Author Archives: Bodger

‘sup?

Yesterday.

The White House, Washington DC, USA.

Via Independent.co.uk:

US President Joe Biden was chatting to visitors at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll event when the unlikely chaperone sidled up next to him.

Footage shows a person in a bunny suit seem to pull Mr Biden away mid-sentence as he was discussing Pakistan and Afghanistan.

White House press assistant Angela Perez tweeted a photo of herself in a bunny suit an hour before the event.

Easter bunny appears to direct Joe Biden away from Afghanistan question at White House event (Independent.co.uk)

This afternoon.

Kyiv, Ukraine.

A flack-jacketed Simon Coveney, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, walking with Ukranian special forces and, controversially, Garda ERU, to lay flowers at a memorial wall to those slain in the conflict with Russia

Department of Foreign Affair /RollingNews

Earlier: At The Front

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly

Gulp.

Yesterday.

Independent TD Carol Nolan asks Minister for Health Stephen Donelly to confirm Ireland’s commitment to the World Health Organisation’s Pandemic Treaty

Once signed, the treaty will enable WHO’s constitution to bypass Bunreacht na hÉireann during a pandemic or other health emergency.

Previously: WHO’s Your Daddy

Meanwhile…

Ah now.

Meanwhile…

From top: Linda Doyle, Provost of Trinity College Dublin; Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan, and Robert Watt, Secretary General at the Department of Health

This morning/afternoon.

Via Independent.ie:

“Under the proposed agreement, the Department of Health commits to provide for the secondment of Dr Tony Holohan who will continue to receive a salary at his existing level (i.e. salary, terms and conditions equivalent to the position of Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health) on the date of signing of the agreement including any improvements, awards or regrading that may apply to the position of Chief Medical Officer over the duration of the secondment.

“It would make an annual ring-fenced allocation of €2m for the duration of the secondment, to be administered through the Health Research Board, a body under the aegis of the Department of Health, to support the development and activities of an interinstitutional collaboration led by Dr Holohan from his position in Trinity College Dublin.”

A letter from Secretary General Robert Watt to Trinity College Provost Linda Doyle two weeks before Tony Holohan’s TCD role was announced.

Um.

The Health Research Board, meanwhile, said it had no knowledge of such arrangement to pay Dr Holohan.

Anyone?

Robert Watt’s ‘strictly confidential’ letter to Trinity agreed Department of Health would give €2m a year for Holohan secondment (Independent.ie)

RollingNews

‘sup?

Model Farm Road, Carrigrohane, Cork.

Squishy-hearted soccer hard man Roy Keane launching the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind’s national fundraising campaign, Guide Dog Day which takes place on Friday May 27.

The charity successfully matched 73 Guide Dog and Assistance Dog partnerships in 2021 and placed four Community Dogs in schools and facilities around the country.

Back of the net,

Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind

Pics: John Allen

This morning.

Earlier…

From top: Eamon Ryan and Paschal Donohoe

This morning.

Via BreakingNews:

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has said that the Government will consider a detailed report about turf burning after Easter at which time a decision will be made about the proposed ban on the sale of turf.

Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Mr Donohoe said that no proposal in relation to a pause on the ban, as reportedly advocated by the Tánaiste, had come to Government.

However, on Newstalk Breakfast Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said there would be no pause in plans to ban the sale of turf. The comment by Mr Varadkar had been made at a Fine Gael meeting, not at a public meeting, he added.

Mr Ryan said that the concerns that people would be criminalised needed to be addressed and the details of the regulations better communicated.

Anyone?

No proposal to pause turf ban has come to Government, says Donohoe (BreakingNews)

Meanwhile…

Um.

This morning.

RollingNews

‘sup?

This morning.

Phoenix Park, Dublin.

Via Dublin Zoo

Dublin Zoo is delighted to welcome two Venezuelan red howler monkeys, the newest species to arrive to the South American House.

The two male red howler monkeys, both aged five, arrived from Tierpark Berlin and are settling into their new habitat very well. They also have a long prehensile tail which acts as a fifth hand to help them grip onto branches when climbing through trees.

They get the name ‘howler monkey’ from their roaring and howling calls, which can be heard up to 5km away.

Pics: Patrick Bolger