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Irish Independent
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Why two Wexford town GAA clubs have decided to amalgamate – ‘This is a commitment to the entire community'
Club members of all ages, along with their families, were welcomed to the pitch in Páirc Garman recently for a day filled with various activities including face painting, henna art, bingo which was called by Wexford Mayor, Catherine Walsh, mini football games, a raffle sponsored by local businesses, musical statues, and all topped off with water guns, much to the surprise of the parents. The fun day was a testament to how the club has been providing a space for all members of the community, including those who have a long line of history within the club, and others from various nationalities who have taken up the game for the first time. The occasion was marked by the launch of the 2025 to 2032 Club Strategic Plan which presents a bold, inclusive, and community-focused roadmap for the future of Gaelic games in Wexford Town. Born from the unification of two proud clubs the plan reflects a shared vision rooted in tradition, driven by community, and focused on sustainable growth. Developed through extensive consultation with members, coaches, and community stakeholders, and aligned with national and local development frameworks, the plan outlines a clear path forward under eleven strategic pillars. These address key areas such as participation, inclusivity, facilities, coaching, sustainability, governance, and innovation. Among the standout goals in the plan are the development of a Green Clubhouse; the expansion of youth pathways; deeper community engagement; and the adoption of modern technologies. With a phased implementation strategy, strong oversight, and an unwavering commitment to member leadership, the plan ensures that progress will be transparent, accountable, and adaptable. By 2032, the St. John's Volunteers GAA Club aims to be carbon neutral, digitally connected, and widely recognised as a leader in delivering inclusive, future-ready Gaelic games. 'This plan is not just a strategy, it is a commitment to our players, our families, and the entire Wexford Town community,' stated the committee in the document. Speaking at the event, the Chairperson of Clonard Volunteers, Wendy Walsh described the event as 'a very big day for the club.' Wendy explained how the ladies first began 25 years ago, and was built up over the years with the commitment from parents and also the realisation of the difficulty and importance of keeping young girls in sport, having battled against huge drop offs at the 16-year-old mark. When the Clonard Ladies and Volunteers Ladies amalgamated in 2017, Wendy said the main focus was 'to try and keep as many girls in playing football as possible.' "Since then, the goal for our club has to be encourage girls of all ages to play football, including women. We've been building our numbers, getting great support and commitment from volunteers and we've also had a good track of producing county players, this year being no different with Aisling Halligan, Aoife Tormey and Julia Dempsey representing the club at intercounty level. Both Aisling and Aoife have also been named on the Team of the League 2025, which is great for the club. The Clon Vols currently rent pitches from Na Fianna in Clonard and the Loreto Secondary School in the winter months. When the pitch is available in Páirc Garman, they have use of the space. 'The guys are brilliant. They accommodate us for matches and training wherever needed,' Wendy continued. 'We've built the club, but we have no home and what better way to drive the club forward than to come together with the Volunteers who have the same ethos as us. "They're about respect on the field, they're about community, they're about kids playing football, and that's what we're all involved in. We've decided to embark on this joint-development plan, a plan that will bring an even larger community together, from nursery under sixes, right up to Mothers and Others and Dads and Lads and everybody in between. "We, as a club, are delighted to be part of this strategic plan and looking forward to working with the Volunteers to build a community hub for so many boys and girls to promote inclusion, respect and excellence on the pitch,' Wendy concluded. Club Secretary of St John's Volunteers, Eoin McCarthy, reiterated the community factor in club football and explained how the community spirit of Wexford town will be called upon to build on the club. Whilst speaking at the launch, he began: "We're a little bit older than the Clonard Volunteers, we were formed in 1893 and so we're just a little bit older and our history is very important to us and everyone should know about it, but today is about building on that foundation. 'We've had numerous meetings with the ClonVols over the last little while, and I was positive going into the meetings. I'm even more positive on coming out the other side of them. There's a buzz around both clubs at the minute. There's like-minded people working hard, and their numbers are fantastic, our numbers are fantastic, and I can see that they're looking to be the best club they can be, but they're also trying to do it the right way, which is what we try to ingrain in our side. 'That leads us on to the community side of things because this is the first June bank holiday weekend in the last six years that we haven't done our 100 Hour Relay, where we've raised over €40,000 for different charities over those years, which is nothing to be snubbed at. The club could do with that money, but it's sometimes more important that it goes elsewhere, and we're happy to support anything like that,' said Eoin. While speaking about how the clubs play an important role in the community, Eoin highlighted the impact the various initiatives that both clubs have established continue to be successful such as Mini Vols, which caters for players as young as three years of age, Mothers and Others, Dads and Lads, Vols All Stars, for children on the autism spectrum, Green Club, and Gaelic4Girls. 'We have the numbers, we have the community spirit. Now we need facilities,' Eoin continued. 