'Please sound the alarm': Israeli authorities intercept Gaza-bound flotilla
The Taoiseach has said that UN agencies should be "enabled and allowed" to distribute food aid in Gaza amid ongoing deaths at aid centres. Video: Bryan O'Brien
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Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, June 12th: On rent market changes, the media and hurling
Sir, – For a political party that once declared their support for 'people who get up early in the morning', the changes announced in the rental market feels like a statutory stab in the back. As a property investor who had many sleepless nights during the 'crash', and who has worked hard all my life and done without, I now find my investments held hostage by a legislative tangle of incomprehensible rules and regulations. And why? All because a government has failed miserably to address the housing crisis and needs a fall guy to sate the baying populist politicians on the Opposition benches. Who was there for me when interest rates were rising, when the banks were spitting in my face and tenants were not to be found? No help, no rescue plan for landlords then. We struggled through at great cost, financially, emotionally and physically. READ MORE The Rental Control Zones (introduced in 2016) were to last just three years – they continue in place leaving many small landlords collecting rents that are at 60 per cent or less of market value in an environment of rising maintenance and management charges. Fine Gael should hang theirs collective heads in shame. In an effort to reach those who will never be theirs, they have left the 'true blues' out in the cold. A price will be paid. –Yours, etc, NEVILLE SCARGILL, Bray, Co Wicklow. Gender issues and the media Sir, – It's a rare and welcome sight to see an Irish journalist tackle the contentious trans debate, and Hugh Linehan's recent article does so with commendable courage (' Why is Irish Media so reticent about covering gender issues? ' June 9th) By addressing what others avoid, Linehan upholds George Orwell's standard that 'journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; everything else is public relations'. For this, he deserves significant credit. However, I was puzzled by Linehan's description of me as 'an activist with a clear ideological stance'. I challenge him to define this supposed ideological stance, as I suspect he'll struggle to do so. My work is driven not by ideology but by a commitment to reality, biological facts, and professional responsibility. As a psychotherapist, I am duty-bound to advocate for best-practice care for gender-distressed young people, just as journalists like Linehan are obliged to confront challenging issues in the public sphere. It's unfortunate that his piece, while rightly noting Irish journalism's reluctance to engage with this topic, mischaracterises my mental health work as activism rather than professional integrity. In 2021, I founded Genspect, an international organisation that promotes a non-medicalised approach to gender-related distress. We believe that feminine boys should be free to wear dresses, and that masculine girls should be able to express stereotypically masculine traits, without being directed towards puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones. As a former masculine girl myself, I know firsthand how society struggles to accept gender-nonconforming children and I advocate for a world that embraces this nonconformity without relying on medical intervention. Genspect provides vital psychological support through regular online meetings for individuals harmed by medical transition, parents of trans-identified youth, and those who identify as transgender. With approximately 1,500 individuals supported, including over 360 detransitioners – people who have medically transitioned and now seek to reverse this transition – Genspect is the only organisation in the world that offers free support to detransitioners. This is not activism; it's a response to urgent, unmet needs. Linehan rightly notes that Irish journalism has too often sidestepped these complex issues. RTÉ, in particular, has avoided meaningful engagement, failing its obligations as a public service broadcaster. This silence has eroded clarity, rigour, and public trust. Linehan's article is a long-overdue example of intellectual honesty and moral courage. I hope it inspires more journalists to ask tough questions and engage thoughtfully. I also respectfully request that the paper of record clarify the characterisation of my work. – Yours, etc STELLA O'MALLEY, Birr, Co Offaly. Sir, – I would like to commend and thank Hugh Linehan for his acknowledgement of the failure of the Irish journalistic class (with a few notable exceptions) to do their job and report on the issues around gender identity and its impact on children and women. His explanation, or excuse, as to why this happened will be of little comfort to parents and women who have experienced