This afternoon.

Merrion Street, Dublin 2

CIA actor Facebook Chief Executive Officer and founder Mark Zuckerberg (with former UK Liberal Party Leader Nick Clegg above left)) outside Government Buildings on his way to meet members of the Oireachtas Communications Committee.

The committee wish to raise a number of concerns with Mr Zuckerberg including; the regulation of social media, transparency in political advertising and the ‘safety of young people and vulnerable adults’.

He’s so cool.

Sam Boal/RollingNews

Meanwhile…

Update:



This afternoon.

Members of the Oireachtas Communications Committee, top from left: Fine Gael’s Hildegarde Naughton, Green Party Eamon Ryan and Fianna Fáil’s James Lawless taking to the media outside the Merrion Hotel after meeting Mr Zuckerberg.

Earlier: What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Rollingnews

What you may need to know

1. Jim Jarmusch, one of the most significant US indie directors of the past four decades, returns with undoubtedly his most audience-friendly film to date. That’s not to say he hasn’t been accessible in the past, but the wacky slapstick and record-scratch punchlines on show here are quite far removed from the austere drama in the likes of Dead Man (1995), Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) or The Only Lovers Left Alive (2010).

2. The Dead Don’t Die is Jarmusch’s second film with Adam Driver, following 2016’s light-hearted drama Paterson. It’s also his second film with Bill Murray after Broken Flowers (2005) and Tilda Swinton (The Only Lovers Left Alive), plus he has worked with Tom Waits and Iggy Pop on several occasions over the years, most notably in 2003’s Coffee and Cigarettes – overtly referenced here by undead, coffee-craving Iggy Pop.

3. It’s always pleasing to see Tom Waits on screen; he’s doing a lot of acting at the moment with roles in Robert Redford’s The Old Man and the Gun as well as The Ballad of Buster Scruggs last year; some new music would be even better but it’s good to know he’s out there either way.

4. With The Twilight Zone currently making its TV comeback, you can’t help notice that opening voiceover aping Rod Sterling’s ominous voiceovers from the original 60s TV series. Take it as another attempt to help audiences make sense of 2019.

5. “Ghouls” is why Adam Driver is one of the best in the business at the moment.

6. We’ve seen plenty of zombie comedies pave the way for this one, of course, most notably Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Zombieland (2009), but the sardonic, deadpan tone here is one that can only come from an indie type like Jarmusch, and will offer something new to the genre.

Doug’s verdict: A horror movie with brains

Release: June TBC

Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy

This afternoon.

In the Dáil.

Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy raised the National Broadband Plan – for which there is one bidder – during Leaders’ Questions.

She raised concerns that while the plan was initially set to cost €500million, “the Government, and indeed, departmental officials have now conceded that the ultimate cost will be multiples of that”.

She asked Tánaiste Simon Coveney if certain projects from the Government’s Project Ireland 2040 plan will have to removed on account of the higher-than-envisaged costs of the NBP.

She added:

“Are we likely to be bounced into something that will cost billions rather than hundreds of millions, purely because we’ve supposedly gone too far into a flawed process? It smacks of not learning lessons from the National Children’s Hosptial shambles.”

Ms Murphy then went on to ask – based on the Taoiseach saying the NBP may not go ahead in the event of a on-deal Brexit – if the NBP is a “casualty”, could this mean Project Ireland 2040 “requires a complete revision?”

She asked how much has been set aside by Project Ireland for the NBP.

And she asked, given it’s going to cost multiples of €500m, where the money will come from and what other projects will suffer as a result of the extra funding required.

Mr Coveney responded and said it’s clear the cost of the NBP is “not going to be cheap”.

“We now have to make a decision on whether we want to go ahead with it or not. The cost is high due to the significant ambition of the project and the scale of the build.”

Ms Murphy told Mr Coveney he didn’t answer any of her questions.

Mr Coveney said:

“With respect, it’s a bit unreasonable to ask what are the implications of the cost of this without knowing what the cost is. I don’t know what the cost is going to be. It hasn’t come before Cabinet yet. So I’m not able to give you that answer and without that answer I can’t give you an indication as to the implications of that cost for the 2040 plan. I would have thought that was self-evident.”

