Category Archives: News

news as it is happening-ish

 FORMER BILLIONAIRE Seán Quinn said yesterday he was “shocked” that Government Ministers had “interfered” in court proceedings abroad where his family is trying to prevent properties worth hundreds of millions of euro being seized by the state-owned Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, formerly Anglo.

Mr Quinn made the comment in a statement issued after the Commercial Court in Dublin made an unprecedented €1.7 billion summary judgment order against him in favour of the bank.

A spokesman for Taoiseach Enda Kenny confirmed last night that a case being taken in Ukraine by the bank in relation to valuable property there was “referenced” by Mr Kenny during a meeting in September with Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych.

Mr Quinn’s comment is also understood to be a reference to alleged representations by the Irish Embassy to Russia, where the Quinns also bought valuable commercial property using loans from Anglo.

The properties in question – which IBRC, formerly Anglo, claims were used as collateral for massive loans to the Quinn family – are worth €500 million.

Mmf.

Quinn says he is shocked State ‘interfered’ in his cases abroad (Irish Times)

(Photocall Ireland)

UP TO 1,200 jobs in Australia were on offer at an expo in Dublin at the weekend.

The Australia Employment Expo 2011 at the Aviva Stadium featured 18 employers seeking to fill posts as soon as possible in fields such as engineering, nursing and construction.

Diesel fitters were particularly in demand, with one company, Dublin-based Osborne Recruitment, offering 100 such positions.

Western Australia will need 150,000 people to fill posts that will become available over the next five years, according to Keith Seed of the Western Australia Chamber of Commerce. He said Aus$240 billion (€175 billion) worth of projects would go ahead in the area in the next few years.

A how-to-feck-off-out-of-this-kip showcase at the Aviva Stadium? How apt.

Did you attend? How was it?

Up to 1,200 jobs in Australia on offer (Irish Times)

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FOREIGN DIRECT investment companies are attracted to Ireland because the Irish are a happy people, Minister for the Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Deenihan has claimed.

Speaking at the launch of the Science Gallery’s programme for 2012 in Trinity College Dublin, Mr Deenihan said the disposition of the Irish people was an attractive part of the package offered to foreign direct investment along with the 12.5 per cent corporation tax.

“We are a happy people, and generally a sincere people. For some people, who are looking at foreign direct investment, that is a consideration,” he said.

Mr Deenihan said the Irish were a philosophical race and so many people took the attitude that things that happened were the “will of God”. “I have seen so many people say that over the years and that’s our disposition and it is a very good one to have,” he said.

Happy now?

Foreign firms fall for charm of ‘happy’ Irish (Irish Times)

(Screengrab of Irish Jam via BMD)

IT WAS once a world record arena and witnessed some of the great performances during the golden era of Irish athletics but the UCD running track at Belfield has run its last race.

The track is now closed over “health and safety concerns” and after several years of neglect is effectively beyond repair: diggers have already moved on to the track to explore alternative uses, and it looks set to end up as a car park or the site of student accommodation, like many other former sporting sites at the Belfield end of the campus, including the old Belfield Bowl.

Back in ’95, Bodger threw up on the grass verge there doing the Macarena after five cans of Special Brew. Good times.

What cherished memories of the old place do you have?

Iconic Belfield track has run its course (Irish Times)

(Photo: Bryan O’Brian)

Not any more, folks…

ECB policymaker Juergen Stark (above) has warned the sovereign debt crisis had spread from the eurozone’s periphery to its core economies and was affecting economies outside of Europe.

“These are very challenging times… The sovereign debt crisis has re-intensified and is now spreading over to other countries including so-called core countries. This is a new phenomenon,” Mr Stark said in a speech to Ireland’s Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin.

“The sovereign debt crisis is not only concentrated in Europe, most advanced economies are facing serious problems with their public debt.”

Fears about debt levels on both sides of the Atlantic hit stock markets (yesterday) evening.

Shares in Paris and Frankfurt ended down almost 3.5%, while London’s FTSE fell 2.5%.

This came after a warning from credit rating agency Moody’s that France’s high borrowing costs could affect its triple-A credit rating.

Debt crisis ‘has spread to core economies’ (RTE News)

Debt crisis spreads despite Spanish election result (Irish Times)

Hungary asks IMF/EU for financial help as ‘precautionary’ measure (Independent)

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Occupy Dame Street has today learned from media organisations and An Garda Síochána that the Central Bank of Ireland plans to seek a Court Order tomorrow (Monday) morning in an attempt to stop the legal, legitimate and law abiding protest taking place. We have at all times sought to engage the banks in constructive dialogue about our concerns about the plight of the Irish people and society and remain ready to do so.

The campers intend to seek audience at the hearing and stand up for their rights to protest peacefully in what is considered a public place.

We need people at the Four Courts in the morning, Monday the 21st of November 2011 at 9.30am, for support. Meet outside the main entrance.

The camp has been up and running for 6 weeks and we have been good neighbours and have met many good neighbours. We do not know what has changed?

via Occupy Dame Street on Facebook

Occupy Dame Street To Face Legal Action (RTE)

 

(Hat Tip: Paul)/(Photocall Ireland)

The ‘cynical media’ retorts…

“Mr O’Brien believes that he is being punished in the pages of INM’s newspapers for being the largest shareholder in the company. This is not true,” INM said.

“As a self-professed supporter of journalism and free speech he , equally, cannot expect to be rewarded, with fewer references to the Moriarty tribunal for example, simply because he happens to have acquired more than 20 per cent of our stock since the tribunal began its hearings.”

INM also restated its claim that Leslie Buckley, one of three nominees of Mr O’Brien to the board of the company whose re-election was blocked by shareholders in June, had sought to interfere with its coverage of the tribunal.

“Leslie Buckley did make a number of attempts to have Sam Smyth taken off the Irish Independent’s coverage of the Moriarty tribunal,” INM said.

“Sam Smyth was the investigative journalist whose original story in November 1996 led to the setting up of the tribunal. Mr Buckley’s representations were strongly rejected by management of the company.”

INM Rejects O’Brien Claims He Is being ‘Punished’ By Company’s Coverage (Ciarán Hancock, Irish Times)

(Photocall Ireland)

MARIAN FINUCANE, who only broadcasts four hours a week, does not believe anybody is worth her salary of over €500,000.

The presenter did not seek to defend her salary when talking to freelance journalist, Sue Leonard, about her new book on 12 of her Saturday radio interviews.

The Marian Finucane Show on RTÉ Radio 1 is the highest-rating weekend radio show in Ireland and Finucane was one of the top four, best-paid presenters in 2009.

Finucane earned fees of €513,270 in 2009, down 10% from €570,000 the previous year.

Nobody worth €500k a year, says Finucane (Irish Examiner)

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