Stories from the Examiner's News From Ireland section for 9/29/99
http://www.examiner.ie
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Publican objects to Esat mast in barn
by Tony Purcell
ESAT DIGIFONE yesterday rejected claims it attempted to erect a GMS mobile antennae in Castleconnell, Co. Limerick, without getting planning permission.
Limerick County Council has confirmed it is to inform the company by letter that planning permission will be required.
Jerry O’Connor, a publican at Daly’s Cross, Castleconnell, is objecting to the erection of the antennae in a disused barn situated about 80 feet from the backdoor of his licensed premises. And he has the backing of local residents and the Castleconnell Community Development Council.
"The first I knew about it was when a crane arrived with a cradle used to lift up people to the mast and later a pick up vehicle carrying the mast. I am objecting to the mast on health grounds because of the risk of radiation as well as being an eyesore and environmental hazard,’’ he said. Mr O’Connor claimed that the company had attempted to erect the mast through cloak and dagger without planning permission. He contacted the council, who told him there was no record of any application. Work was stopped at the request of the council.
Esat Digifone said that they recently commenced the process of installing a GSN Mobile antennae in a disused barn in Castleconnell to meet the growing demand by Digifone customers for improved mobile phone coverage in the area. "This particular location is an existing structure and as a result, under Section 4 of the Local Government Planning and Development Act, planning permission is not required,’’ said a spokesman.
In response to concerns in the locality, Esat Digifone ceased all work on the site on September 24 pending consultation with the residents.
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Sale of autographed World Cup jersey helps orphans
by Tony Purcell
AN Irish World Cup rugby jersey signed by all the players and a hurley used by Clare star, Jamesie O’Connor, in St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield All-Ireland Club Championship triumph, played their part on last night in helping out African orphans.
These were just two of many items auctioned at The African Experience, a fund-raising event for Zambian orphans in distress, held in Aubars bar and nightclub on Thomas Street, Limerick.
Auctioneer Pat Kearney of Rooney’s auctioned a wide range of items, which included a souvenir programme from the Star Wars premiere signed by Liam Neeson and a UNICEF T-shirt signed by Robbie Williams.
"We are delighted with the public response and we are hoping to reach our target of £7,000,’’ stated a spokesperson for the Aer Lingus Cabin Crew.
Change for Good, a partnership between Aer Lingus, its Cabin Crew and UNICEF, has already raised over £600,000 since its launch in 1997 by collecting unused foreign notes and coins on boards transatlantic flights.
Last March a group from Aer Lingus and UNICEF travelled to Zambia, a country in crisis, to see how the Change for Good project was helping. Among the group were two Shannon based cabin crew, Liz Mangan and Grainne Fitzpatrick.
"It is estimated that 23 of all children are missing one or both parents, many of them dead from AIDS,’’ said Liz Mangan.
She also revealed that by the year 2000 there will be up to 700,000 AIDS orphans; there 500 new cases of HIV daily and nearly 20 of the adult population is HIV positive.
"When we travelled to Zambia we saw at first hand the impact the AIDS epidemic is having on the children and Aer Lingus Cabin Crew Shannon are hoping to help some of these distressed children,’’ said Liz.
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Olympic champion’s house demolished
by John Murphy
THE home of dual Olympian and arguably Ireland’s greatest ever athlete, the late Dr Pat O’Callaghan, has been demolished in his adopted Clonmel to make way for a Rehab training facility.
Bulldozers moved onto the site of the O’Callaghan home, Roseville, at Western Road, Clonmel, to begin work on the £5 million National Training and Development Institution (NTDI) for the Rehab Group.
The new facility will be in place by June of next year. In granting planning permission for its demolition, Clonmel Corporation has included a condition that a suitable commemorative feature of the late Dr O’Callaghan be erected in a prominent location on the 6,000 square feet site.
Dr Pat O’Callaghan became an Olympic champion in 1928 when he won the hammer throwing event in Amsterdam, and four years later became the only Irishman to win two Olympic gold medals when he retained his title in Los Angeles.
Rehab are presently discussing the most appropriate way of commemorating Pat O’Callaghan’s achievements and have invited suggestions from the public.
The late Pat O’Callaghan, affectionately known in Clonmel and throughout South Tipperary as ‘The Doc’, was born in Derrygallon close to the North Cork town of Kanturk in 1906.
He was appointed assistant medical officer at Clonmel District Mental Hospital in 1931 which began an association with the town which lasted until his death on December 1st 1991.
He went into practice in 1935 and is remembered as a skilled and caring GP. In 1984 he was made a Freeman of Clonmel.
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Top musicians to get down and jam on the Bank Holiday
by Pearse Harvey
THERE is an impressive line up for this year’s Guinness Cork Jazz Festival over the October 22-25 Bank Holiday Weekend .
The depth and scope of the package is well up on previous years, and for people who may not be fans of jazz there will be some outstanding outdoor events that should create a unique mardi gras atmosphere right around the city.
The Everyman Palace Theatre and the Metropole Festival Club - along with all the other hotels and usual venues - promises a swinging millennium jazz party.
Headliners at the Everyman include: Courtney Pine; the Mingus Big Band; Manhattan Transfer; Roy Hargrove Quintet; Michael Brecker Band; David Sanches Quintet; T.S. Monk Quintet; Dave Holland Quintet;Some of the top acts at the Metropole Hotel Festival Club include: Virginia Mahew Quartet; T.S. Monk Sextet; King Pleasure & the Biscuit Boys; Spats Dillinger; and The Brasshoppers.
Dexy’s Midnight Soul Runners; The Goose Horns; Havana Che; Louis Stewart; Len McCarthy Quartet; John Donegan Quintet, Cork School of Music Jazz Big Band; and Solid Gold Soul will also play the Metropole.
Triskel Arts Centre also have a fine double bill on Saturday and Sunday nights featuring Three Baritone Saxophone, with Ronnie Cuber, Gary Smulyan and Richard Davis plus Dennis Irwin (bass) and Jimmy Cobb (drums), and the late show featuring the Conte Candoli Allstars.
Other events include "The Art Of Miles Davis: A Retrospective Of The Jazz Musician’s Music - On Canvas"; Mugenkyo, Europe’s foremost Taiko drum group; the 100 strong London Community Gospel Choir; Walk The Plank Pyrotechnics, Britain’s only touring theatre ship which will be moored on the River Lee for a spectacular fireworks display.
The weekend_s festivities will also include an evening Street Parade; an evening musical gig on Grand Parade and Patrick Street.
The 15 foot Millennium Drum which will be the focus of a Sunday evening Drum Carnival on Grand Parade.
Tickets for the Everyman and the Festival Club will be available from next Friday at both venues and at HMV Ticketshop at Henry Street and Grafton Street, Dublin, and Patrick Street, Cork.
For credit card bookings, ring 01 4569569.
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ScoilNet offers virtual meeting place for students
by Neans McSweeney, Education Correspondent
STUDENTS struggling with maths or looking for guidance on future study paths and basic exam tips now have the labours of over 50 subject specialists at their fingertips.
The new ScoilNet educational website for primary and secondary schools is already the most advanced in Europe. The virtual meeting place for all those involved in Irish education contains over 800 resources directly relevant to the curricula as well as over 1,200 links of interest to teachers, pupils and parents, Education Minister Micheál Martin said yesterday as he launched the IT initiative.
"What you see today on the site is extremely impressive. There are readily useable resources in 54 subject areas and targeted at most age groups. This represents an enormous pedagogical resource and a strategic investment in the promotion of curriculum innovation at first and second level. All these resources have been catalogued and linked to the most appropriate subject areas and levels within our curriculum," said Minister Martin.
Students looking for help with a maths problem, or a lesson plan for history or guidance on how to help children study will find the answers they want on the ScoilNet site. In all, 56 subject specialists were responsible and worked hand in hand with teacher associations, training colleges, the National Council for Curriculum Assessment, teacher unions and the Inspectorate to identify exemplars of best classroom practice.
The new service features a community zone where parents, students and teachers all have their own time out zones. They are offered an opportunity to visit an on line art gallery, publish a story or simply check up on school sporting fixtures. The commerce zone facility offers access to information about and even the purchase of additional educational products and services on line - items such as school uniforms and textbooks.
The Minister commended the invaluable input of Intel Ireland. "Working in partnership with Intel has given us an opportunity to work with a company which enjoys the highest international standing in technological innovation. ScoilNet is the product of that partnership and properly implemented and developed will be a formidable national resource in Irish education."
ScoilNet provides on line library of information about every subject on the curriculum. It also features experiments and projects as well as competitions, fan clubs, book reviews and sports news. Secondary school pupils can also pick up exam tips, past papers and worked examples of exam questions from educational experts. Teachers will be able to use it as a resource bank while parents can log on for adult education and career planning information.
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Enquiries after shock allegations against firm
by Donal Hickey
AT least one state agency and the Central Bank have started investigations into their dealings with a leading financial services company against which serious allegations have been made.
Enterprise Ireland confirmed, yesterday, that it was re examining documentation arising from its dealings with Fexco, of Killorglin, Co. Kerry.
Enterprise Ireland gave Fexco a £1.7 million grant, in 1985, for training, research and development and also invested over £2 million in preference and ordinary shares in the company.
"Arising from the allegations which have been made, we’re looking into the files,’’ said Enterprise Ireland’s press relations manager Paschal McGuire.
A spokesman for the Central Bank also confirmed that they were examining allegations that false returns were made by Fexco to the Central Bank.
"It is only to be expected that we should follow up on allegations which we are treating seriously,’’ the spokesman added.
