Author Archives: Admin

‘The Details Of TTIP Need To Be Discussed Openly, Honestly And Fairly’

Admin at 1:37 pm May 25, 2016

Fine Gael MEP Brian Hayes

They say the most important part of a debate is defining the arguments. Suzanne Lynch’s excellent article explaining TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) is a perfect example of how TTIP opponents have been successful in defining what an EU-US trade agreement, like TTIP, might contain.

Opponents to Atlantic trade are focusing on the straw men of genetically modified food and hormone-treated beef. Let’s be clear – no EU trade agreement will ever lower our level of protection of consumers or food safety. European food standards are not up for negotiation.

Many of these issues arose in the EU-Canada trade deal and were resolved. The scare tactic put forward of some sort of malevolent investor court ruling for multinationals against governments is not borne out by history.

Investment protection exists in 1,400 bilateral agreements signed by EU member states since the 1960s. These have not stopped governments legislating in the public interest. Little if any attention has been given to the massive steps forward for workers rights and the environment a potential trade agreement between Europe and America could bring.

The sustainable development provisions the EU negotiators put forward are the most ambitious provisions on sustainable development, labour protection and the environment put to any trading partner. Europe’s negotiators want TTIP to include the International Labour Organisation’s core standards. The sustainable development chapter ensures high standards for labour and addresses health and safety at work and workers’ rights.

TTIP allows Europe to bring our environmental standards on biodiversity, shipments of chemicals and waste, and sustainable management of natural resources to bear on a global scale. The EU legal text enhances co-operation between the EU and US to fight illegal logging, illegal fishing and the illegal trade in endangered wildlife.

TTIP would make it easier to trade goods and services that help us tackle environmental problems, such as climate-friendly and resource-efficient products. We have an international agreement to combat climate change, and TTIP can help us implement it.

International trade negotiations are complex and cannot be boiled down to a slogan on a placard. The details of TTIP need to be discussed openly, honestly and fairly. A good start is to look at the totality of the negotiating documents and not straw men put forward by opponents to trade.

Brian Hayes MEP,
Donnybrook,
Dublin 4.

TTIP negotiations and global trade (Irish Times letters)

Previously: Luke’s TTIP

Leah Farrell/Rollingnews

Synchronicity

Admin at 12:46 pm May 25, 2016

Images from The Coincidence Project by photographer Denis Cherim – the fruit of many years capturing moments of strange naturally occurring serendipity and unusual juxtapositions.

Many more here and here.

colossal

Nóirín Speaks

Admin at 12:24 pm May 25, 2016

Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan

“The O’Higgins Commission Report presents inescapable lessons for An Garda Síochána, based on our shortcomings in a number of critical areas including our dealings with whistleblowers.

We must radically and permanently change that pattern and we will apply the insights and learnings from our recent experiences in developing a Garda Whistleblower’s Charter. As will be detailed below, actions to address this have already been undertaken and others are in progress.

There are clear constraints around the question of making public comment about this matter. I cannot offend against the basic principles of the rule of law; and that regard must be had to the statutory confidentiality of Commission proceedings, the relationship between lawyers and their clients and questions of basic fairness.

With reference to my previous statement of the 16th May 2016, there have been calls for further clarification regarding the instructions given to the legal team representing An Garda Síochána and the approach adopted by it, in relation to the proceedings of the Commission.

What is at the heart of the present controversy is that, despite legal prohibitions and the clear view expressed by Mr Justice O’Higgins about the confidentiality of the Commission’s proceedings, certain selective information purporting to relate to those proceedings has been put into the public domain.

By “selective”, I mean transcripts of no more than three minutes of what happened at a Commission which ran for 34 ten-hour days, generating thousands of pages of transcripts. This has been accompanied by an unsourced and unverified account of an alleged part of the proceedings.

Whatever the sources of information or misinformation that has been put into the public domain the inevitable effect is the risk to public confidence in An Garda Síochána being damaged in a very unfair way.

Mr Justice O’Higgins, as the Sole Member, having had the opportunity to hear and examine 97 witnesses and weigh the submissions made by the legal representatives of all parties subject of the proceedings, decided what should and should not be included in his Report.

In this context, it is worth noting that the Commission points out that it conducted its proceedings with particular regard to its duty of compliance with the requirements of constitutional and natural justice.

As Garda Commissioner, having fully accepted the findings of the Report, it falls to me to move swiftly to implement its recommendations. This I have done.

While it is important to dispel any public concern in relation to this issue, I have to be mindful of section 11 of the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 which provides that a commission shall conduct its investigation in private. I am advised that everyone involved in the proceedings of the O’Higgins Commission is bound to respect the privacy of those proceedings.

