Confusion over proposal to cut 152 council jobs
Thursday, 21 April 2011 09:55
Confusion over proposal to cut 152 council jobs
Trevor Quinn
Calls for a special meeting of Mayo County Council to discuss the proposal to shed 152 council jobs are growing louder.
The first came from Charlestown-based Sinn Fein councillor Gerry Murray, who is demanding clarification on the cuts, which first came to light last Tuesday, April 19.
Fianna Fáil councillor Damien Ryan is submitting a letter this afternoon to Caoitherleach Michael Burke also calling for a special meeting. The letter contains ten signatures, including those of Cllr Blackie Gavin, Cllr Rose Conway-Walsh, Cllr Michael McNamara, Cllr Richard Flynn and Cllr Murray.
Clarification Needed
Speaking to The Mayo News, Cllr Murray said that the proposed job losses need to be discussed. “We need to know the sectors in which these job losses are likely to occur, and whether there any way of avoiding them,” he said.
“In recent years there has been a large number of retirements, and due to the public service recruitment embargo, these people have not been replaced. It’s important that we seek the views of the executive on a number of areas in relation to this.”
Confusion
Cllr Murray is adamant that the proposed special meeting should be held as soon as possible. The future of the authority’s machinery yard is another issue which Cllr Murray says needs to be addressed. Plans to ‘downgrade’ the facility have been proposed, but it unclear whether the ensuing job losses would be included in the proposed figure of 152.
Recent plans to downgrade the facility have been strongly opposed by a number of elected members in recent days after county engineer and director of capital services Joe Beirne admitted that the council is struggling to maintain services and jobs at the yard in Moneen, Castlebar.
Cllr Murray says, “If we relinquish our plant and machinery, we will be at the mercy of the private sector. We have a skeletal number of staff as it is. The task of even the most basic of requirements like filling a pothole will take an extremely long time to do.”
'Put up or shut up'
The strong lobbying position of Fine Gael (17 on the 32-seat council) is of paramount importance in addressing these matters. Cllr Murray is calling for a clear and concise consensus from the party representatives, which he says is long overdue. “We need some clarification of where Fine Gael are and what their plans are. It’s time for them to put up or shut up.”
Friday, April 22, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Disability-access campaigner targeted by thieves
Disability access campaigner targeted by thieves
TUESDAY, 19 APRIL 2011 09:21
Disability-access campaigner targeted by thieves
Trevor Quinn
Newport native Tom Chambers (pictured) says that he has suffered sleep deprivation since intruders broke on to his property and stole over €550 worth of home heating oil in the early hours of Thursday, April 7, last.
Tom, who is a well-known campaigner and activist for improved disability access in Mayo, says he is distraught that he no longer feels safe in his own home. He is paralysed from the waist down.
“People know you’re vulnerable when they see that you’re living alone and are in a wheelchair,” he told The Mayo News. “I live on a busy roadway with a lot of people coming and going. It’s frightening and your sceptical about every little noise. It’s very hard to go to sleep at night.”
Tom has seen a lot of suspicious activity in recent times. One man in particular regularly peers out of a passing vehicle which moves at a snail’s pace. “I’ve seen a van acting suspiciously in the area in recent weeks. I’ve seen it seven or eight times driving at five miles an hour down the road. Usually vehicles drive at speed around here so it’s unusual to see vehicles going that slow.”
Tom’s fuel tank is visible from the main road, and he believes this meant that the thieves thought a quick and seemingly easy theft could be arranged. Now he is afraid to fill his tank for fear that the dastardly criminals could return.
“It’s not unusual,” he exclaims, “There are people monitoring homes and people. One of the gardaí who called to investigate my oil theft told me that he had oil stolen from his tank a few weeks back.”
Tom is pessimistic about the potential of security locks and devices for his oil tank. “A lot of the oil thieves come with big clippers now and they can cut through everything.”
