Criminals convicted of human trafficking, organising prostitution, rape, and stalking were among ninety two citizens of other European Union countries who were sent back home from Ireland over the past two and a half years.
Figures from the Department of Justice detail how thirteen people were the subject of removal orders in the first six months of this year.
Of those returned to their home in another EU state in 2023, offenders had committed crimes including money laundering, being involved in a criminal gang, sexual assault, and tax evasion.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was told to prepare himself for “anachronistic upper-class mannerisms” as well as “controversial traditionalist views” ahead of an online meeting with the UK politician Jacob Rees-Mogg.
In prepared notes, Mr Varadkar – who was then serving as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise – was briefed on the “retrograde steps” the British government had taken over the Northern Ireland protocol.
Ahead of a conference call with Mr Rees-Mogg, the briefing said Mr Varadkar could emphasise how both the Irish President and then-Taoiseach Micheál Martin had attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth.
The notes said this had led to a “renewed focus on the strength and depth of the bilateral relationship” between the UK and Ireland.
However, the briefing – mostly prepared by the Irish Embassy in London and the Department of Foreign Affairs – said that this “spirit of partnership and mutual respect” had been damaged by recent post-Brexit negotiations with the European Union.
The meeting last October was held not long after Liz Truss began her ill-fated seven-week stint as prime minister of the UK.
The briefing notes said Mr Varadkar should emphasise that the people of Northern Ireland “categorically reject” the confrontational approach the United Kingdom had taken in Brexit discussions with the EU.
A staff survey carried out at the chief state solicitor’s office found that some employees had overheard racist and homophobic comments from fellow workers, as well as “talking down of inner [city] Dublin communities”.
The survey from the Chief State Solicitor’s Office (CSSO) also flagged concerns from some staff about an “us versus them” split between people working in the legal and administrative sides of the office.
Asked whether the CSSO did not tolerate bullying, harassment, or any form of discrimination in the workplace, 14 per cent of the people working there said they could not agree with that statement.
Employees were also questioned about what a new equality, diversity, and inclusion team within their organisation should focus on.
As a result, concerns were raised by some staff about recent “gender equality in the office as regards men” and the need for more social inclusion in the legal profession.
CSSO employees also said there should be zero tolerance for certain language and behaviours – for example, around racism, and derogatory comments about inner city communities.
The Chief State Solicitor’s Office had originally refused to release a copy of the survey under Freedom of Information laws; however, they were later directed to do so by the Information Commissioner.
A fire inspection at one of the country’s busiest maternity hospitals said the emergency escape light system was not being routinely maintained, that most of its fittings were falling or faulty, and that some exit signage for use in the event of a blaze was not operating at all.
The report on the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin said it was clear the system would not provide the minimum light levels or escape signage that would be needed to provide safe escape in the event of an emergency.
It said it would not be financially viable to repair, update, or extend the current system and recommended the installation of a completely new system of emergency lighting.
A board meeting last year heard that the total cost of a project to fix all fire safety issues at the hospital could be in the order of €2.4 million and would take between two and three years to implement.
The investment was approved following a report carried out by expert consultants Titan Fire at the hospital in late 2021; the Rotunda had originally refused to release a copy under FOI laws but were directed to do so by the Information Commissioner (OIC).
You can read the decision from the OIC in this case here.
The United States Secret Service spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on accommodation, vehicle rental, hard drive removal, and emergency vet care during the visit of President Joe Biden to Ireland with their “hub” hotel in Dublin getting paid more than €205,000 alone.
More than a dozen hotels across the country were booked for lodgings and conference space, with the Secret Service accidentally double-booking rooms at one luxury hotel at a cost of more than €3,000 after a breakdown in communications.
A log of expenditure details how hotels in Dublin 4 did particularly well, with the Clayton Burlington “hub” paid around €207,000, the nearby Herbert Hotel receiving an estimated €143,000, and the Conrad getting almost €70,000.
The largesse wasn’t confined to the Irish capital however, with hotels in Mayo, Sligo, and Galway picking up valuable business during Mr Biden’s visit to the west of Ireland.
