Dublin Airport drone issues
An aviation expert, former Air Corps Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Byrne has warned that drones could cause “catastrophic failure” to an aircraft engine.
Mr Byrne told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show that the disruption of flights at Dublin airport over the weekend was “just unbelievable”.
Several flights were delayed on Monday evening as hundreds of passengers ended up in Belfast or Shannon after a drone flew near the airfield.
There were over 40,000 registered drone users in the Republic of Ireland and the system was very well administered by the Irish Aviation Authority. “The people doing this are not in that field at all," he said.
Regulations cover where drones can be flown, he explained. “You're supposed to keep away from prohibited airspace, restricted airspace and, of course, controlled airspace. There are enough hazards involved in aviation safety.
“We do manage that very well with weather. And, you know, birds. We have congestion on the airfield, perhaps congestion in the air. We don't need something like a drone coming in.
“The effects of an aircraft taking off and ingesting one of these things would be extremely serious. It would probably lose the engine because unlike the birds, this thing is made of metal and plastic. It will cause a catastrophic failure of an engine. And we just can't have that. It's criminal. It should be stopped."
Plans for domestic violence agency
Draft legislation to establish a statutory domestic violence agency will be brought to Cabinet within a month, Minister for Justice, Simon Harris has said.
As the Irish Examiner reports, the agency was announced as part of the Government’s ‘zero tolerance’ strategy to tackle domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence (DSGBV).
A key focus of the legislation will include a plan to commission and fund support services for victims of DSGBV and people who may be at risk of any such form of violence.
The full-time statutory agency, which it is planned will take office next January, will be tasked with a number of issues including delivering refuge spaces and safe houses, leading on awareness campaigns designed to reduce the incidence of DSGBV in society, and implementing government policy.
Mr Harris said the agency will play a crucial role in developing and collecting data and conducting research into DSGBV.
Half of children admit they spend too much time on Internet - study
Half of children admit they spend too much time on the Internet, while 22 per cent have accessed online content 'they wouldn't want their parents to know about', according to a new survey.
CyberSafeKids, an online safety charity, revealed the research findings to mark Safer Internet Day.
Same Rules Apply is an online safety parental awareness campaign, which "highlights the need to approach parenting children online in the same way that we approach parenting them offline".
Devised with the National Parents Council, CyberSafeKids has created a video which challenges the arbitrary distinction between 'offline' and 'online' worlds, asking "As parents, we'd never allow this to happen offline, so why allow it online? Giving your child unsupervised access to the online world means you’re also giving the online world unsupervised access to your child. Remember, online or offline, Same Rules Apply."
Man charged in relation to burglary at Grafton Street shop
Gardaí in Pearse Street have arrested and charged a man in relation to a burglary that occurred at a retail premises on Grafton Street, Dublin 2 in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Extensive damage was caused to the front of the property during the course of the incident, gardaí said. A number of items were taken from the premises.
On Monday, gardaí arrested a male (aged in his 40s) in relation to this incident. He was taken to Pearse Street Garda Station where he was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.
Turkey/Syria Earthquake death toll passes 5,000
The death toll from a 7.8 magnitude earthquake and multiple aftershocks rose to more than 5,000 on Tuesday as more bodies were pulled from the rubble of collapsed buildings.
Turkey’s vice president, Fuat Oktay, said the total number of deaths in Turkey had risen to 3,419, with another 20,534 people injured. That brought the number of people killed to 5,102, with another 1,602 people confirmed dead on the Syrian side of the border.
The earthquake struck early on Monday, bringing down thousands of buildings. Rescuers were racing frantically to find more survivors but their efforts were being impeded by temperatures below freezing and some 200 aftershocks, which made the search through unstable structures perilous.
