FG Government Says Keep fluey Kids Home From School says Minister Harris

INMO defends figures as hospital boss says ‘many patients are

appropriately on trolleys’ for assessment
Egyptian teenager due in court this evening in
connection with Dundalk attacks
Thursday, January 04, 2018
Update 6pm: An Egyptian man is due in court this evening charged in
connection with yesterday’s attacks in Dundalk.
24-year-old Yosuke Sasaki was stabbed to death on Avenue Road.

Two other men were also attacked a short while later.

An 18-year-old Egyptian was arrested and has been questioned at

Dundalk Garda Station.

He is now been charged and is due before a special sitting of Dundalk

District Court within the hour.

Update 3.55pm: Attacks in which man died not linked to terrorism,

say gardaí

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan extended his sympathies those killed

or injured in a series of attacks in Dundalk which left one man dead and
two others injured.

"Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time. I want
to wish those who were injured a speedy recovery," he said.

Mr Flanagan praised the work of gardai involved in the incident and

cautioned about people jumping to conclusions over the attacks.

"There has, understandably, been speculation and concern about the

motivation for this attack ... and would caution against drawing
judgments until the gardai can establish the facts in the course of their
investigation," he said.

Gerry Adams, Sinn Fein president who represents Co Louth where the
attacks took place, said: "I want to express my deep sense of shock at
the brutal murder of Yosuke Sasaki in Dundalk and the wounding of two
other citizens."

Mr Adams said he had sought answers from Mr Flanagan over what

contact the arrested man had with the immigration service; what his
status was; what steps gardai took after coming into contact with him;
and whether all necessary steps were taken by state agencies who dealt
with him.

Update 12.50pm: A series of attacks in Ireland which left one man dead
and two others injured has not been linked to terrorism.

As detectives continued to question a teenage suspect over the random

killing and assaults in Dundalk, Co Louth on Wednesday morning they
said no terrorist link has been established.

The arrested man, aged 18 and from Egypt, was being interviewed while
gardai liaise with counterparts in the UK and Cairo in a bid to establish
the man's background.

"An Garda Siochana extends its sympathies to the families of the

deceased person and our thoughts are with those injured," the force
said in a statement.

"An Garda Siochana is currently liaising closely with our security and law
enforcement partners worldwide to share and assess any relevant
intelligence and its potential impact on the current investigation.

"At this time, we can find no established link to indicate that this
tragedy is terrorist-related."

Following the man's arrest gardai said a number of lines of inquiry into
the motive for the attacks were being investigated, including terrorism.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/egyptian-
teenager-due-in-court-this-evening-in-connection-with-dundalk-
attacks-821181.html

The CEO of Cork University Hospital has taken issue with the INMO’s
trolley figures and says there needs to be “a more honest national
debate” on the issue.
In a blog published on the CUH website, Tony McNamara also said
“many patients are appropriately on trolleys in Assessment Units in our
hospitals awaiting a decision as to whether they require admission or
not”.
His querying of the INMO figures brought a withering response from its
general secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, who said: “I would prefer if the
CEO of CUH refocussed his attention from shooting the messenger to
working with us to solve the problem.”
Yesterday the INMO said it had recorded a record total of 2,408 patient
on trolleys during the first week of this year — an increase of 10%
compared with the same week in 2017.
Both Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Health Minister Simon Harris have
apologised this week for the crisis, but in his blog Mr McNamara said
any inference that all of these patients were in emergency departments
is “factually misplaced”.
In the blog post, entitled ‘Emergency Departments — In Pursuit of an
Honest National Debate’, he referenced INMO figures showing the daily
trolley count had exceeded 600 in the past week. He said 460 patients
were actually on trolleys in EDs, similar to the HSE figure of 457
patients.
“Many patients are appropriately on trolleys in Assessment Units in our
hospitals awaiting a decision as to whether they require admission or
not,” he wrote, adding “The INMO count includes patients [on] trolleys
in hospitals such as Bantry and Ennis General Hospitals that do not
actually have Emergency Departments”.
However, Ms Ní Sheaghdha said the INMO counts people in EDs and
inappropriately placed on wards, and from next week would also be
counting those in pediatric units. She said the HSE did not dispute the
INMO’s figures and added: “If the INMO were not counting figures since
2004 you can be sure the HSE would not be publishing their figures at
all.”
Mr McNamara wrote there was “no denying” the actual number of
people on ED trolleys was “unacceptable” but said tens of millions of
euro has been allocated to tackling the issue and the contention that
more resources will substantially resolve the problem in EDs “needs to
be challenged”.
He said more work is needed “to create an improved, integrated (if not
symbiotic) collective approach to the flow of patients in to and out of
our hospitals”.
He referenced the situation in CUH on Christmas Day 2017: “There were
138 patients in the Hospital for over 14 days while the average length of
stay is six days. Astonishingly of this number (138) there were 28
patients who were medically discharged and should have been in
alternative settings in the community and this is despite a weekly
meeting which I chair as CEO with our community colleagues at which
we discuss every patient who is in the hospital over 14 days.
“Finally of note on Christmas Day there were 12 patients in our hospital
who were there for over 100 days and 3 patients were over 300 days in
CUH. I do accept that there are a very small number of very complex
discharges who for social reasons pose particular challenges for
community services.”
This is repeated every year as is the government response you would think winter bugs came out of the
blue instead of being an annual event

'SURFERS ARE BIGGEST THREAT TO SOCIETYS SAFETY'

They reported before Christmas we were going to have the worse snow since the early 60s. Either report
facts or join up with Waterford Whispers. Crying wolf on your many stories during last year has us saying
ah yea next.

The governmental promoting a healthy ireland including toxic vaccine jabs

The Government has launched a new national initiative to promote
health and wellbeing across the country.

The Healthy Ireland campaign is encouraging people to get active, eat

well and mind their mental wellbeing.
Launched to coincide with the New Year, the plan calls on the public to
take those first steps towards improving their health and mental
wellbeing.

The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: "The message of the Government’s

Healthy Ireland 2018 campaign is simple; Small steps can make a big
difference to your health, you just need to start.

"The Government will do its part by ensuring Departments prioritise

health and wellbeing and I'm encouraging everyone to get involved, by
making the small changes needed to improve your health and your
family’s health.

"That could mean including a walk in your daily routine, making

healthier choice at meal times or taking a break from your phone to give
your mental health a boost."

FG were adamant she done nothing wrong to the bitter end. The voters of Ireland need to bury these liars
next election. A complete wipeout. A morally bankrupt party led by a clown
Made a mistake ! --- Paschal you idiot. Is it possible you shared cabinet responsibility with one who was so
oblivious to what was going on in her Dept. that she had to be pushed & should have been many months
earlier and you think she made a mistake ?. She was a cavalier ignoramus who ignored responsibility.
http://www.healthyireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Healthy-
Ireland-Framework1.pdf
What's more disturbing is it took the gardai 45 mins after 1st stabbing to catch up with him imagine the
damage he could have done in a shopping centre etc .... rip to the victim
Is it bad that i didnt notice the headline below the photo as i was so grabbed by the boat, i thought it would
be a story about the storm and how to get the boat back in, or storm barriers etc
Abortion Pope won't need one
Trickle down economics I guess with the water refund

10 years of a recession caused by the banks, & we have to pay for it, why can’t we splash out a bit, & still
paying 42% tax. I’m in a bad mood
Its amazing how not . one Professional individual in the Hospital that looked at thies xrays noticed anything
wrong This person should be named there a danger to people in Hospital this seems to be happening a lot
lately. But dont hold your breath not one person will loose thet Job wellcome to the Public sector
Bout time my mom was mentally tortured throughout her cancer, telling her..her scans were clear, then
being told they weren't after being reviewed in cork, don't know what Muppet they had employed at UHK
reading the scans @ that time
Ok Paschal, so the population is supposed to pretend that this is just a new issue that the government is only now
aware of and is going to address it. Ok let's play, today is the start of the governments response to the housing and
homelessness crisis in Ireland, what's a fair time frame for a governments response to a crisis?

Well two months might be viewed as unrealitic and one year might reasonably be defined as complete inaction in the
face of a national crisis, so let's set six months as a reasonable timeframe for a government response to a national
crisis, so on Monday the 18th of June I expect to hear an announcement of how the government has taken all possible
measures to make sure that nobody is forced to sleep rough on the streets of Ireland and a national plan has been
commenced on the direct provision of affordable social housing, (i.e. by the local authorities) being provided across
the nation and if not, at that point we will start judging you.

Almost 9000 people homeless on the Ministers watch including 3500 children and the numbers will only increase
when Famine style evictions are the order of the day overseen by politicians who didn’t bother to turn up in the Dail
on Friday to debate the homeless problem.
The housing problem will only be resolved by building houses rather than talking about the problem and the time for
action is long overdue.
The first action required is to immediately stop evictions of families and individuals as there is no house building
programmed which will solve the housing problems if evictions on the present Famine like scale are allowed to
proceed by Goverment.
Boylan show talking about a woman in a hotel refusing accommodation as she wants a bigger house.
Bullsh1t homeless figures.
We have already judged you & it's a total disaster
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has criticised AIB boss Bernard Byrne
over his calls for the Government to sell its stake in the bank.

Recently, Mr Byrne called on the Government to consider selling more

of the bank to private investors following the sale of 28.75% of the bank
last year for €3.4bn.
Mr Byrne said the total value of cash received plus the 71% of the
market value actually equates to the €20.8bn the state invested in AIB.
“I can’t tell you what will happen next in terms of valuations, so I would
encourage people to look at selling down at this point in time,” he said.
The comments have drawn a sharp response from the finance minister
who said such decisions are for him to make and not Mr Byrne.
Mr Donohoe, in an exclusive interview with the Irish Examiner, has said
while he “heard his comments” the sale of the bank is solely a matter for
him as the shareholder.
In a strong slapdown of Mr Byrne who called for the State to sell more of
its stake in the banks in the short run, Mr Donohoe said it is a “matter
first and foremost for the shareholder which is me.”
“I heard his comments. “That is a matter for me and the Government,”
he said.
“That is a matter for me and I will take a recommendation to Cabinet,”
he said.
“That is a matter for me as the person who manages the shareholding
within government and for the Irish taxpayer in particular.”
“He was asked a question and gave an answer but it is a matter for the
shareholder. His views, it is always important to hear them, but first and
foremost any further sale is a matter for the shareholder, and the
shareholder is the Irish Government and taxpayer.
“If there are going to be any further sales in the future, I will take a
recommendation to Government,” Mr Donohoe said.
Mr Donohoe also said that the state will not see any return to the €32bn
sunk into the now defunct Anglo Irish Bank but that the State should
get all of its money back from the other banks.
If that is realised, the net cost of the 2008 banking crash could be
reduced from €64bn to €32bn.
“I think the money, alas, that was sunk into Anglo because of the
liquidation, we won’t be getting a return for the Irish taxpayer on that.
“It was very important, the agreement in relation to the promissory
notes. Beyond that, in relation to the other banks, BOI, AIB and PTSB.
“I remain confident that we will get all of our money back from those
banks. We will get it back. But timing around if and when we sell will be
critical in doing all of that,” he said.
They have rural Ireland closed down
Labour leader Brendan Howlin says he would have to think hard about
whether he would enter politics now because of social media abuse.

Mr Howlin has hit out at the levels of abuse aimed at politicians online.
Labour Leader Brendan Howlin.

The Taoiseach recently said he believes the social media companies can
do more to keep people safe online.

Brendan Howlin says it would make him reconsider a career in politics if

he was starting out now.

He said: "You have to think whether you would start in politics in this
new culture and that is not good if you want to get young people,
women and idealistic people involved.

"They face viscious, and sometimes vile personal attacks simply

because they had done things or expressed views that others don't
agree with."
 I agree, it’s what happened in Europe when you can’t pay your Bills you get kicked out onto the streets
then all these Unchecked Unwanted Migrants turn up and move in while the Government pay’s for them.
Wakey Wakey
While here in SE Alaska we hit 60f twice last week and no snow in sight. Not a good thing. We're going to
have the kids make mud angels next Saturday.
All they have done is pushed the can down the road
They are all brainless politicians
Maybe, but the taxpayer did not have to pay back this.
Eddie travels to America to dabble in distressed assets and non performing loan books and thought he could make
money.tonnes of red tape with vacant property levies tonnes of legal wrangles no tax loop holes. I doubt the American
governments are the dopes the Irish government are.
The reason all the American vulture funds came to Ireland is our lack of regulation and Nama clowns. easy virtually
tax free money for all..
Good man Eddie!
I’ll be surprised if the bold Eddie actually lost anything belonging to himself
Unionists...............a treacherous word

A handy sideshow to distract attention from the highly dangerous Social Media Censorship Bill that's currently going
through the Dail.

This bit in particular is very worrying -

" or causes a bot to be used" means that if you or I or anyone posts an article that the Government doesn't like and
someone else's bots repost your article or post without your knowledge then YOU are responsible for the actions of
those bots because they shared your article.

And it leaves the decision to prosecute with the DPP...

"No proceedings for an offence under this section shall be brought except by, or with the consent of, the Director of
Public Prosecutions. "
Yes the same DPP that decided to drag innocent protesters through the courts in Jobstown.

This alone will destroy any and all political discussion online and has huge implications for freedom of speech.

But, hey-ho. Brexit blah blah.

If the truth was know id say the British government there cursing the day there Ancestors invaded Ireland
look at the Billions its costing them to keep the North and going up all the time and there not even getting
value for it

Soft border now in sight despite hardline revolt'

DUP have halted that

Thought Police: In the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), by George Orwell, the (Thinkpol) are the secret police of
the superstate Oceania, who discover and punish thoughtcrime, personal and political thoughts unapproved by the
Party. The Thinkpol use criminal psychology and omnipresent surveillance (telescreens, microphones, informers) to
search for and find, monitor and arrest all citizens of Oceania who would commit thoughtcrime in challenge to the
status quo authority of the Party and the regime of Big Brother.[1]
George Orwell's concept of "thought policing" derived from the intellectual self-honesty shown by a person's "power
of facing unpleasant facts"; thus, criticising the prevailing ideas of British society often placed Orwell in conflict with
ideologues, people advocating "smelly little orthodoxies".[2]
In the story, the Thought Police conduct false-flag operations (e.g. The Brotherhood) to lure non-conformist members
of the Party to expose themselves as politically subversive.

"The Ministry of Truth is involved with news media, entertainment, the fine arts and educational books. Its purpose is
to rewrite history to change the facts to fit Party doctrine for propaganda effect. For example, if Big Brother makes a
prediction that turns out to be wrong, the employees of the Ministry of Truth correct the record to make it accurate.
This is the "how" of the Ministry of Truth's existence. Within the novel, Orwell elaborates that the deeper reason for
its existence, the "why", is to maintain the illusion that the Party is absolute. It cannot ever seem to change its mind
(if, for instance, they perform one of their constant changes regarding enemies during war) or make a mistake (firing
an official or making a grossly misjudged supply prediction), for that would imply weakness and to maintain power
the Party must seem eternally right and strong.

Minitrue plays a role as the news media by changing history, and changing the words in articles about events current
and past, so that Big Brother and his government are always seen in a good light and can never do any wrong. The
content is more propaganda than actual news."

"Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of
solidity to pure wind." - George Orwell
So what is the secret deal then?
Leo's secret deal........does that mean the brown envelopes are still floating around then?

If there is a brown envelope job on this issue the people will never forgive them. They may leave the
country.
only for Leo we would be in serious trouble

European Union have done the right thing here. We are still going to be a member state after Brexit. UK is
not. How the tables have turned. The mighty are falling...
When irelands biggest trade outlet is the UK. Thin ice I'm guessing between a rock and a hard place.
Ireland is in the worse possible position between Merkel pulling in one direction and trade with Britain in
the other. Sitting like a child pawn in an ugly parents divorce. That's in in a reality nutshell.
I'm in shock! kids did trouble because TUSLA and all pablic services in Ireland still ignore internet child
connection !I tried to blocked some site with Kilkenny Garda but Kilkenny TUSLA hidden any info about!
Leo the puppett is doing the EU dirty work and he hasn't the Brains to see it.
Slowly the reality will dawn!! The EU has sold Ireland a pup!!
DUP are like the scummy FF we have here pulling the plug everyday but never doing it.
keeping with the purge by this Government on all things rural let’s move more doctors to Dublin and make
it a month to see a GP if you live past the Red Cow Hotel
Beleve me even in dublin u cant see a doctor now, never mind if they bring in free doctors . The problem
with this gov. Is it has not got a clue or a plan . Its useless.
Fitzgerald steps down for the sake of the country.....more like for the sake of the other Tds no matter what
party they are in....if election was to take place over half of the dail would be out of a job.......so they can
thank her.....
An Garda Síochána have urged social media users to “respect” others
after a Twitter poll it ran was met with outrage.
On Thursday night, a Twitter account belonging to An Garda Síochána
asked people was it more dangerous for a cyclist to run a red light or for
a car to be parked in a cycle lane.
While more than 15,000 people responded with 55% saying the parked
car was more of a danger, the poll was labelled “divisive”.

4 Jan

An Garda Síochána

@GardaTraffic
pic.twitter.com/sjdkPbOvvb

An Garda Síochána
✔
@GardaTraffic

Which in your opinion is more dangerous?

12:08 PM - Jan 4, 2018

45%Bike running red light

55%Car parked in cycle lane
Vote
12,330 votes
•
Final results
387 387 Replies
 43 43 Retweets
 71 71 likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy

Minister of State for the Diaspora Ciarán Cannon said he thought the
poll was “appallingly ill-conceived” and “deliberately divisive”.
Meanwhile, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan also described it as “ill-
conceived”.
Mr Ryan said the manner in which the question was asked would be
construed as “antagonising” to cyclists and “didn’t help anyone”.
The Green Party leader tabled the idea instead of members of the
Garda traffic corps sitting down with cycling groups to talk about how
traffic laws could be better enforced, particularly in the capital.
The Irish Examiner asked An Garda Síochána for comment and while a
spokesman said it would not comment on third-party statements, he
urged social media and road users to be respectful of each other.
“An Garda Síochána do not comment on third-party comments.
However, our social media accounts have consistently called on all road
users to respect others. The account highlights a range of road traffic
offences on a daily basis whilst taking care not to identify any
person/vehicle,” he said.
“The purpose of the account is to promote and raise awareness of all
road safety matters. We urge people to respect others — both online
and on the roads. Feedback from members of the public is always
welcome no matter what the subject matter is,” he added.
A total of 15,973 people engaged in the poll online, which An Garda
Síochána said was to raise awareness of road safety and to get people
talking.
However, only 8,816 people actually answered the poll.
“The final result of the poll is that both options are dangerous to you,
me and all other road users.
“We urge motorists to obey all the rules of the road and we urge cyclists
to obey all the rules of the road. But no matter how you use the road we
want everyone to take care,” said An Garda Síochána.
In 2017, 15 cyclists were killed on the roads, according to figures from
the Road Safety Authority, while 10 cyclists were killed on our roads in
the previous year.

. Sounds like our idea might be easier as it has the backing of Dept
Bring it on elections here we come as out with these lieing cronies the labour and ff fg as no confidence in
this government as they say this government not representing me not my government.... cronies out out
out.
Why does it seem to me that FG are defending everybody involved with the Maurice Mc Cabe
scandal.What are they afraid will come out if they dont back everybody involved
Imagine the headline 'Irelands chance to get rid of FG and FF in one go.It's a win - win situation for Ireland'.
Let’s get this election underway and send smug Leo packing. Shortest ever Táoiseach he’ll love that on his
grave. And as for a Tribunal - we’ve already had 50 meaningless ones where millions are spent, years are
taken to produce, then nobody is named or shamed or made accountable and nothing happens as a result
of conducting it. A joke shop is Dáil Éireann
Leo is weak and is now damaged party before people
Imagine the headline 'Irelands chance to get rid of FG and FF in one go
n election now will break the country look at the state it's in most people on the minimum wage and they
taxed to the hilt and the cost of living going up every day look at the cost of energy the way tis going and tis
all taxes
If FF and their SF cousins took on the managerial public service toxic attitude they would do us all some
service. That would be real state person like. Must say I am really impressed with Leo Varadker. Well able
for bullies. Taoisach of all parties will throw everybody and anybody under a bus.
Yes do the job and stop pissing around, people are still homeless and still others on the street,

no ,, fgs refusal to sack francis is whats threatning brexit talks, lets get this right, because anything else, is an
innacurate description
What a biased inaccurate Headline! Incompetent Tanaiste and Former Minister for Justice Threatens
Brexit talks!
Leo keep screwing the elderly and FG will see his term ended after next general FG be aware of the grey
brigade How dare u
Pick on the most vulnerable the Elderly.paying a double tax on Wealth with nothing leave for their children
"
Spouse..a lifetime of work taxed away...for Eu coffers...
State withdrawing another service it provides to our elderly and sick
Leo Varadkar is going to go down in history as the most hated leader of the country at this rate. That takes some
beating after what went before him.
Our of their depth at this level .finally found out .squad to old ,bring on the youngsters and try for the next
world cup .get rid of o'neill tired defensive football
Shane Duffy celebrates after his goal gives Ireland the lead against Denmark
Denmark leads 2-1, a high moutain to climb
A hat trick wasn't good enough for Denmark, so now they have FOUR goals !! Yahoooooo !!!
Our of their depth at this level .finally found out .squad to old ,bring on the youngsters and try for the next
world cup .get rid of o'neill tired defensive football
Focus Ireland says it is concerned at the surprise re-appointment of
Conor Skehan as chairman of the Housing Agency, claiming that the
move “raises quite significant challenges”.
Focus Ireland says it is concerned at the surprise re-appointment of
Conor Skehan as chairman of the Housing Agency, claiming that the
move “raises quite significant challenges”.
Mr Skehan was widely expected to step down from his role at the state
body and had recently come in for criticism after he claimed some
families in emergency housing may be “gaming the system” by
declaring themselves as homeless to advance up the housing list.
Those remarks brought swift rebukes from a number of homeless
charities which claimed that it was not backed up by evidence.
Yesterday, it emerged that the Minister for Housing, Eoghan Murphy,
had re- appointed Mr Skehan to the role for 2018.
The surprise move was met with unease by some homeless
organisations, with Focus Ireland’s director of advocacy, Mike Allen,
stating: “The fact that he is now continuing as chair for the year raises
quite significant challenges.
“We have been very clear that we think a number of things he said are
personal opinions for which there was no evidence.”
Last night, the Department of Housing said: “Dr Conor Skehan was due
to step down from the role of chair of the Housing Agency at the end of
his term. The department is currently in the process of identifying a
suitable replacement.
“In the meantime, the minister has asked Dr Skehan to stay on as chair
until a replacement has been appointed. Dr Skehan’s re-appointment
has been made on a temporary basis for a period of up to one year. As
soon as a suitable replacement has been identified through the normal
Public Appointment Service arrangements, the department will then
make the necessary order to appoint him or her in Dr Skehan’s place.”
Mr Skehan had also urged that homelessness charities should be subject
to “performance targets” to justify the state funding they receive and
last year said that the housing crisis was “completely normal”.
The latest homelessness report showed that in November, there were
5,524 homeless adults and 3,333 children living in emergency
accommodation.
Simon is very big business collecting tens of millions but never building any houses. Support SHARE who
have built over 200 on a fraction of what Simon collects

The wheelchair symbol to me indicates a space for someone with a PHYSICAL disability and therefore many of these
spaces are typically located close to entrances to facilitate easy access to and from the premises. Yet, the amount of
individuals I see bounding out of their cars with no apparent physical disability but feel that they have an automatic
entitlement to park there because they have a blue sticker / parking card on their windscreen really bugs me. The
abuse of these cards is widespread with people passing them around between them to save a few euro and park in the
most privileged locations with no time restrictions. Of course access to them is probably too easy anyway once your
G.P signs off that you have a disability of any kind but to me a disabled parking card should be allocated to someone
with a physical disability that requires them to have easy and quick access to and from their vehicle. And for a bit of
balance, I see no issue with a charge applying to disabled parking the same as everyone else. Rant over.

Repeal of 8th amendment will leave unborn

children defenceless, says Archbishop
Saturday, January 06, 2018

The Catholic Primate of All Ireland’s addressed the issue of a possible

referendum on the 8th amendment to the constitution.

Archbishop Eamonn Martin’s says repealing the Article "will leave

unborn children defenceless, and completely at the mercy of whatever
abortion laws are introduced in Ireland - both immediately, and in the
future".

In a pastoral message, marking Nollaig Na MBan or Little Christmas, he

also re-iterated the church’s teaching where a seriously-ill pregnant
woman requires medical treatment.

The Oireachtas committee looking at the 8th amendment has

recommended abortions be allowed for any reason up to 12 weeks into
a pregnancy.
AT THE 1982 Fine Gael ard fheis, hard-line conservative TD Alice Glenn
praised her party leader’s support for a pro-life, anti-abortion
referendum, should the party be elected into office later that year.

A Fine Gael TD hopes the referendum on abortion will be held by May.

A committee has recommended repealing the 8th Amendment which

recognises the equal life of the mother and unborn child.

It will now be put to a referendum for the public to have its say but it is
unclear when.
Fine Gael TD Kate O'Connell sees no reason for a delay.

She said: "From talking to Minister Harris, I don't see any delay.

"My understanding is that there will be a couple of days debate within

the Dáil Chamber and I am hoping we will have a referendum in May."

The Government cannot be allowed to “back-slide” on the historic

Oireachtas abortion committee recommendations and must put a
straight repeal-or-not question to voters in the planned summer
referendum.
Children’s Minister and long-time abortion campaigner Katherine
Zappone demanded the action as she separately said she “expects”
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to campaign in favour of a repeal vote,
regardless of his personal views.
Speaking to the Irish Examiner, the unaligned Independent TD said as
both the citizens’ assembly and the Oireachtas abortion committee
recommended repealing the Eighth Amendment and replacing it with
legislation, this plan must now be acted on.
Insisting the Government has no right to ignore the recommendations,
Ms Zappone said once the Dáil and Seanad debate the Oireachtas
abortion committee findings later this month, the Government must
allow a straight repeal-or-not referendum.
Asked about campaigner concerns Government could “back-slide” on
the recommendations at next week’s cabinet meeting or at a later
stage, Ms Zappone said: “I would certainly want to see Government put
the recommendation to the people of a straight repeal, for all the
reasons the committee has recommended.
“Regardless of the diverse views around the [cabinet] table, all of those
people agreed to the process which had a representative group [the
citizens’ assembly] in the first place and then parliamentarians.
“Both of those processes came with the view and desire the Eighth
Amendment is gone and parliament is given the power to legislate. So I
would expect a respect for that.”
Ms Zappone said Mr Varadkar has his own personal choice to make, but
said his high position means she “expects” him to ultimately back the
Government’s referendum question.
“If the leader of the Government is putting a choice to the people to
repeal or obviously not to repeal, and if we as a Government decide to
put to the people repeal of not repeal, I think it’s reasonable for the
people to expect the leadership of the Taoiseach to campaign in relation
to his own view on that,” she said.
An opinion poll, last week, suggests 53% of people would support a
straight repeal vote in a referendum and legislation allowing
unrestricted abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/repeal-of-8th-
amendment-will-leave-unborn-children-defenceless-says-archbishop-
821553.html
Gresham Hotel under fire after reportedly telling 15
homeless families they will no longer be
accommodated
Friday, January 05, 2018
Campaigners have condemned the decision by one of Dublin's best
known hotels to tell 15 homeless families they cannot be
accommodated there any longer.

The Gresham Hotel reportedly says it will not be accepting homeless

payments from Dublin City Council from the end of this month.

The Inner City Helping Homeless charity has accused the hotel of
lacking empathy and compassion.

Spokesperson Brian McLoughlin says increasing tourism in the city is

having a knock on effect on homeless families.

He said: "They could be in the hotel for six months but as soon as it
comes to a weekend like St Patrick's Day, for example, the hotels have
the right to tell them that they need to leave on the Friday and not
come back again until the Monday.

"We have constantly had to accommodate familes ourselves that have

come to us on a Friday evening of a bank holiday weekend when they
can't find anywhere else to go."
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/gresham-hotel-
under-fire-after-telling-15-homeless-families-they-will-no-longer-be-
accommodated-821337.html
The Gresham Hotel reportedly says it will not be accepting homeless
payments from Dublin City Council from the end of t Housing Minister
Eoghan Murphy has disagreed with a claim by the outgoing chair of the
Government Housing Agency, Conor Skehan, that some people are
pretending to be homeless to skip housing queues.

Yesterday, the minister said he has “no evidence” to support the

allegation.
Mr Skehan said that while the homelessness crisis was severe, some
families were trying to “game the system” by wrongly registering as
homeless to jump social-housing queues.
He said this was distorting the true scale of the crisis and making the
homelessness rate seem worse than it was.
Mr Skehan said: “We unwittingly created a problem, by prioritising self-
declared homelessness above all other types of housing need, which
created a distortion in the waiting list system and may have encouraged
people to game the system.”
The deeply controversial remark led to an immediate backlash from
opposition parties and advocacy groups, while Dublin City Council’s
housing and community services unit outright rejected Mr Skehan’s
claims, in a key intervention later on Tuesday.
However, asked yesterday about the controversy, during a National
Emergency Co-Ordination Group media briefing, in response to the
Storm Eleanor situation, Mr Murphy said there is “no evidence” to back
up the claim.
While stopping short of saying Mr Skehan was wrong to have made the
claims, the housing minister said he was not aware of any information
to support what was said.
“What I think Conor Skehan is saying is that it may have been an
unintended consequence of previous government policy.
“Homelessness is a very complex issue; people find themselves in very
difficult situations in their lives, from no fault of their own, and they
come to our local authorities and emergency- response services looking
for help.
“When they come for help, we do a detailed assessment to see how best
we can help them and help them into emergency accommodation, but,
ideally, put them into a permanent solution, if we can do that, as quickly
as possible.
“Conor Skehan is the chair of the Housing Agency. He advises on
government policy.
“It’s not for me to criticise him for doing that. It’s important that we
have different voices in this debate.
“I’ve no evidence, in my department, of people presenting or trying to
game the system.
“Again, Conor was saying that may have been an unintended
consequence of previous government policy,” Mr Murphy said
Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone has said it is time politicians and
those in power stop avoiding the issue and accept that homelessness
and child homeless rates are now a “national emergency”.
Katherine Zappone: 'As a member of Cabinet, we're all responsible for
it.' Picture: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Latest figures show more than 3,200 children and 9,000 people are
homeless.
Ms Zappone, speaking to the Irish Examiner, said it is understandable
people feel it is “not good enough” for politicians to simply say they are
upset over the crisis.
Asked if it is time homeless levels are officially recognised as a national
emergency, she said there is no point in using carefully crafted words or
excuses to avoid the reality and that the scale of the situation needs to
be fully acknowledged.
In a thinly veiled warning to her coalition colleagues Fine Gael, Ms
Zappone said while it is important to put plans in place for future house
building and capital projects, it is essential the problems occurring now
are immediately addressed.
“It is a national emergency, it is increasing to that point. I mean, what
language will we use? Why don’t we just say these are the numbers that
we have,” said Ms Zappone.
“Of course I’m very upset about it and of course people say, ‘Well that’s
not good enough that you’re very upset.’ As a Minister for Children
you’re aware of it.
“As a member of Cabinet, we’re all responsible for it and the increasing
numbers of children in homelessness, and my focus has been on looking
at how we prevent more children and families going into homelessness.
“My colleagues in Fine Gael have focused on rebuilding, capital plans,
vacant sites. It’s not that I’m not listening to that, and yes, supporting
that, but that’s further down the road.
“I have a responsibility to make available to the children who are in
emergency accommodation services to mitigate the impact of
homelessness in their lives.”
Ms Zappone’s comments come as the Government continues to face
criticism over its handling of the homelessness crisis.
At the Fine Gael ard fhéis last November, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar
provoked criticism when he claimed Ireland has a “low” homeless rate
by international standards, despite the fact the report he used to back
up his claim specifically says it is difficult to compare international
figures.
At a Dáil debate on the homelessness crisis on the last day of the Dáil
term before the winter break, just 19 TDs out of 158 attended. They
included just three Government members: Housing Minister Eoghan
Murphy, housing committee chair Maria Bailey, and back-bencher Kate
O’Connell.
No evidence' that families 'game the system' by
pretending to be homeless in Dublin
Tuesday, January 02, 2018 - 09:14 pm
By Political Correspondent Fiachra Ó Cionnaith

The local authority suffering the worst homelessness levels in Ireland

has insisted there is "no evidence" whatsoever to support the outgoing
Government Housing Agency chair Conor Skehan's deeply controversial
claim some families "game the system" and jump social housing queues
by pretending to be homeless.

In a key intervention tonight, Dublin City Council's housing and

community services unit outright rejected Mr Skehan's claims - despite
Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy and the Department of Housing
failing to do so.

In an interview with the Irish Times today, Mr Skehan said while the
homelessness crisis is severe, some families are trying to "game the
system" by registering as homeless in order to jump social housing
queues.
Conor Skehan. Photo: Maxwell Photography.

Claiming the situation is distorting the scale of the scandal, Mr Skehan

said: "We unwittingly created a problem by prioritising self-declared
homelessness above all other types of housing need, which created a
distortion in the waiting list system and may have encouraged people to
game the system."

However, in a statement on Tuesday night, Dublin City Council's

housing and community services unit said there is no evidence
whatsoever to support Mr Skehan's views.

"There is no evidence to support the assertion homeless persons are

'gaming the system'. The issue is very complex with unique and often
tragic individual situations. Applicants cannot 'declare' themselves
homeless, they must be assessed and accepted as homeless by the
council," the statement read.

The council's key intervention came as Mr Murphy and the Department

of Housing failed to reject Mr Skehan's claims amid outrage from
opposition parties and advocacy groups.

Mr Murphy did not respond to an Irish Examiner query sent directly to

him on whether he would stand by Mr Skehan's remarks, while asked
the same question a Department spokesperson failed to address the
specific question in any way, simply saying:
"Homelessness is a highly complex issue. The Department will continue
to work with all stakeholders in order to provide the appropriate
supports and accommodation to those who need them."

Mr Skehan's claim some families in need are pretending to be homeless

to "game the system" provoked outrage from opposition parties and
homeless groups, with Fianna Fáil housing spokesperson Barry Cowen
saying the remarks were "crude" and risk "normalising" the
homelessness crisis, while Sinn Féin counterpart Eoin Ó Broin said the
remarks are "insulting" to families and must be rejected by
Government.

A series of advocacy groups - including Focus Ireland chief Mike Allen,

the Fr Peter McVerry Trust and Niamh Randall of the Simon Community
- also lambasted the claim, saying it is not based on any facts or
evidence and is an attempt to undermine criticism over the
Government's homelessness track record.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil communications spokesperson Timmy Dooley

has warned the Government it must provide proof it is solving the dual
homelessness and health crises this year before any potential extension
of the confidence and supply deal can be discussed.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/no-evidence-that-
families-game-the-system-by-pretending-to-be-homeless-in-dublin-
821038.html

Dublin homeless charity hits out at ‘foolish’

reappointment of Housing Agency Head As
Ministers Finian McGrath and Halligan allow
Government to Reappoint Conor Skehan as Chair
of The National Housing Agency -Recently he
accused homeless people of “gaming the system”
to jump the housing queue
Mr Skehan had previously said Ireland’s housing
crisis was “completely normal” and that its level of
homelessness is one of the lowest in Europe.!!!!
Irish Examiner -Dublin homeless charity hits out at
‘foolish’ reappointment of Housing Agency head
Irish Examiner Saturday, January 06, 2018 – 07:30 am
The head of a homeless charity has criticised the Government’s decision to reappoint the
Chair of the Housing Agency.

It comes in the wake of Conor Skehan’s remarks earlier this week, claiming some people
in emergency accommodation could be “gaming the system” to get housing.

He also called for performance targets for charities working in the sector.

CEO of Inner City Helping Homeless, Anthony Flynn, does not agree with the appointment.

Hesaid: “The reappointment od Conor Skehan is a very foolish one on behalf of the
department.

“To think that Conor has made his bed in regard comments he has made, he has slated
homeless services right across the board and individuals that are accessing homeless
services.

“He has gone as far as to say some of those individuals are gaming the system.”

———————————————————————–
Moratorium on evictions would stop growth of
homelessness–Irish Times
Pause would give State more time to build new housing
Michael O’Loughlin-Poet
Moratorium on Evictions
But a very obvious solution presents itself, even if it is a temporary one. We are in a crisis.
The homelessness problem is desperate, and requires desperate remedies. So why not a
moratorium on all evictions, for any reason, of any type, for the next 12 months? This
would stop the growth of homelessness, and would give the State more time to build new
housing, either on its own or in public/private partnership. If there hasn’t been any
improvement after a year, it could be extended. Not only would it halt to some extent the
growth of homelessness, it could reduce the psychological stress caused by fear of
homelessness in those people who are at all times no more than a month or two away
from it.

Of course, the Government would oppose a proposal like this on ideological grounds, as
interfering with the sacred right of property. The Minister, or perhaps some hapless
Minister of State, would be sent out to do a Fr Jack around the radio and television
studios, endlessly repeating, in response to every question, that “that would be a
constitutional matter”.

—————————————————
Government Policies Worsening the Housing and
Homelessness Crisis
IRISH TIMES-20/12/2017-Rents rise to above boom-
time peak in third quarter of 2017
Aine McMahon
Irish Times Wednesday, December 20, 2017, 00:05
Rents surpassed their boom-time peak in the third quarter of this year, moving 7 per cent
above the previous high which was recorded almost a decade ago, the Residential
Tenancies Board (RTB) has said.
The rents paid by new tenants around the State rose between July and September to an
average of €1,056 per month, up 9.5 per cent (from €965) in a 12-month period.

In Dublin, the average rent paid was €1,518 (up from €1,382 a year earlier) with the
average in the greater Dublin area (Meath, Wicklow and Kildare) at €1,086 (up from
€1,020 a year earlier).

Elsewhere, the average rent paid by new tenants was €811 (up from €743).

The data comes from the Quarterly Rent Index compiled by the Economic and Social
Research Institute (ESRI) for the Residential Tenancies Board.

The previous high, a national average rent of €988 per month, was recorded in the final
quarter of 2007. Following the economic crash in 2008 rents went into decline and hit a
low point in the RTB’s index of €746 a month in the first quarter of 2012.

Dublin prices
Rents in Dublin increased by 4.1 per cent during the third quarter of this year, up from 3.1
per cent in the previous three months and 9.9 per cent higher than in the same period last
year.

The RTB, a Government agency responsible for registering tenancies and dealing with
disputes between tenants and landlords, said a total of 29,528 new tenancies were
registered between July and September. This represents an increase of over 6,000
registrations since the last quarter.

RTB director Rosalind Carroll said strong demographic and economic growth matched with
low levels of supply are “continuing to put significant pressure on the private rental market
and those trying to find a place to live”.

This is the third rent index report published since Rent Pressure Zones were introduced
one year ago. Landlords renting properties in these designated areas are prevented from
increasing prices by more than 4 per cent.

After a moderate slowdown in the pace of growth in the first quarter of this year, the pace
increased between April and June and further took off between July and September.

The report’s authors said these findings reflected the unprecedented situation of continued
low supply of properties and high demand in a volatile rental market.

© 2017 irishtimes.com

———————————————————————————-

People ‘should be marching’ to protest at homelessness

(SEE ALSO ON THIS BLOG; Seamus Healy Proposal for FORMAL DECLARATION OF
HOUSING EMERGENCY DEFEATED IN DAIL http://wp.me/pKzXa-Rd

SR. STAN SAYS:

People ‘should be marching’ to protest at
homelessness
Irish Examiner, Monday, November 06, 2017 By Caroline O’Doherty

A leading campaigner on homelessness has said the plight of

children growing up without homes is an evil that the public
should be on the streets marching to oppose.
Sr Stanislaus Kennedy, president of Focus Ireland, was speaking as she launched the most
urgent Christmas appeal the charity has ever had to make.“The problem is much worse
than what it was last year. This year we have over 3,000 children in bed and breakfasts.
It’s awful, it’s devastating, it’s shocking,” she said.“We should all be out on the streets
about this. It is not only shocking and a scandal, it is evil because of the damage it is
doing to people.”

Latest figures show 8,374 people, including 3,124 children, were in emergency
accommodation in September, many of them now facing spending Christmas in single
rooms in hotels or bed and breakfasts.

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy admitted when the figures were released a fortnight ago
that progress on alleviating the problem was not happening fast enough.

Focus Ireland helped 290 families, including 556 children, to secure a home through its
housing and housing support projects up to the end of September this year — 600 more
than in the same period last year.

Sr Stan said while the charity was helping to house a family a day, it could not keep up
with the demand as 2-3 more were becoming newly homeless each day.-Irish Examiner

————————————-
GOVERNMENT DEFEATS Amendment Calling For
Formal Declaration of a Housing Emergency
Dail Proceedings December 2016 (More further Down)
Deputy Seamus Healy: I move amendment No. 53:

In page 38, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following:

“29. Dáil Éireann formally declares that a housing emergency exists in the State and while
this emergency continues the right of any person to remain in the dwelling in which the
person currently resides will take precedence over any property right of any other
person— – –
Amendment Declared Lost.
Dáil divided: Tá, 34; Staon, 24; Níl, 59. Missing 40
Tá : Independent Seamus Healy,Rural Independent Michael Collins, Sinn Féin,AAA,
PBP,Independents 4 Change
Formal Abstention: Fianna Fail
Against :Fine Gael, LABOUR,GREENS, INDEPENDENT ALLIANCE (Including Finian
McGrath), Rural Independent Michael Fitmaurice, Indepenent Michael Lowry,
Missing : Rural Independent Mattie McGrath,Independent Dr Harty, D Healy Rae, M Healy
Rae, John Halligan (Independent alliance),Some FF and FG Deputies also missing

———————————————
Why the Government refuses to intervene in the
housing crisis
Eoin Burke-Kennedy, Irish Times Friday, August 25, 2017,
Extracts-full article below

There’s a notion that should be instantly dispatched to the annals

of wishful thinking: that the Government will, one of these days,
do something significant to address the housing crisis.——
The Government remains ideologically wedded to the idea that the
market is the most efficient model for dealing with the State’s
housing needs, and by extension opposed to the type of large-
scale social housing projects we’ve had in the past.
Since coming to power in 2011, it has presided over the lowest
social housing build in the State’s history, building just 1,300 units
in its first five years in office, culminating in a record low of 75 in
2015.
Even the social housing element of the Government’s flagship
Rebuilding Ireland strategy, which promises 47,000 units by 2021,
is entirely predicated on the private sector—-32,000 of them will
come from private sector rentals (if it actually happens-PH)

There’s a notion that should be instantly dispatched to the annals of wishful thinking: that
the Government will, one of these days, do something significant to address the housing
crisis.

It assumes that the colossal spike and collapse in property prices that drove the State to
the point of bankruptcy in 2008/2009 and the now seemingly endless headlines about
soaring prices and “generation rent” has prompted a rethink about how we deliver housing
in this country. It hasn’t.

The Government remains ideologically wedded to the idea that the market is the most
efficient model for dealing with the State’s housing needs, and by extension opposed to
the type of large-scale social housing projects we’ve had in the past. The crash has only
served to harden its stance.

Since coming to power in 2011, it has presided over the lowest social housing build in the
State’s history, building just 1,300 units in its first five years in office, culminating in a
record low of 75 in 2015.

These build rates would have been unthinkable even to the penurious Irish administrations
of the 1950s. In 1975, for instance, local authorities built 8,794 social housing units, while
the private sector built 18,098 homes.

Even the social housing element of the Government’s flagship Rebuilding Ireland strategy,
which promises 47,000 units by 2021, is entirely predicated on the private sector.

The bulk of the units (32,000) will come from what the Department of Housing dubiously
calls “social housing solutions”, which is a euphemism for private sector rentals.

A further 4,700 units will be delivered via the Part V planning regulations, which require
developers to allocate 10 per cent of their estates for use as social housing.

Rehabilitation of the banks

Since the crash the Government has had two overriding objectives; the rehabilitation of
the banks, necessary to restore the sovereign’s credit rating and allow the Government
borrow on international markets; and the successful execution of its Nama plan to deal
with bad loans removed from the banks’ balance sheets.

Both these aims have required the reinflating of property prices.

A major State intervention in the housing market to address the supply deficit and the
affordability gap might have worked against this, just like more pointed action on variable
mortgage rates, while politically popular, would have delayed the banks’ return to
profitability.

The big beneficiaries of the Government’s policy have been the banks, developers and,
increasingly, international capital and vulture fund investors who have bought up
significant chunks of the Irish real estate market since the crash.

Having been established in 2014, Ires Reit (Irish Residential Properties Real Estate
Investment Trust) has already amassed a portfolio of nearly 2,400 apartments. Last year it
told shareholders that a “deep imbalance between demand and supply in Dublin’s housing
market” meant the firm’s profit outlook was “very positive”.

Similarly, US real-estate firm Kennedy Wilson, which controls €1 billion of property assets
here, recently described Dublin as “the most attractive property market in Europe”.
Investors
Blaming investors for crowding out conventional buyers is, however, too simplistic. With
the Government essentially vacating any meaningful role in the supply of affordable
housing, investors are the only ones who will deliver rental accommodation for a growing
proportion of people who can’t afford to buy.

The idea that the Central Bank’s mortgage restrictions could restrain house-price inflation
over the longer term is now also in question.

While the rules initially prevented some people from buying, causing a temporary
slowdown in the market, these buyers were simply pushed into renting, which has driven
up rents.

This has enticed more rent-seeking investors into the market, a process that has triggered
a further surge in house-price inflation, completing a not so virtuous circle at the heart of
the Irish property market

A 2017 May Day march in Dublin protesting at the Government’s failure to tackle the
housing crisis. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Since the 1980s successive Irish governments have moved away from funding social
housing projects, deeming the private market a more efficient model for the delivery of
housing.

The aversion to State intervention can be traced back to the 1980s when the Irish
economy stagnated and there was a consensus around the need for budgetary tightening,
embodied in the so called “Tallaght Strategy”, which slashed local authority budgets for
social housing, a process that was enabled by mass emigration.

The ideology was also part of a wider international shift away from state intervention
toward privatisation and deregulation, now loosely referred to as neoliberalism.

Financial asset
In the property sector this process ran in tandem with what sociologists refer to as the
hyper-commoditisation of property, which transformed housing from an infrastructure into
a financial asset, a process that eventually led to the securitisation of sub-prime
mortgages, a trigger for the financial crash.

It’s naïve to think of rolling back this tide given how enmeshed the global financial system
is in real estate.

Despite the availability of brown-field sites and the possibility of borrowing at historic low
rates, the Government appears resistant to funding a major State intervention.

Every now and then it gives succour to the rumour that it is lobbying hard in Brussels for a
derogation from the EU’s fiscal rules to facilitate a major infrastructural spend, but this has
been going on for years and nothing ever comes of it.

Either way, the notion that a certain proportion of people won’t be adequately housed by
the market is now an accepted fact of life, in Anglo-Saxon countries at least, a deficiency
that the Government here will endeavour to ameliorate through rent subsidies.

© 2017 irishtimes.com

————————————–
The bad news is that our FG/FF government has
resolved to let “the market” handle housing.
Gene Kerrigan Sunday Independent, Aug 20,2017
Let’s go back to that CSO figure – 17pc of the homeless are working. That’s one in six.
What does that tell us?

It tells us two things: first, it tell us that people get up early in the morning, do as much
work as they can – but the wages they’re paid are so low there’s no chance of affording
rent.
Why are wages so low? Because entrepreneurial folk have found new ways of squeezing
more work out of people for less pay. They’ve got all sorts of tricks for that – the bogus
“self-employed” gimmick is very fashionable today, where an employer takes responsibility
for nothing apart from screwing you as ruthlessly as possible.

What’s the second thing this 17pc statistic tells us?

It tells us that while employers are pushing down wages, landlords are pushing up rents.

If you look in the statistics you’ll find that those who earn through capital – through
shares, through profit or through taking rent – have been taking an increasingly bigger
share of the income generated by the economy.

And those who earn through their labour have been getting an ever-smaller share. This
has been going on since long before the recession began.

Capital has become increasingly aggressive, demanding more; labour has been docile,
acquiescent. Labour has bought the story that we must be modest in our demands, think
of others and make do with less than we think might be fair.

Capital has put on boots with bigger hobnails.

Government has been servile towards capital – look at the deference to vulture funds, the
use of Nama as a servant of the property classes, look at the slavering over Apple and the
aggression towards the mild EU attempts to tackle corporate tax-dodging.

Where labour has dared flex its out-of-shape muscles – most notably in the transport
sector – it’s been dumped on by a media that instinctively sides with the biggest brute in
the room.

What those flat statistics of capital and labour translate into is bodies in doorways and
tents confiscated in the Phoenix Park, while Christmas always comes early for the Brown
Thomas set.

The bad news is that our FG/FF government has resolved to let “the market” handle
housing. How do you support those with nothing, such as Darren and Christopher? You
“incentivise” the rich. You tweak the market so they’ll make even more profit if they
invest in housing.

Wages too low. Rents too high. Too few houses, too many empty houses. The State
refusing to build to meet need. The State hoping increasing profits will do the job.

These facts mean that increasing numbers of homeless is inevitable; there is nothing
individuals can do, it’s a job for the State.

——————————————————————–
Call for Govt to intervene as residents of St Helens
Court told to vacate 17 Dún Laoghaire apartments
by Apollo Global Management and Deutsche Bank-
RTE Report Below
If the Amendment to the Residential Tenancies Bill proposed by
Seamus Healy TD had been passed the common good would have
prevailed over the right to private property. But it was voted down
by the Government supported by the Labour Party as Fianna Fail
abstained-Report Below
Amendment 29. Dáil Éireann formally declares that a housing emergency exists in the
State and while this emergency continues the right of any person to remain in the dwelling
in which the person currently resides will take precedence over any property right of any
other person
Full REPORT RTE News Tuesday, 1 Aug 2017 09:18
Residents of 17 apartments in Dún Loaghaire in Dublin have been told by their landlords –
two global investment funds – that they have to vacate the property within weeks.

The tenants of Saint Helen’s Court received letters from a receiver acting on the
owners’ behalf, telling them to move out on various dates to allow for major
refurbishments.

The letter details nine areas of planned work, including upgrades to the fire detection
system and all electrical installations, repairing damage to walls and replacement of carpet
and tile flooring.

