Vacuum Cleaner caused Cutty Sark Fire

One has not to be a sailor or tall ships enthusiast to know the name Cutty Sark. This world-famous former British tea clipper - and the last existing ship of its type - has entered the realm of general knowledge a long time ago.

Built in 1869 in Dumbarton/Scotland and commissioned in February 1870, she was constructed as a fast three-master for the China tea trade. This trade was at the time intensely competitive and involved a race across the globe from China to London, with immense profits to the ship that arrived with the first tea of the year.

In the most famous race, against the Thermopylae in 1872, both ships left Shanghai together on June 18th, but two weeks later Cutty Sark lost her rudder after passing through the Sunda Strait. She arrived in London on October 18th, a week after Thermopylae, with a total passage time of 122 days. Her legendary reputation comes from the fact that her captain chose to carry on with an improvised rudder instead of putting into a port for a replacement. And though she was seriously disadvantaged, she was only beaten by one week.

Later the ship had a mixed history, carrying wool from Australia to Britain and sailing for some years for a Portuguese owner. Under the respected Captain Richard Woodget she did very well, posting Australia-to-Britain times of as little as 67 days. Her best run, 360 nautical miles (666 km) in 24 hours (an average of 15 kn or 28 km/h), was said to have been the fastest of any ship of her size. In 1916 she was dismasted off the Cape of Good Hope, sold, re-rigged in Cape Town as a barquentine, and re-named Maria do Amparo.

Then - in 1922 - she was bought by Captain Wilfred Dowman, who restored her to her original appearance as a three-masted fully-rigged ship and used her as a stationary training ship. In 1954 she was moved to a custom-built dry-dock at Greenwich and has been there ever since as a museum ship and tourist attraction. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world have visited her and admired her exceptional beauty.

Unfortunately this great ambassador from the past was almost destroyed in a fire last year. On the morning of May 21st, 2007 the Cutty Sark, which had been closed and partly dismantled for substantial conservation work, caught fire and burned for several hours before the London Fire Brigade could bring the blaze under control. Initial reports indicated that the damage was extensive, with most of the wooden structure in the centre having been lost.

Richard Doughty, chief executive of the Cutty Sark Trust, revealed the next day that at least half of the "fabric" (timbers, etc.) of the ship had not been on site, as it had been removed during the preservation work. The trust was most worried about the state of iron framework to which the fabric was attached. But at least the ship was not lost after all and could be restored again, although at the price of an additional £ 10 million, which brought the total costs of the ship's restoration to about £ 35 million.

Fortunately the project received a substantial financial boost by winning the 'Museum of the Year' award, and many donations - large and small - came in from private individuals. This included school children who gave £ 1 of their pocket money, and the Israeli shipping magnate Sammy Ofer, who donated £ 3.3 million. A further £ 10 million came from the British Heritage Lottery Fund and the full restoration of the Cutty Sark is now secured. Work is expected to be complete by 2010.

For more than a year the cause of the fire was not clearly established. After initial analysis of CCTV footage from the area suggested the possibility of arson, further investigation over the following days by Scotland Yard failed to find conclusive proof that the fire was set deliberately.

After a long forensic investigation it has now been established that the devastating fire was not caused by human hands directly, but by an overheated industrial vacuum cleaner, which was used by foreign contractors to remove waste from the ship as part of the renovation work.
The vacuum cleaner was left switched on for two days over the weekend, overheated and then caused an electrical fire.

Police said the vacuum cleaner did not have a vital cut-off switch that prevents overheating, because it had been adapted for a lower UK power voltage.
Detective Chief Inspector Dave Garwood, who led the inquiry, said that two private 'security guards' on duty at the site failed to spot the fire in its early stages. They could have reported it sooner and a fire marshal inspection before the weekend could also have helped to prevent it.

The two men, who had been dismissed after the incident, were - according to DCI Garwood - "vague and inconsistent" witnesses.
He also said that (mostly foreign) renovation workmen were responsible for dangerous practices onboard, including electrical equipment often left plugged in, debris not removed immediately and loose electrical connections.
It was also not clear if fire alarm tests were completed properly in the weeks before the blaze.

All this shows once again how dangerous - and in the end for more costly - the modern business practice of cost-cutting, employing cheaper foreign workers and 'out-sourcing' of specialist work to contractors can be. Had the restoration work been done by a dedicated team of UK experts, the wage bill would certainly have been higher, but the devastating fire would most likely never have happened.

The now revealed details of the incident also prove that the use of private 'security guards' does not guarantee or enhance security. Quite the opposite is often the case, as most of these so-called 'guards' have little education, almost no training and usually no experience in the security field. It is evident that the old phrase still stands: If you pay peanuts, you will only get monkeys.

However, the good news after all the trauma and devastation is that in two years' time the Cutty Sark will be on display again, probably more beautiful than ever. And that will be appreciated by many, including

The Emerald Islander

Brian is listening and took David's Advice

In the small hours of last Sunday morning David McWilliams, one of the brightest young analysts and commentators in Ireland, posted a new article on his website.

This article made a bold, but very sensible statement: To get out of the current financial crisis the Irish State should go solo - without waiting for models from other countries - and give a full 100% guarantee for all deposits and loans of Irish banks.

"The only option is to guarantee 100 per cent of all depositors/creditors in the Irish banking system. This guarantee does not extend to shareholders who will have to live with the losses they have suffered. However, it applies to everyone else," McWilliams wrote as the essence of his long and learned article. The complete text can be found on David McWilliams' website under 'Articles' at http://www.davidmcwilliams.ie/

I was probably one of the first people who read this article, right after it was posted online. And I happened also to be the first to leave a comment, at 4:04 am on that Sunday morning.

Then I took the liberty to send a copy of the article to Taoiseach Brian Cowen, Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan and a couple of other ministers who - in my opinion - are able to think for themselves.
Knowing that there was a cabinet meeting scheduled for later that Sunday, I hoped that they might read David’s article beforehand and - maybe - be wise enough to take his advice.

Of course I have no way of knowing if my little initiative helped, if they did read the article before the cabinet meeting, and if it influenced them.

However, the government announcement Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan (left) has made today is exactly what McWilliams advised to do and asked for.

So one could well come to the conclusion that one of the Brians (Lenihan & Cowen) - or someone else in the government - is listening to sound advice. Which means there is some hope after all for Ireland and our economy

Following the biggest drop in share prices the Irish market has ever seen - the ISEQ fell by 13% in one day yesterday, and the especially troubled bank shares dropped between 30% and 45% - this morning's announcement has brought some confidence and stability back to the Dublin stock exchange.

It is early days yet, and the massive financial crisis of the western world is far from over. It will probably even get worse, in particular for the USA, which are now caught in the fast downward spiral all collapsing empires in history have encountered after they overreached themselves and overspent on military adventures and senseless luxuries.

But Ireland might this time get away with only one black eye - metaphorically speaking - if nothing else in our country goes badly wrong.

Following David McWilliams' advice, the government has shown a strong position of leadership and the guarantee of our money by the State is good news for all of us, regardless of wealth and position.

In contrast to programmes initiated elsewhere, this is neither a nationalisation (like the British government's take-over of Northern Rock) nor a bail-out (as attempted by the US administration for Wall Street and rejected by the US Congress yesterday).

This is indeed - as David suggested - an Irish solution for an Irish problem.

The government guarantees the money we have in the banks 100%, but only for two years and not for free. The banks will be charged a fee for this high grade of security (the amount of which is not known yet), so the government creates some extra income for itself. That's rather clever.

And the guarantee is not given willy-nilly to just everyone who happens to have a branch office on the Emerald Isle. Only the six Irish-owned banks will receive the full guarantee, and that is not more than fair. They are: Allied Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, Anglo-Irish Bank, Irish Life & Permanent, which owns permanent tsb, Irish Nationwide Building Society and the EBS (Educational Building Society).

For all details of the new guarantee rules, and how it affects all banks operating in Ireland, have a look here: http://www.itsyourmoney.ie/index.jsp?1nID=93&2nID=100&nID=153&aID=620

Specific subsidiaries that may be approved by the government following consultations with the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator are also covered under the guarantee.
It also includes all money borrowed by Irish banks from other financial institutions and the statement from the Department of Finance says that all deposits, bonds and debts will now be covered by the State.

Pessimists are already crying 'blue murder' from the roof tops and predict the eventual end of the Republic of Ireland in total state bankruptcy and under a cloud of shame and chaos. Well, in a theoretical way this is quite possible, as much as it is possible that an asteroid falls onto Ireland and makes us all perish in a giant puff of smoke. But realistically you have a better chance to win the Lotto jackpot or even the top prize in the Euro-Millions lottery.

Our bankers - and a lot more so those in the USA - might have been reckless and very greedy in recent years, but they are neither complete fools nor suicidal. So they will recognise what a great and rare gift Brian Lenihan - on the advice of David McWilliams and with backing of Brian Cowen - has bestowed on them. By now they have also realised that they made terrible mistakes, and that they will not have a third chance should they blow this one. So I am with David McWilliams on this, and confident that it will work.

With a little bit luck (of the Irish) thrown in, it might even attract extra money from abroad and perhaps lead to another period of growth and prosperity. By this evening the government will have introduced the necessary legislation in Dáil Éireann, and I can say that I will sleep a lot more sound and confident tonight.

A well-known proverb advises that one should stop digging when finding oneself in a hole. This is - translated into financial terms - exactly what David McWilliams advised on Sunday and Brian Lenihan did today. In fact, it is even a bit more than that. The government is not only telling the banks to stop digging, it is declaring the hole to be a building site.

If we all keep a cool head and use common sense, look out for each other and stick together at all times - hard and easy - the future will be bright again for Ireland in years to come. I am not the kind of person who bestows praise easily, and I have very few heroes. But I want to say today that there is always hope and a future as long as we have people like David McWilliams on the Emerald Isle.

The Emerald Islander

Funchal 500 Regatta reaches Madeira

The Funchal 500 Tall Ships' Regatta, organised by Sail Training International (STI), is coming to its end, three days earlier than expected.

Having been scheduled to arrive at Funchal, the capital of Madeira, on October 2nd, good winds have sped up the fleet's progress in the second race (from Ílhavo/Port of Aveiro to Funchal) and so most of the tall ships and vessels have meanwhile crossed the finishing line near the island.

The regatta was started on the 13th off the English port of Falmouth (see my entry of September 13th) and the first race was set from the south-west coast of England to Ílhavo and the Port of Aveiro in northern Portugal, where the fleet arrived before and on the 20th.

After the usual days of rest, recreation and celebrations in port, they left for the second race to Funchal. But a lack of wind delayed the start several times and the fleet had to motor towards their destination for a while, until eventually a good breeze came up and made it a true sailing event again. (see my entry of September 25th)

As I write this, eight vessels are already in the port of Funchal. They are the class A vessels Kaliakra (Bulgaria), Pogoria (Poland) and Shabab Oman (Oman), accompanied by five Class B vessels.

Four other of the large class A vessels - Creoula (Portugal), Cuauhtemoc (Mexico), Mir and Sedov (both Russia) - have finished the race, but not yet entered the port. They stayed outside at anchor overnight and will be arriving in Funchal this morning in half-hourly intervals between 0800 and 1000 hrs. Other vessels are expected in port today as well, but their arrival times have not been specified yet.

Yesterday evening the Gedania (Poland) and Astrid (Netherlands) had not yet crossed the finishing line, but were well under way towards Madeira.

In the port and city of Funchal the preparations for the shore celebrations are in full swing. The city's organising team has been working hard to be ready for the earlier than expected arrival of the fleet, and they have already arranged an island tour for the crews of the Class B vessels.

Madeira is celebrating this year the 500th anniversary of Funchal's elevation to city status by King Manuel I of Portugal in 1508. It was founded in 1421 as an initially small settlement by the explorer and sea captain João Gonçalves Zarco.

The Madeira archipelago - some 650 km west of the North African coast and some 955 km south-west of Portugal's mainland - is considered to be the first new discovery of the Portuguese main exploratory period, initiated by Prince Henry the Navigator (right). It was discovered - almost by accident after a heavy storm - by Portuguese sailors under the command of João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira between 1418 and 1420.

Funchal's celebrations have been going on already throughout the whole year, but the Funchal 500 Tall Ships' Regatta is certainly the high point of the festivities. The arrival of the fleet will start the Festival do Mar 2008, and even though I am not there now myself, I know that the tall ships' crews will enjoy the experience, participate in their usual great style and bring with them the true spirit of the sea, which is still the same today as it has been in the ships and vessels Prince Henry sent out to explore the world in the early 15th century.

The Emerald Islander

Bad Tap Water - It's not just Galway

Last week we heard a lot about the problems with contaminated water supplies in Galway City, and especially about the high lead content in the communal tap water. (see my entries of September 23rd, 24th and 27th)

It now emerges that Galway is not the only place in Ireland with such problems of water quality.

Eleven local authorities from all over the country have now officially contacted the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because they have also detected lead levels above the acceptable limit in a total of 23 public water supply systems across the country.

According to the EPA, so far four public health notices have been issued. The affected areas are: Old Mervue in Galway City, Mallow in Co. Cork, Ballintra in Co. Donegal and Bruff in Co. Limerick.

The other local authorities that have contacted the agency revealing higher than acceptable levels of lead in their water supplies are Co. Carlow, Co. Kerry, Co. Leitrim, Co. Longford, Co. Tipperary (North Riding) and Co. Wicklow.

Somehow I have the strange feeling that this represents only the tip of the proverbial iceberg...

The EPA says it is to liaise with the Health Service Executive (HSE) over the coming days to establish the true extent of the problem.
It advises as "best practice" for local authorities that detect levels of lead higher than the safe standard that follow-up tests should be carried out to establish the true extent of the problem.

That's not more than common sense, and it is somehow alarming that the EPA has to point it out to the local authorities.

It is not yet known if secondary tests have been conducted in the 23 identified water supply areas, but the EPA hopes that a more detailed picture will emerge over the coming days.

Meanwhile Cork County Council says that work on replacing a lead-lined water pipe in Mallow should begin before the end of this week.
It comes after it emerged that some residents have been told not to drink their water after more than three times the safe amount of lead was detected in supplies in the town.

The local authority is in the process of arranging for 450 metres of pipeline, and connections to some 60 premises, to be replaced.
Last Friday residents in the Beecher Street area of Mallow were notified that - following routine testing - "elevated levels of lead" were found in the drinking water in one house in the street. Follow-up tests by the HSE identified two other premises.
As a precaution, Cork County Council has advised all people in Beecher Street not to drink, boil or use the water supply in food preparation until further notice. The water is apparently safe for bathing, washing dishes and clothes.
Two temporary safe drinking water supply taps have been put in place at the northern end of the street for residents' use.

One wonders how long the various County Councils have known about the lead contamination in their area, but said nothing. Only after the recent scandal in Galway City made national headlines, they came out of their cosy cocoons and made their problems known to the EPA.

I think there are way too many incompetent and complacent people in responsible positions in local government, and the up-coming local elections next year should be used to make serious changes.

The Emerald Islander

Financial Markets in Freefall and Meltdown

Today the ISEQ share index in Dublin has suffered a record one-day fall, ending down 13% and closing at 3292.

Especially shares in Irish banks plummeted, as a series of US and European bank failures sparked further fears that the massive bailout plan in the USA may not be enough to deal with the problems in the sector.
Shares in Anglo Irish Bank (AIB) were down more than 45% at one stage, while Irish Life & Permanent (who own the permanent tsb bank in Ireland) fell by more than 30%.

Other European shares dropped to a three-and-a-half year closing low. London's FTSE ended down 5.3% - at 4819 - after it was announced that the British government decided to partly nationalise another bank (and former building society), Bradford & Bingley.

Falls in Belgium and the Netherlands were especially steep, following the announcement that their governments, together with Luxembourg, had agreed to nationalise one of Europe's biggest banks - Fortis - in a € 11.2 billion bailout.

Later the US House of Representatives voted against the proposed $ 700 billion rescue package for the financial sector and especially Wall Street, put together by George W. Bush, his Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, Ben Bernanke. The House rejected the bill with a clear majority of 228 votes to 205, with some conservative Republicans being the most vociferous opponents of a deal.

Subsequently the Dow Jones industrial average in New York plunged more than 600 points as the news reached Wall Street, closing eventually 778 points - 6.9% - lower. This is the biggest one-day drop ever for the Dow Jones.

The massive economic crisis, created by the greed and stupidity of reckless millionaire bankers and stock brokers, is far from over. And two things are becoming ever more evident:
1) Money is not everything, cannot solve every problem, and is actually becoming a big problem itself.
2) Uncontrolled capitalism, praised for decades as the solution for everything and the reason for our wealth and well-being, does not work!

The sooner we find a sensible alternative, the sooner the crisis will ease and a way out of recession will be found. I hope that Brian Cowen and Brian Lenihan have what it takes to lead this nation...

The Emerald Islander

Laughing all the Way to the Bank

The Department of Finance has confirmed that former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern (right) is now receiving approximately € 68,000 in 'severance pay' following his resignation earlier this year.

When Ahern stepped down in May eventually, he lost of course - along with other things - his Taoiseach's allowance, which amounts to around € 185,000 per annum. So now Irish taxpayers are giving him (through the Dept. of Finance) 'severance money' for having resigned - and not a day too soon.

Did you know that members of the government who lose their job or resign are entitled to severance pay? I did not, and I would regard myself as rather well informed about politics.

Apparently this is based on legislation from 1992. I presume it is called the "Take the Money and Run Act", or perhaps the "Last Chance Saloon Payout Act"...

Well, whatever it is called, I think it is a scandal. TDs and ministers are not employees in a private firm who are made redundant at some stage. They are our elected representatives, sent by us to Dáil Éireann. And when we decide to send someone else, so be it. No TD or minister should be entitled to any extra payment, because he (or she) has done a bad job (which is usually the reason for losing a seat).

According to information from the Department of Finance, the former Taoiseach has been receiving these payments since May, and they will amount to around € 68,000 by November. This money comes of course on top of Bertie's normal TD payment of over € 100,000 a year.

For more than a decade he and his ministers have governed this country, during the time of the largest economic boom ever seen in modern times (which was not of their making). They had plenty of money available - billions and billions of surplus taxes - but instead of bringing Ireland forward into the 21st century, giving us a decent infrastructure and making us internationally competitive, they managed to waste and squander the money with not much to show for.
Their strong links with the construction industry created a housing bubble and an irrational property price inflation, both of which are now mill stones around the necks of our banks.

Bertie's private finances are under several clouds, to say the least, and he is still questioned about that element of his life by the Mahon Tribunal.
Having jumped ship in May before someone could push him - and just in time to be not in charge of a lost referendum and the worst economic crisis since 1929 - he is now given more 'severance money' in six months than most of us earn in a year, or many even in two years!
And it's all legal, since TDs have made it law to look after themselves very generously. Just look at Bertie's face and you know: He is laughing all the way to the bank.

In addition to Bertie Ahern, two other sitting Fianna Fáil TDs are paid € 53,218.99 'severance money' each in installments over the next 24 months, after they lost their jobs as junior ministers in May.

The Dept. of Finance has confirmed that it is paying these sums to Wexford TD John Browne (far left) and Cork-East TD Michael Ahern (left). Both were dropped from the government after Brian Cowen took over as the new Taoiseach.
This money comes - like for Bertie Ahern - on top of their normal TD salary "and does not affect their pension entitlements".

However, the third junior minister sacked by Brian Cowen in May - Donegal TD Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher (right), "did not opt for the 'severance pay' scheme".
That is quite interesting. It tells us that these payments are not coming to TDs automatically, but must be applied for. And while Bertie Ahern, John Browne and Michael Ahern obviously decided to get as much as possible out of the state system, Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher did not.
It is a small relief to see that there is still the odd Fianna Fáil TD who is not greedy and selfish. Good on you, Pat! I will remember this, and so should other people.

After the matter became public knowledge today, John Browne and Michael Ahern said that they "are entitled to the payments, are doing nothing wrong and are operating under legislation as laid down by the Oireachtas (both Houses of Parliament)".

Yes, that's quite correct. And it is the even bigger scandal than paying ex-ministers executive bonuses long after they have left office (for whatever reason). Doing so is wrong, but that it is 'legal' after TDs made it a law... well, that really stinks!
And it shows that most of our TDs see parliament still as their private financial self-service supermarket, where they can award themselves as much money as they like, without anyone else being asked for their opinions, and no-one being able to stop them.

By the way, the three cases that came to light today are not unique. More than € 3 million of 'severance money' were paid to former Oireachtas members who failed to get re-elected at the last general election.

While almost everyone in Ireland is now struggling to make ends meet, prices for everything are rising steadily and Finance Minister Brian Lenihan is desperately looking for extra money to plug the ever more and ever larger wholes in his budget, it is a scandal that such an amount of money is wasted on failed politicians!

If Brian Lenihan is really serious with his intention to tighten the government's belt, this is a very good point to start. He could stop these payments, end the practice for good and get plenty of money from it for his coffers. Additionally, it would show that he has guts and give him a good boost in popularity around the country.

The Emerald Islander

Co. Leitrim remembers Anthony Trollope

You probably have never heard of the Irish village of Drumsna, and had I not lived in Co. Leitrim for a while, I would not be aware of it either. It has currently 173 inhabitants, and a further 532 live in the surrounding countryside. Like in most small communities in the rural west of Ireland, not much happens there usually.

However, last Friday Drumsna was for one day a very busy place and the centre of much attention, especially from readers and enthusiasts of the English 19th century novelist Anthony Trollope (archive photo left). Members of the Trollope Society, which is dedicated to the study of his life and work, travelled specially from England and the USA to visit Drumsna and Carrick-on-Shannon, the county town of Co. Leitrim, which is only 6 km away from Drumsna.

The reason for this special gathering was the official opening of the Carrick-on-Shannon & Drumsna Anthony Trollope Trail, created by local people to commemorate the fact that the now famous novelist lived in Drumsna in the 1840s, while working as an inspector for the British Post Office. And while there, he was inspired by local events to write the very first of his 47 novels, titled The MacDermots of Ballycloran and published in 1847.

Ireland's President Mary McAleese (photo right) came up from Dublin to attend the celebrations and perform the official opening ceremony.
Several politicians and local dignitaries attended as well, and it was certainly the most important day ever for the small village of Drumsna.

Anthony Trollope was quintessentially an English writer, whose best-known works are the six novels known collectively as the Chronicles of Barsetshire (a fictional English county), which were published between 1855 and 1867. He is also well remembered for the six Palliser novels, published between 1864 and 1879, which focus on the life and career of the (fictional) Victorian politician Plantagenet Palliser and his capricious wife, Lady Glencora.

However, he began his career as a lowly postal clerk and might never have started writing novels if he had not been sent as a postal inspector to Ireland, where he encountered the highly inspirational atmosphere of the Emerald Isle, which has produced so many great writers for centuries.
His first novel is set in the village of Drumsna, and several landmarks in the area are mentioned. Most of these landmarks and places are still there and almost unchanged since the 19th century, so it is understandable why this remote corner of Co. Leitrim - Ireland's least populated county - attracts the interest of Trollope scholars and enthusiasts.

The newly created Trollope Trail will bring more of them to the area, and the local people are fully behind the project.
For the opening day many people dressed up in period costumes and recreated the spirit and atmosphere that Anthony Trollope encountered during the 1840s.

At a time of economic recession and falling tourist numbers in Ireland, local initiatives like this are very welcome editions to the cultural scene, and especially in rural areas like Co. Leitrim.

The Emerald Islander

Last Section of Shannon Tunnel laid

Early this morning the last concrete section of the planned Shannon Tunnel was laid beneath the river Shannon in Limerick.

The massive concrete structure, weighing more than 20,000 tonnes, was slowly sunk beneath the river in a pre-dredged channel. This marks a significant step in the construction of the prestigious € 500 million infrastructure improvement.

When finished, the tunnel will be 915 metres long and one of the largest projects in the west of Ireland.

It will also complete the Limerick south ring road project, which will give Limerick its fourth river crossing, linking the city's dock road with the dual carriageway leading to Shannon and Ennis.

The four-year project is due to be completed in 2010.

Robinson and McGuinness to talk this Week

Peter Robinson (right), the First Minister of the Northern power-sharing government, and his deputy Martin McGuinness (below left) are to hold face-to-face talks this week.

The move is an attempt to break the deadlock which has prevented the power-sharing Executive from meeting for more than three months. The political impasse centres on Sinn Féin demands for policing and justice powers to be devolved, while the DUP still oppose the move at this time.

DUP leader Peter Robinson said it was vital an executive meeting, planned for Thursday, did go ahead. If it does not, it could result in the cancellation of a North-South ministerial council meeting on Friday.

Meanwhile Martin McGuinness (Sinn Féin) accused the DUP of failing to show true partnership in government and he said they had to live up to their obligations under the St. Andrews Agreement (of 2006).

Relations between the two main parties in the North have become so bad that they could not even agree to issue a joint message of congratulation to the Tyrone senior team on winning the All-Ireland Football Championship and the coveted Sam Maguire Cup. (see my entry from September 21st) Sinn Féin says that the DUP vetoed the sending of a message.

It is no secret that Unionist dislike Gaelic Football and all Gaelic sports administered by the GAA, as they see them as 'nationalist Irish' sports. They themselves are more supporters of Soccer and Rugby.

Let us hope the three months of silence between the Northern government partners will soon be over and constructive policies, guided by common sense, will prevail. Anything else would be extremely foolish and not help anyone. It would not even score political points.

The Emerald Islander

Talks in Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford

Christ Church Cathedral (Church of Ireland / Anglican) in Waterford City is holding a series of three late morning talks this coming week. They take place in the cathedral (photo) and begin at 11 a.m.

The speakers are three well-known local historians, and the first is Waterford City Archivist Donal Moore, who will talk tomorrow - Monday, September 29th - about the photographer Annie Brophy.

On Tuesday, September 30th, Julian Walton (known for the 'On this Day" slot on local radio WLRfm) will give a talk on the History of Christ Church Cathedral.

There will be no talks on Wednesday and Thursday, but on Friday, October 3rd, Eamonn McEneaney, Director of the Waterford Museum of Treasures, will speak about a recent pilgrimage from Waterford to Santiago de Compostela.

Admission is free, all are welcome, and there will also be tea and coffee served afterwards.

My own little private Oktoberfest

In Munich, capital of the Bavarian Free State in Germany, this is the second weekend of the annual Oktoberfest, the world's oldest and largest beer festival, which is celebrated this year for the 175th time. (see my entry from September 21st)

It is a long time now that I lived there, but I still have good memories of those years.
Even though I have never been a fan of crowds, noise and large celebrations, I did visit the Oktoberfest while I was living literally on its doorstep. There were always friends who would go anyway, and so I went along with them, drinking a few beers, eating traditional food and then having a congenial Virginier cigar with another beer or a coffee.

I haven't been back since I moved to Ireland, and I really don't miss it. But even a serious man like me who is not very emotional has his sentimental moments. I am a human being after all...

So when I encountered - quite unexpectedly - the stall of a traditional German bakery on the annual French Market here in Waterford today (see my earlier entry below), I was touched in a rare and positive way. For the first time in nearly two decades I saw Brezn and Salzweckerln (traditional Bavarian glazed bread roles, sprinkled with large salt crystals) right in front of me, and I could hardly believe my eyes and my luck.

There was no possibility to pass the stall without buying some of them. Sentimental feelings and old memories were much too strong. So I bought a couple of each and went home a happy man.
But on the way it dawned on me that this was only one element of the traditional Bavarian meal, known as a Brotzeit. To make it complete, I would also need some Weisswurst (white sausage), a Radi (large white radish, also known as Muli, as depicted here) and some Bavarian beer, preferrably from Munich. Sweet Bavarian mustard, which is the final ingredient to make it perfect, I have at home anyway.

So I made a little detour and stopped at ALDI, a German supermarket nearby, which has all the traditonal German food, as well as the usual Irish items. I found what I was looking for, including original Spaten beer from Munich, the very same that is served in the Schottenhamel beer hall at the Oktoberfest. (The Schottenhamel is traditionally the place where the Mayor of Munich declares the festival open by tapping the very first keg of beer himself.)

I should mention that I am a vegetarian for more than ten years now, and that I seldom drink alcoholic beverages. But I am not a fanatic and there is no ideology behind my choice to live on a vegetarian diet. And as much as I abstain from meat and meat products normally, an authentic Munich Brotzeit simply needs Weisswurst. It wouldn't be the same without it.

So this is a very special day for me, and earlier this evening I sat down and had my Brotzeit with everything one would have in Munich. I even put a CD with traditional Bavarian music into my player, to make it a perfect experience and celebrate my very own little private Oktoberfest here in the heart of Waterford, the oldest city in Ireland.

The Emerald Islander

French Market in Waterford

Waterford, Ireland's oldest city and my home now for nearly two decades, is twinned with the town of Saint-Herblain, the largest suburb of the city of Nantes in France.

Usually one does not see a lot of evidence of this relationship, except that there is a housing estate in Waterford named St. Herblain Park. But once a year the twinning brings a traditional French street market to Waterford, occupying the Jenkins Lane area close to the western end of the old city wall.

This weekend - Friday, Saturday and Sunday - the market is here again, and of course I went for a strole and a good look today. Even though the availability of foreign - including French - food in the Republic of Ireland has much increased during the past ten years, there are still certain kinds of food and special delicacies one cannot find in Irish shops.

The annual French Market brings those rare treats to the city, and many local people go there and take the opportunity to buy good French wines and cheeses, nice home-made biscuits and sweets, meats and sausages of high quality and many other continental delicacies. Or they might try one of the enticing crepes that are made there fresh to order.

I had a good look around this afternoon, and once again encountered a number of the traditional stalls with food we don't see here normally. This is always a great experience.

However, I have to admit that I am a little disappointed. There are a lot less traditional French stalls here this year, and I wonder why. The gaps have been filled with plenty of market traders from all parts of Ireland, who of course do not offer French food and delicacies. There are instead plenty of stalls selling clothes, fashion items, jewellery, children's toys and all sorts of nick-nack.
As much as there is certainly a time and place for such as well, it changes the character of the market, which is no longer what it once was - a traditional French food market.

What surprised me most was to see not one, but two so-called 'bouncy castles' at the western end of the market. These strange contraptions of inflated plastic are one of the many bad things we have adopted from the USA. In my opinion they have no place on a traditional street market, and parents who bring their small children should well be able to look after them and show them the lovely things the market offers, instead of parking them at the 'castles' where they hop up and down in a rather senseless way. It is also worth mentioning that these 'bouncy castles' need a permanent supply of compressed air, provided by a generator that uses up energy and creates noise and pollution.

So I went home today slightly disappointed, and with a lot less goods than I had bought there in previous years. Sad really, that a good idea has been altered in this way, and I hope that next year the traditional French market stalls will be back with all their rare and delicious treats.

However, there was one unexpected positive encounter, which compensated me for the missing French stalls and really made my day. Among the many market traders I found a stall from a traditional German bakery, offering breads, bread rolls and numerous cakes and pastries I have never seen offered in Ireland before.

Having lived in Germany for quite some time, I am familiar with these delicious bakery products and seeing them suddenly right in front of me here in Ireland almost transported me back in time and space to the many traditional bakeries one can find all over Germany. For reasons I do not know there are very few such bakeries in Ireland, and most Irish people eat fluffy soft white 'bread' that I would not call by that name. It is produced in large factories, sold in all shops and supermarkets, and it is totally tasteless as well as unhealthy.

What a difference between two countries and cultures! But today I saw this German bakery stall and bought traditional bread and pastries I have not eaten for nearly twenty years. So despite a lack of French delicacies I anticipated to buy, I went home with a bag full of lovely German bread and pastries. That made me very happy, and as I write this, there is a pot of tea to my right and a nice round German pastry with plums, crumble and icing sugar to my left. What more does one need to have a good weekend...

The Emerald Islander

All is privatised now, says Eamon Gilmore

Ireland's Labour Party has accused the government of privatising debate on the economy after it emerged that senior ministers are to appear at a round table discussion next month for which each normal attendee is being charged the amazing sum of € 1950.

Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore (photo) said that the Taoiseach Brian Cowen, the Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, the Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan (all Fianna Fáil) and the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan (Green Party) are all due to appear at this seminar, organised by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The Labour Party has strong reservations about so many government ministers taking part in a commercial enterprise, dressed up as a public forum, especially at a time when the government is refusing a Dáil debate on the economy.

With slight irony Eamon Gilmore asked whether Brian Cowen was now intent on privatising discussions on the national finances as well.

Personally I don't see really a big change in direction here. Irish ministers have always found time to mix and mingle with the rich and powerful, in particular when they get paid for it. This has become even more common since Bertie Ahern became Taoiseach. And Brian Cowen just carries on where Bertie left things in May...
I am however surprised that the Economist Intelligence Unit is interested in the Tánaiste. Even though she is also Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, intelligence is certainly not one of Mary Coughlan's strong sides.

The Emerald Islander

"Appalling and totally unacceptable"

Emergency water supplies being provided for residents in the Old Mervue area of Galway city had to be suspended because high levels of lead were found in it overnight.

Galway City Council says it is "disappointed" at this latest development and is making arrangements to provide an alternative supply for containers.

The Mayor of Galway, Pádraig Conneely (Fine Gael), says the situation is "appalling and totally unacceptable".

The street taps (photo) at the centre of this latest scare were installed on Wednesday and Galway Corporation assured the about 1000 residents who live in Old Mervue that the water was safe to drink.
However, last night one of two tests carried out on the water showed that it contained over four times the acceptable level of lead.

The City Council says it immediately suspended this emergency service and is awaiting the result of further analysis which will be available on Monday.
In the meantime it is arranging to have safe drinking water provided from containers which will be located around the estate.
A spokesman said the city administration was "disappointed" with the result of the test and it apologised to the residents.

Mayor Pádraig Connelly admitted that he was "shocked" by the news. He said it was now time for Environment Minister John Gormley (Green Party) to come to Galway and appoint a senior official from his department to take charge of the city's water services.
He said the most worrying thing was the effect drinking the water might have had on residents.

Councillors in Galway met for almost five hours last night to discuss lead contamination in part of the city's water supply. They were told that short and long term solutions were being examined in an effort to resolve the issue. But the city's Mayor said that not enough was being done to restore public confidence.

There were heated exchanges at the meeting between officials and elected representatives, with Padráig Conneely describing an action plan to deal with the latest problem as "pathetic".
The Mayor told the meeting that he had "no confidence in the City Manager and the Council's Director of Services".

He said the way the authorities had dealt with lead contamination in the water supply was not acceptable. The city management was "trying to spread the blame for the contamination of the water supply with excessive lead content". But, he said, that blame lay squarely with those responsible for water services at Galway City Council.

City Manager Joe McGrath said he was "shocked and horrified" by the allegations made against his management team. He had always treated the Council with respect and was endeavouring to answer all questions relating to the lead contamination.
He said that it was "a load of nonsense to suggest that the authorities were operating under a veil of secrecy" and added that the problem with the water supply had been identified because of action by Galway City Council and the HSE.
He was trying to provide leadership to solve the latest crisis, but he needed the backing of Council members to achieve this.

The City Manager stated that the Council was not trying to spread the blame and would not hand over management of the water services to any individual. He accepted that confidence in the water supply had been damaged, but stressed that the Council was "doing everything it could to solve the problems caused by excessive lead content" and that "a number of potential solutions are being looked at". These include an adjustment of ph levels in the water, additional treatment measures and - eventually - the replacement of a lead distribution pipe in the Old Mervue part of the city. However, this could take up to two years to complete.

Earlier, the Council's Director of Services, Ciaran Hayes, told the meeting that the water in Galway was "of the highest quality" and that the latest problems stemmed from the use of lead piping in some parts of the city. He added that short, medium and long term solutions were being initiated to address the issue.

In the meantime, residents in the areas affected by the contamination will meet Council officials over the next fortnight. It was agreed that free bottled water will be provided to elderly residents in the affected areas with two-for-one promotions available to other residents in those areas.

Well, here we are, eight years into the 21st century, and after a decade of unprecedented social and economic boom that brought Ireland massive wealth. And we cannot even give the people of the country's fourth-largest city decent drinking water. It beggars belief and only shows the high level of incompetence present in the 'city of tribes'.

Instead of being "shocked" and making a spectacle of themselves in public, both the Mayor and the City Manager should resign, together with all the other Councillors and directors of the city's administration (and they would, if they had any decency).

And next summer, when we have local elections, the good citizens of Galway - or at least those who are still alive by then - will surely give the current Council and administration a suitable answer for their series of blunders.

The Emerald Islander

1000 Job Cuts for HSE Back-Room Staff

The Chief Executive of the Health Service Executive (HSE), Professor Brendan Drumm (photo), has said that there will probably be approximately a thousand redundancies in the next year among the HSE's back-room staff.

Speaking this morning on Marian Finucane's Saturday programme on RTÉ Radio 1, he said this would be about 25% of the total.

One wonders if this is good or bad news for the sick in this country and for the Irish taxpayers...

Harney says HSE cares 'for a Majority'

The Minister for Health, Mary Harney (photo), has said that "the vast majority of cancer patients have nothing to fear from the health service".

Now, that is a really reassuring statement, isn't it? And it leads to three questions:
1) How large is a 'vast majority' in the definition of Ms. Harney?
2) How many Irish people do not belong to this 'vast majority'?
3) And what is it they have to fear from the health service?

Should the health service not care for all people in the country? After all, everyone pays taxes and is supposed to have the same rights. But well, in Harney's PD world of a privatised and American-style Ireland the poor are marginalised and forgotten. They have a lot to fear from the two-tier health service she created.
And when it comes to numbers, well, I am not so sure that it is not the other way round, that in reality the majority of Irish people are suffering, while the rich and famous get first class service.

Speaking at a conference on breast cancer in Dublin, the Minister said that the greatest reassurance she could give women was that the State was putting a designated service in place to improve breast cancer treatment.

She forgot to mention that most of the new health facilities put in place under her reign are private enterprises and thus only available for the rich that get sick.

At the same conference Christine Murphy-Whyte from the breast cancer charity Europa Donna Ireland said that recent revelations about breast cancer services highlighted the urgent need for specialised breast centres to be resourced.

Nice thought, and a very valuable point. But with money running out fast after all the years of riches and mismanagement, who is going to finance such specialised centres?
If they are established, they will once again be private and for the rich only.

The conference was also addressed by Professor Tom Keane, the HSE's cancer strategy director. He had been due to appear on last night's Late Late Show (on RTÉ 1 television), but pulled out of the broadcast at the last minute without giving an explanation.

Perhaps he was told to do so by his superiors, in order not to embarrass the HSE any further. Their blunder in the field of breast cancer is only one of the many dark blots on their sad performance record. Yesterday the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) called the HSE "incompetent and acting irresponsibly".

The Emerald Islander

HSE endangers the Lives of 200,000 People

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has accused the Health Service Executive (HSE) of incompetence and acting irresponsibly.

This comes after the HSE told Irish doctors that they can no longer make the strongly recommended flu vaccine available free of charge to all people over the age of 50.

Last month, an expert group advised the Department of Health that everyone over 50 should receive it this winter.
But up to now, the vaccine has only been provided to people aged 65 years and older who have a medical card.

The IMO says that it has now discovered that the extension of the programme was scrapped quietly.
This means that the free vaccination of all people over 50, which has been strongly advised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and which was announced by HSE and government with some pride, is not going to happen.

In a letter to all Irish GPs, the HSE said the extension of the scheme, which was already advised to doctors in distributed information, will not proceed this year! This decision is connected to Ireland's worsening financial circumstances.

IMO President Dr. Martin Daly said that he believes the HSE did not do its homework on the budget required to administer the scheme. The costs should have been foreseen, he said, and accused the HSE of acting irresponsibly.

Dr. Daly is quite right. The HSE is indeed incompetent and acts irresponsibly. And I would go even further and accuse them of potential manslaughter through gross negligence!

I am over 50, so I am personally affected by this blunder. And I am angry about it. Very angry, and very concerned. If you are over 50 and live in Ireland, you should be angry and concerned, too.

Should we have a bad winter this year and flu is spreading, more than 200,000 people - 5% of Ireland's population, including me - will be without adequate medical protection!
Welcome to Mary Harney's Apartheid-style third world health service!

What are we supposed to do? Is this perhaps a subtle attempt to kill a significant portion of those who are over 50 and slowly but surely approaching retirement age? One wonders... and can only hope to survive until the age of 65, when one is regarded again as worthy to receive proper flu protection.

This is a major medical and political scandal, and I urge every TD, regardless of party, to intervene on behalf of Ireland's most experienced and qualified workforce, the people over 50.

Beyond that I also take this very personal, as a deliberate attempt on my life by the HSE, Mary Harney and the State.
I will thus seek legal advise and explore if my natural right to life - and that of 200,000 others in the same situation - has been violated by the HSE.

The (very angry) Emerald Islander

British-Irish Council Meeting in Edinburgh

Brian Cowen (photo right) has held talks with the North's First and Deputy First Ministers in Edinburgh today.
Arriving in the Scottish capital after an overnight flight from New York, where he attended the UN General Assembly yesterday, the Taoiseach said he is confident that scheduled meetings of the Northern Ireland Executive and of the North-South Ministerial Council will go ahead next week as planned.

The meetings had been in doubt due to the ongoing dispute between Sinn Féin and the DUP over the transfer of policing and justice powers from Westminster to Stormont. (see my entry from September 21st) This dispute has seen Sinn Féin ministers refuse to attend meetings of the Northern Executive, which has not met for three months.

Attendance of Peter Robinson (left) and Martin McGuinness (below right) at today's meeting of the British-Irish Council had also been under a cloud of uncertainty for some time.
However, giving a positive signal of common sense, both Northern Irish politicians arrived in the same car for the Edinburgh meeting.

Deputy First Minister McGuinness (Sinn Féin) said his working relationship with Peter Robinson (DUP) remained good.
However, the First Minister said it would be difficult for Sinn Féin to explain why they can sit around the table in Edinburgh, but not in Northern Ireland.
Robinson emphasised that he is "ready to do business" and hopes the Stormont Executive will meet next Thursday.

The British-Irish Council was set up under the Good Friday Agreement to facilitate East-West ministerial links, and today's session was hosted by Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond of the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP).

Paisley clashes with Ahern over Policing Powers

Ian Paisley Sr. (left), the former First Minister in the North and leader of the DUP (Democratic Unionist Party), has clashed with the former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern over the devolution of policing and justice powers to the Northern government at Stormont.

Paisley, who retired from frontline politics in June, spoke out after Bertie Ahern said that Unionists were "stepping outside the terms of the St. Andrews Agreement" of 2006.

The row between Sinn Féin and the DUP over policing and justice threatens the future of their power-sharing government. (see my entry from September 21st) Now Ian Paisley ignores his retirement and criticises the former Taoiseach for effectively blaming Unionists for the deadlock.

The two men had helped to negotiate the St. Andrews Agreement that paved the way for power-sharing, and more recently had become very friendly with each other. This culminated in a joint appearance of both leaders on the site of the historic Battle of the Boyne (see my entry from May 6th), where both treated each other with the utmost courtesy and even signs of friendship.

But now Bertie Ahern (right) has commented on the current Northern stalemate and said that the recent DUP demands for the disbandment of the Provisional IRA's ruling Army Council were not part of the St. Andrews deal.

"I have to restate it again, because it was part of these discussions and talks, the devolution of policing was not predicated on the Army Council doing this, that or the other," Bertie Ahern said.
"It was not on that. It was a solemn agreement that the Irish Government and the British Government were engaged and involved in. It said we would have the devolution of policing, that was the effect of it."

The Provisional IRA has long now decommissioned its weapons and ended its violent campaign, but the DUP is still seeking a formal disbandment of its ruling Army Council. This is nothing new, as the DUP have always been very good at shifting political goal posts, thus changing the sense and meaning of the agreements they signed, at least from their point of view. It appears that after all those years of talks and negotiations they still can't or won't grasp the nettle of true power-sharing. So one has to wonder how serious they can be taken as a political party and how trustworthy they are as a partner in any agreement.

After the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC) recently ruled the Provisional IRA to be 'redundant' and said that their Army Council was not meeting, the DUP called once again for Republicans to pledge that the IRA was 'gone for good'.
This is just another of the DUP's triumphalist attitudes, as their minds are so deeply occupied with conflict and controversy that a time of real peace and growing prosperity appears strange to them.

It came however as a surprise that Ian Paisley spoke out over the former Taoiseach's suggestion that Unionists were stalling on the transfer of policing powers from Westminster to Stormont.

"We are not time-bound by any commitment," the former First Minister and long-time DUP leader said. "And Mr. Ahern is well aware of that."

"The party (DUP) has correctly judged that the devolution of policing and justice powers can only occur at such a time as when there is sufficient confidence within the community that allows for the unlocking of the triple lock. That is the position that I and my colleagues negotiated at St. Andrews and it remains the DUP position today," he added.

Paisley stated that after the 2006 negotiations he had publicly proclaimed his party's success in achieving a 'triple-lock', giving the DUP effective control over when the policing powers would be devolved.
"The DUP position is totally unchanged from the time of St. Andrews. No commentary from Bertie Ahern after the event will ever alter that," he said.

The St. Andrews Agreement set May of this year as a target date for the devolution of policing powers and the prospect was key to persuading Sinn Féin to accept Northern policing structures.

After the publication of the IMC report, its spokesman, the former Alliance Party leader Lord Alderdice, said the IRA had "left the stage", but he speculated it would not formally announce its final disappearance, for fear of rival Republicans opposed to the peace process taking on its mantle.

The whole dispute is fruitless and will help no-one, including the DUP. As May 2008 was agreed as the time for the transfer of policing powers and control of the Justice Department (which are both in the hands of the UK Northern Ireland Office), the power-sharing executive should have proceeded to do it.
However, May saw a change of leadership in the Republic and in the North, with both Bertie Ahern and Ian Paisley Sr. stepping down as the leaders of government and leaders of their parties. So the matter of transferring policing and justice powers was quietly pushed into the background. Then came the long summer recess of both parliaments, a time that is traditionally void of major political decisions.

So the DUP has managed to postpone this important matter for four months and was hoping it might be forgotten for some more, as the world - including the two parts of Ireland - is shaking under the largest economic crisis since 1929.
However, this is not going to happen, as Sinn Féin, the main partners of the DUP in government, are determined to get those powers transferred to Stormont. For Republicans it is not more than a final step of normalisation and a further reduction of direct British influence on the affairs of the Six Counties.

I am sure that a solution will be found, and that - despite ongoing DUP blocking attempts - the agreement of St. Andrews will eventually be implemented completely. Even though they are the most intolerant and sectarian hard-liners in the North, the DUP must know and understand that the alternative would be the fall of their joint government and the end of the power-sharing agreement. Having grown fond of power and actually running real government departments by now, they will not risk to loose all that over one matter they have agreed on already in principle.

The Emerald Islander

Another Company withdraws from Ireland

News of job losses, companies closing or foreign enterprises withdrawing from Ireland are now a daily occurrence. So some might not even follow those announcements with great attention, as a gloomy mood of apathy besets the nation, which is now officially in recession.

But it is very important to take notice of each piece of news - bad or good - so we can understand what is going on, where the economy is heading and what our political leaders are doing - or not doing - to stabilise the country and lead us into a prosperous and secure future.

Today another company announced that it will cease to work in Ireland. Enterprise Managed Services Ltd., which currently employ 200 people here and carried out maintenance on the network of Bord Gáis (Ireland's largest supplier of natural gas), has decided to leave the Irish market, putting more than 100 jobs at risk.
Negotiations are continuing in an attempt to ensure that some of the jobs are retained by a new contractor.

In a statement Bord Gáis said:

Enterprise Managed Services Ltd., the company contracted to carry out maintenance and development work on the Bord Gáis network in the eastern region, has confirmed that it has made a strategic decision to exit the Irish market. Consultation between Enterprise and trade unions has commenced with respect to Enterprise employees. The Bord Gáis maintenance contract will transfer to a new contractor on October 24th, 2008.
In the transition period, Bord Gáis and Enterprise will work closely together to ensure a smooth and effective transfer of operation and the continuous and safe supply of natural gas to customers.
Bord Gáis will continue to ensure that the natural gas network is operated and maintained to the highest international safety standards at all times and that customer service expectations will continue to be met.

221 Jobs Losses as Kilkenny Mine closes

Only one day after nearly 500 job losses were announced in Cork (see yesterday's entry below), there is further bad news on the Irish job front from Co. Kilkenny. They might have Ireland's best hurlers there, but as the area is predominantly rural and not well developed, jobs are hard to find, especially for people with a lower standard of education.

So today's announcement that the Galmoy Mines (photo) in the north of Co. Kilkenny are closing in a phased process from December onwards is another blow for the battered Irish economy and especially for the local people.
The mines are owned by a Canadian company, which took over from Arcon some years ago. 221 jobs will be lost, and there is no other business in the area that could absorb these workers.

Talks between SIPTU (Ireland's largest trade union) and the management of Galmoy went on through the night, after which it emerged that the company will end its operations completely within two years.

Dennis Hynes, SIPTU's branch organiser in Kilkenny, said the decision to close the mine was based on fuel and shipping costs.

However, the Chief Executive of Galmoy, Stefan Masson, stated that the closure is largely due to the fact that the mine will be exhausted by 2011.
He said the news would not come as a shock to staff, as redundancies were part of an expected wind-down process.

A main concern - Mr. Hynes said - was that if zinc dropped in price, and oil prices went up, Galmoy Mines might even close sooner than 2011.
The impact of the closure would extend beyond the 221 workers losing their jobs, right into the whole local community.
"There are a lot of businesses, small businesses, people that have contracts in and out of Galmoy, who are going to be affected by this as well," he added. "It's going to have a huge impact on the area and it's a big, big loss."

Nearly 500 Jobs will be lost in Cork

Today the large international company Tyco Safety Products announced the closure of its factory in Cork with a loss of 320 jobs over the next twelve months.

The manufacturing division at its site in Bishopstown, an area in the western part of Cork city, will be moved to another country, where wages are lower than in Ireland.

The factory, which produces - amongst other things - fire detection devices and security tagging items for shops, was set up in the early 1980s under the name Sensormatic.

Before a meeting this morning, workers knew that the company planned a reduction of personnel, so job losses were expected. But they were not sure of how many. Only yesterday there had been talk of about 200 redundancies. So today's announcement came as a shock to many employees, who will find it difficult to get a similar job in Cork in the current economical recession.

Tyco says it will provide severance packages and outplacement services for all 320 workers being laid off. It will retain only a skeleton staff of 20 in its shared services centre, which will remain in Cork for the time being.

The company acknowledged that great efforts had been made by employees in Cork to lower operating costs, but it was not enough and manufacturing operations were being moved abroad now. Until recently, the Cork branch of this very large and prosperous international business was highly profitable and it is not clear what caused the sudden change. Union representatives said that there was nothing wrong in Bishops town and work was done as usual. But they think that the low-wage economies in Asia are luring more and more companies away, in particular multi-national US giants like Tyco, who have no roots here and no cultural links with Ireland.

Other branches of the international Tyco conglomerate which operate in Ireland are so far not affected by the closure of the Cork operation.

Earlier this week it emerged that another 150 jobs in Cork are at risk, as the manufacturing company Swissco also plans a scaling down of its operations. Should this information turn out to be correct as well, it would mean a loss of nearly 500 jobs in Ireland's second-largest city. Hard times lie ahead for those affected, their families and the local economy in general.

Once again it is evident that the long-standing policy of the IDA and the Irish government to attract foreign - and especially American - companies to Ireland by giving them favourable conditions and generous tax exemptions does not work on the long run. These companies take the benefits, but when they run out or the companies have better offers elsewhere, they pack up and leave Ireland again.

It would be far more sensible, and a lot cheaper for the Irish taxpayer, if special funding and support would be offered more to Irish businesses, and in particular to small and medium-size companies. It would also be good to encourage more local people to start their own business with financial help and tax relief. This would create new jobs, uplift the spirits in Irish communities, and on the long run provide the government also with more taxes. For the country as a whole it would mean stability and an increase in skills and entrepreneurship.

Sadly the few programmes that exist in support of Irish businesses are underfunded, badly managed and administered, and often influenced by party politics and favouritism towards friends of those in charge. If we want to get out of the current recession, changes in the government's business and enterprise policy are needed, and needed fast.

The Emerald Islander

Cork Mini Marathon in Support of Amnesty

The Cork Ladies' Football Team is preparing for their appearance in the All-Ireland Final, which could crown them champions at the end of a good and successful season. But the ladies from Cork do not only play Football, they also care for Human Rights and work in support of Amnesty International (AI).

And it is no surprise that the sportive ladies support especially campaigns on female issues, such as Stop Violence against Women, Gender-based Discrimination and Support for Victims of Trafficking.

The Cork team captain Angela Walsh (photo) encourages women of all ages to walk or run in their Mini Marathon in support of Amnesty International and show that they care.
The event will take place on Sunday (September 28th) in Cork and all are welcome to participate.

”Whatever county you’re from, women's issues effect us all,” says Angela Walsh. ”While each person may have their own favourite charity, if you’re undecided, Amnesty may be the one for you.”

Being a member of AI for more than 30 years myself, I can only agree with Angela, support her work and wish her and everyone in Cork the best of luck and success for Sunday.

The Emerald Islander

If you are interested to take part in the Cork Mini Marathon, you can contact Jay Flavin, coordinator of AI Cork, under 087-8128236 or by e-mail to amnesty.cork@gmail.com

T/S Gunilla to visit Cork

Less than three weeks after the sad loss of our own national sail training ship Asgard II, which sank on September 11th off the coast of Brittany (see my entries from September 11th and September 13th), one of the most beautiful and impressive tall ships in northern Europe will stop in Ireland for a brief visit.

The T/S Gunilla, a three-masted barque and - with 49 metres length - Sweden's largest sail training vessel, is due to arrive on Monday (September 29th) in Cork.
She is expected to berth at Horgan's Quay, close to the Customs House.
This will give people the chance to have a good look at her, before she leaves the port again on October 5th and sails on to Spain. Later she is set to cross the Atlantic and head for the northern coast of South America, which will be an interesting voyage and challenging for the trainees.

Gunilla was originally launched as a three-master with triangular bermuda sails (see archive photo below left) at the Oskarshamn Shipyard in 1940 and built of pre-war top-quality steel, but was put into service only in 1945, after the end of the war. As a cargo vessel under several owners she sailed mainly along the Swedish coast and in the Baltic, carrying all kinds of goods, from cars and lead to wheat and mud.

In 1954 she was lengthened by 8 metres and became a motor ship. She continued operating as a regional trader until 1997, when she carried her last cargo of grain and was then sold to the Association MBV at Öckerö.
MBV, which has 20 years of experience in sail training, created the Rederiaktiebolaget GUNILLA and transformed the ship into a modern sail training vessel for the 21st century.

She was re-launched in August 1999 as a three-masted barque and is now chartered by Den Seglande Gymnasieskolan (The Sailing High School) for about nine months of each year. This sailing school represents an educational programme which combines theory and practice in a new and exciting concept for students. The regular crew of 12 is augmented by 38 sailing students.

On the inside the barque is now a floating classroom, equipped with a sufficient number of computers connected to the ship's LAN, other teaching equipment and space for studies. She has all the modern navigational equipment money can buy, as well as an advanced communication system, including a satellite link.

But on the outside the T/S Gunilla is an eye-catching square-rigged vessel. Her original clipper bow has been restored and forms a beautiful ensemble together with the deck house and the poop. The classic rig, designed by Allan Palmer from Åland, is large (with 1040 sqm of sails) and well balanced with the ship’s lines.

This is a rare opportunity for sailors and tall ship enthusiasts to encounter this unique Swedish vessel. If you can manage to take a day off, then a trip to Cork's city port before October 5th is highly recommended. Cork citizens should also be aware of the rare visitor and make the barque and her crew welcome in Ireland's second-largest city.

The Emerald Islander


P.S. Philatelists might also be interested in the fact that the Royal Swedish Post Office issued a series of stamps depicting famous Swedish tall ships on May 15th of this year. The T/S Gunilla is one of the vessels honoured in this series, and it is possible that the purser or other members of the crew might carry some of these stamps.

