Counterfeiting Operation - IRA connection

IRA involved in Counterfeiting Operation


Two well known republicans are among four men being held in relation to the discovery of a major counterfeiting operation in County Laoise today, 31st May 2010.

The four men arrested are in their 40s/50s and are well seasoned criminals and paramilitaries who are known to the Gardai. The men are being held at Portlaoise and Tullamore Garda stations under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.

A bunker similar to bunkers used by the PIRA in the 1980s to hide weapons imported from Libya was discovered under a prefab on a site in Borris-in-Ossory. The site is continuing to be technically examined.

It is believed that the equipment and materials seized were of the highest quality and would have been imported for the operation. It is believed that the counterfeiting gang were producing large quantities of 50 Euro notes which are easy to dispose off. Counterfeiting across Europe has been on the increase in recent months and it is believed that the Gardai operation today was the result of many months work in co-operation with other police forces.

Israeli Ambassador

Israeli Ambassador Confirms Attendance at Emergency Oireachtas of Foreign Affairs Committee Meeting


31 May 2010

Israel’s Ambassador to Ireland, Dr Zion Evrony has confirmed that he will attend an Emergency meeting of the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee. The meeting will take place on Thursday, 4th June at 1:15 pm.

The Committee decided to summon the Ambassador to this unscheduled meeting to seek answers regarding the dramatic events unfolding off the coast of Gaza.

A number of Irish nationals are among the flotilla and an Irish owned vessel, the Rachel Corrie is part of the convoy.

Committee Chairman, Dr Michael Woods TD said;
“We welcome Dr Evrony’s prompt acceptance of our request. The Committee is seeking a full and frank account of the goings-on involving the Israeli military and the vessels carrying aid.

We are anxious to get answers from the Ambassador about his Government’s justification for taking the actions they did and hear a proper explanation for why force was used to stop the ships from landing their cargo.

Unfortunately, it seems that a number of lives have been lost following this operation by the Israeli defence forces so there are significant issues which the Ambassador must address. The meeting will give the Committee on opportunity to put these serious matters to him in an open forum.”

LARRY MURPHY

Why Suspected Serial Killer will be Able to Roam Free!

By theirishobserver.blogspot.com

In a few short weeks Larry Murphy will be freed from prison.

There has been much speculation in sections of the Irish media recently that suggests that when suspected serial killer Larry Murphy is released from jail (in a few weeks time) having served 15 years for the rape and attempted murder of a young women he will be obliged to tell the Gardai (Irish Police) where he is living at all times. There is also speculation that the nation's women need not be concerned about Murphy's release as he will be under constant Garda supervision and surveillance.
However, Larry Murphy will not be required to give his details to Gardai and he most certainly won’t be under 24/7 surveillance by a team of up to 12 detectives, as suggested by some ill-informed sources.

Background: Larry Murphy is a carpenter by trade and by all accounts very good at his trade even while in prison where he under took further courses and classes in carpentry. Before being caught trying to suffocate a young woman with a plastic bag in the Wicklow Mountains in 2000 Larry Murphy appeared to all who knew him as a happily married man with a young family. However, Larry Murphy's double life was exposed in 2000 when he was witnessed by two huntsmen in the Wicklow Mountains as he tried to suffocate a young business woman from Carlow whom he had just kidnapped and repeatedly raped.

Murphy was duly arrested by Gardai and remanded to Cloverhill Prison to await his trial. While in Cloverhill Remand Prison in Clondalkin in Dublin Larry Murphy quickly made friends in the prisons E-Wing which is a protection wing for those people who do not wish to be in the general prison population due to concerns for their own safety, although Murphy would just as easily fitted in with the general population as so many of them view the rape of women as a normal part of their criminal and drug infested culture. As Larry Murphy walked around the small yard of Cloverhill's E-Wing with fellow sex offenders he had few words, although when pushed he would say that his only regret was that he had been caught. He was able to swap stories with Noel Cawley who had been charged with the unlawful imprisonment and rape of a young woman (Noel Cawley is now serving a sentence for the manslaughter of an old age pensioner in Westmeath last year) and so on.

Eventually Larry Murphy was sentenced to 15 years for the kidnap, repeated rape and attempted murder of the young business woman he had taken into the Wicklow Mountains. People who knew Larry Murphy including a close friend who was at that time a serving prison officer were shocked and stunned by the details of Larry Murphy's double life. Murphy had fooled many and had it not been for the two huntsmen on the night of his capture, Larry Murphy's reign would have continued. Since Larry Murphy was convicted in 2000 he has been questioned on a number of occasions about the disappearance of a number of young women in the Leinster area on various dates in the 1993 to 1998 periods. It is said that Larry Murphy has refused to co-operate with Gardai in relation to their investigations into the disappearance of these women.

This writer has no idea whether Larry Murphy did or did not have anything to do with these disappearances of young women, yet this writer does know that when Larry Murphy is released he will be able to roam free without legal obligation.
Why Larry Murphy will be able to roam free?

In 2001, the Sex Offenders Act was introduced; this Act had been in the pipe line for a number of years as Ireland tried to deal with the ever evolving extent of sexual crime in Ireland. As we now know this Act was delayed and then diminished in order to facilitate those within the Catholic Church who had raped children. It is clear now from both the Ryan and Murphy Reports that there was serious collusion at the highest levels in Ireland to protect religious child rapists. Indeed following the revelations about Father Brendan Smyth in the early 1990s the Government of the day moved quickly to reduce the sentence for sexual assault from 10 years to 5 years, this sentence was increased in the Sex Offenders Act 2001, after many ‘religious’ rapists had been given what appeared to be soft/token sentences.
When the 2001 Act was introduced by the then Minister for Justice, John O Donoghue TD, it was heralded by many ill-informed groups and individuals as a major step forward in the fight against sexual crime, in fact following the introduction of the 2001 Act sexual crime has continued to increase in every facet of its existence. While John O Donoghue had been warned by the Attorney Generals office not to introduce the 2001 Act in its form at that time, O Donoghue dancing to the tune of his cheer leaders (lurid tabloids) introduced the Sex Offenders Act 2001. Under the terms of the 2001 Act a person in jail at the time of its enactment or later convicted would be under an obligation to notify the Gardai within seven days of their release from prison the address at which they intend to live.

However, the Act also makes it legal to tell the Gardai that you live at NO FIXED ABODE, many sex offenders released since 2001 have used this loophole and some like Patrick (Paddy) O Driscol was able to roam freely among the people of Cork until he eventually struck again and smashed a young woman's head in with a brick before raping her for over an hour. On the night in question Paddy O Driscol was in the company of another convicted rapist (who had no part in this latest rape) Patrick Moorehouse (O Driscol and Moorehouse had meet while serving sentences for rape in Wheatfield Prison). Paddy O Driscol is now serving 18 years for his latest rape. This ‘no fixed abode’ clause runs contrary to international standards of good practice when managing high risk offenders. In Northern Ireland for example, such offenders must take up a place in a half way house upon their release from prison if they have no permanent address of their own.

Upon Release Larry Murphy will be able to tell Gardai that he has no fixed abode and he will be able to roam the country as he feels fit. The Gardai have neither the man power nor the financial resource to follow Larry Murphy indefinitely, however, it is the introduction of an ill-considered 2001 Sex Offenders Act that will let Larry Murphy of the leash.

Notes of Importance: There are presently 1,100 persons on the sex offenders register in Ireland including both men and women, up to 15% of these persons have given no fixed abode as their address, others have left the country (Patrick Barr, Patrick O Riordan), it is further clear from the Ryan and Murphy reports and the recent scandal surrounding the family of Sinn Fein President, Gerry Adams that there are many thousands of sex offenders in Ireland who have never and will probably never see the inside of a court house. The reasons why so many known and confirmed sex offenders are not prosecuted are complex, however, the lack of political will and the introduction of ill considered legislation are two of the main factors.

Many Government Ministers spend much of their time trying to please the lurid tabloids, a tabloid industry that makes its bread and butter from exploiting men, women and children through their advertised perverted sex chat lines and sexual imagery. These same tabloids help normalise and facilitate sexual deviance and this is why they are the biggest selling media in the sex offender’s wings of Ireland’s Prisons. The reality is of course that the vast majority of people who read the tabloids don’t even vote, yet due to the contrived ‘moral panics’ created by the lurid tabloids weak Government Minister’s feel the need to go on bended knee to their banner headlines. We then have the perverse situation where the lurid tabloids are in effect dictating social policy, while the voting public are left to pick up the pieces.

In 2005, the Editor, Ger Colleran, of The Irish Star (tabloid) paid 400 Euro to a sex offender who had just been released from prison. The released sex offender had asked a friend to take some pictures of him as he walked in O Connell Street, the released sex offender then sold his own pictures to the Star for 400 Euro, and the following day the Star published the pictures stating that their photographer had taken the pics. What Colleran did not know was that when the Star was handing over the money for the pics, the released sex offender had someone taking pics of the transaction. Yet Colleran and other similar hypocrites are given regular platforms on RTE and other media as a man set upon high moral ground.

Ghost Miles

GHOST MILES

Over the past ten years there have been hundreds of kilometres of motorways opened all over Ireland. By-passes, link roads, national roads up graded and so forth have combined to take many hundreds (in some cases thousands) of kilometres per annum off the journeys for our TDs and Senators as they travel to Leinster House each week.

Only on Friday the Portlaoise to Cullahill section of the M8 was opened, the journey now from Monaghan to Dublin has been significantly cut due to by-passes and new motorway. Travel distance from Cork to Dublin has been significantly reduced. This picture is repeated around much of the country, yet a cursory glance at the Mileage claimed by Senators and TDs has for many remained static in some cases for up to ten years and more.

So why are some Senators and TDs claiming Ghost miles when they know that their journey distances have been significantly cut? Tens of thousands of Euro of our money is being paid out each year for Ghost Miles at a time when children in the ‘care’ of the State have no access to professional help due to lack of funding.

Those persons charged with over seeing the expenses of TDs and Senators need to ensure rigorous testing and checking of all expenses not simply the Limos and Gondolas that come into the public domain.

Articles by theirishobserver.blogspot.com are provided in order to stimulate debate and discussion around matters of fact, all information provided by the irishobserver.blogspot.com can be used by anyone without any obligation what so ever to the irishobserver.blogspot.com.

Poll - Sunday Business Post

The Labour Party has slipped back into third place behind Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael according to the latest opinion poll. The Labour Party has slipped back into third place behind Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael according to the latest opinion poll.

The survey for tomorrow's Sunday Business Post sees the two main opposition parties lose ground to Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil.

For the second month in a row Fine Gael support drops in this RED C survey - three points this month means support for the party has dropped five points since the end of March.

They remain the most popular party in the country on 30% - six points ahead of Fianna Fáil which gains a point this month to 24%.

After last month's surge, Labour drops two points to 22% and loses its second place position ahead of Fianna Fáil.

Sinn Féin gains four points to stand at 10%, Independents gain one to 9% and the Greens slip one to 5%.

Almost half of voters think the country is "heading in the wrong direction", but 36% think the Government has put Ireland on the right path.

Economic Crisis

Intellectual mouth-pieces and the blurring of Reality

Brian Cowen has said, "The economy has turned a corner, the worse is over", (28/May 2010), well in fairness it could not get much worse with 13% unemployment and 32,000 people in mortgage arrears, thousands already forced from their homes and tens of thousands of children living in poverty. However, I think with Cowen's track record I would rather take note of Prof Kelly's warning.

Writing in Saturday’s (22nd, May 2010) Irish Times.com , Prof Kelly, who originally predicted the crisis, said the open-ended guarantee of banks’ liabilities and the Nama bailout will leave the Republic with a “a worse ratio of debt to national income than the one that is sinking Greece” by 2012.

For too long the Irish people have been inundated with the wall to wall lies being pushed out by Government spin doctors and other intellectual mouth-pieces about the ‘financial crises in Ireland. These intellectual mouth-pieces are nothing more than begging dogs at their Fianna Fail masters table. Intellectual mouth-pieces who are untouched by the very financial crisis who’s reality they blur with their self serving statistics and tabloid pleasing sound bites.

In America those to the right have tried to suggest that Liberal Democrats held the banks at gun point until they handed over all their cash to the underclass and other undeserving sections of American society who could not wait to get into some real debt. The problem with this right wing theory is the fact that Congress was under the watchful eye of right wing Republican prudence at that time. The lie that the little people were the core cause and beneficiaries of multi-billion dollar fraud and corruption is easily exposed.

To understand Ireland’s financial crisis it is essential to look at the American model. The financial crisis that has dominated political and banking institutions around most of the industrialised world in recent years was and remains of Herculean proportions. When I say most of the industrialised world I mean that countries such as Canada were able to avoid the flaming pits of financial ruin. Canada was able to do a number of things right that both America and Ireland done real bad. Canada limited leverage, Canada protected consumers, and more importantly Canada ensured that unfettered capitalism and greed were not allowed to ride rough shot over the people. Canada unlike Ireland and America regulated the financial institutions rather than simply pay lip service to regulation.



Irish economists Gregory Connor, Thomas Flavin and Brian O ‘Kelly have taken some considered time to look at the realities that brought both the USA and Ireland to their financial knees. From the research of Connor, Flavin and O’Kelly it quickly becomes clear that many of the core causes of America’s financial crisis are not present in the Irish situation. Similarly many of the core causes of Ireland’s financial melt down are not found in the American situation.



After two years of listening to the Government’s spin doctors and intellectual mouth-pieces telling us that our financial crises was simply a mirror image of the American crisis we now establish that this is at best untrue. Ireland was driven into a real estate cul de sac by the Government, the banks and the property speculators. In many cases this triangulation is firmly joined, with even the Irish Prime Minister opening a property portfolio in Ireland and further a field. The mantra of the Fianna Fail government and their cheer leaders was to, “spend, spend, spend, buy, buy, buy”, just as British Prime Minister, Thatcher had done in the 1980s.

Young educated and hard working Irish people were lead into a financial cul de sac from which they would not be able to return. Property prices in Dublin out stripped property prices in many of the Major cities in America, this inflated property market was then meet with a banking crisis not before seen in Ireland. This banking crisis brought on by an inept Government and failed regulatory system of checks and balances. The Government blinded by its own self serving had become nothing more than a performing monkey to the cheap financial lending houses of main land Europe.

The Government now try to blame the ordinary people for the financial crisis, the very people who will for generations pay for this Government’s miserable failures and unending greed. The Irish Government constantly tell the people that they were elected to lead the country, yet they deny that leadership when their boom and bust policies are exposed to reasonable critique. Ireland’s financial crisis was not about ordinary people being greedy; it was not about big financial debt obligations, it was simply the tale of an inept Government being lead by its own self serving and excesses. The Government failed to regulate the finance institutions in a professional and transparent manner, it allowed unprecedented loans to be made to corrupt property speculators, it allowed banks to boost their own books by corrupt and criminal practices and now the same Government is to rob the Irish people once more in order to bail out their banking and property speculator pals.

Ireland had some things in common with the financial crash in America. The authors of the new report point to four main causal similarities.

1. In both countries property experts believed that while property prices were historically high, they would continue to rise. A case of wishful thinking rather than empirical evidence.

2. In both countries there was a wash of cheap money. America was a wash with cheap money from China and in Ireland, Germany and other Euro zone countries provided the cheap capital.

3. It was easy and made easy for big players to take big financial risks. Those who were in charge of the big financial houses knew well that they could do as they pleased. Directors could borrow tens of millions from their own banks without being held in check. Banks could transfer billions between each other to boost their accounts. Bankers knew that even if the shit hit the fan their multi-million Euro bonuses and pension packages would be safe. In America billions of dollars was paid to bankers for their ‘performance’ before their financial institutions went into liquidation.

4. The other main cause was inept Government and their failure to provide financial regulation. This failure was due mainly to what is today described as the relationship within the Golden Circle. This circle or triangulation of corrupt Politicians, Bankers and Property Speculators meant that the very people charged with regulating the financial system were the very worst offenders. A bit like putting the fox in charge of the hen house.

In America ideology played a major role in the direction of the economy, in Ireland this would not be the case. In Ireland it was more like a drunk winning the lottery. Ten years of unprecedented wealth in Ireland meant that the greedy got greedier, the haves had more and the have nots continued to have nothing. There was no trickle down economics in Ireland. While in America many politicians believed that ordinary people should own their own homes, politicians aspirations had little or no impact on the incentives offered by lenders. In Ireland the opposite was the case, the lending institutions became reckless as their loan books had government guarantees and first time home buyers and second property investors were woed with incentives and feel good Government encouragement.

While America ignored the lessons of Reaganism and Thatcherism, Ireland simply spent like a drunken sailor on home leave. Ireland was and remains absent of any Financial or political ideology, setting aside domestic sectarianism and historical nationalism. Ireland’s present economic philosophy of cut and burn fiscal rectifism is simply a longer journey up a similar cul de sac as the philosophy of boom and bust. Biffonian Economics can best describe the Irish Government’s present financial naval gazing. As the Irish Prime Minister, Brian Cowen (Biffo) buys time in order to take up a lucrative political posting in Brussels.

It is clear that the Irish Government were the architect of the present financial crisis in Ireland. It is clear that America had similar yet different financial road signs as it drove off into the economic abyss. It is clear from the lessons of both America and Ireland that the Regulators are every bit as important as the regulations. Limiting both leverage and securitisation helped Canada to keep its head above water, yet, if these measures are entrusted to people who are beholding to the wrong doers as was certainly the case in Ireland, then it is not enough. The regulators must have the civic will and statutory power to stand up to the politicians, the bankers and the corrupt speculators.

Consumers must be protected for they are the oil that drives the wheels of free enterprise, financial checks and balances must be over seen by an Independent, professional and able bodied watch dog. We can not return to a time in the not too distant past when those charged with regulation were nothing more than begging dogs at the table of the Golden Circle. We have failed to learn from the failures of Thatcherism and Reganism and if we do not deploy independent and prudent regulators armed with statutory instruments (similar to the Criminal Assets Bureau) we will continue to repeat the mistakes of the past and the present.
Labels: Financial markets

Dead Children - Who Is Counting?

Eighteen children were killed, died from drugs or by suicide while in state care over the past ten years, the Health Service Executive (HSE) said last night.

Children's rights and protection groups said the records, released after weeks of severe criticism, were shocking but only gave half the story.

Alan Shatter, Fine Gael TD, accused the HSE of failing to tell the truth.

"The HSE has in its statement utterly failed to truthfully explain why as recently as March 2010 the Minister for Children (Barry Andrews) was informed that the number of child deaths in care was 23 and how it is that nine weeks later the number has grown to 37," he said.

"Today's revelation is not only an indictment of the incompetence and failure of the HSE, but also an indictment of the utter failure of Government to ensure the proper monitoring and governance of our childcare and protection services."

The official figures from the HSE said:

:: Five children died by suicide;

:: Five were drug related;

:: Two were unlawful killings;

:: Three died in road traffic accidents;

:: Three died in other accidents.

It is understood Daniel McAnaspie's death is not included on the list as a Coroner has not ruled on time of death.

He went missing on February 26 but his body was not recovered until earlier this month when a farmer found his remains in a ditch in Co Meath.

The HSE said another 19 children died from natural causes and ill health problems such as brain tumour, leukaemia, surgical complications and heart disease. Of the total 37 deaths, 20 were teenagers and 17 were younger children.

Jillian van Turnhout, of the Children's Rights Alliance, said each of the deaths in care - including those from natural causes - must be automatically included in the independent review ordered by Children's Minister Barry Andrews.

"We need to know if anything could have been done to save them," she said.

"It could be they should have been taken in to care sooner or needed an operation.

"We need to learn lessons from each case."

Ms Turnhout warned the figure would rise if homeless youngsters in need of emergency accommodation were included in the list.

Health Minister Mary Harney and HSE management up to chief executive Professor Brendan Drumm had rejected reports that the true figure of all child deaths in state care was as high as 200 and suggested the number was closer to 23.

