(198,'No-alcohol accommodation at UCC','<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	Students about to start the new academic year at UCC will be offered alcohol-free accommodation, as part of a pilot programme.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	The no-alcohol accommodation will be available at the Victoria Lodge section of the campus accommodation.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	According to UCC, students will be asked to provide a written personal statement as to why the no-alcohol option interests them alongside their usual housing application, which will then be screened.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	The contract to adhere to the no-alcohol regulations in the student residence will be included in the current contract that students sign and the consequences of violations will be in line with the current disciplinary process, UCC said.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	A study carried out among UCC students in 2010 revealed a high level of alcohol consumption among the students.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	This study showed that 45.5% of males and 44.5% of females reported binge-drinking more than once a week and all students who reported drinking alcohol said they had had at least one adverse consequence as a result of this.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	The no-alcohol programme is being run by the UCC Health Matters initiative and UCC Campus Accommodation.<br />\r\n	<br />\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=22517\">http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=22517</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-21 08:12:06',NULL,'no-alcohol-accommodation-at-ucc'),(199,'Donal\'s legacy lives on in \'teen room\' for cancer patients','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	A NEW room for teenagers with cancer will open in the coming weeks at Crumlin Children&#39;s Hospital in Dublin &ndash; part of the incredible legacy of Donal Walsh.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The &#39;teen room&#39; &ndash; funded by the &euro;150,000 raised in his name &ndash; will offer a haven for young people, something that was not available to Donal while he was a patient at the hospital.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The teenager, who spoke out about teenage suicide and the lack of facilities for young people with cancer, has continued to have a huge impact three months after his death. Donal lost his own four-year battle with cancer surrounded by his family, at home in Blennerville in Kerry on May 12.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Yesterday, on &#39;Donal&#39;s Day&#39;, his parents Elma and Fionnbar and his sister Jema took to the streets of Tralee and helped raise money for the causes close to Donal&#39;s heart.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<strong style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em;\">FESTIVAL</strong></p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The family recently set up the Donal Walsh #Livelife Foundation. The organisers of the Rose of Tralee International Festival and local vintners approached the Walsh family seeking their permission to call the biggest day of the festival after him.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Donal&#39;s mum Elma said it was a &quot;fantastic honour&quot;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;Tralee honoured Donal when he died by the silence in the town &ndash; and again today having &#39;Donal&#39;s Day&#39; on the most important day of the festival &ndash; the Rose selection.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;It just beats any words really and it&#39;s humbling,&quot; Mrs Walsh told the Irish Independent.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The family is still struggling to come to terms with his loss but has worked tirelessly to help promote his message.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;It isn&#39;t that it helps me cope, I&#39;m brokenhearted every day, but doing something for somebody else helps,&quot; said his mum.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		His dad Fionnbar added: &quot;It&#39;s still fairly raw. We&#39;re surviving day by day. Some days he creeps up on you and it&#39;s very emotional and there are other days when he&#39;s laughing at us. So, it&#39;s a mixture.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Donal&#39;s friends and members of Kerins O&#39;Rahilly&#39;s GAA club and Tralee Rugby Club rowed in behind the family at yesterday&#39;s fundraising drive.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The Donal Walsh #Livelife Foundation has been approached by the national suicide prevention agency Console to furnish a room for teenagers at its Tralee offices.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The foundation has also got behind a HSE initiative to prevent suicide that Mrs Walsh now hopes will be extended to reach even more young people.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/donals-legacy-lives-on-in-teen-room-for-cancer-patients-29515243.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/donals-legacy-lives-on-in-teen-room-for-cancer-patients-29515243.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-21 08:26:31',NULL,'donals-legacy-lives-on-in-teen-room-for-cancer-patients'),(200,'Children’s hospital Board appointments announced','<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	The Minister for Health has appointed nine more members to the Children&rsquo;s Hospital Group Board, which is meant to meld the existing three paediatric facilities into one, before the construction of the new National Paediatric Hospital commences.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	A transitional Board of officials from the Department of Health and the HSE has been in place since January and has progressed the project on a number of fronts, with the aim of securing planning permission by December 2014, Hawkins House said.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	The new Board members include the former Secretary General in the Department of Health Michael Scanlan, who also is Chair of the Tallaght Hospital Board, and the Chairs of the existing three paediatric hospitals that will come together in the Hospital Group &mdash; Crumlin, Temple Street and the paediatric service at Tallaght &mdash; consistent with the Higgins report on Hospital Groups.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	The new children&rsquo;s hospital, to be co-located with St James&rsquo;s Hospital, will bring together the three existing Dublin paediatric hospitals (Our Lady&rsquo;s Children&rsquo;s Hospital, Crumlin; Children&rsquo;s University Hospital, Temple Street; and the National Children&rsquo;s Hospital, Tallaght) into one entity.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	The new Board members include John Hennessy representing the Chair of Our Lady&rsquo;s Children&rsquo;s Hospital, Crumlin, and Sean Sheehan, Chair of the Board of the Children&rsquo;s University Hospital, Temple Street. They will join existing Chair&nbsp;<strong>Dr Jim Browne</strong>.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	Meanwhile,&nbsp;<strong>Minister James Reilly</strong>&nbsp;also appointed a Chair and other members to the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board, which is currently seeking to hire a communications consultant for the new children&rsquo;s hospital, replacing the interim Board members who have been progressing the new hospital capital project since January.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.imt.ie/news/latest-news/2013/08/childrens-hospital-board-appointments-announced.html\">http://www.imt.ie/news/latest-news/2013/08/childrens-hospital-board-appointments-announced.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-21 08:28:32',NULL,'children’s-hospital-board-appointments-announced'),(201,'Rise in number of HSE administration staff earning over €100,000','<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	The number of administrators in the&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=HSE&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer !important; outline: none !important;\">HSE</a>&nbsp;earning more than &euro;100,000 has risen in the past year, new figures show.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Against the background of the health authority reducing the number of frontline workers, the executive yesterday confirmed that there was an increase in its top-paid managerial ranks from 121 to 129 during 2012.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	According to figures provided by the HSE, the aggregate pay for the top-earning 129 administrative staff this year will total &euro;15.7 million, compared with the &euro;14.6 million paid out last year.<br />\r\n	<br />\r\n	Allowances</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	The HSE confirmed that at the start of this year, 116 staff earned between &euro;100,000 and &euro;150,000 compared with 109 in the same earning bracket at the start of 2012 &ndash; an increase of seven.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	The health authority said the number of staff earning between &euro;150,000 and &euro;200,000 increased by one to 11 in 2012.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	The figures show that two employees earning more than &euro;200,000 shared &euro;453,880 in gross pay last year.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	The gross pay for all of the 129 staff includes basic pay and allowances, as well as pay for overtime, being on call and working unsocial hours.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	In a statement, the HSE yesterday attributed the increase in the number of employees in administrative roles earning more than &euro;100,000 &ldquo;as a result of a reconfiguration of the management structure as part of the health reform process&rdquo;.<br />\r\n	<br />\r\n	Job losses</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	The increase contrasts with the loss of 1,265 nursing jobs and 472 general support staff in the HSE last year.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	According to the HSE&rsquo;s 2012 annual report, the numbers of job losses last year totalled 2,886, including 257 in management and administration.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	The 127 administrative staff earning between &euro;100,000 and &euro;200,000 make up a small portion of the 2,114 staff whose earnings were within that bracket last year. Most of the 2,114 are consultant doctors.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Assistant general secretary of Impact Andy Pike said: &ldquo;There will be frustration from frontline staff to learn that the HSE is taking on more staff earning more than &euro;100,000.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/rise-in-number-of-hse-administration-staff-earning-over-100-000-1.1500240\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/rise-in-number-of-hse-administration-staff-earning-over-100-000-1.1500240</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-21 08:33:43',NULL,'rise-in-number-of-hse-administration-staff-earning-over-€100000'),(202,'Act brings HSE Directorate into being','<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	The HSE Directorate was finally officially established late last month following the enactment of the HSE (Governance) Act.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	Welcoming the development on July 25, Minister for Health&nbsp;<strong>Dr James Reilly</strong>&nbsp;congratulated Tony O&rsquo;Brien on his appointment as HSE Director General and underlined that the Directorate was &ldquo;accountable to me, as Minister for Health, for the performance of the HSE&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	The Minister also congratulated the National Directors on their appointments. They are: Laverne McGuinness, Chief Operations Officer and Deputy Director General; Tom Byrne, Chief Financial Officer; John Hennessy, Director of Primary Care; Ian Carter, Director of Acute Hospitals; Pat Healy, Director of Social Care; Stephen Mulvany, Director of Mental Health; and Stephanie O&rsquo;Keeffe, Director of Health and Wellbeing.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	The Directorate&rsquo;s establishment follows the enactment of the HSE (Governance) Act, which allows the Minister to issue directions to the HSE on the implementation of Ministerial and Government policies and objectives relating to HSE functions.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	The Minister can also determine priorities to which the HSE must have regard in preparing its service plan and may specify performance targets for the Executive.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	In parallel with these governance reforms, work is advanced on the transfer of children and family services from the HSE to the new Child and Family Agency.&nbsp; The Child and Family Agency Bill, which provides for this transfer, is currently before the Oireachtas.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	&ldquo;The Directorate is a step in a much wider process of reform which envisages, as set out in the Programme for Government, the eventual dissolution of the HSE,&rdquo; said Minister Reilly. &ldquo;This will require further legislation and careful planning and sequencing.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Verdana; line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.imt.ie/news/latest-news/2013/08/act-brings-hse-directorate-into-being.html\">http://www.imt.ie/news/latest-news/2013/08/act-brings-hse-directorate-into-being.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-22 08:04:09',NULL,'act-brings-hse-directorate-into-being');
INSERT INTO `news` VALUES (203,'How to lessen the load of dealing with your lender','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Anybody who is struggling to pay their mortgage will have to engage in lengthy and sometimes complicated interaction with their bank.<br />\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">Doing this can be time-consuming, stressful and intimidating, and many people feel they are constantly on the back foot.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">However, there are structures and procedures in place to assist borrowers, and by following these and other strategies, the process can be a lot less daunting for borrowers.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">If you run into difficulty with your mortgage, either by being in arrears or before you go into arrears (pre-arrears), you are afforded the protection of the Code of Conduct for Mortgage Arrears (Revised June 2013). The code lays out the mortgage arrears resolution process (MARP). This is a formal process which all banks are obliged to follow in dealing with those in mortgage arrears or pre-arrears, and I would suggest this should be read. It is available on www.mortgageholders.ie</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">There is a significant imbalance in power between the bank and borrowers. Whilst the following might not guarantee your lender will agree with your proposals, you will be better prepared for dealing with your bank.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">These are general guidelines and the process can be unwieldy. You should, where possible, get professional advice before signing any documents from your lender.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">The process is designed to assess a borrower&#39;s financial position and come to an agreement, based on a set of options, for a sustainable mortgage for that borrower.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">If you are in arrears and have not yet done so, you need to contact your lender. This will make you a &quot;cooperating borrower&quot;. This should be done by phone and in writing. A full list of the heads or mortgage arrears departments for each lender is available on www.mortgageholders.ie</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">Now we meet the standard financial statement (SFS). This is the most important document in this process and time and effort needs to be afforded when completing it. All lenders are required to use this SFS as a guide when assessing options for borrowers. They are required to have a guide on how to complete this and the same is available on the central bank&#39;s website. The information required in the SFS includes all household income, expenditure, assets and liabilities. This should be completed honestly and accurately. All borrowers&#39; information needs to be on the SFS.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">Each borrower is required to submit accompanying documentation such as three recent payslips or social welfare receipts and three months&#39; bank statements.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">A completed and signed SFS with the accompanying documentation should be sent by registered post to the arrears support unit of your lender. You should ask in writing what exact mortgage cure or restructure solutions they provide. A lender can exclude some of the list of options from its MARP process.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">Once the lender has received your SFS, they are required to evaluate it against all solutions they provide. The lender will make an offer or select an option and send this to you in writing. They must outline why that decision was made.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">You may request in writing that the lender liaises with a third party nominated by you. The lender must comply with this request but is likely to write to you directly with any correspondence.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">There are a range of possible options available to borrowers under MARP. No lender facilitates all these options, despite political utterances to the contrary. However, borrowers should request that all options are considered. More than one option can be used at the same time. The options are: l Interest-only payment for a specified period.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">* A permanent or temporary reduction in the interest rate.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">* Payment of interest and a part of the capital for a period.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">* A payment break for a period.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">* Extending the term of the mortgage.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">* Changing the type of mortgage, except in tracker mortgages, unless agreed.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">* Capitalising the arrears and interest.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">* Any voluntary scheme such as a deferred-interest scheme.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">* Equity participation (lender takes a share, principal is reduced).</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">* A split mortgage (part serviced/part warehoused, with or without interest on the warehoused part, depending on the lender).</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">* A debt write-off.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">One advantage of the new code of conduct is that all restructure offers must include the advantages and disadvantages of the offer.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">You either &quot;accept&quot; or &quot;reject&quot; the offer. Accepting means you agree a new mortgage contract with your lender. If you &quot;reject&quot; because you don&#39;t like the offer or feel it&#39;s not sustainable, you risk being thrown out of the MARP process, but you can then appeal. This must be done within the timeline advised by your lender.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">Unfortunately, this appeal is to an internal bank committee. Any appeal is outside the MARP process and there is only a three-month protection when you leave the process before a lender can begin repossession proceedings.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">Finally, your lender might deem your mortgage unsustainable and suggest that you voluntarily sell or voluntarily surrender the property. In these circumstances, the banks appeals system is also open to you.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">If your appeal to the bank fails, you can take your case to the Financial Services Ombudsman. This appeal can only deal with the MARP process and not the decisions such as mortgage solutions offered.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">The new code of conduct for mortgage arrears for the first time allows a bank to define an uncooperative borrower.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">If they consider someone uncooperative, they are required to send a letter in writing, giving time for the borrower to engage. If no response is received, they are then allowed to make an unsolicited visit to your house, giving you five days&#39; notice in writing.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">If, at any time, the borrower engages, then they re-enter the process outlined above. However, if the borrower does not engage, following the steps as taken by the lender, they are deemed uncooperative, and repossession proceedings can begin immediately. An uncooperative borrower may be subject to penalty charges and interest and may not be eligible to utilise the provision of the 2012 Personal Insolvency Act.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">It would be irresponsible for anyone not to advise that if you are in arrears or mortgage distress, you must immediately engage with your lender.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">You should open your own MARP file and ensure that the process is at all times documented.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">Keep telephone contact to a minimum and make a note of any telephone conversations you do have. If possible, record any telephone conversations and advise the lender when they call that you are doing so.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">A major disadvantage of the new code of conduct is that the lender has no cap on the number of times they contact you. While all unsolicited communications must not be excessive, aggressive or intimidating, no steps have been taken by the central bank to ensure that banks behave reasonably. If you feel you&#39;re being harassed on the phone by your lender or any creditors, it might be worth purchasing a cheap pay-as-you-go phone, changing your contact details with the bank and any other difficult creditor reflecting your new phone number. This will allow you take the call or reply to the call (which you should do) at a time that suits you.</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">In the event that you can&#39;t reach an agreement with your lender through the MARP process and your lender indicates your mortgage to be unsustainable, you have a further option to avail of an insolvency arrangement under the 2012 Personal Insolvency Act. (www.isi.gov.ie)</span></font></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 18px;\">David Hall is a director of the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation, which can be contacted at www.mortgageholders.ie.</span></font><br />\r\n	<br />\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/how-to-lessen-the-load-of-dealing-with-your-lender-29518895.html\">http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/how-to-lessen-the-load-of-dealing-with-your-lender-29518895.html</a></h2>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-22 08:06:30',NULL,'how-to-lessen-the-load-of-dealing-with-your-lender'),(204,'Ombudsman overturns HSE decision that saw child\'s medical funding withdrawn','<p>\r\n	<section class=\"body\" style=\"color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;\">\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		The Ombudsman for Children has rejected as unfair and unsound a HSE decision to withdraw discretionary funding from a child, who is undergoing an extensive series of operations in the US.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		In response, the HSE has followed Emily Logan&#39;s recommendation to abide by the commitment to pay 70% of the child&#39;s and its parents&#39; travel and subsistence costs.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		The dispute was brought to the Ombudsman over two years ago by the parents of a seven-year-old child, who has acute limb abnormalities, some of which are being treated in the US.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		The family complained that the HSE was no longer honouring a written commitment made two years earlier to pay 70% of travel and subsistence costs for the parents and child while the child is receiving limb-lengthening treatment.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		The treatment entails several operations over a number of years, involving extended stays of approximately four months at a time.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		The HSE responded that the original application was approved in line with the then policy, but that the letter issued to the family was not authorised and that it must be allowed to correct administrative errors.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		But the Ombudsman found that sufficient steps were taken to process the application, which was approved by senior personnel with provisos such as a means test.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		The Ombudsman said withdrawing the funding in the middle of the treatment programme would halt it, as the parents say they cannot afford to remain with the child after the operations.</p>\r\n	</section><section class=\"bodyExt\" style=\"color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;\">\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		The HSE has followed her recommendation to abide by its original commitment.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		An advocacy group for the disability sector has said it is unacceptable that people with disabilities have to go to the Ombudsman for Children to fight for services they are entitled to.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		Disability Federation of Ireland&#39;s chief executive John Dolan said people with disabilities have been greatly affected by cuts in the health service over the past number of years.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		The current case is yet another that highlights the issue, he said.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		In a statement to RT&Eacute; News, Mr Dolan said that after five years of austerity, health services are at a stage where there is not the capacity or the funding to meet the needs of people with disabilities.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		He urged the Government to ensure that the HSE can meet those needs.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0821/469427-hse-discretionary-funding/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0821/469427-hse-discretionary-funding/</a></p>\r\n	</section></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-22 08:20:28',NULL,'ombudsman-overturns-hse-decision-that-saw-childs-medical-funding-withdrawn'),(205,'The time has come to end the system of Direct Provision','<h2 class=\"main_excerpt\" style=\"margin: 5px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 1.1em; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.3em; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);\">\r\n	The Irish system of direct provision has been judged to be conducive to &ldquo;enforced isolation and poverty&rdquo; &ndash; we must put an end to it, write Claire Cumiskey and Fiona Hurley.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		In recent months, Direct Provision, the Irish State&rsquo;s&nbsp;system&nbsp;of providing board and accommodation in designated hostels to&nbsp;asylum seekers, has come under an increasing amount of criticism, drawing parallels with the Magdalene Laundries.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The&nbsp;system&nbsp;was introduced in 2000 and it was originally envisaged that&nbsp;asylum&nbsp;seekers would stay in direct provision for no longer than six months.&nbsp; However, figures from 2011 show that over 10 per cent of those in direct provision have been there for seven years or more.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The Ombudsman, Emily O&rsquo;Reilly, recently described the&nbsp;system&nbsp;as &lsquo;unacceptable&rsquo;.&nbsp; She concluded that this treatment represented &lsquo;a collective failure of a republic which needs to re-engage with what ought to be its core values&rsquo;. O&rsquo;Reilly&rsquo;s comments followed similar concerns being raised by numerous commentators, including retired Supreme Court Judge Catherine McGuinness, various United Nations Committees and NGOs who work with&nbsp;asylum&nbsp;seekers in Ireland.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		In response to O&rsquo;Reilly&rsquo;s scathing assessment of the treatment of&nbsp;asylum&nbsp;seekers in Ireland, the Minister from Justice Alan Shatter defended the&nbsp;system&nbsp;and stated that: &ldquo;In reality, the&nbsp;system&nbsp;in this State is at least on a par and often significantly better than that in operation in many other member states. In the circumstances, it is grossly misleading to characterise our treatment of&nbsp;asylum&nbsp;seekers as being akin to that meted out to subjects of abuse who had no protection of the law or relevant State bodies.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<h3 style=\"margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color: rgb(85, 85, 85);\">\r\n		Drawing the attention of the UK courts</h3>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The failings of the Irish&nbsp;system&nbsp;has now to the attention of the UK courts, following a case taken by a Sudanese family of&nbsp;asylum&nbsp;seekers in the High Court of Northern Ireland.&nbsp; The family sought an order to prevent their removal from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland in accordance with common European&nbsp;asylum&nbsp;measures (the Dublin II Regulations). In essence the court found that, because of the deficiencies of the Irish&nbsp;system, the best interests of the children in the case would not be served by removing them to Ireland.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The Northern Ireland judgement clearly points to the fact that we are completely out of step with the UK in how we protect the best interests of our&nbsp;asylum-seeking children.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The Sudanese family, consisting of a mother (known as ALJ), her 18-year-old son and two other minor children had made an application for asylum&nbsp;in the Republic of Ireland in May 2010. Their application for refugee status was based on their fear of persecution arising from their status as non-Arab Darfuris and her political activities as a journalist in Sudan.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The application was ultimately refused and an appeal to the Refugee Appeals Tribunal in 2011 also proved unsuccessful. The family were issued a letter (a proposal to deport) informing that the Minister had refused to give them refugee status, that their legal entitlement to remain in the State had expired and outlined the options remaining to them. On 11<sup style=\"font-size: 13px;\">th</sup>&nbsp;July 2011 the family crossed the border into Northern Ireland and sought to make an application for&nbsp;asylum there. In October 2011 the UK Border Agency (UKBA) directed the family to return to Ireland, based on Dublin II Regulations.</p>\r\n	<h3 style=\"margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color: rgb(85, 85, 85);\">\r\n		Failings of the Irish&nbsp;system&nbsp;&ldquo;disturbing&rdquo;</h3>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The case before the Northern Ireland High Court was a judicial review of the UKBA&rsquo;s decision on the grounds that the&nbsp;system&nbsp;of refugee and protection status determination in Ireland, with its disproportionately low rates of recognition (1.3 per cent in ROI compared with 24 per cent in UK) and the&nbsp;system&nbsp;of direct provision would constitute a breach of their rights under the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. Although Justice Stephens was unprepared to find that there were &ldquo;systemic deficiencies&rdquo; in the Irish statutory&nbsp;system, he admitted that he found the evidence documenting the failings of the Irish&nbsp;system&nbsp;&ldquo;disturbing&rdquo;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The decision to quash the order was based on the &lsquo;best interests of the child&rsquo; test. The judgment examines the situation that would await the applicant children if they were to be returned to Ireland and finds that it compares unfavourably to the&nbsp;system&nbsp;in Northern Ireland. Justice Stephens was particularly concerned at the impact that a return to shared hostel accommodation would have on the children and their ability to &ldquo;interact with each other as a normal family.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The Irish&nbsp;system&nbsp;of direct provision was judged to be conducive to &ldquo;enforced isolation and poverty&rdquo;, and he cites &ldquo;ample evidence of physical and mental health issues developing in Ireland amongst those&nbsp;asylum seekers who are in Direct Provision accommodation.&rdquo; The long delays and the years of litigation the children would face in Ireland compared to a relatively simple process in Northern are also referenced in the judgement.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		Finally, Justice Stephens finds that Ireland does not achieve EU wide standards on the treatment of&nbsp;asylum&nbsp;seekers. This is a damning indictment of our&nbsp;system&nbsp;by our nearest neighbours.</p>\r\n	<h3 style=\"margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color: rgb(85, 85, 85);\">\r\n		Challenging the&nbsp;system&nbsp;of direct provision</h3>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The Northern Ireland High Court is not alone in its criticism of the Irish statutory&nbsp;system. The Irish Supreme Court have voiced their frustrations at the&nbsp;system&nbsp;in two cases cited in Mr. Justice Stephens&rsquo; judgement,&nbsp;<em style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;\">Nawaz v Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform</em>&nbsp;(2012) and&nbsp;<em style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;\">Okunade v Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform</em>&nbsp;(2012).&nbsp; Also, the Irish High Court will shortly have its say in an upcoming application for Judicial Review, lodged by six&nbsp;asylum&nbsp;seekers, including children, challenging the&nbsp;system&nbsp;of direct provision.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The family, who have been in the&nbsp;system&nbsp;for approximately four and a half years, will argue that direct provision has no legal basis and amounts to a violation of the Irish Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. The family will also argue that the exclusion of&nbsp;asylum&nbsp;seekers from social protection and the denial of the right to work pending the outcome of a decision breaches their constitutional and human rights.&nbsp; This case has the potential to signal the end of the direct provision&nbsp;system.</p>\r\n	<h3 style=\"margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color: rgb(85, 85, 85);\">\r\n		Living with the consequences of a broken&nbsp;system&nbsp;daily</h3>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		In our work, we at Nasc, the Irish Immigrant Support Centre find this story unfortunately all too commonplace. We work with countless families who are living with the consequences of this broken&nbsp;system&nbsp;daily. We have long called for a number of measures to be put in place which would, firstly, dramatically reduce the wait time for&nbsp;asylum&nbsp;seekers to have a final decision made on their protection claims; and secondly, dramatically improve living conditions by offering an alternative to direct provision centres.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The existing protection&nbsp;system&nbsp;&ndash; a three step structure &ndash; should be replaced with a &lsquo;single procedures mechanism&rsquo; which would allow all the different applications to be made and examined concurrently, thereby minimising the amount of time an&nbsp;asylum&nbsp;seeker has to remain in direct provision as well as the need for such frequent recourse to the High Court. In addition, Ireland should opt in to Directive 2003/9/EC (commonly known as the Minimum Standards or Reception Directive), which lays down minimum standards for the reception of&nbsp;asylumseekers and includes a limited right to work.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		We believe that these are realistic and achievable steps which would greatly improve conditions for&nbsp;asylum&nbsp;seekers and bring us in line with our EU counterparts.</p>\r\n	<h3 style=\"margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.2em; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color: rgb(85, 85, 85);\">\r\n		Institutional living in Ireland</h3>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The implications of the Northern Ireland High Court judgement are potentially far-reaching. The judgement, coupled with the pending case before the Irish High Court, may have a profound impact on the&nbsp;asylum&nbsp;system&nbsp;in Ireland. The urgency of reforming this area cannot be overstated as the length of time people reside in direct provision continues to increase.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The safety of children accommodated within the centre should be of paramount concern. Statistics referred to in the most recent annual report of The Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) record 121 incidents in 2012 involving children. Alarmingly these cases include seven cases of inappropriate sexualised behaviour and seven cases of the physical abuse of children. When viewed as a yardstick as to the extent to which we value our children in the State, the current treatment of&nbsp;asylum&nbsp;seeking children in Ireland is nothing short of shameful.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		It remains to be seen if we will right the wrongs of our past when dealing with the treatment of those who have been subjected to institutional living.&nbsp; The Irish Government must urgently end the continued institutionalisation of&nbsp;asylum&nbsp;seekers in Ireland.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		<em style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;\">Claire Cumiskey and Fiona Hurley are Legal Officers at Nasc, the Irish Immigrant Support Centre.</em></p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		<em style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;\"><a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/column-the-time-has-come-to-end-the-system-of-direct-provision-1041135-Aug2013/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/column-the-time-has-come-to-end-the-system-of-direct-provision-1041135-Aug2013/</a></em></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-22 08:27:02',NULL,'the-time-has-come-to-end-the-system-of-direct-provision'),(206,'E-book alert after girls read up on sex tapes','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Parents should monitor the e-books read by their children, a charity warned, after a mother caught her 13-year-old daughter discussing an X-rated publication on how to make a sex tape.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Online retailers also bear some responsibility for ensuring adult material does not fall into young hands, the NSPCC said.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Its warnings come amid fears that youngsters have easy access to explicit books which they can easily download.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Jon_Brown\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">Jon Brown</a>, of the NSPCC, urged parents to check that the issue was also addressed at their children&#39;s schools. &quot;It is really important to talk to your children about the risks that are out there either online or offline, in an age-appropriate way and without frightening them.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;Try to let them know they can discuss their worries with you and if they have got themselves into bother by doing something they shouldn&#39;t have, it can be sorted out.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		He spoke out after Melissa Crighton (45) found her daughter and a friend engrossed by an &quot;inappropriate&quot; guide to becoming a celebrity. &quot;They were reading about how to make a sex tape and how to get a co-star,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ebook-alert-after-girls-read-up-on-sex-tapes-29521692.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ebook-alert-after-girls-read-up-on-sex-tapes-29521692.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-23 07:54:04',NULL,'e-book-alert-after-girls-read-up-on-sex-tapes'),(207,'Criminals target elderly with ‘stuck’ ATM scam','<p>\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;\">Criminals are targeting elderly and vulnerable bank customers by distracting them at ATMs and stealing their cards.</span></p>\r\n<div>\r\n	&nbsp;</div>\r\n<div>\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">The Irish Payment Services Organisation said the fraudsters place a device on the ATM that traps the user&rsquo;s card inside the machine. The bank customer only realises that the card is not being returned when they complete their cash transaction.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">The criminal, who has watched the person key in their personal identification number (PIN), offers to help recover the card but actually gives the customer back a similar-looking card.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">Because the victim of the fraud has already withdrawn money, they do not realise that the &ldquo;retrieved&rdquo; card is not theirs until they try and use it again.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">Meanwhile, the fraudster, who has retrieved the victim&rsquo;s card from the card slot, utilises this time to use the card to withdraw money before the victim reports it has been stolen to the bank.&nbsp;</span><a href=\"http://www.ipso.ie/section/IPSOAlertCriminalsUsingDistractionFraudatATMsAreNowTargetingElderlyandVulnerableCustomers\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 15px;\" target=\"_blank\">IPSO said</a><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">&nbsp;the fraudsters have been using kiosks in bank branches to transfer funds to foreign accounts using the stolen cards.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">In the past week, the IPSO has been made aware of six cases that resulted in losses of &euro;30,000.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">IPSO&rsquo;s head of card services, Una Dillon, said criminals seemed to be targeting elderly people in particular.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">&ldquo;The six cases may appear quite small but we know there are more than that. We are still compiling figures,&rdquo; she said.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">Ms Dillon said some people were failing to cover their hand when using the PIN keypad at an ATM.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">At the moment, the ATM scam is mainly occurring around Dublin. However, Ms Dillon warned that the criminals were likely to go to other areas of the country. She urged people to be aware of people around them when using an ATM. IPSO is particularly anxious that elderly and vulnerable people are made aware of the scam.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">&ldquo;Customers should cover the PIN pad when using an ATM and should report to their bank any unusual activity, such as the capture of their card in an ATM,&rdquo; she said.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">Age Action&rsquo;s Eamon Timmins said public awareness was the only way to defeat the ATM fraudsters.