News from around the 32 counties of Ireland

The circuit court order had been granted by Judge Carroll Moran after O'Sullivan had falsely accused Mr Downey of raping her in July 2005.
(Source: Irish Independent)

Kildare

The latest unemployment statistics show yet another shocking rise in joblessness throughout Co Kildare.

Mirroring the nationwide picture, the number of those signing on at the county’s three centres, in Newbridge, Athy and Maynooth, rose from 18,151 last month to 19,011 at the end of June. The increase, announced by the Central Statistics Office in the last few days, would appear to dash hopes of any real and tangible economic recovery.

Nationally, the unemployment total has now reached 428,152 - a figure which is running dangerously close to half a million. It amounts to 14.2% of the potential working population being unemployed.

The national figures also indicate that the number of young people aged under 25 who are signing on has increased by almost 10,000, while more than 40% of the total number of jobless people have now been unemployed for a year or more, categorising them as long-term unemployed.

The youth unemployment figure is especially disturbing, given that the reality is possibly worse than the official picture. This is because many young people under the age of 25, who still live at home with their parents, don’t qualify for any benefits on foot of family means testing.

The latest figures show that 9,387 were queuing up to sign on in Newbridge during the month of June, while 2,765 were registered as unemployed at the Athy office and 5,999 in Maynooth.
(Source: The Kildare Nationalist)

Kilkenny

A local family managed to escape from their home after thugs set fire to cars in their driveway.
Gardaí are investigating a suspected arson attack at an address at Maiden Hill on the city’s Kells Road where two cars were destroyed and where heat damage was caused to a house in the quiet housing estate in the early hours of last Thursday morning.

Trees were scorched and the walls of the house were damaged after the valuable cars were set on fire. “This is a quiet estate and people are just shocked over what has happened,” one local resident said.
The family, who were in the house at the time managed to get to safety and escaped uninjured. Gardaí are treating the incident very seriously and a spokesman said that the motive for the attack was unclear. Kilkenny Fire Service attended the blaze which broke out in the early hours of last Thursday morning after receiving a number of calls from people living locally reporting the incident.

Tens of thousands of euro of damage was caused when the two 2007 vehicles were set on fire outside the front of the house. There were a number of people, including young children in the house when the cars were set on fire between 12.30 and 1.30am. It is not clear whether the attack was a targeted arson attack or an extreme case of vandalism that accelerated out of control. Minor damage was caused to the house and nearby trees were also burned. Investigating gardaí said that the incident ‘could have had much more serious consequences’ and are appealing to the public for information.
(Source: Kilkenny People)

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