He says the presence of community police has been decimated in recent years and the interaction and communication between law enforcement and local people has suffered. “They’re up in the barracks full-time. People should see them more instead of them coming down once a week asking Joe Bloggs what’s happening.”
Tom, who lives alone, recalls another incident last summer when a man brazenly walked into his house and said his wife had been in touch before taking out a measuring tape and asking him “Where do you want this back kitchen built?”
Tom tricked the man in to believing that he was not alone and thankfully the man left. The incident left him shaken, angry and frightened. He wonders why relatively small amounts of money can motivate these people to cause such grievous harm. “If they only asked for a few bob I’d give it to them.”
Once a month, Tom partakes in a Jeet Kune Do Self Defence Programme which introduces real self-defence techniques to people who have sustained a spinal cord injury. He says the programme has been very beneficial in helping with balance, fitness and confidence
TUESDAY, 19 APRIL 2011 09:21
Disability-access campaigner targeted by thieves
Trevor Quinn
Newport native Tom Chambers (pictured) says that he has suffered sleep deprivation since intruders broke on to his property and stole over €550 worth of home heating oil in the early hours of Thursday, April 7, last.
Tom, who is a well-known campaigner and activist for improved disability access in Mayo, says he is distraught that he no longer feels safe in his own home. He is paralysed from the waist down.
“People know you’re vulnerable when they see that you’re living alone and are in a wheelchair,” he told The Mayo News. “I live on a busy roadway with a lot of people coming and going. It’s frightening and your sceptical about every little noise. It’s very hard to go to sleep at night.”
Tom has seen a lot of suspicious activity in recent times. One man in particular regularly peers out of a passing vehicle which moves at a snail’s pace. “I’ve seen a van acting suspiciously in the area in recent weeks. I’ve seen it seven or eight times driving at five miles an hour down the road. Usually vehicles drive at speed around here so it’s unusual to see vehicles going that slow.”
Tom’s fuel tank is visible from the main road, and he believes this meant that the thieves thought a quick and seemingly easy theft could be arranged. Now he is afraid to fill his tank for fear that the dastardly criminals could return.
“It’s not unusual,” he exclaims, “There are people monitoring homes and people. One of the gardaí who called to investigate my oil theft told me that he had oil stolen from his tank a few weeks back.”
Tom is pessimistic about the potential of security locks and devices for his oil tank. “A lot of the oil thieves come with big clippers now and they can cut through everything.”
He says the presence of community police has been decimated in recent years and the interaction and communication between law enforcement and local people has suffered. “They’re up in the barracks full-time. People should see them more instead of them coming down once a week asking Joe Bloggs what’s happening.”
Tom, who lives alone, recalls another incident last summer when a man brazenly walked into his house and said his wife had been in touch before taking out a measuring tape and asking him “Where do you want this back kitchen built?”
Tom tricked the man in to believing that he was not alone and thankfully the man left. The incident left him shaken, angry and frightened. He wonders why relatively small amounts of money can motivate these people to cause such grievous harm. “If they only asked for a few bob I’d give it to them.”
Once a month, Tom partakes in a Jeet Kune Do Self Defence Programme which introduces real self-defence techniques to people who have sustained a spinal cord injury. He says the programme has been very beneficial in helping with balance, fitness and confidence
Monday, April 18, 2011
Passenger with disabilities denied boarding on a flight against EU regulations
Passenger with disabilities denied boarding on a flight against EU regulations
People with disabilities have the right to travel and take planes.
But sometimes they find problems to take a plane
when they are travelling alone.
The decision taken by an airline of preventing a passenger with disabilities to take his flight goes against EU regulations. A report by the Vice President of the Commission responsible for transport Siim Kallas confirms this procedure is not legal.
On 4 April, Shuaib Chalklen, a UN Special Rapporteur on Disability and wheelchair user, was informed that he would not be able to travel unaccompanied on his flight London-Geneva, as he could not independently use the sanitary facilities. The standard time for the route London-Geneva is 1h40 and the passenger was used to travel for professional reasons.
