theirishtimes--2020-09-29--HSE plans to start training 250 new Covid-19 contact tracers this week

The HSE is planning to have half of the 500 new staff planned for its permanent Covid-19 contact tracing operation in training by the end of this week .
Kilian McGrane , the HSE ’ s lead in charge of contact tracing , said that the health service is aiming to have all 500 staff for the new operation recruited in the next couple of weeks .
The HSE has been relying on staff redeployed from other areas of the health service and public sector , volunteers and other State personnel to trace contacts of Covid-19 cases .
“ We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We can ’ t get those 250 people who are coming through on quickly enough because we need additional resilience , ” said Mr McGrane .
He said the past six months has been “ a fairly exhausting time ” for almost 300 contact tracers who are calling newly infected people and identifying others they have been in contact with .
“ In March and April , we were able to rotate people better than we are now so we are asking a lot of people at the moment and it will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can get more bodies in , stretch the day out even longer , we can rotate people to have downtime to have them refreshed , ” he said .
The HSE has received 1,100 applications for the permanent contact tracing roles and the first 250 people have come through the first round of interviews to be ready for training this week .
Contracts have been offered to existing contact tracers wishing to stay on in the roles .
There are currently eight contact tracing centres in operation including three Army units totalling about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Limerick and three HSE units in Galway , Cork and Kells , and a contact tracing centre in UCD ’ s Carysfort campus .
The HSE plans to create five permanent contact tracing centres operating 12 hours a day , seven days a week with about 130 to 140 people contact tracing at any one time across the centres .
“ It is really important we have employees available to us as opposed to having people who are on loan or volunteers who may or may not be available at the time we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
At the start of the pandemic in March , the HSE had only 60 specialists involved in contact tracing work for infectious diseases and needed to upscale quickly in response to the virus .
About 2,000 people were trained in contact tracing from March with a core staff of about 600 people carrying out the work across nine contact tracing centres in universities across the country .
The operation was reduced to just one contact tracing centre , in Galway , in June and July as the number of new coronavirus cases @ @ @ @ @ @ @ infections in August – a four-fold increase to about 160 cases over the August Bank Holiday weekend – forced the HSE to scale up operations in a matter of days with the opening of the UCD tracing centre .
More contact tracers were recruited as cases increased .

The HSE is planning to have half of the 500 new staff planned for its permanent Covid-19 contact tracing operation in training by the end of this week.
Kilian McGrane, the HSE’s lead in charge of contact tracing, said that the health service is aiming to have all 500 staff for the new operation recruited in the next couple of weeks.
The HSE has been relying on staff redeployed from other areas of the health service and public sector, volunteers and other State personnel to trace contacts of Covid-19 cases.
Hospital Report
“We desperately need to get the additional bodies. We can’t get those 250 people who are coming through on quickly enough because we need additional resilience,” said Mr McGrane.
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He said the past six months has been “a fairly exhausting time” for almost 300 contact tracers who are calling newly infected people and identifying others they have been in contact with.
“In March and April, we were able to rotate people better than we are now so we are asking a lot of people at the moment and it will affect their productivity, so as we can get more bodies in, stretch the day out even longer, we can rotate people to have downtime to have them refreshed,” he said.
The HSE has received 1,100 applications for the permanent contact tracing roles and the first 250 people have come through the first round of interviews to be ready for training this week.
Contracts have been offered to existing contact tracers wishing to stay on in the roles.
There are currently eight contact tracing centres in operation including three Army units totalling about 90 people, Revenue Commissioners staff in Limerick and three HSE units in Galway, Cork and Kells, and a contact tracing centre in UCD's Carysfort campus.
Permanent centres
The HSE plans to create five permanent contact tracing centres operating 12 hours a day, seven days a week with about 130 to 140 people contact tracing at any one time across the centres.
“It is really important we have employees available to us as opposed to having people who are on loan or volunteers who may or may not be available at the time we need them,” said Mr McGrane.
At the start of the pandemic in March, the HSE had only 60 specialists involved in contact tracing work for infectious diseases and needed to upscale quickly in response to the virus.
About 2,000 people were trained in contact tracing from March with a core staff of about 600 people carrying out the work across nine contact tracing centres in universities across the country.
The operation was reduced to just one contact tracing centre, in Galway, in June and July as the number of new coronavirus cases declined significantly.
A sudden surge in infections in August – a four-fold increase to about 160 cases over the August Bank Holiday weekend – forced the HSE to scale up operations in a matter of days with the opening of the UCD tracing centre. More contact tracers were recruited as cases increased.


theirishtimes--2020-09-29--Ian Paisley apologises for failing to register Maldives family holiday

DUP North Antrim MP Ian Paisley has “ apologised unreservedly ” for failing to register a luxury family holiday to the Maldives in 2016 with a parliamentary watchdog .
Mr Paisley issued his apology after the House of Commons parliamentary commissioner for standards , Kathryn Stone , ruled that he should have registered the holiday in the Indian Ocean islands .
However , he will not face sanctions as Ms Stone did not find that he acted in breach of the rules on the declaration of interests or paid advocacy .
Ms Stone carried out her inquiry following a BBC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family holidays in the Maldives four years ago .
She referred to how the programme “ alleged he was given a complimentary holiday at a Maldives resort months after advocating on behalf of its government and it examined whether he should have declared the trip ” .
In her report , the standards commissioner noted that “ this is not the first time Mr Paisley has broken the rules on the registration of overseas visits ” .
Two years ago he was suspended from the House of Commons for 30 days over “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two family holidays to Sri Lanka paid for by the Sri Lankan government in 2013 .
That suspension also resulted in the triggering of a Recall Petition which , if it had been signed by 10 per cent of the electorate in North Antrim , would have seen Mr Paisley ousted as an MP and a by-election called .
That petition fell short by about 450 votes .
Mr Paisley said from the outset that a third party had met part of the cost of his family ’ s stay in the Maldives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ personal rather than a political friend whom he met at a Methodist event more than 10 years ago .
Ms Stone said that Mr Paisley , on that basis , believed he did not need to register the hospitality .
Mr Paisley told Ms Stone that “ it was only when he went to settle his bill , credit card in hand , that he was told that the rooms had been complimented and there was no balance to pay ” .
Mr Paisley said he had “ paid for incidentals as and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The commissioner did not accept that a personal friend footed the bill .
“ I concluded - on the balance of probabilities - that a corporate body , rather than a personal friend of Mr Paisley ’ s , had absorbed the cost of the hospitality , ” she said .
“ Although I saw no evidence that Mr Paisley had engaged in any activities relating to his parliamentary role during his visit , the circumstances were not analogous to a family holiday which was partly paid for by someone else because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact that Mr Paisley had no direct relationship with the donor created a presumption in favour of registration , and I was persuaded that having received complimentary rooms was something which others might reasonably consider to influence Mr Paisley , which made registration a requirement.
” Crucially , in relation to possible sanctions , Ms Stone “ did not find that Mr Paisley had acted in breach of the rules on the declaration of interests nor the rules on paid advocacy ” .
Ms Stone also found that much of the delay in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s attention was focused on “ rebutting allegations made in the media rather than on answering specifically my questions ” .
Ms Stone said Mr Paisley had acknowledged his breach of the rules .
“ He has apologised unreservedly for it and he has agreed to rectify his omission , ” she said .
“ He has described to me the steps he has taken to avoid any further recurrence .
He has also apologised for unnecessarily delaying my inquiry.
” North Antrim Sinn Féin MLA Philip McGuigan called on the DUP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister said that “ many people in North Antrim are growing weary of Mr Paisley ’ s excuses ” .
He also said Mr Paisley was “ very lucky in his friends ” .

DUP North Antrim MP Ian Paisley has ‘apologised unreservedly’ for failing to register a luxury family holiday to the Maldives in 2016 with a parliamentary watchdog. File photograph: Brian Lawless/PA Wire.
DUP North Antrim MP Ian Paisley has "apologised unreservedly" for failing to register a luxury family holiday to the Maldives in 2016 with a parliamentary watchdog.
Mr Paisley issued his apology after the House of Commons parliamentary commissioner for standards, Kathryn Stone, ruled that he should have registered the holiday in the Indian Ocean islands.
However, he will not face sanctions as Ms Stone did not find that he acted in breach of the rules on the declaration of interests or paid advocacy.
Ms Stone carried out her inquiry following a BBC Spotlight programme about Mr Paisley’s family holidays in the Maldives four years ago. She referred to how the programme “alleged he was given a complimentary holiday at a Maldives resort months after advocating on behalf of its government and it examined whether he should have declared the trip”.
READ MORE
In her report, the standards commissioner noted that “this is not the first time Mr Paisley has broken the rules on the registration of overseas visits”.
Two years ago he was suspended from the House of Commons for 30 days over "serious misconduct" for failing to declare two family holidays to Sri Lanka paid for by the Sri Lankan government in 2013.
That suspension also resulted in the triggering of a Recall Petition which, if it had been signed by 10 per cent of the electorate in North Antrim, would have seen Mr Paisley ousted as an MP and a by-election called. That petition fell short by about 450 votes.
Third party
Mr Paisley said from the outset that a third party had met part of the cost of his family’s stay in the Maldives, describing that third party as a personal rather than a political friend whom he met at a Methodist event more than 10 years ago.
Ms Stone said that Mr Paisley, on that basis, believed he did not need to register the hospitality. Mr Paisley told Ms Stone that “it was only when he went to settle his bill, credit card in hand, that he was told that the rooms had been complimented and there was no balance to pay”.
Mr Paisley said he had “paid for incidentals as and when they’d arisen”.
The commissioner did not accept that a personal friend footed the bill.
“I concluded - on the balance of probabilities - that a corporate body, rather than a personal friend of Mr Paisley’s, had absorbed the cost of the hospitality,” she said.
“Although I saw no evidence that Mr Paisley had engaged in any activities relating to his parliamentary role during his visit, the circumstances were not analogous to a family holiday which was partly paid for by someone else because of a purely personal relationship.
“The fact that Mr Paisley had no direct relationship with the donor created a presumption in favour of registration, and I was persuaded that having received complimentary rooms was something which others might reasonably consider to influence Mr Paisley, which made registration a requirement.”
Crucially, in relation to possible sanctions, Ms Stone “did not find that Mr Paisley had acted in breach of the rules on the declaration of interests nor the rules on paid advocacy”.
Delay
Ms Stone also found that much of the delay in concluding her report was because Mr Paisley’s attention was focused on “rebutting allegations made in the media rather than on answering specifically my questions”.
Ms Stone said Mr Paisley had acknowledged his breach of the rules.
“He has apologised unreservedly for it and he has agreed to rectify his omission,” she said.
“He has described to me the steps he has taken to avoid any further recurrence. He has also apologised for unnecessarily delaying my inquiry.”
North Antrim Sinn Féin MLA Philip McGuigan called on the DUP leadership to take action against Mr Paisley while Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister said that "many people in North Antrim are growing weary of Mr Paisley's excuses". He also said Mr Paisley was "very lucky in his friends".