Fergus Finlay, Barnardos chief executive, said: "It's worrying that the figure is so much higher than 23 - the Minister for Health seemed to be confident about it.

"The final figure will be a good deal higher when the wider search is completed. A significant number of cases will have to be added to that. I don't think we know the full story yet."

There are 5,500 children in state care. The official figures cover January 1 2000 to April 30 2010. Details on the total number of deaths of children and young adults, who were in state care at some point or were known to social workers, will be released next Friday.

Jennifer Gargan, director of the Irish Association of Young People in Care, said: "It's substantially more than was originally stated so that's very worrying.

"Any death is a death too many - it's shocking that they didn't have the information previously.

"They're only the ones who we hear about because they died - there's many more young people seriously at risk living in the streets and in tragic and unhappy circumstances who are under the radar."

Sinn Féin's Caoimhghin O Caolain called for full disclosure from the HSE and added: "One death of a child in state care is a death too many.

"We need to be told the services provided or not provided in the case of each deceased child so that lessons can be learned and implemented."

Labour Senator Alex White said even though the figure was considerably smaller than some speculation, it was still deeply disturbing that so many children died while in the direct care of the state.

"The manner in which this affair has been handled by the government and the HSE has been quite chaotic, and damaging to public confidence in the system," Mr White said.

Children's Minister Barry Andrews criticised the 10 weeks it took for health chiefs to hand over the figures, which he requested in March.

He also said it was a matter of deep concern that there was a significant difference between the original figures of 23 presented and the higher number announced.

"The overall discrepancy between the figures reported raises serious questions about the management of information in the HSE in an extremely sensitive area and I will be requiring both an explanation and assurances from the Board and Senior Management in the HSE," he added.

Mr Andrews revealed he was also awaiting information on the death of any child known to the HSE child protection system and the death of young adults in the care of the HSE in the period immediately prior to their 18th birthday.

"I am informed by the HSE that this information will be available by Friday June 4," he added.

Carers

The Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Finance and Personnel has welcomed a commitment by the Finance Minister to provide some additional rate relief for carers by increasing the Carers Premium under the existing low income rate relief scheme. Committee Chairperson, Jennifer McCann, MLA said: “The Committee has been working with the Department of Finance and Personnel over recent months to determine how to give carers additional financial support. The Committee had asked the Minister to consider a number of options for providing support through rate reliefs, and is pleased with his decision to increase the carer premium element of the low income rate relief scheme. "The Committee recognises the significant and valuable contribution that carers make to society, which is estimated to save the public purse hundreds of millions of pounds annually. While the relief provided by this change may be modest, it is nonetheless welcomed by Committee members as a step in the right direction. We would urge the Minister to bring forward the necessary legislation to implement this as quickly as possible, to ensure that this additional support is available to those who need and deserve it.” ENDS Notes for Editors 1. The estimate of carers saving the public hundreds of millions of pounds comes from research undertaken by Carers UK. The Committee for Finance and Personnel is one of the statutory committees established by the Northern Ireland Assembly on 9 May 2007. As per paragraph 9 of Strand One of the Belfast Agreement, Statutory Committees have the power to: consider and advise on departmental budgets and annual plans in the context of the overall budget allocation; approve relevant secondary legislation and take the Committee stage of relevant primary legislation; call for persons and papers; initiate inquiries and make reports; and, consider and advise on matters brought to the Committee by its Minister. Committee Members: Jennifer McCann (Chairperson) (Sinn Fein) David McNarry (Deputy Chairperson) (UUP) Jonathan Craig (DUP) Dr Stephen Farry (Alliance) Simon Hamilton (DUP) Fra McCann (Sinn Fein) Mitchel McLaughlin (Sinn Fein) Adrian McQuillan (DUP) Declan O’Loan (SDLP) Ian Paisley Jnr (DUP) Dawn Purvis (PUP) Further information on the work of the Committee is available on the Committee pages of the Northern Ireland Assembly website: www.niassembly.gov.uk

Jack Lynch

Documents released by the British Government on May 27th, 2010, under the thirty year rule give a telling insight into how the British viewed the north and the Irish Government.

In 1970 the then British Home Secretary, James Callaghan was told by a senior British Diplomat that the Prime Minister (Taoiseach) of the Irish Republic, Jack Lynch needed to realise that the only way to Irish unity would be by way of the “seduction, not the rape of Northern Ireland”. Mr Oliver Wright, a senior British Diplomat had written his observations in a letter to Mr Callaghan after Mr Wright had served as a Diplomat for six months at Stormont in Northern Ireland.
Mr Wright continued, “So long as we keep the North quiet, the South will give us no trouble, for Mr Lynch also went to the edge of disaster last August and stepped back in time [in his “we will not stand by” speech].

“His courageous speech to his party conference in January marked a change from fantasy to realism about the Irish question,” “If he recognises, as he now does, that force cannot be used to solve the problem of partition, he must come to realise that the only prospect of Irish unity lies in the seduction, not the rape of the North. The South will, I suspect, be a long-time a-wooing, if they ever start: the Irish tend to marry late, I believe,” he wrote.

Wright had been sent to the north in 1969 after British troops had been deployed as peace keepers. Wright described Catholics as ‘Micks’ and Protestants as ‘Prods’, both derogatory terms used in local sectarian parlance in the north.

“It is a tribal society, and the natives stranded by partition on the wrong side of the borders like and trust each other about as well as dog and cat, Arab and Jew, Greek and Turkish Cypriot.” The “Orange Protestant ascendancy” had abused “the existence of British-style democracy” to guarantee and perpetuate a most un-British-style injustice towards the Catholic community” said Mr Wright.

“But the minority, though perhaps more sinned against than sinning, has been far from blameless. In true Irish fashion, the Micks have enjoyed provoking the Prods as much as the Prods have enjoyed retaliating”.

“Catholic attitudes have been at best ambivalent and at worst treacherous. It makes the Prods’ blood boil – and all Irish blood boils at a very low temperature – to see the Micks enjoy the superior material benefits of the British connection while continuing to wave the tricolour at them,” said Mr Wright in truly Imperialist tone.

Larry Murphy to walk free

There has been much speculation in sections of the Irish media recently that suggests that when suspected serial killer Larry Murphy is released from jail (in a few weeks time) having served 15 years for the rape and attempted murder of a young women he will be obliged to tell the Gardai (Irish Police) where he is living at all times. There is also speculation that the nation's women need not be concerned about Murphy's release as he will be under constant Garda supervision and surveillance.
However, Larry Murphy will not be required to give his details to Gardai and he most certainly won’t be under 24/7 surveillance by a team of up to 12 detectives, as suggested by some ill-informed sources.

Background: Larry Murphy is a carpenter by trade and by all accounts very good at his trade even while in prison where he under took further courses and classes in carpentry. Before being caught trying to suffocate a young woman with a plastic bag in the Wicklow Mountains in 2000 Larry Murphy appeared to all who knew him as a happily married man with a young family. However, Larry Murphy's double life was exposed in 2000 when he was witnessed by two huntsmen in the Wicklow Mountains as he tried to suffocate a young business woman from Carlow whom he had just kidnapped and repeatedly raped.

Murphy was duly arrested by Gardai and remanded to Cloverhill Prison to await his trial. While in Cloverhill Remand Prison in Clondalkin in Dublin Larry Murphy quickly made friends in the prisons E-Wing which is a protection wing for those people who do not wish to be in the general prison population due to concerns for their own safety, although Murphy would just as easily fitted in with the general population as so many of them view the rape of women as a normal part of their criminal and drug infested culture. As Larry Murphy walked around the small yard of Cloverhill's E-Wing with fellow sex offenders he had few words, although when pushed he would say that his only regret was that he had been caught. He was able to swap stories with Noel Cawley who had been charged with the unlawful imprisonment and rape of a young woman (Noel Cawley is now serving a sentence for the manslaughter of an old age pensioner in Westmeath last year) and so on.

Eventually Larry Murphy was sentenced to 15 years for the kidnap, repeated rape and attempted murder of the young business woman he had taken into the Wicklow Mountains. People who knew Larry Murphy including a close friend who was at that time a serving prison officer were shocked and stunned by the details of Larry Murphy's double life. Murphy had fooled many and had it not been for the two huntsmen on the night of his capture, Larry Murphy's reign would have continued. Since Larry Murphy was convicted in 2000 he has been questioned on a number of occasions about the disappearance of a number of young women in the Leinster area on various dates in the 1993 to 1998 periods. It is said that Larry Murphy has refused to co-operate with Gardai in relation to their investigations into the disappearance of these women.

This writer has no idea whether Larry Murphy did or did not have anything to do with these disappearances of young women, yet this writer does know that when Larry Murphy is released he will be able to roam free without legal obligation.
Why Larry Murphy will be able to roam free?

In 2001, the Sex Offenders Act was introduced; this Act had been in the pipe line for a number of years as Ireland tried to deal with the ever evolving extent of sexual crime in Ireland. As we now know this Act was delayed and then diminished in order to facilitate those within the Catholic Church who had raped children. It is clear now from both the Ryan and Murphy Reports that there was serious collusion at the highest levels in Ireland to protect religious child rapists. Indeed following the revelations about Father Brendan Smyth in the early 1990s the Government of the day moved quickly to reduce the sentence for sexual assault from 10 years to 5 years, this sentence was increased in the Sex Offenders Act 2001, after many ‘religious’ rapists had been given what appeared to be soft/token sentences.

When the 2001 Act was introduced by the then Minister for Justice, John O Donoghue TD, it was heralded by many ill-informed groups and individuals as a major step forward in the fight against sexual crime, in fact following the introduction of the 2001 Act sexual crime has continued to increase in every facet of its existence. While John O Donoghue had been warned by the Attorney Generals office not to introduce the 2001 Act in its form at that time, O Donoghue dancing to the tune of his cheer leaders (lurid tabloids) introduced the Sex Offenders Act 2001. Under the terms of the 2001 Act a person in jail at the time of its enactment or later convicted would be under an obligation to notify the Gardai within seven days of their release from prison the address at which they intend to live.