Furthermore, in relation to communications with the legal team representing An Garda Síochána, it is important in terms of receiving advice and giving instructions that privilege in such communications is protected so as not to adversely impact on the workings of An Garda Síochána and its entitlement to seek and obtain legal advice on a confidential basis in this instance and in the future.

These constraints, which reflect important principles of law, restrict my capacity to address the issues which have been raised in relation to the approach taken by An Garda Síochána before the O’ Higgins Commission.

However, I can confirm that An Garda Síochána’s legal team was not at any stage instructed to impugn the integrity of Sergeant Maurice McCabe or to make a case that he was acting maliciously.

I would emphasise that the overriding objective of An Garda Síochána, and its legal team, was at all times to assist the Commission in carrying out its statutory functions and to establish all relevant facts in relation to the matters referred to it for investigation as set out in its terms of reference.

This brings me to the charge which is in the public domain that is the most difficult to deal with sensitively and which is one of the reasons I have been reluctant to enter into public comment about this matter.

Whatever its source, the net charge that is now being made is that the credibility and motivation of Sergeant McCabe was challenged. I can only deal with this on the basis of what is set out in the Commission Report and I am conscious that this involves dealing with certain findings in relation to allegations of corruption and malpractice.

I have no wish to rehearse this matter again but it is simply impossible not to do so in addressing it.

As Commissioner of An Garda Síochána I have a duty to all its members and former members. Having regard to the nature and seriousness of the allegations, and the duty to assist the Commission in its task of establishing the facts and truth, I cannot see how it would be in any way unreasonable, improper or avoidable to appropriately test and cross examine the evidence of all persons giving evidence to the Commission including Sergeant McCabe.

The Commission found, in relation to certain allegations; these hurtful allegations to be unfounded and in at least one case based on a belief, but unsupported by evidence, and that those against whom such complaints were made lived for many years under the strain of those allegations.

An Garda Síochána is fully accountable for its actions or indeed inaction. We operate fully within the framework of accountability and oversight which the Oireachtas sets. I will be appearing before the Policing Authority tomorrow where I will deal with these matters to the fullest extent possible.

In addition to the above, I have taken the following steps to address other matters arising:

There has been a suggestion in recent reportage that two senior officers had sought to misrepresent before the Commission the contents of a meeting they held with a Sergeant in Mullingar in 2008.

In those circumstances, and in order to resolve any public disquiet, misplaced or otherwise which may arise, and in the interest of fairness to all involved, I have requested the Minister for Justice, pursuant to her powers within the Garda Síochána Act, to refer that aspect to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission for the purpose of investigating it in the public interest.

• On receipt of the Report, I directed Deputy Commissioner John Twomey to fully examine the content, findings and recommendations of the Report and to address any issues arising from that examination, including lessons learned that may further inform An Garda Síochána’s Modernisation and Renewal Programme. The programme which addresses, among other things, the fundamental issues arising in the O’Higgins report in relation to renewal of our culture, training, supervision, victims support and investigative practices, will be formally published in early course.

• In relation to whistleblowers, I have been consistent at all times: dissent is not disloyalty and as a service we are determined to learn from our experiences. An Garda Síochána agrees that whistleblowers are part of the solution to the problems facing the service. In this regard, yesterday we met with representatives from Transparency Ireland who have agreed to work with us to create an environment to ensure protected disclosures and people making them are welcomed and protected in An Garda Síochána.

• A Protected Disclosures Manager has now been appointed and we have begun establishing a dedicated team who will be appropriately trained to oversee all matters related to whistleblowers.

In conclusion and as stated at the outset, An Garda Síochána fully accept the findings of the O’Higgins Commission and we are committed to learning all lessons and fully implementing the recommendations.”

A statement from Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan released at midday.

Previously: ‘They Tried To Blame McCabe For Everything. It Was Bullshit’

Clarifying Matters

Rollingnews

Dying For Growth

Admin at 12:00 pm May 25, 2016

From top: Glum globe; Luke Holland

GDP tells us how big an economy is.

But says nothing about what things going on inside all that economic activity.

Relentless overconsumption and environmental destruction to name just two.

Luke Holland writes:

There is certain cognitive dissonance hidden between the lines of both the Paris Climate Agreement and the new global development framework approved last year at the United Nations.

“Agenda 2030”, a set of 17 goals and targets approved at the United Nations in September, covers everything from ending hunger and poverty to reducing inequality and combatting environmental degradation, while the Paris Agreement promises to keep global warming within manageable limits.

These proposals are laudable in their scope and ambition, but there is a deliberate naivety in their insistence that all this can be done within the same old vision of endless growth that has caused most of our problems in the first place.