Other costs included:
Spending of €85 on “trash cans” and another €72 for “paper and tape” from Woodie’s DIY.
A €6,810 bill with glaziers for security screens, €10,454 paid out to a company that specialises in elevator technology, and €1,800 spent on K Lifts for Dublin Airport.
Expenditure of €142 for hard drive removal from a photocopier.
A medical bill of €858 for veterinary services after a K-9 dog suffered “profuse vomiting”.
Personal belongings getting stolen from a court room, getting photographed outside the Criminal Courts of Justice, and bail money getting handed over to an ex-partner were among the complaints made to the Courts Service last year.
The service said they had received 207 complaints in 2022, although two of them related to people getting their picture taken while coming to or leaving court and could not be investigated.
Another 29 cases related specifically to judges while one case where somebody’s personal items were pilfered in a court room had to be referred to gardaí.
Dozens of complaints were also lodged on matters including delays in getting information, about solicitors and Courts Service staff, and family law cases.
The high cost and low availability of housing, as well as the amount paid out in personal tax by employees, were the single-most negative factors for major companies operating in Ireland, according to a controversial client survey carried out by IDA.
The generous Irish corporate tax environment, the subject of decades of controversy, was given as the highest-rated factor for operating in this country.
The reliability and availability of power was, ironically, given as the second most positive factor in the survey though the energy network has since been dogged by issues with supply alerts issued last year.
Release of the client survey, which was carried out in 2019, was fiercely resisted by the IDA who have spent at least €78,000 bringing a High Court challenge after being told they must release it under Freedom of Information laws by the Information Commissioner.
The IDA has since decided to disclose over sixty per cent of the report after originally making public fewer than a handful of pages.
A brief timeline of the IDA client survey case:
March 2020: Right to Know requests a copy of the client survey.
April 2020: The IDA releases three all but meaningless introductory and contextual pages from the survey.
Advice given to forecasters in Met Éireann said Ireland needed to prepare itself for much heavier rainfall, storm surges and coastal flooding, as well as the growing “likelihood of extreme weather events”.
The climate guidance was sent to meteorologists in June amidst a summer of freak weather events globally including record-breaking temperatures, catastrophic flooding, and out-of-control forest fires.
The Met Éireann guidance said it was “beyond doubt” that human influence had warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land, and that temperatures here were up by approximately one degree Celsius since 1900.
It said this made extreme weather events more likely but that it was difficult to say how this would impact the frequency and intensity of storms in Ireland with further research needed.
The advisory said our climate had become significantly wetter with annual rainfall in the 1991 to 2020 period 7% higher than what was experienced between 1961 and 1990.
The document said: “Irish rainfall patterns are expected to change, with an increase in both dry periods and heavy rainfall events.”
It said there was “high confidence” that we could expect maximum rainfall rates to increase as the warmer atmosphere would carry more moisture.
The guidance added that a warmer atmosphere could be expected to carry 7% more moisture for every degree of warming with heavy rainfall events inevitably increasing in intensity.
It added: “Global sea level continues to rise. As a result, storm surge and coastal flooding risk around Irish coasts is expected to increase.”
Department of Finance officials flagged concerns that the latest sale of AIB shares which would leave the state shareholding below 50% would reignite debate over restrictions on pay for senior bankers there.
Civil servants told Finance Minister Michael McGrath that the state having a minority share in the bank would mean little “in practical terms”, but would be seen as a significant milestone.
A submission on the latest stage of Project Viking, the selling down of the state’s stake in AIB, said: “Such an outcome will garner media attention as there is now a strong perceived link with possible further changes in remuneration restrictions.
“This is something the Minister may wish to consider … however, we would not wish such considerations to delay any share sale if conditions are right.”
The state ended up selling a significant chunk of their AIB shares in late June yielding €480.5 million and reducing their shareholding in the bank from 51.9% to 46.9%.
Officials said the €3.64 per share price was the “highest we believed we could push investors without losing significant orders” according to a post-sale briefing for the finance minister.