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Civil servants warned that refurbishing the old home of the Irish Ambassador in the U.S. capital would have a final bill of $13.48 million with “significant risks” this could rise even higher.

The mansion on S Street in Washington DC was sold by the Department of Foreign Affairs for around $8 million in March after a series of inspections revealed it was no longer safe for use by diplomats, their families, or people attending official events.

A detailed business case for the sale explained how repeated fractures in water piping had led to “spontaneous leaks” with a risk of damage to electrical wiring in the 11,000 square foot property.

It said the rear façade of the house was stained and needed repainting and weatherproofing.

The report said the S Street property also required replacement of all finishes, paint, trim, flooring, carpeting, and ceiling tiles.

The business case explained: “Many flooring and carpeting materials have exceeded their useful life, while walls exhibit peeling paint and bubbling plaster.

“The ceiling tiles are stained due to previous leaks. The bathrooms also need updating, with several requiring tile and fixture replacements.”

Department of Justice officials warned that U.K. plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda were likely to make migrants “think twice” and look at other options like Ireland.

In a briefing on deportation, Minister Helen McEntee was told that while Britain’s Rwanda policy was “mired in legal actions”, it was still likely to have a knock-on effect for other states.

It said it could make Ireland seem like “an attractive alternative” or as “a stepping stone” to later getting back into the United Kingdom permanently.

The briefing, which was prepared in 2022 as the department considered an end to a COVID-19 moratorium on deportations, said U.K. policy on migration would inevitably affect Ireland.

It said: “The first transfer of refugees from the U.K. to Rwanda has yet to succeed. It is currently mired in legal actions.

“While it remains to be seen how successful the U.K.’s much criticised attempt to outsource its immigrant processing to Rwanda will be in reality, [it could be that the chance] of being removed to that state would cause migrants to the U.K. to think twice and seek alternatives.”

The briefing said if the United Kingdom was successful in reducing or deterring arrivals, neighbouring states would feel the impact.

“Ireland may ultimately be seen as an attractive alternative, or a stepping stone to the U.K. via eventual Irish citizenship and the Common Travel Area at a later date. Such behaviour would not be new,” said the briefing.

Cracked number plates, last-minute cancellations, and too little time to get a car back in working order were among the complaints made about the NCT last year.

The Road Safety Authority said they had received 88 formal complaints about the roadworthiness test in 2023 but that there had been a sharp drop in gripes since the year before.

In one, a person expressed disbelief that they had failed because there was a small break in the number plate of their car.

An email to the RSA said: “I own a 2005 registration car, very well kept and low mileage for her age. During September, I had extensive work done on her and I knew she would pass with flying colours.

“She was well presented: vacuumed, washed, and polished. Imagine my disgust when I was then told she’d failed because of a cracked front number plate! The number plate was perfectly legible.”

Another wrote of how a one-month limit to get their car back in order was not enough time during a cost-of-living crisis.

“That’s thirty days if it’s a new tyre costing €80 and thirty days if it’s a €1,500 bill. How is this enough time for people to save this money and get a car repaired in time?” they asked.

The Road Safety Authority said there had been a significant fall in the number of complaints they received in 2023 about the NCT.

A spokesman said: “In 2022, the RSA received 207 complaints, which has fallen to 88 in 2023, which we feel is evidence of the improvements in the NCT Service for the public.

“This is in a period where a record of 1.6 million NCT tests were completed in 2023. We expect that in 2024 the volume of customer complaints to the RSA regarding the NCT Service will continue to reduce, however, we will always aim for a service that provides a satisfactory experience to all customers.”

An information board blasted with a shotgun, an old well severely damaged with stones left strewn around, and land cut up by scramblers were among the incidents of vandalism in national parks and conservation areas over the past two years.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) said they had logged thirty-four cases where parks, natural heritage areas, or special protection areas were damaged deliberately by visitors.

Details of ten of the incidents have been withheld by the NPWS who said they were the subject of ongoing criminal investigations.

The Glen of the Downs in Co Wicklow was a hotspot for anti-social activity with multiple incidents of illegal dumping, graffiti, damage to gates, and vandalism of its Octagon building after a €280,000 conservation project.

At Mullyvea in Co Donegal, an interpretive board was blasted with lead shot some time last autumn, according to the log of incidents provided by the NPWS.

Another interpretive board was stolen from the Duntally Wood Nature Reserve, also in Donegal, a few months earlier.

There were five separate incidents at the Coole-Garryland Nature Reserve in Gort, Co Galway, with precise details of one case redacted from the records.

More than 130 allegations of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, and neglect were made against teachers in Irish schools over a four-year period.

Figures from the Department of Education detail an average of around 33 child protection concerns that had to be investigated each year between 2019 and 2022.

There were 42 allegations of emotional abuse and 31 allegations of sexual abuse, which made up more than half of the total complaints.

The department said there had also been 18 child protection reports of physical abuse and a single case of neglect.

In some cases, there was more than one allegation made, according to the data, which was released under FOI.

Eleven child protection concerns involving both emotional and physical abuse were reported as were fourteen cases involving both physical and sexual abuse.

