Transcript of last week's Oireachtas media committee hearing with RTE is published. The most senior civil servant at the Dept of Media says their projections are, TV licences will decline by €11m in 2027, that's 68,750 licences multiplied by €160. We have worked that into the projection for 2026 (using Peter Burke's "under 660,000") and this is what the TV licence picture looks like in 2027. The TV licence is dead, it died in 2023, RTE & some politicians just don't want to admit it.

"Gardaí have dealt with a bomb threat to a school in Cork on Monday, which has been traced to a young teenager" says the Irish Times buried at the bottom of its coverage of today's hoax bomb threats. Was this young teenager, presumably 13-16, Russian at all, at all? And if a teenager could create a bomb threat, does it really need state-level actors to evacuate RTE? The Sunday Times told all its readers on Sunday last that the modus operandi with these bomb hoaxes "suggests" it's the Russians. Citing (unnamed) security officials and everything. Did we ever find out what country these security officials were from?

Residential rents up 1.0% in the month of October 2026, the biggest monthly increase since April 2026, and the second-biggest increase in two years. Rents are up 5.5% in the past 12 months, adding €1,000 to a typical €1500/month rent. Housing supply and affordability is one of the main reasons for our Doughnut Demographics.

Egyptian state media (incl. The Egyptian Gazette) today report that a Cairo court has listed the “Irish Islamic Association” among 35 Europe-linked organisations designated as terrorist entities, citing alleged Muslim Brotherhood network ties. This appears to refer to the Muslim Association of Ireland (MAI), which runs a mosque in Tallaght. We can find no other Irish organisation or entity which fits the original Arabic description. Founded in 2000, it has previously been linked to the European Muslim Brotherhood network (FIOE/CEM), including in a 2015 European Parliament written question. It is associated with the Irish MAI Endowment Company Limited By Guarantee. In early September, a viral video of men, including one with Arabic writing on the back of his jacket, handling what looked like rifles near the Tallaght mosque was investigated by Gardaí, who confirmed they were Airsoft replicas and no offence was committed. The footage was filmed in a nearby industrial estate car park, not outside the mosque. One of the men, named Hamza, later said in a podcast interview that they were preparing for Airsoft activity. In the same Egyptian court ruling reported today, “Sheikh” Hussein Halawa — imam of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland (Clonskeagh) and long associated with the European Council for Fatwa and Research and father to Ibrahim who was detained in Egypt for four years 2013-2017 — was apparently named among 36 individuals placed on Egypt’s terrorist list. Egypt has long treated the Muslim Brotherhood as a threat: the group was banned for decades, briefly governed under Mohamed Morsi (2012–13), and was designated a terrorist organisation engaged in violence after the military removed Morsi in 2013. The Egyptian designation (published 10 November) applies under Egyptian law only and has not been mirrored by Irish or EU authorities.

Irish Times scraping the bottom of the barrel today with its latest attack on our neutrality and Triple Lock. A retired Irish soldier gives his views, but it's not at all clear what he wants, he describes the practical difficulties of Irish soldiers in Lebanon being fired upon by a tank, but we've had anti-tank missiles in our armoury for decades and have recently acquired best-in-class Javelin at a cost of €40m, so we're all set on that front. Why do we need "increase capacity" further? One thing that is clear from the Irish Times article is the omission of what this retired senior officer is up to these days. In other publications, he is described as a security consultant for the European defence industry with particular focus on night-vision equipment. Is today's article a pitch for new weapons sales? It's all very confused. #DefendTheTripleLock#

This looks confused. A month ago, two US-based entrepreneurs, both represented by Irish libel solicitor Paul Tweed, sought permission from the High Court in Dublin to sue Meta (Facebook). So far, so good. But yesterday, one of the two entrepreneurs, again represented by Paul Tweed has sued the other entrpreneur and Meta. And it's a straightforward libel claim, without any preliminary seeking permission to sue in Ireland. What appears to have happened is, the original court record last month was wrong (tsk, tsk @CourtsServiceIE) and has now been changed so that it shows one US-based entrepreneur seeking to sue Meta and the other entrepreneur. And the first entrepreneur has now been granted permission to pursue his claim in the Irish courts. This is apparently linked to a falling out over the Miss Universe competition with all sorts of horrid accusations, but we'll find out with certainty in due course.

