Legislation will Establish the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland.
Introduce a modern and robust licencing and regulatory framework for both in-person and online gambling.
Establish a National Gambling Exclusion Register.
Introduce tight restrictions on gambling advertising.
Introduce a Social Impact Fund to support educational measures and problem gambling treatment activities.
CEO Designate of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland has been progressing important preparatory work.
The Gambling Regulation Bill, 2022, has passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas. The legislation sets out the framework and legislative basis for the establishment of a new, independent statutory body, Údarás Rialála Cearrbhachais na hÉireann, (the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland) and for a modern and robust licencing and regulatory framework for both in-person and online gambling.
Painting by Italian artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610), “The Cardsharps.” (painted c.1594).
The Bill provides for the establishment and operation of the National Gambling Exclusion Register and introduces tight restrictions on the advertisement of gambling activities. It also provides for the creation of a Social Impact Fund to support awareness–raising and educational measures and to support problem gambling treatment activities.
With regard to black market operators, the Bill contains a suite of measures to address illegal or criminal gambling activity and includes explicit prohibitions on illegal activity or practices, some of which could result in significant custodial sentences.
Once the Bill is enacted, the GRAI will be established with a seven-person authority. A Programme Board has been established in the Department of Justice to ensure that the legislation and the operational preparations are progressed in parallel, allowing the Authority to commence operations, on a phased basis, as soon as possible, after enactment and appointment of the Authority members. Ms Anne Marie Caulfield has been appointed to the role of CEO Designate of the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland and has been progressing important preparatory work.
As part of Budget 2025 announced on October 1st last, the GRAI will receive €9.1m in 2025, including €4m of ICT capital investment.
New independent Commission will select and recommend candidates for all judicial offices in Ireland and in EU and international courts.
A new application and interview process will apply to all judicial vacancies.
Candidates will be required to undergo continuous professional development.
Legislation providing for the establishment of the Judicial Appointments Commission on 1st January 2025 has commenced today. This marks the most substantial reform in the way judges are chosen for appointment in almost thirty years. The Judicial Appointments Commission Act establishes a new, independent Judicial Appointments Commission to select and recommend persons for all judicial offices in Ireland; in the EU and International courts.
The new reforms provided for, include:
Reduction in the number of recommendations: 3 candidates to be recommended for a vacancy and an additional 2 recommendations for a second and additional vacancies. For example, this would mean 7 recommendations for 3 vacancies.
Only candidates recommended by the Judicial Appointments Commission to be nominated by the Government for appointment by the President.
All judicial posts, whether a first appointment or a promotion from another court will be governed by the procedure.
Interviews: For the first time, all nominees will have been interviewed.
Diversity: The Commission will have the objective that membership of the judiciary should reflect the diversity of the population as a whole.
Continuous Professional Development: Candidates will be required to show they have undertaken judicial training or continuous professional development.
The Judicial Appointments Commission will set out best practice selection procedures including interviews and the knowledge, skills and attributes required of judges.
Commission Membership. Membership of the Judicial Appointments Commission, which will be chaired by Chief Justice, The Hon. Mr. Justice Donal O’Donnell and will include:- The Hon. Ms. Justice Caroline Costello, (President of the Court of Appeal). Attorney General Rossa Fanning(SC). The Hon. Ms. Justice Mary Rose Gearty, (High Court). Judge Alan Mitchell, (District Court). Ms. Bernie Gray, (Human Resources and Governance expert). Dr. Eleanor O’Higgins, (Adjunct Associate Professor, College of Business, University College Dublin and Associate, London School of Economics and Political Science). Dr. Rónán Kennedy, (Associate Professor in the School of Law, University of Galway). Dr. Terrence McWade, (Former CEO of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland).
The Judicial Appointments Commission will be established from January 1st, 2025.
Breast cancer awareness month 2024 began on Tuesday, October 1st and will continue until Thursday October 31st next.
All Irish Supermarkets, over the past two years, have significantly increased their retail prices on many items and yes, to my thinking, both breast cancer and Supermarket products are both inextricably linked, presently leaving both impossible to disentangle or separate.
