Author: Ken Foxe

Diplomats at the Department of Foreign Affairs have been paid more than €1.65 million in so-called “hardship” allowances over the past two years.

The allowances are paid for international postings in cities including Beijing, Moscow, and Buenos Aires.

The rate is calculated based on the level of hardship in each place, with different cities ranked from A to E according to attractiveness and dangers at the location.

Most cities in the European Union are not ranked at all with only the Bulgarian capital of Sofia given the lightest ranking of E, according to Department of Foreign Affairs records.

An information note from the Department of Foreign Affairs said: “Hardship allowance is paid at certain missions to compensate officers for the level of hardship at a post. The amount payable depends on the level of hardship.

“Hardship allowances are designed to take into account a number of factors at designated locations including climate, health, air pollution, language and culture, goods and services, isolation, social network and leisure, housing, utilities and education, personal security and political tension.”

The Department said they were calculated based on independently sourced data and were the subject of review every year.

Staff working “face to face”, ill-fitted specialist masks, lack of social distancing, and tightly spaced locker rooms were among the issues highlighted in inspections of meat processing plants by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA).

The reports have been released by the HSA with the identity of the specific factories removed along with the dates of the inspection.

In one report, multiple issues were highlighted with face coverings not being used across the site, especially in areas where social distancing could not be observed.

Staff wearing specialist masks had them “ill-fitted” or worn incorrectly while “pinch points” where staff were congregating were observed at hygiene stations, locker rooms, as well as entrances and exits.

As part of this request, Right to Know had taken a case to the Information Commissioner seeking release of these reports.

The HSA offered to release redacted copies of the reports and we accepted that based on the thinking it was better that this information would then be in the public domain more quickly.

However, we do not accept that the identities of the factories involved should be kept secret and we will be taking a new case to seek release of that detail.

The Oireachtas has refused to release dozens of reports about failures to comply with Covid-19 health guidelines in the Leinster House complex and during sittings in the Convention Centre.

The records include a complaint by a political staffer that a named TD or Senator was failing to observe Covid-19 measures.

In another case, a member of staff complained about the impact of “members’ non-compliance on [their] own health” while other reports contain “observations about named members”.

A significant number of reports from relatively junior members of Oireachtas staff have also been withheld where their duties have involved trying to persuade TDs, Senators, and others to remain compliant with public health measures.

The records that were released by the Oireachtas include an email from the Health and Safety Manager of the Convention Centre who raised concerns over breaches of the Covid-19 health measures in the Forum area of the building.

The email, dated 9 September, said: “There were many observations last week in the Forum where social distancing was not being adhered to. This is critical for the safety of all the members and Oireachtas staff and the CCD [Convention Centre] staff also.”

Ireland’s busiest road has seen more than 4,100 accidents, incidents, and breakdowns since the start of January last year.

Spills of hazardous material, burning cars, loose animals, and vehicles driving in the wrong direction were among the incidents logged.

There were 21 “major” incidents recorded on the M50 ring road, according to figures released by Transport Infrastructure Ireland.

Another 969 high priority incidents were also reported over the course of the past twenty one months.

A log of incidents reveals there were two incidents involving spills of hazardous chemicals and twenty four reports of vehicles on fire. In seven cases, a car or truck was reported to be travelling in the wrong direction on the road, which has for most of its length a 100 km/h limit.

The developers who knocked down the historic ‘O’Rahilly House’ insisted the demolition had taken place “in accordance with all applicable laws” and that they had kept Dublin City Council fully briefed on their plans.

In correspondence with Dublin City Council, the developers said they had told the council of the planned demolition on 15 September and that it was “not clear” what conditions in the planning permission had not been complied with.

They also said that a commencement notice had been returned by the council and confirmed “deemed valid” with an instruction only that work should not take place before 29 September – the day the house was knocked down.

The developers also warned that demolition work on the site had not been properly finished and that it was not “best practice” to leave the work unfinished.