While you were sleeping, the Defence Forces gave themselves the power to beat up fuel protesters, or "when acting in support of the Garda, military personnel will be permitted to use force in a much wider array of circumstances if State security is at stake" This was always the government instinct, remember FF justice minister Jim O'Callaghan threatening the fuel protesters with the army? Which forced the army to Tweet about sightings of its armoured vehicles, and which prompted a slap on the wrist from Defence Minister Helen McEntee? Well, now the army can legally (unless it's tested in court) use force against protesters.

Is it asking too much for estimates of billions of spending of taxpayers money in the next four years? How much will the public sector pay deal cost? By year 2026-2030 (2030 is important because that will show the permanent baked in increase). And how much specifically will it cost in 2027 versus the #Budget27# allocation of €1.2bn. How much will the deal with the solicitors cost? It's likely to be ~€20m in 2026 but that's just an inhouse stab at it, there are no costings at all from the Dept of Justice. How much in 2027? And has any informal undertaking been given to rank-and-file Gardai who called off their industrial action this week. And if so (almost definitely has), how much? Imagine if we had some mechanism which could obtain & transmit such information from the politicians/government to the citizens who are paying for it all? An intermediary between government and citizens, maybe call it "media". Just a mad idea!

Ireland's shittiest monthly housing supply indicator from AIB, their purchasing managers indicator in which 150 construction businesses indicate their level of activity and AIB convert that into a PMI, anything above 50.0 is an expansion from the previous month. AIB say that housing construction activity has contracted for the third consecutive month in October 2026. We use this indicator to a limited extent. However the CSO hasn't indicated when it will publish its far superior construction indices for Q3,2026 based on 2,000 businesses. There's nothing in the CSO calendar up to 31 December! We are predicting 36-38,000 completions in 2026.

Who is this "famous person"????? Yesterday, ultra-posh British libel solicitors Schillings sought permission on behalf of their client, named only as PJL on public documents, to sue Meta (owns Facebook) for libel. This is a generally a formality and permission will almost certainly be granted. Who is "PJL"? They're not Irish, otherwise they wouldn't need preliminary permission to sue. Are these genuine initials? On what basis has @CourtsServiceIE accepted an application which doesn't reveal the applicant's name? Who needs superinjunctions and that (which we don't have in Ireland) when courts service staff will just conceal the name anyway.

For those people tagging this account on the website, can you cop on. This website was registered last October 2025 by someone paying €60 to a (completely reputable) Irish web hosting company for two year's registration. The website itself is hosted via a proxy server in San Francisco and could be located literally anywhere on Earth. It's AI-slop, there is no registered Islamic party in Ireland Who is behind it? Take your pick from a whole horseshoe spectrum of chancers with differing ulterior motives. Gobshites the lot of them.

FF justice minister Jim O'Callaghan has this evening caved into the solicitors' demands to end their legal aid strike. Here is the costings-free statement from Jim which conceals that he has conceded nearly all the main points of contention. How much extra will it cost the taxpayer per year? There's not a single euro in the entire statement, that's how bad it is! Anyway, this should now mean that we can get back to packing them in like sardines into our dangerously overcrowded and inhumane prisons. How many millions in compo & legal costs for prisoners who had to go to the High Court to win their freedom (because they didn't have legal representation at the District Court)? Who knows, who can tell. How many crimes were committed by people who judges refused to confine because they didn't have legal representation? Who knows, who can tell.

