7385: EU DISCOVERS LARGE NUMBER OF MISLEADING E-COMMERCE WEBSITES
Thursday 28 February 2019
Be careful while buying goods or
services online.
That's the main conclusion of a European Commission survey which found that 60 per
cent of 560 sites examined were misleading consumers.
It reveals that 'special offers' on purchases were not authentic on 31 per cent
of the sites, while 211 websites charged higher prices than originally offered
by the time the consumer navigated all pages.
Grace Bolton of the European Commission office in Dublin says the majority of
sites surveyed were misleading in some way.
Interviewee: Grace Bolton | Clip duration: 0 minutes 19 seconds | Outwords: of the trader
7382: IRISH DIVORCE RATE STILL THE LOWEST IN THE EU
Wednesday 27 February 2019
Ireland continues to have the lowest divorce rate in the European Union.
New figures from Eurostat for 2017 show that only 0.7 per 1,000 persons here formally divorced.
Marriage here is still above the EU average with 4.8 per 1,000 inhabitants compared to the EU average of 4.3.
Grace Bolton of the European Commission office in Dublin says the figures show that marriage remains a popular institution in Ireland.
Interviewee: Grace Bolton | Clip duration: 0 minutes 18 seconds | Outwords: per thousand people
7384: EU RELAXES STATE-AID RULES FOR FARMERS IN CRISIS
Friday 22 February 2019
There's good news today for struggling Irish farmers.
The European Commission is increasing the amount of funds that governments
can use to support farmers without seeking the Commission’s prior approval to
grant state aid.
In times of crisis, national authorities can currently distribute
€15,000 per farm over a three year period. This figure will rise to €20,000 and
in certain cases €25,000
per farm over three years.
Higher amounts of state aid can still be granted by Member States as long as
the Commission agrees that action is proportionate to the crisis and does not
create an uneven playing field that would distort the single market.
Grace Bolton of the EU Commission says this initiative will greatly help EU
Member States to rapidly support their farmers in times of unexpected crisis.
Interviewee: Grace Bolton | Clip duration: 0 minutes 16 seconds | Outwords: times of crisis
7383: CAPE CLEAR AND ARAN ISLANDS SELECTED FOR EU ENERGY PLAN
Thursday 21 February 2019
Cape Clear off the coast of Cork
and the Aran Islands have been selected by the European Commission for a new
clean energy initiative.
The two islands will develop a plan to become self-reliant by harnessing wind,
solar power and sea waves.
24 other European islands inhabited by over 2,000 residents have been selected
for the programme which will eventually benefit from EU funding.
Grace Bolton of the European Commission office in Ireland says the initiative
will see Cape Clear and the Aran Islands dramatically reduce their energy costs.
Interviewee: Grace Bolton | Clip duration: 0 minutes 19 seconds | Outwords: implement the Plan
7381: ECC ISSUE WARNING ON BOOKING FLIGHTS THROUGH THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES
Wednesday 20 February 2019
Consumers booking flights through third-party websites are being warned to watch out for extra costs and to be aware that the cheapest option isn’t always the best - particularly with connecting flights.
The European Consumer Centre in Ireland says it has received complaints in relation to prices suddenly increasing at payment stage.
It also says that some sites do not allow time for connecting flights and sometimes the connecting flight isn’t even in the same airport.
Martine Nee of ECC Ireland says consumers have rights under EU law but need to be more vigilant when booking flights.
Interviewee: Martina Nee | Clip duration: 0 minutes 20 seconds | Outwords: always the best
7380: IRELAND CONTINUES TO LAG BEHIND ITS EU 2020 RENEWABLE ENERGY TARGETS
Friday 15 February 2019
Ireland continues to underperform
in achieving its renewable energy targets.
Eurostat figures show Ireland is 5.3 per cent off its target for 2020 while
Sweden, on 54 per cent, has exceeded its quota by four points.
Renewable energy sources include wind, solar, hydroelectric and bio-fuel.
