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Murders, kidnappings increase, CSO figures show

Written By Unknown on Senin, 30 Juni 2014 | 22.40

Monday 30 June 2014 15.00

The number of murders in Ireland rose by 36.4% over the 12-month period up to the end of March, according to the latest official figures.

The increase in murders, from 44 to 60, drove the overall figure for homicides up by 22.5%, according to the figures from the Central Statistics Office.

The figures also show a 6.3% rise in the number of kidnappings, with 19 recorded during the 12 months to March.

The new figure was driven by a 106% increase in the number of abductions of children under the age of 16.

The number of sexual offences dropped by 5.3% during the same period, with 1,947 offences recorded in the year up to the end of March.

Overall, there were drops in ten of 14 offence groups for which figures were produced.

Acting Garda Commissioner Noirín O'Sullivan said the drop demonstrated "the continuing hard work and dedication of members of An Garda Síochána" and that it could not have been achieved without partnership with communities.

She said that while the rise in homicides was not attributable to organised crime, it was a concern.

The number of dangerous or negligent acts dropped 11.6% annually.

Ms O'Sullivan said this reduction was largely due to a fall in dangerous driving over the alcohol limit.

There was a 6.1% reduction in the number of attempts or threats to murder, assaults, harassments and related offences.

The number of burglaries and related offences dropped 1.4% during the period, and robbery, extortion and hijacking offences were down 0.5%.

There were falls of 7.9% in the number of damage to property and to the environment offences and 8.7% in public order and other social code offences, respectively.

Controlled drug offences were up 0.9%.

Overall, the CSO breaks crime figures into 15 groups and reports against them accordingly. 


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Teenager phoned family in Romania before murder

Monday 30 June 2014 16.16

The Central Criminal Court has heard how teenager Mariora Rostas phoned her family in Romania the day after she went missing and was crying and "asking for her daddy to come and get her".

Alexandru Rostas told the court that on 7 January 2008 his sister Mariora phoned a cousin who lived across the road.

The cousin had a mobile phone for which all the family had the number, he said.

He said his cousin received the call and ran to him and he passed the phone to him.

He said his younger sister was crying and seemed frightened as she told him she was "out of town" and asked if he could tell her father to "go after her".

The teenager also told him she could see a sign and began calling out some letters to him but the phone went dead.

In cross examination, he said he did not tell Romanian police that Ms Rostas had said she was taken from the city centre by two men.

He said he did remember telling Romanian police in a formal statement the following year that Ms Rostas told him she had 50 cents to make a call and that she had been dropped off 200km from Dublin.

He agreed that the sign she was talking about could have been a street sign.

In a statement given later to gardaí, he said he could not remember the letters she had mentioned before the phone went dead but told gardaí he would have told police in Romania when he first spoke to them.

Ms Rostas went missing on 6 January 2008 while begging in Dublin City Centre. She had been in Ireland for 18 days.

The 18-year-old died from four gunshot wounds to her head.

Her body was buried in a shallow grave in the Dublin/Wicklow mountains where it was discovered four years later.

Alan Wilson of New Street Gardens in the city has pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Rostas at Brabazon Street, The Coombe between 7 January and 8 January, 2008.

Her younger brother Dumitru Rostas said he was with his sister the day she went missing.

They were begging at the junction of Pearse Street and Lombard Street in Dublin.

He said he saw his sister get into a car and when he went over the driver of the car told him they were going to go to McDonalds to get food and would return.

He said as the car rolled away the man dropped a €10 note and he picked it up.

He said he could not now remember what the man looked like or what he wore.

It was put to him in cross examination by defence counsel that he had made a statement to gardaí and gave a description of the man.

He agreed that he told gardaí after viewing an identity parade at Pearse Street Garda Station that he "could not be sure" if the man driving the car was in the parade.

He agreed with defence counsel Michael O'Higgins that he said in his statement that he "did have similar skin alright but I could not be 100% positive this was the man".

He also agreed that he had said he did not get a proper look at the men in the identity parade as they were walking past him one behind the other.

He also agreed he had told gardaí the man driving the car had "like mushrooms on his left cheek".

When asked today to explain what that meant he said he did not know exactly what it was but it could have been small spots.

He also agreed that at the time gave gardaí a description to enable them to produce a photofit picture of the man driving the Ford Mondeo.

The trial was also told the accused man, Mr Wilson, was the registered owner of the car from September 2007 until May 2008 when ownership was transferred to Fergus O'Hanlon.

Mr O'Hanlon is the main prosecution witnesses who will tell the trial he helped Mr Wilson dispose of Ms Rostas' body.

A ballistics expert earlier told the court that bullets found at a Dublin house could have been fired from the same weapon as the one used to Ms Rostas.

However, Garda Shane Curran told the trial because of the damage to the bullets, which had been fired into a wall, he could not be certain of this.

The trial has heard she died from four gunshot wounds to the head.

Gda Curran said two .22 calibre bullets retrieved from the wall at the house in Brabazon Street were of the same calibre and had the same "class characteristics" as the four bullets retrieved from the body of the 18-year-old.

The trial has already heard that four bullets were removed from her head during the post mortem examination.

Gda Curran said he compared the bullets which all had similar grooves of a particular width and twist.

However, he said while they may have been fired from the same firearm he could not say they were, because of the damage to them.

The prosecution alleges that Ms Rostas was murdered on the third floor of the house at Brabazon Street.

The bullets were retrieved from a wall on the second floor.

Gda Curran also gave evidence about an "accelerant trail" which was visible upstairs in the house.

He said it indicated someone had set fire to the house using an accelerant of some sort.

He also said one of the rooms upstairs had a sliding latch on the outside.

The owner of the house at Brabazon Street told the trial he had rented it to Maxine Wilson, the sister of the accused man, for just over two years before it went on fire in February 2008.

He said he was unable to make contact with her after the fire.


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Rolf Harris guilty of indecent assault

Monday 30 June 2014 16.32

Veteran entertainer Rolf Harris has been found guilty of 12 counts of indecent assault at Southwark Crown Court in London.

The 84-year-old was convicted of sex charges involving four women.

The verdicts were unanimous.

The performer has been released on bail until Friday when he will be sentenced.

Justice Sweeney warned that given the conviction on all 12 counts it was "inevitable" that a custodial sentence would be possible.

"He must understand that", he said, to which Harris's barrister Sonia Woodley replied: "He does appreciate that".

Harris remained impassive as the forewoman delivered the unanimous verdicts.

His daughter Bindi held hands with a fellow supporter, and wife Alwen and niece Jenny also watched from the public gallery as the verdicts were read out.

Once seen by a UK audience as a national treasure, Harris had enjoyed years of success, netting him a multi-million pound fortune.

Today he became the biggest name claimed by detectives from high-profile sex crime investigation Operation Yewtree.

Harris is the second person to be convicted under the national inquiry, which was set up in the wake of abuse claims against Jimmy Savile.

Police were contacted by one alleged victim, named in seven of the 12 charges that Harris faced, after she heard the claims made about late DJ Savile and gained the confidence to come forward in November 2012.

The other three then contacted officers - two in the UK and one in Australia - after British newspaper The Sun publicly named Harris as a Yewtree suspect for the first time on 18 April last year.

Dozens more alleged victims came forward during the trial, including several in Australia.

Scotland Yard has been in touch with its counterparts in the Australian police, but it is not yet clear whether they are pursuing any investigation in Harris's home country.

Scotland Yard defends Yewtree

Police and prosecutors have previously faced questions over the success of Operation Yewtree, which has so far seen two convictions out of 17 arrests.

Scotland Yard has defended the investigation, saying officers have to take alleged victims seriously, particularly in the wake of national failings over Savile.

Eight people have been told they will face no further action; three suspects, including broadcaster Paul Gambaccini, remain on bail; and a total of six people have been charged.

Former popstar Gary Glitter and ex-Radio One DJ Chris Denning are currently going through the court system, and driver David Smith was due to face trial but died before he could do so.

DJ Dave Lee Travis was the first person to go through a trial under Yewtree, but the proceedings ended with him being acquitted on 12 indecent assault charges, and a hung jury on one count of the same charge and a count of sexual assault.

Prosecutors later confirmed that they would go to a retrial on the two charges, and that Travis would face an additional count of indecent assault.


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Five-year-old boy drowns in Dublin pond

Monday 30 June 2014 16.30

A five-year-old boy has drowned after swimming in a pond in the Belgree Lawns area in Tyrrelstown, Dublin.

The boy had been missing since 9.30am this morning and was found an hour later.

Resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at Temple Street Children's Hospital at around 11am.

The pond is an artificially created lake in the park, which was opened by Fingal County Council last year.

There is a ban on swimming at the pond and there are warning signs and lifebuoys.

Gardaí are not treating the child's death as suspicious and have described it as a tragedy.

Fingal County Council said its thoughts are with the family.

It is the second drowning this month in a pond managed by Fingal County Council.