In effect, these documents promise to achieve the world’s social and environmental goals while also facilitating eternal economic growth; in so doing, they propose to bring about a global transformation without rocking the boat of relentless overconsumption.

Many of those who were involved in the negotiations accept that infinite growth in a world of finite resources is simply not possible, but discussion over alternative ways to measure economic success has remained in large part a subject for the margins.

Corporate domination of both sets of talks successfully ensured that perpetual growth remains the prime objective of economic planning, even as this model of exponential consumption carries us into the abyss of environmental disaster

Admittedly, breaking the habit of a lifetime is no easy task.

The relentless pursuit of growth has, for many decades, been the most fundamental goal of global economic policy. So widely accepted is the wisdom of this approach that to question it generally results in being branded, at best, an idealist.

But as the global capitalist system continues to stagger forward with multiple enmeshed crises besetting it on all sides, it is becoming more and more difficult to ignore the shortcomings of our most prized economic indicator.

The problems with GDP as a measure of economic health are well-known. Originally thought up by the US and British governments during the Great Depression, it provides a quantitative snapshot of economic output. By simply measuring all goods and services produced over a given time period, it tells us how big an economy is but doesn’t say anything about what’s going on inside all that economic activity.

As such, the production of cigarettes and firearms, for example, is deemed just as valuable as the provision of healthcare services, while clearing huge swathes of rainforest to make way for agro-industrial farms that fuel, rather than ameliorate, climate change is likewise recorded as worthwhile economic activity.

GDP also ignores the distribution of resources, so one individual making a billion dollars while a million starve is considered better than that same million making $999 each – the aggregate figure is all that counts. The myriad non-market services that an economy depends on, such as parenting and community-building, are likewise left out of the equation.

In recent years, the need for better ways to measure economic health has become increasingly urgent, and several governments and development agencies have set about designing alternative indicators. Perhaps the best known of these is the UN Development Program’s Human Development Index, which combines statistics on life expectancy, educational achievement, and per capita income to deliver a composite evaluation of economic development and human wellbeing.

Another measure that has been gaining ground is the Genuine Progress Indicator, which takes GDP as its base but makes deductions for social ills including inequality, crime and environmental degradation, along with additions for positives such as volunteer work and leisure time.

But none of these metrics have come anywhere close to dislodging – or even challenging – GDP when it comes to evaluating economic performance, and perhaps this is not surprising.

Alternative systems of measurement would go some way to shifting the goals and motivations of development efforts and, with this fact foremost in their minds, powerful elites with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo will do everything they can to prevent such changes. As the old saying goes, “we measure what we treasure, and treasure what we measure”.

Some are already arguing that infinite growth in a world of finite resources is, in fact, possible, and that it can be achieved without destroying the planet. As technology advances, they say, greater energy efficiency will rein in environmental degradation. But the pattern of recent decades shows that greater energy efficiency tends to lead to higher consumption, not less pollution.

They will also push the idea than an information-based economy will ‘decouple’ from resource use. But again, the pattern we have seen in recent years shows that, although economies are becoming less material intensive, economic growth more than outweighs the gains garnered through ‘decoupling’.

We may generate more wealth per unit of resources used, but we are still using more resources, and creating more waste, overall.

So what would a post-GDP economic system look like? The British philosopher John Stuart Mill believed that economic growth should eventually give way to a steady state economy, in which both capital and population levels remained constant. As societies matured, he predicted, individual greed would ebb away as cooperative enterprise became more and more the norm.

“It is scarcely necessary to remark that a stationary condition of capital and population implies no stationary state of human improvement,”

There would be as much scope as ever for all kinds of mental culture, and moral and social progress; as much room for improving the art of living and much more likelihood of its being improved, when minds cease to be engrossed by the art of getting on.”

Is this a utopian proposal? Perhaps, but there can be little doubt that our current pursuit of endless growth is no longer feasible. As the environmental crisis has intensified, more and more economists and environmental experts have been forced to state the unthinkable; that we are going to have to consume less. And the key issue here is that we are going to consume less.

The only question is whether we reduce our consumption in a controlled way or, alternatively, lurch forward into an environmental collapse which will in turn force this reduction upon us.

As John Maynard Keynes once said, “the difficulty lies not in the new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones”.

Luke Holland is an independent human rights and development consultant. He is the author of the Center for Economic and Social Rights briefing ‘Mauled by the Celtic Tiger: human rights in Ireland’s economic meltdown’.

Top pic: Adobe (rights agreed)

Tinfinitesimal

Admin at 11:15 am May 25, 2016

Supervalu, Ranelegh, Dublin 6

Aran writes:

Doesn’t rounding make €2.10 anyway? At least if you’re only buying one…

Meanwhile, In Donegal

Admin at 10:38 am May 25, 2016

Two protesters await Prince Charles in Donegal town @pa @PPAI_IRL pic.twitter.com/wYl6PQJWh7

— Niall Carson (@niallcarsonpa) May 25, 2016

Fair enough.