Funchal 500 Regatta has left Ílhavo

The Funchal 500 Tall Ships' Regatta, which was started in the English port of Falmouth on Saturday, September 13th (for details see my entry from that day), is now in its second stage.

Having reached the port of Aveiro in the municipality of Ílhavo in Portugal by September 20th as planned (some of the faster ships and vessels arrived even ahead of schedule), they had four days of rest, recreation and shore activities in this traditional fishing port.

Ílhavo, and the port of Aveiro (photo left), are situated in the north of Portugal, in a plain coastal area between the Rio de Aveiro and the Ocean.
They have a long maritime tradition, and during the last century Aveiro was an important centre for the building and repair of ships. Nowadays, fishing - both shallow water and deep sea - along with cod drying and fish processing play a vital role in the local economy.

Ílhavo is a municipality that has the sea engrained in its culture, history and geography. It is the sea that brought commerce and prosperity to the region, and the sea which provides food and an income for many of those who live and work there. Today the region flourishes also as a main tourist destination, and visitors from many countries are attracted to the area by the beautiful beaches of Barra and Costa Nova.

After their scheduled days in port, the regatta fleet left Aveiro with a traditional Parade of Sails on Tuesday, September 23rd, in order to begin their second race to Funchal, capital of Madeira, whose all-year celebrations of five centuries of Portuguese settlement is the reason for the regatta.

However, a lack of sufficient wind off the coast prevented the start of the race as scheduled. The fleet moved further out, but a second start attempt had also to be abandoned.
Yesterday the fleet was proceeding to the third attempted race start, a further 75 miles towards Funchal. Wind in the area remained at 5 knots, but the race control vessel reported an "optimistic forecast", saying that there will be slightly more wind today, which will enable the second race to finally start officially.

Challenger 1 (UK) and Challenger 4 (UK) have both gone into Cascais to get more fuel. They will both catch up with the fleet as soon as possible.

The large barquentine Pogoria (right) from Poland, who did not leave Ílhavo with the rest of the fleet, has now had her crew change. She will be slipping today and motoring down to join the rest of the fleet.

And the beautiful schooner Capitan Miranda (left), sail training vessel of the Navy of Uruguay, is accompanying the fleet at present, but will not take part in the race, as she is required to make an official call in a Spanish port. However, she will re-join the fleet later in Funchal to participate in the Festival do Mar 2008.

I hope there will eventually be good weather conditions for the second race and wish all the ships and vessels, as well as their masters, officers and crews, fair wind and a safe journey to Funchal, where they are scheduled to arrive by October 2nd.

The Emerald Islander

SITUATION UPDATE from this evening

The Regatta fleet continues on its journey south along the track of Race 2, though sadly still under motor, due to the continued lack of wind.
In order to conserve fuel, Spaniel (Latvia) is being towed by Mir (Russia) and Gedania (Poland) is being towed by Sedov (Russia).
Meanwhile Pogoria (Poland) has left the Port of Aveiro in Ílhavo at 1315 GMT and is following the fleet.
Challenger 1 (UK) and Challenger 4 (UK) are both on their way to rejoin the fleet as well, after stopping for fuel in Cascais.
Endeavour (UK) is ahead of the fleet and has been able to set sail in around 10 knots this afternoon, increasing the likelihood of an actual race start coordinated by the communications vessel tomorrow at 1200 GMT.

For a further update on the regatta see my entry from September 30th

Investigation into Ennis Hospital announced

An investigation into services provided at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Ennis, Co. Clare has been announced by the Minister for Health, Mary Harney (photo left).

The review of care at the hospital will be conducted by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) - another of the many faceless quangos created by Bertie Ahern - and will include "issues which arose from the misdiagnosis of the late Ann Moriarty and Edel Kelly", who both died earlier this year after being treated wrongly at the hospital in 2007.

"The purpose of the HIQA inquiry is to review patient services at the hospital with a particular reference to diagnosis and 'follow-up' of patients", the Minister said.
The communications system inside the hospital will also come under review.

Speaking in the Dáil, Minister Harney also announced that the Health Service Executive (HSE) is now "making arrangements for patients who attended breast clinics within the last two years and who did not get a diagnosis of cancer but who have concerns in light of recent events".
She said that "any woman who is concerned should contact their GP who will make a 're-referral' to a specialised breast clinic".

The Minister said while there is every reason to believe they would be given the correct assessment, "it is important to give patients the option of the specialised referral service".

Meanwhile, Ms. Kelly's parents are to meet the Minister next Monday. The Kelly family's solicitor said they met the Chief Executive of the HSE, Professor Brendan Drumm, last night.

Prof. Drumm has stated that there may be more cases of misdiagnosis of breast cancer across Ireland. His comments followed a renewed call for an independent inquiry as it emerged that a third case of cancer misdiagnosis looks likely to materialise at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Ennis (photo above).

(see also my entry from yesterday)

At a meeting of the Western Health Forum in Galway, Prof. Drumm said he had been made aware of the case yesterday and it still has to be validated.

John McCormack of the Irish Cancer Society said it was vital that patients were reassured about the effectiveness of the system.

Sadly the words effectiveness and system do seldom match in Ireland under the incompetent government we have now for more than a decade.

The Emerald Islander

Galway Water Problems

Council engineers in Galway have begun work on providing safe drinking water for up to 1000 householders in the Old Mervue area of the city, where supplies have been contaminated by lead.

One of the first actions engineers will take over the next few days will be to add lime to water in the city's main reservoir to reduce its acidity, and hopefully the corrosion which is taking place in the old lead pipes. The residents have been advised not to drink tap water until further notice.

There has also been concern about the lead levels found in three other areas of the city - Bohermore, Shantalla and the Claddagh.
Residents in these areas say they should be told immediately how long they have been drinking water which could be a threat to their health.

Further details are expected to emerge later today on the extent and the seriousness of Galway city's latest water contamination problems.

Cllr. Declan McDonnell (PD) said the City Council had been told that boiling the water did not remove the lead, meaning it would be dangerous to drink it or to use it in cooking.

An emergency meeting convened by Galway's Mayor, Cllr. Pádraig Conneely (FG), briefed councillors on the situation last night. (see my entry from yesterday)

Cllr. McDonnell said he was concerned at what he believed was "a failure to communicate the problem to residents".

In reply, the Mayor said he had called a public meeting for Friday night at which he hoped more precise details of the level of contamination will be available.
Installing taps on the cast iron mains will bypass the lead pipes which are at the centre of this latest health alert and should ease the inconvenience to residents, city officials said earlier.

What the council is not saying is what has caused this latest alert or just how serious the lead contamination is.

Under existing legislation drinking water which has more than 25 micrograms of lead per litre is regarded as unsafe to drink.
Tests by council engineers and Health Service Executive inspectors in several areas of the city have recorded levels in excess of this, but so far they have refused to disclose what those levels are.

One wonders why these details have not been given to the concerned residents, whose health is once again put at risk, while officials are trying to work out why they cannot do their jobs properly.

After more than a decade of massive economic boom with plenty of money available, Ireland is waking up to the reality that many parts of this country are not better than the underdeveloped 'third world' on which we so often look down. Before we offer any more help to the 'third world', we should first get our own country in order.

The Emerald Islander

An Post investigates "Irregularities"

Four members of staff at An Post (the Irish postal service) have been suspended while an investigation is being carried out into alleged "accounting irregularities" at their head office, the GPO (General Post Office) in Dublin (photo), famous as one of the main venues of the 1916 Easter Rising.

A statement from the company said that "arising from enquiries to date, four employees have been suspended on full pay as a precaution in order to facilitate the completion of the internal investigation".
It went on to say that Gardaí have been made aware of the matter and are awaiting the outcome of the probe.

Meanwhile a spokesman for the Communications Workers Union said it had been assured that the suspension of the four members of staff did not in any way constitute a finding of guilt. However, the union is concerned about the nature of the investigation by the company.

Though it early days yet, one wonders if this is another scandal, adding to the many cases of fraud, incompetence and sloppiness that have killed the 'Celtic Tiger' and made us a banana republic and a laughing stock in Europe.

The Emerald Islander

Finnished

I don't like to write about killers. In my opinion they don't deserve publicity and are getting already too much as it is, especially from the sensationalist tabloid papers and certain private TV stations.

And this is not about the 22-year-old Finnish man who ran amok yesterday in the local vocational college of Kauhajoki (photo left), about 330 km north-west of Helsinki. (As it happens, I know the place from a visit there, many years ago. And I would never have thought that it would ever make headlines in the world's media. But these days no place, no matter how remote it is, seems to be safe any more...)

No, this is about gun control. We all know how appalling the system of free guns for all is in the USA and how often we hear of massacres from there. Nevertheless a significant part of the American people still cannot see sense and insists on universal gun ownership as a principle right.

Well, I am not an American and don't live in the USA. And I even refuse to set foot on US soil since the coup d'etat that brought George W. Bush to power in 2001. So I am not really concerned with the USA as such, except that it concerns me how their policies have an ever growing influence on the rest of the world.

Here in Europe more and more people have an American lifestyle and misbehave in the same way as they see it done by Americans in films and on TV. But fortunately we have very strict gun-control laws, which means that few people are allowed to own guns and massacres carried out by mad people are very rare.

Finland, being a large country with a small population, has strict gun laws as well. But since it is very densely forested and many people live in rural and rather wild areas, the policy of allowing gun ownership (especially for hunting rifles) is somehow more relaxed than in other European countries.
However, yesterday's massacre, which was carried out with a handgun, has woken up the Finnish people and started a discussion about the matter. And that is a good thing in the wake of a very bad and tragic day.

Finland's President Tarja Halonen (photo right) called the incident "shocking and sad", and one can expect changes to the country's gun laws in due course.
"We have to have very serious discussions and studies on what to do," she told a news conference on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, which she currently attends.

"Among the topics for discussion will be general gun control and the differences between hunting rifles and handguns," said Finland's Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb.

So it is not unlikely that liberal gun ownership in Finland might end soon, and the idea that anyone can run around toting a loaded gun - as it is still the case in the USA - is finished for good.

The Emerald Islander

Kenny accuses Government of Cowardice

Today Dáil Éireann (left), the lower house of the Irish Parliament, has resumed its sittings after the long summer recess, which has been criticised by opposition politicians and media alike.
Especially with the Irish economy in crisis and many other problems coming to light, it is hard to understand how our legislators can justify such a long holiday.

The first session began forcefully, with an attack by the opposition. Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny (right) started the parliamentary season with strong words, claiming that "the government failed to take any notice of the warning signs of an economic downturn".

At Leaders' Questions this morning, Kenny accused Taoiseach Brian Cowen of "gross political cowardice" for not holding an emergency debate on the economy. He also criticised the government for "wastage of tax-payers' money", which is outlined in the Comptroller & Auditor General's report. (for details see my entry from September 22nd)

The Taoiseach said that successive governments must learn lessons from reports issued by the C&AG. Brian Cowen (left) also defended the government's record on the economy.

He said it was "taking action" in bringing forward the Budget date. A balanced and coherent plan would be presented on that day.

Well, so far the earlier than usual date for the Budget is all the government has done in relation to the economic crisis. A first step, one could say, but not much to show for.

Fine Gael made its protest over the lack of an emergency debate quite clear and ended a routine voting arrangement with the government, known as 'pairing'. (That means that in case a TD from the government - usually a minister - has to be absent from the Dáil on important business, a member of the opposition will abstain as well or not vote, to keep the balance of power. This system comes originally from the British House of Commons, but was - like so many other things - adopted by the Dáil in true Irish copy-cat fashion. Without this agreement, we might see now the opposition win some parliamentary votes, perhaps.)

The downturn in the economy will be discussed during Fine Gael private members' time this evening.
However, Brian Cowen will not be listening to that. By then he will be on his way to New York, to attend the General Assembly of the United Nations. It is of course much more enjoyable to mix and mingle with world leaders than to face the blunt facts of incompetence, blunder and economic failure at home.

The Emerald Islander

Erin Brockovich supports Shell to Sea

Erin Brockovich (left), the American campaigner whose work was portrayed in an Oscar-winning film, has urged the international oil giant Shell to reroute its controversial gas pipeline in the west of Ireland.

The former legal clerk, who famously took on a massive US power company accused of toxic leaks, gave her whole-hearted support to the campaigners opposing the development in north Co. Mayo.

"I completely understand their concerns," she said in Dublin. "I deal with issues in the United States where pipelines have leaked and created health problems. That is always a family's concern. They should be concerned and I'm glad that they are."

The Shell to Sea campaign opposes Shell's attempts to lay a pipeline which will transport untreated and odourless gas from the Corrib offshore gas field to an inland refinery because of health and environmental fears. (for details see my entries of July 24th, September 14th and September 19th)

Miss Brockovich, who is in Ireland to promote the benefits of eating organic food, stated that "the pipeline must be relocated if it affects local residents' health or property".
"There is no compromise when it comes to health and safety, and Shell should respect that," she added.

The now famous activist, who was played by actress Julia Roberts in the award-winning film that carries her name, won a multi-million Dollar legal battle against the large US energy firm PG & E for families affected by contaminated water in a Californian town.

She said that a compromise could be reached between the campaigners and Shell after discussing the matter with John Gormley (right), the Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government and leader of Ireland's Green Party.

The Emerald Islander

Third Misdiagnosis Case at Ennis?

The head of the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE), Prof. Brendan Drumm, has said there may be a third cancer misdiagnosis case at Ennis General Hospital (photo). But the details still had to be validated.

The HSE West issued a statement saying it is "aware of a number of other concerned patients" following the recent issues at Ennis General Hospital. These concerns are "being addressed with each of the patients" and it is seeking to address their issues.

Meanwhile the Director of the National Cancer Strategy, Prof. Tom Keane, said he does not believe much would be learned from independent inquiries into breast cancer misdiagnoses in Ennis (Co. Clare).
There were "systems errors" made in both the cases of Ann Moriarty and Edel Kelly, but the likelihood of a repeat of such errors in the future had been "significantly reduced".

Another senior cancer specialist said that independent inquiries into breast cancer misdiagnoses of two women at Ennis General Hospital "may not be of value to the public in general". Prof. Arnold Hill, the national adviser on surgical oncology at the National Cancer Control Programme, stated that "vast improvements have been made to services recently".

Meanwhile Fine Gael Health spokesman Dr. James Reilly, TD said that this latest case demands an independent inquiry "as a matter of urgency".

The Emerald Islander

Lead contaminates Water in Galway

Yesterday I wrote that there is no day without seriously bad news these days in Ireland. Well, I am not happy to be right again with that.

Today we have learned that water supplies in more than half of the houses surveyed in Galway city (photo) show a high level of lead!

A recent report by the Health Service Executive (HSE) shows that four areas of the city have contaminated water supplies.

The issue prompted an emergency meeting of Galway City Council tonight. The Mayor, Cllr. Padraig Conneely (Fine Gael), said he had been contacted by City Manager Joe McGrath concerning "lead-related problems in older pipes", especially in houses built before 1970.

This latest development follows Galway's cryptosporidium outbreak in March of last year, when 240 people fell seriously ill and thousands more reported feeling unwell. A notice to boil all tap water remained in place for five months.
The outbreak was the most serious of its kind in Ireland and led to major political rows over the failure to replace the old treatment plant at Terryland before the emergency arose.

Galway's water supplies were declared safe again in August 2007, but it appears that the water contamination problems of this beautiful city in the west of Ireland are far from over.

The Emerald Islander

Serious Allegations against FÁS

An investigation into the expenditure of FÁS (Foras Áiseanna Saothair), Ireland's national training and employment authority, will be undertaken by the State's Comptroller & Auditor General, John Buckley.

(see also my yesterday's entries)

This official step has been taken reluctantly by the Tánaiste (and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment) Mary Coughlan (right), after speculations and serious allegations in the media created a demand for answers to two questions:

1) Why is FÁS getting so much money?
2) What are they doing with it all?

It has emerged that the annual budget of FÁS is more than one billion Euros, and it has steadily increased over the recent years of economic boom, growth and prosperity.

One wonders why the national training and employment authority was receiving and spending a lot more money during a time of very low unemployment, when they had really little to do, than during times of high unemployment.

The matter was first raised in Seanad Éireann by one man, independent Senator Shane Ross (left), who remained at first a lonely voice demanding clarity about the running and financial affairs of FÁS. None of the 59 other Senators seemed interested or offered support.
However, after Senator Ross went public - including an appearance on the popular Late Late Show (on RTÉ 1 television) last Friday evening - the media as well as several opposition politicians began to take up the matter as well.

Even though the Tanaiste declared that she has confidence in the leadership of FÁS, there are many serious questions about the operation of the agency. John Buckley will need some time to investigate, and it will be very interesting to read his report in due course.

The Emerald Islander

FÁS under Investigation

An investigation into the expenditure of FÁS, Ireland's national training and employment agency, over the past eight years is to be undertaken by John Buckley, the State's Comptroller & Auditor General. (see also my entry from earlier today)

A spokesperson for the Tánaiste (and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment) Mary Coughlan, who made the announcement, said the investigation was "in response to speculation and negative publicity about FÁS".

Asked if there was any reaction from his department, the spokesperson added that "the Minister has confidence in the leadership of FÁS and will wait for the outcome of the examination, before deciding whether or not any action is warranted".

How the State wastes our Money

Brian Lenihan, our new Minister for Finance, is busy with looking for extra money anywhere inside the large State apparatus, in order to plug the gaps that incompetence, imprudence and sloppy management have created under his predecessor, the current Taoiseach.

And he is certainly reading the just published annual report of the State's Comptroller & Auditor General (someone very important, of whose existence hardly anyone knows). It might give him some extra grey hair or headaches to learn how much of taxpayers' money was - in 2007 alone - wasted by the Irish government and her many departments and agencies.

John Buckley, the Comptroller & Auditor General, strongly criticised HSE managers for failing to act promptly to address a budget overrun of € 245 million. In his annual report for 2007 he also criticises them for "assuming they would be 'bailed out' with extra funding".

He describes elements of the health service as "fragmented, disjointed and difficult for patients to access".
By November 2006, the HSE knew that its 2007 allocation for existing services would be around € 341 million short. But senior management did not implement a break-even plan to secure savings until July 2007, in the end securing savings of only € 96 million.

Previous practice on budget overruns had led to the expectation by certain managers that they would be 'bailed out' with extra funding. "This 'wait and see' culture must be discouraged," says Mr. Buckley.

Taxpayers will also be fascinated to learn that the Revenue Commissioners made an undisclosed voluntary settlement of almost € 1.7 million with the Inspector of Taxes. The Comptroller & Auditor General says the payment related to unpaid benefit-in-kind tax for the Revenue's own staff. (One wonders how competent they are with other people's money if they cannot even run their own office properly...)