Watch Dáil proceedings live here

Tánaiste Simon Coveney in the Dáil

This afternoon.

Brexit was raised during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil.

Tánaiste Simon Coveney said he will be bringing two Brexit papers to Cabinet this evening when it meets at 8.30pm.

He said the Brexit negotiations have “intensified significantly” in recent days and those will continue.

He said:

“Ireland is not going to allow a situation where the UK, leaving the European Union without a deal, drags Ireland out of the single market with it.

“We cannot allow that situation. And what I mean by that is, the response being a checks in EU ports, on all Irish products. That is not a runner and will cause significant damage to our economy so we will not allow it.

“So what we need to do, and what we are doing now, is we have intensified our discussions with the European Commission on how we respond to that dual responsibility of protecting the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process and the relations on this island as best we can.

“While at the same time, reassuring that we can reassure other EU countries that Ireland is protecting the integrity of the single market that we all share.”

“….We have to find a way of ensuring, as I say, that we protect the single market’s integrity but that we avoid physical border infrastructure on the border.

“And that is something that we do not have an agreed plan on. But we are working this week and presumably into next week on, if we need to, in the context of an no-deal Brexit.”

Fianna Fáil’s deputy leader Dara Calleary told Mr Coveney that every party in the Dáil wants to work with him in preparation of a no-deal Brexit.

He said members of the Dail should be allowed to see, or have some knowledge of, the Government’s “plan”.

He added: “Hope is no longer a strategy. You’ve hoped for a long, long time but it seems, whether by accident or design, we’re going towards a hard Brexit.”

During his response, Mr Coveney said:

“The Government isn’t hiding anything from anybody. There isn’t a plan. What we are doing is we are working out a plan with the European Commission because it involves both the European Commission and the Irish Government to actually try to ensure that we fulfil our dual responsibilities as co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement and as a committed member of the European Union and a single market and customs union.”

Watch live here

Just now.

Met Eireann has issued a Status Yellow snow-ice warning for Wicklow, Donegal, Leitrim, Mayo and Sligo – to last from 10pm tonight until 11am tomorrow.

Eeek.

Meanwhile, earlier…

Sigh.

Pic: Carlow Weather

Dublin Rental Investigator tweetz:

Now tenants have to pay the @daftmedia ⁦⁦ fee too! This is a new one on me! And 3 months deposit! Nearly €3k before you spend one night in the place! #RaiseTheRoof

Anyone?

50 West Gate, Saint Augustine Street, Christchurch, Dublin 8 (Daft.ie)

Behold: the 1958 Riva Tritone ‘Via’ speedboat – originally built as a gift for Ranier III of Monaco and used by the prince and his wife Grace Kelly for several years. Recently returned to its original condition (with its Chris-Craft MCL engines and Chris-O-Matic transmission completely rebuilt) by a Dutch marine specialist.

Up for auction next month. 

uncrate

Stop that.

Impossible foods?

CEO of Sport Ireland John Treacy; former CEO of FAI John Delaney

Tomorrow.

Representatives of Sport Ireland, which is responsible for the investment of public money in sport, will appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport at 2.30pm, to answer questions about the Football Association of Ireland.

Chief executive of Sport Ireland John Treacy, in his opening statement to the committee, which Broadsheet has seen, will say that, of the €2.9m Sport Ireland gives annually to the FAI, it is satisfied that this funding is “fully accounted for and expended on the purpose for which it was intended”.

However, he will also say that Sport Ireland knew nothing about the €100,000 loan from the FAI’s former CEO John Delaney to the FAI.

That the FAI’s explanation to date has been “insufficient”.

And that the FAI has also failed to respond to a second letter from Sport Ireland in which the body sought clarification about the loan.

Mr Treacy will also say Sport Ireland knew nothing about the FAI paying €3,000 a month in rent for Mr Delaney over several years, while he was earning €360,000.

And it knew nothing about the apparent deterioration in the FAI’s finances in 2017.