The bombshell allegations were levelled against Fexco by Dr John O’Mahony, senior counsel, who was acting for former top Fexco executive Conor O’Mahony, at an Employment Appeals Tribunal, in Tralee, last week.
Mr O’Mahony, who had been head of Fexco’s international payments division, was sacked last January and is taking an unfair dismissals case against the company.
At the tribunal, Mr O’Mahony’s legal team alleged that Fexco issued bogus invoices to claim grants and made false returns to the Central Bank. It was also claimed that senior Fexco personnel received income payments in cash.
Senior counsel for Fexco Ercus Stewart rejected what he described as wild allegations which were without foundation.
Mr Stewart also submitted that Conor O’Mahony had used Fexco funds to set up bogus shares accounts using a fictitious company name with an address in New York.
Fexco, founded by former AIB branch assistant manager Brian McCarthy, has been spectacularly successful and employs around 800 people, with 400 on the payroll in Killorglin.
All efforts by legal representatives to negotiate a settlement between Mr O’Mahony and Fexco have failed.
While neither side was prepared to reveal the kind of figures being negotiated, the sum being mentioned was in the region of 500,000.
Fexco provides a wide range of financial services, including the processing of VAT returns on tourist purchases and the Prize Bonds scheme.
The allegations have, as yet, not been substantiated and the tribunal will resume in Limerick on January 5 next.
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Lack of values criticised
by Donal Hickey
A PROMINENT Catholic preacher and author said yesterday the absence of spiritual values was a major cause of problems in Ireland.
Fr Pat Flannery hit out at what he felt was a lack of courageous leadership in the church over the past 25 years.
But, he said, the church had a vital role in Ireland today and would continue to play an important part in people’s lives - provided it got courageous leadership and lay people became the guiding force.
Fr Flannery will be a member of a Redemptorist team which will conduct a solemn novena which is expected to draw thousands of people in Killarney, County Kerry, next Friday.
"Today’s generation are ten times more likely to be depressed and addicted than our grandparents. Why is this at a time of unprecedented prosperity when we have never had it so good?,’’ Fr Flannery said.
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Cruelty case farmer told to sell cattle
A VETERINARY inspector yesterday urged a court to consider the disposal of a herd of cattle before winter in a case where a farmer has been charged with the neglect of animals under the cruelty act.
Skibbereen District Court heard yesterday that Cork County Council’s veterinary inspector Dan Crowley had visited the farm of Kenneth Coombes on a total of 51 occasions over the past six years.
During one of the visits, Mr Crowley had discovered that 40 animals had died on the farm due to lack of nutrition and starvation.
At a district court, last year, a judge had issued an order depriving Mr Coombes of ownership of farm animals and had directed the defendant to give an undertaking to put the management of the herd into the hands of a relative.
Judge James O’Connor heard yesterday that the remaining 72 cattle were in good condition.
However, the herd was currently locked up under TB restrictions.
The number of pigs on the farm had been reduced from upwards of 167 to 20, the court also heard.
Mr Crowley told the court the remaining animals should be disposed of as quickly as possible, and most likely to a factory outlet.
However, he was concerned that there was now no herd management arrangement in place and no provisions made for winter fodder.
Mr Coombes’ solicitor Helen Hoare said, however, that certain difficulties had arisen with the farm at the moment as the defendant had not discharged certain financial liabilities.
"The arrangement has come unstuck because no bills were paid," the solicitor said.
The case was adjourned until October on the undertaking that Mr Coombes would dispose of a minimum of 30 cattle and provide upwards of £6,000 towards the purchase of winter fodder and the discharging of certain debts.
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Link between farmers and the land is breaking up
THE traditional strong association between Irish farmers and the land, especially the family farm, is beginning to break up, Agriculture and Food Minister Joe Walsh warned at the National Ploughing Championships in Castletownroche, Co. Cork, yesterday.
Minister Walsh, speaking at a news conference after he had officially opened the annual showpiece of Irish agriculture, said one of the issues to be addressed is that younger people are no longer prepared to milk cows, morning and evening and are no longer prepared to make the commitment of 365 days of the year in milk production.
The break up in the traditional association between the farmer and land, especially the family farm, was a most unusual occurrence more in dairying than in many other farming activities.
For example, in suckler cows, other farm enterprises, cereals and tillage, people have the opportunity of a break from farming itself. But the seven days a week 365 days a year commitment in milk was causing most of the difficulty regarding succession in family farms.
Minister Walsh said he had noticed the trend in the last eighteen months especially and it was not just an isolated case. He knew of particular cases where parents have encountered difficulty in getting their sons or daughters to acquire the family farms, which was a major asset in a number of cases.
Parents felt very sad about such situations as the farms might have been in their families for three, four or five generations and they would like to pass it on to another family member, but it was not possible to do so.
Stressing that he would be very interested in doing something about the issue, he said the major influence was that people were availing of a very good education system and of jobs outside of farming which were now available.
A constraint could not be put on that trend but farming could be made more attractive so that people would have better lifestyles with week-end breaks and annual holidays.
In order to do that, the problem of supports on farms would have to be addressed. These were generally relief milking and other management brought on to the farm to carry on the farming enterprise while the farmers themselves were on their break.
Co-ops who were operating relief farming activities found it most difficult to get employees because they did not want the unsociable hours involved.
Minister Walsh said earlier a move towards breaking the link between land and milk quota would appear to be the correct one and in the overall interests of the industry. The amendment of the Regulations which formed part of the Agenda 2000 agreement provides the opportunity of breaking that link.
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Garda patrols on Shannon to start next month
by Conor Keane
PATROLS on the river Shannon by the new Garda Water Unit will commence in advance of the delivery in November of a special £250,000 Targa 31 patrol boat.
It is expected river patrols by the 10 member Garda Water Unit will start next month.
This is before the delivery of the Targa 31 vessel.
The new unit will initially deploy in their existing semi rigid craft.
However, they will undertake full patrols of the 300 miles of river and lakes from Killaloe to Belturbet, once the Targa is commissioned.
The Targa is already in service with the London Metropolitan police.
It is also used for search and rescue operations in a number of other countries including Norway and Germany.
Members of the new unit will have to be kited out with new equipment like thermal clothing, hoists and rescue lines.
It is not expected members of the unit will wear traditional garda uniforms, but more flexible items of clothing like garda crested polo shirts.
Initially, the unit will operate between Killaloe and Belturbet, but the sea worthy Targa will later be used on the Shannon Estuary.
The Targa will be crewed by at least three gardaí at all times.
Over 10,000 vessels use the Shannon each year and it is expected the Garda Water Unit will have the same powers to stop boats as with motor vehicles.
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Woman says she lied about partner
by Ray Managh
A MAN told gardaí he would take the head off his live-in partner when he got out because she had accused him of serious assault, the High Court has heard yesterday.
Miriam Hayden told Mr Justice Patrick Smith she had lied in a statement to gardaí about the alleged assault on her by Derek Hamilton with whom she lived at Pearse Court, Athlone.
"I write to him in prison every day asking him to forgive me for the terrible things I said about him," she said.
"I visit him every week and give him money for cigarettes and other things he might need. What I said was untrue. I had drink taken at the time."
Garda Peter McConnon, Carlow, told the court Hamilton was arrested for alleged assault causing harm to Ms Hayden and on the way to the station had threatened to kill her and take the head off her. "I take those threats very seriously. He is a very violent and aggressive person. He has subjected this lady to a number of very serious assaults."
Garda McConnon told Mr Justice Smith that at a previous court hearing Hamilton had to be checked on a number of occasions for making threatening gestures across the court to Ms Hayden.
Garda McConnon, opposing a bail application, said if Hamilton got out he would be very fearful for Ms Hayden’s safety. He had no doubt he would assault her again as he had done on a number of occasions. He believed he would do anything to stop her going to court. He was aware that on other occasions Ms Hayden had withdrawn charges against Hamilton after having made complaints against him.
Granting Hamilton his own bail of £100, Mr Justice Smith said there had been no evidence he would fail to turn up for his trial and, on the evidence of Ms Hayden, he was not satisfied Hamilton would interfere with any witness.
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Harrowing scenes in town as two sisters laid to rest
by John Murphy and Billy Quirke
TEARDROPS and raindrops fell in almost equal amounts yesterday as 23 year old Stephanie Power and her 18 year old sister Karina, were laid to rest in Youghal, Co. Cork.
The sisters, who resided with their parents Michael and Margaret, brother Trevor and sister Melissa, at Atlantic Park, died instantly on Saturday afternoon when their car, driven by Stephanie, crashed head on into an approaching vehicle on the main N25 Waterford/Cork road at Kinsalebeg, Co. Waterford.
The Church of Our Lady Of Lourdes at Front Strand was packed to overflowing for the Concelebrated Mass at which local curate, Fr William Bermingham, was the chief celebrant. Many people were unable to gain entry to the church and stood outside in the rain to pay their last respects.
Inside, several members of the congregation carried singe red and white roses, and one could hear a pin drop as Fr Bermingham, in a tribute to Stephanie and Karina, spoke of two bright, bubbly, and wonderful people whose short lives had been lived well and to the full.
Fr. Bermingham said the day was one of terrible sorrow and pain. He said that in a tragedy of the enormity of this one, Christian faith doesn’t come up with glib answers. But though Stephanie and Karina’s bright futures had been cut so tragically short they had left behind special memories that can never be taken away.
Fr. Bermingham spoke of Stephanie as a young woman in love who was soon to embark on a new venture in life in the United States with her boyfriend, Séamus O’Rourke from neighbouring Clashmore. Younger sister, Karina, he said, was about to embark on a new year of study at Cork Institute of Technology.
