Protests over hygiene and heat by asylum seekers

DOZENS OF asylum seekers protesting against conditions at Globe House accommodation centre in Sligo yesterday said they regularly had no hot water and no heating for days at a time.

About 50 people protesting outside the centre said there was one washing machine for 173 residents. They said the doors of dryers had to be closed with cellotape. “People are saying it is like a hotel here. It is a nice building on the outside but they should see inside,” said one resident.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1111/1224258551899.html

Mayor of Limerick: "Send home jobless nationals"

THE Mayor of Limerick, Cllr Kevin Kiely, has called for the deportation of EU-nationals who have failed to secure employment since their arrival here.

"I'm calling for anybody who is living in the State and who can't afford to pay for themselves to be deported after three months. We are borrowing €400 million per week to maintain our own residents and we can't afford it," the outspoken politician said this Wednesday.

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/Mayor-of-Limerick-Send-home.5814604.jp

Cocaine use here among the highest in Europe

Irish youths are among the worst in Europe when it comes to cocaine use, a new report has revealed.

The European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) showed the country has the fourth-highest use of cocaine among 15- to 24-year-olds in Europe.

Ireland is also among the countries with the highest prevalence of drug-related deaths, coming fifth in Europe with 57 drug-induced deaths per million of population.

http://www.herald.ie/national-news/cocaine-use-here-among-the-highest--in-europe-1936117.html

Asylum 'shoppers' deported over scam

One-in-10 asylum seekers who arrived here this year have been deported to other EU member states because they were 'shopping' for benefits.

The extent of the racket was revealed last night after a week-long operation targeting the asylum 'shoppers' -- so-called because they shop around for better benefit deals between various EU countries.

The recent crackdown by the Garda National Immigration Bureau and the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service resulted in the arrest and deportation of 22 people, mainly Somalians, Albanians and Eritreans.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/asylum-shoppers--deported-over-scam-1934607.html

Serbian national jailed for importing cocaine

A former military bodyguard has been jailed for six years for importing cocaine into the country hidden in a car’s battery.

Zoran Andjelkovic (aged 41), a Dutch national, but originally from Serbia, was caught with nearly two kilogrammes of the drug, worth €125,000. Gardaí were alerted to the drugs by a confidential tip-off.

Andjelkovic, of Hagandoornwag, Amsterdam, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of cocaine for sale or supply on December 13, 2008 at the Airside Retail Park in Swords.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/former-bodyguard-gets-six-years-for-cocaine-in-car-battery-433119.html#ixzz0W0zpZiVU

Polish man arrested after drugs find

A 30-year-old man is in custody following the discovery of over 4.5kgs of herbal cannabis in Wexford yesterday.

A Polish male was arrested at the scene and was handed over to gardaí in Wexford.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/1102/breaking50.htm

Judge: Roma raising kids to steal

A judge today accused the Roma community of raising their children to steal saying they were responsible for “our shops being robbed blind".

At the Dublin Children’s Court, Judge Aingeal Ní Chonduin was dealing with the case of a now 16-year-old Roma mother-of-one, who admitted theft of several pairs of shoes and handling stolen clothes.

“That seems to be the culture, the family owns her that is the way the families function, unfortunately, to go about to steal,” she said regarding the girl’s circumstances.

Judge Ní Chonduin also said it seemed that the children were “raised” to steal. “It is a different culture, it does not go with our ways and our shops are being robbed blind, I feel sorry for these children.”

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/judge-roma-raising-kids-to-steal-432017.html#ixzz0VGGe3DRZ

Brazilian in court over fatal stabbing

A MAN appeared in court yesterday charged with murdering Brazilian mother of three Joselita da Silva.

Marcio Goncalves da Silva, (30) of Tara Street, Tullamore, Co Offaly, was charged at 12.39am yesterday with the murder of the 33-year-old.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/courts/man-in-court-over-fatal-stabbing-of-brazilian-woman-1924834.html

€91.5m spent on asylum accommodation

THE total cost of providing accommodation for asylum seekers in the State in 2008 was € 91.5 million.

East Meath TD Thomas Byrne was given the figures in the Dáil after he was asked to raise this issue by a number of constituents.

The FF deputy says he does think the overall total is a lot of money, but a new bill will streamline the process and bring down the costs.

http://www.drogheda-independent.ie/news/euro-915m-spent-on-accommodation-1913100.html

Asylum seekers posed as Somalis

IMMIGRATION authorities have uncovered a scam involving African asylum seekers, who claim to be from Somalia.

Three out of five were found to have lied about their background.

