donie's Ireland daily news BLOG Monday

Minister Michael Noonan warns:

‘ECB threat letter on bailout will be released’

Trichet ultimatum that forced Ireland into bailout left BRIAN LENIHAN with ‘no option’ says Noonan

  

Finance Minister Michael Noonan has said a secret “threatening” letter from the European Central Bank to his predecessor Brian Lenihan, which forced Ireland into the troika bailout in 2010, should now be released.

The letter has to date remained top secret and both theDepartment of Finance and the ECB have repeatedly refused to make it public.

Now Mr Noonan has said he favours it being made available, putting him on a potential collision course with the ECB, which is adamant that it remain “strictly confidential”.

The controversial letter from the then ECB president Jean Claude Trichet to Mr Lenihan dated November 19, 2010, is said to have threatened the withdrawal of emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) to Ireland if the then government refused to accept the bailout, that included a ban on burning bondholders.

In the past two weeks, there has been growing pressure from within the Government, the opposition and leading economists to have his department release the contents of the letter.

Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Independent yesterday, Mr Noonan said that he had seen the “very direct” letter which left Mr Lenihan with “little or no option” but to admit defeat and lead Ireland into the €85bn troika programme.

It is now beyond doubt that Mr Lenihan was threatened directly by Mr Trichet, and that Ireland was bounced into the troika programme by unelected officials at the ECB.

Mr Noonan said he had no authority to order the release of the letter, given the decision of the Freedom of Information unit in his department to withhold it.

“The FoI unit is totally separate from the political side of the department, and it was decided that this letter was not releasable.”

But Mr Noonan, who returns to his office on Monday from his holidays, has said that the letter should be made available to whatever banking inquiry is established by the Government in the coming months.

“The banking inquiry that has been signalled to me seems like an appropriate place to release this letter, which I’m sure would be very helpful to it,” Mr Noonan said.

Since he has taken office, Mr Noonan has repeatedly spoken of Mr Trichet’s politeness, but said yesterday that there was never any movement from him on the issue of burning bondholders.

Mr Noonan said the implication was always there that the emergency liquidity extended to Ireland’s banks would be pulled if any move on bondholders was made unilaterally.

The Sunday Independent has previously been refused a request for a copy of the letter from Mr Trichet by the Department of Finance on “confidentiality grounds”.

In turn, the ECB has also refused to release the letter.

In its explanation to an Irish journalist earlier this year for refusing to release it, ECB bossMario Draghi said: “The letter. . . is a strictly confidential communication between the ECB president and the Irish Minister of Finance and concerns measures addressing the extraordinarily severe and difficult situation of the Irish financial sector.”

However, since the issue has been raised in recent weeks by UCD economists Karl Whelan and Colm McCarthy, pressure has been building for its release.

Last Wednesday on TV3, Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte said he was “unaware” of the existence of this letter before now, but agreed in principle that it should be made public.

Speaking this weekend, other senior Labour figures have joined the calls for the controversial letter to be made public, with many saying the pending banking inquiry is the “appropriate forum” for its release.

“We have been pushing very hard for the banking inquiry and it is precisely to allow information like this to come out.

“We are very keen that this comes out,” said one senior Labour figure this weekend.

The letter was sent on November 19, 2010, from Mr Trichet to Mr Lenihan, just nine days before the white flag was finally hoisted.

In his last major interview before his death, Mr Lenihan told a BBC documentary that the ECB had threatened him both verbally and by correspondence about what would happen if he refused.

“Hell was at the gates,” he said, and he made clear that the ECB believed that Ireland “needed to be nailed down”.

According to Dr Alan Ahearne, Mr Lenihan’s former adviser, Mr Trichet sent Mr Lenihan a letter outlining his deep unhappiness over the amount of money that the ECB was “pouring into Ireland”.

“The letter landed in the department on the Friday afternoon/Friday evening.

“Mr Trichet was deeply unhappy about the level of funding from the ECB into Ireland.

“There was incredible pressure and he insisted Ireland would need to accept a bailout,” he told the Sunday Independent.

“The ECB wanted to stuff the Irish banks with capital, overcapitalise them really, but it was clear that it would only happen if Ireland went into the bailout facility,” Dr Ahearne added.

But Mr Lenihan, on his last-ever day in Leinster House, told a small number of his Fianna Failcolleagues how forceful the threats from Mr Trichet were.

