Scientology Organisation ~ S.O. Ireland’s RTÉ Prime Time – “Scientology – The Return”

 

 

https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2018/1219/1018099-prime-time-

I am going to make a few comments about this documentary.  Why is the documentary not more dialogical?  The reason is simple when you make a documentary with Scientology it is a monologue. They view everyone as enemies and I know what this is like as on October 31, I brought a group of friends for lunch to their restaurant and Diane Stahl who features a lot in the statements given by the Scientology Organisation S.O. in the programme came up after we were about to take their tour and mentioned my name and then said you were telling lies about our church and asked us all to leave. It was an amazing experience for my friends who were very open to hearing the S.O. side of things. Most of us see the Scientology buildings from across a street and at a distance as they are not inviting places. I felt the use of aerial photography gave you a sense like being in an attack helicopter of the scope and scale of the Scientology project here in Ireland. It is massive overkill and to understand it you have to get inside the head of David Miscavige. Here it is about using the tax money to purchase trophy properties. It was Victory Church before the S.O. purchased it. It went bankrupt and the Scientologists bought it and are equally trying to use it to recruit.

There was no one in the building, and it is just a white elephant. It will be used to help the local community but in reality, it is just a total waste of space. There are no members as the programme showed. I had a small segment showing me commenting on Tom Cruise with Eamon Gilmore at Iveagh House where he was issued with a Certificate of Irish Heritage. My view is that Tom Cruise is a good friend of David Miscavige got him to buy into the idea that he was an Irish tourist Ambassador and the S.O. decided to place all their eggs in our basket. L.R Hubbard had always wanted to set up Scientology State. They decided to divert a lot of cash to try out that idea here. I believe this more than the current policy of opening Ideal Orgs all over the world. The location of so many Sea Org personnel here in Ireland suggests something different.

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2018/01/08/senior-members-of-church-of-scientology-move-into-co-kildare-country-home/

The results may not be very different namely empty buildings. The reason they can’t meet the public is there is no one in the buildings to engage with. They are declining numerically as they are growing financially due to their obtaining IRS status and as a result having a lot of cash. Their HQ is not a centre for dialogue as they are just too programmed to do this. They will not meet the media and try to stem the tide of negative views with PR consultants.

Pete  Griffith was very clear and I felt very persuasive in his presentation. The programme also outlined the very complex issue of the common assault on Zabrina Collins or should I say, Shortt?

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2015/01/16/misreporting-of-two-separate-cases-one-involving-pete-griffith-and-zabrina-collins-for-defamation-the-other-for-harassment-involving-pete-griffith-and-john-mcghee-in-regard-to-zabrina-collins-and-mic/

Showing how Pete’s defamation case against her was taken off course. His apology was clear and distancing himself from that episode clears the decks for him to engage with Scientologists. It also shows humility and a willingness to show vulnerability. Unfortunately, the S.O seem unable to engage beyond attack as my expulsion from their restaurant showed.

You can see our coverage of Scientology here:

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/category/therapy-groups/scientology/

Ireland’s RTÉ Prime Time – “Scientology – The Return” –

Report by Rita O’Reilly

Here is her blog piece published before the programme was aired last night.

https://www.rte.ie/eile/2018/1218/1017981-scientology-the-return/

Scientology has tried to make it big in Ireland before, but now it’s back with a multi-million euro investment in three new facilities – one around the corner from Government Buildings in Dublin’s Merrion Square, another in the suburb of Firhouse, and a third, through its affiliated Narconon group, in Ballivor, County Meath.

It’s an expensive return, but it’s not been a popular one, and indeed, it’s been marked by controversy.

What is it about Scientology? After all, it is tiny. Though it claims a membership of millions worldwide, the available evidence suggests tens of thousands. Here in Ireland, in the last census, just 87 people said they were Scientologists. The comparator often used is, ‘Well, how many people claim to be Jedi knights?’, and in Ireland’s census, there were 2,000.

Yet, its tiny membership has not deterred Scientology. It has said its investment has been funded by donors abroad. Its return is a big effort – aside from the new facilities, its spend is on outreach, with free events, Google and mobile ads, Promoted Tweets, mailshots, booklets, and leaflets through your door – all material printed at its own distribution works in Los Angeles.

