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Ireland exporting 11 times more peat than it imports - amid horticulture supply fears

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Analysis from Noteworthy shows 500,000 tonnes of peat products exported so far this year amid supply concerns for the domestic market.

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Fast fashion leftovers dumped in Chilean desert

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A mountain of discarded clothing including Christmas jumpers and ski boots cuts a strange sight in Chile's Atacama, the driest desert in the world, which is increasingly suffering from pollution created by fast fashion. The social impact of rampant consumerism in the clothing industry, such as child labour in factories or derisory wages, is well-known, but the disastrous effect on the environment is less publicised.

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Businesses reinvented due to Covid

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TY Business: Interesting article on how businesses re invented due to Covid.

Could get a TY Business class to do a similar project and interview local businesses.

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TY Business: Interesting article on how businesses re invented due to Covid.

Could get a TY Business class to do a similar project and interview local businesses. https://t.co/FnzLY5JKUa

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TY Business: Interesting article on how businesses re invented due to Covid.

Could get a TY Business class to do a similar project and interview local businesses. pic.twitter.com/FnzLY5JKUa
— MsO'Riordan Business (@Msoriordan) October 17, 2021

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TY Business: Interesting article on how businesses re invented due to Covid.

Could get a TY Business class to do a similar project and interview local businesses. https://t.co/FnzLY5JKUa

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
TY Business: Interesting article on how businesses re invented due to Covid.

Could get a TY Business class to do a similar project and interview local businesses. https://t.co/FnzLY5JKUa

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
TY Business: Interesting article on how businesses re invented due to Covid.

Could get a TY Business class to do a similar project and interview local businesses.

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A national one-day strike by school secretaries and caretakers due to take place on Wednesday has been deferred after "significant concessions" were made by the Department of Education.

Trade union Fórsa says the department has "finally conceded" that all school secretaries should be placed on the public service clerical officer scale, bringing an end to a four-decade old two-tier pay system.

The offer will also do away with the requirement for most secretaries to sign on during school breaks, as they will be able to retain existing work patterns while having their salaries paid over 52 weeks on a pro-rata basis.

The assimilation arrangements for transferring staff to new scales are to be finalised through discussions over the next two weeks.

The improvements, which will come into effect from September 1 of this year, will also see equalisation of annual leave arrangements on the basis of public service clerical officer provisions.

The department also agreed to improve sick pay arrangements, though Fórsa says it is still pursuing full equalisation with ETB-employed secretaries.

The union also said it expected the new employment conditions to be included in a model national contract for secretaries. It said the Department of Education had stated the administration of secretaries' pay would be centralised, with the details to be discussed over the coming weeks.

While work remains to be done on the details of a similar package for caretakers, Fórsa said the department had agreed that the same principles would apply to them.

No agreement has yet been reached on the provision of pensions, but the parties will "try and seek a resolution of this outstanding issue in the final phase of talks on this long-standing dispute," the union said.

Noreen O'Callaghan, who has been a school secretary in Watergrasshill National School, Co Cork since 2001 said she was "absolutely delighted" with today's breakthrough.

Mrs O'Callaghan, who was planning on participating in the strike on Wednesday, said she had already been on strike three times over the last two years.

"Grant paid secretaries were paid from the ancillary grant and to be honest some secretaries got a raw deal," she said.

Mrs O'Callaghan said the school secretary's workload has changed considerably since she started.

"When I started there were about 135 children [in Watergrasshill National School]," she said.

Now there are over 420 pupils, "and still the one secretary."

Looks like I'm in Cork tomorrow after all @wghns just received email to say strike deferred. We are finally getting recognised as public servants. Sick pay. Maternity leave. Thank you @forsa_union_ie @apike1
- Noreen O Callaghan née Cahill (@nobbynoreen) September 14, 2021

Mrs O'Callaghan said it was "unreal" that secretaries would finally be able to avail of sick pay.

"Last year Minister Foley said we could get sick pay if we had Covid. It took a pandemic to bring that change around!"

Mrs O'Callaghan said the next two weeks will be important in the assimilation of pay scales and discussing further pension rights.

But, today is a "good day to be a secretary," she said.

Birdhill National School principal Miriam Kennedy (left) with secretary Gina Byrne Picture: Gina Byrne

Gina Byrne, secretary at Birdhill National School in North Tipperary said secretaries have campaigned "long and hard without gaining much ground," and it was "fantastic" to finally see what appears to be a "major concession" from the Government.

