Irish professor with multiple sclerosis Marie Fleming loses landmark right-to-die case in Irish Supreme Court

Marie Fleming; partner denied
assisted suicide

A terminally ill woman with multiple sclerosis has lost her landmark case in the Supreme Court challenging Ireland's absolute ban on euthanasia.

Marie Fleming (59) fought the case up to the country's most senior legal tribunal, requesting an assurance that her partner not be prosecuted for helping her end her life.

The case was described by the Chief Justice, Susan Denham, as 'very tragic'.

However the court's answer was that the Irish constitution guarantees an absolute right to life, and that there was no legal recognition for a corresponding right to die.

Her partner, however, said that he was prepared to do whatever was necessary to end Ms Fleming's life in a dramatic statement delivered moments after the justices' verdict.

"The court has ruled on Marie's future as far as they're concerned and we will now go back to Wicklow and live our lives until such a time when Marie makes up her mind that she has had enough," Tom Curran, Marie's partner, said.

"And in that case, the court will have the opportunity to decide on my future."

Ms Fleming is in the final stages of MS and can only move her head, and suffers 'choking sessions' which she fears could eventually kill her.

Although suicide was de-criminalized in Ireland in 1993, legislation still on the Statute Book makes it a criminal offence to assist or abet in another persons's suicide.

Fleming's legal counsel said that the provision was discriminatory against severely disabled people who, in effect, were not able to end their own life without others' assistance, arguing that it did not give them equal rights as able-bodied people.

The case followed from Ms Fleming's four day High Court challenge last January, which she lost when the Court ruled that it could not permit assisted suicide.

Chief Justice Denham said that nothing in the judgement could prevent future legislation legalizing assisted suicide in the Oireachtas, but until such law was enacted, the status quo would remain.

She added that an extensive debate on assisted suicide had already taken place in Ireland, and that the Dáil had framed law accordingly.

Irish government cracks down on scam motorists - stamp out loopholes to scrub penalty points

The new Irish driving licenses

Road safety authorities in Ireland have begun a major crackdown on scam motorists, by outlawing a number of key loopholes used to get off penalty points.

Ireland's penalty point system was introduced in 2002 as a further disincentive for vehicle users to rack up driving offences.

In addition to fixed charges for each offence, motorists also accumulate 'penalty points', which stay on all licences, whether full, provisional, or overseas.

If twelve such points are accumulated over a three year period, the motorists faces an automatic six month disqualification from driving -- not to mention limited employability and greatly increased insurance premiums.

Sixty nine driving offences currently incur such points, ranging from two point offences like speeding to more serious five point ones like dangerous or reckless driving.

For many years, however, motorists have been availing of a loophole in the Irish motoring code to avail themselves of a carte blanche to rack up as many points as they wish.

Once issued with penalty points, motorists would simply apply for a new driving licence using a slightly altered version of their name, according to the Irish Independent.

Favored tactics included the creation of a middle name, a change of spelling in the forename or surname, or even abbreviating the first name.

Other drivers held both national and foreign driving licences and presented only the foreign one each time points were accumulated -- leaving one licence 'full' and 'clean'.

Motorists could also simply claim that their licence had been "lost", according to Noel Brett, the new licensing authority's chief executive.

The major flaw arose because of a technical issue with the national database for Irish driving documentation, according to a truckers' website.

Ireland has recently moved to a credit card style driving licence, as used in the UK and US, which are more difficult to forge than their paper analogues.

The new licences are also recognized throughout the European Union and are similar in appearance to those issued by other member states.

The credit card sized driving permits will be warmly welcomed by most Irish young people: the fact that they will fit into a wallet will mean one less thing to carry on a night out, as alongside a national police age card, the ID remains the predominant form of identification for entry to nightclubs and other licensed premises.

Pharmacists, however, are not so happy, and have hit out at the new driving licences, saying that the smaller photo sizes will rob them of what was traditionally a key line of business for them: identification photography.

Speaking to an Irish news website, a pharmacists' union boss said that she would have "serious concerns" for how the new move would effect traders.

The scam isn't the first time Irish motor licences have been in the news in the last number of years.

A Dublin motor licence office was found to have been issuing a number of illegal licences to people who hadn't even passed a driving test in 2011.

Up to 28 foreign nationals were issued with licences they had not earned.

Terminally ill Irish teen Donal Walsh makes emotional plea to end youth suicide - VIDEO

Walsh: inspiring young man pleads with peers to
appeal for help if facing suicidal thoughts.