The report also says that 200 new Garda cars - costing € 3.8 million - lay idle for 14 months after they were purchased, because the Garda garage could not cope with fitting out such a large number of vehicles with their existing facilities and manpower.

Free election literature for Oireachtas members cost the state up to an extra € 3.3 million because, for legal reasons, the State did not qualify for a bulk discount available to other An Post clients.

Mr. Buckley criticises the continuing payment of special border duty allowances to members of the Defence Forces, long after the original reason for them disappeared.
He also highlights a savings scheme that cost € 1 million a year to administer, despite generating less than € 4.5 million annually.
And over € 9 million was advanced to local bodies for flood relief, despite the fact that it will not be utilised until 2009.

The Comptroller & Auditor General raises also concerns about the lack of competitive processes in the procurement of goods and services in the prison service.

If you are interested in more details, the full report is available under this link:
http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0922/comptrollerreport.pdf

It makes some very interesting reading.

The Emerald Islander

Taxi Fares to rise by over 8%

There is hardly a day now without another piece of bad news. Either we hear of further price rises for this or that, discover a new political scandal, or another piece of government incompetence comes to light.
Well, today we are in for a triple whammy, as all three elements have a share in the latest news.

It has been announced that taxi fares in Ireland are to rise by more than 8% from the beginning of November!

The 'Commission for Taxi Regulation', one of the useless quangos established under Bertie Ahern's government to create more jobs for the boys, says that the rise "reflected increased costs associated with owning and operating a cab" and added the decision followed a five-month "consultation process with drivers and the general public".

Well, I can understand that the drivers want more money. They always do. But the passengers have a quite different view. I was one of those they call "the general public", and I did certainly not advise them to push up taxi fares way above the inflation rate, and even higher above the only recently concluded national wage agreement.

It is a scandal and an outrage that a small group of unelected and uncontrolled 'regulators' can simply make such a decision and drive the costs of existing in Ireland up even higher than they are already.
And of course there is no word from the government, which after all installed those 'regulators'. So it is obviously with the blessing from our rulers that we will now have to pay higher taxi fares.

The price hike does not address the true problem, which is that we now have too many taxis in operation. This is the result of the generous hand-out of new taxi licenses a few years ago, a matter the established taxi drivers were very unhappy with and warned of the inevitable consequences. Now they are here, the incompetence of those who govern us is once more exposed.

And what happens? Prices go up. That's all they can think of.

There is an old joke: What would happen if we exile the government into a desert area?
Answer: Nothing for a few years, and then the price of sand will increase.

The 'regulators' cite the "increased costs associated with owning and operating a cab". Alright, I can understand that taxi owners and drivers are in the same situation as everyone else, facing rising costs for almost everything. But a rise of over 8%? That is another example of Irish highway robbery!

Especially since those who will have to bear the brunt of the fare increase are among the most vulnerable in our society. Big business people and civil servants in Dublin can well afford any rise in taxi fares, and it seems that they were the standard the 'regulators' took for their decision.
But what about all those who do not have a car and are dependent on taxis for their mobility? I think here in particular of sick, disabled and elderly people. They have no choice but calling a taxi when they need to go for a medical treatment, want to visit a friend or even go shopping for their necessities.

Most of them are amongst the poorest people in the country, living on a state pension or on social welfare benefits. They have no way to increase their income, and no chance to escape the constant increase in living costs. They are caught in the poverty trap, created by the utter incompetence of Fianna Fáil, the jolly ignorance of their Green coalition partner, and most of all the ruthless greed of the now defunct PDs.

Thank you to all those who voted for them and kept them in power. I hope that you will pay really through the nose next time you use a taxi, and creak under our hyper-inflation. Maybe the next time you are asked to vote, you might - at least for a moment - use your brain before making your mark on the ballot paper.

The Emerald Islander

RTÉ - Having our Cake and eat it

If you read this in the USA, you will probably wonder what all the fuss is about, as your life is already completely dominated by advertisement for a long time and you probably don't even notice them any more as an intrusion into your privacy. There is no TV or radio station in the United States that is not controlled by private interests, and every programme is crammed with advertisements to the hilt. Often the actual programme parts are seen as not more than elements to fill the spaces between the ads.

If you are in the UK, you are lucky and privileged to have the BBC, which is undoubtedly the best and most informative broadcaster in the world. There are no ads on the BBC, which is financed through a TV licence fee, payable by everyone who has a television set. (If you only listen to radio, as I do, it is free of charge and still without ads.) There are also many commercial stations in the UK, financed through ads, so the people have a choice, which they don't have in the USA.

In most European countries there is a mixed system, with public broadcasters and private stations. While the latter are financed entirely from advertisement revenue, the amount of ads carried by the public stations is strictly limited. In some countries the public stations are - like the BBC - totally ad-free.

Not so in Ireland. Here we also have a mixed system with private commercial stations, most of them for a limited local area, and the national broadcaster Radio Telefis Éireann (RTÉ). Like the BBC in Britain, RTÉ has a TV licence, while listening to radio is free. But in contrast to the BBC, the programmes of RTÉ - on radio and TV - are constantly interrupted by commercial advertisement. Not even the main news are exempt from that, which in my opinion shows real greed. It is a typical case of having one's cake and eat it. And it annoys me immensely.

In general RTÉ is not a bad station, and many of their programmes are well made, informative and often interesting to listen to. If there were not the constant ad breaks, filled with the most mind-numbing and annoying dribble, I would listen a lot more to RTÉ. (I don't watch TV and don't even have a television set.)
But after a while with RTÉ, I usually cannot bear it any longer and switch over to the BBC.

To avoid misunderstandings: I do not object to advertisement in general. It has its place in a free society, and at times it can actually be helpful and informative. But like with everything - too much of even the best makes it eventually unwanted and bad.
There is also the general question if a station that charges a TV licence fee should not be required to broadcast ad-free programmes, as the BBC does.
In Belgium a similar situation as the Irish was challenged in the High Court, and subsequently the public broadcaster had to decide: either TV licence, or advertisement. They chose the latter, and Belgian TV is now free of charge.

But RTÉ seems to be on a roll. Not enough that they bombard us with commercials all the time, they add self-promotional ads to their programmes as well. The most annoying of them all are the smug and arrogant little trailers that threaten people with the "TV licence inspector" (even on radio, which does not require a licence). Yes, as ridiculous as it is in the fully electronic and computerised 21st century, An Post (the Irish postal service) still employs people who go around the country, knocking on people's doors and demanding to see the TV licence. And as the system is arrogant, self-serving and badly organised, they often call on people (like me) who do not have a TV and therefore need no licence. You would not believe how arrogant they are, assuming automatically that everyone must have a television set.

I wonder how many other people - apart from myself - notice that most of the commercial ads broadcast on RTÉ radio (I cannot speak about TV, as I don't watch it, but I presume it is the same there) are actually nebulous, deceptive and often misleading. In fact, they can really say and promise anything they want in an ad - even if it is completely untrue - as long as they close with the often heard phrase: "Terms and conditions apply."
What these terms and conditions actually are and how they bind the interested customer, one will only discover when one contacts the company. Usually they are far less attractive than the promises made in the ad.

There is also the question if RTÉ vets advertisement before broadcasting it. If they do, it seems to be done not very thoroughly. For example, there appears an ad on RTÉ radio now for some time that promotes a product "to stimulate the regrowth of hair". Like many other folically challenged men I would theoretically be interested in such a remedy. But then again, if one knows that there simply is no way to regrow lost hair, no matter what one tries or does, the whole ad campaign is exposed as a scam. And as the voices on this particular ad (there are two versions, one for women and one for men) are distinctly English with a good bit of cockney accent, I presume that it is another attempt to sell a bad British product to the gullible 'colonials' here in Ireland.
The real give-away clue that exposes this particular campaign as a scam is at the end of the message. "Stick with it for at least six months," the speaker says. Well, if you do and realise that the stuff is not working and you still haven't got any new hair after six months, the company will have made more than enough money from you, buying their product for half a year.

Now and then ads with a special promotion that runs until a certain date are still appearing on air after the date has passed. I don't know if this is deliberate or just sloppy scheduling, but it is wrong anyway. Only yesterday I heard a promotional ad for Opel cars, saying that the promotion "ends on September 20th". But yesterday was already the 21st! (This sort of thing does not happen often, but it does and shouldn't.)

Especially annoying I find the ads for banks and insurance companies, the very people whose reckless speculations and gambling have caused the current global economic crisis.
They always start with a sensation or a big promise, then fall into financial jargon and always end with the - legally required - information about the firms status, which is "regulated by the financial regulator". This final part of the ad is usually spoken much faster than the rest of the ad, and often rattled down in the same way many Irish Catholics would rattle down a badly said rosary. That really says it all, tells us how serious the financial industry takes the "regulator". Given the situation we find ourselves in now, one does really wonder who this "regulator" is and what he or she is doing. Obviously not a lot.

Similar "regulators" exist for other industries, but they are not doing much either. And when they appear in the news, then only to give a quiet nod to price increases, like the exorbitant and unjustified rise of the electricity price in Ireland. This gives the Electrical Supply Board (ESB) an almost unlimited licence to print money, and we all are robbed blind and can do absolutely nothing about it (as we all need electricity nowadays).

But this is not about the ESB and electricity (I wrote about them already), but about advertisement, and especially ads on RTÉ. There are simply too many of them, and if there are more people like me, then our national broadcaster is loosing potential listeners (and viewers) as a result of this advertisement overdrive. Less would be more, make better programmes and attract more listeners (and viewers). But as things are, I expect that they will just carry on as usual. They live in a little world of their own, up there in Dublin 4, and don't give a hoot about the rest of us. If we listen to their programmes or not, they still get paid those huge salaries that sets them apart from ordinary people. But that was the same with the smug and arrogant gamblers in the US investment banks, until ... the whole system imploded.

The Emerald Islander

175th Oktoberfest opened in Munich

Yesterday the traditional Oktoberfest, the world's oldest and largest beer festival, opened in the Bavarian capital Munich.
This year the 16-day-long event will be special for two reasons: It is celebrated for the 175th time, and it will be the first Oktoberfest under the newly introduced German ban of smoking in public.

Precisely at 12 o'clock noon Munich's Mayor Christian Ude performed the traditional tapping ceremony (photo right). It took him just two swift strokes to pound a spigot into the first of the many massive wooden kegs of beer before shouting the traditional "Ozapft is!" (It's tapped!) which gives the official permission to all the beer masters at the festival to open their taps as well.

Following the festival protocol, he handed then the first Mass (the traditional Bavarian beer mug, holding one litre) of fresh beer to Bavarian Prime Minister Günther Beckstein.

A 12-gun salute, also part of the nearly 200-year-old tradition, signalled to the hundreds of thousands of citizens and visitors, who had come to the Wiesn (the festival meadow) on a cool September day, that it was time to start drinking, eating and enjoying themselves.

The organisers are ready to welcome about 6 million visitors from all over the world to the large festival ground in the centre of Munich and expect to sell them even more than the 6.9 million litres of beer that were consumed last year. About 500,000 roasted chicken are also consumed by the visitors each year, together with vast amounts of bread and bakery products (especially the famous salted Brezl), cheeses, gingerbread, roasted almonds and many other kinds of food.

Today saw the also traditional Oktoberfest parade, which always takes place on the Sunday after the opening and brings thousands of people - including hundreds of Bavarian musicians - to their feet, while hundreds of thousands line the streets and watch them march past.

Despite its name, the Oktoberfest starts every year in the second half of September and ends on the first Sunday in October. The name comes from the first festival, which was held in October 1810 to celebrate the marriage of the then Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I of Bavaria) and his bride, Princess Therese of Sachsen-Hildburghausen (whose name lives on in the festival venue, the Theresienwiese - Therese's Meadow).
But in the 198 years since then there have only been 175 festivals. The reason is that in times of war Bavarians fight and don't hold their harvest festivals. Twice in the 19th century the event was also cancelled because of Cholera, and in several years after the two World Wars there was no Oktoberfest for reasons of severe economical hardship.

Originally really only a local event, the festival has meanwhile become one of the world's most visited public attractions. Unfortunately it has become quite commercial in the process, and the traditional Bavarian Gemütlichkeit (jolly cozyness) is not that common anymore. Making money is nowadays the name of the game, and from my own experience I can tell you that the Munich brewers and the proprietors of beer halls and amusement venues are masters at that.

Having lived in Munich for some years myself, I remember the old-style Oktoberfest, before the globalisation took hold of it and replaced - among other things - the traditional Bavarian felt hats with tacky baseball caps, decorated with a chamois beard (which looks proper on a hat, but most ridiculous on a baseball cap).

As it happened, I lived close to the huge festival ground. From my windows I could look straight down at the amazing spectacle with its large beer halls, tends, entertainments and - at night - thousands and thousands of lights in many colours (photo left).

Beer prices this year are similar to Ireland (other beer outside the Oktoberfest is a lot cheaper in Germany) and most of the food is still reasonably priced (and cheaper than food in Ireland).
But it remains to be seen how the millions of visitors react to the newly introduced German ban on smoking in public places, which now also includes the Oktoberfest.
I remember very well that it was part of the 'ritual' to have a beer, some traditional food, and then smoke a Virginier cigar. It was simple joy of life and did no harm to anyone. But now, in an era when everything is more and more dictated to us and regulated by governments, one cannot even enjoy a cigar with one's Munich beer any longer...

We live in sad times for taste and culture, but nevertheless I wish the people of Munich all the best, including good weather, for the 175th Oktoberfest.

The Emerald Islander

Tyrone are the new Gaelic Football Champions

Two weeks ago I wrote about the final of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, which was won in spectacular fashion by Co. Kilkenny, beating Co. Waterford decisively. (see my entry from September 7th)
Today we saw the second of the annual GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) events that make the hearts of many Irish people beat faster: the final of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.

For people outside of Ireland one has to explain that this is Gaelic Football, which has little in common with the sport that is world-wide known as Football. That one is played in Ireland as well, but here we call it Soccer, to avoid confusions.
Gaelic Football is quite different, as it allows the use of hands as well as feet. It is played by two teams of 15 players each, and like in Hurling there are two ways of scoring: Goals (when the ball goes into the box of the goal) and Points, which are scored by putting the ball over the goal box of the opposing team. But they only count if the ball passes between two poles that mark the corners of the goal box.

Confused? Well, many outsiders are when it comes to the uniquely Irish sports, organised by the GAA. But for most Irish people they are all they live for, their joy, excitement and secular religion. It is therefore no surprise that Croke Park in Dublin, the HQ of the GAA, was packed to the last seat again today, as it was two weeks ago for the Hurling final.
As usual President Mary McAleese attended the match, and so did many other dignitaries from politics, sports and all walks of life.

After the obligatory ceremonies and the playing of our national anthem the match got underway, and it was quite a difference to the Hurling final two weeks ago.
Both teams - Co. Kerry in the west of Ireland and Co. Tyrone, which is one of the six counties in the still British-controlled North - are renowned for their skills in playing Gaelic Football.

Kerry, who won the All-Ireland title 35 times since their first success in 1903, were the favourites for many pundits. But others saw Tyrone as the stronger team. Their success in this sport is rather more recent than that of Kerry, but they won the All-Ireland final in 2003 (beating fellow Ulster team Armagh) and in 2005 (beating Kerry). In fact, for the last six years the final was won either by Tyrone or Kerry. The latter were the defending champions and on a possible hat-trick (like Kilkenny two weeks ago in Hurling), having won the title in 2006 (beating Mayo) and 2007 (beating Cork).

But today the luck was with Ulster, and Tyrone are the new All-Ireland champions and this year's holders of the coveted Sam Maguire Cup that comes with the title.

After a fairly balanced first half, which ended with Kerry 0-8 points and Tyrone 0-7 points, Tommy McGuigan (lucky No. 13) scored the first and only goal of the match for Tyrone (photo left), only 22 seconds into the second half.

Kerry managed to catch up, and a few minutes before the final whistle both teams stood on 13 points. But a massive final effort from Tyrone, which seemed to have surprised some of the Kerry players, created the final result of Tyrone 1-15 (= 18 points) and Kerry 0-14 (= 14 points).

So today, as the Sam Maguire Cup is again adorned with ribbons in white and red, my congratulations go up North, to Co. Tyrone, for a well-deserved win of the All-Ireland Senior Football final. There will be celebrations all night, and into tomorrow, when the victorious team will return to their home county.

And a special thought and smile goes to a dear friend of mine, Lady O'Neill de Tyrone, who is also full of joy tonight, even though she is not a very enthusiastic follower of sports. But that does not matter. On days like this the old clan and county loyalties, which have been key elements of the Celtic life on the Emerald Isle for more than 2000 years, are in the hearts and minds of everyone. This is something quite unique to Ireland, and even 750 years of foreign occupation and oppression could not change these strong and vibrant feelings. Every year they are still fresh and present, when the eyes of the nation are on Croke Park and the All-Ireland finals.

The Emerald Islander

Irish Greenhouse Gas Emissions

We have already more than enough problems as it is, but to make things worse, another example of government incompetence has come to light.

Ireland has significantly underestimated the amount of greenhouse gas emissions the country will emit into the atmosphere over the next five years.

While the official figures are not published until later this month, RTÉ News has reported that the transport and agriculture sectors have been underestimated by as much as 12%.

Ireland's record on greenhouse gas emissions is stark. We are supposed to emit only 13% above the 1990 levels, but currently the amount stand at 25%, a total which is expected to go further up rather than down in coming years.

Besides all the other recent cock-ups and signs of obvious incompetence, it has emerged that the government's projections on greenhouse gas emissions are significantly out of kilter.

The statistic means that Ireland is significantly further from its Kyoto Protocol target than previously thought. This has forced the Cabinet into examining what 'additional measures' it can take to reduce emissions.

If the government promise of reducing emissions by 3% each year is to be achieved, those measures would need to achieve results almost immediately. As this is practically impossible, Ireland is in the environmental doghouse, more than a year after the Green Party joined the government coalition.
One wonders if the greenhouse gas emissions might be more under control if John Gormley, leader of the Greens and Minister for the Environment, had not wasted so much time fussing over our light bulbs.

The Emerald Islander

Bad Prognosis for UK Labour Party

A mass opinion poll of marginal seats, published today, suggests the Labour government in Britain would suffer a crushing defeat at the next general election, if it took place next week.
The Conservatives would be returned to power with a Commons majority of 146, while eight members of the current Cabinet would lose their seats.

The poll, conducted for the political website PoliticsHome.com, suggests the Labour Party would lose seats it has held since World War I and could take a decade or more to recover from such a political bloodbath. Perhaps not the Sunday headlines Prime Minister Gordon Brown likes to wake up to, and not the best news to appear during the annual Labour Party conference.

However, this is only an opinion poll, and thus theory. Polling, as many of the survey companies had to learn in the past, is not an exact science. A separate poll by ComRes shows Labour actually enjoying a 'bounce' at the expense of the Tories, following Gordon Brown’s intervention in the economy. That survey suggests the Tory lead over Labour has been cut by nearly half, from 21 points to 12.

