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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-68196008

Starting to get their ducks lined up in a row already.

If nothing really improves (which is highly likely) they can all stand back and point the finger as Westminster and say it is all there fault because they did not pony up the £££.  Easier to do and less damaging when it comes to elections instead of having to make hard calls when it comes to generating revenue.

They have been doing that for years in fairness, it wouldn't be anything new. None of them willing to make difficult decisions and will leave the difficult decisions in Health to Swann

Limerick 1-36 Antrim 1-9

Didn't expect anything much different to that in fairness

Justin McNulty suspended by SDLP

Interesting to see which of his two jobs pays more and he keeps doing.

I would say Laois pays more

I see Conor Bradley's dad died this morning after a long illness. Would be surprised if he plays tomorrow now. Wouldn't be easy for the lad

Where did you see that ?

It will be some achievement if they can win it

Fury v Usyk off after Fury sustained a "cut" in training 

Donaldson well fit for Nolan this morning, not often you see a local politician sitting an a show like that for an hour.

Why won't one of the big two take Health ?

[Clapham attack suspect Abdul Ezedi convicted of sex offence in 2018]

Can someone help here, because I'm struggling, how do you grant asylum AFTER someone has been convicted of a sex offence ?

He had also been refused asylum TWICE 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68167793


Clapham attack suspect Abdul Ezedi convicted of sex offence in 2018

The suspect in an alkali attack in south London was convicted of a sex offence in 2018 and was later granted asylum.

Police are looking for Abdul Shakoor Ezedi, 35, who was last seen at a Tesco shop in north London on Wednesday evening.
He was convicted of "sexual assault/exposure" in 2018, before being granted asylum in 2021 or 2022.

The Met Police have issued an image of him showing facial injuries.
The image of Ezedi was released on Thursday - showing "significant injuries" to his right eye. It was taken at a Tesco Express shop on Caledonian Road, north London, at 20:48 GMT on Wednesday.


Police have warned people to call 999 if they see him.


BBC News understands that Ezedi arrived in the UK by lorry in 2016.
His sentence for the sexual offence, passed down at Newcastle Crown Court, included an unpaid work order.
Once that was completed in 2020, Ezedi was discharged from probation supervision.

A mother and daughter hurt by the corrosive substance could have suffered "life-changing" injuries in Wednesday's attack.

The 31-year-old and her daughter, three, remain in hospital, along with her older daughter, eight.

The suspect attempted to escape the scene in Clapham in a car but crashed into a stationary vehicle, then ran.

Police believe he is known to the family, but said they were not yet clear on their exact relationship.

Supt Gabriel Cameron told reporters on Thursday he had "no idea" what Ezedi's motivation may have been, but that he was "wholeheartedly confident" he would be caught.

He said Ezedi is believed to be from the Newcastle area, and the car left at the scene, a Hyundai, belonged to him.
He may have been known to police, Supt Cameron added.

"While this appears to be a targeted attack, he is a dangerous individual, and we urgently need to find him," the Metropolitan Police said earlier on Thursday.

Supt Cameron said the suspect was last seen in the north London area, in Caledonian Road, and if people see him they should not approach him, but call 999.
There was a heightened police presence in Caledonian Road on Thursday afternoon, including unmarked cars with blue sirens and police vans.

Twelve people in total were hurt in the attack. Out of four members of the public who tried to help, three went to hospital with injuries - two women in their 30s and one in her 50s.

Police say they "bravely came to the aid of the family" and have now been discharged from hospital.

The London Ambulance Service said it sent a response team, including three ambulance crews, to the scene after receiving a call about an incident near Clapham Common just before 19:30 on Wednesday.

A man in his 50s declined medical treatment for minor injuries he suffered at the scene.

Five officers who were injured as they responded to the attack have left hospital after receiving treatment.

Some of the burns the mother and her daughters suffered in the attack were "quite substantial", Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley told the BBC on Thursday, but added he did not have a full picture of their injuries yet.

They were attacked on Lessar Avenue, near Clapham Common, at 19:25 on Wednesday evening. Police were called following reports of an attack with a suspected "corrosive substance".


One witness told the BBC that the mother cried "I can't see, I can't see" as he tried to help.


Police have urged any members of the public who saw what happened to call 101 quoting reference CAD 7790/31Jan.

Officers have also asked local residents and drivers to check their doorbell and dash cameras for any footage that might have captured a man fleeing the area.

A crime scene is now in place and is likely to remain there for some time, police say.

VVD not making any promises in staying past this summer now

Since that last storm on Sunday night my Fibrus connection is still down and lying by the roadside less than a mile from my home.

Absolute shít show and TBH with them being so small of an outfit, kinda expected by very disappointing

Redundancies coming with them now too as well

Is this a good thing (I think it is) or is this a racist government ?

Or too late ?


https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/mcentee-to-expand-list-of-safe-countries-to-cut-down-on-asylum-seekers-1580180.html

The Minister of Justice is to expand the list of "safe countries" in a bid to cut down on the numbers arriving here seeking international protection.

Helen McEntee has told fellow ministers that she plans to add more countries to the current list of eight safe countries and will have a memo ready to go to the Government for sign-off in the coming weeks.


As the Irish Examiner reports, the Government also wants to substantially increase the fines that are imposed on airlines if passengers arrive here without passports or official documents.

It is understood Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien suggested that the current airline penalties, which stand at €1,500 per offence, should be doubled and perhaps tripled.

There was broad agreement to this proposal during a meeting of the Sub-Cabinet Committee on Ukraine this afternoon.

Out of the 16.6 million passengers that arrived at airports, 3,285 could not provide documentation and the Government accepts that this must be tackled.


Outlining her plans to expand the list of safe countries, Ms McEntee pointed out that the number of people arriving from Georgia has halved since it was added to the list of "safe countries".

