Reacting to #Budget2025, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC) urged the Government to be “more serious” instead of “repeating past mistakes” around spending. Tánaiste Micheál Martin tells Ben Scallan he “takes issue” with IFAC’s suggestion that the Budget isn’t serious.
The post Martin “takes issue” with fiscal watchdog’s criticism of #Budget2025 appeared first on Gript.
THE SON of a Fleetwood Mac legend is living on the streets after being abandoned by his dad.
Liam Firlej, 38, started sleeping in a tent outside Richmond Station, in south-west London, three months ago.
He had become unable to pay his rent due to nursing costs for his grandmother – who raised him.
Peter Green, who founded Fleetwood Mac, never recognised Liam as his son before his death in 2020 – while his mum, Janina, suffered from mental health problems.
Liam told MyLondon: “When you’re homeless your pride is non-existent.
“Your pride is completely diminished. You have no pride anymore. It’s dead, it doesn’t exist.
“You can’t feel good about yourself. I just feel numb all the time.”
“That’s when you don’t care about yourself, you self-destruct. You just hate yourself and start drinking.
“If you’re ever homeless it takes about three weeks and then your mind switches into a totally different state.
“Then you just don’t give a f**k anymore about anything. But I’m used to it now.”
Despite his dad’s abandonment, the former care worker said he had inherited Peter’s musical genes.
He said: “I’m a musician just like my father, I can play multiple instruments. It’s in the blood.”
He added that he had chosen Richmond to pitch up his tent as it was safer than central London, where violence and drug use are common.
He also said that people were generally kind to him in Richmond, adding: “They know me around here. Some people also give me money because of my father.”
Liam was born and bred in south-west London – and has spent time living in Kingston, Clapham and Richmond.
He joined the Army at a young age, but quit in 2003 due to his opposition to the Iraq War.
He then worked various jobs in manufacturing, before becoming a support worker at Brixton Night Shelter.
The deserted son said he had experienced homelessness before – but not like this.
He initially sought refuge at a hostel in Tooting, but ran away after he was held hostage by another resident who threatened to attack him unless he handed over all his money.
He continued: “I’m really trying to get housed, but it’s impossible at the moment. The caseworkers did house me in a few places, they’ve all been awful.
HERE is some useful information if you are homeless or know someone who is experiencing homelessness.
FIRST CONTACT
If you or someone you know is sleeping rough you can use the alert Streelink service to help connect them with outreach services: www.thestreetlink.org.uk/start
FOOD
You can find free food stations via:
The Pavement – for food and soup runs: www.thepavement.org.uk/services
Homeless Link – for day centres: www.homeless.org.uk
The Trussell Trust – for food banks: www.trusselltrust.org/get-help/find-a-foodbank/
Food Cycle – for food services – www.foodcycle.org.uk/free-food-locations/
HOUSING
Councils have a duty to help people who are homeless or facing homelessness. Contact the Housing Options team from the council you have a local connection to and see if they can offer:
Visit: www.gov.uk/find-local-council
During times of severe cold or heat, local councils have special accommodation known as Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP). Find out more here: www.gov.uk/find-local-council.
For advice, support or legal services related to housing visit www.shelter.co.uk or call 0808 800 4444.
You can also contact Crisis: www.crisis.org.uk/get-help/
For housing advice, call Shelter on 0808 800 4444 or visit: www.shelter.org.uk.
DAY CENTRES
Day centres can help by providing internet access, free or cheap food, shower and laundry facilities, safe storage for belongings, phone charging and clothes, toiletries or sleeping bags.
They can also help with services for benefits or immigration advice; health support; finding work; educational or social activities; hostel, night shelter or outreach referrals.
Centres can be found through Homeless Link: www.homeless.org.uk/
BENEFITS
Normally you can claim Universal Credit if you are sleeping on the streets or staying in a hostel. If you are in a hostel, you can claim Housing Benefit to help with rent. You do not need a fixed address or a bank account.
USEFUL CONTACTS
Crisis – visit: www.crisis.org.uk or call 0300 636 1967.
Shelter – visit: www.shelter.org.uk or call 0808 800 4444.
