A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Dentists warn not to over-brush teeth
THE IRISH Dental Association has urged patients who suffer from tooth sensitivity not to over-brush their teeth.
Dublin-based dentist Dr Ray McCarthy said the most common cause of tooth sensitivity is gum recession, often due to vigorous or heavy handed brushing. “Our gums are like blankets which protect the roots of the teeth. If this protective layer is worn away, the roots which are linked directly to the nerve become exposed and painful.” About one in five Irish people suffers from sensitive teeth.
Age Action turns finances around through cost cuts
A SERIES of cost-cutting measures at Age Action Ireland, including a 5 per cent pay cut and two weeks’ unpaid leave for all staff, helped towards turning around the organisation’s finances last year.
New figures show that Age Action Ireland, which provided services to 32,000 older people last year, recorded a surplus of €231,536 in 2011 following a loss of €671,783 in 2010 – a positive swing of €903,319. Along with the cost- cutting measures, which also included a pensions holiday for 2011, an increase in donations from €178,015 to €218,222 last year also helped to bring the organisation back into the black.
However, chief executive of Age Action, Robin Webster, said yesterday that “the first six months of 2012 have been very difficult. The charity recognises that it is over-dependent on statutory funding for many of its programmes. This leaves it at risk if these are cut.
“Fundraising in the current climate is very difficult. The five-year sponsorship arrangement for our Care and Repair programme is also due to end next year and we are searching for a new sponsor.
“Age Action is working very hard in the hope of breaking even in 2012. However, that will depend on the degree to which statutory grants and fundraising are affected by the recession,” he said.
Mr Webster confirmed that the wage cuts, unpaid leave and pensions holiday accounted for savings of €88,000 in 2011. He said the Age Action Board decided to discontinue the cost-cutting measures given the improvement in finances with the exception of the 5 per cent cut for staff earning more than €50,000 a year, that relates to four staff.
GORDON DEEGAN
Vatican daily newspaper appeals for 'bald' Barbie
THE VATICAN’S official daily newspaper has appealed to the makers of the Barbie doll to put a bald version of the doll on toy shop shelves for children who have lost their hair through chemotherapy or illness. Mattel has launched a bald Barbie shorn of her cascading blonde locks, but plans to donate it directly to hospitals.
The new version of the doll was developed following a Facebook campaign launched by the mother of a girl who underwent chemotherapy in the US, which drew 150,000 supporters this year. Over the weekend, L’Osservatore Romano, the Holy See’s daily, urged Mattel to go one step further. “Why not sell the bald Barbie?” it asked.
While praising the new model, the author of the article, historian Giulia Galeotti, took the US toy maker to task on its track record, calling Barbie “one of the most criticised and stigmatised [dolls], and rightly so”. With her “perfect and unreal” figure, Barbie remains a symbol of “plastic beauty and vacuous blondeness”, the article argued. Galeotti gives credit to Mattel for introducing diverse Barbies over the years, not to mention Becky, Barbie’s friend who uses a wheelchair. This is although the original version of Becky could not fit through the front door of Barbie’s Dream House and had hair so long it would get caught in the wheels of her wheelchair. The new, bald Barbie – officially a “friend” of Barbie’s – who will come with wigs, hats and headscarves, was further proof that the all-American blonde was evolving, the paper said. “But a doubt remains,” it said. “How many of us have ever found these Barbies on shop shelves? Why is there no trace in the real world of this line-up of politically and educationally correct dolls?”– Guardian Service