Latest news with #Kavanagh
Ottawa Citizen
4 days ago
- Politics
- Ottawa Citizen
‘It's not too late': city councillor wants to stop Tewin expansion plans
A city councillor wants council to revisit its 2021 decision to bring Tewin lands into Ottawa's urban boundary, a move she says was rushed, costly and based on lack of consultation with indigenous communities. Article content Article content Coun. Theresa Kavanagh recently introduced a motion to reverse the 2021 decision that brought the Taggart Group and Algonquins of Ontario-led development into Ottawa. She later withdrew the motion, citing the absence of a representative from Osgoode ward, where the project will be built. Kavanagh said she would reintroduce the motion when the Osgoode seat is filled. Article content Article content Kavanagh said the development was originally rejected by city planning staff because it didn't meet the city's planning priorities and was too far away and isolated. Article content Article content 'The clay soil is usually problematic, and it would cost a lot of money to put in infrastructure and transit to such an area,' she said. Article content Tom Ledgley, coordinator at Horizon Ottawa, said that while more housing is needed in the city, Tewin is not the way to do it. Article content 'We definitely don't disagree that more housing needs to be built,' he said. 'But this is not a dense housing development. It's not happening near existing services. And there aren't really many strong promises about this being like deeply affordable housing.' Article content In a written statement by Taggart, they said that Tewin 'is being planned to evolve alongside new investments in public infrastructure, including roads, utilities, and transit.' Article content Article content 'As growth occurs, services and amenities will be phased in to support residents with access to employment, education, healthcare, and recreation, all within a walkable, transit-ready urban fabric.' Article content Article content The statement added that Tewin is in response to 'Ottawa's housing supply pressures.' Article content Kavanagh also raised concerns about how the project was framed as a partnership with First Nations. Article content 'This project claimed it was working in conjunction with First Nations. And it turned out that this was bogus,' she said. 'The true First Nations representatives were very angry and have always been opposed to Tewin.' Article content Article content The Tewin development is a joint venture between the Algonquins of Ontario (AOO) and the Taggart Group, a private Ottawa-based developer. When the project was first introduced, it was promoted by some councillors and city officials as an act of reconciliation, citing the involvement of the AOO.
The Irish Sun
26-05-2025
- The Irish Sun
‘Thought he was untouchable' – Mob godfather Kavanagh faces €1m mansion seizure after kingpin caged over €36m drug op
CAGED mob godfather Thomas 'Bomber' Kavanagh will discover next month if he's lost his €1m mansion. 6 Thomas Kavanagh is at risk of losing his €1million mansion in the UK Credit: PA:Press Association 6 The UK's National Crime Agency set to present a case that will strip Thomas' home away in court Credit: Refer to Caption 6 New evidence about the cartel party came to light during the investigation Credit: Collect image through journalist Along with his plush pad in Tamworth, investigators will also argue that €40,000 in cash and €250,000 worth of jewellery were bought with the proceeds of If Kavanagh loses the case, his wife Joanne, 50, who's not involved in crime and is the sister of 2016 Regency Hotel shooting victim David Byrne, is expected to leave the fortified mansion in England and return to her native Crumlin, The case is going ahead as Kavanagh continues to serve the 21-year sentence he received for running a €36million His last appearance in court was last year when he received a six-year sentence — to run alongside his current term — for smuggling weapons that included seven machine guns, three automatic handguns, an assault rifle and ammunition. READ MORE ON KAVANAGH Kavanagh — who was the CEO of the His son Jack, 23, brother-in-law Ahead of the kingpin's upcoming court appearance in Ipswich, we spoke to one investigator about Kavanagh's fallen empire. They told us: 'The only reason Kavanagh moved to the Most read in Irish News 'He thought he was untouchable, but his criminal empire is now in ruins. When he eventually comes out of prison, he won't have much and his position in organised crime will also be in tatters.' Devastated daughter slams Kinahan quartermaster for 'destroying' family as role in innocent grandad's murder revealed They added: 'Bomber Kavanagh is now seen as toxic because he was willing to give up those guns to protect himself and ended up getting his son, brother-in-law and best friend a conviction over it.' CARTEL PARTY And, as part of our revelations on ongoing efforts to dismantle Kavanagh's empire, we also reveal new details of the cartel party held at the height of the deadly Kinahan and An exclusive CCTV image shows cartel gun runner Liam Byrne arriving in his