(1155,'Children jailed in the USA for not speaking to abusive father','<p>\r\n	Hundreds of parents have held protests outside the Oakland County courthouse after learning three children have been in a juvenile detention facility for two weeks after refusing to speak to their father.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Parents and lawyers have expressed outrage after it emerged the children &mdash; two boys and a girl aged 9, 10, and 15, have spent the past fortnight in detention for refusing to speak to their father &mdash; whom they have accused of being abusive.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The family was in court for a hearing on supervised parenting time when the judge made her ruling.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Oakland Circuit Judge Lisa Gorcyca said the children of Maya Tsimhoni were in contempt of court last month and ordered them held at Oakland County Children&rsquo;s Village until they attempt to have a relationship with their father or they turn 18.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The children were taken into custody after the June 24 hearing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I do apologise if I didn&rsquo;t understand the rules,&rdquo; said one boy, 15, &ldquo;but I do not apologise for not talking to [the father] because I have a reason for that and that&rsquo;s because he&rsquo;s violent and I saw him hit my mom and I&rsquo;m not going to talk to him.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Giving her order, Judge Lisa Gorcyca appeared to compare the 15-year-old to serial killer Charles Manson.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I ordered you to talk to your father. You chose not to talk to your father. You defied a direct court order. It&rsquo;s direct contempt so I&rsquo;m finding you guilty of civil contempt.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The boy responded: &ldquo;But he was the one that [did] something wrong. I thought there [were] rules ... for not hitting someone.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;You&rsquo;re very defiant. You have no manners,&rdquo; said the judge. &ldquo;There is no reason why you do not have a relationship with your father.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Your father has never been charged with anything. Your father&rsquo;s never been convicted of anything. Your father doesn&rsquo;t have a personal protection order against him. Your father is well-liked and loved by the community, his co-workers, his family [and] his colleagues.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;You need to do a research programme on Charlie Manson and the cult that he has.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Gorcyca banned the mother or anyone from her side of the family from visiting the boy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tsimhoni&rsquo;s two other children had a hearing later in the day, during which the 10-year-old boy did speak briefly to his father.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the two siblings refused the opportunity to go for lunch with their father during a court break and the judge subsequently ordered that they, too, go to juvenile detention.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The children have been required to undergo psychiatric therapy while at Children&rsquo;s Village and were to &ldquo;be kept away from each other as much as possible&rdquo;, according to a hand-written order from the court.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Larry Dubin &mdash; a lawyer who has been a law professor at the University of Detroit Mercy for the last 40 years &mdash; said that he was stunned by Gorcyca&rsquo;s decision.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;To treat this like a case of contempt where she sends them away until they&rsquo;re willing to comply with court order seems harsh with respect to young children,&rdquo; Dubin said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It certainly can raise all kinds of constitutional issues.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Lisa Stern, who is the mother&rsquo;s attorney, said there has been a lengthy court battle between parents, but feels the children should not have to pay the price.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dubin believes that the judge may have abused her power.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/children-jailed-for-not-speaking-to-abusive-father-341778.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/children-jailed-for-not-speaking-to-abusive-father-341778.html</a></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-10 10:41:56',NULL,'children-jailed-in-the-usa-for-not-speaking-to-abusive-father'),(1156,'New laws could see people prosecuted over hate crimes','<p>\r\n	Irish Council for Civil Liberties says such attacks are currently not fully acknowledged</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Proposed legislation to combat hate crime will be published this morning by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Crimes, including theft, rape and assault, motivated by &ldquo;hate&rdquo; such as racism or homophobia are neither recorded nor prosecuted as such in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The council says this means these types of crime are not being acknowledged, effectively disappearing from the criminal justice process and victims&rsquo; experiences are not acknowledged.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The proposed legislation, the Criminal Law (Hate Crime) Amendment Bill 2015, would name crimes against the person, property, sexual offences and public order offences as &ldquo;hate&rdquo; crimes when motivated by a bias on a range of grounds, including race, colour, ethnic origin, membership of a minority, gender, sexual orientation, age and disability.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It would not be necessary for the victim to identify with the ground on which they were attacked, only that the attacker perceived them to be a member of a group and targeted them because of it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The council is publishing an accompanying report, &lsquo;Out of the Shadows: Legislating for Hate Crime in Ireland&rsquo;, by researchers at the University of Limerick (UL).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The authors interviewed victims, members of An Garda S&iacute;och&aacute;na, members of civil society organisations and legal experts, and also surveyed 36 barristers. They found a consensus that hate crime was under-reported and under-recorded.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to the CSO, in 2013 there were 113 hate crimes recorded &ndash; 94 racist, two anti-Semitic and 17 homophobic. The European Network Against Racism Ireland recorded 137 religiously or racist aggravated crimes in 2014, while between December 2014 and June 2015 the Gay Lesbian Equality Network recorded 19 homo- phobic/transphobic crimes .</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report and proposed legislation are written by Amanda Haynes and Jennifer Schweppe of the University of Limerick, and researcher James Carr.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/new-laws-could-see-people-prosecuted-over-hate-crimes-1.2282355\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/new-laws-could-see-people-prosecuted-over-hate-crimes-1.2282355</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-13 13:42:48',NULL,'new-laws-could-see-people-prosecuted-over-hate-crimes'),(1157,'Fall in cases of kids taken into care','<p>\r\n	The number of incidents of children being removed from the care of their parents or guardians by garda&iacute; over fears for their safety recorded a sharp decrease last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, there was a significant increase in cases across the three Garda divisions in Cork, notably in Cork North where incidents more than doubled.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Figures show there was a 23% reduction in the number of cases where children were taken into protective care by the State during 2014.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The figures which are contained in the latest annual report of An Garda S&iacute;och&aacute;na show 587 incidents involving children being removed from their home by garda&iacute; were recorded last year. The total in 2013 was 758.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garda&iacute; revealed that 549 individual children were identified in respect of the 587 incidents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under Section 12 of the Child Care Act, garda&iacute; can remove a child from the care of their parent or guardian if they believe there is an immediate danger to the child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The child is handed over as soon as possible to the care of Tusla &ndash; the Child and Family Agency &ndash; which makes an independent decision as to whether to return the child to their parent or guardian or to apply to the Courts for an Emergency Care Order.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The biggest reduction in incidents of children being taken into care was in Dublin where the number of incidents declined by 54% &mdash; down 122 to 105 cases last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There was also a 37% drop in the number of such incidents in the Garda western region which covers Galway, Clare, Mayo, Longford and Roscommon.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the Garda southern region experienced the only increase in incidents of children being removed from their home last year &ndash; up 17% to 155 cases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A total of 109 incidents were recorded across Cork city and county last year compared to 61 cases in 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The annual report also highlights how there was a 9% reduction in the number of breath tests on motorists last year with a related 1% decrease in the number of checkpoints.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, garda&iacute; point out that detections of &ldquo;life saver&rdquo; offences such as speeding, safety belts and holding a mobile phone while driving increased between 4% and 13%.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Other highlights of Garda activity identified in the 2014 annual report were: 2,369 people charged under anti-burglary Operation Fiacla, &euro;698m worth of controlled drugs seized with 60 related arrests, 226,715 fixed charge notices issued for speeding, 621 organised crime gangs targeted, 2,315 fingerprint hits from cases handled by Fingerprint Section, 9,179 missing person cases investigated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/fall-in-cases-of-kids-taken-into-care-342098.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/fall-in-cases-of-kids-taken-into-care-342098.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-13 13:44:01',NULL,'fall-in-cases-of-kids-taken-into-care'),(1158,'Audit of child safety urged by Hiqa','<p>\r\n	Health watchdog Hiqa has told the Child and Family Agency it should conduct an audit to ensure there are no asylum-seeker children at risk of harm because of incomplete assessments, due to the moving of families between different direct provision accommodation centres.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The recommendation was among a number made to Tusla by the Health Information and Quality Authority in an action plan issued to the Child and Family Agency on foot of recent inspections into child welfare services for children in direct provision.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hiqa asked Tusla which actions it had taken or planned to take, including that &ldquo;The Child and Family Agency will collaborate with the Reception Integration Agency and other state agencies where appropriate, to conduct an audit of referrals received in respect of children in direct provision to ensure any outstanding or incomplete assessments are completed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This will involve identifying families requiring assessment who have moved, and their forwarding address, if known. Where current whereabouts is unknown, further checks will be made with all social work departments nationally, and An Garda Siochana if required, to inform what further enquiries and action may need to be taken.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The action plan also calls for the development of an inter-cultural strategy within the next 12 months that would include cultural diversity training, written information on child welfare and support services in different languages, and guidance for staff on the provision of interpreting services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hiqa also called for effective inter-agency co-operation with other stakeholders, including RIA and the garda&iacute;, on the sharing of information &ldquo;to ensure that no vulnerable child or family known to the child protection teams are moved to another centre, moved out into the community, deported or otherwise moved out of any centre without the child protection team being aware of same and a forwarding address being secured&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Information on children in direct provision should also be stored on a separate database, Hiqa recommended.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/audit-of-child-safety-urged-byhiqa-341709.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/audit-of-child-safety-urged-byhiqa-341709.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-13 04:00:00',NULL,'audit-of-child-safety-urged-by-hiqa'),(1159,'It\'s also a crime for a woman to hit a man','<p>\r\n	&#39;Domestic abuse. There&#39;s no shame in being a male victim. Break your silence.&quot; So ran the powerful message on the back of the bus ahead of me in Dublin traffic last week. The campaign is being run by Amen to highlight the problem of men who are victims of domestic abuse and is a first for this country.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Amen is a Navan-based organisation offering support to men who are victims of domestic violence. The present campaign is timely, since up to 2,000 men reported around 8,000 incidents, according to its 2013 report. The domestic abuse of men is crying out for action as it is one of the unspoken problems of our decade in contrast to the abuse of women, which has dominated the national discussion on domestic violence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A few years ago, there was an influential advertisement with the caption: &quot;It&#39;s a crime to beat a woman.&quot; It could have added &quot;or a man&quot;. Therein was the implication that men did not experience such abuse, that it they did it was unimportant or that they were able to deal with it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	What has become clear from research and from the testimonies of male victims is that men do not disclose the abuse to anybody and that only one-in-20 reports it to the gardai.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A study, now 10 years old, carried out jointly by the National Crime Council and the ESRI reports that one man in 25 has experienced severe physical abuse, one in 90 has experienced sexual abuse in a domestic relationship and one in 37 has experienced severe emotional abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	These figures are much lower than current figures from the UK and published recently in the May 2015 issue of BMJ Open. The lead author, Professor Marianne Hester, carried out the study in 16 general practices in the South West of England. From a total sample of over 1,300 men attending the GPs, 162 were victims of domestic violence and a further 117 were both perpetrators and victims.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Considering those who were victims only, the figure is much higher than the reported data from Ireland. This may be because they were a sample attending doctors rather than selected at random from the general population. Examining the type of behaviour, almost 60pc of the UK sample reported feeling frightened of their partner, almost 50pc were physically hurt and 10pc were forced to have sex.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In total, 28pc reported some type of violence/abuse in the previous year and for most, these behaviours had a negative effect on their lives including work, studies and relationship with their children. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were reported by over 65pc. Unlike other studies, particularly from the US, there was no association with alcohol misuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is widely acknowledged that men feel shame that they cannot protect themselves and believe that things will get worse if they try to do anything about the abuse. Many report that false allegations have been made against them and fear losing access to their children. These victims do not conform to the &quot;macho&quot; stereotype and believe they will be seen as weak.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some may be adverse to reporting violence in the belief that gardai will not treat it seriously or that they will regard him as the aggressors who is simply getting his comeuppance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A report by Amen on domestic abuse among a sample of 40 men conducted in Co Monaghan in 2000 found that men chose not to leave home because they feared for the safety of their children if they did.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They also reported that there was nowhere for them to go apart from using the generic services for the homeless. There were no dedicated hostels for male victims of domestic abuse and their children similar to those provided by Women&#39;s Aid.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Internationally, it is well recognised that male victims may come from educational groups, and in the Monaghan study, 22.5pc had third-level education, 62.5pc secondary and 15pc primary. Data from the US shows that while most domestic violence is perpetrated by men against women (1.2 million in 2011/12), the equivalent figure for men as victims was 800,000.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to a criminal lawyer Alan Dershowitz writing in a 1994 paper from the University of Iowa, 40pc of spousal murders are perpetrated by women. Other US studies have suggested that men and women are victims of intimate partner violence in equal numbers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	I have dealt professionally with men who were the victims of domestic violence and while the numbers are less than for female victims, the trauma, physical and emotional, is just as real. Whether or not domestic violence is more common among women than men is surely not relevant.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is not a women&#39;s issue and it is not a men&#39;s issue. It&#39;s a human problem that must be taken seriously since lives are at stake.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/its-also-a-crime-for-a-woman-to-hit-a-man-31367281.html\">http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/its-also-a-crime-for-a-woman-to-hit-a-man-31367281.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-14 09:43:39',NULL,'its-also-a-crime-for-a-woman-to-hit-a-man'),(1160,'How can homeless people die with dignity?','<p>\r\n	Where do homeless people spend their last days and who cares for them</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Sean (60) never thought about getting older and says he does not often worry about dying, although he says someone did tell him he should make a will. What does worry Sean deeply is the thought that he might die and not be found for some weeks.&rdquo; &ndash; From the Simon Communities report &lsquo;Homelessness, Ageing and Dying&rsquo; (September 2013).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Given the choice, most of us would like to die at home in the safety and comfort of our own bed surrounded by family and friends. But what if you don&rsquo;t have a home and your bed is in a homeless hostel?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This is the reality for a number of homeless people in Ireland who suffer with a life-limiting illness, many of whom are estranged from their family and friends.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Despite their highly complex medical and social needs, there is a dearth of information and research in the area of palliative care for homeless people in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A highly marginalised and vulnerable group, homeless people die on average much earlier than the general population. While there is no consistent Irish data, a 2011 UK study found that the average age of death of homeless men was 47, while for women it was 43.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study by the University of Sheffield found that drug and alcohol abuse accounted for just over one-third of all deaths, and that homeless people were more than nine times more likely to take their own lives than the general population.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Complex needs</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The complex mental and physical health needs of the homeless population in Ireland was revealed last year by the Partnership for Health Equity, a collaboration between the HSE, the North Dublin GP Training Programme and the University of Limerick. In 2013 it surveyed 601 homeless people in Dublin and Limerick and found that 89 per cent had been diagnosed with a mental or physical health problem.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The need for specialist palliative care services for patients living and dying in homeless hostels was highlighted by a study presented at the inaugural Irish Street Medicine Symposium, which took place in Dublin last month.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study, &ldquo;Providing palliative care in hostels: a case series&rdquo;, was carried out by Andrew Hudson, a pharmacist and medical student at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and Dr Regina McQuillan, a consultant in palliative medicine at St Francis Hospice and Beaumont Hospital in Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The research reviewed the charts of 14 hostel dwellers who received specialist palliative care from St Francis Hospice in Dublin between 1997 and the present. Of the cases reviewed, 11 were male, three were female and the average age of death was 62.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	All patients had a diagnosis of cancer and 44 per cent suffered from head and neck cancer.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As alcohol and smoking are the biggest causes of head and neck cancer, the increased prevalence of this cancer reflected the high level of alcohol misuse in this population, according to the researchers; it was recorded in 75 per cent of cases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to the study, substance abuse was a difficult challenge when addressing pain management and symptom control during end-of-life care, and patients with substance-abuse problems were more likely to suffer from anxiety or depression and, therefore, have a worsened pain experience.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It also revealed that because homeless people tended to move between different hostels, some patients found it difficult to get a medical card.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Half of the people who required end-of-life care were estranged from their family.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the study found that once contact was re-established, the family were happy to reunite and get involved in the patient&rsquo;s care. Half of the homeless people in this study died in an acute hospital, five died in the hospice and two in a hostel. According to the study, homeless people residing in hostels desire meaningful and tangible support networks, and family plays a critical role in shaping the experience at end of life.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Training and support</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The research also highlighted a need for training and support in general aspects of end-of-life care for hostel workers and frontline staff.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	For example, the storage, dispensing and administration of medicines was an issue and there was a level of uncertainty about roles and responsibilities between medical, palliative care and hostel staff when caring for patients.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Commenting on the study, McQuillan says that people who are homeless have very complex and difficult lives, are likely to have more serious health needs than the general population, and have greater difficulty accessing healthcare.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Specialist palliative care services are very open to helping hostel dwellers . . . we want to be able to work with hostel staff and other healthcare workers to try to improve the ability of homeless people with life-limiting illnesses to access palliative care,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A 2013 report by the Simon Communities in Ireland entitled Homelessness, Ageing and Dying, for which 16 homeless people were interviewed about their views on ageing and dying, revealed that one of the biggest concerns expressed by interviewees was where they might die.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Most expressed &ldquo;a very strong desire to die where they were living and, failing that, in hospital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Transfer to a nursing home was &lsquo;for many interviewees&rsquo; the thing they feared most. Some spoke about how they had been in institutions when they were young and how they could not bear to be sent to one at the end of their lives,&rdquo; according to the report.&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/how-can-homeless-people-die-with-dignity-1.2277607\">http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/how-can-homeless-people-die-with-dignity-1.2277607</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-14 09:45:20',NULL,'how-can-homeless-people-die-with-dignity'),(1161,'Boy Scouts committee approves allowing gay adults to serve as leaders','<p>\r\n	The Boy Scouts of America Executive Committee unanimously approved allowing gay adults to serve as leaders, a major step toward dismantling a policy that has caused deep rifts in the 105-year-old organization, officials said on Monday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The group&#39;s National Executive Board will meet to ratify this resolution on July 27, the Boy Scouts said in a statement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;This resolution will allow chartered organizations to select adult leaders without regard to sexual orientation, continuing Scouting&#39;s longstanding policy of chartered organizations selecting their leaders,&quot; it said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In May, Boy Scouts of American President Robert Gates told the group&#39;s national meeting that the ban needed to end, saying the status quo cannot be maintained.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Irving, Texas-based organization lifted its ban on gay youth in 2013 but continues to prohibit the participation of openly gay adults. The selection last year of Gates as president of the Boy Scouts was seen as an opportunity to revisit the policy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Gates, as U.S. secretary of defense, helped end the &quot;Don&#39;t Ask, Don&#39;t Tell&quot; policy that barred openly gay individuals from serving in the military.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/boy-scouts-committee-approves-allowing-gay-adults-to-serve-as-leaders-31374236.html\">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/boy-scouts-committee-approves-allowing-gay-adults-to-serve-as-leaders-31374236.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-14 09:48:57',NULL,'boy-scouts-committee-approves-allowing-gay-adults-to-serve-as-leaders'),(1162,'Majority back rights for undocumented workers in Ireland','<p>\r\n	Almost 70% of people support giving undocumented migrants rights to live and work in Ireland, according to a new opinion poll published today.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Red C opinion poll, which was commissioned by the Migrants Rights Centre of Ireland, also shows that 68% of those surveyed believe granting rights to undocumented migrants in Ireland strengthens the Government&#39;s effort to lobby for the undocumented Irish in the United States.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Red C poll was carried out at the end of June to gauge public views on migrant rights in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It found 69% of people agree with giving undocumented migrants the opportunity to earn the right to live and work in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Migrant Rights Centre Ireland says the results endorse its proposal to Government calling for a regularisation scheme to make 20,000 undocumented migrants in Ireland legal.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The poll found 84% of people agree undocumented Irish in the US should get an opportunity to earn the right to live and work there.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice will review the results of the opinion poll today.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Committee chairman David Stanton says the issue is one that needs to be looked at because undocumented migrants are paying taxes and contributing to the economy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0715/714853-undocumented-workers/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0715/714853-undocumented-workers/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-15 08:40:46',NULL,'majority-back-rights-for-undocumented-workers-in-ireland'),(1163,'More people have applied for asylum this year than in the entire of 2014','<p>\r\n	The Direct Provision system is now &ldquo;virtually full&rdquo; according to justice minister Frances Fitzgerald.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There&rsquo;s been a significant increase in the number of people from Pakistan and Bangladesh seeking asylum in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An increased number of applications have also been received from Albania, Nigeria and India.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The number of applications in the six months up to the end of June has already exceeded the total number for all of last year, justice minister Frances Fitzgerald has confirmed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;A total of 1,481 new asylum applications were received to the end of June this year compared with 597 for the same period in 2014,&rdquo; the minister said, in response to a parliamentary question from independent TD Thomas Pringle.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This is a year on year increase of 884 applicants or 148%.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The top five source countries for applications in 2015 are Pakistan, Bangladesh, Albania, Nigeria, and India.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	These countries account for some 70% of all applications received to end June. The sharpest increases relate to applications from Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fitzgerald said the increase was putting a significant strain on resources, &ldquo;particularly on the Direct Provision system which is now virtually full&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under the 1996 Refugee Act, people can make an asylum application as they enter the State, and can remain here pending the final outcome.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The rise this year reflects an increase in asylum applications across other EU states, and Minister Fitzgerald said she had asked her officials to &ldquo;investigate the reasons giving rise to the sharp increase in applications from certain nationalities&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I want to make it clear that Ireland always has and will continue to live up to its obligations in relation to the granting of protection to those who are in need of it and meet the criteria set down in international and national law,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, where such applicants are deemed to be unfounded, then they must leave the State when required to do so.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fitzgerald has said it is the aim of the government to streamline the Direct Provision system, so cases are dealt with in a period of six months to a year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;[The] system need to be more effective and efficient. Unlike the rest of Europe we have a very complicated system with many levels,&rdquo; she said last week.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It followed the publication of a report by a working group into the asylum and protection processes offered in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report recommended that no one should spend more than five years in the system and new asylum seekers should have a decision on their application within 12 months.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The minister stated that extensive delays often arose due to a system that involves five layers of processing &ndash; creating the possibility for five judicial reviews. The aim is to cut this down to two, she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/asylum-seekers-increase-2205157-Jul2015/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/asylum-seekers-increase-2205157-Jul2015/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-15 09:25:55',NULL,'more-people-have-applied-for-asylum-this-year-than-in-the-entire-of-2014'),(1164,'Drug centre sees 31% rise in demand for services','<p>\r\n	One of the country&rsquo;s longest-running specialist drug centres witnessed a 31% jump in demand for services last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Coolmine Therapeutic Community supported 1,250 people during 2014, with women accounting for two-thirds of admissions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In its 2014 annual report, the agency said there was an increase in the numbers of people with heroin as their primary problem drug.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The publication of the report comes as official figures show almost 9,900 people nationwide are on methadone.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The has also been a 16% cut in government funding since 2009, including an almost &euro;20m fall in HSE funding for addiction services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Coolmine, which was set up in 1973, is based in Blanchardstown, west Dublin, but most of its residential clients are from outside Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report shows that almost seven in 10 women and half of men in residential therapy, as well as four out of 10 men on the day programme, cite heroin as their main drug of addiction.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It said that at any one time, there were 34 clients taking part in the five-month residential treatment programme at Coolmine Lodge, the male residential service. This represented a 33% increase in admissions compared to the previous year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Occupancy also increased from 12 females to 24 at any one time in Coolmine Ashleigh House and the community and day services worked with 139 individuals during the year, up 11% on 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Coolmine&rsquo;s longitudinal outcomes study found that, two years after therapy, 71% of clients were illicit drug-free; 97% did not engage in crime and 25% were engaged in employment,&rdquo; said chairman Alan Connolly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Pauline McKeown, chief executive at Coolmine, said that during the year, 64% of female clients admitted to Coolmine Ashleigh House and 50% of males in Coolmine Lodge were from outside Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said Coolmine&rsquo;s housing and resettlement service supported over 250 clients to access accommodation in that year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;32 mothers and 21 children were homeless or inadequately housed after completing their residential programme in 2014,&rdquo; said Ms McKeown.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said there were 18 mother and child admissions and four expectant mums at Coolmine Ashleigh House and that funding had been secured to increase numbers to 24.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In addition, the cr&egrave;che facilities will be renovated to allow Coolmine to work with more children impacted by parental substance misuse on a full-time residential basis. We have also strengthened our commitment to evidence-based treatments through the Parenting under Pressure Programme for high-risk families.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.coolmine.ie</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/drug-centre-sees-31-rise-in-demand-for-services-342512.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/drug-centre-sees-31-rise-in-demand-for-services-342512.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-15 09:27:39',NULL,'drug-centre-sees-31%-rise-in-demand-for-services'),(1165,'Supports needed to aid disabled to work','<p>\r\n	Reduced hours or other flexible work arrangements could play a role in getting more people with disabilities into the workplace, research suggests.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found a high level of interest in working among unemployed people with a disability in a study of employment and educational experiences of more than 7,000 working-age people with disabilities.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Almost 30% of those surveyed were currently working and 56% had worked in the past, but nearly half who were not working said they would be interested if the circumstances were right.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The National Disability Authority-funded analysis by Dorothy Watson, Joanne Banks, and Se&aacute;n Lyons suggests a link between people with mobility and pain disabilities being out of work, and unmet needs for assistive technology or therapy services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Asked what they needed to be able to work, almost half identified flexible arrangements like reduced hours, but modified job tasks and accessibility modifications were also strongly favoured.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One in four said they needed a wage subsidy, but the need was higher among those with unmet needs for services or devices or with lower education levels.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report is based on analysis of a Central Statistics Office national disability survey conducted in 2006, but it recommends a number of policy strategies. They include supporting those whose disability emerges while in school to continue in education, and lifelong learning opportunities for people with intellectual and learning disabilities, most of whom were affected from birth or childhood.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There have been increased school supports for pupils with special educational needs in the past decade, but the report says 2012 research findings that students with a disability dislike school more than others need to be addressed. The new study found half of people affected by their disability while at school had left sooner than they would have liked.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/children-as-young-as-nine-are-gambling-in-ireland-686628.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/children-as-young-as-nine-are-gambling-in-ireland-686628.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-16 04:00:00',NULL,'supports-needed-to-aid-disabled-to-work'),(1166,'Children \'as young as nine are gambling in Ireland\'','<p>\r\n	A new report has found that children as young as nine are gambling in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study by UCD identifies that 86% of people gambling in Ireland are men, with up to 40,000 people currently addicted to gambling.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The &#39;Playing Social Roulette: The Impact of Gambling on Individuals and Society in Ireland&#39; report is calling for a National Gambling Strategy, including new laws to stop the growth of problem gambling.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Crystal Fulton &ndash; a senior lecturer at the school of Information and Library Studies at UCD &ndash; said that for young people, it starts with children being exposed to gambling at home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Maybe they&#39;re picking up Lotto ticket winnings for a family member,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;By their early teens they&#39;re having a gambling experience, so they&#39;re actually gambling, not just exposed to gambling.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;And then from there, over a period of years, it intensifies. For those who have a problem, that&#39;s the course of events, and then they have an issue.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, a Premier Lotteries Ireland spokesperson said that the National Lottery Retailer Code of Practice, Participant Code of Practice and Terms and Conditions and Prize rules for all games clearly specify that a player must be over 18 and that prizes cannot be paid to a minor.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Premier Lotteries Ireland is committed to operating the National Lottery in a socially responsible way and our retail agents have an important role to play in this,&rdquo; the statement read.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;All agents are required to sign a Responsible Play Declaration as part of their Retailer Agreement and are reminded that the sale of tickets for any National Lottery Game to anyone under 18 years of age is prohibited and that prizes cannot and will not be paid to a player who is under 18 years of age.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Retailers have received training and are reminded on a regular basis of their obligations in relation to responsible gaming &ndash; most recently when PLI coordinated 44 retailer briefing conferences, attended by some 3,000 lottery agents in September and October 2014.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report stated that initial gambling participation might also involve betting for pennies, e.g. on card games, coin tossing, the &ldquo;odd pound&rdquo; in a poker machine, placing bets for a relative, a bet on the Grand National horse race, etc.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking at the launch of the report today, T&aacute;naiste Joan Burton said: &quot;I am very concerned about the social impact of gambling, given that we have a gambling culture in Ireland. Gambling pervades many aspects of Irish life, particularly sporting events.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The negative effects on young people growing up in this gambling culture are a particular worry. One of the most profound impacts of problem gambling is on families who have to cope with the devastation and stress, compounded by having to deal with serious financial problems.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Another alarming finding that the study highlights is the connection between problem gambling and people gambling at a young age.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Gaming &amp; Leisure Association of Ireland (GLAI) said today that it welcomed the publication of the study.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Commenting on the publication, David Hickson, director of the GLAI, stated: &quot;Today&rsquo;s research highlights the consequences of allowing the gambling industry to operate in an unregulated environment that holds no player protection requirements.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The GLAI have been calling for a passage of the Gambling Control Bill since Government commenced drafting it in 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;While the T&aacute;naiste&rsquo;s involvement in today&rsquo;s study is welcomed, in the absence of any progress on regulation we fear such involvement only pays lip-service to a matter of national urgency.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We strongly agree with the recognition that &#39;the passage and implementation of updated gambling legislation are essential&#39;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Our research, as presented to the Government last month, shows that up to &euro;222.5m would be generated annually through the passage of the proper regulation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Taking both the clear economic and societal benefits of regulation into account, regulation cannot be allowed to fall off the Government&rsquo;s radar&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/children-as-young-as-nine-are-gambling-in-ireland-686628.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/children-as-young-as-nine-are-gambling-in-ireland-686628.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-16 08:57:55',NULL,'children-as-young-as-nine-are-gambling-in-ireland'),(1167,'Rapist and child abductor loses case taken against State over recorded solicitor calls','<p>\r\n	The details of the calls were not given to garda&iacute;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A man jailed for 15 years for the rape and sexual assault of a woman whose child he abducted in the same incident has lost a High Court action taken against the State after it emerged his&nbsp;solicitors&rsquo; calls&nbsp;were recorded in prison.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The action was brought by Michael Murray (43), formerly of&nbsp;Killiney Oaks, Killiney, Dublin, who was jailed at the Central Criminal Court in 2013 for 15 years for rape, attempted rape, oral rape and aggravated sexual assault, child abduction, threats to kill or cause serious harm, false imprisonment and theft.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Murray, who represented himself for the High Court case taken against the Irish Prison Service and the Minister for Justice, had sought injunctions restraining prison authorities from intercepting his calls, certain declarations and damages.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dismissing his application today, Mr Justice Seamus Noonan said it was common case that in May and July 2013 some of Murray&rsquo;s phone calls were recorded by the prison authorities which included phone calls between him and his solicitors.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Just an anomaly</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Irish Prison Service allegedly told his former solicitor that an anomaly had occurred within the phone system whereby a number of prisoners had calls to their solicitors recorded and Murray was among them, Mr Justice Noonan said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Inmates in Irish prisons fill out a form entitled &ldquo;Application for Phone Calls&rdquo; which permits them to list up to 12 contact numbers, the contact&rsquo;s name and their relationship to the prisoner, the judge said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The form states that the &ldquo;the first number must be your solicitor&rdquo; and &ldquo;all calls except those to the Samaritans and your solicitor will be monitored and recorded&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Walter Burke, a manager of the Irish Prison Service, told the court that it came to light in March 2014 that phone calls going in and out of garda stations had been recorded and on foot of that, checks were made within prisons.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Burke said some prisoners had calls to their solicitors inadvertently recorded because some solicitor contact numbers were put on lines outside of line number one on their phone call application forms.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	No garda&iacute; involvement</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Although Murray had seven calls to solicitors inadvertently recorded, Mr Burke said the content of the calls was not accessed by prison staff or any other party.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under no circumstances were the contents of the calls passed to the garda&iacute;, Mr Burke stated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Murray drew particular attention to two phone calls to his solicitors on 23 July 2013, on the evening before day 21 of his trial, during which he discussed privileged matters in relation to his defence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Both calls were made from lines other than the designated solicitor line, number one.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Justice Noonan said it was beyond dispute that the recording of Murray&rsquo;s telephone calls was &ldquo;inappropriate and ought not to have occurred&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There was however, &ldquo;undisputed evidence&rdquo; that the calls weren&rsquo;t accessed. Similarly, evidence was unchallenged that the recordings were made inadvertently, he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Murray had not put any evidence before the court to demonstrate the slightest prejudice arising from what appears to have been a &ldquo;technical infringement at best of his rights&rdquo;, the judge said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Once the prison authorities became alive to the inadvertent recording, Mr Justice Noonan said, steps were immediately taken to rectify the position.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	No damage done</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Justice Noonan said there was no ongoing or threatened infringement of Murray&rsquo;s rights in this matter.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	No declaration was required to vindicate his rights and no issue of damages could arise.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Accordingly, he dismissed Murray&rsquo;s application and awarded costs against him.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	His crime</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Central Criminal Court had heard that Murray lured his female victim into an apartment by telling her that an elderly woman was dying inside and needed her help.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He tied her up and assaulted her before taking her son away, abandoning him in a city centre square late at night. He returned to the flat where he drugged and raped his victim.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The offences all occurred 12 and 13 February 2010 in a Dublin apartment. Murray denied the charges, however he was found guilty on all counts by a unanimous jury decision.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He has appealed his conviction to the Court of Appeal which has been on hold until the determination of the High Court case.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/court-rape-appeal-prison-phone-calls-2217949-Jul2015/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/court-rape-appeal-prison-phone-calls-2217949-Jul2015/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-16 09:00:41',NULL,'rapist-and-child-abductor-loses-case-taken-against-state-over-recorded-solicitor-calls'),(1168,'Jail sends wheelchair paedophile home due to lack of facilities','<p>\r\n	A wheelchair-bound paedophile sentenced to five years for indecent assault was transported to Castlerea Prison - and then brought home again - because he could not be accommodated at the jail this week.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Martin Davoren (61) from Corcullen, Moycullen, Co Galway, remained at home last night despite having been convicted of sexually abusing a young girl at Galway Circuit Criminal Court last week.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Davoren is a wheelchair user who has been paralysed from the waist down since he was involved in a road-traffic accident when he was 22-years old.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He was due to commence a five-year custodial sentence on Tuesday and was transported to Castlerea Prison in a specially adapted vehicle after presenting himself at Galway Courthouse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He could not be accommodated by prison authorities due to his disability and medical needs, however, and was immediately transported back to his home in Galway again.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The 150km round trip occurred despite Judge Rory McCabe putting a stay on Davoren&#39;s sentence last Friday to afford prison authorities time to prepare for his incarceration.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Davoren had pleaded guilty to 12 sample charges of indecently assaulting a girl on dates between September 1, 1986 and July 31, 1988; when the victim was between 13 and 15 years of age.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/jail-sends-wheelchair-paedophile-home-due-to-lack-of-facilities-31383518.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/jail-sends-wheelchair-paedophile-home-due-to-lack-of-facilities-31383518.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-17 14:02:37',NULL,'jail-sends-wheelchair-paedophile-home-due-to-lack-of-facilities');