theirishtimes--2020-09-29--Sheltered housing evacuated as fire battled at former Skibbereen convent

Firefighters in Co Cork were on Tuesday battling a blaze at a former convent in Skibbereen .
The homes of a number of pensioners in a sheltered housing development nearby were evacuated as a safety precaution after the fire broke out at the former Sisters of Mercy convent on Cork Road at around 4pm .
Units of Cork County Fire Service from Skibbereen , Schull and Bantry were sent to the scene with large plumes of smoke visible over the town as a result of the fire .
It is understood that the convent , which is more than 140-years-old @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years and the property , which had been in Nama , was bought by local developer Bernard Hennessy for around €500,000 in 2014 .
Mr Hennessy told The Southern Star in 2018 that he had experienced difficulties in extending planning permission at the site and that was the primary reason why it has not been developed .
He was responding after local engineer Kevin Barry wrote to the newspaper expressing his sadness that the convent chapel , which he said was once a valued institution in the town , was being vandalised and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recently , The Business Post reported that Mr Hennessy had agreed to sell the former convent to Paul Collins , who developed the Skellig Star Hotel in Cahersiveen , Co Kerry .
He said he had no plans to open a direct provision centre at the Skibbereen site .

The blaze broke out at the former Sisters of Mercy convent on Cork Road in Skibbereen around 4pm and units of Cork County Fire Service from Skibbereen, Schull and Bantry were sent to tackle the blaze. Video: Barry Roche
Firefighters in Co Cork were on Tuesday battling a blaze at a former convent in Skibbereen.
The homes of a number of pensioners in a sheltered housing development nearby were evacuated as a safety precaution after the fire broke out at the former Sisters of Mercy convent on Cork Road at around 4pm.
Units of Cork County Fire Service from Skibbereen, Schull and Bantry were sent to the scene with large plumes of smoke visible over the town as a result of the fire.
It is understood that the convent, which is more than 140-years-old, has been derelict for around 16 years and the property, which had been in Nama, was bought by local developer Bernard Hennessy for around €500,000 in 2014.
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Mr Hennessy told The Southern Star in 2018 that he had experienced difficulties in extending planning permission at the site and that was the primary reason why it has not been developed.
He was responding after local engineer Kevin Barry wrote to the newspaper expressing his sadness that the convent chapel, which he said was once a valued institution in the town, was being vandalised and in a state of decay.
More recently, The Business Post reported that Mr Hennessy had agreed to sell the former convent to Paul Collins, who developed the Skellig Star Hotel in Cahersiveen, Co Kerry. He said he had no plans to open a direct provision centre at the Skibbereen site.


theirishtimes--2020-09-29--Men suspected of firing shots arrested after crashing into garda car

A pursuit of two suspected gunmen in Dublin ended when they crashed into a garda car as they attempted to exit the M50 motorway .
Gardaí on patrol in the Finglas area in the early hours of Tuesday heard shots being fired in the distance and went to investigate .
An unoccupied house in the Heathfield area was targetted just after 3am .
Several Garda vehicles , with the backing of the Armed Response Unit , responded and the suspects were spotted by Blanchardstown-based officers who were in the area .
A pursuit then ensued , with the suspects driving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gardaí for more than 10km .
Both vehicles left the M50 at the exit onto the N4 close to Palmerstown , where the suspects crashed into a Garda car .
The two men , Dubliners aged in their 20s and 30s , were arrested at the scene of the crash , where a gun was recovered .
No serious injuries were reported but one garda required medical treatment and the two suspects were also taken to hospital .
Gardaí in Finglas are investigating the shooting incident and Garda Headquarters has informed the Garda @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the incident , and it has begun its own independent inquiry .
The force is legally obliged to notify Gsoc of any incidents resulting in members of the public being injured or in any way harmed at or around the time they have had dealings with gardaí .
The house that was shot at was examined by members of the Garda Technical Bureau on Tuesday .
The vehicle the suspects were in and the damaged Garda car were also examined as part of the Garda investigation into the incident .
Both of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ involvement in low-level crime , some of which has been linked to the drugs trade .
Gardaí in Finglas believe the gunshots were fired as part of a localised dispute and have appealed for anyone with information to come forward and aid their investigation .

Several Garda vehicles, with the backing of the Armed Response Unit, responded to reports of shots being fired at a house in Finglas, Dublin. File photograph: Collins.
A pursuit of two suspected gunmen in Dublin ended when they crashed into a garda car as they attempted to exit the M50 motorway.
Gardaí on patrol in the Finglas area in the early hours of Tuesday heard shots being fired in the distance and went to investigate. An unoccupied house in the Heathfield area was targetted just after 3am.
Several Garda vehicles, with the backing of the Armed Response Unit, responded and the suspects were spotted by Blanchardstown-based officers who were in the area.
A pursuit then ensued, with the suspects driving onto the M50 and being followed by gardaí for more than 10km. Both vehicles left the M50 at the exit onto the N4 close to Palmerstown, where the suspects crashed into a Garda car.
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The two men, Dubliners aged in their 20s and 30s, were arrested at the scene of the crash, where a gun was recovered.
No serious injuries were reported but one garda required medical treatment and the two suspects were also taken to hospital.
Gardaí in Finglas are investigating the shooting incident and Garda Headquarters has informed the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) of the incident, and it has begun its own independent inquiry.
The force is legally obliged to notify Gsoc of any incidents resulting in members of the public being injured or in any way harmed at or around the time they have had dealings with gardaí.
The house that was shot at was examined by members of the Garda Technical Bureau on Tuesday. The vehicle the suspects were in and the damaged Garda car were also examined as part of the Garda investigation into the incident.
Both of the arrested suspects are known to gardaí for involvement in low-level crime, some of which has been linked to the drugs trade.
Gardaí in Finglas believe the gunshots were fired as part of a localised dispute and have appealed for anyone with information to come forward and aid their investigation.


theirishtimes--2020-09-29--Man unidentified in psychiatric hospital for 30 years may have DNA taken

The Health Service Executive may seek High Court permission to take a DNA sample from an unidentified vulnerable elderly man , who has been in a psychiatric hospital here for more than 30 years , in a bid to identify him .
Now believed to be in his late 80s or early 90s , the man was first admitted to the psychiatric hospital after being taken there by gardaí in the mid-1980s .
He was reported to be living “ a hermit ’ s life ” and sleeping rough in a bus shelter with a dog who he said he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had also referred to living in Dublin “ for years ” .
At some point after his admission , he was given a name and an estimated date of birth of 1930 , but essentially remains a “ John Doe ” .
Efforts to establish his true identity and to find next of kin have so far proven unsuccessful but were reactivated in recent years arising from advances in technology .
The man has a history of mental illness , along with physical health conditions .
His case first came before the High @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a solicitor for the HSE , secured an order , in the context of intended wardship proceedings , to have a court-appointed doctor visit the man for the purpose of assessing his capacity .
The court also appointed solicitor Alec Gabot to represent him in the wardship matter .
When the case returned on Tuesday before Mr Justice Mark Heslin , the judge was satisfied , on foot of the medical visitor ’ s report and other medical evidence , that the man lacks capacity and should be taken into wardship .
David @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , while the normal procedure in wardship is to seek orders preventing identification of a ward , the HSE may in this case seek to take steps aimed at identifying the man , including applying for an order permitting the taking of a DNA sample from him .
In his report to the court , Mr Gabot said he had visited the man in an effort to establish his views but the man was incapable of giving expression to them .
Although the man has no identified family , “ he has made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his family ” , Mr Gabot said .
As his guardian , he was content the man is appropriately placed .
When he queried whether the man should be moved to some other hospital or to a nursing home , the nursing staff ’ s eyes had “ filled with tears ” , he added .
The wardship application was initiated last May in a situation where the man ’ s physical health was deteriorating and he has had a number of hospital admissions .
His clinical team considered it would not be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deteriorate further to a situation where resuscitation is required .
Rather than a further hospital admission , they believe he should be made comfortable where he is .
The man had expressed a desire not to be sent to a general hospital should his condition deteriorate but doctors were concerned whether he had capacity to make decisions about his health and welfare .
They were also concerned any decision against resuscitation should have a legal basis .