It says residents will have the chance to re-rent the apartment once work is completed
under certain conditions.

However, residents are skeptical. They say last year attempts were made to substantially
increase the rent, just two days before the enactment of legislation only allowing rent rises
of 4% a year in designated rent pressure zones.

Under the Residential Tenancies Act, landlords can only increase rent by more than 4% if
extensive refurbishment is carried out on the property.

Resident Derek Cawley, who is paying €1,000 per month for a one-bed apartment,
believes this is what is behind the latest move.

“Five weeks to get out, I can’t get anywhere … I went looking at two apartments during
the week and by the time I got to them they were gone.”

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett has called on the Government to intervene.

He said: “It’s really despicable; a vulture fund that tried to increase rents earlier in the
year by 60-90% but felt it couldn’t get away with it is now trying to exploit loop holes in
the law to evict all of these people and threaten them with homelessness in some cases
within a few weeks so they can increase the rent and increase the value.”

PWC refused to confirm who they were acting on behalf of, but RTÉ’s Morning Ireland has
learned that their clients are Apollo Global Management and Deutche Bank.

Neither PWC nor Apollo Global Management would comment, and efforts to contact a
spokesperson for Deutche Bank were unsuccessful.

Housing emergency must be declared, Right to a

Home summit told
The Government must declare a housing emergency and call a
referendum to insert a “right to housing” into the Constitution, trade
unionists, legal experts and housing campaigners have said. Karen
O’Loughlin, head of campaigning with union Siptu, said “the spiralling
cost of housing was particularly impacting upon women and their
children, as the gap between costs and people’s incomes grew. The
right to housing is protected in the constitutions of 81 countries(not
Ireland). The Government needs to declare a housing emergency and
roll back the policy of the commodification of housing”
Full Article

Kitty Holland Irish Times Thursday, July 13, 2017, 17:47

The Government must declare a housing emergency and call a referendum to insert a
“right to housing” into the Constitution, trade unionists, legal experts and housing
campaigners have said.

Karen O’Loughlin, head of campaigning with union Siptu, said secure housing was moving
further and further out of the reach of middle- and low-income households, as well as
younger people.
Spiralling cost
Speaking at the Right to a Home conference hosted by the Simon Communities, she said
the spiralling cost of housing was particularly impacting upon women and their children, as
the gap between costs and people’s incomes grew.

She said the right to housing was protected in the constitutions of 81 countries.

“The Government needs to declare a housing emergency and roll back the policy of the
commodification of housing,” she said.

The conference, in Trinity College, Dublin on Thursday, examined how a constitutional

right to housing could be achieved here.

Niamh Randall, national spokeswoman for the Simon Communities, said a “clear
acknowledgment that increased private sector supply” will not provide affordable or
accessible housing for thousands of households was now vital.

“Housing is not like other commodities. You can increase supply and the cost of housing
can still increase…Homelessness is the most visible and extreme form of the violation of
the right to housing.”

Private property
She said though the right to private property was protected in the Constitution, and this
had been cited repeatedly as an obstacle to a Constitutional right to housing, she said
there was also an acknowledgment that the right to property “ought to be regulated by
principles of social justice and can be restricted in the interests of the common good”.

“In the current crisis it is clear that some restrictions on the right to property are
justifiable, to reduce the number of people becoming homeless and also to restrict the
numbers trapped in housing insecurity.”

A constitutional right to housing would not mean the right to a key to a home, said Maeve
Regan, managing solicitor with the Mercy Law Centre. It would “put in place a basic floor
of protection”, and compel the State to “protect the right to housing in balance with other
rights” in terms of decision- and policy-making.

Market rents
Among the policies that could be challenged if there was a right to housing would be if the
Housing Assistance Payment and rent supplement did not meet market rents. The absence
of legal aid to tenants wanting to challenge an eviction could also be challenged.

Ms Regan said though the Citizens’ Assembly had in 2014 voted by 84 per cent in favour a
constitutional right to housing, this had not been considered yet by Government. She
called on Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy to refer this to the Oireachtas Housing
Committee.

The right to housing was recognised in international instruments, including the 1948
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1966 International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, she said, but it was not enforceable here.

© 2017 irishtimes.com
————————————————————————————————————————————

Further Tax Relief For Vultures-Government

Solution To Housing Crisis!!!!
Veradkar: In the Context of the Budget, we will need to look at the private rented sector to
see if there are ways we can encourage people to continue to rent their properties or move
into the private rental market if they are not doing so already” -Taoiseach Veradkar-Dail
Record Wednesday July 5 (Full Dáil Statement by Taoiseach further down)

He ignored recent ICTU proposals to Urgently build v. many more social houses than
planned and to spend the 3.5 Billion from AIB sale on this project
The FG-Lab Government had already introduced a measure that would allow Vulture Funds
to pay no Capital Gains Tax if they retained properties they purchased from NAMA and the
banks for five years, even if the properties had no tenants for the five years!!!!

NOW VULTURES ARE TO GET FURTHER TAX RELIEF IF THEY RENT

OUT THE PROPERTIES!!!!
———————————————————————
——————————————–
Seamus Healy TD Calls for a One Day General
Strike to Force the Government To Solve Housing
Crisis
Shocking Cruelty by Government To Protect The
Assets and Incomes of the Irish Super-Rich
Continues-Top 12 Gained 6 Billion last Year -but not
a penny extra tax due to Build Houses!
Homelessness is increasing because of a
deliberate and cruel anti-human policy enacted by
this government earlier this year. Government
decided that a landlord could evict the tenants if the
sale price was 20% higher with vacant possession
and could evict the tenants in all circumstances if
less than 10 properties were being sold.
The number of children in emergency accomodation has increased from 2708 to 2777 in a
month despite government promises
These vicious measures should be repealed immediately
Government must instruct the banks it owns, including AIB and PTSB
to stop all repossession and eviction proceedings immediately.
Head of the Dublin Housing initiative, asked in a recent interview why homelessness was
increasing despite significant numbers being moved out of hotels, replied:“More people are
coming into homelessness than anticipated”!!!!

Seamus Healy TD had predicted the increase in the Dáil.

Master of the High Court, Edmund Honahan, has predicted that evictions will increase
hugely in the coming years as vultures seek vacant possession.

Seamus Healy TD: Yesterday’s statement by the Taoiseach confirms that this
Government will persist with its disastrous housing policy. It is now obvious that
a one-day general strike will be necessary to bring this Government to its
senses.
Listen Live To Seamus’ Dail Speech https://youtu.be/UKRKNPEeIAA

Tipperary homeowner says his ‘back is to wall’ as

hundreds in Tipperary still face repossession
orders -Tipperary Star reporter
6 Jul 2017
Click Below for Full Article

http://www.tipperarystar.ie/news/news/258448/tipperary-homeowner-says-his-back-is-
to-wall-as-hundreds-in-tipperary-still-face-repossession-orders.html

——————————————————————–
DAIL EXCHANGES

Former Fine Gael Minister Attacks Seamus Healy

TD For Calling For A One Day General Strike To
Force Government To Stop Repossessions and
Evictions and to URGENTLY Build the Huge
Number of Social Houses Needed
From Dáil Record
Seamus Healy TD The policy of reliance on the market has created a housing emergency.
A total of 91,000 families are on local authority housing lists, a number that has doubled
since 2005. There are 21,000 families on housing assistance payment, HAP. There is a
homelessness crisis, including 2,700 children in homeless accommodation and many
thousands more are couch-surfing and doubling up with relatives and friends. The policy of
reliance on the market has failed disastrously.
Yesterday, the Taoiseach told us that approximately 2,000 social houses are at various
stages of construction or planning, as if that was going to solve the crisis. The Taoiseach
knows that the current Government policy guarantees increasing homelessness as shown
by the Think-tank for Action on Social Change, TASC, in a recent research paper and that
it is totally and pathetically inadequate.

I welcome the points made recently by Patricia King, general secretary of the Irish
Congress of Trade Unions, who said that the market system has failed and is entirely
dysfunctional in housing. She said hundreds of thousands of our citizens are affected and
large numbers of children are being damaged. She said Europe must wait, and be told to
wait, for payment of debt, that local authorities must be immediately funded to build social
houses and local authority land should be used for social houses only. She also said vacant
houses should be brought into use with compulsory purchase powers where necessary and
that the €3.5 billion raised from the sale of AIB shares should be used to build social
houses and not to pay down debt.

More needs to be done. A formal national housing emergency must be declared in

legislation. Evictions and repossessions generally must be stopped and the Government
must instruct the banks it owns, AIB and PTSB, to stop repossessions and evictions. We
must repeal the law which allows vulture funds their right to evict sitting tenants.
Yesterday’s statement by the Taoiseach (carried immediately below) confirms that this
Government will persist with its disastrous housing policy. It is now obvious that a one-day
general strike will be necessary to bring this Government to its senses.
Fergus O’Dowd(FG) This is a very important debate and I regret that the time is very
short. It is not acceptable that some speakers have only six minutes and others three. This
House must change, as our policies must change.
I welcome the new Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government and
his initiatives. I hope he will be able to support the views I express.

We must be practical. It is all very well having a national strike but that brings no
sympathy or support to the people who want to get into—–

Deputy Seamus Healy: It brings pressure.

Deputy Fergus O’Dowd: I did not interrupt the Deputy. It does not support those
people who need to get into the empty homes around the country.
Acting Chairman (Deputy Eugene Murphy): Nobody interrupted Deputy Healy. He
should allow Deputy O’Dowd—–
Deputy Seamus Healy: The Deputy addressed me.
Acting Chairman (Deputy Eugene Murphy): Please allow him speak.
Deputy Seamus Healy: I am entitled to respond to him. He is talking nonsense as
usual.
—————————————————-
VERADKAR REPLY ON GOVERNMENT HOUSING STRATEGY –WED July 5

The Rebuilding Ireland strategy is Government policy. It is being implemented.

As the Deputy will know, approximately 2,000 social houses are at various stages
of construction or planning. That is a significant change compared to where were last
year and we know that planning starts and planning applications have increased
considerable as well. We are seeing definite increased activity in terms of housing supply,
but we are still obviously very much further behind where we need to be in terms of
supply. The Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, is reviewing the strategy in full. Part of it, as
the Deputy will know, involves an increase by one third in our social housing
stock. Perhaps that is not enough but it is significant that we are going to increase our
social housing stock by one third. It is a reversal of the policy in the past which was to
reduce the social housing stock and sell it off. We are committed in the plan to increase it
considerably but other measures need to be examined as well. There is a review of the
first-time buyer’s grant, of which the Deputy will be aware. Consideration is being
given to a vacant homes strategy and taking action to tax homes that have been
vacant for long periods of time in places of high demand, or also INCENTIVISING
and encouraging people to make homes available for habitation.
In the context of the budget, we will need to look at the private rented sector to
see if there are ways we can encourage people to continue to rent their
properties or move into the private rental market if they are not doing so already.

—————————————-
ICTU SPEAKS OUT ON HOUSING!
Interview With Patricia King, General Secretary, ICTU, on Morning Ireland
Full Interview:
http://www.rte.ie/radio/utils/radioplayer/rteradioweb.html#!rii=b9%5F21197
014%5F48%5F04%2D07%2D2017%5F
Written Extracts: Housing
Presenter: what are your views on the housing issue?
Patricia King: “We now have a housing emergency
Market system has failed and is entirely dysfunctional in housing
Local authorities should be immediately funded to build social housing-State and
Local authority Lands should be used to build social housing only
200,000 voids identified in Census should be taken over quite quickly, using
CPOs where necessary”
Presenter: “You have said that the housing crisis is the greatest policy failure in
the history of the state. At the recent Social Dialogue in Dublin Castle did you get
any indication from government that you were being listened to”
PK: “No Just a sense of irritation that people were continuing to bring this up
3.5 billion from AIB share sale should not be used to pay down debt but to build
social housing-there are 90,000 people on housing lists”
Presenter says: Government says we have no choice (but to use it to pay down
debt–PH)
PK “We do have a choice Tell Financial Europe-We do need to write down the
debt but you have to wait– There are Hundreds of thousand effected –large
number of children being damaged
We need to solve this housing emergency and to do it quickly”

——————————
Number of homeless children continues to rise
Kitty Holland Irish Times Friday, June 30, 2017, 19:22

The number of homeless children has continued to rise, latest figures show, despite the
accelerated efforts of authorities to address the situation.

The latest figures from the Department of Housing show there were 2,777 children, in
1,312 families, living in emergency accommodation across the State during the week of
May 22nd to 28th.

In Dublin, there were 2,266 children, in 1,099 families, in emergency accommodation.

Some 647 of Dublin’s homeless families were living in commercial hotels.
These figures compare with the 2,708 children, in 1,302 families, who were living in
emergency accommodation across the State at the end of April, including 2,262 children,
in 1,091 families, who were homeless in Dublin.

Some 750 families were living in commercial hotels in Dublin by the end of April.

The increases come just before the July 1st deadline to move all homeless families out of
commercial hotels, which had been set by the former minister for housing Simon Coveney.

Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy abandoned this target within days of taking office.

Unacceptable
Mr Murphy said that “the important thing . . . was that we got the work done, that we
brought the resources to bear”, referring to the provision of 15 “family hubs” – which
provide cooking and other facilities for the homeless – across Dublin.

However, homeless charities have described the continued increases as “unacceptable”

and have called for “more aggressive”solutions.

Roughan Mac Namara, advocacy manager with Focus Ireland, said that despite hopes that
homeless numbers were stabilising at the beginning of 2017, “unfortunately, now it’s clear
the numbers are only going up.

“Minister Murphy needs to indicate some big ideas on preventing families becoming
homeless, such as stopping the eviction of tenants of buy-to-lets when their homes are
repossessed.”

June Tinsley, head of advocacy with Barnardos, said: “Being homeless has a profound
effect on children’s health, well-being, development and life potential. A more aggressive
approach is required to tackle the ever-deepening housing crisis.

“These figures also do not reflect the number of ‘hidden homeless’ families who do not
appear on the official register.

“Thousands of families in Ireland are living in overcrowded, substandard or unsafe

accommodation because they have no other options.”

Niamh Randall, spokeswoman for the Simon Communities, said the numbers were
“unacceptable”.

© 2017 irishtimes.com
———————————————————
LABOUR-FINE GAEL FED THE VULTURES AT THE EXPENSE OF THE HOMELESS

Purchasers of Irish Residential Property (including

Vultures) will pay NO CAPITAL GAINS TAX if they
retain the property for 5 years -Finance Bill Debate
in Dail Nov 23 2016
This applies EVEN IF IT IS EMPTY FOR THE 5
YEARS
————————————————————
Grossly Inadequate Prime Time Program on
Housing
Most Common Form of Deception By Media is Omission 04/05/2017
View Full Program here https://www.rte.ie/news/player/prime-time-web/2017/0504/

No Mention of Fundamental Problems-Government Committment

to Protecting Private Property of Landlords including Vultures,
Inability of Government to Borrow or to Spend Proceeds of Asset
Sales to Build Public Housing due to support for EU Fiscal Treaty,
Refusal of Government to Tax the Massive Asset Gains of The Irish
Super-Rich
Nobody Mentioned The Need for the Formal Declaration of A National
Housing Emergency TO STOP EVICTIONS and COMPULSORILY
PURCHASE VACANT HOUSES
Seamus Healy TD has repeatedly highlighted these matters in the Dáil

I have sent full facts with references on these matters to RTE several times-Paddy Healy

View Full Program Here:https://www.rte.ie/news/player/prime-time-web/2017/0504/

Official figures show that the number of homeless people in the State has risen from 7,184
in December 2016 to 7,421 in February 2017, a rise of 237-as Government refuses to
formally declare a national housing emergency, the Association of Personal Insolvency
Practitioners says banks and vulture funds are pushing forward with a repossession spree
and Taoiseach admits that proceeds of sales of state assets cannot be used to provide
Social Housing because of EU FISCAL TREATY

——————————————-
Juno McEnroe Irish Examiner March 27

HOUSING-IT IS A NATIONAL SHAME

SKY-HIGH rents, unaffordable house prices, unprecedented numbers of homeless families
and an all-time low record of social housing builds.

These are some of the characteristics that mark so-called solutions to help solve Ireland’s
housing crisis that has left ordinary families in a state of stasis, in poverty, and in many
cases, without a roof over their heads.

Families without homes are being treated like second class citizens, according to frontline
agencies.

There are exceptional amounts of money going into government promises to solve the
housing crisis but little sign of relief for those renting, buying or relying on state support
for a home to live in. It is a national shame.- Juno McEnroe Irish Examiner March 27
Full Article http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/families-need-government-to-build-a-
workable-solution-to-housing-crisis-446216.html
———————————————
Irish Times: Significant increase in the number of homeless children
New figures show progress made in tackling the homelessness
crisis has been reversed
Kitty Holland, Irish Times

Last Updated: Friday, March 24, 2017, 19:18

The number of homeless children in the State increased last month to 2,546, wiping out
the apparent progress made in January in tackling the crisis.

Last month, figures showed that the number of homeless people in the State had fallen
from 7,184 in December 2016 to 7,167 in January.

However, official figures released on Friday showed a significant increase in homelessness

in February, to 7,421 people.

Responding to the new figures, Minister for Housing Simon Coveney said they were
“disappointing but not unexpected”.

Child homelessness figures are significant in driving the changes in the overall figures each
month.

The number of homeless children fell from 2,505 in December to 2,407 in January.

However, February’s figure for child homelessness shows the number now stands at 2,546.
In Dublin, some 2,129 children in 1,055 families were homeless during the week of
February 20th-26th.

This represents an increase of 83 in the number of homeless children in the capital since
January (2,046 children in 1,007 families).

This is despite the fact the number of homeless children in the city fell by 50 between
December and January.

Mr Coveney had previously pledged that by July no homeless child in Dublin would have to
live in a hotel or a B&B.

Regional increases
There were also significant increases in the child homelessness figures for other regions.

The number of homeless children in the midwest decreased by 34 between December and
January to 52. However, the figure increased to 85 last month.

In the southwest, the number of homeless children increased from 91 in December to 106
in January, before rising to 125 last month.

The figures were a “stark reminder of the difficulties we face in dealing with the
homelessness problem”, said Mr Coveney.

“We must continue to work hard and redouble our efforts.

“Last year, 3,052 households exited homelessness, which is the highest level ever, and the
level of ambition [in this regard] is greater again this year.

“This is a substantial increase on the 2,300 exits achieved in 2015 and reflects the
significant ongoing work being done by housing authorities and their partner NGOs in
helping households and individuals transition from homelessness to more permanent
homes.”

‘Deeply disappointed’
Fergus Finlay, chief executive of the children’s charity Barnardos, said he was “deeply
disappointed” by Friday’s figures.

He said they proved that the Government’s efforts to tackle the homelessness crisis were
“inadequate”.

“Despite the Government commitments . . . and despite increased funding for housing and
homelessness for 2017, the impact is not being felt by those most in need.

“The slowness of our systems to respond, escalating rents and the continued lack of supply
across all housing sectors have all combined to hamper the Government’s efforts. Simply
put, these efforts are now inadequate.”

Mike Allen, director of advocacy with Focus Ireland, said increasing housing supply was not
enough to tackle the homelessness crisis and more needed to be done to keep families in
their homes.

He called for measures to help keep tenants in buy-to-let homes when the landlord is
selling the property.

The Simon Communities also called for a review of housing support caps.

© 2017 irishtimes.com

AS JANUARY HOMELESS FIGURES REACH

HIGHEST IN THE HISTORY OF THE STATE-
GOVERNMENT DELIBERATELY ALLOWS BANKS
TO CONTINUE EVICTIONS
“Traitorous behaviour” shown by banks putting
people out of homes-Personal Insolvency
Practitioners-Irish Examiner
Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Conall Ó Fátharta

Banks are committing to spending up to €1bn in “putting people out of family homes”, it
has been claimed.

The Association of Personal Insolvency Practitioners says banks are refusing viable
restructuring proposals designed to keep people in their homes
The Association of Personal Insolvency Practitioners said banks and vulture funds have
given the “two fingers” to the Government while pushing forward with a repossession
spree.

Its chairman, Eugene McDarby, said despite the Government’s efforts to address the
mortgage arrears crisis by introducing the Abhaile scheme, banks are still refusing viable
restructuring proposals designed to keep people in their homes.

The Abhaile scheme, launched last October, offers free financial and legal advice, with a
priority on those most at risk of losing their home.

It is run jointly by the Money Advice and Budgeting Service and the Legal Aid Board.

“We feel it’s time to identify and challenge the banks and vulture funds who have chosen
to give Government the two fingers while pushing forward with their repossession spree
which will wreak havoc on the lives of Irish citizens and taxpayers for generations,” said Mr
McDarby.

“Instead of respecting government policy and working with debtors and PIPs [personal
insolvency practitioners] to achieve viable long-term sustainable solutions, the pillar banks
and vulture funds continue to vote against insolvency arrangements preferring
repossession and surrender of family homes.

“Insolvency arrangements provide better outcomes for banks than would be the case if a
borrower goes bankrupt or the property is repossessed.”

Mr McDarby claimed the bailed-out banks and vulture funds are more interested in quick
fixes and overlook the fact that, in most cases, the loss of the family home results in
homelessness and a “social crisis on an unprecedented scale”.

“Banks continue to pump money into repossessing homes despite the best efforts of
distressed borrowers, PIPs, and Government to identify and implement viable solutions
that will keep people in their family homes,” he said.

“Currently, there are more than 35,000 family home mortgages in long-term arrears with
an average of three people living in each of these properties. These 105,000 people are
not being provided with sustainable alternative arrangements.”

Mr McDarby said Croke Park would not be big enough to hold the number of people in
danger of losing their homes if “banks and vulture funds are not brought to heel”.

He claimed “the traitorous behaviour of banks in refusing to entertain viable alternative

payment plans means the [Abhaile] scheme cannot have the desired effect of keeping
people in their family homes”.

———————
TÁNAISTE AND MINISTER JUSTICE STATES IN
DÁIL THAT COUNTY REGISTRAR HAS NO POWER
TO ORDER REPOSSESSION WHEN IT IS
OPPOSED BY DEFENDANT
The Tánaiste: County registrars are officers of the court and
independent in the exercise of their functions and duties under
statute and the rules of court. It is important to point out the
following. As a matter of law, they may only make an order for the
possession of any land in cases where no defence to an action for
possession has been delivered by the defendant or no appearance
has been entered by the defendant.
Dail Proceedings Thursday 19/01/2017

Deputy Róisín Shortall: The implications of the failure of the courts to adhere to the
requirements of EU consumer protection law are potentially extremely serious. It appears
that repossession orders are being granted without the courts taking the initiative to
assess whether mortgage contracts are unfair. This is clearly a denial of people’s rights by
the courts. Are repossessions happening without people being afforded their rights and
does this expose the State to legal challenge due to its failure to adhere to the
requirements of EU law?
The Tánaiste: County registrars are officers of the court and independent in the exercise of
their functions and duties under statute and the rules of court. It is important to point out
the following. As a matter of law, they may only make an order for the possession of any
land in cases where no defence to an action for possession has been delivered by the
defendant or no appearance has been entered by the defendant.
Deputy Róisín Shortall: The Tánaiste is repeating the inaccuracy.
The Tánaiste: Let me finish. Therefore, the power of a county registrar to make orders for
possession is extremely limited.
Deputy Róisín Shortall: The Tánaiste is wrong.
The Tánaiste: Where any defence is raised by a defendant, including any defence in
relation to the nature or terms of the mortgage contract between the borrower and lender,
the matter must, when it is in order for hearing, be transferred by the county registrar to
the judge’s list at the first opportunity. The courts are independent, which is an important
point to make. Following the transfer, it will be a matter for the judge to consider any
issues raised, including, if applicable, issues in relation to the EU directive on unfair terms
in consumer contracts, which was given effect in Ireland by way of regulations in 1995.
The directive and regulations are matters for the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and
Innovation and it is understood that the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission
has supervisory powers to ensure compliance with them.
Deputy Róisín Shortall:The Tánaiste is compounding the error now.
————–

Cashel, Co Tipp, Woman to Loose Home Despite

Making All Efforts to Service Mortgage
“Personal or family hardship was also not a factor identified in the
Acts.”-Judge
JUDGE ADMITS DECISION “HARSH”-BlAMES BAD LAW
Under the acts, the court cannot override the result of a meeting of creditors when the
distressed debt secured against the family home was not distressed in one of the ways
identified by the Oireachtas, she(Judge) said.

The intention to protect a family home did not enable the court override the vote of a
creditor holding security over that property just because the property was a family home.
Personal or family hardship was also not a factor identified in the Acts.

Michael Lowry (Indepenent, Tipperary) voted with Government to defeat the Anti-Eviction
Bill in Dáil last Thursday in TIED(51 to 51) vote. Jackie Cahill (FF, Tipperary) Abstained
51 to 51 Vote on ANTI-EVICTION BILL in DAIL as
LOWRY SAVES GOVERNMENT
Michael Lowry, not a government deputy, cast the vote that saved the government. In
addition to the FF deputies who formally abstained, a further 20 deputies were missing for
the vote, including John Halligan.

Noel Grealish an Michael Healy-Rae also did not vote

FINIAN McGrath, Sean Canney, Boxer Moran, Shane Ross an Katherine Zappone voted
with government to defeat the ANTI-EVICTION BILL

——————————————————-

FARMERS TO BE EVICTED
Cromwell Returns With A licence From Grovelling
Irish Government
Hundreds of farms face repossession this year as so-called vulture funds swoop on
indebted properties, agri-finance experts have warned.Industry sources say that as many
as 200 farmers may be affected by the sale of a €2.5bn Ulster Bank loan portfolio to US
vulture fund Cerberus last October. Hundreds more could also come under pressure if the
anticipated sale of other Irish mortgage portfolios to global funds goes ahead.

NEVIN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH

INSTITUTE FUNDED BY TRADE UNIONS NORTH
AND SOUTH HAS PUBLISHED AN IMPORTANT
DOCUMENT ON THE HOUSING CRISIS-full text
below
But what is missing from the document? Is the solution just a matter
of changing national policy and running new laws through the Dáil?
What are the obstacles to building huge numbers of social houses and
to stopping evictions. We must not dodge the over-arching issues!!!
I wish to conduct a continuing open discussion in order to answer
these questions
——————–
Housing: no surprises-NERI
Posted on January 12, 2017 by Tom Healy, Director NERI
It is now generally accepted that the Republic of Ireland has a ‘housing crisis’. Though the
causes are many and interlinked it would be astonishing to deny the obvious: not enough
houses have been built in recent times at the right price in the right places for the right
people. Result: escalating homelessness, escalating non-affordability and escalating rents.
The housing crisis is probably a good but tragic textbook case study of what economists
call ‘market failure’. In other words, markets do not deliver enough houses to meet
demand not because prices are too low but because a dominant developer-led, land-
speculative and profit dominated sector has different priorities to what society might
regard as optimal. In a different sense of the term, there has also been a ‘government
failure’. The latter is to do with conscious decisions over three decades to outsource
activity more and more to the private sector, to fail to get to grips with the price of
development land and to under-invest by huge amounts in necessary ‘social housing’. Take
a look at Chart 1 by clicking here http://bit.ly/2iKXImy
If charts and picture could tell a story this one does. It speaks for itself. Just when the
market pulled back from building too many houses (related to unwise tax policies coupled
with bad banking and light-touch regulation and low interest rates in the Eurozone) what
 did the State do? It reinforced the slump and laid the basis for a storm in terms of a
housing crisis. Put another way, this housing crisis was entirely man-made due to a
combination of market failure and ideological capture of the political space. The current
government is long on promises and short on delivery.

Preliminary estimates for 2016 indicate an output of approximately 14,800. This contrasts
with 14,602 in 2010 – two years into a severe recession. Even as recently as 2009 when
GDP was contracting significantly output was 26,402. The peak output figure was 93,419
in 2006. Within the overall total the component of local authority social housing sharply
contracted to such an extent that a total of 75 were built in the year 2015. This
corresponds to a little over 1 new house per week for the entire jurisdiction. In the first
half of 2016 a total 117 new social housing units were built by local authorities. This
compares with a total of 20 in the same period in 2015. (Data are not yet available for
social housing output in the latter half of 2016). Taking all social housing into account
including new builds by voluntary and cooperative entities the total of social housing
increased from 177 in the first half of 2015 to 237 in the first half of 2016. Clearly, the
scale of activity up until very recent times was wholly inadequate to the need and
accumulative demand following the bust of 2009 and onwards.

The solution to the housing crisis will require a number of vital policy actions carefully
planned and put in place. It appears that, at last, the Government is getting the message
and undertaking some of the necessary steps. Yet, it is striking that the approach is
characterised by three fatal flaws:

 An ideological clinging to the market as the key driver and supplier of housing need with
the State playing an entirely secondary role by way of regulatory provision, tax incentives
and modest outlays of grant assistance.
 The scale of ambition let alone delivery is wholly inadequate to the extent of need.
 A reluctance to deal with the problem with the urgency and cross Government drive to get
to the grips with this problem. Lost somewhere in ‘fiscal space’ is the bean-counting that
confuses short-term cost with long-term investment that will save the state, the market
and society much by way of hidden costs and social damage.
In the coming months, the NERI will be devoting some effort to analysing the issues and
proposing possible ways forward involving agency, funding and planning. However, in the
meantime, the housing crisis will not go away. It may very well get worse before it gets
better. In this regard one is mindful of one of the key messages of the National Economic
and Social Council (NESC) landmark report on Housing Supply and Land: Driving public
action for the common good (July, 2015):
The public system should use its authority, capacities and resources to take the lead on
the resumption of housing supply.
Indeed.

————————
Deprivation of shelter, carried on for months and
years, is not mischance, it is policy.
Gene Kerrigan Sunday Independent
“Oh, we can’t have rent control, we mustn’t interfere with the market. And there are
constitutional barriers to this or that. Municipal housing, as a social policy, rather than a
charity, is unacceptable. When anyone mentions Nama they stick their fingers in their ears
and scream.

When Home Sweet Home occupied Apollo House it wasn’t charity that the artists and
activists, small businesses and thousands of volunteers brought: it was solidarity. It said
this is simply not acceptable.

No ideology, no reverence for property rights, justify this as a policy – and it is clearly a
policy. Deprivation of shelter, carried on for months and years, is not mischance, it is
policy.

William Whittle, a former FG local government candidate, did not insult them with false
good-fellowship.
He said of Apollo House: “Cut all services off, freeze them out of it.”

William Whittle is an honest man. He said what he thought. He didn’t hide behind the old
oh-our-hands-are-tied bulls**t.

The thousands of homeless are collateral damage, debris cast aside in building the
monument to gambling that FG/FF have created.

EVICTIONS-FROM YESTERDAY GOVERNMENT

GIVES GIVES NEW HELP TO BANKS AND
VULTURES TO EVICT FAMILIES QUICKLY
UNTIL YESTERDAY PROPERTY DEBTS of OVER
75,000 Euro had to be Taken to the High Court-
involving a two year delay
BUT NOW DEBTS OF UP TO 3 million Euro can be dealt with in the
Circuit Court.
Seamus Healy TD sought to prevent this by tabling an amendment to
the Courts Bill but this was voted down by FG, INDEPENDENT
ALLIANCE, Labour with FF abstaining
Amendment 29(c) to Courts Bill: “in view of the housing emergency declared here, the
power of any Minister of Government to raise the market value threshold of €75,000 for
single or multiple dwellings for consideration of possession of dwellings cases by the Circuit
Court by activating or commencing sections of existing Acts without approval by a vote of
Dáil Éireann, is cancelled.”-Seamus Healy TD
The Dáil divided:For the Amendment Tá, 34; Staon(Formal Abstention), 24; Níl, 59.
Missing from Vote 40
(Nil) Against The Amendment : LABOUR PARTY, INDEPENDENT ALLIANCE (Including Finian
McGrath), Green Party, Rural Independent Michael Fitmaurice, Indepenent Michael Lowry,
Fine Gael Party
Tá(For The Amendment)) : Independent Seamus Healy,Rural Independent Michael Collins,
Sinn Féin,AAA, PBP,Independents 4 Change, Social Democrats,
Formal Abstention, Fianna Fail Party
Missing : Rural Independent Mattie McGrath,Independent Dr Harty, D Healy Rae,
M Healy Rae, John Halligan (Independent alliance),Some FF and FG Deputies also missing

From The Hub-Galway 13/01/2017

New market value threshold of €3m takes effect in Circuit Court property cases

A market value threshold of €3 million for Circuit Court jurisdiction in property-related

cases took effect from yesterday.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald (pictured) signed commencement orders to bring into
operation section 2 of the Courts Act 2016 and a number of sections of the Civil Liability
and Courts Act 2004.

…
The jurisdiction of the Circuit Court in proceedings under the Civil Partnership and Certain
Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 will now be on the basis of a market value
of €3 million rather than the property’s rateable valuation.

Where the market value of the property exceeds €3 million, then the High Court will have
jurisdiction (unless the parties agree otherwise).

Apollo House-Judge Refuses Extension

He said the issue before the court involves the right to ownership of private property.
“If this had been allowed to drag on it could be interpreted that the attitude of the courts
was to facilitate people to occupy other properties and that the court would take a
benevolent view, that would lead to an intolerable situation in a democratic state so I am
not going to get involved in an argument as to whether or not Dublin City Council have
provided suitable accommodation.”

If the Amendment to the Residential Tenancies Bill proposed by Seamus Healy TD had
been passed the common good would have prevailed over the right to private property.

But it was voted down by the Government supported by the Labour Party as Fianna Fail
abstained

Deputy Seamus Healy: I move amendment No. 53:

In page 38, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following:

“29. Dáil Éireann formally declares that a housing emergency exists in the State and while
this emergency continues the right of any person to remain in the dwelling in which the
person currently resides will take precedence over any property right of any other
person—
(a) accordingly no court or other authority shall order the removal of the current occupant
of a dwelling, or by its decisions enable such removal notwithstanding the provisions of
any Act currently in force including the provisions of the Land and Conveyancing Law
Reform Act 2013,

(b) the housing emergency declared in this section can only be terminated by a vote of
Dáil Éireann, and the Government, including any Minister of the Government, are
precluded from annulling the housing emergency without approval in such a vote,

(c) in view of the housing emergency declared here, the power of any Minister of
Government to raise the market value threshold of €75,000 for single or multiple dwellings
for consideration of possession of dwellings cases by the Circuit Court by activating or
commencing sections of existing Acts without approval by a vote of Dáil Éireann, is
cancelled.”.

Failed Dependence on the Market To Provide Social

Housing Cannot Be Reversed Without Breaching
The EU FISCAL TREATY on borrowing or Taxing
the HUGE ASSETS AND INCOMES OF THE Irish
Super-Rich
From the 1980s,As Byrne and Norris(Geary Institute UCD-link below) explain, “the delivery
of social housing through market mechanisms and the state subsidization of the private
rental sector” largely substituted for the state’s own provision of social housing, with the
additional disadvantage of its adding “further fuel to the property market furnace”.

But, more fundamentally, it is important to reassert housing as a human right and a public
good, built where necessary by the state and allocated on the basis of social need.Dr Andy
Storey (UCD)-Dublin Inquirer Jan 10, 2017

Andy Storey: It Worked When Local Authorities

Could Borrow to Build Housing
Andy StoreyJanuary 10, 2017

In April of last year, it was announced that more than 11,000 tenants of Dublin City
Council were to be allowed to buy their homes at a price discount of up to 60 percent of
the market value.
Good luck to the tenant purchasers themselves, but the housing organisation
Clúid criticizedthe move as tantamount to “selling off the family silver at a knock-down
price”.
My UCD colleague Mick Byrne makes the point that, given the long history of such
schemes, “A large part of investment in social housing in this country is thus actually an
investment in subsidised home ownership.”
http://www.ucd.ie/geary/static/publications/workingpapers/gearywp201615.pdf
In 2015, the then Minister for Housing, Alan Kelly, claimed that such tenant purchase
schemes were useful because not only did tenants benefit, but local councils gained
resources that could be used for new social housing, though there is no guarantee local
authorities will use the funds for housing.
Clúid has pointed out that even if all the money raised did go to new social housing,
because of the discounts on offer, councils may not recoup enough money to replace the
public housing being sold off.
As an important new paper by Byrne and another UCD colleague, Michelle Norris, makes
clear, this particular issue forms part of a wider and deeper pattern of change in how social
housing is (or is not) supplied by the Irish state.
The crux of that change is the switch from public provision of public housing –
commonplace for most of twentieth-century Ireland – to a deeply problematic reliance on
market provision.

From the 1930s to the 1950s, 52 to 65 percent of all Irish housing output was accounted
for by local authorities, and by not-for-profit housing associations, usually borrowing the
money to build the homes and then using the rents to repay the debts. By 1961, over 18
percent of Irish households lived as tenants in social housing.

As well as providing people with houses, this activity also constituted state-led stimulation
of the economy, with many of the tradespeople directly employed by the public sector. In
particular, social housing acted as a compensating factor (what economists call a counter-
cyclical force) during times of economic downturn, such as during the emigration-blighted
1950s, when investment in the construction of public housing rose sharply.

A crucial turning point came in 1987, when it was decided that the funding of social
housing would only come from grants from central government, meaning that local
authorities could no longer borrow on their own initiative. This meant that when overall
government spending came under pressure, spending on social housing would likely suffer
also.

Government funding for the provision of new social housing duly fell by 88 percent
between 2008 and 2014, and the output of dwellings by 91 percent. With private-sector
house building nosediving at the same time, the policy had now become disastrously pro-
cyclical rather than counter-cyclical.
The overly close correlation between public- and private-sector provision had been
compounded by other factors. One was the introduction of rent supplement, allowing, in
theory, low-income households greater access to the private rental market, though the
later abolition of rent controls worked against that.

Meanwhile, existing social housing was almost continuously being sold off to tenants, long
predating Alan Kelly’s initiatives, as Conor McCabe has documented.
But the most important change from the late 1980s onwards was that, rather than build
houses themselves from scratch, the state was increasingly asking private developers to
include social housing in their plans.
Or it was asking some of those same developers to rebuild social housing in parts of
Dublin as one element in public-private partnerships that, dodgy as they were to begin
with, would bite the dust when the crash came.
As Byrne and Norris explain, “the delivery of social housing through market mechanisms
and the state subsidization of the private rental sector” largely substituted for the state’s
own provision of social housing, with the additional disadvantage of its adding “further fuel
to the property market furnace”.

As the available supply of private rented accommodation is now limited, and as rents have
soared in Dublin in particular in recent years, the stage has been set for the current crisis
of unaffordable housing and homelessness.

Immediate measures to solve this crisis should include bringing into use
currently vacantproperties – as with the Home Sweet Home initiative vis-à-vis Nama’s
Apollo House. A punitive and timely tax on unused private properties would be an
important policy instrument here also.
But, more fundamentally, it is important to reassert housing as a human right and a public
good, built where necessary by the state and allocated on the basis of social need.

If you want to get involved in campaigns along those lines, then check out
the group Housing Action Now. And happy new year to you all!

——————
NO PROSECUTION OF BANKERS THOUGH 15,000
People Defrauded in Tracker Scandal Leading to
100 Families Losing their Homes
Why Have The Garda Fraud Squad Not Been Called In To
Investigate?
Fintan O’Toole, Irish Times 03/01/2017: “We know that at least 15,000 people were
deceived by bankers, and that they suffered considerable loss as a result. About 100
families lost their homes.

Over the lifetime of these mortgages the amount involved in this attempted bank heist
was at least €500 million.

Yet in the six years since the Central Bank discovered this systematic deception we have
no evidence of the Central Bank calling in the Garda to investigate what seems, on the
face of it, to be multiple and organised crimes.

Legal consequences
Who devised this system-wide scheme? Lane (Governor of Central
Bank and Professor at Trinity College) thinks it a coincidence that
all the banks did the same thing.
“I am pretty sure they know that the legal consequences of cartel-like behaviour would be
devastating for them. I see no evidence of that kind of cartel-like behaviour.”

How does he know that when there has been no criminal investigation?

Who issued the instructions? Who ordered staff to keep schtum when customers were
crying on the phone? And will any of these people be prosecuted?

Lane told the committee that it must wait and see what enforcement action will be taken
against individuals in the banks.

But we’ve waited at least six years and seen nothing.

And there are words we have not read or heard: law, crime, police. Until we do it is hard
to believe that the culture that led to the crash has not survived its consequences.”

———————————–
“Something the Government could do is change the procedures in
the courts to put a brake on the number of families they are
pumping into homelessness.”–Edmund Honahan, Master of the
High Court
Master of the High Court condemns house
repossessions
Edmund Honohan criticised the Government for
failing to properly protect people facing
repossession and said it was instead allowing the
courts to “pump people into homelessness”
Kitty Holland, Irish Times Monday, January 2, 2017, 01:00

Thousands of orders granted in the Circuit Court to repossess homes may be open to
challenge because these courts are not applying EU law, the Master of the High Court has
said.

Edmund Honohan criticised the Government for failing to properly protect people facing
repossession and said it was instead allowing the courts to “pump people into
homelessness”.

“There is a lack of joined up thinking and a huge amount of ignorance,” he told The Irish
Times.
Circuit courts “up and down the country” were failing in their role as “agents” of the EU as
current procedures did not ensure application of EU consumer legislation, he said, adding
that this was the “fault of the Irish State”.

He said county registrars – who grant the majority of repossession orders in the circuit
courts – “should not be dealing with these cases at all”, as they had neither the legal
training nor the legal discretion to apply EU law.

“The rules and procedures of the Circuit Court need to be updated to allow for a hearing
with regard EU legislation on unfair contract terms . . . in every possession case . . .EU law
is not an optional extra.”

In particular the 1993 EU directive on unfair contract terms in consumer contracts was not
being properly applied. This failure, according to the European Court of Justice, breached
consumers’ rights.

Legal discretion
In its 2013 ruling on the Aziz case – which had been referred to it by the Spanish courts –
the ECJ, said: “…the national court is required to assess of its own motion whether a
contractual term falling within the scope of the directive is unfair, compensating in its own
way for the imbalance which exists between the consumer or the seller or supplier.”

The Circuit Court should be taking the initiative to assess whether mortgage contracts
were fair before making possession orders, he said, noting that only a judge had the legal
discretion to do this.

“So we have a county registrar sitting in wherever… and she is now an agent of the EU.
She is obliged, of her own motion i.e. without the defendant present, to look at the
mortgage contract and see if it’s fair. Does she have the skills to do that? No. Is there any
case law to help her? No. Does she have any idea what she is doing? No. So what is
happening is she sees there is no defendant in court and makes the order.”

The legality of a possession order was “often touch and go..It is not as clear-cut as county
registrars think they are”.

“Something the Government could do is change the procedures in the courts to put a
brake on the number of families they are pumping into homelessness.”

© 2017 irishtimes.com

————-
Queues for food parcels ‘absolutely disgraceful’
Capuchin Brother Kevin Crowley urged the Government to do
something to help those who are struggling and to get the
homeless off the streets for good rather than just for Christmas.
Irish Times Friday, December 23, 2016, 10:13
A man who helped to distribute more than 3,000 Christmas food parcels to people in
Dublin on Thursday has warned that the city’s poorest are going to get poorer.

Capuchin Brother Kevin Crowley urged the Government to do something to help those who
are struggling and to get the homeless off the streets for good rather than just for
Christmas.

He was speaking after thousands of people queued for hours at the Capuchin Centre on
Bow Street to collect Christmas food parcels. The food parcels contain basic necessities
along with some extras such as sweets for Christmas.

“It is absolutely disgraceful that in 2016 we are still having people queuing for food, that
was to be expected in 1916,” Brother Crowley told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.

“It is appalling to see families come here for a food parcel and then go back to a hotel.”

He said a child had asked him if Santa would know where he was for Christmas because he
and his family were living in a hotel.

Brother Crowley added that the annual running costs for the Capuchin Centre which
provides food parcels ever Wednesday were €3.3million with €450,000 of this coming from
the Government.

He said he admired what activists from the Home Sweet Home group, who took charge of
the vacant Apollo House office building in Dublin 2 with a view to offering accommodation
to the homeless, were doing.

The High Court ruled on Wednesday that the building could continue operating as a
homeless shelter until noon on January 11th, as long as there was no more than 40 people
staying there each night and the receivers, Mazars, could access the building.

“It is getting worse because people are living in poorer conditions and are finding it more
and more difficult to make ends meet…The situation is going to get worse. The poorest will
get poorer,” Brother Kevin added.

Each person who queued for a parcel on Thursday had a ticket entitling them to two blue
plastic bags of food – one of non-perishables including tea, sugar, cereals, tinned fish,
tinned beans, custard, chocolates and biscuits, and one of such perishables as milk,
cheese, a chicken and butter.

GOVERNMENT DEFEATS Amendment Calling For

Formal Declaration of a Housing Emergency
Dáil Éireann formally declares that a housing emergency exists in the State and while this
emergency continues the right of any person to remain in the dwelling in which the person
currently resides will take precedence over any property right of any other person—

(a) accordingly no court or other authority shall order the removal of the current occupant
of a dwelling, or by its decisions enable such removal notwithstanding the provisions of
any Act currently in force including the provisions of the Land and Conveyancing Law
Reform Act 2013,

(b) the housing emergency declared in this section can only be terminated by a vote of
Dáil Éireann, and the Government, including any Minister of the Government, are
precluded from annulling the housing emergency without approval in such a vote,

(c) in view of the housing emergency declared here, the power of any Minister of
Government to raise the market value threshold of €75,000 for single or multiple dwellings
for consideration of possession of dwellings cases by the Circuit Court by activating or
commencing sections of existing Acts without approval by a vote of Dáil Éireann, is
cancelled.”.

I will speak particularly to amendments Nos. 53 and 80. The former concerns the
declaration of a housing emergency; the latter is the Focus Ireland amendment regarding
buy-to-let properties and the eviction of tenants on the sale of such properties.
The Government proposals in the Bill will mean that tenants in buy-to-let properties being
sold by landlords will have to leave the property if the landlord can get at least 20% more
in the sale price with vacant possession than with continuing tenants. At a time of a huge
lack of housing, it is lawful under the Bill to evict a tenant in order that the landlord can
secure 20% extra on a sale, which is outrageous. It is cruel and anti-human. Focus Ireland
tells us that a third of homeless people have had to leave buy-to-let properties on the sale
of those properties. Children in these cases must go to a hotel, temporary accommodation,
hostel accommodation or other unsuitable accommodation in order that a landlord can
make more money from a sale. This situation is dealt with in other jurisdictions to the
effect that on the sale of a property by a landlord, the tenancy continues. We simply must
ensure that such a measure is adopted here and that tenants are treated reasonably, fairly
and respectfully and that they are not thrown out on the road when buy-to-let landlords
sell properties. There are already 2,500 children and 6,800 adults who are homeless. We
are adding to these figures and we simply must stop that.

This is all in the context of the Government itself evicting householders and families
through the banks it owns, namely, AIB, PTSB and EBS. In response to a question asked
at a recent Oireachtas finance committee meeting, a representative of AIB said 2,879
court hearings relating to owner-occupied mortgage debt were in progress at the end of
June of this year and 767 orders for possession had been granted. This has been widely
reported in the press and was dealt with at the committee. We own Allied Irish Banks. The
Minister can instruct the bank not to continue with repossessions. Such repossessions are
adding to our housing crisis and emergency.

This year is the 100th anniversary of 1916. The first Dáil in 1919 proclaimed:

We declare in the words of the Irish Republican Proclamation the right of the people of
Ireland to the ownership of Ireland, and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies to be
indefeasible, and in the language of our first President. Pádraíg Mac Phiarais, we declare
that the Nation’s sovereignty extends not only to all men and women of the Nation, but to
all its material possessions, the Nation’s soil and all its resources, all the wealth and all the
wealth-producing processes within the Nation, and with him we reaffirm that all right to
private property must be subordinated to the public right and welfare.
The 1916 Proclamation reads, “We declare the right of the people of Ireland to the
ownership of Ireland and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies, to be sovereign and
indefeasible.”

We have an absolute housing emergency. The Minister has acknowledged this on

numerous occasions. However, he and his Government refuse to have such an emergency
declared in Dáil Éireann. They are prepared to declare a financial emergency and have
done so and extended that emergency in June to ensure cuts to the pay and pensions of
public service workers but they refuse to declare an emergency to ensure that families
have roofs over their heads, that evictions are stopped and that we have rent certainty
and security of tenure. Unfortunately, not alone will the Bill before us not help the
situation, but it will make matters worse. It is a pretence. As I said earlier, tenants can be
removed from buy-to-let properties in the circumstances I have outlined. We need to stop
this. We need to support the Focus Ireland amendment to ensure that tenants, on the sale
of these buy-to-let properties by landlords, remain in their properties and that we do not
add to the already very difficult and traumatic situation faced by families and children.
The declaration of a housing emergency by this Dáil is absolutely
necessary to ensure we can deal with the housing emergency and
to ensure the right to a roof over one’s head takes priority over
private property. Everything else in the Bill and the many other
suggestions, such as the rent strategy, are all very fine but they do
not deal fundamentally with the problem we have. The declaration
of a housing emergency is required to stop, as I said, the evictions,
to ensure rent certainty and rent control and to build local
authority houses.
This Government and previous Governments have refused to build local authority houses
since about 2002. They privatised the local authority housing. Local authorities have not
been allowed to build houses since about 2002. I think 75 houses were built last year. In
the 1970s, we built up to 10,000 local authority houses every year. We simply must get
back to this level of building because there are huge numbers of families out there who will
never be able to buy their own home. Because of the manner in which families now get on
local authority lists – or maybe do not – a very significant section of the population neither
qualifies for a loan or a mortgage nor to get on the local authority list. They are caught in
the middle with absolutely no support whatever. They cannot rub two euro together. They
exist, unfortunately, from hand to mouth. I meet them every day of the week, as I am
sure many, if not all, Deputies meet similar people. They are caught in a situation in which
they neither have a mortgage nor are they on a local authority housing list. The income
limit for local authority housing lists has been slashed, as has the number of local authority
mortgages and bank mortgages given out to people who are effectively working but who
are the working poor. These people find themselves paying astronomical and extortionate
rents in many cases. I came across a case recently in which a landlord had increased the
rent from €560 per month to €750 per month, and that is not the only case. Rents are
simply unaffordable for everybody, but particularly for this category of people who do not
even qualify for the HAP scheme, as bad as the HAP scheme is.
Deputy Thomas P. Broughan: support Deputies Healy and Jan
O’Sullivan on these amendments. When I discussed housing with
the Minister before this Government was formed, I made the point
that strong action would be required at an early stage. I referred
specifically to the declaration of an emergency in this area.
I am sure the Ceann Comhairle recalls all the Tuesday nights and weekend nights like this
when we discussed the financial and banking emergencies. The then Government was
prepared to introduce emergency measures in that area. After nine months in office,
however, this Government is still not prepared to take the fundamental steps that are
necessary in the housing area, as outlined in the amendments before the House. I think
that is regrettable. I believe the electorate will punish the Government severely for this in
due course.

