Always running for office: Barry Heneghan praises northsiders' athletic superiority
Part of the TD's job is to talk up their constituency. Dublin Bay North Independent
Barry Heneghan
, one of those Government-supporting deputies for whom Opposition speaking time was controversially sought, is no different.
He recently drew the attention of Minister of State for sport Charlie McConalogue to the work of Raheny Shamrocks Athletics Club and how 'the northside needs more investment' in running tracks.
He noted the club had 'a significant history of producing Olympians not just for the northside but for all of Ireland', namechecking sprinter
Sophie Becker
and Olympian
Brian Fay
, 'who I went to school with'.
Irish Olympian Sophie Becker at the homecoming for Team Ireland following the Paris Olympics. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
'There are way more running tracks on the southside,' he told the Dáil. 'I believe the estimate is six or seven public tracks compared with two public tracks on the northside of Dublin. I do not know if this is because previous northside politicians did not raise it enough with the department.'
READ MORE
Heneghan asked that the Minister commit to possibly looking into Dublin City Council adding a 400m running track to St Anne's Park in Raheny 'to be used by future Olympians'.
McConalogue noted the 'wonderful work' done at the club and that it has previously been supported through sports capital grants, which would be open for applications again next year.
'I welcome the fact that the Minister of State said that,' Heneghan replied. 'Regarding the lack of running tracks and the number of Olympians, maybe northsiders are just better runners.'
Padel is one of the 'fastest-growing sports globally' but is underserved in terms of infrastructure in Dublin. Photograph: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire
Public support fails to smash squash club's problems
Public statements of displeasure about a planning application that could jeopardise the future of south Dublin's Old Belvedere Squash Club have failed to smash away its looming problem.
Dublin City Council this week granted permission for Old Belvedere Rugby Club's proposal to raze the squash club's facilities on its Ballsbridge grounds, which it argued had become a 'financial drain' on its wider operations.
A slew of observations in support of the squash club, which has a 100-strong membership, landed before the deadline, with many claiming the proposed demolition would be contrary to the council's policy objective GI49: to protect existing and established sporting facilities.
The RFC wants to replace two squash courts and related facilities with three courts for padel tennis, which it said is one of the 'fastest-growing sports globally' but is underserved in terms of infrastructure in Dublin.
It said its plan to add them could see usage rates rise from 20 per cent to about 80 per cent, with the proceeds helping to secure the rugby club's 'long-term viability'.
However, the padel element of the plan will have to wait a little longer as the council has asked the RFC for further information regarding proposed access and parking arrangements, as well as on drainage matters. It will have six months to respond.
While the price of making an observation on the application was €20, the early objectors would have to pay €220 should they wish to serve up an appeal against the council's decision.
Among the correspondence sought was that between Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and the HSE board's chairman. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien
When does 'routine' become 'vexatious or frivolous'?
Part of a newspaper correspondent's job is to keep up with those whose decisions govern their beat. The Freedom of Information Act offers a means of doing this but, due to its nature, the system can be hit and miss, with requests liable to be rejected for reasons including that they are 'voluminous' or even 'vexatious' or 'frivolous'.
A recent application from The Irish Times to the HSE seeking correspondence over a two-month period between Minister for Health
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill
, HSE chairman Ciarán Devine, Department of Health secretary general
Robert Watt
, and HSE chief executive
Bernard Gloster
; along with memorandums issued by the chief executive and leadership team, initially fell foul of the 'voluminous' view.
The journalist offered to drop the latter element and stated that there tended only to be a small amount of relevant correspondence as well as that the request's scope was similar to others routinely processed by the HSE over the years without issue.
However, a compromise was not forthcoming from the HSE decision maker who said granting it would cause 'interference in the work' of the offices of the chief executive and board.
'Therefore, I must refuse also under section15(1)(g), where the request is, in the opinion of the Head, frivolous or vexatious or forms part of a pattern of manifestly unreasonable requests from the same requester or from different requesters who, in the opinion of the head, appear to have made the requests acting in concert.'
The matter will be appealed.
Eoin Burke and Francesca McAllister from Dublin Zoo announcing the Run for Wildlife event. Photograph: Patrick Bolger
Want to sweat with the sloths and gasp with the giraffes?
Experiences are everything these days. From swimming with pigs in the Bahamas to cuddling koalas in Australia, there seems to be no end to the Instagrammable activities people are coming up with.
