Politics « Thurles Information

Dr Michelle Walsh Elected To GREVIO.

Dr Michelle Walsh’s Election to GREVIO Strengthens Ireland’s International Role on Ending Gender-Based Violence.

Ireland has secured an important place in European efforts to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence following the election of Dr Michelle Walsh to GREVIO, the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence. Her election was welcomed by Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Mr Jim O’Callaghan, who presented the result as recognition of her professional standing and Ireland’s commitment to tackling gender-based violence.

GREVIO is the independent expert body that monitors how countries implement the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, widely known as the Istanbul Convention. Dr Walsh was elected after a competitive selection process at a meeting of the Committee of the Parties to the Convention in Strasbourg, where five experts were chosen to begin four-year terms on 1st September 2026.

Dr Walsh’s success on the first count reflected the strength of her candidacy, her specialist knowledge, and her extensive practical experience, the result of which remains linked to Ireland’s reputation for engaging with domestic, sexual and gender-based violence at national and international levels.

Dr Walsh is Chief Executive Officer of MOVE Ireland, the national programme working with perpetrators of domestic abuse. She has more than 15 years of experience across the DSGBV field and is a fully accredited psychotherapist, clinical supervisor and trainer. Her career includes frontline programme delivery, applied research, policy development, evaluation of systems and services, professional education, and specialist training. She has also contributed to European cooperation through her work as a board member of the European Network for the Work with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence.

The Minister also recognised the service of Ellen O’Malley Dunlop, Ireland’s current member of GREVIO, whose term is due to conclude in August. Her contribution, including her role as Vice-President of the Committee, was acknowledged as an important part of Ireland’s engagement with the Convention.

Ireland’s domestic policy is closely connected to the Istanbul Convention. The State is a party to the Convention, and its Zero Tolerance Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence 2022–2026 is organised around the Convention’s four pillars: prevention, protection, prosecution, and coordinated policies. Dr Walsh’s election reinforces Ireland’s role in promoting stronger standards, better accountability, and more effective responses to gender-based violence across Europe.

Ireland Faces EU Court Action Over Peat Cutting Enforcement.

Ireland Faces EU Court Action Over Peat Cutting Enforcement And Why It Matters for Our Bogs.

The European Commission has referred Ireland to the Court of Justice of the European Union over what it says is a failure to properly enforce EU environmental rules on peat cutting.

The case centres on Ireland’s obligations under the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, which requires projects likely to have significant environmental effects; including peat extraction, to be assessed before they proceed.

According to the Commission, there is still “significant peat cutting activity” taking place without planning permission or environmental impact assessment, particularly on sites under 50 hectares. While Ireland has made legislative changes over the years, Brussels says those changes have not been matched by effective enforcement on the ground.

The issue is not new. It dates back to EU environmental rules first introduced in 1985, with Ireland previously brought before the European Court of Justice in the late 1990s. Although Irish laws were later amended, the Commission says follow-up enforcement remained inadequate.

Since 2020, Ireland has taken major steps to halt peat cutting by Bord na Móna, and rehabilitation of former industrial bog sites is now underway, with support from EU recovery funding. The Environmental Protection Agency has also pursued enforcement against private commercial operators on sites over 50 hectares, leading some operators to cease activity.
However, the Commission says illegal or unauthorised peat cutting continues, and that local-level enforcement has not been sufficient.

This issue is also relevant to Co. Tipperary, where protected raised bog habitats form part of the county’s natural heritage. Sites such as Kilcarren-Firville Bog highlight the importance of safeguarding peatlands from extraction, drainage and habitat damage.

It is also worth noting the political sensitivity of this issue. Ireland currently has public representatives in both Leinster House and the European Parliament whose political careers were strongly shaped by the turf-cutting and bog-rights campaigns. Mr Michael Fitzmaurice TD, now a Roscommon–Galway TD, was previously chairperson of the Turf Cutters and Contractors Association, while Mr Luke “Ming” Flanagan MEP has long been associated with defending traditional turf-cutting rights in rural Ireland. Their continued presence in national and European politics shows how deeply this issue remains rooted in rural communities, livelihoods, tradition, conservation, and EU environmental law.

Peatlands are more than traditional landscapes. They store carbon, support biodiversity, help regulate water, and form part of Ireland’s environmental identity. The EU court referral is therefore not just a legal matter — it is a reminder that protecting bogs requires clear rules, strong enforcement, and real action on the ground.

Ireland’s Alumina Loophole – Neutrality Cannot Mean Supplying Russia’s War Economy.

**Russian-owned refinery, Aughinish, County Limerick**.

Ireland says it stands with Ukraine. Our politicians speak about democracy, freedom, sovereignty, and the right of a nation to defend itself against invasion.
But there is now a deeply uncomfortable question Ireland can no longer avoid; why is a Russian-owned refinery on the west coast of Ireland still sending alumina to Russia?

The refinery at Aughinish, County Limerick, is one of Europe’s largest alumina plants. Alumina is not a harmless by-product. It is the key raw material used to make aluminium, latter a metal that is essential across modern industry, including military production.

Recent investigations have raised serious concerns that alumina exported from Ireland is entering Russian supply chains connected to arms manufacturers. The evidence does not allow us to say that Irish alumina has been directly identified inside a specific missile or drone. But it does point to something almost as alarming; Irish-refined alumina appears to be feeding a Russian aluminium system linked to companies supplying Russia’s war industry.

