Saturday;s news Ireland update

Household’s levy charge figures paid is now at  57%   934,200 Hogan says  ‘Still a poor response’ 

         

Figures released in the last few days  showed that about 934,260 households had registered either to pay the charge, or for a waiver. Households paying the charge now are liable for charges of €112.01, when penalties and interest is included.

FIFTY-SEVEN per cent of households have paid the Government charge, Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan told the Dáil.

“Ultimately, people must decide if they want to comply with the law or not and if they do not comply with the law, they face litigation,” he said.

Fianna Fáil environment spokesman Niall Collins said those who had not paid were people with a principled objection to the charge and those who were unable to pay. He added that the campaign lacked information. There were insufficient payment methods and a series of incoherent messages from the Government about paying through An Post.

Mr Collins said provision should be made to accommodate those unable to pay and consideration should be given to extending the deadline.

Mr Hogan said no comprehensive property database was available, which meant a bill could not be sent to people.

An Post had not won the tender to deliver the information leaflet.

Another company won it, “although I have concerns about the manner in which it did that, which I will deal with in another way”, he added.

Mr Hogan said he had rejected a Fianna Fáil proposal that the deadline be extended to September.

“I operate on the basis that people will come up to a deadline and then pay,” he added. “That is what happened, with 25 per cent paying within a week of the deadline.”

He said that processing payments made at the eleventh hour through An Post would be completed in the next week or two. People would then get reminders in the same way as any payment that was needed for any utility.

The Minister said he would not introduce exemptions for those who had not paid. They would continue to pay in line with the legislation passed by the Oireachtas.

‘Letterkenny no show’ jury panel must explain their absence from court

           

Circuit Court Judge Donagh McDonagh (above0 has directed that 27 people summonsed to attend for jury service in Letterkenny are to face court themselves for failing to show up for yesterday’s court sitting.

Judge Donagh McDonagh ordered that the ‘no show’ jury panel should now be charged for failing to answer their civic duty.

Speaking at yesterday’s sitting of Letterkenny Circuit Court, the judge said the fact that 27 people ‘ignored’ their jury summons was a serious matter.

“I have never come across such a high number. So now they will have an opportunity to come before the court,” he said

Judge McDonagh swore in two jury panels for separate trials which were due to get underway yesterday. He noted 18 people were listed as absent from the first panel and nine from the second. He then directed that the court registrar contact the garda superintendent to issue the absent jury panelists with summonses to appear in court to explain their absence.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore says party whip Susan O’Keeffe in the Seanad has his full support

     

THE TÁNAISTE and Labour leader Eamon Gilmore has come out in support of his embattled Seanad Éireann party whip Senator Susan O’Keeffe.

The party position of the former television journalist was the subject of a stormy meeting of Labour Party Senators at Leinster House on Thursday.

A motion of no confidence in Ms O’Keeffe as whip proposed by Senator John Whelan was withdrawn, but is due to be tabled again next week if she remains in the position.

When asked to comment on the row yesterday, Mr Gilmore said: “A whip’s job is never easy. There’s always a heave against the whip. The nature of the job invites it. “The idea that a whip is having difficulty with those being whipped is nothing new in a political party.”

When asked whether he believed Ms O’Keeffe should step down or not, he said: “The whip is the whip and the whip remains, and it’s not the first time and it won’t be the last.”

Questioned as to whether she had his backing as party leader, he said: “Yes, she was nominated by the leader of the party in the Senate, and her nomination was agreed by the parliamentary party and that position stands.”

Pressed as to whether the Senator had his full support, Mr Gilmore replied: “Of course I support the whip, I support all our whips.”

Senior party sources said last night that the issue was related to the Government’s plan to abolish the Seanad, which is not favoured by a number of Labour members.

Ms O’Keeffe is considered by her critics to be too close to the leadership and inclined to play along with the official Labour Party line of accepting Fine Gael’s proposal to abolish the Upper House.

Most of Ms O’Keeffe’s critics are male, whereas her female colleagues are backing her for the most part.

In 1995, Ms O’Keeffe, then a World in Action ITV journalist, was threatened with prison for refusing to reveal her sources of information on scandals within the Irish meat industry.

She was elected to the Seanad last year on the agricultural panel. She was an unsuccessful Dáil candidate in the general election for Sligo-North Leitrim, polling 4,553 first preferences (10.2 per cent).

M/s O’Keeffe did not return calls yesterday.