Examiner Irish News

Plan to provide jobs for IRA men

by Brian Carroll
THE Government is to provide jobs, council housing and education courses for IRA prisoners, including garda killers, given early release under the Good Friday Agreement.
An inter-departmental committee has been established to report on how best to reintegrate the released IRA prisoners into society, with job prospects and housing top of the agenda.
The committee is also examining what social welfare benefits and education courses should be given to released terrorists to smooth their transition back into daily life.
The committee's findings will apply to all republican prisoners who have served time over the period of the troubles, including Garda killers.
The special treatment for terrorists, is part of a joint approach by the British and Irish governments towards the reintegration of paramilitaries into society on either side of the border.
"The committee has met on a couple of occasions to look at various issues. The FA´S role reflects the employment opportunities for them to get them back into normal society as fully functional members of the community,'' a Department of Justice spokesman said.
"The committee will also look at education in the context of FA´S and the courses they provide for reskilling people who have been long-term unemployed. It is about equipping them for the workplace."
Once the committee's findings are complete, the Government will put a system in place to enable released terrorists avail of FA´S courses, and housing and education opportunities.
These benefits will apply to all IRA prisoners, including those already released having served their sentences: "Whatever factors will be available in terms of FA´S and welfare and local authority housing, they would be entitled to all these. Obviously the numbers are very small here. Many of them will have been released 12 months by the time the findings are in place and it would be assumed that by then they would have made their own way in terms of getting jobs and housing.
"In terms of releasing the report I wouldn't see it as having a high degree of applicability to those prisoners who are out that long but they are obviously entitled to came back to us if they need to," the spokesman said.
"One of the downstream benefits is for the general prisoner population. Whatever measures that might be taken could be transposed and used for the general prisoner population."
The Department of Social Welfare is represented on the inter-departmental committee along with the Departments of Environment and Foreign Affairs and the Probation and Welfare Service. Chaired by the assistant principal probation officer, John Kilcommins, the group has been asked to prepare a report for the Department of Justice.

Delegate tries to vote 65 times at meeting

by Mary Dundon
GARDAI´ and the Fianna Fáil National Executive will investigate a bid by a delegate to vote 65 times at the party's Munster European Parliament selection convention yesterday.
The two sitting Fianna Fáil MEP's, Brian Crowley and Gerard Collins were selected without a vote to run again for the party in June.
The bid by one delegate to vote 65 times was made in the race for the position of first sub — the person who replaces a sitting MEP if they leave their post during their term of office.
With speculation rife that both Fianna Fail Munster MEP's are in the running for the EU Commissioner job if Padraig Flynn is not reappointed, the focus of the convention shifted to the first sub race — in effect, who would become MEP in the event of Crowley or Collins becoming Commissioner.
The attempts by one delegate to vote 65 times was spotted by a member of the party's National Executive who was collecting votes.
The four candidates fighting for the first sub position were: Cork Dáil Deputies Michael Ahern and Batt O'Keeffe; Kerry Senator; Dan Kiely and Clare County Councillor Flan Garvey.
After the votes were counted Finance Minister McCreevey told over 2,000 delegates in Cork there was a problem. One delegate handed up a bundle of ballot papers and this made a member of the National Executive suspicious.
These ballot papers were kept aside for examination and it emerged that they were all written in the same handwriting and biro and with a vote for three candidates, excluding deputy Batt O'Keeffee.
After consulting with representatives of all four candidates, it was decided these votes should not be accepted, Minister McCreevey said.
"It's disgraceful that someone should try to do this and it will be investigated by our National Executive and the gardaí," he said.
The result of the count showed deputy Michael Ahern topping the poll with 621 votes; Cllr Garvey second with 598; Senator Kiely third with 575; Deputy Batt O'Keeffe with 565.
Asked if he would be interested in the Irish EU Commissioners job, Gerard Collins said; "There's no job vacancy and my only interest is to win back my seat in Europe for Fianna Fail."
Brian Crowley said his priority is also to win back his seat. Asked if he would be interested in the Commissioner job he said: "I would accept it because I feel I have experience to serve my country well in Europe."

