Cases of child care orders in Ireland
More than double for 2011
Last year saw a big increase in court cases concerning debt, a more than doubling of child care orders, and increases in rape, fraud and robbery cases, according to the annual report of the Courts Service.
It also saw a fall in the number of cases involving drink-driving and other driving offences and in the number of judicial reviews – more than half of which relate to asylum matters.
The courts processed 726,961 matters in 2011, the vast majority (615,789) in the District Court. Of the cases disposed of in this court, rather than referred to a higher court, almost 60 per cent related to road traffic offences.
The Central Criminal Court saw an increase in the number of rape cases before it, up 27 per cent on 2010 and up 52 per cent on 2009, with 80 cases last year.
Murder cases were also up, with an 8 per cent increase on 2010 and a 26 per cent increase on 2009.
In both instances, the cases were likely to relate to crimes committed in previous years, so these statistics are not in line with Garda statistics for the same years.
Dangerous driving and drink driving offences, meanwhile, were down last year. The largest category of offences dealt with by the Circuit Criminal Court was theft, fraud and robbery, followed by drug offences, which together accounted for more than half. The vast majority of cases before this court (87 per cent) are disposed of by a guilty plea.
In the civil courts, there were almost 22,000 cases for breach of contract and recovery of debt in the Circuit Court, a 21 per cent increase on 2010 and representing 50 per cent of all civil claims.
There were 3,783 judgments for debt recovery in the High Court, an increase of 35 per cent, and there was a 38 per cent increase in execution of debt orders in that court, a total of 4,443.
Applications to wind up companies, new bankruptcies and judgment mortgages also all showed increases, with a total of 7,549 judgment mortgages (where a mortgage is registered against a property to meet a debt) in the Circuit and High Courts. The number of orders for possession fell in the High Court but rose by almost exactly the same amount (15 per cent) in the Circuit Court.
In family law, there was only a slight variation in the number of judicial separations and divorces sought since 2010. Three-quarters of the 1,379 applications for judicial separation were made by wives, while the 3,358 applications for divorce were split evenly between husbands and wives.
A striking statistic was the fact that care orders for children at risk sought by the Health Service Executive in the District Court more than doubled in 2011, with 2,287 such orders granted, a rise of 119 per cent on the 2010 figure. This does not include emergency and interim care orders, a spokesman for the Courts Service said.
Regarding domestic violence, the courts saw an increase of 38 per cent in interim barring orders, which are granted without the barred person being heard, from 530 in 2010 to 731. The total number of domestic violence applications (barring, protection and safety orders) rose from 9,779 in 2010 to 10,652 in 2011.
ON THE RISE COURT ORDERS
Regarding domestic violence, the courts saw an increase of 38% in interim barring orders
The Central Criminal Court saw an increase in the number of rape cases of 27%
Cases for breach of contract and recovery of debt in the Circuit Court rose by 21%
Care orders for children at risk sought by the HSE in the District Court more than doubled in 2011, with 2,287 such orders granted, up 119%
Judgments for debt recovery in the High Court increased by 35% and there was a 38% increase in debt orders
Ryanair will create & add more Aer Lingus jobs after takeover
Aer Lingus would add jobs rather than shed them after a takeover by Ryanair, though workers’ terms of employment would change, according to the low-cost carrier’s detailed offer document.
Ryanair said its plan to raise annual passenger numbers at the Irish flag-carrier from 9.5m to 14m would necessitate hiring more pilots, cabin crew and engineers. It aims to achieve that growth by reducing ticket prices, while maintaining margins by boosting “the productivity of [Aer Lingus] staff” to reduce unit costs.
The plans were posted to Aer Lingus shareholders on Tuesday, giving the smaller airline’s board until the end of the month to reply under Irish takeover law. Aer Lingus made no comment on Tuesday but last month said that the €694m bid undervalued the group and urged shareholders to take no action.
The €1.30 per share offer – a nearly 50 per cent premium on the average share price over the past six months but a steep discount to when the company made its debut on the market in 2006 – is Ryanair’s third attempt in six years to buy its national rival.
The European Commission rejected the first sally on competition concerns and could prove a hurdle again. “What it all boils down to is, ‘Are they going to get clearance?’,” said Gerald Khoo, an analyst with Espirito Santo.
Ryanair said it would request clearance from the Commission “in the early course”.
In the meantime, the company is wrangling with the UK’s Competition Commission over whether the regulator should continue its investigation into the influence Ryanair wields through its 29 per cent stake in Aer Lingus.
