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Gardaí make suspected drink driving arrest after cyclist killed in Kildare

Echo Reporter — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:13:23 +0000

A man has been arrested on suspicion of drink driving following the death of a cyclist in Kildare this afternoon.

The driver of the car is being detained at Naas Garda station.

A man in his 80's was killed when he was struck by a car while cycling on the Dublin Road in Clane.

An investigation is taking place by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators and diversions are now in place.

Anyone with information is being asked to contact Naas Garda Station or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800-666-111.

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Gardaí make two more arrests in Dublin robbery probe

Echo Reporter — Sun, 19 May 2013 14:25:19 +0000

Gardaí have made two arrests as part the investigation into an armed robbery at a supermarket in Rathfarnham on May 16.

A man in his 30s and woman in her 50s were arrested yesterday and are being detained under Section 30 of the Offences against the state Act, 1939, at Tallaght and Rathfarnham Garda Stations.

Two men were arrested following a pursuit on the night of the incident and remain in Garda custody.

They are expected to appear before a sitting of Tallaght District Court tomorrow morning charged in connection with the investigation.

At around 8.50pm on the night of the incident, three men entered a supermarket on Grange Road, Rathfarnham armed with what was reported as a baseball bat and a handgun.

They threatened staff and escaped with a sum of money in a waiting car. There were no injuries.

Gardaí later found a car and the suspects a short time later and after chasing them they arrested them and found a handgun.

All of the money taken during the robbery has been recovered.

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Constitutional convention recommends Dáil voting changes

Echo Reporter — Sun, 19 May 2013 13:26:44 +0000

The Convention on the Constitution has recommended that it should focus on amendments to the existing Dáil electoral system.

This is the first full weekend of the convention which is underway in Dublin.

Possible recommendations on the current Dáil voting system could include changes in constituency sizes, the number of TD's, whether Ministers should be members of the Oireachtas and measures for improving voter turnout.

Members heard presentations on the current Dáil electoral system and alternative systems over the two-day event.

Tom Arnold, Chairman of the Constitution Convention says the result of the ballot this weekend will inform the discussion for the meeting in June.

He said: "I am pleased that this weekend was conducted in a fair and transparent manner which allowed all members to make their views on Dáil electoral reform known. The result of the ballot this weekend will inform the discussion for our next meeting in June."

"I would like to thank all the participants for their focused contributions throughout the weekend. Particularly, I would like to thank the expert panel and advocacy groups who explained the issues in a clear and understandable fashion."

"The work of the Convention will resume on the second weekend in June when the Convention members will focus their attention on possible amendments to our current Dáil electoral system. I look forward to continuing this process of citizen engagement with a view to making clear recommendations to Government on the issue."

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Campaigners call for reopening of memorial park in Dublin

Echo Reporter — Sun, 19 May 2013 12:49:54 +0000

Campaigners have demanded the reopening of a memorial park to Irish patriots which was closed just a year after tens of thousands of euro in public money was poured into upgrading it.

The Croppies Acre in central Dublin - described as "sacred ground" - has turned into a no-go zone because authorities say they can't cope with drugs users and dirty syringes that litter the historical site.

Some 35,000 euro was spent overhauling the park in September 2011.

The renovations, celebrated with great fanfare by city fathers at the time, included making it the new home of the capital's troubled Anna Livia sculpture - known as the Floozy in the Jacuzzi.

But the Office of Public Works (OPW), which is charged with maintaining the park, said it has since been forced to permanently padlock the gates because of public health fears.

"Specialist cleaners are employed to remove hazardous material such as used syringes," said an OPW spokeswoman.

"However, as resources are not sufficient to keep the park clear of dangerous materials at all times and thus safe for public access, the park has had to be closed to the public."

Anti-social behaviour was also threatening public safety, according to the OPW, which said it doesn't have the manpower or money to put security at the site.

Drug-users and street drinkers continue to scale the walls of the park, near Heuston Station, which is strewn with dirty hypodermic needles, broken glass, beer cans, wine cartons and old clothes.

Matt Doyle, secretary of the National Graves Association, which maintains the graves of patriots, said the Croppies Acre was "sacred ground" and a "hugely important" part of Irish heritage.

"It is neglected and it is unfortunate there are syringes and the like lying about it," he said.

"It is the responsibility of the OPW and we would urge them to clean it up."

Mr Doyle, whose organisation fought plans to build a car and bus park on the site for the museum at Collins Barracks, said it needed to be rescued and reopened, possibly as part of the museum.

The memorial park, which lies between Wolfe Tone Quay and the National Museum at Collins Barracks, was a mass grave for "croppies" after the United Irishmen rebellion.

The rebels were so-called after their cropped haircuts, in the style of French revolutionaries who opposed the aristocrats, recognisable by their lavish wigs and costumes.

Matthew Tone, brother of United Irishmen founder Wolfe Tone,and Co Antrim-born rebellion leader Bartholomew Teeling, who were both hanged, are believed to be among the scores of bodies dumped in the makeshift grave.

