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Irish Times
14 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
EV Q&A: Why doesn't Ireland use roadside furniture for charging electric vehicles?
Q: I live in a terraced house, so we can't have a charging point . However, there are several public lighting stands around my home that could be used as electric vehicle (EV) chargers without posing hazards to either traffic or pedestrians. Why has no one thought to do this, to attach chargers? I've seen loads of them on side streets near where my son lives in London. – Tom H, Co Cork A: Tom, you are speaking my language here. I too live in a terraced house, and I too cannot have a home charging point – for a whole variety of reasons from the position of the meter box in my house to the fact that I've been told I can neither run a cable-cover across the pavement nor have a swing-out arm to run the cable up and over. Besides, it's free parking on my street and everyone and their dog parks right in front of my place, so I inevitably have to park far, far away. Right, personal whinging done with, it's important to remember that this is – and will be a – significant factor for electric vehicle uptake in the years to come. According to data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) about 42 per cent of Irish houses are of a full-detached design, while another 3.3 per cent are semidetached (these figures are from 2017, but they're the most recent ones we have). READ MORE It's fairly safe to assume that a fully-detached house will have a driveway or at least some space around it where a charging point can be fitted and a car can be pulled up. With semidetached houses, that certainty falls a touch, but let's say there's a statistically reasonable guess that around 44 per cent of Irish houses have a driveway. [ EV Q&A: Should I buy an out-of-warranty, used electric car? Opens in new window ] Electricity supply and internal wiring allowing, all of these people can to get a home charging point and have their shiny new (or approved used) EV ready to rock with a full battery every morning. However, the mathematically astute among you will have noticed that leaves a probable 66 per cent of Irish houses which either may not or just flat out don't have any off-street parking. There will also be an enormous urban-rural divide. Where I live, for example, the vast majority of the houses on the streets around me have no driveway and only access to on-street parking. With predictable helpfulness, the nearest on-street EV charging point is a 30-minute walk. Not so horrible on a nice summer's evening; much less agreeable on a November night. Even if I were always prepared to make the schlep to the charger and back, the 10-hour maximum charging time, before 'overstay' fees kick in, would mean that assuming I connected the car at 6pm and walked home for my dinner, I'd have to return at 4am to collect my car before being penalised. Never forget: the very fact that overstay fees exist is a tacit admission that the public charging network is not fit for purpose. But I'm drifting slightly from the point. There are a small handful of lamp-post chargers in Ireland, mostly found in the Dublin suburbs of Dún Laoghaire and Malahide. They were installed on a trial basis by Ubitricity and others, but the trial has long since ended and some of the charging points have now been removed. Why? Well, a predictable lack of focus and energy on the part of local authorities I'm afraid, although there are potential issues with lamp-post and other kerbside chargers. We've previously asked Zero Emissions Vehicles Ireland (ZEVI) about this, and their response was: 'In other countries existing lamp-posts have been retrofitted with EV Charge Points with the meter for measuring electricity fitted to the charging Cable (ie external to the lamp-post). This allows for the existing lamp-post – where suitably located – to have a charge point installed using spare capacity within the post; usually 2kW to 3KW. [ EV Q&A: Why do electric cars still have old-fashioned 12-volt batteries? Opens in new window ] 'In Ireland this solution is not currently viable given the requirement from ESB to have an in-built meter and a separation from ESB and charge point infrastructure. This requires a bespoke lamp-post to be installed with enough space to include an ESB meter. 'The ESB is considering a bespoke lamp-post solution and are looking at potential pilots for this solution. However, it should be noted that this solution will most likely add significant costs over retrofitting of existing lamp-posts and the use case for this solution will only be considered following the review of any pilot. 'It should also be noted that any lamp-post solution would only be considered where the lamp-post is positioned at the front of the footpath and any lamp-post positioned at the rear would not be suitable for health and safety purposes, with cable not being permitted across footpaths.' There are some issues with this response, not least that recent research shows that most lamp-posts have sufficient spare energy capacity to deliver around 5kW of power to a charger, which isn't too shabby at all. Equally, installers with whom we've spoken say that the tech is versatile enough that a charging point can be fitted to almost any piece of roadside furniture – bollards, for example. There are also mixed messages from Government about this. While ZEVI seems to largely rule out lamp-post chargers, a Department of Transport paper in 2023 called for a 'world class' EV charging network to be up and running by 2025, with then-Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, specifically saying: 'There is need for a seamless public charging network that will provide for situations or instances where home charging is not possible, such as on-street and residential charging, destination charging and workplace charging.' Once again, those among you with a head for figures will have noticed that it is now 2025, and we most certainly do not have a 'world-class' charging set-up. Perhaps, as is so often the case, we need to look to Scandinavia. The Swedes have already introduced legislation that demands a minimum number of charging points per number of parking spaces offered by businesses or other properties. Meanwhile, in some suburbs of Stockholm, pencil-thin kerbside EV chargers are so numerous up and down some streets that they don't even bother marking out 'EV Only' parking spaces. Alas, such urgency and forward thinking seems to be, as ever, rather lacking here at home. Which means Tom and I are going to have to keep charging at the nearest fast-charger, more than doubling the cost of running an EV, until some more on-street electric car chargers are rolled out.