luxury Range Rover at the gathering at Greeted by Kavanagh's runner Gary Vickery, 42, who is now serving a 20-year sentence for his role in Kavanagh's drug smuggling plot, Byrne would stay at the luxury hotel for two nights. Following Byrne's arrival for the cartel's Another CCTV image shows Kavanagh arriving, as his associates waited on him. Other senior figures who were present included Declan 'Mr Nobody' Brady, 59, They were joined by Byrne's cousin Liam Roe, 45, and his dad James 'Jaws' Byrne, 76. ARMS DEPOT RAID The gathering was held just a week before innocent grandad Noel Kirwan, 62, was shot dead by a cartel hitman. Other associates included Kavanagh's business partners in the UK and a senior figure with the McCarthy/Dundon crime gang. The event was held just one month before investigators raided the arms depot Brady was running at the Greenogue Industrial Unit. During their two-day stay at the hotel, Gary Vickery had responsibility for arranging 18 rooms and forked out over €12,000. Vickery stayed in room 2303 and spent €2,689 during his stay. He was also hit with a €200 parking fine after his associates parked on double yellow lines, and spent €336 on his room service bill. The footage was later obtained by the NCA under 'Operation Hornstay' and sent on to the 'ONGOING ACTIVITIES' Former Detective Inspector Noel Browne — who was previously the Gardai's liaison officer in Mr Browne told us: 'We were liaising very closely with our colleagues in the NCA at the time, and provided them with information on who was present at that meeting. "We believed that gathering was used as a way for the criminal organisation to discuss their ongoing activities. 'We don't know what was discussed at the meeting, but we know now that it happened just a number of days before Mr Kirwan was murdered, and we know 'They were in full flow when that meeting took place, and it was only a month later that we discovered their arms depot at Greenogue.' 'AGM' OF CRIME GROUP We also spoke to an NCA investigator, who told us: 'This Christmas Party allowed us to identify the wider group. I would call it the AGM of this crime group. 'We gathered evidence around what was effectively the organised crime group's Christmas do. 'A number of prominent criminals from both Dublin and the UK all came together and the full cost was paid in cash by Gary Vickery. 'It was very obvious that Thomas Kavanagh had a really high profile and standing within this group of criminals. That meeting showed that this group were making lots of money and that they wanted to come together to discuss their criminality.' Since the party, Kavanagh, Brady and Vickery remain in prison. Liam Byrne was released from his five-year gun-running sentence and remains under a Serious Crime Prevention Order. Both James Byrne and Liam Roe have since died, while Sean McGovern is fighting extradition to Ireland from the UK after he was arrested in 6 David Byrne was shot dead in an attack at the Regency Hotel in 2016 Credit: Refer to Caption 6 Liam Byrne was spotted arriving at the cartel party on the CCTV Credit: Social Media Collect 6 Gary Vickery is serving a 20-year sentence for his role in Kavanagh's drug smuggling plot Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
RTÉ News
20-05-2025
- Health
- RTÉ News
Injection centre for Cork 'could be sooner' than June 2026
A Government Minister has said a supervised injection centre could be open in Cork "sooner" than June 2026. Minister for Higher Education James Lawless was responding to a plea from Christine Kavanagh, a mother from Cork. Three of her sons were addicted to drugs and in the space of four years all three were dead. Ms Kavanagh spoke to Upfront in her first TV interview, calling on the Government to do more to help families like hers. She recalled the circumstances of her son Leon's death as "desperate". "He was found down the lane with heroin spoons, needles, everything," she told Upfront. Ms Kavanagh said she wants to see a supervised injection centre in Cork to help people like her sons – where those addicted to drugs can inject illegal substances under the supervision of trained health professionals. "They can go, they can inject, they can be supervised," she explained. "My children might have been saved if they were inside in a centre." December 2024 saw the opening of Ireland's first medically supervised injection facility at Merchants Quay in Dublin on a pilot basis for a maximum period of 18 months. The Department of Health said the project is being evaluated over the next 18-months and the findings "will inform decisions about the continuation of the Dublin facility and the development of new facilities in other regions". Minister Lawless told Upfront he believes a centre for Cork could be opened sooner than that. "The next step – and the Government's committed to this, it's in the Programme for Government – is that we will look at rolling these out into community settings around the country, where appropriate", he said. Minister Lawless said the Government wants to take the findings from the Dublin pilot project "and see what's working and what needs to be tweaked and then