Deputy Catherine Connolly TD and Barrister:

Catherine Connolly: “I agree with Deputy Seamus Healy on the need for the
Government to declare a national emergency. He has asked for it as have I and
other Dáil colleagues. Although there is a national housing emergency, the
Government has not declared it.”
VOTE ON CALL FOR DEClaration of Housing Emergency

Amendment put:

The Dáil divided: Tá, 34; Staon, 24; Níl, 59.

Dublin Homeless Charity hits out at ‘foolish’ reappointment of Housing Agency Head
Ministers Finian McGrath and John Halligan have Allowed Government to Reappoint Conor Skehan
as Chair of The National Housing Agency. http://wp.me/pKzXa-wc Recently he accused homeless
people of "gaming the system" to jump the housing queue
Mr Skehan had previously said Ireland’s housing crisis was “completely normal” and that its level of
homelessness is one of the lowest in Europe.!!
Dublin Homeless Charity hits out at ‘foolish’ reappointment of Housing Agency Head Irish
Examiner, January 06, Full Article Now at Link in Post above
"The head of a homeless charity, CEO of Inner City Helping Homeless, Anthony Flynn, has
criticised the Government’s decision to reappoint the Chair of the Housing Agency, Conor Skehan.
It comes in the wake of Conor Skehan’s remarks earlier this week, claiming some people in
emergency accommodation could be “gaming the system” to get housing."

DISAPPOINTMENT OVER CLARE’S TDS FAIURE TO ATTEND

DEMONSTRATION AT ENNIS BANKS
Clare FM 30 May, 2016
Clare’s Oireachtas representatives are being condemned for their failure to attend a
demonstration outside Ennis banks this morning.

Groups led by Midwest Right2Change launched the picket in protest at the repossession of
houses by financial institiutions, as well as the ongoing housing crisis.

As the sun shone down on Ennis town centre this morning, groups picketing the town’s
three main banks say the situation isn’t so bright for many people facing homlessneess
across the county.

Today’s protest, organised by Right2Change, began outside Ulster Bank in the Height and
from there moved on to AIB and then onto Bank of Ireland.

A small group of public representatives and locals highlighted their concerns following a
recent high-profile attempted eviction in Corofin.

One of them, Anti-Austerity Campaigner Niamh O’Brien says something needs to be done
to stop banks from reposessing homes.

Protestors hit out at Clare’s Oireachtas representatives for failing to attend today.

Shannon Sinn Féin Counillor Mike Mc Kee says they need to put pressure on the
Government to deal with the housing crisis.

Limerick City TD Maurice Quinlivan, who represents part of Clare also attended today’s
protest.

The Sinn Féin representative is a member of the Dáil Homeless and Housing Committee
and he says an adequate Mortgage to rent scheme would help ease the crisis for some
families.

———————————-
Noonan feeds the vulnerable to the vultures
Rather than Minister Noonan giving the unfortunate mortgage defaulter a break,
he’s been fraternising with their enemy
Carol Hunt, Sunday Independent, 29/05/2016
1Support: Michael Noonan will be happy with evictions Photo: Tom Burke
The video footage is shocking. It shows a number of men, hooded, black scarves covering
their faces, attempting to gain access to a private home. To even the most trusting of
observers, they don’t look as if they can be up to any good.

Beside them, the car they allegedly drove up in – and which we will see them later drive
off in – has no insurance or tax disc displayed and the registration number is covered over
with tape. This is undoubtedly illegal.

Local men confront them, clearly agitated. Thankfully, there are gardai present and the
traffic violations are quickly pointed out to them.
Except that, as the video footage unfolds, it becomes disturbingly clear that the gardai
have no intention of noting these offences, that they are there purely to assist the hooded
men in gaining access to the house. They are on the side of what looks like the bad guys.

Welcome to a modern-day Irish eviction. (There was a doubling in the number of

properties repossessed by mortgage lenders in Ireland between 2010 and 2013, new
research has found.)

This time it fails. The heavy gang leave in their car which still lacks a visible registration
number. This time there was no paperwork which allowed them to legally enter the
property – but if members of the Anti-Eviction Taskforce had not been present to
vociferously, but peacefully, protest, yet another family would have found themselves
homeless by nightfall.

Well, that’s what happens isn’t it? When you can’t pay your debts, when you fall behind on
your mortgage, when the bank lent you money with no questions or queries beyond “how
much?” and “sure, would you not like a few thousand more?” But now, kiddo, it’s payback
time.

Well, for some people it is anyway. But we know a few things now that we didn’t know
back in 2007. We know, courtesy of Ajai Chopra, that the EU issued an ultimatum to
Ireland at the time of the bailout. We know that the ECB would not allow us to burn senior
bondholders. We know that we are still paying billions in interest because of this
unfortunate “mistake”.

We know this week, thanks to NTMA chief executive Conor O’Kelly, that every worker in
the country pays an extra €3,400 in tax every year compared with just €900 in 2007. We
know we were taken for a ride by banks, the bondholders, and the head honchos in Europe
– as well as our own crowd. And we know, as O’Kelly said, that our State debt pile of
€207bn, €102,000 per employee, is “easily the highest in Europe, by a mile”. To be clear
he added: “It’s one of the highest ratios in the world.”

Which may explain why so many people are finding it so difficult to service 2007
mortgages with 2016 wages (that’s if they’re still lucky enough to be working).

Half the bloody economy is going into a black hole of debt repayments. The average Irish
worker took the hit for all those bondholders and bankers who were allowed play financial
roulette with no consequences to themselves if they lost everything.

You’d think the Government would feel a little bit sheepish about that now, wouldn’t you?
You’d presume that they would go a bit easy on Joe and Josephine Soap who were
unfortunate enough to need a mortgage when prices were beyond the moon and the banks
were happy to feed the insanity? And you’d certainly think that, in light of our enormous
State debt (remember, “the highest in Europe, by a mile”!) Michael Noonan would still be
in the market for a bit of debt forgiveness from the EU or IMF.

You’d think, maybe they’d listen to people – like those in the Anti-Eviction Taskforce, The
Phoenix Project, Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation, The Hub and all those other groups
working at the coalface of people who are in despair at the prospect of losing their homes,
and maybe ask the banks to share a bit of the risk, the cost, the fallout?

But no, seemingly everything is going swimmingly in Noonan Land, because earlier this
month he said we didn’t need any deals on debt, because we’re in a “pretty good place
now”.

Which will come as news to the hundreds of thousands of people in the country in
mortgage distress – particularly if their mortgages have been sold on to vulture funds at
cheap prices not offered to them – terrified to answer their doors in case it’s the bailiff with
a crowd of hooded men and a few gardai backing them up.

It will also come as news to people like Fr Peter McVerry, whose Trust last Friday appealed
to the Government to do more for people at risk of becoming homeless and particularly
the dangers that the vulture funds bring with them.

Michael Noonan is a fan, seemingly. Of vulture funds. I know, that’s hard to believe, but
then some people have hard necks. They can afford to.
Fine Gael TD Catherine Byrne got terribly upset when David Hall, of Irish Mortgage Holders
Organisation (IMHO), called Mr Noonan a “vulture [fund] lover” at an Oireachtas Housing
and Homelessness committee meeting recently.

After a “face-to-face” meeting with the minister, Hall said: “He was very clear about his
love for vultures. We had a very robust exchange in relation to it … the self-confessed
predators. They circulate for five years, they suck an asset dry and they move on.”

Last week Ulster Bank announced that it would be selling over 2,900 of its customers’
mortgages to “vulture funds”.

Of those, 900 are family homes, the others, one presumes, are rental properties. (Most
evictions in Ireland actually arise when people can’t pay escalating rents, as opposed to
mortgages.)

According to the recent report by the Debt and Development Coalition Ireland (DDCI) our
Government “wholeheartedly embraced vulture funds”, which pretty much tells you
everything you need to know about their attitude to Joe or Josephine mortgage problems.
Or families like my friend Danielle’s, who have just been given a few months to leave the
home they have rented for 10 years.

Their landlord is sorry, but the mortgage has been sold on to vulture funds and all he can
do is commiserate and say that they were exemplary tenants.

Like many other families in similar situations, they haven’t a hope of finding affordable
accommodation near their jobs and children’s schools.

An EU-wide report headed up by NUIG academic Padraig McKenna also found that “there
were relatively high numbers of evictions (including illegal evictions) in the [Irish] private
rented sector”. According to the DDCI report, “the arrival of vulture funds means an
increased likelihood of people being evicted from their homes”.

Well, “duh” as my kids would say; it shouldn’t take an academic report to deduce that.

The people evicted will probably end up in hotels at the State’s expense – but hey, the
vulture funds and Minister Noonan is happy – so that’s all right so.

Groups like the Anti-Eviction Taskforce look set to have their work cut out for them in the
immediate future.

Welcome to the “new politics”, and old-style land repossessions.

———————————————–
KEN SMOLLEN, THE HUB IRELAND BRIEF DEPUTIES AND
SENATORS AT LEINSTER HOUSE AT INVITATION OF SEAMUS
HEALY TD
CALL FOR STOP TO EVICTION PROCEEDINGS IN COURT, FORMAL
DECLARATION OF NATIONAL HOUSING EMERGENCY BY DAIL
REPORT ON BRIEFING BY KEN SMOLLEN 18/05/2016

This evening is probably not a good time to write a report on today’s meeting with TD’s,
Senators and their representatives in Leinster House as I usually need a day to fully
analyse any event or meeting.
However, it was an absolute pleasure to meet what I would describe as three very like-
minded people, namely Byron, Adrienne and Martina in The Hub office in Dublin before
heading off to Leinster House. Adrienne had the job of looking after callers to The Hub
while Byron, Martina and I went to the meeting where we first met Seamus Healy TD and
his brother Paddy. We had a cup of coffee in the café there while discussing the approach
we would be making when presenting our case on behalf of thousands of people who find
that they are the totally innocent victims of the bailed out banks who want to ‘legally’ steal
their family homes!
There were approx. 20 TD’s present at different stages during our presentation including
the following – Sean Crowe, Eugene Murphy, Pat Buckley, Thomas Pringle, Dara Calleary,
Martin Ferris, Sean Fleming, Carol Nolan, Ann Rabbitte, Eoin O’Broin and others.
Represented were Richard Boyd Barrett and Joan Collins. Needless to say no
representative from either Fine Gael or the Labour Party was there. It surprised me that
not one representative of the Independent Alliance made the effort either as all TD’s were
invited there by Seamus Healy TD and by myself.

I began the presentation by describing to those present what actually happens in the
Eviction Courts and how people are being treated in a shameful way in particular by
County Registrars. I described the intimidating atmosphere in these places and the
absolute horror, despair and desperation that I see on a regular basis in these awful
places. I also informed them that during the month of May alone there are well over 2,000
Eviction cases listed in the courts throughout the country and with an average of 3 or 4
members of each household it would be the equivalent of the population of a large town
being hauled before the Eviction courts – and that’s just this month alone. I also
impressed on them that not only are there approx. 100,000 families in mortgage distress
but that there could be a further 200,000 families going without some of the basic
necessities just to pay their mortgages and that many of these people were also slipping
into mortgage distress. Again I said that with an average of 3 to 4 people per household
we are looking at over ONE MILLION people in Ireland being in this awful situation with no
resolution in sight.

I then explained how the banks were refusing to engage with many mortgage holders in
any way even though the banks claim that it’s the other way around. I also said to them
that the Government must FORCE the banks to engage fairly with mortgage holders and
that a fair and sustainable solution must be found for ALL mortgage holders before there
would be any recovery for the people of Ireland.

Martina then spoke about and gave an excellent presentation on the Land & Conveyancing
(Law Reform) Act of 2013 [The EVICTION Act] and explained how it must be repealed as it
gives the bailed out banks easier access to repossessing family homes.

Byron then gave an exception explanation of how The Hub-Ireland is helping families every
day for FREE and also urged those present the need for an urgent solution to this
desperate crisis.

The politicians who were present then made their own contributions with all of them
agreeing that a real recovery for the people of Ireland could only take place once the
people of Ireland were treated fairly by the banks. They were all in agreement that they
must act in the best interests of the people that they represent.

Our next step with the help of Seamus Healy is to gain an invitation to make a submission
to the housing committee where we can again impress on them the necessity for two
things – 1) The urgent need for a STOP to be put on EVICTION Court proceedings in the
courts while the banks are forced to find a fair and sustainable solution for all mortgage
holders and 2) To have an official EMERGENCY declared in relation to this crisis. Such a
declaration would put a stop to Michael Noonan’s nonsense about the Government being
unable to interfere in private property transactions.

All in all it was a very good day and I’m sure that by keeping the pressure on these people
we can achieve real change for the better, not only keeping families in their homes but in
the process, saving many lives.

I was not expecting to see Fine Gael’s representative from Offaly there as she was one of
those who unashamedly voted YES for the Eviction Bill and because there weren’t any
photo opportunities for her to take advantage of. I am however extremely disappointed
with the non-appearance of the Fianna Fail TD for Offaly. When the meeting was over he
walked as we were talking outside the meeting room, he looked and grinned, as much as
to say – Who let those peasants into this important place.

Finally, I would like to thank Paddy Healy and his brother Seamus for arranging this first
meeting and I have absolutely no doubt that we will now gain the support of other TD’s in
our justified fight for fairness for thousands of our people. With the help of these good
men we certainly hope to receive an invitation to make a submission to the housing
committee.
KEEP SUNDAY 19th JUNE FREE – 1.30pm in the Killeshin Hotel, Portlaoise – EVERYONE
WELCOME!
Thanks everyone,

Ken

Claire Byrne Live on Housing and Homelessness

http://www.rte.ie/…/sh…/claire-byrne-live-
30003252/10576915/
Listen to First 30 minutes on Housing and Homelessness
————————————————————

Housing is national emergency says Simon

Coveney, Minister for Housing
Why does he not formally lay a certificate to this effect before the Dáil?
Because then there would be no constitutional prohibition to stopping evictions and
compusorily purchasing the property of vulture capitalists in order to ease the housing
crisis

———————————————-

Why Can’t State Just Borrow 10 billion at very low interest rates to
begin Building 50,000 publicly owned houses immediately as
advocated by David McWilliams Below? He claims the loan would
be self-financing at much lower than current rents!
ANSWER? HINT -Read the provisions of the Fiscal Treaty!

David McWilliams IRISH INDEPENDENT 11/05/2016

Easy for the State to Build 50,000 houses ??

Let’s examine how the State could involve itself in financing a housing trust using the
international financial markets to massively reduce housing costs in Ireland.

Currently, the markets will finance any good opportunity. When interest rates are zero, the
obvious thing to do is borrow for infrastructural projects and housing is the most
significant infrastructural development that one can think of right now.

Let’s look at the numbers.

Builders will tell you that building costs are around €120/130 a square foot. For a large
scheme, this could be lower and could move towards €100.

Now let’s say that the average unit in Dublin or any urban centre in Ireland is 1,400
square feet. This means that the average building cost of a house/apartment of this size is
€140,000. Add to this VAT of 13.5pc and we get €158,200.

Now on top of this there are professional fees for architects and surveyors and the like.
These could be 12pc of the contract price plus 23pc VAT. So this is close to €19,000 on top
of this price, bringing the €140,000 initial cost, up with all the fees and taxes to around
€166,000.

Then on top of this are development levies which are the costs per unit that are added by
the council to pay for new roads, water pipes and sewage. These are typically €9,000 per
unit. So we are now up to €175,000 per unit.

Now we have the cost of the build with all the charges and taxes before we talk about site
cost.

In 2011, Dublin probably had enough houses to deal with the population. However, there
should have been 60,000 built since to keep up with population growth but only 8,000
have been built, so we have a shortfall of around 50,000 for the sake of argument.

Imagine the State was to build or fund the build of 50,000 houses. At €175,000 each, this
would cost €8.7bn. This is a big number but the Irish State can borrow for 10 years at 1pc,
according to Bloomberg yesterday. Therefore, the State could issue a Housing Executive
Bond, which it could sell to Irish residents who are sitting on €94bn of deposits in the Irish
banking system. Servicing this debt would cost €87m per year.

Traditionally, countries don’t pay back the principal of their national debts, they simply roll
it over.

So it would be prudent to suggest that we would do the same for this Housing Executive
Bond.

Now we have a situation where the total annual cost of 50,000 units is €87m. This means
that the annual cost per unit is €1,740. The implication is the rent that would be needed to
be charged per unit per year to pay the cost of this build, funded by a Housing Executive
Bond, is €1,740 per year. Let’s round this up to €2,000 per unit per year, to include
maintenance.

So total rental cost of a new house or apartment is not €12,000 per annum, as is the case
right now, but €2,000 per annum or €38 a week.

This is feasible. You have seen the numbers. The major cost omitted is the site cost and
this is where we come into the land issue.

At a density of 60 units per hectare, this would mean about 833 hectares of development
land, or about 2,000 acres, is needed. There are 28,000 acres in Dublin in total but just
one bank, Ulster Bank, put a portfolio of 1,850 acres of development land up for sale this
year. So the development land portfolio of just one bank could almost cover this total city
requirement! Now we are talking.

The State could simply CPO this land at cost and be done with it. You could add the
repayment cost of this land to the annual rent. This would bring up the annual cost of the
rent needed to cover everything to €3,000 per year or a quarter of present average rent
paid.

Thus, the great Irish housing crisis is solved for less than €60 per week for a family of four
in return for a new house, fixity of tenure and peace of mind!

That’s how it’s done in proper countries. The choice is ours.

Let’s join the 21st century and stop gouging each other for the basic right of a roof over
our heads.

Unlike the lads on the Magic Bus, these are the numbers, no one is smoking funny stuff,
just seeing things clearly through the haze of vested interests and inertia.

Problem solved.

———————————————–

“Organised by former garda Ken Smollen, this is

yet another meeting attended by many groups who
are at the coalface of the mortgage crisis. And a
crisis it is”
PUBLISHED08/05/2016 | 02:30 Sunday Independent
Vulture funds circle as mortgage crisis exacts its toll of suffering
Thousands of homeowners left at the mercy of the banks bear a
burden of daily fear and uncertainty, with many contemplating
suicide, and some acting on those feelings, writes Carol Hunt
‘My name is Sandy and I am in mortgage distress,” says a woman at the back of the room. She clears
her throat and continues: “It was ‘my little secret’, because I told nobody, I was too ashamed. My
friends didn’t know, my family didn’t know. I felt I had failed and I had made a huge mistake.” She
pauses, I catch her eye and then look away, embarrassed.
We’re in the Hotel Killeshin Portlaoise. There are over 300 angry, frustrated and
emotional people here – all united by a common goal of “stopping the evictions”.
Organised by former garda Ken Smollen, this is yet another meeting attended by many groups who are
at the coalface of the mortgage crisis. And a crisis it is.
According to Smollen, as well as the 100,000 mortgages currently in distress, there are another 200,000
in danger of slipping into difficulty.
Plus, there are many small businesses and farms on the brink of insolvency. Extrapolate that to include
families and that is over a million people affected, he says.
These are not accidental landlords or developers rescued by Nama. These are people who cannot pay
back Celtic Tiger-size mortgages in a post-crash economy. Consequently, they are faced with eviction
by their banks and, increasingly, by vulture funds.
They are ordinary people, most of whom have never asked for anything or fallen into debt before and
they are shocked and sickened at the sudden realisation that they may find themselves homeless.
These are the people for whom debt is seen as a sacred obligation, a moral duty.
If they don’t pay what they owe, the economy as we know it will collapse and moral hazard will ensue.
Or so we are told.
So why isn’t mortgage debt front-page news? Why isn’t it an issue garnering the same attention as
those damned water charges? Shame, is the simple answer. People are – sometimes quite literally –
dying of shame at the thought that their friends and neighbours will find out their dirty little secret.
Sandy wasn’t given the option of choosing to get her problem off her chest by sharing it with others in
the same situation. She didn’t decide that she was going to be brave and f**k the begrudgers.
She had been ‘outed’ by her local newspaper, who put details of her indebtedness on the front page.
It’s obvious that the indignity and disgrace she feels still rankle.
“People will be too ashamed to come out and protest,” she insists. But there were some who disagreed
with her.
One elderly man stands up and admits: “The only wish myself and my wife have is that we can die in
our own home… Am I suicidal?” he asks us as he clings to the microphone. “Yes, I am,” he answers
bluntly. “It’s a companion of mine. Every morning I wake up and think of it.”
He looks around at the sea of emotionally distressed faces. “We need to tell our stories,” he insists.
“There are so many, many people in similar situations. We need empathy … we need a hug. We need
to work with everyone, but,” he warns with the tired voice of a man who has seen much betrayal and
hurt, “put your faith in no one.”
Ciaran Doyle explained that his mortgage was sold to vulture funds without his knowledge. Smollen
recalls how one woman said she would rather “set fire to my house and set myself alight in it” than
hand it over to the moneylenders.
Martina Doyle from The Hub Ireland (a voluntary organisation which helps people in mortgage
distress) explains how the Land and Conveyancing Reform Act 2013, which “gave clarity and comfort
to the banks”, has led to the so-called “eviction courts” and needs to be immediately repealed.
Her organisation gets phone calls of desperation “from a mother or father panic-stricken as to where
they are going to go, the single person who feels they have no rights, as they are on their own, the
elderly couple who are frightened to death of the knock at the door that will drag them out in front of
their neighbours.”
Examples are given of how the eviction courts can intimidate such vulnerable people – most of whom
are totally unused to courts of any kind.
There is a huge misconception in the public arena that “these people just don’t want to pay their
mortgages and are freeloaders”.
“Anyone who thinks that”, she says, “just needs to come to The Hub for just one day and listen to the
calls we take.”
But still these people, in despair and anguish, are told, a debt is a debt is a debt. They borrowed money
from a bank and they are therefore legally and morally bound to pay it back. Unlike say, the well-
heeled speculators who found themselves in Nama.
Earlier this month, it was revealed by Michael Noonan that Nama has written off debts totalling €1.5bn
owed by just 80 debtors to the agency.
Noonan explained that the “debt is only written off where all of the underlying assets have been
realised, there are no further assets to be realised nor any additional recourse available to Nama to
recover borrowings from the debtor”.
Which is the same situation that would apply to most of the ordinary people in unsustainable mortgage
debt that I have met up and down the country. And yet it doesn’t.
Why one rule for one group and a much harsher one for the other?
Because, bluntly, when debt is racked up by governments, corporations, banks, or by privileged
insiders, it can always be renegotiated or written off. That’s how the system works. It’s only when
debts are owed from the poor to the rich that issues such as moral hazard are introduced.
Only then does debt become a sacred obligation. It’s a way of keeping the cash/power flowing
upwards. It’s also a way of keeping people in their assigned places.
In the past, precautions were taken to protect debtors from unscrupulous lenders. Yet today it is
creditors who are protected at the expense of debtors, corporations at the expense of citizens, banks at
the expense of nations.
“There’s no political will to solve this issue,” said one man at the Killeshin Hotel last week. “Because
there are no votes in it. Unlike the water charges, people are too ashamed to protest.
He may be right. An invitation was issued to every TD and senator in Leinster House. Five attended –
none from the last government parties. “We know that people are going to die [due to debt]” he added.
Another man spoke passionately and bitterly of debt-related suicides occurring daily as he urged people
to act now before there are further deaths.
You may think this is emotionally charged exaggeration, but a recent survey by the Irish Mortgage
Holders Organisation (IMHO) found that of 488 people aged between 29-70 who are in debt
(questioned by clinical psychologist Dr Eddie Murphy), 44pc said they felt depressed all or most of the
time; 31pc have had suicidal thoughts in the past four weeks; 22pc had active plans to kill themselves
and 45pc indicated harmful levels of alcohol abuse.
Now, just think of the thousands of people in mortgage distress in this country and you can begin to
imagine the depth of human suffering in our midst.
So what can we do? This week, we heard promises about putting pressure on banks to offer
“sustainable” solutions to those in mortgage distress and there are suggestions for a new court to deal
with arrears; but, judging by the numbers at risk and the distress involved, this will not suffice.
Certainly we need people to be offered split mortgages, term extensions and long-term interest rate
reductions.
But for many families, what is needed is debt-forgiveness. And quickly. But the banks – who brought
the country to its knees through their reckless lending and were rewarded for doing so with billions of
our euro – won’t play ball.
They are so confident of their power that they are currently swindling variable-rate mortgage-holders
with high interest rates.
They are selling off homes to vulture funds at a cost not offered to the now homeless occupiers. They
are doing pretty much as they please.
The new Government is making noises about putting manners on them. But for many families in
mortgage distress, it may already be too late.
NO COMITTMENT TO STOP EVICTIONS IN FF-FG DEAL FOR
GOVERNMENT
“Protect the family home and introduce additional long term solutions for mortgage arrears
cases.”
This is so vague that it could mean nothing.

There is no comittment to declaring a housing emergency

FF-FG DEAL on Minority Government

Securing Affordable Homes and Tackling Homelessness
– Significantly increase and expedite the delivery of social housing units, remove barriers
to private housing supply and initiate an affordable housing scheme
– Retain mortgage interest relief beyond the current end date of December 2017 on a
tapered basis.
– Increase rent supplement and Housing Assistance payment (HAP) limits by up to 15%
taking account of geographic variations in market rents, and extend the roll out by local
authorities of the HAP, including the capacity to make discretionary enhanced payments.
– Protect the family home and introduce additional long term solutions for mortgage
arrears cases.
– Improve supports and services for older people to live independently in their own home,
including a provision for pension increases.
– Provide greater protection for mortgage holders, tenants and SMEs whose loans have
been transferred to non-regulated entities (‘vulture funds’).
———————————————————-

GREAT ANTI_EVICTION MEETING Took Place Saturday, April 30 IN PORT LAOISE

MEETING HAS GIVEN FG-FF 6 weeks to END EVICTIONS Listen at Links Below
Port Laoise Anti-Eviction Meeting-Proceedings Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYkC_QrkZZo
Port Laoise Anti-Eviction Meeting-Proceedings Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX_2e8dPQLw&feature=youtu.be

Arrival of Vulture funds set to fuel evictions, report

reveals
Irish Times Colm Keena

Last Updated: Tuesday, May 3, 2016, 01:00

The arrival of “vulture funds” in the Irish property market means an increased likelihood of
people being evicted from their homes, according to a report published today.

The funds that have bought into the Irish commercial and residential property market,
mostly by way of buying loans from State-owned institutions, will want to see “big yields”
on their investments, which in practice means “squeezing debtors hard”.

The report entitled, From Puerto Rico to the Dublin Docklands, Vulture Funds and Debt in
Ireland and the Global South, by the Debt and Development Coalition Ireland (DDCI), said
that while there is little research yet available on the effect of vulture fund involvement in
the European property market, research from the US indicates an increased likelihood of
people being thrown out of their homes.
DDCI is a coalition of Irish development, faith-based and solidarity groups concerned
about the effects of debt on developing countries. It is chaired by Sorley McCaughey,
advocacy and policy officer with Christian Aid. The report was written by Dr Michael Byrne
of the UCD School of Social Justice.

Distressed debt
Hedge funds or private equity funds that invest in distressed debt – vulture funds –
originally invested in sovereign debt but since the financial crisis in 2008 have moved into
buying loans linked to the property market in the US and Europe.

The Irish Government, according to the report, has “wholeheartedly embraced vulture
funds” and their entry into the Irish market could not have occurred were it not for two
major public banking institutions, the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), and
the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC).
Nama is the public entity that acted as Ireland’s bad bank for property loans issued by
Irish banks, while the IBRC, which is now in liquidation, took over the collapsed Anglo Irish
Bank and Irish Nationwide.

Locals priced out

The report says that these two institutions sold assets under time pressure and did so at
high discounts. Because the loans were sold in large “bundles” or portfolios, local investors
were priced out. The two institutions “sell big, they sell quick, and they sell cheap”,
according to the report.

“This created a context which not only favoured vulture funds, in a sense it meant that
only vulture funds had the financial fire power required to play this extremely high stakes
game.” The fact that the Irish financial system is in crisis means it was very hard or
impossible for domestic actors to obtain credit to invest in Irish real estate.

The creation of a direct link between Irish property and the international financial system,
via the vulture funds, exposes the Irish economy and society to the possibility of “sharp
shocks” caused by events very much outside the control of the Irish political or regulatory
system, according to the report.

Global vulture funds, most of them US-based, are snapping up distressed debt linked to
European property, most especially in the UK, Ireland and Spain. Global groups such
as Cerberus, Lone Star Capital, and Blackstone, are among the top investors here.

© 2016 irishtimes.com
——————————————————

Irish Times Report and Full Dail Record of Noonan Reply to

Seamus Healy TD’s Call to STOP REPOSSESSIONS Further Down
REPOSSESSIONS: NOONAN’S MASTER CLASS–Paddy Healy
SPINNING TO MISLEAD ON REPOSSESSIONS IN THE DÁIL!
It is No Joke but Tommy Cooper Strikes Again!
State Owned Banks, AIB, EBS,PERMANENT TSB, are seeking repossession of homes by
court order throughout the country.

Seamus Healy TD recently asked Minister for Finance Michael Noonan in the Dáil to
instruct these banks to desist from this.

Mr Noonan refused and stated that “In a very extreme situation, the issue is being
handled reasonably well by the banks.”

In the course of his reply Minister Noonan quoted figures from a Central Bank report which
stated that in Quarter 3(July, August, September) 207 properties were repossessed on
foot of a court order. “The idea that tens of thousands of houses are being repossessed is
just not correct” he said.

This statement is entirely deceptive though there is nothing technically incorrect in it. It is
not just that he attempts to minimise the awful trauma for 207 families which are losing
their homes. A key tactic of the “spinner to deceive” is the omission of key information.

Noonan’s 207 court orders for repossession are for 1 month only!!! Circuit courts
do not sit in August and September. Hence the “Quarter 3” figures are for the
month of July only!

The full information provided by the Courts Service and reported by Kitty Holland in the
Irish Times Last November is: ” Of the 1,088 court orders for repossession made in the
three quarters of 2015 up to September 30, 758 were for primary homes, 131 were for
buy-to-lets and 199 were for “other” dwellings”. “-Irish Times
Courts Service: Repossession Orders in Circuit Courts 2015
Q1 314, Q2 586, Q3 188

There was a huge increase in possessions in the April to June period. Mr Noonan omits this
information, and picks the figure for Q3 which he then implies is typical though it contains
one month( July) figures only! The reason the Central Bank figure for Q3 (207) is slightly
above the Courts Service figure (188) may be that the Central Bank figure contains High
Court orders in addition to the Circuit Court orders supplied by the Courts Service.

In time honoured fashion “Spinner Noonan”, to cover his tracks claims that it is others who
are misrepresenting the situation! The idea that tens of thousands of houses are being
repossessed is just not correct” he said. Additionally, this allows him to suggest that the
repossession problem is really minimal and not nearly as bad as is being represented.

No journalist or serious person has spoken about “tens of thousands” of repossessions.

1,088 orders in the first 3 quarters of 2015 is already a disastrous figure!!!

For example, Kitty Holland, Irish Times Nov 12, 2015. says

: “Banks have sought to repossess almost 4,500 homes since the start of the year up to
September 30, the latest figures from the Courts Service of Ireland indicate”-Kitty Holland,
Irish Times Nov 12, 2015.

This is in line with the Central Bank Report: During the third quarter of 2015, legal
proceedings were issued to enforce the debt security on private dwelling house mortgages
in 1,687 cases (Central Bank Report).
Noonan invents the “tens of thousands” in order to minimize a problem which is in fact
already disastrous-“the oldest trick in the book” of the spinner.

STATE DIRECTION OF BANKS IS UNTHINKABLE!-Noonan

The right of human beings to stay in their own homes is a most important right. The vast
majority of people in mortgage difficulty are entirely blameless for their own predicament.
They were setting up homes at a particular time. They may have had to move jobs or have
been transferred in their job at a particular time. They were failed by the state and by its
organs such as the central bank and the financial regulator and by the government of the
day.

But Mr Noonan believes that there are superior rights and superior interests and that the
vindication of the rights of householders to stay in their own home is a secondary
consideration even if families must be placed in hotel rooms or hostels and may be
dispersed.

Mr Noonan: “Notwithstanding the fact that the State is a shareholder in these institutions,
I must ensure that these banks are run on a commercial and independent basis to ensure
the value of the banks as an asset to the State”

Finance Minister Noonan has already made clear his intention to sell the state owned
banks to private investors. Clearly, he is concerned to maximise the sale value of the
banks.

Mr Noonan voted in the Dáil to compensate in full international investors who risked their
funds in Irish Banks. Money was borrowed from international financiers to pay this
compensation. Now Minister Noonan and the FG/Labour Government are using the banks
to collect money originally paid to international investors in the same banks from the Irish
population. Accordingly, Banks are allowed to charge interest rates to all Irish borrowers
which are well above average rates in other European countries within the Eurozone. The
value of houses in Ireland has now risen. Hence the huge rise in repossessions between
Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 of 2015.

The Priority of Government is that the banks “be fattened up for privatisation”

Mr Noonan also tries to give the impression that he has no power to give instructions to
state owned banks.

He says: “There is a relationship framework, signed by my predecessors in office, with the

banks and the essential component is that the political side will not interfere in commercial
decisions “

Many listening may have got the impression that Mr Noonan had no power to instruct the
government owned banks. The old omission trick! Mr Noonan omitted the words
“voluntary” from “voluntary relationship framework” -And he blames his “predecessors”-
Fianna Fáil- as well!
 The truth is that Mr Noonan can withdraw from the “relationship framework” at any time.
He has taken a political decision to continue to honour it-and to allow the banks to evict
Irish families!

He then drags up the notion that stopping state owned banks from evicting people would
lead to people “applying to their local TD for a loan” and that the notion of state owned
and directed banks was preposterous! Of course there have been state owned banks in
Ireland for decades and there have been such in other European countries for even longer.
There are well tried mechanisms for dealing with the problem of people applying to
politicians for loans.

Noonan uses the image to cover up the responsibility of the government for evicting
people on the one hand and extorting money to pay off international lenders from
mortgage holders and small businesses on the other.. Pontius Pilate Lives!!!

Mortgage Arrears Problem is Being Solved Progressively-Noonan

Noonan gives the impression that the mortgage arrears problem is being progressively
solved through helpful measures put in place by his government. The truth is that the
problem of the banks is being solved by repossessing homes and extending mortgages at
exorbitant interest rates for a greater number of years.

Crafty Capitalist Representative

Michael Noonan is a very crafty political representative of the Irish super-rich,
Irish big business and of foreign big business. He is a master of spinning to
deceive. He is assisted in this by the editorial writers and by the media political
and economic correspondents. It would be simple for these to expose him but
they have a vested in not doing so!
In fairness Kitty Holland in the Irish Times has accurately reported the rate of
actual repossessions and court applications for repossession and columnist
Fintan O’Toole has exposed his “Tommy Cooper”style deception on tax equity in
favour of the very rich.
Dail Record Jan 14/2016 Home Repossession
Parliamentary Question from Seamus Healy TD to Minister for Finance
Ml. Noonan
3. Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Finance if he will insist that Allied Irish
Bank and its subsidiary the Educational Building Society and Permanent TSB, which are in
majority State ownership, desist from seeking repossession of family homes through the
Courts and withdraw all such existing applications before the Courts; and if he will make a
statement on the matter. [1426/16]
Deputy Seamus Healy: Allied Irish Banks, the Educational Building Society and
Permanent TSB are in majority State ownership. They are adding to homelessness and the
housing crisis by repossessing family homes. I am asking the Minister, as the majority
shareholder, to instruct the banks to desist from this practice.
Deputy Michael Noonan: I would like to thank Deputy Healy for raising this question.
As he is aware, I have no direct function in the relationship between the customer and
PTSB, or AIB and its subsidiary EBS. Notwithstanding the fact that the State is a
shareholder in these institutions, I must ensure that these banks are run on a commercial
and independent basis to ensure the value of the banks as an asset to the State.
Decisions taken by the banks are a matter for the board and management of the relevant
institution. The relationship framework agreements define the arm’s-length nature of the
relationship between the State and the banks in which the State has an investment. The
banks are therefore entitled to pursue all options open to them in order to realise the
value of their impaired assets, within the significant constraints imposed by their regulator,
the Central Bank and the law as it applies.

The Government has put in place a broad strategy to address the problem of mortgage
arrears and family home repossessions. The primary focus of this strategy is to support
those home owners in difficulty with their mortgage repayments and, in so far as possible,
to avoid repossession of family homes. In recent months, the Government agreed
measures to enhance awareness of and access to the insolvency framework. We expanded
the mortgage-to-rent scheme, making it more accessible. In addition, my colleague, the
Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, also introduced the
Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill 2015, which will, among other things, reduce the normal
duration of bankruptcy from three years to one year.

The Central Bank of Ireland’s code of conduct on mortgage arrears also provides
protection as it sets out requirements for lenders dealing with borrowers who are facing, or
in, mortgage arrears on their primary residence. It ensures that borrowers struggling to
keep up mortgage repayments are treated in a fair and transparent manner by their
lenders and that long-term resolution is sought by lenders with each of their borrowers.

The number of mortgages in arrears continues to fall. There are almost 121,000
restructuring arrangements in place and the vast majority of these are working. The
figures demonstrate that most families can, working with their financial institutions, find
an arrangement to make their mortgage commitments affordable. Active engagement by
indebted borrowers with their lenders is key to achieving sustainable resolutions. I would
urge borrowers in arrears who have not already done so to take that step by contacting
their lender directly, or MABS, for an independent assessment of their situation and advice
on available resolution options.

Deputy Seamus Healy: There is a tsunami of homelessness in this country. Last

November, the Dublin Homeless Executive provided figures according to which some 1,425
children in 677 families were in emergency accommodation. The Dublin Simon Community
said that was unacceptable and shameful. Focus Ireland said that the Government had
failed these families. The Master of the High Court, Mr. Edmund Honohan, criticised the
banks and accused them of hounding home owners to suicide.
[Deputy Seamus Healy: ] He criticised the fast-tracked repossession regime that the
Government has allowed to be introduced in the courts. These banks are majority owned
by the State and it is open to the Minister to instruct these banks to desist from
repossessing family homes. In Tipperary alone, 100 families are facing repossession. The
Minister should insist that this stop.

Deputy Michael Noonan: Deputy Healy raised the very important issue of
homelessness and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government,
Deputy Alan Kelly, brought forward proposals last year that have blunted the edge of this
particular social crisis. Certainly, over the Christmas period there was less sense of a crisis
with homelessness than there had been earlier in the year. The measures introduced by
the Minister, Deputy Kelly, have been working and, please God, they will continue to work.
On the wider issue of repossession, which was the topic of the Deputy’s notified question,
there is some interesting data published by the Central Bank. During the third quarter of
2015, legal proceedings were issued to enforce the debt security on private dwelling house
mortgages in 1,687 cases. During quarter three, there were 798 cases where court
proceedings concluded but arrears remained outstanding. In 329 cases, the court granted
an order for repossession or the sale of the property. A total of 422 properties were taken
into possession by lenders in the quarter, of which 207 were repossessed on foot of a court
order. The remaining 215 were voluntarily surrendered or abandoned. The idea that tens
of thousands of houses are being repossessed is just not correct. A small amount goes
through the system. With the changes made by the Minister for Justice and Equality and
with the Money Advice & Budgeting Service assisting directly people before the courts, I
hope the number will diminish even further. It is the policy of the Government to put
arrangements in place so that people can live in the family home.

Deputy Seamus Healy: The Minister is the majority shareholder in these banks and he
has obviously given permission to the banks to repossess family homes. He could equally
instruct these banks not to go down this road and repossess family homes. He could call
an emergency meeting of these bank boards and instruct them not to repossess family
homes. I ask him to do so immediately and if bank directors do not agree, they should be
sacked, as the Minister has the power to do so as a majority shareholder. This is urgent
and, irrespective of the Minister’s comments, thousands of families in the country are
facing homelessness because of banks in which the State has a majority shareholding. The
Minister could give instructions to stop these repossessions and I ask him to do so
immediately.
Deputy Michael Noonan: There is a relationship framework, signed by my predecessors
in office, with the banks and the essential component is that the political side will not
interfere in commercial decisions. That is for a very good reason as we do not want to
politicise the banks. It would be a very sad day for the country if the first port of call for a
person seeking a loan had to be the local Deputy rather than a bank manager.
Deputy Seamus Healy: We are not asking anybody to do that at all.
Deputy Michael Noonan: There will be no political interference with the banks. On the
question of repossessions, 207 houses were repossessed on foot of a court order, which
does not equate to the tens of thousands of houses sometimes mentioned in commentary.
There are 121,000 restructured mortgages on private dwellings, with a success rate of
86.6%. That means the arrangements stick in just under 87% of cases. The problem is
being solved progressively. I appreciate it is very hard on people and I can appreciate that
people who lost their jobs do not have money. I also appreciate the concerns and how
upset people are. In a very extreme situation, the issue is being handled reasonably well
by the banks

———————————–
Woman facing return to prison over refusal
Noonan: home repossessions being handled
reasonably well
Minister says no political interference in bank decision, but
progress being made
Irish Times Thu, Jan 14, 2016, 11:39 Updated: Thu, Jan 14, 2016, 12:03

Marie O’Halloran
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan: “I appreciate that it’s very hard on people. I
appreciate people have lost their jobs and I appreciate how upset people are.”

Banks have been dealing with the issue of home repossessions “reasonably well”,
according to Minister for Finance Michael Noonan.
He said “this idea of tens of thousands of houses being repossessed is just not correct”.

Mr Noonan said “I appreciate that it’s very hard on people. I appreciate people have lost
their jobs and I appreciate the concerns and I appreciate how upset people are.

“But in a very extreme situation it’s been handled reasonably well by the banks.”

He was responding to Independent TD Séamus Healy who asked Mr Noonan, as the

majority shareholder in AIB and its subsidiary EBS as well as the majority shareholder
in Permanent TSB, “to call a meeting of the boards of the banks and to instruct them “not
to repossess family homes”.
He said that if the bank directors would not agree to that then “sack those members. You
have the power to do that as majority shareholder.

“There are thousands of families in this country, irrespective of what you say Minister,
facing homelessness by these banks, of which the Government is a majority shareholder.”

Mr Noonan said a relationship framework had been agreed by the Government’s

predecessors in office that “the political side will not interfere in commercial decisions” and
they did not want to politicise the banks.

“It would be a very sad day for the country if you were looking for a loan and your first
port of call had to be your local TD rather than the bank manager.”

He said 207 houses were repossessed on foot of court order and “that is not the 10s of
thousands of houses that’s sometimes recited on the commentary on this”.

He said 121,000 mortgages on private dwellings had been restructured and the success
rate was 86.6 per cent.

“So progressively the problem is being solved.”

Mr Noonan said statistics from the Central Bank showed that in the third quarter of 2015
(July, August and September) legal proceedings were issued in 1,687 cases of private
mortgages.

“There were 798 cases where court proceedings concluded but arrears remained
outstanding and the court granted a repossession order in 329 cases.
A total of 422 properties were taken into possession by lenders during the quarter and 215
were voluntary.

“It’s a very small amount to go through the system and since the changes were made by
the Minister for Justice and that the money and Budgeting Advice Service are assisting
people before the courts that will diminish even further,” Mr Noonan added.

Government Evicts Families—-Statement bySeamus Healy TD

This government is continuing to evict families from their homes.
In the Dáil last Thursday, I appealed to Minister Michael Noonan to order the banks he
owns to withdraw repossession proceedings in light of the extreme housing emergency
which exists.

The Minister refused. This means that the government has given the green light to the
banks they own, to continue to evict families.

Court Orders for repossession of 47 primary residences were granted at Clonmel and
Nenagh Circuit Courts in the first 3 quarters of 2015. A further 8 buy-to-lets which also
house families were also repossessed. Banks are now seeking a further 97 repossession
orders for dwellings in Tipp, of which 32 are being sought by AIB, EBS and Permanent TSB
which are owned by the Government through Michael Noonan (FG) Minister for Finance

Minister Noonan claimed that the issue was being reasonably handled by the banks. Totally
misrepresenting the situation, Mr Noonan quoted the 208 orders for repossessions for the
whole country for Quarter 3,2015 as representative of the scale of the problem. COURTS
ONLY SIT FOR 1 OF THE 3 MONTHS IN QUARTER 3!! The Court Service Figures for the
whole country for Quarters 1 and 2 are 586 and 314 respectively.
The proposed Eviction of 97 Tipperary Families Must Be Stopped Now!

Senior Minister Alan Kelly (Lab) and Minister of State Hayes(FG) must now intervene at
Cabinet to have a Housing Emergency Declared and all repossession applications
withdrawn.

In particular they must force Minister Noonan to withdraw the repossession applications by
the banks he owns.

This can be done by government decision and does not require legislation.

Seamus Healy
T.D. 18/01/2016

Tel 087 2802199

Dail Record of Reply by Michael Noonan to Seamus Healy TD on Repossessions (Jan 14) is
carried below together with article by Kitty Holland and other material from the Courts
Service

Homelessness is an Emergency-Minister

BUT GOVERNMENT CONTINUES TO EVICT FAMILIES THROUGH BANKS IT OWNS—————

——————————————————

293 families – and aprox 600 children have become homeless in

the first 3 months of this year in Dublin Alone
From FOCUS IRELAND
85 families became newly homeless in Dublin in March and were referred to our family
services.

These latest figures mean that 293 families – and aprox 600 children have become
homeless in the first 3 months of this year alone in the capital.

These latest figures come following a record total of 125 families became homeless in Jan
and 83 in Feb this year in Dublin.

The number of families and children in homeless emergency accommodation at a national

level at a point in time as of the end of February has shot up by a staggering 112% in the
last year – from 429 families with 938 children in Feb 2015 to a current total of 912
families & 1881 children.

These shocking new figures come just ahead of the Dail sitting today and there is also a
joint Meeting of the Cross Departmental Team on Homelessness and the National
Homelessness Consultative Committee.

We are very worried that despite all the talk about “homelessness” the caretaker
Government has taken no new actions to tackle this worsening crisis since the Dail first sat
over a month ago on March 10th.

Tackling the housing and homeless crisis must be at the heart of any new Programme For
Government, and we previously issued a five point plan setting out the key elements which
should inform such a programme. These demands include calling for a cast iron
commitment to end family homelessness with a firm target date to achieve this and also a
commitment to build 40,000 social homes over the next 5 years.

We must remember that while the horse-trading to form the new government is taking
place more than 3 families have become homeless every single day so far this year.
Today’s joint meeting is a positive development to discuss some pressing issues. However,
it is important to stress that there are a range of measures which can be put in place while
we wait for the new government to be formed to ensure that they are not starting from
scratch on putting together a plan to tackle the housing and homeless crisis.
Some of these urgent actions Focus Ireland is calling for include:
– Firm action to provide greater security for tenants in buy-to-let properties as 27,492 of
these properties are more than 90 days in arrears. The Dail can easily fast-track
amendments to current legislation to provide this vital protection for tenants as we wait for
a new government to be formed.
– Taking action to raise rent supplement so it reflects market rents as this will help to keep
families and individuals in their current homes and prevent them from becoming homeless.
– To confirm what action is required to ensure NAMA delivers more social housing.

