Fuming: Dubs fans get just 8,000 tickets for All-Ireland final
DUBLIN fans are set to miss out on the All-Ireland final as GAA chiefs have allocated just 8,000 tickets to the capital.
A massive scramble for tickets was under way today after it was revealed that Dublin will get just a tiny proportion of the 82,500 seats on offer.
Dublin County Board chairman Andy Kettle fumed: "It just doesn't work. The figures don't add up."
The fixture against Kerry has led to unprecedented demand for the September 18 game.
A spokesman for the GAA said that tickets for the final are distributed through county boards to ensure clubs, players and members are looked after.
But Mr Kettle said: "At a league game you could have anything from 15,000 to 25,000 Dublin supporters and they rightly say that they are entitled to a ticket if they go in the depths of winter, in the wind and cold and rain."He added: "There is going to be a huge amount of disappointed genuine Dublin supporters."
Joe Nugent, secretary of the Dublin GAA Supporters Club, told the Herald while it is disappointing, there is "nothing surprising" in the allocation.
"Clearly that is way below the level of demand for a league game, never mind an All-Ireland final," he said.
"It's an unsatisfactory arrangement and does not reflect the demand or the amount of support provided through the years.
"Dublin's average attendance at home matches in Parnell Park would be more than 8,000," he added.
Mr Nugent said the "vast bulk of tickets" are going to non-competing counties, opening the way for ticket touts.
He said the Government had a "real responsibility here" to outlaw the selling of tickets above face value.
GAA bosses have also pushed up the price of a standard ticket by almost 15pc to €80.
But the huge demand means tickets will sell for five times that on the black market.
And parents hoping to bring their children to see the Dubs in their first All-Ireland final in 16 years will have to fork out adult prices.
Up until now, children were allowed into championship games for a nominal €5 but will now have to pay full price.
The best family deal on offer is a ticket for four that has jumped in price from €240 to €280 since last year.
Terrace tickets have also risen in price from €35 in 2010 to €40 this year.
Charity swim stars battle jellyfish
Five celebrities have told of their battles with giant jellyfish while swimming the Irish Sea in a marathon fundraising effort.
The charity relay for Cancer Research UK sees the famous names, led by boyband idol Ronan Keating, swim the 56 nautical miles (65 land miles) from Holyhead in Anglesey, North Wales, to Dublin.
Keating, 34, was first off the slipway in his wet suit and flippers at around 9pm on Tuesday night, followed by TV presenter Jenny Frost, who then handed over to Strictly Come Dancing star Pamela Stephenson. Gadget Show host Jason Bradbury and Olympic medallist swimmer Steve Parry are also taking part.
The team is following the sea's tidal pattern and currently heading north after swimming for about 21 nautical miles in a south-westerly direction.
Speaking during a break, Keating said he was mostly spending his hour-long stints swallowing sea water and avoiding "alien-like" jellyfish."I'm not one of the advanced swimmers so I'm concentrating on my swimming, my breathing and keeping my body moving," he added.
The celebrities are being helped by five 'super swimmers' and while at sea each member of the relay is expected to swim for one hour until arriving in Dublin after an estimated 40 hours.
Frost, 33, said: "I went in at about 7am and it was lovely in the water but there were lots of jellyfish so it was quite scary. They are huge, like a cross between a nuclear bomb and aliens.
"When you come face to face with one, you just feel so vulnerable and so minuscule. It's quite a humbling experience."
Keating came up with the idea with Sir Richard Branson, who was also due to take part in the relay but pulled out at the weekend after his Caribbean home on Necker Island burned to the ground. They hope to raise more than £1 million for Cancer Research.
Little change in jobless total
The total number of people signing on the dole showed little change this month, with about 500 fewer on the register.
Official figures recorded 469,713 jobseekers on benefits in August, taking the unemployment rate to 14.4%.
And the Central Statistics Office warned that the number of people claiming benefits long-term continues to increase, with 40.8% of all those on the Live Register now signing on for one year or more. The total number on benefits increased by 2,790 over the last year.
Richard Bruton, Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation, urged patience amid pressure for Government policies to reverse the jobs crisis."It has taken years of bad policies to get us into this crisis, and it will take some time for good policies to have their effect," the minister said.
"Today's figures underline the need for radical reform in our economy, and I am determined to keep implementing my plan to make the necessary changes to help create the jobs we so badly need."
Mark Fielding, chief executive of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association, claimed the Government's Jobs Initiative, which targeted the tourism sector, is not working.
"With the best will in the world, educational and training programmes, internship schemes and other such initiatives have a very limited capacity to get people back into the workforce," he said.
The Live Register report showed 88,770 under-25s signing on in August. Youth Work Ireland warned that training and education commitments are not sufficient to address the huge numbers of young people looking for work.
Spokesman Michael McLoughlin said: "If young people drift into long-term unemployment in substantial numbers, it may be hard to rescue that situation when any recovery occurs."
Quarter lack emergency health cover
Almost a quarter of the Irish adult population do not have cover for medical emergencies.
Latest figures revealed 41% had private health insurance at the end of last year, with another 30% in receipt of the medical card, and 6% having both.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said the proportion of men and women with medical cards rose as unemployment soared over the last three years - from 24% to 31% for men and 34% to 41% for women.
The number of non-Irish nationals with medical card cover doubled from 16% to 34%.
The quarterly national household survey also revealed more men relied solely on general public health cover than women, with 26% of men not having either a medical card or private health insurance, compared with a fifth of women.
The CSO survey found hospital waiting lists rose to 8% towards the end of last year, from 6% in 2007.
People with a disability were more likely to be in need of tests or treatment, with 14% on an out-patient waiting list, 5% on an in-patient waiting list and 3% waiting for a day-care procedure.
Figures revealed 13% of all people had been on an out-patient waiting list for at least 12 months. On average, those on an in-patient waiting list reported the longest wait - with 40% reporting a wait of less than three months and 21% reporting waiting times of 12 months or more.
Elsewhere the CSO revealed eight out of 10 adults reported being happy all or most of the time last year despite the recession.
Some 87% perceived their own health was good or better, while 44% of women and 40% of men had at least one condition. Hypertension, chronic back pain and high cholesterol were the most common ailments reported.