METRO Thursday, October 15, 2009 D METRODigest A VISITOR was injured after wandering into the Tate Moderns new black hole exhibition on the first day it opened to the public. Titled How It Is, the work by Polish artist Miroslaw Balka allows people to enter a huge steel chamber into a void of pitch-black darkness. The injured visitor was treated after the accident yesterday by staff with first aid training. A spokeswoman for the Tate Modern museum in London could not confirm reports the man had banged into a wall and was escorted away with a lump on his nose and blood on his suit. A US technology firm is to shut down a major Irish plant with the loss of almost 120 jobs, it emerged yesterday. Harris Corporation said it will wind down its operation at Ballytrasna in Cork by the end of next June. The company, which makes electronic security devices, said after a review of its operations it decided to shift production to another plant outside Ireland. This decision is the result of a thorough assessment of business considerations and existing capabilities elsewhere in the company, a company spokesman said in a statement. It is no reflection on the valued performance of our employees. The Ballytrasna plant, at Little Island, currently employs 69 permanent and around 50 part-time workers. The company spokesman said the closure has no affect on other Harris Corporation facilities in Ireland. Tech firms closure to cost 119 jobs FOREIGN Affairs Minister Michel Martin held high-level meetings on the undocumented Irish in Washington DC yesterday. The minister met senior members of Congress including former Presidential candidate Senator John McCain and Friends of Ireland chairman Congressman Richie Neal. Mr Martin also took part in talks with the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform. Other issues up for discussion included the Lisbon Treaty referendum, Northern Ireland and the recent Global Irish Economic Forum at Farmleigh. The minister was then due to travel to New York for the inaugural meeting of the Ireland-US leadership Council. Tomorrow, Mr Martin will host a breakfast for up to 70 guests, including clients of the IDA and Enterprise Ireland. A reception will then be hosted by the Government for local Irish community groups. Minister discusses illegal Irish in US A FORMER Dublin city councillor who quit the Greens earlier this year has decided to join the Labour Party. Party leader Eamon Gilmore yesterday announced Bronwen Maher would be joining the ranks of his party. Ms Maher (pictured) was elected to Dublin City Council as a Green Party candidate in 2004, but failed to get re-elected as an independent candidate earlier this year. She quit the Greens in January in protest over policy differences and the direction being taken by the party leadership. Ex-Green Maher defects Nama will make 4.8bn in 10 years BY ROSS McDONAGHTHE National Asset Management Agen- cy passed its first parliamentary hurdle last night. However, the Bill was criticised by the Labour Party, which is calling for it to be amended to protect those struggling to meet mortgage repayments. The agency is to pay 54billion in gov- ernment bonds for risky commercial property loans valued at 77billion. According to a business plan released by the Department of Finance last night, of the 77billion loans acquired, 62bil- lion will be repaid by borrowers and re- structuring will occur on 20 per cent of loans (15billion). The business plan, which assumes the legislation will be enacted in November, claims Nama will emerge with profit of 4.8billion by 2020. The Government expects the loans will generate 12bil- lion over Namas lifetime. Labour Leader Eamon Gilmore called for a moratorium on repossession before the final enactment of the Nama legisla- tion. Speaking in the Dil yesterday, Mr Gilmore said that by the end of 2010 there would be 35,000 households strug- gling to repay their mortgages. The banks are just waiting for the Nama legislation to go through before they open up in a very serious way to seek repossession of homes, he said. Mr Gilmore added the moratorium Would make more sense from an eco- nomic point of view because the State will have to pick up the tab if people are repossessed, and, from a social and fam- ily point of view, if people are allowed to stay in their own homes. Amendments to Nama will be voted on in around a fortnights time. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html28.html29.html30.html31.html