UPDATE - News from Ireland - 09 June 1999 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit ---------------------------------------------- UPDATE - The email news service from RTE Online ---------------------------------------------- 09 June 1999 17:54 with Donnacha DeLong ON RTE UPDATE TODAY --------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Adams welcomes governments' intention to push negotiations 2. Flanagan warns evil and malevolent people seek to exploit Drumcree 3. Man jailed for life for sectarian murder of Catholic teenager 4. Garda Commissioner says search for IRA victims will continue 5. Non-consultant doctors take part in protest over long working hours 6. Court told Lawlor is only person who refused to attend Tribunal interviews 7. Northern Ireland beef ban lifted 8. Former nun accused of rape denies allegations 9. Sinn Fiin exluded from Belfast Lord Mayor's annual dinner 10. Leaving and Junior Certificate exams begin today 11. German man fined 25p for failing to send son to school 12. Business: Advisers say Telecom could be worth #7billion 13. Names of soldier involved in Bloody Sunday shootings released to families 14. 8 freed in Portadown murder investigation 15. First Euro elections votes cast 16. Suspected letterbomb at Antrim post office 17. Limerick greyhound trainer given suspended jail sentence 18. 35 year old man killed in road accident 19. Man injured in Dublin gun attack 20. New magazine to feature Irish "VIPs" 21. Customs officers seize thousands of litres of vodka plus Business News and Ireland's Weather ADAMS WELCOMES GOVERNMENTS' INTENTION TO PUSH NEGOTIATIONS --------------------------------------------------------------- The Sinn Fiin President has welcomed the intention of the two governments to push hard with intensive negotiations on the formation of the executive by the end of the month. Gerry Adams said it was not enough to have yet another round of negotiations and that political will was required if the next round of talks was to succeed. He said that the only way forward was in terms of the Good Friday Agreement, which, he said, was meaningless unless it was implemented. The Taoiseach said this morning that the only way around the decommissioning issue is to adhere to the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. Mr. Ahern was speaking on RTI Radio 1 this morning, following his announcement of a new round of intensive negotiations aimed at advancing the peace process. He said talks involving both governments and the pro-agreement northern parties would begin immediately after the European elections. The Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, have cancelled plans to visit South America so that they can attend talks on the North. Mr Blair and Mr Ahern were due to have been in Rio de Janeiro on at the end of this month for a summit meeting between the European Union and South American states. Last night, Mr. Ahern signalled that a new round of intensive negotiations aimed at advancing the peace process would take place. He added that the discussions would be conducted at various levels with the aim of ensuring that the June 30th deadline for the devolution of powers to the new Northern institutions would be met. Sinn Fiin and the Ulster Unionists have given a cautious welcome to the announcement. Ulster Unionist negotiator, Sir Reg Empey, warned that considerable obstacles to progress remain. Sinn Fiin's Mitchel McLaughlin called on all the parties to work together, to ensure that the target date of June 30th is met. http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0609/morningireland/morningireland3A.ram http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0609/1News/1News5A.ram FLANAGAN WARNS EVIL AND MALEVOLENT PEOPLE SEEK TO EXPLOIT DRUMCREE --------------------------------------------------------------- The RUC Chief Constable has warned that evil and malevolent people are seeking to exploit the Drumcree parade dispute to undermine the prospects of a political agreement in Northern Ireland. Sir Ronnie Flanagan said that the murder of a woman in a bomb attack on her home at Portadown at the weekend was intended to heighten tensions in the run-up to the Drumcree parade. The Chief Constable said he believed that the main paramilitary groups were maintaining their ceasefires, but that did not necessarily mean that individual members of those organisations were not engaged in violence. A Presbyterian Minister, who is also a leading member of the Orange Order in County Armagh, has warned that the situation at Drumcree this year is entering a very dangerous and difficult phase. The Reverend William Bingham from Pomeroy told the Church's General Assembly, in Belfast, that the Orangemen and Garvaghy Road residents, who are involved in proximity talks, were as far apart now as when the process began a few years ago. With the Drumcree church parade less than a month away, and an Orange Order protest continuing since last July, the issue of controversial marches came before the General Assembly. Former Moderator Dr. John Dunlop criticised the Grand Orange Lodge for not co-operating with the Parades Commission. He said that in the current volatile climate, people should not plan parades that they could not control, and the time had come for people to discuss their disagreements with one another. But, County Armagh Chaplain, Reverend William Bingham, who is based in Pomeroy, said that the Orange Order had moved more than any other group to try to get a resolution. He said that the problem was not of their making and blamed