“Two weeks before he died, we sat for coffee, and he told me that on the Friday evening [three days] before Dermot Ahern made his infamous “fiction” remark, the ECB contacted him directly and threatened that if he did not request a bailout, they would cut off funding immediately to Ireland,” former minister of state Billy Kelleher said.

Mr Kelleher also said this weekend that it was simply outrageous that an unelected official can behave in such a fashion with a sovereign government.

He has also called for the letter now to be released.

‘Leo Varadkar say’s no decision’ yet on Ireland’s property tax in 2013

     

Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar say’s Government has made a decision yet?

Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar said the Government has not made a decision on the type of property tax to be introduced next year. 

Commentary suggesting a decision had been taken to introduce the tax based on house valuation rather than square footage was “premature”, Mr Varadkar said. He was speaking at the Tall Ships Festival in Dublin earlier today.

“No decision has yet been made on whether it will be valuation based or floor based or site valuation based. All those decisions have yet to be made by the Government,” he said.

“I think some of the commentary of the property tax is probably a little bit premature. All that has been agreed is that a property tax will be introduced next year and that the Revenue Commissioners will be responsible for collecting it.”

A senior Government source said this week that the “value-based” property tax to replace the household charge mentioned in the documents would be calculated on the basis of current market value instead of property size.

The Cabinet is expected to consider a detailed memo on the tax on September 4th. The Department of Finance also said no decision has yet been made on how to impose the payment.

 “The report on the introduction of a progressive and fair property tax to replace the household charge is with the Minister for Environment,” said a spokesman for the department. 

“The recommendation will be considered by Government in due course.”

The Government’s latest submission to the International Monetary Fund and EU on Friday indicated a property tax would be based on house valuation rather than square footage when introduced in the budget.

The Department of Finance said there was no new information or details contained in the EU/IMF documents.

“The documents mirror the previous programme documents published in May,” it added.

“The only decision that has been taken by Government regarding the property tax is that it will be administered by the Revenue Commissioners.”

Minister for Communications and Energy Pat Rabbitte said the Cabinet was still waiting recommendations on the Thornhill report on property tax from Environment Minister Phil Hogan.

“The design of the property tax has not at all been settled by Government,” he said.

“The idea is to broaden the tax base so we don’t have to continue to pile taxes on people at work and broaden the base of the tax system.”

“That decision is yet to be decided and yet to be discussed by Cabinet.”

Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty called on the government to abandon its plans for a property tax and seek negotiation with the Troika on the issue in the Memorandum of Understanding.

He said the best and most fair way forward is to introduce a wealth tax as it takes account of ability to pay.

Fianna Fáil raised concerns over a value tax and accused Mr Hogan of sitting on the Thornhill report despite promised it would be made public.

IRELAND’S SPIRITUALITY IS NEVER IN DOUBT

‘Survey states’

   

ROLE MODEL AND THE GREATEST IMAGE: YOUNG OLYMPIC GOLDEN GIRL KATIE TAYLOR

Survey findings reflect public’s misgivings with the Church – not their fait

A SURVEY of 1,000 people in Ireland concluded that Irish people are abandoning religion at an alarming rate. The same questions were put, online, to samples of 1,000 people in 51 countries. The result in Ireland was that only 47 per cent of Irish people declared themselves to be, ‘a religious person’.

In 2005, when the last survey was carried out, that figure was 69 per cent. The result seems puzzling. The most recent census had 84 per cent of people who categorised themselves as Catholic.

Yet an Amarach Survey carried out for the Association of Catholic Priests (whose sample was also 1,000 people) showed that Irish people have a strong spiritual foundation but find it difficult to accept some core teachings and practices of the Catholic Church.

In the national census only 5 per cent said they had no religion whilst in this survey 10 per cent claim to be atheists.

Disillusioned

I wouldn’t argue with the prevailing trend of the survey, namely that there is a growing number of people who are disillusioned with religion. I don’t believe however that they have no religion or that they are not spiritual people.

The way the question was framed, and the time at which the survey took place, had a bearing on its outcome. Since 2005 there has been a series of reports whose conclusions were damning for leadership in the Catholic Church.

Secondly, because people say they are “not religious” doesn’t mean they have abandoned their relationship with God. Many have a personal relationship with God and a mature spirituality even though they wouldn’t admit to being “religious.” To be religious, in some circumstances, means the person is “a holy Joe.” I believe there are far more people interested in religion and in leading a good life than this survey allows.

