Brussels briefing
There are more than 52m people worldwide registered as domestic workers.
It is a growing sector, according to the International Labour Organisation that held a joint meeting with Jobs Minister Richard Bruton in Geneva.
The EU is due to ratify the convention on improving the working conditions of domestic workers, acknowledging that they are operating unprotected.
Mr Bruton said Ireland would be among the first to sign up. Ireland has a code of practice drawn up with the social partners and has been carrying out inspections hoping to educate those with domestic workers about their obligations as employers.
The problem is to create the ‘win-win’ situation desired by the ILO where being recognised in the economy does not mean employers cannot afford them, but giving sufficient protection to ensure their rights.
A test of ordinary people living in cities in 18 European countries found that almost half had the weedkiller, Round-up in their urine.
The Monsanto herbicide — chemical name glyphosate — is used globally and its use is increasing with the number of GM crops being certified for use.
The tests which did not include Ireland but did include Britain, were analysed at the German medical laboratory in Bremen on behalf of the environmental group, Friends of the Earth.
They point out that there is no monitoring of glyphosate in food, water or the wider environment and this is the first time humans have been tested for its presence, which proves that it is finding its way into human beings.
Cyberbullying is an increasing phenomenon and leads not just to misery for many young people, but also to suicide as evidence from Ireland shows.
A peer mentoring and counselling programme, BeatBullying, has been rolled out in Britain with 7,000 mentors and similar initiatives being launched in seven other EU states.
MEPs Phil Prendergast and Seán Kelly are having a round table debate about the issue in the European Parliament this week to raise awareness — and doubtless urge a similar initiative in Ireland.
Ireland came out very slightly ahead of the EU average in a study of gender equality in the EU. It was unveiled at a conference in Brussels by junior minister Kathleen Lynch and president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy.
The study ranked Irish women 19th and well below the EU average in terms of power, not surprising that we have one of the lowest female representations in the Dáil.
Minister Lynch said Ireland will use the Gender Index to create awareness of the deficits and gaps that need to be bridged to achieve real gender equality.
Irish football teams may not win prizes on the pitch, but the fans take all the awards — especially in Poland.
Polish MEP, Filip Kaczmarek, organised a celebration of Irish culture in Poznan to follow up on the visit of Irish fans for Euro 2012. Organised with Fine Gael MEP Gay Mitchell, it was based on James Joyce’s Ulysses with a local theatre group taking people on a trip based on the book.
Everyday chemicals used to produce perfumes, cosmetics, fertilisers, oils and pharmaceuticals can be dual use products.
In the wrong hands they can be diverted for use in the manufacture of heroin, cocaine and ecstasy. Just 200g of piperonal, used in perfumes and flavourings, is enough to produce 4,000 street doses of ecstasy.
Huge amounts of acetic anhydride, used for detergents, is being diverted to produce heroin — as little as a litre can help produce a kilo of the drug. New rules will mean that all those in touch with the chemicals from manufacture to distribution will have to be registered.
Frequently, industry lobbies like crazy to water down proposals from the European Commission — and member states and MEPs comply, introducing weaker standards.
It happened with emissions from vehicles, and with labelling for food. And both times, industry turned around and complied faster, leaving the legislation weak and limping.
Having gone against all the consumer demands and the scientific surveys, the MEPs last year rejected the ‘traffic light’ scheme for food products favoured by real people.
And now, the biggest sinners in the food basket — Pepsi, Mars and Nestlé — together with the vast majority of retailers in Britain have signed up to colour coding — that shows at a glance the presence of saturated fats, sugars and salt.
Schools wishing to deny science which insist that God created the world in seven days and that Darwin was wrong could do so without a problem, according to Socialist MEPs after the European Parliament adopted EU Guidelines on the Promotion and Protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief.
It says that the right of parents to educate their children according to their religious or non-religious convictions cannot be restricted and includes their right to deny any interference from state or non-state actors in this education if it goes against their beliefs.
The European Humanist Federation points out that this part completely ignores the emerging autonomy of the child (Art. 14 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child) and his/her right to receive pluralistic ideas and information (Art. 13 CRC).
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