Centrepoint (for people aged 16-25) – visit: www.centrepoint.org.uk or call 0808 800 0661.
St Mungo’s (Bath, Bournemouth, Brighton, Bristol, Christchurch, Leicester, Oxford, Poole and Reading) – visit: www.mungos.org or call 020 3856 6000.
Depaul UK (for young people) – visit: https://www.depaul.org.uk/ or call 0207 939 1220.
Citizen’s Advice (legal advice) – visit: www.citizensadvice.org.uk or call 0345 404 0506.
The Samaritans (health and wellbeing) – www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan or call 116 123.
“”In one place a man downstairs was smashing the walls with his fists constantly, and in another there was black mould coupled with constant shouting from the flat above.
“I housed five people when I was a support worker in good places. But I’ve had nothing that’s acceptable.”
Liam added that his three-year-old daughter was the only thing stopping him from taking his own life.
He said: “I miss her so much all the time, she means the world to me. I just want to look after her, I don’t want to be on the street.
“If it weren’t for her I would’ve killed myself already. Just to get out of this sh*tty life. But I’ve got to keep on going for her. It’s so hard.”
The devoted dad said he managed to visit his daughter several times a week at her west London home – and that he still had a good relationship with her mother.
Peter Green founded the universally-acclaimed rock band Fleetwood Mac in 1967 but quit three years later due to drug and mental health problems.
He was later diagnosed with schizophrenia.
The music legend was himself homeless for a period, before passing away at his home in Canvey Island, Essex, in 2020.
If you need help, contact Samaritans on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org.
Peter Green passed away in 2020 after battling drugs and mental health problems. The music legend left £4.5 million behind - but who did he leave it to?
There is no mention of Liam Firlej in Peter’s will.
He left a quarter of his estate to daughter Rosebud Green, who lives in the US – but only if she can prove she is his biological daughter.
His reasons for doubting whether Rosebud is his daughter, who he shared with ex-wife Jane Samuels, were unclear – but have been put down to his mental health struggles at the time of writing the will.
Peter left a gross estate of £4,847,463 but this was reduced to £4,593,341 after his debts were paid.
In 2017, Liam proved that he was Peter’s biological son following a High Court DNA case.
RALPH BECKETT’S top-class filly Bluestocking will take her chance in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Sunday after he owners paid a whopping £100,000 to supplement her for the race.
The four-year-old filly won one of the key trials for the Arc last month when gamely bagging the Prix Vermeille at Longchamp.
That victory encouraged Beckett and owners Juddmonte to have a go at the historic race this weekend, despite the high price to enter late.
She has had an excellent season so far, winning the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes in Ireland back in May before adding the Group 1 Vermeille to her CV three weeks ago.
And she came through a crucial gallop at Beckett’s yard in Hampshire on Saturday morning in good shape, so her connections decided to roll the big dice and head to France rather than wait for British Champions Day on October 19.
Aidan O’Brien’s Opera Singer will not take her chance in the Arc, however, as she was ruled out at the final stage before declarations tomorrow.
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She was also taken out of the Prix de l’Opera, a ten furlong Group 1 for fillies and mares on the same card, but she still has other international targets on her agenda.
There are 18 horses still in contention for the Arc this weekend, with the market headed by star French three-year-old’s Sosie and Look De Vega.
But the bookies have reported floods of cash for the Japanese contender Shin Emperor, who was a close third behind Economics and Auguste Rodin in the Irish Champion Stakes last time out.
Sosie and Look De Vega are currently 9-2 joint favourites with Coral, with Aidan O’Brien’s Los Angeles next best at 11-2.
Auguste Rodin remains in contention for the Arc, but he will only be declared by O’Brien on Thursday is ground conditions – he prefers it quick – are shaping up to be suitable for the four-year-old.
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ACTRESS Nicole Kidman strips off and indulges in a series of steamy romps with her much younger co-star in her most daring movie role to date.
The sizzling new thriller, entitled Babygirl, debuted at the Venice Film Festival and has now left fans hot under the collar with its raunchy new trailer.
Hollywood legend Nicole will find herself falling for her younger hunky colleague Samuel, played by Harris Dickinson, who joins her company on an internship scheme.
