(1917,'CF charity renews call for deal on life-saving drug','<p>\r\n	Cystic Fibrosis Ireland (CFI) has reiterated its call to Government to swiftly conclude discussions with the manufacturer of a life-changing drug so that more than 500 patients can potentially benefit from the treatment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The plea came at the launch of CF National Awareness Week and nine months into the wait for a decision on whether the State will reimburse Vertex Pharmaceuticals for the cost of Orkambi, originally set at c&euro;159,000 per patient per annum.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	CFI is also hoping for a favourable decision on requests for an extension of the State&rsquo;s reimbursement of Kalydeco, another Vertex drug.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is reimbursed for CF patients aged six and older but campaigners are now calling for it to be available to children aged 2-5. However the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE) has already ruled this would not be cost effective.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	CFI CEO Philip Watt said Orkambi and Kalydeco are &ldquo;well documented in increasing lung function and slowing progression of the disease, in decreasing hospitalisations and dependency on other medications, and in improving quality of life for a substantial number of patients&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;That is why we are calling on all sides to show generosity of spirit in quickly finalising a mutually-satisfactory arrangement,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Watt said CFI was also calling for an overhaul of the current drug approval system, without which future CF therapies would fall at the hurdle of cost-effectiveness. Earlier this month, Health Minister Simon Harris controversially and unsuccessfully asked CF campaigners to call off a planned protest outside the D&aacute;il on the grounds that talks with Vertex had entered a critical phase.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Department of Health yesterday said it was &ldquo;expected this process will conclude in a period of weeks&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ireland has the highest incidence (per head of population) of CF in the world.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 20th March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/cf-charity-renews-call-for-deal-on-life-saving-drug-445671.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/cf-charity-renews-call-for-deal-on-life-saving-drug-445671.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-20 09:43:41',NULL,'cf-charity-renews-call-for-deal-on-life-saving-drug'),(1918,'20% of mental health professionals are not trained to deal with violent patients','<p>\r\n	One in five mental health professionals are not trained to deal with violent and aggressive patients, it has emerged.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A new European study led by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland also found there was a lack of clarity on violence management in psychiatric hospitals.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It reveals that just 30% of mental health professionals received training in the past year, while just 9% stated that it had been over five years since they last received any relevant training.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Worryingly, 37% of mental health professionals in Ireland reported that it had been more than five years since they received violence management training, which is way above the European average.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study, published in the journal, BMC Health Services Research, was based on a survey of 2,800 healthcare professionals from 17 countries across Europe, including Ireland. It also emerged that Europe has an ageing, mental healthcare workforce, with more than one in five (21%) qualified for more than 25 years. The figure in Ireland is higher, at 34%.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Professor of nursing at RCSI and lead author, Prof Seamus Cowman, said violent episodes and staff assaults have escalated in mental health services across Europe: &ldquo;In agriculture, the use of land and the welfare of farm animals and fishing is regulated. In mental health services, a vital and controversial human intervention, such as coercion and violence management, is devoid of EU direction on best practice.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study points out that language differences in Europe may have contributed to insular thinking but stresses that this must not be seen as a barrier to sharing best practice.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ireland has a higher training level than other European countries. Just one in 10 (10.3%) have never received training.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Private companies provide training in a lot of Irish hospitals, but the question I would raise is how successful in reducing violent episodes. The issue is about the quality of the training provided and whether it is fit for purpose,&rdquo; said Prof Cowman.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study also highlights that mental health professionals must be able to meet the needs of traumatised migrants, now living in Europe, who may suffer from mental health difficulties.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 19th March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/20-of-mental-health-professionals-are-not-trained-to-deal-with-violent-patients-445553.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/20-of-mental-health-professionals-are-not-trained-to-deal-with-violent-patients-445553.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-20 09:45:19',NULL,'20%-of-mental-health-professionals-are-not-trained-to-deal-with-violent-patients'),(1919,'Watchdog criticises unacceptable delays for scoliosis surgery','<p>\r\n	Four-month maximum waiting time complies with best practice, says ombudsman</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	No child with scoliosis should have to wait for surgery more than four months, according to a report by the Ombudsman for Children that criticises &ldquo;unacceptable&rdquo; delays by Government in providing treatment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Delays and a failure by Government to adequately address the issue of access to scoliosis treatment is impacting on the rights of children and young people, the report to be launched by ombudsman Niall Muldoon today will say.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Muldoon says every child has a right to the highest attainable standard of health but this is not being respected for young people with the condition, which involves a sideways curvature of the spine.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Due to their age and stage of development, young people with scoliosis are suffering severe physical and psychological effects as a result of the delays they experience. This should not be acceptable in Ireland 2017.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report says a four-month maximum waiting time between the time surgery is clinically determined and the operation is in line with recent Government commitments and complies with international best practice.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some 119 children with scoliosis have been on the waiting list for more than six months, and 46 are on the list for more than a year, recent figures show. Successive governments have promised action to cut waiting times for surgery but to little effect.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Operating theatre</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A new operating theatre was commissioned in Our Lady&rsquo;s children&rsquo;s hospital in Crumlin last year but could not be used until now due to staff recruitment issues.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Minister for Health Simon Harris has promised the Health Service Executive will meet the four-month target by the end of this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The testimonies of young people that feature in the report highlight the physical, mental and education impact of delays in treatment. &ldquo;The whole waiting process made me very sad all the time, I didn&rsquo;t like leaving the house or looking in the mirror. I felt trapped in my own head, nobody else I knew looked like me,&rdquo; says Jane.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meanwhile, Harriet says: &ldquo;The lowest point of all for me was in August 2014. I was going into fifth year and I didn&rsquo;t know if I was going to be able to do my Leaving Cert.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Muldoon says long-term planning and strategic thinking is needed to address the issue. A clear picture is also needed of existing capacity and the available of resources.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Targets</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Child-specific waiting lists should be published for all healthcare services in Ireland, the ombudsman recommends, with targets for maximum outpatients waiting times. Reports monitoring these targets should be published quarterly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is also time to consider child-friendly budgeting, as recommended by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Beginning in the health sector, we should know how much of the budget is being spent on children, and plans for their needs should be put in place.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Children and young people must be heard on this issue, but listening to their views is not enough. We must acknowledge that delays in accessing scoliosis treatment are directly affecting children&rsquo;s lives and the enjoyment of their right to health, education and to development.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The cycle of crisis managing this issue must end with a long-term sustainable plan that has a real impact on young people, and that promotes their rights to the highest attainable standard of health.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 20th March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/watchdog-criticises-unacceptable-delays-for-scoliosis-surgery-1.3016662\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/watchdog-criticises-unacceptable-delays-for-scoliosis-surgery-1.3016662</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-20 09:47:39',NULL,'watchdog-criticises-unacceptable-delays-for-scoliosis-surgery'),(1920,'SNA services are ‘over-stretched and under-resourced’','<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Keep your child up as late as possible and fill him full of sugar,&rdquo; was the unorthodox advice that Joanne Duffy received when struggling to secure a special needs assistant (SNA) for her son Ronan, who has Down Syndrome.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The services are so stretched that only extremely challenging cases were likely to get the resources vital to children such as Ronan if he was to have any hope of progressing in a mainstream primary school.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the event, Ronan from Moyvane, North Kerry, was assigned an SNA but, otherwise, State services have been thin on the ground. In the early years, he had an &ldquo;amazing&rdquo; domiciliary care nurse and a pre-school team courtesy of the Brothers of Charity, but little or no access to essential therapies.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In fact, up to the age of four and a half, Ronan received no occupational therapy from the HSE. His GP costs were also huge &mdash; at the time, there was no automatic entitlement to a medical card for children with Down Syndrome (legislation is in the pipeline now to address the deficit) &mdash; and Joanne recalls that, in his first year, Ronan had to go to the GP 19 times, at a cost per visit of &euro;50.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Into this vacuum stepped Down Syndrome Ireland (DSI). Instead of Joanne having to pay &euro;90 per therapy session, DSI subsidises the cost, so that parents pay &euro;30.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Without DSI&rsquo;s help, Joanne would face an annual therapy bill in excess of &euro;2,000. DSI also operates a waiver if parents cannot afford to pay.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Ronan started speech and language therapy at three months thanks to DSI,&rdquo; Joanne says. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s had the same therapist at DSI since then which is great for him,&rdquo; she says. He also received some SLT from Brothers of Charity.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	And while they &ldquo;would be lost&rdquo; without the support of DSI, the ongoing costs of caring for a child with a disability means constant fundraising too.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;From the minute he was born we&rsquo;ve had a begging bucket out,&rdquo; says Joanne.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The family support has been huge. When my sister-in-law got married, they asked for cash donations to be made to DSI. The same for some big family birthdays.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Her employer, St Joseph&rsquo;s Foundation in Charleville, have also been generous with her, she says, facilitating flexible working hours to fit in around Ronan&rsquo;s therapy sessions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the State has not been as generous. It is not that the people working in the service are not giving it their all &mdash; it&rsquo;s just they are too over-stretched and under-resourced, she says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I believe there is a moral obligation on the State to look after its citizens and I think it&rsquo;s wrong that they are failing our children,&rdquo; says Joanne</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Her experience is replicated around the country and today, on World Down Syndrome Day, DSI is calling on the government to increase vital services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the past five years, funding services such as speech and language therapy and occupational therapy though the charity&rsquo;s branch network has cost parents and DSI an estimated &euro;5.2m.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	DSI says that due to a lack of state early intervention and school-based services, parents have to fund private therapists to help their children communicate and develop their skills to carry out such everyday tasks as feeding, dressing and toileting so they can lead as independent lives as possible.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	DSI chief executive Pat Clarke said many parents of people with Down syndrome in Ireland feel they are treated like second-class citizens.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Without Down Syndrome Ireland, their children would in many cases be left with barely any service provision from the State and it&rsquo;s simply not good enough,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re calling on the Government to act.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 21st March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/sna-services-are-over-stretched-and-under-resourced-445729.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/sna-services-are-over-stretched-and-under-resourced-445729.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-21 09:46:52',NULL,'sna-services-are-‘over-stretched-and-under-resourced’'),(1921,'‘Julia does things differently’: Sesame Street’s muppet with autism','<p>\r\n	Through new character, children will learn not to be frightened by certain behaviour</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children&rsquo;s TV favourite Sesame Street has added a new character to its ensemble, an orange-haired muppet named Julia, who has autism.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In her first episode, Julia is introduced to the large, inquisitive wild fowl Big Bird. She ignores him, causing him to feel hurt, until the other muppets explain, &ldquo;She does things just a little differently.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One in 68 children in the US is diagnosed with autism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A recent paper from the Irish National Council for Special Education said that it was as high as one in 65 school children in Ireland. It is considered to be under-diagnosed in girls (hence Julia&rsquo;s gender).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Julia&rsquo;s puppeteer, Stacey Gordon, who has a son with autism, told the 60 Minutes programme: &ldquo;Had my son&rsquo;s friends been exposed to his behaviours through something they had seen on TV before they experienced them in the classroom, they might not have been frightened.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Julia&rsquo;s debut happens against a backdrop in which Sesame Street&rsquo;s home station, the publicly-funded PBS, is consistently endangered by proposed cutbacks from conservative policy makers. The muppets in Washington do not like the muppets of PBS, a channel they see as an overly-expensive luxury favoured by the coastal elite.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This is despite all evidence (perhaps Count Von Count could help them look at the figures?). In 2015, a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research concluded that Sesame Street was a very effective low-cost educational supplement for children in economically disadvantaged areas.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Future of Children, a joint report from Princeton university and the Brookings Institute, found that children who watched Sesame Street had more inclusive social attitudes than those who did not. (That said, if you&rsquo;re a Republican lawmaker you might prefer a show that glorifies the ham-fisted privatisation of public services, like, say, Paw Patrol.)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sesame Street has always had progressive motivations. It was created in 1966 when television producer Joan Ganz Cooney and vice president of the Carnegie foundation Lloyd Morrisett conceived of a children&rsquo;s programme based on the latest educational research. It would eventually be populated by the late Jim Henson&rsquo;s puppets and would &ldquo;master the addictive qualities of television and do something good with them&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Julia is to make her debut in April, when she will join an array of much loved characters including the aforementioned avian worry-wart Big Bird, bin-dwelling misanthrope Oscar the Grouch, obsessively numerate aristocrat Count Von Count, gluttonous baked goods aficionado Cookie Monster and, last, but not least, co-dependent alternative-lifestyle pioneers Ernie and Bert.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Yeah, it&rsquo;s a good group. Julia should feel at home there.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 20th March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/julia-does-things-differently-sesame-street-s-muppet-with-autism-1.3017176\">http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/julia-does-things-differently-sesame-street-s-muppet-with-autism-1.3017176</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-21 09:51:27',NULL,'‘julia-does-things-differently’-sesame-street’s-muppet-with-autism'),(1922,'Eight schools suspend religious segregation of children ','<p>\r\n	Eight primary schools have suspended part of a controversial religious education programme that segregates children according to their religious background at a key time in the Catholic calendar.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The schools, which are State-run Community National Schools, took the step this year after consultation with parents, writes Education Correspondent Emma O Kelly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A ninth CNS school suspended the programme entirely five years ago after objections from parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) has said it will begin a review of the programme from September.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The &#39;Goodness Me, Goodness You&#39;&nbsp;religious education programme was drawn up after the Catholic Church warned the Department of Education that the provision of faith formation for Catholic pupils was a &quot;minimum non-negotiable requirement&quot; for its support for the new Community National School, multi-denominational model.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The State agency for developing curricula advised at the time against separating young children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The NCCA said doing so ran counter to how children settled at school. School principals, teachers,&nbsp;and parents also objected to the proposals.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But the programme went ahead, with children divided into four groups:&nbsp;Catholic, Other Christian, Muslim, and Other/none in the month before Easter.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This year eight Community National Schools in Dublin and in Cork have decided to abandon the practice.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One school principal told RT&Eacute; News they had spoken to all parents and there was &quot;no demand&quot; for segregation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, Catholic pupils in the schools continue to be separated from classmates on a weekly basis in second and in sixth class to allow them to prepare for Communion and Confirmation during school time.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Two Community National Schools, &Aacute;rd Ri in Navan, and Lucan CNS in Dublin continue to separate all children in the month running up to Easter. Neither school has responded to queries from RT&Eacute; News about the programme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Another Community National School, Scoil Choilm, suspended the &#39;Goodness Me, Goodness You&#39; syllabus entirely five years ago after parents objected to the segregation of children and to the content of the religious education programme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Scoil Choilm in Dublin 15 is in the process of introducing a newly developed version of the programme for senior pupils, which does not contain the four-week separation component.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One former Scoil Choilm teacher, who wished to remain anonymous, told RT&Eacute; News: &quot;I didn&rsquo;t feel comfortable teaching it and I was glad when it was suspended. We were trying to teach them (non-Catholic children) what their religion is. Their parents found it insulting and I don&#39;t blame them.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Unlike the original programme, this follow-on curriculum is being designed by the NCCA.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are currently 11 Community National Schools providing education to children in Dublin and other parts of the country.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The schools are run by local Education and Training Boards (formerly VECs) and unlike other multi-denominational schools, guarantee faith formation for Catholic children during the school day. Many more CNS schools are expected to open in coming years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Minister for Education Richard Bruton has signalled that the CNS model is the one he favours extending in order to address the dominance of the Catholic Church in the primary education system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The original &#39;Goodness Me, Goodness You&#39;&nbsp;programme was designed by private Catholic college the Marino Institute of Education. However, a leaflet distributed to prospective parents at recent enrollment meetings, and available online, implies otherwise.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The leaflet states that the schools&#39; religious education programme &quot;was developed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment which is the statutory agency with responsibility for developing curricula&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A Frequently Asked Questions section on the CNS website states that the programme was written by &quot;a team of writers under the NCCA&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The GMGY programme was in fact written by Dr Clare Maloney of the Marino Institute of Education. The Department of Education did initially approach the NCCA about designing the programme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, after the NCCA advised against separating children along religious lines, the Department commissioned the college at Marino to develop the programme instead.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At the time the head of County Dublin VEC - patron of the first Community National Schools - expressed &quot;dismay and disappointment&quot; at the Department&rsquo;s decision.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Four years later the programme was transferred to the NCCA.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When contacted by RT&Eacute; News, the Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) acknowledged that Dr Clare Moloney was the author of the programme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Michael Moriarty of the ETBI said he did not agree however that the literature was misleading.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by RTE.ie on the 27th March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/special-reports/2017/0327/862810-eight-schools-suspend-religious-segregation-of-children/?google_editors_picks=true\">http://www.rte.ie/news/special-reports/2017/0327/862810-eight-schools-suspend-religious-segregation-of-children/?google_editors_picks=true</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-27 13:11:56',NULL,'eight-schools-suspend-religious-segregation-of-children'),(1923,'Magdalene Laundries: Dodging liability is still the name of the game','<p>\r\n	Despite the many pronouncements on the Magdalene Laundries, the State is hugely concerned at the payout it may have to make, writes Conall &Oacute; F&aacute;tharta.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Few people will forget the apology offered by Taoiseach Enda Kenny in February of 2013 on behalf of the State to the women who suffered in the Magdalene Laundries.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He spoke of a &ldquo;nation&rsquo;s shame&rdquo; and of women taking the country&rsquo;s terrible secret and making it their own.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;But from this moment on you need carry it no more. Because today we take it back. Today we acknowledge the role of the State in your ordeal,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, less than two years earlier in June 2011, many members of his Cabinet were determined to distance the State as far as possible from any liability.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A series of cabinet observations on a Department of Justice memorandum for Government seeking permission for the establishment of what eventually became the McAleese Committee reveal a Cabinet concerned about three things &mdash; not conceding on the issue of that State liability, calls for further inquiries into issues like Mother and Baby Homes and foster care settings and avoiding a redress bill.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The memorandum seeks approval for the establishment of an inter- departmental committee (later the McAleese Committee) as well as the issuing of a letter to the religious orders providing them with a copy of the November 2010 Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) assessment of human rights issues arising in relation to the Magdalene Laundries and the observations of the UN Committee against Torture (UNCAT) and inviting them to make their records available and to enter a restorative justice process with former residents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Observations provided by a number of ministers express concerns about redress, admitting State liability and, notably, that an investigation into Magdalene Laundries may lead to calls for inquiries into other related issues and institutions like Mother and Baby Homes, psychiatric hospitals and foster care settings.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The observations of then Minister for Education and Skills Ruair&iacute; Quinn state that while he supported the approach outlined in the Memorandum, he noted &ldquo;that there may be demands for enquiries into other situations&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Following the publication of the Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (the Ryan Report), there were renewed demands for the Redress Scheme to be extended to include other institutions, such as Magdalene Laundries, mother and baby homes, psychiatric hospitals and foster care settings.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The Government decided against any extension of the arrangements and the Department for Education and skills has circulated a draft Memorandum for Government for observations, which deals inter alia, with the winding-up of the Residential Institutions Redress Board.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This possibility of demands for other inquiries is noted by then Justice Minister Alan Shatter who states that and his proposal &ldquo;only deals with the issue of Magdalene institutions&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The issue of financial redress is also front and centre in the Ministerial observations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Shatter is recorded as being &ldquo;conscious&rdquo; of the Minister of Finance Michael Noonan&rsquo;s view that the proposals in the memorandum &ldquo;would very likely generate pressure for opening up redress.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, then minister for public expenditure Brendan Howlin goes even further stating that it should be made clear that no redress would be paid to women, even if the State is found liable.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In the circumstances the minister accepts the proposals in the memorandum. However, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform considers that the issue of possible financial or other redress supported by the Government must also be considered in advance of the measures in the memorandum.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If this is not done, it is likely that there will be strong immediate public pressure for an agreement in principle to financial redress, which may lead to an open-ended commitment for the Government.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In view of the severe constraints on public expenditure, the minister proposes that the Government make clear in the press release that it does not have the resources to allow for the establishment of redress measures should they be appropriate in this case.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The importance of not conceding on the issue of the State&rsquo;s liability in relation to inspection of the laundries was stressed in the observations of then minister for jobs enterprise and employment Richard Bruton.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation wishes to point out that, whether under employment rights or health and safety codes, there neither was, nor is there now any obligation on the State to inspect every workplace. It is clear that the State does not have the resources to inspect every workplace.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The minister recalls that, in another context, the ex-miners compensation issue, his department was advised by the Attorney General, that the mere fact that statutory regulation exists in relation to a sector does not , of itself, impose any duty of care on the State in relation to the employees of that sector.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The minister believes that great care should be taken to ensure that this fundamental principle is not conceded by any action or statement of the Government on this issue.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Bruton also noted &ldquo;the absence of evidence to support the claims made and no formal complaints have been made to the garda&iacute;.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This strongly suggests that it would be unwise, in this case, to depart from the principle that the State is not responsible for alleged tortuous acts by third parties for whom it does not have responsibilities,&rdquo; state his observations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The lengthiest observations, however, were provided by the Office of the Attorney General which stressed the &ldquo;limitations&rdquo; of the proposed independent committee given its lack of any powers to compel witnesses or procure documents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It will need to exercise great care not to make any finding that could reflect on the good name of any person affected. It will not be in a position to make findings in terms of liability, causation, or culpability. These factors will be important in managing the expectations of interested parties.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Attorney General also stressed the need to address the possibilty that the planned independent committee may not be seen as objective and that this was an important issue in terms of the &ldquo;management of expectations&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Furthermore, while it is the case that the committee and its work might be perceived as a serious and detailed response by the State, chaired as it will be by an &ldquo;independent&rdquo; chairman, we are concerned as to whether it will actually be regarded as &lsquo;objective&rsquo; or &lsquo;at arms length&rsquo; from any State involvement.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While these are matters of policy for the department (and indeed for the Government as a whole), this also is an important issue as regards management of expectations. Failure to address these issues can lead to pressure for statutory inquiries and for redress.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Attorney General also advised the Government that the religious orders were &ldquo;likely to be suspicious&rdquo; of any overtures by the State on Magdalene Laundries and that their attitude from a legal perspective &ldquo;may be robust&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The congregations have in the past brought litigation in relation to fair procedures and to protect and vindicate the names of their members and to protect the good names of their congregations as a whole.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They have both at meetings and in the media felt that they felt &lsquo;bounced&rsquo; by the State into redress in respect of residential childhood abuse,&rdquo; states the AG advice.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On the issue of redress specifically, the AG&rsquo;s office states that the proposals contained in the memorandum would &ldquo;very likely generate pressure for opening up redress&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We note from the terms of the Memorandum, that to date no form of oppression has been proven against the congregations who ran the Magdalene Laundries. As the department itself comments, the IHRC Report is full of supposition and qualifcations. It falls short of making any factual findings.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This rather negative view of the November 2010 Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) report on the Magdalene laundries taken by the Office of the Attorney General is mirrored by then justice minister Alan Shatter who is recorded as having &ldquo;serious reservations about the methodology, accuracy and conclusions&rdquo; of the report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The IHRC report is effectively based on allegations put forward by JFM and no effort was made to obtain clarification, information or observations from the State or (apparently) the relevant religious orders on any of the issues raised.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is noted that the women involved &ldquo;have apparently chosen not to make any complaints to the garda&iacute; or to pursue a civil action&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There is an underlying presumption that any inquiry will confirm that there were serious abuses and that the State responsibility rather than the religious orders should provide redress.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish&nbsp;Examiner&nbsp;on the 27th March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/magdalene-laundries-dodging-liability-is-still-the-name-of-the-game-446238.html?google_editors_picks=true\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/magdalene-laundries-dodging-liability-is-still-the-name-of-the-game-446238.html?google_editors_picks=true</a>)</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-27 13:22:49',NULL,'magdalene-laundries-dodging-liability-is-still-the-name-of-the-game'),(1924,'Minister for Justice signs new laws on sexual offences ','<p>\r\n	New laws criminalising the purchase of sex and introducing new offences relating to the sexual exploitation of children will take effect from Monday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	T&aacute;naiste Frances Fitzgerald confirmed she had signed an order commencing certain provisions of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The legislation, which generated controversy during its passage through the Oireachtas, was passed last month.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Fitzgerald said the new offences relating to child sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse were &ldquo;significant steps forward in strengthening our laws&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In particular the Act introduces a specific offence relating to the use of information and communications technology to facilitate the sexual exploitation of a child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The offence covered the sending of sexually explicit material to a child and thereby targeted online sexual grooming of children, the Minister said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There were also new and strengthened offences in the Act relating to child sexual abuse material, and offences concerning sexual acts with under age children had also been restated and strengthened.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But the legislation also recognised the reality of under age, consensual, peer relationships through the introduction of a &lsquo;proximity of age&rsquo; defence, the Minister said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Act also introduces a statutory definition of consent to a sexual act.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Fitzgerald said the provisions, which will take effect from Monday, would also target the demand for prostitution.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I am absolutely convinced that this is key in targeting the wider exploitation associated with prostitution, including the trafficking of persons for the purpose of prostitution,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This Act identifies those most vulnerable to sexual exploitation and it targets those who take advantage of that vulnerability.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A milestone</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Chief executive of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Grainia Long said it was &ldquo;a milestone for the protection of children and young people in Ireland&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While the commencement of the legislation was welcome, it must be coupled with sufficient supports, treatment programmes, adequate sentencing and post-release supervision to ensure that children were better protected, she added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Turn Off the Red Light campaign, a coalition of about 70 organisations supporting the legislation, said it was &ldquo;a historic day, ushering in a new dawn of protection for the hundreds sexually exploited in prostitution&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Chair of the organisation Denise Charlton said the introduction of the new laws meant that for the first time &ldquo;those involved in prostitution will no longer be criminalised by the law but instead protected by it&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Amnesty International Ireland said during the debate on the legislation, however, that its research had highlighted the dangers of criminalising any aspect of consensual sex work, as evidenced from Argentina, Hong Kong, Norway, and Papua New Guinea.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Executive director of Amnesty Ireland, Colm O&rsquo;Gorman, said last month the Norway evidence showed that &ldquo;criminalising the purchase of sex does not fulfil its intended purpose of reducing prostitution and, more importantly, is not an effective way to protect sex workers&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	HIV Ireland, an advocacy group for people living with HIV, said it advised strongly against the measure and that it went against the expert opinion of the World Health Organisation and UNAIDS.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Sex Workers Alliance Ireland said international evidence had shown that the type of law proposed had &ldquo;harmful and even fatal consequences for the very people it is designed to protect&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 27th March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/minister-for-justice-signs-new-laws-on-sexual-offences-1.3026288\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/minister-for-justice-signs-new-laws-on-sexual-offences-1.3026288</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-27 13:26:43',NULL,'minister-for-justice-signs-new-laws-on-sexual-offences'),(1925,'Tusla faces criticism over new \'Grace\' case','<p>\r\n	Ministers will today hear about a case of a woman who remained in the care of a foster family for two years after allegations of sexual abuse were made.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children&#39;s Minister Katherine Zappone and Health Minister Simon Harris will bring a report to Cabinet into the treatment of an intellectually disabled woman known as &#39;Mary&#39;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report, which was carried out by an independent expert, strongly criticises the Child and Family agency, Tusla, for its handling of the case.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It&#39;s understood that after allegations were made against the foster family in 2014, a number of children in their care were removed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But &#39;Mary&#39; remained as she had turned 18 and was therefore deemed to be an adult, sources familiar with the report said last night.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Although a decision was taken in September 2014 to remove &#39;Mary&#39; from the care of the foster, the order was not executed until February 2016.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report, which follows the recent &#39;Grace&#39; case, will pile further pressure on the State&#39;s care services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Read More: Key staff member in &#39;Grace&#39; case still working for Tusla</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It says that there should be better understanding between state bodies such as Tusla and the HSE.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is also understood the Government will agree a new protocol on the area of disabilities between the two agencies.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Significantly, it will ensure that people still receive the State services when they reach 18.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Separately, Ms Zappone is to seek Cabinet approval to end the detention of youth offenders in adult prisons.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Boys aged 17 have been detained in institutions such as St Patrick&#39;s going back almost 30 years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The practice has been criticised by human rights advocates. Ms Zappone will prohibit the practice and start the removal of such offenders by way of ministerial order.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 28th March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/tusla-faces-criticism-over-new-grace-case-35571123.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/tusla-faces-criticism-over-new-grace-case-35571123.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-28 09:51:28',NULL,'tusla-faces-criticism-over-new-grace-case'),(1926,'50,000 pupils to get free meals as plan expands','<p>\r\n	Nearly 50,000 extra children will receive free meals at school from September under an expansion of Government funding for the scheme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The additional &euro;3m is on top of an extra &euro;2.5m which was announced in last October&rsquo;s budget to increase funding to schools already in the School Meals Programme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The aim is to provide breakfast or lunch, or both, at nearly 250 more schools from the next school year. These will include 64 schools added recently to the Department of Education&rsquo;s DEIS programme, which offers help to schools catering for pupils with the most disadvantaged pupils.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In addition to that &euro;1.7m investment to provide breakfast and lunch clubs, a further &euro;1.5m will be spent to offer free breakfasts at up to 180 non-DEIS schools with 35,000 pupils.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar said the additional funding allows his department to expand the School Meals Programme for the first time in a long time to 180 non-DEIS schools &ldquo;because, as we know, disadvantage extends beyond designated disadvantaged schools&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Varadkar said around 200,000 children currently benefit at 1,400 schools. This includes more than 250 community creches, preschools, and other settings.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 28th March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/50000-pupils-to-get-free-meals-as-plan-expands-446301.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/50000-pupils-to-get-free-meals-as-plan-expands-446301.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-28 00:00:00',NULL,'50000-pupils-to-get-free-meals-as-plan-expands'),(1927,'Dear David Coleman: My 9-year-old is hearing voices. Please help!','<p>\r\n	Clinical psychologist David Coleman offers parenting advice in his weekly column.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Q. My 9-year-old daughter is a happy, bright and caring girl who has plenty of friends at school and at after-school activities. Recently, she has started mentioning noises and voices in her head that frighten her. She says it starts like one voice and then gets louder and louder and she ends up terrified. On one occasion, I rocked and soothed her until the &#39;noises&#39; went away. I&#39;ve explained to her that it&#39;s just her own thoughts and nothing to be frightened of. But should I be worried, could it be something more sinister? I&#39;d appreciate any advice.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	David replies: Many parents get terrified when their children describe hearing voices. Typically it is because we associate hearing voices with schizophrenia, which is a very debilitating and life-changing illness.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is true that about 60pc of sufferers of schizophrenia do hear voices as part of their psychosis, but just because your child identifies that they hear voices in their head does not mean that they have schizophrenia. There are many other symptoms of schizophrenia beyond just hearing voices.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In fact, estimates suggest that about 8pc of all children may hear voices and that for the majority of them it is just a very temporary, short-term thing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When children do report hearing voices it is important to take it seriously, but without panicking! Hearing voices does often indicate that a child has some kind of problem that isn&#39;t resolving itself.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	For example, about 85pc of children who report hearing voices do so in response to a significant traumatic event or series of events. Examples might include bullying, failing (or feeling like failing) in school, abuse of some kind, parental separation, or even traumatic physical injuries that might lead to hospitalisation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One way to characterise the voices is to consider that they are the child&#39;s way of unconsciously trying to process some experience in their lives. Sometimes the voices themselves are directive and related to the experience (like a message about the experience).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Other times the anxiety or fear that they provoke is representative of the fear attached to the experience.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While I was researching this topic, I came across a really good example of how the voices might be like a messenger pointing to the root of the problem. The example was of an 8-year-old boy who was hearing voices telling him to blind himself.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Naturally both the boy and his mother were very distressed about this. When the therapist explored if there was anything in the life of the boy he could not face, the mum understood the message the voice was giving: the boy could not cope with the problematic marriage of his parents. He did not want to see it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As with all things that are frightening or distressing for children, they will usually look to their parents for comfort and reassurance. Your response to your daughter sounds like it has been ideal. Your explanation of the voices as her own thoughts in a form of internal dialogue sounds helpful.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This kind of confident adult response (despite your internal worry) is really important. If you seemed frightened or upset it would only serve to increase her anxiety and distress.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Beyond comforting her, it might be worth exploring with your daughter if there is anything going on in her world that is different, distressing, challenging or overwhelming for her. See, with your daughter, if you can clarify exactly what the voices are telling her. That might point to the issue either directly or symbolically.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Especially think back to the time when the voices started to appear. Were you aware of any changed circumstances in school, or with friends or family? Were there any births, deaths or big family changes that occurred?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Even if you can&#39;t identify anything significant, I would hope that your continued warm and confident responding to your daughter, if she gets upset, will mean that the voices are short-lived.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If you remain concerned, or if the voices become increasingly distressing for her, then look for a referral to your local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) via your GP. While the chances of this being the early signs of something like schizophrenia might be small, you may be reassured to rule it out.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 28th March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/life/family/parenting/dear-david-coleman-my-9yearold-is-hearing-voices-please-help-35562459.html\">http://www.independent.ie/life/family/parenting/dear-david-coleman-my-9yearold-is-hearing-voices-please-help-35562459.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-28 09:54:22',NULL,'dear-david-coleman-my-9-year-old-is-hearing-voices-please-help'),(1928,'Community in shock after local disabled man \'mugged in broad daylight\'','<p>\r\n	Community in shock after local disabled man &#39;mugged in broad daylight&#39;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The sister of a young disabled man who was mugged in a local park has described the people who targeted him as &quot;cowards&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Eoin Harte, who is from Co Carlow, had been enjoying the nice weather on Sunday when he was targeted by two teenage boys.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While leaving the Town Park in Graiguecullen, his sister claimed two boys jumped out from behind him, switched his electric chair to manual and stole his wallet.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said this is the second time such an incident has happened to her brother.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;They rummaged through his bag on his back and located his wallet, took his wallet and then turned the power chair back so he could use it and absconded on the one bike that they were sharing,&quot; Roisin Harte told KCLR 96FM.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;This isn&rsquo;t the first time it happened to him, it&rsquo;s happened before. He&rsquo;s had other struggles in life and we won&rsquo;t allow this to define him or make him weaker but obviously he&rsquo;s in shock.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Anyone who is robbed, but especially someone who is so defenceless...it is such a cowardly thing to do,&quot; she added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Harte described it as a &quot;disgusting&quot; act, but said her brother will continue to go around the area independently.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;He is very resilient, he&rsquo;s very strong and he&rsquo;ll continue to go around Graiguecullen.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It is a very disgusting act, there is no other word to describe it.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fianna F&aacute;il Senator Jennifer Murnane O&#39;Connor, who knows Eoin personally, also condemned the act.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;To think that this would happen, especially a second time, it is just uncalled for. I don&rsquo;t know what type of a person would do this,&quot; she told KCLR.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She also called for CCTV and better lighting to be installed in the park to help prevent further incidents like this occurring.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A garda spokesman confirmed that investigations are ongoing into the incident.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Garda&iacute; are investigating an incident of theft that occurred at Town Park, Sleaty Street, Graiguecullen, County Carlow on 26th March 2017 at approximately 2.30pm. A man, early 30&rsquo;s, was approached by two males who stole property from the man. No injuries were reported.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;A male juvenile was arrested in connection with this investigation a short time. He was detained at Carlow Garda Station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 and released from Garda custody without charge. Investigations are ongoing.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 28th March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/community-in-shock-after-local-disabled-man-mugged-in-broad-daylight-35573886.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/community-in-shock-after-local-disabled-man-mugged-in-broad-daylight-35573886.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-29 10:58:57',NULL,'community-in-shock-after-local-disabled-man-mugged-in-broad-daylight'),(1929,'Children in care in Scotland to be guaranteed university place and bursary','<p>\r\n	The First Minister has also said that the students will receive a full bursary.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Students who have been in care will be guaranteed a university place and a full bursary, the First Minister has pledged.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A report on widening access to universities recommended both of the proposals to specifically help students who have a background in care. Currently students from such backgrounds are six times less likely to enter higher education than their peers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The change in government policy was announced by Nicola Sturgeon at an event with young people on Monday morning.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The First Minister said: &quot;We are working to ensure that every young person in Scotland has a fair chance to study at university, take a modern apprenticeship or gain experience in the workplace.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We know that young people who have care experience are six times less likely to go on to higher education than other young people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We will ensure that young people who have experience of care, and who meet the minimum entry standards, will be offered a place at university and, in addition to ensuring they have free tuition like all students, we will support them with a full bursary, currently &pound;7,625, from 2017/18.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;This step which provides extra, targeted help to those who most need it is emblematic of our wider approach. I want every young person in Scotland &ndash; regardless of gender, wealth, or their family circumstances &ndash; to have a fair chance to succeed.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Duncan Dunlop, chief executive of Who Cares? Scotland said: &quot;This announcement is another step towards care experienced people being equal members of Scottish society. What we are seeing is the Scottish Government recognise that young people in care are our children and that we have to do what&rsquo;s right by them. When your child gets good grades, you fight to make sure they get a place on a course. If you have the money to support them, you make sure they don&rsquo;t leave education with thousands of pounds of debt.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The promise of practical support is potentially life changing, but the message the First Minister is sending with this announcement is important too. The First Minister is telling young people that they are believed in, and that as their parent, she expects them to succeed. That is the kind of message that children hear from their parents in living rooms and kitchens across Scotland every day. It shouldn&rsquo;t be different for young people in care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last Thursday in an open letter published on STV News Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale called on the First Minister to work with her and get the proposals through Holyrood before it dissolves for the forthcoming election on Wednesday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dugdale said: &quot;This is an issue that should be above the cut and thrust of party politics.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Before we pin on our rosettes, mount our soapboxes and deliver our leaflets I am asking that we find one more moment of common cause to remember this parliament. We will you join me in backing full grants for looked after children, so that no matter the makeup of the next Scottish Government, the background of these children is no barrier to their education?&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Scottish Conservatives however questioned the SNP&#39;s record in government.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A party&nbsp;spokesperson&nbsp;said: &quot;The SNP have cut bursaries across the board. We have always supported increased bursaries to help children from disadvantaged backgrounds to get into University. That includes help for young people in care.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The widening access report delivered 34 recommendations to the Scottish Government.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	(Published by STV News on the 21st March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"https://stv.tv/news/politics/1347331-children-in-care-to-be-guaranteed-university-place-and-bursary/\">https://stv.tv/news/politics/1347331-children-in-care-to-be-guaranteed-university-place-and-bursary/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-29 11:03:52',NULL,'children-in-care-in-scotland-to-be-guaranteed-university-place-and-bursary'),(1930,'More parents are using children to shoplift for them, according to retailers','<p>\r\n	According to Retail Excellence, all kinds of shops &ndash; from electronics to garden centres &ndash; are reporting higher rates of children shoplifting.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are increasing concerns from retailers about crimes involving parents telling their children to shoplift to avoid charges by garda&iacute;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Retail Excellence, who represent shop owners across Ireland, will host a briefing session today with Fianna F&aacute;il Seanad spokesperson on jobs Senator Aidan Davitt outlining the various retail crime issues.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to Retail Excellence,&nbsp;shops from electronics to garden centres are reporting higher rates of this kind of activity.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The presentation will cover issues like the increase in instances where children are being used by their parents to pilfer items from stores,&rdquo; a spokesperson told TheJournal.ie.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This happens primarily because they cannot be prosecuted as very often they have not reached the criminal age of responsibility.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The fact their parents are not being charged as accessories in a crime ensures repetition of this kind of theft will continue to retailers&rsquo; detriment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When we asked the garda&iacute; if there was a rise in the figures, they directed us to the CSO figures, but didn&rsquo;t respond on what the garda response would be if a parent were to get their children involved in shoplifting.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The recorded garda figures of &lsquo;theft from a shop&rsquo; are as follows:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Although there seems to be a decrease in reported shop robberies, the figures don&rsquo;t indicate the number of reported robberies involving children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The spokesperson for Retail Excellence said that this kind of shoplifting could amount to millions in lost revenue for shop owners.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Other problems faced by retailers</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Today&rsquo;s discussion will also include other concerns: including examples&nbsp;on how a rise in insurance claims plus Brexit fears have put additional strains on business owners.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There have also been reports of employees in companies clubbing together to buy their solid fuel from rogue sellers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Retail Excellence say that these sellers supply briquettes and coal without carbon tax being paid on them, which deprives retailers of business and the Exchequer of funds gained through tax on these goods.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by TheJournal.ie on the 29th March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/parents-children-shoplifting-3311294-Mar2017/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/parents-children-shoplifting-3311294-Mar2017/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-29 11:06:50',NULL,'more-parents-are-using-children-to-shoplift-for-them-according-to-retailers'),(1931,'Review published into \'Mary\' foster care case','<p>\r\n	A two-year delay in removing a young woman with intellectual disabilities from the home of a foster carer suspected of child sexual abuse was partly due to a failure to adhere to procedures which could have escalated the case to Tusla&#39;s senior management, according to a review of the case.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The investigation also found that the child and family agency Tusla&#39;s own initial review of the safeguarding measures in place for the woman was not completed within an appropriate time frame.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Today&#39;s report was jointly commissioned by Tusla and the HSE last year and has been submitted to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and to the Department of Health.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The woman it centres on is given the pseudonym &#39;Mary&#39;. She has an intellectual disability which requires a high level of care and attention.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report says her foster care placement and those of other children in the home were considered to be successful.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However in January 2014, by which time Mary was an adult, Tusla social workers received an allegation that the foster father had sexually abused two young teenage girls within his extended family around 15 years previously.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The allegation was judged to be credible.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The review was tasked with finding out why it took two years to remove Mary from the home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Despite the father&#39;s denial of the allegations, Tusla decided to remove the foster children from the home but not Mary. The foster parents were removed from Tusla&#39;s fostering panel.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The review states that because she was an adult, the powers available to Tusla to remove the other children were not available in her case as she was no longer in statutory care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The placement was reviewed by Tusla between 2015 and 2016, prompting the agency to reconsider it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Two years after the allegations were made, the HSE decided to remove her to a residential placement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The review partially attributes the blame for the delay to a failure to adhere to procedures which could have escalated the case to Tusla&#39;s senior management.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It also found that Tusla&#39;s own initial review of the safeguarding measures in place for Mary was not completed within an appropriate time frame.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	EPIC, the advocacy group for young people leaving care, has said appallingly poor practices have been exposed in the HSE/Tusla review of the case of Mary.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a statement, the organisation&#39;s CEO, Terry Dignan, said the internal review&#39;s findings raise significant concerns about the way the two agencies interact and share information to ensure that children with disabilities in particular do not fall through gaps in services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He underlined the doubts raised by the review about whether the powers granted to each agency are complementary in respect to the care and protection of children and young adults.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said it also raises concerns about significant structural, operational and capacity issues that exist within both organisations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He continued: &quot;This and the &#39;Grace&#39; case, as just two examples, also raise the issue of the disparity that exists in terms of the care of children with disabilities as compared to children who do not have a disability.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;EPIC has seen a significant increase in the numbers of children with disabilities being referred to our Advocacy Service. Many of these children are in care but some are placed in residential services without any clarity about their legal status.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Adults with disabilities currently have a right to an independent advocate, but children with disabilities do not. As corporate parent the State has a statutory and moral responsibility for the protection and welfare of all children in its care and children with a disability should not be less advantaged than those children who do not.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;International studies indicate that children with a disability in the care system are at a higher risk of living in an inappropriate placement and are more susceptible to abuse and neglect compared to non-disabled children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Research carried out shows that there are a number of factors which increase the vulnerabilities of children or young people with disabilities to abuse including: lack of mobility, limited communication, the need for intimate care, lack of awareness, not being consulted, lack of communication between professionals and lack of joined up working.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Dignan says EPIC hopes that lessons learned from the exercise will go some way towards ensuring that such practices are addressed as a matter of urgency in order to prevent a recurrence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by RTE.ie on the 29th March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2017/0329/863529-young-woman-tusla-review/\">https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2017/0329/863529-young-woman-tusla-review/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-30 08:44:26',NULL,'review-published-into-mary-foster-care-case'),(1932,'Schools\' religion barrier is \'untenable\' - commissioner','<p>\r\n	Laws allowing Irish schools to use religion as part of their admission criteria are no longer tenable, a commissioner at the Council of Europe has warned.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Human rights commissioner Nils Muiznieks criticised the Government&#39;s response to the issue. He said it was putting forward long-term solutions, such as building more schools, which would be of no benefit to children currently being discriminated against.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a hard-hitting report, the commissioner also criticised our abortion laws and an article of the Constitution which presumes women occupy primary carer roles in the home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ireland is one of 47 member states of the council, which makes recommendations on human rights, democracy and the rule of law across Europe.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a report published yesterday, Mr Muiznieks recommended that an exemption to the Equal Status Act, allowing state-funded schools to use the religion of a child as part of their admission criteria, be removed. &quot;I don&#39;t think it is tenable in this day and age,&quot; he told the Irish Independent.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Muiznieks said it was a particular feature of the Irish education system that the vast majority of primary schools and the majority of secondary schools were owned and run by the Catholic Church.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;To be honest, I don&#39;t think I have encountered anything similar anywhere else, a symbiotic relationship between a major religious denomination and the State in terms of providing an essential service such as education,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;This whole set-up seems more and more dated as time moves on and Irish society changes, and you have more and more people who are not active believers and you have people of different faiths moving and resettling or being relocated to the country.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;In the end, it is the State&#39;s obligation to ensure that all kids have equal access to mainstream education. It is not fulfilling that duty at the moment.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Although the Government is seeking the divestment of religious-run schools to multi or non-denominational patrons, the process has been very slow, and there have only been a handful of transfers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Muiznieks also called for a review of the content and the way religious education is taught in secondary schools, and for this to be modified to ensure it genuinely covered all religious cultures.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The commissioner was also critical of laws allowing schools to give priority to the children of past pupils.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said this was having a discriminatory impact on Travellers, migrant children and children of parents with disabilities.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	His report also highlighted what it described as &quot;de facto ethnic segregation&quot;, with a high concentration of students from a minority ethnic background, including Travellers, in DEIS schools.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report said that half of Traveller children were in DEIS schools.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Figures also showed a much higher prevalence of migrants in DEIS schools than non-DEIS schools.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Muiznieks, a Latvian-American political scientist, compiled the report following a visit to Ireland last November.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	His report called for the removal of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, saying it was &quot;preventing comprehensive reform to the legal regime governing the termination of pregnancy in Ireland&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said abortion bans did not result in fewer abortions, but mainly led to clandestine abortions, which were more traumatic and increased maternal mortality.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 30th March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/education/schools-religion-barrier-is-untenable-commissioner-35577873.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/education/schools-religion-barrier-is-untenable-commissioner-35577873.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-30 08:45:51',NULL,'schools-religion-barrier-is-untenable-commissioner'),(1933,'Concerns over app accused of promoting bullying','<p>\r\n	Concerns have been raised about an app that school principals are warning is linked to cyberbullying.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	SimSimi has been downloaded 50 million times on the Google Play store, and has been banned in some schools for using abusive and sexual language.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The app can be taught to respond to certain phrases and names which can lead to individuals being targeted. If the app is taught to say something abusive when a user&#39;s name is mentioned, they can pay to have it removed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Concerned parents began downloading the app, with one saying: &quot;I only downloaded it to see if my daughters&#39; names are being slated. I imagine a vast amount of downloads are concerned parents checking on their children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Obviously (they are) raking in downloads by promoting bullying.&quot; This was followed by several similar comments. However, a lot of users said it is &quot;fun&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last night the app responded with: &quot;I do not talk in Ireland for a while...&quot; followed by an anti-bullying quote.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 30th March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/concerns-over-app-accused-of-promoting-bullying-35577836.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/concerns-over-app-accused-of-promoting-bullying-35577836.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-30 08:46:49',NULL,'concerns-over-app-accused-of-promoting-bullying');