Taoiseach plays down revelations

by Seán McCárthaigh
TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern yesterday attempted to play down the significance of new information which emerged at the weekend about his contacts with property developer, Tom Gilmartin.
The Progressive Democrats confirmed that their support for the coalition remained intact despite the further credibility the latest revelations lend to Mr Gilmartin's version of events.
On Friday, Mr Ahern briefed the PD leader about the new information which had emerged before her departure on a 12-day trade mission to Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii.
The Taoiseach contacted Ms Harney after being given the new details by newspapers about his meetings with Mr Gilmartin during the late 1980s.
The extra information relates to the role of Councillor Joe Burke in assisting Mr Gilmartin with a project in Dublin and the nature of a function in London attended by the property developer and Mr Ahern.
Mr Gilmartin claims that he only met Mr Burke in relation to the purchase of land at Quarryvale and not about a development at Bachelor's Walk as claimed by Mr Burke. He is also certain that the purpose of the London meeting was to discuss investment in Ireland and not a fund-raising event.
Yesterday, Mr Ahern said he remained unsure about the exact nature of the event but remained adamant that it "was organised by Fianna Fáil fund raisers."
The Taoiseach said he had merely conveyed information he had received by journalists about his relationship with Mr Gilmartin to the Tánaiste. He stressed that his own recollection of events was contained in his statement to the Dáil last Wednesday.
"It's not a question of anyone getting anything wrong. I've nothing further to say," he said yesterday at the opening of FA´S Opportunities 99 exhibition in Ballsbridge.
In a poll published yesterday, Mr Ahern's satisfaction rating had dropped from a high of 82% last May to 66%.
Meanwhile, four cabinet members last night insisted that the trust between Fianna Fail and the PD coalition was not strained despite the recent revelations that the Taoiseach had not informed the Tanaiste that he had relied on a crucial part of the information he gave the Dail on Wednesday on information supplied by Charles Haughey.
The four, Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy, Justice Minister John O'Donoghue, Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh and Education Minister Micheal Martin were attending the Fianna Fáil European Parliament Munster Selection Convention and gave their full support to the Taoiseach.

Sons of Ulster unite in celebration of Cup heroes.

by Joe Oliver
IT began as a trickle, then became a stampede as thousands of weary fans painted the old town red and white in Belfast yesterday to welcome home the true Sons of Ulster.
And in the words of Van Morrison you could only wonder: Why couldn't it be like this all the time...? Protestant and Catholic stood side by side and sang in unison in tribute to their rugby heroes.
There was not even a hint of menace in a city which has seen so many dark deeds. Instead, the Ravenhill roar, which inspired Ulster to victory over Colomiers, was repeated again and again.
Belfast City Hall was a sea of red and white, for the civic reception, and the noise that greeted them was as deafening as anything heard at Lansdowne Road. Unionist, nationalist and republican councillors stood to applaud the players through the marble entrance hall.
Captain David Humphreys had to pause for breath before saying: "Yesterday was incredible, but to come back to Belfast with the whole team is something I'll never forget. Fantastic, brilliant, and very humbling. Without doubt, the greatest day of our lives."
Coach Harry Williams choked back the tears as he said: "The family won yesterday, we're delighted to be back in the bosom of the family."
Meanwhile, the UCC rugby squad began their homecoming party last night, after returning from Dublin as student champions of Europe. Their 14-10 victory over French side, Grenoble, at Donnybrook on Saturday, also created Irish history, and the Leesiders showed they were equally as proud of their achievement as their Ulster counterparts.