INSERT INTO `news` VALUES (1169,'Divorce ruling hits non-EU nationals','<p>\r\n	A person who is allowed to live in Ireland because they are married to an Irish citizen can be thrown out of the country if they divorce in particular circumstances, the European Court of Justice has ruled.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Three men, all non-EU nationals, took their cases to the High Court and the judge asked the European Court of Justice to decide whether they could remain in Ireland when they were divorced by their wives who had already left the country.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	None of the couples were Irish while the women were from EU states Latvia, Germany, and Lithuania. All left their husbands, left Ireland, and then got divorces in their own country &mdash; except for the German woman who got hers in Britain.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Kuldip Singh arrived in Ireland in 2002 on a student visa and lived in the country legally. He married a Latvian, who was also working and living legally in Ireland. They had a child in 2007 and Mr Singh had a pizzeria and supported his family.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	After his wife returned to Latvia and divorced him he was refused permission to remain in Ireland, but was granted the right to remain for a year while the case was being heard.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Denzel Njume from Cameroon applied for asylum in Germany in 2004 where he met a German. They moved here &mdash; he illegally. He applied for asylum in 2006 and married his German partner in Cork in 2007 and worked before she returned to Germany in 2011.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In relation to a previous report that detailed concerns raised by the Department of Foreign Affairs, there is no suggestion that Mr Njume&rsquo;s marriage was bogus.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Khaled Aly, an Egyptian, came to Ireland in 2007 on a visitor visa and married a Lithuanian woman working in the country. He was given a residence card and got work and supported both of them when his wife lost her job in 2009.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Later they moved to London to find work but he returned to Ireland and she looked for a divorce in Lithuania. He reported his situation to the authorities, and an officer destroyed his residence card and contacted Mr Ally&rsquo;s employer to prevent him working any more. He later got it back temporarily while the case was going through the courts.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The court decided that because the wives left Ireland before suing for divorce, their partners were not entitled to remain in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under EU law the non-EU spouse is only entitled to live where their EU partner is living. If they divorce the non-EU spouse is only entitled to live in the host or native country of their former partner, and only provided the couple was married for three years, one of which was in the host country.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The couple need to be living in the same country when divorce proceedings begin. If the EU citizen partner moves country, leaving their non-EU spouse behind before initiating divorce, then their partner loses their right of residence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The case will now go back to the High Court that will issue its final ruling.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/divorce-ruling-hits-non-eu-nationals-342964.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/divorce-ruling-hits-non-eu-nationals-342964.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-17 14:04:11',NULL,'divorce-ruling-hits-non-eu-nationals'),(1170,'Call for judges to be educated on effect of sexual violence','<p>\r\n	A charity which supports men and women who have been sexually abused as children, has called for judges to accept education on the impact and effect of sexual violence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One in Four made its call after the Court of Appeal reduced the amount of time a man who raped and sexually assaulted his son will spend in jail.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The 57-year-old man was convicted of 47 counts of raping and sexually assaulting his son when the boy was between 12 and 15-years-old.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The offences took place at their Co Roscommon home between 2001 and 2004.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He was sentenced to 14 years in prison in March 2010, but the final 18 months were suspended.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Court of Appeal dismissed the man&#39;s appeal against his conviction.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the court ruled that considering the range of sentences handed down in cases of a &quot;broadly similar nature in terms of their seriousness&quot;, a greater portion of the sentence should have been suspended.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Justice Alan Mahon, who sat with Mr Justice George Birmingham and Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan, said that while it was not an &quot;exact science&quot;, net sentences in the other cases were in the region of 10 to 11 years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The court increased the suspended period of the sentence to three years, meaning the man was left with a jail term of 11 years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The victim was the man&#39;s eldest child and gave graphic evidence in a shocking trial of being subjected to violence and abuse from the age of about 12.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Justice Mahon said the overall family situation was &quot;disturbing, dysfunctional and abusive&quot;.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The man&#39;s wife had also been convicted and imprisoned on serious charges of neglecting the children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Executive Director of One in Four, Maeve Lewis, said what this man had done had been &quot;heinous&quot;.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said he had destroyed the lives of his family and their suffering would go on for the rest of their lives.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; She asked if the sentence was really sufficient in terms of the seriousness of the offences.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Lewis said the children in this case had been neglected and had suffered appalling sexual, emotional and physical abuse of a most severe nature.&nbsp;&nbsp; She said the fact that the man was now going to be released earlier, must be a huge disappointment to them.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She asked when judges would accept education about sexual violence and its impact and effect on victims.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0716/715269-rape-appeal/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0716/715269-rape-appeal/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-17 14:05:15',NULL,'call-for-judges-to-be-educated-on-effect-of-sexual-violence'),(1171,'‘Child agency facing a crisis a year’','<p>\r\n	The Government has been warned that it faces &ldquo;a crisis a year&rdquo; unless it starts ploughing additional funds into the cash-strapped Child and Family Agency, Tusla.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The warning came after it emerged that a review of child protection services found that, as of the end of last February, there were 27,337 open cases, 5,000 of which had not yet been allocated a social worker.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The review also suggested 44% of social workers reported an unmanageable caseload burden, and that some children were waiting years to be allocated a social worker.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The National Review of Cases Awaiting Allocation, seen by RT&Eacute;&rsquo;s This Week programme, also claimed there was a shortage of resources, and problems with how cases were assessed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It follows a number of critical reports conducted by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) and earlier calls for Tusla to be given more money to conduct its work.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last night, Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay said Tusla &ldquo;doesn&rsquo;t have a brass farthing&rdquo; for preventative work and that, if the Government wanted to avoid the possibility of future tribunals or inquiries on tragedies involving children known to the care services, it needed to make a greater investment in services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Referring to the fact that Tusla required enhanced funding last year and that its allocation was much lower than what it had asked for in its initial business case, Mr Finlay said: &ldquo;We all know it was set up with an inadequate budget from day one.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If they are not put on a proper funding base you are going to have a crisis a year.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Finlay suggested Tusla was still as many as 300 social workers short of the required staffing level and that the agency had &ldquo;done its damnedest&rdquo; to shore up its finances, including cutting funding in numerous areas, including to Barnardos.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said the agency might now be &ldquo;at the end of its tether&rdquo; and, with the October budget looming, was in need of more resources. He said the guardian ad litem system, in which the court appoints a legal guardian in legal proceedings, needed to be thoroughly overhauled so that Tusla did not need to meet spiralling legal costs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokesman for Minister for Children James Reilly said the minister was aware of the difficulties covered by the report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It was the minister who, earlier this year, requested that Tusla would prepare the report with a close analysis of the needs related to social workers,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The report was submitted to the department on July 15.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Minister Reilly met Tusla to discuss the report on July 16. Gordon Jeyes [Tusla CEO], the chairperson of Tusla Norah Gibbons, and senior officials attended the meeting.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Tusla is now preparing a formal business case on the issue and the need for extra social workers. That business case will then be entered into the estimates process for 2016, which is now under way.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Jeyes, who last week told an Oireachtas committee Tusla needed funding of &euro;25m to &ldquo;keep pace&rdquo;, said Tusla&rsquo;s audit showed a &ldquo;clear capacity gap&rdquo;: &ldquo;We have seen in the past what happens if we do not invest sufficiently in Ireland&rsquo;s most vulnerable children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There can be no going back. We have started moving in the right direction. Hiqa and everyone else recognises that progress. It has been modest. We can speed it up, but there must be investment.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/child-agency-facing-a-crisis-a-year-343462.html?google_editors_picks=true\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/child-agency-facing-a-crisis-a-year-343462.html?google_editors_picks=true</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-20 10:31:03',NULL,'‘child-agency-facing-a-crisis-a-year’'),(1172,'600 asylum seekers will be granted refugee status - UNHCR','<p>\r\n	The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Ireland has said it expects the 600 Syrian and Eritrean asylum seekers Ireland is due to accept over the next two years will have their cases processed quickly and be granted refugee status.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The 600 are part of a European Union relocation plan to deal with the migration crisis in the Mediterranean.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sophie Magennis, Head of Office, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Ireland said the 600 asylum seekers would be put in direct provision until their refugee claims were processed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking on RT&Eacute;&#39;s Morning Ireland she said: &quot;Our understanding is they would go through the regular asylum process. There has been a lot of criticism of the direct provision system in Ireland. We were involved in a working group recently that produced a large document on how to improve and the key issue is the length of stay.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said she expected the 600 coming to Ireland would have their cases quickly determined.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Magennis said Syrians and Eritreans would be indentified for relocation to Ireland, but no other criteria would be imposed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She did say, however, that Ireland would also take an additional 520 Syrians and other nationalities over the next two years and Ireland would have more of a say in those cases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A meeting of European Justice Ministers is expected to confirm Ireland&#39;s acceptance of asylum seekers today.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0720/715947-asylum-seekers/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0720/715947-asylum-seekers/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-20 10:34:14',NULL,'600-asylum-seekers-will-be-granted-refugee-status-unhcr'),(1173,'Cabinet to deliver right to birth cert for adopted people','<p>\r\n	Adopted people look set to get new rights under new laws that are in the pipeline.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Cabinet is going to discuss a new bill this week which would give as many as 50,000 people the right to their birth certificate for the first time.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to the Irish Times, the legislation would establish an adoption information register that would be run by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is reported that if the law is passed, a year-long awareness campaign would follow, before it takes effect.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Many Irish people who have been adopted have no rights to birth certs showing their birth parents&#39; names.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under the new Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill, people would have access to the papers but would have to agree to respect parents&#39; wishes if they had stated they did not want to be contacted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The measure is aimed at balancing those parents&#39; right to privacy and the adoptees&#39; identity rights.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/cabinet-to-deliver-right-to-birth-cert-for-adopted-people-687236.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/cabinet-to-deliver-right-to-birth-cert-for-adopted-people-687236.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-20 10:36:06',NULL,'cabinet-to-deliver-right-to-birth-cert-for-adopted-people'),(1174,'Cautious welcome for adoption tracing legislation','<p>\r\n	Adopted people and natural parents have given a cautious welcome to the Government&rsquo;s proposed tracing and information legislation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill is due before Cabinet this week. It is understood to apply to all retrospective and future adoptions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Adopted people currently have no legal right to their birth certificate or the medical history.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Legislation has been seen as a priority by every Government since 1997, but all have cited the 1998 Supreme Court ruling as a stumbling block. This found the natural mother&rsquo;s constitutional right to privacy had to be balanced against the child&rsquo;s constitutional right to identity.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is understood that the new bill will require adopted people to sign a statutory declaration stating they will respect the wishes of their natural parents if they do not wish to be contacted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is also expected that a new adoption contact register will be placed on a statutory basis and operated by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Susan Lohan of the Adoption Rights Alliance said she was looking forward to seeing the Bill but said some key issues needed to be addressed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We will have to wait to see the Bill, but if there&rsquo;s any hint of the contact veto becoming an information veto, then that&rsquo;s a line in the sand we can&rsquo;t cross. We are looking for equal rights foradopted people which, amongst other things, means full and unfettered access to birth certificates and our adoption files,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Paul Redmond of the Coalition of Mother and Baby Homes said it was difficult to comment on a Bill that has not been published but that it seemed to be a &ldquo;step in the right direction&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The one year lead in is not acceptable to an elderly community as many survivors of forced adoption will not be around in a year&rsquo;s time. We regret that Minister Reilly sprang this Bill on us without consultation. Hopefully, this is the beginning of the end for fake birth certs in Ireland and an end to secrecy and cover up,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Kathy McMahon of Irish First Mothers said the Bill portrayed adopted people and natural mothers as adversaries.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Being adopted is not a communicable disease requiring a &lsquo;contact register&rsquo;. The State&rsquo;s misguided &ldquo;divide and conquer&rdquo; Bill frames mothers as potential adversaries of their own stolen children. And vice versa. In fact, both were betrayed by our State,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Senator Averil Power, who is adopted, published a bill to give all adoptees a right to their birth certs which was passed by the Seanad earlier this year. She said the Government must ensure the legislation is in place before the next election.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The Government must confirm that all adoptees will have the same rights. Minister Reilly previously told the Seanad an unrestricted right to their birth cert might only be given to people adopted after the new legislation. This would be of no use to the 50,000 people adopted in the past. I hope this is no longer the case,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Independent TD Anne Ferris, who is herself adopted and had a daughter adopted, welcomed the fact that any &ldquo;initial reluctance or fear held by a natural parent will not prevent an adult adopted child having access to information about their birth identity&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/cautious-welcome-for-adoption-tracing-legislation-343630.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/cautious-welcome-for-adoption-tracing-legislation-343630.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-21 08:52:25',NULL,'cautious-welcome-for-adoption-tracing-legislation'),(1175,'ISPCC highlight \'shortcomings\' in Children First Bill','<p>\r\n	The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) believes there are key shortcomings in the proposed Children First legislation, which could undermine how the law works in practice.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The ISPCC comments come as the Children First Bill is debated in the Seanad for the first time on Tuesday. The legislation was first introduced in 2014, and concluded its second stage in the Dail last week.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to ISPCC CEO Grainia Long, &lsquo;The Children First Bill is a landmark and long-awaited piece of legislation.&nbsp; It sets out clear obligations for organisations that provide services to children and also aims to ensure that individuals working with children have a responsibility to report child protection or safety concerns. However, it lacks a reasonable and proportionate system for overseeing compliance and for applying sanctions where breaches occur.&nbsp; There&rsquo;s a real risk that this important law will be rendered meaningless as a result&rsquo;.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An ISPCC briefing to members of Seanad Eireann sets out recommended changes to the bill. This includes ensuring that all organisations are required to ensure their Safeguarding Statements are made available publicly; that the register of non-compliance is also an easily accessible public register; that organisations who fail to meet their obligations are fined and individuals who fail to report child protection risks also face sanctions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Long said, &ldquo;In 2014, 460,000 children called Childline, and many of those related to children at risk.&nbsp; This legislation could be a game-changer in changing our national culture, so that keeping children safe is recognised as everyone&rsquo;s business.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://utv.ie/News/2015/07/21/ISPCC-highlight-shortcomings-in-Children-First-Bill-41439\">http://utv.ie/News/2015/07/21/ISPCC-highlight-shortcomings-in-Children-First-Bill-41439</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-21 08:54:22',NULL,'ispcc-highlight-shortcomings-in-children-first-bill'),(1176,'Separated mothers worried about ongoing contact between children and fathers','<p>\r\n	More than two-thirds of separated mothers interviewed for a study by a Trinity College Dublin academic said they worried about ongoing contact between their children and the absent father.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They said they worried about the children&#39;s continuing exposure to the verbal abuse and denigration of the mother when contact was being arranged and at hand-over points and during contact.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Stephanie Holt, the author of the study, said it is critical to find ways to ensure that abusive men acknowledge and address the continued presence of domestic abuse and are held accountable for it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The findings prompt Dr Holt to question whether contact with fathers should automatically be considered to be in such children&#39;s best interests.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She says the challenge is to promote contact in a way which delivers benefits to children while not jeopardising their safety or well-being.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The research also highlights a lack of support services for abusive men struggling to realise their fathering aspirations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The research involved 219 mothers completing questionnaires about their 449 children and face-to-face interviews with 61 children, separated mothers and fathers and legal, health and social care professionals.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0721/716128-abuse/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0721/716128-abuse/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-21 08:55:07',NULL,'separated-mothers-worried-about-ongoing-contact-between-children-and-fathers'),(1177,'Shortcomings found in some mental health services','<p>\r\n	A report by the Mental Health Commission, which arose from a number of deaths in Carlow, Kilkenny and south Tipperary, has found that clinical staff might have been alerted to the risk of patient suicide if proper assessments had been carried out.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report was ordered after 13 people died by apparent suicide while under the care of mental health services in the area between January 2012 and March 2014.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This is the second examination of mental health services in Carlow, Kilkenny and south Tipperary.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It follows on from a Health Service Executive report into a cluster of deaths in the area between 2012 and 2014 involving people under the care of the mental health service there.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The commission&#39;s targeted intervention involved carrying out a review of the problems, making recommendations and following up with the HSE to ensure that action was taken.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It found that clinicians might have been alerted to the risk of patient suicide if adequate assessments had been carried out.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It also concluded that training for risk assessment was either insufficient or else it was not being applied in all cases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It found that newly presenting 16 and 17 year olds in south Tipperary were not receiving a safe and adequate service.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There was also a practice of transferring residents from hospital to community care to free up bed space.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The commission made 19 recommendations; 12 have been implemented and implementation of the remaining seven is under way.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0722/716347-mental-health-commission/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0722/716347-mental-health-commission/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-22 09:08:16',NULL,'shortcomings-found-in-some-mental-health-services'),(1178,'Residents in HSE nursing home left for month or more without a bath or shower','<p>\r\n	Residents in a HSE-run nursing home were forced to go for a month or more without a shower or bath because of staff shortages, a report reveals.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some elderly people also suffered the indignity of dying in old-style wards with only a thin curtain for privacy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A litany of problems at the St Patrick&#39;s Community Hospital in Summerhill, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim, was described last night as &quot;absolutely unacceptable&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The four-unit building, which dates from 1841, is home to 82 residents over the age of 65 years, some of whom have dementia or are receiving palliative care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Inspectors sent into the home for two days last March by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) discovered:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fire safety equipment was missing and evacuation plans were not in place.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some residents had fallen repeatedly and were not adequately protected from further injury.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A number of patients were in bed all day because of a lack of appropriate seating equipment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	And medication practices were not adequately supervised.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Shockingly, the inspectors said that &quot;personal care such as showers and baths were not frequently offered to residents&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The general practice was to off a shower once every two weeks - however, this did not always happen.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Inspectors found that on occasions when residents had declined the offer of a bath or shower, or if there was no staff available on that particular day, residents had not received a shower or bath for a month or more,&quot; Hiqa said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They found there were only three dining room tables and five chairs available for 12 residents in a male ward area.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Water temperature was also too hot at 49 degrees.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While inspectors noted the residents were treated with respect and kindness by staff, the privacy and dignity of residents was affected by having to live in dormitory-style bedrooms.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Even people who were dying continued to be mostly cared for in these rooms with the only privacy provided by a light curtain around their beds.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Visitors and staff had full view of all residents, including residents near the end of life and their family members as they walked through wards,&quot; said the report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There were not sufficient staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience to meet the assessed needs of residents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In response to an action plan set out by Hiqa, the HSE said it has taken a number of measures including updating evacuation plans and training for staff. Additional staff are being recruited to allow residents bathe regularly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Justin Moran, Head of Advocacy and Communications in Age Action Ireland, told the Irish Independent the report makes for &quot;distressing reading&quot;: &quot;The results of this inspection clearly show what happens when there are insufficient funds to support long-term care and a failure to plan for our growing older population.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/residents-in-hse-nursing-home-left-for-month-or-more-without-a-bath-or-shower-31394942.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/residents-in-hse-nursing-home-left-for-month-or-more-without-a-bath-or-shower-31394942.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-22 09:14:07',NULL,'residents-in-hse-nursing-home-left-for-month-or-more-without-a-bath-or-shower'),(1179,'Stricter checks for Fair Deal users','<p>\r\n	The assets of applicants to the Fair Deal nursing home scheme should be subject to stricter checks amid warnings that residents are underdeclaring the value of their homes or wealth, a new report recommends.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Nursing home applicants in future could face tougher financial data checks, greater scrutiny of their wealth, and have their properties assessed by HSE-appointed valuers, the report says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Government pledged that, despite concerns about how to care for an ageing population, there will be no increased contribution expected from Fair Deal home residents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The review of the Fair Deal system outlines a series of measures to help boost revenue for the scheme. Introduced in 2009, it allows residents to make a contribution towards the cost of their care and the State pays the rest.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than 22,600 people use the scheme at a cost of &euro;993m. The review predicts that numbers will increase by 1,126 over the next three years at a cost of &euro;49m to the State.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The scheme requires people to contribute 80% of their income and 7.5% of the value of their family home annually for up to three years. An assessment of someone&rsquo;s assets can be postponed until after an applicant&rsquo;s death.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report makes recommendations on how to increase the amounts people pay into the scheme, amid concerns that the wealth of residents is being underestimated or undervalued.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While 54% of applicants were assessed as owning a home, the report says this figure for elderly people is far greater among the general population.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report considers ways that people are getting around valuation rules for homes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It suggests &ldquo;robust initial financial assessments&rdquo; should be applied to home applicants. Furthermore, health authorities should &ldquo;rigorously&rdquo; follow up by seeking a full declaration of assets following the death of a client.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report notes the difficulties in accurately assessing the values of properties. It suggests greater co-operation with Revenue, whose valuation bands for areas under the property tax could be used.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	HSE officials could also appoint a panel of valuers for property assessments, it says. The report points to a sample survey carried out by the HSE which showed that in the 30% of cases where a schedule of assets was available, almost a quarter of these had underdeclared cash assets.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Random spot checks of applicants&rsquo; financial data, a greater follow up with Revenue, and amending assessments to allow for fluctuating values of homes or assets should proceed, it is suggested.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the report also says that a cap should be applied on amounts taken out on assets such as farms or businesses as this affects the ability of an inheriting son or daughter to properly run a business.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The department review notes that the average weekly cost of care in a public facility is &euro;1,390 as opposed to &euro;893 in a private home. However, this has no direct impact on a resident, as their contribution is determined according to their means.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A more transparent explanation of charges in homes is recommended by the report and another overall review should be carried out in 18 months, it states.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report concludes that, given the demographic changes ahead, more State support should be provided for the Fair Deal scheme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Kathleen Lynch, the junior health minister who has responsibility for older people, yesterday ruled out increased contribution costs for residents. She said the Government had agreed on this.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Age Action, a support group for the elderly, welcomed the pledge.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, nursing home representatives warned of the danger of &ldquo;kicking the can down the road&rdquo; to fund the sector. Tadhg Daly of Nursing Homes Ireland said: &ldquo;Further prolonging actions required will likely present crisis for older person care and for wider health services.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/stricter-checks-for-fair-deal-users-343634.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/stricter-checks-for-fair-deal-users-343634.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-22 09:16:09',NULL,'stricter-checks-for-fair-deal-users'),(1180,'Over 90pc of sexually active Irish college students have not had an STI test','<p>\r\n	Over 90pc of sexually active third level students in Ireland have not had an STI test.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This is despite almost a quarter of them admitting to having had more than five sexual partners each.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The figures, which were compiled by the Campus.ie National Student Survey and exclusively seen by Independent.ie, revealed that a total of 23.5pc of sexually active students have had more than five sexual partners.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But the number of students who have had an STI test administered remains extremely low.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report, which surveyed over 1,200 third level students in the country, covered topics including college satisfaction, lecturing standards, CAO choices and mental health issues.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On college life, results showed that almost 50pc of students have considered dropping out of third level education or have actually dropped out.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The main reasons for the 8.24pc of students who did opt to drop out include mental health issues, expectations of the course and financial problems.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Regarding lectures, 59.6pc of students said they either have or would like to make a complaint about the standard of lecturing in their college, while over a third claim the course details given to them by the college were not an honest representation of the course.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the overwhelming majority (69.8pc) said they would not change their course choice if they had the choice to apply to the CAO again.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meanwhile, the emigration trend remains high with 72.6pc of students saying they are considering emigrating or have already emigrated after graduation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Regarding mental health, students said they would most likely turn to a counselling service if they had any concerns, while a &lsquo;good friend&rsquo; and a GP were other options.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Finally, approximately 31.4pc of students rely on their parents for financial support, while 31.6pc rely on a student grant. A total of 18.7pc work during the academic year to support themselves.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/over-90pc-of-sexually-active-irish-college-students-have-not-had-an-sti-test-31396915.html\">http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/over-90pc-of-sexually-active-irish-college-students-have-not-had-an-sti-test-31396915.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-23 08:56:49',NULL,'over-90pc-of-sexually-active-irish-college-students-have-not-had-an-sti-test'),(1181,'Vigilante attacks \'will send child rapist underground where he will be most dangerous\'','<p>\r\n	Vigilante attacks on a convicted sex offender could drive him underground an expert has warned.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The caution comes following the second violent attack on convicted child rapist Danny Ward in Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Maeve Lewis, the executive director of One in Four - which works with adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse - has cautioned that violent vigilantism could potentially make him more dangerous.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I suspect what will happen is that man is going to go underground and that is when he will be most dangerous,&quot; she warned.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last week the Herald published images showing Ward being punched and kicked in what appeared to be the foyer of a garda station.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is the second attack on him this year - in June he was driven out of Ringsend by a vigilante mob.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I can really understand how terrified people are that their children might be abused and that a sex offender might be living in their area and they don&#39;t know about it,&quot; Ms Lewis told the Herald.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;On the other hand, only about one-in-20 child abusers are ever convicted for their crimes, meaning that there are many, many sex offenders living in our communities that we&#39;re not aware of.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;If somebody is convicted and their name is made public and it results in the kind of vigilantism we saw last week, the end result is probably to drive people underground,&quot; she added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;When sex offenders are isolated in that way or hidden and frightened, that&#39;s when they become really dangerous and when children are most at risk.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Treatment for sex offenders is limited in Ireland Ms Lewis pointed out, and added that research around the world shows the re-offending rate is much lower where treatment is provided.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Offenders are at their most dangerous when they are socially isolated, unemployed and on the run, as that man is likely to be,&quot; Ms Lewis continued.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Integrate</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If sex offenders are given the opportunity to integrate into a community and find employment and social supports, children are likely to be safer, she explained.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One in Four runs a treatment program for sex offenders, but it is only one of two places in the country to do so.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A national treatment program is needed Ms Lewis said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/vigilante-attacks-will-send-child-rapist-underground-where-he-will-be-most-dangerous-31397863.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/vigilante-attacks-will-send-child-rapist-underground-where-he-will-be-most-dangerous-31397863.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-23 08:59:36',NULL,'vigilante-attacks-will-send-child-rapist-underground-where-he-will-be-most-dangerous'),(1182,'Toddler \'suffered trauma\' at creche in RTÉ exposé','<p>\r\n	A judge said an offer of a &euro;15,000 settlement was not enough for a four-year-old girl who allegedly suffered psychological injuries while attending a creche seen in an RT&Eacute; expos&eacute;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge James O&#39;Donohue in the Circuit Civil Court said the damages offered were not enough. His ruling means the claim by Emilie Kiely will go to a full trial before another judge.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The court heard that Emilie, who attended Giraffe Childcare, at Belarmine Copse, Stepaside, Enniskerry Road, Co Dublin, allegedly &quot;suffered stress, emotional upset and terror&quot;. The creche denied liability but made the &quot;without admission of liability&quot; settlement offer.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Emile, who first attended the creche when she was eight months old, was withdrawn from it after the airing of the RT&Eacute; &#39;Prime Time&#39;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Barrister Michael Connellan said Emilie was moved to the &#39;toddlers room&#39; in September 2012. The court heard that her parents, John and Caroline Kiely, of Sandyford Downs, Sandyford, Dublin, noticed changes in her behaviour. Emilie was stressed and would say: &quot;No creche, no creche.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to documents, the Kiely family were left in shock after watching the TV programme as it allegedly showed the minder they had spoken to screaming at children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Emilie, through her father John, sued Giraffe Childcare, with a registered office at Adamstown Avenue, Castlegate, Adamstown, Lucan. Her parents have also sued the creche in separate proceedings.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/toddler-suffered-trauma-at-creche-in-rt-expos-31397712.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/toddler-suffered-trauma-at-creche-in-rt-expos-31397712.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-23 09:06:15',NULL,'toddler-suffered-trauma-at-creche-in-rtã‰-exposã©'),(1183,'\'Celine\'s law\' to prevent killers of their spouses from profiting','<p>\r\n	Perpetrators who commit murder, attempted murder or manslaughter, could see their share of co-owned assets such as property, pensions, shares, life insurance and State benefits reduced significantly - and potentially to zero - by a court depending on the circumstances of the killing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But killers could also still hold on to half of the family home and other joint assets shared with the spouse or partner they killed under new laws recommended by the Law Reform Commission.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Commission report, published today, was compiled after a five-year legal battle waged between the family of businesswoman Celine Cawley and her husband Eamon Lillis over the mother-of-one&#39;s estate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Brick</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Celine Cawley (46) died at her family home in Howth on 15 December, 2008. The high-profile businesswoman, who ran a successful TV production company with her husband, was killed by blows to the head with a brick.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Lillis was released from prison early this year with more than &euro;1m in assets, despite being found guilty of his wife&#39;s manslaughter.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In 2011, High (now Supreme) Court judge Ms Justice Mary Laffoy ruled that the couple&#39;s family home in Howth was held in a joint tenancy between Lillis and his wife and did not form part of her estate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Lillis retained his half of their joint property whilst the remainder was held in constructive trust for the couple&#39;s now adult daughter Georgia.But in France a judge ruled that Lillis was &quot;unfit&quot; to inherit an &euro;800,000 property he co-owned with his wife in Biarritz, because he had killed her.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under the proposed laws, it will be presumed that the victim&#39;s estate will hold at least half of the joint assets.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But the offender could be left with a lot less than half by a judges who can take into account a range of factors including if there is a long history of domestic violence leading up to the death.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last night Ms Cawley&#39;s brother Chris Cawley welcomed the Commission&#39;s recommendation for comprehensive laws to prevent a person financially benefiting from committing murder, attempted murder or manslaughter.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But the businessman said that they do not go far enough.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;In other countries, if you kill someone, you lose all interest in the joint assets and for obvious reasons,&quot; said Mr Cawley.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He added that the &quot;horror&quot; of what he described as &quot;toxic co-dependence between a killer and the victims&#39; relatives (including their children) in the aftermath of a killing was something that should not be visited on families.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Cawley told the Irish Independent that he hopes that it becomes the normal practice that 100pc of the joint assets go to the victim&#39;s estate unless there are exceptional circumstances.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The vast majority of married couples and civil partners co-own property as a joint tenancy. This ensures the survivor becomes the full legal owner after their partner&#39;s death without having to go through probate or pay death duties.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But this has created difficulties where the survivor of the joint tenancy assets is the killer.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Only two states in the US have adopted the so called &quot;flayer rule&quot; - where all of a killer&#39;s assets are forfeited - instead of a &quot;half share&quot; or split rule.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Legal experts fear that any attempt to deprive a killer of their pre- existing private property rights through automatic confiscation of assets would probably be unconstitutional, potentially disproportionate and offend the principle that an offender is penalised through the sentenced imposed by the criminal law.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Commission said that the majority of submissions it received supported the thrust of the outcome in the Cawley case, which entitled the dead woman&#39;s estate to a half share of the property.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However Senator Feargal Quinn, who moved a draft bill in the Seanad last March providing for automatic confiscation of assets in cases of homicide, said the Commission missed an opportunity to right a very grave wrong in our criminal justice system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Under the current law, and under the Commission&#39;s proposal, the offender gets to walk away with his share in the property. This is wrong on any assessment, this is a warped version of justice,&quot; said Senator Quinn.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Absurd</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The senator said he believed the Commission had taken an overly conservative approach.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;This will lead to absurd situations where a killer retains a share in the family home, even after he or she has been found guilty of killing his or her spouse,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Since 1996, there have been 206 women unlawfully killed in Ireland, with more than six out of 10 killed in their own homes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to Women&#39;s Aid, which supports victims of domestic violence, more than half of the women in cases resolved by the criminal justice system were murdered by a partner or ex-partner.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/celines-law-to-prevent-killers-of-their-spouses-from-profiting-31399571.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/celines-law-to-prevent-killers-of-their-spouses-from-profiting-31399571.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-24 09:11:53',NULL,'celines-law-to-prevent-killers-of-their-spouses-from-profiting'),(1184,'\'Enormous\' HSE should be broken up, says Varadkar','<p>\r\n	Health Minister Leo Varadkar has said the HSE is so enormous that it should be broken up.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Varadkar revealed he is also looking to curtail the benefits enjoyed by patients with private health care in public hospitals, such as access to theatre, admission, a specialist opinion or diagnostics.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Health insurance should get you a nicer room and other hotel-style benefits in a publicly funded hospital - but nothing else,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The minister was speaking to reporters at the MacGill Summer School in Glenties, Co Donegal, last night.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE &quot;is absolutely enormous&quot;, he said, adding that it &quot;doesn&#39;t work as a single organisation&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It should be broken up to local hospital boards,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Hospitals should be funded for the work they do, and not just bloc grants, which really doesn&#39;t work.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In relation to staffing levels, he said: &quot;there are 1,000 more people working in the health service than this time last year&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Plans are under way to recruit an additional 500 nurses this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The minister also revealed plans to refund some medical expenses such as eye and dental care through PRSI and give hospitals the freedom to appoint their own managers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He also confirmed reports in yesterday&#39;s Irish Independent that he plans to extend the free GP care scheme to all children, up to the age of 18.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;That will be tax funded because I don&#39;t believe children should be means-tested under their parents&#39; income,&quot; said Mr Varadkar.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It doesn&#39;t happen for childcare or for education, it doesn&#39;t happen for child benefit, it shouldn&#39;t happen in health.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said free access to primary care for adults who are not covered could be via two options.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The first is social insurance, using a reformed PRSI/USC system to refund medical expenses such as visits to GPs, the pharmacy, dentists and therapists, he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The second option is to introduce universal health insurance for primary care first and give people the option to pay for it through their PRSI or opt out in favour of a new or existing private health insurance policy that offers the same or better.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He acknowledged underfunding and shortcomings in current staff levels and capacity at hospitals.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Recommending more autonomy for hospitals, Mr Varadkar said: &quot;Not all board members should be appointed by the minister.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hospitals should also be able to recruit managers and specialists &quot;outside the constraints of public sector rules&quot;, and to recruit their own general staff, he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meanwhile, the minster said allegations that senior hospital staff had been receiving gifts from medical suppliers &quot;is obviously entirely unacceptable anywhere&quot; and not just in the health service and must be investigated by garda&iacute;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/enormous-hse-should-be-broken-up-says-varadkar-31400420.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/enormous-hse-should-be-broken-up-says-varadkar-31400420.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-24 09:17:11',NULL,'enormous-hse-should-be-broken-up-says-varadkar'),(1185,'New domestic abuse law will ban online and phone contact','<p>\r\n	Perpetrators of domestic violence will be banned under new laws from communicating with their victims by phone or online.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Victims will be allowed to give evidence by video link and there will be restrictions on who can be present in a courtroom in an attempt to crack down on witness intimidation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The heads of the new Domestic Violence Bill, unveiled today by Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, will also make it easier for victims of domestic violence to secure emergency interim barring orders to remove the perpetrator from the family home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The law, if passed, will mean that the victim will no longer have to have a greater or equal property interest in the family home from which the perpetrator is being barred.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The constitutionally protected private property rights of offenders, including home ownership, had in the past been seen as a major barrier to the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, known as the Istanbul Convention.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But Ms Fitzgerald has said that it is her intention to seek government approval for Ireland to sign the Istanbul Convention in the autumn.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Writing in today&#39;s Irish Independent, she said the bill would place the needs of victims at the heart of the criminal justice system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The bill will introduce a single, consolidated law to address all aspects of domestic violence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Along with the EU Victims Directive, it will provide better legal protection and supports to victims of domestic violence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Key features of the new domestic violence bill, whose heads are published today include:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Allowing judges to bar a perpetrator from communicating with the victim electronically, other than where such communication has been ordered by the court, eg, in relation to childcare;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Victims will be allowed to give evidence by video link to avoid intimidation by perpetrators or their associates;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Restrictions on court attendees in order to avoid intimidation;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Compulsory referral by the Courts Service to support services;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Appointment of experts to ascertain the views of children where orders affect them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Survey results issued by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights revealed that one in seven Irish women reported experiencing physical and/or sexual violence from a partner from the age of 15.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Since 1996, 206 women have been unlawfully killed in Ireland, with more than six out of 10 of these killed in their own homes. More than half of the women in cases resolved by the criminal justice system were murdered by a partner or former partner.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/new-domestic-abuse-law-will-ban-online-and-phone-contact-31400363.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/new-domestic-abuse-law-will-ban-online-and-phone-contact-31400363.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-07-24 09:23:59',NULL,'new-domestic-abuse-law-will-ban-online-and-phone-contact'),(1186,'Calls for greater protection for victims of human trafficking','<p>\r\n	The Immigrant Council of Ireland said better protection measures must be put in place for victims of human trafficking.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Council has today published a submission to Government, calling for a legal framework and compensation to be established for those exploited by traffickers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Recent figures provided to the US Department of State by Ireland showed at least 46 people, including 13 children, were brought into the country by trafficking gangs last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The majority of those identified had been sexually violated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Communications and Advocacy spokesperson for the Immigrant Council, Jerry O&#39; Connor, said victims of trafficking should be treated with respect, and not as criminals.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We want to see measures put in place to ensure that victims are given early access to legal representation - that their rights are protected, and that they&#39;re not treated as being a party of a crime,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said a national action plan to combat trafficking would ensure a &quot;robust&quot; response to the problem, and send a message to organised crime that Ireland is not a &quot;soft target&quot; for exploitation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/calls-for-greater-protection-for-victims-of-human-trafficking-689473.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/calls-for-greater-protection-for-victims-of-human-trafficking-689473.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-04 10:59:12',NULL,'calls-for-greater-protection-for-victims-of-human-trafficking'),(1187,'‘Assess prisoners before early release’','<p>\r\n	The Inspector of Prisons has called for proper assessment of all prisoners being freed early following the death of an inmate who was granted temporary release from an overcrowded jail.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The inmate, aged 30, was released from Limerick Prison on 23 July 2014. He was found dead from a suspected overdose on August 5 in a church yard.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In his investigation, prisons inspector Judge Michael Reilly concluded that a full assessment of the man&rsquo;s suitability for temporary release was &ldquo;not carried out&rdquo; prior to his release.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Reilly said this was the second time the prisoner was given temporary release. It came five weeks after he failed to comply with the conditions of his first release and was returned to Limerick Prison.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The judge said prison authorities informed him that one of the reasons for his release a second time was overcrowding and the lack of alternative spaces in either Cork or Midlands prisons.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Reilly said there were 242 male prison in custody in Limerick Prison on the day of his second release &mdash; a prison that has space for 185 people according to the inspector, and 220, according to the Prison Service.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The inspector said the man&rsquo;s mother, as well as his sister and aunt, expressed concerns regarding the circumstances of his release and death. The inspector said the man had a &ldquo;significant history of substance misuse&rdquo; and had spent numerous spells in jail.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He was committed to Limerick Prison on October 11, 2012, and his release date was August 11, 2014 &mdash; just six days after he was found dead.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The inspector&rsquo;s report said that the man was given temporary release on January 27, 2014, as part of the Community Return Scheme, a supervised programme. The man did not abide by the terms of his release and was returned to Limerick Prison by garda&iacute; on June 17.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The deceased&rsquo;s mother said that, around the middle of July, she got a phone call from someone in Limerick Prison who asked her if she would take in her son for a while until he &ldquo;got on his feet&rdquo;. She told the judge that she was reluctant to do so, but agreed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Her son arrived on July 23, but after a couple of days disappeared. He came back again under the influence of drugs, then left again. He was found in a church yard of his local town. He was dead between one and four days and his body was in a state of decomposition.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The judge said that during his terms of imprisonment the deceased had &ldquo;little engagement&rdquo; with psychological, psychiatric or therapeutic services to enable him deal with his addiction problems.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The lack of engagement was on the deceased&rsquo;s part, the report said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report said the man was an &ldquo;enhanced level prisoner&rdquo; and was not considered a security risk within the prison. He was well thought of by prison officers and fellow prisoners and worked as a cleaner.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An appropriate assessment was carried out for his first release &mdash; but not for his second, according to the report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Prison authorities told the judge that, as well as overcrowding at the prison, the fact that the man was less than a month away from his release date, was a factor in renewing his temporary release.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;A comprehensive assessment was not carried out on the deceased prior to his release on 23 July, 2014,&rdquo; the judge said. In his recommendation, such an assessment &ldquo;must be undertaken&rdquo; prior to release.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/assess-prisoners-before-early-release-346324.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/assess-prisoners-before-early-release-346324.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-05 11:21:27',NULL,'‘assess-prisoners-before-early-release’'),(1188,'Leaving Cert results don’t define your future','<p>\r\n	I only learned to appreciate education after quitting school.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	I dropped out of school at the age of 18. It was December 2012, the year I was to sit the Leaving Cert.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	I realised half way through sixth year that I had no chance of passing my exams, so I decided that enough was enough.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Coming from a socially disadvantaged background, failure all too often seemed inevitable.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But since leaving school, I have travelled and worked all over the world, made good money, met incredible people, had amazing adventures &ndash; and never looked back.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When I eventually returned to education, I did so because I had found something I loved and was good at. For the first time, I was learning because I wanted to.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Enrolling in that PLC course helped me realise that my true strengths had been buried for a long time.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	I went on to attend university &ndash; something I never thought I&rsquo;d be capable of doing &ndash; and am now a qualified professional and community worker.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	And I&rsquo;ll always remember how a lecturer, in one of my first weeks in college, told us we&rsquo;d need to forget virtually everything we&rsquo;d learned in school if we were to do well in third-level education.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Disappointment</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Students across the country will be hurrying to get ready for college after the Leaving Cert results are announced next week.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	And we will all see the yearly batch of articles rightly congratulating those who achieved 600 points.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But it is also around this time of year that students disappointed with their results will start to panic.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Many will settle for an unattractive CAO option, while others decide to repeat the exam.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Class differences</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	What has to be remembered is that results all too often reflect social class differences rather than capability.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Young people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to be distracted from study by issues including abuse, neglect, hunger, addiction and mental health issues.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	And so those with a relatively stable life outside of school, a solid support network and access to expensive grinds will inevitably do better than those without.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If you&rsquo;re disappointed with your results, remember that it&rsquo;s only your first experience of education, and that you&rsquo;ll have plenty of future opportunities to learn and grow.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Exams don&rsquo;t define your life or future. After all, I never sat my Leaving Cert &ndash; and I survived.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Michael O&rsquo;Donnell is a community worker and student at University College Cork.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/leaving-cert-results-dropping-out-of-school-2252081-Aug2015/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/leaving-cert-results-dropping-out-of-school-2252081-Aug2015/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-05 11:24:46',NULL,'leaving-cert-results-don’t-define-your-future'),(1189,'Psychiatric nurses ballot for strike action','<p>\r\n	Psychiatric nurses at St Ita&rsquo;s Hospital in Portrane, Co Dublin, will today ballot for possible strike action over staff shortages at an intellectual disabilities centre at the hospital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Members of the Psychiatric Nurses Association say community houses are losing nursing staff who are then replaced by healthcare assistants, which impacts on the clinical care needs of clients.