Ricky Oasagi, 13, died earlier this month in Waterville Park.


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IBRC wants electronic review of Quinn documents

Monday 30 June 2014 16.38

The former Anglo Irish Bank wants to use computers to review millions of documents disclosed as part of its legal battle with the family of Seán Quinn.

It would be the first time for such technology to be used in a court case in this jurisdiction.

The Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, which is now in liquidation, alleges that members of Mr Quinn's family and others have been engaged in a conspiracy to put international property assets out of the reach of the bank.

The Commercial Court was told today that 1.7 million electronic documents and 160,000 hard copy documents have been identified by the bank as being potentially relevant to its legal action.

It wants to use a process called "technology assisted review" to review the documents.

Reviewing them manually could take two years, the bank says.

Lawyers for the Quinns asked for an adjournment to consider the matter.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly adjourned the case for two weeks.

He said this form of technical assistance had not been the subject of consideration by the courts in this jurisdiction to date.

He did not prevent the bank from beginning the process in the meantime.


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Irishwoman run over by three trains in NY survives

Monday 30 June 2014 16.39

An Irish immigrant living in New York has suffered only minor injuries after being run over by three Manhattan subway trains, according to the New York Post.

Mary Downey, 22, accidentally fell onto the tracks at a Times Square station and suffered a broken shoulder, police sources told the paper.

Authorities said she arrived at 49th Street Station at around 6am to get a train home to Woodlawn.

As she was waiting on the platform, she toppled over and fell onto the tracks as a train was approaching, the paper reported.

Ms Downey reportedly positioned herself between the rails as at least one train travelled over her, police said.

Another source told the paper that she appeared to roll to a space between the platform and the tracks.

"She was lucky enough to have, it looks like to us, rolled to the platform and was in between the platform and the train when the train came into the station," FDNY Battalion Chief Mike Meyers was quoted as saying.

(Above: Frontpage of the New York Post)

Emergency personnel removed Ms Downey from the tracks and she was treated in hospital for a broken shoulder.


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Gardaí investigating discovery of body in Bundoran

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 29 Juni 2014 | 22.40

Sunday 29 June 2014 16.28

Gardaí are investigating the discovery of a body in an apartment in the seaside town of Bundoran, Co Donegal.

The body of a man in his 40s was discovered in the Marine Apartments in the town on Saturday evening.

He was from the Belfast area but had been living in Bundoran for the past five years.

Gardaí cordoned off the apartments before the body was taken this afternoon to Sligo General Hospital for a post mortem examination.

Members of his family had travelled from Northern Ireland to identify the remains at the scene.

Gardaí said foul play is not suspected.


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Costello backs Gilmore for EU Commissioner role

Sunday 29 June 2014 13.40

A Labour minister has said Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Eamon Gilmore, his outgoing party leader, has the credentials to be Ireland's next EU Commissioner.

Joe Costello, the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, made his comments on RTÉ's The Week in Politics.

Fine Gael TD and Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan has been widely expected to be nominated for the position.

However, in recent weeks the Labour Party has been pushing the case for Mr Gilmore to become the next EU Commissioner.

Mr Costello said discussions on the next commissioner have yet to commence in Government.

Mr Costello argued that the Tánaiste's experience as Minister for Foreign Affairs during Ireland's EU presidency puts him in a strong position for the post and to secure a significant portfolio.


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84-year-old man dies after Monaghan car crash

Sunday 29 June 2014 13.44

An 84-year-old man has died after a traffic collision in Co Monaghan yesterday.

The man's car left the road near Ballinode and hit a ditch, before colliding with an oncoming car.

The man was taken to Cavan General Hospital, where he died late yesterday afternoon.

The 37-year-old woman driving the second car was not injured.

Gardaí are appealing for any witnesses to contact Monaghan Garda Station on 047 -77200 the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any garda station.


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GSOC officer tenders resignation

A spokesperson for the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission has confirmed that an Officer of the Commission has tender their resignation this weekend.  

The spokesperson confirmed that the individual concerned was not one of the three GSOC commissioners.

They would not confirm who had resigned.


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Mental health services in west outdated

Sunday 29 June 2014 15.50

Mental health services in Roscommon and Galway are being run to outdated 30-year-old guidelines - and are costing more money than elsewhere with higher rates of admissions to psychiatric units, according to a HSE report released this weekend.

An expert panel appointed by the HSE examined mental health services in the counties to see how they can be brought more into line with the national guidelines, "Vision for Change", which were introduced in 2006.

The experts concluded that services in the west are still operating under old national guidelines called "Planning for the Future" - which date back to 1984.

Vision for Change aims at replacing institutional-based care with community-focussed services.

The experts found that the rate of admission to in-patient psychiatric units in Roscommon is over double that for Cavan Monaghan - where the Vision for Change policies were first pioneered a decade ago before being adopted nationally.

Their report for the HSE reveals that more money is spent per head of population on mental health in Galway Roscommon than the national average - and one-and-a-half times more than is spent per head in than in Cavan Monaghan.

Although no direct correlation can be drawn, the separate Mental Health Commission Annual Report for 2013 published last week showed that 79 people in contact with mental health services died in the HSE West area last year - more than in any other region in the country

The MHC report also notes that almost half of these may have died due to physical illness rather than mental health conditions.

The experts' report into the west's mental health services describes as 'astonishingly large' the number of hostels, day centres, sheltered workshops and other supportive community structures - which they say have become the focus of treatment.

These services are criticised as inflexible and expensive - compared to using teams which treat people at home which the experts recommend.


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Dozens feared trapped as Indian building collapses

Sunday 29 June 2014 16.37

Rescuers are searching for survivors after an 11-storey residential block collapsed in heavy rain in southern India, killing at least 11 people and possibly trapping dozens.

The accident late last night was India's second deadly building collapse in one day, after a dilapidated apartment block crumbled in the capital New Delhi, killing ten people including five children.

The partly-built tower, about 20km from Chennai in Tamil Nadu state, crushed mostly labourers at the site who had gone inside it to shelter from the rain.

Senior police officer Karuna Sagar said 11 bodies had been pulled from the wreckage as of this afternoon while 20 people had been rescued and were being treated in hospital.

He said police had detained several people for questioning, including the builder and construction engineers.

Mr Sagar said witnesses had described hearing a loud bang, with the building collapsing after around 50 workers went inside it to seek shelter.

He said dozens may still be trapped.

TV and still footage showed crowds of yellow-helmeted rescuers searching the ruins, huge slabs of concrete, twisted steel reinforcing rods and tangled scaffolding.

Rescuers sifted through the debris with shovels as they searched for trapped survivors.

Dust-caked bodies of the dead and injured were carried out on stretchers as rescuers struggled to make their way through mounds of rubble.     

A disaster management official leading the search called the operation a "big challenge" and said clearing the debris could take a few days.

"There is no clarity on the number of people trapped," SP Selvan, a senior officer from the National Disaster Response Force, told reporters in Chennai, according to the Press Trust of India.

Building collapses are common in India.

Lax regulations and the demand for cheap housing mean contractors sometimes use substandard materials or add unauthorised extra floors.

In September last year more than 50 people were crushed to death when a five-storey building collapsed in India's financial capital of Mumbai on the west coast.

"We will look into all aspects of planning permission and quality of construction, the structural aspect and the soil condition and see what's wrong," Mr Sagar told the NDTV television station.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram announced compensation of 200,000 rupees (€2,400) for the families of the dead and 50,000 rupees for those injured.


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Ukraine extends ceasefire until Monday night

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 28 Juni 2014 | 22.40

Saturday 28 June 2014 15.27

Ukraine has extended a government forces' ceasefire against separatist rebels by 72 hours until 10pm on Monday.

The announcement came shortly after President Petro Poroshenko returned to Kiev from Brussels, where he signed a landmark free-trade deal at a European Union summit.

The ceasefire extension had been undertaken, Mr Poroshenko's website said, in line with a deadline set by EU leaders for Ukrainian rebels to agree to ceasefire verification arrangements, return border checkpoints to Kiev authorities and free hostages including detained monitors of the OSCE rights and security watchdog.

At a separate meeting, Mr Poroshenko and national security chiefs said that during the next 72 hours recruitment centres for Russian fighters across the border in Russia should be closed.

Movements of rebel forces around the east and the setting-up of rebel checkpoints or barricades should also cease.

Ukrainian government forces would have the right to end the ceasefire ahead of time in any areas where ceasefire conditions were not being implemented, the announcement said. 


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Body recovered from sea off Donegal

Saturday 28 June 2014 15.20

A man has died after his fishing vessel sank off Inishowen Head near Greencastle in Co Donegal.

A local fisherman contacted Malin Head Coast Guard shortly after 10am after spotting wreckage and a diesel spill off Inishowen Head.

The deceased man's remains were recovered from the water and have been taken to Greencastle Coast Guard Station.

His body is expected to be taken from there to Letterkenny General Hospital.

The man was the only occupant of the vessel.

It was initially unclear whether there were further casualties, but after a brief search of the surrounding area, the operation was stood down.

The rescue helicopter at Sligo, Greencastle Coast Guard, Portrush and Lough Swilly life boats and Malin Head Coast Guard were involved in the operation. 


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Funeral of Guildford Four's Gerry Conlon held

Saturday 28 June 2014 15.26

The Guildford Four's Gerry Conlon has departed victorious from a life that dealt him a poor hand, the lawyer who campaigned for his freedom told mourners at his funeral.

In a heartfelt tribute to the one of the quartet wrongly imprisoned for the 1974 IRA pub bombings in the Surrey town, Gareth Peirce referred to the image of him emerging from the Old Bailey in London 15 years later and declaring his innocence after his conviction was quashed.

"This was a victorious human being who had defeated a mighty foe," she told hundreds who gathered to pay their respects inside St Peter's Cathedral in Mr Conlon's native west Belfast.

The 60-year-old died last week only three weeks after he was diagnosed with lung cancer.

Paddy Hill, who was one of six men wrongly convicted of IRA bombings in Birmingham, also in 1974, was among those who helped carry the coffin at his morning's emotional funeral service.

Mr Conlon and the rest of the Guildford Four were handed life sentences for the attacks in Guilford which killed five people and injured 65, before their convictions were overturned in 1989.

At the time of their sentencing, the trial judge Mr Justice Donaldson told them: "If hanging were still an option, you would have been executed."

It was one of the best known cases of a miscarriage of justice in British legal history.

Mr Conlon's father Giuseppe, who was also jailed as part of a discredited investigation into a supposed bomb making family, the Maguire Seven, died in prison.

His mother Sarah, a tireless campaigner for their freedom, died in 2008, aged 82.

Mr Conlon was played by Daniel Day-Lewis in the 1993 film In The Name Of The Father.

Mrs Peirce, who was played by Emma Thompson in the same film, told mourners of Mr Conlon's struggles with life in the years after his release, living like a recluse in England and developing a drug habit.

But she said he overcame those difficulties and returned to Belfast to be with his mother in the year before she died.

"Life dealt Gerry a pretty poor hand," she said.

"He was gambler and gambling was in his DNA but with a poor hand he made a magnificent fist of it.

"If anyone thinks that this is someone who was beaten or terrified and pushed down forever, that wasn't so."

She added: "We can say with all the adversities, in the end Gerry Conlon won - the victory was his."

In his homily, Father Ciaran Dallat said Mr Conlon always carried a burden of guilt, feeling he was responsible for the death of his dad in prison.

"In the master's house, the place that Jesus has prepared in heaven, we trust that Giuseppe and Sarah are there and he will truly be at peace at last because Giuseppe will reassure him, as his mother tried so often, that it wasn't his fault - it wasn't his fault, other people got it wrong."

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore was among a number of dignitaries at the funeral.

Sinn Féin West Belfast MP Paul Maskey was also there, as was SDLP leader Dr Alasdair McDonnell and the party's Foyle MP Mark H Durkan.

Co Derry man Brian Shivers, whose conviction for the 2009 dissident republican murders of two British soldiers in Antrim was overturned last year, attended as well.

The cystic fibrosis sufferer carried the coffin of a man who had tried to raise awareness of his medical needs while in prison for the soldiers' murders.

Mr Conlon died at his home in the Falls Road area of Belfast last Saturday.

Along with the other members of the Guildford Four - Paddy Armstrong, Paul Hill and Carole Richardson - he was jailed for life in 1975 for the attack on the Horse and Groom pub in the Surrey town which killed four soldiers and a civilian.

They were freed in October 1989 after the Court of Appeal quashed their sentences amid doubts raised about the police evidence against them.

An investigation by Avon and Somerset Police found serious flaws in the way Surrey Police handled the case.

As he emerged free from the Court of Appeal, Gerry Conlon famously declared: "I have been in prison for something I did not do. I am totally innocent."

In July 2000, then British prime minister Tony Blair became the first senior politician to apologise to the Guildford Four.

Mrs Peirce repeatedly referred to the picture of Mr Conlon leaving the Old Bailey in her 20-minute tribute.

"When he angrily, angrily stated the truth it had an extraordinary effect and made the world understand that innocent men and women had been buried alive in English prisons year after year and it had been allowed, indeed it had been organised to happen, it was no accident," she said.

"So when he shouted out 'I am an innocent man, my father was innocent, the Maguires are innocent and the Birmingham Six', he set something in motion that forced the rest of us, the rest of the world, Britain, to hold a mirror up to ourselves and see precisely who we were and what we had done."

Mr Conlon, who is survived by his partner Alison and daughter Sarah and other family members, including his sister Anne, was taken for burial at Milltown cemetery after this morning's Requiem Mass.


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Man questioned over murder of woman in Bray

Saturday 28 June 2014 15.28

Gardaí in Bray are continuing to question a 21-year-old man in connection with the murder of a woman in her 50s.

Her body was discovered at her home in the Deepdales estate in the Co Wicklow town yesterday.

Investigating gardaí have confirmed that the woman died in violent circumstances.

Deputy State Pathologist Michael Curtis carried out a post-mortem examination at St Columcille's Hospital in Loughlinstown yesterday and a preliminary report was given to gardaí.

The results of the examination have not been released.


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Four people die in Co Westmeath crash

Saturday 28 June 2014 16.28

Four people have died after a road accident near Mullingar in Co Westmeath early this morning.

The accident happened near Portnashangan, just north of Mullingar on the main N4 Dublin to Sligo road.

Gardaí say a car and a jeep collided on a straight stretch of road just after 7.30am.

Four female occupants of the car were killed in the crash.

The man who was driving the jeep has been taken to Mullingar General Hospital with minor injuries.

A major investigation is under way following the collision. 

The vehicles involved in the collision have been removed from the scene.

Anyone who was travelling on the road between 7am and 8am this morning and noticed anything is asked to contact gardaí.


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Thousands attend Pride Parade in Dublin

Saturday 28 June 2014 16.30

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Dublin city centre this afternoon to take part in the city's annual Pride Parade, which celebrates lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender life in Ireland.

The theme for this year's festival is "freedom".

Today's event was the biggest ever Pride Parade in Dublin. 

A large crowd turned out to celebrate the gains made in achieving equality and inclusion for the LGBT community in Ireland, and to keep up the pressure in advance of next year's expected referendum on marriage equality.

The Dublin Pride Parade is second only now in size to the St Patrick's Day parade in the capital. 

Organisers also drew attention to the fact that more companies have joined an equality network to make the workplace more inclusive for members of the LGBT community.

Colm O'Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International, who was Grand Marshall of the parade said Ireland still has a way to go to guarantee equality and freedom to LGBT people.

"We have yet to allow equal access to civil marriage, and to provide equal rights and equal family security to children raised by same-sex parents.

"We have yet to respect the human rights of transgender people by granting them legal gender recognition.

"We are almost there, but not quite. And partial freedom is not freedom; 'near equality' is not equality," Mr O'Gorman added. 


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Juncker named to head European Commission

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 27 Juni 2014 | 22.40

Friday 27 June 2014 16.39

EU leaders nominated former Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the European Commission at a summit today despite strong objections from Britain.

British Prime Minister David Cameron had mounted a vehement campaign to deny Mr Juncker the job on the grounds that the 59-year-old was a federalist committed to expanding the Union's powers.

Mr Cameron has said the fact that EU leaders did not work together to find an alternative candidate is a serious mistake.

The confirmation of his nomination was announced by European Council president Herman Van Rompuy on Twitter.

"Decision made," he wrote. "The European Council proposes Jean-Claude Juncker as the next President of the European Commission."

He did not say whether there had been a formal vote among the 28 national leaders - an unprecedented procedure that Mr Cameron had threatened to demand to underline his opposition.

However, a British official said leaders voted 26-2 in favour of Mr Junker, with Mr Cameron and Hungary's Viktor Orbán voting against

Mr Juncker must now appear before the European Parliament and win a confirmation vote set for July 16 on his policy agenda.

Mr Juncker has been a skilled fixer and bridge-builder at the heart of Europe's monetary union for 25 years.

The only leader still active to have been at the table at the 1991 Maastricht summit that laid the foundations of the euro, he faces a daunting challenge to restore public confidence in European integration and hold the EU together.

He was prime minister of Luxembourg for 19 years until he was defeated last year after an espionage scandal shook his government, and was in the thick of the battle to save the eurozone from a debt crisis that threatened to engulf it in 2010-13.

Mr Juncker chaired eurozone finance ministers' meetings that agreed on financial bailouts for five member states, tightened budget discipline rules and shaped austerity policies that sparked apolitical backlash against the EU in several countries.

The trained lawyer who became finance minister aged 34 now faces a far bigger challenge to revitalise the bloc's most influential institution, with more than 20,000 staff, and drive political and economic reforms on which the 28 member states have very different demands.