These British polls coincide with the latest Red C poll in today's Sunday Business Post, which has Fianna Fáil dropping 10% (four points) from their pre-holiday position of 40%, leaving them on 36% of public support. (for details see my entry from yesterday)

But, as a veteran TD told me in Dáil Éireann before the summer: The only poll that really counts is the one on polling day.

The Emerald Islander

Dark Clouds gather over Stormont

The leader of the liberal cross-community Alliance Party in the North has warned that if the Stormont Executive does not meet in the coming days, the DUP and Sinn Féin would "push Northern Ireland once again towards the edge of the abyss".

Addressing an Alliance party conference, David Ford (right) said that talk of the devolution of Justice and policing powers now was premature.
With Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) still deadlocked over the devolution of policing powers and the Executive failing to meet last Thursday, the Alliance Party leader focused on the current political stalemate.

There had been speculations that Ford might be offered the post of Justice Minister as one of the solutions to the impasse. But he told party members that this was premature and accused the DUP and Sinn Féin of "delivering only the politics of confrontation", adding that his party would "play a constructive part" in any way they could.
But he also told delegates they would "not be used to apply a sticking plaster" to cover what he called "a serious fault line within the Executive".

On Friday the DUP boycotted a North-South ministerial meeting, a further sign of the dark clouds that are recently gathering over Stormont (left).
The 1998 Good Friday Agreement includes an all-Ireland political dimension on the demand of nationalists, but now that structure has begun to fall victim to the growing crisis.

The North-South agriculture meeting in Co. Cavan was to involve two ministers from both sides of the border, but the North's Environment Minister Sammy Wilson (DUP) did not attend.
Northern Agriculture Minister Michelle Gildernew (Sinn Féin) went ahead with the meeting, even though it was not held under the auspices of the North-South Ministerial Council.
She held discussions with the Republic's Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith and Éamon O Cuív, the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (both Fianna Fáil).

On Thursday Sinn Féin had blocked a Northern cabinet meeting in protest at the DUP's failure to agree on a date for the devolution of policing and justice powers.
DUP leader and First Minister Peter Robinson (right) said the tactic made it "impossible" to approve the cross-border event and so the DUP minister scheduled to attend did not turn up.

A demand by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for Northern politicians to agree a date for the devolution of policing powers was rejected by the DUP.

The 2006 St. Andrew's Agreement set May of this year as a target date for the transfer of the powers, but the DUP has said that the time is not yet right, without giving any explanation for their position.

For observers of the Northern political scene it appears that the DUP is once again trying to back-track on the various agreements they signed. One has to wonder if their word can actually be trusted, and if thus they can be really a force for good in the political and social development of the North.

The Emerald Islander

Irish Deposit Guarantee now € 100,000

With effect from yesterday (September 20th, 2008) the Irish government has raised the national deposit guarantee for savers to € 100,000.

This is a significant increase of protection for savings. The previous level, which had remained unchanged since 1999, guaranteed savers only 90% of a deposit up to € 20,000.

The measure will apply to people who have savings in credit unions as well as banks and building societies and means that Ireland has now one of the highest levels of guarantee of any European country.
By comparison, Britain guarantees savings of up to € 48,300 and the Netherlands only € 38,000. Italy with € 103,000 still ranges slightly above Ireland.

Changing the guarantee sum had been under consideration for some time, but it appears that the government had been 'too busy with other matters' to think of safeguarding our hard-earned money in the predatory hands of the banks.

The decision, which is very welcome and overdue, comes after a week of serious concerns among consumers, prompted by an unprecedented international banking crisis, centred in the USA but affecting the whole world, including Ireland.

The Emerald Islander

Fianna Fáil in Trouble over the Economy

A new opinion poll shows a significant drop in support for Ireland's main government party Fianna Fáil.

The Red C poll in tomorrow's Sunday Business Post also finds that half of all voters do not trust the Irish government to manage the public finances out of the current downturn.

The poll, which was conducted on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, shows Fianna Fáil at 36%, down four points since the last poll in June.

Concern about the economy is the most likely reason for the drop in support for the Taoiseach's party.
When asked if they were confident the government could manage the public finances out of the current downturn, just 39% of those polled said they were confident, while 50% were not and 11% did not know.

Fine Gael gained three points and has now 28%, which brings them back to their April result, while the Labour Party is down one point to 9%. The Green Party stands unchanged at 7% and Sinn Féin drops one point to 9%.

Surprisingly the Progressive Democrats have seen a slight rise in support. While the poll was being conducted this week, PD leader Ciaran Cannon said that his party was "no longer politically viable", but support in the poll has gone up by one point to 3%. Nevertheless that still places the PDs in the political doldrums and their leader is quite right with his assessment.

The Emerald Islander

€ 440,000 seized at Rosslare Port

€ 440,000 in cash has been found hidden in the door panels of a car at Rosslare Europort (photo) in Co. Wexford. According to Customs officials the find is being linked to drug smuggling.

Two men were in the car when it was stopped yesterday by officers of the Revenue & Customs Service before it was about to be driven on to a ferry destined for France.

Customs officers at Rosslare said their initial investigation indicates that the money was intended for the importation of a large consignment of drugs.

The two men in the car were released after their identity was established.

Officers later applied for and were granted a three-month detention order under the Proceeds of Crime Act by Judge Gerard Furlong at Gorey District Court, in order to carry out further investigations.

This find brings the amount of money seized by Customs officers under the Proceeds of Crime Act (enacted 12 years ago) to almost € 3 million.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, who is currently scraping the bottom of every government barrel for extra cash, will be delighted.

The Emerald Islander

Harry Potter to the Rescue

Today the author of the popular Harry Potter books, J. K. Rowling, has made a substantial donation of £ 1 million (€ 1.25 million) to the British Labour Party.

Joanne Rowling (photo right), once an unemployed single mother living on social welfare benefits, is now - thanks to Harry Potter's wizardry and great success - one of the richest writers and women in the world, with an estimated personal wealth of more than € 700 million. So the donation will not burn a hole into her pockets.

The best-selling author is a known supporter of the party and also a personal friend of Sarah Brown, the wife of Britain's Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Gordon Brown, who was delighted with the donation.

Quite understandable, as the British Labour Party has in recent years (under the leadership of Tony Blair) accumulated debts of more than € 22.5 million, much of them due to borrowings to fund the 2005 general election campaign, which was the most expensive in the party's history.

Gordon Brown (photo left), who succeeded Tony Blair as party leader and Prime Minister in late June 2007 without an election, had a difficult first year in office, which was made even worse by the global economic crisis created by reckless gamblers in US banks and financial institutions.

In his own party Brown is meanwhile facing strong criticism and is seen by many as a weak and reluctant leader (even though this might be unfair to him). A few days ago twelve dissident Labour MPs have even called for a new leadership contest to replace him.

For the time being he seems to be still in control, as the Labour Party begins its annual party conference. The extra million pounds will help, not only in financial terms, but also with the clout attached to it by the donor. And who knows, perhaps Harry Potter himself is riding to the rescue of Gordon Brown and his party. Everyone knows that wizards can do magic, and given the state both Britain and 'New Labour' are in, that would be more than welcome assistance.

The Emerald Islander

80 Africans to be resettled in Co. Mayo

Irish government officials are travelling to Tanzania today to finalise plans for the resettlement of 80 African refugees to Ireland.

All the refugees had fled the civil conflict in the 'Democratic Republic of Congo' (DRC) - a country that does, despite its large size, only really exist on paper and maps - and reached the north-west of Tanzania, where they have been living in camps for some time.

An international agreement, brokered by the United Nations, has allocated various numbers of those refugees to several European countries, and Ireland agreed to take 80.

They are expected to arrive here in about six months' time and will be settled in Co. Mayo, where a six-week integration programme is planned to help them to adjust to their new living conditions. There might be first of all a language problem, as the predominant language spoken in the DRC - a former Belgian colony - is French and not English. There are also many different tribal languages.

Last year, about 100 ethnic Burmese people (who would be familiar with English) were successfully resettled in Co. Mayo and are reported to be integrating well.

As much as I support these programmes to help true refugees, who need our help and support, I also notice a certain contrast in attitude towards different kinds of people in Co. Mayo. While the government provides everything possible for the foreigners that are resettled in this rural county in the west of Ireland, the local Irish population has been treated with contempt for meanwhile eight years and is subjected to massive hostility by the state, its organs - including the Garda Siochana (Ireland's police force) - and Shell, a private foreign company that has been given the right to exploit our natural gas reserves for free.

I think the local people in Co. Mayo will take notice of that and give the government parties a suitable answer in the upcoming local elections, which will take place in the summer of next year.

The Emerald Islander

Dublin Airport Radar could fail again

According to the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) a computer failure that caused a huge air traffic chaos at Dublin Airport this summer could happen again.

Thousands of passengers were grounded as airlines had to cancel, divert or delay scores of flights in July when a malfunction occurred at the air transport hub's radar system (photo).
Problems began when codes, which identify incoming aircraft, vanished from the computer screens of Ireland's air traffic controllers.

The capacity at Dublin Airport, which handles about 600 flights on a normal day, was halved for almost three days until engineers declared the system safe again.

In its report into the Air Traffic Management (ATM) system malfunction, the IAA says that it "cannot rule out the possibility of future failures of the system".

Now, that is good news for the environment, as well as a telling insight into the ways our Celtic banana republic function (or not).

"Worldwide, air navigation service providers cannot rule out the possibility of failures of ATM systems, which regularly occur," says the report. But the IAA is "confident that the measures recommended by the system supplier Thales ATM - and now being implemented - will "minimise the effect of a recurrence of like or similar failures of its ATM system in the future," a spokeswoman explained.

The investigation has found that the system in Dublin operated without failure since it was commissioned in 2004. But then, on June 2nd, 2008, identification data for flights entering the system disappeared from the screens.
Similar malfunctions were reported for short periods on June 4th, June 10th, July 2nd and July 9th, when air traffic controllers lost confidence in the system and shut it down.

Engineers later found that the cause of the problem was a "faulty network interface card" - a hardware device attached to the air traffic controller's computer system - and the failure of the local area network recovery mechanism.

One wonders why despite such incidents, malfunctions and the ever more ridiculous rules and restrictions invented to make airline passengers' lives difficult and uncomfortable - not even to mention the multi-fold of hidden extra costs, fees and taxes - there are still so many people in Ireland and everywhere willing to fly. Personally I don't, and since I made that decision, my life and my travels are a lot more enjoyable.

The Emerald Islander

Gormley wants more Public Transport

John Gormley (right), leader of Ireland's Green Party and Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, says that he will be "pressing for some road projects to be given a lower priority in the National Development Plan (NDP)".

Speaking as his party met on the second day of their pre-Dáil session in Tralee, Co. Kerry, he stated that "public transport remains the priority for Green ministers".

He conceded that contracts had been signed for some major motorways, but there were other roads planned that should be looked at again as they were of lower priority compared with public transport.

Waste water treatment and environmental protection remained also a key priority for the Greens in government, he added.

He warned that "tough budgetary decisions" lay ahead and that his party was still in discussions with Finance Minister Brian Lenihan (FF).

Regarding the 'Shell to Sea' campaign, Gormley said the departure of the pipe-laying vessel Solitaire made it "an opportune time" for his colleague Eamon Ryan (left), Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, to talk to the local community in Mayo.

This is some good news at last from the government, and the first time for months that one has heard a minister being not completely hostile towards the beleaguered residents of northern Co. Mayo. Perhaps the ten-day hunger strike of veteran campaigner Maura Harrington, which ended this afternoon, has achieved more than the withdrawal of the Solitaire from Irish waters.

The Emerald Islander

Maura Harrington ends her Hunger Strike

Maura Harrington (right), Principal of Inver Primary School near Broadhaven Bay in Co. Mayo, has ended a ten-day-long hunger strike in strong protest against Shell's attempt to lay the Corrib gas pipeline.

After receiving the written confirmation - as she had demanded - that the Solitaire, the world's largest commercial pipe-laying ship, has left Irish territorial waters, the meanwhile 55-year-old teacher and 'Shell to Sea' campaigner (who did not interrupt her hunger strike for her birthday) is satisfied that there is - for the time being - no active attempt to construct the pipeline from the mainland to the offshore gas field.
So at 3 pm this afternoon she ended her hunger strike, which began more than ten days ago when the Solitaire arrived in Broadhaven Bay, ready to start work on the pipeline. (for more details see my entry from September 14th)

Shell, who are developing the Corrib gas field off the coast of Co. Mayo, has subcontracted the Swiss-based international engineering and maritime service company All Seas, who operates the Solitaire (left), to build the pipeline from the coast to the offshore production platform.

But from the moment the huge ship arrived in Broadhaven Bay, the 'Shell to Sea' campaign, who has been fighting peacefully, but with growing anger, against the project for meanwhile eight years, started a new demonstration, demanding the withdrawal of the Solitaire from Irish waters.

Maura Harrington's hunger strike was the key element of this latest protest, and the strongest statement of discontent so far used by the 'Shell to Sea' campaign.

I hope that Maura is well and has not incurred any medical complications from her admirable action. She was certainly in good spirit this afternoon, when she ended her hunger strike and made the following statement:

I thank Divine Grace and the support of decent people everywhere that the Solitaire has left Irish territorial waters.
The courage of 'the Chief', Pat O'Donnell and his son Jonathan, who fought to uphold their rights at sea, and the tenacity of local people, together with national and international support, in their quest for justice is a testament to what is best in all of us.
Local people have borne the brunt of Shell's arrogance and government neglect for the past eight years. Yet Corrib remains a national issue because the government continues to put the profits of Shell before the needs of the Irish people.
Any alternative location for the Corrib gas infrastructure will not build new schools, new hospitals or contribute to the National Pension Fund.
Until we, the People, benefit from what is rightfully ours, any attempt to extricate Shell and the government from the mess that is Corrib remains doomed to failure.
I believe that the Shell to Sea campaign gives hope to all who strive for an Ireland that cherishes all its people equally and upholds values that don't carry a price tag.

Yesterday afternoon Shell announced that the Solitaire, which had been moored in the port of Killybegs in Co. Donegal for the whole ten days of Maura Harrington's hunger strike, will "sail to a deep water port in the UK to undergo repairs".
Which port the ship is heading for was not said, presumably to avoid further protests and demonstrations there. (Meanwhile the 'Shell to Sea' campaign has a lot of support outside of Ireland as well, and among the most prominent Bristish supporters is the film director Ken Loach, best known here for his recent film The Wind that shakes the Barley.)

The ship had left Broadhaven Bay again shortly after Maura Harrington began her hunger strike - after apparently suffering some damage to its laying equipment - and sailed to Killybegs.

So the huge detachment of Gardai - on land and in numerous boats at sea - which was deployed for the protection of the ship and its operation, was another waste of taxpayers' money, just as the two patrol vessels (a quarter of the whole Irish Naval Service) sent there by the Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea to intimidate the residents of Co. Mayo.

Some of the local people also reported apparent sightings of a British (nuclear) submarine in the area, but there is no positive confirmation for it. Sending a nuclear submarine into the territorial waters of a friendly neutral country is not done usually or easily. Decisions on the highest level - political as well as naval - would have to be involved.
It is nevertheless possible, as Britain is rather good at breaking rules, though as a former naval officer I have some doubts about this particular point. Nowadays the Royal Navy has only nine fleet submarine (in addition to her four strategic SSBNs, which carry intercontinental missiles with nuclear warheads) and they are usually stretched as it is to fulfill all required military operations. But then again, many things are possible, if a government gives the orders for it.

I am relieved tonight that Maura Harrington has survived her hunger strike and hope she will be able to sleep well in her bed, after spending ten days locked inside her car, parked at the gate of the Shell compound at Glengad.
I salute her for her courage and determination, and I wish her and her fellow campaigners well.

Even though the whole process is going on for eight years and fairly advanced by now, it is not too late to make changes and do the right thing, for Co. Mayo and the whole of Ireland. That, however, is in the hands of our government, which has so far staunchly sided with Shell and sent hundreds of Gardai (policemen) and even warships against the local population.
Such actions one would expect from some tin-pot dictator in South America or Africa, but not from an Irish government that claims to be lawful and democratic.

I will have to write more about this in due course, but for now I close this piece with a sigh of relieve and thanks to everyone who supported Maura Harrington, in one way or another. (I noticed that at least one TD whom I asked for help did give his support and urged Shell to withdraw the Solitaire.)

May the Sun rise in the morning and shine warmly on the Emerald Isle, with a special smile on Co. Mayo and in particular on Maura Harrington!

The Emerald Islander

Crane collapsed in Dublin

A man was injured when a crane collapsed on a building site at the Point Village in Dublin at 8.40 am this morning. The man's injuries are apparently "not life threatening" (whatever that means in laymen's terms), but he was brought to a hospital for treatment. Two other men from the site were taken to hospital as well and treated for shock.

A number of fire brigade, ambulance and Garda units attended the scene and the incident caused serious traffic disruptions in the area.

Meanwhile work on the site has resumed and the Health and Safety Authority has launched an investigation.

It will, as usual, take some time to establish what caused the collapse, but I wonder if it is just another sign - or perhaps an omen - for the current state of our economy and country.

The Emerald Islander

12-year-old Girl drives Amok in Limerick

A 12-year-old Irish girl, who drove dangerously through the streets before crashing into a Garda (police) patrol car, has been granted bail at Limerick's District Court.

The Court was told that the girl, who cannot be named because of her age, was seen driving a van dangerously on the Dock Road in Limerick shortly before 4 am in the morning.

She was pursued by a Garda car through the city centre and was seen swerving from left to right on the road. She also broke through two sets of red traffic lights.

The patrol car's lights and siren remained on during the pursuit, and the young girl eventually collided with the Garda vehicle before she was arrested.

She appeared before the District Court on five charges of dangerous driving, causing criminal damage to a police car, and driving without insurance or licence. (In case no one in the legal system has noticed: there are no driving licences for children in this country!)

The girl was also charged with two further public order offences, dating back to July 17th. She was remanded on bail until September 30th and is ordered to observe a curfew from 8 pm to 8 am. (If she will do that is another question...)
The Probation Services are also to investigate the girl's circumstances and prepare a report for her next court appearance.

When I hear of such behaviour - and this is not the only case of its kind - I always ask myself the same questions: Where are the parents of the child? Are they incapable of controlling her? Or just unwilling to bring her up properly? Do they care at all? Or do they belong to the anti-social scum of which we have unfortunately way too much in Ireland?

It seems that we - as a nation - have already become used to such incidents, committed by wild youngsters out of control. But they are usually in their late teens. A 12-year-old, and a girl, that is - thankfully - not the norm.
But I suppose this is only the tip of a much larger iceberg. And whenever children appear in a Court and are charged with crimes, one does not see the parents, nor hears from them. Why not?

