Three young men die in Roscommon vacant house fire
Garda forensic officers are seen outside the house on St Ciaran’s Park, Roscommon, where three young men were found dead this morning.
A house in which three people were found dead in Roscommon town this morning had been vacant for some time, it has emerged.
The bodies of three men, thought to be in their 20s, were found in a room at the front of the house at St Ciarán’s Park, at 7.30am.
Garda Supt Tom O’Connor, who is leading the investigation, said there was some evidence of slight smoke damage inside the single story, semi-detatched house.
The front door was open when gardaí arrived but the door of the front room in which the bodies were found was locked and officers had to force entry.
It is understood the men were found slumped on separate chairs in the room.
A technical investigation is now under way to establish the extent of the smoke in the house and to try to establish how the men died.
While gardaí say the three men are believed to have been aged in their 20s, there was speculation locally that one of the men was in his forties and had come home from London some months ago. He had been living in the house for a few months, according to shocked local people who described him as “harmless”.
It is understood the house had been vacant for some time.
Gardaí investigating the fire say toxicology reports will be crucial in determining the cause of the deaths.
State pathologist Dr Maire Cassidy arrived a the scene around noon and a postmortem has been carried out.
Gardaí said they are awaiting toxicology reports before a file is sent to the coroner.
Earlier, Supt O’Connor said the alarm was raised by a “concerned citizen living locally”.
Local councillor Dominic Connolly said the town had been left devastated by the deaths. “It is all everyone in the town is talking about this morning,” said Mr Connolly.
“The details are still sketchy and we don’t know who the men were, but Roscommon is a very close-knit town so it won’t be long before we find out.”
Mr Connolly said he was “absolutely shocked” when he heard the news.
Roscommon Fire Service was called to the scene following reports of smoke at the house, but there was no fire or smoke to tackle, according to senior assistant chief fire officer Norbert Ferguson.
“There was no fire and no smoke when we got there,” said Mr Ferguson. “That doesn’t mean there hadn’t been earlier in the morning, but there was certainly no visible damage to the house.”
The Mayor of Roscommon Cllr Tom Crosby who visited the scene describe d he deaths as a tragedy and extended sympathy to the families.
He said he understood two of the men had Rosocmmon connections.
The Mayor said the tragedy underlined the difficult lives being experienced by people who cannot find work, as well as the risk associated with the large numbers of vacant houses around the country.
“These derelict houses may seem like an opportunity to young people ,” he said.
One Garda source said there was no evidence that the men had been assaulted. he added that it appeared that at least one of the men had been squatting in the house.
Irish citizens now have opportunity to air public concerns through a new website petitions system
A new petitions system will offer citizens an opportunity to raise matters that may ultimately be debated in the Dail or Seanad.
Members of the public can now put their concerns about matters of public policy directly to an Oireachtas committee through a newly established petitions system on the Oireachtas website and submit it to the Joint Committee on Public Service and Petitions for consideration. or by e-mailing it to submitapetition@oireachtas.ie.
The Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions will assess the submissions and examine the issues raised with a view to finding ways to improve the delivery of public services.
Admissible petitions will relate to matters on which the Oireachtas has the power to act.
The committee can refer a petition to another Oireachtas committee if it feels there is a greater level of expertise available elsewhere, to the Ombudsman or a relevant public body or organisation dealing with redress in that area.
Petitioners, members of public bodies related to the motion and relevant Government officials and ministers may be invited to give evidence to the committee during its deliberations on the subject.
At the end of its consideration of the matter, the committee may produce a report setting out its findings and making recommendations to the Government or relevant public body. This report may then be debated in the Dáil or Seanad.
Committee chairman Peadar Tóibín TD (Sinn Féin) said the system represented an important democratic development. Mr Tóibín said he expected issues both “micro and macro” to be raised through the system.
“This is an important innovation in parliamentary democracy,” he said. “For the first time in the 93-year history of the Oireachtas citizens will have a direct route to influence the parliamentary agenda.
“Those best qualified to comment on the effectiveness of our public services are its users. Therefore, the experiences of our citizens will now be placed at the centre of the development and delivery of effective public services.”
Admissible petitions cannot relate to matters where court proceedings have been initiated; name specific individuals; contain defamatory language or be frivolous or vexatious in nature.
Individuals submitting petitions must show they have already taken steps to resolve the issue raised in their petition, such as raising it with the Ombudsman or relevant public body or relevant Government department.
Petitions can be submitted online via petitions.oireachtas.ie or by post to the clerk of the committee.
As much as 38% of mortgages were turned down last year by Irish Banks
‘New figures show’
New figures show that over one in three mortgage applications last year to Irish banks were turned down.
Out of more than 28,500 applications last year, only 17,700 were approved by AIB, Bank of Ireland, EBS and Permanent TSB, the letter seen by RTE News shows.
This represents a turn-down rate of 38pc.
Profits at McAfee Ireland software firm up 9%
Pre-tax profits at the main Irish unit of US security software maker McAfee last year increased by 9 per cent to €21.7 million.
Accounts just filed with the Companies Office show that the Cork-based McAfee Ireland Ltd increased its revenue by 4 per cent from €368.6 million to €383.3 million in the 12 months to the end of December last year.
During 2011, McAfee, which has its headquarters for its operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in Cork, announced the creation of an additional 30 high-quality research and development jobs at its Cork base.
The jobs announcement was in addition to the 120 jobs announced in Cork in 2010, and the new figures show that the numbers now employed at McAfee’s Cork operation increased to 298 last year.
In February 2011, Intel agreed to buy McAfee’s global operation for $7.68 billion in cash in an effort to boost its security offerings.