People who have worked closely with Mr Juncker question how this sometimes irritable man will cope with the management challenge of running a large bureaucracy and a big personal staff, and whether he has the stamina for the constant travel and speech-making imposed by the role currently held by Jose Manuel Barroso, a former prime minister of Portugal.

Earlier, the Minister for European Affairs said the Government believes the election of Mr Junker as commission president will see a commission that will focus more on jobs and stability.

Paschal Donohoe told RTÉ's News at One that Ireland's priority is to do all necessary to deliver job stability and growth.

He said the Government believes Mr Juncker's election will help build on the progress that is currently being seen in Ireland.

He said the European Commission can play a key role in completing the single market by making it easier for investment to to take place that would create jobs.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has completed a political and trade accord with the EU, underlying the shift that has taken place in the country which has also resulted in an armed insurrection in the east.


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Pope cancels Rome hospital visit at last minute

Friday 27 June 2014 16.05

Pope Francis has cancelled a visit to a Rome hospital at the last minute due to what the Vatican called a "sudden indisposition".
              
The Vatican gave no immediate details about what, if anything, was ailing the 77-year-old Argentine pope.

The pontiff has cancelled a number of engagements in the past few weeks due to minor health issues.
              
The Vatican issued its statement at about the time the pope was to have arrived at Rome's Gemelli hospital to visit patients and say a mass. 


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Five held after drugs worth €6.3m seized in raids

Friday 27 June 2014 16.06

Five people have been arrested after heroin and cocaine with a combined estimated street value of €6.3m was seized in two separate raids in Dublin and Co Louth.

Three people were arrested after heroin with an estimated street value of €4.05m was seized in Drogheda, Co Louth.

The seizure of 27kg of the drug was made when gardaí stopped and searched an articulated truck on the M1 last night.

A 40-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman were arrested at the scene.

A second man, aged 40, was arrested in a follow-up search.

The three are being detained at Coolock and Drogheda garda stations.

Meanwhile, two men have been arrested after cocaine with an estimated street value of €2.24m was seized from a house on the Stillorgan Road in Donnybrook.

Gardai seized 32kg of the drug at the house last night.

Two men, aged 27 and 37, were arrested at scene and are being held at Blackrock Garda Station.


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Man held over death of woman in Bray

Friday 27 June 2014 16.07

A 21-year-old man has been arrested over the death of a 50-year-old woman in Bray, Co Wicklow.

The woman's body was discovered at a house at Deepdales, a housing estate just off the Southern Cross Road, at 1.30am this morning.

Deputy State Pathologist Michael Curtis has carried out an examination at the scene.

Forensic investigators are still at the house, which remains sealed off, but the body has been removed from the scene.

Gardaí are carrying out door-to-door inquiries to establish what happened last night.

The cause of the woman's death has not been yet released.

The man was arrested at 11am and is being held at Bray Garda Station.


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O'Reilly faces forced sale of assets

Friday 27 June 2014 16.20

Businessman Tony O'Reilly faces a forced sale of assets in order to satisfy a €22m judgment after being refused a stay on the order today at the Commercial Court. 

Mr Justice Peter Kelly said Mr O'Reilly was insolvent and the probability was that the sale of his encumbered assets would not cover the €22m owed to AIB. 

Mr Kelly said AIB had the right to be first in the queue of creditors having secured the judgment and it would be prejudicial to the bank to prevent it from exercising its legal rights. 

The former billionaire owes a total of €195m to his creditors. 

Earlier this week, Mr O'Reilly had asked for a six month stay on the judgment to facilitate an orderly sale of assets. He had wanted to control the sell off of his assets, including his 700 acre Castlemartin stud in Kildare, in order to repay his creditors.

AIB had been granted the judgment earlier this week and had opposed the stay. 

Mr O'Reilly's lawyers had told the court earlier this week that if a stay was refused, the consequences were 'potentially enormous'.

His legal team had argued that the price achieved by the sale of the Castlemartin estate in Kildare, described as the jewel in the crown of his assets, would be adversely affected by having a quick sale.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly said that while this might be the case, it would still be prejudicial to AIB to refuse it the right to exercise its judgment.

The Judge also said he was not impressed with the offer to give notice to AIB if any creditor moved against Mr O'Reilly or his investment vehicles.

Mr O'Reilly's counsel also then asked for a further stay on the order until Tuesday as he said Mr O'Reilly was out of the country, in France, and he needed to consult with him.

He added that no creditor had moved against his cient since Tuesday.  AIB opposed this.

But Mr Kelly also refused this request. 

Former businesses ranged from food to glass and media

As a businessman, Mr O'Reilly's first big success came in the 1960s when he developed Kerrygold as an umbrella brand for Irish butter in export markets. He then joined food giant Heinz and became its chief executive in the US. 

In the 1970s, he bought a stake in Independent News & Media, which publishes the Irish Independent, Herald and Sunday Independent.

Under Mr O'Reilly, the company expanded into UK, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

He also controlled glass and ceramics group Waterford Wedgwood, while he had interests in cable television, oil, supermarkets, property and art.    

In 2009, he bet the family farm on saving ailing Waterford Wedgwood and along with his brother-in-law he ploughed €400m into the business.

But the group collapsed with hundreds of jobs losses and destroying the pensions of workers.

At the same time he lost control of the Independent Group to rival Denis O'Brien.


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Retired priest found guilty of assaulting boy

Friday 27 June 2014 16.33

A 70-year-old retired priest has been found guilty of an indecent assault on a young boy at a boarding school in Cork in 1979. 

Fr Tadhg Ó Dalaigh, with an address in Woodview, Mount Merrion Blackrock Co Dublin was found guilty by a unanimous decision. 

The jury of ten men and two women at Cork Circuit Criminal Court found him guilty of the sexual assault of the then 16-year-boy old while he was a teacher at Coláiste Chroí Naofa in Carrignavar, County Cork.

The court had been told Fr Ó Dalaigh assaulted the boy while he was in the sick bay at the boarding school between March and April 1979.

Fr Ó Dalaigh has been remanded on bail and will be sentenced on 31 October.

He will also be sentenced for indecently assaulting another student at the school on five separate occasions.

During the evidence to the court Fr Ó Dalaigh had said he had abused ten boys while he was a teacher at the school between 1969 and 1974 and also between 1977 and 1985.

However, he denied the boy in this particular case was one of them. 

He said he had given his superiors a list of the names of the boys he abused when he was confronted on the matter in the mid 90's.


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Case to go ahead against racehorse trainer

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 26 Juni 2014 | 22.40

Thursday 26 June 2014 15.59

A prosecution against racehorse trainer Philip Fenton for alleged possession of unlicensed animal remedies has been adjourned until September.

Cashel District Court heard the case can proceed as planned following a judge's rejection of legal submissions made by Mr Fenton's legal team.

Judge Terence Finn ruled the Minister for Agriculture is legally empowered to bring eight charges against Mr Fenton, of Garryduff, South Lodge, Carrick-on-Suir, to the district court, contrary to submissions made by his legal team last week.

The next issue to be considered by the court is whether or not it has jurisdiction to hear the case against Mr Fenton, which includes allegations that he had anabolic steroids at his training yard during a Department of Agriculture inspection in 2012.

Judge Finn said that matter will be considered by the court at a future date.

Charges against Mr Fenton include allegations that he was illegally in possession of Nitrotain, which contains the anabolic steroid ethylestranol and is reported to improve the muscle mass, strength and stamina of horses.

They also include the alleged possession of Ilium Stanabolic which contains the anabolic steroid stanozolol.

Four of the charges allege that Mr Fenton had possession of prescription-only medicines for horses, without having any vet's prescriptions for the medication, when the Department of Agriculture inspection took place on 18 January 2012.


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Jimmy Savile abuse victims aged five to 75

Thursday 26 June 2014 14.31

Jimmy Savile abused 60 people at Leeds General Infirmary, including at least 33 patients aged from five to 75, an independent investigation has found.

Savile also abused at least five individuals at high-security Broadmoor hospital, including two patients who were subjected to repeated assaults, a separate investigation discovered.

The chief executives of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and West London Mental Health NHS Trust, which covers Broadmoor, have apologised to victims.

In one of the most shocking disclosures, it was reported that Savile, who had publicly spoken of his fascination with the dead, had sexually abused bodies in the mortuary at Leeds, taking advantage of his role as a volunteer porter.

"The allegations about his behaviour in the mortuary are incredibly harrowing and disturbing," Sue Proctor, who led the investigation at Leeds, told reporters.

She said Savile, a one-time professional wrestler who became famous as a pioneering DJ in the 1960s, gave the account of his actions at the mortuary to a student nurse who worked at a different hospital.

"It was a quiet night and Savile was talking to this student nurse about what happened when it was quiet at Leeds general Infirmary and said that he went to the mortuary at night and played with the bodies, and committed sex acts on them," Ms Proctor said. 

