Varadkar’s mettle being tested

The Dublin Airport Authority chief executive’s bonus controversy has profound public interest implications in the quest for national competitiveness and economic recovery.  It is also a test of the mettle of Leo Varadkar, Minister for Transport.

Publicly owned DAA, catered for 22.61 million passengers and achieved revenues of €558.12 million in 2010. The chief executive was awarded a total remuneration package of €612,500.

Privately owned Heathrow Airport catered for 65.7 million passengers and achieved revenues of over €2 billion in 2010. The chief executive was awarded a total remuneration package of €476,580.

Heathrow catered for 290% more passengers than the Irish airports but the chief executive was paid 28.5% less in 2010.

The Board of DAA felt it was legally obliged to provide for this bonus. How can this be reconciled with the Department of Finance guidelines for the remuneration of senior management of commercial state bodies developed by an interdepartmental group of Assistant Secretaries and published in March 2006? These explicitly state that the payment of performance-related pay will be determined by the remuneration committee of the Board of the commercial state body, augmented for this purpose by a civil servant appointed by the appropriate Minister.

Furthermore, the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies demands that Government policy be implemented in relation to the remuneration of chief executives and that remuneration arrangements put in place by a relevant Department, or the Department of Finance, for determining and approving the remuneration of a chief executive must be implemented and adhered to.

How, therefore, could Transport Minister Varadkar be merely ‘very dissatisfied' about this bonus on the date that the DAA annual report is published?

If the Minister’s hands are legally tied with respect to this bonus will he appoint an entirely new board of directors that operates to his satisfaction in line with the mandate from the single shareholder, the State? The public interest demands clarity as well as leadership by example.

James J. “Whitey” Bulger comes home to Boston

James J. ‘Whitey’ Bulger is to come home to Boston – at last, having featured on America’s Ten Most Wanted List for 12 years and having terrorised this great city for six decades.

When I lived in Boston from 2002 until 2005 I met his younger brother, William (Bill) M Bulger, from time to time. Bill, born on 1934, was five years younger than Whitey and was a powerful force in Massachusetts politics for over four decades and concluded his political career as the President of Massachusetts State Senate from 1978 to 1996. Bill was first elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1961, motivated like many ambitious politicians’ by innocence rather than arrogance, and convinced that he had discovered injustice and that he had the passion to end it promptly. He became a State Senator in 1971.  After politics he became the 24th President of the University of Massachusetts in 1996 but was summarily removed from this role by then Republican Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney in 2003.

The Bulgers’ were reared in a public housing project on Logan Way in South Boston. Their father worked as a longshoreman until he lost his arm in an industrial accident in 1936.  That event threw the family into severe poverty.

Bill Bulger served in the US Army from 1953 to 1955 at Fort Bliss, Texas. When he returned to Boston in August 1955 he got, what he described, as ‘the greatest shock of his life’ when he learnt that his older brother, ‘Whitey’, was in jail awaiting trial on a charge of bank robbery. But Whitey was first arrested for theft in 1943 when he was 14 years old!

Apart from acknowledging that ‘Whitey’ was his older brother Bill did not speak in public about his. But he had seen him change from an outgoing and cheerful human being to becoming a rebel whose objectives were never terribly clear. Whitey Bulger was said to be in a constant state of agitation and his whereabouts, when his parents were alive, were frequently unascertainable. Whitey was a keep-fit fanatic who neither smoked nor drank alcohol and he kept a spotted, leopard-like cat as a pet that grew so large it was eventually taken to the zoo by their father.

When Whitey was in his twenties he was prone to become involved in street fights and became known to the Boston cops. He left the home neighbourhood without warning for several months and joined a circus as an unskilled labourer.

Among his friends Whitey was always regarded as the leader, which brother Bill admitted was the only role Whitey would tolerate. His leadership was characterised by never raising his voice when he wanted something done. He became the leader of a gang known as the ‘Winter Hill Gang’ that operated from the Boston suburb of Somerville, having initially been the enforcer of the gang leader, Howard Winter, in South Boston.

Whitey served in the US Air Force for a period and created many excuses to be missing without permission. He was honourably discharged and after that became involved with a gang that undertook bank robberies as far away as Indiana. Whitey was sentenced to 20 years in prison when he was 26 years old at Boston Federal District Court for participating in three bank robberies and served his sentence in Atlanta. He would have been eligible for parole after 7 years but was caught with contraband in the prison which the authorities said would have facilitated an escape by other prisoners. Instead of being released on parole Whitey was sent to Alcatraz – the maximum security prison in San Francisco Bay. He was eventually released after serving a total of 11 years.

Another brother, John P. Bulger, had been a 32-year veteran staff member of the Boston Court system but he lost his annual $65,000 pension as a former court clerk magistrate in the Boston Juvenile Court system in September 2003 when he was convicted of perjury and the obstruction of justice after lying under oath about the whereabouts of Whitey. It now transpires that Whitey had been living at the same Santa Monica apartment since 1999. John, now aged 73, retired from the Courts in 2001 and was the only one of the the three Bulger brothers to serve a jail sentence since 1965.

The case against John Bulger was that on November 26, 1996 he testified before a federal grand jury that he had no knowledge of any safe deposit boxes belonging to his brother Whitey. But John knew of, and had made, a 1996-rent payment for, a safe deposit box in Clearwater, Florida that Whitey opened in 1992. The false testimony was provided before a federal grand jury investigation James J. Bulger, Stephen J. “The Rifleman Flemmi, (sentenced to ten years in prison in 2001 for extortion and to life in 2004 after pleading guilty in a plea bargain to 10 murders) and others for potential money laundering offenses relating to their organized crime activities.

John Bulger committed his second act of perjury and of obstruction of justice by falsely testifying on January 22, 1998 before another federal grand jury that he had received no direct or indirect communication whatsoever from Whitey since Whitey had become a fugitive in January 1995. In fact, Whitey had called an acquaintance of John’s around August 1996 and the acquaintance reported his conversations with Whitey to John. If that case proceeded to the trial the US Government would have offered the testimony of Kevin J. Weeks who was present in the summer of 1996 when John talked on the telephone to Whitey. The false testimony was provided before a federal grand jury investigating Catherine P. Greig and others for potential offenses relating to harbouring and assisting fugitive Whitey.

Bill Bulger considered that many of the allegations attributed to Whitey was designed to be a political attack on himself and his view was that he loved his brother and prayed that he would not continue to damage himself.

The FBI have spent millions of dollars hunting Whitey Bulger around the world in order to charge him with 19 murders from the 1970’s to the mid 1980’s, drug dealing, money laundering, extortion. When he was arrested this week police discovered arms and large amounts of cash in his Santa Monica apartment. The Whitey Bulger universe was governed by fear and controlled through brutality.

A $2 million reward was offered for information leading to Bulger’s capture but the public were warned that he has a violent temper and was known to carry a knife at all times. He was known to have been interested in history and to visit libraries and historic sites. He was also known to disguise his appearance but he travelled extensively in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe.

The arrest of Bulger follows the broadcasting of a 30-second public service announcement in several states designed to draw the public’s attention to Catherine Greig, Bulger’s 60-year old companion who absconded with him in 1995. Aimed at a female audience, the announcement focused on Greig’s appearance, personality and social habits. It highlighted that she maybe possibly seen in beauty parlours or doctor’s offices. The announcement prompted hundreds of leads one of which hit the bull’s-eye. There was a reward of $100,000 for information leading to her capture. She had not been charged with anything implicating her directly with Bulger’s crimes but in 1997 was charged with harbouring a fugitive.

The current Ten Most Wanted list is currently reduced to 8 with vacancies arising as a consequence of Bulger’s capture and Bin Laden’s death.

How critical is Irish-American support to a President of Ireland?

I flew from Istanbul to Dublin early this morning and browsed an opinion piece on the four-hour flight in The Irish Times by former US Congressman Bruce Morrison about his friend Niall O’Dowd.  Morrison was responding to a previous opinion piece written by Walter Ellis, s former journalist at this paper, who argued that O’Dowd is ‘too much of an Irish-American for the Áras.