Delays for passengers after train runs out of steam

by Niall Murray
RAIL passengers on services between Dublin and Munster were severely disrupted by a break-down on the line outside Thurles yesterday afternoon, with some travellers reaching their destination almost five hours late.
Iarnród E´ireann chiefs introduced emergency procedures to deal with the delays and apologised last night to the thousands of passengers affected by the disruptions.
The trouble commenced when the 12.15 p.m. train from Dublin to Cork broke down between Thurles and Limerick Junction, causing all trains running behind to block up the line.
Rail bosses decided to connect the Dublin-Limerick train to the troubled set of carriages and pulled it back into Thurles.
Meanwhile, the second line was used to allow other south-bound services pass, while passengers from the broken-down train transferred to another train at Thurles.
They eventually arrived into Kent Station in Cork, eight hours after boarding at Heuston in Dublin.
One woman who expected her son off the midday train from Dublin in Cork by mid-afternoon expressed anger at the apparent lack of communications between the Iarnród E´ireann crews and staff at the stations.
A company spokesman stressed they were putting the safety of their passengers first, and any delays were extremely regrettable. He added that measures were put in place to facilitate enquiries from people awaiting passengers and a helpline number was broadcast on radio stations.
The lunchtime service from Heuston to Killarney was two-and-a- half hours arriving at Mallow, from where Kerry passengers had to complete their journey by bus. Killarney passengers for Dublin were transported by bus to meet the train at Mallow.
Passengers on the 1.20 p.m. Dublin-Cork train reached their final destination more than two hours late at 6.40 p.m., among them members of UCC's European rugby championship-winning team on their triumphant return home after Saturday's victory at Donnybrook.
Services out of Cork yesterday evening were also significantly delayed, with some passengers reporting being stopped at Limerick Junction for more than an hour, and eventually reaching Dublin more than two-and-a-half hours behind schedule.
The delays also enforced carriages from the Cork-Cobh line to be used on other delayed services, and Cobh passengers were carried by bus during the afternoon.
An Iarnród E´ireann spokesman said this did not have a major impact because Sunday was a low-peak day.

Ray's Butlins holiday takes more than his breath away

by Frank Peters
WHEN a Dublin-born father-of-12 read the Butlins holiday brochure that read, It'll take your breath away, he never suspected he'd also end up with a fractured skull.
Raymond O'Sullivan (55) from White Friars Street, Dublin, fell 15 feet from an unprotected cliff-top while on a Butlins holiday in Wales. He fractured his skull, broke his nose, caused damage to his stomach, both of his legs, his right arm, and sustained numerous cuts and bruises. "It was horrific, there is no other way I can describe it," said Mr O'Sullivan, a former wheelchair repair engineer. "I walked over the cliff in the dark whilst I was out looking for my son, Gerard. I couldn't see how far I was falling or onto what kind of ground I was going to hit; I just seemed to be continuously falling and hitting objects as I fell. It all happened in the fraction of a second. I felt the toes catch the embankment first, then the knees crashed into it, then the body swung down in an archway; my back arched up and then my head bounced off concrete slabs similar to paving slabs on the way down. Eventually I smacked off the ground with an almighty thud. I was in tremendous pain. I could feel liquid running down all the right-hand side of my face and assumed that I was bleeding. I put my hand to my face, but I couldn't see my hand. It was so dark in the recess where I fell that you literally couldn't see your hand in front of your face," he said.
Butlins security guards heard the commotion and rushed to investigate. "By their torchlight I looked at my hand, but there wasn't a drop of blood on it. I realised then that I had cracked my skull and the liquid which had surrounded my brain was now running down my nose," he said.
Mr O'Sullivan lay on the jagged-edged rubble by the Pwllheli holiday camp for almost an hour and 54 minutes, he and the medical team not knowing whether he had been impaled by one of the many rusty iron spikes he encountered as he fell.
"Thank God, I hadn't, said Mr O'Sullivan, but the experience frightened the hell out of me. In between the pain my head became flooded with thoughts ... my wife ... my children ... what would happen to them. I didn't know if I was going to live or die — I'd never experienced anything like that before, he said. Mr O'Sullivan said over a period of 30 years he and his wife Geraldine, who is also Dublin-born, raised 12 children ranging from seven to 34 and none of them ever had no more than a scratched knee. Adding to his pain, the High Court last week dismissed his claim for compensation. Mr O'Sullivan, who represented himself, told the High Court he felt the cliff was man-made and Butlin's had a duty to warn holidaymakers of the danger. He said there were no fences or warning signs. When I first sighted the cliff I believed it to be a man-made structure which in my experience always ran in a straight line, said Mr O'Sullivan. This led me to walking a line parallel to the cliff-top, as I searched for my son. The judge ruled this was a natural cliff and natural cliffs do not tend to run in a straight line. Mr O'Sullivan said he is now in the process of appealing the decision and he will provide strong video evidence in his support at the hearing.