She said she was looking forward to seeing "all the details" and added that she would like to thank her colleagues and families who have supported secretaries in their fight "for so long."

Cionnaith Ó Súilleabháin, a school secretary for the last 10 years at Gaelscoil Mhichíl Uí Choileáin in Clonakilty, West Cork said today they have achieved the recognition which has been fought for since 1978.

"The government and relevant departments have conceded that like all workers, we should have statutory holiday and sick pay. These battles are now won as I understand it but they need swift implementation.

"The issue of the pension is of course outstanding and that battle will continue to be fought over the coming weeks."

It is important that we "do not lose sight of this as we celebrate the gains of the last 24 hours," he added.

Fórsa's head of education Andy Pike said the outcome represented "a major victory" for school secretaries after a decades-long campaign.

"The determination and resolve of school secretaries and caretakers has finally put the end of the two-tier pay system within our grasp. No secretary or caretaker wanted to be on strike tomorrow, but their willingness to take that step in a just cause was crucial to this victory.

"On their behalf, I want to thank the thousands of parents, SNAs, teachers, principals, elected representatives and others who have shown growing support and solidarity for secretaries and caretakers, who are at the heart of the school community," he said.

Andy Pike, head of education at Fórsa, said the determination and resolve of school secretaries and caretakers has finally put the end of the two-tier pay system 'within our grasp.'

On Monday evening, the Fórsa branch committee agreed to defer the strike action for two weeks, pending confirmation of the implementation of the package.

A spokesperson at the Department of Education said there has been "significant progress" in the long running industrial dispute over pay and conditions for school secretaries outside of the ETB sector.

"Subject to agreement on all elements of the claim, the Department has offered to move School Secretaries' pay rates to a scale which is aligned with the Clerical Officer Grade III pay scale within education and training boards on a pro rata basis with an effective date of implementation for these new pay arrangements of 1 September 2021. Pay rates will be pro rata according to a secretary's current working pattern.

"The assimilation of School Secretaries to the CO Grade III pay scale will require further dialogue between the parties and an intensive engagement will take place of over the next two/three weeks to allow this to be finalised."

The Department will engage "directly" with unions in the coming weeks with regards to sick leave, annual leave and maternity provisions for secretaries, they added.

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'Major victory' for school secretaries as they gain public service employment rights

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A national one-day strike by school secretaries and caretakers due to take place on Wednesday has been deferred after "significant concessions" were made by the Department of Education. Trade union Fórsa says the department has "finally conceded" that all school secretaries should be placed on the public service clerical officer scale, bringing an end to a four-decade old two-tier pay system.

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Updated / Tuesday, 14 Sep 2021 08:03

A new café in Limerick is pouring coffee into plastic-free and lidless cups for customers as part of an initiative to tackle plastic pollution.

1930 Café recently opened adjacent to Lidl's new store on Corbally Road, Westbury and uses the ButterflyCup.

The café said it will save more than 1 million plastic coffee cups and lids a year by using the new sustainable cup.

It is planned to expand the concept throughout Ireland.

The ButterflyCup does not contain a plastic laminate lining, is certified as fully recyclable, home compostable and free of toxins. Its all-in-one design eliminates the need for a plastic lid.

Andrew Moloney, founder of 1930 Café said: "With the huge amount of pollution caused by plastic coffee cups, adopting the ButterflyCup was a no brainer for us. It solves the issue of plastic waste caused by takeaway coffee cups which has plagued our industry for decades.

"We are delighted to be using ButterflyCup. Our customers love both the cup and its strong environmental credentials, as it eliminates the use of plastic and is certified as both fully recyclable and home compostable."

Tommy McLoughlin, founder and CEO of ButterflyCup, said: "In Ireland we use hundreds of thousands of plastic coffee cups each day, with the vast majority ending up in landfill or as environmental litter.

"For too long this issue has gone unchecked."

He said he is thrilled that 1930 Café has adopted ButterflyCup.

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Café launches with plastic-free lidless coffee cup

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Updated / Tuesday, 14 Sep 2021 08:03 A new café in Limerick is pouring coffee into plastic-free and lidless cups for customers as part of an initiative to tackle plastic pollution. 1930 Café recently opened adjacent to Lidl's new store on Corbally Road, Westbury and uses the ButterflyCup.

