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1 day ago | 
irishexaminer.com | Ann Murphy |Michelle McGlynn
The wife of an Irish-based engineer who has been released after serving four years in an Iraqi prison says she was shocked by how much his health has deteriorated, after speaking with him on a video call. Desree Pether’s husband Robert has been in prison in Iraq since April 7, 2021, after being arrested on fraud charges following a contractual dispute involving his employer over the building of a new Central Bank building in Iraq.
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3 days ago | 
irishexaminer.com | Michelle McGlynn
The Government has been called on to reassess legislation around election observing after reported issues during the general election. Non-governmental organisation Democracy Volunteers sent a group of observers to Dublin and Kildare to observe but said that while the Government and "many individual returning officers" are welcoming, some were not.
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4 days ago | 
irishexaminer.com | Michelle McGlynn
Only a small percentage of the thousands of reports to the garda online Traffic Watch system result in fines being issued to drivers. The online Traffic Watch system has received 4,885 reports of dangerous driving in the first nine months of operation, but just 60 Fixed Charge Notices have been issued to drivers so far on the back of the reports. The online system, which allows members of the public to report dangerous driving, replaced the Traffic Watch phoneline which operated for 10 years.
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5 days ago | 
irishexaminer.com | Michelle McGlynn
A new ICT system for the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) ran €5.2m over budget and was delivered 29 months late, without all planned functions. The online tenancy registration system was initially budgeted at €3.3m, and came into use in November 2021, but it reached an overall cost of €8.5m, bringing it over budget by 157%. After the RTB360 system went live, the RTB noted in its annual report that the cost had reached €7.3m but stated that "no further costs are expected for this phase".
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6 days ago | 
irishexaminer.com | Michelle McGlynn
The Government has been accused of "going backwards" after it was revealed that 42 public bodies are not covered by ethics legislation more than two years after a review into the issue. An update of the ethics in public office legislation was promised in the programme for government in 2020 but while a review was completed in December 2022, a bill has not been brought forward.
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1 week ago | 
irishexaminer.com | Neil Michael |Michelle McGlynn
Simon Harris will mark the first anniversary of Ireland saying it would recognise the state of Palestine by urging other countries to “consider taking this important step”. The Tánaiste also reiterated his commitment to advance legislation prohibiting trade in goods with illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory. “Work on this will be taken forward in the coming weeks,” he said.
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1 week ago | 
irishexaminer.com | Michelle McGlynn
Immediate action should be taken to suspend the surgeons involved in the hip surgery audit report, an opposition TD has said. People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Paul Murphy said surgeons made the choice to operate on children and, in some cases, it may have been unnecessary. This is where the focus must be, he said, calling for those involved to be “at the very least” suspended from carrying out further osteotomies.
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1 week ago | 
irishexaminer.com | Michelle McGlynn
A bill to ban fox hunting has been opposed at the first stage by two rural independent TDs in a move that has been labelled "unprecedented". People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger introduced her bill calling on TDs to move to ban "one of Ireland's most inhumane activities". The Government did not oppose the bill but Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae told the Dáil: "I oppose it anyway".
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1 week ago | 
irishexaminer.com | Paul Hosford |Michelle McGlynn
The Government has agreed the drafting of legislation which will make Ireland the first country in the EU to curtail trade with Israel. The reworked Occupied Territories Bill will make it illegal to import goods which originate in illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. While Ireland does little trade with these settlements, T√°naiste Simon Harris who brought the bill said it is an important symbolic effort in the face of Israel's ongoing bombardment of Gaza.
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1 week ago | 
irishexaminer.com | Michelle McGlynn |Ann Murphy
The family of Shane O'Farrell has received a State apology in the Dáil over the circumstances of the 23-year-old's death in a hit and run. Delivering the apology, the justice minister also announced both a review of bail laws and a scholarship that is to be set up in Mr O'Farrell's name. Jim O'Callaghan delivered the apology in the Dáil on Tuesday with members of the O'Farrell family present in the gallery to witness the moment.
