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Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Health
- Irish Independent
Kerry town to receive new ambulance point pending stakeholder agreement
In response to a request raised by Fianna Fáil Councillor Norma Moriarty, the HSE said the National Ambulance Service (NAS) had already engaged with the Integrated Health Area manager for Kerry and HSE Estates to identify a suitable HSE-owned building in Killorglin. A suitable building for a dispatch point has already been located but this is subject to agreement between existing stakeholders and HSE to allow the NAS commence service delivery in the coming weeks. The HSE stated that within its current resource level, it would be possible to provide a day only (8am-8pm) Patient Transporting Resource, in line with demand, and a single paramedic in a Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV) on a limited number of nights. The intention is that the new service will represent an initial step towards increasing ambulance service delivery in Killorglin. "It will be augmented by additional paramedic posts that have been sought for the South Kerry region in the 2026 New Service Posts (NSP) submission,' the HSE South West confirmed. HSE South West provide updates on a range of issues to local authority members at its Regional Heath Forum relating to the delivery of health and social care services in Kerry. The Regional Health Forum comprises of representatives from Kerry County, Cork City, and Cork County Councils, as well as local authorities from the South East within the functional area of each Forum. Fianna Fáil TD Michael Cahill said he also called on the minister to prioritise the provision of an ambulance base in Killorglin. He noted that Killorglin town and the wider mid-Kerry region is too vastly populated to be without an ambulance base. He listed the number of festivals that take place in the region at summer time. "I raised this matter on a number of occasions as a member of Kerry County Council. Subsequently, I submitted a Parliamentary Question on this very issue at the end of April when making representations to the HSE. I will be raising the matter again next week in the Dáil," said Fianna Fáil's spokesperson for Older People & Tourism. "This ambulance base is absolutely critical and an absolute priority for Kerry. There are suitable locations available in Killorglin and it has always been a priority for me. I am confident that my strong representations will bare fruit," added Deputy Cahill.
Agriland
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Agriland
DAFM will ‘endeavour' to provide adequate notice of farm inspections
Fianna Fáil TD, Michael Cahill, has called for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon to ensure farm inspections are scheduled with at least two weeks' notice. In a parliamentary question this week, Deputy Cahill also asked the minister to ensure that inspections do not take place during the lambing period. The TD suggested conducting inspections during shearing from mid-June to mid-July, or ramming from mid-September to early November, to minimise disruption for farmers. In response, Minister Heydon highlighted that on-farm inspections are a requirement of EU regulations. According to the minister, the inspection approach and reporting system used is standardised across all areas of the country, to ensure consistency and fair treatment of all farmers. Minister Heydon said: 'In relation to providing notice for on-farm inspections, as agreed in the Farmers' Charter of Rights with the farm bodies, all inspections will, in the main, be announced. 'However, where giving such notice interferes with the purpose or effectiveness of the control, no notice is given. The level of notice given is generally two days.' 'In duly justified cases, additional notice may be given but limited to the minimum necessary. This may particularly be the case for inspections involving hill sheep flocks,' Minister Heydon explained. Farm inspections According to Minister Heydon, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) takes account of the circumstances and follows agreed protocols with the farming bodies in relation to penning at lambing time. 'I can assure the deputy that in relation to carrying out inspections in hill sheep areas, my department will endeavour to take account of the timing of inspections relative to when sheep move to and from the hills,' Minister Heydon said. He also said that DAFM will 'endeavour' to provide adequate notice and tolerances to take account of the unique circumstances in the hill areas, while at the same time endeavouring to complete the necessary inspections to ensure that farmers receive their payments on time.
