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You may recall how Niamh Geaney, from Dublin, met her (third) doppelgänger Irene Adams, from Sligo, last year.

Well.

David Atkinson, of lookalike match agency TwinStrangers.com, says:

“A few weeks ago Niamh Geaney and her latest doppelgänger Irene Adams took swabs of their saliva and sent them off to a lab to be tested. The results are in. They reveal whether Niamh and Irene are sisters, half-sisters and most interestingly whether they are related up to 20,000 years ago. Bets are on. It’s the first DNA Test ever to be carried out on doppelgängers…”

Previously: How They Met Themselves

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Independent TD for Roscommon-South Leitrim Michael Fitzmaurice

Last night, Independent TD for Roscommon–South Leitrim Michael Fitzmaurice spoke during the debate on the motion of no confidence against Tánaiste and Labour leader Joan Burton.

It followed her appointment of former leader of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions David Begg as chair of the Pensions Authority – a process which did not involve the official public service advertising or appointments process.

Grab a tay.

Michael Fitzmaurice: “Yesterday evening I came in to listen to the debate, but all I heard from the across the floor was what Fianna Fáil did in its last five years. The following contributor then spoke about people who had connections with bankers and what they did and said during those years. I am not long here, but I have seen all of that on television and it is all history now. A government is like a football team. It should take up the mantle and go forward and should not keep blaming the opposition for losing the match.”

“The reason this motion has been put forward is simple. It is because of cronyism. It is not because of what Fianna Fáil did in its last five years in government. It is not because of what Deputy Shane Ross did or did not say in those years. It is not a blame game, but simply because of cronyism, an issue we heard about on radio in 2011. We were told then there would be no more cronyism, no more nods and winks, and that politics would be done in a new way.”

“Anybody in business who wants to take on a new employee goes through a system. They advertise the position, people apply for and submit CVs. The employer examines the CVs and whittles the numbers down to the eight or ten most suitable people for the job and interviews them. Employers do not just take people in on a nod and a wink. Nobody suggests that the person in question in this case is not suitable. What they are saying is that due process should take place.”

Derek Keating: “Some are. The Deputy should have been here earlier.”

Seán Barrett: “Quiet please.”

Michael Fitzmaurice: “Everybody can make a mistake, but the sad thing about people in politics is that we are not able to put up our hands and admit them. The people have great respect for those who admit they made a genuine mistake, that they should not have done it and will change it.”

“Let us not hide behind a line in legislation. We can have all the legislation in the world, all the dos and don’ts and can hide behind the provisions, but we must still be able to look ourselves in the mirror and ask ourselves whether we did it right, whether it was fair, whether we did it for the people of Ireland, whether we did it for the future of pensions and whether we did for our country.”

Arthur Spring: “Yes.”

Joan Burton: “Absolutely, I did.”

Fitzmaurice: “One thing the Tánaiste cannot say when she looks in the mirror is that she did it for the people of Ireland. It is cronyism at its best. This is what peeves people. In a poll yesterday evening, 80% of people said it was cronyism. Are they wrong…”

Finian McGrath: “That is right.”

Fitzmaurice: “…or are we not in touch with the people?”

Burton: “The Deputy is out of touch.”

Fitzmaurice: “Listening to the people on the ground, they are fed up with what is going on in politics – the nod and the wink. I am not long here, but I have seen appointments of judges and appointments to different boards. This is happening day after day.”

Burton: “Who has been appointing judges?”

Fitzmaurice: “The way these appointments are being made is completely wrong. If mistakes are made, let us change the system. Let us not continue with the hoodwink system that is going on. If the Tánaiste or if I make a mistake, let us be brave, let us stand up and be counted and admit it. Let us not hide behind the curtain or veil of the protection of others. One of the members of the Tánaiste’s party admitted openly their disagreement with the appointment. We need honesty.”

“The people will judge each and every one of us in the next month or six weeks and there will be no protective curtain in front of us. There will be no veil to protect us. We will have to be open, honest and transparent and they will judge what has gone on here.”