Ellis contended that O’Dowd sees Ireland as a brand, not a nation and that Irish-Americans are ‘too misty eyed’.  Morrison countered this argument by pointing out that O’Dowd successfully engaged a range of the diaspora in many ways to support the interests of the mother nation.

When I read Morrison’s article one would think that Mr O’Dowd is seeking to become primus inter pares of an enclave rather than Head of State in a sophisticated nation, notwithstanding that the 42-million strong Irish-American diaspora is as multifaceted and distinguished as the largest diamond in the world.

None of those seeking consideration to be candidates in the forthcoming presidential election have either demonstrated that they understand the role of the President or how they are qualified to conduct that Office - without controversy. All suffer from the hazard of very limited name and reputation recognition in what will be the first such election in fourteen years. Nobody under the age of 31 years has ever voted in a presidential election and half the total population is under the age of 35 years. More than 10% of the total population were born elsewhere and many of these are now Irish citizens and will be first-time voters in a presidential election.

The role of the President includes (1) defending the Constitution (2) defending the dignity of the nation and (3) enhancing the prestige of the nation globally.

This is why the Office requires an incumbent with a sophisticated, far-reaching perspective of our legacy, our circumstances and our ambitions; someone whose presence inspires awe and admiration rather than explanations and scepticism.

But the essence of Mr Morrison’s argument, that Mr O’Dowd can leverage ‘valuable support’ for Ireland in America does not take into account that many doors currently open to Mr O’Dowd will also be open to any person who is President of Ireland and are most likely already open through other avenues, such as the Global Irish Network that is due to convene for the second time in Dublin Castle on October 7^th. Therefore, had Mr Morrison provided some rich and colourful insights into the competency, skills and sophistication of Mr O’Dowd to enable him become a statesman, rather than influence peddler in one large jurisdiction, the readers might be more enlightened. But he has left them with nothing interesting to cling to.

Apart the political parties the nation’s county councillors’ are also a gateway to a nomination. This is the same myopic cohort that has facilitated the littering of this insolvent nation with vacant and unusable ghost housing estates. The fear now is that they will litter than nation with ill-qualified ghost presidential candidates. We cannot indulge delusional fantasists who are mere man, or women, of straw. The voters need to be convinced beyond doubt of the suitability of candidates. But since so little of real relevance is known about any of them it is up to each of them and their advocates to make defensible case to the electorate based on their understanding of the role and the qualities (as opposed to purported contacts) that they claim for themselves. The Office requires the incumbent to be the President of the entire nation not segment(s) of it, whether at home or abroad.  It requires a statesman, not a salesman

Higher corporation tax yield in Ireland than UK

Corporation profits tax accounted for a higher proportion of total tax revenue in Ireland last year than in the United Kingdom.

Corporation tax receipts in Ireland increased by 1.3% in 2010 to €3,944 million, accounting for 12.3% of Ireland’s total tax revenue of €31.91 billion last year. Corporation taxes provided 9.4% of total British tax revenue in the year to April 2011.

The British authorities collected a total of £446 billion in taxes in the year to April 2011. While total British tax receipts increased by 38.8% over the nine years ending April 2002 to April 2011, British corporation tax receipts increased by 30.4% in this nine year period

British corporation tax receipts in the year to April 2011 amounted to £41.9 billion. British corporation tax receipts increased by 17.3% from the years ending April 2010 to April 2011 compared to an average decrease of 12% in the previous two years.

British corporation tax receipts fell from £43 billion in 2008 to £35.9 billion in 2009 as company profits declined. The improvement in the most recent period maybe due to improved economic conditions leading to a recovery in corporate profits in Britain.

Today David Cameron is to address the Northern Ireland Assembly today and is expected to give the thumbs-up to the introduction of a lower rate of corporation tax rate in Northern Ireland. But the Northern Ireland authorities will have to deal with any overall shortfall in revenues that this might result in as a consequence of a reduction in the British Government block grant.

UK Tax Receipts

Year ending April	Total Tax Receipts £ Million	Corporation Profits Tax	CPT % Total Tax
2002	£321,768	£32,176.80	10.0%
2003	£324,526	£29,207.34	9.0%
2004	£343,609	£28,175.94	8.2%
2005	£371,045	£33,765.10	9.1%
2004	£397,930	£41,782.65	10.5%
2007	£423,674	£44,485.77	10.5%
2008	£451,063	£46,459.49	10.3%
2009	£439,103	£43,032.09	9.8%
2010	£408,509	£35,948.79	8.8%
2011	£446,502	£41,971.19	9.4%
Change from 2002 to 2011	£124,734 38.8%	£9,794.39 30.4%

Lacey banned by High Court for 9 years

The High Court yesterday (7 June 2011) disqualified Jim Lacey (61) of Grove Avenue, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, the former chief executive of National Irish Bank from 1988 to 1994 and former Fianna Fáil party insider , from serving as a director or officer of any company for 9 years on grounds of unfitness.

The court found that Lacey had been grossly negligent and that his conduct constituted a fundamental failure of governance. Lacey remained as a non-executive director of NIB from 1994 to 1997.  He had not acted on internal audit findings that had been brought to his attention.

He is the 10^th former executive of NIB to be banned and cases are outstanding against a further six. 

The extent of his unfitness was described in adverse findings of the High Court Inspectors Report on NIB which was published on 30 July 2004. The Report covered the period 1988 to 1998 when NIB was owned by National Australia Bank and, following an expose by two RTE journalists - not by the Central Bank.

The High Court appointed the Inspectors on Monday, 30 March 1998 to investigate:

• Bogus non-resident accounts and fictitiously named accounts were opened and maintained, allowing customers to evade tax.
  
• Clerical Medical Insurance policies were promoted as secure investment for funds not disclosed to the Revenue Commissioners. The total value of polices sold was around £48m and about 40pc of these exceeded £100,000.
  
• Special Savings Accounts had DIRT deducted at a reduced rate.
  
• Improper charging of both interest and fees to customers.  Over 6,500 NIB customers were reimbursed in 2001 for overcharging that was applied to their personal loan accounts in 1997, 1998 and 2000.

The Revenue Commissioners, as of 31 December 2010, have collected €60.14 million involving 312 cases of tax evasion as a consequence of special investigations following the NIB debacle.

Lacey resigned his two State appointments to the board of the Irish Aviation Authority and Dublin Docklands Development Authority as well as his position as a fundraiser for Fianna Fáil on Friday, 27 March 1998 “for personal reasons that should not be interpreted in any way as implying any impropriety by me in my previous role with NIB”

Lacey had been a close adviser to Bertie Ahern and had been appointed to Forum 2000, the Fianna Fail fundraising vehicle. Former Environment Minister Noel Demspey, who appointed Lacey to the DDDA in 1997 ‘accepted his resignation with regret’

When the High Court Inspectors Report was published the Head of the Financial Regulator, Liam O’Reilly – until last month a director of Irish Life & Permanent Plc. and member its Risk & Compliance Committee, stated on 30 July 2004 “The type of activity described in the High Court Inspectors’ Report is utterly unacceptable. As a regulator with a strong consumer mandate we are absolutely determined to ensure that there is no place for this type of activity in the financial services industry of today.

In light of this and other recent charging issues that have emerged, the Financial Regulator is currently engaged in an industry-wide exercise focusing on appropriate systems and controls to ensure that all credit institutions are fully in compliance with all relevant laws and requirements. The Financial Regulator is also of the view that in considering how to deal with regulatory issues, financial institutions must consider factors outside their specific legal and regulatory obligations. In particular, financial institutions should seriously consider their responsibility to maintain the trust and confidence of their customers. There is a clear message coming through - financial institutions that put short-term profits before customers will suffer the consequences. The cost of engaging in unacceptable behaviour has been proven to be very high, in both financial and reputational terms”

Mr. Justice Peter Kelly after disqualifying another former executive of NIB, Nigel D’Arcy, for 9 years stated in 2005 that "The edifice of banking is built on a foundation of trust. On the Inspectors findings there was a breach of trust. The operation was carried out over a period of years in a deliberate fashion"

Following the Lacey judgement, Paul Appleby Director of Corporate Enforcement stated  “The NIB/NIBFS Inspectors found that responsibility for the various improper practices which existed within the Bank rested with its senior management.