radio (and print) silence in trying to engage in a national discussion about actual evidence, best practice, safeguarding and fairness. Linehan is correct that children, and women, deserve better. As a starting point, we need the media to do its job and report on the evidence and the facts. The Irish Times would do well to engage and finally reassert itself as a paper of record on this issue. – Yours etc, SHEENA McAFEE, Dartry, Dublin 6. Godly consultants Sir, – Tom O'Dowd MD (Letters, June 11th) asks 'how are managers expected to deal with a few highly unionised well-paid doctors with track records of bullying junior staff and playing the system?' Perhaps addressing them as God or Your Majesty would do the trick. –Yours, etc, BRIAN AHERN, Clonsilla, Dublin. Nursing homes scandals Sir, – The recent horrifying revelations concerning maltreatment of some residents in some care homes indirectly highlights the critical importance of enabling infirm people to remain in their own homes for as long as is feasible. A critical factor, in enabling people to remain in their homes for as long as possible, is the support that they receive, especially, and not just from family members and neighbours, but also from the unsung heroes, the health care assistants who visit infirm people in their homes and provide them with the sustenance and care that they need order to supplement their support. We see this in the case of an elderly family member. Included in this rank of busy and extremely burdened health care assistants are the many who are non-nationals in origin and who, alongside their Irish counterparts, provide empathetic and utterly devoted care, sometimes to a level way beyond their employment remit. Let us celebrate all those who deserve celebration, who all too often are undervalued even though what they do, on a daily basis, is some of the most important work in society. Without this vital group of healthcare workers there are many, now contently living at home, who would already be in care homes, perhaps receiving less than optimal care for their individual needs, not to mention the premature loss of their autonomy. Proper pay and conditions, sufficient time for visits and proper recognition of the invaluable role of these vital people within society ought to be a minimum practical provision in a truly caring society. – Yours, etc, REGINA and ANTHONY LAYNG, Ringsend Road, Dublin 4. Sir, – Prof Des O'Neill calls for a number of measures, including stronger advocacy voices, to address the lingering crisis in our nursing homes ('Has anything changed since Leas Cross?', June 10th ). Unfortunately, there will never be enough professionally trained advocates to help residents. The wider community can play a pivotal role in this regard. The theme of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15th is connection is protection – by being good neighbours and watching out for each other we can protect the most vulnerable from potential abuse. Residents living in nursing homes become quickly disconnected from the rest of society with many experiencing profound loneliness. Such a situation can be a breeding ground for bad work practices and abuse. Communities who visit residents regularly in their local nursing homes are uniquely placed to break the cycle of loneliness, call out poor standards of care and become advocates for the most vulnerable. The persistent determination of those families who continue to fight for their loved ones featured in the recent RTÉ Investigates: Inside Ireland's Nursing Homes should be a rallying call for communities to take up the mantle. – Yours, etc, TONY CARROLL, Beaumont, Dublin. Trump and fatigue Sir, – US president Donald Trump seems intent on testing the powers of his office to the limit. Perhaps it is time for the United States to consider changing the first line of the preamble to the Constitution from 'we the people' to 'I, the President. – Yours, etc, NUALA DELANEY, Killiney, Co Dublin. Sir, – Would it be possible to publish the paper for a week without a reference to President Trump ? I'd settle for a day. – Yours, etc, PAUL WALSH, Co Dublin. Freedom flotilla interception Sir, – So the Israeli military forces intercepted and seized the non-profit Freedom Flotilla Coalition's yacht in international waters, while she was sailing to Gaza with a symbolic contribution of urgently needed humanitarian aid. The stomach churning photo of an Israel Defense Forces individual pressing a sandwich and orange juice on a bemused Greta Thunberg said it all. There were reports that the flotilla detainees would be subjected to a film, while 'guests of the nation', about the original attack by Hamas on Israel in October, 2023. One wonders, purely for balance, if the Israeli government would also show a documentary on the total destruction of Gaza and the killing of an estimated 54,000 people in 20 months of ruthless and incessant bombardment. It was probably unlikely that there would be time to show the