A terminally ill Irish teenager has made headlines and been dubbed a 'national hero' after penning an emotional plea to prevent young teens taking their own lives.

Ireland suffers from one of the highest youth suicide rates in the European Union, with a recent report published this January showing that 165 young men took their own lives last year.

Donal Walsh (16) is fighting cancer for the third time in four years, but has said that while he is sensitive to the challenges faced by those suffering from mental health problems, the ongoing youth suicide problem makes him 'angry' and despair.

The inspirational teenager has already outdone doctors' most optimistic expectations by living beyond Easter, and has said he will 'die happy' if his legacy is to make his peers think twice about suicide.

"I feel angry these people choose to take their own lives, to ruin their families and to leave behind a mess that no one can clean up," the rugby-mad teenager told the Irish Independent.

"Yet I am here with no choice, trying as best I can to prepare my family and friends for what's about to come and leave as little a mess as possible."

"I know that some of those people could be going through financial despair and have other problems in life, but I am at the depths of despair and believe me, there is a long way to go before you get to where I am. "

Walsh's exemplary bravery and remarkable positivity in the light of his tragic circumstances have landed him a series of high profile appearances on Irish television.

The Dubliner appeared on The Saturday Night programme this weekend and was on Radio Kerry today.

Muster and Irish rugby legend Paul O'Connell -- the veteran second-row who is himself an idol for many fans -- has even called Walsh his 'hero', saying that his example helped inspire Munster's victory over the weekend.

The sporting star also revealed how the pair had struck up a friendship during O'Connell's injury period, and how Walsh's startling attitude to life had encouraged him to persevere through his own difficult times.

"The last few weeks we’ve been in fairly regular contact. I really like talking to him. It’s hard to relate to some young guys, but whatever journey he’s been on, he’s quite mature and very easy to relate to," the sportsman said.

"Even when I was injured I used to enjoy shooting the breeze with him because he’d give me a massive lift. He has a great perspective on life and would give me a big lift."

Walsh said no matter what the reason behind the high level of suicides among Ireland's youth, there was always a better solution, and appealed to those going through life's trials and tribulations to take a moment to reflect on their situation before taking drastic action.

The youth also pointed out that help for those suffering from mental illness and suicidal thoughts was "everywhere", adding that even if one didn't have the 'pillars' of families and friends to fall back on, a sympathetic and non-judgemental voice was always only a phone-call away.

"For these people, no matter how bad life gets, there are no reasons bad enough to make them do this."

"If they slept on it or looked for help they could find a solution."

A recent report into youth suicide among males in Ireland concluded that despite Ireland's relatively low incidence of suicide, the figure for young males was disproportionately high, and represented one of the highest figures in Europe when weighted against other countries' averages.

"The recent spike in suicide rates among young males in both Northern Ireland and the Republic coincides with the economic downturn and increasing levels of unemployment," the publication surmised.

Drunk Irish teen charged with threatening to kill Guyanan president - 17-year-old told bodyguards he'd like to shoot Donald Ramotar

Crosson: booze fulled threatto kill Guyana's president lands
teen in legal trouble

An Irish teenager on a gap year in the small South American state of Guyana has been charged with threatening to kill the country's president.

Cillian Crosson, now seventeen years old, was a high-achieving student at his hometown of Dundalk, and has plead not guilty to the offense before a hearing of the local magistrate's court.

Prosecutors allege that the teen remarked that he would like to shoot incumbent president Donald Ramotar in the head, but lawyers for Mr Crosson have argued that the remarks were not intended seriously and were made in the course of a drunken conversation.

The Irish teen was drinking with two of the president's official bodyguards, but as they didn't carry any identification, Crosson doubted they were.

The unlucky Irish man had been drinking with the morning, according to local reports, and had even mixed rum and beer together at one stage.

The drunk defense hasn't gone down well with the Guyana court system or district prosecutor Vishnu Hunte, however: bailed for a sum of about $300, Crosson has to report to a local police station every Monday.

“The threat was directed to none other than the president of Guyana, his Excellency Donald Ramotar, by a foreign national,” Hunte said. “There is therefore a likelihood that he may flee the jurisdiction since he is not a resident of Guyana," the case's prosecutor told the media.

Fortunately for the Dundalk teen, the offence is classified as a misdemeanor in the South American state's legal system, meaning that the maximum fine which can be levied against the Irishman is approximately $1,000.

Crosson still faces a further court appearance this May, but his family say they are confident that the charge will be dropped.