Why Ireland? Well, contrary to reports, we’re nothing special. Since the start of last year, Scientology has opened over a dozen new buildings worldwide.

They follow a formula it keeps repeating: its leader, David Miscavige and committed members fly into the openings, which are staged events. Videos of those launches are then shown at annual internal gala events, where donor members are dazzled with special Scientology statistics promoting its claim of rapid expansion. Scientology calls additions like Firhouse, ‘Ideal Organisations’, and it says that Mr. Miscavige “personally supervises the selection of each new Ideal Org”.

The weekend after its Firhouse centre opened in October 2017, Scientology launched another building in Birmingham, and the weekend after that, in Amsterdam: three weekends in a row – all staged openings, off-limits to the general public.

The organisation already has a Brussels office and its European headquarters is in Copenhagen.

Journalist Tony Ortega, editor of the ‘The Underground Bunker’, has reported on Scientology for over two decades. He points out: “The new Ideal Org in Dublin is not a new European centre or headquarters, it has nothing to do with Brexit and it has nothing to do with taxes. The Church of Scientology is already tax exempt in the United States, it pays no taxes; it is not looking for new tax shelters.”

But its office in Merrion Square, opened in 2016, is one of only a few ‘National Affairs’ offices it has. “These are moves that reflect what David Miscavige has done in the United States”, Mr. Ortega says. “Several years ago, Miscavige refurbished a building in Washington DC for a new ‘national affairs office’. It was a new sort of idea for Scientology – they then extended that to Ireland. And why Merrion Square? Well, because it means a lot to Scientologists, that location because L Ron Hubbard himself had worked out of Merrion Square back in the 1950s.”

It was at the end of 1955, and Scientology’s creator, L Ron Hubbard was already a controversial figure. He had been refused a visa renewal to the UK, where he had a base, and he had temporarily moved to Ireland to what he called “the swankiest address in Dublin”, Merrion Square.

On 17 April 1956, while he was still based there, the Director of the FBI, J Edgar Hoover, noted that in divorce proceedings, Hubbard’s second wife, Sara Northrup, had described him as “hopelessly insane”. “His recent letters have been unanswered inasmuch as he is considered obviously a mental case”, Mr. Hoover wrote.

At the time, (20 April 1956) L Ron Hubbard was writing to his followers that his Merrion Square office was a “British fallback point in the event of an atomic attack”.

His stay was short-lived: he left within months. His organisation, Scientology, however, set up in Ireland from the 1980s.

Mike Garde of Dialogue Ireland has followed its arrival, decline and return since then. He says that though it is small, its impact can be devastating.

“I’ve been dealing with the families of people from Malin Head to Mizen Head in this country who have been affected by this Scientology organisation”, Mike Garde says, “breakup of marriages, the breakup of families – of one guy, he became addicted completely to alcohol, they tore him apart”.

It is that concern and concerns like it that led to tonight’s Prime Time: ‘Scientology – The Return’.

https://www.rte.ie/…/2…/1218/1017981-scientology-the-return/

Here is the programme which is an icon in the story of Scientology in Ireland. It is the Late, Late Show of Feb 1995. It was mentioned on Prime Time

http://www.dialogueireland.org/dicontent/resources/video/latelate.html

 

Rita O’Reilly – Reporter

Rita O’Reilly is the reporter behind several Prime Time and Prime Time Investigates documentaries, amongst them, the highest ever rating Prime Time Investigates – Carry on Regardless, on Irish developers, and a report by Prime Time into the Stardust fire. Her work has helped contribute to political and legislative change. Her first programme, Prime Time Investigates internet child pornography, won TV Documentary of the Year (ESB National Media Awards, 2003). Her reporting on the recent documentary on suicides in the Irish army and anti-malarial drug Lariam won her Journalist of the Year at the Irish Medical  Media Awards (RTÉ Investigations Unit, 2013). A former press and court reporter who co-authored an award-winning bestseller on the Catherine Nevin murder trial. She is from Co. Galway.

