Politics « Thurles Information

Agreement Of Memorandum Of Understanding Signed On Omagh Bombing Inquiry.

Statement On The Agreement Of Memorandum of Understanding On The Omagh Bombing Inquiry.

The Irish Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chairman of the Inquiry, Lord Alan Turnbull PC, (PC Scottish lawyer, Senator of the College of Justice, and a judge of the country’s Supreme Courts), on matters relating to the disclosure of materials to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry.

On June 12th 2023, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Right Honourable Mr Chris Heaton-Harris (British former senior politician), announced that Lord Turnbull would chair the Omagh Bombing Inquiry, due to Lord Turnbull’s previous experience of working on terrorism cases.

The Irish Government authorised the signature at its meeting earlier today.

The Omagh bombing was a car bombing on August 15th 1998, which took place in the town of Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It was carried out by the Real IRA, latter a Provisional Irish Republican Army splinter group, who opposed the IRA’s ceasefire and the Good Friday Agreement/Belfast Agreement, which had been signed earlier on Good Friday, 10th April of that year.

The victims of the bombing included people of many backgrounds and ages, both Protestants and Catholics, unionists and Irish nationalists were killed, including six teenagers, six children, a woman pregnant with twins, two Spanish tourists and others visiting on a day trip from the Republic of Ireland. As a result of the bombing, new anti-terrorism laws were swiftly enacted by both the United Kingdom and Ireland.

This agreement reflects the Government’s decision, in July 2024, to assist this Inquiry to the extent that is permissible under the Irish Constitution and laws of the Irish State. The Programme for Government reiterates that commitment, stating that they will play their full part in legacy processes, including facilitating and supporting this Omagh Inquiry.

This Memorandum sets out the working arrangements that will apply between the Inquiry and the office of the Minister for Justice on the lawful disclosure of materials from Government Departments and their agencies to the Inquiry, thus assisting it in carrying out its terms of reference. It also addresses the onward disclosure of those materials and their destruction or retention at the conclusion of the work of the Inquiry.

As recorded in the Memorandum a central point of contact has been established in the Department of Justice to receive and manage all requests for materials from this Inquiry. The Minister’s Department and the Inquiry will maintain regular contact to support the operation of the Memorandum.

The Minister’s Department will also continue to engage with the Inquiry to find solutions consistent with Irish law to fulfil the Government’s commitment to assisting the Inquiry. This includes the giving of oral testimony for the purposes of the Inquiry. The Government has made it clear, that should it be necessary to bring forward legislation to support this assistance to the Inquiry, then this will be undertaken.

GP Imbalance In Mid-West Must Be Addressed.

Clare Fine Gael TD Mr Joe Cooney is urging the HSE to redress the imbalance of General Practitioner (GP) cover in North Tipperary, Clare, and Limerick, compared with surrounding regions.

Figures released by HSE Mid-West to Deputy Cooney show that there are 258 GPs catering to a population of 385,712 in North Tipperary, Clare, and Limerick, which represents one GP per 1,493 people.

GP cover in the region is lower than in Galway/Roscommon/Mayo and Kerry/Cork, which have one GP per 1,387 people and 1,382 people, respectively.

Nationally, there are 3,160 GPs with a public contract, in addition to other GPs, including those who work privately, GPs in training, and International Medical Graduate (IMG) participants.

Deputy Cooney’s request for additional resources to be allocated to the Mid-West comes in light of the ongoing absence of a practicing GP in the village of Newmarket-on-Fergus, Clare’s fifth-largest population centre.

The HSE has been providing locals with a part-time GP service from the nearby Carrigoran House since 2020, following the retirement of the town’s long-serving GP.

Deputy Cooney said he has engaged with HSE Mid-West in recent days to secure a permanent GP service in Newmarket-on-Fergus.

HSE Mid-West confirmed it is actively working on plans to secure permanent GP accommodation in the locality. In the meantime, Dr. Colum Gavin of Saffron & Blue Medical is continuing to provide a GP service to patients on Monday mornings and all day on Thursdays from its current location at Carrigoran House. Outside of these times, patients from the Newmarket-on-Fergus area can be seen at Saffron & Blue Medical Centre at Clareabbey, Clarecastle.

Following representations from the local community in Kildysart, Deputy Cooney said he will also be raising the ongoing part-time locum doctor service being provided by Saffron & Blue Medical Centre in the village, with a view to having a full-time service restored.

“The figures provided by HSE Mid-West show a clear imbalance between the Mid-West and surrounding regions in terms of permanent GP accommodation,” explained Deputy Cooney. “Having received the data to back this up, I will now ask the Minister for Health to increase pressure on the HSE to expedite investment in GP cover across North Tipperary, Clare, and Limerick .”

“In my engagement with the HSE, I was informed that the HSE is working closely with the Irish College of General Practitioners on a range of measures to expand the GP workforce. While I acknowledge that GP training places nationally have increased from an intake of 259 in 2022 to 350 in 2024, it is clear that the Mid-West is not benefiting in the same way as other parts of the country from the corresponding rise in newly qualified GPs.
The situation in Newmarket-on-Fergus is a case in point, as the town has been without a permanent GP presence since the retirement of Dr. Colum Hackett in May 2019. Likewise, the local community in Kildysart have contacted me with a view to securing a full-term service,” he added.