Step forward
Dublin Zoo
, which has announced a novel approach to raising funds for a group working in Indonesia to save the critically endangered Sulawesi crested macaque, of which there are only about 5,000 left in the wild.
The zoo will on July 26th host the Run for Wildlife event which, for a €40 entry fee, allows participants to traverse a 3km route around its Phoenix Park grounds.
Callie was Dublin Zoo's first cheetah in 20 years. Photograph: Patrick Bolger
'Whether you sprint or jog, every step counts and helps to support the critical work of wildlife protection and habitat preservation,' it said.
The zoo said one of the day's spectators, Callie the cheetah, could complete the 3km route in less than two minutes. The human record for the 3,000m, 7:17.55, was set by Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen last year.
His mark is unlikely to be beaten but runners will – in addition to being able to sweat with the sloths, gasp with the giraffes and cramp up with the chimps – receive a 'bespoke eco-friendly medal' handmade in Indonesia and a Run for Wildlife T-shirt. There will also be early access to the zoo, where entertainment is to be provided by the Indonesian Irish Association and animal selfie opportunities will be abundant.
Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon at the launch of the National Centre for Brewing and Distilling at Oakpark, Co Carlow. Photograph:Finbarr O'Rourke
Minister for Agriculture heading from the 19th hole to Seoul
Minister for Agriculture
Martin Heydon
is a busy man these days with the threat of
US tariffs
looming over Ireland's multibillion euro agrifood sector. The Kildare South TD recently reminded the Dáil that some 90 per cent of the food and drink produced in the State was exported and that 'any interruptions to that trade [would] have impacts'.
He said the latest round of his trade promotion work would see him travelling to Japan and South Korea in early June.
'I will attend the Seoul Foods Expo, which is the fourth-largest food exhibition in Asia, as well as World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.'
Even in the face of big threats, it's worth remembering that all politics is local. According to a diary notice circulated this week, the Fine Gael TD has an engagement at Castlewarden Golf Club before he takes off.
The club was among 67 in Co Kildare he congratulated in September after they secured grants under the Community Sports Facility Fund. Castlewarden received €144,404 to repair a roof, enhance facilities and buy a mower.
Heydon will, the invite says, launch the club's open week, which begins on June 21st, at a reception in its clubhouse next Friday 'in advance of his departure to Asia on a trade mission'. From the 19th hole to Seoul.
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Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Letters to the Editor, June 3rd: On Arts Council funding, disappearing fish and czars
Sir, – At the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearing on May 29th, Deputy Joanna Byrne of Sinn Féin made the observation that Arts Grant Funding (AGF) seems to disproportionately favour Dublin-based companies over regional arts initiatives. The Director of the Arts Council, Maureen Kennelly's response was to point to increased funding to arts centres throughout the State and the impressive number of touring weeks that companies like Irish National Opera (INO) undertake throughout the year. If I may say so, this is far from the full picture. Funding the running of arts centres is one thing but you only have to look at their programmes to see that there is a preponderance of commercial and community/amateur arts events over professional funded arts programming. READ MORE So the availability of regionally grown professional arts events and productions is key to addressing this programming imbalance. Parachuting in touring theatre and opera from Dublin, while occasionally welcome, contributes very little to the ecology of the regional arts. As a client of the Arts Council going back 40 years or more and encompassing my time as artistic director of Opera Theatre Company (a forerunner to INO) and artistic director of the Abbey, both Dublin-based companies, and latterly as a former director of the Theatre Royal, Waterford, it has long been my contention that properly resourcing regional professional arts initiatives and companies is an important way of ensuring the fair spatial distribution of arts funding. My views on this are well known at the Arts Council. Most recently I wrote to the director and chair with support from 20 of my colleagues to reiterate this point. Properly resourcing regional arts will allow professional artists to work and live – if only for part of the time – in the place of their choosing rather than necessarily gravitating to places of higher population for all of their work. As we know there is a broader societal trend of people moving away from large urban centres for a less expensive and better quality of life. By way of example, Four Rivers, a Wexford-based initiative, was funded by the Arts Council from 2021-2024 to prioritise working with southeast based artists, or artists with connections to the region. We foregrounded new and established work and engaged in partnerships – primarily with Wexford Arts Centre and the National Opera House – to provide professional theatre