The Department of Defence told the Air Corps that “all confidence” in the government’s €8 million government Learjet was gone and that it needed to be taken out of service full time.
In an email, Department of Defence Secretary General Jacqui McCrum said the aircraft had yet again let them down after Minister Simon Harris arrived at Baldonnel for a scheduled flight to Belgium only to be told he couldn’t fly.
In a message to the Defence Forces Chief of Staff Seán Clancy, she wrote: “As discussed, all confidence in the Lear is gone. I know that [staff member] was speaking to [Air Corps] about the retirement of same and that a report is to be [or is] being prepared.
“I will await your comments, but in my view, it has to be taken out of service full time now. We cannot provide an appropriate [government transport] service with it, and we cannot risk ministers missing critical meetings or being stranded.”
The latest controversy began in early December when Higher Education Minister Simon Harris was due to travel on an early-morning flight to Brussels only for the jet to be deemed out of service at the last minute.
An email from an Air Corps officer said: “I informed Minister Harris of the issue in person and outlined some potential timelines based on other aircraft types.
“Based on this, he advised that they would not plan to travel to Brussels today.”
The Department of the Environment has published a full list of the submissions it received as part of its ongoing review of the Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) Regulations.
These regulations have been a point of emphasis for Right to Know in recent years as we have tried to push the boundaries of what information citizens can obtain, and from whom.
Our submission, which is posted below, focuses on some of the key issues we have identified through our work in recent years.
These include:
long delays in dealing with cases.
the abolition of fees for appeal.
greater powers and resources for the Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Information.
some form of sanction for delays and maladministration.
Leinster House is beginning a crackdown on cranks to ensure people who continually make calls or emails to staff working in parliament can have their access cut off.
The new policy for dealing with “unreasonable behaviour” has been formulated to contend with a growing problem of individuals bombarding the Oireachtas over the phone, electronically, or even via the postal system.
A business case for the policy said it was designed to protect the “health, safety, dignity, and well-being of staff” who are forced to deal with people who make a nuisance of themselves or who find themselves the subject of vicious online abuse or trolling.
It said soundings had been taken from other government departments and public bodies who said having a policy in place helped to provide reassurance to staff that unreasonable behaviour would not be tolerated.
However, one department warned it could be quite tricky to implement as individuals could for example easily switch to using a different phone if their original number or email address was blocked.
The Oireachtas business case for the policy said they had also consulted with the Data Protection Commission over the legality of retaining the names and contact details of people who engage in crank behaviour.
It said: “The [Oireachtas] Service has a legitimate interest in processing the data and processing the data is necessary and proportionate for the performance of our functions and to help protect the health, safety, dignity and well-being of individuals at work against risks arising out of or in connection with their employment.”
A copy of the policy said the type of behaviour that was considered “unreasonable persistence” including making excessive and disproportionate demands on staff members either in writing or by phone.
It said repeated contact in which employees were dragged into “lengthy telephone calls” were also being cracked down along with “lengthy, complex letters” that demanded immediate and comprehensive responses.
Other behaviours included continued correspondence on matters that were already dealt with or demands that another staff member investigate it instead.
Attempts to obtain “copies of confidential files” or seeking personal information from staff will also be targeted as well as any effort to “overload a person or division with excessive or voluminous correspondence”.
Unreasonable or irrational arguments are also flagged including “placing too much emphasis on trivialities or focusing on immaterial or irrelevant details”.
At an even more serious level, the policy deals as well with use of physical violence or threats of violence against staff members, along with cases of bullying, harassment or the making of “derogatory, sarcastic, or defamatory remarks”. The policy said this included material posted on social media as well as “online trolling” of staff members of the Oireachtas.
Twenty members of An Garda Síochána were charged and convicted of criminal offences since the beginning of January 2020.
Data obtained under FOI reveals how officers were convicted of crimes including assault, drink driving, domestic violence, and criminal damage.
Gardaí said that the information was provided by their Internal Affairs Office and that it may not be a “definitive list of all members of An Garda Síochána who have received convictions during the relevant period”.
They said that twelve members had been convicted of either careless driving or drunk driving in the period between January 2020 and November 22 last year.
Another was prosecuted for driving without due care or attention while one was convicted of refusing to provide a breath, blood, or urine specimen following arrest on suspicion of being drunk behind the wheel.
There were three convictions for assault, one for domestic violence, and one conviction for a garda who damaged somebody’s property “without lawful excuse”.
A single officer was also prosecuted and found guilty under legislation that targets the laundering of money.
The IDA spent more than €425,000 on a rebrand project they hope will represent a “contemporary Ireland” for the digital age.
The outlay included “discovery research”, the design process, “signage, wayfinding, and sample application” as well as stationary, a website revamp, and marketing material.
However, the notoriously secretive development agency would provide no breakdown of the €428,301 they paid and also redacted almost all of a presentation that described the thinking behind the rebrand including the choice of their new logo and even “colour considerations”.
A heavily redacted copy of the slideshow said they wanted to develop a new identity showing them as the “best and most successful investment promotion and development agency” in the world.
