Killian Doherty

Two people have died in a two vehicle road traffic collision in County Tyrone.

The incident happened just after 8am on the Omagh to Ballygawley Road close to a meat factory.

The road is closed at the Bankmore road with traffic diverted through Beragh.

The deceased have been named as Maurice McCloughan from Fintona and Killian Doherty from Drumquin.

The Sunday World understands both men were travelling in the same vehicle.

Both men were popular Gaelic footballers.

Maurice played for Fintona Pearses GAA, while Killian played for Drumquin Wolfe Tones.

In a statement of their Facebook page, a spokesperson for Fintona Pearses posted: “Our club has been hit with the tragic news that club player Maurice McCloughan has passed away this morning.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Kevin, Maggie, Kevin, Johnny, Aaron, Ellen and wider family circle.

“It is at times like this that it is really important that we are there to support his family and each other.

“There will be a vigil held tonight at 7.00pm in the clubrooms for family, friends and club members with a book of condolence, cup of tea and a chat.

“Guí ar son a anam.”

 A message posted on the Drumquin Through the Years community Facebook page read: “Devastating news reaching us this morning with the news that we have lost Killian Doherty in a early morning accident outside Omagh.

“Killian was familiar to us all having worked in McKenna's shop in the village and was always polite and mannerly in any exchange with him, he was also a valued member of the local Drumquin Wolfe Tones GAA club.

“Killian will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved him. Our deepest sympathies are extended to Killian's family and friends at this most difficult of times.

“Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.”

Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd said: “I would firstly like to extend my condolences to the families of the two young men who died following a two vehicle road traffic collision today on the Doogary Road, Omagh.

“I would appeal to anyone who was travelling on the Doogary Road this morning at approximately 8.00am and who may have witnessed this incident to contact Police at Omagh on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference 376 10/12/16.”

 

Yaya Toure

Yaya Toure is the latest footballer to fall foul of drink-driving laws, with high-profile cases going back decades.

While some, like the Manchester City defender, have been reprimanded with a ban and fine, other cases have been more serious, including players whose intoxicated driving has resulted in deaths and jail sentences.

Here are some other players and managers who have appeared in court after drink-driving:

• Arsenal and England defender Tony Adams was sentenced to four months in jail in 1990 after he crashed his car into a wall in Essex while drunk. After admitting alcoholism, Adams founded the Sporting Chance clinic to help sportsmen and women deal with drink, drug and gambling addictions.
•  Adams' former Arsenal teammate Paul Merson was given a 14-month driving ban in February 2012 after a court heard how he crashed his Mercedes into a 38-tonne truck after he fell asleep on the M40. Merson, who suffered a head injury in the accident in October 2011, was fined £1,500 after admitting drink-driving.
• Another former Arsenal player, winger Jermaine Pennant, was sentenced to three months in jail for drink-driving and driving while disqualified in 2005. After his release, he became the first player to play while wearing an electronic tag and went on to play for clubs including Liverpool, Real Zaragoza and Stoke.
• Plymouth Argyle goalkeeper Luke McCormick was jailed for seven years and four months in October 2008 after admitting causing the deaths of Arron Peak, 10, and his brother Ben, eight, by dangerous driving. A court heard that McCormick had spent much of the night partying and was twice the drink-drive limit when he smashed into a car carrying the youngsters on a motorway in Staffordshire.
• Coventry City and West Bromwich Albion striker Lee Hughes was jailed for six years in August 2004 for ploughing his £100,000 Mercedes sports car into another vehicle, killing a father-of-four. He was driving home from a post-match drinking session when the crash happened and fled the scene on the outskirts of Coventry on foot to avoid a breath test.
• Former England star Ray Wilkins was banned from driving for four years in July after admitting drink-driving near Heathrow Airport. A member of the public spotted him driving his Mercedes in the middle of the road and straddling a bus lane along the A4 northern perimeter road in London on July 1.
• Former Manchester United and Northern Ireland winger George Best, who died in 2005, was convicted of drink-driving and assaulting a policeman in 1984. He was jailed for 12 weeks and spent Christmas in Pentonville Prison in north London.
• England international Gary Charles was imprisoned twice, once for drink-driving and again for cutting off his electronic tag to go on holiday to the Costa del Sol.
• Former England defender Terry Fenwick, who played for Tottenham and QPR in the 1980s, was given a four-month sentence in 1991 for drink-driving.