continue that rollout". He said he couldn't give a definite date, however an injection centre for Cork "could even be sooner" than June 2026. "I do know the Government direction of travel is to support the centres. Let's take the evidence from [Merchants Quay], let's apply it around the country. "I think it's very likely that Cork would be the natural next step." Six-month checkpoint Minister Lawless said an evaluation of Merchants Quay later this year will further inform decisions. "There is a six-month checkpoint in September – there's another checkpoint at the end the year – so all of the valuable experience that came from this… will be applied to future centres," he said. The Minister said all signs are that Merchants Quay is working. "The evidence is really positive – everything I'm hearing about it and the statistics from Merchants Quay, and indeed from other centres internationally, are that [when] we have services in one place, we don't have overdoses. Head of Operations with Merchants Quay Geoff Corcoran told the show it is a much safer option. "There's been 59 overdoses in the centre since we opened in December," he said. "And of those 59 overdoses, only one has involved calling an ambulance. "People are coming in where otherwise they would be using in alleys, carparks, public spaces. "Here, people are supervised and if they go into overdose we can manage that and deal with it". 'Health-led approach' Minister Lawless admitted that the criminal justice model of dealing with drug addiction has failed. "The health-led approach is the way to go in my strong opinion," he said. "Moving from the criminal justice model has patently failed – the courts are clogged up, we're spending billions on policing justice procedures. "We move into a health-led approach, we recognise the trauma in forming policy – we say why are people getting into addiction situations in the first place? "We reduce the demand for drugs, we reduce the harm that they cause, and we try to pivot people back on track in their lives". Figures from the National Drug-Related Deaths Index show there were 354 drug poisoning deaths recorded in 2021, 409 reported in 2020 - which were recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic - and 371 in 2019. Head of Addiction Services at St John of God Hospital Prof Colin O'Hara asked Minister Lawless if he would consider declaring a COVID-style 'state of emergency' to tackle drug-deaths. Minister Lawless did not rule out such a move but said the current plan should be kept in place. "Everything's possible but let's take an evidence-based approach – we have a pilot up and running in Merchants Quay, we have a review in that in September," he said. "We're making progress, I think we should keep going on that track".
Irish Independent
19-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
‘Difficult and frustrating' – Galway's rental market sees sharp rise in average prices
According to the latest report, rents in Galway City have risen by 12.6pc in the last year. This made Galway the third most expensive city in Ireland in terms of rent market as it only follows Limerick City (with an average of €2,405, up 20.4pc) and Dublin (with an average of €2,540, up 5.8pc). In the rest of Galway, market rents were on average 5.7pc higher in the first quarter of 2025 than a year previously. The average listed rent is now €1,659, up 80pc from the level prevailing when the Covid-19 pandemic occurred. Tony Kavanagh, Regional Director at real estate agency Sherry FitzGerald, explained to the Irish Independent the price increase is due to new contracts, as the city is within a rent pressure zone. He added the property shortage not only makes prices skyrocket, but also result in extreme frustration for many Mr Kavanagh said: 'There is a shortage of supply of those new properties coming available and there is a very big demand for rental properties, so it pushes those prices up very high. 'Tenants are very frustrated. Any rental property that we might put up, we get a lot of applications for it and there's only a few people that can ultimately get that accommodation. People are often putting in applications for a number of properties but because there is such stiff competition and such demand, it's hard to be successful. Obviously that is very frustrating.' Mr Kavanagh confirmed the only solution is building more properties, but in the short term he foresaw a 'difficult and frustrating' future for anyone looking to rent in the city. 'It's a very simple answer: we need more new homes being built. Every type of property, from one, two, three bed apartments, one, two, three bedroom houses, we need more of them built. And until then, it is going to be a difficult market for tenants. It is going to be difficult and frustrating. He added estate agencies do not like seeing the prices increasing either, as the incredibly high rents have consequences on the local economy as well. ADVERTISEMENT 'We people involved in the industry don't want to see the rents so high because it makes it very hard to be able to save if they want to buy their own property, it's difficult for employers when they try to attract talent to come and work in their businesses, it just makes everything dearer and the economy ultimately becomes uncompetitive because a lot of people who might be considering moving and when they look at the costs of accommodation they might make the decision not to move to a location like Galway. 