Convicted murderer Joe O’Reilly
fails in his attempt to be released from Mountjoy prison
Joe O’Reilly who is serving a life sentence for the murder of his wife Rachel in north Co Dublin in 2004, has failed in an attempt to secure his release from prison.
Mr Justice Michael Peart dismissed his application to the High Court yesterday for a declaration under Article 40 of the Constitution that his detention in the Midlands Prison is unlawful and directing his release.
O’Reilly (38) was convicted three years ago of the murder of his 30-year-old wife at their home at Lambay View, Baldarragh, The Naul, Co Dublin.
The judge said that O’Reilly, according to an affidavit, had on July 12th served an application to have his conviction quashed.
O’Reilly told the court he had been unable to engage the services of a solicitor and was dealing with his application through the post while pursuing an application to be granted legal aid.
He had written to the court claiming his detention was rendered unlawful by the fact that he had a more restricted access to the courts than other citizens and was disadvantaged by not being permitted to attend personally.
The judge said O’Reilly had been lawfully sentenced and until that sentence was quashed by a court of competent jurisdiction he must serve it. A custodial sentence necessitated certain limitations to freedom and a restriction of rights that would otherwise be available to someone not serving a sentence.
“One of those restrictions is one of which this applicant complains, namely that unlike other persons who are not in prison he may not simply walk into court and move an application or attend the Central Office to file papers,” he said.
The judge said access to justice was not denied to him. It meant that for reasons that were self-explanatory and obvious he had to go about accessing justice by a different but no less onerous route, initially through the post.
The court had heard that O’Reilly claimed to be impecunious and could not pay court fees for proceedings. Many others not in prison endured the same level of financial hardship, he said.
“It is a matter for the legislature to legislate in relation to legal aid . . . he has made an application in that regard,” said the judge.
An unrepresented prisoner’s access to justice was by post and such applications were given to a judge for initial consideration. O’Reilly’s application for release must satisfy the court there were arguable grounds and a reasonable capability of success.
If the court considered there was some weight to the grounds advanced, the judge would direct an inquiry so that the prisoner could attend court to challenge his detention and allow the prison governor also attend to justify it.
The judge said the grounds put forward by O’Reilly that his detention was unlawful had no possibility of success and he dismissed the application.
NUIG Galway does research deal with the Chinese institute
NUIG GALWAY will share and exchange research on biomaterials with a leading Chinese research institute and a medical technology firm after signing a deal in Beijing today.
Minister for Health Dr James Reilly is due to attend the memorandum of understanding signing by NUIG’s president, Dr Jim Browne, with the Tianjin International Academy of Biotechnology and Medicine and China Nucleon Medical Technology Group.
Biomaterials are substances implanted in the body, such as hip implants, stents, heart valves, wound dressings and systems for delivering genes, drugs and vaccines.
NUIG hosts a Science Foundation Ireland-supported research cluster in this field, known as the Network of Excellence for Functional Biomaterials (NFB).
The Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biotechnology and Medicine is a €140 million research plant in northern China.
The China Nucleon Medical Technology Group is regarded as a pioneer in medical imaging for the Chinese pharmaceutical industry.
The company is said to have “extensive facilities for clinical trials and preclinical drug development throughout China”, according to the university.
The memorandum of understanding will “facilitate the exchange of researchers, the exchange of academic information and the development of collaborative research projects”, according to NUIG.
The first project in the partnership will involve collaboration between the Galway researchers and their Chinese counterparts on developing a polymer for cancer treatment.
NFB principal investigator Dr Wenxin Wang described the agreement as having enormous potential “for the development of new techniques and treatments and for the commercialisation and translation of existing technologies to the clinical environment”.
“China is currently emerging as a major player in biomedical research, and establishing these relationships now will pay ever-increasing dividends in the future,” said Dr Wang.
Dr Browne said that such partnerships pointed to Ireland’s “global strength in the biomedical sector and the importance of creating linkages which will be of mutual benefit to industry and enterprise both in Ireland and in China”.
