61 thoughts on “Saturday’s Papers

    1. some old queen

      I think perhaps for someone to whom English is not their first language, the junior cert is a big achievement.

    2. eoin

      I thought mom and daughter were devastated at their results, then read the daughter got 9 A’s. Beautiful. And lovely photograph.

      1. Lilly

        It is a lovely photo, but it’s also indicative of the pressure kids are under to achieve, rather than allowing them to be teenagers. Previous generations managed to get into college too without all the fanfare and the blow-by-blow accounts in the media. It’s not healthy IMO.

    1. eoin

      How is he still on the UEFA board in receipt of €160,000 (plus expenses and perks) if he is no longer an senior official of the national FAI?

      1. GiggidyGoo

        Could be a sort of Maria Bailey demotion. You know, the one that the dail wasnt officially advised of so she’s probably still being paid a chairperson fee. Or did the Regina one pay back the €16,000 Chief Whip allowance?

  1. some old queen

    Is it the case that Johnson is so confident that the UK is leaving the EU on the 31st is because he knows that one or more countries are not going to grant an extension? Some sort of dodgy deal done in the background perhaps?

    Briexiteers have been trying to find a chink in the EU armour for a long time- all it would take is one rouge government with anti EU sentiments to block it.

    1. eoin

      Is this the same Bojo who said he’d be “found dead in a ditch before he’d seek an extension”?

      Or the Bojo who promised some young wan he’d “love, honour and obey until death do us part”?

      Or the Bojo who said in July after he was elected PM that he “wouldn’t talk to EU leaders until they dropped the backstop”

      Or the Bojo who misled, and according to some “lied” to, Queen Elizabeth?

      He’s not exactly a man of his word now, is he.

      1. some old queen

        Maybe not- but he may have something up his sleeve- he has personally assured the courts he will apply for an extension- it could all be just optics for the General Election of course.

        1. Cú Chulainn

          The ‘loophole’ is that he will ‘ask’ for an extension but he is not obliged to accept it. That and the UK will be the rouge government to refuse it.

        2. martco

          @soq
          Bojo, Rees-1837, Cambridge Analytica & Arghleen have of course something smartypants up their sleeve. they have to break the rules to succeed & they have a lot to los€. In this debacle so far that’s exactly what they’ve demonstrated to everyone – they don’t play by the rules. Dominic Cummings doesn’t play by the rules, he inverts them. you cannot expect a domesticated fox to stay away from chickens. so don’t expect conformity from them just clever plans & secret tricks.

          did you see that Arghleen monologue clip (her being voxpopped on the staircase) that uniformly went out across all the 6 & 9 News’ on Thursday? she could barely contain herself, literally physically sniggered. she 110% knows the secret trick. she’d love nothing more than to see “Dublin” get fupped royally. watch back on the player for that seemingly benign clip. it’s almost villainous.

          I think this goes way beyond GE, them boyos winning a GE & collecting on their £STG gamble is just part a)

          I predict this will turn nasty so b) then a tit for tat battle starts. In that context I think EU should run the battle on their terms, right now, I say refuse the extension, lance them out of it, isolate them completely, the works.

          Democracy or not the ordinary Brits have to get these scheming nutjobs out of the picture. They are gaining legitimacy all the time just by getting the airtime. a bit of economic hardship & ensuing civil disobedience will guide them in the right direction

          The only proper hardass tool the Brits really do have at their disposal on Europe is military importance (perceived anyway) frankly I don’t know how that ever gets solved or if it needs to be solved.

          but if we’re staying in the realms of normal politics & life, and it would be some shock & very hard lines for a couple of years no doubt but cut them off and out now. I think they won’t last long because the population wont eat Eton Mess for very long.

  2. eoin

    The police in London have apologised for sharing photographs of people-of-interest with the organisation that operates public CCTV in the Kings Cross area of London. The police have apologised because they were seeking to track these people-of-interest through facial recognition.

    https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/040910_letter_to_unmesh_desai_am_report_re_kings_cross_data_sharing.pdf

    Isn’t that interesting. Alas in Ireland, the many issues with this story would go over our heads because we’ve never debated the issues.

