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Lidl Ireland fans rushing to buy ‘jumbo' pool perfect for heatwave as temperatures soar to 28C

Lidl Ireland fans rushing to buy ‘jumbo' pool perfect for heatwave as temperatures soar to 28C

The Irish Sun3 days ago
LIDL Ireland fans are rushing to buy a "jumbo" pool perfect for heatwaves as temperatures are set to soar to 28C.
The jumbo Leisure Pool is now in stores
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Lidl Ireland has released a jumbo pool as temperatures are set to soar this week
Credit: Lidl Ireland
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And it comes in two different styles
Credit: Lidl Ireland
Parts of the continent have already seen the mercury rocket past 46C, shutting schools and causing a string of heat-related deaths.
And Lidl Ireland is bringing back an affordable way to cool off this
Available from June 16 until August 31, this inflatable pool is set to be a popular pick for families looking to enjoy the warm
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The pool comes in two styles, so you can choose between a hexagonal or rectangular shape to suit your space.
It features a two air chamber system and quick-release valves are included to make inflating and deflating faster.
When fully set up, the pool measures 202 by 151 centimetres with a height of either 46 or 60 centimetres depending on the style.
This size is big enough for
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And at €19.99, this bargain buy is one of the most budget-friendly options around.
Savvy
40 Day Health Challenger shares healthy weekly Lidl shop
What's more, the
LIDL SUMMER BARGAINS
To start,
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This compact unit includes three speed settings and an optional 85° oscillation function.
Its adjustable tilt angle lets you direct airflow exactly where it's needed, while its measurements are 46 x 34 x 24cm, making it suitable for desks,
What's more, It even comes with a three-year guarantee.
This fan is geared toward those looking for a quieter, more versatile cooling option this
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Lidl is also offering small portable fans at €5.99 each, or two for €10.
Despite their size, they include three fan speed settings and a tiltable head.
A portable air cooler is also available at Lidl, now reduced from €17.99 to €12.99.
It's designed for personal use, with a 700ml water tank that can run for up to seven hours.
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The cooler has three air speed settings and includes a dimmable LED mood light.
It cools and humidifies, offering a different effect from a regular fan and it comes with a built-in carry handle so you can move it between rooms.
THE HISTORY OF LIDL IN IRELAND
LIDL first opened in Germany in 1973.
Back then, it employed just three people, stocking 500 product lines.
The first Irish store, located just off Molesworth Street in Dublin, was opened in 1999.
This was Lidl's first entry into the Irish grocery market.
Then, Lidl opened more stores in 2000, in Limerick, Letterkenny, Mullingar, Athlone, Cavan, Ballinasloe and Portlaoise.
Now, the retailer has over 180 stores and three distribution centres, employing over 6,000 people.
They work with a network of more than 260 Irish suppliers from the communities they operate in.
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‘The world opens up when you're thin' – The dark truth of extreme thinness ‘Skinnytok' trend targeting girls and teens
‘The world opens up when you're thin' – The dark truth of extreme thinness ‘Skinnytok' trend targeting girls and teens

The Irish Sun

time39 minutes ago

  • The Irish Sun

‘The world opens up when you're thin' – The dark truth of extreme thinness ‘Skinnytok' trend targeting girls and teens

