Author Archives: Bodger

Water meter installation in 2014

This afternoon.

The Social Democrats have tabled a Dáil Motion seeking to bring Irish Water under the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General and calling on the Government ‘to commit to holding a referendum on the ownership of Irish Water’.

To wit:

That Dáil Éireann: recognises that:

Irish Water is a fully State funded entity; currently Irish Water does not fall under the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General for financial oversight and audit purposes; serious concerns exist regarding the current operation of Irish Water; and the recent boil water notices, and the inadequate responses of Irish Water, have led to grave concerns for the sustainability of a safe water supply in the future.

We call on the Government to: amend the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993, to bring Irish Water under the auspices of the Comptroller and Auditor General making it amenable to all reporting guidelines and inspection and audit powers of that Office as provided for in the Act; and commit to the holding of a referendum on the pub lic ownership of Irish Water.

The party are contesting the upcoming by-elections in Dublin Mid-West and Fingal, both areas affected by the recent boil water notices.

Dublin West Soc Dem candidate Anne-Marie McNally said:

“The most recent boil water notices affecting parts of Lucan, Clondalkin and Palmerstown have just added to what has been a long running issue with the water supply to some of these areas. In recent years the water supply was changed from Ballymore Eustace to the Leixlip plant and for the past number of years residents have mounted a campaign to restore the original supply.

We now have issues with cloudy water, a strange smell from the water and a very unpalatable taste. Many people also talk about the impact on the damage that the water is causing to their home appliances.

People need to trust their water supply and until Irish Water is in public ownership, I just don’t think that we will be possible.”

Rollingnews

Aoife Bennett

This afternoon.

A settlement has been reached in a case taken by Aoife Bennett, 26-year-old woman who developed the sleep disorder, narcolepsy, shortly after receiving the Pandemrix swine flu vaccine ten years ago.

Via RTÉ:

It was seen as a test case for up to 100 more and the court had been asked to determine if any or all of the defendants, including the vaccine maker and the State, were liable for damages.

The defendants in the case were GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, the Health Service Executive, the Minister for Health and the Health Products Regulatory Authority, formerly the Irish Medicines Board.

All claims made in the case were denied and the settlement was made without admission of liability.

No orders were made against the HPRA or GSK.

Settlement reached in swine flu vaccine case (RTE)

Pic: RTE

Statement said Tadgh Kennedy on behalf of SOUND (Sufferers Of Unique Narcolepsy Disorder):

“We thank Aoife and the Bennett family for taking the first landmark case,”

However, we are disappointed that the State saw fit to fight the case in court.

Approximately 100 other children and young adults must now await the outcome of their own legal cases, which the State insists must be taken on an individual basis.

The State should ensure that this is not a long drawn-out legal process, causing further hardship.

From the start, the State’s response to what transpired has been painfully slow, and this remains a difficult and protracted process for the families involved.

Sound wants the State to fulfil the duty of care it is morally bound to provide to children and young adults who now have to move through life with Narcolepsy.

“he cost to the State of this action alone can be measured in millions.”

SOUND

This morning.

St Kevin’s National School, Wicklow.

The National Broadband Plan contract being signed by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Minister Richard Bruton and National Broadband Ireland’s David McCourt among St Kevin’s sixth class students.

Pics: Merrion Street

Earlier….

From top: Denis O’Brien;  Minister for Communications Richard Bruton; Taoiseach Leo Varadkar with David McCourt; McCourt with former Minister for Communications Denis Naughten; Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy

Today.

It’s expected that the Minister for Communications Richard Bruton will bring a memo to Cabinet this morning, recommending that the contract from the National Broadband Plan is signed.

Further to this…

The Social Democrats is calling for a Dáil vote before the contract is signed.

TD Catherine Murphy, co-founder of the Social Democrats, writes:

“The National Broadband Plan carries an unprecedented risk for the State where the Government will hand over a huge amount of public funding, following a flawed process, to a private company for an asset that the State won’t own, with no guarantees in regard to value for money.

“Signing the contract could put the State in financial jeopardy.

“It is essential that the Dáil get to see the precise detail of what the Government is signing up to, and vote on it, prior to the Government giving away so much of the public money for what seems to be so little in the long term.

“How can the Government, on behalf of taxpayers, heavily subsidise infrastructure only to hand it over to private entity, who’s only concern will be profit margins.

“What will the eventual cost be to those who need broadband? To the State in subsidies?

“The broadband network is a vital national asset that will underpin our economy for the future. It is imperative that all people and businesses have access to reliable, high-speed broadband.

“But when the UK and Australia talk about re-nationalising their broadband networks in order to ensure that it is a public good accessible by everyone, surely it’s time to shout stop, and assess how we go about it properly here in Ireland.”