The Independent
4 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Richard Satchwell found guilty of wife's murder
Richard Satchwell has been found guilty of the murder of his wife Tina at their home in Co Cork. The British truck driver, 58, had denied the murder of Tina Satchwell on a date between March 19 and March 20 2017. He did not react as the unanimous verdict was read to the Central Criminal Court in Dublin at around 12.23pm on Friday. The jury had been deliberating for a total of nine hours and 28 minutes since Tuesday afternoon. Relatives of Mrs Satchwell cried as the guilty verdict was returned, while a number of the jurors also wept in court. Satchwell, who sat with his head in his hand as the jury entered the courtroom, will be sentenced on June 4. Gardai discovered Mrs Satchwell's skeletal remains buried under the stairs of their home in October 2023 after a search of the property in Grattan Street. Her badly decomposed body was wrapped in a soiled sheet and covered with a black plastic sheet. She was wearing pyjamas with a dressing gown, and the belt of the gown was wrapped around her. State pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster said she could not determine the exact cause of death because of the advanced state of decomposition. During Garda interviews, Satchwell said that on the morning of March 20 2017, he found his wife standing at the bottom of the stairs with a chisel in her hand, scraping at the plasterboard. He claimed that she came at him with the chisel, and he fell back on to the floor. He added that Mrs Satchwell tried to stab him multiple times with the chisel and that he grabbed her clothing and restrained her by putting the belt of the robe against her neck. Satchwell said that in a very short period of time, she went limp and fell into his arms. He then placed her body on the couch in the living room, before moving her to the chest freezer and then burying her under the stairs. It was more than six years before gardai discovered her body. Speaking outside court, Tina's cousin Sarah Howard said the family 'finally have justice' following the conviction of Satchwell. She said: 'During this trial Tina was portrayed in a way that is not true to who she was. 'Tina was our precious sister, cousin, auntie and daughter. Her presence in our life meant so much to us all. 'We, as a family, can never put into words the impact that her loss has had on all of us. 'Tina was a kind, loving, gentle soul who loved her animals like they loved her and that is the way we want her remembered. 'Today, as a family, we finally have justice for Tina.' Tina's half-sister Lorraine Howard thanked the judge and the prosecution team. 'Your hard work, professionalism shone through like the classy ladies you were. We will never be able to put into words how thankful we are for you. We want to sincerely thank the judge, the jury for their dedication,' Ms Howard said. 'We would like to thank all the witnesses who helped us reach this verdict today. I would like to personally thank Sarah Howard, Tina's niece, who came up to give evidence and her support two weeks postpartum from her beautiful baby girl. You did yourself and Tina proud. 'Thank you to Ann Marie Twomey and Dave Kelleher for putting the pieces together and finding Tina. 'We would like to thank John O'Connell, the victim support workers, for keeping our spirits high.' The court previously heard that the couple married in the UK when Mrs Satchwell turned 20 and later moved to Ireland and bought a house in Fermoy, Co Cork. The couple lived there for some time before selling the property and buying the house in Youghal in 2016. Mrs Satchwell was described in court as a 'very glamorous' lady who had a love for fashion and clothes. The court heard that she loved her two dogs, particularly her chihuahua, Ruby, and considered them her children. She was described as a petite lady, about 5ft 4in, who weighed about eight stone (50 kilograms). The trial heard that on March 24 2017, Satchwell went to the garda station in Fermoy, four days after his wife allegedly left their family home. He told police he had no concerns for her welfare and