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Household recycling upgrade accepts soft plastics

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Employers in Ireland are planning to give their staff an average annual pay rise of 2.8pc in 2022, according to new research.

lose to half (48pc) of Irish businesses report their current performance in 2021 is in line with expectations for this year, and 46pc are currently ahead of where they expected to be. Added to this, close to one third (29pc) of Irish businesses are planning to recruit and 64pc will at the very least maintain their current headcount in the next 12 months, it showed.

"The projected increase in 2022 points to a sense of optimism among many businesses across Ireland," said the Salary Budget Planning Report, undertaken by Willis Towers Watson.

Only 4pc of employers in Ireland reported recruiting fewer people than planned so far this year, and of those employers who have had to reduce their overall headcount, 59pc reported this was due to 'Business Impact' - presumably the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Close to half of respondents (48pc) who said they are going to recruit are looking to do so in IT in the next 12 months, 43pc in engineering, 42pc in sales, 35pc in skilled technical trades, 13pc in marketing, 10pc in finance and 4pc in human resources.

"In what has been a period of unprecedented challenges, it is encouraging to see Irish employers focusing on the retention of talent via competitive pay this year and into 2022," said Sarah McDonough, country lead for talent and reward for Willis Towers Watson Ireland.

"This suggests that while the economy is recovering, employers in Ireland are focused on both growth and resilience for any future challenges."

Competitive pay, a strong reward offering, and employee support programmes were important mechanisms in retaining and recruiting talent, she said.

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Irish firms confident of success in 2022 and plan average staff wage increases of 2.8pc

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Employers in Ireland are planning to give their staff an average annual pay rise of 2.8pc in 2022, according to new research. lose to half (48pc) of Irish businesses report their current performance in 2021 is in line with expectations for this year, and 46pc are currently ahead of where they expected to be.

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A west Cork supermarket owner who is recruiting summer staff has received a number of applications after he posted a tongue-in-cheek advert warning that he did not want to receive CVs from teenagers who were being forced to apply by their parents.

Colm O'Sullivan of Sam's Gala store in Dunmanway, Co Cork laid out exactly what he didn't want from applicants.

The list of preferences is as follows, according to the ad:

"Daddies asking for a job for their son because he's a big strapping lad, is a good footballer, feeds the neighbour's goldfish when they're on holidays and cuts the lawn every Saturday.

"Mammies asking for a job for their daughter and telling us she's great around the house, emptied the dishwasher at Christmas, cleans her bedroom every Saturday and loves meeting new people yet is sitting in the car outside the door!

"People coming in, handing in their CV over the counter and running out the door like Paddy Cullen running back in to the goal in 1978 to catch Mikey Sheehy's free.

"People who cannot work on Sunday because it's their next-door neighbour's third cousin's First Communion.

"People asking for a job instead of asking for work as the country is full of people with jobs who don't do a tap of work.

"What we DO want are;

"Teenagers who want to make the transition from pocket money to earning their own to come into the shop unaccompanied by parents, ask to speak with Noreen or Colm and simply tell us why they want to work for the summer.

"Top Tip; 'My mother doesn't want me hanging around the house for the summer' or 'my Dad told me to call down' are not the correct answers."

Mr O' Sullivan told Patricia Messinger on Cork's C103FM that the response to advert has been fantastic.

"People have taken it as it was meant to be - tongue in cheek with some seriousness in there. I have teenagers myself and they took the decision at about 14 to distance themselves from myself and my wife because they think they are adults at that stage.

"I think young people should go and fend for themselves, go and look for a job and they appreciate it a lot if they have to go out for the first time in their lives and go looking for work.

"They learn there is a lot more to getting a job like opening a bank account, paying PRSI and in the space of two weeks they have had a serious reality check.

"We are not going to do a rigorous interview process where they have to provide details of exams or tests, all we want is for them to come in and have a chat and tell us why they want to work."

Mr O'Sullivan intends to provide the successful teenagers with up to 10 hours paid work a week in order to spread the earnings around among them.

He said "I want to see the teens coming in on their own and leaving the parents outside. I hope at the end of this they will have CVs with work experience as part of that."

