Troubled mortgage holder reprimanded for shopping in Tesco instead of Lidl

A bank official in Co Wicklow reprimanded a troubled mortgage holder for shopping in Tesco instead of Lidl, according to an extraordinary claim by TD Stephen Donnelly today.
Donnelly, elected as an Independent in the Wicklow constituency last year, has written a column for the Sunday Independent on Ireland's economic woes and the part played by the bailed-out banks in the day-to-day financial problems of the country's embattled population.
His article contained the extraordinary claim that one of his constituents was given a slap on the wrist by an official of an unnamed bank for failing to change their grocery shopping habits.
He wrote, "The banks have vast financial and legal resources which borrowers do not. They also have the law. The law says that your bank can repossess your house when you fall into arrears, and that a judge cannot take into account any mitigating circumstances. It says that your bank can move to bankrupt you for a debt as low as €1900.
"Your bank can extract every last penny from you. The ones I have asked, including AIB and Bank of Ireland, have no guidelines in place for what they will leave you with, for what qualifies as a 'reasonable standard of living'.
"One Wicklow local I spoke to recently was chastised by a bank official who spotted a bill for shopping which had been done in Tesco when there was a Lidl nearby."
With one in 12 mortgage holders in arrears of three months or more, and little immediate

Medical card

A WICKLOW County Councillor has slammed the delays experienced by many constituents seeking to have their medical cards issued and renewed.
Cllr. Pat Fitzgerald told this newspaper that he has been inundated with calls from concerned people across South Wicklow who have been waiting for months at a time for their cards.
According to the Fianna Fáil councillor the average waiting period should be around 15 working days, however constituents have been waiting much longer than this on many occasions.
'I am aware of some applicants waiting for months. I contacted the HSE directly on several occasions and the reasons for non issuing ranged from lost files to non receipt of information. In some cases the information required had been forwarded at least three times,' he said.
'If applications were within the guidelines as laid out and provided all the information sought there are no reasons for issuing of cards to be delayed other than financial,' he added.
Cllr. Fitzgerald paid tribute to medical practitioners and pharmacists without whom he said some medical card applicants would be left without much needed medication.

Oscar nominees filmed in Wicklow

TWO films partly filmed in County Wicklow are in the running to receive Academy Awards.
'Albert Nobbs', which was filmed over seven weeks in Wicklow and Dublin in 2010, stars Glenn Close and has received three nominations - best actress for Close, best supporting actress for Janet Mcteer, and best makeup.
The film is set in 19th century Ireland and also stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Brendan Gleeson and Maria DoyleKennedy.
63-year-old Close plays woman who passes as a man to work and survive in Dublin in 1898
Meanwhile, 11-minute long 'Pentecost' is in the live action short category. It was also filmed in Dublin as well as on location in Glencree.
The film is set in 1977 when 11-year-old Damian Lynch is called in at the last moment to serve as an altar boy at an important mass in his local parish.
Pentecost was written and directed by Peter Mcdonald and made by Dublin's Emu productions.

New online law will force sites to remove personal data

EMBARRASSING, inaccurate or simply personal data will have to be deleted from the internet and company databases if consumers ask, under a new set of European laws.

The move will mean that social networks such as Facebook or Twitter will have to comply with users' requests to delete everything they have ever published about themselves online. It will also mean that consumers will be able to force companies that hold data about them, such as for Tesco's Clubcard, to remove it.

The changes, which could take more than two years to implement, also include a new EU power to fine companies up to 2 per cent of their global turnover if they breach the rules.

Businesses will also have a new duty to inform regulators and anyone affected by data breaches “as soon as possible”. Commentators and lawyers have warned that in the case of large scale hacks, informing millions of users that their data is at risk could impose an unreasonable burden on firms, and risks dissuading the development of innovative services.

EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding, however, claimed her “proposals will help build trust in online services because people will be better informed about their rights and more in control of their information”.

Current rules were put in place in 1995. “Today vast amounts of personal data are transferred and exchanged, across continents and around the globe in fractions of seconds," said Commissioner Reding. "The protection of personal data is a fundamental right for all Europeans, but citizens do not always feel in full control of their personal data."

The new laws will apply to any company offering services in an EU nation. They aim to make it easier for users to move their data from one service to another, such as from Facebook to LinkedIn, and will force companies and organisations to be clear about how they are using data. Any body with more than 250 employees will also be compelled to appoint a member of staff as a data protection officer.

The UK office of the International Chamber of Commerce said there would be benefits and costs to the new legislation. UK chief executive Stephen Pattison said that “Some of the proposed rules—such as the “right to be forgotten”—raise immediate concerns about compliance costs; but more fundamentally we need to understand how the legislation might impact on the development and deployment of new technologies and business models.

"Data is increasingly used to allow business to deliver new and improved services to their customers," Mr Pattison said. "In protecting individual privacy, we must be careful not to undermine what is now a key driver of competition, growth and innovation. It’s not clear that the Commission’s proposals strike the right balance”.

Mr Pattison added that EU plans should also be drafted in collaboration with other international legislation. The EU claims that current laws are often conflicting and cost businesses a total of nearly £2bn a year.

Quentin Archer, a partner at law firm Hogan Lovells, said that “The draft regulation will greatly increase the cost of compliance for business, particularly in the UK where we have enjoyed a relatively relaxed but pragmatic, business-friendly regime to date.”

Marc Dautlich, a partner rival firm Pinsent Masons, added that “While the new law aims to protect personal data some of the concepts will be extremely expensive for internet businesses to implement. For example the ‘Right to be Forgotten’ would mean that users could demand that social media networks such as Facebook erase any of their comments, not just from the network itself but the entire web, which would involve unprecedented co-operation with search engines to achieve.”

Warning To Road Users

Gardai and the Road Saftety Authority are urging all road users to be careful as the weather deteriorates over the coming hours.
MET Eireann have issued the following forcast, Mild and windy this afternoon with rain spreading from the west to all parts. The rain will turn persistent or heavy for a time and winds gust between 75 and 100 km/h in exposed areas at first. Drier, clearer and colder weather will gradually spread from the west in the late afternoon or early evening and the winds veer westerly and ease. Highs of 9 to 11 Celsius.
Cold tonight with ground frost inland and risk of icy patches. Some wintry showers of rain, hail or sleet spreading from west overnight and falling as snow on some hills and mountains. Min temps 0 to 3 C

Wicklow Galary

Wicklow County Childcare Committee training and events

WCCC IS currently planning its training and events programme for the Spring and early Summer of 2012.
It'll include the 'regular' Occupational, Refresher and Paediatric First Aid courses, as well as, Manual Handling and Fire Warden training for those working in childcare.
Other courses being considered are Irish for pre-schoolers, a basic 'Be comfortable with your Computer' and, a beginning focus on the objectives of the national Literacy and Numeracy Strategy will include Speech and Language Development and Story Sack courses, and a Professional Development Day for childcare providers with four themes covered. The QAP for Childminders will also be run, as usual.
And WCCC is delighted to welcome David Coleman back to Co Wicklow in May, presenting his unique view of, and very helpful tips about, how to be the best parent you can be – and not give yourself a hard time. Full details will be available in the pro-