Latest news with #CollinsPhotos
Extra.ie
2 hours ago
- Climate
- Extra.ie
Bloom a hive of activity as crowds soak up the sun
Yesterday was such a bloomin' good day that the bumblebees weren't the only ones drawn to the flowers. Budding gardeners Alannah Williams, five, and her three-year-old brother Tomás were snapped among the blossoms enjoying the sunshine at Bord Bia Bloom in the Phoenix Park yesterday. The pair from Wexford were among thousands who attended the annual garden festival, which ends today. Crowds of people enjoying Bord Bia Bloom. Pic: Sam Boal/Collins Photos Also coming to an end today is the sunshine, with Met Éireann forecasting rain over the next few days. So the usual sunny start to the Leaving Cert exams will see a dry start today with some morning sun and isolated showers. It will turn cloudier during the day, with rain spreading across the country into the evening and turning heavy in some areas. Highest temperatures will range between 13C and 17C. Tonight will start off wet but the rain will ease, leaving clear spells and some scattered showers, with lows of 6C to 10C. Taoiseach Simon Harris with his son Cillian, daughter Saoirse and wife Caoimhe during a visit to Bord Bia Bloom in the Phoenix Park. Pic: Chris Bellew/Fennell Photography Tomorrow and Wednesday will see a mixture of sunny spells and showers while Thursday will see showers spread from the northwest of the country and there may be a spell of rain in the south. After Thursday, the forecast indicates that the weather for the rest of the week will stay gloomy and 'largely unsettled' with showers and spells of rain.
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Minister confirms review of home loan scheme as Kildare house prices exceed borrowing limits
Housing minister James Browne has confirmed a review has taken place into a council-led loan scheme after affordable houses in Kildare were found to be above the borrowing threshold. The review comes after reports of affordable homes in Kildare being ineligible for the Local Authority Home Loan scheme, as the cost of the houses is above the threshold at which people can borrow. 'I have asked for a review to be carried out around the home loan scheme to make sure it matches across the country in terms of those limits,' Mr Browne said. 'Those proposals are with me now, they actually already arrived yesterday. I'll be making a decision on those very rapidly.' The eight affordable homes in question, at Lattin Place in Naas, first went on sale earlier this week. Three types of houses are available, with a two-bed mid-terrace starting at €295,000, a three-bed mid-terrace starting at €365,000, and a three-bed end-terrace starting at €370,000. However, in Kildare, the maximum property value to allow someone to access the Local Authority Home Loan is €360,000. Mr Browne said he wanted to see the limits increased 'where they need to be increased' to remove any disparity around the Local Authority Home Loan scheme. Housing minister James Browne has confirmed a review has taken place into a council-led loan scheme. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins Photos He admitted that the scheme was not aligned in Kildare, but he was not aware of any other specific situations where the threshold did not align with the cost of an affordable home. 'I want to try and get them aligned so that we don't have this type of disparity because I know it causes stress for families… I don't want that situation happening,' Mr Browne said, following reports in the Irish Times. 'The Government is spending record funding on delivering housing, on supporting people to get those homes. So that misalignment, I certaintly want to see an end and intend to bring an end to that.' Meanwhile, Mr Browne has said the secretary-general at the department of housing, Graham Doyle, is 'fully supportive' of the creation of the Housing Activation Office. It followed comments from Mr Doyle on Thursday, where he said there was no need for a 'housing tsar'. The term has become widely associated with whoever is due to lead the new Housing Activation Office. However, Mr Browne said Mr Doyle had only gotten into a 'semantics debate' about the description of the job and 'what it should be called'. 'He's fully supportive of it. I've spoken with him since and his support is very much there,' Mr Browne said. 'It is the Government that makes the decisions and the Government will be driving on with really key decisions. The Housing Activation Office is one of those.' Read More Taoiseach and President warn Ireland is target of Israeli propaganda over Gaza stance
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Irish Examiner
State apology for Shane O'Farrell's death was a 'very long time coming'
The sister of a Monaghan cyclist who was killed in a hit-and-run crash nearly 14 years ago has said the State apology from the justice minister was a "very long time coming." Shane O'Farrell, aged 23, was cycling home on August 2 2011, when he was struck by a car in the Carrickmacross area of Co Monaghan. A State apology was given by Jim O'Callaghan on Tuesday to the family for failures in the criminal justice system that exposed Mr O'Farrell to danger. Mr O'Callaghan also announced a review into bail and suspended sentences. The driver of the car, Zigimantas Gridziuska, failed to remain at the scene. The Lithuanian national had a number of previous convictions, including theft and drug offences. He surrendered himself to gardaí the following day. In February 2013, Gridziuska was prosecuted for dangerous driving, causing Mr O'Farrell's death. He was acquitted of that charge by direction of the trial judge, and, under the law at the time, a lesser charge of careless driving was not open to the jury. The Dáil heard on Tuesday that he has since returned to Lithuania. (Left to right) Hannah, Jim, Lucia, Gemma, Aimee and Pia O'Farrell at Leinster House. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins Photos However, Shane's sister said that while the apology from the State was a "long time coming", there are "still unanswered questions". "It is a hugely significant day, but it was also a very sad day because it is the State accepting that what happened to Shane should never have happened," Hannah O'Farrell told RTÉ's Morning Ireland on Wednesday. "That is something we have known ourselves for years, but I suppose it is different when the Minister of Justice is standing up and apologising for that on behalf of the State." She added that if there had been an "apology forthcoming in the early years and we were provided with the answers that we were seeking, then that would have really helped our journey of grief". "We just want to be a normal family and grieve in private, and we had to over the past number of years to get answers, engage with various state agencies, who treated us very badly in the process and also engage with the media, who helped us uncover some of the information." "It has been a very long time coming, and I hope there is a learning from that on behalf of the State," she added. However, Ms O'Farrell said there are unanswered questions, especially in regards to a Section 101 report that has not been provided to the family, which they hope will give them the "closure to grieve". It is true that we do not know all the circumstances surrounding Shane's death, and I'd say a part of that is because we did all of this ourselves, and no state agency was coming to us telling us what happened. So there are unanswered questions. "That does not diminish how significant the apology is because the apology is accepting that this shouldn't have happened based on the information that is known," she said. "But in terms of unanswered questions, we engaged with the Gsoc process as part of our garda complaints, and the product of that was a Section 101 report which had been ordered by the then minister of justice, Alan Shatter, in the public interest. "And that public interest report in our view should just be published on the website for the public, but it hasn't been provided to us and they're our complaints and we know it has been provided to named individuals, it's difficult to see why named individuals can look at that report when we can't and they're our complaint." Shane was 'ready to enjoy life' Speaking about her brother, Ms O'Farrell said: "I only realise now that Shane was only a child when he was killed. He had all the normal hopes and dreams for a 23-year-old." Ms O'Farrell said her brother had just handed in his thesis on the Friday before he was killed and had sent a text with the Martin Luther King Jr quote 'Free at last' to the family after submitting it. Shane O'Farrell She said he was just "ready to enjoy life." "He was ready to do a bit of travelling, watch a bit of rugby and have a couple of months of happiness and peace and get away from the books," Ms O'Farrell said. "I would often think about where he would be now and what he would be doing now, and all the things and events that he has missed and the things we have missed because of him and the big absence that he is in our society. "We remember him every day, but especially on days like yesterday and just how significant his loss is for us," she said. Read More The pain game: Families being forced to search for truth in pursuit of justice for loved ones
Extra.ie
16-05-2025
- Climate
- Extra.ie
Weather phenomenon could see Ireland's heatwave last even longer
Summer sunshine is shining in earnest all across the island of Ireland, and high temperatures look set to stick around for even longer. After April saw a record high temperature recording with 25.8C clocked in Athenry, Co Galway, the fine weather has carried on into May. Temperatures across Ireland were averaging at around 23C on Friday, with parts of the west experiencing the hottest conditions. People enjoying the sunshine at St Stephen's Green in Dublin. Pic: Tom Honan Conditions along the east coast are slightly cooler due to the effect of onshore winds. On the whole, Ireland is experiencing high temperatures thanks to the activity of two low pressure systems. But there is a specific weather phenomenon currently at play which is yielding such appealing weather – and it is something which means the heatwave could last beyond the end of next week. People enjoying the sunshine at the Forty Foot in Sandycove, Co Dublin. Pic: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos An omega blocking high is a weather pattern which occurs when two low pressure systems trap an area of high pressure in the shape of a Greek letter 'o'. The high pressure causes low cloud cover, meaning increased heat. Met Éireann currently say the warm temperatures will continue until at least the end of next week. That means a further 10 days or so of heavy-duty summer sunshine to kick off the season in style.
Extra.ie
12-05-2025
- Health
- Extra.ie
Warning as thousands of Irish cattle could get TB this year
An alarming 60,000 cattle could be infected with TB this year if measures are not put in place to deal with the explosion in cases, the Agriculture Minister has warned. Minister Martin Heydon said the situation is 'critical', adding that in 'recent years we've seen exponential growth'. But measures could mean restricting the movement of cattle for five years, which agriculture organisations are against. Martin Heydon. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos A national team has been set up to vaccinate healthy badgers and cull diseased ones in a bid to stem the spread of the disease. Farming organisations including the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) want to see badgers culled. However, the Department of Agriculture maintains scientific evidence suggests badgers are just a small part of the problem, and wants strict controls over the movement of animals. The department held an emergency TB summit last Thursday. Philip Breslin, who runs its badger vaccination scheme in Roscommon and estimates the national badger population to be around 60,000-100,000, said: 'We are making contact with around 300 badgers and about a quarter will have already been vaccinated or recaptured.' Pic: Getty Images Wicklow farmer Malcolm Smith said a TB outbreak in 2023 nearly put him out of business, adding: 'We [lost] 99 [cattle] – we were milking 166. 'It's hard to keep taking it again and again. You don't need to make [badgers] extinct, you just need to control them.' But Mr Breslin said studies show cattle-to-cattle transmission is more common than badger-to-cattle cases.
