Internal governance within An Garda Síochána to be enhanced, with the establishment of a new Garda Board.
Applications sought for Chairperson and eight ordinary board members.
The Minister for Justice Mrs Helen McEntee TD has today encouraged suitably qualified candidates to submit expressions of interest for membership of the new Garda Board.
A State Boards process to appoint a chairperson and ordinary members to the new Board has opened today. It will close at 3:00pm on Thursday February 15th next, 2024, and further details regarding the positions can be found HERE.
This new board is provided for in the ‘Policing Security and Community Safety (PSCS) Bill‘, which passed all stages of the Seanad on January 24th last. The Bill provides that the members of the Garda Board will be appointed by the Minister for Justice, from persons recommended by the Public Appointments Service as suitable, following an open selection process.
Speaking today about the establishment of the new Board, Minister McEntee stated: “The formation of this Board is a very important component of the new legislation. It will strengthen the management and internal governance of An Garda Síochána. It will not have any role in relation to operational matters, as is the case with such boards generally. However it reflects the fact that a non-executive board is a corporate governance standard in the public and private sectors”.
The Bill has been developed based on the recommendations of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland and will provide a new coherent governance and oversight framework for policing that will strengthen An Garda Síochána.
The establishment of the new Garda Board is an important element of this new framework.
The Board will be a non-executive governance board, comprised of a chairperson and eight ordinary members, with a range of important governance functions. Membership will comprise independent-minded, experienced professionals in their respective fields.
The new board, through the corporate and governance expertise and external perspective of its members, will provide practical support along with a robust, constructive challenge to the senior leadership team in An Garda Síochána.
The Minister continued: “An Garda Síochána is carrying out some of the most critical functions of the State. This Board will support it to anticipate and respond to changes in the ways in which policing will need to be delivered in the coming decades. It will also provide assurance to the Minister of the day, in relation to internal governance and risk management and mitigation. The Board will also support the Garda Commissioner by ensuring that the organisation has the most appropriate systems, processes and procedures in place to deliver a top class policing service in the State. It is not a however a substitute for robust external oversight of An Garda Síochána, and will in no way dilute the work of the new external oversight body to be established under the Bill – the Policing and Community Safety Authority – which will build on the good work done by the Policing Authority and the Garda Síochána Inspectorate”.
The Garda Commissioner will continue to be required to keep the Minister and the Secretary General of the Department informed of significant matters, and to account to the Minister and Government for the provision of policing and security services by An Garda Síochána.
The Minister further highlighted the importance of this new Board, which will be accountable to the Minister for its performance, and she has encouraged people with relevant experience and expertise to apply for these important roles.
Cashel Library will celebrate St. Brigid, with an event taking place on Tuesday morning next, January 30th at 11:00am sharp.
This year 2024 we celebrate over 3,000 years of ‘Brigid the Goddess’, and 1,500 years of ‘Brigid the Saint’, which is what makes her legacy so enduring.
Cashel Librarian, Ms Maura Barrett, will, on Tuesday morning next, cast more light on the St Brigid story.
Dandelion Flower. (Irish: ‘Bearnán Bhríde’). The Dandelion Flower is long associated with Saint Brigid (known in Irish as ‘Bearnán Bhríde’). It is one of the first blossoms observed after Saint Brigid’s day and it is said that every time you see one in bloom you should think of the bright flame of faith that is Saint Brigid. The flower also signifies that Saint Brigid was one of the first people, thousands of years ago, to draw attention to, and champion biodiversity, through her care of flora and fauna and her knowledge of the environment.
Brigid’s Bird. (Irish: Brìd-eun meaning ‘Brigid’s bird’ or ‘Giolla-Brìghde’ meaning ‘Servant of Bride’). The bird known as the Oystercatcher is connected to St Brigid of Kildare. Legend states St Brigid was running away from a band of evil men, who wished her dead. Alone and on reaching a beach where there was no place to hide, she said a prayer to God to thank him for her life, before lying on the sand to accept her death. However, before the evil men reached where she lay, Oystercatcher birds scavenging on the shoreline, saw her, and realised her predicament covered her with seaweed, thus hiding her and saving her life. She later is said to have blessed the species and since that day the Oystercatcher bird has been linked to Ireland’s principal female saint.