Minister signals end to Morse code era

by Donal Hickey
THE end of an era in maritime history was reached, yesterday, when the high-tech world took over from the old, manually-operated morse code radio services.
For over 100 years, the dot-dash-dot system operated by radio officers served shipping well, but it has now been superseded by a state-of-the-art communications network.
Marine Minister Michael Woods was at Valentia Coast Radio Station, Co. Kerry, to mark the historic occasion, as Morse closed in this country, Belgium, Denmark and Iceland.
He said that many seafarers owed their lives to the Morse system.
But, the system had run its course and was being replaced by an international global maritime distress and safety system (GMDSS).
Dr Woods emphasised that Valentia Radio, like its sister Irish Marine Emergency Service (IMES) stations in Malin Head and Dublin, would continue to supply a high quality radio communications service to shipping around our coast.
"The GMDSS allows for more automated distress and safety alerting worldwide," he said.
Valentia-based divisional controller of IMES, Gene O'Sullivan, said that when the new system came fully into operation distress messages could be electronically transmitted at the press of a button, naming the type of ship involved and its exact position.
"It's a sad rather than a bad day. The passing of an era," he commented.
The Morse code has been used since 1884 and was initiated by Marconi in 1898 when he transmitted between Ballycastle, Co. Antrim, and Rathlin Island.
That equipment was afterwards moved along the coast to Malin Head and Inishtrahull and formed the basis of the current IMES station at Malin Head.
By 1901, Marconi had established further stations at Rosslare, Co. Wexford, and Crookhaven, Co. Cork, with the Crookhaven station moving to its present site in Valentia in 1914.

Couple treat guests to a wedding to remember

by Tony Purcell
THE picturesque village of Adare, Co. Limerick, provided the ideal setting for a wedding befitting a king or queen at the weekend.
Irish American business tycoon, Jay Michael Cashman (45) from Boston, splashed out a reported £250,000 to tie the knot with his film producer sweetheart, Christy Jean Scott (25), in a glittering ceremony performed in the 15th century ruined Franciscan Abbey on Saturday.
It was also a historic occasion as it was the first wedding in the abbey located on the grounds of Adare Manor Golf Club in 500 years!
It was a dream wedding — one of the most spectacular ever held in Ireland — with absolutely everything — a glamorous bride and groom, best man and 12 bridesmaids in ivory coloured dresses along with flower girls; horse drawn carriages for the parents led by two pipers; the 200 guests who arrived in a chartered jet from America were carrying white umbrellas as they walked from the luxurious five-star Adare Manor Hotel to the Abbey and a beautiful bride arriving on a white mare with her father for a ceremony performed by Bishop Pat Buckley.
The couple were described by guests as "two of the most glamorous and exciting people one could wish to meet''.
The bride wore a specially designed ivory satin dress with Irish lace and a square neckline and chapel train.
During the hour-long ceremony held in a marquee set up within the abbey, the music and singing of hymns such as "How Great Thou Art'' and "Because He Lives'' was performed by local musicians and choir led by prominent harpist, Madeleine Meehan.
Bishop Buckley said that the ceremony had all the hallmarks of a typical Catholic wedding.
"Both Jay and Christy are very spiritual people and they wanted a spiritual wedding,'' said Bishop Buckley, a close friend of the couple.
"I have performed about 2,000 weddings in the past 12 years, 200 a year. They are fully legal weddings in the eyes of the British or Irish faith and they are also full spiritual marriages in the eyes of God. They don't satisfy the dictates of Canon Law, but I am not worried about Canon Law,'' said the affable Bishop Buckley, who caused a storm when he was excommunicated from the church after he was consecrated a bishop without the Pope's permission.
Newly-weds Christy and Jay have been regular visitors to Adare and Bishop Buckley revealed that Christy will be back again to shoot a movie based on the cleric's best selling book "A Thorn in the Side''.
After the ceremony the guests drank a glass of champagne as the newly-weds travelled back in a horse drawn carriage to the Adare Manor Hotel for the glittering reception.
Among the guests from various parts of America were the bride's parents, Morgan and Connie Scott from North Carolina and the parents of the groom, Rachael and Dick Nylan from Boston.
The groom, Jay Cashman, is a millionaire businessman who started as a labourer on a building site and amassed his fortune as a civil engineering contractor building roads, bridges and motorways in the Boston area.
Jay was also described by guests as the "best friend that anyone could ever have — he started from scratch without a dime in his pocket and built up a huge business,'' He owns a helicopter and several limousines.
Jay and Christy plan to spend their honeymoon around Ireland.
Mr Stephen Quinn, Managing-Director of Adare Manor Hotel, said the wedding was the biggest and most spectacular ever held in Adare.
The wedding reception started off with champagne followed by a sumptuous eight-course meal including smoke salmon, sorbet, fillet mignon and dessert.
The entertainment was provided by tenor Finbar Wright and music by the Cork City Jazz Band.