IF you thought we left diet culture back in the 1990s, think again. Toxic ideas about bodies and weight are creeping back into our lives, and it's clear the lessons of the past haven't sunk in. Advertisement 4 Bobbi McDermott battled anorexia for years 4 Ana B has shared the challenges of the unrealistic pursuit of a perfect body 4 Barry Murphy said that the TikTok algorithm is a systemic issue Leading the charge is social media, with TikTok at the centre of it all. A disturbing trend dubbed SkinnyTok has blown up so much on the app TikTok bosses had to step in and ban the hashtag. Advertisement But that hasn't stopped sneaky variations of it from slipping through the cracks and landing in front of young girls and teens. The trend saw the social media platform, with TWO million Irish users - many of whom are underage despite the 13-year-old age limit - flooded with hundreds of thousands of videos showing weight loss tips that could "promote eating disorders" and "objectification of women's bodies". Both the European Commission and Coimisiún na Meán warned that the trend was promoting "unrealistic body images" and "extreme weight loss". Bobbi McDermott, 42, from Dublin, knows more than most just how insidious "skinny talk" can be. She battled anorexia for years in the era of a comment made by model Kate Moss back in the 2000s that "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels", a comment that the top model has since distanced herself from. Advertisement Bobbi told The Irish Sun: 'This is skinny talk. They glamourise [the weight loss] like it's amazing but they're playing with fire. 'Kate was right for about five minutes until the world shrinks along with your body, and all that is left is pain. "These trends add into that competitive nature and that need for perfection, which is so dangerous for addictions like 'The biggest interest rates in the world are the weight loss industry and the porn industry. "And both of them are designed to take you down and both promote an unhealthy body image. I think it's always going to be there.' Advertisement The English model's comment was heavily criticised in 2009 after it was adopted by a number of pro-anorexia websites. Kate was accused of encouraging eating disorders at the time, and almost a decade later the supermodel said she regretted saying the controversial quote. But years later, skinny talk is back, flooding social media channels with extreme weight loss tips. TikTok chiefs have said the #SkinnyTok searches are now blocked since 'it has become linked to unhealthy weight-loss content'. And now searches for the hashtag lead to a link to Advertisement But searches related to the hashtag 'skinny' are still available on the social media platform with hundreds of thousands of pieces of content related to weight loss. And trends like 'You Don't Need A Treat You're Not A Dog,' 'Skinny is self respect,' 'Being hot and skinny,' 'SK!NNITOK' are still attracting hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok. 'SOCIAL ADDICTION' Bobbi added: 'I think that there should be optional protections that you can put in there. "I personally would go on and ban all these hashtags and I report damaging things that come up. 'And now, thankfully, they do not come up any more because of my algorithm. Advertisement "But [skinny talk] is a social addiction. We're obsessed with how we look. 'I think if we want to fight against or if we want to starve the oxygen out of these trends, we have to push against it with more healthy trends, with more connection to real people, not these people that are, you know, putting on filters, doing angles. 'You fight it back with positive connections, positive stories, positive lifestyles.' 'PRESSURE TO BE SKINNY' She said: 'I have binge eating because of severe anxiety. I've had it since I was a teenager. Advertisement "I was around 15-years-old when I started taking weight loss pills along with laxatives, overexercising, and doing all sorts of things, because when I lived in Brazil, I really wanted to be thin. 'I really felt that pressure to be thin in Brazil. And from that point on, I started developing a binge eating disorder. 'It's still something I carry with me. Now that I'm older, with therapy and self-awareness, I understand it. I know what it is. I'm working on it but it is hard, it's really hard.' Ana has also noted a change in social behaviour - especially online - after the Covid-19 pandemic in which the plus-size bodies were embraced through the lens of body positivity which also reflected in the fashion landscape. But now, five years later, skinny talks are once again dominating the headlines - this time, the Brazilian woman believes it could be driven by the growing popularity of weight-loss drugs. Advertisement Ana added: 'The whole of society embraced the plus-size business, and curvy women, because that's what they were selling. "But today, when you walk into the shops, you can't find plus-size options anymore. 