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'Dad told me to call down': Cork shop lists responses it doesn't want to job ad

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A west Cork supermarket owner who is recruiting summer staff has received a number of applications after he posted a tongue-in-cheek advert warning that he did not want to receive CVs from teenagers who were being forced to apply by their parents.

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Marketing Mix for iPhone

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Why makes Supreme so pricey? https://t.co/ocsIVIpToH

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Why makes Supreme so pricey? pic.twitter.com/ocsIVIpToH
— Business Insider (@BusinessInsider) April 28, 2021

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Why makes Supreme so pricey? https://t.co/ocsIVIpToH

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Why makes Supreme so pricey? https://t.co/ocsIVIpToH

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Swedish carmaker Volvo has said it would give its 40,000 employees worldwide the right to six-month paid parental leave in a bid to increase gender equality and attract talent.

As of 1 April, employees who have worked for the company for at least one year will be entitled to the benefit at 80% of their salary.

Employees can take those weeks whenever they like during the first three years after the birth of their child.

The policy is based on Sweden's national parental leave policy, one of the most generous in the world with 480 days to be shared by both parents at 80% of their salary up to a ceiling of around €3,800 a month.

"Most important is that we offer the same to both parents, and we want to encourage more men to take the opportunity to take their parental leave," Hanna Fager, head of Volvo Cars' human resources, told AFP.

Other Swedish companies have previously introduced paid parental leaves for their worldwide employees, including music streaming company Spotify which in 2015 introduced a six-month parental leave with full pay.
Ikea also announced similar programmes in 2017 in India and the US.

Volvo Cars, which said that around 75% of its employees were men, has been testing the policy in a pilot scheme since 2019 for sales staff in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, in which 46% of applicants were fathers.

Ms Fager said paid parental leave was rare in the automotive industry but also geographically.

"We have a lot of people in China and the US and this will be a big improvement compared to what is offered there today," she said.

"Of course this will cost money but ... we see this as a long term investment," she said, adding the company expected "positive outcomes, that we attract more diverse talents, (and) that we also become a more attractive company."

Volvo said the initiative would include all legally registered parents, including adoptive, foster care and surrogate parents, as well as non-birth parents in same-sex couples.

The group said it wanted to "create a culture that supports equal parenting for all genders."

"When parents are supported to balance the demands of work and family, it helps to close the gender gap and allows everyone to excel in their careers," chief executive Hakan Samuelsson said in the statement.

In Ireland, there is an entitlement to 26 weeks unpaid parental leave, which can be taken up to the child's 12th birthday.

Parents are also entitled to two weeks paid parent's leave in the first year of a child's life, as well as maternity and paternity leave entitlements.

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Volvo gives all employees six-month paid parental leave

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Swedish carmaker Volvo has said it would give its 40,000 employees worldwide the right to six-month paid parental leave in a bid to increase gender equality and attract talent. As of 1 April, employees who have worked for the company for at least one year will be entitled to the benefit at 80% of their salary.

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Coca-Cola has been named Ireland's biggest selling brand for the 16th year in a row, according to the latest edition of the Checkout Top 100 brands produced by Checkout Magazine.

Irish brands fared well in the latest edition with Tayto moving into the top five to claim the third place spot.

It was ranked sixth last year.

Bread company Brennans comes in at number five with Cadbury Dairy Milk at two number two and energy drink Lucozade at number four.

Two brands recorded 14-place improvements. They were Fitzgeralds Family Bakery, which went from number 90 to number 76, and energy drink Monster, which moves from number 25 to number 11.

There were seven new entries to the table - Nestlé Aero, Knorr Stock & Gravy Mixes, Zip, Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Kenco Instant Coffee, Birds Eye Fish, and branded mixer range, Schweppes.

"The professionalism and kindness of retailers and their teams since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic is something that is now embedded in the collective psyche of shoppers and is likely to stay with us for many years to come," Maev Martin, Editor of Checkout said.

"It is no surprise that those Irish brands that left no stone unturned to ensure that they were always on our shelves during the current pandemic have excelled in Checkout's Top 100 Brands 2020," Maev Martin, Editor of Checkout said.

"Irish shoppers have responded to the supreme effort put in by the nation's retailers and brands over the past six months by remaining loyal and continuing to buy Irish."

The Checkout Top 100 Brands is based on branded value sales across the Irish grocery sector.