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">&ldquo;Unfortunately, we don&rsquo;t live in a society that is trusting and honest anymore so people have to be careful how they deal with electronic cash withdrawals,&rdquo; he </span></div>\r\n<div>\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">said.</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">* Updates on the scam are available at IPSO&rsquo;s fraud prevention website&nbsp;</span><font color=\"#000000\" face=\"Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif\"><span style=\"line-height: 15px;\">ww</span></font><font color=\"#000000\" face=\"Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif\"><span style=\"line-height: 15px;\">w.SafeCard.ie</span></font><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">&nbsp;and on the&nbsp;</span><font color=\"#000000\" face=\"Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif\"><span style=\"line-height: 15px;\">SafeCard Facebook page.</span></font><br />\r\n	<br />\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/criminals-target-elderly-with-stuck-atm-scam-240590.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/criminals-target-elderly-with-stuck-atm-scam-240590.html</a></div>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-23 08:09:51',NULL,'criminals-target-elderly-with-‘stuck’-atm-scam'),(208,'How to make the most of college if you have a diagnosed disability or learning difficulty?','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	One of the great success stories of the Irish third-level education system has been the supports developed for students with a wide range of disabilities and learning difficulties</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		One of the great success stories of the Irish third-level education system has been the supports developed over the past 25 years by Ahead for students with a wide range of disabilities and learning difficulties.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Established by Prof&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=John%20Kelly&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer !important; outline: none !important;\">John Kelly</a>&nbsp;during his term as registrar of UCD, Ahead has played a huge part in making it possible for students with a&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=disability&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer !important; outline: none !important;\">disability</a>&nbsp;to reach their full potential in our third-level system.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		In the past few years this support structure has been enhanced with the development of the Dare system, by which students with an appropriately diagnosed disability can secure one of a number of reserved places, up to a maximum of 5 per cent, within every course in the participating colleges.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		All students who secure a place still have to meet the minimum entry requirements for the course, and the point&rsquo;s reduction for successful applicants tends to be in the region of 10 per cent.&nbsp;<br />\r\n		<br />\r\n		Weeks ahead<br />\r\n		As a result of this initiative many students with disabilities will be registering in colleges up and down the country in the weeks ahead.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		But what is next if you have a disability or learning difficulty?</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Do you tell the college if you have not secured your place through Dare?</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		What supports are you entitled to?</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		It is vital that you now set about putting in place a plan to maximise your potential participation in every aspect of your college&rsquo;s academic, cultural and social life.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		If you have a disability or a&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=learning%20difficulty&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer !important; outline: none !important;\">learning difficulty</a>&nbsp;it is important you think about the supports available in your college, and which of them will be most useful to you.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Do you tell the college about your condition?</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Honestly, you may prefer to keep this private, you may want to be as normal as possible, but there are significant benefits to registering with disability support services (DSS) or the access office.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		For a start colleges welcome students with a disability or learning difficulty, and will deal with you confidentially.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Most colleges have a study support or technology room dedicated to the use of students registered with their disability support services. This gives you much greater access to computers, software, printers and other technology without having to queue up. It is also a quieter place to study.&nbsp;<br />\r\n		<br />\r\n		Notes on-line<br />\r\n		Lecturers will provide you with notes on-line and many colleges provide students with disability with photocopying facilities and extra time to withdraw library books. All of these will definitely help you.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Are you anxious that telling the college will go against you? Don&rsquo;t be. The college cannot and will not discriminate against you on the basis of disability.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		But be aware that not disclosing could end up being very stressful if later on you encounter difficulties on the course. So give this matter a lot of thought. For further information go to ahead.ie</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Do your research in advance. Use your time now to gather information on the supports available on the college website and look up disability support services.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		You know more about your disability/learning difficulty than anyone else, and your input will be important in getting the supports right.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Inform yourself about your chosen course and get an idea of what it will involve, how much reading, note-taking, practicals, work placements, etc.&nbsp;<br />\r\n		<br />\r\n		Support needs<br />\r\n		Register straight away with the disability support service/ access office as soon as you are registered with the college. They will talk to you about your support needs and arrange things like assistive technology, training, note-taking services, learning supports.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Students attending a VEC/PLC need to contact the designated disability support person or the school principal. Go talk to them and find out what is available.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Do not forget that supports are provided to eligible students with disability or learning difficulty to compensate for the significant impact of their condition.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Legally you are entitled to reasonable accommodations, so find out what evidence you need for additional supports.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The HEA fund for students with disabilities is arranged through the disability support service in the college. For details go to studentfinance.ie</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Be certain to go to the college orientation sessions. Many colleges offer orientation before the start of the term for students registered with the disability support office.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		If you have mobility or sensory impairment issues attend these sessions as colleges can be extremely busy and crowded places. This orientation process will enable you to become familiar with where everything is, the lectures, the canteen, the library, the students&rsquo; union offices, etc.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Get involved!</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Don&rsquo;t be shy; college life is not just about academia, it&rsquo;s also about making new friends.&nbsp;<br />\r\n		<br />\r\n		Freshers&rsquo; week<br />\r\n		It can feel daunting to have lunch on your own, etc. The majority of first years don&rsquo;t know anyone else either, you&rsquo;re all in the same boat, so go to freshers&rsquo; week and join in.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		For further information about entitlements to supports for students with disabilities in third-level contact Ahead: ahead@ahead.ie telephone : 01 716 4396.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/how-to-make-the-most-of-college-if-you-have-a-diagnosed-disability-or-learning-difficulty-1.1502660?page=1\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/how-to-make-the-most-of-college-if-you-have-a-diagnosed-disability-or-learning-difficulty-1.1502660?page=1</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-23 04:00:00',NULL,'how-to-make-the-most-of-college-if-you-have-a-diagnosed-disability-or-learning-difficulty'),(209,'World Dwarf Game champion: Disability shouldn\'t stand in the way of your dreams','<p>\r\n	<span style=\"color: rgb(90, 100, 102); font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif; font-size: 17px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px;\">Co Louth native bagged gold medal for power-lifting</span></p>\r\n<div>\r\n	&nbsp;</div>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.15385em; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.28571em;\">\r\n		A MAN who won gold for power-lifting in the World Dwarf Game has said no one should let a disability stand in the way of following your dreams.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.15385em; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.28571em;\">\r\n		Thomas McCague, 33, added: &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t be put off going to the gym because of the way you look, you are there for the same reason as everyone else.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.15385em; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.28571em;\">\r\n		He lifted 136kilos or 300lbs to secure gold in the games in Michigan and revealed he only started working out two years ago.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.15385em; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.28571em;\">\r\n		Thomas said: &ldquo;In the first 10 months I lost five stone and I would say to people don&rsquo;t let your self-consciousness or disability stop you from going.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.15385em; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.28571em;\">\r\n		&ldquo;I went because I was out with friends one day and we decided to walk to the local garage and after just a few hundred metres I was out of breath.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.15385em; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.28571em;\">\r\n		&ldquo;I am a big U2 fan and then I couldn&rsquo;t fit into the first U2 T-shirt I had bought.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.15385em; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.28571em;\">\r\n		&ldquo;I decided to go to the gym and do something about it. The best thing I did was to come to it on my own.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.15385em; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.28571em;\">\r\n		&ldquo;I was losing two to three pounds a week and now my U2 T-shirt is too big for me.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.15385em; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.28571em;\">\r\n		In November 2011 Thomas, who lives in Drogheda, Co Louth, went to the Little People Of Ireland seminar and was encouraged to take part in the Dwarf Sports Association Games in the UK last year. He did and won his first gold.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.15385em; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.28571em;\">\r\n		It gave him the encouragement to go to the World games in America which only take place every four years.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.15385em; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.28571em;\">\r\n		Thomas battled high temperatures and long days in the games and now has his sights set on taking part in the next World games which will be held in Australia.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.15385em; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.28571em;\">\r\n		He said: &ldquo;I am taking a break from the power-lifting to give my body a break.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 1.15385em; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.28571em;\">\r\n		&ldquo;I am taking up body building for a while.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/world-dwarf-game-champion-weightlifter-2222224\">http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/world-dwarf-game-champion-weightlifter-2222224</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-26 08:11:06',NULL,'world-dwarf-game-champion-disability-shouldnt-stand-in-the-way-of-your-dreams'),(210,'Just 10pc of top local authority jobs held by women','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<span style=\"font-size:12px;\"><font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"line-height: 1.2;\">* Men fill highest-paid positions</span></font><br style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\" />\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"line-height: 1.2;\">* Promotions &lsquo;lack objectivity&rsquo;</span></font><br style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\" />\r\n	<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"line-height: 1.2;\">* Minister admits action needed</span></font></span></h2>\r\n<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Fewer than one in 10 of the top jobs in local government are held by women, the Irish Independent can reveal.</h2>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	And a survey of the country&rsquo;s 34 city and county councils shows the vast majority of the highest-paid positions across the local authority system, including county manager, director of service and head of finance, are held by men.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	The figures suggest that women are failing to reach the top of the ladder despite decades of high academic achievement and a long career in the sector.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	They show there are just three women county managers, compared with 31 men, while females occupy less than 30pc of the highest-paid positions attracting salaries of more than &euro;50,000 a year.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	One human resources expert said it suggested the local authority sector was slow to promote women because of a &ldquo;lack of objectivity&rdquo; in how candidates were selected for promotion.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	Equality Minister Kathleen Lynch admitted that women continued to be under-represented in senior management posts &ldquo;in almost every sector, including most probably the local authorities&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	Despite the Government planning to introduce gender quotas for the next general election, where at least 30pc of all candidates will have to be women, the pace of change in local authorities remains painfully slow.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	However, the Department of the Environment &ndash; which funds councils &ndash; said it had no role in promoting equality.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	Some 28,268 staff are employed in the sector, and the department had no role in determining how councils promoted staff.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&ldquo;Recruitment of staff is a matter for individual local authorities, and the department has no role in this process,&rdquo; a spokesman said, adding it was up to local authorities and the Public Appointments Service to choose candidates for senior roles.<br />\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	Some 29 councils provided a full response to the Irish Independent survey. Cork City, Dublin City, Mayo and South Dublin failed to provide a breakdown.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	The survey shows:</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	- At least 10 councils have no women employed at managerial level, including county managers, directors of services and heads of finance.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	- They are Cavan, Donegal, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Monaghan, North Tipperary, Offaly, Waterford and Westmeath. The positions pay between &euro;85,217 and &euro;175,721.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	- Of 2,258 people in positions with a salary of more than &euro;50,000, just 669 are women &ndash; or 29pc.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	- There are just three female county managers &ndash; they are Philomena Poole (Louth), Martina Maloney (Galway County) and Jackie Maguire (Meath).</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	- The best-performing council is Galway City, where 21 women (44pc) fulfil senior roles.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	- But overall, just 20pc of all director of services jobs are held by women, while just 13pc of heads of finance are female.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	- Conversely, the vast bulk of the lower-paid positions are held by women. A total of 4,266 grade three and four administrative officers are women, or 83pc, earning between &euro;23,000 and &euro;43,000 a year.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	The findings come after a survey last week found that the vast majority (82pc) of Irish company directors believe that women are under-represented on company boards.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	Some 42pc said there should be gender quotas.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	Ms Lynch insisted that the Government was attempting to address the gender imbalance, but said research suggested &ldquo;a reluctance among women to advance in their careers&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	She added that she chaired a working group, which was looking at increasing women&#39;s representation in leadership roles, adding the Government was committed to promoting equality.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&ldquo;The advancement of women is taking place, and must continue to take place, across all sectors as we ensure that our very well-educated female population contributes fully to the workforce and to economic growth,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<strong style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em;\">Promotion</strong></p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	But equality experts and trade unions cited a lack of transparency and objectivity in selection and promotion practices, with IMPACT spokesman Bernard Harbor describing the lack of promotion opportunities as &ldquo;discrimination&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&ldquo;One reason is that there is just plain discrimination. Although illegal, it certainly does exist &ndash; it is the cultural aspect of this gender imbalance,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&ldquo;The 2012 Workforce Planning Report by the County and City Managers&rsquo; Association says little or nothing about gender imbalance in local authority grades.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	It shows that they don&rsquo;t think gender imbalance is a priority concern,&rdquo; he added.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	The National Women&rsquo;s Council warned that the lack of women in senior management positions had resulted in poor-decision-making in banks and at government level.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	The findings reflect the gender imbalance in Government, where just four of the 30 junior and senior ministries (13pc) are held by women.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<span class=\"CTXempty\" style=\"margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; text-decoration: inherit !important; float: none !important;\">Christine Cross, an HR management lecturer in the&nbsp;<span id=\"link0\" name=\"link0\" style=\"margin: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px !important; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1em; height: auto; cursor: pointer; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 153, 0); text-decoration: underline !important; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important;\">University</span>&nbsp;of Limerick, warned there was a &ldquo;lack of transparency and objectivity in selection and promotion practices&rdquo;.</span></p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	Management consultant Veronica Canning said that councils needed to make equal participation by women a &ldquo;priority&rdquo;, adding there was &ldquo;no reason&rdquo; not to introduce a quota.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	The Public Appointments Service, which recruits senior management, said appointments were made on merit and it was &ldquo; happy that the performance of females in campaigns under its remit is satisfactory&rdquo;.<br />\r\n	<br />\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/just-10pc-of-top-local-authority-jobs-held-by-women-29526747.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/just-10pc-of-top-local-authority-jobs-held-by-women-29526747.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-26 08:29:10',NULL,'just-10pc-of-top-local-authority-jobs-held-by-women'),(211,'Gay man alleges prejudice by blood bank','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Donor was asked to attend meeting to answer questions about his sexual life</h2>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	A young gay man says he has been the victim of discrimination by the&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=Irish%20Blood%20Transfusion%20Service&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer !important; outline: none !important;\">Irish Blood Transfusion Service</a>, after he was asked to attend a meeting to answer questions about his sexual life and was then told to stop donating blood until he had received written confirmation he could continue.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	The IBTS has a lifetime ban from donating blood on any man who has ever had oral sex or anal sex with another man. This is, the blood banks says, to protect the blood supply. Potential donors are asked to fill in a &ldquo;health and lifestyle questionnaire&rdquo; to assess eligibility to donate. Among those who can never give blood in&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_location=Ireland&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer !important; outline: none !important;\">Ireland</a>&nbsp;are anyone who has been an intravenous drug-user, anyone who has spent more than a year in the United Kingdom between 1980 and 1996 and men who have sex with men (MSM).</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Tom&aacute;s Heneghan (21) from just outside&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_location=Galway&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer !important; outline: none !important;\">Galway</a>&nbsp;city, who says he has never been sexually active, has donated blood since he was 18. He says he knows that if he were to become sexually active, he would have to stop donating blood and he says he has always &ldquo;been totally honest&rdquo; with the blood service.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	In July he received a letter from a doctor at the IBTS, asking him to contact her as she had &ldquo;a query regarding [his] previous donations&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Heneghan says the letter alarmed him and he was worried about his health. When he contacted the doctor, he says he asked her to clarify the situation. &ldquo;She said she couldn&rsquo;t over the phone and asked me to come to Dublin to discuss the issue.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Mr Heneghan says he met the doctor at the National Blood Centre in St James&rsquo;s Hospital on July 25th, where she told him the service had received an &ldquo;anonymous query&rdquo; about him.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	&ldquo;She explained to me the necessity of ensuring recipients of blood donations were always kept safe and that numerous different categories of people were excluded from donating blood. I said I understood that.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	&ldquo;She said the queries about me related to excluded sexual activities and she asked if I understood the questionnaire I had filled in when I donated blood. I said I had always answered the questions truthfully. She didn&rsquo;t say I had lied but implied I had not understood the questions.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	The doctor asked him if he had ever had sex with another man and he told her he hadn&rsquo;t. &ldquo;The meeting felt like an interrogation,&rdquo; Mr Heneghan told&nbsp;<em>The Irish Times</em>.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	The doctor said she believed him but told him he could not donate blood again until the service wrote to him confirming he was permitted to. &ldquo;I still haven&rsquo;t received the letter. That was four weeks ago.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Asked how he feels about the experience, he says: &ldquo;Of course it&rsquo;s discrimination. It&rsquo;s a slap in the face. I have been so loyal and have planned my life around donating blood. It&rsquo;s very important to me. I keep myself healthy coming up to donations, eat well.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	&ldquo;The staff in the donor clinics have always been friendly. I have no problem with them. It&rsquo;s the management. This would not happen if I was straight. I am hurt and I am angry.&rdquo; A spokeswoman said the service could not comment on individual cases &ldquo;for confidentiality reasons&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/gay-man-alleges-prejudice-by-blood-bank-1.1505419\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/gay-man-alleges-prejudice-by-blood-bank-1.1505419</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-26 08:34:59',NULL,'gay-man-alleges-prejudice-by-blood-bank'),(212,'Psychiatric services suffering due to chronic lack of funds','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"line-height: 38px;\">At a time when mental health problems are escalating, staff numbers have fallen to almost crisis point</span></font></span></h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Recent reports in the media have disclosed that government funding of up to &euro;35m ring-fenced for the recruitment of almost 500 personnel to the mental health services in 2013 may now not be available due to the overspend by the HSE in other areas.</h2>\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n	&nbsp;</div>\r\n<div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		So psychologists, occupational therapists, community nurses and other essential staff may now not be recruited to complete the range of disciplines required by multidisciplinary teams.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		In January of this year, the public was informed that suicide prevention services were also being cut. So money earmarked for psychiatry, already struggling due to decades of underfunding, is being further depleted.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		The posts affected by this include social workers, psychologists, occupational therapists and a range of other specialist posts recommended by the Department of Health&#39;s own blueprint for modern psychiatric services entitled &#39;A Vision for Change&#39;.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		The failure to fill these necessary posts is history repeating itself and is replicating what occurred in 2012 when a similar sum of money, set aside for the mental health services, was diverted to other areas of the health services that had overrun on their budget.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		Some of the vacant posts from 2012 are currently being filled with funding released in the last quarter of last year. The specifics of what happened to the remainder of this money, apparently acquired from the sale of land and the attached old mental hospitals, is unknown.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		Thus there is an accumulating shortfall of these new posts, extending back to 2012 and continuing into 2013. The reports in our press show that even now, heading into the third quarter of 2013, the recruitment levels planned for 2012 have not been maintained.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		Aside from these new posts, older pre-existing posts are not being filled when they are vacated due to retirement, because of the embargo on recruitment, in the absence of savings in other areas. These vacancies are generally for nursing posts in in-patient psychiatric units, most of which are located in general hospitals throughout the country.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		The thinking behind this is that bed numbers should be reduced and these traditional nursing posts should be moved into the community or used in the emergency departments as part of the suicide prevention strategy.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		The problem with this thinking is that it is ignoring the reality that not all mental illness, especially when it is very acute or severe or when the person is suicidal, can be safely managed in the community.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		Many of those who present to the emergency departments in a suicidal state require a period of in-patient assessment and treatment for their own protection. Those who are psychotic or severely depressed likewise need to be thoroughly assessed and closely monitored at least in the early stages of treatment.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		Local managers appreciate this and so instead of placing the newly appointed staff in the community or in the emergency department, they have recalled them back to the in-patient wards in order to ensure safe staffing levels.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		One could be forgiven for considering that the Titanic analogy is appropriate and that this is moving the deckchairs while the ship sinks. If proof were needed that the psychiatric ship is sinking then we need look no further than the overall numbers for mental health service employees.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		These show that in 2013 there are more than 1,000 fewer mental health service employees than there were in 2009. Some areas have haemorrhaged mental health staff &ndash; for example, earlier this year the mental health services in Kerry reported that they had lost 30pc of their staff, with a drop from 429 whole-time equivalents in 2007 to 308 in 2012.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		In some areas of the country the psychiatric teams have less than 50pc of the personnel recommended by &#39;A Vision for Change&#39;.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		This deplorable situation arises at a time when we learn that our suicide rate, which seemed to have been in decline as in much of the rest of Europe, may be increasing again.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		Farmers and young people face numerous stressors and are increasingly reported to be on the brink of suicide and in some high-profile instances have acted on their despair.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		Contrast the Government&#39;s seeming disinterest in mental health services and suicide prevention with its statements when it took office in 2011.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		In its Faircare Policy it promised that in the first phase (to be implemented in years one and two) money from the sale of psychiatric institutions and lands would be ring-fenced and used to improve mental health services. It stated &quot;psychiatric illness must be treated like any other illness, and resourced accordingly&quot;.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		Everybody knows that the country is in dire financial straits and that pre-election promises will have to be broken. The Government, or rather the Health Ministers, should level with us psychiatrists and with our patients and tell us what has happened to the millions said to have been earmarked for improvements in our creaking psychiatric services. This is the least we and our patients deserve.</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		&nbsp;</div>\r\n	<div>\r\n		Perhaps the Government, cynically, doesn&#39;t care, since psychiatric services are seldom raised on the doorsteps.</div>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/psychiatric-services-suffering-due-to-chronic-lack-of-funds-29527658.html\">http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/psychiatric-services-suffering-due-to-chronic-lack-of-funds-29527658.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-27 08:09:18',NULL,'psychiatric-services-suffering-due-to-chronic-lack-of-funds'),(213,'HSE told to prepare for doctor strike','<p style=\"border: 0px; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(71, 73, 76); line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	The HSE has been told it should start making arrangements for junior doctors to go on strike.</p>\r\n<p style=\"border: 0px; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(71, 73, 76); line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	The Irish Medical Organisation says the HSE has not come up with concrete proposals for how to end the long working hours of non-consultant doctors.</p>\r\n<p style=\"border: 0px; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(71, 73, 76); line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	It said that it is setting up a national strike committee while it ballots its members on whether to walk out of work.</p>\r\n<p style=\"border: 0px; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(71, 73, 76); line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	The organisation says Ireland is in clear breach of EU rules on working hours by regularly forcing junior doctors to work for 24 hours at a time.</p>\r\n<p style=\"border: 0px; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(71, 73, 76); line-height: 20px;\">\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/hse-told-to-prepare-for-doctor-strike-604856.html\">http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/hse-told-to-prepare-for-doctor-strike-604856.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-27 08:21:29',NULL,'hse-told-to-prepare-for-doctor-strike'),(214,'Number of children abusing their elderly parents on the rise','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Sons and daughters are increasingly being accused of abusing an elderly parent, according to a new report.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Among the cases of elder abuse referred to the HSE over the course of 2011, as many as 46pc were the older person&#39;s own child.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		That figure is up from 43pc the previous year and underlines that, despite the nursing home scandals of the last decade, the most frightening place for an older person can be their own home.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		There were 2,750 alleged cases brought to the attention of the health authority over the course of the year with psychological and financial abuse the most dominant.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Eight in 10 of the abusers operated independently &ndash; the highest recorded level since recording started in 2007.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Men acting alone account for 48pc of cases, while women made up more than one-third. In 47pc of cases, the alleged abuser and victim were living together.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Other abusers were the partner, husband or wife, a relative, neighbour and carer.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		A son or daughter can be particularly abusive in the area of neglect. Spouses were most likely to engage in physical abuse. Those who take financial advantage are often not living with their victim.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n		<font face=\"Trebuchet MS, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/number-of-children-abusing-their-elderly-parents-on-the-rise-29527679.html</span></font></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-27 08:24:37',NULL,'number-of-children-abusing-their-elderly-parents-on-the-rise'),(215,'Free GP care for children \'likely to be in Budget\'','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	PROPOSALS to give young children free GP care, regardless of the income of the parents, are likely to be included in the Budget.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		It is unclear what age group of children would benefit at first. It would be next year before the relevant legislation would be passed.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Junior Health Minister&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Alex_White_(politician)\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">Alex White</a>confirmed that he &quot;intends to bring proposals to Government&quot; later this year but also suggested plans for the first rollout of free GP care may be included in the Budget as soon as October.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Mr White, who was addressing a nursing conference in Galway, said around &euro;30m was available to the HSE for the plan &ndash; money which had been allocated for the first phase of GP care and has yet to be spent.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		There are around 350,000 children under five years in the country but a high number of these are already getting free GP care because their parents have a medical card.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The last group to get a medical card regardless of income were the over-70s in 2005, but this benefit was abolished and is now means tested.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;At the end of July, along with Minister Reilly, I made an interim report to government on alternative approaches to introducing free GP care,&quot; Mr White said.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		This followed the shelving of plans to extend the benefit first to around 56,000 on the long-term illness scheme, a move which proved to be legally complex.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;Both I and Minister Reilly have indicated our view that young children would be a good group to start with, but the issues remain under consideration in the department,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		If certain groups of children, outside of the medical card scheme, get free GP care their parents would still have to pay for any medications prescribed.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		GPs are likely to insist on a new contract if free care is extended to any age group &ndash; and it is unclear what fee they would receive.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The Government has promised to have free GP care for all by 2016 but it is unlikely that this target will now be met.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Meanwhile, Mr White told the conference that Ireland&#39;s pensioner population would more than double in the next 30 years and lead to &quot;significant implications for health service delivery&quot;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<strong style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em;\">UTILISE</strong></p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Speaking of the challenge chronic disease represents to the health service, Mr White pointed out that patients with chronic diseases utilise around 70pc of health resources.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;Due to our ageing population and lifestyle factors, chronic conditions will generally increase by around 40pc between 2007 and 2020. This trend presents huge challenges for both cost and capacity,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Up to 350 delegates attended the third International Public Health Conference, which runs for two days in Galway.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/free-gp-care-for-children-likely-to-be-in-budget-29529660.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/free-gp-care-for-children-likely-to-be-in-budget-29529660.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-27 08:37:08',NULL,'free-gp-care-for-children-likely-to-be-in-budget'),(216,'Over 4,000 to become ‘new’ Irish citizens','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Candidates are told there &ldquo;are no second class or half citizens&rdquo; in the State</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Some 1,816 men and 2,288 women are today becoming the Republic&rsquo;s newest citizens.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The &lsquo;new&rsquo; Irish are taking part in a series of ceremonies in the Convention Centre in Dublin overseen by the Minister for Justice Alan Shatter and retired High Court judge Bryan McMahon.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Addressing the first group of more than 1,000 people who swore allegiance to the State this morning, Mr Shatter said they were the 73rd group to become &ldquo;part of the national family&rdquo; since citizenship ceremonies were introduced in June 2011.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Mr Shatter told the candidates, whom he noted were from every continent and 170 different countries, they were joining a state &ldquo;which provides constitutional and general law protections against all types of discrimination&rdquo;. He said it was a state where men and women were guaranteed equal treatment under law and where people&rsquo;s sexual orientation and preferences are respected.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;Our history is your history and in turn the narrative of your life becomes part of our history&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Administering the Declaration of Fidelity to the Irish Nation and Loyalty to the State, Mr McMahon, said there were &ldquo;no second-class or half citizens&rdquo; of the Republic and urged them and their families to take an active part in Irish citizenship, while remembering the traditions, music and arts of their former homes.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Mr Shatter, who initiated the citizenship ceremonies, said he was considering legislation to establish them on a permanent footing, to ensure they continue after his term in office.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		He said good progress had been made in dealing with a backlog of more than 22,000 citizenship applications in March 2011, when waiting times for a decision were at least two years and sometimes considerably more. Waiting times were now generally down to about six months, he said, while the current intake of 20,000 applications per year is running at over twice the rate of new applications three or four years ago.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;It is truly remarkable that this tiny island at the edge of Western Europe facing into the Atlantic Ocean which is home to us all has, as its citizens, as members of the national family, people who came to live with us from every country on this planet&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/over-4-000-to-become-new-irish-citizens-1.1507162\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/over-4-000-to-become-new-irish-citizens-1.1507162</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-28 07:51:20',NULL,'over-4000-to-become-‘new’-irish-citizens'),(217,'US woman forced to drop rape charges to stay with children in Ireland','<p>\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;\">Claims some hostile authorities threatened rather than helped her</span></p>\r\n<div>\r\n	&nbsp;</div>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;\">\r\n		An&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.irishcentral.com/story/news/sidewalks/what-america-can-teach-ireland-about-immigration-and-abortion-216276241.html\" style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\">American</a>&nbsp;woman has claimed she had to drop rape and assault charges against her own husband in order to remain in&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.irishcentral.com/news-topic/Irish-News.html\" style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\">Ireland</a>&nbsp;with her two children.