in the southeast. Our grant-in-aid was modest but welcome and by 2024 allowed us to produce three good quality productions annually. That year we increased our audiences to in excess of 90 per cent of capacity – the figures are available and audited – and yet the outcome of our Arts Council funding application for 2025 – with the same mix of work and priorities that were successfully funded from 2021-2024 – inexplicably went from €205,000 to zero. When we requested an explanation we were told that the award was 'very competitive' and other applications were 'more compelling'. Which really told us nothing. The momentum we had thus built up was, and is, in danger of being squandered. In developing a new strategy to replace Great Art Works, the Arts Council needs to be mindful of the development and sustaining of regional professional arts companies in theatre and other disciplines that are embedded in their communities and not only provide employment to artists but help provide the kind of programming to arts centres that is currently largely unavailable to them. – Yours, etc, BEN BARNES, New Ross, Co Wexford. 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However, in Ireland, hundreds of thousands of computers are replaced every year but only a small percentage are assessed for reuse as a resource to enhance young people's education and their life prospects. They are instead recycled when, alternatively, if assessed for reuse they could have a valuable social impact in improving young people's education. It is time for the Government to urge commercial and public sector organisations to consider the reusability of retired IT assets as an education resource instead of merely choosing the less environmentally friendly option of recycling. – Yours, etc, MARK FOX, Dublin 18. Striking a czar note Sir, – One of the more amusing aspects of current debates is the proliferation of the term 'czar', a rather curious moniker in this day and age. There are suggestions that Dublin could do with a 'night czar' while plans are afoot to entrust Ireland's accommodation problem to a 'housing czar', no less. Perhaps anybody seriously considering applying for the thankless task of tackling and solving the housing issue would do well to reflect on the fate which through the ages has befallen people who have borne the title of 'czar' in its myriad linguistic variations. Julius Caesar came to a sticky end in Rome, Kaiser Wilhelm II was forced to abdicate and flee into a very comfortable exile, while his first World War ally, Kaiser Karl I of Austria-Hungary, was banished to a considerably less comfortable sojourn far from home. Their joint foe on the Eastern Front, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, was assassinated, together with all his family and servants, in a cellar in the Urals and, during a later conflict, Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria may have died further to an Adolf Hitler-inspired plot using a sophisticated method of poisoning. Touch wood that, if and when a lady or gentleman is duly appointed to do battle with the housing dragon, the title bestowed shall be neither 'Tsarina' nor 'Tsar' but the rather more utilitarian, if slightly less exotic, 'Director or Head of Housing'. And, when the time comes, the good wishes of all shall be with anybody brave enough to get into the saddle and ride off into battle. – Yours, etc, STEPHEN O'SULLIVAN, Paris, France. Sir. – I have to agree with Graham Doyle, secretary general at the Department of Housing, a housing tsar is not required. What would be more appropriate is a High King of Housing in Ireland who could rule rather than reign over a new house building kingdom. – Yours, etc, DERMOT O'ROURKE, Lucan, Dublin. Ireland and Israeli bonds Sir, – Notwithstanding the Irish Government's recent defeat of a Private Members' Bill attempting to block the trade in Israeli bonds facilitated through the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), that institution has been remiss when reviewing the previous Israeli prospectus and must now insist that any future prospectus be truly comprehensive. Since 2021, the CBI has approved our prospectuses to enable Israel to issue bonds within the EU. Gabriel Makhlouf, governor of CBI, has previously defended the approval of Israel's prospectus documentation stating that, as a competent authority of the EU Central Bank, the CBI must approve any prospectus for a bond issue that is clear, comprehensible, comprehensive and fulfils all necessary criteria as laid down in the annexes contained in legislation. However, the last prospectus provided by Israel was far from comprehensive in several of the sections that are key to the approval. For a bond prospectus to be approved, the issuer must provide a comprehensive list of risks that may impact investors' return on the bonds. Up to 2024, Israeli prospectuses have laid out various security, economic, wartime and political risks that might impact the state's ability (or desire) to repay investment in the bonds. In January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found it plausible that Israel's acts could amount to genocide and issued six provisional measures, ordering Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent genocidal acts, including preventing and punishing incitement to genocide, ensuring aid and services reach Palestinians under siege in