Plan to penalise firms backing big tobacco queried

Former attorney general Michael McDowell believes it would be unlawful for the Government to seek to impose blanket bans on legal firms who act for big tobacco tendering for legal services advertised by the State.

Last week, Minister for Children James Reilly said he is seeking legal advice on whether he can block certain legal firms from taking on work with his department.

The legal firms in question represent tobacco companies, which have threatened to sue the State if the Government continues with its legislative plan to introduce plain packaging on cigarettes sold in Ireland.

Mr McDowell said some recent media commentary suggested the Government effectively wanted to have nothing to do with legal firms acting for big tobacco.

Speaking on RTÉ's This Week, the former tánaiste said: "I don't think that would be lawful. I don't think that would be a reasonable condition for most tenders in relation to most legal services."

Mr McDowell, who is a barrister as well as a former minister for justice, cited the example of a firm of solicitors working for the State on a case around removing a child from its parents into State care.

He said this would have no connection with which side the same law firm may have acted for in relation to plain packaging for cigarettes.

He added that if there was an area of legal services that related to the direct consumption of tobacco, then there were potential conflict of interest questions for solicitors if they were also seeking State work around the implementation of preventative health programmes.

There has been considerable controversy around the subject since it emerged that law firm Arthur Cox, which works for the HSE, was also representing Japan Imperial Tobacco in its threatened legal action against the State in relation to plain packaging of cigarettes.

The same firm also acts for the recently established child and family support agency, Tusla, in Mr Reilly's department.

Mr McDowell said the Government could not say to firms of solicitors that if they have anything to do with a particular form of litigation, they would be "blacked" from certain forms of work if there was not a rational and defensible legal basis for doing so.

He said he was sure the current Attorney General would advise ministers on how far can they can go down the road of potentially excluding legal firms who act for big tobacco from accessing Government work.

Mr McDowell said that personally he had a good deal of sympathy with Mr Reilly's position on plain packaging. 

He said he thought the perception that the Government was being threatened not to proceed with its legislative programme on plain packaging of tobacco had annoyed some ministers.

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Nationwide snow and ice warning issued

Met Éireann has issued a nationwide snow and ice warning, while gardaí have asked road users to exercise care.

Met Éireann's status yellow warning cautions that a cold air mass from Canada will bring snow showers over the next few days.

The agency warns that in the west and north snow will accumulate over hills, with several centimetres of snow also likely at low levels.

It says slight accumulations are possible elsewhere, along with icy patches.

Share your weather images via yourphotos@rte.ie

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Labour backs motion rejecting IAG's Aer Lingus bid

The Labour Party has overwhelmingly passed a motion calling on the Government to reject a bid by the International Airlines Group for shares in Aer Lingus if concerns about the sale are not addressed. 

The motion was passed at the party's national convention, as its members want guarantees on the future of Aer Lingus before any sale of State shares in the airline can take place.

The motion, which was signed by eight TDs, expresses concern that a bid by the International Airlines Group to buy the State's share in the airline does not reflect the true value of Aer Lingus.

It calls for an independent valuation of the company's assets and its slots at London's Heathrow Airport.

The motion also looks for a commitment to prevent the outsourcing of jobs and compulsory redundancies at the airline, and it looks for guarantees on connectivity and Heathrow slots.

It also calls for a plan for Cork and Shannon airports, taking into account their impact on their individual regions.

Proposing the motion, Dublin North TD Brendan Ryan said the objection to the current deal was "not out of political self interest, but because it is a bad deal".

Mr Ryan added: "We have not heard any valid reason for example why IAG cannot purchase the other 75% of the company and work with the Irish State".

"We will not risk the future of the airline and its workers," he added.

Dublin Central TD Joe Costello seconded the motion saying Aer Lingus "had a fine past and a great future".

"All the heavy hitters are out, from all quarters, seeking to rubbish any objection to the sale as parish pump politics," said Mr Costello.

"We have to put down a very strong marker. We have to use our leverage of the 25.1% in relation to the Heathrow slots.