INSERT INTO `news` VALUES (1934,'Daffodil Care Services Jobs Announcement','<p>\r\n	Daffodil Care Services are significantly expanding our service, with new residential centres being established.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The first of our new services will be opening in North Cork, a mainstream residential unit, established in response to an increased demand for residential services with a therapeutic based approach.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	We are now hiring for the following vacancies: interviews will take place locally in April 2017.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social Care Manager Semi Independent North Dublin</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=47</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New Service Social Care Leader Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=45</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New Service Social Care Worker Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=44</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New Service Relief Social Care Worker Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=46</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social Care Worker Tipperary</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=36</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	What Daffodil Care Services can offer you:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Competitive remuneration and staff benefits package</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Strong career progression opportunities</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Continuous professional training and development</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Locations in Cork, Tipperary, Dublin, Wexford, Meath and Kildare</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	To apply please send your CV to recruitment@daffodilcare.ie or call Niamh on 0818 903 984 for further information or view our website</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://Daffodil Care Services are significantly expanding our service, with new residential centres being established.  The first of our new services will be opening in North Cork, a mainstream residential unit, established in response to an increased demand for residential services with a therapeutic based approach. We are now hiring for the following vacancies: interviews will take place locally in April 2017. Social Care Manager Semi Independent North Dublin www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=47 New Service Social Care Leader Cork www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=45  New Service Social Care Worker Cork www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=44 New Service Relief Social Care Worker Cork www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=46 Social Care Worker Tipperary www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=36 What Daffodil Care Services can offer you: - Competitive remuneration and staff benefits package - Strong career progression opportunities - Continuous professional training and development Locations in Cork, Tipperary, Dublin, Wexford, Meath and Kildare To apply please send your CV to recruitment@daffodilcare.ie or call Niamh on 0818 903 984 for further information or view our website  www.daffodilcare.ie/careers\">www.daffodilcare.ie/careers</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-30 11:57:40',NULL,'daffodil-care-services-jobs-announcement'),(1935,'Ireland urged to regularise status of undocumented migrants','<p>\r\n	Minister says guaranteed bed, food and medical attention &lsquo;not to be thrown away blindly&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;Ireland should do what the Government wants the US to do and implement a process to regularise the status of undocumented migrants.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sinn F&eacute;in spokesman on housing Eoin &Oacute; Broin TD said Ministers and politicians had gone to the United States asking the president to find a system for regularising undocumented Irish migrants in the US.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said there were 126,000 undocumented migrants in the Republic. &ldquo;We need to practise what we preach&rdquo; and &ldquo;we should do here what we want the US to do &ndash; have a process to regularise their status.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr &Oacute; Broin was speaking during a debate in which the Opposition called for an end to the direct provision system in which the State, through private operators, provides accommodation, food, medical services and a small stipend to 4,500 asylum seekers. They are not allowed to work.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Dublin Mid-West TD said it cost an average of &euro;31,000 to keep a family of two adults and two children in direct provision yet it was at least &euro;10,000 cheaper for a family on jobseeker&rsquo;s allowance and housing assistance payment. It would cost even less if people were allowed to work.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said direct provision was an appalling abuse of human rights and a waste of millions of taxpayers&rsquo; money.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On the streets</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, Minister of State David Stanton said the offer of State-provided accommodation &ldquo;is a guarantee that everyone who walks into the international protection office today will have a bed, food, a shower and medical care tonight. They will not be forced to spend the night on the streets or to seek emergency housing.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Minister said &ldquo;this arrangement is not something to be thrown away blindly without care for its replacement, particularly as we have a housing crisis&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If the State was not providing this service where would these people have stayed? How would they have been provided with medical and health care? How would children have been linked in with preschool, primary and post-primary education?&rdquo; He added that he had yet to hear anyone say what they would replace it with.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fianna F&aacute;il TD Fiona O&rsquo;Loughlin said some 1,600 children who had grown up in the direct provision system &ldquo;have endured overcrowded conditions, social exclusion and psychological damage associated with living in institutionalised accommodation. We, as a country, can do better.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 30th March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/ireland-urged-to-regularise-status-of-undocumented-migrants-1.3031291\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/ireland-urged-to-regularise-status-of-undocumented-migrants-1.3031291</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-31 09:21:09',NULL,'ireland-urged-to-regularise-status-of-undocumented-migrants'),(1936,'Mentoring can reduce young people’s risk of reoffending 28%','<p>\r\n	Report by youth justice group Le Ch&eacute;ile finds four fold return on investment</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Young people who have become involved in crime are 28 per cent less likely to reoffend if involved in a mentoring programme, a new report has found.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mentoring involves a one-to-one relationship-based support service in which volunteers from local communities act as a positive role model to a young person through advice and support.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An independent report commissioned by Le Ch&eacute;ile, a mentoring and youth justice support service, found that mentoring has &ldquo;significant positive impacts&rdquo; for young people over a range of areas.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report also shows that for every &euro;1 spent on the programme, &euro;4.35 is returned in social and economic benefits. This includes benefits such as avoiding detention, better health, and engagement in education.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Benefits of mentoring include reductions in offending behaviour (28 per cent); reductions in alcohol (12 per cent) and drug use (16 per cent); improved self-confidence (25 per cent); hopefulness (25 per cent); and happiness (23 per cent).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Furthermore, the report said mentoring would bring greater involvement in activities outside the home (28 per cent); greater involvement or reengagement in education, work and training (25 per cent); and improved communication skills (24 per cent).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report recommends building capacity to deliver mentoring to greater numbers, as well as looking at the possibility of introducing &ldquo;early intervention&rdquo; mentoring before young people become invovled in crime.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Probation Service director Vivian Geiran said mentoring was a &ldquo;key part&rdquo; of probation work.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The relationship between a trained and skilled mentor and a young person can play a crucial part in helping a young person on probation to turn their life around and stay out of the criminal justice system,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Le Ch&eacute;ile chief executive Anne Conroy said the report &ldquo;sets out a case&rdquo; for expanding the organisation&rsquo;s services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We are delighted to see the evaluation quantify for the first time the positive impacts on soft skills areas such as communication skills and self-confidence, which are fundamental skills to empower our young people to progress to a better future,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We are indebted to the support we get from the Probation Service but, ultimately, we are most indebted to our mentors for not just the time they give but the sensitive way they go about their work.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In many cases they are the first adults to give this type of one-to-one support to these teenagers. We know from mentors that they, too, get a reward from participating in the programme in that they are making a very significant contribution to society.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Reducing Youth Crime in Ireland report is based on a detailed evaluation of the Le Ch&eacute;ile volunteer mentoring programme and its activities over the period 2013-2015.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In 2015, it mentored 152 young people aged 12 to 21 as well as 49 parent mentees, with volunteers giving 3,678 hours of their personal time to the young people and their parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 31st March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/mentoring-can-reduce-young-people-s-risk-of-reoffending-28-1.3030703\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/mentoring-can-reduce-young-people-s-risk-of-reoffending-28-1.3030703</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-31 09:22:50',NULL,'mentoring-can-reduce-young-people’s-risk-of-reoffending-28%'),(1937,'Visually impaired man wins case against State over voting ','<p>\r\n	Court says Minister should outline plans to allow people to mark ballots without assistance</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A severely visually impaired man has won his High Court case over the State&rsquo;s duty to vindicate his right to vote privately and without assistance in referendums and elections.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Robbie Sinnott had taken proceedings against the Minister for the Environment and the State. He was supported by the Free Legal Advice Centres.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In his judgment, Mr Justice Tony O&rsquo;Connor said Mr Sinnott has &ldquo;an inspiring desire to learn and to participate&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He shared Mr Sinnott&rsquo;s concerns about the Department of the Environment&rsquo;s delay over years in introducing the relevant tactile voting systems, and about the lack of information made publicly available about them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The evidence was that the cost of providing templates for referendums was estimated at about &euro;42,000, &ldquo;quite insignificant compared to the multi-million euro budget for a referendum&rdquo;. The cost would be higher in general elections.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The judge shared Mr Sinnott&rsquo;s concerns that the Minister did not afford sufficient or reasonable recognition of the duty imposed on him by the Oireachtas and the Constitution to assure a secret ballot as soon as reasonably practicable.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said the court could not ignore delays over years until 2016, after Mr Sinnott had taken his case, in introducing regulations allowing for the use of templates to assist visually impaired persons when voting in referendums.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said the Minister acted in 2016 on his 20-year-old power to introduce regulations allowing for use of templates in referendums. The introduction of those underscored the acceptance that tactile voting devices &ldquo;could have been made available for multiple referenda since 2009&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Lack of information</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He empathised with Mr Sinnott&rsquo;s complaint about the lack of information emanating from the department relating to the actual steps taken, or to be taken, to emulate the use of voting devices available in Northern Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Sinnott, the judge held, was entitled to a declaration the State has a duty to provide arrangements allowing visually impaired persons to vote privately and without assistance in elections and referendums, where that is reasonably practicable and economically effective.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said the court could not require the Minister to adopt any particular arrangement but could make a declaration to guide the Minister about the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act 1992.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He was prepared to declare that the Minister has a duty to outline - in public - details of planned studies and regulations for the provision of arrangements to facilitate visually impaired voters to mark their ballot papers without assistance, as envisaged by the 1992 Act.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The formal wording of the declarations will be decided later.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A father of two from James Street, Dublin, Mr Sinnott, aged in his 40s, is a member of the Blind Legal Alliance who was born with severe visual impairment and expects to be unable to see at all within four years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Presiding officer</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	With assistance of an educational support worker, a specially developed computer software package and a strong visual magnifier, he is pursuing a PhD in Irish at Trinity College, having previously obtained other degrees.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Sinnott claimed he must ask the polling station presiding officer to complete his ballot paper, which effectively means he is being deprived of his right to a secret ballot.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He argued the State had been aware since at least 2011 of mechanisms that could ensure secret voting for visually impaired persons in elections here, and that its delay in introducing a system allowing him to vote without assistance breached his rights.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Justice O&rsquo;Connor ruled Mr Sinnott was entitled to the two declarations concerning the State&rsquo;s duty, but there was no need to award damages because Mr Sinnott&rsquo;s main grievance had been addressed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said because the State has not made the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities part of domestic law, it did not advance Mr Sinnott&rsquo;s case except in the context of norms.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 30th March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/visually-impaired-man-wins-case-against-state-over-voting-1.3030586\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/visually-impaired-man-wins-case-against-state-over-voting-1.3030586</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-03-31 09:28:15',NULL,'visually-impaired-man-wins-case-against-state-over-voting'),(1938,'HSE not to seek contraceptive implants for mentally ill woman','<p>\r\n	Executive had previously sought court orders permitting procedure for pregnant woman</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE has decided against seeking High Court orders allowing doctors administer long-term contraceptive implants to a heavily pregnant mentally ill woman.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE indicated last week it might seek orders allowing implants be administered when a scheduled Caesarean section procedure is being performed on the young woman.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She has a history of mental illness over some years and was sexually abused in the past.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Because she has not engaged with a medical team about a delivery plan and due to concerns for the welfare of herself and her baby, the court has made orders allowing doctors perform a scheduled C-section and other measures necessary for a safe delivery.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The President of the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, said last week any application for contraceptive implants would have to be based on evidence and he considered it a &ldquo;step too far&rdquo; at this stage.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	His immediate concern was the welfare of the woman, a ward of court, and her unborn baby, he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On Monday, when the case returned before the judge, David Leahy BL, for the HSE, said it would not be applying to have implants administered around the time of the C-section.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE always recognised any such application would have to be made on evidence, the intention last week was to flag the possibility of it and the matter was not being proceeded with now, counsel said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Interim care order</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The judge was also told, based on reports and assessments of the woman and the child&rsquo;s father, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, will seek an interim care order for the baby just a few days after birth.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tusla&rsquo;s application to the District Court will be made on notice to the baby&rsquo;s mother and father and the General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court, representing the interests of the woman.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Because Tusla considers the statutory route the most appropriate, the judge said he was not required to consider whether the child should also be made a ward of court.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The reports and assessments concerning the parents were comprehensive and made &ldquo;grim reading&rdquo;, he said. They showed the father also had psychiatric and other difficulties.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Counsel for the general solicitor said she was very anxious that the woman, subject to risk assessment, had an opportunity to bond with the baby after birth. The reports appeared to not really set out an assessment of an eventuality where it might be possible to keep mother and child together, she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Counsel for Tusla said a comprehensive child protection plan was in place, and a contact plan aimed at fostering attachment between the child and parents was to be worked out.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The judge said all such issues could be addressed by the District Court and the medical and psychiatric team involved, and he was sure the matter would be handled sensitively.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Care after birth</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The High Court could not micromanage a situation that could alter at short notice, and his concern in relation to the child was to ensure no vacuum concerning care after birth.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Addressing the woman&rsquo;s situation, the judge continued orders permitting an elective C-section and associated necessary treatments and investigations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Expressing hope all would go well for mother and baby at the birth, he also made orders to address the woman&rsquo;s postnatal physical and psychiatric care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Described as frail, the woman, who cannot be identified by court order, is not communicating and had been refusing to eat and take necessary fluids. She was hospitalised in recent months due to intensifying concerns for herself and her unborn who, according to scans, appeared to be developing normally.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The court heard her responses to the pregnancy had been inconsistent and a consultant psychiatrist considered the deterioration in her mental condition was attributable to the pregnancy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 3rd April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/hse-not-to-seek-contraceptive-implants-for-mentally-ill-woman-1.3035339\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/hse-not-to-seek-contraceptive-implants-for-mentally-ill-woman-1.3035339</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-04 09:26:29',NULL,'hse-not-to-seek-contraceptive-implants-for-mentally-ill-woman'),(1939,'Bid to end adversarial childcare hearings','<p>\r\n	The minister for children, Katherine Zappone, pledges to &lsquo;revisit laws&rsquo; so we can &lsquo;do better for children&rsquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The minister for children has signalled moves to end the &ldquo;adversarial&rdquo; nature of childcare court proceedings with a proposed review of the Child Care Act central to reforms.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Katherine Zappone made her comments ahead of a conference today, organised by Barnardos, on the role of guardians ad litem (GAL), who offer independent representation of children in care proceedings.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Barnardos said that long-awaited reforms over the GAL system should only be the start of measures to transform the adversarial nature of the courts system as it applies to cases involving children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Zappone said upcoming changes in the law would mean courts would have to explain why a GAL was not appointed to a case involving a child, and also pledged a review of another key aspect of child law, the Child Care Act.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is a quarter of a century since the introduction of the Child Care Act,&rdquo; the minister said.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is now time to revisit our laws, regulations and policies to examine where we can do better for our children.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Writing in today&rsquo;s Irish Examiner, Freda McKittrick, head of the Barnardos guardian ad litem service, said the current &ldquo;ad hoc&rdquo; system needed to change as part of a range of measures that would mean greater representation of children&rsquo;s voices in proceedings that affect them, at a time when the Child and Family Agency has been seeking to cut its own legal costs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms McKittrick said that, while Barnardos has a rigorous code of standards and practice, &ldquo;it is technically possible for anyone to offer themselves as a guardian &mdash; there is nothing in the law that even requires them to be vetted, let alone operate to minimum standards.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;And there are serious question marks around the cost of the system &mdash; a cost that must be borne by Tusla, alongside its already very stretched role in keeping children safe and providing for their welfare.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She welcomed an impending government bill that will regulate the entire system, but claimed it was &ldquo;not strong enough&rdquo;.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said any reforms needed to ensure that every child who needs access to a guardian has that access as a right, rather than it be at a judge&rsquo;s discretion.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Our child and family justice systems remain too legalistic, too adversarial, too frightening,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay said: &ldquo;At present, about half of all children involved in such life-transforming situations, who are often extremely vulnerable, at risk, and alone, have that access, and it is given at the discretion of the judge in the case. We believe the Government must go further, and enshrine it in the new law as a right.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Today&rsquo;s conference in Croke Park, is chaired by Mr Justice Michael White and will feature a range of speakers including the chief executive of Tusla, Fred McBride, and Ms Zappone.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking ahead of the conference, Ms Zappone said: &ldquo;It is my intention that every child in care proceedings will have the opportunity to avail of the support of such a guardian ad litem &mdash; with a requirement on courts to give reasoning when an appointment is not made.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She also said there needed to be &ldquo;a mediated approach rather than courtroom battles&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 4th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/bid-to-end-adversarial-childcare-hearings-446902.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/bid-to-end-adversarial-childcare-hearings-446902.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-04 09:28:17',NULL,'bid-to-end-adversarial-childcare-hearings'),(1940,'Europe overtakes the US as hotbed of child porn images','<p>\r\n	Europe has become the global hotbed for hosting child abuse images amid fears predators are exploiting new website addresses to hide indecent material, according to research.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) found the continent now houses the majority (60pc) of the paedophilic web pages it detected online, leapfrogging North America in the last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The safety watchdog also found a sharp rise in the number of new website domains - using suffixes such as .ninja as opposed to .com - being tackled for posting abuse images, up 258pc (to 272 websites) since 2015.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Its findings come as campaigners warned websites on child-themed domains such as .kids face being sold without security preventing known paedophiles from hosting indecent content on them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) has created more than 1,000 domains since 2012, websites on which are now being sold off without in-built vetting procedures, a charity coalition said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Russian equivalent of .kids is already in use without child-protection safeguards, while Google and Amazon are among parties interested in the English domain, John Carr, secretary to the Children&#39;s Charities&#39; Coalition on Internet Safety (CHIS), said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There has been no indication .kids has yet been exploited by paedophiles, but IWF chief executive Susie Hargreaves said: &quot;Criminals will attempt to abuse new technologies for their own gain - in this case it&#39;s using new domain names.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Its annual report found a total of 34,212 child abuse images were hosted in Europe in 2016, a rise of 19pc on the year before, overtaking North America, where 21,295 were hosted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It also reported a rise in the number of domains used to host the 57,335 web addresses detected with abuse material - up 21pc to 2,416.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This included 92pc of such addresses found being focused in five countries: the Netherlands (37pc), US (22pc), Canada (15pc), France (11pc) and Russia (7pc).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 4th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/europe-overtakes-the-us-as-hotbed-of-child-porn-images-35591591.html\">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/europe-overtakes-the-us-as-hotbed-of-child-porn-images-35591591.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-04 09:29:36',NULL,'europe-overtakes-the-us-as-hotbed-of-child-porn-images'),(1941,'Dear David Coleman: My 5-year-old son soils himself and he deliberately avoids going to the toilet','<p>\r\n	Clinical psychologist David Coleman offers parenting advice in his weekly column.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Q. I am concerned about my 5-year-old son soiling himself. I will notice him crouching down in a corner as if holding or preventing himself from doing a poo. I will ask him to go to toilet and he says he doesn&#39;t need to, then when I check him he will have soiled his underwear and will then go and finish a large poo in the toilet. We have avoided giving out to him. When we ask him about it he always responds that he doesn&#39;t know why it happens, and always says it won&#39;t happen again. We&#39;d appreciate any advice.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	David replies: Soiling is a common enough problem among young children. Encopresis is the medical term for it. When we talk about encopresis we differentiate between primary encopresis and secondary encopresis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Primary encopresis refers to soiling problems that have always been present. So, right from when a child was first trained, they had occasional, or ongoing, accidents in which they poo in their pants. This is usually a sign that the child hasn&#39;t quite &#39;got&#39; the training inasmuch as they haven&#39;t developed a consistent and effective habit of using the toilet to poo.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Secondary encopresis refers to soiling that develops after a child has been in a good and consistent habit of pooing, successfully, in the toilet. Most often, secondary encopresis can develop after a period of severe constipation, or when a child has developed some kind of fear of using the toilet, perhaps because they had to pass a very painful stool.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sometimes, secondary encopresis is an indication of quite a severe emotional disturbance for a child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It isn&#39;t clear from your query whether your son has a primary or secondary encopresis, although your description seems to fit more with primary encopresis. If so, the best way to try to deal with it is to try a renewed and structured approach to training him.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One of the things to consider is that if he is holding a large stool, it may well be associated with some pain when it passes through. He may just have some reluctance to let the poo come out at all.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	How frequently does your son poo? If the large stool that collects in his bowel is there for a number of days before it passes, he may well also have a back-up of runnier poo that leaks out past the solid stool. It is very hard for children to notice and prevent this leaking.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	You may want to visit your GP to just ensure that there is no long-standing constipated stool in his bowel and that his digestive system is working normally, albeit with this creation of large solid stools.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	You may also need to ensure that his diet is well balanced, with enough fibre and plenty of water, as these are the key to keeping everything moving!</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Assuming there are no physical issues, I suggest reinstituting a toilet training programme for him. I think that some kind of star or reward charting system may be best.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If his biggest issue is that he just doesn&#39;t independently head toward the toilet when he gets the urgency to poo, then the behaviour of actually going to the toilet and sitting on it, ready to poo, is what you will be encouraging and reinforcing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	So, I think you may want to get him in the habit of just going to the toilet on a regular basis, in case a poo is coming. Hopefully you will have noticed a pattern to his bowel rhythms, such that you can remind him to head to the toilet at about the right time.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In many ways this is what you already do, but I think you need to add in the attractive element of a reward for making it to the toilet before the poo comes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Either as part of the schedule, or as soon as you see him squatting in a corner, bring him to the toilet, reminding him that he is in line for the star/treat/reward.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If a poo comes as he sits on the toilet, then he might get a second star or a slightly bigger/better treat. After that, it is just perseverance on your part, giving him little choice but to get to the toilet if you sense a poo is coming, and continuing to play down, or ignore, any accidents that might occur.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 28th March 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/life/family/parenting/dear-david-coleman-my-5yearold-son-soils-himself-and-he-deliberately-avoids-going-to-the-toilet-35562460.html\">http://www.independent.ie/life/family/parenting/dear-david-coleman-my-5yearold-son-soils-himself-and-he-deliberately-avoids-going-to-the-toilet-35562460.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-05 10:15:19',NULL,'dear-david-coleman-my-5-year-old-son-soils-himself-and-he-deliberately-avoids-going-to-the-toilet'),(1942,'Pieta House launches teen resilience initiative','<p>\r\n	Teenagers are to be trained in coping skills and how to develop inner resilience in a new six-week course offered by mental health charity Pieta House.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The course, from the Pieta House Resilience Academy, has already been successfully piloted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It has shown positive results in helping young people develop tools to deal with upset and setbacks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The charity said last year it provided support to over 1,000 teenagers who were in mental distress and that it has seen a big rise in the number of under-18s who were at risk of suicide or self-harm in the last five years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	RT&Eacute; newscaster Bryan Dobson, who launched the programme, said this kind of course is welcome in light of news stories which highlight the need for better mental health among many young people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	2FM presenter Eoghan McDermott said: &quot;Resilience is something that everyone just expects you to be able to develop by yourself.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;But most of us need a little help. And by allowing students to choose the topics most relevant to them, the Resilience Academy gives young people those vitally important tools and resources.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 5th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/pieta-house-launches-teen-resilience-initiative-35594875.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/pieta-house-launches-teen-resilience-initiative-35594875.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-05 10:16:13',NULL,'pieta-house-launches-teen-resilience-initiative'),(1943,'Stressed-out doctors turn to drink and drugs in rise of mental health issues','<p>\r\n	The 50 doctors, dentists and pharmacists treated for addiction and mental health problems last year are likely to be the &quot;tip of the iceberg&quot; of health professionals with similar issues, it emerged yesterday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Ide Delargy, a Dublin GP, estimated that more than 2,000 of the 25,000 professionals in the country have issues, including drink and drug problems.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She was speaking at the launch of the first annual report of the Practitioner Health Matters Programme, an independent charity organisation which provides a free, confidential service.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Health professionals can have higher suicide rates and the ready access to powerful drugs is an added complication.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Doctors accounted for the majority of those who were supported last year and alcohol abuse was the main reason for referral.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Others were abusing over-the-counter drugs or painkiller medicines.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Other professionals suffered from depression, anxiety, bi-polar and delusional disorder.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;They can be very slow to come forward to declare that they may have a mental health or alcohol or drug-related problems due to fears about reputation and confidentiality,&quot; Dr Delargy said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In one case a doctor, with a young family, was binge drinking at weekends, suffering financial problems and stress.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A GP attended seeking help with burnout and was under financial pressure.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Another involved a young doctor who was the subject of a complaint to the Medical Council. She felt dejected and a short period off work was recommended. The doctor was helped and is now back at practice.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Delargy said: &quot;They generally present when in crisis, often having tried to self-manage and self-medicate their problem.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The highest number were in their 30s and 50s. Women accounted for nearly half those who were treated and tended to be in their 20s or 60s.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One doctor spoke of how they had turned to self-medicating as a coping mechanism for insomnia and stress.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Nearly half came forward for help themselves and the rest were referred by a psychiatrist or colleague.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than half continued to practise and others took a break from work for a period but have since returned or plan to do so in the future.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The service is non-judgmental and complete confidentiality is assured. &quot;We want to get the message out there that health professionals in difficulty can come to us to have their health needs met,&quot; Dr Delargy said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Early intervention is key and while taking that first step can be extremely challenging for the person involved or their friend or family, it can also be lifesaving.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Statistics show recovery rates are very good.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 5th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/stressedout-doctors-turn-to-drink-and-drugs-in-rise-of-mental-health-issues-35594873.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/stressedout-doctors-turn-to-drink-and-drugs-in-rise-of-mental-health-issues-35594873.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-05 10:17:24',NULL,'stressed-out-doctors-turn-to-drink-and-drugs-in-rise-of-mental-health-issues'),(1944,'Calls for Tusla to have no role in child court guardian scheme','<p>\r\n	ISPCC warns funding from Child and Family Agency will lead to lack of trust in scheme</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children&rsquo;s advocacy groups have criticised the Government for Tusla&rsquo;s role in the Childcare Amendment Bill, saying the new scheme requires complete independence to ensure the voices of children are clearly heard by the courts system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Representatives from children and youth organisations, including the Ombudsman for Children, presented their recommendations on the Childcare amendment Bill 2017 and the role of court-appointed guardians to a Joint Oireachtas Committee meeting on Wednesday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Bill&rsquo;s amendment follows a memorandum brought to Cabinet in January by Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone which set out major reform of guardianship laws introduced 25 years ago.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Guardians ad litem, often called gals, are appointed by judges to communicate the views of children, and their best interests, to the court under the Child Care Act 1991. However, current legislation does not stipulate the conditions of their appointment and leaves it up to judges to decide whether they should be appointed. The new bill seeks to ensure that gal services are offered to as many children and young people as possible.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	ISPCC&rsquo;s director of policy, Cl&iacute;odhna O&rsquo;Neill said that in order to ensure &ldquo;a comprehensive and independent&rdquo; service, gals should be funded through the Department of Children and Youth Affairs rather than Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She warned that funding the gal service through Tusla could result in a conflict of interest and that an independent system was required in order to secure public trust in the scheme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ombudsman for Children Dr Niall Muldoon warned that children availing of the gal service were extremely vulnerable and called for &ldquo;a child-centred and rights based&rdquo; support service for children in the courts system. Dr Muldoon said that all children should have access to a gal service, referencing Article 42 of the Constitution which states &ldquo;the right of the child&rsquo;s voice to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	ISPCC solicitor Catherine Ghent voiced concern over the removal of the ability of gals to cross examine during a case and described cross examination as &ldquo;a fundamental right&rdquo;. She said diminishing and removing cross examination would only take away from and negatively impact on children&rsquo;s rights.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Muldoon agreed that the State would be &ldquo;letting down children enormously&rdquo; by removing the gal&rsquo;s ability to cross examine. &ldquo;The gal is the voice of the child. There is no way you or I would not be allowed into court to tell our point of view but yet the child has been kept silent for so long.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Terry Dignan, director of Epic which supports children and young people in care, noted that gals would benefit from working in collaboration with advocates who he said engage with the child before, during and after proceedings. He said the current proposals of the amendment were at risk of &ldquo;limiting the child to a witness statement&rdquo; and that if the child&rsquo;s voice was absent from the court, it would not be in a position to make an informed decision.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Responding to questions from TDs and senators following the advocacy groups&rsquo; presentations, Ms Zappone underlined that the reformed guardian service would remain separate from Tusla and that the Child and Family Agency would not play a role in the new scheme. She added that the agency&rsquo;s sole role would be in the payment mechanism process.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Asked to comment on the call for changes in cross examination, Eimear Fisher, Assistant Secretary at the department said enabling a gal to cross examine a case would be &ldquo;akin to party status&rdquo; and significantly change their role in the proceedings.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Zappone said she expected the bill to be published by the end of the year and enacted in the Spring of 2018.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 5th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/calls-for-tusla-to-have-no-role-in-child-court-guardian-scheme-1.3037535\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/calls-for-tusla-to-have-no-role-in-child-court-guardian-scheme-1.3037535</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-06 09:04:35',NULL,'calls-for-tusla-to-have-no-role-in-child-court-guardian-scheme'),(1945,'European police forcing migrants to strip and walk back over border according to NGO report','<p>\r\n	Violence, brutality and unlawful treatment by authorities are frequent according to the 140 people interviewed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	People fleeing war, persecution and poverty describe beatings, robbery and inhumane treatment at the hands of police, border guards and other officials, in a&nbsp;new report published by NGOs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report A Dangerous &lsquo;Game&rsquo; is based on 140 interviews with&nbsp;refugees and migrants that are using the Western Balkan route to reach Europe.&nbsp;All 140 people interviewed said they suffered mistreatment by officials.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It exposes a disturbing pattern of brutality and abuse by law enforcement officials against migrants, including children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Accounts of abuses include reports of border police in Croatia forcing migrants to strip and walk back over the border to Serbia, while running a gauntlet of officers who beat them back with batons.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Another described how Bulgarian police search groups of migrants and take all of their valuables, even their shoes, before sending them back over the border.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One of the interviewees, Isaaq from Afghanistan, described his treatment in Bulgaria.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They put us in a cage and didn&rsquo;t give us food for three days. They beat us so badly. They even gave us electric shocks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report details an account of Hungarian officials forcing migrants to take off their clothes and sit in snow as they poured cold water over them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Jim Clarken, Oxfam Ireland&rsquo;s Chief Executive said, &ldquo;The testimonies we have collected expose the horrendous treatment governments, including those of European Union member states, are condoning in order to stop people entering their territory.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	These people are fleeing unimaginable situations in their home countries &ndash; violence, persecution, disaster and poverty &ndash; and for them to be met with brutality and worse here in Europe is shocking and unjust.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Nikolina Milić of the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights said, &ldquo;These cruel and unlawful actions do nothing to stop the journey of people seeking safety and dignity. People tell us they have nothing to lose and will try to continue however dangerous it may be.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Violence and intimidation must be replaced with fair and effective access to asylum procedures, and authorities must investigate claims of abuse.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Left in forest in freezing temperatures instead of refugee centre</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	These accounts echo UNHCR findings that people are regularly being informally expelled from one territory to another across the region.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In Serbia one group of migrants, including a two-year old child, were told that they were being taken to a refugee reception centre. Instead, police brought them to a forest on the Bulgarian border in the middle of the night in freezing temperatures and left them there.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The group survived, but by the time they were found two of them had lost consciousness due to hypothermia.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Clarken added, &ldquo;The inhumane and illegal actions of law enforcement officials is fuelling fear in refugees and migrants, forcing many of them to rely on smugglers to continue their journey, a dangerous risk which exposes them to exploitation and abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This reinforces the need for EU leaders to provide safe and legal pathways to Europe. The Irish Government must also play its part by honouring its relocation commitments under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme, which have been unforgivably delayed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This unlawful behaviour has been reported on before but the European Union has done very little to stop it. On the contrary, EU Council President Donald Tusk has been praising the migration &ldquo;management&rdquo; of the same governments exposed in this report.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The testimonies in this report were collected from 30 January to 17 February 2017 in Serbia and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The vast majority of the interviewees came from Afghanistan, the others from Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Egypt and Lebanon. The names in the report have been changed to protect the identity of the people we have spoken to.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	(Published by TheJournal.ie on the 6th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/migrants-forced-to-strip-border-european-police-3325950-Apr2017/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/migrants-forced-to-strip-border-european-police-3325950-Apr2017/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-06 09:18:49',NULL,'european-police-forcing-migrants-to-strip-and-walk-back-over-border-according-to-ngo-report'),(1946,'Positive child protection review for Good Shepherd ','<p>\r\n	Charity almost totally compliant with all child protection standards, board finds</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Of the four reviews published by the Catholic Church&rsquo;s National Board for Safeguarding Children that of the Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd congregation is far and away the best.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Conducted in December 2015, it was found to be almost totally compliant with the board&rsquo;s child safeguarding standards.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The congregation was found to have partially met two requirements out of six under the board&rsquo;s &ldquo;Communicating the Church&rsquo;s Safeguarding Message&rdquo; standard.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Authorities</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Five abuse allegations, which include complaints, expressions of concern and one allegation of emotional abuse, were made against five members of the congregation between January 1st, 1975 and December 2015. Two of those sisters are still living. All allegations had been reported to relevant authorities.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The congregation no longer runs services for children in Ireland. However, some sisters work with children in parishes. In Ireland the congregation has 114 members while three serve internationally. Their average age is 80.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The congregation attracted attention in recent years due to past involvement with Magdalene Laundries.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 5th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/positive-child-protection-review-for-good-shepherd-1.3037829\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/positive-child-protection-review-for-good-shepherd-1.3037829</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-06 09:25:33',NULL,'positive-child-protection-review-for-good-shepherd'),(1947,'Daffodil Care Services Jobs Bulletin','<p>\r\n	Daffodil Care Services are significantly expanding our service, with new residential centres being established in 2017.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The first of our new services will be opening in North Cork, a mainstream residential unit, established in response to an increased demand for residential services with a therapeutic based approach.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	We are now hiring for the following vacancies: interviews will take place locally in April 2017.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social Care Manager Semi Independent North Dublin</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=47</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New Service Social Care Leader Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=45</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New Service Social Care Worker Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=44</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New Service Relief Social Care Worker Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=46</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social Care Worker Tipperary</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=36</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	What Daffodil Care Services can offer you:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Competitive remuneration and staff benefits package</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Strong career progression opportunities</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Continuous professional training and development</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Locations in Cork, Tipperary, Dublin, Wexford, Meath and Kildare</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	To apply please send your CV to recruitment@daffodilcare.ie or call Niamh on 0818 903 984 for further information or view our website</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.daffodilcare.ie/careers\">http://www.daffodilcare.ie/careers</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-06 10:56:39',NULL,'daffodil-care-services-jobs-bulletin'),(1948,'\'Just 24 hours after leaving toddler Ruairí at crèche, he was gone\'','<p>\r\n	An Irish mother who lost her six-month-old son to meningitis has spoken out about the tragedy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Margaret Smith from Wexford and her husband Robert were thrilled when they welcomed two healthy baby boys into the world.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I came quite late to motherhood. I was 43 when I had my first baby [Miche&aacute;l] and I was 45 when I was pregnant with Ruair&iacute;,&quot; said Margaret, who was speaking ahead of World Meningitis Day on April 24.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The family were delighted when Ruair&iacute; arrived in May 2012. Ahead of her return to work after maternity leave, Ms Smith placed Ruair&iacute; into a local cr&egrave;che.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On November 22, 2012, Margaret received a call from the cr&egrave;che to say Ruair&iacute; was feeling unwell. The couple&#39;s eldest son Miche&aacute;l had recently been ill with chicken pox and Margaret believed Ruair&iacute; might have come down with the virus.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ruair&iacute; was taken to A&amp;E in Wexford General where he was placed on IV fluids and anti-viral drugs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;His CT scans and blood work were all clear. They couldn&#39;t find anything wrong,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As the evening progressed, however, six-month-old Ruair&iacute;&#39;s condition declined rapidly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It was decided he needed specialist care in Temple Street&#39;s Intensive Care Unit, and he was rushed to Dublin in an ambulance. A CT scan revealed swelling on his brain, and attempts to alleviate this pressure were unsuccessful. Just 24 hours after dropping their baby to cr&egrave;che, Ruair&iacute;&#39;s parents were told their son was &quot;clinically gone&quot; and would never recover.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It&#39;s incredible because one morning you&#39;re just doing normal things like getting the kids out the door to cr&egrave;che and the next you&#39;re looking at your baby on a life-support machine,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;You&#39;re looking at his little chest moving up and down ... but he&#39;s gone. You just are thinking, &#39;This can not be real&#39;.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It was later established that Ruair&iacute; had died after a battle with pneumococcal meningitis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 7th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/just-24-hours-after-leaving-toddler-ruair-at-crche-he-was-gone-35601968.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/just-24-hours-after-leaving-toddler-ruair-at-crche-he-was-gone-35601968.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-07 11:37:14',NULL,'just-24-hours-after-leaving-toddler-ruairã­-at-crã¨che-he-was-gone'),(1949,'Over 870 alleged historic abuse cases have no social worker','<p>\r\n	Retrospective sex allegations generally made by adults but perpetrators may still be active</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	total of 871 cases of alleged historical child sex abuse have yet to be allocated to a social worker, figures seen by The Irish Times show.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The largest number of cases are in Cork, where 200 open files on historic sex abuse allegations remain unallocated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Such &ldquo;retrospective&rdquo; cases are generally based on reports made by adults about alleged abuse experienced in childhood. Experts regard such cases as important because suspected perpetrators may have continued abusing children and could still be doing so.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When asked last month by The Irish Times how many cases of historical abuse had not been allocated a social worker, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, said it did &ldquo;not have data available to answer&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Data has now been collated however, showing the situation at the end of January this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In all, there were 1,985 open cases of historic abuse, the highest number (345) in Cork, followed by 238 in Louth/Meath, 211 in Waterford/Wexford and 141 in Dublin South Central. Of those unallocated, there were 200 in Cork, 153 in Carlow/Kilkenny/South Tipperary, 77 in Donegal and 75 in Dublin South/Central.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Minutes of a meeting between Tusla executive personnel and the Department of Children on February 9th last noted the &ldquo;number of retrospective cases is (about) 800 . . . The Department expressed concern in relation to these figures.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tusla&rsquo;s 2014 Policy and Procedure for Responding to Allegations of Child Abuse and Neglect stated: &ldquo;The response to an allegation by an adult of abuse experienced as a child must be of as high a standard as that provided to current abuse concerns, because there is possibility that a person who abused a child in the past is likely to have continued abusing children and may still be doing so.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&lsquo;Alleged abusers&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A senior source within Tusla said the figures indicated a &ldquo;huge amount of risk as persons reporting are those who were abused as children but have not reported until aged 18 or over.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This means their alleged abusers have had considerable time to abuse others before they made their referral. Any delay after referral adds to this risk substantially.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The minutes of the February 9th meeting also show the number of unallocated current and historic cases involving child protection concerns, including sex abuse and other forms of abuse and neglect, increased by 612 in one month last year, from 4,801 at the end of November 2016, to 5,413 at the end of December.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The Department sought clarification as to why the number of unallocated cases has increased,&rdquo; say the minutes. &ldquo;Tusla highlighted that a decrease in social work staffing numbers in a number of areas has resulted in a number of cases not being dealt with.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A Tusla spokeswoman said that since January the number of all unallocated cases had come down.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;At the end of January 2017 there were 5,016 cases awaiting allocation. This is a decrease of 397, or seven per cent, compared to December 2016 and 3,669, or 42 per cent, compared to the 8,685 cases awaiting allocation when Tusla was established in January 2014.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;All referrals . . . including retrospective allegations of abuse, are screened immediately to ensure the immediate safety of any child or children involved.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If, on the basis of the referral and/or any existing information, there is reason to believe that a child has been harmed or is at immediate risk of harm, the concern is followed up immediately and any necessary interventions made. This can include the reporting of suspected criminal offences to An Garda S&iacute;och&aacute;na. All unallocated cases relating to retrospective allegations of abuse have been screened by Tusla.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 7th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/over-870-alleged-historic-abuse-cases-have-no-social-worker-1.3039613\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/over-870-alleged-historic-abuse-cases-have-no-social-worker-1.3039613</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-07 11:38:35',NULL,'over-870-alleged-historic-abuse-cases-have-no-social-worker'),(1950,'Vegan mother forced by courts to vaccinate her children','<p>\r\n	A vegan mother who wanted her sons to live a &quot;toxin free&quot; life will be forced to make them receive routine vaccinations after the UK High Court overruled her objections.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I am truly sorry that the mother will regard the decision as wrong, but my objective duty is clear,&quot; Judge Mark Rogers said, before ordering that the boys, aged two and four, be given injections against diseases including diphtheria, polio, meningitis, measles, mumps and rubella.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The mother had said that she feeds her children only &ldquo;natural products&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said: &ldquo;Their bodies are as free of toxins as I can possibly make them.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The older of the boys had had some vaccinations, but the mother told the court she believes he has suffered side effects including cradle cap, a persistent cough and eczema as a result.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But the boys&rsquo; father told the court their mother is &ldquo;obsessive, over-protective and narrow-minded&rdquo; and has &ldquo;a suspicion of all conventional medicine&rdquo; and does not allow them to have paracetamol-based medication designed for children like Calpol.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The mother, who cannot be named to protect the anonymity of the children, told the court: &ldquo;What I have learned is that yes, vaccines do work some of the time, but there is a definite risk with vaccination.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The vaccine manufacturers have cited that vaccines are &lsquo;unavoidably unsafe.&#39; There is a very rare risk that either of the children will ever catch one of the diseases listed in this report. Both children have strong immune systems which definitely helps in protecting them from diseases.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking of her ethical beliefs, she said: &ldquo;No vaccine is vegan.&nbsp; No doctor will criticise the action of a vaccination or they will be afraid of losing their job. It is not natural to be injected with metal elements and a vegan it goes against my beliefs for my child to be injected with something that is grown on animal cells or something that has been tested on animals.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Mark Rogers said the mother had been unable to get a doctor to appear in court to support her views and ruled in favour of the father, meaning the boys will receive routine vaccinations for measles, mumps and rhubella as well as diphtheria and pollo.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The judge said in his ruling published yesterday: &ldquo;I have serious concerns as to (the mother&rsquo;s) ability to look objectively and even-handedly.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He upheld the decision that the children should be vaccinated under the terms of the 1989 Children&rsquo;s Act, which allows courts to overrule a parent for the welfare of the child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A test case in 2013 at the High Court found that two sisters aged 11 and 15 should be given the MMR vaccine even though they and their mother did not want them to have it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In 1998, a study by Dr Andrew Wakefield published in respected medical journal The Lancet suggested the MMR jab could be linked to autism and bowel disease.