Fraudsters flew in to claim dole payments

NON-national dole cheats defrauded millions of euro from the Exchequer by flying into the country once a month to sign on.

New figures obtained by the Irish Independent show thousands of foreign benefit claimants were investigated by the Department of Social and Family Affairs between October 2007 and February last year.

The vast majority of the claimants were from Eastern European countries.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/fraudsters-flew-in-to-claim-dole-payments-1801725.html

EU sets limits on Government's 'sham marriage' investigations

IRISH GOVERNMENT investigations into “sham marriages” must not encroach on European citizens and their non-EU spouses’ right to move freely in the EU, say new guidelines.

The guidelines have been drawn up in response to complaints voiced by Ireland and Denmark following a landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in 2008 in the Metock v Ireland case.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0701/1224249839443.html

Hunt Museum investigation urged

AN INTERNATIONAL Jewish organisation has called for a fresh investigation into alleged links between the founders of the Hunt Museum in Limerick and Nazi sympathisers.

At a conference on “Holocaust era assets” in Prague yesterday, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre said it wanted access to official archives and other materials as part of an independent investigation into the provenance of the 2,000 objects on display in the Limerick museum.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0630/1224249785064.html

Rate of overseas workers entering Ireland slowing

Ireland is continuing to attract workers from overseas, albeit at a slower rate than last year, according to new figures from the Department of Social and Family Affairs.

In the first five months of this year, the department issued 74,191 new Personal Public Service (PPS) numbers, of which 37,064- almost half - were issued to people from outside the Republic.

In the same period last year, 106,140 PPS numbers were issued. Of those, 38,837 were to people from the Republic and the remaining 67,303 recipients were from elsewhere.

http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=IRELAND-qqqm=nav-qqqid=42776-qqqx=1.asp

30% rise in racist abuse against foreigners

IRELAND is one of only five EU countries where an increase in racist crimes was reported, according to the EU Fundamental Rights Agency.

There was a close to 30% increase in the abuse, discrimination and crime suffered by foreign nationals, the agency’s annual report noted.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/30-rise-in-racist-abuse-against-foreigners-94891.html

Romanian men jailed for rape

Two Romanian men have received five-year jail sentences for sexually assaulting a woman in Tipperary last year.

She had consensual sex with their friend, after which the two men came into the bedroom, locked the door and sexually assaulted her.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/ireland/romanian-men-jailed-for-rape-of-tipperary-woman-14355469.html

Polish man jailed for seven years on drugs charges

A Polish man who passed 100 pellets of cocaine through his bowels has been jailed for seven years.

Slawomir Wotjowicz (aged 34) carried the cocaine valued €67,984 in his stomach for money to help pay maintenance for his six-year old daughter by his estranged partner.

Mr Devally said his client excreted the cocaine 24 hours after his arrest at Dublin Airport on June 22, 2008. Wotjowicz with an address at Szewna, Zarze, pleaded guilty to possession of the drugs for sale or supply.

Wotjowicz told gardai his sister had become embroiled with Nigerians who were trafficking drugs into Europe and she directed him to a house in Amsterdam where he and another man swallowed pellets of cocaine before he was sent to Dublin and the other man to another European destination.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/polish-man-jailed-for-seven-years-on-drugs-charges-415526.html#ixzz0IvDclhMY&C

Loyalist paramilitaries begin decommissioning

Sources in the North are claiming that loyalist paramilitaries have begun to decommission their weapons.

According to senior loyalist figures the UVF has carried out a significant act of decommissioning while the UDA has either made a start to the process or is set to do so imminently.

And it is understood that other loyalist groups were well-advanced in preparation to hand over their weapons. The move – four years after the IRA announced it was giving up its armoury – comes ahead of Secretary of State Shaun Woodward’s August deadline for significant progress on loyalist arms.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/loyalist-paramilitaries-begin-decommissioning-1779012.html

Muslim school is slated

A TEAM of experts will be sent in to monitor the overhaul of a primary school which has been strongly criticised in the most damning inspection report ever issued by the Department of Education.

The unprecedented move follows a litany of shocking revelations contained in an inspection report into the North Dublin Muslim School in Cabra, which is housed in the former School for the Deaf.

Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe last night said the standards of management, teaching and learning at the school were "unacceptable" and that child protection policies were "inadequate".

The report -- seen by the Irish Independent -- will be officially published tomorrow. It reveals:

• Taxpayers' money given to the school in the form of grants since it opened in 2001 is unaccounted for;
• The quality of teaching of English, Irish and maths is "poor" or "very poor", with teacher morale "very poor";
• Sanitary facilities are "inadequate;
• The school is in breach of several pieces of legislation;
• The school refuses to implement the music curriculum.