'And then people say it is because 'there's no demand' or come up with other excuses, but to me that's just not true. I genuinely believe it's tied to the pharmaceutical push — there's a lot of money involved. 'Sadly, especially on TikTok, people now feel increasingly comfortable promoting the idea that being thin is the ultimate goal. "There's even a trend going around in the US with people saying: 'I'll never be unhappy, because I'll be thin.' Advertisement 'And what scares me most is the level of engagement – so many likes and so many comments. "People feel more and more free to say these things out loud. 'But I can't even bring myself to blame them — it's a reflection of the world we live in: the fashion industry, beauty standards, society.' The 35-year-old revealed that she underwent bariatric surgery due to health reasons last April, and has lost 15kg since then. 'QUITE CHALLENGING' She added: 'After losing weight through bariatric surgery, I can see how people treat me differently now. Advertisement 'The decision to have bariatric surgery was for health, but from the moment you start to see that the world is easier and people are nicer when you start to lose weight, it is quite challenging. 'The way the world opens up to you when you're thin — it's real. The life of a thin person is way easier than the life of a fat person. Sadly, that's just the reality we're living in.' New data from the Health Service Executive showed that more than 500 people were diagnosed with an eating disorder last year, 118 more diagnoses than in 2023. And there was a 33 per cent increase in referrals for treatment in 2024. Research and Policy Officer with Bodywhys, the Eating Disorders Association of Ireland, Barry Murphy, said that the algorithm is a systemic issue, adding: 'It's like a bad neighbour or someone you did not invite to your family party.' Advertisement He continued: 'The algorithm gets to know our preferences in what we search for and what we access, view, watch and follow. "And the concern with eating disorders is the person might then fall down a rabbit hole of content that ultimately promotes eating disorders. 'The problem with weight-loss-based content is that it really brings up objectification and that your worth is tied up in this part of your appearance when it should be a focus on health and not a particular body type.' SIGNS & SYMPTOMS OF ANOREXIA ACCORDING to the HSE, the main symptom of anorexia is losing more weight than is healthy for your age and height. The full list of signs are: deliberately missing meals, eating very little or avoiding eating any foods you see as fattening lying about what and when you've eaten, and how much you weigh taking medicine that makes you feel less hungry (appetite suppressants) exercising too much making yourself sick using medicines to help you poo (laxatives) or to make you pee (diuretics) to try to avoid putting on weight an overwhelming fear of gaining weight strict rituals around eating seeing losing a lot of weight as a positive thing believing you are fat when you are a healthy weight or underweight not admitting your weight loss is serious He added: 'You can see problems with TikTok linked to eating disorders going back as far as 2020. "There are some long-term issues there that clearly haven't been fully addressed. Advertisement "They need to look at the algorithm from a risk perspective, so to identify the harms, to assess them and then ultimately report on them, so being more transparent with what's going on. 'And individually, people need to be careful where they get validation from, particularly if it is online, because online is very fleeting.' Over one million units of illegal medicines were detained by the The HPRA also noted an upward trend in detentions of GLP-1 products - medications used to treat type 2 In a statement, a spokesperson said: 'The HPRA confirmed that it detained 1,000,984 dosage units of falsified and other illegal medicines in 2024. Advertisement 'The data highlights that anabolic steroids, sedatives and erectile dysfunction products are consistently the most detained categories of medicines year on year. 'While overall numbers remain low, 1,582 units of GLP-1 products were detained in 2024 compared to 568 units in 2023 and just 40 units in 2022." An estimated 188,895 people in Ireland will experience an eating disorder at some point in their lives, according to Bodywhys. And one in 20 people across the country will experience an eating disorder in their lifetime. BODYWHYS provides a non-judgmental and confidential support and information service to anyone experiencing an eating disorder. You can get in touch at (01) 270 7906 or alex@ 4 TikTok has blocked the search results for #SkinnyTok since 'it has become linked to unhealthy weight loss content' Credit: AFP