Shuaib Chalklen
The EU regulation concerning the rights of disabled people and persons with reduced mobility when traveling by air "prohibits operators from refusing reservation or boarding to persons because of their disability". These rules apply to all commercial passenger air services on departure, transit or arrival within the territory of a Member State. The only exception to this rule can be made "in order to meet applicable safety requirements established by international, Community or national law.
On 11 April, Transport Commissioner Kallas published a report on this regulation, mentioning that some carriers "tend to mix up requirements related to flight safety". The denial of boarding must only be done for flight safety reasons. The Commissioner also recognized there are still problems with the implementation of the regulation.
Disability organisations encourage the inclusion of the disability perspective in airline staff trainings in order to limit barriers to the free movement of people with disabilities
People with disabilities have the right to travel and take planes.
But sometimes they find problems to take a plane
when they are travelling alone.
The decision taken by an airline of preventing a passenger with disabilities to take his flight goes against EU regulations. A report by the Vice President of the Commission responsible for transport Siim Kallas confirms this procedure is not legal.
On 4 April, Shuaib Chalklen, a UN Special Rapporteur on Disability and wheelchair user, was informed that he would not be able to travel unaccompanied on his flight London-Geneva, as he could not independently use the sanitary facilities. The standard time for the route London-Geneva is 1h40 and the passenger was used to travel for professional reasons.
Shuaib Chalklen
The EU regulation concerning the rights of disabled people and persons with reduced mobility when traveling by air "prohibits operators from refusing reservation or boarding to persons because of their disability". These rules apply to all commercial passenger air services on departure, transit or arrival within the territory of a Member State. The only exception to this rule can be made "in order to meet applicable safety requirements established by international, Community or national law.
On 11 April, Transport Commissioner Kallas published a report on this regulation, mentioning that some carriers "tend to mix up requirements related to flight safety". The denial of boarding must only be done for flight safety reasons. The Commissioner also recognized there are still problems with the implementation of the regulation.
Disability organisations encourage the inclusion of the disability perspective in airline staff trainings in order to limit barriers to the free movement of people with disabilities
Disabled woman sues Ryanair
Disabled woman sues Ryanair after husband is forced to give her fireman’s lift to get her on plane
By Andrew Levy
Last updated at 4:55 PM on 14th April 2011
Comments (55) Add to My Stories Humiliated: Wheelchair-bound Jo Heath, 57, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, was left sitting beside the Ryanair plane after a hydraulic lift failed to turn up
A disabled woman successfully sued Ryanair after her husband was forced to carry her onto a flight using a fireman’s lift.
Wheelchair-bound Jo Heath, 57, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, was left sitting beside the plane after a hydraulic lift failed to turn up.
After waiting for 30 minutes she and her husband Paul, 56, asked the crew and pilot for help but they refused in case they hurt themselves.
In the end, Mr Heath had to sling his ten stone wife over his shoulder and clamber up the stairs on his own as ground staff, crew members and passengers looked on.
Mrs Heath has now won £1,750 compensation for the humiliation she suffered after Ryanair breached its contract by failing to provide the assistance she had ordered and contravening disability discrimination laws.
In a damning verdict on the budget airline, a judge said all it ‘was interested in was getting the plane airborne in time’.
Mrs Heath, a mother-of-two from Milton Malsor, Northamptonshire, said: ‘When I was carried onto the plane, everyone was looking over their seats to see what was happening.
‘It was humiliating and distressing. They treated me like an inconvenience, not a passenger. I was made to feel like it was my fault.
‘I’m not terribly impressed with the payout but it’s not a question of money. It’s about standing up for people with disabilities so this doesn’t happen to anyone else.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1376905/Abandoned-tarmac-Disabled-woman-left-sitting-plane-Ryanair-wouldnt-fetch-lift.html#ixzz1Jt0KvvQ5
By Andrew Levy
Last updated at 4:55 PM on 14th April 2011
Comments (55) Add to My Stories Humiliated: Wheelchair-bound Jo Heath, 57, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, was left sitting beside the Ryanair plane after a hydraulic lift failed to turn up
A disabled woman successfully sued Ryanair after her husband was forced to carry her onto a flight using a fireman’s lift.