Playing a high-flying CEO, Nicole’s character Romy finds herself enjoying being under the thumb of her lower-down employee.
With a family and children at home, Romy wastes no time in allowing herself to get down and dirty with her new lover.
During a business meeting, Samuel tells Romy that he thinks she likes “to be told what to do”.
As she brands his comments unacceptable, he goes on to ask “is it”, before he and Romy share a very tender moment.
He later explains that they need some boundaries for their new illicit relationship as he demands: “If I tell you what to do then you do it.”
It then cuts to another scene when Samuel ditches his work attire for a sordid hook-up with Romy in a hotel room.
He says to her: “Get on your knees!”
She replies: “What, no?”
Before he bites back: “Get on your knees, now!”
The steamy trailer has already sent fans wild with some already predicting it could be the “naughtiest film of the year.”
One person said: “Sexy cinema is SO back.”
Another added: “This is like so hot… ladies and gentleman, this is on screen chemistry!!!”
A third referred to one of Nicole’s classic movies as they penned: “Oooo this looks good lol going back to her eyes wide shut vibes.”
As a fourth commented: “The chemistry between them off the charts!”
By Jake Penkethman, TV Reporter
The Perfect Couple – Nicole indulged in a steamy romp with her best friend’s ex in The Perfect Couple. She appears opposite Ray Donovan star Liev Schreiber, 56, as married couple Greer and Tag Winbury. There was viewer speculation on how their steamy scenes might be awkward, due to Nicole’s close friendship with Liev’s ex partner Naomi Watts. According to US outlet Entertainment Weekly, Nicole reached out to her pal prior to playing onscreen spouses with her former beau. “We always check in, we’re besties”, Naomi told the publication, before adding: “That was very kind of her to do that.”
Eyes Wide Shut – This was one of Nicole’s more famous roles and saw her star opposite her first husband Tom Cruise. The erotic mystery movie is packed full of extra-marital sex and orgies with Nicole’s character at the centre.
Billy Bathgate – Back in 1991, Nicole was left stripping off on multiple occasions for movie Bily Bathgate. Co-starring Dustin Hoffman, Nicole was a young and married socialite who found herself often nude in the racy movie.
The Paperboy – Nicole was seen romping again with a younger man in The Paperboy as she got down with Zac Efron. Aged 44, Nicole found herself getting intimate with Hollywood heartthrob Zac Efron. Zac described the sex scenes with Nicole as “the highlight of my life”. Speaking at the time about filming the sex scenes, she said: “For me the freedom of her sexuality was important. I didn’t want to be saying ‘No’ to anything, which is an important part of being an actor, is learning not to shut down and not to say ‘No,’ and be completely free. I think as you get older you get a little more frightened – that’s the thing that makes me want to go, ‘Oh, screw this, I just want to push through that,’ and never stop myself from fighting through my own insecurities.”
DANNY CRATES’ life changed when he heard a bang and his arm was on his lap.
And it rediverted him from a semi-pro rugby hopeful and engineer to a British Paralympics hero, TV star and business guru who swam with sharks.
The then-21-year-old from Essex was driving along the east coast of Australia on his final job in 1994 before heading back to Sydney to fly back home after a year Down Under.
But when he collided with a 76-year-old local farmer’s truck, the bulldozer blade sticking out the back of the vehicle ripped through Crates’ car and virtually severed his right arm off.
The car ended up 15 feet down an embankment and, thankfully, the one household within ear shot heard the crash and rushed to help.
Crates, 51, told the Stripping Off podcast: “I was with my boss. We don’t really know what happened.
“There was just the bang.
“There was an arm on my lap. I went into a bit of a panic. He said, ‘Don’t look down, it’s yours.’
“Pretty much [completely severed], tendons holding it together.
“So I climbed out of the passenger side of the car and took the arm with me. I took the arm with me, and then luckily there was one house on the road and they heard it.
“She pretty much just wrestled me to the floor and sat on top of me because I was running around like a headless chicken until the emergency services came.
“At the time. You don’t know how bad things are. You just know it hurts.”