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They say due to the lack of staff, there has been a roll back on services and cancellation of mandatory training for people with intellectual disabilities at the centre.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	PNA branch secretary Michael Guilfoyle said many are not receiving adequate clinical care as a result of a lack of resources.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;What&#39;s happening in our service is these community houses are being closed down, [and the people] who are there are being moved back into residential care, because we don&#39;t have the nurses to look after them,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The people who are living in the community now have less clinical care by professionals, and that&#39;s having a huge impact.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/psychiatric-nurses-ballot-for-strike-action-689627.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/psychiatric-nurses-ballot-for-strike-action-689627.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-05 11:26:43',NULL,'psychiatric-nurses-ballot-for-strike-action'),(1190,'American teenager disproves historian about anti-Irish signs','<p>\r\n	A 14 year old American high-school student has called into question the research of a prominent historian who said that &lsquo;No Irish need apply&rsquo; signs didn&rsquo;t exist in the United States.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Professor Richard Jensen published an article in the Journal of Social History in 2002 that called into question the existence of discriminatory &lsquo;no Irish need apply&rsquo; (NINA) signs in the 18th and 19th centuries in America.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The signs are frequently used to prove that the Irish were discriminated against when they arrived in the US centuries ago.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But Professor Jensen, who was professor of history at the University of Illinois in Chicago at the time, stated that the existence of the signs was a myth that the Irish had exaggerated, imagining that they were discriminated in the United States more than they were.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The &ldquo;myth fostered among the Irish a misperception or gross exaggeration that other Americans were prejudiced against them,&rdquo; Jensen wrote.&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The claim went largely unchallenged until recently when teenager Rebecca Fried decided to start investigating his claims.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Rebecca searched through newspaper databases on the internet and found lots of examples of the signs throughout history.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Just for the fun of it, I started to run a few quick searches on an online newspaper database that I found on Google,&rdquo; she told the Daily Beast.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I was really surprised when I started finding examples of NINA ads in old 19th-century newspapers pretty quickly.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Her research then culminated in her own article in the Journal of Social History which seriously challenged Prof Jensen&rsquo;s work.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Rebecca&rsquo;s article has now ignited a serious historical debate and has led many to rethink their stance on the existence of the signs, which she has shown were much more prominent than Prof Jensen had claimed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/american-teenager-disproves-historian-about-antiirish-signs-31429624.html\">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/american-teenager-disproves-historian-about-antiirish-signs-31429624.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-06 09:21:01',NULL,'american-teenager-disproves-historian-about-anti-irish-signs'),(1191,'Newborn is found abandoned in buggy in Los Angeles','<p>\r\n	A newborn baby with his umbilical cord still attached has been found in an abandoned pushchair in LA.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The baby was covered in sweat, wearing pyjamas and &quot;seemed weak&quot; according to Alex Diaz, a father-of-two, who found him on the street. The baby was thought to be only a day old.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The pushchair was left opposite St Agnes Catholic Church in Los Angeles. Nothing is known about the mother&#39;s condition or why she abandoned the child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Diaz first walked past the &quot;dirty&quot; pushchair on Monday night around 10.30pm and then again just after noon on Tuesday, and became suspicious on passing it for the second time. He said &quot;something inside me just told me to check&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He found the unnamed baby boy inside. &quot;As soon as I touched him he started moving. Then he started crying and then he made me cry. He made me break down.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He contacted the police and the infant is in California Hospital Medical Centre in a stable condition.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are no surveillance cameras where the baby was found and investigators are unsure how long the baby had been left there. Police have released photos of the baby in an attempt to locate the parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Since 2001, there have been 66 abandoned infants found in Los Angeles, 53 of which were found deceased.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In 2001, the Baby Safe Surrender Law was introduced in California. The law states that parents or guardians can legally surrender infants under three-days-old to hospitals or fire stations with &quot;no questions asked&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Diaz was due to visit the baby with his two sons in hospital yesterday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/newborn-is-found-abandoned-in-buggy-31430975.html\">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/newborn-is-found-abandoned-in-buggy-31430975.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-06 04:00:00',NULL,'newborn-is-found-abandoned-in-buggy-in-los-angeles'),(1192,'Boy (11) charged with \'shooting toddler in the face\' while playing in the USA','<p>\r\n	A boy has been charged with the manslaughter of a three year old in a shooting death in Detroit.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The boy, who cannot be named to protect his identity, allegedly shot the three-year-old in the face while they were playing in a parked car.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The prosecutor alleges that he was visiting his father&#39;s house when he removed the gun from a bedroom. Both boys were playing in the car when the weapon was fired.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The boy was charged with manslaughter and felony firearm possession.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I cannot remember a time where we have charged someone so young with taking a life,&rdquo; Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy said in a statement, according to Detroit CBS News.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Very unfortunately and very tragically, the alleged facts in this case demanded it. The charged respondent here will remain in the juvenile system, but the case remains under investigation. As a result of that, I will not say more at this time.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It was reported during the trial that the boy wasn&#39;t active in school at the time of the shooting.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/boy-11-charged-with-shooting-toddler-in-the-face-while-playing-31431128.html\">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/boy-11-charged-with-shooting-toddler-in-the-face-while-playing-31431128.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-06 04:00:00',NULL,'boy-11-charged-with-shooting-toddler-in-the-face-while-playing-in-the-usa'),(1193,'Up to 12 additional direct provision centres to open','<p>\r\n	As many as 12 new direct provision centres are to be opened to accommodate asylum seekers, The Irish Times has learned.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One centre in Co Longford, which had operated as a direct provision centre between 2001 and 2011, but had been more recently operated as a guest house, has been &ldquo;re-engaged for the accommodation of asylum seekers&rdquo;, according to the Department of Justice.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Richmond Court in Longford town is beginning to receive new asylum seekers, bringing the number of direct provision centres in the State now to 36.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Direct provision has been criticised by a range of human rights organisations, particularly because people typically spend several years in it as their asylum applications are processed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In addition, the Reception and Integration Agency (RIA) which manages accommodation and other services for asylum seekers , is seeking &ldquo;expressions of interest&rdquo; from parties &ldquo;interested in providing accommodation and ancillary services for persons seeking asylum in the State&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In advertisements, the RIA says: &ldquo;Arising from the recent significant increase in asylum applications the RIA intends to draw up, from the expressions of interest, a list of potential service providers with whom it may be in contact if/when the need for such service provision arises&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It says the RIA needs premises including hotels, hostels, guesthouses &ldquo;which can accommodate upwards of 50 persons and which should be reasonably close to all services, eg shops, schools, transport etc&rdquo;. The latest date for expressions of interest is August 21st, 2015.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sources say up to a dozen new centres are anticipated in coming months. A spokesman for the department said it was &ldquo;too early to say&rdquo; how many would be needed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The State is preparing to accept up to 1,100 refugees over the next two years, mainly from Syria and Eritrea, to meet its commitment to participate in EU measures to address the Mediterranean migrant crisis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In addition, the number of individuals arriving at ports and airports seeking refuge is increasing. In the six months to the end of June some 1,481 asylum applications were received, compared with about 700 in the same period last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, news of moves to expand the direct provision system will be a disappointment to many, coming as it does little more than a month after a much-anticipated report on reform of the system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Committee</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An interdepartmental committee is to be established on how much, if any, of the 388-page report from the Working Group to Report to Government on Improvements to the Protection Process, including Direct Provision and Supports to Asylum Seekers, will be implemented.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/up-to-12-additional-direct-provision-centres-to-open-1.2308089\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/up-to-12-additional-direct-provision-centres-to-open-1.2308089</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-06 04:00:00',NULL,'up-to-12-additional-direct-provision-centres-to-open'),(1194,'Ireland will do more: ‘Dead bodies of young children on the shores of Europe — we can’t let that lie’','<p>\r\n	Minister Brendan Howlin has indicated that Ireland will take in more than its allocated 600 people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The lifeless body of a drowned young Syrian boy lying face down in the sand makes the front pages of many of the newspapers this morning.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The image, which many people will find disturbing below, has sparked an international outcry over the human cost of the crisis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This morning, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin indicated that Ireland will take in more than its allocated quota of 600 people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, he said this still had to be discussed at European level.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Germany, France and Italy want a new distribution programme that will impose numbers that each country should take in &ndash; and Ireland will take part, he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Step up to the plate</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking on RT&Eacute;&rsquo;s Morning Ireland, Howlin said</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Looking across the pictures in today&rsquo;s papers I am struck by what the Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy said, it really resonates with anybody linked to their conscious now. We can&rsquo;t but feel challenged by what we&rsquo;re witnessing. I think there is a requirement for Ireland to step up to the plate &ndash; but it&rsquo;s not simply a European issue, it is a world issue.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Ireland will certainly measure up to whatever is asked of us.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When asked if Ireland would take more than 600 people, he said:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I am sure we will.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Having spoken to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Charlie Flanagan, Howlin said they agree there must be a multi stranded approach.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Certainly we have to take people who are in absolute peril, who are destitute in dreadful circumstances.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Long-term solution needed</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The minister said that taking in people is not a long-term solution. He said this is not just a European issue, but a worldwide issue and one of the most challenging issues for human kind.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Ireland will measure up to accepting its allocated share, there is no doubt about that.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said the images of dead bodies of children was shocking, adding that these peoples&rsquo; lives have been utterly destroyed and all they want are prospects for their children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The notion that we see the bodies of young children on the shores of Europe is just so shocking that we can&rsquo;t let that lie.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While some have debated whether the image of a dead child should be splashed on the front pages, many are urging people not to turn away, but to realise the horrifying reality of the situation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Minister for Agriculture, Food, the Marine and Defence, Simon Coveney yesterday tweeted his reaction to the photo. Reacting to the minister&rsquo;s tweet, many people urged the government to do more.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Minister Coveney is meeting with his EU colleagues today at the Informal Ministerial meeting in Luxembourg to discuss a range of issues including progress of the EU military mission in the Mediterranean.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Taoiseach Enda Kenny is expected to discuss the migrant crisis with French President Francois Hollande as he begins a two day visit to France, in Paris.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/syrian-boy-ireland-migrant-crisis-2307863-Sep2015/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/syrian-boy-ireland-migrant-crisis-2307863-Sep2015/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-03 10:02:47',NULL,'ireland-will-do-more-‘dead-bodies-of-young-children-on-the-shores-of-europe-—-we-can’t-let-that-lie’'),(1195,'HIQA issues notice over Ãras Attracta centre','<p>\r\n	The Health Information &amp; Quality Authority has issued the &Aacute;ras Attracta facility for people with learning disabilities in Mayo with notice of a proposal to cancel the registration of one of its centres.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	RT&Eacute; News has learned that the notice was issued within the past week to the HSE-run centre in Swinford.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It follows two unannounced inspections in July which raised concerns about care at Centre 2.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The centre, which houses five Bungalows - 3,4, 5, 6 and 13 - has been given 28 days to respond.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The issues relate to management, governance and staffing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	HIQA has raised concerns about safe levels of staffing and care and risks to patients.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There have been incidents between residents which have also raised concerns.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	HIQA is now in a process with the Health Service Executive on the draft inspection reports.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A briefing of staff at the centre is expected to take place today on the developments.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An undercover report by the RT&Eacute; Investigations Unit in December 2014 showed some residents at a unit in &Aacute;ras Attracta being force-fed, slapped, kicked, physically restrained and shouted at.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A garda investigation was established, which has led to six individuals facing charges of alleged assault of patients.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0806/719475-aras-attracta/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0806/719475-aras-attracta/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-06 11:18:32',NULL,'hiqa-issues-notice-over-ãras-attracta-centre'),(1196,'Irish parents on losing their son to suicide aged 14 after taking Prozac','<p>\r\n	Sometimes Steffini Lynch drives to her son&rsquo;s secondary school in Clondalkin to collect him... but he never comes out through the gates.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fourteen-year-old Jake McGill-Lynch took his own life on March 20, 2013 and his parents are a long way from accepting that their beloved child is gone.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It&rsquo;s the hardest challenge a parent can face; it&rsquo;s harder still when there is even a semblance of a chance that the death was preventable.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Jake started taking the antidepressant Prozac seven weeks before he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Most will conclude that this was the tragic culmination of a long-standing illness, or a simple case of cause and effect. However, Jake was never diagnosed with depression.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More to the point, there is evidence to suggest that antidepressants increase the risk of suicide and suicidal ideation in children and adolescents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Jake&rsquo;s parents, Steffini and John, say that they weren&rsquo;t told about the drug&rsquo;s side-effects.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Patient Information Leaflet for Prozac, which can be found on the HPRA (formerly the Irish Medicines Board) website, and which was in place at the time Jake took his own life, carries a warning that &ldquo;Patients under 18 have an increased risk of side-effects such as suicide attempt, suicidal thoughts and hostility (predominantly aggression, oppositional behaviour and anger) when they take this class&nbsp; of medicines.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	John and Steffini say they were never told this.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They say it is not to be given to children under the age of 18 unless they have a diagnosis of moderate to severe depression,&rdquo; says Steffini. &ldquo;Jake had none of that. He had anxiety which is part and parcel of Asperger&rsquo;s [Syndrome].&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Jake was diagnosed with Asperger&rsquo;s Syndrome, which is an autism spectrum disorder, in 2012. He was intermittently seeing a psychologist at Clondalkin Linn Dara Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Steffini, who is keen to convey that Jake didn&rsquo;t have a critical need for talk therapy, says he met with the psychologist once a month. &ldquo;However, before Christmas, he hadn&rsquo;t seen her for four months.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	His anxiety increased ahead of his Junior Certificate and the psychologist referred Jake to a consultant psychiatrist in January 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At the time, Steffini was still waiting for an occupational therapy appointment and had also asked the psychologist about CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On January 31, 2013, John took Jake to the appointment with the psychiatrist at which Jake was prescribed Prozac. John signed a consent form. The psychiatrist had not met Jake before this consultation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t research Prozac. We should have,&rdquo; says Steffini.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;When I went into the pharmacist with the script, I said, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m a bit embarrassed, I have what looks like an adult prescription here but it&rsquo;s actually for Jake&rsquo;,&rdquo; she continues.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;&lsquo;Don&rsquo;t worry about it&rsquo;, she said, &lsquo;loads of kids are on it.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Steffini says a Patient Information Leaflet was not included with the drugs when she collected the prescription from the pharmacy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Jake began to behave out of character six days later. He walked out of an exam halfway through, an act of defiance which was otherwise unheard of for the straight-A student who had an IQ of 146.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	That night he cried for three hours and said: &ldquo;You don&rsquo;t know what it&rsquo;s like in my head&rdquo; when his parents tried to console him.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Steffini considered taking him to Tallaght A&amp;E before reasoning that he was under intense pressure with his upcoming mock exams.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;He was inconsolable,&rdquo; recalls Steffini. &ldquo;We stupidly didn&rsquo;t associate that with the drug. That should have been our lightbulb moment.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	John and Steffini say that had they been aware of the contraindications of SSRI antidepressants for under-18s, they would have known that this behaviour was a cause for alarm.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Patient Information Leaflet for Prozac on the HPRA website has strict guidelines in relation to Prozac and adolescents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Parents are advised to contact their doctor if symptoms including irritability and extreme agitation; untypical wild behaviour; restlessness and poor concentration develop, or worsen, when patients under-18 are taking Prozac.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children with Asperger&rsquo;s are structure dependent. They like order and they tend to take their meals and partake in activities at the same time each day.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Jake would came home from school and he would sit there and not move until his homework was done,&rdquo; explains Steffini.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On March 20, 2013, Jake didn&rsquo;t sit down to do his homework. &ldquo;When John came home from work, I said: &lsquo;I think he might have had a row with the girlfriend in America as he&rsquo;s been back and forth to the laptop&rsquo;.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;He was agitated,&rdquo; adds John, &ldquo;and his face was flushed.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Jake had joined a gun club with his mother a few months previously. He didn&rsquo;t enjoy other sports, which is not uncommon for people with Asperger&rsquo;s, however he showed an immediate enthusiasm and aptitude for shooting.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;He won a medal and I&rsquo;ve never seen such a big smile on his face,&rdquo; recalls John. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s all a parent wants &mdash; for their child to be happy.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	That night, Jake asked his mother if he could take the gun out of its secure storage so that he could practise holding it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I hated telling him no because he never asked for anything,&rdquo; explains Steffini. &ldquo;I never hesitated... but I did f**k up big time by not taking the box [of bullets] away. And I have to live with that.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;People say, &lsquo;well you didn&rsquo;t know&rsquo;. Of course I didn&rsquo;t know. But we&rsquo;re dealing with a fact and the fact of the matter is that I screwed up.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They didn&rsquo;t hear the fatal gunshot. It was the sound of silence &mdash; when they called Jake for his supper &mdash; that told them something was wrong.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	John, a paramedic, bolted up the stairs to Jake&rsquo;s bedroom where he performed CPR straight away. Jake was taken to Tallaght Hospital. He took his last breath at 3.30am.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;When we came back after turning the life support machine off I got the bottle of Prozac and threw it against the wall,&rdquo; remembers Steffini.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It was the only thing that had changed in Jake&rsquo;s life &mdash; and I knew there and then.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The inquest, which started on May 31 last year, is ongoing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	John and Steffini don&rsquo;t just want a verdict. They want answers. They want to know why antidepressants sold in Ireland don&rsquo;t carry a black-box warning as they do in the US.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They want to know why their son was prescribed an antidepressant when he was not diagnosed with depression.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;When the illness takes up one sentence on the Patient Information Leaflet and the side effects are three pages, there&rsquo;s a problem,&rdquo; says Steffini.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She cites a watershed case in the US where a judge concluded that a 15-year-boy was under the influence of Prozac when he fatally stabbed his friend.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Cases such as this one are known as &lsquo;iatrogenic&rsquo; &mdash; caused by medical treatment. The term was brought forward in the Dail last week by P&aacute;draig Mac Lochlainn of Sinn F&eacute;in.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I met with the McGill Lynch family for the first time last year,&rdquo; explains Mac Lochlainn. &ldquo;One of the areas we looked at was the Coroner&rsquo;s Act which is over 50 years old and in serious need of a comprehensive overhaul.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We want to put forward a symbolic amendment known as &lsquo;Jakes&rsquo;s Amendment&rsquo;. The idea is that the coroner could consider the issue of iatrogenic suicide.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There is a large amount of worldwide evidence that this medication has the potential to cause suicide and suicidal ideation in young people and we feel that this should be something that the coroner can rule on.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	John and Steffini insist that they are not out for &ldquo;material gain&rdquo;, nor are they anti-medication.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not trying to frighten people,&rdquo; says Steffini. &ldquo;We believe that medication should be the last resort, not the first one.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If your child is stressed about exams or breaking up from a relationship... that&rsquo;s not depression. That&rsquo;s life.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It may sound old-fashioned, but sometimes we&rsquo;re happy, sometimes we&rsquo;re sad,&rdquo; adds John.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They want to raise awareness around the risks of antidepressants.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They believe that their son would have made a difference in the world and now, more than two years after his death, they are determined to make that difference on his behalf.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If any of the above issues affect you, you can contact the Samaritans on their 24-hour helpline on 116 123 (Republic of Ireland) or 08457 90 90 90 (from the UK)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/mental-health/irish-parents-on-losing-their-son-to-suicide-aged-14-after-turning-the-life-support-machine-off-i-threw-the-bottle-of-prozac-against-the-wall-31392882.html\">http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/mental-health/irish-parents-on-losing-their-son-to-suicide-aged-14-after-turning-the-life-support-machine-off-i-threw-the-bottle-of-prozac-against-the-wall-31392882.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-06 11:49:45',NULL,'irish-parents-on-losing-their-son-to-suicide-aged-14-after-taking-prozac'),(1197,'HSE \'hopeful\' of resolution to Mayo care home issues','<p>\r\n	The HSE says it is hopeful a resolution can be found concerning the &Aacute;ras Attracta care home in Swinford, Co. Mayo, before the residents are affected.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It comes after HIQA issued a proposal to cancel registration for part of the facility, which caters for people with challenging behaviour.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hiqa conducted a two-day unannounced inspection of all three centres at &Aacute;ras Attracta on July 12 and 13 after receiving information that it had to act upon.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On foot of the inspection, it has issued a notice of proposal to cancel the registration of Centre No 2 &mdash; which consists of five bungalows and houses 27 residents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE says moves are being made to rectify the situation, with extra staff recruited in the past fortnight and a further 25 posts approved, to allow it to commission two new vacant bungalows.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Bernard Gloster, interim chief officer for the HSE West Region, says they are hopeful that residents will not be affected.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said: &quot;We&#39;re working from the perspective that we believe that with reasonable discussion with the regulator over the coming weeks, on the basis of the draft plans we&#39;ve already submitted to them, we would hope that we could arrive at a resolution to this.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;(We also hope to) arrive at a space where the regulator is satisfied in a more sustained way rather than the sporadic piece we saw in April report versus this notice now.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/hse-hopeful-of-resolution-to-mayo-care-home-issues-689982.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/hse-hopeful-of-resolution-to-mayo-care-home-issues-689982.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-07 09:01:57',NULL,'hse-hopeful-of-resolution-to-mayo-care-home-issues'),(1198,'Crew describe horrific scenes in sea tragedy','<p>\r\n	* LE Niamh crew describe chaotic scenes</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	* Men, women and children in sea</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	* Parents mourning children</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	* Survivors will receive bereavement counselling</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Horrific scenes of hundreds of migrants trying to survive the capsizing of their boat were recalled yesterday following the arrival of the Naval Service&#39;s LE Niamh into Palermo port.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Up to 200 people may have drowned and 399 were saved after the overcrowded boat overturned and sank in the Mediterranean on Wednesday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Irish naval vessel had already deployed boats to begin a routine transferring of passengers when the tragedy happened.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Within a matter of 30 seconds, the vessel had gone down,&quot; said Commander Ken Minihane, the most senior officer on board the LE Niamh.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The scene initially was quite chaotic. There were a lot of people in the water. But the crew of the LE Niamh dealt with the situation extremely well,&quot; he told RT&Eacute; News.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Irish naval personnel undertook an emergency operation to save as many of the men, women and children as possible.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Lt Commander Daniel Wall deployed all available boats on board to assist in the mass rescue effort.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Naval staff threw large numbers of life-jackets into the water to give as many people as possible a chance of staying afloat, while efforts were made to pull several more to safety.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One seaman saved a child and then handed the child to the grateful parents. But the child lapsed into unconsciousness and he performed CPR until the child revived.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It was very upsetting yesterday to see a mother and father grieving for a very young child. Our personnel tried to resuscitate them but unfortunately there was nothing they could do,&quot; said Commander Minihane.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A Palestinian family spoke of how they shared one life jacket to survive. When the boat capsized, the father gave the life jacket to his wife, who could not swim. He then dived under water and saved their one-year-old daughter.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Boats operated by the Medicins Sans Frontiers (MSF) charity also had a number of boats deployed to help.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An eyewitness said: &quot;The sea was filled with the dead and the drowning. Men, women and children.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is believed a significant number of the migrants were unable to swim and a large number of them were believed to be refugees fleeing the violence in Syria.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The overcrowded wooden fishing boat had set out from Zuwarah in Libya, close to the Tunisian border</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An MSF member who helped in the rescue said: &quot;It was a horrific sight. People were desperately clinging to lifebelts, boats and anything they could, fighting for their lives, amidst people drowning and those who had already died.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At the port yesterday, Irish naval crews helped the survivors from the vessel onto the dockside and continued to offer them care and assistance. Some children were given gifts of colouring books.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The exhausted survivors were being cared for last night by the Red Cross and other agencies.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They had received medical care and psychological support on board the LE Niamh and MSF vessels during the overnight journey to the Sicilian port.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	any will receive bereavement support after the traumatic loss of their loved ones.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Irish crew members were said to have performed effectively amid the frantic rescue operation despite witnessing traumatic scenes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Six members of the crew of LE Niamh are trained in counselling people who had been through trauma. They were joined by two more personnel who flew from Ireland to offer extra support.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The migrants will be registered by the authorities and finger-printed for ongoing monitoring and processing within the migrant assistance schemes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Many are expected to attempt to travel to other EU countries in the hope of seeking asylum.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/crew-describe-horrific-scenes-in-sea-tragedy-31433718.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/crew-describe-horrific-scenes-in-sea-tragedy-31433718.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-07 09:03:54',NULL,'crew-describe-horrific-scenes-in-sea-tragedy'),(1199,'Chlamydia cases rise by almost a third','<p>\r\n	The number of cases of Chlamydia in the capital has increased by almost a third, according to new figures released by the Dublin Well Woman Centre.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In their annual report for 2014, 253 positive cases of the infection were recorded - an increase of 32pc compared to figures for 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This is the second highest recorded figure in the last 13 years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The number of people presenting themselves for testing also increased by 20pc.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The highest ever level of tests occurred last year with 5,042 tests conducted across the organisation&#39;s three Dublin clinics.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Alison Begas, chief executive of the Dublin Well Woman Centre said despite increased awareness around sexual health, the number of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are increasing at an alarming rate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;These results highlight the need to expedite publication of the National Sexual Health Strategy,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The Well Woman Centre takes a proactive approach in promoting the availability and importance of testing, however we are only one service provider, and access to standardised testing must be improved nationwide.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;These diseases are becoming more prevalent, and we need action from the HSE now,&quot; she added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report also shows an increase in the number of women choosing long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	For the first time, more than 1,000 women had LARCs fitted with a total of 1,117 women choosing this form of contraception.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A worrying trend in the report was the decline in women attending their free cervical screening tests.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Just 7,198 were tested last year, down from a high of almost 10,000 tests in 2009.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the greatest fall in numbers for smear tests is in the 25-29 age group, which may be linked to emigration.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/health-features/chlamydia-cases-rise-by-almost-a-third-31434143.html\">http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/health-features/chlamydia-cases-rise-by-almost-a-third-31434143.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-07 09:06:45',NULL,'chlamydia-cases-rise-by-almost-a-third'),(1200,'One boy still on run after escape from Oberstown','<p>\r\n	A young offender who absconded from Oberstown detention centre remains on the loose after two of his fellow escapees were returned to the facility at the weekend.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Four boys in total, aged 15 and 16, fled the facility near Lusk in north Co Dublin on July 25. Three have now been returned, but garda&iacute; are still actively searching for the fourth boy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Four members of staff were suspended following the escape, which has heaped huge attention on the facility where 49 children are currently being detained.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Workers have recently complained they are under-resourced and under-staffed due to a high number of staff going on sick leave following assaults by children detained at the centre.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Since March, 29 staff have had periods off work through injury caused by assault, restraining detainees or accident.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A meeting between staff and management took place last Friday where it was agreed that new training would be put in place for staff in the area of behavioural management as a response to the growing concerns for staff safety.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;A new round of training in this will be implemented from August 24,&quot; a spokesperson for the Department of Children said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The training will focus on behavioural management techniques to prevent incidents from escalating. A staff safety group has also been set up.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The changes come as a senior youth worker warned it was only a matter of time before a death occurred at the facility if things do not change.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking on the basis of anonymity, the youth worker said: &quot;In my opinion, if it keeps going the way it is, there will be a fatality of either staff or a boy.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Oberstown has undergone a &euro;56m redevelopment recently and has taken in children who were detained at the St Patrick&#39;s youth wing in Mountjoy prison.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/one-boy-still-on-run-after-escape-from-oberstown-31439190.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/one-boy-still-on-run-after-escape-from-oberstown-31439190.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-10 10:02:20',NULL,'one-boy-still-on-run-after-escape-from-oberstown'),(1201,'William Winder Rainbow Foundation suicide charity appeals for funding','<p>\r\n	A suicide prevention charity, which provides free counselling services to vulnerable young people, has been forced to cut its allocation of counselling hours in half due to a lack of funds.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The William Winder Rainbow Foundation has provided more than 4,000 free hours of professional counselling to young people since it was established three years ago.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Rural parts of west and north Clare have experienced a marked increase in incidences of self-harm and suicide in recent years and the foundation has been struggling to keep pace with the increased demand.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The charity, set up following the tragic death of west Clare teenager William Winder in 2012, currently operates without any financial support from the HSE or any other arms of the State.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It was established by William Winder&rsquo;s parents, Mark and Caroline Winder, who have been forced to cut the number of counselling hours offered to at-risk young people from 10 to just five.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They fear the entire foundation could be forced to close unless a source of funding is found soon.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They have appealed to l politicians to rally behind the work of the foundation and help to fast-track a funding application lodged with the HSE.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Our funds are so low that we could face shutting down, it is that bad. Four thousand hours of counselling have been used in Clare but, because of the lack of funds, we&rsquo;ve had to cut our counselling services from 10 [sessions per child] to five. We&rsquo;ve done this so we won&rsquo;t close down,&rdquo; said charity founder Mark Winder.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We are not government funded, every bit of money we spend we have to raise ourselves. And it&rsquo;s not just around this area [of west Clare], it is right across all of rural Clare, from Kilkee right up to Fanore.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not just in this area that kids are dying, there is a serious issue right up the whole coast of Clare,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We have been trying to get funding from the HSE but it&rsquo;s a slow process. Hopefully things will start changing. We need the local politicians to rally to us.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This is our community, so many people are dying in Clare, it&rsquo;s an emergency situation, and I would like to invite any local politician to come and help us to get the support that we need.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We have to get back to the community coming together. The community needs to stand by this [the foundation] because it is our community that is dying.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been to so many funerals this year already, it takes its toll, it really does.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The foundation is also advocating for a system of continuous assessment to be introduced into second-level schools in Ireland as a way of removing unnecessary stress from vulnerable young people lives.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	William Winder took his own life in June 2012, just three days before the start of his Junior Certificate exams, aged just 15 years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than 119,000 students will receive the results of state exams over the next six weeks with the Leaving Certificate results due to be released this Wednesday, and Junior Certificate results due in mid-September.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Parents have been warned to be extra vigilant and mindful of their children at these times of extra stress and anxiety.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/william-winder-rainbow-foundation-suicide-charity-appeals-for-funding-347215.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/william-winder-rainbow-foundation-suicide-charity-appeals-for-funding-347215.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-10 10:55:14',NULL,'william-winder-rainbow-foundation-suicide-charity-appeals-for-funding'),(1202,'Fifty children admitted to adult psychiatric units this year','<p>\r\n	Fifty children with mental health problems have been admitted to adult psychiatric units so far this year, new figures reveal.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Health Service Executive (HSE) confirmed almost a third of all psychiatric patients aged under 18 were seen in adult mental health units from January to May.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The figures for the first half of the year reveal the practice, which was to be phased out, is still heavily relied on.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fianna F&aacute;il TD Colm Keaveney said the situation was shameful and leaves children at risk psychologically, emotionally and physically.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It simply has to end. It is completely inappropriate. The first point of contact for children is in an inappropriate location,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is a major &lsquo;no no&rsquo; from the point of view of stigma, for the long-term treatment of that child and it is unacceptable.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Fine Gael/Labour coalition vowed to phase out the practice in their 2011 Programme for Government.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In its response to the question from Mr Keaveney, the HSE said 160 children and adolescents were admitted to inpatient units in the first five months of the year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Clinical decisions</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It said 110 &ndash; or 69 per cent &ndash; were admitted to age-appropriate Acute Child and Adolescent Inpatient Units, while 50 &ndash; 31 per cent &ndash; were to approved adult mental health inpatient units.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Of those 50, 17 were admitted in January, four in February, eight in March, 12 in April and nine in May.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There is a range of factors which can influence the clinical decision to admit to an adult acute inpatient unit,&rdquo; a HSE spokesman said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Some of these admissions relate to a crisis admission where no adolescent bed is immediately available.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Distance to the nearest [child and adolescent] inpatient unit can also be a factor when immediate clinical assessment and treatment may be the requirement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In some cases, the presenting clinical needs of the young person, (who may be nearly 18 years old) may be more appropriately assessed and treated in an adult unit.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The practice has been heavily condemned by various groups including the Children&rsquo;s Rights Alliance and the Mental Health Commission.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a report in 2011, the commission &ndash; the national watchdog for psychiatric services &ndash; said by the end of that year there should be no more admissions of children under 18 to adult units.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Keaveney said the figures were a damning indictment of the Government&rsquo;s mental health policy. &ldquo;Across the country our mental health services are stretched to the limit and more people are waiting longer for access to essential care,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Staff levels</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The Government has left our mental health services short &euro;70million and staff levels are dangerously below target. We are now close to 3,000 posts behind the principles set down in A Vision for Change.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The Government needs to seriously address the under-investment in mental health in the budget and put our services back on a course to deliver proper care for patients.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/fifty-children-admitted-to-adult-psychiatric-units-this-year-1.2311710\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/fifty-children-admitted-to-adult-psychiatric-units-this-year-1.2311710</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-10 10:57:03',NULL,'fifty-children-admitted-to-adult-psychiatric-units-this-year'),(1203,'Internet giants to help remove abuse images','<p>\r\n	Internet giants such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter are being given access to a database which will enable them to help uncover and remove millions of online images of child abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The British-based anti-abuse organisation Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is sharing lists of images of abuse with web companies so that they can protect their customers and help victims. In order to help the system be effective as possible, the British government is giving IWF access to its own Child Abuse Image Database (CAID).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to the BBC, CAID even includes images found on computers seized by police that may not have been uploaded online.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The IWF database will be made available to internet companies that provide services such as uploading, storing, or searching of images; filtering or hosting services; and social media and chat services, as well as those working in connectivity and data centres.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	All the pictures will be given a &lsquo;hash&rsquo; or digital footprint which will make it harder to share.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The hashing system is already used by the InHope international network of internet hotlines, which monitor illegal activity online.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Paul Durrant of the Internet Service Providers&rsquo; Association of Ireland (ISPAI), whose hotline.ie website is an InHope member, said the hashing system technically analyses the image and creates an unique code.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;That code is not reversible and can be distributed to various people,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;While you cannot create the image from the code, if another image comes along which matches the code, you can be fairly sure it is probably the same image and it is probably an illegal one.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Durrant said it was a major step forward for companies offering widespread hosting to get the list and apply it, thereby filtering out people who are attempting to upload known images to those sites.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Unfortunately, those behind the illegal images can still use the &lsquo;darknet&rsquo; &mdash; a computer network with restricted access that is used chiefly for illegal peer-to-peer file sharing &mdash; to share images in a manner which is much harder to trace than if they were published or shared on the likes of Google.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Durrant said efforts are being made to tackle that phenomenon.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The most important tool for tackling abuse on the internet is that, if people come across what they suspect is illegal content or is leading to illegal content, report it to hotline.ie. It is totally confidential,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If we get darknet reports, we will investigate that. We try to find the images in question. Even though we may not be able to locate where the images are from, as we can on the normal net, we can still get those images and feed them into the hashing system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The images can be added to the Interpol database. Also often, because people think they are safe on the darknet, those images themselves can contain information which has some clue in it which can help law enforcement to possibly find out who these people are.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/internet-giants-to-help-remove-abuse-images-347439.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/internet-giants-to-help-remove-abuse-images-347439.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-11 09:16:56',NULL,'internet-giants-to-help-remove-abuse-images'),(1204,'Second Opinion: Hiqa’s job is not just a ‘paper exercise’ and should be taken seriously','<p>\r\n	Working for the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) can&rsquo;t be easy. The organisation is in the news nearly every day and publishes several reports a week, almost all of them with some negative findings.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There seems to be no end to poor professional practice. Nurses are particularly incensed by recent reports. At the INMO conference in May, they demanded an independent review to establish whether Hiqa &ldquo;has actually improved the quality and standard of care for patients in Ireland&rdquo;. A member of the INMO&rsquo;s executive council described Hiqa&rsquo;s standards as &ldquo;paper exercises in rubbish&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Four months ago, in an address to the National Disability Summit, Phelim Quinn, the chief executive of the authority, said, &ldquo;It is disturbing and chilling to have to say that the sorts of issues we have seen in recent weeks and months resonate with care practices and culture that were thought to have been confined to the past.&rdquo; He described what Hiqa&rsquo;s inspectors have seen as indicative of cultures so ingrained that health professionals seem &ldquo;unable to distinguish between what is an acceptable and unacceptable standard of care&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hiqa has the statutory role to set and monitor compliance with standards for the quality and safety of health and social services in Ireland provided or funded by the HSE. Exceptions are mental health services, which are regulated by the Mental Health Commission, and private healthcare providers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Far from being &ldquo;paper exercises&rdquo; in rubbish, the national standards were approved by the Minister for Health in May 2012 and, in accordance with the Health Act 2007, the authority monitors compliance with them. Health professionals are obliged to take them seriously.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Standards</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are 45 standards altogether, divided into eight key themes including person-centred care, better health and wellbeing, and leadership, governance and management.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The standards mean service users are, or ought to be, treated with kindness and respect, and experience the best achievable outcomes. Management must use resources wisely and be accountable to stakeholders. Information &ndash; such as patients&rsquo; notes &ndash; must be accurate, reliable, legible and complete. These standards ensure that citizens get, or ought to get, safe, high-quality services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hiqa is also responsible for driving quality, safety, and accountability in residential services for children, older people, people with disabilities and children in foster care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Wasteful medical practices happen because of defensive medicine, patient pressures and conflicts of interest. The UK&rsquo;s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has identified more than 800 useless clinical procedures. Hiqa has a similar role and carries out Health Technology Assessments (HTAs), which set thresholds for surgical procedures. Unless service users reach these thresholds they should not be referred for treatment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HTA for haemorrhoids notes that, in the absence of symptoms suspicious for malignancy, patients can be managed in primary care by measures such as increasing dietary fibre.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A HTA on hernias found that men with asymptomatic hernias may be managed by a &ldquo;watch and wait&rdquo; policy. Patients with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 40 should be referred to a weight-reduction programme before having hip-replacement surgery.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	HTAs are designed to save millions of euro by ensuring that only service users who will benefit from surgical procedures receive them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Recommendations</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A new analysis of seven major Hiqa reports with 232 recommendations between them found that the same recommendations are made over and over again. Linking Learning to National Standards: How recommendations from previous Hiqa investigations, statutory inquiry and review reports (2009-2015) relate to specific National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare shows that recommendations are linked to three main themes: leadership, governance and management; effective care and support; and the health workforce.