The university already has partnerships in China, signed during the trade and investment mission led by Taoiseach Enda Kenny to Shanghai and Beijing this year.
The NUIG’s existing agreements are with Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Fourth Medical Military University Hospital in Xi’an.
The university’s Regenerative Medicine Institute, which is involved in stem cell research, also has agreements with the Shanghai Institute for Paediatric Research, Bio-X Institutes and the Tangdu Neurosurgery and Neurology Hospital.
More than 1million Irish properties now registered for the household tax
The number of houses and apartments that have been registered for the household charge has gone over one million, according to the latest figures from the Local Government Management Agency.
As of Friday last, 1,014,585 properties had been registered. The charge had been paid with regard to some 989,095, while a waiver had been registered for in 19,490 cases. The other 6,000 applications were awaiting resolution of queries.
The number of people applying for waivers means income from the charge has yet to top the €100 million mark. So far, €99.8 million has been collected in charges and late fees. The tax is €100, but those paying since August 1st owe €115 including penalties and interest.
A spokeswoman for the agency said it would expect that €100 million will have been collected in the coming weeks, if not days.
According to Department of the Environment figures, about 600,000 homeowners have yet to register to pay the charge.
More than 100,000 warning letters were sent by city and county councils last month to homeowners who had failed to pay. A second round of letters will be sent to another 100,000 households in the coming weeks.
Almost all those who received letters will have been second-home owners already liable for the non-principal private residence or second home tax. These homeowners were identified using the NPPR database and the register of private rented accommodation held by the Private Residential Tenancies Board.
The second round of letters will also include non-payers who have been identified using sources such as the Revenue Commissioners, ESB Networks and the Department of Social Protection.
Local authorities were due to begin sending the second batch of letters, but the spokeswoman for the Local Government Management Agency said it was still working with local authorities and other State agencies in matching information and compiling a database of non-payers.
In the meantime, more letters will be sent to landlords who have not registered properties for the charge. Landlords should be aware they must pay the household charge in addition to the non-principal private residence charge, the spokeswoman said.
Letters will continue to be sent in batches of about 100,000. Once all homeowners who have not paid have received a letter, those who persist in not paying will be sent a second which will be “more strongly worded”, a spokesman for the department said.
A third letter is to advise non-payers of court proceedings.
Local authorities are facing the prospect of making cuts to services as a result of the deficit in payments of the household charge.
Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan has advised county and city managers that he is withholding funds because of the shortfall in revenue from the charge.
The reduction in funding will vary between local authorities, but will range from 5 to 15 per cent.
80% of Ireland’s ‘best managed companies’ plan to expand their workforce,
Eight in 10 of some of the best managed companies in Ireland plan to expand their workforces in the coming year, a survey has found.
And nine out of 10 of the firms, recognised as best managed by the Deloitte awards programme, have indicated that they plan to expand their business in the coming year, with Britain and Europe identified as the top locations.
Half the firms plan to engage in merger and acquisition activity this year.
The annual survey of Irish companies, with total revenues of €10bn employing 24,000 people, also found that optimism is on the rise among this group of indigenous Irish companies.
“Half of respondents observed an improvement in market conditions in the last 12 months, compared to 40% last year,” the survey found.
“Similarly, 74% feel more confident about the outlook for their company compared to 12 months ago.”
However, 43% believe that it will be the second half of 2013 before the economy returns to growth.
Similar to the 2011 results, 31% of respondents indicated that improving consumer sentiment was the single most important factor in returning the economy to growth.
This was followed by restoring credibility and integrity in the banking sector (24%), growth in exports (12%), and renegotiating the terms of the EU/IMF bailout (12%).
“In line with this, one third of companies identified lack of customer demand as the biggest challenge facing indigenous Irish companies. Availability of funding and the high cost of doing business were also acknowledged as considerable challenges for Irish companies. Interest-ingly however, the majority of respondent companies indicated that they are not experiencing difficulty in obtaining finance for working capital (69%) or capital projects (67%).”