Savile's victims at Leeds General Infirmary (LGI) ranged from five years old to pensioners and included men, women, boys and girls.

Investigators at the hospital found that staff were told about some of the incidents but no allegations reached senior managers.

The inquiry into his activities at LGI after he started his association in 1960 included the testimonies of 60 people who gave accounts of their experiences with Savile to investigators - 33 of these were patients.

Three of these incidents were rapes, the investigators said.

The Leeds team said 19 of those who came forward were under 16 years old.

They said the majority of victims were teenagers but 19 victims were hospital staff - all women.

The inquiry panel said that he started working on the hospital radio service and he then became a regular visitor to the hospital, as a celebrity, a fundraiser and, from 1968, a volunteer porter.

It said Savile enjoyed unrestricted access to the hospital as he raised £3.5m through his charity activities. This gave him the opportunities he needed to indulge in abusive and inappropriate contact with patients and staff.

He had access to keys to various departments, had a series of offices in the hospital and even had access to the mortuary, the panel said.

The independent investigation interviewed more than 200 people and reviewed more than 1,300 documents covering the 50 years Savile was associated with LGI, which is now run by the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

It found that the first case of abuse reported to the team happened in 1962 when Savile was 36. The most recent was in 2009 when he was 82.

The investigation panel found that incidents ranged from lewd remarks and inappropriate touching to sexual assault and rape.

Forty three of the encounters took place in public areas such as wards, corridors and offices.

The investigators found that nine victims told a member of staff about what happened either directly or through their parents at the time of the abuse. But they said none of these allegations were subsequently communicated to people in more senior positions.

Reporting their findings, the panel said: "It is clear from witness interviews that had senior managers at the hospital been made aware of Savile's abusive behaviour, they would have acted to stop it happening."

Chairwoman of the independent investigation Dr Sue Proctor said: "'Before saying anything about our findings, I want to commend the courage of those former patients, staff and visitors to Leeds General Infirmary who experienced abusive or inappropriate encounters with Savile.

"Because they came forward voluntarily and told us what happened to them, the NHS in Leeds and across the country now has an opportunity and an obligation to learn from their accounts and make sure that what happened in Leeds at the hands of Savile can never happen again.

"The NHS is in their debt and I am truly grateful to each of them."

Dr Proctor said: "For some, although the abuse took place decades ago, their experience endures as a painful and upsetting memory that still has an effect on them today."

Detectives have run an investigation into Savile in three strands - allegations involving Savile, those involving Savile and others, and those involving others.

A number of high-profile names have since been charged under the operation.

Further research by the NSPCC claimed at least 500 victims as young as two were abused by Savile.

The NSPCC report said the scale of Savile's offending inside Broadmoor was higher than previously thought, with Thames Valley Police having received 16 reports of abuse by him inside the special hospital.

It also describes how some awe-struck civil servants erroneously referred to the Top Of The Pops presenter as "doctor", unaware of the trauma he was inflicting on some youngsters behind hospital doors.

The figures show the most common age group for Savile's victims was 13 to 15.

In addition, fears that Savile abused children in more than 20 children's homes and schools across England are also being investigated.

Allegations dating back to the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s have been handed to the Department for Education following a review of documents by the Metropolitan Police.

UK Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has apologised on behalf of the government and the NHS for letting down victims.


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Syria carries out air strikes along Iraqi border

Thursday 26 June 2014 14.53

The Syrian air force carried out air strikes targeting militants along the Iraq-Syria border this week, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has told the BBC.

Mr Maliki said he "welcomed" any such strike against militants led by the jihadist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also known as ISIL.

However, he noted that Baghdad did not request the aerial raids which took place on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, insurgents have taken a town an hour from Baghdad that is home to four natural gas fields.

The overnight offensive included Mansouriyat al-Jabal, home to the gas fields where foreign companies operate, security forces said.

It is another gain by Sunni insurgents who have swiftly taken large areas to the north and west of the Iraqi capital.

The offensive, which has alarmed the international community, has left more than 1,000 people dead and has displaced hundreds of thousands.

Three months after elections, Iraq's presidency said a session of parliament would be held on 1 July, the first step to forming a new government.

Parliament will then have 30 days to name a president and 15 days after that to name a prime minister.

However, the process has been delayed in the past, taking nine months to seat the government in 2010.

Mr Maliki has dismissed the call of mainly Sunni political and religious figures, some with links to armed groups fighting Mr Maliki, for a "national salvation government" that would choose figures to lead the country and, in effect, bypass the election.

Iraq's Shia religious cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a foe of Mr Maliki's, called for all Iraqis to deplore the Sunni insurgency and rally behind the army but said that a new government was needed "with faces from all spectrums and away from sectarian quotas".

Head of the Mehdi Army, a Shia militia which fought US troops in Baghdad, Sadr vowed in a speech last night to "shake the ground under the feet of ignorance and radicalism just as we did under the feet of the occupier".

Northern Iraq's largest city Mosul fell to Sunni insurgents on 10 June and they took Tikrit city two days later.

Kurdish forces moved into Kirkuk on 11 June and now control the oil city.

Army air strikes hit south Mosul overnight, killing one and wounding six people.


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HIQA criticises children's disability centre

Thursday 26 June 2014 15.53

The first reports of inspections carried out on facilities for children with disabilities have been published by HIQA.

The most serious findings were made against a designated facility for children with disabilities in the south.

The centre was inspected in March of this year.

Four children were living at the centre at the time and each had a moderate to severe intellectual disability.

While inspectors found evidence of some good practice, the facility was found to be non-compliant in all seven areas inspected.

The report says measures to safeguard the children and protect them from abuse were not sufficiently comprehensive.

It says inspectors observed staff interacting with the children in a respectful manner, but says that there was no evidence of specific plans around the provision of personal and intimate care, or the monitoring of such care to ensure that children were safeguarded.

The report says the person in charge stated that formal processes to monitor and ensure safe care were under development.

The report says that one child in the care of the State, at the facility, had no statutory care plan. 

Every child is required to have a State plan, by law.

The report also says there was no emergency planning in place outlining the arrangements for responding to emergencies, for example in the event of an evacuation.

It found that there was little evidence of adequate procedures in place for preventing infection, for example hand washing facilities for staff, and not all staff had received training in infection control.

The report says there was no evidence of arrangements for investigating and learning from serious incidents involving children and record-keeping of incidents and accidents was described as poor.

It also found that there was not accurate record-keeping of pocket money and expenditure. 

A second designated facility for children in the South was also found to be moderately non-compliant in all areas inspected.

The inspection took place on 6 February.

It assessed areas such as health and safety, risk management as well as safeguarding and safety.

There were four residents in the facility on that date.

The report found that the risk management policy did not include measures and action in place to control the risk of unexpected absence of any of the children, accidental injury to residents, visitors or staff, aggression and violence or self-harm.

The health and safety statement was unsigned.

There were some exposed pipes in the garden which the report says children could fall over.

The emergency plan did not include a contingency plan for the total evacuation of children in the event of an emergency.

All staff had attended fire training.

Although smoke alarms were installed inspectors were concerned that there was no fire alarm.

It also found that furnishings and bedding were not fire retardant.

The report says the centre had recently been reviewed and a fire report was awaited.


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Suarez banned for four months for biting Chiellini

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Luis Suarez has been banned from 'all football related activities' for four months - and a total of nine Uruguay games - for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini.

Suarez will miss the remainder of Uruguay's World Cup campaign. He will also be absent for the first nine games of Liverpool's Premier League season, a League Cup tie and their first three Champions League group stage games.

Suarez has also been fined 100,000 Swiss francs, which equates to approzimately €82,000.

The incident between Chiellini and Suarez occurred with 10 minutes to play in Uruguay's 1-0 win over the Italians.

Video: Suarez incident


During the incident, Suarez was seen to move his head towards Chiellini's shoulder, before the Italian swung his arm towards the Uruguayan and both players then fell to the ground.

Chiellini ran towards the referee, attempting to show the official bite marks on his shoulder but no action was taken at the time. Pictures later appeared to show that Suarez had bitten the the Italian.

In a statement on Thursday, FIFA said that "such behaviour cannot be tolerated on any football pitch, and in particular not at a FIFA World Cup when the eyes of millions of people are on the stars on the field."

It is the third ban for biting of Suarez's career. He was suspended for seven games in 2010 for attacking PSV Eindhoven's Otman Bakkawhile while playing for Ajax in the Dutch league.

In April 2013 he bit Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic and received a 10-game ban from the FA.

Responding to the news of the sanctions, Liverpool issued a brief statement.

Liverpool chief executive officer Ian Ayre said: "Liverpool Football Club will wait until we have seen and had time to review the FIFA Disciplinary Committee report before making any further comment."

FIFA clarified that the administrative portion of the ban did not preclude Suarez transferring club, should this eventuality arise.