That distinction matters, but it does not make the situation acceptable. There is also an unavoidable comparison with Ireland’s attitude towards Israel. Irish politicians have often been outspoken in condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza, calling for accountability, sanctions, and a tougher international response. Many of those criticisms may be justified on humanitarian grounds. But that only makes the silence around Russia-linked alumina exports more striking. If Ireland is willing to take a strong moral position on one conflict, it must be prepared to apply the same standard to another. Selective outrage weakens Ireland’s credibility. Human rights, civilian protection, and international law cannot depend on which country is easier to criticise.

Russia’s war is not sustained by tanks and soldiers alone. It is sustained by finance, logistics, raw materials, shipping routes, shell companies, legal structures and loopholes. Every supply chain that keeps Russian industry moving deserves scrutiny, especially when that industry is connected to the weapons used against Ukrainian civilians.

The Irish Government argues that sanctioning alumina could hurt Europe. That may be a real concern. Jobs matter. Energy security matters. Industrial supply chains matter. But so does moral consistency.

Ireland cannot claim to stand with Ukraine while allowing a Russian-owned company here to continue exporting a critical raw material into Russia without the highest level of public scrutiny.

The question is not whether workers in Limerick should be protected. They should be.
The question is whether protecting jobs should mean protecting a supply chain that may benefit Russia’s war economy.
If the Government believes these exports are safe, then it should show the evidence. Where exactly is the alumina going? Which smelters receive it? Who buys the aluminium produced from it? What due diligence has been done to ensure it does not reach sanctioned arms manufacturers? And why has it taken so long for Irish politics to confront this issue openly?

Neutrality should never mean looking away.
Ireland’s position should be clear; no Irish-based industry should help sustain Russia’s capacity to wage war on Ukraine. If this trade cannot be proven clean, it should not continue.

Minister O’Callaghan To Visit Czechia And Poland Ahead Of EU Presidency.

The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan, will this week undertake a series of bilateral engagements with EU Member States ahead of Ireland assuming the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1st July.

Minister O’Callaghan will travel to Prague for meetings with his Czech counterparts, Lubomír Metnar, Minister of the Interior, and Jeroným Tejc, Minister for Justice.
He will then travel to Warsaw, where he will meet Waldemar Żurek, Polish Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General, and Marcin Kierwiński, Minister of the Interior and Administration.

**Leinster House, Seat of Ireland’s Parliament.**

While in Poland, the Minister will visit the EU’s eastern border with Belarus, where he will receive a briefing on the current border security situation.
Discussions during the visit will focus on preparations and priorities for Ireland’s Presidency, as well as areas of mutual interest including migration, organised crime and the rule of law.

Speaking ahead of the meetings, Minister O’Callaghan said: “I look forward to meeting with my Czech and Polish counterparts and building on the already strong relationships Ireland has with both nations. During Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, our relationships with other Member States will be crucial to advancing our priorities of competitiveness, values and security.
This visit will also provide an opportunity to hear first-hand how Belarus has instrumentalised migration, unacceptably exploiting human beings for political purposes.”

Minister O’Callaghan will conclude the week in Luxembourg at the Justice and Home Affairs Council on Thursday and Friday, where he will continue bilateral engagements with a range of other Member States.

This Is Not Activism. This Is Intimidation.

Activism: The use of deliberate, vigorous action to promote, or direct social, political, economic, or environmental change.

Intimidation: The act of making someone feel fearful and powerless. It involves using threats, pressure, or aggressive behaviour to control or influence behaviour. Key aspects are to compel compliance, silence a person, or deter them from taking an action.
The legal implications in Ireland, identifies same as a civil or criminal offence.

Actress Dame Helen Mirren, an 80-year-old Academy Award-winning actress, was verbally abused in the street and called an “Evil Zionist” after publicly defending Israel’s right to exist and opposing the idea that Jews should be made targets for who they are.

There is no moral cause advanced by screaming abuse at an elderly woman in public. There is no justice in intimidation. There is no humanity in treating support for Jewish survival as something shameful.

Reports indicate that the initial confrontation involving Dame Helen Mirren was not a new incident, but resurfaced footage from November of 2025. The video, reportedly filmed near Tower Hill in London while Ms Mirren was walking with her husband, (Mr Taylor Hackford), was originally shared by Antifascist Action UK, before re-emerging in wider media coverage in May 2026.
Yes, that timing matters; the abuse itself was already disturbing, but its resurfacing now shows how quickly hostility toward public figures perceived as sympathetic to Israel can be revived, amplified, and normalised.

People can debate politics. They can criticise governments. They can protest policies. But when the response to someone’s support for Jewish existence is harassment, misogynistic abuse, and public humiliation, the mask slips.

Sport politicians Mr Patrick O’Donovan and Mr Charlie McConalogue, should also take note. When two sports ministers refuse to attend a football match involving Israel, the message travels far beyond the stadium. Whatever they intend, such gestures risk giving legitimacy to the idea that Israelis and, in practice, many Jews who are made to answer for Israel, should be singled out, shunned, and treated as untouchable. That does not lower tensions. It feeds hatred Ministers.

The Irish people, as a whole, care little whether politicians get free tickets to attend sports games or not, but expressing views or verbally attacking people for refusing to accept Jewish murder or erasure, does not help your cause.

Well unless, of course, that is your cause.

Hopefully, people will continue to behave at any planned future football protests. But yesterday I suppose, was a slow news day for political journalists.