Last April, the High Court determined that Mr Lacey bore important responsibility for the continuation of the six practices criticised in the High Court Inspectors’ Report, and I welcome the Court’s affirmation of the significant duty which rests with company directors to secure their company’s compliance with its major legal obligations.

Today’s decision reminds directors of their responsibilities and of the personal consequences which may flow from a failure to take effective steps to correct non-compliance in their companies. The decision is also important in clearly demonstrating that we are serious about promoting and upholding high standards of corporate governance in Ireland.”

The current status of the nine disqualification actions originally initiated in 2005 is summarised in the following table. Seven of them (including Lacey’s case) remain before the Courts.

Disqualification granted by the High Court – No Appeal	1
Disqualification granted by the High Court – Respondents Appeal	4
Disqualification refused by the High Court – Appeal by Office of Director of Corporate Enforcement pending	2
Disqualification overturned by the Supreme Court	1

The effect of a disqualification order is to prohibit a person from being appointed or acting as an auditor, director or other officer, receiver, liquidator or examiner or being in any way, whether directly or indirectly, concerned or taking part in the promotion, formation or management of any company, or any society registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts 1893 to 1978.

Lacey intends to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Who is fit to be President of Ireland?

Ireland is now less than six months from the first election since 1997 to elect a new President.  No candidates have been confirmed to date. But this will be an election which will test the stature and mettle of the political parties which they will only pass if they deliver worthy candidates with the exceptional qualities necessary to become an admired articulate role model for Irish citizens across the world but survive intense scrutiny and far-reaching expectations.

The term of the next President will coincide with the centenary of many milestones of our nation. Having been deeply humiliated by the surrender of economic sovereignty due to incompetence and delinquency many Irish citizens speculate, with uncertainty and concern, about what may ahead.

Blogging in The Irish Times on 6 June, under a headline The Áras: Nice Job If You Can Get It – Deaglán de Bréadún refers to the Office being a ‘very prestigious job, well-paid, nice accommodation, lots of foreign travel and optional workload, i.e., you can work really, really hard or you can do the standard amount and then go and play golf’.

The reference to ‘an optional workload’ must be either tongue-in-cheek or betray a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the Office of President. Our Head of State is the Custodian of the Dignity of the Nation. 

The presidency is not ‘a job’. The gardener, the cook, the chambermaid,the drivers,  the Secretary-General to the President and the clerical support staff at the Áras have jobs - but the President does not.  The President has an incumbency with an onerous burden, not least of which is to respond to the zeitgeist and soul of the nation.

The complex role of President of Ireland requires extraordinary discipline, dedication, vision, energy and understanding. The nation may have been beaten into economic turmoil by unworthy bankers and cunning political insiders and too many constitutional office holders have failed dismally to live up to their mandate. But President McAleese is concluding her 14-year term with a consistent high approval rating that many leaders would crave for but never achieve. In her case this is a consequence of her exceptional capability, leadership and judgement and because she is authentic and has had the exceptional support of an outstanding spouse.

The presidency is not a role for the feint-hearted or the ambivalent because of high public expectations and the intense scrutiny that surround it. The range of skills required are quite daunting – diplomatic, representational, nation-building, nation-parenting etc. – characteristics that are not merely a function of overweening personal ambition. It requires candidates who, needless to say, can demonstrate unimpeachable integrity.  President McAleese has a particular aptitude to reach out effectively to all parts of society without being a captive to any one of them.

The next President of Ireland will be expected to redeem that nation’s reputation and stature.

None of those aspiring to become candidates have indicated what they personally believe makes them sufficiently distinguished to become our Head of State of what President Kennedy referred to with deep pride as one of the ‘five feet high nations’; an ‘isle of destiny, a destiny that will be glorious’.

When aspiring candidates start to share their convictions about themselves with all of us and describe how the character of their presidency might evolve society will begin to have something to cling to. Some say they want a conversation with the nation. But does the nation want a President or a therapist with a set of tarot cards?

Society is looking for distinguished candidates that ‘look like a President; sound like a President and act like a President’. This means that those who ‘look like a janitor, think like a janitor, sound like a janitor and behave like a janitor’ need to find work as a janitor and not be pursuing delusional and dysfunctional aspirations.

Furthermore this Office has become something of a family enterprise with those close to the President making an enormous contribution to the success of the Office. Aspiring candidates might bear in mind that society are also curious about your supporting cast and how he, or she, might enhance the Office. What’s the package?

Brazilian restaurant chain demonstrates spectacular innovation and flair!

Each time I have been in Brazil I visited a branch of Fogo de Chão, (pronounced ‘fo-go dee shaun’) a chain of churrascaria style restaurants that offers a rodízio style of service!

Churrascaria is a cooking style over flames not unlike barbecue. This restaurant chain has an army of serving staff dressed like gauchos (Brazilian cowboys) who come to the table with up to 15 categories of beef with skewers of meat and sharp carving knives several times in the course of a meal . The diner is provided with a coloured card one side of which is red and the other green. The servers will only bring meat if the green side is showing.

For a fixed price diners can enjoy a salad followed by what seems like an infinite variety of salads, cured meats, smoked fish and cheese. Then diners are served gorgeous slices of meat at the table that have been roasted over open flames.

These include the picanha – the prime part of the sirloin, top and bottom sirloin, filet mignon, beef ancho from the prime part of the rib eye, ribs, leg of lamb, chicken legs and garlic beef. While customers can eat all they wish for a fixed price, the meal is especially appetizing because it is served so elegantly. A nice touch is that plates are replaced throughout the meal ensuring that one is not scavenging through a scrap heap as the meal progresses. There is also an attractive range of desserts!

This business was established in 1979 by two brothers, Jair and Arri Coser and the first of 16 branches in the United States was opened in Dallas in 1997. There are now branches of Fogo de Chão in Beverly Hills, Scottsdale, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Miami, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Washington DC. Baltimore, Philadelphia, Kansas City, Denver, Minneapolis and Chicago.

I am surprised and disappointed to discover that there are no branches in my beloved New England!

Surreal reflections on AF 447

I flew from Paris to Sao Paulo yesterday on an Air France Airbus 330-203 (F-GZCJ) that in the previous seven days had been flown routinely between Paris and Riyadh; Paris and Rio de Janeiro; Paris and Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Paris and Cairo and Paris and Senou, Mali, West Africa. This aircraft returned to Paris last night and is on its way to Abu Dhabi as I write this. The flight met all my expectations – departed and arrived on time and the cuisine on board was excellent.

It was however, a surreal experience because I was travelling almost two years to the day after Air France flight AF 447 from Rio to Paris abruptly crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near the Equator on 1 January 2009 without broadcasting an emergency call. The jet had been flying normally for over three hours when its autopilot and auto accelerator abruptly disengaged at 11,000 metres leading to the death of 228 people from 32 countries. These sophisticated instruments are more complex that merely controlling heading, altitude and speed. They can control the character of a climb or landing. My flight also flew at 11,000 metres. At that altitude above sea level humans cannot breathe unaided. Aircraft require atmosphere – the bubble of air that surrounds the earth that is held in place by the earth’s gravity.

I first flew to Brazil in August 1988 and several times subsequently and I have always noted episodes of turbulence close to the Equator.  AF 477 had reached an area known as the Intertropical Convergence Zone, next to the Equator, where tall thunderstorms in a configuration not dissimilar to a very tall chimney, create icy, windy conditions that often causes turbulence. When I was at school this phenomena was called The Doldrums where the winds of the Northern and Southern Hemisphere converge.  The Doldrums traditionally caused sailors more difficulty than aviators because of the absence of wind to propel sailing boats.

The AF 447 crew had navigated around an anticipated thunderstorm even though there was speculation that they flew directly into it.

It emerged last week that the black box has been recovered and that a combination of turbulence, faulty instrument readings and a stalled engine caused this aircraft to fall at a rate of 3,000 metres per minute from the normal cruising altitude of 11,000 metres in a four-minute period. The wreckage sunk to a depth of four kilometres under the Atlantic Ocean. The stall warning sounded in the aircraft twice indicating that aerodynamics were not sustaining the aircraft and that control was being lost.

