EVERY WEEK, TheJournal.ie offers a selection of statistics and numerical nuggets to help you digest the week that has just passed.
2 – The number of pilots who fell asleep in the cockpit while flying a plane for a British-based airline last month. The captain and co-pilot had agreed to alternate sleeping while the plane was on autopilot, until one of them work up to find the other asleep.
5 – The number of days to go before the two referendums on the abolition of the Seanad and the creation of a new Court of Appeal.
6 – The number of votes by which Pat McQuaid was defeated in his bid to extend his eight-year stint as president of the UCI, cycling’s governing body, on Friday. McQuaid lost by 18 votes to 24 to Britain’s Brian Cookson.
7.7 – The magnitude of an earthquake which struck Pakistan this week which left 328 people dead and created a new island just over one kilometre off the country’s south coast.
8 – The number of restaurants in Ireland which now have one Michelin star (with one restaurant – Patrick Guilbaud in Dublin – keeping its two stars) according to the Great Britain and Ireland guide published this week.
21 – The number of hours that Republican Senator Ted Cruz spoke for on the floor of the American senate during the week in a bid to derail a spending bill in a marathon speech that lasted through the night. It didn’t work though.
25 – The percentage of households in rural Ireland which have had someone emigrate since the economic crash began, according to a major new study by researchers in UCC.
32 – The number of migrant workers believed to have died in Qatar while working on World Cup building sites. The tiny kingdom has been the source of controversy since it was selected as the host of the 2022 World Cup.
50 – The percentage decrease in public order incidents on Arthur’s Day this year, according to a senior Garda officer. The Diageo-sponsored day endured a major backlash for the first time in the weeks running up to Thursday’s event, leaving its future in doubt.
356 – The number of days until Government departments and State agencies will stop using cheques. The changeover to electronic payments will happen on 19 September next year on what Minister of State Brian Hayes has called Ireland’s “e-Day”.
388 – The number of complaints that ethics watchdog SIPO received about Michael Lowry’s business dealings in Wigan. The body said this week that it has dropped its investigation into allegations of contraventions of the Ethics Act by the Tipperary TD.
4,000 – The number of €50 notes found in bankrupt developer Tom McFeely’s former home on Dublin’s Ailesbury Road. Gardaí are investigating after €200,000 in cash was discovered in two separate finds.
228,000 – The number of people who attended this year’s National Ploughing Championships in Laois over the course of three days this week – a record number for the event.
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