However, the Act also makes it legal to tell the Gardai that you live at NO FIXED ABODE, many sex offenders released since 2001 have used this loophole and some like Patrick (Paddy) O Driscol was able to roam freely among the people of Cork until he eventually struck again and smashed a young woman's head in with a brick before raping her for over an hour. On the night in question Paddy O Driscol was in the company of another convicted rapist (who had no part in this latest rape) Patrick Moorehouse (O Driscol and Moorehouse had meet while serving sentences for rape in Wheatfield Prison). Paddy O Driscol is now serving 18 years for his latest rape. This ‘no fixed abode’ clause runs contrary to international standards of good practice when managing high risk offenders. In Northern Ireland for example, such offenders must take up a place in a half way house upon their release from prison if they have no permanent address of their own.

Upon Release Larry Murphy will be able to tell Gardai that he has no fixed abode and he will be able to roam the country as he feels fit. The Gardai have neither the man power nor the financial resource to follow Larry Murphy indefinitely, however, it is the introduction of an ill-considered 2001 Sex Offenders Act that will let Larry Murphy of the leash.

Notes of Importance: There are presently 1,100 persons on the sex offenders register in Ireland including both men and women, up to 15% of these persons have given no fixed abode as their address, others have left the country (Patrick Barr, Patrick O Riordan), it is further clear from the Ryan and Murphy reports and the recent scandal surrounding the family of Sinn Fein President, Gerry Adams that there are many thousands of sex offenders in Ireland who have never and will probably never see the inside of a court house. The reasons why so many known and confirmed sex offenders are not prosecuted are complex, however, the lack of political will and the introduction of ill-considered legislation are two of the main contributory factors in this regard.

Many Government Ministers spend much of their time trying to please the lurid tabloids, a tabloid industry that makes its bread and butter from exploiting men, women and children through their advertised perverted sex chat lines and sexual imagery. These same tabloids help normalise and facilitate sexual deviance and this is why they are the biggest selling media in the sex offender’s wings of Ireland’s Prisons. The reality is of course that the vast majority of people who read the tabloids don’t even vote, yet due to the contrived ‘moral panics’ created by the lurid tabloids weak Government Minister’s feel the need to go on bended knee to their banner headlines. We then have the perverse situation where the lurid tabloids are in effect dictating social policy, while the voting public are left to pick up the pieces.

In 2005, the Editor, Ger Colleran, of The Irish Star (tabloid) paid 400 Euro to a sex offender who had just been released from prison. The released sex offender had asked a friend to take some pictures of him as he walked in O Connell Street, the released sex offender then sold his own pictures to the Star for 400 Euro, and the following day the Star published the pictures stating that their photographer had taken the pics. What Colleran did not know was that when the Star was handing over the money for the pics, the released sex offender had someone taking pics of the transaction. Yet Colleran and other similar hypocrites are given regular platforms on RTE and other media as a man set upon high moral ground.

Deaths in Northern Ireland

Organisation - IRA and other republican Terrorists - 1533 Protestants + 468 Catholics, murdered between 1968 and 1999.

The IRA and other republican terrorists murdered three times more innocent Catholics than the combined number of Catholics killed by the security services.

The IRA and other republican terrorists were responsible for 85% of the men, women and children who were maimed and injured during the terrorist campaign in the north. Officially there were 45,000 men women and children maimed and injured between 1968 and 1999.




New Information about the Murder of Sophie
Woman who was beaten by Ian Bailey says Bailey is being stitched up.

During a number of civil actions taken by Ian Bailey against a number of newspapers it became clear that Ian Bailey was a man who engaged in domestic violence against his live in partner Miss Jules Thomas. Miss Jules Thomas continues to live with Ian Bailey at her home in CountyCork. Miss Jules Thomas has told a French TV crew that, “I would not stay with a murderer. I am not a stupid woman”. Miss Thomas was speaking about the fact that the French authorities have issued a European arrest warrant for Mr Ian Bailey in relation to the murder of 39 year old French woman Sophie Toscan du Plantier in Cork in 1996.

La femme qui a été battue par Ian Bailey dit que Bailey est piqué en haut.

Pendant un certain nombre de mesures civiles prises par Ian Bailey contre un certain nombre de journaux il est devenu clair qu'Ian Bailey était un homme qui s'est livré à la violence dans la famille contre son vivant dans Mlle de partenaire Jules Thomas. Mlle Jules Thomas continue à vivre avec Ian Bailey à sa maison dans le Liège de Comté. Mlle Jules Thomas a dit à un équipage de TV français que, “je ne resterais pas avec un meurtrier. Je ne suis pas une femme stupide”. Mlle Thomas parlait du fait que les autorités françaises ont délivré un mandat d'arrestation européen pour M. Ian Bailey par rapport au meurtre de femme française de 39 ans Sophie Toscan du Plantier dans le Liège en 1996.

Sophie Toscan du Plantier. Who Done It?

French (English below)

Les Nouveaux Renseignements sur le Meurtre de Sophie
Sophie Toscan du Plantier. Qui Fait Cela ?

Pour ces Rédacteurs en chef populaires qui tenaient souvent la première page pour Ian Baileys insightful et copie exclusive sur les reportages du meurtre brutal de producteur de film de 39 ans Sophie Toscan du Plantier, près de sa résidence secondaire à l'extérieur Schull dans le Liège ouest, le 22 décembre 1996, Ian Bailey est maintenant le persona non grata aux mêmes Rédacteurs en chef.

Gardai croit que Sophie Toscan du Plantier s'enfuyait de son attaquant quand elle a été sauvagement assassinée. On y croit que le soir ou dans la nuit du 22 décembre 1996 Sophie Toscan du Plantier a été dérangée ou surprise par sa maison par son tueur. Une chose est à coup sûr, elle a subi un meurtre brutal et lâche.

Pendant que les tabloïdes ont versé l'insightful d'Ian Bailey et des reportages exclusifs sur le meurtre de Sophie Toscan du Plantier, les Gardai commençaient à trouver le nom d'Ian Bailey apparaissant sur leur radar d'investigation.

English

For those tabloid Editors who often held the front page for Ian Baileys insightful and exclusive copy on the reporting of the brutal murder of 39 year-old film producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier, close to her holiday home outside Schull in west Cork, on the 22 December 1996, Ian Bailey is now persona non grata to the same Editors.

Gardai believe that Sophie Toscan du Plantier was running away from her attacker when she was brutally murdered. It is believed that on the evening or in the night of the 22 December 1996 Sophie Toscan du Plantier was disturbed or surprised at her home by her killer. One thing is for certain, she suffered a brutal and cowardly killing.

While the tabloids poured out Ian Bailey’s insightful and exclusive reporting on the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, the Gardai were starting to find Ian Bailey’s name appearing on their investigative radar. Ian Bailey lived in the area where Sophie Toscan du Plantier had lived and where she was so brutally murdered. However, the Gardai had more information than this to identify Ian Bailey as a suspect. This information or ‘evidence’ was not enough to bring charges against Ian Bailey, but it was enough to have him arrested twice within a fourteen month period and subsequently released due to lack of evidence.

Later in 2003 Ian Bailey would bring civil actions against some newspapers for suggesting that he was in fact the murderer of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. Some of these newspapers paid damages to Ian Bailey, others were cleared of any wrong doing. During the civil actions Bailey was painted as a very un-pleasant person. Being an un-pleasant and un-civilised person does not make one a murderer. However, this writer can exclusively reveal that Ian Bailey may well be the architect of his own downfall.

Once the lurid tabloids had destined Ian Bailey to that drawer in the filling cabinet marked persona non grata, Ian Bailey was left without a lively hood and therefore an income. It is during this period that Ian Bailey made a new friend. That new friend was one Mr Patrick O Riordan. Mr Patrick O Riordan had lived in England for many years but had returned to Cork following the break down of his marriage. Mr O Riordan had a chip van and he offered his new friend Mr Ian Bailey a job. Mr Ian Bailey and Mr O Riordan became big buddies. Mr Bailey would often travel over to England to stay with Mr O Riordan when he was back in London visiting family.

However, Mr Patrick O Riordan would also soon come to the attention of the Gardai. Mr Patrick O Riordan’s estranged daughter wanted to meet her father as she was soon to get married. So Mr Patrick O Riordan’s daughter flew over from England to meet her father in Cork. On arrival Patrick O Riordan was every thing his daughter had wanted to find, a caring, tall, strong, clean and sober businessman. That evening Patrick O Riordan treated his daughter to a fine dinner and some drinks. Then Mr Patrick O Riordan invited his daughter to stay with him in his BB accommodation and she could use his bed while he would sleep on the floor. However, early next morning Mr Patrick O Riordan would be arrested as he tried to leave the country after his daughter contacted Gardai to say her Father had raped her in his BB room. Mr Patrick O Riordan would be sentenced to ten years for the rape of his daughter. He has since been repatriated to finish his sentence in England.

It was during this close relationship with Mr O Riordan that Ian Bailey allegedly admitted for the first time that he had in fact murdered Sophie du Plantier. The Gardai are aware of this alleged admission, however, at no time did Mr Patrick O Riordan try to use this information to do a deal with the State in relation to his own charging and conviction for rape. No, Patrick O Riordan never disclosed this information until he was in the confidence of a fellow prisoner in Wheatfield Prison. Mr Patrick O Riordan had nothing to gain from this disclosure and never gained anything from this disclosure. So it is a disclosure that holds some very substantial merit as far as this writer is concerned.

Now a European Arrest Warrant has been issued for Ian Bailey. Ian Bailey now in his second year of a law degree was quick to respond to the news of the European Arrest Warrant. Ian Bailey’s solicitor was on the news within hours and saying that Ian Bailey would contest the warrant, which is his legal right to do. The DPP have certainly been unable to bring any charge of murder against Mr Bailey, so is it possible that the French have a strong enough case to pursue such a charge. French law allows the French authorities to investigate the death of their nationals abroad, and this is fair and right.

For this writer Ian Bailey has been the architect of his own down fall. However, that does not mean that this writer wants to see a miscarriage of justice. I think it is important that Ian Bailey travels to France and allows the legal process to take its course. Ian Bailey is well versed in the law and has access to able counsel; he should have no fear of the French authorities if he is an innocent man.

