Nama are to make 2,000 Irish homes available for social housing
THE NATIONAL Asset Management Agency (Nama) has agreed to make 2,000 homes or apartments available to people on social housing waiting lists from next year.
The move follows considerable pressure being placed on the agency by Ministers who have demanded more of a social dividend.
Following discussions with Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan, the agency said residential units would be made available through leasing agreements with local authorities and voluntary housing groups.
The former minister of state for housing, Willie Penrose, also played a key role in pressuring the agency into putting more emphasis on delivering social housing.
In a statement yesterday, Mr Hogan said the decision would “provide hope for individuals and families on social housing lists throughout the country” in getting a new home provided by the State.
He said the agreement also included a commitment by Nama to put more housing units on the market; put aside more money to finish projects pending their sale or leasing for social housing purposes; and to assign designated staff to manage legal and other problems that might be associated with completing transactions.
“I welcome the decision by Nama to co-operate fully with the request I made last September,” Mr Hogan said.
“The agreement to provide 2,000 units is one of the largest housing allocations made in the history of the State and is a welcome Christmas boost to those most vulnerable in society.”
However, housing waiting lists are growing rapidly. Latest figures show the number of households requiring social housing reached a record 98,000 in 2011, up from 58,000 three years ago. All indications are that the numbers are continuing to rise.
In addition, the Government has announced that it does not have funds to buy or build any more local authority housing.
While it has faced criticism from Ministers, Nama has insisted that the agency has always been mindful of meeting social needs where it made commercial sense.
The agency has pointed out that Nama facilitated the purchase of almost 60 apartments in Sandyford, Dublin, earlier this year by a voluntary housing association. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Facebook: Changes to be made following an Irish data & privacy law audit
Facebook today announced plans to change parts of its service in Europe following an audit by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC).
Facebook: Changes to be made following an Irish data & privacy law audit
Facebook today announced plans to change parts of its service in Europe following an audit by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC).
In a blog post ← Click the blog link here by Facebook on the Irish Data Protection Commission this morning, the company said that the three-month audit by the DPC resulted in a close look at the company’s various privacy features, some of which will be adjusted to better comply with the report’s findings.
“We are pleased that following three months of rigorous examination, the DPC report demonstrates how Facebook adheres to European data protection principles and complies with Irish law,” said Richard Allan, Facebook’s EMEA’s director of public policy.
The changes come on the heels of allegations made against Facebook by the DPC, which in October said that the social-networking giant was creating user profiles from information it was acquiring from people who had not signed up for the service.
“Of course, Facebook is always looking to improve our privacy policies and practices, and the DPC’s review of our existing operations highlighted several opportunities to strengthen our existing practices,” Allan said.
One key change being made is more transparency, Allan said. That includes “work with the DPC to improve the information that people using Facebook are given about how to control their information both on Facebook and when using applications.”
That extends to a new notification that explains what the service’s photo tag suggestion feature does to users from within the tagging interface, and also offers the option to disable it. That’s the feature that begins offering suggestions of who else might be in a photo when tagging a collection of photos that may feature the same group of people.
The company is also adjusting its policies for retaining and deleting user data. Allan said that this includes data logging on third-party sites with Facebook integration.
Facebook said it plans to implement these changes inside of the next six months, and will require “intense work.”
“We will be reviewing progress with the DPC and have agreed to a more formal follow-up review in July 2012,” Allan said.
Facebook had its privacy practices under the microscope of the Federal Trade Commission in the U.S., with the two groups reaching a settlement last month. As part of that deal, Facebook agreed to let users “opt into” various parts of the service’s information sharing with third parties, and have its privacy features audited for the next two decades. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Sligo House where three people died now forensically examined
A HOUSE in Co Sligo where a father and two children died of carbon monoxide poisoning underwent a major forensic examination yesterday as gardaí tried to confirm the origin of the gas that killed them.
Trevor Wallwork (50), his daughter Kim (12) and his son Harry (9) were found dead at their home on Sunday night by Mr Wallwork’s older stepdaughter.
Gardaí believe a coal fire burning in the room where the three victims were found was the source of the fatal emissions which led to the deaths.
However, gardaí said a full examination of the house for other possible sources was being conducted to ensure there were no doubts about the cause of the deaths.
Teams from the Garda Technical Bureau were at the bungalow at Moygara, Gurteen, throughout the day yesterday.
The parish priest in charge of the school attended by the children paid tribute to them yesterday.
Fr Joe Caulfield, chairman of the board of management of Mullaghroe National School in Gurteen, said Kim, who was in sixth class, and Harry, who was in fourth class, had taken lessons in the senior room of the two-teacher school. He recalled that Harry started school at Mullaghroe as an infant before he moved into the senior room to join Kim.
“The two children were always happy and full of energy. They got great support in the school. Kim was a very caring person and she was always looking after Harry. She always looked out for him.”
Fr Caulfield remembered meeting Mr Wallwork on a few occasions when he brought the children to school. “He was very happy the children were able to settle down so well in the school.”
Mr Wallwork, the children and their stepmother, Sue, arrived in Gurteen from England six years ago. Ms Wallwork’s daughter, Vicki Barnes (22), travelled with them, and it was she who discovered the bodies on Sunday night after she left her home in Tubbercurry to call to her stepfather and step-siblings.
Schoolmates of the deceased children were counselled on dealing with the tragedy by staff from the National Educational Psychological Service on Monday.
Yesterday, Sligo’s chief fire officer Paul Coyle and executives from his service visited the isolated bungalow where Mr Wallwork and his two children had been watching television in front of a Christmas tree with lights on in the sittingroom when they died. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Indigenous Irish exports now at €14.7bn
“A record year”
The agency, which is charged with helping Irish companies export to world markets, said that Irish exports had now returned to pre-recession levels.
The figures do not include exports generated by IDA-supported companies, which are mainly international firms.
Enterprise Ireland supports about 3,500 indigenous Irish companies.
Approximately 50 per cent of exports from indigenous Irish companies were in the food sector in 2011, with strong food and commodity prices providing a welcome boost to the value of exports.
However, Enterprise Ireland chief executive Frank Ryan said Irish food companies had experienced a rise in exports in volume as well as value terms.
Engineering was the second largest exporting sector, responsible for about €2.3 billion in exports.
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