Fallout from Edwin Poots resignation
dwin Poots is facing political oblivion only a month after achieving his career ambition – to lead the party his late father Charlie helped found.
So what went so wrong so quickly for the DUP’s shortest-serving leader?
Here are some of the reasons Mr Poots’ tenure has ended in such ignominy:
- The ousting of Arlene Foster was certainly decisive but it was also strikingly brutal. The former DUP leader resigned within 24 hours of it being widely leaked to the media that a significant number of elected representatives had signed a letter of no confidence.
- In an acceptance speech at party headquarters, in which he pledged to be the authentic voice of unionism, the leader designate failed to mention his defeated rival candidate, Jeffrey Donaldson.
- The fallout from what was a ‘gloves off’ leadership battle included allegations of intimidation and bullying levelled against sections of the Poots camp.
- What heralded his demise was his insistence on pressing ahead with the nomination of his close friend Paul Givan as First Minister, despite opposition from a majority of his election representatives who were deeply unhappy that it would be accompanied by a major win for Sinn Féin on Irish language laws.
Public divided on easing of Covid restrictions
A narrow majority of people say the reopening of social and economic life should proceed quickly, while a significant minority are much more cautious, the latest Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI opinion poll finds.
A large majority also want some precautions — such as the wearing of masks in shops — to remain even after most people are vaccinated against Covid-19.
As restrictions continue to be eased, with further reopening of social and economic life reopening scheduled next month, 50 per cent of respondents say they want the Government to proceed with the full reopening “as quickly as possible”. But 46 per cent say they want the reopening to take place “at a much slower pace”, with 4 per cent not giving a view.
Three people arrested after throwing glass at Dublin restaurant workers
Three men have been arrested after an incident on Dublin’s South William Street that reportedly saw a group throw glass at restaurant workers.
The incident took place last night at around 9.30pm and resulted in one of the workers attending hospital for their injuries.
Gardaí are investigating the incident, which follows recent reports of public disorder around the city centre area.
“Gardaí are investigating reports of a group of four persons causing a disturbance on South William Street,” a Garda statement said.
“It is reported the group threw glass and glass bottles at staff members of a premises in the area.
“One such staff member attended St James Hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
“Garda attended the scene and three men, two early 20s and one late teens, were arrested and taken to Pearse Street Garda station.”
Just 13% of Dublin city hotel rooms booked
Internal industry figures seen by The Irish Times show that Dublin city centre hotels are facing a difficult summer, with average occupancy levels of about 13 per cent forecast for the height of summer based on current bookings.
This contrasts with hotels in many areas outside the capital which have seen a surge in bookings since the sector reopened on June 2nd and domestic tourism resumed.
Hoteliers and their representatives have criticised the decision this week by the Government to impose tough quarantine measures even on vaccinated travellers from Britain in their efforts to slow down the more transmissible Delta variant, which originated in India.
Insurance Ireland faces EU antitrust charges
Insurers' association Insurance Ireland was charged by EU antitrust regulators on Friday with restricting access to a data sharing platform used in the country's motor vehicle insurance market following a two-year investigation.
Insurance Ireland, which covers over 90 per cent of the motor vehicle insurance market in the Republic, runs a data system called Insurance Link and sets conditions for accessing it.
The platform offers a non-life insurance claims data pool and a facility for its users to request certain data about such claims, enabling insurers to better assess risk and combat potential fraud.
The European Commission said preliminary findings showed that Insurance Ireland arbitrarily delayed or de facto denied the access of certain insurers and their agents to Insurance Link.
It said access since at least 2009 and until today was linked to membership in the association.
