Threat of power cuts from 16 December

There is a threat of power cuts from 16 December after the ESB group of unions decided to serve notice of industrial action on the company in a row over a €1.6 billion pension fund deficit.

The notice will be served on Friday 29 November and will expire at 8am on Monday 16 December.

The nature of industrial action has not been decided but the group has agreed to accept an invitation to talks issued by ESB management last week.

Each affiliate union in the group will have to serve individual notice of industrial action on the company.

The group of unions met today to decide its strategy after staff voted overwhelmingly to back industrial action in the pension deficit row.

The company has said that following a restructuring of the pension scheme in 2010, it carries no additional liability for addressing the deficit.

Unions are furious that the company has paid a €78m dividend to the State and is due to pay a further €400m from the sale of assets while the pension deficit remains.

They fear that if the deficit is not addressed staff could face a significant reduction in their pension benefits.

Four staff members have also commenced legal action challenging the dividend payments.

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38 dead in supermarket collapse in Latvia

Rescue workers have found more bodies in the ruins of a collapsed supermarket in the Latvian capital Riga, bringing the death toll to 38.

Cranes lifted large slabs from the wreckage of the Maxima store to try to find those trapped after the roof collapsed yesterday when it was full of shoppers on their way home from work.

Rescue workers cleared away rubble from the store, which had occupied around 1,500sq/m.

Police said the death toll had reached 38, including three rescue workers. Another 38 people were injured.

"In the past hours no survivors have been found," said Viktorija Sembele, a rescue service spokeswoman.

Latvian public television said as many as 40 people could still be trapped in the rubble

It said this claim was based on information from security cameras, but Ms Sembele could not confirm the figure.

The cause of the collapse remains unknown, but Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis said: "It is clear that there has been a problem with fulfilment of construction requirements."

Local media said workers had been building a roof garden on the supermarket, which was a single-storey building located about a 30-minute drive from the city centre.

Soil, grass and parts of a new walkway could be seen dangling from the edges of the collapsed rooftop.

Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis announced three days of mourning from tomorrow.

"In our thoughts we are together with all those stricken by this tragedy," Mr Dombrovskis said.

"No matter what the cause of the tragedy is, the number of victims is too big."

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Former Cork mayor guilty of sexual assault

A former lord mayor of Cork has been found guilty of one count of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in the city in the mid-1990s.

John Murray, 83, of Gregg Road, Cork, had pleaded not guilty to six counts of sexually assaulting the teenager.

The jury returned its verdict after deliberating for over four hours.

It will resume deliberations this afternoon in relation to the other five counts.

The jury has been told by Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin that it may now return majority verdicts of ten-two or eleven-one if unanimous verdicts are not possible. 

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Man pleads guilty over hit-and-run death of teen

A 32-year-old man has admitted knocking down a 14-year-old boy who died following a hit-and-run incident in Dublin almost two years ago.

Conor Hickey, from St Attracta Road, Cabra, was hit by a car which failed to stop in Cabra on the evening of 2 December 2011.

He died in hospital the following day.

Ruadhan Tracey, with an address at Lagore Green, Dunshaughlin, Co Meath, pleaded guilty to careless driving causing death at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today.

Conor was on his way to meet a friend when he was hit by a car at the junction of Fassaugh Road and St Eithne's Road.

He was at the traffic lights and had just stepped out to cross when he was hit by a silver Opel car driven by Tracey. 

He died in hospital the following day.

Tracey was arrested a month later and charged in connection with the death.

Conor's parents, who were in court today, asked that the case be put back until after the second anniversary of Conor's death, in ten days.

Judge Mary Ellen Ring remanded Ruadhan Tracey in custody for sentencing next March.

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Influential peace process figure Fr Alec Reid dies

Father Alec Reid, an influential figure in the Northern Ireland peace process, has died in hospital in Dublin.

Fr Reid, who was born in Co Tipperary in 1931, died in St Vincent's Hospital early this morning.

Originally from Nenagh, he joined the Redemptorist Order and went on to spend four decades based at Clonard Monastery in north Belfast.

He is best-remembered as the priest who gave the last rites to two British army corporals, David Howes and Derek Wood, who were killed after they drove into a republican funeral.

In his effort to end the Troubles, Fr Reid facilitated talks between Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams and SDLP leader John Hume.

He was trusted by senior figures in the IRA and also met several taoisigh.

When the IRA eventually decommissioned its weapons in September 2005, he and Methodist minister Rev Harold Good witnessed the arms being put beyond use.

In recent years, he made several trips to Spain and worked to broker an end to the violent dispute in The Basque region.

President Michael D Higgins said Fr Reid will be best remembered for the "courageous part he played in identifying and nurturing the early seeds of an inclusive peace process".