The FIFA statement said: "The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has reached a decision in the case related to Luis Suárez of Uruguay following an incident that occurred during the FIFA World Cup™ match between Italy and Uruguay played on 24 June 2014.

"The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided that: The player Luis Suárez is regarded as having breached art. 48 par. 1 lit. d of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC) (assault), and art. 57 of the FDC (an act of unsporting behaviour towards another player).

"The player Luis Suárez is to be suspended for nine (9) official matches.

"Such behaviour cannot be tolerated on any football pitch, and in particular not at a FIFA World Cup when the eyes of millions of people are on the stars on the field." - FIFA

"The first match of this suspension is to be served in the upcoming FIFA World Cup™ fixture between Colombia and Uruguay on 28 June 2014.

"The remaining match suspensions shall be served in Uruguay's next FIFA World Cup match(es), as long as the team qualifies, and/or in the representative team's subsequent official matches in accordance with art. 38 par. 2a) of the FDC.

"The player Luis Suárez is banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) for a period of four (4) months in accordance with art. 22 of the FDC.

"A stadium ban is pronounced against the player Luis Suárez in accordance with art. 21 of the FDC as follows: the player Luis Suárez is prohibited from entering the confines of any stadium during the period of the ban (point 3). The player Luis Suárez is prohibited from entering the confines of any stadium in which the representative team of Uruguay is playing while he has to serve the nine-match suspension (point 2).

"The player Luis Suárez is ordered to pay a fine in the amount of CHF 100,000.

"The decision was notified to the player and the Uruguayan FA today.

"Such behaviour cannot be tolerated on any football pitch, and in particular not at a FIFA World Cup when the eyes of millions of people are on the stars on the field.

"The Disciplinary Committee took into account all the factors of the case and the degree of Mr Suárez's guilt in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Code.

"'The decision comes into force as soon it is communicated,' said Claudio Sulser, chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee."


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Retrial ordered of Michael Campbell in Lithuania

Thursday 26 June 2014 16.11

Lithuania's Supreme Court has ordered the retrial of Michael Campbell, who was acquitted of plotting to smuggle arms from the Baltic state to the Real IRA.

Campbell was initially sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2011 for aiding a terrorist group and illegal possession of arms.

But an appeals court struck down the sentence in October last year, saying it could not rule out Campbell's claim that he was framed by British intelligence.

In the latest twist in the long-running case, a seven-judge panel that the appeals court gave a "contradictory" assessment of intelligence witnesses.

"The panel decided to annul the verdict of 2 October, 2013, and refer the case to an appeals court," judge Gintaras Goda said, reading the verdict.

Campbell, 41, lives in Ireland and did not come to Vilnius for verdict.

His lawyers and prosecutor did not appear either, and they could not be immediately reached for a comment.

"The court of appeals groundlessly downgraded part of evidence and by giving priority to testimony of the acquitted person," prosecutor Gedgaudas Norkunas told the court in a hearing last month.

Campbell's lawyer Ingrida Botyriene rejected the prosecutor's arguments, telling the court that "provoked activity cannot be recognised as criminal".

Campbell went on trial in August 2009 after having been arrested in a January 2008 sting in Vilnius, where he met a Lithuanian agent posing as an arms dealer.

He denied being a member of the Real IRA.

Campbell's brother Liam was one of four Real IRA leaders found liable by a civil court for a 1998 bombing in Omagh, Northern Ireland that killed 29 people.


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Trial hears woman was shot as she was a witness

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 25 Juni 2014 | 22.40

Wednesday 25 June 2014 16.18

The trial of a man charged with murdering teenager Marioara Rostas six years ago has heard he told a friend of his that Ms Rostas was shot because she was a witness.

Alan Wilson, of New Street Gardens in Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of the 18-year-old girl at a house on Brabazon Street, The Coombe in Dublin between 7 and 8 January 2008.

The jury was told that 35-year-old Mr Wilson ordered a friend of his to help him remove Ms Rostas' body from an upstairs bedroom and bury her in a shallow grave in a forest in the Dublin/Wicklow mountains.

The court was also told that Mr Wilson ordered his friend Fergus O'Hanlon to clean the murder scene with bleach and ammonia.

Senior Counsel Sean Gillane also said that Mr O'Hanlon will testify that Mr Wilson warned him not to return to the place where Ms Rostas was buried and told him "you never saw what you saw".

The Central Criminal Court heard today that Ms Rostas was begging with her family in Dublin city centre on 6 January 2008 when a man in a Ford Mondeo car beckoned to her, mentioned McDonald's, gave her brother €10 and drove away with her.

Her family never saw her alive again.

Mr Wilson admitted through his counsel today that his car was a Mondeo, but denied he was driving it at the time.

The prosecution alleges that Ms Rostas was shot four times in the head at a house in Brabazon Street where Mr Wilson's sister Maxine lived with his friend Mr O'Hanlon.

The court heard that Mr O'Hanlon saw Mr Wilson coming down the stairs holding a firearm, that Mr Wilson told him he wanted to show him something, brought him upstairs, showed him a corpse and told him "she was a witness".

Senior Counsel Mr Gillane said Mr O'Hanlon will give evidence that Mr Wilson told him to take off Ms Rostas's shoes and clothes. A pillow was put over her head, her legs were tied with a sheet, she was rolled in plastic and her remains were placed in a large bag, which Mr Wilson carried to the boot of a Mondeo car.

The court was also told that Mr O'Hanlon will also testify that the two men drove to the Dublin Mountains and that he carried a shovel while Mr Wilson carried Ms Rostas's remains up a steep incline.

The jury heard that Mr Wilson appeared to be looking for a grave that had already been dug, but when he could not find it, they buried MS Rostas in the shallow grave - in which she was found four years later.

The jury was also told that Mr Wilson told Mr O'Hanlon to clean the room at Brabazon Street and he did so for a number of days - supervised by Mr Wilson - and that Mr Wilson also warned him never to return to the Dublin/Wicklow mountains where Ms Rostas was buried and told him: "You never saw what you saw".

Almost four years later the court heard Mr O'Hanlon told the gardaí he had information about the case and was prepared to help in the search. He subsequently identified locations in the mountains.

The trial is expected to last three to four weeks.


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Bausch + Lomb to invest in Waterford plant

Wednesday 25 June 2014 13.15

Eye-care multinational company Bausch + Lomb has announced plans to invest what is believed to be nearly €6m in upgraded production systems in its Waterford facility.

The announcement follows last week's agreement with its employees on a cost reduction plan.

The plan will see 200 of the 1,100 staff taking a redundancy package, and pay cuts of around 12% for the remaining staff.

Bausch + Lomb's Vice President of Manufacturing Angelo Conti met unions and management at the plant today to outline the investment and to discuss the future of the plant.

The investment, which will be supported by IDA capital grants, will be used to upgrade packing and inspection systems.

"The cost-reduction agreement provides us with the opportunity to invest in the Waterford facility and better positions this facility to compete overall and develop into the future," Mr Conti said.

"With upgraded systems and an appropriately aligned cost structure in place, we will be able to turn our attention to regaining a leading market share position in contact lens and continuing the strong heritage of the Bausch + Lomb brand."


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90-year-old woman raped in England

Wednesday 25 June 2014 15.27

A 90-year-old woman was dragged off the street and raped in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, as she walked to a local shop yesterday.

The victim felt a hand go over her mouth and she was hauled backwards in Spotland Road at about 6.45am yesterday, police said.

Greater Manchester Police want to hear from anyone who may have seen the victim, and potentially the offender.

The pensioner is white and wore a white summer dress with a flower print and a cardigan.

Due to the nature of the attack, the only description of the offender is that he was white.

Superintendent Alistair Mallen said: "I am sure the entire community will share our revulsion at this.

"The victim has been through an horrific ordeal and we are all hoping she can make a full recovery. She is now being supported by experienced officers and we are doing everything possible to reassure her that we will catch the man responsible.

"This kind of attack is thankfully so rare that it will naturally cause a huge amount of concern in the community.

"I now want people, including the criminal fraternity, to imagine if that had been your mum or grandma. I want to harness these feelings and use them to help the police do their job - catch this man and put him before the courts."


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Judge criticises Cameron over Coulson comments

Wednesday 25 June 2014 15.28

The judge in the phone-hacking trial has criticised British Prime Minister David Cameron for not waiting until all verdicts were in before commenting on Andy Coulson, his former media chief who is facing jail.

A jury at London's Old Bailey court found Coulson guilty of conspiring to intercept messages to break news about royalty, celebrities and victims of crime.

Coulson ran Mr Cameron's media operations from 2007-2011.

Less than two hours after the verdict yesterday, Mr Cameron issued what he called a "full and frank" apology, saying he had taken Coulson's assurances of innocence at the time at face value, something he now realised was a mistake.

The jury was however still deliberating on two further charges on Coulson.

"I asked for an explanation from the Prime Minister as to why he had issued his statement while the jury were still considering verdicts" the judge, John Saunders, said in court.

