You will remember, Dolores Cahill was one of 11 candidates to contest the 2020 Irish General Election, held on Saturday February 8th, 2020, with none of their candidates being successfully elected. Dolores Cahill, claiming to represent the electorate of County of Tipperary, came second-last in the Tipperary constituency, with a miserable 521 first preference votes. Following this election failure, her agents ceased to function failing in the removal of her election posters, for almost one year.
A spokeswoman for Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has confirmed that her Facebook page has now finally been removed by the social media giant, as part of its promise to fight harmful Covid-19 misinformation.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic began Ms Cahill has consistently remained one of the most prominent purveyors of misinformation not just in Ireland but also Internationally.
Just last month, Ms Cahill was fined £2,500 (sterling) by a London court, for defiantly holding anti-lockdown protests in breach of agreed Covid restrictions. Ms Cahill is no longer an employee and lecturer at University College Dublin (UCD), with her details having been removed from the University’s online staff directory. UCD had faced criticism in the past for not taking action earlier against Ms Cahill over false and misleading claims. In 2020, Ms Cahill was asked to resign as Vice Chair of the Scientific Committee of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), latter a partnership between the European Commission and the drugs industry.
At the start of the pandemic, her Facebook page was followed by about 3,500 people, but by July 1st, 2021, her following had grown to include some 460,000 misguided individuals.
Minsters McEntee and Harris launch Further Education and Training guide for domestic and sexual abuse victims.
Guidance on what further education and training options and back-to-work training is available.
Information not previously readily accessible for victims or NGOs.
Initiative is part of 16 Days of Activism international campaign.
Minister for Justice Mrs Helen McEntee TD and Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Mr Simon Harris TD have today launched a guidance document to help victims of domestic and sexual abuse access Further Education and Training related opportunities.
“We wanted to examine how all victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence can access education pathways, and provide a range of opportunities in this area.
The information detailing what further education and training is available may not have been easily accessible to various groups in the sector working with victims, or indeed to the victims themselves.
Frontline services engaging with victims will now have a nationwide list of the Education & Training Boards (ETBs) Adult Guidance Information Service contact points and details on the type of Further Education and Training (FET) opportunities that are available.
This is another step in implementing ‘Supporting a Victim’s Journey’, our plan to ensure victims are treated with respect and dignity and supported throughout the criminal justice process’’
Domestic Violence Refuges and Support Services and Rape Crisis Centres have direct contact with some of the most vulnerable and traumatised victims and have a key role in matching victims with the available training and other opportunities.
Minister Harris stated,
“Access to education starts with information. It takes great courage for victims of domestic violence and sexual or gender based violence to reach out for help but when they do, our education and training system must be ready to help them.
Further education and training is available in every county in Ireland. It can offer any person, regardless of any previous level of education, a pathway to take them as far as they want to go. The range of courses expands from law to childcare, to hairdressing and ICT. There is something there for everyone.
Today’s announcement brings together key information on what is available and how to access it, and it is there for you when you need it, for whatever you need it for. Throughout life, regardless of present or past circumstances educational opportunities are available for everyone right across country. I would encourage support services and all who come into contact with survivors to use the guide to ensure the breadth of education and training options are known to survivors and their families.”
The guide, which is for use by frontline service providers for victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, contains a nationwide list of Education & Training Boards Ireland Guidance Counsellors’ contact details and details on the type of Further Education and Training (FET) available as well as where further information and details can be found online.
The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual international campaign that started on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day.
Minister Browne announces funding of almost €200,000 to address anti-social behaviour and the misuse of scramblers
Minister of State with responsibility for Law Reform and Youth Justice, Mr James Browne TD, is delighted to announce that almost €200,000 is being provided in funding to eight community-based projects to work with young people involved in the anti-social use of scramblers and quad bikes and related crime.
Welcoming the news, Minister Browne stated,
“I chair the Anti-Social Behaviour Forum within my Department and one of its tasks was to deliver proposals that could be brought to Government around a community based approach to tackling this problem. While tackling the misuse of scramblers and other vehicles by An Garda Síochána is fundamental, it was also highlighted to the Forum that engagement with communities and awareness raising are just as important.
This included making younger people aware of dangers to themselves and to others in using such vehicles and highlighting the dangers to parents considering buying such vehicles for their children. The Forum explored the opportunities of intervention and diversion from this type of activity.“
Mr James Browne TD
Earlier this year the Department of Justice opened applications for funding to all Youth Diversion Projects and interested groups, such as motocross clubs, on the development of proposals for community-based interventions to work with young people involved in anti-social use of these vehicles and related crime and anti-social behaviour.
This funding provision announced today will enable eight Youth Diversion Projects to work with young people involved in the mis-use of these vehicles. These projects will be required to consult with other local interests, including An Garda Síochána, and to create a local consortium which will include the local authority. It is envisaged that the local authority partner will in general be responsible for provision of tracks and related facilities. The programme will also encourage young people to engage positively to learn motorcycle skills, including maintenance, combined with relevant educational and personal development activities.