Wheelchair-bound Jo Heath, 57, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, was left sitting beside the plane after a hydraulic lift failed to turn up.
After waiting for 30 minutes she and her husband Paul, 56, asked the crew and pilot for help but they refused in case they hurt themselves.
In the end, Mr Heath had to sling his ten stone wife over his shoulder and clamber up the stairs on his own as ground staff, crew members and passengers looked on.
Mrs Heath has now won £1,750 compensation for the humiliation she suffered after Ryanair breached its contract by failing to provide the assistance she had ordered and contravening disability discrimination laws.
In a damning verdict on the budget airline, a judge said all it ‘was interested in was getting the plane airborne in time’.
Mrs Heath, a mother-of-two from Milton Malsor, Northamptonshire, said: ‘When I was carried onto the plane, everyone was looking over their seats to see what was happening.
‘It was humiliating and distressing. They treated me like an inconvenience, not a passenger. I was made to feel like it was my fault.
‘I’m not terribly impressed with the payout but it’s not a question of money. It’s about standing up for people with disabilities so this doesn’t happen to anyone else.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1376905/Abandoned-tarmac-Disabled-woman-left-sitting-plane-Ryanair-wouldnt-fetch-lift.html#ixzz1Jt0KvvQ5
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Mayo garda comments investigated
Mayo garda comments investigated
Related
Transcript of recording | 05/04/2011External
Shell To SeaAn Garda Siochana The Irish Times takes no responsibility for the content
or availability of other websitesLORNA SIGGINS, Western Correspondent
A senior Garda officer has been appointed to investigate the treatment of two women who were arrested during protests over the Corrib gas project late last week.
Members of the force were inadvertently recorded on a video camera they had earlier confiscated joking about threatening to deport and rape one of the women who had refused to give her name to officers.
The video camera was not fully switched off after it was seized by gardaí and it recorded exchanges between several gardaí in the vehicle in which they were travelling.
The two women were arrested on a public road last Thursday about 30 minutes after one of them had been taken down from the roof of a tractor hired for Shell’s preparatory work on the Corrib gas pipeline at Aughoose.
Both women were released without charge.
They are upset about the exchanges that were recorded and say they were manhandled by several officers during their arrest near the Shell compound for the new Corrib gas pipeline route in north Mayo.
The woman who was carrying the video camera says she had her arms forced until she dropped the camera, and sustained bruising. Her colleague says she was treated in an “unnecessarily physical fashion”.
Both women said they wished not to be named, and neither wanted to comment on the record on the incident.
Supt Pat Diskin of Belmullet Garda station said a senior garda from outside the division had been appointed to “establish the facts and report on the matter”.
The women were arrested for public order-related offences, and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
An academic at NUI Maynooth, where one of the women is studying, has condemned as “outrageous” the content of some recorded conversation.
The camera on which the exchanges were recorded is believed to have been the property of the college.
It was some hours after their release that the women discovered their camera, which was returned to them, had not been switched off.
It was in the possession of gardaí leaving the scene in a separate car, and during the journey it had recorded exchanges between several gardaí.
One garda can be heard on the tape saying that one of the women “sounds like a Yank or Canadian”. Another garda said: “well, whoever, we’ll get immigration f***ing on her.”
A more senior garda picked up the conversation, saying “she refused to give her name and address and [was] told she would be arrested”.
“And deported,” his colleague continued. “And raped,” the more senior garda said.
The conversation continued in jocular fashion, with the more senior garda saying: “Give me your name and address or I’ll rape you.”
Amid some laughter, another garda said: “Hold it there, give me your name and address there, I’ll rape you.”
“Or I’ll definitely rape you,” the more senior garda responded.
