Dad takes down town’s internet by mistake to get his kids offline

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/technology/dad-takes-down-towns-internet-by-mistake-to-get-his-kids-offline/

Lawrence Abrams, 17 February 2022

A French dad faces jail time and a hefty fine after using a signal jammer to prevent his kids from going online and taking the rest of a nearby town down with them.

Starting at midnight and until 3 AM every day of the week, the French town of Messanges found that their cellular and Internet service were no longer working.

After a mobile carrier reported the issue to the Agence nationale des fréquences (ANFR), a public agency responsible for managing the radioelectric spectrum in France, it was determined that a signal jammer was being used to block radio frequencies in the town.

A signal jammer is a device that transmits radio waves on the same frequency as mobile devices to prevent them from connecting to cell towers and receiving legitimate signals.

A report by the ANFR explains that a technician traced the jamming signal to a house in a neighboring town, where a homeowner admitted to purchasing a jammer online and using it to force his teenage kids offline.

“The explanation was disconcertingly simple: the jammer had been installed by the father of the family to prevent his teenagers from accessing the internet with their smartphone instead of falling asleep! His children had indeed become addicted to social networks and other applications, in particular since the confinement imposed due to the epidemic of Covid-19,” ANFR explained in their report.

“After consulting forums on the internet, the father decided that a jammer was the best solution to put an end to these excesses!”

While it was not the father’s intent to take down an entire town’s Internet, using a jamming device in France is illegal and carries a penalty of up to a €30,000 fine and 6 months in jail.

Similarly, the use of jammers is illegal in the USA and could lead to imprisonment and significant monetary fines.

“The use or marketing of a jammer in the United States may subject you to substantial monetary penalties, seizure of the unlawful equipment, and criminal sanctions including imprisonment.” explains an FCC enforcement alert about jamming.

The ANFR reported the use of the jammer to the Public Prosecutor’s office, who has seized the device and is investigating the offense.

Austrian investor pays €15m for famed Dundalk hotel

Thomas Röggla adds Ballymascanlon House Hotel to portfolio of four and five star venues

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/austrian-investor-pays-15m-for-famed-dundalk-hotel-1.4809198

Ronald Quinlan 22nd February 2022

The well-known Ballymascanlon House Hotel in Dundalk, Co Louth, has been acquired by Davy Real Estate for the TMR Hotel Collection, the portfolio of four- and five-star hotels assembled by Austrian investor, Thomas Röggla.

The sale of the property brings to a close a 76-year run in which the landmark venue was owned and operated by three generations of the Quinn family. ‘The Ballymac’, as it is fondly known, was originally purchased along with its 130-acre parkland estate by the late Irene Quinn from the Plunkett family for £9,000 in 1946. While no purchase price has been disclosed on this occasion, The Irish Times understands from market sources that the TMR Hotel Collection has paid around €15 million to secure ownership of the property.

The hotel has long been synonymous with the social and business life of the northeast region. Quite apart from its popularity as a location for wedding receptions, the Ballymascanlon House Hotel has in its time hosted numerous celebrity guests including soccer legend George Best, famed Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, and the 1960s pop icons Engelbert Humperdinck and Adam Faith. In 1963, the Beatles stopped by for lunch following their two shows at the old Adelphi Cinema on Dublin’s Middle Abbey Street. Between the 1960s and 1990s, many soccer teams including Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and PSV Eindhoven stayed at the hotel.

The Ballymascanlon House Hotel famously hosted the first Ecumenical meeting of the four main churches of Ireland, North and South in 1972. Those talks are, to this day, referred to as “The Ballymascanlon Talks”.

The hotel itself comprises 97 bedrooms and is set on 130 acres of parkland, with an impressive Victorian house providing a luxurious arrival to the hotel. The hotel is located on the Cooley Peninsula in close proximity to the Mourne Mountains.

‘Thoroughly enjoyed’

Commenting on his family’s decision to sell, Oliver Quinn, managing director of the Ballymascanlon House Hotel said: “After three generations of ownership, we have agreed to sell the hotel. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with and thank an outstanding team at the hotel during this period and we have no doubt that the hotel will continue to thrive under its new owners. The hotel has been an important part of the Quinn family’s life for three generations. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers for their loyalty over the years and wish the new owners every success into the future.”

Eimear Fox, director at Davy Real Estate, said: “We are delighted to add the iconic Ballymascanlon House Hotel to the TMR Hotel Collection. This strategic investment will complement our existing collection of 13 four-star and five-star Irish hotels which includes Harveys Point, Aghadoe Heights, Connemara Coast Hotel, Mount Wolseley and Farnham Estate. As with all hotels acquired by TMR Hotel Collection, we plan to invest in the business over time.

“The ‘Ballymac’ is a very successful business with a widely-held reputation for excellence in standards and service. We look forward to welcoming long-standing and new guests and building on the reputation of the business while maintaining the highest standards of service achieved by the Quinn family. Staff are the cornerstone of any good business and we very much look forward to working with all the loyal and dedicated staff of ‘The Ballymac’.”

The sale of the Ballymascanlon House Hotel was brokered by John Hughes, director at CBRE’s hotel division.

Employment Case Review: Application to dismiss personal injury claim refused

A significant decision has issued in which the High Court refused an application to dismiss a plaintiff’s personal injury claim despite the existence of a compromise agreement which expressly provided for a full and final settlement of all claims.

From Leman Solicitors:

“Had the plaintiff taken legal advice (as the agreement claims she did) then the defendant may have been entitled to rely on the waiver contained in the agreement. Absent such advice, the question arises whether the defendant was required to take proactive steps to advise its employee of the benefit of such advice and/or ensure that she did take it or if she chose not to, that she understood any compromise of her entitlements that may be included in that agreement.”

By Amy McNicholas, Leman Solicitiors, 10th February 2022

BACKGROUND

Ms Hennessy (the “Plaintiff”) was employed by Ladbrokes (Ireland) Limited (the “Defendant”) as a customer service manager from 22 April 1998 until her employment ended, due to redundancy, on 11 August 2015.

At the time, the Plaintiff signed a Compromise Agreement (the “Agreement”) which included a clause that precluded her from issuing or pursuing “any proceedings or claim of any nature whatsoever” against the Defendant.

On 6 April 2016, some eight months after signing the Agreement, the Plaintiff lodged an application with the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB). A personal injury summons subsequently issued against the Defendant claiming damages for injuries to the Plaintiff’s shoulders. The Plaintiff alleged that she was repeatedly required to engage in repetitive movements and worked in unsuitable conditions.

To read the full case study please visit:
https://thoughtleadership.leman.ie/post/102higt/employment-case-review-application-to-dismiss-personal-injury-claim-refused