Janet Morrissey

A WOMAN has been sent for trial accused of possession of more than €117,000 in cash, which gardai believe to be the proceeds of crime.

Janet Morrissey (35) had a book of evidence served on her when she appeared before Blanchardstown District Court.

She is accused of engaging in the possession of property – €117,800 – that was the proceeds of criminal conduct, or that she was reckless as to whether the money was the proceeds of crime.

The alleged incident took place at her home in Lucan on April 4.

A state solicitor told Judge David McHugh that the book of evidence was ready and it was served on the defendant.

Judge McHugh gave Ms Morrissey the formal notice that she must provide to the prosecution within 14 days details of any alibi she intends to rely on.

He also made an order for disclosure by the State of the accused’s garda interview video.

The judge sent Ms Morrissey forward to Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, remanding her on bail under existing terms.

She did not address the court during the brief hearing.

Previously, Det Gda Jerome Twomey, from the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Unit, gave evidence of the arrest, charge and caution in the case.

Det Gda Twomey said the accused, with an address at Meile An Ri Drive, Balgaddy, Lucan, was handed a copy of the charge sheet and she made no reply to the charge after caution.

On that occasion, earlier this year, Det Gda Twomey said he was not seeking any conditions of bail.

Defence barrister Ciaran MacLoughlin applied for free legal aid, telling the court that the accused was not working.

Judge McHugh assigned defence solicitor Michael Staines on legal aid. Ms Morrissey has not yet indicated how she is pleading to the charge.

She is due to appear in the circuit court later this week, when her case will be mentioned before a judge.

A WOMAN and her daughter watched in fear as a drunk tried to open their front door, a court was told.

Vincent Shortt (44), a chronic alcoholic, had got into their car before attempting to enter the house.

The court heard he had been drinking vodka before the incident and had “very little recollection” of it.

He was ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service instead of five months in jail.

Shortt, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to trespass causing fear and interfering with a car on July 23.

Gda Gabriel Murphy told Dublin District Court it was reported that a man was in the driveway of a house in Templeogue Wood at 4.35pm.

There was a car in the driveway and the accused tried the door of the vehicle before opening it and getting into the driver’s seat.

While in the car, he interfered with it, causing minor damage, the court heard. The woman was watching from her window as Shortt, originally from Crumlin, approached the house. He tried to open the front door, but it was locked.

The victim and her daughter were both “extremely frightened”, the court was told.

Shortt returned to the car, before leaving the driveway.

When gardai arrived, he was still in the housing estate.

He was intoxicated and abusive to them. Shortt was arrested, but made no reply to the charges when cautioned, Gda Murphy said.

The accused had a different demeanour and was a “very pleasant man” when sober, his solicitor told the court. He had apologised the next day and indicated early on that he was going to plead guilty.

“It must have been a very frightening experience for the people in the house,” Judge Bryan Smyth said.

Shortt had 28 previous convictions for offences including theft and breach of the peace, but this was “by far the most serious”, his solicitor said. He had no prior convictions for trespass or interfering with a vehicle.

Shortt was a chronic alcoholic, was homeless and had been going through a “bad patch”.

He had been drinking vodka on the day of the incident and had very little recollection of what had happened. He was now taking daily medication to help him stop drinking.

Judge Smyth imposed the community service order on the trespass charge and said he took the other into consideration.

FILE PICTURE

A MOTORIST caught driving without insurance for the 12th time has been jailed for five months.

Father-of-three Robert Whelan (29) was told he would be spending Christmas in prison after he admitted the offence.

Judge David McHugh also banned him from driving for 10 years.

Whelan, of Longdale Terrace, Ballymun, pleaded guilty to driving without insurance or a licence last September 24.

Blanchardstown District Court heard gardai were on patrol at 10.50pm on the night in question when they stopped the accused’s silver Volkswagen Polo.

He had 11 previous convictions for driving without insurance. His three children would now be “missing him for Christmas” because of his actions, his solicitor Simon Fleming said.