My focus here in Thurles today was attracted to a product offered in plastic wrapping, containing 5Bockwurst Sausages, (asking price €4.29). The product is manufactured by the German firm Dulano, latter who claim ‘Farm to fork” traceability.
Bockwurst is a German sausage traditionally made from ground pork or veal, but tending more towards veal. Bockwurst is flavoured with salt, white pepper and paprika. Other herbs, such as marjoram, chives and parsley, are also often added and in Germany, Bockwurst is often smoked as well.
Nowadays, it can be purchased all year round almost everywhere in Germany, in butcher’s shops, cheaper restaurants, snack bars, food booths, some bakeries and even gas stations. Here in Thurles Co. Tipperary it can be purchased from the German International discount retailer chain Lidl, same which operate over 12,000 stores within the European Union.
Yuka Application: View HERE Using the 100% independent, free ‘Yuka App’, which it is now imperative for everyone shopping in supermarkets to download to their smart phones, (because of its welcome ability to decipher product labels, while analysing the health impact of most food products and cosmetics, via their barcode,) we are disappointed and alarmed to learn the following information:-
On the ‘Yuka App’, the Bockwurst Sausages product is declared ‘BAD’, and is rated at 0 out of 100, because of two hazardous additives, plus containing two much fat, and two much sodium.
The two hazardous preservatives are identified as being (1)Sodium Nitrite, (2)Diphosphates,
(1) Sodium Nitrite: Sodium nitration is hazardous and when combined with certain foods, nitrites may contribute to the development of nitrosamines, compounds classified by the international agency for research on cancer (IARC) as “probably carcinogenic to humans”. In 2022 the French agency for food environmental and occupational health and safety (ANSES) confirmed the carcinogenic and genotoxic effects of these compounds and recommended limiting the use of nitrate/nitrite additions in food products.
(2) Diphosphates:(Texturizing agent). Phosphate contains phosphorus a chemical element that is essential to the body. However excess phosphorus can disrupt bone mineralization; damage the kidneys, and increased the risk of cardiovascular disease and breast cancer the (EFSA) European food safety has indicated that phosphorus consumption exceeds the safe level of intake for part of the population.
This is just one of many products to be found in each of our Thurles supermarkets, placed there with no regard for consumers health; and retailed solely to generate massive profits.
We wonder why cancer is rapidly increasing and why our Irish hospitals are continuously overcrowded!The answer is most likely to be found in the food products located on our supermarket shelves, ignored by a VAT greedy government.
Two decades is too long to wait to fix Ireland’s deficient wastewater treatment plants, says EPA.
The number of towns and villages discharging raw sewage every day has reduced from 29 down to 16 since the beginning of 2023.
Wastewater treatment at 10 large towns and cities failed to meet European Union standards set to protect the environment.
Uisce Éireann’s delays in delivering improvements at priority areas, where wastewater is adversely impacting rivers and coastal waters are prolonging risks to water quality.
Wastewater discharged from over half of treatment plants did not always meet the licence standards set to prevent pollution.
The EPA’s Urban Wastewater Treatment in 2023 report, released today, highlights progress in wastewater treatment, including a 45% reduction in the number of towns and villages discharging raw sewage, since the start of 2023. Nevertheless, wastewater treatment at many areas is not good enough to prevent wastewater discharges from impacting the quality of rivers, estuaries, lakes and coastal waters. All deficient wastewater works must be brought up to the standards required to protect the environment but, based on Uisce Éireann estimates, this could take over two decades and will require substantial investment. As it is not possible to fix all the problems in the short term, improvements must be prioritised where they are needed most. The EPA has identified 73 priority areas where improvements in wastewater treatment are most urgently needed to protect our environment. Uisce Éireann has not yet started upgrade works at half of these.
Sixteen towns and villages discharging raw sewage in mid-2024.