Katie Taylor’s strong expression of faith will give many young people the courage to admit they need to have a relationship with God even though most Christian Churches are not providing a suitable outlet for their spirituality.

The most pressing challenge facing all religions now is to find the key to being relevant in peoples’ lives.

Disconnect

Worldwide studies indicate that young people, when they reach the age of 15, want to disconnect themselves from the Church. For many it becomes a permanent withdrawal but for others it’s a time of searching. The time has come for churches to admit the error of
their ways and to learn from the needs of the young. We need to seek the lost sheep with compassion and with enthusiasm.

From the letters I receive I see some trends. First of all churches don’t seem interested in accommodating younger people with their
doubts. The feeling is that the Church claims to have all the answers. Christian Churches are said to demonise anything with which they don’t agree.

Our task is to find ways of listening to and speaking with people who no longer feel comfortable within church. We don’t have all the
answers; there is no point pretending we do. The way religions constantly dismiss science and refuse to dialogue, makes it impossible for many intelligent young people to have respect for religion and its ways.

Rejected

Furthermore most young people find the Church’s view on sex and sexuality mystifying. The church’s views on sexual practice are so far removed from their life experience that there is precious little common ground left. We have to be enthusiastic about reaching
out to people who disagree with us. We must be able to appreciate them in a respectful way. Religion is not irrelevant.

Dublin bids Bon Voyage to it’s tall ships

   

On the left Tall ship Danmark sails away from Dublin today at the end of the four-day festival which attracted over a million visitors to the city.

The organisers, market traders and spectators at the Tall Ships Festival couldn’t have wished for a better day today for the ships to set sail from Dublin’s River Liffey quays.

On a rare day of summer sunshine tens of thousands lined the quays from early morning to bid farewell to the ships following a four day festival which organisers say attracted crowds of more than 1.15 million over its four-day run.

Some of the best views of the ships were to be had yesterday afternoon, not from Dublin City centre, but from the Dublin Bay coastline as the ships let the wind into their sails on the open sea.

The East Link Bridge was raised to allow the 40-strong fleet to being its journey from Dublin Port led by the Naval Service LE Emer at 11am.

The Parade of Sail, which marks the official end of the festival travelled to Dún Laoghaire Harbour and after a 21-gun salute sailed to Howth.

Visitors to the festival have since Thursday last toured the ships and attended free outdoor music events with acts including Ash, Ryan Sheridan and Cathy Davey. There were also walking tours, watersports; skateboarding displays and street theatre.

However one event was cancelled today following a request by An Garda Síochána. The youth charity Foróige had hoped to break the record for the largest number of people performing the actions to 1970s Hues Corporation number Rock the Boat.

The event would have involved more than 1,600 people sitting in a line on the ground at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay. The event was stopped by gardaí for health and safety reasons related to the large crowds in the area, organisers said.

Speaking at the event this morning Minister for Transport said the festival had been a great boost for tourism in the city.

“It has been an amazing couple of days for Dublin. Probably more than a million people have been to see the ships. The sun is shining and it has really helped with Government’s policy of building tourism and building the city. It really is fabulous.”

The festival was the “biggest event in Ireland this year” Mr Varadkar said and will have produced huge revenues for businesses in the city.

“It looks like the economic benefit to the city will be over €30 million. The hotels are full and the restaurants and bars are full too, and that’s really important. It is the sort of event we’re going to need to support in the future if the numbers add up.”

‘Imelda May Joy’ gives birth to baby girl Violet Kathleen on Thursday

   

Singer Imelda May became a mother for the first time on Thursday when she gave birth to daughter Violet Kathleen.

Imelda May: enjoying motherhood for the first time

The 38-year-old chart-topper took to her social networking page to announce the happy news that she and husband Darrel Higham had become parents.

She stated: “Darrel and I are pleased to announce the arrival of Violet Kathleen Higham – our beautiful baby daughter, born August 23, 2012, at 11.30.”

May had been due to give birth on August 16 – which was the 35th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death.

The GAA threatens legal action over fake Donegal shirts 'Result Donegal 0-16 Cork 1-11' 

    

And now that Donegal are in the showpiece Croke park final on September the 23^rd September it is a vital issue to be sorted out.

The GAA has threatened to take legal action against companies making fake Donegal jerseys.

The Donegal County Board has accused some clothing companies of producing replica Donegal GAA shirts, and other items, using the official crest.