HOMELESSNESS UP 50% AS
SOUTH DUBLIN CO COUNCIL
DECLARES HOUSING EMERGENCY
“The number of people accessing emergency shelters
across the State was up by almost 50 per cent in
February, compared to the same month last year,
according to the latest figures on homelessness.
The figures, from the Department of the Environment,
show there were 5,881 people in emergency
accommodation in February, which represents a year-
on-year increase of 49 per cent. Among them were 1,881
children, which represents an increase of 101 per cent.
Simon Communities of Ireland spokeswoman Niamh
Randall said the figures were shocking and demonstrate
that existing measures to tackle homelessness are
failing.”-Irish Times 14/04/2016
Open letter to Alan Kelly – ‘Don’t
blame the housing crisis on the
Constitution’
Edmund Honohan Master of the High Court
PUBLISHED03/04/2016 | 02:30
Sunday Indepenent
In an open letter to Alan Kelly, the environment minister, the
Master of the High Court Edmund Honohan says the Constitution
cannot be used as cover for political inaction on the housing crisis
Dear Minister Kelly,
It is appropriate that you have, in this centenary year, called for a
debate about property rights in the Constitution. Faced with
repeated assertions about how the right to property is legally
watertight, politicians need to recover control which they have
ceded to the lawyers. To do so they need to understand that the
position is a lot clearer than they have been led to believe.
Echoes of 1916: The Constitution in effect provides that the State
may expropriate private property if the Oireachtas decides that to
do so is for the “common good”. Road widening is a good example.
Option A. At the moment there are long waiting lists for housing
and the private rental market is unable to provide dwellings at
affordable rents.
Consequently, if the Oireachtas is of the view that the State should
itself (or its local authorities) provide public housing “in the
Common Good”, the State can (and probably, legally, should)
decide not to wait the two/three years needed to build social
housing but instead to immediately acquire houses now in private
hands.
If the owners of these refuse to sell, acquisition can be by
compulsory purchase with full compensation assessed by the
arbitrator.
It so happens that there is a stock of such housing which has
recently been bought by “vulture” property investment funds from
Anglo, Irish Nationwide, Nama etc. at knockdown prices.
“Compensation” for these funds would be that they would be repaid
the price they paid for the housing portfolios. That is the extent of
their Constitutional entitlement.
Option B. On the other hand, the Oireachtas might be concerned to
enhance tenants’ rights at the expense of the landlords. Rent
controls and the like are also a form of expropriation if their effect is
to rewrite contracts already operational. And the “common good”
rationale for such interference with contracts is not as clearly
unarguable as with Option A.
Option A wins hands down and the timing is right.
Cue now the lawyers’ alternative analysis: that the Constitution
enshrines marketplace rules; that the Supreme Court will determine
what is the Common Good. Publish the Attorney General’s advice to
the Government and have a fully informed debate.
But given that the Supreme Court has already decided, in 2000,
that the provision of affordable housing is an objective which is
“socially just and required by the common good”, what we do about
it now is a political decision, not a legal one.
The Constitution cannot be used as cover for political inaction.
Sunday Independent
————————————————————————-
Dail Debate: Government Knowingly and Deliberately
Causing Homelessness-Seamus Healy TD
Deputy Seamus Healy: The outgoing Government, knowingly
and deliberately, created and caused homelessness. I say this
because the State owns Allied Irish Banks, Permanent TSB and the
Educational Building Society. The Minister and current caretaker
Administration are allowing these financial institutions to evict
people from their homes. They can stop such evictions by telling the
banks to stop causing homelessness. No legislation is required to do
so because the Government, through the Ministers for the
Environment, Community and Local Government and Finance, could
issue a simple directive to stop financial institutions from making
people homeless.
The National Asset Management Agency which is owned by the
State is creating homelessness by evicting people and selling
residences and apartments to vulture funds that are engaging in
evictions. The State could also stop this practice by issuing a simple
instruction to NAMA. I reiterate that the State is deliberately
creating homelessness and should stop doing so immediately.
I will refer briefly to the Tánaiste’s reference to the housing
assistance payment. The HAP scheme is an outrageous rip-off of
tenants, most, if not all, of whom must pay differential rent to their
local authority and a top-up to their landlord, which is often as
much as €50 per week. The scheme should be stopped
immediately.
If we are to address the homelessness and housing crisis, the
Government and the new Dáil must declare a housing emergency
immediately. Otherwise, we will not be able to deal with the
problem. The Government should also take up the offer made by
the credit unions to provide between €5 billion and €8 billion to help
address the housing problem.
Deputy Mick Barry: I agree with the points made by Deputy
Seamus Healy. I will make several points about the scandal that
recently unfolded on the Eden estate in Blackrock in Cork city where
tenants in 35 apartments received letters earlier this year
terminating their leases and giving notice to quit. Many of them had
lived in the properties in question for years. The letters were issued
by Grant Thornton, the receiver in charge of 127 apartments on the
estate, which was appointed by the State-owned IBRC in November
2010. This is the latest chapter in the saga of Anglo Irish Bank and
the Irish Nationwide Building Society.
KPMG has been the Government appointed liquidator of IBRC since
January 2013. As instructed by the Fine Gael-Labour Party
Government, the liquidator’s only interest is in maximising the
financial return to the State from the carcases of Anglo Irish Bank
and the Irish Nationwide Building Society and it has no regard for
the social impact of doing so. In this sense, it is an even more
heartless and anti-social arm of the State than NAMA.
As of January 2016, IBRC had netted €2.1 billion from sales such as
those envisaged on the Eden estate. This sum has not been used to
address the housing crisis because most of it has been ring-fenced
for distribution among IBRC’s creditors which include Anglo Irish
Bank subordinated bondholders. Some of the money is intended to
be used for payment in full of “certain employee and pension claims
prior to the date of liquidation”. Does this include pension payments
to former members of Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide
Building Society management such as Mr. David Drumm and Mr.
Michael Fingleton?
———————————————————
NAMA (Really the Minister for Finance) Worsening Crisis
Through Sale of Homes to Vulture Funds.
Government also evicting Families through Banks it Owns
McPeake Auctioneers (Tyrellstown in Irish Times March 16)
“The supply into the market from the builders is much lower than
the market needs, and that is because of a number of reasons.
“The first is that the control of sites into the market is being
controlled by a much smaller pool of players. The big developers
who were there all ended up in Nama or a financial institution.
“The financial institutions have all now basically all sold off their
loans and Nama is selling off the balance. All of those loans have
gone basically to these venture capital funds.
“It’s a problem that’s been created, in particular, Nama’s
desire to do away with Nama, to be able to say ‘Nama’s now
gone, isn’t that great’, but what you’ve really done is
transferred the whole stock of development land and a
considerable number of private residential properties, that
may be rented or may not be rented, into the hands of
people outside the country.”
High Court Master, Edmund Honahan, urges State to ‘nationalise’ repossessed
homes
The Master of the High Court has called on the Government to “nationalise”
repossessed homes and buy-to-lets that banks have sold to speculators and
investment trusts and use them as social housing.
http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/property-mortgages/high-
court-master-urges-state-to-nationalise-repossessed-homes-34282536.html
Homelessness is an Emergency-Minister
BUT GOVERNMENT CONTINUES TO EVICT FAMILIES THROUGH
BANKS IT OWNS

It’s no Joke But More Tommy Cooper than Penn and Teller!
Irish Times Report on Dáil Discussion Further Down

REPOSSESSIONS: NOONAN’S MASTER CLASS–Paddy Healy

SPINNING TO MISLEAD ON REPOSSESSIONS IN THE DÁIL!
It is No Joke but Tommy Cooper Strikes Again!
State Owned Banks, AIB, EBS,PERMANENT TSB, are seeking repossession of homes by
court order throughout the country.

Seamus Healy TD recently asked Minister for Finance Michael Noonan in the Dáil to
instruct these banks to desist from this.

Mr Noonan refused and stated that “In a very extreme situation, the issue is being
handled reasonably well by the banks.”

In the course of his reply Minister Noonan quoted figures from a Central Bank report which
stated that in Quarter 3(July, August, September) 207 properties were repossessed on
foot of a court order. “The idea that tens of thousands of houses are being repossessed is
just not correct” he said.

This statement is entirely deceptive though there is nothing technically incorrect in it. It is
not just that he attempts to minimise the awful trauma for 207 families which are losing
their homes. A key tactic of the “spinner to deceive” is the omission of key information.

Noonan’s 207 court orders for repossession are for 1 month only!!!
Circuit courts do not sit in August and September. Hence the “Quarter 3”
figures are for the month of July only!

The full information provided by the Courts Service and reported by Kitty Holland in the
Irish Times Last November is: ” Of the 1,088 court orders for repossession made in the
three quarters of 2015 up to September 30, 758 were for primary homes, 131 were for
buy-to-lets and 199 were for “other” dwellings”. “-Irish Times
Courts Service: Repossession Orders in Circuit Courts 2015
Q1 314, Q2 586, Q3 188

There was a huge increase in possessions in the April to June period. Mr Noonan omits this
information, and picks the figure for Q3 which he then implies is typical though it contains
one month( July) figures only! The reason the Central Bank figure for Q3 (207) is slightly
above the Courts Service figure (188) may be that the Central Bank figure contains High
Court orders in addition to the Circuit Court orders supplied by the Courts Service.

In time honoured fashion “Spinner Noonan”, to cover his tracks claims that it is others who
are misrepresenting the situation! The idea that tens of thousands of houses are being
repossessed is just not correct” he said. Additionally, this allows him to suggest that the
repossession problem is really minimal and not nearly as bad as is being represented.

No journalist or serious person has spoken about “tens of thousands” of repossessions.

1,088 orders in the first 3 quarters of 2015 is already a disastrous figure!!!

For example, Kitty Holland, Irish Times Nov 12, 2015. says

: “Banks have sought to repossess almost 4,500 homes since the start of the year up to
September 30, the latest figures from the Courts Service of Ireland indicate”-Kitty Holland,
Irish Times Nov 12, 2015.

This is in line with the Central Bank Report: During the third quarter of 2015, legal
proceedings were issued to enforce the debt security on private dwelling house mortgages
in 1,687 cases (Central Bank Report).
Noonan invents the “tens of thousands” in order to minimize a problem which is in fact
already disastrous-“the oldest trick in the book” of the spinner.

STATE DIRECTION OF BANKS IS UNTHINKABLE!-Noonan

The right of human beings to stay in their own homes is a most important right. The vast
majority of people in mortgage difficulty are entirely blameless for their own predicament.
They were setting up homes at a particular time. They may have had to move jobs or have
been transferred in their job at a particular time. They were failed by the state and by its
organs such as the central bank and the financial regulator and by the government of the
day.

But Mr Noonan believes that there are superior rights and superior interests and that the
vindication of the rights of householders to stay in their own home is a secondary
consideration even if families must be placed in hotel rooms or hostels and may be
dispersed.

Mr Noonan: “Notwithstanding the fact that the State is a shareholder in these institutions,
I must ensure that these banks are run on a commercial and independent basis to ensure
the value of the banks as an asset to the State”

Finance Minister Noonan has already made clear his intention to sell the state owned
banks to private investors. Clearly, he is concerned to maximise the sale value of the
banks.

Mr Noonan voted in the Dáil to compensate in full international investors who risked their
funds in Irish Banks. Money was borrowed from international financiers to pay this
compensation. Now Minister Noonan and the FG/Labour Government are using the banks
to collect money originally paid to international investors in the same banks from the Irish
population. Accordingly, Banks are allowed to charge interest rates to all Irish borrowers
which are well above average rates in other European countries within the Eurozone. The
value of houses in Ireland has now risen. Hence the huge rise in repossessions between
Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 of 2015.

The Priority of Government is that the banks “be fattened up for privatisation”

Mr Noonan also tries to give the impression that he has no power to give instructions to
state owned banks.

He says: “There is a relationship framework, signed by my predecessors in office, with the

banks and the essential component is that the political side will not interfere in commercial
decisions “

Many listening may have got the impression that Mr Noonan had no power to instruct the
government owned banks. The old omission trick! Mr Noonan omitted the words
“voluntary” from “voluntary relationship framework” -And he blames his “predecessors”-
Fianna Fáil- as well!

The truth is that Mr Noonan can withdraw from the “relationship framework” at any time.
He has taken a political decision to continue to honour it-and to allow the banks to evict
Irish families!

He then drags up the notion that stopping state owned banks from evicting people would
lead to people “applying to their local TD for a loan” and that the notion of state owned
and directed banks was preposterous! Of course there have been state owned banks in
Ireland for decades and there have been such in other European countries for even longer.
There are well tried mechanisms for dealing with the problem of people applying to
politicians for loans.

Noonan uses the image to cover up the responsibility of the government for evicting
people on the one hand and extorting money to pay off international lenders from
mortgage holders and small businesses on the other.. Pontius Pilate Lives!!!

Mortgage Arrears Problem is Being Solved Progressively-Noonan

Noonan gives the impression that the mortgage arrears problem is being progressively
solved through helpful measures put in place by his government. The truth is that the
problem of the banks is being solved by repossessing homes and extending mortgages at
exorbitant interest rates for a greater number of years.

Crafty Capitalist Representative

Michael Noonan is a very crafty political representative of the Irish super-rich,
Irish big business and of foreign big business. He is a master of spinning to
deceive. He is assisted in this by the editorial writers and by the media political
and economic correspondents. It would be simple for these to expose him but
they have a vested in not doing so!
In fairness Kitty Holland in the Irish Times has accurately reported the rate of
actual repossessions and court applications for repossession and columnist
Fintan O’Toole has exposed his “Tommy Cooper”style deception on tax equity in
favour of the very rich.

Noonan: home repossessions being handled

reasonably well
Minister says no political interference in bank decision, but
progress being made
Irish Times Thu, Jan 14, 2016, 11:39 Updated: Thu, Jan 14, 2016, 12:03

Marie O’Halloran
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan: “I appreciate that it’s very hard on people. I
appreciate people have lost their jobs and I appreciate how upset people are.”

Banks have been dealing with the issue of home repossessions “reasonably well”,
according to Minister for Finance Michael Noonan.
He said “this idea of tens of thousands of houses being repossessed is just not correct”.

Mr Noonan said “I appreciate that it’s very hard on people. I appreciate people have lost
their jobs and I appreciate the concerns and I appreciate how upset people are.

“But in a very extreme situation it’s been handled reasonably well by the banks.”

He was responding to Independent TD Séamus Healy who asked Mr Noonan, as the

majority shareholder in AIB and its subsidiary EBS as well as the majority shareholder
in Permanent TSB, “to call a meeting of the boards of the banks and to instruct them “not
to repossess family homes”.
He said that if the bank directors would not agree to that then “sack those members. You
have the power to do that as majority shareholder.

“There are thousands of families in this country, irrespective of what you say Minister,
facing homelessness by these banks, of which the Government is a majority shareholder.”

Mr Noonan said a relationship framework had been agreed by the Government’s

predecessors in office that “the political side will not interfere in commercial decisions” and
they did not want to politicise the banks.

“It would be a very sad day for the country if you were looking for a loan and your first
port of call had to be your local TD rather than the bank manager.”

He said 207 houses were repossessed on foot of court order and “that is not the 10s of
thousands of houses that’s sometimes recited on the commentary on this”.

He said 121,000 mortgages on private dwellings had been restructured and the success
rate was 86.6 per cent.

“So progressively the problem is being solved.”

Mr Noonan said statistics from the Central Bank showed that in the third quarter of 2015
(July, August and September) legal proceedings were issued in 1,687 cases of private
mortgages.

“There were 798 cases where court proceedings concluded but arrears remained
outstanding and the court granted a repossession order in 329 cases.

A total of 422 properties were taken into possession by lenders during the quarter and 215
were voluntary.

“It’s a very small amount to go through the system and since the changes were made by
the Minister for Justice and that the money and Budgeting Advice Service are assisting
people before the courts that will diminish even further,” Mr Noonan added.

Government Evicts Families—-Statement bySeamus Healy TD

This government is continuing to evict families from their homes.
In the Dáil last Thursday, I appealed to Minister Michael Noonan to order the banks he
owns to withdraw repossession proceedings in light of the extreme housing emergency
which exists.

The Minister refused. This means that the government has given the green light to the
banks they own, to continue to evict families.

Court Orders for repossession of 47 primary residences were granted at Clonmel and
Nenagh Circuit Courts in the first 3 quarters of 2015. A further 8 buy-to-lets which also
house families were also repossessed. Banks are now seeking a further 97 repossession
orders for dwellings in Tipp, of which 32 are being sought by AIB, EBS and Permanent TSB
which are owned by the Government through Michael Noonan (FG) Minister for Finance

Minister Noonan claimed that the issue was being reasonably handled by the banks. Totally
misrepresenting the situation, Mr Noonan quoted the 208 orders for repossessions for the
whole country for Quarter 3,2015 as representative of the scale of the problem. COURTS
ONLY SIT FOR 1 OF THE 3 MONTHS IN QUARTER 3!! The Court Service Figures
for the whole country for Quarters 1 and 2 are 586 and 314 respectively.
The proposed Eviction of 97 Tipperary Families Must Be Stopped Now!

Senior Minister Alan Kelly (Lab) and Minister of State Hayes(FG) must now intervene at
Cabinet to have a Housing Emergency Declared and all repossession applications
withdrawn.

In particular they must force Minister Noonan to withdraw the repossession applications by
the banks he owns.

This can be done by government decision and does not require legislation.

Seamus Healy
T.D. 18/01/2016

Tel 087 2802199

Dail Record of Reply by Michael Noonan to Seamus Healy TD on Repossessions (Jan 14) is
carried below together with article by Kitty Holland and other material from the Courts
Service

Homelessness is an Emergency-Minister

BUT GOVERNMENT CONTINUES TO EVICT FAMILIES THROUGH BANKS IT OWNS

REPOSSESSIONS: NOONAN’S MASTER CLASS–Paddy Healy

SPINNING TO MISLEAD ON REPOSSESSIONS IN THE DÁIL!
It is No Joke but Tommy Cooper Strikes Again!
State Owned Banks, AIB, EBS,PERMANENT TSB, are seeking repossession of homes by
court order throughout the country.

Seamus Healy TD recently asked Minister for Finance Michael Noonan in the Dáil to
instruct these banks to desist from this.

Mr Noonan refused and stated that “In a very extreme situation, the issue is being
handled reasonably well by the banks.”

In the course of his reply Minister Noonan quoted figures from a Central Bank report which
stated that in Quarter 3(July, August, September) 207 properties were repossessed on
foot of a court order. “The idea that tens of thousands of houses are being repossessed is
just not correct” he said.

This statement is entirely deceptive though there is nothing technically incorrect in it. It is
not just that he attempts to minimise the awful trauma for 207 families which are losing
their homes. A key tactic of the “spinner to deceive” is the omission of key information.

Noonan’s 207 court orders for repossession are for 1 month only!!!
Circuit courts do not sit in August and September. Hence the “Quarter 3”
figures are for the month of July only!
The full information provided by the Courts Service and reported by Kitty Holland in the
Irish Times Last November is: ” Of the 1,088 court orders for repossession made in the
three quarters of 2015 up to September 30, 758 were for primary homes, 131 were for
buy-to-lets and 199 were for “other” dwellings”. “-Irish Times
Courts Service: Repossession Orders in Circuit Courts 2015
Q1 314, Q2 586, Q3 188

There was a huge increase in possessions in the April to June period. Mr Noonan omits this
information, and picks the figure for Q3 which he then implies is typical though it contains
one month( July) figures only! The reason the Central Bank figure for Q3 (207) is slightly
above the Courts Service figure (188) may be that the Central Bank figure contains High
Court orders in addition to the Circuit Court orders supplied by the Courts Service.

In time honoured fashion “Spinner Noonan”, to cover his tracks claims that it is others who
are misrepresenting the situation! The idea that tens of thousands of houses are being
repossessed is just not correct” he said. Additionally, this allows him to suggest that the
repossession problem is really minimal and not nearly as bad as is being represented.

No journalist or serious person has spoken about “tens of thousands” of repossessions.

1,088 orders in the first 3 quarters of 2015 is already a disastrous figure!!!

For example, Kitty Holland, Irish Times Nov 12, 2015. says

: “Banks have sought to repossess almost 4,500 homes since the start of the year up to
September 30, the latest figures from the Courts Service of Ireland indicate”-Kitty Holland,
Irish Times Nov 12, 2015.

This is in line with the Central Bank Report: During the third quarter of 2015, legal
proceedings were issued to enforce the debt security on private dwelling house mortgages
in 1,687 cases (Central Bank Report).
Noonan invents the “tens of thousands” in order to minimize a problem which is in fact
already disastrous-“the oldest trick in the book” of the spinner.

STATE DIRECTION OF BANKS IS UNTHINKABLE!-Noonan

The right of human beings to stay in their own homes is a most important right. The vast
majority of people in mortgage difficulty are entirely blameless for their own predicament.
They were setting up homes at a particular time. They may have had to move jobs or have
been transferred in their job at a particular time. They were failed by the state and by its
organs such as the central bank and the financial regulator and by the government of the
day.

But Mr Noonan believes that there are superior rights and superior interests and that the
vindication of the rights of householders to stay in their own home is a secondary
consideration even if families must be placed in hotel rooms or hostels and may be
dispersed.

Mr Noonan: “Notwithstanding the fact that the State is a shareholder in these institutions,
I must ensure that these banks are run on a commercial and independent basis to ensure
the value of the banks as an asset to the State”

Finance Minister Noonan has already made clear his intention to sell the state owned
banks to private investors. Clearly, he is concerned to maximise the sale value of the
banks.

Mr Noonan voted in the Dáil to compensate in full international investors who risked their
funds in Irish Banks. Money was borrowed from international financiers to pay this
compensation. Now Minister Noonan and the FG/Labour Government are using the banks
to collect money originally paid to international investors in the same banks from the Irish
population. Accordingly, Banks are allowed to charge interest rates to all Irish borrowers
which are well above average rates in other European countries within the Eurozone. The
value of houses in Ireland has now risen. Hence the huge rise in repossessions between
Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 of 2015.

The Priority of Government is that the banks “be fattened up for privatisation”
Mr Noonan also tries to give the impression that he has no power to give instructions to
state owned banks.

He says: “There is a relationship framework, signed by my predecessors in office, with the

banks and the essential component is that the political side will not interfere in commercial
decisions “

Many listening may have got the impression that Mr Noonan had no power to instruct the
government owned banks. The old omission trick! Mr Noonan omitted the words
“voluntary” from “voluntary relationship framework” -And he blames his “predecessors”-
Fianna Fáil- as well!

The truth is that Mr Noonan can withdraw from the “relationship framework” at any time.
He has taken a political decision to continue to honour it-and to allow the banks to evict
Irish families!

He then drags up the notion that stopping state owned banks from evicting people would
lead to people “applying to their local TD for a loan” and that the notion of state owned
and directed banks was preposterous! Of course there have been state owned banks in
Ireland for decades and there have been such in other European countries for even longer.
There are well tried mechanisms for dealing with the problem of people applying to
politicians for loans.

Noonan uses the image to cover up the responsibility of the government for evicting
people on the one hand and extorting money to pay off international lenders from
mortgage holders and small businesses on the other.. Pontius Pilate Lives!!!

Mortgage Arrears Problem is Being Solved Progressively-Noonan

Noonan gives the impression that the mortgage arrears problem is being progressively
solved through helpful measures put in place by his government. The truth is that the
problem of the banks is being solved by repossessing homes and extending mortgages at
exorbitant interest rates for a greater number of years.

Crafty Capitalist Representative

Michael Noonan is a very crafty political representative of the Irish super-rich,
Irish big business and of foreign big business. He is a master of spinning to
deceive. He is assisted in this by the editorial writers and by the media political
and economic correspondents. It would be simple for these to expose him but
they have a vested in not doing so!
In fairness Kitty Holland in the Irish Times has accurately reported the rate of
actual repossessions and court applications for repossession and columnist
Fintan O’Toole has exposed his “Tommy Cooper”style deception on tax equity in
favour of the very rich.
Repossessions of Dwellings by Court Order—-From Courts Service

(Q2)April to June 2015

Residence buy-to-let other Total

383 97 106 586
(Q1)Jan –march 2015
233 29 52 314

Q3 (July to
September) 142 5 41 1
88
Q3 Central Bank 207 (“properties”)were
repossessed on foot of a court order.
Q1,Q2,Q3 758 131
199 1088
The data, released to The Irish Times, also shows 1,088
repossession orders were granted by the courts in the first
nine months of the year, almost 70 per cent more than the
644 granted in the same period last year and 350 per cent
more than the 240 granted in the period in 2013.
Of the 1,088 orders made, 758 were for primary homes, 131 were
for buy-to-lets and 199 were for “other” dwellings. –Kitty Holland
Irish Times Nov 12
“These cases (court orders) in the statistics are not the only
cases in which a financial institution is foreclosing. The vast
majority of mortgages contain a foreclosure clause which becomes
operative, without the need for a court order, if there is any failure
in payment of instalments.
Accordingly, only figures supplied by the credit institutions would
disclose the overall number of properties being recovered or sold
by credit institutions.”-Statement From Courts Service August
6,2015
Noonan in Dáil Jan 14
Central Bank. During the third quarter of 2015, legal proceedings
were issued to enforce the debt security on private dwelling house
mortgages in 1,687 cases. During quarter three, there were 798
cases where court proceedings concluded but arrears remained
outstanding. In 329 cases, the court granted an order for
repossession or the sale of the property. A total of 422 properties
were taken into possession by lenders in the quarter, of which 207
were repossessed on foot of a court order. The remaining 215 were
voluntarily surrendered or abandoned.
Ml Noonan “On the question of repossessions, 207 houses were
repossessed on foot of a court order(in 2015-ph), which does not
equate to the tens of thousands of houses sometimes mentioned in
commentary”. Jan 14
More than 7,000 dwellings targeted by
lenders up to 2015, says Courts Service
Thu, Nov 12, 2015, 01:00
Kitty Holland
Some 889 applications for repossession were refused by the courts
so far this year. Photograph: Getty Images
Banks have sought to repossess almost 4,500 homes since the start
of the year, the latest figures from the Courts Service of Ireland
indicate.
These are in addition to the 7,100 dwellings lenders had already
moved to repossess by January 1st, 2015.
The figures, covering the first nine months of the year, show
lenders lodged 4,440 civil bills for repossession across the State’s
26 circuit courts.
Some 3,638 (82 per cent) of these are for primary homes, 89 (2
per cent) are for buy-to-lets with 713 (16 per cent) for “other”
dwellings.
However, the number of bills lodged is down compared with the
same period last year when 6,420 bills were lodged, indicating a
possible levelling off in repossession activity by the banks.
The data, released to The Irish Times, also shows 1,088
repossession orders were granted by the courts in the first
nine months of the year, almost 70 per cent more than the
644 granted in the same period last year and 350 per cent
more than the 240 granted in the period in 2013.
Of the 1,088 orders made, 758 were for primary homes, 131 were
for buy-to-lets and 199 were for “other” dwellings.
Dail Record Jan 14
Home Repossession
3 Deputy Seamus Healy asked the Minister for Finance if he
will insist that Allied Irish Bank and its subsidiary the
Educational Building Society and Permanent TSB, which are in
majority State ownership, desist from seeking repossession of
family homes through the Courts and withdraw all such
existing applications before the Courts; and if he will make a
statement on the matter. [1426/16]
Deputy Seamus Healy: Allied Irish Banks, the Educational
Building Society and Permanent TSB are in majority State
ownership. They are adding to homelessness and the housing crisis
by repossessing family homes. I am asking the Minister, as the
majority shareholder, to instruct the banks to desist from this
practice.
Deputy Michael Noonan: I would like to thank Deputy Healy for
raising this question. As he is aware, I have no direct function in the
relationship between the customer and PTSB, or AIB and its
subsidiary EBS. Notwithstanding the fact that the State is a
shareholder in these institutions, I must ensure that these banks
are run on a commercial and independent basis to ensure the value
of the banks as an asset to the State.
Decisions taken by the banks are a matter for the board and
management of the relevant institution. The relationship framework
agreements define the arm’s-length nature of the relationship
between the State and the banks in which the State has an
investment. The banks are therefore entitled to pursue all options
open to them in order to realise the value of their impaired assets,
within the significant constraints imposed by their regulator, the
Central Bank and the law as it applies.
The Government has put in place a broad strategy to address the
problem of mortgage arrears and family home repossessions. The
primary focus of this strategy is to support those home owners in
difficulty with their mortgage repayments and, in so far as possible,
to avoid repossession of family homes. In recent months, the
Government agreed measures to enhance awareness of and access
to the insolvency framework. We expanded the mortgage-to-rent
scheme, making it more accessible. In addition, my colleague, the
Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, also
introduced the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill 2015, which will,
among other things, reduce the normal duration of bankruptcy from
three years to one year.
The Central Bank of Ireland’s code of conduct on mortgage arrears
also provides protection as it sets out requirements for lenders
dealing with borrowers who are facing, or in, mortgage arrears on
their primary residence. It ensures that borrowers struggling to
keep up mortgage repayments are treated in a fair and transparent
manner by their lenders and that long-term resolution is sought by
lenders with each of their borrowers.
The number of mortgages in arrears continues to fall. There are
almost 121,000 restructuring arrangements in place and the vast
majority of these are working. The figures demonstrate that most
families can, working with their financial institutions, find an
arrangement to make their mortgage commitments affordable.
Active engagement by indebted borrowers with their lenders is key
to achieving sustainable resolutions. I would urge borrowers in
arrears who have not already done so to take that step by
contacting their lender directly, or MABS, for an independent
assessment of their situation and advice on available resolution
options.
Deputy Seamus Healy: There is a tsunami of homelessness in
this country. Last November, the Dublin Homeless Executive
provided figures according to which some 1,425 children in 677
families were in emergency accommodation. The Dublin Simon
Community said that was unacceptable and shameful. Focus Ireland
said that the Government had failed these families. The Master of
the High Court, Mr. Edmund Honohan, criticised the banks and
accused them of hounding home owners to suicide.
[Deputy Seamus Healy: ] He criticised the fast-tracked
repossession regime that the Government has allowed to be
introduced in the courts. These banks are majority owned by the
State and it is open to the Minister to instruct these banks to desist
from repossessing family homes. In Tipperary alone, 100 families
are facing repossession. The Minister should insist that this stop.
Deputy Michael Noonan: Deputy Healy raised the very
important issue of homelessness and the Minister for the
Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan
Kelly, brought forward proposals last year that have blunted the
edge of this particular social crisis. Certainly, over the Christmas
period there was less sense of a crisis with homelessness than there
had been earlier in the year. The measures introduced by the
Minister, Deputy Kelly, have been working and, please God, they
will continue to work.
On the wider issue of repossession, which was the topic of the
Deputy’s notified question, there is some interesting data published
by the Central Bank. During the third quarter of 2015, legal
proceedings were issued to enforce the debt security on private
dwelling house mortgages in 1,687 cases. During quarter three,
there were 798 cases where court proceedings concluded but
arrears remained outstanding. In 329 cases, the court granted an
order for repossession or the sale of the property. A total of 422
properties were taken into possession by lenders in the quarter, of
which 207 were repossessed on foot of a court order. The remaining
215 were voluntarily surrendered or abandoned. The idea that tens
of thousands of houses are being repossessed is just not correct. A
small amount goes through the system. With the changes made by
the Minister for Justice and Equality and with the Money Advice &
Budgeting Service assisting directly people before the courts, I hope
the number will diminish even further. It is the policy of the
Government to put arrangements in place so that people can live in
the family home.
Deputy Seamus Healy: The Minister is the majority shareholder
in these banks and he has obviously given permission to the banks
to repossess family homes. He could equally instruct these banks
not to go down this road and repossess family homes. He could call
an emergency meeting of these bank boards and instruct them not
to repossess family homes. I ask him to do so immediately and if
bank directors do not agree, they should be sacked, as the Minister
has the power to do so as a majority shareholder. This is urgent
and, irrespective of the Minister’s comments, thousands of families
in the country are facing homelessness because of banks in which
the State has a majority shareholding. The Minister could give
instructions to stop these repossessions and I ask him to do so
immediately.
Deputy Michael Noonan: There is a relationship framework,
signed by my predecessors in office, with the banks and the
essential component is that the political side will not interfere in
commercial decisions. That is for a very good reason as we do not
want to politicise the banks. It would be a very sad day for the
country if the first port of call for a person seeking a loan had to be
the local Deputy rather than a bank manager.
Deputy Seamus Healy: We are not asking anybody to do that at
all.
Deputy Michael Noonan: There will be no political interference
with the banks. On the question of repossessions, 207 houses were
repossessed on foot of a court order, which does not equate to the
tens of thousands of houses sometimes mentioned in commentary.
There are 121,000 restructured mortgages on private dwellings,
with a success rate of 86.6%. That means the arrangements stick in
just under 87% of cases. The problem is being solved progressively.
I appreciate it is very hard on people and I can appreciate that
people who lost their jobs do not have money. I also appreciate the
concerns and how upset people are. In a very extreme situation,
the issue is being handled reasonably well by the banks

———————————–
Woman facing return to prison over
refusal to hand over her home to
bank
Claire Knowles was lawfully jailed for
contempt of court order, High Court judge
rules
Mary Carolan Irish Times Dec 15
Claire Knowles (56) of Castlejane, Glanmire, Co Cork, who will
remain on bail until Wednesday evening after which time she will
return to Limerick Prison unless she has purged her contempt of the
possession order. Photograph: Collins Court
A High Court judge has ruled a woman was lawfully jailed for
contempt of a court order requiring her hand over possession of her
home to a bank.
Mr Justice Richard Humphreys told Claire Knowles she may remain
on bail until 7pm on Wednesday after which time she will return to
Limerick Prison unless she has purged her contempt of the
possession order in the interim.
Ms Knowles was jailed by a judge at Cork Circuit Court on
December 8th for contempt of a court order of January 2014
requiring she hand over possession of her home near Glanmire, Co
Cork, to Bank of Ireland.
She was freed on conditional bail on December 10th pending the
outcome of the inquiry, under Article 40 of the Constitution, into the
legality of her detention.
Giving his decision on Tuesday having heard arguments by Ms
Knowles and the State, Mr Justice Humphreys said he was bound by
other court decisions concerning Article 40 inquiries and, in all the
circumstances, must rule the detention is lawful.
He will give a written judgment outlining his reasons for that
decision at a later stage.
The contempt application was brought by solicitors representing
Bank of Ireland arising from a mortgage taken out with ICS Building
Society on Ms Knowles home at The Pines, Castlejayne Woods,
Glanmire, Co Cork.
An order for possession of that property was made by the Circuit
Court in January 2014 and the High Court dismissed an appeal
against that order in July 2014. Ms Knowles later got an order from
the Master of the High Court extending the time effectively for a
second appeal.
Attachment and committal proceedings were brought last October
against Ms Knowles for contempt over her failure to hand over
possession and were adjourned to December 8th when Cork Circuit
Court directed her detention in Limerick Prison.
Ms Knowles was freed on conditional bail on December 10th
pending the outcome of the High Court inquiry, initiated the
previous day under Article 40 of the Constitution, into the
lawfulness of her detention.
In his decision today, Mr Justice Humphreys commended Ms
Knowles for the manner in which she presented her case but said
his hands were tied by various rulings which meant he could not
direct her release.
Among arguments advanced by her to support her claim that her
detention was invalid, she argued there was an error in the title of
the committal warrant in that it was in the name of ICS when it was
lawyers representing BOI who sought her committal. She also
argued she was wrongly refused an adjournment of the contempt
application so as to allow her try and get legal representation.
Remy Farrell SC, for the governor of Limerick Prison, argued the net
issue in the Article 40 inquiry was if Ms Knowles was denied an
opportunity of getting legal representation, and it was his case she
was not.
The transcript of proceedings in the Circuit Court showed Ms
Knowles chose to proceed without legal representation after clearly
considering matters over the lunch break on December 8th, he said.
The Circuit Court judge had made the jailing order after Ms Knowles
refused to give an undertaking to leave her home and she was
“manifestly in contempt”, counsel said.
On that date, the transcript of the hearing referred to counsel for
the bank saying Ms Knowles was still in the house and she was in
“flagrant” breach of the order.
The Circuit Court judge warned Ms Knowles she was at strong risk
of going to jail, should get legal advice and the case would not be
adjourned unless she undertook to abide by the court order to leave
the house.
It was “very clear” what she had to do and legal advice would not
have altered that. It seemed clear Ms Knowles later decided to
represent herself as she was entitled to do but she must take the
consequences of that.
The Circuit Court judge had said he did not believe she was serious
about getting out of the house, he would jail her and refuse a stay,
given the “brazen” contempt.
In her arguments, Ms Knowles said she is being “turned into a
criminal out of civil litigation” and these are “not ordinary times”.
She said the banks had had months to get their paperwork in order
in her case but had failed to do so until much later and then used
the name of a “non-entity” in these proceedings. Lawyers for the
bank were unable to answer her when she had raised points about
the delay in amending the title of the case, she added.
She also said she had been refused legal aid for the Circuit Court
proceedings as she did not know how to get it and was given an
hour to do so.
“I was given no choice,” she said.
————————————————————
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debt-doctors-there-s-a-black-cloud-over-a-lot-of-people-
1.2463335#.Vmw231bKiG0.mailto
Claire Knowles, Resisting Eviction, Released On Bail by High
Court as large number of supporters attend court
PLEASE,Could a Legal Team Offer to Represent Her Pro Bono
Publico?
It is grossly Unfair That She Should Be Forced to Represent Herself.
Be there again NEXT MONDAY!

From Irish Times Breaking News

A woman jailed for contempt of a court order directing she hand
over possession of her Co Cork home to a bank has been freed on
bail by the High Court.
Claire Knowles (56) was jailed on Tuesday over her failure to
comply with orders obtained by Bank of Ireland over the property at
The Pines, Castlejayne Woods, Glamire.
She was brought to Limerick Prison where she was held until she
was brought before the High Court on Thursday for an inquiry into
the legality of her detention.
The inquiry, under Article 40 of the Constitution, was sought on her
behalf by anti-eviction campaigner Ben Gilroy, who said he had
assisted Ms Knowles in previous court cases relating to the
repossession.
Following a hearing, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys ordered her
release on her own bail of €100, with a condition she stay away
from her home, pending full determination of her legal challenge.
She is to come back to court next Monday.
The judge ruled the governor of Limerick Prison was obliged to go
behind the reasons for her detention. To do that, the governor
would have to apply to make Bank of Ireland a notice party in this
case, the judge said.
In those circumstances, the judge adjourned the inquiry to allow
that occur. In the meantime, he granted bail to Ms Knowles who
was supported in court by a large number of people.
Earlier, Remy Farrell SC, for the prison governor, said his client had
no relationship, legal or otherwise, with Bank of Ireland.
He could not compel witnesses to attend court or provide
documentation in order to justify the reasons for committing her to
prison, counsel said.
Ms Knowles told the court she was too traumatised to make the
case because she had been in Limerick Prison and wanted Mr Gilroy
to do it for her.
The judge ruled it was established case law only the person
detained could make the arguments before the court or could
employ a qualified lawyer to do so.
Following an adjournment to allow the judge consider the law on
representation in such cases, Ms Knowles said she was a little more
composed and would present it herself.
———————————————————
Support Release of brave Claire Knowles From Jail To-
morrow
High Court 10.30 tomorrow Thursday Nov 10
Jailed for Refusing to Hand Over Her Home to Bank Of
Ireland
Inquiry on legality of woman’s detention for contempt ordered
Claire Knowles jailed over contempt of direction to
hand over possession of home to bank
aIrish Timesbout 4 hours ago Updated: about 3 hours ago
Mary Carolan
A High Court judge has directed an inquiry into the legality of the
detention inLimerick Prison of a woman for contempt of a Circuit
Court order directing she hand over possession of her home to a
bank.
Ben Gilroy, of Direct Democracy Ireland, applied on Wednesday to
Mr JusticeMax Barrett for the inquiry following the imprisonment the
previous day ofClaire Knowles (56), who lives with her son at
Castlejayne, Glanmire, Cork.
During the application, Mr Gilroy said there was “huge confusion”
over possession orders made by the Circuit Court, an apparent
reference to conflicting High Court decisions of November and May
last concerning the Circuit Court’s jurisdiction to hear certain
repossession cases.
Suffered difficulties
He said Ms Knowles suffered difficulties including depression after
the possession order was made in January 2014, and the Master of
the High Court later agreed to extend time for her to appeal that
possession order.
Ms Knowles has no recollection of getting a letter of demand of
November 2009 and there were issues about a signature on that,
he added.
In an affidavit, Mr Gilroy said he is a friend of Ms Knowles. He said
the warrant detaining her was invalid as it was in the name of ICS
Building Society and, as far as he was aware, the governor and
company of the Bank of Ireland had applied to the Circuit Court to
reconstitute the proceedings by substituting the governor and
company of BOI earlier this year.
Ms Knowles is in dispute with ICS, he said. On November 10th, the
Master of the High Court extended time for her and her son to
appeal the Circuit Court possession order of January 20th, 2014.
When a further extension was sought on December 2nd, the Master
granted an additional 72 hours, he said.
Notice of appeal
Ms Knowles did serve her notice of appeal on December 2nd, he
said.
He said the plaintiff bank in the Circuit Court proceedings appealed
the Master’s order, and the High Court on Monday last dismissed
the appeal and affirmed the Master’s order of November 10th.
Mr Gilroy said Ms Knowles previously appeared before Judge
Donagh McDonagh at the Circuit Court on October 27th. The judge
said he had no jurisdiction in the Circuit Court possession
proceedings, refused to make an order for attachment and
committal, and adjourned the matter to December 8th when Ms
Knowles appeared before Judge O’Donnabhain.
A friend of Ms Knowles who was present had given a written
account stating the judge warned Ms Knowles she was at risk of jail
and should get legal representation. She was unable to do so and
was refused an adjournment to get a lawyer, the account stated.
Described as ‘brazen’
It was also stated, when her case was called, Ms Knowles began
reading from a prepared statement but was interrupted by the
judge who made the committal order. It was stated she continued
to read the statement and the judge said she was in breach of the
order and described her as “brazen”.
Mr Justice Barrett said he would direct an inquiry under Article 40 of
the Constitution into the legality of Ms Knowles detention and order
she be produced in court on Thursday morning for that inquiry.

—————————-
Dublin child homelessness figure
doubles to 1,400
Kitty Holland:‘Shameful’:Dublin
Simon has described the figures as
“unacceptable and shameful”, while
FOCUS IRELAND said they showed
“Government action has so far
failed to halt the constant flow of
families becoming homeless”.-Irish
Times
Olivia Kelly: “But the deal is a far cry from the proposal by
ALAN KELLY, Minister for the Environment, to link private-
sector rent increases to the consumer price index for four
years. The measures won’t make a dent in existing rents,
and it’s far from certain that they will make renting a viable
long-term option.”-Irish Times(further down)

Kitty Holland:IRISH
TIMES Saturday, November 14,
2015, 01:00
There are now more than 1,400 homeless children in Dublin – more
than twice as many as a year ago, the latest figures show.
Data published last night by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive
show that during the week of 18th to 25th October there were
1,425 children in 677 families in emergency accommodation.
This represents a 109 per cent increase in the number of homeless
children since October 2014, when there were 680 children in
emergency accommodation in the capital.
Of the total, 975 children in 461 families are in hotels, while 450
children in 216 are in supported homeless accommodation.
‘Shameful’
Dublin Simon has described the figures as “unacceptable and
shameful”, while Focus Ireland said they showed “Government
action has so far failed to halt the constant flow of families
becoming homeless”.
Sam McGuinness, Dublin Simon chief executive, said he was
“alarmed” at the numbers. “With no measures to stop the ever
rising flow of people into homelessness over the past year, we are
now faced with the very shameful situation where 1,425 children
are forced to lay their head in inadequate accommodation, scared
and vulnerable, without a safe home to look to this Christmas.”
He said rent certainty measures announced by the Government this
week were inadequate, as rents remained unaffordable for the
poorest families dependent on rent supplement.
Mike Allen, director of advocacy with Focus Ireland, said the plan to
freeze rents for two years was welcome but added a rise in rent
supplement levels was necessary to keep poorer families in their
homes.
‘Cumulative impact’
“The families which became homeless in October did so primarily as
a result of the cumulative effects of rising rents over the last two
years, linked to a freeze in rent supplement,” said Mr Allen.
“Even if the Government’s package does has the effect of slowing
down rents it will make no difference to the families who will
continue to lose their homes because of the cumulative impact of
rent rises over the last two years while the Government took no
action.”
A spokeswoman for the DRHE, which manages homelessness
services in the capital, said “month-on-month” the provision of
emergency accommodation for families was being increased.
In addition the executive was working to ensure 500 modular
homes would be delivered next year to provide temporary
accommodation for homeless families. National homelessness data
for October are to be published by the Department of the
Environment over the weekend.
© 2015 irishtimes.com

Ireland’s rental crisis: Will new

measures help?
Olivia Kelly
Irish Times Saturday, November 14, 2015, 01:00
After months of inter-Coalition wrangling, and years of escalating
rents, the Government has come up with a solution to Ireland’s
rental-accommodation crisis: landlords can raise rents only every
two years instead of every year. As showpieces go it’s hardly
dazzling. But is it enough to make a difference?
There is a bit more to the package that the Government is calling its
new deal for tenants. There will be increased notice periods both for
ending a lease and for increasing rent. The long-promised deposit-
protection scheme, whereby tenants’ deposits would be held by the
Private Residential Tenancies Board rather than by a landlord, will
be set up.
But the deal is a far cry from the proposal by Alan Kelly, Minister for
the Environment, to link private-sector rent increases to the
consumer price index for four years. The measures won’t make a
dent in existing rents, and it’s far from certain that they will make
renting a viable long-term option.
At other times this may not have mattered quite so much. Ten
years ago one in 10 households lived in privately rented
accommodation. Now it’s one in five, and another 10 per cent live in
rented social housing. Numbers renting are even higher in urban
areas: a quarter of Dublin city homes are privately rented.
Historically, most Irish people have viewed renting as a temporary
measure, a stopgap between leaving the nest and having the
wherewithal to buy your own place.
Even with so many more people renting, this perception hasn’t
changed. A report late last year by the economic consultancy DKM
on the future of the private rented sector, commissioned by the
Housing Agency, showed a low appetite for long-term renting.
Almost three-quarters of renters planned to leave the rental market
this year or next. Just 17 per cent saw themselves as lifelong
tenants, and for most of those it was not because they wanted to
but because they had to. The majority in this category cited an
inability to afford a house as the main reason they had continued to
rent.
Separately, a large group of the population rent from landlords with
State assistance, and they don’t seem to want to stay as private-
sector tenants either.
We don’t know for certain how many people want a council house.
The last national assessment of need, completed in 2013, showed
that just under 90,000 applicants were on local-authority waiting
lists. Dublin City Council had 16,000 on the list at the time; last July
the figure had increased to almost 21,600. More than 100,000
applicants are now likely to be waiting.
And these are just the people who have had their need for a council
house approved; many more are skittering around the eligibility
threshold and would like the stability of a council house – in effect a
home for life, something the private rental sector certainly does not
guarantee.
What all these figures show is that almost nobody living in private
rental accommodation, supplemented or not, wants to be there.
And it’s easy to understand why.
The high cost of renting and the inability to control and predict that
cost in the medium or long term is a major drawback. Rents have
been rising steadily since 2013, particularly in Dublin. The rises
haven’t been minor: rents in the capital went up by 9.2 per cent in
the year to the end of June, and rents across the State went up by
5.8 per cent, according to the Private Residential Tenancies Board.
This means that the average Dublin renter, who had been paying
€1,275 a month for a house or €1,152 for an apartment in the
summer of 2014, is now paying €1,387 for a house and €1,260 for
an apartment. Rents for houses outside Dublin increased from €656
to €695 in the year, and for apartments from €623 to €660.
Why has this happened? It’s a simple equation of supply and
demand. To give the short version of the housing boom and bust:
we spent a few years building too many houses (more than 93,000
in 2006), many of them in the wrong places, then spent a few years
building far too few (8,301 homes in 2013) anywhere.
Things improved a little last year: 11,016 homes were completed,
but that’s fewer than the number the year records began, 1970,
when 13,887 houses were built. The 11,016 built last year are just
over half what the Housing Agency says is the minimum needed to
meet demand.
There’s an inevitable trickledown effect. Without enough homes for
sale, would-be buyers keep renting. More people renting in a
market with fewer homes pushes up rents. More people renting who
in a normal market would have the money to buy pushes it up even
further.
Real solution
At the end of the chain are people who can’t afford to rent
anywhere, and for whom social housing isn’t available.
The only real solution is to build more. Construction 2020, published
in May 2014, was the Government’s first response to this need. To
a large degree it was a strategy for strategies, recommending the
setting up of taskforces and working groups.
The recently announced Budget 2016 has more solid housing-
construction measures. Four thousand houses are to be provided
next year under the first phase of an initiative to build 20,000
homes on sites controlled by the National Asset Management
Agency by 2020. About 90 per cent will be in the Greater Dublin
Area, and three-quarters will be starter homes.
This week’s housing package also included an initiative aimed at
kick-starting the construction of 7,000 more affordable homes in
Dublin and Cork. Developers will receive rebates on construction
levies where a scheme has more than 50 homes and where houses
are priced at less than €300,000 in Dublin and €250,000 in Cork.
These initiatives should help to speed up supply, but building
houses takes a couple of years on average, so this doesn’t alleviate
the immediate pressures on the rental market.
That’s where the “new deal” should help. The two-year rent freeze
gives private tenants breathing space to muster a deposit towards
their own home if they so wish – or to find a better deal if measures
to increase supply and reduce prices work.
One announcement this week could bring a glimmer of hope to
tenants reliant on State support. Tax relief will be introduced to
encourage landlords to rent their properties to tenants in receipt of
social-housing supports such as rent supplement. These landlords
will be able to claim 100 per cent tax relief, up from the current 75
per cent. This carrot is more likely to yield results than any of the
Government’s rent-regulation sticks.
The Government also hopes to boost the market by making
apartment construction more appealing to builders. Its “guidelines”
on apartment standards – enforceable by ministerial direction – are
to be issued early next year.
“Apartments for hipsters”
Here the Government is following the example of Dublin City
Council, which has put forward the notion of smaller apartments for
renters only – described by one councillor as apartments for
hipsters. With 63 per cent of renters aged under 34, and
multinational firms that the Government is so eager to attract
saying that they can’t find accommodation for their workers, there
may be a case for allowing these smaller units.
Another form of rental provision, which is likely to prove more
popular, is the idea of public housing. This would involve having
private developers and investors build housing on council land,
combining social rental with private rental.
Two schemes put forward in the Budget seem similar in intent. One
is the concept of an affordable-rental scheme, for which €10 million
from the sale of Bord Gáis has been set aside to fund a pilot
project. This will be aimed at people whose incomes are above the
threshold for State rental assistance but who cannot afford private
rents.
The other, for social-housing tenants, involves a new form of public-
private partnership in Dublin. In the new scheme, sites stay in the
ownership of the State, and the developer receives payments for 25
years, after which the houses or apartments return to State
ownership.
These are positive moves that could stave off a similar rental crisis
in future. But they are unlikely to help people who right now can’t
afford, or can’t find, a place to rent.
© 2015 irishtimes.com
——————————————————————————————————
—————————————
Alan Kelly (Labour) Backs Down on Rent Control.
“Government plans to solve Ireland’s rental crisis could see
landlords hike rents immediately, will not prevent future
rises, and risks marking the return of low-quality bedsits to
the market.
Threshold chief executive Bob Jordan said the charity has
“alerted” officials to concerns “rent would be inflated during
the review period” — a view shared by housing expert Dr
Lorcan Sirr, who said landlords will frontload rises because
they will not be able to next year.” Irish Examiner Nov 7
Kelly had sought that rent increases be pegged to the cost of living.
But Minister Noonan(FG) backed by 25 Landlord TDs, and American
developers Kennedy Wilson forced him to bend the knee and
retreat.
Landlords can only increase the rent every two years now rather
than every year as before. Landlords must get three local examples
of rents to justify an increase.!!! This will make almost no
difference.In a situation where there is no competition between
landlords due to shortage of accomodation,landlords can simply
raise the rent by double the yearly increase every two years! AND
WORSE STILL, THE LANDLORD CAN HIKE THE RENT BEFORE THE
NEW LAW COMES IN.The Dáil Sat All Night to Bail Out the Banks
bondholders, but there is no urgency to protect tenants!
And, of course, Alan is preparing to take water charges from your
pay or welfare cheque.
Focus Ireland Spokesperson said:“However, we are highly
concerned it will fail to stem the constant rising flow of 70 to 80
families becoming homeless in Dublin alone very month. —–The
measures are far from a convincing response to the scale of the
problems we are facing,” he added.
Housing Crisis is Due to the Restrictions of the EU Fiscal
Treaty and by PROHIBITION by the FG/Labour Government
of Local Authority Borrowing for House Building Purposes to
comply with these restrictions.
This policy leaves Government completely at the mercy of private
developers. “US investors Kennedy Wilson advised Mr Noonan’s
officials(before Budget) by letter that investment in property here
could be “eliminated” if rent controls were introduced” Irish
Examiner Nov2 2015
“Therefore local authorities, which are currently debarred from
accessing Housing Finance Agency loans, due to concerns about its
implications for the national debt, need to be given permission to
borrow again for social housing provision” Dr Michelle Norris, UCD
Government found it more Important to give away 750 million in
tax relief including 100 million to the Super-rich rather than allow
local authorities to borrow 750 million for housing purposes
THE HOUSING POLICIES of THIS GOVERNMENT and THE
PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT HAVE LEFT THOSE IN NEED OF
SOCIAL HOUSING IN A STATE OF VIRTUAL TOTAL NEGLECT
(I have brought together below articles by DR Rory Hearne, Dr
Michelle Norris and Fintan OToole on the housing crisis)
The housing crisis is due to the implementation of a policy under
which the ability of the rich to make profits out of housing provision
and the opportunity for the rich to pay low taxes on their incomes
and assets to the to the state, are prioritised over the need of all
citizens to have security of tenure in an adequate dwelling. The Free
Market IDEOLOGY to which Fintan O’Toole refers is being deployed
by governments and economists to justify this prioritisation.
The implementation of these pro-rich policies is enshrined in
legislation and EU treaties. Why cannot Local authorities borrow
money to fund a social house building programme? As Dr Michelle
Norris UCD attests (below)local authorities, are currently debarred
from accessing Housing Finance Agency loans, due to concerns
about its implications for the national debt.
Under capitalism, borrowing by the state to provide assets that will
endure for 100 years or more makes perfect sense. But FF,FG and
Labour supported an EU Fiscal Treaty which places restrictions on
state debt irrespective of human need. This leaves these parties
with three options in order to provide housing:
a) IMPOSE SERIOUS TAX INCREASES on INCOME AND ASSETS OF
THE SUPER-RICH
b) Leave the Provision of Housing to the Free Market
c) IMPOSE NEW TAXES ON the Majority of the Population
It is not surprising that governments of the rich opt for a
combination of b) and c)
KEY QUOTES FROM ARTICLES BELOW
“It is a national emergency and without a significant shift in policy
the crisis will only worsen. At the current rate of families becoming
homeless there will be more than 6,000 children in emergency
accommodation by 2017. This is deeply traumatic for children and
their families. It is arguably a breach of the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child.The current crisis results from decades of
housing policy that followed the private ‘free-market’ approach
which treated housing primarily as a commodity and speculative
investment asset”-——Dr Rory Hearne, Tasc .
“And still, after all we’ve been through, 75 per cent of the
Government’s promised “social housing” is to be built (supposedly)
by the private sector.There is an almost obsessive fear of stating
the obvious – that a large proportion of people will never be
decently housed by “the market”. Those citizens need a State that’s
not afraid to clear the ground of narrow ideology and build on the
foundations of real human needs. That might involve relearning
another forgotten word – republic.” Fintan O’Toole Irish Times
Columnist
“Therefore local authorities, which are currently debarred from
accessing Housing Finance Agency loans, due to concerns about its
implications for the national debt, need to be given permission to
borrow again for social housing provision. This is the only realistic
method of raising sufficient finance for and delivering a social
housing programme on the scale required to meet current needs. A
relatively small amount of public borrowing for this purpose could
have enormous social benefits and cut spending on rent
supplements.”-Dr Michelle Norris UCD
Rory Hearne: The STATE MUST INTERVENE IN THE HOUSING
MARKET
Last Updated: Thursday, October 22, 2015, 05:15
The Irish housing system is in an unprecedented crisis. This is
visible in escalating rents, ‘economic’ evictions, mortgage arrears,
repossessions, waiting lists, substandard accommodation and the
growing numbers of those unable to buy a home.
It is a national emergency and without a significant shift in policy
the crisis will only worsen. At the current rate of families becoming
homeless there will be more than 6,000 children in emergency
accommodation by 2017. This is deeply traumatic for children and
their families. It is arguably a breach of the UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child.
The current crisis results from decades of housing policy that
followed the private ‘free-market’ approach which treated housing
primarily as a commodity and speculative investment asset.
This continues today with the crisis being analysed as one of
‘demand outstripping supply’ and discussion focused on how to
incentivise the property industry to build more housing stock.
However, during the boom there was plenty of supply and still
prices rose to unaffordable and unsustainable levels contributing to
the crash. This is because price is determined not simply by
demand and supply but also by profit seeking, costs of investment,
and government regulation.
Developers can and do sit for decades on land or leave property
derelict until they consider it profitable to commence building. Right
now there is 2,233 hectares of undeveloped zoned land in the wider
Dublin region which could provide 102,500 new housing units.
The basic problem with a free market approach to housing is that
the private market only caters for a ‘demand’ that can provide a
profit. If you can’t provide a sufficient profit, as is the case with
many low income households, then you don’t count. The current
crisis is not just a once-off market failure – it is the modus operandi
of the private housing market. Predominantly free market or
neoliberal housing systems like ours are characterised by persistent
boom and busts, affordability problems, and exclusion.
That is why the state must intervene to protect people from the
market. It could do this in two ways which would fundamentally
address the crisis. Firstly, there is an immediate need for rent
certainty (where rents cannot be increased beyond a certain index
such as inflation) and improved tenant protections in the private
rented sector. Rent regulation exists in many European countries
(who incidentally have plenty of ‘supply’).
There is no constitutional impediment to such a measure, as Article
43.2.1 of Bhunreacht na hEireann states that the right of private
ownership “ought to be regulated by the principles of social justice”
and the State may, “delimit by law” these rights for “the common
good”. The introduction of rent certainty, as with other measures, is
clearly a political choice and the Constitution should not be hidden
behind as an excuse for inaction.
Secondly, a State Homes and Housing Agency should be formed to
deliver a historic social, rental and affordable house building and
refurbishment programme of well-planned, sustainable, and mixed
communities. This would be a partnership between local authorities,
government departments, housing associations, NAMA and
the Housing Finance Agency. It would have access to land, finance
and institutional expertise. It should have €1.5bn of annual capital
funding from the state. The current allocation of €500 million to
new social housing building in the Capital Investment Plan is
inadequate as it will only provide 1400 new units nationally next
year with fewer than 300 of those in Dublin City.
The Agency could build on the 30 hectares of land that Dublin City
Council is currently being forced to sell off through a Public Private
Partnership because it does not have the finances to build on it
itself. It could redirect into social use the €4.5billion NAMA plans to
invest with various vulture funds on high end office and apartment
developments. A Housing and Homes Agency could draw on finance
from the European Investment Bank. It could also compulsory
purchase vacant and derelict buildings and take over buy-to-lets in
arrears and convert them to low cost rental housing.
As it currently stands the 20,000 units the government has outlined
NAMA will provide in order to address supply will not be social units
but are to be delivered on a ‘commercial basis’ and are more likely
to be sold to international investment funds rather than as ‘starter
homes’. Indeed NAMA’s promotion of and involvement with global
wealth funds in the Irish property market must be questioned as to
how it is benefitting the Irish housing system. It is facilitating the
trend where housing is increasingly becoming a global investment
asset for the wealthy 1per cent.
Problems in our housing system are affecting economic
competitiveness, contributing to rising deprivation, inequality and
poverty, and lowering educational and employment prospects of
those affected. The 2008 crash should be a stark warning that a
rising property market is not necessarily a ‘good thing’. The housing
system will only be fixed when policy treats housing in the first
instance as a home, a social necessity and a human right, not a
speculative investment asset or commodity.
Dr Rory Hearne, Senior Policy Analyst, TASC Think-tank for Action
on Social Change
© 2015 irishtimes.com
Fintan O’Toole: Opposition to social housing is matter of
ideology not economics

