Garda Commissioner says gardaí in County Leitrim have not been able to identify any witnesses who were stopped at illegal checkpoints in Dromahair.

Green Party TD Patrick Costello told Commissioner Harris that evidence of the incidents was posted on social media and Telegram groups.

"These people are proud of what they have done and they are happy to show others. The evidence is out there,” said Deputy Costello.

Commissioner Harris said some of these incidents are almost 'willow-the-wisp' in terms of the reporting.

The Independent reported on Wednesday that a number of cars were stopped at checkpoints with drivers being asked for ID, and that several motorists took to social media to express their concern about them.

Bernie Linnane, a Labour candidate for next year’s local election and a member of Leitrim For All, told the paper that the checkpoints were ‘quite frightening’. She claimed a friend of hers had been stopped while going to get a bag of chips.

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Twice as many people would now support an anti-immigration party or candidate in Ireland compared to two years ago, a Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll has found.

🔹 28pc of respondents would now consider supporting a party or candidate holding “strong anti-immigration views” — a percentage twice as large as when the same question was asked in September 2021.

🔹 36pc of Sinn Féin voters would consider voting for an anti-immigration party as well as 77pc of Aontú supporters, 82pc of Gript readers and 55pc of those that support independents.

🔹 35pc of TikTok users would also consider such a party.

🔹 46pc of all respondents said they hold views about curbing immigration that they would be slow about sharing in public.

Prof Rory Costello of the University of Limerick has highlighted there is a “gap” in the political market here.

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Minister Roderic O’Gorman has paid out an extra €3.2 Million in interest penalties this year due to delays in paying bills for the accommodation of so-called refugees.

>Under EU and Irish law, an invoice sent to a public agency must be paid within 30 days or it begins attracting interest of 8pc over the European Central Bank’s rate.

Some of the over 700 accommodation providers complained about not being paid for over three months.

The largest beneficiary was Brimwood Ltd, owned by former Monaghan GAA manager Séamus “Banty” McEnaney, which earned an extra €42,896 on top of the €23.8 Million it was paid last year to host asylum seekers across six counties.

Minister O'Gorman, who promised in 2021 that all asylum seekers would get keys to their own accommodation within four months of arriving in Ireland, has been struggling to cope with the 415% increase in asylum requests unrelated to Ukraine since then.

In September, O'Gorman requested a €500 Million bailout when his budget ran out.

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Ireland had the highest rate of HIV diagnoses in western Europe last year which was over three times higher than the European average at 17.5 per 100,000 people, according to the European Centre for Disease Control and the WHO.

However, only 10 per cent of those diagnosed with HIV in Ireland were Irish citizens, the lowest proportion of any country apart from Iceland.

🔹 20 per cent were from eastern and central Europe, 22 per cent from sub-Saharan Africa and 25 per cent from Latin America and the Caribbean.

🔹 As of June 6th, there is an estimated 509 Ukrainian refugees living in Ireland with HIV.

🔹 According to the HSPC, the majority of all HIV diagnoses in Ireland occur in migrants and the key group affected is gay men.

🔹 In 2018, HIV Ireland reported that 76% of both heterosexual male and female cases were born in sub-Saharan Africa.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar blamed the bygone ban on condoms and same-sex relationships for ‘paralysing’ Ireland’s response to Aids.

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Finglas taxi driver and community activist, Gavin Pepper, thanks Conor McGregor for treating him and his family at the MMA star's Black Forge Inn on Drimnagh Rd in Crumlin.

“The fact is, we care about Irish people. We want to look after our own people. We’re sick of this mass migration. We’re sick of the dangers in our city. We want a safe community. We want a safe country. We want our culture protected, our heritage protected. You can call us every name under the sun, but my kids are going to have a good future. Ireland belongs to the Irish. It’s our country, and it’s as simple as that.”

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Taxi drivers, synonymous with "man on the street" worldwide, the pulse of any nation, scatter when they hear the word "journalist". I wonder if that tells us anything about Irish journalists? 🤔 https://archive.vn/WPcus

The notoriÁras.

Biggest hurdle he'd have is getting nominated. You need 20 members of the Oireachtas or 4 councils.

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Because the rest of the media isn't politicised at all, like.

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The Great Plantation

https://twitter.com/SenatorKeogan/status/1731631827058663815

X calls out Minister Helen McEntee for spreading disinformation.

>The only appeal we have received from the Gardai relating to the enforcement of our rules is for a single post.

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"Asking us not to connect crime to immigration is asking us to ignore reality."

-Senator Sharon Keogan addressing Minister Helen McEntee in the Seanad in relation to remarks made by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar requesting the public not to draw a connection between crime and immigration. The woman grimacing behind her is Labour's Rebecca Moynihan.

Keogan supported her statement with statistics published by other governments in the EU.

🔹 Individuals from non-Western backgrounds make up 14% of the population in the Netherlands but commit 40% of all crime and violent assaults.

🔹 Populations from African or the Middle East tend to exhibit rates of crime that are two to four times higher than native Dutch.

🔹 In both Germany and Spain, the suspect rate of Algerian immigrants for crime is ten times that of natives, while in Italy it is seventeen times the rate.

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A shout-out to our friends in the UK, USA, Spain, Nigeria and India in the Irish Times today. 🥰

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Gardaí hope to be able to arrest and question the suspect for the Dublin stabbings by as early as the end of this week, after he woke from his induced coma, it has emerged.

The Mirror reports that the 49-year-old Algerian is now in the hospital’s high dependency unit – one level down in severity from ICU.

The first victim of the attack, a 5-year-old girl who was stabbed in the chest, is still critically ill in intensive care but she is now able to breathe unaided. A Gofundme for the girl has raised €37K so far.

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A Green Party councillor has accused members of the far-right community of "targeting libraries" for stocking material about LGBT people, while passing a motion in Dublin City Council.

Child protection campaigners have, over the past year, been visiting libraries to object to a book being accessible to children as young as 12 which promotes, among other practices, the consumption of human faeces for sexual gratification. The HSE subsequently removed references to the book from a sex ed resource but it still remains available to children in some libraries.

Another book under criticism promotes a theory that some people are "born in the wrong body". The National Gender Service says around 100 people in Ireland are now electing to have "gender-affirming surgery" each year.

Cllr Michael Pidgeon said his motion was symbolic to give "two fingers to the far-right" and let everyone know that they're normal and healthy whatever way they live their lives. Sinn Féin's Larry O'Toole called the motion "very important."

Conor McGregor is now engaging in a rap battle on X with a minor detractor for posting that McGregor was a "profoundly stupid person".

Scott "Scabby" Moore, says he called McGregor stupid because the he "wants to become Irish President despite not knowing the basics of the job".

Moore said he has a mental health condition where he compulsively picks his skin after McGregor teased him over it. He also said he's autistic and uses battle rap to "stand up for disabled folk".

McGregor responded: "Maybe don’t insult people on here over and over again and then come with the mental health card / medical conditions you have when someone comes back at you. Might be best. Good luck."

I don't know what all this means for Irish politics but I do know if McGregor got a seat in the Dáil, Oireachtas TV could sell pay-per-views globally for their live-feed of proceedings so it would make sense from a purely economical stand-point to vote him in if he ran in the general election.

Ice Cube has said that he, Cypress Hill and The Game plan to hit up McGregor's Black Forge Inn at the MMA star's invitation when they play the 3Arena on Saturday.

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The McGregor Era — Tell that bitch I'm coming.

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