Category Archives: News

news as it is happening-ish

THE PARENTS of more than 100 former pupils at a Dublin fee-paying school say they will take legal action over the suspension of nearly the entire Leaving Cert class shortly before the exam this year.

Some 113 of the 120 sixth-year pupils at the High School in Rathgar were suspended on May 18th after an incident on May 4th in which they locked themselves into the sixth-year common room for 55 minutes and played dance music.

In a text message sent at 8pm on May 18th the pupils were told their lessons had been concluded for the year, and they could attend the school only by appointment until the Leaving Cert exam started on June 6th. There were 2½ days of lessons remaining.

Parents of suspended Leaving Cert pupils to take legal action (Kitty Holland, Irish Times)

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Thinking of popping pills and asking for E-tabs among the crowd?

Guetta grip.

Gardaí said they will invoke the Public Order Act in an attempt to avoid a repeat of the violent scenes that marred the Swedish House Mafia concert in the Phoenix Park.

Gardaí will have powers to confiscate unopened containers of alcohol if they suspect those carrying the drink intend to consume it at the concert. Fans may face arrest if they are found loitering or do not disperse as ordered in an area within a 1.5km radius of the park.

Gardaí will also board coaches heading to the concert to warn fans they will not be admitted if drunk.

Plainclothes gardaí will carry out surveillance on shuttle buses to the show and sniffer dogs and plainclothes gardaí will operate inside and outside the park to catch drug dealers.

Problem solved, right?

Guetta fans set to face heightened gig security (Ronan McGreevy, Irish Times)

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The government of Ecuador says British authorities have threatened to barge into Ecuadorean embassy in London if officials there do not comply with demands to hand over Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who has been hiding out there while his request for asylum is considered.

“We are not a British colony,” said the country’s prime minister in a press conference today. “The days of the colony are over.”

LIVE TWEETS: Humunculous Flannel & James Albury

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MINISTER FOR Education Ruairí Quinn is set to review the impact of the new Leaving Certificate bonus points system amid increasing concerns it could have a distorting impact on college entry points.

Career experts are predicting a dramatic increase in points for many courses when the CAO publishes its first round of college offers next Monday.

The scramble for college places on many courses has intensified this year because of the strong results of so many students in higher level maths. The record number of students who passed the higher level paper (over 11,000) face into next week’s points race with an additional 25 CAO points.

Minister To Review Bonus Policy For Maths After Points Surge (Séan Flynn, Irish Times)

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Wealthy Parents will be able to hand back the €140-a-month child benefit payment to the State if they wish, under new measures being drawn up by Government officials.

Some well-off parents have commented in recent months that there is no way to opt out of child benefit payments, which are paid automatically to some 600,000 families every month. They cost the State about €2 billion a year.

However, Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton has asked officials to make whatever technical changes are required in order for parents to be able to refuse the payment.

 

Measure Will Allow Wealthy To Hand Back Child Benefit (Carl O’Brien, Irish Times)

(Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland)

MORE THAN €30 million has been paid out by the Department of Social Protection in rent deposits for social welfare recipients since 2006.

Although deposits are refundable at the end of a tenancy, none of the money has been returned to the department. It is not known if the money is being withheld by landlords or kept by the tenant after it has been handed back.

… of the €32.3 million paid to landlords in deposits in the last six years, the department said it has no record of any money being returned.

€30m of State’s rent deposits not returned (Olivia Kelly, Irish Times)

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An analysis carried out by the Revenue on the 2010 tax year shows the average effective tax paid by the highest earners increased from 5 per cent in 2006 to its stated target of 30 per cent four years later.

It meant this group of 387 individuals earning more than €400,000 paid an additional €53 million in tax in 2010, almost double the amount of tax they would have paid that year had the new restrictions not been in place.

Six years ago, analysis by the Revenue of the tax returns of the 400 highest earning individuals showed a substantial majority were paying zero tax or tax of 10 per cent or less.

 

2006. *sigh* Good times.

High earners paying more tax as reliefs cut (Harry McGee, Irish Times)

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Official garda figures provided to RTÉ News show that between the start of January and the end of July, 5,989 phones were stolen. That compares to 5,002 in the same period last year and represents a 20% increase year on year.

The average value of the phones taken was approximately €250, nearly double the average value of the handsets taken during the same period last year, reflecting the increasing popularity and cost of smart phones.

According to gardaí, around 20% of mobile phones that are stolen are snatched from the owners. More than 30% are stolen from a vehicle, while one in every six is stolen in restaurants, shops or pubs.

 

Mobile phone users warned of increase in thefts (RTE News)

President of the High Court Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns said last week it was “truly shocking” that €1.65 billion may be required from the compensation fund to meet claims and costs arising from the administration of the insurer. He sought the “clearest of explanations” to be provided to understand the reasons for these costs at the hearing today. During last week’s hearing he said it would be helpful if somebody from the Central Bank also attended the court.

The cost of the administration was put at about €738 million and this rose to €775 million. The amount being sought from the fund “had more than doubled” in the space of a few months, he said.

Lawyers for the administrators told the court that the €1.65 billion was “an absolute ceiling” and based on a worst-case situation, while the actual level of draw-down was expected to be between €1.1 billion and €1.3 billion.

Oh, well that’s all right then.

Official at bank to explain Quinn cost (Simon Carswell, Irish Times)

(Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland)