McGahon challenges Adams to lie detector test over IRA claims

Paudie McGahon

A Louth man who claims to have been the victim of IRA sex-abuse as a child has called on Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams to take a polygraph test to determine whether he was a member of the IRA or not.

The Louth TD has always claimed never to have been a member of the IRA but Ardee man Paudie McGahon told The Sunday Independent today that he witnessed Adams admit to being the leader of the illegal organisation on a number of occasions.

McGahon said he heard Adams make the admissions at closed republican meetings which he attended as a teenager in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Now the father of three has challenged Deputy Adams to consent to a lie detector test if he refuted the allegations.

“Gerry Adams spends much of his time denying his past and the only way of establishing what is true or false is for him to take an independent polygraph test,” said McGahon

“I personally heard Mr Adams telling groups of die-hard republicans that he was both the leader of Sinn Féin and the IRA. I used to go to these meetings with my father from the time I was 13 – my father was a big republican sympathiser, which is why our home was being used as a safe house for IRA volunteers like the man who raped me.”

The 40-year-old from Ardee said that he was brought to the secret meetings because he was being “groomed” for recruitment.

The meetings took place in Louth, Monaghan, Donegal and Tallaght in west Dublin

Read the full story here.

Adams expresses concern at growing crime figures in Louth

Gerry Adams

Local TD Gerry Adams has expressed deep concern at the latest crime figures in the wake of two brutal attacks in Louth.

According to the latest CSO recorded crime figures published, the number of assaults, thefts and burglaries has risen over the past year.

The Sinn Féin president said: “In light of the recent shocking killing of Martin Mulligan near Dundalk and the brutal stabbing of a pharmacy employee in Drogheda, the latest crime figures are very worrying. CSO figures show an increase of assaults of 10.4%, burglaries rising by 8.4%, and theft rising by 1.8%.

“There has been a continuous cutting back of vital resources that the Gardaí require to do their job. I recently called on the Minister for Justice to increase Garda numbers which have fallen over the last five years.

“Recent parliamentary questions to the Minister show that a town as large as Drogheda has only five community Gardaí. There is a direct correlation between these figures and the closure of rural Garda stations and lack of investment in Garda resources.

“Communities right across the country are paying the price for Government policy. The Government must increase investment in Garda personnel and resources to deal with the erosion of public confidence in the Garda’s ability to tackle serious crime.”

D’Arcy speculates on possible Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin voting pact

Jim D’Arcy

Local Fine Gael Senator Jim D’Arcy had said that recent comments from Sinn Féin leader and Louth TD Gerry Adams would suggest there is an ever increasing possibility of a voting pact between his party and Fianna Fáil.

Deputy Adams said yesterday that he will go into government with any party. However, Senator D’Arcy said it would be hypocritcal of Fianna Fáil to go into government with Sinn Féin after the next General Election.

“Gerry Adams said he will go into government with any party who has the mandate from the electorate. While at their party think-in Micheál Martin said he believes he is the only alternative Taoiseach on offer. This would suggest that there is every chance of Fianna Fáil and Sinn Fèin coming together.

“Micheál Martin has said in the past that he will not go into coalition with Sinn Fèin, but considering his party’s constant desire to be in power, it would not be unreasonable to think that he may take up Sinn Fèin’s offer, if given the opportunity.

“Comments from some of Micheál Martin’s Dáil deputies would support this view. The idea of doing a deal with Sinn Fèin has been openly touted by Eamonn O’Cúiv and Colm Keaveney, while Bobby Aylward, only this week, said that many Fianna Fáil members would like to enter Government with Sinn Féin, as they come from the same republican background. Are these TDs trying to soften up the electorate in preparation for a voting pact between Fianna Fáil and Sinn Fèin?

“Having experienced the boom and bust eras of Haughey and Bertie, I like many others, am all too aware of the results of Fianna Fáil’s obsession with power, and I believe that Sinn Fèin are eager for any opportunity to be in Government.

“Gerry Adams has predicted that his party will be in government on both sides of the border come 2016, and only yesterday he has said he is willing to do business with anyone to make that happen here in the south.
“Considering what Martin and Adams have said up to this point, it is reasonable to ask, will a vote for Fianna Fáil in the next General Election be a vote for Sinn Fèin?”

Sinn Féin to host public meeting in Dundalk tonight

Sinn Féin will hold a public meeting at 7.30pm tonight in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dundalk.

The meeting will be addressed by the party’s candidates in the forthcoming election, Deputy Gerry Adams TD and Cllr Imelda Munster.