The Health Service Executive may seek High Court permission to take a DNA sample from an unidentified vulnerable elderly man, who has been in a psychiatric hospital here for more than 30 years, in a bid to identify him.
Now believed to be in his late 80s or early 90s, the man was first admitted to the psychiatric hospital after being taken there by gardaí in the mid-1980s. He was reported to be living “a hermit’s life” and sleeping rough in a bus shelter with a dog who he said he had “on loan”. He had also referred to living in Dublin “for years”.
At some point after his admission, he was given a name and an estimated date of birth of 1930, but essentially remains a “John Doe”. Efforts to establish his true identity and to find next of kin have so far proven unsuccessful but were reactivated in recent years arising from advances in technology.
The man has a history of mental illness, along with physical health conditions.
READ MORE
His case first came before the High Court last May when Lebeau Jonker, a solicitor for the HSE, secured an order, in the context of intended wardship proceedings, to have a court-appointed doctor visit the man for the purpose of assessing his capacity.
The court also appointed solicitor Alec Gabot to represent him in the wardship matter.
When the case returned on Tuesday before Mr Justice Mark Heslin, the judge was satisfied, on foot of the medical visitor’s report and other medical evidence, that the man lacks capacity and should be taken into wardship.
David Leahy, for the HSE, said, while the normal procedure in wardship is to seek orders preventing identification of a ward, the HSE may in this case seek to take steps aimed at identifying the man, including applying for an order permitting the taking of a DNA sample from him.
In his report to the court, Mr Gabot said he had visited the man in an effort to establish his views but the man was incapable of giving expression to them.
Although the man has no identified family, “he has made staff and other patients at the hospital his family”, Mr Gabot said. As his guardian, he was content the man is appropriately placed.
When he queried whether the man should be moved to some other hospital or to a nursing home, the nursing staff’s eyes had “filled with tears”, he added.
The wardship application was initiated last May in a situation where the man’s physical health was deteriorating and he has had a number of hospital admissions. His clinical team considered it would not be appropriate to resuscitate him should his condition deteriorate further to a situation where resuscitation is required. Rather than a further hospital admission, they believe he should be made comfortable where he is.
The man had expressed a desire not to be sent to a general hospital should his condition deteriorate but doctors were concerned whether he had capacity to make decisions about his health and welfare.
They were also concerned any decision against resuscitation should have a legal basis.


theirishtimes--2020-09-29--Report on Seamus Woulfe’s attendance at golf dinner received by Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has confirmed receiving the report of former Chief Justice Susan Denham into the attendance of Supreme Court judge Séamus Woulfe at an Oireachtas Golf Society dinner .
The move is expected to herald significant developments in the matter in the coming days .
In a statement on Tuesday from the Chief Justice , Mr Justice Frank Clarke , the Supreme Court confirmed it had received the report earlier and had made a copy of it available to Mr Justice Woulfe .
“ The Supreme Court is considering the report and will issue a further statement in early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The statement represents the first public comment of the court on the golf dinner attendance since August 24th when it issued a statement saying it had asked Ms Denham to carry out a review concerning Mr Justice Woulfe ’ s attendance at the event in Clifden .
Ms Denham was asked to consider whether Mr Justice Woulfe should , in all the circumstances , have left the hotel in light of the situation prevailing and whether he should have played golf without attending the dinner .
In the context of those questions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ consider whether there are any relevant codes of practice or guidelines and to make any recommendations in that regard which she considers appropriate .
The Supreme Court said that “ non-statutory ” approach to the review was required because the sections of the Judicial Council Act concerning codes of conduct and a mechanism to handle complaints against judges have yet to be commenced .
Mr Justice Woulfe , the former attorney general , was among more than 80 guests who attended the dinner on August 19th after two days of golf .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ahead despite Covid-19 public health guidelines placing limits on indoor gatherings .
It was attended by several TDs and Senators , along with former TDs and senators .
The controversy surrounding the event has led to the resignation of Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary as minister for agriculture and European Commissioner Phil Hogan .
In the course of her review , Ms Denham met Mr Justice Woulfe , who was accompanied by Michael Collins SC , who he had retained following the announcement of the review .
According to sources , a draft @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Justice Woulfe prior to Ms Denham finalising it The matter is the subject of intense speculation in legal circles , including whether the report will be published .
It is understood all of those involved are anxious the matter should be comprehensively addressed prior to the full opening of the new law term next week .
In that context , a further statement from the Supreme Court concerning the matter is expected this week .
According to an earlier version of the published Supreme Court diary for the new law term , commencing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a former attorney general who was appointed to the Supreme Court in July , was due to sit for the first time as a judge of the Supreme Court next Tuesday to hear an appeal entitled AIB v Ennis .
The latest published version of the diary contains no listing setting out the names of the judges who will hear that appeal .
Mr Justice Woulfe had last month issued a lengthy statement saying that he attended the dinner on the understanding that it would be adhering to public health guidelines and apologised @ @ @ @ @ @ @

A copy of the report has been made available to Supreme Court judge Séamus Woulfe. Photograph: Alan Betson
The Supreme Court has confirmed receiving the report of former Chief Justice Susan Denham into the attendance of Supreme Court judge Séamus Woulfe at an Oireachtas Golf Society dinner.
The move is expected to herald significant developments in the matter in the coming days.
In a statement on Tuesday from the Chief Justice, Mr Justice Frank Clarke, the Supreme Court confirmed it had received the report earlier and had made a copy of it available to Mr Justice Woulfe.
“The Supreme Court is considering the report and will issue a further statement in early course,” the brief statement concluded.
READ MORE
The statement represents the first public comment of the court on the golf dinner attendance since August 24th when it issued a statement saying it had asked Ms Denham to carry out a review concerning Mr Justice Woulfe’s attendance at the event in Clifden.
Ms Denham was asked to consider whether Mr Justice Woulfe should, in all the circumstances, have left the hotel in light of the situation prevailing and whether he should have played golf without attending the dinner.
In the context of those questions, Ms Denham was also asked to consider whether there are any relevant codes of practice or guidelines and to make any recommendations in that regard which she considers appropriate.
The Supreme Court said that “non-statutory” approach to the review was required because the sections of the Judicial Council Act concerning codes of conduct and a mechanism to handle complaints against judges have yet to be commenced.
Golf dinner
Mr Justice Woulfe, the former attorney general, was among more than 80 guests who attended the dinner on August 19th after two days of golf. The event at the Co Galway hotel went ahead despite Covid-19 public health guidelines placing limits on indoor gatherings. It was attended by several TDs and Senators, along with former TDs and senators.
The controversy surrounding the event has led to the resignation of Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary as minister for agriculture and European Commissioner Phil Hogan.
In the course of her review, Ms Denham met Mr Justice Woulfe, who was accompanied by Michael Collins SC, who he had retained following the announcement of the review. According to sources, a draft of the report was provided to Mr Justice Woulfe prior to Ms Denham finalising it
The matter is the subject of intense speculation in legal circles, including whether the report will be published.
It is understood all of those involved are anxious the matter should be comprehensively addressed prior to the full opening of the new law term next week. In that context, a further statement from the Supreme Court concerning the matter is expected this week.
According to an earlier version of the published Supreme Court diary for the new law term, commencing next Monday, Mr Justice Woulfe, a former attorney general who was appointed to the Supreme Court in July, was due to sit for the first time as a judge of the Supreme Court next Tuesday to hear an appeal entitled AIB v Ennis.
The latest published version of the diary contains no listing setting out the names of the judges who will hear that appeal.
Mr Justice Woulfe had last month issued a lengthy statement saying that he attended the dinner on the understanding that it would be adhering to public health guidelines and apologised for any unintentional breach of them.


theirishtimes--2020-09-30--Thousands may get upgrades as errors in Leaving Cert calculated grades system identified

The Department of Education has found two errors in the Leaving Certificate calculated grades system , Taoiseach Micheál Martin has told the Dáil .
“ It will result in upgrades for quite a number of students , ” he said .
It is understood the errors will affect about 6,000 pupils , or 10 per cent of candidates .
He said that Minister for Education Norma Foley will make a “ comprehensive statement ” on the issue at 4 pm .
The Taoiseach made the comments in response to Labour leader Alan Kelly who said the Department of Education has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who were appealing their calculated grades results .
Mr Kelly asked if there was a reason for that .
Mr Martin said the priority was to inform students first who might have grades changed as a result of the error .
The Taoiseach said the two errors were found in relation to the calculated grades and that Mr Foley will be making a comprehensive statement today .
He said she will speak of what has occurred , the measures taken to rectify that , the rechecking of that process and bringing independent external @ @ @ @ @ @ @ added , to “ ease as much anxiety as we can in relation to the students themselves ” .
Labour education spokesman Aodhan Ó Riordain said it is extraordinary that party spokespeople had not been given any briefings on this issue .
Sinn Féin education spokesman Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire that said it was absolutely extraordinary what had happened and he asked student downgraded would be upgraded .
Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae said that for the Government to let this happen “ is absolutely disgraceful ” .
Mr Martin said the students were the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grades and their results ” .
He said it was “ not to audit the department but to audit the process ” .
He said there would be a full independent examination of the process .
The statement has to be communicated to the students first and done in a “ comprehensive way so that all of the issues are fully articulated and explained around the technical processes and the technology around this .
“ Our objective has to be the students and how they receive this information.
” Mr Martin stressed that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evaluation of the process , which he said was a technical issue linked to coding .
He said they wanted to “ ease as much anxiety as we can in relation to the students themselves ” .
The President of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland ( ASTI ) , Ann Piggot told RTÉ Radio ’ s News at One that teachers had engaged with the Leaving Certificate calculated grades system “ as a last resort.
” Members of the ASTI would have preferred if the Leaving Cert exam had gone ahead as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and they had confidence in that system .
It had been a long and difficult process to organise this year ’ s Leaving Cert .
Ms Piggott also expressed surprise that there had been errors in the calculated grades system .
On RTÉ News at One , Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys said that the priority will be to inform any students whose grades were impacted by the failure with the Leaving Certificate calculated grades logarithm .
“ Obviously this is a massive undertaking .
If there are issues we will get @ @ @ @