Separate correspondence, also seen by the Irish Independent, reveals that the school failed to pay around €37,000 it owed to the department.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/muslim-school-is-slated-1775741.html

Romanian Gypsies attacked

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — The thugs used bricks and bottles to drive more than 100 Romanian Gypsies from their homes in a wave of attacks. On Wednesday, the victims were sheltering in a community center after a church plucked them off a Belfast street.

The grim images from this week — families carrying possessions in bundled blankets, a mother clutching her 5-day-old baby — are more evidence of rising anti-immigrant sentiment across Europe, but also of a situation unique to Northern Ireland: new fault lines in its tragic history of ethnic divisions.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iDji7_Kp0M1B_ADrZ0T9-dBi-xpwD98SI4HG0

Foreign nationals account for 20% claiming dole

FOREIGN nationals account for one in five of the people claiming the dole, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office.

Foreign nationals on the live register increased by 45,798 to 79,077 over the course of the year. The majority are from the EU accession states.

http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/foreign-nationals-account-for-20-claiming-dole-93781.html

Local residents force closure of unofficial mosque

A mosque operating from a house in Lucan, Co Dublin, has been forced to close following complaints by local residents and the intervention of a local TD and a minister of state.

The Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland (ICCI) has for the past six years operated a prayer centre at a detached house in Liffey Road, at the edge of a residential estate. It has now been closed after officials from South Dublin county council discovered that it had no planning permission, following a tip-off from residents.

Relations between locals and those using the mosque have deteriorated in recent months, with the residents’ association claiming that some of its members were verbally abused and one assaulted after complaining about illegal parking outside the mosque.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/ireland/article6446104.ece

Unemployment rate now 11.8%

The number of people on the Live Register hit 400,000 for the first time last month.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, there are now 402,100 people on the Live Register seeking unemployment benefit or allowances.

It is the first time the numbers on the dole have ever reached this level. It translates into an unemployment rate of 11.8%.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0605/liveregister.html

Cllr Liam Galvin: Unemployed eastern europeans should go home

ABBEYFEALE councillor Liam Galvin has called for unemployed Eastern Europeans claiming unemployment benefit to be sent home, stating that a week's social welfare money could cover their airfares.

Cllr Galvin also said that he believes that a considerable amount of fraud is also being committed through the wrongful claiming of entitlements on the part of foreign nationals.

"I am by no means racist, and I would like to help everyone, but I say that the time has come to take people aside and tell them that they had been very welcome here when the good times meant that work was plentiful," said Cllr Galvin.

http://www.limerickleader.ie/west-limerick/Cllr-Liam-Galvin-Unemployed-eastern.5301781.jp

New work permit fee angers migrants

Angry migrants who face new fees of up to €2,250 to renew their work permits let the Tanaiste know how they felt yesterday, writes Anne-Marie Walsh.

Protesters held a demonstration outside the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment over changes to the permit system that start on Monday.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/new-work-permit-fee-angers-migrants-1753191.html

Mosque dream a step closer after donation

The Muslim community in Cork is one step closer to having a mosque following years of fundraising and an anonymous donation of €800,000.

The Cork Muslim Society was established in 1984 and 10 years later a house was bought in Cork city to be used as a Mosque and Islamic Centre.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/mosque-dream-a-step-closer-after-donation-1749796.html

African local election candidates suffer racial abuse

Two African candidates standing in the upcoming local elections have been racially abused while canvassing in separate parts of Dublin. A death threat issued to one of the candidates is now under investigation by gardaí.

Zimbabwean Green Party candidate Tendai Madondo and South African independent candidate Patrick Map­hoso have both experienced racism on the hustings but say this has made them more determined to win a council seat and help change attitudes.

http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news/article/2009/may/24/blacks-make-me-sick/

Welfare cheat tip-offs rise by 748% since start of recession

ANONYMOUS tip-offs about welfare cheats have increased by 748% since the start of the recession, according to figures obtained by the Sunday Tribune.

There were 1,735 reports received in the first four months of 2009 compared to 232 for the same period last year. Only 180 reports were received in 2007.

Tip-offs relating to those working and claiming welfare at the same time received the most significant increase, rising from 95 and 90 in 2007 and 2008 respectively, to 721 this year.

There were also dramatic increases in reports of cohabiting couples cheating the system and those claiming benefits from outside the country.

http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news/article/2009/may/24/welfare-cheat-tip-offs-rise-by-748-since-start-of-/

Libertas call to close borders sparks race row

A Libertas election candidate was last night accused of "playing the race card" after claiming Ireland's borders should be closed to stop any future influx of foreign nationals.

Raymond O'Malley, who is running in the European elections in the East constituency, said the borders should be closed to the 10 accession states as long as Ireland's high unemployment rate persists.