Fintan O’Toole Irish Times : Tuesday, October 20, 2015, 04:00

Fellmongery is the preparation of animal skins for tanning. A pollard
is an animal that has had its horns removed. In 1949, official
statistics still listed Ireland’s “principal products” as including
“fellmongery, laces, pigs’ heads, pollard and snuff”.
Yet in that same year, 1949, my mother’s family moved into the
Dublin Corporation house where I would later grow up. A poor,
primitive, backward economy could build social housing on a large
scale for people who lacked decent homes.
And the rich, developed, globalised Irish economy of 2015 can’t.
In the late 1940s, when my family was housed, Ireland was still
recovering from the drastic economic effects of the second World
War. The average industrial wage was £5.59 a week for men and
£2.97 for women.
In real terms, that’s less than a third of average industrial wages in
1998 before the Celtic Tiger bubble. Fewer than a third of
households in 1949 had more than four rooms to live in. More than
60 per cent of households had no piped water supply. Nearly half
had no sanitary facilities – only 255,000 houses had a flush toilet.
And yet the State could build social housing.
Health and education
Infant mortality was about a hundred times higher than it is now.
Kids still died in large numbers from pneumonia, TB, whooping
cough and diphtheria. Male life expectancy at birth was less than 65
years.
People were badly educated – in 1950, a grand total of 4,500
students sat the Leaving Certificate exam and the number in all our
universities combined was 7,900. The entire output of Irish
broadcasting was seven hours of radio a day. There were just
43,000 phone lines in the State, only a third of them domestic.
And yet the State could build social housing.
The Irish economy, dominated by agriculture and food production,
was a paltry thing: total exports in 1949 amounted to just £61
million.
Almost all of this went to the UK as raw product – the characteristic
Irish export was a live cow in the hold of a cattle boat. In order of
scale, the leading Irish exports in 1949 were cattle, horses, fresh
hen eggs, ale/beer/porter, chocolate crumb, dead turkeys and
tinned beef. This makes tinned beef our leading manufacturing
export.
And yet the State could build social housing.
The estate I grew up in, Crumlin in southwest Dublin, was built by
the local authority, Dublin Corporation, with funding from the
central government. The process actually started in the 1930s,
during the Great Depression: 250 acres of south Crumlin were
acquired by compulsory purchase in 1934 and the building of over
3,000 houses began more or less straight away.
The project was far from perfect. The houses were too small –
most, like the one I grew up in, had just two bedrooms for big
(often extended) Irish Catholic families. (Our household, by no
means untypical, had three adults and five children.) Services and
facilities were slow to follow.
But the rent was affordable and the houses were a hell of a lot
better than what most people had before.
My mother had been living (with seven other people) in what was
essentially a one-room cottage in the Liberties; my father grew up
in a little hovel off the Dublin quays.
The “market” never had and never would give them a decent place
to live – the State did so instead. For all the problems, people in
Crumlin had a secure roof over their heads and the chance to build
a good community. We had homes.
Why could the State do this in the hungry 1930s and the postwar
1940s but not now?
Not because we can’t but because, as Enda Kenny put it last week,
“interference in the market” must be avoided. The desperation to
avoid the simple conclusion that government should build houses
for people who need them is about ideology, not resources. Fine
Gael, in particular, seems incapable of understanding housing as
anything other than a market.
Free-market ideology
It is striking that the decline in the building of social housing in
Ireland follows directly from the rise of so called “free market”
ideology in the Thatcher/Reagan era. In the mid-1970s, social
housing made up a third of all new houses. The shift in which that
proportion dropped to just 5 per cent was as disastrous
economically as it was socially – the property bubble could not have
inflated without it.
And still, after all we’ve been through, 75 per cent of the
Government’s promised “social housing” is to be built (supposedly)
by the private sector.
There is an almost obsessive fear of stating the obvious – that a
large proportion of people will never be decently housed by “the
market”. Those citizens need a State that’s not afraid to clear the
ground of narrow ideology and build on the foundations of real
human needs. That might involve relearning another forgotten word
– republic.
© 2015 irishtimes.com
From Dr MICHELLE NORRIS UCD Letter to Irish Times
Sir, – Fintan O’Toole (“Opposition to social housing is matter of
ideology not economics”, Opinion & Analysis, October 20th) in part
answers his own question when he asks why the State could afford
to fund a major social house-building programme during the
“hungry Fifties” when there was no free secondary education and
many of the social welfare benefits available today did not exist.
Relatively low spending on most other public services facilitated
levels of public investment in housing which were the highest in
western Europe at this time.
Growing spending on social welfare and health, particularly during
the 1970s, is one of the reasons why spending on social housing
was cut back. Therefore, unlike its counterparts in the inter-party
government of the 1950s, the current Government faces the
challenge of concurrently funding a social house building
programme and a comprehensive system of benefits and public
services.
However, the other part of the answer to the question raised by
Fintan O’Toole sheds light on how the current Government can meet
this challenge. High levels of social housing delivery were possible
in the 1950s because the funding method spread out the costs of
provision and kept them affordable for government. At this time
social housing was funded by very long-term loans, which were
repaid using a mix of central government subsidies, tenants’ rents
and the proceeds of domestic rates.
This funding model collapsed when domestic rates were abolished in
1978 and after that the exchequer paid for social house building in
lump-sum grants. The latter arrangement was less affordable
because the costs of provision were paid up front rather than
spread out over a long period, which helps to explain why
insufficient numbers of social houses were built even during the
Celtic Tiger period.
This lesson has been partially taken on board by policymakers and
in recent years loan finance had been provided for social housing
provision by non-profit housing associations by the Housing Finance
Agency, which borrows on capital markets and from EU institutions
for this purpose. The agency currently has some €500 million
available for lending to this sector at a fixed interest rate of 3.25
per cent.
However, despite great work by some housing associations, it is not
realistic to think that this sector, which delivered 25 per cent of
social housing prior to the bust, has the capacity to meet the full
scale of current housing needs, at least in the short term.
Therefore local authorities, which are currently debarred from
accessing Housing Finance Agency loans, due to concerns about its
implications for the national debt, need to be given permission to
borrow again for social housing provision. This is the only realistic
method of raising sufficient finance for and delivering a social
housing programme on the scale required to meet current needs. A
relatively small amount of public borrowing for this purpose could
have enormous social benefits and cut spending on rent
supplements.
Local authorities were traditionally the main providers of social
housing in Ireland, and Fintan’s O’Toole’s article eloquently
describes the huge contribution which council housing made to
improving the lives of his own family in the 1950s.
I agree that they have to play a central role if we are to solve the
current housing shortage. However, I disagree with his assertion
that achieving this is a matter of ideology; an affordable method of
resourcing this work has to be put in place as well. – Yours, etc,
Dr MICHELLE NORRIS,
School of Social Policy,
Social Work and
Social Justice,
University College Dublin,
Belfield, Dublin 4.
Conor Skehan reappointed as Housing Agency chair

Friday, January 05, 2018

The Housing Minister has reappointed Conor Skehan as chair of the

Housing Agency.
The Department of Housing said the move is temporary, and he will
only stay in the role for up to one year until a suitable replacement has
been found.

Mr Skehan will now continue in the role until the end of this year.

He had faced criticism earlier this week after claiming that some
homeless people could be 'gaming the system' to get housing.

However, there is no evidence families 'gaming the system', according

to Housing Minister

"He advises on Government policy and how he thinks it might be

impacting. It's fair enough that he can do that, that is his role. It is not
for me to criticise him for doing that, it is important that we have
different voices in this debate," he said earlier this week.

"I have no evidence in my Department of people presenting or trying to

'game the system'," he added.

However, Minister Murphy said Mr Skehan may have been referring to

the previous Government's policy.

"Conor was saying that that may have been an unintended consequence
of previous Government policy. My commitment is to make sure that
we build as many homes as possible," he added.

Responding to the news, ICHH CEO Anthony Flynn said: "The thoughts
of allowing Mr Skehan to remain in his position until November, or later
if a replacement is not found, is absurd.
"He has continuously criticised the whole homeless sector since news of
his original departure broke late last year.
"Skehan has failed to be productive or progressive in his role and has
tarnished himself as Chairman of the Housing Agency. He has been
quick to point the finger of blame at the victims of the homeless crisis
while failing to acknowledge his own failures as chairman of the housing
agency. In my opinion he must go."
The local authority suffering the worst homelessness levels in Ireland
has insisted there is "no evidence" whatsoever to support the outgoing
Government Housing Agency chair Conor Skehan's deeply controversial
claim some families "game the system" and jump social housing queues
by pretending to be homeless.

In a key intervention tonight, Dublin City Council's housing and

community services unit outright rejected Mr Skehan's claims - despite
Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy and the Department of Housing
failing to do so.
In an interview with the Irish Times today, Mr Skehan said while the
homelessness crisis is severe, some families are trying to "game the
system" by registering as homeless in order to jump social housing
queues.

Conor Skehan. Photo: Maxwell Photography.

Claiming the situation is distorting the scale of the scandal, Mr Skehan

said: "We unwittingly created a problem by prioritising self-declared
homelessness above all other types of housing need, which created a
distortion in the waiting list system and may have encouraged people to
game the system."

However, in a statement on Tuesday night, Dublin City Council's

housing and community services unit said there is no evidence
whatsoever to support Mr Skehan's views.

"There is no evidence to support the assertion homeless persons are

'gaming the system'. The issue is very complex with unique and often
tragic individual situations. Applicants cannot 'declare' themselves
homeless, they must be assessed and accepted as homeless by the
council," the statement read.

The council's key intervention came as Mr Murphy and the Department

of Housing failed to reject Mr Skehan's claims amid outrage from
opposition parties and advocacy groups.

Mr Murphy did not respond to an Irish Examiner query sent directly to

him on whether he would stand by Mr Skehan's remarks, while asked
the same question a Department spokesperson failed to address the
specific question in any way, simply saying:

"Homelessness is a highly complex issue. The Department will continue

to work with all stakeholders in order to provide the appropriate
supports and accommodation to those who need them."

Mr Skehan's claim some families in need are pretending to be homeless

to "game the system" provoked outrage from opposition parties and
homeless groups, with Fianna Fáil housing spokesperson Barry Cowen
saying the remarks were "crude" and risk "normalising" the
homelessness crisis, while Sinn Féin counterpart Eoin Ó Broin said the
remarks are "insulting" to families and must be rejected by
Government.

A series of advocacy groups - including Focus Ireland chief Mike Allen,

the Fr Peter McVerry Trust and Niamh Randall of the Simon Community
- also lambasted the claim, saying it is not based on any facts or
evidence and is an attempt to undermine criticism over the
Government's homelessness track record.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil communications spokesperson Timmy Dooley

has warned the Government it must provide proof it is solving the dual
homelessness and health crises this year before any potential extension
of the confidence and supply deal can be discussed.
Homeless man in Cork was trying to reclaim stolen
€120, court hears
Friday, January 05, 2018
Liam Heylin

A homeless man accused of attempted robbery this week claimed

yesterday he was only trying to get back €120 that had been robbed
from him.
Daniel Hourigan, aged 25, claimed at Cork District Court he had been
robbed shortly after receiving a welfare payment.
Inspector Finbarr O’Sullivan asked the man during his bail application
why he did not ask the gardaí to deal with the matter rather than taking
the law into his own hands.
Mr Hourigan said he had been robbed before and he made a complaint
at Anglesea St Garda Station but alleged nothing was done about it.
“Why would I go back a second time?” he asked.
Detective Garda Padraig Harrington arrested Mr Hourigan, who lives
with Cork Simon community. He charged the man with carrying out an
attempted robbery at Barrack St, Cork, on Wednesday.
Det Garda Harrington said the complainant in the attempted robbery
claimed he had been threatened with a knife.
“The knife was found as Mr Hourigan attempted to get rid of it.”
The defendant said he had the knife for fishing. As for having no fishing
rods, he said he was on his way to his friend’s house to pick up the rods.
Solicitor Frank Buttimer said the defendant felt wronged that someone
had taken money from him and he was so distressed he attempted to
take his own life at the Bridewell Garda Station.
Det Garda Harrington confirmed a suicide attempt was made.
Judge Kelleher refused Mr Hourigan’s bail application and remanded
him in custody for a week.

George Hook discusses impact of comments on

family
Friday, January 05, 2018
Newstalk broadcaster George Hook has said that people rang up his
son’s customers and asked them why they were doing business with the
"son of a rapist" following his controversial comments about the topic
on his programme last September, writes Olivia Kelleher.

In an interview with the Neil Prendeville show, on Cork’s Red FM, Mr

Hook said he readily accepted his comments were wrong and
indefensible.

However, he said his family had suffered arising out of the furore that
surrounded his remarks.

"I am watching my family take the brunt of it. My son -- people rang up
his customers and he runs the biggest rugby tour company in this
country. They rang up his customers with words to the effect of "why
are you doing business with the son of a rapist?" I brought this on my
family."

The broadcaster, who returns to Newstalk tomorrow, stepped down

from hosting his lunchtime show in late September following comments
he had made earlier that month on air during which he discussed the
case of a woman who claimed she was raped by a former member of the
British swim team.
In the course of the show he said "Is there no blame to the person who
puts themselves in danger?"

Mr Hook said he had handled the item in an "unprofessional" manner

and that it was a big item to do off the cuff. He readily accepted that he
had dealt with the issue "badly" on air and that he "regretted" his words.

However, he said what really disappointed him was the "Fake News"
that followed in the subsequent media reports.

"I don’t think there was a true word written in the newspapers in the
weeks after that event. There wasn’t one sentence that was entirely
true.

"It was the most extraordinary thing. Trump had brought up this thing
fake news and we all said ’Ah nonsense, nonsense, nonsense there is no
such thing as fake news.’ But I was reading day after day of fake news.

"I was reading it and saying the so called quality press, I can understand
some mickey mouse crowd acting like this, but the quality press rang up
every person who had worked with me in the last fifteen years and
essentially said ’Have you any dirt on Hook?’"

Mr Hook said that he was "very proud" that in almost 16 years of

broadcasting not one person had come forward with any "dirt" on him.

He insisted that one of the ramifications of the fall out going forward
involves the impact on the media of the "Twitterati."

"What is finished now for ever and the message from me and my
downfall will resonate throughout radio. I am not trying to make myself
in to a martyr. I think an awful lot of people who broadcast today will
now look at items and say ’should we really do this?’. Are the Twitterati
going to be the determining factor of radio or television success. Are
they going to decide?"

View image on Twitter

Newstalk
✔
@NewstalkFM

Newstalk announce new weekend schedule for 2018:

http://
bit.ly/2CCsWcJ

3:12 PM - Jan 4, 2018

17 17 Replies
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Twitter Ads info and privacy

He stressed that he was "finished" by around 200 people.

"There were 150,000 people listening to me and there were probably
200 took me down. I am not defending it. I am not defending it at all. I
have apologised twice. If people want me to apologise three times I will
apologise three times. I know what I did. I know it was wrong. I am not
happy about it. And I paid the price for it."

The Cork born broadcaster said he was grateful for the "goodwill" of
people on the streets. He is still replying to letters from people who felt
compelled to contact him after the controversy.

He added that Kevin Myers, whom he described as a "good mate," was

really speaking for him on the Claire Byrne show.

"Because what he said was ’I have a right to be wrong.’ I was wrong

there is no doubt about that. I have never denied that. I was wrong. But
like Myers I was clumsy.

"We are in one of the toughest businesses of all because it is live radio so
if we say something we can’t take it back. There is no sub editor to say
’Write that a different way’. We have said it. It is on the airwaves. It is
done. I do radio live. I don’t have any notes. I just do. And I did that off
the seat of my pants.

"First of all that was unprofessional to do something as important as

that because that was a big item to do it off the seat of my pants was
unprofessional. I handled it extremely badly."

Mr Hook said there was "incredible opportunism" in the wake of his

comments and that he bore no animosity towards his employer for how
they handled the situation.

"They (Newstalk) didn’t really have a lot of choice. I understood exactly.

There was no animosity between me and the radio station at all. I sat
there and let the cards fall where they may.

"There was incredible opportunism. The hotel group that sponsored the
programme says with great integrity ’We can’t possible continue to
sponsor this man’. They had two weeks left in their sponsorship.

"The radio station is a commercial operation. And a commercial radio

station has to look at its advertising and everything else. I had no
difficulty with that."

He also said he was not somebody who was controversial for the sake of
being controversial.

"The thing is that people often said to me when I was on television or

radio or whatever that I was controversial for the sake of being
controversial. And I sort of said ’Well you never really knew me before I
was on radio when I was just in a pub opinionating’. So therefore I can’t
see George non opinionating because I have thought about that quite a
lot."

He said he has spent the last few months catching up with his eight
grandchildren, reading and watching shows on Netflix.

He told Neil Prendeville that being off air made him realise how hard he
had been pushing himself and that he was now "better off."

However, he jokingly refuted any suggestion that he could find himself

in the future line ups of Dancing with the Stars insisting that he could
"never follow Dessie." (Cahill)

Mr Hook will be on air on Newstalk tomorrow with Hook’s Saturday Sit-

In which will be broadcast from 8am to 10am.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/george-hook-discusses-
impact-of-comments-on-family-821402.html
Concerns were raised over role of garda unit at
tribunal
Friday, January 05, 2018
Michael Clifford
Concerns were expressed in a government department about the
setting up of a controversial unit in An Garda Síochána to liaise with the
Disclosures Tribunal, according to documents seen by the Irish
Examiner.
Maurice McCabe

The unit was initially staffed by retired garda members who were known
to be close to then commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan. The unit was
effectively a filter operation for all information going from the force to
the tribunal which is investigating alleged attempts to smear Sergeant
Maurice McCabe.
According to correspondence seen by the Irish Examiner, officials in the
Department of Public Expenditure were concerned the re-employment
of the former members could contribute to the “issues that continue to
impact on public trust and confidence in An Garda Síochána”.
Replying to a request from the Department of Justice to sanction the
contracts for the retired members, the official asked whether
alternative approaches to servicing the tribunal had been considered.
“It would be extremely unsatisfactory if the proposed approach —
rehiring former senior Garda officers — was to impact negatively on the
workings of the tribunal, therefore compounding ongoing problems,”
principal officer at the Department of Public Expenditure John Burke
wrote.
“An assessment from your department which concludes that such risks
are unfounded would be helpful for us in making a decision regarding
this sanction request.”
The letter is dated April 12, 2017. By that point, lawyers for Sgt McCabe
and former garda press officer Superintendent David Taylor had
expressed concern at the tribunal about the liaison unit.
The Irish Examiner had also reported on issues around the unit which
was up and running even though official sanction for its budget had not
yet been approved.
A replying letter from a principal officer at Justice pointed out an
alternative approach would have been to employ a firm of solicitors.
This approach “was floated within An Garda Síochána but was not put
forward by the commissioner”, principal officer Anne Barry wrote.
She pointed out that it would take much longer to get up and running if
this approach was taken and it would cost “a multiple of the cost of re-
engaging retired staff”.
She also said that the Department of Justice had “no reason to believe
that the proposed approach will impact negatively on the workings of
the tribunal”.
The Department of Public Expenditure did sanction the re-employment
of the two retired members in a letter on May 5 in which the line, “Given
your Department’s assessment that this overall approach is
appropriate”, was underlined.
Since the unit was set up, head of human resources in AGS John Barrett
wrote five times to express various concerns about its function and its
capacity to act in an appropriate manner for all garda members
engaging with the tribunal.
Ms O’Sullivan resigned as commissioner in September 2017. Last
month, acting commissioner Dónall Ó Cualáin officially informed the
minister for justice of ongoing concerns about the unit under Section 41
of the Criminal Justice Act.
Ms O’Sullivan is scheduled to appear before the tribunal next
Wednesday and Mr Barrett is pencilled in to appear the following day.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/concerns-were-raised-over-role-of-
garda-unit-at-tribunal-465325.html
Former Tánaiste and justice minister Frances Fitzgerald “made a
mistake” in her handling of the Maurice McCabe email saga and she
made the right decision to resign, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe
believes, writes Irish Examiner Political Editor,Daniel McConnell.

Mr Donohoe’s comments are the first time any Fine Gael minister has
departed from the position that Ms Fitzgerald “did nothing wrong”.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Mr Donohoe said repeatedly that in his

view she erred in her judgement which threatened to collapse the
Government and cause a shock general election before Christmas.

“I believe she made a mistake, she made a mistake,” he said.

Former Tánaiste and justice minister Frances Fitzgerald “made a
mistake” in her handling of the Maurice McCabe email saga and she
made the right decision to resign, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe
believes.

However, Mr Donohoe said he felt the price she paid for her mistake
was excessive.

“I also don’t believe her exit from government and her resignation was
proportionate to that mistake,” he said.

“All of us who work in sensitive roles, as Frances did, we do make

mistakes in them. We always try to recognise those mistakes where we
can and learn from them, be accountable for them.

“I really felt and still do now, that across her entire tenure in office,
everything I had seen her do in Justice, particularly when I worked with
her as public expenditure minister, felt she was on the right side of the
debate,” he said.

However, despite feeling that the resignation on November 28 was

disproportionate, Mr Donohoe does accept it was required in order to
save the Government at a critical time.
“Her resignation was not proportionate to the mistake but from the
point of the stability of the Government and the ability of the
Government to do what it needed to do on Brexit, it was the right
decision for her and the right decision for the Government,” he said.

Mr Donohoe said that he “regretted” the circumstances of the crisis

which forced Ms Fitzgerald from office.

“On a personal level, while I am always delighted to see the progress of

new colleagues like Josepha, I really regret the circumstances of her
resignation.”

Mr Donohoe made it clear that he believed Ms Fitzgerald would see off

the crisis until fresh emails emerged which showed she was aware of the
legal strategy of the ex-Garda commissioner to undermine Sgt McCabe
at the O’Higgins Commission.

“Up until the final emails came out, I did not think her resignation was
inevitable. I thought she had every prospect of being able to stay in
office.

“Up until those emails came out, what I thought was likely from her was
a statement of some kind, maybe a statement in the Dáil, a statement
to Cabinet, something like that,” he said.

“But when the final emails came out, I think she realised that from the
point of view of preserving the Government, that her resignation was
needed,” he added.

Mr Donohoe said that he felt that overall her decision at such a critical
time in the context of Brexit was understandable and correct.

“On a political level and on a Government level I fully understand it, it

was the right thing for the Government when you think of where we
ended up the following week with Brexit, it would have been so difficult
for any government in the early phase of an election to manage that, so
difficult.”

Mr Donohoe said that he does not believe there will be a snap general
election this year and is confident he will introduce another budget in
October.

“No, I have not delivered my last budget, there will be another budget. I
believe the Confidence and Supply Arrangement will see out the third
budget. I believe it will deliver a third budget,” he told the Irish
Examiner.

Asked when he thought the next election would be, he said: “I don’t
know and if I were to put a date beside it, it makes it far more likely that
the election would happen before then.

“I believe this Government will last all of 2018”.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/frances-fitzgerald-
made-a-mistake--paschal-donohoe-821348.html
The Department of Justice insist the former Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald
could not do anything about the Garda legal strategy to discredit
Maurice McCabe.

Acting Secretary General of the Department Oonagh McPhillips said

that Ms Fitzgerald could have convened her senior officials to query the
strategy at the O'Higgins Commission.

However, speaking at an Oireachtas Committee, Ms McPhillips insists

the then-Minister could not have tried to stop the former Garda
Commissioner's approach.
"If the Minister was to express that view to the Commissioner in relation
to a matter before a Commission of Investigation, that could be
deemed, subsequently, to have been interfering in the Commissioner's
rights before the Commission," she said.

"And obviously if the issue of disciplinary proceedings, or any kind of

proceedings, arose subsequent to the findings of the Commission, the
Minister would have compromised herself."
Acting Secretary General of the Department Oonagh McPhillips. Pic:
Oireachtas.ie

Earlier: Justice Department to answer questions on Maurice McCabe

scandal today

The Justice Department will answer questions on the Maurice McCabe

scandal today.

A string of departmental emails discussing the legal strategy against the

Garda whistleblower emerged, which led to the resignation of the
Tánaiste, is set to be the main topic of discussion.

The acting Secretary General will acknowledge that mistakes have been
made but will also defend the work of the Justice Department.

Oonagh McPhillips will maintain that they handed over all documents to
the Disclosures Tribunal, despite the fact that the emails about the
strategy against Sergeant McCabe were not included.

Deputy Fitzgerald insists she did nothing wrong, and Ms. McPhillips will
confirm that they would always advise a Minister not to get involved in
any case before a Commission of Investigation.
Maurice McCabe

BLOWING the whistle is not what it used to be. Since the enactment of
the Protected Disclosures Act (PDA) in 2014, those who wish to report
wrongdoing appear to have been somewhat emboldened.
According to Transparency International calls to its helpline from
whistleblowers increased from 15% of all calls in 2014, when the law was
passed, to 27% by 2016.
The helpline, which was set up in 2011, has fielded more than 900 calls
from employees, inquiring about how to report wrongdoing, asking for
advice and from whistleblowers themselves.
“This [the increase] suggests that the enactment of the PDA, which
came into effect in July 2014, has had an impact on the number of
whistleblowers calling the helpline,” the Speak Up report stated.
Since 2014, there has been a number of high-profile cases of
whistleblowing. Some of these illustrate that there is no template for a
whistleblower and that the reporting of wrongdoing is not confined to
any particular stereotype of individual.
Maurice McCabe, one of the most high-profile whistleblowers and
Robert Pitt, former CEO of INM.

The story of Sgt Maurice McCabe is the obvious one. His complaints of
malpractice in An Garda Síochána has resulted in a commission of
investigation examining his claims of malpractice, and now a public
tribunal examining allegations that he was the subject of a smear
campaign.
Sgt McCabe’s odyssey began before the PDA came into law, and is
notable for his persistence and guile in defending himself at a time
when legal protections were relatively threadbare.
There have been others which are also unique.
Earlier this year, the chief executive of Independent News and Media
Robert Pitt made a protected disclosure about what he considered to be
wrongdoing in the company he ran.
He had been involved in a dispute with the chairman of INM,
Leslie Buckley, about whether a potential purchase of Newstalk FM was
in the best interests of the company.
Once he made the disclosure — and irrespective of whether it is
ultimately found to have substance — he was protected from any
possible repercussions.
During the year this newspaper highlighted the case of two
whistleblowers in the Defence Forces who reported on the lack of safety
in the use of hazardous chemicals.
The Grace case, also first reported in the Irish Examiner, came to light
when two whistleblowers alleged there was sexual abuse in a foster
home, but that the HSE ignored the reports and left the girl known as
Grace in the home for 17 years.
Both claimed that they suffered threats as a result of the disclosure with
one claiming there was misinformation spread about her to discredit
her.
Just as the INM case shows the positive protections that are afforded in
the PDA, the treatment of the whistleblower in the Grace case
illustrates the shortcomings in the law.
The Grace case is referenced in the Speak Up report in the context
of the culture within the HSE towards whistleblowers. Public perception
— and the number of calls to the helpline — associates whistleblowing
primarily with the gardaí. Yet it is in the HSE that the greater number of
cases arise and where there is a more pronounced culture of retaliation
against whistleblowers. The Public Concern at Work helpline in the UK
has had a similar experience with calls about the National Health
Service.
“It is not clear why whistleblowers appear to be more likely to
suffer reprisal in the health service than in any other profession or
sector,” the report states.
“It is clear, however, that where they do, patient safety is placed as risk.
“Whistleblowers are the most likely to encounter and draw attention to
harmful practices in health services. The protection of whistleblowers
and promotion of whistleblowing can therefore be a matter of life and
death.”
One shortcoming in HSE policy highlighted in the Speak Up report is the
use of a provision for “good faith” reporting of wrongdoing under health
legislation, in which the motives for reporting are considered. This, of
course, is a cop-out.
The main issue is whether or not there is wrongdoing and questioning
the motives merely distracts from the main issue, which, as pointed out
in the Transparency International report, could be a matter of life and
death.
Questioning the whistleblower’s motives is not confined to the health
service. In January, the Disclosures Tribunal will examine whether
elements in the gardaí engaged in an attempt to question Sgt McCabe’s
motives for reporting wrongdoing in order to discredit his allegations.
There is some good news in the report. The Integrity At Work survey
contained therein questioned 1,150 employees and employers about
attitudes to whistleblowing. It found that around one in 10 employees
had, during their career, reported wrongdoing. The majority of these
felt they didn’t suffer any repercussions as a result.
However, 21% of employees did feel that they had been subjected to
some form of retaliation.
Invariably, it is this cohort that end up in the public domain. Reporting
on the plight of whistleblowers can be a double-edged sword. On one
hand, the exposure of retaliation brings the matter out in the open,
increasing the likelihood that it might be addressed, and acts as a
warning to those disposed towards affecting retaliation.
It also, however, highlights what can befall whistleblowers in certain
areas. For instance, knowledge of the experience of Sgt McCabe for
one, would be unlikely to act as a catalyst to others in An Garda
Síochána to report wrongdoing.
In this regard, the law does, as Transparency International points out,
require further protections.
Every company, agency and sector is susceptible to wrongdoing. The
divide is between those who want it addressed once highlighted and
those who want it to remain buried. The latter option inevitably leads to
further problems, not least the deception involved in covering up.
We’ve seen plenty of that in recent years. Only heightened vigilance will
ensure that those who wish to report wrongdoing can feel confident
enough that their complaints will be addressed and no retaliation will
ensue. The concerns of whistleblowers need to be listened to rather
than buried.

A hot-air boycott
Saturday, January 06, 2018

THE concern that Disabilities Minister Finian McGrath has about Israel
and the plight of Palestinians is shared by many in Ireland, where
widespread support for diplomatic recognition of Palestine, along with a
two-state solution, transcends party political lines. He underlines his
dismay by supporting calls for economic sanctions — a trade boycott —
he imagines would soften Israel’s approach to the problem.
Such a boycott might have symbolic value — it would make many feel
better — but in practical terms it would be little more than small beer.
Israel isn’t on the list of Ireland’s top 10 trade partners. It accounts for a
mere 1.3% of our export income. While it is fair to acknowledge that
Israel increased its product purchases from Ireland by more than 500%
from 2009 to 2016, it would have no difficulty in finding replacement
markets for the goods it needs and wants.
A guaranteed outcome, however, would be a marked stiffening of
Israel’s stand on the greatly-desired two-state goal, along with renewed
calls on its critics in Western democracies to condemn rocket and
terrorist attacks on Israel. The boycott Israel argument would be
weightier if it was matched by pressure on the Palestinian factions and
their Arab allies to recognise Israel’s right to exist.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/views/a-hot-air-boycott-
821460.html
Democracy in danger from fake ‘news’
Saturday, January 06, 2018
DID you hear the story alleging that Barack Obama was an undercover
Hamas agent whose mission when elected president of the United
States was to create a socialist national health system — Obamacare —
the aim of which was to kill David Bowie because he knew the truth
about a plan by Chinese-backed space aliens to hijack the oil industry
and destroy the global economy? Fear not; it’s parody of a fake news
item, written to make the point that while some voters might be dim
enough to believe it, most possess sufficient common sense to see it for
what it is: codswallop.

Which is not to say that fake news is not a problem. It is, and has been
for centuries, as demonstrated by the antiquity and tenacity of the
Jewish blood libels. What is different now — and what has provoked
president Macron into drafting legislation that would in France outlaw
fake news — is the volume of the rubbish being churned out on social
media channels and the cyber fog in which its producers hide.

Mr Macron is right to be worried, but the action he proposes is too little,

far too late. His ban would apply only during election campaigns, as if
opinions aren’t shaped in the years between elections; it would see
congested courts having to decide what was true or fake, or just
something with which a politician disagreed; and it wouldn’t protect
France’s democracy from websites and sources beyond its borders. It is,
sadly, probable that this genie is out of the bottle.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/views/democracy-in-danger-
from-fake-news-821457.html
Ireland in danger of turning boom to bust
again
The Crash – 10 years on: Housing market and
not Brexit the main danger facing recovering
economy
January 6, 18
Liam Halligan
“The biggest risk is that the housing market once again spirals out of control.”
Photograph: Bryan O’Brien
Ireland accounts for just 0.4 per cent of the global
economy. But outside interest massively outweighs that
tiny world GDP share – given the ubiquity of the Irish
people and the country’s enormous cultural reach.
Ask most Brits or Americans how the Irish economy is
faring and, while they may not know specifics, they’ll
have a general sense. The roar of the Celtic Tiger was
heard around the world, as was the sound of Ireland’s
2008 crash – being more severe than in any other
English-speaking country.
Ten years on, though, few outsiders really understand
the dislocation Ireland suffered during the long,
spluttering recovery of 2008-2013. The intensity of the
subsequent boom is also yet to truly register – except
among the loyal ranks of foreign direct investors.
My fear, as an “insider-outsider” – born
into a London-Irish family and a frequent
visitor – is that history could repeat itself
The Irish economy expanded by about 5 per cent in
2017, outpacing all other euro-zone countries for the
fourth successive year. The recovery has been impressive
– sending per-capita GDP to an astonishing sixth in the
world (well ahead of Germany and the UK, ranked 23rd
and 30th respectively).
Yet wages are still subdued, indebtedness remains high
and the housing market is harking back to the pre-2008
madness. My fear, as an “insider-outsider” – born into a
London-Irish family and a frequent visitor – is that
history could repeat itself, with Irish boom turning again
to bust.
Punishing contraction
Ireland endured a punishing seven quarters of economic
contraction during 2008 and 2009. The country also
dipped back into recession in late 2012, as the euro zone
flirted with systemic collapse. The steep fall meant the
economy returned to its pre-crisis size only in 2015 –
taking seven years to recover, compared with three years
in the United States and five in the UK.
ADVERTISEMENT

inRead invented by Teads

Ireland should have regained its economic mojo far

quicker – not least as foreign direct investment held up,
despite domestic difficulties. Though it dipped from $60
billion in 2007 to $23 billion in 2008, net investment
inflows bounced back above $50 billion in 2009, before
averaging about $40 billion over the subsequent four
years. Investors, particularly from the US, kept pouring
money into crisis-ridden Ireland, attracted by low
corporation tax and the young, well-educated workforce.
Ireland took one for the team, as the then
finance minister Michael Noonan so rightly
admitted in 2013
What hindered recovery was an austerity programme
imposed by the European Union and International
Monetary Fund that was simply too harsh. The scale of
the pre-2008 property bubble, fuelled by reckless bank
lending, is well known. But once the crash came, rather
than letting busted banks fold while protecting
depositors, the Irish government was outrageously
strong-armed by euro-zone policymakers into bailing out
bank creditors too.
The economy: Learning lessons of the crash
Fintan O’Toole: Has Ireland had a lost decade?
‘The recession changed the course of my life forever’
Taxpayers were lumbered with almost €67 billion of debt
– some €14,000 per person – largely to save investors in
French and German banks that had been stupid enough
to finance Ireland’s bubble.
“Ireland took one for the team,” as the then finance
minister Michael Noonan so rightly admitted in 2013.
“While some of it was our own fault, a lot of the action
was taken at the direction of the European Central Bank
to prevent contagion spreading to the European banking
system.”
Big cuts
This EU-driven bailout drove the huge budget and wage
cuts that hammered public services and crushed
consumption, pushing unemployment above 15 per cent.
Funding for local authority housing was slashed from
€1.3 billion in 2007 to just €83 million in 2013 – helping
explain the ongoing homelessness crisis. Over the same
period, health spending fell an eye-watering 27 per cent.
Ireland endured “austerity measures” over four years
that were some three times greater in proportionate
terms than the UK spread over eight years. Yes, the
country regained its credit rating and ability to raise
money on international markets. But the adjustment was
far too aggressive, the related social fallout needlessly
damaging – thanks to policymakers in Brussels and
Washington.
The economy has now rebounded largely because the
export sectors in which Ireland increasingly specialises –
such as biotech, pharmaceuticals and business and
computer services – are extremely buoyant. Ireland, like
Germany, also benefits from a single currency that
remains significantly undervalued compared with the
country’s domestic competitiveness.
Anglo-Saxon reliance
The recovery has also been driven by Ireland’s still very
strong economic and investment links to the Anglo-
Saxon world. The top two single-nation export
destinations remain the US and UK – with the same
countries, in reverse order, being the top import
partners too.
Since 2008, these economies have performed well,
fuelling overseas sales of Irish goods and services. Over
the last decade, the US has grown by 1.5 per cent a year,
the UK by 1.2 per cent, while the euro zone has managed
just 0.35 per cent annual growth since 2008.
There has, of course, been some trade diversification
towards the EU. In 2016, though, three-fifths of Irish
exports were sold beyond the EU27 – reflecting
deepening trade links not only with the US but also some
large emerging markets. Ireland now boasts the world’s
seventh-largest trade surplus in absolute terms – a
remarkable achievement.
This recovery is partially an accounting
trick, with foreign firms allocating paper
profits to Ireland for tax purposes
Recent signs of euro zone recovery are welcome – even if
the growth reflects catch-up and an ongoing programme
of European Central Bank money-printing. But the fact
remains that Ireland continues to conduct the majority
of its trade beyond continental Europe.
This recovery is partially an accounting trick, with
foreign firms allocating paper profits to Ireland for tax
purposes. And while unemployment is down, it is still an
uncomfortable 9 per cent – with many talented
youngsters still leaving. Indebtedness has fallen, but
remains dangerously high, as the Central Bank warned
last month. And with a non-performing loan rate of
about 20 per cent, the Irish banking sector still looks
fragile.
The main danger facing the Irish economy isn’t Brexit –
which I happen to think will end up benefiting Ireland.
The biggest risk is that the housing market once again
spirals out of control – not least because, with monetary
policy set in Frankfurt, there’s little scope to douse the
market with higher interest rates.
Ahead of 2008, house prices doubled in six years. While
this latest expansion is slower, there was still a hefty 8.4
per cent rise in 2017.
Ireland has a well-deserved global reputation for
economic energy and resilience. Irish people everywhere
won’t want us adding to our reputation for economic
bust.
Liam Halligan is a Telegraph columnist and the author
of Clean Brexit: How to make a Success of Leaving the
EU
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/ireland-in-danger-of-turning-
boom-to-bust-again-1.3345062
In the fullness of time and historical looked back at the rescissory years the impact that NAMA's actions had will be
shown that it alone was the greatest destruction of Irish domestic wealth that had taken generations to put together, by
there actions of not working with debtors and restructuring there debts over time , they sold the sliver to the overseas
vulture funds and we can only lament as time passes what could have been if we were smart or at least savvy enough
that we as a state could have held these assets.
I’ve always said this about David McWilliams - Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
He was advocating a full guarantee of bond holders on all banks at the time of the credit crunch.

Fintan O’Toole: Has Ireland

had a lost decade?
The Crash – 10 years on: Is Ireland a wiser and better-
governed place than it was in the years of folly and frolic?
about 14 hours ago

Fintan O'Toole Follow @fotoole

8

November 2010: protesters hold placards depicting then taoiseach Brian

Cowen and then minister for finance Brian Lenihan, as they march past the
GPO in Dublin. Photograph: Peter Muhly/AFP/Getty Images
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After the great fall of 2008, the word was that Ireland
would experience a lost decade. In many ways that
pessimism was justified. The 10 years since the bubble
burst have been hard ones. For at least the first half of
that period, survival – personal and national – was the
best that could be hoped for. Large ambitions were put
on hold.
A shocked numbness gave way to a grim kind of
resilience. Hatches were battened down. But was the
decade merely lost? Has anything been learned? Is
Ireland a wiser and better-governed place than it was in
the years of folly and frolic?
At the personal level, it seems that Irish people are at
least somewhat chastened by the experience and
somewhat less inclined to take risks. Household debt is a
good marker of tolerance for risk.
It reached its height in the third quarter of 2008, when it
stood at €203.7 billion. In the first quarter of 2017, it
was just €142.7 billion – a decline of 30 per cent.
So it seems clear that Irish people in general have
become more cautious as a result of the crash. In the
boom years, prudence was a synonym for stupidity – the
motto was to get in as deep as you can. Now, it seems,
there is at least some reluctance to put the hand to the
fire again.
Household debt
But how deep does this go? Is it a profound cultural shift
or just a temporary reaction? There are two reasons to
be cautious about our new-found caution. One is that
Irish household debt levels are still very high by
European standards: our debt-to-income ratios are
about 50 per cent higher than the average in the euro
zone. The other is that we still like buying stuff on credit.

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The big picture of household debt mostly reflects the

high level of mortgages here.
Even after years of austerity and low
inflation, Irish people still accept as a
matter of fact that they must pay through
the nose for everything
The smaller picture, which may tell us more about
individual day-to-day behaviour, is how we use credit
cards. In August 2017, some 7 per cent of Irish credit
cards exceeded their credit limit, while 36 per cent had
balances of between 75 and 100 per cent of their credit
limits. So, chastened – but not entirely.
And this in turn may reflect something that has not
changed at all: even after years of austerity and low
inflation, Irish people still accept as a matter of fact that
they must pay through the nose for everything. Irish
prices across a range of consumer goods and services are
the second highest in the Europe Union and 125 per cent
of the EU average. (Only Denmark is more expensive.)
According to the National Competitiveness Council,
Ireland’s current price profile could be described as
“high cost, rising slowly”. And this applies not just to
consumer prices. Childcare costs are still among the
most expensive in the world. The rate of Irish health
insurance inflation fell steadily after 2012 and dropped
below the euro zone average. But by March 2017, it was
galloping off again: at 8.3 per cent, it was vastly above
the euro area (2.3 per cent) and UK (3.8 per cent).
Public services
The weakness of public services means Irish people still
assume they pay directly for things that come as part of
the “social wage” in other European societies. This in
turn means financial vulnerability of the kind revealed in
the crash remains a fact of life, even for middle-class
households.
Something else that has not changed is the ability of
Irish professionals to charge extremely high fees for their
services. After the crash of 2008, there was a great deal
of talk about, for example, the need to reduce the power
of the legal profession and bring its costs into line with
other countries. But while legal fees fell in the immediate
aftermath of 2008, they quickly recovered from the
shock.
The economy: Learning lessons of the crash
‘The recession changed the course of my life forever’
‘If the recession hadn’t hit, I’d never have gone out on my
own’
In the third quarter of 2016, legal fees in Ireland were
8.3 per cent higher than in the same period of 2012. The
World Bank estimates that the total cost of contract
enforcement in Ireland amounts to 26.9 per cent of a
claim, compared with 22.1 per cent across the OECD.
The same is broadly true for accountants and
consultants.
Most importantly, there is little evidence of any
fundamental shift in the very area that did so much to
cause the crash – the dysfunctional housing market.
The national index of residential property prices is still
30.7 per cent lower than it was at its Celtic Tiger peak in
2007. But the trend is relentlessly in favour of a return to
the extremely expensive (and for most people
unaffordable) house prices of the boom years.