Meanwhile…

Hugh O’Connell, in the Irish Independent reports:

Fianna Fáil is set to effectively drop its opposition to the controversial €3bn National Broadband Plan (NBP) that will leave thousands of homes and businesses in rural Ireland waiting up to seven years for high-speed internet.

The opposition party has admitted that once Fine Gael signs the broadband contract, it may cost taxpayers even more by attempting to break it. The plan is being given final approval by ministers at a special early-morning Cabinet meeting today after it cleared the final regulatory hurdle with the European Commission last week.

National Broadband Ireland (NBI) has told the Government it will take an estimated seven years to roll out broadband to the 540,000 homes and businesses.

Stopping €3bn National Broadband Plan ‘could be even more expensive’ – FF (Irish Independent)

Previously: No Cause For Concern

UPDATE:

Richard Bruton tweetz:

Today is a historic day for rural Ireland. The government are signing the national broadband contract, which will bring high-speed broadband to the 1.1M people across Ireland who can’t get access.

This is the biggest investment in rural Ireland since rural electrification. It will ensure rural communities will not be left behind and will be guaranteed the same opportunities as urban areas.

Last night/This morning.

Mount Andrew Rise, Lucan, County Dublin.

Detectives believe it is likely the victim got into the car with a person or people he trusted and was driven to the place where his body was discovered.

The car appears to have been set on fire in an attempt to destroy evidence.

The man’s body has been removed from the scene and a post-mortem examination will be carried out…

Man found dead in burning car may have been shot (RTÉ)

Eamonn Farrell/Rollingnews

‘sup?

Rose writes:

I know you “don’t usually do this” but I found a tiny lost sheep in Drumcondra last night.

It looks very well loved and I’m sure someone is missing him or her.
They’re all wrapped up at home, recovering from the shock.

If the owner spots this, they can ping me on Twitter maybe?

Anyone?

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists logo; CervicalCheck logo

After Vicky Phelan’s High Court case, the Government launched a clinical review of the smears of all women who were diagnosed with cervical cancer since Ireland’s screening programme was set up in 2008.

The Government commissioned the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) in the UK to carry out this review.

Further to this, in this morning’s Irish Times.

Paul Cullen reports:

Large numbers of previously missed abnormalities have been uncovered in the biggest review of smear tests undertaken since cervical cancer screening began in Ireland.

The review led by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in the UK has found hundreds of “discordant” results after re-examining the slides of over 1,000 women who had been tested for the disease under CervicalCheck, were given the all-clear and later developed cancer, according to an informed source.

Discordant means the re-examination of the smear test by Royal College reviewers has produced a result that is different from the original finding by CervicalCheck.

The extent of the individual divergences from the initial results is not yet known, but the review has found some cancers could have been prevented, it is understood.

CervicalCheck: Review finds hundreds of previously missed abnormal results (Paul Cullen, The Irish Times)

CervicalCheck review nears completion but controversy set to continue (Paul Cullen, The Irish Times)

UPDATE:

The CervicalCheck Patient Support Group 221+ has tweeted:

The agreggate report of the RCOG Review is due to be published once all of the women who particpated have been informed of their results. If you participated in the review and are in need of support please feel free to get in touch with us – info@221plus.ie.

The Convention Centre, Dublin

Today.

At the Convention Centre in Dublin.

Insurance Ireland will be holding its seventh Annual Fraud Conference. To wit:

“Insurance Ireland will again convene an array of leading speakers from across the industry and beyond.

The theme of this year’s Insurance Ireland Fraud Conference is ‘The Cost of Fraud to Society’.

The programme will outline some of the various knock-on effects of fraud on our society, from the monetary impact on small businesses and the self-insuring business model, to the societal and resource impact of the current ‘claims culture’, and the priorities the industry must address in collaboration with various stakeholders.”

Meanwhile, RTÉ reports:

Chief Justice Frank Clarke is one of several speakers who will address the Insurance Ireland event at the Convention Centre.

Increasing compensation payouts and claims of ongoing fraud are huge issues and the insurance industry is seeking to address them at the conference.

It has been claimed that some payouts are more than four times higher in Ireland compared to those in the UK and a long-promised Judicial Council is meant to look at the issue.

Insurance Ireland Fraud Conference 2019

Insurance Ireland conference to address fraud, compensation payouts (RTÉ)

On Crimecall.

Fergus McCormack writes:

Presenter Sharon Ni Bheolain meets the family of Gerry Taylor to hear about their on-going heartache at his disappearance almost six months ago and how they haven’t given up hope of finding him.

Gerry has not been seen since the 25th May this year. As part of the investigation into his disappearance,

Gardaí recovered CCTV from that day which shows Gerry walking from the Milltown Luas stop, along Dundrum Road and the Dundrum bypass. He is last picked up on camera passing Taylors Three Rock Hotel as he walks up Kellystown Road towards Ticknock in the Dublin mountains.

Crimecall on RTÉ One at 9.35pm.