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The Journal
05-06-2025
- The Journal
Jury told to find garda not guilty on five counts over alleged motor insurance record tampering
LAST UPDATE | 8 mins ago A JURY IN the trial of a Limerick garda accused of 'sorting out' motoring offences for drivers were today directed by the trial judge that they should find him not guilty of some of the charges. Tom Flavin, (51), Rathkeale Garda Station, Co Limerick, should be acquitted of all of the charges as there is no real evidence against him, his barrister, senior counsel, Mark Nicholas, said in his closing speech to the jury today. Flavin went on trial before Limerick Circuit Criminal Court on 27 May accused of 22 counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Today, senior prosecuting counsel, Fiona Murphy, told the jury they were to find Flavin not guilty of five of the charges and that they would consider verdicts on the 17 remaining counts. Flavin, who denies all the charges, is accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice by entering false motor insurance details on the garda PULSE records computer system, in an attempt to frustrate potential prosecutions against persons for driving without insurance. The drivers involved were stopped at routine garda checkpoints around the country and asked by the garda present to produce their insurance and licence details at a nominated garda station within ten days of the traffic stop. All of the drivers asked to do this nominated Rathkeale garda station. Later, when the investigating garda in each of the stops carried out follow up checks of PULSE, they were satisfied that details entered into the system indicated that the driver in each case was insured. However, the court heard the drivers were actually not insured and some were even prosecuted in court afterwards after pleading guilty to driving without insurance at the time they were stopped. In his closing speech to the jury, Nicholas SC, instructed by solicitor Dan O'Gorman, described Flavin as an exemplary garda who had served with dedication in Croom and Rathkeale, Co Limerick, for many years. Urging the jury to acquit Flavin and not fall into the trap of speculation, Nicholas added there was radically insufficient evidence to support a conviction. 'He served his community without blemish and without any disciplinary blots – you know that from the evidence. When other gardaí came to give evidence, his superiors, they spoke of him very fondly and well – it wasn't far off gushing and they spoke with knowledge,' Nicholas told the jury. Advertisement The defence barrister spoke of the 'unique challenges' gardaí face in Rathkeale as opposed to other jurisdictions. 'People who live down here know it has an enormous population, transient, in and out at various times of the year. One policeman said (the population) quadruples and with that comes its own set of problems and own sets of vehicles – UK car registrations, UK insurance, some not insured, some not being entirely truthful.' 'We know that a certain number of times that people who were pulled up and stopped and asked for their documentation, produced bogus insurance certificates.' Nicholas said the charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice is an extraordinarily, serious allegation to make against a serving garda. 'That he (Flavin) must have deliberately, knowing the (insurance) certificate to be false, inputted it into the system with the intention that it would frustrate a prosecution. There has been nothing close to this level of proof in this case whatsoever,' added Nicholas. The court heard evidence of persons providing documents at Rathkeale garda station, however it was unclear who exactly produced what at the Garda station, and what exactly was produced. Fiona Murphy SC, prosecuting, said all of the relevant data entries onto PULSE 'were entered under the ID of Thomas Flavin'. Murphy told the jury that a statute of limitation of 'six months' generally applied in respect of prosecuting offences of driving without insurance. 'It is the prosecution's case that Tom Flavin knew they (the motorists involved) were not covered (by insurance) and that he entered the details onto PULSE to ensure they (appeared) covered,' Murphy told the jury. 'Flavin knew what he was doing, and he did so to ensure those persons were insured (on PULSE) when they were not, in order to ensure there was no prosecution,' Murphy alleged. The prosecuting barrister told the jury that Tom Flavin enjoyed the presumption of innocence and that the burden of proof 'beyond a reasonable doubt' was all on the prosecution while, Flavin 'has nothin to prove'. Murphy told the jury the prosecution case was 'a circumstantial case, there is no direct evidence, instead the prosecution relies on indirect evidence'. It is anticipated the jury will retire to consider its verdicts on each of the 17 counts on Friday. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
BreakingNews.ie
29-05-2025
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Garda denies 22 counts of perverting course of justice over road traffic offences