The applicants are posing as Somalis to boost their chances of being granted refugee status because they are less likely to be deported back to the war-torn country.

But a check on the background of a targeted group over the past six months has established that the majority of them were from neighbouring countries. The check was carried out using the Eurodac fingerprint system and visa databases established in the UK.

The nationality breakdown of the 'Somali' asylum seekers showed that 44 -- or two-fifths of the original batch -- were from Tanzania, eight from Somalia, six from Kenya, three from Yemen, and one each from Ethiopia and Djibouti.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/asylum-seekers-posed-as-somalis-1910835.html

EU cash will help State fund more deportations

THE EU is giving cash to the Government to help pay for flights home for migrants who lose their jobs.

Ireland had applied to the EU for monies to help non-EU immigrants who cannot afford to live here or who have failed in their asylum applications. The EU has agreed, and will provide around €600,000 per annum from 2008 to 2013, under its Return Fund.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/eu-cash-will-help-state-fund-more-deportations-1910834.html

Child benefit changes urged for foreign nationals

Child benefit payments to foreign nationals whose children live outside the State should be reduced significantly, according to a report on social welfare fraud by an Oireachtas committee.

About 7,000 EU nationals resident in Ireland are claiming child benefit for 11,000 children living outside the State. This is projected to cost the exchequer about €20 million this year.

The report says it is “not appropriate” to pay the Irish rate of child benefit for children in other countries where the cost of living is significantly lower.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1022/1224257226342.html

Colombian drug mule jailed for six years

A Colombian hairdresser who swallowed €58,000 worth of cocaine to smuggle it into Ireland has been jailed for six years at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Fidel Guiaso (aged 36) said he smuggled the drugs to pay for his grandfather’s medical bills.

Judge Katherine Delahunt told him he was "an essential cog in a very evil trade."

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/colombian-drug-mule-jailed-for-six-years-430966.html

Perpetrator of sex assault 'no longer welcome in this country'

A Chinese man who sexually assaulted a woman and mugged and beat a young girl is “no longer welcome in this country”, according to Judge Patrick McCartan.

“The Irish community are well shot of this man,” he said of Sun Yu (24). “Rather than put him in jail at the taxpayers’ expense, he should be sent back to his own country.”

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1017/1224256900230.html

INLA 'has ended armed struggle'

THE INLA has ended its armed struggle, according to a statement issued on its behalf yesterday.

The announcement was made in Bray, Co Wicklow, by Martin McMonagle, from Derry, a member of the executive of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement (IRSP). He said he knew nothing of any plans the INLA might have to decommission weapons.

One senior source said there was a British government expectation that the INLA would begin the decommissioning process in the coming months.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1012/1224256436391.html

Nigerian drug courier jailed for six years

Nigerian national who was paid €4,000 to carry €65,000 worth of cocaine capsules internally has been jailed for six years for transporting the drugs into Ireland.

Chika Chima Oluga (aged 24), with an address at North West Street, Wichita, Kansas, was contacted by a fellow national while he was working and living in America. He was advised that a man called “Sunny” would pay him to bring the drugs into Ireland and cover his expenses.

Oluga then flew to Senegal where he swallowed the capsules before he flew to Paris and then onto to Dublin.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/nigerian-drug-courier-jailed-for-six-years-429472.html#ixzz0TNyzvOiK

Most minors missing from care in Dublin are Chinese

SOME 80 per cent of minors who are reported missing from State care in Dublin are Chinese teenagers who had sought asylum.

According to the Garda missing persons bureau, 28 Chinese minors have been publicised as missing from the care of the Health Service Executive (HSE) over the past 12 months. Seven other minors were reported missing in the same period: four Africans – from Gambia, Somalia, Togo and Nigeria – an Iraqi, a Bosnian teenager and an Irish child.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/1005/1224255887682.html

Ireland 'can only gain by rejecting treaty'

Ireland has nothing to lose and everything to gain by voting no to the Lisbon Treaty, Libertas leader Declan Ganley said today.

The millionaire businessman said the EU reform package had not changed at all since the Irish people rejected it last year during the first ballot.

Legal guarantees hammered out with the leaders of other member states earlier this year on neutrality, tax and family issues were meaningless, he added.

Mr Ganley said if the EU deal is backed by the Irish electorate it would see the transfer of power in more than 60 key decision areas away from Dublin to Brussels.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/ireland-can-only-gain-by-rejecting-treaty-428420.html#ixzz0ScWULaRy

Defence Forces probe over Nazi salutes on Bebo

THE military authorities have launched an investigation after members of the Defence Forces were shown giving Nazi salutes and posting racist comments on a social networking site.