The choir of the local Loreto Convent where the sisters were former pupils, sang many heart rending hymns, on what truly was a very poignant occasion.
Stephanie’s work colleagues at Smithkline Beecham Ltd, and students of Cork Institute of Technology where Karina was pursuing her third level education, formed a guard of honour as the coffins were taken on their final journey to North Abbey cemetery for burial. More than 1,000 mourners braved the driving rain, and many people, young and old, wept openly and unashamedly as the sisters were laid to rest.
Meanwhile, among over 100 wreaths and floral tributes placed beside the coffin of Garda Richie Nolan before the high altar in St Aidan’s Cathedral, Enniscorthy yesterday was one from the widow of murdered Limerick detective, Jerry McCabe. Garda Nolan died in a tragic car crash last weekend.
Fr John Carroll, CC, was celebrant at Requiem Mass, which was attended by Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne, and President McAleese was represented by her aide de comm.
Garda Nolan’s remains were borne to the outskirts of the town and then taken for burial in his native Ballon.
And there were poignant scenes among the family, friends and colleagues at the removal last evening of Garda Ambrose Fogarty, 27, a single man who also died in last weekend’s tragic car crash.
The body of Garda Fogarty was removed to St Joseph’s Funeral Home, Borrisokane, Co. Offally, to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Terryglass under garda escort.
The requiem Masswill take place at 11 a.m. today.
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No evidence of any political interference says tax chief
by Seán McCárthaigh
THERE was no evidence of any political interference in the drafting of a controversial Revenue document which greatly limited the investigative powers of tax officials, the DIRT inquiry has heard.
Revenue chairman Dermot Quigley told the Dáil Public Accounts Committee yesterday that an examination of the origin of a document known as SIM 263 had revealed no indication of any political involvement.
The document has proved central to claims by the Revenue Commissioners that they were unable to fully pursue the country’s financial institutions on the issue of bogus non resident accounts. Under 1967 legislation, tax officials had powers to examine non residency declaration forms used to open offshore accounts. However, SIM 263 - issued shortly after the introduction of DIRT tax in 1986 - instructed tax inspectors not to examine these forms until further notice. The order was never revoked.
Revenue witnesses who have appeared before the DIRT inquiry have uniformly complained that the order prevented them from establishing the true extent of unpaid DIRT by banks and building societies.
Giving evidence, Mr Quigley said he had conducted an investigation into the origin of SIM 263 in the past two weeks as ordered by PAC chairman, Jim Mitchell.
He told the inquiry he was unable to find any further files which could shed light on the drafting of the document. However, Mr Quigley said he was satisfied SIM 263 would have been written in the technical services branch of the Chief Inspector’s office, probably by someone dealing with income tax.
After contacting several retired personnel, Mr Quigley said it had most likely been drafted by deceased official, Frank Cassells.
But Revenue were unable to provide an answer as to why the holding sentence - preventing inspection of the declarations forms - was included in the document. However, Mr Quigley stressed there was no suggestion that it was unusual to have added such a rider. A former Revenue chairman, Séamus Paircéir also appeared before the committee to explain a meeting he held with Bank of Ireland officials in February 1987.
The inquiry wanted to know why the bank’s representatives had noted that Mr Paircéir was intending to mount an exercise to demonstrate that Revenue were using its full inspection powers on non resident accounts at a time when SIM 263 still operated.
However, Mr Paircéir denied all knowledge of the order’s existence until recently.
He went on to say that he would not have interpreted the document as saying non residency forms could never be inspected.
Mr Paircéir advised the committee they were chasing a dead end on the issue.
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Art collection looted by The General goes on display ahead of auction
ONE of Ireland’s finest private art collections, plundered by the infamous criminal known as The General during a robbery a decade ago, went on display yesterday ahead of going to auction.
The Murnaghan collection of art and furnishings features many old masters and is expected to fetch at least £1.5 million when it goes under the hammer in Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel on October 14.
Some of the paintings for sale were among the 60 stolen from the Murnaghan home on Fitzwilliam Street in 1988 by a gang led by The General, Martin Cahill.
Cahill later fell foul of the IRA and was murdered by the organisation only days before it called a ceasefire in 1994.
He has since entered Irish modern folklore and two films have been made in recent years charting his life. Actor Brendan Gleeson portrayed Cahill in the 1998 film The General.
Around half the Murnaghan paintings stolen by Cahill have been recovered over the years, although some have been devalued by damage inflicted on them while in the hands of his gang. George Mealy, whose Dublin based auction house is jointly selling off the Murnaghan collection with Christie’s, identified some of the paintings when they were discovered in England.
He said: ‘‘You should have seen the condition of them. They’d been lying in a trailer out of their frames and some were in tatters.’’ One, an 18th Century oil portrait attributed to the circle of George Chinnery, originally valued at £8,000, was so badly ripped its value now stands at between £2,500 to £3,500. Another work, a 15th Century piece by Giacomo Pacchiarotto, was stolen and recovered relatively unmarked. It is expected to fetch up to £35,000. ‘‘This is probably the best collection to come up in Ireland in about a century,’’ said Mr Mealy.
‘‘We would expect a lot of interest from Italian and American collectors for the old masters.
‘‘There is a lot of money in Ireland at the moment but there will be very few people who will collect the old masters in this country.’’ The collection was on show in the Murnaghan family home, a 4,000 square foot Georgian terrace and one of the few private homes left on Fitzwilliam Street.
It is also up for auction next month and expected to fetch £1.5 million.
It was the home of Irish Supreme Court judge Mr Justice James Murnaghan, a native of Omagh, County Tyrone, from the time he married his wife Alice 80 years ago until his death in 1973.
Mrs Murnaghan remained in the house until her death at the age of 104 earlier this year. Most of the art was collected by Mr Justice Murnaghan, much of it in the early 1920s when the old Anglo Irish order was thrown into turmoil by the formation of the new free state and civil war.
Many valuable paintings were sold for a fraction of their worth in dealer shops along Dublin’s quays over the period.
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Judgment reserved in Moloney notes case
JUDGMENT was reserved yesterday in the case of a reporter seeking to overturn a court order to hand over to police his notes of an interview with a murder suspect.
Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Sir Robert Carswell, sitting at Belfast High Court with Mr Justice Kerr, said judgment would be made ‘‘as soon as possible.’’
Ed Moloney, Northern editor of the Dublin-based Sunday Tribune, made the application after being told last month by a County Court judge that he must give officers his notes with self-confessed loyalist William Stobie, who has since been charged with the 1989 murder of Catholic solicitor Patrick Finucane. The English-ß
born reporter has insisted his notes did not contain any evidence which the RUC did not already know. He suggested he was being victimised for disclosing alleged collusion between police and the loyalist terrorists who shot Mr Finucane dead in front of his wife and children outside his North Belfast home. The controversial murder of Mr Finucane was earlier this year re-investigated by the Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, John Stevens, following similar accusations. Mr Moloney insisted he would rather face up to five years’ jail and a massive fine than breach the important journalistic ethic that sources should always remain confidential.
The journalist believes his life would be in danger and that he may never regain the trust of contacts, meaning that his career would be jeopardised.
Shortly after Stobie was charged earlier this year, Mr Moloney published an article based on an interview he had with the self-confessed loyalist informer in 1990.
Detectives in the Stevens team then approached Mr Moloney and asked him, as well as another Belfast reporter, Neil Mulholland, to hand over their notes.
While Mr Mulholland, now working for the Northern Ireland Office, agreed to this request, Mr Moloney refused, eventually resulting in him being ordered to do so by Belfast recorder Judge Anthony Hart. Crown lawyer Nicholas Hanna, QC, insisted that Mr Moloney’s note were of ‘‘substantial value for the police investigation into a very grave and serious crime.’’
Even if the notes contained the same material as in Mr Mulholland’s and police interview notes with Stobie from 1990, the corroboration would still be of value to the prosecution of Stobie and any others involved in the killing.
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Soldiers do not want to go to Derry
SOLDIERS and ex-soldiers called to give evidence to the Bloody Sunday inquiry will fight against going to Derry to give their testimony, the inquiry heard yesterday.
Counsel for military witnesses, Edwin Glasgow, QC, told a preliminary session of the inquiry in Derry’s Guildhall that the soldiers were intent their evidence should be given in London, not Derry, when the full public hearings begin next March.
But Lord Gifford, QC, representing the families of some of the 14 people shot dead by troops on January 30, 1972, expressed outrage that the soldiers would not be willing to travel back to the city where the shootings took place.
‘‘I am frankly shocked that it is being suggested soldiers or ex-soldiers would not have the guts to come to Derry to give their evidence.’’
He said the venue was a completely different matter to the anonymity which the soldiers were also seeking.
‘‘Coming to Derry to give evidence is a matter of a few days and the security services in this part of the UK have good experience in keeping the peace and protecting people.’’
He said of all the issues being examined during this week’s preliminary session, none was more important to the families of the deceased than that the whole inquiry be held in the city where the event took place so the people of the city could attend.
Lord Saville, who is chairing the inquiry, has already indicated that while he intended to sit in Derry he could, depending on the security, sit elsewhere.
He said yesterday that it was too soon to make a decision which would depend on circumstances next spring.