Mr Treacy will also tell the committee that in relation to the stepping down of Mr Delaney as the FAI’s CEO, only to take up a new role as executive vice-president – just days after news of the €100,000 cheque broke in The Sunday Times – Sport Ireland were not consulted about this decision which the FAI say resulted from recommendations made in a review of the FAI by Jonathan Hall & Associates.

Mr Treacy will say although the FAI put out a press release to that effect on the evening of Saturday, March 23 – the evening before The Sunday Times reported on the FAI’s rental payments – Sport Ireland wasn’t informed of the decision until it received a letter from the FAI on March 25.

Mr Treacy will say Sport Ireland was neither consulted on the commissioning or preparation of the Jonathan Hall & Associates report and has not received a copy of it.

Mr Treacy’s opening statement partly reads:

“Following media reports concerning a loan of €100,000 to the organisation by its now former Chief Executive, and at the request of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross TD, Sport Ireland wrote to the President of the FAI on 19th March seeking urgent clarification from the Board of the FAI on the circumstances of the loan and its repayment.

“Sport Ireland also sought an explanation on why we were not notified at any stage in 2017 about any apparent deterioration in the FAI’s financial position, which is a requirement of the Terms and Conditions of Grant Approval.

“Sport Ireland received a response from the President of the FAI, which acknowledged the loan of €100,000 to the FAI by its then Chief Executive.

“However, the contents of the FAI letter did not sufficiently explain the circumstances of this loan and its repayment, nor fully address the matter of compliance with Sport Ireland’s Terms and Conditions of Grant Approval.”

“On Monday 25th March, Sport Ireland again wrote to the President of the FAI re-seeking clarification on the circumstances of this loan.

“More detail was also requested by Sport Ireland in order to assess compliance with the Terms and Conditions of Grant Approval.

“Sport Ireland also sought re-confirmation that all state funding provided to the FAI has been spent for the purposes intended and in accordance with approved submissions. At the time of submission, no reply to the second letter has been received from the FAI.

“Sport Ireland is also aware of media reports relating to rental payments made by the FAI on behalf of its former Chief Executive. Sport Ireland has no knowledge of any rental payments which may have been made. As with any NGB for Sport, staffing and contractual arrangements are entirely a matter for the Board of the FAI.”

In his opening statement, Mr Treacy will also recall a query raised about the FAI’s finances and liquidity in 2017:

“The committee should note that, as part of the mid-year financial review of the FAI’s 2017 Financial Statements and in advance of the final tranche of 2018 funding being released to the FAI, Sport Ireland’s Financial Controller raised a query with the FAI in relation to their 2017 liquidity position (specifically the introduction of a bank overdraft facility of €1.3m and the increased net debt position in 2017).

“The query was responded to by the FAI’s Director of Finance, who stated ‘the Net Current Liabilities position is a common annual position mainly driven by Deferred Income balances where advance funds from grants, sponsorship & commercial agreements are being released over the life of the respective agreement. The overdraft position at Dec 2017 was within our Overdraft Facility with our Banking partners and was a matter of timing rather than a liquidity concern – the balance has been in credit for the majority of 2018 to date. The Balance Sheet position was reviewed by the audit team as part of going concern procedures, including reviewing future budgets, and no concerns were raised’.

“The Committee should also note that the €100,000 loan from the Chief Executive to the FAI was not disclosed as a separate note in the 2017 Financial Statements and this information was not made available to Sport Ireland at any stage.”

Mr Treacy will also tell the committee that, over the past ten years, the FAI has been audited by Sport Ireland’s independent auditors on more occasions than any other sporting organisation.

These Independent audits took place in 2010, 2014 and 2016, with all findings reported to Sport Ireland’s Audit & Risk Committee.

Mr Treacy will also tell the committee that in 2017, its investment in the FAI represented about 5% of the FAI’s total annual income, with the other 95% coming from the FAI’s commercial activity including sponsorship deals, broadcasting and gate receipts.

Yesterday: “I’m Surprised That You All Resent This Word Family”

Broadsheet.ie