The top brass at NAMA are getting pay hikes.
Its been confirmed
that Chairman Frank Daly will be paid 170 thousand euro this year - a
70 per cent increase on the previously announced figure of 100,000.
The other six board members will see their fee's rise from 38 thousand to 50 thousand euro - a 32 per cent jump.
The figures were revealed in a parliamentary question to Sinn Fein's Arthur Morgan.
The Department of Finance says its because the workload involved in NAMA this year will be more than in subsequent years.
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Italians Confirm Body is Irish Woman |
Italian police have confirmed the body of a woman found in Northern Italy - is that of a missing Irish woman.
82
year old Mairead Geary from the South Circular Road in Limerick -
disappeared on October 10th 2008 - while on holiday in the Stresa
region.
Italian authorities say DNA tests show that remains discovered in the area last October - are those of the Irish pensioner .
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Lying Eyes Must Wait for Appeal Decision |
Clare woman Sharon Collins will have to wait for the outcome of her
appeal against her conviction for trying to have her wealthy lover and
his sons murdered.
The 46 year old from Kildysart in Ennis, Co
Clare was jailed for 6 years in 2008 for soliciting Las Vegas poker
dealer Essam Eid to kill PJ, Robert and Niall Howard.
The court is also hearing an appeal by her co-accused.
Sharon Collins's 2 day appeal drew to a close this afternoon with the court reserving judgment in the matter.
She
was covicted in 2008 after her trial heard she used the email alias
lyingeyes to contact Las Vegas poker dealer Essam Eid on web address
hitmanforhire, offering 90 thousand euro to kill PJ Howard and his 2
sons.
Eid, an Egyptian national is also in court today
challenging the severity of his 6 year sentence for trying to extort
money from Robert Howard to call off the hits.
His counsel David Sutton has described this shakedown as buffoonery of the highest order involving no guns and no dead bodies.
He
said it was a very strange case that went from the souks of Cairo to
the gaming halls of Las Vegas to the Queens Hotel in Ennis where Eid
was arrested.
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Contraceptive Pill May Help Prevent Disease |
A 40-year study has found women who take the Pill live longer than those that don't.
It found it is effective in cutting the risk of serious illnesses, such as heart disease and cancer.
The study of 46,000 women also concluded that there's no long-term danger to using the contraceptive.
Professor Philip Hannaford led the research at the University of Aberdeen.
But he says don't expect to see a "wonder pill" for everyone anytime soon.
"It could be that pill users are slightly different to non-users in their characteristics" he said.
"For
instance, they might have a healthier lifestyle, they might be
monitored more carefully, they might be screened more carefully for
disease" he added.
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Allegations Made Against Dublin Foster Carers |
Investigations are underway into 19 allegations made against foster carers in Dublin.
A number of the claims being examined by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) are of a sexual nature.
The
allegations came to light following a major review of foster services
in three local health areas in Dublin and four in Cork, after concerns
were raised.
Fine Gael's Alan Shatter says the revelation shows vulnerable children are being let down by the State.
"I
think it's absolutely clear that both the government, successive
ministers for children and the HSE have utterly failed to ensure that
we have a fully functional child protection service that gives children
the protection to which they're entitled" he said.
"This is yet another area of major concern, and it needs to be addressed" he added.
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Unions and Gvernment Talk About Pay |
Public sector unions and the Government return to the talks table today
in an attempt to resolve the ongoing row over pay and pension cuts.
LRC executives will facilitate the negotiations in a personal capacity.
It's the first time both sides have held formal discussions since talks broke down late last year.
The
unions are promising widespread industrial action, if the Government
fails to reverse the cuts announced in last December's budget.
ICTU's David Begg says despite the entrenched position of both sides, these talks are a worthwhile exercise.
"Well
it's in the nature of negotiations I suppose that people, when they're
conveying their message publicly in advance of negotiations, always
take a very irredentive sort of position" he said.
"But when
people get into negotiations sometimes the ground opens up - and
there's no point in being in negotiations unless that's what you intend
to do".
"Nobody ever comes out of a negotiation with their initial position intact" he added.
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The Minister for Finance has announced the resignation of Donal O'Connor as chairman of Anglo-Irish Bank.
He is being replaced in the position by another existing board member - Alan Dukes.
The development means the only directors on the board of the State owned bank have been appointed by the government.
Minister Brian Lenihan also says he'll be making further appointments to the Board in the near future.
Our
Business Editor Conor Brophy says today's development won't come as a
surprise - but a question mark still remains over the bank's future.
"As
the government appointed director to the board following the Anglo
nationalisation in 2008, Alan Dukes has been the public face of the
institution since then effectively, and was the obvious choice to take
over as chairman when Donal O'Connor stepped down" he said.
"The question is what is he chairman of at this point?"
"Is the bank ever going to be resuscitated, or is it just going to be wound down" he added.
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