The firm’s spend on R&D last year totalled €5.4 million.
McAfee, which established its Irish operations in 2004, provides a series of security solutions including anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam and intrusion prevention. The profits last year reduced the firm’s accumulated losses to €12.5 million. The firm’s shareholder deficit stood at €10.6 million.
The company’s cost of sales decreased from €265.2 million to €262.9 million, while its administrative expenses increased from €84.2 million to €101 million.
The accounts show that the company’s operating profits increased marginally from €19 million to €19.4 million.
A large contributor to the increase in pre-tax profits was interest receivable topping €2.35 million, compared with €937,210 in 2010. The profit was recorded after a non-cash depreciation charge of €934,398.
An analysis of the company’s turnover shows €214.3 million was generated in EU countries, with €169 million in non-EU countries.
Staff costs last year rose from €17.6 million to €20.4 million.
The figures show that the numbers employed by the firm last year increased from 263 to 298, with 107 engaged in administration, 80 in technical support, and the numbers employed in sales and marketing increasing from 106 to 111 during the year.
Remuneration for the company’s directors increased last year from €524,766 to €684,344.
Éamon O Cuív calls for investigation of supermarkets rejecting ‘ugly fruit’
Supermarkets rejecting “ugly” fruit as “unmarketable” must be investigated, especially when farmers are struggling to harvest their crops following the poor summer weather.
This is the view of Fianna Fáil agriculture spokesperson and Galway West TD Éamon Ó Cuív who is calling on the Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney to take action.
According to Dep Ó Cuív, ‘ugly’ food, such as irregularly shaped potatoes, etc, is being rejected.
“This practice by supermarkets of rejecting good food on aesthetic grounds rather than on nutritional grounds is morally wrong,” he said. “Many farmers fear the supermarket chains and are not willing to confirm how wide spread these practices are.”
Dep Ó Cuív also pointed out that this policy would make as much as 25 per cent of farmers produce unmarketable and would increases the cost of food as farmers “have to get higher prices for their acceptable produce to make ends meet”.
Dep Ó Cuív has also accused supermarket chains of “using their muscle to squeeze” milk suppliers and force them into “uneconomic production”.
The Connemara TD wants Minister Coveney to ensure “the strong bargaining position of the major supermarket chains is not used unfairly in squeezing milk producers and rejecting produce from farmers”.
He will be calling on the Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture to examine these issues. He also wants to see the committee look into establishing a supermarket ombudsman to look into the practices of supermarkets and to ascertain if they are in breach of Irish and European competition law.
Sanofi gets the green light for new Multiple Sclerosis pill
Sanofi may be looking to expand its team of pharmaceutical sales representatives after federal regulators approved the commercialization of its new treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS).
Sanofi, which is a unit of Genzyme, said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the way for the pharmaceutical sales of Aubagio, which is a pill to be used to treat patients with relapsing forms of debilitating disease.
“We are very excited to introduce Aubagio as a new treatment option that can make a difference in the lives of people with multiple sclerosis,” David Meeker, president of Genzyme, noted. “The approval of our first MS therapy represents an important milestone for Genzyme and underscores our commitment to long-term leadership and partnership in the MS community.”
Alistair Campbell, an analyst at Berenberg Bank, said even though the approval thrusts Sanofi into the $12 billion MS therapies industry, its sales may be limited because it appears Aubagio is not as effective of other drugs already on the market, according to Bloomberg.
“The drug has clear limitations,” Campbell wrote. “We doubt the drug will seriously affect Gilenya or Tysabri, where prescriptions are largely driven by efficacy.”
However, analysts told the news agency that Aubagio could bring in annual sales of $330 million by 2016.
The New Kind of African Monkey discovered in the Congo, With Colors That Set It Apart
Scientists have identified a new species of African monkey whose coloring “is unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” as one of the researchers put it.
Researchers have identified a new species of African monkey, Cercopithecus hamlyni. The male, left, is black in color, while the female, right, is blonde.
In findings published this week in the scientific journal Plos One, the researchers identified the species as Cercopithecus lomamiensis, which is endemic to the lowland rainforests of central Congo. This is only the second time in the past 28 years that a previously unknown species of monkey has been identified, they said, highlighting the importance of preserving biodiversity in a part of central Africa where forests are threatened by illegal logging.
Scientists began investigating in June 2007, when researchers saw a young female monkey of unknown species at the home of a school director.
The new monkey was not quite similar to the clearly owl-faced Cercopithecus hamlyni, but researchers say the two are close relatives.
The new findings prove the two monkeys are different species, even though to local hunters they might look similar. A lesula, for example, has “significantly larger incisors, upper and lower second molars…” A male lesula “emits a characteristic low frequency, descending, loud call or boom” that is distinguishable from the vocalizations of the other male, the scientists reported.
Robert Kityo, a zoology professor at Uganda’s Makerere University, said the discovery is proof that Africa’s vast jungles are teeming with species yet to be discovered.
“Something that was thought to be abundant can turn out to be rare,” Kityo said, referring to the previous confusion between lesula and a close relative. “In a sense, it’s a nice find.”
The research team described lesula as “semi terrestrial with a diet containing terrestrial herbaceous vegetation.”
The ape looks colorful in pictures, with a mane of “long grizzled blond hairs” and “a variably distinct cream colored vertical nose stipe,” as it is described by the scientists. There is a faintly owlish look about the monkey. The eyes look almost human.
The team said the monkey’s common name should not be changed, since lesula is used over most of its known range. The study was a collaboration between various researchers and schools in the U.S. and elsewhere. Their final paper was edited by Samuel T. Turvey of the Zoological Society of London.
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