Gaza, and preserving evidence of crimes committed in Gaza. This interim statement from the ICJ issued a caution to the state of Israel that the court shall continue to evaluate the case against Israel and subsequently deliver its final decision. However, section 2 (Risks) of Israel's prospectus, approved by CBI in September 2024, made no mention of the risk of an adverse finding by the ICJ against Israel or the possibility of international sanctions against Israel based on evidence of the IDF's conduct in Gaza and the West Bank. For this reason, it could not be considered to contain a 'comprehensive' list of risks. In addition, section 8 'Use of Proceeds' contains only the following sentence: 'The net proceeds from the issue of the Bonds are intended to be used for the general financing purposes of the Issuer.' This bland formula was accepted by the CBI despite the sections entitled 'Description of the Issuer' and 'Recent Events' being full of references to Israel's 'war' efforts. The Israeli government may not wish to acknowledge that it is 'in the dock' before the ICJ, that the ICJ may find it guilty of committing genocide and that countries may consequently impose sanctions against Israel. Regardless of the ICJ's final decision, which may take years to arrive, any sovereign country or their private citizens may decide to boycott Israeli goods and services. That such risks may be embarrassing to Israel and may draw attention to its increasing isolation in international relations should be of no concern to the Central Bank of Ireland. These factors represent additional risks to investors in the bonds and should be present in any comprehensive prospectus relating to the bond issue. Israel's bond issue expires at the end of August and must be renewed in September. As a competent authority of the EU, the Central Bank of Ireland must insist that the prospectus be comprehensive, whether or not the bond issuer loses face through that completeness. It behoves Mr Makhlouf to ensure the CBI fulfils its responsibilities to the full. – Yours, etc, Cllr JOHN HURLEY, Social Democrat, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Co Dublin. Sir, – I'm hoping the Taoiseach and Tánaiste will have read Mark O'Connell's excellent piece in Saturday's paper (' I walked through the fire all by myself'' – this is barbarism' , Opinion, May 31st). The rawness of the piece and how it exposes the complicit impotence of western governments to what is happening in Gaza is powerful. It holds in contrast the EU's rapid reaction to Russia's aggression in Ukraine to its paralysis at the Israeli genocide in Gaza. If our leaders really cared about international law and the future of a viable Palestinian state, they would be working day and night to enact the Occupied Territories Bill before the summer recess, and pushing others in the EU to do the same. – Yours, etc, BARRY WALSH, Blackrock, Cork. Biodiversity and housing Sir, – Paul O'Shea's excellent letter ( Letters, May 31st ) argues that as well as the issue of house-building, climate change still needs to be urgently addressed, such as by improving rural land use. Although new urban and suburban house planning and building address climate change in some ways, there is siloed thinking that excludes serious attention to how biodiversity could be improved while providing housing. Even a prescription for one fruit tree or bee-friendly plant per housing unit would help instead of acres of gravel and occasional token vegetation. – Yours, etc, TRICIA CUSACK, Co Wicklow. Disappearing mackerel Sir, – Katie Mellett reported on the collapse of whale-watching off the Cork coast ( 'It's an empty, lifeless sea: Whales leave Cork waters, putting watchers out of business,' May 29th ). Colm Barnes, an experienced fisherman, explained to her that almost all the whales have disappeared because their food source, sprat, are being fished out by huge fishing vessels. We have been fishing for mackerel for 40 years on Kenmare Bay, a Special Area of Conservation. The mackerel have disappeared for the same reason. They feed on sprat, as you can see when you gut them. In recent years in winter, huge fishing vessels sweep the bay in pairs, with massive fine mesh nets held between them. It is obvious that they are contributing to destroying the mackerel fishery in the bay, affecting small-scale fishing which is important to locals and visitors, doing untold damage there and beyond in the open sea. One other consequence has been the virtual disappearance of the magnificent gannets from the upper bay and it's likely that other diving birds have been affected. The well publicised and ongoing destruction of this special area has been tolerated for some years by the authorities, ignoring their stated commitment to conservation. For example, it has been highlighted by the UCC Green Campus Group and by the brilliant transition year students from Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine, Kenmare, who have produced an informative and evocative video. We are delighted to learn that Minister of State for Fisheries and the Marine Michael Healy-Rae is taking up this matter. We hope he will listen especially carefully to the young people of Ireland who are telling us to ban industrial fishing from Irish inshore waters now. – Yours, etc, DAVID and JANET MCCONNELL, CATHERINE FAYEN, DAVE and CHERRIE LOWE, DAVID O'SULLIVAN, BRYAN MAYBURY, FIONA THORNTON, Co Kerry. Name change Sir, – My original surname was three letters long. I wished I'd had a longer one. On marriage, almost 50 years ago, my wish was granted. The difference is unbelievable! – Yours, etc, RUTH GILL, Birr, Co Offaly. Going grey Sir, – Is a grey squirrel not an old red squirrel? (Squirrel spotting, Letters, June 2nd ). – Yours, etc, EUGENE TANNAM, Dublin.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Irish manufacturing output growing for fifth straight month