Residential property prices nationally increased by 52.1

per cent in the period 2013 to 2017. In Dublin, the
increase has been an even more spectacular 67.9 per
cent. And at the other end of the scale, there has been an
appalling increase in homelessness, a condition that had
engulfed over 2,000 families and 3,100 children by the
end of October.
Housing
It might have been expected that a property-driven crash
of the magnitude that Ireland experienced after 2008
would lead to a fundamental shift in the way society and
government think about housing, to focus on shelter as a
human need first and a commodity or investment a
distant second. But this did not happen.
It couldn’t happen because the State’s biggest response
to the crisis was to nationalise the vast bulk of property
debt through Nama and through public ownership of the
banks.
Whether this was the right policy or not can be endlessly
debated but what is not in doubt is that it locked the
State into the idea that high property prices are a good
thing – and the higher the better.
As one of the largest property owners in the world
through Nama, the State needed property price inflation.
It did not have the much more socially desirable option
of reshaping Ireland’s property culture to make cheap
housing a political aim.
The survival of professional privilege and the reinflation
of the property market are consequences of the general
political approach to the management of the crisis.
When Nama in its initial documents, published at the
depth of the crisis, made provision for an astounding
€2.6 billion in professional fees over 10 years, it was
setting a clear benchmark.
The near doubling of consistent child
poverty in the austerity years was a matter
of choice
And it was also making an implicit statement about the
way austerity would be handled so as not to disturb the
distribution of privilege in Irish society. Suffering may
have been universal, but austerity hit vulnerable children
much harder than it hit those who could have taken
more of the pain.
The near doubling of consistent child poverty in the
austerity years was a matter of choice – a consequence of
official determination that the emergency must not
reshape Irish society in any significant way.
Nor did the legal, political and administrative systems
change nearly as radically as might have been expected
in a country where their failures had been so egregious.
The extraordinary impunity for white-collar crime that
underpinned the gross ethical violations in Irish banking
did not alter. Compared with other countries, there was
very little personal criminal accountability.

A billboard comparing the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) to the

computer game Grand Theft Auto on the side of a building in Dublin in
November 2009. Photograph: Julien Behal/PA
The Oireachtas banking inquiry was toothless – it was
established six years after the banking crash, reported
eight years after and was legally barred from making
adverse findings against individuals. The Central Bank
inquiry into Irish Nationwide, which cost citizens €5.4
billion, began public hearings only last month.
It is therefore not at all surprising that as early as 2010,
just after it had been bailed out and while citizens were
still reeling from the awful consequences of having to
fund proportionally the most expensive bank rescue in
history, the entire Irish banking system embarked on a
massive campaign of deception in which it wrongly
removed tracker mortgages from at least 30,000
customers.
Personal price
Nor is it surprising that even in 2018, no one really
believes anyone will pay a serious personal price for that
scandal either.
This remarkable continuity is perhaps a testament to the
way the existing political order weathered the storm.
Enda Kenny came to power in 2011 on the back of public
fury at Fianna Fáil’s mishandling of the crisis, promising
a “democratic revolution”.
There were indeed a few innovations: legislation to
protect whistleblowers, the experiment on deliberative
democracy through the Citizens’ Convention, the
establishment of the Fiscal Advisory Council,
curtailment of the use of the parliamentary guillotine to
prevent debate.
Parliamentary scrutiny of the budgetary
process remains the weakest in the
democratic world
But a revolution it was not. Voters baulked at proposals
to give Oireachtas committees real investigative powers.
Local government reform was at best tepid. The Seanad,
widely acknowledged to be unjustifiable in its current
form, remains entirely unreformed. Ministers continue
to evade accountability to the Dáil through blatant
obfuscation. Parliamentary scrutiny of the budgetary
process remains the weakest in the democratic world.
Promises to create clear lines of responsibility and
personal accountability in the civil service have not been
kept.
And so we are left with the haunting question – could it
all happen again? Probably not in the same way. Basic
regulation for the banks is much stronger. The fear of a
credit bubble will probably linger in the system for
another generation.
But there is not much evidence that the other underlying
weaknesses – high levels of household debt, an
obsession with property as a monetary asset, low ethical
standards in the banks, poor parliamentary scrutiny, and
impunity for white collar crime – have been dealt with.
Until they are, Ireland will always be vulnerable to the
crises it does not see coming.

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/fintan-o-toole-has-ireland-
had-a-lost-decade-1.3332699
Well we had over 100,000 who stopped paying their mortgages which caused the banks to run out of
money but it's easy to blame someone else isn't it
We have thrown out the cream of our graduates and trades men and exchanged them for ..... well look
what we have?

Diocese bans the ‘sign of

peace’ amid Australian flu
fears
Northern Irish parishioners are not allowed shake hands in
Mass due to risk of infection
about 5 hours ago

A Catholic diocese in Northern Ireland has suspended the ‘sign of peace’

handshake in its Masses due to the risk of infection from a strain of the flu.
File photograph: Richard Seagraves/Photonica/Getty
A Catholic diocese in Northern Ireland has suspended
the “sign of peace” handshake in its Masses due to the
risk of infection from a strain of the flu first seen in
Australia.
At least 170,000 cases were confirmed in Australia by
the end of its winter in 2017, more than twice as many as
in 2016. Health officials say they logged 72 flu-related
deaths.
The H3N2 virus, which is also referred to as “Australian
flu” or “Aussie flu”, has spread across Britain and Ireland
in recent weeks.
A statement from the office of Bishop Noel Treanor said:
“Having received medical advice concerning the
increasing risk and impact of Australian flu, the Diocese
of Down and Connor has decided to reactivate . . .
precautionary measures originally established by the
diocese in response to the swine flu epidemic in 2009.
Gender pay gap discussions to take place next week
Tusla warned over use of fax to send sensitive information
to Garda
Ireland’s Copts all set to celebrate Christmas
“All parishioners are reminded of good hygiene practice
as recommended by the public health authority.
“Parishioners are encouraged to use disinfecting hand
gels and handwash soaps to minimise risk of infection. If
anyone exhibits flu-like symptoms, they should stay at
home during this illness and advise their GP.
“The customary sign of peace handshake exchanged
during Mass is suspended until the risk of infection is
significantly reduced. Other provisions will be made for
those who suffer from a coeliac condition, such as
separate chalices.
“Provision should be made for all ministers to use
alcohol gel or wash their hands in warm soapy water
before Mass and after the distribution of Holy
Communion to minimise risk of infection.”
Paying tribute
The diocese’s statement also paid tribute to those
working within the medical field, acknowledging that
“hospitals across Northern Ireland are currently
experiencing high numbers of patient admissions of
those suffering from respiratory illnesses directly linked
to the flu virus.
“These precautionary measures are temporary and will
remain under review until the risk of infection is
significantly reduced.”

British health secretary Jeremy Hunt said the H3N2

virus is straining resources at the NHS. “We’ve . . . got an
additional pressure this year of an uptick in flu and
respiratory illness which we didn’t have last year,” he
told Sky News.
“It’s too early to say whether we are going to experience
what they experienced in Australia. But that has
undoubtedly created extra pressures on the system.” –
Guardian service
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/diocese-
bans-the-sign-of-peace-amid-australian-flu-fears-1.3347299
The 2017 Aussie flu. Where nearly 400 people died in a country where winter drops to about 15℃ . Where every single
death, as well as the hundreds of thousands hospitalized, seemed to have had the flu vaccine, 2017 has the H1N1 09,
which is the Swine flu. Only 20% maximum have the vaccine and every death vaccinated, as well as it 'apparently'
being, surprise surprise, 8% effective, you do the math. But if you remember just one thing, never, ever, forget that
they knew this vaccine was killing people from all ages, in a country that gets good sunshine and nutrition, and yet
still they got you all to roll up and take it. That's murder!

Islamic dress code should be

accommodated in schools -
group
Irish Muslim Board calls for clothes with crucifixes to be
made optional
about 19 hours ago
Carl O'Brien

Dr Ali Selim of the Irish Muslim Board: the group says Muslim children can
feel alienated at school, particularly in activities that revolve around Christmas
such as nativity plays and carol services. Photograph: Alan Betson
A Muslim campaign group says school uniforms should
accommodate Islamic dress codes by allowing girls to
wear full-length skirts, long-sleeved shirts and
headscarves.
The Irish Muslim Board has also called for school
uniforms which have crucifix symbols or images of saints
to be made optional in the interests of creating greater
inclusivity.
The recommendations are contained in the board’s
submission to a Department of Education consultation
process over school admission policies.
The group, chaired by Dr Ali Selim, was formed in 2016
to encourage Muslims to become more politically active.
While there are two Muslim primary schools in Dublin,
the community does not have a secondary school.
In its submission, the group says Muslim children can
feel alienated at school, particularly in activities that
revolve around Christmas such as nativity plays and
carol services.
It recommends that schools should take greater steps to
include Muslims, such as accommodating the “Islamic
religiously mandated code of dressing, deemed to be an
essential component of their Muslim identity”.
Muslims call on Irish people to resist blaming Islam for
attacks
Headscarf bans: Coming to a Catholic school near you?
What is it like to grow up Muslim in Ireland?
“Muslim girls should be allowed to wear full-length loose
school skirts or loose trousers, a long-sleeved shirt and a
headscarf to cover their hair.
“Schools have the right to specify the colour and the style
of scarf for reasons of uniformity . . .”
Religious symbolism
It adds that school uniforms which have the crucifix
symbol or other religious symbolism should be made
optional.
“The school uniform should be a reflection of the
school’s inclusive policy for creating a cohesive
atmosphere at school where every student feels valued
and contributions and suggestions of all kinds are
welcome.”
In addition, the group said school assemblies in faith-
based schools could be made more inclusive by
recognising aspects of the Muslim faith.
For example, schools could introduce Ramadan-based
themes at assembly such as a communal breaking of the
fast, when pupils, teachers and community members
could eat together.
In addition, it says schools could enter into the
charitable spirit of Ramadan by raising funds for the
poor and needy.
In a separate submission, the Muslim Primary Education
Board – which represents Dublin’s two Muslim primary
schools – says parents were finding it increasingly
difficult to secure school places for their children at
second level.
It says anecdotal evidence indicates that the “Baptism
barrier” is adding to these difficulties.
“While it has been stated that the number of children
refused because of lack of baptismal certificate is small . .
. this does not take into account the parents who do not
apply for admission into schools that they know may ask
for a certificate.
“The situation at present is that the majority of schools
in Ireland have a Catholic ethos, leaving Muslim children
at the mercy of these admission policies, and are
seriously curtailing parents and students’ choice.”
This inequality of access, it states, may lead to the social,
economic and civic exclusion of Muslims in Ireland.
“Those schools which have more open admission policies
are left to cater for large groupings of Muslim students
instead of encouraging integration across the school
system.”
The group says Muslim children can feel alienated at school, particularly in activities that revolve
around Christmas such as nativity plays and carol services.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/islamic-dress-code-should-be-
accommodated-in-schools-group-1.3346343
This is Ireland. My country, I was born and raised here as were generations of my family. I love my country, its
culture, its music, its dance, its language, its history, its mountains, streams and fields. I'm proud to be IRISH. We as a
people are respected the world over as hard working, respectful people. Our sports fans have travelled the world over
and it has bn commented on how respectful and courteous they are in other countries. That makes me so proud as an
IRISH person that others representing my country and my flag respect and love it as much as I do. Anyone from any
country who wants to live here that will have a positive influence in my country, WELCOME, but don't think We as a
country should change any of our traditions to suit you. If it's not a tradition or culture that suits you maybe just like
me, THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME..
How about removing all religions from Irish schools to level the playing field. The religion classes could be
replaced by more science classes. Kids could be thought about evolution rather than creationism. If
parents want to teach their kids about religion they could do so outside of school hours.

Up to 9,000 additional
hospital beds needed, review
finds
Capacity study says up to 2,500 additional beds required if
reformed health system implemented
about 17 hours ago
Martin Wall, Sarah Bardon

The review recommends that a number of hospitals should be established to

deal exclusively with elective or non-urgent cases. Photograph: Dara Mac
Dónaill/The Irish Times
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Between 7,000 and 9,000 additional hospital beds will

be required over the next decade or so if the existing
model of healthcare continues, the Government’s long-
awaited review of capacity requirements has found.
The review has concluded, however, that the number of
additional beds needed could be reduced to 2,000-2,500
in the years up to 2030 if Sláintecare reform proposals,
such as investing heavily in healthcare services in the
community, are implemented.
In addition, the review recommends that a number of
hospitals should be established to deal exclusively with
elective or non-urgent cases. It argues this would assist
in reducing waiting lists and emergency department
overcrowding in acute hospitals.
Health service sources said this could involve a
reconfiguration of existing services in some parts of the
country including potentially closing some emergency
departments.
Existing reform plans along these lines in Portlaoise
have prompted strong criticism from local politicians
and campaign groups in the midlands.
The bed capacity review also calls for dramatic increases
in long-term residential places. This would assist in
reducing the number of delayed discharge patients in
hospitals; those whose acute phase of treatment has
concluded, but cannot be sent home or transferred to
other healthcare facilities.
Extra hospital beds ‘will not solve health crisis’
‘It was totally unsatisfactory to be left on a trolley for three
days’
Varadkar ‘frustrated’ hospital services not improving
The Minister for Health Simon Harris has repeatedly
pointed to the forthcoming bed capacity review as the
way to deal with the overcrowding and trolley crisis in
public hospitals.
Trolley count
Nurses on Friday maintained that more than 2,400
patients had to spend time on trolleys in hospitals in the
first few days of 2018 while waiting on a bed.
The number of people deemed to require admission to
hospital by a doctor and waiting for a bed fell to 483 on
Friday, from record levels of 677 experienced early this
week. However doctors and health service
administrators forecast that the numbers could rise
again in the next week or so as the peak of the flu season
hits.
The HSE said on Friday it expected non-urgent elective
procedures would not take place in hospitals next week
but maintained this would be considered on a hospital-
by-hospital basis.
However, the HSE stressed hospital groups and
individual hospitals were ensuring that cancer and other
urgent elective procedures were continuing to be carried
out.
“Other non-urgent elective work will be reviewed on a
site by site on a clinically prioritised basis during the
course of the next week. We expect that non-urgent
elective procedures will not proceed but stress that this
will be considered on a site by site prioritised basis.”
Community facilities
The bed capacity review is expected to be published
within the next three weeks and will feed into the
Government’s overall 10-year capital plan.
The provision of additional hospital beds along the lines
of the recommendations in the forthcoming capacity
review would cost hundreds of millions of euro.
The Department of Health told the Oireachtas
committee on the future of healthcare last year that the
construction and capital cost of providing an additional
hospital bed was about €325,000.
On this basis it would cost in excess of €800 million to
provide the 2,500 additional beds proposed by the
capacity review as part of a reformed health service.
Mr Harris told The Irish Times in an interview prior to
Christmas that thousands of additional beds in acute
hospitals and community facilities would be required in
the future and that the forthcoming review would set out
specific numbers.
He said on Thursday that significant additional funding
would have to be provided by Government to meet the
cost of opening additional hospital beds.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/up-to-9-000-additional-hospital-
beds-needed-review-finds-1.3346369
Noel Whelan: power and
leadership works differently
in Sinn Féin
Adams has been the unopposed candidate for the Sinn
Féin leadership for 34 years
Fri, Jan 5, 2018,

Noel Whelan

Mary Lou McDonald: Everyone knows the leadership handover to her is a

foregone conclusion. Photograph: Getty Images
In his interview with Sarah Bardon published in
Wednesday’s Irish Times, Gerry Adams expressed
himself irritated at the suggestion that he might
continue to be a puppet master for the Sinn Féin
leadership after he steps down as party president next
month. Adams asked in response: “Why is there not a
presumption that Enda Kenny is controlling Fine Gael or
that Eamonn Gilmore [is controlling Labour] or Bertie
Ahern [is controlling Fianna Fáil]?”
The comparison which Adams makes with other political
parties is frankly absurd. The transition in leadership
between Adams and his successor as president of Sinn
Féin is of a whole different order to that which has
previously occurred in an Irish political party.
He has been the unopposed candidate for the party
leadership for 34 consecutive years. He led in the party’s
support for the IRA during its campaign. He was a key
architect and implementor – along with Martin
McGuinness – of the peace strategy which the party was
forced to adopt from the late 1980s. He has overseen the
spectacular rise of the party north of the Border and the
incremental growth of the party here in the Republic.
The changeover to a new leader will also be atypical.
Everyone knows that the handover to Mary Lou
McDonald is a foregone conclusion. All the other leading
contenders ruled themselves out of the contest.
Hustings
A committee set by the ard comhairle to oversee the
leadership election has announced that a special ardfhéis
will be held in February. Ye it hasn’t felt the need, as of
yet, to set any dates for either public or private hustings.
McDonald will be approved as leader by general
acclamation.
That is also nothing normal about the situation which
McDonald as leader will find herself in. She faces a
number of massive political and party challenges north
and south of the Border.

Noel Whelan: The Government is ready for 2018’s

challenges
Noel Whelan: Loneliness is not just for Christmas
Noel Whelan: Time to ditch ‘Punch and Judy’ approach to
referendums
Those north of the Border will be the most pressing. The
party has been out of government there for more than a
year. Responsibilty for that has to be shared with its
putative government partners the DUP. Yet it is striking
that Sinn Féin, which prides itself on its negotiation
skills, has been left in such an impotent position at this
crucial moment when Northern Ireland’s future is being
shaped by Brexit negotiations.
The vacuum is reflected in the fact that many Northern
nationalists now see the Dublin government as best
protecting their interest in the Brexit process.
The delay in the Sinn Féin leadership changeover also
risks a further delay in efforts to restore the Stormont
assembly. If Sinn Féin is to be believed its current leader
in Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill, holds that position
at the pleasure of the current party leader. When many
of us queried the lack of internal party democracy
involved in her appointment to the post by Adams a year
ago, we were told the role is akin to any front bench
appointment which any party leader would make.
Conundrums
It follows, therefore, that in theory at least the next
leader of Sinn Féin may replace O’Neill. This, of course,
is unlikely, but it illustrates the conundrums which Sinn
Féin sometimes talks itself into.
One would normally expect some shifts in a party policy
when a leader changes, or at least a shift in emphasises,
and so the DUP and the two governments would be
entitled to await McDonald assuming the leadership
before embarking on a further attempt to reboot the
Stormont executive
The atypical manner in which power and leadership
works within Sinn Féin was also exposed at the final
meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth
Amendment last month. The Sinn Féin members of the
Oireachtas committee, Louise O’Reilly TD, Jonathan
O’Brien TD and Senator Paul Galvin, played a key role in
the committee’s deliberations and in formulating the
final outcomes. Yet they were not in a position to vote on
the committee’s key recommendation one way or the
other.
The reason given was that the proposal, allowing for
abortion up to 12 weeks into pregnancy, went further
than that adopted at Sinn Féin’s 32-county ardfhéis last
November.
Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have, in part out of necessity,
allowed their parliamentarians to exercise conscience
votes. But Sinn Féin says it members are bound by its
ardfhéis position.
Abstain
However, instead of imposing a whip requiring them to
vote in line with the ardfhéis policy, the TDs and the
Senator were required by the party to abstain. This came
about not after consideration at an Oireachtas
parliamentary party meeting but after what Bardon has
reported separately was a series of meetings with a sub-
committee of the party’s ard comhairle.
In this, as in many things, the internal workings of Sinn
Féin are very different to those of other political parties.
THEY SNEER AT WHAT THEY FEAR, A "C" CHANGE IS COMIMG IN IRELAND AND THE
ESTABLISHMENT PARTIES WILL BE THE LOSERS , THE PEOPLE HAVE HAD ENOUGH .
Stand with the party that stood up too the British and supported the Nationalists in the North of Ireland
when parties and some people in the Republic backed the British. VOTE S.F.

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/noel-whelan-power-and-leadership-
works-differently-in-sinn-féin-1.3345007

Armed Garda patrols cut in

bid to reduce overtime
spending
Garda union expresses anger over scaling back of
counter-terror and gangland operations
about 23 hours ago
Conor Lally

Armed gardaí at a checkpoint on Portland Row, Dublin. File photograph: Dara

Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times
Armed Garda patrols to detect and deter terrorism and
organised crime gangs are being scaled back in a bid to
reduce spending on overtime.
The Garda Representative Association (GRA) had said it
was concerned armed policing in Dublin would be
affected by moves to cut spending on Garda overtime.
Garda sources have now confirmed that this is the case,
with the Armed Response Unit and Special Detective
Unit patrols in Dublin being reduced.
The move has angered the GRA, which represents just in
excess of 10,000 rank-and-file gardaí.
The GRA said the success of the units in “fighting drugs
gangs with their uniformed colleagues on the frontline”
could not be overestimated.
Varadkar urges ‘accountability’ over Garda breath tests
Garda breath tests: from bad to worse
Flanagan warns of disciplinary action in Garda scandal
“Patrols need to be increased, not cut,” it said.
Asked about the matter, a Garda spokesman said: “For
operational reasons An Garda Síochána does not discuss
specific details surrounding the deployment of covert or
uniform armed patrols.
“Garda management are satisfied that the present level
of armed resources available within the DMR (Dublin
Metropolitan Region) is sufficient to meet current
policing requirements. The deployment of resources is
kept under constant review.”
Operation Hybrid has been under way for the last 18
months in response to the Kinahan-Hutch feud.
Operation C Port has also been set up to increase
security in Dublin Port, amid concerns it may be an easy
route into and out of the Republic for international
terrorists.
Both have proven expensive and have resulted in
overtime spending increase to levels last seen during the
Celtic Tiger.
Some of the pay increase agreed in 2016 to avert a Garda
strike is also being paid in the shape of 15 minutes of
additional overtime per shift. This is set to put pressure
on the Garda overtime budget into the future.
More than €130 million was spent on Garda overtime
last year, compared with €91 million in 2016.

Cancelled
At the end of November Garda overtime was suddenly
cancelled for several days, including over the first
weekend of the Christmas socialising period, as the
overtime budget for the year had been exhausted.
However, because any overtime worked after the first
Monday in December would be paid from this year’s
budget, the cancellation of overtime was restricted to
five days.
A supplementary budget for 2017 of €50.5 million was
agreed for An Garda Síochána by the Cabinet on
November 28th. Of that, just in excess of €42 million
was for overtime. That extra funding for overtime fell
just short of what Garda management was expecting and
it meant overtime for the remainder of the financial year
– until December 4th – was cancelled.
2000+ people on trollies, no nurses, no money to pay Gardai! Yet tax take well above what was expected!
The bond holders and bankers have to be paid!!
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/armed-garda-patrols-cut-in-
bid-to-reduce-overtime-spending-1.3346404
Fat man realised in the end that the American president has a much bigger button.
https://media1.giphy.com/media/eKjY3PhEVzgLC/giphy.gif

Minister reappoints Conor

Skehan as Housing Agency
chair
Official recently said that families ‘gaming’ housing system
by saying they are homeless
Fri, Jan 5, 2018, 17:44 Updated: Fri, Jan 5, 2018, 17:47
Olivia Kelly, Sarah Bardon

Conor Skehan has been reappointed as chair of the Government’s Housing

Agency. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw
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Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy has reappointed

Conor Skehan as chair of the Housing Agency for
another year, after being unable to attract any “suitable”
candidates to the role.
Mr Skehan has served as the agency’s chair since 2013
and was due to step down on December 12th last. Mr
Murphy has made the reappointment until December
31st next, despite distancing himself this week from Mr
Skehan’s comments on homelessness.
In an interview published in The Irish Times earlier this
week, Mr Skehan said the Government may have
“unwittingly” encouraged people to exploit the housing
allocations system by prioritising homelessness in the
allocation of social housing. This may have led to
families “gaming the system” by declaring themselves
homeless to jump up the housing waiting list, he said.
Mr Skehan previously said Ireland’s housing crisis was
“completely normal” and its level of homelessness is one
of the lowest in Europe.
Mr Murphy has said he had “no evidence” to support Mr
Skehan’s comments.
“I’ve no evidence in my department of people presenting
or trying to game the system,” Mr Murphy told reporters
on Wednesday. “What I think Conor Skehan was saying
is that it may have been an unintended consequence of
previous government policy. Homelessness is a very
complex issue. People find themselves in very difficult
situations in their lives through no fault of their own.”
Suitable replacement
In a statement on Friday, the Department of Housing
acknowledged Mr Skehan had been due to step down
from the role last month, but said it had yet to identify a
suitable replacement.
“In the meantime, the Minister has asked Dr Skehan to
stay on as Chair until a replacement has been appointed.
Dr Skehan’s re-appointment has been made on a
temporary basis for a period of up to one year.”

However, it said he will be released earlier, if a

replacement can be found.
“As soon as a suitable replacement has been identified
through the normal Public Appointment Service
arrangements, the Department will then make the
necessary order to appoint him or her in Dr Skehan’s
place.”
Mr Skehan told The Irish Times it was his understanding
nominees had been chosen, but turned down the offer.
“The Minister and I are happy I remain to provide
stability until this process is completed and a successor
has been found.”
Fianna Fáil’s housing spokesman Barry Cowen said Mr
Skehan should not have been re-appointed as his
comments in recent days are “disgusting, insensitive and
over the top”.
Sinn Féin TD Eoin Ó Broin said the credibility of the
Housing Agency had been undermined by the re-
appointment.
“It suggests that Minister Murphy may in fact support
Conor Skehan’s controversial views,” he said. “Minister
Murphy should reconsider this ill though out decision
and appoint a different chair without delay.”
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/minister-reappoints-conor-skehan-
as-housing-agency-chair-1.3346191
Sick of the daily carping about homelessness. It's like magnified nagging of a husband about his
workmanship while he's in the middle of the DIY. Rome wasn't built in a day and homelessness is far more
complex than just building houses. Give the minister a bloody break willya and stop this incessant
CARPING
Chap is a Blueshirt wanker who worships the market over the needs of those at the lowest rung of society

His apologists on here are the usual D4/6 hangers on.

Varadkar ‘frustrated’
hospital services not
improving
Extra beds, homecare, staff and money made little
difference says Taoiseach
Fri, Jan 5, 2018, 01:00
Dan McLaughlin, Martin Wall
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar: “This is the third year in a row that we’ve had more
resources, a bigger budget, more staff, more beds, more home care, and
despite all that we haven’t seen an improvement.” Photograph: Tibor
As the number of people on hospital trolleys remains
stubbornly high, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has expressed
his frustration that higher public health spending is not
improving services.
Expressing regret to members of the public affected, Mr
Varadkar said: “Numbers are now coming down and we
do expect the situation to stabilise in the coming days,
and certainly into next week.”
However, the HSE and senior doctors fear the fall will be
reversed next week, following a build-up of pressure over
the weekend and the return of pupils to school.
Mr Varadkar said the situation was “enormously
frustrating. This is the third year in a row that we’ve had
more resources, a bigger budget, more staff, more beds,
more homecare, and despite all that we haven’t seen an
improvement”.
“That is very frustrating for the patients affected most of
all, and for the staff and for the Government,” said the
Taoiseach, speaking after a meeting in Budapest with his
Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/varadkar-frustrated-
hospital-services-not-improving-1.3345266
Maybe if we didn't have a 9-5 health service. Maybe if they stopped hiring armies of pen pushers and
managers and hired more Dr's & nurses. Just a thought.
Just like housing, after seven years in charge they act like it has nothing to do with their policies. You'd
almost have to admire the sheer brass neck of them.

Do Sinn Féin and DUP really want a stable

Stormont?
Powersharing rules must ensure a party
walkout does not bring down Stormont
Thu, Jan 4, 2018, 05:00

Newton Emerson

Tánaiste Simon Coveney: has been clear that London and Dublin cannot
enforce workable reforms over the DUP and Sinn Féin’s head. Photograph:
Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision
Simon Coveney says it is “not an unreasonable ask from
the DUP” for Stormont to be restored on a “more
sustainable” basis.
The comments by the Tánaiste, in an interview with this
newspaper last week, have been seen as an olive branch
to unionists.
The Democratic Unionist Party has complained there is
little point restoring devolution if Sinn Féin can walk
away the next time it feels thwarted or sees a chance to
stir the pot.
The clearest way for a future executive to survive this is
for the rules of powersharing to be changed, so that a
walkout by one of the two main parties does not cause
Stormont to collapse. This is what Coveney’s remarks
have been widely interpreted to mean – but presenting
such a change as a concession to the DUP is a serious
mistake, for two reasons.
First, it guarantees Sinn Féin will not agree to it; and
second, republican opportunism is not the only threat to
devolution.
In the history of the Belfast Agreement, the DUP has
most often played the politics of the empty chair. It
walked out of the talks before the 1998 agreement and
would not lead an executive with Sinn Féin until rule
changes had been agreed at St Andrews in 2006.
A mini-peace process is needed to get Stormont talks
moving
Newton Emerson: What kind of joint authority is Dublin
smoking?
Sinn Féin writes itself out of the picture with appeal to
Varadkar
Industrial action
Since then, Sinn Féin has engaged in several episodes of
what might be called industrial action – most notably a
three-year go-slow from 2012 over welfare reform.
However, the only threat of withdrawal came from DUP
former leader Peter Robinson. In 2015, he told the
British government he would resign and bring Stormont
down over the welfare reform deadlock. Crisis turned to
farce when London called the DUP’s bluff and unionist
ministers began resigning in rotation to save face while
keeping their jobs – the so-called “hokey cokey”. As a
result, the perception of which party is likelier to stomp
out of Stormont has reversed, with republicans now seen
as the chair-vacaters.

Yet, in the long run, a larger question hangs over the

DUP’s commitment to the executive: would it remain in
office if Sinn Féin took the post of first minister?
The DUP has always declined to answer that question,
preferring to say the scenario is not on the cards. But
since last March’s assembly election, when Sinn Féin
came within 1,100 votes of the top spot, the prospect of a
republican first minister has become entirely possible,
while the chance of a DUP leader serving as deputy first
minister remains in doubt.
The positions of first and deputy first minister are equal
in all but title. They were originally to have the same title
of “joint first minister”, before the Ulster Unionist Party
– the main party of unionism at the time of the Belfast
Agreement – insisted on drawing a distinction between
the larger unionist and smaller nationalist communities.
Psychological crutch
At St Andrews, the DUP turned this psychological crutch
into a weapon. New rules on appointing the first and
deputy first ministers were the only significant changes
to Stormont introduced by the 2006 deal. This
transformed the contest for the first minister’s post from
a race between the unionist and nationalist blocs overall
into a race to be the largest party. Sinn Féin and the DUP
then used that to crush their smaller rivals in the Social
Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and Ulster
Unionist Party (UUP). For the DUP, beating Sinn Féin
also became intrinsic to “winning” and to covering its
right flank against hardliners. Sinn Féin’s repeated offer
to revive the title of “joint first ministers” was spurned,
most recently in 2016, when the office of both ministers
was renamed but their titles were retained.
Prickly unionist pride has reached the point where it is
all too plausible to imagine the DUP walking out rather
than occupying a position it has damned to its electorate
as playing second fiddle to Sinn Féin.
But what if walking out did not bring the executive
down? Would the DUP really leave republicans to govern
Northern Ireland alone?
Dangerously illegitimate
This might seem to be a reason why the DUP would join
Sinn Féin in not agreeing to Coveney’s implied rule
changes – and the Tánaiste has been clear that London
and Dublin cannot enforce workable reforms over the
DUP and Sinn Féin’s head.
With both parties representing two-thirds of their
respective communities, a Stormont executive lacking
either could seem dangerously illegitimate.
What these concerns overlook is that Sinn Féin and the
DUP still want Stormont to work, as long as they can
stitch it and themselves up into a mutually acceptable
arrangement. Denying each other their vetoes to collapse
devolution could simply be seen by both parties as a new
equilibrium of the zero sum game. But they will
obviously not see it that way – or more to the point, be
able to sell it as such – if the Irish Government presents
it as a unionist victory.
I don't understand how the Irish government's position can be construed as serving a win to the DUP. In
fact, changing the rules to keep the two parties from pulling out of government easily is laying the
foundation for a stable government led by SF down the road. What am I missing here?
Simon you are welcome to come and talk to my mother who is 87 and myself born in the 50s we like many other will
tell you what it has been like to be born into hell unionist rule and sectarian bigotry running like rats from our schools
spat at called vile names beaten going for milk I could go on and on paisley on his lorries not far from my home he
sounded like the devil from hell having to flee our homes want to talk about equality not knowing who we were until
we did our family tree and found the truth come on down and we will tell you three generation of women’s story
bring a box of hankies

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/do-sinn-féin-and-dup-really-want-a-
stable-stormont-1.3343960
British government no
longer offers ‘absolute
protection’ for union, says
Adams
Sinn Féin president wants 20th anniversary of Belfast
Agreement to be ‘positive point’ in Irish history
Thu, Jan 4, 2018, 19:59
Gerry Moriarty

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams: “The fact is the DUP is betraying the
people of the North and the clear vote against Brexit.” Photograph: Brian
Lawless/PA Wire

The British government no longer provides “absolute

protection” for Northern Ireland’s union with Britain,
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has asserted.
Mr Adams said in a blog on Thursday that DUP leader
Arlene Foster’s call for a return to direct rule, in the
absence of an agreement with Sinn Féin to restore
Stormont, flew in the face of her party’s devolutionist
position.
That stance also reflected a refusal on behalf of the DUP
to “face realities”, he added. “The fact is the DUP is
betraying the people of the North and the clear vote
against Brexit.”
“The rationale behind the DUP stance is that it is focused
on maintaining the union. But there is no longer any
absolute protection for the union from British
governments the way there used to be,” he added.
“British government involvement in our affairs will end
when a majority vote for that. That is why the Irish
Government’s recent assertions about Irish unity are
welcome,” said Mr Adams.
Mr Adams said Sinn Féin’s Northern leader Michelle
O’Neill “and our negotiating team stand ready to engage
positively in any talks”.
Ireland in danger of turning boom to bust again
Britain facing choice between Thatcher revolution and
social democracy
FF TD warns of UK leaving Dublin convention on asylum
seekers
“Sinn Féin wants the 20th anniversary of the Good
Friday agreement [on April 10th] to be a positive point
in the history of our island,” he added.
The DUP East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson in response
said if Mr Adams “really is concerned about the poor,
homeless and sick then he will join with other parties in
returning to the Executive without preconditions rather
than the mindless pursuit of squandering money on an
Irish language Act at all costs”.
‘Current impasse’
Referring to how Mr Adams is standing down as Sinn
Féin president next month Mr Wilson said, “Gerry
Adams is about to lose his job, but appears to have
already lost his mind. There is no doubt that he’s already
lost his memory because the current impasse is entirely a
result of Sinn Féin’s actions in collapsing the Executive
and blocking its restoration.”

Added Mr Wilson, “Since his rhetoric at the start of 2018

is no different to the end of 2017 the prospects for
restoring devolution look bleak unless the UK
government removes the veto Sinn Féin currently holds
by ensuring that if they refuse to participate then other
parties can get on with the job of providing government
for Northern Ireland. ”
Meanwhile, Ulster Unionist Party leader Robin Swann
has accused Mr Adams of hypocrisy over comments he
made in an interview with The Irish Times on
Wednesday.
Criticising elements of political unionism Mr Adams
said, “I understand all of us can say things that people
find objectionable but there is a difference between me
misspeaking and you misspeaking and an entire system
being offensive and refusing to tolerate.”
‘Offensive’
“If ever there was a textbook example of an entire system
that was offensive and refusing to tolerate it was the
republican movement which he has led for more than 45
years,” said Mr Swann.
“The IRA was responsible for almost 1,700 deaths,
ranging from babies to pensioners. They murdered
police officers, prison officers, soldiers, shoppers, people
in restaurants, people in pubs in Belfast and
Birmingham, people standing at war memorials,
Australian tourists in Holland and children on a High
Street in Warrington,” he added.
“Sinn Féin provided the political cover for this campaign
of brutal terror and Gerry Adams himself spent decades
refusing to condemn IRA actions and seeking to excuse
the inexcusable,” said Mr Swann.
The UUP leader said it would surprise “nobody that
Gerry Adams is unable and unwilling to see the utter
hypocrisy in his comments”.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/british-government-no-
longer-offers-absolute-protection-for-union-says-adams-1.3345253
It's long past time that the game that Unionists have been playing is ended. They have been a thorn in Ireland's side
since the start of the 1900's. They have consistently upset the will of the nation.
The British government funnels billions of £ into Northern Ireland on a yearly basis. I doubt that people in
England, Scotland and Wales would want to bear the cost of supporting Northern Ireland after Brexit.
'Politicians shouldn't fear their safety - Joan Burton.
All politicians should fear the people.
Today protestors blocked minister Joan Burton in Balbriggan. Sending a symbolic
gesture of 'anywhere you go, we go'. You cut our lone parents, our welfare system,
our medical cards and you tear our lives apart. We will haunt you.
Public order unit also gets slow marched out of principle against the brutal
enforcers.
Bit by bit smash the state. People power.
Women at the forefront to every movement.

TD says she has received "stratospheric" levels of

online abuse after new law proposal | JOE.ie
TD says she has received "stratospheric" levels of online abuse after new law
proposal
JOE.IE
No Kate you deleted and blocked anyone with a different opinion to
yours! I did not see Vera Twomey give you any kind of abuse yet you
deleted the picture of her daughter and what she had to say about
alternative medicine. Everyone knows that Pharma Kate is just
protecting her own interests as a pharmacist... Kate cares about lining
her own pockets, she doesn't give a shit who is suffering the mean time
as long as she is making a profit!!!
she's not a supporter of free speech, her page is an echo chamber, anyone with an opposing view is
blocked A BIT LIKE THE DAIL, AND ECHO CHAMBER, LITTLE REAL DEBATE, just news from out
masters in the EU
Varadkar and his Blueshirts control most media in Ireland, including
RTÉ. The Irish Times are a government mouthpiece and have recently
also taken over The Examiner. Denis O'Brien is allowed to run a huge
media monopoly through INM and Communicorp because he sponsors
Fine Gael, who after all made him rich. Varadkar's new propaganda unit,
the Strategic Communications Unit feeds spin and PR to all the above.
The propaganda unit is costing us taxpayers €5 million plus and was set
up specifically to get Varadkar and Fine Gael re-elected in the next
General Election. Micheál Martin and Fianna Fáil have made a deal with
their "rivals" - first past the post gets the support of the runner-up. They
call it "confidence and supply" but in reality it's an abuse of power that
allows FG/FF to stay on the gravy train, where they can award
themselves astronomiical pay rises, pensions and lump sums that look
more like lottery winnings and jobs for life before and after a "career" in
politics.
There is only one little annoyance in their pampered lives - social media.
They control nearly all other media but for the last few years people
have copped on to their propaganda and have been finding the truth
online. This is making them very angry and they are desperate to stop
the truth getting out online. Labour Party has-been Lorraine Higgins
tried first, Blueshirts Josepha Madigan and Kate O'Connell and Jim Daly
are now trying to find some excuse - any excuse to stifle free speech on
social media. Hence the headline grabbing "look at me, I am a victim"
latest Kate O'Connell media campaign being promoted by the Strat
Comm unit. Piss off Kate.
She deserves what she gets
Just another excuse to censor social media.
You Kate in my opinion are an abuser of the weak and sick people of this country hang your head in
shame money is your God

Today is Women's Christmas, and instead of celebrating this at home in

front of warm fires, up to 50 women, from Clare, Galway and further
afield are spending tonight in tents at Shannon airport protecting
against US military use of Shannon airport and Irish complicity in war
crimes. The temperatures are likely to fall to as low as -5 degrees
centigrade at Shannon tonight, so great credit is do to all these stalwart
women, including and by no means least 82 year old Margaretta D'Arcy.

Today is Women's Christmas, and instead of celebrating this at home in front of

warm fires, up to 50 women, from Clare, Galway and further afield are spending
tonight in tents at Shannon airport protecting against US military use of Shannon
airport and Irish complicity in war crimes. The temperatures are likely to fall to as
low as -5 degrees centigrade at Shannon tonight, so great credit is do to all these
stalwart women, including and by no means least 82 year old Margaretta D'Arcy.
Maybe Kate could comment on the European Medicines Agency recent report that 48 cancer drugs
approved between 2009 and 2013 were mostly clinically meaningless with no conclusive evidence that
they improved survival in more than two thirds of situations for which they were approved. Another report
also found that over 50% of all drugs approved in the EU were similarly useless and some even caused
damage to patients.
The first phoney practitioners (who operate freely without fear of prosecution) that this 'Fact Act', or 'Anti-
Quackery bill' should be used on is the shower of corrupt, lying, thieving, crooks called 'the Government' . .

Over in Galway West, 4 out of 5 TD's support PESCO and Jean-Claude Juncker's EU
army. Éamon Ó Cuív of Fianna Gael (or is it Fine Fáil? Who knows these days they are
exactly the same) voted to end Irish neutrality, a neutrality which is mostly credited to his
grandfather DeValera. The two Blueshirts, Hildegard Naughton and Seán Kyne followed
General Varadkar's orders and voted for PESCO and the EU army, but ex PD's and now
Independent Noel Grealish disappeared (just like the PD's) but we understand that Mr
Grealish is 100% behind PESCO (happy to correct if you contact us and declare yourself a
peacemaker Noel). Only Catherine Connolly, a real Independent opposed the PESCO/EU
army and spoke eloquently on the night of December 7th when the FG/FF government
rammed PESCO through the Dáil
Over in Galway West, 4 out of 5 TD's support PESCO and Jean-Claude Juncker's EU
army. Éamon Ó Cuív of Fianna Gael (or is it Fine Fáil? Who knows these days they are
exactly the same) voted to end Irish neutrality, a neutrality which is mostly credited to his
grandfather DeValera. The two Blueshirts, Hildegard Naughton and Seán Kyne followed
General Varadkar's orders and voted for PESCO and the EU army, but ex PD's and now
Independent Noel Grealish disappeared (just like the PD's) but we understand that Mr
Grealish is 100% behind PESCO (happy to correct if you contact us and declare yourself a
peacemaker Noel). Only Catherine Connolly, a real Independent opposed the PESCO/EU
army and spoke eloquently on the night of December 7th when the FG/FF government
rammed PESCO through the Dáil

4 January 2018
In the Dublin Bay North constituency three out of five TD's support PESCO and an
end to Ireland's neutrality. In the Dáil vote on December 7th Richard Bruton of Fine
Gael voted in favour of PESCO as did his colleague Seán Haughey from Fine Gael's
sister party Fianna Fáil . Finian McGrath of the Independent Alliance failed to show
his face (perhaps he was taking part in military manoeuvres in North Korea?) but he
fully supports his governments PESCO/EU army agenda. Only Tommy Broughan,
Independents 4 Change and Denise Mitchell of Sinn Féin voted against PESCO and
the emerging EU army. Wonder will Bruton, Haughey and McGrath fight on the
front or stay at home pushing pens while encouraging other to join their EU army,
like the Blueshirts predecessors the Irish Parliamentary Party and John Redmond
did?

So there you have it. Straight from the horse's mouth. Jean-Claude
Juncker, European Commission president wants an EU army and poor
Leo thinks PESCO is just about a wee bit of R&D. Maybe Jean-Claude's
message got lost in translation? Can somebody teach Monsieur Leo
some french s'il vous plaît

So there you have it. Straight from the horse's mouth. Jean-Claude Juncker,
European Commission president wants an EU army and poor Leo thinks PESCO is
just about a wee bit of R&D. Maybe Jean-Claude's message got lost in translation?
Can somebody teach Monsieur Leo some french s'il vous plaît

Letter in today's Irish Times re Barry Andrews/IIEA

(wow the 'paper of record' have actually started talking about PESCO)
Pesco and EU defence co-operation
Sir, – Barry Andrews is at pains to portray Pesco as separate from full defence integration at EU
level (“EU defence co-operation is no threat to Irish neutrality”, Opinion & Analysis, January 3rd).
But his point is surely contradicted by the president of the European Commission who stated that
Pesco “lays the foundations for a European defence union”. The EU’s high representative for foreign
affairs backed this up by stating that “in practice it is the foundation of a future European defence”,
chiming with numerous supporters of a common EU defence who have welcomed Pesco’s
establishment. It would be better if the Institute of International and European Affairs simply stated
this so that we can have a full and proper debate on Ireland’s place “at the heart of Europe” and all
the obligations that this will entail. – Yours, etc,
KEVIN HINEY,
Brussels.
In the Dublin Bay North constituency three out of five TD's support
PESCO and an end to Ireland's neutrality. In the Dáil vote on December
7th Richard Bruton of Fine Gael voted in favour of PESCO as did his
colleague Seán Haughey from Fine Gael's sister party Fianna Fáil . Finian
McGrath of the Independent Alliance failed to show his face (perhaps he
was taking part in military manoeuvres in North Korea?) but he fully
supports his governments PESCO/EU army agenda. Only Tommy
Broughan, Independents 4 Change and Denise Mitchell of Sinn Féin
voted against PESCO and the emerging EU army. Wonder will Bruton,
Haughey and McGrath fight on the front or stay at home pushing pens
while encouraging other to join their EU army, like the Blueshirts
predecessors the Irish Parliamentary Party and John Redmond did?
Matt Carthy MEP Slams PESCO in European Parliament
This is where Irish tax money will be going the development of weapons
to kill and maim people while it should remain in Ireland to help people
where its no doubt needed.
Please watch the the attached film for more details on the EU & PESCO
& the illegal supply of arms to warzones. Just one of many cases. Do we
really want to be a part of this war for profit system?
https://youtu.be/YbIuP_bNrgk
Matt Carthy MEP Slams PESCO in European Parliament
This is where Irish tax money will be going the development of weapons to kill and maim
people giving details on the EU & PESCO & the illegal supply of arms to warzones. Do we
really want to be a part of this war for profit system
EU Army: The 5 countries that REFUSED to sign up
to France and Germany’s defence force
AS Brussels hails its “historic” march towards an EU Army, five nations are holding
fire on committing to an alliance which could lead to a ‘two-speed’…
EXPRESS.CO.UK

#PESCO #EU #WARSFORPROFIT #IREXIT

ITS NOT AN OPT IN OPT OUT PROJECT ITS PERMANENT HENCE THE NAME.

“Governments constantly choose between telling lies and fighting wars, with the end result always
being the same. One will always lead to the other."
- Thomas Jefferson.

'We're being asked to sell out our neutrality': Government accused of trying to rush EU defence deal
vote.

TDS FROM NUMEROUS political parties have raised concerns in the Dáil over the last two days
that the government is trying to “ram” through a vote on Ireland joining the permanent structured
cooperation arrangement (Pesco).
Last week, TDs and senators voiced their concerns about Ireland signing up to the European defence
pact after Cabinet gave the go-ahead for Ireland to take part in the EU plan.
The plan has raised concerns here that it could undermine Ireland’s policy of neutrality.

Some argue Pesco is the first step towards an EU army, with its proposals including inclusion in the
European medical command, a network of logistic hubs across Europe and a creation of a European
crisis response centre, as well as the joint training of military officers.

However, as per the Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, for Ireland to participate in
Pesco, a government decision and Dáil approval is required.

The Taoiseach has maintained that signing up to the deal will not challenge Ireland’s neutrality and
will not mean Ireland joining a European army.

A heated debated on the issue kicked off two days ago with news the government wants a vote on
the issue this week.
A number of TDs said there has not been sufficient debate on the issue and pointed out that the
public are unaware of what such a plan could mean for Ireland’s future.

Wexford TD Mick Wallace said he was astonished at the video Europe is using to promote Pesco
and was even more shocked that a small country like Ireland would consider signing up to it.

Wallace said this is followed by images of fighter jets, drones, Apache helicopters, armed troops
running off military transport helicopters, aircraft carriers and warships, “all to the tune of the kind
of aspirational and emotive modern classical one would get on an ad for a new Mercedes”.

He said there is no detail as to what exactly it will mean for those who sign up, especially in terms of
actual warfare.
The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he wants Ireland to be involved, stating that it is time that Europe
stops relying on the US for its defence.

My view is that a Europe that is worth building is a Europe that is worth defending. For a very long
time, all of Europe has relied on the United States to provide for its defence.

There are real threats to European security and, over time, rather than relying on the United States to
defend Europe and pay for European defence, Europe should provide and pay for its own defence
and not be dependent on the United States in the way it has been since 1945.

That is what Pesco and European security and defence co-operation are all about. It is Europe
starting to take responsibility for and control over its own defence, not relying on the United States
in the way it has done until now.

Ireland has a long-standing tradition of non-alignment and neutrality, he said, adding it is something
his government will defend. He said Pesco will be different for Ireland as we can join in an opt-in,
opt-out basis.

“We will only opt in to certain programmes and certain parts of Pesco that we want to be involved
in, for example, counter-terrorism, given all European countries need to work together to defeat
terrorism, and cyber-security and peacekeeping are further examples of areas we are going to opt
into, “said Varadkar, adding:

I can assure the Deputy we are not going to be buying aircraft carriers, we are not going to be buying
fighter jets and we are not going to be shopping around military trade fairs for any of these things, as
that is not in our interest.

Solidarity-PBP’s Richard Boyd Barrett took particular issue with the vote being rushed through the
House.
“This is a move to ram through a vote to move towards joining a European Union army while
quadrupling military spending,” he said on Tuesday.

“It is deeply cynical. I wonder if the quid pro quo for European support on Brexit negotiations is that
we sell out our military neutrality and ramp up military expenditure,” he asked.

Boyd Barrett said he had read the brief on Pesco and said he thought is was “absolutely outrageous”
that Cabinet agreed to it when there has been no public consultation.

Rushing a vote

The Dun Laoghaire TD was not the only deputy who had concerns about a vote being rushed
through the House.
Independents 4 Change Clare Daly said the government’s move was a “departure beyond anything I
have seen”. She said she was assured some weeks ago there would be adequate time to discuss the
matter.

“I object to it in the strongest possible terms,” she said.

File Photo You're talking about going to war': TDs concerned EU defence deal could lead to Ireland
joining a European army. NUMEROUS TDS and senators have voiced their concerns about Ireland
signing up toÊa European defence pact known as Pesco.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said the matter should go to committee so that the Defence Forces
and the Army Chief of Staff could be invited to make submissions.

“I believe there should be adequate time to debate it in the chamber,” the Taoiseach replied.

Boyd Barrett replied by stating that the issue is as big an issue as Brexit. “I don’t think so,” said the
Taoiseach.