“These are errors which should not have occurred. However, the error will not disadvantage any student,” Minister for Education Norma Foley said. Photograph: Alan Betson
The Minister for Education has apologised for errors which resulted in at least 6,500 students receiving a lower grade than they ought to have received.
Norma Foley said any students affected will be upgraded and every effort will be made to ensure those affected will not miss out on college places which they qualify for in light of upgrades.
She said the errors may have resulted in some students receiving higher grades than they were supposed to. However, their grades will stand.
“These are errors which should not have occurred. However, the error will not disadvantage any student,” Ms Foley said.
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Two errors in the coding process in calculating grades which were identified by a Canadian firm which was involved in the grading process, Polymetrika International Inc.
Students affected by the grading errors will be contacted by text message and they will receive a revised set of grades.
Ms Foley said the number of students affected is indicative and the full scale of errors will not be definitively established until over the coming days.
The errors relate to the way students’ Junior Cert grades were calculated to form an estimated achievement profile for a class.
This was supposed to identify an achievement profile based on students in Irish, English and maths and their two strongest subjects.
Instead, it resulted in students’ two weakest subjects forming part of the expected achievement profile for the class.
A second error related to the use of CSPE (Civic, Social and Political Education) in these Junior Cert class profiles. This subject was meant to be omitted from the process, however, it was included in some cases.
Polymetricka International has received about €160,000 for its work in process relating to the calculated grades process.
Corrections for most students relate to one subject with a smaller number getting an upgrade in more than one subject.
She said the Government will work with higher education institutions to ensure students affected by the grades controversy will not miss out on college places.
Initial investigations in the Department of Education found it will only have made a difference for a minority of students in whether they received their first CAO choice or not.
It is understood that the CAO has agreed to deal with the new grades as if they were successful appeals, and an attempt will be made to give offers in the next CAO round to those students for whom it would have made a difference.
“When the revised grades are issued the CAO and the Higher Education Institutions will establish which students receiving corrected results would have been eligible for a higher preference offer in previous rounds of the CAO process,” the department said in a statement.
It is believed that the error first came to light some days ago and was being investigated, before it was raised by the Labour Party leader Alan Kelly in the Dáil today.
Integrity of system
Taoiseach Micheál Martin earlier told the Dáil that the Department of Education has found two errors in the Leaving Certificate calculated grades system.
Mr Martin stressed that there would be a full independent external evaluation of the process, which he said was a technical issue linked to coding.
One Government source said the errors may have led to some students being wrongly downgraded by up to 10 percentage points.
University sources said this will be very difficult in the case of high-demand courses such as dentistry and medicine, for which all places have been allocated. The disclosure has rocked confidence in the integrity of the calculated grades process.
Many students have complained that they were unfairly downgraded, especially students in schools with a strong track record of achievement.
The Taoiseach made the comments in response to Mr Kelly who said the Department of Education has “gone to ground” over students who were appealing their calculated grades results.
Mr Martin said the priority was to inform students first who might have grades changed as a result of the error.
Speaking later during Taoiseach’s questions, Mr Martin said: “My understanding is that the department would have been alerted to this by the company Polymetrica who discovered the error in the code initially”.
Mr Martin said Polymetrica was appointed to provide outside expertise when the decision was made to go the route of calculated grading because the department did not have coding expertise.
““The department have since been correcting the piece of code. It is now operating as intended” and they were satisfied there were no further errors.
A separate company from the United States, Education and Testing Services – a non-profit organisation which specialises in educational measurement – has been brought in to go through the entire system.
Mr Kelly described it as an “absolute cock-up” and said that if it had been any other Government it would have been brought down. He said that had he not raised the issue, they would not have been dealing with it.
Mr Kelly said there were students doing courses and wondering if they would still be in them next week.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, who asked when the Taoiseach first heard about the errors, said he needed to give absolute assurances that there were no further errors.
The President of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) Ann Piggott, has said teachers are shocked and disappointed.
“ Teachers took part in the Calculated Grades Process in good faith and we were assured that the process was robust and fair for students. Teachers I have spoken to are very concerned about the impact of today’s announcement on those students affected, as well as the entire class of 2020 who have endured so much stress and uncertainty this year,” said Ms Piggott.
“While the discovery of errors is extremely upsetting for students and teachers, there is some comfort in the news that some students will receive their proper elevated grades and that no student will be downgraded.
“It is essential that students affected by the errors can access the courses they are eligible for without delay. In addition, the Department of Education and Skills must complete a thorough and full investigation of this matter immediately,” she said.


theirishtimes--2020-09-30--Irish residents took more than 21m overnight trips last year – CSO

Irish residents took more than 21 million overnight trips last year , according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office ( CSO ) .
The number of domestic trips taken by Irish residents was 11.6 million , an increase of 6.4 per cent when compared to 2018 , while the number of outbound trips rose by 8.2 per cent to 9.4 million trips .
According to the CSO ’ s 2019 household travel survey , half of all domestic trips ( 50.1 per cent ) were classified as holidays while over 3.8 million trips ( 33.1 per cent ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The remaining trips were taken for other reasons such as business , education , shopping or sporting activities .
Total expenditure on domestic trips in 2019 amounted to €2.1 billion , up from €2 billion in 2018 .
People on holidays accounted for €1.3 billion of this spending , while those visiting friends or relatives spent €372 million in 2019 .
Irish residents travelling abroad availed of a total of 66.9 million bed nights in 2019 , with almost three quarters of those bed nights being within the European Union .
The average @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 7.2 nights , varying from 6.2 nights within the European Union , 13.6 nights in North America and 20.8 nights in Australia , New Zealand and Oceania .
Some €8.2 billion was spent by Irish residents on outbound trips in 2019 , of which €5.3 billion , or 64.7 per cent , was spent on holidays .
Irish residents staying in hotel accommodation abroad accounted for 23.3 million nights in 2019 , while those staying in self-catering/rented house accounted for 16.6 million nights .
Meanwhile , the Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with the country ’ s tourism board Fáilte Ireland encouraging residents to holiday at home , instead of abroad .
Earlier this week , the CSO reported that more than 362,000 passengers arrived into Ireland on overseas routes in August , which was considerably lower than the 2 million tourists arriving into the country in the same month last year .
However , August ’ s figures were 60 per cent increase on July , during which 227,300 passengers arrived into Ireland from abroad .

The average length of stay on outbound trips was 7.2 nights. File photograph: Cyril Byrne/The Irish Times
Irish residents took more than 21 million overnight trips last year, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The number of domestic trips taken by Irish residents was 11.6 million, an increase of 6.4 per cent when compared to 2018, while the number of outbound trips rose by 8.2 per cent to 9.4 million trips.
According to the CSO’s 2019 household travel survey, half of all domestic trips (50.1 per cent) were classified as holidays while over 3.8 million trips (33.1 per cent) were to visit friends or relatives.
The remaining trips were taken for other reasons such as business, education, shopping or sporting activities.
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Total expenditure on domestic trips in 2019 amounted to €2.1 billion, up from €2 billion in 2018.
People on holidays accounted for €1.3 billion of this spending, while those visiting friends or relatives spent €372 million in 2019.
Irish residents travelling abroad availed of a total of 66.9 million bed nights in 2019, with almost three quarters of those bed nights being within the European Union.
The average length of stay on outbound trips was 7.2 nights, varying from 6.2 nights within the European Union, 13.6 nights in North America and 20.8 nights in Australia, New Zealand and Oceania.
Some €8.2 billion was spent by Irish residents on outbound trips in 2019, of which €5.3 billion, or 64.7 per cent, was spent on holidays.
Irish residents staying in hotel accommodation abroad accounted for 23.3 million nights in 2019, while those staying in self-catering/rented house accounted for 16.6 million nights.
Meanwhile, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge effect on tourism in Ireland this year, with the country's tourism board Fáilte Ireland encouraging residents to holiday at home, instead of abroad.
Earlier this week, the CSO reported that more than 362,000 passengers arrived into Ireland on overseas routes in August, which was considerably lower than the 2 million tourists arriving into the country in the same month last year.
However, August’s figures were 60 per cent increase on July, during which 227,300 passengers arrived into Ireland from abroad.


theirishtimes--2020-09-30--‘Mathematics seems too often to be about learning rules’