Ministers also discussed health provisions for those arriving from Ukraine and elsewhere, as well as education.

It is understood Education Minister Norma Foley called for increased capital investment in schools, pointing to a particular pressure at secondary level and late primary level.

Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe, who attended the meeting, is already engaging with a number of Departments on funding for capital projects.

Both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste stressed the need for a coherent and coordinated communications strategy on the asylum process and accommodation for both Ukrainians and others seeking protection here.

I assume he is using a Derry address, the fact that the GAA let you play for another county but play for your home club says it all.

Don't think they are too bothered about checking any evidence that you live in your adopted county.

A big turnaround for St. Thomas in the space of 12 months bearing in mind how comfortably Dunloy beat them last year.

After that match the money would have been on Dunloy winning the all Ireland first.

St Thomas didn't have the full deck last year, they were missing a few, didn't one of the Burkes get injured in the warm up too ? And a wedding the week before. Dunloy beat them well but that was a different team last year.

The boards resident eejits have never seen a foreigner in any hospital setting ffs, if you can't even be honest about it whats the point. Take a scoot into the Royal Victoria Hospital some day in Belfast to see how many you spot.

Gareth O'Callaghan: Having concerns about housing asylum seekers is not being far-right


Irish Examiner



Does anyone in Government honestly know what's going on in Ireland anymore —particularly in the small towns where locals feel they are being betrayed by the politicians, and ignored when they ask a question? Or has this bunch of politicians lost the plot?

Just asking for a friend.

These questions came to mind as I watched reports from outside Racket Hall in Roscrea this week. Thosemaintaining an all-night vigil on a
perishing January night in temperatures that plunged below freezing clearly believe that they are not being heard.

The chilling words on a sign hanging from a tree close to the entrance to the hotel also scrawled on placards carried by some of the protestors, are becoming more common: "The Irish Gov Are Traitors". Strong words.

I have to tread carefully here, as I have already been accused of being far-right in comments I made recently.

Trust me, I am far from far-right, probably more just commonly sensible in my views, I like to think — something which those who can only see life from out there on the right will never understand.

Italian political scientist Noberto Bobbio argues that our attitudes towards status, rights, and opportunities are primarily what distinguish left-wing from right-wing on the political wavelength: "The left considers the key inequalities between people to be artificial and negative, which should be overcome by an active state, whereas the right believes that inequalities between people are natural and positive, and should be either defended or left alone by the state."

I neither believe in nor contribute to the theory that inequalities between people are natural or positive; to do so is nothing short of racist and intolerant.

I believe what is happening in Roscrea over this past week will in hindsight be seen as a catalyst for the direction that Government will be forced to take in relation to planning any future direct provision methods. Put another way, it has no choice.

These local protesters made it clear that there's no place outside the entrance to the 18th-century coach house hotel, a familiar landmark on the old Dublin to Limerick road, or anywhere in Roscrea for that matter, for far-right activists.

One group who turned up on Monday night were quickly sent packing.

Local protestor Noel Wright said what many people are afraid to say lest they are branded as far right: "We've already taken more than our share of refugees here in Roscrea, and now we are losing our only hotel."

No one wants to take on more than is manageable, a perfectly reasonable sentiment, and that goes for most towns.

Sadly, we are in danger of being tarred with the same brush if we speak out about situations that leave locals feeling uncomfortable, even fearing for their safety in some cases.

Unfortunately, the Taoiseach appears to be also sending out that message, to the point where if we shout enough is enough, then we are "anti-democratic." That is not the case in most towns around Ireland.

Integration Minister Roderic O'Gorman's refusal to visit Racket Hall to meet local protestors is an unfortunate decision.

If he is so passionate about his plans to house more immigrants, then locals have a right to know where these people are coming from, the reason they have come here, and what positive contributions they can hope to make to the local community once they have integrated.

According to the 2022 census, the population of Roscrea was 5,542.

The arrival of an additional reported 160 international protection applicants (IPAs) due to be housed at Racket Hall is a considerable number for a small town to integrate and care for, considering locals have said this week that they find it difficult to get doctor and dentist appointments.

There are eleven doctors and five dentists based in the town. Roscrea used to have 27 gardaí, now that number is as low as seven — except for last Monday when eight packed Garda vans carrying members of the public order unit arrived escorting a bus transporting 17 IPAs into Racket Hall. Members were "soft cap", meaning they weren't wearing helmets or body armour.

O'Gorman stated this week that his department expects that Ireland will see approximately 15,000 international protection applicants every year.

He said: "It is still a small number compared to the amounts that many other European countries provide asylum to, and it's also a small number in terms of a country of a population of 5m people."

What the minister is failing to acknowledge is that while this geographically beautiful and mostly-welcoming country might only have a population of 5m, local resources are at best stretched to breaking point.

The Taoiseach is now proposing to put together a special package to help areas under pressure because of Government efforts to house more immigrants.

But what about the already-existing pressures that these hard-pushed towns have had to cope with for years, their pleas falling on deaf ears, such as the need for extra schools, teachers, medical care, and support for an ageing population?

Considering the services that many Irish citizens are entitled to access, but find almost impossible to do so, the prospect of 15,000 asylum seekers arriving here every year is a number that our voluntary resource centres and support agencies couldn't imagine coping with in their wildest dreams — a fact that once again highlights the shocking disparity between what this Government believes is realistic, but what local residents and experts know for certain is not.

It's got nothing to do with far-right sentiments to say, in point of fact, that plans to fill our hotels, and other questionably-suitable locations, with almost 100,000 immigrants who will arrive here out of desperation or otherwise over the next five years, is no different to trying to reattach the engine of a passenger jet using Sellotape.