Here's How ::: Ireland's Political, Social and Current Affairs Podcast

These are the references for episode seven of Here’s How. This is an excellent explanation of the timeline of the Siteserve deal provided by Broadsheet.ie, and this is their transcript of James Morrissey’s interview on RTÉ. This is the Wikipedia article on the non-denial denial. I misspoke in the recording, the article of Bunreacht na hÉireann privileging what is said in the Dáil is in fact article 15.12, not 15.2. Ross Golden-Bannon tweets @goldenshots. Deirdre Conroy is a Architectural Historian and a Travel Journalist. Gráinne Kenny is the honorary president of Eurad.  

Brian Cooke is the Deputy Director General of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry. Fergal Crehan BL is a practicing barrister and Fergal Crehan’s blog. Julian de Spáinn is Árd Rúnaí of Conradh na Gaelige. Catherine Murphy is the independent TD for Kildare North.

The Supreme Court decision on allowing illegally-obtained evidence to be used in court was criticised by Judge Adrian Hardiman. Transparency International lists Ireland as coming in seventeenth place on an index of 175 countries the ‘perceptions of corruption’, putting us in the least corrupt ten per cent of countries. Adrian Weckler is the technology editor of the Irish Independent. Laura Lee is a sex worker who plans to take the government in the south and the northern assembly to the European courts to secure the right to work legally. Santhosh Srinivasan from the Berlin headquarters of Transparency International  explaining the methodology behind their index of corruption. Professor David Farrell holds the Chair of Politics at UCD.  

The definition of Economic Openness is here, and this table puts Ireland in fourth place worldwide for economic openness, behind Hong Kong, Luxembourg and Singapore. Pat Leahy, author and journalist with the Sunday Business Post, discusses recent opinion polls and the prospect of the government getting re-elected. Regina Doherty, Fine Gael TD for Meath East, discusses health care reform in Ireland. Eoin Ó Broin, member of South Dublin County Council and Sinn Féin Dáil candidate for Dublin Mid West, talks about the Sunday Independent, criticism of Sinn Féin, and their economic policies. Lorraine Courtney, freelance journalist, discusses the effects of prostitution legislation. Luke Ming Flanagan, MEP for Ireland North West, discusses the Common Agricultural policy.

Deuteronomy chapter 22, verses 28-29, in the King James translation and the Catholic versions of the Bible. Depending on the translation you have, it is ambiguous whether the rule applies to consensual premarital sex, but it is clear that it demands an unmarried rape victim to marry her rapist. Contrary to attempts to explain this away, it is clear that this rule was enforced on rape victims. As late as 1611, Artemisia Gentileschi, a notable Italian painter was tortured during the trial of her rapist, to supposedly test the veracity of testimony. The rapist, Agostino Tassi, was not tried for rape, but for breaching his promise to her father to marry her. He was not tortured during the trial, (despite clear evidence of perjury) and, though convicted of failing to marry her as agreed, he was never punished. This law, a part of all Abrahamic religions,  is still in force in Jordan where girls as young as 14 years have been forced to marry their rapists in recent years. John Mallon spoke on behalf of Forest Eireann. * An internal tobacco-industry document where they discuss the importance of packaging to attract children to smoking is here. * The 12.8 per cent reduction in cigarette consumption in Australia in the two years since the introduction of plain packaging is noted here. * The fact that the large majority of smokers start smoking while children is noted here. * The direct involvement of tobacco companies in tobacco smuggling is noted here and here. * The creation, funding, control and scripting of the message of ‘Smokers’ Rights Groups’, (including Forest) by tobacco companies is detailed here. Eircode was discussed in the last episode of Here’s How, but thanks to Joe Leogue for providing additional information.

Thanks for help, advice and a plug from the crew at Is It a Bicycle podcast. This is the Ulster Bank Construction PMI report that details a slowing in the growth of construction in Ireland, and this is the Irish Independent article on that report. Dr Darius Whelan is a lecturer in Law at University College Cork. The Psychological Society of Ireland sent me a press release, which included the following text: In particular, the PSI has firmly distanced itself from the use of psychological research in the materials distributed by The Alliance for the Defence of the Family and Marriage (ADFAM).  As the professional body for Psychology in Ireland, the Society expressed concern about psychological research cited by ADFAM in their promotional literature. Dr D’Alton said; “Information in the ADFAM’s leaflet is outdated and contrary to the position of professional psychological bodies such as the world’s largest representative body of psychologists, The American Psychological Association (APA). In 2012, the APA said: “On the basis of a remarkably consistent body of research on lesbian and gay parents and their children, the APA and other health professional and scientific organizations have concluded that there is no scientific evidence that parenting effectiveness is related to parental sexual orientation. That is, lesbian and gay parents are as likely as heterosexual parents to provide supportive and healthy environments for their children.” He also draws attention to the guidelines of his own professional body which conclude; “Empirical studies have failed to find reliable differences between the children of same-sex and heterosexual couples with regard to their gender identity, gender role behaviour, sexual orientation, mental health, or psychological and social adjustment.” Gary Delaney is is the CEO of Loc8. Correction: An earlier version of this page incorrectly said that Loc8 was an underbidder on the national postcode contract. Gary has clarified that this is not the case.

Episode one – with real, live contributors is here! I’m going to try to list all the sources that I reference in the show on the web page of each show, more or less in order. This is the record of the meeting of Fingal County Council where almost every councillor present – including all Labour Party councillors present – voted against allowing people to have a referendum on having a directly-elected mayor for Dublin. They formulated the vote as supporting a referendum at a later time, which they were aware was not provided for in the legislation, and would mean that no vote could be held. In the section on Credit Unions, I talk about an episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, where the ex-Daily Show correspondent exposes the payday loans ‘industry’. Every episode of that show is fantastic, I’d highly recommend it. I know it’s unbelievable, but here are UK-based payday loan companies offering loans with interest rates of 993% and 1,509% APR. Watch the Last Week Tonight episode to see how these companies are, unsurprisingly, wildly profitable and base their whole business model around around trapping people in cyclical borrowing. This is the Sunday Independent article that reports credit unions planning to offer €100m in loans to parents’ of house-buyers to circumvent the Central Bank’s requirements to save up a deposit before buying a house. I’m not a lawyer, but it strikes me a home-buyer reporting the proceeds of such a loan as being their own savings on a mortgaged application is obtaining money by deception, a criminal offence.

Future editions of Here’s How, Ireland’s Political, Social and Current Affairs Podcast will include your phone calls, but episode zero is here mostly to test the system and make sure that everything works smoothly. If you notice any glitches, please report them to podcast@HeresHow.ie. Please also share the podcast on Twitter and Facebook, and you can tell your friends down the pub too. You can subscribe to the podcast, and your podcast software or app will download future episodes automatically, as soon as they are published. Most importantly, please dial 076 603 5060 (outside Republic of Ireland +353 76 603 5060) to record your contribution for upcoming shows. Find tips to record a good contribution, and other ways to send it in here.