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;\">\r\n		Speaking to&nbsp;<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/immigrant-domestic-violence-1043698-Aug2013/?utm_source=shortlink\" style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\" target=\"_blank\">TheJournal.ie</a>, the woman known only as Deborah and her now ex-husband - who is a European citizen - moved to Ireland in 2001, and because of her<a href=\"http://www.irishcentral.com/news-topic/Irish-Immigration.html\" style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;immigration</a>&nbsp;status she was obliged to go with him to the Irish police immigration office every six months to confirm he was still working in the country, allowing her to stay.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;\">\r\n		&#39;We had separated because of the violence after I had my first son but we tried to work things out,&#39; she told TheJournal.ie. &#39;In 2004, things were OK for a while but by<a href=\"http://www.irishcentral.com/news-topic/Irish-at-Christmas.html\" style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\">&nbsp;Christmas</a>&nbsp;he had become more violent and he took a belt to me, and split the back of my head open.&#39;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;\">\r\n		A few months later, Deborah told her husband she wanted a separation and she said that night he beat her and sexually assaulted her in their house.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;\">\r\n		&#39;I called the police and they arrested him, he admitted that he&rsquo;d done it,&#39; she said.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;\">\r\n		After that the woman and her two children reportedly moved into a women&rsquo;s refuge for a short period, but when the time came to apply for emergency funding she claimed the social welfare workers were hostile towards her.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;My immigration card had expired and the man who was there said it was illegal for me to be here and how dare I try to get money. I was standing there with two small children, my face was a mess, it was obvious someone had tore into me and he actually told me that he had a good mind to call the police on me.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;\">\r\n		Deborah said she had thought of leaving Ireland but one of her children had been born in a European country and she was told by an Irish lawyer that if she returned to the U.S. with the two children at that time, she could be accused of kidnapping them.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;\">\r\n		&#39;I really had no way to leave. It was either leave them behind with him or take them with me and possibly have to send them back alone since there was no guarantee I&rsquo;d be allowed back in. I was trapped in a place it was illegal for me to be in.&#39;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;\">\r\n		When the time came to have her immigration status renewed, Deborah was told it could not be done without her husband, who was by this time remanded to prison.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;\">\r\n		The charges against him meant that he could not be within a certain distance of her and when he came before the courts, Deborah said she was &#39;forced to drop the rape charges&#39; so that he could help her to stay in the country.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px;\">\r\n		&#39;It was a humiliating experience,&#39; she told TheJournal.ie &#39;I spoke in front of the same police who were there when I went for the medical examination, they knew what had happened and the only reason I was dropping the charges was because of my immigration status. In any other situation, I would have seen it through but I had to let him away with it.&#39;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-size: 17px;\">\r\n		<span style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;\">After receiving free legal advice and writing to the government about her situation, Deborah was eventually granted leave to stay in the country independent of her husband by the Department of Justice.</span></p>\r\n	<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-size: 17px;\">\r\n		<span style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;\">The Immigrant Council of Ireland has warned that immigrants who are victims of domestic violence are often silenced out of fear that reporting the crime will impact on their ability to remain in the country.</span></p>\r\n	<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-size: 17px;\">\r\n		<span style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;\">The council is now seeking to have domestic violence formally recognized in Irish immigration law and the provision of emergency accommodation and welfare benefits for victims.</span></p>\r\n	<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-size: 17px;\">\r\n		<span style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;\">However in a statement to TheJournal.ie, The Irish Department of Justice said that it &#39;does not accept that the lack of specific legislation in this area is keeping people trapped in violent relationships.&#39;</span></p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	<span style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\"><a href=\"http://www.irishcentral.com/news/US-woman-forced-to-drop-rape-charges-to-stay-with-children-in-Ireland-221296461.html?page=1\">http://www.irishcentral.com/news/US-woman-forced-to-drop-rape-charges-to-stay-with-children-in-Ireland-221296461.html?page=1</a></span></span></div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-28 07:58:24',NULL,'us-woman-forced-to-drop-rape-charges-to-stay-with-children-in-ireland'),(218,'Appealing your results – when, how and who','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	<span class=\"CTXempty\" style=\"margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px; text-decoration: inherit !important;\">Now that the CAO</span><span class=\"CTXempty\" style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px !important;\">&nbsp;second-round offers are in, many students will have a better idea of whether or not they would like to proceed with rechecks and view exam scripts.</span></h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<span class=\"CTXempty\" style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px !important;\">The requested script(s) are sent to the school where a candidate sat the Leaving Cert&nbsp;and will be available to view tomorrow or Saturday. Students are assigned a time to view the script(s), which may be tomorrow evening, Saturday morning or Saturday evening. It is not possible for someone to view a paper on behalf of the candidate, so it is essential students make themselves available during the assigned time.</span></p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<span class=\"CTXempty\" style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px !important;\">A student may be accompanied by another person and most opt to bring a parent or a teacher. It should be someone who understands the course and the marking of the subject. For this reason, a student may prefer to ask a subject teacher. They are usually good enough to give up their time. It does not necessarily need to be the student&#39;s own teacher.</span></p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<span class=\"CTXempty\" style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px !important;\">It is not possible to view any oral work, but this will be remarked if a student appeals a result. If the student chooses to appeal, often referred to as a recheck, the paper and any other elements, for example practical or oral work, will be completely remarked by a different examiner using the same marking scheme as before. This may result in a higher grade or the grade staying the same. A downgrade is possible, but this happens rarely. An appeal will cost &euro;40 for Leaving Cert and &euro;15.50 for Leaving Cert Applied.</span></p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<span class=\"CTXempty\" style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px !important;\">All appeals must be with the State Examinations Commission by Wednesday, September 4. Applications should be returned to the school no later than the morning of Monday, September 2.</span></p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<span class=\"CTXempty\" style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px !important;\">Students should check this with the school in good time. Results are issued in mid-October.</span></p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<span class=\"CTXempty\" style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px !important;\"><a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/education/exams/appealing-your-results-when-how-and-who-29535965.html\">http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/education/exams/appealing-your-results-when-how-and-who-29535965.html</a></span></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-29 08:09:26',NULL,'appealing-your-results-–-when-how-and-who'),(219,'Back to School allowances now available','<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.091em; line-height: 15px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);\">\r\n	The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance is still open for applications until the end of September.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.091em; line-height: 15px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);\">\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<div class=\"KonaBody\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; line-height: 15px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);\">\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.091em; vertical-align: baseline;\">\r\n		&ldquo;The Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance (BTSCFA) helps families meet the cost of uniforms and footwear for children going to school,&rdquo; said FG councillor, James Daly. &ldquo;The payment rates for the 2013 scheme are &euro;100 in respect of children aged 4 to 11 on September 30, and &euro;200 for children aged 12 to 22.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.091em; vertical-align: baseline;\">\r\n		Cllr Daly advised anyone who may be eligible not to delay, as it could take several weeks to process an application.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.091em; vertical-align: baseline;\">\r\n		Applications are available in all social welfare local offices and online at www.welfare.ie.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 1.091em; vertical-align: baseline;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.leinsterexpress.ie/news/local/back-to-school-allowances-now-available-1-5427178\">http://www.leinsterexpress.ie/news/local/back-to-school-allowances-now-available-1-5427178</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-29 08:13:02',NULL,'back-to-school-allowances-now-available'),(220,'Bill proposes new supports for students with Down syndrome','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Extra services would cost &euro;600,000</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Just a fraction of the &euro;3.5 million in expenses spent by the Taoiseach&rsquo;s department in the first six months of the year could greatly improve the educational services offered to children with&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Down%20syndrome&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer !important; outline: none !important;\">Down syndrome</a>, an Independent TD has claimed.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		More than doubling the one-to-one educational services provided to them would cost a &ldquo;minuscule&rdquo; &euro;600,000 but would have a major impact, said Finian McGrath.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The TD who is part of the technical group in the D&aacute;il has put a Bill before the House proposing that all students with Down syndrome receive the maximum amount of resource teaching hours available for children with a disability.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		At the moment, Down syndrome students with a moderate disability get about two resource hours; those with a mild disability have no guaranteed resource allocation, but can receive other learning supports.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The maximum allocation for any learning disability is four hours and 15 minutes a week. His proposed Bill would raise the entitlement of any Down student to this level.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;I am very angry when I see &euro;3.5 million being spent on expenses in the first six months in the Taoiseach&rsquo;s department. On the costings we have, my legislation would cost &euro;600,000,&rdquo; Mr McGrath said.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;They told me they can&rsquo;t find the money but they could find the money for expenses. The gap in the cost between the two [resource hours allocation] is about &euro;600,000. For this minuscule amount of money you could turn around children&rsquo;s lives.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=Down%20Syndrome%20Ireland&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer !important; outline: none !important;\">Down Syndrome Ireland</a>&nbsp;supported the Bill and had advised Mr McGrath, who has an adult child with Down syndrome.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;Research will show it would be of immense benefit for the students and gives them a strong base going forward in the education system,&rdquo; said Pat Clarke, chief executive of Down Syndrome Ireland.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;They will be more independent and less dependent in society.&rdquo; He said studies showed that children who didn&rsquo;t get the resource hours tended to regress and often end up in the moderate disability range.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Mr McGrath&rsquo;s Bill was put before the House in the last few days before the summer recess.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/bill-proposes-new-supports-for-students-with-down-syndrome-1.1507536\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/bill-proposes-new-supports-for-students-with-down-syndrome-1.1507536</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-28 08:12:01',NULL,'bill-proposes-new-supports-for-students-with-down-syndrome'),(221,'50,000 missing children reports investigated in past decade','<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	An average of 18 reports on missing children were filed in the State each day last year, more than double the figure recorded 10 years earlier.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Garda statistics reveal that 51,193 reports on missing children have been investigated in the past decade, with 6,661 of them received last year, a 141 per cent increase on the total for 2003.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	The figures show 207 children who were reported missing between 2003 and 2012 &ldquo;remain untraced&rdquo;, with the whereabouts of a further 174 adults who went missing in the same period also unknown.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	The figures show 19,922 adults were reported missing in the 10-year period, with men accounting for just under two-thirds of the total.&nbsp;<br />\r\n	<br />\r\n	Foreign nationals</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Almost 27 per cent of the adults reported missing over the period were foreign nationals, who in 2005 accounted for more reports (850) than Irish nationals. The figure has fallen significantly since then and last year just 281 of the 2,093 adults missing were not Irish.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Garda sources say while it is impossible to determine where the untraced adults have gone, some are foreign nationals who have most likely left Ireland. Others, both Irish and foreign, have perhaps decided to leave their homes and deliberately have no contact with friends or family.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	&ldquo;Some of those missing have probably taken their own lives but their bodies have not been found and so if they were initially reported missing they would still be classed as missing,&rdquo; said a Garda source.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	The same source added some of the missing adults may have been murdered and their bodies disposed of but that such cases would be small in number.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Garda&iacute; said many of the children reported missing would fall into the &ldquo;tug of love&rdquo; category. &ldquo;You see more cases in the past few years, especially where men and women from different countries have kids and then separate &ndash; one might take off to their home country and take the kids without permission and so the other parent reports them missing.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Garda&iacute; believe other missing foreign children entered Ireland unaccompanied only to be taken into care and go &ldquo;missing&rdquo; from care after parents living here take them illegally. Sources acknowledge that some missing children may have been murdered or trafficked into the sex trade.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Girls were more likely to be reported missing than boys in the 10 years covered by the statistics, with girls accounting for 3,000 more reports than boys.&nbsp;<br />\r\n	<br />\r\n	Categories of risk</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Just under 12 per cent of those reported missing in the period were listed as non-Irish nationals with the numbers in this category rising sharply between 2003 and 2005 (from 581 to 912) before falling again in recent years.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	The provisional figures were provided by Minister for Justice&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Alan%20Shatter&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Alan Shatter</a>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=Fine%20Gael&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Fine Gael</a>TD for&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=Kildare%20North&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Kildare North</a>&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Bernard%20Durkan&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Bernard Durkan</a>&nbsp;in response to a parliamentary question.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Mr Shatter said all reports of persons going missing remain under investigation until the person is located.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Missing persons reports are divided into three categories of risk &ndash; high, medium and low.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	High-risk cases relate to situations where immediate action is needed such as child abduction or the threat of suicide.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Medium-risk cases are those where a person may have disappeared of their own volition and low-risk cases are those when there is no apparent threat to the life of the missing person.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/50-000-missing-children-reports-investigated-in-past-decade-1.1508737\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/50-000-missing-children-reports-investigated-in-past-decade-1.1508737</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-29 08:14:00',NULL,'50000-missing-children-reports-investigated-in-past-decade'),(222,'Cats boss makes school history with autism unit','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Little Jenna Dooley is helping Kilkenny hurling boss Brian Cody to make history of a different kind this September.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The smiling four-year-old is the first girl to enrol in De&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">La Sal</span><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">le</span>&nbsp;boys primary school at Cootes Lane in Kilkenny, where the Cats manager is principal.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		But it is not only Jenna who has cause to celebrate a break with tradition at the 125-year-old school, which has 308 boys on its books.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		She is one of six junior infants who are starting in a new special unit for children with&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">a</span><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">utism</span>, which the school is opening this week.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		It was a happy coincidence of events that has Jenna donning her uniform and joining her bothers, Callum and Corey, in De La Salle.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Like parents of all children on the autism disorder spectrum, Lorraine and Brian Dooley worried about schooling for Jenna, who has already completed a very successful year at Montessori.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;She came on in leaps and bounds while she was there. It did her the world of good,&quot; said Lorraine.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Meanwhile, the local&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">special</span><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\"> education</span>&nbsp;needs organiser had approached Brian Cody asking him about setting up a unit for children with autism in the school.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;She told us there was a serious need for a unit in the area. There was great enthusiasm among staff, their response was very positive,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		While the full state-of-the-art, two-classroom unit won&#39;t be built until next September, they have refurbished a room to cater for one class this year.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Lorraine Dooley didn&#39;t have to think twice about where she wanted her daughter to go.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;Jenna&#39;s two brothers were already attending the school. It made sense for her to be with them,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;I approached Brian Cody, and he had no problem. Jenna knows the school already and she knows Mr Cody. It all fell into place.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Brian Cody said there was real excitement about the unit in the school.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The record-breaking All-Ireland hurling manager said the opening of the new classroom had kept him busier than usual at a time when he often has other things on his mind. However, the Cats won&#39;t be togging out for this year&#39;s All-Ireland final in Croke Park.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/education/cats-boss-makes-school-history-with-autism-unit-29538482.html\">http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/education/cats-boss-makes-school-history-with-autism-unit-29538482.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-30 08:04:15',NULL,'cats-boss-makes-school-history-with-autism-unit'),(223,'Parents turn to charities after allowance cut','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Cuts in back-to-school clothing and footwear allowances have forced parents to turn to charities looking for help to meet costs.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The St Vincent de Paul Society says it has noticed a &quot;significant&quot; increase this year in calls from families and the single biggest contributory factor cited is the cut to the clothing and footwear allowance.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		This year the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance has fallen a further &euro;50 from last year and now stands at &euro;100 for children aged between four and 11. This is a reduction of &euro;100 in two years.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The payment for dependent children aged between 12 and 22 has also dropped further to &euro;200 from &euro;350. &quot;It&#39;s hitting hardest families that have two children going to secondary school that have seen their payments drop by &euro;300,&quot; the charity&#39;s spokesman said.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/parents-turn-to-charities-after-allowance-cut-29538380.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/parents-turn-to-charities-after-allowance-cut-29538380.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-30 08:21:51',NULL,'parents-turn-to-charities-after-allowance-cut'),(224,'Priory Hall mother urges solution after partner suicide','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	&lsquo;The worry of not being able to provide a safe home for us . . . eventually took its toll&rsquo;</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		A former resident of the Priory Hall apartment complex has written an open letter to the Taoiseach asking him to intervene in the controversy after her partner took his own life.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Stephanie Meehan&rsquo;s partner of 17 years, Fiachra Daly, died by suicide last July. In her letter, she said pressure to pay arrears on the apartment &ndash; in which they have not been able to live for the past two years &ndash; appeared to be a factor in his death.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The couple and their two children, along with 65 other families, were ordered to evacuate the apartment complex in north Dublin in October 2011 after fire safety problems and construction defects were found.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The controversy remains unresolved following legal issues and disputes over the renovation and other matters.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;Fiachra was the happiest man on Earth, he lived for myself, Ois&iacute;n (7) and Cerys (2), he never suffered from any form of mental illness or depression, we had been together for 17 years and I never once witnessed any signs,&rdquo; she wrote.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;That is up until the week prior to his death, when we received demands from banks, looking for payment of arrears on a property that we can&rsquo;t live in, asking us to fill out, yet again, forms to request an extension of our moratorium, all for a property we can&rsquo;t live in through no fault of our own.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;The stress, the worry of not being able to provide a safe home for us, his young children, eventually took its toll, as it has on every resident,&rdquo; she wrote.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;I now have no home, my children have no permanent home, but most importantly, I have no partner and my children have lost their wonderful dad.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Ms Meehan said she had emailed the Taoiseach&rsquo;s office on many occasions regarding the situation in Priory Hall, and received only a single reply.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;Our future, security and certainty changed the minute we were evacuated and not one thing has changed in two years, every email, phone call, letter seems to have fallen on deaf ears. So I ask you, what will it take now for someone to listen and act on something that should&rsquo;ve been dealt with two years ago and saved a lot of taxpayers&rsquo; money and most of all saved a life?&rdquo; she wrote.<br />\r\n		&ldquo;I am left with a lifetime of heartache . . . Is there any justice in this country?&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		A spokesman for the Department of the Taoiseach was not in a position to comment on the issue last night.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<br />\r\n		Arrears<br />\r\n		Ms Meehan said last night the couple had received a moratorium on mortgage repayments for the property since they left it 18 months ago, but continued to receive letters on a regular basis seeking payment for arrears of almost &euro;20,000.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;We never had a problem paying for the mortgage when we were living there, we always kept up our repayments.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The family had been living in a house in Belmayne in north Dublin, paid for by Dublin City Council, until her partner died. She and her two children are now living with her parents.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Support groups in mental health and suicide prevention have reported rising demand for help since the recession started. Experts have called on anyone in distress to seek support or counselling, while financial advice is available from groups such as the Money Advice and Budgeting Service.&nbsp;<br />\r\n		<br />\r\n		<font face=\"ZapfDingbats\">l</font>For support, contact the Samaritans. Tel: 1850-609090, text: 087-2609090, or email: jo@samaritans.org</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/priory-hall-mother-urges-solution-after-partner-suicide-1.1510104\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/priory-hall-mother-urges-solution-after-partner-suicide-1.1510104</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-08-30 08:23:10',NULL,'priory-hall-mother-urges-solution-after-partner-suicide'),(225,'Legislation to create more fair and transparent school enrolment process','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	New rules will stop State funded schools from using &lsquo;low-level discrimination&rsquo;, particularly against students with special needs</h2>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	The Minister for Education will gain significant new powers to ensure fairness and balance in the&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?q=enrolment%20policies&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">enrolment policies</a>&nbsp;of our schools, due to draft legislation published by the Government this morning.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	No school in receipt of State funding will be allowed to opt out of the new process: if lack of co-operation persists, an independent person can be appointed, on the approval of a court, to operate its enrolment process.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Students will not be left behind if nearby schools are full or if the child has special educational needs. The&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=National%20Council%20for%20Special%20Education&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">National Council for Special Education</a>&nbsp;may designate a place in a particular school to ensure their participation. If a child can&rsquo;t get a place at a nearby school, the&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=National%20Educational%20Welfare%20Board&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">National Educational Welfare Board</a>&nbsp;will also have powers to insist a school provides a place.<br />\r\n	<br />\r\n	&lsquo;Soft barriers&rsquo;<br />\r\n	Schools sometimes used &ldquo;soft barriers&rdquo; to exclude some children, particularly those with a learning disability, the department said.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	&ldquo;It is below the radar, low-level&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?q=discrimination&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">discrimination</a>, &rdquo; one source added. The new legislation should now make the process as transparent as possible.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	One of the biggest changes is that waiting lists will end. While some schools may be allowed to clear existing waiting lists, in the main these &ldquo;first come first served&rdquo; lists will go and different criteria will be applied in enrolment. These will be chosen by the school itself but must be published, making discrimination difficult.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Gone also is the invidious practice of charging for inclusion on the list in the first place. Parents with concerns about getting a place in a neighbouring school might sign up for several schools, paying the charges to each and making a final decision when the child reached school-going age.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Some schools adopted other ways of checking out the &lsquo;suitability&rsquo; of prospective students and parents. One was to hold &ldquo;open days&rdquo;, making attendance compulsory as a condition of signing up. Compulsory interviews for the child and parents were also used. All of these would be banned under the new legislation.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	An ESRI study some years ago showed that 80 per cent of schools in receipt of State funding took in every child presented for admission, the departmental source notes. But that meant 20 per cent claimed they were full up and had to send students away.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	These were not all fee-paying schools by any means. Smaller towns might have, say, two secondary schools, with one considered the &ldquo;good school&rdquo; and more desirable than the other. This could put admissions pressure on the &ldquo;good school&rdquo;, with places unfilled in the other.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Perhaps one of the biggest changes is to the appeals procedures if parents decide to challenge a school&rsquo;s rejection of a child. Cases taken in this regard often triggered multiple appeals, creating a &ldquo;significant administrative burden&rdquo; for schools. The new legislation removes the burden of appealing school decisions from parents.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/legislation-to-create-more-fair-and-transparent-school-enrolment-process-1.1512680\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/legislation-to-create-more-fair-and-transparent-school-enrolment-process-1.1512680</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-02 04:00:00',NULL,'legislation-to-create-more-fair-and-transparent-school-enrolment-process'),(226,'No seatbelt cause of one in three child deaths on roads','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Almost one in three children killed in road accidents was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of their death.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		New research from the&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Road Safety Auth</span><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">ority</span>&nbsp;(<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">RS</span><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">A</span>) shows that while the number of children aged 14 years and younger dying has fallen almost 90pc between 1997 and 2012, more than 20 deaths could have been avoided had the children been buckled in.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The figures show that 262 lives were lost between 1997 and 2012 on our roads, and 1,107 young people were seriously injured. So far this year, four children have died.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The Child Casualties Report 1997 to 2012 shows there was an 89pc reduction in the number of children killed and a 52pc drop in those seriously injured.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The figures also show:</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		* 110 (43pc) of the children killed were pedestrians.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		* Another 78 (42pc) were car passengers, while 464 children who were seriously injured were also travelling in cars.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		* Of the children killed, 23 were not wearing seatbelts.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		* Children are most at risk of being killed on the roads between 4pm and 6pm, the time they are most likely to be travelling home from school.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The RSA asked parents to ensure their child was kitted out with the necessary road safety gear, including a bicycle helmet, working lights on their bicycle and a high-vis vest.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Children should always be accompanied by an adult so they can learn how to use the road safely, while children travelling by bus should be taught to wear their safety belt.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		RSA chief executive Noel Brett said: &quot;As parents and educators, we have a responsibility to teach our children how to be safe when walking, cycling, getting the bus or being driven to school&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Meanwhile, a third of drivers admit to speeding while a majority of motorists say they see others driving too fast every day. An online survey of 16,300 drivers by AA Ireland found that 71pc of respondents witnessed others speeding on a daily basis while 32pc admitted to driving too fast themselves.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Not surprisingly, the poll found that males are more likely to speed than their female counterparts with 35pc of men admitting to frequently driving at excessive speeds compared with 30pc of women.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The survey comes as the number of fatal road accidents is starting to creep up again.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Seventeen people died on Irish roads last month and there have been 128 road fatalities so far this year &ndash; up 9pc from the same time last year.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/no-seatbelt-cause-of-one-in-three-child-deaths-on-roads-29544192.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/no-seatbelt-cause-of-one-in-three-child-deaths-on-roads-29544192.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-02 08:20:32',NULL,'no-seatbelt-cause-of-one-in-three-child-deaths-on-roads'),(227,'Renewed pressure for ban on smacking of children','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Children&rsquo;s groups complained to Council of Europe over &lsquo;reasonable chastisement&rsquo;</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The Government is facing renewed pressure to introduce a ban on smacking children following a fresh complaint to the Council of Europe that &ldquo;reasonable chastisement&rdquo; is a violation of young people&rsquo;s rights.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		While measures that allow parents the right to use &ldquo;reasonable and moderate chastisement&rdquo; were repealed in the 2001 Children&rsquo;s Act, the removal of the common law defence requires new legislation.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		An official complaint by children&rsquo;s groups to the Council of Europe says the Irish State has not made any attempt to outlaw the practice, despite repeated criticism from international rights bodies.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Minister for Children&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Frances%20Fitzgerald&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Frances Fitzgerald</a>&nbsp;has until the end of this month to draw up a formal response to the Council of Europe committee, which is tasked with ensuring member states comply with their treaty obligations.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The Irish State is a signatory to the European Social Charter, which requires member states to protect children and young people from violence.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The Children&rsquo;s Rights Alliance &ndash; an umbrella group of more than 100 organisations &ndash; wrote to the Minister last week, urging the Government to introduce legislation without delay to outlaw what it describes as &ldquo;violence against children&rdquo;, and to strengthen positive parenting support programmes.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;We are also seeking a prohibition on the use of corporal punishment in all settings. Corporal punishment is a form of violence and ill-treatment from which all children have a right to be protected,&rdquo; said&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Tanya%20Ward&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Tanya Ward</a>, the alliance&rsquo;s chief executive.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Ms Ward said the State had failed to take any meaningful action to address previous criticism by both the Council of Europe and the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child over its failure to introduce a ban in legislation.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<br />\r\n		Under review<br />\r\n		Ms Fitzgerald recently said the matter was under review, but argued there were legal deterrents to the use of excessive physical discipline in the home and that successful prosecutions had been taken using measures in the 2001 Children&rsquo;s Act.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		She has also argued there is a balance to be found between supporting parents in effective parenting and the use of criminal law to impose criminal sanctions on parents who use excessive force.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The Minister said considerable progress had been made in recent years in encouraging parents to use alternative non violent forms of discipline in the family setting.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Studies suggest a majority of Irish parents never use corporal or physical punishment as a means of disciplining children and opt instead for alternative means of discipline. However, the practice still appears to have widespread acceptance.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The&nbsp;<em>Growing Up in Ireland</em>&nbsp;study of nine-year-olds found that about 11 per cent of mothers smack their children &ldquo;now and again&rdquo;, while another survey of 800 Irish adults last year found that almost one in two believed it to be acceptable to slap a child.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The current complaint before the Council of Europe follows on from a previous collective complaint brought by a group called the&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=World%20Organisation&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">World Organisation</a>&nbsp;Against Torture in 2005.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		At that stage, the council found that although criminal law protected children from very serious violence within the home, it &ldquo;remains the fact that certain forms of violence are permitted.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<br />\r\n		Corporal punishment<br />\r\n		Other international bodies have since called on&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_location=Ireland&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Ireland</a>&nbsp;to reform its law on corporal punishment. In its 2006 the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended a legislative ban on corporal punishment within the family.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Five years later, the former Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights,&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Thomas%20Hammarberg&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Thomas Hammarberg</a>, called on the State to &ldquo;unconditionally ban corporal punishment&rdquo;.