Accepting that soldiers could seek a judicial review on the matter, he said: ‘‘I think the tribunal feels that it is almost inevitable that there is going to be substantial argument on this issue and it is best to leave it until nearly the last moment so we can get the most up-to-date security assessment.’’ Lord Saville decided an assessment of the terrorists’ threat against the families of up to 150 soldiers who have died since serving in Derry on Bloody Sunday should be carried out. He made the decision during a second day of wrangling over whether the anonymity granted to 17 soldiers who fired shots on Bloody Sunday should be extended.
Counsel for military witnesses said the family of one soldier, granted anonymity but now dead, had requested that the anonymity be continued because of their fears for their own safety.
Lord Saville said the families should make a formal submission, as should the families of other deceased soldiers concerned about their safety. The tribunal, he said, would have a threat assessment carried out.
But Lord Gifford, QC, disputed there was any threat against the families of dead soldiers. He said the chances of such families being located and identified was ‘‘slight in the extreme’’ and any danger of attack on the families was ‘‘fanciful’’.
Declan Morgan, QC, representing the families of those shot dead on Bloody Sunday, insisted there was a need for public confidence and a principle of open justice in the hearing.
He said a perception had been created among the public that anonymity had been abused at the 1972 Widgery tribunal of investigations.
‘‘There is a perception that the previous tribunal would not, or could not, deal with that abuse. There is a perception that the search for truth in that tribunal was consequently impaired.’’
The inquiry was adjourned to today.
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Asthma link to big babies
BIGGER babies are more likely to develop asthma and other allergies, according to research published yesterday.
New born babies with larger heads and longer bodies are at increased risk of developing allergic conditions, experts found.
The study by New Zealand researchers also challenges claims that asthma is linked to low birth weight.
Smaller babies are at reduced risk of allergic conditions, according to the study, published in the journal Thorax.
The research looked at 734 youngsters in New Zealand and monitored their progress from birth to the age of 13.
Children who measured more than 56cm when born were six times more likely to be exhibiting symptoms of asthma as a teenager than those measuring 50 55cm. Youngsters with a head circumference of more than 36cm at birth were three times more likely to have increased levels of an immune system serum linked to allergic conditions.
And babies who weighed less than three kilograms at birth were also less likely to be showing signs of asthma by the age of 13, according to the study findings.
Previous studies have claimed that low birth weight could be a risk factor for asthma.
The researchers said the reason for the link between increased birth size and asthma was unclear.
But the study does help to explain the huge increase in the numbers of children suffering from asthma, as average birth weight and size has risen over the years.
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Dempsey urges public service to employ more disabled
by Evelyn Ring
LOCAL government should take the lead in employing more people with disabilities, Environment and Local Government Minister, Noel Dempsey, declared yesterday.
"I want the public service to lead the process of doing the right thing by people with disabilities and I want the local government system to be out in front," Minister Dempsey declared.
The Minister described disabled people as a largely untapped pool of talent very much needed in a booming economy. It is estimated that at least one in ten of the population have some form of disability, of which at least 60 70% remain unemployed.
The Minister said he wanted all local authorities to ensure that a minimum of three per cent of their staff are people with disabilities by the end of 1999 when the Partnership 2000 Agreement expires.
The number of local authority staff with disabilities has increased from 0.6% in 1991 to 2.6% in 1997.
At a disability seminar in Dublin Castle Minister Dempsey launched a Code of Practice for the Employment of People with Disabilities in the Local Authority.
Mr Dempsey described the code as but one part of the infrastructure of measures to promote the rights of people with disabilities.
The code covers a number of areas including recruitment, inclusion in the workplace, career development, retention in employment, accommodation and equipment, safety, health and welfare at work and as a monitoring device for its implementation.
Chairperson of the National Rehabilitation Board, Jacqui Browne, said it would be a great day when at least 900 (3%) of employees of the local authorities’ workforce of over 30,000 are employees with disabilities.
SIPTU’s disability policy adviser, Michael Gogarty, said there were 130,000 people with disabilities of employable age in Ireland capable of work but they were presented with very few opportunities to do so.
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O’Keeffe wants permanent site
THERE was a difference of opinion at the National Ploughing Championships in Castletownroche yesterday between Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh and Food Minister Ned O’Keeffe over the idea of a permanent site for the event.
Mr O’Keeffe, who called for a permanent site, said he planned bringing the National Ploughing Association and other interests together to discuss the idea. He said visitors to the opening day of the event, which attracted over 40,000 people, who had to contend with muddy conditions following recent heavy rain, were very positive about his proposal.
But Mr Walsh, asked about the idea, said people like a change of scenery. They come to the ploughing event from all over the country. But it was not so much the ploughing that they come to see, but also the countryside and to meet acquaintances and see new developments. "I think people will get bored very quickly if there was a permanent site," he said. NPA managing director Anna May McHugh said it would be wonderful to have a permanent site, but the Ploughing Association funds would not go a third of the way towards providing a site big enough.
"Unless we get financial assistance from the Government it would not be possible," she said. Referring to the first day of this year’s event, which Taoiseach Bertie Ahern attended, she said accepted that underfoot conditions were difficult, but with the wet weather, 900 exhibitors and the amount of heavy machinery coming on site, the land was marvellous to stand up to it at all.
"The atmosphere was great," she said.
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Teagasc director wants consumer to learn scientific benefits of GM foods
THE benefits genetic modification of crops brings to consumers needs to be scientifically documented, according to Teagasc director Dr Liam Downey.
He said unless consumer confidence in genetic engineering is established it may suffer the same fate as food irradiation.
"It is widely accepted that biotechnology has immense benefits in the medical and pharmaceutical fields. Therefore, society is not against biotechnology per se.
"However, consumers perceive that the benefits of agri food biotechnology are largely captured by multi national companies and to some degree by farmers. They are very sceptical about the demonstrable benefits to food products," he said.
Dr Downey also stressed that there is an urgent need for a credible, regulatory framework in Europe for biotechnology.
"The FDA has done an excellent job in developing a rational and trusting public attitude to biotechnology in the US. We need a similar organisation for Europe," he said.
The Teagasc director said there is a growing need for public research institutions to evaluate genetically modified crops both in terms of the agronomic benefits and environmental risks.
But, in many European countries, the public institutions that over past decades undertook comprehensive research on agricultural technologies have been significantly eroded.
These institutions carried out impartial research which gave consumers the confidence in new and emerging technologies now common place in agriculture.
Dr Downey said society must have more trustworthy, credible and impartial reassurance of the environmental risks associated with genetically modified crops.
"In this regard, there would be great merit in having a science based audit of the benefits and potential risks associated with biotechnology," he said.
Dr Downey added that Teagasc is establishing a programme which will scientifically evaluate the environmental impacts of genetically modified crops.
Meanwhile, ICMSA president Frank Allen said farmers had a right to a minimum income the same as other sectors of the community. During the past few years farmers had suffered persistently low incomes. Farm Assist was introduced to help those at the very bottom of the pile, but it was of no benefit to the vast majority of farmers.
"Farm income, and most especially a minimum farm income, will be important issues in the negotiations for the next National Agreement," he said.
Minister Joe Walsh announced the names of the Committee on the Role of Women in Agriculture, which he has set up. It will address education and training, the under representation of women at political and organisational level, health and welfare, isolation and marginalisation, personal finance and other economic and legal issues.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, who launched the IFA Farm Women of the Year Awards, sponsored by the Bank of Ireland in association with the Irish Farmers Journal, paid tribute to the thousands of women who work in rural Ireland in farming, business and in all walks of life and who play a vital role in developing their communities.
Macra na Feirme president T. J. Maher, who presented Minister Walsh with its first policy document on women in agriculture, said land inheritance, pensions for women, support networks for carers, computer training and safety on the farm are issues which must be addressed by the Government.
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Fisheries plan not supported by Spaniards
by Eddie Cassidy
INNOVATIVE proposals put forward by British and Irish fishing organisations to decentralise Europe’s Common Fisheries Policy would not have the backing of the Spanish fishing industry, it was emphasised yesterday.
The Spanish, it emerged, have fears that fair play would not be applied by all the fishing nations in the event of a regional management approach to fish conservation and controls.
Hugo Gonzalez Garcia acknowledged yesterday that there were problems with the present CFP structure, but suggested that the Spanish would prefer to have Brussels retain control. Gonzalez Garcia, the technical secretary of the Vigo based ARPOSOL, said that a centralised system would guarantee fair play for all fishing nations. Concerns, he said, had been underlined by the injustices meted out to detained Spanish trawlers in certain jurisdictions, particularly in France, where the laws were not being applied fairly in terms of penalties imposed.
He claimed that any Spanish trawler arrested in French waters could expect a fine of not less than five million pesetas and have their fish and gear confiscated while the Spanish courts were much more lenient when French skippers were in the dock. Similar comparisons, he said, could be made in relation to decisions affecting Spanish and Irish skippers in some Irish courts. The Spanish representative was attending a transnational get together in Clonakilty, Co. Cork, initiated by the Irish South West and Fishermen’s Organisation and scheduled to also include UK, Belgian and French fishermen. Topping the agenda in the two day workshop are proposed regional management measures together with conservation issues and highly controversial proposals for No Take Zones.
The ISWFO’s manager Jason Whooley said that securing a system of regional management, acceptable to the European Commission and its member states, would be a problem.
He claimed the CFP was not effective in tackling the uncontrolled movement of foreign fishing fleets and the over fishing of some stock. He said that regional management could help to halt stock decline.
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Loyalist leaders reject criticism by Trimble
LOYALIST political leaders reacted strongly yesterday to Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble’s criticism of them.
Progressive Unionist Party and Ulster Democratic Party leaders hit back at Mr Trimble for condemning their stance on decommissioning and their response to loyalist paramilitary violence.