Irish Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Cost of pedestrian bridge linking bus and railway stations in Killarney could reach as much as €5million
A proposed pedestrian bridge over a railway line to link the bus and railway stations in Killarney, Co Kerry, could cost up to €5 million to build, the National Transport Authority (NTA) has said. This is about double a price estimate which was drawn up in 2019. The NTA said that given the estimated costs, other competing projects elsewhere and limited funding, the proposed bridge would not be going ahead at present. The tourist town's bus station adjoins the railway line, but is on the opposite side of the tracks to the main railway platform. READ MORE To get to the railway station from the bus passengers must walk through the adjacent Killarney Outlet Mall – a distance of about 350 metres – or take a public footpath for about 400 metres. The NTA estimates that walking from the bus station to the railway platform takes between five-and-a-half and 10 minutes, depending on the age of the passenger and whether they are carrying luggage. For years there has been a proposal to link the two buildings directly. Details of the estimated costs of the proposed Killarney bridge were set out by the NTA in a reply to a parliamentary question tabled by Fianna Fáil TD Michael Cahill. The reply has been released as part of the NTA's quarterly publication of answers to parliamentary questions referred to it by the Department of Transport . The NTA said in 2019 a review carried out by Irish Rail had identified a new pedestrian bridge spanning the two train tracks as the preferred technical solution. The project would involve a footbridge and a lift and steps on each side. The NTA said the bridge would reduce the walking time between the bus and railway stations to about two or three minutes. 'However, there is a significant cost attached to this proposal, which was very approximately estimated as being between €1.5 million and €2 million in 2019,' it said. 'Given construction inflation in the intervening period, and cost out-turns on similar-type projects, a cost range of between €3 million and €5 million in current values is considered more prudent.' It said that given the necessity to address the acute accessibility problems at other railway and bus stations as well as the estimated cost of the project and the limited funding available, the Killarney pedestrian bridge was regarded as 'a low-priority investment' and was not being progressed. However, the NTA said it was funding a local transport plan being drawn up by Kerry County Council and this could look again the proposed link or examine other options.
Fibre2Fashion
21-04-2025
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
US tariffs expected to weaken $ as GDP growth slows: Goldman Sachs
US trade policy changes are significantly affecting the country's currency, according to Goldman Sachs Research. The rise in trade tensions and other uncertainty-raising policies are eroding consumer and business confidence, Goldman Sachs Research senior currency strategist Michael Cahill wrote in his team's report. US trade policy changes are significantly affecting the US dollar, Goldman Sachs Research said. The rise in trade tensions and other uncertainty-raising policies are eroding confidence, it noted. Changing perceptions of US governance and institutions, tariff announcements and a more aggressive stance toward historical allies are affecting the appeal of US assets for foreign investors, it noted. The team found that changing perceptions of US governance and institutions are also affecting the appeal of US assets for foreign investors, and the rapid back-and-forth on policy decisions makes it difficult for investors to price outcomes other than high uncertainty. The US dollar's weakness against its major peers during the first quarter of 2025 is anticipated by Goldman Sachs Research to persist. Over the next 12 months, the US currency is forecast to fall by about 10 per cent versus the euro, and by close to 9 per cent against the Japanese yen and British pound (as of April 8). 'We have previously argued that the US' exceptional return prospects are responsible for the dollar's strong valuation,' Cahill wrote. 'But, if tariffs weigh on US firms' profit margins and US consumers' real incomes, they can erode that exceptionalism and, in turn, crack the central pillar of the strong dollar.' Goldman Sachs Research strategists earlier expected trade-related uncertainty to weigh more on foreign countries than on the United States. But soft data in the United States has, so far, shown worrying signs while European sentiment has been surprisingly resilient. This is partly related to non-tariff issues like federal spending cuts and concerns of a weakening labour market. But tariff policy is also part of the uncertain policy mix, which is contributing to the shakier US economic outlook. There are signs that tariff announcements and a more aggressive stance toward historical allies are changing global views of the United States and US assets, an insights piece on Goldman Sachs website observed. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Reuters
10-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Safe European home? Scared money seeks German bunds