In compiling the report, Nielsen measures the sales performance of over 5,000 brands from over 200 product classes.

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Coca Cola the top selling brand here again - Checkout

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Coca-Cola has been named Ireland's biggest selling brand for the 16th year in a row, according to the latest edition of the Checkout Top 100 brands produced by Checkout Magazine. Irish brands fared well in the latest edition with Tayto moving into the top five to claim the third place spot.

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Burger King has been banned from advertising its plant based 'Rebel Whopper' as being vegan friendly on the basis that it is cooked in the same grill as meat based burgers and is also dressed with mayonnaise which is made from eggs.

he ruling was made by the British Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) who received numerous complaints about the fast food giants claims that the burger was "100% Whopper No Beef" and a "plant-based burger", saying it was not suitable for vegans or vegetarians or those with egg allergies.

In response Burger King stated that the ads explained that the small print at the bottom of the ads stated that the Rebel Whopper may not be suitable for vegans or vegetarians as it was cooked alongside other meat products.

It also added that the information was clearly stated on all social media posts and subsequent customer dialogue and explained that the product itself consisted of a 100% plant-based patty supplied by the Vegetarian Butcher and had no beef. They added that a customer who did not want mayonnaise could have excluded that from their order.

The ASA upheld the claims on the basis that consumers would understand the claims "100% WHOPPER. NO BEEF" and in particular the claim "plant-based burger" to mean that the burger did not contain any beef or animal products.

It also said the timing of the ad and product release to coincide with 'Veganuary' contributed further to the impression that the product was suitable for vegans and vegetarian and while it understood that the patty itself was plant-based, it was cooked on the same grill as meat products. Although this was advertised it was ruled that it was "not sufficiently prominent to override the overall impression that the burger was suitable for vegetarians and vegans."

The ASA ruled that the ads must not appear again in their current form.

Online Editors

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Advertising for Burger King's plant-based burger banned

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Burger King has been banned from advertising its plant based 'Rebel Whopper' as being vegan friendly on the basis that it is cooked in the same grill as meat based burgers and is also dressed with mayonnaise which is made from eggs.

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Impact of China and CoronaVirus on Irish Economy

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Impact of China and CoronaVirus on Irish Economy

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https://www.rte.ie/radio/radioplayer/html5/#/radio1/21709094

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European Parliament ratifies Brexit deal

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Just over a year after the EU's GDPR came into force, we've reached a landmark moment: the first large-scale penalty has been announced, with British Airways facing a fine of £183 million (on the day the fine was announced, equivalent to just short of $228 million) for a data breach disclosed by the company in Sept 2018.

The breach occurred when users of BA's website were re-directed to a fake site, which compromised the personal data of around 500,000 of them. It's the biggest GDPR-related fine so far - by far, and the UK's data protection body - the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) - imposed it based on 1.5 percent of BA's 2017 worldwide revenue.

Whether BA succeeds in appealing the level of the fine or not remains to be seen, but this is huge news on every level. Not only does it illustrate the willingness of regulators to impose massive fines for massive data breaches, it also reminds us that this situation could be just the tip of a financial iceberg. Everyone who has followed and written about GDPR has speculated about the huge level of financial penalties that are possible, given the maximum upper limit of 4 percent of worldwide revenue.

Before you continue reading, how about a follow on LinkedIn?

So, the bigger the company, the bigger the potential fine. BA is part of IAG, one of the world's largest airline groups, and brought in global revenues of $16.5bn in 2018. Yet, IAG sits at 'just' number 428 on the Forbes Global 2000 list. There are 15 companies on that list with annual sales of over $200 billion, for example. A fine for any business of that size, set at the levels now faced by BA, comes out at a truly mind-boggling $3 billion+.

"A Shiver Down the Spine"

It's perhaps now irrelevant to ask whether the mere prospect of heavy regulatory penalties has been changing corporate behaviour over the past year or not. As the BBC put it, the level of the fine will send "a shiver down the spine of anyone responsible for cybersecurity at a major corporation." Its announcement also draws a new line in the sand for everyone, and corporations now have some real numbers to work with. Anyone working under the assumption that regulators wouldn't wave their big stick can no longer be in any doubt.

Business leaders need to ask themselves whether they are content to live with the jeopardy of data protection fines running into the potential nine figure bracket, or whether it's more prudent to invest a fraction of that total on better cybersecurity procedures and technologies.