'We're out here, we've this pitch we're on, and we've a couple of dressing rooms. Thankfully, we've had a grant to drain the pitch, but we need more than that. "We're renting facilities all through the winter and now we're looking for a facility for ourselves. We currently have planning permission for a clubhouse, but as things develop, we're looking to maybe update the plans on that to make it a bit more sustainable and inclusive. "We're looking for a greenfield site, hopefully to build a home for the club, and so any help we can get with that, we're open to all options. We're in a good place, so we'll continue to push these two clubs forward, together as one, and I can see a strong future in us,' he concluded. Local representatives, Councillors Tom Forde and Aoife Rose O'Brien, alongside Senator Cathal Byrne were in attendance at the event and offered their full support for the development. Also in attendance were Wexford Ladies Footballers, Aoife Tormey and Julia Dempsey, who acknowledged the difficult journey it's been for the women's teams without having their own pitch to call home. "I think it's brilliant, to be honest, because up until this year, we didn't really have a home and despite the club growing so much, we've still been caught between fighting for time slots and fighting for pitches, so this is massive for the girls to be fully joining with the Volunteers. It's about being seen,' explained Aoife. In highlighting the significance of joining the clubs together from the perspective of the ladies teams, Julia said 'it will certainly make a difference not having to wonder about the logistics of where training is taking place and give us a sense of home.'
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
REVEALED: Scandal of fat cats on first ever NHS rich list - nearly 300 health bosses are handed packages worth over £200,000
Hundreds of NHS bosses are pocketing salaries higher than the Prime Minister's, a report reveals today. Despite failing to bring down waiting lists, nearly 1,700 fat-cat bureaucrats at NHS trusts were each handed more than £100,000 a year. With record sums already being poured in by taxpayers, the first-ever NHS Rich List found that 512 managers banked salaries higher than Sir Keir Starmer (£172,153). Nearly 300 received packages of £200,000 or more. East Cheshire NHS Trust paid eight managers £100,000 or more despite being the worst-performing trust in percentage terms for seeing A&E patients within four hours. It saw just 50.6 per cent within the target time, well below the 78 per cent expected. Among the managers was the trust's 'director of people and culture' and deputy CEO Rachael Charlton, who raked in a package of £367,500. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust also gave eight bosses £100,000 or more despite having the worst referral-to-treatment median waiting times. Chief medical director Catherine Walsh banked £387,500 in pay and perks. The figures, covering more than 200 trusts for the 2023-24 financial year, will anger the millions of patients stuck on waiting lists. Around 6.25 million patients, relating to 7.42 million cases, are languishing on them, with nearly 3 million waiting for more than 18 weeks. The study by the TaxPayers' Alliance will also fuel suspicions that much of the money lavished on the health service is not making it to the front line and is instead helping to fund 'non-jobs' such as diversity roles. Referring to Labour's plan to hand 10 per cent bonuses to NHS bosses whose trusts perform well, Tory health spokesman Edward Argar said: 'The Labour Government plans to hand generous bonuses to NHS managers for simply doing what they are already paid to do as part of their jobs. 'Patients will rightly be shocked, and asking why Labour aren't focusing instead on making sure those who are already very well paid are delivering the results taxpayers have a right to expect. Diverting public funds into executive bonus schemes, instead of investing that money in frontline care for patients, is simply wrong.' Shimeon Lee, who compiled the report, said: 'Taxpayers will be appalled that while NHS patients face prolonged waiting lists and dismal A&E performance, hundreds of senior managers are pocketing six-figure pay packets. 'This rich list shows that there are sky-high salaries for senior bureaucrats... that are impossible to justify. 'If ministers are serious about getting the NHS back on track, they need to ensure that managers of poor-performing trusts aren't being rewarded for failure.' The study found that 1,694 senior managers got £100,000 or more in total remuneration across 224 trusts. Of these, 1,557 included a salary over £100,000. A further 296 got £200,000 or more while 17 got more than £300,000. Ann James, the former CEO of University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, was paid a £382,500 salary. Her trust was ranked 95th out of 136 in England for A&E waiting times. Jonathan Brotherton, chief executive of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, received a pay package of £427,500, including a £262,500 salary. His trust was ranked 128th of 149 for referral-to-treatment waiting times and 119th of 136 for A&E waiting times in England. George Findlay, the chief executive of University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, was handed a £32,500 bonus – on top of his £222,500 salary – despite it ranking 143th of 149 and 105th of 136 for the same targets. By contrast, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust had the best referral-to-treatment waiting times. Chief executive Joe Rafferty got a total pay package of £257,500. Another eyebrow-raising salary was the £257,000 that North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust gave its 'chief people officer', Louise Tibbert. In January, it emerged that the NHS was hiring diversity staff at a rate of one a week despite orders to cut back on the initiatives. A recent poll found that nearly two-thirds of voters back the idea of a new US-style 'Department of Government Efficiency' to slash billions of pounds of wasteful spending on bureaucracy and 'non-jobs' such as diversity and inclusion officers. The TaxPayers' Alliance study related to managerial roles at NHS trusts and not NHS England, the quango which runs the health service but which is being scrapped by the Government. A Department of Health spokesman said: 'This Government is introducing tough new measures in relation to senior managers' pay, to drive progress on cutting waiting lists. 'The NHS should pay to attract top talent, but there can be no more rewards to failure.'