A Green Party Minister said a plan to shoot seals from moving boats would be “politically unacceptable” and suggested a compensation scheme for fishermen should be considered instead.

A controversy had erupted over suggestions that the Department of Housing was considering a pilot scheme to allow hunters and fishermen cull seals using high-powered rifles from their vessels in Cork and Kerry.

However, the idea was quickly rejected by Minister of State Malcolm Noonan and Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, according to internal emails.

Asked for his views, Mr Noonan said as well as being politically unacceptable such a plan would be “of no value in addressing the real problem here; dwindling fish stocks affecting fishing livelihoods and seal’s food source”.

“I think a compensation scheme would be a better approach,” he added.

In an email from an official, Mr Noonan was told that his colleague Darragh O’Brien shared that view.

“Minister O’Brien is also very clear in his direction on this,” said the message. “No culls of any sort supports NPWS [National Parks & Wildlife Service] longstanding position.”

https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20403478-seal-shooting-combined

One of the things public bodies are recommended to do as best practice in FOI is to publish logs of all the non-personal requests they receive.

Lots of them do this on a quarterly or yearly basis, and some even upload the decision letters and records alongside them.

This puts all sorts of useful and frequently requested information into the public domain, and also allows members of the public or other interested parties to seek a “re-release”.

There are gaps however, and one of those gaps is being addressed here with publication of the Defence Forces FOI log for 2019 and 2020.

One of the things Right to Know would like to do is to fill in a few more of these gaps.

So if you spot a missing FOI log, or a public body who aren’t publishing these, then feel free to let us know … and we will try to chase it up.

A warning not to cough under any circumstances, an instruction to keep windows open in the driving rain, and glasses fogging up due to a facemask were among the complaints made by learners following the resumption of driver testing by the Road Safety Authority.

The issues were among 61 written complaints made to the RSA since driving testing restarted in mid-July after the Covid-19 lockdown.

One candidate explained how they had asthma and had advised the instructor they had recently changed inhaler and might need to cough.

“I was advised that if I coughed at any stage the test would be over immediately,” wrote the candidate. “This was difficult to control while under exam pressure, and added a huge amount of unnecessary stress.”

Another said it seemed strange that an instructor had only used a mask with them, and not with other people they were dealing with.

“[The staff member] was talking with other Irish without having the mask but to me was … using the mask; is that because I’m from different skin colour?” they asked.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe told officials in June that local property tax needed to be reformed and that it was “untenable” to allow so many houses, including those built since 2013, to continue avoiding having to pay.

However, three months later he announced another deferral on changes to the scheme despite vowing that he would “deal with [it]” if re-elected.

The original promise was contained in a submission signed off by Minister Donohoe in June before a new government had been formed.

The Fine Gael politician was told that reform of property tax would need to be prioritised if it was to be changed in this year’s budget.

In a personal note added to the submission, Mr Donohoe wrote: “It’s untenable to continue to allow a growing number of homes outside LPT [local property tax] base.

“One way or other, the Minister for Finance must legislate for this matter in 2020. May be no harm to get legislation done now for a later revaluation date. A government with a majority must deal with this matter, I hope that I can.”

A €5,000 bill at a four-star hotel and a €6,413 spend on plastic sheeting were among the bills paid by the Oireachtas to run Senate counts this year.

The count was held at Dublin Castle with only candidates or their agents allowed to attend the event, which took place in late March and early April.

The Oireachtas had hoped the event would cost just €5,765 if held as normal in Leinster House but ended up paying out €28,809 in costs.

According to a list of bills released under FOI, €4,871 was spent on audio visual services with another €942 on electrical services.

A bill of €6,413 was incurred with Myra Glass to provide 5mm clear plastic sheeting which was used to set up Covid-19 barriers.

A cleaning bill of €357 was also paid while €5,000 was paid to the nearby Radisson Blu Hotel on Golden Lane so count staff did not have to travel home each night.