MORE to folly.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny speaking about the 8th amendment in the Dáil last week
You may recall Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s comments about the 8th amendment last week.
And the subsequent appeal for him to correct the Dáil record.
Earlier today, during Order of Business, the opportunity for him to correct the record arose when Social Democrat TD Catherine Murphy raised the matter.
Catherine Murphy: “Will the Taoiseach confirm that the Cabinet discussed the preparation of legislation for the IBRC Cregan inquiry? Is there a timeline for that and the changing of the terms of reference for the inquiry?”
“The €12 million diverted from mental health appears now to have been, more or less, put back into the mental health area. It was diverted, we were told, because there was insufficient time to recruit the staff. Is it envisaged that the money will be diverted for the recruitment of staff and is there some sort of a changed mechanism for doing that?”
“The other day in a debate, the Taoiseach made some erroneous points relating to the eighth amendment to the Constitution, particularly that there had been several referenda about the eighth amendment. Will he take the opportunity to correct the record on that particular issue? We have not had a referendum on it for 30 years and there are different elements.”
Enda Kenny: “Following the meeting I had with the Deputy and other parties last week, I can confirm that this morning the Government approved the drafting of a Bill in respect of the general scheme of the commissions of investigation dealing with IBRC.”
“That was the approval of the urgent drafting of legislation to enhance the powers of the commission of investigation into IBRC along the lines of a general scheme that we discussed, together with all the consequent challenges that lie therein. Second, the Government noted the approach proposed regarding the revision of the terms of reference for the commission of investigation into the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation following consultations by me and Ministers with members of the Opposition parties.”
“We discussed the drafting of legislation to allow for this in modular form, to have terms of reference to allow an investigation into the Siteserv issue, which is a matter of public concern raised here on many occasions, and the allowing of future modules to be inserted into that, if necessary. Approval was given for that this morning.”
Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl: “There are two other matters.”
Kenny: “The Minister for Health met representatives of the Psychiatric Nurses Association of Ireland last Friday. The money has been restored in full for what was originally intended for mental health and the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, will outline the details of how it is to be spent. With regard to recruitment, there will be a focus on attracting psychiatric nurses back to Ireland and more places for psychiatric nursing training.”
“I answered a question to Deputy Bríd Smith last week on the eighth amendment. This was put into the Constitution in 1983 and in February 1992 there was a Supreme Court judgment in the X case.”
“In 1992, there was also a referendum to reverse the X case judgment and that referendum was defeated, and there was also a referendum on the right to travel, which was passed.”
“In the same year there was a referendum on the right to information, which was also passed. In 2002, there was a referendum to reverse the X case judgment and that was narrowly defeated. I am just getting the chronological sequence right.”
“Although I know it is not the Deputy’s intention to have this treated in any way as a political football, it is a sensitive and profound issue that must be teased out very carefully with regard to action that might be taken by the people.”
“There would be a citizens’ assembly and the Dáil process to establish it if there is a consensus for change. That is very necessary and what I intend to do.”
Ruth Coppinger: “Is that the Taoiseach correcting the record?”
Michael Healy-Rae: “Taoiseach – turf.”
Micheál Martin: “Turf, is it?”
Healy-Rae: “Is it fair to say that the last Government made a grave error in banning farmers from cutting turf in certain bogs? I am referring to the priority legislation, the wildlife (amendment) Bill. Is it factual to say the last Government made a grave error in stopping farmers from cutting turf on certain bogs?”…
Previously: ReferEnda
‘The People Decided To Keep That Reference In The Constitution’
Transcript via Oireachtas.ie
Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald at the passing out ceremony for new gardaí in Templemore Garda College earlier today
From today you have full Garda powers. With such powers comes the great responsibility to use them appropriately, respecting the dignity of all persons you encounter in the course of carrying out your duties.