Mr Trimble told a press conference that attacks on Catholic families stained the name of loyalism and he called for a ‘‘renewed focus’’ on their actions against the Protestant community. ‘‘It must be repudiated absolutely and at every opportunity.’
‘‘The figures speak for themselves. Not only have loyalists engaged in murder since the Belfast Agreement no fewer than nine murders, culminating in that of Elizabeth O’Neill but there have been 76 loyalist shootings, 178 loyalist beatings and almost 400 cases of people exiled.
‘‘Hundreds more have had to be re-housed due to intimidation,’’ added Mr Trimble.
But his comments were condemned by Billy Hutchinson of the Progressive Unionist Party and David Adams of the Ulster Democratic Party which are both linked to groups on ceasefire.
Mr Hutchinson, whose party is politically linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force and Red Hand Commando, accused the UUP leader of being ‘‘disingenuous’’. ‘‘We met last week in George Mitchell’s review and I explained both groups’ position. I went away with the understanding that he had a better grasp of their position. But to talk about loyalists in general is disingenuous. He mentions the murder of Elizabeth O’Neill which has been blamed on people connected with the Loyalist Volunteer Force.
"I seem to recall he was the one who asked for the LVF’s ceasefire to be recognised and for the release of their prisoners’’.
The Ulster Democratic Party’s David Adams, whose party represents the Ulster Defence Association and the Ulster Freedom Fighters, also expressed ‘‘disappointment’’.
‘‘I am disappointed that David Trimble would seek to attack the UDP at least by inference when he is well aware of the efforts we have made and continue to make on a daily and nightly basis to bring loyalist paramilitary violence to an end.
‘‘It is not within the gift of our party to deliver decommissioning. Obviously, we are working towards that goal and will continue to do that."
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Tories urged to help peace process
by Aidan Hennigan
A DIRECT challenge to the British Conservative Party to help not hinder the government in achieving peace in Northern Ireland was made by Tony Blair yesterday to the thunderous applause of delegates at the Labour Party Conference.
Mr Blair, who was clearly directing his comments to leader William Hague and the party’s spokesman on the North, Andrew MacKay, reminded the Conservatives that when Labour was in opposition they gave the Tory government their support for Northern policies.
"Don’t make our task harder now because that would mean the real betrayal of the children of Northern Ireland," the Prime Minister warned.
Both William Hague and Andrew MacKay had consistently criticised the government in recent times over its policies and have demanded the end of prisoner releases and insisted that Sinn Fein must not be given a seat in the Northern Ireland Executive until the IRA begins commissioning.
Mr Blair, in a relatively short reference to the north, recalled there was a lessening of military activity but conceded there was still violence declaring "all violence is unacceptable."
Significantly, the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Mo Mowlam sat with the Prime Minister’s wife Cherie Blair, during Tony Blair’s 52 minute long keynote speech.
In all it was a passionate, often personal, rallying address with Tony Blair calling for a fairer and more open society and demanding an end to people being held back by "prejudice and snobbery."
Particularly he wants to highlight the lack of women and members of ethnic minorities in the top reaches of the British civil service and other senior jobs and also the outdated system of selecting judges.
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AIB faces an investigation over Spollen claims about failed shares
by Barry O’Halloran and Seán McCárthaigh
ALLIED Irish Banks is facing a Stock Exchange probe following dramatic claims that it hid details of a failed shares issue from the authorities.
Former AIB auditor, Tony Spollen told the DIRT inquiry that shares were channelled into the bank’s staff pension funds and accounts for widows and orphans.
The stock was originally intended to be listed and traded on the Dublin market, but Mr Spollen said the rights issue went badly wrong.
Yesterday, he claimed the bank concealed the move from the Stock Exchange, whose rules obliged it to reveal anything which may affect its share price or valuation.
"Rather than face the music and admit it, what happened was the shares were put into the widows’ and orphans’ accounts, into the staff pension funds. The stock exchange was never informed," he said.
Mr Spollen also accused AIB’s former chief executive, Gerry Scanlan, of instructing him to alter an internal audit report which he refused to do.
Last night, the bank refuted this allegation but failed to answer the more serious claim that AIB may have breached Stock Exchange rules.
An Exchange spokesman said it was responsible for investigating any possible breach of its rules by a publicly quoted company in this country.
"If we are made aware of anything untoward, then we have a responsibility to investigate the company. But we cannot comment on specifics at this stage," he said.
The Central Bank may also conduct its own inquiry, although bank sources said it was unlikely to take any action until the DIRT inquiry completes its hearings.
Legal sources said the Dáil Public Accounts Committee is unlikely to pursue Mr Spollen’s claims further as its remit is limited to an investigation of bogus non resident accounts and unpaid DIRT tax.
Last night, Mr Scanlan categorically denied ever instructing Mr Spollen to change an audit report.
In a statement, AIB said the auditor had been asked by the bank’s legal advisor to remove a comment from his report which was hearsay and probably defamatory.
He was also told to include extra information to complete the report, and to specify the terms of reference under which it had been prepared. But Mr Spollen’s report was subsequently issued in its original form after he had refused to comply with these requests.
However, neither Mr Scanlan nor the bank would discuss Mr Spollen’s claims about the share dealing which occurred during his tenure as AIB’s head of group internal audit from 1986 to 1991.
The latest allegations represent a further serious embarrassment for the country’s biggest bank. Earlier this year, it emerged that AIB wrote off £400,000 of a £1.14m debt belonging to former Taoiseach, Charles Haughey.
The DIRT inquiry has also heard references to AIB’s other major difficulties as several PAC members have drawn parallels between the bank’s DIRT liabilities and the fact that £132m of taxpayers’ money was spent on rescuing its troubled subsidiary, Insurance Corporation of Ireland in the 1980s.
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New prison complex unlikely to remain drug free
by Carl O’Brien
A NEW state of the art women’s prison complex is unlikely to remain drug free, the head of the prison service conceded yesterday.
The complex in Mountjoy Prison, which opened yesterday, was hailed as a major step towards ending 150 years of poor prison conditions for women by the director general of the prison service, Sean Aylward.
However, keeping the unit free of drugs will be a huge difficulty, he added. "The objective is to keep the unit drug free, but keeping it completely drug free would mean introducing levels of searching on women prisoners which are not acceptable in civil society," Mr Aylward said.
The complex, opened by Minister for Justice John O’Donoghue, holds up to 80 women prisoners and comprises eight residential units in a village style setting without conventional prison perimeter walls.
The complex, built on the site of a 19th century women’s penitentiary, was welcomed by the Minister who described it as the most important and significant landmark in the long and chequered history of women’s prisons at the location.
On the advice of a steering committee the new prison will introduce various facilities to prepare offenders for re entry into their own communities. These include a pre release residence where prisoners will be allowed to participate in training courses outside the prison and the provision of special bedrooms to accommodate mothers and their young babies.
Remand and convicted prisoners will be housed in a separate residential unit, as will drug addicts.
However IMPACT yesterday condemned the treatment facilities for prison drug addicts as being completely inadequate.
"There are huge deficiencies in the rehabilitation services with just one probation or welfare officer for up to 80 offenders. Given that a 1996 survey found that 70% of female offenders are drug addicts, there is no way they can receive sustained support and treatment services," said Patrick O’Dea, spokesman for the probation and welfare officers branch of IMPACT.
The Irish Penal Reform Trust welcomed the opening of the prison, but added that creating more prison spaces would not provide a solution to tackling crime.
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Getting down and dirty at this year’s Ploughing
by Fionnán Sheahan
WARNING: Do not go to Castletownroche today without wellies.....and a rainjacket, waterproof pants, an umbrella, etc, etc.
Those who did not heed similar friendly advice yesterday issued by the organisers of the National Ploughing Championships paid the price. Well, not too bad a price, as a fine pair of steel toe capped impermeable wellington boots could be bought at a Trade Stand for only £17.
One young woman was observed wearing what were once, I’m sure, a pretty pair of sandals.
Well at least the mud wasn’t getting stuck but rather flowing in and out between her toes.
The other prerequisite at The Ploughing was a walking stick. Just down by the livestock section, a young lass was selling electric fencing rods. Just the job.
For from being a negative aspect, the good old mixture of thick and runny muck was all part of the fun of the show. There was so much of it, I’m convinced the organisers imported tonnes of the stuff, just for the laugh.
Judging by the depth of the mud pools, a few people may yet disappear.
Inside the livestock section, practically every marquee was giving away a cow of some sort.
"Would you like to buy a line for a pound to win this grand bullock?" a gentleman in overalls asked. Before, responding, I wondered what I would do with the bullock if I did win. After careful consideration of the yield from the grass in my back yard, I declined the offer.
In a field next to the Trade Stands Village, a seed dispenser, a digger and a JCB, were in action.
A man, wearing a peaked cap and standing up against the ditch, told me: "That field there is nine tenths of a mile long. That’s some field, boy."
Assuming he had amassed this insight by some sinister means, I attempt to run away but my getaway is foiled when my welly comes off and I become embedded in mud up to my knee.
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Bids for radio licence at fever pitch
by Jim Morahan
FOUR business groups made their gentlest, most persuasive pitch yesterday with the goal of landing Dublin’s new ‘easy listening’ radio licence.
On the second day of public hearings before the Independent Radio and Television Commission, the occasion marked a mood switch from the sharp suited applicants seeking the youth oriented licence to the business execs aiming for the music driven, 35 plus category.
IRTC chairman Conor Maguire SC and his nine colleagues will announce their choice on October 11.