nationalist residents' groups, who he claimed were unwilling to seek an accommodation. The Assembly also passed a resolution encouraging the British and Irish governments, all political parties and paramilitary groups associated with any of them, to implement both the letter and spirit of the Good Friday agreement. During this morning's session, two senior ministers, former Moderator Dr John Dunlop and Reverend David Knox from Lisburn criticised plans to stage a march across the North from Derry to Portadown in support of the Orangemen at Drumcree. Dr. Dunlop who chairs the Church and Government Committee of the church said the march was not organised by the Orange Order officially, although the Grand master was supporting it and he said that concerned him. Mr. Knox said that he had attended a rally where speakers had encouraged people to participate in the march and to assemble at Drumcree. He did not believe these men were hotheads, they were men of integrity, but they were giving leadership to men who might be hotheads. He called on the Orange Order leadership to stop the march and called on chaplains to the order to say it was wrong and the church did not want to support such a march. This afternoon, for the first time in twenty years, the church is due to debate the subject of homosexuality. It will hear a call urging the British government not to lower the age of consent from 18 to 17. http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0609/1News/1News3A.ram MAN JAILED FOR LIFE FOR SECTARIAN MURDER OF CATHOLIC TEENAGER --------------------------------------------------------------- A man has been found guilty of the murder of the Catholic teenager Bernadette Martin in Aghalee in County Antrim two years ago. Trevor McKeown was jailed for life for what a judge called the "despicable" sectarian murder of an innocent Catholic girl, Bernadette Martin. McKeown is eligible under the Good Friday Agreement to apply for early release in July next year. However, following his outburst when he was convicted at Belfast Crown Court, trial judge Lord Justice McCollum said that 37-year-old McKeown, from Coronation Gardens in Aghalee, County Antrim, had shown himself still "to be a violent and unstable man". The judge was cursed by McKeown who accused him of being "a peeler in disguise". The judge said that this would have to be borne in mind by the proper authorities when they come to consider McKeown's early release. Mr. McKeown continued with his tirade of abuse before being forcefully removed from the dock and was not in court he hear Mr. Justice McCollum's reasons for his conviction. The judge said that, although the case against him was circumstantial, Mr. McKeown fitted the profile of the killer. He said that the fact that he had refused to give his evidence was all the "more significant", because he had not provided the court with innocent explanations to counter the evidence against him. When allowed to return to court, Mr. McKeown's lawyer apologised for his outburst, telling the judge that Mr. McKeown had been under some emotional pressure whilst awaiting the verdict in the trial. The judge told McKeown he had been convicted of a "despicable crime" and that he had used the knowledge he had gained "through the friendship and hospitality of the Green family" to murder Ms. Martin. Mr. McKeown, a family friend, shot Ms. Martin as she lay beside her Protestant boyfriend Gordon Green in his Soliderstown Road home just 300 yards from McKeown's home. GARDA COMMISSIONER SAYS SEARCH FOR IRA VICTIMS WILL CONTINUE --------------------------------------------------------------- The Garda Commissioner, Pat Byrne, has said searches for the bodies of IRA victims will continue for the foreseeable future. Commissioner Byrne, who has visited the site of the search in Carlingford for the body of Mrs. Jean McConville, said that a time would come when decisions would have to be made about the future of the operations. He said that he had no reason to doubt the information given to the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains. However, Commissioner Byrne stressed that the passage of time made the task of locating the remains extremely difficult. NON-CONSULTANT DOCTORS TAKE PART IN PROTEST OVER LONG WORKING HOURS --------------------------------------------------------------- Hundreds of non-consultant doctors from around the country took part today in a lunchtime protest over their long working hours. The action by house officers and registrars, some of whom work as many as 100 hours a week, went ahead despite a call by the doctors' union, the Irish Medical Organisation, to have it deferred. The doctors were told by the EU last week that it would be another 13 years before they're included in the 48-hour working week. Today's protest went ahead at hospitals around the country, despite a call from the Irish Medical Organisation to have it deferred. The IMO said that it was meeting the Government this afternoon and would be conveying the doctors "outraged opposition" to the decision by the EU Council of Ministers last week not to include the doctors in the 48 hour working week for another 13 years. The organisation said that, if its talks with the Government were not, ultimately, successful, it would consider balloting the doctors on industrial action. However, even those assurances failed to dissuade the non-consultant doctors, who turned out for the protest in their scores across Dublin, Cork, Galway and Wexford, as well as at other hospitals around the country. The doctors, some of whom work as many