When gardaí carried out checks of persons stopped for traffic violations on the Garda 'PULSE' computer records system, they were satisfied these individuals had produced their insurance documents, however, in fact, they were not insured, a court heard. Evidence is continuing in the trial of a Limerick Garda who is accused of 'sorting out' potential prosecutions for motorists who were stopped by gardaí and found without their driving license or motor insurance details/certificates. Advertisement Tom Flavin, (51), with an address in west County Limerick, has pleaded not guilty to 22 counts of perverting the course of justice. Mr Flavin's trial is being heard before judge Colin Daly and a jury of eight men and four women at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court. Several Garda prosecution witnesses called by the prosecution gave evidence of stopping vehicles in various parts of the country and requesting the motorist to produce their driving licence and insurance details. When the driver was not able to do this at the side of the road, they were given the opportunity to nominate a Garda station where they would produce their documents within ten days. All the drivers, who were living in or near Rathkeale, nominated their local station. Advertisement The Garda witnesses said that, later, where they checked PULSE, they believed documents had been produced. However, the court heard that some of the motorists were not insured, and they subsequently pleaded guilty and were convicted of driving without insurance. One of the Garda witnesses said they had checked with an insurance company about one of the motorists, and were informed the company did not have a policy for the driver. The Garda witnesses agreed under cross examination by Mr Flavin's barrister, senior counsel Mark Nicholas with barrister Amy Nix, instructed by solicitor Dan O'Gorman, that, while they had satisfied themselves, from checking the PULSE system that documents had been produced, they did not actually know what had been produced at the garda station, nor did they know who had received the documents. Sergeant Martin Egan, Policy Enforcement Unit of Road Traffic Legislation, An Garda Siochana, told the court that Gardai, who receive motorists documents following a traffic stop, are expected to enter the insurance and licence details into PULSE via the computer records 'DLIP' Driving licence Insurance Production feature. Advertisement Sergeant Egan agreed with senior prosecution counsel Fiona Murphy that the PULSE system 'automatically' notes or records the identity of a Garda who enters information into PULSE. In her opening address to the jury last Tuesday, Ms Murphy, with Maddie Grant BL, instructed by solicitor Lisa O'Reilly, office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, said allegations of wrongdoing surfaced against Mr Flavin when he was serving out of Rathkeale Garda Station, in respect of a number of traffic stops on roads around the country, on dates between November 2016 and September 2018. 'Information came to light concerning a Garda allegedly engaged in sorting out driving insurance detections for individuals - that Garda was Tom Flavin,' Ms Murphy alleged. Mr Flavin is charged that, on the above dates, he did an act, namely to enter or cause to be entered, certain information on the Garda PULSE system, which had a tendency or was intended to pervert the course of justice in respect of the prosecution of named persons for the offence of driving without insurance. Advertisement Ms Murphy said the prosecution's case was that Tom Flavin allegedly entered details into PULSE relating to persons motor insurance certificates 'which suggested they were in order, when they weren't'. Ms Murphy said the jury would hear allegations that 'alterations' were made to the information being input into the PULSE system, and that the prosecution would show that 'Tom Flavin made these entries'. He told the jury that when a garda is logged into the PULSE system they automatically leave a 'digital footprint'. She said the prosecution would produce 'CCTV and phone evidence which would corroborate' these allegations. Ms Murphy told the jury that Mr Flavin was entitled to the presumption of innocence unless the jury otherwise found that the allegations against him were proved 'beyond a reasonable doubt'. Advertisement Ireland Donegal farmer who broke man's eye socket avoids j... Read More The prosecution barrister said the 'burden of proof' lies with the prosecution, and that Mr Flavin does not have to prove anything. She said the jury were 'not entitled to speculate' in the case, and they must only consider evidence heard in court when reaching a verdict. Judge Colin Daly issued a warning to the jury members 'not to conduct your own investigations' into anyone involved in the trial; to avoid media coverage of the trial; and not to discuss the case with anyone outside of the jury. The trial is continuing at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.