The 37-minute recording also features differences of opinion between the gardaí in the car over use of equipment and training to deal with protests.
One garda expressed concern about responsibility in court proceedings if a protester was injured during removal, and it transpired that there was insufficient equipment or training. His senior disagreed, and said it was a matter of “common sense”.
Dr Bríd Connolly, lecturer in NUI Maynooth’s adult and community education department, confirmed that one of the women arrested was a student at the college.
“This recording is an affront to women, an affront to freedom to protest, and rape is not a joking matter,” Dr Connolly said.
“How can women who have been assaulted have any confidence in the Garda if this is the sort of attitude that prevails?
“It undermines the work done with the Garda by rape crisis centres and Women’s Aid, and takes us back 40 to 50 years,” Dr Connolly added
Related
Transcript of recording | 05/04/2011External
Shell To SeaAn Garda Siochana The Irish Times takes no responsibility for the content
or availability of other websitesLORNA SIGGINS, Western Correspondent
A senior Garda officer has been appointed to investigate the treatment of two women who were arrested during protests over the Corrib gas project late last week.
Members of the force were inadvertently recorded on a video camera they had earlier confiscated joking about threatening to deport and rape one of the women who had refused to give her name to officers.
The video camera was not fully switched off after it was seized by gardaí and it recorded exchanges between several gardaí in the vehicle in which they were travelling.
The two women were arrested on a public road last Thursday about 30 minutes after one of them had been taken down from the roof of a tractor hired for Shell’s preparatory work on the Corrib gas pipeline at Aughoose.
Both women were released without charge.
They are upset about the exchanges that were recorded and say they were manhandled by several officers during their arrest near the Shell compound for the new Corrib gas pipeline route in north Mayo.
The woman who was carrying the video camera says she had her arms forced until she dropped the camera, and sustained bruising. Her colleague says she was treated in an “unnecessarily physical fashion”.
Both women said they wished not to be named, and neither wanted to comment on the record on the incident.
Supt Pat Diskin of Belmullet Garda station said a senior garda from outside the division had been appointed to “establish the facts and report on the matter”.
The women were arrested for public order-related offences, and a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
An academic at NUI Maynooth, where one of the women is studying, has condemned as “outrageous” the content of some recorded conversation.
The camera on which the exchanges were recorded is believed to have been the property of the college.
It was some hours after their release that the women discovered their camera, which was returned to them, had not been switched off.
It was in the possession of gardaí leaving the scene in a separate car, and during the journey it had recorded exchanges between several gardaí.
One garda can be heard on the tape saying that one of the women “sounds like a Yank or Canadian”. Another garda said: “well, whoever, we’ll get immigration f***ing on her.”
A more senior garda picked up the conversation, saying “she refused to give her name and address and [was] told she would be arrested”.
“And deported,” his colleague continued. “And raped,” the more senior garda said.
The conversation continued in jocular fashion, with the more senior garda saying: “Give me your name and address or I’ll rape you.”
Amid some laughter, another garda said: “Hold it there, give me your name and address there, I’ll rape you.”
“Or I’ll definitely rape you,” the more senior garda responded.
The 37-minute recording also features differences of opinion between the gardaí in the car over use of equipment and training to deal with protests.
One garda expressed concern about responsibility in court proceedings if a protester was injured during removal, and it transpired that there was insufficient equipment or training. His senior disagreed, and said it was a matter of “common sense”.
Dr Bríd Connolly, lecturer in NUI Maynooth’s adult and community education department, confirmed that one of the women arrested was a student at the college.
“This recording is an affront to women, an affront to freedom to protest, and rape is not a joking matter,” Dr Connolly said.
“How can women who have been assaulted have any confidence in the Garda if this is the sort of attitude that prevails?
