Investigations begin into allegations of sex abuse by foster carers

www.breakingnews.ie

Investigations have begun today into 19 allegations made against foster carers in Dublin.

A number of the claims being examined by the Health Information and Quality Authority are of a sexual nature.

The allegations came to light following a major review of foster services in three local health areas in Dublin and four in Cork after concerns were raised.

Irish ‘Sharia law’ website gets 270,000 hits a month

John Downes, News Investigations Correspondent
www.tribune.ie
March 7, 2010

An Irish Islamic website which argues for the introduction of Sharia law here and extols the benefits of Islamic rules for women claims to have had nearly 270,000 hits last month alone.

Targeted at what it called Irish “O’Muslims”, the Muslim Public Affairs Council website, www.mpac.ie, also warns readers about the dangers of imitating the Kuffar (non-believers in Islam).

In one article, entitled ’21st Century Ireland – A man’s world’, the author notes that a woman may not need a man to take care of her but asks “would it not be nice?” to have someone to provide for her.

“Instead of constantly trying to be better-looking than all the other girls in the club… instead of trying to impress a different bloke every weekend, is it not nicer to have that special someone,” it asks. “Someone who will always think you’re the best-looking girl… and that really doesn’t want you wearing as little clothes as possible because it’s not nice for you to be so cold. Is that not better?”

A separate post examining whether introducing Sharia is a patriotic duty suggests that an “O’Muslim” has a “duty as a citizen of Ireland to work for its best interests”.

“And who could doubt that establishing the authority of Allah in the land is in the best interests of Ireland?” it asks.

“To remove injustice and establish fairness, to remove moral degradation, immorality and licentiousness and establish propriety, righteousness and restraint and to establish tawheed (the worship of the Only One worthy of worship) are surely noble Islamic aims.” Read more…

Former IRA men ‘given immunity’ in secret deal

‘On the runs’ given royal pardon under British scheme, claims Gerry McGeough

Suzanne Breen, Northern Editor
www.tribune.ie
March 7, 2010

The British government has operated a secret scheme granting royal pardons or immunity from prosecution to hand-picked ex-IRA members wanted for killings, bombings and other paramilitary activities, it has been claimed.

Of 216 ‘on the runs’, 47 have been told they are free to return to the North with no fear of prosecution, according to leading Tyrone republican Gerry McGeough.

An ex-IRA gun-runner and former Sinn Féin ard comhairle member, McGeough goes on trial in Belfast tomorrow charged with IRA membership in 1975 and the 1981 attempted murder of UDR man Sammy Brush.

He will be the first republican on trial for historical crimes since the Good Friday Agreement. McGeough said: “Excellent detective work by my lawyers has uncovered that around a fifth of ‘on the runs’ have been given a royal pardon, immunity from prosecution, or else haven’t had to serve their minimum sentence as laid out by the Good Friday Agreement.

“There was a secret deal between the British and Sinn Féin. A meeting was held in a Dundalk hotel. I’m disgusted that hand-picked ‘on the runs’ have received preferential treatment – and can come home and lead normal lives with their families – while others can’t or if they do return are living in fear, always looking over their shoulders.”

The Sunday Tribune has seen the names of some of those allegedly given immunity. They include prominent ex-IRA members. A Northern Ireland Office (NIO) spokesman denied the claim. “There is no secret deal to pardon on the runs,” he said.

McGeough was arrested at the 2007 Assembly election count. He had stood as an anti-PSNI republican candidate. His lawyers will tomorrow put forward an abuse of process application: “They will argue that my prosecution breaches article six of the European Convention which guarantees a fair trial, and article 14 which guarantees the right not to be discriminated against.

“I’ve been singled out for prosecution because I am a republican opposed to the political status quo.” McGeough said his former Sinn Féin colleagues had offered no support.

“I’ve been imprisoned in Germany and the US for my republican activities yet Sinn Féin leaders meeting for their ard fheis this weekend are unsupportive because I’m not ‘on message’.”

Tyrone man Vincent McAnespie was also charged with the attempted murder of Brush and weapons’ possession. The first, but not second charge, has since been withdrawn against McAnespie who is pleading not guilty. Read more…

Prison told ‘get cells ready’ for more dissidents

By TOM BRADY
www.independent.ie
Monday March 08 2010

PRISON spaces have been set aside for more than a trebling of the population of dissident terrorists behind bars.

This revelation came as Justice Minister Dermot Ahern warned renegade republicans of a “relentless” garda crackdown on their activities this side of the Border.

There are now 56 dissident prisoners locked up in the E1 wing of the maximum-security Portlaoise jail, which has traditionally housed terrorists.