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Recommendations about effective corporate and clinical governance were made 62 times in the seven reports. The analysis concludes that &ldquo;it is important for each service provider to look at the national standard associated with the recommendation to ensure their service meets the demand&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hiqa is doing a great job on behalf of citizens and is committed to taking an increased rights-based focus in its inspection programmes. In future, inspectors will not only check compliance with standards, but will point out when services appear to be breaching the rights of service users through negative cultures. Amen to that.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, unless HSE employees and other service providers take the standards seriously and implement report recommendations, nothing will change. Powerful health unions must not get away with treating Hiqa&rsquo;s work as &ldquo;paper exercises in rubbish&rdquo;. Surely professionals and Hiqa are, or ought to be, on the same side.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	drjackyjones@gmail.com</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Jacky Jones is a former HSE regional manager of health promotion and a member of the Health Ireland Council.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/second-opinion-hiqa-s-job-is-not-just-a-paper-exercise-and-should-be-taken-seriously-1.2308765\">http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/second-opinion-hiqa-s-job-is-not-just-a-paper-exercise-and-should-be-taken-seriously-1.2308765</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-11 09:29:58',NULL,'second-opinion-hiqa’s-job-is-not-just-a-‘paper-exercise’-and-should-be-taken-seriously'),(1205,'Leaving Cert: Parents told to warn about the danger of cheap alcohol','<p>\r\n	An alcohol charity has pleaded with parents to talk to their children about the dangers of drinking, ahead of tomorrow&#39;s highly anticipated Leaving Certificate results celebrations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Alcohol Action Ireland has warned students are particularly at risk this year because cans of beer are now cheaper than bottles of water.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokesperson with the charity for alcohol-related issues said it wanted to emphasise the need for parents and guardians to play a strong role in their children&#39;s celebrations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The charity believes Ireland has &quot;a problem with binge drinking&quot; that comes from older generations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The age of first drinking has decreased in Ireland. It is moving further in to childhood, when people begin to drink. And, we also know that children in Ireland and young people have a particular problem with binge drinking and that is not unique to them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;That is at every age group in Ireland, as a country we have a problem with binge drinking,&quot; said Conor Cullen, head of communications and advocacy with Alcohol Action Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It is not about pointing the finger at young people and telling them they are terrible, because they are not. They are reflecting the behaviour of generations that have gone before them. Three people die every day from alcohol-related illnesses in this country. That is a huge amount of lives lost unnecessarily every year.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Cullen said the charity was making its strongest ever appeal this year because the &quot;price, availability and marketing&quot; of alcohol has made it more appealing to young people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Young people are strongly influenced by the price of alcohol.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;They want to pay as little as they can for strong, cheap alcohol. They can do that now.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Phenomenon</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Cans of beer cost less than bottles of water,&quot; he added. &quot;It is why pre-drinking has become such a phenomenon.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The body believes there is a &quot;real and immediate obligation on alcohol retailers&quot; tomorrow to ensure they do not sell alcohol to minors and to make efforts to avoid targeting young people with &quot;cheap drinks promotions that encourage binge drinking&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Suzanne Costello, CEO of Alcohol Action Ireland, said parents should talk to their children about where they are going and who they are celebrating with.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The organisation also issued advice to students, the majority of whom are aged between 17 and 18, to plan their evening in advance and to respect their friends&#39; decisions in relation to their own personal alcohol intake.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/education/exams/leaving-cert-parents-told-to-warn-about-the-danger-of-cheap-booze-31441925.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/education/exams/leaving-cert-parents-told-to-warn-about-the-danger-of-cheap-booze-31441925.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-11 04:00:00',NULL,'leaving-cert-parents-told-to-warn-about-the-danger-of-cheap-alcohol'),(1206,'Focus Ireland calls for laws to ensure no child sleeps rough','<p>\r\n	Call comes after family with three children under six sleep on the street for three nights</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Legislation to ensure no child sleeps rough must be introduced urgently, housing charity Focus Ireland has said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mike Allen, the organisation&rsquo;s director of advocacy, made the call after three children under the age of six slept rough in Dublin for three nights.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The children, boys aged five, three and two, were with their parents in Mountjoy Square at 11.30pm on Monday when contacted by the Inner City Helping Homeless organisation.<br />\r\n	The family, originally from Romania but living in Rialto for over a year, had been evicted from their private rented accommodation last week. The father works for a waste-recycling company.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We went to the location and found two children in sleeping bags on a bench and the baby asleep in a buggy, with their parents standing guard over them,&rdquo; said Anthony Flynn, founder of ICHH. &ldquo;This should not have happened. Someone was not doing their job last night.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Emergency accommodation<br />\r\n	The family was taken to the charity&rsquo;s depot on Killarney Street where they stayed until morning. Emergency accommodation had been allocated on Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the Dublin Region Homeless Executive said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A key worker who speaks Romanian and a childcare worker have been assigned to the family. Brother Kevin Crowley, manager of the Capuchin Day Centre, said the family had arrived there on Monday morning, having slept over the weekend in the Phoenix Park. He said he referred them to Focus Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Focus Ireland does not place families in emergency accommodation but liaises with central placements unit (CPU), which allocates emergency accommodation on behalf of the DRHE. Mr Allen said staff were told no emergency accommodation was available. At about 7 pm, the rough-sleeper intake team operated by Focus Ireland and the Peter McVerry Trust was told the family would be in Mountjoy Square.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They continued to advocate for them with the out-of-hours service, who again said there was no emergency accommodation available. At that stage the intake team gave them sleeping bags and did three things:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They informed the garda&iacute; in Mountjoy that there was a family with children in Mountjoy Square with nowhere to go. They prepared a child welfare report and they put out a general call to other organisations.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said 17 families with children at risk of sleeping rough had come to Focus Ireland&rsquo;s attention in July and staff believed five had slept rough. &ldquo;The family homeless crisis is getting out of control and must now be treated as a national emergency,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	No obligation<br />\r\n	Under the 2009 Housing Act a &ldquo;housing authority may provide housing services . . . including . . . services provided to homeless persons&rdquo;. There is no legal obligation on the local authority to do so.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Allen said this must change where children were involved. &ldquo;The Government needs to send a clear directive to all local authorities that where a family is assessed as being homeless they must be found emergency accommodation for the night,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/focus-ireland-calls-for-laws-to-ensure-no-child-sleeps-rough-1.2314034</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-12 08:48:00',NULL,'focus-ireland-calls-for-laws-to-ensure-no-child-sleeps-rough'),(1207,'Number of barring orders falls by 38% in eight years','<p>\r\n	The number of court orders made to bar individuals from the family home has fallen by 38 per cent in eight years, new figures show.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The number of safety orders to prohibit people from engaging in violence or threatening behaviour has risen by some 55 per cent in the same period.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When publishing District Court figures for domestic violence-related applications and orders from 2007 to 2014, the Courts Service noted the number of applications for barring orders had fallen by a fifth during that period.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Barring orders require the respondent to leave the family home and stay away from the person applying for it and/or any dependent children. It may also include terms prohibiting the respondent from using or threatening to use violence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some 2,671 applications for barring orders were made in 2014, 2.5 per cent down on the previous year. But the number of people actually barred from their homes for domestic violence reasons last year was 25 per cent down on 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A total of 877 people had barring orders made against them in 2014 compared with 1,167 the year before.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There was a significant rise in the number of applications for safety orders over the eight years from 2007. The total number of applications has risen by 55 per cent, from 3,553 to 5,499 last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Safety orders prohibit the person against whom the order is made from engaging in violence or threats of violence, but they do not oblige the person to leave the family home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Interim barring orders</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There was little change in the eight-year period in the number of applications for interim, or temporary, barring orders. There were 586 such applications in 2007 and 570 last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There was an increase of 16 per cent in the number of applications for protection orders (temporary safety orders) over the eight-year period.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Women&rsquo;s Aid, which provides a national support service for women dealing with domestic violence, had some 13,655 contacts to its national freephone helpline and its one-to-one support services in Dublin last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The organisation&rsquo;s director Margaret Martin said she was not surprised at the strong increase in applications for protection and safety orders, as eligibility for these orders was extended in August 2011 to couples with a child in common.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Lobbied</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Women&rsquo;s Aid had lobbied for almost a decade to secure this extension as approximately 10 per cent of callers to its helpline were women not living with their partner but who had a child in common.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Equally the drop in barring orders is unsurprising as many women report how difficult it is to get a barring order especially where there has not been recent physical violence,&rdquo; Ms Martin said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Many abusive partners are aware of this and instead use emotional, financial and sexual abuse to control and undermine their partners.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Where a barring order application is unsuccessful it is likely that a safety order would be granted, which would add to the increase in the number of safety orders. In addition, with the current housing crisis, some women do not want to see their partners homeless despite the abuse and instead apply for a safety order.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Women&rsquo;s Aid said in June it was coming to terms with an &ldquo;unexpected and significant&rdquo; 20 per cent cut to its statutory funding by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, at a time when it was planning to extend the national freephone helpline from January 2016.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The helpline is available on 1800 341 900 and operates from 10am to 10pm every day of the year except Christmas Day.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/number-of-barring-orders-falls-by-38-in-eight-years-1.2315276\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/number-of-barring-orders-falls-by-38-in-eight-years-1.2315276</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-13 11:00:58',NULL,'number-of-barring-orders-falls-by-38%-in-eight-years'),(1208,'Inspectors find failings in every HSE disability care home','<p>\r\n	One-third of Hiqa visits to HSE centres record failure to meet any of its standards</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than 93 per cent of inspections of disability homes carried out by the State&rsquo;s health watchdog found the facilities failed to comply with national standards.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An analysis of more than 900 inspection reports published since the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) began inspecting such facilities in November 2013 shows that HSE-run disability homes fare particularly badly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hiqa assesses disability homes against up to 18 standards during each inspection, including residents&rsquo; rights, healthcare needs and welfare needs as well as staffing levels, medication management and governance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The analysis, covering every inspection report published by Hiqa to the end of last week, found none of the 75 HSE-run homes inspected to date were fully compliant with all the standards examined.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE funds services for about 8,000 people in residential support settings, including 1,400 places in HSE-run units, at a cost of &euro;900 million a year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Inspections</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The analysis shows more than one-third of inspections carried out in HSE-run homes found they did not comply with any of the standards.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One unit of a HSE-run home in Sligo which houses over 100 adults and children with disabilities failed to meet any of the watchdog&rsquo;s standards during five separate visits between December 2014 and April this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hiqa chief executive Phelim Quinn called on the HSE to better monitor the services it provides or funds. &ldquo;Providers need to have systems that help them become aware of poor practices and respond proactively, not just waiting on Hiqa or others to highlight these issues and prompt a response,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Irish Times analysis also found one in seven homes/units failed to meet any of Hiqa&rsquo;s standards. It also shows that less than 7 per cent of inspections carried out at disability centres/units found full compliance with all the standards.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Disability unit</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hiqa said almost 80 per cent of homes have now been inspected (although inspection reports for all of these have not yet been published).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A report on a Kilkenny disability unit, published yesterday, found the centre was understaffed, inadequately resourced and unclean. Two rodent traps were found in the dining room of one bungalow and an evacuation route was blocked with debris and chairs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a separate report on a residential centre for children, inspectors found one child had been inappropriately placed in respite for seven months despite concerns being raised by the centre&rsquo;s human rights committee about the child making a two-hour round trip to attend school each day.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some 20 disability homes are facing the prospect of closure after Hiqa issued proposals to cancel or refuse their applications for registration in recent weeks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They include one unit of the &Aacute;ras Attracta care home in Swinford, Co Mayo, which is being investigated after an RT&Eacute; programme aired last year reported instances of slapping, kicking, and force-feeding at the HSE-run facility.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a statement, the HSE said it welcomed inspections and was working closely with Hiqa to address issues and to work towards the required standards.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/inspectors-find-failings-in-every-hse-disability-care-home-1.2315327\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/inspectors-find-failings-in-every-hse-disability-care-home-1.2315327</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-13 11:02:21',NULL,'inspectors-find-failings-in-every-hse-disability-care-home'),(1209,'Watchdog warns of overcrowding ‘burden’ at prison','<p>\r\n	A prison watchdog has warned of the &ldquo;tremendous burden&rdquo; on staff in trying to manage tensions caused by overcrowding at Cloverhill Prison &mdash; the scene of a riot two weeks ago, during which a foreign national inmate was stabbed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Cloverhill Prison Visiting Committee &ldquo;forcefully reiterated&rdquo; previous warnings regarding the security, as well as health and safety, implications resulting from overcrowding at the remand jail in west Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In its 2014 annual report, the committee urged the Irish Prison Service &ldquo;to be more proactive in dealing with this potentially dangerous situation&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The committee also raised concerns about foreign nationals being detained in the prison on immigration issues &mdash; and claimed they were often deported with &ldquo;no access to legal advice&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On July 30, 15 inmates orchestrated a riot in the prison, which resulted in a total of 60 prisoners refusing to leave the exercise yard.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The ringleaders ripped down security wiring and smashed up a staff observation post and a soccer goal. They used parts of them as weapons. Two other inmates scaled the roof and refused to come down for over 12 hours.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Staff from neighbouring Wheatfield Prison had to be called in to help respond and, together with Cloverhill officers, formed control and restraint teams.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At the height of the riot, some of the ringleaders seriously assaulted Afghan migrant Wali Ullah Safi, during which he was slashed across the face, possibly with broken glass. At that stage, the riot officers went in and forcibly dragged the ringleaders into custody.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The visiting committee said when population levels at the prison exceed 400 it leads to operational difficulties.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The committee said &ldquo;inmates sometimes sleep on floors&rdquo;, on mattresses, which causes tension and disruption, though it noted the situation had improved by year&rsquo;s end.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We have previously highlighted our opinion that there is an apparent link between overcrowding and tensions in prisons,&rdquo; the report said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This is apart from the health and safety concerns for both staff and prisoners. We forcefully reiterate that opinion.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report added: &ldquo;We feel that it has a tremendous burden on the officers, aside from the obvious security implications.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The committee reiterated its opinion that foreign nationals detained on immigration matters, including deportation, should be housed in a secure holding centre, not Cloverhill Prison. &ldquo;This whole area needs to be reviewed by the minister,&rdquo; the report said. &ldquo;It is often the case that prisoners are deported where many have had no access to legal advice.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It said the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture had also &ldquo;raised concerns in relation to this practice&rdquo; during their visit to Ireland in 2014.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The visiting committee highlighted its &ldquo;disappointment&rdquo; that the passive drug detection dog was no longer used during the week in searches.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It said drugs were being thrown over prison walls and that this &ldquo;continues to be a huge cause for concern&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report also said there had been &ldquo;a substantial increase&rdquo; in the number of prisoners requesting protection on arrival.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This can be a significant percentage of the prison population on any given day,&rdquo; it said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This continues to place a massive strain on the prison&rsquo;s resources, and can be a logistical nightmare.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/watchdog-warns-of-overcrowding-burden-at-prison-347853.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/watchdog-warns-of-overcrowding-burden-at-prison-347853.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-13 11:06:36',NULL,'watchdog-warns-of-overcrowding-‘burden’-at-prison'),(1210,'Minister to proceed with plan to criminalise sex buyers','<p>\r\n	Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald is to proceed with plans to criminalise people who pay for sex, despite calls by Amnesty International for all aspects of sex work to be decriminalised.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, a spokesman for the minister did point out the forthcoming Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill would be &ldquo;substantially discussed&rdquo; in the Oireachtas.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a statement to the Irish Examiner, the spokesman said Ms Fitzgerald expected &ldquo;all aspects of the debate&rdquo; would be considered when the bill is introduced in the autumn. The department&rsquo;s position, which also involves the criminalisation of those selling sex, has been welcomed by Ruhama, an organisation working with women affected by prostitution.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last Monday, Amnesty International voted for the decriminalisation of sex work, or prostitution &mdash; including those who buy sex.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The step was taken by up to 500 delegates who attended Amnesty International&rsquo;s decision-making forum, the International Council Meeting, which was held in Dublin. The delegates adopted a resolution authorising the International Board of the human rights group to develop and adopt a policy on the issue.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Amnesty said the passing of the resolution was taken &ldquo;to protect the human rights of sex workers&rdquo;. In a statement it said: &ldquo;The resolution recommends that Amnesty International develop a policy that supports the full decriminalisation of all aspects of consensual sex work.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It said the move followed consultation over two years, which concluded decriminalisation was &ldquo;the best way to defend sex workers&rsquo; human rights and lessen the risk of abuse and violations&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Amnesty International said the consultation included sex worker groups; groups representing survivors of prostitution, and feminist and other women&rsquo;s right organisations. Asked would the decision be taken into account in relation to the forthcoming Sexual Offences Bill, the Department of Justice signalled its intent to proceed with criminalising those who buy sex.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The spokesman said: &ldquo;The proposals to criminalise the purchase of sexual services which will be included in the forthcoming Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill follow a consultation conducted by the Department of Justice and Equality in 2012 and a further consultation by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, the report from which recommended criminalising the purchase of sexual services (June 2013).&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He added: &ldquo;The proposals are also in line with a Council of Europe report which concluded that criminalising the purchase of sexual services is the most effective tool for preventing and combating trafficking in human beings (March 2014).&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said the proposals raised a wide spectrum of issues, which would be &ldquo;substantially discussed&rdquo; in the Oireachtas. &ldquo;The minister expects that all aspects of the debate will be considered in the autumn,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sarah Benson, Ruhama CEO, said: &ldquo;We strongly welcome that and commend the minister for continuing with legislation that will criminalise the purchase of sex, which is based on strong evidence and a very robust process.&rdquo; She said Ruhama was &ldquo;saddened&rdquo; by the approach taken by Amnesty, which she said &ldquo;didn&rsquo;t listen to numerous women&rsquo;s organisations and sex survivor groups from across the world who opposed full decriminalisation of the sex trade&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	www.amnesty.org ; www.ruhama.ie</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/minister-to-proceed-with-plan-to-criminalise-sex-buyers-348090.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/minister-to-proceed-with-plan-to-criminalise-sex-buyers-348090.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-14 09:18:19',NULL,'minister-to-proceed-with-plan-to-criminalise-sex-buyers'),(1211,'Social care workers in strike threat over €7.8m owed by HSE','<p>\r\n	Social care workers who care for people with serious disabilities are considering an all-out strike over an outstanding bill of &euro;7.8m owed by the HSE in unpaid wages.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The 400 Brothers of Charity and Ability West staff, who are based in Galway and Roscommon have been involved in protracted talks with the HSE through the Labour Relations Commission (LRC).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The workers claim they are owed backdated &#39;twilight&#39; payments going back a decade to 2004, amounting to &euro;7.8m.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Yet despite workers accepting two recommendations from the LRC, including one which would cut the back pay to just three years, a commitment to pay the monies has still not been provided.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The latest recommendation accepted by staff last month would have seen workers&#39; backpay reduced from 10 years to three, with the new amount paid out in two tranches.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Despite this Padraig Mulligan, assistant general secretary of the Impact union, said he received confirmation this week that the HSE now wanted to bring the matter to the Department of Health.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said workers had now been left with no option but industrial action.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Everyone accepts that the money is owed but we have still made no headway. We&#39;ve acted in good faith at all times and accepted the LRC undertaking but the HSE has failed to follow through at any stage.&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Mulligan said staff were &quot;seething with anger&quot; that the latest recommendation was not being implemented.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;There is no way out of industrial action now. We&#39;ll be meeting staff to discuss what this will entail. People are so angry with how they have been treated, the workers have done everything they can to avoid taking this action but it seems the only thing the HSE understands is industrial action,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Mulligan said he believed the workers could opt for full strike action.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;That is on the cards because of the sense of anger out there. This is not going to be minor, we are looking at effective, serious industrial action,&quot; he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The issue relates to Twilight Premium Time payments, which was introduced by the HSE in 2004 and allowed time and one-sixth extra payments for working between 6pm and midnight. This later changed to between 8pm and midnight.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Impact and Siptu took a case to the Labour Court in 2010 which ruled the monies must be paid.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The issue has now come before the LRC on a number of occasions. Earlier this year the HSE agreed that it would provide the additional wages going forward, but claimed it did not have the funds to cover the outstanding wages owed to the Galway and Roscommon staff since 2004.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokesperson for the HSE said it had agreed to pay the money from January 2015 but said there was &quot;no agreement&quot; in relation to arrears. It could make no further comment as the matter was before the LRC.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/social-care-workers-in-strike-threat-over-78m-owed-by-hse-31450797.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/social-care-workers-in-strike-threat-over-78m-owed-by-hse-31450797.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-14 09:19:49',NULL,'social-care-workers-in-strike-threat-over-€78m-owed-by-hse'),(1212,'Efforts under way to fund college place for asylum seeker Anna','<p>\r\n	Education Minister Jan O&#39;Sullivan is involved in efforts to find ways to fund a college education for asylum seeker Anna Kern, who notched up 575 points in her Leaving Certificate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Kern, who came from the Ukraine with her mother two years ago, wants to study physiotherapy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But, under existing rules, she is not able to access State support such as grants and the &quot;free&quot; fees scheme. Anna lives in Direct Provision accommodation in Knocknasheen, Co Limerick with her mother, who is not permitted to work.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She attended Col&aacute;iste Nano Nagle, Limerick, whose principal Marion Cummins claimed the Government was abandoning her.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The minister said that several avenues were being explored, such as college funds that help students in need.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We have been making enquiries,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is understood that another option being explored is the possibility of a philanthropic donation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The minister met Ms Kern last week and spoke to her again last night.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms O&#39;Sullivan will announce a scheme to support asylum seekers in third-level education soon, but even that scheme would be of no benefit to Anna, as it will be restricted to asylum seekers who have already spent five years in the Irish education system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/education/exams/efforts-under-way-to-fund-college-place-for-asylum-seeker-anna-31450668.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/education/exams/efforts-under-way-to-fund-college-place-for-asylum-seeker-anna-31450668.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-14 09:24:05',NULL,'efforts-under-way-to-fund-college-place-for-asylum-seeker-anna'),(1213,'Homeless to get 50% of city social housing until next year','<p>\r\n	More than 534 homeless and vulnerable received Dublin homes in last six months</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At least half of all social housing available in Dublin city and county is to be allocated to homeless people until the end of next January in an attempt to ease the ongoing crisis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly has issued a new order to Dublin local authorities to designate at least 50 per cent of their vacant housing to homeless and &ldquo;vulnerable&rdquo; people, ahead of general applicants on the housing waiting list, for the next six months.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Kelly had issued a similar directive last January as part of a &euro;25 million plan to tackle the issue, following the death of homeless man Jonathan Corrie near Leinster House.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The temporary change in housing allocations in the four Dublin local authorities was one of 20 measures announced in January, and was due to last for six months. The Ministerial direction expired last month and Mr Kelly has now ordered the policy be implemented again given the ongoing and worsening problem of homelessness.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Vulnerable households</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are more than 40,000 households on the waiting lists of the four Dublin local authorities. In the six months to the end of June, they had made 997 homes available, of which 534, about 54 per cent, were allocated to homeless and vulnerable households. The largest allocation was in Dublin city where some 330 homeless families and individuals were housed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Up to last year, 10 per cent of social housing was allocated to homeless individuals or families in Dublin city and 4-6 per cent in the other three local authority areas.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Ministerial direction requires 50 per cent of homes be allocated to those on the waiting lists who also fall into one of three categories of need: those who are homeless and have been living in an institution or emergency accommodation; households who need housing because of a family member&rsquo;s disability; and people in a current housing situation deemed &ldquo;unsuitable&rdquo; on exceptional medical or compassionate grounds, such as households where there has been domestic violence or young people leaving State care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/homeless-to-get-50-of-city-social-housing-until-next-year-1.2316367\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/homeless-to-get-50-of-city-social-housing-until-next-year-1.2316367</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-14 09:25:45',NULL,'homeless-to-get-50%-of-city-social-housing-until-next-year'),(1214,'ISPCC backs age restrictions for videos','<p>\r\n	The ISPCC has welcomed a UK scheme to put age restrictions on music videos and called for other countries to adopt similar measures.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The British Board of Film Classification pilot scheme saw videos from UK singers like Ellie Goulding and Dizzee Rascal rated during a pilot scheme to rate and place age restrictions on online music videos.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sony Music UK, Warner Brothers UK and Universal Music UK co-operated with the board and online platforms YouTube and Vevo to develop the government-backed ratings system, which is now to be made permanent and extended to independent music labels.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, US singers such as Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and Robin Thicke have come under fire for the sexual and violent content of their videos, but so far the age restrictions are limited to UK singers and bands.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We would welcome any country adopting such a system,&rdquo; ISPCC spokeswoman Mary Nicholson said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very obvious that kids and other young people are currently being exposed to far too much explicit online material and all these moves are a step in the right direct ion. However, it will be interesting to see how this will work in practice,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Irish charity, which has previously warned of the effects of graphic and sexualised online material on children and teens, also warned that parents still need to monitor their children&rsquo;s viewing habits.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;What is obvious is that it&rsquo;s far too easy for young children to access overly sexualised content,&rdquo; Ms Nicholson said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Age guides are a big help for parents, but you still need to monitor your children&rsquo;s viewing. There&rsquo;s no one answer to this but it is good to see corporates, governments and parents working together,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Of 132 music videos in the trial, 56 were suitable for over 12s while 53 were 15s. Only Dizzee Rascal&rsquo;s Couple Of Stacks, which has a horror-movie themed video with graphic depictions of dismemberment and torture, was deemed 18s.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ellie Goulding&rsquo;s video for Love Me Like You Do, which was featured on the soundtrack of the 50 Shades of Grey movie and includes clips of sex scenes, received a 15s rating.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Videos uploaded to YouTube by UK singers and bands that have been given a 15 or 18 certificate won&rsquo;t load automatically and the rating will be displayed on the video&rsquo;s information.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We&rsquo;re very happy to support the British Board of Film Classification in this endeavour,&rdquo; Youtube spokeswoman Thea O&rsquo;Hear said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The pilot is now being made permanent and being rolled out to include a six month pilot for independent labels,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Although the scheme only applies to UK performers, Ms O&rsquo;Hear was keen to stress that all clips from any country, including music videos, fall under YouTube&rsquo;s community guidelines. Any video flagged by a user as having inappropriate content is reviewed and is subject to Youtube&rsquo;s own rules on content.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/ispcc-backs-age-restrictions-for-videos-348981.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/ispcc-backs-age-restrictions-for-videos-348981.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-19 08:51:25',NULL,'ispcc-backs-age-restrictions-for-videos'),(1215,'Family of missing Fiona Sinnott begin own private dig in search','<p>\r\n	Separate digs started for Fiona and Ciara Breen after fresh tip-offs in unsolved cases</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Separate searches are under way for the remains of two young women who vanished exactly a year apart in the 1990s.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The disappearances of Fiona Sinnott and Ciara Breen have remained unsolved for two decades but their families believe they are now closer than ever to gaining closure.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Cold-case detectives began combing 16 acres of marshland near Dundalk, Co Louth, yesterday looking for Ms Breen, who was 17 when she disappeared in February 1997.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Irish Independent can reveal that the family of Ms Sinnott have begun their own private dig in Co Wexford.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She has been missing from the home she shared with her then 11-month-old daughter in Ballyhitt in February 1998.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;People are coming to us all the time with bits and pieces of information, we are going on every lead now, not just one lead, we&#39;ve got three prime places that we have to look into,&quot; said Fiona&#39;s uncle Eugene.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Although there are many similarities between the cases, garda&iacute; are satisfied that there is no connection and have two different suspects in mind.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They are just two of Ireland&#39;s seven missing women who disappeared in an area that became known as the &#39;Vanishing Triangle,&#39; between 1993 and 1998.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Yesterday, garda divers were joined by forensic archaeologists and the Garda Tactical Team at Balmor&#39;s Bog near Dundalk after getting a &quot;serious lead&quot; in Ms Breen&#39;s case.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Lead investigator Detective Pat Marry said they were concentrating their efforts on a specific area of the sprawling marsh.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;As you can see, we are treating this very seriously. It is a definite line of inquiry.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It is a mammoth task given the size of the search area but at the moment we are looking at specific areas,&quot; he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Another senior source said they were &quot;quietly confident&quot; that the search would turn something up.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The breakthrough follows a media appeal late last year that resulted in two anonymous letters with information being sent to garda&iacute;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last April, a man in his 50s was arrested and questioned but later released without charge.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meanwhile, speaking exclusively to the Irish Independent, the family of Fiona Sinnott, who was 19 when she disappeared, said they had also now been approached by &quot;reliable sources&quot; with new information.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Although she disappeared in 1998, it wasn&#39;t until 2005 that the investigation was upgraded to a full murder inquiry.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fiona&#39;s father Pat died 11 years ago aged 59, a &quot;broken-hearted&quot; man ,having waited at the gate of his house every single evening since February 9, 1998, for his youngest child to return home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Now one of three sites being searched in the south-east is emerging as the strongest possibility of solving the mystery.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The family, with the assistance of Trace Missing Persons Ireland, began digging in recent weeks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Specially trained cadaver dogs are being used, as are diggers that were lent to the family by a local firm. Members of An Garda S&iacute;och&aacute;na have also visited the area.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fiona had been out with friends in her local pub, Butler&#39;s in Broadway, on the night she vanished.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garda&iacute; identified it as the last place she was seen alive.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We think something drastic happened that night, that Fiona left the pub, something drastic,&quot; her sister Diane said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said that Fiona rang her brother &quot;pleading&quot; for him to go to her that night.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It was like as if she was in fear. He feels guilty, that if he went down that night things would be different,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A garda spokesperson said that &quot;all potential avenues are being determinedly and actively pursued&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said they are carrying out a &quot;thorough evaluation of the information already in our possession from the investigation to date since 1998 and with the possible leads from our ongoing inquiries&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/revealed-family-of-missing-fiona-sinnott-begin-own-private-dig-in-search-31462114.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/revealed-family-of-missing-fiona-sinnott-begin-own-private-dig-in-search-31462114.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-19 08:53:53',NULL,'family-of-missing-fiona-sinnott-begin-own-private-dig-in-search'),(1216,'Urinary incontinence: The silent suffering that women endure','<p>\r\n	Urinary incontinence in women is more common than hayfever - why aren&#39;t we talking about it?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One of the best things about having a health column, is getting to shine a light on stuff that I know from my day job happens to lots of people, but doesn&#39;t get aired much in the public domain.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One such thing is urinary incontinence, and specifically this week I&#39;m talking about female urinary incontinence. It&#39;s not a sexy subject but up to a third of younger women have had issues with it and over half of Irish adult women overall suffer from some degree of it. And here&#39;s the thing: they don&#39;t talk about it - to anyone.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They don&#39;t talk about it, which means they never seek help for it. So these women, are attempting to manage the condition themselves - as they think it&#39;s some kind of normal side-effect of ageing that they have to put up with - using pads and planning their wardrobe and their day around it. Dark clothes and trying always to be near a toilet, have become a way of life for many women. And it doesn&#39;t have to be that way.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There&#39;s two kinds of urinary incontinence (the involuntary leakage of urine). Stress incontinence occurs accidentally when you laugh or sneeze or cough or run and jump or dance. Urge incontinence occurs when you know you need to go to the toilet but you simply can&#39;t make it - it can happen literally in the bathroom, beside the toilet. There&#39;s also mixed incontinence where some people have a bit of both.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Stress incontinence is caused by a weak pelvic floor and is hugely common in women, particularly after child birth - although it&#39;s a myth that women don&#39;t get it unless they&#39;ve had children, as many do. And it&#39;s the condition I&#39;m going to focus on, as it seems to be the one that women just accept as their lot in life. They often give up exercise as a result, as they feel their pelvic floors simply can&#39;t cope with jogging or Zumba.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&#39;Pelvic floor exercises&#39; are often glibly prescribed by doctors - but they&#39;re quite hard to do (you clench and hold the muscles that you would need to use to stop yourself from weeing - but not while doing a wee) and need to be done ridiculously often, to have any effect and even then it&#39;s still only a marginal benefit at best. So pelvic floor neuromuscular stimulation is what&#39;s really needed. On the continent, women are routinely prescribed a neuromuscular stimulator, for use on their pelvic floors, after childbirth - not so here. We&#39;re expected to put up and shut up about this issue.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But you can access the use of a stimulator here. You can buy one. You can get use of one through a physio. Or there&#39;s an Irish company that provides a rental option - which is not a bad idea, as studies show that use for eight to twelve weeks, provides long-term, lasting benefit in the majority of cases. And before you freak out, it&#39;s non-invasive! No vaginal probes, just a wrap-around gadget that passes a current across your pelvic floor, effectively contracting it, in a way you simply can&#39;t with clenching alone!</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If that isn&#39;t enough to sort you out, there are also tablets available for both stress and urge IC. And if all else fails, there is, of course surgery. However, most Irish women never use a neuromuscular stimulator. They simply hide or ignore the problem putting up with it until it gets so bad, they choose surgery in desperation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In one recent study, Irish women with urinary incontinence said they were embarrassed and ashamed by the condition. The majority of them said their social lives were affected by it and a third of them said their sex lives were affected. Most of them appeared to think there was nothing that could be done. Long past time to challenge that idea.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/health-features/urinary-incontinence-the-silent-suffering-that-women-endure-31452410.html\">http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/health-features/urinary-incontinence-the-silent-suffering-that-women-endure-31452410.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-19 08:56:22',NULL,'urinary-incontinence-the-silent-suffering-that-women-endure'),(1217,'Facebook overkill: How to permanently delete your account','<p>\r\n	Facebook can be a great tool for staying in touch with friends and family but, for some people, the constant bombardment of updates, messages, likes, pokes and advertisements can all become a bit overwhelming.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ongoing questions over user Facebook&#39;s privacy practices &ndash; including a class action lawsuit in Austria involving 25,000 users that claim Facebook illegally tracked users&rsquo; browsing habits via software installed on other web pages, and participated in &ldquo;Prism&rdquo;, the American spy programme &ndash; are also making some people reconsider their membership of the social network.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If you&#39;ve had enough and want to get rid of your account, you have two options. You can either deactivate your account, which means your profile disappears from the social network but all the information in your account is saved on Facebook&#39;s servers in case you decide to go back, or you can permanently delete your account, which means all your data is removed and you will not be able to regain access.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Depending on whether or not you think you might want to return, here&#39;s what you need to do:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	How to deactivate your account</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Deactivating your account temporarily means you have the option to return to Facebook whenever you want.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	1. Click the downward arrow at the top right of any Facebook page</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	2. Select &quot;Settings&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	3. Click &quot;Security&quot; in the left column</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	4. Choose &quot;Deactivate your account&quot;, then follow the steps to confirm</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If you deactivate your account your profile won&rsquo;t be visible to other people on Facebook and people won&rsquo;t be able to search for you, but some information, such as messages you sent to friends, may still be visible to others.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If decide you&#39;d like to go back to Facebook, you can reactivate your account at any time by logging in with your email and password. Your profile will be restored in its entirety.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	How to permanently delete your account</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If you don&#39;t think you&#39;ll use Facebook again, you can request to have your account permanently deleted. However, after an account has been deleted it won&#39;t be possible to reactivate your account or retrieve anything you&#39;ve shared on your profile.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Before you do this, you may want to download a copy of your information from Facebook:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	1. Click the downward arrow at the top right of any Facebook page</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	2. Select &quot;Settings&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	3. Click on the link at the bottom of the main menu that says &ldquo;Download a copy of your Facebook data&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Then you need to go to https://www.facebook.com/help/delete_account, click on &quot;Delete my account&quot;, then follow the steps to confirm.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It may take up to 90 days for Facebook to delete all of the things you&#39;ve posted, like your photos, status updates or other data stored in backup systems. While Facebook is deleting this information, it is inaccessible to other people using the social network.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some of the things you do on Facebook aren&rsquo;t stored in your account. For example, a friend may still have messages from you in their inbox. That information will remain even after you delete your account, so you will need to contact the recipients of you want it removed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/business/technology/facebook-overkill-how-to-permanently-delete-your-account-31464899.html\">http://www.independent.ie/business/technology/facebook-overkill-how-to-permanently-delete-your-account-31464899.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-21 10:02:21',NULL,'facebook-overkill-how-to-permanently-delete-your-account'),(1218,'Young drivers are failing \'morning after\' spot checks','<p>\r\n	Novice drivers are failing random breath checks after even moderate drinking the night before</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A disturbing number of young people are being caught drink-driving on the morning after the night before, the Sunday Independent can reveal.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Binge-drinking and the new lower legal limits for inexperienced drivers mean hundreds of under-25s are at risk of picking up potentially life-changing convictions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Alcohol awareness and road safety officials say the trend is a wake-up call not only for young drivers but for all road users.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We&#39;ve had people who thought they were being good and took a taxi home and drank water for the last hour, but they&#39;re still being caught over the limit at 7.30am next morning,&quot; said AA Ireland spokesman Conor Faughnan.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last year, gardai conducted 397,513 breathalyser tests during more than 78,000 random spot checks, resulting in 7,697 charges for drink-driving offences.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Up to the end of June this year 3,679 motorists were charged with drink-driving offences after 39,573 spot checks were mounted and 175,576 breath tests were conducted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garry O&#39;Rourke, of Quote Devil insurance, said he fields two dozen calls a week from young people aged 18 to 25 who have endorsements for drink- driving offences.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In most cases they have been breathalysed on the morning after a heavy drinking session.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They are desperate to get back on the road, but find few insurance companies are willing to cover them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I always have a chat and ask them what happened, and it could be typically just nipping to the shop at 10am,&quot; said Mr O&#39;Rourke.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Since October 2011, in- experienced drivers have been subject to a &quot;virtual zero&quot; blood alcohol content (BAC) of 20mgs of alcohol per 100ml of blood.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Other motorists, aside from professional drivers, are subject to new lower BAC limits of 50mgs per 100mls, down from the previous legal level of 80mgs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Now even one pint of beer or a small glass of wine can put drivers over the legal limit, depending on their size, the amount of food they have consumed and other factors.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Even though gardai are arresting some young drivers outside pubs and clubs, they are more likely to be breathalysed the following morning in random spot checks between 8am and 10am, said Mr O&#39;Rourke.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;They&#39;re getting caught unawares,&quot; he said. &quot;I think the anti-drink-driving ads have drilled it into people&#39;s heads. But they&#39;re getting caught when they don&#39;t think they&#39;ll get caught.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In many cases, the drivers genuinely do not believe they are drunk or are breaking the law; they are simply driving to the shops or to work the following morning while not realising they are still over the limit.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	What many drivers do not realise is that they can still be drunk in the morning, even after a night&#39;s sleep, said Mr Faughnan.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;If you wake up in the morning and you&#39;re hungover, there&#39;s a reason. Legally, you&#39;re still drunk,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While AA Ireland would prefer that gardai conducted random breath tests at night when there are more likely to be drunk drivers on the road, and statistically more fatal road accidents occur, Mr Faughnan said drivers should be aware that if they drink the night before, &quot;don&#39;t expect to be able to use your car the next day&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It typically takes an hour to process one unit of alcohol, which is the equivalent of about half-a-pint of standard beer or a small glass of wine at 12.5pc alcohol volume.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Even the alcohol in a moderate two pints would take four hours to clear out of the bloodstream.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The problem, however, is that many young people are not drinking moderately, and the 18 to 24 age group has the highest level of alcohol dependency and binge-drinking in Ireland, said Alcohol Action Ireland spokesman Conor Cullen.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;In that age group, the Health Research Board found that 28pc of young men and 22pc of young women consume their weekly low-risk guidelines - 17 standard drinks for men and 11 for women - in just one sitting,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Not only are young people drinking more than their older counterparts, they are less able to tolerate alcohol, more likely to underestimate their level of intoxication and more likely to engage in risk-taking, such as driving over the limit.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Add inexperience behind the wheel and it is a deadly combination, said Mr Cullen.