Grace Bolton of the EU Commission office in Dublin says Ireland still has some
catching up to do.
Interviewee: Grace Bolton | Clip duration: 0 minutes 17 seconds | Outwords: behnd that target
7379: EU CODE OF CONDUCT SEES SIGNIFICANT CLAMPDOWN ON HATE SPEECH
Thursday 14 February 2019
There's a been a huge improvement
in the removal of hate speech on high profile digital platforms.
The latest evaluation of the EU Code of Conduct shows that I.T companies are
now assessing 90% of flagged content within 24 hours.
Among the companies signed up to the Code are Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and
Youtube.
Grace Bolton of the EU Commission office in Dublin says popular social media
outlets are working with the Commission to prevent online hate speech.
Interviewee: Grace Bolton | Clip duration: 0 minutes 20 seconds | Outwords: in May 2016
7378: EU BRINGS NEW MEASURES TO ENSURE GENUINE MEDICINES ARE BOUGHT ONLINE
Wednesday 13 February 2019
There's good news this week for
people who purchase prescription medicines within the EU.
The European Commission has brought in new rules to ensure that such purchases
are genuine.
Grace Bolton is Head of Press with the European Commission in Dublin.
She says that bar code technology and new seals will ensure that the consumer
gets exactly what is purchased.
Interviewee: Grace Bolton | Clip duration: 0 minutes 20 seconds | Outwords: the real deal
7376: IRISH WOMEN HAVE THIRD HIGHEST HEALTHY LIFE EXPECTANCY IN THE EU
Friday 08 February 2019
Irish women have the third highest 'healthy life' expectancy in the European Union according to new figures from Eurostat.
Irish women are in the fullness of health up to 69.8 years of age while Irish men are seventh on the EU table, maintaining good health up to 67.3 years.
Sweden comes out on top where men and women live a healthy life up until the ages of 73.
Grace Bolton of the European Commission office in Ireland says Irish women and men are way ahead of the EU average figure.
Interviewee: Grace Bolton | Clip duration: 0 minutes 17 seconds | Outwords: of 64 years
7375: IRELAND IS AT BOTTOM OF EU ORGANIC FARMING LEAGUE TABLE
Wednesday 06 February 2019
Ireland,
at 1.7 per cent, has the second lowest rate of organic farming in the EU,
according to new figures from Eurostat.
There are just under 2,000 organic farmers in Ireland and we are above only Malta and Iceland, who share bottom
position in the EU league table.
Organic agriculture is a system of farming that aims to produce quality food in
a manner beneficial to the environment and to wildlife.
Grace Bolton of the European Commission office in Dublin says our low rate sees
us lag behind countries like Romania and Bulgaria.
Interviewee: Grace Bolton | Clip duration: 0 minutes 15 seconds | Outwords: to organic farming
7377: NEW EU GROUP TO EXPLORE CYBER-BULLYING
Tuesday 05 February 2019
Today
is EU 'Safer Internet' Day.
To mark
the occasion, the European Commission has announced the creation of a new
Expert Group on Child Safety Online to help improve co-ordination and
co-operation between EU Member States and propose actions to keep children safe
when using the internet.
Grace Bolton of the European Commission office
in Dublin says the new Group will focus on ways to protect children from access
to harmful content and from online advertising directed at children.
Interviewee: Grace Bolton | Clip duration: 0 minutes 17 seconds | Outwords: knows no boundaries
7374: NEW EU-JAPAN DEAL GOOD NEWS FOR IRISH FARMING
Friday 01 February 2019
A new international
agreement which comes into effect today will
make it easier and cheaper for Irish farmers and food producers to export to
Japan.
The new EU-Japan Trade Deal will see the removal of charges on all exports of certain dairy products and beef.
Japan is Ireland's 4th biggest trading partner outside the EU with over 500 Irish companies exporting there.
Tim Hayes of the EU Commission says this development will be a major boost for Irish agriculture.
Interviewee: Tim Hayes | Clip duration: 0 minutes 16 seconds | Outwords: for Irish farmers