Latest news with #Brabazon
Irish Independent
5 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Wright Group to turn former Rustic Stone restaurant in Dublin into gastropub
The permission, granted by Dublin City Council to Mink Fusion Ltd, comes 10 months after Mr McGrath closed Rustic Stone and Brasserie Sixty Six, both located on South Great Georges Street. At the time an email to customers said: 'Both have been very successful restaurants in Dublin city for a long time, but the time has come where we have decided it's simply not sustainable anymore.' Plans were lodged by Mink Fusion Ltd in February for the change-of-use application. The council stalled the project when seeking the firm's conservation proposals for the property, which is part of a Victorian commercial development dating from 1881. However, in a response, Anthony Brabazon of ABA Architects stated that while a 'conservation gain' is desirable in principle, it may not be financially feasible and that this could be carried out at a later time mindful of the fact that the current proposed works involve no removal of original features. Mr Brabazon pointed out that Mink Fusion 'as tenants under a lease, are paying substantial rent and would like to get the business open'. He added that Mink Fusion 'would therefore find the onus of a full restoration, which would involve significant procurement of replacement elements as well as the entire shop front screens on two streets, a major obstacle in their goal to bring the unit back to use'. In response to Mr Brabazon's comment, the council's conservation division had no objection to the scheme on condition that a conservation expert be employed to design, manage, monitor and implement the works. A letter of consent has confirmed the owners of the property as Thomas Brendan O'Mara, Laura O'Mara, Claire O'Mara, Susan O'Mara and Alison O'Mara. A planning report lodged with the application by Manahan Planners has stated that a gastropub operation 'offers a more sustainable business model than the previous restaurant, given current market conditions'. The most recent accounts for the Wright Group, Treasure Trail Holdings Ltd – led by CEO Michael JF Wright – show its pre-tax profits increased to €10.67m in in the 12 months to the end of September 2023 as revenues surged by 38pc to €49m.
The Journal
2 days ago
- The Journal
Gardaí have launched review into new 999 call-taking system just a year after its launch
GARDAÍ HAVE CONFIRMED that a new 999 call taking system is being reviewed to find where it is going wrong. Deputy Commissioner Shawna Coxon told a Dáil committee this week that a formal process to examine why 999 calls are going unanswered is underway. It comes after the Dr Elaine Byrne chair of the Policing and Community Safety Authority said that gardaí wasting time on frivolous call outs was because of an 'over-correction' in the wake of the cancelled 999 calls scandal. As revealed by The Journal previously , gardaí are facing a backlog of hundreds of calls on a daily basis across the country because there is now no triaging of calls. First reported in 2023, multiple sources said this week that the situation is unchanged. The Policing Authority carried out a major enquiry into the 999 call cancelling scandal . This identified failings in how domestic violence calls were responded. An Garda Síochána introduced a new Computer Aided Dispatch system known as 'GardaSAFE'. Along with that, members of the public calling the gardaí are directed through to 999 call lines – which means that all calls, no matter how minor, go through the emergency system. The practice came in for strong criticism from Dublin TD Tom Brabazon at a hearing of the Justice Committee. The reality of the overcorrection was laid bare in the hearing this week. Speaking at a meeting with Commissioner Drew Harris and other senior gardaí Brabazon said that the public's experience of the system 'was not a positive one'. 'People are very reluctant to ring 999, they feel that this is counter-intuitive. 999 has always been an emergency number, not necessarily for something that's potentially a quality of life issue like anti-social behavior, etc. Advertisement 'So the experience has been that people using 999 are not getting the responses that they require,' he said. Brabazon said he had a constituent who contacted him because she received no garda contact about a missing child call she made. Another constituent complained that there was no response to a criminal damage incident. 'The person rang 999 because they previously were advised by myself that was the course of action that they should take. There was no response. No gardaí showed up. 'He subsequently followed up with the local Garda station [but] the garda station had got no information on that particular incident. There was a complete gap, a complete breakdown.' In another incident Brabazon himself called gardaí last week when he witnessed an incident with a person wielding a knife which had caused significant distress to an elderly man. Brabazon said that no gardaí responded to the call after he gave the details on the 999 call line. Commissioner Harris said that the gardaí had received 'a lot of feedback not dissimilar' to what the TD had outlined following the rollout of the Gardasafe system and centralised control rooms. He confirmed there was a review underway 'to reassess this connection with the community'. 'Can I say it was done with the best of intentions in terms of having, in effect, a record, a recording of any exchanges with the public over the phone,' he said. Deputy Garda Commissioner Shauna Coxon that the review was underway to deal with incidents similar to the experience as Brabazon had described. Coxon said that the system was introduced because garda managers were having difficulties tracking responses to calls. 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
BBC News
29-01-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Respect orders: Doubts cast over Asbos for adults
Doubts have been cast over government plans to introduce a version of the Anti-social Behaviour Order (Asbo) for orders will be introduced as part of the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill, with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper describing them as "a modernised version" of the Asbo, giving police "stronger powers".Asbos were introduced in the 1990s, but scrapped by the 2010 coalition Brabazon, a former Hull councillor and youth worker, believes the focus should be on steering young people away from a future life of crime. The government said the new orders would give police and local councils "powers to ban persistent offenders from town centres or from drinking in public spots where they have caused misery to local people".Breaching the orders will be a criminal offence, carrying a prison sentence of up to two years, with courts also able to issue unlimited fines or order offenders to carry out unpaid Brabazon said Asbos did not work, suggesting respect orders could also prove ineffective. 'Badge of honour' Rather than focusing on adult offenders, she wants to see authorities tackling tomorrow's Brabazon said: "Some young people would wear it as a badge of honour, like 'Oh look I've got another Asbo', sort of thing... and that would progress and that young person would get to the age where they would end up having a prison sentence. "We need police on our streets, we need police who can engage with the young people, we need more youth provision, more youth workers on the street."Cooper said the government was promising 13,000 more neighbourhood police and community support officers, who would be focused on targeting the most prolific offenders in a bid to "help this government deliver on our mission to take back our streets". Paul Dolan, head coach of City of Hull Boxing Club, which works with young people in one of the city's most deprived areas, agreed with Ms Brabazon's view that preventative work could pack more of a punch than the issuing of orders later down the said: "The government needs to invest in these sorts of places and give them the funding so that we can carry on. "We work on shoestrings, just with a few subs coming in, putting a few shows on, we have to pay the rents."But if we've got some proper funding then you can get more kids and you can do more things with them. You can educate them all." One person who has already benefited from that approach is Harry Edgecumbe, 25, who harbours hopes of becoming a boxing said: "A lot of my friends had Asbos. Back in that era, you were proud to have one. If you had an Asbo you were the cool one."Mr Edgecumbe said he was "hanging around with the wrong crowd" before he joined a boxing gym."Getting myself into the gym was probably the best thing I ever did," he said. "I met a lot of good coaches along the way and a lot of new friends."It got me off the streets. As soon as you come through the doors, you're at home. It's the best feeling ever." Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