detail, in the face of Israel's haste to get the turbulent group of flotilla volunteers off their hands. –Yours, etc, PATRICK JUDGE, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin. An affront to humanity Sir, – The release of Ratko Mladic (' Ratko Mladic: Terminally ill Bosnian Serb general serving life for genocide seeks release, ' June 10th) would be an affront to humanity and the entire concept of justice itself. Last year I visited Sarajevo and Mostar, having previously studied the Bosnian war and genocide. I am lucky enough to not have lived during such utter depravity, but its lessons on ethnonationalism and the failure of the international community should never be forgotten. As you stand in the Sehidsko Mezarje Kovaci cemetery next to the old town in Sarajevo, you will witness young people weep as they mourn their parents who never had the chance to see their children go to college or have families; the partners and parents of those who were blown to bits before their very eyes by Serb mortars. They remember what Mladic did to Bosnia like it was yesterday, and it will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Victims of a brutal 1,425-day siege, a city abandoned to slaughter by the world. Today, it stands as a city where Muslims, Jews and Christians worship and live side by side, as they have done for over 500 years; a stark contrast to the vision of a resurgent reactionary nationalism across Europe, the United States and the Middle East. Mladic's lawyers have argued that he should be allowed to live out the remainder of his days alongside his family; there can be no true justice for what happened in Bosnia. However, allowing Mladic to experience freedom would be the most grotesque injustice for those who will never cease to mourn. Will international justice fail them once again? – Yours, etc, ANDREW DUNNE, Rialto, Dublin 8. Free-flowing hurling Sir, – Gordon Manning's article about referees and free-flowing hurling('I f we want free-flowing hurling we must accept the refereeing that facilitates it, ' June 10th,) is timely. When the subject of free-flowing hurling is discussed, it is normally assumed that it is entirely the prerogative of the referee that a match is free-flowing ie. the referee tolerates a certain level of fouling or rule-breaking in the interests of a free-flowing game. For some strange reason, the spotlight is never placed on the players who commit the fouls and break the rules. Players behaviour should be placed at the centre of any debate regarding the desire for a free-flowing game. It is quite simple – play by the rules and there will be fewer frees. Then you get a free-flowing game that avoids dubious (and often dangerous) tackles that otherwise become the norm in a match. – Yours, etc, EAMON O'FLYNN, Merrion Road, Dublin 4. Unrestricted censorship Sir, –I had quite a different experience of a library than the one experienced by President Michael D Higgins and detailed by Ray Burke in An Irish Diary (June 9th). All the books were bad for you in the one I visited, but I nevertheless had unrestricted access to them. The Department of Justice had a store of banned publications which they kindly allowed me entry to about 25 years ago. As Burke points out, so many famous authors had had their works scrutinised that the censors handled what are now very valuable books. I visited the collection to see if there were editions that should have been transferred to the National Library or otherwise preserved. Unfortunately, there weren't. Instead, there were shelves of randomly assorted volumes and a small selection of top shelf magazines. The books ranged from aged historical romances that had left my teenage sisters undamaged (and which were by then available in any second-hand shop in the country), to more recherché and pornographic texts in Latin (which no one bothered to ban as they were protected by classic status). While no individual work was valuable, the collection is of considerable interest as it contained the underlinings and jottings of the censorship committee members and I hope that it has been preserved intact. – Yours, etc, JOHN FLOOD, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
The Journal
4 hours ago
- The Journal
Government rejects motion calling on it to stop sale of 'Israeli war bonds'
