Latest news with #CynthiaNíMhurchú
BreakingNews.ie
5 days ago
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Spike in number of drivers caught on their mobile phones across Ireland
New Garda figures show a spike in the number of drivers caught driving with a mobile phone between 2023 and 2024 across multiple counties. Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú has pleaded with drivers to put down the mobile phone this bank holiday weekend. Advertisement Dublin performed extremely poorly in the figures which show year on year increases in the numbers of people caught on their mobile phone whilst driving with percentage increases of up to 237 per cent. The Cork county Garda division recorded a 25 per cent year on year increase in the number of drivers caught using their mobile phones and Galway recorded a 21 per cent increase. Kildare stood out, having recorded a 47 per cent increase in the number of drivers caught by gardaí using their mobile whilst driving between 2023 and 2024. Dublin was the worst offender with significant increases across all Garda divisions in Dublin. Advertisement Fixed charge notices issued by gardaí for holding a phone whilst driving between 2023 and 2024 Garda Division Q4 2023 Q4 2024 % change Cork County 199 248 +25 per cent Galway 215 260 +21 per cent Wexford/Wicklow 187 212 +13 per cent Kildare 348 511 +47 per cent Dublin West 263 473 +80 per cent Dublin South 137 226 +65 per cent Dublin Central 158 257 +63 per cent Dublin North 194 306 +58 per cent Dublin East 43 145 +237 per cent Limerick 230 246 +7 per cent Clare/Tipp 270 279 +3.3 per cent Ní Mhurchú welcomed the fact that Garda divisions in Kerry, Cork city, Sligo, Leitrim, Mayo, Cavan, Monaghan, Donegal, Waterford, Kilkenny, and Carlow all recorded year on year decreases in the number of people caught driving using their mobile phones. Assuming detection efforts are static from year to year, Ní Mhurchú described this as a silver lining in the Garda figures. Ireland Half of Irish adults say their DIY skills are 'wel... Read More The MEP has called for increased use of unmarked Garda lorries which have proved extremely effective at catching drivers using their mobiles. The high cab trucks are accompanied by a patrol car or an unmarked interceptor vehicle and offer gardaí a birds eye view of bad behaviour on our roads. She said all options should be on the table to tackle the epidemic of drivers using their mobile phones, including discounted insurance policies for drivers who are willing to install or use technology that blocks phones whilst driving. The penalty for using your phone while driving is a fixed charge of €120, and three penalty points.
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
20pc increase in power cuts in Wicklow with defective equipment and bird strikes causing some of the outages
Figures provided to MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú show significant year on year increases in power cuts across Ireland between 2021 and 2024, with ESB's Arklow region power supply showing 1,725 power cuts in the wider Wicklow area in 2024, up from 1,433 in 2023 and 1,256 in 2021. There were 64,754 power cuts across Ireland in 2024, both planned and unplanned outages, representing a 22pc increase on 2023, where we had 53,067 power cuts. Between 2021 and 2024, we have seen a 40pc increase in the number of power cuts, both planned and unplanned, across Ireland. ESB Networks also provided MEP Ní Mhurchú with a breakdown of the reasons for the power cuts which included bird strikes, weather issues, lightening, overhead refurbishment, overloading, and corrosion. Of more concern was the large increase in power cuts which were attributed to 'defective equipment'. Raising significant concerns about ESB Networks performance in relation to power cuts faced by domestic and business customers across Ireland, MEP Ní Mhurchú has called on ESB Networks to clarify why there is a 22pc jump, for a new system of compensation for householders and small businesses for outages lasting more than 12 hours and said that customers should not be charged for standing charges and levies when the power it out. 'The CRU, our regulator, has raised significant concerns about ESBN's performance in relation to unplanned outages and customer interruptions fining the utility millions for missing clearly set down targets,' Ní Mhurchú said. 'The ESB is a profitable company that should be prioritising increased investment in our electricity grid. 'My worry is that ESB Networks may be trying to cut costs by not investing in our electricity infrastructure to the extent that they should be. Power cuts have an enormous impact on families, in particular as many homes are now passive homes that depend on heat pumps and don't have open fires or stoves. 'Customers deserve an explanation as to why they are facing more power cuts when they are paying the second highest electricity prices in Europe. The least Irish customers deserve is more investment in the infrastructure that delivers that electricity'
