don’t know for sure.

7) Bust out the seasonal drinks/food.

Nearly every respectable establishment o ers some sort of special Christmas meal or drink. Mint hot chocolate. Pumpkin spice latte. en pair that with Christmas mince pies and you’ve got yourself a a preChristmas Day meal to krrp you going... and going... and going.

8) Wear a Santa hat all day, every day.

Santa hats are like, eh, Ellen Degeneres. Or Giz A Laugh. ey make everything more fun. Quote me on that.

9) Volunteer to wrap presents, and everything else.

Present-wrapping is a core part of the Christmas tradition, so volunteering to do it, either for charity purposes or to wrap your own, can get you in the holiday spirit. Wrap yourself in a sweater while wrapping a sandwich wrap and buying wrapping paper to wrap Christmas presents. en when you’re done, go to a wrap party that plays only rap music. at’s a wrap!

10) Be happy!

is is perhaps the most important rule of all. In the end, Christmas is not about spending enormous amounts of money or spoiling your children/parents/grandparents/ signi cant other. Rather, it’s about coming together and celebrating all of the good parts of life. e best thing you can do to prepare for Christmas is just be happy. It’s the one time of the year where you don’t have to hate on humanity (which is what I do 95% of the time). Take advantage of it.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, after all.

Sales of light vehicles are down on last year

LIGHT Commercials Vehicles (LCV) seen a decrease of 1,315 registrations compared to October last year 1,651 and an increase on 1,064 registrations for the same month in 2019. Year to date 27,849 new LCVs were registered an increase on last year’s 20,602 (+35.2%) and on 24,304 in 2019 (+14.6%).

Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) seen an increase of 212 registrations in October when compared to 155 in October 2020 and 137 October 2019. Year to date HGV’s registrations total 2,473 compared with 1,956 in 2020 (+26.4%) and 2,492 in 2019 (-0.8%).

Up to 4,401 used cars imported in October 2021, compared with 9,316 imports in October 2020, and a decrease on the 11,457 imports in October 2019. Year to date used imports are down -5.1% (55,538) on 2020 (58,504) and down 40.8% on 2019 (93,892).

A total of 522 new electric vehicles registered in October compared to 254 in October 2020. So far this year 8,342 new electric cars have been registered in comparison to 3,867 on the same period 2020. Electric Vehicle, Plug-in Hybrids and Hybrids continue to increase their market share, with their combined market share now over 31.52%. Diesel now accounts for 33.63%, Petrol 32.16%, Hybrid 16.14%, Electric 8.08% and Plug-in Electric Hybrid 7.3%.

Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General, said:

“With Climate Change at the forefront of everyone’s minds, it is hugely positive to see the year on year growth in the sales of both Electric and Plug-in Electric Hybrid Vehicles. is is the right approach, and has led to more consumers making better environmental decisions. It is this joint e ort from industry and Government that must continue if we are to reach our decarbonisation targets.

“ Looking forward to 2022 and beyond, it is vital that the current Government supports for Electric Vehicles are extended out until 2025, along with State and private investment in a countrywide charging infrastructure.”

The Bitter Truth: and why some people crave these bitter drinks yet others are repulsed with TU Dublin Beverage Lecturer and Beer sommelier Judith Boyle and independent drinks consultant

The bitter truth and other scientific jaw-droppers

TO coincide with Science Week,which kicks o on November 7 for a week, Calmast, the STEM engagement centre in Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) with Kilkenny Library Service, have announced a programme of events for Kilkenny Science Festival. e festival is part of national Science Week 2021, coordinated by Science Foundation Ireland. is programme is set to give the public inspiration by providing an opportunity to explore how science is important in everything we do and how science can contribute to a better future. Due to ongoing will Covid restrictions, this year’s festival will be mostly be online. Details can be found at www.stemkilkenny.ie. On behalf of the festival Nollaig Healy of Calmast at WIT said: “Science is all around us, it impacts on everything we do and how we work and live – it really is fascinating. Science Week allows us the opportunity to examine areas of science that we don’t normal stop and think about. It takes science out of the classroom and lets us explore and interrogate how we can shape our future. ” “We are delighted to be working with partners Kilkenny Castle, Castlecomer Discovery Park, National Reptile Zoo, Kilkenny County Council and Kilkenny Childcare committee,” she said. Schools have always played an important part in Science Week and this year is no di erent. ere are a multitude of stimulating events including National Reptile Zoo ‘Zoom Zoo’ which will allow participants to interact with a Zookeeper; get a close-up introduction to creatures and learn all about their habits, habitats and superpowers; discover the scienti c principles behind skilful circus tricks and dangerous stunts with Dr Ken; South African Global Teacher award winner and two times TEDx speaker Steve Sherman will run workshops for preschoolers; Chief Mathematical Entertainer at Bubbly Maths Caroline Ainslie will run workshops for Special Schools and ASD Units; Scienti c Sue explores how food can be a very explosive source of energy and career talks with speakers from industry across Kilkenny hosted by Dr Niamh Shaw. In addition of the programme of events for primary and secondary schools, there is a raft of events lined up for adults including a Cook Along with TV Chef from Ireland AM, KCLR96fm ‘Saturday Show Presenter’ with Edward Hayden; the Use Less Project will deliver a talk on fast fashion vs sustainable fashion and a talk the ‘Bitter Truth; from beer sommelier Judith Boyle and independent drinks consultant Susan Boyle on why some people crave these bitter drinks yet others are repulsed. A highlight of the week will be our Science Family Fun Day which takes place on Sunday, 14 November with events such Junior Einsteins Forensic Crime Scene in Kilkenny Castle (online), How to build a giant Catapult in Castlecomer Discovery Park, Family Scavenger Hunt and Super Science with Mark Langtry (RTE). Details of the festival, and booking can be found at: www.stemkilkenny.ie For Science Week 2021, Science Foundation Ireland are encouraging people to engage with the ‘Creating Our Future’ national conversation on research in Ireland and have their say in what are the most important aspects of their lives they would like science and research to improve. e Creating Our Future campaign is an initiative of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and is taking place across 2021. If you would like to get involved with Science Week and #CreatingOurFuture in some way – submit questions through the #CreatingOurFuture platform, in the conversation on social media. e public can submit ideas and questions that could be addressed through the online platform - www. creatingourfuture.ie. Science Week 2021 will be taking place all across Ireland from November 7 to 14, with events for all ages. Visit www.stemkilkenny.ie for more information.

Funny figures: chief mathematical entertainer at Bubbly Maths is Caroline Ainslie Picture: Patrick Browne