Irish manufacturing output recorded another 'robust increase' in May, extending the current period of growth to five months, according to AIB . Some Irish firms recorded subdued spending by US clients, but concerns about the impact of tariffs and global economic uncertainty had eased slightly in May. The bank's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) retracted slightly to 52.6 in May, after April's 34-month high of 53.0. The index remained above the neutral 50 threshold, indicating overall expansion in the sector for the fifth month running, the longest growth sequence in more than two years. READ MORE The latest improvement in overall business conditions was driven by relatively strong rates of output and new business growth, AIB said. 'The rise in May was broad-based, with robust growth in output and new orders, and signs of easing tariff-related concerns,' said David McNamara, AIB chief economist. Mr McNamara said the reading for the Irish manufacturing industry 'remains above the flash May readings for the Eurozone, US and UK at 49.4, 52.3 and 45.1, respectively'. AIB has increased its activity expectations for manufacturing business, having recovered from April's eight-month low. Staff hiring has increased to its fastest rate since January, in reaction to rising workloads and improving projections for customer demand. 'Export sales remained a weak spot in May, with total new work from abroad decreasing for the second month running,' the PMI said, noting anecdotal evidence from goods producers that export demand from US and UK clients was down on the previous month. [ EU warns it could accelerate retaliatory tariffs over US duties Opens in new window ] The destocking streak ongoing since February continued in May, with survey respondents indicating deliberate inventory reduction strategies or subdued demand as causal factors. Manufacturers saw a 'further sharp increase' in input prices, down only slightly from the 26-month high in April with the input price inflation linked to commodities and other raw materials. There was a corresponding level of output price inflation which increased slightly, with manufacturers passing on higher input costs they incurred in May, but AIB's chief economist noted the rate of inflation remains 'well below that observed throughout the past 12 months'. 'Despite ongoing geopolitical and tariff uncertainty, Irish manufacturers maintained a generally upbeat assessment of the outlook for activity levels over the coming year. 'Around 39 per cent of the respondents predict a rise in output levels during the year ahead, while 9 per cent expect a decline,' Mr McNamara said, reflecting data collected from the May 12th to 22nd.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Evan Fitzgerald: Carlow gunman was due in court to face 13 firearms and explosives charges
A man who opened fire in a busy Carlow shopping centre before fatally wounding himself was due to appear in court on Wednesday to face 13 firearms and explosives charges after being arrested last year. Gardaí believe Evan Fitzgerald (22) of Portrushen, Kiltegan, Carlow, who died at Fairgreen Shopping Centre in Carlow town on Sunday evening, was very fearful of going to prison. Though he was described by sources as posing a danger, due to his obsession with guns, he was also regarded as vulnerable. Assistant Commissioner Paula Hilman said what 'was meant to be a normal day out on a bank holiday weekend' had become a 'terrifying experience for every person that was present' at the shopping centre. READ MORE Mr Fitzgerald walked around the shopping centre discharging shots before fatally wounding himself. However, he fired into the air and did not attempt to shoot at anyone else, gardaí said. As shoppers fled from the centre, at about 6.15pm, gardaí received 999 calls alerting them to the fact shots were being fired. Uniformed gardaí were first to arrive and saw people fleeing the building before Mr Fitzgerald exited. They were followed quickly by armed detectives, who identified themselves to the gunman and drew their weapons. However, a further shot was then discharged from Mr Fitzgerald's shotgun, fatally wounding him. Garda Headquarters confirmed no shots were discharged by any of the gardaí present. Mr Fitzgerald was arrested in Co Kildare last year as part of an investigation by the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau into the purchase of guns on the dark net. He made full admissions and had been on bail awaiting trial. The operation last year resulting in the seizure of the two guns – a G3 Heckler & Koch machine gun and a Remington M1911 handgun – also involved the armed Emergency Response Unit. Gardaí believed Mr Fitzgerald and, allegedly, a number of associates had sourced the guns for recreational purposes, including shooting targets in the woods, rather than being involved in organised crime.