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It&#39;s clear that the younger a drink-driver is, the greater their risk of being involved in road traffic collisions than their older, more experienced counterparts,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Road Safety Authority spokesman Brian Farrell said all drivers - not only the young who are subject to lower blood-alcohol thresholds - should be aware that the tighter restrictions mean everyone who drives after drinking the night before could be over the limit.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	That is the case even if they would never consider driving immediately after drinking.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;People may be doing the right thing the night before and then unwittingly be stopped the next day,&quot; said Mr Cullen.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/young-drivers-are-failing-morning-after-spot-checks-31454268.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/young-drivers-are-failing-morning-after-spot-checks-31454268.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-21 10:15:04',NULL,'young-drivers-are-failing-morning-after-spot-checks'),(1219,'UK Police seek man in Ireland jersey over alleged sexual assault','<p>\r\n	CCTV stills of a man in an Ireland jersey have been released as part of an investigation into the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Police in the UK have made the pictures public in an effort to locate the man, and speak to him in connection with the incident.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An investigation was launched following the incident which is reported to have occurred on a bus in Greenwich on Thursday, April 23 at approximately 630pm.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The 17-year-old girl was travelling on the 177 bus between Woolwich New Road and Central Way in Thamesmead at the time, according to Metropolitan Police.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The suspect is described as a white man, medium build, aged about 30 to 40 years of age, with short dark hair.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Officers have released the attached CCTV images of the man they would like to speak to.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Anyone with information to contact DC Joanne O&#39;Connor on 07795 266293 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting reference 177872.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/uk-police-seek-man-in-ireland-jersey-over-alleged-sexual-assault-31467513.html\">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/uk-police-seek-man-in-ireland-jersey-over-alleged-sexual-assault-31467513.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-21 10:16:28',NULL,'uk-police-seek-man-in-ireland-jersey-over-alleged-sexual-assault'),(1220,'Government spends €32k a year for every homeless person','<p>\r\n	The Government is spending at least &euro;32,000 a year for every homeless person.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Department of the Environment and local authorities will spend around &euro;70m on hotel rooms and emergency accommodation for homeless people this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An estimated &euro;50m will be spent buying houses which will be used to house families who currently do not have a home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	These figures do not include the amount of funding spent on homelessness by the Department of Social Protection and the HSE, which would increase the amount spent per person.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are almost 4,600 homeless people seeking accommodation across the country, according to the most recently available figures.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Environment Minister Alan Kelly has ordered a review of how homeless charities spend State funding, which is due to begin shortly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The review will seek to determine if funding allocations are being spent in the right areas and resources are being maximised in an attempt to address the escalating homeless crisis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The agencies are a very important part of tackling the problem but there is quite a lot of them and there is a huge amount of money being spent, so we want to make sure it is being well spent,&quot; a senior government source said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It is very complex, but with the amount of money being spent you could house everyone in Ballsbridge,&quot; the source added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The increasing number of homeless people forced to live in emergency accommodation and hotels is becoming a huge problem for the Government, especially the Labour Party.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Government has pledged major investment in social housing in the coming months and it is hoping that this will go some way to addressing the problem in the run-up to the general election.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meanwhile, it has also emerged that some charities are not drawing down funding available to them from the Housing Finance Agency. The agency has funding which it can lend to homeless charities to rent or buy social housing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Just five out of the 13 approved charities have applied for funding.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It was reported yesterday that two of the country&#39;s biggest charities, Focus Ireland and the Peter McVerry Trust, have not applied for funding.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/government-spends-32k-a-year-for-every-homeless-person-31472649.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/government-spends-32k-a-year-for-every-homeless-person-31472649.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-24 10:29:25',NULL,'government-spends-€32k-a-year-for-every-homeless-person'),(1221,'Top psychologist: Don’t just ‘dump and run’ if your child is very upset on the first day of school','<p>\r\n	Don&rsquo;t just &lsquo;dump and run&rsquo; if your child is very upset on their first day at school, advises leading psychologist Allison Keating.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are some children for whom going to school for the first time is dreadfully upsetting, the expert pointed out.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, she has some tips for parents on how to handle the situation if it happens.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If they are really bawling crying, and they don&rsquo;t want you to leave, I would think bend down to their level, give them a hug and say to them &lsquo;look I can see you are very upset, and I know it&rsquo;s a bit hard for you. I am going to be back in a few hours and you and I will go to the playground&rsquo;, or whatever.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Give them a big hug. Then bring the teacher over and kind of hand over through the teacher,&rdquo; said Ms Keating.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It&rsquo;s setting very clear boundaries, she pointed out.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	For those parents who are bringing kids to school for their first day, the advice is don&rsquo;t hype it up too much.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a fine balance between excited, but not to tip it over the edge, because it can become a little bit overwhelming for the kids,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Get up, say &lsquo;this is your special day&rsquo;, have breakfast, get dressed, arrive and bring them in. As it&rsquo;s the first day, they will let you in to the classroom.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Tell them mummy or daddy will be back in an hour or two.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Very clearly tell them you are dropping them in, but you will be back. For a lot of children, just doing that really gives them a sense of security,&rdquo; the psychologist said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She also had some tips for parents who are dealing with a child who is already feeling anxious in the weeks before starting school.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;For a child who is anxious, I would sit down with the child when they are playing or drawing &ndash; drawing being the best modus operandi for a four or five year old &ndash; and just get them to draw out how they feel about going to school,&rdquo; said Ms Keating, who is a psychologist with the BWell clinic in Malahide.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They are not going to draw it exactly for you, but you will get a gist of how they are feeling about it and I think it&rsquo;s about letting the child verbalise their fears.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I think sometimes parents think if you talk about it, it&rsquo;s going to make it worse, you are giving air time to the fear, but you are actually not,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;A child does not have the verbal skills or the emotional maturity to understand really what it is they are feeling. But if they can play it out through their dolls, or their toys, or draw it, this allows them to express their feelings.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Rather than saying &lsquo;oh you have nothing to worry about, you&rsquo;ll be fine&rsquo;, you say something like &lsquo;okay you are worried about that. I can see that must be hard for you&rsquo;,&rdquo; she explained.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If you allow that child to express those anxieties, at an emotional level they have got it out of their system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;You are basically saying, &lsquo;I can see that you are scared.&rsquo; So you are acknowledging it, and then you would say, &lsquo;well what are you scared about?&rsquo; Then &lsquo;that must be scary for you.&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;You are not trying to fix it, but you are hearing what their specific fears are,&rdquo; she pointed out.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meanwhile, if parents themselves are feeling stressed about their children starting school, the best advice is to talk to another adult about it &ndash; whether it be a friend or partner,&nbsp; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children are massively intuitive and they pick up on the parents&rsquo; fears, she pointed out.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Keating advised parents to be mindful of the language that they use.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Just be aware not to talk about school in a negative way. They are taking their lead from you.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/life/family/parenting/top-psychologist-dont-just-dump-and-run-if-your-child-is-very-upset-on-the-first-day-of-school-31464913.html\">http://www.independent.ie/life/family/parenting/top-psychologist-dont-just-dump-and-run-if-your-child-is-very-upset-on-the-first-day-of-school-31464913.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-24 10:31:43',NULL,'top-psychologist-don’t-just-‘dump-and-run’-if-your-child-is-very-upset-on-the-first-day-of-school'),(1222,'Malaysia finds 24 more bodies of human trafficking victims','<p>\r\n	Malaysian police say they have found another 24 bodies of suspected human trafficking victims in jungles bordering Thailand.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Authorities in May said they discovered 139 suspected graves in abandoned jungle camps in northern Perlis state, a remote area bordering Thailand that trafficking syndicates used as a transit point.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Most were believed to be from Burma&#39;s persecuted Rohingya minority and impoverished migrants from Bangladesh.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Another 24 bodies have been discovered this week, in addition to 106 bodies found earlier, police said. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examinations, they added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The discoveries in northern Malaysia followed similar revelations earlier in May in Thailand, where police unearthed 36 bodies from shallow graves in seven abandoned camps on the Thai side of the border.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The discoveries have exposed hidden networks of jungle camps run by human smugglers, who have for years held countless desperate people captive while extorting ransoms from their families.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Most of the victims were part of a wave of people who fled their homelands to reach countries such as Malaysia, where they hoped to find work or live freely.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Human rights groups and activists say the area along the Thai-Malaysia border has been used for years to smuggle migrants and refugees, including Rohingya Muslims.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In many cases, they pay human smugglers thousands of pounds for passage but are instead held for weeks or months while traffickers extort more money from their families.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Rights groups say some have been beaten to death, and the Associated Press has documented other cases in which people have been enslaved on fishing boats.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/world-news/malaysia-finds-24-more-bodies-of-human-trafficking-victims-31471220.html\">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/malaysia-finds-24-more-bodies-of-human-trafficking-victims-31471220.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-24 10:35:46',NULL,'malaysia-finds-24-more-bodies-of-human-trafficking-victims'),(1223,'IS has killed at least 30 people for sodomy, UN told','<p>\r\n	Council told Assad government accused all dissidents of being gay during uprising</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Islamic State has claimed responsibility for killing at least 30 people for sodomy, the head of an international gay rights organisation has told the first UN security council meeting in New York to focus on violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s about time, 70 years after the creation of the UN, that the fate of LGBT persons who fear for their lives around the world is taking centre stage,&rdquo; said the US ambassador, Samantha Power, who organised the meeting with Chile&rsquo;s UN envoy. &ldquo;This represents a small but historic step.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Diplomats said two of the 15 council members, Chad and Angola, had not attended the informal closed meeting.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Jessica Stern, the executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, told the council that courts established by Isis in Iraq and Syria claimed to have punished sodomy with stoning, firing squads and beheadings and by pushing men from tall buildings.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fear of the extremist group, which controls about a third of Syria and Iraq, was fuelling violence by others against LGBT individuals, she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Subhi Nahas, a gay refugee from the Syrian city of Idlib, told the council that president Bashar al-Assad&rsquo;s government &ldquo;launched a campaign accusing all dissidents of being homosexuals&rdquo; when the country&rsquo;s uprising started in 2011.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Soon afterwards gay hangouts were raided and many people were arrested and tortured. &ldquo;Some were never heard from again,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When the al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front took Idlib in 2012, he said, its militants announced &ldquo;they would cleanse the town of those involved in sodomy&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Arrests and killings of accused homosexual people followed. In 2014 when Isis took the city, the violence worsened, he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;At the executions hundreds of townspeople, including children, cheered jubilantly as at a wedding,&rdquo; Nahas said. &ldquo;If a victim did not die after being hurled off a building, the townspeople stoned him to death. This was to be my fate, too.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He was able to escape to Lebanon, then to Turkey, where he was threatened by a former schoolfriend from Idlib who had joined Isis. Finally he reached the US.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Stern stressed that persecution of LGBT people in Iraq and Syria began long before the emergence of Isis, and called for UN action to relocate LGBT persons most in need and to bring the gay community into broader human rights and humanitarian initiatives.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/is-has-killed-at-least-30-people-for-sodomy-un-told-1.2328016\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/is-has-killed-at-least-30-people-for-sodomy-un-told-1.2328016</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-25 13:03:44',NULL,'is-has-killed-at-least-30-people-for-sodomy-un-told'),(1224,'Children ‘still being admitted’ to adult psychiatric facilities','<p>\r\n	Mental Health Commission says Government pledge to end practice has not been met</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Government has not delivered on promises to stop admitting children to adult psychiatric facilities, according to an umbrella group for mental health services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Despite recommendations from the Mental Health Commission four years ago to end the practice as soon as possible, a recent report by the same body found one in five minors being treated for psychiatric conditions are still being entered into adult units.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking at the launch of the Mental Health Reform&rsquo;s pre-budget campaign; which calls for the allocation of an extra &euro;35 million for community mental health services next year, director Dr Shari McDaid said it was a concern that the Government&rsquo;s pre-election pledged from 2011 remains unfulfilled.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is a concern that they haven&rsquo;t been able to deliver on the commitment that children aren&rsquo;t inappropriately placed on adult wards,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They should be in age-appropriate care&hellip; that should be sorted out as a matter of urgency. It&rsquo;s not acceptable that we&rsquo;re still facing that situation this year.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Although staffing levels in the mental health sector have increased marginally since 2011, they remain 22 per cent below the commission&rsquo;s recommended guidelines which is putting pressure on services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I think the [budget] allocations are there, but the problem is they haven&rsquo;t been able to recruit the staff in the posts. If you have a budget but you can&rsquo;t spend it, it doesn&rsquo;t really materialise into services,&rdquo; said Dr McDaid.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She also wants to see funding provided for a national stigma reduction campaign in relation to mental health issues, along with the restoration of the Back to Work Allowance to support people with mental health disabilities who are seeking to re-enter employment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to statements released by the organisation, which represents over 50 groups working in the sector nationwide, some service users have considered self-harming as a means to expedite their treatment in hospital emergency departments.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;A&amp;E was a horrible experience. I&rsquo;m bipolar and I&rsquo;ve had to go to A&amp;E at times when I&rsquo;ve been on a high and it has taken [up to] 11 hours to be seen,&rdquo; said one anonymous individual.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I did actually think after the last time that if I had slit my wrists I would&rsquo;ve been seen quickly because I had a physical injury.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/children-still-being-admitted-to-adult-psychiatric-facilities-1.2328039\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/children-still-being-admitted-to-adult-psychiatric-facilities-1.2328039</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-25 13:05:16',NULL,'children-‘still-being-admitted’-to-adult-psychiatric-facilities'),(1225,'Gardaí issue e-fit in bid to identify man found dead in isolated wood','<p>\r\n	The identity of a man who was found dead in a Galway wood remains a mystery after an extensive garda investigation failed to find any answers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Detectives have issued a fresh appeal for assistance in identifying the man who was found dead in Rusheen Woods, near Barna, on September 27 last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While the death is not being treated as suspicious, garda&iacute; have been unable to ascertain the man&#39;s identity.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Officers contacted Dundee University where a facial reconstruction image was created. The man is described as being between 30 and 40 years of age. He had a broad strong build and was approximately six foot tall with black hair.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He was wearing a gold bracelet watch, Caravelle by Bulova and had a single silver key in his pocket along with a small amount of euro and sterling.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He was wearing a black leather jacket, blue jeans and white and blue &#39;Athletech&#39; runners and had a black belt with metal flower design studs across its length with a silver colour buckle. The remains were discovered by a man walking his dog.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Det Sgt Paudie O&#39;Shea said despite an extensive appeal for information they still knew very little about the deceased.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;This man had no identification and had nothing on him apart from a small amount of currency and a key. We carried out appeals in the local media and local churches but nobody came forward.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We believe he had to have been around the area for a while because where he was found is an isolated spot that is hard to get to,&quot; he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garda&iacute; believe that the remains may have lain in the woods for between six to eight weeks prior to their discovery. However, because of the warm weather at the time the timescale may be shorter.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;If we take it that it was eight weeks that would have been at the end of the Galway races. He may have come to Galway for that, we just don&#39;t know.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;But we do believe he had somewhere to stay in the country. He had a single key on him. Locksmiths in Galway told us this is a Yale lock at eye level,&quot; added Det Sgt O&#39;Shea.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fingerprint</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garda&iacute; renewed their appeal to hotels, bed and breakfasts and landlords and to residents in the Salthill, Knocknacarra, Rusheen Bay and Silverstrand areas.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Officers sent a DNA sample and a fingerprint from the deceased to Interpol but no match was found.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We have done a lot of work on this but unfortunately we have been getting nothing back. We would appeal to anyone who may think they know who this man is to contact us,&quot; added Det Sgt O&#39;Shea.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Anyone who can assist in identifying this male is asked to contact Salthill Garda Station on 091-514720, The Garda Confidential Telephone Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/garda-issue-efit-in-bid-to-identify-man-found-dead-in-isolated-wood-31475497.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/garda-issue-efit-in-bid-to-identify-man-found-dead-in-isolated-wood-31475497.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-25 13:08:37',NULL,'gardaã­-issue-e-fit-in-bid-to-identify-man-found-dead-in-isolated-wood'),(1226,'Delay to national child-risk register','<p>\r\n	Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, had planned to extend access to a national register of children with a Child Protection Plan to GPs, hospitals and the garda&iacute; in 2014, but has confirmed to the Irish Examiner that it will be the end of 2015 before the system is provided.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Child Notification Protection System (CPNS) will allow doctors in emergency departments, GPs and garda&iacute; to find out if a child has been deemed to be at risk of significant harm.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under this system they will be able to call a dedicated out-of-hours service to access the database.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tusla chief executive Gordon Jeyes told an Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children in July that the new register would be a major step forward.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;For example, we will able to say whether any given child is on the database of all children who are in the national child protection system,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;While that is a small step, culturally it is very significant for us. That system will be available through Harcourt Street to all garda&iacute; and all emergency medical services.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A social worker who spoke to the Irish Examiner on condition of anonymity said having a national register accessible to relevant agencies was &ldquo;extremely important from the point of view of protection of children&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If other professionals cannot access it, because it does not exist, there is no way of knowing if a child is known to the services. Currently, if a child moves from one HSE area to another medical staff or garda&iacute; would not know they were at risk and could send them on their way, when maybe they shouldn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The absence of such a system has been the subject of repeated criticism by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) in its inspections of child protection and welfare services around the country.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In Cork North Lee, HIQA found that a hard copy of the names of children in the system was given to garda&iacute; &mdash; risking an accidental leak.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In Co Kerry, an area manager wrote directly to garda&iacute; every time a child was placed on the CPNS, but the senior garda&iacute; who spoke to inspectors were unaware what children in their area were on it. HIQA warned that &ldquo;this could mean that key information may not be available to other professionals therefore affecting their decisions regarding risks outside of office hours and this issue is a national issue&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In Dublin North City, the system was not available on a 24-hour basis. HIQA said access to a 24-hour CPNS was a national issue that has been previously raised with Tusla and that addressing the problem would require a hi-tech system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In its Review of Adequacy 2013, Tusla said preliminary work had been conducted to examine the IT options for hosting the new CPNS database and that a new project manager was due to be appointed in early 2014 to develop the IT component for the CPNS.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tusla said the establishment of the CPNS across the health boards and later the HSE &ldquo;has been uneven both in terms of a consistent approach to listing children and in the provision of access to the CPNS for relevant services and agencies&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/delay-to-national-child-risk-register-350217.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/delay-to-national-child-risk-register-350217.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-26 08:36:03',NULL,'delay-to-national-child-risk-register'),(1227,'Jack and Jill charity to care for children up to six','<p>\r\n	Children&#39;s charity Jack and Jill will extend their care for sick children up to the age of six under a new pilot scheme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The charity, which currently provides home care for severely ill children up to the age of four, will be supported in the venture by KBC Bank.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The organisation will offer the pilot scheme to as many as 15 families, who are currently using its services, for six months next year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It will then collate this data and send it to the HSE, as the charity asks it to support &quot;a fully-fledged service for four to six-year-olds in Ireland&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It would cost the charity more than &euro;1m if it was to extend the new service to all of the families it cares for each year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Under the new pilot scheme, KBC Bank has committed to matching funds raised by its 1,000 employees and 15 retail hubs around the country,&quot; a spokesperson said yesterday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Saviours</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Jack and Jill tries to raise at least &euro;2.7m annually to cover its nursing costs. It is currently providing up to 64 hours of home care nursing per month to 300 families around the country at a cost of &euro;16 per hour.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One of the children who recently benefited from an extension in the age of care is Erika Cawley (5).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Her Jack and Jill nurse will now be funded by the HSE until she is six years old and her grandfather John O&#39;Meara described the nurses as &quot;saviours&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Erika was diagnosed with Dravet syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy, when she was younger. Erika&#39;s mother Lisa receives 40 hours of assistance per month. &quot;It affects all parts of her social interaction and life,&quot; her grandfather explained.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;They saved our lives. If it wasn&#39;t for them, we&#39;d still be up watching &#39;Dora&#39; and &#39;Crystal Kingdom&#39;, because Erika just sleeps for 20 minutes.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/jack-and-jill-charity-to-care-for-children-up-to-six-31478958.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/jack-and-jill-charity-to-care-for-children-up-to-six-31478958.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-26 08:39:39',NULL,'jack-and-jill-charity-to-care-for-children-up-to-six'),(1228,'Mother appeals against court’s placing of children in care','<p>\r\n	A woman has launched a High Court action aimed at quashing a lower court&rsquo;s decision to place two of her children in State care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In her action, the woman claims the children were placed in care because of the Child and Family Agency&rsquo;s concerns she was causing them to be ill, that she shouted at them, made them do inappropriate housework at inappropriate times and subjected them to inappropriate forms of discipline.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	By order of the High Court, neither she nor her family can be identified by the media. The woman has denied the allegations, which she described as &ldquo;spurious&rdquo;. She has said her children were placed in care without due cause and in an unnecessary and precipitous way.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She has also claimed social workers misrepresented matters to the courts when obtaining the care orders. The care orders were made by the District Court four years ago. They were appealed to the Circuit Court, which heard the case in late 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, in proceedings which came before Ms Justice Mary Faherty at the High Court yesterday, the woman claimed she and her lawyers had been unable to obtain either a recording or a written copy of the judgment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Lack of recording</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Circuit Court judge who heard the appeal delivered an ex-tempore judgment orally. While it was accepted that the judge dismissed her appeal, the parties in court were unable to obtain a verbatim note of the ruling. There was no digital audio recording operating in the courtroom that day. While it might have been assumed by all the parties at the time that the digital audio recording system was operating, she said there was no independent complete record of the judgment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This situation, she claimed, had prejudiced both her and her children&rsquo;s rights to fair procedures, as well as their rights under the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In her judicial review proceedings against the Child and Family Agency, the woman is seeking various declarations and orders, including one having the care order quashed and the proceedings reheard.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Represented by Fergal Kavanagh SC and Bernice McKeever, the woman said she and her children were entitled to know the rationale and the reasons why the Circuit Court made the orders it did.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Counsel said the parties involved in the case had been unable to agree with each other about what the judge found or the reasons behind such findings. Efforts to obtain a written judgment had not proved possible, counsel said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Reuniting family</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Counsel said the lack of the judgment had resulted in insurmountable difficulties for his client in advancing her case, where she sought to reunite her family. In the circumstances, counsel said, the matter should be reheard.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Permission to bring the challenge was granted, on an ex-parte basis, by Ms Justice Faherty. The judge made the matter returnable to a date in November.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/mother-appeals-against-court-s-placing-of-children-in-care-1.2328612\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/mother-appeals-against-court-s-placing-of-children-in-care-1.2328612</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-26 08:40:48',NULL,'mother-appeals-against-court’s-placing-of-children-in-care'),(1229,'When the trolls come out to play on the net','<p>\r\n	The online comments box seem to bring out the worst in us. But are we all trolls at heart?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I hope you drink rat poison and die,&rdquo; says Prof Steven Knowlton. We are having a conversation about the often negative and often abusive comments below the line of online news stories.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Knowlton, a professor of journalism at Dublin City University, is simply giving me an example of the kind of thing most readers stumble upon on a daily basis. Another day, another dinger for your garden variety internet troll.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;These kinds of comments may or may not be amusing, depending on how coarse my sense of humour is, but it does not add to my understanding [of a news story], it does not enable democracy, and it does not enable a free people to make rational decisions in order to govern their own lives,&rdquo; he says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is tempting to conclude that social media is a portal to evil and the internet is filled with bile-spewing trolls (who live in their parents&rsquo; basements, naturally) and these horrible people are in no way like us because we are bastions of logical, measured and reflective thought. It&rsquo;s not that simple, however, and you&rsquo;re not that blameless.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Nasty exchanges tend to happen on Facebook, Twitter or the comments section more so than in real life because humans are conservative by nature and tend to assume the worst of other people, especially when confronted with limited information.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Bad intent</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Our evolution has prepared us to expect for and prepare for the worst. When we don&rsquo;t know someone on the internet, we tend to guess what their intent is and we tend to guess their intent is bad,&rdquo; says David Maxfield, social scientist and co-author of several New York Times best-sellers on behavioural and organisational psychology.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In Jamaica, they have a saying that if you don&rsquo;t know a man, you will invent him. What you&rsquo;re really doing is inventing an ogre. This strategy is part of what kept us alive in our past, but it creates problems because when we assume the worst, we may behave rudely or abruptly. The other person responds in kind and pretty soon we&rsquo;re off to the races.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Maxfield compares face-to-face communication to getting full bandwidth information: chatting with a friend over lunch is full-colour, high definition and you&rsquo;re seeing it live.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Whenever we move to a technology it is as though we&rsquo;re degrading the bandwidth,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like we&rsquo;re talking through a pipe: a lot less information is getting through so the person at the other end is having to guess our meaning and our motives. &ldquo;Things like sarcasm and tonal inflection are lost but we try to read between the lines. We guess and say, &lsquo;Oh, that sounds sarcastic&rsquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Maybe if we were face-to-face we would know that the intention was genuine, but online we&rsquo;re taking a guess and we might guess wrong,&rdquo; he adds.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Taking offence is one thing but acting on it is an entirely different matter. When the Caps Lock comes off, spellcheck is three sheets to the wind and you certainly wouldn&rsquo;t kiss your mother with that mouth, something else is happening. This may be explained by what is known as the Online Disinhibition Effect, coined over a decade ago by US psychologist Prof John Suler.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The Online Disinhibition Effect dictates that people may do things in a cyber context that they would not do in the real world,&rdquo; explains Prof Mary Aiken, director of the CyberPsychology Research Centre at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In summary, this is a combination of factors: you don&rsquo;t know me (anonymity); you cannot see me; I don&rsquo;t have to stick around for your response; it&rsquo;s not real if it&rsquo;s online; and, unlike screaming at a co-worker, there isn&rsquo;t any immediate threat of disciplinary action from a higher authority.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This, coupled with powerful cyberpsychological forces such as anonymity and immersion online means that many social conventions such as respect or consideration for the feelings of others can be abandoned in cyberspace,&rdquo; says Aiken.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The web is a &ldquo;lean medium&rdquo; where feedback, for example, a recipient&rsquo;s horrified face as you joyfully inform them that they are a genetic cul-de-sac, is sadly lacking. &ldquo;In the real world we are taught to think before we speak. Perhaps online, people should try and think before they tweet,&rdquo; she adds.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When talking about rude tweets and snarky comments, it is important to make the distinction between this kind of mild anti-social behaviour and &ldquo;trolling&rdquo;. Although the term is bandied about and used interchangeably with any disagreeable online interaction, trolling is a specific act that can be linked to certain unsavoury personality traits.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A recent academic paper, entitled Trolls Just Wanna Have Fun, provides a good definition: &ldquo;The practice of behaving in a deceptive, destructive, or disruptive manner in a social setting on the internet with no apparent instrumental purpose.&rdquo; I know &ndash; it sounds like every comment ever on YouTube.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Noxious personality</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This study found a relationship between those who like to troll and noxious personality variables known as &lsquo;the Dark Tetrad of Personality&rsquo; that is, narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy and a sadistic personality,&rdquo; explains Aiken.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In particular, sadism showed the most robust, or strongest, relationship with those who engage in trolling. The researchers behind the study argued that cyber-trolling appears to be &lsquo;an internet manifestation of everyday sadism&rsquo;.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When I asked Aiken whether she thinks the average social media user has the potential to become a troll when they get carried away in the comments section, she says most definitely not: &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think many people want to be considered as everyday sadists.&rdquo; And if you think that sounds unsavoury, trolls aren&rsquo;t the worst of internet commenters, according to Maxfield: &ldquo;A troll will eat any little lamb that is crossing the bridge. A cyberstalker, however, will decide that you, specifically, are the lamb they want and this is far more dangerous,&rdquo; he says, referring to Gamergate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The recent #Gamergate controversy that raged across Twitter was ostensibly a debate on sexism in the gaming industry but early on lost all semblance of a balanced discussion when several prominent female journalists and game developers received rape and death threats. Fittingly, affixing a gate to a social media hashtag seems to guarantee shutting out any balanced conversation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Another trending &ldquo;gate&rdquo; causing equal controversy was #Shirtgate where Rosetta mission scientist Matt Taylor was filmed wearing a distasteful shirt depicting scantily-clad women. While most right-thinking people would acknowledge that the shirt was a bad choice and he was right to apologise, the insulting comments slung en masse at him (and the subsequent icky responses from his &ldquo;defenders&rdquo;) seemed excessive.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;[Social media] allows you to organise an effort around public shaming. If you look at the history of political cartoons, ridicule and shame have always been powerful tools to sanction someone and social media gives you greater leverage in doing that. You can reach more people quicker,&rdquo; observes Maxfield.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Is social media turning us into a mobocracy, waving our cyber pitchforks as we mete out punishment at the click of a button?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The problem here is one of amplification online. Yes, the shirt was distasteful and clearly was not appropriate attire, particularly against a background of trying to attract women into Stem [science, technology, engineering and maths] disciplines, but the problem is that technology is not a passive medium, events can quickly escalate, and feedback can be overwhelming,&rdquo; says Aiken.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the 1990s, British anthropologist Robin Dunbar came up with a number for the maximum of social relationships the average human can maintain before reaching their cognitive limit: 150. When we go beyond this, which is par for the course on social media, the relationships become unstable. This may go a ways towards explaining the mobocracy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Anything beyond [150] can lead to social stress. In an era where the average number of friends online runs into hundreds, and connections via various platforms runs into thousands we are in fact making ourselves quite vulnerable.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Thousands of people having direct access to you online may be manageable when everything is going well but when someone makes a mistake, it can quickly escalate and spiral out of control, according to Aiken.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Keep the peace</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This control is a tricky thing to maintain as an individual but even more difficult to balance for the average online publication that needs its readers&rsquo; patronage but must keep the peace below the line.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;[Maintaining a comments section] is expensive to do well. It takes a good subeditor with social media skills. If you can&rsquo;t afford to do it well, then it&rsquo;s probably better not to do it at all,&rdquo; says Knowlton.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If the comments section is a potential minefield of abusive or libellous language, expensive to maintain and time-consuming, then what&rsquo;s in it for the news organisation?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The cheap answer is that it provides a place for people to see their name in type, which is exactly why community newspapers print pictures of babies,&rdquo; says Knowlton.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The real point of a comments section is to allow journalism to become much more of a two-way conversation with readers than it has ever been. The letters to the editor is a very imperfect and remote kind of way of doing this and comments on a webpage eliminate that remoteness remarkably.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It allows readers to contribute thoughtful comments on stories and to other readers; commentaries in ways that have never been possible in the history of the printed word. This is a wonderful thing . . . if conversations could stay on track. Once [mudslinging] happens the point of the comments section is largely lost.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A recent journalism project from the University of Texas at Austin suggests that involving the reader, by asking them a close-ended question at the end of the article, will reduce uncivil comments. Do you agree, dear reader?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/when-the-trolls-come-out-to-play-on-the-net-1.2329301\">http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/when-the-trolls-come-out-to-play-on-the-net-1.2329301</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-27 10:47:31',NULL,'when-the-trolls-come-out-to-play-on-the-net'),(1230,'\'Human rights of patients breached by nursing home\'','<p>\r\n	A nursing home patient was bed-bound for almost four months, health watchdog inspectors have found.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Officials from the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) visited the Talbot Lodge Nursing Home, Kinsealy Lane, Malahide, Dublin in July.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They uncovered a number of failings, raising concerns over the hygiene care provided to residents and a failure to report an assault by one resident on another that had caused &quot;serious injury&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The inspectors reported &quot;unacceptable&quot; institutional practices and &quot;a breach of human rights of people with dementia&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Hiqa inspectors raised a series of concerns over care at the home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;One resident had been bed-bound for almost four months because she appeared uncomfortable in her chair. She had not been referred for a seating assessment,&quot; the report stated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In one unit in the home, residents, &quot;with the exception of four who had asked not to be disturbed, were awoken for their daily medications at 6am and five residents who had dementia were given their breakfast at 6am. These residents were also given their evening meal at 3.45pm.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;These institutional practices were unacceptable and a breach of human rights of people with dementia,&quot; inspectors reported.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The nursing home told Hiqa that some residents had requested an early breakfast and this was duly facilitated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Inspectors were also concerned that the basic hygiene needs of residents were not being met. Only three out of 84 residents had had a shower twice in the previous week.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The nursing home insisted in its reply to Hiqa that all personal hygiene needs were tended to daily, or more often if required.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, it said that on review, some staff were found to have been using inappropriate abbreviations on charts that simply documented &quot;wash&quot;, which &quot;does not accurately reflect the care provided in many cases&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meanwhile, in another incident, a physical assault of one resident by another that resulted in &quot;serious injury&quot; was &quot;not investigated in line with the policy or notified to the authority as an allegation of abuse,&quot; the inspectors reported.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In response, the nursing home confirmed that the injury had been reported to Hiqa and said the incident was &quot;internally reviewed in line with our policy&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The incident was then &quot;reclassified&quot;, the nursing home said, and a report was submitted to Hiqa.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/human-rights-of-patients-breached-by-nursing-home-31481508.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/human-rights-of-patients-breached-by-nursing-home-31481508.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-27 10:50:10',NULL,'human-rights-of-patients-breached-by-nursing-home'),(1231,'Irish teenagers more likely to hide internet use, study finds','<p>\r\n	Social media: One-third of Irish parents have never used Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Irish teenagers are more likely to hide their social media activity from their parents than their counterparts from the US and UK, according to a study on online behaviour published on Thursday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While 27 per cent of Irish teenagers aged 13-18 years old admit to feeling the need to hide what they view online from their parents, only 10 per cent of American and 11 per cent of British teenagers claim to maintain the same level of secrecy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Digital Families 2015: Evolving Attitudes Around Social Media and App Use report, carried out by the YouGov market research group for Ask.fm Q&amp;A social network, found nearly half of Irish teenagers prefer to remain anonymous when sharing new ideas and expressing opinions online.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study found 46 per cent of Irish teenagers prefer not to reveal their identity online for fear of being made fun of, while 36 per cent are more comfortable sharing their feelings when protected by a shield of anonymity. The YouGov research was carried out between May and June 2015 with 2,905 respondents in Ireland, the UK and the US, including 206 Irish teenagers and their parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Irish teenagers are more anxious about being laughed at for talking about boyfriends or girlfriends and problems at home online than their British and American counterparts, with only 32 per cent of US respondents concerned about being ridiculed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	By remaining anonymous, teenagers say they can ask questions without looking &ldquo;dumb&rdquo;, and feel at ease discussing topics they may not want to talk about face-to-face.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Annie Mullins, Director of EU Safety Operations for Ask.fm, describes anonymity as a &ldquo;powerful tool&rdquo; for teenagers when used responsibly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They want to discuss difficult topics, whether it be about first relationships, issues with their studies, or problems at home, without the fear of being judged,&rdquo; said Ms Mullins.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&lsquo;Consequences&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, no one can be 100 per cent anonymous online, she warns. &ldquo;Teenagers need to know this, and be clear on the consequences of their actions.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While teenagers may prefer surfing the web anonymously, 65 per cent of Irish parents worry their child may give away personal information to strangers, putting them at greater risk of being targeted by &ldquo;adult predators&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study found nearly half of UK parents do not monitor their teenagers&rsquo; online activity compared to only 20 per cent of Irish parents. Over a third of all parents surveyed admitted knowing their teenage child&rsquo;s password and logging into their accounts.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While Irish parents are more concerned about online bullying than parents in the UK and US, it appears to be more of a problem in person rather than online. Some 43 per cent of parents said their child had experienced bullying in the physical world while only 13 per cent said their child had suffered cyberbullying.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study warns parents are not making an effort to keep up with their children&rsquo;s social media interests and trends. A third of Irish parents have never used Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram, three of the top five social networks used by Irish teenagers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Given that social media is a part of everyday life, it is more important than ever that conversations about how to behave responsibly are woven into everyday discussion,&rdquo; said Ms Mullins.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Teenagers don&rsquo;t always think through the consequences of their actions and it is no different online; although, as we&rsquo;ve seen, the ramifications of poor online choices can have particularly ill effects on relationships and future opportunities.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There is still much education to be done, and this involves everyone: the networks themselves, parents, teachers and the Government.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/irish-teenagers-more-likely-to-hide-internet-use-study-finds-1.2329773\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/irish-teenagers-more-likely-to-hide-internet-use-study-finds-1.2329773</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-27 10:51:30',NULL,'irish-teenagers-more-likely-to-hide-internet-use-study-finds'),(1232,'Daffodil Care Services are hiring!   #jobfairy','<p>\r\n	Daffodil Care Services have openings for both full time Social Care Workers and Social Care Leaders.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Located in South Tipperary, 40 minutes from both Limerick City and Mitchelstown, and just 10 minutes from Tipperary Town, both positions offer an opportunity to join a dynamic, innovative and progressive team.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	If you would like to be a part of our team that has a track record in developing therapeutic services and providing unrivalled career development opportunities for our staff, then Daffodil Care Services could be the career move you are looking for.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	For further information in relation to either position visit our career section on our website, please see link below.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.daffodilcare.ie/careers\">http://www.daffodilcare.ie/careers</a></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	To apply directly, please email your cover letter and CV to: niamh.malone@daffodilcare.ie or call Niamh on 0818 903 984</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-27 12:59:15',NULL,'daffodil-care-services-are-hiring-#jobfairy'),(1233,'Call to end putting special needs children in ‘seclusion rooms’','<p>\r\n	Children as young as six placed in isolation for hours at a time, say campaigners</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Special needs campaigners have called for the introduction of official rules governing the use of &ldquo;seclusion rooms&rdquo; in schools to manage the behaviour of children as young as six with autism or challenging behaviour.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The placement of children in withdrawal rooms is regarded by most special schools as a measure of last resort to protect the safety of pupils and staff.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, campaigners have said poor training meant vulnerable children were being placed in isolation for hours at a time for behaviour which could be dealt with more effectively using positive support.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In contrast to safeguards in children&rsquo;s residential centres, the Department of Education does not require schools to provide data on the use of seclusion or restraint.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Inclusion Ireland, the support group for people with intellectual disabilities, said it was aware of several cases of inappropriate use of the practice involving children with disabilities in schools around the country.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Overuse</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The group said parents had reported overuse of seclusion, prolonged periods of seclusion and seclusion for minor behavioural issues.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The use of seclusion and restraint should not be tolerated in Irish schools,&rdquo; said Paddy Connolly, Inclusion Ireland&rsquo;s chief executive.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Every effort must be made to eliminate the use of such practices.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;To enable this, there must be adequate numbers of staff in each class trained in positive behaviour strategies and crisis management. This training prevents minor issues from escalating.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Special Needs Parents Association said parents had mixed views, with some advocating an outright ban and others stating the practice should be used sparingly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an area that needs to be regulated,&rdquo; said the group&rsquo;s chairwoman, Lorraine Dempsey.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We must ensure there is proper training of staff and there is certainty that it&rsquo;s being used appropriately and as a measure of last resort,&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Department of Education said the withdrawal of a child from the classroom did not require its authorisation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is a matter for the school authorities, the child and the parents or guardians of the child concerned,&rdquo; it said in a statement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The department said guidance was available from State agencies such as the National Educational Psychological Services on how children with behavioural needs could best be supported in school.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Special schools contacted by The Irish Times reported they had detailed policies in place and the use of seclusion or safe spaces was in order to ensure pupil safety and to prevent self-harm or harm to other pupils.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Most reported that when such a room was in use, a trained staff member was present outside, monitoring the student at all times.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Inclusion Ireland, however, said any time that seclusion or restraint was used in a school it should be reported to an independent oversight body similar to Hiqa, the Health Information and Quality Authority.