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VAT on defibrillators ‘is a tax on saving lives’
VAT on defibrillators is a tax on life and must be scrapped, the Irish Heart Foundation insisted in its pre-Budget submission.
The charity claims the average cost of an automated external defibrillator (AED) - €1,500 including €345 VAT - makes them unaffordable for many community organisations. It wants Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, to remove the 23per cent tax burden levied on theportable, computerised devices in this month’s Budget. The Foundation’s Resuscitation Manager, Brigid Sinnott, said sporting and voluntary groups are also being hit with an estimated extra €100 in VAT when they replace pads and batteries – required regularly to keep the AEDs in working order. ‘The VAT on defibrillators is a tax on saving lives and it’s time it was removed,” said Ms Sinnott, who is also a community first responder trained to administer defibrillation before paramedics arrive. ‘The more AEDs there are available in local communities and accessible to the public, the more lives can be saved.’ In some cardiac arrests, AEDs deliver a shock to the heart to resume its normal rhythm. More than 8,400 people so far have signed an online petition launched by the charity as part of its drive to have the VAT on AEDs scrapped. Volunteer group Community First Responders Ireland (CFR Ireland) is also backing the call. Chairperson, John Fitzgerald, said: ‘We in CFR Ireland have long called for VAT on AEDs to be removed and we are delighted to join the Irish Heart Foundation today. The VAT on AEDs is a barrier to saving lives and we hope the Minister will remove it in the Budget.’ To sign the AED petition, visit: https://
my.uplift.ie/petitions/scrap-vat-onaeds-it-s-a-tax-on-saving-lives.
Irish Heart Foundation Resuscitation Manager, Brigid Sinnott, with Community First Responders (CFR) Ireland chairperson, John Fitzgerald, at the launch outside Government buildings today of the charity's pre-Budget submission, in which it calls for VAT to be scrapped on life-saving defibrillators. Photo: Justin Farrelly.
Health charites urges public to ‘love your lungs’
Ahead of World Lung Day on Sunday September 25, the Irish Lung Health Alliance, a coalition of charities working to promote healthy lungs, has urged members of the public to take five steps to ‘Love Your Lungs’. The charities include the Alpha-1 Foundation Ireland, the Asthma Society of Ireland, COPD Support Ireland, Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, the Irish Institute of Clinical Measurement Physiologists, the Irish Lung Fibrosis Association, the Irish Sleep Society, and the Irish Thoracic Society.
The call comes with latest statistics from the Department of Health’s National Healthcare Quality Reporting System (annual report 2020) showing alarming figures when it comes to the top three lung diseases in Ireland. World Lung Day is coordinated by the Forum of International Respiratory Societies and the European Lung Foundation. For more information on the work of the Irish Lung Health Alliance or to download the ‘Top Five Steps to Love Your Lungs’ factsheet, visit www.lunghealth. ie. Follow on social media using hashtag #WorldLungDay
People urged to take on a hill for Jack and Jill
Carmel Doyle, CEO, Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation Every day can be an uphill challenge for Jack and Jill families across Ireland and, this October, the charity is urging people to climb or walk a local hill in solidarity with over 400 families currently under its care as part of the eighth annual Up the Hill for Jack and Jill fundraising challenge, supported by Abbott.
This is a significant year for the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation, as it celebrates 25 years of funding and providing specialist in-home nursing care and respite support for children with severe to profound neurodevelopmental delay, up to the age of six. This may include children with brain injury, genetic diagnosis, cerebral palsy and undiagnosed conditions. Another key part of the service is endof-life care at home for all children up to the age of six who require it, irrespective of diagnosis.
