Joseph's space

By J. P. Anderson:

GARDAÍ have smashed a wholesale cocaine factory operated by one of the country’s biggest drug traffickers.

Officers seized a large haul of the drug – valued officially at around €1.5 million – when they stopped a taxi in north Dublin.
In a follow-up search, they raided a nearby house and found a cocaine factory, with compressors and other drug paraphernalia.
The raids were conducted by the Balbriggan Drug Unit as part of an ongoing operation into drug gangs in the area.
Sources said the gang is a notorious trafficking network, led by a crime boss originally from Coolock, north Dublin. This man now has houses in Cavan and Meath. Last March, he was arrested by the Garda Organised Crime Unit.
A garda spokesman said the cocaine was seized when a car was stopped at Balrothery, Balbriggan, by the local drug unit.
He said cocaine to the value of €1.5m, subject to analysis, was seized.
Two men were arrested at the scene. Two other men were arrested when gardaí searched a house in Balrothery.
Three were taken to Balbriggan Garda Station and one was detained at Swords Garda Station.
All four are held under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996.
It was not clear yesterday what quantity of cocaine that was seized.
Garda sources said north county Dublin, as well as Meath and Louth, were "a hub of gangland activity" after gangs from Coolock, and other areas, including Finglas, moved out to those areas because of garda pressure.

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By J. P. Anderson:

GUN clubs are being infiltrated to help train criminals in the use of handguns, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern has told the Dáil.

He defended a provision in the new Criminal Justice Bill outlawing "practical and dynamic" shooting drills which involve role-play situations. "What has been going on in some of these shooting ranges is nothing other than mimicking combat-style shooting," he said.
Mr Ahern said bona fide gun club groups had written to him in support of the measure, because they had no desire to promote this type of activity.
He said his ban was designed to prevent gangs using legitimate sports to prepare for criminal activity.
Earlier, the Labour Party’s justice spokesman Pat Rabbitte proposed an amendment requiring supervision, vetting and safety measures instead of the unnecessary curtailment of sports shooting. He said he did not envy Mr Ahern’s dilemma, but asked that it not be too draconian. He also wondered "why the minister was so focused on this particular objective in the bill".
"I have listened to what was said at committee stage and I am still somewhat in the dark as to why it is such a high priority with him.
"The impression I formed is that the minister fears you can join one of these clubs and you can become skilled in the use of firearms and you can subsequently use these skills for anti-social purposes," he said.
Mr Rabbitte said, if that was the case, Mr Ahern should have taken on his amendment to vet members rather than issue an outright ban on practical shooting.

Fine Gael’s Charlie Flanagan, who tabled a similar amendment, said there were official Olympic sports which would be outlawed in Ireland because of the law.
However, the minister said he had consulted widely with clubs and the gardaí and there was little objection to a focused ban on this type of training.
He said while "99.9%" of the country’s gun owners were good people he had to act if he thought aspects of the sport were being abused by criminal elements.

NEW laws allowing for gangland crimes to be tried in the Special Criminal Court have been allocated just 90 minutes for Dáil debate on the last day before it breaks for summer holidays next week.

This compares to almost five hours allowed for a debate on a bill outlining payment methods for members of the European Parliament to which there were no amendments tabled and was not disputed by opposition parties. The Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009 is one of 12 pieces of legislation which will be rushed through the Dáil in its last week of sittings with limited time for discussion.
The use of "guillotines" or cut-off points for debates has been taken to a "new level of ridiculousness", Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore warned yesterday.
He said the law dealing with gangland crime "has far-reaching implications for the criminal justice system".
Mr Gilmore added: "Whatever members’ views on its content, 90 minutes is hardly sufficient time to allow the degree of scrutiny a bill of this type requires."
Addressing the Tánaiste Mary Coughlan in the Dáil, Mr Gilmore said: "It is not unusual that we find ourselves in a position at the end of a Dáil session where the Government is using the guillotine to push through legislation, either to get it out of the way or to minimise the amount of public attention it will receive. However, on this occasion, it has taken the use of the guillotine and the ordering of business to a new level of ridiculousness."
The issue arose before a debate on a bill yesterday which provides for the use of a European arrest warrant and restricts the licensing of hand guns.
The Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill yesterday was given just two and a half hours for debate.
Sinn Féin’s Caoimhghín O Caoláin said: "We should allow each bill to have its natural time."
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny also objected. "Given that we have had a complete scarcity of legislation on so many occasions in the past 12 months, this is not the way to do business," he said.
The Tánaiste said the time allocation could not be changed because it was already agreed.
The issue went to a vote which the Government won, and the debate went ahead in the time allocated.
Mr Gilmore said the order of business of the Dáil was ludicrous. "All of this business could probably be done without any guillotine," he said.

