Author Archives: Admin

This evening.

Government Buildings, Dublin 2

Helen McEntee, new junior minister for European affairs (top third front right), joins her fellow  freshly-minted, all-male junior ministers following their appointments this afternoon.

Above from left: Brendan Griffin, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport with special responsibility for Tourism and Sport; Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran TD; Michael D’Arcy, Minister of State at the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with special responsibility for Financial Services and Insurance; Leo Varadkar; Ciarán Cannon, Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with special responsibility for the Diaspora and International Development; Jim Daly, Minister of State at the Department of Health with special responsibility for Mental Health and Older People; John Paul Phelan, Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government with special responsibility for Local Government and Electoral Reform.

FIGHT!

Update:

“Who was that lady person?”

Rollingnews

This afternoon.

At the Public Accounts Committee.

Fianna Fáil TD Marc Mac Sharry brought the committee’s attention to correspondence that was only made available to it this morning.

The correspondence is an email thread between Chief Financial Officer at An Garda Siochana Michael Culhane – who was head of finance in 2010 – and Eugene Banks, of the Garda division in from the Department of Justice.

It also includes emails from George Reddan, of PwC, to Mr Culhane.

After Mr Mac Sharry brought attention to these emails, An Garda Siochana’s Chief Administration Officer Joe Nugent told the PAC that he had received the material yesterday afternoon, even though it was datestamped as having been opened on June 14.

He said, because of this, Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan hadn’t had a chance to read the correspondence in advance the meeting.

First of all, Mr Mac Sharry explained that it was John Barrett, head of HR, who sent the emails to Mr Nugent…

Marc Mac Sharry: “So basically, this document, as I said, I just got it, I didn’t see sight of it, I got wind that there may be a document in relation to charitable status. I asked for it. And this was produced. OK.

“Now for the record, the cover note, which I want to read into the record, it’s to the Chief Administration Officer [Joe Nugent], it’s from John Barrett, it’s dated the 13th of June 2017. And notwithstanding the fact that we appreciate that the CAO has said that he didn’t see it until yesterday, the 19th. It is the date stamp from his office, from the 14th of June.

“So somebody read it, in your [CAO Joe Nugent] office to the extent that they stamped it and if you were away or otherwise engaged, I’m sure there’s somebody with delegated responsibility in your office, that if something is important to pass on up the line, the Commissioner can clarify that.

“Anyway, I want to read this:

‘I refer to a hand-delivered document, an Oireachtas envelope, which arrived at the gate this morning. I’ve no idea of its provenance. It was collected by Mr Paul Flood from my office and this is a copy of the content which you may wish to note.

I’d respectfully suggest that you draw the attention of all the various correspondence to this document and provide them with copies, as a matter of courtesy.

Further, it seems to me, that the Public Accounts Committee may have an interest in the content and I will again respectfully suggest that this be brought to the attention of the PAC immediately.’

“So, let the record show, it wasn’t brought to our attention, we brought it to our own attention. Anyway, moving on, there’s one specific small email which does follow on from correspondence between PwC and Mr Culhane, in 2010, in relation to matters of taxation and all of the issues before us here today. And then, he, in turn, was obviously, corresponding or in contact with Eugene Banks of the Garda division of the Department of Justice.

“And one email I find extremely troubling. It’s one of the 5th of July 2010 at 17.26pm which seems to be a response to Eugene Banks of the Garda division, who is inquiring had there been any developments on the matter raised below. In particular, the relationship between the [Garda] College and the companies and the legal entity of the college itself.

Continue reading →

This morning.

Áras an Uachtaráin, Phoenix Park

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins meets Choctaw Nation Chief Gary Batton (above) and members of the Choctaw Nation of Native Americans.

The Choctaw Nation’s generosity toward Ireland during the famine was marked with the dedication on Sunday of a piece of sculpture, entitled Kindred Spirits, in Ballick Park, Midleton, County Cork.

Don’t mention Arrawanna.

Earlier: Escaping Dire Situations

Rollingnews

A mesmerising video of paint, soap and oil mixing together by director Thomas Blanchard and photographer Oilhack.

Filming took 4 months and the final edit uses only 2% of the captured footage.

Full screen for best effect.

colossal

Right now.

In the Dáil.

In his first Leaders’ Questions.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar responds to questions about the appointment of former Attorney General Máire Whelan to the Court of Appeal.

Watch live here

Previously: Faster!

UPDATE:

During Leaders’ Questions.

Labour leader Brendan Howlin claimed a payment made to Fine Gael TD Regina Doherty was in breach of legislation.

Brendan Howlin said:

“Taoiseach, last week, you unveiled your new Cabinet. It included  an unprecedented number of ministers of state with the right to attend at Cabinet. Within 24 hours, it emerged that one of these four ministers could not receive the corresponding allowance without a change in the law….