These comprise 16 members from the two factions of the Real IRA, five from the Continuity IRA, 15 INLA prisoners, three from Oglaigh na hEireann, and 17 listed as non-aligned.

Senior prison officials said last night that cell space was available to accommodate a huge increase in the number of dissident inmates, despite the overall pressure on cell numbers in the jails generally.

They explained that prison policy ensured that a shortage of capacity elsewhere for prisoners did not impinge on the space available for dissident republicans and a reorganisation of cell allocations in Portlaoise in the wake of the peace process meant that the wing could hold up to 152 prisoners, if required.

Work on a new accommodation block in the Portlaoise-Midlands complex will begin this year and it will provide 300 prison spaces.

In the past year, extra spaces have been provided in Castlerea and Portlaoise and new cells in Wheatfield.

A refurbished separation unit in Mountjoy, Dublin, is also due to open shortly. Read more…

Gardai get access to European DNA data

By Tom Brady Security Editor
www.independent.ie
Friday March 05 2010

GARDAI are to be given new powers to allow them carry out searches of DNA databases in other EU states for criminal investigations.

In return, other police forces will to able to look through the databank here. The searching of samples will be carried out on anonymous data.

But if there is a ‘hit’, further inquiries can be pursued through the existing mutual assistance deal, already agreed by EU governments. This will allow additional information on the samples to be exchanged.

Data protection requirements currently prevent the searches on a reciprocal basis, after the database here is up and running. But Justice Minister Dermot Ahern revealed yesterday that he was working with his advisers on how those requirements should be met and said he hoped to tackle the issue shortly.

He pointed out that access to the databases of other EU member states had the potential to be very useful, given the international mobility of criminals.

A section of the new Forensic Evidence and DNA Database Bill, which was debated by the Dail yesterday, deals with international reciprocal sampling. Read more…

€500k Pension Bill For Sitting TD’s – The Pension Gravy Train

Bertie Ahern tops list of sitting TDs who received generous ministerial pensions in 2009 with payment of €98,901

John Downes, News Investigations Correspondent
www.tribune.ie
February 28, 2010

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern received a ministerial pension of almost €100,000 last year and is among a host of sitting and former TDs who have continued to receive generous ministerial pensions from the state, Department of Finance figures show.

They reveal former Ceann Comhairle John O’Donoghue TD received a severance payment of more than €18,000 after resigning his seat last October following a series of revelations about his lavish expenses during his time in office.

Despite moves by the government to limit the entitlement of current Oireachtas members to such payments, the figures show some of the best-known politicians in the country were paid tens of thousands of euro in ministerial pensions on top of their TD salaries in 2009.

These payments were made during a year when the government introduced one of the harshest budgets in recent memory, including significant cuts to social welfare payments.

According to the Department of Finance figures, Ahern was paid a ministerial pension totalling €98,901 last year, while former Ceann Comhairle Rory O’Hanlon (Fianna Fáil) was paid €82,355 and Mary O’Rourke of Fianna Fáil received €28,341.

Former Labour leader Ruairi Quinn received €41,656 and Fianna Fáil TD Frank Fahey was paid €37,205, while Dr Michael Woods TD received €33,343 and former Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan received €39,944.

The two main opposition party leaders, Enda Kenny of Fine Gael and Eamonn Gilmore of Labour, received relatively modest payments of €9,113 and €1,181 respectively.

Following legal advice from attorney general Paul Gallagher, the government last year decided it was not constitutionally possible to
reduce payments to sitting TDs by more than 25%. But ministerial pension payments to former Oireachtas members were not reduced.

The figures show how a number of former politicians, including some who have since taken up lucrative jobs in the public and private sectors, were paid generous pensions as former ministers last year.

These include the current EU commissioner Maire Geoghegan Quinn, who received €64,281 in 2009, and her predecessors in that role, Charlie McCreevy (€74,746) and Padraig Flynn (€50,927).

All three are also entitled to lucrative additional pensions as former TDs, as well as any other pension entitlements they would have run up in their subsequent roles.

Disgraced former Fianna Fáil politician and cabinet minister Ray Burke was paid a ministerial pension of €57,455, while Construction Industry Federation chief Tom Parlon received €19,008, the figures show.

Read more…

Irish Town Criticised For Snubbing Israeli Ambassador

news.bbc.co.uk
Tuesday, 2 March 2010

Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin has criticised an Irish town council’s decision to remove a page signed by the Israeli ambassador from its guestbook.

Carrickmacross representatives voted to remove Zion Evrony’s signature in protest at Israel’s diplomatic record.

Mr Martin said diplomatic representatives should always be treated with respect.