Crates was immediately whisked to hospital where he underwent surgery for four hours and had his right arm amputated just below the shoulder.
Within 36 hours of receiving the phone call, his parents had flown out to be by his bedside.
He spent three days in ICU and a further three days after that, convinced the doctors to let him leave the hospital for lunch.
A further four days on, he completed the remaining 60km of that poignant journey with his parents.
Despite losing half of his blood, Crates did not require a blood transfusion, meaning he needed four weeks of recovery before being well and strong enough to fly to England.
And it was then that the reality of the new path for his life began to hit home.
Crates was an engineer by trade who still held ambitions of a semi-professional rugby career.
A year on from the accident, he did manage to play for his club in their annual anniversary fixture – and kept playing able-bodied rugby until a couple of years ago when he finally hung up his boots aged 49.
But another passion took centre stage for a while – before launching his athletics career.
Crates had learnt to scuba dive during his year in Australia and went back to Oz a few years after the fateful collision to learn to be an instructor – which in turn led to jobs in Spain and with sharks closer to home.
He added: “I couldn’t just get a job.
“Scuba diving was the coolest thing on the planet. I fell in love with it. The male instructors got a lot of attention from the females on the boat.
“I went back to Australia, trained as a scuba diving instructor and worked there for nine months.
“I was a good diver and a lot of it was in the classroom or pool but I had to be very good at explaining because I couldn’t do things right-handed.
“There were no grey areas with getting someone back on to a boat or mouth-to-mouth underwater – it was pass or fail. I passed.
“I came back to the UK and realised it’s a lot colder here and the River Thames isn’t quite as exciting as the Great Barrier Reef.
“So I was a shark display diver at the Sea-Life Centre, going in the shark tank four times a week and swimming with the 20 sharks. It was great fun.”
Crates also worked as a diving instructor in Spain but then focused on athletics, with his arm amputation allowing him to run without the need for prosthetics.
He trained alongside four-time Olympian Donna Fraser and earned a spot at the Sydney 2000 Paralympics.
Crates, though, admitted he “stuffed” the 400m T46 final by going out too slowly and ended up finishing third.
But inspired to go two better than his bronze, the Essex star stepped up to the 800m – initially to bolster his strength and endurance for the 400m before settling at the two-lap distance.
And it proved the right call as he went on to secure a gold medal at the Paralympics in Athens 2004.
Four years after that, Crates carried the flag at the Beijing 2008 opening ceremony but had to withdraw from the Games due to injury and retired the following year – as a world champion, Olympic gold medallist and world-record holder.
He explained: “I trained completely non-disabled, and the reason I did that, and I train with all the Olympians.
“I didn’t want them to just see me as a Paralympian. I wanted them to see me as an athlete, an athlete first and foremost.
“I was a lot faster than most of the 800m runners, so my sprint finish was stronger than theirs. That was my superpower. The sprint finish.
“I went into Athens expecting to win the gold medal.
“I don’t think I was always the fastest, but I was very tactically aware, so I could always sense what was going on in the race. I could feel it.
“It’s a long way down the home straight because you can feel them. You can hear them, you can almost smell them coming. It was more relief than joy.
“I finally got my world title in 2006, it took me nine years to win.
“I broke the world record in 2004 before the Athens Games and I was ranked number one in the world.”
Crates wanted to step from the track to the studio and moved into the media after his athletics career, covering the 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024 Paralympics as a co-commentator and pundit.
But his media work spread much further with a BBC food programme and even a radio show.
Then in 2015, he returned to TV screens in the tenth series of Celebrity Masterchef, appearing alongside Chesney Hawkes, Rylan Clarke and winner Kimberly Wyatt.
Crates said: “I’ve done different little bits, but to actually break into it and make it your job was sort of something I wanted to do.
“I love cooking. I can cook but I can’t create.
“I was trying to chop everything up, and then they just said, ‘Dan there’s machines and tools that will do that for you.’ But I was trying to do it one handed.
“I famously went to Master Chef and said, ‘Well, at least I’ve got one arm so I won’t cut myself with a knife.’ And I managed to do that!
“I cut myself with a razor-sharp potato peeler!”