There had been speculation that the crew had steered the Airbus into a storm, where water was sucked into a configuration like a giant chimney that converted water into indecipherable ice crystals that are not detected on radar. The aircraft apparently experienced what experts call a deep stall and the wreckage was scattered ten kilometres from its last recorded location.

There is a suggestion that Air France pilots had not at that time been adequately briefed on how to deal with speed sensor failure and there had been several episodes of this occurring in Airbus aircraft. The evidence available shows that the crashed aircraft pulled steeply upwards after the speed sensor failure and this could have caused a stall.

Having discovered the black box on 1 May last, the French Accident Investigation Bureau (BEA) is now able to reveal the sequence of events leading to the crash of flight AF447. This analysis replaces the assumptions that have been made over the past two years.

It appears that the flight deck crew was monitoring the changing weather conditions and thus altered the flight path, that the initial problem was the failure of the speed probes which led to the disconnection of the autopilot and the loss of the associated piloting protection systems, and that the aircraft stalled at high altitude. It also appears that the flight captain quickly interrupted his rest period to regain the cockpit.

Compensation claims will be attributable to whoever is blameworthy for the accident.  Both Air France and Airbus could be prosecuted for negligent manslaughter

Obscene pension and termination payments to former Irish senators

The disturbing revelation that 19 of 21 former senators are to receive lump sum payments over the next 13 months that average almost €229,000 per person is an outrageous affront to society. Eight of these were the nominees of the then Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern after some of them failed to win Dáil seats in the 2007 general election.

These payments to them are in addition to an annual pension pot of over a half million euro. The combined effect suggests that political patronage remains an extravagant gilt-edge gift that keeps on giving - irrespective of whether a politician is in, or out, of office. The impudent scale of them illustrates how immune and indifferent politicians are to the devastating impact of the economic collapse on everybody else and to the concept of affordability.

The 23^rd Seanad sat for less than 100 days each year so the role of a senator is part-time and intermittent. Apart from a salary provision of €4.25 million in 2011, there is also provision this year to pay our part-time senators €1.38 million for travel expenses to attend the august institution and almost €1.25 million in other allowances – equivalent to average annual payment of almost €115,000 for their part-time service. Yet, each senator also has full-time secretarial support for the 140 working days that they are absent from the House each year.

If the Government really want the public to live within the means of the State more fervent example ought to be clearly evident from all branches of the Oireachtas and the establishment.

Our nation cannot afford an extravagant Senate, with an ambivalent mandate, which civic society has no part in choosing and which is not answerable to the people. The sooner the issue of its future is put to the electorate in a Constitutional referendum the better.

Euro Remains King, despite growth in non-cash payments

When the €uro became the active currency of Ireland on 1 January 2003 the total value of the currency in circulation in the country was €2,897 million. Currency represented 3% of the nation’s money supply in 2003.  Cash in circulation throughout the Eurozone has grown about 11% per annum since 2002

Currency in circulation increased to €11,956 million at 31 December 2010 and represented 6.7% of the money supply in Ireland. The total value of Euro circulating throughout the 17 member Eurozone was €850 billion so the Irish share of this is 1.3%. Ireland’s GDP is roughly similar to that of Connecticut.

The makeup of the currency in circulation in Ireland is as follows:

Denomination	No. of Banknotes (Million)	Value €Million
€5	54	297
€10	50	502
€20	114	2,279
€50	174	8,681
€100	2	157
€200	-	6
€500	-	34
TOTAL	399	11,956

Ireland is one of the 14 jurisdictions which produce Euro banknotes. Under pooled production arrangements the Central Bank printed 127.5 million banknotes in the €10 denomination last year. This denomination was also produced in Germany, Greece, France, Italy and Austria. Total volume produced was 1,540.1 million units with a value of €15,401 million.

Ireland produced banknotes in the €20 denomination in 2009, 2008, 2007; in the €5 denomination in 2006; in the €10 denomination in 2005, 2004 and 2003. Ireland is producing some of the 1,714.8 million banknotes in the €5 denomination in 2011.

Despite the growth in non-cash payments throughout the world, cash remains the predominantly popular form of payment. It is quick and direct; freely available to users at point-of-use and cash is anonymous and non-discriminatory. Experts also say that cash is less prone to fraud than other payment methods.

The global use of payment methods, other than cash (direct debts, credit transfers, cards and cheques) has grown steadily – especially in China (+29%); Russia (+66%) and South Africa (+25%), while volumes grew more modestly in developed countries.  Non-cash payments in Ireland grew at a compound rate of 11% from 2001 to 2008.

Credit cards account for 40% in most countries and above 58% globally.

PayPal facilitated €51.3 billion in total payments in 2009 and is forecast to grow this business to €105.9 billion next year. Over 81 million people are active users of PayPal and these accounted for 6% of all global online payment transactions in 2009.

The life of a banknote is typically two years – somewhat less in the case of lower denomination notes. This year 6,017.9 million new banknotes in the Euro currency will be produced with a value of €171,274 million. Approximately 751,000 counterfeit banknotes with a value of €37,759 million were removed from circulation last year.  39,025 million banknotes were withdrawn on grounds of being unfit for use.

Barack Obama’s College Green speech

President Obama spoke to an audience of 30,000 in College Green Dublin last Monday evening.  It was a pleasant sunny evening and his remarks were greeted enthusiastically!  This is a transcript:

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you! (Applause.) Hello, Dublin! (Applause.) Hello, Ireland! (Applause.) My name is Barack Obama -- (applause -- of the Moneygall Obamas. (Applause.) And I've come home to find the apostrophe that we lost somewhere along the way. (Laughter and applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: I've got it here!

THE PRESIDENT: Is that where it is? (Laughter.)

Some wise Irish man or woman once said that broken Irish is better than clever English. (Applause.) So here goes: Tá áthas orm bheith in Éirinn -- I am happy to be in Ireland! (Applause.) I'm happy to be with so many á cairde. (Applause.)

I want to thank my extraordinary hosts -- first of all, Taoiseach Kenny -- (applause) -- his lovely wife, Fionnuala -- (applause) -- President McAleese and her husband, Martin -- (applause) -- for welcoming me earlier today. Thank you, Lord Mayor Gerry Breen and the Gardai for allowing me to crash this celebration. (Applause.)

Let me also express my condolences on the recent passing of former Taoiseach Garrett Fitzgerald -- (applause) -- someone who believed in the power of education, someone who believed in the potential of youth, most of all, someone who believed in the potential of peace and who lived to see that peace realized.

And most of all, thank you to the citizens of Dublin and the people of Ireland for the warm and generous hospitality you’ve shown me and Michelle. (Applause.) It certainly feels like 100,000 welcomes. (Applause.) We feel very much at home. I feel even more at home after that pint that I had. (Laughter.) Feel even warmer. (Laughter.)

In return let me offer the hearty greetings of tens of millions of Irish Americans who proudly trace their heritage to this small island. (Applause.) They say hello.

Now, I knew that I had some roots across the Atlantic, but until recently I could not unequivocally claim that I was one of those Irish Americans. But now if you believe the Corrigan Brothers, there’s no one more Irish than me. (Laughter and applause.)

So I want to thank the genealogists who traced my family tree.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: -- right here!

THE PRESIDENT: Right here? Thank you. (Applause.) It turns out that people take a lot of interest in you when you're running for President. (Laughter.) They look into your past. They check out your place of birth. (Laughter.) Things like that. (Laughter.) Now, I do wish somebody had provided me all this evidence earlier because it would have come in handy back when I was first running in my hometown of Chicago -- (applause) -- because Chicago is the Irish capital of the Midwest. (Applause.) A city where it was once said you could stand on 79th Street and hear the brogue of every county in Ireland. (Applause.)

So naturally a politician like me craved a slot in the St. Patrick’s Day parade. The problem was not many people knew me or could even pronounce my name. I told them it was a Gaelic name. They didn’t believe me. (Laughter.)