Terry Tao is probably the world ’ s best problem solver in mathematics – the skill that is the essence of this essential creative science .
So it ’ s more than apposite he will be will deliver this year ’ s Royal Irish Academy Hamilton Lecture – in memory of probably Ireland ’ s greatest mathematician William Rowan Hamilton .
This year the professor of mathematics at the University of California , Los Angeles ( UCLA ) , with three others was awarded the Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research for “ immeasurable , ground-breaking contributions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ data and signal processing ” .
In case this is considered obscure mathematics , the citation is helpful : “ These constitute the foundations and backbone of the digital age ( by enabling the compression of graphic files with little loss of resolution ) , of medical imaging and diagnosis ( by enabling accurate images to be reconstructed from a small number of data ) and of engineering and scientific research ( by eliminating interference and background noise ) .
” These techniques are key to deconvolution – the improvement of resolution of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ algorithm designed to separate the information from “ artefacts ” which result from the method of collecting it .
This occurs with the processing of Hubble Space Telescope images taken deep in our galaxy , and in detection by LIGO Observatory in the US of gravitational waves resulting from the collision of two black holes .
The outstanding contributions of this quartet are based on two different yet complementary tools : wavelets and compressed sensing or matrix completion – the latter being Tao ’ s area of research .
“ A second revolution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the first decade of the 21st century with the development of the theories of compressed sensing ... and matrix completion , ” the citation adds .
That is the consequence of collaboration between Tao and French mathematician Emmanuel Candès , one of the award winners .
Their work enables efficient reconstruction of scattered data based on few measurements , Tao explains .
It enables the number of required samples to be reduced , which in medical imaging means being able to examine the patient faster .
The benefits are obvious , especially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not sit still for three minutes ” .
The scanners currently used in magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI ) techniques use this mathematical tool – an algorithm – making it possible to shorten the patient ’ s scanning or exposure time and reconstruct the image without loss of quality .
He describes the moment he rang Candès , who believed he must have made a mistake , as a small amount of data had generated an almost perfect reconstruction of an image – and sought his help .
The solution was complex but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You have 12 coins that all look exactly the same .
One is counterfeit and is either heavier or lighter than the other 11 .
With a balance beam scale , isolate the counterfeit coin in three moves .
In their case it was millions of pixels , “ some are heavy ; some are light ” ; a much more complicated task .
Tao says the outcome “ is really cool ” .
With self-deprecation , he adds “ it ’ s the one thing I ’ ve done that has any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t keep up with the applications emerging from it .
“ The Mozart of math ” nickname was , however , correctly applied to this maestro of theoretical mathematics .
Tao was a child prodigy when living in south Australia .
By age 17 , he had finished a master ’ s thesis – Convolution Operators Generated by Right-Monogenic and Harmonic Kernels – and moved to Princeton University in the US .
He earned his doctorate there at 21 and was a tenured professor in UCLA by the age of 24 – now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only job he ever had .
His life is compelling testimony to the good side of the global village and its ability to contribute to the betterment of humankind ; in this case culminating in his immense contribution to mathematics underpinned by international collaboration .
His father , Billy – a paediatrician from Shanghai – emigrated with his wife Grace who was from Hong Kong to Adelaide in 1972 , three years before Tao was born .
He says he has a Chinese name he has difficulty pronouncing and was given the name @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hospital where he was born for suggestions .
Tao ’ s papers have been cited more than 75,000 times .
He has authored 17 books and has received multiple awards , notably the Fields Medal ( 2006 ) , considered to be the Nobel prize for maths .
That citation notes his “ beautiful work ” on Horn ’ s conjecture , which Tao completed with a friend he had played foosball with in graduate school .
It was at a great remove from his known stamping grounds , the New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” the citation read , “ to a leading English-language novelist suddenly producing the definitive Russian novel.
” Perhaps , this should not have been considered a surprise as his IQ scores range from 211 to 230 by different measures .
As Gareth Cook wrote in the New York Times ( July 2015 ) in a vivid profile : “ Within his field , Tao is best known for a proof about a remarkable set of numbers known as the primes .
The primes are the whole numbers larger than 1 that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and 1 .
Thus , the first few primes are 2 , 3 , 5 , 7 and 11 .
The number 4 is not a prime because it divides evenly by 2 ; the number 9 fails because it can be divided by 3 .
Prime numbers are fundamental building blocks in mathematics .
Like the chemical elements , they combine to form a universe.
” Much of Tao ’ s work today is related to one of the most famous unproven ideas in maths , the “ twin-prime conjecture ” , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proposed in 1849 .
As Cook explained : “ Go up the number line , circling the primes , and you may notice that sometimes a pair of primes is separated by just 2 : 5 and 7 , 11 and 13 , 17 and 19 .
These are the “ twin primes ” , and as the journey along the number line continues , they occur less frequently.
” The key question is : are there an infinite number of twin primes ?
Tantalisingly , there has been much progress in recent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tao : “ I know what ’ s missing.
” Some problems in maths are “ really , really hard ” , he underlines .
He describes a huge “ ice wall ” with no obvious way of scaling it .
It seems impossible to negotiate until “ there ’ s a breakthrough ; someone finds a crack and everybody rushes through.
” Unfortunately , he says , too often the subject seems to be about learning rules – what Cook described as the “ how and when to apply ancient tricks to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remain in the cookie jar ; the ball moves at 12.5 feet per second ... ” To be a mathematician is to experiment , Tao stresses , rather than to operate within the manipulations and memorisation of second-level teaching .
Too often , it ’ s only at undergraduate level students discover the magic spells come from somewhere and realise “ you can play and tinker with them ” .
He doesn ’ t believe Artificial Intelligence is about to supplant the mathematician , though AI has changed the way homework is assigned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up reasonably good solutions so easily .
Crucially , AI tools are increasingly useful but “ won ’ t make human research obsolete ” .
His Hamilton lecture will not be about his research , but stems from his fascination going back to childhood with astronomy and distances between planets – “ How do we know the distances from the Earth to the sun and moon , from the sun to the other planets , and from the sun to other stars and distant galaxies ?
” “ You can not take out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ away , ” he notes , and it was the pre-internet era then so basic mathematics and trigonometry are required .
It ’ s about going beyond facts , asking how the planets got there , “ extrapolating your senses ” , and what he calls building “ math on top of math ” .
“ Clearly we can not measure these [ DISTANCES ] directly .
Nevertheless there are many indirect methods of measurement , combined with basic high-school mathematics , which can allow one to get quite convincing and accurate results @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even the ancient Greeks could compute the distances from the earth to the sun and moon to moderate accuracy.
” They had no fancy tech or satellites , he adds , but they had the power of observation too ; for instance , working out the Earth was round by looking at its shadow on the moon .
This was built on over centuries , and 2,000 years later we have finally worked out the size of the Universe .
Critically , these methods rely on climbing a “ cosmic distance ladder ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then deduce estimates on distances slightly further away .
He will be discussing several of the rungs in this ladder .
Tao has intimate familiarity with Hamilton ’ s equations , whether it ’ s in physics , mechanics or matrices , and his formula for quaternions , but would love to know more about his history .
The Cosmic Distance Ladder lecture by Prof Terence Tao , hosted by the Royal Irish Academy in association with IBEC and The Irish Times , takes place online at 4pm on Friday October 16th – @ @ @ @ @