Crates – who is now a dad – has also launched his own business, bringing together keynote speaking, event hosting, leadership consultancy and coaching for companies.
He treats every speech “like a race” to try and do better to constantly improve, with that inner competitiveness still going strong.
Reflecting on how his life has panned out since the accident 30 years ago, he said: “The practicalities of being an arm amputee, it’s not the worst thing in the world, right? There’s worse things that can happen.
“Would I like two arms again? Yes, it would make life a lot easier.
“But would I change what happened to me? No because what happened to me defined me as a person and led me down the path. I know I’ve been down and I’ve had a really good life since my accident.
“The only thing I would change or do differently is I would have had travel insurance because I would still have one arm, but I’d just have had a few more quid in my pocket.”
MARRIED At First Sight UK’s Adam Nightingale shuts down Polly Sellman with a savage insult in a first look at tonight’s explosive clash.
The pair have had their fair share of ups and downs on the E4 show since tying the knot moments after meeting.
Adam and Polly have been trying to work through their differences in the most recent episodes.
Despite having sex on their wedding night, Adam has made it clear that Polly is not his ‘type’ as he likes petite brunette women.
They have been trying to improve their relationship and to become more intimate, however it sounds like they aren’t getting anywere.
Tonight, while chatting with the experts, Adam tells them: “When I look into Polly’s eyes, I don’t think ‘I really want to kiss you!'”
The rest of the couples gasp in shock at his comment, with one saying: “Oh my god!”
Last night Polly was accused her of trying to sabotage another couple during last night’s dinner party.
The careers advisor took Charlie Curtis to one side and told her she was being a “bully” towards her wife Eve Reid.
One furious MAFS UK fan wrote on Reddit: “Just because Polly is in a garbage relationship she wants to destroy someone else’s!”
Another echoed: “The way she spoke to Charlie (on tv no less) without even asking about the situation from her viewpoint, is really s****y. Nevermind SOOOO much projection.”
A third chimed: “She hasn’t got a relationship so needs to stir it for other ppl.”
Polly also demanded for her co-stars to shut up as she stormed out of the room during the dinner party.
She asked him: “Adam, what do you think you should do to prevent us from being stuck in the friendzone?”
“And if I take it to that next step and then in a couple of weeks’ time say I’m not feeling it still, that would upset you and hurt you.”
Polly responded: “But I feel like you’ve dodged that question because that’s what you say to that every time you’re asked it.”
Adam said: “But that is the truth. That’s not really dodging the question.”
It ended in Polly storming out.
Loved-up Tayah Victoria and Adam Aveling of series six fame had the first Mafs baby.
The pair couldn’t keep their hands off each other on the programme and quickly found their feet in the outside world, moving into Adam’s Doncaster home.
Just 18 months after meeting, the couple welcomed their daughter Beau.
Season five couple Michelle Walder and Owen Jenkins also managed to make their marriage work away from the cameras and had their first child in December.
Teacher Michelle, 29, has no regrets about taking part in the experiment. She told us: “I just feel very lucky and thankful that it has worked out – and excited for everything to come.”
Michelle and Owen were both sick of dating apps when they applied in 2019.
Owen recalled: “I had been out for some drinks with a friend after work.
“While he was out for a cigarette I was scrolling on Instagram waiting for him to come back in.
“The MAFS advert was the last thing I saw, and I joked, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if I signed up?’
“A few beers later when I was back at home I sent in the application, and the rest is history.”
Another couple to make Mafs UK history is Zoe Clifton and Jenna Robinson.
Despite a slight rocky start, where they clashed over Jenna’s vegan lifestyle, the show’s first same sex pairing are still going strong.
They even have a successful podcast together called Life With a Pod.
Jenna shed light on being involved in the show earlier this year when she told us: “We’re not legally married, and I never felt like we were. I definitely feel the process makes you take the relationship a lot more seriously and having the help of the experts… if you can survive that process it sets a firm foundation for a long-lasting relationship.”
FORTNITE developer Epic Games finally put the popular battle royale back on iOS after years of disagreements with Apple.
Epic Games removed Fortnite from the App Store following a drawn-out legal battle with Apple over in-app purchases.
