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National News Briefs

Dublin hosts suicide prevention conference

An international discussion focusing on suicide prevention will take place in Dublin later.

The World Suicide Prevention Day conference at the Croke Park Centre, will hear from experts from the US and Australia.

Irish speakers include broadcasters Mary Kennedy and Ray D'Arcy, as well as the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health Kathleen Lynch.

The conference comes three days before World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10.

The event is being organised by Irish suicide prevention and bereavement charity, Console.
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Environmentalists gather for summer school

Environmentalists are gathering for a weekend summer school at Carnsore Point in Co Wexford this weekend.

The location has been carefully chosen as the spiritual home of the green movement in Ireland.

Plans in the 1970s to build a nuclear power plant there were dropped, after opposition from environmental groups.

Director of the Point Festival, former Green Party TD Dan Boyle, has admitted that the green agenda is not being prioritised at the moment.

"It's not unique to Ireland," he said.

"Europe is in an economic crisis, the United States is not very healthy economically either, and the bottom line for people is money in their pockets in the sense of having confidence in the future.

"The Greens have something to say about that. The economy as to be linked with how we deal with the environment. The challenge for those of us involved in the environmental movement is to get those issues back on the agenda and to deal with them in a way that reflects people's say-to-day lives."
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Engineering firm to create 30 jobs in Dublin

Thirty new jobs are being created in Dublin, it was announced.

They are coming on stream at Malone Engineering, which is based at the Ballycoolin Industrial Estate in Blanchardstown.

Another 10 positions are today being announced by MyToysDirect.com, which is based in Galway.

The roles will be a mixture of full and part-time positions, and will be offered nationwide.
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MCD boss accuses gardaí of breaking media silence agreement

The head of MCD has today accused the gardaí of breaching an agreement not to engage with the media after the Swedish House Mafia concert in the Phoenix Park.

Denis Desmond has previously said that he was very disappointed with the Garda report on the event, which saw a series of stabbing incidents.

Desmond claims that gardaí and MCD met after the concert and agreed to speak again before issuing their reports, but he said that gardaí breached that agreement.

"At that meeting on July 10, both parties agreed that none of us would engage in any further media," he said.

"For reasons best known to the Commissioner and the Minister, they didn't adhere to that, that is disappointing.

"There are media reports that said that it did turn into a PR battle, and that it was kind of like attack is the best form of defence."

The music promoters published its findings into the events at the Swedish House Mafia concert criticising the Gardaí for their "low-key approach" to the event.

A number of people were stabbed and there were numerous reports of drug abuse at the event
on July 7.
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Man arrested after Garda car rammed in Dublin

Gardaí have arrested a man after an incident in south Dublin, during which a Garda vehicle was rammed.

It happened in the Ballycullen area last night.

At around 10.15pm last night, gardaí attempted to stop an Audi vehicle at Daltree Place in the Ballycullen area of south Dublin.

The driver of the vehicle failed to stop and instead rammed the patrol car before the three occupants fled the scene on foot, following by gardaí.

A short time later, officers arrested a 25-year-old man and recovered a firearm.

He is now being held at Rathfarmham Garda Station under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

Gardaí say that investigations are continuing.
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Proposed legislation to give legal recognition to transgender people

Groups representing transgender people have given a qualified welcome to plans by the Government to give them legal recognition.

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton said that the legislation will be published shortly and be given to a Dáil committee for discussion.

However, the Minister said that legal advice from the Attorney General means a proposal that will cause 'forced divorces' of transgender people will remain because of the constitutional protection of marriage.

Vanessa Lacey from Transgender Equality Network Ireland said that the law would "drag apart" happy relationships.

"What our legislation is proposing [is] that we force divorce - we separate these people," he said.

"Here we are developing parent and family support groups and then our Government is saying: 'Let's just drag them apart'.

"It's not acceptable."
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Paisley has no memory of hospital visit

Former DUP leader Ian Paisley has no memory of the eight days when he lay critically ill in hospital, he has revealed.

His family kept a bedside vigil at the Ulster Hospital near Belfast last February amid increasing fears that he might not recover from pneumonia.

But staff managed to nurse him back to health and he was eventually allowed to return home.

Dr Paisley, 86, told Sam McBride, political correspondent of the Belfast-based Ulster Newsletter: “The doctors took me down after I got better and showed me where I lay, but I have no recollection of it. It’s eight days out of my life.”

Once he was released from hospital Dr Paisley said he recovered quickly.
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