    Should private sector operators be able to film you with facial recognition software? Should police be able to track you with facial recognition software? Why might it be illegal or unethical? Why have the police in London issued an apology?

    Of course there are good reasons to deploy facial recognition technology. Track down missing people. Apprehend people who are suspected of committing a crime. But there are deep privacy concerns as well, and you’d think in a so-called “advanced democracy” like Ireland that we’d have the debate, because I’d bet you a euro to a cent that certain Gardai are already in cahoots with certain operators of public CCTV to facially track certain individuals.

  3. eoin

    Take a look at a major Irish retailer’s privacy policy which covers their CCTV use.

    https://www.tesco.com/help/privacy-and-cookies/privacy-centre/privacy-policy-information/cctv-notice/?ref=ie

    Looks okay, doesn’t it? They only hold recordings for 31 days and they only record to detect and prevent crime etc, fair enough.

    But does their policy prevent them using facial recognition?

    Seriously, if they’re using facial recognition in the adjacent jurisdiction, what are the chances it’s being used here.

  4. eoin

    Looks like the 3-1 score in favour of the Data Protection Commissioner in her fight with Regina is coming under pressure.

    “The Department of Children has become something of an outlier since the publication of the DPC’s report into the PSC on September 17, as the majority of other departments have since dropped their PSC requirement, despite Minister for Social Protection Regina Doherty’s stated intention to legally challenge the commissioner’s rulings.”

    reports the Examiner today, above.

    Katherine Zappone is about to potentially lose €1m of her budget in fines for insisting on people using the PSC from 29 October to access child care services.

      1. eoin

        It’s almost like RTE doesn’t want to upset the people who, in the next four days, may arbitrarily increase their funding. Denis Naughten increased RTE’s funding by €8m the day before he was fired last year.

        There is, apparently, a state aid complaint on its way to the EC about last year’s increase.

    1. GiggidyGoo

      All it will take is for one legal action to be taken by someone entitled to the allowances. It’s discrimination. Not everyone has internet. And the legality of the internet being used for all sorts of government services must be questionable given that many people don’t have it, and many others (perhaps of an older generation) are never going to become au fait with how to use it. And by insisting on it for services, it’s excluding that section of people – discriminating in other words – and denying them the services that should be available by hard copy documentation.

  5. eoin

    Also front page of the Examiner and elsewhere.

    €25m Met Eireann cocked up last week. Twice.

    First, it overstated the impact of Lorenzo on the country generally.

    Second, it failed (again) to forecast heavy rainfall in Donegal which led to widespread flooding.

    [In fairness, Met Eireann have probably spent most of their budget trying to get Gerry Murphy to smile.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3EO_TxA-sA%5D

    1. ReproBertie

      Do you not understand how weather forecasting works? Do you not realise that it’s not an exact science?

      1. eoin

        In other professions, people whose job it is to forecast and who get the forecasts badly wrong, tend to face consequences. What consequences has the €25m Met Eireann faced for getting many major events, like the rain in Donegal in August 2017, wrong?

        1. ReproBertie

          Are you asking for weather forecasters to be punished because an unprecedented weather event didn’t act exactly as they had forecast?

          1. millie vanilly strikes again

            Pretty sure this is covered in jr cert geography, actually. Crack open your old textbooks, perhaps?

      1. ReproBertie

        For some reason I wasn’t seeing this for ages so I posted again without the last line. Feel free to delete it.

  6. eoin

    Has anyone heard of an individual called “Walter Soriano”?

    No? He’s allegedly in the security business and has been linked to Russian oligarchs. Foreign lad.

    He’s coming to Dublin where he’s suing Twitter.

    Shame if you Googled him and put the spotlight on someone who almost definitely doesn’t want the spotlight.

