Donie's Saturday news Ireland Blog

The Gardaí failed miserably to investigate the allegations of corruption thoroughly

    

Senior gardaí failed to properly investigate dramatic allegations of corruption and bribery involving politicians and senior officials, the Mahon Tribunal found.

The tribunal said the conclusions of a Garda investigation into allegations made by developer Tom Gilmartin in 1989 “were unwarranted” in stating there was no evidence of criminal conduct by either Liam Lawlor TD or the Dublin assistant city and county manager, George Redmond.

Mr Gilmartin had named three people — Mr Lawlor, Mr Redmond and councillor Finbarr Hanrahan — who he alleged made demands for money in relation to his proposed Quarryvale property development.

The Luton-based businessman further claimed that a figure of £100,000 ‘for each man’ had been demanded of him and that there was a separate demand of £5m from an unidentified man.

The Mahon Tribunal was heavily critical of the Garda probe, conducted over 1989 and 1990, by Chief Superintendent Hugh Sreenan and Superintendent Thomas Burns, both since retired. The investigation’s final report said claims by Mr Gilmartin and others against Mr Redmond had been “thoroughly investigated” and that there was “no evidence to suggest” he had committed any crime.

In relation to Mr Lawlor, Supt Burns said “no evidence of criminal conduct” had emerged. He added: “Where verbal allegations have been made, they have been found wanting and Mr Lawlor emerges, as far as I am concerned, with his good reputation unscathed.”

Supt Burns observed: “Gossip and rumour abound in Ireland and many an innocent, defenceless person has had his good name tarnished as a result. Therefore, it was an important part of this enquiry to delve fully into the allegations…

“Mr Liam Lawlor TD emerges from this enquiry with his good reputation unscathed.”

In a hard-hitting critique of the investigation and the report, the tribunal said:

* The complains made by Mr Gilmartin were “not thoroughly investigated” by gardaí.

* Gardaí had sufficient information to conduct a thorough inquiry had they proceeded to interview the individuals named, but neither made or attempted to make contact.

* It believed it was “likely” that Mr Lawlor’s position as a TD was a factor in the decision taken by investigating gardaí not to interview him.

* It was “puzzled” as to why the final garda report went to “such lengths” to exonerate Mr Lawlor and Mr Redmond.

It said Mr Gilmartin’s decision to end contact with the garda inquiry “arose directly” from an intimidatory telephone call from “Garda Burns”.

Mr Gilmartin told the tribunal he had no reason to suspect the call was in fact from Supt Burns or anyone in the Garda inquiry.

Tom Gilmartin ‘regrets the day’ he returned home to Ireland

    

The key Mahon Tribunal witness Tom Gilmartin who came back to live in Ireland has said that coming back here to do business was the “worst business decision of his life”.

The Sligo-born developer, who was yesterday found by the tribunal to have made a corrupt payment of £50,000 to former EU Commissioner Padraig Flynn, now lives in retirement in Cork.

And he admitted earlier this month that he rues the day he decided to expand his business interests in the UK to Ireland.

It was Mr Gilmartin’s allegation that Owen O’Callaghan informed him that he paid Bertie Ahearn £80,000 in relation to the Quarryvale project that led to the tribunal’s inquiry into the former Taoiseach’s personal finances.

And in one of the tribunal’s most startling findings it branded the £50,000 paid to Mr Flynn by Mr Gilmartin in 1989 as corrupt.

Mr Gilmartin’s involvement with the Quarryvale development in the late 1980s was examined in detail by the tribunal over the last 15 years.

He initially declined to co-operate with the inquiry — but changed his stance after comments made about him and his family by Mr Flynn during his ‘Late Late Show’ appearance in 1999.

His subsequent testimony proved to be amongst the most dramatic given to the inquiry.

“What was done to me (in Ireland) was outrageous — it was shameful,” Mr Gilmartin told the Irish Independent.

“In any other country in the world what was done to me would be treated as fraud. That’s the truth,” he said.

The tribunal also reported that Mr Flynn asked Mr Gilmartin to make a “substantial donation” to Fianna Fail in 1989. The developer believed that the £50,000 cheque he gave to Mr Flynn would be given to the party but the tribunal found that Mr Flynn proceeded to use the cash for his own “personal benefit”.

It called the payment by Mr Gilmartin “entirely inappropriate on his part”.

However, it accepted that Mr Gilmartin “believed he had no choice but to act accordingly” to ensure progress on his plans to develop the Quarryvale site.

The tribunal found that Bertie Ahearn and and former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds had been told about the payment but that none of them questioned Mr Flynn about the matter prior to the establishment of the tribunal.

Irish family owned hotel bookings are showing good increase’s

  

Bookings in Irish family-owned hotels have increased in the first two months of 2012.

Irish Country Hotels showed a 21% increase in bookings for January and February Bookings in Irish family-owned hotels have increased in the first two months of this year.

New figures released by Irish Country Hotels, a collection of 26 family-owned hotels in Ireland, show a 21% increase in bookings for January and February compared to the same period in 2011.

The group says this indicates a trend towards “real Irish” holidays for this year.

The figures were released as Taoiseach Enda Kenny announced the inclusion of Irish Country Hotels as the latest member of Guaranteed Irish.

They are the first hotels to be given the Guaranteed Irish logo – a symbol for Irish manufactured goods and services.

US study reports that Anti-depressants can help arthritis

     

Antidepressants are effective in alleviating osteoarthritis pain, according to doctors in the US.

The mood medication can play a key role in alleviating the painful condition and may result in fewer side effects than traditionally prescribed drugs, such as anti-inflammatories.

American doctors analysed duloxetine, which is a well-established antidepressant used to treat chronic musculoskeletal pain, including osteoarthritis.

Dr Leslie Citrome and her colleague Dr Amy Weiss-Citrome of New York Medical College looked at studies exploring the effects of duloxetine being used on its own or in combination with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

The side effects of the various drugs were taken into account. NSAIDs can lead to gastrointestinal bleeding, and opiates such as morphine, which can cause constipation.

In comparison, the most common side effects of duloxetine – nausea, fatigue and constipation – were less severe.

The researchers studied 524 patients over a ten-week period. All participants had osteoarthritis of the knee. The doctors discovered that those who took a combination of duloxetine and NSAIDs reported greater pain reductions than the control group who took a NSAID with a placebo.

“It is not uncommon to treat osteoarthritis with a combination of drugs that work in different ways,” said Dr Leslie Citrome.

“Our review supports this approach and confirms that antidepressants are not just for depression and can play a key role in relieving this painful condition.