A roundup of today's other home news in brief
Crackdown on premium rate phone scams
A new Bill aimed at tackling “rogue service providers” in the telecommunications sector and stamping out premium rate phone service scams was brought before the Dáil yesterday by Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan, writes Conor Pope.
The Communications Regulation (Premium Rate Services) Bill provides for more regulation of a multimillion-euro industry.
Some 76 million premium text messages were sent last year at an average cost of 85 cent a message.
Mobile phone ringtones, wallpapers, games and competitions are among the most popular premium rate services but a number of providers have been accused of taking advantage of vulnerable groups who run up huge phone bills after inadvertently subscribing to expensive services.
Ireland highest EU birth rate in 2007
Ireland had the highest birth rate in the EU in 2007, according to figures just published by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI). A total of 71,963 children were born in the State, more than a thousand in excess of the Central Statistics Office provisional figures released last year.
The 2007 figure is 9 per cent higher than 2006, while the 2007 figure has been surpassed by last year’s figure of 75,065, the highest number of births in the 26 counties for 113 years.
The figures are contained in the annual Perinatal Statistics Report 2007 within the ESRI’s health research and information division.
Leprosy charity to be commemorated
President Mary McAleese on Sunday will attend an inter-denominational celebration in the chapel in Trinity College at 2.30pm, hosted by the Leprosy Mission, to honour all those who have dedicated their lives in the battle against leprosy.
Catherine McGuinness, president of the Law Reform Commission, will deliver the address.
The Leprosy Mission is an international development founded in Ireland in 1874. It and its partners operate in 30 countries. President McAleese is patron of the mission.
Also on Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI will canonise Fr Damian – who gave his life for people with leprosy – as St Damian of Molokai.
‘Confusion’ on fees for asylum seekers
The Government has been urged to clarify the situation regarding access to third- level education for asylum seekers and refugees.
There is “absolute confusion” on the situation, with some refugees having to pay full international fees, said Lorraine McIlrath of NUI Galway’s (NUIG) Community Knowledge Initiative.
She was commenting on publication of a new booklet on asylum seekers, produced by NUIG postgraduate students in philosophy with the support of the community initiative.
The publication of Asylum Seekers: A Reality Check for Ireland in NUIG yesterday was attended by Ruadhán Mac Cormaic, Migration Correspondent of The Irish Times.
Glasnevin Cemetery Angels Plot work
Glasnevin Cemetery has delayed planned refurbishment works at its Angels Plot to give families more time to prepare and have their concerns addressed.
More than 1,000 families have been to the plot, where newborn infants or premature babies are buried. Some removed personal mementoes from shared graves after the cemetery said it was planning to renovate the plot and create a remembrance garden.
A spokesperson for the cemetery said yesterday it was pushing back the works to allow those families who could not attend by October 12th the chance to take away the mementoes, and to give families who had concerns the chance to discuss them with the cemetery.