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By J. P. Anderson:

FAMILIES WHO say their relatives were mistreated in the mental health system have urged the Government to establish an independent inquiry into care standards across a number of psychiatric services.

A group which included representatives from Action On Elder Abuse, a former nurse from mental health services in Co Clare, and relatives of former patients met with Minister of State for mental health John Moloney to discuss calls for an inquiry yesterday.

Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Bridie Cox, a former nurse in the mental health service in Co Clare, said she had been shocked by the treatment of many older people, in particular those with Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Among the type of ill-treatment she says she witnessed included the over-sedation of patients, physical abuse, bullying, intimidation and neglect.

She says she left the health service as she could no longer tolerate the mistreatment of residents. “I was shocked when I came home after working as a nurse in the UK. It was like going back in time. I saw patients being bullied, intimidated and kicked.”

She says she raised her concerns with health authorities at the time, but her concerns were found to be “groundless”.

Families of people in the care of mental health services in the mid-west also said they were not satisfied with the response of health authorities to their concerns.

The Health Service Executive locally says it is undertaking a “management review” of allegations and complaints, as well as investigations into individual complaints. However, Lourda Finn, whose father died while in the care of mental health services, said relatives, wanted an independent inquiry.

Their calls for an inquiry come just months after an inquiry by the State’s mental health watchdog into two psychiatric hospitals found evidence that intellectually disabled residents were being inappropriately administered tranquillisers to control their behaviour.

The report into standards at St Michael’s unit, South Tipperary General Hospital, and St Luke’s hospital, both in Clonmel, found widespread failures to provide proper standards of care to residents. These included wards being unnecessarily locked, overuse of seclusion and a lack of needs-based therapeutic or recreation activities.

Following a meeting with Mr Moloney yesterday, Jack Keaveney of Action On Elder Abuse said they had been promised a response to their calls for an inquiry by the end of this month.

He also said the group highlighted the need for the HSE’s elder abuse officers to have greater powers to inspect facilities or advocate on behalf of patients.

“What’s important to stress is that these incidents we’re highlighting are not isolated and they’re not confined to Clare or anywhere else.”

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By J. P. Anderson:

80 people have been arrested in Dublin in the last 48 hours by gardaí investigating drug dealing.

The 72 men and eight women had previously been charged with offences relating to the supply of serious controlled drugs.

100 homes across Dublin have been searched as part of Operation Feeder, which was set up to tackle drug dealing at street level.

Gardaí said they have broken up the supply network of two criminal gangs.

The operation was led by the Garda National Drugs Unit and included units in Store Street, Pearse Street, Kilmainham and district drug units throughout the city.

Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy said the force is committed to 'tackling drug supply at all levels'.

The operation has been ongoing for the past five months.

More than 100 homes were searched as part of the operation. Officers from the Garda National Drugs Unit, Pearse Street, Kilmainham and Store Street stations and district drug units throughout the city region took part in raids.

A total of 120 charges have been laid against the 80 suspects, some of whom have already appeared before the courts.

Det Supt Michael O’Sullivan, of the National Drugs Unit said while most of the arrests had taken place within Dublin, some had been made in outlying counties such as Carlow and Kildare. Further arrests were also expected, he said.

“It’s not a drop in the ocean. The people targeted are an integral part of the drugs supply network,” he said. “They were targeted as part of the Garda strategy to reduce demand and supply of drugs in the city and the country as a whole.”

Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy said the force was committed to tackling the supply of drugs.

“The Garda National Drugs Unit working with local Garda drug units will ensure a co-ordinated and effective approach to protecting our communities, individuals and their families from the harm, pain and destruction caused by illicit drug use,” Mr Murphy said.

“We will continue to work with other agencies and communities in tackling the drug problem in this country.”

Sinn Féin’s justice spokesman Aengus Ó Snodaigh welcomed the move, saying it was the type of solid, intelligence-based police work needed to tackle drugs and serious crime, rather than the measures proposed in the Criminal Justice Bill published this week.

The latest arrests came as five people were held over a seizure of cocaine in Balbriggan, Co Dublin, on Wednesday.

The haul, with an estimated street value of €1.5 million, was recovered following the search of a vehicle in the Balrothery area of Balbriggan on Wednesday afternoon.

Two men were arrested at the scene, with two further arrests made after a follow-up search of a house in Balrothery revealed drug paraphernalia. A fifth person was arrested late on Wednesday night.

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By J. P. Anderson:

Brain tumours in young men and women are the leading cause of cancer death in the UK, according to research.

They kill more men under 45 and women under 35 than any other cancer, reveals Brain Tumour Research.

And brain tumours have overtaken leukaemia as the biggest cancer killer of children in the UK, with the number of children dying from a brain tumour in 2007, up 33% on 2001.