Yesterday’s big hitting line up included Lite FM, headed by former IDA boss Padraic A White. Its board and management team offered 70 years experience in the Dublin marketplace.
FM104 co founder Martin Block said they aimed to reach 28% of their target 35 54 year old market at the end of year one.
LiteFM was not just about music, the promoters said. Dublin Today would be the daily current affairs flagship which would become the local forum for Dublin views, while Dublin Insight would provide a weekly digest of the capital’s arts and cultural matters.
GoldFM, headed by Brian Molloy who has long time involvement in the music business, pointed to market research showing that 1960s music is by far the most popular choice among the 35 plus age group. With that and early 1970s music, the consortium hoped to win 10% of the target listenership and plug a gap in that market.
Sunshine FM chairperson Mary Harrison said the station would aim to achieve a 7% share of the listening audience in year one, rising to 17% in year three. She promised a range of special interest and lifestyle elements, such as features on career development, adult literacy, child care and technology.
Finally, EasyFM’s David Harvey, well known co presenter of Crimeline with Marian Finucane, put the vigorous case why his consortium should be picked.
"We bring new blood to the Dublin market," he announced. But it was new blood with a significant experience. Mr Harvey, at 39, worked in radio for 20 years.
The backers include Trinity Venture Capital, the Yeoman Group and the British based Chrysalis organisation whose chief executive Philip Riley said its Heart radio was No 2 to London’s Capital Radio and market leader in the East Midlands.
Mr Riley’s winning formula would be a rich mix of great songs from the last four decades.
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Nursing unions predict overwhelming vote in favour of strike
by Carl O’Brien
NURSING unions yesterday predicted an overwhelming vote in favour of strike action as balloting in the long running nurses pay dispute got underway.
The balloting process is expected to take two weeks with an all out strike by the country’s 27,000 nurses planned for October 19. Seven days notice will be given to employers while further action is planned three days later when uniformed nurses march on the Dáil.
Unions are expecting a huge vote to signal the green light for strike action, similar to last week’s landslide vote by nurses to reject the Labour Court’s £60 million pay offer.
The stand off between the unions and Government continued yesterday when Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said the Government would stand firm over the Labour Court findings into the pay dispute.
In a hard hitting address to the National Centre for Partnership in Dublin, he said he was concerned at the "apparent willingness of some sector groups to substitute industrial conflict for the spirit of the partnership process."
"The nursing profession will have to take full account of the Government’s decision not to depart from the recent Labour Court findings. We in the Government wish to stand firm on the findings of the Labour Court. We cannot simply ignore the consequences of doing so."
Liam Doran of the Irish Nurses Organisation rejected accusations that nurses were at fault.
"I would defy anyone to point out another group which has done more for partnership in terms of flexibility and adaptability in the face of limited resources. This is leading to low morale and a serious curtailment of health services. What is partnership if we don’t have a quality health service?," he said.
"The Taoiseach is taking a very hard line but he doesn’t seem to fully understand the reasons why nurses in the INO voted to reject the Labour Court recommendations by 95%.Meanwhile the four nursing unions, the INO, Psychiatric Nurses Association, SIPTU and IMPACT are balloting members around the country.
Unions are expected to start discussions with hospitals on essential cover to minimise the disruption during strike action. Unions want elective surgery scaled down in the run up to strike action.
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Doctors’ union backs nurses’ expected strike
by Carl O’Brien
A NEW trade union representing half of the country’s 2,000 GPs has thrown its support behind the expected strike action by nurses.
The Alliance of General Practitioners, the first new trade union formed in 15 years, said yesterday the Government must act to ensure nurses’ grievances were dealt with. "We fully support the action of nurses. They are facing a nightmare scenario with understaffing and underfunding. The situation has now reached a stage where it is completely unacceptable. The Government has to realise what it is nurses have to put up with," said union spokeswoman Dr Mary Grehan. The first union to cater solely for GPs was formed this month, bringing together two GP groups the Association of General Practitioners and the National Association of Independent General Practitioners.
"We will be a thorn in the Department of Health’s side. We’ve actually been around for 12 years, but now that we have union membership, we can offer the protection of a union and with a negotiating licence, we will be able to operate more effectively than we have done in the past," Dr Grehan said.
The union will further undermine the strength of the Irish Medical Organisation, which has negotiated on behalf on doctors in the past. Among the issues the Alliance will be fighting for is the right of GPs to be able to sell the goodwill of practices they have built up.
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Leaking of names could be politically motivated
by Mary Dundon, Political Staff
THE selected leaking of 23 names of alleged Ansbacher account holders to the Irish Times could have been politically motivated, Fine Gael leader John Bruton claimed last night.
The majority of people on that list had Fine Gael connections and the only people who had access to the High Court document naming 120 Ansbacher account holders were Fianna Fáil, the Progressive Democrats and the officers of the court, Mr Bruton said.
Fine Gael MEP Mary Banotti, one of the 23 alleged Ansbacher account holders named, said she believed this selected leaking could be part of a dirty tricks campaign.
"A lot of people who are very worried have huge amounts of money, and it is amazing that those who have been named have Opposition connections," Ms Banotti said in a RTE interview yesterday.
Ms Banotti is among five of the alleged named Ansbacher depositors who issued statements yesterday denying they ever held accounts in the Cayman Island bank.
The other four include: Independent News and Media chairman Tony O’Reilly; former EU Commissioner and AIB chairman, Peter Sutherland; Bord na Móna chairman, Pat Dineen; the Coveney family on behalf of the late Hugh Coveney, and Fitzwilton director Vincent Ferguson.
And Dr O’Reilly stated that he intended to sue the Irish Times for libel after they described him as an depositor on the list prepared by the State appointed authorised officer.
Murray’s Rent a Car director, Harry T Murray, who was also named as an alleged Ansbacher account holder, said he had no comment on the matter when contacted by The Examiner yesterday.
An Mr Murray also declined to comment on the claim that his late father Harry Murray was also an Ansbacher account holder.
The remaining alleged Ansbacher account holders named by The Irish Times included: former Burmah chairman, Ken O’Reilly Highland; Fitzwilton director Jim McCarthy; Cork property developer, Clayton Love Junior; architect Sam Stephenson; his former partner Arthur Gibney; former Cement Roadstone Holding chief executive, Jim Culliton; former CRH directors: Gerry Hickey; Bob Willis; Dr Michael Dargan and Richard Wood.
None of these could be reached for comment at the time of going to press.
But Mr Wood stated twice in the past that he was not an Ansbahcer account holder. Two other former CRH directors were also named the late Des Traynor and the late Diarmuid Quirke, as well as their present chairman Tony Barry.
Mr Barry has confirmed that he held offshore funds between 1989 and 1995 with either Ansbacher or Hamilton Ross.
And Dr Dargan told the Moriarty Tribunal last March that he held an Ansbacher account in the Cayman Islands when he was a director of the Bank of Ireland.
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Dail row at withholding Ansbacher list names
by Liam O’Neill, Political Editor
A MAJOR Dáil row is now looming after the rejection by the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, of all attempts by the Opposition to get him to publish the names of the Ansbacher account holders identified by the Authorised Officer in a confidential report.
Mr Ahern’s final rejection of Fine Gael and Labour attempts to flush out the names of the controversial 120 Ansbacher deposit holders came in a letter to Fine Gael leader, John Bruton, after the Government had discussed the issue at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting.
He told Mr Bruton the Government was advised by Attorney General Michael McDowell that it was not now in a position to publish information contained in the report because to do so would be a criminal offence and would also amount to a conscious contempt of court.
The Government was advised, he said, that the 1990 Act did not permit or contemplate the publication of information obtained under Section 19 on a name or shame basis, the Taoiseach told Mr Bruton.
Mr Bruton has also called for a change in the law to permit publication and his party have tabled a motion to that effect for debate in the Dáil tonight.
But the Taoiseach, referring to this in his letter, said he had received preliminary advice suggesting that making the contents of Mr Ryan’s report public in these circumstances would probably infringe the constitution and seriously jeopardise any prosecution on foot of current investigations. Meanwhile, the Government last night tabled an amendment to the Fine Gael motion calling on the Dáil to back its approach of non-publication.
It now looks fairly certain that this amendment will be carried and the motion rejected.
One of the four Independents on whose support the minority Coalition relies, Mildred Fox of Wicklow, said last night she would be voting with the Government because she did not want to jeopardise the investigation by the High Court Inspectors or potential prosecutions.
Government Chief Whip, Seamus Brennan, will meet the other three Independents Jackie Healy Rae, Tom Gildea and Harry Blaney this afternoon, but he said he was satisfied that they would also support the Government when they heard the legal advice available to the Taoiseach and his Ministers.
The debate will open tonight and will continue tomorrow morning with a vote early in the afternoon.
As part of his advice to the Cabinet, the Attorney General said that the information reported by the Authorised Officer was gathered using powers which were based on balancing rights of non-disclosure.
If those balancing rights were not in place, or were swept away by retrospective legislation, there would be very grave constitutional doubts about giving power to a Minister or any Body to investigate companies.
It would be wrong to name and shame suspected wrongdoers without according those suspected any prior right to vindicate their good names or to assert their innocence, the Attorney General advised.
Earlier yesterday the Fine Gael leader had written to the Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Harney, expressing grave concern over the leaking of names from the Ansbacher list to the Irish Times.
The leaking of some names and the series of robust denials from several those concerned, made it more important than ever, Mr Bruton said, to change the law to allow the lists to be released in full, with notice, at an early date this week or next.
"That would allow all concerned to make any denial, clarification, or explanation of their tax position in a reasonably prepared way," he said.