You have completed the first stage of what is a challenging and rigorous training programme and I congratulate you on that achievement. There is still much learning ahead of you before you are awarded your BA in Applied Police Studies.
In two weeks you will take up your assignments in Garda stations around the country. And I urge you to listen and learn from your tutors, assimilate their knowledge and experience, and use it to good effect as you serve local communities across this country.
Earlier I reminded myself of the principles of this great institution which has protected peace and security since the foundation of this State.
Honesty, accountability, respect and professionalism.
Principles are constant, they underpin everything you will do. But new ideas are the fuel that ensure these principles will continue to live and thrive and adapt to the realities of modern policing, an evolving police force, and a changing country.
So I urge you to bring your own fresh perspective and to share your ideas with your new colleagues across the Force.
The bond between An Garda Síochána and the community depends on trust and confidence. Public trust is earned by honesty, accountability, respect and professionalism. That is what the community expects from An Garda Síochána.
You will play an important role in your community and it is precisely because the service you will provide is so vital, so important to the well being of every citizen and our society as a whole, that you must ensure it is delivered to the very highest of standards.
The Report of the O’Higgins Commission of Inquiry identifies cases where standards were not met, where victims of crime were failed by An Garda Síochána.
That is as unacceptable as it is disheartening and we must take all actions open to us to ensure that these shortcomings are not repeated.
Victims must be at the heart of the Garda service.
In the past the needs of victims of crime have sometimes been overshadowed by a focus on apprehending and prosecuting perpetrators. We must ensure that our response to criminal behaviour is a comprehensive one while putting the needs of victims at the forefront.
I ask every one of you to think about what you can do to re-establish that trust and to ensure that victims of crime are well served when they come seeking your assistance and protection.
The Government is focused on bringing about improvements that will make An Garda Síochána the world class policing service that we all want it to be. To achieve this goal a number of reforms have taken place together with significant investment in resources.
Most significantly the new independent Policing Authority has been established to oversee the performance by An Garda Síochána of its functions relating to policing services. I look forward to the Authority playing an important part in the ongoing reform process.
Another important reform is in the law protecting whistleblowers. The Protected Disclosures Act 2014 ensures that there is a range of options open to those who want to report wrong doing. Now any Garda can have their complaints independently examined by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission.
These are just two examples of important reforms that have taken place. As I have said on many occasions, there is no end to reform for any organisation. Reform is an ongoing journey of practical and cultural change that can never cease. As members, you must be open to new thinking and embrace change.
From a speech given by Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald at the passing out ceremony in Templemore earlier today.
Read the speech in full here
Previously: Maurice McCabe And The Plastic Rat
Eamonn Farrell/Rollingnews
Finance Minister Michael Noonan
The Irish Times reports:
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan and Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary will both attend this year’s secretive Bilderberg conference which begins in Dresden, Germany on Thursday.
They will feature among a list of leading names in global politics and industry at the three day event where a number of topics are up for discussion including China, European migration, the Middle East, Russia and the US “political landscape”.
See full list of expected attendees here.
Michael Noonan to attend Bilderberg conference in Germany (Irish Times)
Rollingnews
From top: Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams and Taoiseach Enda Kenny in the Dáil this afternoon
This afternoon.
During Leader’s Questions.
Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams raised Nama’s controversial sale of Project Eagle again with Taoiseach Enda Kenny, calling, again, for a Commission of Investigation into the sale.
From their exchange…
Gerry Adams: “Some of the allegations are shocking. Between May 2010 and November 2013, a member of Nama’s advisory board is alleged to have been charging a fee for advice about Nama. It’s further alleged that the same individual had an unethical working relationship with a senior Nama officer, which gave him access to additional and sensitive commercial information.”
“It is also alleged he was lobbying on behalf of clients to reduce loan repayment demands, and in return he would secure cash payments – so-called ‘fixer fees’ – which were shared with the senior Nama officer.”
