
BBC criticised for ‘deplorable' delay to Gerry Adams damages payment
They contained an allegation that Mr Adams sanctioned the killing of former Sinn Féin official Denis Donaldson. Mr Adams denied any involvement.
In May, a jury at the High Court in Dublin found in his favour and awarded him €100,000 after determining that was the meaning of words included in the programme and article.
The BBC, which was found by the jury not to have acted in good faith nor in a fair and reasonable way, was also ordered to pay the former Sinn Féin leader's legal costs.
Adam Smyth, director of BBC NI, expressed disappointment in the verdict and said the corporation believes it supplied extensive evidence to the court of the careful editorial process and journalistic diligence applied to the programme and accompanying online article.
After the decision, the broadcaster's legal team was granted a stay in the payment of the full award as it took time to consider an appeal, subject to paying half the damages – €50,000 and €250,000 towards solicitors' fees.
In June, the BBC confirmed it would not pursue an appeal.
However, it is understood that by August 1 the BBC had not paid the damages.
Mr Adams previously indicated that he planned to donate what he receives to good causes.
He specified that these causes would include for children in Gaza, as well as groups in the Irish language sector and those who are homeless.
A source close to Mr Adams told the PA news agency: 'The delay by the BBC is deplorable and it should move speedily towards discharging the order of the court.'
A BBC spokesperson said: 'Total costs will be finalised and payable in due course.'

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Irish Examiner
3 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
More imagination needed to solve the housing emergency
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In recent years, the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) has overseen the dezoning of land, much of which was serviced, based on a flawed NPF reliant on out-of-date ESRI model of future demand. The OPR's role must transition to one of 'implementor' - facilitating and overseeing domestic Irish construction companies throughout the country to build housing estates of 50-150 homes creating employment throughout various regions and rural Ireland. Indeed, in this capacity they can also oversee the necessary construction of large apartment complexes in cities and large towns, while also facilitating high-density compact housing estates on the periphery of cities and satellite towns. But while kickstarting smaller apartments is necessary to meet housing targets, encouraging a proportionate number of larger homes should also be considered to accommodate families. No further dezoning should be permitted without proven and solid grounds. 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However, these demand-side subsidies have not had the desired impact and therefore need to be enhanced including a recalibration of the caps set for the First Home Equity and the Help to Buy Schemes, respectively, and allowing the payment support of the Croi Conaithe Cities scheme to be made upfront. Garry Keegan: 'The National Development Plan's revised aspiration of 300,000 new homes over the next five years will only be achieved if radical steps are taken.' The recently announced reduction in the minimum size requirement for apartments and other deregulations to increase the number of allowable units per core proves that the Custom House is listening to expert and experienced advice from the construction industry. More needs to be done to reduce the gap between construction costs and what can be achieved in the open market. By adopting the same collective approach as has been done in the recent past to address the most pertinent issue facing the State, only then will this current crisis be averted. Dr Garry Keegan is a former Dublin City councillor, former ESB board member and recently published Infrastructure Projects and Local Communities . He has worked on infrastructure and housing development projects over the past three decades.


Sunday World
4 hours ago
- Sunday World
‘No evidence of violence' in death of Irish fashion designer found dead on yacht in New York
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