News.com.au
24-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Stronger than Sunrise': Qantas meeting comes under microscope
Australia's most iconic airline Qantas is set to pay millions in penalties after it unlawfully sacked more than 1800 ground staff. The airline was thrice found to have acted unlawfully when it fired 1820 staff in favour of outsourced contractors during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. While an earlier compensation hearing before Justice Michael Lee found Qantas should pay $120m to impacted workers, a further three-day hearing sought to decide the additional penalty Qantas must pay for the 2020 decision. The Federal Court earlier found that Qantas had acted against protections in the Fair Work Act in its outsourcing and was partly motivated by a desire to prevent industrial action. The airline appealed the decision to the full bench of the Federal Court and later the High Court, both of which were unsuccessful. After losing the appeal, the union and Qantas went to mediation to determine how much Qantas would have to pay the outsourced workers for economic losses linked to lost wages. The maximum penalty Qantas can be ordered to pay is $121m, on top of the compensation fund that is now in the process of being administered to workers. Day 1 – Qantas 'deeply sorry' On the first day of the hearing, Qantas people manager Catherine Walsh took the stand and issued an apology on the airline's behalf. 'I want to reinforce that we are deeply sorry, and we apologise for the impact on the workers, the TWU (Transport Workers Union), to the court for their time and to the family and friends that felt the impacts, we are deeply sorry,' she said. 'We hope we can get to the stage where there can be some finality for them in this.' Noel Hutley SC, for the union. said Ms Walsh joined the company in 2024 and was a 'central cog' in addressing issues with culture that brought about this 'catastrophe'. Yet, Mr Hutley put to Ms Walsh that she had not raised concerns with external advisers about since she joined the company. 'You never asked … why he behaved in an extraordinary fashion? It is extraordinary that nothing was said about a matter that was obviously an illicit reasoning for outsourcing,' Mr Hutley said. While Justice Lee said Ms Walsh was a 'candid' witness, he criticised the airline's decision to call a witness who was not employed by the company at the time of the breach of the Fair Work Act. 'One would have thought if you were truly contrite, you would put someone in the witness box who was there at the relevant time,' he said. 'Who could say I was part of the organisation when this decision was made, and I've changed my tune.' 'And I gave them every opportunity to call Ms Hudson (Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson) or somebody else in that situation and a deliberate forensic decision was made for her not to be called I would infer.' Mr Hutley said putting Ms Walsh on the stand had the look of choosing a person who 'could not be the subject of true investigation'. 'Ms Walsh had nothing to do with the events and … every time I cross-examined her about a particular event she said, 'well I wasn't there, I can't speak to that',' Mr Hutley said. Day 2 – 'A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' Mr Hutley called for Qantas to pay the maximum penalty given its decision was the 'largest ever instance of the contravention of the Fair Work Act'. He told the court that Qantas was faced with an 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' during the pandemic to save more than $100m per year. Mr Hutley said the airline had the 'temptation of the potential to produce a massive profit'. But Qantas barrister Justin Gleeson SC said any penalty close to the maximum would be 'manifestly unfair'. 'Qantas has accepted the seriousness of its conduct,' he said. 'The court can and should impose a significant deterrent penalty. However, it is in effect a first contravention (of the Fair Work Act).' Day 3 – 'Stronger than Sunrise' Meetings between Qantas senior managers, a group management committee (GMC) meeting and a board meeting came under the microscope in court on Wednesday. One of the meetings between Qantas executives and lawyers discussed the legality of outsourcing ground handlers, the court was told. It was said in the meeting that the proposal to outsource ground handlers was 'stronger than Sunrise' – a reference to the airline's ultra-long-haul Project Sunrise flights from Sydney to London and New York that are expected to begin in 2027. 'That appears to be some assessment as to whether the case for lawfulness is stronger than Project Sunrise,' Mr Gleeson said, referencing the meeting notes. The airline has since reached an agreement with its pilots and crew who will work the ultra-long-range flights of more than 20 hours. 'Appalling act' TWU secretary Michael Kaine said on Monday the airline's decision to get rid of a 'loyal workforce' was 'appalling' and the 'biggest case of illegal sackings in Australian corporate history'. 