All are welcome to attend the meeting, which will focus on Sinn Féin’s belief that a fair recovery is possible for Ireland.

Adams again denies being a member of the IRA despite just 4% of poll believing him

Gerry Adams

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has again denied ever being a member of the IRA – despite being presented with an opinion poll earlier this week which showed that just 4% of voters believed him.

The Louth TD said the 89pc of people surveyed by RTÉ show ‘Claire Byrne Live’, who believe he was a member of the IRA, are “absolutely” wrong.

The survey took the opinions of 1,000 people, and just 7pc said they didn’t know if they believed Mr Adams.

Mr Adams said he thought it was a “settled matter” and that his denial had been his “consistent position”.

“I stood for an election in Louth, they’re the people who voted and trust me.

“The people in the next election will have the opportunity to sack me if they so wish, so let’s not get distracted,” he said.

When probed by Claire Byrne as to what response he has to people who don’t believe him when he denies he was a member of the IRA, the Sinn Féin TD said he doesn’t “say anything to them”.

The survey also asked people whether it mattered to them if Mr Adams was a member of the IRA. Some 47pc of respondents said that it did matter, while 45pc said it didn’t.

Mr Adams added: “I say vote for Sinn Féin in the next election. I say to them vote for Sinn Féin to continue our work in the peace process.”

Thousands turn out for National Hunger Strike march in Dundalk

Sunday last saw thousands of republicans from across Ireland attend the National Hunger Strike march and rally in Dundalk.

The event was held to mark the 34^th anniversary of the death on hunger strike of 10 young Irish republicans in the H-Blocks of Long Kesh.

A video has been put together of the match, featuring an address from local TD and Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams.

Check it out above.

Adams calls for urgent action on Ard Dealgan apartments

The inside of the Ard Dealgan apartments last Friday

Local TD Gerry Adams has urged Louth County Council to “prioritise as a matter of urgency” the future of the Ard Dealgan apartment block in Quay Street, Dundalk.

The Louth TD’s call comes after the third picket organised by local Councillor Jennifer Green at the site last week.

Deputy Adams attended the picket on Friday and said it had become a “blight” on the local community.

He said: “The Ard Dealgan apartment complex stands as a ruined monument to the worst excesses of the housing development corruption that was a key factor in the economic collapse seven years ago.

“The complex was poorly designed and constructed and was vacated in 2009 as a consequence of fire safety concerns. Since then it has become a blight on the local urban landscape, a source of annoyance and concern for the community around it, and a magnet for anti-social behaviour.”

At Friday’s picket, Deputy Adams and Cllr Pearse McGeough had an opportunity to get inside the complex for the first time.

He said the conditions were “appalling” and there was plenty of evidence that it had become a drugs den.

“It reminded me of the Divis and Moyard Flats complexes’ in west Belfast that were built in the 1960s and which were demolished because of the appalling conditions residents were forced to endure.

The inside of the Ard Dealgan apartments

“As well as fires, noise and pollution issues, Councillor Jennifer Green and Councillor Pearse McGeough who accompanied me last Friday saw evidence that the complex is being used by drug addicts. There were needles lying dangerously about.

“Questions over the ownership of Ard Dealgan; disputes over who has responsibility for securing it; and a lack of planning for its future has seen the internal structure of the Ard Dealgun complex seriously deteriorate.

“In June Louth County Council indicated that they would ‘explore a residential option’ for the 73 units contained in Ard Dealgan for local housing needs. This would require a significant investment of public money.

“The Ard Dealgan complex has been lying boarded up and empty for almost 6 years. There is an onus on the Council and on the Department of the Environment to find an urgent resolution to this issue.”

Councillor Jennifer Green thanked the residents from the surrounding area for braving the poor weather and insisted “the people need to stand up and demand an end to this nightmare.”

She added: “It has been going on too long. I am a mother of two adventurous boys who would just love to explore Ard Dealgan and the very thought of it fills me with horror when I see what the inside is like.  We will continue with these monthly pickets until there is some resolution on the issue.”

Some of the drug paraphernalia found in the Ard Dealgan apartments on Friday

Adams fears health crisis in Co Louth

Adams has raised concerns over patient safety at the emergency department of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital

Local TD Gerry Adams insists he has deep concerns at a potential crisis in health services in County Louth following a meeting with INMO representatives earlier this week

On the back of the meeting the Sinn Féin leader again made a call for an independent, root-and-branch investigation into all care facilities in the State for citizens with intellectual disabilities.

He said: “I held a very informative meeting with INMO representatives on Tuesday at which serious concerns within the health services in Louth were made clear.

