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Dublin: 10 °C Monday 20 May, 2013

Take 5: Wednesday

5 minutes, 5 stories, 5 o’clock…

Image: Richard Cocks via Flickr

EVERY WEEKDAY, TheJournal.ie brings you five things you really should know before heading out the door…

1. #RACE FOR THE ÁRAS: David Norris has confirmed that he received a disability pension for almost 16 years while also working as a Senator. He said he had been advised by his former employer Trinity College Dublin to apply for the payments after he contracted hepatitis by drinking unsafe drinking water in central Europe.

- Martin McGuinness has released bank statements from an account in his name, which show he received around £1,605 a month from Sinn Féin. McGuinness disclosed the documents after coming under pressure over his claims that he lives on the average industrial wage, with Fine Gael candidate Gay Mitchell accusing him of lying.

2. #SHEBEEN CHIC: Staff at the Shebeen Chic bar and restaurant on Dublin’s Georges Street have said they will stage a lock-in protest - sleeping, showering and eating inside the premises in an attempt to prevent the building’s owners from evicting them in a rent dispute. Restaurant manager Orla Murphy told TheJournal.ie: “They just want to get us out”.

3. #CONSTRUCTION: Ireland’s unemployed construction workers are set to benefit from a €35 million European aid fund – providing them with money to retrain as well as career advice. The government will add another €20 million to the scheme, which will help almost 6,000 workers.

4. #HUMAN TRAFFICKING: Police in Peru have rescued almost 300 women who they said were forced into sexual slavery in the country’s Amazon region. The women and girls – the youngest of whom was just 13 – were rescued from 60 brothels in the area, which is experiencing an illegal mining boom after gold was discovered.

5. #F-BOMB: A new advertising campaign features celebrities including Bono, George Clooney and Colin Farrell using a bleeped-out F-word, but it’s not what you think – the ads aim to highlight the famine in eastern Africa. They’ve been banned by authorities in the UK, but not for any expletives – apparently the promos violate political advertising rules.

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Comments (13 Comments)

  • Why why why does the media not go after mitchells sal and expenses and also his clemency letters?.
    To show if a candidate is in it for the money or themselves they must all reveal how much of a salary cut they are prepared to take 4 the job, Its something the prez can actually do.Mitchell is getting an easy run while playing dirty tricks on the others.Not what a president should do..(slimeball)!!!!

    Reply
    • Absolutely with you on that, Johnny. It’s as if there is a gagging order on saying anything against GAY BOY, the Bible-thumping, homophobic who, along with his party, uses dirty tactics to pull others in the race down or maybe the Press are just full of chicken sh%t and don’t want to get on the wrong side of Enda & co by pressing the dubious issues surrounding him.

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  • when will gay mitchell publish his finances?????

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  • There seem to be a lot of ignorance out there about some of the candidates and an equal amount of hate. Gay Mitchell’s salary as an MEP is on the public record for anyone who wants to look it up, it’s the same as for any TD in the Dail, and his expenses are also a matter of public record. Martin McGuinness shows his salary as DFM in Northern Ireland, but I don’t believe he mentions expenses paid to him. And expenses can be legitimate of course, but some people have been known to claim for lawn mowers . Mitchell has sent dozens of clemency letters about people on death row asking that they should not be executed, so of course anyone who supports the death penalty will make this an issue. His letters go AFTER a trial and judgement and not before, as was the case with Senator Norris. . As in all things in Ireland there are an awful lot of people screaming hysterically from the couch or bar-stool, but they never actually get out there to join a party or an organisation that wants to change a system. As the TV commercial says, they’re ‘all talk’: actually doing something constructive is just too much like hard work….

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    • I would like to know why every comment I post,that it disappears almost immediately.Where is democracy displayed on your site?I just posted a few words about Hepatitis C .I just read that you do not get it from contaminated water.It is usually transmitted from blood to blood.This is according to learned doctors,not me.I am writing this in relation to David Norris.I just think he is telling more lies.He should be made pay back all his disability money.We the taxpayers pay tax to keep Trinity College operating.There is nothing libellous In what I am posting on this site.I would love to hear your comments ,perhaps some Doctor might give his or opinion about HepAtitis C.

      Reply
    • @ Niall…Go away and do your research more thoroughly! Hepatitis does not have to be from “blood to blood” which you claim from reading materials written by your “learned” medical experts. It can be caused by toxins…notably alcohol, some medications, solvents – even plants. And of course, dirty needles…which is not just restricted to drug addicts…are you sure that your GP or local hospital takes all the necessary precautions to minimise the risk when taking a blood sample or giving you an injection?

      What is all the fuss about David Norris taking disability as well as his Seanad income? So, why are you not demanding that any TD who has an occupation outside of the Dail return his/her TD’s salary? And what about Mary Davis? Is this just more of the same about trying to smear both him and Martin McGuinness, the two most likely candidates to top the poll – if not get elected!

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  • Take 5 image by Dick Cocks?

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  • I’m now of the opinion that the candidates (except maybe Michael D) are truly ALL muppets…

    Norris with his 2.5K a month (A MONTH!!!!) I don’t know the fees in Trinity but I know that my friend is struggling to pay approx. €4k a year to UCC for her daughter…..Mr Norris, as of today you have lost my vote.
    Mr McGuinness, I don’t care that you’ll only take the industrial wage… the rest of it will go to SF…. it’s bad enough that so much of my salary is taken on tax to finance excessively high TD/Councillor wages but I resent the fact that it goes back to your party… and I’d same the same if it was FG or FF or Labour.
    Dana./Gay you never had my vote anyway
    Dragon Dens guy: I believe you want to travel the world to promote Ireland… sod off and pay for your own trip (yaya i know that all presidents get worldwide trips on expenses)

    The worrying thing about this election is that people are so disillusioned that many are saying that they’re not going to bother to vote…. we’ll probably end up with Gay or Dana if that happens

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  • ok mcguiness is a provo from derry who just happened 2 ordered 2 kill members of his own community, ie; nationalist/republican, now apparently d world is safe because d WAR is over, why oh why do people always 4get d innocent victims of both sides violence, its not move on time, wat about inquirys into mindless, senseless, sadistic, wanton, sectarian and brutal violence, c’mon guys think about it and im not a norris fan either

    Reply

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