Previously: Labour Movement

Etc, Etc

Transcript via Oireachtas.ie

apresmatch

Maria Schweppe writes:

Ireland’s premier league comedy team, Après Match, is coming to play a home game in a town near you…

Expect pundits Eamon Dunphy, Liam Brady and Kenny Cunningham and ‘characters’ including George Hook, Paul Durkan, Joan Burton, Mary O’ Rourke, Alex Ferguson, Martin O’ Neill, Gay Byrne, Johnny Giles, Gunther and John Delaney.

We have ONE (yes just the ONE) pair of tickets to giveaway to a broadsheet reader to see the show in a venue of their choice (except the Mermaid in Bray which is completely sold out).

To enter just complete this sentence.

Just send me the tickets for [name venue] as I bitterly need a laugh owing to_____________________

Lines MUST close at 5.10pm

 

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Martyrdom: the Colouring Book by Hallie Fryd, illustrated by Julia Gfrörer. To wit:

The lives of the saints are filled with inspiring, life-changing moments—but the deaths of the martyrs are where you’ll find the real “Oh, hell no!” moments of history. This adult (very adult, as the body count will quickly indicate) coloring book gives aspiring crayon and paper artists the chance to hone their craft while also buffing up their knowledge of Catholic history

thisisnthappiness

davos kenny

This morning/afternoon.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny alongside a panel including Nobel prize winning economist  Joseph Stiglitz discussing ‘inequality’ at Davos.

Watch live here

More as we get it.

UPDATE:

Mr Kenny said:

“From our point of view, obviously to get foreign direct investment into the country you need particular principles. And in Ireland the corporate tax rate was always 12.5% and is 12.5% and will remain so and that’s across all sectors, and across the entire country. And because of reputational damage being done, we got rid of the so-called Double Irish concept which was an issue of taxation that Joseph [Stiglitz] has often written about and the stateless concept. And now we have a 12.5% corporate tax rate and we’ve introduced the first OECD fully compliant knowledge patent knowledge box set at 6.25% for qualified research and development.

But that’s the taxation end of it and it’s attractive and it’s competitive but it’s not the real reason that people really want to invest in the country. When you talk to them, the real reason is the talent pool, the creativity and the ingenuity and the imagination of young people and it’s the same for every country because you’ve got this capacity.

…For instance, a voluntary movement started in Ireland, called Coderdojo – the writing of code for computers and this has taken off and every weekend you have people who voluntarily teach people how to write code that makes, that makes computers tick, this has gone international…

Meanwhile, following a question from the audience about ‘organised tax evasion’ in Europe and its impact on social inequality, Mr Stiglitz said multinationals have a social responsibility to pay their taxes.

He said:

“Apple, in the United States, has become the poster child for using ingenuity to take advantage of these loopholes and we have had a very big effort to try to have a UN movement to address this issue. The view that we had was that the countries from which the tax avoiders were coming, like Apple, should not, those governments should not be deciding how to structure a tax regime because they will structure a tax regime that benefits their companies and not benefits the entire world but the United States unfortunately – supported by several European countries – argued that the tax avoiders and evaders should get together and write the rules so they could continue the tax evasion. So I was very disappointed with my own government on this….

In response, Mr Kenny said:

“Ireland is a case in point where Apple has been mentioned. Apple employ 5,000 people in Ireland. They pay their taxes. But no special deal is done with any company by our revenue commissioners over the years and that’s a case obviously, the European Commission are looking at, not just in the case of Ireland but in other countries as well. But obviously the European Council consider this, the OECD have carried out their BEPS analysis, Base Erosion and Profit Shifting and for one country, we’ve been very much forthright and up for that because clearly, the taxation system, the legal systems are very far behind the digital systems.

So, we don’t do brass plate companies in our country. So you have a plate…Apple employ 5,000 people, who go to work everyday. Obviously if you manufacture something there and you sell it in France or Italy, the intellectual property is invested elsewhere, these are the complexities and the challenges that are there.

I just want to make it clear that, from our point of view, we defend 100 per cent the authenticity of the way we do business with international companies and there was a lot of talk, as you know Joe [Stiglitz] in the United States about Ireland being a tax haven which was completely false, baseless and untrue and has been dealt with very clearly.

