Category Archives: News

news as it is happening-ish

TWO OF the State’s most ambitious developers, Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett, will see the end of their globe-spanning company, Treasury Holdings, next week after conceding defeat in litigation taken by one of its banks.

Liquidators are expected to be appointed on Tuesday to the insolvent property business by the High Court after the company said it was no longer resisting an application by KBC Bank to have the company wound up over a debt of about €55 million. The rejection of a last-minute offer by US bank Morgan Stanley to buy the company’s debts from the State’s National Asset Management Agency (Nama), which supported KBC’s action, has led to the imminent failure of the group, sources close to the company said.

One of Nama’s top 10 debtors, Treasury has total debts of €2.7 billion, including more than €1 billion with the State loans agency.

World comes crashing down on Irish developers’ global empire (Simon Carlswell, Mary Carolan, Irish Times)

(Laura Hutton/ Photocall Ireland)

Work on the line, known as Luas BXD, including filling in basements and diverting utilities, is due to begin next year, with trams operational by 2017. No cars or buses will be able to drive down Dawson Street. All traffic will also be removed, along with all parking spaces, between Grafton Street and Kildare Street on St Stephen’s Green North.

Elsewhere:

Kildare Street to become two-way. Left onto the Green reduced to one lane heading east to Merrion Row.

Only buses will be able to turn right onto St Stephen’s Green East from the Shelbourne Hotel side.

Right turn only from Hume Street onto St Stephen’s Green.

Bike parking only on St Stephen’s Green East.

Severe limitations on car access to St Stephen’s Green West.

Work on latest Luas line will disrupt city centre traffic (Olivia Kelly, Irish Times)

(Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland)

MINISTER FOR Health James Reilly remained under pressure last night after a day of further controversy and calls for his resignation by two Labour MEPs.

The Taoiseach last night reaffirmed his support for Dr Reilly but there was growing unease in the Government parties over the unrelenting controversies in health.

Labour Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn was said to be incensed after he misled the Dáil with information provided by Dr Reilly’s department. Sources said he was “not prepared to take the fall” for another Minister’s mistake.

Don’t fancy your chances on that thin ice there, Bottler.

Reilly under pressure after day of controversy in Dáil (Paul Cullen, Mary Minihan, Irish Times)

(Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland)

Documents retrieved recently from a damaged computer in Moscow include employment contracts for Quinn, three of his siblings, his then fiancee and now wife Karen Woods, and other members of the Quinn family. The contracts stipulate that they each get millions of euros in the event of being laid off by property-holding companies in Russia over which IBRC has mortgages and charges.

The charges were taken out when Anglo Irish Bank, now known as IBRC, issued the Quinn family with loans worth hundreds of millions of euros which the family cannot repay.

The property group over which the bank has charges is worth up to €500 million.

The documents indicate Mr Quinn was to get up to €15 million if his employment was terminated in two companies. His wife was to get €36 million from a number of companies in the event of her employment being terminated, as were Mr Quinn’s siblings Aoife, Ciara and Colette, and Ciara’s husband, Niall McPartland, according to the bank.


Now THAT is how you do a golden parachute.

Quinns were to receive millions in severance payments (Colm Keena, Mary Carolan, Irish Times)

(Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland)

The hunt for the Susan Boyle of tech is on.

The man responsible for unleashing Il Divo, Susan Boyle and Sinitta on the world will now apply the same star spotting eye to finding the next tech superstar.

Reality TV impresario Simon Cowell has teamed with Black Eyed Peas rapper Will.i.am to produce and new reality TV format based on the “X Factor” template, but this time the aim is to find technology innovators. Referred to as “X Factor for Tech” by Will.i.am, in The Sun the ambition is to find the next Mark Zuckerberg.

Jay to the Zus.

Simon Cowell plans X Factor for Tech, (Natalie Apostolou, The Register)

Narrowly…

A MOTION to introduce same-sex marriage in the North was narrowly defeated in the Northern Ireland Assembly yesterday when only three unionist members supported it.

However, equality campaigners hailed the closeness of the vote as evidence of changed times. The motion to extend the rights already available under civil partnership was brought by Sinn Féin and the Green Party, but it was effectively blocked by the DUP, which tabled a “petition of concern”, meaning it needed cross-community support.

The vote was lost by a slim margin of 45 to 49. Of the 45 MLAs in support of the motion, only three were unionists.

Still.

Progress.

DUP Blocks Same-Sex Marriage Proposals (Una Bradley, Irish Times)

Northern Ireland Assembly Rejects Motion On Gay Marriage (Henry McDonald, Guardian)

(Pic: Paul Faith/PA)

Speaking in the Dáil last night Dr Reilly said Swords and Balbriggan were identified as high priority areas by the HSE five years ago. But both “lost out” after Minister of State Róisín Shortall increased the weighting attached to deprivation in selecting priority locations in which centres would be built.

“Multiplying the deprivation index by three, they lost out. They were swept from high priority to low priority. Under the original priority system both would have been in the top 35. However, under the new system with an altered weighting system they ended down the list.”

Just a minute there, Bottler.

According to documents obtained by the Irish Times:

…Balbriggan ranked 44th and Swords 127th in a draft list compiled last June – before Ms Shortall ordered officials to increase the weighting attached to deprivation.

Ouch.

Reilly gives different explanation for adding sites to list (Paul Cullen, Harry McGee, Niamh Sweeney, Irish Times)

(Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland)

A dangerous game…

THE FAILURE of senior Labour Ministers to back Róisín Shortall in her dispute with Minister for Health James Reilly was the deciding factor in her decision to resign as Minister of State, according to supporters.
The last straw for Ms Shortall came on Monday night when Labour leader Eamon Gilmore publicly backed Dr Reilly over his party colleague in a row about primary care centres, according to sources close to the former junior minister.
Her resignation has plunged Labour into its biggest political crisis since it entered Government in February 2011.

In fairness, that February 2011 crisis was a doozy…

Tánaiste’s backing for Reilly was ‘last straw’ for Shortall (Paul Cullen, Irish Times)

(Leon Farell/Photocall Ireland)