'The penalty to Qantas must reflect this and send a message to every other company in Australia that you cannot sack your workers to prevent them from using their industrial rights,' he said. Mr Kaine said ground handling work for Qantas was now being undertaken by companies such as Swissport, which he alleged had 'severe understaffing' and a 'revolving door of fed-up workers'. 'This cannot be a business case for outsourcing and Qantas should not only pay the maximum legal penalty for its actions but commit to funding fair standards throughout its supply chain,' he said. 'We need to see Qantas held accountable to the fullest extent here.' The hearing has now been adjourned, and Justice Lee has reserved his judgment. The penalty amount will be revealed at a later date. While Justice Lee is yet to decide exactly who will receive the money from the penalty imposed upon Qantas, there are three likely parties proposed. The TWU is seeking a large majority of the penalty and also argued affected workers should receive further compensation. Otherwise, the funds could go directly to the commonwealth.
Perth Now
24-05-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Surprise detail in Qantas sacking hearing
Australia's most iconic airline Qantas is set to pay millions in penalties after it unlawfully sacked more than 1800 ground staff. The airline was thrice found to have acted unlawfully when it fired 1820 staff in favour of outsourced contractors during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. While an earlier compensation hearing before Justice Michael Lee found Qantas should pay $120m to impacted workers, a further three-day hearing sought to decide the additional penalty Qantas must pay for the 2020 decision. Qantas is set to pay a hefty penalty aftert illegally sacking 1820 ground workers. NewsWire/Tertius Pickard Credit: News Corp Australia The Federal Court earlier found that Qantas had acted against protections in the Fair Work Act in its outsourcing and was partly motivated by a desire to prevent industrial action. The airline appealed the decision to the full bench of the Federal Court and later the High Court, both of which were unsuccessful. After losing the appeal, the union and Qantas went to mediation to determine how much Qantas would have to pay the outsourced workers for economic losses linked to lost wages. The maximum penalty Qantas can be ordered to pay is $121m, on top of the compensation fund that is now in the process of being administered to workers. Day 1 – Qantas 'deeply sorry' On the first day of the hearing, Qantas people manager Catherine Walsh took the stand and issued an apology on the airline's behalf. 'I want to reinforce that we are deeply sorry, and we apologise for the impact on the workers, the TWU (Transport Workers Union), to the court for their time and to the family and friends that felt the impacts, we are deeply sorry,' she said. 'We hope we can get to the stage where there can be some finality for them in this.' Noel Hutley SC, for the union. said Ms Walsh joined the company in 2024 and was a 'central cog' in addressing issues with culture that brought about this 'catastrophe'. Qantas chief people officer Catherine Walsh apologised and said the airline was 'deeply sorry'. Supplied Credit: Supplied Yet, Mr Hutley put to Ms Walsh that she had not raised concerns with external advisers about since she joined the company. 'You never asked … why he behaved in an extraordinary fashion? It is extraordinary that nothing was said about a matter that was obviously an illicit reasoning for outsourcing,' Mr Hutley said. While Justice Lee said Ms Walsh was a 'candid' witness, he criticised the airline's decision to call a witness who was not employed by the company at the time of the breach of the Fair Work Act. 'One would have thought if you were truly contrite, you would put someone in the witness box who was there at the relevant time,' he said. 'Who could say I was part of the organisation when this decision was made, and I've changed my tune.' 'And I gave them every opportunity to call Ms Hudson (Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson) or somebody else in that situation and a deliberate forensic decision was made for her not to be called I would infer.' Mr Hutley said putting Ms Walsh on the stand had the look of choosing a person who 'could not be the subject of true investigation'. 'Ms Walsh had nothing to do with the events and … every time I cross-examined her about a particular event she said, 'well I wasn't there, I can't speak to that',' Mr Hutley said. Day 2 – 'A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' Mr Hutley called for Qantas to pay the maximum penalty given its decision was the 'largest ever instance of the contravention of the Fair Work Act'. He told the court that Qantas was faced with an 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' during the pandemic to save more than $100m per year. TWU lawyer Noel Hutley called for the airline to pay the maximum penalty of $120m. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia Mr Hutley said the airline had the 'temptation of the potential to produce a massive profit'. But Qantas barrister Justin Gleeson SC said any penalty close to the maximum would be 'manifestly unfair'. 'Qantas has accepted the seriousness of its conduct,' he said. 