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TDs: Has Shatter got access to secret files?Coalition TDs have demanded to know if Alan Shatter has access to secret files on prominent politicians, journalists and public figures, as the controversy surrounding the justice minister continued to escalate.
Yacht can be yours... for €700k per weekThe sleek white Lauren L yacht has become Cork's latest tourist attraction, and you have to admit, it definitely adds a touch of glamour to the place.
- WORLD
Yahoo’s $1.1bn gamble on Tumblr Yahoo said it is acquiring blogging service Tumblr for $1.1bn (€850m) cash, a bold bet by chief executive Marissa Mayer to revitalise the struggling internet pioneer by co-opting a web property with strong visitor traffic but little revenue.
Hungary meets German pressure with Nazi tauntsTensions between Germany and Hungary have flared over remarks by the countries' leaders, including references to Hitler's occupation of the eastern European country in 1944 and an irritated German government response condemning Hungary's allusion to the Nazi era as "deplorable derailment".
- BUSINESS
Ryanair results help stock soar by €600m The value of Ryanair increased by more than €600m in one day's trading yesterday after the company reported stronger than expected results.
PTSB claims 60% increase in current accounts following fee-free offerPermanent TSB has reported a huge increase in new account openings since it launched its no-fee current account.
- SPORT
Limerick lose out again Limerick's Division 1B defeat by Dublin won't be revisited despite the question of Paul Ryan's eligibility in the game.
Paulie backs O’Gara coaching callPaul O'Connell has backed former Munster team-mate Ronan O'Gara to be a "great" coach after the fly-half announced he was retiring and taking a job on Racing Metro's backroom staff.
- LIFESTYLE
Time on Stewart’s side as album tops UK chartsRod Stewart said he was "over the moon" as he celebrated his 15th No 1 with a champagne toast.
Reunion sparks renewed synths of purposeANDY McCluskey has mellowed.
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Real Ireland alive and well
Last week, I had the privilege of meeting Séamus Sherlock and his family.
Séamus was at the entrance to his West Limerick home, refusing to allow the banks to make his children homeless. Séamus was self-employed; he worked the bog, cutting turf and delivering it to local houses. An EU directive implemented by the Government effectively stopped turf-cutting, even small scale operations like Séamus’s.Although compensation was expected, Séamus has received nothing.Since then Séamus and his family, reduced in their income, have experienced the ugly side of banks, the ESB and Government. !He is not defaulting and does not believe in doing so. He is trying to pay his debts and has, with patience and privation, cleared one bill after another. But none of this seems good enough for his bank. His stand in protecting his family’s home is peaceful, intelligent, and responsible. It is that of a father doing his best to meet all of his responsibilities.
The lessons I took away with me from my visit to Séamus are as follows. As Séamus explains, debts incurred should be paid; however, it is completely reasonable in this time of recession and bank bail-outs to ask banks to make it possible to pay by adjusting the payment schedule. That the kind of pressure, aggression, threats and coercion banks are using with struggling clients is a factor in family breakdown and suicide. That EU policy, supported by both EPP and Socialists (the allegiances of our Government parties) in Brussels and enthusiastically embraced by the Green Party here, effectively confiscates land, in Séamus’s case bog, and is reducing Irish rural families who owned this land to penury, and in some cases even putting them “on the side of the road”. And like imperial powers that did this to Irish people before, the EU/Irish Government have failed to compensate many of those they have displaced and disrupted. And that, judging from the wonderful support the Sherlocks are getting from people locally and nationally, real Ireland is alive and well and waking up!
Kathy Sinnott
Ballinhassig
Co Cork