LONDON, April 10 (Reuters) - At a scary moment when almost no place in global markets looks safe, Germany's recently rocky government bonds may be one of the few true havens left. A week of precipitous global stock market losses driven by Washington's unfolding trade war took an alarming turn on Tuesday as offsetting safety bets in U.S. Treasury bonds turned sour too. The wild and unpredictable ride continued late on Wednesday. Even while writing this piece, market tables were upended again as President Donald Trump blinked in his tariff campaign and paused his so-called reciprocal import levies for 90 days for all except China. Stocks jumped a mind-blowing 8% - but it's anyone's guess how long that lasts. Whatever happens next, the market playbook up to that point sets a jarring precedent for the inevitable next convulsion. Treasuries had been behaving well again this year as a portfolio buffer, surging in value as equities tanked on tariff fears. Indeed, the correlation between the two asset classes actually hit its most negative in two years last week. But that correlation flipped violently again this week. As an example of how that affects savings pots, exchange traded funds that track standard 60/40 equity/bond portfolios , which had been fairly serene from November's election right through the turbulent first quarter, tanked 8% since the U.S. tariff plan was first laid out last Wednesday. Indeed, U.S. Treasury ETFs and the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab are down more than 2% each this week. The twin stock/bond selloff seems to have had many triggers, including the escalating U.S.-China tariff battle, fears that traders' margin calls in risky bets were leading to liquidation of safe assets and a perceived reluctance of the Federal Reserve to ease credit. All may have been at play, but the burgeoning narrative now is that overseas investors are fleeing American assets at large due to the seemingly chaotic nature of Donald Trump's trade war. With total U.S. investment liabilities to foreign savers standing at more than $62 trillion at the end of last year, that thought is alarming to say the least. Goldman Sachs currency strategist Michael Cahill said U.S. assets and the dollar were being hit by recessionary fears and high uncertainty about the endgame in the trade war as well as a growing worry about the stability of U.S. institutions. "Negative trends in U.S. governance and institutions are eroding the appeal of U.S. assets for foreign investors," Cahill told clients this week. The capital flight argument should be especially worrying for U.S. savers and retirees nursing expensively priced investments, pumped up for years with overseas money drawn in by the U.S. "exceptionalism" theme. Those worries often, understandably, home in on China, not least due to its $760 billion of Treasury holdings, which could potentially be weaponized if the trade war escalation continues. But much of the additional foreign money that flooded into America's megacap stocks and relatively high-yielding bonds over the past decade was mostly from Europe. And scared money tends to go home. BUNKER BUNDS As U.S. Treasuries sold off violently this week, Europe's traditional safe haven - Germany's government bunds - rallied sharply. So much so that the yield premium of U.S. versus German 10-year debt surged 30 basis points this week to some 170 bps - the widest spread in a month. Even though bunds were jarred in March by the new German government's trillion euro defence and infrastructure spending push, they have roared back since, despite an intensifying trade war that has major ramifications for euro area growth and European Central Bank policy. But what has been truly notable this week is that bunds behaved like a safe haven when Treasuries didn't. The extent to which this countervailing bund rally is driven by transatlantic repatriation is unknowable, but what can be safely assumed is that any returning European money won't necessarily go back to European equities, not yet at least. So the bund market seems like the logical option. Indeed, there appear to be few doubts that the country is 'money good' even if its debt/GDP ratio is set to rise. Just look at the rock bottom German sovereign credit default swap pricing and the benign reactions of credit rating firms to the German fiscal stimulus. "German Bunds offer better value as a safe haven with yields still elevated after the recent shift in fiscal policy," HSBC's global head of fixed income Steve Major told clients. Major argues that if the ECB was to cut rates by more than forward markets now imply, bund yields have significant scope to fall across the curve and "are a good alternative safety play to US Treasuries." While the modest size of the German bond market may mean it would have more difficulty absorbing a headlong dash for safety compared to the huge Treasury market, the supply of bunds is rising and there are higher yielding alternatives in the well supplied government debt markets of its euro zone partners. Ultimately, the prospect of Germany, and Europe more generally, becoming a comfortable home for funds seeking safe assets has profound implications for the euro and dollar's respective roles in sovereign currency reserves. The return to Europe has taken on many forms this year. But the retreat to its debt havens may be one of the more meaningful. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters By Mike Dolan; Editing by Sonali Paul Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