GOVERNMENT HAS REJECTED a joint-proposal from the opposition which called on the Central Bank to stop facilitating the sale of Israeli bonds within the EU, an issue that has moved up the political agenda in Ireland in recent months. The motion, put forward by the Social Democrats and supported by Sinn Féin, People Before Profit and the Labour Party, sought the reversal of a previous government decision to block a bill calling for the same measure last month . Members of those parties on Monday requested that a free 'vote of conscience' take place on the issue – meaning that government TDs would not have to vote with their party. The motion was defeated this evening 85 to 71 in the government's favour. Israeli State Bonds have been advertised as a method to support the country's economy and, more recently, websites promoting the investments have emphasised their importance to Israel's military operations in Gaza. Some TDs, as a result, have dubbed the securities as 'Israeli war bonds'. Coalition-supporting TDs, independents Barry Heneghan and Gillian Toole, repeated their vote to support the opposition's call . Both TDs previously said that they had a right to vote, as independents, in a manner they agreed with, pointing out that the programme for government does not include references to the issue. Advertisement Bonds from countries outside the EU must have legal documents approved by a central bank from a member state in order for the securities to be sold within the European single market. In the case of Israel, the country is Ireland. A protest outside the Dáil today calling on government to support the opposition's motion. Alamy Alamy The Central Bank itself is responsible for assessing whether the products it offers are compliant with these EU requirements. Since Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and Israel's subsequent bombardment and siege of Gaza, there has been mounting pressure on the Government from pro-Palestinian activists in Ireland to stop the facilitation of the sale of these bonds. But, Governor of the Central Bank Gabriel Makhlouf today defended its offerings, telling TDs at an Oireachtas Committee that the UN's Genocide Convention applies only to the Irish State, not the country's banking regulator. Activists have demonstrated at the site in Dublin over the last number of months and have called for legislation that would give Ireland the power to refuse the sale of Israeli 'war bonds' over human rights concerns. Speaking during a Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting this evening, finance minister Paschal Donohoe told members that oppositional TDs wanted the government to tell the state's banking regulator what to do, despite its mandated independence. The Dublin Central TD said government cannot approve legislation that impedes on the independence of the Central Bank for legal purposes. Opposition TDs argued this evening that, as the bonds are intended to fund the war in Gaza, Ireland has obligations under the UN's Genocide Convention to use 'all means likely to have a deterrent effect' on those suspected of committing such crimes. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Times
5 hours ago
- Irish Times
Phantom cigarette puffer of Merrion Street prompts chortles in Dáil
What was that thing Gerry Adams said about informers in those slithery years before his beatification? Ah yes. 'The consequence for informing is death.' Thankfully, times are much different now. There are other ways of putting manners on people. READ MORE But still, a worried Micheál Martin – no sainted stalwart of the republican struggle – will be watching his back in coming days and weeks. Because nobody likes a political snitch either. (That's not strictly true. Some of us love them.) And after what the Taoiseach said in the Dáil chamber on Wednesday afternoon, we hear one of his own Ministers is out to kill him. But who? And why? It all kicked off with a very worthy contribution from Fianna Fáil 's Malcolm Byrne during questions on policy. Deputy Byrne reminded Micheál that the previous government agreed to introduce further laws regulating nicotine-inhaling products such as vapes, including restrictions on advertising, colours, flavours and imagery. The commitment is also in the programme for government. Any sign of this Bill? 'This is a public-health emergency,' said Malcolm, pointing to a recent survey of young people in Northern Ireland that found that 76 per cent of respondents had never smoked a cigarette before they started using vapes. He finished with a suggestion for the Taoiseach. In line with the example set by public institutions such as universities and the like 'maybe yourself and the Ceann Comhairle might agree that Leinster House would become a tobacco-free campus'. Steady on, Malcolm. Many of your colleagues are living on their nerves as it is. Some of the most senior TDs and senators, from across the political spectrum, are sneaky smokers. But Malcolm was pushing an open door here. Micheál is rightly proud of his record in this area. When he was minister for health back in 2004 he introduced the world's first statewide smoking ban, a landmark piece of public-health legislation. Don't get him going on the subject of the ciggies. Too late. Well, Malcolm. Now that you say it... A delighted-looking Micheál turned around to spill the beans to his deputy for Wicklow-Wexford. 'I spotted an errant Minister yesterday as I looked out a window, who had assured me that he had given up cigarettes and cigarette smoking,' he grinned, almost hugging himself with glee. 