Responding to this through a spokesman, the Tanaiste said that she was ß
not going to comment on what was really speculation about the Ansbacher list.
The Tanaiste had no questions to answer, the spokesman said. The inquiry carried out by her authorised officer was done so fairly and professionally over 18 months and was now with a team of inspectors who, she was confident, would bring the matters to a successful conclusion, the spokesman said.
Ms Harney also warned against playing into the hands of those who had tried to collapse the process this far.
The Government have also named the people who had received copies of the Authorised Officer’s report containing the list of names as the Taoiseach, the Tanaiste, the Minister for Finance, the Attorney General, the Central Bank, the Revenue Commissioners, the High Court, the six directors of Ansbach, five of whom are resident in the Caymen Islands and one of whom resided in the UK, and Padraig Collery, a Guinness & Mahon official.
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Planning Bill is challenged
MORE than 60 community groups have challenged aspects of the Government’s Planning Bill.
Provisions within the Bill restrict the rights of individuals to participate in the environmental decision making process, the organisations have stated.
The group, under the umbrella of Friends of the Irish Environment, have called for the elimination of fees required to comment on planning applications; the removal of restrictions on the right of appeal to those who have made submissions at the planning application stage and the elimination of the requirement for substantial interest to be proved. "If the Government wishes to streamline the planning process it has many other options available to it, such as increasing staff numbers in the processing of applications, and modernising procedures.
"Effecting efficiency at the expense of the public’s right to participate is obviously wrong." Friends of the Irish Environment said.
The group includes members of An Taisce, Cork Environmental Alliance and Voice.
The new planning guidelines were intended to assist planning authorities, An Bord Pleanála, developers and the general public, Minister for the Environment, Noel Dempsey, said yesterday.
The planning guidelines were one element of the Government’s continuing response to the issue of house prices.
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Kildare garden blooms anew with top conservation prize
by Niall Murray
EFFORTS to restore Ireland and Europe’s only remaining parkland garden were rewarded with the top prize in a national conservation scheme yesterday.
Work began on the Larchill Arcadian Gardens in County Kildare last year to return the 18th century site to its original splendour.
The £2,500 overall winners’ prize in the 1999 ESB Community Environment Awards will be spent on the further development of the 10 garden follies, eight acre lake and walled garden.
The project organisers also plan to set up a lecture for students and children, which will allow them learn about the wildlife and flora of the area.
The awards are organised by Conservation Volunteers Ireland to create awareness and provide practical opportunities for individuals to protect and enhance Ireland’s natural and cultural environment.
CVI President Professor David Bellamy and conservationist Dick Warner presented the prizes to Larchill and £1,00 each to four category winners: the Fenor Bog Project in County Waterford for their bog restoration work; Limerick Civic Trust’s Georgian house and garden restoration project; the community composting scheme at the Crampton Buildings Project in Dublin city and Bray School Project’s Learning Through Landscapes wildlife garden.
Four other projects were also recognised at ceremony in Dublin: the development of a wetland habitat by the Cabragh Wetlands Trust in County Tipperary; Energy Action’s domestic energy protection scheme in Dublin 8; the coastal survey project conducted by Sherkin Island Marine Station in County Cork, and Galway Civic Trust’s restoration of the fisheries tower museum.
The organisers were highly encouraged by the standard of the 300 plus entries submitted for the awards, and local winners were also announced.
Special prizes were presented to 15 local urban and rural projects around the country, ranging from wildlife projects and a Teddy Bear’s Picnic for children to walks and nature trails.
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Heroin problem worse despite bid to curb menace
by Jim Morahan
DUBLIN’S heroin problem has got worse over the last three years despite efforts by the authorities to curb the menace, an anti drugs activist claimed last night.
"We are back to open dealing on the streets," said Andre Lyder of the Coalition Against Drugs. He was speaking before a protest march in the south inner city. Some years ago, a war on drugs was launched by the Government action after a series of widely publicised public marches, some targeting suspected dealers and pushers.
Evidence from a number of Dublin communities showed heroin use on the increase, with a worrying rise in the number of younger addicts. Despite the Government’s high profile efforts to tackle drugs, the current measures were proving not to be effective.
"Three years ago, there was a sense of optimism, but down the road there is a huge sense of frustration now that the problem has got worse," said Mr Lyder. While he welcomed the record heroin seizures last year, there was a resurgence in open drug dealing. Communities ravaged by the drugs menace felt that not enough resources were being provided on a number of fronts.
Some 4,000 of Dublin’s estimated 13,500 opiate users are on methadone treatment which meant 10,000 addicts were going out on the street to buy heroin, according to Mr Lyder. "At an average of £50 per day for 365 days of the year multiplied by 10,000 that amounts to a large sum."
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Judge didn’t have power to exclude the media
by Ray Managh
IN quashing the decision of Mr Justice Flood to exclude the media from the taking of evidence on commission from Mr Joseph Murphy Snr in Guernsey, the High Court yesterday held he did not have the power to do so on the basis of medical evidence and the welfare of a witness.
Mr Justice Frederick Morris, President of the High Court, said the arguments advanced by the Irish Times, the Irish Independent, The Examiner and RTE against Judge Flood’s ruling centred mainly around the provisions of the Tribunals of Enquiry (Evidence) Act 1921 and in particular Section 2.
The Section provided that a Tribunal should not refuse to allow the public, or any section of it, to be present at any of the proceedings save in two circumstances specified "…for reasons connected with the subject matter of the inquiry or the nature of the evidence to be given."
Mr Justice Morris said the applicants had submitted Judge Flood’s decision had not been based on either of these grounds. While the decision of Judge Flood had probably been based upon valid humanitarian grounds to protect Mr Murphy, an elderly man who was unwell, from unnecessary stress, such reasons were not "connected with the subject matter of the inquiry or the nature of the evidence to be given."
He said Mr Justice Flood, in his judgment, had stated "it is true that this is a public sitting of the Tribunal, but that public aspect of the sitting is catered for by recording the deposition in the records of the public sittings."
Mr Justice Morris said Judge Flood had regarded the procedures in Guernsey as far more than the mere taking of evidence on commission and had established that they would be a public sitting of the Tribunal. There had been nothing in the medical evidence to which Judge Flood had referred which bore on "the subject matter of the inquiry".
Nothing in the Act enabled the chairman of a tribunal to exclude the public simply because the wellbeing of a witness required it. Mr Justice Morris said the decision of Judge Flood was completely meritorious and directed towards the efficient running of the inquiry.
However, he did not have the power on the basis of medical evidence and the welfare of a witness to make the exclusion order. Mr Justice Morris said he was in complete agreement with the submission that there was not and never had been an entitlement vested in the general public, which included the media, to attend at or report the proceedings at the taking of evidence on commission.
When a court or tribunal directed that evidence be taken on commission it was clear that the commission did no more than gather the evidence for the purpose of tendering it to the court or tribunal for its consideration.
It was clear from the Rules of the Superior Court that the Commissioner possessed no powers in relation to the evidence other than were necessary for the purpose of harvesting the evidence. The function of receiving or rejecting the evidence was vested not in the Commissioner but in the court or tribunal.
Mr Justice Morris said the statement of the evidence harvested remained in escrow until it was submitted to and considered and either rejected or received by the court or tribunal.
When it was received as evidence then, and only then, did it become evidence irrespective of whether it was accepted or disregarded by the court or tribunal.
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Media may be excluded again
by Vivion Kilfeather
FLOOD Planning Tribunal chairman, Mr Justice Flood, again plans to exclude the media from a special sitting in Guernsey this morning.
But RTE´ and the Irish Independent plan to appeal this decision today.
Having heard further medical evidence yesterday, the Chairman intends to appoint a new commission this morning which will take the evidence of Joseph Murphy Snr in private.
This is despite the High Court Judicial Review ruling in favour of the press being enabled to attend the hearings when yesterday’s session got underway in public. Dr John Curran said he had examined his patient Mr Murphy only last week and found him short of breath, shaking, sweaty and extremely anxious over the fact that he had to appear before the Tribunal with the press in attendance.
The doctor assessed a serious risk of heart failure if his patient were to appear at a hearing in public.
Doctor Curran advised Mr Murphy that he would be putting himself at risk if he attended with a serious possibility of cardiac failure which would probably be terminal if he was not resuscitated in adequate time.
He said he had insulin dependent diabetes, cerebral atrophy and established vascular disease along with congestive cardiac failure. He had a very fragile heart system and had recently been hospitalised with heart failure. Had he not received immediate hospital attention he would have died.
Having heard this evidence Mr Justice Flood said he intends to press ahead with a commission in private.
The judge said he understood the decision of the High Court which stated that the Tribunal Act of 1921 did not afford a statutory ground to exclude the public and the press. However, he said the judgement confirmed the entitlement of the Tribunal to appoint a commissioner to take evidence where it was appropriate to do so.
Mr Frank Callanan SC for Jim Gogarty said the intention of the chairman to hold the hearing in private was not a path open for the Tribunal to follow and flew in the face of the High Court ruling.
Mr Garret Cooney, counsel for Mr Murphy accused Mr Callanan of trying to impose on his client a course of action that would result in his premature death. Mr Callanan strongly rejected this suggestion saying it was a disgraceful comment.
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Scarlet Pimpernel is put in the shade by Joseph Murphy Senior
by Vivion Kilfeather
THE ever elusive and reclusive Joseph Murphy Snr, puts the Scarlet Pimpernel in the shade but may finally show his face in Guernsey today at a private hearing of the Flood Planning Tribunal.