So one year a few volunteers and I did make it into the parade, but we were literally the last marchers. After two hours, finally it was our turn. And while we rode the route and we smiled and we waved, the city workers were right behind us cleaning up the garbage. (Laughter.) It was a little depressing. But I’ll bet those parade organizers are watching TV today and feeling kind of bad -- (applause) -- because this is a pretty good parade right here. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Go Bulls!

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Go Bulls -- I like that. (Laughter.) We got some Bulls fans here.

Now, of course, an American doesn’t really require Irish blood to understand that ours is a proud, enduring, centuries-old relationship; that we are bound by history and friendship and shared values. And that’s why I’ve come here today, as an American President, to reaffirm those bonds of affection. (Applause.)

Earlier today Michelle and I visited Moneygall where we saw my ancestral home and dropped by the local pub. (Applause.) And we received a very warm welcome from all the people there, including my long-lost eighth cousin, Henry. (Laughter.) Henry now is affectionately known as Henry VIII. (Laughter.) And it was remarkable to see the small town where a young shoemaker named Falmouth Kearney, my great-great-great grandfather, my grandfather’s grandfather, lived his early life. And I was the shown the records from the parish recording his birth. And we saw the home where he lived.

And he left during the Great Hunger, as so many Irish did, to seek a new life in the New World. He traveled by ship to New York, where he entered himself into the records as a laborer. He married an American girl from Ohio. They settled in the Midwest. They started a family.

It’s a familiar story because it’s one lived and cherished by Americans of all backgrounds. It’s integral to our national identity. It’s who we are, a nation of immigrants from all around the world.

But standing there in Moneygall, I couldn’t help but think how heartbreaking it must have been for that great-great-great grandfather of mine, and so many others, to part. To watch Donegal coasts and Dingle cliffs recede. To leave behind all they knew in hopes that something better lay over the horizon.

When people like Falmouth boarded those ships, they often did so with no family, no friends, no money, nothing to sustain their journey but faith -- faith in the Almighty; faith in the idea of America; faith that it was a place where you could be prosperous, you could be free, you could think and talk and worship as you pleased, a place where you could make it if you tried.

And as they worked and struggled and sacrificed and sometimes experienced great discrimination, to build that better life for the next generation, they passed on that faith to their children and to their children’s children -- an inheritance that their great-great-great grandchildren like me still carry with them. We call it the America Dream. (Applause.)

It’s the dream that Falmouth Kearney was attracted to when he went to America. It’s the dream that drew my own father to America from a small village in Africa. It’s a dream that we’ve carried forward -- sometimes through stormy waters, sometimes at great cost -- for more than two centuries. And for my own sake, I’m grateful they made those journeys because if they hadn’t you’d be listening to somebody else speak right now. (Laughter.)

And for America’s sake, we’re grateful so many others from this land took that chance, as well. After all, never has a nation so small inspired so much in another. (Applause.)

Irish signatures are on our founding documents. Irish blood was spilled on our battlefields. Irish sweat built our great cities. Our spirit is eternally refreshed by Irish story and Irish song; our public life by the humor and heart and dedication of servants with names like Kennedy and Reagan, O’Neill and Moynihan. So you could say there’s always been a little green behind the red, white and blue. (Applause.)

When the father of our country, George Washington, needed an army, it was the fierce fighting of your sons that caused the British official to lament, “We have lost America through the Irish.” (Applause.) And as George Washington said himself, “When our friendless standards were first unfurled, who were the strangers who first mustered around our staff? And when it reeled in the light, who more brilliantly sustained it than Erin’s generous sons?”

When we strove to blot out the stain of slavery and advance the rights of man, we found common cause with your struggles against oppression. Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave and our great abolitionist, forged an unlikely friendship right here in Dublin with your great liberator, Daniel O’Connell. (Applause.) His time here, Frederick Douglass said, defined him not as a color but as a man. And it strengthened the non-violent campaign he would return home to wage.

Recently, some of their descendents met here in Dublin to commemorate and continue that friendship between Douglass and O’Connell.

When Abraham Lincoln struggled to preserve our young union, more than 100,000 Irish and Irish Americans joined the cause, with units like the Irish Brigade charging into battle -- green flags with gold harp waving alongside our star-spangled banner.

When depression gripped America, Ireland sent tens of thousands of packages of shamrocks to cheer up its countrymen, saying, “May the message of Erin shamrocks bring joy to those away.”

And when an Iron Curtain fell across this continent and our way of life was challenged, it was our first Irish President -- our first Catholic President, John F. Kennedy, who made us believe 50 years ago this week -- (applause) -- that mankind could do something big and bold and ambitious as walk on the moon. He made us dream again.

That is the story of America and Ireland. That’s the tale of our brawn and our blood, side by side, in making and remaking a nation, pulling it westward, pulling it skyward, moving it forward again and again and again. And that is our task again today.

I think we all realize that both of our nations have faced great trials in recent years, including recessions so severe that many of our people are still trying to fight their way out. And naturally our concern turns to our families, our friends and our neighbours. And some in this enormous audience are thinking about their own prospects and their own futures. Those of us who are parents wonder what it will mean for our children and young people like so many who are here today. Will you see the same progress we’ve seen since we were your age? Will you inherit futures as big and as bright as the ones that we inherited? Will your dreams remain alive in our time?

This nation has faced those questions before: When your land couldn’t feed those who tilled it; when the boats leaving these shores held some of your brightest minds; when brother fought against brother. Yours is a history frequently marked by the greatest of trials and the deepest of sorrow. But yours is also a history of proud and defiant endurance. Of a nation that kept alive the flame of knowledge in dark ages; that overcame occupation and outlived fallow fields; that triumphed over its Troubles –- of a resilient people who beat all the odds. (Applause.)

And, Ireland, as trying as these times are, I know our future is still as big and as bright as our children expect it to be. (Applause.) I know that because I know it is precisely in times like these –- in times of great challenge, in times of great change -– when we remember who we truly are. We’re people, the Irish and Americans, who never stop imagining a brighter future, even in bitter times. We’re people who make that future happen through hard work, and through sacrifice, through investing in those things that matter most, like family and community.
We remember, in the words made famous by one of your greatest poets that “in dreams begins responsibility.”
This is a nation that met that responsibility by choosing, like your ancestors did, to keep alight the flame of knowledge and invest in a world-class education for your young people. And today, Ireland’s youth, and those who’ve come back to build a new Ireland, are now among the best-educated, most entrepreneurial in the world. And I see those young people here today. And I know that Ireland will succeed. (Applause.)

This is a nation that met its responsibilities by choosing to apply the lessons of your own past to assume a heavier burden of responsibility on the world stage. And today, a people who once knew the pain of an empty stomach now feed those who hunger abroad. Ireland is working hand in hand with the United States to make sure that hungry mouths are fed around the world -- because we remember those times. We know what crippling poverty can be like, and we want to make sure we’re helping others.

You’re a people who modernized and can now stand up for those who can’t yet stand up for themselves. And this is a nation that met its responsibilities -– and inspired the entire world -– by choosing to see past the scars of violence and mistrust to forge a lasting peace on this island.

When President Clinton said on this very spot 15 years ago, waging peace is risky, I think those who were involved understood the risks they were taking. But you, the Irish people, persevered. And you cast your votes and you made your voices heard for that peace. (Applause.) And you responded heroically when it was challenged. And you did it because, as President McAleese has written, “For all the apparent intractability of our problems, the irrepressible human impulse to love kept nagging and nudging us towards reconciliation.”

Whenever peace is challenged, you will have to sustain that irrepressible impulse. And America will stand by you -- always. (Applause.) America will stand by you always in your pursuit of peace. (Applause.)

And, Ireland, you need to understand that you’ve already so surpassed the world’s highest hopes that what was notable about the Northern Ireland elections two weeks ago was that they came and went without much attention. It’s not because the world has forgotten. It’s because this once unlikely dream has become that most extraordinary thing of things: It has become real. A dream has turned to reality because of the work of this nation. (Applause.)