The Lisbon Treaty

The Green Party, the Social Democrats and Fianna Fáil all voiced concerns about there not being
sufficient time to discuss the issue.

Eamon Ryan said he understands the government intends to sign up to the agreement at the
European Council meeting on 11 December.

“Any matter that impinges on defence is a matter of great sensitivity for the members of this House
and, more importantly, for the people of this country,” said Brendan Howlin,
If the defeat of the first Lisbon Treaty referendum has taught us anything, he said, it is proper debate
on such measures is needed.

Howlin said there is no rush to sign up to the proposals this side of Christmas.

“I understand there is a request to do so, but we may choose to postpone our signing up until after
the event. We must have a proper debate, with experts invited in and cross-examined,” he said.

Varadkar said Pesco “is not a new issue” adding that it had not been “dreamt up” in the past couple
of months.

“This is in the Lisbon treaty. The treaty was ratified by the Irish people in 2009. There has been
ample opportunity for a debate since then. There has been plenty of debate about this matter since
the Lisbon treaty was ratified in 2009.
There is a time for debate and there is a time for a decision. I do not believe further debate would
change anybody’s mind, nor would it allay fears based on any conspiracy theories,” he said.

Boyd Barrett made the point that the public knows nothing about the issues at play.

The Taoiseach replied: “It is the Deputy’s responsibility to inform the public. He had eight years.”

Minister of State at the Department of Defence Paul Kehoe said there are “rumours” being circulated
that Pesco will threaten Ireland’s neutrality.

“That could not be further from the truth. Sweden and Austria, which have neutrality policies similar
to ours, have already signed up to Pesco,” he said.

The Business Committee reconvened yesterday to sort out the disagreement as to whether a vote on
Pesco will proceed this week and whether it will be referred to an Oireachtas committee for further
scrutiny.

A motion put down by Boyd Barrett to delay the vote on Pesco until 2018 was defeated by the Dáil
yesterday by 73 votes to 49.

However, a government motion agreed to refer the issue to the Oireachtas Defence Committee.

Minister Kehoe said Pesco was not being cooked up by the government in “smoke-filled room”
stating that not one politician has come to him in the last few months to voice their concerns about
the plan.

He said Ireland plans to partake in six of the 16 projects under Pesco which include being involved
in the EU centre for training excellence, the deployment of disaster relief, underwater surveillance
schemes, the upgrade of marine surveillance and cyberthreat projects.

The minister said it had nothing to do with an EU army and said that debate was had during the
Lisbon Treaty referendum. He said it was important that Ireland sign up before 11 December as it
would ensure Ireland would be able to “play its part in some projects” and only those who sign-up
will have a say on the progression of Pesco.

A two-hour Dáil debate is due to be held today on the issue before the matter goes to a vote.
The vote was taken and won by the miserable fascist members of FG and FG and a few of their suckers of tits! We're
snookered..signed up and at the ready to send our troops to clean up their dirty wars and to control sanctions on the
'enemy' countries by refusing to allow food, drink, medical supplies and medical personelle. Before long, our children
will be fighting their made wars....and they'll be returning in body bags!
They don't even what 'absolute power' is they're fighting with the wrong tools.
They'll never be able to get 'absolute power' BECAUSE of their mind frames. I'd
laugh if it wasn't so serious. It doesn't matter how many decent people they
slaughter, instead of making it better they make it worse.
My child is not going to join any War, under no circumstances. We're going to get
slaughtered if everyone doesn't wake up.
But waking up is not easy.
I've knocked myself back 'asleep' I can't remember how many times. I did it
deliberately every SINGLE time, but now there is no going back.
If you're (anyone) going to wake yourself up be prepared! Go out and buy enough
shopping for two weeks. Go to the doc and get a 'sick' note. Then take two weeks
off work. Fuck where you work this is more NB.
You will see things you don't like. Projections of your own mind etc. Don't BOTHER
talking to anyone during that time. (unless they're awake) IF you do you'll be
accused of 'insanity' etc.
Cleaning out your pineal gland is NB.
Clean where you live 1st and look after all the 'logical' stuff too, like making sure
your bins get collected etc.
Stay offline (if you can)
Fuck everyone and just mind yourself. 😇 😇 For that fortnight. X Whatever you
do, if you have a TV don't turn it on.
Don't communicate with anyone OR anything that has anything negative to state.
And remember NOBODY can give you (anyone) "everything you've ever dreamed
of" because how the fuck would they know what you dreamed of??
This article is from November 2017, but since then Irish politicians have
signed Ireland up to PESCO, but the people of Ireland haven't been
asked

http://www.thejournal.ie/eu-army-pesco-3734034-Dec2017/

They don't even what 'absolute power' is they're fighting with the wrong tools.
They'll never be able to get 'absolute power' BECAUSE of their mind frames. I'd
laugh if it wasn't so serious. It doesn't matter how many decent people they
slaughter, instead of making it better they make it worse.
My child is not going to join any War, under no circumstances. We're going to get
slaughtered if everyone doesn't wake up.
But waking up is not easy.
I've knocked myself back 'asleep' I can't remember how many times. I did it
deliberately every SINGLE time, but now there is no going back.
If you're (anyone) going to wake yourself up be prepared! Go out and buy enough
shopping for two weeks. Go to the doc and get a 'sick' note. Then take two weeks
off work. Fuck where you work this is more NB.
You will see things you don't like. Projections of your own mind etc. Don't BOTHER
talking to anyone during that time. (unless they're awake) IF you do you'll be
accused of 'insanity' etc.
Cleaning out your pineal gland is NB.
Clean where you live 1st and look after all the 'logical' stuff too, like making sure
your bins get collected etc.
Stay offline (if you can)
Fuck everyone and just mind yourself. 😇 😇 For that fortnight. X Whatever you
do, if you have a TV don't turn it on.
Don't communicate with anyone OR anything that has anything negative to state.
And remember NOBODY can give you (anyone) "everything you've ever dreamed
of" because how the fuck would they know what you dreamed of?
They will be knocking on our doors soon. Are you going to RE-ELECT a
TD who has voted to scrap Ireland's neutrality? Are you going to vote for
Ireland's involvement in an EU army? Every vote counts. Boycott the
warmongers. Get them out of Dáil Éireann before they do any more
damage to our country
Breathnach (Fianna Fáil), Fergus O'Dowd (Fine Gael) and Peter Fitzpatrick (Fine Gael) all voted in favour
of PESCO. Gerry Adams and Imelda Munster of Sinn Féin did not vote but we understand that Sinn Féin's
party position is opposition to PESCO and their TD's who were present in the Dáil voted against PESCO
All four of Clare's TD'S are in favour of Ireland's involvement in PESCO
and the EU army. Pat Carey of Fine Gael and Dr Michael Harty,
Independent, voted in favour of PESCO in the Dáil vote on December
7th. Timmy Dooley of Fine Gael's sister party Fianna Fáil and Blueshirt
Pat Breen fully support PESCO/EU army but went into hiding and didn't
have the guts to show up. Does this mean the people of County Clare
support fighting in EU wars? I doubt it. But the Four Horsemen of the
Apocalypse completely forgot to ask the people of Clare
People have got to stop thinking that the Government are useless or incapable to the point that we have a
housing and health crisis. We don't have any crisis at all. We have a deliberate plan to destroy the public option
in favour of privatising it all. These politicians are working to a script. The same script that was handed to their
predecessors time and time again. How many times have you heard health ministers say the same spiel when
questioned as to why there's so many patients on trolleys? Or why there are so many homeless on the streets and not
enough being done to house them? They say the same excuses because they are ALL operating from the SAME
script. They are more than capable of carrying out the plans given to them by their handlers behind the scenes...
Are you telling me that this Government, the same Government that built a massive corporation from the ground up to
completely take over our water infrastructure in just three years, cannot solve homelessness and the health system?

They are more than capable but they won't because they don't want to solve them unless they go according to the
plan...

That plan, like when they set up Irish Water, is to hand health and homelessness over to the private sector to exploit
for profit. Every government over the last 20 to 30 years has been operating according to this privatisation plan.

And until you get on board with this plan and accept it for what it really is then you will continue to suffer the
consequences until they force you to comply.

They have deliberately let people suffer and die at the hand of this manufactured "crisis" so as to convince you that
there's no alternative but to privatise...

They understand this plan because they are well paid and looked after for life to understand it.

What's your excuse? Are you going to continue to believe that this is all just a crisis that got out of control or are you
going to see the truth?

The Irish Times kept a virtual silence about the Fine Gael/Fianna Fáil
government's decision to join PESCO since the Dáil vote on December
7th. Today, the pro-war paper rolled out a PESCO spokesman in the
form of Barry Andrews who is described as "director general of the
Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA)". Reading Mr
Andrews in the Irish Times you would think PESCO was the best thing
since sliced bread and we should have taken to the streets to celebrate
like we had won the World Cup. So who is Barry Andrews and who are
the IIEA and is he qualified to give an unbiased opinion?
Barry Andrews (Blackrock College/UCD) is a former Fianna Fáil TD and
was Minister for Children and Youth affairs from 2008 to 2011.
Andrews's father, David Andrews served as a TD from 1965 to 2002 and
is a former Foreign Minister, while his uncle, Niall Andrews, was a
former Fianna Fáil TD and MEP and his cousin Chris Andrews (son of
Niall Andrews), is a former TD - so Barry Andrews belongs to a Fianna
Fáil political dynasty. He lost his Dáil seat in 2011 and returned to
practicing law but in November 2012, he was appointed chief executive
of aid charity GOAL. Andrews however stepped down in October 2016
as CEO, with GOAL reeling from a US government investigation into
alleged collusion and bid-rigging in southern Turkey, where
international aid agencies base their Syria operations.
Next stop for Barry Andrews was his appointment as director general of
the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA), "a Dublin-
based -tank."
Who are the IIEA? It was set up by former Labour Party TD Brendan
Halligan in 1980 and run by him for decades, hoovering up public funds
and getting handouts from EU bodies. Halligan made a nice living from
his creation and is still involved. The IIEA is described as a "think tank",
but it's real agenda is more Irish integration in Europe and it invites
NATO generals and EU federalists to speak at it's invite only get-
togethers. These events attract presentations from Irish, EU and global
decision makers. Some interesting former politicians are involved in this
semi-secret organisation, including John Bruton, Alan Dukes, Brian
Cowen, Ruairí Quinn and Pat Cox. The pro-war Irish Times's former
editor Conor Brady sits on the Board of Directors along with the ..
ahem, distinguished above former career politicians. Honorary
members include Mary Robinson, Bertie Ahern, Charlie McCreevy and
Pee Flynn. Barry Andrews had all the right connections then to land a
plum job in the IIEA. Wonder how much are they/we paying him?
Whatever it is, he is is writing in the Irish Times as somebody who is
hugely biased in favour of PESCO and the EU army. Treat his words with
what they deserve. Contempt.
Another blue collar scumbag robbing cunt getting a better job insted of getting locked up and his kit and Ken were the
same but that is ur government for ya the bigger the scumbag the job

Seriously,how do these so called "NGO" get huge investment from the tax payer?I'm sure if I set up in the morning a
independent group/think tank I wouldn't recieve a feckin cent.how the fuck do they even hold any say on any
matter,let it be in a advisory capacity.i give up. What's the other crowd called the National transport authority?? They
are also only a advisory body that don't just advise but hold serious sway or am I mixing them up with some other
bunch of cunts!
In the Wexford constituency three out of the five TD'S supported Ireland's
involvement in PESCO and the EU army. The man who was handpicked by Fine Gael
and their bosses in the European People's Party (EPP) in 2011 under Enda Kenny's
coalition with the Labour Party to dismantle Irish neutrality, Paul Kehoe absented
himself from the Dáil vote in an act of cowardice, but he will no doubt be richly
rewarded for his PESCO achievement. His Fine Gael colleague Michael D'Arcy of
course also signed up for the EU army (well, not to fight of course - that'll be for the
dregs ), as did Paul Browne of Fine Gael's sister party Fianna Fáil. Both voted for
PESCO in the Dáil vote on December 7th. But the Labour Party's Brendan Howlin
performed a deft u-turn and voted against PESCO, having supported the project
while in government with the Blueshirts from 2011 to 2016. Mick Wallace who has
consistently championed Irish neutrality and spoken out against the emerging EU
army opposed PESCO in the Dáil vote of course.

The 2 chickens disappeared and didn't vote....they're sly bastards

The Government is pulling a fast one here and Fianna Fáil is
collaborating, indeed colluding with it in that. That should be no
surprise. Fianna Fáil brought eternal shame on this country in allowing
the US military use Shannon Airport to prosecute the criminal US
assault on Iraq which resulted in as many as 1 million deaths, 4 million
people forced to flee their homes, the absolute destruction of Iraqi
society and, ultimately, laid the seeds for the destabilisation of Syria
that is now unfolding in the most horrific way. All of those matters are
directly connected. We facilitated that, and the two major parties in this
country supported it - to the tune of well over 1 million troops going
through Shannon to prosecute that horrific war. It should come as no
surprise that the two main parties that pretend to be in opposition to
one another are now also colluding in further abandoning our military
neutrality as part of joining up to the evolving European army and the
development and reinforcement of the European military industrial
complex. It is shameful."
Richard Boyd Barrett, TD speaking during the PESCO debate in Dáil
Éireann, December 7, 2017
https://beta.oireachtas.ie/…/deb…/debate/dail/2017-12-07/37/

Once again, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are joining forces to try to ram
through and fast-track a debate that will undermine Ireland's neutrality
without sufficient debate and scrutiny by the Oireachtas and the public.
Considering the lip service of these parties to Irish neutrality and the
popularity of Irish neutrality among the public, this approach comes as
no surprise. I am particularly disappointed and aggrieved with the
behaviour of members of the so-called Independent Alliance, who not
long ago shared these Opposition benches with us. When in opposition,
they repeatedly and loudly spoke out in favour of Irish neutrality. Two
years ago, they supported a Bill to hold a referendum enshrining
neutrality in Bunreacht na hÉireann. Shortly afterwards, they supported
Deputy Wallace's Bill to affirm Ireland's neutrality in the Constitution by
adherence to the provisions of the 1907 Hague Convention on
neutrality. The same people now sit at the Cabinet table. They had the
opportunity to stop this two weeks ago but not one of them had the
moral courage or the resolve to speak out, stand up for Irish neutrality
and vote against this departure. Perhaps they did not hear or chose not
to listen to Frederica Mogherini, who said that the dream of creating an
EU defence union was no longer a dream, but had now become a
reality."
Seán Crowe of Sinn Féin speaking about the independent Alliance
during the Dáil debate on PESCO on December 7, 2017
https://beta.oireachtas.ie/…/deb…/debate/dail/2017-12-07/37/

To attempt to ovetule the condtiution namely our recognised exemptions in the Lisbon treaty is unlawful as
should be upheld by the supteme court
If you lie with dogs you will get fleas so michael we no you are not one of them rotten cunts so come out
and tell them to go and fuck off you are welcom at my door i am proud of you
Three of Sligo - Leitrim's four TD'S voted in favour of Ireland's
involvement in PESCO and the EU army in the Dáil vote on December
7th. Tony McLoughlin of Fine Gael and Eamon Scanlon and Marc
MacSharry from Fine Gael's sister party Fianna Fáil all voted in favour of
PESCO and the scrapping of Irish neutrality. Only one TD from Sligo -
Leitrim, Martin Kenny of Sinn Féin voted against
All four TD'S in the constituency of Mayo support Ireland's involvement
in PESCO and the EU army. Former Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who did a
lot of the work behind the scenes to end Irish neutrality was absent for
the Dáil vote on December 7th but supports PESCO, but Michael Ring of
Fine Gael and Dara Calleary and Lisa Chambers of Fianna Fáil all voted
in favour of PESCO
do not vote for these shower ,,,
All three TD'S in the constituency of Meath East voted in the Dáil in favour of Ireland's involvement in
PESCO and the EU army, Regina Doherty and Helen McEntee of Fine Gael and Thomas Byrne of Fianna
Fáil voted in Dáil Éireann to end Irish neutrality
Two out of three TD'S in the constituency of Meath West voted in the
Dáil in favour of Ireland's involvement in PESCO and the EU army.
Damien English of Fine Gael and Shane Cassells of Fianna Fáil voted in
Dáil Éireann to end Irish neutrality. The third TD from Meath West,
Peadar Tóibín of Sinn Féin voted against joining PESCO/the EU army

we are not publishing her surname in case she wants anonymity)

Hello
I am deeply alarmed at the the speed of the PESCO bill being passed by the government.
The public is still unaware of this, with no media coverage. The people need to wake up to the scale of this bill.

The Irish media will not say a word, maybe we should look to the UK papers to get the news out. I’m not sure how to
articulate this or how to contact them?

Different public figures who have a wide audience e.g., Eamon Dunphy who spoke up for the ”Jobstown Not Guilty”,
comedians like the Rubber Bandits, who have been addressing the state of the mental health services in this country.
We need people who have an audience that are concerned with this crisis.

Irish PESCO money could easily address the homelessness crisis ... and/or put funding into our health services.

How can we start a movement on the scale of the anti-water charges, creating a campaign to block the government
agreeing to sign off our country to join PESCO.

This is a national decision that should require a referendum! They have stripped the Irish people of our neutrality.

In the constituency of Cork South-Central three of the four TD's elected

to Dáil Éireann are in favour of scrapping Irish neutrality. Simon
Coveney, Micheál Martin voted in favour of PESCO/EU army. Michael
McGrath of Fianna Fáil was absent for the Dáil vote but SUPPORTS
PESCO. Only Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire of Sinn Féin opposed Ireland's
involvement in PESCO/EU army
PESCO will backfire on the TRAITORS. Bring on Election '18
Three of the five TD'S in the constituency of Carlow - Kilkenny voted in
the Dáil in favour of Ireland's involvement in PESCO and the EU army.
Bobby Alyward of Fianna Fáil was absent for the vote but he supports
PESCO. Only Kathleen Funchion of Sinn Féin opposed.
No true Irish folk will give up Neutrality or give up State freedom to join in a slave EU dominated by
Germany & France. Think of Catalonia... where is their freedom?

Dear Mr Leo Varadkar,

.
Are you a complete idiot or are you a national stage coward?
.
I ask as one party leader to another, because regarding the Scientology CULT, it is further expanding its
dangerous practises including its quackery. It must be stopped.
.
Clearly regarding this cult, there is some things you have missed that anyone else could have kopped.
.
1. You say "I would be loath to go down that route of starting to interfere with religious groups..."
.
...But hang on - Scientology in Ireland (and many other countries) is NOT OFFICIAL recognised as a religion - and
with good reason. Are you now acting outside the constitution and illegally giving it a stamp of approval as a
religion?

(It's not the first time you have acted outside the legal remits of our constitution, as UnitedPeople will attempt to prove
in a Dublin Highcourt in 2018)
.
2. It's mental quackery of being able to supposedly cure many things including drug addition and autism by using
WORLD RECOGNISED extremely dangerous practises (that have subsequently cause many deaths) is on record.
.
As a supposed professional doctor that you are qualified as, surely from this aspect alone, alarm bells should be going
off in your head! Further more, as you are the supposed leader of the country, the one person who has the ultimate
power to defend a nation of people against such crazy quackery, you would be willing to do something - anything - to
stop the cults Ireland growing craziness?
.
So far you are unwilling to do anything. This in itself is absolutely incredible - and your inaction further undermines
you direct creditability regarding the position you hold.
.
Now, you having studied for many years alone to become a doctor, this tells us all that you have indeed some
semblance of a learned brain. In short, I don't think you can be officially, medically classed as a slow learner by any
percentage.
.
This could leave many to conclude therefore that you are just a coward regarding your unwillingness to stop this cult's
quackery alone, on Ireland's people. With the office that you hold, you further more are a national elected coward.
.
This too I find incredible - if only because you had the courage to possible insult or anger our UK trading neighbours
regarding Britexit and its ongoing EU exit negotiations.
.
So going out on a limb here and assuming that you are neither an idiot or a coward - but short-sighted as you have
missed the fact that the cult is not an official recognised religion in Ireland - can you please better explain why you are
willing to do bugger all to:

(a) protect the people resident in Ireland

(b) unwilling to stop its world recognised spying operation setup, it's "Office of Special Affairs", that is now ten
minutes walk away from your own office, Seanad and the Dail. Do they subsequently have 'something on you' or your
party members and if so, is this why you are unwilling to do anything at all?

(c) Unwilling to legal legislate, to stop their further world recognised, dangerous quackery.

(d) Unwilling to state what it is - a cult - which it fits into as a category via any common used dictionary definition -
and further world recognised as by other modern wise nations - or are you saying its NOT a cult - and thus making
those other nations to be all idiots?
.
As a medical practitioner that you are and now apparently (according to The Sunday Times Dec 31st 2017) going to
legislate against the peddling of fake cancer treatments, why are you not willing to do that job proper and legislate that
ALL quackery - including that of the cults - be completely illegal and met with the full weight and sentencing power
of the Irish courts?
.
Why won't you as a doctor and an elected representative, do even this - excluding even any aspects of religion or not?
.
To conclude, can you please tell us better what the hell is going on? Please do tell the people but not through your
costly €5 Million Euro PR machine. Talk straight to us all and give us accurate, non-evasive answers. Can you even
do that much?
.
Yours most concerned,
.
PS. Please look up the definition of a "Cult" - then look at Scientology or at least seek advice from one of your many
expensive advisors scattered all over Dublin, alone. Can you do that at least? Thank you.
Founder of Scientology,Lafayette Ron Hubbard ( 1911-1986 ) once infamously boasted,that, because " a
sucker was born every minute ",he was going to sell them,....." a piece of blue sky. "
The Irish Constitution still makes reference to
woman's place in the home
Dublin Rathdown deputy Josepha Madigan wants a referendum on Article 41.2.1 of
Bunreacht na hÉireann.
THEJOURNAL.IE
January 6, 18
The Irish Constitution still makes reference to woman's place in the
home
Dublin Rathdown deputy Josepha Madigan wants a referendum on
Article 41.2.1 of Bunreacht na hÉireann.
Mar 8th 2017
A FINE GAEL TD wants any mention of women’s role within the home
removed from the Irish Constitution.
Dublin Rathdown deputy Josepha Madigan wants a referendum on
Article 41.2.1 of Bunreacht na hÉireann, which deals specifically with the
role and rights of women.
It reads:
In particular, the State recognises that by her life within the home,
woman gives to the State a support without which the common good
cannot be achieved.
The State shall, therefore, endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not
be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of
their duties in the home.
Three different reports, as well as the 2013 Constitutional Convention,
recommended the abolition or reform of the clause.
The article has been used in legal cases around gender discrimination
and recognition of work done in the home.
As Gerry Whyte of the Trinity College Dublin Law School explained in a
2013 submission to the Constitutional Convention:
In L v. L (1989) Judge Barr in the High Court argued that Article 41.2
obliged the courts to have regard to work done as a home maker in
calculating a wife’s share in the matrimonial home.
And:
In DT v CT, (2002) Article 41.2.1º was cited by two members of the
Supreme Court, Judges Denham and Murray, in support of the view
that, in deciding whether proper provision had been made for a spouse
for the purposes of the divorce jurisdiction in Article 41.3.2º, regard had
to be had to the work of a spouse caring for dependants, the family and
the home.
Whyte adds that the article was unlikely to be used to force the state
improve financial supports for women.
Given that tax and social welfare matters directly affect public
expenditure, and that decisions on public expenditure are regarded as
the preserve of the Oireachtas and the executive, it is unlikely that the
courts would use Article 41.2.2 to impose additional financial
obligations on the State to support mothers in the home.
Madigan said the clause was an anachronism that is not reflective of
today’s Ireland.
Until 1973 the marriage bar restricted the employment of married
women, often resulting in termination of employment. There was never
an economic rationale behind the marriage bar, 1973 was far too late for
its abolition- but 44 years later it is ludicrous that the backwards
thinking behind the bar remains enshrined in our Constitution.
“Our Constitution should not narrowly define our roles in society. I
would like to see this anachronistic Article consigned to history. Modern
Irish women and modern Irish families deserve more than the archaic
notions of the 1937 Constitution.”
Orla O’Connor from the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI)
said the clause has more symbolic power than real.
The Article is completely outdated and doesn’t reflect the society we
have or want. It’s the symbolic nature of it. The Constitution should be
about espousing the qualities and values we want. It is in the
background on many policies and attitudes in society.
The NWCI is committed to a referendum repealing the Article, but says
its priority is a referendum on the Eighth Amendment.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women on Monday called for the amendment of Article 41.2 of the
Constitution to remove”stereotypical language on the role of women in
the home.”
http://www.thejournal.ie/irish-constitution-womans-place-3…/
Women and the IRISH Constitution ... •‘broadly representative of Irish
society’ but ... •‘amending the clause on the role of women
http://www.nwci.ie/download/…/women_and_the_constitution.pdf
Constitution Of Ireland
Bunreacht Na hÉireann
In a plebiscite held on 1 July 1937 the people enacted a new
Constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann, to replace the 1922 Constitution
of the Irish Free State.
Even though the 1922 Constitution had been approved by Dáil Éireann,
there continued to exist throughout the country a substantial body of
opposition to it owing to its being circumscribed by the terms of the
Treaty, its recognition of the British monarch as part of the national
legislature and its requirement that members of the Oireachtas swear
an oath of faithfulness to that monarch.
Much of the case for a new Constitution was the need to make perfectly
clear that the source of authority in Ireland and of the fundamental law
of the state is the people of Ireland. Hence the Preamble to Bunreacht
na hÉireann says: 'We, the people of Éire,...do hereby adopt, enact, and
give to ourselves this Constitution'. There was a desire to give the state
all the characteristics of a republic (and so all references to the British
monarch were removed).
There also seemed to be a desire to strengthen or entrench the rights of
the citizen as against the state. It had been possible to amend the
Constitution of the Irish Free State by a simple Act of the Oireachtas
without recourse to the people in a referendum.
The proposal to adopt Bunreacht na hÉireann was carried by 685,105
votes in favour to 526,945 votes against, a majority of 158,160.
ON WOMEN IN THE HOME Article 41.2 of the Constitution .
https://www.constitution.ie/AttachmentDownload.ashx…
Constitutional Convention votes to alter 'women in home' clause
A vast majority of the delegates voted to change the article, with 98 per
cent supporting a proposal to make it gender-neutral.
Feb 17th 2013
Image: Shutterstock
SHOULD THE SO-CALLED ‘woman in the home’ clause in the Irish
constitution be altered?
According to the vast majority of delegates at the Constitutional
Convention in Dublin this weekend, it should.
Article 42.1 was under discussion at the convention this weekend, and
today 88 per cent of the Constitutional Convention delegates voted in
favour of amending the article, which emphasises the role of women in
the home.
The article in question states:
In particular, the State recognises that by her life within the home,
woman gives to the State a support without which the common good
cannot be achieve.
The State shall, therefore, endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not
be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to neglect of their
duties in the home.
Changes
Only 11 per cent believed the article should remain as it is. But if it were
to be changed, 12 per cent were in favour of it being completely deleted
with 88 per cent preferring that it be modified.
A huge majority – 98 per cent – of delegates said they supported a
proposal to alter the article to make it gender neutral and to
acknowledge the important role of other carers in the home.
There were other votes taken today, in which 97 per cent said they
would like to see more government action to encourage greater
participation of women in politics and public life. However they fell
short of making a recommendation to include a provision in the
constitution to require this.
Eighty nine per cent said they would like to see the constitution
amended to include greater gender inclusive language.
Decisive statement
Committee Chairman, Tom Arnold said of the votes:
Clearly, the Convention’s delegates have issued a decisive statement
regarding the way women are represented in our constitution. There is a
large majority who feel that the constitution as it stands does not
appropriately reflect the realities of modern Ireland and the members
strongly believed that the constitution needed to provide for gender
equality and parity between the sexes.
He said that there was “a clear sense that references to “him” and “his”
were neither reasonable nor appropriate” in the constitution.
This is the second meeting of the Constitutional Convention. In January,
it voted in favour of lowering the voting age to 16 but opposed reducing
the presidential term.
Its next meeting, which will take place in April, will consider the issue of
same sex marriage.
http://www.thejournal.ie/woman-in-the-home-constitution-79…/
Constitutional Convention to vote on amending 'women in home' clause
At its second meeting, the convention is looking at Article 41.2, which
recognises woman’s life within the home and how it supports the State.
Feb 16th 2013,
THE SO-CALLED ‘woman in the home’ clause in the Irish constitution
will be voted on by the Constitutional Convention tomorrow.
Today saw expert presentation and engagement by delegates, which
will be continued tomorrow before the Constitutional Convention votes
on whether to alter the clause in the Constitution which places special
emphasis on the place of women in the home.
In addition, it will hold a ballot on proposed measures to increase the
participation of women in political and public life. During today’s event,
the Convention heard from groups including the National Women’s
Council of Ireland, Cúram, the 50/50 Group and Women for Election on
the issue.
They also had group discussions and feedback sessions with the
Convention’s delegates and heard presentations from academic experts
in this sector.
Article 41.2
The discussion surrounds Article 41.2 in the Constitution, which states:
“In particular, the State recognises that by her life within the home,
woman gives to the State a support without which the common good
cannot be achieve.
“The State shall, therefore, endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not
be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to neglect of their
duties in the home.”
Chairperson of the Constitutional Convention, Tom Arnold said:
Our Constitution gives special prominence to the place of the women in
the home. Today, we heard a range of opinions which sought to find the
optimum way to adapt this clause making it more relevant to
contemporary Ireland.
We also examined ways of facilitating greater participation of women in
public life and politics. Currently, women are hugely under-represented
in these areas. While most felt this needed to be challenged, the exact
nature of this will be decided by a ballot tomorrow.
At the first meeting of the convention last month, it voted in favour of
lowering the voting age to 16. It also opposed reducing the presidential
term.
http://www.thejournal.ie/constitution-woman-home-798490-Fe…/
If you would like to watch the convention tomorrow, the proceedings
will be streamed live at:
https://www.constitution.ie/OnlineStreaming.aspx
Constitutionally, women are still breeding machines
We need to change how we view a woman's role in society if we want
our care of pregnant women to improve, writes Carol Hunt
1 Carol Hunt
May 24 2015
Carol Hunt
It's dubbed the "woman in the home" clause. Article 42.1 of our
Constitution implies quite clearly that every Irish woman should know
where her place is in society. And that place is at home, having babies
and minding the house. The excellent work of the recent People's
Constitutional Convention recommended that the archaic article be
amended to provide "gender equality and parity between the sexes".
The Government did not dare support that practical advice. The
traditionalists would have had apoplexy. So, in addition to equal
marriage, we got to vote on the age of the President which, though
welcome, was hardly going to change the face of Irish society.
Neither, says you, would amending Article 42.1. Sure, don't we all
ignore the lines that say: "By her life within the home, woman gives to
the State a support without which the common good cannot be
achieved. The State shall, therefore, endeavour to ensure that mothers
shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the
neglect of their duties within the home"?
https://www.independent.ie/…/constitutionally-women-are-sti…
Maintenance fears over axing ‘women’s place’ clause
Larissa Nolan
July 23 2017, 12:01am,
The Sunday Times
Child protection rapporteur Geoffrey Shannon
MARK STEDMAN/PHOTOCALL IRELAND
A leading lawyer has said that the removal of the “woman’s place in the
home” clause from the Irish constitution could affect maintenance
payments in family law cases.
Professor Geoffrey Shannon, the government’s special rapporteur on
child protection, said Ireland was unique in having such a constitutional
clause, and also in its type of maintenance regime in the case of
marriage breakdown. This guarantees lifelong financial support for a
dependent spouse.
Shannon said: “A dependent spouse fares better in Ireland than in
virtually any other jurisdiction in the world, and that’s due to this
lifelong obligation. It is a safety net or a protective mechanism for the
spouse who acts as homemaker.
“In other countries, a time is reached after which you cannot seek
further…
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/…/maintenance-fears-over-axing-w…
ROLE OF WOMEN IN IRISH SOCIETY
http://www.ratoathcollegehistory.com/…/role_of_women_in_iri…
Women’s Rights Convention Held
http://www.annenbergclassroom.org/…/WomensRightstimeline.pdf
Woman's place is in the home, ... convention of the National American
Woman ...art 3
https://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi…
How Ireland looks poised to hold a referendum on whether a woman's
place is 'in the home'
Ireland is currently heading to the polls for a general election, fuelling
speculation that the main parties will commit to holding a referendum
on Article 41.2 during the new government
Friday 26 February 2016
he people of Ireland took to the polls yesterday to elect a new Dáil
The people of Ireland are casting their votes today in a general election
to choose representatives for the lower parliamentary chamber Dáil
Éireann. Polls indicate a hung Dáil, with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael
expected to be the parties most likely to form a coalition.
Yet, regardless of the parties in power, one political outcome is
increasingly likely; Ireland looks set to hold a referendum on whether a
woman’s place is in the home.
Under Article 41.2 of the Irish constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann, the
country officially states that a woman’s natural place and duties lie
“within the home”.
https://www.constitution.ie/…/Bhunreacht_na_hEireann_web.pdf
It says: “The State recognises that by her life within the home, woman
gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be
achieved.”
It continues: “The State shall therefore, endeavour to ensure that
mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour
to the neglect of their duties in the home.”
The clause was initially entered in the early twentieth century with a
view to acknowledging the many caring responsibilities which were
undertaken primarily by women and to ensure that women who wished
to look after their children were entitled to maternity leave and other
benefits. However, the Article has come under increased criticism that it
is sexist and outdated.
The country’s three largest parties have all pledged to change the issue
if elected today. Fine Gael and Labour’s 2016 election manifestos both
contain commitments to amending the Article. Fianna Fáil’s leader
Micheál Martin has spoken publicly before about his support for an
amendment to the Article. Most parties support retaining a reference to
the importance of care givers but using gender neutral language and
widening the terms to include care giving beyond home environments.
SUBMISSION ON THE ROLE OF WOMEN/WOMEN IN POLITICS
Constitutional Convention February 2013 “A society that is without the
voice and vision of a woman is not less feminine. It is less human.” (Mary
Robinson)
http://5050-group.com/…/5050-Group-Constitutional-Conventio…
.shall not be obliged by economic necessity.....'. The words that this Madigan dope seems to be
overlooking! The re are a lot of Moms who would love to stay at home with their kids in the first couple
of years, but instead are forced to return to work. Could'nt article 41 be used to their advantage, rather
then Government pumping cash into the crèche system, where babies and young children are being cared
for by Strangers!
they are doing it to turn women into slaves of the elite. Fuck the children, they don't matter in the
blue shirt world.
Oh Leo 've me something in my stocking
COLM O GORMAN WANTS YOU TO ABORT AND KILL ALL BABIES INCLUDING DOWN
SYNDROMS
MEDIA CENSORSHIP 2018 - ALIVE AND IN ACTION.
Why was all comments removed from this article? Did Martin Callinan order a smear
campaign on McCabe? And did Nóirín O'Sullivan know about it?
@thejournal_ie http://jrnl.ie/3708166
.
UnitedPeople commented:
One outcome from all this? Probably no one will see the inside of a court room – unless they are just
visiting on a tour!

Evidence gone missing (including Nora’s phone), secret car-park meetings, lies told including
multiple conflicting versions from Enda Kenny and Zappone, midnight house calls and more…

Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Labour will see to it that no one will be arrested and charged. They know
those involved have too much to tell with their secrets – including further possible political
connections to each of their parties and members.

There will be no real accountability. The only winners from all this, will be the legal firms raking
cash in, charging serious money to protect culprits involved.
.
NOW CENSORED - ALONG WITH EVERYONE ELSE THAT WAS CRITICAL OF THE
GOVERNMENT AND EXPRESSED IT IN THE COMMENTS SECTION.

Good to see the Sunday Times taking the new bill I’ve been working on so seriously.
Proud of all the work that has gone into this in the last year, and now hopefully by 2019 we
can try to make a real difference to the laws that allow dangerous quacks to practice with
impunity.
There are too many unscrupulous people out there, looking to prey on the vulnerable,
taking their money and promising to ‘heal’, or to ‘cure’ illnesses with completely bogus
‘treatments’ that at best do nothing, and at worst can result in poisoning, adverse drug
reactions or even death.
Everyone is peddling their own products here, but one industry ie. Medical/pharmaceutical shouldn't be
allowed to regulate themselves or the competing industry. What's the overall success rate of
chemotherapy against cancer... 2%? Success rate of a healthy, strong immune system against
cancer...??. Shame that medics aren't educated on how to look after the immune system instead of just
"diagnose and treat".
Some of the biggest quackery around is in a pharmacy ! I've 9 foolscap pages of poisons to prove it, once I
came out of my drug induced haze and was able to connect to honest doctors ! Sad that pharmacists,
turned politicians are trying to dictate who we can and cannot get help from. Do we have to go abroad to
get the help we need ? Sad country. Getting more frustrating by the day !

THE SNOBBERY THAT LIES BEHIND THE D4 DEAL ON SOCIAL HOUSING

ew people will begrudge the fifty three families who will get social housing in Shelbourne
Park, Ringsend. But Dublin City Council could have built twice as many houses or
apartments for the price.
Behind the deal lies a tale of snobbery and scandal.
It started because 'Chartered Land', did not want any social housing on their Dublin 4 site
in Ballsbridge. This is despite the fact that, they were supposed to allocate 10% of the units
for social and affordable housing.
In 2015 Fine Gael changed the law and reduced the requirement from 20%, promising that
they would close off all loopholes.
There would be no getting around the regulation, they claimed, – every development would
have 10% social of affordable housing.
Back in his heyday, Joe O Reilly once described as Ireland’s most successful builder gave
€74,000 in political donations to right wing politicians. According to O Reilly he had a
‘certain level of respect within the various local authorities’.
After the Celtic Tiger, O Reilly went bust, owing over €1.5 billion to Anglo Irish Bank. But
instead of his property being seized, he was let work with NAMA for a fee of around
€200,000 a year.
O Reilly then hooked up with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, to refloat his building
operations. This company is run by a state which practices torture and violates human
rights on a regular basis and where migrant workers who form 90% of the private workforce
are denied rights.
Its law allows husbands to beat their wives, provided there are no physical marks left!
But Joe O Reilly was not too interested – he just wanted an injection of cash to refloat his
company, Chartered Land. Even though he was one of the people who helped trigger the
Celtic Tiger crash, he was back in the high life.
Chartered Land managed to swing a deal with Dublin City Council whereby they were let
select 53 apartments in Shelbourne Park, Ringsend in exchange for not having social
housing in Ballbsridge.
Despite their 2015 promises, yet another loophole had been found. But to make matters
worse Dublin City Council agreed to pay €400,000 a piece for the Ringsend apartments.
Dublin City Council could be building thousands of houses at half that price. It would be
even cheaper if they used their own land to build them.
But instead, Dublin City Council is selling off its own land at knock down prices – in a
decision that was voted through by the Labour-Sinn Féin council majority.
Both parties are now standing over the Ballsbridge deal.
Dermot Lacey of the Labour Party even justified the snobbery at the heart of the deal. He
said that,
“Ballsbridge is not where people [waiting for social housing] want to live. You can take
social engineering too far and cause more problems for the people you are trying to help.”
In making this atrocious comment, Lacey gives lie to the main excuse used for not building
council housing.
Every time, People Before Profit calls for the building of large scale council housing
projects, the objection is made that there must be ‘social mix’. Too many working class
people, it is implied, should not be put living together.
But now Lacey and Dublin City Council are telling us that they don’t want any social mix in
Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. In other words, the whole ‘social mix’ argument was always only an
excuse to stop building council housing.
In 2018, we need to change all that.
ew people will begrudge the fifty three families who will get social housing in Shelbourne
Park, Ringsend. But Dublin City Council could have built twice as many houses or
apartments for the price.
Behind the deal lies a tale of snobbery and scandal.
It started because 'Chartered Land', did not want any social housing on their Dublin 4 site
in Ballsbridge. This is despite the fact that, they were supposed to allocate 10% of the units
for social and affordable housing.
In 2015 Fine Gael changed the law and reduced the requirement from 20%, promising that
they would close off all loopholes.
There would be no getting around the regulation, they claimed, – every development would
have 10% social of affordable housing.
Back in his heyday, Joe O Reilly once described as Ireland’s most successful builder gave
€74,000 in political donations to right wing politicians. According to O Reilly he had a
‘certain level of respect within the various local authorities’.
After the Celtic Tiger, O Reilly went bust, owing over €1.5 billion to Anglo Irish Bank. But
instead of his property being seized, he was let work with NAMA for a fee of around
€200,000 a year.
O Reilly then hooked up with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, to refloat his building
operations. This company is run by a state which practices torture and violates human
rights on a regular basis and where migrant workers who form 90% of the private workforce
are denied rights.
Its law allows husbands to beat their wives, provided there are no physical marks left!
But Joe O Reilly was not too interested – he just wanted an injection of cash to refloat his
company, Chartered Land. Even though he was one of the people who helped trigger the
Celtic Tiger crash, he was back in the high life.
Chartered Land managed to swing a deal with Dublin City Council whereby they were let
select 53 apartments in Shelbourne Park, Ringsend in exchange for not having social
housing in Ballbsridge.
Despite their 2015 promises, yet another loophole had been found. But to make matters
worse Dublin City Council agreed to pay €400,000 a piece for the Ringsend apartments.
Dublin City Council could be building thousands of houses at half that price. It would be
even cheaper if they used their own land to build them.
But instead, Dublin City Council is selling off its own land at knock down prices – in a
decision that was voted through by the Labour-Sinn Féin council majority.
Both parties are now standing over the Ballsbridge deal.
Dermot Lacey of the Labour Party even justified the snobbery at the heart of the deal. He
said that,
“Ballsbridge is not where people [waiting for social housing] want to live. You can take
social engineering too far and cause more problems for the people you are trying to help.”
In making this atrocious comment, Lacey gives lie to the main excuse used for not building
council housing.
Every time, People Before Profit calls for the building of large scale council housing
projects, the objection is made that there must be ‘social mix’. Too many working class
people, it is implied, should not be put living together.
But now Lacey and Dublin City Council are telling us that they don’t want any social mix in
Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. In other words, the whole ‘social mix’ argument was always only an
excuse to stop building council housing.
In 2018, we need to change all that.
WOOPS Joanies been SHOVED ' N THE CORNER

Hands off Ranelagh Triangle'

Councillors at odds over
motion to name benches after
1916 leaders
A monument is already at the Ranelagh Triangle for local woman
Deirdre Kelly.
January 6, 18

DUBLIN CITY COUNCILLORS are at odds over a motion set

to be discussed at this Monday’s council meeting that would
commemorate a number of 1916 leaders at the Triangle in
Ranelagh.
The motion calls for the names of these leaders to “be placed
on the three new granite bench seats being placed in
position at the triangle in Ranelagh village”.
Sinn Féin’s Chris Andrews is in favour of the proposal,
saying that it would recognise the “strong connection” that
the likes of Padraig Pearse, Con Colbert and Thomas
MacDonagh have to the area.
Labour’s Mary Freehill, on the other hand, says that there is
already a permanent memorial to local environmentalist and
author Deirdre Kelly on the site and that adding further
plaques would “dilute her contribution to the people of
Ranelagh”.
Kelly, who died in 2000, fought hard against office
development and road-widening schemes in communities
across Dublin city, and was an advocate for cycle lanes and
better public transport.
Her book Four Roads to Dublin, published in 1995, presents
a history of Ranelagh, Rathmines and Leeson Street.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie this evening, Kelly’s daughter
Maeve said that she was shocked to see the proposals.
She said: “It really is a personal tribute to our mother. There
are very few monuments to women around.
My mother was a very special woman who was well-loved in
the area. She fought for people who couldn’t fight for
themselves. It was very touching that Dublin City Council
would erect a monument to her, considering she was such a
thorn in their side most of her life.
While she doesn’t object to any kind of tribute to Pearse et al
closer to the school he did set up in Ranelagh, Maeve Kelly
said that putting them in the same spot would dilute the
tribute to her mother.
“It means a lot to us,” she said.
Freehill, meanwhile, told TheJournal.ie that the tribute in
Ranelagh to Kelly has recently been refurbished and to try to
take away from that would be “unfair and inappropriate”.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of people in Ranelagh who are very
annoyed about the proposal,” she said.
It is a rare occasion that a woman’s work is recognised… by
dedicating these small benches to different people dilutes
her contribution to the people of Ranelagh.
Andrews, on the other hand, told TheJournal.ie that this
proposal would in no way take away from the tribute to Kelly
or recognising her achievements.
He said: “Padraig Pearse had such a strong connection here.
There are houses in Ranelagh with plaques of him outside.”
Padraig Pearse, Willie Pearse, Con Colbert and MacDonagh
all taught at St Enda’s School in Ranelagh, which was
founded by Padraig Pearse.
All four men were shot dead in Kilmainham Gaol after the
1916 Easter Rising.
“The triangle is such a nice place, and it can be a very social
place during the summer,” Andrews said. “These men have
this connection with Ranelagh, and it’d be a shame not to
acknowledge it.
I’m disappointed that there’s opposition [to the motion]. No
one is trying to take anything away from anyone else. I think
it’s really important to acknowledge that as well.
The proposal will be heard at Dublin City Council’s monthly
meeting this Monday.
http://www.thejournal.ie/ranelagh-triangle-benches-3784654-
Jan2018/?utm_source=facebook_short

We're more intimate': How

small Irish cinemas are
fighting back against
blockbuster screens
Running an independent cinema is tough – but there is a new appetite
for a more personal touch.
Dec 21st 2017, 9:52 AM 8,656 Views 1 Comment
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Image: The Stella Theatre

OVER THE PAST few decades, the number of independent
cinemas in Ireland has dwindled. Cast your eye across the
Irish cinema landscape and you’ll see it dominated by chains
like Omniplex, IMC, Odeon and Cineworld.
It’s a far cry from the days in which Dublin had 56 cinemas
in operation. In fact, with the closure of Screen Cinema and
the imminent shuttering of Savoy Cinema’s iconic Screen
One, it can feel as though Ireland’s cinematic glory days are
behind us.
However, there are still a number of small and boutique
cinemas operating around Ireland and doing their utmost to
compete with their blockbuster rivals. Take the likes of the
IFI and the Light House in Dublin, or the family-run Classic
Movieplex in Listowel and Phoenix Cinema in Dingle.

mytinyatlas_ire
Phoenix Cinema, Dingle
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One of the few remaining family run independent cinemas left
in Ireland, Phoenix Cinema Dingle. Built in 1918, Phoenix
Cinema is famous for its Tuesday Film Club - a personal
introduction to the film by the O'Sullivan family followed by
tea and biscuits * * *
MARCH 29, 2017
Instagram
Phoenix Cinema is one of just a handful of family-run
cinemas left in Ireland. It’s a single-screen theatre that sits
150 patrons and enjoys the distinction of being the only
cinema on the Dingle Peninsula.
It opened in 1980 and continues to be run by the O’Sullivan
family. At any given time, the cinema is usually showing
only one film – as of writing, they were showing The Last
Jedi – and they also run an Art Film night every Tuesday
night with tea and biscuits.
Francis O’Sullivan admits it’s difficult to run a small cinema,
but says it has received great support from the community
over the last few decades.
“Even though we’re located in a remote and sparsely
populated area, we get great local support,” he says. “We’re
also lucky that Dingle is a very popular holiday destination
and most of our customers in the tourist season are visitors
to the area.”
“Our greatest challenges are not so much to do with being an
independent cinema as dealing with the same problem that
anyone trying to run a business in this country faces: the
massive running costs and the fact that these continue to
increase every year. Our electricity, heating, and especially
our insurance costs are our greatest ongoing challenge.”
He believes that the likes of Phoenix Cinema can offer a
“more personal and intimate experience” than the chain
multiplexes and that it also enables them to programme
more eclectic fare.
“While we will never be all things to all people, we try to be
as many things to as many people as possible, so we try to
show a mixture of mainstream Hollywood fare as well as the
maximum amount of arthouse films that we can schedule
over the year,” he says.
“Plus we try to show as many Irish films as possible, most of
which never make it into the multiplexes.”
Instagram
This photo or video has been removed from Instagram.
Phoenix Cinema harks back to a time when cinemas around
Ireland were small and intimate. A time when cinemas were
called things like The Coliseum, The Regal or The Adelphi.
Among these cinemas was Stella in Rathmines, The cinema
first opened in 1923 before closing in the 2000s. It lay
empty for a decade before it was acquired by Press Up
Entertaiment earlier this year.
“The Stella has always been an iconic part of Ireland’s
cinematic history,” explains a spokeswoman for Press Up
Entertainment. “So when it became available for purchase
we were delighted to take the opportunity to return her to
her former glory.”
The newly refurbished single-screen cinema has been open
since October and it’s a far cry from your typical cinema.
Think cocktails, side lamps, red couches, ottomans and
blankets.
In other words, they weren’t too concerned about opening
right across the road from another cinema. “We feel our
offering will attract a national audience, not just people from
Dublin or Rathmines,” they explain.
At present, they show a mixture of new films, old films and
forgotten classics. Their programme for January includes
everything from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
It’s clear they are positioning themselves as an alternative to
your typical ‘pub followed by a dance in Flannery’s’ night
out.
“The Stella Theatre is part of the current wave of new
alternative nights out in the city,” they say. “We don’t
see our offering as a requirement to stand out among other
cinemas, but rather we see a visit to The Stella as a new
overall experience that is enticing to a broader audience.”
And it seems as though the people behind The Stella are
planning on staying in the cinema game. The group plans to
open The Devlin, a boutique hotel in Ranelagh in 2018. As
part of the offering, the hotel will feature a 50-seater cinema
in the basement, billed as a sister cinema to the Stella.
“We’ll be screening indie films and brilliant classics all week
long,” they say.
Sit back and enjoy the show, so.
GLOVES OFF IN THE DAIL BAR
Date: December 14, 2017
Lisa Chambers

WHO needs a Strategic Communications Unit (SCU)

when the Fine Gael press office is so adept at the
dark art of media spin against their Fianna Fáil
partners in the government confidence and supply
arrangement? So pleased was the Irish Independent
with its own role
There are many, many politicians belonging to the political establishment in this rotten
country, FG, FF, LAB, but there is not one of them a statesman, by that I mean politicians
interested in those people at the lower end of the social and income scale and those
people and families trying to secure a home for themselves and basically trying to survive
in appalling conditions.
The only thing they are interested in is securing the votes of those people who are not in
those situations that they can depend on

BIG BILLS AT BEWLEY’S

Date: December 14, 2017 - Affairs of the Nation
Paddy Campbell

VISITORS TO Dublin’s Grafton Street in the last

couple of weeks may have been struck by the near
permanent queue of punters outside the recently
reopened Bewley’s Café. While there is clearly a
significant appetite among Dubliners and tourists to
check out the famous restaurant,
This is Ireland. My country, I was born and raised here as were generations of my family. I
love my country, its culture, its music, its dance, its language, its history, its mountains,
streams and fields. I'm proud to be IRISH. We as a people are respected the world over as
hard working, respectful people. Our sports fans have travelled the world over and it has bn
commented on how respectful and courteous they are in other countries. That makes me
so proud as an IRISH person that others representing my country and my flag respect and
love it as much as I do. Anyone from any country who wants to live here that will have a
positive influence in my country, WELCOME, but don't think We as a country should
change any of our traditions to suit you. If it's not a tradition or culture that suits you maybe
just like me, THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME..

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/islamic-dress-code-should-be-
accommodated-in-schools-group-1.3346343#.WlEr0u6bRZI.facebook
How ya goin missus you want any chocolate 2 toblerones for a 5er take one for the young fella there"

The criminals are having a great time,who bothers with them

Is that the PSNI or An Garda?!!
Update & Images from this morning’s MIT checkpoint on the M1
(between Swords and Balbriggan) carried out by Regional & Divisional
Dublin based Traffic Units.
The checkpoint was conducted on the northbound lanes of the M1
between J4 & J5 from 9.30am until 10.30am. Warning signs were in
place advising approaching traffic 1.5km from the site. Traffic in both
driving lanes was merged into one 800m in advance of the checkpoint,
this resulted in very little delay to those travelling on the route.
During the checkpoint 246 motorists were randomly tested for Alcohol
and 4 for Drugs.The driver of a bus with passengers on board returned a
positive roadside test for alcohol and was arrested at the checkpoint. A
positive test was returned at the Station and a Fixed Penalty Notice will
be issued in the case. One car was impounded under Section 41 of the
Road Traffic Act for no NCT and 12 other Road Traffic offences were
detected.
Speaking at the conclusion of the checkpoint Chief Superintendent
Aidan Reid said - ‘I would like to thank everyone traveling on the route
during this mornings’ MIT checkpoint for their co-operation and
commend the very high compliance rates among motorists.’ Chief Reid
went on to thank Transport Infrastructure Ireland for their assistance
and the team of over 40 Gardaí from across the Dublin Region involved
in the operation.
Irish Government and Gardaí cover up child abuse in Waterford’s a Big Dirty Secret’ January 3,
2018
From top: Bill Kenneally, Jason Clancy and Colin Power
Colin Power, Barry Murphy, Paul Walsh and Jason Clancy – who were abused by former Waterford
basketball coach Bill Kenneally – created a Facebook video in which they urged people with any
information about the cover-up in relation to Kenneally’s abuse to come forward.
They also say they feel let down by the Government – and all political parties – as there has been no
firm date set for an inquiry into the matte
Before Christmas.
On December 15, 2017.
Colin Power, Barry Murphy, Paul Walsh and Jason Clancy – who were abused by former Waterford
basketball coach Bill Kenneally – created a Facebook video in which they urged people with any
information about the cover-up in relation to Kenneally’s abuse to come forward.
They also say they feel let down by the Government – and all political parties – as there has been no
firm date set for an inquiry into the matter.
Readers will recall how Kenneally was convicted and sentenced to 14 years last February, for
abusing 10 boys in the 1980s, after Jason Clancy, who was abused by Kenneally more than 300
times over a three-and-a-half year period, came forward in 2012.
However, certain Gardaí knew about the abuse as far back as 1985.
In the video, Colin Power stated that they know of at least 50 boys who were abused by Kenneally,
all aged between 12 and 16.
Mr Power also said:
“We know that two boys – 13/14 years old – were in counselling in the South Eastern Health Board.
They were referred there by a teacher in school, whom they went to and told about the abuse. Yet,
they were in counselling and we were still being abused at the same time.
“Now, it wasn’t just the counsellors knew that. There was a teacher. There was people in the South
Eastern Health Board. The gardai, the clergy as well, members of the clergy, there was politicians
from the political party that he was affiliated to [Fianna Fail] – all the way up to 2012, when Jason
went to try and get this over the line and get this investigated and again the doors were shut in his
face until he had to go public.
“None of us, ever, wanted to go public. We were told, at the, around the time of the court case, that
Kenneally would not be named unless we went public. That’s the only reason any of us went
public.”
Jason Clancy said:
“The gardai are involved in this. The politicians are involved in this. The church is involved in this.
The South Eastern Health Board is in charge of this, or involved in this. There are a number of
business people in Waterford who knew this was going on. They knew we were being abused, they
turned a blind eye. There are a huge amount of people who do not want to see this inquiry going
ahead.”

Bill Kenneally, Former Superintendant in Waterford Sean Cashman

In February Bill Kenneally was jailed for 14 years, after he pleaded guilty to 10 sample counts of
indecent assault on 10 boys between October 31, 1984 and December 31, 1987, in Waterford.
Kenneally, whose grandfather and uncle were Fianna Fáil TDs, used his position as a sports coach –
basketball, soccer and tennis – to lure and abuse boys.
He was eventually charged – 25 years after Kenneally himself admitted to gardaí that he abused a
boy in 1987.
Yesterday, it was reported that Kenneally lodged an appeal with the Court of Criminal Appeal
against his sentence.
Further to this, several men who were abused by Kenneally spoke to Damien Tiernan on RTÉ’s
Prime Time – with several of them saying some adults in Waterford at the time were aware of the
abuse but did nothing about it.
In addition Mr Tiernan spoke to former superintendent Sean Cashman about when Kenneally
admitted the abuse in 1987 – after a father reported that his son had been abused.
Mr Cashman recalled:
“He [the father] told me that his son, who was a student at De La Salle, aged about 15, that he was
one of a number of students who were being lured to the house of a man named Billy Kenneally and
that this man was coming in to the schoolyard and that he was giving them basketball lessons. In a
short time, he had started to interfere with them and that there was a sexual contact, content to it and
he just wanted to report it to me.”
The father told Cashman his son could not be interviewed so Mr Cashman contacted Kenneally’s
uncle, the former Fianna Fáil TD, Billy Keneally, who died in 2009.
The TD arranged for Kenneally to go to the garda station when he met the then Supt Cashman and
Inspector PJ Hayes.
Mr Cashman recalled:
“He was a broken man, he was absolutely emotional, he was shaking like a leaf, he was in terrible
shape, I thought. He said, ‘I know why I’m here lads and I’m glad to be here because I want to be
looked after’ – or words to that effect now. He might have said, ‘I want to be looked after’ or ‘I want
to be treated’.”
Mr Hayes recalled:
“And he went on then to tell me that he had placed handcuffs on this young boy and I asked him,
‘where did it take place?’ and he said it was in his own home.”
Mr Cashman added:
“We did not have evidence to charge him now if I… ah, he admitted it, I’ve known a case where a
man came through the station at one time and admitted murder that he hadn’t done. So you know the
fact, he did admit it and I’ll have to say, I knew he was the culprit, it wasn’t a question of his
imagination, I knew he was the culprit but I didn’t have a statement from an injured party.”
“And I know, I know people were talking about it, you know, it was a political family and it was a
cover-up, well there was no cover-up at all. And the irony of the whole situation really is that the
best help I got to try and put him where he should have been, before the court, was from his uncle.”
“I got absolutely no help from any injured party. None.“
After this, Kenneally was no longer allowed to coach at De La Salle and he was told to get
counselling. He wasn’t questioned by the gardai again. He continued to live in Waterford.
Twenty five years later, one of boys who had been abused by Kenneally discovered that Kenneally
was still involved in coaching basketball but not in a school capacity.
Jason Clancy went to the gardaí in 2012 to tell them about the abuse he suffered as a boy. After
waiving his right to anonymity, other victims came forward.
There were originally 74 charges against Kenneally.
Protected For 30 Years
From top: former Fianna Fáil TD Brendan Kenneally; his cousin Billy Kenneally: former Garda
Superintendant Sean Cashman; victim Paul Walsh, human rights lawyer Darragh Mackin, victim
Colin Power and victim Jason Clancy.
Further to an article in yesterday’s Sunday Independent by Damian Tiernan, RTÉ’s South East
Correspondent, concerning a Former Waterford Fianna Fáil TD who was told his cousin abused
boys but did nothing…
Saoirse McGarrigle writes:
Victims of paedophile Bill Kenneally describe his sentencing as a “window dressing” to conceal the
fact that the authorities were aware of the abuse three decades before he was jailed.
Six of his victims say they now believe that senior gardaí, members of Fianna Fáil, members of the
Catholic Church and staff at the South Eastern Health Board were told about the abuse but failed to
act.
They are now pushing for a Commission of Investigation into who knew about the abuse and
“turned a blind eye”.
Belfast based human rights lawyer Darrgah Mackin, who is also working on the Mary Boyle case, is
representing six of the victims.
In the past week Mr Mackin has written to the Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald to bring the
case to her attention.
Victim Jason Clancy said:
“I don’t know what’s more hurtful, the abuse or the fact that people in authority knew that I was
being abused and did nothing.”
He continued:
“They could have taken me out of my misery at any stage, but they chose not to.”
Another victim, Colin Power said:
“I had a lot of guilt about it all. I used to think that if I had of told someone that it would have
stopped and that the younger lads who were abused after me could have been saved. That really
affected me for a very long time…it niggled at me.
“I was feeling bad that as a 14 year old boy that I didn’t do something, but now I know that adults in
Waterford knew about it and turned a blind eye. It really baffles me. He got away with it because
these high society people turned a blind eye.”
Kenneally was convicted at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court on February 19 of this year when he
pleaded guilty to ten sample counts of indecent assault. He is now serving a 14 year prison term, but
he is appealing the severity of the sentence.
Barrister Darragh Mackin states that
“the prosecutorial process merely examined one aspect of the circumstances that give rise to our
clients concerns that there existed a clear policy and/or state practice to deliberately prevent the
identification and punishment of Mr Kenneally at an earlier stage.”
Although the prosecution did not begin until 2013, Gardaí knew about the abuse as early as 1985,
when one victim reported it to a garda at Waterford Garda Station on the same day that he collected
his Inter Cert results.
Meanwhile, another victim Paul Walsh claims that when he was 14 two gardaí approached him and
warned him to stay away from Bill Kenneally.
Mr Walsh recalled:
“Back in 1987 when a guard stopped me in the pub and told me that there was a file ‘as long as your
arm’ in the station about him I actually thought fair play to him. At the time I was 14 and I naively
thought that meant that it was all going to stop,”
Then on a separate occasion Bill Kenneally was questioned at Waterford Garda Station in 1987 on
foot of a complaint from another boy’s father.
Despite Keneally admitting to handcuffing, blindfolding and abusing boys when interviewed by
Superintendent Sean Cashman he was released without charge and continued to abuse.
Bill Kenneally, an accountant from the well-known Fianna Fail family in Waterford city, used
money and alcohol to entice his victims.
Some, but not all, of his victims were basketball players that he coached. He was at one point a
national basketball coach.
In November 2012 father-of-four Jason Clancy went to the gardaí and told them that he had been
repeatedly sexually abused by Kenneally on a weekly basis for over three-and-a-half years in the
mid-1980s.
He also gave gardaí a list of names of other men that were also abused in their teens.
Shortly after Mr Clancy made a statement, gardaí raided Kenneally’s house at Laragh, Summerville
Avenue, Waterford, and during the search he admitted to abusing up to 20 boys.
Kenneally offered to give gardaí a list of the names of the boys he abused.
But Mr Clancy claims that five months passed by and gardaí attempted to contact a couple of the
men on the list that Mr Clancy had given them but then stopped making enquiries.
They did not return to collect the list which Kenneally had volunteered to give them.
During the period from December 2013 until April 2014 Bill Kenneally remained a committee
member of a basketball club which had a largely young male membership, even though he had
admitted to gardaí that he had sexually abused 20 boys.
Mr Clancy says that he was forced to speak to a journalist in order to get his abuser removed from a
youth basketball club.
He says that exposing the situation in the media was the only thing that pushed the authorities to act.
Jason Clancy says that when he first contacted Waterford Garda Station that he was told by a senior
garda that Bill Kenneally had “never appeared on our radar.”
Mr Clancy then gave a statement to two female gardaí who were trained in dealing with sexual
assault cases.
He also gave gardaí a list of names of other men who were abused by Kenneally around the same
time and asked gardaí to contact them.
One of the people that Jason Clancy asked gardaí to contact in mid December 2012 had not heard
anything by mid February 2013, so this other victim began trying to contact Waterford Garda Station
by phone himself in order to arrange to make a statement.
He lives abroad and wanted gardaí to request through Interpol that he be facilitated to give his
statement at his local police station.
But gardaí took weeks to respond to him.
It was only when the story broke in the public domain that a requisition letter was sent to Interpol by
Waterford gardaí to arrange for the statement to be given.
The date on the letter sent to Interpol is April 23, 2013, the same date that the story broke in the
media.
All of the investigation activity logged in the Book of Evidence that was produced by the
prosecution is dated after this date.
One of the main causes of concern is a number of questions left unanswered about a video tape that
was discovered in the search of Bill Kenneally’s house.
Jason Clancy said:
“I was told by two separate gardaí that a paedophilia video was found in the search, but in the court
case the detective said in her evidence that nothing of a paedophilia nature was found, just some
pornography that was of a heterosexual nature”
Mr Clancy added:
“The two gardaí that I gave my statement to, however, told me that they found a video tape wrapped
up in Sellotape and I even know who the victim was on that video and I know that he was a minor
when Kenneally made that video of him.”
“As well as that gardaí noted to me that Bill Kenneally had a video recorder and a television in his
bedroom, which was obviously used to make these disgusting sex tapes.”
He continued:
“I want to know why they withheld this from the DPP. And also about a month before the trial the
gardaí told me there is a chance that this man, who abused and tortured me, could walk away from a
jail sentence because there was no evidence to prove that he had continued abusing after 1987 when
they let him go from the station but all that time they held the piece of evidence that proved he did.”
In an RTÉ Prime Time documentary aired in May of this year, now retired chief superintendent Sean
Cashman told South East correspondent Damien Tiernan:
“And I know, I know people were talking about it, you know, it was a political family and it was a
cover-up, well there was no cover-up at all. And the irony of the whole situation really is that the
best help I got to try and put him where he should have been, before the court, was from his uncle.”
Bill Kenneally’s uncle was the late TD Billy Kenneally. He died in 2009, but in 1987 he was a
serving TD when he became aware that his nephew was abusing boys.
His son Brendan Kenneally succeeded him, becoming a TD 1989. He retired from political life after
losing his seat in the 2011 general election.
In 2002 Brendan Kenneally was told by a Waterford woman that Bill Kenneally, who is his first
cousin, had abused her sons. At that time Brendan Kenneally was a Taoiseach’s nominee to the
Seanad.
He did not report the mother’s claims to the gardaí. Instead, he spoke with his uncle on his mother’s
side and local priest Monsignor John Shine about the abuse and arranged counselling for Bill
Kenneally.
A former Fianna Fail Minister has said he was told his cousin was a sex abuser in 2002 - but he
didn't report the matter to gardai.
Brendan Kenneally was a TD in Waterford and served as Minister of State in the early 1990s. His
first cousin, sports coach and accountant Bill Kenneally (66), was sentenced last February to 14
years for the horrific abuse of young teenage boys in the 1980s in Waterford.
Brendan Kenneally
Victims of the paedophile are to take legal action against the State, Garda and the Health Service
Executive; they want the Minister for Justice to set up a Commission of Inquiry into who knew what
about Bill Kenneally.
A new victim has come forward saying he told gardai about his abuse in 1985, two years before
Waterford gardai claim they first knew.
Bill Kenneally is currently appealing his sentence of 14 years. He pleaded guilty to 10 sample
charges of abusing 10 boys in the 1980s.
Kenneally preyed on young teenage boys in and around Waterford city and used sport and basketball
to groom them before carrying out horrific abuse. Five of the 10 boys, now in their 40s, waived
anonymity in February for an RTE Prime Time programme so they could outline the litany of abuse
and how their lives changed forever.
Former South Eastern Health Board officials say they didn't know about Kenneally - even though at
least two victims had counselling through the health board.
The victims also want the role of Fianna Fail and the Catholic Church investigated.
The mother of one victim says former TD Brendan Kenneally (a cousin of the paedophile) was told
in 2002 that her son was being abused.
"He said to leave it with him and he would get the Monsignor to deal with it," she says.
The former TD says that contrary to what people might think, he wasn't aware of his cousin being an
abuser in the 1970s, '80s or '90s.
"The first time I became aware of it was in early 2002 when someone very close to a victim told
me," said Brendan Kenneally. "I was shocked and blown away by it and nearly fell off the chair. I
made sure certain things were done and I got him assessed medically, which found he wasn't still
offending."
When asked did he talk to gardai about it, Brendan Kenneally says he didn't, as the victim said he
didn't want to go further with it. And regarding the Monsignor, he said: "Yes, I spoke with him about
it."
Monsignor John Shine said he didn't know in the past about his nephew Bill Kenneally being an
abuser.
Last week, another victim spoke for the first time about how he was groomed by Bill Kenneally in
1984 and 1985 when he used to play football in a local park in the city with a group of friends.
"Like others, he gained my trust by giving me money over a period of time to buy things for myself
and a match programme from my favourite English football team," said John (not his real name).
"Then one day near the end of my Junior Cert exams he saw me walking and asked me to get into
his car. Nothing had happened to me before that day but he took me to an isolated area and abused
me. I was shocked and terrified and didn't know what to do or who to tell.
"I wanted to tell someone but felt I couldn't tell my parents or a relation. So I went to the garda
station and said I wanted to make a complaint and told the garda that I had been sexually abused. He
took me aside from the front counter and asked me who it was. When I said the name 'Bill
Kenneally' his demeanour changed as if he wanted me gone. He asked how old I was and when I
said I was 14 just going on 15 he said I would need an adult to make a statement.
"He told me to come back. I left the station but couldn't tell any other adult and I just kept it to
myself.
"It changed me. I became withdrawn into myself, gave up sports and stopped trusting people. I was
unable to apply myself sufficiently at school but did manage to go to college.
"I stayed away from Kenneally but I never heard anything from the guards afterwards. When I heard
that Kenneally was up in court for abusing boys, I cried."
Gardai in Waterford claim they knew nothing about Kenneally and his abuse until 1987, when the
fathers of two boys contacted them to say the basketball coach had abused their sons. Gardai claim
the fathers didn't want the boys to make statements and asked the perpetrator to come to the station.
In late December he did and was interviewed by then Superintendent Sean Cashman and Inspector
PJ Hayes. He admitted abuse and said he would stop.
"When he walked into the station he was a broken man," says Cashman. "He said 'I know why I'm
here lads, and I'm glad to be here, because I want to be looked after', or words to that effect."
I interviewed Sean Cashman about that meeting: "You had a man in the station, albeit not under
arrest, admitting he had been involved in abusing children?
"And yet you let him out of the station with a slap on the wrist?"
Cashman replied: "Oh, he didn't get even a slap, no slaps were administered at all. It was a
professional approach as far as I was concerned. We did not have evidence to charge him."
"But he admitted it."
"Ahhh, he admits it. I've known a case where a man came into the station and admitted murder that
he hadn't done. He did admit it, but I have to say, I knew he was the culprit, it wasn't a question of
his imagination running away, I knew he was the culprit. But I didn't have a statement from an
injured party."
Kenneally was never arrested until 2012, when survivor Jason Clancy found out Kenneally was still
involved in basketball.
Jason went to gardai, who initiated a train of events which would lead to Kenneally being being
sentenced to 14 years in jail.
Now, victims have been told a video tape was found when gardai raided Kenneally's house in 2012.
It allegedly shows Kenneally engaging in a sexual act with a minor.
"We believe this is crucial," says Jason, "as the existence of this video can tell us a lot about if
Kenneally abused after 1988 and therefore if the gardai did not stop the abuse."
Belfast-based human rights lawyer Darragh Mackin met victims last week and is writing to the
Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald seeking an urgent meeting, calling for an inquiry.
He is also calling for Monsignor Shine to step down as chairperson of the Board of Management of
Holy Cross School National School in Tramore.
Damien Tiernan is South East Correspondent for RTE
Who's who in the Bill Kenneally sex abuse scandal
Bill Kenneally (66): Accountant; former local and Irish basketball coach; Fianna Fail tallyman;
nephew of the late Billy Kenneally (former Fianna Fail TD); first cousin of Brendan Kenneally. Bill
Kenneally pleaded guilty in December 2015 to 10 sample charges of sexual abuse, one each for 10
boys he assaulted in the 1980s. In February 2016, he was sentenced to 14 years and two months in
prison.
Brendan Kenneally (61): Son of Billy Kenneally and first cousin of convicted paedophile Bill
Kenneally. Elected to the Dail in 1989; lost seat in 2002; appointed Senator by An Taoiseach;
regained his Dail seat in 2007; appointed Minister of State for Tourism, Transport and
Communications in 1992; Director of Elections in the 2016 general election for Mary Butler in the
Waterford constituency.
Monsignor John Shine: Parish of Tramore; Uncle of convicted paedophile Bill Kenneally (Bill
Kenneally's mother and Monsignor Shine are brother and sister).
Superintendent Sean Cashman: Personally dealt with the complaints against Bill Kenneally;
interviewed him in December 1987 but never arrested him. Retired in 1995. Lives in Waterford.
Inspector P.J. Hayes : Along with Sean Cashman, he dealt with the complaints against Bill
Kenneally and says he has been "best friends with Monsignor Shine for over 40 years". Lives in
Tramore.
Victims demand to know why paedophile wasn't stopped after 1987 assault

Alan Kelly has said he wants to become justice minister, with an aim “to
clean up the department” and “go in and gut it”.

The Tipperary TD is adamant the job is “suited to the person I am”.

Mr Kelly said that former justice minister, Frances Fitzgerald, will not be
“vindicated” by the Charleton tribunal and warned that present
incumbent, Charlie Flanagan, will be in “a very difficult situation”, if
more garda email revelations emerge.
Speaking to the Irish Examiner, Mr Kelly said that if he ever returns to
government, he would “thrive”, if given the task of cleaning up the
Department of Justice.
Noting his recent, central role in uncovering the Maurice McCabe garda
email scandal and the garda college financial crisis, Mr Kelly said the
role would be “suited” to his abilities.
Asked if he would be interested in becoming the justice minister, Mr
Kelly declared: “Do I want to serve in government again? Of course. Of
course. I think I would thrive in going in to clean up the department. It’s
suited to the kind of person I am, and Templemore’s in my backyard.
“Of course, if we get into government and I’m re-elected, I’d like to be a
minister, but the Department of Justice is something I’ve a particular
interest in.
“I’d like to go in and gut it. There are plenty of people in there who are
good people but, culturally, it needs to change.
“Obviously, we all know the Department of Justice is dysfunctional.
“It was unprecedented for the Taoiseach to stand up in the Dáil in
November and say it. So, that department has to be absolutely gutted.”
Mr Kelly said that while Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, has hinted that
ousted justice minister and tánaiste, Frances Fitzgerald, could return to
frontline politics in the future, if she is cleared by the Charleton tribunal
over the Maurice McCabe garda emails scandal, this will not happen.
“I’ve nothing personal against Frances Fitzgerald. She’s somebody I’m
friendly with and I think she has a contribution to make in the future.
“But, in terms of her being vindicated, I don’t think that’s going to
happen. I think her whole handling of the situation was untenable and
that’s not going to change,” he said.
The ex-environment minister said that when the Charleton tribunal
begins discussing the garda emails scandal, next week, it is likely to
uncover further information about what happened, potentially putting
Mr Flanagan under fresh pressure to clarify his officials’ actions.
“If you ask me was the department hiding information, I’d say there’s no
doubt in my mind that there’s more documents,” Mr Kelly said.
“That whole issue hasn’t been dealt with and, in the near future, in the
coming months, there has to be answers. I will need an explanation and
if the standard of answers over the interactions between the gardaí and
the Department of Justice isn’t good enough, then I think that’s
something Charlie Flanagan will have to answer for.
I think Charlie Flanagan is in a very difficult situation, if the Department
of Justice doesn’t change its attitude. I expect Charlie is going to have to
deal with that, and deal with it immediately

Labour should remain in opposition after the next general election,

unless the party can at least double its Dáil seats to 15 TDs, Alan Kelly
has insisted.
Alan Kelly celebrates his election in 2016.

The TD’s comments come amid continuing grassroots concern that

Labour’s support is stagnating and that the party is increasingly being
overshadowed by Sinn Féin, and other rival left-leaning parties, such as
the Social Democrats and Solidarity-People Before Profit.
Almost two years after Labour’s disastrous February, 2016 election —
the 37 seats it won in 2011 slumped to just seven — Mr Kelly said he has
an open mind on Labour potentially returning to power.
However, noting the fact of Labour’s current poor representation in the
Dáil, he said: “I have an open mind on that; Labour will always be a party
of government and we’re not afraid of it. But we shouldn’t go in if we’re
anywhere near where we are now, so we need to get up to at least 15
TDs.
“If we don’t, we may not go into government. I think we need to get to a
certain level and, if not then, anyone forming a government may be
doing it without us.”
While still far below the 37 seats watershed of the Gilmore gale, in 2011,
any hopes Labour will be able to win at least 15 seats in the next election
are in doubt, because the party is continuing to struggle to make in-
roads in poll support.
Mr Kelly said Labour is open to cutting a deal with all parties, but
criticised Sinn Féin, which he described as “populist” and “jumping at
anything that’s flavour of the month”.
In a focused attack on Sinn Fein, Mr Kelly noted that both Fine Gael and
Fianna Fáil have hinted, in recent weeks, that their resistance to a
coalition with Sinn Féin may be waning, saying “if you want to avoid
them, you should elect and vote for Labour”.
Mr Kelly claimed it is “laughable Eoin Ó Broin, with his magic wand, can
solve the housing crisis, as if he’s some intellectual genius”, and accused
the likely new leader of Sinn Féin, Mary Lou McDonald, of “crying wolf”
at every opportunity.
Although Labour has been to the forefront of uncovering a series of
garda scandals, providing a reasoned, pro-choice argument for
repealing the Eighth Amendment, and other matters, in recent months,
the party is consistently stalling in the polls, at around 5%.
The current poll situation means that any hope of the party more than
doubling its seat numbers at the next election is unlikely, unless a
significant support boost occurs.
The Government is keen to press its case ahead of phase two of
the Brexit talks

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has met the Hungarian

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Budapest.
Speaking afterwards at the Hungarian Parliament,
the Taoiseach said they had a very good discussion
and he was impressed by Mr Orbán's knowledge of
Ireland.
He said it is important that Ireland develops new
relations across Europe, especially in Eastern
Europe.
Mr Varadkar expressed his appreciation for the
support from Hungary in relation to Ireland's specific
concerns on Brexit, particularly on issues around
Northern Ireland.
He also said Europe needs to ensure a budget for its
future, protecting policies like the Common
Agricultural Policy and continuing to invest in
structural funds.

Both countries are in favour of tax competition across

Europe and they both believe countries should set
their own corporate tax levels.
They discussed Europe's approach to managing
migration, and the Taoiseach said Ireland and
Hungary's views diverge on the issue.
Ireland supports the concept of burden sharing and
Hungary does not.
Mr Varadkar said that he believes dialogue is the
best way to bring the sides together.
Mr Orbán said they agreed the EU can be made
stronger.
On taxation, he said reduction is a good policy and
he would not like to see any countries being tied to a
harmonised EU tax regime.
He said they touched on migration and he said he
tried to make it clear why it is so important for
Hungary, which is not against anybody but continues
to be on the side of the rule of law, he added.
Both leaders also spoke about agricultural subsidies
which Mr Orbán called an issue for both countries,
saying it is the interest of Hungary that the policy
does not change and subsidies should remain the
same.
He said they also discussed Brexit and listened to the
Irish considerations and that Hungary will support
Ireland's position.
The visit is part of a continuing tour of European
capitals since Mr Varadkar assumed office.
The trip was criticised by Labour Party leader
Brendan Howlin, who said the Hungarian government
is "anti-democratic and against EU values".
Mr Howlin has called for an explanation as to why the
last-minute visit by the Taoiseach to visit the
Hungarian leader was kept secret until now, and why
the Dáil was not informed of this visit on 13
December in response to a parliamentary question.
He said that Ireland needs to know if the Government
will challenge the policies that Hungary has been
pursuing.
Tomorrow the Taoiseach will travel to Sofia to meet
the Bulgarian Prime Minister.

Irelands AND UK TREASONOUS PESCO Army

17th October 2017: "It is Now The Time For Our UK Non-Democratic Dictatorial
Treasonous PESCO Leaders To Go - The Pests Must Go."
UK Column News presenters Brian Gerrish and Mike Robinson are joined today by David
Ellis of Strategic Defence Initiatives bringing the latest on the EU Military Unification & The
Banking and currency Union ie PESCO (permanent Structured Cooperation) Military
Unification Treasury and implications he also discusses the red hot potato topics such as
Treason (Theresa May) 'Deal Done', PESCO (permanent Structured Cooperation) A
Reinvigorated EU - agreement behind the backs of the British people disguised as
deadlocked Brexit talks whereas it was the driver for even closer interlacing cooperation of
EU with NO return ~ Dictatorial control with NO Mandate ~ NO Public knowledge ~ NO
Debate ~ NO Chance of a Challenge ~ NO Parliamentary Debate or oversight ~ NO Royal
Assent and NOT In ANY Election Manifesto ~ The UK has been Dictatorially Railroaded
With a referendum outcome totally ignored by this Obtuse Treasonous and Overwhelming
Dictatorial Government, with all the noise of "Chaff Charlie" deadlock whilst setting the EU
Military infrastructure (PESCO) and Banking Union for full Unification Our deceptive "Chain
Gang" leaders HAVE NO Public or social license to have proceeded in this manner and
have committed TREASON against the people of this fair and green Isle as the people
were purposefully left out of the equation after the people had clearly spoken out in the
Thursday 23rd June 2016 Referendum So all of what the sitting incumbent Government
have carried forward on a whim Is By Common Law Null & Void and does not even stack
up to hill of Beans and is not recognised as legitimate by the people of the United Kingdom.
This Illegal Treasonous PESCO will not be allowed to come to fruition and foreign troops
will not legally be allowed on our British soil for we care not as to what the BIS (Bank of
International Settlements) are kick-starting as By law it is a total misfire our forefathers
shed their blood for this land to stay in the United Kingdom sovereignty and for it to remain
with the people of the United Kingdom and all our veterans including myself by God will
keep it that way for our future generations and we refuse for it to become a vassal of a
Roman Like Empire outpost.
Also covered today Woman officer accused of having sex on board a nuclear-armed
submarine, Royal Navy media spins serious facts, Sex o operational nuclear deterrent
submarine, 5 officers threaten to resign, Operational efficiency of submarine will take
months to restore, Ex call girl to advise on military discipline, Good for the goose good for
the gander The Telegraph spin over morale discipline, Destroying our military drive
(Bankers), Atomic submarine not your local public house, Royal Navy brand destruction,
Treasury pact between Conservative and Labour party over military cuts, Art of subversion,
Common Purpose [NLP] brainwash cycle, London calls on UN to avoid misleading
information on Yemen, Gold Braided Flag - Admiralty Law, Murmurs of financial meltdown
lessons being ignored, The bottom feeders of the corporate structure in positions of lever
pulling power, Still nothing done about "Too-Big-To-Fail", Systematic Derivative risks, The
brave Chief Constable Mike Veale, UK Column's response from the NSPCC (National
Police Chief's Council - formally ACPO Association of Chief Police Officers) regarding Ted
Heath Investigation - close file ASAP and 17 million voters led into dead end cul-de-sac by
Farage.
'BLACKHOLE BRIDGER 17th October 2017: "It is Now The Time For Our UK Non-
Democratic Dictatorial Treasonous PESCO Leaders To Go." - "The Pests Must Go."
'UK COLUMN NEWS 17th October 2017: Time To Speed Up Brexit "DEAL DONE" (►
'done' illegally by ignoring a democratic vote of the British people).'
'EUROPEAN COMMISSION In Defence Of Europe Issue 4 5th June 2015: Jump starting A
new Era in defence
European Political Strategy Centre
Europe needs to move from the current patch work of bilateral and multilateral military
cooperation to gradually increased defence integration,The Permanent Structured
Cooperation (PESCO), provided in the Lisbon Treaty, could become a game changer in
European security by enabling willing Member States o move forward. (1/12 pdf link follows
below) https://ec.europa.eu/…/…/files/strategic_note_issue_4_en.pdf .'
'UK COLUMN Online No publish date found October 2017: MILITARY UNIFICATION:
Military Unification has been on the European Union's policy agenda for decades. In the
past twelve months, the pressure to complete the task has accelerated the process,
particularly since the Bratislava Summit of September 2016.
There, the 27 leaders of the EU decided to "give a new impetus" to European external
security and defence.
They set as a target the December 2016 European Council to formalise an implementation
plan. (See Timeline 1984 - 2017)
Extract Below 22nd June 2017 (please see the whole article)
22 June
■ European Council calls for the launch of a permanent structured cooperation
At the June European Council, EU leaders agreed on the need to launch an inclusive and
ambitious permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) to strengthen Europe's security and
defence.
Within three months, member states will agree a common list of criteria and commitments,
together with concrete capability projects, in order to start this cooperation.
"It is a historic step, because such cooperation will allow the EU to move towards deeper
integration in defence. Our aim is for it to be ambitious and inclusive, so every EU country
is invited to join.", said Donald Tusk at the European Council press conference.
19-20 June
■ European Council Discuss PESCO
Heads of state or government will resume discussions on the permanent structured
cooperation (PESCO) on defence. (link follows) https://www.ukcolumn.org/series/eu-
military-unification '
'EUROPEAN COUNCIL Council of the European Union 19-20th October 2017: Defence:
Heads of state or government will resume discussions on the permanent structured
cooperation (PESCO) on defence. At the June European Council, leaders agreed on the
need to launch PESCO. (link follows below)
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/…/european-co…/2017/10/19-20/ .'
'COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (Brussels) 18th September 2017: 11567/17 CO
EUR - PREP 37
NOTE
From: General Secretariat of the Council
To: Permanent Representatives Committee/Council
Subject: European Council (19 and 20 October 2017)
- Annotated draft agendat
At the start of the meeting, the Member of the European Council representing the Member
State holding the six-monthly Presidency of the Council will provide an overview of
progress
on the implementation of earlier European Council conclusions.
I. MIGRATION
The European Council is expected to:
- assess progress on the measures taken to stem illegal flows on all migration routes and
consolidate the approach taken;
- decide on additional measures by the EU and its Member States as required, in particular
to
support directly affected or involved Member States and to enhance cooperation with
UNHCR and IOM, as well as with countries of origin and transit;
- call for further progress on the Common European Asylum System with a view to an
agreement.
II. DIGITAL EUROPE
The European Council will look at how the EU can best meet the challenges and use the
opportunities of the digital revolution, also in the light of a report by the Estonian Prime
Minister on the Digital Summit held in Tallinn on 29 September and a stock-taking of the
implementation of the Digital Single Market.
III. DEFENCE
***p.m. PESCO (note not even any brief details - kept away from public's gaze and
knowledge base - underhandedness?)
IV. EXTERNAL RELATIONS
In the light of events, the European Council may address specific foreign policy issues.
p.m. Relations with Turkey
IV. EXTERNAL RELATIONS
In the light of events, the European Council may address specific foreign policy issues.
p.m. Relations with Turkey (1/2 pdf link follows
below) http://data.consilium.europa.eu/…/document/ST-11567-…/en/pdf .'
'EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Policies, information and services) Weekly Meeting Brussels
11th October 2017: Completing the Banking Union and developments in Spian.
Completing the Banking Union
As indicated by President Juncker in his State of the Union address on 13 September
2017, the Banking Union must be completed if it is to deliver its full potential as part of a
strong Economic and Monetary Union and complementary to the Capital Markets Union.
(Greater Breadth & Depth the only show in town - A Reinvigorated EU - link
follows) https://ec.europa.eu/…/completing-banking-union-and-develop… .'
'MAIL ONLINE 14th October 2017: Pictured: Woman officer (sub Lt Edwards &
Commanding Officer Stuart Armstrong) accused of having sex on board a nuclear-armed
submarine is identified as Naval comrades threaten to resign
● Sub-Lieutenant Rebecca Edwards has been accused of having sex with comrade
● She was pictured leading a Remembrance Day service in Glasgow 11 months ago
● HMS Vigilant was submerged in North Atlantic when 'sexual relations' occurred
● Five officials on board with them have threatened to quit over the sex scandal (link
follows below) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/…/Pictured-Woman-officer-accused… .'
'UK COLUMN NEWS 17th October 2017: Royal Navy Media Spins Serious Facts
A Royal Navy spokesman said the incident had not affected submarine operations...
► Morale & Discipline had broken down onboard an operational nuclear deterrent
submarine
► 5 officers threatened to resign
► Captain and 2nd-in-command removed from ship
► Two new officers flown with costs in time & money - same with investigation
► Operational efficiency of submarine will take months to restore.'
'GOV.UK MoD ROYAL NAVY Media enquiries October 2017: National and international
media enquiries should be routed through the Ministry of Defence's 24-hour press office
number: 0207 218 7907 (+44 207 218 7907)
Royal Navy media and press offices
Navy Command HQ, Media and Communications team: 02392 625381
Portsmouth Naval Base press office: 02392 723025
Devonport Naval Base press office: 01752 552519 (Mil: 9375 52519) or 01752 553847
(Mil: 9375 53847)
Clyde Naval Base press office: 01436 677205 (link
follows) https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/…/public…/media-press-enquiries .'
'MAIL ONLINE 6th December 2014: Disgraced female commander of Navy warship quits
service with big pay-off after being removed from post over alleged affair with junior officer
● Commander Sarah West, 42, took charge of HMS Portland in May 2012
● She left in July amid claims she had relationship with Lt Cdr Richard Gray
● Cdr West continued to serve in Navy with on-shore job but has now quit
● Her pay-off is estimated to be worth tens of thousands of pounds (link follows
below) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/…/First-female-commander-Navy-wa… .'
'THE TELEGRAPH 28th July 2014: Shock! Horror! UK's First female warship commander
accused of acting just like her male peers
As news emerges of Commander Sarah West being sent home for an alleged love affair,
Dr Brooke Magnanti asks why anyone who is a minority in their employment situation
should be expected to be the 'model minority' (link follows below)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/Love-affair-in-Royal-Navy-Shoc… .'
'UK COLUMN NEWS 17th October 2017: Telegraph News Uses Ex call Girl To Advise On
Military Discipline?
Ex call Girl Dr Brooke Magnanti .'
'TWITTER PAGE Dr BROOKE MAGNANTI @belledejour_uk Joined June 2009:
Bestselling author, forensic scientist & ex call girl Belle de Jour. If you're good at something
never do it for free. https://www.brookemagnanti.com/books Scotland and
Florida brookemagnanti.com (link follows below) https://twitter.com/belledejour_uk… .'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK ~ RECOMMENDED READING
THE EUROPEAN UNION COLLECTIVE
Author Christopher Story
Includes A security Subversion Template
As in The Frankfurt School of Subversion
This book should be a must read for all of us who value individual freedom.
It is at once informative and frightening, bringing to notice the darker and transparent forces
that creep around our lives and should be compulsory reading for all those who choose to
be great and good in Europe. A precis should be available to the British Electorate before
any further commitments are made to the EU and any of its associated parts. Stunning and
AMAZING reading. (link follows below)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/European-Union-Collec…/…/1899798013
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'OMAR ZAID YouTube Published 12th August 2012: The Art of → Subversion ←, Tomas
Schuman (Yuri Bezmenov) L.A. 1983.
This lecture clearly outlines the means by which propaganda has been used by the Soviets
to subvert Western Society by destroying social relations and religion.
These methods were clearly outlined by the Protocols of Zion 160 odd years ago. (1hr
3mins 06secs link follows below)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4YtgA2jnu4 .'
'UK COLUMN NEWS 17th October 2017: Common Purpose Spreads 'Creative Leadership'
In The Military.'
'COMMON PURPOSE EXPOSED Ministry Of Defence & Common Purpose
Ministry of Defence declares 39 staff Common Purpose trained at minimum cost of Â
£154,000
The Ministry of Defence declares that 39 'Senior and Fast Stream' staff have been
Common Purpose trained. The MOD appears to be pushing the fact that senior and 'better
quality staff' have been selected for Common Purpose training. Just what are MOD staff
doing aligning themselves with a pro EU political charity. They should not be connected
with any political organisations. How many meetings are these people having under
Chatham House rules of secrecy?
(cpexposed.com) (link follows below) http://www.cpexposed.com/document-
category/military .'
'TWEET COMMON PURPOSE @CommonPurpose 2:50 AM 17th October 2017: Over the
4 days, our #AmExLeads participants will go on a personal journey to gain greater self
awareness & understand their leadership (link follows below)
https://twitter.com/CommonPurpose/status/920225444993040384 .'
'COMMON PURPOSE RETWEETED SAM MONGON @SamMongon 2:51 AM 17th
October 2017: One of the best experiences of my career. Enjoy. Insert text and graphic:
We are looking forward to welcoming our #AmExLeads participants later today
in #London (link follows below)
https://twitter.com/SamMongon/status/920225666460717058 .'
'TEXT Insert From Above Retweeted Tweet: PHILIPPA LADD.
Chief Executive Officer, Changing Pathways
"The American Express Leadership Academy had a profound impact on me and my self-
perspective.
It helped me to 'name' my ambition and gave me the confidence to apply for my current
role at a much earlier point then I ever anticipated." (link follows
below) https://twitter.com/CommonPurpose/status/920190019771535360 .'
'UK COLUMN NEWS 17th October 2017: Common Purpose & American Express Target
Not-For-Profit Organisations with [NLP] (Neuro-Linguistic Programming)
Common Purpose has worked with American Express since 2010 to deliver its Leadership
Academy programmes for not-for-profit leaders in the UK, India and Hong Kong. We have
run the American Express Leadership Academy in the UK since 2010, the Leadership
Academy in India since 2011 and Hong Kong launched in 2015.
This year we are pleased to announce a new Academy in Singapore, for not-for-profit
leaders from Singapore and the wider ASEAN region.
To date, 543 leaders from the not-for-profit sector have attended the Academy
programmes in the UK, India and Hong Kong and joined alumni of the American Express
Leadership Academy programmes around the world. (common purpose link
follows) http://commonpurpose.org/…/american-express-leadership-aca…/ .'
'AMERICAN EXPRESS No publish date found October 2017: Corporate Responsibility:
Initiatives
The American Express Leadership Academy is a signature program initiative of the
Leadership program. Founded in 2008 in partnership with the Center for Creative
Leadership, the Academy has grown from a single, New York-based program for 24
participants to an international movement, encompassing 11 Academy partners and 20
programs, across nine countries. To date, we have hosted over 90 Leadership Academy
sessions training nearly 3,000 nonprofit and social sector leaders. (link
follows) http://about.americanexpress.com/csr/nla.aspx .'
'UK COLUMN NEWS 17th October 2017: Common Purpose & American Express Target
Not-For=Profit Organisations Worldwide with [NLP] Leadership...'
'CENTER FOR CREATIVE LEADERSHIP No publish date found October 2017:
Leadership Development
(the power to drive): When it’s done right, leadership development transforms individuals,
teams, organizations, and society. Leadership development is all we do – and we do it
right. As our world-class rankings confirm, we also do it better than everyone else.
Informed by decades of research and practical experience with tens of thousands of clients
around the globe, our expertise drives measurable and enduring results. (link
follows) https://www.ccl.org/ .'
'ASHARQ AL-AWSAT (middle east) 17th October 2017: London Calls on UN to Avoid
Misleading Information on Yemen
Riyadh- Britain’s Minister of State for the Middle East Alistair Burt called on Monday United
Nations’ agencies operating in Yemen to gather all accessible information in order to avoid
being misled.
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper during his visit to Riyadh, Burt
encouraged assisting those UN agencies that have a difficult mission in Yemen.
Asked about the latest UN Secretary General’s annual Children and armed conflict report
(CAAC) that drove dispute for including inaccurate information, Burt said: “I believe this is
an issue related to the UN. And, it is important that the UN receives all available resources
as some issues might be purely disputed and therefore, certain people could offer
misleading information.” (link follows) https://english.aawsat.com/…/london-calls-un-avoid-
misleadi… .'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FROME - STOP WAR - MEDIA ON TRIAL
Thursday, October 19, 2017 from 6:30 PM to 10:00 PM (BST)
Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church, 235 Shaftesbury Avenue,
WC2H 8EP London United Kingdom Speakers John Pilger investigative journalist, Patrick
Henningsen 21st Century Wire,
Vanessa Beeley Independent Journalist, Peter Ford former UK Ambassador to Syria, Prof
Piers Robinson, Prof Tim Hayward & Robert Stuart Journalist Pre ordered tickets £9:00
(link follows) https://www.eventbrite.com/e/media-on-trial-with-john-pilge…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UK COLUMN Monthly Meeting
The George, Plympton 7:30pm Wednesday 18th October 2017
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thursday Night Live Programmes
HUMANITY -v- INSANITY - IAN R. CRANE.
Starts 19:30 followed later by FRACKING NIGHTMARE
Starts 21:00 With Ian R Crane.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UK COLUMN T-Shirt Now Available For Pre-Order
http:// www.ukcolumn.org/community/uk-column-shop/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
VETERANS FOR PEACE.
"In War, There are no unwounded Soldiers."
But
"Copious amounts of civilian Murders."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'UK COLUMN NEWS 17th October 2017: New Regime: Mergers & Acquisitions
Greg Clark (secretary of state for business): "No part of the economy is off-limits to foreign
investment and the UK will continue to be a vociferous advocate for free trade and a
magnet for global talent." (when free trade is not free trade, as it comes with extra costs
attached).'
'BROOKINGS 13th May 2008: Ending “too big to fail”: What’s the right approach? Ben
Bernanke
In a recent speech at the Hutchins Center at the Brookings Institution, Neel Kashkari, the
new president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, argued that we need new
strategies to tackle the problem of “too big to fail” (TBTF) financial institutions. On Monday,
I’ll be on a panel at the Minneapolis Fed on the issue. This post previews my comments. In
short, it seems to me that a lot of progress has been made (and more is in train) toward
reducing the risks that large, complex financial institutions pose for the financial system and
the economy. To say that “nothing has been done” is simply not correct. That said,
because it’s really important to get this right, thoughtful debate on the issue is necessary
and welcome. (link follows) https://www.brookings.edu/…/ending-too-big-to-fail-whats-t…/ .'
'EUROPEAN ECONOMY(Banks, Regulation and the Real Sector) 5th December 2016:
Ending Too-Big-to-Fail: How Best to Deal with Failed Large Banks
Abstract
Since the crisis a vast amount of work has gone into ensuring that major cross-border
banks are no longer too big to fail. This paper summarises that work, describing progress
made in developing resolution regimes and resolvable bank structures in the major banking
jurisdictions, in providing incentives to those jurisdictions to cooperate in resolving failed
banks and in requiring banks to have enough loss absorbing capacity to ensure that the
answer to the question of “who pays?” when a major bank fails is no longer the taxpayer.
(link follows below)
http://european-economy.eu/…/ending-too-big-to-fail-how-be…/ .'
'FINANCIAL TIMES 15th October 2017: Post-Crisis rules creating huge financial firms
warns Cohn
Lessons of the meltdown being ignored in complex systems, says White House official
The post-crisis regulatory system is fostering increasing complexity and growth of massive
financial firms, ignoring the lessons of the meltdown, according to a senior White House
official. (link follows) https://www.ft.com/con…/56449902-b1d9-11e7-a398-
73d59db9e399 .'
'UK COLUMN NEWS 17th October 2017: 'Apologists For Child Abuse'
Mike Veale Chief Constable Wiltshire Police Warned Off Investigating Prime Minister Ted
Heath For Child Abuse by The British State.'
'UK COLUMN NEWS 17th October 2017: Response To UK Column News From NPCC
(National Police Chief's Council) Regarding Ted Heath Investigation
Email Dated 13th October 2017: from Toby Williams @npcc to UK Column News Via Brian
Gerrish (shown explained and read out on air).'
'UK COLUMN NEWS 17th October 2017: Sara Thornton, CBE, QPM Chair of the NPCC
(National Polilce Chief's Council Formally ACPO Association of Chief Police Officers Email
from NPCC Dated 13th October 2017 reads as follows below
Hi Brian,
We have not made comment on the specific investigation but we can share our position on
investigating dead people:
"While there can be no criminal justice outcome to allegations made against the dead, a
proportionate investigation is necessary to establish the facts of the case, identity and bring
to justice any living offenders, and prevent any further harm.
Kind wishes Toby Williams @npcc .'
'UK COLUMN NEWS 17th October 2017: No support for the heroic work of Chief
Constable Mike Veale Wiltshire Police from NPCC.'
'EURACTIV 25th June 2014 Updated 20th March 2017: Europe of Freedom and Direct
Democracy, Farage’s new group in the EU Parliament
“EFD group becomes EFDD so the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy, reflecting a
share wish among all members for the citizens of Europe to have more of a say and that
any further moves towards the centralisation of powers should only be legitimised by free
and fair referenda.” UKIP leader Nigel Farage said. (embedded video link follows
below) http://www.euractiv.com/…/europe-of-freedom-and-direct-dem…/ .'
All this with much more and in-depth News Reports, Analysis from your Non-plastic real
deep thinking human presenters Brian Gerrish and Mike Robinson along with today's
Skype guest of Stretegic Defence Initiatives David Ellis who altogether are shining the light
of Truth & Exposure into the darkness of War, Criminality, Sex abuse, Paedophilia, Murder,
State Child Snatching, Treason, Whistleblowers, propaganda, skulduggery and dealing
with the over exposed mainstream media's untruths, twists and their Obfuscations.
If you want to get into the real know? Yes? then just click below
Blackhole Bridger.
http://blackholeb1.wix.com/blackholeblogspot
http://truthjournalblog.blogspot.co.uk/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0Bp2LUShdQ