had no concerns she would self-harm. Satchwell said he believed she had left their family home because their relationship had deteriorated. He believed she was staying at a hotel and claimed she had taken 26,000 euro in cash from their savings, which they kept in the attic. He told police that on the morning she allegedly left the home, Mrs Satchwell had asked him to go to Aldi in Dungarvan to buy a number of items, including parrot food, and that he had left the house at 10am and returned in the early afternoon. When he returned to the house, Mrs Satchwell was not there but noticed her keys on the floor and her phone sitting on the counter. He formally reported his wife as missing in May 2017, and also told investigators that his wife was sometimes violent towards him but he had put up with it because he loved her. During their investigation, gardai found that Satchwell's computer had searches for quicklime shortly after his wife disappeared. In August 2021, Superintendent Ann marie Twomey was appointed senior investigating officer, and along with Detective Garda David Kelleher from Cobh Garda Station, she familiarised herself with the case. She identified new lines of inquiry and came to the conclusion that Tina has met her death by unlawful means and was not a living person. Investigators obtained a court search warrant and in October 2023, gardai arrested Satchwell for murder following the discovery of his wife's remains. During the trial, the jury heard that Sarah Howard, Tina's cousin, had been offered a chest freezer and free concert tickets. She said she thought the offer was 'very unusual' and refused both. Tina's half sister, Lorraine Howard described their marriage as odd, and said that Satchwell was possessive of Tina, and referred to her as his 'trophy wife'. She said that Satchwell portrayed his wife as being violent after she disappeared, and said he would show her every cut and scar on his body and blame Tina for it. In her closing speech, prosecution barrister Geradine Small said that Satchwell was 'shamelessly brazen' and the narrative he gave about how his wife died was implausible and had 'more holes than than a block of Swiss cheese'. She said that he displayed 'conniving actions, full of guile', and embarked on a 'web of deceit' after he buried his wife. The prosecution described Satchwell's narrative as implausible and self-serving, highlighting his failure to seek help after Tina's death.
Irish Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
Celebrations after lucky Prize Bond owner scoops €500,000 in weekly draw
One lucky punter from Co Cork is celebrating a huge cash windfall after winning this week's top prize in the Prize Bond Draw. Ireland State Savings, which runs the draws, confirmed today that this month's top prize of €500,000 is going to Prize Bond number WQ533371, held in The Rebel County. The lucky bond was purchased back in 2014. There were a total of 8,835 prizes awarded in this week's Prize Bond Draw, amounting to a total of over €1,239,475 in prizes. Prize Bonds are a State Savings product which, instead of paying interest, offers bondholders the chance to win cash prizes every week. In addition to a €500,000 prize awarded on the last weekly draw of every calendar month, there are weekly draws where the top prize is €50,000. Other cash prizes awarded each week include 20 of €1,000 and 20 of €500. Founded in 1957, the Prize Bonds draw,which is held every Friday, is Ireland's longest running prize draw. Prize Bonds are available in units of €6.25. There is a minimum purchase of €25 (4 units) and a maximum of 250,000 (40,000 units). They can be purchased by Direct Debit, online at by telephone to call save 0818 20 50 60 or at the local Post Office. Prize Bonds are entered into a weekly draw with thousands of prizes ranging in value from €75 to €50,000, with a jackpot prize valued at €500,000 awarded in the last draw every month. All winnings are tax-free, and Prize Bonds can be cashed in at any time after the minimum holding period of three months. Prize Bond holders can check draw results online at The main winning numbers are also available in most Post Offices.