  Donegal beat Cork in the all-Ireland football semi-final on Sunday the 26^th to meet either Dublin or Mayo… in the final.

County Secretary Hugh Martin Ferry said the Donegal crest is patented and no-one else has the right to use it.

“It is illegal, because the GAA has the sole licence to sell these items, and then they give the licence to a company to produce the garments and sell them on.

“The GAA branding was used to help sell these items, and the Donegal GAA branding was also used, and that’s a brand and a crest that we have the sole legal patent on,” he said.

Donie's news Ireland Blog Saturday

1,500 jobs to go at the Bank of Ireland ‘in cost cutting exercise’

   

Bank of Ireland has signalled that up to 1,500 more jobs may have to go to reduce costs and reflect its reduced size, but the lender has ruled out any branch closures.

 Richie Boucher, chief executive of Bank of Ireland, would not be drawn on the exact number of redundancies being sought by the bank, but said costs would have to be cut by a third to €1.5 billion by 2014 from their peak in 2009.

The bank, which is 15 per cent owned by the State, had close to 16,000 employees at that time but has since reduced staff numbers by 3,700, which could mean up to 1,500 more jobs are at risk.

Mr Boucher said the bank would base the decision on costs rather than actual staff numbers, as measuring cost cutting by reducing staff can be “deceptive”.

“A headcount thing is an important measure but it isn’t the only measure. It is actually reducing the full cost. You could have one highly paid person for four people at a lower paid level,” he said.

The bank set aside a €66 million provision to cover job cuts as it restarts its redundancy programme. The decision to cut jobs would be based on a business-by-business review, said Mr Boucher.

He rejected the suggestion that this method would feed uncertainty among staff rather than saying the number of staff to go.

“If you come out with some dramatic number, then everyone is spending six months around coffee machines wondering who is next, am I going to get it?” he said.

Mr Boucher said the bank did not intend closing any of its 254 branches as it needed them to sell products to customers to increase its revenues. The lender would instead reduce costs by changing work being done in the branches.

The bank’s shares fell 3 per cent to 9.5 cent yesterday after Mr Boucher said it would be “very challenging” for the bank to meet its target net interest margin, the difference between what it pays for funding and charges for loans, of 2 per cent by 2014. The margin fell to 1.2 per cent in June from 1.33 per cent a year earlier.

Including the cost of the guarantee scheme, the margin was 0.88 per cent in the first half of the year down from 1 per cent in June 2011.

The bank’s pretax loss more than doubled to €1.25 billion in the first half on the same period last year. Operating profit, before bad loan charges and other items, fell 65 per cent to €58 million.

Loan impairment charges rose to €941 million from €842 million due to the charge for bad residential mortgages almost doubling to €310 million from €159 million.

The number of impaired mortgages rose by 61 per cent to €2.4 billion over the six months, while the number of properties repossessed increased by just 34.

Mr Boucher said the bank would take action on mortgages that customers could not afford but it would work with customers first to find amicable solutions. “It is a regrettable but unfortunate fact of life that repossessions are going to increase,” he said.

He described as “an isolated case” the write-off of €152,000 in mortgage debt owed by Dublin nurse Laura White last April.

Arrears of 90 days or more on owner-occupier mortgages rose to 7 per cent on June 30th from 5.6 per cent six months earlier, while buy-to-let mortgage arrears rose to 14 per cent from 10.8 per cent.

Total impaired loans increased to €15.4 billion or 15 per cent of total loans at the bank at the end of June from €13.5 billion or 12 per cent at the end of last December.

Asked whether the bank had, like AIB, misreported arrears cases to the Irish Credit Bureau, Mr Boucher said that based on a review he had requested he “didn’t think that is an issue” for the bank.

On potential computer problems, such as those recently experienced by Ulster Bank, Mr Boucher said that Bank of Ireland had invested in “disaster recovery systems”.

An aspirin a day ‘keeps the risk of cancer away’

  

A daily dose of aspirin for over-60s can cut their risk of cancer by up to 40 per cent and may offer protection after just a few years, researchers claim.

A study of more than 100,000 healthy people found that those who took a dose of aspirin every day were two fifths less likely to develop and die from stomach, oesophageal or colorectal cancer in the following decade.

They also had a 12 per cent lower risk of dying from other cancers, adding up to an overall 16 per cent lower risk of death from cancer of any type.

Although earlier research had found similar results, the new paper adds to the evidence in favour of taking the drug as a protective measure.