Irish Daily Mirror
29-05-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Garda denies 22 counts of perverting course of justice on road traffic offences
When Gardai carried out checks of persons stopped for traffic violations on the Garda "PULSE" computer records system, they were satisfied these individuals had produced their insurance documents, however, in fact, they were not insured, a court heard. Evidence is continuing in the trial of a Limerick Garda who is accused of "sorting out" potential prosecutions for motorists who were stopped by Gardai and found without their driving licence or motor insurance details/certificates. Tom Flavin, (51), with an address in west Limerick, has pleaded not guilty to 22 counts of perverting the course of justice, contrary to Common Law. Mr Flavin's trial is being heard before judge Colin Daly and a jury of eight men and four women at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court. Several Garda prosecution witnesses called by the prosecution gave evidence of stopping vehicles in various parts of the country and requesting the motorist to produce their driving licence and insurance details. When the driver was not able to do this at the side of the road, they were given the opportunity to nominate a Garda station where they would produce their documents within 10 days. All the drivers, who were living in or near Rathkeale, nominated their local station. The Garda witnesses said that, later, where they checked PULSE, they believed documents had been produced. However, the court heard that some of the motorists were not insured, and they subsequently pleaded guilty and were convicted of driving without insurance. One of the Garda witnesses said they had checked with an insurance company about one of the motorists, and were informed the company did not have a policy for the driver. The Garda witnesses agreed under cross-examination by Mr Flavin's barrister, senior counsel Mark Nicholas with barrister Amy Nix, instructed by solicitor Dan O'Gorman, that, while they had satisfied themselves, from checking the PULSE system that documents had been produced, they did not actually know what had been produced at the garda station, nor did they know who had received the documents. Sergeant Martin Egan, Policy Enforcement Unit of Road Traffic Legislation, An Garda Siochana, told the court that Gardai, who receive motorists' documents following a traffic stop, are expected to enter the insurance and licence details into PULSE via the computer records "DLIP" Driving licence Insurance Production feature. Sergeant Egan agreed with senior prosecution counsel Fiona Murphy that the PULSE system "automatically" notes or records the identity of a Garda who enters information into PULSE. In her opening address to the jury last Tuesday, Ms Murphy, with Maddie Grant BL, instructed by solicitor Lisa O'Reilly, office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, said allegations of wrongdoing surfaced against Mr Flavin when he was serving out of Rathkeale Garda Station, in respect of a number of traffic stops on roads around the country, on dates between November 2016 and September 2018. "Information came to light concerning a Garda allegedly engaged in sorting out driving insurance detections for individuals - that Garda was Tom Flavin," Ms Murphy alleged. Mr Flavin is charged that, on the above dates, he did an act, namely to enter or cause to be entered, certain information on the Garda PULSE system, which had a tendency or was intended to pervert the course of justice in respect of the prosecution of named persons for the offence of driving without insurance. Ms Murphy said the prosecution's case was that Tom Flavin allegedly entered details into PULSE relating to persons' motor insurance certificates "which suggested they were in order, when they weren't". Ms Murphy said the jury would hear allegations that "alterations" were made to the information being input into the PULSE system, and that the prosecution would show that "Tom Flavin made these entries". Ms Murphy told the jury that when a Garda is logged into the PULSE system they automatically leave a "digital footprint". She said the prosecution would produce "CCTV and phone evidence which would corroborate" these allegations. Ms Murphy told the jury that Mr Flavin was entitled to the presumption of innocence unless the jury otherwise found that the allegations against him were proved "beyond a reasonable doubt". The prosecution barrister said the "burden of proof" lies with the prosecution, and that Mr Flavin does not have to prove anything. She said the jury were "not entitled to speculate" in the case, and they must only consider evidence heard in court when reaching a verdict. Judge Colin Daly issued a warning to the jury members "not to conduct your own investigations" into anyone involved in the trial; to avoid media coverage of the trial; and not to discuss the case with anyone outside of the jury. The trial is continuing at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.
