Archive - October 2020

9601: IRELAND HAS THIRD LOWEST RATE OF PSYCHIATRIC BEDS IN THE EU

Ireland only has 34 psychiatric care beds per 100 000 inhabitants.

The figure is the third worst in Europe at a time of increasing focus on mental health.

New figures from Eurostat show that smaller countries like Latvia and Malta have a higher proportion of psychiatric beds than Ireland.

Tim Hayes of the European Commission says the rate in Ireland is way behind the EU average.

Interviewee: Tim Hayes | Clip duration: 0 minutes 17 seconds | Outwords: people's mental health

9600: TIME RUNNING OUT FOR BRITISH DRIVING LICENCE HOLDERS IN IRELAND

British motorists living in Ireland are being reminded that they have less than 80 days to exchange their driving licences.

It's estimated there are 70,000 UK driving licence holders living here and 53,000 of those have already exchanged theirs for an Irish one.

Noelle O'Connell of the European Movement in Ireland says as things stand, UK licences will no longer be valid here from January 1st 2021.

Interviewee: Noelle O'Connell | Clip duration: 0 minutes 15 seconds | Outwords: Irish driving licences

9599: IRISH LABOUR MARKET IS AMONG THE HARDEST HIT BY COVID 19 IN EUROPE

The number of hours worked by Irish people since the Covid 19 pandemic took hold fell by almost twice as much as it did in most other countries in Europe.

New figures from Eurostat show that Irish people worked over 20 per cent fewer hours since April compared to the first quarter of 2020.

The EU average fall was just over 11%.

Grace Bolton of the European Commission office in Dublin says the Irish labour market is among the hardest hit by Covid 19.

Interviewee: Grace Bolton | Clip duration: 0 minutes 14 seconds | Outwords: hit in Europe

9597: IRELAND HAS MORE FEMALE SCHOOLTEACHERS THAN MALES

Ireland continues to have more female schoolteachers than males.

New figures from Eurostat show that 79 per cent of teachers in Irish schools are female - significantly above the EU average.

Grace Bolton of the European Commission office in Dublin says the figures show that women dominate the sector across all of Europe.

Interviewee: Grace Bolton | Clip duration: 0 minutes 18 seconds | Outwords: at 38 per cent

9598: UCD PROJECT SAYS MORE GREENERY WILL REDUCE AIRBORNE POLLUTION

Planting more hedges, plants and trees will reduce human exposure to harmful airborne pollution by 50 per cent, according to a ground-breaking project undertaken by University College Dublin.

Five other cities in Italy, Germany, the UK, Belgium and Finland participated in the Dublin-led, EU-funded project.

Dr. Francesco Pilla of UCD led the research.

He says more greenery in our cities will have a far greater impact than just making them more attractive.

Interviewee: Dr. Francesco Pilla | Clip duration: 0 minutes 15 seconds | Outwords: for air pollution

9596: EU CONSIDERING THE FUTURE OF ONE AND TWO-CENT COINS

One and two-cent coins could soon be a thing of the past.

The European Commission is assessing whether the need for the tiny coins could be reduced by requiring all cash payments in the Eurozone to be rounded, as they already are in Ireland and other countries such as Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Hungary. 

A 15-week consultation is currently underway with consumers and national governments, and Grace Bolton, Head of Press with the European Commission office in Ireland, says phasing out the coins altogether may also be an option.

Interviewee: Grace Bolton | Clip duration: 0 minutes 20 seconds | Outwords: officially be discontinued

9595: IRISH LIFE EXPECTANCY FIGURES RISE

Babies born today in Ireland can expect to live two extra years on average than those born 10 years ago.

New figures from Eurostat show that the average life expectancy of a child born in Ireland in 2018 is now 82.3 years.

The current EU average for life expectancy is 81 years.

Grace Bolton of the European Commission office in Dublin says the latest figures also show that Irish women live longer than men.

Interviewee: Grace Bolton | Clip duration: 0 minutes 17 seconds | Outwords: average of 88 years

9594: EU CALLS FOR QUICKER CONNECTIVITY ROLL OUT

The European Commission is calling on Ireland and the
other Member States to speed up investment in broadband infrastructure and
mobile phone networks.


It says the roll-out of  high-speed broadband and 5G or Fifth Generation
networks cannot come quickly enough.


Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen is on record as saying she wants
rural areas in Europe to have full connectivity as soon as possible to make the
continent the most advanced in the digital world.


Grace Bolton of the EU office in Dublin says total connectivity across Europe
would bring massive economic benefits.

Interviewee: Grace Bolton | Clip duration: 0 minutes 06 seconds | Outwords: growth and resilliance