While overall mortality rates from cancer are falling despite an actual rise in cases, survival rates for brain tumour patients are getting worse.

Brain tumours cannot be prevented because their cause is still unknown, medical experts say, explaining that research is being "forgotten" and desperately underfunded.

There has been concern in recent years that the use of mobile phones might be contributing to illness, but subsequent studies have ruled it out.

"What is happening is that more tumours are being diagnosed, but the survival rate is staying the same," a BTR spokeswoman told Sky News Online.

Brain tumour research currently receives less than 1% of all cancer research spent in the UK.

That works out annually at £3m, out of a total £426m.

Now, a new research laboratory - funded entirely by individual donations - is being opened at London's Charing Cross Hospital with the hope of finding ways to develop better treatment for brain tumours.

"The opening of the laboratory is an important first step, but is just a drop in the ocean of what is needed," said BTR chairman, Wendy Fulcher.

Consultant Neurosurgeon and lecturer and Imperial College Kevin O'Neill said: "Brain tumours can afflict anyone of us, increasingly the younger section of the population which has led to brain tumours causing the biggest reduction in expected lifespan than any other cancer.

"They can't be prevented or screened for as we don't know the cause. It is frustrating that treatment options are so limited. More research is desperately needed, but we are struggling to get funds."

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By J. P. Anderson:

Britain's hottest week could become a washout with parts of the country put on flood alert.

The Environment Agency warned south Wales and southwest England are set to be hit by flash floods.

Weather forecaster Tony Conran said: "There remains a possibility for the hottest day of the year but for other parts there could be floods.

"There's an area of very heavy rain moving in towards the hills of Bodmin and Exmoor. Anywhere in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset there could be a hell of a lot of rain."

An Environment Agency spokesman said: "The Environment Agency and Met Office are warning homeowners, businesses and drivers in south west England and South Wales that heavy, thundery rain could lead to flash flooding, particularly from surface water drains and small watercourses."

Forecasters had previously raised the heatwave warning alert level from two to three with the current weather spell the hottest since July 2006.

The heatwave plan alert is in four stages, with green level one signalling "summer preparedness and long-term planning".

Level two is amber and signals "alert and readiness", while three is red for "heatwave action". Level four is classed as "red emergency".

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By J. P. Anderson:

Middle-aged people who live alone have double the risk of dementia compared with those who are married or have a partner, researchers have said.

There is a "substantial" link between marital status and dementia and having a partner appears to offer protection against mental decline in later life, they said.

A study showed that people who live alone in middle-age and are widowed or divorced have the highest chances of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.

They are three times more likely to develop dementia, as are people who are single at middle-aged but also when they are older.

Researchers studied 1,449 people aged 50 on average and then again when they were between the ages of 65 and 79. They found that people living with a partner or married in mid-life were less likely than all other categories (single, separated or widowed) to have dementia in later life.

The experts suggested women overall had less chance of dementia than men, but called for more research on differences between the sexes.

The team of researchers was led by Miia Kivipelto from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Writing in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), they said: "Living in a relationship with a partner might imply cognitive and social challenges that have a protective effect against cognitive impairment later in life."

They concluded: "There is a substantial and independent association between marital status in mid-life and cognitive function later in life. People without a partner had twice the risk of developing cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease compared with people living with a partner.

"The risk for cognitive impairment was even higher for those without a partner both at mid-life and later life."

The researchers noted that, in 2005, an estimated 25 million people worldwide had dementia, and the number is expected to reach 81.1 million in 2040. In the UK, some 800,000 people have dementia but the figure is rising.

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By J. P. Anderson:

The number of swine flu cases could reach more than 100,000 per day by the end of next month, Health Secretary Andy Burnham has warned.

The UK has moved past the stage of containing the swine flu outbreak and into the "treatment phase", he said.

"We have reached the next stage in management of the disease," Mr Burnham told the Commons.

"The national focus will be on treating the increasing numbers affected by swine flu. We will move to this treatment phase across the UK with immediate effect."

There are now 7,447 laboratory-confirmed cases in the UK, he said.

London and the West Midlands have already had sufficiently high numbers to move towards a policy of outbreak management, which saw people with swine flu clinically diagnosed rather than being confirmed by laboratory reports.

Mr Burnham said that last week saw a "considerable rise" in swine flu cases.

"There are now on average several hundred new cases every day," he said.

"Our efforts during the containment phase have given us precious time to learn more about the virus. We have always known it would be impossible to contain the virus indefinitely and at some point we would need to move away from containment to treatment."

He added: "We have now signed contracts to secure enough vaccine for the whole population." The first will become available next month, with 60 million doses available by the end of the year.

