Alarm at claims of cheating in electricians exam

Good morning.

Our lead story this morning is a curious and worrying tale about allegations of cheating within the electrical craft apprenticeship programme, which prompted serious concerns of alleged criminal activity and risks to public safety.

The allegations were first made in a protected disclosure, which eventually made its way to the desk of Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless.

He then asked the Attorney General to consider if there may have been a criminal case to answer, after his department became aware earlier this year of allegations that exam papers had been available for sale to apprentice electricians for €50 the night before a test. The claims raised fears for the public from potentially unqualified electricians.

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Other “compromised” exam papers were alleged to have been shared with apprentices hoping to qualify as electricians in advance of assessments.

“Compromised” exam papers have now been withdrawn and replaced, and some of the responsibility for curriculum and assessment roles have been taken away from the State agency Solas and given to relevant colleges instead.

Amid fears for public safety, Mr Lawless commissioned an independent review, which confirmed there were no safety risks arising from any unqualified personnel in the system.

While the original allegations related solely to the electrical apprenticeship programme, there were concerns within the Department of Further and Higher Education the issues identified could be more widespread. There were fears the value of the apprenticeship qualifications could be undermined by a lack of robust testing.

The full details will be shared with ministers at a Cabinet meeting this morning.

YatesGate

Things fall apart, as the prescient Irish poet once wrote. And in the detritus of its disastrous presidential campaign, Fianna Fáil now finds itself in its Maud Gonne era. That is to say, absolutely tormented by a man called Yates.

Fianna Fáil is this morning in the desperately uncomfortable position of having to formally define its professional relationship with former Fine Gael minister and infamous “smear the bejaysus” theorist Ivan Yates. (Harry McGee takes us on a rollicking read through Ivan’s previous controversies, which are legion.)

On Monday morning, Micheál Martin’s party was forced to issue a statement waiving whatever client confidentiality it had previously enjoyed with Yates, to confirm that the commentator and erstwhile podcaster had done about four hours’ work coaching its doomed candidate Jim Gavin for two TV debates during his short presidential campaign.

A slew of senior party figures were then also forced to confirm when and how they had benefited from Yates’ media training. These include the Taoiseach and ministers James Browne, Darragh O’Brien, Norma Foley, Dara Calleary, James Lawless and MEPs Brian Cowen and Barry Andrews. (We’ll have to bill Yates for the advertising)

Yates had actually discussed the performance of James Browne on his Path to Power podcast earlier this year, the same podcast he has now been ditched from by former co-presenter Matt Cooper. Path to Power told The Irish Times it “had no knowledge of any professional relationship between the Minister and Ivan Yates”.

The apparently strong professional relationship between Fianna Fáil and Yates is driving Fine Gael nuts, with Simon Harris’s party feeling it was unjustly tied to the commentator when he offered Heather Humphreys’ campaign the very much unsolicited advice to “smear” Catherine Connolly as a “Russian asset” and a “Provo.” All the while, Yates was actually invoicing their Coalition colleagues.

Meanwhile, both RTÉ and Newstalk were quick to issue statements over the weekend clarifying whatever role Yates had played in their presidential election coverage; given the concerns about a potential conflict of interest.

But Coimisiún na Meán issued a brief but interesting statement on Monday where it said that it would be contacting major broadcasters Newstalk and RTÉ to seek more information about the work Yates did for them during the presidential election.

Hugh Linehan is using his media column this morning to parse the whole issue of conflicts of interest, and whether or not the Irish media is failing to proactively disclose them.

All the while, the comment section of the Path to Power podcast is in mutiny with subscribers learning they will now be denied the last ever episode with Yates. Recorded in advance of the controversy and due to be uploaded on Sunday, but Cooper has now said he does not feel it would be “appropriate” to release it.

Immigration

We are waking up this morning to the news that the Government has just carried out its sixth chartered deportation flight this year, with 45 adults and 7 children deported from Ireland to Georgia on Monday night. This is part of a continued trend of the Government taking a tougher line on immigration, and it means that 2025 will be the first time in over 20 years that so many people will be deported from the State on charter and commercial flights.

Cormac McQuinn is also writing about a Cabinet subcommittee on migration which met on Monday night, where it was agreed to cut the time in state-provided accommodation for newly arrived Ukrainian refugees from 90 days to 30 days.

It follows a report in The Irish Times last week, which first revealed that the department had predicted that if current trends continue, “whereby approximately 50 people require 90-day accommodation daily, the total available capacity may be exhausted in November”.

The Government is trying to appear more proactive and less soft on immigration, but it is coming at a point in time where people who come here seeking international protection are facing violence and threats. As the political week begins, it is likely that a debate about using such rhetoric in the wake of an alleged arson attack on a centre housing women and children in Drogheda last week will feature prominently.

Best Reads

If you have post-presidential plebiscite withdrawal, there is some good news. Today is Election Day in New York’s intensive mayoral race, so we can all enjoy another exciting election which centres around the prospects of a radically candid socialist. The transatlantic offering is Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, who is tipped for victory. Keith Duggan is writing today about how it’s not what Mamdani says, but how he says it.

The change in rhetoric from senior Government figures on immigration comes in for critique from Fintan O’Toole this morning, who zeros in on Tánaiste Simon Harris’s comments last week. O’Toole claims that Harris is spreading disinformation when he links Ireland’s “high” migration with how long it takes to remove people who have no right to be in Ireland.

And the passing of the fearless, tireless and brilliant social justice campaigner and homelessness advocate Sister Stanislaus Kennedy, best known as Sr Stan, is covered widely today. Ella Sloane has a beautiful profile of Sr Stan’s life and legacy, an editorial rightly hails her “unmatched credibility” in advocating for the poor and marginalised, and there are some very sweet and touching memories of her shared by the staff at Focus Ireland’s coffee shop on Eustace Street, in Dublin’s Temple Bar.

Playbook

The Cabinet is meeting this morning, and my colleague Cormac McQuinn has a rundown of everything ministers will be considering this morning, including a report which will reveal that exchequer revenue could decline over the next four decades because of a fall-off in corporation tax receipts. He is also writing about how large infrastructure projects could see delivery timelines cut by up to a year as part of plans considered by Ministers to reduce red tape.

In the Dáil, the day ahead looks like this:

2pm: Leaders’ Questions

2.34pm: Order of Business and Questions on Policy or Legislation

3.04pm: Motion(s) without debate: Finance Bill 2025 – Financial Resolutions

3.05pm: Government Business: Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Bill 2025 – Second Stage

6.39pm: Private Members’ Business (Sinn Féin): Education (Affordable School Uniforms) Bill 2025 (Second Stage)

8.39pm: Parliamentary Questions: Oral – Minister for Education and Youth

10.16pm: Topical Issues

11.16pm: Dáil adjourns

Here is what’s happening in the Seanad:

2.30pm: Commencement Matters

3.30pm: Order of Business