"We have to ensure air connectivity. We have to ensure the national interest is protected. We have to ensure the livelihoods of all the employees and the tens of thousands of people who are working in tourism and the international investment that has come abroad in to this country," added Mr Costello.

Before the motion was passed, Minister for Rural Affairs Ann Phelan said she commended the motion and she re-iterated the serious concerns in the motion by reading them out.

Last night, during her first party conference address as Labour Party leader, Tánaiste Joan Burton said a key plank of her party's platform for the next election is to give every child two years of free pre-school.

She also promised to increase the minimum wage if it is approved by the low-pay commission this summer.

The Labour conference, which is being held in Killarney, Co Kerry, will finish with a debate on "Marriage Equality" this afternoon. 

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No extra funds to administer water grant

The Government will not be providing any extra resources to cover the administrative cost of the controversial €100 Water Conservation Grant, despite an insistence from Tánaiste Joan Burton's department that it could not perform the extra work from existing funds.

Speaking on RTÉ's This Week, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin said the Department of Social Protection would have to cover the cost from "within the confines of the administrative budget they already have".

He said that it was the Government's expectation in this case that the department's staff would have to do more work without getting any extra funding.

It follows the revelation by RTÉ last month of documents showing that the administration of the conservation grant would lead to additional costs, including consultancy, legal and procurement costs, on top of the €100 pay out.

The revelation was contained in a letter from the Secretary General of Tánaiste Burton's department.

It said she needed the extra resources, which includes the cost of extra staff, to oversee and manage the payment of the new grant.

The letter was written in November by Niamh O'Donoghue, Secretary General at the Department of Social Protection, to her counterpart Robert Watt, at Minister's Howlin's Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

She warned that in light of the Government's revised approach to water charges, her department will require additional resources for the Water Conservation Grant (WGC).

Ms O'Donoghue said delivery of the grant "imposes an additional burden on the department" and, "resourcing the processing/payment of WCG applications in 2015 and beyond needs to be addressed and cannot be accommodated from within the existing resource/admin budget allocation".

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Witnesses' homes 'bugged' without authorisation

Two former gardaí have told the Fennelly Commission they witnessed the unauthorised bugging of witnesses' homes and at other sites as far back as 1992, RTÉ's This Week has learned.

Garda Commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan has also forwarded the men's claims to the Garda Síochóna Ombudsman Commission, which investigates alleged wrongdoing in the force.

The two men, one of whom is a former garda and the other a former sergeant, were based in Cork, where they claim they encountered the alleged bugging while investigating a murder case.

They claim that in the course of investigating a murder case, a woman's home was covertly bugged in order to listen to conversations she had with her father, who was a suspect in the crime.

Another listening device was later placed in a garda station without approval, in order to listen to a conversation between the suspect and a visitor, according to the allegation.

The sergeant has claimed that he saw senior gardaí testing the quality of the recording in a sound test.

He also said he witnessed the recordings being collated by an unidentified garda in a van, but he was unable to identify who was conducting the recording.

However, it is understood that Mr Justice Nial Fennelly has written to both men in recent weeks, telling them that, under the inquiry's terms of reference, the commission cannot consider any allegations which do not specifically relate to the taping of phones at garda stations.

The identity of both former gardaí is known to RTÉ, and sources close to them have confirmed that they have recently made submissions to both Mr Justice Fennelly and to the Garda Commissioner, outlining their concerns over the unauthorised bugging.

A spokesperson for the Fennelly Commission told This Week that it could not make any comment "in relation to any submissions received or any responses given as we are bound to treat such issues in confidence".

Senior garda sources confirmed that the Garda Commissioner had received details of the allegations from both former gardaí and that she had forwarded them to GSOC, which may now consider whether the information merits investigation.

Both men previously made an unsuccessful attempt to have their concerns investigated by the Morris Tribunal, and they gave a series of statements to that inquiry in private in 2007.

However, their claims were never examined after Mr Justice Frederick Morris decided that they should not be called to give evidence.

Mr Justice Morris said their allegations were not relevant to the Donegal inquiry.

The first retired garda, known to the Morris Tribunal as JMG, was involved in the murder inquiry.