  7. some old queen

    One for Eoin- Wrightbus- claims are being made that employees were expected to make a ‘optional’ donation- a percentage of their wages- to the Green Pastures church and that they didn’t- they would be treated less than favorably.

    1. eoin

      Yep, go back to the comments here a couple of weeks ago and you’ll see the same allegations.

      Still no sign of the 2018 accounts which were due to be filed at UK’s Companies House by 30 September 2019 latest. There’s a £750 fine. Why is no-one beating down the door of the administrator for the accounts. They should reveal how things deteriorated so badly from what was a healthy position in 2017 (yes, there was a £4.2m donation to the church in 2017, but it still left a cash balance of £6m and massive retained reserves).

      “What do we want? The 2018 accounts. When do we want them? Now”

      1. some old queen

        Also- was head of the Brexit NI Leave campaign?

        Senior’s personal wealth is over £80m?

  8. eoin

    “Businessman Denis O’Brien’s Digicel may seek to refinance at a discounted price some $1.3 billion (€1.2 billion) of bond debt due to be repaid in early 2021 [says US debt research outfit Xtract]..such a move would be considered by debt ratings agencies as a more aggressive distressed debt manoeuvre than the one completed by Digicel earlier this year,”

    https://globalinsolvency.com/headlines/digicel-may-seek-refinance-13-billion-debt-discount

    Wouldn’t it be classed by the ratings agencies as a default?

    Anyone, not to worry, because in some banana republic of a country, the government of the day has already signed a preferred bidder agreement with a consortium featuring Denis, and there are penalties if the govt is pressured to abandon the contract and consider cheaper alternatives. How big are the penalties? The finance minister of the country promised to provide the figures last Wednesday but if he has, they’re not public yet. What a banana republic, wha?

  9. eoin

    The Herald and others report loss-making RTE is selling off yet more of our [that is, paid for by our licence fee] family jewels.

    “Two of the works are by Louis le Brocquy and were commissioned by RTE in 1966 and 2000. Other pieces going under the hammer at Sotheby’s on November 19 include Abstract Painting (1967) by William Scott, Symphony Orchestra (1969) by George Campbell – one of Ireland’s most pre- eminent landscape painters – and Inscape Mozaga (1996) by Tony O’Malley”

    Just so loss-making RTE can continue to pay the sliver of urine €495,000 and his Saturday night counterpart, €450,000,

    RTE managed to break even in 2013 and 2014 while providing all of its chartered services, including the orchestras. Since Dee Forbes came on board as the RTE boss, RTE has lost nearly €40m to the end of 2018 and is expected to make a loss of €10-15m in 2019.

    Maybe we should put Dee Forbes up for auction. I’ll give you €10 to take her. Anyone?

  10. Tea And Brexits

    BS – Can you do The Eoin Papers instead of The Sunday Papers tomorrow? A lot more interesting…

  11. some old queen

    This is an interesting development in the DP issue.

    A hotel outside the town of Carrickmacross in Co Monaghan is housing asylum seekers- mainly young men by the sounds of it. They are hanging around the town centre and are intimidating people.

    A closed Facebook group has been created called “LAWLESS…Do You Feel Intimidated While Walking Around Carrickmacross.” has been setup- over 1000 members so far.

    SF yesterday issued a statement on the matter.

    Sinn Féin representatives are aware of the concerns of people in Carrickmacross regarding the issue of large groups of people congregating in parts of the town over recent times.

    We know the anxiety this has caused and will work with others to resolve it.

    We have already spoken to and are due to meet with senior Garda representatives to discuss further measures to address these concerns.

    This is about public safety and about all those who live in our great town feeling comfortable while walking the streets. This is not, and should not be turned into, a racial issue.

    Carrickmacross has always been a welcoming town. We have earned a reputation as a progressive town that has integrated all newcomers to our town over several generations. This was best reflected in the role of Carrickmacross in facilitating the housing of Congolese refugees a number of years ago.