A budding candidate for Hello magazine Mr Murphy is not. No picture has yet appeared of him, and the man of humble origins from Co. Leitrim continues to give media photographers a good run for their money. Journalists joke with each other that Mr Murphy could be sitting beside them in a restaurant or bar so well has he managed to conceal himself.
But a big question mark still hangs over whether he will be sighted today outside the Christian Conference called Les Cotils, where the hearing is due to resume this morning. This is despite the fact that his senior counsel Garret Cooney says his client is prepared to attend the Tribunal today if it is on a private commission basis. Mr Justice Flood plans to make a new order to that effect today, but this will not be known for certain until 11.00am as a High Court challenge could still emerge from the media.
If a new order excluding the press is made, Mr Murphy is prepared to begin his evidence immediately.
Mr Murphy has already indicated his great fear of the press, and it remains to be seen what will happen if they are still in the area of the conference centre when he arrives. A tense atmosphere permeated the small conference room in Les Cotils when yesterday’s hearing got underway. After the media had battled to secure their presence in the hall, they were left standing at the back of the 30 x 30 ft room indicating they were not expected and evidently, definitely not wanted, to put it bluntly.
It was a bit like being an uninvited guest, and even those who were invited had very stern faces and spoke not a word to each other for the 20 minute interval it took for Mr Justice Flood to begin the proceedings. However, the end result was the press corps are likely to be outside the door again this morning unless there is a High Court challenge.
Joseph Murphy, 82, lives only a mile from the conference centre in an exclusive mansion surrounded by a high wall, but put in no appearance yesterday as the evidence was primarily concerned with medical matters concerning his ill health. Mr Murphy has lived on the tiny island of Guernsey since 1976, and is definitely not a joiner of clubs, as even local newspaper reporters who have been trying to dig up something on him for weeks have been unable to garner any significant information on the veritable recluse.
But this is not unusual on Guernsey, where 10% of the 60,000 population are seriously rich and don’t want to draw attention to themselves. Most of them drive big expensive cars, but are not allowed to exceed the speed limit of 35 mph.
With a top tax rate of a mere 20% in the pound, it would probably be very popular with Irish taxpayers, but believe it or not, houses in Dublin are significantly more expensive, and you can still get a house for £150,000 if you go through the proper channels or so a taxi driver told me.
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Woman won’t let cerebral palsy get the better of her
by Donal Hickey
WITH just the slightest nod of her head, Audrey Favier controls the world around her.
Using the latest high tech equipment, this 26 year old woman, who has no use of her hands and legs and cannot stand or walk, lives as normal a life as possible.
Audrey, who has cerebral palsy, is dependent for all her physical needs and her apartment has environmental controls, which are run by a head switch.
The system enables her to operate her electronic wheelchair and also to do things that most people take for granted such as opening and closing her front door, turning on and off the kettle, changing TV channels, and operating a computer, fax machine and music system.
Audrey, who lives at Kerry Cheshire, in Killarney, had more reason to celebrate when she received a special prize in the Eacht Sliabh Luachra awards scheme.
"Although I can do nothing for myself ö not even scratch my nose or push a buzzing fly away ö I do have a brain which is functioning and giving me normal intelligence,’’ she said.
Audrey is virtually unable to speak, but she has developed a communication system with her parents, her brothers, Fergal and Enda, and sister, Aoife.
"My family devised their own method of communicating with me. Eye movements were used for ‘yes’ and ‘no’ and we used the letters of alphabet to spell out words."
She also enjoys reading once someone is around to turn the pages for her.
But, communication is always a difficulty.
This is overcome to an extent in that the technology can give a voice to the words she puts into her computer.
"It takes much time and great patience to have a conversation with me...it will always be hard ö some people have it, but others will never be able to communicate with me because they do not understand," she said.
A fan of Boyzone and Westlife, Audrey loves music and is a regular at discos in Killarney, going out three nights a week with her personal assistant, Mags Lenihan.
Audrey is one of five permanent residents in Kerry Cheshire which is run by a staff who provide 24 hour care.
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SIPTU vow to block takeover of airports
THE country’s most powerful trade union has pledged to block any attempt by big business to take over the Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports.
Yesterday, key airport worker representatives and worker directors from the three main airports met in Liberty Hall to discuss the serious worker disquiet at recent attempts by big business to privatise local airports.
The present drive to acquire these public assets by big business was politically driven, the meeting agreed and a decision was taken to establish a fighting fund and to begin a political offensive to ensure that the interests of local communities and the workers in Aer Rianta are fairly reflected in any future Cabinet decision.
Commenting after the meeting, SIPTU general secretary, John McDonnell, said: "Today’s meeting is the first step in a major drive to co ordinate worker power to repel these unwelcome advances by big business interests, based solely on the profit motive.
"Workers have invested lifetimes in building up these superb airport facilities and services which are presently being vilified in the media in an orchestrated campaign in support of these business interests.
"The Irish taxpayer - who currently owns these facilities - can rightly be proud of Aer Rianta, which manages them, based on its record as the fifth most successful commercial airport management company in the world," Mr McDonnell said.
Clearly there was no good reason why the consumer should want a change in ownership, as airports and air transport were set to become major money spinners, the union boss said.
"It is far more in their interest to ensure instead that these monies are spent locally in developing new local services and in upgrading existing facilities in line with the real needs of the local community and to underpin local development and future employment initiatives," said Mr. McDonnell.
The workers in Cork, Dublin and Shannon, had a justifiable fear of the current takeover bids by some of these business interests "whose track record in managing people is at odds with the partnership culture involving management and workers in Aer Rianta, and which underpins its unique success."
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52 seater vehicle has been forced to carry up to 100 people
by Neans McSweeney, Education Correspondent
UP to 100 people, including dozens of school pupils, are being crammed on to a bus built to carry just 50 passengers, angry parents claimed last night.
The 52 seater CIE bus is used by pensioners and other passengers as well as providing transport for dozens of pupils in the Sligo region.
The teenagers are packed three to a seat in some cases, one parent said, and others are left standing in the aisles. On Monday, some students banged their heads after the bus scraped against the side of a lorry.
A spokesman for Junior Education Minister, Willie O’Dea, said transport officials were looking into the matter. They hope to be in contact with an inspector from the area today.
Eilish Conway is one of many parents with children travelling eight miles daily on the public coach to and from school. The pupils travel from Cliffoney and surrounding border parishes in Sligo into Donegal to Bundoran Vocational School and Ballyshannon Convent of Mercy.
Her daughter, Nicola, is a first year at Bundoren VEC and is one of up to 18 pupils who get on the bus in Cliffoney. "There are already up to ten pupils on the bus when she gets on. Another 18 or so get on at the next stop and more again get on along the way.
"If you are transporting animals, you have to abide by legislation and strict checks. But who is there to look after the interests of our children?" said the angry mother.
The pupils pay £26 per term for school transport as well as £4 a week for their tickets. They arrive into Bundoren at 8.25 am ö even though classes do not start until 9.20 am.
"The situation is particularly bad on children’s allowance or pension day. We had a 47 seater bus but have now been given a 53 seater. It still isn’t enough. While CIE says they are covered for up to 78 people, the bus driver and one of the girls counted up to 100 on the bus one day," she added.
National Parents Council Post Primary PRO, John Whyte, said it was unacceptable that such a situation should arise and that action was needed. "Parents should not have to be put through the trauma of not knowing if their children are safe or if they are insured. And the old age pensioners also have a right to a seat."
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O’Reilly to sue Irish Times over claims he had Ansbacher account
by Mary Dundon and Liam O’Neill
INDEPENDENT News and Media chairman Tony O’Reilly is suing The Irish Times for libel following claims by that paper yesterday that he was an Ansbacher depositor.
Mr O’Reilly is among six of the 23 alleged Ansbacher depositors named by The Irish Times yesterday who have denied they have ever held these accounts. The other five include: former EU Commissioner Peter Sutherland: Bord na Móna chairman, Pat Dineen; Dublin MEP Mary Banotti; Fitzwilton director Vincent Ferguson and the family of the late Hugh Coveney. But The Irish Times was sticking by its story last night, and a spokesman said they would not have published it, if they could not stand over it.
Asked to respond to Mr O’Reilly’s libel suit and the denials of five other named alleged Ansbacher depositors, The Irish Times’ deputy editor Don Buckley said: "I have no comment, we will have another story."
As pressure mounts on the Government to publish the 120 names of the Ansbacher depositors, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was insisting last night he could not do it.
Mr Ahern told Fine Gael leader John Bruton it would be a criminal offence and amount to a conscious contempt of court. The Taoiseach said this was the advice he had received from Attorney General Michael McDowell after the Government had discussed the issue at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting. But Mr Bruton insisted last night the Government should publish the names.
He said most of those named had Fine Gael connections and he claimed this leaking was politically motivated. The only ones who have access to the confidential report are Fianna Fáil, the Progressive Democrats and court officers, he added.
Former EU Commissioner Peter Sutherland said he never had an account, or control of any account, with College Trustees the bank connected with Ansbacher in the authorised officer’s report.
"I find it staggering, and entirely inappropriate that an issue of this kind is dealt with by what can only be described as a deliberate leak without any communication from the authorised officer," Mr Sutherland told RTE.
Bord na Móna chairman Pat Dineen said was never an Ansbacher depositor and his spokesman said he had referred the matter to his lawyers.
Dublin MEP Mary Banotti said she never had an Ansbacher account.
The family of the late Hugh Coveney said their father never held an Ansbacher account. And Fitzwilton director Vincent Ferguson also said he never held one .
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©The Examiner, 1999