Irish Independent
27-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Surge in power cuts leave Kerry residents in the dark as ESB is asked for answers
The ESB manage supply through what's known as 'planner groups' of which there are 34 in total that are linked to counties. The Killarney planner group recorded a 43 per cent increase in power cuts between 2023 and 2024 – a jump from 1,612 in 2023 to 2,308 in 2024. The Tralee planner group recorded a 15 per cent increase in power cuts for the same period, going from 1,558 to 1,796. It's thought the outages would also have impacted large numbers of properties on the outskirts of Kerry's two largest towns. Ireland South MEP, Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, has raised what she calls 'significant concerns' about ESB Networks performance in relation to power cuts faced by domestic and business customers across Ireland. Figures provided to Ms Ní Mhurchú by ESB Networks under Freedom of Information show significant year on year increases in power cuts across Ireland between 2021 and 2024. She wants ESB Networks to clarify why there is a 22 per cent jump in power outages across the country between 2023 and 2024, saying a new system of compensation for householders and small businesses for outages lasting more than 12 hours should not be charged for standing charges and levies when the power is out. 'My worry is that ESB Networks may be trying to cut costs by not investing in our electricity infrastructure to the extent that they should be,' she said. "Power cuts have an enormous impact on families, in particular as many homes are now passive homes that depend on heat pumps and don't have open fires or stoves,' she added. Ms Ní Mhurchú said customers deserve an explanation as to why they are facing more power cuts when they are paying the second highest electricity prices in Europe. "The least Irish customers deserve is more investment in the infrastructure that delivers that electricity,' she said. There were 64,754 power cuts across Ireland in 2024, both planned and unplanned outages representing a 22 per cent increase on 2023 where Ireland had 53,067 power cuts. Between 2021 and 2024, Ireland has seen a 40 per cent increase in the number of power cuts, both planned and unplanned.
Euronews
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
"Brussels, my love?" EU heads to London for major Reset Summit
In this edition, we are joined by Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, the Irish politician, barrister, and former broadcaster who represents the Ireland South constituency in the European Parliament since July 2024, Yves Bertoncini, the French political scientist and consultant specialising in European affairs and Bruno Waterfield a seasoned British journalist based in Brussels, currently serving as the Brussels correspondent for The Times. The panel reflect on the EU/UK summit that took place last Monday in London. Called the 'Reset Summit' by some and the 'Surrender Summit' by others, a potential deal was clinched on a range of issues from defence to fishing to the movement of young people between the UK and the EU. Cynthia Ní Mhurchú said the summit was a 'great start'. But, Bruno Waterfield warned that the document was very general. But Yves Bertoncini insisted that the summit was not about Brexit and bad feelings about divorcing, but about a 'fresh start'. "It is a new phase to go forward in a different political context", he said. The panel also discussed the so-called 'Pfizergate' that describes the transparency and accountability scandal involving the European Commission President President Ursula von der Leyen, and the CEO of the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer. The controversy centres on the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic and the lack of transparency shown to the press regarding text messages between Ursula von der Leyen and Pfizer. Bruno Waterfield called it a 'slap in the wrist' for the European Commission but argued that almost every decision in Brussels takes place 'shrouded in secrecy'. But Yves Bertoncini recalled that the Commission was improvising to respond to the Covid 19 crisis in an urgent way. Finally, the panel debated the politics around the Eurovision song contest. Bruno Waterfield called the contest an 'appalling sort of night of bad taste and bad music" and slammed the "cultural boycott of Israel". But Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, who actually presented the Eurovision Song Contest back in 1994, insisted the contest was and remains 'wonderful'. "I thought Basel did a fantastic show", she