There were also a small number of allegations in the categories of ‘neglect and physical abuse’ (1), ‘neglect and sexual abuse’ (3), and twelve cases that were listed as ‘unknown’.

The Department of Education said data for last year was not yet available as it had not been verified yet.

There has been a significant rise in public support for investing in Ireland’s military, according to a survey carried out by the Defence Forces.

Asked whether expenditure on defence of the country was important to Ireland, 78% agreed it was compared to a figure of 66% just three years earlier.

The Defence Forces (DF) survey was carried out last August against the backdrop of global instability caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine but before the outbreak of war in Israel and Palestine.

It also found that 74 percent of people supported additional resources for the Irish military with 29 percent strongly agreeing the DF needed to be given greater funding to fulfil their role.

Among the reasons given for increased investment were 21 percent who said to keep the country safe and defend Ireland, 20 percent who said troops were currently under-resourced, and 14 percent who said we needed a “better [and] bigger army”.

A major leak at the National Archives caused suspended ceilings to collapse, disturbed flooring, damaged document storage boxes on four different levels, and the discovery of asbestos in the building.

An internal report said the leak occurred after the valve on a high-pressure hose “perished” leading to a steady flow of water that began to flow throughout the building.

It said water had seeped through the National Archives premises in Dublin affecting all six floors, file storage areas, and the ground floor reception.

However, the report said they were fortunate that much of the damage had been cosmetic and that no archival records had been lost during the event.

It said: “The most concerning damage was to the flooring in the third-floor workroom and the possible presence of asbestos.

“Most importantly, no records suffered any significant damage, and no records were lost.”

The Attorney General’s Office warned the budget they were being offered for 2024 was “completely insufficient” and would not even be enough to maintain existing services.

The office was so unhappy with their allocation that Attorney General Rossa Fanning ended up writing to Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe to seek extra funding.

Their sister organisation the Chief State Solicitor’s Office were also bitterly disappointed at what they said was “effectively … a significant cut” after inflation and government pay deals were accounted for.

In pre-budget correspondence, the Attorney General said they wanted to express their “surprise and concerns” that they had only been allocated €23.8 million, “significantly below” what they had been seeking.

The AG’s office had prepared what they said was a “substantial business case” for additional staff to meet commitments made by government and increased demand for their services.

However, they said while they appreciated this expansion might need further consideration, the budget allocation they were given would compromise their ability to “discharge … core functions on behalf of government”.

They warned: “An additional €750,000 is absolutely necessary in the provisional estimates to meet essential service needs in 2024, bringing the provisional 2024 Office estimate to €24.5 million.”

Subsequently, the Attorney General himself wrote directly to Minister Paschal Donohoe to make a direct plea; however, that letter has been withheld by the Attorney General’s office under FOI laws.

Irish Rail was bombarded with complaints from passengers after one of their intercity services ended up taking more than seven hours with most passengers not arriving at their destination until 2.30am.

In emails to the rail operators, members of the public wrote of being left standing in the pouring rain on a platform as they waited for another train.

The delay happened in February when a service between Dublin and Cork was hit by a “fatal failure” of a water pump, according to an internal investigation report from Irish Rail.

It said delays for passengers on board, and several other services also hit, were “very significant” and that lessons needed to be learned from what had happened.

The report also said that the line was likely to get even busier over the next few years so that standby locomotives and drivers might need to be in place at key locations to avoid similar incidents.

In a barrage of complaints and requests for compensation from passengers, one wrote of the “dreadful experience and conditions” they had endured on their journey.

A secret briefing paper from the Department of Justice said the state urgently needed to resume deportations as the majority of applicants for international protection were economic migrants.

It said without a robust system for deportation, the state had very little ability to ease pressures on the immigration system or deter “inappropriate applications”.

The briefing for Minister Helen McEntee also said that countries which failed to cooperate with Ireland when it came to removing failed asylum seekers should be penalised.

The Freedom of Information request for all records on departmental discussions over resuming deportations had originally been made in the summer of 2022.

The Department of Justice failed to respond however, leading first to an internal review, and later an appeal to the Information Commissioner under FOI laws.

Officials agreed to send redacted versions of the records in November 2022 but said full release could compromise law enforcement and public safety as well as Ireland’s security, defence, and international relations.

The most controversial parts of the documents were withheld, and the Information Commissioner’s investigation continued.

In December 2023, the Department of Justice released yet more material; however, parts of certain documents were still being redacted.

Last month, the Information Commissioner issued their decision ruling the Department of Justice should release the information note for Minister Helen McEntee in its entirety.

The decision said: “The Department said the information in question was redacted from a public safety perspective.

“It argued that the release of the information may increase a negative sentiment amongst the general public and endanger genuine applicants for International Protection.”

The Information Commissioner said they fully accepted that in the current climate there were “strongly held views and heightened emotions” around immigration.

However, the decision added: “Nevertheless, it seems to me that the observations in question would not come as a surprise to the wider public to the extent that the release of the information could, of itself, reasonably be expected to endanger the lives or safety of international protection applicants generally.”

You can read the full decision at the following link: