Tag Archives: Denis Naughten

AN EAST Clare woman who believes that her son’s severe autism may be linked to vaccines he received in early childhood has launched a campaign calling for all new-born children to be screened for vulnerability to potential side-effects. Valerie O’Shaughnessy from Scariff sought the support of members of Clare County Council who approved a motion calling on Minister Simon Harris to introduce such a national screening protocol. The motion will now go before all other local authorities in the State. Valerie told The Clare Champion that her own experience, combined with ongoing personal research and review of the scientific evidence, has led her to the conclusion that children, like her own son Dara, who have compromised immune systems, are potentially at risk from the administration of live vaccines. “I have a social conscience I have a moral duty,” she says. “And I trying to bring this to the fore because I’m concerned about Irish children. I’m concerned about Irish families, I’ve lived …

  Minister of State Pat Breen has become embroiled in controversy after it emerged he arranged for former Communications Minister Denis Naughten to attend a dinner with a key bidder in the national broadband process. The Clare Deputy has also outlined he had met Irish-American businessman, David McCourt on a number of occasions in his role as minister of state. Minister Naughten resigned from cabinet yesterday over revelations he met four times with Mr McCourt, the only bidder who is still involved in the national broadband plan process. In a statement issued last night, Minister Breen has outlined meetings he had with David McCourt, the key bidder in the broadband procurement process, and has said he knows him “on a personal basis”. The Minister of State with responsibility for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, he has “ no role in the National Broadband Plan, its rollout or its procurement”. “In my role as Minister of …

The Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman today (Thursday) launched their annual report for 2016. The report highlighted that the Office of the Press Ombudsman received 261 complaints in 2016, down from 278 in the previous year. The complaints related to articles published in national and local newspapers, magazines and online-only news publications. In 2016 the Press Ombudsman made 23 decisions, down from 34 the previous year. Nine complaints were upheld in 2016. Speaking at the launch at the Maldron Hotel in Dublin, the Press Ombudsman, Peter Feeney, said, “Member publications are providing a service to their readers which is largely compliant with the requirements found in the Code of Practice”. Seán Donlon, the chair of the Press Council, welcomed the review of the Defamation Act, which is currently taking place. He said that “reforms suggested by the Press Council and others would result in the possibility of lesser financial court settlements and more frequent …

The Minister for Communications Denis Naughten will be briefing the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Infrastructure, Environment and Climate Action on the international cyber attack incident later this afternoon.The minister will also brief the Cabinet tomorrow (Tuesday). “There have been no further reported incidences of the ‘Wannacry2’ malware in Ireland, beyond the isolated case in a HSE funded facility in Wexford on Saturday. It is still possible that further incidences will arise and a sustained period of vigilance will be required, both in terms of updating and patching software and monitoring equipment,” he said. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment is monitoring the situation on an ongoing basis, and remains in close contact with international counterparts and with public and private sector entities in Ireland, both in terms of the dealing with the threat and taking measures to ensure that the impact of any future variants of this malware is limited. The NCSC …

€100 million for energy efficiency projects, Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment Denis Naughten said today (Wednesday) as he announced his endorsement of the Energy Action Conference, to be held in Croke Park on March 6. Minister Naughten said he is “determined to implement policies that can help people in fuel poverty make their homes more energy efficient and switch to cleaner fuels and noted that the additional funding will support critical fuel poverty programmes like the Warmer Homes scheme and the new Warmth and Wellbeing pilot which will demonstrate that improving energy efficiency can lead to wider benefits including less reliance on medication and health services”. “Fuel poverty, energy efficiency and the air we breathe are closely related issues”, he added. This made the theme of the conference in Croke Park ‘Fuel Poverty and Climate Change’, all the more timely. “Empowering people means giving them the means to reduce their bills, to cut the fuel they consume, …

THE Minister for Communications and the Environment, Denis Naughten, will visit the ESB Moneypoint powerstation on Wednesday next. Clare TD Michael Harty, who has arranged the visit, said it is an important one, as the future of Moneypoint is uncertain. “This is a very important visit as the programme for a partnership government has outlined that in anticipation of Moneypoint coming to the end of its operating life in its current configuration, the Department of Communications, Climate Change and Natural Resources will identify, as soon as possible, the most suitable replacement low carbon generation technology,” Dr Harty said. “To achieve this ambitious goal, all State bodies will need to engage positively with local communities to manage the transition to a low carbon future. The partnership government has committed to develop a low carbon transition and mitigation plan, within six months, which will examine specific measures to reduce emissions in electricity generation and will outline how new technologies can be ready …