as 100 hours a week, stressed that this was an hour-long protest, not industrial action. They said that they were being scrupulous to ensure there would be no impact on patient care. http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0609/morningireland/morningireland1A.ram COURT TOLD LAWLOR IS ONLY PERSON WHO REFUSED TO ATTEND TRIBUNAL INTERVIEWS --------------------------------------------------------------- The Dublin West Fianna Fail TD, Liam Lawlor, is the only person among those elected to Dublin County Council in 1985 who has refused to attend for interview before the Flood Tribunal, the High Court heard today. In an affidavit, a solicitor with the Tribunal said that more than 80 people have been interviewed on a voluntary basis by counsel to the Tribunal and orders for their attendance was not required. An order had been made regarding Liam Lawlor. It is one of three orders being challenged by Mr. Lawlor in High Court proceedings. In his affidavit Mr. Lawlor, who was not in court, queried whether the others who attended before the Tribunal really did not voluntarily. He also asked whether any allegations had been made against these persons and whether they were the subject of leaks. The Tribunal wants Mr. Lawlor to attend for interview as part of its preliminary private investigations. Mr. Lawlor wants to know what is alleged against him. In her affidavit, Tribunal solicitor, Ms. Howard, says that Mr. Lawlor misunderstands the nature and function of a tribunal. It is for the sole member and not the applicant to decide what matters should be investigated and having regard to a person's constitutional rights, how they should be investigated. The present investigation, she says, is part of the tribunal's confidential preliminary inquiries in private and these matters are being investigated so that the sole member may make a decision whether sufficient evidence exists to warrant proceeding to a full public inquiry. Ms. Howard says that Mr. Lawlor seems to be of the view that it is he who will decide what is relevant and irrelevant rather than laying all the information before the sole member to the tribunal to make that decision. The hearing is continuing. NORTHERN IRELAND BEEF BAN LIFTED --------------------------------------------------------------- The European Commission has lifted its ban on exports of Northern Ireland beef. Exports are set to resume after a two-week ban was imposed because of a fault in the Department of Agriculture's computer traceability system. Announcing the move, Northern Secretary Mo Mowlam said that she was delighted agreement had been reached with the Commission to allow beef exports to begin again. EU farm and food safety officials demanded more stringent controls on the way beef is traced after it emerged last month that the computer system for tracing beef failed to detect meat, which was accidentally exported from a herd affected by BSE. Under arrangements agreed with the EU last year allowing Northern Ireland out of the beef ban ahead of other UK regions, meat must not be exported from herds where mad cow disease has occurred. Welcoming the decision to lift the ban, Dr. Mowlam said that the Commission was now fully satisfied with the province's computer system following another inspection. Farmers and beef exporters must meet the new demands being made of them by Brussels, she said. The lifting of the ban was welcomed the Northern Ireland Meat Exporters' Association's chief executive Cecil Mathers. Ulster Farmers' Union president Will Taylor said that Northern Ireland's farming industry would be relieved that exports would recommence. "This has been a very difficult time for everyone and it is proper that the rtment of Agriculture were given the necessary breathing space to work this issue through with the European Commission," he said. "Unfortunately the reintroduction of exports will come at a cost to producers who will," he said, "undoubtedly be asked to implement further administrative tasks on their farms. FORMER NUN ACCUSED OF RAPE DENIES ALLEGATIONS --------------------------------------------------------------- A former nun accused of rape and indecent assault told a jury in the Central Criminal Court that there was no truth in the allegations that have been made against her. She said that she could not believe the allegations when she heard them. Her co-accused, a man, has described the allegations as absolute nonsense. The man is accused of raping a young child, who was in care in the South of Ireland. The nun is accused of assisting him and also of four counts of indecent assault. The fifty-one-year-old former nun, who left her order five years ago, denied the charges of rape and indecent assault, made by a young woman who was raised in a care centre, when she gave evidence today. It is alleged that she assisted a man who raped the young girl on two occasions when she was aged ten and twelve. These things never happened, the woman said. She also said that she did not know why another young woman said in evidence that she had witnessed these events. "I don't know why she would make it up", she said. Questioned about her relationship with the man, she said that he was not a regular visitor to the care centre, as he had claimed. She also rejected his claim that he had been drinking and dancing with her. She said that she had originally got to know him when he visited the centre trying to trace his mother. The nun entered the convent during her leaving certificate and became the head of the care centre in the late 1970s. She said that the alleged