“The Return,” The Prime Time documentary on the Scientology Organisation by Rita O’Reilly. RTE 1 Tuesday 18th December 2018.

 

https://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/category/therapy-groups/scientology/

 

Dr Anthony Clare talks to RTÉ News about the growth of Scientology back in 1968

Scientology in Ireland 1968

**

Religion

https://www.rte.ie/bosco/components/player/iframe.html?clipid=3169204&thumbnail=0007a86b&subheader=off

Dr Anthony Clare talks to RTÉ News about the growth of Scientology.

The psychiatrist is concerned about the social impact of a body whose set of beliefs attracts those who are

***psychologically unstable.

Dr Anthony Clare points out that the financial requirements of becoming involved in Scientology may act as a deterrent for many.

An RTÉ News report from 26 July 1968.

Narconon: Drug detox clinic refused planning in Co Meath

Updated / Thursday, 22 Nov 2018

The An Bord Pleanála decision has come on foot of two appeals

By Rita O’Reilly

RTÉ Prime Time

https://www.rte.ie/news/leinster/2018/1122/1012646-narconon-ballivor-meath/?fbclid=IwAR2ypxAIglsEWQuOBOsB5KGuz2tKZ3oDgOrWb1j5XRIP3WM09bSCsdnKHpw

An Bord Pleanála has overturned a Meath County Council decision to exempt the building of a drug detox clinic by the Scientology group, Narconon, in Ballivor, Co Meath.

Meath County Council had found that a change of use from a nursing home to a residential drug rehab facility was not a material change of use and was exempted development which did not require planning permission.

Will the real Janet Laveau please stand up?

 

Janet Laveau originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba has a long involvement with Ireland. I first met her and Graeme Wilson when they tried to subvert the case against Mary Johnson here in Dublin around 2002. I was trying to get them to stop Gerard Ryan from sending defamatory material to schools. They were unable to deliver. I visited Saint Hill, East Grinstead along with a number of participants at a Conference put on by Eileen Barker of the LSE and where Heber Jenszch spoke and gave out a door stopper version of What is Scientology. We were shown people speaking to Teddy Bears and outside the Sea Org building there was a drain which was filled with cigarette stubs. When I asked if they had a major addiction problem I was given my first warning by Janet Laveau. Then refreshments in a little building before a speech in a mock up of LRH’s office. When she remarked that his favourite drink was Coca Cola, I insisted it was whiskey. She took me out to library where I was given a final warning.

She is over in Ireland running the show. She is part of the Sea Org which she describes as being similar to a religious order. It is a cross between a state security branch like say Mossad and military intelligence. Its members make a billion year contract. They have a lot of return visits to make to earth. They by definition are not allowed to have children and if married are in a lot of trouble as they are pretty much on a collision course with the S.O. Janet herself has adult children but likely her marriage has gone south. Here in Ireland she is in charge of the National Affairs HQ on Merrion Square and also part of the the Office of Special affairs, (OSA,) intel branch.

 

 

Scientologists are all the time telling us that they are a religion but when it comes to Narconon they claim it is secular.

A Richard & Judy item on Scientology Former Scientologist Astra Woodcraft is interviewed, along with a spokeswoman for Scientology, Janet Laveau. Includes details on life inside Scientology, and the policy of compulsory abortions for female members of the “Sea Orgs”. Channel 4, Oct 11 2005 

 

Note Janet Leveau is addressed as  Reverend  and she tries to explain the abuse by referring to those that oppose them as apostates. In other words turning away from the true religion.

INSIDE NARCONON: ‘We want people to know there is nothing to be scared of’

This plan which seemed watertight last March when this article was published by the Meath Chronicle was thrown on its head yesterday.

Bord Pleanala has ruled that the change from a nursing home to a drug rehabilitation centre is not exempted development and would be a “factual change of use.”