"My sole concern is to ensure that justice is done. Politicians have other imperatives and I understand that. Whether the political imperative was such that statements could not await all the verdicts, I leave to others to judge."

The jury was discharged after failing to reach agreement on whether Coulson was guilty of authorising illegal payments.

Coulson's lawyer, Timothy Langdale, said Mr Cameron's intervention was extraordinarily ill advised.

"This is an extraordinary situation where the ill advised, premature intervention by the prime minister and others to avoid political damage or to make political capital is impossible for the jury to ignore. It strikes at the heart of justice." 

The hacking trial jury has been discharged after failing to reach verdicts on two charges against Coulson and ex NotW royal editor Clive Goodman.

A decision on whether there will be a re-trial will be made on Monday.

Jurors have now been discharged, not because of prejudicial comments but because they failed to reach verdicts on the final charges after nine days deliberation.

A jury of eight women and three men yesterday cleared ex-News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks of all charges.

Ms Brooks was accused of being complicit in journalists' hacking phones to find exclusive stories for Rupert Murdoch's now defunct News of the World, a paper she edited from 2000 to 2003.

Retired managing editor Stuart Kuttner was also cleared of being part of a conspiracy dating back to 2000 and spanning six years.

Ms Brooks's former personal assistant Cheryl Carter was cleared of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Ms Brooks's husband Charlie and News International's director of security Mark Hanna were also cleared of perverting the course of justice.


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Airborne device crashes at Wheatfield Prison

Wednesday 25 June 2014 16.12

An investigation is under way after an airborne remote controlled device which is believed to have contained drugs crashed at Wheatfield prison.

It is understood the device got caught in anti-helicopter wire on the perimeter of the prison, causing it to crash in a prison yard at around 11am yesterday morning.

The Irish Prison Service has confirmed that a number of prisoners will face disciplinary procedures following the incident.

The device is believed to have contained drugs, which was removed by a number of prisoners.

It is understood some of this material was ingested and these prisoners have now been isolated.

They are under observation and gardaí have removed the airborne device for examination.


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Inquiry cannot discuss bank guarantee meeting

Wednesday 25 June 2014 16.31

The banking inquiry has been told that, on legal advice, it will not be able to discuss the Cabinet meeting during which the bank guarantee was discussed due to Cabinet confidentiality.

However, members were told by a senior counsel that documents should be available to them.

A draft budget of around €5.3m has been proposed for the inquiry.

It is understood that €3.7m may relate directly to this inquiry of which €2.9m would be spent on staff.

€1.6m may be spent on improving facilities that can be used by the Oireachtas generally and by future inquiries.

It is understood that this will relate to information and communications technology and also accommodation.

It is also understood that €200,000 would be assigned for a senior and junior counsel.

However, no provision has been made for defending legal actions.

A revised timetable was presented to members today.

It suggests that oral hearings could begin in January and not May or June of next year. This is still being discussed.

In relation to the period that the inquiry will look at, it is understood that members are going to make submissions on the issue to the committee clerk and Oireachtas officials will come up with a draft scoping document.

Members will then sign off on the final timeline.

The committee agreed to aim to have an inquiry plan ready by September when the Dáil returns and a final report in November 2015.

The banking inquiry committee is to set up a group of technical experts to help it prepare terms of reference.

There was controversy recently over the make-up of the banking inquiry and in particular the Government's majority on it.

Independent TD Stephen Donnelly resigned from the inquiry after the Government added Fine Gael Senator Michael D'Arcy and Labour Senator Susan O'Keeffe to the committee.


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Brian Crowley loses Fianna Fáil whip

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 24 Juni 2014 | 22.40

Tuesday 24 June 2014 15.13

Fianna Fáil has agreed that Brian Crowley, the party's sole MEP, has lost the party whip as a result of his decision to defect to a right-wing group in Europe.

It is understood the party adopted the position without a vote on the urging of leader Micheál Martin.

A statement after a party meeting today said that as a direct consequence of what it described as Mr Crowley's unilateral decision to join the European Conservatives and Reformists, Mr Crowley had removed himself from the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party.

The statement also insisted that the principles of the group were incompatible with Fianna Fáil.

It said it was not in the interest of the party or its members to have any association with the ECR.

Mr Martin earlier said Mr Crowley, the party's only MEP, effectively removed himself from the parliamentary party by joining the right-wing group in the European Parliament.

Mr Martin told the parliamentary party meeting that the ECR's values ran counter to those of Fianna Fáil.

He said Mr Crowley's actions played into the hands of the party's opponents.

He said he had learned of Mr Crowley's decision on Sunday night and had told him it was "totally unacceptable". 

It is understood Mr Martin was backed at the meeting by TDs Timmy Dooley, Charlie McConalogue, Willie O'Dea and Colm Keaveney, as well as Niall Collins, with Barry Cowen insisting the MEP had "crossed a Rubicon" by his actions.

Chief whip Seán Ó Fearghaíl described the ECR as a "crowd of headbangers" and warned that they would make Fianna Fáil the laughing stock of Europe.

But it is also understood that TDs Éamon Ó Cuív, Michael McGrath and John Browne and Senator Mark Daly told the meeting that as Mr Crowley is in hospital at the moment he should be given the opportunity to address his colleagues before any action is taken against him.

Earlier Mr Ó Fearghaíl said his party was "reeling and indeed bewildered" by Mr Crowley's decision to leave the liberal group in the European Parliament and join the ECR.

In a joint statement yesterday with Fianna Fáil chairman Brendan Smith, Mr Ó Fearghaíl described Mr Crowley's move from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe as "unacceptable".

They said Mr Crowley had contested last month's election under the banner of the liberal group to which Fianna Fáil had been affiliated since 2009.

Mr Ó Fearghaíl told RTÉ's Morning Ireland the parliamentary party will consider this "extraordinary development" and it will decide how to deal with Mr Crowley's decision.

Mr Crowley was elected as a Fianna Fáil MEP running under the ALDE banner six weeks ago and he has now made a "unilateral" decision to transfer to a grouping in Europe with which Fianna Fáil has "absolutely nothing in common", Mr Ó Fearghaíl said.

"Brian, unfortunately, had no discussion with the parliamentary party and there were no discussions about this particular unilateral action by him at national Executive level either", he said.

The chief whip said Mr Martin had discussions with Mr Crowley a few weeks ago about the issue of staffing.

He said this was not about staff working for Mr Crowley himself, but about Irish staff working for the ALDE group, and the issue was resolved, according to Mr Ó Fearghaíl.

Mr Crowley's decision came "completely out of the blue" and has taken the party by surprise.

There appears to be a "lack of logic in all of this", he said.

Meanwhile, Fine Gael's Mairead McGuinness, MEP for the Midlands-NorthWest constituency, said Mr Crowley's decision has "raised a few eyebrows" in the European Parliament.

Also speaking on Morning Ireland, she said there was speculation that Mr Crowley was "looking around for a new home" but, she said, she did not think that many people believed he would make this "not insignificant political jump" into the ECR group.

Politically, there are "huge questions" about Mr Crowley's decision to leave the group and go to the ECR and there are "political questions to be answered", Ms McGuinness said.

The ECR group is now likely to be the third largest group in the parliament and Mr Crowley will help strengthen its numbers and weaken the ALDE group, which Ms McGuinness said, Fianna Fáil will continue to be aligned to.

Ms McGuinness said she is not aware of any discussion of Mr Crowley joining the European People's Party.

Any talk of Fianna Fáil joining that group is "pure speculation", she said.

The European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science has said she is disappointed by Mr Crowley's decision to leave the liberal grouping.

Speaking to RTÉ News at the Euroscience Open Forum in Copenhagen, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn said Mr Crowley is a good friend with whom she had worked closely when she was minister for justice.

But she said Fianna Fáil is a member of the ALDE group in the European Parliament, and that is where she wants to see it stay.

As a result she said Mr Crowley's decision was "disappointing".


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Former US attorney in court on pornography charges

Tuesday 24 June 2014 15.24

A former US attorney has appeared before Carrick on Shannon District Court on charges of possessing images of child pornography in Sligo.

Detective Julie Coyne gave evidence of arresting Gerard Gilligan, who has an address in New Jersey.

He is accused of possessing 646 images of child pornography on 1 March 2009 in a house at Union Place in Sligo.

Det Coyne told Judge Kevin Kilrane that at 6.15pm on Monday, Mr Gilligan was handed over to her custody in New York by members of the US Marshall Service.

She said she formally arrested Mr Gilligan at Dublin Airport at 7.14am this morning.

Det Coyne told the court that she cautioned Mr Gilligan and he replied: "I just didn't know about it."

She sought a remand in custody to Sligo District Court on Thursday for service of the book of evidence.

Defence solicitor Laura Spellman said she was not making an immediate application for bail but "possibly" would be on Thursday.