In dreams begin responsibility. And embracing that responsibility, working toward it, overcoming the cynics and the naysayers and those who say “you can’t” -- that’s what makes dreams real. That’s what Falmouth Kearney did when he got on that boat, and that’s what so many generations of Irish men and women have done here in this spectacular country. That is something we can point to and show our children, Irish and American alike. That is something we can teach them as they grow up together in a new century, side by side, as it has been since our beginnings.

This little country, that inspires the biggest things -- your best days are still ahead. (Applause.) Our greatest triumphs -- in America and Ireland alike -- are still to come. And, Ireland, if anyone ever says otherwise, if anybody ever tells you that your problems are too big, or your challenges are too great, that we can’t do something, that we shouldn’t even try -- think about all that we’ve done together. Remember that whatever hardships the winter may bring, springtime is always just around the corner. And if they keep on arguing with you, just respond with a simple creed: Is féidir linn. Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Is féidir linn. (Applause.)

For all you’ve contributed to the character of the United States of America and the spirit of the world, thank you. And may God bless the eternal friendship between our two great nations.

Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you, Dublin. Thank you, Ireland. (Applause.)

Queen Elizabeth’s speech in Dublin Castle

A Uachtaráin agus a chairde (President and friends).

Prince Philip and I are delighted to be here, and to experience at first hand Ireland’s world-famous hospitality.

Together we have much to celebrate: the ties between our people, the shared values, and the economic, business and cultural links that make us so much more than just neighbours, that make us firm friends and equal partners.

Madam President, speaking here in Dublin Castle it is impossible to ignore the weight of history, as it was yesterday when you and I laid wreaths at the Garden of Remembrance.

Indeed, so much of this visit reminds us of the complexity of our history, its many layers and traditions, but also the importance of forbearance and conciliation. Of being able to bow to the past, but not be bound by it.

Of course, the relationship has not always been straightforward; nor has the record over the centuries been entirely benign. It is a sad and regrettable reality that through history our islands have experienced more than their fair share of heartache, turbulence and loss.

These events have touched us all, many of us personally, and are a painful legacy. We can never forget those who have died or been injured, and their families. To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our troubled past I extend my sincere thoughts and deep sympathy. With the benefit of historical hindsight we can all see things which we would wish had been done differently or not at all. But it is also true that no-one who looked to the future over the past centuries could have imagined the strength of the bonds that are now in place between the governments and the people of our two nations, the spirit of partnership that we now enjoy, and the lasting rapport between us. No-one here this evening could doubt that heartfelt desire of our two nations.

Madam President, you have done a great deal to promote this understanding and reconciliation. You set out to build bridges. And I have seen at first hand your success in bringing together different communities and traditions on this island. You have also shed new light on the sacrifice of those who served in the First World War. Even as we jointly opened the Messines Peace Park in 1998, it was difficult to look ahead to the time when you and I would be standing together at Islandbridge as we were today.

That transformation is also evident in the establishment of a successful power-sharing Executive in Northern Ireland. A knot of history that was painstakingly loosened by the British and Irish Governments together with the strength, vision and determination of the political parties in Northern Ireland.

What were once only hopes for the future have now come to pass; it is almost exactly 13 years since the overwhelming majority of people in Ireland and Northern Ireland voted in favour of the agreement signed on Good Friday 1998, paving the way for Northern Ireland to become the exciting and inspirational place that it is today. I applaud the work of all those involved in the peace process, and of all those who support and nurture peace, including members of the police, the Gardaí, and the other emergency services, and those who work in the communities, the churches and charitable bodies like Co-operation Ireland. Taken together, their work not only serves as a basis for reconciliation between our people and communities, but it gives hope to other peacemakers across the world that through sustained effort, peace can and will prevail.

For the world moves on quickly. The challenges of the past have been replaced by new economic challenges which will demand the same imagination and courage. The lessons from the peace process are clear; whatever life throws at us, our individual responses will be all the stronger for working together and sharing the load.

There are other stories written daily across these islands which do not find their voice in solemn pages of history books, or newspaper headlines, but which are at the heart of our shared narrative. Many British families have members who live in this country, as many Irish families have close relatives in the United Kingdom.

These families share the two islands; they have visited each other and have come home to each other over the years. They are the ordinary people who yearned for the peace and understanding we now have between our two nations and between the communities within those two nations; a living testament to how much in common we have.

These ties of family, friendship and affection are our most precious resource. They are the lifeblood of the partnership across these islands, a golden thread that runs through all our joint successes so far, and all we will go on to achieve. They are a reminder that we have much to do together to build a future for all our grandchildren: the kind of future our grandparents could only dream of.

So we celebrate together the widespread spirit of goodwill and deep mutual understanding that has served to make the relationship more harmonious, close as good neighbours should always be.

Have Irish bishops ‘with the stroke of a pen really made themselves answerable’?

The title of an article by Breda O’Brien The Irish Times on Sat, May 21 that ‘With the stroke of a pen, bishops made themselves answerable’ strikes me as being disingenuous and misleading because it is simply not the case.   If readers were to accept this exclamation at face value they might reasonably construe that the much put-upon bishops’ have become accountable to something other than their own foggy shaving mirror, or someone other than the face that smiles at them from the contents of the whiskey glass held in their own hand from time to time.  But the incontrovertible evidence is that The Hierarchy have engaged for over two and a half years in yet another Machiavellian episode of cunning subversion intended to hoodwink the public with their own toxic blend of metal reservations and double entendre.

Shortly after the Safeguarding Board exposed two diabolical child sex abuse allegations in Cloyne Cardinal Brady stated that his friend of 50 years, Bishop John Magee, should not resign.   Brady also issued a statement on 2 January 2009 about the role of the Safeguarding Board in which he said that its role is to accomplish a ‘consistent child safeguarding policy throughout Ireland based on verifiable and accountable structures of best practice’.  Brady acknowledged that the handling (also referred to by Magee as a ‘lacuna’) of two child abuse allegations in Cloyne brought into question the efforts of all who implement policy on safeguarding and statutory guidelines.

“Everyone is entitled to be reassured that when commitments have been given to implement statutory guidelines and agreed policies for safeguarding children in the Church, these are reliable and trustworthy. The Board is in a unique position to provide such assurance. It must continue its work in cooperation with the statutory authorities and with the full support of everyone in the Catholic Church in Ireland”. It was also Brady who suggested in January 2009 that the Board might explore the possibility of conducting a review of current child safeguarding practices in every diocese across the island in cooperation with the relevant statutory authorities.  ‘The core principle of safeguarding policy is a Gospel value’, Brady added.

His counterparts met on 23 January 2009 and they unanimously requested the Safeguarding Board to review current practice and risk in the safeguarding of children within their dioceses.

When the Safeguarding Board issued its 2009 Annual Report two diocese, Clonfert and Ossory, had not even appointed child safeguarding representatives and according to the 2010 Annual Report it took all of 2009 to just agree the objectives of the proposed audit of child safeguarding practices in each diocese.

The 2010 Annual Report reveals that is was not until March 2011 that the ground rules for conducting these audits were agreed.  But the audits may only now proceed on the basis that the Board will not comment publicly on the findings of the review of each Church authority, nor will the Board comment on any recommendations in practice or procedure that they deems necessary.  Furthermore, the introduction of any information into the public domain is to be only possible with the consent of the implicated relevant Church authority.  Placing a muzzle on this Board is hardly a policy by bishops’ that could be remotely construed as making them answerable to anybody or to enhance their credibility.

This basis for beginning these diocesan reviews also ought to be considered  in the context that the Safeguarding Board has an approved and, what it describes, as a ‘top-rate data protection policy’ to which it fully adheres in all its operations and the Board is fully confident that it fully complies with data protection legislation as it exists in Ireland and Northern Ireland.  Access to relevant documentation when responding to safeguarding concerns had been specified in the listed objects of its company.

It is also pertinent to point out that the number of child abuse allegations continues to be alarmingly high, notwithstanding their longstanding history in many instances.  It is also deeply troubling that this Board has not been contemporaneously informed about allegations of child abuse when these have been reported to the civic authorities demonstrating again contempt for transparency, candour and directness.  What is this a symptom of?