Doctors have previously called for low doses of aspirin to be taken from middle age, especially for people with a family history of cancer or heart disease, which it is also thought to protect against.

The authors of the latest study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, said: “Even a relatively modest benefit with respect to overall cancer mortality could still meaningfully influence the balances of risks and benefits of prophylactic (protective) aspirin use.”

The researchers, from the American Cancer Society, studied data on more than 100,000 healthy men and women, most of whom were over 60, and questioned them about their use of aspirin at regular intervals over the next decade.

They found that those who used aspirin every day were less likely to die from cancer in the following eleven years, with the biggest effect on cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.

Unlike previous research, the study found there was no difference between patients who had been taking the drug daily for less than five years, and those whose use was longer-term.

Referencing a separate study, the scientists said there was “some suggestion” the protective effect of aspirin could begin within three years of daily use.

In an editorial accompanying the article Dr John Baron of North Carolina University said the health benefit of aspirin estimated by the study could be “conservative”, adding: “The drug clearly reduces the incidence and mortality from luminal gastrointestinal cancers, and it may similarly affect other cancers.”

But Dr Eric Jacobs, who led the study, emphasised people should not take aspirin every day before discussing the potential side effects, such as stomach bleeds, with their doctors.

He said: “Although recent evidence about aspirin use and cancer is encouraging, it is still premature to recommend people start taking aspirin specifically to prevent cancer.

“Even low-dose aspirin can substantially increase the risk of serious gastrointestinal bleeding. Decisions about aspirin use should be made by balancing the risks against the benefits in the context of each individual’s medical history.”

Connacht Gold wins a Oscar food award for its butter

   

Connacht Gold has been awarded the highest accolade of three stars for its Softer Butter at the prestigious UK and Ireland Great Taste Awards 2012.

Repeating the success of the last two years which saw Connacht Gold butter achieve gold star status, the Connacht Gold Softer Butter was singled out among the top one per cent of products to achieve the coveted three star award in this year’s competition.

Out of almost 9,000 food products entered by 1,800 companies, just 123 products were awarded three stars – the definition of “an exquisite food that has that indefinable something extra.”

Known as the Oscars of the food world, the Great Taste Awards saw 350 expert judges blind taste the best products on offer across the UK and Ireland over an intense 45 day period. Before gold is awarded, a minimum of 12 experts taste, discuss, and agree on the most outstanding products. The awards will be presented in London in early September.

Announcing the award, the judges noted the creamy qualities of Connacht Gold’s Softer Butter and commented: “A large rustic block of creamy looking butter; creamy on the palate with a salt back note. Tastes fresh and melts well with no greasiness on the palate.”

Eoghan Sweeney, general manager of the Connacht Gold Consumer Foods Business, said: “We are thrilled to have achieved such high recognition for our butter in such a prestigious competition. It is testament to the quality of milk from our suppliers and the dedication of employees in consistently churning and packing a product of internationally recognised quality and taste.”

A humble hero is our Katie who is not afraid to show her faith

‘Katie’s St Mark’s Pentecostal church celebrates her victory’

 

Katie Taylor’s strong religious faith has been on plain view during the past few momentous days, with the boxer crediting her extraordinary Olympic success to her relationship with God.

Around 100 supporters gathered in Katie’s St Mark’s Pentecostal church in the city centre to cheer on our new Olympic gold medallist yesterday.

Her supporters joined Sean Mullarkey, pastor at St Mark’s Church on Pearse Street, to wish the boxer well and say prayers for her.

The pastor is now planning a special thanksgiving service with Katie and her family to celebrate her victory.

“I’ve been here 11 years and for the last eight I’ve been senior pastor and Katie and her family have been part of all that’s going on during that time,” he said.

“She’s one of the most genuine people you’ll ever meet. You’d run out of superlatives and descriptives for Katie, she’s a very, very genuine person.

“I hope she enjoys the success and gets to savour it and that she receives the plaudits that she deserves. We were definitely praying for her here.”

But pastor Mullarkey has said he would now like to see Katie retire from boxing, as does her father Peter.

“It’d be my preference and I know it’s Peter’s preference that she finishes now while she’s healthy, and that she finds whatever is her next calling.

“She’d be such a great ambassador on so many levels for so many helpful organisations if she doesn’t go into training other girls in boxing.

“On the last Sunday before she went to the Olympics she came up on stage and I said thanks for being a great role model for my kids. My kids are crazy about her.”

