Presbyterian MS loans ‘on back of an envelope’; Charity launches ‘pants’ campaign; Catholic Congress ‘brought €33m to economy’; Obama’s school views inaccurate says Church of Ireland spokeman
Presbyterian MS loans ‘on back of an envelope’
News Letter – Some loans at the ill-fated Presbyterian Mutual Society (PMS) were granted on the back of an envelope, it was alleged.
A special investigation claims rules were ignored to provide huge loans to non-members, with more than £5.5 million was given out in unapproved loans and £100 million was handed over to seven property speculators
The UTV Insight report – to be aired tonight – asks who was to blame for the collapse of PMS and looks at how it was allowed to gamble away millions of pounds of members’ money.
Around 10,000 people with money in the PMS were affected when it went under in 2008 after it emerged that it was not covered by a UK government guarantee for savings deposits.
Insight reporter Chris Moore said five directors held responsible for the failings of the PMS are unrepentant and see themselves as victims of the crisis.
One investor, Jennifer McNeill, told Insight: “I didn’t realise there were substantial figures being loaned to building companies and property developers. We just didn’t know if we were ever going to see that money again.”
Northern Ireland Ombudsman Tom Frawley previously found Stormont’s Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) failed to properly scrutinise the activities of the PMS before it collapsed in the midst of the financial crisis.
DETI Minister Arlene Foster said the department knows of “loans that were granted essentially on the back of an envelope”.
However, Minister Foster disputes the findings of the Assembly Ombudsman who says that there was maladministration in DETI that allowed many of the failings in the PMS to happen.
She said: “I don’t take any of the blame in respect of the PMS failure… The directors were allowing the PMS to take in huge amounts of money, to lend out huge amounts of money without due diligence.”
Charity launches ‘pants’ campaign
BBC – The NSPCC is launching a new campaign to help parents in Northern Ireland protect their children from sexual abuse.
The children’s charity is launching what it calls an “underwear” campaign to get parents to talk to their children to protect them from sexual abuse.
The NSPCC is telling parents to “talk pants” to their children and tell them “privates are private”.
The campaign is aimed at parents of five- to 11-year-olds.
The charity says a survey it commissioned showed that half of parents asked had never spoken to their children about the issue.
A total of 1,200 parents took part in the research by YouGov and of those who said they had talked to their children, 43% said it had been a difficult conversation.
The NSPCC says because most sexual assaults on children are made by people they know, it is vital that they understand at an early age that some types of touching are not right.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-23218072
Catholic Congress ‘brought €33m to economy’
Irish Independent
The Catholic Church’s International Eucharistic Congress brought €33m into the economy, according to Anne Griffin, general manager of the event, after she was awarded the honour Best Event Manager of the Year at last week’s Event Industry Awards in Dublin.
In total, the Congress picked up four awards, which Ms Griffin said was “an endorsement” for the “professionalism and significance of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress” and a recognition of its size and scale.
According to Ms Griffin, the Irish economy benefited to the tune of €33m, with more than 100,000 pilgrims attending the week-long event last year.
The Congress was not universally welcomed in Ireland or the Irish church and in the aftermath of the publication of the Cloyne Report, Fr Tony Flannery, co-founder of the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland, called for the congress to be postponed.
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/catholic-congress-brought-33m-to-economy-29400967.html
Obama’s school views inaccurate says church
Belfast Newsletter
Speaking in the latest edition of the Church of Ireland Gazette, secretary to the Church of Ireland’s board of education in Northern Ireland, the Rev Ian W Ellis [not the editor of the Gazette] said Mr Obama’s description of Northern …
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/regional/obama-s-school-views-inaccurate-says-church-1-5243367