(1558,'Gardaí want training for mental illness cases','<p>\r\n	Frontline garda&iacute; want more training to help deal with people who are distressed or who have mental health issues.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The call comes after a Garda Ombudsman report highlighted cases of death or serious injury of people where serious mental health matters played a role.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There is a need for further training amongst our members as we often have to deal with members of the public who are in distress or who are dealing with mental health issues,&rdquo; said Ciaran O&rsquo;Neill, president of the Garda Representative Association.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Further training would ensure members deal with the public in a sensitive and informed manner.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In one case reported by the Ombudsman, garda&iacute; arrested a man from the family home after he became very aggressive. They gave him a cursory body search and placed him in a Garda van. He was not handcuffed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When garda&iacute; got back to the station, they discovered the man had slit his wrists with a knife. Trained garda&iacute; treated him and he was taken to hospital and recovered.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Ombudsman criticised the garda&iacute; for not handcuffing the man, given the circumstances.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It recommended the garda&iacute; receive informal advice in respect of handcuffing a detainee and that members in general be apprised of garda policies in respect of search following arrest.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a second case, garda&iacute; were called to a house where a man was causing a disturbance. They arrested him under the Mental Health Act 2001 and put him in the back of a Garda van. A short time later the man was found unconscious. Medical attention was sought and he responded, but when he was taken to hospital he died.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He died from cardiac failure due to Excited Delirium Syndrome. The ombudsman said the garda&iacute; were fully justified in arresting him.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a third case, garda&iacute; stopped a car and, on discovering it had no tax, informed the driver that they were seizing his vehicle.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When they asked him to step out, he walked to a nearby bridge and jumped over, into a river. The garda&iacute; tried to rescue him, but he was washed away and died.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The ombudsman discovered the man had a history of mental illness and that garda&iacute; could not have predicted his actions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr O&rsquo;Neill said: &ldquo;The job of being a garda is unpredictable and our members can face a number of difficult situations every day, which makes it impossible to train for every eventuality.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The impact of dealing with demanding cases also has an effect on our members.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A Garda spokesman said part of a module for garda recruits covered mental illness, garda powers and procedures, and transportation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There is also a half-day training on suicide alertness and a two-day Asist suicide prevention programme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 3rd August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/gardai-want-training-for-mental-illness-cases-413839.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/gardai-want-training-for-mental-illness-cases-413839.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-03 08:29:49',NULL,'gardaã­-want-training-for-mental-illness-cases'),(1559,'‘Grace’ report to be delayed again','<p>\r\n	The report into allegations of sex abuse against an intellectually disabled girl at a Waterford foster home will now not be handed into Government until the end of August.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report is to be basis of a pending Commission of Inquiry into the foster home, and is to lay out suggested terms of reference.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The allegations refer to a girl &mdash; who has come to be known as Grace &mdash; who was in the home until 2009, almost 14 years after allegations of abuse against children were raised.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report was originally due back in June but it has been delayed several times.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The decision by the previous government to establish a Commission came following a series of reports in the Irish Examiner earlier this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Minister of state with responsibility for disabilities, Finian McGrath, is to announce an extension today, the Irish Examiner believes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr McGrath is to indicate that he expects to receive the completed report by Conor Dignam SC into matters related to disability foster care in the South-East by the end of August.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Dignam had previously advised his work would be concluded in early August.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr McGrath, who has described some of the allegations as shocking, is keen to present the report and the terms of reference to Cabinet at the earliest opportunity in September.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On foot of the request, Mr McGrath is to state that a short additional amount of time has been agreed with Mr Dignam at his request to allow him to take account of some final details.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Among the subjects which Mr Dignam will address in his review is the identification of matters which will assist in framing the terms of reference for the proposed Commission of Investigation into the care of individuals with a disability in the Waterford foster home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr McGrath was happy to accede to the request to extend the deadline but he has made it known he wants progress made quickly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Earlier this year, the Irish Examiner revealed how the foster father of Grace directly lobbied Michael Noonan when he was minister for health, claiming she was in a &ldquo;happy and secure&rdquo; home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The letter was sent following a decision by health officials to remove her, amid concerns about alleged sexual abuse of minors at the home in 1996.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Documents showed how the foster family, in a breach of the rules, sought Mr Noonan to intervene to keep Grace &mdash; an intellectually disabled minor &mdash; in the home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Crucially, a letter from Mr Noonan&rsquo;s private secretary confirms that, on foot of the foster father&rsquo;s request, Grace&rsquo;s removal from the foster home was delayed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The minister understands that the health board, at your request, agreed not to remove &lsquo;Grace&rsquo; until the end of the summer period,&rdquo; the letter from Mr Noonan&rsquo;s secretary states.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The delay followed a request for an update report from Mr Noonan&rsquo;s department to the health board.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, in his letter to Mr Noonan, the foster father paints a picture of serenity in terms of Grace&rsquo;s care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;At present, she resides in a family home, enjoys a happy and secure life, goes to the seaside, shopping and out for a meal and gets individual treatment for her special needs,&rdquo; he wrote.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 4th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/grace-report-to-be-delayed-again-414020.html?google_editors_picks=true\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/grace-report-to-be-delayed-again-414020.html?google_editors_picks=true</a></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-04 09:43:51',NULL,'‘grace’-report-to-be-delayed-again'),(1560,'Preschools issue warning over free childcare scheme ','<p>\r\n	Childcare centres say they are not ready for the extension of the free preschool year</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Preschools have warned that many of them may not be ready to provide the additional free childcare places required under Government plans due to capacity and recruitment challenges.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	From next month, the scheme providing free preschool for children in the year before they enter primary school will expand.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children will now be eligible to start free preschool when they reach the age of three and continue to avail of free preschool until they start primary school - as long as the child is not older than five years and six months at the end of the preschool year in June.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The extension poses a major challenge for the sector, which must almost double the number of childcare places from about 67,000 to 127,000 over the coming months.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Teresa Heeney of Early Childhood Ireland (ECI), the main representative body for preschools, said she expects shortages in places in many urban areas where there has been rapid population growth.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is a huge jump and it&rsquo;s an enormous national policy which the Government is trying to deliver for relatively little money,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There is no strategic plan to ensure there are enough places to deliver on the expansion. We warned about this last year and it is still the case.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One of the biggest challenges, she said, is the new &ldquo;rolling enrolment&rdquo; system, which means children can enter pre-school during September, January or April, depending on when they turn three.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There is real uncertainty among providers over what the demand will be for those places in January or April,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Many services cannot afford to keep places on hold for children so it remains to be seen how it will work out.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said there was also a danger that the expanded scheme could &ldquo;cannibalise&rdquo; paid-for places for younger children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokesman for Minister for Children Katherine Zappone said she was consulting closely with county childcare committees, childcare groups and others to ensure the readiness of preschools to accommodate the additional children due this September.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;She is committed to working with providers to help tackle any challenges that arise,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said the Minister secured a significant increase in capital funding for more than 1,000 childcare providers to help them expand their premises in recent times.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	These grants are worth up to &euro;10,000 individually and amount to &euro;6.5 million in total.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Demographics</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Detailed demographic estimates were also provided to county childcare committees earlier this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	These estimates provide information on the number of children eligible for the scheme in each electoral division.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This data indicates that almost 90,000 children will be eligible to enrol in the programme from next month.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This is projected to rise by an additional 22,000 in January and a further 15,500 from April 2017.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The extension to the preschool year is estimated to cost about &euro;45 million this year, rising to about &euro;85 million over a full year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is estimated to be worth an average of &euro;1,500 for the parents of young children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 8th August 2016)</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-08 09:13:45',NULL,'preschools-issue-warning-over-free-childcare-scheme'),(1561,'Removing public payphones would \'cause chaos\' for Ireland\'s most vulnerable people','<p>\r\n	A number of groups have warned the removal of public payphones could significantly impact on people who use them to call freephone numbers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A number of &nbsp;groups have warned that removing public payphones could significantly impact on some of the country&rsquo;s most vulnerable people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The energy regulator Comreg, recently rejected calls by service provider Eir, to remove its service obligations in relation to the provision of public payphones. Currently, the company can only remove a payphone if it falls below the usage threshold of one minute a day over a six month period or if it is the focus of anti-social behaviour.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A number of submissions to Comreg referenced examples of this kind of behaviour like people urinating in phone boxes as well as smoking and taking drugs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However the regulator pointed out in its decision that the phones are used by &ldquo;the most vulnerable people in society&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&lsquo;Chaos&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Between July 2014 and December 2015, more than half of the calls from payphones were to freephone numbers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Anthony Flynn of Inner City Helping Homeless, told The Journal.ie that a large proportion of Dublin&rsquo;s homeless population use the payphones to make calls arranging a bed for the night in a hostel.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If the payphone system is gone, how are they going to be able to access the freephone system. We know from the outreach services that the payphone is the point of contact for people. Even if they have a mobile phone, it could be gone dead or been stolen.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It would be chaos in regard to people being able to access the freephone system and there&rsquo;d be a surge in people sleeping on the streets because of it,&rdquo; he explained, adding that he has heard of clients &ldquo;on the phone four to six hours a day trying to access a bed&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Almost one third of the freephone calls were to helplines and domestic violence charity Women&rsquo;s Aid made a submission to the energy regulator to emphasise the importance of public payphones for its service users.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&lsquo;Their freedom is restricted&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Director Margaret Martin said there are a number of reasons why a domestic abuse victim may use a payphone. Some cannot afford to have their own mobile phone, like homeless women or those asylum seekers living in direct provision.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Most of us who have a mobile phone see it as a sort of necessity, but for an awful lot of people, it&rsquo;s a luxury and it&rsquo;s out of reach,&rdquo; she told TheJournal.ie. &ldquo;Some of the women calling would be low on credit and refuges often want to speak to a woman directly, but we sometimes have to make the call for her because she won&rsquo;t have the credit.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Because isolation is a big factor in domestic abuse, some victims may have had their mobile phones taken from them by their abusers and their access to money restricted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Their freedom is very restricted too. We know on the helpline women don&rsquo;t always get to finish the call. Sometimes it&rsquo;ll end abruptly, she&rsquo;ll say: &lsquo;I hear the key in the door&rsquo; and the call ends.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A public payphone can be a safe place for a woman to make the call.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a public submission to Comreg, a Darren Hennessy pointed out that &ldquo;too many people can&rsquo;t afford mobile/regular contracts&rdquo; and this could cause a problem in cases of emergencies.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He also raised concerns about the ability of victims or witnesses of crimes and tourists to use public payphones &ndash; particularly if their mobile phones have been stolen.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Comreg has decided there will be no change to the current regime for usage thresholds for the removal of payphones but Eir can continue to remove them if they fall below the set usage levels.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Women&rsquo;s Aid helpline number is 1800 341 900. It is free and open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by TheJournal.ie on the 8th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/payphones-2911847-Aug2016/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/payphones-2911847-Aug2016/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-08 10:07:09',NULL,'removing-public-payphones-would-cause-chaos-for-irelands-most-vulnerable-people'),(1562,'Parents urged not to bring children to Temple Street due to power outage','<p>\r\n	Parents have been urged not to bring their children to Temple Street Children&rsquo;s University Hospital today as it has experienced a significant issue with its power supply.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The hospital is currently working off the hospital generator and is &ldquo;off call&rdquo; for ambulances.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Five patients who were in the Temple Street paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) have been transferred to Our Lady&rsquo;s Children&rsquo;s Hospital Crumlin accompanied by Temple Street PICU staff.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Medical staff will also transfer to Crumlin as required.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	All scheduled surgeries in Temple Street and all elective x-rays have been postponed today.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	All other current in-patients in the hospital are stable and can be cared for within existing resources.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Crumlin, Tallaght, the Mater, Beaumont have been alerted and will accept transfers as required.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Technical and engineering services in the Mater have also been contacted and have offered support.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 4th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/parents-urged-not-to-bring-children-to-temple-street-due-to-power-outage-34938321.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/parents-urged-not-to-bring-children-to-temple-street-due-to-power-outage-34938321.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-04 09:47:09',NULL,'parents-urged-not-to-bring-children-to-temple-street-due-to-power-outage'),(1563,'Early bedtime for toddlers helps fight obesity','<p>\r\n	Earlier bedtimes for toddlers leads to lower numbers of obese teenagers, a sleep expert has claimed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Putting children to bed early, not only staves off crankiness but it also prevents preschoolers becoming teens with unhealthy weights.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	And the first study on the issue backs up on sleep times, and obesity backs up what Irish paediatric sleep expert Lucy Wolf, of the Sleep Clinic, sees on a daily basis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The US study of early child care and youth development had examined the relationship between toddlers&rsquo; bedtime and obesity in adolescence of 977 four-and-a-half-year-old children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Associate professor of epidemiology at Ohio State University and author of the study from the Journal of Pediatrics, Sarah Anderson, found an association emerged between earlier bedtimes for children and healthier weight at the age of 15.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Guidelines recommend toddlers receive nine-and-a-half to 11-and-a-half hours of sleep nightly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Later bedtimes were related to increased risk of obesity. Only 10% of children who went to bed at 8pm or earlier were obese.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Significantly, 16% of children who went to bed between 8pm-9pm were obese, while 23% of children who went to bed at 9pm and later were obese.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This was the same for both boys and girls. While bedtime does not represent how much sleep children get, experts believe the earlier children go to bed, the more likely they are to get extra sleep.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Wolf explained: &ldquo;This recent study is helpful for parents so start to link up the health benefits of good sleep practices.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Earlier bedtimes are protective against obesity.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;As a practitioner I am always promoting the importance of early and regular bedtimes, as we know that this activity lays a solid foundation of better and longer sleep duration.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We also know that there is a relationship between appetite and sleep-with lost sleep disrupting the chemicals in the body that regulate appetite and metabolism.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I see first hand when the young child&rsquo;s sleep is improved the knock-on effect is improved appetite as well as behaviour. Now we can see both together having a positive impact on our teenagers weight. We also know that the loss of one hour can have a direct impact on mood and behaviour and academic performance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is great to help parents become informed and to continue to prioritise their young children&rsquo;s sleep now in an effort to ensure that they will be at their optimum in early childhood and beyond.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 8th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/early-bedtime-for-toddlers-helps-fight-obesity-414638.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/early-bedtime-for-toddlers-helps-fight-obesity-414638.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-08 10:27:42',NULL,'early-bedtime-for-toddlers-helps-fight-obesity'),(1564,'Judge: Enforce law on bogus marriage','<p>\r\n	A High Court judge yesterday urged the State to step up measures to end sham marriages by people resisting deportation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A person&rsquo;s unlawful presence in the State cannot be converted into lawful status merely by a ceremony of marriage, said Mr Justice Richard Humphreys.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He wants the Government and other authorities to &ldquo;prevent, root out, and revoke bogus marriages&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	His comments came as he deported a 45-year-old Algerian man involved in a marriage of convenience to a Hungarian national.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The man had been refused asylum by the Refugee Applications Commissioner after his arrival in Ireland 15 years ago.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The judge said that, five months after a deportation order had been made against the Algerian man in 2004, &ldquo;we have the wearyingly predictable feature of his marriage to a young Hungarian woman&rdquo;, who left Ireland four years later and with whom he had had no contact since. There had been no children from the marriage.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a separate case, Judge Humphreys dismissed an asylum appeal in which a Nigerian woman given a right of residence in Ireland had &ldquo;married&rdquo; a Nigerian man against whom there was a deportation order.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The judge said it was up to the woman, who had lived in Ireland for the past 16 years, to decide if she wished to join her now-deported husband in Nigeria.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She was now an Irish citizen and had a job, he said, and it was up to her to decide whether she valued the congeniality of living in Ireland more than that of living with her husband.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Humphreys said the State had an entitlement to give effect to the immigration control system and the courts should only intervene if the decision of the Minister for Justice was clearly unlawful.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Who is running Ireland&rsquo;s immigration system? Is it the minister or the courts?&rdquo; asked Judge Humphreys. &ldquo;To quash an immigration decision on the grounds that insufficient compelling reasons have been furnished to override rights of a person married to an Irish citizen is not very far short of telling the minister to grant the applicant concerned permission to be in the State.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Humphreys said he did not accept that the minister required &ldquo;compelling justification&rdquo; to separate a party to a marriage of convenience from the other party. No rational system could tolerate such a requirement, he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meanwhile, a continuing garda operation has led to a significant fall in the number of bogus marriages by people resisting deportation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Bogus marriages have become a multi-million-euro fraud operation. The Operation Vantage investigation is targeting a number of criminal networks in Ireland and the UK engaged in the facilitation of marriages of convenience by providing false information and documentation to marriage registrars.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garda&iacute; say a large number of men from the Indian subcontinent, in particular, are trying to get married in Ireland to women from eastern Europe with EU citizen status.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The operation, which commenced a year ago has, to date, brought about 58 arrests on offences relating to illegal immigration and marriages of convenience.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Since the inception of the operation, under the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2004, garda&iacute; said a notable decrease of notifications of intention to marry have been received between EU and non-EU persons compared with previous years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The multi-agency investigation also involves the Revenue Commissioners, the Immigration Service, the Department of Social Welfare, the Director of Corporate Enforcement, and the Workplace Relations Commission.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 9th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/judge-enforce-law-on-bogus-marriage-414849.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/judge-enforce-law-on-bogus-marriage-414849.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-09 09:20:41',NULL,'judge-enforce-law-on-bogus-marriage'),(1565,'Majority of callers to Bodywhys were aged 36 and over','<p>\r\n	The majority of people who made calls to Bodywhys, the eating disorders association of Ireland, in 2015 were aged 36 and over.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Furthermore, 46% of callers to the association reported living with their eating disorder for 10 years or more.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Overall, Bodywhys recorded a 10% increase in people using their support services and, with the advent of technology, saw a 48% rise in people reaching out for support via email.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The figures are revealed in the association&rsquo;s 2015 annual report, published yesterday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I think people are more confident to speak out. It&rsquo;s also easier to access information nowadays and you see that with our email support service,&rdquo; said Harriet Parsons, psychotherapist and services manager for Bodywhys.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said the report shows eating disorders do not discriminate on grounds of age.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In 2015, there has been a 9% increase in people aged 36-55 and an 8% increase in people aged over 56 years of age,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;This means that the majority of calls taken in 2015 concerned someone aged over 36 years old.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This is yet more evidence to challenge the myth that an eating disorder is a &lsquo;teenage issue&rsquo;.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Parsons said she does not think the rise in age is simply due to the fact it took longer for certain people to seek help.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t rule out that it is people who are developing an eating disorder at that age,&rdquo; Ms Parsons told the Irish Examiner.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In terms of the gender profile of who sought support from Bodywhys, the psychotherapist said the figures do not reflect a real breakdown.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In terms of males and females, around 10% of people with eating disorders who contact us are male and that&rsquo;s consistent but people reckon it&rsquo;s around 25% and with binge eating disorder it&rsquo;s around 50/50 [between males and females],&rdquo; said Ms Parsons.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She added that binge eating disorder is one of the most prevalent eating disorders in society but people are less likely to seek help for it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;With binge eating disorder, there&rsquo;s an issue around acceptance of it as an actual eating disorder,&rdquo; said Ms Parsons. &ldquo;This is despite the fact that it has its own category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s often approached from a diet and exercise point of view but you would never take this approach with anorexia. People with binge eating disorder get caught up in the diet culture.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Obesity in itself is a health issue. A portion of people who fall into the obese category of weight actually have a binge eating disorder and are already trapped in a cycle where a diet is a trigger, and dieting is part of that binge eating cycle.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.bodywhys.ie or 1800 902 406.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 9th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/majority-of-callers-to-bodywhys-were-aged-36-and-over-414816.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/majority-of-callers-to-bodywhys-were-aged-36-and-over-414816.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-09 09:22:22',NULL,'majority-of-callers-to-bodywhys-were-aged-36-and-over'),(1566,'Homeless mum calls for welfare rules change to allow her to study','<p>\r\n	A homeless mum has appealed to Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar to change rules that bar her from getting a support payment that would help her secure a brighter future for herself and her daughter.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Erica Fleming has been living in a hotel with daughter Emily for the last 14 months. Their story was told on the My Homeless Family programme on RT&Eacute; TV last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, after getting the news in May that she had been accepted onto the Trinity Access Programme at Trinity College Dublin, Ms Fleming is now devastated to learn she will not get the welfare payment that would have supported her while she studied.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I work from eight to two, that&rsquo;s college time, so I can&rsquo;t go to college and live on air. I have to be able to feed my child,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fleming told the Ryan Tubridy Show on RT&Eacute; Radio One about her upset at not being able to pave a way out of dependency on social welfare assistance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;My plan was to break the mould with Emily and get her into college. I never thought that it was going to happen to me,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, she received a letter from the Department of Social Protection last week explaining that the Family Income Supplement (FIS) to which she was switched last year is not a qualifying payment for the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) that she had applied for. The move to a different payment was a result of changes from 2013 that moved many lone parents off the One-Parent Family Payment, which is one of more than a dozen that an applicant must be receiving to qualify for the BTEA.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;As a lone parent, I want to be able to make more money so I don&rsquo;t have to rely on anybody,&rdquo; said Ms Fleming. &ldquo;I want to be able to stand on may own two feet.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;So by them investing in me now, or another lone parent in the same situation, they are going to reap the benefits because when I do eventually get a degree, we&rsquo;re going to get better jobs which we&rsquo;ll therefore pay more tax so they will get it back off us.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Appealing directly to Mr Varadkar, she asked him to look at the policy, saying it prevents lone parents from going to third level.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I&rsquo;m asking him to change it for everybody, not just for me; to look at it and see the logic of sending us back to third-level education to give us that opportunity to prove that we can get out of poverty,&rdquo; said Ms Fleming. That&rsquo;s what I&rsquo;m asking him and I&rsquo;m asking him to do it today.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Department of Social Protection said it does not comment on individual cases. However, a spokeswoman said State support for third-level education continues to be available for lone parents who transition to FIS when their youngest child turns seven and this has not changed as a result of the reforms to the One-Parent Family Payment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The mechanism for providing this support for lone parents who move to FIS is the SUSI grant,&rdquo; said the spokeswoman. &ldquo;This option potentially provides a higher level of support than would be provided on BTEA and at minimum provides the same support so on that basis there has been no effective change for lone parents in this regard.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, it is understood that students on the programme to which Ms Fleming has been accepted are not eligible for college grants from SUSI which are available to those on other third-level programmes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 9th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/homeless-mum-calls-for-welfare-rules-change-to-allow-her-to-study-414847.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/homeless-mum-calls-for-welfare-rules-change-to-allow-her-to-study-414847.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-09 09:24:02',NULL,'homeless-mum-calls-for-welfare-rules-change-to-allow-her-to-study'),(1567,'Children held at Australian camp allegedly suffer assaults, sexual abuse','<p>\r\n	More than 2,000 incidents, including sexual abuse, assault and attempted self-harm, were reported in about two years at an Australian detention centre for asylum seekers in Nauru, more than half involving children, a newspaper has reported.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Leaked documents published by the Guardian Australia detail again the level of abuse at the centre on tiny Nauru, one of two run by Australia on neighbouring South Pacific islands, and show once more that children bear the brunt of the trauma.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The closely protected camps, and Australia&#39;s hard-line immigration policy against illegal boat arrivals, have been widely criticised by the United Nations and human rights groups.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under Australia&#39;s policy, asylum seekers intercepted at sea are sent to Nauru and another camp on Manus Island, in Papua New Guinea, and told they will never be settled in Australia.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The number of refugees and asylum seekers trying to reach Australia is tiny compared with Europe, but immigration has long been an emotive issue in Australia and the hardline immigration has bipartisan political support.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Australia said it was seeking to confirm all reports had been dealt with by Nauru police.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It&#39;s important to note many of these incident reports reflect unconfirmed allegations,&quot; a spokeswoman for Australia&#39;s Department of Immigration said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The more than 2,000 leaked incident reports published by the Guardian cover the period between August 2013 and October 2015.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children account for less than 20% of the roughly 500 detainees held on Nauru.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The were 59 reports of assaults on children in the period, and seven reports of sexual assaults.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some of the reports alleged abuse by guards against children, while there other reports of sexual advances by unknown men.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The reports also show there were 30 incidents of self-harm among children and 159 of threatened self-harm involving minors.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The remaining reports involving children cover a variety of issues, ranging from accidents to misbehaviour.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One of the leaked incident reports said a child had &quot;written in her book that she was tired, doesn&#39;t like the camp and wants to die ... &#39;I want death, I need death&#39;&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Refugee advocates said the leaked reports show the urgent need to end Australia&#39;s offshore detention policy and that asylum seekers must be given medical and psychological support.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It is clear from these documents, and our own research,that many have been driven to the brink of physical or mental breakdown by their treatment on Nauru,&quot; said Anna Neistat, senior director for research at Amnesty International.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by RTE.ie on the 10th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0810/808147-australia-asylum-abuse/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0810/808147-australia-asylum-abuse/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-10 08:20:15',NULL,'children-held-at-australian-camp-allegedly-suffer-assaults-sexual-abuse'),(1568,'Bereaved parents to benefit from new care standards','<p>\r\n	Parents whose child has died during pregnancy or before reaching full term are set to benefit from crucial new national standards in the wake of a series of scandals in the system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Health Minister Simon Harris and HSE director general Tony O&rsquo;Brien will launch the new &ldquo;standards for bereavement care following pregnancy loss and perinatal death&rdquo; at an event this morning in a bid to address a lack of uniformity in how families affected by the personal tragedies are treated by hospitals.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under the current system, hospitals provide varying degrees of bereavement counselling to an estimated 14,500 grieving parents who have suffered a stillbirth or seen their child days moments after pregnancy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, under the new initiative, national standards will be introduced to ensure all parents affected get identical care including those who have been affected by a fatal foetal abnormality or who have travelled abroad for an abortion. The new standards have been devised in the wake of pregnancy tragedies, including last year&rsquo;s Portlaoise Hospital crisis and the case taken by Amanda Mellet to the UN committee on human rights.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the Portlaoise, Co Laois, cases a number of women complained of how they were treated after losing a baby, including one woman who was handed her child&rsquo;s remains in a shoebox.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Mellet case involved a woman who travelled to Britain to terminate her pregnancy due to a fatal foetal abnormality. After returning to Ireland, Ms Mellet sought bereavement counselling from the Rotunda Hospital but was refused. A UN report found the Irish woman had been subjected to discriminatory, cruel, and degrading treatment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 10th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/bereaved-parents-to-benefit-from-new-care-standards-415024.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/bereaved-parents-to-benefit-from-new-care-standards-415024.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-10 08:22:24',NULL,'bereaved-parents-to-benefit-from-new-care-standards'),(1569,'Ireland relocated just one child refugee in last month','<p>\r\n	Ireland assisted in the relocation of just one refugee classed as an &ldquo;unaccompanied minor&rdquo;, from Greece between June 14 and July 11 of this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This is according to the latest relocation and resettlement report from the EU Commission.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ireland signed up to the EU refugee relocation plan last year, aimed at giving international protection to people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The pace of relocation of unaccompanied minors remains extremely slow. Since June 14, only six unaccompanied minors have been relocated from Greece (five to Finland and one to Ireland) bringing the total number of unaccompanied minors relocated to 29.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Only a few member states are willing to accept relocation transfers of unaccompanied minors, and the places offered continue to be insufficient to relocate all the unaccompanied minors who are eligible,&rdquo; reads the report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Separately to minors, a total of 28 people were relocated to Ireland from Greece, under the plan between June 14 and July 11.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While large numbers of Syrians are fleeing to Italy and Greece to seek asylum both there and elsewhere, people from the Central African Republic, Eritrea, the Seychelles, Dominica, Bahrain, Laos, and Saudi Arabia are also eligible for relocation under the EU agreement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to the report, 3,169 unaccompanied minors arrived in Italy between June 1 and 30. This included approximately 500 Eritreans and a small number of Iraqis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, it is not possible for the EU Commission to confirm how many minors of similar status arrived in Greece.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In Greece, although it is not possible to know the number of arrivals of unaccompanied minors during the same period, the National Centre for Social Solidarity (EKKA) reports that 2,390 unaccompanied minors have been referred to EKKA for accommodation since the beginning of 2016, including 531 are accommodated in dedicated facilities and 911 are waiting to be accommodated,&rdquo; states the report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Irish Refugee Council (IRC) told the Irish Examiner that a simple way for the Government to assist in the humanitarian crisis is to step-up their efforts to relocate unaccompanied minors.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There are a large number of young people in Greece without a parent or a guardian.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The Government should consider looking at the situation for young unaccompanied minors and look at relocating some here,&rdquo; said Caroline Reid, communications officer of the IRC.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Reid also said that the IRC receives calls from Irish families stating their willingness to foster unaccompanied minors seeking reloc- ation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We get a lot of approved foster care families contacting us saying they&rsquo;re more than happy to open up their home and care for these young people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a simple thing for the Government to do,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Refugee process</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Government, in response to the migration crisis in Europe, established the Irish Refugee Protection Programme in September 2015.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The programme is aimed at providing a &ldquo;safe haven&rdquo; for people seeking international protection.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A network of Emergency Reception and Orientation Centres were established as part of this programme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	These centres provide the initial reception area for those arriving under the EU relocation and resettlement programmes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	People arriving in Ireland, as part of the resettlement programme, will already have been selected under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees resettlement programme and granted refugee status.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, people arriving here as part of the relocation programme do not have their status determined.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is up to the Department of Justice to process their claims for international protection.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	People in both programmes, are initially given accommodation in a centre.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Residents receive full-board, meals, and other services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to the Department of Social Protection, a person awaiting a decision on their status will receive a weekly allowance for personal incidental expenditure on the same basis as the direct provision allowance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A person arriving here under the resettlement programme, is expected to remain in the residential centre for eight to 12 weeks after their arrival.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This gives them time to rest and adjust to their new environment and to learn about Irish life and culture. It is also a time of recovery,&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	reads a statement on the process from the Department of Justice.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Refugees in the resettlement programme are also linked to local service providers and have time to visit a GP.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Furthermore, an orientation and language training programme is provided for adults, from 18-years and up, for a period of six to eight weeks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Then children under the age of 18, take part in an induction programme to get them ready for entry into mainstream education.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	People in the resettlement programme, once resettled in the community, are given a full language and training programme by the Education and Training Board for up to 20 hours per week for a period of one year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Childcare is provided to ensure full participation by both parents in the training programme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&mdash; Joyce Fegan</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 10th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/ireland-relocated-just-one-child-refugee-in-last-month-414997.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/ireland-relocated-just-one-child-refugee-in-last-month-414997.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-10 08:24:36',NULL,'ireland-relocated-just-one-child-refugee-in-last-month'),(1570,'Italy to consider law against vegan diets for children','<p>\r\n	Parents will face up to four years in jail for enforcing veganism if legislation passes</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If politician Elvira Savino has her way, Italian parents who insist on a vegan diet for their children will risk up to four years in jail.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Savino, from the conservative Forza Italia party, has put forward a law that would hold parents legally responsible if they feed their children &ldquo;a diet devoid of elements essential for healthy and balanced growth&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I have nothing against vegans or veganism, as long as it is a free choice by adults,&rdquo; she told Reuters in a telephone interview on Wednesday, days after she presented the proposed law in the lower house Chamber of Deputies.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I just find it absurd that some parents are allowed to impose their will on children in an almost fanatical, religious way, often without proper scientific knowledge or medical consultation,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Do-it-yourself on these matters terrorises me.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some paediatricians advise against feeding children on a vegan diet, saying that it can lack sufficient nutrition.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish, or poultry, but vegans also do not eat animal products such as eggs and dairy foods.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The law proposes jail sentences of a year for raising a child on a vegan diet, jail sentences of up to four years if the child develops a permanent health problem due to the diet and up to seven years if the child dies.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The law would apply to children under 16 and the penalties would increase by a year if the child is under the age of three.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Savino (39), who has a seven-year-old son and who eats meat &ldquo;but not too much&rdquo;, said she proposed the law after being shocked by several recent incidents in Italy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Court cases</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last month in the northern city of Milan, doctors determined that a one-year-old boy who was taken to a hospital had the weight of a three-month-old because of his vegan diet.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In 2015, an Italian court ordered a divorced mother to stop raising her 12-year-old son on a vegan diet after the boy&rsquo;s father filed a complaint that it was stunting his growth.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If even only one child ends up in a hospital because of this behaviour, I feel we have to protect them all,&rdquo; said Ms Savino, noting that she believes paediatricians should be obliged to report vegan parents to authorities in the same manner as if they noticed signs of physical abuse on a child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The draft will be discussed by parliamentary committees before it goes to the floor for debate. That is expected this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 10th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/italy-to-consider-law-against-vegan-diets-for-children-1.2751852\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/italy-to-consider-law-against-vegan-diets-for-children-1.2751852</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-11 08:26:20',NULL,'italy-to-consider-law-against-vegan-diets-for-children'),(1571,'Shocking cases of parents abused by adult children as they return to family home','<p>\r\n	Elderly parents are being forced to take out protection orders against their adult children as they return to the family home, according to a campaign group.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Age Action revealed the worrying development as two shocking cases emerged in court.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The charity also said that the incidences of elder abuse by children seems to be increasing since the recession but it is difficult to know how often it happens because not all cases end up in the justice system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Two cases came before Naas District Court last week when two mothers turned to the court to protect them from their abusive offspring.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In one case, a young man threatened to throw his mother down the stairs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In another case, an elderly woman told the court that her adult daughter and her partner had physically destroyed her home several times.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	CEO of Age Action Eamon Timmins said elder abuse appeared to be on the rise since the recession, yet it remained severely under-reported.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The biggest issue we have is that older people put up with it,&rdquo; he told The Herald. They do not want to go to court or to involve their children in the legal process, he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The issue of elderly people fighting back and going to the courts to protect themselves from their children was raised at a recent Age Action workshop in Bray, Co Wicklow.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s good that people are taking out protection orders,&rdquo; Mr Timmins said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Obviously having orders is an option for them.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Physical abuse of an elderly parent is increasingly being perpetrated by adult children &ndash; predominantly men &ndash; who typically have been thrown out of their own homes by their partners according to Mr Timmins.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When they return to the family home to live with their parents, they abuse the very people who are there to support them, he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In other cases, adult children who have lost their homes due to unemployment or other factors will also turn on their parents once they return home, he said. Sadly, such cases are much more commonplace than people realise, he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;What is seen before the court is really just the tip of the iceberg,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Gardai are only involved in a tiny minority of cases.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Older people often never see the inside of a courtroom and have a fear of getting people from outside the home involved,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 11th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/shocking-cases-of-parents-abused-by-adult-children-as-they-return-to-family-home-34956712.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/shocking-cases-of-parents-abused-by-adult-children-as-they-return-to-family-home-34956712.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-11 08:29:28',NULL,'shocking-cases-of-parents-abused-by-adult-children-as-they-return-to-family-home'),(1572,'Specialist counselling offered to mothers and families over child bereavement','<p>\r\n	Specialist counselling is to be offered to the near 20,000 women and their partners and families who suffer miscarriage, perinatal death, fatal foetal abnormality, termination or who travel for an abortion each year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under a new support system every hospital and maternity unit must offer every grieving mother a meeting with a midwife dedicated to helping them deal with the bereavement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Claire Cullen-Delsol, spokeswoman for the Termination for Medical Reasons Group, said up until now families were getting lost in a lottery-like system of care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The 31-year-old&#39;s baby daughter Alex died 26 weeks into the pregnancy and was still born after the 20 week scan showed she had Trisomy 13, or Patau syndrome, and would not survive.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It reads like this will make life much more bearable for us,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;This is the thing that&#39;s going to help get through this, as long as it&#39;s resourced. If a woman gets that news there needs to be an immediate action plan.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The main message is that the loss of a child effects a huge number of people. It&#39;s not just the parents - the mother is obviously hugely affected, but it&#39;s the siblings, the parents, brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles. The ripple effect is just devastating.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;As far as bereavement care and counselling is concerned it is all a lottery. It depends where you are.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In Ireland about 14,000 women suffer miscarriage each year, another 500 perinatal deaths are recorded and there are 3,700 cases of women travelling abroad for a terminations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The new counselling system was developed by the Health Service Executive (HSE) following the death of dentist Savita Halappanavar in University Hospital Galway in October 2012 after she miscarried and was denied a termination.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It comes after a watchdog&#39;s findings of &quot;grossly inappropriate and traumatising&quot; handling of baby death and maternity cases in Portlaoise Hospital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Health Minister Simon Harris billed the counselling system as a new beginning.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I am pleased that the standards will ensure that clinical and counselling services will be in place to support women and their families in all pregnancy loss situations, from early pregnancy loss to perinatal death, as well as situations where there is a diagnosis of a life-limiting or fatal foetal anomaly,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I am grateful to the many families who generously shared their experiences during the strategy consultation process and offered suggestions on how care could be improved.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Harris said he hoped the new regime will give grieving families the care and compassion they need.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	All maternity hospitals and units will have teams of bereavement specialists to support grieving parents and families and staff involved in their care</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They will include a dedicated clinical midwife who specialises in bereavement care along with obstetricians, paediatricians, neonatologists, chaplains, social workers and palliative care staff.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The initiative states that b ereavement care should be a central mission of hospitals and offered in accordance with the religious, secular, ethnic, social and cultural values of the parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It asks h ospitals to ensure bereavement care and end of life care for babies is organised around the needs of babies and their families.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The new regime also says parents should be invited to meet a consultant neonatologist/paediatrician and the appropriate team to discuss a diagnosis which the HSE describes as a &quot;life-limiting condition&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It says a mother or parents should receive up-to-date information and contact details of services available if they choose to terminate the pregnancy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 10th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/irish-news/specialist-counselling-offered-to-mothers-and-families-over-child-bereavement-34955099.html\">http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/irish-news/specialist-counselling-offered-to-mothers-and-families-over-child-bereavement-34955099.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-11 08:32:23',NULL,'specialist-counselling-offered-to-mothers-and-families-over-child-bereavement'),(1573,'Teen is taken into state care while gardaí examine \'false imprisonment\'','<p>\r\n	A Hungarian teenager who is at the centre of an alleged false-imprisonment case has been placed in the care of the State.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garda&iacute; are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding an incident which occurred at an address in Tyrrelstown, west Dublin on Tuesday afternoon when officers called to a residential home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is understood that a teenage woman, who was staying in the house, contacted her relatives in her native Hungary, who subsequently informed local police.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hungarian police then informed their colleagues in Ireland and garda&iacute; visited the Dublin property.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Trafficking</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Initially, they were investigating with a view to discovering whether or not the woman in question was the victim of a human-trafficking ring and had been brought into Ireland against her will.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, when garda&iacute; called to the property, it was the alleged victim herself who opened the door.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A man aged in his late 20s, who was arrested in relation to the investigation, has since been released from garda custody without charge.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It has emerged that the Hungarian woman is now in state care while garda investigations continue.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garda&iacute; have learned that the woman was in London in the last number of weeks and are trying to ascertain how she travelled to Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sources revealed that the woman was not in possession of any valid travel documents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is not believed by garda&iacute; that she was physically harmed while staying at the Tyrrelstown address.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Officers from Blanchardstown Garda Station are investigating and are appealing for anyone with information to contact them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 12th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/teen-is-taken-into-state-care-while-garda-examine-false-imprisonment-34959198.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/teen-is-taken-into-state-care-while-garda-examine-false-imprisonment-34959198.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-12 07:56:31',NULL,'teen-is-taken-into-state-care-while-gardaã­-examine-false-imprisonment'),(1574,'Star student is granted the right to remain in Ireland','<p>\r\n	An asylum seeker who got anonymous donations totalling &euro;20,000 to pay for her first year at Trinity College Dublin has been granted the right to remain in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Nadia Prochukhan (20), from New Ross, Co Wexford, shot to national acclaim in 2014 when she achieved 615 points in her Leaving Certificate. Money from kind-hearted donors enabled her to fulfil her dream of studying Chemistry at Trinity College Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mum Tatiana, who lectured in a university in Moscow, left Russia with her two daughters after she spoke out against Vladimir Putin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Nadia&#39;s case - along with another girl&#39;s - helped lead to a change in Irish law last year when then-Educatin Minister Jan O&#39;Sullivan announced third-level student grants would be available to asylum seekers for the first time.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Nadia, her mother Tatiana and her younger sister Maria were sent a letter recently informing them that their asylum application, which was submitted in September 2011, was finally approved.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;People I never met donated money for me to attend my first year of college and that is why I&#39;ve been able to get where I am today. I am so grateful to everyone,&quot; Nadia said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tatiana said the family had spent the past five years living with no income due to their &shy;asylum-seeker status.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Nadia&#39;s mother led a campaign for her daughter to be treated like her Irish peers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tatiana feared the family would have had to survive indefinitely through donations and support from the people of New Ross and her 78-year-old mother in Russia.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said being approved to remain in Ireland was one of the greatest moments in her life.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The letter said we have permission to stay in Ireland for three years so we are entitled to everything an Irish citizen is entitled to, apart from being able to vote. We can become Irish citizens in five years, which would be amazing. We love New Ross and Ireland and I can&#39;t imagine living in anywhere else. The people are so good here,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Her family had endured five years of suffering with the constant threat of deportation hanging over them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I have been fighting for my children&#39;s lives. Often there was no bread on the table. All our money was stolen before we arrived here. We had to wait for the decision because the Government changed the law twice. We were another cog in the wheel. When we got the letter and saw the words we were overjoyed. We have been through hell. We had no work permits and no means to make money.&quot; She said Nadia was one of the top performers in her class at Trinity, where in May she completed her second year of her four-year course.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Prochukhans are hopeful Nadia will be awarded a grant for her third and fourth years, because the fees come to &euro;8,000 per year at Trinity.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tatiana said: &quot;We have completed all the forms and we are waiting word from the social welfare office. My mother Nina has been paying our rent. She is 78 and works three jobs.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tatiana said the most difficult thing to witness in recent years was that her daughters never felt equal to their Irish peers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tatiana moved here with her daughters Nadia and Maria in 2006, living here until 2009 when they had to return to Russia because her father was very ill. In summing up the last five years, Tatiana said: &quot;Never give and don&#39;t forget to thank the people who help you.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Published by the Irish Independent on the 12th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/star-student-is-granted-the-right-to-remain-in-ireland-34959148.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/star-student-is-granted-the-right-to-remain-in-ireland-34959148.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-12 07:58:07',NULL,'star-student-is-granted-the-right-to-remain-in-ireland'),(1575,'School security guard handcuffs girl (6) with special needs under stairs for over an hour to \'teach her a f*****g lesson\'','<p>\r\n	A security guard at a school in the US handcuffed a young girl to stairs for over an hour, it has been alleged.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Marlena Wordlow claims a security guard at Fernwood Elementary School in Chicago handcuffed her special needs daughter Madisyn (6) to stairs near the school&#39;s boiler.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Other students told the security guard the child had stolen sweets, however her mother claims it was part of her lunch.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Wordlow says when she turned up at the school she was taken to her daughter, who was still handcuffed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Little Madisyn was &#39;crying, sweating and visibly scared and distraught&#39;, according to the lawsuit.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;He said &#39;I&#39;m teaching her a f----g lesson. She took a piece of candy and I handcuffed her under the stairs... he told me if I was a real parent, I would find out what was going on instead of jumping the gun&quot; Marlena said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Madisyn has since been taken out of the school, however her mother has been unable to find a place at another school for her yet.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a statement, the Chicago Public Schools says the guard has been fired and a &quot;do not hire&quot; note was placed in his personnel file.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The district says it took immediate action.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the irish Independent on the 12th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/world-news/north-america/school-security-guard-handcuffs-girl-6-with-special-needs-under-stairs-for-over-an-hour-to-teach-her-a-fg-lesson-34959524.html\">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/north-america/school-security-guard-handcuffs-girl-6-with-special-needs-under-stairs-for-over-an-hour-to-teach-her-a-fg-lesson-34959524.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-12 07:59:47',NULL,'school-security-guard-handcuffs-girl-6-with-special-needs-under-stairs-for-over-an-hour-to-teach-her-a-f*****g-lesson'),(1576,'Oberstown detention centre must file report to Government after five children escape','<p>\r\n	Management at a detention centre for young people are being ordered to file a report for the Government following the escape of five children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The incident occurred at the Oberstown campus near Lusk, north Dublin on Saturday when they absconded for several hours before being caught.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The children - aged between 14 and 18 - armed themselves with bats and golf clubs before scaling fences and running through fields.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Oberstown also saw an escape last year when four teenagers broke out, while a fire was started in part of the complex earlier this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone ordered a new board of management and governance reforms in May.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The minister will be looking for a report on the incident,&quot; a spokeswoman said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Department of Children and Youth Affairs was alerted to the incident after the escape and kept up to date during the search and as the youths were returned to the centre, she added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Oberstown Director Pat Bergin confirmed that neighbours were informed in the area after the escape.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Bergin told Independent.ie: &quot;I will now be launching an investigation into the matter and this will be sent to the Minister.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are three detention schools in the campus - Trinity House School, Oberstown Boys School and Oberstown Girls School.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Staff at the detention centre had previously taken industrial action over safety concerns and risks of assault.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 14th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/oberstown-detention-centre-must-file-report-to-government-after-five-children-escape-34964277.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/oberstown-detention-centre-must-file-report-to-government-after-five-children-escape-34964277.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-15 08:08:52',NULL,'oberstown-detention-centre-must-file-report-to-government-after-five-children-escape'),(1577,'Boko Haram releases new video of kidnapped schoolgirls','<p>\r\n	Some of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls have been killed in Nigerian military air strikes, according to a new video appearing to come from Boko Haram Islamic extremists. It shows one of the alleged victims pleading for authorities to release detained militants in exchange for the girls&#39; freedom.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The video, posted yesterday on Twitter, shows a girl, covered in a hijab, with just her face showing, identified as one of the 276 students abducted from a remote school in northeastern Nigeria in April 2014.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She claims that some of her kidnapped classmates died in aerial bombardments by the Nigerian Air Force and that 40 had been &quot;married&quot; to Islamic extremist fighters.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The video shows a fighter warning in the Hausa language that if President Muhammadu Buhari&#39;s government battles Boko Haram with firepower, the girls won&#39;t be seen again.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Presently, some of the girls are crippled, some are terribly sick and some of them died during bombardment by the Nigerian military,&quot; the fighter says, appearing before a group of more than 40 young women in hijabs, some holding babies.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;If our members in detention are not freed, let the government and parents of the Chibok girls know that they will never find these girls again,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The video, cited by the SITE Intelligence Group, was posted by Ahmad Salkida, a Nigerian journalist known to have good contacts in Boko Haram.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dozens of the schoolgirls kidnapped from Chibok escaped on their own within two days of the abduction. Some 218 remain missing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the video, the fighter says the Nigerian government has repeatedly lied to its citizens with promises to quickly free those kidnapped from Chibok Government Girls School, who now are all over 18 years old.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The government came under increased pressure from parents and the Bring Back Our Girls campaigners after the May escape of one young woman, a proof of life that they said should encourage the military and government to redouble efforts to rescue the girls.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The escapee said some of the girls had died but that scores remained in captivity under heavy guard.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Yesterday&#39;s video appears another proof of life, though it was not immediately possible to reach any of the parents or Chibok leaders to verify the identity of those filmed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The young woman in the video, probably speaking under duress, begs for help to free them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The video goes on to show bodies from an alleged air raid, including that of a girl whose eyes briefly flicker.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Nigeria&#39;s Air Force has reported near-daily bombardments of Boko Haram camps and the military of increased ground assaults in which they have freed thousands of captives, though none of the girls.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Boko Haram has been forced out of most towns in the past year and has turned to assaulting remote villages and using suicide bombers to attack targets such as mosques and marketplaces.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than 20,000 people have been killed in the seven-year-old Islamic uprising that has spread from Nigeria to neighbouring countries and has driven 2.2 million people from their homes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Aid workers say there is a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in newly liberated but still dangerous areas, where half-a-million people are starving and babies are dying daily. There has also been a resurgence of polio in areas that had been under Boko Haram&#39;s control as a result of the extremists&#39; opposition to vaccinations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 15th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/world-news/africa/boko-haram-releases-new-video-of-kidnapped-schoolgirls-34965267.html\">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/africa/boko-haram-releases-new-video-of-kidnapped-schoolgirls-34965267.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-15 08:10:36',NULL,'boko-haram-releases-new-video-of-kidnapped-schoolgirls'),(1578,'Spy kits being used by investigators for insurance industry','<p>\r\n	Data Commissioner warns investigators: &lsquo;You will be caught&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Private investigators are using vehicle-tracking devices to carry out illegal surveillance on insurance customers suspected of making fraudulent claims.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The investigators, also known as &#39;tracing agents&#39;, are themselves being investigated for placing spy equipment underneath cars belonging to unsuspecting policyholders.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The shocking scale of the covert surveillance being used by private investigators is laid bare for the first time today.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Intelligence received by the new investigations unit in the Data Protection Commission also reveals that insurance firms are handing over medical or consultants&#39; reports to private firms that they pay to spy on customers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Banks, local authorities and law firms have also joined the list of organisations availing of the services of private investigators, some of whom use illegal tactics to obtain our personal data.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The revelations come exactly two years after the Irish Independent revealed that dozens of the country&#39;s credit unions had hired private investigators, which in turn used false identities to illicit addresses and PPS numbers from the Department of Social Protection.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Now, Assistant Data Protection Minister Tony Delaney has widened his net to investigate suspected breaches of databases belonging to a range of state bodies, including An Garda S&iacute;och&aacute;na and the HSE.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But Mr Delaney has expressed particular concern about the activities of private investigators working on behalf of the insurance industry and their use of tracking devices.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said: &quot;Intelligence has come our way to suggest that some private investigators are using vehicle-tracking devices, going into people&#39;s driveways or yard or whatever and attaching a tracking device.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It&#39;s very troubling. That&#39;s why it&#39;s not in anybody&#39;s interest, particularly the insurance industry, that their reputations could be in any way tarnished by this sort of activity being done, unknown to them, but it is being done because they hired the private investigators.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Delaney said that placing tracking devices under vehicles was in breach of section 2 of the Data Protection Act, although he admitted that this particular section did not include specific &#39;offences&#39; as such.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Delaney has now written to insurance companies to warn them of the illegal practice.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some of these firms said that they were unaware that such surveillance was taking place, he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 15th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/latest-news/spy-kits-being-used-by-investigators-for-insurance-industry-34965381.html\">http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/latest-news/spy-kits-being-used-by-investigators-for-insurance-industry-34965381.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-15 08:12:23',NULL,'spy-kits-being-used-by-investigators-for-insurance-industry'),(1579,'Sale of cigarettes from vending machines set to be banned','<p>\r\n	Details of retailers who sell cigarettes to minors will be published online</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Department of Health is to introduce on-the-spot fines for retailers who sell cigarettes to minors, and that information will then be published online.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New measures will also ban the sale of cigarettes from vending machines.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Following a public consultation, the department is preparing the draft heads of a Bill which will impose tougher penalties for those who sell the products illegally.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The proposed legislation will allow for the introduction of minimum suspension periods for retailers convicted of offences.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Name and shame</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It will also allow for fixed penalties to be introduced and for those retailers to be &ldquo;named and shamed&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The proposals were first proposed by former minister for health James Reilly in 2014 but have been revisited by Minister for Health Simon Harris.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There is also a series of measures aimed at further regulating the sale of e-cigarettes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Licensing system</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A new annual licensing system will be introduced for the sale of tobacco and related products including e-cigarettes and other non-medicinal nicotine delivery systems. This will replace the retail register currently in operation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There will be a ban on tobacco products being sold from self-service vending machines as well as temporary or mobile units.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A Department of Health spokeswoman said: &ldquo;Vending machines by their very presence constitute a means of advertising and promoting tobacco products.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;One of the most compelling reasons to strengthen the rules on tobacco products is the detrimental impact of tobacco consumption on people&rsquo;s health.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In order to move closer to a tobacco-free society by 2025, it is necessary to continue to drive regulation that restricts the access and exposure of the general population to tobacco products.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;At present,&rdquo; the department spokeswoman added, &ldquo;self-service vending machines are only permitted in licensed premises and registered clubs. It is proposed to extend the existing ban on self-service vending machines for tobacco products to all locations.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The department said the proposals were in line with Government policy contained in Tobacco Free Ireland and the World Health Organisation&rsquo;s framework convention on tobacco control.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Similar measures</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fifteen European member states, including France, Greece, Hungary, Poland and the UK, have enforced similar measures prohibiting the sale of tobacco products from self-service vending machines.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The tobacco industry took a legal challenge against such a measure in England but did not succeed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Government is facing its own potential challenge from the industry for its proposals to introduce plain packaging.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, it has still not commenced the Act to enforce the measures which ban all forms of branding such as trademarks and logos on packs of cigarettes, tobacco and cigars.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ireland was the first country to introduce a plan for plain packaging in 2014, but delays in developing the relevant legislation mean it will not come into effect until 2017 at the earliest.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the meantime, Ireland has been overtaken by the UK, which followed through with its commitment to introduce plain packaging for cigarette products on May 20th.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 16th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/sale-of-cigarettes-from-vending-machines-set-to-be-banned-1.2757326\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/sale-of-cigarettes-from-vending-machines-set-to-be-banned-1.2757326</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-16 08:02:11',NULL,'sale-of-cigarettes-from-vending-machines-set-to-be-banned'),(1580,'Teenager with cancer sends out inspiring message after losing her hair','<p>\r\n	A young woman who survived cancer has sent an inspiring message aimed at other women who have lost their hair due to chemotherapy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Andrea Sierra Salazar, 17, tweeted a photo shoot taken after she lost her hair, with the caption &quot;Cancer doesn&#39;t stop me being a princess&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She discovered she had cancer when her mother took her to hospital after she found a lump on her neck.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Salazar told BuzzFeed: &quot;There were no side effects, I wouldn&rsquo;t have known [I had cancer] until one day I felt like I slept wrong, and my neck hurt. I patted my neck and I felt a really big ball.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Doctors discovered she had two tumours, one in her neck and one in her chest. They diagnosed her with stage two lymphoma.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Because she has had to take time off school to have treatment, her mother suggested she spend her free time modelling.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Salazar has enjoyed modelling since she was 13 years old - but losing her hair knocked her confidence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She experimented with wigs, but it wasn&#39;t the same.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Before chemotherapy I had always been a confident person,&rdquo; she told the website,&ldquo;so when my hair started to fall out I would look in the mirror and I wouldn&rsquo;t feel that confident about myself.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She modeled for a fair few photographers and agencies after her mother set up appointments with them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But one photo shoot was really special - Gerardo Garmendia took a series of photographs of her without a wig on, and she looks radiant.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Almost 100,000 people have retweeted the pictures of her smiling in an ornate blue dress.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She spoke to BuzzFeed about the experience: &quot;[At first] I didn&rsquo;t feel confident enough to do a version without a wig, but then I realised that I had no reason to be ashamed of the way I looked, I should be proud.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It&rsquo;s not only about my outside beauty, it&rsquo;s about the inside. That&rsquo;s what really inspired the photoshoot without the wig.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Salazar originally took the pictures to inspire the young people at the clinic.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I see all these little girls, and you can see it in their faces that they lose all confidence in themselves,&quot; she told the website.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I want them to know that your hair or your physical attributes doesn&rsquo;t define who you are &ndash; what really matters is your inner beauty, the way you treat others, and if you&rsquo;re a kind person, that shows through.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 15th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/health-features/teenager-with-cancer-sends-out-inspiring-message-after-losing-her-hair-34966924.html\">http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/health-features/teenager-with-cancer-sends-out-inspiring-message-after-losing-her-hair-34966924.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-16 08:04:30',NULL,'teenager-with-cancer-sends-out-inspiring-message-after-losing-her-hair'),(1581,'Fair Deal extension will prove ‘very difficult’','<p>\r\n	Age Action says it is difficult to see how the Fair Deal scheme can be extended to include home care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People, Helen McEntee, favours the option of extending the scheme to include home help.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There needs to be, in my own view, a similar model for home help as there is for the Fair Deal,&rdquo; the Meath East TD said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In an interview with the Irish Examiner Ms McEntee said it was an issue that needed to be worked on and felt the will was there.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Nursing Homes Support Scheme, also known as the &ldquo;Fair Deal&rdquo;, provides financial support to people who need long-term nursing home care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Age Action, a charity that promotes positive ageing and better policies and services for older people, agreed with Ms McEntee that the current crisis in community care needed to be tackled.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, its head of advocacy and communications, Justin Moran, warned that extending the Fair Deal scheme to allow people receive care in their home would be extremely challenging.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We need immediate investment in community care and to go further by examining how we can bring in a right to community care for all older people in this country. It&#39;s hard to see how that can be done using the Fair Deal model,&rdquo; said Mr Moran.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms McEntee, said the provision of care for an increasing elderly population needed to be prioritised, and she favoured the extension of the Fair Deal scheme for those people wanting to remain at home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said ways would have to be found to get around some &ldquo;hurdles&rdquo; and &ldquo;legal aspects&rdquo; of the scheme that calculates how much older people should pay towards their residential care based on their income and assets.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A report by Age Action published in June found that community supports for older people were disorganised, fragmented and underfunded.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It revealed that social workers nationally estimated that half of the older people they worked with who were in long-term residential care could be at home if the appropriate services were available.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking earlier on RT&Eacute; radio, Mr Moran said Age Action agreed with Ms McEntee that the issue of community care needed to be tackled quickly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But, he said, the most obvious problem was that older people who qualified for the Fair Deal scheme agreed to a 7.5% levy on their home for the first three years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Moran said older people in residential care did not need their home so it could be sold off or rented out to help them with the payments.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He pointed out that most people currently getting home help were not paying for it and wondered would they be required to make co-payments in future if Fair Deal was extended to include home care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Also, the medical assessment that older people have to undergo to quality for Fair Deal was to confirm that people needed nursing home care because of their level of dependence. People getting home help would not have a similar degree of dependency.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Home and Community Care Ireland spokesperson, Michael Harty, said making home care part of Fair Deal would be &quot;a very positive move&quot;. The organisation representing 25 private home care providers wants home care to be put on a statutory footing and regulated in the same way as residential care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 16th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/fair-deal-extension-will-prove-very-difficult-416003.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/fair-deal-extension-will-prove-very-difficult-416003.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-16 08:06:09',NULL,'fair-deal-extension-will-prove-‘very-difficult’'),(1582,'My story: In Direct Provision, I missed meals if they clashed with classes\'','<p>\r\n	Bongani Nkosi Biomedical Science, NUI Galway</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When Bongani Nkosi did his Leaving Certificate in 2013, going straight into third-level was not an option.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He couldn&rsquo;t afford it because his asylum seeker status meant he wasn&rsquo;t entitled to a grant.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He had arrived in Ireland from Malawi in 2009 and attended Ballyhaunis Community School, Co Mayo, where he lived with his family.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	After his Leaving Cert, Bongani was offered a place on Medical Biotechnology in IT Sligo, but had to turn it down because of his financial circumstances.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But he worked out another route to further his education and enrolled in Galway Technical Institute, to study information technology. Following that, he successfully applied for the Access course at NUI Galway, signing up for the science stream.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	That was only the beginning for this highly motivated student, who had also come up with an idea for funding his third-level studies.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;After I completed the Access course, I applied to the Ryan Foundation Scholarship and the Irish Refugee Council funding scheme and the two boards saw my potential.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	With their financial backing, Bongani (20) has just completed first year of Biomedical Science at NUI Galway, a successful year that was capped by gaining residency status in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Having residency status makes a big difference because it means that Bongani can move out of Direct Provision and can also apply for a SUSI grant to support him in college.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He says that &ldquo;living in a hostel, my meal times were fixed by management in their favour and my weekly allowance was &euro;19.10. I had to miss meals regularly if I had a class during breakfast, lunch or dinner which were served from 9am to 10.30am, noon to 2pm and 5pm to 6.30pm, respectively.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Somehow I had to manage and maintain my weekly allowance so that I didn&rsquo;t starve. Why didn&rsquo;t I get a part-time job to feed myself when I needed to? The direct provision system doesn&rsquo;t allow asylum seekers to work.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Bongani says that based on his personal experiences his advice to other students is to &ldquo;aim high and put in the hard work no matter what kid of obstacles you may encounter&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 17th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/education/exams/my-story-in-direct-provision-i-missed-meals-if-they-clashed-with-classes-34972175.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/education/exams/my-story-in-direct-provision-i-missed-meals-if-they-clashed-with-classes-34972175.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-17 08:26:21',NULL,'my-story-in-direct-provision-i-missed-meals-if-they-clashed-with-classes'),(1583,'Tusla admits quality of its service must improve after tragic death of 13 youths','<p>\r\n	Child and family agency Tusla has admitted its service needs to be improved after the publication of reports into the deaths of 13 youths it was helping.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The National Review Panel (NRP) reviewed the deaths of children and young people known to the child protection service.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Of those who died, seven were found to have taken their own lives while one was found dead with a high level of toxicity in her bloodstream, indicating a drug overdose.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	None of the reviews found a direct link between the deaths of these young people and the actions or inactions of services provided by Tusla.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, chairperson Dr Helen Buckley did identify examples of &quot;slow or blurred responses&quot; in some cases and criticised the absence of co-ordination of his care by public agencies.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It is inevitable that where child protection and health concerns co-exist, and particularly where children are terminally ill, the family will be in receipt of numerous services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;In these circumstances pressure and distress experienced by families could be reduced if one discipline or team took the lead in coordinating services to reduce pressure on the family and avoid overwhelming them,&quot; the report said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It concluded that Tusla needs to deepen its approach to risk assessments and follow-up of child sexual abuse allegations, and that more foster carers were required for young people with mental health problems and those coping with disabilities.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The NRP said that young people requiring care should not have to wait before being offered a placement with a foster family or in a secure unit.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Addressing the review, Tusla said it had now developed a national approach aimed at early intervention and that it was working on a child protection and welfare strategy to support families where children may have experienced harm.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The agency also said it was devising a national approach for services led by social services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;On behalf of Tusla I wish to extend my sincere sympathies to all those affected by the deaths of the young people mentioned in these reviews. Whilst the reports highlight that the deaths were not as a result of the quality of services received, Tusla continues to be committed to the constant improvement of the services we provide,&quot; said Cormac Quinlan, interim director of policy and strategy at Tusla.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Keeping children safe requires the cooperation and collaboration of all services working with children and Tusla welcomes the recommendations that support the ongoing integration and cooperation of the respective services identified in the report.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 17th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/tusla-admits-quality-of-its-service-must-improve-after-tragic-death-of-13-youths-34971907.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/tusla-admits-quality-of-its-service-must-improve-after-tragic-death-of-13-youths-34971907.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-17 08:28:17',NULL,'tusla-admits-quality-of-its-service-must-improve-after-tragic-death-of-13-youths'),(1584,'Leaked IS documents show recruits ordered \'Koran for Dummies\' online','<p>\r\n	Recruits ordered &#39;The Koran for Dummies&#39; and &#39;Islam for Dummies&#39; to prepare for jihad</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The jihadi employment form asked the recruits, on a scale of one to three, to rate their knowledge of Islam. And the Isis applicants, herded into a hangar somewhere at the Syria-Turkey border, turned out to be overwhelmingly ignorant.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The extremist group could hardly have hoped for better.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At the height of Isis&#39; drive for foot soldiers in 2013 and 2014, typical recruits included the group of Frenchmen who went bar-hopping with their recruiter back home, the recent European convert who now hesitantly describes himself as gay, and two Britons who ordered &quot;The Koran for Dummies&quot; and &quot;Islam for Dummies&quot; from Amazon to prepare for jihad abroad.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Their intake process complete, they were grouped in safe houses as a stream of Isis imams came in to indoctrinate them, according to court testimony and interviews by the Associated Press.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I realised that I was in the wrong place when they began to ask me questions on these forms like &#39;when you die, who should we call?&quot;&#39; said the 32-year-old European recruit, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. He said he thought he was joining a group to fight President Bashar al-Assad and help Syrians, not the so-called Islamic State.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The European, whose boyish demeanor makes him appear far younger than his age, went to Syria in 2014. He said new recruits were shown Isis propaganda videos on Islam, and the visiting imams repeatedly praised martyrdom. Far from home, unschooled in religion, having severed family ties and turned over electronic devices, most were in little position to judge.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An analysis of thousands of leaked Isis documents reveals most of its recruits from its earliest days came with only the most basic knowledge of Islam. A little more than 3,000 of these documents included the recruit&#39;s knowledge of Sharia, the system that interprets into law verses from the Quran and &quot;hadith&quot; &mdash; the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to the documents, which were acquired by the Syrian opposition site Zaman al-Wasl and shared with the AP, 70 per cent of recruits were listed as having just &quot;basic&quot; knowledge of Sharia &mdash; the lowest possible choice. Around 24 per cent were categorized as having an &quot;intermediate&quot; knowledge, with just five per cent considered advanced students of Islam. Five recruits were listed as having memorized the Quran.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The findings address one of the most troubling questions about Isis recruitment in the United States and Europe: Are disaffected people who understand Sharia more prone to radicalisation? Or are those with little knowledge of Islam more susceptible to the group&#39;s radical ideas that promote violence?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The documents suggest the latter. The group preys on this religious ignorance, allowing extremists to impose a brand of Islam constructed to suit its goal of maximum territorial expansion and carnage as soon as recruits come under its sway.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Isis&#39; most notorious new supporters appear to have an equally tenuous link with religion. Mohamed Lahouaiyej Bouhlel, who killed 85 people by plowing a truck into a Bastille Day crowd in Nice, France, was described by family and neighbors as indifferent to religion, volatile and prone to drinking sprees, with a bent for salsa dancing and a reported male lover.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Unlike Omar Mateen, the Orlando attacker, Bouhlel did not make a public declaration of allegiance to Isis, much less prove he had direct ties to extremists in the war zone. Still, the group was quick to claim both as foot soldiers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The AP analyzed the Isis entry form documents of around 4,030 foreign recruits who crossed into Syria when the group was rapidly expanding and seizing territory in Iraq and Syria in 2013 and 2014. At that time, the CIA estimated the extremist group had between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters across Iraq and Syria.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Among the documents were forms for nine of 10 young men from the eastern French city of Strasbourg, all recruited by a man named Mourad Fares. One of them, Karim Mohammad-Aggad, described barhopping in Germany with Fares. He told investigators that Isis recruiters used &quot;smooth talk&quot; to persuade him.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He&#39;d traveled with his younger brother and friends to Syria in late 2013. Two died in Syria, and within a few months, seven returned to France and were arrested. Mohammad-Aggad&#39;s brother, 23-year-old Foued, returned to Paris and was one of the three men who stormed the Bataclan in a night of attacks on 13 November that killed 130 people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;My religious beliefs had nothing to do with my departure,&quot; Karim Mohammad-Aggad told the court, before being sentenced to nine years in prison. &quot;Islam was used to trap me like a wolf,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Isis data shows Karim and his brother Foued were among eight in the Strasbourg group listed as having &quot;basic&quot; knowledge of Sharia.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Expressing a common sentiment shared by many Europeans of North African descent, Mohammed-Aggad told the court he felt like an immigrant in Algeria and &quot;a dirty Arab&quot; in France. After just a few months in Syria, he said he left Isis because he was treated by the extremists as an &quot;apostate&quot; &mdash; someone who had renounced his religion.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When pressed by the judge on his knowledge of Shariah and how the Isis group implements it, Mohammad-Aggad, a former gas station attendant, appeared dumbfounded, saying repeatedly: &quot;I don&#39;t have the knowledge to answer the question.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One of his co-defendants, Radouane Taher, was also pressed by the judge on whether beheadings carried out by the Isis group conformed to Islamic law.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He couldn&#39;t say for sure, answering: &quot;I don&#39;t have the credentials.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	That&#39;s where Amazon comes in.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The trial of longtime friends Mohammed Ahmed and Yusuf Sarwar, from the British city of Birmingham, revealed the 22-year-olds had ordered &quot;The Koran for Dummies&quot; and &quot;Islam for Dummies&quot; books in preparation for their trip to join extremists in Syria. They were arrested on their return to Britain and convicted in 2014 of terrorism offenses.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Patrick Skinner, a former CIA case officer with extensive experience with Mideast extremist organizations, said some people claim allegiance to Isis out of religious belief, but that most who join, including those from the West, are people &quot;reaching for a sense of belonging, a sense of notoriety, a sense of excitement.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Religion is an afterthought,&quot; said Mr Skinner, who is also director of special projects at security consultancy the Soufan Group.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Those who truly crave religious immersion would go to Al-Azhar in Cairo, he added, referring to the thousand-year-old seat of learning for Sharia and Quranic studies.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In its recent English language magazine Dabiq, dedicated largely to bolstering its own Muslim credentials, Isis dismissed Al-Azhar as part of an &quot;approach to subdue Muslims through appeasement,&quot; with the West.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mohammed Abdelfadel, an Islamic scholar who heads a German-language unit at Al-Azhar that tracks Isis propaganda and statements, said the group spews superficial notions about what is &quot;halal and haram,&quot; or what is permissible and forbidden in Islam. He says the group&#39;s propaganda videos lionise Isis fighters as masculine, strong martyrs going to heaven for the sake of God &mdash; counter to Islamic laws that forbid terrorism, the murder of non-combatants in war, the imposition of Islam on non-Muslims and other criminal activity.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The recruits&#39; Shariah knowledge is important because Isis not only needs soldiers and suicide bombers, but administrators and Sharia officials to oversee its local courts and judges, who in turn promote Isis ideology.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It also matters because those who&#39;ve claimed advanced knowledge in Shariah on the Isis entry documents were less likely to want to become suicide bombers, according to a study by the US military&#39;s Combating Terrorism Center, an academic institution at the United States Military Academy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;If martyrdom is seen as the highest religious calling, then a reasonable expectation would be that the people with the most knowledge about Islamic law (Sharia) would desire to carry out these operations with greater frequency,&quot; said the report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, despite the religious justification that Isis uses for suicide missions, &quot;those with the most religious knowledge within the organization itself are the least likely to volunteer to be suicide bombers,&quot; the study found.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 17th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/world-news/war-on-terror/leaked-is-documents-show-recruits-ordered-koran-for-dummies-online-34972365.html\">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/war-on-terror/leaked-is-documents-show-recruits-ordered-koran-for-dummies-online-34972365.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-17 08:31:29',NULL,'leaked-is-documents-show-recruits-ordered-koran-for-dummies-online'),(1585,'Turkey frees up 38k jail spots for coup plotters','<p>\r\n	Turkey has issued a decree paving the way for the conditional release of 38,000 prisoners, the justice minister said &mdash; an apparent move to reduce its jail population to make space for thousands of people who have been arrested as part of an investigation into last month&rsquo;s failed coup.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The decree allows the release of inmates who have two years or less to serve of their sentences and makes convicts who have served half of their prison term eligible for parole.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, people convicted of murder, domestic violence, sexual abuse or terrorism and other crimes against the state will be excluded.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The measures would not apply for crimes committed after July 1, excluding any people later convicted of coup involvement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said on his Twitter account that the measure would lead to the release of some 38,000 people. He insisted it was not a pardon or an amnesty but a conditional release of prisoners.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The government says the July 15 coup, which led to at least 270 deaths, was carried out by followers of the movement led by US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen who have infiltrated the military and other state institutions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Gulen has denied any prior knowledge or involvement in the coup but Turkey is demanding that the US extradite him.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Turkish government declared a state of emergency and launched a massive crackdown on Gulen&rsquo;s supporters in the aftermath of the coup.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some 35,000 people have been detained for questioning and more than 17,000 of them have been formally arrested to face trial, including soldiers, police, judges and journalists.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tens of thousands more people with suspected links to Gulen have been suspended or dismissed from their jobs in the judiciary, media, education, health care, military and local government.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On Tuesday, police launched simultaneous raids on 44 companies suspected of providing financial support to Gulen&rsquo;s movement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Anadolu Agency said the raids in Istanbul&rsquo;s Umraniye and Uskudar districts came after authorities issued warrants to detain 120 company executives as part of the investigation into the coup attempt.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The government crackdown has raised concerns among European nations and human rights organisations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 18th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/turkey-frees-up-38k-jail-spots-for-coup-plotters-416405.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/turkey-frees-up-38k-jail-spots-for-coup-plotters-416405.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-18 09:20:38',NULL,'turkey-frees-up-38k-jail-spots-for-coup-plotters'),(1586,'Australia to close refugee detention centre on Manus Island','<p>\r\n	Australia and Papua New Guinea have agreed to close a controversial Australian-funded asylum seeker detention centre on Manus Island, although the ultimate fate of 800 refugees held in the camp remained unclear.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under Australian law, anyone intercepted trying to reach the country by boat is sent for processing to camps on the tiny Pacific island of Nauru or to Manus Island off Papua New Guinea.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They are never eligible to be resettled in Australia. Some asylumseekers have spent years in the camps, which have been criticised by the UN and human rights groups, with numerous reports of abuse and self-harm among detainees, including children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some in Papua New Guinea are unhappy with the prospect of hundreds of asylumseekers being resettled there.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There have been reports of asylumseekers being attacked by locals.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Both Papua New Guinea and Australia are in agreement that the centre is to be closed,&rdquo; Papua New Guinea prime minister Peter O&rsquo;Neill said in a statement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;A series of options are being advanced and implemented. It is important that this process is not rushed out but carried out in a careful manner.&rdquo; There was no mention of a closing date.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Australian immigration minister Peter Dutton, who met O&rsquo;Neill to discuss the camp, reiterated Australia&rsquo;s position that it would not accept any refugees detained in Papua New Guinea.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It has been the longstanding position of this government to work with Papua New Guinea to close Manus and support those people as they transition into Papua New Guinea or return to their country of origin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Our position, confirmed again today with Papua New Guinea, is that no one from Manus Island Regional Processing Centre will ever be settled in Australia,&rdquo; said Dutton.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The announcement came after a newspaper published leaked documents detailing more than 2,000 incidents of sexual abuse, assault and attempted self-harm, reported over two years at the Nauru detention centre.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The harsh conditions and reports of systemic child abuse at the camps have drawn wide criticism at home and abroad. Australia says the policy is needed to stop asylumseekers dying at sea on the dangerous boat journey from Indonesia to Australia.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hundreds of people died attempting the trip in the years before the policy was put in place.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 18th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/australia-to-close-refugee-detention-centre-on-manus-island-416429.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/australia-to-close-refugee-detention-centre-on-manus-island-416429.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-18 09:22:50',NULL,'australia-to-close-refugee-detention-centre-on-manus-island'),(1587,'Parents spend €450 monthly \'supporting\' students','<p>\r\n	Irish League of Credit Unions data shows 87% will back children financially while in college</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The vast majority of students attending third level institutions will be financially supported by their parents over the next year with the average parent spending &euro;447 each month, a survey has found.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to a piece of research published by the Irish League of Credit Unions this morning 87 per cent of parents will financially support their children through the academic year with 60 per cent getting into debt to do so.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The research asked both parents and students about how they meet the costs of third level education and the financial challenges facing families. The results highlight the impact of sending children to college (in financial terms) has on spending and budgets as well as the challenges and concerns parents have in relation to finance, debt, accommodation, course choice and job prospects.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	All told just under three quarters of parents polled said they would struggle to cover the cost of their child&rsquo;s third level education. The average amount of debt parents will accrue is put at &euro;4,300 down from &euro;4,670 in 2015.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The piece of research also found that parents save for an average of eight years to cover third level costs for their children and manage to accumulate on average &euro;8,150 over that period.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Worry</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The survey also asked parents what they worried about as their children headed off to college. Employment prospects after graduation was the biggest concern for parents with 32 per cent saying it was the thing which worried them the most. Passing exams was in second place with 17 per cent highlight that while concerns over the misuse of drink and drugs has jumped sharply to 17 per cent up from 10 per cent last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is not only parents who have worries ahead of the new term. The poll suggests that just over two thirds of students who need to live away from their family home are &ldquo;extremely worried&rdquo; about finding suitable accommodation for the academic year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Concerns about the availability and affordability of accommodation could be behind a slight increase in the number of students who say they will live at home over the course of the next academic year. The survey says that 65 per cent of students will be living at home compared to 62 per cent in 2015.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The cost of living away from home is laid bare in the study with students living outside the home saying they will spend &euro;1,048 euro per month while those living at home will spend &euro;530 per month</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Just over two thirds of students work throughout the academic year to fund third level education working an average of 17 hours per week getting paid an average of &euro;12 per hour.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The survey by iReach was carried out in July using 1,000 responses from over-18s across Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 18th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/parents-spend-450-monthly-supporting-students-1.2759664\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/parents-spend-450-monthly-supporting-students-1.2759664</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-18 09:24:18',NULL,'parents-spend-€450-monthly-supporting-students'),(1588,'First round CAO offers: Social Care courses','<p>\r\n	The CAO results are out today. Best of luck to everybody who&#39;s applied for a college course.<br />\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	For those of you interested in social care, here are a list of the courses available this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Level 8</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Athlone Institute of Technology</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- AL860 Social Care Practice 300 points (down ten points)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Institute of Technology, Carlow</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- CW068 Applied Social Studies (Professional Social Care - Wexford) 270 points (Down ten points)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- CW758 Applied Social Studies (Professional Social Care) - 295 points (Down five points)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dublin Institute of Technology</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- DT571 Social Care - 405 points (Up five points)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- BN107 Applied Social Studies - 310 points (no change)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Institute of Technology, Tallaght</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- TA025 Social Care Practice - 300 points (no change)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dundalk Institute of Technology</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- DK862 Social Care - 305 points (Down 15 points)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- GA889 Applied Social Care - Mayo Campus 300 points (new course)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	Letterkenny Institute of Technology</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- LY978 Health and Social 275 points (Down 25 points)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Limerick Institute of Technology</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- LC292 Social Care Work 330 points (Down ten points)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- LC402 Social Care Work (Thurles) 311 points (Up 11 points)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Institute of Technology, Sligo</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- SG243 Social Care Practice 300 points (no change but not everybody on this point score was offered a course)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Institute of Technology, Tralee</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- TL881 Social Care 320 points (new course)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Waterford Institute of Technology</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- WD192 Social Care Practice 300 points (no change)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Level 6/7</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Athlone Institute of Technology</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- AL765 Applied Social Studies in Social Care &ndash; 270 points (new course)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Carlow College</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- PC404 Applied Social Studies in Social Care 210 points (Up 10 points)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Institute of Technology, Carlow</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- CW017 Applied Social Studies (Professional Social Care &ndash; Wexford) 160 points (Down ten points)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- CW717 Applied Social Studies (Professional Social Care) 245 points (Down 15 points)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Cork Institute of Technology</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- CR031 Social Care 350 points (Down ten points)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- BN011 Applied Social Studies in Social Care 310 points (no change)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- GA879 Applied Social Care &ndash; Mayo Campus 250 points (Up ten points)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Letterkenny Institute of Technology</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- LY916 Health and Social Care 180 points (Down 20 points)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Institute of Technology, Tralee</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- TL781 Social Care 240 points (Down ten points)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Waterford Institute of Technology</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	- WD018 Applied Social Studies in Social Care 205 points (Down 35 points)</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-22 10:02:39',NULL,'first-round-cao-offers-social-care-courses'),(1589,'Family calls for inquiry into death in HSE care','<p>\r\n	Review panel report on boy aged 14 who died by suicide a &lsquo;whitewash&rsquo;, says family</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The family of a boy who died in the care of the Health Service Executive is calling for an independent commission of inquiry into such deaths, describing a review of their son&rsquo;s case published last week as a &ldquo;whitewash&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They say the report from the independent National Review Panel (NRP) &ldquo;exonerates&rdquo; the HSE for multiple failings and breaches of international and children&rsquo;s rights law. They also question the NRP&rsquo;s independence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The NRP, which reviews the deaths of children in care or known to child protection services, last week reported on the deaths of 13 children and young people, including &ldquo;Adam&rdquo;. Its reports are published by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Adam, who had been in HSE care since he was 13, took his life at the age of 14. He had been diagnosed with a learning disability and his parents found him difficult to deal with. He was referred to the local social work department and to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	His behaviour became more risky and he was placed in a secure residential centre. There were problems arranging step-down care, which distressed him. He left the step- down placement and stayed intermittently with a woman the HSE had assessed. He was drinking, smoking hash and self-harming, and spoke repeatedly of wanting to die.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Alleged sex abuse</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	During this time he was allegedly sexually abused by a woman more than 10 years his senior, and under HSE psychiatric care. Though the HSE was informed, Adam&rsquo;s mother was not told for five weeks. In addition his social worker spoke to Adam about it alone and without his parents&rsquo; knowledge.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It was agreed he should return to secure care. Adam told his mother he would &ldquo;hang&rdquo; himself if he had to go back. She told the HSE this. His social worker told Adam of the plan to return him to secure care over the phone, on a Friday. He went missing over the weekend but returned home on the Monday night, then left abruptly. He was found hanged the next morning.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	His parents are angry at the report&rsquo;s assertion that &ldquo;neither action nor inaction by the HSE services . . . contributed to [Adam&rsquo;s] death&rdquo;. &ldquo;This couldn&rsquo;t be further from the truth,&rdquo; they say. &ldquo;In fact it is contradicted in the report.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Complex needs</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report says Adam&rsquo;s needs were complex. His social worker was &ldquo;newly qualified and inexperienced&rdquo;; &ldquo;there was no comprehensive assessment of the origin of Adam&rsquo;s difficulties&rdquo;; &ldquo;Adam was a child at risk of significant harm . . . especially . . . when he was in an unapproved placement&rdquo;, and &ldquo;the response to the allegations of child sexual abuse was not totally adequate&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Adam&rsquo;s parents say his rights, under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention on Human Rights, were repeatedly breached and this is not reflected in the report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The HSE were fully aware of his serious suicidal ideation and failed to protect him. All we have ever wanted is accountability,&rdquo; they said.&ldquo;This report has all the hallmarks of a legal team making sure it exonerates the HSE. It is a whitewash and brings us no closer to accountability.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The family believes a &ldquo;holistic, independent investigation, either headed by a retired judge in a commission, or at the European courts&rdquo; is the only way to get to the bottom of the matter.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A T&uacute;sla spokeswoman said the organisation &ldquo;wishes to express sincere sympathies to the families, and all those affected by the deaths of the young people mentioned in the NRP reviews&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The NRP is functionally independent and produces reports that are independent of Tusla,&rdquo; she added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 22nd August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/family-calls-for-inquiry-into-death-in-hse-care-1.2763689\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/family-calls-for-inquiry-into-death-in-hse-care-1.2763689</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-22 10:04:46',NULL,'family-calls-for-inquiry-into-death-in-hse-care'),(1590,'Numbers entering direct provision double','<p>\r\n	The number of new asylum seekers entering into direction provision more than doubled last year, according to the Reception and Integration Agency. A total of 2,828 new asylum applicants were provided with accommodation &mdash; 1,687 more than in 2014.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The agency said 2015 was marked by a large increase in the number of single males seeking asylum and entering the direct provision system. Last year, the overall numbers housed in direct provision centres rose from 4,364 to 4,696 at a cost of &euro;57m &mdash; up 4.7% on 2014.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Since the introduction of direct provision in 1999, over 55,870 have been accommodated by the agency at 35 centres around the country.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Agency official Eugene Banks said the latest annual figures hide the fact that in 2015 a significant number of people left State-provided accommodation as well as the 2,828 arrivals who moved into such centres.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The majority of these new arrivals and in particular towards the latter half of the year, were single men,&rdquo; said Mr Banks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The agency said it had to source and open a new accommodation centre in Co Longford to cater for the influx of single males in 2015.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The agency figures also show almost a quarter of all residents in direct provision centres at the end of 2015 had been living in such accommodation for over five years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A total of 1,158 individuals have been living under the system for at least five years including 683 who have been there longer than seven years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the number of long-term stays has been declining with 38 months the average length of stay in 2015 down from 48 months in 2014. Around a quarter of all residents of direct provision centres at the end of 2015 were children with almost an equal number of boys and girls among the 1,172 underage residents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The biggest centre is the former Butlin&rsquo;s camp at Mosney, Co Meath which had 530 residents last December.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Several NGOs including the Irish Refugee Council have called for the ending of the system of direct provision which provides asylum applicants with accommodation on a full-board basis as they are not allowed to take up employment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Residents are paid a weekly allowance of &euro;19.10 (&euro;9.60 for children).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Justice Minister, Frances Fitzgerald said the vast majority of residents in the direct provision system who are awaiting a protection decision are now living in such accommodation for less than three years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Agency figures show residents made 14 written complaints about conditions in direct provision centres last year. Five were upheld by an independent adjudicator. The Government has agreed the ombudsman and the ombudsman for children should have their powers extended to include persons living in direct provision.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The agency said 3,276 applications for asylum were made in the Republic last year. That is the highest level since 2008 but well below the 10,000-plus number of refugees which arrived in Ireland each year at the turn of the century.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Pakistanis accounted for over 41% of all applicants (1,352) followed by Bangladesh (286) and Albania (214).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Of 1,552 applications completed last year by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner, only 10% of cases or 152 individuals, received a positive recommendation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The agency assisted with the voluntary repatriation of 243 destitute citizens from 13 of the newer EU member states last year at a cost of &euro;59,633.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 22nd August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/numbers-entering-direct-provision-double-417007.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/numbers-entering-direct-provision-double-417007.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-22 10:06:10',NULL,'numbers-entering-direct-provision-double'),(1591,'Harris urged to criminalise controversial bleach \'cure\' for autism','<p>\r\n	Health Minister Simon Harris is facing calls to criminalise the use of bleach as a controversial &ldquo;cure&rdquo; for autism under child abuse laws, writes Joe Leogue.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While the Health Products Regulatory Authority has warned that any manufacture, supply, or sale of the &ldquo;Miracle Mineral Solution&rdquo; (MMS) for the purposes of treating a medical condition is illegal, campaigners want Mr Harris to introduce further deterrents by way of legislation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Autistic Rights Together has called on the Government to make the administering of MMS &mdash; also known as CD Protocol &mdash; to children illegal under child abuse laws, but said Mr Harris has declined its approaches to discuss the issue.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The organisation claims that South African authorities are to strengthen their legislation following reports that children with autism there were fed the product.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	MMS is a mixture of water and sodium chlorite &mdash; a chemical that cannot be sold for human consumption and is used in waste-water treatment and textile bleaching.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Autistic Rights Together and many other advocates have been campaigning worldwide for over two years now, trying to put an end to this abuse of autistic children,&rdquo; the group said in a statement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We welcome this very important development in South Africa but we are very disappointed by the lack of action taken by the authorities in Ireland, UK, and other countries.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There is no grey area around this issue. MMS/CD Protocol is child abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;However, our Government is not viewing this barbaric practice as child abuse.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The promotion of MMS as a cure for autism was first reported in the Irish Examiner in July 2014, and the product was subsequently the subject of a Prime Time investigation in April 2015.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Websites selling the product claim it can cure ailments such as arthritis, cancer, kidney disease, and liver disease.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last year, the Irish Examiner revealed how a group held a meeting at which it demonstrated how to administer MMS.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Genesis II Church of Health and Healing held a weekend seminar in Moone, Co Kildare, last December, at which attendees were charged a &ldquo;donation&rdquo; of &euro;350.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Church is headed by self-appointed archbishop Jim Humble, a former Scientologist who claims to have discovered MMS as a cure for malaria in 1996.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Despite the regulatory authority&rsquo;s warnings, local self-proclaimed bishop Joseph Grenon said the HPRA holds no authority over the Genesis II Church.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Religious freedom gives us the right to believe, and use, what we deem necessary for our health,&rdquo; he told this newspaper last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Kerri Rivera, a prominent US proponent of MMS, has dismissed criticisms of the product and claims on her website that &ldquo;the mainstream news media has become nothing more than a mouthpiece for the medical establishment which repeatedly says there is no cure or treatment for autism&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It should also be noted that just because the FDA [Food and Drug Administration], NIH [National Institutes of Health], or even a highly respected medical journal says something is (or is not) safe and effective, doesn&rsquo;t make it so,&rdquo; her website states.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Harris&rsquo; office had not responded to the Irish Examiner at the time of going to press last night.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 23<sup><font size=\"2\">rd</font></sup> August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/health-minister-urged-to-criminalise-controversial-bleach-cure-for-autism-750984.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/health-minister-urged-to-criminalise-controversial-bleach-cure-for-autism-750984.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-23 09:22:51',NULL,'harris-urged-to-criminalise-controversial-bleach-cure-for-autism'),(1592,'Children at risk from delays in referrals on diabetes ','<p>\r\n	Hundreds of children who get early onset diabetes each year are at risk of a further life- threatening condition because of delays in referring them for hospital treatment, Diabetes Ireland has warned.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Parents and GPs need to be aware of the importance of prompt referral of cases to specialist diabetes teams in order to reduce the risk of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), doctors say.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	DKA occurs when the body cannot use sugar (glucose) as a fuel source because there is no insulin or not enough insulin, and can result in a diabetic coma or even death.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Diabetes Ireland said that up to one in three children attending their GP with onset type 1 diabetes is not being referred to hospital promptly. As a result, half of them are also diagnosed with DKA.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Irish figures are anecdotal but they tally with the results of a British study published in recent weeks which found that 34 per cent of children with type 1 diabetes suffered a delayed referral averaging two days.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Early recognition</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This study demonstrates the importance of the awareness and early recognition of the symptoms of type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents,&rdquo; said Dr Declan Cody, a paediatric endocrinologist at Our Lady&rsquo;s Children&rsquo;s Hospital, Crumlin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The most common reason for delays arises when the GP attempts to confirm the diagnosis by undertaking further tests, such as a fasting blood glucose test or oral glucose tolerance test.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;GPs ask parents to bring their child back for blood tests the next day or in a few days if they are not better, whereas an immediate urine or finger-prick glucose check is warranted,&rdquo; said Dr Anna Clarke of Diabetes Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Immediate care</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	UK guidelines say children with suspected type 1 diabetes should be offered same-day referral to a paediatric diabetes team with the skills to confirm diagnosis and provide immediate care. No such guidelines are in place here. In 2014, one in six children in Ireland diagnosed with type 1 diabetes admitted to hospital had DKA, although it is avoidable with early diagnosis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Diabetes Ireland is targeting GPs, schools, cr&egrave;ches and pharmacies to increase awareness of the differences between type 1 and type 2 diabetes and the urgency in confirming type 1 diabetes and treating it early.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are about 16,000 people with type 1 diabetes in Ireland, of whom almost 3,000 are under 16 years. Type 1 affects one in 500 children with a quick onset, occurring over days or weeks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	With DKA, the body, starved of insulin, begins to break down fat for energy. The person&rsquo;s kidneys have to work harder to eliminate glucose in the blood, leading to thirst, tiredness, greater urination and weight loss.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 23rd August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/children-at-risk-from-delays-in-referrals-on-diabetes-1.2765076\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/children-at-risk-from-delays-in-referrals-on-diabetes-1.2765076</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-23 09:46:39',NULL,'children-at-risk-from-delays-in-referrals-on-diabetes'),(1593,'Number of children in emergency beds tops 2,000 for the first time','<p>\r\n	The number of children living in homeless accommodation in Dublin has passed the 2,000 mark for the first time.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) began collating statistics on people living in homeless accommodation last year. The latest figures show a 79pc increase in the number of families in emergency accommodation, from 556 in July last year to 939 last month.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Slammed</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The number of children in emergency accommodation rose by 70pc from 1,185 to 2,020 in the same period.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Groups working with the homeless slammed the figures, with the Dublin Simon Community calling the increase &quot;astounding&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a statement, the charity said it &quot;highlighted the need for the implementation of measures to tackle the homeless crisis&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The continuing rise in the number of vulnerable families and children becoming homeless highlights once again the urgent need for the implementation of the Housing and Homeless Action Plan,&quot; it said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The new action plan has outlined measures to limit the use of emergency accommodation for families in Dublin and ensure that hotels are only used in limited circumstances by mid-2017.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It promises 1,000 rapid housing units by 2016 and 800 by 2017.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Independent Dublin councillor Christy Burke, who campaigns on behalf of the homeless, was outraged by the latest homelessness stat- istics.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said he was considering helping to take a legal action against the State on behalf of eight to 10 homeless families.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;This situation - what an indictment of a person&#39;s or a family&#39;s civil liberties. Nothing has changed,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I go out two nights a week as a volunteer for the homeless and I could have told you nothing is getting better. It&#39;s getting worse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It&#39;s an indictment. It&#39;s a breach of civil liberties and human rights.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;There&#39;s a lot of things that can be done - buy back properties, go to auctions, increase rent allowance by 30pc, not 15pc.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;At the very least we need to stop the appalling act of the inhumane conditions for these children.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last month marked the launch of the Government plan to tackle the housing crisis, called Rebuilding Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A budget of &euro;5bn for social housing over the next five years and the establishment of a new Housing Procurement Office were among the actions listed in the document.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Urgent</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dublin Simon said there was an urgent need for the &quot;comprehensive actions&quot; laid out in the plan to be implemented.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;This ambitious and detailed plan makes it clear that housing and homelessness is a top government priority,&quot; it said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;For the first time we are seeing genuine cross-department and agency partnerships in order to provide solutions for people who are homeless, with a particular emphasis on moving people out of homelessness and prevention measures to keep people in their own homes.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Herald.ie on the 23rd August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.herald.ie/news/number-of-children-in-emergency-beds-tops-2000-for-the-first-time-34986585.html\">http://www.herald.ie/news/number-of-children-in-emergency-beds-tops-2000-for-the-first-time-34986585.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-23 09:49:08',NULL,'number-of-children-in-emergency-beds-tops-2000-for-the-first-time'),(1594,'HSE\'s home-care package \'not working\' - Harris','<p>\r\n	Health Minister Simon Harris is already at loggerheads with the HSE over the slow roll-out of additional home-care packages - despite it getting an additional &euro;40m in funding.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE has been forced to withdraw a directive it issued to Waterford Hospital that no additional home-care packages should be given, except for palliative care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As the annual hospital trolley crisis looms, the minister told the Irish Independent he was unhappy with the lack of consistency across the country in the use of mid-year additional funds.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The money is due to provide 270,000 additional hours of home care and 2,000 more home-care packages.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I spoke to the HSE this morning. I am not satisifed it is working as it should,&quot; he said yesterday at the launch of the annual report of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	HSE home care ran into crisis in recent months after much of the annual allocation had been spent early in the year to relieve hospital overcrowding, particularly in the run up to the General Election. This meant a waiting-list backlog of hundreds of people approved for home care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE said the provision of home-care services, particularly to older people, was important in supporting people to remain at home and to support their discharge from acute hospitals. Each area tries to provide home care services &quot;within its annual budget, having regard for assessed need&quot;, it added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are 620 patients in hospital who are fit for discharge and 44 are waiting for funding for home care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 24th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/hses-homecare-package-not-working-harris-34990789.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/hses-homecare-package-not-working-harris-34990789.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-24 08:31:26',NULL,'hses-home-care-package-not-working-harris'),(1595,'Almost 1,000 ‘high priority’ children without a social worker','<p>\r\n	Tusla&rsquo;s chief executive says the 2015 figures were less than the previous year</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Almost 1,000 children deemed to be at high risk were waiting to be allocated a social worker at the end of last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The annual report from Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, said a total of 6,718 children were waiting for social workers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The agency stressed, however, these figures were improvements on the situation in 2014.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;High priority cases awaiting allocation reduced from 2,836 in December 2014 to 999 in December 2015 &ndash; a 65 per cent reduction,&rdquo; it said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Cases awaiting allocation to a social worker reduced from 8,542 in December 2014 to 6,718 in December 2015 &ndash; a 21 per cent reduction.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The agency&rsquo;s child protection services received 43,596 referrals, of which 42 related to abuse or neglect and 58 per cent to child welfare.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Chief executive Fred McBride said 2015 had been a &ldquo;crucial year&rdquo; as the agency worked to develop in particular its early interventions where children were at risk or families in crisis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;At a difficult time and with limited resources, Tusla made a strong start to introducing reforms, transforming services and ultimately improving outcomes for children,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Despite the progress, however, he said the numbers of vulnerable children without allocated social workers, remained too high and the target was to bring them to zero.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 23rd August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/almost-1-000-high-priority-children-without-a-social-worker-1.2766076\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/almost-1-000-high-priority-children-without-a-social-worker-1.2766076</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-24 08:33:42',NULL,'almost-1000-‘high-priority’-children-without-a-social-worker'),(1596,'Baby taken into care over risky ‘treatment’','<p>\r\n	A baby boy whose father advocates the use of &ldquo;harmful alternative medication&rdquo; should be taken into council care, a family court judge has decided.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The man had sold Master Mineral Solution (MMS) as a treatment for cancer and autism, social services staff told Judge Helen Black.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Staff said MMS was a sodium chlorite solution equivalent to industrial-strength bleach. They said the man advocated the use of MMS and his website included &ldquo;paraphernalia for the administration of such products to babies&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Social workers said there were concerns that the boy, now aged about eight months, might ingest &ldquo;harmful alternative medication&rdquo; either directly or via his mother&rsquo;s breast milk.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Detail of the case has emerged in a ruling published by the judge following a family court hearing in Portsmouth, Hampshire.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Black said Southampton City Council had responsibility for the boy and had asked her to make decisions about the boy&rsquo;s long-term future. She said the boy&rsquo;s father was English and his mother Portuguese.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Black said the little boy had been temporarily taken from his parents when he was a few days old over fears including that the boy had not been given appropriate medical attention.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Black said the boy&rsquo;s parents had not attended family court hearings for a number of months &mdash; and had gone to Portugal.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 24th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/baby-taken-into-care-over-risky-treatment-417448.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/baby-taken-into-care-over-risky-treatment-417448.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-24 08:35:12',NULL,'baby-taken-into-care-over-risky-‘treatment’'),(1597,'Campaigners call for end to direct provision after young mother dies at Cork centre','<p>\r\n	Campaigners have repeated calls for an end to direct provision after a young mother took her own life in a Cork accommodation centre.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garda&iacute; were called to the Kinsale Rd facility at around 8.15pm on Tuesday and found the body of the 36-year-old woman from South Korea dead in her room. She had been living at the facility for between six months and a year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A Garda spokesman confirmed they are treating the death as a personal tragedy, and are liaising with embassy officials as they prepare a file for the coroner&rsquo;s court.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Residents at the centre said the woman had a history of depression, had little English, and kept to herself.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Zoya Zoya, a Pakistani beautician who has been living at the complex for a year, said fellow residents were shocked by the death.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;She was a very quiet woman. When she came in to the dining room, she didn&rsquo;t really talk to anyone. She kept to herself. But we didn&rsquo;t expect she would do something like this,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Department of Justice, which oversees direct provision through the Reception and Integration Agency, confirmed that the woman had been receiving support services from Cork University Hospital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokesman said counselling and other support services will be made available to the centre&rsquo;s residents and staff through the HSE.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Any other supports required, including the holding of a memorial service, will be facilitated in due course,&rdquo; said the spokesman.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Green Party&rsquo;s representative for Cork North Central, Oliver Moran, described direct provision as like &ldquo;modern-day concentration camps&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I&rsquo;m devastated by this death because it was preventable and this is a result of conscious policy decisions over time. We&rsquo;re reiterating our call to end direct provision. Now isn&rsquo;t the time for wringing hands. We need to accept responsibility.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Green Party representative for Cork South Central, Lorna Bogue, said the State needs to accept responsibility for the death of a young mother in its care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last year Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald revealed that between 2002 and 2014, 61 asylum seekers, including 16 children under six, died in direct provision centres.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;While all of these deaths are, of course, tragic, they need to be viewed proportionately and against the background that RIA has provided accommodation for almost 53,000 persons over the course of the 14 years the direct provision policy has been in place,&rdquo; Ms Fitzgerald said at the time.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 25th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/campaigners-call-for-end-to-direct-provision-after-young-mother-dies-at-cork-centre-417589.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/campaigners-call-for-end-to-direct-provision-after-young-mother-dies-at-cork-centre-417589.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-25 08:03:35',NULL,'campaigners-call-for-end-to-direct-provision-after-young-mother-dies-at-cork-centre'),(1598,'Donations to dog group ‘down 35% since charity scandals’','<p>\r\n	CEO of Irish Dogs for the Disabled says funding down by &euro;64,000 so far this year</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Donations to the Irish Dogs for the Disabled charity, which runs almost entirely on a voluntary basis, are down by 35 per cent since the funding scandal at the suicide charity Console.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Jennifer Dowler, chief executive of the Cork-based charity, said donations had dropped by about &euro;64,000 so far this year due to, what she believes, is a negative perception of charities by the public.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The charity receives no government funding and costs about &euro;300,000 a year to run, mainly raised by members of the public through events such as coffee mornings and mini-marathons.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Dowler said the charity&rsquo;s donations were down anyway this year, but had dropped by 35 per cent since the scandal at Console broke.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s quite a competitive market and there has been a lot of negative press in relation to charities. Everything has a knock-on effect. We will just keep going and we are hoping it will turn around again.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;You can understand why people are concerned &ndash; I get that. But it&rsquo;s our lifeline. People need to ask more questions and get to know charities.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The charity trains dogs for three specific roles &ndash; as stability dogs, assistance, or task-based dogs for people using wheelchairs, and as therapy dogs for people with physical and intellectual disabilities. It has about 200 dogs at various stages of development and training.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 25th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/donations-to-dog-group-down-35-since-charity-scandals-1.2767454\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/donations-to-dog-group-down-35-since-charity-scandals-1.2767454</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-25 08:07:04',NULL,'donations-to-dog-group-‘down-35%-since-charity-scandals’'),(1599,'VICTORIA WHITE: Autism is in your genes and isn’t something that can be taken away','<p>\r\n	There is no &lsquo;one size fits all&rsquo; when it comes to autism as every child has a different constellation of disabilities, writes Victora White</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They will be queueing from midnight next Wednesday night outside St Augustine&rsquo;s Special School in Blackrock, Co Dublin. All hoping to bag a place in school for their mildly intellectually disabled children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Even as I write this, I can barely believe it. Parents are being asked to queue up outside the school and will be given numbers. Their children&rsquo;s applications will be considered in the order of their parents&rsquo; numbers, or as St Augustine&rsquo;s put in writing to the parents, &ldquo;according to the date and time&rdquo; of their application.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It doesn&rsquo;t matter how suitable they are for this particular school. If their parents can&rsquo;t get out of the sack in quick time they can just go somewhere else. If they only have one parent and he or she can&rsquo;t get anyone to mind an intellectually disabled child overnight I guess the kid can just give up on that place too.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Oh, and if the kid has autism as well as that mild learning disability, the odds get shorter. There are only a handful of autism places next year so if the first seven or eight in the queue have kids with autism, the others are out of luck.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The only reason I know about this is because I have a kid with autism and chat to parents of intellectually disabled children at special sports events.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last year the same thing happened. Parents talked about getting into the queue in the early morning and being surprised by the competitive atmosphere.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One mother told me she&rsquo;d offered to get coffee for the queue if they kept her place and was ignored. I guess that&rsquo;s what desperation does to you.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	I was so stunned I rang up St Augustine&rsquo;s School to investigate. I was told this enrolment process was in place when the current headmaster got his job and would not necessarily be in place again this year. But it is. I have spoken to parents who were told that a better enrolment process couldn&rsquo;t be found.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	I suggest that a better enrolment process would involve the painstaking evaluation of competing academic and psychological reports followed by interviews.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This was what happened some years ago when I applied for a place in St Augustine&rsquo;s for my autistic son, Tom. He was refused because his autism was considered too pronounced for the school. I was devastated. But I accepted their judgement and I still do.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tom went to a school specially for autistic kids and he needed it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Rigour was far from the norm in the allocation of resources to disabled kids in my experience, however.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	I have been offered a place in an ABA school for Tom with no prior screening.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	I have been summoned to an interview at an ABA school which never contacted me or returned my calls thereafter. Tom got his place in a mixed special school of which I had heard by chance and approached with a handwritten note.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Then again, even getting a diagnosis was a matter of chance. After two years in the local state psychological clinic we had no diagnosis but autism had been ruled out. Following a tip-off by a private art therapist, I sought a private diagnosis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The National Review of Autism Services (2012) says diagnosing autism should take about three and a half hours but if I hadn&rsquo;t had money, luck, and persistence who knows if he would be diagnosed to this day.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Into this mess step any number of private services claiming to treat and even &ldquo;cure&rdquo; your child of his or her genetic disability. I can&rsquo;t count the number of mothers who have told me of the time and money they wasted on these &ldquo;cures&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One mother told me of her pain when a practitioner at one such private clinic told her that her son did not have autism and would catch up with his peers within a couple of years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The unfortunate mother cracked open the champagne only to find, after spending about &euro;3,000 on the said therapy, that her child was every bit as autistic as he was.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	To add insult to injury, she then spent several thousand on the &ldquo;biomedical&rdquo; approach, feeding her son with up to 15 different supplements every day, and excluding wheat, soy, and corn. She says he was living mostly on rice cakes. There was no change in his condition.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One fine day she woke up and dumped the entire diet. She is very happy with the progress her child is making at a small ABA school. The National Council for Special Education&rsquo;s recently published Comprehensive Advice on Autism Education shows children receiving one-to-one and/or group ABA or similar behaviour therapies for 13-plus hours a day making &ldquo;statistically significant gains&rdquo; compared with other children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But it makes the point that we need further research to discover the interactions between IQ, the severity of the autism, and what type of intervention is appropriate. There is no &ldquo;one size fits all&rdquo; when it comes to autism as every child has a different constellation of disabilities.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There is, however, no scientific basis for the idea that ABA or any other behavioural method can &ldquo;cure&rdquo; a child of autism. Despite a total lack of evidence the media continue to gaily present behavioural regimes as well as diets and the Lord knows what else as &ldquo;cures&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The brilliant Belfast-based blogger Sharon Fennell writes scathingly of an RT&Eacute; Morning Edition programme two years ago in which a certain William Shaw claimed to have &ldquo;reversed&rdquo; autism in some children with his &ldquo;biomedical&rdquo; interventions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meanwhile the Galway-based Child Development Centre was credited with effecting a transformation in an autistic child with listening, cranio-sacral, and biomedical therapies which do not have scientific backing, according to the UK research site (www.researchautism.net) recommended in our National Council for Special Education&rsquo;s Comprehensive Advice on Autism Education.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	I remember feeling really depressed when multimillionaire entrepreneur Sean O&rsquo;Sullivan told RT&Eacute;&rsquo;s John Murray he was leaving Cork for the US where he could avail of intensive ABA education, a regime he claimed could make half of those treated indistinguishable from their peers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Very sadly, this finding, first published in the 1980s, is not true. It is as untrue as the claim by the originator of ABA, Dr Ole Ivar Lovaas, that he could cure &ldquo;sissy boys&rdquo; of their homosexuality.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ghastly, I know. It is questionable to discuss disability and homosexuality in the same context but there is this similarity: Autism, like homosexuality, is in your genes. It isn&rsquo;t something which can be taken away to reveal the real person.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the total absence of the &ldquo;clear pathway&rdquo; to diagnosis and services which the HSE promised us in the Progressing Disability initiative, first articulated in 2010, and any scientific procedure to find the right education for the individual disabled child, parents are out there foraging for help with their wallets open.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	And some are dusting down their sleeping bags to camp out in Blackrock, Co Dublin, to get a school place for their disabled child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 25th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/columnists/victoria-white/autism-is-in-your-genes-and-isnt-something-that-can-be-taken-away-417598.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/columnists/victoria-white/autism-is-in-your-genes-and-isnt-something-that-can-be-taken-away-417598.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-25 08:09:24',NULL,'victoria-white-autism-is-in-your-genes-and-isn’t-something-that-can-be-taken-away'),(1600,'Rise in doctors seeking help for mental health issues','<p>\r\n	The number of doctors seeking support for mental health issues increased significantly in 2015, the Medical Council of Ireland revealed yesterday, at the launch of their annual report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Providing support for doctors is key to preventing suicide and keeping doctors within the profession, argued president of the Medical Council, Freddie Wood. Offering help is also key to ensuring that doctors provide consistent, quality care to the public.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Throughout last year, 51 doctors were supported by the Medical Council&rsquo;s Health Committee, which assists doctors in continuing to practise during illness, provided there is no risk to patient safety. This compared with 43 doctors in 2014. The most common reasons for doctors seeking support were addiction and mental issues.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Losing doctors to suicide is a huge loss to the profession and Irish society, and costs millions of euro, Prof Wood said yesterday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s unreasonable to think doctors are different than the general population,&rdquo; said Prof Wood.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;At any one time in life, up to one third of people have psychological or psychiatric difficulty. Up &lsquo;till recently, it was expected &mdash; probably because the profession was predominately male-orientated &mdash; that you had a stiff upper lip and you didn&rsquo;t talk to anybody. As a consequence, the suicide rate in the medical profession, as well as the dental profession, are among the highest.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Losing doctors from the register because of poorly treated or untreated mental health issues, is a huge economic loss to the country.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I use the term &lsquo;pastoral support&rsquo; when I initially became president two and a half years ago, and I got a lot of criticism from my professional colleagues, who said &lsquo;we don&rsquo;t need it&rsquo;, but in fact we do.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When doctors are experiencing difficulties, they&rsquo;re less likely to perform consistently, said Prof Wood &mdash; and that has a negative effect on patient care: &ldquo;So it&rsquo;s not just about the profession, it&rsquo;s about the knock-on effect on the public.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Along with support for doctors, complaints against members of the profession were also discussed at the event, which took place at the Medical Council&rsquo;s headquarters in Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Medical Council received 369 complaints against doctors in 2015, an increase of nearly 20% on 2014.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 26th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/rise-in-doctors-seeking-help-for-mental-health-issues-417880.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/rise-in-doctors-seeking-help-for-mental-health-issues-417880.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-26 08:38:07',NULL,'rise-in-doctors-seeking-help-for-mental-health-issues'),(1601,'India to ban foreigners from surrogacy service','<p>\r\n	The Indian government plans to ban foreigners, single parents and gay couples from using India&rsquo;s surrogacy services under a proposed law intended to protect poor women from exploitation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Only infertile couples who have been married for at least five years could seek a surrogate, who must be a close relative, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There will be a complete ban on commercial surrogacy. Childless couples, who are medically unfit to have children, can take help from a close relative, in what is an altruistic surrogacy,&rdquo; Ms Swaraj said at a news conference in New Delhi.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The bill does not say which relatives are close enough to be considered as potential surrogates.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The proposed law will soon be introduced in parliament, where the governing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party commands a majority in the lower house.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Gay couples, single parents and foreigners would not be allowed to hire Indian women as surrogates under the proposed law, which would have to be passed by both houses of parliament to become law.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Over the past few years, India has become a popular destination for people wanting to have children using surrogate mothers, partly because its doctors and clinics broker the service at relatively low cost.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But many of the women are paid a pittance of the money that is paid to clinics by anxious couples yearning to have a child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Swaraj cited past cases where a couple took home one child from a twin birth or a couple left a disabled baby with the surrogate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The law would stop such unethical practices,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In 2001, India legalised commercial surrogacy, in which a surrogate mother can carry another&rsquo;s genetic child through a process of in-vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer for a payment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Although there are no official figures available, a 2012 UN report counted around 3,000 fertility clinics in India.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	India&rsquo;s surrogacy business was estimated at around $1 billion dollars (&euro;886.5m) a year an growing, but it had few regulations governing it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In November, the government had instructed Indian embassies not to grant visas to foreigners who planned to come to India to engage a surrogate mother.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The home ministry said a child born through surrogacy to foreigners would not be allowed to leave the country.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 26th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/india-to-ban-foreigners-from-surrogacy-service-417832.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/india-to-ban-foreigners-from-surrogacy-service-417832.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-26 08:39:30',NULL,'india-to-ban-foreigners-from-surrogacy-service'),(1602,'Call to strengthen legislation as 47,000 Irish homes owned by vulture funds','<p>\r\n	Focus Ireland has urged the Government to implement legislation to protect vulnerable homeowners and tenants from vulture funds, warning that thousands of people could be at risk of being removed from their homes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The organisation launched the campaign claiming the Government needed to target the funds which were making profits thanks to weak laws and loopholes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Recent figures issued by the Central Bank showed up to 47,000 Irish homes are now owned by vulture funds, and Focus Ireland has used that data to estimate the likely number of such properties around the country.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One example was for Cork. Focus Ireland director of advocacy Mike Allen said: &ldquo;If you look at the CSO data on the permanent housing units in each county and do a proportional breakdown, we estimate that there are 5,344 vulture fund-owned homes in Cork.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;That worrying figure shows exactly how the vultures have extended their reach into communities across the country.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Focus Ireland estimates that more than 13,000 properties in Dublin are owned by vulture funds, while more than 2,500 properties in Galway may be owned by such funds.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It said its &lsquo;vulture shock&rsquo; campaign was being launched as the Central Bank indicated that it was not satisfied with the approach taken by the Department of Finance to the regulation of the funds. It also said there was a heightened risk of more evictions unless the issue was tackled.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Focus Ireland is calling for Government action to stop more vulture funds swooping on Ireland for the easy profits to be made by exploiting tax loopholes and weak legislation,&rdquo; Mike Allen said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This serious threat to Irish homes first hit the headlines this year when a vulture fund bought an apartment complex in Tyrrelstown [in Co Dublin] and tried to evict the tenants. It is shocking to realise that whether you own or rent, vultures could swoop on your home in this way.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Those behind the campaign are urging government action in a number of areas, spearheaded by three key elements: limiting the sale of residential debt to international funds and closure of tax loopholes to ensure that vulture funds pay proper tax; removing the &lsquo;sale of property&rsquo; as grounds for termination of a tenancy under the Residential Tenancies Act &mdash; as is the norm in many other countries; and strengthening the code of conduct on mortgage arrears and include buy-to-let owners and tenants.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In light of new figures published earlier this week which showed more than 2,000 children now homeless in Dublin and soaring rental prices which have now outstripped the peaks seen in the Celtic Tiger years, others have also asked that sale of property not be permitted as a reason for people being asked to leave a property.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Programme for Partnership Government contains a commitment to provide &ldquo;greater protection for mortgage holders and tenants and SMEs whose loans have been transferred to non-regulated entities (&lsquo;vulture funds&rsquo;)&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mike Allen said it was &ldquo;totally unacceptable&rdquo; that the State was not providing proper protection to mortgage holders and vulnerable families and individuals in buy-to-let properties.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 26th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/call-to-strengthen-legislation-as-47000-irish-homes-owned-by-vulture-funds-417857.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/call-to-strengthen-legislation-as-47000-irish-homes-owned-by-vulture-funds-417857.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-26 08:41:47',NULL,'call-to-strengthen-legislation-as-47000-irish-homes-owned-by-vulture-funds'),(1603,'Parents’ key role in children’s drinking','<p>\r\n	A third of adolescents and half of parents report &ldquo;hazardous drinking&rdquo;, according to a University College Cork study.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Documenting a strong link between the liberal attitudes of parents to alcohol and their children&rsquo;s drinking, the research urges health-action plans to target both the behaviour of adolescents and the attitudes of their parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study noted the different influences of fathers and mothers in their children&rsquo;s behaviour and attitudes to alcohol.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The adolescents of fathers who were drinking hazardously were three times as likely to report hazardous consumption themselves.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hazardous drinking was defined by the World Health Organisation as &ldquo;a pattern of alcohol consumption that increases the risk of harmful consequences for the user or others&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study, published in BMC Public Health, was based on 366 students, from fifth and sixth year, and 542 parents, in the Mallow and Kanturk areas of Co Cork.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Researchers from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Heath carried out the work, in 2014 and 2015.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The result was that 34% of adolescents, and 47% of parents, surveyed reported hazardous drinking.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The majority of adolescents &mdash; some 68% &mdash; were under the legal age.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The median age of pupils was 17 and 55% were female.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	90% of parents disagreed with allowing their adolescent to get drunk &mdash; but 20% of parents said they would not be worried if their child consumed four pints of alcohol once a month.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report said that &ldquo;a large majority of parents&rdquo; (43%) agreed with permitting their adolescent to drink on special occasions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The survey found that if an adolescent was a hazardous drinker, their father was more likely to agree with the proposition that it&rsquo;s &lsquo;okay for the adolescent to get drunk sometimes&rsquo; (15% v 3%).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Similarly, fathers of hazardous-drinking adolescents were more likely to agree that &lsquo;getting drunk is part of having fun as an adolescent&rsquo; (13% v4%).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The mother of an adolescent reporting hazardous drinking was more likely to agree that &lsquo;it&rsquo;s okay for their adolescent to get drunk sometimes&rsquo; (6% v 1%).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The survey, however, found no observed effect on adolescents from their mothers&rsquo; drinking.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But it said mothers had an influence on their children&rsquo;s attitude towards alcohol.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Introducing alcohol at home, on special occasions, may be causing increased levels of consumption among adolescents,&rdquo; it said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;A more authoritative parenting style may have a protective effect.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The authors said that, as 68% of adolescents were under the legal age, there was an &ldquo;urgent need&rdquo; to understand how they are accessing alcohol and improving law enforcement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Concluding, it highlighted the &ldquo;influencing nature&rdquo; of fathers and mothers on adolescent behaviour and attitudes to drinking.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In future, we recommend that any action plan to tackle adolescent-drinking behaviours should also be aimed at tackling parents&rsquo; attitudes towards, and consumption of, alcohol.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 29th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/parents-key-role-in-childrens-drinking-418210.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/parents-key-role-in-childrens-drinking-418210.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-29 08:19:30',NULL,'parents’-key-role-in-children’s-drinking'),(1604,'Staff at Oberstown Children\'s Detention Campus to stage work stoppage over assaults','<p>\r\n	150 staff members at the State&#39;s only youth detention centre will walk off the job today.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Residential care workers and supervising staff at Oberstown Children&#39;s Detention Campus in Dublin are taking the action due to a dispute over poor safety measures and increasing assaults on the campus.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The IMPACT and Siptu trade unions, which represent the employees says the work stoppage will take place from 8am until 4pm and will see residents confined to their rooms during that time.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The unions say there were more than 100 violent incidents in the centre last year, almost half of which were classed as critical.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Assistant General Secretary with IMPACT, Tom Hoare, said: &quot;The real seroius matter for us is that it is not reasonable to expect men and women, childcare workers to go into work and run the risk, as they do every single day, of being injured and hurt.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;In many cases, there are serious amounts of sick leave.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The only official figures that we have, have identified that last year alone 3,000 days were lost in relation to sick leave arising from assaults and injuries.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by BreakingNews.ie on the 29th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/staff-at-oberstown-childrens-detention-campus-to-stage-work-stoppage-over-assaults-751903.html\">http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/staff-at-oberstown-childrens-detention-campus-to-stage-work-stoppage-over-assaults-751903.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-29 08:20:59',NULL,'staff-at-oberstown-childrens-detention-campus-to-stage-work-stoppage-over-assaults'),(1605,'Second case of babies switched in Canadian hospital angers community','<p>\r\n	David Tait and Leon Swanson were swapped in a government-run hospital in 1975</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	For the second time in less than a year, two men from the same remote Canadian community have discovered they were switched at birth, prompting outrage and new questions about substandard healthcare for Canada&rsquo;s indigenous people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	David Tait and Leon Swanson were swapped in the government-run Norway House Hospital in 1975 in the western Canadian province of Manitoba, DNA testing confirmed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I want answers so bad,&rdquo; Mr Tait said, choking back tears at a press conference in Winnipeg on Friday. He added that he felt &ldquo;distraught, confused (and) angry.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Tait&rsquo;s biological mother ended up raising Mr Swanson instead, and Mr Swanson&rsquo;s birth mother raised Mr Tait, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Norway House is made up of two northern Manitoba communities and has a population of about 5,000 predominantly indigenous Cree Nation people. It is accessible by airplane and a long indirect road linking it with Winnipeg, about 800km (500 miles)to the south.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In November, the Manitoba government said two other men who were close friends were also switched at birth in 1975, at the same Norway House Hospital. As they grew up, people noticed how they resembled each other&rsquo;s family more than their own.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Eric Robinson, a former Manitoba cabinet minister who is helping the men in the latest case, said there were always suspicions in the community about their parentage. He suspects there are more undiscovered cases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The federal government owes these people,&rdquo; he told reporters. &ldquo;What happened to them is criminal.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Canada&rsquo;s health department operates the Norway House hospital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Canadian health minister Jane Philpott said the second case &ldquo;deeply troubled&rdquo; her. She said the health department would hire an independent party to investigate hospital records and look into whether there are other such cases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Cases like this are an unfortunate reminder to Canadians of how urgent the need is to provide all Indigenous people with high-quality health care,&rdquo;Ms Philpott said in a statement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Canada&rsquo;s 1.4 million indigenous people often live in dire social and economic conditions with subpar health and education services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Practices to ensure the identities of newborns have improved since the 1970s, and Norway House Hospital now fits infants with identification bands, the health department said in a statement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 28th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/second-case-of-babies-switched-in-canadian-hospital-angers-community-1.2770922\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/second-case-of-babies-switched-in-canadian-hospital-angers-community-1.2770922</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-29 08:22:38',NULL,'second-case-of-babies-switched-in-canadian-hospital-angers-community'),(1606,'Fire at Oberstown after youths force way onto roof','<p>\r\n	Five units from the fire brigade had to attend Oberstown Youth Detention Centre in Dublin last night after a fire broke out.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Among them was the environment unit which contains heavy duty water cannons.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Earlier in the day, garda&iacute; were called in to help deal with juvenile offenders who forced their way onto the roof of a detention centre during a strike by staff.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Garda helicopter was dispatched after reports emerged that at least five, and as many as 10, residents of Oberstown Children Detention Campus in north Dublin gained access to the roof.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One member of staff was reportedly seriously injured when a resident broke down a door, hitting the staff member in the head.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Local senior garda&iacute; liaised with management at the centre regarding their response to the security breach, and the public order unit was on standby.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It happened as staff from Impact and Siptu were carrying out an eight-hour stoppage outside the main gates of the complex in a dispute over increasing assaults and poor safety measures.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children&rsquo;s Minister Katherine Zappone called on the unions to cancel the industrial action and use the mechanisms provided to address their concerns.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking before the security breach, Ms Zappone said she was &ldquo;disappointed&rdquo; vulnerable young people would be impacted by the action.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The children were locked inside their rooms during the stoppage and emergency cover was provided. Before lunchtime, some residents managed to get onto the roof.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Impact official Tom Hoare said five residents got up on the roof and more than 12 staff members who were at the picket went in to assist their colleagues providing emergency cover.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said care workers were doing the work of prison officers but only had facilities and protection equipment of a residential care home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The record of assault and injury in this institution is absolutely appalling,&rdquo; said Mr Hoare.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Deirdre Malone of the Irish Penal Reform Trust said the action was &ldquo;directly detrimental&rdquo; to the care and welfare of the children at Oberstown.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 30th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/fire-at-oberstown-after-youths-force-way-onto-roof-418389.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/fire-at-oberstown-after-youths-force-way-onto-roof-418389.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-30 08:05:40',NULL,'fire-at-oberstown-after-youths-force-way-onto-roof'),(1607,'\'Why am I different?\'- Boy (12) only person in his class not accepted into secondary school','<p>\r\n	A 12-year-old Traveller boy is the only person in his class who was not accepted into a secondary school this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Paddy Flynn (12) should be starting secondary school this week along with his primary school classmates but he&rsquo;s the only one who has been refused a place in his local secondary school.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Paddy, who is the only Traveller in his class, previously attended De La Salle primary school in Ballyfermot and was hoping to attend the De La Salle secondary school (St John&rsquo;s) this week.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The young boy lives with his family at Labre Park at a halting site near the school and, according to RT&Eacute;&rsquo;s Morning Ireland, his application was refused because it was late.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;All of his class got in bar Paddy. What&rsquo;s different between Paddy and the rest of them?&rdquo; Paddy&rsquo;s mother Ann told Morning Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t know anyone in other schools. All of his friends are from Ballyfermot School. It&rsquo;s awful when you don&rsquo;t see your child getting in.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The school said it is within its right to refuse Paddy&rsquo;s application. Its website clearly states that late applications may not be accepted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They told Morning Ireland it&rsquo;s the responsibility of parents to ensure their child receives an education and that they visited all local primary schools and gave applications to the children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The primary school also said it made lots of efforts to help Paddy&rsquo;s parents and said there was confusion over which school Paddy wanted to attend.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Paddy&rsquo;s parents, who can&rsquo;t read or write, said they never got an application form, didn&rsquo;t know they had to apply and weren&rsquo;t aware of last November&rsquo;s deadline.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Department of Education figures show that 30pc of Traveller children have been disappearing out of the education system between sixth class and 2nd year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Lorraine McMahon from the Ballyfermot Traveller Action Project told Morning Ireland &ldquo;it&rsquo;s not good enough&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;When we&rsquo;re talking about equality of access and equality of outcomes that equality has to begin with recognising that they&rsquo;re not on a level playing field so saying that we&rsquo;re very fair and we treat kids all equally, there has to be a recognition that all children aren&rsquo;t coming from the same starting point and particularly for Traveller families working in Labre Park. It is not a level playing field.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said austerity has hit Travellers more than any other group. She explained there used to be posts known as &lsquo;visiting teachers&rsquo; for Travellers and their job included liaising with families, schools and other support services but those posts were abolished.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;When I came to Ballyfermot Traveller Action Project in 2009, Labre Park had just seen the first two Traveller girls from Labre Park complete their Leaving Cert and the first Traveller boy from Labre Park completed his Junior Cert.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It had become the norm for Traveller girls to remain in secondary school up until the Leaving Cert with a range of supports in place and with Traveller boys it was becoming the norm to stay in school to at least second year and third year and transfer was becoming automatic from primary to secondary school.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Now it has gone right back. We are struggling to keep Traveller girls in school until Junior Cert and we do not have any Traveller boy locally in second year in secondary school.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	St John&rsquo;s secondary school is taking 38 first years this week and said its first year classes are now full.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Since his rejection Paddy has applied to other schools but they have been turned down too.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;All the class are going. How am I different to the rest of them?&rdquo; Paddy said on Morning Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said he liked primary school and his favourite subject was maths.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I want to meet new friends and play about at lunch break.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Paddy was recently diagnosed with a mild general learning difficulty but 17 years ago his aunt Sally was also diagnosed with the learning difficulty and is about the graduate from Maynooth University with a 2:1 degree.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;When I was in primary school I got the exact same diagnosis. They always held me back. I always had this thing in my head that I couldn&rsquo;t go any further because I had a learning difficulty,&rdquo; Sally told Morning Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She praised supports from the youth service that &ldquo;believed and pushed&rdquo; her.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Paddy should have the right to go to St John&rsquo;s in Ballyfermot like the rest of his classmates,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 29th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/why-am-i-different-boy-12-only-person-in-his-class-not-accepted-into-secondary-school-35003630.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/why-am-i-different-boy-12-only-person-in-his-class-not-accepted-into-secondary-school-35003630.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-30 08:07:39',NULL,'why-am-i-different-boy-12-only-person-in-his-class-not-accepted-into-secondary-school'),(1608,'Resident at disability centre \'hadn\'t received enough food in 18 hours\' - report','<p>\r\n	Inspectors who made an unannounced visit to a disability centre found one resident had not received adequate food for more than eighteen hours.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The inspectors from the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa), who visited the St Raphael&rsquo;s Campus in Youghal in Cork in May and June, were told this was due to lack of staff available at that time to assist the resident to get out of bed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It has previously been the subject of a court application by Hiqa which had imposed restrictive conditions on it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Inspectors expressed concern about the use of antibiotics and medication to treat seizures which could have had &ldquo;potentially catastrophic&rdquo; or even fatal impacts on patients.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One of the residents alleged they had been physically abused by another and had lodged 15 complaints. However, they felt none had been properly examined.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The centre which has thirty residents is due to be closed next year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hiqa published 11 reports on residential services for people with disabilities which relate to centres which are provided by the Health Service Executive (HSE).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In relation to five of these centres, inspectors found evidence of a good quality of life for residents. The provider was found to be ensuring a high level of compliance with the regulatory requirements and providing a good standard of support and care to residents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Residents in one centre told inspectors that they were very happy living in their home. Inspectors found evidence of care practices that supported residents to exercise choice, and residents were consulted with on the running of the centre.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE had made arrangements for a different provider, Muiriosa Foundation, to operate the centre on its behalf.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Inspectors found that there had been significant improvements in residents&rsquo; quality of life since the introduction of these arrangements.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The previous provider of two centres, the Irish Society for Autism, had taken court action to appeal Hiqa&rsquo;s decision to cancel their registration.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The appeals were withdrawn in court and the HSE became the provider of these services. These inspections were carried out to ensure that there had been improvements to the safety and the quality of life of residents following this action. The HSE had made arrangements for Gheel Autism Services to operate the centres on its behalf, and inspectors found significant improvements had been made in safety and quality of life for residents. The HSE was monitoring these services to ensure that improvements were sustained.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE had become provider for one of these centres following court action taken by Hiqa to cancel the registration of the centre because of significant failings by the previous provider to ensure the safety and care of residents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Inspectors found that residents continued to receive a poor quality service, and the HSE had failed to address the safety, health and social care issues for residents. In another centre which was the subject of court orders during 2015, inspectors found that while there had been some improvements for residents in a number of areas, there continued to be a high level of non-compliance in areas such as healthcare and risk management in the centre.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Inspectors also found poor oversight arrangements in two small community-based houses operated by the HSE. The HSE had failed to ensure that there were adequate arrangements in place to ensure the safety of residents. Issues were identified in areas such as arrangements to safeguard residents from the risk of abuse, the management of restrictive practices, and risk management in these centres.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 29th August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/resident-at-disability-centre-hadnt-received-enough-food-in-18-hours-report-35003888.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/resident-at-disability-centre-hadnt-received-enough-food-in-18-hours-report-35003888.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-08-30 08:10:40',NULL,'resident-at-disability-centre-hadnt-received-enough-food-in-18-hours-report'),(1609,'Staff member injured in Oberstown riots needs \'reconstructive surgery on his face\'','<p>\r\n	A staff member injured in Monday night&rsquo;s riot in Oberstown has been left needing plastic surgery.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The man was attacked by up to eight teens who broke his nose. The man was also left with severe lacerations in his face and needs reconstructive surgery.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A fire set during the riot caused around &euro;2m worth of damage to the youth detention facility.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Herald has also learned that the riot began when eight young offenders broke out of a detention centre roof after a staff member was overpowered and threatened with boiling water.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The incident that led to the riot and fire occurred while staff were protesting about attacks, injuries and fears for their lives at the gates of the Oberstown young offenders facility in north county Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While the protest was in operation, the young offenders were forced to remain in their rooms being monitored by other staff.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But the offenders used the protest to their advantage when one requested refreshments, and a staff member who brought them was threatened, overpowered at the door and had their keys taken.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The offender was then able to free others who then took over the accommodation block.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Eight offenders accessed the roof and started pulling the tiles off, and set fire to Blocks 1, 2 and 3.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Eleven units of Dublin Fire Brigade spent from 7.30pm on Monday until 3.30am on Tuesday fighting the fire during which accommodation Block 3 collapsed due to the extent of the blaze, and Blocks 1 and 2 were left gutted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meanwhile, a man remains in garda custody today after he was arrested in connection with the theft of a custom-built BMW that was stolen from one of the firemen battling the Oberstown fire.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Thieves broke into the North Strand fire station while the unit was attending the fire and took a number of items, including the fireman&rsquo;s car and house keys, according to gardai.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The suspect was arrested after one of the fireman&rsquo;s colleagues spotted the car &ndash; which held &ldquo;great sentimental value&rdquo; to the owner, fireman Neal Dempsey, being driven.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The suspect in his late 40s, is being held for questioning at the Bridewell garda station.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children&rsquo;s Minister Katherine comprehensive report from the Oberstown Director, and said a garda investigation is under way.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is a matter for the gardai whether any action should be taken as a result of that investigation,&rdquo; Minister Zappone said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She confirmed that questions about the level of emergency cover that was in operation at the time of the gate protest</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 31st August 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/staff-member-injured-in-oberstown-riots-needs-reconstructive-surgery-on-his-face-35010185.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/staff-member-injured-in-oberstown-riots-needs-reconstructive-surgery-on-his-face-35010185.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-01 14:23:33',NULL,'staff-member-injured-in-oberstown-riots-needs-reconstructive-surgery-on-his-face'),(1610,'California Senate passes new construction law after Berkeley balcony collapse','<p>\r\n	The California Senate has passed a new law for the construction industry following the devastating Berkeley balcony collapse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The bill, which passed in the senate last night with an unanimous vote of 37-0, aims to address the accountability gaps revealed by the Berkeley tragedy and will &quot;bring more oversight to the construction contractors&#39; industry&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The balcony collapse, which occurred in June 2015, resulted in the deaths of six students and severe injuries in seven others when the balcony of a Berkeley apartment building plummeted to the ground during a birthday party.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A statement released by the California Government read; &quot;The tragedy reverberated across the Irish community in the United States and abroad as all but one of the students who were killed and injured were visiting from Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The sixth fatality was a 22-year-old Irish American student from Rohnert Park, California.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The bill, which was put forward by Senator Jerry Hill and Senator Loni Hancock, will now be reviewed by Governor Jerry Brown.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The governor has until September 30 to act on the Senate Bill.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;SB 465 [the bill] is in response to last year&rsquo;s tragic balcony collapse in Berkeley that killed six students and severely injured seven others,&rdquo; Hill said Wednesday evening in asking for his colleagues&rsquo; aye vote.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It ensures that the state agencies tasked with overseeing the construction industry are taking appropriate steps to identify bad actors and improve building standards.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to the senator, the legislation requires contractors &quot;convicted of felonies or crimes related to their work&quot; to report that information to the Contractors State License Board (CSLB), which regulates the industry.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The bill also requires the CSLB to determine whether receiving construction defect settlement information would be useful for them to fulfill their mission of protecting the public.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Finally, SB 465 requires the Building Standards Commission to look at improving their safety requirements for balconies and other outdoor structures.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The senate&#39;s statement continued: &quot;Shock over the tragedy that struck during a birthday party became outrage when it was discovered that the builder of the apartment complex had a history of construction defect settlements with payouts totaling $26.5 million.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At the moment, state law does not require contractors to report defect settlement cases to their licensing board, even though such disclosures are routine for doctors, engineers and architects.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Earlier this month, survivor Aoife Beary was praised by Senator Jerry Hill for sharing her story at the California State Senate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said there &quot;wasn&#39;t a dry eye in the room&quot; as the young woman told her story.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 1st September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/world-news/north-america/california-senate-passes-new-construction-law-after-berkeley-balcony-collapse-35012951.html\">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/north-america/california-senate-passes-new-construction-law-after-berkeley-balcony-collapse-35012951.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-01 14:26:23',NULL,'california-senate-passes-new-construction-law-after-berkeley-balcony-collapse'),(1611,'Helpline to be launched for women who used abortion pills bought online','<p>\r\n	A free helpline for women who have used online abortion pills is to be launched across Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The confidential &quot;aftercare&quot; support from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) will provide reassurance and advice for those who have taken tablets ordered from two websites.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Strict laws surround terminations on both sides of the Irish border and BPAS said some women may not seek help as they knew they were committing a criminal offence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Chief executive Ann Furedi said: &quot;What these women really need are accessible, high-quality abortion services at home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;They shouldn&#39;t have to make the choice between travelling to England and breaking the law by purchasing pills online.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;While we wait for politicians to do the right thing, BPAS will provide telephone aftercare to women who have bought pills online from these two women&#39;s organisations and who want to speak to someone in confidence about what they are experiencing, or who simply need a reassuring voice at the end of the line.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We will be here for these women 24 hours a day until they no longer need us.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In Northern Ireland the maximum penalty for the crime of administering a drug to induce miscarriage under the Offences Against The Person Act 1861, is life imprisonment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In April a 21-year-old woman was handed a suspended sentence by a judge in Belfast after she bought drugs on the internet to induce a miscarriage because she could not afford to fly to England for a lawful termination.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the Irish Republic, the offence of procuring an abortion carries a potential 14-year jail term.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The new helpline staffed by nurses will be advertised in newspapers in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Man.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It will offer advice to women who have obtained pills from two websites and who are concerned about any symptoms or who want to speak to someone.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The advisory service said: &quot;Women in these areas are increasingly using this option as the logistics and costs of travel, treatment and accommodation can be prohibitive.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dawn McAvoy, spokeswoman for the Evangelical Alliance, said women needed support, not a publicity stunt.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Groups need to work together to provide the best possible care for women and children within the current law, because both lives matter.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We want Northern Ireland to continue to value the life and health of the woman and the unborn child, advancing the wellbeing of both because both lives matter.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 1st September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/irish-news/helpline-to-be-launched-for-women-who-used-abortion-pills-bought-online-35012268.html\">http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/irish-news/helpline-to-be-launched-for-women-who-used-abortion-pills-bought-online-35012268.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-01 14:28:36',NULL,'helpline-to-be-launched-for-women-who-used-abortion-pills-bought-online'),(1612,'Oberstown management calls on staff to defer further strike action following disturbances','<p>\r\n	The Garda Emergency Response Unit (ERU) was called to the scene to quell Monday&rsquo;s trouble, which saw a staff member injured.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The management of Oberstown youth detention centre has tonight called on staff to return to the Workplace Relations Commission after Monday&rsquo;s work stoppage coincided with a fire breaking out at the facility.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Today campus director Pat Bergin brief the board of management at the children detention campus about the fire and violence that&nbsp;broke out at the facility on Monday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Garda Emergency Response Unit (ERU) was called to the scene to quell the trouble, with a staff member also injured in the disturbance. A Garda investigation is also ongoing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Six units of Dublin Fire Brigade battled a blaze on the roof of Oberstown on Monday night, after a&nbsp;fire broke out around 7.50pm.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The disturbance came about after 150 staff picketed for eight hours outside the centre in protest against what they say are health and safety concerns at the facility.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The youths were locked in their cells during the protest. Some staff members at the centre volunteered to leave the picket when trouble erupted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A number of residents of the centre took control of a unit earlier in the day after managing to take keys from a staff member.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<strong>Solidarity</strong></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We are mindful that there is a criminal&nbsp;investigation being undertaken by An Garda S&iacute;och&aacute;na and this must take priority at this time,&rdquo; said Professor Ursula Kilkelly, chair of the board of management.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;On behalf of the Board, I would like to express my solidarity with the staff of Oberstown for what has&nbsp;been an extremely difficult few days.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	We are disappointed that industrial action continues to be on the table notwithstanding that agreement was previously reached between management and IMPACT &hellip; over the last three months.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Prof Kilkelly added that the school on campus has resumed, and that management were determined to ensure international best practice was observed, in the interests of&nbsp;both young people and staff.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;At the same time, we will continue to do everything&nbsp;possible to ensure that the care ethos of the Campus is protected.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Permanent solution</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Professor Kilkelly added that the board is seeking a permanent solution to the industrial relations problem at the campus.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We are disappointed that industrial action continues to be on the table notwithstanding that agreement was previously reached between management and IMPACT &hellip; over the last three months.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We are requesting that management and unions return immediately to discussions at the WRC and that any further strike action be deferred to enable this to take place.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by TheJournal.ie on the 2nd September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/oberstown-fire-2-2960409-Sep2016/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/oberstown-fire-2-2960409-Sep2016/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-02 09:56:09',NULL,'oberstown-management-calls-on-staff-to-defer-further-strike-action-following-disturbances'),(1613,'Psychotherapists and counsellors to be regulated','<p>\r\n	Rules proposed by Simon Harris aim to address concerns on under-qualified therapists</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Almost 5,000 counsellors and psychotherapists are to be formally regulated for the first time, under plans that have been unveiled by the Department of Health. The two professions will be legally required to comply with rules of professional conduct and individual members will be subject to disciplinary hearings where complaints are made.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The new rules will formally define the professions of counsellor and psychotherapist, and only people who have the required qualifications will be able to use these titles in their work. For many years, there has been concern about the lack of regulation in the health counselling area and the level of qualifications held by some of those offering services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Minister for Health Simon Harris has invited submissions on the approach planned by his department, to be furnished by the end of November.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The two sectors will be regulated by Coru, the Health and Social Care Professions Council, which has already begun regulating other health practitioners such as physiotherapists and opticians. The Department of Health, in a briefing paper, says the move will ensure counsellors and psychotherapists have minimum qualifications, that only those who are registered can use these legally protected titles and that practitioners would be subject to sanctions, up to the cancellation of their registration where complaints are upheld against them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The note states: &ldquo;There is concern that, in many cases, there is no statutory oversight of their competence and conduct and that some practitioners lack the qualifications and professional training needed to work with such vulnerable clients.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It says a number of issues remain to be resolved, including the number of professions to be regulated, the titles to be protected and what &ldquo;grandfathering&rdquo; qualifications would be required for existing practitioners.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Unlike other professions that have been previously regulated by the council, the 5,000 counsellors and psychotherapists do not form a cohesive professional body, according to the department.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While the council is recommending a two-step approach, with the creation of a voluntary register before the statutory register is put in place, Mr Harris is proposing the establishment of one registration board for both professions, operating separate registers for each profession. Other forms of counsellors, such as in the area of finance or careers, will continue to be able to use this title in their work.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The new regulations will require the approval of the Oireachtas and a two-year transitional period will apply before the changes are fully introduced.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fianna F&aacute;il TD for Sligo-Leitrim Marc MacSharry said the Minister&rsquo;s proposals were &ldquo;a long overdue step forward in improving mental health and suicide prevention initiatives&rdquo;. Mr MacSharry said it was outrageous that people could describe themselves as a counsellor or psychotherapist after doing a six-week course.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 1st September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/psychotherapists-and-counsellors-to-be-regulated-1.2776352\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/psychotherapists-and-counsellors-to-be-regulated-1.2776352</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-02 09:58:50',NULL,'psychotherapists-and-counsellors-to-be-regulated'),(1614,'Volunteers urged to open homes to expand new respite care model','<p>\r\n	The Cope Foundation has urged volunteers to open their homes to help expand a new model of respite care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The foundation, which supports people with intellectual disabilities, has launched a recruitment drive to find host carers for its new Home Share project which provides short respite breaks to children and adults with intellectual disabilities and, or autism, from across Cork city and county.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Cope said the benefits of respite in a &ldquo;home away from home&rdquo; setting have been recognised for promoting independence and fostering social contacts in a community setting.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Home Share is exactly the kind of home away from home option that we are very keen to get off the ground,&rdquo; said Cope&rsquo;s acting short breaks co-ordinator, Rachel Moriarty. &ldquo;Short breaks are an essential support for the people we work with, and their families and community.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It provides the people we support with opportunities to gain new and positive experiences away from their families. It supports carers to have a well-deserved break so that they continue their essential care giving roles.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is an important way for caregivers to get time off with the security of knowing that their loved one is receiving care from a dependable, trained source in a community and social setting.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Host carers will be required to provide short breaks to Cope clients in their own home. Prospective home carers can be working, retired, single, married or with a partner, be parents or have no children, and need not have any experience of working with someone with a disability.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, carers will be fully vetted, assessed, and trained. The scheme is voluntary but host carers are paid an allowance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ayla Farrell, Cope&rsquo;s Home Share co-ordinator, said that a rigorous assessment and matching process will ensure that host carers and the person in need of respite are well matched to ensure it is a positive experience for all.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Teresa Moran&rsquo;s daughter, Nicola, 20, who is supported by Cope, has moved from availing of residential respite to the Home Share service in recent months, thanks to host carer Olivia, who lives with her daughter Molly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Teresa said Home Share is much more homely and flexible and keeps Nicola as independent as possible.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;At first other people had made me a bit nervous about Nicola going to another family, but as soon as I met Olivia and Molly I had no more worries,&rdquo; said Teresa.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They are so warm and friendly and Nicola always looks forward to her sleepovers with Olivia. Just knowing that Nicola is happy &mdash; that&rsquo;s the bottom line.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Olivia said she and her daughter have also benefitted from being involved in Home Share.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We plan activities more as a family and spend more quality time together,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Molly and I look forward to having Nicola come and stay with us. We don&rsquo;t see Nicola&rsquo;s disability, we just see her as part of the family.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	You can get more information on the scheme on www.cope-foundation.ie/HomeShare, or by contacting Ms Farrell by email (farrella @cope-foundation.ie) or by phone on 021-4643101.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 2nd September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/volunteers-urged-to-open-homes-to-expand-new-respite-care-model-418963.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/volunteers-urged-to-open-homes-to-expand-new-respite-care-model-418963.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-02 10:00:45',NULL,'volunteers-urged-to-open-homes-to-expand-new-respite-care-model'),(1615,'Care and safety top pre-school complaints','<p>\r\n	Four complaints a week were lodged about the country&#39;s pre-schools in the first half of the year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The majority of the 94 complaints relate to care and safety concerns, according to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency which has responsibility for registration and inspection of early-years services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The pre-school sector, which came under the spotlight in recent years after a television expos&eacute; showing poor practice, is now subject to new regulations since June, Tusla chief Fred McBride said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A new pre-school cannot open before a Tusla inspection of services to ensure they it is fit for purpose and can provide the required level of service and care for children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We have recruited additional inspectors. In 2015, the inspectorate moved from local to national governance, providing Tusla with a clear picture of the levels of activity and also identified areas where caseloads were excessive,&quot; he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It currently has 43 early-years inspectors, with a further three positions currently in the final stages of recruitment. Additionally, there are two national inspectors who support the early-years inspectors.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The stricter regulations mean the work has substantially expanded and additional inspectors will be needed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tusla expects to recruit an additional eight inspectors in 2016 and further inspectors in the future.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are currently 4,639 services registered with Tusla and the requirement on Tusla to undertake a registration inspection every three years. However, some areas receive inspections approximately every 18 to 24 months.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Inspections are prioritised based on complaints received and providers who do not engage with the process at the required standard.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 5th Sepmteber 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/care-and-safety-top-preschool-complaints-35021379.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/care-and-safety-top-preschool-complaints-35021379.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-05 08:25:32',NULL,'care-and-safety-top-pre-school-complaints'),(1616,'Solitary confinement can impact on prisoners’ mental health','<p>\r\n	NI Prison Ombudsman says time spent in isolation &lsquo;very bad for the mind&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Solitary confinement can impact on the mental health of prison inmates, especially those already affected by psychiatric difficulties, a prison watchdog has warned.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Reacting to figures showing prisoners are being held for months and even years in care and supervision units (CSU), Northern Ireland Prisoner Ombudsman Tom McGonigle said: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not good for anybody&rsquo;s mental health to spend so much time in isolation away from the general population.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Prison restricts the opportunities to interact with normal society in any event, so the CSU is essentially a prison within a prison.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Such inmates are separated from the rest of the prison population. &ldquo;They can&rsquo;t go to work, they can&rsquo;t go to education, they can&rsquo;t do offending programmes while they&rsquo;re in the CSU.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a further restriction of a person&rsquo;s opportunity to interact and to learn how to conduct themselves in a responsible and a reasonable way within the prison population so it&rsquo;s very bad for the mind.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Prisoners&rsquo; psychiatric conditions and personality disorders have been a common thread in critical reports into the North&rsquo;s three prison sites in recent years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Personality disorder</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Individuals cannot be detained and treated against their will in a psychiatric hospital if their only condition is a personality disorder. The recently enacted Mental Capacity Act (NI) 2016 allows for the compulsory treatment and/or detention of people with personality disorder, although a date for its commencement has not been agreed by Stormont.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr McGonigle said he believed the current system was having an impact on vulnerable inmates entering the prison system who can often end up in solitary confinement. &ldquo;It really is a societal issue whereby we need to decide how we treat those very damaged people who commit offences.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	For example, many of those prisoners who end up in the CSU can have personality disorders, but in Northern Ireland a personality disorder is not defined as a treatable condition.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Difficulties</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;That causes serious difficulties because a lot of people who might previously have ended up in psychiatric institutions are now ending up in CSU in a prison. Yes, they are a small part of the prison population, but they generate a disproportionate amount of concerns.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Prison healthcare in Maghaberry prison and at the Hydebank and Magilligan prison sites is the responsibility of the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a statement the trust said: &ldquo;All individuals located within the care and supervision unit are seen daily by healthcare professionals in relation to both their physical and mental healthcare needs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Trust mental health professionals initiate referral processes to secure psychiatric facilities where this is clinically appropriate and in line with regional referral criteria.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 5th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/solitary-confinement-can-impact-on-prisoners-mental-health-1.2778962\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/solitary-confinement-can-impact-on-prisoners-mental-health-1.2778962</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-05 08:27:26',NULL,'solitary-confinement-can-impact-on-prisoners’-mental-health'),(1617,'Private tuition for Traveller child refused school place','<p>\r\n	The Department of Education has offered nine hours a week of private tuition to a 12-year-old Traveller from Dublin who has been refused enrolment at his local Secondary school.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Paddy Flynn is the only child from Sixth Class in Ballyfermot&#39;s De La Salle primary school whose application to the nearby De La Salle secondary school was turned down.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The tuition will take place at a community centre in Ballyfermot.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	De La Salle secondary school told RT&Eacute; News that Paddy Flynn&#39;s application was rejected because it was late.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	His parents, who cannot read or write, say they did not know they had to apply.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Principal Ann Marie Leonard said that by the time Paddy&#39;s application was received, two First Year classes had been arranged for the following year and those classes were full.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	De La Salle has enrolled 38 First Year students this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Enrolment data received by RT&Eacute; news shows that this is substantially fewer than were admitted last year and in the years before that.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	De La Salle, also known as St John&#39;s College, admitted 67 First Years last year and 77 in 2014.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Department of Education said a late application would not be a sufficient reason for a school to reject a child unless the school was already full when the application was made.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Leonard said that due to falling enrolments generally, the school had this year reduced the number of First Year classes from four to two.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said those classes would include young people who needed a lot of support, and were now full.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Flynn family have been approached by a well-wisher who has offered to pay for Paddy to attend a private school.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, his parents have declined the offer. They say they believe Paddy&#39;s interests would be best served by attending a local school with his friends.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Applications made to other nearby schools on Paddy&#39;s behalf have also been rejected.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by RTE.ie on the 5<sup>th</sup> September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0905/814211-paddy-flynn-school/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0905/814211-paddy-flynn-school/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-05 08:29:46',NULL,'private-tuition-for-traveller-child-refused-school-place'),(1618,'Niall Muldoon: If we are to change young offenders, we must reform our flawed system','<p>\r\n	I am delighted that the management and unions in Oberstown Detention Campus are once again discussing how to agree the way forward for industrial relations in the centre. While I am hopeful that a resolution can be found for all of those involved at Oberstown, I feel that this issue has raised some real questions about considering alternatives to detention, so that children and young people receive services sooner rather than later.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Preventing children from entering the youth justice system needs to be a priority from the very first time that a child interacts with the system across health, education and justice. The first time a child comes into school without food, or they miss days without reason or they are reported as at risk of abuse or a concern for risk-taking behaviour - these are all opportunities for society to help them recover and it is our duty to protect them at those points.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	No child reached the point of criminality which will lead them to Oberstown without our system already knowing about them. So what can we, as aState and as a people, do better? We need to recognise that while alternatives to detention must be explored, Oberstown is our reality, and it may be our last opportunity to positively change some of these young people, rather than assume it is too late. Simply locking young people up does not work and we need to be brave in establishing a new way of doing things, to ensure that any of the young people who are ready to change will have all the support and assistance necessary to do that.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The redevelopment of Oberstown Detention Campus has been a vital step in providing a proper, child-centred response to societal issues which manifest in the very small number of young people who develop dangerous and challenging behaviours. The move of young people out of St Patrick&#39;s Institution to Oberstown was the beginning of a revolution which was designed to bring about better outcomes for all involved; the young person, their family, their victims and ultimately society in general.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The staff and management in Oberstown are tasked with caring for, and treating with respect, those who often do not reciprocate. I am sure that they fulfil this task admirably and with due diligence for the security and safety of all involved. Undoubtedly, some young people in Oberstown are much easier to work with, and relate to, than others. However, therein lies the challenge for us as a society. Can we do more than just secure them until they turn 18 and are released?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	I have visited Oberstown on a number of occasions and have seen the striking physical redesign which is going on there, but it appears we are now reaching the crossroads for the cultural redesign of the campus. We can look at the incidents that took place during the recent industrial action at Oberstown and see it as proof that all of these young people are violent offenders who deserve no compassion, who should be locked up and treated like prisoners. Or we can decide to redouble our efforts to ensure that every young person who enters the centre can expect respect, dignity and an opportunity to change their offending behaviour. That is an approach we have tried, but never managed to sustain in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	We must remember that Oberstown is a place where young people are not only deprived of their liberty but are also given the opportunity to try and change, and to consider a new way of life. And no matter what else is happening, these goals and objectives must remain front and centre. I visited Oberstown last week after the strike and I spoke with a number of residents. One of the young people asked me why he was being punished, by being locked up for hours, for something that had nothing to do with him. I could not answer him. The knock-on effect of the incidents on the roof that night meant that the young people were confined to their rooms from 9.30pm on Sunday night until after midday on Tuesday - much longer than the planned eight hours stoppage from 8am to 4pm. This is not acceptable.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the past week, I have been in contact with both unions involved in the strike, as well as the management at Oberstown. In line with my statutory obligation, I highlighted issues relating to the rights and welfare of children and young people. Having received their responses, I am not satisfied that the rights of the young people affected were fully to the fore in planning for industrial action.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ireland has already tried the concept of locking up young people in closed institutions, treating them as criminals and calling them inmates or prisoners. That has been proven to fail and fail utterly. Industrial schools, reform schools, work houses, mother and baby homes, laundries - every one of them operated in the &quot;lock them up, break them down and then they will conform&quot; style of child welfare. As our recent history has clearly shown through the Ryan, Murphy, Cloyne and McAleese reports, this way of treating children and young people is doomed to failure. I am not comparing young mothers to young people who have committed crimes, but what I am saying is that taking away their dignity and self-respect after locking people up, does not encourage change but rather entrenches anger and disrespect for the people and society which endorses such treatment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Change is possible and while you will never change all of these individuals, designing the system in a way that assumes you can change none of them, is to fail before you begin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Niall Muldoon is the Ombudsman for Children</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 6th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/opinion/comment/if-we-are-to-change-young-offenders-we-must-reform-our-flawed-system-35024810.html\">http://www.independent.ie/opinion/comment/if-we-are-to-change-young-offenders-we-must-reform-our-flawed-system-35024810.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-06 08:13:17',NULL,'niall-muldoon-if-we-are-to-change-young-offenders-we-must-reform-our-flawed-system'),(1619,'Widespread \'control\' of residents at Ãras Attracta, says report','<p>\r\n	The independent review of the &Aacute;ras Attracta care home has said there was widespread control of its mostly elderly residents, which was generally imposed for the ease of managing the service and the convenience of management and staff.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report of the &Aacute;ras Attracta Swinford Review Group was commissioned by the Health Service Executive to review of the quality of care provided at the complex in Swinford, Co Mayo.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It has recommended that residents who are ready now to move to non-institutional settings must be supported to do so without delay.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE&#39;s response, which is contained in the report, states that 27 residents will begin moving to community settings this year with a further 26 next year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE said it will engage with the remaining 37 residents and their families about choices and options for the future.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It said its vision for the facility is to move it from being an institutional model of care to a community-based, person-centred one.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The four-member Review Group&#39;s report runs to over 200 pages.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In his foreword, Chairperson Dr Kevin McCoy says the HSE commissioned the review following RT&Eacute;&#39;s screening in December 2014 of an undercover investigation of conditions inside Bungalow Three on the Aras campus.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said the investigation left &quot;a lasting and indelible impression on anyone who viewed it&quot; and which &quot;quite rightly led to a public outcry&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A draft report last month showed failures throughout the management system and a culture of bad practices at the HSE-run facility.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by RTE.ie on the 6th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0906/814467-aras-attracta-report/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0906/814467-aras-attracta-report/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-06 00:00:00',NULL,'widespread-control-of-residents-at-ãras-attracta-says-report'),(1620,'School to admit Traveller boy (12) who was initially refused place','<p>\r\n	A 12-year-old Traveller who was refused a place in a local school, will meet with the school tomorrow with a view of him being offered a place.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Paddy Flynn, from Ballyfermot, was the only child in his class at De La Salle National School refused a place at the local secondary school, St John&#39;s De La Salle.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The secondary school said they refused Paddy&#39;s application because it was late.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	His parents said they did not know they had to apply, as neither can read or write.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	De La Salle accepted 38 first year students this year, having accepted 67 last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The school told RT&Eacute; that it will meet Paddy&#39;s parents tomorrow, with a view to offering him a place.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	His family have welcomed the news. His aunt told RT&Eacute; News that none of this should ever have happened.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She added that Paddy was &quot;on cloud nine&quot; this evening and that his mother Ann was also &quot;over the moon&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Earlier today it was announced that Paddy would be offered private tuition by the Department of Education.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The private tuition offered by the Department of Education will be nine hours a week in a community centre in Ballyfermot, according to RTE.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Flynn family were also approached by a benefactor who offered to pay for private school for Paddy, but his parents believe he would be better served in a local school alongside his friends.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 5th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/school-to-admit-traveller-boy-12-who-was-initially-refused-place-35024215.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/school-to-admit-traveller-boy-12-who-was-initially-refused-place-35024215.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-06 08:38:15',NULL,'school-to-admit-traveller-boy-12-who-was-initially-refused-place'),(1621,'Ãras Attracta residents were treated as \'eternal children\'','<p>\r\n	A damning report on the &Aacute;ras Attracta centre in Mayo said that residents with intellectual disabilities were treated as &quot;eternal children&quot; who suffered isolation and institutional conditioning.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report of an expert panel, chaired by Dr Kevin McCoy, reviewed the conditions and care of residents following an &#39;RT&Eacute; Investigates&#39; expos&eacute; showing abusive treatment of seven women in the HSE-run home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report even found that two male residents who loved Gaelic football never got to visit the GAA grounds across the road.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The residents were found to be behaving and conforming to rituals and rigid routines, mostly to make life easier and more convenient for managers and staff.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Launching the report yesterday, Dr McCoy said there was an assumption that the residents could not contribute or do things for themselves, leaving them unable to reach their potential.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;They have had a poor quality of life and their voices have not been heard,&quot; he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Mass is celebrated every week in &Aacute;ras Attracta, but few residents attended the local church.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;There is a GAA pitch across from the main entrance to the campus yet residents who follow GAA do not attend matches.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The centre, which has now undergone a management and staff overhaul, is gradually being wound down, with a plan to move residents between now and 2018 to the communities where they will live in small groups in houses in Swinford, Castlebar and other towns.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This year, 27 residents will be promised a new, more fulfilling life in the community where they will be supported to participate in normal activities that others take for granted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Another 26 will be moved next year, and, starting in 2018, the remaining 37 residents and their families will be offered more options and choices.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, a number of the relatives of some residents have expressed deep concern about uprooting their loved ones and said they would prefer them to remain in &Aacute;ras Attracta.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But Paddy Connolly, head of the disability group Inclusion Ireland, said that while their fears are perfectly understandable, the best place for residents is community living which is appropriate to their needs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It is important that relatives are shown the clear benefits of moving to the community.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	And he said that thousands of people with an intellectual disability will wait years before moving out of old-style congregated settings similar to &Aacute;ras Attracta, where residents endured bleak lives of widespread control and conditioning.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He added that around 3,500 to 4,000 residents of other congregated settings are due to be moved, but the pace is &quot;painfully slow.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The initial target was due to complete the transfer by 2018.That has now been pushed back to 2021. Even with this timeline, some 1,800 people will still be in congregated settings,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The McCoy report described how overcrowding in &Aacute;ras Attracta affected the lives of residents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One resident was sharing a room with another person who they had previously said they were afraid of.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At general elections they were assisted to vote - but the ballot was brought to the campus, depriving them of the opportunity to go to the local polling station.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A &quot;spin in the car was just that&quot;, with no choice of destination or duration. On another occasion, a quiet resident was taken for two bus trips but nobody got off the bus, and it had to return early to cover staff breaks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report also found a lack of training among staff.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Overcrowding in Bungalow Three, which featured in the expos&eacute;, was identified as an issue.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Senior HSE officials Pat Healy and Tony Canavan, who have responsibiltiy for disability services, apologised to residents and their families yesterday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Disability Minister Finian McGrath said there has been &euro;3m investment in &Aacute;ras Attracta staffing. &quot;Nationally, &euro;100m has been provided in capital funding to allow for residents from various centres to move to the community between now and 2021,&quot; he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 7th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/ras-attracta-residents-were-treated-as-eternal-children-35028101.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/ras-attracta-residents-were-treated-as-eternal-children-35028101.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-07 08:56:34',NULL,'ãras-attracta-residents-were-treated-as-eternal-children'),(1622,'Violence at work ‘is the norm for social carers’','<p>\r\n	With nine out of ten social care workers subjected to regular abuse, threats, and physical assault, workplace violence is in danger of becoming a cultural norm, warns a new report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In fact, it&rsquo;s no longer a risk, but a reality &mdash; and one that social care workers believe employers have become complacent about, according to the report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Entitled Crisis, concern, and complacency; A study on the extent, impact, and management of workplace violence and assault on social care workers, the research found that more than three in five experience threatening behaviour weekly or more frequently in their workplace and two in five experience physical assault monthly or more often.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The 400-plus social care workers surveyed work in a variety of care settings, both statutory and private, including children&rsquo;s residential and disability services, and Child and Adolescent Mental Health or family support services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE, which operates or funds many of these services, has not nominated a representative to attend the report&rsquo;s launch today or to respond to its findings, said Social Care Ireland spokesman Noel Howard.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We first contacted the HSE on July 19 and pursued them right up to last week but we were told that due to people being on holidays, no-one was available. If that&rsquo;s not complacency, I don&rsquo;t know what is,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, will attend today&rsquo;s launch at DIT Grangegorman.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report points out what while supervision is recognised as &ldquo;essential for safe and effective service delivery in social care setting&rdquo; and is in fact a statutory standard in child residential services, it is &ldquo;never or only sometimes provided by management for the majority of social care workers&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report states supervision should be used to debrief staff impacted by their experiences of workplace violence. The research found that more than half of respondents never or only sometimes receive professional supervision. When the data was further analysed to compare social care sectors, it found that 60% of respondents in disability services never receive supervision, despite a high level of violence (92% working in the disability sector experienced workplace violence).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report&rsquo;s authors, Phil Keogh and Catherine Byrne, said the findings raise questions about effectiveness of existing methods of training for staff to manage violent and aggressive behaviour in the workplace.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Social care professionals experiencing workplace violence can feel demoralised and this, in turn, can affect the relationship with the service user and their colleagues and damage the therapeutic social environment in which they work. This does not augur well for the future of social care,&rdquo; state the authors.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They make 20 recommendations in the report, including that employers must prevent a culture of violence from developing in social care by ensuring a &lsquo;no blame&rsquo; culture; that support strategies be put in place for workers; and that further investigation be conducted into the &ldquo;significantly higher incidences of physical assault&rdquo; in private children&rsquo;s residential services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 7th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/violence-at-work-is-the-norm-for-social-carers-419692.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/violence-at-work-is-the-norm-for-social-carers-419692.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-07 09:00:09',NULL,'violence-at-work-‘is-the-norm-for-social-carers’'),(1623,'\'I was embarrassed by my brother\' - GAA star Philly McMahon gets personal about Dublin\'s drug overhaul','<p>\r\n	Dublin GAA star Philly McMahon has called for a complete overhaul of the Government&#39;s drug strategy and said he&#39;s &quot;100 percent&quot; in favour of supervised injection centres.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The All-Star defender has suffered at the hands of drug abuse after his brother John, a heroin addict, died in 2012.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Since John&#39;s death - four years ago today - the footballer has put his weight behind helping others in similar situations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	McMahon has called for a decriminalisation of drugs and is in the process of setting up a charity called Half Time Talk, which will motivate young adults who have social problems and low self-esteem to believe that they deserve to live a normal life.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He compared Ireland&#39;s fight against drug addiction to Dublin&#39;s All-Ireland semi-final first half against Kerry, where they went in five points down.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Armour</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Today our opponent is drugs, we&#39;ve lost the first half, we all need to have a half-time talk,&quot; McMahon said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;If there&#39;s something I&#39;ve learned from playing sport at the highest level, it is that one chink in the armour and it all falls apart.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The disconnect from communities, government, voluntary sectors and family networks is constantly growing and will continue to grow if the government persist in cutting funding from the organisations involved in working to combat the drugs problem.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;If there&#39;s people taking drugs on the streets then people are going to feel threatened. I&#39;d be 100pc for it (injection centres) because there are people that are dying on the streets every day because there&#39;s no monitoring process. The fact is, if they get a needle exchange clinic or monitoring process in a needle exchange clinic, it means then it&#39;s a safer option and gives the addict a better chance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;If we don&#39;t change the drugs issue from crime to health, then we&#39;re always going to have that stigma,&quot; he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The stigma the Dublin star is referring to is one that labels addicts as the lowest of the low - and one which makes it an embarrassment to associate yourself with.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said the stigma was so powerful while growing up in Ballymun that he tried to avoid associating himself with his brother.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I grew up in Ballymun, which is a wonderful, proud community that has shaped the person I am today,&quot; McMahon said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;For a large part of my life I was shadowed by a stigma which encouraged the perception that drug addicts are the lowest of the low in society and that they should be banished.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I grew up constantly trying to hide my dirty secret of having a brother that was a drug addict.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I believed that tough love was the way to deal with this stigma. I was embarrassed by him, so ignored him on the streets and never invited him to special events in case he showed me up,&quot; McMahon said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The GAA provided an outlet for the young would-be All-Star to steer clear of a drug scene that was taking over the area.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I was very involved in sports from a young age and this involvement has certainly helped me to steer away from the temptation and peer pressure to experiment with drugs,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Unfortunately, my brother John was not so lucky.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	McMahon and his family tried to help John and moved him to a different environment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;John became drugs-free for a period of time in London, but struggled to disconnect from other addicts. This connection in time ultimately pushed him back on to drugs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;This was one of the biggest learning experiences for me and made me realise that the societal hooks can be more detrimental than the chemical ones for drug addicts.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;John always told me how proud he was of me becoming a Dublin player and I hope to continue to make him proud in the fight against drugs,&quot; McMahon added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	McMahon was on hand yesterday to launch a public consultation on the new national drugs strategy, which will be seeking people&#39;s views for the next six weeks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 7th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/i-was-embarrassed-by-my-brother-gaa-star-philly-mcmahon-gets-personal-about-dublins-drug-overhaul-35028160.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/i-was-embarrassed-by-my-brother-gaa-star-philly-mcmahon-gets-personal-about-dublins-drug-overhaul-35028160.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-07 09:04:47',NULL,'i-was-embarrassed-by-my-brother-gaa-star-philly-mcmahon-gets-personal-about-dublins-drug-overhaul'),(1624,'Teen accused of repeatedly biting a care worker during children\'s home attack to go on trial','<p>\r\n	A teenager has been sent forward for trial to the Circuit Court in Dublin accused of repeatedly biting a care worker during an incident at a children&#39;s home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The boy (17) is charged with assault causing harm to a male staff member, resisting arrest and criminal damage to fixtures and fittings at a care home in Dublin. He was served with a book of evidence at the Dublin Children&#39;s Court.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge John O&#39;Connor made an order sending him forward for trial to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court where he will face his next hearing on October 14</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Earlier it was held that the case was too serious for the Children&#39;s Court and should be dealt with at a higher level which has tougher sentencing powers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In an outline of the evidence, Garda Andrew Sheerin of Ballyfermot station told Judge John O&#39;Connor that there had been an incident in the care facility and the teenager had to be restrained by staff. The teenager bit one of the care workers four times.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It was alleged that on the same date the teenager caused &euro;1,100 worth of damage to a mirror, a sink, a window and table at his care home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Gda Sheerin said that when he got to the home he went to the boy&#39;s room. The teen was lying on his bed and became aggressive to Gda Sheerin and made attempts to bite him, the court was also told.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The defence made submissions under section 75 of the Children Act for the case to stay in the Children&#39;s Court. It can accept jurisdiction in serious cases following submissions in relation to the boy&#39;s age and level of maturity as well as other relevant factors.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Defence barrister Damian McKeone had said the boy has been in full care since he was aged four. The teenager was accompanied the hearing by his mother and youth workers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At times he has been under supervision of his parents but has been moved around in care arrangements on numerous occasions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The teenager has been found to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. He has also been suffering from &ldquo;reactive detachment disorder&rdquo; as a result of separation issues, counsel said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He also has substance abuse problems and has attended addiction counselling and he accepted he had an anger management problem.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge O&#39;Connor said the youth was almost 18 and it was a serious case. He accepted that reactive detachment issues were serious but that cannot be used as an excuse for carrying out a serious assault.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He refused jurisdiction.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 7th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/teen-accused-of-repeatedly-biting-a-care-worker-during-childrens-home-attack-to-go-on-trial-35029798.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/teen-accused-of-repeatedly-biting-a-care-worker-during-childrens-home-attack-to-go-on-trial-35029798.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-08 09:10:13',NULL,'teen-accused-of-repeatedly-biting-a-care-worker-during-childrens-home-attack-to-go-on-trial'),(1625,'Simon Harris to meet attorney general over \'misleading\' abortion clinic claims','<p>\r\n	Health Minister Simon Harris is set to meet the attorney general to clamp down on abortion clinics which give &ldquo;misleading&rdquo; information after it emerged that one pro-life group claimed the procedure could turn parents into child abusers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He confirmed he is planning to discuss potential licensing and regulation of the groups with the State&rsquo;s legal adviser, adding that he would &ldquo;encourage&rdquo; anyone affected to contact garda&iacute; under existing laws.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On Monday, the Ireland edition of The Times revealed that a Dublin-based pro-life organisation had advised an undercover reporter seeking an abortion that the procedure could lead to breast cancer due to links with ovarian cancer and the impact of an abortion.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The same counsellor also alleged that in some cases parents who have an abortion can become child abusers by either neglecting their future children or giving them too much attention.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The chairman of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Dr Peter Boylan, rejected the claims, insisting there is absolutely no truth that someone who has an abortion is at greater risk of either breast cancer or committing child abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Harris said he is so concerned by the situation he plans to raise it with the attorney general in the coming days and wants anyone affected to contact the garda&iacute; immediately.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I was, like a lot of people in this country, very alarmed by what I read in relation to the so-called advice that had been provided to some women who went to a certain clinic seeking information.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve asked my officials to examine all of the policy options, as I said yesterday, and I rule nothing out.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very open to the idea of regulation, and I intend to ask the attorney general&rsquo;s office at an official level to look at all the options.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;But I would point out the 1995 Information Act is already on the statute books. It does say women must be provided with true and factual information. Therefore, if there is any suggestion, as clearly seems to be the case, that any information given has been misleading or is downright false, it is obviously open to anyone to make a complaint to An Garda S&iacute;och&aacute;na, and I would encourage people to do that.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meanwhile, the Department of Health said the announcement of a &euro;40m winter initiative to deal with emergency department overcrowding has been postponed due to lack of agreement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Harris said his first priority was to ensure the &euro;40m is spent effectively but stressed that he still expects the plan to be published by the end of this week.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;What we absolutely need is to make sure that any measure they commit to in here is introduced in the hospital,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;What we don&rsquo;t need to see is in previous years commitments are given and not delivered. So what I need to be convinced of and I think today is important in that regard, is that everything the HSE sign up to deliver can actually be delivered.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This is &euro;40m of taxpayers&rsquo; money... today&rsquo;s meeting gives an opportunity to stakeholders to give their views on how it should be spent and I expect this plan to be published by the end of the week.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 7th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/simon-harris-to-meet-attorney-general-over-misleading-abortion-clinic-claims-419707.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/simon-harris-to-meet-attorney-general-over-misleading-abortion-clinic-claims-419707.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-08 09:12:02',NULL,'simon-harris-to-meet-attorney-general-over-misleading-abortion-clinic-claims'),(1626,'Campaign hopes to improve levels of literacy among children','<p>\r\n	A campaign aimed at encouraging businesses play an active role in improving literacy among children is being launched today.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to a 2011 Department of Education report, one in 10 Irish schoolchildren has serious difficulty with reading or writing, with this figure rising to as high as one in three in some disadvantaged schools.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report also states that employers and third-level institutions have been consistently critical of the standards of literacy of students leaving post-primary education.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Today is International Literacy Day and the charity Suas Educational Development is launching the ABC One in Three campaign, asking business to help mentor schoolchildren and provide learning resources.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	CEO of Suas, Allison Aldred, said that the number of children leaving school illiterate is worrying.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Literacy really is the starting point for everything for a child,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Children who are leaving school with serious problems with reading and writing... there&#39;s a lot of evidence that shows that they&#39;re more likely to end up with health problems, emotional and physical, they&#39;re more likely to end up homeless, they&#39;re more likely to end up in poverty.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 8th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/campaign-hopes-to-improve-levels-of-literacy-among-children-753588.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/campaign-hopes-to-improve-levels-of-literacy-among-children-753588.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-08 09:13:51',NULL,'campaign-hopes-to-improve-levels-of-literacy-among-children'),(1627,'Withdrawn child care case ‘too toxic and cost too much’','<p>\r\n	District Court judge had already heard 29 days of evidence and was to hear further days</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A legal case aimed at keeping two children in care amid allegations of sexual abuse was withdrawn by the Child and Family Agency because it was &ldquo;too toxic and cost too much&rdquo;, the High Court heard.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In an application by foster carers to make the two children wards of court, counsel for the foster carers also said garda&iacute; investigating the case were not made aware of a proposal to reunite the children with their parents and were concerned about it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On Thursday, Rosario Boyle SC said social workers told the foster carers that the child care case was also withdrawn because the agency believed the proceedings were not going to reach a conclusion.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said this was an &ldquo;extraordinary view to take&rdquo; in circumstances when a District Court judge had already heard 29 days of evidence and was to hear further days.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The two children were taken into care in March 2012 following concerns about substance abuse, domestic violence and neglect, Ms Boyle said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The foster carers observed sexualised behaviour in the children, and their two older siblings, with different foster carers, made allegations of sexual abuse against an uncle.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	After 18 months, the two younger children were reunited with their parents, because the family living conditions had improved, Ms Boyle said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The older siblings then made allegations of sexual abuse against their parents and said the parents had also abused the younger children. The parents denied the allegations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The children were returned to the foster carers in April 2014 and a temporary care order was made for them. Earlier this year, a full care order hearing began, to keep them in care until the age of 18. It lasted 29 days, until the agency withdrew the application.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The District Court judge said he did not have the power to continue with the inquiry and could not make any findings.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Boyle said, at a meeting in July, her clients were told the case was withdrawn because it was &ldquo;too toxic&rdquo; and costly. They had no alternative but to come to court to protect the children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The children were due to be reunited with their parents on August 25th, when the foster carers took action at the High Court. A temporary order was then made keeping the children in care pending a hearing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Boyle said there was a serious issue about the capacity of the parents to parent. Ms Boyle said none of the allegations made may be true or accurate, but in the absence of a proper inquiry, the children should not be returned to their parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Gerard Durcan SC, for the children&rsquo;s court-appointed guardian, said his client had very significant concerns about the children going back to their parents. She was at a loss to understand why the agency acted in the way it did.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Durcan highlighted children&rsquo;s rights under the Constitution, and said their best interests should be paramount. He said the existence of the Childcare Act 1991, under which children are taken into care, did not mean the High Court could not use its ward of court powers, under the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There is a duty that now falls on the High Court - to exercise the power to protect the afflicted, the people who cannot protect themselves,&rdquo; Mr Durcan said. He said the court could do whatever was necessary to protect the children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Justice Marie Baker said she would have to decide whether the High Court had jurisdiction to deal with the case, the scope of the jurisdiction or whether there were other remedies.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The agency and both parents are opposing the foster carers&rsquo; application. They will make their submissions to court next week when the case resumes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 9th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/withdrawn-child-care-case-too-toxic-and-cost-too-much-1.2784689\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/withdrawn-child-care-case-too-toxic-and-cost-too-much-1.2784689</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-09 09:48:02',NULL,'withdrawn-child-care-case-‘too-toxic-and-cost-too-much’'),(1628,'Government has ‘taken note’ of ruling on the unborn, Zappone says','<p>\r\n	High Court judge found rights of the unborn extend beyond the right to life last month</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Government has taken note of a judgment by a High Court judge last month that the rights of the unborn extend beyond the right to life, Minister for Children Katherine Zappone has said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In his judgment last month, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys said the unborn child enjoys &ldquo;significant&rdquo; rights and legal position at common law, by statute, and under the Constitution, &ldquo;going well beyond the right to life alone&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Article 42a of the Constitution, inserted as a result of the 2012 Children&rsquo;s Referendum, provides that the State must protect &ldquo;all&rdquo; children, he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Of course we have to take note of the judgment,&rdquo; Ms Zappone said yesterday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There is at least one other High Court judgment which has come to different conclusions. We need to take account of both of those judgments.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judgment</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The case referred to by Ms Zappone, with which Mr Justice Humphreys disagreed, was the 2009 judgment of Mr Justice John Cooke, which suggested article 40.3.3 of the Constitution exclusively states the rights of the unborn and that justiciable rights cannot be asserted on behalf of the unborn before birth.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Referring to preparations for next month&rsquo;s budget, Ms Zappone said she was &ldquo;looking for increases in monies, especially for children under six, in terms of the care and education provision we give them&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A particular focus of hers would be &ldquo;on the affordability of childcare, particularly for children who are living in the context of low-income households. I want to see a way to target that more effectively&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Minister was speaking at the First Child Summit at the Croke Park conference centre in Dublin yesterday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Organised by the Children&rsquo;s Rights Alliance and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, the event addressed recommendations made to Ireland by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Among the attendees were two members of that UN committee, Gehad Madi and Prof Kirsten Sandberg.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In her address to conference delegates, Ms Zappone spoke of her proposal to reduce child poverty by conducting &ldquo;children&rsquo;s rights audits&rdquo; to ensure austerity measures &ldquo;do not disproportionately affect children&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said it was the Government&rsquo;s aim to end the practice of accommodating homeless families in hotels and B&amp;Bs by the middle of next year and spoke of her &ldquo;personal commitment&rdquo; to securing recognition for Travellers and Roma as ethnic minority groups.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 9th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/government-has-taken-note-of-ruling-on-the-unborn-zappone-says-1.2784823\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/government-has-taken-note-of-ruling-on-the-unborn-zappone-says-1.2784823</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-09 09:57:27',NULL,'government-has-‘taken-note’-of-ruling-on-the-unborn-zappone-says'),(1629,'Antidepressant use among children increases by almost 30%','<p>\r\n	Science festival hears study followed data from 358,000 patients aged between six and 18</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Antidepressant prescription to children has increased by nearly 30 per cent over a 10-year period, a new study from Swansea University has found.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Worryingly, these antidepressants were also prescribed to children showing no symptoms of depression but suffering from other afflictions such as anxiety and pain.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Drugs are being prescribed more, there&rsquo;s no doubt about that,&rdquo; said Prof Ann John, leading author of the study and a qualified GP. The results were presented yesterday at the British Festival of Science.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study followed data from 358,000 patients between six and 18 years old, routinely collected at their GP visits in Wales from 2003 to 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Results showed antidepressant prescribing to children rose by 28 per cent over the study period, especially to adolescents. Prescriptions were three times more likely to be given to girls than boys, and twice more likely to be given to children living in most deprived areas.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Depression diagnoses</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Over the same period, new depression diagnoses declined by 28 per cent, while records of depression symptoms more than doubled. Prof John believes that this is due to GPs&rsquo; reluctance to give a definite diagnosis of depression to children. She calls this phenomenon &ldquo;cautious labelling&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than half of the children showed symptoms of depression, while other children were given them after presenting with symptoms of anxiety and pain. A small percentage also received the drugs for other disorders such as enuresis, ADHD and autism.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It may be that we&rsquo;re overprescribing and over-treating,&rdquo; Prof John said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, she believes the results could also reflect an increase in awareness of depression and the importance of treating it. &ldquo;This could be an indication of better treatment; people could be getting what they need.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the increase in drug prescription could also be a result of limited access to alternative approaches such as psychological therapies. &ldquo;Because access [to psychological therapies] can take a few months and you want to do something, you may prescribe a bit too soon,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Vanesa Martinez is on placement at The Irish Times under the BSA/SFI media fellowship programme</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by The Irish Times on the 9th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/antidepressant-use-among-children-increases-by-almost-30-1.2784661\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/antidepressant-use-among-children-increases-by-almost-30-1.2784661</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-09 10:13:24',NULL,'antidepressant-use-among-children-increases-by-almost-30%'),(1630,'\"Serious failure\" in investigation of child rape case - but no gardaí found to have breached discipline','<p>\r\n	Two women told GSOC that due to delays in the Garda investigation, the charges against the boy were dropped.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	THE GARDA S&Iacute;OCH&Aacute;NA Ombudsman&rsquo;s Commission says there were serious faults in the investigation into allegations of rape made by two children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The GSOC report is into allegations made by a woman that due to delays in the garda investigation of the alleged rape of her eight-year-old daughter by a 16-year-old son of a friend, charges against the alleged perpetrator were dropped.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Another woman had also alleged the same teen had sexually abused her daughter.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The women told GSOC that due to delays in the garda investigation, the charges against the boy were dropped.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The first woman, Ms A, told the commission that at a family party in July 2008, the son of a family friend took her daughter into a bathroom, locked the door and told her to take her panties off.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He then raped her vaginally and either attempted to, or did, penetrate her anally. The child appears to have told her mother the following evening and a complaint was immediately made to an Garda S&iacute;och&aacute;na.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An investigation commenced, led by a sergeant and the child was taken to hospital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The alleged perpetrator&rsquo;s home was also searched on that day and he went to a garda station with his mother, where he made a voluntary cautioned statement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms A&rsquo;s husband died in December 2008 and she said that she did follow up on the matter for a time, while grieving and attending counselling.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said that in the meantime the investigating sergeant was transferred to another area and the case was not followed up for a number of years. In 2011 or 2012, a different garda sergeant began investigating and the teenager was charged.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The suspect sought a judicial review, arguing his rights as a child had been breached. The case concluded in January 2014 and the prosecution was prohibited from proceeding.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms B</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The second woman, Ms B, told garda&iacute; the same teenager had abused her daughter. She alleged the Director of Public Prosecutions had said there would be no prosecution because the mother &ldquo;talked like a child&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The accused was not charged until after his 20th birthday and the charges were dropped. This led to both mothers complaining to GSOC.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The GSOC investigation says garda&iacute; were identified as being in potential neglect of duty and issued with notifications of the investigation. All nine submitted &ldquo;lengthy&rdquo; statements.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms A believed that there was a delay in the investigation of the alleged rape of her daughter. Ms B believed that the alleged sexual assault of her daughter was not properly investigated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	GSOC found that, within one month of the complaint, the garda investigation was almost completed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The delays occurred when the garda investigation file tried to move forward through the National Juvenile Liaison Office. A decision which could have been made in a quick time frame was left for two years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They say that an excessive amount of time passed between the report and the file&rsquo;s progress within the legal system. There were also a number failures of the system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It was established that the decision not to prosecute in the case of Child B was made due to factors other than garda delay.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is the opinion of the GSOC investigation that no blame can be attributed to any garda members in this regard.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In their conclusion, GSOC said that &ldquo;no garda member could be singled out and held to account for the delay in this investigation&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Considering the available information and evidence established by the investigation, the Ombudsman Commission is of the view that a serious failure of the system occurred in this case. This occurred from shortcomings in garda internal communication, external communication, policy, directives, training and guidance at the time of the reported incidents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report has eight recommendations for changing the system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by TheJournal.ie on the 13th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/gsoc-serious-failure-child-rape-case-2976121-Sep2016/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/gsoc-serious-failure-child-rape-case-2976121-Sep2016/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-13 10:09:07',NULL,'serious-failure-in-investigation-of-child-rape-case-but-no-gardaã­-found-to-have-breached-discipline'),(1631,'\'I\'ve had people ask, can you even have sex?\' - challenging misconceptions about disability','<p>\r\n	Dating with disability in modern Ireland brings about unique challenges, as two singletons tell our reporter</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Paddy Smyth was casually flirting with a guy he&#39;d just met on a night out when he found himself rudely interrupted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;He said, &#39;You&#39;ve been really hard done by. You have a really good-looking face but I couldn&#39;t get with you because you&#39;re disabled.&#39; What are you meant to say to that?&quot; he laughs in disbelief, looking back on the awkward encounter. &quot;I just laughed it off and said, &#39;You&#39;re okay, I wouldn&#39;t want to get with you either&#39;.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Paddy (28), from Dublin, has cerebral palsy in his legs and uses crutches to walk. He learned to use humour in response to such ignorance at a young age, and says that while each rejection stings, he tries not to dwell on it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Rejection will always hurt, no matter how confident you are. Being disabled and being gay, you have to deal with rejection a lot, so I suppose I&#39;m quite used to it. My story is, we shouldn&#39;t have to be used to it,&quot; he says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Paddy describes the prevailing attitude towards disabled people as desexualising, assuming that they are &quot;not interested in&quot; or not able to have sex.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Census figures from 2012 show that at least 13pc of people in Ireland are living with a disability, and yet Paddy says able-bodied people typically feel that they shouldn&#39;t be attracted to someone with a disability. He says the feeling is difficult to describe, &quot;but you can tell when you&#39;re with them that they feel weirded out by finding you attractive&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;People treat us differently because they don&#39;t know. I&#39;ve called it innocent ignorance. They&#39;re ignorant to the fact that we like being treated like normal people, we like going out and drinking. All they&#39;re thinking is, &#39;poor them, they&#39;re disabled&#39;. But we&#39;re exactly the same as you guys, we just have to deal with something that maybe you don&#39;t have to,&quot; he says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Paddy runs a popular Snapchat account under the handle @paddyysmyth, which chronicles the ups and downs of what he calls &#39;#MyDisabledLife&#39;. Since he started the account last year, Paddy says he has become much more confident, but that he struggled with dating and sex for a long time before.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I found it really tough. It was almost my own vulnerability as well, I didn&#39;t feel confident going up to lads, but that&#39;s my own insecurity. Obviously people can sense that and when they come up to me, I&#39;m feeling sorry for myself, so it&#39;s this weird circle of rejection and insecurity and sadness.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;When I did get with people, it was because I could, not because I found them attractive,&quot; he says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Earlier this summer, Paddy decided to conduct an experiment on the dating app Tinder where he would arrange dates with six men, and disclose his disability to all but one of them. While the five he told made various excuses to get out of the date, he ended up having a great evening with the one he didn&#39;t tell.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Dating online is different and it&#39;s a weird one. Obviously, everyone puts their best foot forward, so the whole conversation of saying &#39;Oh, I&#39;m disabled&#39; before you meet them can be awkward. How do you pick the right time? Do you tell them at all?&quot; he says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I&#39;ve had people say on dating apps, &#39;Why would I get with you? You can&#39;t even have sex&#39; or &#39;Can you even have sex? You&#39;re disabled&#39;. (...) I just put it down to, well they don&#39;t know. They haven&#39;t been around disabled people enough or socialised with them, let alone be sexual with them, so they feel like it&#39;s weird or odd.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Lana Kurasidse (31), originally from Riga, Latvia, but based in Ballymun, is a wheelchair user and describes dating sites and apps as &quot;the only way for me to meet guys, because there is no chance of somebody coming over to me on the street when I&#39;m out&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The former model and hostess was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) in 2006. It is a particularly aggressive form of cancer, for which Lana underwent three operations, along with chemotherapy, radiation therapy and rehabilitation. She now lives with cerebellar ataxia, a neurological condition that developed after she was diagnosed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On her online dating profiles, Lana mentions that she uses a wheelchair, and says most men are only interested in casual sex.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I&#39;d say the most you can have is a one night stand actually, in my situation, because guys do not usually want to go for serious relationships,&quot; she says. &quot;They don&#39;t see a fully fledged woman in me to build a relationship with, it&#39;s only one night stands that they&#39;re looking for.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While Lana has met several dates online, she says men tend to ignore her on the street: &quot;When I&#39;m going down the street, I feel like a sexless cabbage in the wheelchair, because nobody is looking at me. I&#39;m not an equal woman for others.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She finds these attitudes incredibly frustrating, because she &quot;doesn&#39;t feel disabled at all&quot;. &quot;I&#39;m the same woman as everybody else. For me, there is no difference,&quot; she says with a shrug. Tired of being desexualised, Lana decided to challenge the misconceptions about people with disabilities by arranging a photo shoot of her own, in which she poses seductively in lingerie.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I was very afraid we were going to cross the line and that it would look vulgar, like it was to satisfy perverts. But finally we made it the way I wanted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It looked very nice - innocent and sexy at the same time,&quot; she says of the images, captured by David Fraine. &quot;I got a comment from the photographer, &#39;I never thought that a wheelchair could look so sexy,&#39;&quot; she laughs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I would love to be in a relationship, I would love to have somebody who would support me in what I&#39;m doing, and not bring me down and make me nervous about this relationship,&quot; she says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Dating is pretty difficult,&quot; she admits, adding that she feels scared before meeting men and has to take certain precautions ahead of her dates.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;You never know who you&#39;re going to date, and I&#39;m not able to just stand up and run away. It&#39;s just impossible for me. So I&#39;m kind of afraid when I&#39;m dating somebody. I have to ask for a full name and a date of birth to leave it with my care assistant, and not all the guys are okay with that of course.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Selina Bonnie, a wheelchair user and academic who specialises in sexuality and disability, argues that disabled women in particular are desexualised and seen as at risk of abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;There is an issue where the sexual needs of disabled women are not being acknowledged,&quot; she says. &quot;Sexuality is recognised more in disabled men, whereas disabled women are seen as more vulnerable and to be protected.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She lives in Mulhuddart, Dublin, with her husband of 21 years, Robert, and their nine-year-old daughter Saira Noor. &quot;I&#39;ve lost count of the amount of times that my husband has been referred to as my brother or my carer or my friend,&quot; Selina says, rolling her eyes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She believes that disability campaigners have been &quot;so busy fighting for public rights, in relation to housing and employment and independence, that the private rights, the more fundamental areas that quality of life is built on, have been left to the side&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One way to tackle this, she suggests, would be to improve how children are educated about sex and disability. &quot;I think it&#39;s very important that sex education is inclusive of all people in the room and of all people&#39;s needs. It&#39;s not a case of one-size-fits-all,&quot; she says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;When you grow up as a disabled child, you get so used to being on display and being examined by professionals. If you don&#39;t get the proper education on what is appropriate attention and what isn&#39;t, and your right to say no, then you&#39;re not going to be equipped to protect yourself or to go on and lead a fulfilled life.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;There are two aspects to it, it&#39;s about being able to explore your wants and desires while keeping yourself safe.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;All people have a sexuality, whether they choose to display it or express it is their own business,&quot; she says. &quot;We&#39;re all sexual beings, and we should be accepted as such.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	* For video and more on this story go to independent.ie/disabilitymyths</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 13th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/ive-had-people-ask-can-you-even-have-sex-challenging-misconceptions-about-disability-35033856.html\">http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/ive-had-people-ask-can-you-even-have-sex-challenging-misconceptions-about-disability-35033856.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-13 10:10:53',NULL,'ive-had-people-ask-can-you-even-have-sex-challenging-misconceptions-about-disability'),(1632,'\'Big manufacturers just don\'t make products for disabled people\' - Irish adult stores sourcing accessible sex toys for people with disabilities','<p>\r\n	Sex toys were once something to be kept hidden as a dirty little secret, but now everyone from Cosmopolitan magazine to Gwyneth Paltrow is extolling the virtues of a vibrator.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	People with disabilities use toys for the same reasons as anyone else, but they often find that their needs are not taken into consideration when it comes to product design.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, adult stores around the world are increasingly working to recognise and cater to the sexual needs of disabled people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ann Summers&rsquo; online store has been commended for its accessibility, as it has been adapted for easier navigation for users of all abilities, including those with visual impairments, motor deficiencies and cognitive disabilities.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Adult stores in Ireland are also making an effort to become more inclusive of disabled people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Basic Instincts, a fetish boutique in Temple Bar, has installed a ramp at the entrance, and the shop is accessible on a flat even surface.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We&rsquo;re 26 years in business now and we&rsquo;ve had many people with disabilities into the shop.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Store owner Mike Ryan says the adult industry tends to neglect people with disabilities: &ldquo;It is limited &mdash; big manufacturers just don&rsquo;t make products for disabled people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Unfortunately, I think they&rsquo;re inclined to be forgotten about, and I hate saying that.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While the industry may be lagging behind, Mike observes that his disabled customers are definitely &ldquo;more confident and with it&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They think, &lsquo;Why should I give up my sex life?&rsquo; You can very easily shut down that part of your life if you want, but why should you?&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Although Basic Instincts does not stock products made specifically to cater to people with disabilities, they have improvised with design over the years, and offer custom services for certain items.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The first time we were asked to do that was about 17 years ago, and it was really new to us. It was a young woman who was looking for a sex toy, and I had to go to Belgium to a supplier there who was really good, she was very happy with it,&rdquo; he says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It means that sometimes we have to look out for something if a person has particular needs and it takes a bit of time, but that&rsquo;s just retail.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He recalls a customer who was a thalidomide survivor and had little use of their arms and fingers, for whom they sourced a mouth sex toy that can be strapped to the chin and operated by just a slight movement of the head.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They were very happy with it, and now they are married to another thalidomide (survivor) as well, and they have come in together and bought something else,&rdquo; he says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mike says the shop&rsquo;s disabled customers include men and women of all ages, and they will usually have a carer or friend to help them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s across a spectrum. The last woman we had was in her 40s and then there was an elderly man who had a minder, he was a former soldier and he didn&rsquo;t mind talking about it at all.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Sometimes the carer will come in first, and I need to know what the disability is first of all,&rdquo; he explains. &ldquo;Or the person will come in themselves, and they&rsquo;ll say, plainly and abruptly, &lsquo;I want you to help me&rsquo;, and we would take it from there.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Shawna Scott, the owner of Irish online retailer Sex Siopa, thinks the industry is getting better at recognising the needs of disabled people. Customers contact her via email or phone to get advice on what toys would suit their needs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Everybody has different physical needs, so it makes no difference if it&rsquo;s a person with a disability or not. Some people need a vibrator that&rsquo;s a bit longer because they have trouble reaching, or someone who suffers from joint problems might need something they won&rsquo;t have to grip too hard on.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;That&rsquo;s just part of the job, trying to figure out what a person&rsquo;s wants and needs are, and catering to that with the toy or accessory that I think would work best for them.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Shawna specialises in toys made from &lsquo;bodysafe&rsquo; materials, and her products are recommended by a number of physiotherapists across Ireland, as well as by NHS doctors in the UK.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, she says that people with disabilities or anyone concerned with their safety faces difficulties navigating a largely unregulated industry.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;All the products that I stock are made from materials that are safe for internal use, the likes of silicone or hard plastics,&rdquo; she explains.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The problem is the industry is really unregulated, so you can make a sex toy out of pretty much any old thing and it&rsquo;s totally legal to do so.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Our attitudes to sex toys have come a long way, but Shawna adds that the lack of regulations is likely to continue as long as sex toys are seen as &ldquo;weird&rdquo; and &ldquo;dirty&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the meantime, she advises people to be careful about what they&rsquo;re buying and make informed decisions to avoid toxic toys and protect their bodies.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 13th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/health-features/big-manufacturers-just-dont-make-products-for-disabled-people-irish-adult-stores-sourcing-accessible-sex-toys-for-people-with-disabilities-34984675.html\">http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/health-features/big-manufacturers-just-dont-make-products-for-disabled-people-irish-adult-stores-sourcing-accessible-sex-toys-for-people-with-disabilities-34984675.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-13 10:13:30',NULL,'big-manufacturers-just-dont-make-products-for-disabled-people-irish-adult-stores-sourcing-accessible-sex-toys-for-people-with-disabilities'),(1633,'Waiting extra year to introduce sugar tax ‘a grave mistake’','<p>\r\n	Waiting another year to introduce a sugar tax is a &ldquo;grave mistake&rdquo; the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland has warned.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Finance Minister Michael Noonan said on Monday that he would introduce a sugar tax in 2018, in line with similar plans in Britain.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There is a commitment in the Programme for Government to introduce a new tax on sugar-sweetened drinks and the RCPI wants the Government to introduce the tax in next month&rsquo;s budget.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The chairman of the RCPI policy group on obesity, Prof Donal O&rsquo;Shea, said obesity was Ireland&rsquo;s greatest public health problem and required urgent action.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Waiting another year to introduce such an important, evidence-based measure to prevent obesity, particularly in children, is a grave mistake,&rdquo; said Prof O&rsquo;Shea.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The RCPI wants a 20% tax on sugar sweetened drinks, with the proceeds ring-fenced for promoting healthier living.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;On behalf of the families of the 4,000 people who will die next year directly as a result of our obesity epidemic, I would ask that the Government urgently revisit this deferral,&rdquo; said Prof O&rsquo;Shea.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said there was a broad political consensus and a majority of public opinion that a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks was worth pursuing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The view of the medical community is unanimous. There is no sense whatsoever in postponing it. It is weak leadership and a victory for powerful industry lobbying yet again,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Only strong decisions by government backed by legislation will change the environment and enable personal change.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s already too late for many, but that is no reason for continued lethargy in tackling the country&rsquo;s number one public health problem.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The World Health Organization has warned that Ireland is well on track to becoming the fattest country in Europe by 2030.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We know that children as young as two years of age are presenting to weight clinics and are seriously overweight and we know that one in four children in Ireland is overweight or obese,&rdquo; said Prof O&rsquo;Shea.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This chronic disease is the greatest public health problem facing Irish society and require urgent action.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In its pre-budget submission, the RCPI is also urging the Government to move ahead with adopting the Public Health Alcohol Bill that includes evidence-based measures that will save lives and reduce pressure on struggling health services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The RCPI president and chair of its policy group on alcohol, Prof Frank Murray, said the Government could introduce measures that could save lives and address the nation&rsquo;s harmful relationship with alcohol.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Alcohol costs the exchequer &euro;3.7bn a year while the cost borne by so many Irish men, women, and children as a result of our heavy consumption of alcohol is catastrophic. I would urge all politicians to support this bill which has been long-fingered for long enough,&rdquo; said Prof Murray.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 14th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/waiting-extra-year-to-introduce-sugar-tax-a-grave-mistake-420866.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/waiting-extra-year-to-introduce-sugar-tax-a-grave-mistake-420866.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-14 09:04:24',NULL,'waiting-extra-year-to-introduce-sugar-tax-‘a-grave-mistake’'),(1634,'Why teenagers are dismissing \'out of touch\' sex education in Irish schools','<p>\r\n	Teenage students want a positive approach to sex education in school - one that aims for them to enjoy their sexuality in a way that is safe, consensual, and healthy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Instead what they get is often negative, focussed on heterosexual relationships, out of touch, and taught by poorly trained, embarrassed teachers, according to a new international study.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Research involving Irish students was among 55 studies that contributed to the findings, published today, by BMJ Open, an online journal of the British Medical Association.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study is based on the views and experiences of 12-18 year olds in Ireland, UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Iran, Brazil and Sweden, between 1990 and 2015.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Despite the wide geographical reach of the studies, young people&#39;s views were remarkably consistent, researchers state.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One theme that emerged was that schools seemed to find it difficult to accept that some students were sexually active.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This, the researchers say, leads to content that is out of touch with the reality of many young people&#39;s lives, and a consequent failure to discuss issues that are relevant to them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;This was evident in what young people perceived as an emphasis on abstinence; moralising; and a failure to acknowledge the full range of sexual activities they engaged in. Sex education was delivered too late, some students felt.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It also led to a failure to deliver practical information, such as the availability of community health services, what to do if they got pregnant, the pros and cons of different methods of contraception, or the emotions that might accompany sexual relationships, the report states.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The second main theme was that schools failed to recognise the distinctive and challenging nature of sex and relationship education, generally preferring to approach it in exactly the same way as other subjects.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Researchers noted challenges such as that &quot;in mixed sex classes young men feared humiliation if they weren&#39;t sexually experienced and said they were often disruptive to mask their anxieties, while their female class mates felt harassed and judged by them.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Young people also criticised the overly &#39;scientific&#39; approach to sex, which ignored pleasure and desire, and they felt that sex was often presented as a &#39;problem&#39; to be managed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Stereotyping was also common, with women depicted as passive, men as predatory, and little or no discussion of gay, bisexual, or transgender sex. Young people also disliked having their teachers deliver sex and relationship education, not only because they felt teachers were poorly trained and too embarrassed, but also because of the potential for this to disrupt teacher-pupil relationships and breach boundaries.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Researchers say that schools should acknowledge that sex is a special subject with unique challenges, as well as the fact and range of young people&#39;s sexual activity, otherwise opportunities for safeguarding and improving their sexual health will be reduced.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Publsihed by the Irish Independent on the 13th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/education/why-teenagers-are-dismissing-out-of-touch-sex-education-in-irish-schools-35044076.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/education/why-teenagers-are-dismissing-out-of-touch-sex-education-in-irish-schools-35044076.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-14 09:06:36',NULL,'why-teenagers-are-dismissing-out-of-touch-sex-education-in-irish-schools'),(1635,'No HSE funds for ‘patient hotel’ as consultant warns of ‘disaster’ this winter due to overcrowding','<p>\r\n	A senior consultant at one of the country&rsquo;s most regularly overcrowded hospitals has warned of &ldquo;disaster&rdquo; at the facility this winter after the HSE failed to allocate any of its 2016 budget for a hoped-for &ldquo;patient hotel&rdquo; in its winter initiative.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The winter plan published last week said that two options are being &ldquo;considered&rdquo; by the HSE to alleviate over-crowding at South Tipperary General Hospital: A &ldquo;modular build extension&rdquo; to the existing hospital and fitting out space in an area currently under construction.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The HSE&rsquo;s examination of patient hotel-type service will proceed in parallel,&rdquo; the initiative states.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, no money has been allocated for the proposal in this year&rsquo;s funding, with &euro;700,000 allocated for 2017.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Senior consultant at STGH Dr Paud O&rsquo;Regan said he and the hospital were &ldquo;bitterly disappointed&rdquo; with the plan.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There were hopes that a 40-bed patient hotel could be in place by late October, but it is now widely accepted it will not happen this year and the HSE has yet to deal with &ldquo;cost-benefit analysis, procurement issues, and planning/construction issues,&rdquo; as it says itself in the winter initiative.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We were confident that it would be announced in the winter initiative and had been assured by the minister of that,&rdquo; said Dr O&rsquo;Regan.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The hospital &ldquo;hasn&rsquo;t lost hope&rdquo; that the patient hotel will happen, he said, but it will not be in time for this winter.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We feel that the hospital will not be able to cope with the winter influx of patients, in view of the fact that we have run at 150% medical bed occupancy during the summer and, when the winter surge comes, we will not be able to cope.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He blamed the HSE for not making a decision on the proposal. &ldquo;Everybody agrees it&rsquo;s needed but it&rsquo;s the HSE that is holding it up. New ideas to them are like holy water to a vampire.&rdquo; The consultant added: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re facing into a disaster.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Independent TD Mattie McGrath yesterday accused fellow Independent TD for Tipperary Michael Lowry of &ldquo;irresponsibly raising expectations&rdquo; regarding the assignment of a patient hotel to Clonmel, following reports in August of a &ldquo;deal&rdquo; to deliver the project at STGH.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Lowry, in a statement this week, said he spoke to Health Minister Simon Harris last Friday about the winter initiative.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The minister reminded me that this is the first time that a HSE officialised document has formally referenced and included a patient hotel for Clonmel,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;He stated the initiative was still in the progression stage and the Health Service Executive were committed to progressing the unit in parallel with the upcoming &lsquo;winter initiative&rsquo;. It was originally intended to fast track this project but it is now accepted that because of the nature and scale of this modular unit planning will have to be sought and the unit subject to national procurement policy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The Minister has informed me that he was concerned in that context, that we are going to miss the &lsquo;winter bulge&rsquo; activity in the hospital.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The constituency&rsquo;s other Independent TD, Seamus Healy, yesterday warned of &ldquo;people power&rdquo; returning to the streets of Clonmel if extra beds aren&rsquo;t delivered at STGH, in reference to a protest march in 2010 over the future of the hospital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 14th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/no-hse-funds-for-patient-hotel-as-consultant-warns-of-disaster-this-winter-due-to-overcrowding-420857.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/no-hse-funds-for-patient-hotel-as-consultant-warns-of-disaster-this-winter-due-to-overcrowding-420857.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-14 09:08:08',NULL,'no-hse-funds-for-‘patient-hotel’-as-consultant-warns-of-‘disaster’-this-winter-due-to-overcrowding'),(1636,'Children in \'disturbing\' sex abuse case to remain in care until next year','<p>\r\n	The children, who are both under the age of ten, will continue in the care of their foster parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	THE NATURAL PARENTS of two children, aged under ten and alleged to have been sexually abused in a family environment, have told the High Court they will not take steps before February next year to overturn an agreement for them to remain in care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Justice Marie Baker ruled that in the meantime a risk assessment study by the child and family agency, Tusla, if necessary under the direction of the District Court, be carried out on the possibility of the children returning to their natural parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They will continue in the care of their foster parents who had applied to have them made Wards of court in a bid to block their being returned to the care of their natural parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Baker was told today that the Director of Public Prosecutions has decided not to bring any criminal prosecutions against the natural parents. She heard that an uncle of the children has been charged with serious offences.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Risk analysis</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Rosario Boyle SC, counsel for foster parents currently looking after the children, said the DPPs decision was a new development in proceedings being heard by Judge Baker who reserved a decision on whether or not the court&rsquo;s Wardship process was the appropriate way of dealing with the protection of the children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mary O&rsquo;Toole SC appeared for the father of the children; Therese Blake SC represented their mother; Gerard Durkan SC, appeared for the children&rsquo;s guardian ad litlem and Shane Murphy SC appeared forTusla.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Durkan told Judge Baker he wished to express concern that the CFA had failed to carry out an expected risk analysis regarding the children&rsquo;s return to their natural parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said, following a day of legal submissions, that the parties were agreed on the court accepting the undertaking of the natural parents for their children to remain in voluntary care while a risk assessment was carried out. Terms of the assessment were to be agreed by the parties and, on any failure to agree, the terms were to be determined by the District Court.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&lsquo;Disturbing evidence&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Baker adjourned generally the question of the appropriateness of the High Court&rsquo;s Wardship jurisdiction to deal with the care of the children. She said this meant the High court would retain a residual supervisory jurisdiction with regard to the children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	High Court President,&nbsp; Justice Peter Kelly, on 18 August directed that the question of Wardship jurisdiction be considered by another judge after he made reference to &ldquo;disturbing evidence&rdquo; about alleged sexual abuse and brutal treatment of the children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He temporarily restrained the children being re-united with their parents and said the alleged sexual abuse and brutal treatment of the two children was the most disturbing evidence he had read in 20 years on the bench.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Baker has heard that Tusla &ldquo;inexplicably&rdquo; withdrew an application to the District Court for a care order relating to the children after a judge had listened to evidence and legal argument for 29 days.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The agency had been promoting the children&rsquo;s reunification with their natural parents, but withdrew the District Court case on the 29th day on the basis it was &ldquo;too toxic and cost too much.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Baker adjourned generally the question of jurisdiction and gave all of the parties leave to apply to the court.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Pubished by the TheJournal.ie on the 16th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/sex-abuse-case-2982007-Sep2016/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/sex-abuse-case-2982007-Sep2016/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-16 09:49:07',NULL,'children-in-disturbing-sex-abuse-case-to-remain-in-care-until-next-year'),(1637,'State considers radical plan to help pay for childcare','<p>\r\n	Means-tested scheme is expected to be rolled out over a number of years from September</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A radical new system of subsidised childcare that would mean the State pays a portion of a family&rsquo;s bills directly to childcare providers is under consideration for next month&rsquo;s budget.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The means-tested scheme is expected to be rolled out over a number of years, starting next September. It will begin by covering lower-income families which in some cases could see almost all of their childcare costs covered.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Taoiseach Enda Kenny and other Ministers were briefed on its outline yesterday and an initial, indicative figure of &euro; 47,000 income per couple was used &ndash; but sources stressed this was only an example and will not be the initial threshold that will apply when the plan is announced.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The plan from Minister for Children Katherine Zappone will be designed in such a way, however, that the level of subsidies can be easily increased or reduced should a government wish to do so.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It will be made possible because Ms Zappone intends to introduce standardised regulations for all providers who want to participate in the scheme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Eligibility</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Parents would log on to a website and provide their PPS numbers to see if they were eligible for subsidies, and at what level they would apply.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They would then choose a participating childcare provider. The State would pay the subsidy directly to the provider, with the parents paying the remainder of the bill.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It envisages higher subsidies for lower-income families &ndash; covering as much as 100 per cent of childcare bills &ndash; which would drop off as parental income rose. The thresholds will be determined by the amount of money allocated in budgetary negotiations over the next month and it is intended that income thresholds will rise over a number of budgets.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The system has been designed to be user friendly with the Government keen to avoid a repeat of the mistakes that dogged the introduction of the student grant website, Susi.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is envisaged that income thresholds would rise over a number of budgets to include higher-earning families. The highest earners would receive no subsidy, it is understood.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 16th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/state-considers-radical-plan-to-help-pay-for-childcare-1.2792913\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/state-considers-radical-plan-to-help-pay-for-childcare-1.2792913</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-16 09:53:01',NULL,'state-considers-radical-plan-to-help-pay-for-childcare'),(1638,'Drug treatment centre reports huge rise in use of services','<p>\r\n	Merchant&rsquo;s Quay Ireland notes 66% surge in demand for its mental health support</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The largest voluntary drug treatment service in the State experienced &ldquo;unprecedented&rdquo; demand across its services last year, as &ldquo;poverty, hunger, addiction, overdose and homelessness&rdquo; continue for its increasing number of clients.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Merchant&rsquo;s Quay Ireland, in its 2015 annual report published this morning, says it saw a 66 per cent increase in demand for its mental health services, a 15 per cent rise in need for its drop-in service and a 19 per cent increase in demand for its nursing service, since 2014. Since 2011, there has been a 35 per cent rise in demand for its needle-exchange service.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some 7,500 people accessed its homelessness services last year, while 68,239 meals were served by its day service in 2015 &ndash; an 8 per cent increase on 2014. In all, MQI served 98, 865 meals to poor and homeless people in 2015.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Given the fact that our clients are predominantly single, their prospect of being housed is highly unlikely in the foreseeable future,&rdquo; says Mick Price, chairman of the charity&rsquo;s board, in the report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The charity opened its night cafe, on Dublin&rsquo;s south quays, on January 1st last year, operating seven nights a week, 11pm-8am. It describes itself as a &ldquo;plan B&rdquo; for homeless people who cannot get, or do not want, an emergency bed. This year it increased its capacity from 50 people a night to 70 to meet demand and 1,971 individuals used the cafe in 2015.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	People in crisis</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The drop-in service, which links people in crisis with such services as emergency housing, social and medical services, recorded 6,442 interventions &ndash; an increase of 15 per cent on 2014.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The charity&rsquo;s nursing post was vacant for four months of 2015. However, when it was filled there was an average of 179 nursing interventions a month, an increase of 19 per cent on the previous year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The GP service continues to be in high demand with 2,117 consultations, or 176 a month &ndash; an increase of 7 per cent compared to 2014.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last year, 279 people needed the mental health nursing service, a 66 per cent increase on 2014. The charity &ldquo;sadly&rdquo; saw young people &ldquo;growing up in our day services&rdquo; &ldquo;A life revolving around homelessness and drug services is not what we want for our clients.&rdquo; Its dedicated support worker helped 164 people aged 18 to 25.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;As mentioned in previous years, the statistics concerning fatalities among drug users remains a national disgrace,&rdquo; writes Mr Price. &ldquo; We welcome the recognition of the life-saving value of safe injecting facilities and encourage our politicians to expedite legislation to make them a reality.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Chief executive Tony Geoghegan said despite the pressures there was a &ldquo;real chance for positive change&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Government is consulting on developing a new national drug strategy to run from next year. &ldquo;We hope the Government will hold to its commitments to prioritise homelessness and drugs and provide leadership and resources needed,&rdquo; said Mr Geoghegan.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish TImes on the 16th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/drug-treatment-centre-reports-huge-rise-in-use-of-services-1.2792850\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/drug-treatment-centre-reports-huge-rise-in-use-of-services-1.2792850</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-16 09:54:47',NULL,'drug-treatment-centre-reports-huge-rise-in-use-of-services'),(1639,'Teen suicide: What parents need to know','<p>\r\n	Adolescent suicide is devastating for family, friends and their communities. The loss of a child or sibling leaves an abyss, typically accompanied by feelings of grief, helplessness, anger and questions about whether one could have done something more.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fortunately, we now have a better understanding of some of the ways parents can help protect their child against suicidal ideation, suicidal behaviours and underlying depression.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Parents can work to create a safe haven in which their adolescent can come for understanding, warmth and loving support when times are hard.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Adolescents face a myriad of developmental challenges and stresses, including forming and maintaining social and romantic relationships, pressure to succeed academically and to figure out who they are and what they would like to do with their lives.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some face additional challenges, such as mental illness, severe family conflict, loss due to divorce or death and victimisation due to their minority identity &ndash; racial, ethnic or sexual. These challenges may place them at increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviours.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Though adolescence is characterised by increased time spent with peers, research shows that parents remain a critical resource during times of severe distress. When adolescents can go to their parents for support and guidance, and parents respond in a manner which lets the young person feel understood, cared for and validated, adolescents feel less alone and more hopeful, which can diminish feelings of depression and thoughts about suicide.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Coping strategies</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Moreover, when adolescents share their pain and confusion with their parents, parents are able to help them put words to their experience. This helps them to make sense of their world, express their emotions and needs more clearly, feel less overwhelmed emotionally and develop better coping strategies.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	These capacities &ndash; perspective taking, emotion regulation and problem solving &ndash; further protect adolescents from depression and suicidal thoughts and acts.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Parents can also protect their adolescents by reducing levels of conflict, criticism and rejection in the home. These kinds of stresses are often associated with adolescent depression, suicidal thoughts and suicidal behaviours.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Parental criticism and rejection are insidious for a number of reasons. When parents, the most important people in an adolescent&rsquo;s life, make their child feel that something is wrong with them, that they are a burden, or not wanted, the child internalises these messages.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They begin to feel worthless, helpless, and that they are failures. Self-esteem decreases and self-criticism increases. Moreover, when parents are critical and rejecting, adolescents are less likely to use them as safe havens in times of need.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Having said this, it is not always easy for parents to provide a safe haven or refrain from being critical. Adolescents sometimes hide their distress or express it through irritability, defiance or withdrawal. Parents often mistake this for age-related moodiness or a natural separating from parental control, and fail to realise that their child is in distress.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Shut out</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Even when parents recognise that their adolescent is struggling, it is not always easy to get them to talk. Adolescents may lash out in frustration, push parents away, or provide short, superficial responses to inquiries about how they are doing or what is wrong. This can lead to parents feeling shut out, frustrated, unappreciated or even under attack, increasing the likelihood that they themselves will respond with frustration, anger and criticism.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Finding a way into the adolescent&rsquo;s world in a way that makes them feel cared for and understood, rather than judged, controlled or criticised, is not easy, especially if parents themselves are struggling with their own stress.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When parents notice potential danger signs in their children and teens, they should immediately seek professional consultation. While intermittent conflicts and bad moods can be expected during adolescence, young people who consistently withdraw, are chronically irritable, or frequently seem sad should be evaluated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New therapy</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Over the past few years, a number of family-based treatments for depressed and suicidal adolescents have been tested and found helpful. One such treatment is attachment-based family therapy (ABFT).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	ABFT focuses on helping adolescents begin to put words to their experience and increasing their motivation to share their thoughts and feelings with their parents. At the same time, therapists help parents reach out to their adolescent in an open, non-accusatory, non-defensive manner to invite their child to share more about what is going on inside them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	ABFT has been shown to be effective in a number of clinical trials and the training of Irish therapists has begun.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Parents and carers can play a vital protective role for teens by providing warmth and support, refraining from harsh criticism, noticing warning signs and, when necessary, obtaining professional help.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Gary Diamond is professor and chairman of the department of psychology, Ben-Gurion University. He is a clinical psychologist, family therapist and co-developer of attachment-based family therapy for depressed and suicidal adolescents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	For more information about helping your depressed or suicidal adolescent, go to the following websites: psychologicalsociety.ie/ find-a-psychologist; yourmentalhealth.ie; samaritans.org</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Public talks on suicide prevention To coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day, which was on September 10th, the Psychological Society of Ireland is hosting public talks to highlight and support suicide prevention.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Gary Diamond&rsquo;s public lecture takes place at the Red Hall of the Chartered Accountants House, 47 Pearse Street, Dublin 2, on Thursday, September 22nd, at 6.30 pm. To register to attend this event, see the Psychological Society of Ireland website, psychologicalsociety.ie. Follow the society on Twitter @PsychSocIreland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Psychological Society of Ireland is the learned and professional body for Psychology in the Republic of Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 19th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/parenting/teen-suicide-what-parents-need-to-know-1.2788286\">http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/parenting/teen-suicide-what-parents-need-to-know-1.2788286</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-19 08:58:31',NULL,'teen-suicide-what-parents-need-to-know'),(1640,'HSE top-level management structure to change','<p>\r\n	Director general O&rsquo;Brien plans reform at health authority facing &lsquo;unprecedented demand&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Top-level management in the HSE is to be restructured as part of a series of reforms drawn up by its director general, Tony O&rsquo;Brien.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New posts of chief operations officer and chief strategy and planning officer are to be established while some existing national director positions are to be discontinued.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a confidential report sent to HSE chiefs last week, Mr O&rsquo;Brien said the current directorate system, in place for three years, had provided a platform on which to move forward so that &ldquo;we look, feel and act more like the health service&rsquo;s future than the HSE&rsquo;s past&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said while progress on some key objectives had been &ldquo;slower than we would have liked, it is worth noting that much has been achieved&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We have seen the development of an external consensus on the need for a longer-term health strategy at political level and secured an unprecedented mid-year budget revision this year, ending the destructive underfunding/ deficit spiral of the past.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Overall we collectively lead a health system that is much more productive than in the past, but also experiencing unprecedented demand and unmet need.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Open competition</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr O&rsquo;Brien said the new chief operations officer and chief strategy and planning officer positions would be filled by open competition through the Public Appointment Service. When these were filled, the existing interim HSE deputy director general arrangements would end.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The roles of national directors for primary care, mental health, social care and health and wellbeing will be subsumed into a new role of national director for community health services, to be filled by a serving senior official.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A new role of national medical director is to be filled by open competition. The posts of national director for clinical strategy and programmes and national director for quality improvement will be subsumed into this new position.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	National directors in charge of community health services, acute services, ambulance services, the primary care reimbursement service and the special delivery unit will report to the chief operations officer.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The number of national directors reporting directly to the director general will be reduced from 17 to about eight.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 19th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/hse-top-level-management-structure-to-change-1.2796086#.V9-lO8IuQrc.twitter\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/hse-top-level-management-structure-to-change-1.2796086#.V9-lO8IuQrc.twitter</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-19 09:11:28',NULL,'hse-top-level-management-structure-to-change'),(1641,'Operations at Oberstown detention centre to be reviewed','<p>\r\n	A review of operations at the Oberstown children&#39;s detention campus has been announced by the Minister for Children and the board of the facility.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The review was ordered after a number of incidents at the centre, including industrial action by staff who have raised concerns about their health and safety, a rooftop protest during which a member of staff was injured, and a fire at one of the buildings at the campus.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The chairperson of Oberstown&#39;s board of management said the review is an opportunity to stand back and get a fresh look on how to deliver in what is a challenging situation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Professor Ursula Kilkelly said Oberstown was undertaking an enormous process of change to get it to the point where it is the national facility for detention of children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking on RT&Eacute;&#39;s Morning Ireland, she said there have been &quot;uncertainties&quot; as to how the balance can best be struck between the care ethos and concerns over health and safety.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This review, she said, was an opportunity to look at best practice in all areas and future proof the care ethos.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Prof Kilkelly agreed that it was not best practice to lock children up for 19 hours but said that she was not in a position to comment on how it happened.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said she was not in a position to address some controversial issues at the facility, such as alleged strip search of detainees, because they are the subject of proceedings in the court.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, she said that an enormous effort is being made to work through these very challenging issues and ensure that the best possible care is delivered.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Two international experts will carry out the review of operations at Oberstown.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Professor Barry Goldson, a child law expert from the University of Liverpool, and Professor Nicholas Hardwick, who is chair of the UK&#39;s parole board, will visit Oberstown in the coming weeks to speak with staff, detainees and management.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They will measure procedures at the detention facility against best international practice and will compile a report for the board and the minister before the end of December.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Minister for Children Katherine Zappone said she hoped the review would address any obstacles necessary to future reform.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The board said the review had the potential to change youth justice in Ireland forever.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&#39;Oberstown is focused on education and care&#39;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The executive director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust has said she hoped that the review of operations at Oberstown will resolve many of the problems at the youth detention facility.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Deirdre Malone said it is a child detention school and its vision was focused on education and care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking on RT&Eacute;&#39;s Morning Ireland, she said that she hoped the review will go some way to reaching that.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Malone said that events of the last few weeks at the facility have been of great concern for all parties involved.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said she was glad to see that children at the facility and staff will be consulted and added that it was crucial that all parties involved in the review had confidence in the process.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In addition she said it was vital that the review did not delay the transfer of ten youth detainees from Wheatfield Prison to Oberstown.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by RTE.ie on the 19th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0919/817470-oberstown-review/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0919/817470-oberstown-review/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-19 09:15:24',NULL,'operations-at-oberstown-detention-centre-to-be-reviewed'),(1642,'Oberstown lock-down after riot','<p>\r\n	The controversial Oberstown youth detention centre was reported to be in lock-down again last night after another riot by inmates.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sources said a group of inmates understood to include those who were part of the riot that led to the fire and destruction of one part of the centre in August were involved in a &#39;barricade&#39; situation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is believed trouble started yesterday afternoon after a young man was taken to hospital suffering from a suspected drugs overdose.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is understood senior management were in the centre all evening but were unable to prevent serious damage being caused to one of the remaining wings of the centre which is supposed to house up to 90 inmates but is thought to contain only between 30 and 40 now.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Minister for Children&#39;s Affairs, Katherine Zappone has continued to support the management of the centre.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On Monday she announced she was calling in a professor from Liverpool University and the head of the UK&#39;s Probation Service to examine the running of the centre. They have been given until December to prepare a report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Since the &euro;56m centre officially opened in January last year, there have been dozens of serious attacks on staff leading to high levels of sickness leave, though both the Department and the Health and Safety Authority have declined to say how many reports have been made about staff injuries.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the last attempted break-out in August staff were threatened with golf clubs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 21st September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/oberstown-lockdown-after-riot-35066314.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/oberstown-lockdown-after-riot-35066314.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-21 08:47:11',NULL,'oberstown-lock-down-after-riot'),(1643,'Just one in ten Dublin homeless housed in 2015','<p>\r\n	Just one in 10 homeless people in Dublin got the chance to move out of emergency accommodation and into a home last year, it has emerged.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;People have become trapped in the revolving door of homelessness,&rdquo; said Sam McGuinness, chief executive of the Dublin Simon Community.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If we look at our emergency services for 2015, there was only a one in ten chance of moving out of emergency accommodation into a home.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At the launch of the charity&rsquo;s 2015 report in Dublin yesterday, Mr McGuinness said 90% of its residents were deemed long-term homeless &mdash; without a home for longer than six months.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some 59% of people in emergency accommodation have been homeless for more than two years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr McGuinness said that rough sleeping across the city increased by almost a third (32%) over the past year, despite the provision of 195 extra emergency beds.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The number of people bedding down outside for the night increased from 80 in August 2015 to 106 in August 2016.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We are averaging at 150 so far in September, with the figure at 168 this morning,&rdquo; said Mr McGuinness yesterday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He noted that the number did not include the 60 people without a bed in the Merchants Quay Ireland night cafe.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We are doing real work to keep people alive. The problem is we are not moving fast enough,&rdquo; said Mr McGuinness.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said that the number of rough sleepers recorded by the charity did not include those sleeping in public parks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dublin Simon Community estimated around 25 people were sleeping rough in the Phoenix Park and between ten and 15 slept in St Stephen&rsquo;s Green. Some people also slept rough in the park in Merrion Square.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last year, the charity provided over 230,000 meals to individuals who were homeless. Every month, more than 150 people received housing assistance, harm reduction, and medical services by its team.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dublin Simon Community worked with 416 families across Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow, and Meath to move them out of homelessness or to sustain their tenancy. This was a doubling of the number of families in a year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The charity&rsquo;s visiting tenancy support service, which operates in the Dublin City Council area, found that the number of people at risk of homelessness had increased by 21%. In 89% of cases, the charity succeeded in helping people avoid the trauma of homelessness.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Housing Minister Simon Coveney said the response thus far had not been enough, but that the Government would get on top of the issue.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking on the first day of the National Ploughing Championships in Screggan, Co Offaly, Mr Coveney said that the situation had been getting &ldquo;dramatically worse&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, while the number of families becoming homeless is still increasing, it has slowed down slightly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There is no shortage of ambition here in terms of responding to what is undoubtedly a really challenging problem,&rdquo; said Mr Coveney.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Taoiseach Enda Kenny will launch the homeless pillar of the housing strategy tomorrow.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We are going to get on top of this problem, but it&rsquo;s going to take time to do that,&rdquo; said Mr Coveney.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&lsquo;I worried about my father when he was on the streets&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&mdash; Evelyn Ring</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Gerry fears he will die on the streets like his father. An alcoholic struggling to quit, he ended up like his dad &mdash; homeless.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Despite relapsing recently, the staff and volunteers of the Simon Community continue to do everything they can to help him.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Will I get this or will I die on the street like my father, like a drunk? How can I change?&rdquo; he wrote last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Gerry had reached rock bottom &mdash; his life had become unmanageable, and his family had abandoned him.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When Gerry relapsed, he was again admitted to the charity&rsquo;s residential alcohol detox unit at Ushers Island in Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He began a recovery programme three weeks ago and is hopeful that he will finally get his life back on track.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The programme helps individuals rebuild their lives through addressing their addictions as a barrier to exiting homelessness.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The charity is planning to expand their facility in Ushers Island to provide additional post treatment beds.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The waiting list for a bed in the detox unit increased from 27 days in 2014 to 31 last year, with only one in every 10 people completing a rehabilitation programme and moving to housing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Gerry feels he is in a very &ldquo;positive place&rdquo; again because the charity did not give up on him.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A year ago, he wrote about doing &ldquo;the right thing&rdquo; &mdash; he no longer wanted to escape into a fantasy world of make believe and lies and despair.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He recalled talking to his mother and daughter the first time he gave up drinking, they were delighted that the Simon Community were giving him the support he needed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;How I used to worry about my father when he was on the streets, and every time I drink it is the same worry I put the people I love through,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But when the addiction gripped him he saw nothing but darkness &mdash; he just wanted to drink and forget and go deeper and deeper down to a place of destruction.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Simon Community wants to help Gerry discover who he is without alcohol; to be good to himself and to be kind to people around him.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last year, 70% of people starting the detox programme were homeless for more than six months, and 50% were homeless for more than two years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	During the year the number people accessing the charity&rsquo;s treatment, recovery and counselling services increased by 31%.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 21st September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/just-one-in-10-dublin-homeless-housed-in-15-422023.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/just-one-in-10-dublin-homeless-housed-in-15-422023.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-21 08:58:00',NULL,'just-one-in-ten-dublin-homeless-housed-in-2015'),(1644,'Flanagan: Irish refugee intake slowed by bureaucracy','<p>\r\n	Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has said that Ireland could be doing more to help with the international refugee crisis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking to RT&Eacute; News in New York at a summit on refugees, Mr Flanagan said that the &quot;world refugee issue was one of the most vital challenges of our time&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ireland has committed to taking in 4,000 refugees, but so far just over 300 have arrived.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Earlier this week, T&aacute;naiste Frances Fitzgerald said that 870 would have arrived by the end of year, but acknowledged that the process had been slow.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Flanagan has echoed her comments, saying he acknowledged that the resettlement of refugees in Ireland has been slow, saying he would like to see a &quot;greater level of progress&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He added: &quot;Perhaps there have been bureaucratic issues involved&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I believe it&#39;s important that we advance and address issues without delay,&quot; he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the run-up to this week&#39;s events in New York, leading charities such as Oxfam Ireland, Tr&oacute;caire and the Irish Refugee Council, have criticised Ireland&#39;s response to date.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Countries pledge to take in more refugees</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Opening the leaders summit on the margins of the UN General Assembly, US President Barack Obama announced 50 countries have pledged to take in 360,000 refugees this year, doubling the number from last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Obama praised Germany and Canada among other countries that have opened up their doors to those fleeing the war in Syria and other conflicts.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We are facing a crisis of epic proportion,&quot; Mr Obama said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We cannot avert our eyes or turn our backs. To slam the door in the face of these families would betray our deepest values.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A record-breaking 65 million people are on the move worldwide, including 21 million refugees competing for too few resettlement opportunities.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Now in its sixth year, the war in Syria has displaced nine million people while more than four million have fled to neighbouring countries.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Collectively, our nations are roughly doubling the number of refugees that we admit to our countries to more than 360,000 this year,&quot; Mr Obama announced.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Countries also boosted financial contributions to UN appeals and international humanitarian organisations by about $4.5 billion (&euro;4bn) over 2015 levels.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The pledges included funds for ensuring access to schools for a million refugee children and enabling one million refugees to work legally.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At a special chief executive roundtable, the White House also announced that 51 companies had committed to investing, donating or raising more than &euro;650m for helping refugees.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Obama administration itself has said it will raise the number of refugees entering the United States to 110,000 next year, up from 85,000 this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Addressing the summit last night, Ms Fitzgerald said Ireland was &quot;strongly aware of its international responsibilities to refugees&quot;, adding &quot;like others here today, we are appalled at the misery, danger and loss of life involved&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said Ireland&#39;s humanitarian assistance last year totalled &euro;140m and this year would give more than &euro;62m to address the crisis in Syria.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She also said more than 10,000 people had been rescued on five successive Irish naval service vessels deployed to the Mediterranean since May 2015.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The T&aacute;naiste concluded: &quot;As a people who have received shelter from others in our moments of crisis, we will not be found wanting in our readiness to help others in need&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by RTE.ie on the 21st September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0921/818020-refugees-pledge/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0921/818020-refugees-pledge/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-21 08:59:37',NULL,'flanagan-irish-refugee-intake-slowed-by-bureaucracy'),(1645,'Irish teenager who previously ‘smoked 15 cannabis joints a day’ now in campaign against drugs','<p>\r\n	Aaron Kinney, 16, is urging other youngsters not to repeat his mistakes</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An Irish teenager who started smoking cannabis aged 12 is warning others not to use drugs as a coping mechanism.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Aaron Kinney, 16, was left feeling paranoid to leave his house after smoking 15 joints a day.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He has now kicked the habit and turned his life around.&nbsp; He has made a film with young people&rsquo;s charity Fixers to show the effects the drug had on his life as a warning to others to &ldquo;get out of the fog&rdquo; and &ldquo;lose the smoke&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Aaron began using cannabis recreationally until a personal tragedy saw him smoking more.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;My uncle died and I couldn&rsquo;t cope. He was taking heroin and it killed him. We were really close and I was devastated,&rdquo; he explained.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Because I was so young I didn&rsquo;t know about his addiction. I only found out a few years later when I started asking questions. It was hard to deal with.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I missed him and couldn&rsquo;t seem to talk to anyone so I smoked to make myself happy. As I got older my depression got worse, so I smoked more.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Aaron found himself using larger amounts to get the same high.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It got to a point where I would be smoking 15 joints every day around the age of 15. I felt my mind slipping away from me,&rdquo; Aaron recalled.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I never wanted to go out, because I was feeling so anxious and paranoid all the time. I just wanted to stay in and smoke and I would spend weeks at a time indoors.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;All my money was going to buy smoke so I never had any cash, but the cycle meant I needed to find some to buy more weed and that sometimes meant taking my mum&rsquo;s money and doing other things I&rsquo;m not proud of.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He added: &ldquo;I fell out with my family because of the things I was doing and I was failing at school.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&lsquo;I didn&rsquo;t like who I was anymore.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He says the turning point came when the police got involved when he was 15. He then got help from a doctor, was referred for counselling and was able to use a self-help service for drug addiction.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Since quitting cannabis, Aaron said he has noticed positive changes and will be starting a hairdressing course at college in September next year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a lot happier now. I&rsquo;ve got new friends now who don&rsquo;t smoke or do drugs, and I&rsquo;m dealing with my issues,&rdquo; Aaron commented.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fixers works with young people aged 16-25 across the UK by providing them with resources to help them campaign on issues they feel strongly about.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The charity has helped more than 19,000 youngsters across the UK to have a voice in their community on issues such as cyber-bullying, self-harm, suicide or transphobia.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 20th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/life/family/family-features/irish-teenager-who-previously-smoked-15-cannabis-joints-a-day-now-in-campaign-against-drugs-35064742.html\">http://www.independent.ie/life/family/family-features/irish-teenager-who-previously-smoked-15-cannabis-joints-a-day-now-in-campaign-against-drugs-35064742.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-22 09:22:02',NULL,'irish-teenager-who-previously-‘smoked-15-cannabis-joints-a-day’-now-in-campaign-against-drugs'),(1646,'Garda powers in public order cases \'clearly defective\'','<p>\r\n	Garda powers to detain vulnerable people in public order situations are &ldquo;clearly defective&rdquo;, the head of the Garda Ombudsman has said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Mary Ellen Ring also told the Oireachtas justice committee that some 20% of the complaints they get every year from the public about garda members were minor &ldquo;service issues&rdquo; and should be dealt with internally.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The chair of GSOC said it was conducting an investigation into the practice in the force of detaining people under the Public Order Act 1994 &mdash; even though there is no such power of detention.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Garda&iacute; are often in a very difficult position, dealing with someone under the influence of an intoxicant, or a child, or someone who has mental health difficulties at 3am and none of the appropriate agencies are available,&rdquo; she told members.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said Tusla is not available if a child is involved, community health services are not around if the person has mental health difficulties, and the likes of &ldquo;drunk tanks&rdquo; are not available.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Often, garda&iacute; are the only agency available, but public order provisions don&rsquo;t give them the right to detain people,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They are damned if they do and damned if they don&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Ring said if the child or the mentally distressed person or the intoxicated person was left back out of the street and there was a violent injury or the person fell into a river, many would blame the garda&iacute;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But she pointed out the current legislation doesn&rsquo;t allow garda&iacute; to detain such people and that they could be &ldquo;in trouble&rdquo; if they did, as &ldquo;legally, they have no right&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The chair told the committee the &ldquo;legislation is clearly defective&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Ring also said some 20% of the 2,000-odd complaints they receive every year are relatively &ldquo;minor&rdquo;, akin to &ldquo;service issues&rdquo; such as rudeness or dissatisfaction.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said it was &ldquo;unnecessary&rdquo; for GSOC to be involved in investigating these complaints and that they &ldquo;should be done by garda&iacute;&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Ring asked how members of the force, at all ranks, were to gain management experience if they farmed every complaint out to an external organisation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She cited a case in which a 55-year-old woman alleged a garda was verbally abusive to her when she was trying to comply with conflicting instructions from garda&iacute; directing traffic at an event.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Ring said an investigation was conducted. The garda was found in breach of discipline on the grounds of misconduct and discourtesy and fined &euro;100 for each breach.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The complaint was informed the garda had been formally sanctioned, but never received an apology.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Ring said the whole process took nine months involving multiple people and involved &ldquo;quite a cost&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said: &ldquo;This is an example of the type of case which GSOC would say should be dealt with by Garda management. This member of the public should have been contacted the evening of the incident, or the following morning, and an apology should have been forthcoming.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 22nd September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/garda-powers-in-public-order-cases-clearly-defective-422197.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/garda-powers-in-public-order-cases-clearly-defective-422197.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-22 09:25:03',NULL,'garda-powers-in-public-order-cases-clearly-defective'),(1647,'Regulator warns that 47 charities risk downgrade','<p>\r\n	Nearly 50 charities which get a share in the HSE&#39;s funding of more than &euro;3bn annually are in danger of being downgraded, it has emerged.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Charity regulator, John Farrelly said some 47 of these so called section 39 agencies - which are funded by the HSE and provide a range of services in areas like disability and mental health - have failed to report to his office.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The former disgraced suicide bereavement charity Console which was at the centre of financial scandal in recent months was a Section 39 agency.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It was revealed that the Console founder Paul Kelly squandered charity funds on salaries, care and holidays.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Farrelly said there are 778 of these agencies and 530 are now in compliance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But 19pc of these have still not complied with the full reporting regulation covering registration and disclosure, he told the Oireachtas health committee.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;If this remains the case they will lose their charitable status,&quot; he warned.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Farrelly was making his first appearance before the committee in the wake of the Console scandal.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;As a regulator, I hold the view that any organisation which procures services on behalf of the State has a legal and moral responsibility to ensure they are delivered to the highest standards.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He warned that &quot;public money is sacred and if there is any indication of mismanagement or inappropriate spending the funding bodies must intervene and take appropriate action.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE and other funders have to be vigilant, he stressed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said there is now a &#39;concerns email address&#39; and a phone line to his office which are constantly monitored where people who have information about a charity they want to disclose can contact.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The identity of the whistle-blower is kept private.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	All information is risk assessed and in some cases may be more appropriate for the garda&iacute; to deal with.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Asked about the role of trustees in charities he said there is a need to give them support.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;They are well intentioned but they may not be not clear on when they should make the right call, he told the committee.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are &quot; well intentioned people out there who are badly informed and badly intentioned people who are well informed.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He called for charities to be as transparent as possible with the public and said their accounting should be easily understood.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Asked about the size of some charity chief&#39;s salaries he said it should be proportionate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	No &quot;red light&quot; about the extent of salaries had gone off yet but &quot;that may change,&quot; he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is a matter for charity trustees to ensure the salary is not impacting on funding for activities.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	His officials will be quizzing trustees on whether their chief&#39;s salary is &quot;value for money,&quot; he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He is planning to hire people with specialist skills.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 22nd September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/regulator-warns-that-47-charities-risk-downgrade-35069483.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/regulator-warns-that-47-charities-risk-downgrade-35069483.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-22 09:28:47',NULL,'regulator-warns-that-47-charities-risk-downgrade'),(1648,'Over 500 children placed in out-of-hours emergency care last year','<p>\r\n	Many of the children are removed from homes out-of-hours by garda&iacute;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Over 500 children were placed in emergency out-of-hours care last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The figures, released after a parliamentary question by Independent TD Mattie McGrath, relates to children that are deemed to be at risk and removed from the care of their parents or guardians during emergency situations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In total, 528 children were placed in two crisis services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Removed by garda&iacute;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The total number of children placed with the emergency out-of-hours place of safety service (EPSS) in 2015 was 280 children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The EPSS provides foster care placements for children who have been removed under Section 12 of the Child Care Act outside of normal office hours by the garda&iacute;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last year, Cork had the highest number of children (54) placed in this service last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This is followed by Louth/Meath (39) and Galway/Roscommon (28).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Emergency care</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Figures from the Child and Family Agency, Tusla, show that in the first quarter of this year, the highest number in this service was 15 in Louth/Meath.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This was followed by six children in the Midlands and five children in Galway/Roscommon.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A separate service &ndash; the Out-of-Hours Crisis Intervention Service &ndash; also supports Tusla in such situations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This scheme operates in counties Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow, some areas of the Midlands and some areas of Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The figures shows that the number of children placed under this service in 2015 was 248.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dublin North East</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The highest number was in the Dublin North East region, with 98. This is followed by 59 children in Dublin South West/Kildare West Wicklow region.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the first quarter of this year, a total of 59 children have been placed in this service this year. The highest number from the Dublin North East region, with 19 children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Examples of the use of emergency care orders have been reported on since a change in the law allowed journalists attend and report on proceedings (with strict regulations about anonymity).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Cases such as seven children found with lice, ringworm and no food and also a case where a child was found wandering the street at 5am with his mother were subject to emergency care orders.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mattie McGrath said it is vitally important that issues relating to child care services and the courts are transparent and highlighted in the public.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by TheJournal.ie on the 26th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/children-emergency-care-2992899-Sep2016/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/children-emergency-care-2992899-Sep2016/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-26 00:00:00',NULL,'over-500-children-placed-in-out-of-hours-emergency-care-last-year'),(1649,'Tough new laws to tackle revenge porn, harassment and cyber stalkers','<p>\r\n	Tough new digital safety laws to tackle revenge porn and cyber stalking are being prepared by the Government.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Intentional victim shaming, more commonly known as revenge porn, is where a person uploads intimate images of another person online without their consent.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The practice, which has tended to occur following the break-up of a relationship, is an offence in England, Wales and the US, but it is not specifically classified as a crime in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under proposals being examined by T&aacute;naiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, the offences would carry prison terms of up to seven years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The appointment of a commissioner who could take web and social media sites to court if they fail to take down harmful material is also on the cards, following a report being published today by the State&#39;s law reform body.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Law Reform Commission began examining &quot;negative aspects&quot; of the digital revolution last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It found that while existing legislation addressed some harmful communication, there were some &quot;gaps&quot; in the law.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report recommends:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Two new criminal offences to deal with posting intimate images online without consent.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One offence deals with revenge porn, and another with the voyeuristic practice of secretly obtained intimate images known as &quot;up-skirting&quot; or &quot;down-blousing&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Reforms to the existing offence of harassment, to include online activity such as fake social media profiles.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Making cyber stalking an offence, similar to aggravated harassment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Reform of existing offences for sending threatening and intimidating messages, so they capture online intimidation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Allowing courts to issue restraining orders restricting an alleged perpetrator from communicating with a complainant, even if a prosecution has yet begun.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report found that many forms of harassment are dealt with under Section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, it noted there were examples where harmful digital communications may not be covered by the existing legislation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This included the setting up of a website or fake profile page to post harmful or private content in the victim&#39;s name.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This happened in a case in the UK, where a man was convicted of harassment after setting up a website called &quot;[name of complainant] is gay.com&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He also registered the complainant on a database for people with sexually transmitted diseases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But the commission said this sort of offence may not come under section 10 of the Act.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It also cited the example of the posting of intimate images or videos online without consent.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This happened in the case of Hollywood actress Jennifer Lawrence and others after their iCloud accounts were hacked in 2014.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;This clearly involved hacking but might not come within section 10 of the 1997 Act,&quot; the report said. Under the proposals, the revenge porn, harassment and cyber stalking laws would carry an unlimited fine and/or a jail term of up to seven years in cases tried on indictment in the Circuit Court.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Less serious forms of those offences, tried in the District Court, would carry a maximum fine of &euro;5,000 and/or up to 12 months in prison.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report recommended that &quot;up-skirting&quot; offences should carry a maximum fine of &euro;5,000 and/or up to six months in jail.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, it said prosecutions of minors for the new offences should only be a last resort would have to have the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Educational and diversion programmes should be tried first.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New watchdog urged to police social media</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Government is being urged by the Law Reform Commission to appoint a Digital Safety Commissioner with powers to force social media sites to remove harmful posts.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under its proposals, the commissioner would promote digital and online safety. They would also publish a statutory code of practice on digital safety, replacing current non-statutory take-down procedures developed by the online and digital sector.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under the system suggested, a person who believes they have been targeted by harmful material online would initially apply directly to the website or social media site.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If the site refuses to take down the content, in breach of the new code, an appeal could be made to the commissioner.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Should the commissioner find in favour of the user, and the site operators refuse to comply with a direction to take down the material, the commissioner could apply to the Circuit Court for an order requiring compliance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 27th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/tough-new-laws-to-tackle-revenge-porn-harassment-and-cyber-stalkers-35081824.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/tough-new-laws-to-tackle-revenge-porn-harassment-and-cyber-stalkers-35081824.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-27 10:20:20',NULL,'tough-new-laws-to-tackle-revenge-porn-harassment-and-cyber-stalkers'),(1650,'New CAO points system: what students and parents need to know','<p>\r\n	Changes are aimed at fairer marking. But could better students be penalised?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Are you hoping that your child will get an A or B in next year&rsquo;s Leaving Cert? Well, forget about it: they haven&rsquo;t a hope.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	From 2017, the old familiar grading system &ndash; As, Bs, Cs and so on &ndash; is gone. In its place is a new grading system, with higher-level grades from H1 to H8 and ordinary grades from O1 to O8.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Proponents say it will drastically reduce the number of students who get the CAO points they need for their chosen course but miss out due to random selection, and will incentivise more students to take subjects at higher level as well as helping to improve the transition from second to third level.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Opponents say the best-performing students may end up with lower CAO points through no fault of their own.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	So what is the truth and just what do parents and students need to know?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Philip Nolan is the president of Maynooth University and chair of the Irish Universities Association. He was instrumental in developing the new system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It won&rsquo;t fix all that is wrong with selection for third level, which is currently through the CAO points system, but it will help,&rdquo; he says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;At the moment, points are awarded in multiples of five, which means that we end up with large numbers of students on the same points. Under the new system, points are not awarded in bands of five; as a result, students who get a few high grades will have marginally more points. The upshot is that, with less students on the same points, there will be less random selection.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Old regime</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Another significant change offered by the new CAO points system is that fewer students will fail. Under the old regime, any grade below 40 per cent meant that students got no CAO points for that subject.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Technically, the notion of a &ldquo;fail&rdquo; in a Leaving Cert exam was abolished some time ago, but in practice, students and parents have understood 39 per cent or less as a fail.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under the new system, students who get between 30 and 39 per cent on a higher-level paper will be awarded a H7 grade and 37 points.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s say you and I were of equal intelligence and ability,&rdquo; says Nolan. &ldquo;Imagine that I sat the higher-level geography paper and came out with a D. You sat the ordinary-level paper and came out with an A or B. But I have a bad day, I drop from a D to an E and get no points. This was not fair because it didn&rsquo;t acknowledge that 30-39 per cent on a higher-level paper was an achievement.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Not everyone agrees. Danny O&rsquo;Hare is the former president of Dublin City University and his colleague Michael Ryan is former professor of computing at the same university. In a statement to this newspaper, they say the new system is unfair for a number of reasons and should not be introduced as planned.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The new system gives the same points for a much broader range of marks. For example if Mary gets 59 per cent in French and Se&aacute;n 50 per cent, their points under the new system will be the same. Mary may then still lose out to Se&aacute;n on random selection, the flip of a coin, when clearly she has put in a better performance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Potential flaws</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Under the present system, if Mary gets 59 per cent in French and Se&aacute;n gets 55 per cent, their points are the same. However, a 9 per cent difference in marks is much more significant than a 4 per cent difference. We estimate that this injustice will, in some subjects, affect over 3,000 students.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Even worse, they point out, a better overall achievement can give lower points. &ldquo;If Mary and Se&aacute;n both do the same six subjects, with Mary getting 59 per cent in all six and Se&aacute;n getting 50 per cent in five subjects and 60 in one, Sean will get 371 compared to Mary&rsquo;s 361. Under the old system, Mary would have 385 and Se&aacute;n would have 365.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This is not mere speculation, they say. &ldquo;We are describing what will happen in reality. Students will be given places on courses, such as medicine, who have achieved less than others but been denied those places.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The root of this problem is that grades and points have fundamentally different purposes, say O&rsquo;Hare and Ryan.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;One objective, arguably the principal one, is to certify the standard reached by the student. The other objective, to rank students in competition for third-level places and see which of two students has done better in the examination, is quite different.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;With hindsight, it was a mistake to base the points system directly on grades. We argue that subject points should be got from marks rather than grades so that students who get different marks can get different points.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some students are not happy. One, Maria Cullen (see panel), says it is merely tinkering around the edges.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Nolan says it is an important improvement but that educators at both second and third level do need to work together on changing the exam system to relieve the points pressure.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There are many good models of students assessed over time based on project work in their own school which could, for instance, be assessed by teachers in nearby schools.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Nolan recommends that schoolteachers should now be grading according to the new system so that students are used to it when exam day arrives.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokesperson for the CAO says the application process has not changed and students should continue to focus on meeting matriculation and any course-specific requirements and to list their course choices in genuine order of preference. They are currently working on a number of resources including a new points calculator and one which converts points for pre-2017 Leaving Cert students which will be available on the 2017 website from November 4th.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In the run-up to this transition, people may be uncertain or anxious,&rdquo; says Nolan. &ldquo;it may be two or three cycles before people fully get it.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But O&rsquo;Hare and Ryan are emphatic: this new system has forgotten the need for fairness, it is unfit for purpose and it should be not introduced as planned. &ldquo;How can we stand over such clear injustices?&rdquo; they ask.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Student view: &lsquo;Are we guinea pigs? That&rsquo;s what it feels like.&rsquo; &ndash; Maria Cullen (17) is a sixth-year student at Loreto Wexford</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I was quite annoyed when I found about this new CAO points system: the stress of the Leaving Cert is enough without it being the testing ground for some new algorithm.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;As far as I can tell, there&rsquo;s good and bad in the new system. But none of my classmates seems too sure what it is about or how it will work. I&rsquo;m on the welfare board of the Irish Second Level Students Union (ISSU) but nobody consulted with us on this; instead, a political decision is being imposed on us. There should have been more conversations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I do appreciate that the fail rate will be lower and that you&rsquo;ll get points for 30-39 per cent. I have mild dyslexia and I expect that I might get around 40 per cent in the language exams, so it&rsquo;s good that the absolute terror of getting no points for 39 per cent is gone.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;On the other hand, the grading bands are so wide that someone who gets, say, 69 per cent receives the same reward as someone who gets 60 per cent. I&rsquo;m not sure how that is fair.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The Leaving Cert is a terrible system. I feel that this change to the points system is like looking at a car that has broken down by the side of the road and declaring they will fix the mirrors or blow up the tyre, but they&rsquo;re just fixing the furnishings so it looks better for the adults. Actually, they need to address the fact that this terminal exam is based on rote learning, which good teachers are forced to work in and are unhappy with.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Measure of intelligence</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I have great teachers, but we need to face up to the fact that it is not an accurate measure of intelligence. As a dyslexic person, I don&rsquo;t learn in the same way my sister does; I learn though acting and dancing and volunteering and engaging with the world around me but, this year, I have to sacrifice my life to show that I can be smart according to their view of the world. That is despicable.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Rote learning is not effective. I love poetry, for instance, and I&rsquo;m really engaged with the material, but it is much easier to do well by regurgitating something off the internet, so a girl who doesn&rsquo;t understand or care about the poem gets more reward than a girl who has a real enthusiasm for the poem. Good, passionate teachers are forced to teach to the exam, so school can be more like a factory than a place that encourages a love of learning.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There are many of us who can&rsquo;t rote learn. We grow up thinking we are stupid. I can sew a dress from scratch, I can dance, I can organise events and effectively advocate and communicate. But because I can&rsquo;t learn off an Irish essay, the education system tells me I&rsquo;m stupid. And instead of any real reform, we get a few little changes to the points system. What an insult.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 27th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/new-cao-points-system-what-students-and-parents-need-to-know-1.2800081\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/new-cao-points-system-what-students-and-parents-need-to-know-1.2800081</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-27 10:22:00',NULL,'new-cao-points-system-what-students-and-parents-need-to-know'),(1651,'Draft plan considers recognising Travellers as ethnic group','<p>\r\n	National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy to be signed off by end of 2016</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A new National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy should be signed off by the end of the year, a consultation meeting was told on Monday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Dublin meeting of the strategy consultation, held at the Department of Justice and Equality, was told feedback from meetings around the country and from submissions, would be collated and a revised strategy brought to the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy steering group and the Minister of State for Equality David Stanton.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The Minister of State will then bring it to Cabinet, with a view to having the strategy published and signed off by the end of the year,&rdquo; Deagl&aacute;n &Oacute; Briain, principal officer at the department told the group.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than 80 people were in attendance at the consultation meeting on Monday, including representatives from Pavee Point, the Irish Traveller Movement, the National Traveller Women&rsquo;s Forum, Roma cultural and advocacy project Musicantia, local authorities, the Health Service Executive and Tusla.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They were presented with extracts from the draft strategy and were asked to comment on actions to be taken, suggested in the draft.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Themes examined, in round table discussions, included health and public services, education, gender equality, accommodation and cultural identity.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under cultural identity, the draft strategy said &ldquo;the issue of recognition of Travellers as an ethnic group is being considered in the context of development of this inclusion strategy&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under education, it said the Department of Education, with the Department of Children, and Tusla, would develop &ldquo;pro-active, early intervention education welfare supports&rdquo; to promote and aid Traveller and Roma participation in education.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under accommodation, the draft strategy said the Department of Housing will &ldquo;ring-fence the budget for Traveller accommodation and put robust mechanisms in place to monitor expenditure and delivery&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Two such meetings have already taken place in Sligo and Athlone and a fourth meeting will be held in Limerick, at the Castletroy Park Hotel, on Tuesday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 26th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/draft-plan-considers-recognising-travellers-as-ethnic-group-1.2806113\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/draft-plan-considers-recognising-travellers-as-ethnic-group-1.2806113</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-27 10:23:46',NULL,'draft-plan-considers-recognising-travellers-as-ethnic-group'),(1652,'Children\'s Ombudsman shares report detailing complaints they had to deal with last year','<p>\r\n	The annual report for the Ombudsman for Children&rsquo;s Office has revealed that they dealt with 1,639 complaints in 2015, arise of 8%.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Ombudsman for Children, Dr Niall Muldoon, published the report for 2015 (available at bottom of article) outlining the range of complaints made by, or on behalf of children, across education, health, justice, housing and more.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said: &ldquo;Children&rsquo;s rights in Ireland is an unfinished project.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I will continue with my team to liaise with all departments and public organisations, to work towards an Ireland where all children and young people are actively heard and respected, so that they can experience safe, fulfilling and happy everyday lives.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report also details the work done to promote children&rsquo;s rights and to ensure that the voice of the child is represented in Government legislation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Muldoon said: &ldquo;2015 was another record year for the Ombudsman for Children&rsquo;s Office (OCO), with an 8% increase in the number of complaints received and successful interaction with 850 children and young people. The range of issues dealt with by the OCO emphasises that children&rsquo;s lives cannot be compartmentalised, that problems can be complicated and that cooperation between all departments is vital to solve problems.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The work of the OCO in 2015 showed that there is still a long way to go in ensuring that children&rsquo;s rights in Ireland are fully implemented, and that a significant change is still needed at a Government level to promote a child centred approach in all departments.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said this was especially evident in their report which spoke directly to children and young people about their experiences.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said: &ldquo;One 16-year-old boy with an acquired brain injury expressed his frustration when he said &lsquo;I can&rsquo;t believe the struggle mammy needed to go to just to get the services I needed put in place&rsquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Once again education, at 45%, was the subject of the largest number of complaints received by the OCO in 2015, and the majority specifically related to schools.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is my view that the autonomy afforded to Irish schools means that the Government has not been able to exercise the necessary responsibility and oversight. It is time to recalibrate the balance between the autonomy of schools and the oversight by Government to advance and protect children&rsquo;s rights within the education system.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He revealed that child protection was the next biggest concern.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said: &ldquo;In 2015, 25% of complaints received by the OCO related to Family Support, Care and Protection, making it the second highest category. The management of child protection concerns were the most regularly raised issues.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In dealing with these complaints we experienced repeated and significant delays by TUSLA, the Child and Family Agency.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Third on the list of worries in connection with children was the health sector.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Muldoon reveald: &ldquo;The health sector was the subject of 14% of our complaints in 2015, up from 11% in 2014. We received complaints about waiting lists for services including hospital procedures, mental health services, speech and language therapy, and psychology.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Many parents also highlighted the challenges of obtaining services for their children, especially children with disabilities.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In 2015 an Oireachtas working group on protection processes recommended that the remit of the Ombudsman be extended to Direct Provision.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Muldoon said: &quot;This still has not taken place.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It has been a longstanding position of the OCO that all children, including those in the Direct Provision system, should have access to the Ombudsman for Children&rsquo;s Office.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;At the end of 2015 Oberstown Children Detention Campus was still not fully operational. In light of recent events at Oberstown, I remain deeply concerned about the impact this is having on the young people in Oberstown, as well as the knock-on effect on the 17 year olds still being detained at Wheatfield Prison.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 28th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/childrens-ombudsman-shares-report-detailing-complaints-they-had-to-deal-with-last-year-756825.html\">https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/childrens-ombudsman-shares-report-detailing-complaints-they-had-to-deal-with-last-year-756825.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-29 09:37:16',NULL,'childrens-ombudsman-shares-report-detailing-complaints-they-had-to-deal-with-last-year'),(1653,'Assurance given over child rape case failures','<p>\r\n	The Garda Commissioner has described as &ldquo;unacceptable&rdquo; the Garda failures that led to the dropping of charges against a teenager for the rape of two girls aged seven and eight.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, she and her senior officers insisted safeguards were in place to prevent a repeat of the mistakes, which were the subject of Garda S&iacute;och&aacute;na Ombudsman Commission investigation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They were quizzed on the findings of the GSOC investigation at meeting of the Policing Authority. Authority member and law lecturer Vicky Conway said the finding were &ldquo;alarming&rdquo;, particularly given how young the victims were.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	GSOC found that the case, reported in 2008, was initially investigated properly but the investigating sergeant was transferred after six months and the case was left in limbo for three years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It was several years before one of the victims was even interviewed and while a file was eventually sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions and the teenager was charged, the move was challenged in the High Court which ruled the case should be thrown out because of the unjustified delays.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Conway said: &ldquo;The authority is deeply concerned by these findings given the severity of the allegations concerned and the vulnerability of the victims in this cases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;What happens today if somebody is transferred? What happens to their cases and can we be assured that there would not be a three year delay in reassigning a case in such a serious criminal investigation?&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Commissioner Noirin O&rsquo;Sullivan said it was unacceptable that a case such as this had happened.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In fixing the problem we want to make sure that we recognise and understand the impact that cases such as this have on the victim and any failings are identified and fixed as soon as possible.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Chief Superintendent Michael Flynn told the meeting that since November last year a new case management system had been put in place to improve accountability.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We now have a dedicated investigating member and a dedicated supervisor for every investigation that we&rsquo;re conducting and if any of those members are transferred or retire then that caseload is allocated to another individual so that none of those cases can fall through the cracks like they did in the past,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Assistant Commissioner John O&rsquo;Driscoll said the mistakes made were rare.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This is a case that went astray but it is one of 200,000 cases since the youth diversion programme was established,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Assistant Commissioner Jack Nolan added that, at the time of the offences, there was no automated system to monitor the juvenile diversion programme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In 2010, an automated juvenile liaison officers scheme was put in place and every JLO officer has access to that, as has the National Juvenile Office so there is an automated system which triggers to supervisors that a juvenile is involved in a particular crime or is a victim of a crime,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He also said the system was under review but all garda&iacute; now had training under the Children First guidelines and around 200 members had been specially trained to interview children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a different space where we are today and hopefully we would not have an incident like this again,&rdquo; said Mr Nolan.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 30th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/assurance-given-over-child-rape-case-failures-423520.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/assurance-given-over-child-rape-case-failures-423520.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-30 13:53:35',NULL,'assurance-given-over-child-rape-case-failures'),(1654,'California abolishes statute of limitations for rape and child molestation charges','<p>\r\n	The move was inspired by accusations against the entertainer Bill Cosby</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	California has abolished the time limit for charges of rape and child molestation to be filed, in a move inspired by accusations against the entertainer Bill Cosby.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Jerry Brown, the state&#39;s governor, signed a bill into law eliminating the 10-year statute of limitations on allegations of some sexual offences.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Justice for Victims Act was introduced after dozens of women came forward accusing Cosby of sexual assault.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Many of the claims dated back decades and none have led to charges in California.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Three of the accusers gave evidence in support of the bill.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Currently, rape and child sexual abuse charges need to be filed within 10 years. Allegations of sex crimes against minors have to be prosecuted before they turn 40.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The changes will take effect in January but will not affect any of those who have made allegations against Cosby.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The 79-year-old star, for decades known as &#39;America&#39;s Dad&#39; for his role in &#39;The Cosby Show&#39;, has repeatedly denied the allegations made by dozens of women, many of whom say they were drugged before being sexually assaulted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He is facing trial next year in Pennsylvania over an allegation of sexual assault from 2004.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It puts sexual predators on notice&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In addition, a civil case in California, brought by a woman who claims she was molested at the Playboy Mansion in 1974, when she was 15, has seen the star give evidence under oath.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents the accuser in the civil case and a number of other women who have made claims against Cosby, welcomed the new bill.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said: &quot;The passage of this new law means that the courthouse doors will no longer be slammed shut in the face of rape victims.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It puts sexual predators on notice that the passage of time may no longer protect them from serious criminal consequences for their acts of sexual violence.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Seventeen other US states have no statute of limitation on rape. Colorado and Nevada have increased the time available to seek charges in the wake of the allegations against Cosby.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	California state senator Connie Leyva, who introduced the bill, said it &quot;tells every rape and sexual assault victim in California that they matter and that, regardless of when they are ready to come forward, they will always have an opportunity to seek justice in a court of law.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;There must never be an expiration date on justice.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But civil rights groups say extending the time limit could lead to false convictions as evidence disappears and memories fade among victims and witnesses.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They say it is unfair to expect a suspect to recall alibis decades later.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by Newstalk on the 29th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.newstalk.com/California-abolishes-statute-of-limitations-for-rape-and-child-molestation-charges\">http://www.newstalk.com/California-abolishes-statute-of-limitations-for-rape-and-child-molestation-charges</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-30 13:55:31',NULL,'california-abolishes-statute-of-limitations-for-rape-and-child-molestation-charges'),(1655,'Convicted child abuser returned to Ireland from Australia','<p>\r\n	74-year-old sent home despite Victoria police wanting to charge him over new allegations</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A convicted child abuser has been returned to Ireland after his Australian visa was cancelled, despite police in the state of Victoria wanting to charge him with abusing students at Geelong Grammar Anglican school between the late 1960s and 1980.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The 74-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been convicted of child abuse offences on four separate occasions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He is an Irish citizen, but had never taken up Australian citizenship. Because of this, he was subject to a law change introduced in late 2014, whereby non-Australian citizens convicted of child abuse or jailed for a crime that carries a sentence of 12 months or more are deported to their home country.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Several Irish people have been deported or are awaiting deportation from Australia under this law.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When the former teacher was released from Wolston Correctional Centre in Queensland on May 6th, security personnel met him and escorted him onto a flight to Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Alleged victims fear it could be years before the man faces court due to the extradition process, or if he is deemed mentally or physically unfit to travel to Australia for a trial.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They are also concerned about the man having contact with children in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Australia&rsquo;s Border Force agency has defended its role in deporting the man to Ireland despite him being investigated by police.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The individual was not listed as having any outstanding matters with any law enforcement agencies and was subsequently removed,&rdquo; a department spokesman said in a statement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The department said it had checked relevant databases before sending him to Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It was the responsibility of law enforcement agencies to request a criminal justice stay certificate if they intended to pursue criminal charges for non-citizens, the spokesman said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A man who told the royal commission he had been abused by the man when he was aged nine told Melbourne&rsquo;s Age newspaper he was not told of the man&rsquo;s deportation until four months after he had left the country.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve obviously been waiting a long time for this,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be a lot more difficult to extradite him from Ireland.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A Victorian police spokeswoman said the criminal investigation was continuing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 30th September 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/convicted-child-abuser-returned-to-ireland-from-australia-1.2811826\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/convicted-child-abuser-returned-to-ireland-from-australia-1.2811826</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-09-30 13:58:36',NULL,'convicted-child-abuser-returned-to-ireland-from-australia'),(1656,'\'Denying the disabled fresh air is abuse,\' warns safety chief','<p>\r\n	Hiqa staff are viewed as snoops but they are key to safety, writes Eilish O&#39;Regan</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Prisoners have more access to fresh air than some vulnerable residents of homes for the intellectually disabled, the head of the country&#39;s patient watchdog has revealed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Until recently, these residents may also have endured months of being confined within the four walls of their home in a congregated setting, bleakly facing the same institutionalised daily routine, according to Phelim Quinn, chief executive of the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;In some instances, staff did not see that as an abuse of someone&#39;s rights. But it is,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;If you were in prison, you would have a right to fresh air and being allowed out, so why would you not be allowed them in a state-funded centre?&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It was only three years ago that Hiqa inspectors were first permitted past the threshold of these disability centres.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The worrying failure to put them under outside scrutiny for so long meant that many entrenched practices were left unchecked.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Quinn said Hiqa has now visited all the centres but it is still having to commit significant time and resources to risk-based inspections, where residents&#39; safety has been breached. It had to take enforcement action against four centres last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The abusive practices at one of the bungalows in &Aacute;ras Attracta home in Mayo, which was the subject of a television expose, were not isolated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The person in charge is the critical lynchpin. We found that where there is a strong manager, care can be good in congregated settings,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Quinn took over the running of the watchdog two years ago after decades of work in health and social services. Hiqa has a small army of 77 inspectors, whose work also covers hospitals and nursing homes, as well as child welfare and protection services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Many in the health service still regard them as intrusive snoops, particularly when the inspection is unannounced, but the sometimes shocking findings of Hiqa reports have been crucial in disclosing risks to patient safety.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Quinn said that in the area of hospital hygiene checks, they are moving from wards to high-risk areas, like intensive care units.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It has meant that they are seeing failings that are forcing them to make return visits to do follow-up checks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Our re-inspection rate in hospitals was one in 10 visits, now it is one in five,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Enda Kenny&#39;s local hospital, Mayo General, recently received a scathing report with patients left at risk of infection.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Quinn said the various hospital inspections have highlighted a range of risk, such as patient equipment not being properly decontaminated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Smaller hospitals continue to have a problem with the misuse of antibiotics, which can lead to more superbugs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, he said the evidence is that more staff are washing their hands between patients.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Hospitals are now well aware that if we are not happy with standards we will be back again,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It has recently started inspecting hospital meals, which have received surprisingly good reviews from patients to date.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, more patients need to be screened for malnourishment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Food nutrition and hydration are an important part of care. But it is sometimes seen as a hotel service,&quot; Mr Quinn said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last year, Hiqa did battle with the HSE over the watchdog&#39;s report on Portlaoise Hospital, which looked at standards following the deaths of a number of babies in its maternity unit in recent years. The HSE threatened to injunct the reports but Hiqa stood its ground.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Irish Independent later reported how HSE chief Tony O&#39;Brien texted Mr Quinn seeking an &quot;informal off-line chat&quot; about the report. But Mr Quinn did not respond.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Following on from these and other Hiqa reports all maternity hospitals and units must now give monthly statistics on patient deaths, the number of reported critical incidents and other information. When Hiqa started its investigations it found some were not even producing annual reports, so the public had no idea how good or bad the standards were.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;When we published the Portlaoise report we said the health system was not learning. We have now submitted new national maternity standards to the Minister for Health.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One area of ongoing concern to Hiqa, for which it has no powers of inspection, is home care services for the elderly and disabled. It is among the areas for regulation prioritised by Hiqa in its submission to the Oireachtas committee which is drawing up a ten year plan for the health service.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Quinn said Hiqa inspectors will also continue to pursue better quality of life standards for the elderly in the old-style public nursing homes with nightingale wards, which are to be phased out by 2021.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said: &quot;I appreciate staff sometimes feel hurt. But older people are living there now. They need personalised space for their own effects, privacy and dignity. Practices have derived to suit the environment, as opposed to the individual.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	What about the failure to hold anyone to account when the dust has settled on some of its controversial reports? Hiqa has no role in this but is proposing an independent commission, removed from the HSE and hospital groups which would take on this and other work. Overall, Mr Quinn believes that regulation of patient safety is still relatively &quot;light touch&quot; and that too many areas like hospital emergency departments are not getting proper scrutiny.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hiqa&#39;s team can only stretch so far.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	And the first onus on safety rests with the provider, he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 3rd October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/denying-the-disabled-fresh-air-is-abuse-warns-safety-chief-35098131.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/denying-the-disabled-fresh-air-is-abuse-warns-safety-chief-35098131.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-03 11:44:47',NULL,'denying-the-disabled-fresh-air-is-abuse-warns-safety-chief'),(1657,'Public unaware of what palliative care entails','<p>\r\n	Palliative care is not necessarily end-of-life care and may in fact last for a number of years, but more than a third of us do not realise this, a survey has found.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Moreover, while pain management is an important part of palliative care, it also extends to looking after the patient&rsquo;s psychological, social and spiritual needs as well as continuing to support families after a loved one has passed away.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The survey, the results of which are published today to coincide with the launch of Palliative Care Week, show many are confused about what this form of care actually entails.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Karen Charnley, head of the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC), said members of the public needed to educate themselves so that they could discuss and plan appropriately &ldquo;for all of the needs which a child, adult or older person has following diagnosis of an illness that will shorten or limit their life&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The survey of public understanding of palliative care, commissioned by AIIHPC, found seven in 10 identified pain management as the most important element of a good experience of palliative care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The survey also found that 35% of people were not aware that palliative care may be suitable for a number of years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 21% were not aware that the approach supports family, friends and carers during an illness and afterwards;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 55% reported that they have a basic or minimal understanding of what palliative care involves;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 85% did not believe that there is sufficient public understanding of palliative care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Helen McEntee, minister of state for mental health and older people, said taht the aim of the Health Service Executive&rsquo;s (HSE) National Clinical Programme for Palliative Care was to &ldquo;alleviate fears and anxieties surrounding palliative care services&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This will help ensure that people with life-limiting conditions and their families can access palliative care services that best meet their needs,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE&rsquo;s national lead for palliative care, Sheilagh Reaper-Reynolds, encouraged the public to talk about palliative care within families and with health and social care professionals.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A series of information events will take place during the week.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 3rd October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/public-unaware-of-what-palliative-care-entails-423851.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/public-unaware-of-what-palliative-care-entails-423851.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-03 11:46:40',NULL,'public-unaware-of-what-palliative-care-entails'),(1658,'Flu could kill 1,000 in winter - HSE','<p>\r\n	The HSE has warned that flu could kill 1,000 people this winter and &#39;at risk&#39; groups should ensure that they get the jab.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Brenda Corcoran, Head of the HSE&#39;s National Immunisation Office, said the vaccine is the only defence against flu.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Yet every year many people in the most vulnerable groups fail to get vaccinated and so put themselves at risk of serious illness or even death.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The vaccine reduces infection and associated illnesses and hospitalisation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The over-65s, people with chronic illness and pregnant women are among the risk groups who should get the vaccine.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Indications suggest that national uptake figures show that 55.4pc of people aged 65 and over who hold a medical card or GP visit card received the flu vaccine during the 2015-2016 flu season.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This uptake rate is lower than in the two previous seasons and less than the World Health Organisation target of 75pc.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The symptoms of flu usually develop over a matter of a few hours.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Symptoms include a high temperature, sore muscles, dry cough, headache and sore throat.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Flu is very infectious and can cause potentially serious illnesses especially for older people, those who have a chronic illness, those with weakened immune systems and pregnant women,&quot; Dr Brenda Corcoran said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She added: &quot;Seasonal flu vaccine can be given at any stage of pregnancy and also protects the baby.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 3rd October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/flu-could-kill-1000-in-winter-hse-35098360.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/flu-could-kill-1000-in-winter-hse-35098360.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-03 11:47:49',NULL,'flu-could-kill-1000-in-winter-hse'),(1659,'Frances Fitzgerald seeks new legislation to tackle online abuse to protect children','<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	T&aacute;naiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald wants to see new legislation to protect children from online abuse in place by the end of the year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill, which would close a number of loopholes exposing children to online abuses, will be debated in the D&aacute;il this week.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Fitzgerald said the proposed legislation would create a number of offences that would carry prison sentences of between 10 and 15 years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The bill addresses gaps in the law relating to online grooming and child pornography. In particular, the bill criminalises the viewing images of child porn-ography. Currently, images of child pornography must be downloaded to be an offence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is bringing our legislation up to date with, unfortunately, what is the ongoing sexual exploitation of children,&rdquo; said Ms Fitzgerald, adding that she wants to see the bill enacted as soon as possible.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I would like to see it in place by the end of the year,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Fitzgerald was speaking in Dublin yesterday before she opened a conference on the bill, hosted by the Children&rsquo;s Rights Alliance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said some changes would be made to the bill about protecting counselling notes, a matter that was raised in the Seanad.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She wants to make sure people who attend counselling could have a sense of security around the future of what they disclose.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;So I will be clarifying the law around that and making sure that there are proper protections in place and where there is going to be disclosure that it is very clearly understood that the law will apply.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Fitzgerald said it was critical to target those who would seek to make a child familiar or comfortable with sexual acts or activity or imagery to facilitate further, and more direct exploitation of that child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The detail with which these offences are set out in this bill is to put beyond doubt the type of behaviours and activities which will be targeted,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Special rapporteur on child protection, Geoffrey Shannon, said the bill was one of the most important pieces of legislation since the foundation of the State, in not only protecting children but vulnerable adults as well.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Our children are our most valuable natural resource, and I think it speaks volumes if our police force values that,&rdquo; said Prof Shannon.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	ISPCC chief executive Grainia Long said the group was disappointed that the legislative process has taken so long &mdash; it has been two years since the general scheme of the Sexual Offences Bill was published.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children&rsquo;s Rights Alliance chief executive Tanya Ward said children in Ireland use the internet more than their European counterparts and many young people are using online ways to socialise and meet people for the first time. &ldquo;We are absolutely clear that this legislation has to be prioritised and enacted as soon as possible,&rdquo; said Ms Ward.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 4th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/frances-fitzgerald-seeks-new-legislation-to-tackle-online-abuse-to-protect-children-424018.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/frances-fitzgerald-seeks-new-legislation-to-tackle-online-abuse-to-protect-children-424018.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-04 08:21:45',NULL,'frances-fitzgerald-seeks-new-legislation-to-tackle-online-abuse-to-protect-children'),(1660,'Government set to finally bring in ban on forced marriages','<p>\r\n	Forced marriages are to be outlawed in Ireland under legislative proposals being brought before the Cabinet today.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The new law will criminalise a practice prevalent in certain cultures and is one of a raft of measures being proposed by Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald as part of an overhaul of domestic-violence legislation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It will make it an offence to force a person to marry where they do not consent to it or where consent is given under duress, either though emotional, physical, sexual or financial pressure.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The proposed offence will also cover situations where an adult or a child is removed or lured from Ireland to another territory for the purpose of forcing them to enter into a marriage.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The move comes two years after a similar law was introduced in the UK, which brought in a sentence of up to seven years for the offence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Penalties there can be even higher where there are aggravating factors. A Cardiff man ended up being jailed for 16 years for forcing a Muslim woman to marry him. The case involved considerable harassment and rape.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Consultations are ongoing between the Department of Justice and the Attorney General on the penalties which will apply here.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Officials said there was limited information on the scale of the problem in Ireland as, by its very nature, forced marriage is a very hidden practice.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Subject to Cabinet approval, the new domestic violence bill is expected to be published in the next two months.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If passed, the bill would bring Ireland in line with the Istanbul Convention, a Council of Europe anti-domestic violence convention agreed in 2011, but which Ireland only signed up to last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As well as the forced marriage provisions, the bill is also set to include the introduction of civil protection orders.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In other jurisdictions where such orders are used, they can go further than traditional restraining orders and impose certain additional obligations on the alleged abuser.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The proposed legislation will include provisions which mean a victim will not have to have a greater or equal interest in a property to get a barring order against their partner or spouse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It will also become possible for a victim to give evidence by video link to avoid the risk of intimidation by the perpetrator or an associate in a courtroom.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Courts will be able to appoint an expert to ascertain the views of a child where an order is sought on behalf of, or will partly relate to, the child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There will also be restrictions on the categories of person allowed to be in court during criminal proceedings relating to domestic violence, so that the victim will not have to give evidence, potentially of a distressing nature, before a large number of strangers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Courts handling domestic violence cases will also be able to refer a perpetrator to counselling services to address the roots of their behaviour.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 4th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/government-set-to-finally-bring-in-ban-on-forced-marriages-35100844.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/government-set-to-finally-bring-in-ban-on-forced-marriages-35100844.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-04 08:23:15',NULL,'government-set-to-finally-bring-in-ban-on-forced-marriages'),(1661,'Child and Family Agency will treat child sex offenders','<p>\r\n	The first countrywide service to assist children and teens who commit sexual offences is to be rolled out next year, 11 years after it was first proposed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tusla, the Child and Family Agency confirmed plans to introduce the Sexually Harmful Behaviour services (SHBS). Currently, support for underage sex offenders has been fragmented with large parts of rural Ireland having no access to a public service.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A national programme for young abusers was first proposed in 2005 following the publication of the Ferns Report. Preparations were finalised by a HSE steering committee in 2013. Garda&iacute;, the HSE, the Children&rsquo;s Hospital Group, the Probation Service and CARI, a therapy service for child victims of sexual abuse, will be involved.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Sexually Harmful Behaviour Services provide a range of services to young people and families, including advice and consultation to families, comprehensive assessments, treatment planning, psychometric testing, individual and group therapy with young people and parents, parental support and aftercare,&rdquo; said Tusla spokeswoman.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The priority of the national service will be the safeguarding of children,&rdquo; Tusla said, indicating the service will be integrated with child protection and criminal justice agencies on a national and local level.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The service will involve bringing existing services in Leinster and Connacht under central control &ldquo;to ensure a consistent national service approach&rdquo;. A new service will be introduced in the southern region. Two people have already being appointed to the national service including a principal psychologist. Tusla, seeking two further staff, estimate the service will cost &euro;350,000 to set up.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dublin&rsquo;s Northside Interagency Project (NIAP) will act as the model for the new service, Tusla said. NIAP was set up in 1992. It has since assisted over 250 young sex offenders and their families.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Its aims are to prevent further sexual offending through early intervention and treatment of young people between the ages of 13 and 18 years, and involves group therapy with the offender&rsquo;s families and carers. Most of the offenders NIAP deal with have not been reported to garda&iacute; or have been dealt with outside of the courts through warnings and garda diversion programmes. Around a quarter of sexual abuse cases involve offenders under the age of 18 according to the SAVI report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The national service will deal with both male and females. Reported sexual abuse by girls remains a small minority but has increased in recent years. In the past two years NIAP has worked with three girls compared to just one in the previous 22 years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Rape Crisis Network Ireland (RCNI) said the service would be a &ldquo;win-win&rdquo; for victims and offenders. &ldquo;We can stop these children from going on to becoming adult sexual abusers and we can stop others being victimised by them,&rdquo; said a spokeswoman. &ldquo;We know that intervening early with children who have behaved in a harmful way sexually can be very effective.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 4th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/agency-will-treat-child-sex-offenders-424019.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/agency-will-treat-child-sex-offenders-424019.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-04 08:24:48',NULL,'child-and-family-agency-will-treat-child-sex-offenders'),(1662,'Call for repeal of ban on people with intellectual disabilities having sexual relationships','<p>\r\n	At present it is a criminal offence for a person to conduct such a relationship with someone with an intellectual disability.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An Irish charity is calling for the repeal of a law which bans people with intellectual disabilities from having sexual relationships.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A new Bill dealing with the subject, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015, is set for second stage discussion in D&aacute;il &Eacute;ireann tomorrow.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Section 20 of the new bill, if passed, will repeal a ban which prevents a person from engaging in a sexual relationship with someone with an intellectual disability.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	That rule has been enshrined in Irish law since 1993. It specifically criminalises such relationships, with the ban &ldquo;based on the existence of a disability and no other criteria&rdquo;, according to disability charity Rehab which is calling for the Bill to be approved without &ldquo;unnecessary delay&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The charity has described the existence of the law as an example of &ldquo;glaring inequality&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The existing law in Ireland creates a situation where people with intellectual disabilities are often neither supported nor encouraged to look for a romantic life partner, which is a normal part of life for everyone else,&rdquo; the charity said in a statement ahead of the D&aacute;il debate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The current Criminal Justice bill designates someone with intellectual disabilities as a &lsquo;protected person&rsquo;, as an acknowledgement of the difference of ability such a person has in making decisions about their lives.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Greater equality&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Rehab says that significant strides have been made since the passing of the 1993 bill to &ldquo;establish people with disabilities as citizens with equal rights&rdquo;, and that it is &ldquo;now time for similar equality to be given to people in relation to sexual relationships&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The proposed new laws will create greater equality for people with disabilities in their sexual and romantic lives,&rdquo; says Kathleen O&rsquo;Meara of Rehab.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Often the existing legislation has prevented people engaging in any type of romantic relationship.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This legislation is now urgent. It will provide greater opportunities to people with intellectual disabilities to assert their human right to marry and to found a family.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015 will be discussed in D&aacute;il &Eacute;ireann from 6.30pm tomorrow evening.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by TheJournal.ie on the 4th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/sexual-relationship-intellectual-disabilities-3010011-Oct2016/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/sexual-relationship-intellectual-disabilities-3010011-Oct2016/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-05 08:57:43',NULL,'call-for-repeal-of-ban-on-people-with-intellectual-disabilities-having-sexual-relationships'),(1663,'Cultural engagement benefits school children - ESRI','<p>\r\n	A new study has revealed that children in Ireland who participate in artistic or cultural activities such as drama, dancing, art or music cope better with schoolwork, watch less television, and have a more positive attitude towards school later in life.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Using data from the longitudinal Growing up in Ireland study, it examined arts and cultural participation among three, five and 13-year-olds and was carried out by the ESRI in conjunction with the Arts Council.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It found that just under half of nine-year-olds and one third of 13-year-olds took part in a structured cultural activity outside of school.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Significant socioeconomic and gender differences in the types of cultural activities engaged in by children were identified in the report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Participation levels in many cultural activities were also found to be lower among children from migrant families, especially at early years and primary stages.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking on RT&Eacute;&#39;s Morning Ireland, Arts Council Director Orlaith McBride said the survey found girls from more advantaged backgrounds have the highest levels of participation in the arts outside regular school time.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said that parental education and social class impacted how involved children are in such activities, as most are paid for privately, adding that as a national agency the Arts Council would like to see more of these initiatives being provided free of charge.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Young children who are read to frequently have better vocabulary and improved cognitive development by the age of five, the survey found.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It also found among older children, self-directed reading and taking part in structured cultural activities outside school contributed to cognitive development in terms of both verbal and numeric skills as well as to academic self confidence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by RTE.ie on the 5th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"https://www.rte.ie/news/2016/1005/821561-extracurricular-arts-benefit-children-study/\">https://www.rte.ie/news/2016/1005/821561-extracurricular-arts-benefit-children-study/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-05 08:59:48',NULL,'cultural-engagement-benefits-school-children-esri'),(1664,'Hiqa highlights \'significant risks\' at residential centres for disabled','<p>\r\n	Hiqa says it has found &quot;significant risks&quot; to the health, safety and wellbeing of residents in nine residential services for disabled people around the country.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The claims have been highlighted among 20 reports on centres provided by the HSE, which have been published today.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At one respite service in the northwest of the country, inspectors identified &quot;significant safeguarding concerns&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They found that allegations of abuse had not been appropriately reported or investigated, which meant vulnerable residents were not being adequately protected.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 4th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/hiqa-highlights-significant-risks-at-residential-centres-for-disabled-757703.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/hiqa-highlights-significant-risks-at-residential-centres-for-disabled-757703.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-05 09:02:33',NULL,'hiqa-highlights-significant-risks-at-residential-centres-for-disabled'),(1665,'Bluebell deaths a reminder to watch over our elderly neighbours','<p>\r\n	In the bright lights, hustle and bustle of this city it&rsquo;s easy to forget our ageing neighbours</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The tragic deaths of two elderly brothers in Bluebell, Dublin, has raised questions about Irish society and the role neighbours can play &ndash; even though neighbourly contact is not always as easy as it sounds.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However head of communications at Active Retirement Ireland Peter Kavanagh says help can start with a simple hello.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;How important is saying hello, being neighbourly, knowing your neighbours and asking if they&rsquo;re okay? It&rsquo;s as vital as any other medical intervention,&rdquo; says Kavanagh. &ldquo;If you know somebody who lives alone, it can be of huge benefit to them if all you do is just start a conversation, just ask them how they&rsquo;re doing.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Age Action&rsquo;s Head of Advocacy Justin Moran backs this up: &ldquo;This story reminds us of the challenge of social isolation, the epidemic of loneliness in this country that&rsquo;s going on in our housing estates, our towns and our villages.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Moran says that by making contact with our elderly neighbours and ensuring that they know somebody looking out for them, that they are actually a part of a community and not just living in a community is of critical importance. &ldquo;If you can do that, you will give them that little bit of extra help and assistance.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Offering assistance</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Kavanagh adds the gentle reminder that &ldquo;if you&rsquo;re going to the shop it isn&rsquo;t a huge extra ask to just see if the person next door, who might live on their own, needs anything&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Moran adds that it is possible to show you care without being intrusive. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re going down to the shops anyway and you know your next door neighbour doesn&rsquo;t get out much, you can knock in and see if they want any messages.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I guarantee you that as you walk away that person is glad and relieved that somebody cared enough to check in because there are tens of thousands of people across this country who are watching and reading the media coverage about what happened to the McCarthy&rsquo;s and thinking: &lsquo;I recognise myself in some of that. That could happen to me&rsquo;.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Watching for warning signs</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As far as warning signs go, it is possible to tell when someone is &ldquo;more dishevelled or not as well kept as the last time &rdquo; they were seen, said Kavanagh.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Kavanagh notes how good we are when it comes to looking out for these warning signs among young people because of the epidemic of depression and poor mental health among young people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;But it&rsquo;s something that affects older people in a big way, particularly older people who are isolated,&rdquo; he says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t rely on already overstretched health and social services to intervene,&rdquo; Moran concludes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We can&rsquo;t turn away when we&rsquo;ve noticed the curtains are drawn on the house or the post hasn&rsquo;t been collected and we would encourage people to reach out to their neighbours.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 5th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/bluebell-deaths-a-reminder-to-watch-over-our-elderly-neighbours-1.2818167\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/bluebell-deaths-a-reminder-to-watch-over-our-elderly-neighbours-1.2818167</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-06 08:21:49',NULL,'bluebell-deaths-a-reminder-to-watch-over-our-elderly-neighbours'),(1666,'Subsidised childcare for families on low pay','<p>\r\n	A subsidised childcare package for low-income families was signed off by ministers Paschal Donohoe and Katherine Zappone last night.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Zappone was said to be &ldquo;extremely happy&rdquo; with the package, which is set to benefit families with a net income of up to &euro;47,000.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She had pressed for subsidised childcare to be prioritised for lower-income families, while Fine Gael TDs had sought to include &ldquo;squeezed&rdquo; middle-income families on up to &euro;55,000.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Irish Examiner has learned the details of what level the package will apply to remains to be finalised.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It comes amid speculation that the proposed tax-break for first-time buyers, which was due to be up to &euro;15,000, could now be closer to &euro;20,000, as negotiations between Public Expenditure Minister Mr Donohoe and Housing Minister Simon Coveney continue.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokeswoman for Mr Coveney said she was not aware of where the &euro;20,000 figure came from, but it was understood a figure greater than &euro;15,000 was now accepted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meanwhile, tax breaks for landlords will feature as part of next week&rsquo;s budget.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The measure, to which the Government is agreeable, would allow property tax become a deductible expense in calculating a landlord&rsquo;s taxable rental income.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Landlords want the move &mdash; recommended in the Thornhill report on local property tax &mdash; implemented or suggest that, alternatively, the tax should be paid by tenants.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Department of Finance sources</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	confirmed that the measure is in the mix, on the basis that the Programme for Government promises &ldquo;enhanced tax relief for landlords who accept rent supplement and Housing Assistance Payment tenants&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Finance Minister Michael Noonan previously told the last D&aacute;il the Government &ldquo;had agreed in principle&rdquo; with &ldquo;the recommendation of the Thornhill Report that local property tax should be a deductible expense in calculating a landlord&rsquo;s taxable rental income&rdquo;. He noted the report recommended &ldquo;phasing in deductibility over a period of years&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Department of Finance sources said last night that a lot of good measures in principle would be in the budget, but that some would be &ldquo;funded on a phased basis&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Donohoe separately said he is &ldquo;in the middle of very difficult discussions&rdquo;, which are set to continue over the weekend.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I have much progress that I have to make in the coming days,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 6th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/subsidised-childcare-for-families-on-low-pay-424403.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/subsidised-childcare-for-families-on-low-pay-424403.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-06 08:23:24',NULL,'subsidised-childcare-for-families-on-low-pay'),(1667,'‘The health system let us down’- Father hits out after son (22) took his own life in hospital after four attempts','<p>\r\n	A grieving father has criticised the mental health system after his young son took his own life in hospital, after four previous attempts.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ryan Dempsey was 22-years-old when he died by suicide.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	His dad Fran Dempsey told Ray D&rsquo;Arcy on RT&Eacute; Radio 1 that the &ldquo;system failed&rdquo; him and his family.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to Fran, his son Ryan was extremely family-orientated and had a good group of friends.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When he was 18, Ryan came out as gay to his parents and just four years later he took his own life on November 3 2014.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Ryan was amazing. From the time he could talk he wanted to be an actor. He was always somebody else,&rdquo; dad Fran told Ray D&rsquo;Arcy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fran and his wife Michelle had three other sons and said Ryan loved family time.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;He always picked the movies because that was his thing. He was a beautiful child.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fran said that during family time &ldquo;there was nothing out of the ordinary&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;He pulled away from his friends and he was kind of a loner. But he spoke mostly to his cousin Shaun.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When Ryan came out to his family as gay, they instantly accepted it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;He sat me down in the kitchen and he said, &lsquo;Da...&rsquo;, and I said, &lsquo;Son, you don&rsquo;t have to tell me, I know, you&rsquo;re a beautiful kid...&rsquo; and we hugged for about five minutes and it was great. I can actually still feel that hug,&rdquo; said Fran.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The father said Ryan became withdrawn and they would often have to tell him to come out of his room.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;He would spend a lot of time in his bedroom alone so we would tell him to come out and watch a film with us. We got a bit worried then but we were all still talking. He had a lot of relationship problems.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	After attempting suicide several times, Ryan was in and out of hospital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We pleaded with the hospital to take him in. We were on 24 hour watch. Nobody would listen to us. They kept saying that because Ryan was over 21 that they would listen to Ryan and not us.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They spoke to Ryan and me first. I was asked to leave and Ryan was spoken to and then they spoke to me. Ryan was smart. We were trying to look out for our son.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;He was attending a health centre in Inchicore but again Ryan would come home and say this isn&rsquo;t right for me. He wanted to be alone but he was put in groups.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He was sent to a GP after again attempting suicide.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;He said &lsquo;Da, all I want is a relationship like you and Ma&rsquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;He had changed. He was angry a lot.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;He wasn&rsquo;t diagnosed with anything but we kept saying he had to be depressed. He would shut himself up in a dark room.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One night Ryan came to his dad and asked to be admitted to hospital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;He said &lsquo;I have to go, you have to bring me to the hospital&rsquo;. We brought him up to the A&amp;E and he was put in a room that was like a cell, it was horrible. He was on a fifteen minute watch.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;At half two that night we got a call to say that Ryan had taken his own life. It didn&rsquo;t really sink in. It had happened four times before hand. I couldn&rsquo;t believe it really happened.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;My wife and son went up to the hospital and said Ryan was in the intensive care unit. We went into the ICU and Ryan had wires all over him. The nurse said to me &lsquo;I&rsquo;m very sorry&rsquo; so I kind of knew he wasn&rsquo;t coming back. I knew he was brain dead but they kept him on life support for three or four days and we donated his organs which he wanted anyway.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fran said that Ryan wanted to donate his organs from an early age and that &ldquo;his life saved many others&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We got a letter from the man who got his heart and it was lovely.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It said he saved his life and the guy who got his kidney was on death&rsquo;s door and he had a new-born baby. He saved a lot of lives as well.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fran said he&rsquo;s angry with the health system and feels they &ldquo;let him down&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not bitter but I&rsquo;m angry. They told us he was on a 15 minute watch but he couldn&rsquo;t have been.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He begged health professionals to &ldquo;listen&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Please listen to the ordinary people, it&rsquo;s happening everywhere. Listen to what needs to be done and put the resources in. No family should have to go through what we did. My home isn&rsquo;t the same, me and my wife aren&rsquo;t the same.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fran who is now getting counselling said the grief caused him to try and take his own life too.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It won&rsquo;t happen again I assure you. I have a great family and friends behind me.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;My nephew passed away from suicide eight years ago too and they were left absolutely devastated. His family have broken up.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fran is now campaigning for a better mental health system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;A&amp;E isn&rsquo;t trained to look after people with mental health issues. We need specialists and better mental health programmes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;No family should have to go through this.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If you have been affected by any issues raised in this article, please contact The Samaritans free helpline on 116 123.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 5th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/the-health-system-let-us-down-father-hits-out-after-son-22-took-his-own-life-in-hospital-after-four-attempts-35107302.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/the-health-system-let-us-down-father-hits-out-after-son-22-took-his-own-life-in-hospital-after-four-attempts-35107302.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-06 08:26:37',NULL,'‘the-health-system-let-us-down’-father-hits-out-after-son-22-took-his-own-life-in-hospital-after-four-attempts'),(1668,'No dental screening for 16,000 children due to staff shortages and public clinic closures','<p>\r\n	Some 16,000 children missed their school dental screening last year, because of staff shortages and public clinic closures.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	HSE dental surgeons, who also blamed a lack of policy and direction, said their ability to provide an effective service was being undermined.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They fear the public dental service is on the brink of collapse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Because dental problems are not being identified early, thousands of children, at an average age of six, are undergoing painful operations every year under general anaesthetic, including extractions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Chief executive of the Irish Dental Association, Fintan Hourihan, who spoke at the HSE dentists&rsquo; annual seminar in Athlone yesterday, said that in some parts of the country the number of extractions for children was on a par with the number of fillings.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The average age for children to undergo extractions under general anaesthetic is six, while some children as young as two require this treatment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Some children are having more than nine teeth extracted.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Hourihan said the population of under-16s has increased by 20%, to 1.1m, but the number of dentists in the public service charged with looking after their oral health has dropped by 20%, because of a recruitment embargo.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	That dentists in some areas are pulling almost as many children&rsquo;s teeth as they are filling is a stark example of how bad the situation has become, he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Calling on the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, to intervene immediately, Mr Hourihan said the situation in Laois/Offaly was &ldquo;simply shocking&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In Laois, last year, dentists carried out 1,200 extractions and 1,800 fillings, and, in Offaly, they performed 915 extractions and 1,100 fillings.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We believe this is a direct result of the collapse of the school screenings in these areas, as children in these counties are not being seen until they are in the first year in secondary school,&rdquo; said Mr Hourihan.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In Laois, the number of under-16s has increased by 40%, since 2002, but the number of public health dentists has fallen by 42% since 2008.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Figures for six community care areas, for which exact numbers are available, show that almost 16,000 primary school children missed their school screening last year,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Hourihan said a partial screening service, at best, was on offer in most other counties.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In addition, dental clinics are being closed down &mdash; two have been closed in Clondalkin, in West Dublin, recently, which is leading to ever-lengthening waiting lists,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meanwhile, the Irish Medical Organisation has published its list of pre-Budget demands, which includes the immediate reversal of fee cuts, a new GP contract that extends the range of services, and more acute hospital beds.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	IMO president Dr John Duddy said eight key budget recommendations involved more spending, but such investment was needed after years of austerity.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 7th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/no-dental-screening-for-16000-children-due-to-staff-shortages-and-public-clinic-closures-424569.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/no-dental-screening-for-16000-children-due-to-staff-shortages-and-public-clinic-closures-424569.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-07 08:44:59',NULL,'no-dental-screening-for-16000-children-due-to-staff-shortages-and-public-clinic-closures'),(1669,'FactCheck: No, the reported side effects of the HPV vaccine do NOT outweigh the proven benefits','<p>\r\n	An ongoing online campaign against in-school vaccinations is not based on scientific evidence, and is contradicted by volumes of it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As the school year begins, tens of thousands of girls in the first year of secondary school will be offered the HPV vaccine in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But a campaign called Regret has come to prominence, questioning the safety of the vaccine, and claiming it caused illness in 400 Irish teenage girls and young women after they took it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Jacqui Madden in Co Roscommon and Deirdre Lally in Co Wicklow asked us to look into their claims, and assess the safety of the HPV vaccine, so we did.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Remember, if you see a social media campaign you&rsquo;re not sure about, email factcheck@thejournal.ie or tweet @TJ_FactCheck).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Claim: The side effects of the HPV vaccine outweigh the benefits</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Verdict: FALSE (by a very wide margin)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Repeated studies and clinical trials have shown HPV vaccines like Gardasil to be very effective in preventing the virus which leads to most cervical cancers</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Repeated studies and clinical trials have shown HPV vaccines to be very safe, and potential allergic reactions and possible side effects to be extremely rare</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	What little scientific research has been done contradicting this overwhelming consensus, has consistently been shown to be flawed and unreliable</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There is no evidence to show that the illnesses highlighted by the group Regret were caused by the HPV vaccine</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	THE FACTS</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Basics</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	HPV stands for Human Papillomavirus, which is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections, with almost all men and women contracting it at some point in their lives.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to the HSE, 80% of women contract HPV, usually in their late teens or 20s.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In most cases, the virus clears on its own and does not have any symptoms, but in some cases, it can lead to genital warts. In women, HPV can cause changes in the cervix (the lower part of the uterus, or womb) which can lead to cervical cancer.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HPV vaccine used in the school programme is called Gardasil, and protects against four out of 170 types of the virus: numbers 6, 11, 16, 18.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, 16 and 18 alone are responsible for 70% of cervical cancers, as well as 75-80% of anal cancers, according to the manufacturer&rsquo;s package leaflet and the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This fact wasn&rsquo;t taken into account in the misleading claim made by Regret this week, that:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The HPV vaccine will not save any lives on its own merit, as it only protects against 4 strains out of more than 100 HPV infections.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The fact is that two of those four strains account for 70% of cervical cancers, and an immunisation against them therefore necessarily prevents some cervical cancer development, and therefore saves lives.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The rate of cervical cancer among women in Ireland is one in 115 (0.87%), according to the latest figures (for 2013).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In Irish schools, the HSE began administering a program of HPV vaccination for free in May 2010, in schools and in clinics, to girls in first year of secondary school, and later began a &ldquo;catch-up&rdquo; programme for sixth years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This previously involved three injections separated by six months each, but since the 2014/2015 academic year, has been decreased to two injections, six months apart.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Parents and guardians are given this HSE information booklet, and asked to sign a consent form, before the vaccine can be administered.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the 2014/2015 academic year, 55,121 vaccine doses were administered.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Gardasil is manufactured by Merck and was authorised by the Irish Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) in September 2006, after being licensed by the European Medicines Agency.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The other HPV vaccine licensed in Ireland is Cervarix, which is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. Both are &ldquo;prophylactic&rdquo; medicines, which means they prevent HPV for a number of years after being administered, but do not cure it in existing cases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Effectiveness of the HPV vaccine</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There is an exceptionally large volume of scientific research on the efficacy of HPV vaccines, which include Gardasil.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A good place to start is this World Health Organisation (WHO) review of studies, which reported the vaccines had an efficacy rate of between 90% and 100% in preventing HPV infection.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A 2011 meta-analysis evaluated the results of seven separate randomised control tests, and found &ndash; for various groups of women over various time periods &ndash; the efficacy rate of the vaccines was 96%, 90%, 53%, 84%, 94%, 95%, 85%, 76%.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A 2014 meta-analysis evaluated the results of 15 previous scientific studies &ndash; 10 randomised control tests and five observational studies.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It found the effectiveness of the vaccines in preventing HPV 16 and 18 (the two most serious strains) ranged from 83% to 94%.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Another 2014 meta-analysis, on the long-term effectiveness of Gardasil, found that in one study of more than 1,000 vaccinated boys and girls aged 9-15, there wasn&rsquo;t a single HPV infection up to nine years later.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	And in another study where women aged 16-23 were vaccinated, there wasn&rsquo;t a single HPV infection five and nine years later.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Finally, the original clinical trials which were the basis for Gardasil being licensed, found the vaccine was effective in 88.7% of cases (page 12/13, here).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Safety of the HPV vaccine</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ireland</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	From 2010/2011 to 2014/2015, some 590,694 doses have been administered to first and sixth-year female secondary school students in Ireland, according to FactCheck&rsquo;s analysis of data collected by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The total number of girls who took the full set of Gardasil doses available was 201,410.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Between 2010 and 2015, a total of 948 &ldquo;adverse reactions&rdquo; to Gardasil were reported to the HPRA.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Adverse reactions are, essentially, negative symptoms perceived to be side effects from a drug. According to a parliamentary question response by then Health Minister Leo Varadkar, in January:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The vast majority of reports received have been consistent with the expected pattern of adverse effects associated with use of Gardasil, as described in the product information.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	These include reactions associated with the administering of the vaccine itself (an injection) like fainting, dizziness, headaches, skin rashes, but also include:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Chronic fatigue, nausea, swollen joints, gastrointestinal problems, drowsiness, menstrual disorders.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	958 reports of negative reactions (of varying degrees of severity) out of 590,694 doses constitutes 0.16%.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If we plot those figures on a chart, the number of adverse reports is actually invisible compared to the scale of the doses administered.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	And it&rsquo;s important to note that these are simply reports of adverse reactions &ndash; they do not, by any means, constitute proof that the administering of the vaccine was the cause of the symptom.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Furthermore, some of the 108 adverse reports in 2015 would have related to the 2015/2016 vaccination programme, which is not included in the number of doses.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Europe</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In November 2015, the European Medicines Agency published the results of a major review of the safety of HPV vaccines including Gardasil and Cervarix, examining an alleged link to two conditions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They were: complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), a chronic pain syndrome which affects limbs; and POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), which involves rapid heart rate increases on sitting or standing up, along with fatigue, dizziness and other symptoms.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The largescale EMA review concluded that there was no causal relationship between the HPV vaccines and the two conditions, and that, essentially, the prevalence of those two conditions was no greater among those treated with the vaccines, than among the general population.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It recommended no change to the licensing terms or product information requirements of Gardasil and Cervarix.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Package information</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The manufacturer&rsquo;s leaflet, which is reviewed by the HPRA, states the following possible side effects of Gardasil:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Very common (more than 10% of patients) &ndash; Pain, swelling, redness at the injection site, headaches</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Common (more than 1%) &ndash; Bruising, itchiness at the injection site, fever and nausea</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Rare (less than 0.1%) &ndash; Hives</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Very rare (less than 0.01%) &ndash; Wheezing, difficulty breathing</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Scientific research</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Once again, very many scientific studies and reviews have been conducted on this, and have found HPV vaccines like Gardasil to be extremely safe.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One of the 2014 meta-analyses mentioned above evaluated a 2013 study of almost one million 10-17 year-old girls in Denmark and Sweden.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It found no difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated girls in the rate of what have been claimed to be serious adverse effects &ndash; various autoimmune and neurological conditions, as well as venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes deep vein thrombosis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Another study from 2014 analysed 42 completed or ongoing clinical trials of Cervarix and found that the rates of symptoms were almost identical between vaccinated and control groups.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In fact, the rates of &ldquo;medically significant conditions&rdquo; and &ldquo;serious adverse events&rdquo; were slightly lower among the vaccinated groups, not that any particular conclusion should be drawn from that.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This summary of nine separate studies involves research into possible associations between HPV vaccines and a wide range of conditions and symptoms, including serious ones like stroke, appendicitis, and Guillain-Barr&eacute; syndrome, an immune disorder that causes weakness and even paralysis, and has been claimed to be caused by HPV vaccination.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In almost all cases, the research found no difference between vaccinated and control groups in the prevalence of the conditions, with the exception of temporary problems like fainting and skin irritation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In one case, a lower &ldquo;odds ratio&rdquo; (essentially a lower risk) of multiple sclerosis was observed among the vaccinated group.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the case of Guillain-Barr&eacute; syndrome, the rate of reported cases was 0.2 per 100,000 doses of Gardasil. That&rsquo;s one in half a million, or 0.0002%. And that rate was no higher than is typical of other vaccines.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Yet another 2011 systematic review of existing research concluded that the prevalence of serious adverse events was not different between vaccinated and control groups.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	And finally, another 2011 systematic review found the same results.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Regret&rsquo;s evidence</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	FactCheck asked the group Regret to provide evidence to support the contention that the HPV vaccine caused the health problems suffered by the 400 young women it represents, and that the HPV vaccine is not safe.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokesperson for the group confirmed it was their view that &ldquo;on balance, the risks of taking the HPV vaccine outweigh the benefits&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On the question of a cause-and-effect relationship, the group told us:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We question the safety of the vaccine, but without the appropriate independent investigative tools, we cannot establish the causation link [sic].&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They did not provide any evidence showing that Gardasil caused the health problems observed among the girls in question.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On the wider question of the safety of Gardasil in general, Regret directed us to articles reporting decreasing uptake of the vaccine in various jurisdictions, and criticism of it, but only one scientific study.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The fact that uptake of the vaccine is decreasing in a small number of countries, or that its safety has been questioned, does not, of course, constitute evidence that it is not safe.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	And in reality, the Canadian study highlighted by Regret does not give any support to their contention &ndash; quite the opposite. Its authors even expressly stated that the rate of side effects following HPV vaccination was &ldquo;low&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The research, published in April, tracked the rate of AEFI (adverse events following immunisation), as well as hospitalisation and emergency department admissions within 42 days of vaccination, among women and girls aged nine and older in the Canadian province of Alberta, between 2006 and 2014.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In 99.2% of cases, the HPV vaccine administered was Gardasil.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study found:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Out of 528,913 doses of a HPV vaccine, 198 adverse events (side effects) were reported. That&rsquo;s 0.04%</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Out of 195,270 girls and women vaccinated, 192 reported adverse events. That&rsquo;s 0.1%</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Of those 192, four reported an adverse event serious enough to warrant hospitalisation within 42 days</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Therefore, four out of 195,270 vaccinated individuals experienced a serious side effect following vaccination. That&rsquo;s 0.002%</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Of the 198 adverse events reported, the outcome was known for 171. All 171 ended in full recovery</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Of the 195,270 patients vaccinated, 958 (0.49%) visited the hospital within 42 days &ndash; 35.3% within two weeks, and 64.7% after two weeks</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Only four of these had reported a side effect from the vaccination</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Of the 195,270 patients vaccinated, 19,351 visited the emergency department (ED) within 42 days. That&rsquo;s 9.9%</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Regret presented the fact that almost 10% of those vaccinated visited the ED within 42 days as evidence supporting the risks of the HPV vaccine.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But this ignores the fact that only 0.002% of those vaccinated reported a serious side effect (one warranting a trip to the hospital).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In other words, those hospital and emergency department visits were not linked to the vaccination, not even in the minds of the women and girls themselves.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Regret presented the fact that almost 10% of those vaccinated visited the ED within 42 days as evidence supporting the risks of the HPV vaccine.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But this ignores the fact that only 0.002% of those vaccinated reported a serious side effect (one warranting a trip to the hospital).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In other words, those hospital and emergency department visits were not linked to the vaccination, not even in the minds of the women and girls themselves.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The &ldquo;Research&rdquo; page of the group&rsquo;s website contains mostly op-ed articles, speeches or interviews criticising the vaccines, but among the more substantive items listed are:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; An article which claims clinical trials of Gardasil and Gardasil 9 showed a rate of serious side effects of 2.5% and 2.3%.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On even cursory examination, this is very misleading. In reality, between one month and four years after vaccination, only four out of 15,705 individuals had a side effect that was determined to be vaccine-related. That&rsquo;s 0.03%.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Once again, vaccinated people getting sick in the normal course of events (including up to four years after vaccination) is falsely being presented as caused by vaccination.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A Danish study which described a pattern of &ldquo;autonomic dysfunction&rdquo; (problems with breathing, heartrate and digestion) among 53 vaccinated patients.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It noted that it could not confirm or dismiss a causal link with the vaccine, but called for further research. However, the consistency of the symptoms observed is surely due to the fact that:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This was a retrospective analysis based on 75 patients consecutively referred to the Syncope [Fainting] Unit from May 2011 to December 2014 for a head-up tilt test due to  orthostatic intolerance and symptoms compatible with autonomic dysfunction as suspected side effect following vaccination with the Q-HPV vaccine.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In other words, the study found a strong pattern of autonomic dysfunction among a few dozen patients who were referred to a specialised unit, with symptoms of autonomic dysfunction. Which is hardly shocking.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A 2012 study which concluded that certain HPV vaccines &ldquo;pose an inherent risk for triggering potentially fatal autoimmune vasculopathies [blood vessel disease]&ldquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	That alarming conclusion was based on autopsy analysis and tissue samples taken from the brains of two young women (19 and 14), who had died six months and two weeks after HPV vaccination.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study was so alarming that the US government&rsquo;s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) established a working group to examine it. In a public response, they found several serious flaws:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The authors&rsquo; diagnosis of cerebral vasculitis (blood vessel inflammation in the brain) was invalid</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The way they tested for the presence of vaccine-related proteins lacked proper controls and was &ldquo;questionable&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The authors did not use the right equipment to properly identify vaccine particles, and did not use control samples, so the relevance of what they did find &ldquo;cannot be determined&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They did not present enough information to be able to examine possible alternative causes of death.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	And for the record, out of the many millions of HPV vaccine doses administered in the US over the years, the CDC working group found one report of cerebral vasculitis (the disease the article claims is caused by the vaccine), 45 days after a vaccination.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	And that was in a woman who already had immune system difficulties and several medical problems to begin with.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the medical literature, they found two cases of vasculitis after vaccination (neither of them in the brain, which is the focus of this study), and both of them attributed to a blood vessel disorder called Henoch-Schonlein Purpura.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Conclusion</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A very large number of clinical trials and scientific studies, some outlined above, have proven HPV vaccines, including Gardasil, to be highly effective in preventing the virus that causes 70% of cervical cancer</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; These trials and studies have also proven HPV vaccines, including Gardasil, to be very safe, with extremely low rates of serious possible side effects</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What little scientific research has been done contradicting this overwhelming consensus, has consistently been shown to be flawed and unreliable</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There is no evidence whatsoever that HPV vaccination caused the health difficulties observed among the 400 young women represented by the group Regret</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The claim that &ldquo;On balance, the risks of taking the HPV vaccine outweigh the benefits&rdquo; is FALSE by a very wide margin. In fact, the evidence is unequivocal.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Send your FactCheck requests to factcheck@thejournal.ie</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Update: This article has been updated to include the fact that the cervical cancer rate among women in Ireland is one in 115, according to the latest figures (2013).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Correction: This article has been amended with the correct spelling of the HPV vaccine Cervarix. We previously wrongly referred to it as &ldquo;Cervatrix&rdquo;.</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-07 08:53:53',NULL,'factcheck-no-the-reported-side-effects-of-the-hpv-vaccine-do-not-outweigh-the-proven-benefits'),(1670,'Tenancy protection service saves 2,600 people from homelessness','<p>\r\n	A new tenancy protection service has saved more than 2,600 people, including some 1,100 children, from homelessness in Cork and Kerry.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Housing charity Threshold will publish a report this morning on the progress of the first full year of operation of its Cork Tenancy Protection Service (TPS).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Delivered in partnership with Cork city and county councils, Kerry County Council, and the Department of Social Protection, it was introduced in January 2015 after Threshold identified a need to bridge the affordability gap between rent supplement limits and rising market rents to prevent tenants from becoming homeless.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	TPS provides advice and support to people who are living in private rented accommodation, experiencing tenancy problems, and at risk of homelessness. It provides a fast-track avenue for tenants in Cork City and its environs who are in receipt of rent supplement to seek increased payments to match increases in rent.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Today&rsquo;s report shows that in 2015, TPS in the South-West has:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Prevented 1,055 households (2,633 people, including 1,186 children) from becoming homeless;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This cost just over &euro;220,000, a fraction of the cost of providing them with emergency accommodation;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Protected 956 tenancies and found suitable alternative accommodation for 99 households;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Almost half the tenant households (530) deemed to be at immediate risk of homelessness were in the process of having their tenancy terminated;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And helped 1,227 callers to the service.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Threshold&rsquo;s regional manager of southern services, Niall Horgan, said the achievements of TPS, with a 99.7% success rate, are &ldquo;significant and encouraging&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Without this vital service, the number of homeless families in the region would be significantly higher and the homelessness crisis would be almost unmanageable,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The charity said while TPS was one of the most successful homeless prevention measures of recent years, homeless figures continue to rise, and warned the problem will continue until housing supply was increased.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It will call today for a raft of measures, including extending the fast-tracked enhanced rent supplement payment scheme to tenants living beyond Cork City and environs, to hold rent supplement limits at current levels, and for new legal safeguards to allow residential tenants to continue in their tenancy during and after the sale of a rented property.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The charity also wants the definition of &ldquo;landlord&rdquo; to be amended to include receivers and lenders.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Homelessness carries an enormous human cost for the individual or family affected, but it also carries a large budgetary cost for the State,&rdquo; said Threshold chairwoman Aideen Heydon.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The key lesson of the TPS service is that putting the right resources in the right places can significantly alleviate the human and economic cost of homelessness.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	To contact Cork TPS, freephone 1800 454454, Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 7th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/tenancy-protection-service-saves-2600-people-from-homelessness-424592.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/tenancy-protection-service-saves-2600-people-from-homelessness-424592.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-07 08:55:57',NULL,'tenancy-protection-service-saves-2600-people-from-homelessness'),(1671,'Report says one girl under 15 married every seven seconds','<p>\r\n	One girl under 15 is married every seven seconds, according to a report by Save the Children, with girls as young as ten married off - often to much older men - in countries including Afghanistan, Yemen, India and Somalia.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Early marriage not only deprives girls of education and opportunities but increases the risk of death or childbirth injuries if they have babies before their bodies are ready.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Child marriage starts a cycle of disadvantage that denies girls the most basic rights to learn, develop and be children,&quot; said Save the Children International CEO Helle Thorning-Schmidt.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Girls who marry too early often can&#39;t attend school, and are more likely to face domestic violence, abuse and rape. They fall pregnant and are exposed to STIs including HIV.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report ranks countries from the best to the worst in which to be a girl, based on child marriage, schooling, teen pregnancy, maternal deaths and number of female politicians.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Niger, Chad, Central African Republic, Mali and Somalia were ranked at the bottom of the index.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Researchers say conflict, poverty and humanitarian crises are major factors that leave girls exposed to underage marriage.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The shutting down of schools in the wake of the Ebola outbreak led to an estimated 14,000 teen pregnancies in Sierra Leone during the Ebola outbreak, Save the Children said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The global charity gave the example of Sahar, who did not want to give her real name, a 14-year-old Syrian refugee in Lebanon.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Married to a 20-year-old man, aged just 13, Sahar is now two months pregnant.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The wedding day, I was imagining it would be a great day but it wasn&#39;t. It was all misery. It was full of sadness,&quot; Save the Children quoted Sahar as saying.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I feel really blessed that I am having a baby. But I am a child raising a child.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The UN&#39;s children&#39;s agency UNICEF estimates the number of women married in childhood will grow from 700 million today to around 950 million by 2030.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Save the Children&#39;s report coincides with International Day of the Girl today, which was set up by the United Nations in 2011 to recognise the rights of the 1.1 billion girls around the world and the challenges they face.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by RTE.ie on the 11th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/1011/823042-child-brides-report/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/1011/823042-child-brides-report/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-11 08:46:11',NULL,'report-says-one-girl-under-15-married-every-seven-seconds'),(1672,'Girl at risk of being institutionalised, court hears','<p>\r\n	A primary school-aged girl who exhibits violent and challenging behaviour, and lives in a residential care unit, has not been schooled since February and is at risk of being &ldquo;institutionalised&rdquo;, Cork District Court was told yesterday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	During the in-camera, childcare proceedings, a solicitor for the girl&rsquo;s mother argued that her behaviour had escalated since she was removed from the care of her grandmother in February. She requested that the court return the child to the grandmother&rsquo;s care as per the mother and grandmother&rsquo;s requests.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The solicitor said the girl is sometimes restrained by two adults several times a day, and was until recently alone in the placement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There was no other children in this placement, there is no school, she [the girl] is interacting with two adults and no one else. She has telephone access with her mother and her granny. I am concerned she is at risk of becoming institutionalised,&rdquo; the solicitor said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the child&rsquo;s social worker said the girl&rsquo;s behaviour was such that it could not be managed by her grandmother.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Before she was taken into residential care &mdash; which is ... serious for a child her age &mdash; her behaviour had escalated dramatically,&rdquo; the social worker said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The social worker said the girl had been violent and threatening at school and had jumped out a window.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The court heard the girl had caused injury to staff members in residential care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The mother&rsquo;s solicitor asked the social worker what certain kinds of restraint meant, for example &ldquo;prone restraint&rdquo; and &ldquo;small child restraint&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This is a [girl] with two adults restraining her, sometimes several times a day... There is no school, she is in bed half the day.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The solicitor questioned the adequacy of the placement, which is in Leinster, and said the child needed to know what the plan for her future was, and how long she would be kept there.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The child and family agency Tusla&rsquo;s counsel said that home tuition was &ldquo;coming shortly&rdquo; for the girl.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge Con O&rsquo;Leary said it was &ldquo;out of the question&rdquo; that the child be returned to her grandmother.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said it should be explained to the girl&rsquo;s mother in a &ldquo;reflective atmosphere&rdquo; why her child was being restrained and how the restraints occur so that she better understands what is happening.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge O&rsquo;Leary questioned why the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services was not playing a more active role in the case.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He was told that the child had not been diagnosed with any classified clinical mental health problem.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The case was adjourned until the end of November in order that a child-in-care review can be held and that issues of learning and socialisation be addressed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 11th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/girl-at-risk-of-being-institutionalised-court-hears-425093.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/girl-at-risk-of-being-institutionalised-court-hears-425093.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-11 08:49:05',NULL,'girl-at-risk-of-being-institutionalised-court-hears'),(1673,'Father who raped son from age of six is jailed for 14 years','<p>\r\n	A man who raped his son from the age of six and locked him in a box in their home has been jailed for 14 years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There was no reaction from the 66-year-old as the sentence was read out at the Central Criminal Court. He continues to deny the offences and has said he will appeal the jury verdict and sentence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Justice Robert Eagar said the child had &quot;clearly convinced the jury of the spirit of the truth of the allegations&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The child was taken out of the home by social workers in 2011, just before his eighth birthday, and placed in foster care, where he was further sexually abused by a child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In his sentencing remarks, the judge said it was not wise to put the boy in the foster home where he was sexually abused.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said it was &quot;quite clear&quot; that there was a large amount of sexual abuse occurring in the house.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Justice Eagar imposed a 15-year sentence on the father and suspended the final year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The man has already been registered as a sex offender and will also be subject to a four-year supervision order on his release.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The judge said it was the man&#39;s right to fight the trial and to appeal the verdict but took into account the effect the trial had on the child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A jury convicted the father of nine counts of raping his son from the age of six and one count of child cruelty. He was acquitted of raping the child with a poker.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	His 38-year-old partner was convicted of child cruelty but found not guilty of sex assault relating to allegations that she had sex or simulated sex with her child when he was between six and seven. She will be sentenced next week.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Both parents had pleaded not guilty to the offences, which occurred between 2009 and 2011 in their home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a victim-impact statement read to the court, the now 13-year-old boy wrote: &quot;When I lived with my mam and dad I wanted to dispose myself of this world, I wanted to commit suicide.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It wasn&#39;t until he was taken into foster care that his childhood started, he wrote.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The boy is currently in specialised care in the UK.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Words have not even been invented yet for what my dad has done to me,&quot; he wrote.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I want to say au revoir to my memories. I would like my dad never to leave prison. I am happy when he is in prison.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A psychological report stated the child is two years behind in school and has difficulties forming relationships.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He was removed from the family home in 2011 and placed in a foster home where he was sexually abused by another child. This child was never prosecuted because he was below the age of criminal responsibility.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In March 2012, he was moved to another foster home where he was very happy. He began disclosing the sexual abuse by his father to this foster mother, who documented it and handed it over to garda&iacute;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, was forced to put him in specialised residential care in the UK as no suitable place was available in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The psychologist said he was displaying highly sexualised behaviour but this has improved over time.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Defence counsel Colman Cody SC said his client intends to appeal the conviction and does not agree with the jury&#39;s verdict.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Cody said the maximum sentence of life imprisonment is reserved for only the most exceptional cases &quot;involving particular violence or depravity&quot;. He said these characteristics are absent from this case.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 11th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/father-who-raped-son-from-age-of-six-is-jailed-for-14-years-35120051.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/father-who-raped-son-from-age-of-six-is-jailed-for-14-years-35120051.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-11 08:50:53',NULL,'father-who-raped-son-from-age-of-six-is-jailed-for-14-years'),(1674,'Child sex offenders start out online','<p>\r\n	There has been a rise in young male sexual offenders who began offending by downloading images of child abuse from the internet.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This is according to the annual report of sexual abuse charity, One in Four, which was launched yesterday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;A growing age group of the sex offenders is the young men, the 18-29-year-olds. For the first time, we have two treatment groups running [for offenders],&rdquo; said Maeve Lewis, executive director of One in Four.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;These are young men who again began their journey into offending through downloading images of child abuse on the internet, often at around puberty, becoming sexualised to those images and then going on to contact abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I think this is an area that is like a big train coming down the tracks as a society,&rdquo; she added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One in Four, which provides advocacy and psychotherapy for people who have experienced sexual abuse, also works in prevention and it does this through the Phoenix Programme. In 2015, there were 38 offenders in this programme, 24% of whom were in the youngest age bracket. &ldquo;Over 20% were with us because often they had been caught by the garda&iacute; downloading images of child sexual abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t use the term child pornography because that implies some sort of validity to it. It is downloading images to watch children being sexually abused.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The reality is if they are watching these images a real child somewhere is being abused and also most of our offenders will tell us that when they were caught the next step for them would have been to commit a contact offence,&rdquo; said Ms Lewis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An T&aacute;naiste and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald also spoke at the launch of the report yesterday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We do need to be conscious of the dangers of the internet, it&rsquo;s fantastic in that it opens all sorts of possibilities for people, but clearly some will misuse it and it can as you say be an impetus towards abuse. But of course we did have abuse ever before the internet so let&rsquo;s not say the internet only is responsible, this is a crime that predates the internet.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She also spoke about the prospective legal changes that will come about if the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015 is passed in the D&aacute;il this term. &ldquo;The changes, for example in relation to disability, means the law will not presume that the existence of a disability implies a lack of capacity to consent, it criminalises the purchase of sexual services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I&rsquo;m convinced that these provisions are necessary to tackle the exploitation that&rsquo;s associated with prostitution,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Other figures from the report showed 85% of sexual abuse survivors knew the offender and 45% of the charity&rsquo;s clients were male. One in Four said that this challenges the idea that boys are not sexually abused.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<strong>Key figures</strong></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In 2015, One in Four provided counselling to 116 adult survivors of sexual abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	45% of these were male.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Almost 40% of the survivors had been sexually abused in their own home, 11% were abused in their communities, 22% had been abused in the Catholic Church, and 15% by strangers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In 2015, One in Four worked with 38 sex offenders and 19 wives and partners of these offenders.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 13th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/child-sex-offenders-start-out-online-425475.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/child-sex-offenders-start-out-online-425475.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-13 08:32:29',NULL,'child-sex-offenders-start-out-online'),(1675,'Child patients will not receive cystic fibrosis drug due to cost','<p>\r\n	Study finds the use of the &lsquo;wonder drug&rsquo; would cost &euro;21m over a five-year period</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A &ldquo;wonder drug&rdquo; used to treat adult cystic fibrosis patients has been rejected for use in a group of child patients after a study found it would cost more than &euro;1 million per patient over a five-year period.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE) has recommended against approving the drug Kalydeco for use in the group of child patients aged two to five.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It said the use of the drug to treat the 18 children over a five-year period would cost &euro;21 million.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The manufacturer, Vertex, had failed to demonstrate the drug&rsquo;s cost-effectiveness at the price submitted, the centre said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Cystic Fibrosis Ireland described the decision as very disappointing and frustrating for the families involved, who could benefit from &ldquo;this groundbreaking therapy&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Accessing this life-changing treatment is essential as eligible patients stand to benefit so much at such a crucial time in their development, fighting a progressive, life-limiting disease,&rdquo; said Philip Watt, chief executive of Cystic Fibrosis Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We will be urging the government to enter into price negotiations as soon as possible. We would also urge Vertex to reduce the price of this important drug during these negotiations.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Effects</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The drug, which is currently available only to those over the age of six, increases lung function, slows the progression of lung disease and significantly reduces hospital admissions, according to Mr Watt.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In 2013, then minister for health James Reilly reversed a recommendation by the NCPE and approved Kalydeco for reimbursement under the State drugs schemes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At the time, the estimated cost was &euro;234,000 per patient per year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Price talks between the HSE and Vertex over a separate cystic fibrosis drug, Orkambi, on a price under which the drug could be covered by the schemes, are continuing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In June, the NCPE found against the reimbursement of Orkambi after calculating it would cost the health service &euro;392 million over five years, or &euro;160,000 per patient per year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 13th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/child-patients-will-not-receive-cystic-fibrosis-drug-due-to-cost-1.2827395\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/child-patients-will-not-receive-cystic-fibrosis-drug-due-to-cost-1.2827395</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-13 08:35:13',NULL,'child-patients-will-not-receive-cystic-fibrosis-drug-due-to-cost'),(1676,'Duchess opens cafe to combat loneliness of elderly with offer of speed dating','<p>\r\n	The Duchess of Northumberland is offering tattoos and speed dating for the elderly after opening a cafe to help combat loneliness.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Situated at The Alnwick Garden, which the Duchess redeveloped and opened 15 years ago, the centre will offer a range of activities from toe nail clipping to getting a flu jab.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Called the Stuart Halbert Elderberries Drop In Centre, the cafe will be run by volunteers and will be open to anyone over 55.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Duchess said: &quot;We all see on television cases of elderly people being mistreated and I just think that&#39;s really, really unacceptable and we&#39;re the perfect place to offer the chance for people to come if they want to get out of their house or flat.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;They can come and sit and talk, hopefully have a flu jab, it&#39;s where they can come and have their toe nails cut. It&#39;s where they&#39;ll always find a friend, someone will always be cooking and baking and it&#39;s run by volunteers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I like doing things differently, I know there are old people who would like to have tattoos so I want to do temporary ones.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I&#39;d also like to do speed dating nights here, getting elderly men and women together to do what they want to do.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said that in Northumberland there is a high percentage of old people who are often left without family close by due to them moving away for work.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I like thinking outside the box, so the jigsaws and the dominoes are great if that&#39;s what they want, but equally some of them will want hair braiding and beads and all sorts of quirky things,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Marking 15 years since the garden opened, the Duchess said the benefits to the North East had been huge, despite criticism of what she was doing at the beginning.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said: &quot;In the early days when I was building Alnwick Garden people didn&#39;t really understand what we were doing and there was huge criticism about the project because I had received public funding.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;But what is extraordinary is we know from our own economic impact study after 15 years in business the garden has generated &pound;236 million of extra spend in our region, which is an incredible figure.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Independent on the 13th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/world-news/and-finally/duchess-opens-cafe-to-combat-loneliness-of-elderly-with-offer-of-speed-dating-35126816.html\">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/and-finally/duchess-opens-cafe-to-combat-loneliness-of-elderly-with-offer-of-speed-dating-35126816.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-13 08:37:09',NULL,'duchess-opens-cafe-to-combat-loneliness-of-elderly-with-offer-of-speed-dating'),(1677,'Ask the expert: ‘My 10-year-old son is the class clown and always in trouble’','<p>\r\n	&lsquo;I constantly have to coach my son about his manners. He can be quite rude at times&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Q. I am concerned about my 10-year-old son who can be really immature sometimes and is always acting the class clown. He loves to make everyone laugh but I feel that he cannot recognise the difference between people laughing at him or laughing with him. He is the one who acts out and gets into trouble in school. I constantly have to coach him about his manners. He can be quite rude at times and I feel he doesn&rsquo;t realise it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He has just started fourth class and he loves school. He is doing well in all areas of the curriculum and in his school report every year he scores highly on all subjects except one. His social and emotional behaviour has always been a score of 1 since junior infants. This is the first year I have shown him his school report and he wasn&rsquo;t happy that he got a low score. On the first day of school this year he said his aim for the year is to score higher in his social and emotional behaviour.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	I try to encourage play dates in our home, but I find myself coaching him in relation to his behaviour. It&rsquo;s quite difficult to explain but I might quietly tell him he&rsquo;s overdoing things. For example, if they are playing soccer and he trips and gets a laugh, my son will keep tripping hoping to get more laughs and just ends up overdoing it to the point that his friends get frustrated and tell him to cop on. Also, if things don&rsquo;t go his way in a game, he will always deem something to be &ldquo;not fair&rdquo; and a row will break out. He has a very low frustration tolerance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	I could write a book on him. Don&rsquo;t get me wrong, he is a kind and loving child but I just feel at the age he is at now he needs to manage himself better and I want to be able to help him do that. He finds it hard to recognise stop signals and ends up being annoying and I feel this is affecting his friendships. I worry also that his self-esteem will be affected in the long term. What should we do to help him?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A. In your full question (which I have edited above), you gave a detailed and sensitive picture of your son&rsquo;s abilities and problems. As has been picked up on his school report, and as you suggest, I think the central issue is that his social/ emotional skills are relatively immature for his age and this is getting him into trouble. All the problem behaviours you listed such as acting the class clown, not knowing when to stop a joke, finding it hard to lose, not knowing when he has become annoying with friends etc, all fit with this.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As you say yourself, he finds it hard to pick up on social signals and clues which are the basis of good social skills. Unfortunately, children with delayed social skills are often seen as &ldquo;bold&rdquo; or &ldquo;troublesome&rdquo; in class or other social situations, when it would be better to treat them like any other children who are behind in certain developmental areas. Just like a child who might be behind with his reading, so your son would benefit from an empathic response and extra support to help him learn and to make up the gap with his peers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Working with your son&rsquo;s school</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It would be useful to meet your son&rsquo;s teacher and to review his needs and what supports could be put in place to help him. The school has a number of options that might benefit. For example, they might be able to refer him for assessment to an educational psychologist or provide your son individual support (via resource teacher) or do a formal social skills programme with him. There are lots of evidence-based social skills programmes that can be done in schools such as Friends for Life or Stop Think and Do that can be delivered to individual or small groups of children. Sometimes schools arrange to give whole class inputs on social skills as these skills are of benefit to all children. The National Educational Psychological Service provides guidelines on setting up social skills groups in schools (see education.ie).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Helping your son learn social skills</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There is a lot you can do to help your son develop his social skills, particularly now that he is 10 and he is more aware of the problems. Use school report as an opportunity to help him reflect and set goals for himself. It is great that he has set himself the aim of scoring higher on the emotional behaviour scale this year. The next step is to try to get a more detailed picture of the skills he needs to learn (it would be useful to work with the teacher about this). This might include:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	1. Using good manners &ndash; saying please and thank you.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	2. Behaving well in class &ndash; putting his hand up, waiting his turn, etc.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	3. Learning to lose well &ndash; congratulate the child who has won, etc.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	4. Enjoying a joke but stopping it when other children become annoyed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	You may want to first focus on ones that might be easier for him to learn ( probably 1 and 2 from the list above) and work towards harder ones (probably 3 and 4).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Coaching your son</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Your son will continue to need supportive coaching to help him learn social skills. The key is to be positive and supportive rather than nagging and critical. There are lots of proactive strategies you can adopt such as reading children&rsquo;s books together and then helping him reflect on the social skills &ndash; why did the boy act like that in the story? How did it make the other boy feel? What would be a better way to act to make him feel better?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In addition, if you search online there are lots of great games and worksheets to teach children social skills such as &ldquo;emotional charades&rdquo; or &ldquo;social skills detective&rdquo; games. In addition, you are right to continue to &ldquo;scaffold&rdquo; and support some of his social interactions so these can be set up for success. For example, if he is having a friend over, you might prepare him to think through what he might play and to anticipate how he might behave in problem situations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While you don&rsquo;t want to over-intervene when the other child is there, you have the option of calling him aside occasionally (when the other child is occupied) to provide guidance. In addition, taking time to reflect after a social event is a good way to help him learn &ndash; what went well; what would he do differently?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr John Sharry is a social worker and psychotherapist and co-developer of the Parents Plus programmes. He will be delivering talks on Positive Self-Esteem in Cork on November 4th and Dublin on the November 30th. See solutiontalk.ie for details</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 17th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/ask-the-expert-my-10-year-old-son-is-the-class-clown-and-always-in-trouble-1.2819201\">http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/ask-the-expert-my-10-year-old-son-is-the-class-clown-and-always-in-trouble-1.2819201</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-17 08:54:04',NULL,'ask-the-expert-‘my-10-year-old-son-is-the-class-clown-and-always-in-trouble’'),(1678,'Council of Europe asked to review ruling on Irish sex abuse cases','<p>\r\n	Human rights group claims State is not meeting obligations to victims of school abuse</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Council of Europe has been asked to sanction a review of how Ireland is treating people who allege they were sexually abused at school.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission requested that a landmark decision where the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Ireland and in favour of Louise O&rsquo;Keeffe, who was abused by her school principal when she was eight years old, be re-considered to see if the way the State has interpreted it is correct.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a submission to the Council of Europe, the commission argues that the steps taken by Ireland in the wake of the 2014 ruling are depriving other alleged victims of access to an effective remedy. It is the first such request by the commission since it was established two years ago.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Its chief commissioner Emily Logan is seeking to meet Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan to press for Ireland to meet its obligations to the Strasbourg court and the European Convention on Human Rights.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Flanagan is Ireland&rsquo;s representative on the Council of Europe, which must now decide whether to accede to the commission&rsquo;s request to refer the case back to the court.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sample charges</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms O&rsquo;Keeffe was sexually abused in 1973 by Leo Hickey, principal at Dunderrow National School in Co Cork. Hickey was jailed in 1998 on sample charges relating to 21 girls. That same year Ms O&rsquo;Keeffe started legal proceedings against Hickey, the Department of Education, and the State, but the High Court and subsequently the Supreme Court ruled against her.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They found that the State could not be held vicariously, or separately liable for the abuse as the school was not operated or managed directly by the State but by an independent board of management. Ms O&rsquo;Keeffe appealed to the European Court of Human Rights and was successful.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the wake of the 2014 ruling, the then government said it would grant out-of-court settlements to certain claims of school child sex abuse that came within the terms of the Strasbourg judgement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The commission,in its submission to the Council of Europe, has pointed out that just seven such settlements have been made to date and said this is a reflection of the restrictive interpretation being adopted by Ireland of the Strasbourg ruling.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&lsquo;Unduly narrow&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The commission, in its submission to the Council of Europe, is arguing that the State Claims Agency&rsquo;s interpretation of the Strasbourg court&rsquo;s ruling is &ldquo;unduly narrow&rdquo; and this is depriving victims of a means of redress. It wants the court to be allowed decide if the stance being taken by Ireland is supported by its 2014 ruling.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The agency is only granting settlements to claimants who can show there had been prior complaints made against the school employee alleged to have abused them. The commission is arguing that this is a &ldquo;limited interpretation&rdquo; of the Strasbourg court&rsquo;s decision and wants that court to be allowed say if it agrees.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The commission, as Ireland&rsquo;s national human rights institution, has an important role to play in ensuring that judgments of the European Court of Human Rights concerning Ireland are fully implemented,&rdquo; Ms Logan said. &ldquo;This is the first occasion on which the commission has called for a case to be referred back to the court, a fact that underlines the importance of the issues raised for the many survivors of sexual abuse who are potentially affected by the court&rsquo;s judgment.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by the Irish Times on the 16th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/council-of-europe-asked-to-review-ruling-on-irish-sex-abuse-cases-1.2831810\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/council-of-europe-asked-to-review-ruling-on-irish-sex-abuse-cases-1.2831810</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-17 09:38:50',NULL,'council-of-europe-asked-to-review-ruling-on-irish-sex-abuse-cases'),(1679,'Giving parents a tax credit for childcare would have cost nearly €600m','<p>\r\n	Finance Minister Michael Noonan said providing tax credits for paid child care would fail an equity test.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A tax credit for parents who incur childcare costs would cost the Irish Exchequer between &euro;290 million and &euro;590 million per year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan a tax credit was considered ahead of this year&rsquo;s Budget, but it was deemed to be too costly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This week, Children&rsquo;s Minister Katherine Zappone announced a new childcare scheme that will provide means-tested subsidies towards the cost of childcare for children aged six months to 15 years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Universal subsidies of up to &euro;80 a month or &euro;900 a year for all children aged between six months and three years were also announced.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Zappone told TheJournal.ie that means-testing and increasing child benefit was not on the table during her Budget negotiations with Taoiseach Enda Kenny.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Referring to findings from the interdepartmental working group on future investment in child care in Ireland, Noonan said a tax credit was not recommended.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tax credit not equitable</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said there were concerns a tax credit would not be equitable and would have &ldquo;high possible deadweight&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There were also concerns that it would end up being fully absorbed in the cost of child care and might not have a meaningful impact on a parent&rsquo;s decision on whether to join or return to the labour market.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, it would appear costs was one of the over-riding factors for the government to move towards the subsidy scheme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tentative costings, based on estimates of average child care costs per pre-primary and primary school child care place, were applied to Department of Social Protection figures on the numbers of such children in receipt of child benefit.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Cost to the Exchequer</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If a tax credit were provided in respect of even half of these children at the standard rate of 20%, it would involve a potential cost to the Exchequer of between &euro;290 million and &euro;590 million per annum,&rdquo; said Noonan.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The variation depends on the rate of take-up which is difficult to estimate. It was assumed for the purposes of that costing that all paid child care would be covered by the relief, that is, not just centre-based care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is clear that any initiative that provides tax credits for paid child care would fail an equity test as it could be seen to unfairly discriminate against those individuals who choose to stay at home to care for their children,&rdquo; said the finance minister.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In addition, Noonan said the tax relief would only be of benefit to those in the tax net. It is estimated that in 2016, 36% of income earners were exempt from income tax altogether.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some criticisms have been leveled at the Government this week in relation to the new package. Some parents and childminders have criticised the new subsidy scheme for not recognising caring for children in the home setting.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Expanding the scheme to more childminders</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under the new scheme only childcare facilities and childminders registered with the Child and Family Agency, Tusla can receive subsidy payments.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are currently only 125 childminders registered with the agency.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Zappone told TheJournal.ie last week that she is exploring ways to bring childminders into the subsidy scheme by changing the registration and inspection process for childminders who care for children in their own home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under the current scheme, childminders have to undergo the same box-ticking exercises and inspections as large-scale creches.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Childminding Ireland CEO and spokesperson Bernadette Orbinski Burke said the Government needed to appreciate the ethos of a minding a child in the home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	(Published by TheJournal.ie on the 17th October 2016)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/tax-credit-childcare-3026771-Oct2016/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/tax-credit-childcare-3026771-Oct2016/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2016-10-17 10:06:31',NULL,'giving-parents-a-tax-credit-for-childcare-would-have-cost-nearly-€600m'),