Apps downloaded via Google Play or the App Store often come at an additional cost as the storefronts take a cut.
Epic Games wanted price parity across all Fortnite in-game stores and didn’t want mobile players to feel forced to switch to a different platform.
The company is now alleging that Google and Samsung are conspiring against Epic Games to deter users from downloading apps outside of the Play Store or Galaxy Store.
Epic Games has filed an antitrust lawsuit in the Federal Court of California with these new claims.
The lawsuit alleges that Samsung’s Auto Blocker was developed to deter users from downloading apps by means other than Google and Samsung’s app stores.
Epic chief executive Tim Sweeney said: “It’s about unfair competition by misleading users into thinking competitors’ products are inferior to the company’s products themselves.
“Google is pretending to keep the user safe saying you’re not allowed to install apps from unknown sources.
“Well, Google knows what Fortnite is as they have distributed it in the past.”
This is Epic’s second lawsuit against Google, after it won the first antitrust lawsuit in December 2023.
However, it is the first time that Epic has butted heads against Samsung which says it will “vigorously contest Epic Games’ baseless claims”.
Samsung’s Auto Blocker was introduced in 2023, and users of Samsung products may disable the feature.
The company claims that Auto Blocker was introduced in order to prevent users from downloading software that may contain malware.
The current lawsuit hinges on an update made to Auto Blocker in July 2024, which means that it is turned on by default.
Epic claims that the update intended to make Auto Blocker intentionally difficult to disable.
A spokesperson for Samsung said: “The features integrated into its devices are designed in accordance with Samsung’s core principles of security, privacy, and user control.
“We remain fully committed to safeguarding users’ personal data.”
Google has also responded to the lawsuit calling Epic’s claims “meritless” and stating that individual Android device manufacturers “are free to take their own steps to keep their users safe and secure”.
If you want to read more about the game, check out why Fortnite went offline recently.
Get the lowdown on more of the latest PS5 releases from our expert reviewers.
For Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch, check out our full game reviews section.
MIKEL MERINO made the switch to Arsenal because they are “obsessed” with winning trophies.
The Spaniard joined the Gunners from Real Sociedad for £32m on August 27 – but fractured his shoulder in his first training session two days later in a freak collision.
After a frustrating recovery period, 28-year-old midfielder Merino finally made his debut off the bench in Tuesday night’s 2-0 Champions League victory at home to PSG.
Merino is now in line to make his Premier League debut on Saturday against Southampton – a huge boost for boss Mikel Arteta with skipper Martin Odegaard still out injured.
And in his first interview as an Arsenal player, Merino explained: “Winning trophies is the main thing here for everybody. They are obsessed with that.
“You can see that winning is the main thing for us. That is something that helped me a lot to decide where I wanted to be.
“The mentality that they have here is amazing, not only on the pitch, but at the training ground and how they focus on the single things, the details, the basics.
“When I spoke to Mikel and I saw what was the plan, not only with me but the whole team, what was the culture, I felt this was the right place to be to take the next step in my career.
“I want to grow up, I want to learn even more – and I think this is the right place to keep improving and keep winning.”
Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz both scored in the first half to give Arteta’s Arsenal their first Euro win after drawing 0-0 away to Atalanta in their Champions League opener last month.
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Merino came on in the 64th minute against the Parisians and showed glimpses of what he will bring with some neat touches and key sliding challenges.
He suffered his unfortunate injury during a training session at London Colney while competing for the ball with new teammate Gabriel.
He attempted to carry on but the pain was too much and scans showed he had fractured his scapula. Merino explained: “It was such an unlucky moment.
“If you see the action… I haven’t seen an injury like this ever in my career. It was really tough mentally to be honest.
“You want to have a nice few days to show everybody what you are capable of, to show why they have put faith in you and then the first thing that happens is you break your scapula.
“But, well, these are things that happen. Obviously it was not the best timing, but at the same time I like to look at the pros, the bright side of it.
“This gave me a lot of time to think, to get to know my teammates, to get to know the staff, to work on myself, the things that I need to do in terms of tactics, in terms of physicality.
“I am a much better player now than I was four weeks ago.”