The Libertas candidate claimed over 29,000 PPS numbers were handed out to foreign nationals since January of this year.

"I think we've got to stop it. I think we have to look after our own people," Mr O'Malley said.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/libertas-call--to-close-borders-sparks-race-row-1739889.html

Nigerian fraudster gets suspended sentence

Olubuckolo Kilani (aged 41) of Hamlet Avenue, pleaded guilty to attempting make a gain or cause a loss by deception at the Credit Union on July 16, 2007.

The Nigerian mother-of-two has no previous convictions.Judge Martin Nolan said the details of the account were "murky" and he accepted that Kilani was making the withdrawal after being persuaded by "interested parties". He imposed a two-year suspended sentence.

Garda Alan Carroll told Mr Paul Greene BL, prosecuting, that the Swords Credit Union had placed an account under review after a suspicious lodgment had been made using a cheque altered from €3,500 to €35,000. They made attempts to contact the account holder but were unsuccessful.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/woman-who-fraudulently-withdrew-money-from-credit-union-given-suspended-sentence-410760.html

7000 asylum-seekers currently in the system cost €800 per week each

Currently, there are approximately 7,000 asylum-seekers at various stages of the application process in the system. Almost 5,000 are at first instance and appeal stage.

Fine Gael’s Denis Naughton said, despite improvements to the system, there was still a "significant backlog" and applications were taking a long time. He said a substantial part of the delay in processing asylum applications results from delays in processing leave to remain applications.

"While I accept they are complex, based on the current rate of processing, it would take approximately five years to clear the existing backlog of such applications. Is the minister of the view that this is unacceptable, particularly in light of the fact that €800 per week is spent on the court, accommodation, processing and deportation costs of each asylum applicant?"

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/integration-boss-hits-back-at-aherns-90-unfounded-asylum-claim-91579.html

Asylum seekers to Ireland double the EU average

IRELAND remains a popular country for people seeking asylum, especially Nigerians, according to EU figures just released.

When compared to the population, Ireland attracted the eighth highest percentage of people from outside the EU seeking asylum.

This was double the EU average, but well less than countries like Malta and Cyprus, which take the brunt of people trying to get into Europe from Africa in particular.

A total of 3,865 people applied for asylum, with the single largest group – 26% or 1,010 people – coming from Nigeria.

The next single largest groups were 6% (235) from Pakistan and 5% (205) from Iraq.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/asylum-seekers-to-ireland-double-the-eu-average-91312.html

Foreign names 'a hindrance to job-hunters'

Job-hunters with foreign names are twice as likely to be blackballed by potential employers than obviously Irish candidates, groundbreaking new research revealed today.

A study – the first of its kind in Ireland – showed employers were less inclined to give interviews to people from ethnic minorities even if they are as qualified as Irish candidates.

The joint report by think-tank the ESRI and the Equality Authority also found high-levels of discrimination here compared with other countries.Richard Fallon, Equality Authority’s acting chief, warned: “It does prove that a very old ghost of discrimination still haunts us.

“Moreover you’re twice as likely to encounter this spectre with a non-Irish surname than with an identifiably Irish one, that’s even with Irish citizenship and with Irish qualifications.

http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/foreign-names-a-hindrance-to-jobhunters-409700.html

Deportation bill of €6.8m over past five years

THE state has spent more than €6.8m during the past five years on flights to send failed asylum-seekers back to their home countries.

However, although the number of deportations has continually fallen, the cost of repatriation rose in 2008, with a total of €920,000 spent last year.

The average cost of each deportation – over half of which involved a transfer to another EU state – is now running in the order of €2,500.

The Department of Justice said that a total of 433 people were removed from the state last year, the majority to other European countries.

Figures show that just 162 people were actually re­moved to their country of origin, mainly aboard large-scale deportation charters to Nigeria and other countries in Africa.

Another 271 people were escorted from the country to other EU states after it was found they had already made an asylum application prior to arriving in Ireland.

http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news/article/2009/apr/26/deportation-bill-of-68m-over-past-five-years/

Over 10,000 applied for citizenship last year

Figures from the Department of Justice show that a new high of 10,885 people applied for naturalisation in Ireland last year. In the same year, a total of 3,117 people were granted citizenship and told that they can remain here for good.

Another 2,795 applications were either refused or deemed ineligible on grounds of fraud or for not meeting the strict government requirements.

The volume of applications – which includes 2,179 new cases in the first few months of this year – has led to a massive backlog and a 23-month waiting period for decisions.

The rise in applications has been significant, growing from just 739 in 1999 to its record level last year.

http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news/article/2009/may/03/over-10000-applied-for-citizenship-last-year/