Latest news with #KevinWinters
BreakingNews.ie
17-07-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Whistleblower welcomes call to have debate over defective gun holsters
A former garda who made protected disclosures about alleged defective gun holsters previously worn by armed officers, has welcomed a call by a senator to have an urgent debate in parliament about the 'grave issues'. Speaking through his solicitor Kevin Winters, the former garda said he is 'greatly encouraged' by Senator Michael McDowell's call to have the issues brought into the public domain. Advertisement The former garda, who is not yet being named, is also taking High Court action against his former employers. Issues around defective gun holsters have been previously raised in the Dáil. Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan said in March that he met the family of murdered garda Det Garda Colm Horkan. The 49-year-old, who was originally from Charlestown, was murdered while on duty in 2020. Advertisement He was shot several times with his own gun on June 17th, 2020 in Castlerea, Co Roscommon. In an separate incident, the Dail heard about an accidental discharge of an officially issued garda firearm that occurred outside the Israeli Embassy on June 11 2020, just under a week before Mr Horkan's death. The discharge resulted in life-changing injuries to the garda. Labour TD Alan Kelly said forensic experts attached to the Garda National Technical Bureau (GNTB) discovered that the holster could engage the trigger and 'fire the weapon of its own accord'. Advertisement Michael McDowell criticised the 'gross mistreatment' of gardaí who have been affected by the issues surrounding defective holsters (Brian Lawless/PA) On Thursday, Mr McDowell called for a full debate on 'certain grave issues' relating to the armoury section of An Garda Síochána, as well as the 'misuse' of protected disclosures and issues concerning the procurement of defective ammunition. In a statement, a spokesman for KRW Law, which acts for the former garda officer who is also before the court charged in connection with a separate criminal matter, said their client will fully contest the charges. 'Earlier this year, he issued a High Court plenary summons against his former employers seeking damages for the loss, distress and anxiety he's been subjected to over the past few years,' the statement added. 'He is greatly encouraged today following the call made by Senator Michael McDowell SC in the Seanad for these thematically linked issues to be brought into the public domain.' Advertisement Human rights solicitor Kevin Winters said: 'We fully endorse Senator McDowell's call for increased scrutiny on serious issues around gardaí irregularities. 'We have spoken with our client this morning following the comments made and we are pleased to report he is greatly encouraged with what he's heard. 'It had been a lonely and difficult journey for him to get to this point. 'He's been ostracised and vilified for taking a firm stand on what he sees as serious wrongdoing. Advertisement 'It means an awful lot to him to hear someone of the stature of Senator McDowell refer to him as an officer of 'the utmost good character … facing charges which appear to be motivated by a desire to conceal abuses in the armoury section'. 'Following today's significant call by the senator we now call upon the DPP (Director of Public Prosecution) to review its decision to persist with the indictment against our client. 'Using the criminal justice system to try and silence an honest gardaí officer is not a good look. We wholeheartedly endorse this morning's call for our client's case to be brought into the public domain together with an urgent debate later in September.' On Thursday, Mr McDowell criticised the 'gross mistreatment' of gardaí who have been affected by the issues surrounding defective holsters. He told the Seanad: 'There is clear evidence that criminal and disciplinary processes have been launched to conceal major misfeasance and shortcomings in the management of the garda armoury. 'A senior garda officer of the utmost integrity has been sidelined for his part in raising these matters. A junior member of An Garda Síochána of the utmost good character is facing criminal charges on indictment which appear to be motivated by a desire to conceal abuses in the armoury section. 'Senior management in An Garda Siochana is aware of all these matters. 'Anyone who thinks that the culture in An Garda Síochána has been transformed by the outcome of the Disclosures Tribunal concerning Sgt Maurice McCabe is, I fear, gravely mistaken. I am shocked by what I have learned. 'These matters need to be brought into the public domain and an urgent debate is required when this House resumes in September.' An Garda Síochána has been contacted for comment.
