Dublin South FM

Good evening I’m John Byrne and this is Dublin South Fm News. In todays top story..

A South Dublin woman has brought proceedings in relation to the Governments publicly funded campaign in the Children Referendum before Mr Justice Paul McDermott at the High Court today.

Joanna Jordan of St Kevins Villas, Glenageary Road Upper, Dunlaoghaire has claimed that the Government’s campaign used ‘blatant psychological manipulation’ to secure a ‘Yes’ vote.

Ms Jordan campaigned for a ‘no’ vote in the November  10 2012 referendum and wants to bring s petition challenging the result.

She told the high court that the governments campaign amounted to a grievous interference with the peoples sovereignty, the basic concepts of democracy were at issue and it breached the constitution.

She claims that the governments  €1.1m spend of public monies on a “one sided” information campaign amounted to clear disregard of the limits of the constitution.

The Amendment was passed in 2012 with 58% in favour.

Two men were stabbed this morning and one woman was assaulted in separate incidents on Grafton street. A man was discovered shortly afer 1 am with stab wounds on the south Dublin city street.One victim was stabbed in the chest , a second man suffered stab wounds to his back and side..Both are still in hospital.A 25 year old man has been arrested and has appeared in court today.Leon Wright with an address at St Teresa’s gardens faces  3 counts of assault causing harm, two charges of robbery and possession of a knife.He will appear In court again next week.

The cost of groceries are still rising a survey shows today.Many household items cost nearly 9 % more than 2011.
Biscuits, Rashers, Dogfood and breakfast cereal all saw the biggest increase of 30-40% with some items nearly doubling in the last 2 years

Out of 53 products checked..20 stayed the same and only 5 dropped in price.

Community Notices

 ”Deaf Sports Ireland are pleased to announce that there will be a sponsored 5km Fun Run (or walk if you prefer) at 10.30 am on Saturday the 27th of April in Phoenix Park in aid of the 2013 Deaflympics and the Irish Deaf Team.

If you would like to take part in this event to have some fun and support a good cause at the same time email Lorelei at: communication@deafsportsireland.com to register or to get more info

WEEE Ireland, the Irish compliance scheme for electrical and battery recycling, is holding a free recycling event in Nutgrove Shopping Centre, Nutgrove in association with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.This free WEEE Ireland event allows people to get rid of any household electrical equipment and batteries in a safe and environmentally friendly manner.Anything in the home with a battery or a plug can be recycled at these collections. Waste collection specialists from WEEE Ireland will be there on the day to help you send your toasters, vacuum cleaners, fridges and every other electrical item imaginable to a better place.

For further information on all future recycling events in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, or to find your nearest civic amenity site, please log on to WEEE Ireland’s website www.recyclefree.ie

WEATHER

Tonight will be very windy with some showers overnight. Strong to gale force south-west to westerly winds will gust 90 to 110km/hr and later veer westerly. Lowest temperatures of 5-7 degrees. A bright, fresh, breezy day with sunshine and scattered showers. Highest temperatures of 10-12 degrees with fresh to strong and gusty westerly winds.

Good evening I’m John Byrne and this is Dublin South Fm news..In today’s top story

The Fate of the Croke Park deal is uncertain today after the country’s biggest union SIPTU voted against it.. Members of the Union rejected the deal by 
53.7 % to 46.3 % despite a recommendation from the union’s leadership that the deal be accepted.
This makes Siptu the 10^th union to vote against the deal while only 5 so far have accepted it. It is still possible for the Croke Park deal to be passed but without the support of the country’s biggest union it looks unlikely.

If the deal was accepted it would run for 3 years starting in July and attempt to save a total of €1 billion euro through pay cuts and allowances and increase in hours.
SIPTU president Jack O Connor said the vote reflected the sense of grievance among public service workers..
He added’ We urge the government not to proceed with the legislation as it would inevitably precipitate a major confrontation.


Today see’s the opening in the Dundrum town centre of Irelands first digital banking store. AIB’s the Lab which stands for Learn about banking is focused on helping customers to maximise their use of existing and emerging technologies in banking services..As well as this it will also provide the majority of day to day banking sevices and will be open 7 days a week at normal retail hours..The Lab is located on the 1^st level of the Dundrum town centre across firm Marks and Spencers.

ISPCC Childline has launched an appeal to help them to answer more calls

 Childline has seen a huge increase in demand over its 25 years; in 2011 it received 829,258 calls, but due to lack of funding only 523,804 of these could be answered. As Ireland’s only 24 hour listening service for children, it is a vital service for these young people who feel they have no where else to turn.
It is appealing to all women to take part in the Flora womens marathon and to don the red childline t shirt to help them raise much needed funds..