“He has been breaching court orders, that is clear, but he doesn’t run from gardai,” said Mr Fleming.

“When he is caught, he’s caught.

He does stop for gardai and put his hands up.”

The court heard Whelan had been in a motorbike accident, which he was lucky to survive and which left him with a bad head injury.

Mr Fleming asked the judge to reduce the sentence.

“When I look at his previous convictions, the answer is a firm no,” the judge said.

A baby was taken into care after a garda found the child''s mother "smoking heroin down a lane" while the baby sat in a buggy looking "grubby and distraught".

A man in his 30s has been arrested by officers from the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and the Special Crime Task Force in connection with a seizure of guns and ammo on Quarry Road in Cabra, Dublin 7 on the 5th of November.

Two sub-machine guns, three hand guns, two silencers and a quantity of ammunition was seizued as part of a planned operation where a car was searched.

The man was arrested in the Cabra area this morning and is currently being held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act at Finglas Garda Station. 

Harry Whitlam

A tractor driver who drank the estimated equivalent of 13 pints of beer the night before he ran over and killed an 11-year-old boy on a farm has been jailed for more than a year.

Gary Green, 51, was given a sentence of 16 months and two weeks in prison at Leeds Crown Court for health and safety violations which contributed to the death of Harry Whitlam at a farm near the city.

Green was more than two times the legal driving limit when the incident happened in August 2013.

He claimed he had drunk four pints in the pub the night before, followed by two cans at home.

But Judge Guy Kearl QC heard that an expert had concluded that Green must have consumed the equivalent of 13 pints of beer before going to bed at 2am.

Green was prosecuted under health and safety rather than road traffic law as he was on private land at the time of Harry's death.

Harry's mother, Pam Whitlam, said: "It is not OK for anyone, whether on a public road or private land, to be drunk and get behind the wheel of a vehicle.

"My hope today, now the court process is complete, is that Harry's life becomes more than one day and as a family we can again remember the good times we shared."

Mrs Whitlam added: "The day we lost Harry our close-knit family was changed forever.

"We all miss him dearly and it has not got easier with time but harder.

"Harry was my youngest son, a much-loved brother, grandson, nephew and cousin.

"The only memories I currently have of Harry are from the day of the accident but his life was so much more."

Declan 'Whacker' Duffy

Declan Duffy, who is charged with false imprisonment and violent disorder, has been refused bail at the Special Criminal Court.

Last December, at Cloverhill District Court, Duffy (43), of Hannover Street West in Dublin was charged with three counts of false imprisonment at The Towers, Garters Lane in Saggart on June 9th, 2015.

He is also charged with violent disorder at the same place on the same date.

Today, Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding, with Judge Martin Nolan and Judge Cormac Dunne, refused bail to Mr Duffy.

On Monday, the gardai had objected to the bail application. 

Detective Inspector Colm O'Malley told the court that if released on bail Mr Duffy would be a "flight risk".

The court had also heard evidence from Detective Chief Superintendent Lorraine Wheatley, who said that her objection was based on Section 2A of the Bail Act. 

The section allows a Chief Superintendent give evidence that the refusal of bail is necessary to prevent the commission of a serious offence. 

Mr Justice Hunt said that the court was satisfied Mr Duffy was a flight risk.

Mr Duffy was remanded in custody until October 3 next year, when his trial is expected to begin.

Daniel Hickey

Martin Mahon

Gillian McCann-Johnston

A Dublin man has been found guilty of attempting to murder a woman from Co Antrim by plunging a knife into her neck during a frenzied attack in the US.

Martin Mahon, originally from Walkinstown in Dublin, has been convicted of attempting to murder his former partner, Gillian McCann Johnston, in Florida.

Ms McCann Johnston has said she's "relieved it's over". She also claimed he showed "no remorse" during the trial.

Ms McCann Johnston, who is originally from Co. Antrim, met Mahon in Dublin and had a two year relationship with him. The couple split up in the summer of 2014, with Ms McCann Johnson forced to get a restraining order against the man in September of that year.

The trial heard that during the afternoon of October 27 2014, Mahon called to the woman's apartment in Fort Lauderdale. While there, he tried to convince his ex to drop the restraining order.