The Irish Sun
14-07-2025
- The Irish Sun
Tuam baby scandal ‘clearly points to criminality', says top lawyer in new call for Garda probe as excavation dig begins
INVESTIGATORS have been urged to treat the Tuam baby scandal as a 'criminal investigation', it has emerged. Leading human rights lawyer Kevin Winters - who represents campaigner Advertisement 2 Leading human rights lawyer Kevin Winters has raised concerns of 'criminality' at the site Credit: Alamy Mr Winters made the claim as excavation work at the former mother and baby home in Tuam, Co The project started 11 years after historian The Mr Winters said: 'We wrote to Gardai including local Gardai at Tuam urging them to treat the scandal as a criminal investigation. Advertisement Read more in Irish News 'Despite repeated requests from both Annie and ourselves they failed to assign Gardai Pulse investigation numbers until last month when she received confirmation they would issue. 'There could have been various forms of criminality at this site and with the advances in 'The industrial volumes of buried infants and the manner in which they met their fate clearly points to criminality. 'It will be momentous to see the assignment of PULSE record numbers as that crystallises formal criminal investigation status upon this historical human rights debacle.' Advertisement Most read in The Irish Sun Latest Mr Winters added: 'Equally important is the requirement that the Coroner in Galway upscales intervention after opening the case as far back as 2017. 'There needs to be an inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death of Annie's siblings and all other unexplained deaths. Tuam mother and baby home: Catherine Corless's research revealed that 796 children died at St Mary's in Galway 'There was a suffocating toxicity about the historic Irish State-Catholic Ms Corrigan, whose brothers William and John died at the home, is also taking a civil case against the Bon Secours Sisters and other agencies of the State. Advertisement 'WON'T REST UNTIL JUSTICE' She described today's development as 'both welcome and difficult', adding: 'Whilst it's a relief to see work started on the site it's really only the latest stage in what is still a long road for all of us.' 'What happened at Tuam was criminal so there needs to be both Church and State accountability. 'I won't rest until I see justice for my two brothers who not only need a proper Christian burial but also the full rigours of the law, both domestic and international, applied.' We asked the Gardai for a comment on the claims but no one was available. Advertisement 2 There are no burial records for the almost 800 babies and infants who died at the home Credit: AFP - Getty
Scoop
28-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Regional Ratepayers To Fund $3.58m Loan For Tarawera Sewerage Scheme
Wednesday, 28 May 2025, 8:05 pm Article: Laura Smith - Local Democracy Reporter Bay of Plenty regional ratepayers are set to fund a $3.58 million loan towards Rotorua's controversial Tarawera Sewerage Scheme. The decision comes as Rotorua Lakes Council prepares to deliberate today on how to split costs of the $32.3m scheme between general Rotorua ratepayers, Tarawera property owners and other funders. Tarawera households currently face a lump sum cost of $50,315 each to connect to the reticulation scheme, which replaces septic tanks. The cost would rise to $55,601 for those who do not agree to on-site work on their properties by June 1. Bay of Plenty regional ratepayers are set to fund a $3.58 million loan towards Rotorua's controversial Tarawera Sewerage Scheme. The decision comes as Rotorua Lakes Council prepares to deliberate today on how to split costs of the $32.3m scheme between general Rotorua ratepayers, Tarawera property owners and other funders. Tarawera households currently face a lump sum cost of $50,315 each to connect to the reticulation scheme, which replaces septic tanks. The cost would rise to $55,601 for those who do not agree to on-site work on their properties by June 1. A report in the meeting's agenda said the loan would not necessarily reduce Lake Tarawera residents' lump sum contribution, but could 'give RLC an opportunity to reduce its interest costs and the targeted rate payable'. Making the loan interest-free would result in BOPRC forgoing about $150,000 per annum, or about $1.30 per ratepayer. Regional councillor Kevin Winters said the decision showed the council was helping Tarawera residents, while also signalling it wanted them to sign off work on their properties so stage two of the scheme could be implemented 'en masse'. He acknowledged it was not a grant as had been requested by RLC. BOPRC's chief executive could potentially further negotiate conditions, such as capping Tarawera households' costs. Councillor Jane Nees supported this cap being the $36,600 some Tarawera residents sought. Councillor Lyall Thurston said BOPRC wanted to see 'some finality to this ongoing saga at Tarawera', and hoped the decision would be well received by RLC. He said he understood some colleagues held concerns and apprehensions. Councillor Ken Shirley said spreading the cost among regional ratepayers was a 'slippery slope' in what other councils might expect in future, but he believed schemes should be considered on their own merits. The regional council also voted to have an independent review of the scheme funding and project management completed by the councils prior to loan drawdown. It came after Tarawera resident Tracey McLeod raised potential issues with the stated costs and funding of this and other sewerage schemes. She presented at a prior regional council meeting and emailed both councils the results of her investigation on Friday. Thurston said in Monday's meeting that McLeod had gone to 'great lengths to emphasise that costs have been overstated in the scheme' and there were calls for an inquiry and audit. He believed there could be pushback from both councils on that, but believed some of the 'figures bandied around need to be analysed very closely'. 