The OPW said a decision was taken to close the memorial site in September last year.

The Government department said it was in talks with "stakeholders" about the future of the park but refused to explain what possibilities it was exploring for the publicly-owned grounds.

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Courts take shorter holidays to deal with case backlog

Echo Reporter — Sun, 19 May 2013 12:10:12 +0000

The Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal will sit through September this year, because of exceptionally long delays.

The country's highest courts will take shorter holidays to try to reduce the waiting time for cases, with delays of up to four years in the Supreme Court and more than a year for the Court of Appeal.

The Chief Justice Susan Denham said it is a pro-active measure to tackle significant delays before appeals are heard.

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Study finds fall in underage drinking numbers

Echo Reporter — Sun, 19 May 2013 11:40:01 +0000

The Alcohol Beverage Federation of Ireland has said Irish teenagers are now consuming less alcohol.

New figures, from the Revenue Commissioners, show that alcohol volumes also dropped by 4.4% in the past year.

The group's Director, Kathryn D'Arcy, said the idea that all Irish people drink to excess is no longer the case.

The average consumption of alcohol in Ireland has reduced by 20% in the past 12 years.

Ms D'Arcy said we need to focus on the good points:

She said: "There is a fall in alcohol consumption and we are fast approaching European norms.

"We have seen recent studies by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and other studies showing that our teens are consuming less alcohol than they were a number of years ago, while other countries are seeing that they are having an increase in the problem of underage drinking.

"So I think we are doing some things right and I think we need to focus."

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Walsh holding auditions for new boy band in Dublin

Echo Reporter — Sun, 19 May 2013 11:29:09 +0000

Auditions for a new boy band are underway in Dublin today.

X Factor Judge Louis Walsh is holding the auditions for a new group over the next two days.

It is 12 years since Louis held auditions for a group and he is looking for new and emerging talent.

Males aged between 16 to 25 years can attend and five boys will be selected out of thousands.

The auditions will take place today and tomorrow from 12 noon in the Button Factory in Temple Bar, Dublin.

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Paddy Power to refund all bets on Ireland’s Eurovision entry

Echo Reporter — Sun, 19 May 2013 11:26:14 +0000

Paddy Power are today refunding all win and each way singles to customers who backed Ireland's Ryan Dolan for last night's Eurovision.

The Tyrone singer finished rock bottom last night and the bookmaker has made the decision to refund more than €15,000 to the disappointed punters who backed him.

A Paddy Power spokesperson said: "Ryan genuinely didn't deserve to finish last, he was well backed from the off but punters never got a run for their money and the only fair thing to do is to refund them their money."

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Legal expert brands Minister’s revelation about Wallace ‘disturbing’

Echo Reporter — Sun, 19 May 2013 11:01:13 +0000

A legal expert has said the Justice Minister revealing that TD Mick Wallace received a caution for using his mobile phone while driving, raises a number of privacy and data protection issues.

Alan Shatter declared on television last Thursday, that the Wexford TD was stopped by Gardaí for driving using his phone last year.

Mick Wallace claims the revelation represents a serious abuse of the Minister's powers, and a breach of the Code of Conduct for Office Holders.

He also said he has no recollection of the event.

A partner at Simon McAleese Solicitors, Tony Williams, said it is very worrying that Mr Shatter, in his uniquely privileged position, would make such information public.

Mr Williams said: "There's privacy issues and data protection issues. What makes this slightly more disturbing is the fact that the incident with Mick Wallace didn't result in penalty points.

"It didn't result with anything that was officially in the system anywhere, how on earth did the minister get this?

"This is an incident from May of last year, not May of this year, he has had this filed away in his little black book for a year, how did this come to him?"

Meanwhile, the Fianna Fáil TD Niall Collins is accusing the Justice Minister of "blatantly abusing his position to cynically smear another individual".

He is questioning Mr Shatter's judgement on this issue.

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Boston’s Irish community praise Kenny for standing up to Church

Echo Reporter — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:38:17 +0000

By Mary Regan, Political Correspondent in Boston
The Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, has been applauded by prominent members of the Irish community in Boston for what was described as his "courage" in standing up to religious institutions.

Boston Cardinal, Sean O'Malley, is to boycott a speech by Mr Kenny in Boston College tomorrow because he believes the Taoiseach is "aggresively promoting abortion legislation."

At an event in the city last night to mark the 50th anniversary of the visit of President John F. Kennedy to Ireland, the Taoiseach received strong support from the Irish-American community.

There was a standing ovation after Senator Paul Kirk - who replaced Edward Kennedy as Massachusetts Senator - told the Taoiseach that "we salute you Mr Prime Minister for your courage".

He said Mr Kenny had chosen "to speak the unvarnishied but inconvenient truth to the highest institutions of religious power on the fundamental issues of honesty, transparency, accountability and social justice."

The event was attended by members of the Kennedy family as well as business, cultural and political leaders from the Irish community in Boston.

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