When she refused, he left the apartment, only to return at approximately 6am the following morning and stab the woman in the neck. He then attempted to cut his own neck. 

Fortunately, a nearby friend heard the woman screaming and was able to alert the authorities. Ms McCann-Johnston miraculously survived the ordeal.

Friday last, Mahon was found guilty of second degree attempted murder and violating a restraining order.

Ms McCann-Johnston told Independent.ie: "I am just relieved that it's over and he can't hurt anyone else. The truth won. He showed no remorse at all. He couldn't man up and tell the truth."

He is being held in Broward County Jail in southern Florida, with sentencing due in February.

After the incident Ms McCann Johnston, who runs a cleaning business, told friends on Facebook: "I'm so happy to be alive... guess it wasn't my time to go... and the scars will heal."

If you are affected by the article above, call the Samaritans Helpline on 116-123

Via Independent.ie

Stock image

A man with 162 previous convictions, who was caught with housebreaking implements within 24 hours of his release from custody, has been given a suspended sentence.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard Christy Connors (27) has not spent Christmas with his family since 2008.

Connors of Cookstown Cottages, Tallaght, Dublin pleaded guilty to production of a rod-like device to be used in a theft or a burglary in Dun Laoghaire on January 28, 2015.

In January 2013, Connors received a four-year sentence with the final year suspended for assault of an off-duty garda and the theft of her handbag on February 2, 2011 at Cornelscourt Shopping Centre in Dublin.

He was released on January 9, 2015 and rearrested for burglary three days later. He got High Court bail on January 26, 2015 and committed this offence within 24 hours of being released.

Judge Melanie Greally had adjourned sentencing with Connors in custody to allow a probation report be prepared after hearing evidence in the case last March.

Judge Greally today said Connors had a difficult personal background and spent a significant period of his young life in prison. She noted that he had recently seen the error of his ways and expressed a desire to turn his life around.

She said he had been applying his time in custody to "worthwhile pursuits" and imposed a three-year sentence which she suspended in full. She ordered 18 months probation supervision.

Garda Neill Doyle told Lorcan Staines BL, prosecuting, that he was on patrol on Harbour Road in Dun Laoghaire when he saw a car in which Connors was a passenger. He followed the car to Charlemont Avenue and saw Connors exit with a stick like object in his hand.

Gda Doyle said it was a whip-like implement which was used as a "fishing" device to hook out car keys from houses. He identified himself as a garda and told Connors to stop.

Connors dropped the implement and took up an aggressive stance. Gardai struggled to restrain him and he tried to bite one of the gardai to free himself. He was pepper sprayed before being arrested.

Gardai also found gloves, a hat and a glass breaking hammer in the car.

Kenneth Kerins BL, defending, said Connors mother had died since the last hearing and his client had been unable to attend her funeral which had compounded his desire to put these matters behind him. He said Connors was doing very well in custody.

At the earlier hearing in March, defence counsel said Connors had a difficult background with no strong male role model. He said Connors was using substances from a young age which lead to him becoming involved in criminality. He handed in a letter from Connors to the court.

He said since 2008 Connors had not spent Christmas with his family or attended any family event of note. He said Connors accepted this could not continue and was anxious to get on with his life.

Mr Kerins asked the court to leave Connors with some hope and to structure a sentence which would allow the probation service to intervene with him prior to his departure from prison.

Fiona Ferguson

Robert Ellis (left) pictured with armed robber Lee McDonnell

A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of “known criminal” Robert Ellis.

The male in his 20’s was arrested this morning. He is currently detained under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at Lucan Garda Station.

Ellis was stabbed to death at Liscarne Gardens in the early hours of Tuesday the 1st of November.

25-year-old Ellis was a pal of well-known criminal Lee McDonnell and had a number of previous convictions but was not considered a major criminal.

It later emerged that the father of one feared for his life in the days before the attack after receiving threats.

“He told his friends that he wanted to go to prison where he would be safer. He was paranoid in the days before he was killed,” a source said.

Ellis was previously involved in a botched hit on the two brothers, during which he and a number of associates targeted the wrong property.

A grey squirrel has had a lucky escape after getting trapped behind the grille of a car.