The public are invited to please come along to attend this informative lecture, but please remember booking is essential, so please make contact in advance by Telephoning Cashel Library at 062 63825 or 062 63856, to be sure of a seat.
Note: Tea and Coffee will be served. [ You can locate the Cashel Library building, situated on Friar Street, Lady’s Well, Cashel, Co. Tipperary, HERE. (G487+RX) ].
The evidence is clear: Climate change is happening. Immediate and sustained actions are likely to have widespread benefits.
Ireland’s Climate Change Assessment is the first comprehensive and authoritative assessment of the state of knowledge of climate change in Ireland.
We are living in and experiencing a changing climate. In line with global trends, 16 of the 20 warmest years in Ireland have occurred since 1990.
More action is needed to meet Ireland’s legally binding emissions targets including large-scale and immediate emissions reductions across the energy system, which is currently heavily dependent (86%) on fossil fuels.
Ireland needs to be resilient to ongoing and future climate change impacts. Implementation of climate adaptation measures is currently too slow and fragmented.
Immediate and sustained transformative mitigation and adaptation actions are likely to yield substantial benefits for health, wellbeing and biodiversity in Ireland, while reducing vulnerability to the adverse impacts of climate change.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published Ireland’s first Climate Change Assessment Report (ICCA). This major scientific assessment serves to complement and localise the global assessments undertaken by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Its findings build upon these assessments and add important local and national context.
Undertaken by leading researchers, this assessment is based on scientific research and observations in Ireland, linked to EU and global analyses. It was led by the Environmental Protection Agency, funded by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, with additional funding by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, and the Department of Transport.
Welcoming the report Ms Laura Burke, (EPA Director General), said: “Ireland’s Climate Change Assessment represents a major contribution to our understanding of the impacts and challenges experienced and posed by climate change in Ireland. The Assessment provides a picture of where Ireland is, in its response the climate emergency. It provides insights as to the scale of the challenge for Ireland to become climate neutral and climate resilient. It reinforces the need for Ireland to pick up the pace of action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to our changed and future climate”.
Ms Burke further added: “If we can reach net zero global carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, then many of the key components of the climate system, such as temperature and precipitation, would stabilise within the lifetime of many of today’s younger citizens and to the benefit of all of society”.
Key findings:
Human activity has resulted in widespread and rapid changes in climate which are already impacting us all today.
The future climate is in our collective hands. Halting warming globally and in Ireland, requires rapidly reaching at least net-zero carbon dioxide emissions and substantially cutting other greenhouse gas emissions. Every action matters: with every additional increment of warming, impacts for Ireland will increase substantially.
Having peaked in 2001, Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions have reduced in all sectors except agriculture. However, Ireland currently emits more greenhouse gases per person than the EU average. A legal basis for deep, rapid and sustained national emissions cuts now exists, although current policy and action remain insufficient to meet these aims. The pathway forward is clearer for energy, transport and the built environment than for agriculture and land use. For all sectors there are many challenges to overcome.
Ireland needs to be resilient to ongoing and future climate change impacts. This requires increased focus upon and investment in adaptation that can protect us from future climatic impacts. Current implementation of adaptation is too slow and fragmented. Doing better requires financing, working with people and nature, monitoring and evaluating outcomes, and increasing public and private sector involvement.
Effective and just transformative actions will have mitigation and adaptation benefits and bring broader benefits for health, wellbeing, nature and sustainable economic development. The state has a central role to play in enabling the necessary transformations, supported through action across society. Decisions taken this decade will reverberate for generations to come.
Commenting on the assessment, Ms Mary Frances Rochford, (Programme Manager) said: “Ireland’s Climate Change Assessment is a major resource for policymakers, practitioners, researchers, research funders and the public. It points to how and where the science can be improved through further investments in innovation, in research and in systematic observations. The EPA, with partners, will continue to focus on addressing these knowledge gaps to inform and support effective climate action”.
Ireland’s Climate Change Assessment Report is available on the EPA website, VIEW HERE.
American folk musician and much loved Melanie Safka passed away peacefully on Tuesday last (January 23rd 2024), her family have announced.
