Tag Archives: The Times

Mary Higgins, of Caranua

Ellen Coyne, in today’s Times Ireland edition, reports:

Caranua spent hundreds of thousands of euros from a fund for survivors of institutional abuse without permission, the Department of Education has confirmed.

Mary Higgins, the chief executive of Caranua, had suggested that figures relating to the contracts were not “up to date” after The Times reported them.

Yesterday a spokesman for the department said that The Times story was accurate. “There was no issue with the original information,” he said.

Caranua administers a €110 million fund set up to pay for the health, housing and educational needs of survivors. The state agency’s only function is to divide the money between applicants and its own administrative costs also come from the fund.

… There is no record of the Department of Education approving any spending for Caranua for the past two years despite some board members saying that lists of administrative contracts about to be entered into were discussed at meetings in the past 24 months.

In an interview last month on Newstalk Ms Higgins rejected criticism of her agency spending money without permission and claimed that the department records were not up to date.

Caranua spent funds without permission, officials confirm (The Times, Ireland edition)

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Front page of today’s The Times Ireland edition and US president-elect Donald Trump being interviewed by Britain’s former Secretary of State for Justice Michael Gove and Kai Diekmann of German newspaper Bild 

Further to the Donald Trump interview in today’s Times – by Michael Gove and Oliver Wright…

In which, Mr Trump said:

“I own a big property in Ireland, magnificent property called Doonbeg. What happened is I went for an approval to do this massive, beautiful expansion — that was when I was a developer, now I couldn’t care less about it . . . but I learnt a lot because . . . they were using environmental tricks to stop a project from being built.

“I found it to be a very unpleasant experience. To get the approvals from the EU would have taken years. I don’t think that’s good for a country like Ireland. So you know what I did? I said forget it, I’m not gonna build it.”

A full transcript of The Times interview can be read here

Pic: The Times

Previously: De Monday Papers

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From top: Former environment minister Phil Hogan; uncollected rubbish in Dublin’s north inner city.

He didn’t just give us water.

Seán McCárthaigh, in The Times (Ireland edition), reports:

The last government chose to maintain a fully privatised waste collection system, despite an internal report outlining the benefits of an alternative that could have involved less cost for homeowners.

Documents from the Department of the Environment, which have been seen by The Times, show that a system involving franchises for each local authority area was found to be more likely to deliver savings to customers four years ago and could have been introduced.

The model, known as “franchise bidding” would still have involved private companies, but they would have had to compete to win fixed tenders for each area in a policy change that would have given the state significant control over the process.

…Despite the report’s conclusion the Fine Gael-Labour coalition ultimately backed the recommendation of the Department of Environment that it should maintain the existing structure when moving to the new pay-by-weight system, due to be introduced on July 1.

The decision, ultimately signed off by Phil Hogan, the then environment minister, allows private waste collection firms to continue competing for services in the same areas and included plans for stronger regulation.

The new pay-by-weight system has provoked controversy as private companies signalled price hikes for customers ahead of the launch date.

…The decision not to opt for franchise bidding was made following outright opposition by members of the Irish Waste Management Association, which includes companies like Greenstar, Thorntons and Panda, to the franchise bidding model.

The analysis said the non-franchise Irish system of waste collection, which lets private firms compete for business, was “somewhat unique”, noting that its continuation with some extra regulation would “create a unique system of waste management in which the role of the private sector is central.”

“The near wholesale withdrawal of local authorities and the corresponding growth in the role of the private sector was not a policy goal and was not fully anticipated,” it said.

Private firms now collect 98 per cent of all household waste in a market estimated to be worth at least €250 million annually.

Government ignored report to cut waste cost (Seán McCárthaigh, The Times)

Thanks Richie

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Screenshots from an interactive Neighbourhood Crime Survey created by the Ireland edition of The Times

Just the facts

Seán McCárthaigh, of the Ireland edition of The Times ireland Edition, has created an interactive Neighbourhood Crime Survey by taking data from the Central Statistics Office, tracing the crimes to back to the country’s 563 garda stations and mapping the results.

Mr McCárthaigh writes:

“While there have been widespread reports of increasing crime in certain areas, local crime rates have been difficult to establish. The survey used Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, but traced it back to each locality, allowing users to see whether recorded offences have risen in their city, town or village and to see a breakdown of the specific crimes committed.