During the civil actions taken by Ian Bailey, Paul Gallagher asked Mr Bailey, “What kind of man are you?” this question can only truly be answered by a full, open and fair hearing. Many aspects of this case including those disclosed here today need to be fully examined. Other matters such as why Maria Farrell who claimed to have seen Mr Bailey close to the scene of the murder of Sophie du Plantier on the night in question, and then admitted that she had not in fact seen him at all, need to be answered. The Attorney General, Mr Paul Gallagher, is studying the merits of the European Extradition Warrant that has been issued for Bailey. This is the same Paul Gallagher who cross examined Mr Bailey during his civil actions against some news papers. I have no doubt that Mr Gallagher’s objectivity will be challenged at some point.

It is neither important nor relevant if the French authorities are simply trying to shift the buck in this matter. What is important is that this brutal and cowardly murder needs to be solved. If clearing Mr Bailey of any wrong doing or finding his guilt has to be done in a French court, so be it. But Mr Bailey does not serve his cause well by fighting this warrant.

UPDATE

irishtimes.com 24th April 2010.

Journalist Ian Bailey was arrested shortly before midnight last night after the High Court earlier endorsed a European Arrest Warrant.

Mr Bailey is being sought by the French authorities in connection with the murder of French film producer, Sophie Toscan du Plantier in West Cork 13 years ago.

Officers from the Garda Extradition Section in Dublin travelled to West Cork last night where they arrested Mr Bailey shortly before midnight at his home outside Schull and brought him to Bandon Garda Station arriving there at around 1.15am.

It's expected that Mr Bailey will be brought before the High Court today where he's likely to apply for bail pending a full hearing in which the decision of the French authorities to issue a European Arrest Warrant for his arrest will be contested.

Last night's arrest came after Mr Justice Michael Peart sitting in the High Court in Dublin endorsed the European Arrest Warrant for Mr Bailey issued last month by French magistrate, Judge Patrick Gachon who is investigating Ms Toscan du Plantier's murder.

Lawyers from the Chief State Solicitors Office went before the High Court in Dublin yesterday afternoon with the original European Arrest Warrant issued by French Magistrate, Judge Patrick Gachon last month and presented it to Mr Justice Michael Peart.

Last week, Mr Justice Peart had asked for the original warrant and upon receipt of the document yesterday afternoon, he endorsed it, paving the way for the arrest last night of Mr Bailey (53) who is currently studying for his final law exams at his home near Schull in West Cork.

Mr Bailey's arrest is likely to trigger a protracted legal battle as Mr Bailey's solicitor, Frank Buttimer has already indicated that his client will vigourously contest the validity of the warrant and any attempt to extradite him to France when he is brought before the High Court.

And Mr Buttimer is on the record as saying that, in what he believes is the unlikely event of his client losing in the High Court, then he will appeal the matter to the Supreme Court as he believed granting a warrant in such circumstances would raise broader constitutional issues.

However the news that Mr Justice Peart had endorsed the European Arrest Warrant was last night enthusiastically welcomed by relatives and friends of Ms Toscan du Plantier who have campaigned to have her killer brought to justice.

Ms Toscan du Plantier's uncle, Jean Pierre Gazeau described the news as "fantastic" and congratulated the Irish justice system for its speedy endorsement of the European Arrest Warrant to facilitate the arrest of Mr Bailey.

"This is fantastic and it is so heartening for Sophie's parents, Georges and Marguerite because they have been waiting for 14 years for something like this," said Mr Gazeau who is also President of the Association for the Truth about the Murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier

"Of course we know and fully expect Mr Bailey to fight this in the Irish High Court and the Irish Supreme Court if necessary so we still have many more steps to travel but tonight our hope grows a lot stronger," he told The Irish Times .

Mr Gazeau commended Judge Gachon on his work to date and he re-iterated his challenge to Mr Bailey to come to France to face the magistrate if, as he has continually claimed, he is innocent of any involvement in his niece's death.

"Ian Bailey has always said that he had nothing to do with the murder of Sophie - if that is the case, then he should to come to France to answer the many contradictions between his testimony and those of other witnesses in his libel action - let him come to France," he said.

Lawyer, Alain Spilliaert who advises the family and ASSOPH, also welcomed the news that European Arrest Warrant had been endorsed and described it as "a historic moment in the long and very determined struggle by the family to get justice".

"I am surprised because I had read that it would take several weeks for the judge to decide but the Irish authorities had shown great urgency and the investigation is now at a critical time but for us now there is a ray of hope in the distance and it's brightening all the time."

UPDATE

BARRY ROCHE Southern Correspondent - irishtimes.com

THE DECISION by French authorities to seek the extradition of Ian Bailey in connection with the death of Sophie Toscan du Plantier is based on a number of factors, including Mr Bailey’s behaviour in the immediate aftermath of the killing, The Irish Times has learned.

It is understood that investigating magistrate Judge Patrick Gachon has based his decision to issue a European arrest warrant for Mr Bailey on three distinct grounds, following a close examination of the Garda file on the killing and affidavits sworn by Garda witnesses.

Judge Gachon believes Mr Bailey has a case to answer on the basis that he knew certain details about the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier at her holiday home in Toormore near Schull in 1996 prior to these details being confirmed by the police.

It is also understood that Judge Gachon is of the view that Mr Bailey’s statements that he suffered scratches to his face and arms while killing turkeys and cutting down a Christmas tree on the day before Ms Toscan du Plantier was killed do not stand up to close scrutiny.

Judge Gachon also believes that there is sufficient evidence on the Garda file to suggest that Mr Bailey was not at his home at Liscaha, Schull, for the entirety of the night of December 22nd/December 23rd, 1996, when Ms Toscan du Plantier was killed.

Judge Gachon has spent 12 months examining the Garda file, which includes statements from over 240 witnesses as well as a review of the Garda handling of the original investigation, while he also heard evidence from two officers who were centrally involved in the investigation.

Supt Liam Horgan, who is heading the Garda investigation into the killing and who was a liaison officer with Ms Toscan du Plantier’s family, and Det Garda Jim Fitzgerald spent three days giving evidence before Judge Gachon last November.

Mr Bailey, who was arrested on foot of the European arrest warrant at his home in Schull late last Friday night and brought before the High Court in Dublin on Saturday, has stated in court that he believes the warrant is based on false information.

His solicitor Frank Buttimer has indicated that his client will fully contest the warrant in the High Court and that if he loses that decision he will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, as he believes it raises broader constitutional issues.

Mr Bailey, who was twice arrested by gardaí for questioning about the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier and was twice released without charge, hasconsistently protested his innocence and denied any involvement in the killing.

Ms Toscan du Plantier’s mother, Marguerite Bouniol, has welcomed the issuing of the European arrest warrant by Judge Gachon and said the family was hopeful that Mr Bailey would be extradited to France to allow Judge Gachon progress his inquiry into the murder.

Shoot to Kill

Shoot-to-kill

The High Court in Belfast has today ordered the State to hand over all relevant documents relating to the British shoot-to-kill policy in the north in which a number of persons were summarily executed.

Theirishobserver.blogspot.com welcomes the ruling, however, it must be remembered that both republican and loyalist terrorists operated a shoot-to-kill policy for many decades in the north and in the Republic.

The only answer to all these historical cases is to have a full, independent, open and fair - Truth Commission established. Let the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth be told.

Sophie Toscan du Plantier

New Information about the Murder of Sophie
Woman who was beaten by Ian Bailey says Bailey is being stitched up.

During a number of civil actions taken by Ian Bailey against a number of newspapers it became clear that Ian Bailey was a man who engaged in domestic violence against his live in partner Miss Jules Thomas. Miss Jules Thomas continues to live with Ian Bailey at her home in CountyCork. Miss Jules Thomas has told a French TV crew that, “I would not stay with a murderer. I am not a stupid woman”. Miss Thomas was speaking about the fact that the French authorities have issued a European arrest warrant for Mr Ian Bailey in relation to the murder of 39 year old French woman Sophie Toscan du Plantier in Cork in 1996.

La femme qui a été battue par Ian Bailey dit que Bailey est piqué en haut.

Pendant un certain nombre de mesures civiles prises par Ian Bailey contre un certain nombre de journaux il est devenu clair qu'Ian Bailey était un homme qui s'est livré à la violence dans la famille contre son vivant dans Mlle de partenaire Jules Thomas. Mlle Jules Thomas continue à vivre avec Ian Bailey à sa maison dans le Liège de Comté. Mlle Jules Thomas a dit à un équipage de TV français que, “je ne resterais pas avec un meurtrier. Je ne suis pas une femme stupide”. Mlle Thomas parlait du fait que les autorités françaises ont délivré un mandat d'arrestation européen pour M. Ian Bailey par rapport au meurtre de femme française de 39 ans Sophie Toscan du Plantier dans le Liège en 1996.

Sophie Toscan du Plantier. Who Done It?

French (English below)

Les Nouveaux Renseignements sur le Meurtre de Sophie
Sophie Toscan du Plantier. Qui Fait Cela ?

Pour ces Rédacteurs en chef populaires qui tenaient souvent la première page pour Ian Baileys insightful et copie exclusive sur les reportages du meurtre brutal de producteur de film de 39 ans Sophie Toscan du Plantier, près de sa résidence secondaire à l'extérieur Schull dans le Liège ouest, le 22 décembre 1996, Ian Bailey est maintenant le persona non grata aux mêmes Rédacteurs en chef.

Gardai croit que Sophie Toscan du Plantier s'enfuyait de son attaquant quand elle a été sauvagement assassinée. On y croit que le soir ou dans la nuit du 22 décembre 1996 Sophie Toscan du Plantier a été dérangée ou surprise par sa maison par son tueur. Une chose est à coup sûr, elle a subi un meurtre brutal et lâche.

Pendant que les tabloïdes ont versé l'insightful d'Ian Bailey et des reportages exclusifs sur le meurtre de Sophie Toscan du Plantier, les Gardai commençaient à trouver le nom d'Ian Bailey apparaissant sur leur radar d'investigation.