The deadline  is approaching fast with the last applications being taken on 24^th april.For more information on how to run the mini marathon on the june bank holiday weekend for Childline call Rita on 1850 50 40 50.

Community Notices

The Dundrum Gazette is looking for young student writers to write for them..If you think you have what it takes to be a young budding writer contact them at www.gazettegroup.com

There will be a free electrical waste recycling day this Saturday at nutgrove shopping centre from 10am to 4pm..Bring all your unwanted electrical and electronic items including batteries down for free disposal.

Weather

It will be dry at first tonight but wet and windy weather will spread from the southwest later. There will be some heavy rain and winds will become strong and gusty southeast to south. Min temperatures of 6 to 7 degrees.

Tomorrow will be wet, with rain or showers occasionally heavy and prolonged. Winds will be strong occasionally gusting gale force mostly southerly. Max temperatures of 11 to 14 degrees.

That’s all from the Dublin South Fm news team..Now it’s back to studio 1

News 12/04/13

Good evening I’m John Byrne and you’re listening to Dublin South FM News..

 In today’s top story. A Senior Welfare official from the Social Welfare office in Dun Laoghaire has today been jailed for 16 months for fraud.
Brian King 48 was managing the office in 2010 and 11 when he purposely overpaid 25 welfare recipients before contacting them and saying the overpayment was a mistake. The department of social and family affairs became aware of the scam when they received a tip off in an anonymous letter. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the thefts resulted from Kings gambling problem.

Sonas, A charity that provides housing, refuge and support to women and children experiencing domestic violence, is launching a new campaign to raise awareness of the effects of verbal abuse on women in Ireland.
The campaign is called Killing me softly with his words and the communications officer from Sonas housing Paula McGovern  spoke to Dublin south fm today.

There will be a meeting tonight in the Willows Pub Dundrum hosted by TD Shane Ross in relation to the property tax and it’s implications for the people of south Dublin..Shane Ross spoke to us at Dublin south fm earlier about how he feels about the property tax and why he’s hoping for a big turnout from south Dublin tonight.

Community Notices
There will be a fundraiser tonight in the Coach House Ballinteer in aid of the James Gill Cancer Fund.There will be live music and spot prizes on the night including a chance to win a trip for two to Wembley Stadium to see England V Ireland play a soccer match.For more details or for tickets call Jim Davidson on 0862591412

WEATHER

IT will be dry tonight with clear spells developing.. Some fog patches possibly forming.. As it turns cold temperatures will drop to 1 to 2 degrees.

Tomorrow will start brightly but rain will develop by late morning and will persist for the rest of the day. Highest temperatures from 11 to 12 degrees

That’s all for Dublin south fm news.. Now it’s back to studio 1.

Dublin South FM’s outdoor events team were up at the Red Cow Hotel today where students from more than 28 schools and education centres across Dublin, Wicklow , Wexford, and Kildare as well as Limerick, Westmeath, Carlow, and Offally met today to speak out about the social issues that most concern them and present their solutions for tackling them. The young people spoke out on issues ranging from Sudden Adult Death Syndrome and Farm Safety, to Food Poverty and school stress.

And finally, a boat involved in the first-ever attempt to make a global study of marine plankton arrived in Dun Laoghaire harbour yesterday,

The French research schooner Tara has travelled 115,000 kilometres and visited 50 countries over the past two-and-a-half years, on a mission to further the understanding of the effect of climate change on planktonic ecosystems.

The vessel is berthed at the East Pier and is open to the public to visit today and tomorrow afternoon.

A collection of images taken on board Tara is also displayed along the Pier.

A new survey has revealed that at least one in every five children has seen potentially dangerous content online, including websites which promote anorexia and suicide techniques.

According to research commissioned by the EU Kids Online network, about 14 per cent have also been exposed to sexual images while browsing the internet.

The researchers for ‘Towards a better internet for children’ said one of their strongest conclusions is that “existing reporting tools do not work”. They say that the industry needs to do much better given that only one in ten children reported their problems through an online mechanism.

Figures released today by the Central Statistics Office show that the number of recorded suicides in the Republic increased by 7 per cent in 2011.

The number of suicides registered last year was 525, compared with 490 in the previous year.

The 2011 figures also saw a rise in male suicides, which accounted for 84 per cent of all suicide deaths.

Commenting on the figures, the Irish Association of Suicidology said that given the impact of the economic downturn, especially on young males, it was not surprising that men were so at risk to suicide.

It also issued a reminder that there is always help available to anyone, male or female, suffering emotional distress or feeling suicidal, including through the Samaritans or their family GP.