Story by Gavan Becton

Sunday, 4th March, 2018

http://www.meathchronicle.ie/news/roundup/articles/2018/03/04/4152879-inside-narconon-we-want-people-to-know-there-is-nothing-to–be-scared-of/?fbclid=IwAR1ENnO3Bo7JE_e3ERvV1TFgueRXUKF88I-QukONPIgp40Koj6HHDN-h4R4

NOELLE FINEGAN & GAVAN BECTON

Narconon has broken its silence on its plans for a drug rehabilitation centre in Ballivor revealing details of the €5.6m project on the site of the former national school in the village which will accommodate 34 recovering addicts and 18 staff.
After months of speculation on what was happening with the site- which has planning for a nursing home- Narconon only last week confirmed they intend to open a drug rehabilitation facility.
When challenged on why it had taken until now to reveal its plans, Ms Laveau said they “weren’t finished on the planning and that was really the simplicity of it”, adding “there wasn’t a lot to say or show until we had actually finished it.”

How the new Narconon facility in Ballivor is expected to look

She outlined they had spent almost a year looking for a suitable property and went through 200 properties before finding Ballivor and then put the full proposal from Narconon in to Meath County Council in August 2016.
So why Ballivor? Ms Laveau gave the reasons behind their decision to locate there: “We were searching with different estate agents and it was the right size and had the correct zoning and was conveniently located in a central location.  We had found another location down in Cork but that was a problem because it was way down the bottom and was not very accessible. Here gave us somewhere that we could easily get to.
“It’s also an idyllic rural setting. People want to get out if the environment that they are in because they know they are vulnerable to temptation on one hand and on the other hand you have people who don’t want everyone to know.”
She added: “No other property fitted the bill and then there was talk I saw that it was right across from a school so we looked at maps of other rehabilitation centres and you can see they have similar.

The former national school in Ballivor as it looks at the moment. No date has been set for the start of construction.
“What we always do is work with the building that is there and try to enhance and bring new life to it.”
Once the council had responded that it would be an exempted development, they started the process of acquiring the property.
“We had been straight up front right at the beginning, who we were and what we wanted to do and so forth, but you know contrary to what some people may think we are not publicity seekers at all. We just manage to get a lot of publicity so when we do something, you have to go through the whole planning stages so we have this raw shell to work with but what are we going to do.
“It is a bit like Christmas time when you go to a shopping centre, they are going to like cover their windows until they are ready to show you what their window displays are like, It is the same kind of a thing.”
When put to them that they had targeted a property with a live planning permission, Ms Laveau agreed this was the case. “Absolutely. Whenever we buy any kind of a property, like if we were going to open up a new church in any city, you have areas where you have zonings for those kind of activities.”
Mr O’Byrne gave the example of Firhouse centre where there was already planning for a church.

The Narconon/Scientology representatives were anxious to show how the former national school in Ballivor will look transformed into the 34-bed drug rehabilitation centre.

Regarding lessening the chance for objection from the local community, Ms Laveau claimed this wasn’t part of the “thinking process”.
“Actually the objection from the community wasn’t part of the thinking process…..The fact it already had planning permission was a bonus, it wasn’t one of the criteria, it was simply whether that area would be zoned for that type of usage is the thing that we look for. So we lucked out that it already had it.”
On not being welcome in the area and how that comes into the thinking on a development like this, Ms Laveau said: “ When we first started this project, we were completely upfront. And we put the planning application in with a complete description of the programme. And the planning committee and so forth reviewed it and approved it and there were no objections to it.”

Janet Laveau, National Affairs Office, Church of Scientology, (above right), Linda Alred, Narconon Co-ordinator (top left) and programme graduate and rehabilitation secretary for Ballivor, Brian McWeeney pictured at our offices last Friday (Feb 23rd).
When challenged that there was no opportunity to object when it is an exempted development, Ms Laveau said: “We didn’t know that. In the UK at Saint Hill, we had a lot of renovations and everything you do, you get your planning permission, it gets posted in the newspaper and it gets posted outside. I don’t think anybody ever thought anything of it, we put the paperwork through.”
Ms Laveau has openly admitted they were taken aback by the level of resistance to their plans.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in my entire life. Never, I’ve been working with Narconon since the early 80s and I’ve never personally experienced anything but complete acceptance because the programme makes so much sense to people.”