The President said while Fr Reid spent the last few years of his life in Dublin, he would have been "gratified by the positive transformation that is under way throughout Northern Ireland, and especially in the Belfast that he loved so well".

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said: "Fr Reid made major contributions at so many critical times during the peace process.

"Like so many people on this island, I will never forget the tragic picture in 1988, when Father Reid was photographed administering the last rites to a British army soldier killed in west Belfast, demonstrating his deep respect for human dignity and life."

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said Fr Reid "made an essential contribution to the peace process during its most challenging and crucial periods".

He added: "He conducted himself with integrity and compassion even in the most difficult of circumstances. His deep respect for human dignity was evident at all times. 

"We are the poorer for his passing today but Ireland is very much the richer for his labours." 

Stormont First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness also hailed Fr Reid's contribution.

Mr Robinson said: "Alec opposed violence and understood that the key to making progress was through reaching out to others, regardless of their background."

Mr McGuinness said: "Fr Alec Reid was a man of great dignity and his service to society embodied decency and respect for everyone."

He added: "He made an immeasurable contribution to the peace process and he has left a legacy of peace and hope for a better future for all."

Mr Adams described Fr Reid as a "chaplain to the peace process".

He said: "This was one person making a difference when in the entire establishment had refused to open up dialogue.

"And the whole credo of his gospel life was the dignity of human beings and the need for dialogue."

Rev Good said Fr Reid had done what others had failed to do and helped people hear each other and to trust themselves.

He said he would remember Fr Reid for his patience, unique ability to create trusting friendships and for being prepared to go into the no-man's land of the Northern conflict.

"Through persistent endeavour, to taking time with people, to helping to understand that they could no longer go on saying no and could no longer closing doors that the time had come for people to actually listen to each other and to hear each other ".

The Redemptorists said Fr Reid will be especially remembered for his work on the peace process and extended their "deepest sympathy to his family, friends and those who got to know him as a Redemptorist in the various roles and ministries he held".

Mr Hume described Fr Reid as a "pillar of the peace process".

The former SDLP leader and Nobel laureate said that without Fr Reid's "courage, determination and utter selflessness, the road to peace in our region would have much longer and much more difficult to traverse".

Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers also paid tribute saying "we all owe a debt of gratitude to him for the role he played in the peace and reconciliation process in Northern Ireland."

SDLP leader Dr Alasdair McDonnell said: "I was very saddened to hear of the passing of Fr Alec Reid who dedicated his life to ensuring peace was realised on this Island.

"His death reminds us that we haven't quite reached completion in terms of the peace process and we must re-double our efforts to achieve a lasting settlement.

"The courage and bravery displayed by Father Reid during the troubles has been a shining example to people right across the world."

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said: "It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of Fr Alec Reid this morning.

"Fr Reid played a pivotal role in bringing about peace in Northern Ireland. I was always struck by his humility and compassion for people on all sides of the Troubles.

"He had a remarkable capacity to put everyone he met at ease and his diplomacy, patience and influence led to the initiation of peace talks in the eighties which eventually lead to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998."

Fr Reid's remains will repose at Marianella Chapel on Orwell Road in Dublin from 2pm to 8pm tomorrow and from 1pm to 8pm on Sunday.

There will be mass in Marianella Chapel on Monday at 11am following which Fr Reid's remains will be brought to Clonard Church in Belfast where he will lie in repose on Monday between 4pm and 9pm and on Tuesday from 9am to 9pm.

An ecumenical service will be held on Tuesday at 7.30pm.

Fr Reid will be buried following funeral mass at Clonard Church next Wednesday at 12pm.

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Women held in London were 'beaten and controlled'

Police have said that three women enslaved for 30 years in a London house were beaten during their ordeal.

A 57-year-old Irish woman, a 69-year-old Malaysian and a 30-year-old British woman were rescued from a house in south London last month.

Yesterday, police arrested a man and a woman in what they said was the worst case of domestic servitude ever to emerge in Britain.

At a news conference today, Metropolitan Police Service Commander Steve Rodhouse said the women were beaten and controlled emotionally.

"What we are finding is a complicated and disturbing picture of emotional control over many years," he said.

Police also revealed that the 67-year-old non-British couple, who have now been released on bail, had been arrested before, in the 1970s.

No more details on those arrests were given.

Commander Rodhouse said police do not believe the case falls into the category of sexual exploitation or what is traditionally referred to as human trafficking.

"It is not as brutally obvious as women being physically restrained inside an address and not being allowed to leave," he said.

He said police are trying to understand "what were the invisible handcuffs being used to exert such a degree of control over these women".

He said that to label the investigation as domestic servitude or forced labour is "far too simplistic".

