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IRISH HOSPITALS SPENT more than €800 million on treating alcohol-related illnesses over a five year period, new research has found.
Alcohol-related cases also accounted for almost nine per cent – or almost 2.9 million – of all hospital bed days (overnights stays in hospital) between 2000 and 2004, reports Medical Independent. The cost of treating patients suffering from alcohol associated problems accounted for 15 per cent of the total health budget over the period studied.
Young to middle-aged men were the most likely to spend the night in hospital because of alcohol-related problems, with a total of 37 per cent of all male bed days wholly contributed to alcohol. In contrast, the proportion of women being kept overnight solely because of alcohol-related problems stood at 25 per cent, according to the study.
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The desire for a new political party is not confined to the farming/rural community. A huge number of people are not represented by the present FFGg unholy alliance, but the only potential opposition is the Loony Left, and they are even further removed from what many people want.
@Brendan O’Brien: how about, right wing? Or maybe centre right. I don’t think that far right appetite exists in Ireland. I mean I haven’t seen any planning permission sought or granted for concentration camps or gas chambers over here.
@Jonathan Kennedy: It certainly exists on the part of Thomas and various others, to judge from comments on this site. Some people would be more than happy to have concentration camps and gas chambers. And we already have centre-right parties, such as FF and FG.
Does the far left exist? I haven’t seen any efforts at gulags.
@Thomas Sheridan: so removed, that they were arguing for the 14 billion apple tax for years. Stood up to Irish water. The wealthy would love you and believe they are looney.
Makes perfect sense to look after societies less well off. Remember , history, it’s the peasants that revolt and over turn governments. Are they all looney.
@Brendan O’Brien: not a far right party, just a party that would prioritise the needs of Irish citizens ahead of those who are here illegally.
A party that represents the interests of 66% of Irish people who think enough is enough.
If that sounds like a far right concept to you, so be it!
@frank dowling: It is estimated that there are 26,000 to 30,000 undocumented (i.e. ‘illegal’) people living in Ireland – a tiny percentage of the population – so why the hysteria?
Most are presumably working in the black economy, as they wouldn’t be able to claim any kind of benefits.
@brian o’leary: Sour grapes from a townie. Everyone pays tax, whether urban or rural, we get it back in different ways. eg, people in rural areas might think tax-payer funded cycle lanes and bike sheds in urban areas are a waste of money.
@brian o’leary: Farmers get EU subsidies, the majority in rural Ireland are not farmers and at that, low to medium sized farms are scooped by the big farmers, who became the new gentry when Britain left the South of Ireland. There was a farmers party called the Centre Party who joined up with Cumann na nGhaedhael and the National Guard to become Fine Gael, those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it.
@r k: not all of the Local Property Tax collected in Dublin is spent in Dublin, about 15% is used to help fund rural councils where there is a short fall. Look it up, its no secret.
@Brian D’Arcy: subsides and grants generally come from taxpayers in large urban areas where tax surplus is produced, rural areas are generally a net loss for exchequers.
@brian o’leary: Figures, please.
Based on your reasoning, this means …. What? Everyone should move to Dalkey to balance the books?
You do know population in rural areas the same size as Dublin or Cork are smaller, often combined with lower incomes than the cities, don’t you?
So of course tax takings such as income tax or LPT are lower, where salaries and property values are lower.
Please explain what handouts are going to rural areas (I take it you’re not talking about book or food subsidies in schools).
@Athena: the lpt figure is 15% of dublins that’s transferred ( handed out) to rural areas. To balance the books maybe you could spend less or increase you own lpt to cover your costs?
@brian o’leary: I accept your point, will you accept that when water charges were dropped in Dublin, government raised motor tax to fund free water for the poor Dubs, paid for by the rich Culchies with their fancy cars,while at the same time the rich Culchies paid for their own water supplies through group water schemes.
The “yous” brigade love spouting nonsense about farm payments, majority of farm produce is exported, resulting in huge money pouring into the country, government use these funds for various things of course,some is used to subsidise the loss making farmers to keep that revenue stream flowing, but it’s easier to ignore that…
@r k: the net figures in terms of tax collected v tax spend will generally show a shortfall in rural areas and a surplus in the larger urban areas, hence the transfer from city to county.
@Athena: the cost per capita to provide standard household services is higher in less populated areas – more economies of scale in the city with bin collection, for example, where a bin company can collect a lot more bins in an hour in Tallaght than it can in rural Kilkenny. So the LPT collected per household in Dublin goes a lot further than its equivalent in a rural area
@Athena: again, 15% of dublins lpt gets transferred (handed out) to rural councils , which they spend on numerous things. Look up what the lpt gets spent on.
Considering ff bankrupted the country and the historical abuse of women and children they enabled and throw in the grift that the haughty and his like carried out, It’s safe to say at least 14% of irish citizens would support the devil as long as they where ok
@smatrix mantra: for that you’d need a party to have the nuance to be both pro-rural and anti-agribusiness, which is very unlikely given the voting inclination of farmers
Since SF became a woke party also voting Yes for thee last referendum, and the total nonsense of open borders, many are actually seeking an alternative that does not exist yet in Ireland. Although it will be very small at the beginning, if i was the parties in power and the main one in opposition, i would watch that space.
But something tells me if a new party dedicated to their communities and fighting corruption appears, they will grow very fast in the mind of people. They could be made from every horizon, as long as they would do the right thing and stay honest.
I know I sound ridiculous, but this is as much we are use to the bunch in place and think there iss nothing else we can do.
@Brian D’Arcy: Ireland. Hop on a plane anywhere in the world and somehow end up at Dublin Airport and say the magic words and your in. Alternatively, sail from the UK to NI, hop on a bus from Belfast and you’re in.
The farmers want their own party so that the raping the environment can continue unabated and unimpeded. There’s money to be made and the lads wanna hang on to it.
God forbid they’d ever have to change in ways that make them uncomfortable.
GB (pop 65 million) has six parties in the House of Commons (Labour, Conservative, LibDems SNP, Reform and Plaid Cymru). ROI (pop 5.2 million) has 8 parties represented in the Dail (FFGreen, SF , Lab, S Dems, PBP Solidarity and Independent Ireland. Something seems amiss.
A Farmers Party? It existed for a few years in the 1920s but after the civil war “farming interests” were co-opted by Fianna Fail and Fine Gael. Problem is there are varied farming interests and those farm families feeling the blunt edge of economic circumstances now think their interests are not served by FF-FG – nor by Brussels policies.
By all means let them have their own party. They live in a fantasy land. Ming called their bluff during the European elections. When one of them was on a radio debate with him and was whining on about the nitrates derogation. Ming said that it only affected about 300 farmers in his electoral area and so was not worth talking about. End of conversation!
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