Are solicitors only breaking their own legal aid strike in the District courts for non-Irish defendants? Today, Emund Burke ("Eddie Burke") is representing two Germans - David Hocks (49) & Anna Edel (44) - accused of smuggling two Albanian men in the back of their campervan on the ferry from France to Cork in return for €6,000 from a people trafficker based in Dublin (who hasn't been arrested for some reason). Maybe Edmund is being paid privately.

Hasan Ali Gori, an asylum seeker from Chad, a country which is 50-50 Muslim:Christian, convicted by a jury of the murder of Josephine "Josie" Ray in Nenagh county Tipperary in 2024. Women's Aid under CEO Sarah Benson won't list the killing as femicide in their "Femicide Watch" (the "woman (details withheld at request of family) is Searon Naughton who was killed in Ballinasloe county Galway in December 2024)

Muslim asylum seeker (who says he is 36) who had previously been charged with assault & false imprisonment of a woman over Saturday & Sunday, 15-16 August 2026 at an apartment in Galway city, has now been charged with rape, to which he replied "I did not do this". He will now be sent forward to the Central Criminal Court for trial. This is separate to the Galway gang rape case in which two Muslim Jordanian asylum seekers have now been sent forward for trial at the Central Criminal Court. In Ireland (26 counties) the identities of accused in rape cases are protected unless or until they are convicted. This isn't because they are asylum seekers. Dublin Rape Crisis Centre 01 661 4911 [24 hours a day, seven days a week] Rape Crisis Northern Ireland 0800 0246 991

Bumper day yesterday at the High Court in Dublin as they caught up with the applications for Wednesday strike day. These two, James Irvin Healy and Omar Harfouch represented by libel specialist WP Tweed, are suing Meta (Facebook, Instagram etc). Apparently two entrpreneurs, we will learn more about their grievance in due course.

The trial of Hasan Ali Gori, charged with the 2024 murder of Josephine Ray in Nenagh county Tipperary, is listed to get underway tomorrow. He has denied the charge. Josephine Ray’s death does not appear on Women’s Aid’s latest Femicide Watch (updated 7 October 2026), maintained under CEO Sarah Benson below.

Tallaght Mosque firearms video Gardai issue this statement which appears to confirm the authenticity of the video published yesterday, in which a group of men, one with Arabic writing on his jacket which means "The Instigator" is seen taking a firearm, which looks like an Armalite or similar from the boot of a car, aims it, and then gives it to another man. The video is from Daz News (large following on Instagram) and has yesterday's RTE Morning Ireland playing on the radio in the background. Flare News below says it was filmed at the Sunni Muslim mosque in Tallaght. Gardai have issued the statement below and say the "firearms" (plural) have been established by them to be airsoft (which fire relatively harmless plastic pellets but the guns looks identical to real guns) and are legal to own in Ireland without a licence. Gardai don't deny the video is of a vehicle outside the Tallaght mosque. So, there's no threat from this incident. Gardai don't mention criminal charges (there are issues with airsoft guns being displayed in public, for the very reason that applies here, they cause alarm).

Muslim asylum seeker (who says he is 36) charged with assault causing harm and false imprisonment of a woman in Galway last Friday/Saturday; bail refused and he is remanded in Cloverhill prison. Gardai say he may face further charges. He claimed asylum in Ireland in June 2024. He has not been named but it's unclear whether that's by order of the court or a precaution not to breach the 2015 asylum law. He will appear in Galway District Court again next Tuesday 25 August 2026. Same day as next scheduled court appearance of two Muslim asylum seekers charged with the gang rape of an Irish woman in public at Eyre Square on Saturday 1 August 2026.

Jaw-dropping analysis here from Nick Delehanty on accommodating asylum seekers, which is set to cost us €1.5bn this year. Deloitte, the auditors? €6m for the D Hotel in Drogheda for six months? Wasn't that supposed to be returned to normal commercial use after two years in March 2026? Has it been extended? So many unlimited companies (which don't file public financial accounts), and so many non-standard corporate structures. Where is our mainstream media on this?