Judge Kilrane formally remanded Mr Gilligan in custody to appear before Sligo District Court on Thursday.


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Two jailed over fatal stabbing of German student

Tuesday 24 June 2014 15.02

A young man and a teenage boy have been jailed for their roles in a knife attack on two German students in Dublin a year-and-a-half ago during which one of the students died.

Wesley Kelly, 20, of St Anthony's Road in Rialto pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of German student Thomas Heinrich, while the 17-year-old was convicted of murder.

Mr Heinrich and fellow German student Robert Rinker were stabbed on St Anthony's Road on 1 December 2012.

Mr Rinker survived but Mr Heinrich, who was 22, died.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted of Mr Heinrich's murder and of assault causing harm to Mr Rinker.

Kelly was convicted of assault causing harm to Mr Rinker but the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the murder charge.

Mr Justice Barry White sentenced the 17-year-old to nine years detention for the murder with the final two years suspended.

He sentenced Kelly to eight years in prison for manslaughter with the final year-and-a-half suspended.

In a victim impact statement read to the Central Criminal Court today, Mr Heinrich's parents said their lives have been shattered.

They said "we have been overwhelmed with feelings of sadness and anger over the sudden death of our son".

"This brutal attack means we'll never celebrate his graduation, his wedding or hold his children in our arms."

In the statement they said they were shocked to discover the ages of those involved and were appalled to hear of the prevalent use of knives in the area.

They said "nothing that can be said or done can bring him back".

They have sold their family home because it is too painful to live there.

His family has set up a foundation called The Thomas Heinrich Scholarship, which works between Griffith College in Dublin and a college in Germany giving an annual bursary for a foreign exchange programme.


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Coulson found guilty of hacking, Brooks cleared

Tuesday 24 June 2014 16.10

Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson has been found guilty of conspiring to hack phones with others between 2000 and 2006.

Coulson, who was forced to resign as British Prime Minister David Cameron's director of communications over the scandal, now faces the possibility of jail.

The jury of eight women and three men cleared ex-News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks of all charges.

Ms Brooks was accused of being complicit in journalists' hacking phones to find exclusive stories for Rupert Murdoch's now defunct News of the World, a paper she edited from 2000 to 2003.

Retired managing editor Stuart Kuttner was also cleared of being part of a conspiracy dating back to 2000 and spanning six years.

Ms Brooks's former personal assistant Cheryl Carter was cleared of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Ms Brooks's husband Charlie and News International's director of security Mark Hanna were also cleared of perverting the course of justice.

But the jury, which has been considering verdicts since Wednesday 11 June, is still considering further charges against Coulson and former NotW royal editor Clive Goodman of conspiring to commit misconduct in a public office by paying police officers for two royal directories.


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Kerry holds talks with Kurdish leaders

Tuesday 24 June 2014 16.33

US Secretary of State John Kerry has held crisis talks with leaders of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.

He urged them to stand with Baghdad in the face of a Sunni insurgent onslaught that threatens to dismember the country.

Security forces fought Sunni armed factions for control of the country's biggest oil refinery today and militants launched an attack on one of its largest air bases less than 100km from the capital.

More than 1,000 people, mainly civilians, have been killed in less than three weeks, the United Nations has said.

It described the figure as "very much a minimum".

The number includes unarmed government troops machine-gunned in mass graves by insurgents, as well as several reported incidents of prisoners killed in their cells by retreating government forces.

Mr Kerry flew to the Kurdish region after a day in Baghdad on an emergency trip through the Middle East to rescue Iraq after a lightning advance by Sunni fighters led by an al-Qaeda offshoot.

The militants are members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which is also known as ISIL.

US officials believe that persuading the Kurds to stick with the political process in Baghdad is vital to keep Iraq from splitting apart.

"If they decide to withdraw from the Baghdad political process it will accelerate a lot of the negative trends," said a senior State Department official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

Kurdish leaders have made clear that the settlement keeping Iraq together as a state is now in jeopardy.

"We are facing a new reality and a new Iraq," Kurdish President Massoud Barzani said at the start of his meeting with Mr Kerry.

Earlier, he blamed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's "wrong policies" for the violence and called for him to quit, saying it was "very difficult" to imagine Iraq staying together.

The Kurds have ruled themselves within Iraq in relative peace since the US invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

However, they seized on this month's chaos to expand their own territory, taking control of rich oil deposits.

Two days after the Sunni fighters launched their uprising by seizing the north's biggest city Mosul, Kurdish troops took full control of Kirkuk.

Kirkuk is a city they consider their historic capital and which was abandoned by the fleeing Iraqi army.

The Kurds' capture of Kirkuk eliminates their main incentive to remain part of Iraq: its oil deposits could generate more revenue than the Kurds now receive from Baghdad as part of the settlement that has kept them from declaring independence.

Some senior Kurdish officials suggest in private they are no longer committed to Iraq and are biding their time for an opportunity to seek independence.


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SVP calls for increased social welfare payments

Tuesday 24 June 2014 16.36

The Society of St Vincent de Paul has called on the Government to increase social welfare payments by at least 3.25%.

Ireland's largest charity said a rise is needed to reflect the increase in the cost of a minimum essential standard of living over the past five years.

Presenting its pre-budget submission, the charity said it is spending €80m a year on people in need, which is an increase of more than half since 2008. 

Helping households to meet fuel and energy bills costs the society €11m a year, an increase of almost 200% since the onset of the recession.

The charity said a sister organisation has calculated that the average cost of a minimum essential standard of living has increased by 3.25% in the past five years. 

It said that this is much faster than the general inflation rate.

The organisation called on the Government to increase social welfare and related payments to meet that increase.


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Sudanese woman sentenced to death is released

Written By Unknown on Senin, 23 Juni 2014 | 22.40

Monday 23 June 2014 15.38

A Sudanese court has ordered the release of a 27-year-old woman who was sentenced to death last month for converting from Islam to Christianity, the state news agency said.

The case of Mariam Yahya Ibrahim, who is married to a Christian American, triggered an international outcry.

Ms Ibrahim was also sentenced to 100 lashes for what the court deemed her adultery for marrying a Christian.

She gave birth in prison to a daughter, her second child by her husband Daniel Wani.

Ms Ibrahim's lawyer Mohaned Mostafa said she has already been released and sent "to an unknown house to stay at for her protection and security."

"Her family had been threatened before and we are worried that someone might try to harm her," Mr Mostafa told Reuters.

"The appeal court ordered the release of Mariam Yahya and the cancellation of the (previous) court ruling," Sudan's SUNA news agency said.


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State will not pay Seán FitzPatrick's legal costs

Monday 23 June 2014 16.30

The Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has ruled that the State should not have to pay the legal costs for former Anglo Irish Bank chairman Seán FitzPatrick following his acquittal on charges of giving illegal loans.

Judge Martin Nolan found there was no fault to be found in how the State conducted the case and therefore Mr FitzPatrick is not entitled to be awarded costs despite his acquittal.

Judge Nolan said the DPP had conducted the case in a "principled, fair and reasonable manner" and he could not lay any fault in the way the DPP dealt with the prosecution or conducted the trial.

He said it was his view that before he could levy costs against any entity some fault must be shown in relation to the discharge of their function and he could not see that in this case.

There was no unreasonableness or unfairness and therefore Mr FitzPatrick's application for costs must fail, even though to a layman that may seem unfair that a man acquitted should be responsible for his costs.

Mr FitzPatrick was acquitted in April of giving illegal loans to 16 people to buy shares in the bank after a trial lasting more than ten weeks.

At a previous hearing Mr FitzPatrick's lawyers asked the court to award him his costs, asking where would the justice be if he was to leave court with his pockets bulging with an enormous legal bill.

They said Mr FitzPatrick had cooperated with gardaí and had been vindicated by the jury. Lawyers also said the prosecution case against him had been "thin".

The prosecution had opposed the application and rejected claims that the case against the former Anglo chairman had been thin.

They said it was questionable that Mr FitzPatrick himself was even liable for any costs as an undischarged bankrupt.

Judge Nolan said the starting point in deciding on costs had to be Mr FitzPatrick's acquittal but, unlike ordinary civil cases, there was no automatic right to costs in relation to a successful outcome for an accused person.

The judge said that in considering the application for costs case law directed that he had to examine four issues.

He had to consider if the prosecution was entitled to take the case and he believed it was.

He had to consider whether or not the prosecution had conducted itself unfairly or improperly and he did not believe it had.

He also had to consider the outcome of the case, which he said was obvious.

He also had to consider how the defendant had met the proceedings and he believed Mr FitzPatrick had met the case and had conducted himself properly.

He said, however, that the DPP was a public official and its functions and office were set up by statute so substantially the question was how did the DPP conduct herself and was she right to bring the prosecution and was it conducted in an appropriate way.

On the evidence before him, he found the DPP was right to bring the case and had conducted the prosecution and the case in a principled, fair and reasonable manner and he could not lay any fault.


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