Latest news with #FranVeale
Extra.ie
2 days ago
- General
- Extra.ie
Heartache as family forced to give up beloved dog to get a home
The number of Irish families forced to give up dogs due to a lack of pet-friendly rental accommodation has more than doubled in the past five years, Dogs Trust has said. The charity said it is currently looking for the right home for Toby, a 12-year-old spaniel, who was surrendered to Dogs Trust despite his family searching for a rental home for eight months. Dogs Trust said Toby was not an isolated case. Last year, the charity received an average of more than one request per day from families needing to give up their dog because they were unable to find a pet-friendly rental. The charity said it is currently looking for the right home for Toby, a 12-year-old spaniel, who was surrendered to Dogs Trust despite his family searching for a rental home for eight months. Pic: Fran Veale These types of requests have increased by 112% since 2020. A spokesman said: 'One of the most heartbreaking victims of this rental crisis is Toby, who was adopted from Dogs Trust in 2012. 'When his family's landlord decided to sell the property they were living in, Toby's family began looking for suitable accommodation right away. Despite months of searching, they couldn't find anywhere that would accept Toby.' Toby's previous owner said: 'Giving up Toby was one of the hardest things we've ever had to do. He was the family dog and had grown up alongside our kids. He was part of every memory and every milestone, and it's been very tough on them. 'When we faced the reality of homelessness, we had no choice. It felt like we were being forced to give up a member of our family.' Dogs Trust has launched a petition to urge the Government to change the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 and stop allowing blanket bans on pets in tenancy agreements. Visit
Extra.ie
11-07-2025
- Extra.ie
Child dies while swimming in River Suir
A young girl has died in a drowning incident in County Tipperary It's believed the child got into difficulty while swimming in the River Suir in Newcastle shortly after 4pm this afternoon (Friday). Its understood the 12 year old was swimming with a group of friends when the incident occured. Emergency services were called and the National Ambulance Service, and the Fire Services Swift Water Rescue Team from Clonmel responded to the scene but the girl was found to be unresponsive. The Irish Coast Guard CHC Rescue Helicopter 117 – Photograph: ©Fran Veale Rescue Helicopter 117 airlifted the child to Cork University Hospital in a serious condition but she passed away a short time later. A file is being prepared for the coronors court and the child has not yet been named.
Extra.ie
10-07-2025
- Health
- Extra.ie
Crèche and canteen shut at RTÉ as rodent droppings found
RTÉ's crèche was ordered to close its kitchen and canteen due to a 'significant number of rodent droppings'. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) reported yesterday that eight closure orders were issued last month. Among these was Wee Care Limited at Donnybrook, a facility provided by RTÉ that cares for children of staff working at the broadcaster. An inspection by the FSAI on June 25 found the kitchen on the premises had failed to comply with the provisions of EC Regulation on the Hygiene of Foodstuffs. Pic: Shutterstock Following this, the crèche was ordered by the FSAI to close its kitchen and the canteen used by staff on the premises due to what the inspector called 'a grave and immediate danger to food safety due to rodent activity'. The inspection found that droppings were present on the floor behind and under two fridges, a freezer and an oven. It also discovered more droppings behind and underneath a fridge in a canteen area. The inspector wrote that 'a lack of cleaning is evident in the premises', saying: 'Rodent droppings have not been cleaned up and the affected areas have not been disinfected.' The inspection further found that 'adequate procedures are not in place to control pests in the premises'. The national broadcaster has spent €5,400 on pest checks and inspections over the past 12 months in its sprawling Dublin 4 complex. Pic: Fran Veale The closure order was lifted two days later after pest control was contacted to address the problems found in the initial inspection. A staff member at RTÉ told 'It shouldn't be too much to ask for our kids to be protected from rat droppings. It should be the bare minimum.' They went on to say the broadcaster needs to take responsibility, saying they 'should be doing more to reassure us as parents instead of washing their hands of it and point the finger at the contractors who run it'. The inspector who visited the crèche warned that 'rodents can transmit harmful pathogens to foodstuffs, food contact surfaces, equipment and packaging through droppings and urine'. The closure comes during an ongoing battle against rodents at RTÉ headquarters. Pic: Getty Images It was reported in early June that RTÉ had spent €5,400 on checks and inspections over the past year to ensure the campus was vermin-free. Last December, it came to light that after the sighting of a mouse at the Wee Care crèche, extermination services had been called to deal with the issue. This process proved unsuccessful after it was reported in February that mouse droppings had been found in the kitchen of the crèche. That same day, a dead mouse was removed from the second floor of the main RTÉ building. This was followed by reports of rats and mice sighted in the main canteen, the wardrobe department and on the set of Fair City. Two Radar mouse traps were bought as a precaution, and RTÉ later said that it had an ongoing contract for areas where rodent activity was suspected. FSAI chief Greg Dempsey said: 'Food safety isn't optional, it's essential. Non-compliance with food law is not tolerated.' Closure orders were issued to Doolin Ice Cream in Co. Clare, All Bar Chicken in Coolock, Co. Dublin, and Il Vicolo in Galway.