Police have said the 30-year-old Briton was thought to have lived her entire life in servitude.

It remains unclear what her relationship is to the two people arrested or the two women rescued.

Commander Rodhouse said the three women had not been trafficked and that there was no link to any other groups in Britain.

The women were rescued from a house in Lambeth in October after one of them saw Aneeta Prem, founder of the Freedom Charity, on television and contacted her charity for help.

Commander Rodhouse said police are "unpicking a story that spans at least 30 years of these women's lives".

He said that to the outside world they may have appeared to have been a "normal family".

He said: "This does mean that over the course of many decades the people at the heart of this investigation, and the victims, would probably have come into contact with public services, including our own.

"That's something we need to examine fully."

He said the investigation will take "some considerable time", and there are a number of lines of inquiry to follow up, numerous statements to take and lots of exhibits to examine.

Detective Inspector Kevin Hyland, said: "Whilst we do not believe that they have been subjected to sexual abuse, we know that there has been physical abuse, described as beatings - however there is nothing to suggest that the suspects were violent towards others outside of the address.

"The two people we arrested yesterday are on bail, they have also been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences and we are working closely with the Home Office Immigration Enforcement.

"I am not prepared to disclose the nationalities of the two people arrested but they have been in this country for many years, we also do not believe the victims were trafficked into the UK.

"At this very early stage we do not believe that this investigation is linked to any other groups, and whilst it is too soon to be categoric we do not believe we are looking for other victims.

"I stress this is what we know now, and as our investigation moves on that may change.

"Last night our search of the address in south London took 12 hours, we seized 55 bags of evidence amounting to in excess of 2,500 exhibits that require examination.

"This investigation will continue for as long as is necessary and will go where the evidence takes us, what is most important to the team is that this investigation can reach the most proper and appropriate conclusion, be that ultimately a criminal prosecution."

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Mahony: No extra remuneration from health service

National Maternity Hospital Master Dr Rhona Mahony has said her remuneration is strictly in line with the contract she has with the hospital and is in compliance with public service pay requirements.

In a statement, Dr Mahony said the additional €45,000 paid to her did not come from the health service or any other source, including fundraising and charitable donations.

She said it was from professional fees from private patients attending the National Maternity Hospital.

Dr Mahony said her contract allows her to provide clinical care to private patients, as is the case with all consultants in the Irish health service who have the same consultant contract as she does.

She said she had been I "personally vilified over the last few days."

"This has been utterly unwarranted," the statement concludes. 

In a separate statement, the board of the hospital said it fully endorses Dr Mahony's statement.

Meanwhile, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said a report on unapproved top-up allowances to senior hospital officials is being prepared to be presented to Minister for Health James Reilly.

Mr Kenny said hospitals that did not respond to two letters from HIQA in respect of the unauthorised payments will be called to account for their failure to respond.

The Taoiseach also said he disagrees with Fianna Fáil Public Expenditure Spokesperson Sean Fleming that he misled the Dáil in terms of when the Government knew about the top-up payments.

Mr Kenny told the Dáil the Government had no idea about excessive payments being granted to some top hospital executives. But Mr Fleming said the Government has known since last March about the top-ups.

Mr Kenny said the Government was dealing with another legacy issue that began in Mr Fleming's party's time in government.

The Taoiseach said that this had come to light last May in respect of Tallaght.

He said Minister Reilly had instructed HIQA to carry out an investigation into this and from that had followed the consequences that are now public.

Meanwhile, Temple Street Children's Hospital today confirmed that there have been no top-ups to the salaries of senior management staff at that hospital.

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Undercover army unit 'shot civilians' in Belfast

Soldiers from a British army undercover unit in Northern Ireland have admitted shooting unarmed IRA suspects in Belfast 40 years ago.

Former members of the unit told the BBC's Panorama programme, to be broadcast tonight, that they also carried out drive-by shootings of nationalists, even though there was no independent evidence any of them were IRA members.

Speaking publicly for the first time, ex-members of the Military Reaction Force said they had been tasked with "hunting down" IRA members in Belfast.

The unit operated for 18 months before being disbanded in 1973 and its records have since been destroyed.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said he has yet to watch the BBC Panorama programme.

He said he would see what was in the programme, first of all, and then see what the best thing to do in respect of the implications of the programme is.

Asked whether he has sought clarification from London on the ramifications that would be in the programme, he said he would like to watch the programme and assess it first to see what should be done from the Government's point of view.

The British Ministry of Defence said it had referred the disclosures to police.

The reaction force had around 40 hand-picked men from across the British army who addressed each other by first name and dispensed with ranks and identification tags.

They operated at the height of the Troubles in the early 1970s, when bombings and shootings by paramilitaries occurred almost daily.

