Taoiseach arrives at Cop26
World leaders have gathered at the crunch climate summit in Glasgow amid warnings that they must take urgent action to limit dangerous global warming.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Australian prime minister Scott Morrison, German chancellor Angela Merkel, and Canadian leader Justin Trudeau were among some 120 leaders due to attend.
The issue for Cop26 on climate change is “matching the rhetoric with action”, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
“There’s no alternative facing the world but to deal very quickly and urgently with the climate change challenge,” he said.
Meanwhile, delegates arriving at the conference faced long queues to get into the Scottish Event Campus venue on Monday for the opening ceremony.
British prime minister Boris Johnson, who was welcoming leaders to Glasgow for the talks alongside UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, will tell them that humanity has “long since run down the clock on climate change” and must act now to tackle the crisis.
Yellen says 15% corporate tax rate unlikely to change
US treasury secretary Janet Yellen has said the new global minimum corporate tax rate of 15 per cent is unlikely to be changed.
Ms Yellen arrived in Dublin for a bilateral meeting with Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe on Monday, to discuss progress on the newly agreed OECD worldwide tax rate.
She denied that Ireland, which had long defended its 12.5 per cent corporate tax rate, had been “cajoled” into signing up to the agreement.
Ireland is understood to have objected successfully to a provision in the deal that would set the tax “at least” at 15 per cent, amid fears it could rise further.
Niac discussing booster vaccines for healthcare workers
The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac) is meeting today to discuss extending the vaccine booster programme to healthcare workers.
Covid-19 vaccine boosters will be rolled out in the State this week for people over 60 as virus infection rates continue to surge.
The fact healthcare workers are yet to receive a booster vaccine has been the source of much anger on the frontline and the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac) will meet on Monday to discuss extending the programme to healthcare workers.
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has called on Niac to roll out booster vaccines to healthcare workers as soon as possible.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha wrote to Niac chairwoman Professor Karina Butler on Friday for the second time in a week.
A total of 3,500 healthcare staff are currently out of work due to Covid-related illnesses, a figure that has almost doubled in the past 10 days.
Professor of Immunology at Trinity College, Kingston Mills, says Niac are taking too long to make decisions.
"The healthcare workers were among the first to be vaccinated way back in February, March. A lot of them got the AstraZeneca vaccine as well, so the immune response to that vaccine is not as strong as the one generated with mRNA vaccines - Moderna and Pfizer - so the immunity will have waned more in these."
Nursing homes call for Covid testing to resume
Serial testing for Covid-19 should be reintroduced to protect nursing home residents as cases rise, Nursing Homes Ireland has said.
As the Irish Examiner reports, since June 27th, there have been 1,751 cases recorded in nursing homes, including 87 from 12 new outbreaks last week.
Since that date there have been 106 Covid deaths recorded in the homes by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).
Serial testing was phased out by the HSE as cases declined. It is currently only available to homes where an outbreak was confirmed to help contain it.
Nursing Homes Ireland chief executive Tadhg Daly estimates it is being used in between 180 and 190 homes, but he wants to see it more widely available again.
“If there was high incidence in a community and a nursing home felt they wanted to introduce testing, we’re saying there should be quick and timely re-engagement with serial testing based on local needs,” he said, adding infection control poses “a huge challenge“ despite the significant vaccination benefits.
