Category Archives: News

news as it is happening-ish

STATE-OWNED bank AIB yesterday disclosed that it paid €4,500 a month for a Dublin apartment used by David Hodgkinson during his term as executive chairman of the bank.

Mr Hodgkinson stayed in the apartment, the location of which the bank declined to reveal, throughout 2011 while he was executive chairman. Since assuming a non-executive role following the appointment of David Duffy as chief executive of the bank last December, Mr Hodgkinson stopped using the apartment.

“Do you know how hard it is to find a place to live here in Ballsbridge?” he said to the Guardian’s Lisa O’Carroll in an interview last year.

Hmm.

Chairman’s flat cost AIB €4,500 a month (Irish Times)

Mortgage arrears at AIB still on the rise (Irish Times)

(Laura Huttonl/Photocall Ireland)

G-Force, Garda Gay Lesbian and Bisexual employee resource group, members Garda Niall O’Connor (left) and Sgt. Paul Franey, who is also Vice President of the European Gay Police Association.
Ewald Widi (3rd from right) with the Austrian Police Force and President of Gay Cops Austria and Petrik Thomann (2nd from right) with the Zurich Police Force
Dutch Police Force members Brigadier Raymond Jansen and Inspector Willemijn Ahlers, presenting a copy of the Dutch Police Force magazine ‘Boeien’, which promotes sexual awareness and understanding.

President Higgins and Sabina with delegates from the 6th European Gay Police Association Conference at Aras an Uachtarain yesterday.

(Photocall Ireland)

 

BANKRUPT businessman Seán Quinn, his son Seán and nephew Peter Darragh Quinn could face jail after being found guilty of contempt of court orders restraining them putting assets worth tens of millions of euro in their international property group beyond the reach of the former Anglo Irish Bank.
All three engaged in a “complex, complicated and no doubt costly” series of steps designed to put assets beyond the reach of the bank, in “a blatant, dishonest and deceitful manner”, Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne said, and she was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt they were guilty of contempt.
The judge will rule on Friday what sanctions should be imposed after hearing from both sides but indicated, given her findings, she would find it “very difficult” not to include a “punitive” element.

‘Blatant, dishonest and deceitful’ (Irish Times)

(Photocall Ireland)

DIVISIONS HAVE surfaced between the Government parties over the Croke Park deal after Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore of Labour rejected demands from two Fine Gael Ministers for key elements of the agreement to be scrapped.

He was speaking after Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar called for the suspension of public service pay increments and Minister for Health James Reilly raised the prospect of cutting overtime and premium pay.

“Frankly, I would prefer if individual Ministers didn’t get up every Monday morning and express a point of view – a personal point of view – on [the] Croke Park agreement or budget formation or whatever. And that where issues like this have to be addressed, that they’re addressed collectively by Government,” he said.

Ooooh.

You. Outside. Now.

Coalition rift as Gilmore spurns FG demand on Croke Park pact (Irish Times)

(Photocall Ireland)

Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte said he wanted no “red line” areas in discussions.

Sorry, what?

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin said he would not be “prescriptive” in discussions on the budget for next year.

Come again?

Both tax rises and welfare cuts were trenchantly ruled out by the Government for last year’s budget. However, to fulfil its pledges in the EU-IMF bailout the Government has to make cuts of €3.5 billion next year.

So…

The comments by the two Labour Ministers have raised speculation that both areas are back on the budget agenda.

Oh great.

Ministers won’t rule out tax rises (Irish Times)

(Photocall Ireland)

So, what is rosy-cheeked lifestyle guru and alleged svengali Tony ‘Educo’ Quinn, up to these days?

Well he’s currently commuting (by private jet) from his home in the Bahamas to court in the British Virgin Islands where he’s facing allegations of mismanagement by Sheila McCaffrey – a former director of his oil exploration company International Natural Energy.

INE has discovered extensive reserves of oil in Belize but has never paid a dividend to investors. Three of the individual directors and 74 of the 82 original investors were Irish and all had attended Mr Quinn’s mind power seminars. Those who founded the company have since fallen out and a succession of court actions has ensued, including Ms McCaffrey’s.

They looked into his eyes. Not around the eyes. Into the eyes.

Rookie mistake.

Tony Quinn in court row over oil firm millions (Irish Times)

(Photocall Ireland)

THE BOARD of Aer Lingus yesterday rejected Ryanair’s €1.30-a-share offer for the company, saying it “undervalues” the airline. “Aer Lingus shareholders are accordingly advised to take no action in relation to the offer,” the company said.

Well, no surprise there.

Ryanair’s bid helped to push up the value of Aer Lingus shares, which rose 15.4 per cent to €1.085 in Dublin yesterday. The shares had closed at 94 cent on Monday, just before Ryanair released details of its offer.

To be expected, really.

Ryanair made no comment yesterday on the bid.

Now that’s news.

Aer Lingus board rejects Ryanair’s new bid for airline (Irish Times)

(Photocall Ireland)

 

The Criminal Justice (Corruption) Bill proposes penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment and unlimited fines, as well as giving the courts power to remove public officials from office and exclude them from holding office for up to 10 years.

The Heads of the Bill also include a recommendation from the Mahon Tribunal which would create a new offence of making payments knowingly or recklessly to a third party who intends to use them as bribes.

One academic specialising in the area, Dr Elaine Byrne of Trinity College, said, if the Bill is not watered down, it will be one of the most radical pieces of legislation internationally on corruption.

ie. It’ll be watered down.

Government publishes wide-ranging bill aimed at tackling corruption (RTE News)

(Will St Leger street art pic: Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland)

Ryanair has offered €1.30 per share for the 70 per cent of Aer Lingus it does not already own. The offer is almost 50 per cent higher than the average price of Aer Lingus shares in the last six months, and well ahead of the €1 per share price that Mr Varadkar previously indicated would be the minimum price acceptable to the Government.

Fianna Fáil’s transport spokesman Timmy Dooley called on the Government to use its shareholding in Aer Lingus to prevent Ryanair from taking control of the airline.

“The existence of Ryanair and Aer Lingus as separate, competing entities has transformed our tourism and business connectivity. Any material change to the separate status of these airlines would inevitably lead to reduced competition, increased fares and less choice,” he said.

Cabinet to discuss Ryanair’s new Aer Lingus bid (Irish Times)

(Photocall Ireland)

MORE THAN 130 investors, including two congregations of nuns and the Irish Veterinary Beneficiary Fund, who are seeking up to €30 million in compensation and damages, have reached a provisional agreement with Morgan Stanley and two other financial institutions, the High Court in London was told yesterday.

The Holy Faith Sisters, based in Dublin, and the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary, based in Hertfordshire, England, and more than 80 other investors launched the legal action in August 2010, to be joined later by 50 more investors.

They had bought “hybrid structured euro constant maturity swap notes” secured by bonds issued by Dresdner Bank through Bloxham stockbrokers in Dublin, which has since been put into liquidation.

Well done sisters. The rest of you: back to work.

Nuns reach agreement in Morgan Stanley case (Irish Times)

Pic via Belfast Telegraph