NTMA in €5m scam outrage as agency duped by voice 'phishing' and fake invoice
NTMA in €5m scam outrage as agency duped by voice 'phishing' and fake invoice

Extra.ie​

time3 hours ago

  • Extra.ie​

NTMA in €5m scam outrage as agency duped by voice 'phishing' and fake invoice

Fraudsters used voice impersonation and a fake invoice to scam the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) out of €5million, can reveal. The agency, which the State has entrusted with the management of billions of euros for the taxpayer, realised in recent days that it had been the victim of a sophisticated voice phishing attack. Voice phishing is when scammers impersonate someone on the phone to gain information and the trust of the intended target. Pearse Doherty. Pic: Fran Veale Sources with knowledge of the attack told that it appears to have been executed with 'insider knowledge' after it managed to bypass several layers of security protocol. Sinn Féin's finance spokesman, Pearse Doherty, has called for the NTMA to be immediately hauled before the Oireachtas Finance Committee to explain how an agency that has control over billions of euros could be susceptible to such a breach. understands that the scam relates to the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) arm of the agency and that it was only discovered in recent days. Pic: Getty Images The scammers are understood to have impersonated a legitimate entity that has dealings with the ISIF in order to trick the organisation into making a payment to a fraudulent account. However, there is confusion over how the attack was successful, given the protective procedures in place at the NTMA. The Department of Finance was only informed of the issue after queries from Mr Doherty told 'The question here is, with the amount of money the NTMA holds on deposit for the State, how such an organisation would be vulnerable to a phishing scam. It is seriously questionable. Pearse Doherty. Pic: Sam Boal/Collins Photos 'They hold billions of Irish money. We will need to hear very quickly from the NTMA how this has happened. I'll be asking the chair of the Oireachtas Finance Committee to bring them before the committee as quickly as possible.' Mr Doherty said that despite his party calling for the NTMA to divest from investing in Israeli companies in occupied Palestinian territories, they 'haven't had a blemish for a long, long time'. 'It has dealt with our debt through difficult times, and has really impeccable standing. I'm shocked that an organisation has left billions in taxpayers' money vulnerable. Pic: Shutterstock 'The processes here should be robust enough, given the level of money they handled, in the billions, to make sure these types of scams… they should not be vulnerable to any scam, no matter how sophisticated. I'm quite shocked,' he said. In a statement, a spokesman for the NTMA said that it notified An Garda Síochána once it detected the fraud and immediately worked to contain the issue. Following the detection by the NTMA of a fraudulent payment call to the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund issued by an external party, in line with protocols, the NTMA took immediate steps to assess and contain the potential impact. Frank O'Connor. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins 'The fraudulent payment call was immediately reported to the relevant authorities, including An Garda Síochána, and investigations and recovery efforts are ongoing. Given the ongoing investigations and active recovery efforts, we can't comment further,' they said. The NTMA, headed by CEO Frank O'Connor, is responsible for managing public assets and liabilities prudently for long-term benefit on behalf of the State. It oversees the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, which invests in projects that support economic activity and employment in Ireland. The ISIF is mandated to invest on a commercial basis to support economic activity and employment in Ireland. According to its 2023 annual report, the NTMA had € 35 billion in investment capital. It is due to publish its annual report on Tuesday. The scam is the most significant to hit an Irish agency since the ransomware attack that hit the Health Service Executive in May 2021. The devastating ransomware attack was also deployed through phishing. A malicious email with a spreadsheet attachment was sent to HSE staff, which, when opened, installed malware that later enabled the attack, which infected 80% of all HSE systems and took four months to resolve, resulting in major disruption to the country's health system. The ransomware attack, carried out by cybercriminals linked to the Russian hacking group Conti, resulted in the theft of data from around 100,000 patients and cost the State almost € 150 million to rectify. Almost 500 lawsuits have been taken against the HSE arising from the data breach caused by the attack. A report into that attack criticised the HSE's 'flat' IT network design, outdated operating systems, lack of multi-factor authentication, and insufficient cyber threat detection. Governance gaps were also highlighted, noting that IT leadership was fragmented and under-resourced, making strategic coordination of cybersecurity difficult. Furthermore, contingency plans and incident response procedures were either missing or inadequate, leaving the organisation scrambling to react. The Government and HSE have insisted that no ransom was paid and that the decryption key was provided freely by the attackers, though this did little to alleviate the extensive disruption already inflicted. Since the attack, the HSE has undertaken substantial efforts to modernise its cybersecurity infrastructure, but the report warns that similar vulnerabilities may still exist across other public sector organisations. The HSE cyberattack led to an overhaul of IT governance and continuous monitoring, as well as a proactive national strategy to defend Ireland's public institutions against evolving cyber threats.

Meet the artist who is unfolding the forgotten stories of the old Galway sugar factory
Meet the artist who is unfolding the forgotten stories of the old Galway sugar factory

Irish Independent

time4 hours ago

  • Irish Independent

Meet the artist who is unfolding the forgotten stories of the old Galway sugar factory

Today at 03:00 One Irish artist is gathering voices and memorabilia of the nearly forgotten Tuam Sugar Factory, which shaped the Galway town for decades, as part of a project to bring back to life the stories of the people, families and businesses connected to it. Tuam Sugar Factory opened in 1934 and for over 50 years was the heart of the town, shaping the lives of hundreds of people.

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