The RSPCA was alerted after the squirrel became wedged between the grille and radiator of the moving car, in Llangefni, North Wales, on Sunday.

Staff at a local garage were enlisted to help cut a hole in the vehicle and set the squirrel free.

RSPCA inspector Mike Pugh said: "This remarkable squirrel had been through an unbelievable ordeal, somehow getting through the grille of a moving car.

"We are grateful to Moduron Maethlu Motors for supporting us, and attending on a Sunday - without charge - to help this squirrel out. They were happy to attend straight away to help an animal, which was amazing.

"Thankfully, the animal found its way to freedom through a hole which the mechanic had made for it. This was quite an incredible rescue.

"Undoubtedly, the kindness of this Llangefni garage is further evidence as to how communities, working together, can do great things for animal welfare."

Aled Thomas, general manager of the garage, added: "It was a bit of a shock to be asked to rescue a squirrel trapped inside of a car.

"But when the RSPCA got in touch, we explained that to help a distressed animal, we would provide a mechanic immediately and free of charge. It was our pleasure to help.

"Damien, our mechanic, jumped straight in his van, and we're just pleased the squirrel is now free."

A multi-millionaire property developer strangled his escort girlfriend during an attempt to "frighten" her into stopping her blackmailing him, he told a jury.

Peter Morgan, 54, killed Georgina Symonds, 25, at her bungalow in Llanmartin, Newport, after hearing of her plans to fleece him, leave him and work for other men.

The father of two paid Miss Symonds, a former burlesque dancer, up to £10,000 per month and allowed her to live rent-free at the £300,000 property he owned with his estranged wife, Newport Crown Court heard.

Morgan had previously told the jury that Miss Symonds had a series of intimate pictures of him, which she threatened to show his wife and daughters.

She had pictures of Morgan engaging in threesomes at his family home, Beech Hill Farm in Usk, Gwent, as well as images of her wearing his wife's dressing gown.

Morgan, who denies murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility, told the court Miss Symonds had blackmailed "a few" previous clients and said he wanted an assurance from her she would not do the same to him.

"My first option was to try and frighten her. I thought it might not work. I just thought she would be so frightened. I didn't know what else to do. I had to stop her from blackmailing me," he told jurors.

"If I just wanted to kill her I would have just gone down there when nobody knew I was there."

He added: "At the time I was going to frighten her. I didn't know how that was going to pan out. Ultimately I thought I might end up killing her, which I did. But ultimately I thought I might end up with a situation where she seemed okay but went to the police."

William Hughes QC, prosecuting, suggested to Morgan in cross-examination that he "executed" a plan to murder Miss Symonds "30 plus hours" after first conceiving it.

He suggested Morgan "took some time" to prepare the ligature and also collected other items together, such as polythene, an iron pole and twine that he used to hide Miss Symonds's body in a workshop at the family farm.

"You have tied knots in the ligature. It has been prepared to give you optimum control when you placed it around Georgina's neck," the prosecutor said.

The defendant replied: "Yes, it was to allow me to have my hands free."

Mr Hughes said: "Putting a ligature around her neck gave you all the control and her none of it."

Morgan rejected this and said: "She did have control. All she had to do was say she wasn't going to do it."

The prosecutor accused Morgan of attempting to "lull her into a false sense of security" when he went to Miss Symonds's bungalow on the morning of the alleged murder with a jewellery box and £400 cash.

Morgan denied this and told the jury: "It wasn't to lull her into a false sense of security. It was to get her to realise that I still cared for her and that I was still there for her."

Mr Hughes replied: "It would allow you the prime opportunity to kill her. Taking all the items that you had prepared was only for one aim.

"If you had gone there originally to frighten her, frightening her would be utilising that ligature. Utilising this ligature to frighten her could also have resulted in serious injury, that's something you appreciated."

Morgan replied: "At the time? I don't know what I was thinking."

The prosecutor said: "But in a moment you killed her. The ultimate aim was to kill her, nothing less."

The defendant denied this and said: "I knew what she was like but as long as she was having money off me what would be the point of blackmailing me?"

Morgan explained that when Miss Symonds's family and friends contacted him after she failed to collect her daughter from school, he said nothing about what had really happened.

"I knew from the moment the police were involved that I would be found out," he told jurors.

