This afternoon.
Stephen’s Green Centre, Dublin 2.
Christmas decorations hang in St. Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre as many retailers fear they may not be able to open in time for Christmas due to Level 5 restrictions. The Irish Small and Medium Enterprise Association (ISME) has written to all TDs expressing its opposition to the ongoing closure of all ‘non-essential’ retailers.
Yesterday instead of publishing on @VillageMagIRE we passed more evidence to @IrishTimes & @rtenews
These 12 new exchanges are now being published for the 1st time & include exchanges between @LeoVaradkar & @DrZeroCraic
Make your own mind up. More on:https://t.co/eypjBxzLln pic.twitter.com/zwht0mJO2W
— Chay Bowes (@BowesChay) November 4, 2020
Gulp.
This afternoon.
He’s more craic than he lets on, in fairness,
More info for public consumption; much more to come (Village)
Earlier: Accepting ‘A Contorted Political Narrative For The Sake Of Political Convenience’
Last night.
Via Marijuana Business Daily:
The marijuana industry appeared headed for a clean sweep on Election Day, with voters approving new markets in Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota that could generate more than $2.5 billion in medical and recreational cannabis sales a year by 2024.
New Jersey, Arizona, Montana and South Dakota represented the 12th, 13th 14th and 15th states in the country to legalize recreational marijuana markets, according to media projections.
Voters also approved new medical markets in Mississippi and South Dakota, capping a 100% win rate for state legalization ballot measures in the 2020 election.
Meanwhile…
…Johnny writes:
AZ: Legal marijuana
DC: Decriminalized psychedelics
MS: Medical cannabis
MT: Legal marijuana
NJ: Legal marijuana
OR: Decriminalised drugs & legal psilocybin therapy
SD: Legal marijuana & medical cannabisA great night for drug use and druggies in general- with Oregon a sign of the future – voters approved a historic ballot initiative to decriminalize possession of all currently illicit drugs and invest in substance misuse treatment….
Meanwhile…
Two men have been arrested after the seizure of €105,000 worth of cannabis in Cork. The discovery was made after two searches in the city, one on Sundays Well Road and another on Blarney Street.
Two men arrested in Cork over seizure of cannabis worth €105,000 (Echo)
From top: Taoiseach Micheál Martin addressing the Dáil yesterday; Fianna Fáil’s Jim O’ Callaghan
This morning.
On RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne.
Fianna Fáil’s Jim O’Callaghan spoke to Claire Byrne about Tánaiste Leo Varadkar’s address in the Dáil last night and his apology for posting a contract negotiated between the Government and the Irish Medical Organisation to former National Association of General Practitioners’ president Dr Maitiú O Tuathail in April 2019.
Deputy O’Callaghan said:
“On a day, such as today, I don’t think we should sit back and accept a contorted political narrative for the sake of political convenience.
“And I also think, as a Fianna Fáil TD, it’s important that Fianna Fáil calls out something when it’s wrong and that we don’t shy away from it because of political inconvenience.”
He doesn’t believe Leo Varadkar should resign and he doesn’t regard it as an “Agatha Christie mystery where we’re trying to find out everything”.
But he said:
“I think he would have solved issues for himself had he simply said I disclosed a confidential document, I shouldn’t have done that, I was wrong, I apologise for it and move on.”
Adding:
“I regard it [the situation] as a political issue and, from the Government’s point of view, I want to see it resolved and I want to see people moving on from it.”
Later, Deputy O’Callaghan said:
“I’m not accusing him of saying untruths or something like that but his explanation, let’s be frank about it, has inconsistencies within it. And that’s why I say that politicians shouldn’t demean themselves by trying to stand over a defence which has a lot of holes in it.
“Like, for instance, he told the Dail yesterday that he asked the Department of Health for the document, why didn’t he just ask the Department of Health to send it out to the NAGP and Dr O’Tuaithail. Why wasn’t it emailed? We live in an age where documents are emailed.
“Why was there no covering letter with it? Why was it sent to the home address? Why was part of the front page redacted? All of these seem to suggest that the Tanaiste was trying to disguise his role in giving out this document.
“So like, these are issues that are going to be raised as a result of the contorted defence he has put forward.”
Earlier: Getting The Deal Done
Up we get, stretch those limbs; the world might be topsy turvey but we get on with the day #irishhare #covidnaturediary #getoutside #natureinspires #connemara @HPT_Official @Irishwildlife @vincentwildlife @NatureRTE @WildlifeMag pic.twitter.com/nUEd8ahuWV
— Ann Higginson (@AnnHigginson64) November 4, 2020
‘sup?
This morning.
Connemara, County Galway.
‘America’, Tooreenduff, Cork
‘There is a field in Tureenduve called “America”. It was so called being so far from the west of the house that the men should carry their dinner with them when going to work
so they termed it “America”.’https://t.co/ARyAfgf6sa pic.twitter.com/AidsPzGBer— duchas.ie (@duchas_ie) November 4, 2020
Build a wall.
Attorney General Paul Gallagher; Minister for Children, Disabilty, Equality and Integration Roderic O’Gorman in the Dail at the Convention Centre, October 22
But did they?
This morning.
Further to controversy over the sealing of the Mother and Baby Home Commission records…
“My department has engaged extensively with the Attorney General’s office on this issue and the advice we have received, to which the department is bound, is that the GDPR right of access to personal data set out in article 15 of the GDPR is expressly prohibited by section 39 of the Commissions of Investigation Act.”
Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman, October 22
Via the Irish Times:
However, a spokesman for Mr O’Gorman confirmed that the first time there was direct contact between the Minister’s office and the Attorney General’s office was in the week of October 19th, after a query about access to records in the archive had been raised by the Data Protection Commissioner.
…The first time the current Attorney General, Paul Gallagher, gave direct official advice on the matter was at the Cabinet meeting on October 28th, when he said the 2004 Act did not preclude the consideration of data access requests by his department.
Roderic O’Gorman’s first direct contact with AG was in October (Irish Times)
Meanwhile…
But would the Dáil have treated Departmental officials’ advice in the same way as when they were led to believe it was AG “binding” advice?
Now the actual AG’s advice is an improvement on the assertion of prohibition but -we’re told- continues to apply same restrictive irish law
— Simon McGarr (@Tupp_Ed) November 4, 2020
Anyone?
Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney leaving Government Buildings last night following an apology from the Tánaiste for giving a copy of a contract negotiated between the Government and the Irish Medical Organisation to rival GP group, the National Association of General Practitioners
Yesterday.
Tanaiste Leo Varadkar’s full speech to the Dáil.
Meanwhile…
Yesterday.
Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty challenges the Tanaiste.
Meanwhile…
Dreadful how Irish media frame the Varadkar Dáil questions yesterday as “no punches landed’ and “Varadkar escapes” instead of doing their jobs & analysing facts.
Did he break the law and act appropriately?
But no, in Ireland, its about theatre. Shame on Irish journalism. #pknt— ConcernedCitizen (@scrahallia) November 4, 2020
Last night: Meanwhile, In The Dáil