Extra.ie
08-07-2025
- Extra.ie
Chef slashed with knife and restaurant petrol-bombed in suspected racist attack
A chef was slashed with a knife, and the Somali restaurant where he worked was petrol-bombed in a suspected racist attack. The trouble began outside the Marka Cadey restaurant on North Frederick Street in Dublin's north inner city on Friday evening. The first incident occurred shortly after the end of a far-right protest in the capital. Chef Mukhtar Yaamat said he heard a commotion outside the premises at around 5 pm, which led to a man running inside the restaurant for shelter. When he went to investigate, he saw a group of men fighting. Chef Mukhtar Yaamat shows the stab wound to his head. Pic: Fran Veale Mr Yaamat described how the man was trying to flee inside the restaurant, away from a group of young teenagers who were trying to attack him. Videos show the group confronting the restaurant owners and trying to get them to send the man back outside. When he tried to intervene and calm the situation, the chef was sliced across the forehead, suffering a minor injury. However, he believes that had he not tried to move away from the knife, his injuries could have been a lot worse. He told 'I heard these noises, like fighting outside, so I went to see what was happening. Then there were guys trying to come into the restaurant. One had a big knife. I tried to move back but he hit me here [his forehead]. I know I am lucky. But I am here, and I am working as a chef. All I want is peace. I don't want any of this.' The Marka Cadey restaurant on North Frederick Street in Dublin's north inner city. Pic: Fran Veale After he was injured, Mr Yaamat's colleague took over from him for the rest of the shift. Those involved in the initial fight said they would be back to burn out the restaurant. Abdul Ali, restaurant manager, said the teenagers involved in the fight said in front of gardaí they were going to set fire to the restaurant. He told 'They said they are coming back and they will set the place on fire. That is what they said. They said this in front of the garda. So, I say to the gardaí, 'What should we do?' and he said that if they come back to call 999. That's it. 'They came back with the petrol and set it on fire. It is dangerous here. We need gardaí here. This whole area needs gardaí here 24 hours a day. There is so much drug dealing as well. We need it to stop.' Abdalah Hassan Ibrahim, who works as a chef at the restaurant. Pic: Fran Veale When the chef who took over from Mr Yaamat – Abdalah Hassan Ibrahim – went to the front of the restaurant after the petrol bomb incident, his jacket caught fire. Showing his injuries to yesterday, he said he was lucky to be alive. Speaking through a friend who interpreted, he said: 'It all caught fire, my face is injured and my arm is burned. I am lucky.' Manager Mr Ali added: 'He's lucky to be alive, he really is. These people have a problem with some guys and someone came inside and they want to bring them outside. But if you bring them outside, they will kill them. So, we try to calm down the situation.' Mr Ali added that the teenagers, who are all under 18, do not care about the gardaí because they are all underage. Asked if he believed the petrol bomb was a result of racism, he said: 'Yes, that's the main reason.' The chefs, as well as the eatery owners, said their restaurant is always very busy and is a meeting place for many members of the Somali community in Dublin. When visited, customers came and went, with many coming to see if their friends were okay after the attack. Mr Ali said the incident could have been a lot worse, considering how close the fire was to the main gas feed for the restaurant. 'If the fire went there, the whole street was gone,' he said. 'It was so close to going up. It was crazy. We just want to run our business.' Gardaí told 'Gardaí responded to a report of a public order incident on Hardwicke Street, Dublin 1, shortly after 5pm [on] Friday, July 4. A male, aged in his 40s, was observed with a non-life-threatening injury but did not require immediate medical attention.' 'Separately, An Garda Síochána said they are investigating an incident of criminal damage as a result of a fire that occurred at a premises on Frederick Street North, Dublin 1, shortly after 11.30pm on Friday, July 4. A male, aged in his 50s, was brought to hospital by gardaí as a precaution,' they said. 'Investigations are ongoing.'