Morgan, who has since been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, later confessed to police and directed them to the body.

The court has previously heard that he had planted, in November 2015, a listening device in the bungalow, which was operated by mobile phone.

He called the device - saved on his iPhone as Isobel - in the evening of January 10 and overheard Miss Symonds talking to her lover, Tom Ballinger, about "fleecing" him and moving to London.

Morgan had made dozens of calls to the Isobel number and while being questioned by Mr Hughes he admitted to having sent a text message to the listening device in an attempt to "cover my tracks", in which he thanks Isobel, as "those long chats have been a real help".

Mr Hughes said: "I suggest at that point in time you have resolved to kill Georgina. You knew that contact made with Georgina's numbers would be of interest to those investigating.

"You appreciated that any contact made by your phone could potentially be of interest."

Morgan also told the court that he had previously contemplated poisoning Miss Symonds with anti-freeze in order to get her into hospital for treatment for her drug and alcohol problems.

The trial was adjourned until Wednesday.

A Dublin man's phone was stolen by a woman in her mid-70s at the security area in Dublin airport this morning.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio One, Gavin O’Reilly from Greystones, revealed that his phone and passport were taken at Dublin Airport.

After going through the security area, Mr O'Reilly noticed that he no longer had his passport or iPhone with him.

He told Joe Duffy on Liveline: "They did a search around the area, called the supervisor, called the airport police. They came along and they checked the video. They said: 'We have seen an elderly couple. They seemed to have touched and moved the passports, so we are going to have a quick chat with them'."

"This is at 6:30am in the morning. At that stage, we had missed the flights... the police went down and talked with the elderly couple.

"[The police said:] look, we have done our best, it is obviously not them. They don't have it... A few minutes later, the police [said] we have found your passport but we haven't got the phone. The passport was discarded in the duty-free area, [the garda said] you probably dropped the phone nearby."

Mr O'Reilly told Gardaí that he was not in that area since arriving at the airport. A garda suggested using the 'FindmyiPhone' app, which led to them retrieving the phone.

"I used my partner's phone and saw it was 300 metres away," he said before proceeding to alert the airport police. The app directed Mr O'Reilly to the boarding area where the elderly couple they had previously questioned were standing.

He used the app to set off the phone's alarm.

"[The garda] heard the phone, said please open your bag [to the woman] and out pops the phone.

"I was asked whether I want to press charges or not. You are looking at an elderly couple [in their mid-70s]. You are thinking of your own parents... but I have to press charges, this is a criminal offence. She was arrested and has subsequently been cautioned. That is the end of the matter. "

The woman who was caught with the phone was travelling to Vilnius in Lithuania.

Housing Minister Simon Coveney has revealed his long-awaited plan to tackle the rental crisis.

The standout measure is the establishment of ‘Rent Pressure Zones’ in Dublin and Cork which will restrict rent hikes to 4pc per annum. Here are the key questions on the plan:

What is a Rent Pressure Zone?

These are areas where rents are high and rising quickly which will now be subject to price caps. Legislation is passing through the Dáil and Seanad that will designate Dublin and Cork city as RPZs before Christmas. As a result annual rent increases in these cities will be restricted to 4pc per annum for the next three years.

Why just Dublin and Cork?

For an area to be designated as a RPZ the average rent registered with the Residential Tenancies Board must be above the national average and rising at a year-on-year rate of 7pc for four out of the last six months. Dublin and Cork city have been deemed as qualifying immediately but the RTB will have to study the rest of the country.

Are all rental properties in Dublin and Cork covered?

No. Properties that are new to the market (not leased at any time in the previous two years) will be exempt as will properties that have been “substantially refurbished”.

What happens after three years?

A RPZ status ends automatically after three years meaning the rent review process will revert to normal.

There were calls to link rent increases to the rate of inflation. Why didn’t Simon Coveney take this approach?

The minister said a “blunt rent cap” would disincentive landlords entering the market and “literally shut off supply overnight”. Noting that inflation for this year is negative, Mr Coveney said: “We want landlords to make a reasonable return.”

How does this affect the ‘rent certainty’ measures introduced last year?

The last Government introduced measures that restricted rent reviews to every two years. This rule will still apply outside of RPZs. They will cease to apply in Dublin and Cork but not until rents fall due for review.

What supply measures are being proposed?

The minister has announced a series of measures aimed at kick-starting supply. These include:

Examining the tax/fiscal treatment of accommodation providers

Using publicly owned land for development

Promoting a build to rent model

Supporting credit availability for bringing vacant stock into the private rental market.

Exploring the potential to bring into use, for rental purposes, vacant properties where owners move to a nursing home under the Fair Deal scheme.

STOCK IMAGE

Tests can predict whether children as young as three will grow up to be criminals, claim a disproportionate amount of benefits or be obese, researches have found in a 35-year study.

Scientists from King's College London believe society could intervene to give the children better chances after studying a group of more than 1,000 people until they were 38.

They found a fifth of a study group, all born in Dunedin, New Zealand, were responsible for 81% of criminal convictions, 66% of welfare benefits and 57% spending nights in hospital.

Furthermore, the researchers found that this group could be accurately predicted with a 45-minute "brain health" test at the age of three.

Professor Avshalom Caspi from the university's social genetic and developmental psychiatry department said: "There is a really powerful connection from children's early beginnings to where they end up.

"The purpose of this was not to use these data to complicate children's lives any further. It's to say these children - all children - need a lot of resources, and helping them could yield a remarkable return on investment when they grow up."

Brain health was determined by assessing intelligence, receptive language and motor skills.

Deprivation was also found to be a major predictor of this group in the study by the London researchers and colleagues from Duke University in North Carolina and the University of Otago in New Zealand.

The high-cost group also smoked 54% of cigarettes, accounted for 78% of prescriptions and 36% of injury insurance claims, according to the research published in journal Nature Human Behaviour.

FILE PHOTO

A man who flew from Argentina to Dublin with 34 pellets of cocaine in his stomach and rectum in what he described as the “most painful ordeal of his life” has been given a partially suspended sentence.

Samuel Templeman (36), an unemployed handyman from the UK, spent several days with drug dealers in Buenos Aires where he was taught how to swallow drug pellets, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard today.

He was supposed to ingest 100 pellets but was only able to swallow 15 before he stuffed another 17 pellets into his rectum and placed two between his buttocks, Garda John O'Reilly told prosecuting barrister Caroline Cummings BL.

He then boarded the 14-hour flight to Ireland where he was supposed to meet another dealer. He was picked up by customs officers on his arrival on May 8, this year.

Templeman, with an address in Lynten Rd, Surrey, England, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing cocaine for sale or supply at Dublin Airport. He has no previous convictions.

Sentencing Templeman to three years' imprisonment, with the final two-and-a-half years suspended, Judge Pauline Codd noted he was “vulnerable prey” to the drug dealers. He has since been diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome, the court heard.

Templeman told gardaí he took up an offer from a friend to take a 10-day “holiday” to pick up the drugs after he lost his job and needed the money. He was paid Stg£2500 for smuggling the cocaine, which had a street value of €23,870.

“He foolishly accepted the offer without knowing too many of the details,” defence barrister, Seamus Clarke BL, said. During his time in Buenos Aires, Templeman spent almost all his time in a flat, before attending a baptism with drug dealers, the court heard. After the baptism he started practising how to swallow the drugs.

“The flight was the most uncomfortable and painful ordeal of his life,” Mr Clarke said, adding Templeman spent the flight in fear the pellets would burst inside him. “He was relieved when he met gardaí.”

The court heard Templeman made immediate and “fulsome” admissions to gardaí, including telling them the names of everyone he met in Argentina. He did not provide the name of the man who set up the trip, out of fear it would put others in danger, Mr Clarke said.

Templeman was brought up in the UK by his grandparents, believing his mother was his stepsister. He started using cannabis and drinking at the age of 11. Despite this, he had an excellent work history, Mr Clarke said. However, he fell into depression when he lost his job and his five-year marriage broke down.

“That led to him getting involved in this unfortunate enterprise,” Mr Clarke said.

Since being taken into custody in May, Templeman had been a “model” prisoner, the court heard. He worked in a trusted position in the prison reception and was described by the chaplain as a “gentle, kind and caring young man”.

Sentencing Templeman, Judge Codd noted his level of co-operation with gardaí was striking. She took into account several mitigating factors, including that he had no previous convictions and had recently been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome.

She backdated the sentence to when he first went into custody, meaning he is now eligible for release. She put a number of conditions in place, including that he must undergo drug counselling in the UK.

STOCK IMAGE

A DUBLIN teenager, who broke a garda's jaw after he was stopped for driving illegally, has been spared a sentence.

One garda suffered a broken jaw and his colleague was also seriously assaulted during the incident in Ballyfermot in Dublin on Sept. 1 last year.

The teen appeared at the Dublin Children's Court where he has pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing harm. He was also found guilty of driving without a licence

In September Judge John O'Connor had been furnished with a probation report on the boy (17) who has no prior criminal convictions and he adjourned the case for three months for an updated report on the youth's progress.

The case resumed on Tuesday when victim impact statements were also furnished to the court.

The court noted that the teenager had engaged with the Probation Service and through their supervision had completed 100 hours of voluntary restorative justice work in his community. He had also written letters of apology.

Sparing him a sentence, the judge imposed a 12-month condition discharge order.

The court heard that when he was initially stopped driving a scrambler motorbike he punched Garda Daniel Matthewson, who suffered a broken jaw.

It was alleged the teen fled and Garda Trevor Mallon called to his home where he was head-butted in the face by the youth, who cannot be named because he is a minor.

Defence counsel Ann Sheridan has told the court that a couple of weeks before the incident, the teen's home had been raided by mistake by armed gardai and this had an effect on the youth.

In pleas for leniency the court heard the youth feared a conviction could affect his career chances.

Samba Sow

An asylum-seeker who assumed a false identity to allow him to work in Ireland, before claiming €50,000 in social welfare payments when he lost his job, has avoided going to prison.

Samba Sow claimed entitlements including job seekers' benefit, job seekers' allowance and rent allowance under the name Moussa Sow over a four-year period between 2011 and 2014.

His deception was flagged by the Department of Social Protection's facial recognition system when he was made legal in 2015, tried to drop his false identity and regularise his situation, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard today.

Sow (55) with an address in Kilakee Way, Firhouse, Dublin pleaded guilty to 18 counts of stealing social welfare payments from Phibsborough Post Office, North Circular Road, Dublin 7 and AIB in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 between April 2011 and December 2014.

Handing down a suspended two-year sentence, Judge Catherine Murphy noted that although Sow claimed his entitlements under a false name, he never tried to claim double payments. “As soon as he was given an alternative social welfare payment, he ceased claiming the first payment,” she said.

Garda Nigel Daly told Dean Kelly BL, prosecuting, that Sow arrived in Ireland from Senegal in 2007 and claimed asylum. He was placed in direct provision in Tralee, Co Kerry and received a payment of €19 a week.

Sow then paid €900 for a French passport with the name Moussa Sow which allowed him to work in the country. He acquired a PPS number under this name and worked in a pub in Dublin for the next four years. While working, he paid income tax and PRSI.

Mr Kelly said Sow was made redundant during the recession and started claiming social welfare payments under the name Moussa Sow. He claimed a total of €50,006 over the next four years, the court heard.

However, when Sow was granted permission to remain in the state, he “brought the claim under Moussa Sow to an end and made a legitimate claim” in his real name, Mr Kelly said. He was recognised by the department's facial recognition software and later arrested.

He has no previous convictions.

Defence barrister, Paul McCarthy SC, said Sow contacted the Department of Social Protection in October 2015 and arranged to pay back €20 weekly. To date, he has returned €1000 of the money he took.

He is currently living in emergency accommodation and shares a double room with another occupant. He has been there some time and is regarded as a “model occupant”, the court heard. He continues to support his wife and two children in Senegal and hopes to gain employment soon, Mr McCarthy said.

Gda Daly agreed that had Sow not sought to regularise his situation, he might never have been detected. He also agreed that Sow never tried to “double dip” or access payments under two names.

Judge Murphy noted a probation services report was extremely positive and found Sow was in no need of further supervision. “He is making and will continue to make an honest effort to pay back the money to social welfare,” she said.