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report and the media frenzy that followed prompted many parents to decide against having their children vaccinated with the three-in-one injection.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In 2010 Dr Wakefield&#39;s research was found by the General Medical Council to have been &ldquo;dishonest&rdquo; and has since been entirely dismissed by the medical profession.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 7th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/britain/vegan-mother-forced-by-courts-to-vaccinate-her-children-35602307.html\">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/britain/vegan-mother-forced-by-courts-to-vaccinate-her-children-35602307.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-07 11:40:01',NULL,'vegan-mother-forced-by-courts-to-vaccinate-her-children'),(1951,'New warning to elderly on \'too good to be true\' scam fraudsters','<p>\r\n	Elderly people who own shares have been warned not to let investment fraudsters offering &quot;too good to be true&quot; deals trick them into parting with their cash.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There has been a spate of attempts by swindlers from overseas companies cold-calling investors and trying to scam money from them. The con artists tend to target people over the age of 55 and use psychological games to trap unwitting victims.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They will also use pressure tactics, like forcing share owners to act quick or make decisions on a &quot;special deal&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Irish Stock Exchange and the Central Bank have warned people with investments to be on their guard.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Investors are reminded to be vigilant. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,&quot; a spokeswoman for the Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Recently, quoted nutrition group Glanbia warned its shareholders to be vigilant against what the company describes as &quot;boiler-room&quot; fraudsters.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Shareholders, many of them farmers, are receiving unsolicited phone calls from foreign companies seeking to sell or buy Glanbia shares at inflated prices.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Boiler-room scams are where fraudsters cold-call investors offering them worthless, overpriced or even non-existent shares.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They promise high returns, but people who take up the offers usually end up losing their money.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ciaran Phelan, chief executive of the Irish Brokers Association, said his members were aware of clients being targeted in these scams.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We suspect that many of those that have been subject to it unfortunately don&#39;t tell anyone,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He added that these days, returns from secure or guaranteed investments tend to be relatively small, typically less than 2pc to 3pc a year, so any offer that is better than this warrants close scrutiny.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Phelan said that people should be wary of dealing with unsolicited phone calls.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Only dealing with someone over the phone isn&#39;t wise,&quot; he said. &quot;Similarly, dealing with someone over the internet also carries its own risks and is really only appropriate for those that can decipher the difference between a fraudulent and a genuine offer.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Central Bank regularly warns about, and names, firms that are not authorised to operate here that are attempting to do business in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last week, it said a firm calling itself GMO Funds Plc, GMO IM Ltd, GMO Investment Management Plc, GMO Investment Management (Ireland) Limited and/or GMO Investment Management Limited was offering investment services and/or offering investment advice.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;This unauthorised firm has been operating as an investment firm in the State in the absence of an appropriate authorisation,&quot; the Central Bank said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Someone who invests their cash with an unauthorised firm will have no protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service or the investor compensation scheme, which can pay eligible investors 90pc of the money they have lost in an authorised firm, up to a maximum of &euro;20,000.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Flattery is a common tactic used to swindle people in investment scams.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This could include a scammer praising their victim for being a &quot;knowledgeable investor&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fraudsters may also pressurise potential investors to make a quick decision on a limited-time investment offer. They may also tell unwitting targets that other people have backed the shares or want to put money into the investment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Research in the UK found that more than half of over-55s surveyed believed acting quickly can be key to getting a good deal, suggesting that many people could be vulnerable to this tactic.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Phelan said investors should get advice from an independent financial adviser who is appropriately qualified and regulated by the Central Bank to give that advice.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<strong>How to spot the tactics used by cruel con artists</strong></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Many people have been tricked, but would you know how to spot an investment scam?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Here are some common tactics used by boiler-room fraudsters, according to regulators:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	* Offering the target lucrative returns above the market rate and downplaying the risks of the investment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	* Making use of flattery to make their potential fraud victims feel good, such as praising them for being such a knowledgeable investor.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	* Saying that the deal is available only to the target, and asking them to keep it a secret.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	* Saying that other clients have already invested in the shares or want in on the deal.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	* Putting people under pressure to invest in a time-limited offer.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 10th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/new-warning-to-elderly-on-too-good-to-be-true-scam-fraudsters-35608998.html\">http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/new-warning-to-elderly-on-too-good-to-be-true-scam-fraudsters-35608998.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-10 00:00:00',NULL,'new-warning-to-elderly-on-too-good-to-be-true-scam-fraudsters'),(1952,'Gay couple face caning after arrest in Indonesia ','<p>\r\n	Indonesia&#39;s Aceh looks set to cane two men who admitted having sex in contravention of Islamic laws, an official said this morning, the first such punishment of a gay couple in the conservative province.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They face up to 100 strokes if found guilty of breaking Aceh&#39;s sharia regulations after they were caught in late March by a group of vigilantes who raided a boarding house, a spokesman for Aceh&#39;s sharia police said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Footage of the raid in the provincial capital Banda Aceh that circulated online showed the men, aged 21 and 23, in bed as the gang burst in.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sharia police later arrested the men who admitted being in a relationship and having had sex three times, police said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The arrests in the western province sparked outrage among rights activists, with Human Rights Watch demanding the men&#39;s release and warning that they face &quot;public torture for the &#39;crime&#39; of their alleged sexual orientation&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The arrest and detention of these two men underscores the abuse imbedded in Aceh&#39;s discriminatory, anti-LGBT ordinances,&quot; said Phelim Kine, the group&#39;s deputy Asia director.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Aceh is the only province in the world&#39;s most populous Muslim-majority country which implements sharia.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	People caught gambling and drinking alcohol have for some years been punished with public canings.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under a local law that came into force in 2015, people can also be punished for having gay sex with up to 100 strokes of the cane.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The recently arrested men, whose identities have not been released, will be the first to be caned for breaking the regulation if the punishment goes ahead.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Gay sex is not illegal in the rest of Indonesia, which mainly follows a criminal code inherited from former colonial ruler the Netherlands.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However there was a backlash against the country&#39;s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community last year with government ministers publicly making anti-gay statements.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Aceh, on Sumatra island, began implementing sharia after being granted special autonomy in 2001, an attempt by the central government to quell a long-running separatist insurgency.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Islamic laws have been strengthened since the province struck a peace deal with the government in 2005.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by RTE.ie on the 10th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0410/866595-aceh-gay-couple/\">https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0410/866595-aceh-gay-couple/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-10 08:41:25',NULL,'gay-couple-face-caning-after-arrest-in-indonesia'),(1953,'\'I couldn\'t believe they over-medicated my father to shut him up because he was singing\'','<p>\r\n	During a debate on proposed new laws to protect the vulnerable, Senator Lynn Ruane opened up about her own experience.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Your Dad was singing all night.&rdquo; I could not believe that the health service decided to over-medicate my father to shut him up because he was singing at night to get him through the pain.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Senator Lynn Ruane recounted a personal story about her father&nbsp;this week as the Seanad discussed a Bill aimed at protecting the most vulnerable adults in Irish society.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ruane said she had not planned to speak during the debate on Wednesday, but after listening to some of the stories, she felt she had to.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;As I was listening to everyone&rsquo;s contributions I could not help going through so many of the faces and the cases of adult abuse I have witnessed over the years. Although we have uncovered some of the most extreme cases, there are many cases that are so subtle and so carefully manipulated that we will never be able to pinpoint that they are happening,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The far-reaching Bill, which is not being opposed by government, aims to make better provision for the care and protection of adults who are at risk and to establish the National Adult Safeguarding Authority.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mandatory reporting&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The proposed and complicated legislation (which senators hope will come to fruition in about 12 months) aims to make&nbsp;reporting by certain professionals and others where an adult has suffered abuse or harm or is suffering abuse, mandatory.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When the discussion turned to the care of the elderly, she recounted her own personal experience with her father, who died four years ago this week.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&lsquo;My father found refuge in song&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There was one thing that stood out to me throughout my father&rsquo;s illness. He had dementia. I remember going to the hospital&hellip; I remember going up one day and my father sang. He found refuge in song. Every time he felt uncomfortable, or scared of a situation because of hallucinations caused by his Lewy body disease, he would sing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The one thing he could remember, and which took him back to that moment of safety, was the words of a song he could remember. We sang every day until the day he died and I taught him songs, even right up to Paolo Nutini. He was still learning until the day he died,&rdquo; she told her Seanad colleagues.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I remember going up to the hospital one day. I experienced a lot of things that no older person should have to endure. I witnessed him being left in his own urine, being left without his catheter and having to fight for things&hellip; One of the things that hurt me most when I went up there was around medication,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	I went up one day and my Dad was completely out of it. I asked the nurse, &ldquo;Why is my Dad so out of it? Why is he sedated?&rdquo; My Dad never went into distress, was never violent, was never a problem. He became immobile so that he was never a flight risk. He was not trying to run out of the hospital. When the nurse looked at me and gave her answer as if it was normal, I could not believe the culture that had been created in the health service around medication.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said to me, &ldquo;Your Dad was singing all night.&rdquo; I could not believe that the health service decided to over medicate my father to shut him up because he was singing at night to get him through the pain, the fact that he was not in his own home or his own bed, or the fact that he might have been hallucinating at that moment. What I taught him to do every time he went into hallucination was to sing and they sedated him for that.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Over-medication concerns&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ruane said that her father is not the only person to be treated in such a way, stating that being medicated unnecessarily is a complete attack on a person&rsquo;s agency, autonomy and human rights.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Over the years, Ireland has witnessed a litany of failures in the protection of vulnerable people &ndash; Aras Attracta, Magdalene Laundries, mother and baby homes, and the abuse case of Grace, to name but a few.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, Ruane pointed out that abuses take place on a regular basis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I remember one woman who was living in a homeless service who had managed to get away from her family. Her sons and her husband had been constantly sexually abusing and raping her. When she found refuge in a city centre hostel that family continued, every week, to find her at her post office, to further beat her up and to take her weekly money so that she would be left begging on the streets.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;That was obviously an awful situation, but I learned as I worked longer in the homeless service that it was not an isolated case of family members finding a vulnerable adult wherever they had found refuge and continuing the abuse.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She also recalled the story of another woman, who lived in Dublin, whose son would come every week, take her money, and leave. The woman was left begging outside the shops within her own community, because she did not have access to her own social welfare.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	How do we protect people?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The issue of financial abuse of older people is huge. How do we unearth that it is happening within families? How do we even get there? It is quite scary to think that we might never be able to fully protect vulnerable people,&rdquo; said Ruane.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Senator Keith Swanick said the&nbsp;Bill&rsquo;s goal is to ensure that cases like those never happen again.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While&nbsp;abuse is very complex issue, it is is important that there are structures in place to protect people, said&nbsp;Senator Victor Boyhan.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s emotional, physical, financial, mental and sexual. There is a range of abuses, they are all abuses and there is no greater or lesser category of abuse.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is simply abuse. It is an appalling and shocking thing to happen anyone and nobody should have to suffer abuse but, more importantly, people need to be empowered to respond and seek out help and support when they are the subject of abuse. That is important.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by TheJournal.ie on the 9th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/safeguarding-bill-overmedication-3329884-Apr2017/?utm_source=shortlink\">http://www.thejournal.ie/safeguarding-bill-overmedication-3329884-Apr2017/?utm_source=shortlink</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-10 08:45:43',NULL,'i-couldnt-believe-they-over-medicated-my-father-to-shut-him-up-because-he-was-singing'),(1954,'Over 100 people allegedly sent to \'concentration camps\' for gay men in Chechnya','<p>\r\n	Over 100 gay men have been sent to concentration camps for homosexuals in Chechnya and three people have been killed, a new report has claimed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta and human rights activists allege that anyone authorities suspect are gay is rounded up and sent to these camps,&nbsp; where inmates are reportedly tortured.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokesman for Chechnya&rsquo;s leader Ramzan Kadyrov denied the allegations, claiming that gay people don&#39;t exist in the region.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Alvi Karimov told Interfax news agency: &quot;You cannot detain and persecute people who simply do not exist in the republic.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;If there were such people in Chechnya, the law-enforcement organs wouldn&rsquo;t need to have anything to do with them because their relatives would send them somewhere from which there is no returning.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One of Chechnya&#39;s human rights officials, Kheda Saratova, echoed those sentiments as he dismissed the report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He told a Russian radio station: &quot;I haven&rsquo;t had a single request on this issue, but if I did, I wouldn&rsquo;t even consider it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;In our Chechen society, any person who respects our traditions and culture will hunt down this kind of person without any help from authorities, and do everything to make sure that this kind of person does not exist in our society.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Chechnya is formally a part of Russia but now acts as a semi-independent state.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An LGBT group condemned the reports and said they will help anyone affected.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Russian group LGBT Network said: &quot;No national and/or religious traditions and norms can justify kidnapping or killing of a human being.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Any references to &ldquo;traditions&rdquo; to justify kidnappings and killings are amoral and criminal.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The Russian LGBT Network is ready to evacuate people.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 10th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/over-100-people-allegedly-sent-to-concentration-camps-for-gay-men-in-chechnya-35610969.html\">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/over-100-people-allegedly-sent-to-concentration-camps-for-gay-men-in-chechnya-35610969.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-11 10:10:03',NULL,'over-100-people-allegedly-sent-to-concentration-camps-for-gay-men-in-chechnya'),(1955,'Elderly home care scheme is likely to be means-tested','<p>\r\n	Out-of-pocket payments vital to maintaining schemes, says report</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Older people are likely to undergo a means test and pay a significant out-of-pocket payment towards home care under the first statutory scheme to be introduced here.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The public will be able to say how much they can pay and what they want from a scheme which would guarantee a minimum level of home care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A report into the review by the Health Research Board is being published by Minister for Older People Helen McEntee today.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the report reveals how statutory schemes, which support older people to live out their lives in their own homes, are under growing pressure in other countries. They are having to charge more for the service.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The analysis by the Health Research Board comes in the wake of ongoing dissatisfaction with the lottery faced by thousands of older people who cannot get a HSE home care package and are ending up in nursing homes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than 5,200 elderly are on waiting lists for a home care package, home help or some other form of support to allow them remain their own homes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Currently all HSE home care packages are provided free, without a means test, after an older person&#39;s needs are assessed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But the demands for these packages are growing as the population ages and many elderly are left struggling.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Today&#39;s report, commissioned as a first step in the process by the Department of Health, provides a stark insight into the cost of statutory home care schemes in Scotland, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report reveals:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	People in Germany and the Netherlands are paying compulsory long-term care insurance and are also liable for means-adjusted co-payments.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In Scotland the threshold for access to professional home care has been raised and only people with the highest level of needs are cared for.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	People are given personal budgets to control costs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report said that the needs of the older person, rather than ability to pay, is an underlying principle in all countries and they have a formal system of assessing this.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, &quot;Scotland and Sweden have a long standing rights-oriented home care services sector which is increasingly rationed by stricter eligibility criteria.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ireland will also have to foot the bill for the regulation of home care services which currently are not subject to any inspection for quality and safety.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The minister told the Irish Independent: &quot;My priority is to ensure that our older people get the best care possible.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;For many that is long-term nursing home care, but for others that care can be provided in their own homes, surrounded by the people and communities that they love.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Unfortunately, as a country, the only statutory scheme we have in place at present to care for our elderly is the Nursing Homes Support Scheme, &#39;a Fair Deal&#39;. I am determined to change this and to establish a new statutory homecare scheme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Homecare is an increasingly important part of the supports we offer to older people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It is estimated that about 20pc of the over 65 population receive some form of community-based support service annually from the State.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The publication of the findings of the review by the Health Research Board is an important step in the process, currently underway in the Department of Health.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Work is under way to determine what type of home care scheme is best in relation to both regulation and funding.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I am committed to progressing this, as a priority. The development of the scheme is complex. We need to get it right.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 11th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/elderly-home-care-scheme-is-likely-to-be-meanstested-35612470.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/elderly-home-care-scheme-is-likely-to-be-meanstested-35612470.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-11 10:18:07',NULL,'elderly-home-care-scheme-is-likely-to-be-means-tested'),(1956,'Warning issued over WhatsApp scam which tricks people into installing viruses','<p>\r\n	Anyone who receives an email from WhatsApp with a subject line saying &#39;Missed Call&#39; is being warned not to open it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The content of the mail reads &#39;New Voice Message&#39;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There&#39;s also a &#39;Play&#39; button in the email for you to &#39;listen&#39; to your message - which will download a trojan virus if you click on it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Cybercrime experts ESET Ireland said: &quot;Clicking on the link will begin the download of a trojan... that usually redirects the browser to a malicious URL or implements a specific exploit.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Trojan infections can expose the computer to ransomware and end up locking your files. It then demands a ransom of money.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	WhatsApp users are advised to log into their accounts the standard way to check for any messages.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 11th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/business/technology/warning-issued-over-whatsapp-scam-which-tricks-people-into-installing-viruses-35612746.html\">http://www.independent.ie/business/technology/warning-issued-over-whatsapp-scam-which-tricks-people-into-installing-viruses-35612746.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-11 10:24:10',NULL,'warning-issued-over-whatsapp-scam-which-tricks-people-into-installing-viruses'),(1957,'Deal reached to supply ground breaking Orkambi drug to CF patients','<p>\r\n	A deal has been reached &quot;in principle&quot; on a price for the cystic fibrosis drugs Orkambi and Kalydeco, Health Minister Simon Harris announced today.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It means the ground breaking drug could be available to people with cystic fibrosis from May 1.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Around 550 people with cystic fibrosis have been campaigning for the availability of the drug Orkambi but the original price demanded by Vertex, the makers of the drug, was too high.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They have also been demanding that the drug Kalydeco be made available to around 40 younger patients , aged two to five years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking in the Dail the minister said:&rdquo; I wish to provide this update to the House today to offer reassurance to patients on this important matter and to inform them that the HSE and Vertex expect the medicines to be available from the&nbsp; May 1.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said the HSE and Vertex are working to finalise the contractual arrangements and complete approval processes in advance of that date.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I want to recognise the work the HSE has put into these negotiations over a long period and I thank them for that.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I want to also especially acknowledge that this has been an extraordinarily difficult time for CF patients, their families and friends as they have been waiting for this process to conclude.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Cystic Fibrosis Ireland (CFI) warmly welcome the joint statement from the Minister for Health and Vertex that an agreement has been reached.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 11th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/deal-reached-to-supply-ground-breaking-orkambi-drug-to-cf-patients-35614570.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/deal-reached-to-supply-ground-breaking-orkambi-drug-to-cf-patients-35614570.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-13 09:47:57',NULL,'deal-reached-to-supply-ground-breaking-orkambi-drug-to-cf-patients'),(1958,'Three babies born to mothers in prison in 2016','<p>\r\n	A total of three babies were born to mothers in prison custody in 2016 - equalling the highest annual number in recent years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The trend of last year has continued with one baby being born to a mother in custody so far in 2017.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to figures provided by T&aacute;naiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, the three births last year follow no births to mothers in custody in 2015 with three in 2014 and two in 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In figures provided to Clare Daly TD in a written D&aacute;il reply, Mrs Fitzgerald confirmed 14 babies have been born to mothers in custody between 2010 and the first quarter of this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In her reply, the minister said: &quot;I am advised by the Irish Prison Service that the level of maternity care provided to women in custody, including ante-natal care, is comparable to that available to women in the community. It is provided on a shared care arrangement between the maternity hospital to which the patient is referred, and the healthcare team in the D&oacute;chas Centre.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Irish Prison Service has in place a mother and baby unit in the D&oacute;chas Centre.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Provision is made in the D&oacute;chas Centre to facilitate new mothers keeping their infants with them so as not to disrupt early bonding,&quot; said Mrs Fitzgerald.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 13th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/three-babies-born-to-mothers-in-prison-in-2016-35618931.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/three-babies-born-to-mothers-in-prison-in-2016-35618931.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-13 09:49:49',NULL,'three-babies-born-to-mothers-in-prison-in-2016'),(1959,'\'Clean eating\' a ticking timebomb that puts young at risk of fractures','<p>\r\n	The &#39;clean eating&#39; diet fad is a &quot;ticking timebomb&quot; that could leave young people with severely weak bones and cost the Irish taxpayer millions of euro to treat, the Osteoporosis Society has warned.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social media is regularly flooded with photos of the diet trend when includes &#39;clean&#39; foods that are cooked from scratch and eliminating refined sugar, gluten, grains or dairy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New research by Osteoporosis Society has found that four in 10 people aged between 18 and 24 have tried diets which promote cutting out major food groups such as dairy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The diets have become increasingly fashionable, and are associated with a number of celebrities, who have boasted how they have cut out gluten, dairy, grains and refined sugars.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Earlier this year bloggers Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley moved to distance themselves from &quot;clean eating&quot;, saying their emphasis was on eating foods without additives, not on restriction.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But Michelle O&#39;Brien, CEO of the Irish Osteoporosis Society said it is vital that young people have a healthy approach to including all food groups and urged parents and grandparents to talk to young people about the risks from their diet.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We would have an issue with fad diets because once a celebrity endorses it, everyone seems to jump on the bandwagon,&quot; she told the Irish Independent.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Dairy is not just a source of calcium but also vitamin D and other vital nutrients. It is an essential part of our diet from birth throughout life. In Ireland we are lucky that we have a strong dairy industry. So unless someone has an allergy to dairy, you should always include dairy in your diet,&quot; she added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms O&#39;Brien, whose mother Professor Moira O&#39;Brien is the founder of the Osteoporosis Society, said that a good diet is essential early in life because it is too late to reverse the damage caused by nutrient deficiencies by our late 20s.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;My mother, who is 84 this year and is still working as an osteoporosis consultant, would tell the Irish public not to listen to ridiculous diet ideas,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;If you want to be healthy and lose weight, just eat a normal diet.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Everyone thinks that it is a disease that effects older women - but 50pc of women and 25pc of men over the age of 50 have osteoporosis,&quot; she added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We have seen 5-year-olds, 8-year-olds and 10-year-olds with the disease.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;More women die from the secondary effects of fractures as a result of having osteoporosis than die from cancer of the ovaries, uterus or cervix.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Osteoporosis affects half of all Irish women and one in four Irish men over the age of 50. The disease currently costs the Irish taxpayer &euro;500m in treatment costs and this could rise to &euro;1bn by 2025.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Professor Susan Lanham-New, Clinical Advisor to the National Osteoporosis Society in the UK, says it is quite likely there could be a significant rise in the numbers of people suffering fractures and the complications associated with them in the future.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Without urgent action being taken to encourage young adults to incorporate all food groups into their diets and avoid particular &#39;clean eating&#39; regimes, we are facing a future where broken bones will become just the &#39;norm&#39;,&quot; Prof Lanham-New said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We know that osteoporosis is a painful and debilitating condition and young adults have just one chance to build strong bones and reduce their risk of developing severe problems in later life.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 13th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/clean-eating-a-ticking-timebomb-that-puts-young-at-risk-of-fractures-35618909.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/clean-eating-a-ticking-timebomb-that-puts-young-at-risk-of-fractures-35618909.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-13 09:51:18',NULL,'clean-eating-a-ticking-timebomb-that-puts-young-at-risk-of-fractures'),(1960,'Obese youngsters are missing school due to the misery of bullying','<p>\r\n	Six in 10 obese children are victims of bullying and many are missing days from school as a result.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than one-in-three children referred to the obesity service in Temple St Hospital in Dublin had emotional difficulties, a new study has revealed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They suffered low mood, lack of self-esteem and were involved in deliberate self-harm.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This makes treating their weight issues more complex, the research led by Dr Samantha Doyle, lecturer in paediatrics in Temple St Hospital, said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Bullying represents a very big issue within our group,&quot; the study said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The social stigma attached to obesity clearly plays a big role and this is a barrier to treating obesity,&quot; the findings in the &#39;Irish Medical Journal&#39; revealed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As many as 12pc of the group of 111 children were missing days from school due to bullying.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Half of those who were teased were targeted by their peers, but in some cases it was strangers who harassed them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The children with emotional difficulties who were at the start of treatment at the hospital&#39;s W82GO service were seen by the psychologist in the team.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In some instances they were sent to the child and adolescent mental health services for ongoing treatment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The incidence of learning difficulties, as reported by parents, was 30pc.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Commenting on the prevalence of obesity, the research team said it was a problem of &quot;epidemic proportions&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It spans all social classes and at age nine some 7pc of children are obese and 19pc overweight. &quot;Overweight children are at significantly increased risk of becoming obese adults,&quot; it said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It also said the retrospective review highlights the difficulties faced in treating these children as they have psychological difficulties which can affect their progress and make them a more demanding group of patients.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	All professionals working with obese children must consider the psychological difficulties they have and the impact it has on their treatment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Left untreated, the health consequences of obesity are severe - therefore a multi-disciplinary team approach is needed,&quot; it said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The treatment offered by the hospital is a group outpatient family-based lifestyle programme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This is not always suitable as some children have problems with a group setting.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Many of the families attending the service whose children have behavioural difficulties are without professional help to support them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 14th April 2017)<br />\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/obese-youngsters-are-missing-school-due-to-the-misery-of-bullying-35622078.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/obese-youngsters-are-missing-school-due-to-the-misery-of-bullying-35622078.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-14 11:12:18',NULL,'obese-youngsters-are-missing-school-due-to-the-misery-of-bullying'),(1961,'Placing of children in adult mental health units slammed by MHC','<p>\r\n	The placing of children in mental health units meant only for adults has been sharply criticised by the Mental Health Commission (MHC).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a series of inspection reports, the MHC was extremely critical of a number of units in Cork, Limerick, Dublin and Kerry for a range of issues, including the poor state of the premises, lack of cleanliness, and a policy of moving patients out of wards at night in order to free up a bed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The policy of &ldquo;sleeping out&rdquo;, or transferring residents between units at night, was noted in St Stephen&rsquo;s Hospital in Glanmire in Cork.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The MHC said the policy is &ldquo;an affront to the dignity and privacy of the residents obliged to move&rdquo; as they have to sleep in an unfamiliar environment and often there is no bed available to them when they return to their original unit.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The policy presents &ldquo;considerable risk&rdquo; to residents, with one reported to have fallen while alighting a bus in order to be transferred for the night.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The risk management policy also did not contain the precautions in place to control risks such as suicide and self-harm, assault, and accidental injury to residents or staff.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Staffing in one unit was found to be not appropriate to the assessed needs of the residents. Two male and one female staff members were found to be providing care to 13 residents, some of whom had complex health needs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sliabh Mis mental health ward in University Hospital Tralee was found to be &ldquo;not kept in a good state of repair externally and internally&rdquo;, with bathrooms and shower rooms that were poorly ventilated, resulting in &ldquo;unpleasant odours&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The four-bed female dormitory had a hole in one of the ceiling tiles through which piping was visible. The wall outside the six-bed male dormitory was damaged and the corridor walls were in need of repair and redecorating,&rdquo; said the inspection report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There were also six child admissions to the centre since its last inspection &mdash; despite the fact that it is not a suitable centre for children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At the acute psychiatric unit 5B in University Hospital Limerick, the MHC took issue with the lack of privacy afforded to residents, as well as the condition of the premises.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Eight beds were observed to have insufficient screening. Curtains around beds were too narrow to screen the bedroom space or were missing entirely. One resident&rsquo;s bed was inadequately screened and situated beneath the communal television.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The premises were found to be &ldquo;not clean and maintained in good structural and decorative condition&rdquo; or adequately ventilated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Lack of privacy for residents was also highlighted in relation to the mental health unit at St Finan&rsquo;s Hospital in Killarney.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Residents did not have privacy when using the phone while two curtains only reached halfway around the bed of the resident using them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The cleanliness and condition of the premises also came in for sharp criticism.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The floors were badly stained,&rdquo; read the report. &ldquo;The paint was peeling from the walls. The toilets and sinks were unclean. In the dormitories, the curtain hooks and rails were dirty and rusty.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In one of the male dormitories, there was staining in the corner of the ceiling. In the toilet of this male dormitory, the emergency cord was cut short and was not accessible to residents.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Bags of dirty laundry stored on the floor of the sluice room in pools of water were also found by the inspection team.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 14th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/placing-of-children-in-adult-mental-health-units-slammed-by-mhc-447799.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/placing-of-children-in-adult-mental-health-units-slammed-by-mhc-447799.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-14 11:14:28',NULL,'placing-of-children-in-adult-mental-health-units-slammed-by-mhc'),(1962,'Automated online childcare supports to start early next year, Dáil told ','<p>\r\n	T&aacute;naiste Fitzgerald responds as Labour leader raises problems with IT system</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A fully automated online system for parents accessing childcare supports will be available from early next year, T&aacute;naiste Frances Fitzgerald told the D&aacute;il. &ldquo;It will be much more efficient in terms of administration,&rsquo;&rsquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She was replying to Labour leader Brendan Howlin who said neither the legislation nor the IT system was ready for the introduction of the &ldquo;small limited start&rsquo;&rsquo; in childcare supports.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Howlin said the Government had made political capital from promising a childcare scheme that would be progressive and help families who needed it most, but it would do no such thing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The existing targeted supports for the lowest income families will be retained but that is not progress,&rsquo;&rsquo; he added. &ldquo;That is standing still.&rsquo;&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said families would just get &euro;20 a month in childcare compared with a monthly cost of more than &euro;1,000.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Fitzgerald said from September, up to 33,000 children, aged from six months to 36 months, and availing of registered childcare, would benefit from the new universal scheme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said more than 70,000 families would have reduced childcare costs and the full cohort would receive the subsidies once the IT systems were in place. She added that paternity leave had been introduced for the first time.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Howlin said the Government had, since February, to be honest with people and tell them it would not happen in the timeline set out in the budget.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Fitzgerald said Minister for Children Katherine Zappone was examining the legislation required and regarded it as a priority.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Work is being done on the IT system that needs to be put in place to reach that groups of families,&rsquo;&rsquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 14<sup><font size=\"2\">th</font></sup> April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/automated-online-childcare-supports-to-start-early-next-year-d%C3%A1il-told-1.3048037\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/automated-online-childcare-supports-to-start-early-next-year-d%C3%A1il-told-1.3048037</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-14 11:16:20',NULL,'automated-online-childcare-supports-to-start-early-next-year-dã¡il-told'),(1963,'We must engage with adverse effects of technology on children','<p>\r\n	Vicky Britton explores adverse effects of technology exposure on children and how health professionals are trying to grapple with a problem the extent of which is not yet known.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It&rsquo;s too early to examine the long-term impact of technology on our children&rsquo;s cognitive and social skills, leaving parents in the dark about how technology is changing the way children behave.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One expert in the field believes it is time for the Government to step in and regulate usage.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	UCD professor Mary Aiken, advisor to the Europol European Cybercrime Centre, has researched in depth the developmental impact of technology on children &mdash; from infant to teenage years. Dr Aiken, who has advised Interpol, the FBI and the White House on cyber-criminality, believes it&rsquo;s the Government&rsquo;s responsibility to protect children from the harmful side effects of technology.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The State has a duty in terms of actually reaching out, educating, informing, and ultimately protecting children,&rdquo; she says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We need structured guidelines for how parents should introduce children to technology and how they can address negative behaviours from an informed scientific perspective.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Quoting the Canadian forensic psychologist Michael Seto, Dr Aiken says the world is &ldquo;living through one of largest unregulated social experiments of all time&rdquo; with regard to technology and developmental impact.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Addiction, lack of empathy, and poor development of communication skills are just some of the side effects which children are currently at risk of due to technology overuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Aiken believes the Government needs to invest in ongoing research and initiatives to help the current generation of children grow up safely alongside technology.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We really need theories of stages of cyber cognitive development,&rdquo; she says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If we think about child development in a real-world context, we have theoretical guidelines; what age a child should be crawling, picking up building blocks, etc. My argument is we don&rsquo;t have equivalent guidelines in an age of technology.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;What age is it appropriate to give a tech device to a young child? The American Academy of Paediatrics doesn&rsquo;t recommend exposing an infant to any screen before the age of two &mdash; an example of something not widely known by parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The next step is what age should I introduce screens to my child or what age is appropriate to give a child a smartphone?&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In her book, The Cyber Effect, Dr Aiken writes how social abilities, empathy, and problem-solving have traditionally been learnt in a child&rsquo;s infant years by exploring the natural environment and using imagination to spend time in unstructured creative play.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If a child is cyber-stimulated and not connecting in the real world, this may impair a child&rsquo;s pre-academic skills.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Developmental delays in attention span, fine motor skills, speaking, and socialisation, along with obesity, antisocial behaviour, and tiredness were possible side effects of technology overuse reported by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in Britain.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;From an Irish point of view, instead of trying to tackle the problem when kids are 15 or 16 with aggressive law, it&rsquo;s far better to consider how we engage with technology from birth,&rdquo; says Dr Aiken.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If you were to ask the average teacher or parent, could you advise your 13-year-old of the potential they may have to cross a line in terms of being technically curious online and in terms of breaking the law? I can guarantee that most teachers and parents would not be able to sufficiently advise or educate their kids in this regard.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Actions to limit children&rsquo;s screen-time have been taken in countries such as Canada, France, Australia, Japan, and South Korea. Under a new law in Taiwan, excess screen time is now considered to be the equivalent of smoking, drinking, and drugs. In China, parents can send their children to military-style bootcamps to wean them off their internet addiction.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Psychotherapist and author of Cop On Colman Noctor believes we need to look at integrating technology into our lives as opposed to regulation in order to encourage a positive relationship with technology.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not that you shouldn&rsquo;t spend more than half an hour a day on it,&rdquo; he says. &lsquo;It&rsquo;s about that it should play a certain role in your life. It could be something to complement face to face communication and not supplement it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If we go in and talk about online safety, online predators and a selfie-consumed culture, we&rsquo;re not dealing with it. The education needs to dig deeper and start early in primary school, work its way up and become more intensive as adolescence becomes more complex.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ian Power, head of Spunout.ie &mdash; Ireland&rsquo;s youth information website &mdash; feels that balance is key. He believes online forums can be a useful outlet for children who are too afraid to speak out.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;As we&rsquo;re growing up, maybe we don&rsquo;t realise that an issue that could be bothering us could also be affecting and widely experienced by other young people,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;Often what we find is that across the shared platform a lot of people experience the same things.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We need to remember to get into a routine of going outside, meeting people, meeting friends, and making sure there are enough things in our routine to disrupt addictive behaviour.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 21st April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/we-must-engage-with-adverse-effects-of-technology-on-children-448287.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/we-must-engage-with-adverse-effects-of-technology-on-children-448287.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-21 09:29:20',NULL,'we-must-engage-with-adverse-effects-of-technology-on-children'),(1964,'Landlords warned to respect anti-discrimination legislation ','<p>\r\n	Letting agent fined &euro;3,000 after discriminating against single mother</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Landlords are often &ldquo;blissfully unaware&rdquo; of anti-discrimination legislation when it comes to renting property, it has been claimed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A letting agent was ordered to pay a single mother &euro;3,000 having been found to have discriminated against her lone parent status in the renting of an apartment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Workplace Relations&rsquo; Commission (WRC) ordered an estate agent to pay the equivalent of two months&rsquo; rent to the woman after telling her that the landlord was looking for a couple for the property.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The woman claimed she had been discriminated against under the Equal Status Act on the grounds of her being a single mother and not in a relationship. No parties are named in the WRC report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Equal Status Act forbids discrimination on nine grounds, one of which is the civil status of the parties involved. It states: &ldquo;You are entitled to equal treatment whether you are single, married, separated, divorced or widowed, in a civil partnership or previously in a civil partnership.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Residential Landlords Association of Ireland director Fintan McNamara said many landlords were not sufficiently aware of the Equal Status Act 2000.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He hoped the judgment of the WRC would create a &ldquo;climate of awareness&rdquo; among landlords about the law relating to the Equal Status Act as he suggested many were &ldquo;blissfully unaware&rdquo; of their obligations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Everybody should be given a fair crack of the whip,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;People should be assessed on their merits. If they have a good track record of paying rent, then there should be no discrimination.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Welfare recipients</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t discriminate that bluntly. There are 200,000 welfare recipients. To be fair the vast majority are compliant, but there are a disproportionate number that don&rsquo;t comply and fall into arrears.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Douglas Newman Good chief executive Keith Lowe said the unnamed agency involved had discriminated against the single mother and her child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There is no way that a single mother and a toddler should be discriminated against like that,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Any of my agents would be very upset if that was the case even if a landlord or an owner was telling them that is what they wanted.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, he stressed there was &ldquo;no question&rdquo; that landlords preferred those who could pay their rent themselves rather than through the housing assistance programme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Residential Tenancies Board, which regulates the private rental sector, said it supported &ldquo;any findings that assists in removing all forms of discrimination against tenants which may prevent them from accessing rental accommodation&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Focus Ireland spokesman Roughan MacNamara said there ought to be a &ldquo;level playing field&rdquo; for those seeking accommodation in the current housing crisis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He added: &ldquo;We see that single parents can be particularly vulnerable so it is vital they are able to gain access to secure and affordable accommodation and no unfair barriers are put in the way. They must be treated the same as any other household seeking a roof over their head.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers chief executive Pat Davitt said what the estate agent did was wrong and that the WRC was correct to find that the agent discriminated against the woman.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 20th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/landlords-warned-to-respect-anti-discrimination-legislation-1.3055726\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/landlords-warned-to-respect-anti-discrimination-legislation-1.3055726</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-21 09:41:13',NULL,'landlords-warned-to-respect-anti-discrimination-legislation'),(1965,'Accommodation issues force 400 to stay in direct provision','<p>\r\n	Irish Refugee Council highlights lack of support for people who were granted asylum</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than 400 people who have been granted asylum are still living in direct provision centres because they have been unable to find suitable or affordable accommodation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The total number in direct provision fell by 89 in the year to the end of March to 4,463, T&aacute;naiste and Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald said in reply to a D&aacute;il question from Fianna F&aacute;il TD Fiona O&rsquo;Loughlin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The total for 2017 includes just over 400 persons who have permission to remain in the State and are in transit to independent living,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The direct provision system was established in April 2000 and sees asylum seekers accommodated in privately-operated centres . Meals are provided and asylum seekers are entitled to &euro;19.10 per adult per week, with a lower rate for children. Eight contractors operating the network of direct provision centres were paid a total of &euro;43.5 million last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Condemned</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	People living in the system are not allowed to work or to engage in education beyond Leaving Certificate, with many remaining in the system, which has been condemned by numerous human rights organisations, for up to a decade.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Caroline Reid of the Irish Refugee Council said the organisation was aware of many people who had been granted asylum but could not leave direct provision as they were unable to find suitable or affordable accommodation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They are facing a real lack of support,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Reid added that people recently granted asylum face additional barriers when trying to rent properties as they lack the references landlords usually require. She said those in direct provision could also not access full social welfare supports while still living in the centres.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&lsquo;Infantilisation&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A report by the council last year, drawing on interviews with 22 former asylum seekers, found those granted refugee status were often &ldquo;ill-prepared&rdquo; to leave after the &ldquo;systemic infantilisation and loss of autonomy while in direct provision&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In her reply, Ms Fitzgerald said significant progress had been made in resolving long-stay asylum cases. She said the number of people in direct provision for more than five years had fallen from 998 to 564. The number of people arriving in the State seeking asylum who were moved to direct provision fell by 210 to 1,709.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) reported a 17 per cent increase in the number of people deported from the State last year, with 428 failed asylum seekers and illegal migrants among the 4,446 cases. Separately, 42 asylum seekers were transferred to the EU member state in which they first applied for asylum.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 19th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/accommodation-issues-force-400-to-stay-in-direct-provision-1.3053263\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/accommodation-issues-force-400-to-stay-in-direct-provision-1.3053263</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-21 09:43:20',NULL,'accommodation-issues-force-400-to-stay-in-direct-provision'),(1966,'Baby boxes introduced at Irish hospital','<p>\r\n	It&#39;s hoped that the initiative will reduce cot deaths among infants</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A new initiative has been launched at Wexford General Hospital aimed at reducing and raising awareness around infant mortality.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Every baby born at the hospital will receive a Baby Box, made from durable cardboard, and come with a firm mattress, waterproof mattress cover, and fitted cotton sheet.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Replacing the need for a traditional Moses basket or cot, it is thought the small size of the Baby Box prevents babies from rolling onto their tummies, which experts think can contribute to sudden infant death syndrome.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The use of Baby Boxes, in conjunction with education initiatives, has contributed to the decrease of infant deaths, or &#39;cot deaths&#39; in Finland, where they have been in use for 80 years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As a result, Finland&#39;s infant mortality rate reduced from 65 infant deaths per 1,000 births in 1938 to 2.26 per 1,000 births in 2015. The Nordic country is now regarded as having one of the best maternity systems in the world.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ireland&rsquo;s infant mortality rate is currently 3.7 per 1,000 births.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Baby Box programme will see parents who complete e-learning modules provided with a free Baby Box for their infant to sleep in. Women can sign up for the Baby Box University e-learning at their ante-natal clinic.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Educating parents on how to care for themselves and their baby during the pregnancy and after is at the centre of the Baby Box initiative,&quot; said Helen McLoughlin, CMM3, Womens and Childrens Services, Wexford General Hospital. &quot;We are aiming to encourage every new mother to sign up to the Baby Box University and receive a free Baby Box.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;This will facilitate us in educating parents on good health in pregnancy, encourage safe sleep practice and to highlight when and where to look for help and advice.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	History</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Finland&rsquo;s maternity package was introduced in 1937. To begin with, the scheme was only available to families with low incomes, but was soon rolled out to all mothers-to-be as long as they visited a doctor or prenatal clinic before their fourth month of pregnancy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Finnish parents have the option of choosing a &euro;140 grant over the box, but nearly all take the box as its value is said to be worth far more in terms of monetary cost (around &euro;400).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;What the box symbolises is that every child is equal and deserves an equal start in life,&rdquo; says Olga Tarasalainen, a spokeswoman for Kela, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland which distributes the boxes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The concept has since been trialled in Mexico and New Zealand, and a version was introduced in Scotland last month. However, Finland remains the only country to provide the package regardless of income, location or background.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Very occasionally we hear conversations about whether the government should be spending the money giving it to every single family, but not to include families of higher wealth or to introduce a means test for the box would make the whole system redundant,&quot; she continued.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The box is outside of class or wealth.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by Newstalk on the 25th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.newstalk.com/Baby-boxes-introduced-at-Irish-hospital\">http://www.newstalk.com/Baby-boxes-introduced-at-Irish-hospital</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-26 00:00:00',NULL,'baby-boxes-introduced-at-irish-hospital'),(1967,'Number of homeless children reaches record high','<p>\r\n	New figures shows 2,137 children in emergency accommodation in Dublin</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The numbers of homeless children in Dublin, and nationally, are now at their highest rate since records began.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The latest figures, published on Tuesday by the Department of Housing, show there were 2,137 children in emergency accommodation in Dublin during the week of March 20th-26th, with a national total of 2,563 homeless children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Dublin figure compares with 2,129 in February, and represents a 24 per cent increase on the March 2016 figure of 1,723 homeless children in the capital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Nationally, last month&rsquo;s figure compares with 2,546 in February &ndash; a 28.5 per cent increase on the 1,994 homeless children in March 2016 across the State.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Minister for Housing Simon Coveney has reiterated his pledge that there will be no homeless child accommodated in a hotel or B&amp;B by July 1st.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sinn F&eacute;in spokesman on housing, Eoin &Oacute; Broin, however, said it was clear Mr Coveney was &ldquo;failing homeless families&rdquo;. He said there had been 11 &ldquo;straight months&rdquo; of homelessness increases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokesman for the department said that although homelessness continued to increase, &ldquo;much was being done to address homelessness and secure sustainable tenancies for homeless households. For example, housing authorities assisted in more than 3,000 sustainable exits from homelessness during 2016&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&lsquo;Spring count&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The publication of family homelessness data coincided with the publication of figures which show the number of rough-sleepers in Dublin increased by 35 per cent in a year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The &ldquo;spring&rdquo; rough-sleeper count, conducted on the night of April 4th, found 138 people on the capital&rsquo;s streets as well as 57 people on roll-out beds on the floor of the Merchants Quay night cafe, bringing the number of people unable to access an emergency bed on the night to 195.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	These figures compare with 102 sleeping rough, and 69 in the night cafe, on April 24th, 2016, the night of the last &ldquo;spring count&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The latest figures represent a 3 per cent decrease on the 142 people found sleeping rough on November 22nd, the night of the &ldquo;winter count&rdquo;. However, this slight decrease is offset by the fact that an additional 220 emergency beds have been provided in Dublin since that count.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In addition to the 195 adults unable to access emergency beds on April 4th, there were 3,093 homeless adults in emergency accommodation &ndash; of which 1,355 were accompanied by 2,041 homeless children. The total homeless population in Dublin was 5,329.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Not included in the count was a group of Romanian men, thought to number about 20, who had arrived in Dublin in recent weeks having apparently been promised work in construction. A Dublin Region Homeless Executive spokeswoman said a team had been working with the men and more than half had &ldquo;now been successfully repatriated&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Of the 138 people found on the streets, 72 per cent were in Dublin city, with the rest found outside the city area, in Finglas, south Dublin and D&uacute;n Laoghaire. A total of 85 were Irish nationals, 13 non-Irish and the nationality of 40 could not be ascertained on the night.