A Bertie like and emotional Mick Wallace apologises
‘To the taxman & pledges 50% payback of his TD’s salary’
Wexford Independent Mick Wallace apologised to the Dail over his VAT returns
Tax cheat Mick Wallace has pledged to use half his TD’s salary to settle his VAT bill with Revenue.
The Wexford Independent formally apologised for lying to the taxman about money owed by his former construction firm.
“I am taking steps to immediately arrange that half my Dail salary will go towards paying MJ Wallace Ltd’s VAT liabilities with the Revenue,” said the emotional TD as he addressed the Dail.
Mr Wallace said he feels obliged to cover the company’s 2.1 million euro liabilities out of his own pocket as a mark of “solidarity to the Irish citizens”, whom he now works for. He maintained he made an error of judgment when he lied about his VAT bill as the property bubble burst, but stressed his personal finances were always under control.
“The manner in which the VAT was dealt with was, in hindsight, an error of judgment made under pressure at a time when the approach of the banks were changing dramatically and the value of property was dropping sharply,” Mr Wallace went on. “There was never an intention that the money that was owed would not be paid to Revenue and the motive behind the underpayment was to delay payment in order to see out this difficulty.”
Mr Wallace, who earns more than 130,000 euro a year in pay and perks, also admitted he had considered resigning his position, but said he was not a quitter. His actual salary is around 90,000 euro, which would mean he is committed to paying back about 45,000 euro.
The property developer turned politician told Revenue he knowingly under-declared 1.4 million euro in VAT in 2008 and 2009, as tax chiefs were carrying out an audit investigation the 56-year-old said he was aware that his remarks had upset Irish citizens who were struggling due to the dire economic climate.
The usually flamboyant Independent was on the verge of tears as he addressed his colleagues – notably without his trademark pink T-shirt and instead dressed in a more sombre dark blue. He spoke for around 10 minutes, despite being allocated 15 minutes in the chamber.
Mr Wallace had initially distanced himself from the tax bill which piled with penalties and charges, stands at 2.1 million. He stated it was the company’s liability and that as it is now insolvent, could not be paid back to the authorities.
“This was not a cavalier comment, but a statement of fact,” he went on. However,
Cardinal Sean Daly makes an apology for failing the children of Ireland
The Catholic Primate of All Ireland Cardinal Seán Brady has asked forgiveness, for himself and on behalf of the church, for failing “the little ones”, and has spoken of the “deep shame” felt as a result.
“May God forgive us for the times when we as individuals and as a church failed to seek out and care for those little ones who were frightened, alone and in pain because someone was abusing them,” he said in a homily at a Mass in the RDS yesterday at the 50th International Eucharistic Congress.
“That we did not always respond to your cries with the concern of the good shepherd is a matter of deep shame. We lament the burdens of the painful memories you carry.
“We pray for healing and peace for those whose suffering continues.”
The cardinal added: “I want to take this opportunity of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress to apologise for the times when some of us were blind to your fear, deaf to your cries and silent in response to your pain.”
Referring to the large granite Healing Stone unveiled at the congress opening ceremony last Sunday, he said: “My prayer is that one day this stone might become a symbol of conversion, healing and hope. I hope it will become a symbol of a church that has learned from the mistakes of the past and strives to become a model for the care and wellbeing of children.
“What this stone represents,” Cardinal Brady said, “what has happened in the church in Ireland and in other places in the world, is a stark warning to all that there can be no passing by on the other side, no room for half-heartedness in our care for the vulnerable and the young.”
The stone would “serve as a reminder of those children and young people who were hurt by a church that first betrayed their trust and then failed to respond adequately to their pain. The words of the Gospel echo in my mind: ‘It is not the will of your Father that any of these little ones should be lost’.”
He said “every moral choice we make, no matter how small, has consequences . . . As Pope Benedict said, ‘our lives are involved with one another, through innumerable interactions they are linked together. No one lives alone. No one sins alone. No one is saved alone’.”
Sympathy offered by Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in Ireland
over birth procedure's of Symphysiotomy
The institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in Ireland has offered its unreserved sympathy to women who have suffered as a result of controversial symphysiotomy operations.
However, the group said the operation appeared at the time to offer a method of safe birth in some cases of obstructed labour in mothers with contracted pelvis.
It said that due to moral beliefs, contraception was ethically unacceptable and illegal, while Caesarean section was considered too risky both for mothers and infants for many years.
The institute’s statement follows the official publication yesterday of a draft report commissioned by the Department of Health on the use of symphysiotomy between 1944 and 1984.
It is estimated that up to 1,500 women underwent symphysiotomies, an operation to widen the pelvis during childbirth, which has since been linked with lifelong health problems among many women such as incontinence, chronic pain and mobility problems.
