A roundup of today's other home news in brief
Repair of lifts at Ballymun may take six months
Just nine of the 27 lifts in Dublin’s Ballymun flats are working despite the intervention of the Army, the High Court has heard.
It will take the Army six months to fix all of the lifts because they are not experienced lift engineers, Des Feeney of Dublin City Council’s, has said.
Mr Feeney was giving evidence at the hearing yesterday of an application by the council to have the court declare illegal a picket placed on the flats by the electricians’ union, the TEEU, since last February.
Ms Justice Mary Laffoy said she hoped to give her judgment early next month.
Teacher fails to halt abuse inquiry
A former secondary school teacher has failed to stop a HSE inquiry into allegations he sexually abused a male pupil nine years ago.
However, Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill strongly criticised the HSE for a “litany of failures” in its handling of the allegations over a period of several years after they were first made by the boy’s mother in 2001.
The family left Ireland for the US shortly afterwards and a year later an American counsellor acting for the boy, notified the health board he had made “a verbal outcry” about alleged sexual abuse by the teacher.
Brother loses claim against ticket clerk
An Irish Rail ticket clerk said a religious brother had used bad language after having been refused a free travel train ticket at Heuston station, the Circuit Civil Court in Dublin heard yesterday.
Judge Jacqueline Linnane dismissed a €38,000 claim for damages by Br Malachy Buckley.
Br Buckley (78), De La Salle Monastery, Beneavin Road, Dublin, said he had presented a photocopy of his free travel pass to Adrienne Hyland who said it was “a counterfeit” and had thrown it on the ground. Br Buckley claimed the words suggested he was dishonest and a thief.
Ms Hyland said he thumped the counter with his fists, saying he was “not f...ing moving”.
Engagement
Fine Gael TD Lucinda Creighton has become engaged to parliamentary party colleague Senator Paul Bradford from Cork East.
Ms Creighton (30), European affairs spokeswoman for the party, said: “We are very happy.” One of the rising stars of Fine Gael, she was elected to the Dáil in 2007 on her first attempt.
Senator Bradford (46) is the party spokesman on foreign affairs in the Seanad. He was one of the unluckiest candidates at the general election, failing to make it to the Dáil despite polling over 8,900 first preferences.