I am no lawyer, but I would suggest that a change of the law is more than overdue. It should be the norm that parents are fully responsible - in every form and way - for the behaviour of their child or children. And if children under a certain age (which legal experts and child psychologists should determine) are out of order or commit crimes, the parents - and not the child - should be responsible, charged and - if found guilty - punished according to the Law of the land.

Should we introduce such a legal principle, I am certain we would see the problems of vandalism and criminal damage, car theft, shoplifting and many other crimes committed by teenagers so often these days, drop drastically and perhaps even disappear completely. Parents would make sure that nothing happens that could drag them into trouble (at least after the first few parents are sent to prison for the crimes of their under-age children).
The question is if we, the people of Ireland and especially the politicians who represent and lead us, have the courage to put such a law onto the statute books. (Sadly, most bills passed into law lack common sense...)

In Germany (and some other continental countries) there is a yellow plaque - not larger than a 'foolscap' (A 4 size) sheet of paper - displayed at the entrance to every building site. In black letters it carries the following information:

Access to building site for
authorised personnel only.
Parents will be held
responsible for their children.

That's it. But not more is needed. Everyone understands the message, and keeps away. Parents are much more responsible for their children and their behaviour in Germany. And being aware of that (and its potential consequences), they give their children more time and attention than we do here in Ireland.

I think that a rule good enough for German building sites should well be good enough for Ireland, its unruly youngsters and failing parents!

The Emerald Islander

Is DELL planning to leave Ireland?

US computer manufacturer Dell is apparently planning to end its production line in Ireland, which would mean a loss of a further 3000 jobs on the Emerald Isle. The company is under pressure from a downturn in world-wide sales of its computers and laptops, and only a few days ago I received a special offer from them in my mail, with knock-down prices for laptops I have never seen before.

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal claims that their Limerick facilities would be vulnerable should Dell decide to outsource manufacturing. According to US sources the company has been discussing a closure of operations at its Raheen factory in Limerick for nearly two years.
Dell has already approached contract manufacturers with offers to sell most of its factories around the world (and not only in Ireland).

“Dell executives have privately discussed closing the Irish plant for two years," said two people with knowledge of those discussions. One of them stated that Dell bosses decided to close the factory early last year, though they did not yet establish a firm time line.
The same source says that the goal is to move production capacity from Ireland to Poland, where Dell opened a factory early last year, "though the company is moving cautiously to limit any disruption of manufacturing and defections of sales and operations staff they want to retain".
In addition to their 3000 factory workers in Limerick, Dell has more than 1000 office staff which are "likely to remain in Ireland”.

A new Dell manufacturing plant in the Polish city of Lodz has opened indeed last year, and a number of Polish workers were trained for their new jobs in Limerick. Poland, which was not a member of the EU when Dell began production in Ireland, has far lower wage levels and also much lower costs of living than Ireland. It is clear that the cheaper workforce there would reduce overall costs, and producing in Poland would give the company also easier access to new markets in Russia, other Eastern European countries and the Middle East.

So far Dell has refused to comment on these reports, but in a business statement the company notes that the slowdown in demand for its products is continuing. The statement says that "the continued conservatism in IT spending in the US" had now "extended into western Europe and several countries in Asia".
In a number of filings to the US Security and Exchange Commission, Dell confirmed that it continues to expand its use of "external partnerships" or outsourcing for manufacturing.
The company says that it "expects to incur costs" as it "realigns the business to improve competitiveness, reduce headcount, and invest in infrastructure and acquisitions".

However, the only recent change in its existing manufacturing operations was the closure of a desktop plant in Austin, Texas last March, with a loss of 900 jobs.

But the writing is on the wall, and anyone with only a little business experience and common sense can see that a restructuring of Dell's operations - which are even more likely now under the newly increased economic pressures - will mean a drastic reduction of its Irish workforce, if not a complete end of production here.
This would of course be another heavy blow to our already weakened and shrinking economy. Thousands of people, families and local businesses would be affected, and Limerick's Mayor John Gilligan said it would be "dreadful news" if the 3000 people in the Raheen factory would be laid off.

But so far he is the only Irish politician or public representative willing to speak about the matter openly.

Sean Lally, President of the Limerick Chamber of Commerce, said that he did not want to make any comment that would "probably add fire to the speculation".
"Dell is a very important part of the economic fabric of Limerick and the region, and people should support the company when they come to buy their PCs," he added.

Well, the timid businessman and chamber president might be right, and I am seriously thinking about the extremely competitive offer I have just received from Dell. But I also wonder if they might just sell off their existing stock in Ireland at knock-down prices, before pulling out. What would be the conditions of the maintenance and long-term customer services after a closure of the Irish operation?

With horror I remember the story of another US computer manufacturer - Gateway - who entered Ireland with fanfares and the highest praise from senior government ministers and even the then Taoiseach.
For a few years all went well, and many Irish people bought computers from them. And then, almost over night, it was all over. Gateway closed its Irish plant when they ran into problems at home and left the country, with no provisions for follow-up customer service. I was not one of their customers myself, but several of my clients were. And they had a lot of trouble with Gateway computers after the company was no longer present in Ireland.

It is understandable that Dell is playing their cards close to their chest, in order to avoid unrest and a further drop of sales figures in the Irish market.
One would however expect to hear a word or two from the government, since it is its job to protect Irish interests and jobs.
But, as usual, our elected leaders are either ignorant, uninterested or both. And they are too shy to say anything that could perhaps be seen as controversial.

Speaking at the announcement of a € 30 million investment by IBM in Ireland, Tánaiste (and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment) Mary Coughlan (right) said it was "very important that we do not speculate about these issues".

I see. If you don't mention the flood, you will not get wet feet...
It is almost unbelievable how naive and incompetent this woman is! And it beats me what qualifies her to be the deputy prime minister of this country and the minister responsible for the economy!

Pressed for more information, she said that the IDA had "been in touch with the company on numerous occasions and is aware that from a global perspective a decision has been taken to re-evaluate Dell's global operations".

Well, thank you, Tánaiste! To know that, we don't need you or the IDA. All we need is to read the Wall Street Journal.

The Tánaiste did say that her predecessor in the department, Micheál Martin, went to see Dell and spoke to them about the issues, before he became the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Well, and what did he find out? Nobody seems to know. She certainly doesn't. One wonders if Micheál Martin made a vow of silence when he changed departments. Isn't it normal practice to brief one's successor about important matters during a hand-over of responsibilities? Well, apparently not in a Fianna Fail led government in Ireland. Here ignorance rules, and the most naive people are promoted to the most important positions.

Mary Coughlan added that the government would "keep closely in contact with Dell", but admitted she had not recently met with the company. So what is she doing all the time? Certainly not her job, for which Irish taxpayers remunerate her with a very generous salary.

It is almost certain by now that Dell will close the factory in Limerick, or at least scale down their operation significantly. When it happens, the government and many other politicians will be shocked and 'surprised' and blame it on the global recession. And thousands of ordinary people will suffer for it.
Would those we elected to govern the country actually care and do their jobs properly, there might be ways and compromises found to soften the blow, which is to come anyway, sooner or later.

But since a majority of Irish people prefers to be led by fools and ripped-off by scoundrels, they have confirmed Fianna Fáil in government last year. Now we all have to live with the consequences.

The Emerald Islander

More Job Cuts in Waterford

Another company in Waterford is planning do reduce its workforce.
Honeywell Transportation, which operates in the IDA industrial estate in Waterford City, seeks a further 50 job cuts on top of 100 that were announced already in July. The company is also introducing short-time working "until Christmas at least".

Three months ago the US multinational firm announced that up to 100 redundancies were being sought at its Waterford facility. Managers informed employees that they would start consultation with its union representatives on a plan to reduce the workforce by between 85 and 100 employees by the end of this year.

Now the company says that "due to instability and continued declines in demand in the automotive market" an additional 50 jobs are at risk, as well as a possibility for other actions to address the loss of volume.

Talks between the trade unions and management at the company are in progress.

No more Cappoquin Chickens

Another serious blow has been dealt to the local economy in Co. Waterford.
The owners and management of Cappoquin Chickens, a well-known poultry producer in the rural western part of the county, has confirmed that the company, which employed up to 250 people at certain times of the year, will close with the loss of all full-time and seasonal jobs.

The winding down process has already begun and will take about six weeks to complete. Talks to save the company, including with a potential buyer from England, broke down on Monday and management say they have been "left with no option but to close".

For nearly 50 years Cappoquin Chickens has been a household name in Ireland, especially in the south and south-west of the country. Privately owned and operated by several generations of the O'Connor family from the town of Cappoquin in the west of Co. Waterford (best known as the home of the Cistercian Abbey of Mount Mellery), the company saw a steady growth since the 1960s. But more recently Cappoquin Chickens had been in financial difficulties for a number of years. The company revealed during the summer that it had accumulated debts of at least € 7 million.

I am no agricultural expert and know nothing about the production of poultry, but it seems a bit strange that the company's difficulties coincide with the 'Celtic Tiger', the massive and widely unexpected economical boom that brought nearly half a million immigrants to Ireland. One would think that such an enormous increase in the population of the country would also create more demand for food, including chicken, which are by now (after the scares of the BSE crisis) probably the most popular form of meat consumed in Ireland.

So why has Cappoquin Chickens to close, despite an enlarged market? I don't know, and I would not feel competent to speculate, as I know neither the internal situation of the company, nor the quality and competence of its managers.

Local people blame the global food crisis, which has dramatically increased the price of grain. But that is not entirely logical, as the price for all kinds of food - including chicken - has risen here in the past two years overproportionally. So when the price of grain, that is fed to the chicken, goes up, the price of the chicken rises as well. And there is no shortage of chicken in Irish shops. The canandrum remains why other producers can cope with the situation, while the O'Connor family in Cappoquin can not...

The Waterford branch of the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) held a demonstration (see photo left) some time ago, in order to highlight the expected job losses in the area and in the faint hope that someone - perhaps a local politician - might actually do something before it was too late. Today the organisation is in shock, and in a statement it calls the closure of Cappoquin Chickens "another devastating blow for the Irish poultry industry".

Between 40 and 50 local egg suppliers and chicken producers, who were suppliers of Cappoquin Chickens and dependent on the company, are also deeply affected by the closure. One local producer, who has seven chicken houses with 180,000 birds, describes his future as "very bleak" without Cappoquin Chickens. "Well, chickens is all I know," he told a reporter.

Again, I feel reluctant to comment in detail, as I have no experience in the poultry business. But on a more general note I have to say that such a view is rather narrow. Millions of people around the world - and thousands in Ireland - have lost their jobs in many different industries. Quite a lot of them have no chance to stay in their line of business, trade and expertise. So they have to find something else to do, some other way to earn a living. And there are always possibilities, as new doors open the moment another door closes. All it needs is common sense, flexibility and the will and ability to learn and adapt.

Some help from the government would certainly be welcome, though I doubt that it will be a lot in the current economic recession, especially as the Minister for Finance is trying to save as much money as possible everywhere.

Perhaps it might have been wiser to invest some money in the area while the going was good and there was plenty of cash in the Treasury. But that chance has been missed, as so many others.
It is worth mentioning that the area had with Ollie Wilkinson (Fianna Fáil) a local TD (member of parliament) until the 2007 election, when he lost his seat. Being a Cappoquin man himself, and a member of the main government party, Ollie might have been able to pull a few strings in favour of his town and the local poultry industry, if he were still in Dáil Éireann. But since he was hardly ever heard of during the five years he was a TD, voters elected someone else in his place. And this TD is a city man with not much concern for chicken production.

As much as the loss of another 250 jobs in the South-East of Ireland is a concern for everyone, including myself, there is another aspect to the event. Being a vegetarian and active member of the ISPCA (Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), I feel rather relieved that we will now have millions of battery chicken less in this country. The Irish diet is still too much centred on meat - including and increasingly chicken - and the consequences are manifold, but entirely negative. Perhaps the closure of the poultry industry in Cappoquin, as shocking as it may be for the local producers, could be another step forward on the way to better, healthier and more sensible food production in this country.

The Emerald Islander

Agreement reached in National Pay Talks

This morning - after months of general talks and weeks of intensive negotiations - the Social Partners have eventually reached a new National Wage Agreement for the Republic of Ireland.

The last session with representatives of employers and all Irish trade unions went on for 22 hours and all through the night. Negotiators on both sides realised that they were already into the third day over the deadline set by the Taoiseach, and that might have helped their minds to sharpen and reach an agreement.

The result of the long and tedious talks is a pay increase of 6% for all workers, to be paid over 21 months.
The pay rise will be applied in two phases, with a 0.5% increase at the end of the agreement for workers earning less than € 430.49 per week, or around € 22,463 per annum.

All private sector workers will have a three-month pay pause. They will then receive a 3.5% increase over six months and a further 2.5% for the following year.

Public sector workers will have an 11-month pay pause from the last module of the Towards 2016 programme.
They will then receive 3.5% for the next nine months (commencing September 1st, 2009) and a further 2.5% for the remainder of the agreement.
The agreement also contains commitments on public service modernisation to reflect the latest OECD report.

Brian Cowen explained that the new agreement would include provisions to prevent employers using temporary agency workers to break strikes.
There will also be a statutory prohibition on victimisation of trade union members, and on inducements to encourage trade union members to leave their unions.

"The new National Pay Agreement will give a sense of confidence and stability in the challenging period ahead," the Taoiseach said earlier in Dublin.
"Even though the negotiations were very lengthy and complex, the Social Partners made commendable efforts to enable the terms of a draft Agreement to be identified."

Trade union leaders and the representatives of the employers' organisations are now putting the new draft agreement before their members for approval. There will be internal discussions and a detailed examination of the agreed terms, and a result is expected in about two weeks.

"This has been a long and arduous process, played out against a background of rapidly changing economic reality for workers and the economy as a whole," said Jimmy Kelly, Regional Secretary of Ireland's second-largest trade union UNITE, after the talks had ended and rows of exhausted negotiators emerged from Government Buildings in Dublin.

Turlough O'Sullivan, Director General of the employers' lobbying group IBEC, said there were "many positives in the deal".

The Emerald Islander

Lipstick on Dogs and Pigs...!

No, this is not an endorsement of cosmetic products for animals. Not even a piece about the use of animals for the testing of new cosmetics. As an active member of the ISPCA (Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) I am against that, anyway...

This is about the ridiculous double-standards of certain American politicians, which come usually to their strongest flourish in the Republican Party during election campaigns. It is meanwhile already a tradition (even though a dishonourable one) that any candidate standing against a Republican in an election - regardless on what level - will be subjected to an orchestrated smear campaign, with lies, half-truths and twisting of facts until they creak.

So one should not be surprised to see this now happening to Barack Obama (left), the Democratic candidate for the White House. As it happens, this year there is no-one in the Republican Party who comes even near the intellect, brilliance, clarity and courage of Senator Obama. They know that, and that it would therefore be futile to mount an intellectual or serious political campaign against him.

Having no sharp swords at their disposal, the Republicans decided to select the bluntest weapons they could find, hoping that they can fool and deceive the American voters again (as they did so successfully in 2004).
And once again the evil schemer Karl Rove (right), supported by his adlatus Steve Schmidt (who is John McCain's campaign manager) rolls out his tricks in the backroom.

Having forced McCain to accept the naive and totally inexperienced, but absolutely right-wing fundamentalist and gun-toting 'Christian' Sarah Palin (left) as 'running mate', they are now re-writing the campaign script and the policy lines of their candiate. Perhaps it is his age of now 72 years that has changed the once independent and admirable maverick from Arizona, or maybe he is by now just sick and tired of it all and will agree to anything, as long as it gets him the presidency.
But the John McCain who is now the Republican candidate for President of the USA is not the same man who ran in the Republican primaries in the year 2000 against - among others - George W. Bush.

Among historians there circulates a theory that Adolf Hitler did not live until the end of the Second World War; that he was actually assassinated by dissident Wehrmacht officers in 1943. But instead of regime change or the collapse of National Socialism they expected, the show went on, because top Nazis put one of Hitler's doubles (he had and used at least two we know of) in his place. However, this double lacked certain of Hitler's abilities and thus mistakes were made from 1943 to 1945 that the real Hitler might not have made. This is a theory, as I said, and we have no positive proof for it (nor any real evidence against it). But there are plenty of elements that make it look very plausible.

John McCain (right) has also undergone a complete change, though I do not expect that he was replaced by a double. But four years ago, before the presidential election campaign of 2004, he sold his soul and political principles to the Bush clan. What exactly happened will probably be never known to the public, but I believe that McCain agreed to give up his hefty criticism of Bush and his abstruse policies in exchange for a promise by Bush and his cronies to give him a 'free run' in 2008. And like all those who sold their soul to the Devil, he is now paying the price for it. Thus a man once seen as 'liberal' - and some still think he is - now has to rub shoulders with a woman like Sarah Palin and almost play second fiddle to her egocentric ignorance!

The linguistic controversy created by Republican 'spin doctors' some days ago is quite typical for the way they fight election campaigns. Never mind substance or real issues, as long as you can grab a few headlines in right-wing papers, TV and radio stations for a day or two, it is worth a go.

The phrase "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it still remains a pig" is quite popular in the USA, widely used in all walks of life (and not just in politics). In fact, John McCain has used it several times in public, the last time referring to Hillary Clinton.
But now, that Barack Obama used it, reflecting on McCain's apparent plans to change things in Washington, even though he is the candidate of the incumbent party and has voted more than 90% in favour of Bush's policies, the Republican smear machine is trying to imply that it is an apparently "sexist" remark and aimed at Sarah Palin!

Well, only brainwashed hardline Republicans, who would vote even for a pig, as long as it stands for their party, will see it that way. Everyone with a working brain will see the reality instead.

But one should not forget what gave the Republican backroom boys the basis for their attack on Senator Obama. It was Sarah Palin herself who - at the Republican convention - declared that the only difference between a "hockey mom" (like herself) and a pit bull (terrier) was lipstick. It has been pointed out by various observers and commentators that thus she proclaimed herself to be a "bitch", without actually using the word.

There is an old saying, that those sitting in glass houses should avoid throwing stones. Well, this is such a case. Anyone with common sense will see that it was Sarah Palin who drew the slight analogy towards herself, with her own words, even though Barack Obama did not intend it.
It was the Republican Party, and not Obama, who created the image of Sarah Palin as a "pig with lipstick". And one cannot help but thinking that they actually might have a point...

Perhaps both parties should in future concentrate more on facts and the massive problems that the USA are struggling with. Regardless who will be elected in November (and I hope it will be Barack Obama), the new President will have a very difficult job on his hands. There will be no requirement for pigs, pit bull terriers or even lipstick.
Required is instead a strong character, imagination, intelligence and the will to make substantial changes to an ailing and failing country. These traits I can see only in one party: the Democrats.