'The court can and should impose a significant deterrent penalty. However, it is in effect a first contravention (of the Fair Work Act).' Day 3 – 'Stronger than Sunrise' Meetings between Qantas senior managers, a group management committee (GMC) meeting and a board meeting came under the microscope in court on Wednesday. One of the meetings between Qantas executives and lawyers discussed the legality of outsourcing ground handlers, the court was told. It was said in the meeting that the proposal to outsource ground handlers was 'stronger than Sunrise' – a reference to the airline's ultra-long-haul Project Sunrise flights from Sydney to London and New York that are expected to begin in 2027. 'That appears to be some assessment as to whether the case for lawfulness is stronger than Project Sunrise,' Mr Gleeson said, referencing the meeting notes. The airline has since reached an agreement with its pilots and crew who will work the ultra-long-range flights of more than 20 hours. 'Appalling act' TWU secretary Michael Kaine said on Monday the airline's decision to get rid of a 'loyal workforce' was 'appalling' and the 'biggest case of illegal sackings in Australian corporate history'. 'The penalty to Qantas must reflect this and send a message to every other company in Australia that you cannot sack your workers to prevent them from using their industrial rights,' he said. TWU secretary Michael Kaine said the sackings were an 'appalling act'. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia Mr Kaine said ground handling work for Qantas was now being undertaken by companies such as Swissport, which he alleged had 'severe understaffing' and a 'revolving door of fed-up workers'. 'This cannot be a business case for outsourcing and Qantas should not only pay the maximum legal penalty for its actions but commit to funding fair standards throughout its supply chain,' he said. 'We need to see Qantas held accountable to the fullest extent here.' The hearing has now been adjourned, and Justice Lee has reserved his judgment. The penalty amount will be revealed at a later date. While Justice Lee is yet to decide exactly who will receive the money from the penalty imposed upon Qantas, there are three likely parties proposed. The TWU is seeking a large majority of the penalty and also argued affected workers should receive further compensation. Otherwise, the funds could go directly to the commonwealth.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Sorry' Qantas could face $121m fine for sackings
Qantas should be forced to pay the maximum penalty of $121 million for illegally outsourcing the roles of 1800 ground workers, to send a strong message to all companies, a union says. Justice Michael Lee is set to decide the penalty Qantas must pay after three days of hearings that began on Monday in the Federal Court in Sydney. Outside court, Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine said the hearing was the beginning of the end of "a protracted, brutal, distressing set of litigation" that started in 2020 after Qantas sacked the workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Qantas appealed the case all the way to the High Court, which unanimously upheld the Federal Court's finding it had breached the Fair Work Act by outsourcing the workers, preventing them from accessing industrial rights to collectively bargain and take protected industrial action. Last October, Justice Lee ordered Qantas to pay $120 million to the workers as compensation for their economic loss, pain and suffering, and the TWU is seeking that he impose the maximum penalty of $121 million. "We have to send a very strong, clear signal to Qantas and every other company in Australia that this can never, ever happen again to any Australian worker," Mr Kaine said. In court, Qantas chief people officer Catherine Walsh told Justice Lee that "hopefully you'll see from the size of the compensation payment that, in fact, we are very sorry". "We do wish for the workforce that was impacted to be properly remediated and the compensation that has been agreed could go some way to deal with that," she said. The compensation payments will start flowing to workers by the end of May, with a base payment of $10,000 for all workers. Outside court, Mr Kaine said Qantas had "said sorry at two minutes to midnight". "They put it in an affidavit in these proceedings, because if you show contrition in penalty proceedings, the judge is bound to consider whether that should provide you with a discount on your penalty," he said. But he said the penalty should reflect the "human suffering, the family dislocation, the financial stress, the mental anguish, the family breakdowns" directly resulting from Qantas' illegal conduct. Also outside court, former Qantas worker Tony Hayes said the saga was "never ending". "It's been the same conversation for five years and we just want it to go away, but we want them to pay," he said. Another former worker Anne Guirguis said she was with the company for 28 years and thought she would retire there. "I've got colleagues that have lost houses and have been divorced, it's changed their world," she said. On Monday afternoon, Justice Lee is expected to start hearing closing submissions from lawyers for Qantas and the TWU.