'I'm starting to get totally confused with the size and the quantum of the figures that members of the community say are grossly inflated, overstated and quite frankly, I want to know what the real story is.' He said the figures in question had been circulating in the public domain for a long time and needed to be challenged, acknowledged and this issue 'put to rest once and for all'. BOPRC chairman Doug Leeder agreed some 'forensic analysis' was needed to either validate or reject what was claimed. RLC infrastructure and assets group manager Stavros Michael told Local Democracy Reporting the council was aware BOPRC was working on a response to McLeod's claims about the Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes programmes deed funding, which BOPRC administered. He said the Tarawera Sewerage Scheme is not part of those programmes and had its own funding plan. RLC would be considering the scheme's costs and funding as part of the 2025/26 Annual Plan. RLC councillors will meet today to begin Annual Plan deliberations. Funding options for Tarawera the council consulted the community about included retaining the status quo, or reducing Tarawera households' contribution by $1m or $4m and splitting it among general Rotorua ratepayers instead. Of 344 public submissions on the matter, 232 wanted the $4m taken off Tarawera households. © Scoop Media
Scoop
24-05-2025
- General
- Scoop
How Rotorua's Air Pollution Transformation Defied Expectations
At its worst, Rotorua had the worst winter air pollution in the country. Now, in a feat some did not think possible, as of today its airshed has officially lost that polluted status. It is a 'significant day', showing how far things have come in the 20 years the airshed has been in place. Estimated early deaths caused by air pollution halved in a decade, as millions of dollars were loaned to replace thousands of old, smoky fireplaces with cleaner heating. The city's continued high reliance on wood burners, however, may create a challenge if air quality standards tighten as expected. The Rotorua airshed was first gazetted in 2005 to enable monitoring and introduce rules to help improve air quality amid pollution concerns. The Bay of Plenty Regional Council is required to monitor air quality and manage pollution to national standards. These include for PM10 – small particulate matter, such as in smoke, which can be inhaled. If the airshed of a geographical area exceeds the national standard limit for PM10 more than once a year in a five-year period, it is labelled polluted. As of today, Rotorua's air quality has improved enough to lose that designation. Regional councillor Kevin Winters was mayor when the Rotorua Lakes Council adopted the Rotorua Air Quality Control Bylaw in 2010. It introduced rules to phase out the use of old and inefficient solid-fuel burners in homes and ban open fires indoors. Winters said the bylaw decision was not unanimous, and some said Rotorua could never lose that polluted label. 'It was very controversial.' A drive around areas such as Western Heights, Pukehangi and Fordlands convinced Winters to support it. 'It was like walking into a room of smokers. It was choking.' He viewed the past 15 years of work as a good example of collaboration between councils. He called Saturday's milestone a 'significant day'. Over the years, various measures were introduced to combat winter air-quality issues. Loans and grants were given for cleaner heating, an education campaign was launched, and compliance efforts were strengthened. About 400 grants worth a total of $735,000 were approved for insulation and to replace heating and remove solid burners since 2014. Grants are still available under the criteria. Between 2010 and 2021, about $11 million was lent to help residents buy cleaner heating options and insulation, funded by general and targeted rates. The latter ended a few years ago. A regional council spokesperson said the airshed introduction enabled it to start gathering 'real data' to understand the air pollution in Rotorua. 'It was the monitoring that followed that confirmed Rotorua had a winter-time air quality issue'. The Rotorua Air Quality Action Plan was introduced in 2008, a year that recorded 37 exceedances. The bylaws followed in 2010, then in 2020, Plan Change 13 (Air Quality) banned using all non-complying solid burners. In recent years, it has used an $8270 infrared camera to detect properties using illegal burners. Going forward, however, the change in Rotorua's pollution status could be up in the air, with new standards forecast. The spokesperson said research increasingly highlighted the ongoing negative health impacts associated with poor air quality. 'New rules focusing on even smaller particles [PM2.5] are also on the horizon, which will shift the goal posts further out.' This could prove a challenge for Rotorua, which still had high levels of wood burning for heating. Wood smoke particles are about 90% PM2.5. In a report, senior planner Elsa Weir said intervention would be needed to meet potential new targets for both PM10 and PM2.5. The council was waiting on government direction as to when the standards would be updated. It expected this to be after resource management system changes and not within the current Government's term. The regional council's other Rotorua councillor, Lyall Thurston, said while the airshed milestone marked 'significant progress', there was still work to do. He said collective change made an impact 'for the betterment of all Rotorua residents and visitors'. Thurston acknowledged other Rotorua Air Quality Working Group members, including Rotorua Lakes Council, Kāinga Ora and medical officers of health. Toi Te Ora Public Health Medical Officer of Health Dr Gregory Evans in 2023 told district councillors that air pollution affected people of all ages, but some were more vulnerable. Short-term examples included exacerbating asthma. Longer term, accumulated exposure could cause cardiovascular disease, and some of the pollutants were known carcinogens. A study released in 2022 found that air pollution generated by humans in 2016 resulted in 3300 premature adult deaths in New Zealand. He said estimates based on that study's health effects model found there were 40 early adult deaths in the Rotorua airshed in 2009 as a result of domestic fire-produced air pollution. The estimate for 2022 was 19. The number of years of lives lost reduced from 596 to 246, while restricted activity days were down from 53,000 to 20,000. The annual social cost of domestic fires had decreased from an estimated $190.9 million to $78.7m.