And there's more to come. With new data privacy legislation arriving on an international and local level, the emphasis on corporate responsibility and accountability has been transformed. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), for example, becomes effective on Jan 1, 2020. Breaching these regulations allows citizens of California to sue for up to $750 for each violation, and the state attorney general can sue for intentional privacy violations of up to $7,500. With the scale of recent data breaches affecting millions of consumers at a time, the potential for companies to face extremely large penalties is clear.

According to a recent report in the Financial Times, talks in the US Senate to create the first national data privacy law have stalled, "as senators argue over how strict the bill should be." But with draft bills in circulation, with a new class of representatives recently sworn into Congress and the CCPA effectively putting a deadline on the debate, there may finally be a national resolution to the US consumer data privacy problem.

Global #databreaches could soon be pursued by multiple regulatory authorities at an international or local level like #GDPR and CCPA. #respectdata Click to Tweet

In the near future, global data breaches could be pursued by multiple regulatory authorities and private citizens alike. Subject to appeal, the size of the BA penalty has set a level against which all future data breach fines will be judged. Who's to say that within a few short years, articles covering the 'Top 10 GDPR Fines' won't show that BA's experience ends up being well down the list?

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GDPR's Big Moment Has Just Arrived - With a $228 Million Data Breach Fine - CPO Magazine

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Just over a year after the EU's GDPR came into force, we've reached a landmark moment: the first large-scale penalty has been announced, with British Airways facing a fine of £183 million (on the day the fine was announced, equivalent to just short of $228 million) for a data breach disclosed by the company in Sept 2018.

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Inside the Supermarket   Series 1  Episode 1 BBC Documentary 2019

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Local Entrepreneurs

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Skip to content

Bank of Ireland's National Enterprise Town Awards recognise the spirit of enterprise in local areas across Ireland, bringing business and community groups together to showcase their efforts to build an economically sustainable community.

There are over 40 awards available from a total prize fund of €193,000 with the overall winning town or urban village/area awarded €33,000 and the title of Ireland's Most Enterprising Town, which in 2018 was won by Letterkenny.

There is also the Rising star category which aims to focus on towns which have overcome major challenges and can demonstrate how they have achieved this. Last year "The Kells Old Print Works" took home the trophy and €20,000.

The local authorities and their LEOS support the nomination of towns, cities and villages/areas on behalf of their own city or county while this year there was an opportunity for the public to nominate their locality. Also new in 2019 are the "small towns" category.

The judging process started in Phibsborough, Dublin on the 22nd of August and will continue until mid-October. The winners will be announced at a gala awards ceremony in December. We've travelled the length and breadth of the country to find the winner of this year's National Enterprise Town Awards. On our travels we've discovered towns that embody the enterprise spirit. Discover Cloonan's Hardware's story in Tullamore and the Quilt Yarn Stitch story in Tuam.

Stay tuned to www.bankofireland.com/neta2019 and thinkbusiness.ie for news and updates on National Enterprise Town Awards, including entrants, judges schedule and local stories which showcase how local businesses and community groups work together and enable their community to thrive.

The entry process is now closed, please contact your Head of County as listed in the FAQs below

FAQs

List of Bank of Ireland contacts by County

Name

County

Mobile No.

Email address

TBC

Cavan/Monaghan

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National Enterprise Town Awards 2019 - Bank of Ireland Business Banking

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Skip to content Bank of Ireland's National Enterprise Town Awards recognise the spirit of enterprise in local areas across Ireland, bringing business and community groups together to showcase their efforts to build an economically sustainable community.

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Insurance

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RTÉ - IRELAND’S NATIONAL PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA

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Tackling 'Compo Culture' - Explained by Prime Time

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Greenhouse Gas Leekage from ESB

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Advertising Legislation

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Ireland fined for environmental impact of windfarm

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Ireland fined for environmental impact of windfarm

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The new Brexit deal EXPLAINED - BBC Newsnight

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Climate change Ireland

The present climate

The country enjoys a relatively mild temperate oceanic climate, influenced by the relatively warm waters of the Gulf Stream and the prevailing south-westerly winds from the Atlantic. The coldest months are January and February, with mean daily air temperatures of between 4⁰C and7 ⁰C while the warmest are July and August, with mean temperatures of between 14⁰C and 16⁰C (1).