The non-binding sex abuse policy issued on 17 May by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith seeks to reinforce bishops’ exclusive authority in dealing with abuse cases and states that lay review boards, such as the National Board for Safeguarding Children, ‘cannot substitute’ for bishops judgement and power. How can this be taken seriously in Ireland when not alone have bishops failed miserably in following their own guidelines and muzzling lay review boards to make them impotent ensuring that compliance is impossible.

The Chairman of the Safeguarding Board has highlighted the opinion that a cultural correction is required within the Irish Church in making the point that the work of the Board alone is not enough to ensure the adequate safeguarding of children and specifically cited inherent weaknesses in areas such as institutional management and governance in the Church.

A fundamental issue at this stage is whether the bishops trust, or do not trust, their own Safeguarding Board – an entity conceived by them; populated by them, overseen by them and remunerated by them.  The leadership of the Board has demonstrated tenacity, fortitude, independence and candour which is a crucial foundation to winning and maintaining public confidence.  The purpose of these reviews of safeguarding practice is to mitigate risk to children and that has to be accomplished without jeopardizing public confidence in the Board, including dealing with personal data in an appropriate manner.

The bishops’ have severely strained public confidence and credibility.  They are led by an individual who concealed the vile criminality of Brendan Smyth from the civic authorities for 19 years before it was exposed in a television documentary and who refused to regard this as a resigning issue as the pews continue to empty

How can the public trust bishops’ and the notion that they can muzzle a so-called independent review body answerable only to themselves is derisory and contemptuous.  Perhaps this facets of their attitude to accountability might be discussed in another article as the public are likely to be agitated about this issue once again when the report on allegations against 19 priests in the Diocese of Cloyne, a diocese with just 46 parishes, is published.

Garda Overtime Pared

While the State Visit of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the official visit of President Obama to Ireland this month will generate Garda overtime, data published in respect of the past five years show a reduction in overtime.

 

2005	€77,683,097
2006	€102,653,111
2007	€135,386,904
2008	€112,476,173
2009	€77,812,239
2010	€76,596,828

           

Child safeguarding initiatives lacking transparency

The Head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Cardinal Brady stated on 2 January 2009 that the mandate of the National Board for Safeguarding Children (NBSC) had his full support and that the Board intended to obtain the support of his fellow bishops’, in writing, to implement policy agreed by the Bishops’ Conference. He also stated, unequivocally, that the welfare of children is a Gospel value. He recognised that verifiable and accountable structures, based on best practice, are critically important to safeguarding children and sustaining public confidence in the Church.

The most important initiative of the NBSC in 2009 was to undertake an audit of child safeguarding practices in all dioceses. That was to have been completed by the end of 2009 and the benefit of risk mitigation that would be reasonably expected to ensue from this should have been well rooted by early 2010.

But it took all of 2009 for the bishops’ to merely agree the objectives of these reviews and by April 2010 two dioceses, Clonfert and Ossory, did not even have a single parish safeguarding representative in place in the 66 parishes administered by these dioceses.

The 2011 annual report of the NBSC contains the appalling disclosure that the conduct of the review of dioceses has been systematically thwarted by what are described as ‘unresolved (and unspecified) data protection issues’  which fundamentally stymies the mandate of this Board – notwithstanding that the NBSC has comprehensive data protection procedures which comply with all statutory obligations . The bishops’ response is therefore self-serving, egregious, outrageous and indefensible.

The Statement issued on 11 May by the Bishops’ Conference reduces the audit review, that was set in the context of a Gospel value in January 2009, to being a generic and inchoate ‘important area of challenge that has yet to be completely resolved’. The 2011 Annual Report indicates that any information gleaned in the audit will only be disclosed to the public with the consent of the head of the relevant authority. The authoritarian muzzle to be applied to this process after a protracted delay to date will now supplement the reporting deficits of 2010 whereby the number of sexual abuse episodes disclosed far exceeded those previously communicated to the NBSC by a factor of 300%. The Chief Executive of the Board described the impact of inaccurate reporting as ‘problematic’. It actually corrupts the basic integrity of a monitoring process.

The behaviour of the bishops continues to be lamentably typical of the leadership that has reduced the Catholic Church in Ireland to a toxic cocktail based on a blend of double entendre and mental reservations. The impact of the NBSC, which has earned public trust and estimable esteem, is being reduced to that of a posse of passive plane-spotters, who monitor international best practice elsewhere, but are faced with impossible inertia and cultural impediments in introducing best practice into Ireland - based on adequate reference points and candour. Change never occurs in a leadership vacuum but decay and curmudgeonly connivance thrives in such circumstances.

The ‘full support’ of a credible leader means that the leader can be relied on to deliver an outcome within an agreed timeframe, particularly with respect to a primary objective, especially when the scale of reported sexual abuse continues to be as alarmingly high as it is.

Brady has failed to ensure that these reviews are promptly facilitated with the same blind, thoughtless, stubborn intransigence that you chose not to report the Brendan Smyth saga to the civil authorities for 19 years until it was independently exposed by a television journalist.

The Chairman of the NBSC has drawn attention to inherent weaknesses in area such as institutional management and governance. You and your pathetic colleagues have chosen to recruit a partisan lawyer rather than ensure that this Board swiftly obtains the statistics and other pertinent data to safeguard the children of Ireland. It is not good enough to publish claptrap about ‘continuing to work with the Board’ when it is abundantly clear that you will use concocted legal excuses to avoid doing so.

Thus impasse ought to be a resigning issue not just for Brady – but for each bishop whose talents, energy, outlook and disposition are incapable of leading change or inspiring public confidence.

The investigation of allegations in the Diocese of Cloyne commenced with a review of two cases in 2008 but the Report of the Commission of Investigation subsequently examined allegations against 19 priests in that relatively small diocese of 46 parishes. None of these are likely to have emerged into the public domain if such a blanket embargo existed.

Public confidence in the proposed audit of safeguarding practices by the Board will not be enhanced if the findings are to be muzzled by the Church authorities. Tardiness with respect to critical communications neither serve the interests of children, the Church or the Catholic community as a whole.

Fianna Fáil clumsy angling for the winner’s enclosure at the next Irish Presidential Election

Micheál Martin has given Fianna Fáil councillors free rein to vote as they wish with respect to the selection of candidates to contest the Presidential election.

But such a disposition towards something as important as the next presidential election, the first in 14 years is pathetic and self-serving. The Presidency is an office that has performed so flawlessly and is so deeply esteemed that the least Fianna Fáil could have done is to set out the qualities, ideals, and characteristics that Martin believes are a prerequisite for a credible candidate before declaring that their councillors have a free vote.

Those characteristics ought to include, for example, personal stature, evidence of a capacity to safeguard the dignity of the Office while capably promoting our national reputation with a style, elegance, energy and impact that is commendable; skills in social leadership and an ability to relate to all facets of society in Ireland and elsewhere; a thorough understanding of the Constitutional position of the Presidency and a perspective on how the Presidency could be further developed to build on the legacy accomplished.

The choosing of candidates for this election is therefore not a similar exercise to that of a bull-run, where a cohort of the sartorially challenged and politically spontaneous presenting themselves as independent candidates for Dáil Éireann or Seanad Éireann with an alternative outlook on the universe that is adapted and scripted by them on the hoof.

Several individuals have indicated a desire to seek a nomination to contest the presidential election but none of them have really spelled why they are sufficiently distinguished and accomplished to prompt the electorate to vote for them.

Finally, the Office of President has become something of a family enterprise with the President’s family, especially the spouse, playing a crucial role in the success of a presidential term. None of the prospective candidates have indicated if they have any back-up of this nature to support what has become a very complex and personally demanding role requiring an incumbent of exceptional talent and ability.

Fianna Fáil would need to extend their commitment to the process of qualifying candidates beyond a desire to be in the winners enclosure next November, whether the winner is, or is not, a Fianna Fáil devotee.

Tom Elliott’s outburst does him no credit

Shortly after Tom Elliott became leader of the Ulster Unionist Party last September he declared that he would not attend GAA matches. I felt that this simplistic, ham-fisted declaration was short-sighted and naïve on his part and it certainly didn’t deliver extra votes last week. Attendance at the odd match and engagement with the GAA would have allowed him to demonstrate that there would be an expansive and innovative dimension to the character of his leadership; that the future he sought to foster would not be impaled by inertia, or diminished by the closed mind-set of a political hermit.