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Pat Doyle, chief executive of the Peter McVerry Trust, described the latest figures as &ldquo;disappointing&rdquo; saying they underlined the challenges in securing housing for people to move out of homelessness.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The twice-annual rough-sleeper counts are the only official counts and are conducted by the Peter McVerry Trust and Focus Ireland charities under the aegis of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 25th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/number-of-homeless-children-reaches-record-high-1.3061244\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/number-of-homeless-children-reaches-record-high-1.3061244</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-26 11:35:43',NULL,'number-of-homeless-children-reaches-record-high'),(1968,'Harris to seek Cabinet sign-off on children\'s hospital ','<p>\r\n	Minister for Health Simon Harris will today seek Cabinet approval for the construction of the new National Children&#39;s Hospital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The billion euro project will amalgamate Temple Street Hospital, Our Lady&#39;s Hospital in Crumlin and the National Children&#39;s Hospital in Tallaght on the campus of St James&#39;s Hospital in Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Construction is due to begin within weeks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	After more than a decade of wrangling over its location, the new National Children&#39;s Hospital got planning permission last year on the St James&rsquo;s site.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The new hospital will be the length of Grafton Street and will have 380 en-suite rooms and 93 day beds.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The hospital will open at the end of 2021.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Two satellite centres in Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown and in Tallaght Hospital, where children with minor illnesses will be treated, will open from the end of 2018.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The cost of the project has generated controversy as the final cost has risen from an original estimate of &euro;650m to over &euro;1bn.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Government has argued that the original estimate did not cover all the costs involved.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Separately, the minister is expected to brief his ministerial colleagues on the ongoing controversy regarding the ownership of the new National Maternity Hospital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Today is also the first opportunity for the Cabinet to discuss the recommendations of the Citizens&#39; Assembly to significantly change the laws on abortion.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the issue is not formally on the agenda.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by RTE.ie on the 26th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0426/870353-national-childrens-hospital/\">https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0426/870353-national-childrens-hospital/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-26 11:38:04',NULL,'harris-to-seek-cabinet-sign-off-on-childrens-hospital'),(1969,'‘€1bn hospital is far more important than my children’, says father of kids with cystic fibrosis','<p>\r\n	The father of two children with cystic fibrosis welcomed the news that Ireland&rsquo;s &euro;1bn world-class children&rsquo;s hospital has been given the green light by the Government after over 20 years of planning.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Louis Roden, who campaigned for 15 years for a new children&rsquo;s hospital in Ireland said his two children, like countless others, would have moved into the adult system by the time the hospital opens.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The chairman of the New Crumlin Hospital Group and who is from Dublin, has two teenage children who have cystic fibrosis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This new hospital is far more important than my children, and that is really saying something,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This is for the children of Ireland, and they are the ones who often come last in the equation.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The 12-acre site on the St James&rsquo;s Hospital campus in Dublin has been cleared and is now ready for the laying of foundations for what will be one of the biggest buildings in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Our children have waited a long time for this new hospital, but there is light at the end of the tunnel now,&rdquo; said Health Minister Simon Harris.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Construction of the hospital will commence within weeks, and Mr Harris said he expects it to be delivered on budget and on time. It is due to be completed towards the end of 2021. Mr Harris said it was not fair to say the cost had spiralled. The original estimate was &euro;650m in 2014, but it did not include a hospital school, research centre, or other facilities.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He pointed out that the cost was also given at a time when construction inflation was running at 3% &mdash; it is running at 9% now.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The cost per hospital bed is &euro;1m, but the project team says this is in line with similar hospital projects in Britain, the US, and the Middle East, and represents value for money.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The hospital, into which the three existing Dublin children&rsquo;s hospitals will be merged, will have 380 individual inpatient rooms with their own en suite and a bed for parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Caroline Duggan, a parent from Dublin, has been involved in plans for the new hospital. One of her two daughters was born with a cyst on the brain and regularly attends the neurosurgical unit in Temple Street Children&rsquo;s Hospital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;As well as more space, ultimately what you want is for your children to have the best hospital experience possible, so they are not afraid to go back again,&rdquo; said Ms Duggan.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The paediatric outpatient and urgent care centre at Tallaght Hospital is due to open towards the end of next year and the children&rsquo;s centre at Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown will open early in 2019.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 27th April 2017)<br />\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/1bn-hospital-is-far-more-important-than-my-children-says-father-of-kids-with-cystic-fibrosis-448802.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/1bn-hospital-is-far-more-important-than-my-children-says-father-of-kids-with-cystic-fibrosis-448802.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-27 09:39:13',NULL,'‘€1bn-hospital-is-far-more-important-than-my-children’-says-father-of-kids-with-cystic-fibrosis'),(1970,'Many people would hide mental health issues - survey ','<p>\r\n	Almost 40% of people would conceal a mental health problem from their family and friends, according to a new survey.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study was conducted by See Change, a programme set up to change behaviour and attitudes surrounding mental health in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Almost 1,000 people over the age of 18 were surveyed by See Change.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The research found that 66% of people said they would be willing to work with someone with a mental health problem.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Asked if they would be willing to live with someone with a mental health difficulty, just over half said they would.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study also states that one in seven would delay seeking treatment for mental health issues for fear of letting others know, in particular among&nbsp;farmers, young males and under 35s.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	38% said they would conceal a mental health issue from family, friends and colleagues.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the CEO of See Change has said taboos about mental health are being broken because people are becoming more willing to talk about them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	John Saunders said that there was a generational shift in attitudes but that the talk needed to continue.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	May is Green Ribbon month, a symbolic approach towards getting people to wear a green ribbon and open the conversation about mental health.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by RTE.ie on the 27th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"https://www.rte.ie/news/health/2017/0427/870659-mental-health/\">https://www.rte.ie/news/health/2017/0427/870659-mental-health/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-27 09:40:10',NULL,'many-people-would-hide-mental-health-issues-survey'),(1971,'Males are more likely to drop out of college','<p>\r\n	Male students and people with lower Leaving Certificate points are prominent among more than 6,000 who drop out annually before they reach the second year of third-level courses.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While overall dropout rates from 26 colleges fell slightly to 15% in the latest figures from the Higher Education Authority (HEA), courses related to construction and some disciplines at certain colleges continue to have particularly high dropout rates.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than one-in-five students who started a course in institutes of technology (IoTs) in 2013 did not begin second year. The 21% dropout figure compares to just 11% in universities and only 6% in teacher-training colleges.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But the IoT figure masks even more alarming figures, as more than one-in-four students drop out of courses leading to higher certificate (level 6) or ordinary degree (level 7) qualifications.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Almost one-in-three students of construction or related courses at IoTs did not make it to second year, but the figure is as high as almost half for those on level 6 programmes in those disciplines.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The dropout rate for female students in all colleges is just 12%, but 19% of males do not progress beyond first year. Nearly one-third of men who take on a level 6 IoT course don&rsquo;t go on to second year, but the figure for women is also very high at 18%.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A factor in the lower retention rates in IoTs is the lower entry requirements for most of their courses compared to universities, as determined by Leaving Certificate points counted by the Central Applications Office.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HEA report shows that 32% of students with between 250 and 300 points &mdash; an average of around six higher level Ds or ordinary level Bs &mdash; dropped out of college. But the figure was just 7% for those with between 555 and the maximum 600 points available, or the 10% of students with As in six higher-level subjects.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Computer science dropout rates are among the highest, despite improving since the previous year from 20% to 16% in all colleges, and from 26% to 20% at institutes of technology.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	HEA chief executive Graham Love said this was a positive result of extra funding for initiatives to help retain students, such as maths enabling courses, peer mentoring and additional tutorials for first-year computer science students.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But there are still big issues, he admitted, despite the overall figures being stable over time and comparable with competitor countries.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Lower progression rates in key skill shortage disciplines such as construction, computer science and engineering, where mathematics content is high, remain a source of concern,&rdquo; Mr Love said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At least one-in-four new entrants at the IoTs in Blanchardstown (29%), Limerick (27%), Galway-Mayo, Letterkenny and Sligo (all 25%), dropped out during or at the end of first year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report also reveals:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children of farmers and higher-earning professionals are least likely to drop out of college, with non-progression rates of 9% and 10%, respectively.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Students who get a grant are more likely to progress to second year, although only marginally more so than others.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Those taking a level 6 or 7 course are 1.2 times more likely to drop out before second year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dropout rates are as low as 4% in two teacher-training institutions &mdash; Mary Immaculate College, Limerick and St Patrick&rsquo;s College, Dublin &mdash; and 9% at Trinity College Dublin and Mater Dei Institute, Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mature students are more likely than others to drop out of level 8 degrees, but the opposite is true for courses leading to lower qualifications.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 27th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/males-are-more-likely-to-drop-out-of-college-448755.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/males-are-more-likely-to-drop-out-of-college-448755.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-27 10:02:01',NULL,'males-are-more-likely-to-drop-out-of-college'),(1972,'Denis Naughten: Strangers snatch children online','<p>\r\n	Strangers are snatching our children by their fingertips, not on roadsides, Minister for Communications Denis Naughten has warned.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;A recent high-profile case concerning a Canadian man who has been jailed for grooming an Irish teenager online for sex is an example of the real dangers that exist,&rdquo; Mr Naughten told a Child Safety Summit in Facebook&rsquo;s Dublin headquarters.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not like a stranger pulling up in a car offering a lift &mdash; this was the main concern of our parents growing up &mdash; that we would be snatched by a stranger.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Now, strangers are snatching our children by their fingertips in the virtual world of computers, not cars.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Google and Facebook joined forces yesterday to host a large think shop on child online safety.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The two-day Child Safety Summit brought together more than 160 organisations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;With over 160 child safety NGOs, experts and government officials attending from across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, this summit provides us with a chance to discuss and share best practices about how to keep children safe online, involve parents and maximise the opportunities the internet and connectivity can bring,&rdquo; said Anne Rooney, Google&rsquo;s Ireland public policy manager.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Julie de Bailliencourt, head of safety policy EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) at Facebook said the social media organisation has just launched tools to stop the further sharing of intimate images that have been passed around on Facebook without a person&rsquo;s consent.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We are bringing child safety NGOs, academics, policy makers, and industry experts from over 35 countries together to discuss and share best practices about how to keep children safe online,&rdquo; said Ms de Bailliencourt.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We have developed policies, tools and educational programmes to help people stay safe on Facebook. Last month we launched new tools to remove and stop further sharing of intimate images shared on Facebook without people&rsquo;s permission.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The think-in, where various child safety expert groups share information, is integral to the development of these policies.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Getting feedback from safety experts from all over the world is critical for us in continuing to build a safe community and prevent harm, one of our five areas of focus as we help build a global community,&rdquo; Ms de Bailliencourt said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 28th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/denis-naughten-strangers-snatch-children-online-448846.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/denis-naughten-strangers-snatch-children-online-448846.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-28 10:19:28',NULL,'denis-naughten-strangers-snatch-children-online'),(1973,'Abuse survivor Grace gets €6m after \'scandalous\' failures by the State','<p>\r\n	A &euro;6.3m HSE-funded settlement package for the woman with serious intellectual disabilities known as &#39;Grace&#39; includes punitive damages for the serious failings in her care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The package was approved by the president of the High Court for the &quot;literally voiceless&quot; woman who was entrusted to HSE care as a young child until aged in her early 30s.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Grace was placed with a foster family in the south-east in 1989.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A health board decision was made in 1996 that she and other children be removed, following an allegation a child was sexually abused.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But despite evidence of physical abuse and neglect of Grace as well as suggestions of sexual abuse, she was left there for another 13 years, until 2009.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Justice Peter Kelly said Grace&#39;s treatment over 20 years was &quot;not just shocking, but a scandal&quot;, particularly as it continued into the 21st Century, and involved &quot;abdication&quot; of responsibility by the relevant health board and State agencies.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It remains a &quot;mystery&quot; why the decision to remove her, against which the foster family made representations to the health minister, was not acted upon and was later reversed by a three person health board committee, the judge said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Were it not that a commission of investigation has been set up, he would have insisted on answers to many questions, including what &quot;extraordinary&quot; hold the foster family had over the health board committee.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He hoped the commission would &quot;get to the bottom of this&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When removed in 2009 from the foster family, Grace &quot;cut a sad figure&quot; in a &quot;wretched&quot; state, frail, dirty and unkempt, with health problems due to a poor diet and psychosis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Her only possession was a child&#39;s toy which she held on to &quot;for dear life&quot; and to which she still clings - but her condition has greatly improved since, he was pleased to note.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The judge paid warm tribute to two social workers who were the &quot;catalyst for change&quot;, and also praised the lawyers who acted for her.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He was approving the &euro;6.3m package as the settlement of a legal action brought against the HSE on behalf of Grace, now a ward of court.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While money was no compensation for what Grace suffered, it was &quot;the best the law can do&quot; and would ensure she is properly looked after into the future, he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It was about trying to right the wrongs done to her while in the care of a State agency.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The funds will be paid into court and the package provides that Grace will retain her medical card, get funds equivalent to her lost disability allowance and be appropriately housed and receive all necessary therapies and supports. The future care costs are estimated at &euro;4.3m.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Given the HSE&#39;s handling of Grace&#39;s care in the past, the judge sought, and got, sworn undertakings from a HSE official in court it would abide by the terms of settlement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Through its counsel David Nowlan SC, the HSE apologised to Grace in court for its failings. The apology said the care she received while with the foster family fell &quot;far short&quot; of the compassionate, caring and personalised support she was entitled to.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sara Moorhead SC, for the ward committee, said, when she got involved in this case: &quot;I genuinely could not believe this was the 21st Century in terms of what we were dealing with.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	For years, everyone appeared to &quot;run away&quot; from Grace in relation to her needs and this was &quot;perhaps one of the saddest cases&quot; concerning abdication of responsibility for a &quot;literally voiceless&quot; person, she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 28th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/abuse-survivor-grace-gets-6m-after-scandalous-failures-by-the-state-35661835.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/abuse-survivor-grace-gets-6m-after-scandalous-failures-by-the-state-35661835.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-28 10:20:35',NULL,'abuse-survivor-grace-gets-€6m-after-scandalous-failures-by-the-state'),(1974,'No \'quiet deals\' on use of State lands for housing, says Coveney','<p>\r\n	Agreements between local authorities and developers to use publicly owned land for housing will be &quot;fully transparent&quot; and designed to get maximum use from the State&#39;s extensive land bank.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Housing Minister Simon Coveney said there would be no &quot;quiet deals&quot; struck between council chief executives and builders, adding that councillors in cities had to look at facilitating high-rise developments where appropriate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He was speaking at the launch of the Housing Land Map which sets out the location of more than 800 sites owned by public bodies across the State, which will be offered to the private market to help boost housing supply.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than 2,000 hectares of land controlled by city and county councils and other bodies including CI&Eacute;, the IDA and HSE are to be offered to private developers and housing associations in an effort to resolve the housing crisis and provide at least 50,000 new homes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than 700 of the sites are controlled by the local authorities, and any proposed schemes will benefit from a fast-track planning process where the public will have eight weeks to make submissions. Councillors will ultimately decide if the projects are approved, and the minister said and deals struck with developers would be &quot;fully transparent&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Read More: Housing map reveals all the sites available</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The vast majority of these agreements and deals will have to be agreed by councils,&quot; Mr Coveney said. &quot;It will not be a quiet deal between chief executives and developers. We have to know the State is getting value for this land bank. This can materialise in a number of ways, including a certain type of housing the local authority wants to deliver. It needs to be very transparent in terms of policy and finance. There will be an insistence on a lot of transparency, and how developers are chosen.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mapping data produced by the department shows even if low-density housing is provided at 25 units per hectare, there is enough land for at least 8,700 homes in Dublin city alone, another 3,000 in Cork city and 1,400 in Galway city, all considered high-demand areas where prices are rising and rents increasing. There is sufficient land for 4,500 in Limerick city and county and 1,150 in Waterford city and county.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Coveney said he would like Dublin councillors to maximise use of 137 sites identified, which total almost 350 hectares, to provide affordable and social units, and properties for the private market.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I am a big believer in high rise in the right places,&quot; he said. &quot;We are not going to go back to poor quality apartment blocks. We can build very high-quality urban communities. I would encourage the representatives in Dublin City Council to look with an open mind on any restrictions in place.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We don&#39;t want to build skyscrapers in Georgian Dublin, but some of these sites will be very attractive for high-density, and others will be traditional housing estates.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But some politicians have raised concerns about the possible sell-off of lands, with People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett saying it was the &quot;latest in a series of disastrous plans&quot; to privatise social housing, adding it was &quot;utter madness at every level&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But the Irish Council for Social Housing said the map set out an &quot;active pipeline&quot; of building land for social housing, and would help deliver social homes in the right places.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Developers will be invited to build homes under a licensing arrangement where land could be sold, provided for free or subject to a long-term lease. Councils may also establish commercial development companies to manage and deliver schemes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 28th April 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/no-quiet-deals-on-use-of-state-lands-for-housing-says-coveney-35661830.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/no-quiet-deals-on-use-of-state-lands-for-housing-says-coveney-35661830.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-04-28 10:21:37',NULL,'no-quiet-deals-on-use-of-state-lands-for-housing-says-coveney'),(1975,'Darkness into Light: Woman opens up about stigma after her father\'s suicide','<p>\r\n	A woman has opened up about the stigma she felt after her father&#39;s suicide, saying: &quot;I never understood why we had to be so ashamed&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Cindy O&#39;Connor, who is the Chief Clinical Office for suicide and self-harm prevention organisation Pieta House, lost her father when she was just a teenager.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She recalled one particularly distressing incident shortly after his death when someone made a callous remark about his suicide in front of a group of friends.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms O&#39;Connor said: &quot;I thought, &#39;Oh my God... Please don&#39;t...&#39; I just wanted to die right there. I didn&#39;t know what to do.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;So I just said, &#39;No, he didn&#39;t.&#39; And I ran back home. My father had died by suicide a couple of months before.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I still remember how hard it was to deal with his loss, for the whole family.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;But it was even harder to deal with the shame that came with the fact that he that had taken his own life.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;My mother used to say that maybe it&#39;s better not to tell people what actually happened. That they may think we&#39;re a bit odd or something.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I never understood why we had to be so ashamed if it wasn&#39;t at all our fault.&quot;<br />\r\n	Ms O&#39;Connor was speaking to Humans of Dublin ahead of Darkness Into Light, an international fundraising and awareness event which will take place tomorrow morning.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said that she is glad her work with Pieta House can help people who are in distress.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said: &quot;Today, I know talking about it is the best thing you can do, and I&#39;m very proud to work somewhere, where we can take the extra weight off the already sore shoulders.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	For more information please see www.pieta.ie</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	Published by the Irish Independent on the 5th May 2017</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/darkness-into-light-woman-opens-up-about-stigma-after-her-fathers-suicide-35683178.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/darkness-into-light-woman-opens-up-about-stigma-after-her-fathers-suicide-35683178.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-05 14:02:10',NULL,'darkness-into-light-woman-opens-up-about-stigma-after-her-fathers-suicide'),(1976,'\'It\'s like they wanted to punish us\' - Woman (59) devastated after adoption agency connects her with the wrong family','<p>\r\n	A woman said she was left &quot;heartbroken&quot; after discovering her adoption agency had connected her with the wrong family following a life-long search for her birth mother.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Geraldine McCarthy (59) connected with the immediate family of the woman the Irish adoption agency believed was her natural mother, only for DNA tests to prove they weren&#39;t related.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking on TV3&#39;s Adoption Stories, Geraldine said it was devastating to discover she wasn&#39;t related to the family in Mitchelstown, Co. Cork, after forming close bonds with the people she thought were her relations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I feel really angry about it because it has caused me so much heartbreak and the other family so much heartbreak that we needn&rsquo;t have gone through at all. It&rsquo;s very upsetting and I just wonder what can we do about that really.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If it&rsquo;s happened to me, God only knows how many people it&rsquo;s happened to.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Following the revelation, Geraldine discovered that a nun, acting on behalf of the agency, had followed up on the wrong woman, who shared the same name as Geraldine&#39;s mother, Margaret, but was ten years older.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The nun had physically had gone off in her own transport to locate my mother and this was the family she had found. She first went to the parish priest, who would neither confirm or deny anything. Then she went to the Gardai and according to what she wrote in her letter, the Gardai directed her towards this brother of the lady who might have been my mother. He asked her had he a sister named Margaret and he said he had but that she had died.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;That&rsquo;s the information that was in my file.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Despite the revelation, the people Geraldine had connected with still wanted to be a part of her life, but she said she felt guilt about entering their lives after their sister had died.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I was so happy those days, I thought, &#39;This is so right, this is my family&#39;. It was the most awesome feeling. I thought I would bring it up about a DNA test, because I could be anyone coming in,&quot; said Geraldine.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;And they agreed - Margaret&rsquo;s remaining brother and sister. I employed a doctor known to them and permission was sought to take the DNA and so we did all that. The doctor rang me back one afternoon at around two o&rsquo;clock. He said, &#39;The test is back, no match whatsoever&#39;. I said, &#39;Oh no, I&rsquo;m imagining that, he couldn&rsquo;t have said that&#39;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;They did say we&rsquo;d keep in touch, but I kind of didn&rsquo;t because I thought, &#39;Why am I bothering these people now? I&rsquo;ve bothered them enough&#39;. I was mortified for having put them through that.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Although Geraldine was heartbroken to discover she wasn&#39;t related to the family she had already bonded with, the DNA results allowed her to explore another avenue.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Geraldine placed her DNA results on three international data bases, and was excited to find matches with second cousins. Geraldine connected with a cousin in the US, Joe, who had also been adopted and was searching for his birth family.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Joe had recently discovered the identity of his birth father, which offers hope to Geraldine&#39;s search. In her own investigations, Geraldine believes she may have identified her great-great grandfather in Limerick, and has connected with some of his relatives. However, Geraldine said it is astonishing how difficult the Irish system makes it for people trying to find answers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It shouldn&rsquo;t be this hard to find anybody with all the records we have access to now. It&rsquo;s like they wanted to punish us all for the rest of our lives so we could never find each other again.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;In my wildest dreams I&rsquo;m always going to hope to find my mother and now my father, too.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;If I don&rsquo;t, at least I&rsquo;ve found some second cousins who are going to visit me and I&rsquo;m going to visit them. That even makes up in a way,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Episode Four of &lsquo;Adoption Stories: What Happened Next&rsquo; airs on TV3 on Thursday at 8.30pm.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 5th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/life/family/family-features/its-like-they-wanted-to-punish-us-woman-59-devastated-after-adoption-agency-connects-her-with-the-wrong-family-35683195.html\">http://www.independent.ie/life/family/family-features/its-like-they-wanted-to-punish-us-woman-59-devastated-after-adoption-agency-connects-her-with-the-wrong-family-35683195.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-05 14:05:27',NULL,'its-like-they-wanted-to-punish-us-woman-59-devastated-after-adoption-agency-connects-her-with-the-wrong-family'),(1977,'Children being treated abroad despite equipment available in Ireland ','<p>\r\n	Thirty children with respiratory and heart defects have been sent abroad for life-saving treatment over the past five years, despite the technology being available in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Figures obtained by RT&Eacute;&rsquo;s Morning Ireland show the Health Service Executive spent nearly &euro;6m getting what is known as ECMO treatment for children in Sweden and the UK.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An ECMO machine provides life-saving treatment for children with heart and respiratory problems.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Our Lady&#39;s Children&#39;s Hospital, Crumlin, has three of the machines, which are currently being used for children with heart problems.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, children with respiratory defects are sent abroad for treatment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The hospital said it is not funded by the HSE to provide ECMO treatment to children with respiratory illnesses.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It said a business case for the possible commencement of the treatment is being drawn up and will be submitted to the HSE for possible funding.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a statement, the HSE said there are no plans at present to provide funding for this treatment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE said a 2012 external review of paediatric critical care in Ireland &quot;recommended as a priority the development of Paediatric Critical Care Retrieval service&nbsp;for the transport of critically ill children from hospitals outside of Dublin to either Our Lady&#39;s Childrens&#39; Hospital or Childrens&#39; University Hospital in advance of the repatriation of respiratory ECMO services.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 5th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"https://www.rte.ie/news/health/2017/0505/872664-ecmo-treatment-hse/\">https://www.rte.ie/news/health/2017/0505/872664-ecmo-treatment-hse/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-05 14:10:27',NULL,'children-being-treated-abroad-despite-equipment-available-in-ireland'),(1978,'\'Young Muslims must be made to feel part of our society\'','<p>\r\n	Integration Minister says we must avoid ghettoisation, writes Shane Phelan<br />\r\n	<br />\r\n	The Immigration and Integration Minister believes the radicalisation of young Muslims in Ireland can be avoided by ensuring they feel involved in society.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Junior Justice Minister David Stanton said the Government was committed to avoiding any ghettoisation of groups or individuals. Noting that disenfranchisement had been a factor in young men drifting towards groups such as Isil elsewhere in Europe, Mr Stanton said it was essential that proper integration occurs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It is most important to ensure we work with the Islamic community and other communities here to make sure they feel part of Irish society, they have a stake here and they work with us to ensure we don&#39;t have the type of events here that are happening elsewhere,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;If people feel involved and have a stake in society, they will come forward if they feel anybody out there might be a threat.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Stanton said he was &quot;heartened&quot; by the response of the Muslim community in Ireland any time an atrocity has been committed abroad.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It has condemned out of hand the kind of incidents which happened on the continent,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The minister said while garda&iacute; had a role to play by gathering intelligence, the Government&#39;s approach was much broader based.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under an integration strategy it will review laws on racially motivated crime and strengthen laws against hate speech. Measures are planned to address the under-reporting of racially motivated crimes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Local authorities are to publish policies on racist graffiti in their areas and ensure it is taken down quickly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Stanton said Ireland was &quot;very lucky&quot; it didn&#39;t have any political parties using the migrant issue to promote themselves.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The questions put to me in the D&aacute;il are &#39;can we do more to support asylum seekers and migrants&#39;, rather than the other way that you see in other countries out there,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Stanton said he didn&#39;t believe this situation would change with the arrival of Syrian refugees over the coming years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The number of refugees we are taking in is very small. It is 4,000 overall. Other countries have taken in multiples of that,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The response I am seeing from communities is that people are asking what they can do to help,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said there had been a lot of application for funds from the department&#39;s &euro;500,000 communities integration fund.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The idea is that communities would come up with ideas for integration events and we have had a couple of hundred applications,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 8th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/young-muslims-must-be-made-to-feel-part-of-our-society-35690378.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/young-muslims-must-be-made-to-feel-part-of-our-society-35690378.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-08 09:33:25',NULL,'young-muslims-must-be-made-to-feel-part-of-our-society'),(1979,'More than 1m children flee South Sudan war ','<p>\r\n	War has now forced more than one million children to flee South Sudan and uprooted 1.4 million others within the country, the United Nations has said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children make up 62% of the 1.8 million people who have fled South Sudan for refugee camps in neighbouring Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda since civil war began in 2013, the UN children&#39;s agency, UNICEF, and refugee agency, UNHCR, said in a joint press release.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Another 1.4 million children are living in camps inside South Sudan.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The future of a generation is truly on the brink,&quot; said UNICEF&#39;s Leila Pakkala.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The horrifying fact that nearly one in five children in South Sudan has been forced to flee their home illustrates how devastating this conflict has been for the country&#39;s most vulnerable,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	South Sudan won its independence in 2011 but two years later a new conflict began when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of planning a coup.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The war quickly spread, splitting the country along ethnic lines and triggering famine in some areas earlier this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;No refugee crisis today worries me more than South Sudan,&quot; said Valentin Tapsoba of the UNHCR.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the ongoing conflict, among them more than 1,000 children, the UN added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children have not only been victims of the violence and abuse, but perpetrators, forcibly recruited into armed groups and deployed in the fight against opposing soldiers and in the brutal attacks on civilians that have defined the conflict.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	UNICEF said it has raised just over half of the $181 million (&euro;164m) needed to help South Sudanese refugees this year, while the UNHCR said it has only received 11% of the $782 million (&euro;714m) it needs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Competing conflicts and crises around the world mean that aid agencies are struggling to get the funds they need to do their work.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by&nbsp;RTE.ie on the 8th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2017/0508/873361-south-sudan-refugees/\">https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2017/0508/873361-south-sudan-refugees/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-08 09:34:55',NULL,'more-than-1m-children-flee-south-sudan-war'),(1980,'New headquarters for HSE Organ and Donation Transplant Ireland office to open today','<p>\r\n	There has been another step forward in the development of Organ Donation services here.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Health Minister Simon Harris is today opening a new headquarters for the HSE Organ and Donation Transplant Ireland office.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Based at St George&#39;s Church on Temple Street in Dublin city, the new dedicated premises will co-ordinate life-saving services across the country&#39;s three transplant centres at the Mater, St Vincent&#39;s and Beaumont Hospitals.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The ODTI&#39;s Professor Jim Egan, says the courage and generosity of families across the country saved the lives of 280 people in 2016.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We know that organ donation saves lives, last year 77 deceased donors and 50 live kidney donors transplants resulted in 280 Irish families receiving life saving transplant surgery,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by Breakingnews.ie on the 8th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/new-headquarters-for-hse-organ-and-donation-transplant-ireland-office-to-open-today-788666.html\">http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/new-headquarters-for-hse-organ-and-donation-transplant-ireland-office-to-open-today-788666.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-08 09:36:00',NULL,'new-headquarters-for-hse-organ-and-donation-transplant-ireland-office-to-open-today'),(1981,'Families sue HSE for delay assessing needs of disabled children','<p>\r\n	Three families have launched a legal action in the High Court seeking to compel the HSE to deliver assessments of need for children who might have a disability within the designated timeframe, in a move which could affect thousands of families, writes Noel Baker and Ann O&#39;Loughlin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under the Disability Act 2005, children must receive an initial assessment of needs within three months of receipt of an application and a complete assessment within a further three months.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the number of children waiting longer than the recommended three-month guideline rose by 23% between October and December 2016, figures show.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There were 3,960 children overdue for assessment at the end of 2016, with 1,732 in the Cork/Kerry region.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In one of the three cases brought before Mr Justice Seamus Noonan yesterday, a family said it had first made an application for an assessment of need to the HSE in January last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They claimed it has still not been completed, despite an obligation on the HSE to commence work on diagnosing a child under an assessment of need within three months of the application being received, and a further obligation to have that assessment completed within three months of starting it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to papers lodged involving the family from Cork, the assessment of need should have been commenced as soon as possible after January 24, 2016 (date of receipt) and in any event no later than April 24, 2016, and should have been completed by July 24, 2016, at the very latest &mdash; a delay of more than nine months.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Each week of delay means that valuable early intervention opportunities are lost forever,&rdquo; the family said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An assessment of need can involve a multi-disciplinary team, including psychologists, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists, who arrive at a diagnosis and a statement of services that the child will then require.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, disability rights groups have claimed the current system is not fit for purpose and that families are made to wait to find out what services their child might need.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some families get a private assessment, but this is not always sufficient to secure services, which are provided subject to resources.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, those in the legal action, represented by solicitor Gareth Noble of KOD Lyons, and in court by counsel Derek Shortall, argued that the HSE does have a statutory obligation to deliver an assessment of need within the agreed timeframe.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The appeals process has been criticised by disability support groups.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Papers associated with the action said: &ldquo;An applicant engaging with the complaints process must, as a first step, await the determination of a disability complaints officer, which may take up to five months and there is currently a waiting list and delays due to the large number of complaints.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;A disability complaints officer&rsquo;s report will normally stipulate a further three-month period in which the assessment of need should be completed.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Justice Noonan granted leave on an ex-parte basis for the applicants to bring judicial review proceedings regarding the HSE&rsquo;s alleged failure to comply with the statute. The matter is due before the High Court again on May 23.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In March, Disabilities Minister Finian McGrath said the number of children awaiting disability assessments was &ldquo;unacceptable&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I am making reducing these waiting lists my priority in 2017,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At the time, the HSE said it had &ldquo;significant challenges in respect of meeting the statutory time-frames which apply to the assessment of need process&rdquo;, but the chief executive of autism charity Shine, Kieran Kennedy, said the situation has been present for years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We are troubled and concerned by the ongoing situation that has been present for years and is only getting worse,&rdquo; said Mr Kennedy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said even when a child is assessed, in many cases the resources are not available to provide the proper services and supports.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 9th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/families-sue-hse-for-delay-assessing-needs-of-disabled-children-788825.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/families-sue-hse-for-delay-assessing-needs-of-disabled-children-788825.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-09 10:42:09',NULL,'families-sue-hse-for-delay-assessing-needs-of-disabled-children'),(1982,'Making cents: A will gives you control of life after your death','<p>\r\n	It is advisable to make a will, particularly at certain stages of life, such as when marrying, divorcing, or becoming a parent.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But many of us are reluctant to do it, because we don&rsquo;t want to think about it or because we joke that we have nothing to leave.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But wills are more than a simple division of assets; they are an instruction as to what we want to happen after our death.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If you die without a will &mdash; &lsquo;intestate&rsquo; &mdash; then your estate will be divided according to the law and this may not tally with what you would have preferred.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	For example, if you are in a long-term relationship and have children, your spouse/partner will get two-thirds, with the remaining third divided between your children. Inheritance laws cover when a single, childless person dies, with the estate going to other family in a set structure.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Only family members will inherit in this circumstance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A will can be drawn up without legal advice. There are kits for creating a will. These can be bought in some stationers, and there are websites dedicated to the purpose.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Citizensinformation.ie list the requirements of a valid will: it must be in writing and witnessed by two people who will not themselves gain from it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But you are almost certainly better off getting legal help. FLAC, which promotes access to the law, advises that, &ldquo;due to the complex rules for making a will, you should seek the advice of a solicitor&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Having a solicitor involved should reduce confusion or ambiguity and make it less likely that the will is challenged in court.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A solicitor can also advise you on estate planning, to minimise the level of capital acquisitions tax (CAT) your beneficiaries will have to pay.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Don&rsquo;t assume any inheritance between family members will be tax-exempt. There are thresholds dependent on the relationship involved. You can get exact details at revenue.ie. These thresholds also cover gifts given before death, so any help given in previous years, for example a parent helping a child with a house deposit, could have an impact when it comes to inheritance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are a number of reliefs and exemptions available to reduce the tax bill on an inheritance.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Agricultural relief may be available for farm assets, subject to conditions, and business relief where a family company is involved. In some circumstances, a nephew or niece who has worked full-time on a farm or business for five years may be entitled to the same tax threshold as a son or daughter, in relation to that property.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The family home may also be treated differently to other property, particularly if there is a surviving spouse/partner and dependent children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Surviving cohabitants also now have the right to apply to court for provision from the estate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If you have children under 18, it is important that your will name a guardian: ie, the person you select to take over and rear your children until they reach adulthood.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is hard to dwell on the prospect of your children losing both parents, but couples should ensure that their wills clearly say who is to have guardianship, if both die. Unmarried couples should also make clear what is to happen if one of them dies.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Separation and divorce can also have an impact on succession rights and these may be dealt with under the terms of a separation agreement, or at time of divorce.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, it does not automatically mean the former spouse/partner loses all claim to an estate and anyone with concerns should get legal advice.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Joint accounts can cause issues. People can have them with both family member and non-family, for a variety of reasons.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Generally, the assumption is that if one party dies, the balance of the account will go to the remaining account holder. If this is not what you want, it is advisable to make it clear, both in your will and to the bank.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	You can get further information at revenue.ie and citizensinformation.ie.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 9th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/features/making-cents-a-will-gives-you-control-of-life-after-your-death-449703.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/features/making-cents-a-will-gives-you-control-of-life-after-your-death-449703.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-09 11:36:34',NULL,'making-cents-a-will-gives-you-control-of-life-after-your-death'),(1983,'Third of people saw ‘abuse of elderly in nursing homes’','<p>\r\n	Generally, the standard of care and the attitude of staff in hospitals and nursing homes were the most common complaints of people who experienced incidents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Almost two-thirds of people have been witness to the poor provision of health and social care services, with 36% of those spotting physical or emotional abuse in a nursing home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The opinion poll, commissioned by the Health Information and Quality Authority and carried out by Red C, marks Hiqa&rsquo;s 10th anniversary and points to public concerns about services such as public hospitals and home care services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The survey of 1,053 adults found 63% of respondents have witnessed at least one poor provision across health and social services within the last five years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some 47% of respondents reported having experienced poor provisions in public hospitals; of those, 80% cited access and waiting times for services as the main issues.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	After public hospitals, 21% of respondents said they had witnessed poor provision of services in nursing homes and another 21% said their experience of poor service came in homecare services. In both, standard of care and attitudes of staff were the most common concerns.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While just 4% of those who referred to issues in public hospitals cited physical or emotional abuse, the corresponding percentage within home care services was 24%. Of those who cited problems in nursing homes, 36% referred to physical or emotional abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Age Action said the figure was &ldquo;very worrying&rdquo;. Its head of advocacy, Justin Moran, said it highlights &ldquo;the urgent need to do more to tackle elder abuse in our care system&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is critical that the upcoming consultation on a statutory homecare scheme identifies a robust, independent system to monitor how homecare is delivered and ensure the rights of older people are protected.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Private Hospitals Association chief executive Simon Nugent welcomed the findings: &ldquo;Today&rsquo;s survey shows only a tiny proportion of respondents (5%) actually had any concerns about private hospital service compared to the public system (47%).&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hiqa chief executive Phelim Quinn said the findings would help inform its work as it continues into its second decade.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Unfortunately, it is still too common for the public to witness the poor provision of health and social care services. Many of the areas where poor provision is witnessed are currently not independently regulated.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Poll respondents said top of the list for aspects of care were being treated with dignity, a respect for privacy, and clear standards and guidelines to assist staff were top of the list.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Just 41% of respondents agreed with the statement &ldquo;the health service is efficient and currently achieves good value for money&rdquo;, while there was strong support for independent oversight of health and social care services and clear levels of accountability.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The poll found widespread misunderstanding of regulation of health and social care services, with 83% mistakenly believing private hospitals are independently regulated or monitored and 76% of people believing homecare services are independently regulated or monitored.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There was strong support for independent regulation of services, and while 63% of respondents were aware of Hiqa, it dropped to 36% in the 18-24 age group.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 9th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/third-of-people-saw-abuse-of-elderly-in-nursing-homes-449660.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/third-of-people-saw-abuse-of-elderly-in-nursing-homes-449660.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-09 13:11:37',NULL,'third-of-people-saw-‘abuse-of-elderly-in-nursing-homes’'),(1984,'TD seeks law restricting children\'s internet access ','<p>\r\n	A new law that would fine parents for allowing their children own mobile phones with unrestricted access to the internet has been proposed by the chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fine Gael TD Jim Daly is drafting legislation which could also see retailers facing fines if they sell such devices to children under&nbsp;14.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Its origins lie in stark testimony to the committee in recent months, where it has been stated by children&#39;s rights groups that unfettered access to the internet was among the greatest threats facing young people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The&nbsp;threat comprises everything from online bullying to addiction problems.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Daly has spent months devising a plan to curb the&nbsp;problems and&nbsp;believes that in the future it should be an offence for parents to allow children under 14 to own devices with full internet access.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said the proposed legislation is just weeks away from completion and could possibly be debated in the D&aacute;il before the summer break.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking to RT&Eacute;&#39;s Morning Ireland, Mr Daly said he did not&nbsp;accept that, with phones so widely available, the proposed regulation might be impossible to enforce</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by RTE.ie on the 10th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0510/873906-jim-daly-internet/\">https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0510/873906-jim-daly-internet/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-10 11:05:18',NULL,'td-seeks-law-restricting-childrens-internet-access'),(1985,'Grannies and casual childminders face vetting to earn new €1,000 subsidy','<p>\r\n	Grandparents and other casual childminders face fast-track garda vetting if they want to get a new Government subsidy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The new Affordable Childcare scheme requires background checks on childminders before they get the payments of up to &euro;1,000 per year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But only about 130 of the estimated 20,000 people working as childminders have been formally vetted, which is needed in order to be registered by child welfare agency Tusla.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Department of Children and Youth Affairs is now set to offer speedier background checks on any of the childminders currently not registered.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This would include relatives such as grandparents and in-laws, according to West Cork TD Jim Daly, who chairs the Government&#39;s Children and Youth Affairs committee.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Due to the sheer numbers of relatives, friends and neighbours who currently act as casual childminders, he said it could take &quot;decades&quot; to have them registered using the stringent standards currently used by Tusla.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	These involve garda vetting and having a childcare certificate for childminders caring for more than three non-related children outside their homes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;So you have about 18,500 or 19,000-plus childminders that are not registered with Tusla and the Government cannot be providing subsidies (to them),&quot; he said during a panel discussion on early childhood education yesterday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;So what the Government is proposing to do is run in tandem a sort of certification process where the Department (of Children and Youth Affairs) will oversee that any parent who wishes to apply for the subsidy can send in details of their gran, of their sister-in-law, of their neighbour who is minding their children and the Government will do a background check - obviously garda vetting - and a couple of references from local people and that will suffice,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;You might have someone come in from another county, from another country or from another jurisdiction coming into the area offering their services as a childminder so you have to have a basic level of background checks and vetting and that will apply across the board. It&#39;s to recognise the existing system and bring them into the fold,&quot; he said. &quot;But we have a responsibility - we can&#39;t just say &#39;no, it&#39;s fine, you&#39;re a sister-in-law&#39;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;There could be another adult in that house ... so we have to be responsible when we bring this in,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As a result, a working group with the Department of Children is currently examining standards that will be applied.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Bernadette Orbinski Burke, CEO of Childminding Ireland who is chairing the working group, said: &quot;We are looking at all things that would give quality assurance to the Government and parents and preserve the &#39;home-from-home&#39; ethos. We&#39;re looking at a range of options that would include garda vetting.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Daly said child minders need not fear any tax implications of being registered if they were not running a creche or working as a professional child minder. &quot;There won&#39;t be tax implications for these people. At the moment you can earn up to &euro;300 a week minding children and be tax free. So there isn&#39;t going to be automatic tax implications, that would be the first thing that people will fear in declaring that I&#39;m minding my nephew or my neighbour&#39;s child,&quot; he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 10th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/grannies-and-casual-childminders-face-vetting-to-earn-new-1000-subsidy-35698867.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/grannies-and-casual-childminders-face-vetting-to-earn-new-1000-subsidy-35698867.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-10 11:12:06',NULL,'grannies-and-casual-childminders-face-vetting-to-earn-new-€1000-subsidy'),(1986,'\'He wasn\'t \'just another junkie\'\' - A mother\'s story of how her tragic son slid into addiction and died aged 23','<p>\r\n	Mum slams emergency caller&#39;s reference to her dying son</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&#39;He was a son, he was a brother&#39;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&#39;Rehab centres tried to convert him to God&#39;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&#39;He was a quiet kid who went down the wrong road&#39;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&#39;I&#39;ll never forget the image of him lying there&#39;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A mother has told of her heartbreak after she heard how her son was referred to as &quot;just another junkie&quot; when an anonymous caller phoned for an ambulance on the day he died.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Robert Keyes (23) was found dead in St Audeon&#39;s Park in Dublin on November 8, 2015 - just a month before his 24th birthday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The inquest into his death heard how a caller, who rang from a sim free phone, described him as &quot;just another junkie&quot; to emergency services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	His mother, Pamela Reynolds, has opened up about the painful experience of dealing with a child struggling with addiction and is calling for people to think twice before they label someone a &#39;junkie&#39;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I hate that word, it&#39;s a horrible, disgusting word. Robert wasn&#39;t &#39;just another junkie&#39;, he was a son, he was a brother,&quot; she told Independent.ie.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Originally from Drogheda, Co Louth, Pamela recalled how Robert was a very quiet child growing up, but sadly, he &quot;just went down the wrong road&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He started smoking weed at the age of 16 and later became addicted to heroin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;He was very easy going, probably too easy going, so I think that&#39;s how he struggled to say no. He hated school and I think that was part of the problem too,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Before his death, he had been clean from heroin for seven weeks following a &#39;cold turkey&#39; detox.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She remembers the day he died vividly, and the last image she has of her son is one that will stay with her forever.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It was a horrible, rainy day and I didn&#39;t even get his clothes back,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;When they found him, he had a needle stuck in his groin, I didn&#39;t hear that until the day of the inquest last week.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;That image of him just lying there, it&#39;s one that I will take with me to my grave.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Despite numerous attempts to check Robert into rehab centres, he could never overcome his battle with drugs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She claims one centre wouldn&#39;t admit him because he had a cut on his leg and another centre tried to convert him to God.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Pamela still has the letters he wrote to her while he was going through his detox back in 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;People are very quick to judge in Ireland. If I was an alcoholic, people wouldn&#39;t look at me like I was scummy, but when it&#39;s drugs, they stigmatise you.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;When I tried to help him, he would say &#39;Mam, you don&#39;t even smoke, you don&#39;t have a clue what this is like,&#39; and I didn&#39;t.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Pamela has two other kids, aged 18 and 10.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She described the guilt she feels following Robert&#39;s death as he had moved out of the family home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I always say I could have done better but no matter what you do, you can&#39;t help them unless they want to help themselves.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;They become so good at lying and stealing to feed their habit and I couldn&#39;t have him injecting in front of his younger brother and sister. You&#39;re made to choose between your kids, it&#39;s horrific,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Before Robert died, he hadn&#39;t signed in at his local garda station and Pamela became worried.