    The reason that process worked so well is because there the community was consulted beforehand and during the process. The local community was actively engaged with at all times, all public bodies were active participants in the programme to ensure that local public services were not impacted and that the supports required by our schools and other facilities were provided.

    In recent times this method has changed. The department of justice has outsourced the housing of those seeking international protection to private companies. There has been no engagement with the local community; in fact public service providers, including the council, have been unaware of developments until after they have happened. This has created tension that is unfair on both the local community and the asylum seekers.

    Those seeking asylum have been placed in Carrickmacross or surrounding areas, sometimes in very remote local locations, without adequate facilities. They have no idea how long they will be there for or the length of time they will be waiting for their asylum application to be addressed. That is not fair on them.

    Neither is it fair on local residents who wake up to find that they have new neighbours (ofttimes numerous) without any consultation or information regarding the duration of residence etc. Neither are they are offered clarity regarding the provision of public services; when it is almost impossible to get a GP appointment and when schools are already under pressure these are questions that people have a right to ask.

    Our local MEP, Matt Carthy, has written to the Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan, on several occasions to outline his criticism of the department’s approach which he says is failing both the local community and those seeking international protection. The Minister, unfortunately, has yet to reply.

    The issue of those seeking asylum is not to be confused with EU citizens who live in the town. As we all know there have been a number of families from different parts of Eastern Europe living and working in our town for several years. Most have worked hard and been part of our community.

    Of course, like every community, there will be some within who break the law. For the record we believe that anyone from another country that is convicted of a serious or violent crime should be deported from this state and barred from re-entering, after serving their full sentence. This will require changes to EU law and we are in support of that.

    We are aware of the horrendous assault which took place in the town recently, we cannot comment on this further for fear that it could jeopardise future legal proceedings (others, please take note!).

    In recent times, concerns have been raised due to what appears to be a strategy by some private landlords to encourage large numbers of people from one particular region into Carrickmacross where they are often housed in overcrowded and unsuitable accommodation.

    Because of that, some of these people have nothing to do but ‘hang around the streets’. Further, because of the tenuous situation of those seeking asylum they also are often left to congregate on our streets also.
    This is where the recent concerns have emanated from. As we say, this is not a racial issue.

    If a large group of young adult men are gathered together in one spot it is, of course, going to cause unease. That is regardless of where they come from.

    Therefore, Sinn Féin will be liaising with Gardaí to ensure that adequate resources are put in place to police these matters.

    We will continue to press the Department of Justice to put in place a proper consultation process with the local community regarding the location and duration of housing needs of those seeking asylum. This must also include the department providing assurances that all public services, including GP provision, will be adequately resourced.

    Our Councillors, Colm Carthy & Noel Keelan (chair of the Carrickmacross Castleblayney Municipal District Council) are calling for an appraisal of all rented accommodation in the area to ensure that overcrowded and unsuitable dwellings are not rented out). They have already spoken to the chief fire officer in the county in this regard. We call on those landlords that are exploiting the housing crisis and the situation of some newcomers to desist in their actions.

    And, we will continue to work with everyone to ensure that Carrickmacross is a town we can all be proud to live in and comfortable to be in.

    We are aware of some social media rhetoric that has attempted to stir racial tensions or make party-political attacks on the back of the genuine concerns within our community. These must not be tolerated. We cannot allow the situation where all newcomers are targeted because of the actions of a few.

    For the record, Sinn Féin has no responsibility for migration policy. The policies enacted, including the scandalous Direct Provision system, have been established by Fianna Fáil & Fine Gael governments and EU law. Our party’s priority has always been to simply ensure that all those who find themselves in Ireland have the same rights (and the same responsibilities) that we would expect to apply to Irish people living abroad.

    For now, we should all work together to ensure that Carrickmacross remains a great town to live, work, shop and raise our families. Neither government policy, opportunistic landlords, a few lawbreakers (regardless of where they’re from) or racists should be permitted to detract from these goals.

    Ar aghaidh linn le cheile!

    https://www.facebook.com/1413078555602164/posts/2395387377371272/

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