Despite the painstaking pace of vote counting last week, both the outcome of the Assembly election and the conduct of leading politicians, especially in the course of the past year, indicates that they are capable of making gestures and statements that move the political narrative forward in a manner that reflects the sentiment and disposition of the electorate.

Mr Elliott’s outburst in Omagh about the Irish flag being ‘foreign’ betrays a fundamental ignorance of the symbolism of the flag – which is to recognise the different traditions on the island of Ireland and, by implication, the Constitutional safeguards afforded to those traditions. The Irish flag is therefore not a foreign symbol in the Anglo-Irish context because it recognises the cardinal principle of personal choice with respect to the definition of the nation.

I share his agitation when any national flag is displayed disrespectfully or where protocol is disregarded. A national flag is not a piece of carnival bunting intended to propagate narrow vested interests.

However, the interests of society are also not well served when a political leader uses condescending shibboleths, such as the descriptor ‘scum’, because these simply pander to vacuous subversive vanity that is not connected to elected politics. The political mainstream should function at a higher level of sophistication and that means that Mr Elliott will need to have one footprint in the promising future, aligned with those who have something positive to contribute to society, if the Ulster Unionists are to be an integral and effective part of that process.

Grounds for a review of Irish judicial salaries are overwhelming

The Journal of Legal Analysis, a Harvard publication, in its Winter 2009 issue, published a transnational comparison of the salaries of High Court judges in 28 OECD jurisdictions - Mexico and Switzerland being the omissions. Chile, Estonia, Israel, Slovenia are not included as they joined the OECD last year.

Rank	Country	Salary US$	Salary €
		2004-05	2004-05
1	United Kingdom	331,738	€224,147
2	Ireland	248,678	€168,026
3	Australia	241,498	€163,174
4	New Zealand	211,900	€143,176
5	United States	203,000	€137,162
6	France	198,201	€133,920
7	Japan	172,346	€116,450
8	Canada	166,800	€112,703
9	Iceland	156,250	€105,574
10	Luxembourg	141,606	€95,680
11	Netherlands	137,500	€92,905
12	Spain	135,686	€91,680
13	Finland	131,250	€88,682
14	Austria	125,225	€84,611
15	Belgium	117,073	€79,103
16	Denmark	115,568	€78,086
17	Sweden	110,520	€74,676
18	Germany	108,098	€73,039
19	Portugal	96,979	€65,526
20	Norway	94,000	€63,514
21	Greece	70,500	€47,635
22	Italy	58,245	€39,355
23	Poland	46,521	€31,433
24	Hungary	43,033	€29,076
25	Czech Republic	37,464	€25,314
26	Turkey	33,948	€22,938
27	Korea	33,600	€22,703
28	Slovak Republic	11,856	€8,011

The data relates to 2004/2005 and showed Ireland’s judges to be the second highest paid, next to their British counterparts.

Between 2004/2005 and 2011 the salary of a British High Court judge increased by 11.1% from £155,404 to £172,753 (€196,310)

The salary of an Irish High Court judge increased during this six-year period by 36.6% from €184,889 to €252,720 – the probability now being that Irish judges are the highest paid in the world.

This development a surge in interest by those wishing to become judges.  During the 2004-09 period the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board advertised for a total of 51 vacancies in the Supreme, High, Circuit and District Courts,  There were 1,916 applicants.

Apart from the High Court, there are other features of the Irish judicial reward system which gives Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, plenty of grounds to conduct a Constitutional Referendum to reform judges pay and not to capitulate on their reported request that the tax burden on pension funds in excess of €2.3 million.

The Irish Constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann, exists to define our nation, defend its institutions and not to provide privileged refuges for the well-connected to escape their civic obligations and contribution to social solidarity, especially at a time of unprecedented crisis and widespread severe hardship.

Public Sector Pension Levy

It was reported by the Revenue Commissioners at the end of 2010 that 22 of the nation’s 147 judges failed to make a voluntary contribution to the Revenue Commissioners last year in lieu of this levy and that the cumulative payments of those judges who did make a voluntary contribution amounted to €1,246,787. If all of them had met the statutory obligations that public sector workers are obliged to honour the Exchequer could have received €2,374,180 from the judiciary last year.

Despite the leadership endeavours of the Chief Justice and the President of the High Court, there is effectively a deficit in Exchequer receipts of €1,358,915 that someone else must compensate – the scale of which would require the pension levy of over 5,400 public sector workers earning €20,000 per annum.

The defence based on Article 35.5 of The Constitution that ‘the remuneration of a judge shall not be reduced during his continuance in office’ has never been tested so the underlying decision is therefore based on political and administrative considerations. This levy is a deduction from gross earnings of public sector workers. It is not a reduction in gross earnings.
Has the levy been applied to judges appointed after the Financial Emergency measures in the Public Interest Act 2009 became law on the 20^th December that year?

Remuneration

Our 147 judges were paid €27,759,194 in 2009. That included a State pension of €72,983 paid to the Chief Justice in respect of service in another Constitutional Office – that of Attorney General from March 1987 to September 1991.

Their counterparts in Great Britain and Northern Ireland are paid 24% less. This difference costs that Irish Exchequer €5,343,770 - which equates to 67% of the total receipts from pension-related deductions on public service remuneration last year in your own Department. Why is Ireland borrowing from the IMF/EU/HM Treasury to pay this premium so that our judges continue to be the highest paid in the world?

It is perfectly reasonable to compare pay rates in Ireland with those in the neighbouring Common Law jurisdiction because, unlike France and Germany, judges in the UK are recruited from the ranks of experienced lawyers, some of who earn more than £500,000 per year at the Bar but populate the ranks of the 140-strong High Court bench at a salary of £172,753, 27% less than the 36-member Irish High Court. The British rates are also broadly comparable to those prevailing in Australia and Canada. Furthermore, the same arguments with respect to work-load and complexity, impact and sensitivity of decisions, court craft and out-of-court administration, management and leadership responsibilities apply in all of these jurisdictions.

Public Sector Pay Reductions / 2010

The Irish Exchequer is losing €2,485,924 as a consequence of the judiciary being exempted from the reductions imposed on the public service from 1 January 2010. I have read that judges are also exempted from PRSI. If this is the case, the loss to the insolvent Social Insurance Fund is €1,107,488. The combined impact of this loss would pay the annual wages at minimum tariff of over 200 workers.

Has the reduction and pension levy been imposed on all judges appointed since 1 January 2010?

Pay Parity

The salary of the Chief Justice exceeded that of the Taoiseach from the foundation of the State until 1968 when pay parity was established on the grounds that the Head of the Judiciary and the Head of the Executive would enjoy similar remuneration. The differential between the pay of Enda Kenny and the Chief Justice is now 54%. If the arguments for pay parity were solid when rates were rising by 110%, which was the case between 2000 and 2009, how do you intend to choreograph the restoration of this long-standing relationship when the Constitutional impediment has not been tested and judges have responded to the national financial crisis with blinding self-interest?

Flat-Rate Expenses

At present, judges receive unvouched, non-pensionable and non-taxable expense allowances the cumulative annual value of which is €508,856. It seems to me that these are also not ‘remuneration’ within the definition of Article 35.5 of Bunreacht na hÉireann. Did you Department impose the 8% reduction (amounting to €40,708) that applied to all qualifying public service workers since 1 January 2010?

Government car and Garda Driver(s)

The State is to continue to provide the Chief Justice with a Garda driven car at an average annual cost of €280,000 to commute to the outer suburbs.

The total cost of the four official cars used by the British Ministry of Justice in the year ended 31 March 2010 was £320,429 (€368,309), or €92,077 per vehicle and €47,600 is attributable to the use of the British Government’s Green Car Service by all judges.

The total cost of operating two official cars at the Northern Ireland Office in the year ended 31 march 2010 was under €90,000.

Official car usage in Britain is restricted to official business and from home to office journeys within a reasonable distance, on the understanding that users would normally be bearing classified documents on which they would be working, - as well as security and other relevant considerations.