He claimed that a now deceased Garda Superintendent had told him that a female third party related to the suspect had been bugged without any official authorisation, in a bid to glean information on the suspect. 

The second retired garda, a former sergeant, known to the Morris Tribunal as TM, was also involved in the same murder investigation.

He also told the Morris inquiry that he was aware of the bugging.

He said that this occurred both in the house of the third party and also in an interview room of a station where the suspect was briefly taken into custody in late 1992.

Both men made official complaints in 2001, some years after the alleged unauthorised bugging.

An internal inquiry was launched by Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne which concluded in 2003.

That internal inquiry concluded with no adverse findings made against any members of the force.

Both men were understood to have believed that the internal inquiry was inadequate.

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Thousands of pensioners charged too much tax

Revenue has apologised after confirming thousands of pensioners were taxed incorrectly this month.

The error meant over 5,000 pensioners paid too much tax after Revenue applied the wrong tax credits and rate bands to some pensions.

The mistake affected people with an occupational pension along with the State PRSI weekly pension.

It occurred following the upload of Department of Social Protection pension information to Revenue's records.

In a statement, Revenue said the errors meant "some taxpayers have had more tax deducted from their occupational pension or salary in February than should have been the case".

"We regret any inconvenience or upset caused to individual taxpayers as a result of this error."

The story was first reported in today's Irish Independent.

Revenue added that the problem will be resolved in the next pension or salary payment made by the pension provider or employer.

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O'Sullivan plans JC reforms without further talks

Minister for Education Jan O'Sullivan has said she intends to proceed with implementation of Junior Cycle reform, on the basis outlined in a document by Dr Pauric Travers.

Dr Travers, a former president of St Patrick's Training College, Drumcondra, has chaired discussions between teachers' unions and the Department of Education on the reform proposals.

In a joint statement issued after talks last night, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland and the Teachers' Union of Ireland said Dr Travers' proposals did not represent a comprehensive resolution, but rather a basis for further negotiations.

Responding to that statement, the minister said that she deeply regretted their failure to accept what was a fair and reasonable compromise.

She said Dr Travers had requested that both parties would either accept or reject his proposals as a basis for agreement, not as a starting point for negotiation.

She also criticised the unions for failing to suspend the threat of further industrial action.

The unions have said they decided not to proceed with another strike at this time, but will keep industrial action under review.

The dispute has already resulted in teachers staging two strikes, on 2 December last year and on 22 January.

Ms O'Sullivan said the fact that both unions had failed to accept the compromise proposals without balloting their wider membership, on what was significantly different proposal, was a matter of concern.

The statement said one group could not have a veto on the reforms, and that the minister was open to the unions revising their decision.

On Monday officials from the department will meet other education partners, including students, parent representatives and management bodies, all of whom are positive towards the Travers proposals, to update them on the minister's implementation plans.

ASTI General Secretary Pat King described Ms O'Sullivan's response as disappointing.

He said Dr Travers' document represents a good basis for further intense negotiations.

He said the ASTI does not understand why the minister and her colleagues in the department are not willing to engage further in negotiations.

Mr King said they want to make it very clear, and he said that Dr Travers made it very clear, that this dispute will not be solved without the teachers.

He said Dr Travers made it clear that you cannot introduce a new programme without the engagement and the involvement of the practitioners.

Mr King said they took the decision not to take a third day of strike action, even though they have a mandate for it, in the interest of students.

He said the minister's decision to move on and implement Dr Travers' document is most unwise.

Mr King said he will be writing to the department on Monday morning saying the ASTI wants to continue the discussion.

He said Dr Travers' document is the basis for further discussions, and the union wants to move on from there. He said the department must engage with unions on this.

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Kelly says Government will tackle rising rents

The Government will tackle rising rents with regulations and legislation, and by entering the rental market, Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly said today.

Mr Kelly's comments came at the Labour national convention in Killarney, Co Kerry as he told delegates rent is the "single biggest issue" in his portfolio.

He committed to entering the rental market to bring about rent certainty. 