Criminals queried on killing of taximan

by Seán McCárthaigh
TWO senior underworld figures were among 10 people being questioned at the weekend about the killing of a Dublin taxi driver last month.
The two men, members of the same family, are the leaders of a Finglas-based criminal gang.
They were arrested on Saturday morning in relation to the fatal shooting of minor criminal John Dillon (53) on January 6. The body of Mr Dillon was discovered at his home in Glenties Park, Finglas by another taxi-driver the following morning.
The pair under arrest are also suspected of having being involved in two other gangland killings in recent years.
Gardaí have been investigating reports that one of the men had been in a row with Mr Dillon shortly before his death.
Members of his gang were also known to have been looking for Mr Dillon in pubs in the Finglas area on the night he was killed. The victim had a number of previous convictions and was a former getaway driver with the gang.
One theory being followed by investigating officers is that Dillon was shot over his refusal to provide a false alibi for a gang member in relation to a robbery last year.
It is believed that Dillon was also questioned by gardaí about the crime.
Nine people were arrested in a dawn raid on Saturday by armed detectives on some 20 addresses and questioned at a number of garda stations around the city.
The eight men and one woman were held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.
Another man was arrested by gardaí in connection with the same crime later on Saturday evening.
Meanwhile, two men appeared in court at the weekend on charges relating to the killing of another man in Dublin last Tuesday.
Gerard Dunne (24), Rafters Avenue, Drimnagh and Stephen McNeill (20), St James Walk, Rialto were charged with the murder of Liam Thompson (20) during a special sitting of the Dublin District Court on Saturday.
The body of Mr Thompson, Woodlawn Park Grove, Firhouse was discovered at Dolphin Road, Crumlin shortly before midnight on January 26.
The two accused were remanded in custody until February 5.

Small firms unable to fill vacancies due to dole

by Niall Murray
THE appeal of the black economy and the social welfare system are leading to recruitment difficulties for almost every small firm seeking to fill vacancies.
Small Firms Association chairman Kieran Crowley said, last night, that some people's perceptions that they were better-off being unemployed had led to an unsustainable position in the economy. He was commenting on an SFA survey which showed 97% of businesses in the sector looking for staff are experiencing serious recruitment difficulties.
It also revealed more than 40% of companies report that prospective employees seek to be paid-off the books.
Nonetheless, projections show small firms will create more than 86,000 jobs in 1999, a 17% increase over last year.
"These recruitment difficulty figures confirm our worst fears, that there continues to be thousands of jobs available, but no candidates and that the situation is getting worse rather than better. We must seriously ask if there is any forced unemployment in Ireland," Mr Crowley said.
"It is incomprehensible that we should pay over £20 million unemployment benefit each week when small companies around the country can not get staff for well paid, sustainable and productive jobs.
"We have completely exhausted our skills base, we must compete with a buoyant black economy and a social welfare system in which people feel better-off than in employment. This situation is simply not sustainable," Mr Crowley said.
The survey indicated lack of skills was the reason just over two-thirds of companies experienced difficulties, while they found a quarter of prospective recruits felt they were better-off on social welfare, and the remainder lacked interest in work.
The SFA concluded that lack of skills is the fastest growing contributor to recruiting difficulties.
"The problem of unemployment is now of a serious structural nature, with unemployment black-spots where whole families have never worked in the formal economy because they do not have the basic skills employers are seeking," said Mr Crowley.
"We simply cannot accept that an unemployment rate of 7% represents full employment in a modern economy crying out for workers. The economic and opportunity cost of this situation poses the single biggest challenge to our economy right now."
Mr Crowley called for greater supports, including an improved childcare system, for highly-capable skilled women who have difficulties re-entering the workforce.
He also reiterated the SFA's view that the issue of immigration offers some potential solutions for employers who cannot fill jobs.

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