For more information on Up the Hill for Jack and Jill 2022, visit www. jackandjill.ie or telephone Jack and Jill at 045 894538. Follow on social media at Facebook @jackandjillfoundation; Instagram @jackandjillcf; Twitter @ jackandjillcf; Tik Tok @jackandjillcf; and LinkedIn @Jack and Jill Children's Foundation and use #UpTheHill22
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Twelve enforcement orders served on food businesses in July
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has reported that four Closure Orders and eight Prohibition Orders were served on food businesses during the month of July for breaches of food safety legislation, pursuant to the FSAI Act, 1998 and the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020. The Enforcement Orders were issued by environmental health officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE). Three Closure Orders were served under the FSAI Act, 1998 on: Zing by Chaska (restaurant/café), 90 - 91 Marlborough Street, Dublin 1 Superfruit, The English Market, Cork Bamboo Foods Ltd (restaurant/café), Station Roundabout, Ramelton Road, Letterkenny, Donegal
One Closure Order was served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on: Doson (take away), 10 Dorset Street Lower, Dublin 1 Eight Prohibition Orders, which are under appeal, were served under the European Union (Official Controls in Relation to Food Legislation) Regulations, 2020 on: Holland and Barrett (under appeal), Units 5 & 6, Cedar Drive, Dublin Airport Logistics Park, Saint Margarets Road, Saint Margarets, County Dublin
Some of the reasons for the Closure Orders in July include: live rats spotted on the premises; rat droppings found near food storage and evidence of pests gnawing foodstuffs; a very poor standard of basic hygiene in the food preparation areas posing a risk of food contamination; food handlers inadequately trained and lacking knowledge on temperature control, pest control and cleaning; high-risk cooked foods were not temperature-controlled, with chicken found to have been stored at 23 degrees Celsius; and a lack of food safety monitoring leading to unsafe food being produced and sold.
Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI has emphasised the importance of vigorous pest control systems, which should be facilitated across all food businesses in Ireland. She also stressed that particular attention is required to ensure food is stored correctly and safely, especially during summer months when temperatures are usually higher.
Margaret Atwood to headline Dun Laoghaire poetry event
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in association with Poetry Ireland has announced is The Poetry Weekender, a twoday celebration of poetry taking place at dlr LexIcon and its environs on the 17th and 18th September 2022. Programmed by dlr Poet in Residence Jessica Traynor and Poetry Ireland, The Poetry Weekender is kindly funded by Creative Ireland.
The Poetry Weekender programme includes a poetry masterclass with Costa Prize-winner Hannah Lowe, a words + music workshop for teens with musician Farah Elle, and a Gingko walk around Dún Laoghaire led by poets Rosamund Taylor and Katie
Donovan.
On Sunday 18th September, The Poetry Weekender will culminate with the headline event The Poetry of Margaret Atwood, at the Pavilion Theatre in Dún Laoghaire. One of the world’s most renowned writers, Margaret Atwood will read from Dearly, her latest collection of poetry. She will also talk about her poetry influences in conversation with author, archivist, and scholar Catriona Crowe.
Culture Night Cork City 2022: One Night For All
This year’s Culture Night, on September 23rd, will see venues all over the country open their doors, late into the night. From music to the arts, to comedy, fashion, and literature, entertainment lovers are in for a real treat as more than 1,000 live events are planned. Cork City’s Culture Night Programme has an array of events which will appear in online listings and printed fliers around the city over the next weeks.For more information on Cork City Culture Night 2022, visit www.CorkCity.ie/culturenight. Keep up to date with programme additions by following the conversation online
#CultureNight / #OícheChultúir
and #CorkCultureNight. Check out Facebook\corkcityarts or Twitter and Instagram @corkcityarts
Free display of works by Irish artist Seán Keating opens at National Gallery
A new display at the National Gallery comprises nine works by Irish artist Seán Keating and one work by William Orpen. Opened in the Gallery’s Milltown Wing on 20 August 2022, Keating’s Allegories of Change centres around the artist’s 1924 painting An Allegory, which addresses the divisive nature of the conflict of the Irish Civil War. The display is supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under the Decade of Centenaries Programme 20122023.
Situated in the Gallery’s Milltown Wing, the display is built around Keating’s An Allegory, a reflection on Ireland in the wake of the Civil War. A number of characters are featured in the painting, including Keating himself with his wife and child. Other key paintings on display include Men of the West, On the Run - War of Independence and Homo Sapiens: An Allegory of Democracy which – like many of the other works on display – is underpinned by a prevailing sense of disquiet and uncertainty. Keating’s Allegories of Change closes: 27
November 2022. Admission: Free
Profile There was no show like a Joe show..
Michael Lyster remembers the late great Joe Dolan
Joe Dolan on RTÉ’s Saturday Stage Photograph courtesy of RTÉ Archives
