LAST UPDATE | 28 Apr 2022
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start your day.
Armed unit
1. In our lead story this morning, Garreth MacNamee reports that serious concerns have been raised over the lack of resources attached to the Garda Armed Support Unit in Dublin following multiple transfers and promotions.
There have been several incidents of having to use overtime to fill minimum requirements for the ASU in recent months, according to multiple sources.
The result of this means that the overtime budget for the unit is being chipped away. It also means that more pressure is being heaped on the unit with the same number of people doing more work – finishing their regular number of hours for the week and then having to put in for extra hours as overtime.
Ukraine
2. The European Union has warned Russia it will not bend to “blackmail” over its support for Kyiv after the Kremlin cut off gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland.
The warning yesterday came ahead of UN chief Antonio Guterres arriving in Kyiv to meet Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Putin issued his own warning the same day, saying that if Western forces intervene in Ukraine, they will face a “lightning-fast” military response.
Turf wars
3. The Government has defeated all attempts to stymie the introduction of new laws on fuel including those affecting turf cutting.
Multiple votes were taken in a session described by Ceann Comhairle Sean Ó Fearghaíl as a ‘marathon’, and which included tetchy exchanges and tense comments from Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty.
In the end, the Sinn Féin turf ban motion was defeated by 72 votes to 63 in the Dáil.
Minneapolis
4. In the US, the Minneapolis Police Department has engaged in a pattern of race discrimination, according to the findings of a two-year investigation by the US state’s Department of Human Rights launched after George Floyd was killed by a city police officer.
The report said the department will work with the city to negotiate a consent decree.
As part of that process, the agency will meet with community members, police officers, city staff, and other stakeholders to gather feedback on what should be included.
The report said police department data “demonstrates significant racial disparities with respect to officers’ use of force, traffic stops, searches, citations, and arrests”.
Tánaiste
5. Back in Ireland, Leo Varadkar has said that allegations made against him with regards to the leaking of a GP contract were “false” and “politically motivated”.
It was revealed at the weekend that a file regarding the leaking of a GP contract by Varadkar had been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, who will make a decision whether or not to proceed with a charge.
Speaking to reporters yesterday during a trip to California to promote trade, Varadkar said he was “very pleased” that the Garda investigation is now over.
Elon Musk
6. The former chief executive of Twitter has accused Elon Musk of making one of the website’s senior executives a “target of harassment and threats”.
Dick Costolo used Twitter to respond to a meme posted by Musk featuring Vijaya Gadde.
The Tesla boss appeared to be using Gadde – Twitter’s head of legal, policy and trust – to suggest the company had a “left-wing bias”.
Heading West
7. Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney is travelling to Washington to meet with senior officials in the Biden administration.
Coveney is arriving in the US today on visit to Washington DC and Boston, with meetings tomorrow and Friday with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.
Crime
8. A Garda premises is set to open on O’Connell Street in Dublin City Centre in the coming months to tackle drug dealing and anti-social behaviour in the city centre.
The additional Garda presence on the city centre street was announced at the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting this evening by Justice Minister Helen McEntee.
CMO
9. Secretary General of the Department of Health Robert Watt and the Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan will attend the Oireachtas Health Committee next Wednesday.
It comes amid a row between Watt and the Oireachtas Finance Committee over the secretary general’s refusal to attend a meeting held today.
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