He added: “Her faith isn’t something that she does on Sundays, it’s a weekday relationship with God and it impacts on her every day.”

Meanwhile, young supporters of Katie described her as a humble hero, who is never afraid to show her faith.

Sarah Doherty (19) from Buckingham Street said: “She’s Christian and I love the way she’s so open about it. People respect that as well.”

And Des Curtis from Greystones, a youth worker at the church, added:”That was a tough fight. But Katie really deserved it and I’m just delighted for her.”

Sandpiper male bird sacrifices sleep for sex, a says study

  

The male pectoral sandpiper left: avoids sleeping to meet mates like the female on the right.

By analysing sleep patterns and testing the paternity of chicks, a team of researchers from Germany and Switzerland have found that male individuals that sleep less sire the most offspring’s.

IF YOU snooze you lose, at least that is if you are a male sandpiper. You meet more females and mate more often if you are willing to keep sleep to a minimum.

Things can get pretty competitive during the Arctic summer when male pectoral sandpipers (Calidris melanotos) battle it out for access to females.

And while in most circumstances sleep deprivation is a bad idea, the strategy of staying awake longer pays dividends for the male sandpiper, who wants to father more offspring.

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology studied mating and brain activity in Alaskan male and female sandpipers during the frantic few weeks, when mating takes place under the constant daylight of the Arctic summer. They published their findings online yesterday in Science Express.

Males court females but also have to fight to keep potential competitors out of the way. Some males though take the short road to success by taking the long road in getting there. The researchers used a combination of tags that monitored movement, male and female interactions and both muscle and brain activity to keep tabs on how courtships progressed.

They also used DNA paternity testing to track the winners and losers in the battle for mates.

They quickly found that males willing to forgo sleep or take less of it were the more successful suitors, mating more often and producing more offspring.

This group also pursued the avian equivalent of the “power nap”. Brain activity monitoring showed these birds slept less but the sleep they took was deeper.

The finding runs counter to the long-established assumption that sleep deprivation is universally a bad thing, the researchers note.

The sandpiper under study is not a native nor does it overwinter here, according to Birdwatch Ireland. There are occasional sightings of the bird, off course on its way to warmer climes in South America.

Donie's news Ireland update Blog

AIB Apologises for incorrect information about 12,000 customers to credit bureau over 6 years

Irish Credit Bureau corrects records misreported by AIB

   

The Irish Credit Bureau has said it has fully corrected all relevant customer records, following AIB’s admission that it misreported missed customer loan repayments to it over a six-year period.

Allied Irish Banks (AIB) sent incorrect information about 12,000 customers to the Irish Credit Bureau over six years, thebank admitted today.

The data was part of the mass of information that the Irish Credit Bureau (ICB) collects about the loan repayment track records of millions of borrowers.

It is used by banks as a key factor in deciding whether or not to lend to prospective customers.

AIB said it had provided incorrect information to the ICB between 2006 and 2012. The error relates to customers who were in arrears on loans to AIB,

The error occurred when customers whose loan repayments were due weekly or fortnightly missed a payment.

When the ICB was told of the missed payment, AIB recorded each case as being a month in arrears, not a week or two weeks.

It resulted in incorrect statements to the ICB of the affected customer’s repayment history.

The error came to light after a customer queried a report of their credit history recorded by the ICB.

Ireland’s Katie Taylor through to a shot at a historic gold medal boxing final  ‘after a 17-9 Semi-final win’

  

Katie Taylor (in red) during her comfortable semi-final win over Mavzuna Chorieva of Tajikistan & right after the fight happy with  father Peter (right) and technical coach Zaur Anita.

They crowded around Katie Taylor in the mixed zone as if she were Ireland’s greatest sporting treasure after the world’s stand-out female boxer had dominated Tajikistan’s Mavzuna Chorieva 17-9 to reach the Olympic lightweight boxing final. The relief is that Taylor has finally brought Ireland to the party.

The fleet-footed 26-year-old Bray girl has emerged as Ireland’s most realistic gold medal hope at these Games. A phalanx of cameras and reporters — and even political sketch writers — are here scrutinising every move the fledgling Olympian is making.

Taylor, from the coastal town of Bray in County Wicklow, revealed she expected to sleep for only two hours prior to the final. She admitted that a day’s rest would be perfect, but her career, already decorated with four world titles, reaches its pinnacle today.