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	After raising concerns with garda&iacute;, she claims one guard said to her: &quot;I wouldn&#39;t worry too much, he is probably just in a den shooting up&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;They didn&#39;t look at him like he was a person who had a family, they didn&#39;t look at him as someone who needed help,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The Robert I knew was good natured and soft, he had a lovely temperament, but he went the wrong way and there was no way back.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She is calling for injection centres to be introduced in Ireland and for rehab centres to focus less on religion and more on the person.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Robert would ring me and say, &#39;Mam, they&#39;re trying to make me become addicted to religion instead, telling me that God will save me.&#39;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I don&#39;t want people to end up where Robert did, lying in that park. I definitely think there should be somewhere they can go to use. There is only a short space of time you have to be saved if you overdose. My son was lying in that park from 1pm and he wasn&#39;t found until 5, with a needle stuck in his groin.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	His younger sister is now in college and wants to work with recovering addicts.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;She told me she&#39;d like to try and help people when they come out of prison, she wants to help people like Robert.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A toxicology report found he had xanax, valium, heroin and a metabolite of cocaine in his system on the day he died.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The jury at the inquest returned a verdict of death by misadventure.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If you or someone you know is struggling with drug addiction, contact Drug and Alcohol Information and Support on 1800 459 459</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 10th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/he-wasnt-just-another-junkie-a-mothers-story-of-how-her-tragic-son-slid-into-addiction-and-died-aged-23-35685233.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/he-wasnt-just-another-junkie-a-mothers-story-of-how-her-tragic-son-slid-into-addiction-and-died-aged-23-35685233.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-10 11:14:50',NULL,'he-wasnt-just-another-junkie-a-mothers-story-of-how-her-tragic-son-slid-into-addiction-and-died-aged-23'),(1987,'Care oversights in children’s deaths','<p>\r\n	Five reports into the deaths of children known to the care services have found shortcomings in how the cases were dealt with.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Two teenagers died by suicide, another died while in residential care, and a seven-month-old baby died from sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI). The cause of death was not revealed in one case. The reports were published by the National Review Panel (NRP).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In all cases, the reviews state that &ldquo;it has found no evidence that action or inaction by the HSE services involved with [the child] directly contributed to [his or her] death&rdquo;, but numerous shortcomings are highlighted, as well as the children&rsquo;s backgrounds, which often involved domestic violence, family instability, and alcohol or drug abuse in the home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In one case, involving a 15-year-old referred to as Tim, the report noted that while the &ldquo;SWD acted correctly and quickly to reports&rdquo; involving him and his siblings, initially, &ldquo;apart from one brief, initial assessment, no further assessment of their needs, and no social history, was compiled or recorded&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It said the Social Work Department (SWD) was unaware of many details of Tim&rsquo;s past and made no contact with his father, even though Tim had lived with him for most of his life. There was only &ldquo;intermittent&rdquo; contact between the allocated social worker and the family, and &ldquo;the staffing situation in the area is likely to have contributed to weak practice&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the case of Joe, another 15-year-old who died by suicide, staffing was also an issue. &ldquo;The case was wait-listed as a high priority for over a year prior to Joe&rsquo;s death, but, according to the evidence provided to the review, it could not be allocated, because of staff shortages,&rdquo; the report said. All the children in the family had experienced neglect over many years and &ldquo;should have received consistent intervention from an early stage&rdquo;, instead of an incident-based response. &ldquo;The SWD did not make an appropriate response to the reports of concern about Joe at different points, and particularly during the months before his death,&rdquo; it said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the case of Baby Harry, the response to concerns about him was slow, with &ldquo;none of the services communicating interactively&rdquo;. No full assessment was conducted and a key point was when Harry&rsquo;s mother, a victim of domestic abuse, &ldquo;became reluctant to engage in an assessment, when it was made clear to her that Harry&rsquo;s father would have to give his consent&rdquo;. The report said it was not unreasonable that she was &ldquo;fearful of repercussions&rdquo; and so &ldquo;put off by the requirement for both parents to consent to an assessment&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As for &lsquo;Dylan&rsquo;, found dead in a residential unit with high levels of toxicity in his system, there were &ldquo;practice weaknesses&rdquo; in the case, which was allowed to drift, alongside &ldquo;some missed opportunities&rdquo;. It said: &ldquo;There were gaps in management and supervision, as well as adherence to policies at this time, attributed by staff to a high turnover of social workers and pressure of work, which led to &lsquo;firefighting&rsquo;.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&lsquo;Avril&rsquo; had been out of contact with the SWD for nearly two years, when she died aged 17. The case had been opened on more than one occasion previously. The review found the rationale for closing the case &ldquo;overlooked Avril&rsquo;s significant vulnerabilities and that the SWD did not satisfy itself that her needs were being met by alternative services&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Director of EPIC (Empowering People In Care), Terry Dignan, said: &ldquo;A lot of these reports refer to the same things &mdash; there are recurring themes.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said these included inconsistent approaches to cases and responses to crises, rather than continued monitoring and due diligence. He also recommended giving more responsibility to fewer agencies. &ldquo;We need to follow [the cases] through, until we get an outcome.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tusla said it would launch a new Child Protection and Welfare Strategy, later this month, and is developing a revised Alternative Care Strategy to enhance services for children in care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Jim Gibson, Tusla chief operations officer, said: &ldquo;The key learning from these reports is that good individual supports are not enough, without a coordinated, multi-agency approach.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.tusla.ie&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Avril, aged 17</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Avril died at 17. Her older siblings were in care when they were young and the family background featured domestic violence, criminality and changes of accommodation. Her mother was a victim of domestic violence and found it difficult to manage her children. Social workers closed her case when Avril was 12 and later reopened and then closed again, but in her early teens she was often out of her mother&rsquo;s supervision and also out of school for long periods. Her mother was resistant to social work intervention. Avril had been out of contact with the social work department for nearly two years when she died.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dylan, aged 17</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dylan had only been in Tusla residential care for a few months when he died aged 17. His mother had a drug problem and he and his siblings had been reported to the social work department because of concerns about neglect, poor school attendance, and the age inappropriate responsibilities Dylan was carrying. He switched between living with his stepfather to staying with his mother, who was resistant to social work intervention, before re-entering care following a row with his mother. He was placed in a residential unit as per his wishes but was found dead in the unit a few weeks later.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Baby Harry</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The young life of Baby Harry, who died from Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy at seven months, was marked by the domestic violence suffered by his mother, including an assault the day prior to his birth. The family was referred to a community agency for assessment, but this needed the consent of Harry&rsquo;s father. Harry&rsquo;s mother was unwilling to share his contact details for fear of reprisals and stepped back from the process. The public health nurse and the SWD had difficulty keeping in contact with Harry&rsquo;s mother, who was evicted, and only managed to make brief contact before Harry died.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Joe, aged 15</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Joe, who died by suicide at 15, mainly lived with his father, for short periods with his mother, and sometimes with both. There was a history of domestic violence in the family home, along with alleged alcohol abuse. His case was opened and closed at different periods and for most of the time it was allocated, the focus was on Joe&rsquo;s younger siblings. His education suffered amid mental health and behavioural issues. His father was struggling with his behaviour and sought help but while the case was listed as a high priority for over a year prior to Joe&rsquo;s death, it could not be allocated because of staff shortages.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tim, aged 15</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tim&rsquo;s parents separated when he was young. He stayed mainly with his father. His mother had a drug problem. Tim&rsquo;s behaviour became very challenging in his early teens. He went to live with his mother and reports emerged that he and his half-sibling were being neglected and drawn into their mother&rsquo;s addictive behaviour. Tim, who had ADHD, then went to live with an older half-sister, who &ldquo;was offered no financial assistance by the HSE and had to rely on her mother to provide money&rdquo;. Following his death, Tim&rsquo;s half-sister said she later became aware of allegations that he was being bullied at school.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 11th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/care-oversights-in-childrens-deaths-449821.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/care-oversights-in-childrens-deaths-449821.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-11 13:21:52',NULL,'care-oversights-in-children’s-deaths'),(1988,'A non-EU parent has a right to residency if their child is an EU citizen','<p>\r\n	An EU court ruled on the case of a Venezuelan woman who entered the Netherlands as a visitor and had a child with a Dutch national.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A non-EU parent has a right to stay in the bloc if their child is an EU citizen, its top court said today, a ruling which could complicate Brexit talks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The European Court of Justice said national courts must focus on the welfare of the child and the &ldquo;risks which separation from the (non-EU parent) might entail for that child&rsquo;s equilibrium.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The European Union insists that the rights of more than three million EU citizens in Britain be among the very first issues settled in the Brexit divorce negotiations due to start shortly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One of Britain&rsquo;s main gripes in the lead-up to Brexit has been over the role of the European Court of Justice, especially on migration issues.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The court was ruling on the case of a Venezuelan woman who entered the Netherlands as a visitor but subsequently had a child with a Dutch national.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They moved to Germany but after the relationship failed in 2011, the woman, identified only by her last name, Chavez-Vilchez, said she became solely responsible for the welfare and upbringing of the child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, since she did not have a right of residence in the Netherlands, the authorities there rejected her application for social welfare and child benefit payments.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a statement, the Luxembourg-based ECJ said it was up to the Dutch courts to decide whether Chavez-Vilchez had &ldquo;a derived right of residence.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But if the Dutch court ruled that she did not have this right, then &ldquo;her situation and that of her child must be examined&hellip; in the light of Article 20&Prime; of the EU&rsquo;s treaty.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The ECJ said case-law had established that Article 20 &ldquo;precludes national measures, including decisions refusing a right of residence to the family members of an EU citizen.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If Chavez-Vilchez and other mothers in a similar position were forced to leave, &ldquo;that could deprive their children of the genuine enjoyment of the substance of those (EU) rights by compelling those children to leave the territory of the EU.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The ECJ said that even if the EU parent was able and willing to look after the child, that was &ldquo;not in itself a sufficient ground&rdquo; to believe the child would not be compelled to leave the bloc if the non-EU parent was barred from residence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by TheJournal.ie on the 10th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/non-eu-residency-3382057-May2017/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/non-eu-residency-3382057-May2017/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-11 13:33:00',NULL,'a-non-eu-parent-has-a-right-to-residency-if-their-child-is-an-eu-citizen'),(1989,'Zappone promises more resources for teenagers leaving care','<p>\r\n	Funding secured to recruit 18 aftercare managers, says Minister for Children</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The State will have a statutory obligation to provide an aftercare plan from September 1st for up to 600 teenagers leaving care every year, Minister for Children Katherine Zappone has told the D&aacute;il.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Zappone told Fianna F&aacute;il&rsquo;s spokeswoman on children, Anne Rabbitte, that there were pending amendments to the Child Care Act 1991 that would place a statutory obligation to provide an aftercare plan before the young person leaves care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I have secured the funding needed to recruit additional aftercare workers to enable Tusla to deliver this new commitment in full,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Minister added that &ldquo;in some situations the child&rsquo;s social worker may continue in the role of an aftercare worker when the child reaches 18 years&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said the Department of Children was working to implement the changes needed. &ldquo;There is no doubt that improvements are needed and I intend to ensure that they happen.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social worker</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Zappone gave figures that showed that 1,055 16 and 17 year olds are in care but only 432 have an allocated social worker.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said that last year 605 teenagers left care because they had reached 18 years of age, but added that Tusla did not collate data on the waiting periods before an aftercare worker is assigned.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	About 500 to 600 young people leave care every year and in recent times about 75 per cent of 17 year olds in care were in foster placements while a further 20 per cent were in residential settings. The remaining 5 per cent were in disability settings or supported lodgings.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Rabbitte welcomed the news that funding has been secured but suggested that the Minister should invest in the groups that were already there, such as Youth Advocate Programmes and Empowering People in Care (Epic).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Struggling</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We know there is a shortage of social care workers and that we are struggling to recruit them but we know we have good agencies that can work with and empower young people. We do not need to reinvent the wheel.&rdquo; These organisations were already on the ground, she added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Galway East TD said there were huge gaps and anomalies, and while she believed Tusla was doing its best to organise planning, &ldquo;there is no connectivity between social care workers&rdquo; and some teenagers were ending up on council housing waiting lists straight after leaving care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Zappone said she was supporting agencies such as Epic but she said that Tusla had informed her that 18 aftercare managers would be recruited. &ldquo;Each manager will manage one of the 18 teams across the country.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 12th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/zappone-promises-more-resources-for-teenagers-leaving-care-1.3080229\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/zappone-promises-more-resources-for-teenagers-leaving-care-1.3080229</a></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-12 13:31:26',NULL,'zappone-promises-more-resources-for-teenagers-leaving-care'),(1990,'Vaccination: Deaths at children’s hospital preventable','<p>\r\n	Five children died from illnesses that could have been avoided through immunisation</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Five children died at Our Lady&rsquo;s Children&rsquo;s Hospital in Crumlin, Dublin, from illnesses that could have been prevented by immunisation, according to a new study of case files spanning a four-year period.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The research, which was carried out by medics based at the children&rsquo;s hospital and Trinity College Dublin, examined 39 admissions to the paediatric intensive care unit between 2011 and 2015.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The admissions that formed part of the study consisted of children affected by a range of illnesses that can be prevented by immunisation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some of the children had not been vaccinated when they could have been, while others were too young to be immunised. However, had there been full immunisation in the community, known as herd immunity, the younger babies would not have been exposed to the diseases, according to lead author of the report, Dr Suzanne Crowe.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Nine children were admitted with streptococcus pneumoniae, a bacterial infection that can lead to illnesses such as pneumonia and meningitis. Death occurred in four of these cases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One child died from pertussis or &ldquo;whooping cough&rdquo; during the reference period. The child was just two weeks old &ndash; four weeks short of the age at which the relevant vaccine is administered under the State-funded immunisation programme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Other diseases included varicella (chicken pox), haemophilus influenza, and meningococcus B &ndash; a bacterial infection that can cause septicaemia and meningitis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Of the 34 children who survived to be discharged, 19 had serious complications including skin loss requiring grafting, limb and digit loss, seizures, and acute kidney injury.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Comprehensive schedule</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study, published in the latest issue of the Irish Medical Journal, described the immunisation schedule administered by the HSE as &ldquo;comprehensive&rdquo;; while additional vaccines are available privately from GPs, at a cost of &euro;350.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking to The Irish Times, Dr Crowe, who is a specialist at Crumlin&rsquo;s intensive care unit, said streptococcus pneumoniae, in particular, &ldquo;does terrible things to babies&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said part of the reluctance to get children immunised stemmed from a lack of experience of diseases such as measles, diphtheria and whooping cough.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Grandparents might remember the deaths, but we don&rsquo;t see the numbers in the community anymore, so I think we have forgotten that these are really serious illnesses,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said herd immunity not only protected children, but also protected elderly people from conditions including pneumococcal pneumonia. She said public education was probably the most important thing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If you look at what they&rsquo;ve done with smoking, putting horrible photos on cigarette boxes, maybe what we need to do is remind people what these conditions look like,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 12th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/vaccination-deaths-at-children-s-hospital-preventable-1.3080216?mode=amp\">https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/vaccination-deaths-at-children-s-hospital-preventable-1.3080216?mode=amp</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-12 13:50:11',NULL,'vaccination-deaths-at-children’s-hospital-preventable'),(1991,'Psychological abuse exposed as leaving deepest scars','<p>\r\n	UL researcher reveals specific form of mental cruelty harder for children to make sense of</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children are more damaged by exposure to psychological abuse between parents than witnessing physical violence between them, according to groundbreaking research published today.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study, from the University of Limerick, finds that children are impacted adversely when there is abuse in the home but psychological abuse has a longer-lasting adverse impact.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Catherine Naughton of the university&rsquo;s department of psychology interviewed 464 young people, aged 17-25, who were attending university and found while 20 per cent had grown up in homes where physical violence was perpetrated by one parent on the other, 60 per cent had experienced inter-parental psychological abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Nobody had been exposed to physical abuse without psychological abuse. So psychological abuse was always present with physical abuse.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Physical abuse includes hitting, punching, kicking and use of a weapon, while psychological abuse includes arguing, name-calling or behaviour that is intimidating, isolating, manipulating or controlling.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Naughton&rsquo;s research is pioneering as it looks at the impact of psychological abuse separated from physical abuse, where both are present, and compares their impact. Previously, research has looked at the impact of one or the other.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Of course if you look at exposure to just physical abuse there is a negative impact on the children&rsquo;s wellbeing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Domestic abuse</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;But importantly, our findings show that it was young people&rsquo;s exposure to the psychological dimension of domestic abuse which had a detrimental impact on their psychological wellbeing. Exposure to the physical dimension did not have any additional negative effect on wellbeing,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The long-term impacts on children seeing one parent being psychologically cruel to the other include anxiety, low mood and low social functioning.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Asked why the psychological abuse might be more damaging, Ms Naughton said it could be that while children could clearly see and understand the wrong being done when one adult hit, punched or kicked another, psychological abuse was more difficult for a child to make sense of.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This was confusing and destabilising for a child, and made it often more difficult to seek support.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;When children were exposed to physical violence in the home as well as psychological domestic abuse, they were more likely to be happier with the social support they were able to access. Psychological domestic abuse when it occurred alone seems to be the most damaging, perhaps because people are unable to recognise and speak out about it,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The long-term damage of domestic psychological abuse on children required greater research, and appreciation at policy level.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is more complicated but that doesn&rsquo;t mean we should ignore it,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 12th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/psychological-abuse-exposed-as-leaving-deepest-scars-1.3080241\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/psychological-abuse-exposed-as-leaving-deepest-scars-1.3080241</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-12 13:56:55',NULL,'psychological-abuse-exposed-as-leaving-deepest-scars'),(1992,'Indonesia sentences two men to 85 lashes for gay sex ','<p>\r\n	An Islamic court in Indonesia has sentenced two men to 85 lashes of the cane for having sex, ignoring pleas for clemency from human rights groups.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The public caning handed down by a panel of judges in the conservative Aceh region is the first time laws against homosexuality, introduced in the province in 2014, have been used.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The sentence was more severe than the 80 lashes requested by the prosecutor.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The defendants are proven to have committed sodomy and are found guilty,&quot; the presiding judge, Khairil Jamal, said in a statement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The two men had opted to represent themselves in court and said they would not appeal the verdict.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Aceh is the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia that criminalises same-sex relations and that uses sharia as its legal code in addition to the national criminal code.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Human Rights Watch had called on Indonesia to release the men, who were detained in March after vigilantes reported them to religious police for allegedly engaging in gay sex.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The verdict will increase fear among LGBT people not only in Aceh but also in many other, especially conservative provinces ... in Indonesia,&quot; said HRW&#39;s Andreas Harsono.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Indonesia has faced growing pressure since high-ranking government officials last year expressed reservations about activism by its members.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Three years ago, Aceh province enacted a law that punishes anybody caught engaging in consensual gay sex with 100 lashes,100 months in jail or a fine of 1,000 grams of gold.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It also sets out punishment for unmarried people engaging in displays of affection, adulterous relationships and underage sex.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Authorities in the province on the northern tip of Sumatra island caned 339 people in 2016 for a range of crimes, according to HRW.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Religious police in Aceh have also been known to target Muslim women without head scarves or those wearing tight clothes, and people drinking alcohol or gambling.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Two women were detained in October on suspicion of being lesbians after they were seen hugging in public, and were made to undergo &quot;rehabilitation&quot;, media reported.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by RTE.ie on the 17th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0517/875811-indonesia/?google_editors_picks=true\">https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0517/875811-indonesia/?google_editors_picks=true</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-17 12:47:31',NULL,'indonesia-sentences-two-men-to-85-lashes-for-gay-sex'),(1993,'Women\'s charity says children of abused saw their mothers raped','<p>\r\n	Some children of abused women have seen them being raped, a leading charity has warned.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Women&#39;s Aid revealed the horrific aspect of domestic violence in its annual report after receiving a lmost 21,000 reports of physical and psychological attacks on women and children last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to information volunteered to the charity, pregnant women reported being beaten and strangled, others suffered miscarriage because of an assault and some children were in the same room while their mother was raped.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It is disclosed to our helpline and it&#39;s disclosed enough times for it to be a significant issue,&quot; said the charity&#39;s chief executive Margaret Martin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Other women were raped by a partner or became victims of online abuse as explicit videos and images of them were made and shared without their consent, the Women&#39;s Aid report also revealed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some women were beaten with weapons, stabbed and cut with knives, called derogatory names, forced into debt or denied money, isolated from family and friends and had their safety threatened.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Women&#39;s Aid, which operated a national 24/7 helpline for the first time last year, said it took in 16,946 reports of domestic violence against women including:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	:: 11,078 disclosures of emotional abuse of women, 3,502 disclosures of physical abuse, and 1,671 of financial abuse;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	:: 695 disclosures of sexual abuse of women, including 316 rapes;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	:: 411 disclosures from mothers that their ex-partners were using access visits to abuse them often in front or in ear shot of the children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Women&#39;s Aid said it took in 3,823 reports of child abuse, including:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	:: 183 reports of physical and sexual abuse against youngsters;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	:: 82 reports of children being abused during access visits and 18 instances of child abduction;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	:: 82 reports of children being directly physically, emotionally and/or sexually abused while on access visits with their fathers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The charity said it wanted to highlight the strong links between child abuse and domestic violence and it called for greater recognition of the risk to children, especially during access arrangements with abusive fathers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Martin criticised Family Law proceedings and claimed that custody and access arrangements often disregard the impact of domestic violence on children and put a mother and children at continuing risk of abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;A father&#39;s right to access should not outweigh a child&#39;s right to safety. Child protection and safety should be prioritised in all custody and access proceedings. To do anything less is to fail women and children,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A quarter of the abuse reported to Women&#39;s Aid involved an ex-partner or ex-husband, and often during access, the charity said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It called for the courts to consider the safety and well-being of any child when granting a barring order and to take interim measures to protect them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It said experts should be made available to a court to professionally assess any threat an abusive father or partner poses to children and the impact of direct or indirect abuse, and that child contact centres should be set up around the country to facilitate safe, supervised access visits.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Martin said research and experience of the charity&#39;s work has shown that the more severe a mother is abused, the higher the risk that a child will be attacked in the home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Domestic violence is a serious crime against women and children in Irish society but one that is hidden and minimised,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I am very concerned about the number of disclosures to Women&#39;s Aid of children being directly abused and exposed to domestic violence.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 17th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/irish-news/womens-charity-says-children-of-abused-saw-their-mothers-raped-35723636.html\">http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/irish-news/womens-charity-says-children-of-abused-saw-their-mothers-raped-35723636.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-17 12:53:32',NULL,'womens-charity-says-children-of-abused-saw-their-mothers-raped'),(1994,'Broad cross-party support expected for autism Bill ','<p>\r\n	Bill will require agencies to be accountable in their provision of autism services</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;A new Bill that will result in a significant increase in State recognition and support for autism is likely to attract wide support from all parties and groups in the Oireachtas.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Autism Spectrum Disorders Bill will be tabled by Fine Gael Senator Dr James Reilly in Seanad &Eacute;ireann on Wednesday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Private Members&rsquo; Bill will require agencies to be accountable in their provision of autism services and will also result in the collation of data on the prevalence of the condition in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Perhaps the most substantial provision is a clause that requires the Government to publish a comprehensive strategy within two years of the new law being enacted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Bill was discussed by Cabinet at its meeting on Tuesday. Early indications were that the Government will support the Bill, which is also likely to be supported by major parties.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The initiative has been welcomed by AsIAm, the national advocacy organisation for autism.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Adam Harris, the chief executive of AsIAm, said: &ldquo;This Bill is a much-needed step towards ensuring we develop a society which is inclusive of people with autism and effectively meets the needs of those with the condition.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;One in 65 people in our schools system has a diagnosis of autism, but the way we provide support remains disjointed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Children with autism grow up to become adults with autism, and it is vital that Ireland has a strategy to allow all people with autism to achieve their personal potential and make a contribution to society,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 16th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/broad-cross-party-support-expected-for-autism-bill-1.3085291\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/broad-cross-party-support-expected-for-autism-bill-1.3085291</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-17 13:03:03',NULL,'broad-cross-party-support-expected-for-autism-bill'),(1995,'179 children went missing from State care last year','<p>\r\n	All missing children later accounted for, but charities concerned about &lsquo;inadequacies&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than 170 children went missing from State care facilities last year, according to figures from the child and family agency, Tusla.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Of the 179 children who went missing from care, 34 were from the western region, 91 from Dublin mid-Leinster, and 37 from the south, figures obtained from Tusla under the Freedom of Information Act show.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A further 17 children went missing in Dublin&rsquo;s northeast. All children identified as missing last year were later accounted for.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children who are reported missing from care are recognised as being among the most vulnerable in society, and garda&iacute; and Tusla work together on such cases. Children in the care of Tusla are considered missing when their whereabouts are unknown and concern for the child&rsquo;s safety is indicated. This is distinct from children in care who return late and do not inform staff or carers, or children who walk out without permission.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The number of children who went missing last year was the highest it has been in recent years. In 2015, 130 children went missing, while the figure for 2014 was 163.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Not a new issue</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The children&rsquo;s charity Barnardos said it was &ldquo;not surprised&rdquo; by the continuing rise in the number of children who go missing each year. Its head of advocacy June Tinsley said &ldquo;unfortunately, this is not a new issue from our experience over the past number of years&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The inadequacies in the system are perpetuating the problem . . . Why is that child running away and who are they spending their time with? We are obviously pleased that the vast majority of the missing children are located, but we need to ensure the safety of every child in care.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social Care Ireland spokesman Noel Howard said in general that &ldquo;any child&rdquo; who goes missing from care raises serious issues.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tusla says that due to to the very &ldquo;vulnerable nature of children in care&rdquo;, it prepares an &ldquo;absence-management plan&rdquo; for each child and works closely with An Garda S&iacute;och&aacute;na to respond to unauthorised absences.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The agency&rsquo;s chief operations officer Jim Gibson said Tusla staff face a very similar challenge as parents around the country when a child does not co-operate with an agreed curfew.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said the majority of children and young people &ldquo;return home after a brief period of time and remain in safe and caring environments&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tusla also stated that under its protocol, An Garda S&iacute;och&aacute;na are notified once a child is deemed absent. The length of time does not determine whether a child is absent, rather a combination of the time period and all other circumstances of the case must be considered.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 22nd May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/179-children-went-missing-from-state-care-last-year-1.3091263\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/179-children-went-missing-from-state-care-last-year-1.3091263</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-22 10:57:05',NULL,'179-children-went-missing-from-state-care-last-year'),(1996,'Pre-eclampsia - the condition that kills 100,000 pregnant women and 500,000 babies every year globally','<p>\r\n	The first ever World Pre-eclampsia Day takes place today, highlighting a condition that kills 100,000 pregnant women and 500,000 babies every year globally, writes&nbsp;Ailin Quinlan</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is described in the hieroglyphics of the ancient Egyptians, and mentioned in the writings of Hippocrates, yet there&rsquo;s still neither a screening test nor a cure for one of the most frightening medical conditions for pregnant women.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Pre-eclampsia can cause seizures and even death. Readers may remember Lady Sybil, in the hit TV series, Downtown Abbey, who had convulsions and tragically died of eclampsia.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Globally, up to 100,000 women and half a million babies, mostly in disadvantaged countries, die each year of the condition, which only occurs in pregnancy and which affects between 3% and 5% of first-time pregnant mothers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Despite the fact that pre-eclampsia is a leading cause of maternal death, it&rsquo;s a &ldquo;very mysterious condition,&rdquo; says Louise Kenny, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at UCC, and consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Cork University Maternity Hospital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We have a very poor understanding of what causes it. It tends to occur in the second half of pregnancy, and affected mothers tend to have very high blood pressure, among other conditions. It&rsquo;s very variable,&rdquo; she says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Pre-eclampsia can occur any time after the 20th week of pregnancy, and is marked by elevated blood pressure and, usually, protein in the urine.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Symptoms include a severe headache that medication can&rsquo;t ease, swelling of the face and hands, gasping or panting, difficulty breathing, nausea after mid-pregnancy, changes in vision (for example, spots, light flashes, or vision loss) and pain in the upper-right belly, which is often mistaken for indigestion or flu.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Patricia Hetherington (43), from White&rsquo;s Cross, Cork, had pre-eclampsia while pregnant with each of her daughters, Abby, aged seven, and Cara, who was born in late April.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At 34 weeks pregnant with Abby, on St Patrick&rsquo;s Day, 2010, Patricia experienced a severe pain in her abdomen, was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, and was hospitalised. Two days later, Abby was born by caesarean section.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It took the best part of a year for me to get back to normal,&rdquo; she says. When she became pregnant with Cara, she was warned that, because she&rsquo;d already had it, there was now a 30% chance of pre-eclampsia reoccurring.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She was prescribed aspirin, which had to be stopped at 34 weeks. &ldquo;The plan was to deliver Cara by a caesarean section, at 38 weeks, but this happened at 37 weeks, because the signs of pre-eclampsia were beginning again. My blood pressure was high and the level of protein in my urine was high.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Pre-eclampsia is a very deceptive condition, because you don&rsquo;t necessarily know you have protein in the urine or high blood pressure.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a condition which kind of creeps up on you, so you really need to ensure that you are attending your medical check-ups.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This is very important, because things can change so quickly,&rdquo; Patricia says. Despite records that an ancient Egyptian queen died agonisingly from pre-eclampsia, we still don&rsquo;t have a screening test or a cure for it cure.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The only cure is the delivery of the baby.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Yet, says Professor Kenny, if a baby is born small or premature, or both, because its mother had pre-eclampsia, it will be up to five times more likely to die of a heart attack, up to five times more likely to develop diabetes, and much more likely to have high blood pressure or a stroke later in life.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, as director of the Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research, at UCC, Professor Kenny is coordinating the international IMPROVED study, and trialling a blood test that will screen for the risk of pre-eclampsia in pregnant women at 15 weeks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We developed the test at UCC in the laboratory and it seems to work well, but it needs to be trialled. This is a Europe-wide study,&rdquo; she says. 5,000 women in Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands, and Sweden are participating.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Recruitment is complete in the other countries, and 1,500 women have signed up at Cork University Maternity Hospital, but Prof Kenny is hoping to add another 300 women to the trial. Hopefully, this test will prove accurate in identifying women prone to pre-eclampsia in early pregnancy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Once the test is approved, it will be administered to every pregnant woman at 15 weeks, and it will predict their risk of pre-eclampsia later in the pregnancy. Meanwhile, public awareness of this potentially fatal condition is growing. The first-ever World Preeclampsia Day takes place today, Monday, May 22, and buildings throughout Cork and Dublin are being lit up to mark the occasion.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In Cork, the list of buildings includes City Hall, UCC&rsquo;s Quad and the Blackrock Castle Observatory, while, in Dublin, the buildings include The Mansion House, the Rotunda Hospital, the National Maternity Hospital, the RCSI, and Trinity College Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The PARROT study, which trials a diagnostic test for women who have presented with symptoms of pre-eclampsia, is also about to be launched.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	PARROT uses an extra blood test to help doctors both diagnose pre-eclampsia in women pregnant for more than 24 weeks and to determine the severity of their condition.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Professor Kenny says: &ldquo;The PARROT test identifies a blood-marker or protein in the blood, which indicates both the presence and severity of the condition&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study is being rolled out across Ireland in seven maternity hospitals in Cork, Belfast, Limerick, Galway, and Dublin, from the beginning of June, when researchers hope to recruit 4,000 women to take part in the study. The test will begin in the Coombe and be rolled out over 18 months across the country.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	From June 1, all women who are pregnant for more than 24 weeks, and who are showing signs of pre-eclampsia, will be offered the test. This will happen one hospital at a time. &ldquo;If the test shows the women have a significant risk, it will help to guide the management of the condition.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The test provides additional information and helps doctors to manage patients better,&rdquo; Prof Kenny says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 22nd May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/features/pre-eclampsia--the-condition-that-kills-100000-pregnant-women-and-500000-babies-every-year-globally-450589.html?google_editors_picks=true\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/features/pre-eclampsia--the-condition-that-kills-100000-pregnant-women-and-500000-babies-every-year-globally-450589.html?google_editors_picks=true</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-22 10:58:49',NULL,'pre-eclampsia-the-condition-that-kills-100000-pregnant-women-and-500000-babies-every-year-globally'),(1997,'Calls for hospice care to be made available to every child who needs it','<p>\r\n	There are calls for hospice care to be made available to every child who needs it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Over 3,800 children in Ireland have a life-limiting condition, with 700 needing hospice care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The LauraLynn Children&#39;s Hospice is the only organisation which provides palliative care to our young people</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Head of Communications Sarah O&#39;Callaghan says Children&#39;s Hospice week, which begins tomorrow, aims to highlight the needs of these children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;So what we&#39;re calling for is the Government, the HSE, and other healthcare professionals to come together and to develop a hospice care service plan.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;So then children all over Ireland have access, timely access, to hospice care close to home,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 21st May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/calls-for-hospice-care-to-be-made-available-to-every-child-who-needs-it-790579.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/calls-for-hospice-care-to-be-made-available-to-every-child-who-needs-it-790579.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-22 11:01:18',NULL,'calls-for-hospice-care-to-be-made-available-to-every-child-who-needs-it'),(1998,'Daffodil Care are attending the Cork Jobs Expo','<p>\r\n	Daffodil Care Services will be at the Jobs Expo in Cork City tomorrow, the 25th May 2017.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Jobs Expo is taking place in the Clayton Hotel Silver Springs, Cork from 12pm-7pm and our dedicated team will be there to answer any questions you may have.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Available positions:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- New Service Relief Social Care Worker Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- New Service Social Care Leader Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- New Service Social Care Worker Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Social Care Worker Wexford</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Social Care Worker Relief Wexford</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Social Care Worker Relief North Dublin</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Social Care Leader Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Feel free to pop over and say hello!</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careers</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-24 12:03:56',NULL,'daffodil-care-are-attending-the-cork-jobs-expo'),(1999,'Bid to avert closure of 11 beds at child mental health unit','<p>\r\n	Talks will take place today between the HSE and the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) in an effort to avert the closure of half the beds in the country&rsquo;s newest inpatient unit for children with mental health disorders.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Linn Dara, a 22-bed unit in Cherry Orchard, Dublin, only open since December 2015, is due to close 11 beds by June 1 unless staffing issues can be resolved.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At the time of its opening, Anne O&rsquo;Connor, national director, HSE Mental Health, said the unit would &ldquo;enhance the provision of accessible and appropriate services for young people who are experiencing mental health difficulties and the families that support them&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Taoiseach Enda Kenny was asked in the D&aacute;il during the week to intervene to prevent the bed closures.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fianna F&aacute;il leader Miche&aacute;l Martin said he had emails from parents of patients at Linn Dara &ldquo;who are under enormous pressure&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Children who were admitted two weeks ago as being in emergency situations, at high risk and in need of emergency admission are now being discharged early,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE issued a statement saying all discharges from Linn Dara &ldquo;are clinical decisions and are planned discharges&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Nobody is being discharged in order to allow a bed to be closed,&rdquo; the statement said. The bed closures are expected to last for up to three months.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fianna F&aacute;il&rsquo;s mental health spokesman, Jim Browne, said while the Government&rsquo;s mental health blueprint, Vision for Change, highlights the need for at least 100 beds for child and adolescent patients, the figure will reduce from 63 to 52 with the Linn Dara closures. Vision for Change is under review.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said: &ldquo;The HSE must clarify whether Linn Dara is currently operating over-budget as many suspect that this is the real reason for these bed closures.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Martin said there had &ldquo;clearly been a lack of strategic planning&rdquo; on the human resource side of mental health services for some time.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE has invited the PNA to today&rsquo;s talks at the behest of Helen McEntee, the mental health minister.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokesperson for the PNA said they will put forward &ldquo;a number of proposals&rdquo; in an effort to resolve the crisis. The spokesperson said just 17 out of 34 nursing posts at Linn Dara are currently filled. Staff are providing cover by doing additional hours, overtime and through use of agency staff.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than 80 posts remain unfilled across community mental health services that cater for children and adolescents with severe mental health disorders. Earlier this week, children&rsquo;s charity, Barnardos, said a survey of 242 parents found one quarter said their child had been waiting more than two years to be assessed by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and more than 35% have been waiting more than two years to receive treatment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 25th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/bid-to-avert-closure-of-11-beds-at-child-mental-health-unit-450824.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/bid-to-avert-closure-of-11-beds-at-child-mental-health-unit-450824.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-25 10:50:07',NULL,'bid-to-avert-closure-of-11-beds-at-child-mental-health-unit'),(2000,'Focus Ireland: Tuesday homeless situation was ‘horrific’','<p>\r\n	The answer is preventing people from losing their homes not more emergency beds</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The director of advocacy at Focus Ireland has said the government&rsquo;s efforts on emergency accommodation have been &ldquo;misplaced&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If they put the same amount of energy into a commitment into preventing families from being turfed out of their rented homes... we would have a more positive affect,&rdquo; said Focus Ireland director of advocacy Mike Allen</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He also called for a change in legislation to more accurately reflect the current homeless situation in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The current legislation was written for homeless single men. It has not been updated to take into account children and families and their needs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;What are the new statutory responsibilities? There should be legislation that ensures no families sleep rough.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Focus Ireland says that the number of homeless families in Dublin is &ldquo;now well over a thousand&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Allen said that his organisation has been warning for two years that this situation could arise.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said the situation on Tuesday night was &ldquo;horrific&rdquo; when there were no hotel rooms as emergency accommodation for 12 families.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;That was the highest number ever. One or two families would send shockwaves through our organisation. But to have 12 families &ndash; 30 children and one pregnant woman, without a bed, was horrific.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Allen said that the only recourse they had was to advise the families to go to a Garda Station.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They go to the Garda stations, they&rsquo;re told &lsquo;nothing we can do, we&rsquo;d have to arrest you&rsquo;. Very often, the families won&rsquo;t go to the Garda station because they&rsquo;re afraid their children will be taken from them.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Allen said three families spent the night in Fairview Park in Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The fundamental thing about this story is that it has to be seen as absolutely wrong.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no law that has been broken &ndash; nobody has failed to meet their statutory duties. There doesn&rsquo;t appear to be any obligation on the State, on the Taoiseach, on the Government, even when they&rsquo;ve been found homeless, even when they have children in their care.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 25th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/homeless-families-with-nowhere-to-sleep-sent-to-garda-stations-1.3095281\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/homeless-families-with-nowhere-to-sleep-sent-to-garda-stations-1.3095281</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-25 11:02:09',NULL,'focus-ireland-tuesday-homeless-situation-was-‘horrific’'),(2001,'Quick-thinking gardaí save life of little girl in Limerick city centre','<p>\r\n	A Limerick toddler is alive thanks to the quick thinking of two Garda detectives who kept her breathing during a medical emergency in Limerick city centre, writes Jimmy Woulfe.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Detectives Denise Moriarty and Barry Moylan were on routine patrol when they saw Sylwia Pietrasik and David Moya on the junction of Gerard Street and O&rsquo;Connell Avenue as Lorena went into convulsions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They quickly realised that the child aged 20 months was in serious medical distress and intervened immediately.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Det Garda Moriarty, a native of Kilcummin, Killarney, Co Kerry, said: &ldquo;That&rsquo;s when it just kicked in. I didn&rsquo;t think much really, we just did what was needed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Shortly after 8.20pm we were coming from Wolfe Tone Street when we saw Lorena&rsquo;s parents on the roadside. Lorena&rsquo;s mother was clearly distressed at her child&rsquo;s condition,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	After identifying themselves as garda&iacute;, the two detectives took Lorena into their patrol car, along with her parents, and opened her airway.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Finding a weak pulse, they kept the airway open as they drove to University Hospital Limerick while maintaining contact with the control room at Henry Street Garda Station. This ensured that Lorena could be handed over to a waiting paediatric team for further intervention and care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The two detectives said that they were &ldquo;both relieved and thrilled&rdquo; to hear that Lorena had recovered later that night.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Det Garda Moriarty said: &ldquo;We called out, just out of courtesy, to the hospital the next day and there was Lorena sitting up in the bed of the Children&rsquo;s Ark playing with her toys and happy out. She was a different child. Her mom was so thankful to us but we were just happy to see all was well.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sylwia told the detectives afterwards that she is in debt to them for their fast action which saved Lorena&rsquo;s life.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One week later, Lorena was bustling around the quayside in Limerick with her parents, full of the joys of life and oblivious to being at the centre of attention.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Chief Superintendent Davie Sheahan said &ldquo;Det Gda Moriarty and Moylan must be praised for their interventions here and for stepping up the mark in their community. This child is alive today because of that. I am very proud of them.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 25th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/quick-thinking-gardai-save-life-of-little-girl-in-limerick-city-centre-791143.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/quick-thinking-gardai-save-life-of-little-girl-in-limerick-city-centre-791143.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-25 11:08:49',NULL,'quick-thinking-gardaã­-save-life-of-little-girl-in-limerick-city-centre'),(2002,'No solution at talks to rescue youth mental health beds ','<p>\r\n	Talks aimed at averting the closure of one-sixth of the country&#39;s child and adolescent mental health service (CAMS) beds next week have failed to produce a solution.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokesperson for the Psychiatric Nurses&#39; Association, which attended the talks with Health Service Executive&nbsp;management, said the executive&nbsp;had rejected the union&#39;s proposal that a one-off incentive payment be made to new nurse recruits to avert the closure of 11 of the 22 beds at the Linn Dara centre in west Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is understood that the PNA appealed to the HSE to make a one-off payment of approximately &euro;3,000 to each recruit who would undertake to work in the facility for 12 months.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The sum is said to be similar to that being paid to psychiatric nurses in the private St Patrick&#39;s Hospital in Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The PNA spokesperson said the HSE told its representatives at this afternoon&#39;s meeting in the Linn Dara facility that there is a waiting list of 20 adolescents and children for residential places there.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Minister of State with responsibility&nbsp;for Mental Health Helen McEntee, earlier this week,&nbsp;conceded that next week 11 of the 22 beds at the Linn Dara centre in west Dublin will be temporarily closed for the summer because of a shortage of psychiatric nurses.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Seventeen of the 34 nursing posts at the residential centre are currently occupied.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If the 11 beds on the Cherry Orchard Hospital campus are formally closed, the total complement of beds available to CAMS will fall from 63 to 52.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Minister McEntee has emphasised that any discharges from the centre are exclusively for clinical reasons, adding that in recent weeks, as patients were discharged, their beds were not refilled, leaving Linn Dara with just half of its 22 beds occupied.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said intensive efforts have been under way to maintain services at the residential facility and appealed to psychiatric nurses to consider coming to work there.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The minister also appealed to the Psychiatric Nurses&#39; Association to do everything possible to encourage its members to help the Government deal with the staffing difficulties.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by RTE.ie on the 25th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"https://www.rte.ie/news/health/2017/0525/877899-cams-mental-health-service/\">https://www.rte.ie/news/health/2017/0525/877899-cams-mental-health-service/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-26 11:27:16',NULL,'no-solution-at-talks-to-rescue-youth-mental-health-beds'),(2003,'Tusla calls for early years’ strategy for children, not just childcare','<p>\r\n	First three years &ldquo;fundamental&rdquo; window for children, who need eye contact and cuddles</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;Ireland needs an early years&rsquo; strategy based on more than just childcare, the head of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking at a parenting conference organised by Tusla in Dublin on Thursday, chief executive of the organisation, Fred McBride, said a programme is needed based on how to help children, particularly in their early years, to gain positive attachments to parents or care givers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said the first three years of a child&rsquo;s life is the window for developing that attachment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;That is the period in which their brains grow quicker than at any other stage in their life and there is physiological research to absolutely prove that things like eye to eye contact, skin to skin contact, hugs, and cuddles help children&rsquo;s brains grow,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Without that positive attachment we are certainly storing up problems in the future.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children who do not make attachments display lots of anti-social, aggressive behaviour, failure to get along with peers and difficulty at school, Mr McBride said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;So the importance of early years in terms of prevention is absolutely fundamental,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ireland could learn from other jurisdictions that have developed measures about how parents attach with their children, particularly in the immediate days and weeks after birth, Mr McBride said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said an early years&rsquo; strategy would require a cross-government approach, involving health, education, pre-school services, social work and social care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He also said, the days of the State having all the answers and imposing all the solutions &ldquo;has to go&rdquo;. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve created more problems than we&rsquo;ve solved by thinking the state had all the answers,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The solutions usually lie within families and our role should be to help families to arrive at their own solutions.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The conference, in Dublin Castle, was launched by Minister for Children Katherine Zappone and was attended by more than 300 delegates, including professionals working in the field and parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Also speaking at the day-long event, Dr John Sharry, chief executive of charity Parents Plus, spoke on empowering parents to develop their strengths. He said one of the problems with professional services was they often did not engage with their public.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He asked how many people know what Tusla does or how to get access to it. &ldquo;The big fear of professionals is that they&rsquo;ll be overwhelmed, they&rsquo;ll get too many in the door &hellip; I think what a fantastic opportunity to get so many people seeking your service,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I would encourage services to really get out there and have contact with a wider number of families don&rsquo;t fear over involvement.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 25th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/tusla-calls-for-early-years-strategy-for-children-not-just-childcare-1.3096814\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/tusla-calls-for-early-years-strategy-for-children-not-just-childcare-1.3096814</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-26 11:32:33',NULL,'tusla-calls-for-early-years’-strategy-for-children-not-just-childcare'),(2004,'Over 2,700 children homeless in Ireland - but Housing Department insists progress is happening','<p>\r\n	More than 2,700 children are now homeless across Ireland - with 2,262 of those based in Dublin, according to the latest figures released by the Housing Department.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The increase in numbers comes after it was revealed that 12 families in the capital were instructed to go to garda stations earlier this week as there was no accommodation available.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The figures, released last night for the end of April, show that there are now 1,302 families with 2,708 children now without a home - an increase of 65 children on last month.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In total there were 4,972 adults declared as homeless, bringing the numbers to a total of 7,672 homeless in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Anthony Flynn of the Inner City Helping Homeless (ICHH) told Independent.ie the figures are a record high, and show no sign of dropping.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Yet again we are seeing no improvement in the homeless crisis in Ireland as proper planning is not in place to assist these people in the short term,&quot; Mr Flynn said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;In the same week that these figures are released ICHH has recorded record number of people sleeping rough.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;On Tuesday families were told to report to local garda stations as there was no accommodation available for them - one of these spent the night in the ICHH offices,&quot; he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Despite the increase, the Housing Department insisted progress was being made.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;At the end of March a total of 870 homeless families were housed in commercial hotels and B&amp;B&#39;s in the Dublin region - at the end of April this figure had fallen to 695,&quot; they said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 26th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/over-2700-children-homeless-in-ireland-but-housing-department-insists-progress-is-happening-35758152.