'Eh, he was caught red-handed as I looked out the window, but anyway, heh-heh...' Red-handed, no less. Oh, but he was only thrilled, slapping his hands flat against his two jacket pockets as if proclaiming to the world that you'll never, ever, find a packet of fags in either one of them. 'Pressure of the job, Taoiseach,' interjected the kindly Ceann Comhairle, in mitigation of the unknown Minister. 'But it was a funny moment, ha-ha-ha,' chortled Micheál, still cracking up at the thought of it. 'Pressure of the job, heh-heh, yeah...' Somewhere on the campus, a certain Minister's ears must have been burning like yesterday's surreptitious ciggie. As for Malcolm's question, the Taoiseach said Minister of State Mary Butler was making progress on the legislation, which has 'some European dimension to it' but the Government is anxious to get it done as quickly as possible. But for now, he couldn't give a timeline for the Bill. As for making Leinster House a no-smoking campus, that is a matter for the Houses of the Oireachtas commission to examine. He urged those TDs and senators who still smoke to give it up. Needless to say, speculation immediately turned to the phantom puffer of Merrion Street. Who could it be? Obviously, it couldn't be a female minister because the one the Taoiseach 'caught red-handed' was a 'he'. Although that doesn't help much because a mere three women are senior Ministers. That only leaves 11 suspects as Micheál was clearly referring to a Cabinet member. One Minister was immediately in the frame. He likes to step out of his office on occasion and take the air on the North Road, which runs along Government Buildings on the Leinster House side. This has always been the place where the Ministers who don't smoke smoke and where the famous glass 'Bridge of Sighs' runs overhead, connecting both buildings. We contacted Darragh O'Brien , who immediately denied the charge. His daughter would kill him if she knew he was out smoking on the sly. 'So would his wife,' said a well-placed informant. Luckily for him, the Taoiseach said he was looking out the window when he caught the ministerial puffer in the act. Micheál cannot see the North Road from his window. There is only one other senior Minister with an office near him and that is the non-smoking Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Harris , who occupies the suite below. Simon would have had to be hanging out his window at an extremely dangerous angle with a ciggie dangling from his fingers for the Taoiseach to catch a glimpse. But wait. Micheál can see the courtyard of Government Buildings from his eyrie. And, on the day in question (Tuesday), both Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers and Minister for Housing James Browne were in that same courtyard for media briefings. It is highly unlikely that Jack, a medical doctor among other things, would have been smoking unless he was trying to look edgy. As for James Browne. He too is a non-smoker. Or at least he was a non-smoker until Micheál gave him the housing hospital pass and now he's on 60 Major a day and eating nicotine pouches for breakfast. Patrick O'Donovan? He smokes all right, but it only comes out of his ears when he talks to arty folk and people from RTÉ. Jim O'Callaghan? He may be an SC, but his Silk Cut is that of the senior counsel. Martin Heydon? No. Dara Calleary? No. James Lawless? No. What about Paschal Donohoe? 'When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth' said Sherlock Holmes. Except when it comes to Paschal – I keep my youthful dimples by not smoking, thank you very much – Donohoe. Let us look again at a crucial line from Micheál's Dáil bombshell. 'I spotted an errant Minister as I looked out a window...' Notice he said was looking out 'a window' not 'his' window or 'my' window. Because – and we now know this for a fact – he was not in his office when the sighting of the Minister occurred. Because the Taoiseach was, in fact, on the Bridge of Sighs! Not only that, my friends, but he was crossing the Bridge of Sighs with a large entourage, including a delegation from the Cork Chamber of Commerce who were up in the big schmoke for dinner with the Taoiseach when they saw a Minister who likes to take the air on the North Road down below them having a big schmoke. Not only that, but several witnesses will confirm that Micheál banged on the window when he saw this politician out on the North Road dragging away. 'He startled him mid-puff,' said one. 'He wagged his finger at him as well,' said another. We are not sure if a finger was raised in reply. That wouldn't be the Malahide way. Darragh O'Brien is going to have to kill Micheál now. Or at least put manners on him, the way St Gerry did with the BBC. Otherwise his daughter is going to have his guts for garters and the missus will absolutely burst him. That's if it was Darragh O'Brien, who is still saying it definitely was not him. Because he has definitely given up the ciggies. And that's what he definitely told Micheál. Justice for the Mallyer One. Please let there be a court case.