Irish Times
4 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Richard Satchwell found guilty of murdering his wife in 2017
Richard Satchwell has been found guilty by a jury at the Central Criminal Court of the murder of his wife at their Co Cork home in 2017. There was audible sobbing from several members of Tina Satchwell's family as the verdict was given on Friday, with some members of the jury also in tears. Satchwell sat impassively in the court. Ms Satchwell's skeletal remains were found in a deep grave in an area under the sittingroom stairs of the couple's home in October 2023, more than six years after her husband reported her missing. READ MORE [ 'Tina had no way of getting away from him': The full story of the Richard Satchwell murder trial Opens in new window ] [ Gardaí ignored 'red flags' in Tina Satchwell murder investigation Opens in new window ] Satchwell (58), a lorry driver, had pleaded not guilty to murdering the 45-year-old at Grattan Street, Youghal, on March 19th and 20th, 2017. Friday was the 23rd day of the trial, which heard evidence from more than 50 witnesses. The jury went out at 3.05pm on Tuesday to its deliberations and continued through Wednesday and Thursday, when they had considered the matter for eight hours and 37 minutes. Tina Satchwell They resumed deliberations just after 11.30am on Friday and returned with their verdict at around 12.25pm, after nine hours and 28 minutes deliberating. Several of Ms Satchwell's relatives, including her mother Mary Collins, half-sister Lorraine Howard and cousin Sarah Howard, were in the packed court for the verdict. Lorraine Howard, Tina Satchwell's half sister, pictured leaving the Central Criminal Court in Dublin. Photograph: Collins Courts Mr Justice Paul McDermott thanked the jury for their service on a 'difficult' case. He said the next stage of the process is sentencing, which is his role, and he adjourned the matter to June 4th. The mandatory sentence for murder is life imprisonment. The three possible verdicts open to the jury were: not guilty of murder; guilty of murder; and not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter. It was also open to them to consider, depending on their view of the evidence, a defence of partial self-defence or full self-defence. [ What the jury didn't hear: How Richard Satchwell tried to have murder charge withdrawn Opens in new window ] [ 'Tina was portrayed in a way that is not true to who she was': Tina Satchwell's family describe 'kind, loving and gentle soul' Opens in new window ] The trial heard Satchwell went to Fermoy Garda station on March 24th 2017, where he told a garda his wife had left their home four days earlier. He said he believed she had left him and had taken their €26,000 in cash savings. He told a garda he was not concerned about her safety. After gardaí interviewed him in early May 2017, he formally reported his wife as a missing person. Increasingly concerned 'something untoward' had happened to Ms Satchwell, gardaí obtained a warrant to search the couple's home in June 2017 and seized devices, including a laptop. An examination of the laptop in 2021 showed two YouTube videos concerning the interaction between water and quicklime, which can be used to disguise decomposition odours, were viewed on March 24th, 2017. In October 2023, gardaí carried out a full invasive search of the property using a cadaver dog. Skeletal remains identified being those of Ms Satchwell were found on October 11th, 2023, in a grave site about one metre deep in an area under the stairs in the sittingroom. The scene at Richard and Tina Satchwell's home in Youghal as her remains were removed following a search in 2023. Photograph: Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision After the remains were found, Satchwell was rearrested and told gardaí his wife had come at him with a chisel on the morning of March 20th, 2017. He said he fell and she came on top of him trying to stab him with the tool. He said that while he fended her off with the belt from her dressing gown robe, which was up around her neck, she went limp and died. He told gardaí there was 'no premeditation' and he had not called emergency services due to 'panic and shame'. He said he put Ms Satchwell's body on the couch and then stored it in their freezer for about two days before burying her on March 26th in a grave he dug under the stairs and then cemented over. He was charged with her murder on the evening of October 12th, 2023, after his solicitor, with whom he had 25 earlier consultations, had left the station. He replied: 'Guilty or not guilty, guilty.' The defence argued that was done without him having legal advice and without having the ingredients of murder and manslaughter being explained to him. A postmortem on the decomposed remains was unable to establish a cause of death. The jury heard there was no evidence of fractures to the bones, including the hyoid bone in the neck. In her closing address to the jury, prosecuting counsel Gerardine Small said Satchwell was an 'arch manipulator' who told 'a plethora of lies' about his wife's disappearance with the objective of putting everyone 'off the scent' because he 'murdered her'. Richard Satchwell arriving at the District Court where he was charged with murdering Tina Satchwell in October 2023. Photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire The manner in which he buried his wife was 'absolutely disrespectful' and, after her remains were found, he gave a 'nonsense' account of how she died, counsel said. She said Ms Satchwell's death was 'not an accident' nor a result of him acting in self-defence and that his account to gardaí was 'totally focused on trying to protect himself'. Ms Small said the prosecution did not know the cause of death because Satchwell had 'ensured that' was the case, but there was sufficient evidence to return a murder verdict. Closing the case for the defence, senior counsel Brendan Grehan said Satchwell was guilty of weaving 'a web of lies' and engaging in 'disreputable' conduct after his wife's death, including his 'awful' offer to her cousin of the freezer where he stored his wife's body, but that 'did not make him a murderer'. He was 'certainly guilty of causing his wife's death' but there was no evidence he intended to kill or seriously injure her, counsel argued. The evidence was that the accused loved and 'worshipped' his wife, that she 'wore the trousers' in the relationship and was sometimes violent towards her husband, counsel said. There was no evidence he was ever violent towards her, he added. He said the prosecution had not called any expert evidence to show Satchwell's account of how his wife died was not possible. Towards the close of the trial, the jury was told by a tearful Lorraine Howard that, after Ms Satchwell's remains were returned to the family, they placed half of her ashes on the grave of her brother Tom and the other half on the grave of her grandmother, Florence.