victim, now a 21-year-old woman, could make up anything. Nothing was beyond her. The alleged victim was put in care as a child, following allegations of abuse by her father. The former nun's co-accused claimed the alleged victim had not told the truth and had invented the story to get money out of the religious order who ran the centre. The trial is expected to conclude tomorrow. SINN FIIN EXLUDED FROM BELFAST LORD MAYOR'S ANNUAL DINNER --------------------------------------------------------------- The SDLP leader on Belfast City Council Catherine Molloy said that she was saddened and disappointed the new Lord Mayor was excluding Sinn Fiin from the dinner. She urged Councillor Stoker to rethink his decision and to invite representatives of all the citizens of Belfast to what she said was an important civic occasion. However, the Lord Mayor defended his action. He said it was a private function. Councillor Stoker said he had nothing to regret. He said that Sinn Fiin had caused trauma to the families of the disappeared by not helping them out, and that they were not being inclusive. Sinn Fiin accused Mr. Stoker of blatant discrimination. The accusation following his decision not to invite their thirteen Councillors, including his deputy Marie Moore to the annual Lord Mayor's dinner at City Hall later this month. Last week, Councillor Moore became the first Sinn Fiin member to be elected to a top post on the Council. She said that Sinn Fiin was the largest party on the Council and that the Lord Mayor's decision was outrageous. It was a blatant act of discrimination against a sizeable section of the electorate in the city, she said. The deputy Lord Mayor called on Councillor Stoker to act in the interests of the people and not on a narrow party political agenda. Councillor Moore said that she was angry and saddened that the Ulster Unionist party had yet to accept the principle of inclusivity, which the Council had recently voted for. The decision, she said, also reflected their inability to respond to the changed political situation following the Good Friday agreement. LEAVING AND JUNIOR CERTIFICATE EXAMS BEGIN TODAY --------------------------------------------------------------- Tens of thousands of students are sitting the first papers in their Leaving and Junior Certificate examinations this morning. The exams are taking place at 4,500 centres around the country this morning. Almost 130,000 students are sitting the exams this year but the number of applications for places at third level institutions has dropped for the first time. The Central Applications Office says that 65,700 students have already applied to them for third level places, that figure is down about 800 on last year. Results will be available on the eighteenth of August this year and, for the first time, all students will have access to all of their papers if they wish to pursue a re-check of their results. Meanwhile, the Minister for Education has rejected claims that staff shortages in some schools have led to a reduction in the number of subject choices available. http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0609/1News/1News4A.ram GERMAN MAN FINED 25P FOR FAILING TO SEND SON TO SCHOOL --------------------------------------------------------------- A German man has been fined a token 25 pence for failing to send his 11-year-old son to school. Ernest Dieter Seitz, of Ballinaboy in County Leitrim, appeared at Carrick-on-Shannon District Court. This is the third time Mr. Seitz has been convicted for non-compliance with the school attendance acts. His son has not been to school since 1996. Mr. Seitz has claimed that the road from his house is not in a driveable condition. Judge Bernard Brennan said, however, that his hands were tied and imposed the 25p fine. The nearest school to his house is less than a mile away in Leitrim village. BUSINESS: ADVISERS SAY TELECOM COULD BE WORTH #7BILLION --------------------------------------------------------------- As the government and its advisors make key decisions on what price to put on Telecom Iireann shares, new estimates have emerged about just how much the company could be worth. Telecom has seen estimates of its value shoot up since two Scandinavian companies bought 20% of it just two and a half years ago. In December 1996, the company was valued at about #1bn when KPN and Telia paid nearly #200m for one fifth of it. By mid-1998, it was known that Telecom planned to float and NCB stockbrokers valued the state company at #4.5bn. Just seven months later, in February of this year, Davy Stockbrokers valued the company at #5.5bn. As the flotation plans are finalised, government advisors Merrill Lynch provided a broad price range on its value. The top end of that range suggested a possible valuation of #7bn. That would be a 600% increase in value in just two and a half years. When Telecom floats, the valuation may be below this #7bn figure, but this price range suggests that it will be higher than any previous estimates. The government is not selling the whole company. It will retain 10%-15% or a possible future offering of more shares to the public. http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0609/1News/1News6A.ram NAMES OF SOLDIER INVOLVED IN BLOODY SUNDAY SHOOTINGS RELEASED TO FAMILIES --------------------------------------------------------------- The names of Parachute Regiment soldiers involved in the Bloody Sunday shootings have been released to the families of the 14 people shot dead. The House of Commons was told that lawyers acting on behalf of the current inquiry into the 1972 shooting had today passed on the soldiers' full statements, including their name, rank and number. The paratroopers had been fighting a legal battle to be allowed to give evidence anonymously. 