Extra.ie
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Extra.ie
Arbour Hill Prison 'should be closed' -- but 'suitable replacement' needed
The closure of the country's main prison for housing sex offenders has been recommended as a top priority by a group set up to advise the Government on future prison capacity needs. A report by the group has called for the decommissioning of the prison at Arbour Hill in Dublin – which currently houses around 135 long-term prisoners – over the coming decade, although it accepted that it would require 'a suitable replacement facility'. It has also recommended that priority should also be given to returning Mountjoy Prison to single-cell occupancy, which would require around 210 prisoners currently housed in shared cells to be accommodated elsewhere. Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan. Pic: Fran Veale Given problems with overcrowding across the country's prison network, the group urged Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan and the Government to urgently explore opportunities to accelerate existing plans for large-scale capital projects and recommended fast-tracking such developments by seeking exemptions from normal funding time scales. It said consideration should be given to prioritising further development of Portlaoise Prison, as well as the proposed expansion of the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise. The report by the Future Prison Capacity Working Group noted that there was potential for new prison facilities at Thornton Hall in north Dublin and the redevelopment of the old Cork Prison site. On Arbour Hill, the report said that despite its drug-free status and low level of assaults, the age of the prison and the fact that the majority of its buildings are protected structures meant the possibilities for future development were 'extremely limited'. Arbour Hill Prison. Pic: Google Street View It noted that the prison has a mix of single and double occupancy cells, and although in-cell toilet facilities have been provided, they are not partitioned. The report revealed that the country's prisons were operating at 12% above capacity at the start of 2025 despite some 300 extra spaces having been added in recent years. It also observed that the number of assaults on prisoners by other inmates rose by 31% last year against a background of overcrowding in our prisons. Pic: Getty Images The highest number of people ever behind bars in Ireland to date was reached on April 15, 2025, when the prison population was recorded at 5,394, including 276 women. The official prison capacity at the end of 2024 was 4,531, while it is estimated that the prison population will likely exceed 6,000 by 2035. The report observed that some of the worst overcrowding is in the two female prisons, with the Dóchas Centre in Mountjoy operating at 32% above capacity. However, the female prison in Limerick is the most overcrowded facility in the network, at 48% above capacity. For that reason, the group recommended that consideration be given to increasing capacity at the two female prisons, together with tailored initiatives to support women in the community. The report acknowledged that overcrowding in prisons poses a variety or risks, including increased violence and assaults on staff and other prisoners and higher levels of contraband, as well as unstructured early releases. It said that the Irish Prison Service's (IPS) current capital plan had the potential to accommodate 1,100 additional prisoners between 2024 and 2030 if fully funded, with 230 expected to be available by the end of the current year. If fully implemented, it means the prison system will have the capacity for 5,614 prisoners by 2030 if all existing prisons remain in use. The group has also called for a pilot project to examine the possibility of housing being built on existing prison lands or close to prisons given the very significant challenges identified by released prisoners finding accommodation and the related impact on recidivism levels. Other recommendations include a call for further consideration to be given to the potential requirement for an additional remand facility given the numbers on remand have been rising at a faster rate than the general prison population and the limited capacity to increase numbers at the main remand facility, at Cloverhill Prison in Dublin. The group also proposed the establishment of a dedicated medical unit in Mountjoy, as well as examining the potential of the Dublin facility to pilot a day prison model. While the report acknowledged that work was already under way to create additional facilities for elderly prisoners and those with additional medical care needs, the group said it held the strong view that some prisoners should not be kept in a prison environment and should be moved to appropriate community facilities. Figures show the annual cost of housing a prisoner was just over €99,000 last year, with each additional 100 prisoners estimated at approximately €10million annually. The working group was established in July 2024 by former justice minister Helen McEntee to examine the infrastructural needs of Ireland's prison system out to 2035. While the report said it was 'notoriously difficult' to predict the size of prison populations, it noted that an increase in violent and drug-related crimes meant more prisoners require addiction and mental health support with the need for cross-departmental approaches to address such challenges. It stressed that putting people in prison is an expensive option and alternatives exist which are 'both more cost-effective and provide better and more sustainable outcomes'.