Rainfall is well distributed throughout the year. In low-lying areas average annual rainfall is mostly between 800 and 1200 mm but ranges from less than 750 mm in some eastern areas to 1500 mm in parts of the west. In mountainous areas annual rainfall may exceed 2000 mm (1).

Air temperature changes until now

Mean annual temperature records closely resemble global trends, with warming evident in 2 periods, 1910 to the mid-1940s, and 1980 to 2004. The warming in the latter period occurred at a much greater rate than the global temperature increase. Nearly all stations reveal increases in annual and seasonal mean maximum and minimum temperatures (2,5).

Temperatures increased by 0.7⁰C since 1890, i.e. an average of 0.06⁰C per decade. The increase was 0.4⁰C during the period 1980-2008, i.e. equivalent to 0.14⁰C per decade. All seasons are warmer but more so in winter (2,4). Significant decreases in frost frequency and increases in 'hot' day frequencies are also occurring (4). In Ireland, 6 of the 10 warmest years have occurred since 1995, the warmest year in that period being 1997 (5).

The increase in temperature is not even throughout the year; a greater seasonal differentiation becomes apparent with greater increases in temperature in the summer months. The central eastern part of the country shows the greatest increase in summer temperature. The effect of climate change is to make all of the country warmer at all times of the year with less warming in the north-east and the south-west in winter (3).

Precipitation changes until now

Changes to precipitation patterns in the previous century are more spatially and seasonally variable than temperature changes. The number of days where daily precipitation is greater than or equal to 10 mm (extreme precipitation events) reveals significant annual increases on the west coast. There has been a significant increase in total rainfall in the north and west; many stations also show increases in March and October (2).

Substantial increases in winter precipitation have occurred during the 20th century in north-western parts (over 10%) and decreased summer rainfall is apparent in the south-east (4). A rainfall dataset over the period 1850-2010 indicates positive trends in winter and negative trends in summer precipitation (11).

Air temperature changes in the 21st century

It is projected that by 2050 there will an increase in January temperatures of 1.5°C. Winter conditions in Northern Ireland and the north midlands will be similar to those currently experienced along the south coast. July temperatures are projected to increase by approximately 2.5°C, and there will be marked reductions in summer rainfall by 25-40% (5).

It is projected that by 2100 average warming in Ireland will be 1-3⁰C, compared to the 1961-2000 average (2).

Future cold spells in Western Europe are projected to become about 5°C warmer (and remain above freezing point), thus having a significant climatic impact. This conclusion is based on research in which a cold spell (CS) is defined as a non-interrupted sequence of days in which the 5-day average temperature falls below a threshold value Tcold (8).

Northern Ireland

Projections of future change (measured relative to the 1960-1991 baseline) for Northern Ireland if high emissions continue are an increase in mean winter temperature very likely to be between 0.3-1.7ºC by 2020s, 1-2.9ºC by 2050s and 1.7-4.4ºC by 2080s, and an increase in mean summer temperature very likely to be between 0.3-2.1ºC by 2020s, 1.1-4ºC by 2050s and 4.2-6.2ºC (7).

Output from three GCMs and two IPCC emissions scenarios (A2 and B2) have been used to downscale daily maximum and minimum temperatures to nine climatological stations across Northern Ireland (9). Results illustrate a progressive warming for both maximum and minimum temperatures. The results, averaged across all GCMs, emissions scenarios, sites, and seasons, are:

These results lie within the temperature range of previous studies (10). Autumn is the season projected to experience the most warming, for both maximum and minimum temperatures, with spring projected to increase the least. The number of frost days is projected to decline considerably for all sites, with an average of 219 less frost days over the 30-year period centred on the 2080s from the modelled baseline period 1961-1990 (9).

Precipitation changes in the 21st century

The impacts of climate change on precipitation over Ireland have been assessed for the mid-century period 2041-2060 (compared with the reference period 1981-2000) using an ensemble of downscaled climate simulations (three high-resolution RCMs, driven by four global climate models), based on medium-to-low and high emission scenarios (SRES B1, A1B and A2 scenarios and RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). The results of this assessment show the following (15):

Mean precipitation: Significant projected decreases in mean annual, spring and summer precipitation amounts are shown by mid-century. The projected decreases are largest for summer, with reductions ranging from 0 to 13% and from 3 to 20% for the medium-to-low and high emission scenarios, respectively. The drying signal for autumn is less robust. A projected increase in mean precipitation for winter was noted over most of Ireland for the high emission ensemble, but this should be viewed with a low level of confidence.