English

For those tabloid Editors who often held the front page for Ian Baileys insightful and exclusive copy on the reporting of the brutal murder of 39 year-old film producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier, close to her holiday home outside Schull in west Cork, on the 22 December 1996, Ian Bailey is now persona non grata to the same Editors.

Gardai believe that Sophie Toscan du Plantier was running away from her attacker when she was brutally murdered. It is believed that on the evening or in the night of the 22 December 1996 Sophie Toscan du Plantier was disturbed or surprised at her home by her killer. One thing is for certain, she suffered a brutal and cowardly killing.

While the tabloids poured out Ian Bailey’s insightful and exclusive reporting on the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier, the Gardai were starting to find Ian Bailey’s name appearing on their investigative radar. Ian Bailey lived in the area where Sophie Toscan du Plantier had lived and where she was so brutally murdered. However, the Gardai had more information than this to identify Ian Bailey as a suspect. This information or ‘evidence’ was not enough to bring charges against Ian Bailey, but it was enough to have him arrested twice within a fourteen month period and subsequently released due to lack of evidence.

Later in 2003 Ian Bailey would bring civil actions against some newspapers for suggesting that he was in fact the murderer of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. Some of these newspapers paid damages to Ian Bailey, others were cleared of any wrong doing. During the civil actions Bailey was painted as a very un-pleasant person. Being an un-pleasant and un-civilised person does not make one a murderer. However, this writer can exclusively reveal that Ian Bailey may well be the architect of his own downfall.

Once the lurid tabloids had destined Ian Bailey to that drawer in the filling cabinet marked persona non grata, Ian Bailey was left without a lively hood and therefore an income. It is during this period that Ian Bailey made a new friend. That new friend was one Mr Patrick O Riordan. Mr Patrick O Riordan had lived in England for many years but had returned to Cork following the break down of his marriage. Mr O Riordan had a chip van and he offered his new friend Mr Ian Bailey a job. Mr Ian Bailey and Mr O Riordan became big buddies. Mr Bailey would often travel over to England to stay with Mr O Riordan when he was back in London visiting family.

However, Mr Patrick O Riordan would also soon come to the attention of the Gardai. Mr Patrick O Riordan’s estranged daughter wanted to meet her father as she was soon to get married. So Mr Patrick O Riordan’s daughter flew over from England to meet her father in Cork. On arrival Patrick O Riordan was every thing his daughter had wanted to find, a caring, tall, strong, clean and sober businessman. That evening Patrick O Riordan treated his daughter to a fine dinner and some drinks. Then Mr Patrick O Riordan invited his daughter to stay with him in his BB accommodation and she could use his bed while he would sleep on the floor. However, early next morning Mr Patrick O Riordan would be arrested as he tried to leave the country after his daughter contacted Gardai to say her Father had raped her in his BB room. Mr Patrick O Riordan would be sentenced to ten years for the rape of his daughter. He has since been repatriated to finish his sentence in England.

It was during this close relationship with Mr O Riordan that Ian Bailey allegedly admitted for the first time that he had in fact murdered Sophie du Plantier. The Gardai are aware of this alleged admission, however, at no time did Mr Patrick O Riordan try to use this information to do a deal with the State in relation to his own charging and conviction for rape. No, Patrick O Riordan never disclosed this information until he was in the confidence of a fellow prisoner in Wheatfield Prison. Mr Patrick O Riordan had nothing to gain from this disclosure and never gained anything from this disclosure. So it is a disclosure that holds some very substantial merit as far as this writer is concerned.

Now a European Arrest Warrant has been issued for Ian Bailey. Ian Bailey now in his second year of a law degree was quick to respond to the news of the European Arrest Warrant. Ian Bailey’s solicitor was on the news within hours and saying that Ian Bailey would contest the warrant, which is his legal right to do. The DPP have certainly been unable to bring any charge of murder against Mr Bailey, so is it possible that the French have a strong enough case to pursue such a charge. French law allows the French authorities to investigate the death of their nationals abroad, and this is fair and right.

For this writer Ian Bailey has been the architect of his own down fall. However, that does not mean that this writer wants to see a miscarriage of justice. I think it is important that Ian Bailey travels to France and allows the legal process to take its course. Ian Bailey is well versed in the law and has access to able counsel; he should have no fear of the French authorities if he is an innocent man.

During the civil actions taken by Ian Bailey, Paul Gallagher asked Mr Bailey, “What kind of man are you?” this question can only truly be answered by a full, open and fair hearing. Many aspects of this case including those disclosed here today need to be fully examined. Other matters such as why Maria Farrell who claimed to have seen Mr Bailey close to the scene of the murder of Sophie du Plantier on the night in question, and then admitted that she had not in fact seen him at all, need to be answered. The Attorney General, Mr Paul Gallagher, is studying the merits of the European Extradition Warrant that has been issued for Bailey. This is the same Paul Gallagher who cross examined Mr Bailey during his civil actions against some news papers. I have no doubt that Mr Gallagher’s objectivity will be challenged at some point.

It is neither important nor relevant if the French authorities are simply trying to shift the buck in this matter. What is important is that this brutal and cowardly murder needs to be solved. If clearing Mr Bailey of any wrong doing or finding his guilt has to be done in a French court, so be it. But Mr Bailey does not serve his cause well by fighting this warrant.

UPDATE

irishtimes.com 24th April 2010.

Journalist Ian Bailey was arrested shortly before midnight last night after the High Court earlier endorsed a European Arrest Warrant.

Mr Bailey is being sought by the French authorities in connection with the murder of French film producer, Sophie Toscan du Plantier in West Cork 13 years ago.

Officers from the Garda Extradition Section in Dublin travelled to West Cork last night where they arrested Mr Bailey shortly before midnight at his home outside Schull and brought him to Bandon Garda Station arriving there at around 1.15am.

It's expected that Mr Bailey will be brought before the High Court today where he's likely to apply for bail pending a full hearing in which the decision of the French authorities to issue a European Arrest Warrant for his arrest will be contested.

Last night's arrest came after Mr Justice Michael Peart sitting in the High Court in Dublin endorsed the European Arrest Warrant for Mr Bailey issued last month by French magistrate, Judge Patrick Gachon who is investigating Ms Toscan du Plantier's murder.

Lawyers from the Chief State Solicitors Office went before the High Court in Dublin yesterday afternoon with the original European Arrest Warrant issued by French Magistrate, Judge Patrick Gachon last month and presented it to Mr Justice Michael Peart.

Last week, Mr Justice Peart had asked for the original warrant and upon receipt of the document yesterday afternoon, he endorsed it, paving the way for the arrest last night of Mr Bailey (53) who is currently studying for his final law exams at his home near Schull in West Cork.

Mr Bailey's arrest is likely to trigger a protracted legal battle as Mr Bailey's solicitor, Frank Buttimer has already indicated that his client will vigourously contest the validity of the warrant and any attempt to extradite him to France when he is brought before the High Court.

And Mr Buttimer is on the record as saying that, in what he believes is the unlikely event of his client losing in the High Court, then he will appeal the matter to the Supreme Court as he believed granting a warrant in such circumstances would raise broader constitutional issues.

However the news that Mr Justice Peart had endorsed the European Arrest Warrant was last night enthusiastically welcomed by relatives and friends of Ms Toscan du Plantier who have campaigned to have her killer brought to justice.

Ms Toscan du Plantier's uncle, Jean Pierre Gazeau described the news as "fantastic" and congratulated the Irish justice system for its speedy endorsement of the European Arrest Warrant to facilitate the arrest of Mr Bailey.

"This is fantastic and it is so heartening for Sophie's parents, Georges and Marguerite because they have been waiting for 14 years for something like this," said Mr Gazeau who is also President of the Association for the Truth about the Murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier

"Of course we know and fully expect Mr Bailey to fight this in the Irish High Court and the Irish Supreme Court if necessary so we still have many more steps to travel but tonight our hope grows a lot stronger," he told The Irish Times .

Mr Gazeau commended Judge Gachon on his work to date and he re-iterated his challenge to Mr Bailey to come to France to face the magistrate if, as he has continually claimed, he is innocent of any involvement in his niece's death.

"Ian Bailey has always said that he had nothing to do with the murder of Sophie - if that is the case, then he should to come to France to answer the many contradictions between his testimony and those of other witnesses in his libel action - let him come to France," he said.

Lawyer, Alain Spilliaert who advises the family and ASSOPH, also welcomed the news that European Arrest Warrant had been endorsed and described it as "a historic moment in the long and very determined struggle by the family to get justice".

"I am surprised because I had read that it would take several weeks for the judge to decide but the Irish authorities had shown great urgency and the investigation is now at a critical time but for us now there is a ray of hope in the distance and it's brightening all the time."

UPDATE

BARRY ROCHE Southern Correspondent - irishtimes.com

THE DECISION by French authorities to seek the extradition of Ian Bailey in connection with the death of Sophie Toscan du Plantier is based on a number of factors, including Mr Bailey’s behaviour in the immediate aftermath of the killing, The Irish Times has learned.

It is understood that investigating magistrate Judge Patrick Gachon has based his decision to issue a European arrest warrant for Mr Bailey on three distinct grounds, following a close examination of the Garda file on the killing and affidavits sworn by Garda witnesses.

Judge Gachon believes Mr Bailey has a case to answer on the basis that he knew certain details about the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier at her holiday home in Toormore near Schull in 1996 prior to these details being confirmed by the police.

It is also understood that Judge Gachon is of the view that Mr Bailey’s statements that he suffered scratches to his face and arms while killing turkeys and cutting down a Christmas tree on the day before Ms Toscan du Plantier was killed do not stand up to close scrutiny.

Judge Gachon also believes that there is sufficient evidence on the Garda file to suggest that Mr Bailey was not at his home at Liscaha, Schull, for the entirety of the night of December 22nd/December 23rd, 1996, when Ms Toscan du Plantier was killed.

Judge Gachon has spent 12 months examining the Garda file, which includes statements from over 240 witnesses as well as a review of the Garda handling of the original investigation, while he also heard evidence from two officers who were centrally involved in the investigation.

Supt Liam Horgan, who is heading the Garda investigation into the killing and who was a liaison officer with Ms Toscan du Plantier’s family, and Det Garda Jim Fitzgerald spent three days giving evidence before Judge Gachon last November.

