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Morning top 5: Details of new Land Development Agency to be announced; Report finds Maíría Cahill failed by police; UK warns no deal, no divorce bill

The Government will today announce further details of its plan to establish a new Land Developmen...
Newstalk
Newstalk

07.08 13 Sep 2018


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Morning top 5: Details of new...

Morning top 5: Details of new Land Development Agency to be announced; Report finds Maíría Cahill failed by police; UK warns no deal, no divorce bill

Newstalk
Newstalk

07.08 13 Sep 2018


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The Government will today announce further details of its plan to establish a new Land Development Agency to tackle the ongoing housing crisis.

The Taoiseach has said the agency will be handed €1.25 to build social, affordable and private homes.

It comes after hundreds of people took to the streets of Dublin last night in protest at the forceful eviction of activists from a vacant building in the city.

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Protesters voiced their fury at the manner of the eviction – and called on the Government to begin the compulsory purchase of vacant buildings in cities around the country to ease the crisis.

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A new report from the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland has found that alleged sex abuse victim Maíría Cahill was failed by a disjointed PSNI investigation into her case.

Ms Cahill told police she had been abused by a prominent IRA member and, in subsequent years, was subjected to an IRA 'investigation' of her allegations.

Ombudsman Dr Michael Maguire has found that the PSNI predecessor, the RUC, had information of both the abuse and the IRA inquiry – but did not investigate.

The PSNI investigated her claims when she made a formal complaint in 2010 and a number of people were prosecuted.

However, the trials collapsed when she withdrew her evidence citing a loss of confidence in how the matter had been dealt with by police.

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There are calls for the resignation of the Health Minister in the aftermath of the Cervical Check scandal.

Independent TD Mattie McGrath is also demanding that the HSE be abolished.

He warned that the Scally report, published yesterday, highlighted the volume of weakness within the HSE management system.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil has said it will work with the Government to get the 50 recommendations included in the report implemented as quickly as possible.

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The UK has warned that it will not pay its Brexit ‘divorce bill’ if it crashes out of the EU with no deal.

Writing in the Telegraph this morning, UK Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said a good deal remains “our overriding priority” but insisted Britain “need not fear” a no deal exit.

It comes as UK Prime Minister Theresa May holds a special Cabinet meeting to discuss preparations for a no-deal situation.

The UK Government is due to publish a new set of technical guidelines on issues including a return to mobile phone roaming charges.

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Evacuation orders are in place as the “monster” hurricane Florence bears down on the east coast of the US.

The storm's reaching wind speeds of up to 110 miles per hour and is likely to bring "life threatening, catastrophic flash flooding."

More than five million people live in its path and mass evacuations have been ordered.

States of emergency have been declared in Georgia, Virginia and North and South Carolina.


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