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Punishment</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The only time that seclusion should ever be used is where it is more dangerous to the child not to do so. Seclusion must never be used as punishment of a child,&rdquo; Mr Connolly said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The National Council for Special Education, an advisory body, is due to issue policy advice on the use of withdrawal rooms to the department shortly. A spokeswoman for the council declined to comment, on the basis that the report had yet to be finalised.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The department said where any concern was raised regarding the management of pupils&rsquo; behaviour in a school, it might arrange for an inspection.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It said guidance on dealing with challenging behaviour was also available from the department.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/call-to-end-putting-special-needs-children-in-seclusion-rooms-1.2331158\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/call-to-end-putting-special-needs-children-in-seclusion-rooms-1.2331158</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-28 10:42:08',NULL,'call-to-end-putting-special-needs-children-in-‘seclusion-rooms’'),(1234,'Government in Australia considers compulsory chemical castration for child sex abusers','<p>\r\n	The New South Wales justice minister pointed to the number of paedophiles likely to re-offend soon after their release.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A government taskforce in New South Wales, Australia, is considering making it compulsory for child sex abusers to be chemically castrated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In some parts of the country courts can already order dangerous sex offenders to have the treatment as part of their release conditions and offenders in New South Wales can undergo the treatment voluntarily while in prison.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However news.com.au reports the state&rsquo;s justice minister wants to go one step further by making castration a judicial sentencing option.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One of the worrying statistics that came out of our investigation is that up to 17 per cent of child sex offenders are likely to re-offend in two years,&rdquo; Mr Grant told the ABC.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We must do everything possible to reduce that figure.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However 9news reports psychiatrists in the country say mandatory castration of paedophiles would be unethical. Dr John Kasinathan said the code of ethics for psychiatrist require that there be valid consent from patients before undertaking any treatment like this.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.thejournal.ie/australia-sex-offenders-castration-2297138-Aug2015/\">http://www.thejournal.ie/australia-sex-offenders-castration-2297138-Aug2015/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-28 10:44:33',NULL,'government-in-australia-considers-compulsory-chemical-castration-for-child-sex-abusers'),(1235,'Young goths are \'more vulnerable to self-harm\'','<p>\r\n	Teenagers who identify as goths are more vulnerable to depression and self-harm, say scientists.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It was found that those who were part of the sub-culture at age 15 were three times more likely to become clinically depressed and five times more likely to harm themselves when they reached 18.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Being a goth had the strongest association with depression and self-harm, compared with other youth sub-cultures such as &ldquo;chavs&rdquo;, &ldquo;populars&rdquo;, &ldquo;skaters&rdquo; and &ldquo;bimbos&rdquo;, the study found.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Our study does not show that being a goth causes depression or self-harm, but rather that some young goths are more vulnerable to developing these conditions,&rdquo; said lead author Dr Lucy Bowes from the University of Oxford.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The analysis of responses by 3,694 teenagers also found that the more a young person identified as a goth, the higher the likelihood they would suffer depression or carry out self-harm. This remained true even when other factors, such as behavioural difficulties, bullying and family mental health background, were taken into account.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Those who identified as &ldquo;sporty&rdquo; were said to be the least likely to become depressed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Study co-author Dr Rebecca Pearson, from the University of Bristol, said: &ldquo;Teenagers who are susceptible to depression or with a tendency to self-harm might be attracted to the goth subculture which is known to embrace marginalised individuals from all backgrounds, including those with mental health problems.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Alternatively, the extent to which young people self-identify with the goth subculture may represent the extent to which at-risk young people feel isolated, ostracised, or stigmatised by society. These young people may be attracted to like-minded goths who face similar stressors.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The researchers pointed to the 2007 murder of Sophie Lancaster, a goth murdered because of the way she dressed, and the fact Greater Manchester Police had begun recording abuse towards groups such as goths, emos and punks as hate crimes as evidence the sub-culture faced social stigma.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They called for public campaigns to reduce the stigma and more work in the community to help identify those at risk.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The research was published in the The Lancet Psychiatry journal.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/examviral/science-world/young-goths-are-more-vulnerable-to-self-harm-350761.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/examviral/science-world/young-goths-are-more-vulnerable-to-self-harm-350761.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-28 10:46:11',NULL,'young-goths-are-more-vulnerable-to-self-harm'),(1236,'Institutional language has no place in children\'s homes','<p>\r\n	&lsquo;On shift&rsquo;, &lsquo;key worker&rsquo;, &lsquo;risk assessment&rsquo;, &lsquo;LAC review&rsquo; &hellip; how can young people in care ever really feel at home?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The words spoken to us in childhood are the first we hear and follow us as we grow up. The words of encouragement and caring. The words of negotiation. These words come back to us when we have our own children. From the back of our memory we find words to calm a crying baby, to encourage the first steps.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As a children&rsquo;s rights worker for children in care, I deal with advocacy and empowerment. I&rsquo;m no stranger to the challenges these children face. They lack privacy, growing up with so many people (teachers, social workers, care staff) knowing everything about them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One conversation I had with a young person, Toni, living in a children&rsquo;s home, led me to think about the importance of the language used by staff. Toni hated being in care, and said everything around her reminded her she was in care and not at home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	We looked at what triggered this. We sat in the young people&rsquo;s room by the noticeboard. Information on bullying, sexual health and drugs was pinned to the board, something you&rsquo;d never have in your own home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Toni then highlighted the language used all around her. Her room was next to the staffroom, and she was currently &ldquo;on site&rdquo;. She questioned whether she lived in a home or a work place. Do people come to help her in her house, or does she live where people work?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	How would she be able to bring up her own children if this is what she has known of childhood? She had to fit in with the home, rather than the home being run around her. It wasn&rsquo;t an unsupportive home but still, there was a system, forms to complete, meetings to hold.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Toni had been moved from where she had been brought up to a place unlike her hometown. Everyone in the area knew the place was a children&rsquo;s home, so from the start her identity to those around her was a child in care, with all the associations that brought. Like many young people in care she felt that the general public viewed children in care as troublemakers, there because of their own behaviour.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The reminder that you are different is never far away for a child in care. This is then reaffirmed with every request, conversation, rule and limitation. The fight needed to change how you see yourself and to feel empowered is huge. The feeling that &ldquo;it&rsquo;s pointless going to my review&rdquo;, &ldquo;they never listen&rdquo;, &ldquo;nothing will change&rdquo; is a common one.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A lot of children placed outside of their home town find they have a reputation, that they are a case handed down to other social workers. There is an underlying suspicion that the young person is placed where they are because they were difficult. It&rsquo;s a hard reputation to lose, especially when you&rsquo;re stuck in the same system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	My work is often about finding small things to support the young person to change. In Toni&rsquo;s case it was questioning the noticeboard, looking at what the regulations were, helping her to have a say in some small way on where she lives and how she is treated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Over the next few months we both collected the terms used at the home and Toni used them in a poem.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;<em>On shift, offsite</em></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<em>Menu planner, pathway plan</em></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<em>Full care order, section 20</em></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<em>Grateful, lucky</em></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<em>Welcome pack, clothing allowance</em></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<em>Health and safety, sanctions</em></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<em>Staff rota, staffroom</em></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<em>Sign for, key worker</em></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<em>Your file, care plan</em></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<em>Back to the unit</em></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<em>Semi independence, comply</em></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<em>Risk assessment, activity</em></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<em>Stat visit, staff</em></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<em>Looked after, leaving care</em></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<em>Pep, hand over</em></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<em>Contact, siblings</em></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<em>Aftercare, LAC review</em></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<em>Notice board, negative behaviour</em></p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<em>Residential, engaged.</em>&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The terms are cold. They speak nothing of a relationship or emotions but of institutions and military language, and you wonder why they are used in raising children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	I see the development of such language as a consequence of the accountability of homes, which has ensured places are more safeguarded than in previous years. The concern is that this is passed from the staffroom to language used with young people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At another children&rsquo;s home, a young person was told by staff that they couldn&rsquo;t buy cotton buds due to health and safety &ndash; hardly the language of a home. It&rsquo;s the risk-averse response of &ldquo;not on my watch&rdquo;. Again, it makes the young person feel different because they are in care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The ability to change one aspect of their situation builds confidence for children in care that they can have a say on other areas of their life. I have seen this first hand in many young people, using these skills to question their care and relationships. Empowering the young person to feel their views are credible, by open listening and supporting, can make a huge difference to their feelings of self and confidence in the future.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/social-life-blog/2015/aug/26/institutional-language-has-no-place-in-childrens-homes?CMP=share_btn_tw\">http://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/social-life-blog/2015/aug/26/institutional-language-has-no-place-in-childrens-homes?CMP=share_btn_tw</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-31 11:15:03',NULL,'institutional-language-has-no-place-in-childrens-homes'),(1237,'One in four parents leave children alone in the car despite huge risk research reveals','<p>\r\n	A shocking new study has revealed that a quarter of parents regularly leave their children in the car alone, sometimes for up to a half an hour.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than 25pc of parents admitted leaving children as young as four unattended in a parked vehicle for an average of 22 minutes despite the serious risks involved.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Younger couples were found to take this risk more than older parents as 42pc of parents between the age of 18 and 34 confessed to doing this at least once.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Choosing to leave children in a parked vehicle without supervision poses huge risk of endangerment particularly if they should they release the handbrake.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mothers were found to be more conscious of the risks involved than dads, leaving children in the car for an average of 17 minutes compared to a dad&rsquo;s 27 minute average.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The research, carried out by UK company Kwik Fit Insurance, found that parents often return to the car to find the interior has been damaged and alarms have been set off. Children are also found to be bickering upon their parents return.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Parenting expert Richard Curtis revealed that the study&rsquo;s findings are hugely concerning.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There are a number of hazards that could pose a risk to children in an unattended vehicle, plus, as this report shows, siblings will often bicker or fight,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/life/motoring/car-news/one-in-four-parents-leave-children-alone-in-the-car-despite-huge-risk-research-reveals-31485509.html\">http://www.independent.ie/life/motoring/car-news/one-in-four-parents-leave-children-alone-in-the-car-despite-huge-risk-research-reveals-31485509.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-31 11:53:40',NULL,'one-in-four-parents-leave-children-alone-in-the-car-despite-huge-risk-research-reveals'),(1238,'HIQA inspectors find children locked in rooms for prolonged periods at Dublin care home','<p>\r\n	An inspection of the Ballydowd Special Care Unit in Dublin highlighted problems with some of the care provided</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An inspection of the Ballydowd Special Care Unit in Dublin has highlighted problems with some of the care provided to young people there.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Officials from the Health Information and Quality Authority visited the facility, unannounced, in July after someone raised a concern about the practice of &#39;single separation&#39;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	That practice is supposed to see a seriously disruptive young person isolated &#39;for as short a period as possible&#39; to give them an opportunity to regain self-control.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However during their inspections at Ballydowd, officials found that some children were locked in rooms for unnecessary prolonged periods, some had no access to toilet facilities or showers, and some remained overnight in secure rooms without mattresses.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Responding today, Tusla - the Child and Family Agency said it accepts that the processes underpinning the use of single separation were not adequate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It&#39;s expressed regret over this and said it&#39;s currently taking steps to strengthen its decision making procedures and facilities.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.newstalk.com/HIQA-inspectors-find-children-locked-in-rooms-for-prolonged-periods-at-Dublin-care-home\">http://www.newstalk.com/HIQA-inspectors-find-children-locked-in-rooms-for-prolonged-periods-at-Dublin-care-home</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-08-31 11:55:52',NULL,'hiqa-inspectors-find-children-locked-in-rooms-for-prolonged-periods-at-dublin-care-home'),(1239,' Homeless \'epidemic\' requires more State support','<p>\r\n	Homelessness in Ireland has become an &quot;epidemic&quot; but the Government response to it is inadequate, according to the Simon Communities.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Early intervention to prevent homelessness, ensuring that people can access affordable accommodation and supporting them when they are rehoused were all deemed &quot;critical priorities&quot; by the organisation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The nationwide network launched its Pre-Budget Submission for 2016, and said that rent allowance and housing supports need to be increased to meet sky-rocketing rents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Simon volunteer Glenn Gannon slept on the streets of Dublin for more than three years in the 1990s, but said that he had never seen homelessness reach current levels.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;There are many, many more victims, and the victims who are alive at this moment in time may not be alive in the New Year if something is not done immediately,&quot; he added. &quot;This is not a situation. This is an epidemic.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;As we move into the centenary of the foundation of the State, I am pleading on behalf of the nation to help our people on the streets and try to help them so that they will not be found dead in a doorway.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The number of properties available to rent has plummeted by 80pc since 2009, while rental prices have increased by more than 20pc since June 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Despite this, rent allowance limits have not increased since then.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are currently 3,285 adults and 1,383 children using emergency accommodation in Ireland. In total, 657 families are sheltered in this temporary accommodation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On one night in March 2015, there were 151 people without a safe place to sleep in Dublin city.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Niamh Randall, national spokesperson for the Simon Communities, said that emergency accommodation still needed funding to cope with demand. She stressed that it could not be seen as the answer to homelessness.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It is not a place for people to spend any lengthy period,&quot; she said. &quot;The impact on their overall health and wellbeing is absolutely devastating.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She also called on members of the public to join their campaign and write to Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tanaiste Joan Burton to highlight the issue.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;What we are seeing at this point in time is an insufficient response from Government,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The more noise we can make, the more support we can get for this campaign, the more action we think is possible.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/homeless-epidemic-requires-more-state-support-31492635.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/homeless-epidemic-requires-more-state-support-31492635.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-01 09:07:52',NULL,'homeless-epidemic-requires-more-state-support'),(1240,'Gardai arrest on-the-run convicted sex offender as he boards flight to Dubai','<p>\r\n	Gardai have arrested a convicted sex attacker wanted by British authorities.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mian Mujahid Ali Shahid (19) was arrested by gardai at Dublin Airport last night as he boarded a flight to Dubai.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The arrest took place at 10.40pm.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He is detained at Clontarf Garda Station and is expected to appear before a special sitting of the High Court later today.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Gardai received a request for assistance in tracing Al Shahid from police in the UK and received a European Arrest Warrant.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It was believed he travelled to Ireland from Scotland earlier this year where he had been living temporarily.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He was last seen in the Foynes area of Limerick on August 11th.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garda&iacute; issued an appeal to the public for assistance last Thursday when exhaustive enquiries over a ten day period had failed to locate Shahid.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Sex Offender Management and intelligence Unit is responsible for the monitoring of convicted sex offenders on a national basis in conjunction with local Garda&iacute; and works closely with other European Police authorities, including the UK, with regard to transient sex offenders.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Pakistani national Al Shahid was convicted in his absence at Stafford Crown Court in April of two counts of sexual assault on an 18-year-old woman.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Shahid is just the latest sex offender to abscond to Ireland from the UK.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last April, garda&iacute; were involved in a manhunt for Ryan Humpage (18) who had spent some time in Sligo and Kildare that month after travelling here from Lancashire, England.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Humpage was arrested by the PSNI in May in Belfast and was jailed for 18 months earlier this month for having sex with a 13-year-old schoolgirl four times.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/gardai-arrest-ontherun-convicted-sex-offender-as-he-boards-flight-to-dubai-31493027.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/gardai-arrest-ontherun-convicted-sex-offender-as-he-boards-flight-to-dubai-31493027.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-01 09:08:56',NULL,'gardai-arrest-on-the-run-convicted-sex-offender-as-he-boards-flight-to-dubai'),(1241,' Troubled children urinated on floor in special care unit','<p>\r\n	Two children in a special care unit had to urinate on the floor because they were not allowed use the toilet, inspectors found.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The children, who were being cared for in a &quot;safe&quot; room at Ballydowd Special Care Unit in Lucan in Dublin, were prevented from using the toilet on the basis of risk to themselves, the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) disclosed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, inspectors who visited the facility for troubled children aged 11 to 17 in July said &quot;the actual risk was not clearly defined&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They said: &quot;In interviews with inspectors, one child described not being allowed access to a toilet as &#39;disgusting&#39;. Another young person did not have access to a shower until day four of a five-day period of continuous single separation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Instead the young person was provided with baby wipes. On exploration of this practice, inspectors found that a secure door was placed into the toilet alcove to prevent access as it was a &#39;blind spot&#39; and therefore a child could not be seen by staff members during observations from the corridor.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;For some children the risk was that they could engage in self-harm. The flaws in the design of a room should not justify these practices and children should have appropriate access to a toilet and shower facility during single separation,&quot; the report added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Records show three children in single separation had slept without a mattress or blankets on numerous occasions in the past two months because they tore them up and tried to self-harm.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;From interviews and a review of records, inspectors found that this occurred due to concerns about children harming themselves by creating ligatures from torn mattresses and blankets.&quot; The service was struggling to provide adequate care for one young person in particular because of concerns about their behaviour.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some of the children were separated from others and placed in the safe room for 24 hours and in one case it lasted for five days.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children also did not have access to fresh air or exercise while they were separated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fred McBride, chief operations officer at Tusla, the Child and Family Agency said it accepted that on occasion, faced with intense and sustained pressure from challenging and violent behaviour, the processes underpinning the use of single separation were not adequate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Toilet access was restricted when a risk assessment determined they were unsafe due to indications of self-harm.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It was in the process of developing a specially designed single-occupancy facility at Ballydowd that would be better equipped to deal with extremely challenging behaviour and which would reduce the need for single separation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The agency is commissioning research on how to better understand a sudden eruption in challenging behaviour.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/troubled-children-urinated-on-floor-in-special-care-unit-31492631.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/troubled-children-urinated-on-floor-in-special-care-unit-31492631.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-01 09:17:09',NULL,'troubled-children-urinated-on-floor-in-special-care-unit'),(1242,'Review ordered of isolation units for teens','<p>\r\n	Health chiefs have been ordered to review the use of isolation units for troubled teenagers in light of a damning inspection of a care home.</p>\r\n<div>\r\n	&nbsp;</div>\r\n<div>\r\n	<p>\r\n		Children&rsquo;s minister James Reilly said the use of &ldquo;single separation&rdquo; should be consistent, safe, and accountable after youngsters at Ballydowd Special Care Unit in Dublin had to urinate on the floor or were denied a shower after being locked up and refused access to bathrooms.</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		&ldquo;I know that young people in special care units have experienced great difficulties in their lives and that this can spill over into extremely challenging behaviour, including self-harm and assaults on staff, but this is not the standard of care that we expect,&rdquo; said Mr Reilly.</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		Health chiefs are being asked to examine the use of isolation in special care, children&rsquo;s residential centres and the detention centre for young offenders in Oberstown.</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		&nbsp;</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		The audit will look at the frequency, duration and practice of single separation and the suitability of the buildings and rooms where youngsters are kept.</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		&ldquo;The objective of the review is to ensure a consistent, safe and accountable policy for children&rsquo;s welfare when this intervention proves necessary, in all the relevant settings in which it takes place,&rdquo; said Mr Reilly.</p>\r\n	<p>\r\n		<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/review-ordered-of-isolation-units-for-teens-351458.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/review-ordered-of-isolation-units-for-teens-351458.html</a></p>\r\n</div>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-02 10:51:06',NULL,'review-ordered-of-isolation-units-for-teens'),(1243,'Government introduces reforms to work permit system','<p>\r\n	Some occupations deemed eligible but others have been removed from the list</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Government has introduced&nbsp;reforms to the work permit system to address skills shortages.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	As part of the moves that came in yesterday, some occupations which previously were ineligible will now be able to seek work permits. These include telecommunications engineers, IT engineers, chiropractors who are members of the Chiropractic Association of Ireland, mobility instructors for the visually impaired and some meat boners.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Department of Jobs said up to 200 general employment permits in respect of boners were being made available to eligible applicants to work in the meat sector.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This was to cater for demand for skilled boners in the industry.<br />\r\n	&ldquo;A maximum number of 200 general employment permits are provided for in these regulations, and the minimum annual remuneration for such positions is &euro;27,500.&rdquo;<br />\r\n	The department also said that in response to changing skills needs in the medical sector, radiation therapists, orthotists and prosthetists were now deemed highly-skilled occupations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, it said healthcare practice managers and senior social services managers and directors were being removed from this list.<br />\r\n	The department also said that some additions were being made to the list of occupations not considered eligible for work permits.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	No shortages<br />\r\n	&ldquo;There is evidence that no shortages exist in the Irish labour market for a range of services managers such as betting shop managers, graphic design managers, library managers, plant-hire managers, production managers and property, housing and estate managers. The regulations add these occupations to the range of occupations that are not eligible for employment permits. This is also the case with dispensing opticians.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokesman for Minster for Jobs and Enterprise Richard Bruton said that ensuring an adequate supply of skilled workers to fill key vacancies across the economy was a key objective of the Government&rsquo;s Action Plan for Jobs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/government-introduces-reforms-to-work-permit-system-1.2336746\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/government-introduces-reforms-to-work-permit-system-1.2336746</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-02 10:54:31',NULL,'government-introduces-reforms-to-work-permit-system'),(1244,'Family Court: Children taken into care after incest claims','<p>\r\n	Father denies allegations and seeks return of the two children to himself and his wife</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Two children have been taken into care after a mother made claims of incest against the alleged &ldquo;grandfather&rdquo; they were living with.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A District Family Court in the east of the country was told the mother of one of the children told the Child and Family Agency her own father had sexually abused her and he was the father of her child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She also alleged he had fathered two other children by his two other daughters, and one of these children was in his care and being raised as his and his wife&rsquo;s child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The agency took both of the children into State care over a month ago, pending the results of DNA testing. The mother of a third child, allegedly also fathered by her father, has denied her sister&rsquo;s claims and has said her child was fathered by another man, the court was told.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The father has denied the allegations and seeks the return of the two children to himself and his wife. The mothers, the children and the father in the case have supplied DNA samples to the agency to help identify paternity. The matter is also under investigation by garda&iacute;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A solicitor for the agency told the judge the DNA results had been delayed. The samples were initially sent to a lab in Ireland, but because of the more &ldquo;scientifically complicated&rdquo; analysis involved, they had to be sent to the United States. The lab there was aware of the urgency of the situation and hoped to get the results back as soon as possible.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Concerns<br />\r\n	She also said the agency believed the mother&rsquo;s allegations of sexual abuse were credible and even if the DNA results came back negative, there would be concerns. She asked the court to extend the interim care order for the two children until the end of the week, pending results of the DNA tests.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A solicitor for the women&rsquo;s father said they were initially told the DNA results would be back in 10 days, but they were still in limbo. She also said the children&rsquo;s removal from their home had been &ldquo;very distressing&rdquo; and the worst the social workers had seen.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The judge extended the order until Thursday, pending the DNA results.<br />\r\n	In a separate case, the judge granted a protection order to a husband and wife against their adult son. The mother gave evidence of her son having absconded from a psychiatric unit and coming home and threatening them with knives.<br />\r\n	&ldquo;He threatens to burn the house down when he doesn&rsquo;t get his way,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The father said their son was incapable of living alone and they&rsquo;d asked psychiatric services to find sheltered accommodation for him. They had previously had protection orders, the couple told the judge, when their son &ldquo;went through spells&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Domestic violence<br />\r\n	&ldquo;He needs more help than we can give him,&rdquo; the father said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	&ldquo;That&rsquo;s unfortunate, and very sad,&rdquo; the judge remarked, making the order until October, pending a full hearing of the case.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In another case involving domestic violence, a mother of two applied for a barring order against her partner. She told the judge on a day last month, she was watching television and he had pulled her by the hair, threw her to the ground and thrown a jar of coffee at her.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The following day, while she was in the bath, he came in and asked her why her legs were shaved. He accused her of having an affair, caught her by the throat and held her under water. &ldquo;I got an awful fright,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The judge said he believed the mother&rsquo;s evidence and granted a barring order for two years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/family-court-children-taken-into-care-after-incest-claims-1.2336558\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/family-court-children-taken-into-care-after-incest-claims-1.2336558</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-02 10:57:06',NULL,'family-court-children-taken-into-care-after-incest-claims'),(1245,'Mental health service for medics','<p>\r\n	A confidential service for doctors, dentists and pharmacists with mental health or addiction concerns has been launched.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Medical practitioners, it has emerged, are slow to get help because the people they need to approach are very often their peers. Often, their problem is revealed in a crisis situation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Practitioner Health Matters Programme (PHMP) aims to strike a balance between supporting practitioners&rsquo; confidentiality and patient safety.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The PHMP is an independent charitable organisation that has the support of the representative and training bodies for the medical, dental and pharmacy professions, as well as the three regulatory bodies.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Like the general public, one in four practitioners may have mental health difficulties at some point in their lives.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The rate of alcohol or drug-related problems in the population is between 10% and 15% so it is likely about 10% of doctors, dentists and pharmacists experience similar addiction problems.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are around 19,000 registered doctors in Ireland, about 2,500 dentists and around 5,000 pharmacists.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to the Medical Council&rsquo;s 2014 report, 43 doctors were supported by the council&rsquo;s health committee to continue practicing during illness, once there was no risk to patient safety.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At the end of the year, 35 doctors were still being supported by the committee, mostly for addiction and mental health reasons. A similar number were supported by the committee in 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The programme&rsquo;s clinical lead, Dr &Iacute;de Delargy said the new service was needed because health professionals were very slow to declare they might have a mental health or addiction problem.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The key to overcoming this reluctance is to ensure that they will receive a high standard of care in a non-judgmental atmosphere and with complete confidentiality assured,&rdquo; said Dr Delargy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We want people affected by these issues to seek help early and to know they can come forward safely, and in confidence, to have their health needs met,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We have a memorandum of understanding with each of the regulators so they recognise the work that we&rsquo;re doing and support it but they&rsquo;re not involved.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Delargy said the &ldquo;arm&rsquo;s length&rdquo; relationship was crucial if they were to encourage more health practitioners to contact them and access the support they might need.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They would not refer anyone to the regulators unless they were unwilling to comply with the treatment programme and/or were putting patients at risk.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Generally speaking, practitioners who access a service from a designated programme like this do extremely well and about 80% recover and return to working well,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	PHMP chairman Hugh Kane said often the person experiencing difficulties did not realise they needed help.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;That is why we are raising awareness around these issues and we would encourage colleagues, family and friends to watch out for everything from subtle warning signs to the more obvious ones,&rdquo; said Mr Kane.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Discussing these issues with someone in difficulty can be extremely challenging but they can also be lifesaving.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Early intervention is key. Ignoring problems, as we did in the past, benefits no one.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/mental-health-service-for-medics-351718.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/mental-health-service-for-medics-351718.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-03 10:04:11',NULL,'mental-health-service-for-medics'),(1246,'168 deaths reported to medicines watchdog','<p>\r\n	The deaths of 168 patients while on drug treatments were reported to the country&#39;s medicines&#39; watchdog last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They were among 2,884 suspected adverse reaction reports to the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The agency&#39;s annual report said suspected adverse reactions were associated with a range of different medicines and in many of the cases reports involved a number of medicines used at the same time.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokeswoman said: &quot;The majority of reports received in relation to the medicines tabulated were associated with medicines where the HPRA request or stress the need for close monitoring of patients and reporting of their experience with treatment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;This may include reporting of events not directly related to a medicine, but occurring in the context of treatment and may be related to the underlying condition(s).&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Medicines most frequently reported include monoclonal antibodies - used in the management of severe debilitating autoimmune disorders, cancer treatment, and in the prevention of transplant rejection.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Others included medicines used in patient support and monitoring programmes for patients with conditions like multiple sclerosis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In many cases patients had significant underlying illnesses and were treated with multiple medicines or surgery which may have contributed to the outcome.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In many of these cases the disease progressed and the patients had complications unrelated to medicine.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/168-deaths-reported-to-medicines-watchdog-31498641.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/168-deaths-reported-to-medicines-watchdog-31498641.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-03 10:05:14',NULL,'168-deaths-reported-to-medicines-watchdog'),(1247,'Ireland set for dramatic rise in refugees after new U-turn','<p>\r\n	Ireland set for dramatic rise in refugees after new U-turn</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ireland will take in &quot;several thousand&quot; more refugees over the coming years in new re-settlement programmes aimed at dealing with the biggest crisis since World War II.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Senior ministers, led by the Taoiseach, confirmed a major U-turn on the Government&#39;s extremely cautious approach up to now as the harrowing images of the body of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi on a Turkish beach awakened public opinion across Ireland and the world.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	After talks in Paris with French President Francois Hollande yesterday, the Taoiseach Enda Kenny said that the tragic image must shock the world into action.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Any parent could see that child in their own arms. Here was the body of a young boy, a life lost and wasted, washed up on a beach,&quot; Mr Kenny said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Taoiseach said he would be urging Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald to be flexible in her EU negotiations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said it was impossible at this point to cite the number of migrants that Ireland might accept, ahead of EU negotiations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Fitzgerald also last night revealed plans by the Government to send a team of immigration officials to so-called European &quot;hotspots&quot; where the migration crisis is most serious.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The officials, some of whom may be civil servants with an expertise in immigration, would help assess the migrants for resettlement in parts of Europe.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Share</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Labour Party ministers Brendan Howlin and Alan Kelly made it clear the Government would take a share of the 100,000 people across the EU requiring re-settlement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a strident speech last night, Mr Kelly said Ireland must now make plans to take far more migrants.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Ireland should lead the world on this issue,&quot; Mr Kelly told reporters in Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said one of the reasons he was proud to be Irish was the country&#39;s lack of support for anti-immigrant politics.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It is that lack of anti-immigration sentiment in Ireland that allows us to be one of the leaders in Europe when it comes to facing this challenge.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Anyone whose conscience had yet to acknowledge how grave this crisis is will have come to a realisation overnight with the heart-wrenching image of Aylan Kurdi lifeless on the sands.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Kelly acknowledged that Ireland has big housing and welfare problems. But he said these difficulties paled when compared with the life-and-death situations of thousands of migrants scattered across Europe.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He rejected suggestions that this was a &quot;knee-jerk reaction&quot; to the images of Aylan Kurdi and his stricken family.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We discussed this at Cabinet level earlier this week and there was unanimity around the table that we must do more and we will do more. If anything, the harrowing images has only served to reinforce the need,&quot; Mr Kelly said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Officials said the definitive number of refugees taken by Ireland would have be worked out in the coming weeks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ireland is already committed to take a total of 1,120 over the coming two years, and the increase is expected to be &quot;many multiples of this number - but well short of 10,000&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But the Justice Minister yesterday also emphasised that the number asylum seekers had doubled in Ireland to 2,100 in the space of a year. Some 30,000 people had been given refugee status here over the past 10 years, she added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Fitzgerald admitted that Ireland could do more - but added that foreign aid may have to be re-examined to ensure it gets to those countries which need it most.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Traffickers</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;At one level, no response is good enough when you see an appalling crisis like this unfolding before our eyes. We are all touched and affected by what we have seen,&quot; Ms Fitzgerald told the Irish Independent.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Fitzgerald also said a &quot;security force&quot; was required, particularly off the coast of Libya, to tackle the scourge of traffickers. And she said that there should be consideration given towards sending refugees back to their countries of origin if they are deemed to be safe.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Earlier, junior minister Aodh&aacute;n &Oacute; R&iacute;ord&aacute;in said Irish people wanted to take in more refugees.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;They are ahead of their politicians in this regard. History will record how we all responded to this humanitarian crisis,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	EU leaders have struggled for months to frame a new migrant policy approach. German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday again said the burden of taking on hundreds of thousands of refugees could not fall on just a few European countries.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A number of Irish charities are working to help refugees both in southern Europe and in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Several are running special appeals for Syrian refugees.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Anyone looking for information or who wishes to help can contact:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Irish Refugee Council (01) 7645854</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Medecins Sans Frontier (01) 6603337</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Irish Red Cross (01) 6424600</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Oxfam Ireland (01) 6727662</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Concern (01) 4177700</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	GOAL (01) 2809779</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	UNICEF Ireland (01) 8783000</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ireland-set-for-dramatic-rise-in-refugees-after-new-uturn-31501428.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ireland-set-for-dramatic-rise-in-refugees-after-new-uturn-31501428.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-04 09:31:33',NULL,'ireland-set-for-dramatic-rise-in-refugees-after-new-u-turn'),(1248,'All-male village council sentences sisters \'to be raped\' in Indian state','<p>\r\n	Two sisters in an Indian village have been &#39;sentenced to rape&#39;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Local unelected authorities, also known as the Khap Panchayat, reportedly ordered the sexual assault of the sisters from the low Dalit caste (historically called &#39;untouchables&#39;) as a punishment for their elder brother marrying a woman from the upper Jat caste.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One of the sisters, Meenakshi Kumari (23) said her brother fell in love with the woman back in their home village of Bhagpat, and the couple eloped to Delhi in March.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The woman&#39;s family were furious and began to make unannounced midnight visits to their house to harass his sisters.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meenakshi said they told the family: &quot;You&#39;ve spoilt our honour by marrying our daughter, so now we will ruin your honour by raping your daughters&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Blackened</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The all-male village council in Uttar Pradesh state, 30 miles from the capital Delhi, then ruled that the Dalit family should be dishonoured to &quot;avenge&quot; their brother&#39;s supposed crime.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meenakshi and her sister were told they would be paraded naked with their faces blackened through the streets. The family contacted the police and officials for help, but were rejected.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It meant they were forced to abandon their home and flee to another part of India. They&#39;re still there, in hiding. And though village elders have reportedly now denied the order for them to be raped in revenge (while others have questioned the authenticity of the story) the sisters have petitioned the country&#39;s Supreme Court to be protected.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The news has shocked the western world, but in rural parts of India, cases like this are common and have been for centuries.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	We&#39;re only hearing about them now because the international media has created a &#39;rape debate&#39;, following the horrific 2012 gang rape and murder of Nirbhaya, a medical student in New Delhi.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	That tragedy prompted widespread protests for improved women&#39;s rights, and brought violence against women into the spotlight.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But behind closed doors, things have got worse for women in India. Parents who allowed girls some level of freedom have now become fearful and strict, under the guise of protecting their daughters.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While rape debates may have gone mainstream in the media, the general population largely holds women responsible for &#39;inviting&#39; such crimes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ordeals</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Poor rural women may speak about their ordeals, but in middle and upper classes, family honour routinely silences victims.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In India, expressing love is still a major taboo - no matter what they show in Bollywood films. It&#39;s even worse if the one you love differs in caste and income. If they differ in religion, lives are in danger.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/world-news/asia-pacific/allmale-village-council-sentences-sisters-to-be-raped-in-indian-state-31501509.html\">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/asia-pacific/allmale-village-council-sentences-sisters-to-be-raped-in-indian-state-31501509.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-04 09:34:50',NULL,'all-male-village-council-sentences-sisters-to-be-raped-in-indian-state'),(1249,'Most emergency accommodation unsuitable - McVerry','<p>\r\n	Homelessness campaigner Father Peter McVerry has said that most of the emergency accommodation currently available is an insult to homeless people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking on RT&Eacute;&rsquo;s Morning Ireland, Fr McVerry said that many of the facilities were frightening and intimidating places.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said that people take drugs at some of the hostels, making them totally unsuitable for people who are drug free.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said: &quot;For many homeless people they find it safer living on the street. They are not being threatened, they are not being offered drugs, they are not being induced to take drugs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;You have to sleep with your runners on your feet otherwise they&#39;ll be gone in the morning.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;One of the biggest complaints I get from homeless people in those emergency hostels is that they woke up in the morning, the people they are sharing the room with are gone, so is their mobile phone, so is their good clothes and anything else of value they may have.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fr McVerry said he believed it was a matter for local authorities and required a reorganisation of services. He said no drug-free hostels were currently available.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said there needs to be the will to look at the quality of accommodation available and the needs of homeless people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The campaigner said the worst thing is that if such accommodation is refused, then the Department of Social Welfare will not pay welfare payments.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly has said he disagrees with Fr McVerry&#39;s assessment of the Government&#39;s response to the homelessness crisis, but said he does not want to get into a &#39;tit-for-tat&#39; argument on the matter.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said all resources needed are available for local authorities to deal with the crisis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Kelly said there were over 120 alcohol-free and drug-free beds, so it was not true to say there were drugs available at every unit.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said it would be unrealistic to think there would not be problems in homeless units as people there lead very complex lives.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Kelly said there was no issue in relation to budget and that the units that were being provided were quality units.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0904/725591-homelessness/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0904/725591-homelessness/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-04 09:36:28',NULL,'most-emergency-accommodation-unsuitable-mcverry'),(1250,'Owner of creche featured on RTE\'s Primetime expose cleared of any wrongdoing as charges withdrawn','<p>\r\n	A Dublin creche has been fined &euro;1,000 for breaching childcare laws, after featuring in a RTE Prime Time investigation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Links creche in Malahide, and it&#39;s owner Deirdre Kelly, had been facing a total of 24 charges in court, brought by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the four charges against Ms Kelly were withdrawn and Judge John O&#39;Neill said that &quot;no fault applies to her in any shape or form&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Of the remaining 20 charges against the creche which were initially being brought, Dublin District Court heard this morning that 12 were being withdrawn and just eight remained.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Lawyers for the Child and Family Agency told the court that a number of incidents had been recorded between February and March 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The court was told that some of the children attending the creche had been shouted at, cursed in front of, &quot;slammed into a chair&quot; and that a staff member had been forceful.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The court heard that &quot;99pc&quot; of the incidents related to one particular staff member who has since left the company,</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Lawyers for Ms Kelly said that she was taking the matter &quot;very seriously&quot; and described her as a very private person.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She has also offered to pay a contribution toward the prosecution costs, the hearing heard.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge John O&#39;Neill said that based on the fact that the creche provided a high level of cooperation during the investigation and that it &quot;appears to have been an isolated incident&quot;, he was fining them &euro;1,000 in relation to charges which occurred on February 25, which they have two months to pay.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/owner-of-creche-featured-on-rtes-primetime-expose-cleared-of-any-wrongdoing-as-charges-withdrawn-31502078.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/owner-of-creche-featured-on-rtes-primetime-expose-cleared-of-any-wrongdoing-as-charges-withdrawn-31502078.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-04 11:55:19',NULL,'owner-of-creche-featured-on-rtes-primetime-expose-cleared-of-any-wrongdoing-as-charges-withdrawn'),(1251,'Call for child protection public health nurses','<p>\r\n	There should be more child protection public health nurses, according to the findings of a study which highlighted the vital role they play in spotting and dealing with neglect cases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study, carried out for Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, focused on the child protection public health nurse in South Lee in Cork &mdash; the only area to have someone in the dedicated role.