Mr Bailey, who was arrested on foot of the European arrest warrant at his home in Schull late last Friday night and brought before the High Court in Dublin on Saturday, has stated in court that he believes the warrant is based on false information.

His solicitor Frank Buttimer has indicated that his client will fully contest the warrant in the High Court and that if he loses that decision he will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, as he believes it raises broader constitutional issues.

Mr Bailey, who was twice arrested by gardaí for questioning about the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier and was twice released without charge, hasconsistently protested his innocence and denied any involvement in the killing.

Ms Toscan du Plantier’s mother, Marguerite Bouniol, has welcomed the issuing of the European arrest warrant by Judge Gachon and said the family was hopeful that Mr Bailey would be extradited to France to allow Judge Gachon progress his inquiry into the murder.

Child Rape in Ireland

HSE are protecting 23,000 self confessed Child Rapists and Sex Abusers


The Irishobserver.blogspot.com has been informed by a now retired Senior Social Worker that between the 1st of January 1980 and the 1st of January 2010, 23,000 persons both men and women have admitted to Social Services that they have raped or/and sexually abused children, but that not one of these self confessed sex offenders have been reported to An Garda Siochana.

While other cases have been reported to An Garda Siochana these 23,000 files have not been referred to An Garda Siochana even though they have been proven by the offenders own admissions to staff of the fourteen area Health Boards.

In several cases of multiple child rape, men and women have simply been sent to the Granada Institute for a short counselling course and have then been allowed to return to the family home in which many of these rapes occurred. In cases where the offenders could not afford to pay for counselling in the Granada Institute they had simply to meet with a child psychologists for short weekly sessions in the Health Board concerned.

As there is no mandatory reporting of Child Rape in Ireland it is not an offence for any one to conceal the rape of a child. In towns and villages all over the country Health Board staff and others can legitimately conceal child rape and abuse for a host of reasons including personal.

When contacted by theirishobserver.blogspot.com the HSE said that it could neither confirm nor deny the figures.


Case in point:

During the trial and conviction of Simon Murphy, a publican from Wexford, it was disclosed that social services had agreed that if Murphy paid for counselling for both himself and his five child rape victims at the Granada Institute his file would not be sent to the Gardai. It was only many years later when one of Murphy’s rape victims (his sister) decided that this process had been wrong and she went to the Gardai that this prosecution lottery was exposed, yet nothing has changed.

The victims in Murphy’s case waved anonymity. His sister later got a High Court settlement of 400,000 Euro from her Brother.

Saudi Consultative Assembly

Members of Saudi Consultative Assembly Visit Houses of the Oireachtas as Part of First Ever Visit to Ireland

26 May 2010

Senior members of Saudi Arabia’s Shura Council are on an official visit to Ireland at the invitation of the Houses of the Oireachtas. This is the first occasion that members of the Council have officially visited Ireland.

The Shura Council is Saudi Arabia’s advisory body on legislation. The Council has 12O members and its decisions and recommendations are accepted if approved by the Council of Ministers and the King.

The purpose of the visit is to help strengthen parliamentary links and to present Ireland as to as a place for future investment and trade. The visit is being followed by the arrival of 26 Saudi Arabian leaders of administration and business who are arranging to bring 2,000 students to study in Ireland.

During the visit, the delegation has met the Ceann Comhairle, Seamus Kirk TD, the Cathaoirleach, Senator Pat Moylan, the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen TD and the President, Mary McAleese.

They have also use the visit to see some of the multinational companies located in Ireland, medical facilities and toured some of Ireland’s best known heritage sites.

Bloody Sunday

The long-awaited report on the Bloody Sunday killings in Derry will be published on June 15, the British government announced today.

Lord Saville, who conducted the investigation into one of the most infamous incidents of the Troubles, will make his findings public 12 years after the probe was commissioned by then British prime minister Tony Blair.

Thirteen people died on January 30, 1972 when soldiers from the British Parachute Regiment opened fire on crowds during a civil rights demonstration in Derry.

Another man who was shot on the day died six months later.

Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Paterson announced the publication date in a written statement to the House of Commons.

He also confirmed that families of those who were killed by the Army and the soldiers themselves would see the report in advance of full publication.

"I know that publication of this report has been long-awaited by many people, and I am determined to ensure that the arrangements for publication are fair to all those involved," he said.

"My Right Honourable Friend the Prime Minister will make a statement to this House at the time when the report is published.

"With the permission of the Speaker, I confirm that I will allow an opportunity for members of the families of those who died or were injured on the day, and for the soldiers most directly involved, to see the report privately and be briefed by their lawyers on it, some hours before the report is published.

"Some Members of this House will similarly have an opportunity to see the report in advance of publication, to enable them to respond to the statement made to this House at the time of publication. In addition, there will be a full day's debate on the report of the inquiry in the autumn."

The Saville Tribunal was set up after a long campaign by the victims' families, who claimed the original inquiry into the incident, carried out by then UK Lord Chief Justice Lord Widgery, was a whitewash.

The Widgery report, which was compiled in the months after the shootings, exonerated the soldiers who fired the fatal shots and speculated that a number of the dead had been either firing at or nailbombing the Army.

The allegations have always been vehemently denied by the relatives and many other eyewitnesses, who insisted the dead were unarmed.

Lord Saville's inquiry has also proved controversial, but for other reasons.

The cost of the investigation currently stands at a colossal £190m (€222m), with critics denouncing it as a massive waste of taxpayers' money.

The tribunal heard evidence in the Guild Hall in Derry and in London between 2000 and 2005.

Kieran Phelan death

Senator Kieran Phelan has died suddenly this morning. The Irish Observer would like to extend our heart felt sympathy to Mr Phelan's family, RIP.

Terrorism

The Independent Monitoring Commission said today that while dissident republican groups are becoming increasingly violent, they enjoy little support and are not a danger to the Northern Ireland peace process.

The IMC's23rd report on paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland, submitted today to the Irish and British governments, found that mainstream republican and loyalist organisations continue to follow a peaceful path.

While the commission warned that dissident groups, including the Real IRA, are wedded to violence, it concluded that the militants had failed to secure the type of public support that the Provisional IRA had in the past.

Dissidents have been responsible for a series of shootings and bombings in recent months, including a recent attack on MI5’s Northern Ireland headquarters. However, the IMC said these groups were incapable of derailing the peace process.

“In particular, the range and nature of RIRA’s (Real IRA) activities in the six months under review were, by any yardstick, a very serious matter,” said the IMC report. “However it is important to point out that this is in no way a reappearance of something comparable to the PIRA (Provisional IRA) campaign.

“There are a number of ways in which RIRA’s present activities differ from that campaign. For example, the political context is entirely different, with the Belfast Agreement in 1998, supported by the overwhelming majority of the people of Ireland North and South, and the community support for the developments which have flowed from it, most recently the devolution of policing and justice.

“Operationally, RIRA does not have comparable resources in terms of personnel, money, organisation and cohesion, or range of weaponry and expertise, and it has not matched the range and tempo of PIRA’s activities.”

The IMC added: “It has neither significant local nor international support. While the threat from RIRA is dangerously lethal, it is also politically marginal.”

The sole murder attributed to paramilitaries in the past six months was the Real IRA killing of Kieran Doherty in Derry last February. The Real IRA claimed he had been involved in drug-related activities, an allegation rejected by the victim’s family.

The report found that the Continuity IRA remains a “major threat” despite being less active in recent months than the Real IRA. It said the CIRA has members in the Belfast, Fermanagh, Newry and Craigavon areas in the North and in Dublin, North Louth and Limerick in the Republic.

The CIRA is continuing to recruit and train members and was responsible for a number of attacks on drug-dealers and others engaged in anti-social activity, it said. “We conclude that CIRA remained a major threat. It was bent on improving its terrorist capability through recruitment, training and the acquisition of weapons. It undertook a number of shootings and other violent attacks, instigated public disorder and its members remained heavily engaged in a wide range of serious crime, some of it involving violence.”

The commission noted that the INLA had decommissioned all its weapons and explosives in December 2009. While describing this as a “major step forward”, it said there is in evidence of a reduction in the involvement of INLA members in non-terrorist criminal activity. “Although the organisation may take the view that this does not amount to an armed struggle, it is illegal paramilitary activity which it is our responsibility to monitor."

Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said the findings of the report show there remains “a small number of individuals who refuse to heed the democratically expressed wishes of their fellow Irishmen and women”.

He said these “thugs” had failed in their efforts to stop the Belfast Agreement and derail the devolution of policing and justice powers to Stormont. “Ultimately their tactics of violence and destruction will fail full stop,” he said.

Northern Ireland secretary Owen Paterson said the threat posed by dissident republicans is not comparable to that from the Provisional IRA in the past, “not least because of community support for the political process”.

In terms of loyalists, the report said there was no evidence that the various groups were engaged in paramilitary activity. However, it said some loyalist groups remained involved in crime, particularly the UVF.

“Of the paramilitary-style assaults during the period that can be attributed to a particular loyalist group, the largest number were committed by UVF members,” it said.

It said dissident loyalist groups such as the Orange Volunteers and the Real UFF were established in response to the activities of dissident republicans. While they have carried out some acts of violence, they have generally focused on sectarian hate crime and do not have widespread support.

Dissident Bomb

A man has appeared in court today charged with a bomb attack in Newry, Co Down.

Ciaran Farrell, whose sister Mairead was one of three IRA members shot dead by the SAS in Gibraltar in 1988, stood in the dock of the same magistrates’ court in Newry that he is accused of blowing up.

The 51-year-old, arrested in Dunmurry in greater Belfast on Monday, is charged with the dissident republican car bombing that caused substantial damage to the outside of the court in February.