The Competition Appeal Tribunal will hear the case next Friday and is expected to rule by the end of the year, whereas the European regulator’s decision would probably come in the first half of next year. “We will be carrying on with the investigation as best we can pending the CAT’s judgment,” said the Competition Commission.
Mr Khoo said that opposing rulings from the two regulators would create an absurd scenario: “If they [the European Commission] say you can have 100 per cent of the shares, it’s perverse for the UK to come out and say no to having 29 per cent.”
Ryanair argues that market conditions have changed significantly since 2006, including the creation of new capacity at Dublin Airport and consolidation across the sector.
The groups would operate separately under one holding company, according to the plans, with Ryanair continuing to serve budget customers on point-to-point flights, next to Aer Lingus’s “high frequency, mid-frills short haul services to primary airports and its transatlantic operations”.
Donegal rescuers & volunteers save drowning HORSE in Swilly River
Dozens of people answered an SOS call to save a terrified horse from drowning in a muddy river. The horse was found stuck up to its chest in muck in the River Swilly in Letterkenny.
A passing taxi-driver noticed the frightened animal and immediately called the animal welfare group Donegal Pet Rescue.
The group contacted Gardai who began to make plans to rescue the horse but were called to another incident.
Donegal Pet Rescue decided to put out a call on social media for help to save the horse.
They were inundated with offers of help from people offering a range of solutions to free the horse.
A rope was tied around the horse and straps were fitted in a bid to pull the horse to safety.
However as the horse struggled it got deeper and deeper into the mud and at one stage only its head and back could be seen.
Volunteers then used spades and other instruments to dig around the animal to make a pathway to freedom.
During the rescue effort a number of the volunteers put their own safety to one side and got stuck themselves and had to be freed.
What followed was a four hour physical haul involving relays of people to drag the horse out of the muddy mire inch by inch.
Ryan McCauley of Donegal Pet Rescue said it was amazing to watch the spirit of people coming together to rescue the helpless animal.
“It was incredible to watch people just come out of nowhere to help.
“I would know many of the people to see and they were from all walks of life. There were estate agents, builders and students standing side by side.
“It was great to see that money wasn’t the reason why people came out which makes a change in the current climate,” he said.
The exhausted horse was eventually pulled to safety but it looked for a while as if the rescuer’s effort had been in vain.
The local vet from the Animal Health Centre in Ramelton, Anja Froehlich, then gave the horse injections to cover it for infections and stabilize the temperature as she treated it for pain.
The horse lay on the ground for more than 20 minutes after its ordeal.
The volunteers finally got the horse onto its feet, washed it down.
The team of volunteers then got it into a horse trailer to safety of a stable.
Mr McCauley from DPR said it was a victory for the human spirit.
“These people put their own safety to one side to rescue this poor animal. It was heartwarming to see and everyone felt so good after we had rescued the horse,” he said.
Heavy babies birth ‘A double cancer risk to Mother’s’
GIVING BIRTH TO A HEAVYWEIGHT BABY CAN MORE THAN DOUBLE A WOMAN’S RISK OF BREAST CANCER, A STUDY HAS FOUND.
The association may be caused by hormonal changes to the womb environment, scientists believe.
Researchers in the US looked at data on 410 women taking part in the Framingham Offspring Birth History Study. Around 7.6% of the women were later diagnosed with breast cancer. Those who gave birth to the heaviest infants were two and a half times more at risk of developing the disease.
Another study which collected data on almost 24,000 pregnancies showed hormonal changes likely to affect infant birth weight and breast cancer risk. The findings are reported in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE.
Lead researcher Professor Radek Bukowski, from the University of Texas, said: “We found that women delivering large babies – those in the top quintile (fifth) of this study, which included babies whose weight was 8.25 or more pounds – have increased levels of hormones that create a ‘pro-carcinogenic environment’.
“This means that they have high levels of oestrogen, low levels of anti-oestrogen and the presence of free insulin-like growth factors associated with breast cancer development and progression. Women can’t alter their pregnancy hormones, but can take steps to increase their general protection against breast cancer.”
Smoking cannabis can double the risk of a woman giving birth prematurely, according to another study in the same journal.
Researchers in Australia and New Zealand looked at premature delivery risk factors in more than 3,000 pregnant women. They found that marijuana use prior to getting pregnant more than doubled the likelihood of a premature birth.
A strong family history of low birth weight increased the risk almost six-fold.
“Our study has found that the risk factors for both forms of pre-term birth vary greatly, with a wide variety of health conditions and histories impacting on pre-term birth,” said study leader Professor Gus Dekker, from the University of Adelaide.
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