Category Archives: News

news as it is happening-ish

The hour-long debate descended into chaos on several occasions, with the four speakers being interrupted by their rivals and by members of the audience. At one stage, host Pat Kenny was forced to shout down a farmer advocating a No vote, who claimed that passing the fiscal treaty would end the Common Agriculture Policy for Ireland.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore and businesswoman Norah Casey were the speakers advocating a Yes vote, with Sinn Féin’s deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald and businessman Declan Ganley arguing for a No vote.

Sharp Exchanges And Accusations In TV debate (Irish Times)

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THIS, etc.

THREE PROPERTY owners have paid between €30,000 and €40,000 through multiple liabilities for the controversial €100 household charge, Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan has confirmed. The three own between 300 and 400 properties that were liable for the charge.

Meanwhile, back in the real world…

As of noon last Friday, some 940,437 households, or 59 per cent of the estimated 1.6 million eligible, had paid the charge. Separate Department figures show that 24,098 people have paid penalties for late payment of the charge so far. These late payment penalties have raised €267,039.

 

Three property owners have paid over €30,000 in household charges (Irish Times)

A number of leading businessmen have told the Sunday Independent that Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte has said that the Government is unable to formulate a plan to deal with the economy such is the speed and ever-changing nature of the crisis.

In an alarmingly frank admission, which was made on condition of confidentiality, Mr Rabbitte is said to have stated that the Government has been pre-occupied with challenges as they arise and has not managed to construct a strategy for recovery in the medium to long term.

Mr Rabbitte asked that his remarks, which were made at a luncheon attended by figures drawn primarily from the energy sector, not be repeated outside of the meeting.

Really? Really?

Pat Rabbitte denies saying ‘Government has no plan’ (Sunday Independent)

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ALL HOSPITALS in the State have been urged to stop using hospital corridors to accommodate patients following a damning report which found the practice was putting lives at risk.

An investigation by the Health Information and Quality Authority has severely criticised Dublin’s Tallaght hospital for its “persistent tolerance” of leaving patients on trolleys for long periods.

Other hospitals were also struggling to deal with overcrowding, the report found. On a single day in August last year, an audit by the authority found 24 out of 25 emergency departments failed to meet targets for waiting times. A further nine hospitals failed to provide any data.

Related: 116 Hours

Hospitals to be called in by Minister over safety concerns (Irish Times)

ALCOHOL SPONSORSHIP of sports events is to be ended, Minister of State for Health Róisín Shortall has pledged. “I am committed to phasing that out over a reasonable period of time,” she said in the Dáil. There is “no room for ambivalence in our approach”.

Because that’s the cause of Ireland’s massive drink problem, right?

Minister To End Alcohol Sponsorship Of Sports (Maire O’Halloran, Irish Times)

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PASSENGERS FLYING from Dublin Airport will face additional security measures for a number of months after an EU audit identified two deficiencies in security. The European Commission has taken formal proceedings to get Dublin Airport to address the problems, and it will temporarily impose additional restrictions on flights out of the airport.

Oh. Right, well let’s all stay calm and not make an already embarrassing situation worse, shall we?

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said it was “unacceptable” that there had not been an “open, transparent and honest answer” about the security issues from either the Department of Transport or the Dublin Airport Authority.

He said it had been confirmed that the authority knew of the security failure for more than a month, and it was “so serious that Dublin-originating aircraft will now be treated as the same security risk as flights originating from Afghanistan and Somalia”.

*sigh*

Extra security measures for Dublin Airport as audit reveals shortfalls (Irish Times)

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A BANKING consultancy firm which famously proclaimed Anglo Irish Bank to be the “best bank in the world” has been hired by state-owned Permanent TSB to help reorganise its entire operations, the Irish Independent has learned.

New York-based Oliver Wyman was also named in the US Financial Crisis Inquiry as a secretive consultancy which advised Citibank in 2005 to ramp up its exposure to collateralised debt obligations (CDOs), the complex mortgage securities which caused the world financial crisis.

Nothing to see here. Move along people.

Controversial finance experts called in to help Permanent TSB (Independent)

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THE STATE paid out €5.8 million in compensation and legal costs from claims against gardaí by members of the public last year for alleged assaults, unlawful arrests and other breaches of people’s rights, new figures show.

…Legal fees accounted for the majority of costs and totalled €4.9 million, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act. Awards and settlements represented just over €900,000.

 

Legal fees account for €4.9m of €5.8m in payouts on claims (Irish Times)

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PUBLIC LITTER bins are being removed from residential areas by Dublin City Council in an attempt to crack down on illegal dumping of household rubbish.

The council has so far withdrawn almost 200 bins from the streets, some of which were underused, while others were being “abused” by householders who did not want to pay waste charges, according to the council.

Most of the bins removed were removed because of underuse, but a quarter were being filled with household waste.

Council Removes Public Bins Because Of Illegal Dumping (Olivia Kelly, Irish Times)

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