Another ex-member said it was part of his mission to draw out the IRA and minimise its activities.

"If they needed shooting they'd be shot," he said.

The British army has a series of rules known as the Yellow Card, which guides when a soldier can open fire lawfully.

Generally, lethal force was only lawful when the lives of members of the security forces or others were in immediate danger.

Another soldier said: "If you had a player who was a well-known shooter who carried out quite a lot of assassinations... it would have been very simple, he had to be taken out."

According to the Panorama programme, seven former members of the force believed the Yellow Card did not apply to them and one described it as a "fuzzy red line", meaning they acted as they saw fit.

Some said they would shoot unarmed targets.

The MRF's records have been destroyed but the soldiers denied they were part of a death or assassination squad.

Tony Le Tissier, a major in the Royal Military Police, said: "They were playing at being bandits, they were meant to be sort of IRA outlaws.

"That's why they were in plain clothes, operating plain vehicles and using a Thompson sub machine gun (favoured by the IRA)."

In the early 1970s, nationalists would man barricades in west Belfast aimed at preventing troops from entering.

Some soldiers said they would drive by and open fire, even if they did not see anybody brandishing a gun.

Among those they killed in May 1972 was father-of-six Patrick McVeigh.

His daughter Patricia said: "We want the truth. We don't want to stop until we get the truth."

Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Sean O'Rourke, Ms McVeigh said her family were not happy with the open verdict, which was recorded after her father's death.

They have called for a new inquest to discover the circumstances surrounding his murder.

"We as a family were never happy with that.  My father was killed unlawfully, there's a slur on his name which we want lifted. 

"We want to get the truth, an apology and a new inquest to discover exactly what happened and for the soldiers to explain why."

The BBC programme comes the day after Northern Ireland Attorney General John Larkin suggested drawing a line under all murders carried out before 1998.

He advocated ruling out further inquests and inquiries into the crimes committed during the 30-year conflict, insisting a line should be drawn on offences perpetrated before the signing of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement.

There was almost universal negative reaction to that proposal.

British Prime Minister David Cameron made clear that his government had no plans to legislate on any form of amnesty.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the Government would wait for recommendations by US diplomat Dr Richard Haass on Northern Ireland before a Dáil debate on any amnesty for crimes committed before 1998.

A new report published this morning estimates the cost of attempting to deal with legacy issues over the next five years will run to £190m (€227m).

Panorama: Britain's Secret Terror Force is on BBC One at 9pm

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New speed limit signs planned for rural roads

Signs advertising the 80km/h speed limit will be removed from narrow country roads and replaced by the old system of signage which will become known as the "rural speed limit".

A removal of so-called "silly speed limits" in dangerous places, a five-year audit of every speed limit in the country and a process to allow the public to appeal limits will also be introduced.

It follows an examination by an expert group.

Many roads in rural Ireland, often in bad condition, have speed limits of 80km/h, while the top speed on sections of many newer, larger and safer dual carriageways can be as low as 60km/h.

Last year, Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar asked the Speed Limits Working Group to examine the issue.

It has made several significant recommendations, which the minister has accepted.

It means 80km/h signs on small rural roads and laneways will be  replaced by new "rural speed limit" signs.

The new signs will have a black circle with a diagonal line, similar to those used in Ireland before 2004. However, the limit will remain 80km/h.

The new signs are intended to indicate to motorists to use their own judgement on the speed they take.

The Automobile Association has welcomed the measures as a huge step forward.

It will now work with the Department of Transport, the National Roads Authority, local authorities, and gardaí in implementing the recommendations.

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Seven held after armed robbery at Tipperary house

Seven men have been arrested after an armed gang broke into the house of a businessman in Co Tipperary.

The gang broke into the home the man shares with his family in Killenaule at around 3am.

It is understood the home adjoins a business premises.

The man's wife and their three children, who are aged under eight, were also in the house.

The father was assaulted and hit with an object, believed to have been the butt of a gun.

His nose was broken and he has been taken to hospital.

His wife and children are said to be traumatised.

The gang stole a quantity of cash and jewellery before escaping in two cars, one of which was the family's 4x4 vehicle.

Armed gardaí stopped a car near Naas in Co Kildare at 4.30am and arrested five men all aged in their 20s.

They are being held at a number of garda stations across Co Kildare.

A second car was stopped at around 9am following an armed intervention at Newlands Cross in Dublin and two men were arrested.

The seven men are believed to be members of a familial criminal gang involved in armed robberies all over the country using stolen cars.

They have been a target of gardaí for some time.

Cash was recovered in the car stopped at Newlands Cross.

Gardaí have appealed for anyone with information to contact Thurles Garda Station at 0504-25100, the Garda Confidential Line 1800-666-111 or any garda station.

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