This is no brash or brazen woman. Taylor is deeply religious. Her father is her coach, her mother was a boxing judge. She speaks so quietly it seems inconceivable that she fights with such venom. She said: “It’s amazing to box for the gold medal tomorrow. I wouldn’t mind the day off, but that’s just because I’m lazy. I have trouble getting sleep before a big fight but I’ll still manage to get a couple of hours in.

“The support has been amazing. It’s like fighting at home. Hopefully there will be a lot of young girls sitting at home watching this, and they’ll realise that this is something they can work towards. It is amazing for women’s boxing.”

Taylor continued to show impressive hand speed and technical know-how at this first Olympic women’s boxing event. She delivered a fulsome, brutal victory over the game boxer from Central Asia. There is never any letting up from Taylor as she bounces from ball to ball of her feet, poised for attack.

The Irish fighter looks untouchable, and her performance brought the house down.

Chorieva came out with great confidence and landed the first punches but Taylor then landed against the Tajik with a couple of combinations and one excellent left, to go to the corner 3-1 up. The teenage Tajik dropped her hands, pushed her tongue out, and tried to forced the Irishwoman off her gameplan.

Thereafter, though, Taylor had the bout her way. The fans were rejoicing. They were in rapture. It might have been Munster’s Thomond Park as they sang the Fields of Athenry. Taylor took the second 4-2 and there was a sense of her easing away from Chorieva. From then on, Taylor took complete control, moving ahead 13-6 after the third, and then showing all her class in the fourth round, to finish the contest as winner of all four rounds.

Taylor now faces the Russian and world No 2 Sofya Ochigava in a repeat of May’s World Championship final in China. Taylor won a record fourth world title there, and has not been beaten in a major competition for six years. Ochigava came through a tough battle with Adriana Araujo of Brazil

The Irish Government should not make any more mistake’s with property tax

  

The Labour Party chairman Colm Keaveney says the government should wait and make sure it gets the property tax right, rather than make any mistakes, if it becomes a complicated process.

Colm Keaveney was responding to proposals from one tax expert, that the introduction of the new tax should be put off for a year.

At the moment, it’s due to be rolled out next year, to replace the current flat-rate household charge.

Galway East Deputy Colm Keaveney outlined the kind of system he’d like to see introduced: “It would pick up the size of the house, the location of the home and the level of amentities.

“It would develop a matrix, a sliding scale of a fair system based on an ability to pay. If it’s complicated to construct this system, then I would much prefer if we wait and get it right than make any mistakes at the outset.”

‘Ming Flanagan in’ Jeans banned in new Dáil dress code

     

Shabby TDs will have to look smart if they want to be heard and get their speak in when the Dáil returns next month.

A new dress code being finalised by the committee on procedures and privileges hopes to do away with deputies parading around the chamber in jeans and T-shirts.

New rules would see speaking rights withheld from TDs who do not abide by the stricter dress code, which will demand that male deputies wear formal trousers, a collared shirt, and a jacket while in the chamber or at committee meetings, while women members will be barred from wearing jeans.

A member of the committee said the issue was discussed at the watchdog’s last session and the new restrictions would come into force when the Dáil resumes in late September.

The rules would be enforced via the Ceann Comhairle, who has the power to call, or not to call, members to speak.

The move could provoke another clash between the Ceann Comhairle Seán Barrett and Independent TD Luke “Ming” Flanagan.

Mr Flanagan has so far refused to apologise to the Ceann Comhairle for an ugly altercation in a Leinster House corridor last month.

The committee on procedures and privileges wrote to Mr Flanagan insisting he make a public apology to the Ceann Comhairle for what it called a “vicious, unprovoked verbal assault”.

This was on foot of Mr Flanagan and fellow Independent TD John Halligan confronting Mr Barrett in a corridor to complain about the way the Personal Insolvency Bill was handled.

The TDs deny they verbally assaulted Mr Barrett and have refused to apologise to him.

Flanagan has also used his Facebook page to make highly personal remarks about the Ceann Comhairle.

In one entry, Mr Flanagan claimed he had been told it was against the rules to approach the Ceann Comhairle in the corridor, adding: “That rule must not count in the Dáil bar where I understand he regularly freely associates with TDs while guzzling pints. He can’t have it both ways.”

Mr Flanagan has accused Mr Barrett of being biased in his conduct and a “miserable failure in carrying out his responsibility”.

Currently, the Leinster House dress code merely instructs members to “dress in a manner that reflects the dignity of the House”.