Normality

Tuesday 25 May 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE TO WELCOME ‘MATH-a-MAGIC’ SHOW The Assembly Committee for Culture Arts and Leisure is to host a performance of ‘Math-a-Magic’ by children’s theatre company, Cahoots NI. The event will be held in the Long Gallery at Parliament Buildings on Thursday 27 May at 12.45pm Math-a-Magic is an interactive performance by Cahoots NI, full of magical effects involving mathematical skills such as estimation and calculation. Actors will perform extraordinary feats of mind reading, misdirection and illusion. Cahoots NI will also perform extracts from their Bedside Theatre in the style of an old-fashioned flea circus. The Committee is hosting the event with Cahoots as part of its ongoing commitment to showcase local arts. For media inquiries, please contact: Caroline Moore Deputy Communications Officer Northern Ireland Assembly Phone: 02890 521806 Mobile : 07900053926 Email: caroline.moore@niassembly.gov.uk MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES There will be opportunities for photographs with Committee Members and performers before, during and after the live show. Interviews will also be available with Chair of the Committee, Barry McElduff MLA.

Bord G CEO

Bord G is CEO to Face Questions at Oireachtas Committee on Stolen Laptops and Data Protection


25 May 2010

The topic of data protection and governance issues at Bord G is will be under the spotlight at tomorrow’s (26th) meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

CEO of Bord G is, John Mullins will appear at the Committee at 9:45 am, in Committee Room 1 of Leinster House.

The meeting will be analysing security and data protection measures at Bord G is following the theft of four laptops from the company’s offices in Dublin last year. Details of almost 94,000 customers were stolen, which contained information such as account numbers, homes addresses and branch details.

Committee Chairman, MJ Nolan TD said;
“Following an investigation of the theft, the Data Protection Commissioner found that Bord G is was in breach of Data Protection legislation. They established that there had been insufficient oversight and that they had failed to put in place an appropriate level of security on at least one of the stolen computers.

Resulting from the report, Bord G is resolved to introduce new security procedures to tighten up protection of their electronic records. The purpose of the meeting tomorrow is to establish what they have done to improve their defence against theft and data robbery.

In order for people to have confidence in important agencies such as Bord G is they must feel assured that personal and sensitive information they provide is kept safe and confidential.”

This Committee can be viewed on-line at: http://www.oireachtas.ie/ViewDoc.asp?fn=/documents/livewebcast/Web-Live.htm&CatID=83&m=o

Irish Godfather

A man suspected of heading a vast international drugs, guns and money laundering empire was arrested during raids in Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe today. A man suspected of heading a vast international drugs, guns and money laundering empire was arrested during raids in Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe today.

Christy Kinahan, dubbed the "Irish Godfather", was held with his two sons when dozens of armed police descended on their €6m mansion in Malaga, Spain.

The 53-year-old Irish-born British passport holder is alleged to be the kingpin of a global crime conspiracy which traded in drugs, guns and laundered hundreds of millions of euro in dirty cash.

Sources said Kinahan was one of the top targets for international crime-fighting agencies, including the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca), the Security Services, Europol and An Garda Síochana.

More than 750 police officers were involved in the raids co-ordinated by police in Dublin, London and Malaga.

The Kinahans were among 20 people, including four Spanish lawyers, held by Spanish National Police during raids at properties on the Costa del Sol, an area notorious for its links to crime.

Another man arrested was Irishman John Cunningham, who was previously convicted in connection with the 1986 kidnap of heiress Jennifer Guinness in Ireland.

In Britain, around 230 officers arrested nine men and two women as they searched business and residential premises in London, the Thames Valley, Kent and the West Midlands.

One man aged in his 20s was arrested in Dublin and questioned by officers from the Garda National Drugs Unit as 17 homes and businesses were raided across the city and neighbouring Co Meath.

Officers also searched properties in Belgium, Cyprus and Brazil.

The raids follow two years of preparation, including surveillance and monitoring of the gang's finances, and it is believed the case may develop into a massive fraud inquiry linked to money-laundering.

Kinahan, who has links to London, Dublin and the West Midlands, last surfaced in May 2008 when he was arrested by the Belgian federal police force.

Wanted in several European states as well as by UK Revenue and Customs in connection with suspected money-laundering, he has lived in mainland Europe since 2003, frustrating efforts to put him on trial.

Investigators have linked him to gangs of Turkish drug dealers specialising in heroin, cannabis growers in Morocco and ecstasy and amphetamine drug laboratories in Holland.

Kinahan is also believed to have bankrolled an alleged bet-to-lose horse-racing scam in 2004. Top jockey Kieren Fallon and others were acquitted when a trial collapsed at the Old Bailey three years later.

UK officials said European authorities had dealt a major blow to a prolific gangland operation, considered to be the number one crime gang operating out of Spain.

Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy said there is "no hiding place" for drug smugglers.

He said: "This is an extensive and focused investigation into organised criminal activity, targeting drug trafficking, money-laundering and firearms crime."

Trevor Pearce, Soca executive director, said: "The scale of this joint operation by law enforcement agencies from so many countries is an indication of how prolific we think this network was.

"Today's arrests will have dealt a major blow to an organised criminal business suspected of supplying drugs and guns to gangs in cities across the UK and Europe.

"It highlights Soca's role in co-ordinating complex investigations into organised crime, which always has an international dimension.

"We also believe this network has been offering a global investment service, ploughing hundreds of millions of pounds of dirty cash into offshore accounts, companies, and property on behalf of criminals. A financial investigation is already under way."

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said the massive police operation showed the determination to crack down on international gangs.

"I want to commend the work of An Garda Síochana and their colleagues in Spain, the United Kingdom and Belgium for the carefully planned operation against organised crime which has culminated in a wide range of law enforcement actions in a number of countries today," the minister said.

"The fact is that no border will protect those involved in organised crime. Today's events are evidence of the determination of those involved in law enforcement, fully supported by their governments, to take international gangs straight on."

Education

‘One size fits’ all approach to education a major factor in early school leaving
Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Science


The ‘one size fits all’ instruction and assessment approach in Ireland’s current school system is fundamentally wrong, does not facilitate many young people to grow or demonstrate and realize their full range of talents and skills and is a major contributory factor in early school leaving, particularly among boys, according to a new report by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Science.

Early school leaving and its related problems of poverty, deprivation and exclusion should be understood in a holistic context that is much broader than the education system, the report Staying in Education: A New Way Forward – School and out of School Factors Protecting Against Early School Leaving says.

The Department of Education and Skills needs to develop policy that strongly discourages streaming, or separating students along purely academic lines, at least in the first and second years, it found. Policy should be targeted particularly at schools in disadvantaged communities and all schools where boys are enrolled, according to the report which carried out 41 interviews with individuals and groups dealing with early school leaving and which had input from a 25-member expert group of practitioners and researchers.

Streaming is associated with negative outcomes and disengagement from school, particularly for students in the lower stream. Boys, Travellers, students with lower literacy levels and/or special educational needs, and from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and ‘at risk groups’ are more likely to be in the ‘bottom’ stream and the likelihood that they will disengage is higher, the report concluded.

Early parental involvement is of key importance in engaging children in education, according to the report. It also found that early parental involvement and an intergenerational approach to literacy development are effective for both children and their parents, and that gains in literacy persisted over time with this approach. Strong associations between poor literacy and disengagement from schooling were among the report’s findings.

Rappateur to the Committee Senator Fidelma Healy-Eames who produced the report said:
“One in six young people leave school before completing the Leaving Cert. These are the forgotten kids. They do not show up in the yearly education statistics for sitting the leaving cert or entering college. Sadly, for many of them, the only time they feature in State data is in a negative sense, through statistics for unemployment, the courts or drug abuse. This situation needs to be addressed urgently.

“It is clear from this report that the over-loaded exam-based system does not suit many young people. It loses them early. The majority of these young people are carrying embedded difficulties with school and learning from primary level. Any school system that largely relies on a ‘one size fits all’ instruction and assessment approach is fundamentally wrong. It does not facilitate these young people to grow or indeed to demonstrate and realize their full range of talents and skills.

Our post-primary education system as currently constructed and paced is doing these youngsters a grave injustice and society is paying the price in the long run. This does not represent equality of opportunity. The aim of this report, through its findings and recommendations, is to effect change across the education system and above all, contribute to better lives for our young people.”

Among the report’s other recommendations are:

The DES needs to develop policies and practices to enable schools to achieve the target that all children leaving primary school will be able to demonstrate at least basic literacy as appropriate to the local context of the school. ‘Basic literacy’ could be defined on the basis of a level of literacy that permits independent functioning and equitable participation in society.
In order to better support families with literacy needs, and given the evidence of substantial returns to the State, the annual budget for family literacy initiatives should be increased substantially from its current figure of 200,000 euro.
A national tracking system needs to be put in place that is capable of following the educational and training pathways of all young people to tackle early school leaving.The system, which the report says could be set up by a working group from the Department of Education and Science, the Health Service Executive and the Office of the Minister of Children and Youth Affairs, should track children from pre-school through to primary, post-primary and further education on an individual basis, the report said. It should also have the potential to track individual-level attendance in order to better inform the work of the National Education Welfare Board.
In parallel with the development of the tracking system, the Department of Education and Skills (DES) needs to develop a strategy for retention that focuses in the short term on maximising retention at Junior Certificate level, and in the medium term, on a strategy that aims to achieve a minimum educational qualification of Leaving Certificate or its equivalent.
The prioritisation of services for 0 to 6-year-olds should receive dedicated attention in the work of the Office of the Minister of Children and Youth Affairs in co-ordinating the efforts of all relevant bodies, developing strategy, identifying gaps and minimising duplication of services.
An evaluation of the Early Childhood Care and Education scheme that focuses on indicators of uptake and quality of provision should be initiated immediately.
A comprehensive and large-scale survey of the school-going population is needed to ascertain the views of boys in particular about the education system and what, in their view, serves to engage or disengage them
The DES’s policy on bullying needs to be updated and widely disseminated with reference to the relevant Acts. It should include clear guidelines on sensitive issues including sexuality, sexual harassment and ethnicity with reference to the findings of this study.

Paul Gogarty, TD, Chairman of the Joint Committee on Education and Skills, said: “From the outset, the Committee sought to produce a report grounded in reality supported by facts. Our intention was to ascertain the truth behind the media headlines. I genuinely believe that the published report has managed to quantify the true extent of the problem in Ireland today and through concrete and feasible recommendations to provide a clear directional path from which to move towards in the future.”