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/over-2700-children-homeless-in-ireland-but-housing-department-insists-progress-is-happening-35758152.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-26 11:34:46',NULL,'over-2700-children-homeless-in-ireland-but-housing-department-insists-progress-is-happening'),(2005,'Young girl assaulted by older brother released back into his care ','<p>\r\n	Case studies in the new report into the removal of children from their families by garda&iacute;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than 90 cases, recorded on the Garda Pulse system, were detailed in the new report of the removal of children from their families by garda&iacute;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Here are the details of four of the case studies:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Case study one</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A garda received a call from the HSE [NOW TUSLA]requesting assistance with a child who had been removed from a hospital, Garda Pulse records show.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While she was awaiting an x-ray in the emergency department, the girl was removed by her brother. He had previously admitted to social workers that he had assaulted her.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garda&iacute; spotted the brother&rsquo;s car, followed it and saw the man enter an apartment. They called to the apartment and found the child behind a curtain in the living room. The brother was extremely agitated and aggressive towards garda&iacute;, and initially denied that his sister was in the flat.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It transpired that the living room was also the girl&rsquo;s bedroom and that she slept on the floor.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garda&iacute; recorded that the girl was in a distressed state and her brother was denying her medical treatment. Using their emergency powers, garda&iacute; removed the child and Tusla took her to safe accommodation. Garda&iacute; reported social workers would be applying for an emergency care order in court.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But records showed the child was subsequently returned to her brother and social workers would not confirm whether or not they had ever made a court application to keep the child in care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Case study two</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Cr&egrave;che staff had notified social workers of their concerns for a three-year-old child they were looking after who had bruises and hand prints on her body.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social workers called garda&iacute; and medical advice confirmed it was likely the marks were the result of physical violence. Pulse records show garda&iacute; invoked their emergency powers to remove the child to safety on the request of social workers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The garda report also said the incident had occurred on a Friday evening after 6pm and that social workers would attend court on Monday to apply for an emergency care order for the child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, later entries recorded on the Garda Pulse system appeared to show the child was returned home on that Monday, after a case conference was held by social workers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Case study three</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garda&iacute; took a child into emergency care following a 999 call from an anonymous source. The caller was concerned about a child living in an apartment block.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garda&iacute; went to the apartment and knocked on the door for several minutes before it was answered. A man let them in.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The apartment was littered with rubbish, there were soiled nappies all over the floor, as well as excrement. There was broken furniture everywhere and no bedding on the beds.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A child, almost four-years-old, was running around in a soiled nappy with dried excrement on her clothes. Despite her age, she was unable to speak.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The man appeared agitated and complained of a sore hand, garda&iacute; reported. When they asked how he injured his hand, he admitted punching a wall in his apartment a couple of days earlier.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garda&iacute; had serious concerns about the child&rsquo;s welfare and removed her.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Case study four</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A garda discovered a child in a house with her aunts and an uncle. There was blood on the floor and signs there had been drinking.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The child looked neglected, the garda reported; she was in need of a bath and was wearing a very soggy and soiled nappy. The garda knew there was a care plan in place for the child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The plan was agreed only that morning between the social worker in the case and the child&rsquo;s parents. But the parents had failed to stick to the plan and had evaded social workers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The child&rsquo;s home was described as filthy, in the garda report; there was a lack of food and both parents were intoxicated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garda&iacute; reported that the family members caring for the child, the aunts and uncles, were aware of the care plan, but had actively participated in an effort to frustrate the social work department and were evasive about the whereabouts of the parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report also said the mother had attended a hospital emergency department with injuries she said were inflicted by her husband, but she told garda&iacute; she fell. The child was taken into emergency care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 29th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/young-girl-assaulted-by-older-brother-released-back-into-his-care-1.3100016?mode=amp\">https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/young-girl-assaulted-by-older-brother-released-back-into-his-care-1.3100016?mode=amp</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-29 14:23:14',NULL,'young-girl-assaulted-by-older-brother-released-back-into-his-care'),(2006,'Child \'slapped and thrown in the air in takeaway\' among 5,400 cases of children being taken from family, new audit shows','<p>\r\n	A forensic audit of garda&iacute;&#39;s use of Section 12 powers is due to be published today, here is everything you need to know</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A report due to be published this morning has found that a significant overhaul is needed in Ireland&#39;s child protection system due to &quot;chronic&quot; failures. Here is everything we know so far:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Background:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report was commissioned to examine garda&iacute;&#39;s use of Section 12 legislation - which is used when there is no social work service available for vulnerable children and where it is believed there is a serious risk to the child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garda Commissioner Noirin O&#39;Sulloban commissioned the report after the publication of a separate report by the Children&#39;s Ombudsman into two fair-haired Roma children who were taken from their families by garda&iacute; who wrongly suspected they had been abducted in 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Government&#39;s Special Rapporteur on Children, Dr Geoffrey Shannon, penned the report and it will be published in full later this morning.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Main findings:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report is highly critical of both garda&iacute; and the Child and Family Agency, Tusla, RT&Eacute; reports.&nbsp; Communications between the two bodies was also found to be lacking, adding to the chaos in the system. More than 5,4000 cases of child removals over eight years were examined in the audit.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It found:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children are often taken from their families by garda&iacute; only to be returned to them by Tusla.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children are often forced to spend the night in garda stations or adult hospitals due to a lack of out of hours social care services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A lack of training for garda&iacute; in dealing with vulnerable children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Inadequacies in the PULSE system used by garda&iacute; in relation to Section 12 cases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some harrowing cases which required garda intervention were also detailed in the report, many of them involving substance abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In one incident, a child was slapped and thrown into the air in a fast food restaurant, and when garda&iacute; intervened the child was found to be partially clothed, malnourished and saturated with urine.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In another incident a one-year old child was discovered wandering unaccompanied in a housing estate because their mother was intoxicated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Response:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tusla has released a statement this morning which says &quot;much of the research for this audit was done over the past number of years and collaboration and services have significantly improved since that time. This report was commissioned for an Garda Siochana, and Tusla was not involved in its production. No Tusla staff were interviewed as part of this audit&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The agency said there are mechanisms in place to ensure effective collaboration.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;There are many excellent examples at a local level of Tusla staff and members of an Garda Siochana working collaboratively. Additionally, at a national level, there are regular strategic liasion meetings between Tusla and an Garda Siochana. These meetings facilitate appropriate information sharing,&quot; the agency said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It says a new out-of-hours service has been in place since November 2015.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meanwhile, Children&#39;s Ombudsman Niall Muldoon said it was &quot;seriously inappropriate&quot; for children to be brought to a garda station instead of a warm and welcoming place.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking on RTE Radio One Mr Muldoon said he would not comment on whether Tusla was fit for purpose as he had not seen the full report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Interim CEO at the ISPCC Caroline O&#39;Sullivan took to Twitter to describe the use of hospitals and Garda stations as &ldquo;wholly inappropriate for vulnerable children and that&nbsp; it&rsquo;s a &ldquo;clear risk of retraumatization&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Children&#39;s Rights Alliance highlighted that &quot;overall Professor Shannon finds that the Garda&iacute; do exercise their powers proportionately and provide a vital safety net for children when all else fails. This is a very important finding. At the same time, he found no strategic approach to child protection and individual Garda&iacute; are not trained in child protection.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The alliance called for the report to be debated in the D&aacute;il and for urgent action to be taken.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	What now?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A joint working protocol is being developed by Tusla and an Garda Siochana specifically in relation to Section12. This protocol will provide extensive guidance on a range of issues including: when to invoke Section 12, children at risk during office hours, delivering a child to the custody of Tusla during office hours, delivering a child to the custody of Tusla out of hours.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report is due to be launched later today at Garda Headquarters in the Phoenix Park.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 29th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/child-slapped-and-thrown-in-the-air-in-takeaway-among-5400-cases-of-children-being-taken-from-family-new-audit-shows-35765930.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/child-slapped-and-thrown-in-the-air-in-takeaway-among-5400-cases-of-children-being-taken-from-family-new-audit-shows-35765930.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-29 14:26:07',NULL,'child-slapped-and-thrown-in-the-air-in-takeaway-among-5400-cases-of-children-being-taken-from-family-new-audit-shows'),(2007,'Businesswoman Norah Casey reveals she was \'battered\' for nine years by abusive ex-partner','<p>\r\n	Successful businesswoman Norah Casey has bravely opened up about the violence she suffered in a previous relationship.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In an emotional interview with Ryan Tubridy on RT&Eacute;&#39;s &#39;Late Late Show&#39; last night, Ms Casey revealed how she was savagely beaten by an ex-partner. She met this man while working as a nurse in London when she was in her twenties.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But the abuse began early on in the relationship. &quot;We&#39;d only had a couple of dates but he was already teaching me which glass to use and how to use the cutlery. On the third date, I mentioned that the chap I was going out with before was also called [the same name].</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;He slammed his wine glass down and said &#39;this is not a joke, you&#39;re my woman now and I&#39;m not going to share you with anyone&#39;,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Although Ms Casey said she was loath to say the man was a monster, she spoke about a number of violent incidents at his hands - including one instance after going out for dinner.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;After dinner, I didn&#39;t want to get in the car because he was drinking. I refused to get into the car and he left angry and drove off. I followed him but I had no keys to the house and, for 30 minutes, I was trying to get in.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Eventually he pulled me into the house and battered me senseless... When I was on the ground on the floor in the hall I could hardly see but I could see him going for a knife in the kitchen.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She later woke up to find her then-partner standing above her with the knife, but he apologised. Six months after this incident, Ms Carey found the courage to leave him.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Women&#39;s Aid helpline can be contacted Freephone on 1800 341 900</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 27th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/businesswoman-norah-casey-reveals-she-was-battered-for-nine-years-by-abusive-expartner-35761120.html?utm_source=outbrain_top_drawer&amp;utm_medium=outbrain&amp;utm_campaign=Outbrain On Site\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/businesswoman-norah-casey-reveals-she-was-battered-for-nine-years-by-abusive-expartner-35761120.html?utm_source=outbrain_top_drawer&amp;utm_medium=outbrain&amp;utm_campaign=Outbrain On Site</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-29 14:29:54',NULL,'businesswoman-norah-casey-reveals-she-was-battered-for-nine-years-by-abusive-ex-partner'),(2008,'Oberstown director injured as two young offenders at large after escaping facility','<p>\r\n	Three young offenders escaped from Oberstown Detention Campus last night, during which the director of the facility was injured.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One of the youths was caught by garda&iacute; while the other two remain at large, minister for children Katherine Zappone has confirmed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A staff member was attacked with a crow bar during the incident.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is understood the teens gained access to an angle grinder and cut a hole in the fence surrounding the facility to escape.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Pat Bergin, the centre&#39;s director, sustained a small injury during the escape.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Zappone said the incident is &quot;upsetting and disappointing&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said she spoke to the director this morning.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Zappone said: &quot;There were three young people who took over a staff office. The staff came immediately and were negotiating with them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Eventually they managed to get out of the office and they absconded. They left the campus.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;While they were negotiating with the young people the garda&iacute; were called.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;One has been caught. Two are still missing. That is upsetting and disappointing.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The minister referred to a fire at the campus last year and said that a series of &quot;positive changes&quot; have taken place since then as a result of a security review and the implementation of its recommendations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Incidents such as last night have gone down considerably. Unfortunately it happened.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She pointed out that Oberstown is a detention centre and added: &quot;there is always a risk for these things to happen but I&#39;m hopeful that the young people will be returned&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said the implementation of the security review and changes in behavioural management and other policies put in place will continue to be reviewed and &quot;things will continue to get better.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 30th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/oberstown-director-injured-as-two-young-offenders-at-large-after-escaping-facility-35769705.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/oberstown-director-injured-as-two-young-offenders-at-large-after-escaping-facility-35769705.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-30 10:10:11',NULL,'oberstown-director-injured-as-two-young-offenders-at-large-after-escaping-facility'),(2009,'Australia to cancel passports of convicted paedophiles','<p>\r\n	The move is an attempt to crack down on child sex tourism.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Convicted paedophiles will have their passports cancelled to prevent them travelling overseas to offend again under tough new laws which Australia has hailed as a &ldquo;world first&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Legislation will be introduced to parliament this month making it illegal for registered offenders to leave or attempt to leave the country as part of a crackdown on child-sex tourism.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The new laws will prohibit registered child sex offenders from leaving Australia or holding Australian passports,&rdquo; Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Last year alone, almost 800 registered child sex offenders travelled overseas from Australia.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said many of them &ndash; who often go to developing countries in Asia &ndash; were in breach of obligations to notify police that they were travelling, with half of them considered as having medium-high or very-high risk of reoffending.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The move follows several recent high-profile cases of child exploitation overseas, including by Australian Robert Ellis who was convicted last year of sexually abusing 11 Indonesian girls on the resort island of Bali.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Justice Minister Michael Keenan said the new laws were &ldquo;the strongest crackdown on child-sex tourism ever&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;No country has ever taken such decisive and strong action to stop its citizens from going overseas, often to vulnerable countries, to abuse kids. So this is absolutely a world first,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Keenan estimated the government would deny passports to around 20,000 people who have served their sentences but were still monitored under the Australian National Child Offender Register.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some 2,500 new cases were expected to be added every year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Senator Derryn Hinch, who has long campaigned for the measures, said he was &ldquo;over the moon&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It would be the best thing I&rsquo;ve achieved in my time,&rdquo; he told Fairfax Media, labelling the trips taken by offenders as &ldquo;child rape holidays&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	People say what about their civil rights? Well when you rape a child, you lose some of your civil rights, from my point of view.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by TheJournal.ie on the 30th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/paedophiles-australia-3416127-May2017/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/paedophiles-australia-3416127-May2017/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-30 10:12:27',NULL,'australia-to-cancel-passports-of-convicted-paedophiles'),(2010,'Tusla controversy: The case study of \'Mark\' ','<p>\r\n	RT&Eacute; Investigates found a case where despite the existence of &quot;credible&quot;&nbsp;allegations of sexual abuse, Tusla fought to keep a child in a foster placement where the abuse was alleged to have occurred and without removing the risk itself.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It comes as the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children called for immediate action to improve child protection, after a report called for a complete cultural change in the system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In 2011 a young boy living in voluntary foster care, named &#39;Mark&#39;, told his birth mother he had been inappropriately touched by another&nbsp;male foster child twice his age. This child was also living with the same foster family.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The mother of &#39;Mark&#39;, &#39;Susan&#39; said that she was distressed when told about the alleged abuse by her son, and disclosed this to the foster mother.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said: &quot;Obviously I was shocked ... he was quite distressed about it so when the foster mother came to pick him up I spoke to her about what my son had disclosed to me.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&#39;Susan&#39; discovered &#39;Mark&#39; had made a similar allegation to his foster parent five weeks earlier but it had not been reported to the Health Service Executive.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She asked to have &#39;Mark&#39; moved from the foster placement while an investigation took place, but this did not happen.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Instead a safety plan was put in place by the HSE, which consisted of little more than an instruction to the foster parents that the two boys, who had been sharing a bedroom, &quot;should have separate bedrooms and that the [foster] carers should supervise&quot; them closely.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Two months later, the HSE referred &#39;Mark&#39; for assessment by child sexual abuse experts.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The experts concluded that &#39;Mark&#39; gave &quot;a credible account of experiencing inappropriate sexual behaviour by his foster sibling&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But while &#39;Mark&#39; was assessed, it appears from case notes that his foster sibling was not.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Kieran McGrath, a child welfare consultant, told RT&Eacute; Investigates that a proper evaluation of the older child was missing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said: &quot;What was missing was a proper evaluation of the older young person and what his potential was to re-abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;A much more adequate response would have been to take those steps - to assess the treatment needs of the victim child and also to look at a proper assessment of the older young person in terms of his needs and in particular the risk he might pose to someone else.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Over the following months, &#39;Mark&#39; displayed sexualised behaviour and &#39;Susan&#39; repeatedly reported this to the social work department.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&#39;Susan&#39; believed her concerns were not being taken seriously by social workers so she reported the matter to garda&iacute; asking them to investigate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fact cases notes seen by RT&Eacute; Investigates shows that garda&iacute; were &quot;...quite irate...&quot; at the management of &#39;Mark&#39;s&#39; case by the HSE social work department.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The notes stated that garda&iacute;: &quot;Would have a different view of child sexual abuse...&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE decided to leave &#39;Mark&#39; in the foster home despite his birth mother&#39;s concerns.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Almost three years later, &#39;Mark&#39; made a second allegation, this time to a Tusla staff member that he was being punched by the same older foster child and by an adult son of the foster family.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The foster parents were again advised by the social work department to &quot;increase supervision&quot; of the boys and &#39;Susan&#39; was informed about the allegation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&#39;Susan&#39; said: &quot;I was shocked and upset. I left the building and I just cried. I felt so guilty because I had asked for the social work department&#39;s help and instead of helping, my son was not protected in my view.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In late 2015 Tusla applied to the courts for a full care order for &#39;Mark&#39;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As part of the court process &#39;Susan&#39; was required to produce two psychiatric assessment reports on the state of her mental health, to which she agreed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But what &#39;Susan&#39; did not understand was that she would be personally billed by her doctor for the reports, &euro;500 for the first report and &euro;300 for the second one.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On one occasion she was forced to take out a loan from her credit union to cover the cost.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr McGrath said: &quot;This is a matter initiated by the State, it&#39;s meeting the State&#39;s needs using an employee of the State and then somehow a private bill is sent to someone who&#39;s generally speaking in no position to pay it so that, I have never come across a circumstance like that before, it&#39;s to my mind completely strange and inappropriate.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In an initial statement to RT&Eacute;, Tusla said it &quot;does not require individuals to undertake psychiatric assessments at their own expense.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However when asked by RT&Eacute; Investigates why &#39;Susan&#39; ended up paying her doctor&#39;s bills, a spokesperson for Tusla said they &quot;cannot comment on individual cases.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last year the court ruled that &#39;Mark&#39; will stay in care until the age of 18.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He continues to live with the same foster family to the present day, along with the older child alleged to have previously abused him.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In its statement, Tusla said it &quot;carries out complete assessments of all allegations it receives of abuse of children&hellip;&quot; and all care planning &quot;&hellip;is done on the basis of an individual child&#39;s needs and best interests, taking his/her views into account&hellip;&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&#39;Mark&#39;&nbsp;and &#39;Susan&#39;&nbsp;are not the actual names of the foster child and his mother</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 30th May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2017/0529/878821-tusla-controversy/\">https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2017/0529/878821-tusla-controversy/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-05-30 10:14:19',NULL,'tusla-controversy-the-case-study-of-mark'),(2011,'Serial sex offenders face tougher sentences under new bill','<p>\r\n	Serial sex offenders could face tougher jail sentences under new legislation being brought before the D&aacute;il.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Independent Alliance TD Kevin &#39;Boxer&#39; Moran has introduced a Bill which seeks to ensure that a sex offender who has a previous conviction for a similar crime must serve at least three-quarters of the maximum sentence for the second offence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Moran began work on the Bill after meeting rape victim Debbie Cole, who joined him at yesterday&#39;s launch.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Cole was raped at the age of 19 and her attacker was jailed for six years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;However, he went on to sexually assault three more women in 1997 and was once more jailed again in 2015 for a period of eight years on charges of false imprisonment, assault and making threats to kill a woman,&quot; Mr Moran said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;These offences compounded the original victim&#39;s psychological harm and seriously affected her well-being, which continues to this day.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 1st June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/serial-sex-offenders-face-tougher-sentences-under-new-bill-35776783.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/serial-sex-offenders-face-tougher-sentences-under-new-bill-35776783.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-01 09:44:37',NULL,'serial-sex-offenders-face-tougher-sentences-under-new-bill'),(2012,'The number of teenage pregnancies in Ireland has fallen by 64% - but STIs are on the rise','<p>\r\n	Instances of chlamydia, gonorrhea and herpes have all increased among young people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The number of teenage pregnancies has fallen by 64% in 15 years, new statistics have shown.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE said that new birth figures released by the CSO today show a decrease in the number of births to teenagers from 3,087 in 2001 to 1,098 in 2016.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This equates to a decrease in the&nbsp;teen birth rate from 20 per 1000 of women aged 15-19 in population in Ireland in 2001 to 7.8 per 1000 of in 2016.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Orla McGowan of the HSE&rsquo;s Sexual Health and Crisis&nbsp;Pregnancy&nbsp;Programme said: &ldquo;The Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) programme in schools and in youth centres plays a crucial role in informing teenagers about healthy relationships and the potential consequences of early sex.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The&nbsp;teenage&nbsp;birth rate has gradually declined since the introduction of the programme. Previous research has found that those who received RSE were more likely to use contraception at first sex which suggests that RSE in schools and youth centres has made a significant contribution to the decline.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While the number of pregnancies are down, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are on the rise among young Irish people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	STIs on the rise</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) records show that in 2016, there were 990 cases of teenagers (15-19) diagnosed with either chlamydia (608 cases) gonorrhoea (209) or genital herpes (173 cases) This represents a 8.3 % increase in STIs in teenagers in 2016 when compared to 2015 figures.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Growing Up in Ireland&nbsp;survey also revealed&nbsp;of 17 and 18-year-olds found that one third of young people reported they had previously had sexual intercourse. Other studies with teenagers, such as the Health Behaviour in School Aged Children, 2014&nbsp;have found similar proportions of sexual activity.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Of those who were sexually active, 79% reported that they always used some form of contraception. According to the HSE, &ldquo;this shows that the majority of sexually active teenagers are aware of the risk of&nbsp;pregnancy&nbsp;and use contraception to protect themselves&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	McGowan added that while this relatively high rate of contraceptive use is encouraging,&nbsp;condom use is much lower among the group,&nbsp;with only 56% reporting that they&nbsp;always&nbsp;used one.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This suggests that four in ten sexually active teenagers are not using a condom every time they have sex, which puts them at risk of contracting an STI. What is particularly worrying is that more than one in ten sexually active teenagers reported that they&nbsp;never&nbsp;used a condom when having sex.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by TheJournal.ie on the 31st May 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/teenage-pregnancies-ireland-stis-3419273-May2017/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/teenage-pregnancies-ireland-stis-3419273-May2017/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-01 10:31:54',NULL,'the-number-of-teenage-pregnancies-in-ireland-has-fallen-by-64%-but-stis-are-on-the-rise'),(2013,'New website will show clues from child sex abuse cases to help track down paedophiles','<p>\r\n	Europol has shared 20 images of mundane objects that could help track down the perpetrators of child sex abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A particular shampoo brand, a magazine cover, a shopping bag or even a wallpaper pattern are among the clues Europol posted online today, hoping they may help trace child sex abusers and their victims.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Europe&rsquo;s police agency launched a new website that shows everyday objects spotted in the background of child sex abuse images, which they hope will help police around the world to crack the case, leading them to victims and to the arrest of perpetrators.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The 20 images on the site, called &ldquo;Stop Child Abuse &ndash; Trace an Object&rdquo; feature &ldquo;mundane objects&hellip; which can sometimes end up being a key lead in an investigation, resulting in the victims&rsquo; identification and rescue,&rdquo; said Steven Wilson, chief of Europol&rsquo;s EC3 Cybercrime centre.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Europol unveiled the images at its fortress-like headquarters in The Hague today, where Wilson asked for help from the public to identify the items on the site.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are even distinctive markings on a victim&rsquo;s clothes &mdash; such as a kitten or a unicorn &mdash; or a picture of a snow-filled field with homes in the background, believed to have been taken by one victim.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We&rsquo;re looking to identify particular parts, particular items in there that may be unique to a particular region in the world, a particular country or even a particular town or village,&rdquo; Wilson told AFP.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	From that we can then work very closely with other law enforcement authorities and actually identify the people responsible for this.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The website found at www.europol.europa.eu/stopchildabuse is designed to enable anonymous tip-offs, Wilson said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Once the origin of an object is identified, Europol will work with the relevant police forces in a country and hopefully that will lead to the identification of the victim and the arrest of the offender,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Europol last year warned that online child pornography including the live-streaming of child sexual abuse was on the rise.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the Netherlands, a newspaper report said Wednesday that Dutch police were for the first time describing child pornography as a &ldquo;national threat.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Criminals and paedophile networks often use the &ldquo;Dark Web&rdquo; and the Tor encryption system to mask their identities and distribute child sex abuse images online.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This project seeks to use the global reach of the internet to allow the public to contribute to this investigation and play a real part to prevent global child abuse,&rdquo; Europol chief Rob Wainwright said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by TheJournal.ie on the 1<sup><font size=\"2\">st</font></sup> June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/child-sex-abuse-europol-3420059-Jun2017/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/child-sex-abuse-europol-3420059-Jun2017/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-01 10:35:55',NULL,'new-website-will-show-clues-from-child-sex-abuse-cases-to-help-track-down-paedophiles'),(2014,'Court chief criticises judgments noting children as ‘soulless initials’','<p>\r\n	Baroness Brenda Hale urges judges to write judgments where &lsquo;child leaps from the page&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;If a child wants to give evidence in a family law case, judges should not be so reluctant to let them, Baroness Brenda Hale told an international congress on family law and children&rsquo;s rights in Dublin on Monday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The deputy president of the supreme court in Britain, said children are people and have their own personalities and wishes and could give evidence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the UK, in criminal cases, evidence is routinely taken from 1,000s of children every year, sometimes as young as three or four, she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;So if they can do it in the criminal courts, why can&rsquo;t they do it in the family courts?&rdquo; she asked.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said, of course, if a child was to give evidence, it would have to be done in a way that &ldquo;gets the best out of the child not the worst out of the child&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Lawyers are sometimes wanting to get the worst out of the witness, aren&rsquo;t they?&rdquo; she asked. &ldquo;Some people would say that&rsquo;s what lawyers are for.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Baroness Hale was speaking at the World Congress of Family Law and Children&rsquo;s Rights on the theme of &lsquo;Are children human beings?&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The congress, in Ireland for the first time, features 150 speakers and more than 600 Irish and international delegates across four days.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Baroness Hale told delegates at the Convention Centre in Dublin, that she had two &ldquo;bees in her bonnet&rdquo; about the continued failure to see children as human beings.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The first was legislation and reports that referred to children as &ldquo;it&rdquo;, which constituted &ldquo;abuse of childhood in the English-speaking world&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The second issue was judgments referring to children as &ldquo;soulless initials&rdquo;, such as &ldquo;T&rdquo;, in the interests of anonymity. She said when she writes judgments she refers to children using imaginary names with the same initial as their own.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I would like to campaign for all the judges in the room to adopt a similar practice,&rdquo; she said, to a round of applause.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Try and make it a plausible name, right gender, right ethnicity, but not their own, then the child really leaps out of the page in a way that they don&rsquo;t if they are just an initial.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&lsquo;Real human beings&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She also said when judges are talking to children in private, for family court cases, it is a good thing if they can see children as &ldquo;real human beings&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There was confusion about whether this was basically a public relations exercise, so that the child could meet the judge and realise the judge was a real human being,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;And the judge could explain what was going on and possibly explain to the child, &lsquo;well you have to do as I say, just as your parents have to do as I say&rsquo;. All of that is completely unobjectionable. Though you definitely need witnesses in the sense you mustn&rsquo;t do it by yourself &ndash; you need someone there taking a note and ensuring you are not doing anything wrong.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Revealing her admiration for author Ian McEwan&rsquo;s book Children Act, Baroness Hale urged delegates to read the work of fiction. She said the book dealt with the dilemma facing courts and other decision makers, when a competent child refuses treatment necessary to keep him or her alive or prevent a serious deterioration in health.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I hope you&rsquo;ve read that book, whether you are a fan of Ian McEwan or not. It is a very good book, or at least quite a good illustration of what a family division judge&rsquo;s life is like,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The only thing about it is, she does get all the best cases, whereas most of us mainly don&rsquo;t have all the best cases, they just pop up from time to time.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 5th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/court-chief-criticises-judgments-noting-children-as-soulless-initials-1.3108429\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/court-chief-criticises-judgments-noting-children-as-soulless-initials-1.3108429</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-06 11:07:19',NULL,'court-chief-criticises-judgments-noting-children-as-‘soulless-initials’'),(2015,'You are never too young to tackle mental health ','<p>\r\n	Are our children learning to be as mentally fit as they are physically fit?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There have been few generations as transformative for children as this one, other than perhaps the 1950s and 1960s, with both opportunities and pressures far more pronounced.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The internet has opened up the world for them, but has also brought that world constantly into their bedrooms. Globalisation has expanded their future job market, but also made it, and their school performance, much more competitive. The rise of divorce means more children are dealing with family breakdown. Even children&rsquo;s events are now being targeted by terrorists, making the world a more complicated place to navigate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Just as nutritional and physical fitness is encouraged in schools as a vital part of life education, so mental health is finally being recognised as crucial. According to a report by the Royal Collage of Surgeons in 2013, just under one in three young adolescents (31.2 per cent) in the 11-13 age range had experienced a mental disorder at some point in their life.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As most mental health difficulties begin in childhood it is crucial to promote mental health and wellbeing at this early stage</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Given the dramatic changes to children&rsquo;s lives, have Government, parents and schools kept up, and are we preparing our kids to be as mentally fit as they need to be for the world they now live in?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to WHO, schools should play a significant role in influencing positive mental health and reducing risk factors for mental health difficulties. International evidence shows that school-based programmes, when implemented effectively, can lead to long-term benefits.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to Kate Mitchell, senior policy and research officer at Mental Health Reform, a coalition of Irish organisations working in the sector, it&rsquo;s the &ldquo;implementing effectively&rdquo; part that has been a concern in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Implementation of the national guidelines for primary and postprimary schools on mental health promotion and wellbeing has not been consistent,&rdquo; she says, &ldquo;because there is no clear implantation plan, no adequate resources and training for teachers, and poor signposting on how to direct children with significant issues.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There have been few generations as transformative for children as this one, other than perhaps the 1950s and 1960s, with both opportunities and pressures far more pronounced.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The internet has opened up the world for them, but has also brought that world constantly into their bedrooms. Globalisation has expanded their future job market, but also made it, and their school performance, much more competitive. The rise of divorce means more children are dealing with family breakdown. Even children&rsquo;s events are now being targeted by terrorists, making the world a more complicated place to navigate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Just as nutritional and physical fitness is encouraged in schools as a vital part of life education, so mental health is finally being recognised as crucial. According to a report by the Royal Collage of Surgeons in 2013, just under one in three young adolescents (31.2 per cent) in the 11-13 age range had experienced a mental disorder at some point in their life.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As most mental health difficulties begin in childhood it is crucial to promote mental health and wellbeing at this early stage</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Given the dramatic changes to children&rsquo;s lives, have Government, parents and schools kept up, and are we preparing our kids to be as mentally fit as they need to be for the world they now live in?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to WHO, schools should play a significant role in influencing positive mental health and reducing risk factors for mental health difficulties. International evidence shows that school-based programmes, when implemented effectively, can lead to long-term benefits.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to Kate Mitchell, senior policy and research officer at Mental Health Reform, a coalition of Irish organisations working in the sector, it&rsquo;s the &ldquo;implementing effectively&rdquo; part that has been a concern in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Implementation of the national guidelines for primary and postprimary schools on mental health promotion and wellbeing has not been consistent,&rdquo; she says, &ldquo;because there is no clear implantation plan, no adequate resources and training for teachers, and poor signposting on how to direct children with significant issues.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This may change with the roll-out of a new component on wellbeing this year as part of the new junior cycle reform, but it is imperative that such efforts are sustained.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Build resilience</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mental Health Reform advocates for a nationwide schools&rsquo; programme on mental health and wellbeing in order to build resilience among the younger population and improve mental health outcomes, including those for children and young people with existing mental health difficulties.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;As most mental health difficulties begin in childhood,&rdquo; says Mitchell, &ldquo;it is crucial to promote mental health and wellbeing at this early stage and equip children and young people with the resilience and skills to reduce the likelihood of mental health difficulties in later life.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The new subject on wellbeing will be introduced in September to students beginning their first year of secondary school. But is it enough?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	School counsellors are overwhelmed and constantly dealing with students in crisis, and the external services are under-resourced, with substantial waiting lists.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The answer is no, according to Patsy McCaughey, mental health co-ordinator at the High School in Dublin. &ldquo;As a society we have not kept up with the supports in and around mental health in the most obvious place. Schools are the area you can really access the children, yet there has not been a co-ordinated and dedicated approach.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	McCaughey began his career as a teacher. But after seeing the lack of supports for his students, he took a sabbatical to earn a degree in psychology and then trained to become an educational psychologist.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Back at the High School after stints with the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) and Cahms (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services), McCaughey realised there was a huge gap between what was needed and what is provided. School counsellors are overwhelmed and constantly dealing with students in crisis, and the external services are under-resourced, with substantial waiting lists.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We are modelling a new approach,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;where the culture of emotional wellbeing is embedded in the school so that children are taught every day, at every level, how to develop the skills they need.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The High School programme is unique, but McCaughey hopes it can be modelled to further schools. There have already been some requests to use the model.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	WHO also advocates a &ldquo;whole school&rdquo; approach, he adds. &ldquo;We want to teach our students to cope so they never reach the crisis points that are so overwhelming our guidance counsellors because they have learned the language and skills to prevent it.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Better resources</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	McCaughey appreciates that as a private school, the High School has the better resources to provide this.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	What I recognise is that lots of schools and teachers would like to do this but aren&rsquo;t sure how to do it, or don&rsquo;t think they have the skill set or see it as their role&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve worked in schools where there are students who need help for anxiety and stress,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;But there is maybe only one guidance counsellor, who is completely overwhelmed, so the child who needs help has nowhere to go. I want to make sure that that child is given the skills so they don&rsquo;t need to access help.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Because half of all mental health issues originate before the age of 14, McCaughey recognises how important it is to implement a school culture that supports children who have anxiety.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;What I recognise is that lots of schools and teachers would like to do this but aren&rsquo;t sure how to do it, or don&rsquo;t think they have the skill set or see it as their role. In creating this model, we can see the difficulties in implementing it, which will help other schools overcome that stumbling block.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 6th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/parenting/you-are-never-too-young-to-tackle-mental-health-1.3101726\">http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/parenting/you-are-never-too-young-to-tackle-mental-health-1.3101726</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-06 11:09:08',NULL,'you-are-never-too-young-to-tackle-mental-health'),(2016,'Intervention programme children had higher IQ and fewer behavioural problems','<p>\r\n	The IQ of the children who received intervention was 10 points higher than those in the control group.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The children whose parents received the intervention were less likely to be overweight (23% compared to 41% in the control group) and had fewer behavioural problems (2% compared to 17% in the control group).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New developments mean the programme has already been rolled out in three other locations and pending funding, the plan is to roll it out nationally.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The programme has now been rolled out in Bray, Finglas, and Newbridge and they are coming back with very good feedback,&rdquo; said Greg O&rsquo;Reilly, PFL&rsquo;s programme manager.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We are building up a PFL training programme and in order to have a PFL scheme in every disadvantaged community in Ireland, we need to have people trained up.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Into next year we would hope to see this rolled out nationally,&rdquo; he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Another development will see PFL turn into Ireland&rsquo;s first ever longitudinal study on childhood development.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We have just secured legacy funding from various different sources, such as the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and from philanthropic organisations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We will now be able to go back to children from phase 1 at different junctures, so when they&rsquo;re seven, 14 and track their progress right up until they&rsquo;re in their 20s,&rdquo; Mr O&rsquo;Reilly said. &ldquo;This definitely hasn&rsquo;t been done in Ireland before,&rdquo; he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr O&rsquo;Reilly explained how exactly the programme worked: &ldquo;The programme kicks in pre-birth with home visitors and mentors providing support to parents pre-birth.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;After birth then, at particular junctures, we give the parents tip sheets. Mentors talk the parent through what is on the sheet and they implement it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Each sheet refers to a specific juncture, so they only have one at a time as opposed to a big book of information,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Parents received up to 50 home visits each.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 6th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/intervention-programme-children-had-higher-iq-and-fewer-behavioural-problems-792515.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/intervention-programme-children-had-higher-iq-and-fewer-behavioural-problems-792515.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-06 11:16:07',NULL,'intervention-programme-children-had-higher-iq-and-fewer-behavioural-problems'),(2017,'Commission of Inquiry into Child Abuse to cost €90 million','<p>\r\n	Chairman Mr Justice Sean Ryan tells describes &lsquo;long, difficult and costly&rsquo; inquiry</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse will cost &euro;90 million in legal expenses, Mr Justice Sean Ryan has said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking at the World Congress on Family Law and Children&rsquo;s Rights in Dublin, the president of the Court of Appeal, who chaired the commission, said the legacy of damage, mostly psychological, had been inherited by later generations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They &ldquo;suffered at the hands of vulnerable adults who were previously vulnerable children who were damaged in institutions&rdquo;, he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;One hopes that the impact will be diluted and the toxicity lessoned, because of better understanding.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The judge said the consequences for the State were also significant, in reputation and expense.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The scheme of redress for those who were injured or damaged in institutions has cost some &euro;1.5 billion to date, but the price of abuse is very high and is long term,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&lsquo;Still news&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Justice Ryan told delegates though the report, which examined abuse in industrial schools and reformatories, was published on May 20th, 2009, it was &ldquo;amazingly still news&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said controversy about the contribution the religious orders agreed to provide to the redress scheme resurfaced at &ldquo;every new revelation of religious exploitation or oppression&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Just last month, a member of the Oblates order, anonymous, didn&rsquo;t need to be anonymous, issued a public statement in defence of the congregation&rsquo;s failure to pay up a bigger share of the redress Bill,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;That order ran the reformatory at Daingean in the Irish Midlands ... a horrible place that was condemned in 1970.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said on a typical night in St Conleth&rsquo;s Reformatory School, in Daingean, Co Offaly, a small group of teenagers would be lined up in a cold stone building at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the dormitories, to be flogged.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The boys were dressed in flimsy night shirts &ldquo;that were pulled up to expose their buttocks for lashing with leather, in some circumstances they might be entirely naked&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Shrieking</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The shrieking of the boys as they were being punished echoed through the building with a frightening effect on the others who were asleep in the dormitories,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;On one occasion, the screams also interrupted the nightly prayers of the father principal, who years later told the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse that he remembered thinking at the time, &lsquo;what would Christ think?.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Justice Ryan addressed the congress on the last day of its four-day event in the Convention Centre in Dublin. There were 150 speakers, and more than 600 delegates attended, including a large number from Australia, where the congress was founded.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He told delegates the inquiry, which he chaired following the departure of Justice Mary Laffoy, was &ldquo;long, difficult and costly&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It investigated all institutions in which there were 20 or more complainants. The legal team interviewed all former residents who hadn&rsquo;t been called to give evidence at the formal hearings and the commission uncovered physical, emotional, psychological and sexual abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Justice Ryan praised the late Mary Raftery, a journalist whose &ldquo;extensive legacy&rdquo; included television programmes in the 1990s on abuse in institutions, such as Dear Daughter.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Modern Ireland owes a real debt to this courageous spokesperson for many victims of abuse of power,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Formidable list</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He also said the mandate of the commission was to investigate whether abuse happened, what kind of abuse happened, why it happened, how it happened and how much of it there was.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;That is a formidable list of tasks for an investigation, I&rsquo;m not sure that we could realistically claim that we fulfilled that mandate,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He told delegates the biggest complaints the commission got were &ldquo;not really about the severity of the punishment, but about capricious and unjust punishment&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The real thing that sowed bitterness in people&rsquo;s lives and had them complaining severely was injustice,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 7th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/commission-of-inquiry-into-child-abuse-to-cost-90-million-1.3110563\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/commission-of-inquiry-into-child-abuse-to-cost-90-million-1.3110563</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-08 10:34:37',NULL,'commission-of-inquiry-into-child-abuse-to-cost-€90-million'),(2018,'Children ‘have a happy and beautiful life’ in foster care','<p>\r\n	A judge gazed at a family photo attached to one of the many files clogging the bench at the Child Care Court.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Holding it up, the judge remarked: &ldquo;Absolutely gorgeous children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s lovely to see such a beautiful photograph taken of happy children, the children we try to care for every day in this court.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The court had just been told of the remarkable new life a group of brothers and sisters had found with a foster family.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A brutal father had waged a reign of violence and fear before they were rescued and put into long-term foster care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A court-appointed independent social worker who provides regular progress reports on the children told the judge she had to break the news to the children of the passing of their father.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One child responded it was the best news they had heard as they feared he would return again into their lives.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The court had previously granted a Section 18 care order to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. It means the children will remain in foster care until they reach the age of 18.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The social worker said: &ldquo;They now have a happy and beautiful life and very involved in the community. The foster home is a hive of education and all the children are doing very well at school and their health is very good. They are really happy children and getting on with their lives.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Filing away the report, the judge said: &ldquo;I wish them a happy life and all the best.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meanwhile, a second case involved what was described as a &ldquo;chaotic&rdquo; drug-addicted couple. A solicitor for Tusla applied for a 28-day interim care order, to see what could be done to improve the lives of the couple&rsquo;s four young children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A court-appointed counsel for the couple said there was no objection to the Tusla application.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A team leader, a social worker, told how the children had been put into care in recent days after the mother was found unresponsive having taken drugs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Previously, she and the children had to take refuge in a women&rsquo;s centre after her husband thrashed the family home. The authorities had received an anonymous report the drugs the couple used included heroin, but this had not been clarified.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The social worker said the husband subjects his wife to physical, emotional and financial abuse. &ldquo;There are complicating factors,&rdquo; the witness said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The children were displaying a high level of emotional distress and an interim order was needed to see what the best course of action was. They were trying to put a plan of care in place for the children, the court heard.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The court-appointed counsel said the mother was prepared to take part in toxicology screening whereby she would be tested without notice for drugs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They agree to the interim order as they feel they need the 28 days to try and work things out,&rdquo; it was stated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The husband, it was stated, had been found with drugs in prison.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The judge agreed to the interim care order, saying it was a chaotic family situation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The judge also said when the case comes back before the court, the court would have to be satisfied before the children are allowed back into the care of the couple that a stable home is bring provided, consistent with all the needs of the children. The judge found a report on one of the children particularly disturbing and this was consistent with the stress the children had been exposed to.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The judge said an allegation by the mother she was given tablets by a worker at a women&rsquo;s refuge should be investigated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 8th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/children-have-a-happy-and-beautiful-life-in-foster-care-451930.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/children-have-a-happy-and-beautiful-life-in-foster-care-451930.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-08 10:41:08',NULL,'children-‘have-a-happy-and-beautiful-life’-in-foster-care'),(2019,'Direct Provision ruling signals new “dialogueâ€ between Dail and the Judicary ','<p>\r\n	The judges did not shirk their responsibility to act as guardians of constitutional rights, but neither did they arrogate political power to themselves</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Supreme Court ruled last week in favour of a Burmese asylum seeker who challenged the legislative provisions that prohibited him from seeking work during the course of the eight years he had spend awaiting resolution of his application in a Direct Provision facility in Co. Monaghan. The judgment, written by Justice Donal O&rsquo;Donnell on behalf of a seven-judge court, in certain ways harks back to a by-gone era of &ldquo;judicial activism.&rdquo; It forthrightly presses the political branches into taking action to remedy what the judges deem to be a straightforward breach of rights, and in an area generally understood to be in principle the remit of the political actors rather than of the judges. But it does so in quite a distinctive way; one that may well signal a new departure in Irish constitutional law.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In short, the judges say that s 9(4) of the Refugee Act 1996, which bans asylum seekers from ever working, is in conflict with the implied right to work protected under Article 40 of the Irish Constitution. Perhaps the key issue addressed in the judgment is the nature of the right to work (or to seek work) in Irish constitutional law; specifically, whether it can be said to apply to non-citizen asylum seekers, and if so, in what ways or to what extent.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This brings the judges into moral territory. Like in the activist days of the 1960s-80s, they seek to identify the meaning of constitutional rights by reference to the deeper principles that seem to underpin and explain them. Justice O&rsquo;Donnell presents the right to work as a broader dignity norm that &ldquo;protects something that goes to the essence of human personality such that to deny it to persons would be to fail to recognise their essential equality as human persons as mandated by Article 40.1&rdquo; of the Constitution. This idea forms the basis of the judgment overall; it means that the right is not in principle inapplicable to non-citizen asylum seekers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The judges acknowledge that there is no absolute right to work. They acknowledge that governments are entitled to restrict the right, even very dramatically in the case of non-citizens. They recognize the political considerations at play, mentioning for example the notion that an unrestricted such right for asylum seekers might well operate as a &ldquo;pull factor&rdquo; to Ireland. Indeed they recognize that the separation of powers norm that undergirds the entire constitutional order itself suggests that it is in principle up to the political actors to resolve these essentially political conundrums.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But ultimately the judges rule as they do because of the combination of two factors. First, there is the fact of the absolute nature of the ban on work for asylum seekers; it is not as though the legislation permits work after a period of months or years waiting a decision, for instance. Second, there is the fact that asylum seekers may be awaiting indefinitely for decisions on their applications, and for many years as in the case of the Burmese man. Ultimately, the arrangements are such that the dignity of individual asylum applicants are in jeopardy, and in a manner that clashes with constitutional values.