Heavy precipitation: The frequencies of heavy precipitation events (daily precipitation greater than 30 mm) show notable increases of approximately 20% during the winter and autumn months, probably due to an increase of the number of intense storms (16).

Dry periods: In this study a dry period is defined as at least five consecutive days for which the daily precipitation is less than 1 mm. The number of dry periods is projected to increase substantially by mid-century during autumn and summer. The projected increases in number of dry periods are largest for summer, with values ranging from 12 to 40% for both emission scenarios. The autumn projected increases in number of dry periods range from 3 to 39% for the medium-to-low emission scenarios, and from 1 to 32% for the high emission scenarios. The annual projected increases in number of dry periods range from 7 to 28% for the medium-to-low emission scenarios, and from 2 to 25% for the high emission scenarios.

For the 21 st century decreases are projected of approximately 25% in amounts of summer receipts. Geographically, these are most significant in the south-east where decreases of summer rainfall amounts in excess of 40% are anticipated over the next five decades (2,4). Wetter winters are projected in the west in 2021-2060 compared to 1961-2000 (2).

Northern Ireland

Projections of future change (measured relative to the 1960-1991 baseline) for Northern Ireland if high emissions continue are a change in winter mean precipitation very likely to be between -3 to +10% by 2020s, 2 to 19% by 2050s and +6 to +34% by 2080s, and a change in summer mean precipitation very likely to be between -15 to +10% by 2020s, -28 to +4% by 2050s and -39 to +4% by 2080s (7).

Wind climate changes in the 21st century

It is highly uncertain how winter storm tracks over the North Atlantic Ocean may change under climate change this century (13). Following the general consensus in the literature to date, the average wind changes over the North Atlantic by the end of the century are small and negative and less than the high natural interannual variability of the region (14). Natural variability is large and dominant and is projected to remain so for the century to come. A recent study shows that mean wind speed at 10 m height will decrease this century up to 3% over the North Atlantic Ocean for all seasons under moderate (RCP4.5) and high-end (RCP8.5) scenarios of climate change. This study was based on global climate model projections for the period 2070 - 2099 compared with 1980 - 2009. The study also shows that wind extremes and storminess over the North Atlantic Ocean will also decrease: the 5% strongest winds (the so-called 95th percentile of all wind speeds) will decrease by up to 15%. Wind climate changes over the North Atlantic Ocean not necessarily reflect future changes in wind climate over Ireland, however: the projected decreases in the frequency and intensity of wind storms crossing Ireland are not statistically significant (12).

Wind speeds could be about 10% stronger in winter on average by mid-century (measured at a height of 60-metres), but about 15% lighter in summer. Wind speed is another very uncertain variable, however (6).

References

The references below are cited in full in a separate map 'References'. Please click here if you are looking for the full references for Ireland.

1. Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (2010)

2. McElwain and Sweeney (2007), in: Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (2010)

3. Environmental Protection Agency (2003)

4. Sweeney et al. (2002), in: Environmental Protection Agency (2003)

5. Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (2007)

6. Irish Academy of Engineering (2009)

7. UKCIP09 UL Climate Projections 09, in: Northern Ireland Environment Agency (2009?)

8. De Vries et al. (2012)

9. Mullan et al. (2012)

10. Arkell et al. (2007); Fealy and Sweeney (2008), both in: Mullan et al. (2012)

11. Noone et al. (2016)

12. Gallagher et al. (2016)

13. Church et al. (2013), in: Gallagher et al. (2016)

14. Collins et al. (2013), in: Gallagher et al. (2016)

15. Nolan et al. (2017)

16. Nolan (2015), in: Nolan et al. (2017)

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climate change climate adaptation sustainability global warming

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The country enjoys a relatively mild temperate oceanic climate, influenced by the relatively warm waters of the Gulf Stream and the prevailing south-westerly winds from the Atlantic. The coldest months are January and February, with mean daily air temperatures of between 4⁰C and7 ⁰C while the warmest are July and August, with mean temperatures of between 14⁰C and 16⁰C (1).