said adding that artists should not be singeld out for the mistakes of political leaders. Watch "Brussels, my love?" in the player above. The leader of an eastern European neo-Nazi group has been extradited to the United States from Moldova following his arrest last summer for allegedly instructing an undercover federal agent to dress as Santa Claus and hand out poisoned candy to Jewish children and racial minorities, prosecutors have said. Michail Chkhikvishvili, a 21-year-old originally from Georgia, was arraigned on Friday before a federal judge in Brooklyn on multiple felonies, including soliciting hate crimes and acts of mass violence. He pleaded not guilty through an attorney, Samuel Gregory, who requested his client receive a psychiatric evaluation and be placed on suicide watch while in custody. Prosecutors described Chkhikvishvili, who also goes by "Commander Butcher," as the leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, an international extremist group that adheres to a "neo-Nazi accelerationist ideology and promotes violence and violent acts against racial minorities, the Jewish community and other groups it deems 'undesirables.'" They said the group's violent solicitations, promoted through Telegram channels and outlined a manifesto called the "Hater's Handbook," appear to have inspired multiple real life killings, including a school shooting in Nashville earlier this year that left a 16-year-old student dead. Since 2022, Chkhikvishvili has travelled on multiple occasions to Brooklyn, where he bragged about beating up an elderly Jewish man and instructed others, primarily through text messages, to commit violent acts on behalf of the Maniac Murder Cult, according to court papers. When he was approached by an undercover FBI agent in 2023, Chkhikvishvili recruited the official to a scheme that "involved an individual dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out candy laced with poison to racial minorities and children at Jewish schools in Brooklyn," according to the Justice Department. He later suggested narrowing the focus to "dead Jewish kids," prosecutors said, after noting that "Jews are literally everywhere" in Brooklyn. Describing his desire to carry out a mass casualty attack, Chkhikvishvili said he saw the United States as "big potential because accessibility to firearms," adding that the undercover should consider targeting homeless people because the government wouldn't care "even if they die," according to court papers. He was arrested last July in Moldova, where he was held prior to this week's extradition. In a statement, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the case was "a stark reminder of the kind of terrorism we face today: online networks plotting unspeakable acts of violence against children, families, and the Jewish community in pursuit of a depraved, extremist ideology."
Irish Independent
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Almost €2,000 collected by Wexford District Court from defendants who skipped bail
Nationally, 562 people who were before the district courts last year decided to skip bail and, as a result, the courts collected almost €170,000 in forfeited bail money. These figures were released by Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú who has backed Micheál Martin's commitment to further reform bail laws in Ireland and said she supports an overhaul of Ireland's bail system. Dublin topped the poll of bail skippers. The Dublin district courts held onto over €80,000 as 334 people skipped bail and didn't show up for the court dates in 2024. Cork city by comparisons only had 7 people skip bail in the district court in 2024. 71 people failed to turn up for district court appearances in Wicklow in 2024 and the Bray district court office collected €18,690 in forfeited bail money. Ní Mhurchú said that a cohort of defendants in court, most of them in Dublin, clearly feel like they are above the law. 'This seems to be an acute issue in the Dublin district courts. Fianna Fáil is committed to building a victim-centred criminal justice system and strengthening our bail laws to ensure that courts will refuse bail if an accused is likely to commit another serious offence on bail. I am confident that Minister Jim 'O'Callaghan will bring the necessary reforms in this area' The figures follow revelations in March of this year that criminals on bail were suspected of having carried out 40,348 crimes in 2024 across Ireland. Ní Mhurchú said it is time for a get tough approach on those who are flaunting Irelands bail laws. Ní Mhurchú pointed out that year on year over the past three years, the number of people skipping bail is falling and she welcomed that. For example, 717 people skipped bail in our district court system in 2022. Any forfeited bail money goes back to the Irish exchequer.