Bluebird Homecare andother medical companies to create 555 new jobs in Ireland
Bluebird Care a homecare provider, is to create 520 jobs across Ireland over the next six months.
Elsewhere, a medical device company called Cambus Teo is to create 35 jobs in Co Galway by the end of next year.
The jobs at Bluebird Care will be created throughout the country and the majority of positions will be full time, according to operations director for Ireland Eddie O’Toole.
The Health Service Executive-approved franchise has 18 offices in Ireland, employing almost 800 people, and it is to open two more offices, in Westmeath and Wexford.
Recruitment has already begun for some of the care work and support staff jobs, which have a minimum education requirement of Fetac level 5.
The increased requirement for care staff for older people is partly as a result of the company winning a number of public and private tender contracts for enhanced care, including those from the HSE.
The executive currently spends €140 million a year on homecare packages and it began a tender process last December for the provision of enhanced homecare packages. Mr O’Toole said the increased demand for care staff was also due to demographics.
“Currently, approximately half a million people are over 65. By 2036 that is expected to grow to 1.3 million.”
There is going to be “more demand for care services going forward”, he said.
In Ireland and throughout Europe the emphasis is on the benefits of people continuing to live at home, he said.
Statistics showed that people lived longer when living at home, in the community, with friends and family nearby, he said.
Bluebird Care began in the UK in 2004 and in the company has 150 offices there. It began operating in Ireland in 2007.
The recruitment process is expected to take some time because there is a requirement for Garda vetting as well as for induction and training.
The Cambus Teo jobs will be in engineering, production and management.
The firm, which currently employs 50 people, is based in the Gaeltacht area of Spiddal and is supported by Údarás na Gaeltachta.
Established in 2006, Cambus Teo develops, designs, and manufactures components for a number of minimally invasive medical devices.
Half of the company has been acquired by Helix Medical, a global medical device provider, whose investment has allowed for the jobs expansion.
Scientists Identify New Gene Regions Linked to Type 2 Diabetes
Findings help shed light on condition’s genetics, biology
Scientists have now identified 10 new regions of DNA linked to type 2 diabetes, bringing the total number of genes and gene regions associated with the disease to more than 60.
Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin and does not respond effectively to the insulin it does produce. As a result, glucose levels in the blood can increase unchecked. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to a number of health complications, including heart disease, stroke, nerve damage and blindness.
The international team of researchers said their findings may help experts develop treatments for the condition.
“The 10 gene regions we have shown to be associated with type 2 diabetes are taking us nearer a biological understanding of the disease,” said the study’s principal investigator Mark McCarthy of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at the University of Oxford, in a university news release. “It is hard to come up with new drugs for diabetes without first having an understanding of which biological processes in the body to target. This work is taking us closer to that goal.”
The study, led by researchers from the University of Oxford, the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, and the University of Michigan, investigated common genetic variations in DNA that may be linked to type 2 diabetes.
The investigators examined the DNA of nearly 35,000 people with type 2 diabetes and roughly 115,000 people without the disease and found the new gene regions where DNA changes could be linked to people’s risk for diabetes. Two of these regions showed different effects depending on gender. One was associated with greater risk for the disease in men, while the other was linked to increased risk in women.
A pattern in the type of genes linked to type 2 diabetes also emerged from the study.
“By looking at all 60 or so gene regions together we can look for signatures of the type of genes that influence the risk of type 2 diabetes,” McCarthy said. “We see genes involved in controlling the process of cell growth, division and aging, particularly those that are active in the pancreas where insulin is produced. We see genes involved in pathways through which the body’s fat cells can influence biological processes elsewhere in the body. And we see a set of transcription factor genes — genes that help control what other genes are active.”
The study authors said they are continuing their investigation of the genetic changes behind type 2 diabetes by fully sequencing patients’ DNA.
“Not only will we be able to look for signals we’ve so far missed, but we will also be able to pinpoint which individual DNA change is responsible,” McCarthy said. “These genome sequencing studies will really help us push forward towards a more complete biological understanding of diabetes.”
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