NZ Herald
23-05-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
Rotorua airshed loses its polluted status
Estimated early deaths caused by air pollution halved in a decade, as millions of dollars were loaned to replace thousands of old, smoky fireplaces with cleaner heating. The city's continued high reliance on wood burners, however, may create a challenge if air quality standards tighten as expected. The Rotorua airshed was first gazetted in 2005 to enable monitoring and introduce rules to help improve air quality amid pollution concerns. The Bay of Plenty Regional Council is required to monitor air quality and manage pollution to national standards. These include for PM10 – small particulate matter, such as in smoke, which can be inhaled. If the airshed of a geographical area exceeds the national standard limit for PM10 more than once a year in a five-year period, it is labelled polluted. As of today, Rotorua's air quality has improved enough to lose that designation. Regional councillor Kevin Winters was mayor when the Rotorua Lakes Council adopted the Rotorua Air Quality Control Bylaw in 2010. It introduced rules to phase out the use of old and inefficient solid-fuel burners in homes and ban open fires indoors. Winters said the bylaw decision was not unanimous, and some said Rotorua could never lose that polluted label. 'It was very controversial.' A drive around areas such as Western Heights, Pukehangi and Fordlands convinced Winters to support it. 'It was like walking into a room of smokers. It was choking.' He viewed the past 15 years of work as a good example of collaboration between councils. He called Saturday's milestone a 'significant day'. Over the years, various measures were introduced to combat winter air-quality issues. Loans and grants were given for cleaner heating, an education campaign was launched, and compliance efforts were strengthened. About 400 grants worth a total of $735,000 were approved for insulation and to replace heating and remove solid burners since 2014. Grants are still available under the criteria. Between 2010 and 2021, about $11 million was lent to help residents buy cleaner heating options and insulation, funded by general and targeted rates. The latter ended a few years ago. A regional council spokesperson said the airshed introduction enabled it to start gathering 'real data' to understand the air pollution in Rotorua. 'It was the monitoring that followed that confirmed Rotorua had a winter-time air quality issue'. The Rotorua Air Quality Action Plan was introduced in 2008, a year that recorded 37 exceedances. The bylaws followed in 2010, then in 2020, Plan Change 13 (Air Quality) banned using all non-complying solid burners. In recent years, it has used an $8270 infrared camera to detect properties using illegal burners. Going forward, however, the change in Rotorua's pollution status could be up in the air, with new standards forecast. The spokesperson said research increasingly highlighted the ongoing negative health impacts associated with poor air quality. 'New rules focusing on even smaller particles [PM2.5] are also on the horizon, which will shift the goal posts further out.' This could prove a challenge for Rotorua, which still had high levels of wood burning for heating. Advertise with NZME. Wood smoke particles are about 90% PM2.5. In a report, senior planner Elsa Weir said intervention would be needed to meet potential new targets for both PM10 and PM2.5. The council was waiting on government direction as to when the standards would be updated. It expected this to be after resource management system changes and not within the current Government's term. The regional council's other Rotorua councillor, Lyall Thurston, said while the airshed milestone marked 'significant progress', there was still work to do. He said collective change made an impact 'for the betterment of all Rotorua residents and visitors'. Thurston acknowledged other Rotorua Air Quality Working Group members, including Rotorua Lakes Council, Kāinga Ora and medical officers of health. Toi Te Ora Public Health Medical Officer of Health Dr Gregory Evans in 2023 told district councillors that air pollution affected people of all ages, but some were more vulnerable. Short-term examples included exacerbating asthma. Longer term, accumulated exposure could cause cardiovascular disease, and some of the pollutants were known carcinogens. A study released in 2022 found that air pollution generated by humans in 2016 resulted in 3300 premature adult deaths in New Zealand. He said estimates based on that study's health effects model found there were 40 early adult deaths in the Rotorua airshed in 2009 as a result of domestic fire-produced air pollution. The estimate for 2022 was 19. The number of years of lives lost reduced from 596 to 246, while restricted activity days were down from 53,000 to 20,000. The annual social cost of domestic fires had decreased from an estimated $190.9 million to $78.7m.