Terry Tao is probably the world's best problem solver in mathematics – the skill that is the essence of this essential creative science.
So it's more than apposite he will be will deliver this year's Royal Irish Academy Hamilton Lecture – in memory of probably Ireland's greatest mathematician William Rowan Hamilton.
This year the professor of mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), with three others was awarded the Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research for "immeasurable, ground-breaking contributions to modern theories and techniques of mathematical data and signal processing".
In case this is considered obscure mathematics, the citation is helpful: “These constitute the foundations and backbone of the digital age (by enabling the compression of graphic files with little loss of resolution), of medical imaging and diagnosis (by enabling accurate images to be reconstructed from a small number of data) and of engineering and scientific research (by eliminating interference and background noise).”
READ MORE
These techniques are key to deconvolution – the improvement of resolution of images or other data by a mathematical algorithm designed to separate the information from “artefacts” which result from the method of collecting it.
This occurs with the processing of Hubble Space Telescope images taken deep in our galaxy, and in detection by LIGO Observatory in the US of gravitational waves resulting from the collision of two black holes.
The outstanding contributions of this quartet are based on two different yet complementary tools: wavelets and compressed sensing or matrix completion – the latter being Tao’s area of research.
“A second revolution in data and signal processing techniques came in the first decade of the 21st century with the development of the theories of compressed sensing... and matrix completion,” the citation adds. That is the consequence of collaboration between Tao and French mathematician Emmanuel Candès, one of the award winners.
Their work enables efficient reconstruction of scattered data based on few measurements, Tao explains. It enables the number of required samples to be reduced, which in medical imaging means being able to examine the patient faster. The benefits are obvious, especially with children, when “they cannot sit still for three minutes”.
By age 17, Tao had finished a master's thesis, he earned his doctorate at 21 and was a tenured professor in UCLA at 24
The scanners currently used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques use this mathematical tool – an algorithm – making it possible to shorten the patient’s scanning or exposure time and reconstruct the image without loss of quality.
He describes the moment he rang Candès, who believed he must have made a mistake, as a small amount of data had generated an almost perfect reconstruction of an image – and sought his help. The solution was complex but based on an old maths puzzle: You have 12 coins that all look exactly the same. One is counterfeit and is either heavier or lighter than the other 11. With a balance beam scale, isolate the counterfeit coin in three moves.
In their case it was millions of pixels, “some are heavy; some are light”; a much more complicated task. Tao says the outcome “is really cool”. With self-deprecation, he adds “it’s the one thing I’ve done that has any practical importance” but he couldn’t keep up with the applications emerging from it.
"The Mozart of math" nickname was, however, correctly applied to this maestro of theoretical mathematics. Tao was a child prodigy when living in south Australia. By age 17, he had finished a master's thesis – Convolution Operators Generated by Right-Monogenic and Harmonic Kernels – and moved to Princeton University in the US. He earned his doctorate there at 21 and was a tenured professor in UCLA by the age of 24 – now 45, he describes it as the only job he ever had.
His life is compelling testimony to the good side of the global village and its ability to contribute to the betterment of humankind; in this case culminating in his immense contribution to mathematics underpinned by international collaboration.
His father, Billy – a paediatrician from Shanghai – emigrated with his wife Grace who was from Hong Kong to Adelaide in 1972, three years before Tao was born. He says he has a Chinese name he has difficulty pronouncing and was given the name Terence after his parents asked nurses in the hospital where he was born for suggestions.
An artwork by tattoo artist Emma Ray at Broombridge Luas stop that celebrates an 1843 act of graffiti by William Rowan Hamilton, who scratched his formula for Quaternion algebra onto the bridge with a penknife while walking along the Royal Canal with his wife Helen. Photograph: Shane O’Neill/SON Photographic.
Tao’s papers have been cited more than 75,000 times. He has authored 17 books and has received multiple awards, notably the Fields Medal (2006), considered to be the Nobel prize for maths. That citation notes his “beautiful work” on Horn’s conjecture, which Tao completed with a friend he had played foosball with in graduate school.
It was at a great remove from his known stamping grounds, the New York Times recalled. “This is akin,” the citation read, “to a leading English-language novelist suddenly producing the definitive Russian novel.”
Perhaps, this should not have been considered a surprise as his IQ scores range from 211 to 230 by different measures.
As Gareth Cook wrote in the New York Times (July 2015) in a vivid profile: "Within his field, Tao is best known for a proof about a remarkable set of numbers known as the primes. The primes are the whole numbers larger than 1 that can be divided evenly by only themselves and 1. Thus, the first few primes are 2, 3, 5, 7 and 11. The number 4 is not a prime because it divides evenly by 2; the number 9 fails because it can be divided by 3. Prime numbers are fundamental building blocks in mathematics. Like the chemical elements, they combine to form a universe."
Much of Tao’s work today is related to one of the most famous unproven ideas in maths, the “twin-prime conjecture”, which the French mathematician Alphonse de Polignac proposed in 1849.
As Cook explained: “Go up the number line, circling the primes, and you may notice that sometimes a pair of primes is separated by just 2: 5 and 7, 11 and 13, 17 and 19. These are the “twin primes”, and as the journey along the number line continues, they occur less frequently.”
The key question is: are there an infinite number of twin primes? Tantalisingly, there has been much progress in recent years but no breakthrough. Infuriatingly for Tao: “I know what’s missing.”
Some problems in maths are “really, really hard”, he underlines. He describes a huge “ice wall” with no obvious way of scaling it. It seems impossible to negotiate until “there’s a breakthrough; someone finds a crack and everybody rushes through.”
How do we know the distances from the Earth to the sun and moon, from the sun to the other planets?
Unfortunately, he says, too often the subject seems to be about learning rules – what Cook described as the “how and when to apply ancient tricks to arrive at an answer. Four cookies remain in the cookie jar; the ball moves at 12.5 feet per second...”
To be a mathematician is to experiment, Tao stresses, rather than to operate within the manipulations and memorisation of second-level teaching. Too often, it’s only at undergraduate level students discover the magic spells come from somewhere and realise “you can play and tinker with them”.
He doesn’t believe Artificial Intelligence is about to supplant the mathematician, though AI has changed the way homework is assigned at undergraduate level because it can throw up reasonably good solutions so easily. Crucially, AI tools are increasingly useful but “won’t make human research obsolete”.
His Hamilton lecture will not be about his research, but stems from his fascination going back to childhood with astronomy and distances between planets – “How do we know the distances from the Earth to the sun and moon, from the sun to the other planets, and from the sun to other stars and distant galaxies?”
“You cannot take out a ruler; they are too far away,” he notes, and it was the pre-internet era then so basic mathematics and trigonometry are required. It’s about going beyond facts, asking how the planets got there, “extrapolating your senses”, and what he calls building “math on top of math”.
“Clearly we cannot measure these [distances] directly. Nevertheless there are many indirect methods of measurement, combined with basic high-school mathematics, which can allow one to get quite convincing and accurate results without the need for advanced technology – even the ancient Greeks could compute the distances from the earth to the sun and moon to moderate accuracy.”
They had no fancy tech or satellites, he adds, but they had the power of observation too; for instance, working out the Earth was round by looking at its shadow on the moon.
This was built on over centuries, and 2,000 years later we have finally worked out the size of the Universe. Critically, these methods rely on climbing a “cosmic distance ladder”, using measurements of nearby distances to then deduce estimates on distances slightly further away. He will be discussing several of the rungs in this ladder.
Tao has intimate familiarity with Hamilton’s equations, whether it’s in physics, mechanics or matrices, and his formula for quaternions, but would love to know more about his history.
The Cosmic Distance Ladder lecture by Prof Terence Tao, hosted by the Royal Irish Academy in association with IBEC and The Irish Times, takes place online at 4pm on Friday October 16th – Register for free at ria.ie/events


theirishtimes--2020-09-30--Man arrested by PSNI following murder of man in Antrim flat

A 29-year-old man is being questioned by detectives on Wednesday following the murder of a man in Co Antrim , @ @ @ @ @ .
The murder inquiry was launched after the murder of the man in a flat @ @ @ @ @ of Ballymena , police said .
The 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder @ @ @ @ @ .
Det Chief Insp John Caldwell urged anyone who “ heard or saw anything suspicious @ @ @ @ @ Road between 12 mid-day on Tuesday and 1 am ” on Wednesday to bring it @ @ @ @ @

The murder inquiry was launched after the murder of the man in a flat in the Crebilly Road area of Ballymena, police said.
Two men were being questioned by PSNI detectives on Wednesday night about the murder of 33-year-old Donald Fraser-Rennie in a flat in the Crebilly Road area of Ballymena, Co Antrim.
Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell said Mr Fraser-Rennie died after a "vicious, sustained and violent beating".
Two men, aged 29 and 33 years old, who were arrested on suspicion of murder, remained in police custody last night.
“My thoughts are with Donald’s family and his fiancée at this very sad and difficult time,” said Detective Chief Inspector Caldwell.
READ MORE
He appealed to anyone who had information that could assist with the investigation to contact the police. He was also anxious to speak to anyone who had been in contact with Mr Fraser-Rennie at any time between Tuesday and 1 am on Wednesday morning.
“I am particularly keen to establish whether witnesses saw or heard anything suspicious. I would ask anyone who has any information, no matter how inconsequential you may think it is, to contact detectives,” said Detective Chief Inspector Caldwell.


theirishtimes--2020-09-30--Post office network faces collapse without support, report warns

The post office network will collapse if State support is not put in place urgently , a new report has found .
The report , carried out by consultants Grant Thornton and commissioned by the Irish Postmasters ’ Union , recommends that the State should introduce €17 million in annual public service obligation ( PSO ) funding .
It says the Government should invest with urgency in the post office network , as it provides a multi-fold economic and social return to communities , far in excess of the PSO requirement .
The report warns that without State support within @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ faces significant levels of unrestrained closures by the end of 2021 ” .
“ The Irish post office network is at a critical juncture .
The financial viability and sustainability of the network is challenged like never before in its history .
Many local post offices , large and small , urban and rural , will likely be forced to close if the financial conditions under which they operate do not change in the short-term , ” it says .
The report projects the annual cost of running the post office network @ @ @ @ @ @ @ retail revenue of €53m , leaving a €17m shortfall .
“ Average losses of €19,181 are forecast per post office per annum from 2021 impacting all offices small , large , urban and rural , ” it says .
The report says that PSO funding models for post office networks have already been introduced in the UK , France , Spain , Belgium , Italy , Finland and Poland with the approval of the European Commission .
It urges the Government to follow this model .
The report says the financial shortfall is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ traditional post office services to online providers and a reduction in traditional mail business .
However , the report says that the post office network remains a highly valuable national asset which contributes far more to the economy than the cost of the PSO .
The report suggests that based on a model used in the UK to calculate the social value of the post office network there , “ an estimated annual social value of the Irish post office network is €334-€776 million ” .
It says that 28 per cent of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continue to use the post office every week , including the distribution of €4.6 billion of social welfare payments .
The report says post offices play a crucial role in spin off support to other local businesses and economies , offer a service for those who are financially or socially excluded and provide a difficult to measure but real social contribution to communities Post offices are run by postmasters who are independent providers under contract to An Post .
There are currently 899 postmaster and 45 An Post operated post offices in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problem is due to reach crisis point by mid 2021 as new contract payments paid by An Post to postmasters end .
“ An Post financial supports are unsustainable in anything but the short term .
Establishing alternative funding options to maintain a sustainable future for the post office network and for postmasters is now essential.
” The report also points to additional difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic .
Postmasters have reported a 25 per cent reduction in transactions in August 2020 compared to 2019 .
The president of the Irish Postmasters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ needed to act with urgency - and no further review , report , or working group process was now needed .
“ We have already had the Bobby Kerr led independent review in 2016 , followed by a detailed working group including Irish Postmasters ’ Union , An Post and Government in 2018 .
And there has been further review group process in 2020 and now we have a comprehensive financial , economic and social analysis from Grant Thornton.
” “ A Post Office PSO needs to be sanctioned this year and implemented @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time to delay and do not need further evidence .
The level of closures next year is potentially so significant as to mean a collapse of the Irish post office network as we know it.
” Irish Postmasters ’ Union general secretary Ned O ’ Hara said postmasters wanted to stay in business and serve the public long into the future .