But a local councillor defended the town’s decision, saying he hoped it would send a serious message to Israel.

“I think if a government is responsible for a wholesale disregard for international law then local authorities, as well as our own government, have a responsibility to tell them we expect a higher standard,” Sinn Fein’s Matt Carthy said.

He added that although Carrickmacross is a welcoming town, “it was important that we took a stand”.

The Israeli embassy said that since his arrival in 2006 Ambassador Evrony has visited more than 30 towns and cities in Ireland and “has always been received with typically warm Irish hospitality and friendship”.

“The incident in Carrickmacross town hall is a rare exception, initiated by a publicity seeking Sinn Fein town councillor,” it said in a statement.

“Sinn Fein is recognized as the political wing of the IRA. It is an extreme political party, known for its prejudiced views against Israel.”

The council’s move follows reports that Irish passports were used by those allegedly behind the Dubai killing of Palestinian militant Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in January.

Dubai’s police chief says he is convinced of the involvement of Israeli agents in al-Mabhouh’s death, but Israel says there is no proof. Read more…

Government To Close 14 Psychiatric Hospitals

www.rte.ie
Monday, 1 March 2010

Plans to close around 14 Victorian-era psychiatric hospitals and to transfer around 1,200 patients to community facilities over the next three years have been announced.

The changes were promised in the Government’s 2006 mental health policy ‘A Vision for Change’.

Minister for State with Responsibility for Mental Health John Moloney said around €50m a year will be available over the next three years, from the sale of buildings and land, to reinvest in community mental health facilities.

He said that the transfer of patients to community facilities will not be totally dependent on the sale of assets.

Recent reports from the Inspector of Mental Health Service have heavily criticised conditions in several hospitals including St Ita’s in Portrane, St Loman’s in Mullingar and St Senan’s in Enniscorthy. Read more…

Ahern in warning over dissident threat

www.rte.ie
Sunday, 28 February 2010

Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern has said the threat posed by dissident Republicans is as dangerous as it was at any time during the 30 years of the Troubles in the North.

He said there was a growing escalation of major incidents since September last year – 13 in all.

Mr Ahern said it was a worrying trend because the capability of dissident groups was growing.

The Minister was speaking after an explosive device was fired at a police station in Craigavon, Co Armagh last night and a car bomb went off in Newry earlier this week.

In a separate incident last night, police came under attack and fired three baton rounds during rioting in Craigavon.

Chief Inspector Jason Murphy said he believes last night’s attack was intended to kill or injure police officers.

Dissident republicans were blamed after a suspected mortar bomb was fired at the Craigavon police station. A year ago a policeman was shot dead by the Continuity IRA not far from the scene of last night’s attack.

Dissidents were behind last week’s murder of Ciaran Doherty, 31, in Derry as well as a number of other attacks on police stations.

Sinn Féin assembly member John O’Dowd said: ‘This attack was wrong and should not have been carried out.

‘I would challenge those who claim to speak politically for these factions to tell the republican and nationalist community exactly how these sorts of activities, or indeed the recent murder in Derry, advance the cause of a united Ireland one iota.

‘The fact is they don’t. A peaceful and democratic path to Irish unity exists and it is the path that the vast majority of republicans are now on.’

A viable mortar device was found close to Keady police station, south Armagh, recently.

In March last year Policeman Stephen Carroll was shot dead by the Continuity IRA as he answered a call for help in Craigavon.

The amount of dissident activity across Northern Ireland has been on the rise. Read more…

Irish Nationwide and Anglo Irish Bank set to cost taxpayer €12 billion

By Richard Curran and Ian Kehoe
www.thepost.ie
28 February 2010

The financial black holes in the balance sheets of Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society look set to cost the exchequer about €12 billion to remedy.

As the EU approved the Nama scheme last week, details of the extent of losses facing these lenders have been emerging. Anglo is expected to announce financial results in the coming weeks which will include massive, multibillion-euro loan losses.

The losses are expected to result in the nationalised bank requiring around €6 billion in new capital from the exchequer over the next two years.

The cash injection may spread out and not be needed all at once. Anglo Irish has already received €3.8 billion from the taxpayer.

Meanwhile, losses on loans given by Irish Nationwide to property developers during the stewardship of Michael Fingleton are likely to see the building society require close to €2 billion from the Irish taxpayer.

The valuations on the first wave of Irish Nationwide loans transferring to Nama suggest that the underlying properties are worth just 45 per cent of the outstanding loans.

The value of the remainder of the €8 billion of Irish Nationwide loans going to Nama is likely to be a little higher, but the society is finding it difficult to determine its level of security over assets, amid complex transactions across several lenders. Read more…

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