“Now when Nama decided to sell its Northern loan book to US vulture fund, Cerberus, this individual was offering to disclose information relating to the value of the loans to a bidder called Pimco. It’s alleged that Pimco discovered that payment of a fixer fee of £15million was requested. This was to be paid if Pimco were successful. Pimco reported this to Nama and withdrew from the process.”
“According to a Sinn Fein freedom of information request, Minister Noonan was updated by the Nama chairman regarding these transactions and it’s still today unclear why the minister did not intervene to exercise his general powers of direction over Nama to suspend the sale’s process until these matters were fully investigated. Taoiseach, if found to be accurate, these are serious allegations of financial corruption and insider trading in which the taxpayer has suffered a huge loss.”
Later
Enda Kenny: “If you want to give me, if you want to give me evidence of why there should be a Commission of Investigation in this jurisdiction, I’d be quite prepared to listen to it.”
“I’ve got, I hear allegations, rumours and speculation but that’s not the basis for setting up a Commission of Investigation for any particular matter. Minister Noonan dealt with the question of a company that was in a tender position here which was not proceeded with when the question of a fixer’s fee arose.”
“Now if you have other information beyond that deputy, obviously, you know yourself, you bring that to the gardaí. But if you produce evidence to me here in the House, as to why a Commission of Investigation should take place in this jurisdiction, when there are legal cases being pursued in Northern Ireland, in where we would not have jurisdiction in the Commission of Investigation set up here.”
“The principal personnel with Nama were in front of the relevant committees here, they gave long and detailed explanations. Nobody has presented me with evidence of wrongdoing by Nama in this jurisdiction and the allegations that you make relate to other areas…”
Previously: ‘Nama Has Done Nothing Wrong’
Artist Dino Tomic creates incredibly detailed works with a plastic squirt bottle filled with kitchen salt. his control of the medium is extremely impressive, so much so that a negative image of this depiction of an eye and eyebrow looks like a graphite pencil drawing.
More of this work below, and here.
Breakingnews.ie reports:
Full-time second-level teacher Luke Saunders, founder of Studyclix.ie,the website that breaks down Junior and Leaving Certificate exam questions by topic, gives his expert opinion on today’s English papers.
“For the first time ever within a Leaving Cert paper students were asked to write a blog post, a sign that examiners are moving with the times.”
“Higher level students were asked to write a blog post for an online campaign that opposed public expenditure on space exploration while ordinary level students were asked to imagine they were tourists and to write a travel blog based on their experiences and views on Ireland.”
Leaving and Junior Cert first papers are over: here’s what was on them (Breakingnews.ie)
ReferEnda
at
A letter from AAA-PBP TD Ruth Coppinger to Taoiseach Enda Kenny after his comments about the 8th amendment in the Dáil last week.
Mr Kenny claimed the Irish public voted in three referenda to keep the 8th amendment in the Constitution.
Leaders’ Questions will begin at 3.45pm.
Watch today’s Dáil proceedings live here.
Previously: ‘The People Decided To Keep That Reference In The Constitution’
Fair enough.
The Dean Hotel, Harcourt Street. Dublin 2
Models Teo Sutra and Barry Donohue showcasing a selection of work by the winners of the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland’s Future Makers Awards & Supports Programme 2016
Teo (centre) is wearing Roisin Pierce’s ‘Siamese Twins’ dress while Barry (top) sports a Conaill O’Dwyer ‘Default Man’ suit jacket with hand-knitted plastic bag jumper and (above) a headpiece called ‘Thread Stories’.
Future Makers rewards the next generation of Irish creatives “helping them develop an exciting future in the design and craft industry”.
*walks into lamp post*
Leon Farrell/Rollingnews
This afternoon.
Senator Lynn Ruane at Leinster House, Dublin 2.
The 25th Seanad sits for the first time this afternoon.
In fairness.
Meanwhile…
An Upper House team shot.
Where’s Ronán?
Sam Boal/Roillingnews