A glance at the week that was
The numbers
11The number of closure orders enforced by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland on food businesses across the State in October – a new record.
123The number of times Silvio Berlusconi has been the subject of judicial investigations in Italy.
€10mThe amount the Government set aside this week to provide financial support to victims of last month's flooding.
35The number of days the Occupy Dame Street protesters have been outside the Central Bank of Ireland, in Dublin.
8The postcard designs issued this week of contemporary Irish writers at their place of work, in a project organised by Irish Literature Exchange.
5The number of women who have accused the US Republican politician Herman Cain (left) of sexual harassment.
Most read articles on irishtimes.com
1 Light from alien cities could signal intelligent life out there
2 Mystery 'wife' warns of dangers of golfing trips
3 Rugby player 'woke up gay' after stroke
4 Radio presenter declared bankrupt
5 Hawaiian surfs world record wave
6 Inside the dragon's den in Dublin
7 Developer's Enniskerry home for sale for €3.6m
8 Collins letter reveals a 'stupid error' nothing new in Finance
9 My personal thanks to Ireland
10 Triumph of the spivs as democracy is sidelined
We now know
A painting by the pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, I Can See the Whole Room . . . and There's Nobody in It!sold for $43 million (€31.5m) at auction in New York this week – a new record for his work.
The truth is not out there. The White House has officially stated that there are no X-filesand they have no evidence whatsoever of UFO activity.
The posthumous Amy Winehousealbum, Lioness: Hidden Treasures, will be released on December 2nd.
Big questions? This smart-ass phone has all the answers
Purchasers of the expensive new iPhone 4S are getting the most out of the device's Sirifeature, a voice-recognition programme that allows you to ask your mobile questions such as, "Is there an Italian restaurant near where I am now?" or, "Is my flight leaving on time?"
But, besides practical matters, Siri can also be pressed on just about any subject, and its answers can be delightfully cheeky. Asked what the meaning of life is, it replied, “I don’t know. But I think there’s an App for that.” Asked, “What do you look like?” it replied, “In the Cloud, no one cares what you look like.”
Disturbingly, when told “I need to hide a body”, it offered a drop-down menu of reservoirs, metal foundries, mine shafts, dumps and swamps.
Give me a crash course in . . . the capital spending plan
Why is the government cutting capital spending?The Government is reducing its overall spending by about €3.8 billion next year to keep within the target for improving the public finances set down as part of the EU-IMF-ECB agreement of last year. Government expenditure is broken down between day-to-day spending on public services (including wages and pensions for public servants) and capital spending on infrastructural projects, buildings, equipment, roads, railways and so on. By cutting deeper into capital spending, the Government has given itself more scope to protect services. It will also give it greater leeway to keep its promises not to raise income tax or to cut social-welfare rates. It will also have greater scope to maintain pay and pensions for public servants, which are protected under the terms of the Croke Park agreement.
So how much does the Government plan to cut from capital spending?Overall the Government is to reduce the capital investment budget for next year by €755 million. It will still be spending €3.9 billion in 2012 on capital. A total of €17 billion has been allocated for capital investment for the period between 2012 and 2016.
This is still an enormous amount of money, so what's the big deal?The cuts in the capital budget mean that several big-ticket infrastructure projects have now been put on ice, for the moment anyway. At least €250 million has already been spent on preparatory works for developments that have now been shelved. The Green Party has argued that the cuts to infrastructure projects will hinder economic recovery and that outside investors who have spent millions in the planning phases of large-scale projects will never consider Ireland for investment again.
So where will the axe fall?The big loser is the transport sector. Dublin's ambitious €3 billion Metro North project – on which more than €150 million has already been spent – is gone, as is the plan to develop a new Dart underground line in the capital. The planned link-up of the Luas lines in Dublin, and an extension to Cabra, will go ahead, however, although the project will be delayed. The final two phases of the western rail corridor has also been deferred, along with the proposed new line to Navan. The proposed Thornton Hall prison, in north Dublin – the land for which was bought for about €30 million several years ago – has also been shelved.
Are there any winners in the new capital plan?The health service's three flagship projects – the new national children's hospital, the new Central Mental Hospital and the national radiation oncology development programme – will all go ahead. Education has also been considered a priority by the Government, although the emphasis is firmly on primary and secondary level, where new schools and school extensions will be provided to meet a soaring birthrate. Third-level education will lose out, however, with plans to amalgamate the sections of Dublin Institute of Technology on a new campus at Grangegorman, and a number of other building projects at UCD and NUI Galway, being the main casualties.
Will there be any political fallout?The Opposition has criticised the cuts and has pointed to commitments that Fine Gael and Labour gave to the projects before the general election.
What should we watch out for?One of the more intriguing proposals is to partly fund the new national children's hospital from the proceeds of the sale of the next licence to run the National Lottery. There could be some controversy if this is seen as the privatisation of the National Lottery when this comes to pass. - MARTIN WALL
Next week you need to know about . . . student protests
Next Wednesday the Union of Students in Ireland is planning a “sleep-out” protest outside the Dáil. Earlier in the day, students will march through central Dublin to protest against plans to announce an increase in student registration fees in next month’s budget.
Apart from the fees issue, there is also concern among students that Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn will cap third-level student numbers, meaning it’s possible that students may get the points they need for the courses they want to do but still not be accepted. The cap may be needed to cope with the deepening third-level funding crisis.
Spending cuts are also hitting the proposed amalgamation of Dublin Institute of Technology’s colleges to a single campus in Grangegorman. (For more on which, read Give Me a Crash Course in . . , left.)
"November 16th should be a completely peaceful protest. USI and students' unions across the country will do whatever it takes to ensure that education is protected in the budget," USI president Gary Redmond told the College Tribunestudent newspaper. - BRIAN BOYD
