Yearly Archives: 2016

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Further to SIPTU Luas workers implementing work-to-rule since Saturday…

There will be no Luas services on either the Red or Green lines this Thursday and Friday, February 11 and 12, and next Thursday and Friday, February 18 and 19 – due to strike action.

Transdev, which operates the Luas, writes:

The strike is about pay, terms and conditions. Luas employees are demanding various increases and on pay alone these demands range from 8.5% to 53.4%. The company has paid year on year pay increases since 2008 of between 1.25% to 5% and an annual bonus averaging €2,500.

The cost of these current demands would add 40% to the annual wage bill or €6 million per year, €30 million over five years.

Alternatively, SIPTU sez:

“The company [Transdev] has failed to show any initiative in the effort to find an agreed resolution to the dispute. Management representatives merely reiterated a previously stated position that our members cannot expect to receive pay rises over the next five years and that any rise that might be granted would be limited to an increase in the Consumer Price Index.

“…. Due to the intransigent position displayed by management it is certain that the scheduled work stoppages will proceed on Thursday, 11th and Friday, 12th and Thursday, 18th Friday and 19th February. The workers are conscious of the inconvenience these stoppages will have on their customers but believe they have no option but to conduct this industrial action.”

 

Advice to Luas customers

Rollingnews

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The MP7 sub machine gun

“The GRA are stating clearly and unambiguously this morning that we don’t have the resources and we’re seeking immediately for the introduction for the RSU in the Dublin metropolitan region – now that has been sought for a long time by the GRA..

.[The RSU] is a regional support unit. They’re an armed unit, constantly there 24/7, they’re ready to respond to instances like these.

Now we’re also looking for the immediate reintroduction of the MP7 sub machine gun for the DDU and return of the Uzi sub machine gun on, until the the MP7 is introduced, that was taken away in 2012, that hasn’t been replaced. The MP7 gives better protection and accuracy for the members using them.”

Dermot O’Brien, pres of GRA, on RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland earlier.

Meanwhile…

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This morning.

The body of Eddie Hutch Snr, brother of former crime boss Gerry Hutch, is removed from his home on Poplar Row, Ballybough, Dublin where he was killed last night in an apparent reprisal for Friday’s Regency Hotel shooting.

Last night: Meanwhile in Dublin

Yesterday: ‘They seemed Very Calm And Collected’

Sasko Lazarov/Rollingnews

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It is with deep regret that I have decided to retire from professional rugby following medical advice. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all at Rugby Club Toulonnais for their understanding and support over the past few months.

Since sustaining the injury at the World Cup I have been fully focused on returning to fitness and starting an exciting new chapter for both myself and my family in Toulon. Unfortunately this will no longer be possible.

I have been blessed to be a professional rugby player for over 14 years and to be part of Munster and Ireland teams that have experienced success.

I have played with some of the best players to ever line out in the red of Munster and the green of Ireland and have had the privilege of captaining my country.

I would like to thank those at Young Munster RFC, Munster Rugby, the IRFU and Lions Rugby who have supported me over the course of my playing career.

Special thanks must go to my wife Emily for her unwavering support through the good and the bad and to my parents Michael and Shelagh.

Lastly I would like to thank everyone who has supported the teams I have been a part of. The support you have shown me is humbling and an immense source of pride for both myself and my family.

Paul O’Connell announcing his retirement this morning.

Mmf.

Paul O’Connell To Retire – A Farewell Statement (IRFU)

Previously: O Captain! My Captain!

Ode To Paul

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Dave and Fred from our Marriage Referendum pets series last year

With regard to Lara Marlowe and Karlin Lillington’s “The real debate: canines or felines?” (February 6th), it is a popular misconception that cats are more intelligent than dogs; in fact the reverse is true. The concept of intelligence is all but impossible to define, but most would consider the capacity for relationship to be an indicator of some kind of mental competency.

Dogs, which were first domesticated around 15,000 years, are pack animals and evolved to live as part of often complex social hierarchies. Cats, first domesticated around 12,000 years ago with the onset of the agricultural revolution, evolved as solitary creatures. The latter came to live in proximity to humans thanks to their interest in the rats that congregated around early-agricultural grain stores. As such, they never actually wanted to be close to humans per se.

The “panting, tail-wagging excitement” Lara Marlowe cites is actually indicative of dogs’ more complex psychology, while the “mystery” and “intelligence” of cats derives from the fact their mental capacities are relatively limited. It is not that cats are aloof; they are simply incapable of love, and what is often mistaken for sophistication is in in reality a zombie-like vacuity. Cats are rather like furry goldfish.

Luke Holland,
Ranelagh,
Dublin 6.

FIGHT!

Cats and dogs – the real debate (Irish Times)

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Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis will attend a Right2Water/Right2Change protest in Dublin on Saturday, February 20 – ahead of the general election on Friday, February 26.

Meanwhile, free Saturday?

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Speakers at Saturday’s event will include John Barry, Maude Barlow, John Hilary, Ann Pettifor  and Yanis Varoufakis, via video link.

Tickets are €10 from here.

Yanis Varoufakis to campaign with anti-water charges group (Irish Times)

Right2Change Conference (Facebook)

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Screenshots from the latest Daft.ie rental report published today which show the average year-on-year change in rental prices in Dublin; across the country; and a table showing ‘mortgage v rent’ costs  (click to enlarge)

Daft.ie has released it’s latest quarterly rental report this morning.

Some of its findings…

– Rents in central Dublin have risen 46% since 2010.

– Fewer than 1,400 properties were available to rent in Dublin on February 1, the lowest figure recorded since the Daft.ie series started in 2006.

– Fewer than 750 homes were available to rent in Leinster on February 1, the lowest figure recorded since the Daft.ie series started in 2006.

– Just 771 homes were available to rent in Munster on February 1, the lowest figure recorded since the Daft.ie series started in 2006.

– Fewer than 700 homes were available to rent in Connacht and Ulster on November 1, the lowest figure since 2007.

Author of the report and Trinity College Dublin economist Ronan Lyons writes:

Nationwide, there were just 3,600 homes available to rent on February 1st, by far the lowest total since the series started in 2006.

This lack of availability stems from a lack of construction activity at a time when Ireland’s population has grown year-on-year throughout the last decade.

Some of the reasons given for this lack of construction sound plausible at first glance but don’t stack up. For example, it is often said that banks won’t lend like they used to, or that Irish developers are either too bust or too greedy to build.

But none of that explains why Dublin in particular is witnessing such a boom in commercial construction activity, especially new office space.

Or why international developers, who work off relatively tight margins in many other countries, can’t make the numbers stack up in Ireland.

The Daft.ie Rental Report