| Employers must ignore paramilitary
convictions NEW guidelines are being introduced in the North
of Ireland aimed at ensuring that a paramilitary conviction should not
be held against a candidate who is applying for a job.
The British Government wants both public and private employers to ignore
convictions dating back to before April 1998 when the Good Friday Agreement
was struck.
It says that no matter what the crime — the slate should be wiped
clean as far as employment is concerned.
The guidance has been drawn up as a voluntary measure which is to be reviewed
after 18 months.
jobless rate rise
THE unemployment rate in Ireland has risen to its highest level since
last August.
The seasonally-adjusted Live Register increased by 700 in April to 158,200
according to the Central Statistics Office.
The standardised unemployment rate in April was 4.3 per cent compared
to 4.2 per cent recorded in the latest seasonally-adjusted unemployment
rate from the Quarterly National Household Survey.
Mobiles in prison
THE Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has rejected
claims that senior prison officers had come to a special arrangement to
allow gangland prisoners to use mobile phones.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio he said that the allegation that the prison
service had been colluding with prisoners over phone use was a serious
one.
He added that it is prohibited for prison staff to have mobile phones
while on duty and pointed out that the Director of Public Prosecutions
had three files involving prison officers who were caught with phones.
Earlier Mr McDowell had ordered a full review of security at the country’s
maximum security prison at Portlaoise.
The minister told the Prison Officers’ Association in Sligo that
so far this year 600 mobile phones have been seized in the country’s
jails — which is more than four a day.
Last week listeners to RTÉ Radio’s Liveline programme heard
a prisoner phone in from a cell in the high security prison in Portlaoise.
Protection request
PRISON officers have joined the gardaí in their calls for bullet-proof
and stab-proof vests.
A motion on the issue was passed at the Prison Officers’ annual
conference in Sligo.
The officers want the protective vests to be provided for their members
carrying out escort duty.
The calls follow a number of violent attacks on prison officers while
escorting prisoners in recent years. |