They claim the centre will be worth €800,000 per year to the local community and that cooks, gardeners, housekeeping and maintenance staff will be locally hired.
A contractor has not yet been appointed and they don’t have an opening date yet.
About 50 per cent of participants are expected to come from outside Ireland.
A price has not yet been set for their programme in Ireland and say it depends on the economics of the individual country but it is not-for-profit and there is no margin. In the UK centre, the cost is £18,000 for the programme which averages at four months.

When asked about the type of person who will attend the centre when it opens, Ms Laveau said: “One of the key concerns is are we going to see strange looking drug addicts running around the city. That is not the case with Narconon, Narconon is a private rehabilitation programme and it is a drug free programme, it only takes people who are wanting themselves to get off the drugs. If you don’t have somebody that has made that decision themselves personally for their own reasons to get off drugs, it won’t happen.”

Mr O’Bryne said their key message to the people of Ballivor is “to tell them the facts, that they haven’t heard before because we haven’t talked to them about them yet”. He feels there is a huge amount of misinformation out there, and Ms Laveau said a lot of the concerns are being created by a few individuals.
So how are they going to try to sell this to the community particularly if they have a barrier up?
“We are totally willing to talk to people, we want to talk to people. There is a huge problem in Ireland, even in the Ballivor area that there is a big drugs problem. Heroin is one that is specifically brought up along with prescription drugs and cannabis. It’s the human factor, I don’t know what else to say. We’re willing to talk to people, we want to brief them, we want to let them know that this is not something scary or that it’s not going to bring a benefit to the community.”
What would they like to say to the people of Ballivor who are extremely worried  of the prospect of a centre in their community?
“There’s nothing to worry about firstly,” said Mr O’Byrne.

“What we would like to say is that Narconon is really dedicated to addressing the issue of drugs, offering a drug free withdrawal programme that restores people’s lives. It’s a safe programme and it is going to bring, I think, a significant benefit to the community both in terms of economic injection in to the area and with very stringent security measure in place so that it is a safe programme and enhances the environment,” said Ms Laveau.
While they aren’t open to the idea of addressing a public meeting, they say they are willing to meet with smaller groups and anyone who wants to talk to them about the proposal should contact info@narconon.ie.

Narconon update Ballivor, Co. Meath. Compelling testimony by an ex staff member who had to flee her kidnap employment

Suppressio Hibernicis

Published on Jul 26, 2018

An ex-Narconon staff member talks about her journey into Scientology via Narconon. She discusses the dangerous “rehab” methods, financial coercion, attitude towards children and family, and ultimately her planned escape from a Narconon facility where she was held against her will.

This intervention is extremely important as it indicates that beyond the usual issues of planning permission we have a very big problem on our hands. We must listen to this testimony and act on it. But before we do so we must address the elephant in the room.

What is it? Is it the ‘Ballivor Says No group.’ I would suggest not? Due to the extreme emotion and the language of traitors, it is now clear the village is totally divided. Let us unpack the few lines below and see if we can find a way forward and lower the emotional temperature.

However, the offer has left members of the Ballivor Says No group – who have been battling to keep Scientology-linked group Narconon out of the village – ‘very saddened’.

In this first sentence, we find the key to the strategic failure of the No campaign. If their aim was to keep Narconon out of the village then their campaign has been an absolute failure. Their strategy was to call it a cult and build up a kind of hatred that would force them out of the village. Also, the logic they applied was simple the GAA works with builders employed by Narconon, therefore GAA is in bed with Scientology. If their strategy was that there should be a total boycott of anything to do with Narconon not only would the GAA be compromised but every cafe, restaurant, petrol station and supermarket who served them would be compromised. If there were children which is unlikely would they refuse them access to the National School? No trying to do civil disobedience and stop the builders moving in would have simply led to an injunction. No, the strategy was already compromised when it became clear the purchase of the Nursing Home came with planning permission. However, the mindset that this is a cult, led them to promote the view that Narconon should be closed down period. Naturally, the more extreme the positioning was the media and the political class withdrew to watch and wait.