Politico
23-05-2025
- Business
- Politico
The big push to power AI
Presented by Programming note: Future Pulse will be off on Monday but back in your inboxes on Tuesday. DATA DIVE Data centers — large-scale artificial intelligence server hubs — are a hot topic right now, in Sacramento and beyond. Our POLITICO data team colleagues Catherine Allen, Rosmery Izaguirre and Claudine Hellmuth did a deep dive into the data around data centers. It comes as Stargate, a joint venture between San Francisco-based OpenAI and other big technology players, is investing $500 billion toward expanding data center infrastructure over the next four years, POLITICO's Technology: California Decoded newsletter reports. California is among 16 states being reviewed for data center sites. California has the second-largest number of operational data centers in the country after Virginia, and more are underway, the POLITICO analysis found. Nationwide, data centers are projected to double their power consumption by 2026, tightening already limited supplies of water and electricity. At the same time, lawmakers in Sacramento are trying to strike a balance between incentivizing AI investments and environmental goals. What's next: The Trump administration is moving full steam ahead on data centers, announcing last month that it's eyeing 16 sites for new AI infrastructure. WELCOME TO FUTURE PULSE This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. A New Jersey hawk is using traffic signals to hunt its prey. The clever predator relied on sound cues from traffic signals to exploit cars for cover, and sneak up on its next meal, according to an editorial in Frontiers in Ethology. Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Danny Nguyen at dnguyen@ Carmen Paun at cpaun@ Ruth Reader at rreader@ or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@ Want to share a tip securely? Message us on Signal: Dannyn516.70, CarmenP.82, RuthReader.02 or ErinSchumaker.01. FORWARD THINKING Texas is about to launch an initiative to research psychedelics as a potential treatment for mental health conditions. The state has approved $50 million in funding for clinical trials of ibogaine, a psychedelic drug derived from an African shrub. The move follows the Texas legislature's passage of a bipartisan bill earlier this month to fund a grant program through Texas' Health and Human Services Commission aimed at gaining FDA approval for the psychedelic as a drug therapy. The $50 million will fund a partnership with an-as-yet-to-be-named drug developer, which will run the trials. Texas will retain a financial stake in any drug successfully developed, with trials likely taking place at a Texas university or hospital system. One of the Republican co-authors of the bill, state Sen. Tan Parker, has said he sees veterans with opioid dependence, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries as key beneficiaries of the research bill. 'The opioid crisis has left too many families shattered and too many Veterans without answers,' said his co-author, Republican state Rep. Cody Harris, in a statement. Why it matters: The first-in-the-nation initiative positions Texas as a hub for ibogaine research and creates a blueprint for other states that may want to replicate Texas' approach. While the FDA last year rejected drugmaker Lykos Therapeutics' plan to offer a different psychedelic drug, MDMA, alongside therapy as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, advocates are cautiously optimistic about their prospects for advancing psychedelic therapy under the Trump administration.
News18
22-05-2025
- Health
- News18
Dream Of Admission To AIIMS Delhi? Here's What Campus Life Is Like
Last Updated: Admission to AIIMS Delhi institution is no small feat. Only those with top-tier ranks in the NEET-UG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) stand a chance. Securing a seat at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, is the dream of every aspiring doctor in the country; and with good reason. As the top-ranked medical college in the country, AIIMS Delhi represents the pinnacle of undergraduate medical education. Its Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) program is not only one of the most competitive but also one of the most rigorous courses. Admission to this prestigious institution is no small feat. Only those with top-tier ranks in the NEET-UG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) stand a chance. In 2021, for instance, Pragyan Sharma earned his seat by scoring an extraordinary 710 out of 720, placing him at All-India Rank 30. In a personal blog, he chronicled his journey through AIIMS – offering a glimpse into a world that is both awe-inspiring and demanding. The MBBS journey at AIIMS begins with what students often describe as a 'cocktail of tension, thrill, and discovery". First-year students attend classes from 9 am to 5 pm, covering foundational pre-clinical subjects like anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry. One of the most defining aspects of this year is the daily anatomy practical sessions. Students work with cadavers in one of the country's largest and most technologically advanced dissection halls. 'At first, the sight of a cadaver is unnerving," Sharma recalls, 'but soon, you find yourself completely absorbed in cutting, identifying, and marvelling at the design of the human body." Each cadaver is shared by 10 to 12 students, ensuring everyone gains ample hands-on experience. The anatomy lab quickly becomes a rite of passage – both feared and cherished – for every AIIMS student. Many recall it as the moment they truly felt like future doctors. AIIMS Delhi mandates that MBBS students reside in on-campus hostels, a decision that fuels a tight-knit, academically driven student community. While the rooms aren't air-conditioned, they are spacious, Wi-Fi enabled, and situated near cafes, community halls, and sports grounds. Late-night study sessions, impromptu jam sessions, and endless cups of chai form the rhythm of hostel life. For many, it's these moments – huddled with classmates before an exam or celebrating after a tough viva – that become lasting memories. PULSE: A Festival Despite the grueling academic schedule, AIIMS Delhi knows how to unwind. The crown jewel of its extracurricular calendar is PULSE, billed as the largest medical college festival in the country. Spanning seven days, the event transforms the campus into a carnival of culture and competition. With performances from top musicians, inter-college sports meets, fashion shows, debates, talent hunts, and film nights, PULSE attracts participants from across the nation. It serves as both a celebration of medical student life and a much-needed breather from the demanding curriculum. A Career Launchpad Like No Other Graduating from AIIMS Delhi opens doors that very few institutions can match. The college's reputation precedes it – both in India and abroad – and its alumni have gone on to become leaders in medicine, research, and public health. First Published: May 22, 2025, 21:12 IST