'The economy in general is doing very well, the Irish economy is nearly at full employment so most people who are capable and who wish to work have the opportunity to work, that means that there is a lot of people that want and need accommodation. 'It's a problem for tenants, for people who are looking to get accommodation, but also it has a knock-on effect to the broader local economy. In the meantime, Louis O'Hara, Sinn Féin TD for Galway East, has called for a ban on rent increase in the private rental sector. He said: "I'm constantly being contacted by people struggling to afford the cost of rent and many are being pushed into homelessness as a result. 'The spiralling cost of rent is a direct consequence of government's failure to deliver a sufficient volume of social, affordable rental and affordable purchase homes. The consequence is too many people are being forced into a shrinking private rental sector. 'Government must recognise that its failing housing plan is the cause of the problem. They must increase and accelerate the delivery of social and affordable homes to at least 25,000 new public homes a year. 'In the meantime, renters need a break. Government must introduce an emergency three-year ban on rent increases and put a full month's rent back into every private tenant's pocket through a fully refundable tax credit,' he added. The report also shows that across Connacht, market rents rose 5.7pc year-on-year, down from 15.6pc a year ago. The ongoing increase in rents reflects very tight availability, with fewer than 140 homes available to rent on May 1, down over one third year-on-year and just one quarter of the late 2010s average. Nationally, market rents rose by an average of 3.4pc in the first three months of 2025, one of the largest three-month increases in the last two decades. The average open-market rent nationwide in the first quarter of 2025 was €2,053 per month, up from a low of just €765 in 2011 and 48pc higher than before the outbreak of Covid-19. There were just over 2,300 homes available to rent nationwide on May 1, down 14pc year-on-year. This is the third lowest total for May in twenty years and close to half the 2015-2019 average for availability of homes to rent.
News18
19-05-2025
- Sport
- News18
‘Looks A Bit Guilty': Roy Keane Questions Onana's Judgment After VAR Drama Vs Chelsea
Last Updated: Manchester United's Cameroon footballer was involved in a VAR-based controversy that unravelled during their Premier League loss to Chelsea. Manchester United star Andre Onana is facing stern question marks following the VAR controversy that broke out during his club's Premier League defeat against Chelsea. As United suffered a 0-1 loss at Stamford Bridge, commentators and experts criticised Onana's decision to charge out at Tyrique George. The incident saw the match referee, Chris Kavanagh, initially calling it a foul and handing United a penalty. But an intervention from VAR official Craig Pawson later sent Kavanagh for a review on the pitchside monitor. Following a brief review, Kavanagh overturned his original call. The Premier League later stated that Onana's act. #CHEMUN – 61' VAR OVERTURNVAR checked the referee's call of penalty for the challenge by Onana on George and recommended an on-field review – with Onana deemed to have played the ball. The referee overturned the original decision and play restarted with a drop ball. — Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) May 16, 2025 'VAR checked the referee's call of penalty for the challenge by Onana on George and recommended an on-field review, with Onana deemed to have played the ball. The referee overturned the original decision and play restarted with a drop ball," the Premier League Match Centre wrote on Twitter. United's icon Keane spoke on the VAR controversy after Onana's foul, saying the footballer could've been a 'little bit smarter" in his approach. 'If he had just knocked it a bit wider and fallen into the goalkeeper, but, of course, he gets a touch on the ball and it's the right decision. But I think I could have been a little bit smarter," Keane told Sky Sports. Redknapp, the former Liverpool midfielder, said inexperience may have brought about the error from United's young Cameroon footballer. 'It was difficult. He's not a striker. He's played his career as a young academy player, as a wide player. All of a sudden, he's playing against three experienced centre-backs trying to run the line. It was a tough night for him," Redknapp said. 'It wasn't ever going to be easy, but when you're making your full debut, you want to play in your best position, but you don't care, you just want to be out there. But the other thing I would say about that one, I don't know what Onana's doing. What is he doing? Just stay on your goal!" First Published: May 17, 2025, 16:36 IST