BreakingNews.ie
6 days ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Housing crisis: Planners reject 120 new apartments over lack of three-bed units
Plans for over 120 new apartments in the Cork suburb of Ballincollig have been refused planning permission by An Bord Pleanála over the absence of three-bed or larger units in the development. The ruling represents a setback for building firm O'Flynn Construction, which had sought approval for the development of 123 units in three apartment blocks up to six storeys in height at Old Fort Road, Ballincollig, Co Cork. Advertisement The proposed development consisted of 84 two-bed apartments and 39 one-bed apartments. The plans on a 1.065-hectare site also provided for a creche and multi-purpose amenity room. The company had sought planning permission for the scheme under the planning process for strategic housing developments which does not require the plans to be initially assessed by the relevant local authority, Cork City Council. However, An Bord Pleanála said the Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028 sets out clear requirements on the mix of units within any new development. Advertisement It states that a minimum of 25 per cent of units in any new development of over 50 dwellings must have three bedrooms and a minimum of 10 per cent must have four or more bedrooms. The plans for the Old Fort Road site also exceed the maximum permitted proportion of smaller one- and two-bed units at 25 per cent and 40 per cent respectively. O'Flynn Construction argued that household sizes both nationally and in Cork were getting smaller. The company claimed the proposed development would appeal to a broad range of tenants by focusing on providing smaller units, affordability and quality housing. Advertisement However, An Bord Pleanála said the developer had not provided any justification why exceptional circumstances or flexibility should be used to its proposed mix of units. The board claimed the issue had not been addressed in a material contravention statement submitted by O'Flynn Construction which also concerned density and building height. An inspector with An Bord Pleanála said the unit mix would require 'a complete redesign' in order to comply with the development plan that would ultimately reduce the number of apartments in the scheme. Concerns were raised by several parties about the proposed development including the Waltham Abbey Residents Association whose estate adjoins the site being developed by O'Flynn Construction. Advertisement They claimed the density of the housing scheme was well in excess of recommended guidelines and claimed the development was 'overbearing, disproportionate, monolithic, visually dominant and out of character' with adjoining properties. The group also voiced concern that the height of the apartment blocks would have a detrimental visual impact on views of the River Lee. In a submission, Cork City Council acknowledged the density of the scheme exceeded the upper target for central Ballincollig but said it was considered acceptable given its location near the town centre. Council planners also claimed the proposed unit mix was satisfactory and they claimed the proposed development overall was in keeping with the zoning of the site subject to compliance with a number of planning conditions. Advertisement A separate decision by An Bord Pleanála in September 2020 to grant planning permission for the construction of an identical number of apartments on the same site remains the subject of an ongoing legal challenge. In September 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of An Bord Pleanála in a case which sought to clarify a conflict which arose from the rulings of two High Court judges over whether the board was required to decline to deal with certain planning applications that were not accompanied by specific documents. The case partially arose from a judicial review brought by the Ballincollig-based Waltham Abbey Residents Association which claimed the board's grant of planning permission for the project on Old Fort Road in September 2020 was invalid. The Supreme Court directed that the original application should be remitted back to the High Court. Ireland Plans for almost 500 new homes put on hold after 3... Read More An inspector with An Bord Pleanála said the current proposal would be judged on its own merits. The inspector noted that the only differences between the two sets of plans were the omission of a gym at ground floor level in lieu of a multi-purpose amenity room for residents and some internal layout changes to improve daylight levels. She observed that the proposed development provided a high quality form of residential accommodation with a wide range of amenities that could create a distinctive sense of place and which would encourage social integration from generous communal open spaces. However, the inspector also recommended that planning permission should be refused because the unit mix did not comply with the Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028.