And that’s why in budgets we got rid of reputational perceptions with the Double Irish concept …. and I would absolutely above board and out front for everybody so just to make that point.”

Previously: They’re On To Us

Meanwhile, In Cork (Via Elsewhere)

Anything Good Behind The FT Paywall?

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Niall Breslin, aka Bressie, before the Joint Committee on Health and Children in the Dáil this morning

 

“Over the past few months I’ve received a massive amount of communication from families of loved ones attempting to access our mental health services and I would not be doing them justice if I said it made for pretty reading. This, I understand, is highly complicated and sensitive but it’s a conversation that we have to have.

Only this month did I receive a deeply upsetting news that a young man, Caoilte, who is a family member of a friend of mine, was found dead in the River Liffey.

He took his own life after enduring years of unexplainable pain. Many times the family tried to access help but they were refused because the young man was consuming alcohol and told he could not be helped because of his drinking – which was intrinsically linked to his mental health illness.

In a country that celebrates and promotes alcohol through it’s culture, it’s simply not acceptable that someone is turned away from help on account of it.

The family were even advised to take a barring order out which no doubt would have been broken, resulting in criminalising this young man for being mentally unwell – hardly something any mother would want to do to their own vulnerable child.

His situation was complicated and seemed highly subjective to this family involved.

But upon posting this story on my website, it was immediately evident that this story was not uncommon throughout Ireland – mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, all explaining similar painful and heart wrenching stories.

The details of this story are slowly going to emerge over the coming months but this family don’t want to play the blame game or point fingers. They simply want a change. They do not want to see other families have to endure what they’ve had to and will no doubt have to endure for the rest of their lives.

No mother should ever feel this helpless and it deserves so much more. Caoilte, an intelligent, witty young man, deserved so much more. He was anyone’s brother.

We need to ask hard questions here, those stories are just too common. So many people wanted to help this young man but their hands were tied by bureaucracy, vague legalities
and a lack of resources – and they should never have been put in that position in the first place.

This is not a quick fix, that in order to progress you must first accept that change is needed. Irish people, in some cases, have shown to be revolutionary when it comes to social innovation and I hope we continue to be in the future. We have proven that negative cultural attitudes can be transformed and, although we are sometimes cautious of change, we never let it dictate our collective actions.

We’re built upon unique character and personality and we punch well above our weight internationally. We can become world leaders when it comes to our mental health strategies going forward. Let’s work on this together.

This is only the start of a conversation and it is important that the next health committee prioritise mental health for young people as a key issue for its future work programme. I appeal to you all, to use your full influence, passion and desire to work together with us, to tackle and overcome the issues we are facing and help build a more resilient society and a new Ireland.

Bressie’s opening address before the Oireachtas health committee this morning.

Yesterday: My Voice

An Avoidable Death

Watch live here

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At last night’s Dublin City Council joint policing committee meeting, councillors heard:

The murder rate is falling.

Property crime is down 4%

Drug offences including cultivation (-35%), possession of sale or supply (-11%) and possession for personal use (-3%).

Violent property crime is up 2% (27 incidents)

Assaults causing harm up 12%.

And…

Begging related offences are up 410%.

Four hundred and ten per cent.

Cllr Daithi Doolin (SF)  told the Dublin Gazette:

“What happens to people who have been arrested for begging? Are they simply locked up, then released back out again or are they put in contact with services that can help assist them?

That question wasn’t answered at the Joint Policing Committee and that was unfortunate but I think the reason is because the answer is not there.”

Anyone?

Begging offences shoot up by 410% (Dublin Gazette)

Dublin City Council Joint Policing Committee

Rollingnews

friendsreunited-hires

Mickey Twopints writes:

The end of an era – Friends Reunited is closing down. Ask Frilly about this one. At the dawn of time, before Bookface and Squitter, we were content to have Friends Reunited, dial-up internet, 20 Carroll’s, and a warm can of Harp. ‘Twas a great way to connect with your old flames all the same….

Mmf.

Broadsheet.ie