The Department of Justice would welcome additional applications from other Youth Diversion Projects and indeed is working with a number to support them in developing additional local scrambler initiatives.
Minister Browne added:
“I know the Minister of Transport is examining provisions to strengthen the law in relation to the dangerous and antisocial off-road use of scramblers, quads and other similar vehicles. It is hoped that this combined approach of increased Garda powers to tackle the misuse of scramblers, while at the same time creating alternative options for those who wish to use such vehicles safely and legally, will have a significant impact in tackling the problem.”
The Bill replaces and strengthens laws against people smuggling.
Covers a broader range of scenarios, and a broader geographic range.
The Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Mr James Browne TD, is pleased to announce that the Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill has completed all stages in the Oireachtas, and is expected to be signed into law by the President shortly. The Bill will replace and strengthen laws against people smuggling.
Minister Browne said,
“The terrible tragedy in the English Channel last month is a reminder, if one was needed, of the need to combat the unscrupulous practise of people smugglers. This new legislation will help. The existing smuggling offence is difficult to prosecute, as it effectively requires the prosecution to prove that the defendant acted for gain. As this gain will typically occur outside the State, this has often been impossible. The new Bill helps facilitate the cooperation required for us to continue to work together with our colleagues in the EU and the UK to combat smugglers who have no regard for the lives of the people they put at risk.”
Mr James Browne TD
The revised offence also covers a broader range of scenarios – it covers intentionally assisting entry, transit or presence where the person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that it is in breach of specified immigration law provisions. And while the existing offence is limited to facilitating the entry into the State, the revised offence covers smuggling into other countries (including EU Member States and parties to the UN Protocol against people smuggling).
The Bill ensures that a full defence is in place to protect those acting for genuine humanitarian purposes and not for gain, or on behalf of bona fide humanitarian organisations. It also ensures that smuggled persons are not criminalised by being smuggled.
The new legislation replaces most aspects of the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000 and reflects the provisions of three international instruments against people smuggling:
EU Council Directive 2002/90/EC defining the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and residence;
EU Framework Decision 2002/946/JHA on the strengthening of the penal framework to prevent the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and residence; and
UN Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2000).
The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Simon Coveney TD, welcomed the publication today of the fourth report of the Independent Reporting Commission (IRC).
Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Simon Coveney
The Fourth Report sets out the Commission’s further assessment of progress to date on the implementation of the provisions of the 2015 Fresh Start Agreement that are designed to tackle paramilitary activity and associated criminality, and bringing an end to paramilitarism in Northern Ireland.
The Commission reports that paramilitary activity remains a stark reality of life in Northern Ireland and describes it as a clear and present danger.
The Reports of the Commission provide an invaluable insight into the work that is being done to tackle paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland and they set out a pathway to achieving progress, both through the policing and criminal justice response and a response to the wider socio-economic factors that exist in the communities where paramilitaries continue to operate.
This year the Commission highlights that as a result of the major focus that has been brought to bear on tackling paramilitarism following the Fresh Start Agreement, there are now a whole range of actions and initiatives in place that simply did not exist before and that these are now beginning to have real effect on the ground. There is of course still work to be done and the IRC sets out some further recommendations, building on their previous reports.
Speaking on the Report’s publication, Minister McEntee said,
“This fourth report of the Independent Reporting Commission sets out the stark reality that paramilitary activity remains a clear and present danger in Northern Ireland. These groups carry out horrendous crimes such as paramilitary style shootings, attacks on police officers and attacks in their own communities. As well as this appalling physical violence, the Commission focuses on coercive control in this Report and the harm that it causes to the communities that are in the grip of this fearful reality. Paramilitarism, and the associated criminality that we witness, is simply unacceptable and something that our communities should not have to endure. We need to ensure pressure is maintained to bring this activity to an end. I welcome that the IRC reports that the range of actions and initiatives commenced on foot of Fresh Start are now beginning to have real effect on the ground. There is of course still work to be done and we will continue working with our UK and Northern Ireland counterparts, and the Independent Reporting Commission on tackling this ingrained problem.”
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Simon Coveney T.D. said,
“I welcome the fourth report of the Independent Reporting Commission. The Commission continues to provide an invaluable and comprehensive overview of efforts to end continuing paramilitary activity. The report makes clear that, while some progress has been made, many challenges remain. As the Commissioners recognise, the twin track approach – incorporating policing and justice measures and a wider approach that deals with systemic issues – is crucial. The Commissioners have highlighted the complex issues required in ending paramilitarism and I look forward to continuing to engage with them on this in the coming year.”
Ministers McEntee and Coveney expressed thanks to the Commissioners and officials for this Report and their work to date.
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