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The most interesting feature of this judgment, however, is Justice O&rsquo;Donnell&rsquo;s novel conclusion. Irish judges enjoy constitutional supremacy. That means that if they deem legislation unconstitutional, they render it null and void from that moment. It is arguable that judges have been reluctant to actually use this &ldquo;guillotine&rdquo; power though, in part because they are themselves uncomfortable with it from a democratic standpoint. It is also arguable that this has on occasion come at the cost of the rights of citizens. Take Marie Fleming in her right-to-die claim some years ago, for instance. The judges seemed in ways attracted by the notion of a ban on assisted suicide with limited exceptions, rather than the absolute ban. But they saw the matter as simply one for the politicians, and ultimately upheld the constitutionality of the ban, despite its absolute nature.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At around the same time a similar case was taken in Canada by a women suffering the same neurodegenerative disease as Marie Fleming. The Canadian judges responded by handing down a &ldquo;suspended declaration of invalidity.&rdquo; That is, they held the guillotine in reserve, giving the politicians 18 months to come up with a limited ban. The legislators did so, and an assisted suicide law came into force there last summer.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Justice O&rsquo;Donnell did something like that in this instance. Instead of guillotining s 9(4) of the Refugee Act, he adjourned the matter for six months, essentially inviting a response from the political actors. They can now figure out how to cure the law of its constitutional shortcomings; perhaps by allowing asylum seekers to seek work after a certain period, or allowing them seek work in particular economic domains etc. The judgment is thus a promising &ldquo;dialogue-oriented&rdquo; departure in Irish constitutional law. The judges did not shirk their responsibility to act as guardians of constitutional rights, but neither did they arrogate political power to themselves.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr. Tom Hickey is director of the LLM programme at the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 8th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/direct-provision-ruling-signals-new-dialogue-between-dail-and-the-judicary-1.3110988\">http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/direct-provision-ruling-signals-new-dialogue-between-dail-and-the-judicary-1.3110988</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-08 00:00:00',NULL,'direct-provision-ruling-signals-new-“dialogueâ€-between-dail-and-the-judicary'),(2020,'Daffodil Care Services job bulletin','<p>\r\n	9th June 2017 jobs bulletin</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Daffodil Care Services are currently hiring for the following vacancies and interviews will take place locally in June 2017:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social Care Leader South Tipperary</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=18</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New Service Social Care Leader Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=45</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New Service Social Care Worker Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=44</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New Service Relief Social Care Worker Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=46</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social Care Leader North Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=17</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	What Daffodil Care Services can offer you:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Competitive remuneration and staff benefits package</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Strong career progression opportunities</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Continuous professional training and development</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Locations in Cork, Tipperary, Dublin, Wexford, Meath and Kildare</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	To apply please send your CV to recruitment@daffodilcare.ie or call Niamh on 0818 903 984 for further information or view our website</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careers</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-09 13:06:34',NULL,'daffodil-care-services-job-bulletin'),(2021,'Family ‘would not speak’ to woman (86) after she left nursing home','<p>\r\n	Residents and &lsquo;reluctant&rsquo; carers tell Citizens&rsquo; Assembly about experiences in institutions</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Loneliness and isolation were common themes in interviews with elderly people on their experience of nursing homes that were played to members of the Citizen&rsquo;s Assembly at the weekend.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A woman (86), who lives in the south of the State, said she spent 10 months in a nursing home in Dublin following a hip injury. She was deemed well enough to return home but her children wanted her to stay there.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I was away from everybody, sure I didn&rsquo;t know a sinner and I loved my home so I got very, very homesick,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;They [her children] said &lsquo;mam I think you&rsquo;re foolish, you&rsquo;ll be on your own and we&rsquo;ll be worried sick about you.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The woman took matters into her own hands and ordered a taxi, at a cost of &euro;320, to bring her home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I said to myself when I was in the taxi coming home &lsquo;praise the lord, I&rsquo;m doing the right thing,&rsquo;&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I was so lucky to have the money. The children weren&rsquo;t very pleased with me, they didn&rsquo;t speak to me for about a month because they thought I was taking things too much into my own hands.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A 95-year-old man from Dublin, who is confined to a wheelchair, said he had been in a private nursing home for almost three years and that &ldquo;they are great places provided they are properly run and serviced&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;You may not necessarily get a single room, you may have to share, you could have three other people in a room with you. Depending on who you&rsquo;re sharing with, it could be hell,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;You get three good meals a day, high-quality meals. You sit down and it&rsquo;s put in front of you. As I said to the family &lsquo;I&rsquo;m not worried about me now and you&rsquo;re not worried about me now because you know I&rsquo;m in good care.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, he said some interaction between members of the local community and nursing home residents would be welcome.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There are people here who have no visitors, now that&rsquo;s sad. Unless you can get out there&rsquo;s no contact with the outside community. I think that the local community should have an association with the nursing home, whether it&rsquo;s the golf club, the local GAA club or school.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&lsquo;Sense of duty&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The assembly also heard from Eamon O&rsquo;Fearghail (47) who cares for his widowed mother Kathleen (87) who suffers from dementia. He said he wanted to respect her wish not to end up in a nursing home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It was not so much a choice but rather a natural decision born out of necessity. In hindsight, if I knew precisely what I was getting into I might have chosen a different option. I would say that most carers are reluctant carers. They have taken on the role out of love and a sense of duty,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr O&rsquo;Fearghail, who has been caring for his mother for five years, said at one point he felt he was on the verge of a mental breakdown.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I actually turned up to a psychiatric hospital and asked them if there was anything they could do for me. Unfortunately, there was nothing and I was referred back to my GP. My medical insurance would not cover any services they could provide.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 13th June 2017)<br />\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/family-would-not-speak-to-woman-86-after-she-left-nursing-home-1.3115738\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/family-would-not-speak-to-woman-86-after-she-left-nursing-home-1.3115738</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-13 10:15:13',NULL,'family-‘would-not-speak’-to-woman-86-after-she-left-nursing-home'),(2022,'Girl seeking abortion held in psychiatric unit when she thought she was going for termination','<p>\r\n	A consultant psychiatrist said termination was &ldquo;not the solution for all the child&rsquo;s problems at this stage&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A young girl who was seeking an abortion was detained in a psychiatric unit under the Mental Health Act at the end of last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The case has been published by the Child Care Law Reporting Project which looks at how children are treated in our legal system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In this case the girl and her mother thought&nbsp;they were being transferred to Dublin for a termination when the girl was admitted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A consultant psychiatrist, on whose evidence she was detained, said a termination was &ldquo;not the solution for all the child&rsquo;s problems at this stage.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The psychiatrist was of the opinion that the child was at risk of self harm and suicide as a result of the pregnancy and this could be managed by treatment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The girl&rsquo;s&nbsp;guardian ad litem &ndash; a person who supports children to have their voices heard in legal proceedings and makes an assessment &ndash; employed a&nbsp;second consultant psychiatrist.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The second consultant psychiatrist&nbsp;found she was depressed but that there was no evidence of a psychological disorder.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This psychiatrist concluded that as the young girl did not have a mental illness she could not be detained under the Mental Heath Act. The psychiatrist also reported that the young girl had very strong views as to why she wanted a termination of her pregnancy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The court heard evidence that &ldquo;while the young girl remained agitated and angry, she did not suffer from an acute mental health disorder that warranted her detention under the Mental Health Act 2001&Prime;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A District Court judge then discharged the order detaining the young girl on the grounds that the&nbsp;child no longer had a mental health disorder in accordance with section 3 of the Mental Health Act. It&rsquo;s understood that the child had been detained several days earlier.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are no details about whether the girl was able to get a termination.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking about the case Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar said, &rdquo;I&rsquo;ve heard those reports, they&rsquo;re certainly worrying and very disturbing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Decisions on whether somebody needs to be sectioned are a matter for doctors and patients and a decision on whether somebody needs a termination to protect their life is a matter for doctors, not a matter for for politicians.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking on Morning Ireland on RT&Eacute; 1&nbsp;Social Democrat TD R&oacute;is&iacute;n Shortall said, &ldquo;The case does seem to raise issues of concern. It is a very serious thing to lose your liberty like that. We certainly need to hear more about this case.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Spokesperson for the The Abortion Rights Campaign Linda Kavanagh said, &ldquo;This country cannot continue to treat women, girls, and pregnant people like this.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This case shows a law that is supposed to help pregnant people access the care they need is instead being weaponised against them.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We also saw similar treatment of Ms X in 1992, another suicidal child in need of an abortion who was prevented from accessing the care she needed by the State. That we are still seeing cases of this kind 25 years later is a disgrace and an indictment of successive Governments&rsquo; failure to deal with this issue.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	(Published by TheJournal.ie on the 13th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/girl-seeking-abortion-detained-psychiatric-unit-3439161-Jun2017/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/girl-seeking-abortion-detained-psychiatric-unit-3439161-Jun2017/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-13 10:27:19',NULL,'girl-seeking-abortion-held-in-psychiatric-unit-when-she-thought-she-was-going-for-termination'),(2023,'National Carers Week aims to celebrate work carers do in Irish society ','<p>\r\n	&lsquo;Ethan needs everything from being changed, to feeding. He is losing his ability to walk&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;Geraldine Renton is a parent and full-time carer for her son, Ethan (15), who is severely disabled and was diagnosed with Hunter Syndrome when he was four.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Ethan would need everything from being changed, to feeding, absolutely everything. Ethan is currently losing his ability to walk, so he is very unstable,&rdquo; Geraldine said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ethan&rsquo;s condition is terminal and gets worse with age, but she said she still receives letters from the Health Service Executive (HSE) asking each year if his circumstances have changed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There is no circumstances change, the only way anything is going to change is when he passes on. It is a tough thing to go through, it takes an awful lot of emotion out of you. It&rsquo;s very dehumanising,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If you don&rsquo;t get the forms back in time, your grant and everything stops. It happened to me when I was in hospital pregnant with my youngest son.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I was in hospital way longer than I thought I would be and the grant lapsed. When I got home from hospital, I had to try and fight to get my carer&rsquo;s allowance back,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Department of Social Protection processing times for carer&rsquo;s allowance grants and domiciliary care grant allowances have two of the longest waiting times. The domiciliary care grant is a monthly payment for children with severe disabilities under the age of 16.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The carer&rsquo;s allowance is a monthly payment to those who care for disabled relatives at home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Waiting time</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to Department of Social Protection figures from May 2017, the current average waiting time for applicants to be granted carer&rsquo;s allowance is three months, and four months on average for the State domiciliary care grant.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mark Ferguson and his wife Wendy care for their son Eric (3). Mark said the work carers provide is &ldquo;completely undervalued&rdquo; by the State.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Eric was diagnosed with an extremely rare severe disability shortly after his birth. &ldquo;He&rsquo;ll never walk, talk, sit or stand. He&rsquo;s severely disabled in all forms,&rdquo; Mark said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Wendy cares for Eric, and Mark works as an electrician and the pair share care responsibilities for Eric during the night.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Every moment we have is spent looking after Eric, Eric can go from quiet to stopped breathing in a matter of minutes. It&rsquo;s 24 hours a day. The burden that it has and mental stress it has on the family, people don&rsquo;t realise,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mark recently led a successful campaign with two other fathers of disabled children that prompted Minister for Health Simon Harris to remove the income means test for medical cards for disabled children entitled to the domiciliary care allowance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Now we can look after Eric at home, which is where he should be. But there&rsquo;s still more to do for carers,&rdquo; Mark said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Liam O&rsquo;Sullivan, executive director of Care Alliance Ireland, launched National Carers Week on Monday. In its 11th year, it aims to celebrate the work carers do in Irish society.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We do know that Ireland&rsquo;s family carers save the State a lot of money by keeping dependent people well, at home,&rdquo; Mr O&rsquo;Sullivan said at the launch.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 13th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/national-carers-week-aims-to-celebrate-work-carers-do-in-irish-society-1.3117340\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/national-carers-week-aims-to-celebrate-work-carers-do-in-irish-society-1.3117340</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-13 10:33:56',NULL,'national-carers-week-aims-to-celebrate-work-carers-do-in-irish-society'),(2024,'Daffodil Care Services job bulletin','<p>\r\n	16th June 2017 jobs bulletin</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Daffodil Care Services are currently hiring for the following vacancies and interviews will take place locally in June 2017:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social Care Leader- Full Time- South Tipperary</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=18</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social Care Worker- Full Time- South Tipperary</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=36</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social Care Leader- Full Time- North Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=17</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New Service- Social Care Leader- Full Time- North Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=45</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New Service- Relief Social Care Worker- North Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=46</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social Care Worker- Full Time- Semi Independent- North Dublin</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=38</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	What Daffodil Care Services can offer you:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Competitive remuneration and staff benefits package</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Strong career progression opportunities</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Continuous professional training and development</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Locations in Cork, Tipperary, Dublin, Wexford, Meath and Kildare</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	To apply please send your CV to recruitment@daffodilcare.ie or call Niamh on 0818 903 984 for further information or view our website www.daffodilcare.ie/careers</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-16 15:21:52',NULL,'daffodil-care-services-job-bulletin'),(2025,'Former caretaker of GAA ground charged with child abuse ','<p>\r\n	A 62-year-old former caretaker of a midlands GAA ground&nbsp;has appeared in court in Longford charged with 144 sexual offences against children, between 2000 and 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested at 8.15am and charged with sexual assault, exploitation of children at a GAA ground, and possession and production of child abuse images at another address.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The court was told there are four alleged victims involved in the cases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The man has been released on bail with conditions set and will appear again in court in September.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Seamus Hughes made an order prohibiting the publication of the accused&#39;s name or the names of the alleged victims in the case.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by RTE.ie on the 16<sup><font size=\"2\">th</font></sup> June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2017/0616/883180-midlands-arrest-child-abuse/\">https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2017/0616/883180-midlands-arrest-child-abuse/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-16 15:29:37',NULL,'former-caretaker-of-gaa-ground-charged-with-child-abuse'),(2026,'Vulnerable adults also need our protection','<p>\r\n	The abuse of adults must be addressed in the same way as for children to offer help where needed but also respecting individual autonomy, writes Colette Kelleher.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	For some, abuse and neglect are unfortunately every day and ordinary.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Abuse comes in many forms and from many quarters &mdash; &euro;50 pinched from the weekly pension, extra pills in the daily dose, chemical restraint to keep a person quiet. A fist to the face in the place of words.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some of those who are abused have no voice of their own, and no one to voice their concerns. Some are physically unable to reach out for help, while others lack the capacity to do so.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A recent Red C poll, commissioned by the National Safeguarding Committee, found that one in three people believe that the abuse of vulnerable adults is widespread.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some 80% of people are unclear about what constitutes psychological or financial abuse. This week the National Safeguarding Committee is kicking-off a national awareness campaign focusing on these issues.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While we don&rsquo;t have comprehensive statistics on abuse and neglect, the data that we have paints a very bleak picture. Last year, the HSE received nearly 8,000 reports of adult abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The National Study of Elder Abuse and Neglect from 2010 estimated that 10,000 older people are mistreated or neglected each year &mdash; with 6,000 cases of financial abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study also showed that, for many of the people who were financially abused, their only income was the state pension. Given that the State pays over &euro;7bn in pension payments and over &euro;3bn in illness, disability, and carers payments, the scale of financial abuse is potentially huge.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	We know from international studies that people with dementia are particularly prone to abuse in the community with rates as high as 55%.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	To begin to right this wrong, I introduced the Adult Safeguarding Bill 2017 in the Seanad in April. The goal of the bill is to put in place additional protections and supports for adults, in particular for those who may be unable to protect themselves. It can be thought of as Children First legislation for adults.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This, in many ways, is a green field site piece of legislation that if passed will become an important piece of architecture in our legislation of care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The provisions of the bill are relevant to us all, because at some point in all of our lives, we may be the ones being harmed or abused.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It establishes the National Adult Safeguarding Authority which will be responsible for adequately investigating allegations of abuse, appointing independent advocates, running a national helpline, directing supports where needed, as well as seeking to prevent such cases through education, promotion, and standard setting.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This body will be independent and at arm&rsquo;s length.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It requires reporting by certain professionals and others when they become aware that an adult has or is suffering abuse or harm, or is at risk of it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The bill also provides a clear definition of adult abuse and neglect. The aim is to create a culture where we all recognise abuse and have zero tolerance for it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It sets out clear pathways for action so that no one can say that they didn&rsquo;t know what to do. This should act as a deterrent with sanctions for those who fail to act.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This is needed because the status quo isn&rsquo;t working. In 2014, RT&Eacute;&rsquo;s Prime Time Investigates programme exposed high levels of abuse of adults in &Aacute;ras Attracta in Swinford, Co Mayo.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The investigation heightened awareness of abuse nationally and clarified the need for comprehensive action and legislative reform. What followed were a set of guidelines that didn&rsquo;t go far enough.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Staff working in the frontline as social workers or protection officers don&rsquo;t have the powers they need or the legislative back-up to match the responsibilities they are given.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At present, there are also clear conflicts of interest. The HSE has too many roles. It acts as the commissioner, funder, and provider of services, as well as policer and protector. People with concerns often have nowhere to turn, often resorting to the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee as whistleblowers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The &lsquo;Grace&rsquo; case exposed in recent months highlights more than ever why we need urgent action.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Adult Safeguarding Bill has support from people with intellectual disabilities and dementia themselves, as well as cross-party support in the Seanad and from bodies such as the Irish Association of Social Workers, the National Safeguarding Committee, Hiqa, and Inclusion Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Citizens&rsquo; Assembly is currently examining the opportunities and challenges of aging. In a submission, I called on them to recommend statutory safeguarding for adults.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Progressing and enacting this legislation will ensure that we make good on our commitment to Article 16 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Peoples with Disabilities.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some critics might say that this bill sounds like a &lsquo;nanny state&rsquo; instrument. In fact, it is the opposite.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It strikes a balance between the right to autonomy and the right to protection from harm. The principles it is built on include:</p>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>\r\n		The promotion of individual physical, mental and emotional well-being;</li>\r\n	<li>\r\n		The right to assistance, support, and an independent advocate;</li>\r\n	<li>\r\n		The right to protection from abuse and neglect;</li>\r\n	<li>\r\n		Interventions in people&rsquo;s lives must be necessary and proportionate;</li>\r\n	<li>\r\n		Respect for people&rsquo;s autonomy in decisions and interventions affecting them.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p>\r\n	In light of the evidence regarding the significant levels of adult abuse, there is a clear need for statutory safeguarding. I believe this bill should be supported and progressed as a matter of urgency and not languish in the legislative &lsquo;long grass&rsquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It must be priority for Taoiseach Leo Varadkar&rsquo;s new cabinet to close this gap in social policy and make the world a safer place for adults experiencing abuse.</p>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>\r\n		Colette Kelleher is an Independent senator</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 16th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/vulnerable-adults-also-need-our-protection-452574.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/vulnerable-adults-also-need-our-protection-452574.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-16 15:33:13',NULL,'vulnerable-adults-also-need-our-protection'),(2027,'Multi-disciplinary approach to defeating Parkinson’s is key','<p>\r\n	Ahead of a conference on Parkinson&rsquo;s disease, Dr Sean O&rsquo;Sullivan emphasises the key role that support groups can play in the battle against the illness</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In 1817, a 62-year-old London surgeon wrote a treatise that would become a medical classic: An Essay on the Shaking Palsy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	James Parkinson was the first to give a complete description of the condition that would later become known as Parkinson&rsquo;s disease (PD).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	About six decades passed before the great French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot spoke of the &lsquo;maladie de Parkinson&rsquo; as a name for the disorder characterised by tremor at rest, rigidity, characteristic facial immobility and particular disturbances of gait and posture. (J R Coll Physicians Edinb 2015).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Towards the end of the 19th century, PD had more or less reached its modern state of clinical recognition.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Two centuries later, as we mark the 200th anniversary of the publication of Parkinson&rsquo;s essay, the cure for PD remains elusive.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Despite our progress in understanding its underlying chemical and pathological abnormalitie, this knowledge, unfortunately, has not yet led to a convincing treatment that can delay or halt the progression of the disorder.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Parkinson&rsquo;s disease is a progressive neurological disorder caused by a degeneration of brain cells responsible for the production of the chemical dopamine, which is involved in controlling movement. Approximately 12,000 people in Ireland have PD, and because the disease becomes more frequent as we age, the prevalence is expected to double in the next 20 years as our population gets older.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The most common signs of Parkinson&rsquo;s disease are tremors (involuntary shaking), usually initially seen in one hand, associated with stiffness and a slowness in movement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Whilst it was these physical symptoms and signs that largely occupied James Parkinson&rsquo;s earliest descriptions of the disorder, he also acknowledged the importance of &ldquo;non-motor&rdquo; symptoms in PD, with references to sleep disturbance, urinary incontinence, constipation, speech and swallowing problems.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	These non-motor symptoms are increasingly recognised as major sources of disability for people with Parkinson&rsquo;s (PwPs) and their families, with depression, anxiety and memory disturbances also being commonly seen.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Since 1817, there have been huge advances in our understanding of PD, in addition to the development of medications to alleviate the symptoms. In particular, the development of L-dopa in the 1960&rsquo;s remains the gold standard of symptomatic PD treatment, but has been since supported by the development of other drug types.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Surgical techniques including deep brain stimulation can provide symptom relief to some individuals who are not adequately treated using medications. However, deep brain stimulation is currently unavailable in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	For many PwPs and their carers, the 200th anniversary of the first description is a source of huge frustration, in the absence of a cure for PD.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, a major advance in helping PwPs, in addition to advocating for research to develop a cure, has been the development of support groups such as the Parkinson&rsquo;s Association of Ireland (PAI). These organisations have successfully managed to dispel any previous stigma associated with the diagnosis of PD, and allow newly-diagnosed PwPs to realise that social, occupational and family life can go on.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The PAI members are a huge source of practical knowledge, social and emotional support, in addition to keeping members involved in research that can hopefully lead to a cure. My close links with the PAI have been instrumental in guiding how I try to improve my clinical practice to better serve the needs of PwPs and their carers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As doctors trained in pharmacology, there is a danger we can become blinkered in our management of PD, using medications primarily, to the relative exclusion of non-drug supports. The importance of the multi-disciplinary team management of PD cannot be over-emphasised, and this is an aspect that the PAI can play a key role in.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	I have been fortunate to work with Mr Ted Horgan, chairman of the Cork PAI branch and other members of the committee in co-founding the Annual Munster Parkinson&rsquo;s Patient Conference, now in its fifth year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The conference takes place tomorrow from 11am to 4pm at The Kingsley Hotel, Cork. Speakers include University College London Neurologist Prof Tom Foltynie, Senior physiotherapist Trish Clifford and Neurology Nurse Specialist Anne Grover from the Bon Secours Hospital Cork.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	I am confident that by working together in this way, we can continue to improve the lives of PwPs and their families and find a cure to answer James Parkinson&rsquo;s challenge of 1817, when he said: &ldquo;But although, at present, uninformed as to the precise nature of the disease, still it ought not to be considered as one against which there exists no countervailing remedy. On the contrary, there appears to be sufficient reason for hoping that some remedial process may ere long be discovered, by which, at least, the progress of the disease may be stopped&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	To register at the Annual Munster Parkinson&rsquo;s Patient Conference, contact 087-2189572. Registration at the venue is also possible.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Sean O&rsquo;Sullivan is a consultant neurologist in the Bon Secours Hospital Cork.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 19th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/multi-disciplinary-approach-to-defeating-parkinsons-is-key-452786.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/multi-disciplinary-approach-to-defeating-parkinsons-is-key-452786.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-19 08:43:52',NULL,'multi-disciplinary-approach-to-defeating-parkinson’s-is-key'),(2028,'Ireland has one of highest teenage suicide rates in EU','<p>\r\n	Ireland has the fourth highest teen suicide rate in the EU/OECD region, according to new research from Unicef.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The organisation&#39;s latest report card on well-being of young people found that Ireland&#39;s suicide rate amongst adolescents aged 15 to 19 was higher than the international average.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The 10.3 per 100,000 population ranks well above the national country average of 6.1 per 100,000.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The rate is lowest, at 1.7 per 100,000, in Portugal, and tends to be low in southern European countries.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report also shows a worrying rise in self-reported adolescent mental health issues, indicating that teenagers themselves have concerns about their mental health. It found that 22.6pc of children aged 11 to 15 reported experiencing two or more psychological symptoms more than once a week.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The number of teens reporting being drunk in Ireland in the past month fell to 4.8pc. The rate more than halved and the report made note of the &quot;dramatic improvement&quot; between 2010 and 2014. A further 9.1pc of 15 to 19-year-olds are not in education, employment or training - but this is well below the average rate of 6.9pc.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Unicef Ireland chief executive Peter Power said that the report card serves as a &quot;wake-up call&quot; for Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Despite economic recovery and the idea that the consequent rising tide will benefit everyone, it is clear children are experiencing real and substantial inequality,&quot; he said. &quot;Services are inadequate in several areas and policy change is badly needed.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&#39;Building the Future: Children and the Sustainable Development Goals in Rich Countries&#39; is the first report to assess the status of children in 41 high-income countries in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identified as most important for child well-being.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	For some indicators - income inequality, adolescent self-reported mental health and obesity - the trends suggest cause for concern in the majority of rich countries. In two out of three countries studied, the poorest households with children are now further behind the average than they were in 2008.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 19th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ireland-has-one-of-highest-teenage-suicide-rates-in-eu-35840201.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ireland-has-one-of-highest-teenage-suicide-rates-in-eu-35840201.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-19 08:46:15',NULL,'ireland-has-one-of-highest-teenage-suicide-rates-in-eu'),(2029,'Fewer in asylum seeker centres','<p>\r\n	The number of asylum seekers in direct provision accommodation decreased by almost 6% last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Figures provided by the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) show 4,425 people, including 708 families, were living in the State&rsquo;s 33 direct provision centres around the country at the end of 2016 &mdash; 271 fewer than in 2015.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the cost of accommodating asylum seekers last year still rose by 12.4% to almost &euro;64.2m.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to the RIA the number of new asylum seekers accommodated in direct provision centres dropped significantly, down from 2,828 in 2015 to 1,748 last year &mdash; a decrease of 38%.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Around 500 refugees who arrived in Ireland in 2016 did not apply for accommodation, while approximately 1,700 moved out of the centres. More than 57,480 have now been housed in direct provision centres since the system was established in 1999.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Eugene Banks, a RIA spokesperson, said the commencement last December of the International Protection Act, which allows for a single application procedure, would significantly speed up decisions on asylum and by extension reduce the length of time spent in direct provision accommodation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Banks said the RIA had also begun implementing a key recommendation of the McMahon Report, which reviewed the operation of direct provision centres by providing arrangements for home cooking for families.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said work had also started on structural changes and improvements to centres with regard to fire safety, building regulation, and planning issues.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Pakistan remained the country of origin for the biggest number of new asylum seekers in Ireland last year, followed by Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Albania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/fewer-in-asylum-seeker-centres-452791.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/fewer-in-asylum-seeker-centres-452791.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-19 08:49:31',NULL,'fewer-in-asylum-seeker-centres'),(2030,'Children as young as seven are being targeted online in so called \'sextortion\' scams.','<p>\r\n	A new report has highlighted how children as young as seven are being increasingly targeted by predators online, writes Ciara Phelan.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Also know as webcam blackmailing, sextortion is where a child is persuaded to share sexual information or images of themselves online and are then used to extort money or sexual favours.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report released by Europol today goes on to suggest that these types of crimes are skyrocketing, but go largely unreported because victims are embarrassed by the images they&#39;re forced to provide.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Detective Superintendent in the Garda National Protective Service Bureau, with responsibility for the investigation of sexual crimes and crimes against children, Declan Daly, said this is a growing problem in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It is a crime that&#39;s happening in Ireland, it&#39;s a form of digital blackmail where children have given images to predators online are then blackmailed for then other sexual material for sexual favours or for money.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Earlier this year, a conference showed that children aged between 13-17 years feel that they should be better protected online and should receive better life skills education, including online safety.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The conference which was held by the ISPCC and Vodafone Ireland highlighted that teenagers feel that there should be better regulation of social network providers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Young people unanimously agreed that there was a need for a National Cyber Safety Strategy and that the government should address this as a matter of urgency.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking about the issue earlier this year, ISPCC CEO, Grainia Long said that it was clear that there was a need for a cyber safety strategy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Cyber safety is the child protection issue of our time and it is so important that we listen to young people and children on how this affects them and how, as a society, we should take on the issue. It is clear that a national children&rsquo;s cyber safety strategy should be an urgent priority for government,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 19th June 2017)<br />\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/children-as-young-as-seven-are-being-targeted-online-in-so-called-sextortion-scams-794203.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/children-as-young-as-seven-are-being-targeted-online-in-so-called-sextortion-scams-794203.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-20 12:37:41',NULL,'children-as-young-as-seven-are-being-targeted-online-in-so-called-sextortion-scams'),(2031,'Three children rushed to hospital due to sun burn','<p>\r\n	Three children were brought to hospital in the capital over the weekend as Ireland enjoyed its hottest days of the year so far.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The mercury hit 27 degrees in part of the country and in Dublin three children had to be brought to hospital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One child under the age of five was brought to the Emergency Department in Temple Street with sunburn.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In previous years more children may have been expected to present and one source said it appeared parents were getting more sun smart.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meanwhile, two children were brought to Our Lady&#39;s Hospital in Crumlin with an illness related to the prolonged sunshine.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE has advice for people to ensure that children and babies, who have much more sensitive skin, are kept safe in the sun.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The advice is as follows:</p>\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>\r\n		Keep babies under 6 months in the shade.</li>\r\n	<li>\r\n		Keep older children safe by following the SunSmart Code:</li>\r\n	<li>\r\n		Slip on sun protective clothing</li>\r\n	<li>\r\n		Slap on a hat - a wide brim that gives shade to the face, neck and ears</li>\r\n	<li>\r\n		Slop on sunscreen &ndash; use appropriate factor and reapply often and always after swimming.</li>\r\n	<li>\r\n		Seek shade &ndash; especially between 11 a.m and 3 p.m.</li>\r\n	<li>\r\n		Wear wrap-around sunglasses from as early an age as possible</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 19th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/three-children-rushed-to-hospital-due-to-sun-burn-35842052.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/three-children-rushed-to-hospital-due-to-sun-burn-35842052.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-20 00:00:00',NULL,'three-children-rushed-to-hospital-due-to-sun-burn'),(2032,'A wake-up call on teenage suicide','<p>\r\n	Unicef starkly predicts that one in 10,000 Irish 15 to 19-year-olds will die by suicide</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The finding in a Unicef report that the teenage suicide rate in the Republic is the fourth-highest among high-income countries must be a cause for concern. The report starkly predicts that one in 10,000 Irish 15 to 19-year-olds will die by suicide. Assessing the status of children in 41 high-income countries, it finds boys are three times more likely to take their own lives than girls; more girls attempt to do so but by using less lethal methods. The lowest rates of teenage suicide are recorded in southern European countries.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The UN report must be viewed in the context of an overall suicide rate in Ireland that has fallen by almost 20 per cent since 2011. Final figures for the total number of suicides for last year will be lower than the 451 recorded in 2015. However, commenting on these figures, Prof Brendan Kelly, professor of psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin, said: &ldquo;The overall decrease in the suicide rate masks an increase in the rate among young men, which needs to be addressed through better support services, alcohol and drug misuse services, and collaboration with schools, colleges and sports organisations&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In addition he highlighted an urgent need for an increase in community-based care at weekends and out-of-hours. At present people who self-harm access psychiatric care via hospital emergency departments. But with recent figures showing almost 11,500 people attended emergency departments for self-harm over a four-year period in the Dublin northeast region alone, it is clear that much more than a single psychiatric assessment is needed to care for these patients.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Of the 4,800 people discharged from the emergency department, almost one quarter were sent home with no follow-up, while just 10 per cent of those who had attempted self-harm were referred to community-based mental health teams. The Health Service Executive has also failed to adequately record information about people who have taken their own lives. The Unicef report is a clear wake-up call on youth suicide in Ireland. We need focused intervention and we need it now.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 19<sup><font size=\"2\">th</font></sup> June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/editorial/a-wake-up-call-on-teenage-suicide-1.3125506\">http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/editorial/a-wake-up-call-on-teenage-suicide-1.3125506</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-20 13:09:37',NULL,'a-wake-up-call-on-teenage-suicide'),(2033,'Children must play ‘central role’ in State’s refugee policy','<p>\r\n	Direct provision &lsquo;entirely unsuitable&rsquo; for children, says Irish Refugee Council</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Governments have been urged to allow the voices of children forced to leave their home countries and seek asylum abroad to play &ldquo;a central role in informing policies&rdquo; that affect refugees&rsquo; lives.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Charities in Ireland and abroad marked World Refugee Day on Tuesday by calling on governments to make a greater effort to speed up refugee resettlement programmes and provide more legal options for family reunification across the EU.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Muireann N&iacute; Raghallaigh from UCD called on governments and policymakers to pay more attention to the voices and experiences of refugee children. She said they should have &ldquo;a central and active role in informing policies that directly affect their lives, rights and wellbeing&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council Nick Henderson welcomed the Government&rsquo;s decision to voluntarily opt into the EU&rsquo;s relocation scheme and commended the Defence Forces for their role in saving lives in the Mediterranean.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, he warned the State had a &ldquo;mixed&rdquo; record in providing for children seeking protection and said direct provision centres were &ldquo;entirely unsuitable&rdquo; homes for young people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Vulnerable</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Refugee children and young people are often portrayed as vulnerable, but their experiences and identities are rooted in resilience, strength and courage,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fiona Finn from Nasc, the Irish Immigrant Support Network, said world refugee week should highlight the anguish suffered by millions of families separated by conflict. She called on the Government to reassess the International Protection Act 2015 which reduced the possibility of family reunification for many.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A total of 1,238 refugees have arrived in Ireland since the Irish Refugee Protection Programme was announced in September 2015. The Government has committed to welcoming a total of 4,000 refugees into the country by the end of this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A record 65.6 million people were forcibly displaced from their homes in 2016, driven in large part by conflict in Syria, Iraq and Yemen as well as in sub-Saharan Africa nations including Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Sudan.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than half of refugees last year were made up of children under 18 years, while 20 people were displaced every minute, according to the UN Refugee Agency&rsquo;s Global Trends report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Displaced by war</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking on Tuesday, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warned that turning our backs on people displaced by war, persecution and violence would only lead to &ldquo;barriers, alienation and despair&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Today we live in a world which uncertainty often abounds; economic instability, political upheaval and violence close to home can make us want to shut our eyes or close our doors. But fear and exclusion will not lead us to a better place.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Through UNHCR&rsquo;s work we witness the courage, tenacity and brilliance of refugees every single day. Having lost their homes, their work, and sometimes their families &ndash; they don&rsquo;t give up &ndash; they find a way to start again. Striving to belong, and to contribute, they reach out to their new neighbours, building connections, and creating new opportunities. Given the right environment, our experience is that refugees bring solutions, not problems.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Filippo commended the nations who had offered refugees a safe place by welcoming them into their societies and said World Refugee Day marked the importance of countering the voices that seek to exclude and marginalise refugees.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 20th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/children-must-play-central-role-in-state-s-refugee-policy-1.3127184\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/children-must-play-central-role-in-state-s-refugee-policy-1.3127184</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-21 14:31:47',NULL,'children-must-play-‘central-role’-in-state’s-refugee-policy'),(2034,'\'I had suicidal thoughts but felt worthless and just lost hope waiting for treatment\' - Sarah (15)','<p>\r\n	Teenager suffering from mental health difficulties &#39;lost hope&#39; while waiting for treatment</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A teenager suffering from mental health difficulties has told of how she &quot;lost hope&quot; in getting better because of having to wait so long for treatment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sarah (15) was forced to wait 18 months for an appointment with a psychiatrist, despite having engaged in self-harm and having suicidal thoughts.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Wexford teenager, who has just completed her Junior Cert, spoke to Newstalk Breakfast about the under-resourced mental health services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said: &quot;I lost hope in everything. I lost hope in actually seeking help and getting better and I saw no future.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It made me worse. It made me think that nobody actually cares, even the people that actually train in this don&rsquo;t understand. It made me (suffer) a big low of depression again. It made me feel worthless and useless.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sarah first experienced mental health problems at 10 years-old. She told of how she felt she was trapped in a cycle of thoughts about death and the afterlife, which would disrupt her sleep and leave her fearful and anxious.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She continued: &quot;I used to have to stay at home and I wouldn&rsquo;t like going into school by myself. It was constant from the minute I woke up to the minute I fell asleep.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Sometimes I wouldn&rsquo;t be able to fall asleep and I&rsquo;d be awake throughout the night, there were some nights that I wouldn&rsquo;t sleep at all. It could be two or three nights in a row that I&rsquo;d be wide awake because I wouldn&rsquo;t want to close my eyes in case something happened.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sarah said her emotions fluctuated and that she &quot;switched like a bulb&quot; to anger. She described turning to self-harm in her pre-teen years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said: &quot;It came on because I felt as though I was alone, that no-one was really listening to my cries for help. It was just kind of an urge, it was like it relieved the pain I was feeling.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While she was receiving counselling, Sarah&rsquo;s condition deteriorated further, and she began to contemplate suicide.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She described going out for a walk in her local area and planning not to come back.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When she confided in her parents, Sarah&rsquo;s medication was changed and the family began to lobby for Sarah to receive treatment from a psychiatrist.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She was given an appointment under the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAHMS) after 18 months of waiting. According to Newstalk Breakfast, more than 2,500 children and teenagers on waiting lists to receive treatment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are areas of the country that currently have no consulting psychiatrist, which Sarah argued was essential.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said: &quot;From my point of view, I&rsquo;d feel a lot safer if I knew there was someone there 24/7 to help me in my local community. I&rsquo;d feel as though the Government was actually doing something for mental health.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ireland has the fourth highest rate of teen suicide out of 37 wealthy, mostly European countries, according to a recent Unicef report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to the Unicef report, 10.3 adolescents died by suicide per 100,000 people in Ireland between 2012 and 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If you are affected by issues raised in this article you can call&nbsp; Samaritans 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 22nd June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/i-had-suicidal-thoughts-but-felt-worthless-and-just-lost-hope-waiting-for-treatment-sarah-15-35854828.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/i-had-suicidal-thoughts-but-felt-worthless-and-just-lost-hope-waiting-for-treatment-sarah-15-35854828.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-22 14:06:57',NULL,'i-had-suicidal-thoughts-but-felt-worthless-and-just-lost-hope-waiting-for-treatment-sarah-15'),(2035,'Galway school children recognised for CPR training ','<p>\r\n	A national school in Co Galway has become the first in the country to be recognised for providing life-saving skills to all pupils.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children at Gaelscoil na bhFil&iacute; in Gort have been given CPR training, so they can act as first responders in the event of a cardiac emergency.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The 38 pupils at the Gaelscoil have spent the year learning vital techniques.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The efforts of teachers and their students have been recognised by the Irish Heart Foundation&#39;s Heartsafe award.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It has been described as an acknowledgement of the work they have put in and the skills they have learned.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As well as learning how to administer CPR, pupils have been coached on operating defibrillators, contacting emergency services and assisting adults who need guidance in giving CPR.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The course, provided by a local community response group also encouraged all participants to learn the Eircode for their home address.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	PJ Brennan from the Athenry Community First Responder group said the system was an important tool in ensuring paramedics could get to the precise location of a cardiac incident.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sarah Cain from the Irish Heart Foundation said courses, such as the one undertaken by the pupils, were proven to increase the chance of somebody in need getting urgent assistance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by RTE.ie on the 21st June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"https://www.rte.ie/news/connacht/2017/0621/884566-galway-school-cpr/\">https://www.rte.ie/news/connacht/2017/0621/884566-galway-school-cpr/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-22 00:00:00',NULL,'galway-school-children-recognised-for-cpr-training'),(2036,'\'It\'s not always as straightforward\': Tusla chief on removing children at high risk from State care','<p>\r\n	Tusla chief executive Fred McBride was speaking at the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs this morning.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The decision to keep a child who was allegedly sexually abusing another child in State care &ndash; a case examined in a recent RTE Investigates programme &ndash; was a &ldquo;complex decision on balancing the care of the two children&rdquo;, according to Tusla chief executive Fred McBride.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Members of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency&nbsp;were present at the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs this morning to discuss recent controversies surrounding the foster care system in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We always endeavor to be open and transparent if we make mistakes and we do make mistakes,&rdquo; McBride said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	RTE Investigates</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last month, an RT&Eacute; Investigates programme examined a case where Tusla fought to keep a child in a foster placement, despite the existence of &ldquo;credible&rdquo; allegations of sexual abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In 2011, a boy named &lsquo;Mark&rsquo; living in voluntary foster care told his birth mother than he had been sexually abused by another foster child twice his age.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Despite this, the HSE decided to leave &lsquo;Mark&rsquo; in the foster home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In response to questions raised today on the findings, McBride stated that he is unable to provide specific comments on the case as it is currently in front of the courts.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He stated that he did not find it unreasonable not to remove the child alleged of sexual abuse from the home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I mentioned an example of two children in foster care. You don&rsquo;t just remove a child and risk harm. If it was your own child you wouldn&rsquo;t just throw them out, you would find a solution,&rdquo; McBride said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;When it can create significant life long damage, it&rsquo;s not a notion that Tusla would deal with.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	McBride criticised the manner in which the cases have been reported on in the media.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;An extremely simplistic way that things are presented in the press does not help with this situation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not always as straightforward. It&rsquo;s a complex decision on balancing care of two children we have responsibility for,&rdquo; he told the committee.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Shannon report</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The RT&Eacute; Investigates programme was&nbsp;aired on the same day a report was published by the Government&rsquo;s Special Rapporteur for Child Protection Dr Geoffrey Shannon, which stated that &ldquo;much greater co-operation&rdquo; is needed between&nbsp;garda&iacute;&nbsp;and&nbsp;Tusla&nbsp;to protect vulnerable children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It was written and commissioned by An Garda S&iacute;ochana following the controversy of the removal of two Roma children from their families by garda&iacute; in 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report looks into the garda&iacute;&rsquo;s use of Section 12 of the Child Care Act &ndash; a provision that provides the garda&iacute; with permission to remove children from their families when the children are at serious risk.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It states that some children are removed from their families by garda&iacute; on numerous occasions, only to be returned by Tusla.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Today, McBride reiterated to the committee that no staff member of Tusla had been interviewed for the report findings.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tusla director of policy and strategy Cormac Quinlan said that Dr. Shannon did not make the agency aware of his findings before the report was released.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;He met with us on 2 November and read segments of the report, but he didn&rsquo;t go into the 92 cases, he talked about legal issues,&rdquo; Quinlan said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tusla chief operations officer Jim Gibson told the committee today that Tusla has given commitment to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to review the 92 cases mentioned throughout the Shannon report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Grace case</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It came to light earlier this year that authorities had at least four opportunities over 13 years to make an intellectually disabled girl&nbsp;&rsquo;Grace&rsquo; at the centre of an abuse scandal safe.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	McBride again confirmed to the committee today that some of the members who were involved in the case are still employed by the agency, but insisted that &ldquo;relevant HR procedures&rdquo; are in place.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Gibson said:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We have done absolutely everything in a legal framework to address this. They are facing one of the most robust processes in a tribunal. It would be ridiculous for us to make comment. We have been told by the tribunal that we cannot discuss this further.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New strategy&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tusla launched&nbsp;a new child protection and welfare strategy for 2017-2022, earlier this year. The strategy is part of Tusla&rsquo;s ongoing programme of change and includes a new national approach to practice.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The strategy will see the agency team up with Signs of Safety, an organisation that works closely with families to provide face-to-face support.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	McBride told&nbsp;TheJournal.ie earlier this month&nbsp;that the new strategy was decided upon when the management team came to the conclusion that Tusla&rsquo;s status quo was was no longer working.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The status quo wasn&rsquo;t working as well as it should. We needed a fundamental change of thinking in terms of how we intervene with private family life,&rdquo; McBride said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The notion that state agencies have all the answers and can impose solutions has proven not to be effective.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by TheJournal.ie on the 22nd June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/tusla-joint-committee-children-foster-care-3455805-Jun2017/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/tusla-joint-committee-children-foster-care-3455805-Jun2017/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-22 14:12:48',NULL,'its-not-always-as-straightforward-tusla-chief-on-removing-children-at-high-risk-from-state-care'),(2037,'Nursing home contracts should be examined carefully, warns Ombudsman','<p>\r\n	Fees for social activities for immobile resident dropped following complaint</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Contracts signed on admission to nursing homes, by residents or their carers, should be examined carefully for extra charges, the Ombudsman&rsquo;s Office has warned.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It has also said if the &ldquo;Fair Deal&rdquo; nursing home is unwilling to resolve a dispute over fees, residents and their families can complain to the Ombudsman.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The comments came after a complaint about charges was resolved by Ombudsman Peter Tyndall.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokesman for the Ombudsman&rsquo;s Office said the complaint involved a person who was physically incapable of taking part in social activities, but had signed a contract which included fees for them. Fairness indicated they should not be charged if they could not take part.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We spoke to the nursing home in question and they agreed in future, anyone who can&rsquo;t take part in social programmes only has to pay a nominal charge towards it.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said the resolution did not set a precedent, but if someone came to them in similar circumstances they would probably come to the same conclusion.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under the Fair Deal scheme, a resident pays 80 per cent of his or her income, and 7.5 per cent of the value of any assets, toward the cost of upkeep in a private nursing home and the State pays the balance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Additional services</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But the payment does not include additional services, such as social programmes, therapies, ophthalmic and dental services and transport.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The additional fees must be paid separately and are part of the contract signed prior to entering a nursing home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Ombudsman has had the power to examine complaints about private nursing homes since late 2015. Last year, it received 30 such complaints and five related to additional charges.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Justin Moran, of charity Age Action, said some people are being priced out of the market because of additional fees.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If you are an older person just on the State pension, you have to pay 80 per cent of your income as part of the Fair Deal scheme,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;That only leaves you with a small amount and if you are trying to pay an additional fee of &euro;50 or &euro;60 a week you are going to be in financial difficulties very quickly.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He also said there was a lack of transparency about how fees are charged and structured, and it caused a great deal of stress for a lot of families.