The song featured hereunder is more than just a catchy tune. The lyrics express a powerful reflection on the challenges and injustices people face in the political world around us. “They’re only putting in a nickel and they want a dollar song”, and “We’re only putting in a little to get rid of a lot that’s wrong”; these words remind us that voices should never remain silent. To this end in 1970, Melanie, (featured to perform on day 1) ,was the only artist to ignore the court injunction banning the infamous Powder Ridge Rock Festival, of Middlefield, Connecticut, U.S., same scheduled to be held on July 31st, August 1st and 2nd of that same year.
Nickel Song.
Vocals: American Singer-Songwriter Melanie Safka. Lyrics:Melanie Safka
Nickel Song.
Well, you know that I’m not a gambler, But I’m being gambled on. They put in a nickel and I sing a little song, Da, da, da, da, da. They put in a nickel and I sing a little song. Well, I don’t mind that they’re lucky, But it seems that they always win, And gamblin’ is illegal in the state of mind I’m in. And if I had a nickel for each time that I’ve been put on, I would be the nickel man and I’d sing a nickel song. They’re only putting in a nickel and they want a dollar song, Oh, Lord, they’re only putting in a little and they want a dollar song. Well, you know, I don’t know so many things, But I know what’s been goin’ on, We’re only putting in a little to get rid of a lot that’s wrong, And if we had a nickel for each time that we’ve been put on, We’d all be the nickel man and we’d sing a nickel song. You know, they’re only putting in a nickel, And they want a dollar song. Oh, Lord, they’re only putting in a nickel, And they want a dollar song. Well, you know that I’m not a gambler, But I’m being gambled on, They put in a nickel and I sing a little song. Da, da, da, da, da.
END
Known to her fans by the performing name of Melanie; Melanie Safka was born on February 3rd, 1947, in the Astoria neighbourhood of Queens, New York City. Bothered by being classed as a “beatnik” by her classmates while attending Long Branch High School, she ran away to California and following her return to New Jersey, was transferred to Red Bank Regional High School. She graduated in 1964, though she was blocked from attending her commencement exercise, due to an overdue library book.
Melanie later studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, landing gigs at coffee houses and folk clubs in Greenwich Village, during New York’s then booming folk scene of the 1960’s. Same era saw the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem [from Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary, famed for their Aran jumpers and widely credited with popularising Irish traditional music], rise to become the eleventh best-selling folk musicians in the United States.
She met her future manager, producer and husband, Peter Schekeryk in 1967. They married in 1968 and when Columbia Records, who produced her first two singles, refused to allow her to record an album, she
Pre-deceased by her husband Peter in 2010; sadly, the much loved American folk musician passed away peacefully on Tuesday last (January 23rd 2024). Her children Leilah, Jeordie and Beau Jarred announced the news on Facebook yesterday, Wednesday. To date the cause of her death has not been fully confirmed, however her representatives mentioned in passing that she was suffering from an illness.
Melanie Safka was understood to be recently working on her 32nd album featuring cover songs; titled ‘Second Hand Smoke’.
A number of licensed firearms, including at least one rifle, together with ammunition, has been seized by gardaí as part of their ongoing investigations into the shooting of a soccer player, who sustained a gunshot wound on the field of play, during a match held in Rearcross, Co Tipperary on January 6th 2024.
The injured male victim had been playing for ‘Rearcross FC’ against ‘Ballymackey FC’, in a Junior B match in Division 2 of the Tipperary and District League, latter being held under floodlights; when the shooting incident happened. Paramedics had treated the man at the scene, before he was later removed by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick, (UHL) to have the projectile removed.
Gardaí have confirmed that an informant had spoken to Nenagh, Gardaí in Co. Tipperary, thus helping them with their investigations into this regrettable incident.
The firearms and ammunition seized will now be sent to the Garda Ballistics Section located in Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park, Dublin, for further testing; thus ascertaining if the weapon and ammunition used match the bullet retrieved from the injured player’s arm.
Investigating Gardaí in Nenagh District had suspected that the matter was the result of a freak accident and that the man was hit by a stray bullet from a hunter’s rifle. For this reason, to date, no arrests have been made, but Gardaí now feel that they are following a definite line of enquiry.
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