A new report warns that without State support within the next few months, the post network faces significant levels of unrestrained closures by the end of 2021.
The post office network will collapse if State support is not put in place urgently, a new report has found.
The report, carried out by consultants Grant Thornton and commissioned by the Irish Postmasters' Union, recommends that the State should introduce €17 million in annual public service obligation (PSO)funding.
It says the Government should invest with urgency in the post office network, as it provides a multi-fold economic and social return to communities, far in excess of the PSO requirement.
The report warns that without State support within the next few months, the network “faces significant levels of unrestrained closures by the end of 2021”.
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“The Irish post office network is at a critical juncture. The financial viability and sustainability of the network is challenged like never before in its history. Many local post offices, large and small, urban and rural, will likely be forced to close if the financial conditions under which they operate do not change in the short-term,”it says.
The report projects the annual cost of running the post office network in 2021 at €70m, generating a retail revenue of €53m, leaving a €17m shortfall.
“ Average losses of €19,181 are forecast per post office per annum from 2021 impacting all offices small, large, urban and rural,” it says.
The report says that PSO funding models for post office networks have already been introduced in the UK, France, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Finland and Poland with the approval of the European Commission. It urges the Government to follow this model.
The report says the financial shortfall is largely driven by the ongoing transfer of traditional post office services to online providers and a reduction in traditional mail business.
However, the report says that the post office network remains a highly valuable national asset which contributes far more to the economy than the cost of the PSO.
The report suggests that based on a model used in the UK to calculate the social value of the post office network there , “an estimated annual social value of the Irish post office network is €334-€776 million”.
It says that 28 per cent of the population (1.3 million people) continue to use the post office every week, including the distribution of €4.6 billion of social welfare payments.
The report says post offices play a crucial role in spin off support to other local businesses and economies, offer a service for those who are financially or socially excluded and provide a difficult to measure but real social contribution to communities
Post offices are run by postmasters who are independent providers under contract to An Post. There are currently 899 postmaster and 45 An Post operated post offices in the country.
The report warns that the problem is due to reach crisis point by mid 2021 as new contract payments paid by An Post to postmasters end.
“An Post financial supports are unsustainable in anything but the short term. Establishing alternative funding options to maintain a sustainable future for the post office network and for postmasters is now essential.”
The report also points to additional difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Postmasters have reported a 25 per cent reduction in transactions in August 2020 compared to 2019.
The president of the Irish Postmasters' Union Sean Martin said the Government needed to act with urgency - and no further review, report, or working group process was now needed.
"We have already had the Bobby Kerr led independent review in 2016, followed by a detailed working group including Irish Postmasters' Union , An Post and Government in 2018. And there has been further review group process in 2020 and now we have a comprehensive financial, economic and social analysis from Grant Thornton."
“A Post Office PSO needs to be sanctioned this year and implemented by mid-2021. We do not have time to delay and do not need further evidence. The level of closures next year is potentially so significant as to mean a collapse of the Irish post office network as we know it.”
Irish Postmasters’ Union general secretary Ned O’Hara said postmasters wanted to stay in business and serve the public long into the future.


theirishtimes--2020-09-30--Pipe bomb found in Drogheda estate ‘could have killed many’

An explosive device found in an estate in Drogheda could have killed many people had it not being discovered , security sources say .
The device consisted of a pipe-bomb attached to a three litre canister of petrol which itself had been attached to the gas meter of a house in the Moneymore Estate .
A large portion of the estate had to be evacuated on Tuesday night as the bomb was defused .
It is believed the device was left there as part of an ongoing drugs feud in the town , much of which has centred on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which initially appeared to be petrol canister with wires coming from it , just after 8pm on Tuesday and altered gardaí .
After a visual inspection , the responding officers decided it looked like a viable explosive device and the Army ’ s Explosive Ordnance Disposal ( EOD ) team were alerted .
They also evacuated about 20 nearby houses .
The EOD team arrived just after midnight and set up a cordon .
It decided against a controlled explosion due to the built up nature of the location .
Instead the device @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , with the team departing at 1.10am .
Following a technical examination , the device was determined to be a pipe-bomb filled with gunpowder attached to a large petrol canister .
It is understood if it had detonated , the device would have likely ignited the gas supply , and set the house alight , along with the neighbouring houses .
It was much bigger than the pipe-bombs previously used in the Drogheda feud .
“ This wasn ’ t about intimidation , someone was seeking to do damage , ” a security @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but effective , ” another security source said .
“ These people are thinking how to maximise the effects of their IEDs [ Improvised Explosive Devices ] , ” A Garda spokesman said investigations into the incident are ongoing .
A technical examination of the scene is due to be completed today , a Defence Forces spokesman said .
“ Should members of the public encounter suspicious items , or hazardous substances , they are advised to maintain a safe distance and inform An Garda Síochána , ” he added .

An explosive device found in an estate in Drogheda could have killed many people had it not being discovered, security sources say.
The device consisted of a pipe-bomb attached to a three litre canister of petrol which itself had been attached to the gas meter of a house in the Moneymore Estate. A large portion of the estate had to be evacuated on Tuesday night as the bomb was defused.
It is believed the device was left there as part of an ongoing drugs feud in the town, much of which has centred on the estate.
Residents found the device, which initially appeared to be petrol canister with wires coming from it, just after 8pm on Tuesday and altered gardaí.
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After a visual inspection, the responding officers decided it looked like a viable explosive device and the Army’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team were alerted. They also evacuated about 20 nearby houses. The EOD team arrived just after midnight and set up a cordon.
It decided against a controlled explosion due to the built up nature of the location. Instead the device was made defused and removed for examination, with the team departing at 1.10am.
Following a technical examination, the device was determined to be a pipe-bomb filled with gunpowder attached to a large petrol canister.
It is understood if it had detonated, the device would have likely ignited the gas supply, and set the house alight, along with the neighbouring houses.
It was much bigger than the pipe-bombs previously used in the Drogheda feud. “This wasn’t about intimidation, someone was seeking to do damage,” a security source said.
“It was crude but effective,” another security source said. “These people are thinking how to maximise the effects of their IEDs [Improvised Explosive Devices],”
A Garda spokesman said investigations into the incident are ongoing.
A technical examination of the scene is due to be completed today, a Defence Forces spokesman said.
"Should members of the public encounter suspicious items, or hazardous substances, they are advised to maintain a safe distance and inform An Garda Síochána, " he added.


theirishtimes--2020-09-30--Reform group backs measures to tackle ‘paracetemol injury’ payouts

The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed a new report from the Law Reform Commission about legislation that would put a cap on personal injury insurance claims .
The guidelines being prepared by the Judicial Council will eventually replace the Book of Quantum , which is produced by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board , and to which judges currently have to have regard when deciding on general damages .
The new system is likely to continue to involve a cap on personal injury awards of €500,000 for the most catastrophic of cases - a figure that can be exceeded if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a move .
The report was timely , the alliance ’ s director Peter Boland told RTÉ radio ’ s Morning Ireland , as the country was in the middle of an insurance crisis .
Personal injury pay-outs in Ireland are 4.4 times higher than in the UK , he added .
The problem was with “ paracetamol injuries ” which included bruising that were receiving payments of €20,000 .
He said such pay-outs were not sustainable and the country could not afford to continue paying out such money for minor injuries .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Commission could take - via the judiciary or the Oireachtas , he said .
There was a Plan B , the Oireachtas could legislate for change along the lines of the specific model outlined by the Law Reform Commission .
Plan B was there if the judiciary “ does not step up to the plate ” , he said .
The report was “ very good news for policyholders ” said Mr Boland .
In a recent Supreme Court decision in the case of the Ruth Morrissey , who died earlier this year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cancer , the court confirmed that the cap should be €500,000 , an increase of €50,000 on the previously generally recognised figure .
The awards for general damages for less that catastrophic injuries are set by the courts using previous court rulings that address how proportionality should be determined , while taking into account the €500,000 “ cap ” .
The new report , published on Wednesday , Capping Damages in Personal Injuries Cases , examines four types of legislative model for capping damages , including one introduced by Fine Gael senator Anthony @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a private members ’ bill .
The commission decided that the model outlined in the Civil Liability ( Capping of General Damages ) Bill 2019 , might be open to constitutional challenge because of the role it would assign to the minister in the capping of damages awards .
It also decided that a model involving a mandatory cap being set by the Oireachtas by way of legislation , would be at risk of constitutional challenge .
A fourth model examined , which involved a mix of Australian and English law , would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ challenge , the commission decided .
The report says it would be appropriate that the new proposed regime centred on the Judicial Council Act 2019 should be given time to be applied in practice .