“There are serious concerns over patient safety in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Emergency Department in Drogheda.

“These problems were evident under the previous Fianna Fáil-led government and now we see failure by Fine Gael and Labour and Health Minister Leo Varadkar to address the issue.

“There are considerable frustrations that after a decade of overcrowding we still have patients lying on trolleys.

“The resulting stressful working conditions in the Emergency Department is having a major impact on staff at Our Lady of Lourdes, with resilience training recently undertaken at the hospital.

“The issue of acute beds is being directly and adversely impacted by a lack of resources in care for older people, in particular the lack of fully staffed step down beds.

“INMO representatives confirmed that Louth and its environs are the most underfunded and under resourced regions in the state in terms of the provision of services for older citizens.

“An ageing population, lack of cohesive or long-term policies, and years of underfunding under the current and previous Governments have seen long term care/respite beds and services reduced.”

Gerry Adams pictured with Tony Fitzpatrick of the INMO and David Gray of St Mary’s Drumcar

Mr Adams said the HSE was making cut after cut but said these instructions were coming from a higher level.

“The HSE appears focused on reducing staffing levels, meeting fiscal targets and implementing budgetary constraints, rather than ensuring the provision of quality care to patients. This is being driven at a national level and co-ordinated by the HSE’s so called service improvement teams.

“A failure to operate the Fair Deal scheme effectively and the lack of staffed stepdown beds has led to significant delays in patients being discharged from acute hospital beds. This is compounded by a failure to allocate funding to follow need rather than budget schedules.

“Enabling more people to stay at home requires that the serious deficits in Home Care packages are immediately addressed, as well as having sufficient funding ring fenced for housing adaptations all year round.

“Last month, members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation at St Mary’s, Drumcar, balloted for industrial action over budget cuts and inadequate staffing levels which required the intervention of the Labour Relations Commission.

“A HIQA report in June into the unit in St. Mary’s, which has 16 patients with intellectual disabilities, raised very serious concerns and highlighted major non-compliance in nine of the 10 outcomes inspected.

“Lack of sufficient funding is having a huge impact at this facility.

“While there may be longer term plans for moving people with Intellectual Disabilities into community based settings, there are also concerns as to what this will mean if sufficient funding does not follow the patient.

“Quick-fix plans based on firefighting problems as they come to light are not in anyone’s interests .

“I also discussed with the INMO representatives wider concerns that exist around facilities for people with Intellectual Disabilities in light of several critical HIQA reports.

“In this regard, I wish to repeat the calls I have previously made for an independent, root-and-branch investigation into all care facilities in the State for citizens with intellectual disabilities.”

Mr Adams added that currently there are 11 beds closed in the Louth County Hospital in Dundalk and four more at Boyne View House in Drogheda due to nursing shortages.

Fitzpatrick spent the most on getting elected of local TDs in last election

Peter Fitzpatrick TD

Peter Fitzpatrick spent more money campaigning for the last election than any other TD in the county, new figures have revealed.

A new analysis of election spending by The Irish Times shows that successful TDs spent an average of €18,746 campaigning, equivalent to €2.25 for each first-preference vote received.

However, Fitzpatrick was well above that with Fine Gael pumping €33,428 into his campaign. That equates to €4.26 per first preference vote.

The former Louth GAA boss wasn’t the only local TD to spend above the national average though.

The next biggest spend in Louth was by Ged Nash, with the Labour Party pumping €23,210 into his 2011 campaign. That equates to €2.66 for each of his 8,718 first preference votes.

Meanwhile, poll topper Gerry Adams of Sinn Féin spent €20,896 on his campaign, which worked out at €1.39 for each of his 15,072 first preference votes.

At a cost of €1.13 per first preference vote the best value for money was Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd’s who spent €15,867 on his campaign. The Drogheda man secured 13,980 first preference votes and like his three other Dáil colleagues from Louth will stand again in the next election.

Fianna Fáil’s Seamus Kirk – who is retiring at the next election – is not included because, as Ceann Comhairle, he was returned to the Dáil automatically in 2011.

A full breakdown of figures can be found here.

277 personnel in Louth Garda Division

There are currently 277 personnel in the Louth Garda Division.

That’s according to figures from the Garda Commissioner, as of April 30^th 2015.

There are also 45 Garda Reserves and 22 civilians attached to the division.

There are also 16 Community Gardaí in the Louth Division, with six in Dundalk, five in Drogheda, three in Dunleer and one apiece in Clogherhead and Ardee.

The figures were requested by local TD Gerry Adams who has also requested the current budget for Gardaí in Dundalk and north Louth and how it compares each year since 2010.