Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland tweetz:
Leitrim Lodge Bed and Breakfast Emergency Direct Provision centre has some seriously infantilising rules. Asylum seekers to remain in their rooms unless using the bathroom. No visitors permitted (prisoners are allowed visitors). Going without food for 15 hours (no food allowed in rooms).
Previously: Treated Like Children
Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon; Labour TD Alan Kelly
This morning.
The Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon is fielding many questions about the Public Services Card at a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee.
But separate to the Public Services Card, and in response to a question from Labour TD Alan Kelly, Ms Dixon told the committee that, in terms of the supervision and enforcement of data protection law, Irish taxpayers will incur costs for having multi-nationals headquartered in Ireland.
Ms Dixon said:
“Once the Irish DPC [Data Protection Commissioner] starts administering fines and sanctions on companies, there has been a debate about whether all of that goes to the Irish Exchequer and whether that isn’t shared across the EU member states.
“At the moment, it’s our understanding that it goes to the Irish Exchequer.
“So, already, there’s an opposite debate to the question you’re opening up which is that: well is that fair? If Ireland supervises most of these big tech companies and there are infringements and fines, does Ireland get to keep the fines? So that’s an open question that’s ben raised a number of times.
“In relation to the costs, I think it’s well possible that the Irish taxpayer will end up, by virtue of these companies being headquartered here, incurring costs.
“The Irish taxpayer has incurred costs already in relation to the case that you referenced that’s before the Court of Justice at the European Union on transfers of data because it arose from a complaint by Max Schrems against Facebook Ireland.
“Facebook Ireland being located here means that we are responsible.
“However, under this Co-operation and Consistency Mechanism that operates around the one-stop shop in the EU now, if there’s a dispute in relation to the findings that I make – so I’ve to circulate a draft decision in relation to any of these cases that concern multi-nationals to my fellow EU Data Protection authorities.
“And if ultimately they have a different view, that I can’t reconcile into my findings, I institute a dispute resolution mechanism before the European Data Protection Board and it may take over the decision making. And if a company affected by that decision disagrees with it, it takes an annulment action to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
“So, there will be a certain number of cases that may end up being taken out of Ireland’s hands because of disagreement between data protection authorities and the European Data Protection Board will then have to bear the cost for defending those cases before the CJU.
“But, undoubtedly, the effect of having the multi-nationals headquartered in Ireland is going to give rise to costs for Ireland in terms of the supervision and enforcement of data protection law.”
Watch the proceedings live here
Jacques Chirac in Dublin with With then Taoisigh John Bruton in 1996 (top) and Bertie Ahern (above) in 2000
This morning.
Jacques Chirac, the French president who led his country into Europe’s common currenc, has died aged 86.
After leaving office, Chirac was pursued by allegations of corruption from his years as mayor of Paris, becoming France’s first former head of state to stand trial and be convicted since World War II.
He also coined a phrase that has become a landmark of France’s climate policies since: “our house is burning down and we’re blind to it,” he said in a speech in 2002.
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This morning.
Buswell’s Hotel, Dublin 2
Antoinette Keegan (above centre) and her mother Christine (above left) and Eugene Kelly (above right) holding pictures of Antoinette’s sisters who perished in the fire, Martina (16) and Mary (19) following a special meeting of the campaign group Justice For Stardust attended by Sinn Féin’s Lynn Boylan (top right).
The Attorney General yesterday evening confirmed that new inquests will be held for the 48 victims of the 1981 Stardust fire. It follows a request last April from the families of the victims.
More to follow.
This morning.
The Public Accounts Committee’s chairman Fianna Fáil TD Seán Fleming gave the committee a brief update from the gardai on the thousands of drivers who were wrongfully convicted, and wrongfully given penalty points, by gardai between 2006 and 2016.
In April 2016, it emerged that some 146,865 summonses had been issued incorrectly for motorists who weren’t given an opportunity to pay a fixed penalty notice.
Of those 146,865 summonses, 14,700 cases resulted in a penalty being imposed by the courts.
At the same time, it emerged gardai had claimed to have carried out one million breath tests which never took place.
This morning, Mr Fleming said that, of those 14,700 people, fines have to be reimbursed to approximately 12,000 people.
And he said, of those 12,000 people, the gardai have only been able to track down 4,000 of these motorists.
Mr Fleming said:
“So in otherwords, what they’re [gardai] saying is they want to go back into court to get the case struck out and the [penalty] points removed but they need the consent of the person before they bring their name into court.”
“Out of the 12,000, there’s only 4,000 consents that have been granted to date.”
Mr Fleming added that the gardai also said that they have yet to meet or speak to a motorist who lost their driver’s licence as a consequence of the blunder – despite several people making this claim on TV or radio back in 2016.
Mr Fleming added:
“Here we are, it’s not a great administration system, three years on, that only a third of the people have been tied down. It speaks for itself.”
He added that perhaps some of the motorists affected have already had the incorrect points extinguished from their licence, due to time lapsed.
Previously: A Breathtaking Timeline
Rental adverts in Dublin
This morning.
Ben Haugh reports in the Times Ireland edition...
The RTB will today announce two new rent pressure zones in Carlow and Macroom in Cork. Rents in Carlow increased by 12.6 per cent over the past year to €879, while they rose by 19.1 per cent in Macroom to €915.
The average rent in the capital was €1,713 at the end of June, compared with €1,599 in the same period last year.
The cost of renting in Cork city increased by 4.2 per cent to €1,177; in Galway city by 5.7 per cent to €1,117; in Limerick city by 10.2 per cent to €973; and in Waterford city by 13.9 per cent to €843.
Pressure zones fail to put cap on soaring rents (Ben Haugh, Times Ireland edition)
Public Services Card; Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon at a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee this morning; the Public Accounts Committee
This morning.
The Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon is appearing before the Public Accounts Committee.
It follows Ms Dixon finding that there is no legal basis for the State demanding the use of the Public Services Card in order to access a range of public services beyond social welfare payments.
Ms Dixon ordered that Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection Regina Doherty’s department stop issuing new PSCs, with immediate effect, to people seeking a service outside of her department, and that it delete the supporting documentation – such as utility bills, etc – that the department has retained on the 3.2million card holders.
Ms Doherty is categorical her department will not be complying with these orders and has said the State will challenge the findings of Ms Dixon – in court, if needs be.
Meanwhile…
Irish Times journalist Jack Horgan-Jones has obtained documents [above], under the Freedom of Information Act, outlining radio ads that the Road Safety Authority planned to use but scrapped.
It’s understood they were scrapped after Minister for Transport Shane Ross announced in May 2018 that applicants for the driver theory test would not have to produce a PSC to satisfy identification requirements, reportedly after the Attorney General told the minister such a mandatory requirement was not legal.
This is despite Minister Doherty saying over the past few weeks that the State will challenge the findings of the DPC based on “incredibly strong” advice from the Attorney General.
Asked about Mr Ross’s announcement, Ms Doherty told the Dáil last night:
“I cannot say why the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, said what he said other than to say I am not responsible for the delivery of policy…
“I cannot say why he said what he said. I am only responsible for delivery of policy in my Department. I do not know if he got legal advice and to answer the same question, I do not know if the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade got legal advice on its policy formation.”
Watch the Public Accounts Committee proceedings live here
Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot – it does parkour now. To wit:
We created the manoeuvres using new techniques that streamline the development process. First, an optimisation algorithm transforms high-level descriptions of each manoeuvre into dynamically-feasible reference motions. Then Atlas tracks the motions using a model predictive controller that smoothly blends from one manoeuvre to the next.
…and then kills all humans.
Previously: Warehousebot