“Over the weekend, the situation got worse. It has now emerged that a payment of a a third such allowance to the Government chief whip [Regina Doherty] from last year was also unlawful.

“The whip was paid an allowance of €15,829 for her role as Government whip. No such position exists under law. It is clear from documents released under Freedom of Information that the allowance was paid to the Government whip on the understanding that the Government whip was actually being paid for her responsibilities as Fine Gael whip. This might seem like a technical and minor matter however,r under the law, no allowance can be paid to a party whip, if that person is a minister or a minister for state.

“This means that you cannot pay such an allowance to the new Government chief whip. It also means that an illegal overpayment has been made to Minster Doherty.

Related: Doherty faces repaying €16k to the State (Irish Independent)

Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan and Sinn Fein TD David Cullinan in the Public Accounts Committee

This afternoon.

At the Public Accounts Committee.

Garda Commissioner Nóiriín O’Sullivan is continuing to be questioned in relation to the financial irregularities at the Garda College.

Readers will recall how Ms O’Sullivan has maintained that she first became aware of these issues on July 27, 2015.

And that the Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy was not told until May 31, 2016  – by head of Internal Audit Niall Kelly.

Mr McCarthy told the PAC previously, and this morning, that the matters should have been referred to him immediately.

It has now emerged Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan sent a letter to the Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy on July 31, 2015.

From this morning’s PAC…

David Cullinane: “I just want to get to a letter that you did send Mr McCarthy and he furnished this committee with the letter. The 31st of July, 2015. Was that before or after you were made aware of the irregularities at the Garda Training College?”

Noirin O’Sullivan: “It was four days after.”

Cullinane: “And was this a letter of representation or understanding, Mr McCarthy?”

Seamus McCarthy: “A letter of representation.”

Cullinane: “And what is a letter of representation?”

McCarthy: “It’s a letter that we seek from an Accounting Officer at the end of the aduit to basically confirm to us that all accounting records have been made available and that all information that should be brought to our attention has been.”

Cullinane: “And I’m reading from it her, Commissioner. It says:

‘I can confirm to the best of my knowledge and believe, and having made appropriate enquiries of my officials at An Garda Siochana, the following representations, which are given to you in connection with your audit of the Appropriation Account for Vote 20 (An Garda Siochana) for the year…

‘I am satisfied that the expenditures and receipts enclosed in the Appropriation Account for the Vote have been applied only to the extent and the purposes indicated…

‘All the accounting records have been provided to you for the purpose of your audit and all the transactions undertaken by An Garda Siochana have been properly reflected and recorded…

‘I have disclosed to you all the instances of loss, fraud or irregularity are known to have occurred or have been reported in the year.’

“So irregularities were reported to you and here you are on the 31st of July, 2015, sending a letter to the Comptroller and Auditor General saying that you have disclosed all instances of irregularities. You did not, Commissioner, disclose all instances of irregularities.”

O’Sullivan: “Well, deputy, what I had been informed on the 27th, on the evening of the 27th. What I was informed was, in the report from Mr Ruane that basically Mr Barrett had identified a number of issues. The nature of…”

Cullinane: “No, no, sorry Commissioner, that’s not the case, I asked you earlier on and you were very clear to this committee that the first time you became aware of irregularities in the Garda Training College in July 2015. You were briefed on the issues, you had a meeting with Mr Barrett and others I take it aswell. But you were most certainly aware of the issues involved

O’Sullivan: “Deputy, can I be very clear on what I knew. What I knew was that Mr Barrett had raised certain matters with Mr Ruane, our Head of Legal Affairs. Mr Ruane had reported those matters to the Deputy Commissioner Strategy Governance. That was on the 27th. On the 28th I got a report – so three days before this letters was issued –  I got a report from the Deputy Commissioner. I caused enquiries to be made in my office…”

Later

Cullinane: “With respect, you’re counting down the clock..”

O’Sullivan: “No, I am not Deputy…”

Earlier: A Templemore Timeline

On the occasion of World Refugee Day…

Tom Moylan writes:

172 years ago there was a great famine in Ireland. This period of mass starvation, disease and emigration led to one million dying and one million more desperately boarding ships – often overcrowded, poorly maintained, and badly provisioned vessels, known as coffin ships – in the hope of escaping their dire situation and starting new lives.

The experience has made its way into our folklore, our culture, almost embedded itself into our very DNA.

When the Irish got where they were going (if they had survived the trip) they were welcomed with suspicion and hostility. In the USA and the UK they were considered a violent backwards culture that was incompatible with American and British society

There were a few who helped and made the small impact that they could, despite intense political pressure not to do so. These people are remembered by the Irish to this day – the Quakers, the Choctaw Native Americans, a few more.

Just saying. #WorldRefugeeDay

Fight!

World Refugee Day (UN)