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report found there was a role for child protection public health nurses to work within the Child and Family Agency, to provide clinical expertise in child health and development and to be the link between Tusla and local primary care teams.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It also says a strategy should be developed to support assistant directors of public health nursing in developing skills in supervision to enable them to keep pace with the increasing complexity of child welfare and protection cases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It says that professionals such as social workers and public health nurses &ldquo;experience substantial barriers to developing and maintaining effective inter-disciplinary working relationships&rdquo;, including &ldquo;a lack of understanding of professional roles and responsibilities, lack of supervision, high caseloads and mistrust between the professionals involved.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;These challenges are linked to poor outcomes for children and families,&rdquo; according to the report.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, in the South Lee social work department a child protection public health nurse role was developed in 2001, initially as a pilot project.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is still the only area to have that role in place, but according to the report, having a child protection public health nurse meant a greater focus on children under the age of five; assistance with assessments of home conditions; and supports for parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Social workers were of the view that child protection public health nurses should co-work cases with them which could include assessment of risk to a child especially from a neglect and health perspective,&rdquo; it said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Neglect accounted for more than half of the cases referred to the social work department in 2013, and while the child protection public health nurse responds to referrals from different teams, &ldquo;in recent years the pattern of neglect has meant the role focuses mainly on issues concerning very young children which are dealt with by the duty team and the more in-depth assessment undertaken by the intake team&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study, put together by Patricia O&rsquo;Dwyer, Sheila Cahalane, and Susanne Pelican-Kelly, can be viewed at tusla.ie.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/call-for-child-protection-public-health-nurses-352212.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/call-for-child-protection-public-health-nurses-352212.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-07 09:14:38',NULL,'call-for-child-protection-public-health-nurses'),(1252,'‘Child may be next homeless death’','<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve worked in homeless services for nearly 22 years now at this stage and I&rsquo;ve never seen it as bad. Rough sleeping has increased, family homelessness has increased, the number of children homeless has increased, the lack of good quality accommodation, the lack of any type of accommodation&hellip; it&rsquo;s hitting people very hard.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	These are the words of Ger Spillane, Focus Ireland&rsquo;s Cork manager, who said the country&rsquo;s homeless crisis continues to worsen. The next homeless death, he said, could easily be that of a child and he urged the Government to do more to solve the problem before that happens.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Spillane&rsquo;s comments come as homelessness campaigner Fr Peter McVerry and Environment Minister Alan Kelly became embroiled in a public spat about the standard of emergency accommodation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a cheap solution in that having six people in one room is cheaper than six rooms, but it&rsquo;s not appropriate,&rdquo; said Fr McVerry, speaking on RT&Eacute; Radio One&rsquo;s Morning Ireland programme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;People just do not feel safe in them. You sleep with your runners on your feet or they&rsquo;ll be gone in the morning.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In response, the minister said homeless funding has increased and the Government is doing all it can.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There&rsquo;s an awful lot of hard work going on. We have over 120 drug and alcohol-free beds, and another 20 coming on stream, with more money being put into homelessness than ever before,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Of course, there&rsquo;s going to be problems in homeless shelters, of course there is, but some of these people have very complex problems.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Kelly&rsquo;s comments drew criticism from the opposition, with Fianna F&aacute;il&rsquo;s environment spokesperson Barry Cowen accusing the minister of creating &ldquo;spin&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Local authorities have waiting lists that are rising on a daily basis as people&rsquo;s homes are being repossessed. Yet Minister Kelly is trying to tell the public that it is all under control and to trust him as he is dealing with the issue,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Fr McVerry, the Simon Community, Focus Ireland, Vincent de Paul and other organisations cannot all be wrong regarding the challenges facing families over housing&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Focus Ireland said the Government should make more emergency beds available to tackle homelessness in the short term, but long-term solutions also need additional funding and increased efficiency in their implementation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We need two funding streams, one that will deal with the emergency crisis as it&rsquo;s happening and the second one is to put in long-term prevention plans in place,&rdquo; said Mr Spillane.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We have people coming to us who have jobs and can&rsquo;t get accommodation because they&rsquo;re being priced out of the rental market. So one of the immediate answers is more accommodation and there doesn&rsquo;t seem to be much of that coming&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The Government has various different schemes but they&rsquo;re not attractive to landlords to get involved in. Leasing, for example, if a landlord leased his property for an organisation like ourselves he&rsquo;ll get 80% of the market rent. Why would you take 80% of the market rent if you could get 100% of the market rent? There&rsquo;s nothing there to incentivise people.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/child-may-be-next-homeless-death-352195.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/child-may-be-next-homeless-death-352195.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-07 09:29:02',NULL,'‘child-may-be-next-homeless-death’'),(1253,'Pre-schools warned of insurance risk if they breach planning','<p>\r\n	Many pre-school facilities in Ireland are operating in breach of planning laws, according to an organisation representing childcare workers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Association of Childhood Professionals (ACP) said the problem was &ldquo;a huge issue&rdquo; with potential legal and insurance ramifications.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In one area alone, seven pre-school facilities were issued with warning letters by their local authority in recent weeks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	These stated that they were operating in breach of planning conditions or, in one instance, had no planning permission.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	D&uacute;n Laoghaire Rathdown County Council said it issued the warnings after receiving a complaint on the issue. It is understood that over 50 premises were identified in the complaint.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Upon examination of these complaints, planning-enforcement files were opened for seven locations and warning letters for alleged unauthorised development were issued,&rdquo; the council said in a statement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In most of the cases identified, the pre-school facilities were alleged to be catering for more than was allowed under their planning permission.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In one case, a pre-school service in a parish pastoral centre was warned that it was operating with no planning permission at all.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The businesses involved were each given four weeks to respond to the warnings.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The council said its inspectors could conduct investigations, including site visits, to establish whether or not the planning laws had been breached. If a breach was detected and not satisfactorily regularised, the council could take further measures &ldquo;which may result in the serving of enforcement notices and prosecution in the courts, it added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A number of the businesses involved told the Irish Independent they had since been in contact with the council to resolve the issues raised.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some are in the process of seeking retention permission.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An examination of planning files and Tusla inspection reports shows there is quite often a gap between the capacities allowed by planners and those allowed by Tusla, which regulates the area.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While Tusla bases the number on the available floor space per child and safety considerations, council planners quite often limit numbers further in order to minimise traffic and safeguard residential amenity.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, even if Tusla allows larger numbers than the planners, pre-school operators must limit their capacity to what is allowed under their planning conditions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokesperson for the Department of Children and Youth Affairs said persons intending to provide a childcare service must obtain planning permission. The only exemption is for child minding in a person&rsquo;s home involving no more than five children.She said it was also a term of the free pre-school year scheme, the Early Childhood Care and</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Education (ECCE) programme, that participating businesses must be compliant with all planning and fire-safety legislation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, ACP chairperson Marian Quinn said she was aware of a number of premises which had opened without planning permission and only secured it at a later stage. This left the door open to insurers to not pay out on claims in a situation where a premises was not compliant with planning, she added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It would be a concern. It would be a get-out-of-jail-free clause for insurance companies which would leave the family of the child that was injured in trouble,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tusla said it did not have the power to enforce planning laws, but did refer suspected breaches to local councils.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;At times we do identify that some services are not compliant with their planning application and we would inform the local authority,&rdquo; it said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The seven childcare facilities recently issued with warnings</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Star Tots Cr&egrave;che and Montessori, 81 Lower Kilmacud Road, Stillorgan, Co Dublin</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a warning letter sent on July 17, D&uacute;n Laoghaire Rathdown County Council said it was investigating the alleged breach of a planning condition limiting numbers at the cr&egrave;che to 54.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The most recent Tusla inspection report for Star Tots, dated March 2013, said the number of notified places was 117. Proprietor Natalie Roberts said she had been &ldquo;very na&iuml;ve&rdquo; about the planning process and was now applying for retention permission. She said the council was happy for the cr&egrave;che to continue operating while the application was being considered.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t realise one of the conditions was that you were only allowed to have a certain amount of children. Otherwise, I would have rectified it a long time ago,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Noelle&rsquo;s Montessori, 10 Watson Road, Killiney, Co Dublin</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The business was issued with a warning letter from D&uacute;n Laoghaire Rathdown County Council on July 20, stating that an investigation had been launched into an alleged breach of its planning conditions, which state that no more than 20 children can be catered for.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The most recent Tusla report for the Montessori, dated March 2011, said the number of notified places was 36. A call seeking comment received no response.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hanahoe Childcare, 19 Ballinclea Heights, Killiney, Co Dublin</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A warning letter issued on July 20 by the council stated that it was investigating an allegation that the business was breaching a planning condition limiting its capacity to 16 children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Proprietor Ann Hanahoe said she had 20 children attending her service. She said the HSE had approved the premises for up to 24 children a number of years ago. She has now engaged an architect to deal with the council&rsquo;s planning concerns.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Room to Grow, 1 Watson Road, Killiney, Co Dublin</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The council issued a warning letter on July 17, saying it was investigating an allegation that Room to Grow was catering for more than the 20 children allowed under the planning permission granted for the premises.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The most recent Tusla inspection report, dated August 2011, said the number of notified places was 54. Calls seeking comment received no response.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Buttercup Cr&egrave;che, Landscape Road, Churchtown, Dublin 14</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A warning letter dated July 17 from the council stated that it was investigating allegations that the business was catering for more than the 32 children allowed under its planning conditions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It also stated it had been alleged that the cr&egrave;che was operating at 7.45am, which was a breach of planning conditions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The most recent Tusla inspection report for the cr&egrave;che, dated September 2011, said the number of notified places was 37.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A call seeking comment was not responded to.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dimples Cr&egrave;che &amp; Montessori, 135 Ballyogan Road, Carrickmines, Dublin 18</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The council issued a warning letter on July 17, stating it was investigating allegations that in excess of 40 children were being catered for, in breach of planning conditions. The most recent Tusla inspection report for the cr&egrave;che, dated June 2013, said the number of notified places was 62.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Proprietor Jason Doyle said the premises had been expanded and a planning application was being submitted to regularise the situation. He said a fire certificate had already been secured.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Stepping Stones Playschool, Foxrock Pastoral Centre, Kill Lane, Foxrock, Dublin 18</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A warning letter from the council, dated July 17, said it was investigating the alleged operation of a cr&egrave;che for 13 children without the benefit of valid planning permission.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A Tusla inspection report from March of this year said there were 12 children present. A call seeking comment received no response.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/childcare-crisis/preschools-warned-of-insurance-risk-if-they-breach-planning-31506775.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/childcare-crisis/preschools-warned-of-insurance-risk-if-they-breach-planning-31506775.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-07 09:30:48',NULL,'pre-schools-warned-of-insurance-risk-if-they-breach-planning'),(1254,'‘More children going to school hungry’','<p>\r\n	Children are going to school hungry and not enough is being done about it, according to the vast majority of schoolteachers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some 70% of teachers said hunger in the classroom is not being tackled effectively and called for more breakfast clubs to help solve the problem.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Of the 408 teachers surveyed by Behaviour &amp; Attitudes&rsquo; online panel Acumen, 41% said the number of children going to school hungry has increased since this time last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The problem seems to be more pronounced in schools which receive funding from the Department of Education as part of their policy to address educational disadvantage.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than half of teachers in these Deis schools have recently seen a rise in the amount of children attending school without having had something to eat.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Currently, there are more than 500 breakfast clubs operating in schools and other community settings, providing breakfast for children before the school day starts.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been very supportive of that programme and called for it to be implemented in schools. So now we&rsquo;d like to see it expand into all disadvantaged schools, so that children are assured of a meal in the mornings and they&rsquo;re not going to school hungry,&rdquo; said Peter Mullan from the Irish National Teachers&rsquo; Organisation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The benefits of this initiative are substantial. Teachers have reported a range of benefits from making sure the kids have eaten before school.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It has resulted in the children having improved concentration in school and also improves their behaviour and general wellbeing. The knock-on effects are quite long reaching.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last year, a report into breakfast clubs revealed children&rsquo;s attendance, punctuality, energy levels and participation greatly improved with the introduction of the programme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It also discovered the clubs became important social outlets for participating children &mdash; pupils were more likely to discuss personal issues over breakfast than during class, providing an opportunity for teachers to identify those in need of additional support.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Yesterday, Tan&aacute;iste Joan Burton launched the Kellogg&rsquo;s Breakfast Club Awards which gives schools and community groups the chance to win &euro;1,500 for their club.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If more schools could provide this service it means that children come to the classroom better equipped to succeed,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;This is something that is a priority for my department. Officials are currently processing applications for this academic year and funding is being prioritised for breakfast clubs.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Award categories are Breakfast Club of the Year, Best New Breakfast Club and Breakfast Club Hero. Entries should be sent to breakfastclubawards@murrayconsultants.ie before October 15.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/more-children-going-to-school-hungry-352517.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/more-children-going-to-school-hungry-352517.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-08 09:03:08',NULL,'‘more-children-going-to-school-hungry’'),(1255,'Pharmacies run short of EpiPens for allergic reactions','<p>\r\n	Pharmacies have run short of life-saving injections which are needed to save people who suffer deadly allergic reactions to foods such as peanuts.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There is a shortage of adult EpiPens which treat life-threatening anaphylaxis, delivering the antidote adrenaline.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The delivery of flu vaccines is hitting the supply of the auto injectors.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokeswoman for the Irish Pharmacy Union said it had brought pharmacies&#39; concerns to the Department of Health. And the department said yesterday the shortage is an issue for the HSE.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It comes as plans get under way to make EpiPens more readily available in areas such as schools, sports grounds and restaurants for the first time. Currently, they are only available on prescription.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the death of Emma Sloan (14), on O&#39;Connell Street in Dublin in 2013, highlighted the need to increase their availability. Emma, who did not have her EpiPen with her, reacted to peanuts in a Chinese sauce.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A pharmacy refused a request for an EpiPen because a prescription was needed. Her mother Caroline has led a campaign for them to be widely available. It will be necessary to have people trained in the use of the EpiPens where they are stored in case of emergency.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokeswoman for the Health Products Regulatory Agency yesterday said pharmacies will get fresh stocks in the coming days.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It has secured supplies for Ireland, which were due to go to other countries on a number of occasions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/pharmacies-run-short-of-epipens-for-allergic-reactions-31509173.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/pharmacies-run-short-of-epipens-for-allergic-reactions-31509173.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-08 09:05:38',NULL,'pharmacies-run-short-of-epipens-for-allergic-reactions'),(1256,'Head of dismembered toddler found in Chicago park','<p>\r\n	Chicago police have found the head of a dismembered toddler in the city park lagoon where other body parts were found earlier.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A brief statement from the Cook County Medical Examiner&#39;s office said the head appears to be from an African-American child of between two and three years old. It is not clear if the child was a boy or a girl.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Investigators began searching the lagoon in Garfield Park on Saturday after someone reported seeing what turned out to be a left foot floating in the water.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Officers later found a decomposed right foot and hand about 25 yards away.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Searches continued over Sunday and Monday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The medical examiner said the cause of death is still to be determined, but it is understood the head and other body parts had undergone some decomposition.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/head-of-dismembered-toddler-found-in-chicago-park-31509435.html\">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/americas/head-of-dismembered-toddler-found-in-chicago-park-31509435.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-08 09:06:37',NULL,'head-of-dismembered-toddler-found-in-chicago-park'),(1257,'Strict vetting for refugees who come to Ireland as crisis deepens','<p>\r\n	The Government will insist on strict vetting of refugees seeking to be relocated as part of the European Union&#39;s response to the migrant crisis, the Irish Independent has learned.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is also understood a Government taskforce will be established to co-ordinate the cross-departmental work involved in housing refugees in the coming months.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The group will be responsible for overseeing the Coalition&#39;s refugee implementation plan, which is still being drafted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Taoiseach Enda Kenny will convene a special Cabinet meeting tomorrow to discuss Ireland&#39;s response to the worst humanitarian disaster to hit Europe in decades.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking yesterday, Mr Kenny said he would not &quot;quibble&quot; over the number of refugees this country would accept and insisted: &quot;Ireland will do what it can.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Today, the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is expected to unveil his expectations of member states, which will give the basis for how many refugees Ireland will be expected to accommodate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A memo is also being drafted by the Department of Justice ahead of a crunch meeting of justice ministers in Brussels next week. At the meeting, it is understood the Government will insist that thorough background checks are carried out on all migrants seeking accommodation in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This is the first time the EU will ask member states to take in refugees from countries where vetting has not already taken place.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	And there is concern that up to 15pc of those seeking to live in Ireland may not be genuine refugees.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;In the normal course of events you would be doing security checks, finger printing and so on, you don&#39;t give up all that,&quot; a Government source said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the Coalition is anxious to fast-track as many applications as possible so as to alleviate any unnecessary hardships for those escaping wars.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) and other immigration services will be provided with additional resources to facilitate the increased demand.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Government is examining a range of accommodation options as part of its response and it is understood the Department of Justice has received offers from the public to house refugees in their own homes and in holiday homes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The department will create a data bank of the public offers, which will be evaluated in the coming weeks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Yesterday, the Taoiseach dismissed claims that the Coalition was split over how to address the crisis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;There is absolutely no split in what we want to do as a Government. We want to deal with caring with people who are fleeing from horrific circumstance,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Kenny was speaking alongside T&aacute;naiste Joan Burton at a jobs announcement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Burton, who suggested Ireland would accommodate more than 5,000 migrants, said there was an &quot;openness in relation to the figures&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said this figure took into account reuniting families with loved ones who were still in war zones after they had been accommodated in Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Kenny said the photograph depicting the tragic death of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi, whose body was washed up on a beach in Turkey, shocked politicians into action.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We don&#39;t want to get bogged down in statistics - this is about humanity. Would you send your children across the Irish Sea in a rickety boat when you know they are never going to get there,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;So what we will do this week is to have a special Cabinet meeting to deal and focus on making decisions.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/strict-vetting-for-refugees-who-come-to-ireland-as-crisis-deepens-31512936.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/strict-vetting-for-refugees-who-come-to-ireland-as-crisis-deepens-31512936.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-09 08:31:32',NULL,'strict-vetting-for-refugees-who-come-to-ireland-as-crisis-deepens'),(1258,'Childcare available for as little as €10 per day on black market','<p>\r\n	Unregulated childminders are offering to look after youngsters for as little as &euro;10 a day - a move that is putting qualified professionals &quot;under serious pressure to compete&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Online adverts seen by the Irish Independent show how under-pressure parents can leave their child with an unregistered adult from as early as 7.30am until 6pm for just &euro;10.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	Other adverts posted to social media outlets offer services for babies as young as six months old - for little more than the price of a packet of cigarettes.<br />\r\n	Bernadette Orbinski Burke, chief executive of Child-minding Ireland, said fully tax-compliant child-minding businesses were finding it &quot;virtually impossible&quot; to compete with the &quot;black market&quot; trade.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	She has also received numerous reports of child protection concerns relating to the sheer numbers of children being cared for outside of statutory regulations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	&quot;The feedback we are receiving from our members, particularly in rural areas, is that childminders are struggling to compete with informal arrangements,&quot; she said.<br />\r\n	&quot;They are reporting that fees as low as &euro;10 per day are being charged and in some cases, if the child does not attend, no fee is required.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	&quot;Our members are self-employed, compliant with statutory regulations and absorbing all the costs associated with running professional services such as tailored insurance, first aid training, membership of the national body and continuing professional development.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	&quot;It makes competing with other businesses that are ad hoc and potentially without statutory regulation virtually impossible.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	Galway childminder Pauline McNamee, who is fully registered trained and tax compliant, said it was now &quot;almost impossible&quot; to compete with unregulated childminders.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	&quot;We need a level playing field,&quot; she said. &quot;How are those of us who are going to great lengths to supply a quality service supposed to compete with people who are simply not investing in theirs?</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	&quot;I look after children in my home, which I have to insure for such purposes. Annual operating costs are over &euro;1,300 excluding equipment, wear and tear, fuel, food, outings, etc. Parents who use my service value the insured and registered environment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	&quot;There is just no way that it is possible to compete with people offering services for &euro;10 a day.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	Early Childhood Ireland and the Association of Childhood Professionals (ACP) have called for better standards.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	&quot;Extension of regulations to include all childminders would ensure levels of training, insurance, vetting, etc, a move which is clearly in the best interests of children and families&quot; said ACP&#39;s Marian Quinn.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	&quot;In the meantime, parents must be cautious and diligent about who they hire to mind their child and make sure that they are asking the right questions before they hand their child over.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	Concerns have also been raised about the strain on grandparents providing childcare, after a recent survey found they are more likely to show signs of depression.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	Age Action Ireland warned there must be a &quot;fair and even balance&quot; when asking family to care for young children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	&quot;Some people love looking after and spending time with grandchildren but it must be by choice. Simply forcing an older person to care for young children is not acceptable.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/childcare-crisis/childcare-available-for-as-little-as-10-per-day-on-black-market-31512933.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/childcare-crisis/childcare-available-for-as-little-as-10-per-day-on-black-market-31512933.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-09 09:48:20',NULL,'childcare-available-for-as-little-as-€10-per-day-on-black-market'),(1259,'Marriage annulment to be easy and cheap','<p>\r\n	Pope Francis has revolutionised the procedure for Catholics to get marriage annulments, making them faster and simpler and calling on bishops to provide greater help to divorced couples.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The most substantial changes to Catholic marriage annulment procedures in centuries again showed the Pontiff&#39;s desire for the church to be more merciful to Catholics who are in difficulty.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	However, the 1.2 billion-member church does not recognise divorce and last night the Pope faced calls for more to be done to help Catholics whose marriages have failed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	In a document known as a &#39;motu proprio&#39;, Latin for &#39;by his own initiative&#39;, Pope Francis has reaffirmed traditional teaching on the &quot;indissolubility of marriage&quot;.<br />\r\n	But he streamlined procedures that many considered cumbersome, lengthy, outdated and expensive.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	The Pope said the procedures, which can cost thousands of euro in legal fees, should be free.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	He is also giving bishops sweeping powers to judge quickly the most clear-cut cases themselves.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	An annulment, formally known as a &#39;decree of nullity&#39;, is a ruling that a marriage was not valid in the first place, according to church law.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	However, many couples and priests have complained that the current complex procedures discourage even those with legitimate grounds for an annulment from trying to obtain one.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	Pope Francis also specified that bishops should show &quot;particular pastoral concern&quot; for divorced and remarried Catholics.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	This has been interpreted as a signal that the Pope is seeking to reach out pastorally to Catholics affected by marriage breakdown.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	Dr John Murray, a moral theologian and director of the pro-marriage Iona Institute, said that what the Pope was announcing was a limited measure.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	&quot;It will probably not help Catholics who are validly married and who unfortunately are in trouble with their relationships,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<br />\r\n	Patricia Fitzsimons, of the Association of Catholics in Ireland, welcomed the reforms, but added: &quot;The changes do not go far enough. The church needs to recognise that valid marriages fail and people should be allowed remarry.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/marriage-annulment-to-be-easy-and-cheap-31513061.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/marriage-annulment-to-be-easy-and-cheap-31513061.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-09 09:55:20',NULL,'marriage-annulment-to-be-easy-and-cheap'),(1260,'Convictions in 2% of child abuse claims against orders','<p>\r\n	Just 2% of allegations of child abuse against eight male religious orders have resulted in a criminal conviction, according to an inspection body.<br />\r\n	A series of reports published yesterday documented a total of 325 allegations since 1941, involving a total of 141 priests or brothers &mdash; resulting in eight convictions.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The National Board For Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church said that of the 79 allegations against Jesuits, 72% were reported to garda&iacute; and none resulted in a conviction.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It criticised the Rosminian order, saying that 57 of the 98 allegations against its members were reported to garda&iacute; more than two years after the complaint.<br />\r\n	The board published 43 audit reports &mdash; on eight male religious orders and 35 female religious orders.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Overall, it said there was a &ldquo;striking&rdquo; difference in how cases were managed before and after 2009, when the Church introduced standards and guidelines.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It said that while there had been historically &ldquo;an absence of compassionate response&rdquo;, there was now &ldquo;a determination to respond pastorally&rdquo; and report allegations to civil authorities and seek guidance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Of the 325 allegations:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	98 involved the Rosminians (against 43 members), all of which were reported to garda&iacute;, resulting in four convictions;<br />\r\n	79 involved the Jesuits (against 36 members), 57 of which were reported, resulting in zero convictions;<br />\r\n	72 involved the Capuchins (against 21 members), all of which were reported, resulting in two convictions.<br />\r\n	In relation to the 22 allegations to the Jesuits which were not referred to garda&iacute;, a spokesman for the order said they included, as the report states, &ldquo;complaints and expressions of concern&rdquo;, and that every allegation requiring reporting had been referred.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	All but one of the 325 allegations related to the period 1941 and 1995.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In relation to the 43 female orders, the board said those who had allegations against them had dealt with them appropriately. It said the orders recognised that previous care of children was &ldquo;often harsh&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In relation to the Jesuits, it said just eight of the 36 members against whom complaints had been made were still alive. It said there were &ldquo;deficits&rdquo; in the actions taken by the order in cases where the DPP directed no prosecutions and said internal investigations should have been initiated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report added: &ldquo;Prior to 2009 the vast majority of allegations coming to the attention of the Rosminians were not reported to civil child protection agencies.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Reports: www.safeguarding.ie&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Counselling: www.towardshealing.ie ; freephone 1800 303416 (RoI), 0800 0963315 (NI)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/convictions-in-2-of-child-abuse-claims-against-orders-352987.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/convictions-in-2-of-child-abuse-claims-against-orders-352987.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-10 04:00:00',NULL,'convictions-in-2%-of-child-abuse-claims-against-orders'),(1261,'Dublin to host suicide prevention conference today','<p>\r\n	Musician Bressie and well known author Dr Harry Barry are among a number of people set to discuss suicide prevention at a conference in Dublin today.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Organised by Console, the event will discuss international best practice and people&#39;s experiences with mental health difficulties.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;People coming to talk about suicide prevention, suicide prevention measures and best practice in the area of suicide prevention and how to reduce suicide,&quot; said CEO Paul Kelly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;A lot of countries have very effective programmes to reduce the level of suicide and the emphasis today at the conference will be trying to addresses the issue of suicide in Ireland, the high levels of suicide, and what we can do to tackle it.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/dublin-to-host-suicide-prevention-conference-today-695117.html\">http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/dublin-to-host-suicide-prevention-conference-today-695117.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-10 09:15:42',NULL,'dublin-to-host-suicide-prevention-conference-today'),(1262,'Judge tells doctors to save girl who is refusing to eat or drink','<p>\r\n	Doctors were told by a High Court judge they could administer lifesaving treatment to a teenage girl who is refusing to eat any food or drink any fluids.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Justice Michael White was told by a consultant doctor treating the girl that she was at risk of death due to her refusal to eat or drink anything.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge White, in granting court orders directing intervention in the girl&rsquo;s treatment, described the situation as &ldquo;very tragic&rdquo;. He also made orders precluding the media reporting any detail that would tend to identify the girl.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge White was told that the girl, who is under 16, stopped taking any food or drink approximately a week ago. Her doctor said that when the girl was admitted several days ago to hospital, where she is currently being treated, a nasogastric tube was fitted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The court heard the teenager at one stage removed the tube but later allowed to be re-inserted. She continued to refuse to allow any fluid or nutrition to be administered to her via the tube.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge White heard medical evidence that, while her situation was being monitored as best as possible, if it was allowed continue those treating her feared she would become severely dehydrated, leading to loss of consciousness and death.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He was told the girl, who has a psychological condition, expressed suicidal thoughts when she was admitted to hospital but it was not known why she was refusing to take any nutrition or fluids.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Conor Dignam SC, for the Child and Family Agency, told the court that the girl had been the subject of care orders made by the District Court and had recently spent time at a secure facility.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said all parties, relevant to the application and obviously apart from the child, were consenting to court orders being made.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Judge White said that, given the circumstances, he was prepared to grant orders including one permitting the teen&rsquo;s doctors administer treatment they deemed clinically appropriate for promoting her health and welfare, irrespective if such treatment was refused by the girl.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He adjourned the matter to a date later this month.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/convictions-in-2-of-child-abuse-claims-against-orders-352987.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/convictions-in-2-of-child-abuse-claims-against-orders-352987.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-10 09:17:04',NULL,'judge-tells-doctors-to-save-girl-who-is-refusing-to-eat-or-drink'),(1263,'Suicide prevention day: Equip children to deal with failure, says GP','<p>\r\n	Over-protecting children and solving their problems for them could be contributing to a higher rate of suicide among young people, an Irish GP has warned.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Harry Barry, who was speaking at the Console World Suicide Prevention Day Conference at the Aviva Stadium yesterday, said parents need to teach their children how to cope effectively with failure so they are better equipped to deal with downfalls later on in life.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Parents have a massive role to play in not overprotecting children and helping them to problem solve rather than solving problems for them,&rdquo; said Dr Barry.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Our mindset should be &lsquo;I will not solve the problem for you&rsquo;. You can be with them, show them what to do, let them do it and let them fail. Because a critical life skill is that failure is part of life.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Barry, who is also a board member of depression support organisation Aware, said children should not be lied to. Parents are telling children that life is fair and they then grow up believing this untruth, meaning they are unprepared for the failures they will inevitably experience later on in life.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This, said Dr Barry, makes those failures seem bigger and more insurmountable than they actually are and young people who cannot cope with the problems that arise later in life may see no other option than to end their own lives.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;When I go to Leaving Cert classes, one of the things I ask them to try and go away with is the message that life is not fair,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And, actually, it rings true with them. It&rsquo;s the truth. And the second one is that life is full of discomfort. Things are not always going to be the way you want them to be.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We need to almost have it embedded in their brains before they start college that they are going to encounter difficulties. That they are going to have a lot of discomfort. And it&rsquo;s how they learn to handle that and change things and look at things that are going to make them adaptable.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Barry said while these important life lessons need to start at a very early age and should initially come from parents, the education system has a part to play.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I would love to see schools putting aside time for role playing where scenarios would be created,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Roleplay what it would be like to be depressed and get them to problem-solve what they would do. And the whole point of that would be if they do hit a crisis when they go to college, for example, because that&rsquo;s when a lot of the problems arise, they actually have some skills to go back on.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;And for god&rsquo;s sake, we have to get them before they get to college because when they get to college they&rsquo;re lost. We need to get them before they get out into the big bad world and we need to teach them how to problem solve and how to adapt. If we do those things, we&rsquo;re going to prevent suicides.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Console CEO Paul Kelly echoed these sentiments and called on parents and educators to teach their children to expect some letdowns later on in life.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We have to teach our children that not everything will go right in their lives, that they will suffer many disappointments and that some will upset them greatly,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;In the rush to achieve, be it through points, places or salaries, we are producing a generation of young people for whom it is all or nothing. We need to teach our young people that nothing is a matter of life and death.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/suicide-prevention-day-equip-children-to-deal-with-failure-says-gp-353183.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/suicide-prevention-day-equip-children-to-deal-with-failure-says-gp-353183.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-11 11:09:54',NULL,'suicide-prevention-day-equip-children-to-deal-with-failure-says-gp'),(1264,'Quarter of family members bereaved by suicide contemplate taking their life','<p>\r\n	Five years after a loved one takes their own life, more than a third of family members still feel depressed and anxious about their loss, while a quarter admit to having suicidal thoughts, according to new research.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than half were also found to be using some form of medication &mdash; 68% for a physical health issue and 32% for a mental health issue.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The data, compiled on behalf of the National Suicide Research Foundation (NSRF), formed part of an overall investigation into bereavement supports and suicide risks.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The study looked at the findings of various coroner reports and postmortems and researchers interviewed family members of the deceased and any relevant healthcare professional they might have seen before their death.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It found the vast majority of those who took their own life, 81%, had some contact with a GP or mental health service in the 12 months prior to their death. It also reported 57% had a pre-existing physical illness such as cancer or chronic pain.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Nearly two thirds had a history of self-harm while 69% were diagnosed with depression. Indications of alcohol and/or drug abuse were present among 60%.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In terms of employment, two in every five people who had taken their own lives had worked in the construction sector at some point. At the time of death, more than half of all the individuals included in the study were not in paid employment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A quarter of all the female suicide cases were women who had been working in a healthcare setting.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The research, which looked at 307 individual cases of suicide between 2008 and 2013, was released by Professor Ella Arensman of NSRF yesterday as part of Console&rsquo;s World Suicide Prevention Day Conference at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Later that night, some of Ireland&rsquo;s most iconic buildings turned orange to mark the day and spread the message &ldquo;it&rsquo;s OK not to feel OK&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Cork City Hall, Blarney Castle, Blackrock Observatory, Croke Park, and Kilkenny Castle were among 37 landmarks to show their orange glow, while thousands of homes across the country followed suit, displaying a special orange lightbulb in their windows.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The initiative was organised by suicide awareness group Cycle Against Suicide.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We are inspired to see how our message that &lsquo;it&rsquo;s OK not to feel OK&rsquo; and it&rsquo;s absolutely ok to ask for help has been taken on by so many communities in our fight to break the cycle of suicide,&rdquo; said Cycle Against Suicide founder Jim Breen.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/quarter-of-family-members-bereaved-by-suicide-contemplate-taking-their-life-353184.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/quarter-of-family-members-bereaved-by-suicide-contemplate-taking-their-life-353184.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-11 11:11:14',NULL,'quarter-of-family-members-bereaved-by-suicide-contemplate-taking-their-life'),(1265,'Direct provision plan for new arrivals inhumane, say NGOs','<p>\r\n	Refugee council &lsquo;deeply concerned&rsquo; about the 4,000 people already in the centres, some of who have been there for a decade</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The plan to accommodate 3,500 of the more than 4,000 expected refugees and asylum seekers in direct provision centres is &ldquo;inhumane&rdquo;, according to NGOs in the sector.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Department of Justice confirmed yesterday that while the first 520 &ldquo;programme refugees&rdquo; committed to by Minister Frances Fitzgerald in May would be coming as part of a UNHCR resettlement programme, and accommodated in a Kildare hotel before being relocated around the State, the remaining 3,500 were coming under a different EU relocation programme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They will be accommodated in direct provision centres. While the 3,500 relocation programme refugees could expect a decision on their asylum claim &ldquo;within weeks&rdquo;, many of those already in direct provision centres have been there for years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Rachel Doyle of the Community Workers Co-operative described the plan as &ldquo;inhumane&rdquo; and called on the Minister to rethink this.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Traumatised</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Direct provision is inhumane and causes great damage, to women and children in particular. How can it be considered a wise move to place deeply traumatised people into centres with people who have been there for years, are desperate and many feel helpless, hopeless and abandoned?&rdquo; she asked.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokesman for the department said the refugees would only be in the centres for a number of weeks, after which if they get asylum they would be free to work and find their own accommodation, or apply for social housing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokeswoman for the Irish Refugee Council said it was &ldquo;deeply concerned&rdquo; about the 4,000 people already in direct provision, some of who have been there for a decade.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Worried</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They are very frustrated and worried they are just going to be left on the shelf again.&rdquo; She said it seemed &ldquo;all the momentum&rdquo; built up around the publication in June of the working group report on reforms to the process had &ldquo;evaporated&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The department said the Protection Bill, which would give effect to many of the working group&rsquo;s recommendations around the legal process, would be published &ldquo;in the coming weeks&rdquo;. An additional budget had been allocated &ldquo;to deal with the major increase in asylum applications&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The 4,000 new refugees would need &ldquo;immediate&rdquo; help with integrating into unfamiliar surroundings, NGOs have said. They also stress the importance of preparing communities for their arrival as well as having a community input into the new arrivals&rsquo; welfare.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	NGOs and community workers, with expertise in integration, should be included in the process.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Their ability to settle could be hampered without help with such basic things as how to use the Irish phone system, or help with making links in their communities, an Irish Red Cross spokesman said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/direct-provision-plan-for-new-arrivals-inhumane-say-ngos-1.2347746\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/direct-provision-plan-for-new-arrivals-inhumane-say-ngos-1.2347746</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-11 11:12:08',NULL,'direct-provision-plan-for-new-arrivals-inhumane-say-ngos'),(1266,'EU to discuss relocating 160,000 refugees across Europe','<p>\r\n	EU to discuss relocating 160,000 refugees across Europe</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald will join her EU counterparts in Brussels this afternoon for an emergency meeting on the deepening refugee crisis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ministers will discuss the European Commission&#39;s proposals to relocate 160,000 refugees across Europe and a permanent mechanism to allocate those seeking asylum in Europe through the use of binding quotas.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Yesterday Germany closed its borders with Austria, effectively suspending the Schengen free-travel area.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It said it was overwhelmed by the numbers of people flocking to Germany through its southern border.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One week ago German Chancellor Angela Merkel won plaudits for effectively opening Germany&#39;s doors to refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Now following another surge of people pushing up through Serbia, Hungary and Austria to seek a new life in Germany the country has been forced into a change of direction.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The authorities in Munich say 13,000 people arrived on Saturday and a further 3,000 yesterday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They say they simply can no longer cope.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Germany&#39;s interior minister Thomas de Maiziere said the move was temporary and was permitted within the Schengen rules.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The interior minister of southern Bavaria state has said Germany will maintain its new border controls to slow a record influx of refugees for at least &quot;several weeks&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It makes no sense, and it&#39;s not even in the interest of refugees, to allow such chaos, and at the same time this is about the security of Germany,&quot; said Joachim Herrmann.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The conservative minister said he was glad that his proposal for reintroduced border control had quickly met with a positive response, adding that it was likely to stay in place &quot;for several weeks at least&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Herrmann also recalled that the Schengen agreement for passport-free travel also includes &quot;an obligation to control the (European Union&#39;s) external borders all the more tightly&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;And that hasn&#39;t been the case at all for quite a while in some countries, such as Italy and Greece, and we cannot accept that&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The discussion that other countries need to share the burden will dominate today&#39;s meeting of justice ministers in Brussels.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Countries such as Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic remain bitterly opposed to any binding quotas for refugees.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hungary will even introduce a law this week that anyone illegally entering the country will face prison.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Such is the sensitivity of the issue that it may have to wait until EU leaders meet in mid-October before agreement can be reached.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meanwhile, British Prime Minister David Cameron is in Beirut today for a one-day visit to discuss the Syrian refugee crisis, a Lebanese government source said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Cameron is visiting a Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa valley and is meeting his Lebanese counterpart Tammam Salam, the source said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last week Mr Cameron announced that the UK would take 20,000 Syrian refugees over the next five years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Today he announced he is appointing Richard Harrington as minister for Syrian refugees to ensure the arrivals are given a &quot;warm welcome&quot; in the UK.