“The Strategic Review of General Practice, which is currently being led by the Department of Health, must be expedited so the arrangements necessary to improve access to GP care in larger population centres can be identified and action taken to redress the imbalance”, he concluded

Proposal To Extend Garda Commissioner’s Term Of Office Approved.

Commissioner to remain in office until September 1st 2025, while new successor is identified and appointed.
Garda Board and Policing, Security and Community Safety Act (PCSA) to extend term of office.

The Irish Government, today, approved a proposal in principle to extend the term of office of Garda Commissioner Mr Drew Harris, until September 1st 2025.
The Commissioner was due to retire on June 1st 2025, however the selection competition for a successor will be ongoing at that point.

A proposal to extend his term has been approved in principle to provide certainty and stability pending the appointment of his successor. The process to extend the Garda Commissioner’s term is provided for in the recently commenced Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024.

The Government will now consult with the newly established Garda Board and Policing and Community Safety Authority, as provided for under the Act.

When this consultation is completed the Government will then make a formal decision to confirm the extension of the Commissioner’s term. Regulations providing for the new retirement date for the Commissioner will be brought to government for approval at the same time.

Ireland Attends Major European Border Security Summit.

Focuses on the fight against Organised Immigration Crime in Europe and globally.
Government commits to work with other countries, in an effort to tackle such forms of organised crime.

Minister for Justice Mr Jim O’Callaghan TD has yesterday (Monday) attended a major Border Security Summit, attended by over 40 countries and hosted by the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer MP, and the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom, the Right Honourable Ms Yvette Cooper MP; meeting in London.

The focus of the event is on Organised Immigration Crime and it brings together Ministers from a number of EU Member States and other European countries, as well as US, African, Asian and Middle Eastern representatives.
Social media operators also attended. It aims to collectively determine the best ways to combat the criminal networks facilitating organised immigration crime and migrant smuggling, which represent a growing issue, threatening the collective Border Security in Europe and globally.

Organised Immigration Crime involves organised criminal groups exploiting vulnerable migrants by smuggling them across borders for profit. Smuggled migrants face extreme dangers that can lead to death by suffocation or drownings at sea.

‘Border Security Summit’:
Organised Immigration Crime will remain focused on three main areas, over the two day period:–

Supply Routes & Enablers – Discussion of equipment, infrastructure and fraudulent documents being used by organised crime groups.
Criminal Finances – Expanding the “follow the money” strategy globally to dismantle the financial incentives for organised crime.
Online Environment – Building global consensus on tackling organised crime groups’ recruitment and advertising online.

Minister O’Callaghan restated the Irish Government’s commitment to fighting Organised Immigration Crime.

Mary Immaculate College, Thurles, Launches New Business & Accounting Department.

Former St Patrick’s College, now Mary Immaculate College, Thurles.

A new business and accounting department, at the Thurles Mary Immaculate College (MIC), (formerly St. Patrick’s College) was formally launched by the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Mr Peter Burke TD, on Tuesday last, March 25th.

The Minister, in his address to more than 100 guests at the event, commented that with 5,000 students and close to 2,000 graduates per year, MIC was making a significant contribution to the region in terms of higher education, industry and research partnerships; thus creating a boost to the economy and to the local community.

Dr Rebecca Purcell [BBS (UL), PGDip in Management and Leadership in Education (TCD), MA in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (SETU), PhD in Business Management (UL)], emphasised that the new department “has a bold, ambitious vision, one that will shape the future of business and accounting education in Ireland. It is a statement of intent about what we value and what we strive for. And most importantly, it creates a dedicated space for students, faculty and industry partners and collaborators to drive innovation, research and teaching excellence.
It is about shaping future leaders, educators and innovators who will build and support our domestic economy in the face of increasing uncertainty and increasing protectionism in global economic policy, but who will equally contribute in a meaningful way to our society.“

“Something that sets us apart here at MIC is we are not just educating future business professionals. We are also educating the future business and accounting teachers of Ireland. This dual role is something we embrace with great pride,” Ms Purcell added.

Limerick native Professor Dermot Nestor (11th President of Mary Immaculate College) charted the history of the former St Patrick’s College, (today MIC St Patrick’s Campus, Thurles), which in its earliest guise aimed “to provide a course of liberal education and whatever is necessary…including the usual branches of a classical, mathematical and mercantile education” so “business then has been at the core of this institution since it first opened its door”.
Professor Nestor further statrd that success should be “measured in terms of meaning and value – and a determination that those qualities must always be for someone, or something.”

“This is a department that is about people and where people are considered the most valuable resource. the real wealth, the true capital, is the people who work here and those individuals, organisations, and industries across the community that they will collaborate with and support.
This is a future focus that ensures graduates are not simply responsive to changes in our society, but are the drivers of that change. I have every confidence that the ambition, the commitment, and the effort of this department will speak for itself.”

Ms Kim Mackenzie-Doyle, (CEO and founder of The B!G Idea), latter a pioneering non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering young people to tackle local and global challenges, was the keynote speaker at the event.

Some 500 students are studying to be post-primary business or accounting teachers on five of the concurrent BA in Education programmes at MIC Thurles.

This new department is the newest in MIC’s faculty of arts and business and was recently introduced as the 14th core subject, offered on the long-established Bachelor of Arts programme at MIC Limerick, where it has quickly become a popular choice among students.