Author Archives: Bodger

“We cant let ideology get in the way of pragmatic policies or let the perfect be the enemy of the common good.”

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien (above) on the public-private Cost Rental Scheme.

How imperfect?

James writes:

The Housing Finance Agency (HFA) will borrow, say, €200,000, in the taxpayer’s name, and give it as a loan to an Approved Housing Body (AHB) on a low fixed interest for a 30-year-term.

The council will deliver a cheap, serviced site. The AHB will build a home and then rent it to a taxpaying family at €1,200 euro per month, indexed linked, which means the taxpayer could pay €450,000 over 30 years.

A €200,000 mortgage could cost that taxpayer €300,000 over the 30 years with interest increases [AIB 5 year fixed]. The Government has yet to decide how or even if the AHB will repay that loan…

Anyone?

We can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good in solving our housing crisis (Darragh O’Brien, Independent.ie)

RollingNews

This morning.

Dublin Castle, Dublin 2.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Tanaiste Leo Varadkar arrive for a cabinet meeting in Dublin Castle.

A bill aimed at eliminating the widespread practice of ticket touting is due to be brought to Cabinet later today by Tánaiste Leo Varadkar.

The legislation is expected to ban the above face-value resale of tickets to live events, matches, and concerts for either designated events or venues.

The full details will be published later this week.

Once enacted, operators of venues with a capacity to hold 1,000 people or more will be able to apply to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment for designation.

Ticket touting bill to be brought before Cabinet today (RTÉ)

RollingNews

This morning.

Dublin Castle, Dublin 2.

Via Irish Mirror:

Minister Eamon Ryan has said there should be more “social life” outdoors soon, adding to the hopes for outdoor dining returning in May.

Momentum is growing among Cabinet ministers for a fast-tracking of the lifting of lockdown restrictions next month.

“It was a lovely weekend, my sense was that everybody was really respectful, they were keeping their distance, it was using our great outdoors in the way that we should and people pretty much adhering to the regulations was my sense, so we shouldn’t give up on that.”

Minister Eamon Ryan keen on outdoor socialising soon with hopes of significant May lockdown changes

RollingNews

This morning.

Tuam campaigner Breeda Murphy, adoptee and activist Eunan Duffy and lawyer Frank Brehany, whose father was a Tuam adoptee, released their first joint report, detailing the practical requirements of any Transitional Justice Scheme, relating to the Mother and Baby Home Institutions.

Breeda, Eunan and Frank have published and released this report through a think-tank they have formed: The Separation, Appropriation & Loss Initiative (SALI) – (An Scaradh, Toiliú agus Cailleadh Tionscnamh).

This report delivers ‘informed comment and observations, stemming from their own experiences and that of many victims and survivors’.

On Saturday, Breeda, Eunan and Frank joined us to discuss their report (video above) in the 16th in a series of shows looking at all aspects of the Mother and Baby Home Commission of Investigation report.

SALI report here

Gulp.

Furious pub landlord yells ‘get out of my pub’ to Sir Keir Starmer on visit to Bath (Evening Standard)


This afternoon.

Covid response critic Ivor Cummins discusses The Sunday Times report yesterday that Mayo coroner Patrick O’Connor (top) believes death figures reported by Nphet “do not have a scientific basis”.

Mr O’Connor, a public information officer for the Coroners Society of Ireland, told the paper

“In reality, a lot of people have terminal cancer or multiple serious co-morbidities. People can die from Covid or with Covid. I think numbers that are recorded as Covid deaths may be inaccurate and do not have a scientific basis.

“When a person is suffering from a number of medical conditions which will or may lead to their death at some short time in the future, if they are unlucky enough to be infected by the Covid virus, that is recorded as the principal cause of death.”

Meanwhile…

Covid deaths data skewed by other illnesses, says Mayo coroner (Sunday Times)

Don’t riot.

Write.

This morning/afternoon.

The Irish Council for Human Rights [a non-governmental, non-profit organisation founded last year] writes:

The next vote to extend the Health (Preservation and Protection and Other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020 must take place before June 9.

If it is not extended, all restrictions around freedoms (with the exception of mandatory quarantine upon entry into the state) will cease.

We therefore have a window of eight weeks inside which to lobby TDs to vote against the extension of Part 3 of the Act.

If we are successful, this would mean that on June 10 all businesses and churches could legally reopen, you will no longer be legally required to wear face coverings, the Gardai will no longer be able to question you under this Act as to your movements, limits will no longer apply to weddings or funerals and you can once again visit with family and friends without fear of being arrested and jailed.

As part of this campaign, we have reviewed the voting records of all TDs for the past seven months in order to determine which TD’s would seek to preserve your fundamental freedoms and which TD’s would seek to exercise more control over your family, your business, your health and your life. Please click here if you would like to review this spreadsheet of information – noting that your TD’s do not expect you to be armed with this information.

You will note that the spreadsheet stipulates which TD’s we recommend that you lobby (noting that recommended TDs are colour coded in green and yellow). For each of the TDs we are recommending you lobby, we have prepared individual letters which specifically addresses each such TD’s voting record (please, therefore, do not use the same letter for every TD).

We would also encourage you to edit the letter to address any specific concerns or experiences you have encountered over the past 12 months arising from the erosion of your freedoms.

This campaign has the single biggest chance of reversing the erosion of fundamental freedoms in the shortest space of time, but to stand any chance of success, we need thousands and thousands of people to write to their TD’s today and to persevere over the next eight weeks, until an assurance is secured that they will vote not to extend Part 3 of the Act.

Click here to download letters.

Irish Council for Human Rights

Rollingnews