Garda sentenced
A serving garda has been jailed for three years and three months for the coercive control of his terminally ill partner.
The 43-year-old woman told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Monday how her former partner Paul Moody told her the only reason he had visited her while in hospital was to “watch you bleed to death”.
She was giving her victim impact statement in the sentence hearing of the 42-year-old man who harassed, threatened, assaulted, stole from and controlled the woman for over four years after they met online in 2017.
The court heard that the man sent the woman over 30,000 messages over those years and in one 14-hour period, in July 2018, sent her 652 messages, amounting to one message every 90 seconds.
Charlie Bird donations
Retired broadcaster Charlie Bird has described donating more than €3.3 million to charities following his Croagh Patrick climb as one of the “most remarkable” days in his life.
The former RTÉ chief news correspondent, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease last year, was joined by friends and family at an event in Dublin’s Merrion Park on Tuesday.
Mr Bird thanked people across the country for their “unwavering” support as he presented two cheques, each worth €1.688 million, to the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and mental health charity Pieta.
He said: “This is one of the most remarkable days in my life…Last October I was diagnosed with a terminal illness and I’ve had many dark days since then.
Sexual assault sentencing
A man who sexually assaulted his half-sister when she was 13 years old has been jailed for two and half years.
The court heard that following the attack the girl pushed her bed up against her bedroom door so that he would not get back in.
The woman described how she told her then 18 or 19-year-old half-brother that she was going to “tell mammy or the guards” and had cried all night following the assault until her eyes were raw.
The 40-year-old accused man, who cannot be named to protect his sister’s identity, pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to the sexual assault at the victim’s family home on a date in 2001.
Monkeypox strategy
The Government has to meet the challenge posed by rising levels of monkeypox in Ireland “head on", according to HIV Ireland.
It comes following the World Health Organisation (WHO) designation of monkeypox as “a public health emergency of international concern."
HIV Ireland board member and consultant in infectious diseases at St Vincent’s University Hospital, prof Paddy Mallon said: “That the WHO has now designated monkeypox as a public health emergency of international concern underlines the seriousness with which this current widespread outbreak should be viewed.”
Lost bags
A committee has been told there are almost 4,200 lost bags in Dublin Airport, and it is “like trying to climb a sand dune” to return all baggage to the owners as the busy summer period continues.
The Oireachtas Transport Committee also heard that the Defence Forces are not expected to be needed to help the airport with Covid-related staff absences, which are lower than expected.
In recent months, passengers have complained about long queues at the airport, flight delays and cancellations, and lost baggage, particularly in relation to connecting flights.
There have also been complaints about cleanliness and poor food and drink facilities once passengers pass through security, as international travel rebounded quicker than expected after the Covid-19 emergency.