The Emerald Islander

Super-rich still pay Millions to be fooled

So, Damien Hirst (photo, with one of his sharks in formaldehyde) got away with it.
The recurring nightmare of the frivolous chief charlatan in Britain's twisted 'art' world - that Sotheby's auction of his latest works would attract no bids - turned out to be just a bad dream.

In the event, a total of £ 70.5 million was raised last night - a comfortable margin over the £ 65 million estimated - as the super-rich buyers of Hirst's products (one really cannot call them Art) refused to be put off by the catastrophes on Wall Street.
With 56 lots sold, and another 127 to be auctioned today, Sotheby's are already claiming a record for a sale dedicated to an individual 'artist'.

Hirst did not attend the auction – he was apparently playing snooker with Ronnie O'Sullivan in Camden Town – and nor did any of the starry crowd, including Bono, who attended his pre-sale party on Saturday. But Hirst's Irish business manager was there and made sure the money was rolling in and counted.

Norman Rosenthal, former exhibitions secretary at the Royal Academy in London, who controversially introduced Hirst to a wider public in 1997, said: "Banks fall over, art triumphs."

Art? Well, yes, there are some people who regard Hirst as an 'artist' and his products as 'art'. But if one looks a bit closer and checks who these people are, one makes a very interesting discovery: Almost all fans of Damien Hirst belong to the super-rich cast of the international jet set, with a few clueless politicians and mediocre media people thrown into the mix as a bargain.

None of these wasters of time and money has any proper education in the Arts, and for most of them art means only two things: showing off to other wasters, and a chance to invest some of their large fortunes, in the hope that prices will rise. And they almost always do in the art world.

For normal people, who don't have millions, but an education and enough common sense, Hirst is nothing but a frivolous charlatan, who exploits the mental poverty as well as the fiscal riches of his shallow and self-obsessed audience. He lives very well off his prey, being a multi-millionaire himself by now and a virtual recluse in his splendid home in Devon. But like any predator, from time to time he has to come out of hiding, in order to find new victims.

Having no real artistic talent, all Hirst usually does is to acquire some dead animals and put them into large glass tanks, filled with formaldehyde. (Actually, the real physical work is done by his employees. All Hirst contributes is the 'idea'.) That's it. Yes (for those who are lucky enough never to have heard of him), this is all he does. And then he calls the objects 'art' and sells them to super-rich but brain-dead admirers for millions of pounds or dollars. (To be precise, the actual selling is done by a crafty Irishman - his business manager - who would sell his grandmother in formaldehyde if he would get enough money in return. The 'artist' Hirst is by now above such trivial things as marketing...)

The emergence of Hirst and a whole group of similar charlatans - including the awful, vulgar and rude Tracey Emin - from the sewer of contemporary British society only shows how far down the road to total decadence the UK has gone. It is disgusting and should be ignored by all who care for real artists and enjoy proper art.

There is only one reason why I am writing this, instead of ignoring Hirst and his shenanigans: It is the unbelievable hypocrisy of the fans, sponsors and collectors of Hirst & Co.
The people who spend millions on Hirst's products are the very same we see ever so often come out of their glitzy fantasy world, populated by rich and super-rich nobodies, and appeal in an emotional way to the rest of us to give money to certain charities or 'good causes' they 'support'.
Yes, they 'support' these charities, by talking about them and gaining a bit extra public exposure that way as well. But very few of these so-called 'celebrities' actual give any money themselves. That they leave to us 'ordinary people'. The super-rich spend their money rather on themselves than sending it to Africa, Asia or other far-away places nobody really cares for. They attend and give lavish parties, spend fortunes on clothes and jewelry, houses and cars, and - if there is some left for extra fripperies - on the products of Damien Hirst and other 'artists' of his ilk.

Would they really care for the charities they promote now and then, they would donate the sums paid to Hirst & Co. to exactly those charities. People like Hirst might then have to work for their living (he actually did for some time, on building sites and in a mortuary) and the world of art, as well as the world in general, would be a better, sounder and more tasteful place.

So, next time some rich 'celebrities' ask you to give your hard-earned money to their 'favourite charity', think twice and ask the show-offs about their favourite artist first. If the answer is Hirst, Emin or any ot the other frivolous charlatans, keep your money and tell the 'celebrities' to put first their money where their mouth is.

The Emerald Islander

Does Autumn attract financial Disasters?

This morning I am wondering if there is a connection between Autumn and major financial crisis. It just dawned on me that the three largest failures of the financial system all came in the season that is usually associated with the poetical "mist and mellow fruitfulness".

The Great Wall Street Crash of 1929 (often called 'Black Friday'), that turned the whole world into disaster and a long and painful depression with poverty, hyper-inflation and economic meltdowns, happened in October.

'Black Wednesday', that caused a meltdown of the British financial system and led to the British Pound Sterling being withdrawn from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), was September 16th, 1992 (exactly 16 years ago today).

And yesterday, on September 15th, 2008 - already dubbed 'Black Monday' - we witnessed the spectacular collapse of Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest US investment bank, creating the largest bankruptcy case in American history. At the same time Merill Lynch, another of the great US investment banks, escaped the fate of Lehman Brothers by a whisker and was sold to Bank of America for a knock-down price.

This comes only days after the US Treasury decided to bail out America's two largest mortgage lenders, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to prevent an even bigger disaster. That political action cost the US taxpayers $ 100 billion.

One wonders how long it will take before even the US government runs out of credit (they have run out of real money already years ago, in particular due to the war in Iraq, which has cost the US taxpayers so far more than $ 550 billion).

And I also wonder if Autumn has some influence on these events. It is traditionally the season of harvest. So perhaps it is also the time for the world's banks and financial institutions to reap what they have sown.

The Emerald Islander

P.S. I have just read a very interest piece about the recent Wall Street crash in The First Post, a UK online newspaper. If you are interested, here is the link. http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/45393,opinion,lehman-exposes-wall-streets-moral-bankruptcy-who-will-pay-for-the-incompetence-that-has-led-to-the-financial-collapse

The largest Bankruptcy in US History

One of the world's largest investment banks has filed for bankruptcy protection, making it the biggest casualty yet of the ongoing credit crisis, as well as the largest bankruptcy case in US history.

Despite intensive desperate negotiations in high finance circles over the weekend, involving - among others - the Bank of America and the large British bank Barclay's, no potential buyer could be found for New York-based Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest US investment bank.

Lengthy discussions brokered by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York ended yesterday with no financial suitor willing to buy the once powerful bank. Not a surprise really for people with common sense, as Lehman Brothers have accumulated a bank debt of $ 613 billion, $ 155 billion in bond debt and assets worth only $ 639 billion.

US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was reportedly not willing to underwrite any deal in the same way the takeover of Bear Stearns was done earlier this year. Thus one of the former flagships of Wall Street and one of the most influential members of the Jewish financial lobby is left to go to the wall. (Perhaps it might be appropriate to change the name of Wall Street into "Go-to-the-Wall Street"...)

Financial experts, among them Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve Bank, described the collapse of Lehman Brothers as a "once in a century event" and "the worst banking failure since the great Wall Street Crash" (nearly 80 years ago, in October 1929).
An emergency trading session was authorised in New York yesterday - ignoring the fact that it was Sunday - so that other firms could reduce their risks to Lehman Brothers before markets opened today.

Nevertheless the European stock markets - including Dublin's ISEQ index - fell substantially today. The ISEQ shed almost 5%, while the UK's FTSE 100 index closed 3.92% down and the DAX in Frankfurt was 2.74% lower. The CAC 40 index in Paris was down 3.78%.

In the USA the Dow Jones industrial average lost 504.48 points, or 4.42%, to end at 10,917.51, marking the biggest point fall since September 2001. The Standard & Poor's 500 index shed 4.69%, while the Nasdaq composite index was 3.60% lower by close of trade.

Australian shares are down by 1.8%, while several of Asia's major stock exchanges - in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul - were closed for holidays. But in Singapore the STI dropped 3.3% to hit a two-year low. In Taiwan, the benchmark share index closed down 4%, and in India share prices fell by more than 3.35%.

So once again the wreckless gambling and unbelievable stupidity of American bankers has not only destroyed their own business, but created another world-wide economic crisis. I am fed up to my back teeth with these shenanigans of the super-rich, for which everyone else around the globe has to pay the price and suffer. And I wonder what else needs to happen before politicians and bankers in Europe decouple their economic wagons from the US economy, which is racing downhill as fast as if it competed in Formula 1.

To make it a really black day for financial institutions, it was also announced today that Merrill Lynch, another of the leading investment banks, is to be bought out by Bank of America.

Meanwhile, a group of ten major international banks has agreed to establish a fund worth € 50 billion in an effort to shore up banks exposed to the fallout from the property crash in the USA. How much good that will do, and how long this money will last, remains to be seen.
It was also announced that the US Federal Reserve would loosen its lending criteria to banks exposed to the fallout from failing property-backed investments. But there seems to be no longer any willingness to bail out banks that have made bad mistakes and stupid investments.

Today's events mark a new low in the world's economic confidence, and the question needs to be asked if we can afford private banks with their ruthless and wreckless gambling on international 'markets' (which are actually more like huge casinos) any longer. If a bank of the size and wealth of Lehman Brothers can sink as suddenly and easily as the RMS Titanic, something is extremely wrong in the world of international high finance. It becomes clear and obvious that privately organised and barely controlled capitalism does not work.

Lehman Brothers is one of the oldest US banks and was established in 1850 by Henry, Emanuel and Mayer Lehman, three sons of a Jewish cattle dealer from the Kingdom of Bavaria (now Germany) who emigrated one by one to America. The firm was founded in Montgomery, Alabama, where Henry Lehman - the eldest of the three brothers - had owned and run a shop since 1844. In the first 50 years of its existence the company was not a bank, but a trading firm for cotton. In 1883 coffee was added to the portfolio, and - having moved to New York by now - financial deals became more and more part of the business as well.
In 1899, Lehman Brothers underwrote their first public offering, the preferred and common stock of the International Steam Pump Company. But the complete change from a commodities dealer to a bank took place only in 1906, when the firm partnered with Goldman, Sachs & Co., to bring the General Cigar Company to market.

Since then many more followed, among them a long list of top US companies, who are often even household names outside the USA. Somehow the company survived the great Wall Street Crash with only little damage, but during the following decades their business was a mixed bag of highs and lows, often combined with strong emotions. This was especially the case after 1969, when the last chairman from the Lehman family died and outsiders began to run the business.

After a personality clash between two chief executives, the bank was eventually sold to the US credit card company American Express in 1984. But ten years later, when the conglomerate was restructured, it sold the investment bank again and the name Lehman Brothers returned to the market place.
Overall, the bank grew stronger and stronger over the years, but some extremely risky and in many ways unbelievably stupid investment decisions created problems as well. But there is one bad decision that broke Lehman Brothers eventually: their massive participation in the US 'sub-prime' mortgage market, where greedy bankers, ruthless salesmen and naive house buyers who could not really afford to buy a house created the most dangerous economic time bomb since the infamous 'South Sea Bubble' of the early 18th century.

This time bomb has now exploded, destroyed Lehman Brothers and damaged many other banks and financial institutions (including Bear Stearn, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Merill Lynch, who escaped annihilation only by a whisker, thanks to the US government's great fear of a total collapse of the whole financial sector).

Financial experts warn that the crisis is not over yet, and many expect more banks - perhaps with similar well-established names - to go to the wall before the world's economy will be in a sound and proper balance again.

The Emerald Islander

Bertie Ahern rejects Bribery Allegation

Today Bertie Ahern (left) has told the Mahon Tribunal (Tribunal of Inquiry into Planning Matters and Payments) he "absolutely rejects" the allegation that he received a bribe of £ 30,000 to block tax designation for a Dublin shopping centre.

The former Taoiseach, who resigned in May with allegations of financial improprieties hanging over him, returned to the tribunal to give evidence about his involvement in a proposal to build a national stadium in Neilstown and the development of the Liffey Valley shopping centre at Quarryvale.

He said he has "no recollection of discussing tax designation with the developers of shopping centres in Quarryvale and Blanchardstown".
Ahern, who was Minister for Finance in the 1990s, explained that he held the department line in refusing to give tax designation for the Blanchardstown or Quarryvale shopping centres.

This was despite calls for tax breaks for Blanchardstown by the then Tánaiste, the late Brian Lenihan (Snr), the leaders of Fine Gael and of the Workers' Party, and local councillors.

Ahern remembered that he met both Owen O'Callaghan, the developer of Quarryvale, and John Corcoran, the developer of Blanchardstown, to be updated about the projects. But he had no recollection of discussing tax designation with either man.

The former Fianna Fail leader, who is still a TD for his Dublin constituency (now as a rather quiet backbencher) said he did "not receive one cent from Mr. O'Callaghan" and did not receive money to block the designation for Blanchardstown.

He recalled meeting O'Callaghan in his constituency office in 1998, where he told him he would not support the proposal to build a national stadium at Neilstown, because he had his own plan to build one elsewhere.

The tribunal continues its inquiry and Bertie Ahern is scheduled for two days of testimony.

The Emerald Islander

Mayo Teacher on Hunger Strike against Shell

The long-running stand-off between local residents of northern Co. Mayo on one side, and the unholy alliance of multi-national energy giant Shell and the Irish state on the other, has reached a new dimension.

With the begin of pipeline laying between the land station and the Corrib offshore gas field imminent, a local teacher and prominent member of the 'Shell to Sea' campaign has gone on hunger strike as a "last step of protest".

Maura Harrington (photo left), Principal of Inver Primary School, situated very close to Broadhaven Bay, has enough of the broken promises, outright lies and the constant bullying of the local population by Shell, their Blue & Limes 'security guards' and their accomplices in the Irish government.

The 54-year-old woman from Erris, who has lived in the area all her life and is married to another member of the 'Shell to Sea' campaign, has gone on hunger strike to stop the construction of the gas pipeline and to draw attention to the way the countryside - including nature reserves - and the tightly knit rural community of northern Mayo are destroyed in order to give Shell what they want, regardless what the people think of it.

Maura Harrington began her hunger strike on Wednesday (September 10th), the day the world's largest pipelaying ship, the Solitaire (pictured right) arrived in Broadhaven Bay, ready to start laying the pipeline. But work never got started that day and after a few hours in the bay, the massive vessel withdrew and sailed away to the port of Killybegs in Co. Donegal.

As reason for that Shell spokesman John Egan claimed that they had discovered "some damage to the ship's equipment" which had to be assessed and repaired in a port. No-one knows what kind of damage was found, and Egan did not say (or know) anything about it either. And when pressed for more information, Egan at least confirmed that "the damage was not caused by any of the protesters" who had assembled at Glengad or moved around Broadhaven Bay in boats and small fishing vessels.
From Killybegs I hear that so far nothing was observed that looked like repair work of laying equipment on the Solitaire. Which leads me - and others - to the conclusion that the withdrawl of the ship was nothing but a tactical move by Shell, in order to ease the tension.

Being faced with a hunger strike is a serious challenge, even for a company as huge and powerful as Shell. And anyone who has even the slightest bit of knowledge of Irish history knows that the death of a political protester on hunger strike can create massive outrage in Ireland. Even today, 27 years after his death in a British prison in the North, hunger striker Bobby Sands is still an Irish hero and remembered with strong emotions by the people.
So it is more than likely that Shell managers would rather risk a delay in constructing their gas pipeline than having the life of a gentle and popular Irish teacher on their conscience.

But withdrawing the Solitaire from Broadhaven Bay is only one small step backwards for Shell and not enough for Maura Harrington. As I write this, she is on day 5 of her hunger strike, still locked inside her car, which is parked outside the gate of the Shell compound at Glengad. And she is determined to continue, with only two possibilities to end it: Either the Solitaire leaves Irish territorial waters, or her death.

Many local residents, as well as people all over Ireland and sympathisers abroad are meanwhile deeply concerned for her health. She is a slim, petite and fragile person, whose weight at the begin of the hunger strike was (according to her own statement) only 6 stone 9 lbs. She also suffers from calcified TB since 1980, and in one of two open letters she sent to Shell and to the Master of the Solitaire, Captain Simon van der Plicht, she made it absolutely clear that she is deadly serious and at the end of her tether. She wrote:

Given my age, weight (and) medical history ... my death will take place relatively quickly but not painlessly. The toll extracted by eight years of activism to the Shell dictated, State facilitated Corrib Project is a not insignificant factor in hastening my death.
I place my Life or Death in the hands of the master of the Solitaire, Mr Simon van der Plicht. Be under no illusion that this is an idle threat. I will begin my Hunger Strike, as stated, if and when the Solitaire approaches Broadhaven Bay - it will end in one of two ways.
1. On written confirmation by Mr van der Plicht that the Solitaire is outside Irish territorial waters.
2. My Death.

Since the 1980s Ireland has not seen such a drastic form of political protest and determination. It is clear to everyone that Maura Harrington is serious and would rather be dead than see her community and local landscape polluted and ruined forever by the Corrib Gas Project.

Perhaps it needed Maura Harrington and her determination to wake up all those who have so far taken little notice of the situation in the north of Co. Mayo. My thoughts are with her and I wish her well, hoping she will succeed with her protest and - most importantly - survive it.

But that is not enough. I also urge the government - especially Eamon Ryan (photo left), Minister for Energy & Natural Resources, and John Gormley (photo right), Minister for Environment, Heritage & Local Government - to do everything in their power to safe the life of Maura Harrington and to bring the long and painful suffering of the community in the north of Co. Mayo to an end.
Both ministers are members of the Green Party, and John Gormley is their leader. For many years in opposition they did argue for the rights of ordinary people, for a better system, a cleaner environment and for the sensible and sustainable use of energy.
Now that they are part of the government, they can show how serious they are when it comes to the real matters of the people, energy and the environment.

So far both ministers have stayed widely aloof with regards to the Corrib Project, and that alone is scandalous. But it is not too late. If there is a will, the government can change the agreements made with Shell and actually do what they have sworn to do when they spoke the oath of office: to defend and protect the Constitution and the country, and to serve the people of Ireland to the best of their abilities.

I further urge the Chairman, Chief Executive and managers of Shell to finally accept that they can never create and run a large project against the clear - and often expressed - will of the local people. They can still change the structure of the project and put their production facilities out to sea. That is all the local residents and the 'Shell to Sea' campaign demand, and with very good reasons.

Both politicians and business people make decisions every day. Many of them are important and have often long-lasting consequences. All it requires to get things right is a few good people with a working brain and common sense. I still believe that such people exist, in the government as well as inside Shell. Should I be wrong...?

The way the Corrib Gas Project has been planned and executed so far is a shambles, and the area in northern Co. Mayo looks more and more like a war zone. The government has deployed hundreds of Gardai to the area - which are now missing in Dublin, Limerick and other parts of the country where crime is rampant and getting out of hand - and meanwhile even the most law-abiding people see their own police as a hostile force of occupation. The Blue & Limes, a private army hired by Shell, is even worse. The so-called 'se