“It undermines the work done with the Garda by rape crisis centres and Women’s Aid, and takes us back 40 to 50 years,” Dr Connolly added
Friday, April 01, 2011
Latest bank rescue grabs the headlines
Latest bank rescue grabs the headlines
Screengrab of the homepage of the 'Financial Times' websiteRelated
BoI and AIB shares rise after €24 billion put into banks | 01/04/2011Portugal's borrowing costs rise | 01/04/2011Bank of Ireland and merged AIB-EBS to form pillars of Irish banking sector | 01/04/2011In worst-case scenario bad mortgage debts could total EUR9.5bn by end 2013 | 01/04/2011Banking Crisis Some international media reaction to Ireland’s latest bank rescue plan:
Call the fat lady: Ireland’s banking horror show must end now. Its four surviving banks will require €24 billion of new capital after Thursday’s stress test results. That brings the amount of public money poured down the drain since they were felled by the global financial crisis of 2008 to €70 billion – 45 per cent of gross domestic product - Financial Times.
Mr Honohan said the latest tests were designed to draw a line under the banks' problems and help them return to normality. However, investors remain sceptical that even these harsher tests and new capital raisings will bring an end to Ireland's problems. – The Telegraph
Ireland’s bill for bailing out the banks has climbed to over €70 billion, equivalent to half the annual wealth of the country – Le Monde
Ireland is on track to nationalise its banking sector after its government uncovered a €24 billion capital shortfall in the latest round of "stress tests" of top banks. That gap will be plugged largely by taxpayers. – Wall Street Journal
Portugal on Thursday disclosed new and larger budget deficits for last year, and Ireland said its banks need tens of billions of dollars in additional capital. The fresh round of bad news is likely to further shake confidence in Europe’s ability to resolve its lingering financial problems anytime soon – Washington Post
A higher-than-expected budget deficit in Portugal and the need for more money to rescue Ireland’s failing banks have renewed fears that Europe’s debt crisis is worsening despite its sizable bailout fund - New York Times
Irish banks have become highly dependent on short-term loans from the ECB, but the country's credit rating has been hit over the bailout and continued concerns the extent of the banking sector's problems – Sydney Morning Herald
Screengrab of the homepage of the 'Financial Times' websiteRelated
BoI and AIB shares rise after €24 billion put into banks | 01/04/2011Portugal's borrowing costs rise | 01/04/2011Bank of Ireland and merged AIB-EBS to form pillars of Irish banking sector | 01/04/2011In worst-case scenario bad mortgage debts could total EUR9.5bn by end 2013 | 01/04/2011Banking Crisis Some international media reaction to Ireland’s latest bank rescue plan:
Call the fat lady: Ireland’s banking horror show must end now. Its four surviving banks will require €24 billion of new capital after Thursday’s stress test results. That brings the amount of public money poured down the drain since they were felled by the global financial crisis of 2008 to €70 billion – 45 per cent of gross domestic product - Financial Times.
Mr Honohan said the latest tests were designed to draw a line under the banks' problems and help them return to normality. However, investors remain sceptical that even these harsher tests and new capital raisings will bring an end to Ireland's problems. – The Telegraph
Ireland’s bill for bailing out the banks has climbed to over €70 billion, equivalent to half the annual wealth of the country – Le Monde
Ireland is on track to nationalise its banking sector after its government uncovered a €24 billion capital shortfall in the latest round of "stress tests" of top banks. That gap will be plugged largely by taxpayers. – Wall Street Journal
Portugal on Thursday disclosed new and larger budget deficits for last year, and Ireland said its banks need tens of billions of dollars in additional capital. The fresh round of bad news is likely to further shake confidence in Europe’s ability to resolve its lingering financial problems anytime soon – Washington Post
A higher-than-expected budget deficit in Portugal and the need for more money to rescue Ireland’s failing banks have renewed fears that Europe’s debt crisis is worsening despite its sizable bailout fund - New York Times
Irish banks have become highly dependent on short-term loans from the ECB, but the country's credit rating has been hit over the bailout and continued concerns the extent of the banking sector's problems – Sydney Morning Herald
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