8 FREED IN PORTADOWN MURDER INVESTIGATION --------------------------------------------------------------- The RUC have released, without charge, eight people who had been questioned in connection with the week-end killing of Elizabeth O'Neill in Portadown. Mrs. O'Neill, who was 59, died when a pipe bomb exploded in the hallway of her home in the Corcrain housing estate in the early hours of last Saturday morning. FIRST EURO ELECTIONS VOTES CAST --------------------------------------------------------------- The first votes in the European and local elections and in the Local Government referendum will be cast today by 2,000 people living on 12 islands off the West and North-West coast. Voters on the Donegal, Mayo and Galway islands will go to the polls two days ahead of the rest of the country. This year however, people living on four islands off the Cork coast will vote with the rest of the country on Friday. SUSPECTED LETTERBOMB AT ANTRIM POST OFFICE --------------------------------------------------------------- About 40 staff have been evacuated from the main post office in Larne, County Antrim, after a suspicious package was discovered in the sorting room at around 7.30am today. British Army bomb experts carried out one controlled explosion, and the area was declared safe shortly after 10.30am. What is believed to have been a letterbomb has been removed for further examination. Chief Inspector John Jenkins of Larne RUC said lives were undoubtedly saved by the quick actions of the postal worker who discovered the package and raised the alarm. Staff in shops on either side of the post office were also moved out but there was no evacuation of houses in surrounding streets. LIMERICK GREYHOUND TRAINER GIVEN SUSPENDED JAIL SENTENCE --------------------------------------------------------------- A Limerick greyhound trainer has been given a three month suspended jail sentence for having banned animal substances, including anabolic steroids. 53 year old Dominic Magnone of Tournafulla also admitted obstructing a Department of Agriculture official who tried to search his briefcase. Magnone was fined #2,700 and bound over to keep the peace for a year. 35 YEAR OLD MAN KILLED IN ROAD ACCIDENT --------------------------------------------------------------- A 35 year old man died in a road accident in Co Antrim last night. Police say the accident happened at Ballybogey Road, Portrush around ten o'clock when the man's car went out of control and crashed into a field. There were no passengers and no other vehicle was involved. MAN INJURED IN DUBLIN GUN ATTACK --------------------------------------------------------------- Gardam say they are following a definite line of inquiry following a gun attack in Dublin last night. It is understood the man was shot twice in the lower back at Ratoath Drive in Finglas at around half past eleven. The man, who is 21-years-old, was admitted to hospital where he underwent surgery. He is now said to be in a stable condition. NEW MAGAZINE TO FEATURE IRISH "VIPS" --------------------------------------------------------------- Ireland is getting the "Hello" treatment with the launch of a new glossy magazine, called "VIP". The magazine promises to feature the brightest and the most beautiful in Irish society including politicians and TV celebrities. The debut issue features TV presenters Clare McKeon and Lorraine Keane and TD Simon Coveney. CUSTOMS OFFICERS SEIZE THOUSANDS OF LITRES OF VODKA --------------------------------------------------------------- Customs officers in the North have seized thousands of litres of vodka from Spain, Germany and the Netherlands and say they have uncovered a multi-million pound smuggling operation. One man was arrested when premises were searched in Keady, County Armagh. Documents and a computer were recovered in raids that also covered the Blackwater town area of Tyrone and Armagh. Business News On the currency markets the euro traded at US$1.04, AUS$1.57, 124.48 yen and 65 pence sterling. The Irish punt traded at US$1.32, AUS$2.00, 158.06 yen and 82 pence sterling. (The euro is permanently valued at 0.78 Irish punts.) The ISEQ Index meanwhile closed up 3.61 points at 5007.67 Ireland's Weather It will be mainly dry this evening and overnight, but rather misty in some places, with patches of drizzle, especially in parts of the Northwest and North. Lowest temperatures: 5 to 8 Celsius (41 to 46.4 Fahrenheit). It will mainly be dry, with some sunny spells developing tomorrow, though some areas may remain rather cloudy. Highest temperatures: 14 to 17 Celsius (57.2 to 62.6 Fahrenheit) with light North to Northwest winds. ---------------------------------------------- UPDATE is a free 7-days a week service from RTE bringing you the latest news from Ireland. For regular news updates throughout the day check RTE News Online at http://www.rte.ie/news/ If you experience any problems with this service then please email postmaster@update.rte.ie or webmaster@rte.ie To subscribe or unsubscribe from UPDATE please go to the email page on the RTE ONLINE website at http://www.rte.ie/email.html ---------------------------------------------- John Navin http://members.tripod.com/~JMcNevin/index.html http://www.egroups.com/group/irish-afterdark "Ireland Unfree Shall Never Be At Peace!" ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytire-06.10.99-03:51:07-21045