The vision for the project was their “ambition, north star, rallying cry, and an emotive movement forward” according to records they released.
It said they were looking for something “honest [and] direct” that explains exactly what the IDA does as it tries to win and develop foreign direct investment.
The presentation said: “What is our reason for being? It’s our noble purpose. Our brand purpose can make us irresistible to those we hope to serve.”
The new logo includes a “trinity of dots” which is designed with a nod to Ireland’s iconic shamrock.
The development agency said the vibrant green colour and the “bespoke typeface” are designed to “exude confidence with a nod to Irish personality”.
The IDA has reaffirmed the decision at internal review so it will now be appealed to the Information Commissioner.
The country’s main maternity hospital has had to spend more than €500,000 after being warned of the risk of a catastrophic power failure and a fire that would cause “unrepairable and permanent damage” to their electrical systems.
The National Maternity Hospital on Holles Street in Dublin had been operating using electrical cables that were laid around 35 years ago and which were never meant to manage the load that the hospital has needed in recent years.
An expert engineering report explained how the electrical system was frequently operating at a level way beyond its “recommended rating”.
The report said: “This will lead to a catastrophic power failure. When cables such as these fail, they have a real risk of causing a fire within a main switchboard/hospital building causing unrepairable and permanent damage.”
It said the expected wait time for replacement parts was in the order of four months during which the day-to-day running of the hospital would have been compromised.
The antiquated system had already caused the failure of back-up power equipment as well as the loss of the main electrical supply to the hospital during periods of “peak demand”.
A €150 million bypass project approved so that it would be in place for the Ryder Cup in Adare may not be finished in time for the golf tournament.
In internal documents, the Department of Transport was warned that time was running out for the seven kilometre road to be finished by the time the international golf event takes place in September 2027.
A letter from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) said there was no way the entire bypass scheme could be finished in time for the Ryder Cup.
However, their chief executive Peter Walsh said there was a narrow window to partially complete it to help divert traffic from the heritage town of Adare in Co Limerick.
His letter said: “This is an ambitious target given the time remaining and the work required, however not impossible if early approval to proceed is given, funding provided and resources provided.”
Mr Walsh said all state agencies working together would be “essential” if there was any hope of getting the partial bypass built before 2027.
He also warned that risks could “materialise” during the planning and construction phase that would “undermine” delivery of the scheme before the Ryder Cup started.
Cost of living, long commutes, excessive workload, and onerous rosters were all given as reasons for healthcare workers at one busy hospital resigning from their post.
An exit survey from Beaumont in Dublin details a wide variety of causes for staff departures as almost every major hospital faces enormous challenges in retaining employees and attracting new ones.
The study showed that 12% of staff had left Beaumont for an “improved commute” while 11% said they had to give up their job because of the “cost of living” in the Greater Dublin area.
The most significant factor cited in the exit survey was “work life balance” by 13% of departing employees while 12% were moving on because of promotion or a new career development opportunity.
Around one in six of the staff leaving were planning to move abroad, around half of them to take up another healthcare job overseas and the other half for travel reasons.
Problems at work were also cited with 10% blaming “excessive workload”, 9% unhappy with “onerous rosters [or] shifts” and 8% saying there was a “lack of senior support”.
A business case for the controversial €11 million purchase of a 550-acre estate in Co Meath for a national park said the argument for buying it was “compelling” and that it was a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity for the Irish state.
A copy of the report said the Dowth Demesne with its large Georgian country house embodied the “most historic and quite literally magical elements of Irish culture” and was unquestionably of global significance.
The business case said the property had come on the market with a guide price of €10 million and urged opening negotiations immediately, seeking approval from the Department of Public Expenditure, and sourcing funding for the land and the cost of managing a national park on the site.
A note from Niall Ó Donnchú, the Director General of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), said: “Minister, this is a site of global importance, unique on this island for its archaeological, built and natural heritage.
“Its attributes as a national park, managed by NPWS, with OPW working in partnership on the built and historic components, are unprecedented.”
Mr Ó Donnchú also said its geographic locations would help boost tourism in the North East of the country, present “cross-border opportunities” and could become a “beacon project to punctuate the decade of centenaries”.
The business case for the project said the new national park would be modest in size and that purchase would ensure no “inappropriate development” could take place on the lands.
It added: “In this era of a twin biodiversity and climate crisis, protecting what we can, as soon as we can, and to the highest standard that we can is the least that can be expected of our generation.”
Fáilte Ireland were fearful their marketing campaigns for Dublin could end up being used in social media “memes and gifs” as rioting engulfed the capital city in November.
The tourism agency temporarily pulled all promotion of the city due to the “shocking incidents” that were taking place with shops looted, buses and Luas trams burned, and gardaí assaulted.
In internal emails, staff said their adverts needed to be pulled as they would seem “inappropriate while there was so much devastation happening in the city centre”.
One message said: “In addition, we were really concerned that our messages would add to the negative messages on social media around Dublin, with memes and gifs being created that would create ridicule and more negative content about the city.”