Irish Phrase Of The Day "Cad atá ar súil agat ?" - What are you doing?
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 Minister for Justice Alan Shatter Approximately 55,000 people are waiting for Garda clearance, which will enable them to work with vulnerable adults and children in community and voluntary services, latest figures from the Department of Justice have confirmed.
Around 290,000 individuals were vetted last year, however it is deemed necessary for people who have been ‘Vetted and Cleared‘ already once by the gardaí, that they must be vetted again, should they choose to work for a different organisation.
The Department of Justice, claim that the average waiting time is estimated at 10 weeks, however, many awaiting clearance state that they have been waiting for up to 16 weeks for clearance and cannot take up their appointed rolls due to these delays.
Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has stated his concerns at the length of time taken to process these vetting applications. He also confirmed that the Department of Finance had sanctioned the recruitment of 10 temporary employees to the GCVU in Thurles, Co Tipperary and these are now being recruited.
A report by the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children, chaired by Mary O’Rourke TD, which reported on the 11th September 2008, recommends that legislation be introduced to regulate and control the manner in which records of criminal convictions and information including “soft information” can be stored and deployed by An Garda Síochána and other Statutory Agencies for the purpose of child Protection.
 Casino Gambling It was only a matter of time I suppose, but today, ‘The Irish Times‘ newspaper brings us news of a proposal for yet another €300 million Super-Casino, this time on the banks of the river Liffey.
Treasury Holdings, whose loans are presently in Nama have submitted a proposal to the Department of Justice, in conjunction with an international casino operator.
Treasury Holdings founding shareholder, Johnny Ronan, dubbed The Buccaneer, went into business in his twenties with his father, who started out as a pig-trader in Tipperary and went on to work in property. Ronan then studied accounting in Waterford Institute of Technology and Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
Treasury Holdings state that its Spencer Dock site near Dublin Port is an “ideal location” for the construction of a large-scale Casino as part of a regeneration of this area.
Rather like the Tipperary Venue, it also claims the development could attract three million visitors a year and create 2,200 new jobs in the Dublin region. The venture could boost spending in the local economy by up to €75 million a year and generate more than €40 million per year in gaming taxes.
According to the submission, a large-scale casino, including hotel, convention and spa facilities, along with restaurants, pubs, nightclubs and a bowling alley, (No Racecourse) would be 50,000-75,000 sq metres in size and would cost between €250 million and €300 million to develop.
The proposal states, that for a large scale Casino to be financially viable, there must be sufficient demand. “This generally means locating the Casino Resort in or near population centres, where it is easily accessible by local customers and tourists.”
The submission also claims the development would employ 1,750 people as well as creating 450 jobs in tourism. About 2,000 jobs in construction would be created over a 2½-year period.
The name of this company has been withheld on the documents released on grounds of commercial sensitivity.
It rejects the contention that problem gambling will rise, with the introduction of such large-scale casinos.
Meanwhile a planning decision on the Tipperary Venue is expected very shortly.
 Irish Coursing Club (ICC) The Irish Coursing Club (ICC) has been ordered to pay €640,000 in damages to a private firm and could face further costs after a court case relating to a disputed land deal next to its grounds.
Mr Justice Frank Clarke announced the verdict at the commercial court yesterday and is due to provide a written verdict on the case and a relating issue shortly, as part of this long-standing case taken by the development company Greenband Investments.
This move potentially places a question mark over the financial stability of the Irish Coursing Club, with trustees of the group stating substantial costs arising from this case could have “a major effect on the club“. The €640,000 damages is only a fraction of the original €5.9 million claim made, however a decision on further costs to be awarded will not be made until another hearing planned for March 30th.
The case, which was originally taken against the Irish Coursing Club in June 2008, relates to the coursing organisation’s interest in land along side its Powerstown Park stadium premises at Davis Road, in Clonmel, Co Tipperary. Greenband Investments sued the ICC to compel it to complete the sale of part of the lane way after claiming its €31m retail development which includes a Marks and Spencer store, would be jeopardised if this did not take place.
Greenband Investments also claimed it made a written agreement with the ICC trustees, in March 2008, to buy the lands for a sum of €100,000 and had paid a deposit of €10,000. Greenband Investments claimed the ICC was fully aware, at all times, that the purchase of the lands was part of a larger scheme of development by the private firm.
It is understood that legal costs in this case have yet to be decided.
Templemore Garda Training College here in Templemore, Co Tipperary, was once among the most elite of police academies in Europe. Its future seemed excellent with the purchase of a further 220 acre site at Clonmore, situated close to Templemore, for the inflated price of €5.5 million. Latter was ear marked for use as a firearms and tactical training facility almost four years ago.
Political Promises All Lies
In June of last year, at the Garda Training College, outgoing Fianna Fail Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern indicated that a new recruitment campaign would be implemented in late 2010.
The same Minister for Justice, Mr Dermot Ahern stated:
“For the people living here in Templemore this college is very important – it’s a fine facility here and its here will be used for the new recruits and indeed for their training. I know there were some suggestions that this place might be mothballed, however there is no question of that.”
 Templemore Garda Training College Confirmation from the Minister for Justice that the Garda College in Templemore was safe, was received by Independent Deputy Michael Lowry. Mr Lowry sought assurances after local Templemore Town Councillors spoke of ‘rumours of imminent closure‘ due to the current recruitment embargo. Deputy Lowry communicated this information to a specially convened meeting of Templemore Town Councillors and North Tipperary Oireachtas representatives, in Templemore town hall.
It now appears Mr Lowry was badly deceived by the government he so willingly supported and Tipperary’s largest employer in North Tipperary, this same Garda Training College, has been forced to lay off dozens of catering and housekeeping staff, together with large numbers of resident officers also being redeployed out of the facility.
This exodus of local employment and resources is currently having a severe negative impact on Templemore town and the surrounding region. We now see the volume of business and young people diminishing and the local families, who would previously have provided lodgings for the student Gardaí, are feeling the impact of the present recruitment ban.
It now appears that Garda recruitment will not take place until 2014 for full time members, with selection being made only from persons who have already joined up from the Reserve Gardaí volunteer members within An Garda Síochána, who provide support to full-time members and supposedly help to strengthen links between the force and local communities throughout the country.
It is envisaged that these Reserve Members will form 10% or more of the full-time professional force into the future. It now also appears that, thanks to the mismanagement of the outgoing government, Ireland can no longer afford to properly protect its citizens in the future.
 Hayes Hotel, Thurles, Co Tipperary The trial of two barmen charged with the unlawful killing of a man, who died from acute alcohol intoxication, appears to be likely to go ahead next May.
Mr Gary Wright, a bar manager at Hayes Hotel in Thurles, aged 32 and Mr Aidan Dalton, a barman, with an addresses at Kilfithmone, Borrisoleigh, Co Tipperary aged 27, are both charged with the manslaughter of Mr Graham Parish, at the hotel on 30th of June 2008.
Yesterday, Nenagh Circuit Court heard that an expert pathologist and witness, due to give evidence on the behalf of the defence, was outside the jurisdiction of the State and was not available to the court.
Judge Tom Teehan, then adjourned the case to the next session of Nenagh Circuit Court which is on the 3rd of May.
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