Support groups such as Patient Focus and Survivors of Symphysiotomy have criticised aspects of the report and say it left out the opinions of women who underwent these procedures.
Patient Focus has recommended that funds from a settlement due as a result of protracted discussions between the State and the Medical Defence Union should be used to provide redress for victims.
“In this way we can finally draw this very sad story to a dignified and just conclusion for all the hurt women and their families,” the group said.
The group Survivors of Symphysiotomy added that the report was an “apologia” for the operation and veiled the fact that it was a discarded and discredited operation until it was “exhumed” in Ireland in the mid-1940s.
The Department of Health yesterday said the report was the first stage in a two-part process and that the views of women and other interested parties would be considered as part of a consultation process over the coming months.
In its statement, the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said the operation was an “exceptional and rare intervention” in obstetric practice in Ireland, occurring in fewer than 0.05 per cent of all deliveries between 1940 and 1985.
The group said the persistence of symphysiotomy in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda until 1984 was outside of normal practice. It added that symphysiotomies performed “on the way out” at Caesarean section – or carried out as an elective procedure before labour – were found to be deviations from good practice.
“Symphysiotomy was only valid as a specific response to the clinical problem of mild to moderation obstruction in labour,” it said.
Sales up but profits down at Bord Gais utilities
The state owned utility company Bord Gáis will shortly begin seeking a corporate adviser to work on the sale of its energy business, which is likely to go ahead next year.
The group yesterday reported that sales grew 5 per cent to €1.6 billion but profits slipped 15 per cent to €94 million as a result of increased finance and depreciation charges.
Earlier this year the Government earmarked for sale one of the group’s key divisions, Bord Gáis Energy, along with a number of other State assets.
Group finance director Michael G O’Sullivan confirmed yesterday that Bord Gáis will take the first step in recruiting a corporate adviser to work on the sale in the coming weeks.
This will involve advertising for bids from interested parties in the official EU Journal. It is likely to be three to four months before a successful candidate is hired.
Merchant or investment banks or stockbrokers normally act as advisers in corporate sales.
New Era, the agency established to oversee the sale of State assets, will appoint a firm of its own, but Mr O’Sullivan stressed yesterday that whichever organisation Bord Gáis hires will be the lead adviser.
He explained that factors such as directors’ legal obligations and the company’s own knowledge of the market led to a decision that the board would be directly involved in the sale.
Once advisers are hired, it could take between nine and 12 months before a sale goes ahead, which means that a deal is likely to be done at some stage late next year.
Bord Gáis Energy supplies gas and electricity to consumers and businesses and operates a number of electricity generating plants.
The group’s other main division, Bord Gáis Networks, will remain in State ownership as it is considered a strategically important part of its energy infrastructure. It is responsible for the Republic’s natural gas transmission network, operates two interconnectors between Scotland and Ireland through which most of the natural gas used here is transported, and owns infrastructure in Northern Ireland and on the Isle of Man.
The Government recently charged the group with establishing Irish Water, the Republic’s new water utility, which will see it taking over from the local authorities, which are responsible for water services.
Bord Gáis yesterday said it paid a €33 million dividend to the exchequer. The group’s profits before tax slipped 15 per cent to €94 million last year from €123 million in 2010.
The fall in profits was down to an increase in net finance costs from €75 million to €86 million and an increase in depreciation charges from €132 million to €163 million.
The rise in finance costs included an increase in interest payments and debt and a fall in finance income, mainly the interest earned on cash balances.
The group increased the amount of cash held in low-interest, short-term accounts during the year to boost liquidity.
Revenues grew 5 per cent from €1.525 million to €1.6 million on the back of increased sales of electricity.
A million people with Diabetes in UK not getting the all basic 9 point health checks
About a million people with diabetes are at an increased risk of stroke, blindness, amputation and heart attacks because they are not getting all the medical checks they should, an NHS audit has found.
Little more than half of diabetes patients in England (54 per cent) are receiving all nine checks, which include assessing blood pressure, blood sugar and the state of their feet. In Wales the figure is 60 per cent.
There are thought to be just over two million people with type one and type two diabetes in England and Wales, according to Diabetes UK.
The National Diabetes Audit, published today (Thursday), found that in almost a quarter of English local health authority areas, less than half of patients were receiving all the checks. It also found those under 55 were less likely to get all their checks than older patients.
The authors concluded that the geographical and age variation “may partly be due to patients not attending appointments but may also reflect the amount of care provision offered in some areas”.
The overall proportion receiving all nine checks in England has gone up slightly, from 51 per cent in 2009/10 to 54 per cent in 2010/11.