A US-based ancestry search service is set to create 35 new jobs in Dublin over the next two years.

Ancestry.com has been in temporary offices in the capital since Autumn 2011 and currently employs 15 people.

The company now plans to run its international operations from Dublin and will open a new office in Sir John Rogerson’s Quay later this year.

The new positions will be in areas such as management, finance, website development and member services.

A report from the Food Safety Authority has called for calorie counts to be displayed on menus in restaurants, bars and cafés.

The report, which recommends that the labelling scheme should be introduced on a voluntary basis initially, follows a national consultation earlier this year during which over 3,300 submissions were received by the FSA, 80 per cent of which came from consumers.

The Authority made its recommendation after the public consultation indicated that 96 per cent of consumers wanted the calorie labelling.

The software company Guidewire has announced it will create at least ten new jobs in Dublin with the establishment of a new consulting centre.

The software developer provides operational systems to over one hundred insurance companies throughout Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the US, and already employs 25 people at its premises in Blanchardstown.

Figures published today by the Central Statistics Office show that the number of people on the Live Register rose again last month. The CSO said that on a seasonally-adjusted basis, an extra 2,700 people joined the dole queues in June, compared to the previous month.

The number of people signing on now stands at almost 452,000, bringing our standardised unemployment rate up to 14.9%.

The Small Firms Association described the figures as “disappointing, but not surprising”.

Scientists at the CERN research centre in Switzerland have discovered a new subatomic particle that could be the elusive Higgs boson.

The team working at the Large Hadron Collider outside Geneva has spent years looking for evidence of the subatomic particle, which is critical in describing the fundamental make-up of the universe.

Letters are being posted to hundreds of thousands of people who still haven’t paid the controversial €100 Household Charge.

The reminders are the first of three warning letters from local authorities.

Responding to the news, Cllr Ruth Coppinger of the Campaign Against Household and Water Taxes said: ‘We say to the more than one million people taking part in the biggest boycott in over a century not to be bullied. The majority of home-owners - 52% - have not registered, a historic level of civil disobedience. One million people can’t be brought to court.’

Meanwhile, Oireachtas officials are considering whether the use of Dáil travel expenses to travel around the country to campaign against the Household Charge is within the rules as it was confirmed that Joe Higgens used Dail expenses to fight the household tax.

Irish people planning on working in Australia will be faced with new visa restrictions from today.

A number of occupations have been removed from the official skills shortage list including bricklayers, floor tilers and chemists, who will now only be able to apply for a skilled permanent work visa with sponsorship from an employer or state government.

Anyone who has already lodged an application for a permanent work visa will not be affected by the changes.

Dubliners will have to pay more to have their bins collected as of yesterday.

The tax is because of an increase in landfill levies.

The tax applies to black bag waste and was introduced in an effort to encourage recycling.

Ulster Bank custumers face more delays as Ulster Bank has said it cannot predict when normal service will resume for its customers.

In a statement this morning, the bank said there may be “some bumps along the road” as it sorts through its transaction backlog.

It is now nearly two weeks since the technical breakdown happened.

The bank had earlier pledged that the backlog of payments would be cleared by the beginning of this week.

Good news on the job front today with the announcement of the the creation of over 200 jobs today.

More than a 100 jobs have been announced with the arrival of a new health insurance company Glo Health to the country.

Meanwhile, 60 high tech jobs are being created at an alarm monitoring company in Sandyford.

Thousands of people have gathered in Dublin for the annual Pride Parade.

Organisers estimate about 30,000 people will take part in the event with up to 100,000 spectators.

The parade set off from the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell Street at 2pm this afternoon.

Celebrations continue after the parade with music and performances in Merrion Square.

Sinn Féin Counncillor Cathal King was elected Mayor of South Dublin County Council at the council’s annual meeting in Tallaght yesterday afternoon.

Accepting the role, King said he takes on the responsibility with “great pride and pleasure”.

His nomination was proposed by fellow Sinn Féin colleague Maire Devine and seconded by Labour’s Eamon Tuffy.

King intends to use the office to highlight the issue of mental health in the area and plans to facilitate a gathering of interested groups and individuals to develop well-being strategies for all age groups.

A 21-year-old woman has been released without charge in connection with an attack on another woman in Dublin city centre last weekend in which a large section of the victim’s nose was bitten off.

The 23-year-old injured woman from Blanchardstown has since undergone corrective surgery in an effort to rebuild the missing part of her nose.

The incident occurred on the street close to Tara Street train station at about 2.30am last Sunday.

The victim and her alleged attacker had earlier exchanged words in a nearby pub.