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tadhg Daly, a spokesman for Nursing Homes Ireland, said nursing homes are required by law to provide services that are explicitly not included in the Fair Deal scheme. He said additional fees are clear in the contracts provided, which are looked at by the Health Information and Quality Authority on a regular basis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Everything is transparent, to suggest otherwise is disingenuous,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 25th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/nursing-home-contracts-should-be-examined-carefully-warns-ombudsman-1.3133097\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/nursing-home-contracts-should-be-examined-carefully-warns-ombudsman-1.3133097</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-26 11:58:35',NULL,'nursing-home-contracts-should-be-examined-carefully-warns-ombudsman'),(2038,'23rd June Daffodil Care Services job bulletin','<p>\r\n	23rd June 2017 jobs bulletin</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Daffodil Care Services are currently hiring for the following vacancies and interviews will take place locally in June and July 2017:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social Care Leader- Full Time- Semi Independent- North Dublin</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=48</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social Care Worker- Full Time- Semi Independent- North Dublin</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=38</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social Care Leader- Full Time- South Tipperary</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=18</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social Care Worker- Full Time- South Tipperary</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=36</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social Care Leader- Full Time- North Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=17</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New Service- Social Care Leader- Full Time- North Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=45</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New Service- Relief Social Care Worker- North Cork</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careerdetails.php?ids=46</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	What Daffodil Care Services can offer you:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Competitive remuneration and staff benefits package</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Strong career progression opportunities</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- Continuous professional training and development</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Locations in Cork, Tipperary, Dublin, Wexford, Meath and Kildare</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	To apply please send your CV to recruitment@daffodilcare.ie or call Niamh on 0818 903 984 for further information or view our website</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.daffodilcare.ie/careers</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-23 00:00:00',NULL,'23rd-june-daffodil-care-services-job-bulletin'),(2039,'Social workers ‘retrained’ to manage risk instead of remove it','<p>\r\n	New approach marks &lsquo;paradigm shift&rsquo; in how Tusla will approach child protection</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ireland could have the &ldquo;best child protection services in the developed world&rdquo; within five years, according to an international expert.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Andrew Turnell, who in the 1990s pioneered a radical approach to child protection known as &ldquo;Signs of Safety&rdquo; in western Australia, is training all of Tusla&rsquo;s 1,466 social workers in the model. Over the next two years almost all of the 3,640 staff at the child and family agency will be trained in the approach.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Adopted in 15 countries, including Canada, Sweden, Japan, parts of the UK, and several US states, the approach represents a &ldquo;paradigm shift&rdquo; in how Tusla will approach child protection, he says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It will, he predicts, result in fewer children in care, social workers spending more time with families, empowered parents and safer children &ndash; as it has in other jurisdictions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The strategy, adopted by Tusla 18 months ago, will go live in October, and take three years to embed throughout the agency. It will bring uniformity in the approach taken across an agency, which when founded in 2012 had 17 separate service areas, each with their own practice frameworks and approaches.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Attitude</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Central is a change in attitude to vulnerable families and their children, away from a paternalism where social workers see only the dangers and impose solutions &ndash; often moving swiftly to the &ldquo;nuclear&rdquo; option of removing children &ndash; to one where they see also the families&rsquo; strengths, build on these and work with the family to keep children safe.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At a Dublin training session last week, with about 100 child protection workers, Mr Turnell described focusing on what needs to happen in a family, rather than on what&rsquo;s gone wrong. In too many jurisdictions &ndash; particularly in the UK &ndash; &ldquo;social workers have been turned into social police,&rdquo; he said, distrusted by families, including their children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the vast majority of vulnerable families, there was much that was good as well as bad, he said. The children would know this too and in the majority of cases removing them from what was good was extremely damaging.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He stressed talking to the children about what they like in their family, what they worry about and what they wish for, of bringing these to the parents and the family network, and planning together for the children&rsquo;s safety.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Child abuse, including neglect, is a syndrome of secrecy...If you want to build safety you need openness.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Example</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He gives an example from his work in Australia. &ldquo;The mother of three children has been binge-drinking for over 15 years. When she is sober everything is OK, she looks after them well, but every few weeks she goes on a massive bender, leaving the kids on their own.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social services became involved after one of the younger children burnt themselves seriously trying to cook. There were also concerns about strangers coming into the home when she was drinking.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Given that the mother has been drinking heavily since she was 13, sobriety was unlikely, at least in the short term.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The 11 year-old daughter was asked what she needed to feel safe when her mother went drinking. Using pictures and words, she told the social worker: &ldquo;An adult to mind us, lots of food in the cupboards, no strangers in the house and mum answers her phone. If mum does this I will wake up feeling very happy.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This plan was taken to mum. There were tears, and we did not send her straight off to alcohol treatment. We said: &lsquo;How can you prove to us and the kids that you are going to do this to keep them safe?&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Such plans, he said, are monitored, with a timeline within which, if it&rsquo;s working, social services will &ldquo;get out&rdquo; of their lives. There are very few referrals using this approach, he says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is important to respect parents, to &ldquo;honour&rdquo; their strengths and empathise with their struggles, to achieve a good working relationship with them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The strategy includes robust risk-assessment and analysis tools. &ldquo;This approach is not naive. If nothing is changing or working in a family, get the children out, get them to permanency.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking to <em>The Irish Times</em> following the session, Dr Turnell echoes Tusla chief executive, Fred McBride, in a recent interview. He is critical of &ldquo;simplistic notions&rdquo;, particularly among media and political voices, that social services should be able to protect children from all risk.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Nonsense</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The Irish should be the last people to buy that nonsense. Life is risk. Sending your child to school is a risk. I am sure I could find risks in your family if I looked,&rdquo; he says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Demanding elimination of risk endangers children, he says, creating &ldquo;risk- averse&rdquo; social workers &ldquo;terrified of getting anything &lsquo;wrong&rsquo;, hiding behind procedures and not trusting families&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If you want to grow, you take risks. Risk can lead to things being better. Positive risk empowers families. No family will be made perfect and of course; there will be failures.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Stressing the maxim &ldquo;it takes a village to raise a child&rdquo;, he says social workers are too often expected to put right the consequences of poverty and society&rsquo;s failure to support poorer families and their children. Internationally, poverty is a factor in more than 90 per cent of child neglect/protection cases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He is optimistic for Ireland&rsquo;s child protection services. Having trained child social workers in 15 countries, he says: &ldquo;What&rsquo;s fantastic about Ireland is you have not proceduralised yourselves to death. You&rsquo;ve got real heart-and-soul social workers who care, who have incredible emotional intelligence, and you have staff retention rates other places, especially London, would die for.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Ireland is so far ahead already. If it wants, Ireland could have the best child protection services in the developed world, within five years.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 26th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/social-workers-retrained-to-manage-risk-instead-of-remove-it-1.3133103\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/social-workers-retrained-to-manage-risk-instead-of-remove-it-1.3133103</a></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-26 13:09:43',NULL,'social-workers-‘retrained’-to-manage-risk-instead-of-remove-it'),(2040,'Tusla boss defends returning home previously at-risk children','<p>\r\n	The head of the Chid and Family Agency, Tusla, has defended returning children home after they have been removed by garda&iacute; for their own protection.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Chief executive of Tusla, Fred McBride, was commenting on an audit, by Prof Geoffrey Shannon, of children removed from their homes under section 12 of the Child Care Act, 1991.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report details 91 cases where garda&iacute; used section 12 to remove a child, believing there was an immediate and serious risk to his/her health or welfare.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr McBride said returning a child or young person home, once the crisis was managed, was an extremely positive outcome.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tusla manage these crises and, where it is safe to do so, we return the young person home with a robust care plan and supports in place, if required, and, in most cases, this is also the wish of the young person,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At last week&rsquo;s Oireachtas joint committee on children and youth affairs, Mr McBride said Tusla conducted an audit of Section 12 cases in one county between January and May this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We can report that there were 14 occasions where An Garda S&iacute;och&aacute;na invoked Section 12.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Four children were placed in the care of Tusla, including a newborn baby, and the remaining 10 families continue to have ongoing social work support within their homes and communities.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;One of these cases is due for closure shortly,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr McBride said no member of Tusla was interviewed about the 91 cases reviewed in Dr Shannon&rsquo;s report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Tusla has requested An Garda S&iacute;ochana to provide identifying details in respect of the cases referred to in Dr Shannon&rsquo;s report, in order that we can review each to ensure it adhered to the highest standards of practice.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr McBride said that he had also written to Dr Shannon, emphasising that they accepted the report and that they were not trying to undermine it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fianna Fail&rsquo;s spokesperson on children and youth affairs, Anne Rabbitte, said 5,200 children needed a social worker and 20% were &ldquo;priority&rdquo; cases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr McBride assured the deputy that they responded immediately to any child in imminent danger and that a duty intake team was working on 2,000 of the cases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, he was concerned that the number of unallocated cases was increasing again, after two and a half years of a constant reduction.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We are trying to get underneath the bonnet of why that is,&rdquo; said Mr McBride.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 26th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/tusla-boss-defends-returning-home-previously-at-risk-children-453336.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/tusla-boss-defends-returning-home-previously-at-risk-children-453336.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-26 13:18:48',NULL,'tusla-boss-defends-returning-home-previously-at-risk-children'),(2041,'HSE told to \'address the special circumstances\' of elderly couple split up for first time in 63 years','<p>\r\n	Health Minister Simon Harris said he has instructed the HSE to &quot;seek to resolve&quot; the plight of Michael and Kathleen Devereaux &quot;with compassion&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He also said he expects to receive an update on the situation today.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The elderly couple, aged 90 and 86 respectively, hit headlines yesterday after they told of how they have been split up for the first time in 63 years after Kathleen was rejected for nursing home care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Earlier this year they applied as a couple for the Fair Deal scheme, which means they would pay a contribution towards the private nursing home, and the State would pay the rest. Michael was accepted but Kathleen was rejected.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Now, for the first time in 63 years the couple have been separated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Michael broke down yesterday as he told Joe Duffy on RTE&#39;s Liveline about their situation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We&#39;ve been separated for the first time in our lives after 63 long years of marriage,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I can&#39;t explain it. I feel as if my head is going to burst.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Michael is currently waiting in a double room in the nursing home for his wife to join him. He said he is heartbroken without her but he can&#39;t afford to pay for private full-time residential care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Health Minister Simon Harris responded to the situation this morning and said he has instructed the HSE &quot;to seek to resolve the situation.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a statement released to RTE&#39;s Morning Ireland, the Department of Health said; &quot;Minister Harris was very concerned to hear of the situation regarding this couple.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;He has instructed the HSE to seek to resolve the situation and address the special circumstances with compassion being absolutely paramount.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The Minister expects to receive an update today and is very clear that this must be resolved.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Michael, a former accountant, and Kathleen&#39;s son Tom told of the suffering the family have gone through since the HSE ruled that their mother did not qualify for the Fair Deal, on the grounds that she was deemed &quot;independent&quot; and capable of looking after herself.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;My father went into the nursing home in April but my mother wasn&#39;t consented for the scheme. I had to put in a review and it was turned down and this was despite letter from her GP saying she needed long-term care,&quot; he explained.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It&#39;s horrific. On a daily basis both of them are crying. It&#39;s tough on myself and my two sisters and all the grandchildren too.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Kathleen has been in Wexford General since April 28 when she was admitted for a bacterial infection. She also suffers with arthritis. The hospital want to discharge her but she is unable to come home. She hasn&#39;t left her ward since being admitted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Michael is in a double room in his nursing home. Since he&#39;s been there, the other bed has been vacant.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;For quite a few weeks since he&#39;s been in the bed has been empty. It just doesn&#39;t make sense,&quot; said Tom.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;They&#39;re in their twilight years. At the ages they&#39;re at obviously they&#39;re not going to live too long. I never thought they&#39;d end up in a situation like this. They&#39;re being treated really, really badly.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Michael also spoke to Liveline but the former accountant struggled to fight back tears when speaking about his wife.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I can&#39;t sleep. I wake at three or maybe four every morning. I pray and then I cry. It&#39;s terrible,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We&#39;ve been separated for the first time in our lives after 63 long years of marriage. I can&#39;t explain it. I feel as if my head is going to burst. The fact is we just love each other so much. It&#39;s a nightmare for me and it&#39;s a nightmare I&#39;m sure for my lovely wife.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Did I ever think for one moment...&quot; he said before he burst into tears.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We were loyal citizens all our lives and it&#39;s terrible to think that the same country has left us in this situation. I&#39;m devastated.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Kathleen told Liveline that she doesn&#39;t understand why the family&#39;s appeal was rejected.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;They don&#39;t talk much to me at all, it&#39;s all between my husband and my son. I&#39;m in a ward here for the eighth week and it&#39;s dreadful. I want to go to the nursing home and be with my husband.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I saw him the other day for about an hour. Somebody brought him to me. I&#39;m upset too. It&#39;s dreadful. What&#39;s going to happen?&quot; she asked.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tom explained that since their appeal was rejected, the only option available to them is to take the matter to the High Court but he doesn&#39;t want to put his parents through the trauma of a trial.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;In the event of an appeal not being allowed the only step is to go to the High Court. What person in an advanced age can take on the High Court. There&#39;s no compassion for the elderly. It&#39;s horrific,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We don&#39;t have the skills or the training to look after my mother and she needs care night and day. We thought my father was going to pass away in February but he has improved since going to the nursing home thanks to the level of care. We fought and fought to say [my mother] is not independent. We&#39;ve seen it at home.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tom said that there was a &quot;failing in the system&quot; and highlighted the fact that if his mother was allowed to leave the hospital and move to the nursing home, her hospital bed would be free for someone else.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Even the way that my mother was assessed... it was on toilet use, dressing and bathing but it was all verbal,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;They didn&#39;t interview my father in the appeal. They didn&#39;t interview anyone.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;A married couple together for so long, how can we challenge this?&quot; he asked.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Things has moved on since [the interview]. Her health is not improving. It&#39;s getting worse while she&#39;s in hospital and she accepts that she can&#39;t be at home. All she wants is to be beside her husband for God knows how many days, months, years they have left.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tom&#39;s sister Sheila told Independent.ie that the family is confident their mother would have a greater quality of life in the nursing home, not just because she will be reunited with her husband but because the level of care there is &quot;excellent&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It&#39;s a fantastic nursing home and they&#39;ve done so much for my father. His health has improved greatly since he&#39;s been there. They&#39;ve been very good to him and to us. I know it isn&#39;t home but they&#39;ve made it very homely.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We feel a great sense of hopelessness about my mother&#39;s situation but we know that if we could get her a place there she would be happy and well looked after,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A Department of Health representative told Independent.ie yesterday that they&#39;ve asked the HSE to look into Michael and Kathleen&#39;s case as a &quot;matter of urgency.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokesperson for the HSE said that they are &quot;very conscious of the circumstances raised in media this afternoon&quot; in a statement released to Independent.ie.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It added: &quot;The HSE can also assure the public that its Community Healthcare Organisation in the Wexford area will be liaising with the family concerned and will arrange to meet with them in an attempt at reaching a resolution as soon as possible.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 27th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/hse-told-to-address-the-special-circumstances-of-elderly-couple-split-up-for-first-time-in-63-years-35869838.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/hse-told-to-address-the-special-circumstances-of-elderly-couple-split-up-for-first-time-in-63-years-35869838.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-27 11:39:48',NULL,'hse-told-to-address-the-special-circumstances-of-elderly-couple-split-up-for-first-time-in-63-years'),(2042,'Court backs \'pill\' jab for woman in HSE\'s care','<p>\r\n	A contraceptive injection can be administered to a mentally ill young woman who has expressed inconsistent views as to whether or not she consented to the injection, the High Court has directed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Doctors and psychiatrists involved in the woman&#39;s care, and a consultant asked to independently assess her, all expressed concern that she is at real risk of another pregnancy and that would be seriously detrimental to her mental and physical health.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Aged in her early 20s and with a long history of mental illness, the woman gave birth in recent months to a child by caesarean section.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The court permitted the section to be carried out because she was not communicating with doctors in relation to the pregnancy and mode of delivery. The child is now in care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The woman&#39;s mental health appears to have improved in recent months but she remains in a HSE facility.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Yesterday, the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Peter Kelly, said he was satisfied from the evidence to grant the HSE orders, permitting the three-month contraceptive injection to be administered.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Having been told the woman seems to believe that she has no option except to return to the premises where the father of her child lives, when she had said she does not want a sexual relationship with him, the judge directed the HSE to examine other options for her return to normal living and adjourned the matter for two weeks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	All the evidence suggests that another pregnancy in circumstances where the woman has not made a full psychiatric recovery would be detrimental to her mental and physical health, he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The woman had also given inconsistent responses when asked for consent to the injection, he noted. Most recently, she was said to have agreed to it when she had four days earlier opposed it, saying that while she did not want to get pregnant, nor did she want unnecessary medicine.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Earlier David Leahy BL, for the HSE, said her treating psychiatrist had reported, while the woman was previously non-verbal, she is now communicating, eating, drinking and complying with medications. Her psychiatrist considered the risk of another pregnancy was &quot;extremely high&quot; and that the woman, who exhibits a &quot;child-like quality&quot;, underestimates the risk to her health from unprotected sex.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Natalie McDonnell BL, representing the woman&#39;s interests, said she had said she did not want to get pregnant again.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A &quot;robust&quot; plan should be put in place by the HSE to ensure her safety if she visits the man unsupervised and also for an alternative living arrangement for her.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While the woman had said she regards the man as her former partner and does not want a sexual relationship with him, his views in that regard are not known, the court was told.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 27th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/court-backs-pill-jab-for-woman-in-hses-care-35869150.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/court-backs-pill-jab-for-woman-in-hses-care-35869150.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-27 11:48:22',NULL,'court-backs-pill-jab-for-woman-in-hses-care'),(2043,'Over one in three sexual assault victims are students, Cork centre says','<p>\r\n	One in five women in Ireland experience sexual violence but only one in four report it</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Students made up 35 per cent of the client base of the Sexual Violence Centre Cork last year, the organisation&rsquo;s annual report says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Almost three-quarters (74 per cent) of the sexual assault victims who engaged with the centre last year said they knew their attacker, with 25 per cent of the reported sexual assaults taking place in the victim&rsquo;s home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some 22 per cent of sexual assaults happened in the perpetrator&rsquo;s home and 23 per cent took place outdoors, it said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The centre said demand for its services last year was largely consistent with 2015. Some 310 victims of sexual violence availed of its services with 248 of these first-time clients and 62 in ongoing contact.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mary Crilly, the centre&rsquo;s director, said its helpline received 1,426 calls and 1,006 contacts were made by text while 92 callouts were performed to the sexual assault unit at the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Child sexual abuse</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Crillly said 91 per cent of clients last year were female and 53 per cent of those who contacted the service had experiencing rape or sexual assault as an adult. Some 27 per cent of clients were adult survivors of child sexual abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some 15 per cent of clients were aged between 14 and 18. In the cases of adult rape or sexual assault, 50 per cent of clients were aged 18-23; 22 per cent were between 24 and 29; 14 per cent were aged 30-39; 8 per cent were aged 40-49; 3 per cent were aged 50-59; and 3 per cent were 60 or over.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report also shows that some 35 per cent of clients were students, 6 per cent were homeless, 5 per cent identified as LGBTQ+, 3 per cent declared a disability, 3 per cent resided in direct provision, 3 per cent were victims of sex trafficking and 1 per cent were members of the Traveller community</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One in five women nationally have experience of sexual violence but only one in four of these report it to garda&iacute;, said Ms Crilly, who added that Ireland has a conviction rate of just 5 per cent for sexual offences. She said &ldquo;sexual violence is about power and control &ndash; it is about misogyny&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<h4>\r\n	Consent</h4>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Crilly said there had recently been conversations and campaigns about consent and she hoped that consent workshops in third level institutions would help educate people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Consent is not grey. There is consensual sex and there is sexual assault. There is nothing in between,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Crilly said there had been a number of positive developments last year in terms of combating sexual violence, most notably the progression of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill through the D&aacute;il and Seanad before its enactment on March 27th last.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Crilly said the act addressed a number of issues including a statutory definition of consent as well as establishing new offences relating to the sexual exploitation of persons with disabilities, she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The centre also noticed the use of social media to harass and abuse was on the increase and forms an additional element in sexual abuse, said Ms Crilly. She also welcomed the establishment of the Garda protective services unit in Cork, which she said would help to ensure consistency in investigations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 26th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/over-one-in-three-sexual-assault-victims-are-students-cork-centre-says-1.3134780\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/over-one-in-three-sexual-assault-victims-are-students-cork-centre-says-1.3134780</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-27 12:17:54',NULL,'over-one-in-three-sexual-assault-victims-are-students-cork-centre-says'),(2044,'Snapchat tries to calm parents\' fears in row over \'map\'','<p>\r\n	Snapchat has moved to allay fears by parents&#39; groups over a new feature that shows a Snapchat user&#39;s location on a map.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The feature, called Snap Map, is an opt-in service which users have to switch on to choose how public they want their location to be. While privacy is the default option, a user can select a public setting, showing their location on the new map to friends whenever they use the service.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Surveys show that Snapchat is now the most used texting and photo-swapping service among Irish teenagers and children. However, the same surveys show it is the least used major social media service among parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Reports of the map move by Snapchat has caused some Irish parents and child welfare groups to issue statements urging parents to be aware of what their children are doing online.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Radio shows and other media have speculated that the feature could be used as a stalking tool for predators.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Cliona Curley, programme director at CyberSafeIreland, said children should be encouraged not to share their location with strangers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In response, a spokeswoman for Snapchat said that the feature was designed to be accessible only by friends of a Snapchat user.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;With Snap Map, location-sharing is off by default for all users and is completely optional,&quot; said the spokeswoman. &quot;Snapchatters can choose exactly who they want to share their location with, if at all, and can change that setting at any time. It&#39;s also not possible to share your location with someone who isn&#39;t already your friend on Snapchat, and the majority of interactions on Snapchat take place between close friends.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The new Snap Map feature has three settings which vary between location awareness to all friends, a select number of friends or a &#39;ghost mode&#39;, where the user&#39;s physical location is viewable to no-one.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The safety of our community is very important to us and we want to make sure that all Snapchatters, parents and educators have accurate information about how the Snap Map works,&quot; said a Snapchat spokeswoman.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Snapchat differs from other social media and messaging services with the disappearing nature of its posts. Texts, photo messages and video-blog &#39;stories&#39; have a lifespan of between a few seconds and 24 hours on the service.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to Ipsos MRBI, 26pc of over-15s use Snapchat in Ireland, with tens of thousands more under that age using it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 28th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/business/technology/snapchat-tries-to-calm-parents-fears-in-row-over-map-35873127.html\">http://www.independent.ie/business/technology/snapchat-tries-to-calm-parents-fears-in-row-over-map-35873127.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-28 11:15:40',NULL,'snapchat-tries-to-calm-parents-fears-in-row-over-map'),(2045,'Fear of limits on asylum seeker right to work','<p>\r\n	Weeks after the Supreme Court ruled that a ban on asylum seekers working was unconstitutional, the Government has been accused of seeking &ldquo;caveats&rdquo; to its implementation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	About 3,000 asylum seekers may now be eligible to work, and there have been calls for those affected to be given the right to work after six months.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	That is the time limit within which they are supposed to receive a decision on their application, though 4,000 of the people in direct provision have been here for longer than that period.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has hinted that the Government could seek restrictions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In many EU member states, the right to work is not an unfettered right, often arising after a particular period of time &mdash; usually nine months to a year &mdash; and, in many instances, may be limited to particular job categories or the withdrawal of other financial supports,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In making its unanimous ruling, the seven-judge Supreme Court did adjourn making any formal orders for six months to allow the legislature to consider how to address the situation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Flanagan said the State would make submissions to the court, &ldquo;in relation to the format of the order the court is to make at the appropriate time&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The court itself recognises the complexities around this issue, in that it acknowledges the executive function, in not only controlling who should enter the State, but also to regulate the activities of non-citizens while in the State, and has had to consider the distinctions of rights between citizens and non-citizens in the context of Article 40.1 of the Constitution,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Brian Killoran, the chief executive of the Immigrant Council of Ireland, said allowing asylum seekers to work is a win-win situation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said it gives dignity to people, while providing greater opportunities for integration and for contributing to the economy. Therefore, he said it was concerning that the minister was focusing on the potential caveats.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said the ruling was the &ldquo;perfect opportunity for the new minister for justice to start his tenure with a strong, positive statement and follow-up action&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;While access to the labour market after nine months is the norm in most EU member states, as the new International Protection Act aspires to process applications in Ireland in a six-month period, we think it should be granted at that point,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We also believe access to the labour market should not be restricted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Introducing administrative barriers or requirements would not only be counter-productive, but potentially cost the State by having to resource the administration.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 26th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/fear-of-limits-on-asylum-seeker-right-to-work-453397.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/fear-of-limits-on-asylum-seeker-right-to-work-453397.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-28 11:19:25',NULL,'fear-of-limits-on-asylum-seeker-right-to-work'),(2046,'Ireland is failing trafficking survivors, claims report','<p>\r\n	This country is deficient when it comes to supporting victims of human trafficking, with a report claiming Ireland is still a destination and source country for women, men, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour, including forced criminal activity.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The annual Trafficking in Persons Report 2016, by the US State Department, noted while 90 new trafficking-related cases were opened here last year, in line with figures for recent years, a conviction for trafficking has not been secured since 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to the report, of last year&rsquo;s cases, 61 involved sexual exploitation, 17 involved labour exploitation, four were forced criminality, two were for both sexual and labour exploitation, and six were uncategorised.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It said garda&iacute; have continued pretrial reviews of at least 13 cases for possible trafficking indicators related to cannabis sector arrests, while nine people were prosecuted last year for human trafficking crimes &mdash; &ldquo;a significant increase from previous reporting periods (zero prosecutions in 2015; one prosecution in 2014; two prosecutions in 2013)&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There were 29 trafficking cases pending prosecution, 18 of which were new suspected trafficking cases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last year, 95 suspected trafficking victims were identified, compared with 78 in 2015 and 46 in 2014. Of those, 52 were exploited in sex trafficking, 38 in labour trafficking, one in both sex and labour trafficking, and four in forced criminality in the selling of heroin; 50 were female and 45 were male, with the increase in men driven by one case involving 23 Romanian male victims.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The victims included 39 Romanians, 19 Irish children, and 10 from Nigeria, with the rest coming from Eastern Europe, Africa, South Asia, and South America.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report noted: &ldquo;Experts raised concerns about the Government&rsquo;s ability and efficiency to identify human trafficking victims and its efficiency in doing so.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Although the Government meets the minimum standards, it has not obtained a trafficking conviction since 2013, and had deficiencies in certain areas of victim identification, suitable housing for victims that prevent retraumatisation, and viable avenues for victim compensation.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It found that Ireland is one country listed as a destination for Hungarian women and children subjected to sex trafficking and domestic labour. It said Latvian women have been recruited for brokered marriages in Western Europe, &ldquo;particularly Ireland&rdquo;, where they are vulnerable to sex trafficking, domestic servitude, and forced labour.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some Lithuanian men are subjected to forced labour, including in agriculture, in countries including Ireland, with Slovak women also trafficked here for sexual exploitation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report noted shortcomings, such as a lack of specialised services in the centres for female victims who have been traumatised due to psychological, physical, or sexual violence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last year two trafficking victims were granted a 60-day period of recovery and reflection, while seven were granted a six-month temporary residence permit, and three suspected victims were granted a change of status in immigration.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.state.gov/documents/organization/271339.pdf</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 28th June 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/ireland-is-failing-trafficking-survivors-claims-report-453517.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/ireland-is-failing-trafficking-survivors-claims-report-453517.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-06-28 12:12:52',NULL,'ireland-is-failing-trafficking-survivors-claims-report'),(2047,'Government approves ‘opt-out’ system for organ donation','<p>\r\n	Harris says the measure has potential to transform organ donation in the State</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Government has approved the creation of an opt-out system for organ donation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Minister for Health Simon Harris brought a memo to the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday seeking consent to draft the general scheme of a Human Tissue Bill which seeks to increase the number of organs made available to doctors.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The aim of the legislation is to regulate the removal, retention, storage, use and disposal of human tissue from deceased persons.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The opt-out clause will mean that families retain the right to intervene and stop the organs of their loved ones being donated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Harris said the measure has the potential to transform organ donation in the State.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This has been long-talked about in this country and today we take a step closer to it becoming a reality,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;An opt-out system of consent for organ donation and accompanying publicity campaign will raise awareness among individuals and encourage discussion among families of their intentions in relation to organ donation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In this way individuals can increase the chances that their organs might be utilised after their death, and can ensure that those left behind will have the satisfaction of knowing that their wishes were carried through.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Such a system has been promised for several years. The decision by Cabinet is the first legislative step in the process.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Harris has requested a period of consultation before drafting the heads of the Bill for Cabinet in the autumn.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Human Tissue Bill will also ensure no hospital post-mortem examination can be carried out and no tissue retained without authorisation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This was a recommendation made by Dr Deirdre Madden in a report presented to former minister for health Mary Harney in 2005.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The proposed Bill by Mr Harris will ensure such proposals are placed on a statutory basis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 11th July 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/government-approves-opt-out-system-for-organ-donation-1.3151266\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/government-approves-opt-out-system-for-organ-donation-1.3151266</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-07-12 10:56:50',NULL,'government-approves-‘opt-out’-system-for-organ-donation'),(2048,'Children with special needs cannot access school transport','<p>\r\n	Children with special needs are unable to attend the school deemed most suitable for them as they do not qualify, under strict rules, for school transport.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The difficulties for children with special needs accessing transport were among issues raised with TDs and senators during a meeting to discuss the Department of Education&rsquo;s &euro;182m-a-year school transport scheme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Most of the 15,000 special educational needs (SEN) students attending special schools, or special classes in mainstream schools, are among the 116,000 children carried daily by buses and taxis under the system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) told the Oireachtas Education Committee most of the small number of cases where difficulties arise relate to rules dictating that a student can only avail of the school transport scheme if they are enrolled in the nearest school which is or can be resourced to meet their needs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The council&rsquo;s role is to confirm to the Department of Education that the school being attended is the nearest such school, but NCSE head of operations S&eacute; Goulding said its staff is not allowed use any discretion.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It previously advised that transport be provided for children with complex special needs to alternative special schools and special classes where the HSE is unable to provide the necessary therapy supports for a student at their nearest school.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education (NAB-MSE), representing more than 200 mainstream and special schools, also flagged problems about the nearest-school rule.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This can cause problems when parents consider that the nearest special school best suits the needs of the student with SEN and there is another school nearer to the child&rsquo;s home. This may mean that the student is not eligible for school transport and that can be difficult,&rdquo; said NABMSE general secretary Breda Corr.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Department of Education school transport official Richard Dolan told the committee the numbers availing of the SEN transport scheme have increased from 8,317 to 11,650 between 2012 and 2016.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This has seen the costs, including grants, payments to contractors and funding for escorts, rise by almost half from &euro;57.7m to &euro;83.5m in the same period.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Most of the 410 services introduced by Bus &Eacute;ireann last year were for children with SEN, said the company&rsquo;s acting CEO, Ray Hernan.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	National Parents&rsquo; Council-Primary chief executive &Aacute;ine Lynch said parents of SEN pupils have contacted the organisation about their children with SEN being deemed ineligible for transport to the school which they believe fits their child&rsquo;s needs best, because of the nearest-school rule.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;While NPC understands that the scheme can not be completely open-ended to accommodate all parents&rsquo; wishes, more flexibility in eligibility criteria would assist better decisions being made in the interests of children,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The hearing was attended by a number of TDs who were not committee members to point out the frustrations of families over the lack of flexibility in the broader school transport system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Particular difficulties were highlighted over children being deemed ineligible to attend schools with which there are family, sporting and other strong associations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 12th July 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/children-with-special-needs-cannot-access-school-transport-454589.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/children-with-special-needs-cannot-access-school-transport-454589.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-07-12 11:50:36',NULL,'children-with-special-needs-cannot-access-school-transport'),(2049,'Mother’s bid to stop children’s visit to London fails','<p>\r\n	Judge says greater risk of being killed by car in Ennis than in terrorist attack in London</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A judge has told a woman that there is a greater risk of being knocked down and killed by a car on the streets of Ennis than being killed in a terrorist attack in London.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Patrick Durcan made his comments at the family law court in Ennis where a mother was opposing the release of passports for her two children so they can go on holiday to London with their father.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Pamela Clancy, solicitor for the mother, said her client was objecting to the London holiday over the threat of a terrorist attack.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Clancy said the terror threat level in the UK was currently at its second highest level of &lsquo;severe&rsquo; which meant an attack &ldquo;is highly likely&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Clancy said her client&rsquo;s concerns about the planned holiday arise from recent terror incidents in London and Manchester, where she said young people were specifically targeted in an attack at an Ariana Grande concert.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the case, the children reside with their father but the mother has their passports.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sh&iacute;ofra Hassett, solicitor for the father, said the children had been with their father on holidays to London before and the costs of the holiday was being part funded by relatives they will be staying with.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Durcan said he &ldquo;totally sympathised&rdquo; with the position of the mother but said his own wife and daughter were travelling to London. &ldquo;The reality is that is there is a greater risk of being knocked down by a car in Ennis than suffering a fatality in a terror attack.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He added he could not hold with the mother in the case. Solicitors for the parents produced a consent order in the court that allowed the release of the passports so the holiday could proceed. The order specified that the children and mother stay in daily contact during the trip.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 10th July 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/mother-s-bid-to-stop-children-s-visit-to-london-fails-1.3149872\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/mother-s-bid-to-stop-children-s-visit-to-london-fails-1.3149872</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-07-13 10:18:07',NULL,'mother’s-bid-to-stop-children’s-visit-to-london-fails'),(2050,'Dáil to debate bill allowing children to be adopted by their foster parents','<p>\r\n	It is hoped that a bill to allow children to be adopted by their foster parents will be passed in the D&aacute;il today.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The legislation will enable all kids to be considered for adoption regardles of the marital status of their parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It would also allow married parents to voluntarily place a child for adoption.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	June Tinsley, Head of Advocacy at Barnardos, says the new bill would simplify the entire process.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Tinsley said: &quot;Presently adoption is available for some children, this law will extend that, particularly for children who are in long-term foster care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;And certainly Barnardos would welcome that because it would ensure that those children would have additional security and stability that they need, especially when reunification with their birth families is not an option for those children.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 13th July 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/dail-to-debate-bill-allowing-children-to-be-adopted-by-their-foster-parents-797649.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/dail-to-debate-bill-allowing-children-to-be-adopted-by-their-foster-parents-797649.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-07-13 10:19:58',NULL,'dã¡il-to-debate-bill-allowing-children-to-be-adopted-by-their-foster-parents'),(2051,'Honduras bans child marriage, removing exceptions ','<p>\r\n	Politicians in Honduras have voted unanimously to ban child marriage, making it illegal in the Central American nation for children under the age of 18 to get married under any circumstances.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The law raises the minimum marriage age to 18 from 16 and removes all exceptions for child marriage, meaning that girls and boys under 18 cannot get married even with the permission of their parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Belinda Portillo from children&#39;s charity Plan International said Honduras had &quot;made history&quot; by passing the law in a country where one in four children are married before the age of 18.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The fight against child marriage is a strategic way of promoting the rights and empowerment of women in various areas, such as health, education, work, freedom from violence,&quot; Ms Portillo, Plan&#39;s Honduras country director, said in a statement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Enforcing the law will be hardest in indigenous communities and poor rural areas in Honduras where child marriage is most prevalent, campaigners say.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Often driven by poverty and cultural acceptance, child marriage usually involves a girl marrying an older man and deprives girls of education and opportunities, keeping them in poverty.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Each year more than 15 million girls worldwide are married before they turn 18, according to campaign group Girls Not Brides.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Experts say child brides are more likely to be victims of sexual and domestic abuse and become teenage mothers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Pregnancy and childbirth complications are the leading cause of death for girls aged 15 to 19 globally.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Portillo said banning child marriage in Honduras would give girls a chance to be better educated and increase their earnings, helping to boost the country&#39;s annual gross domestic product by about 3.5%.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a report last month, the World Bank said child marriage will cost developing countries trillions of dollars by 2030, hampering global efforts to eradicate poverty.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Most Latin American countries ban marriage until 18, but many of them still allow children to get married at a younger age with the permission of parents or a judge.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Campaigners hope other countries in Latin America will follow Honduras&#39;s example.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by RTE.ie on the 13th July 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0713/889877-child-marriage-honduras/\">https://www.rte.ie/news/2017/0713/889877-child-marriage-honduras/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-07-13 10:26:50',NULL,'honduras-bans-child-marriage-removing-exceptions'),(2052,'120 released sex offenders living among communities','<p>\r\n	There are 120 sex offenders living in communities across the country and being monitored as part of their post-release supervision programming.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The 120 subject to post-supervision orders represent an increase of six on the total for this time last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the US, under the so-called Megan&#39;s Law, state authorities disclose to the public the addresses of freed sex offenders and the crimes they have been convicted of.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the UK, under &#39;Sarah&#39;s Law&#39;, parents are allowed to ask the police if someone who might have contact with their children has a criminal record for child sex offences.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, a 2015 study showed that just one in six applications was successful, with police citing vigilantism fears as part of the reasons for withholding details.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	No such provision exists in Irish law relating to garda&iacute; having to disclose the addresses of freed convicted sex offenders.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to figures released by Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan, the largest concentration of any released sex offenders subject to post-release supervision is in the Dublin north and north east areas, where 32 are living.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a written D&aacute;il reply to Fianna F&aacute;il&#39;s justice spokesman Jim O&#39;Callaghan, Mr Flanagan confirmed that a further 24 are living in the Dublin south and Wicklow area, while 23 have addresses in the west and north-west - excluding Westmeath.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In his reply, Mr Flanagan confirmed that a further 22 are living in the midlands and the south-east, with 19 living in the south-west.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Around 1,000 sex offenders are obliged to provide local garda&iacute; with their address and any change when moving - however, post-supervision orders go a step further, requiring offenders to undergo psychological counselling or other treatment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Those sex offenders who breach post-release supervision conditions are liable to prison terms not exceeding 12 months.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Flanagan said figures relating to non-compliance of supervision orders are not readily available.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a separate D&aacute;il reply to Mr O&#39;Callaghan, Mr Flanagan confirmed there are currently three sex offenders and one killer currently on temporary release.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The latest figures from the Irish Prison Service show that there has been a steady increase in those jailed for sexual offences this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At the end of May, the figures show there were 394 sex offenders jailed, an increase of eight since March.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Published by the Irish Independent on the 17th July 2017</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/120-released-sex-offenders-living-among-communities-35936841.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/120-released-sex-offenders-living-among-communities-35936841.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-07-17 11:25:26',NULL,'120-released-sex-offenders-living-among-communities'),(2053,'We\'re hiring!','<div id=\"id_596ca409095297999295737\">\r\n	<p>\r\n		Job Reference:&nbsp; Social Care Training Ireland (Carlow)</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		&nbsp;</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		Job Type:&nbsp; Full time</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		&nbsp;</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		Salary:&nbsp; Negotiable</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		&nbsp;</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		Experience:&nbsp; Minimum 3 years</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		&nbsp;</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		Qualifications:&nbsp; Third Level desirable</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		&nbsp;</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		Contact Name:&nbsp; Jennifer Hayes</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		&nbsp;</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		Contact Email:&nbsp; recruitment@daffodilcare.ie</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		&nbsp;</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		Closing Date:&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		08/08/2017</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		&nbsp;</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		Job Description:&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		Social Care Training Ireland is seeking to recruit a Training Coordinator for its newly opened Headquarters based in Carlow.</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		&nbsp;</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		Who we are</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		Established in 2011, Social Care Training Ireland, provides a broad range of training and consultancy services to individuals, groups and organisations nationwide, including Health Service Executive(HSE), Department of Education, Tusla Child &amp; Family Agency, Non- Governmental organisations, professional employment agencies, universities, community services, disability services and private residential care providers.</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		&nbsp;</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		Job Summary</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		Reporting to the Business and Training Manager, this standalone role will primarily involve managing, coordinating, scheduling and supporting multiple training programmes for external customers in the social care sector nationwide.</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		This is an ideal role for an experienced Administrator with a strong customer service focus who thrives in an environment where they can work independently.</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		On the daily basis, you will interact with private and business clients via phone and email and act as the key point of contact in relation to customer queries regarding upcoming training courses, request for sales quotations and fee queries as well as liaising with vendors to ensure courses are organised to the highest standards.</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		Other Key Responsibilities will include:</p>\r\n	<ul>\r\n		<li style=\"margin-left: 69px;\">\r\n			Generating Reports on training activities for the Business Manager via Excel.</li>\r\n		<li style=\"margin-left: 69px;\">\r\n			Supporting the company website and social media platforms in relation to training developments.</li>\r\n		<li style=\"margin-left: 69px;\">\r\n			Liaising with the Finance Department on customer invoicing.</li>\r\n		<li style=\"margin-left: 69px;\">\r\n			Support the marketing function of the wider organisation.</li>\r\n		<li style=\"margin-left: 69px;\">\r\n			Attendance at relevant conferences to represent Social Care Training Ireland where required.</li>\r\n	</ul>\r\n	<p style=\"margin-left:69px;\">\r\n		&nbsp;</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		The successful candidate will possess the following</p>\r\n	<ul>\r\n		<li style=\"margin-left: 67px;\">\r\n			Minimum 3 years Senior Administration or Senior Administration Coordinator experience with responsibility, in a busy office environment dealing with external clients or customers.</li>\r\n		<li style=\"margin-left: 67px;\">\r\n			Third Level Qualification is desirable.</li>\r\n		<li style=\"margin-left: 67px;\">\r\n			High level of proficiency in MS Office, in particular Excel.</li>\r\n		<li style=\"margin-left: 67px;\">\r\n			Excellent &amp; professional telephone manner and written communication skills.</li>\r\n		<li style=\"margin-left: 67px;\">\r\n			Proven track record of managing and prioritising workload and working to tight deadlines.</li>\r\n		<li style=\"margin-left: 67px;\">\r\n			Excellent problem-solving ability and attention to detail.</li>\r\n		<li style=\"margin-left: 67px;\">\r\n			Ability to work on your own initiative and independently.</li>\r\n		<li style=\"margin-left: 67px;\">\r\n			Experience in the Training sector is ideal but not essential</li>\r\n	</ul>\r\n	<p>\r\n		&nbsp;</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		If you would like to be a part of our team that has a track record in providing superior training and consultancy for our clients in the social care sector, then&nbsp;this could be the career move you are looking for.</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		To apply for this role please email your cover letter and CV to recruitment@daffodilcare.ie call 0818903984 for further information.</p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-07-17 11:54:19',NULL,'were-hiring'),(2054,'Bruton\'s reforms \'failing\' as 120,000 children still in \'super-sized\' classes','<p>\r\n	Almost 120,000 primary school pupils are still in classes of 30 or more.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A child&#39;s chance of avoiding a &quot;super-size&quot; class comes down to a postcode lottery.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On average, almost one-in-four, 22pc, primary pupils is in classes of 30-plus, but it varies from as high of 28pc in Co Limerick to 11.5pc in Waterford city.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	After Limerick, the worst hit areas are Meath, D&uacute;n Laoghaire-Rathdown, Co Cork, Co Waterford, Monaghan and Wexford.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Class sizes are also above the national average in Leitrim, Wicklow, Galway, Kerry, Laois, Longford, Louth, Tipperary (north), and Dublin Fingal.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Recently published Department of Education figures provide a school-by-school breakdown of class size in the 2016/2017 year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They show that the biggest classes tend to be in Dublin&#39;s outer suburbs and extended commuter belt and provincial towns that have seen huge population growth over the past decade.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The 2016/17 year saw the first improvement in class sizes for many years, as a result of a Budget 2016 decision to recruit extra teachers for this purpose last September.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Nationally, the proportion of pupils in classes of 30-plus has reduced from 24pc to 22pc, but there remains 118,326 children in large classes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Government has committed to a further improvement, and the issue is covered in the &#39;confidence and supply&#39; agreement with Fianna F&aacute;il.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But there has been no change in Budget 2017 and, as discussions on the Budget 2018 get under way, it is not known what priority the matter is receiving.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Balanced</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokesman for Education Minister Richard Bruton confirmed it was the &quot;minister&#39;s intention to make further improvements to class sizes over the life of the Government&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, he added that the minister &quot;recognises there are needs across the system which have to be balanced in the decisions made in each Budget&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The spokesman said schools are also requested, where possible, to use their autonomy under the staffing schedule to implement smaller class sizes for junior classes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fianna F&aacute;il education spokesman Thomas Byrne said reducing oversized classes at primary level, especially for under-nines, was a key demand of the party in the &#39;confidence and supply&#39; agreement and &quot;we will be pushing the Government to make good on this commitment in the Budget.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said it was &quot;extraordinary that the Action Plan on Education is silent on the impact of overcrowded classrooms on children&#39;s education&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Irish National Teachers&#39; Organisation (INTO) said the number of children in &#39;super-sized&#39; classes in Ireland remained unacceptably high.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	INTO general secretary Sheila Nunan accused the Government of failing in its commitments to reduce class sizes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Irish primary schools have the second biggest classes in the EU. As long as that is the case, the minister&#39;s ambition for education system will fail.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Modern teaching is becoming impossible in overcrowded classes and learning is compromised.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;How can one teacher with 30-plus pupils hear each one read and keep them on task with written work in two languages, check maths progress and tackle bullying,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Nunan said if the minister wanted reforms such as coding and more technology then smaller classes had to be the priority. &quot;If not, all the action plans in the world are worthless,&quot; she added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 17th July 2017)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/education/brutons-reforms-failing-as-120000-children-still-in-supersized-classes-35936759.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/education/brutons-reforms-failing-as-120000-children-still-in-supersized-classes-35936759.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2017-07-17 12:03:06',NULL,'brutons-reforms-failing-as-120000-children-still-in-super-sized-classes'),