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By J. P. Anderson:

Dublin Fire Brigade is appealing to people not to travel this morning unless absolutely necessary after torrential overnight downpours caused widespread flooding.

Many roads around Dublin are still affected and some DART services are not operating.

It is asking people not to drive into areas where roads are flooded as there is a real risk they will become stranded.

People have been asked to avoid the coast road in particular.

More than two weeks' of average rainfall was recorded at Dublin Airport in one hour. However, the airport remains open.

Passengers are advised to give themselves extra time getting to the airport because of flooding on some approach roads.

The Mater Hospital in Dublin is asking the public not to attend its A&E Department because of the flooding.

A roof has also collapsed in the old part of the hospital. Patients had to be moved from one ward.

It said people with outpatient appointments today should attend as normal, while those who are scheduled to have elective surgery should contact the hospital before leaving their home to check if their appointment has been affected.

Also in Dublin city, 20 people were evacuated from apartments on Sherrard Street in the early hours of this morning due to flooding.

The Fire Brigade also attended a house in Monkstown, Co Dublin, where the roof had collapsed.

Iarnrod Éireann says all services are running as normal again after earlier disruption due to flooding.

However, the station at Bayside has been closed due to flooding and no DARTs are stopping there.

Passengers are being asked to use Sutton or Howth Junction stations as an alternative.

Dublin Bus is accepting rail tickets.

Earlier, flooding at Dún Laoghaire disrupted services between Dalkey and Dún Laoghaire.

Early morning motorists have been describing the worst hit areas in the Dublin area as akin to 'swimming pools'.

The flooding has subsided in many areas but several major routes on both sides of the city are flooded with some roads still impassable.

The M1 at the entrance to the Port Tunnel was barely passable on one lane only. The other three lanes are impassable.

Gardaí say the southbound slip road at the junction of the M1/M50 interchange at north Dublin is affected, as are Newlands Cross on the N7 and Rathcoole.

The N11, which was closed from Booterstown Avenue to Fosters Avenue, has reopened. There are still problems southbound at the Loughlinstown Roundabout.

Visit AA Roadwatch for the latest on road closures

Flooding has cleared on the north side of the city around Howth, Malahide, and Clontarf.

There is flooding around Collins Avenue and Richmond Road, Drumcondra.

Dublin City Council has said potentially any house in the capital could have flooded overnight.

A spokesman said emergency staff was on standby since a weather warning was issued by Met Éireann at 9pm and went out once rain began to fall at 2am.

The spokesman said: 'Flood waters are alleviating at the moment and the high tide is below critical level so it should not cause a huge problem.'

Torrential downpours have also been reported in parts of the south and east as well as the midlands.

By J. P. Anderson:

GRANNY flats and independent living spaces for elderly people near their families will be subject to a €200 second-home tax which is expected to be imposed as early as next month.

Concern was raised last night that residents of nursing homes would also have to pay the levy on their original houses under the second-home legislation announced in last October’s budget.
But Environment Minister John Gormley has asked the Attorney General to review the Local Government Charges Bill 2009 before it is enacted to be absolutely sure that the €200 tax will not apply to those in long-term care settings.
Confusion over the proposed levy emerged last night when the laws were debated in the Seanad, after which Fine Gael issued a statement saying the tax would apply to nursing home residents as this would be considered their primary dwelling.
The statement was dismissed by the Government as "scare-mongering" and Mr Gormley addressed the Seanad to clarify the issue: "It was never the intention that the bill should seek to charge people in this position."
He said that "for the avoidance of all doubt", he will seek advice on the matter before it is debated in the Dáil next week and "take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that a liability for the charge does not arise for such people".
The tax will apply to sons or daughters who build a separate dwelling for their elderly parents beside their own home.
"Where those living in the accommodation do not own the granny flat, the owners will, in common with others who own second properties, be liable for the charge," the minister said.
However, after a number of senators appealed to the minister to make an exemption in these cases, he said: "I will consider the matter overnight, and we will see what we can do."
Fine Gael Senator Ciarán Cannon said those looking after elderly people in so-called granny flats are "taking the burden of care from the State and this is something the State has been encouraging for a number of years."
He said: "On the one hand, we are encouraging people to do this and on the other hand we are seeking to extract €200 a year from them for choosing to assist the State in the care of the elderly people. It’s €200 a year at the moment, who knows what it will be this year or the year after."
Senator Pearse Doherty, Sinn Féin, said the levy was unacceptable: "I personally think this is the wrong signal you are sending out. It will go to the core in communities right throughout rural Ireland," he said.
Senator Paul Coghlan, Fine Gael, said the levy on granny flats "is anti-good- state social policy": "Here are people who are doing the State a favour. This must go against everything you believe in."

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