He said some rent increases by landlords are "absolutely scandalous" and need to be brought to an end.

"We have a situation, in some cases, landlords feel they can get away with increases in rent that are absolutely scandalous and we need to bring an end to that," Mr Kelly said.

"We need to bring about certainty through various different regulations and legislation - if necessary," he said.

"I'm committing here, that I am intent on entering the market to change this," he added.

"It has to be done and the methodologies of how we are going to do it are going to be brought before Government. And, I say here, we will do everything we can to bring about rent certainty while supply is going to be built up in the future," Mr Kelly added.

He said earlier that NAMA should not always sell to the highest bidder and a proportion of its land needs to be set aside for projects to ensure the delivery of affordable housing in the future.

Mr Kelly made his remarks as he addressed the Labour Party Conference in Killarney, Co Kerry this morning.

He said there is an issue with housing and co-operation is needed from NAMA.

"We don't need NAMA to be always selling to the highest bidder.

"There needs to be a social dividend for the people and that social dividend is the following: is that a certain proportion, not all, a certain proportion of lands are put aside for various different projects in whatever capacity we can deliver to ensure we have affordable housing in the future," Mr Kelly said.

A number of motions on rent regulation were passed at the conference this morning.

The motions included calls for the introduction of emergency legislation to freeze rents within the private rental sector for a two-year period.

Another motion called on the Labour Party to introduce legislation for the regulation of private rented accommodation while it is in Government.

It sought to provide security for tenants and to recognise the problem of families being made homeless through unaffordable rents.

Another motion calling on the Government to institute an effective form of rent control to deal with the rising numbers of people becoming homeless was referred back to party's national council. 

It said rental controls should be similar to those in North America and Europe where rent increases are capped at around 16% in any three-year period.

A motion proposing a referendum be held to ensure Irish Water is held in public ownership has been referred back to the party's national council.

The motion was referred back at a request from Mr Kelly, who said he needed to take into account the advice of the Attorney General on the issue.

He added that he had introduced a 'triple-lock' on the privatisation of Irish water.

Meanwhile, several hundred anti-water charge protesters have gathered in Killarney ahead of a march on the Labour conference.

Speeches were delivered in the town centre, and the protesters then marched to the conference venue.

A significant security cordon is in place around the centre.

Motion to repeal Eighth Amendment passed

A motion was passed yesterday to call for a referendum on repealing the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, which acknowledges the right to life of the unborn, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother.

The motion suggested that the referendum call be included in the Labour Party manifesto for the next general election.

Those who spoke on the motion included Senator Ivana Bacik, TDs Emmett Stagg and Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, and Minister of State Kathleen Lynch, who commended the motion.

There was a round of applause when the vote was carried.

The conference will conclude later today with an address from party leader and Tánaiste Joan Burton.

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Putin promises action after politician murdered

Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to do everything possible to bring to justice those responsible for the "vile" murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov in a drive-by shooting near the Kremlin.

"Everything will be done so that the organisers and perpetrators of a vile and cynical murder get the punishment they deserve," Mr Putin said in a telegram to Ms Nemtsov's mother published on the Kremlin's website.

Mr Putin told Mr Nemtsov's 86-year-old mother, Dina Eidman, that his death was an irreparable loss and that he had "left his trace in Russia's history, in politics and public life".

Mr Nemtsov, who served as deputy prime minister under Boris Yeltsin's presidency in the 1990s, "worked in significant posts during a difficult transitional period for our country," Mr Putin said.

"He always directly and honestly announced his position, stood up for his point of view."

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev also praised Mr Nemtsov as a "principled person" who "acted openly, consistently and never betrayed his views".

He said he was "shocked at the cruel and cynical murder".

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Man arrested in connection with Dublin shooting

A 40-year-old man has been arrested by gardaí investigating a shooting in Dublin last night.

A man in his 30s was shot in the leg as he drove his moped on Cleggan Road in Ballyfermot.

He is being treated in St James's Hospital.

His injuries are not life-threatening.

The scene of the shooting has been preserved for a technical examination.

The man who was arrested is being held at Ballyfermot Garda Station.

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