“The analysis showed noticeable drops in crime in some areas, including Mayo, Westmeath and parts of northwest Dublin, such as Blanchardstown, Finglas, Cabra and Ballymun.”

“Mapping the data has also identified several crime hotspots in the past year. Recorded crimes were up at a majority of garda stations in south Dublin, particularly those in middle-class suburbs.”

Explore the survey here

Survey reveals suburbs are crime hotspots (The Times, Ireland Edition)

Previously: Crime And Employment

Living In Fear

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Further to this morning’s story in the Ireland edition of The Times, above, about the post-Budget phone-in on the Today With Sean O’Rourke Show yesterday, RTÉ has released the following statement…

“This morning’s article in The Times is factually incorrect. At no time was a threat delivered that a Minister would not appear on the programme as a result of his press advisers not seeing the questions in advance.”

“In the case of yesterday’s programme, advance access to audience questions on specific individuals’ circumstances post-budget queries was given to ministerial advisers as standard practice.

The primary purpose of the post-budget programme is to enable the more detailed, personal and specific queries raised by individual voters and businesses to be addressed to the most accurate degree possible, and that requires some research to be done by government advisers on the individuals’ specific questions.”

“This protocol was agreed in advance as has been standard practice for years and there was no debate about access to the questions prior to going on air for that specific programme.”

“We would like to reiterate that RTÉ does not advise Ministers or guests of questions in advance of interviews. The Today with Sean O’ Rourke editorial team have complete and total editorial control of the programme and only they determine which calls go to air and in which order.”

Meanwhile editor of the Ireland edition of The Times, Richie Oakley has tweeted…

UPDATE:

RTÉ’s response to ‘The Times’ article (RTÉ)

Earlier: A Phoney Phone-In

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This morning.

The controversial new Irish edition of The Times, a new digital daily part of a 7-day subscription package (link below) with The Sunday Times.

Its ‘welcome’ editorial says:

Welcome to the Irish edition of The Times and thank you for subscribing. This new newspaper is part of a seven-day digital package, which includes the Irish edition of The Sunday Times. The Times has been in existence since 1785. The Sunday Times was founded in 1821 and has had an Irish print edition for over 20 years. Both newspapers have a long and distinguished tradition of quality journalism. The Sunday Times is an established and popular newspaper in the Irish market and we intend for the Irish edition of The Times to be as strong a competitor among its daily rivals.

The newspaper industry has undergone significant change in recent years. It has been challenging but it has created new opportunities. We continue to print the UK and other editions of The Times — and will do so for some time yet — but we have also developed a world-leading digital offering, using the full array of platforms — tablet, smartphone and web — now available to us.

We have embraced the possibilities that technology provides and we are determined to stay ahead of our rivals. We still tell stories, we still break news, but we are now able to do so with more style and flair, allowing our readers to enjoy a far more interactive experience. In Ireland we have chosen to concentrate on a digital-only product for the Irish edition of The Times. We believe this will give us the opportunity to seize the potential of the medium in a way that has not been achieved in the Irish market to date.

The changes in our industry have also enhanced the relationship we have with you, our subscribers. We believe in the importance and power of quality journalism; we believe in hiring professional journalists to produce it; and we believe we must charge a modest amount for their efforts.

By supporting our journalism you are far more than a reader: you are a member of The Times. We want to hear from you and our technology allows you to get in touch more conveniently. You can also share our journalism more easily and, in doing so, help us to learn what you are interested in and where best to focus our efforts.

If we are asking our members to pay, we must offer more. This is why News UK and Ireland, our parent company, has invested in exclusive content such as our sports highlights packages for exciting competitions including GAA league and championship games in addition to British Premier League matches.

Being an Irish edition of a world-renowned newspaper puts us in a great starting position. In addition to the 30 journalists we have in Ireland, we have 350 in London and 36 around the world. Ireland is a vibrant country with a strong sense of its place in the world. We think readers of the Irish edition will be keen to know about domestic affairs, often in great detail, but we also think you will want to know more about what is going on outside this country.

A newspaper with a different perspective in the Irish market is a positive development. The more competition the better. We believe we will distinguish ourselves by providing quality and insightful Irish news but, crucially, we also intend to pursue an outward-looking agenda. As a newspaper we have a global reach that no other offering in Ireland can match. We believe that this will allow us to deliver exciting, informative and entertaining journalism and we look forward to sharing it with you, seven days a week.

FIGHT/Was it for this?

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