No foreign games also.

Prince Charles Due In Donegal (RTÉ)

Forgot Your Pill?

Admin at 10:15 am May 25, 2016

Relax.

Make up expert Emma Doran presents the right look when you’ve missed a day or two.

Previously: Emma’s Tutorials

Broadsheet Trailer Park: Beauty and the Beast Teaser

Admin at 10:03 am May 25, 2016

What you may need to know:

1. Disney adapt the classic fairytale.. Again.

2. With Mudblood Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the beast. Or “aesthetically challenged individual” if you prefer. We’re not labelist here.

3. Angela Lansbury has retired to Cabot Cove – murder capital of the Northeast.

4. More remakes from Disney. In addition to Tim Burton’s Dumbo, the studio is also developing live-action remakes of Winnie the Pooh, The Sword in the Stone, and yet another version of Peter Pan. Oy.

5. Disney does have the original animated feature, Moana, coming in November. Expect the remake around 2023.

6. Broadsheet prognosis: Call of Beauty 2.

Release Date: March 17, 2017.

(Mark writes about film and TV at WhyBother.ie)

The Arts of Nowhere

Admin at 9:27 am May 25, 2016

From top: Directors, actors, producers at the launch of the Bord Scannán Na hÉireann/Irish Film Board (IFB) 2016 Production Catalogue; Anne Marie McNally

Take a bow.

Ireland is bottom of the European league for Investment in Culture and the Arts.

Anne Marie McNally writes:

It’s us. We sing, we dance, we make music, we count some of the greatest literary giants among our current and past heritage and we have stage & screen actors who are the envy of the world. That’s before we talk about directors, producers, casts, crews, and a whole plethora of people involved in creating and fostering the arts in this country.

Each one equally important & the need for us to support and nourish these talents is surely a no-brainer. You would think wouldn’t you? You’d be wrong.

Last Week Enda unveiled his latest instalment in the long-running saga ‘distorted democracy’ by announcing his 18 -count ’em-18 Junior Ministers.

A Government with just 59 seats now has 33 ministerial posts. But try as you might, you cannot find a Minister with responsibility for Arts among that 33.

From Government ranks there are shouts about the millions that have been pumped into the Arts recently. What they’re not clarifying is that the vast majority of that funding was specifically for State commemoration events related to the 1916 anniversary. It was not sustainable targeted investment in the arts.

We are bottom of the European League for Government Investment in Culture and the Arts. According to the National Campaign for the Arts , data from the Council of Europe shows that in 2012 Ireland spent just 0.11% of GDP on the Arts and Culture, compared to a European average of 0.6% of GDP.

It’s hasn’t gotten any better, in any form of real sense, since 2012.

The Arts directly employ approximately 21,000 people and that doesn’t count the many volunteers or unemployed artists across the country striving away at their passion and trying to bring joy into people’s lives through a kaleidoscope of creative endeavours.

During the recent 1916 commemorations the outpouring of pride and sheer awe that followed the hour long celebration of our culture on RTÉ, ‘Centenary’, was indicative of how important our creative side is to us.

Twitter went into overdrive and every demographic roundly commended the project as stunning. It was followed closely by Laochra in Croke park. A similar spectacle that showcased the strength of our music, dance, and theatrical efforts.

It’s just such a pity that the State’s interest was fleeting and only preoccupied with this specific window of time. Imagine if the same effort and funding was directed towards the Arts in a consistent and sustainable fashion?

Imagine the talent that would be nurtured and fostered and how the strength of our artistic output could continue to wow both the domestic and the international crowds.

The Campaign for the Arts estimates that for every €1 invested by the Arts Council, more than €0.70 returns directly to the exchequer in taxes.

For a net cost of €0.30, Arts Council investment generates €2.50 in turnover, more than an 8-fold return on investment. Any decent financial brain would see the merits in those returns.

But the economics of this, while hugely important, should not be the sole driving factor.

We are talking about the very fabric of our society-the je n’sais quoi that makes diaspora around the globe feel connected to home, makes third and fourth generation emigrants identify with Ireland and makes us here at home proud of our immense talents and our cultural identity.

Those artists who create this magic are not an infinite resource, they are most assuredly finite and if Government policy continues to disrespect and undermine the arts then we will watch helplessly as our vibrant artistic community withers away and our reputation for world class artistry goes with it.

Anne Marie McNally is a founding member of the Social Democrats. Follow Anne Marie on Twitter: @amomcnally