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/renewed-pressure-for-ban-on-smacking-of-children-1.1512623\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/renewed-pressure-for-ban-on-smacking-of-children-1.1512623</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-02 08:22:18',NULL,'renewed-pressure-for-ban-on-smacking-of-children'),(228,'Child-smacking ban not needed, says children\'s minister','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Children&#39;s Minister&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Frances_Fitzgerald_(politician)\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">Frances Fitzgerald</a>&nbsp;has no intention of changing the law to ban the slapping of children.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		She maintains it is not necessary because there has been a sea-change in how parents discipline their children.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		It came after a children&#39;s charity called for smacking of youngsters to be made illegal.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		A spokeswoman for Ms Fitzgerald said the &#39;Growing Up In Ireland&#39; study had shown that corporal punishment at home was now &quot;relatively rare&quot; with just 11pc of mothers smacking their children.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		As it stands, parents, legal caregivers, childminders and foster parents have the right to punish children physically under the common law defence of &quot;reasonable chastisement&quot;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Children&#39;s Rights Alliance chief executive Tanya Ward said the law was unacceptable because all forms of violence against children were wrong.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		But there are divided attitudes in society. A government-commissioned survey found that 42pc of people believed it should be made illegal. But 34pc said slapping should be allowed and another 24pc said it should depend on the age of the child.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/childsmacking-ban-not-needed-says-minister-29546492.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/childsmacking-ban-not-needed-says-minister-29546492.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-03 04:00:00',NULL,'child-smacking-ban-not-needed-says-childrens-minister'),(229,'Mother calls for action on problem of filicide','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Una Butler&rsquo;s husband John killed their daughters before taking his own life</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		A mother whose husband and two children died in a murder suicide has said the country needs to &ldquo;wake up&rdquo; and face its filicide problem.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Una Butler&rsquo;s husband John killed their two young daughters Ella (6) and Zoe (2) on November 16th, 2010. Mr Butler (41) subsequently died after crashing his car into a ditch.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		In an interview with Miriam O&rsquo;Callaghan on RT&Eacute; radio today,&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Mrs%20Butler&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Mrs Butler</a>&nbsp;said that since 2000 38 children in&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_location=Ireland&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Ireland</a>&nbsp;have been murdered by one of their parents in 27 cases of filicide.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		She called for immediate action on the issue.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;There should be more independent in depth investigations in order to learn from research to help prevent further cases of filicide. John murdered them because he was sick. That is what I am putting it down to. The reasons my girls are dead is because of John&rsquo;s mental illness.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Mrs Butler, who is from&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_company=Ballycotton&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Ballycotton</a>, Co Cork recently attended a major conference on filicide in Italy where researchers indicated that, in many cases, mental health problems were a key factor.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Mrs Butler said she never believed her children were at risk from her husband.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;Even now, it is unreal - there is an air of unreality about it. How can a parent kill their own children? There are questions that I will never have answered. What came over John that morning? His illness was very hard to live with. But he never harmed Zoe and Ella. He never, ever harmed me.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Mrs Butler expressed concern about the stigma attached to mental health problems. &ldquo;Why is the mind treating differently to the body. It is the stigma. People are ashamed. It shouldn&rsquo;t be like that.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Mrs Butler called for changes in the way mental health patients are treated. She wants mandatory risk assessments to be conducted on the families and children of mental health patients.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		She also called for the Mental Health Act to be changed to require medical personnel to involve the partners and families of mental health patients in their treatment.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;Patient confidentiality doesn&rsquo;t have to be broken by involving the spouses or partners. &ldquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Mrs Butler said she remains bereft over her husband&rsquo;s actions and sad for the state of mind he was in when he killed their young children.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;I will never forgive John for what he did to Zoe and Ella. A lot of the time I&rsquo;m angry with him. But I&rsquo;m also sad - I feel sad for him. Trying to live without them is extremely hard. But I am living their lives for them now. Their spirits are with me all the time.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/mother-calls-for-action-on-problem-of-filicide-1.1513533\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/mother-calls-for-action-on-problem-of-filicide-1.1513533</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-03 08:31:33',NULL,'mother-calls-for-action-on-problem-of-filicide'),(230,'Parents being forced to fork out €500 for school iPads','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-size: 2em; line-height: 1.2; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Cheaper devices not given as option</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		PARENTS are paying more than they should for their children&#39;s ebook education because Irish schools are insisting on over-priced iPads, according to experts.</h2>\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The president of the National Parents Council Post Primary, which represents 730 post-primary schools, said that Irish parents were not being given a choice between tablet devices that deliver the same educational ebooks.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;Schools are specifying iPads, which cost up to &euro;500 before (you buy) ebooks,&quot; said Don Myers, president of the NPCPP. &quot;I&#39;m aware of other companies offering ebook solutions on<font color=\"#5c8b3f\"><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Andro</span></font><font color=\"#5c8b3f\"><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">id</span></font>&nbsp;devices for just &euro;200.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		As pupils continue their return to classrooms today, more than 20,000 students in over 100 of the country&#39;s 730 secondary schools are being assigned tablet devices for digital learning.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		According to publishers and regional administrators, the vast majority opt for iPads over rival tablets.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;A lot of the solutions being offered to parents come in around the &euro;700 mark,&quot; said John Heeney, ICT project manager with Louth VEC, which oversees a number of secondary schools in Louth and Meath.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Mr Heeney said that of five designated Louth VEC schools using tablets, three use&nbsp;<font color=\"#5c8b3f\"><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">A</span></font><font color=\"#5c8b3f\"><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">pple</span></font>&nbsp;iPads and two use Android tablets.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;We were definite that it wasn&#39;t just going to be&nbsp;<font color=\"#5c8b3f\"><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">i</span></font><font color=\"#5c8b3f\"><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Pad</span></font>&nbsp;that we recommended,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;A lot of the iPad solutions being offered to parents come in around the &euro;750 mark. That is a huge amount of money.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;We&#39;ve been able to deliver Android tablets at a more competitive price. We hope to be able to deliver tablets at around &euro;200 to &euro;250.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Mr Heeney said that there was some confusion among school teachers regarding viable alternatives to the iPad.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<strong style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em;\">BRILLIANT</strong></p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;Apple is not the only answer, not even close,&quot; he said. &quot;Apple would make you think it&#39;s the only option and they&#39;re brilliant at marketing.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;But for an iPad you&#39;re paying an awful lot for potential things you might not be using. You could just as effectively be using a cheaper Android.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Mr Myers said the issue was starting to be debated among schools and parents, who were asking whether they were getting value for money.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;A lot of people don&#39;t understand it,&quot; he said. &quot;Without a doubt, the iPad is a good device and it was first to market. But the price is wrong for education.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;I&#39;m aware of some companies out there who are specialising in getting devices into schools for &euro;200. Compare that to the iPad&#39;s cost.&quot;</p>\r\n	<div class=\"more\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 10.909090995788574px;\">\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			Mr Myers said that parents should have more choice about what kind of tablet device secondary school students use for school work.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			&quot;The school should not have the authority to dictate the device that parents get,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			&quot;If the app or the book is produced by various publishers for different platforms, it should make no difference which device they get.&quot;</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			At present, Irish school publishers offer texts and materials for iPad, Android and&nbsp;<font color=\"#5c8b3f\"><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">M</span></font><font color=\"#5c8b3f\"><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">icrosoft</span></font>&nbsp;Windows devices. Some Irish texts have small enhancements for iPad versions.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			A marketing executive for Ireland&#39;s biggest school ebook company, EdCo Digital, said that iPad editions of school books allowed students to annotate and highlight texts.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			Alan Wright said that alternative Android versions of the same school ebooks would allow the same functionality in an upcoming update.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			&quot;There is a slight difference, although going forward, there will be a less of a difference,&quot; said Mr Wright.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			&quot;As to so many schools specifying iPads, I don&#39;t really know why. I would have expected there to be more Android tablets recommended with the availability of more devices.&quot;</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			But some teachers think that the answer may lie in familiarity.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			&quot;I think the answer is that they&#39;re so famous,&quot; said Fintan O&#39;Mahony, an executive board member of the Association of Secondary School Teachers of Ireland and a working teacher in Carrick On Suir.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			&quot;It&#39;s just the easy option. The perception is that although they&#39;re expensive, it&#39;s the safe option because they&#39;re ubiquitous.&quot;</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/education/parents-being-forced-to-fork-out-500-for-school-ipads-29546495.html\">http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/education/parents-being-forced-to-fork-out-500-for-school-ipads-29546495.html</a></p>\r\n	</div>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-03 08:34:10',NULL,'parents-being-forced-to-fork-out-€500-for-school-ipads'),(231,'\'Stressed\' elderly men more like to suffer falls','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Men over 65 who lose a partner, get seriously ill or hit hard financial times are more likely to suffer a fall, research suggests.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Those who suffer a stressful life event are 41pc more likely to fall in the following year and 68pc more likely to experience multiple falls.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Experts analysed data for almost 5,000 men in six locations across the US.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The men were asked if they had suffered a stressful event from a list, including experiencing serious illness, a loved one having an accident, the death of a loved one or separation from a child or relative on whom they depended for help.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The data was then collected on falls in the subsequent year.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/world-news/stressed-elderly-men-more-like-to-suffer-falls-29549998.html\">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/stressed-elderly-men-more-like-to-suffer-falls-29549998.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-04 07:39:50',NULL,'stressed-elderly-men-more-like-to-suffer-falls'),(232,'Minister for Children welcomes conclusion of inter-country adoption arrangements between Ireland & the USA','<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Frances Fitzgerald, Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, has welcomed the conclusion of inter-country adoption operating arrangements between Ireland and the United States of America.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Intercountry adoption is the process by which a person adopts a child from a country other than their own through permanent legal means, and brings that child to the country of residence to live with them permanently.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Intercountry adoption differs from domestic adoption because of the laws that make it possible to bring the child to live where the adopted parents live.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	To bring a child into America, the adopted child must have the same status and relationship to the adoptive parents as a child by birth. What some countries call &ldquo;adoptions&rdquo; are more accurately described as guardianships under U.S. law and are not considered adoptions for U.S. immigration purposes.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	<strong style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;\">Hague Convention</strong></p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	The Hague Adoption Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) is an international agreement to safeguard intercountry adoptions.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Concluded on May 29, 1993 in The Hague, the Netherlands, the Convention establishes &lsquo;international standards of practices for intercountry adoptions&rsquo;.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	The United States signed the Convention in 1994, and the Convention entered into force for the United States in April 2008.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Ireland ratified the Covention by the enactment of the Adoption Act 2010 on 1 November 2010.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	The Convention recognises intercountry adoption as a means of offering the advantage of a permanent home to a child when a suitable family has not been found in the child&rsquo;s country of origin.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	It enables intercountry adoption to take place when:</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	<em style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;\">1.The child has been deemed eligible for adoption by the child&rsquo;s country of birth; and<br style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px;\" />\r\n	2.Proper effort has been given to the child&rsquo;s adoption in its country of origin.</em></p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	<strong style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;\">Ireland</strong></p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	The Adoption Authority of Ireland said they have been working in recent months to bring &lsquo;greater clarity&rsquo; to the situation regarding the adoption of children from the United States.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	The formalities surrounding the operating arrangements were concluded at a meeting in the US Department of State in Washington&nbsp;on Tuesday&nbsp;3rd September.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Minister Fitzgerald, the Adoption Authority of Ireland Chairman Dr. Geoffrey Shannon, and the new Irish Ambassador to the United States Ms Anne Anderson, all attended the meeting, which&nbsp;followed the exchange of a diplomatic note between the two countries.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Minister Frances Fitzgerald said that inter-country adoption has undergone a period of significant transition following the Hague Convention with the situation for families seeking to adopt having changed dramatically.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	The Minister welcomed the arrangements concluded&nbsp;on Tuesday&nbsp;as an &lsquo;important step in ensuring that inter-country adoptions can take place effectively between Ireland and the US&rsquo;.</p>\r\n<blockquote style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 13px; vertical-align: baseline; quotes: none; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;\">\r\n		<em style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;\"><strong style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;\">&ldquo;The&nbsp;US Department of State has shown a significant level of commitment to the process of developing new operating arrangement between Ireland and the United States, demonstrated also by the degree of goodwill they have shown to my officials and I.&rdquo;</strong></em></p>\r\n	<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;\">\r\n		<strong style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: transparent;\">-Minister Fitzgerald</strong></p>\r\n</blockquote>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	The arrangements set out in detail how inter-country adoption will operate between the Adoption Authority of Ireland and the Department of State.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Dr. Shannon stated that the arrangement is a &lsquo;significant development in that it embodies a consensus on the rules applying to child adoption between the two countries&rsquo;.&nbsp;It is the second agreement entered into by the Authority with another Hague country, following agreement being reached with Vietnam earlier this year.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	The arrangement with the US focuses on the issue of consent but also covers other issues such as the level of costs, observance of the principle of &ldquo;subsidiarity&rdquo;, birth father notification and the &ldquo;matching&rdquo; process which applies in the US.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	This arrangement will provide a &lsquo;clear road map as to how the inter-country adoption process will operate between Ireland and the US&rsquo;.</p>\r\n<p style=\"padding: 0px; margin: 10px 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	<a href=\"http://insideireland.ie/2013/09/04/minister-for-children-and-youth-affairs-welcomes-conclusion-of-inter-country-adoption-operating-arrangements-between-ireland-the-usa-101632/\">http://insideireland.ie/2013/09/04/minister-for-children-and-youth-affairs-welcomes-conclusion-of-inter-country-adoption-operating-arrangements-between-ireland-the-usa-101632/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-04 07:41:00',NULL,'minister-for-children-welcomes-conclusion-of-inter-country-adoption-arrangements-between-ireland-the-usa'),(233,'Racism on the rise','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	There has been &quot;an alarming&quot; increase in reported incidents of racism in Sligo.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		A new reporting service was set up earlier this year.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Two incidents were reported in June, four in July.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		And up to August 22nd, nine incidents were recorded.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		These included alleged assault, refusal to access services, discrimination, verbal abuse and refusal to provide accommodation.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Service manager Deo Ladislas Ndakengerwa said: &quot;It&#39;s worrying and alarming to see an increase of this size in a small city like Sligo.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;There are far more incidents that people wouldn&#39;t report because of a culture of tolerating and accepting what people regard as minor incidents.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;But every big crime in history started as a small incident.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Deo explained there were two types of racist incidents.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		He said: &quot;There is institutional racism.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;This is where institutions are discriminating against ethnic groups.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;For example, a person might be living 10 years in Ireland and hold an Irish passport but be told they are Irish on paper only.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;This affects integration because they are not see as equal members of the Sligo community.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;It&#39;s something that needs to be dealt with because it&#39;s against the Irish constitution.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;Once somebody pledges allegiance to the Irish flag, he or she is automatically as Irish as anyone born here.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Racisim in the community involves people being harassed by neighbours and made &quot;scapegoats for the economic downturn.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;People are told if they were not here, someone else would have a job,&quot; Deo explained.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		But, he added: &quot;These people are working 12 to 15 hours for minimum wages to make ends meet.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;And they may be doing a job an Irish person would not do.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;They should be seen as a contributor to society.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		However, Deo said: &quot;The majority of Sligo people are nice.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;But it only takes one nasty person to give a bad image to the city.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		He was also full of praise for the local gardai. &quot;They are very committed to stamping out racism.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/regionals/sligochampion/news/racism-on-the-rise-29547303.html\">http://www.independent.ie/regionals/sligochampion/news/racism-on-the-rise-29547303.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-04 07:43:07',NULL,'racism-on-the-rise'),(234,'Paul Gilligan: History of abuse shows that slapping ban protects children','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-size: 2em; line-height: 1.2; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Our young have a right to total bodily integrity and a right not to experience violent behaviour</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&#39;Slapping Children is Wrong &ndash; Pass it On&quot; was the slogan of an ISPCC billboard campaign in the Nineties. At the time, reaction to the campaign was ferocious with claims that its aim was to turn children against their parents and criminalise parents. Even some child-protection professionals claimed it was a step too far.</h2>\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Since then, various international and national authorities, including the<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/United_Nations\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">United Nations</a>&nbsp;Convention Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Government&#39;s own Special Rapporteur on Child Protection, have called for a legal ban on corporal punishment. Yet, slapping children, when characterised as reasonable chastisement by a parent, legal care-giver, child minder or foster parent, remains legal in Ireland.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The arguments against a legal ban have not changed since the Nineties despite all of the child-abuse scandals that have emerged since then and despite the passing of a children&#39;s rights constitutional amendment last year. Many policy-makers argue that legislation is unnecessary because parenting practice is changing and fewer parents now slap their children. They also fear that introducing a legislative ban would be viewed as too draconian and an over-interference in family life, even by parents who don&#39;t condone slapping.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		It is estimated that in Ireland only 35 per cent of the population believe that corporal punishment should remain legal. When a ban on physical punishment was introduced in Sweden in 1965, 53 per cent opposed it. Following the ban, this figure reduced to 11 per cent. In the UK, it is estimated that less than 20 per cent support such a measure.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Research and international child protection best practice all support the need for a ban. Evidence from across the world indicates that slapping children does them no good and can, and often does, cause them harm. Consistent corporal punishment of children is associated with increased aggression, anti-social behaviour and emotional and psychological difficulties. It impacts negatively on a child&#39;s self-esteem and confidence and by virtue of this leaves them vulnerable to exploitation by others, either as children or when they become adults.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		We have direct evidence of the impact of serious corporal punishment on Irish children through the revelations of the survivors of state childcare institutions. Their stories provide harrowing accounts of what can happen in the name of reasonable chastisement.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Those who condone slapping argue that there is a vast difference between &quot;a slap&quot; and corporal punishment or physical abuse. But the difference lies in the extent of the behaviour, not in the intention or the impact. Slapping degrades a child and conveys a message that an adult can hurt him or her whenever they want. It disempowers a child and it decreases the quality of the parent-child relationship.</p>\r\n	<div class=\"more\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 10.909090995788574px;\">\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			The most significant argument supporting a legal ban on corporal punishment is a rights one. Like all other citizens, children have a right to total bodily integrity and a right not to experience degrading or violent behaviour. Rights are the foundation on which civilised societies are built. If we do not afford children the same rights as all other citizens, they will inevitably be more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			The Irish State, with its acknowledged failure of children in the past, should want to take every action possible to ensure children&#39;s rights are protected. The Government should be seeking to create a state that is exemplary on the protection and promotion of children&#39;s rights. It is difficult not to conclude that underpinning the reluctance to tackle this issue is a more deeply ingrained misconception about children. This misconception centres on viewing children as the property of their parents rather than individual citizens in their own right. This was enshrined in our Constitution until the passing of the recent amendment. Changing belief systems about children will require more than constitutional change.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			<span class=\"CTXempty\" style=\"margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; text-decoration: inherit !important; float: none !important;\">The role of the State is to support parents to rear and protect their children as well as they can. This should ensure parents are given the best opportunity to raise their children in a&nbsp;<span id=\"link0\" name=\"link0\" style=\"margin: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px !important; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1em; height: auto; cursor: pointer; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 153, 0); text-decoration: underline !important; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important;\">healthy</span>, nurturing environment. Introducing a legal ban on corporal punishment would lay down a marker for parents and would support them to make the right decisions when it comes to disciplining their children.</span></p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			For any government, banning slapping is a courageous move. The Minister for Children,&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Frances_Fitzgerald_(politician)\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">Frances Fitzgerald</a>, has already shown a commitment to children&#39;s rights by leading on the passing of a constitutional amendment. She is best placed and has the political courage to legislate for what is a seminal children&#39;s rights and child-protection issue.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			All right-thinking parents should support her to deliver this crucial reform.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			<em style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em;\">Paul Gilligan is a clinical psychologist and chairman of the Children&#39;s Rights Alliance</em></p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			<em style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em;\"><a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/paul-gilligan-history-of-abuse-shows-that-slapping-ban-protects-children-29561446.html\">http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/paul-gilligan-history-of-abuse-shows-that-slapping-ban-protects-children-29561446.html</a></em></p>\r\n	</div>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-09 08:12:06',NULL,'paul-gilligan-history-of-abuse-shows-that-slapping-ban-protects-children'),(235,'Emer O\'Kelly: No law can fully protect a child from bad parents','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-size: 2em; line-height: 1.2; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Some mums and dads fall into a grey area that is not covered by criminal law, writes Emer O&#39;Kelly</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The Minister for Children,&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Frances_Fitzgerald_(politician)\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(92, 139, 63);\">Frances Fitzgerald</a>, has until the end of this month to tell the&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Council_of_Europe\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">Council of Europe</a>&nbsp;what she is doing to outlaw physical punishment of children within the home, which the council defines as &quot;violence against children&quot;. We have already signed up to the European Social Charter which requires us to protect children and young people from violence.</h2>\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		So where does the State stand? Well of course, we&#39;ve had a referendum on children&#39;s rights, to include a constitutional specification that they have those rights.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Just as prior to that, even without constitutional authority, we had the Children&#39;s Act 2001, which states, &quot;It shall be an offence for any person who has the custody, charge or care of a child wilfully to assault, ill-treat, neglect, abandon or expose the child, or cause or procure or allow the child to be assaulted, ill treated, neglected, abandoned, or exposed in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to the child&#39;s health, or seriously to affect his or her wellbeing.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		And according to the minister, there&#39;s been considerable progress in &quot;encouraging&quot; parents to use &quot;non- violent forms of discipline&quot; in the family setting. So youngsters are pretty safe in their homes in this little country of ours, right? Done and dusted, with every parent who is merely given to being a bit ready with the cane or fist (not violent at all, really) shivering in their shoes since 2001 if they are tempted to show a five-year-old who&#39;s boss. Yes?</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Well, let&#39;s try to define &quot;unnecessary suffering&quot; or &quot;serious effect&quot;. It&#39;s a bit like trying to define the risk to the mother&#39;s life/health under the terms of the Protection of&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Life_(show)\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">Life</a>&nbsp;During Pregnancy Act.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Should it be a crime to catch the flailing hand of a purple-faced screaming three-year-old, look them firmly in the eye, say a sharp &quot;no!&quot; and smack the hand? Institutions and individuals who believe that all physical punishment of children should be outlawed, believe that it should.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Other people, those who believe in the &quot;inviolability&quot; of family life and the absolute authority vested in parents by nature of the &quot;natural law&quot;/ divine law believe the State and/or the law have no right to intervene in the method of punishment a parent uses to discipline a child. Those who are against physical punishment suggest that &quot;other&quot; means of discipline should be used; but in practice that can mean no discipline at all.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Since the debate reignited in past weeks, one expert has said that it had been found that physical punishment of children led to defiance and outrageous behaviour. That rather surprised me. In my experience, severe physical punishment leads to permanent cringing fear on the part of the child, who becomes quiet and withdrawn, and lives its little life in desperate attempts not to offend or draw attention to itself. Such a child strives all the time to &quot;be good&quot; to an unnatural level, tries so hard to please in all circumstances that other children see them as toadies, sneaks, and a general pain in the neck. Frequently they are bullied.</p>\r\n	<div class=\"more\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 10.909090995788574px;\">\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			<span class=\"CTXempty\" style=\"margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; text-decoration: inherit !important; float: none !important;\">Parents who think they have a right to discipline a child as they see&nbsp;<span id=\"link0\" name=\"link0\" style=\"margin: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px !important; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1em; height: auto; cursor: pointer; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 153, 0); text-decoration: underline !important; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important;\">fit</span>&nbsp;do not accept that they are causing &quot;unnecessary suffering&quot; when they fly into a blind rage and take out their frustrations by beating the living daylights out of the child. They feel confident, as the child becomes more and more quiet, and goes into the teenage years spending all its time in its bedroom, that they have done an excellent job of parenting: they have produced an amenable child who gives no trouble, makes no demands, and shows no sign of becoming a teenage tearaway. They don&#39;t go out, so they don&#39;t get into trouble. They have no friends, so they are not led astray. If somebody told the parents that they had destroyed the confidence, even the soul, of another human being, they would be astounded. It&#39;s a parent&#39;s duty to do as they see fit, they say.</span></p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			Such parents fall into the grey area that is not covered by criminal law. The right of a parent to use &quot;reasonable and moderate chastisement&quot; was withdrawn in the 2001 Children&#39;s Act. But under common law, the defence of &quot;reasonable chastisement&quot; of a child can be offered in the courts. That&#39;s what the&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Council_of_Europe\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">Council of Europe</a>&nbsp;is kicking up about.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			So what&#39;s &quot;reasonable&quot;? I mentioned smacking a child on the hand to stop a raging tantrum. Or smacking an energetic four-year-old on his little backside, once, when you catch him trying to remove the fireguard to throw paper on the fire and make a nice blaze. Those who want physical punishment outlawed recommend discussing the rights and wrongs of it with the child, and explaining that it is &quot;inappropriate&quot; behaviour. Lord, I hate that word.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			It&#39;s not &quot;inappropriate&quot;: it&#39;s bloody dangerous, and absolutely terrifying to think what might happen if the child succeeded. Having a discussion with a little person who still has goldfish memory doesn&#39;t convey that. The words &quot;naughty&quot; and &quot;wrong&quot; allied to a quick little smack delivered without raising the arm like a battering ram, works. And it is likely to be remembered if the child is then told with absolute clarity that they are forbidden ever to do it again because it is &quot;wrong&quot;. A long explanation of the moralities involved rather than a clear order will merely bore the child: they&#39;re not idiots, and know when to shut off when people clack endlessly at them.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			If that smack is physical punishment, I&#39;m all in favour of it. I might not be, if the kind of people who want it banned came up with a sensible alternative. Instead, they suggest that when a five-year- old grabs her baby brother&#39;s teddy from him, kicks him, and tries to smother him with the teddy, she should be distracted and told that it&#39;s not a nice thing to do. She knows already it&#39;s not a nice thing to do. What she needs to learn is that there are nasty consequences for doing it.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			Children don&#39;t need protection under law in situations like that; they need the adults around them to have a bit of sense. But they do need protection from parents who lack self-control and are determined to ensure that the child is immediately and completely submissive: that is the purpose of using beating as a punishment. It works: it relieves the parent, and cows the child. And it has dreadful, long-term consequences of insecurity and loneliness.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			Parents have an incontrovertible right to establish that they are the boss: it gives youngsters a sense of security, apart from anything else. But taking a bunch of garden canes, and whipping a small child around the house, inflicting enough injury to leave the child&#39;s backside scarred for life before throwing it on a bed with the promise that there&#39;ll be more in the morning, needs intervention.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			But, tragically, all the laws in the world will not turn rotten parents into good ones. And mothers (or fathers) who beat their children are not going to tell the children that what they are doing is illegal, while the outside world merely sees a quiet, well-behaved child. And I don&#39;t envy the minister, or the Council of Europe, the task of sorting out that one.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/emer-okelly-no-law-can-fully-protect-a-child-from-bad-parents-29561445.html\">http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/emer-okelly-no-law-can-fully-protect-a-child-from-bad-parents-29561445.html</a></p>\r\n	</div>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-09 08:14:23',NULL,'emer-okelly-no-law-can-fully-protect-a-child-from-bad-parents'),(236,'Sex education must reflect our digital era','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-size: 2em; line-height: 1.2; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Teachers have to be equipped with a curriculum that recognises the cyber world, says Carol Hunt</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		It was a maths teacher who had the unlucky job of explaining what sex was all about to my class in secondary school. I suspect because the biology teacher was a young beatific-faced nun, thought far too pure to be associated with such a filthy, begrudgingly necessary, part of life. There was a note sent home asking parents if they wished their chaste, though potentially wanton, daughters to receive a once-off individual &quot;sex education&quot; session.</h2>\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Many parents said yes, though quite a substantial number declined. Those who signed up assumed gratefully that their duty, as regards sex education, would then be done. We kids knew it would be an irrelevance. The 20-minute session consisted of a quick run through the mechanics; an addendum at the end warning us not to get raped &ndash; or worse still, pregnant without a husband. Homosexuality was not mentioned. There was nothing about masturbation, STDs, contraception or, God forgive us, abortion. Nothing about intimacy or desire. And it was mortifying for both the teacher and each solitary pupil she spoke to; head down, eyes averted. As well as useless. We had already covered the mechanics of sex in biology class &ndash; with our lovely young, enthusiastic, fresh-faced nun. The rest? Well, we picked it up along the way. Or at least most of us did.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Schools have come a long way since then, haven&#39;t they? As have parents. We&#39;re far more open about the topic of sexual intimacy, and all the messy joys and horrors that lie along the&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Path.com\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">path</a>&nbsp;of young love. Or at least that&#39;s what we&#39;d like to believe. It&#39;s not true though, is it? There are still far too many schools, and even more parents, who believe that it&#39;s somebody else&#39;s job to educate children about sex. Or that the kids will pick up what they need as they go along, like we did when we were teenagers.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The problem today, of course, is that kids are most certainly picking up all sorts of information about sex. A recent Unicef Ireland (Sexual Health and Behaviour) report says that children get their information about sex from friends, school, the internet and television &ndash; in that order, with a massive 81 per cent of</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		teens revealing that they never talk to their parents about sex at all.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Other reports and analysis suggest that teens today get more than half of their sexual information from the internet, which usually means pornography: in the main, exploitative, money making, hardcore, often violent, pornography.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		As parents, we should know all this by now. God knows we&#39;ve been hearing about little else but the pornification of our youth recently, particularly in the wake of Slane Girl&#39;s trauma and&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Miley_Cyrus\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">Miley Cyrus</a>&#39;s twerking.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		And we could be forgiven for wishing that it would all go away, that our kids will just refrain from watching pornography, or, if they come across it &quot;by accident&quot; they will know, instinctively, that it&#39;s not real; that the world of business- driven hardcore porn is very different to the world of normal people having ordinary sex lives.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Currently, there&#39;s a campaign afoot in the UK (Better Sex Education) calling on<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/David_Cameron\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">David Cameron</a>&nbsp;to convene a group of experts to update the sex education given in secondary schools to &quot;reflect the digital era we live in&quot;.</p>\r\n	<div class=\"more\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 10.909090995788574px;\">\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			Tory MP Claire Perry, who boasts the weighty title &quot;adviser to the PM on preventing commercialisation and sexualisation of children&quot;, is backing it. As is<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Nick_Clegg\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">Nick Clegg</a>&nbsp;and organisations like Mumsnet and the National Union of Teachers.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			But&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Michael_Gove\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">Michael Gove</a>&nbsp;isn&#39;t. Which is a bit of a setback because he&#39;s the education secretary. He says that his department had reviewed the matter recently and concluded that &quot;the right thing to do is to trust teachers&quot;.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			&quot;Trust teachers&quot; to what? Devise a personal curriculum which explains the difference between porn sex and real sex? Explain to teens that what they see on the internet isn&#39;t actually how the vast majority of adults &ndash; or at least those who don&#39;t get paid for it &ndash; approach sex? Reassure young girls that expertise in blow-jobs isn&#39;t actually a requisite for getting guys to like them?</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			Does&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Michael_Gove\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63);\">Gove</a>&nbsp;trust teachers to show kids Cindy&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Gallup\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">Gallup</a>&#39;s famous Ted Talk about her initiative MakeLoveNotPorn &ndash; or recommend that the teens look up this website and others like it &ndash; which show real, messy, funny, floppy, farting, loving sex in all its humdrum normality, themselves? Because all the above is necessary &ndash; but it&#39;s unfair as well as unrealistic to expect, or indeed trust individual teachers, of differing social and religious beliefs, to implement these changes off their own bat.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			The same applies here in Ireland. Teachers need to be equipped with an official, compulsory curriculum which incorporates what children need to know in today&#39;s cyber-world. Ian Power, communications manager of youth website SpunOut.ie told me: &quot;We have so many pleas from teenagers asking for an improvement in the level of sex education classes. The standard is very inconsistent ... Many complain that they are still just taught the mechanics of sex.&quot;</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			He adds: &quot;It&#39;s really important that we talk to teenagers about the realism of sex ... and as regards pornography, making sure people have the maturity and education to understand the difference between fantasy and reality.&quot;</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			However, Power thinks that parents should be the first people to have that conversation, &quot;no matter how uncomfortable it is&quot;, with their children.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			No arguing with that. Except that we&#39;ve seen that a whopping 81 per cent just aren&#39;t doing it. And while we should do everything possible to persuade, cajole, equip and if need be embarrass parents into talking openly with their children about sex, the State can&#39;t exactly go into people&#39;s homes and force parents to talk.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			And is it fair to leave some children at such a dangerous disadvantage? No, it&#39;s not.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			Like the UK, we need better sex education in our schools. Unlike the UK, we know that&#39;s just not going to happen, don&#39;t we? Why? Because this is Ireland. Where the opposition to compulsory, sensible sex education will wreck our heads. Best to just keep quiet. Like we always do.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			SpunOut.ie is working on a campaign devised by 20 young people (to be launched on November 12) which highlights the need for respect &ndash; &quot;both for yourself and your body, and for the person you are in a sexual relationship with&quot;.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/carol-hunt/sex-education-must-reflect-our-digital-era-29561469.html\">http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/carol-hunt/sex-education-must-reflect-our-digital-era-29561469.html</a></p>\r\n	</div>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-09 08:22:06',NULL,'sex-education-must-reflect-our-digital-era'),(237,'Ask the Expert: My husband has a very short fuse with kids','<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Q&nbsp;<strong>My husband can get so angry&nbsp;</strong><strong>with the&nbsp;</strong><strong>children sometimes, especially when he is stressed and frustrated. He is otherwise a caring, involved dad and I don&rsquo;t doubt that he loves our children. However,</strong><strong>&nbsp;when they misbehave he can have a short fuse and ends up shouting and threatening them.</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	<strong>It has never come to violence but he has dragged our six-year-old son across the floor to put him on a time out when he was really bold.</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	<strong>While my husband is sometimes defensive about his behaviour after the event, frequently he is remorseful and&nbsp;</strong><strong>admits he has a temper problem.&nbsp;</strong><strong>He came from a very volatile household growing up and his own mother</strong><strong>always shouted at him</strong><strong>.</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	<strong>Also, a lot of the problems are due to our six</strong><strong>&nbsp;year</strong><strong>&nbsp;old, who can be really challenging. I tend to give in or work around him&nbsp;</strong><strong>but my husband holds his ground, which can end up in a stand-up row.</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	<strong>What way should we approach the problems?</strong></p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	A Parenting can be very stressful and most parents are at times pushed to the pin of their collar. This is especially the case when dealing with tantrums and behaviour problems, when feelings are high and anger is experienced by both parent and child. At these times, the temptation is to resort to shouting, coercion and physical discipline to get children to behave.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	However understandable these strategies are, they are also counter-productive and only model to the child a negative way of resolving conflict as well as being damaging to the child&rsquo;s self-esteem and the parent-child relationship.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	<br />\r\n	<strong>Making a decision to respond calmly</strong><br />\r\n	Whatever anger is being experienced, the key to good parenting is to learn to respond calmly and positively, even when you are disciplining a child.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	It is very helpful that your husband admits that anger is a problem and that you are able to talk about this together. You want to find a way of &ldquo;holding your ground&rdquo; with your son that does not involve you resorting to arguing or shouting. Make a decision together that you will support one another to use positive strategies (such as those below) in overcoming behaviour problems.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	<br />\r\n	<strong>Learning to pause</strong><br />\r\n	The first step in overcoming an angry response is learning to &ldquo;pause&rdquo; in the heat of a row. Rather than reacting, you want to take a step back so you can think calmly how to respond.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Sometimes taking a physical step back can be helpful &ndash; &ldquo;I&rsquo;m too angry to deal with this at the moment, we will deal with it later&rdquo; &ndash; or it can be a case of keeping your voice down and managing your feelings in the moment.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	<br />\r\n	<strong>Separating feelings from actions</strong><br />\r\n	Feelings of anger are normal and happen all the time, but feeling angry does not mean you have to react angrily. It is understandable that you might become frustrated but you don&rsquo;t have to shout or lose your temper.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	By naming your own feelings and then not acting on them, you model to your children how they can manage their feelings. It is acceptable for your child to be frustrated when a rule is imposed but it is not acceptable for him to hit out or become aggressive.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	You can be sympathetic to your son&rsquo;s feelings but still insist that he behaves appropriately: &ldquo;I know you are annoyed, but let&rsquo;s calm down now and we can talk&rdquo;; &ldquo;I know you are frustrated but take a break now.&rdquo; Naming feelings in an empathic way helps children understand and manage them.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	<br />\r\n	<strong>Effective behaviour management&nbsp;</strong><br />\r\n	In my experience, the main reason parents get angry when dealing with problem behaviour is that they are not sure how to enforce rules and resort to shouting as a means of coercing children to behave.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Frequently, parents labour under the false idea that discipline is best-delivered angrily when the reverse is, in fact, true.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Effective behaviour-management centres on having a small number of clear rules with your children (eg being respectful) and effective consequences for when rules are broken (no TV until you ask politely).</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Thinking up good consequences that work for an individual child is always a challenge but whatever you use, they work best when offered as a choice and never used coercively. As you have discovered, it is extremely counter-productive to &ldquo;drag&rdquo; your son to a time out.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	A consequence such as time out will work only with some degree of cooperation &ndash; &ldquo;Unless you calm down now you will have to take a time out&rdquo; &ndash; and only enforced by using a back-up consequence that the parent can carry out calmly &ndash; &ldquo;Either you take a time out now, or you will miss your TV programme tonight.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	A key discipline mantra for parents is to use good consequences and not anger to discipline their children.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	<strong>Preventing problems&nbsp;</strong><br />\r\n	Thinking through a good behavioural system takes time and effort to plan and put into action.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	It is important to plan in detail how you will respond to challenging situations and to think through each &ldquo;what if&rdquo; situation to ensure you have a calm response ready. In addition, it is important to think how you can prevent problems in the first place.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Think how you can avoid flashpoints for your son by employing good routines. For example, you may notice he is tired in the evenings (which can fuel angry exchanges) and establish a more relaxing routine accordingly. Or ensure you have more time in the morning to avoid too much pressure on the way to school.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Sit down with your husband and discuss how you can prevent problems arising in the first place.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	<br />\r\n	<strong>Seeking support</strong><br />\r\n	Managing behaviour problems in a calm, effective way takes a lot of hard work and effort. Often the best way to do this is to attend an evidence-based parenting course where you will be supported to implement positive strategies over a period of time.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	In addition, your husband may be interested in attending a stress-management course or counselling to manage his own specific anger issues. Contact your local primary care team or family resource centre to see what help might be available.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	<br />\r\n	Dr&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=John%20Sharry&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">John Sharry</a>&nbsp;is a social worker, psychotherapist and director of the Parents Plus charity. His new book,&nbsp;<em>Parenting Teenagers</em>, (&euro;7.99) is now out. See solutiontalk.ie</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/parenting/ask-the-expert-my-husband-has-a-very-short-fuse-with-kids-1.1521318?page=1\">http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/parenting/ask-the-expert-my-husband-has-a-very-short-fuse-with-kids-1.1521318?page=1</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-10 08:19:34',NULL,'ask-the-expert-my-husband-has-a-very-short-fuse-with-kids'),(238,'\'End the stigma\' of mental illness','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Four out of 10 people believe getting treatment for a mental health issue is a sign of personal failure.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		A study found 60% of the public would discriminate against hiring someone with a history of mental illness on the grounds that they may be unreliable.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Elsewhere, more than a fifth believe those suffering are of below average intelligence, while 30% would not willingly accept someone with depression, anxiety or another illness as a close friend.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Some 500 members of the public were questioned for the St Patrick&#39;s Mental Health Services survey to mark World Suicide Awareness Day.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Paul Gilligan, St Patrick&#39;s chief executive, said society needs to challenge the stigma that exists around the issue.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;Each year we continue to be disturbed by the level of stigma that still exists towards those with a mental health difficulty,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;We know that one in four of us will have to deal with such a difficulty like this at some point in our lives. That means every single family in Ireland is affected by mental illness.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;We need to challenge the stigma that exists and prioritise mental health in the same way we do our physical health.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		St Patrick&#39;s said a lack of understanding of mental health problems is still fuelling stigma and preventing people from accessing support.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Its survey revealed that 41% of people felt that undergoing treatment for a mental health problem is a sign of personal failure.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		However, more than half of those quizzed had a close friend who had been treated for emotional or mental health problems, 49% worked with someone who had, and 37% of respondents revealed close member of their family - like a parent, child, brother, sister - had got help.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;It has been said that physical health is easier to understand because we know that healing is possible,&quot; said Mr Gilligan.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;However, there is a need to promote mental health education in Irish schools and workplaces to ensure that everyone knows that recovery is possible and those that need help don&#39;t wait to get that help.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/end-the-stigma-of-mental-illness-29567251.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/end-the-stigma-of-mental-illness-29567251.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-10 08:02:53',NULL,'end-the-stigma-of-mental-illness'),(239,'Asylum-seeker costs to surge if family wins case','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	The State will be faced with a huge surge in the cost of looking after asylum seekers if it loses a test case in the courts against the current direct provision system.</h2>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	There are also fears that the changes will result in a big increase in the number of asylum seekers coming here.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Under the direct provision system, asylum seekers are housed and fed in special accommodation centres around the country.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	The full-board accommodation is paid for by the State, but residents of the centres are also given an allowance of &euro;19.10 per adult and &euro;9.60 per child a week and can seek emergency funding from the Department of Social Protection.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	However, they are not allowed to look for a job and are not entitled to social welfare benefits.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	At the moment, there are 4,425 residents in the 34 centres, which are situated in 16 counties and have a contracted capacity of 5,300. This has fallen from a total of 7,030 in the centres in January 2009.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	But it is not known exactly how many asylum seekers are living here outside of the direct provision system.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	The number of applications for refugee status here has dropped massively over the past decade from a high of 11,634 in 2002 to 956 last year, with only 472 recorded for the first half of this year.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	The High Court challenge to direct provision is listed for next week and is being taken by a family of six.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	They have been living in direct provision accommodation for more than four years.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Lawyers for the family will argue that the scheme is unlawfully established.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	They will also claim that it operates unlawfully by ministerial circulars and administrative arrangements, without any statutory underpinning, and amounts to a parallel system for dealing with asylum seekers.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	They say there is no statutory basis for the payment of this allowance or for the setting of the amounts paid and that direct provision, by excluding them from receiving basic social welfare payments, violates their rights to private and family life under the Constitution and under the European Convention of Human Rights.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	The case is being taken against the Ministers for Justice and Social Protection and the Attorney General, who, the family say, have no legislative authority to determine and control such far-reaching matters of fundamental importance to their personal, educational and business/career lives.</p>\r\n<div class=\"more\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 10.909090995788574px;\">\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n		The average cost per person per day for standard direct provision accommodation services is &euro;29.46. Expenditure last year amounted to &euro;62.3m while the budget allocation for this year was fixed at &euro;57.5m.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n		A &quot;value for money&quot; report drawn up by the Departments of Finance and Justice and the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) looked at alternative options to direct provision.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n		It concluded that &quot;if conditions for entitlement to social welfare and rent allowance were changed, then those not currently availing of RIA accommodation would be expected to apply for these payments, which would more than double the projected allowance cost.&quot;</p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/asylumseeker-costs-to-surge-if-family-wins-case-29565763.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/asylumseeker-costs-to-surge-if-family-wins-case-29565763.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-10 04:00:00',NULL,'asylum-seeker-costs-to-surge-if-family-wins-case'),(240,'Action taken on Mayo foster service over safety concerns','<h2 class=\"main_excerpt\" style=\"margin: 5px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 1.1em; font-family: Arial, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.3em; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);\">\r\n	The HIQA report found that an immediate action plan had to be put in place &ndash; an &ldquo;exceptional regulatory activity&rdquo;.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		IMMEDIATE ACTION HAD to be taken after the Health Information Quality Authority undertook an inspection of Mayo&rsquo;s HSE foster care service.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The local health area (LHA) service met just five out of 25 standards in full.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		There was evidence that the LHA did not have effective systems in place to ensure that all children were safe and that day-to-day practice promoted the safety and wellbeing of children.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The inspection found that &ldquo;not all children were safeguarded and protected from potential harm&rdquo;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		This was the first inspection of service and HIQA said that overall, there was evidence that the LHA provided a foster care service &ldquo;which improved outcomes for many children and young people&rdquo;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		Although in the main, children and parents were happy, there were a number of concerns. HIQA found that &ldquo;children&rsquo;s rights were not always respected&rdquo; and children&rsquo;s complaints &ldquo;were not addressed in a childcentred manner&rdquo;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		<span style=\"font-weight: 700;\">Safety</span></p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		Due to safety concerns, the Authority issued an immediate action plan to the LHA to undertake a review of a number of children&rsquo;s cases to ensure they were safeguarded and not at risk of ongoing harm.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		This immediate action plan is described as &ldquo;an exceptional regulatory activity&rdquo; used &ldquo;when inspection findings indicate that there is an immediate risk to the welfare of children and young people&rdquo;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		HIQA noted:</p>\r\n	<blockquote class=\"coloured\" style=\"margin: 15px 40px; padding: 10px 10px 10px 40px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); quotes: \'\'; display: table; background-image: url(data:image/png;base64,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); background-color: rgb(234, 237, 242); line-height: 23.390625px; background-position: 5px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat;\">\r\n		<div style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;\">\r\n			The principal social worker acknowledged that the foster care service had not been meeting all its statutory responsibilities in the recent past and managers were taking steps to address this.</div>\r\n	</blockquote>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The majority of children were living with foster carers who valued, accepted and supported them. However, this was not the experience of all children. The needs of children with a disability were not always met.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The majority of children were safe and protected from abuse, though there were deficiencies in some safeguarding and child protection practices which posed a risk to a small number of children.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		Some, but not all children were in stable placements.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		<span style=\"font-weight: 700;\">Complaints</span></p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		They found a number of social workers were unaware of how to make a protected disclosure, which allows for &lsquo;whistle blowing&rsquo; and provides staff with limited protection.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		Foster carers told of instances where they were unsure if the information provided to them by the children in their care was a child protection concern. They also did not know about the reporting requirements to be undertaken by them under Children First (2011) or what this process involved.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		Foster carers did not receive appropriate guidance and training on child protection or safe care. Four out of 107 foster carers received child protection training in 2012.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		Inspectors were not satisfied that all reports of child protection and welfare concerns were appropriately addressed in accordance with Children First. There were 16 concerns about the welfare and protection of children, which related to eight foster care families, in the previous 12 months.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		For a small number of children, there was a delay in responding to early warning signs of possible abuse and some protective measures taken were inadequate. This meant that some children experienced unsafe placements &ldquo;for a significant period of time&rdquo;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		Inspectors also found that at times there were poor and or strained relationships between some foster carers and children and the social work department. This meant &ldquo;a number of children were not monitored sufficiently and social workers could not be assured that they were safe&rdquo;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		<span style=\"font-weight: 700;\">Training</span></p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		The majority of foster carers did not receive training and there were no regular reviews of foster carers.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		Information indicated that 19 out of 81 general foster carers and none of the 26 relative foster carers had attended training in the past 12 months.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		Inspectors were told that foster carers were not obligated to attend training, contrary to HSE policy&nbsp; and best practice guidelines. In addition, there was poor provision of information to foster carers about HSE processes and systems.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 15px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 23.390625px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/mayo-foster-service-hiqa-1071793-Sep2013/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/mayo-foster-service-hiqa-1071793-Sep2013/</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-11 08:15:38',NULL,'action-taken-on-mayo-foster-service-over-safety-concerns'),(241,'Homelessness now worse than ever, says McVerry','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Government must provide housing, says head of trust</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		For the second time in as many days, a leading charity working with the&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?q=homeless&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">homeless</a>&nbsp;has claimed that the problem is at its worst for decades.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Fr Peter McVerry, the founder of the trust for the homeless that bears his name, said that political leadership was needed to end homelessness as charities could only do so much.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;After 30 years of working to eliminate homelessness, I believe the problem is now worse than ever, perhaps even out of control,&rdquo; he said on publication of the trust&rsquo;s annual report. &ldquo;Homelessness is a political problem, ultimately the problem of homelessness can only be solved by providing homes for homeless people and that is the responsibility of the Government.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The Department of the Environment defended the Government&rsquo;s homelessness policy, however. A spokesman said that the &ldquo;housing-led&rdquo; policy sought to ensure &ldquo;that those people who become homeless are moved into long-term, stable accommodation as quickly as possible and that we bring an end to the current situation whereby people who are homeless are housed in emergency accommodation, often in the private sector, for extended periods of time&rdquo;.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan had appointed a three-person oversight group to monitor implementation of the new-build programme, which was focused on housing for the elderly, people with a disability and people who are homeless.<br />\r\n		<br />\r\n		<strong>Temporary accommodation</strong><br />\r\n		In its report,&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=the%20Peter%20McVerry%20Trust&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">the Peter McVerry Trust</a>&nbsp;said that in 2012, it gave temporary accommodation to 1,708 individuals and residential placements to 419 others. On a budget of &euro;7.3 million (&euro;4.6 million provided by the Government; &euro;2.7 million coming from its own sources), the trust had also acquired 24 apartments. The trust now provides temporary accommodation for homeless people via 15 beds in the Fingal County Council area, 29 beds in Dublin City Council area, and 16 beds in the South Dublin County Council area across five locations &ndash; Finglas, Santry, Conyngham Road, Aungier Street and Tallaght.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		In addition, in 2012, the trust provided 57,000 hot meals to users of its services, 80 per cent of whom were male and 74 per cent of whom were aged between 18 and 35. The trust also works with drug abusers, trying to help 420 people in 2012 (an increase of 100 per cent on the previous year). It noted that 71 per cent of methadone and cannabis addicts who attended detox programmes completed them.<br />\r\n		<br />\r\n		<strong>Solving the problem</strong><br />\r\n		<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Pat%20Doyle&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Pat Doyle</a>, chief executive of the trust said delivering permanent accommodation was essential to solving the problem of homelessness.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;The essential element of the housing first model is the rapid housing of individuals in their own accommodation. This means we need to have access to stable housing units where we can place homeless individuals and build the necessary supports around them.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Launching its pre-budget submission yesterday,&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=Focus%20Ireland&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Focus Ireland</a>&nbsp;director of advocacy<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Mike%20Allen&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Mike Allen</a>&nbsp;said it remained legal for landlords and insurance companies to discriminate against people on rent supplement welfare assistance by refusing them tenancies and insurance cover for properties they occupied.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		He urged the Government to alter the system of rent support to &ldquo;respond to the complex needs&rdquo; of clients with varying income levels. &ldquo;Every budget to now has been an accounting exercise and we understand why that was. This budget is the start of seeing the benefits of that, the start of creating a better society,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/homelessness-now-worse-than-ever-says-mcverry-1.1522668\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/homelessness-now-worse-than-ever-says-mcverry-1.1522668</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-11 08:40:14',NULL,'homelessness-now-worse-than-ever-says-mcverry'),(242,'Parents of disabled children forced to shell out to avoid supports delays','<p>\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;\">Parents of children with disabilities are being forced to pay for private assessments to avoid long waits for extra school supports, a parents&rsquo; organisation has claimed.</span></p>\r\n<div>\r\n	&nbsp;</div>\r\n<div>\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">The National Council for Special Education has told schools they must apply by Sept 20, just three weeks into the school year, for resource teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs) for pupils not already given these supports.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">Staff were approved for tens of thousands of children in June, but pupils whose schools had not applied by mid-March must wait until all applications received up to Friday week are considered.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">The NCSE already had applications for resource teaching hours on behalf of 1,414 children up to a week ago, and applications for SNA support for 282 pupils with care needs.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">Lorraine Dempsey, the chairwoman of the Special Needs Parents Association, said there will always be children who cannot get the necessary professional reports on time, no matter what the deadline.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">However, she backed&nbsp;</span><a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/pupils-with-disabilities-may-face-years-wait-for-support-242417.html\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); line-height: 15px;\" target=\"_blank\">comments in yesterday&rsquo;s Irish Examiner&nbsp;</a><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">by the Irish National Teachers&rsquo; Organisation that it was not fair to expect applications so early in the school year, as special needs might only be identified in the first few weeks of school.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">Where schools have limited access to publicly funded assessments needed to support NCSE applications, the only alternative is for parents to pay for private assessments themselves.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">&ldquo;Regardless of income, parents will do their best to come up with the money; very low-income families will scrimp and save to get a report for their child,&rdquo; said Ms Dempsey. &ldquo;They might have asked the school, but if other children&rsquo;s parents have already requested an assessment, they will be too late.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">Most schools have access to a limited number of assessments, mainly by staff of the National Educational Psychological Service.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">Under a NEPS-funded scheme, a primary school can also have one child assessed privately for every 50 enrolments, so a school with 200 pupils can get four a year.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">The panel of psychologists who can do these assessments was only published yesterday by the Department of Education, which set the NCSE deadline a fortnight earlier than in 2012.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">The number of assessments done under the NEPS-funded scheme fell to 2,113 last year, down from 2,457 in 2011 and 2,809 a year earlier.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">The Department of Education stressed the fall was due to more psychologists being recruited by NEPS.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">The early deadline comes after Education Minister Ruairi Quinn in June agreed not to impose further cuts to resource teaching hours for each child to 75% of those recommended by his own department.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">However, they still only get 85%, the same level as last year, because of a limit of 5,265 resource teachers the NCSE can sanction.</span></div>\r\n<div>\r\n	&nbsp;</div>\r\n<div>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/parents-of-disabled-children-forced-to-shell-out-to-avoid-supports-delays-242500.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/parents-of-disabled-children-forced-to-shell-out-to-avoid-supports-delays-242500.html</a></div>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-11 08:43:21',NULL,'parents-of-disabled-children-forced-to-shell-out-to-avoid-supports-delays'),(243,'Down syndrome children \'are being failed\'','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	The education system is failing&nbsp;<font color=\"#5c8b3f\">Down synd</font><font color=\"#5c8b3f\">rome</font>&nbsp;children, an Oireachtas committee was told.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Professor Sue Buckley, the President of&nbsp;<font color=\"#5c8b3f\"><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Down Syndr</span></font><font color=\"#5c8b3f\"><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">ome</span></font>&nbsp;International, spoke to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education yesterday about the importance of the inclusion of&nbsp;<font color=\"#5c8b3f\"><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Down syndr</span></font><font color=\"#5c8b3f\"><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">ome</span></font>&nbsp;children in schools.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Down syndrome is not listed as a &quot;low incidence, complex disorder&quot; &ndash; so children do not get special assistance in the classroom in mainstream schools.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Professor Buckley told the committee that by &quot;denying them &#39;low incidence&#39; levels of support, means that they &quot;do not have the level of support they and their teachers need to succeed&quot;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Down syndrome affects 0.2pc of the population of children in Ireland.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<font color=\"#5c8b3f\"><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Joann</span></font><font color=\"#5c8b3f\"><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">a Tuffy</span></font>, the chair of the Oireachtas committee, said that they recognised yesterday&#39;s meeting as a &quot;productive engagement&quot;, and that it would &quot;serve to inform future discussions&quot;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/down-children-are-being-failed-29573190.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/down-children-are-being-failed-29573190.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-12 08:38:07',NULL,'down-syndrome-children-are-being-failed'),(244,'Free GP care for children will lead to \'poor service\'','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	The planned extension of free GP care to young children will result in a &quot;dismal service&quot; if doctors end up being paid no more than the existing annual capitation fee, a doctors&#39; organisation has warned.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The current fee is &euro;74 per annum regardless of the number of visits, or even if you don&#39;t visit at all.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		But Dr Andy&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Jordan\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">Jordan</a>, chairman of the National Association of General Practitioners, said the new scheme would see GPs earn an average of just &euro;6 per visit in state fees, which is &quot;not sustainable&quot;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		He was speaking at the launch of the organisation&#39;s pre-Budget submission, which calls for full negotiations to take place with doctors before any phased introduction of free GP care by the Government.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Health Minister&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/James_Reilly_(politician)\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63);\">James Reilly</a>&nbsp;and junior minister&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Alex_White_(politician)\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">Alex White</a>&nbsp;have both indicated they may announce the extension of free GP care for young children in the Budget, regardless of their parents&#39; income.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		This would have to be followed by legislation and would not come into effect until next year, allowing for possible talks on fees to take place with doctors.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;Parents would bring their child to the doctor more frequently if it was free,&quot; warned Dr Jordan. &quot;People who visit twice a year now would come for 12 visits a year.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;The only thing the GP will be losing will be time. How do you square away that? It will mean shorter consultations and quicker throughput which is not in the interests of patients.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<strong style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em;\">MISTAKES</strong></p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;If people go too fast it leads to mistakes and misdiagnosis. It is already a problem for GP practices for all patients. It is either faster throughput or longer waiting times.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		He said if it was to be done properly, there had to be talks. The doctors were not against any proposed measure to improve the health of the population &quot;particularly poor people&quot; and the &quot;new poor&quot;, he added.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The GP body &ndash; which was reformed earlier this year and which represents about 700 family doctors &ndash; would not object if the free GP care was extended to children from well-off households, he added.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The organisation said some practices were already closing and doctors going abroad because of the impact of successive cuts in the fees they receive for treating medical card holders. Many practices could no longer provide same-day appointments for patients or do house calls and the delays would get even worse during the autumn and winter as they coped with more demands due to the cold and flu season.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The pre-Budget submission, handed into the Department of Finance yesterday, calls for the most recent cuts in fees to be reversed.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/free-gp-care-for-children-will-lead-to-poor-service-29569613.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/free-gp-care-for-children-will-lead-to-poor-service-29569613.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-12 08:48:14',NULL,'free-gp-care-for-children-will-lead-to-poor-service'),(245,'37% of children aged nine ‘bullied’, conference told','<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Some 37 per cent of nine-year-old children in Ireland report being bullied, a conference in Dublin heard yesterday.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	The findings were presented at Bullying in Children and their Health, an event organised by the Economic and Social Research Institute and Growing up in Ireland, the National Longitudinal Study of Children.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Dr&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Michal%20Molcho&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Michal Molcho</a>&nbsp;of the Health Promotion Research Centre at&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=NUI%20Galway&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">NUI Galway</a>&nbsp;said that while in general more boys than girls were bullied, girls were more likely to be victims of cyberbullying.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Referring to findings from the 43-country Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children study, Dr Molcho said children&rsquo;s increasing exposure to new media meant that cyberbullying was &ldquo;probably not going to disappear&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	With its effects extending beyond school hours, she said cyberbullying meant there was &ldquo;no safe place, no safe haven&rdquo; for children. She said the effects of such bullying were more instant and of a much wider scope than traditional bullying.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Of uploaded comments and images of video, she said: &ldquo;Once if someone laughed at you, it was confined to your class or cafeteria. Now it could be hundreds or thousands of people.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	She said that those &ldquo;sharing&rdquo; or &ldquo;liking&rdquo; comments bullying comments of photos often did not perceive they were participating in the bullying.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Dr Molcho said while cyberbullying was &ldquo;vicious&rdquo;, it was not overtaking traditional bullying in terms of prevalence.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	She said in Ireland, migrant children and children from the Traveller community, particularly girls, were more likely to be bullied.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Addressing the conference, professor of general practice at&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=Trinity%20College&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Trinity College</a>&nbsp;Tom O&rsquo;Dowd said that while 40 per cent of nine-year-old boys reported being bullied in the past year, just 23 per cent of their primary care givers knew about it.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	Citing research from the Growing Up in Ireland study, Prof O&rsquo;Dowd said verbal and physical bullying were the most common forms of bullying suffered by boys while verbal bullying and being excluded were the most common forms among girls. Cyberbullying was the least common form of bullying.</p>\r\n<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/37-of-children-aged-nine-bullied-conference-told-1.1524286\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/37-of-children-aged-nine-bullied-conference-told-1.1524286</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-12 09:02:44',NULL,'37%-of-children-aged-nine-‘bullied’-conference-told'),(246,'Should my daughter\'s Asperger\'s have been diagnosed sooner?','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	My daughter was diagnosed with&nbsp;Asperger&#39;s Syndrome&nbsp;last year when she was 16 years old. My husband and myself referred her to a child psychologist when she was 11 years old.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		At one of the meetings I attended with the psychologist I queried whether or not our daughter had&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Asperg</span><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">er&#39;s Syndrome</span>&nbsp;and was told by the psychologist that she didn&#39;t have it.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Our daughter left school after the&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Ju</span><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">nior Cert</span>&nbsp;and refused to return. In the absence of a diagnosis, she isolated herself from her peers and they in turn excluded her from their activities, parties and such like.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		I just wonder why the psychologist did not listen to our concerns as parents and arrange to have her assessed for Asperger&#39;s Syndrome.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Is it difficult to diagnose this condition in children? We believe if she was diagnosed sooner she would still be at school as she would have been given support by the school.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		We would value your professional opinion.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		THE simple answer to your question is that yes it can be difficult to accurately diagnose Asperger&#39;s Syndrome (AS), just like it can be complicated to accurately identify any autistic spectrum disorder.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Part of the difficulty lies in the fact that the diagnosis of AS is based entirely on clinical judgment. There are no blood tests, brain scans or definitive physiological symptoms that will prove or disprove that a child or teenager has AS.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		I am of the opinion that AS, like other autistic spectrum disorders is best diagnosed as part of a team-based assessment with perhaps psychologists, psychiatrists, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists involved.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Because a diagnosis is based on clinical judgment, it requires, therefore, that the assessing clinicians have a good expertise in, and knowledge of, autistic spectrum disorders generally.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		That expertise only comes from experience, study and supervised practice.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Most child psychologists will have a general understanding of AS. They will be aware, for example, that it is usually characterised by social interaction and/or communication difficulties and perhaps by repetitive or restrictive patterns of behaviour or interests.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		In their practice, however, they may not have met many children or teenagers with AS.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Consequently, clinical psychologists who work with all age ranges of children and the full range of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties that children present with, are unlikely to have had enough exposure to autistic spectrum disorders to develop the expertise to accurately and consistently diagnose something like AS.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		There are many &quot;what ifs&quot; attached to your musings about the missed opportunity you felt you had when you spoke to the psychologist when your daughter was 11.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		It must feel very disappointing and upsetting to think that supports or interventions could have been tried several years earlier, had you been clearer about the nature of the her difficulties. I can only assume that the psychologist you attended back then gave you the best clinical judgment they could with the information they had.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Perhaps you felt dissuaded from pursuing a further assessment yourselves after that consultation? Perhaps you accepted the assessment and opinion of the psychologist because it fitted well enough with your daughter&#39;s presentation at the time?</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		It is entirely speculative and hypothetical to try to determine what might have transpired had the psychologist referred your daughter for further assessment back then. Equally, what might have happened had you been sufficiently dissatisfied with that consultation that you had decided to pursue a second opinion when she was 11?</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		From your query I take it that you decided, when she was 16, to further investigate the difficulties she was having socially and/or emotionally.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The diagnosis of AS that she received then certainly seems to explain, to you, why she struggled so much in school.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		There seems to me to be two pieces of learning that you, and others can take from your experiences.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The first is that autistic spectrum disorders are not simply and easily identifiable and diagnosable. So always pursue an assessment with a team of experts in the field.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The second is that, as a parent, if your intuition about, and knowledge of, your own child leaves you dissatisfied with the clinical opinion of any professional, then it is probably worthwhile getting a second opinion.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/should-my-daughters-aspergers-have-been-diagnosed-sooner-29582093.html\">http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/should-my-daughters-aspergers-have-been-diagnosed-sooner-29582093.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-17 08:14:20',NULL,'should-my-daughters-aspergers-have-been-diagnosed-sooner'),(247,'\'I started self-harming at 16. I hated doing it and I hated me\'','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Advertising executive and part-time psychotherapist Mairead Carey (27) from Dublin self-harmed as a teenager. She says:</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;I self-harmed throughout my teenage years. I&#39;d never learned how to put my emotions into words and going through a number of childhood traumas reinforced the idea in my head that I had to hide what I was feeling.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;I was bullied at school and started cutting myself at 16; it felt like the only way to release emotion. I hated doing it and I hated me.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;It was only much further down the line, when I got in touch with Pieta House, that I got a therapist who helped me articulate my emotions and put into words all the things I&#39;d been feeling throughout my childhood years.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;Before I went there, I was so worried that people would think I was crazy for what I was doing to myself. But instead I was never judged.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;I think what I always needed from someone was to listen to me, show compassion and not judge.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;My years of therapy have been hard but they have also been the most rewarding.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;From being in a very dark place I now feel amazing and I&#39;m so glad I took that first step to getting help.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;I want people to know that, even though it&#39;s really hard to see it in that dark moment, there is help out there and you can get through it.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/i-started-selfharming-at-16-i-hated-doing-it-and-i-hated-me-29582074.html\">http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/i-started-selfharming-at-16-i-hated-doing-it-and-i-hated-me-29582074.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-17 08:15:36',NULL,'i-started-self-harming-at-16-i-hated-doing-it-and-i-hated-me'),(248,'Some typical signs that a loved one may be feeling suicidal','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	When somebody takes their own life, those close to them are often left in an acute state of guilt. Could they have prevented the tragedy &ndash; if only they spotted the signs?</h2>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	Dr Damien Lowry and Dr Maeve Kenny of the Psychological Society of Ireland, who work with people who have attempted suicide, have pointed to some warning signals.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&quot;There may be many things that contribute to a person feeling suicidal,&quot; said Dr Lowry.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&quot;Most people who consider suicide don&#39;t necessarily want to die; rather, they want their emotional pain to end.&quot;</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	It is virtually impossible to predict who will and who won&#39;t take their own life. However, there are some warning signs that someone may be at increased risk of suicide:</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	* Becoming more withdrawn and keeping to themselves.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	* Becoming depressed or anxious or acting erratically.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	* Acting more impulsively or taking more risks, eg giving up a job, driving recklessly.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	* Talking about suicide or death.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	* Showing unusual rage or anger.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	* Having a recent loss, such as, a bereavement, ending of a relationship, losing one&#39;s job or moving house.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	* Giving away possessions or saying goodbye to people.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	* Deteriorating at school, college, work or general lack of interest in things.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	&quot;Despite these factors, it is important to realise that often people who are feeling suicidal do not show how distressed they are,&quot; he added.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	Samaritans &ndash;1850 60 90 90</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;\">\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/some-typical-signs-that-a-loved-one-may-be-feeling-suicidal-29582088.html\">http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/some-typical-signs-that-a-loved-one-may-be-feeling-suicidal-29582088.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-17 08:27:15',NULL,'some-typical-signs-that-a-loved-one-may-be-feeling-suicidal'),(249,'Studies highlight risks posed by social networking sites to children','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Almost one in five youngsters have been upset by personal messages online</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Almost one-in-five children who use social networking sites had a negative experience last year, new research indicates.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		This was one of several findings unveiled at the&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=International%20Society&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">International Society</a>&nbsp;for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect conference in Dublin, which provided troubling insights into the risks posed to young people by social networking.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=UK-based%20National%20Society&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">UK-based National Society</a>&nbsp;for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) conducted an anonymous online survey of more than 1,000 children aged between 11 and 16 last December. It found that during the previous year almost a fifth had had a personal experience on a social networking site that upset or bothered them. This included bullying, unwanted sexual messages, cyber stalking and feeling pressure to look a certain way.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		It found that social networking sites were widely used by young people, despite minimum age barriers for users of sites such as&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_company=Facebook&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Facebook</a>,&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_company=Twitter&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Twitter</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_company=YouTube&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">YouTube</a>.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Claire%20Lilley&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Claire Lilley</a>, NSPCC safer technology expert, told the forum that social networking sites could do much more to protect underage children.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Other research at the conference confirmed the rising popularity of such sites. An EU Kids Online survey shows that three-quarters of European children aged 13-16, and 38 per cent of 9- to 12-year-olds, use social networking sites, including sites restricted to 13-year-olds and over.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Dr Brian O&rsquo;Neill, who is responsible for the EU Kids Online project in&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_location=Ireland&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Ireland</a>, said there is evidence that children are going online at a younger age and that their lack of technical, critical and social skills may pose even greater risks.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		One option discussed at the conference to make the internet a safer place for children is a cyber safety programme for young people on the risks posed by social networking.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Dr Mubarak Rahamathulla of&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=Flinders%20University&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Flinders University</a>&nbsp;in Adelaide presented details of a training programme for 12- to 17-year-olds on how to use social networking safely. This includes such topics as how to manage Facebook &ldquo;friends&rdquo; and the pitfalls of uploading personal information.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The programme has been offered to schools and youth clubs across South&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_location=Australia&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Australia</a>. It followed reports in Australia that some children as young as 12 had received sexually explicit material and meeting strangers on the internet.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/studies-highlight-risks-posed-by-social-networking-sites-to-children-1.1531156\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/studies-highlight-risks-posed-by-social-networking-sites-to-children-1.1531156</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-18 08:20:46',NULL,'studies-highlight-risks-posed-by-social-networking-sites-to-children'),(250,'Rising number of school pupils seek help with mental health','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Growing numbers of teen pupils are seeking one-to-one help about mental health issues from school guidance counsellors &ndash; who don&#39;t always have the time to see them.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		And even when they do, there may be delays in getting an appointment with the psychiatric service, or a bed, according to the Institute of Guidance Counsellors (IGC).</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Pupils are being asked to monitor a pupil who may have suicidal thoughts, or other issues, while waiting for health experts to step in, they say.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Guidance counsellors raised their concerns about the impact of cuts amid fears of even more staffing reductions in schools after the forthcoming Budget.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The service has been under pressure since last September, when schools were stripped of the time allocated to career guidance and one-to-one counselling.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		It involved the loss of 500 teaching posts in 700 schools. Many guidance counsellors now spend more hours in the classroom teaching a subject.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Pupils are increasingly presenting with mental health issues, putting huge pressure on schools, according to the IGC.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		IGC spokeswoman Betty McLaughlin said there was a definite trend of more pupils seeking help.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;Their parents may be under pressure and they do not want to burden them further,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		An added problem is that the cuts have applied differently in schools and have led to an uneven and disjointed service, and would &quot;institutionalise inequality in our education system&quot;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The impact is most marked in small schools and schools catering for disadvantaged communities.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<strong style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em;\">&#39;UNSAFE&#39;</strong></p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		As well as the loss to pupils, the cuts have put counsellors under &quot;unsafe and unsustainable pressure&quot; because they were unable to deliver a quality service.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Counsellors have reported feelings of anxiety and guilt because of their inability to deal with the workload.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;There is a significant danger that such work pressures will inevitably affect their health and well-being and will have knock-on consequences.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		A survey found that one-to-one counselling had, on average, been halved in schools, and in some cases eliminated.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/rising-number-of-school-pupils-seek-help-with-mental-health-29587057.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/rising-number-of-school-pupils-seek-help-with-mental-health-29587057.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-18 08:37:42',NULL,'rising-number-of-school-pupils-seek-help-with-mental-health'),(251,'High Court to hear challenge to direct provision for asylum seekers','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Family argues system of accommodation and allowances is unconstitutional</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		An application for leave by a family of six to challenge the controversial system of direct provision of accommodation and allowances for asylum seekers will be heard by the<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=High%20Court&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">High Court</a>&nbsp;on October 21st.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Mr Justice Colm MacEochaidh said today that although the State was willing to concede leave for a judicial review, the court had to be satisfied that it should be granted.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Close to 5,000 people are kept in direct provision centres where they are given accommodation, three meals a day and &euro;19.10 per week while they wait for their application for asylum to be heard by the High Court. They are neither allowed to work nor to claim state benefits while they are resident in the centres, where the average length of time spent is now about four years.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		A family of six, which has been staying in direct provision centres for over four years, is taking a case in which they argue the system for housing and detaining asylum seekers is unconstitutional.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Lawyers for the family will argue that the system was unlawfully established, has no legal basis and continues to operate unlawfully, violating the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. They also contend stopping asylum seekers from working or from receiving social welfare payments breaches personal, family and equality rights under the Constitution.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Direct provision centres were set up in 2000 and there are currently 35 around the country. They are run by private contractors on State contracts.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Concerns about the centres have been raised by various groups including UN committees and by Ombudsman Emily O&rsquo;Reilly.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		A Northern Ireland High Court judge recently pointed to &ldquo;ample&rdquo; evidence of physical and mental health issues among asylum seekers staying in direct provision accommodation.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The application for leave hearing is likely to last about half a day on October 21st but the court was told that if leave was granted by the court the full hearing would last for about two weeks.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/high-court-to-hear-challenge-to-direct-provision-for-asylum-seekers-1.1530952\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/high-court-to-hear-challenge-to-direct-provision-for-asylum-seekers-1.1530952</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-18 08:50:50',NULL,'high-court-to-hear-challenge-to-direct-provision-for-asylum-seekers'),(252,'Dublin hotel cancels booking for \"sexually exploitive\" child beauty pageant','<p>\r\n	<hgroup style=\"color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n	<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Organisers insist contest will go ahead despite senator saying it &lsquo;sexually exploits&rsquo; children</h2>\r\n	<div>\r\n		<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;\">\r\n			The organisers of a child beauty pageant scheduled to take place in Dublin this weekend have insisted it will go ahead despite the hotel at which it was due to take place cancelling the booking.</p>\r\n		<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;\">\r\n			The pageant, organised by US company Universal Royalty, was to take place on Saturday at the four-star Bracken Court hotel in&nbsp;<font color=\"#003399\">Bal</font><font color=\"#003399\">briggan</font>, Co. Dublin.</p>\r\n		<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;\">\r\n			A statement released by the hotel said Universal Royalty &ldquo;did not identify the true nature of the event&rdquo; which was &ldquo;not in keeping&rdquo; with the family ethos of the business.</p>\r\n		<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;\">\r\n			Cork-born Stephanie Murphy, who is involved in organising the event, was critical of the hotel&rsquo;s decision to pull out. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t honestly believe they weren&rsquo;t aware of the nature of the pageant,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n		<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;\">\r\n			&ldquo;There&rsquo;s been so much in the media about it that they must have known exactly what was going in, but I can assure everyone the pageant will still take place.&rdquo; She added she would not be revealing the venue but said it would take place within the capital.</p>\r\n		<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;\">\r\n			Independent senator and children&rsquo;s rights activist&nbsp;<font color=\"#003399\">Jillian </font><font color=\"#003399\">Van Turnhout</font>&nbsp;earlier claimed the contest should be cancelled as events like it &ldquo;sexually exploit&rdquo; children at a young age.</p>\r\n		<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;\">\r\n			She also claimed other hotels had rejected bookings for the event and said they should be commended for doing so.</p>\r\n		<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;\">\r\n			&ldquo;This kind of contest has no place in&nbsp;<font color=\"#003399\">Irel</font><font color=\"#003399\">and</font>, &rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s simply the early sexual exploitation of children. We&rsquo;re about the protecting of childhood and beauty pageants like this are not synonymous with that.&rdquo;</p>\r\n		<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;\">\r\n			Annette Hill of Universal Royalty defended the event. &ldquo;I do think the pageant is being vilified,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Have faith in the parents of Ireland. They&rsquo;re not going to let their children come into harm&rsquo;s way. I couldn&rsquo;t care less about what anyone but the parents and contestants think.&rdquo;</p>\r\n		<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;\">\r\n			Ms Hill said she couldn&rsquo;t verify how many children were due to take part in the contest, but she claimed she had been forced to turn down many applications.</p>\r\n		<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em;\">\r\n			<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/dublin-hotel-cancels-booking-for-child-beauty-pageant-1.1533747\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/dublin-hotel-cancels-booking-for-child-beauty-pageant-1.1533747</a></p>\r\n	</div>\r\n	</hgroup></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-20 08:40:59',NULL,'dublin-hotel-cancels-booking-for-sexually-exploitive-child-beauty-pageant'),(253,'Christy Moore criticises Diageo over \'Arthur\'s Day\'','<div class=\"body_text\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" style=\"color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;\">\r\n	<section class=\"body\">\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		Drinks manufacturer Diageo has defended the holding of its annual &quot;Arthur&#39;s Day&quot; celebrations after singer Christy Moore described it as an &#39;alcoholiday&#39; in a song.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		Moore said he will release the song, which is highly critical of the event, next Thursday, when Arthur&#39;s Day takes place.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		In a statement, Diageo described Arthur&#39;s Day as a unique music event enjoyed by millions, which supports emerging Irish music.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		The company also said it promotes responsible drinking and discourages alcohol misuse all-year round.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		In the song called Arthur&#39;s Day, Moore sings that the event is designed by advertising men, with medics working overtime and in the firing line, while Diageo goes AWOL at closing time.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; outline: none; padding: 0px 10px 20px 194px;\">\r\n		Alcohol Action Ireland has welcomed the singer&#39;s intervention.</p>\r\n	<div>\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0919/475334-christy-moore-diageo/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0919/475334-christy-moore-diageo/</a></div>\r\n	</section></div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-20 08:42:27',NULL,'christy-moore-criticises-diageo-over-arthurs-day'),(254,'Samaritans warn of suicide risk in middle-aged men','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	New survey highlights loneliness and isolation as key causes</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		One in four men who contacted the Samaritans talked about loneliness and isolation in a new survey carried out by the support group.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The poll of 671 men was taken across 10 branches of the support group in Ireland and the UK during the week from August 5th to August 11th last.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Some 23 per cent of men talked about relationship difficulties, while in 43 per cent of conversations, financial issues were discussed.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Suicidal feelings were expressed during one in five contacts made by men, while 20 per cent of these also talked about previous suicide attempts.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Samaritans chief executive Catherine Johnstone said there was a &ldquo;likelihood of social disconnection&rdquo; among men in mid-life, &ldquo;particularly if unemployed and without a partner&rdquo;.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		She said this played a &ldquo;fundamental role&rdquo; in the high risk of suicide in this demographic. &ldquo;A lack of supportive relationships or belief there are no people you can turn to are well-established risk factors for suicide.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;A growing evidence base shows that positive social connections &ndash; such as marriage or partner, family, ties to friends and neighbours, workplace ties &ndash; make people happy and healthy.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;Lack of social relationships constitutes a major risk factor for ill-health and mortality, comparable to cigarette smoking, blood pressure, blood lipids, obesity and physical inactivity.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;This survey again highlights the role of men&rsquo;s feelings of loneliness and lack of social support in their increased risk of suicide. We have to stop putting pressure on men to live up to societal views of what it is to be a &lsquo;real man&rsquo;,&rdquo; she added.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		To contact the Samaritans, call 1850 609090.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/samaritans-warn-of-suicide-risk-in-middle-aged-men-1.1534537\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/samaritans-warn-of-suicide-risk-in-middle-aged-men-1.1534537</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-20 08:43:46',NULL,'samaritans-warn-of-suicide-risk-in-middle-aged-men'),(255,'Plan for \"exploitive\" child pageant to be held every year','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	ORGANISERS behind a contentious American-style child beauty pageant plan to turn it into an annual event in Ireland &ndash; after their first competition went ahead despite public backlash.</h2>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	The&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Te</span><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">xas</span>-based Universal Royalty Beauty Pageant saw 20 toddlers and teens take part in a show held in the beer garden of Corrigan&#39;s Kitchen in Castleblayney, Co Monaghan.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	It was a slimmed down affair after dozens of parents and offspring decided not attend when a hotel in Dublin backed out of staging the event at a late stage.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Senator Jillian van Turnhout has said she will now considering tabling legislation to ban such events.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	&quot;So many people especially parents over the past two days have asked me to see if there is a way to ban them. I&#39;ve worked on many advocacy issues but I&#39;ve never seen this kind of opinion from one perspective,&quot; said the former chief executive of the Children&#39;s Rights Alliance.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Universal Royalty boss Annette Hill admitted she made the decision to keep the alternative venue a secret out of fear it would also cancel.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Ms Hill insisted that, despite the difficulties and opposition she encountered when staging the event, there was a &quot;wonderful&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">atmosph</span><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">ere</span>&quot; and she was pleased at how the first-ever Irish show had finished.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	&quot;Unfortunately we lost about 20 of the participants.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	&quot;It was brilliant. There was even an 11-year-old boy from Cork taking part and he was absolutely fantastic,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	&quot;I&#39;m going to look into holding regional events here in the future in places like Cork, Galway and&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Belfa</span><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">st</span>, as well as Dublin. So my plan next year is to have between three and four pageants,&quot; Ms Hill added.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Minister for Children&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Frances F</span><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">itzgerald</span>&nbsp;last week called for the event to be banned, and described it as &quot;inappropriate.&quot;</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/plan-for-child-pageant-to-be-held-every-year-29598551.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/plan-for-child-pageant-to-be-held-every-year-29598551.html</a></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-23 10:11:38',NULL,'plan-for-exploitive-child-pageant-to-be-held-every-year'),(256,'Significant downward trend in number of children who smoke','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	12% of 10 to 17-year-olds reported smoking in 2010 compared to 21% in 1998</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The number of Irish teenagers and pre-teens who smoke has fallen significantly, according to a series of studies on the health behaviours of 10 to 17-year-olds.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		A report published yesterday on the four Health Behaviour in Schoolaged Children Ireland studies carried out between 1998 and 2010 showed a downward trend in the number of 10 to17-year-olds who smoke.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The report shows 12 per cent of this age group reported they were &ldquo;current smokers&rdquo; in 2010 compared to 21 per cent of teens and pre-teens who reported smoking in 1998.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The latest of the four studies which was conducted in 2010 showed that there was no difference between smoking rates between boys and girls.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The percentage of children who reported having their first cigarette at age 13 or younger has also dropped from 61 per cent in 2002 to 49 per cent in 2010.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Drunkenness among children also fell slightly in the same time period.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		While 29.3 per cent of 10 to17-year olds reported having ever been drunk in 1998, that figure fell to 28.3 per cent in 2010.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<br />\r\n		<strong>Risk factors</strong><br />\r\n		However, Dr&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=John%20Devlin&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">John Devlin</a>, deputy chief medical officer at the&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=Department%20of%20Health&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Department of Health</a>&nbsp;said despite positive progress as regards some key risk factors the study revealed some &ldquo;major problems&rdquo;.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		He described the 12 per cent of 10 to 17-year-olds who reported that they smoked as &ldquo;unacceptable&rdquo; adding: &ldquo;We are working towards 0 per cent and over the next couple of weeks we will have a tobacco policy which is going to set out exactly how we are going to do that&rdquo;.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;In terms of alcohol despite the fact that the trends again are actually going in the right direction the fact that one in five (10 to 17-year-olds) are getting drunk . . . is still a major problem.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Dr Devlin also said it was &ldquo;disappointing&rdquo; that the number of young people who reported exercising four or more times a week had fallen in the 12-year-period covered by the surveys.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<br />\r\n		<strong>Exercising low</strong><br />\r\n		While 53.5 per cent of 10 to 17 year olds reported exercising four or more times a week in 1998 that figure fell to 50.5 per cent in 2010.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		At the publication of the report yesterday Minister for Health&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=James%20Reilly&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">James Reilly</a>&nbsp;said it provided grounds for optimism but also pointed to areas where there was room for improvement.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;We need to focus more on prevention and nowhere more is there a clear example of having to achieve this than in the area of tobacco,&rdquo; said the Minister.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;If we can prevent the next generation of children taking up smoking the use of tobacco in Ireland will disappear,&rdquo; he added.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The report also showed a downward trend in the numbers of children who reported using cannabis. In the 1998 study 10.3 per cent of 10 to 17-year-olds said they had used cannabis in the 12 months preceding the study compared to 8.3 per cent in 2010.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The Health Behaviour in Schoolaged Children Ireland studies are a cross-national research study funded by the Department of Health.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		To date 39,915 school children have contributed to the Irish studies.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/significant-downward-trend-in-number-of-children-who-smoke-1.1537658\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/significant-downward-trend-in-number-of-children-who-smoke-1.1537658</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-24 09:53:44',NULL,'significant-downward-trend-in-number-of-children-who-smoke'),(257,'Lack of HSE funds leave children trapped in acute hospital beds','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Six months after getting the all-clear, little Ellie Ward is trapped in hospital due to lack of HSE home-care funds</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		From opposite ends of the country,&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Ade%20Stack&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Ade Stack</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=John%20Ward&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">John Ward</a>&nbsp;would probably have never met had their children not ended up on the same ward in Temple Street children&rsquo;s hospital.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		During long months of visiting their children, they forged a friendship in the hospital corridors as they both struggled to get their babies home because of the lack of HSE funding for home care.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Ade Stack wrote a letter to&nbsp;<em>The Irish Times</em>&nbsp;earlier this month about her son Hugh who died on August 17th when he was just eight months old.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		He was born in the Rotunda and was transferred to Temple Street with complex health problems that were ultimately never diagnosed.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;Hugh was born on December 13th and we kind of knew things weren&rsquo;t right. At 30 weeks he just stopped growing so I was induced at 36 weeks. He had complications from day one and never really got better.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		By February, when it became clear that Hugh was dying, Ade and her husband, Martin, wanted to have him among his family. &ldquo;We just said &lsquo;let&rsquo;s go home&rsquo;.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t hold your child in hospital. I had to lie on the floor with him just so I could hold him because the [safety] bar on the bed doesn&rsquo;t come down.&rdquo;&nbsp;<br />\r\n		<br />\r\n		<strong>Jack and Jill</strong><br />\r\n		After four months of being told Hugh could not be discharged without nursing support, they finally got him home for six precious weeks which Ade described as &ldquo;some of the best of my life&rdquo;.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		They received no HSE home help but the Jack and Jill Foundation stepped in with 10 hours&rsquo; nursing a week, and the couple paid for further nursing hours themselves. She takes out photographs of this time, happy scenes of Hugh at home cradled by his parents and with his older brothers, Theo (3) and Fred (2).</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;He was much happier at home. It meant he could hear his family,&rdquo; says Ade.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;When the boys were having their bath, he loved it because they would scream and he could hear them.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;He slept beside us, he got to enjoy the world . . . that life isn&rsquo;t just full of people who want to take blood and change dressings.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		She describes the relief of being able to turn off the lights when you want, of not having a television constantly on in the background and letting her baby experience normal family life, however briefly.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		While very complimentary of the care in Temple Street, she wishes it had been made easier to take Hugh home.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		She asks why an elderly person who needs support to leave hospital can be approved within six to eight weeks for a home-care package but there was nothing available for her son.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;Why is there such help when you are 65 years old, but not when you are six months old? We did it for the elderly with Fair Deal, but what about the children who unfortunately get a bad deal in life? Who wants to live in hospital? It hurts as parents when you feel you have been robbed of time at home.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		While her family awaits a decision in January next year, a further &euro;50,000 will be spent.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The HSE said in a statement that its policy is that children should be at home whenever possible and added: &ldquo;There is no question of providing continuing care to children in an acute setting if this is not required.&rdquo;<br />\r\n		<br />\r\n		<strong>Home care less expensive</strong><br />\r\n		It did not dispute that home care is significantly less expensive than hospital care but said, &ldquo;The report did not compare the respective costs of the home-based care provided by the Jack and Jill Foundation with the cost of home-care nursing package provided by the HSE which has an average cost of &euro;23 per hour.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		According to this figure, a home care package of 56 hours of night-nursing a week for Ellie would cost &euro;67,000, still a 50 per cent saving on her current stay in hospital.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Mona%20Baker&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Mona Baker</a>, chief executive of Temple Street, said that, in their experience, children with life-limiting conditions do better when they are cared for at home surrounded by parents, grandparents and friends with appropriate care packages in place.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		She said she &ldquo;acknowledges issues regarding lengthy negotiations of home-care packages with the HSE&rdquo;.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<br />\r\n		&lsquo;Something needs to be done to get children home&rsquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<br />\r\n		Ireland is one of the few countries in Europe where there is no national paediatric home care budget. If you are elderly and need to be cared for at home, there is a dedicated budget of &euro;130 million available through the Home Care Package Scheme, but there is no equivalent for sick children.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Jonathan%20Irwin&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Jonathan Irwin</a>, founder of the Jack and Jill Foundation, says the problem has become acute in the&nbsp;past 12 months.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;Now that everything has been pared back to the bone, it has really become apparent that children are suffering because there is no ringfenced budget for them. More and more babies are being trapped in hospital.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The foundation&rsquo;s funding is revealing, spelling out just how little the Government has given to these families. Since it was set up in 1997, the HSE has given &euro;4.5 million.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The Irish public has trumped that figure tenfold, digging deep to donate &euro;47 million.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;For us, having Hugh was a very positive experience but we need to start thinking about these children,&rdquo; says Ade Stack, adding that something needs to be done soon about children like John&rsquo;s daughter Ellie who are alive and need to get home.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;Someone said to me it was very soon to be writing a letter to The Irish Times after Hugh but I didn&rsquo;t want to wait.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;When is the right time to actually do something? We have national budgets for raised bogs and corncrakes in this country but you know what? Children are more important.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/lack-of-hse-funds-leave-children-trapped-in-acute-hospital-beds-1.1537208?page=3\">http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/lack-of-hse-funds-leave-children-trapped-in-acute-hospital-beds-1.1537208?page=</a>1</p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-24 09:57:26',NULL,'lack-of-hse-funds-leave-children-trapped-in-acute-hospital-beds'),(258,'Four more children\'s beauty pageants planned','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Organisers behind the controversial children&#39;s beauty pageant are planning four more contests in Ireland next year.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The event went ahead behind closed doors in Corrigan&#39;s Kitchen pub and nightclub in Castleblaney, Co Monaghan, on Saturday after a Dublin hotel pulled out at the last minute.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		And Universal Royalty boss Annette Hill said that although the event took &quot;a bit of arranging&quot;, it was &quot;a great success&quot;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;We lost about 20 of the participants,&quot; she said. &quot;We wanted it to be a secret because of what happened at The Bracken Court, but it was just brilliant.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&nbsp;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<strong style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em;\">DEMAND</strong></p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;I said before I came to Ireland that I wanted to make this an annual event.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;There&#39;s a huge demand for children&#39;s pageants in this country. I&#39;m going to look into holding regional events in the future in places like Cork, Galway and Belfast as well as Dublin.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		However, Dublin mother-of-one Katerina Kriger said she wouldn&#39;t enter again.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;I&#39;m so disappointed. The whole thing was rush, rush, rush and it was all so impersonal,&quot; she told the Herald.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The 25-year-old travelled from her home in Sandyford with her mother and daughter Victoria (2) to Co Monaghan early on Saturday.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		She learned the location of the venue when she checked her emails at 5am that day.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		A Balbriggan hotel withdrew from hosting the pageant and parents were given less that 12 hours notice of the Castleblaney venue.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald said last week the event should be banned, describing it as the &quot;inappropriate early sexualisation of very young children&quot;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.herald.ie/news/four-more-childrens-pageants-planned-29599725.html\">http://www.herald.ie/news/four-more-childrens-pageants-planned-29599725.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<div>\r\n	&nbsp;</div>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-24 10:07:58',NULL,'four-more-childrens-beauty-pageants-planned'),(259,'Kilkenny Nun Run to break world record?','<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	<b>On Saturday, December 7, the city will be filled with nuns of all shapes and sizes for what promises to be a great day of fun with an underlying message of hope.</b></p>\r\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	The Kilkenny Nun Run will be held in the Rose Garden of the Castle Park in an attempt to break the world record for the most people dressed as nuns in the one place.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	It will be in aid of Pieta House and The Samaritans. Pieta House is at the coal face of dealing with self-harm and suicide, providing one-to-one counselling. The Samaritans provide the friendly, non-judgemental voice at the end of a phone.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	The city and county has suffered its fair share of pain due to suicide and related issues in recent times. Every family has been touched and Saturday, December 7 will be our way of remembering them, raising awareness of the problems being faced by people and raising much needed funding for two groups doing Trojan work.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	The manager of the castle, Jaki Jordan has given permission to use the Rose Garden at the Castle for the event.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	The figure to beat to enter the Guinness Book of Records is 1,436 and everyone in the city county, young and old, is encouraged to support it. If you would like to be involved email: kilkennynunrun@gmail.com or call 0878772688. Dare to make a difference.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/news/kilkenny-news/kilkenny-nun-run-to-break-world-record-1-5520982\">http://www.kilkennypeople.ie/news/kilkenny-news/kilkenny-nun-run-to-break-world-record-1-5520982</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-25 08:13:09',NULL,'kilkenny-nun-run-to-break-world-record'),(260,'Haddington Road cuts to apply to charities','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Grants to non-statutory agencies to be cut</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The Health Service Executive is preparing to impose Haddington Road agreement cuts on all non-statutory agencies to which it gives grants, such as the Simon Community.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The cuts will affect staff in organisations providing services in areas such as disability, homelessness, addiction, palliative care and child and family supports.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Under section 39 of the 2004 Health Act the HSE funds hundreds of independent organisations to provide services. Annual service-level agreements are reached between Section 39 agencies and the HSE on funding and service provision under such headings as quality and outcomes.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<br />\r\n		<strong>Interference</strong><br />\r\n		<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Deirdre%20Garvey&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer !important; outline: none !important;\">Deirdre Garvey</a>, chief executive of the Wheel, a voluntary-sector representative organisation, said the HSE move could be seen as interference in independent organisations: &ldquo;Most have absorbed a hugely disproportionate share of the cuts already but the HSE seems to make it clear the organisations are going to have to do this if they want their service-level agreements renewed.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The organisations contacted have been told to begin reviewing payroll costs and areas such as salary scales, contracted working hours and premium payments.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		In a letter to Dublin Simon, HSE area primary care manager&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=David%20Tully&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer !important; outline: none !important;\">David Tully</a>&nbsp;wrote: &ldquo;While it is understood the HSE is not in a position to issue specific instructions to agencies funded under section 39 to implement salary reductions comparable with those in the public sector, it is our intention to include in service arrangements with all agencies . . . the condition that staff should not be remunerated at levels above statutory pay scales.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The HSE did not provide a comment last night.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/haddington-road-cuts-to-apply-to-charities-1.1538642\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/haddington-road-cuts-to-apply-to-charities-1.1538642</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-25 08:25:47',NULL,'haddington-road-cuts-to-apply-to-charities'),(261,'Parents must set better example with drinking','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Should we be shocked that 28 per cent of school-going children aged between 10 and 17 have told a survey on children&#39;s health that they have been drunk? The finding, which is contained in the Heath Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Ireland Trends Report 1998-2010, comes at a time of growing controversy over the annual Arthur&#39;s Day celebration, which takes place on Thursday.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Of course Guinness, which promotes Arthur&#39;s Day, is in the drinks business.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		It&#39;s what it does and does very well, so it should not come as a surprise to anyone that it will try and find additional ways of promoting and selling its products.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The fact is that most Irish social and sporting occasions are celebrated with alcohol.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Mostly, everyone has a good time, but there are always those who cannot enjoy themselves without causing inconvenience to others.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		So it is all too easy to blame others for excessive drinking. which seems to be so commonplace throughout the country.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Maybe it would be more instructive for parents and others to examine how they are equipping young people to deal with alcohol.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Quite often children model themselves on the behaviour of parents, and if they have seen their parents drunk they are likely to follow suit.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		So maybe it is time that parents themselves adopted a better attitude to alcohol where enjoyment rather than over-use of the substance would become the norm.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		There is also the issue of &#39;cheap drink&#39;, which is now widely available in supermarkets, off-licences and convenience stores. While it is ironic that the public house is now being re-branded as a &#39;safe and responsible&#39; venue for drinking, rather than the home, setting minimum prices for a unit of alcohol has proved a thorny issue for successive governments.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		That said, it would be a pity if the Irish, as a race, were to lose the best aspects of our relationship with alcohol, such as a relaxed and informal atmosphere that is often to be found in pubs and gatherings and the spontaneity that comes along with it.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Of course, there are always those, whether they are 16 or 61, who cannot go out and enjoy an occasion such as Arthur&#39;s Day or St Patrick&#39;s Day. It says more about them than the drinks companies that there is a 30 per cent surge in A&amp;E visits on such occasions.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/opinion/editorial/parents-must-set-better-example-with-drinking-29604295.html\">http://www.independent.ie/opinion/editorial/parents-must-set-better-example-with-drinking-29604295.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-25 08:38:32',NULL,'parents-must-set-better-example-with-drinking'),(262,'20% of Ombudsman complaints about HSE','<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	One in five complaints made to the Office of the Ombudsman last year related to the HSE, according to the office&#39;s latest report.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	In case studies included in the report, the Ombudsman reports that a woman diagnosed incorrectly with a serious heart condition felt she had no option but to arrange a second medical opinion privately when she received a contradictory diagnosis.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	Her second opinion clarified that she did not have the serious condition alleged. The HSE apologised and refunded her costs, according to the report.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	In another case, a man received a call from his mother at noon, telling him she was dying.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	He arrived at the hospital at 1.30 in the afternoon but was not briefed by medical staff of the seriousness of his mother&#39;s condition until approximately 5.45pm.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	His mother died that night before other members of her family could arrive.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	The hospital apologised, and introduced guidelines and training aimed at ensuring next-of-kin are contacted in a timely manner and improving patient care.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	The report reveals that the Department of Health and the HSE have refused to release information relating to out-of-court settlements in legal cases where the State&nbsp; has been sued for failing to provide public nursing home care.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	The report says around 300 legal cases have been initiated against the HSE for its failure to provide public nursing home care.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	In each of these court cases, according to the Ombudsman, Emily O&#39;Reilly, the Department of Health was a co-defendant. The office has been investigating two specific complaints about the failure of the health authorities to provide public nursing home care where patient shad had to pay for private care.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	&quot;I was aware that some of these cases had been settled out of Court. I felt that details of the settlements were relevant to the cases I was investigating, both to confirm that financial compensation was being paid, and also to establish the levels of financial compensation involved.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	She said she told the HSE why this information was relevant to her investigation and that she required it under the current relevant legislation to provide me with the information.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	However, Ms O&#39;Reilly said, the HSE refused to release the information, stating that the Department did not agree to its release.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	The HSE claimed that providing the information could compromise ongoing litigation in other cases.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	The latest Ombudsman&#39;s annual report is the last published by the current Ombudsman Emily O&#39;Reilly, who is taking up the post of European Ombudsman.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	She said the Office of the Ombudsman was now needed more than ever.</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	&quot;The financial constraint that public bodies currently face is not an excuse for poor service, for inequitable treatment, for denial of rights. Public bodies must work harder to eliminate the common causes of complaint to my office. Parliament must hold the administration to account and insist that bodies take responsibility for their actions, right the wrong that has been done and change their service to avoid recurrence.&quot;</p>\r\n<p style=\"font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;\">\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=22645\">http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=22645</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-26 08:15:17',NULL,'20%-of-ombudsman-complaints-about-hse'),(263,'Who would buy a violent video game for a child?','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Perpetrating acts of violence against women, shooting police officers dead and picking up prostitutes may not be everyone&#39;s idea of how best to entertain themselves &ndash; but for the 25 million people expected to buy the latest instalment in the&nbsp;Grand Theft Auto&nbsp;series, that&#39;s exactly what they have in mind.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The release last week of&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Grand Theft</span><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\"> Auto</span>&nbsp;V, estimated to be the most expensive game ever made, saw people queueing through the night to ensure they secured their copy. Anecdotal evidence even suggests that grown men, the length and breadth of the country, took sick days from work to give them time to enjoy their new purchase.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The Grand Theft Auto series, while probably the highest profile game of its kind, is not unique in its negative depiction of women, its misogynistic tone or in displaying graphic acts of violence. While some games of this ilk, such as Manhunt and Dead Rising, have been banned in the UK and Germany, the approach taken in Ireland to video gaming is to rely on the European rating system, PEGI (Pan European Game Information), to assist consumers in the choices they make.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Grand Theft Auto V has been rated over-18s by PEGI, whose ratings are legally enforced in more than 30 countries. In Ireland that is not the case and no legislation exists for legal enforcement of PEGI ratings here.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Despite the fact that the game&#39;s producers, Rockstar, have been quoted as saying that &quot;if you&#39;re a parent and buy one of our games for your child you&#39;re a terrible parent&quot;, the simple truth is that a huge number of children are accessing this, and other games, either via older siblings or through sheer pester power which browbeats parents into buying what they want.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		When it comes to the long-term psychological effects that violent games are having on our children, the jury is still out.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Some research suggests a link between violent games and violent behaviour and incidents such as the one a number of weeks back which saw an eight-year-old boy shooting his babysitter in the back of the head while playing&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">Grand Theft A</span><span style=\"font-size: 1em;\">uto IV</span>&nbsp;or the Batman massacre in the US do nothing to dispel these myths. It has also been strongly suggested that children who play violent video games are more likely to show signs of aggression and are less likely to be able to control their emotions, with some of the most recent research to support these claims being unveiled at the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect Conference in Dublin just last week.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The bottom line is that the onus is on parents to keep a keen eye on the computer activity of their children. There is a responsibility too on the part of retailers and games companies to ensure that parents are aware of what they are buying and to strictly enforce age ratings.</p>\r\n	<div class=\"more\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 10.909090995788574px;\">\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			With Grand Theft Auto V expected to gross &euro;1bn in its first week, games companies can well afford point-of-sale leaflets to adequately inform parents.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			Not only do we need to make sure that unsuitable content is not reaching our kids, we need to sit down and communicate with them what exactly is wrong with these games. Unless we take the proper steps to protect our children, we will end up creating a society full of children who are incapable of empathy and understanding and who believe that the subjection and objectification of women is okay. It is up to us to also ensure that our teens do not become desensitised to horrendous acts of violence.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			The gaming industry is one which has been signalled for significant future growth and development here in Ireland. It employs thousands of people and has contributed billions to the Irish economy. This year, Grand Theft Auto V will most likely be on the top of many boys&#39; and some girls&#39; Christmas lists.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			I am calling on everyone to take a closer look at what they are buying their children, grandchildren, nephews and nieces. In order to protect our young people from future harm and to ensure we are not storing up problems for the future, we have to be mindful of gaming content and the audience it has the potential to reach.</p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			<em style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em;\">Mary Mitchell O&#39;Connor is a Fine Gael TD for Dun Laoghaire.</em></p>\r\n		<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;\">\r\n			<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/who-would-buy-a-violent-video-game-for-a-child-terrible-parents-thats-who-29611734.html\">http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/who-would-buy-a-violent-video-game-for-a-child-terrible-parents-thats-who-29611734.html</a></p>\r\n	</div>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-26 08:22:37',NULL,'who-would-buy-a-violent-video-game-for-a-child'),(264,'Ombudsman to take action against Department of Health over records','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Case relates to complaints against hospital</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The ombudsman&rsquo;s office is expected to take court action against the&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=Department%20of%20Health&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer !important; outline: none !important;\">Department of Health</a>&nbsp;seeking to force it to release records needed to complete an investigation.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		This is the first time the ombudsman will use new powers introduced in 2012 which allow the office to apply to the Circuit Court for an order compelling a Government body to release information.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The case relates to the ombudsman&rsquo;s investigation into complaints made about a review commissioned by the department into abuse incidents which occurred in the past at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The review, which was carried out by retired judge TC Smyth, was commissioned by former minister for health&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Mary%20Harney&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer !important; outline: none !important;\">Mary Harney</a>&nbsp;to determine whether a wider inquiry was needed. In the event, Ms Harney decided against this course of action.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Ombudsman Emily O&rsquo;Reilly said her officials sought a copy of the review as well as interview transcripts after receiving complaints. However, the department argued it could not comply because the review was independent.<br />\r\n		<br />\r\n		<strong>Complaints</strong></p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Ms O&rsquo;Reilly said this was one of three refusals her office received when attempting to carry out investigations last year. In relation to an investigation into complaints by two chronically disabled women who had to pay for private nursing home care because the HSE did not provide public care, the HSE refused to provide details of the settlements it had made in other, similar cases. It said the department did not agree to release the information. More than 300 cases are currently being taken against the health service in relation to this issue.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Ms O&rsquo;Reilly, who clashed frequently with the department during her 10-year tenure, again criticised it when presenting her final annual report yesterday. She said the problem in the department was that people &ldquo;run scared when something is pointed out to them&rdquo; and the culture was to &ldquo;reach for the nearest lawyer when trouble looms&rdquo;. She said &ldquo;with a proper, functioning relationship, we would be able to talk like grown-ups&rdquo;.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The third refusal of information arose from her investigation of complaints arising from the rejection of claims under the Health Repayment Scheme. This was set up in 2006 to repay people who were charged illegally for long-stay hospital care. The HSE provided information but the appeals officer for the scheme refused and also failed to attend at her office after being required to do so, she said. A report on this issue is due shortly.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/ombudsman-to-take-action-against-department-of-health-over-records-1.1540225\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/ombudsman-to-take-action-against-department-of-health-over-records-1.1540225</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-26 08:26:08',NULL,'ombudsman-to-take-action-against-department-of-health-over-records'),(265,'Government tells UN it has no plans to outlaw slapping of children','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Balance to be struck between &lsquo;protecting children and criminalising parents&rsquo; - report</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The Government has told a&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=United%20Nations&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">United Nations</a>&nbsp;committee it has no specific plans to introduce a law to outlaw slapping or &ldquo;reasonable chastisement&rdquo; of children in the home.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		This is despite calls by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to &ldquo;explicitly prohibit all forms of corporal punishment in the family&rdquo;.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Minister for Children&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Frances%20Fitzgerald&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Frances Fitzgerald</a>&nbsp;yesterday published the Government&rsquo;s official response to the committee.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<br />\r\n		<strong>Common law</strong><br />\r\n		While measures that allow parents the right to use force or &ldquo;reasonable chastisement&rdquo; against children were repealed in the 2001 Children&rsquo;s Act, a defence is still available in common law.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		In its response to the UN, the Government states that&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_location=Ireland&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Ireland</a>&nbsp;does not have any law that specifically permits corporal punishment within the home setting.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The Children&rsquo;s Act, it says, provides clear legal deterrents to the use of &ldquo;excessive physical discipline&rdquo; in the home and other settings.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		While it acknowledged there was a common law defence for using reasonable chastisement, it said the courts have previously handed down severe sentences in cases where parents have been convicted for assault against their children.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;The Government considers that there is a delicate balance to be struck between child protection priorities and attempting to criminalise parents who &lsquo;smack&rsquo; their children.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;Any proposal for legislative change in this area will require careful consideration due to the relative merits of criminal sanctions and positive promotion of good parenting models, and possible constitutional implications relating to the role of the family,&rdquo; the report states.<br />\r\n		Its response adds that while a specific proposal for a prohibition in the home setting has not been brought forward to date, the matter has been kept under review.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/government-tells-un-it-has-no-plans-to-outlaw-slapping-of-children-1.1541660\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/government-tells-un-it-has-no-plans-to-outlaw-slapping-of-children-1.1541660</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-27 08:44:25',NULL,'government-tells-un-it-has-no-plans-to-outlaw-slapping-of-children'),(266,'Play tackles issue of Traveller suicide','<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	<b>Last Wednesday saw the Backstage Theatre host a one-man play aimed at highlighting the problem of suicide in the Traveller Community.</b></p>\r\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	Organised by the Primary Healthcare Project for Travellers, &lsquo;Magpies on the Pylon&rsquo; was written and performed by well-known actor Michael Collins, who himself comes from a Traveller background, and the play told the story of a father trying to cope with his son&rsquo;s suicide, and the impact it has had on the rest of the family.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	There was a full house for the performance, which was followed by a facilitated panel discussion on mental health and suicide awareness.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	&ldquo;We had a terrific response, with Traveller groups from Longford, Roscommon, Dublin, Offaly and Cavan all attending,&rdquo; said Frances Swaray of the Primary Healthcare Project for Travellers in County Longford. &ldquo;In particular we were aiming at men&rsquo;s groups and service providers, and the central message was to let them know that help is out there for sufferers of depression and for families who have been affected by suicide.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	Ms Swaray explained that the staging of the play coincided with World Suicide Prevention Day and added that &ldquo;the suicide rate in the Traveller Community is six times higher than the rest of the population, which is worrying.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	According to Ms Swaray, contributing factors to this high suicide rate include changes in lifestyle, erosion of Traveller culture and traditions, unemployment and living conditions. She also noted that general life expectancy is lower amongst Travellers - a statistic which is worsening.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	The discussion panel which followed the play included Paul Nugent of Exchange Houseand Josephine Rigney, Suicide Prevention Officer for the HSE in Dublin Mid-Leinster.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	During the exchanges, Cllr Mae Sexton admitted she was not aware of the high suicide rate in the Traveller Community beforehand, and that she was &ldquo;horrified&rdquo; by the figures.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	Joining the discussion after his performance, Michael Collins revealed he had &ldquo;pieced the play together from speaking to people who had been affected by suicide&rdquo; and that he chose to tell the story from the point of view of one of those left behind because &ldquo;these people need to be targetted too.&rdquo; He also contended that &ldquo;sometimes Travellers find it hard to talk to a settled person about such problems.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	Ms Swarway told the Longford Leader that the Primary Healthcare Project for Travellers had seven members of the Traveller Community working locally as outreach workers trained to handle such issues.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 10px; line-height: 20px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;\">\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.longfordleader.ie/what-s-on/arts-culture-entertainment/play-tackles-issue-of-traveller-suicide-1-5529139\">http://www.longfordleader.ie/what-s-on/arts-culture-entertainment/play-tackles-issue-of-traveller-suicide-1-5529139</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-27 08:54:05',NULL,'play-tackles-issue-of-traveller-suicide'),(267,'Teen girls are warned over rise in gang rapes','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Teenage girls have been urged not to leave themselves isolated in unfamiliar groups following a worrying rise in gang rapes and sexual assaults.</h2>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	The attacks can happen at house parties and other locations where young people gather. And, because alcohol is sometimes involved, a young victim can be reluctant to tell their parents over fears they will get into trouble for drinking underage.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Children at Risk Ireland (CARI) urged parents to keep the lines of communication open with their teenagers so that they can discuss things that make them uncomfortable.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Majella Ryan, national clinical director with the charity, said there had been a marked increase in reports of gang rapes and sexual assaults which doubled to 41 last year.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	&quot;It&#39;s happening in lots of different situations. It&#39;s happening at parties, it&#39;s happening where a young person arranges to meet a guy that she doesn&#39;t know terribly well and he turns up with some of his friends and she finds herself in a vulnerable position.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	&quot;It can also happen when groups are hanging out and one girl becomes isolated, her friends go home and she&#39;s left behind,&quot; explained Ms Ryan.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	She said when there were witnesses to sexual assaults, the abuse can continue as the victim is bullied on social media and made to feel shamed and humiliated. &quot;In my experience, we&#39;re hearing more about these types of cases in the last few years. This type of assault (involving a group of perpetrators) has increased and, in particular, it&#39;s down to the internet and easy access to pornography . . . Humiliation and degradation often feature heavily in pornography.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	&quot;For many children and adolescents, they&#39;re accessing fairly hardcore pornography and this is how they&#39;re getting their sex education. If this is how you learn about sex, then it&#39;s giving you a very distorted view of sex,&quot; she added.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	<strong style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px !important; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em;\">FREEDOM</strong></p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Ms Ryan said one of the challenges facing parents was to give their teenage children some freedom while also trying to keep them safe.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	&quot;It&#39;s important to let them know its okay to talk about anything they witness or that happens to them that they&#39;re not comfortable with.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	&quot;You can&#39;t lock your teenager up, that&#39;s not feasible or healthy, so a big thing is about the teenager feeling able to talk about things they&#39;re seeing, talking to them about certain measures they can take to keep themselves safe,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/teen-girls-are-warned-over-rise-in-gang-rapes-29614316.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/teen-girls-are-warned-over-rise-in-gang-rapes-29614316.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-27 09:08:40',NULL,'teen-girls-are-warned-over-rise-in-gang-rapes'),(268,'‘The kids are going to starve . . then they have health problems’','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Families are reducing their food bills following cuts to their benefits</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Chicken nuggets, hot dogs and burgers are what Kim Greene now feeds her four children after years of successive cuts to benefits have reduced what she can spend on her weekly shopping. She knows she should buy healthier meals but says she can&rsquo;t afford them.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;Three chicken fillets cost &euro;7.50 and they&rsquo;re not even big. It&rsquo;s cheaper to buy a packet of 10 chocolate bars for a euro than give them some healthy snacks. Two punnets of strawberries for a fiver, who can afford that?&rdquo; says the 31-year-old mother living in Corduff, near Blanchardstown, Dublin.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The latest statistics show 732,000 people were living in poverty in 2011, which has been on the increase since 2008. Recent budgets have put pressure on families already on the brink. A recent study of young children in&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_location=Ireland&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Ireland</a>&nbsp;showed the intrinsic link between poverty and children&rsquo;s obesity, poor diets and behavioural problems.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Groups like&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=Barnardos&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Barnardos</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=Social%20Justice%20Ireland&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Social Justice Ireland</a>&nbsp;are appealing to the Government ahead of next month&rsquo;s budget not to cut benefits, saying to do so would push more people into poverty.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		In a pre-budget submission out tomorrow, Barnardos wants child benefit payments maintained, the back-to-school clothing allowance returned to previous levels and for the fuel allowance and school meal programme to be maintained.<br />\r\n		<br />\r\n		<strong>Early childhood education</strong><br />\r\n		Social Justice Ireland wants the Government to increase the minimum social welfare payment by &euro;5, to increase spending on early childhood education and to boost health spending to deal with waiting lists.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;If the Government makes more cuts which affect low-income families you would be heading towards a deeply damaged and deeply divided society,&rdquo; says Se&aacute;n Healy, director of Social Justice Ireland.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		That divide is already in evidence according to staff at the Barnardos centre in Mulhuddart, Dublin. Holly Gillen, project manager, says she is shocked at the rise in demand for their services.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		An early-years group for local children under five years with developmental or behavioural problems now gives the children breakfast when they arrive at 9.30am after staff noticed they were coming in hungry. A breakfast club in the local school, intended as a place for children to come and discuss things on their minds, has seen more children coming in without having had anything to eat. &ldquo;Our food bill has gone way up,&rdquo; says Ms Gillen.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Ms Greene knows all about the daily struggle to feed and clothe her children. The weekly &euro;250 she gets from her one-parent family payment gets whittled down quickly &ndash; &euro;47 for rent, &euro;40 on gas and electricity, &euro;10 for bin tags and &euro;1.50 each time she needs a prescription filled for her youngest child who has severe eczema. Then there is the money she gets at Christmas from loan sharks, which she spends most of the year paying back.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		These waiting lists are compounding the difficulties of low-income families whose needs have gone up. Children on lower incomes tend to have more behavioural problems yet are left waiting years for help.&nbsp;<br />\r\n		<br />\r\n		<strong>Language problems</strong><br />\r\n		Staff in the Mulhuddart centre say there is a two-year waiting list in Dublin 15 for children to be assessed with developmental delays or for speech and language problems. The&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=HSE&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">HSE</a>&nbsp;confirmed vacancies due to staff leaving and a moratorium on filling posts was causing &ldquo;delays for assessments and interventions/therapy for children in northwest Dublin&rdquo;.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Natasha Shaw (31), who lives in Blanchardstown, had to wait three years before her daughter could be seen by a psychiatrist who diagnosed her with ADHD. &ldquo;There were years of her jumping off the bannisters and giving herself concussion and jumping off tables before she got help,&rdquo; she says. Now cuts to respite care, the homecare package and a reduction in the number of resource teacher hours for her daughter in school is affecting the whole family, she says.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Families struggling say they can&rsquo;t take any more reductions in their income. Ms Greene says if cuts are imposed her children will suffer in the long-term.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;Just say if there were cuts and if they said &euro;20 or &euro;30 goes off my income, that&rsquo;s &euro;20 or &euro;30 off my shopping, so the kids are going to starve, so then they have all their health problems and I&rsquo;ll be stressed out.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/the-kids-are-going-to-starve-then-they-have-health-problems-1.1544207\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/the-kids-are-going-to-starve-then-they-have-health-problems-1.1544207</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-30 10:08:33',NULL,'‘the-kids-are-going-to-starve-then-they-have-health-problems’'),(269,'Archbishop Martin joins call to cut alcohol links to sport','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	The Archbishop of Dublin has warned that Ireland&#39;s pervasive culture of drink must be &quot;confronted and challenged&quot;, as he called on sporting bodies to seek alternative sources of sponsorship to the drinks industry.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Diarmuid&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Diarmuid_Martin\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">Martin</a>&nbsp;was speaking after a Mass to close a two-day international conference on addiction hosted by the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The Catholic prelate urged Irish society to address &quot;the commercialisation of drink&quot; and even the way &quot;people talk about drinking &ndash; almost as if to normalise it&quot;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		He urged the Government to do more to support addiction treatment programmes which he described as &quot;vital&quot; but he said society in general needed to be much more involved too.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		It came as the first letter from Pope Francis to an Irish-based organisation arrived in time for the Pioneer&#39;s conference at All Hallow&#39;s College in Dublin.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		In it the Pontiff congratulated the Pioneers on their 115 years, &quot;through which countless people have been assisted in living full lives without dependence on alcohol or drugs&quot;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Meanwhile, Fr Peter McVerry told the 200 delegates that of the &euro;3m needed to run his three addiction treatment programmes, only &euro;190,000 was grant aided from the State. The rest had to be fundraised.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;I think that reflects the low priority that drug issues have in our society and with the Government,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;We have probably 20,000 heroin users in Ireland today and we have just 28 beds in detox treatment programmes &ndash; that is a disgrace,&quot; Fr McVerry said.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Archbishop Martin meanwhile has also defended the&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Mater_Public_Hospital,_Dublin\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">Mater Hospital</a>&#39;s pro life record saying it had been &#39;scrupulous&#39; in trying to defend both the life of mother and the unborn child.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The Archbishop was also asked about the decision by the Mater, a Catholic Voluntary Hospital, to comply with the terms of the Protection of&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Life_(show)\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">Life</a>During Pregnancy Act.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		He said that though he was president of the hospital he had no powers in the governance of the hospital. And he paid tribute to the Mater hospital&#39;s &quot;great tradition of caring for very difficult pregnancies and doing it well within the ethos of the hospital over years&quot;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;There have been extremely complicated (pregnancies) and I know that they are scrupulous in the policy of trying to defend both the life of the mother and the unborn child. I hope that that continues,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		He said he would be seeking further clarifications on the exact meaning of the hospital&#39;s statement last week.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/martin-joins-call-to-cut-alcohol-links-to-sport-29620350.html\">www.independent.ie/irish-news/martin-joins-call-to-cut-alcohol-links-to-sport-29620350.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-30 10:10:40',NULL,'archbishop-martin-joins-call-to-cut-alcohol-links-to-sport'),(270,'Understanding teens and tweens on the autism spectrum','<p>\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;\">JENNIFER O&rsquo;TOOLE is well placed to give a talk on social skills for teens and tweens on the autism spectrum.</span></p>\r\n<div>\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">She is mum to a tween &mdash; 10-year-old Maura, who has Asperger&rsquo;s syndrome. As do her other two children, Sean, seven, and Gavin, four. She and husband John also have Asperger&rsquo;s. All five were diagnosed about three years ago.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">Based in North Carolina, she will give the talk in Cork on Oct 10. She says she purposely chooses &ldquo;to see the positive side of life&rdquo; and has spoken in Ireland before (about 48,000 people here are estimated to have a diagnosis of autism and Asperger syndrome).&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">O&rsquo;Toole, 37, has some 250,000 followers on Facebook and says many are from Ireland. When she spoke here, people told her it was the first time they&rsquo;d heard anything positive about Asperger&rsquo;s. Parents of kids with the condition asked her, &lsquo;What can I hope he&rsquo;ll become?&rsquo;. O&rsquo;Toole replied: &ldquo;My dad was an international commercial litigator &mdash; would that be OK?&rdquo;&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">Her late father had Asperger&rsquo;s, she says, but he never knew.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">&ldquo;Not too many people look back on their adolescence and say that was the shining glory of my life,&rdquo; she says.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">&ldquo;You so quickly move back and forth between wanting to be independent and wanting to revert to being a child. There&rsquo;s the vulnerability, the complications of dating, the sexuality and&nbsp;</span><a class=\"itxtrst itxtrsta itxthook\" href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/healthandlife/parenting/understanding-teens-and-tweens-on-the-autism-spectrum-244382.html#\" id=\"itxthook0\" rel=\"nofollow\" style=\"padding: 0px; border: 0px none transparent; outline: 0px; font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; left: auto; right: auto; top: auto; bottom: auto; display: inline; cursor: pointer; background-image: none; margin: 0px !important; float: none !important; position: static !important;\"><span class=\"itxtrst itxtrstspan itxtnowrap\" id=\"itxthook0w\" style=\"border-width: 0px 0px 0.075em; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(255, 140, 0); outline: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; float: none; height: auto; left: auto; right: auto; top: auto; bottom: auto; position: static; display: inline; text-decoration: underline; color: rgb(255, 140, 0); margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px 0px 1px !important;\">hormones</span></a><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">&nbsp;&mdash; then add to that the awareness that you seem to be missing these social cues that everyone knows and expects you to know.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">&ldquo;You&rsquo;re in a world that feels very chaotic. You feel everything you think and feel is obvious to everyone else so you don&rsquo;t explain things as well as you need to. You&rsquo;re misunderstood by most people most of the time.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">While the &lsquo;neurotypical&rsquo; world &mdash; those who don&rsquo;t have Asperger&rsquo;s &mdash; understands that there are levels of intimacy, people with Asperger&rsquo;s don&rsquo;t. They don&rsquo;t get that you don&rsquo;t say the same thing to someone you&rsquo;ve just had lunch with for the first time as you would to someone you&rsquo;ve known 10 years.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">&ldquo;A teenage boy might feel he has established a relationship with a girl that&rsquo;s more intimate than it actually is. Girls [with Asperger&rsquo;s] tend to fall victim to class jokes and bullying. As adult women, we know the speech of girls is so layered and nuanced. People with Asperger&rsquo;s truly don&rsquo;t see the strategy involved &mdash; they think they&rsquo;re making themselves likeable when in fact they&rsquo;re doing the opposite.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">O&rsquo;Toole says adult women diagnosed with Asperger&rsquo;s are vulnerable to dating abuse. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a social na&iuml;vety. Somebody asks &lsquo;do you want to see my house?&rsquo;. He&rsquo;s not really asking the girl if she wants to see his house. But [we] say what we mean and mean what we say and we expect others to do the same. The long-term effects of ostracism and bullying can mean girls are too willing to accept what comes their way.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">O&rsquo;Toole&rsquo;s message to these &ldquo;profoundly bright&rdquo; children who have Asperger&rsquo;s is simple: By understanding some unwritten social rules, they can gain a level of control over what other people think/feel about them and how they treat them. Pointing out that people with Asperger&rsquo;s are sticklers for accuracy, she says: &ldquo;Lots of kids run into trouble when correcting an authority figure or a peer.&rdquo; She advises them to correct down gently (eg, children they&rsquo;re babysitting); correct across with consideration (peers); and correct up only if there&rsquo;s danger.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">Suppose a young person with Asperger&rsquo;s says something that isn&rsquo;t meant to be funny and someone laughs. &ldquo;I teach them to consider whether the person&rsquo;s laughing at or with them. I say, &lsquo;If it&rsquo;s someone you like, who&rsquo;s kind, probably they&rsquo;re laughing with you; if it&rsquo;s someone who likes it when you feel sad, then no &mdash; they&rsquo;re likely to be laughing at you.&rdquo;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">She teaches them to make &lsquo;I&rsquo; statements &mdash; &lsquo;I feel sad when you laugh at what I&rsquo;ve said&rsquo; &mdash; followed either by &lsquo;please stop&rsquo; or &lsquo;could you explain what you&rsquo;re laughing about?&rsquo;&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">O&rsquo;Toole wants teens to know that everyone has strengths and weaknesses. But the reality is there are barriers that have to be surmounted, even at the basic level of diagnosis.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">Cork-based senior clinical psychologist Patricia Vicario says some social difficulties of children with Asperger&rsquo;s are harder to detect given the skills or strengths they have in other areas.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">&ldquo;Children might have excellent verbal skills, good cognitive ability, or be affectionate, which may mask some of the social difficulties. It&rsquo;s also difficult to diagnose girls with Asperger syndrome &mdash; they use different coping and adjustment strategies to try to mask their social difficulties and they try to imitate others to fit in.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">The difficulty for parents, says Vicario, is the discrepancy in the ability set of children with Asperger&rsquo;s. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s difficult to understand how they can be so able in some areas &mdash; be very intelligent, very funny, or able to express themselves very well, and struggle in others &mdash; show disproportionate emotional reactions, be rigid and set in their routines, or lack awareness in relation to social rules and know-how.&rdquo;&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">She adds that &ldquo;strong emotions can be very overwhelming for them&rdquo;.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">What&rsquo;s needed in Ireland, says Irish Autism Action CEO Kevin Whelan, is earlier diagnosis and appropriate intervention, as well as support and resourcing of people on the autism spectrum at each developmental transition &mdash; for example, going from primary to post-primary school. Given current economic realities, Whelan would like to see existing money in the system being re-configured to address these requirements.&nbsp;</span><br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<br style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\" />\r\n	<span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">* Jennifer O&rsquo;Toole will talk about social skills for teens and tweens on the autism spectrum on Thurs, Oct 10, in Maryborough Hotel, Cork, at 7.30pm. For more info, visit</span><font color=\"#000000\" face=\"Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif\"><span style=\"line-height: 15px;\">&nbsp;www.as</span></font><font color=\"#000000\" face=\"Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif\"><span style=\"line-height: 15px;\">perkids.com</span></font><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">. For tickets (&euro;20 per person or two for &euro;35), call the&nbsp;</span><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">Shine Centre for Autism on 021 4377052; alternatively visit&nbsp;</span><font color=\"#000000\" face=\"Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif\"><span style=\"line-height: 15px;\">www.shineirelan</span></font><font color=\"#000000\" face=\"Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif\"><span style=\"line-height: 15px;\">d.com</span></font><span style=\"font-family: Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;\">.</span></div>\r\n<div>\r\n	&nbsp;</div>\r\n<div>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/healthandlife/parenting/understanding-teens-and-tweens-on-the-autism-spectrum-244382.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/healthandlife/parenting/understanding-teens-and-tweens-on-the-autism-spectrum-244382.html</a></div>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-30 10:19:49',NULL,'understanding-teens-and-tweens-on-the-autism-spectrum'),(271,'Mum-of-four Frieda Finlay had a shock when her Downs syndrome daughter Mandy arrived at puberty.','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	I have four daughters, and, boy, have I learned something about puberty. The flying hormones that need constant ducking, the battles, the conflicts, the mood swings &ndash; not to mention &quot;you don&#39;t understand anything, mum&quot;. I&#39;ve even tried to be cool with my daughters &ndash; only to be reminded how ancient I was!</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The funny thing is, my first daughter has&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Down_Syndrome\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">Down Syndrome</a>, so way back at the start I figured none of that was ever going to happen with her. Mandy would always have the mind of a child and I would always be there to look after and protect her. In fact that was the dark tunnel of her future I never wanted to visit.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<span class=\"CTXempty\" style=\"margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; text-decoration: inherit !important; float: none !important;\">But just like every other&nbsp;<span id=\"link0\" name=\"link0\" style=\"margin: 0px !important; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 1px !important; padding-left: 0px; font-size: 1em; height: auto; cursor: pointer; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 153, 0); text-decoration: underline !important; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important;\">healthy</span>teenager, puberty arrived with a bang, and she wore her heart on her sleeve. That was about 26 years ago. Well, I had a lot of learning to do, and yes, it took me a while. You see I never thought my daughter would ever grow up to be a woman.</span></p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		I hope it&#39;s different now. I meet a lot of younger parents, and they&#39;re brilliant. They know how important it is to educate their child with an<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Developmental_Disorders\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">intellectual disability</a>&nbsp;before they reach puberty. They talk to them about their bodies and the words used to describe their bodies. They explain how babies are made and how they arrive. And of course there are very good books and courses available now.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		But here&#39;s the thing I learned from my daughter. You&#39;d imagine I might know something about this as a grown woman, but sometimes it takes the wisdom of someone with a lot more innocence. Sexuality is not a thing of the mind, it is part of what we all are &ndash; and it&#39;s very powerful. There is no disability here &ndash; just human nature.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		When puberty arrived without any preparation, sometimes it was accompanied by inappropriate behaviour. Oh my God, we can&#39;t have that! Parents and service providers were terrified &ndash; if you mentioned education, the usual reaction was &quot;don&#39;t open that cans of worms&quot;, &quot;leave well enough alone&quot; and &quot;what they don&#39;t know won&#39;t bother them&quot;.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Some service providers in those days used to talk about &quot;some people being a bit over-sexed&quot;. Mind you, the more I argued about better sex education, the more they used to hint that I was over-sexed too.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		But I learned from direct experience that if people with&nbsp;<a href=\"http://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Developmental_Disorders\" style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1em; color: rgb(92, 139, 63); margin-bottom: 0px !important;\">intellectual disabilities</a>&nbsp;had no understanding of their feelings and no appropriate education, they were vulnerable, and had none of the skills necessary to protect themselves.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		I also became aware at that point that people generally, who were usually very accepting of babies and young children with intellectual disabilities, were not nearly so understanding of adults. Especially big adults who are capable of over-enthusiastic hugging or kissing.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		When our children are young, we want them to shine to be accepted and included, so we make sure they get out there. When our children become adults we have to help them to grow up.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		You can see sexuality flourish in every teenager &ndash; but it happens with a layer of religion, attitudes, education, and discrimination. My daughter &ndash; unknown to me &ndash; got at least some of her sex education from EastEnders, Coronation Street, and movies like Pretty Woman and Sex in the City!</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		She loved all those shows &ndash; and it didn&#39;t matter to her that it was much more explicit than we were used to.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		In order to accept my daughter growing up, one of the first things I had to change was the automatic way I had of calling my daughter a child.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		She was a young adult woman, and that made it much easier to deal with her sexuality &ndash; mainly because the notions of children and sexuality seem so wrong together. In order to allow them to grow up, we have to start calling them adults and thinking about them as adults.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		And we have to make sure the professionals do so too, and treat them with the dignity adults demand. We also have to change our attitudes to the sort of assessment we do.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		We have to assess all the areas of development &ndash; and that includes recognising the physical feelings of sexuality. And recognising, no matter how messy it might be, that they have a right to their own sexuality. My daughter has been in a relationship now for a number of years. It has its ups and downs like all relationships.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The government have started putting new legislation through the D&aacute;il, doing away with the 1871 Lunacy Act, which deals with Capacity and Consent. This old Act directly effects people with intellectual disability in many ways not just for the disrespectful language it uses.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Under the present law, when a person with an intellectual disability reaches 18, a parent can no longer make any decisions for their child, and the person cannot make any decisions for themselves. If any major decisions have to be made, they are made a ward of court. Thankfully that is being done away with and assisted decision-making is being put in place. The guiding principals also include a presumption of capacity.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		However, another important part of the old Act influenced a section of the 1993 Sexual Offences Act. It was put in to protect people with intellectual disabilities from abuse, but it also made it a crime for two people with an intellectual disability to have a sexual relationship.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Unfortunately under section 106 of the new bill, the current law relating to the capacity to consent required for people with intellectual disability to have a sexual relationship remains the same. The bill does not amend the law, therefore it is still a crime for two people with an intellectual disability in a loving relationship to have a sexual relationship.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		If people with an intellectual disability get married, (which they can do), because this part of the law is not being amended, it also means they will not be protected from abuse within the marriage.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		This law denies people with intellectual disabilities their human rights, but it also gives some service providers an excuse not to facilitate relationships.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		So many lives have been wasted. People were and some people still are segregated in institutionalised residential centres and in group homes, seldom getting a chance to meet people of the opposite sex. There are the occasional discos but that is usually on special days. Relationships are frowned upon, and even treated as a joke.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		A number of years ago I visited a large residential institution. While I was walking through a women&#39;s ward, I met a little old lady with tousled hair who had lived there for years. She was singing a song. I said to her: &quot;That is a lovely song,&quot; and she responded: &quot;It is a love song. I would love to be loved.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		It still breaks my heart to think about her. Her skin was dry and I wondered had anyone ever put moisturiser on her face. It could have been my daughter.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/lets-talk-about-sex-how-to-handle-teenagers-hormones-29618417.html\">http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/health/lets-talk-about-sex-how-to-handle-teenagers-hormones-29618417.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-30 10:27:01',NULL,'mum-of-four-frieda-finlay-had-a-shock-when-her-downs-syndrome-daughter-mandy-arrived-at-puberty'),(272,'Sex attacker lured victims by telling them a little girl was \'lonely\' in his apartment','<h2 class=\"p\" style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	Gardai are investigating whether a sex attacker lured two little girls - aged six and nine - to his apartment after telling them there was a little girl there who was &quot;lonely&quot; and wanted to play with them.</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		More details are beginning to emerge this morning about the &quot;horrific, catastrophic ordeal&quot; suffered by the two little girls in Athlone on Saturday afternnoon.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		It has also emerged that a man being questioned about the serious sex assault had only recently been released from prison. However, he is not on the sex offenders&#39; register.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Three men were arrested - but two were released from custody this morning and a file has been prepared for the Director of Prosecutions.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		A third man - who is known to gardai - remains in custody.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The Minister for Justice Alan Shatter this morning confirmed that none of the men held in relation to the incident were previously committed for sexual offences.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;I understand the concerns of the wider community, and I feel it is important I set the record right on that issue&quot;, he told Pat Kenny on Newstalk.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Meanwhile, investigating gardai have engaged the services of trained specialist interview to ascertain what exactly happened to the two little girls on Saturday afternoon.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The girls were subjected to what gardai called &quot;a horrific, catastrophic ordeal&quot; after being lured from a children&#39;s birthday party in Athlone, Co Westmeath.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		They were playing outside and are understood to have been tricked into going to a nearby house where they were both severely sexually assaulted.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		It&#39;s understood that the two little girls were approached by the man on Saturday afternoon who told them there was a third little girl in his apartment and she was on her own. It&#39;s believed he told the victims this little girl wanted to play with them, and the victims followed him to his apartment building.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Once there, the little girls were assaulted.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		They managed to escape through a rear exit of the building and made their way back to the house where they managed to tell adults what had happened to them.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		In the meantime, the alarm had been raised by adults at the house who had noticed the two little girls were missing.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The traumatised children were rushed to hospital in Galway for emergency medical treatment after fleeing from the house by climbing through a window.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		A garda source told the Irish Independent: &quot;This is an extremely serious case and it is not an exaggeration to say that what happened to these innocent children is absolutely catastrophic. They endured an experience that is the stuff of every parent&#39;s nightmare.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;The girls are deeply traumatised, and it will take a long time for them to recover from this horrific ordeal.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The area of Athlone where the incident is alleged to have taken place has been described locally as &quot;well-to-do&quot; and &quot;well-established&quot;. The houses were built more than 40 years ago and there are many young families in the estate.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Neither of the children is local. They travelled from other parts of the country for the party and had been staying with relatives.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		They are believed to have been enticed to the nearby house by a man who was not attending the celebration.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Once inside, they were taken to a room where each was severely sexually assaulted.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Both of the girls were highly distressed, but managed to escape when they climbed out a window and ran back to the house where the party was taking place to raise the alarm.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The adults at the party were horrified by what the traumatised children told them.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The girls identified the house where the attack had taken place, and a number of men went there to confront the alleged attacker.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		It is understood that a fight broke out as gardai arrived, and the three occupants of the house were arrested for public-order offences.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Gardai are now understood to be concentrating their investigation on one of the three men who is known to them and was recently released from prison.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		A source added: &quot;The prompt arrival of the gardai may have saved the accused man from being seriously assaulted, because understandably, people were horrified at what had happened and tempers were running high.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The three men were taken to Athlone garda station where they were questioned. Two of them were released this morning without charge.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Meanwhile, the two girls were rushed to University College Hospital in Galway, where they both underwent extensive examination and were detained for medical treatment.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Their parents were also at the hospital yesterday after being alerted to the incident.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		A garda source added: &quot;There is enormous upset at what has happened. The children will be given every specialist care that is required, but this will stay with them for the rest of their lives.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		Labour Party councillor Jim Henson said people in the tight-knit Athlone community had been left stunned by news of the alleged attacks.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		He said: &quot;It frightens people to think that this sort of thing could happen in their community.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;My thoughts and prayers are with the parents of the two young girls.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		The town&#39;s mayor, councillor Gabrielle McFadden, also reacted to news of the incident saying: &quot;It&#39;s horrific and as a parent you wouldn&#39;t want that to happen to anybody.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		She added: &quot;I&#39;m the mayor of the town. I don&#39;t want it going in a national newspaper that this is how awful Athlone is. It&#39;s not.</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		&quot;It&#39;s very nerve-racking to let your children out, but it could happen anywhere to anyone.&quot;</p>\r\n	<p style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; font-family: \'Trebuchet MS\', \'Helvetica Neue\', Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/sex-attacker-lured-victims-by-telling-them-a-little-girl-was-lonely-in-his-apartment-29620334.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/sex-attacker-lured-victims-by-telling-them-a-little-girl-was-lonely-in-his-apartment-29620334.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-09-30 10:50:26',NULL,'sex-attacker-lured-victims-by-telling-them-a-little-girl-was-lonely-in-his-apartment'),(273,'‘I’m the poster child of the new alcoholic woman’','<h2 style=\"margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); line-height: 1.3em; font-weight: normal; font-size: 16px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">\r\n	A professional woman who feels entitled to drink or needs to drink: that was Ann Dowsett Johnston, author of a book about women and alcohol</h2>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Ann%20Dowsett%20Johnston&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Ann Dowsett Johnston</a>&nbsp;knows how alcohol can bruise a life. She grew up with an alcoholic mother, and her father later succumbed to the same addiction, which ultimately killed him.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Yet her own awareness of the destructive power of alcohol did not stop her from falling into the same trap as her own parents did, albeit many years later.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;I was determined that this was one thing that I would never do,&rdquo; she recalls. &ldquo;And then, when I became addicted to alcohol, I was struck by the fact that I was a modern version of [my mother]. In other words, I didn&rsquo;t drink during the day, like my mum. I had a great career, I was well-educated, and yet I became addicted as well. It was something that really troubled me.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		As she sought treatment for her own problems, Dowsett Johnston &ndash; who describes herself as &ldquo;in recovery&rdquo; and hasn&rsquo;t had a drink for more than five years &ndash; began reading more about women and alcohol, and discovered that women across the developed world were drinking more than ever before. &ldquo;I thought: what&rsquo;s happening here? It&rsquo;s something larger than just me.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		So she began to research the link between women and drinking with the help of a fellowship, first publishing a series of articles and now a book,&nbsp;<em>Drink: The Intimate Relationship between Women and Alcohol</em>.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The book&rsquo;s publication this month also marks its author&rsquo;s public coming-out as a recovering alcoholic, having written candidly about it for the first time after some 30 years as a prominent journalist in&nbsp;<a class=\"search\" href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_location=Canada&amp;article=true\" style=\"color: rgb(0, 51, 153); text-decoration: none; outline: none !important;\">Canada</a>.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;I guess I&rsquo;m the poster child of the new alcoholic,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;A highly educated, professional, busy woman who feels entitled to drink or needs to drink after a tense day as she goes into her second shift of looking after children or coming home from the office.&rdquo;<br />\r\n		<br />\r\n		<strong>Pressure on women</strong></p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		But why were women like herself drinking more than ever? &ldquo;Was it because we were entitled? Was it about empowerment? Or was this the modern woman&rsquo;s steroid, enabling her to wear her many hats in life?&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		These hats, she suggests, may be part of the problem in the aftermath of a sexual revolution that still hasn&rsquo;t shaken down. As well as remaining inequities, including the gender pay gap and the glass ceiling, she cites the continuing pressure on women to perform in the domestic as well as professional sphere. &ldquo;Women are told that they have to be perfect mothers and perfect employees and their houses have to look great and they need great friendships, and there&rsquo;s a lot of pressure,&rdquo; she says.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		With this pressure comes a need for new coping mechanisms. For Dowsett Johnston, making the transition between the roles of professional and mother was often made easier with alcohol. After coming home, where a meal needed to be cooked and homework completed, she would have &ldquo;a fast glass of wine. It would unhitch my shoulders from my earlobes.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		But her book &ndash; part memoir of her own downward spiral and eventual recovery through treatment, and part journalistic investigation into why women are drinking more and how it is affecting them &ndash; looks beyond women&rsquo;s changing societal roles to other potential explanations for the escalation in women&rsquo;s drinking, including an alcohol industry that specifically targets them.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		According to Dowsett Johnston, the spirits industry was in a slump in the 1990s. &ldquo;They looked at who was underperforming around the world, and it was women,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;So they aimed at women and it paid off.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Along came alcopops, fruit-flavoured spirits drinks and cleverly named concoctions. Combine more stressful lives with aggressive marketing, and you have a recipe for disaster.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		In Dowsett Johnston&rsquo;s case, alcohol was also a way of dealing with depression and anxiety. And given the higher incidence of depression in women, she feels women are more vulnerable to self-medicate with alcohol. &ldquo;The women who have trouble with alcohol tend to isolate, tend to drink alone,&rdquo; she says.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		Though much of this was familiar ground for Dowsett Johnston, researching the book brought surprises.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;The scope of the health ramifications &ndash; that was surprising to me,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;Deaths from alcohol are roughly 20 years earlier than those from smoking. I wouldn&rsquo;t have guessed that. So our education on our favourite drug is really slim.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		The book, she says, is an attempt to start a conversation about the health consequences of the rise in drinking among women. She points out it affects not just those who end up dependent, but those who &ldquo;just on occasion drink too much&rdquo;.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		She wants to talk about binge drinkingand about the health risks that pertain specifically to women. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not talking about the breast cancer connection. We&rsquo;re not talking about the 50 diseases that are highly connected to drinking, and we&rsquo;re certainly not talking about female vulnerability [to alcohol] being very different from male vulnerability,&rdquo; she says.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t metabolise alcohol the same way as men . . . We don&rsquo;t have the same enzymes in our stomach. It is a different substance for a female body.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		So what is the message she wants readers to take from a book that makes drinking look anything but fun? &ldquo;The takeaway is to be self-aware, to be aware of your own vulnerabilities and your own actions. Have a healthy respect for what you&rsquo;re putting down your throat . . . This is a delicious entity but it deserves our respect. It is a drug.&rdquo;</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<br />\r\n		<em>Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol</em>&nbsp;is published by Fourth Estate<br />\r\n		<br />\r\n		<strong>From the book: Biology and booze</strong><br />\r\n		<font face=\"ZapfDingbats\">l</font>&nbsp;Excessive drinking is the third leading preventable cause of death in the United States. Of the 23,000 [female deaths each year] more than half are related to binge drinking.&nbsp;<br />\r\n		<font face=\"ZapfDingbats\">l</font>&nbsp;Binge drinking increases the risk of breast cancer, heart disease and sexually transmitted diseases.<br />\r\n		<font face=\"ZapfDingbats\">l</font>&nbsp;Women who consume four or more alcoholic beverages a day quadruple their risk of dying from heart disease.&nbsp;<br />\r\n		<font face=\"ZapfDingbats\">l</font>&nbsp;Heavy drinkers of both genders run the risk of a fatal haemorrhagic stroke, but the odds are five times higher for women.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<font face=\"ZapfDingbats\">l</font>&nbsp;Women have a lower level of a key metabolising enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase, which helps the body break down and eliminate alcohol. As a result, a larger proportion of what women drink enters the bloodstream.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<font face=\"ZapfDingbats\">l</font>&nbsp;Cognitive defects and liver disease occur earlier in women, with significantly shorter exposure to alcohol.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<font face=\"ZapfDingbats\">l</font>&nbsp;Alcohol-dependent women are 4.6 times as likely to cut their lives short. On average, [they]die 20 years earlier than those who are not dependent on alcohol.</p>\r\n	<p class=\"no_name\" style=\"margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 1.5em; color: rgb(81, 81, 81); font-family: Georgia, \'Times New Roman\', Times, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;\">\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/i-m-the-poster-child-of-the-new-alcoholic-woman-1.1545257?page=1\">http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/i-m-the-poster-child-of-the-new-alcoholic-woman-1.1545257?page=1</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2013-10-01 10:19:39',NULL,'‘i’m-the-poster-child-of-the-new-alcoholic-woman’'),