Launching the report, Dr Tom Ryan, EPA Director said: “Investment has resulted in stopping raw sewage discharges during the past year from 13 towns and villages that were priority areas highlighted by the EPA. This demonstrates that such investment protects our environment and benefits our local communities. The much-needed upgrade of Ireland’s largest treatment plant at Ringsend in Dublin, treating over 40 per cent of all national wastewaters, is now well advanced, and this is to be welcomed. However, wastewater discharges continue to be a significant pressure on water quality in many of our rivers, estuaries, lakes and coastal waters. Without an ambitious and sustained investment programme to build out our wastewater treatment infrastructure it could take over two decades to achieve the required standards to protect the environment. At an operational level, Uisce Éireann’s slow progress in designing and delivering the solutions needed at the waters most affected by wastewater discharges are prolonging impacts on water quality. Uisce Éireann must prioritise the prompt delivery of these essential works.”
The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive sets general European wide treatment standards for large towns and cities. Ten areas, including Dublin, failed these basic standards in 2023. Wastewater discharge licences issued by the EPA to Uisce Éireann may specify more stringent standards than those in the Directive when such standards are necessary to prevent and reduce pollution of waters. Over half of licensed treatment plants discharge wastewater that does not always meet these licence standards.
Noel Byrne, EPA Programme Manager, said:“Wastewater discharge licences issued by the EPA set out the treatment standards needed to prevent pollution by wastewater discharges and protect our rivers and coastal waters. It is unacceptable that over half of licensed treatment plants do not always meet these standards, with issues ranging from short term breaches of treatment standards up to continuous discharges of raw sewage. The short term breaches should be resolved through effective management and maintenance of equipment. Uisce Éireann must address infrastructural deficits at the priority areas highlighted by the EPA during its 2025 to 2029 investment cycle. This will help deliver significant environmental benefits and protect water quality.”
The report includes a range of recommendations for Uisce Éireann, including the need to speed up its overdue assessments of how wastewater discharges impact shellfish waters, and to collect better information about discharges of untreated wastewater through storm water overflows.
Meanwhile, no public update on progress being made in relation to the River Suir in Thurles; promised by the Local Authority Waters Programme, (LAWPRO).
A record year for CAB in its goal of denying and depriving criminals of the proceeds of crime
Almost €10m seized from criminals
The Criminal Assets Bureau’s (CAB) Annual Report for 2023, has been published, showing a record year for CAB in its goal of denying and depriving criminals of the proceeds of committed crime.
In 2023, the value of assets under proceeds of crime cases commenced by CAB ranged in value from €10,915 to €1,456,887. Proceeds of crime actions, together with actions carried out under Revenue and Social Protection provisions, yielded in excess of €8.6 million to the Irish Exchequer in 2023.
Using the ill-gotten gains collected by CAB, the Department of Justice established the Community Safety Fund. This fund has been developed to reinvest the value of proceeds of crime, seized by CAB, directly back into local communities, which are negatively affected by crime.
€3.75 million in funding is available for local initiatives under this year’s Community Safety fund with applications closed since late July. Officials within the Department of Justice are currently processing current applications and the recipients will be announced in the coming weeks.
It is intended to support the expansion of CAB by 45% over the next 2 years, as part of the plan to tackle organised crime. The CAB Strategic Plan 2024-2027 will expand CAB’s intelligence gathering and enforcement activities.
In addition, new legislation is being brought forward in the coming weeks to strengthen CAB, with the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Bill 2023, seen as improving CAB’s ability to carry out its work.
Measures include:
The reduction from seven years to two years in the time between an order being made that assets are the proceeds of crime and a final disposal order being available in respect of those assets.
Provision for immediate and automatic appointment of a receiver to deprive respondents of the benefit of the assets.
The limitation of respondent’s ability to reopen the question of whether assets are proceeds of crime at the point of a disposal order being sought.
Enhanced restraint and asset detention powers prior to the High Court process.
Improved domestic and international information exchange powers.
Eradicating organised crime is central to building safer, stronger communities and expanding CAB is seen as key to this goal.
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