The guidelines being prepared by the Judicial Council will eventually replace the Book of Quantum, which is produced by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board.
The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed a new report from the Law Reform Commission about legislation that would put a cap on personal injury insurance claims.
The guidelines being prepared by the Judicial Council will eventually replace the Book of Quantum, which is produced by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, and to which judges currently have to have regard when deciding on general damages.
The new system is likely to continue to involve a cap on personal injury awards of €500,000 for the most catastrophic of cases - a figure that can be exceeded if a court believes exceptional circumstances justify such a move.
The report was timely, the alliance's director Peter Boland told RTÉ radio's Morning Ireland, as the country was in the middle of an insurance crisis. Personal injury pay-outs in Ireland are 4.4 times higher than in the UK, he added.
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The problem was with “paracetamol injuries” which included bruising that were receiving payments of €20,000. He said such pay-outs were not sustainable and the country could not afford to continue paying out such money for minor injuries.
There were two routes the Law Reform Commission could take - via the judiciary or the Oireachtas, he said. There was a Plan B, the Oireachtas could legislate for change along the lines of the specific model outlined by the Law Reform Commission.
Plan B was there if the judiciary “does not step up to the plate”, he said.
The report was “very good news for policyholders” said Mr Boland.
In a recent Supreme Court decision in the case of the Ruth Morrissey, who died earlier this year at the age of 39 from cervical cancer, the court confirmed that the cap should be €500,000, an increase of €50,000 on the previously generally recognised figure.
The awards for general damages for less that catastrophic injuries are set by the courts using previous court rulings that address how proportionality should be determined, while taking into account the €500,000 “cap”.
The new report, published on Wednesday, Capping Damages in Personal Injuries Cases, examines four types of legislative model for capping damages, including one introduced by Fine Gael senator Anthony Lawless in 2019, by way of a private members' bill.
The commission decided that the model outlined in the Civil Liability (Capping of General Damages) Bill 2019, might be open to constitutional challenge because of the role it would assign to the minister in the capping of damages awards.
It also decided that a model involving a mandatory cap being set by the Oireachtas by way of legislation, would be at risk of constitutional challenge.
A fourth model examined, which involved a mix of Australian and English law, would probably be able to resist a constitutional challenge, the commission decided.
The report says it would be appropriate that the new proposed regime centred on the Judicial Council Act 2019 should be given time to be applied in practice.


theirishtimes--2020-09-30--Forensic exam to be carried out to establish cause of fire at former Cork convent

Garda technical experts will on Wednesday carry out a forensic examination to try and establish the cause of a fire which badly gutted a former convent in Skibbereen , west Cork .
The blaze at the former Convent of Mercy site overlooking North Street and Cork Road broke out about 4pm yesterday and three units of Cork County Fire Service from Skibbereen , Schull and Bantry quickly responded .
Some 25 firefighters from the three west Cork units were joined by firefighters from Midleton in east Cork , equipped with a hydraulic aerial platform which they used to bring the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ building .
However , the roof of the 140-year-old former convent , which has been derelict for over 15 years , was destroyed in the fire which sent a large plume of grey smoke spiralling over Skibbereen town Tuesday afternoon .
Late last night , firefighters were continuing to damp down the building , assisted by some heavy rain , after they spent over six hours battling to bring the fire under control at the former convent .
By 10.30pm , Cork County Fire Service was reporting that the fire had been substantially @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scene , damping down hotspots while working to make the building safe .
Some eight elderly residents of nearby flatlets had earlier been evacuated from their homes and two were taken to hospital as a precautionary measure while the remainder were put up in the West Cork Hotel for the night .
Local Fine Gael Cllr Karen Coakley , a past pupil of Mercy Heights School primary school located on the grounds of the convent , said people in Skibbereen were devastated to see the former convent destroyed .
“ The feeling in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our beautiful Convent burnt .
The fire brigade are still there battling on but sadly this beautiful landmark is gutted , ” said Cllr Coakley in a tweet late last night .
“ It was an iconic building .
Tonight we think of the beautiful craftsmanship , time and labour that went in to this beautiful building which can never be replaced , ” said Cllr Coakley who paid tribute to all in the emergency services .
The Sisters of Mercy , who arrived in Skibbereen in 1860 to set up a community @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their connections with the town in 2004 and the former convent grew increasingly neglected and derelict in recent years .

The blaze broke out at the former Sisters of Mercy convent on Cork Road in Skibbereen around 4pm and units of Cork County Fire Service from Skibbereen, Schull and Bantry were sent to tackle the blaze. Video: Barry Roche
Garda technical experts will on Wednesday carry out a forensic examination to try and establish the cause of a fire which badly gutted a former convent in Skibbereen, west Cork.
The blaze at the former Convent of Mercy site overlooking North Street and Cork Road broke out about 4pm yesterday and three units of Cork County Fire Service from Skibbereen, Schull and Bantry quickly responded.
Some 25 firefighters from the three west Cork units were joined by firefighters from Midleton in east Cork, equipped with a hydraulic aerial platform which they used to bring the blaze under control and dampen down the building.
However, the roof of the 140-year-old former convent, which has been derelict for over 15 years, was destroyed in the fire which sent a large plume of grey smoke spiralling over Skibbereen town Tuesday afternoon.
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Late last night, firefighters were continuing to damp down the building, assisted by some heavy rain, after they spent over six hours battling to bring the fire under control at the former convent.
By 10.30pm, Cork County Fire Service was reporting that the fire had been substantially extinguished but fire crews remained at the scene, damping down hotspots while working to make the building safe.
Some eight elderly residents of nearby flatlets had earlier been evacuated from their homes and two were taken to hospital as a precautionary measure while the remainder were put up in the West Cork Hotel for the night.
Local Fine Gael Cllr Karen Coakley, a past pupil of Mercy Heights School primary school located on the grounds of the convent, said people in Skibbereen were devastated to see the former convent destroyed.
“The feeling in Skibbereen tonight is absolute devastation to see our beautiful Convent burnt. The fire brigade are still there battling on but sadly this beautiful landmark is gutted,” said Cllr Coakley in a tweet late last night.
“It was an iconic building. Tonight we think of the beautiful craftsmanship, time and labour that went in to this beautiful building which can never be replaced,” said Cllr Coakley who paid tribute to all in the emergency services.
The Sisters of Mercy, who arrived in Skibbereen in 1860 to set up a community at the eight acre site, severed their connections with the town in 2004 and the former convent grew increasingly neglected and derelict in recent years.


theirishtimes--2020-09-30--Three men charged with attempted murder in Lucan

Three men have been remanded in custody after they were charged with attempted murder in connection with a shooting in Dublin .
They were arrested on Tuesday night in an operation by gardai investigating a non-fatal gun attack last year on 42-year-old Wayne Whelan , from Lucan , Co Dublin .
One of the men was taken to Lucan Garda station while the other two were brought to Ronanstown Garda station .
They appeared before Judge Alan Mitchell at Blanchardstown District Court on Wednesday .
Darren Henderson ( 30 ) , of Cleggan Avenue , Ballyfermot , Dublin ; Cailean @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Terrace , Ballyfermot ; and Charles McClean ( 32 ) , of St Mark ’ s Grove , Clondalkin , Dublin face the same two charges .
They are accused of attempted murder of Mr Whelan at Griffeen Glen Park , in Lucan , on September 4th , 2019 , and committing arson of a Ford Focus which was allegedly set on fire at the Old Bog Road , Kilcock , Co Kildare on the same date .
Detective Sergeant Ronan Dunne told the court that Mr Henderson was arrested at his home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In reply to both charges , he replied , ‘ no comment ’ , ” Det Sgt Dunne told the court .
Det Sgt Dunne said Mr Crawford made no reply when he was charged at Lucan Garda station at 1.43am .
Detective Sergeant John Cosgrove told the court Mr McClean was arrested on Tuesday night at his home address .
After he was charged and cautioned , he replied , “ no comment ” .
Judge Mitchell remanded the men in custody to appear via video-link at Cloverhill District Court on October @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The district court can not consider a bail application in an attempted murder case .

Garda at the scene of the shooting at Griffeen Glen Park, Lucan last year. Photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos
Three men have been remanded in custody after they were charged with attempted murder in connection with a shooting in Dublin.
They were arrested on Tuesday night in an operation by gardai investigating a non-fatal gun attack last year on 42-year-old Wayne Whelan, from Lucan, Co Dublin.
One of the men was taken to Lucan Garda station while the other two were brought to Ronanstown Garda station.
They appeared before Judge Alan Mitchell at Blanchardstown District Court on Wednesday.
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Darren Henderson (30), of Cleggan Avenue, Ballyfermot, Dublin; Cailean Crawford (24), from Clifden Terrace, Ballyfermot; and Charles McClean (32) , of St Mark’s Grove, Clondalkin, Dublin face the same two charges.
They are accused of attempted murder of Mr Whelan at Griffeen Glen Park, in Lucan, on September 4th, 2019, and committing arson of a Ford Focus which was allegedly set on fire at the Old Bog Road, Kilcock, Co Kildare on the same date.
Detective Sergeant Ronan Dunne told the court that Mr Henderson was arrested at his home address at 11.23pm on Tuesday.
“In reply to both charges, he replied, ‘no comment’,” Det Sgt Dunne told the court.
Det Sgt Dunne said Mr Crawford made no reply when he was charged at Lucan Garda station at 1.43am.
Detective Sergeant John Cosgrove told the court Mr McClean was arrested on Tuesday night at his home address. After he was charged and cautioned, he replied, “no comment”.
Judge Mitchell remanded the men in custody to appear via video-link at Cloverhill District Court on October 6th.
The judge granted legal aid. The district court cannot consider a bail application in an attempted murder case.