At least two reserve Defence Force members based in Dublin are under investigation. A spokes-woman for the Minster for Defence Willie O’Dea confirmed the "review" was ongoing and the investigation was expected to be completed by the end of the week.

"There was an investigation at unit level and there was no disciplinary action taken at that level. However, the matter is now with the chief of staff’s office and that investigation is ongoing.

In one image a Defence Force recruit is seen next to a statue of a German eagle clutching a swastika. The young man is wearing a German iron cross buckle on his belt. Another image shows the soldier superimposed beside Ku Klux Klan members.

http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/defence-forces-probe-over-nazi-salutes-on-bebo-102131.html#ixzz0SWMEIcV6

Loophole allows asylum seekers to claim welfare

ASYLUM seekers who have spent years fighting for refugee status in Ireland could be entitled to claim full social welfare entitlements if they have been in Ireland long enough, it has emerged.

The loophole is likely to prove costly for the government and could encourage asylum seekers to continually make legal challenges to deportation decisions, immigration sources have said.

It means they can claim child benefit and other payments instead of the standard small direct provision payments, which are made available to most refugee applicants in lieu of full welfare entitlements.

http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news/article/2009/sep/27/loophole-allows-asylum-seekers-to-claim-welfare/

Deportee refused leave to enter Nigeria

A 38-year-old woman deported home to Nigeria three weeks ago was refused admission into her country after officials in Nigeria demanded thousands of euro from gardaí on the basis that the woman had mental health problems. Officers from the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) refused their demand and the woman was returned to Ireland.

The woman is now back in asylum accommodation in Dublin. She came to Ireland five years ago and her return is likely to form the basis of another legal bid to stay here.

A garda source said the woman was not ill on the plane and that the demand by Nigerian authorities for "a few grand" was unacceptable. The source said there was no evidence the woman was mentally or physically unwell.

http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news/article/2009/sep/27/deportee-refused-leave-to-enter-nigeria/

Dell given €55m to aid transfer to Poland

THE decision yesterday by the EU Commission to give €55 million to Dell to assist the US computer giant transfer its Limerick manufacturing operation to Lodz in Poland sparked anger among the Dell workers who will lose their jobs by the end of the year.
More than 1,600 have already been let go at the doomed Limerick plant.

Another 400 will be left go by the end of January next.

Denis Ryan, chairman of the Dell workers’ committee, said: "This is a slap in the face from the EU to us.

They got taxpayers’ money to come to Ireland and when that runs out they pop on to Poland.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/dell-given-55m-to-aid-transfer-to-poland-101683.html#ixzz0S24z54Zi

Jewish prisoner 'abused' by lack of kosher meals

THE Jewish Representative Council of Ireland will inspect the kitchens of a jail after a prisoner complained to the High Court that his food is not kosher.

The case, the first of its kind in Ireland, has been brought by a Jewish prisoner who was extradited to Ireland from the United Kingdom to stand trial for alleged sexual offences.

The prisoner complained to the High Court that his constitutional rights are being infringed by the failure of the Irish Prison Service to serve him kosher food in Cloverhill Prison.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/jewish-prisoner-abused-by-lack-of-kosher-meals-1891971.html

Warning on Dublin suspect's link to Bin Laden

The 47-year-old has previously denied involvement in terrorism, claiming to be a charity worker. He also claimed to be a journalist at one point.

He is already wanted by the US, Interpol, Libya and the UN. Here he is constantly monitored by the Middle Eastern section of the Special Branch but he has never faced any terror charges.

Buwisir, in Ireland since 1982, lives at his family home in Broadford Drive, Ballinteer, with his wife and children.

Questions have been raised on how he has been able to maintain Irish Citizenship, which was granted by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/warning-on-dublin-suspects-link-to-bin-laden-14483861.html#ixzz0QdXezNRP

Asylum-seekers kept in jail for up to three months awaiting deportation

ASYLUM-seekers are being held in jail for up to three months before their deportation, adding to overcrowding in prisons.

The Department of Justice said that, over the past 18 months, nearly 130 people have been imprisoned while arrangements were made for their deportation. The average time spent in custody was 24 days, but some people spent up to 105 days behind bars.

Last year, a total of 162 deportation orders were executed, a slight increase on the previous year, which had been the lowest in a decade.

The department said another 271 non-nationals left the state under what are known as transfer orders under Dublin II regulations. These are people who claimed asylum in Ireland but who were later found to have sought refugee status in another EU state.

http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news/article/2009/sep/06/asylum-seekers-kept-in-jail-for-up-to-three-months/