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some 1.1 million Syrians have found sanctuary in Lebanon - the equivalent of more than a quarter of the country&#39;s population - after being forced to flee the violence meted out by dictator Bashar Assad and the Islamic State terror group.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0914/727640-refugee-crisis/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0914/727640-refugee-crisis/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-14 10:34:12',NULL,'eu-to-discuss-relocating-160000-refugees-across-europe'),(1267,'Chilean clerics block abuse survivor from child protection commission','<p>\r\n	Documents published in Chile this week show that two of the country&#39;s most senior churchmen - including a member of Pope Francis&#39; inner circle - succeeded in blocking one of their country&#39;s best known survivors of clerical abuse from being nominated to the Pope&#39;s child protection commission.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Juan Carlos Cruz had been nominated by the Irish survivor and advocate Marie Collins.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Collins, who is a member of the Pope&#39;s child abuse commission, has said she was sickened by the revelation that the two Chilean cardinals concerned had interfered with the work of the commission.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said she did not want to pre-empt the commission&#39;s discussion of the matter, adding that she personally was not surprised that fellow survivors are being treated behind the scenes as the enemy by senior clergy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0913/727561-marie-collins-chile-pope/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0913/727561-marie-collins-chile-pope/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-14 10:37:47',NULL,'chilean-clerics-block-abuse-survivor-from-child-protection-commission'),(1268,'Text service gives suicidal men a voice','<p>\r\n	More men are opening up about their mental health problems than before thanks to a text service operated by suicide prevention charity Console, which is being hailed as a &ldquo;breakthrough&rdquo; in suicide prevention.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Traditionally, the organisation has seen more women than men getting in contact &mdash; 61% of all calls to their helpline are from females.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Now, with the implementation of a new text service, those figures have been reversed &mdash; 62% of those contacting the organisation through text are men.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve over 500 people dying annually in Ireland through suicide, and most of them are young men,&rdquo; said Console CEO Paul Kelly. So we weren&rsquo;t reaching our audience. We decided to do something with social media and we introduced our texting service which was to text Help to 51444 and it was extraordinary, it all shifted around. We got 62% of young men texting the service.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They may not talk but we have found that they will text. And, in that way, we are meeting them where they are, not where we think they should be.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The organisation said men are four times more likely to take their own lives than their female counterparts and until now no organisation has been able to convince young men who may be experiencing suicidal thoughts to open up.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This year, Console has seen a 49% increase in the overall amount of texts they are receiving. Almost 4,000 people texted the service during the first half of this year, compared to 2,617 for the same period last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Musician, television personality, and mental health campaigner Niall Breslin, also known as Bressie, praised the initiative.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Some men just don&rsquo;t have the language,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The fact is they might have been brought up in houses where emotion wasn&rsquo;t on the agenda and people didn&rsquo;t want to address it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;And men have this silly macho belief system that has just been bred into us and the reality is some of the toughest, most inspiring, intellectual men I know are people who deal with mental health issues.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Men are starting to now see there are things you can do, there really are things you can do. This isn&rsquo;t something you can do on your own, that&rsquo;s a fact. You cannot do this on your own.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Bressie, who has released a book about his struggles with mental health issues called Me and My Mate Jeffrey, said the family and friends of those experiencing difficulties are also affected.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve been doing book signings all over the country the past two weeks and what&rsquo;s really sad is I&rsquo;ve had wives coming into me saying &lsquo;My husband&rsquo;s out in the car, it&rsquo;s for him, he can&rsquo;t come in, he&rsquo;s not ready&rsquo;,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And I can see how much it&rsquo;s affecting her as well. So this isn&rsquo;t just about the person, it&rsquo;s about the family and friends too.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Everybody feels pain; men, women, all ages, all genders, all demographics, all backgrounds. Pain is pain. That&rsquo;s something I try to speak about as much as possible.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/text-service-gives-suicidal-men-a-voice-353193.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/text-service-gives-suicidal-men-a-voice-353193.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-14 10:42:31',NULL,'text-service-gives-suicidal-men-a-voice'),(1269,'More nursing homes face Ombudsman scrutiny','<p>\r\n	Residents of private nursing homes and their families will be able to bring a complaint to the Ombudsman following the extension of his powers by the Government.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Brendan Howlin, the public expenditure and reform minister, has extended the remit of the office to allow residents or their families take up their issues with Peter Tyndall.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It ends the grey area which meant more than 22,000 people living in long-term care could not make complaints to the office and is an issue that Mr Tyndall has been raising since late 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Since August 24 he has had his powers extended so he can examine independently complaints about private nursing homes in receipt of public funding.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The State provides funding to 22,360 nursing home residents and 5,000 in public institutions. Up to now, the Ombudsman had only been able to examine cases involving care homes run by the HSE. Mr Tyndall now has powers to investigate complaints against privately run homes where the care of residents is subsidised by the State through the nursing home support scheme (also known as &lsquo;Fair Deal&rsquo;).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under the Ombudsman&rsquo;s increased powers, even if only one resident in a home is availing of the scheme, he will have the power to examine complaints from other residents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Only complaints about actions that occur on or after August 24 can be examined by the Ombudsman.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Tyndall said: &ldquo;The extension of my remit will ensure that some of the most vulnerable people in our communities can have their complaints examined independently&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Before bringing a complaint to the Ombudsman, the person affected must have tried to resolve their complaint with the nursing home in the first case.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The move was welcomed by Fine Gael TD Fergus O&rsquo;Dowd, who last year highlighted how hundreds of complaints about nursing homes were not being independently investigated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Health Information and Quality Authority, while having the power to inspect private nursing homes, is not able to investigate individual complaints.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I very much welcome increased analysis of complaints in relation to private nursing homes. This will mean they can be independently investigated,&rdquo; said Mr O&rsquo;Dowd.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It brings transparency and accountability to the process,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr O&rsquo;Dowd said he had been impressed by the proactive attention the Ombudsman had taken and his willingness to take on the extra responsibility. This, he said, would obviously require an increase in skilled staff and other resources for the Ombudsman&rsquo;s office.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, Mr O&rsquo;Dowd said that further reform of the law wa required to ensure that professional medical bodies fully addressed complaints made against their members.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In order to assist private nursing homes deal with complaints, the Ombudsman has hosted information seminars across the country for private nursing home owners.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Ombudsman has also designed a &ldquo;model complaints system&rdquo; for nursing homes, which includes a sample complaint form. It outlines to nursing homes the importance of making a meaningful apology when things go wrong.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Nursing Homes Ireland said the extension of the Ombudsman&rsquo;s remit will serve to strengthen the statutory regulation already in place and that it had worked with the office of the Ombudsman to explain to its members how to adapt to the extension of Mr Tyndall&rsquo;s remit.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Nursing Homes Ireland chief executive Tadhg Daly said: &ldquo;It is important that the public are aware that there is a robust system in place to respond to complaints received and the handling of complaints in the nursing home sector &mdash; this requirement is enshrined in legislation.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/more-nursing-homes-face-ombudsman-scrutiny-353824.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/more-nursing-homes-face-ombudsman-scrutiny-353824.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-15 10:18:44',NULL,'more-nursing-homes-face-ombudsman-scrutiny'),(1270,'Varadkar warns heads will roll if new plan on overcrowding does not succeed','<p>\r\n	Consultants will be asked to change work practices to tackle high trolley numbers</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Minister for Health Leo Varadkar has warned health officials that &ldquo;heads will roll&rdquo; if the latest initiative to address hospital overcrowding does not succeed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He told senior hospital and HSE managers the taxpayer has &ldquo;a legitimate expectation that they will see tangible results for the additional sums being provided&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In comments to members of the implementation group of the emergency department taskforce report, Mr Varadkar is understood to have criticised discrepancies between previous presentations he had received indicating the progress was being made and information which was given to him on what was actually happening on the ground.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sources suggested Mr Varadkar did not single out anyone in particular for criticism but said that while it was his responsibility to fight for resources at Government level, it was up to people such as senior managers, medical directors and directors of nursing to make progress by acquiring beds, sheets and curtains and recruiting the staff needed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is understood the Minister said a lack of progress would undermine his case for more resources from Government as well as the efforts of everyone involved in the health sector.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Sources said he told the meeting that if 600 or 700 people ended up on trollies in the New Year, they all would be collectively &ldquo;in the dock for it&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Varadkar is said to have insisted that the Minister, department officials, HSE executives, group managers, clinical directors and union and patient representatives would face either a collective solution or a collective failure.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking after the meeting, the Minster announced more than 300 new hospital beds would be opened before the end of the year to help tackle the overcrowding crisis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Varadkar said changes in the way hospital consultants worked would also be sought in order to achieve greater patient throughput. The aim was to see more seven-day working by doctors with greater responsibility for discharging patients being assigned to nurses, he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While the vast majority of consultants were &ldquo;very stretched&rdquo; there was evidence of weekend working not happening in some hospitals and of patients not being discharged over weekends.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Minister said he was satisfied with the progress made in reducing overcrowding, following the allocation of &euro;74 million in extra funding this year, but insisted more needed to be done.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Numbers awaiting admission from emergency departments were up 40 per cent in August on the same month in 2014.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Medical organisations criticised the Minister&rsquo;s comments on consultants&rsquo; work practices.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Peadar Gilligan, chair of the IMO&rsquo;s consultant committee, maintained that under a 2012 work practice agreement, all consultants could be rostered for a 5/7 service to include weekends while in addition a deal was reached between the IMO and the HSE in relation to delegated discharge (to nurses) so as to allow patients to be discharged over the weekend.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Gilligan said it was not the case that consultants needed to change their work practices. He said the problem was that there were not enough consultants to allow for an ongoing 24/7 consultant -delivered service.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The Minister has said that money and staff will not solve the ED crisis but that is simply not correct.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Gerard Crotty, president of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association said: &ldquo;Acute hospitals do not have sufficient resources to provide a 7- day a week service. Despite this, consultants currently provide 24/7 on-call care and treat patients in hospitals over the weekends.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;As a result of the medical brain drain, consultants are extremely overstretched with acute hospitals having far too few consultants to provide high quality safe care to patients. This has been exacerbated by over 230 permanent hospital consultant posts not being filled currently.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/varadkar-warns-head-will-roll-if-new-plan-on-overcrowding-does-not-succeed-1.2351076\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/varadkar-warns-head-will-roll-if-new-plan-on-overcrowding-does-not-succeed-1.2351076</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-15 10:20:49',NULL,'varadkar-warns-heads-will-roll-if-new-plan-on-overcrowding-does-not-succeed'),(1271,'Prefabricated homes may be used to ease homeless crisis in Dublin','<p>\r\n	The four Dublin local authorities have put prefabricated homes on display as they consider using them to ease the homeless crisis in the capital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The councils say the two-bedroom units could be a good short-term solution for families who are in emergency accommodation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In August there were 607 families in emergency accommodation in Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the first six months of this year the city&#39;s four local councils spent &euro;4.5m to keep families in accommodation such as hotels or hostels.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The authorities say prefabricated, or modular homes, offer a faster, lower-cost way of getting families into homes where they would have their own kitchens, bathrooms, living space and two bedrooms.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They say the homes would meet building standards and be properly insulated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Six examples have been installed on a site in Dublin city centre to be shown to homeless families and charities.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The charities are reserving judgement until they have seen them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The councils say the homes would be for the short-term and families would move into more permanent accommodation after six months.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0915/727870-dublin-housing/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0915/727870-dublin-housing/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-15 10:23:02',NULL,'prefabricated-homes-may-be-used-to-ease-homeless-crisis-in-dublin'),(1272,'Man in care home who had lost use of arms left to smoke alone','<p>\r\n	A resident in a home for people with an intellectual disability was left unsupervised with a lit cigarette in his mouth and a fire blanket around him, despite having no mobility in his arms, an inspectors&#39; report has revealed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	he resident in the Cheshire Foundation of Ireland home in Galway was at significant risk, as he also had limited movement in other parts of his body, a report by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) revealed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Prior to the inspectors&#39; visit in July, the resident was given the same fire blanket, which had multiple burn marks on it. But this was replaced in advance of the planned visit. The report said two members of staff were suspended with pay and without prejudice pending the outcome of formal investigations being carried out into allegations of behaving in a disrespectful manner.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Residents said some staff were kind to them, but they were critical of a small number working there. They logged complaints that it took them a long time to come when they called for assistance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Residents&#39; rights, dignity and consultation were not adequately upheld in the centre. Complaints were not managed in a robust way and some residents were frustrated that their grievances were not being addressed,&quot; the report said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Such was some residents&#39; frustrations that on day two of the inspection one resident was refusing to eat or take their medication. Another resident told inspectors they would begin to refuse to get out of bed until their issue was addressed.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Refused</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The inspectors pointed out that both residents had significant physical disabilities which would have a serious effect on them had they refused to participate in daily life at the centre.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One resident said they had experienced emotional upset, distress and frustration every morning for the past 10 months, while they were supported by a care provision agency they did not trust or want any more.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They lodged a complaint but were very dissatisfied with the level of response. In response to an action plan set out to address the problems, the providers of the home said a number of changes were made. A new safe system was put in place for the resident who wanted to smoke.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	All residents have been advised of their right to access an advocate. Since the beginning of July all residents have been individually met on three occasions by the person in charge to consult on their views of the service and allow any issues of concern to be raised.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A service manager in a local office has been delegated to deal with complaints. In response to two ant infestations in two different apartments, a pest control company has been appointed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/man-in-care-home-who-had-lost-use-of-arms-left-to-smoke-alone-31530733.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/man-in-care-home-who-had-lost-use-of-arms-left-to-smoke-alone-31530733.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-16 09:06:20',NULL,'man-in-care-home-who-had-lost-use-of-arms-left-to-smoke-alone'),(1273,'Sex education at primary ‘can prevent abuse’','<p>\r\n	More specific sex education should be considered at primary school level, according to one of the speakers at an international conference on the treatment of sex offenders which opens in Dublin today.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The National Organisation for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers conference will run until Friday and, for the first time, will feature a public information session, entitled &lsquo;Let&rsquo;s talk about &mdash; understanding sexual abuse causes, consequences, and prevention&rsquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	That event, to be held tomorrow night at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, will feature contributions from Niall Muldoon, the Ombudsman for Children, and Sharon Beattie, director of Safeguarding Ireland.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It forms part of a programme that also includes presentations by international experts such as Michael Seto, director of the Forensic Research Unit at the Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Canada, and Anne-Marie McAlinden of the School of Law at Queen&rsquo;s University Belfast.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr McAlinden&rsquo;s presentation is on &lsquo;The role of &ldquo;grooming&rdquo; in child sexual abuse and exploitation&rsquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She stressed that, despite a media focus on online grooming, the grooming of children was increasingly complex and can just as easily happen offline, in real-life scenarios.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said that the issue of grooming was &ldquo;very difficult to deal with&rdquo;, not least from the perspective of parents, as increasing numbers of children have access to smartphones. She said there were also cases of peer-to-peer grooming and sexual exploitation among teenagers, but that grooming could happen in &ldquo;multiple situations&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is not just about children being abused online,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It is very important to come back from the &lsquo;stranger-danger&rsquo; complex as well.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr McAlinden said a pro-active public health approach to informing young people about sexuality and any dangers they might face was required &mdash; something which could include sex education being introduced at an earlier stage in a child&rsquo;s education.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I think there is a balance to be struck between educating them too soon, but I think this needs to start in primary schools,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It is about protective knowledge. We live in a very hyper-sexualised culture.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Seto&rsquo;s presentation will concern online abuse, and he said there could be &ldquo;two overlapping populations&rdquo; online: Those that watch distressing images but who do not go on to commit offences themselves, and those who do.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On the number of abusive images online, Dr Seto said not enough was known about their production. He said there were so many people online exchanging material that even doubling the number of police monitoring it &ldquo;would not be able to put a dent in it&rdquo;, although he is optimistic that solutions would be found.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/sex-education-at-primary-can-prevent-abuse-354034.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/sex-education-at-primary-can-prevent-abuse-354034.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-16 09:08:32',NULL,'sex-education-at-primary-‘can-prevent-abuse’'),(1274,'Online porn addiction sees surge in teen sex offenders','<p>\r\n	One of the country&rsquo;s few agencies for dealing with adolescent sex offenders has said that it is seeing cases &ldquo;we would not have seen 10 or 15 years ago&rdquo; due to an addiction to online pornography.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Joan Cherry, director of the Dublin-based Northside Inter-Agency Project (NIAP), said that, in the past two years, it had worked with three girls, whereas in all the previous years since NIAP began work back in 1991, it had dealt with just one.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Cherry, one of the speakers at the National Organisation for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers conference which starts today in Dublin, said that while abuse by young women and girls was &ldquo;the last taboo&rdquo;, it was still a very small number.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said the other development in recent years was the newer type of client who would have been unlikely to come on NIAP&rsquo;s radar in past years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said these boys, typically in their early teens but as young as 12, could be from stable families and doing well in school and engaged with sport.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They will have got onto the net and become somewhat preoccupied with the images they see,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Two of NIAP&rsquo;s clients last year had carried out sex attacks against adults unknown to them, but typically any abuse will be of a family member or relative, or a neighbour or someone else known to them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One child that came to NIAP&rsquo;s attention in recent years had been watching child abuse images, but mainly clients are watching adult pornography.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	NIAP is one of three agencies that work with young sex offenders, alongside its southside counterpart in Dublin, SIAP, and another body in Galway.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Cherry said funding for the sector is &ldquo;totally under-resourced&rdquo; and that the group&rsquo;s funding has been reduced, including a 5% cut last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, yesterday said it expects to recruit &ldquo;towards the end of the year&rdquo; for regional directors who would spearhead new groups based on the NIAP model in parts of the country without such a service.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/online-porn-addiction-sees-surge-in-teen-sex-offenders-354087.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/online-porn-addiction-sees-surge-in-teen-sex-offenders-354087.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-16 09:10:38',NULL,'online-porn-addiction-sees-surge-in-teen-sex-offenders'),(1275,'Videos created to support parents after loss of child','<p>\r\n	Anam Cara, the charity which provides support to bereaved families, has launched a series of videos to offer hope to those who have experienced the death of a child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The videos are a powerful resource to any family experiencing the sudden death of a child,&quot; said Sharon Vard, CEO of Anam Cara. &quot;Newly bereaved parents and families need the support of those who have suffered a similar experience and learned to cope again.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;They need reassurance that there is light at the end of the tunnel, that they too will be able to emerge from the depths of despair and start living and enjoying life again.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are five videos on the organisation&#39;s YouTube channel, which feature bereaved parents as they discuss their personal experiences of losing a child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They also tell of how they learned to cope afterwards.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Anam Cara is an organisation set up in 2008 by bereaved parents, which aims to address the lack of support services available for families in Ireland who have lost a child.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/living-with-cancer/videos-created-to-support-parents-after-loss-of-child-31533841.html\">http://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/living-with-cancer/videos-created-to-support-parents-after-loss-of-child-31533841.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-17 10:40:36',NULL,'videos-created-to-support-parents-after-loss-of-child'),(1276,'Hiqa finds staff felt unsafe at adult care centre','<p>\r\n	An inspection of a centre for adults with autism and intellectual disabilities has found some staff felt unsafe while at work and discovered allegations of abuse by a staff member.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The inspection was conducted by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) and found areas of major non-compliance with required standards.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It also found management systems were not in place &ldquo;to ensure that the service provided is safe, appropriate to residents&rsquo; needs, consistent and effectively monitored&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The inspection of the designated centre for people with disabilities operated by St John of God Community Services Ltd took place in July and was the first at the facility, which is a detached house in the countryside which can accommodate up to five residents with a diagnosis of autism and/or moderate to severe intellectual disability.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to the report, since July 2014 Hiqa received unsolicited information on four different occasions highlighting major concerns there, &ldquo;primarily relating to inadequate governance and management and failure to have management systems in place to ensure that the service provided is safe, appropriate to residents needs, consistent and effectively monitored&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some staff felt unsafe working with particular residents, there were claims of inequitable rostering and inadequate supervision of staff, and concerns over absenteeism from work with replacement by agency staff members. According to the report, these staffing issues had a negative impact on residents&rsquo; care.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	According to the report inspectors reviewed documentation regarding statutory notifications involving two incidences of abuse allegedly perpetrated by a staff member. &ldquo;This matter has been investigated in line with the centre&rsquo;s policy and procedure, national guidance and legislation and the findings are currently with an external organisation who have not been able to progress it as the staff member is absent from work,&rdquo; it said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A report of the outcome of the investigation of the alleged abuse is to be forwarded to Hiqa.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Inspectors saw from the training records that not all staff had up-to-date knowledge, including de-escalation and intervention techniques and skills, to respond to challenging behaviours shown by residents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This was central to some issues at the centre in circumstances where staff were either hit by residents or &lsquo;targeted&rsquo; and in some cases had to retreat to the office for safety.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While staff said the situation at the centre had been improving of late, the report found that none of the residents had a day care placement or participate in any form of training or education and it pinpointed a number of shortcomings, including areas such as residents&rsquo; rights, dignity and consultation, communication, and medication management.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An action plan was issued and the care provider said efforts were being made to meet the requirements, including getting a new dining table after the report said the existing one was not large enough to allow all of the residents and staff to have a meal at the same time.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/hiqa-finds-staff-felt-unsafe-at-adult-care-centre-354257.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/hiqa-finds-staff-felt-unsafe-at-adult-care-centre-354257.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-17 10:44:27',NULL,'hiqa-finds-staff-felt-unsafe-at-adult-care-centre'),(1277,'Man suffers fractured neck, third degree burns and has hole blown through the roof of his mouth after e-cigarette explodes','<p>\r\n	A 23-year-old man suffered a fractured neck and finger, burns to his hand and eyes and had a hole blown through his palate after an e-cigarette blew up in his face.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	James Lauria, 23, of Cobb County in Georgia, US, told FoxNews5 it had been &ldquo;a normal day&rdquo; on 29 July when he had stepped away from his work for a few minutes to smoke his e-cigarette.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The next thing I know, it exploded and I was on my way to a hospital in an ambulance, and that is the last thing I remember,&rdquo; Lauria told the broadcaster.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Lauria&rsquo;s father Ed said his son suffered first degree burns to his face and chest, while the explosion also forced a tooth up into his gum and &ldquo;out of sight&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Lauria was airlifted to the University of Alabama burns unit due to the severity of his injuries and is now recuperating at his parent&rsquo;s house, though he is still on a liquid diet and now speaks with a lisp.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Lauria said he was keen to talk about the incident was keen to talk about the incident to warn others about the apparent dangers of e-cigarettes. The South Fulton Fire and Rescue Department are currently investigating the incident.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This summer a series of &ldquo;highly disturbing&rdquo; fires caused by exploding e-cigarette chargers led to a nationwide safety alert in the UK, with more than 100 fires thought to have been caused by the devices in the last two years.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/man-sent-for-trial-on-child-abduction-charges-31533856.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/man-sent-for-trial-on-child-abduction-charges-31533856.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-17 10:46:57',NULL,'man-suffers-fractured-neck-third-degree-burns-and-has-hole-blown-through-the-roof-of-his-mouth-after-e-cigarette-explodes'),(1278,'Mum\'s horror as she finds daughter choking on dummy','<p>\r\n	A mum-of-four has described how she found her one-year-old daughter choking on the end of her dummy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Caoimhe Henry said she found little Eireann motionless in her cot last week with her soother lying on the floor and the teat missing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The terrified mum managed to dislodge the object from her child&#39;s throat using skills learned on a first aid course.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The 33-year-old former nursery nurse said: &quot;I went to check on her around 8pm. I walked in and she was lying, staring at the ceiling. She made no response when I spoke to her. Her chest wasn&#39;t moving and her lips were blue.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;When I saw the dummy on the floor with no teat on it, I instantly knew. I lifted Eireann out of the cot and did back slaps, then chest presses, then another round of back slaps, before the teat came out. It was another minute before she came round and started to cry.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I&#39;d called 999, so the paramedics checked her, but by that point she seemed fine. I broke down. If I hadn&#39;t gone up the stairs, things would have been so much worse.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Caoimhe bought the dummy from maker MAM on eBay earlier in the summer. After she contacted the seller, which is investigating the product, she was allegedly told she should have carried out a &#39;pull test&#39; on the dummy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The mum said: &quot;When I explained to the company what happened, they offered another dummy, which I declined. They asked if I had done a pull test, but I had never heard of it. They said you are supposed to pull on the teat to check it&#39;s secure. I didn&#39;t realise the potential danger of them.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Though Eireann has six teeth, I don&#39;t think she bit the end off as the paramedics said they could see it was a clean break, like it had snapped in half. Dummies need to be made to a higher standard, and the pull tests should be mentioned more clearly on the packaging. I was lucky to have known what to do thanks to my training, but other parents might not be so fortunate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Eireann seems fine, but she&#39;s been gagging after eating, which the doctor said is an inflamed throat. I haven&#39;t been able to settle her in her cot after the trauma, but I&#39;m hoping she will forget it.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	MAM, which sells baby products across the country, has sent the product for testing in Austria. A spokesperson said: &quot;MAM takes all of its complaints extremely seriously. MAM are not yet in a position to comment on this particular incident. We are in contact with the customer directly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;All MAM products have been extensively researched and tested to ensure they are suitable for the purpose for which they have been designed for and of the highest standard. There has never been a serious safety issue on MAM products in the UK.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;There is a standard in force based on extensive research and expert knowledge - BSEN 1400. This standard assures to the best of scientific knowledge the products that conform to the standard do not represent any danger for the baby. All MAM soothers comply with this standard.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/mums-horror-as-she-finds-daughter-choking-on-dummy-31537272.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/mums-horror-as-she-finds-daughter-choking-on-dummy-31537272.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-18 09:41:19',NULL,'mums-horror-as-she-finds-daughter-choking-on-dummy'),(1279,'‘We need to talk to our children about grooming’','<p>\r\n	A leading Irish Interpol officer has warned of a &ldquo;huge increase&rdquo; in online grooming and says children as young as six are being encouraged to share intimate pictures with predators.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mick Moran, who heads up the human trafficking and child exploitation unit as assistant director with Interpol, says he has come across some of the sickest sex offenders in the world.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a load of theories why people are attracted to children and you can debate them until you&rsquo;re blue in the face but the reality is &mdash; they exist,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And unless we, as a society, acknowledge that there are people with a sex interest in children and we deal with it with prevention mechanisms, we&rsquo;ll forever have the problem. We are failing victims as a society because of our reluctance to talk about sexual issues. It&rsquo;s essential we start talking about them openly and not in a tittering, schoolyard way.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Moran said there was a growing trend of &lsquo;sextortion&rsquo;, which is &ldquo;all about the control of the sexuality of the child&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Whereas before we&rsquo;d see sex offenders who would engage with children with a view to meeting up with the kids and having sexual relations with them, now this is about control of the child and getting the child to do acts that they wouldn&rsquo;t normally do,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;These offenders will befriend a child through affinity-seeking strategies and play on their lack of self-confidence and vulnerabilities. The child will be asked to share normal pictures, then more intimate ones, and once this happens, the nature of communication changes into a threat environment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They will get to know all the child&rsquo;s online activity and then threaten to share that picture on all their gaming and social media platforms. The child is then told to get into more intimate pictures involving sex acts on themselves and others until such a time as the child cracks &mdash; or worse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We often find with this type of offender that they have multiple victims &mdash; often as many as 70 victims all over the world and they&rsquo;re driving them from their bedroom or their mobile phone.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garda Moran, who has been on secondment to France from An Garda Sioch&aacute;na since 2006, urged parents to make their child understand the dangers of the internet.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Parental controls are essential on the internet but just because you&rsquo;ve locked all the windows and doors in your house doesn&rsquo;t mean you won&rsquo;t be burgled,&rdquo; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Your children are exposed to the dangers online anywhere. Even if they&rsquo;re online in plain sight of you in the kitchen, they could be communicating with someone in Timbuktu and you&rsquo;ve no idea what&rsquo;s being said.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Garda Moran advises parents to talk to children in an age-appropriate way on issues such as screen addiction, online gambling, cyber bullying, and scamming.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Parents can get advice and support from several websites, including hotline.ie, webwise.ie, and childline.ie</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-18 09:43:41',NULL,'‘we-need-to-talk-to-our-children-about-grooming’'),(1280,'Gardaí not told of care unit \'sex attacks\'','<p>\r\n	Garda&iacute; not told of care unit &#39;sex attacks&#39;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Health Service Executive (HSE) did not report alleged incidents of serious sexual assault at a care home to garda&iacute;, and denied they had ever happened when the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) raised concerns.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Even though the incident log book at the facility, which is in the West of Ireland, had a record of several sexual incidents last year between residents, the inspector of Mental Health Services found no evidence that garda&iacute; had been told of the alleged incident.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Another alleged incident between a resident and a female staff member this year was also logged, according to the inspector&rsquo;s report, published yesterday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In fact, the inspector&rsquo;s report states that garda&iacute; were made aware of the incidents by &ldquo;another agency&rdquo;, and not the HSE, which finally met with garda&iacute; in May.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Des Kavanagh, general secretary of the PNA), wrote to the HSE in April asking &ldquo;if it is true that a client living [in the facility] has in recent months sexually assaulted a [female staff member] and a fellow client, and if the allegations were correct, what actions had been taken to protect patients and staff&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The response from the office of the HSE area manager, Catherine Cunningham, said: &ldquo;Please be advised that it is not true that there have been any sexual assaults in the high support hostel, as outlined in your correspondence.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The letter went on to say: &ldquo;There was an incident in the hostel last week [March] and that there would be a review of it shortly.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mr Kavanagh said his concern was for patients and staff.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Yesterday, the HSE confirmed it has commissioned an external review that will assess the quality, safety, and appropriateness of care for mental health service users in the region, including examining if incidents are properly reported to both internal and external bodies. It is also reviewing the incidents at the institution.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE said: &ldquo;As both these processes are currently under way, we are unable to comment further at this time. The HSE has reported these matters to the garda&iacute; and safeguards have been put in place to ensure patient safety.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The inspector, who carried out two unannounced inspections in April and June this year on foot of a number of anonymous complaints, uncovered a further incident of a sexual nature, involving the same male resident, took place between the first and second inspection.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The inspector was unhappy with the response of the service to the incidents with one resident transferred for more than 10 months to &ldquo;a wholly inappropriate setting&rdquo;. Even following this arrangement, two further incidents occurred.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Senior management&rsquo;s response to these four incidents was slow and many corrective actions proposed by the service had not been implemented some eight weeks after the initial inspection,&rdquo; the inspector said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The inspector also found there was &ldquo;no record of these incidents being discussed in any risk management or clinical governance forum&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Mental Health Commission has been in regular correspondence with the HSE since the initial inspection of April 2015 and continues to monitor the steps being taken to address the issues raised, as outlined by the HSE in an implementation plan.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This article first appeared in the Irish Examiner</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/gardai-not-told-of-care-unit-sex-attacks-696501.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/gardai-not-told-of-care-unit-sex-attacks-696501.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-18 09:48:51',NULL,'gardaã­-not-told-of-care-unit-sex-attacks'),(1281,'Abandoned baby Maria is \'thriving\' but no sign of mother','<p>\r\n	A baby who was found abandoned on a country road last May is &#39;thriving&#39; but garda&iacute; have still not been able to trace her mother.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Investigating officers at Clondalkin Garda Station have been unable to identify the woman despite exhaustive enquiries, and sources said that they are still &quot;very concerned&quot; for her well-being.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We have still not located baby Maria&#39;s mother and we would appeal again for her mother or father or anyone else who may know anything to contact the garda&iacute;,&quot; a garda source said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;She has nothing to fear - we are concerned for her well-being and understand that she may still be traumatised and afraid.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We are conscious that she may require medical and psychological support - any help she needs will be provided,&quot; the source added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Irish Independent understands that detectives interviewed medical authorities and doctors in a bid to identify all expectant mothers around the time that the baby was found.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is understood that one female was identified as possibly being the mother but this was subsequently ruled out.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Baby Maria is &quot;thriving&quot; and being looked after by foster parents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Doctors believe the infant was between 24 and 36 hours old when she was found by a motorist on Steelestown Lane near Rathcoole, County Dublin, at around 3.30pm on Friday May 8.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The baby was swaddled in a fleece blanket and wrapped in a bin liner, which was then placed inside a Marks &amp; Spencer carrier bag.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Over 13mm of rainfall was recorded that day amid a constant, torrential downpour, and temperatures dropped to just six degrees.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Maria will have to remain in foster care until she is 18 because under law only a biological parent can sign the adoption papers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/abandoned-baby-maria-is-thriving-but-no-sign-of-mother-31544049.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/abandoned-baby-maria-is-thriving-but-no-sign-of-mother-31544049.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-21 08:46:17',NULL,'abandoned-baby-maria-is-thriving-but-no-sign-of-mother'),(1282,'Man (25) with learning difficulties sexually assaulted in shopping centre toilets','<p>\r\n	A 25-year-old man with learning difficulties was sexually assaulted in the toilets of a shopping centre.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Police are seeking an elderly man, aged between 60 and 70, in connection with the alleged incident.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The assault happened in the ground floor toilets of the Intu Shopping Centre, Bromley, south east London, between 12.45pm and 2pm on September 10.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The elderly man is described as black, with a walking stick, and was wearing a navy three-quarter length casual jacket, a white shirt, brown shoes and a navy fisherman&#39;s hat.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/man-25-with-learning-difficulties-sexually-assaulted-in-shopping-centre-toilets-31544527.html\">http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/man-25-with-learning-difficulties-sexually-assaulted-in-shopping-centre-toilets-31544527.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-21 08:47:08',NULL,'man-25-with-learning-difficulties-sexually-assaulted-in-shopping-centre-toilets'),(1283,'Drug policy organisers propose controlled injection centres for drug users','<p>\r\n	Controlled injection centres for drug users are one option for tackling Ireland&#39;s drug abuse problem, according to the hosts of a drug policy workshop.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is being discussed at a meeting about Ireland&#39;s drug policy organised by the London School of Economics.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Controlled centres would mean the legalisation of some drugs, and would allow people to use them in a supervised space, while also being given access to addiction treatment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tony Duffin from the Ana Liffey Drug Project says that there are a number of faces to Ireland&#39;s drug problem.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said: &quot;We have high instances of young people taking drugs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;The instances of a cocktail of drugs, the range of things like mental health issues, so dual diagnosis, are a real serious problem we have at the moment.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/drug-policy-organisers-propose-controlled-injection-centres-for-drug-users-696903.html\">http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/drug-policy-organisers-propose-controlled-injection-centres-for-drug-users-696903.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-21 08:55:41',NULL,'drug-policy-organisers-propose-controlled-injection-centres-for-drug-users'),(1284,'How worlds turn when adolescents are abusers','<p>\r\n	About 50 per cent of young people who abuse are victims of trauma, including, but not confined to, sexual abuse</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&lsquo;I always swore I would kill anyone who touched my children, but when your child affects another of your children it is a different story . . . I thought my world had ended. It was like being in a black hole. I thought, am I not a good enough parent? It hit me like a hammer.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They are the words of Trisha (not her real name). She is not the only Irish parent to discover their child has sexually abused another child. In this case, her teenage son had abused two siblings.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Trisha strongly recommends seeking professional intervention. Her family went to Children at Risk in Ireland (Cari) and then she and her son were referred to the Northside Inter-Agency Partnership (NIAP), in Dublin, which provides a community-based treatment programme to 13 to 18-year-olds who have sexually offended, and to their parents and carers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	NIAP is a member of the National Organisation for the Treatment of Abusers (Nota) whose annual international conference was held in Dublin last week.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Simon Hackett, professor of applied social sciences at Durham University in the UK and the incoming chairman of Nota, would like to see more public education about the true risks of sexual offending in the community.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The indications are that children and young people perpetrate a significant minority of all sexual abuse, and that creates huge needs in terms of responses to them because not only are they perpetrating and victimising other people, they also have extensive needs themselves that need to be addressed,&rdquo; Hackett says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hackett&rsquo;s research, which he undertook with a colleague, looked at 700 young people who had offended and found that about 50 per cent had themselves been victims of trauma, including, but not confined to, sexual abuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The presence of trauma appears to be one of the significant motivating factors for the development of abusive behaviour in childhood. This is not surprising because we know people are not born to be sexual offenders. I have seen many cases where children are being abused by someone and [simultaneously] acting out inappropriately, and in a sexually harmful way, to other people,&rdquo; says Hackett.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;That should not really surprise us; we know from lots of other aspects of children&rsquo;s lives that they take the models for their own behaviour from what they see and experience around them in terms of their families and broader environments,&rdquo; he says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Triggers</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Joan Cherry, director of NIAP, says that for the 257 young people they have worked with in 23 years, the triggers for abuse varied and the organisation helps the young person to identify the triggers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;For some it is a way of coping with feelings of rejection, abandonment, or to achieve intimacy; we know that only a very small percentage of those who abuse have a sexual interest in children. The majority of them engage in the behaviour for other reasons.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She says it is important for parents to know that &ldquo;it is possible to change this behaviour&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;When parents and indeed young people understand that this is a behaviour that can change, it really does motivate them in terms of engaging with us so that they can understand the pathway that they went down and find a much healthier pathway in terms of managing their daily lives.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mary Tallon, a senior social worker with NIAP, says it is very important that adolescents who offend are viewed differently from adult sex offenders.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She says adolescents are viewed as being at a developmental stage until they are about 25 years old, in terms of neurological development, and NIAP runs a holistic programme involving the person, their families and carers, and &ldquo;we do individual and family therapy, and that is also recognising the developmental stages of adolescents&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tallon says it is important not to demonise them for what they have done. &ldquo;They are children first. They are young people with the very same interests, hobbies, behaviours. Like any other young person in the country they like their music, they are into social media; all the things we equate with young people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;They are very different to adults in that they are open to change.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Hackett agrees, saying that to demonise the young person can, in fact, contribute to some of the factors that led to the abuse occurring in the first place.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There is a real difference between holding people to account for their behaviour and giving them an opportunity to take responsibility for it, and demonising them in a way that makes it less likely they can do the things that can make a positive difference in their future.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One of the key factors in preventing them offending later in life is educational achievement, because school and qualifications give them &ldquo;an opportunity to do meaningful work and activities in their life that give them a purpose that is not about abusing&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Some young people&rsquo;s trajectory or pathway into abuse is through rejection, abuse, isolation. Lack of appropriate opportunity to make friends and develop sexual relationships with people of their own age can be implicit in the route into offending,&rdquo; he says.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;If you demonise them, the consequence is they cannot complete their schooling because people are mistakenly thinking they are &lsquo;high risk&rsquo; when they are not. It means that we are, ironically, contributing to some of the factors that may have led them to abuse in the first place,&rdquo; he adds.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At NIAP, Cherry says they work towards all of their clients leading &ldquo;a healthy, nonabusive lifestyle. We know, like any young person, if they are engaged in work and training; are not abusing drugs and alcohol; have group stable relationships; if they have an emotional confident, someone to turn to if they are in difficulties; if they have sports and hobbies; if they have these things, we know the chances of them engaging in any sort of criminal behaviour is less.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&lsquo;Un-normal family&rsquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is some years since Trisha and her family completed their programmes with NIAP but it is very fresh in her mind. &ldquo;We acted like a normal family but we were feeling like an un-normal family. I felt it was printed all over my face. I asked myself why didn&rsquo;t we see the signs, but I wasn&rsquo;t looking for anything like that. It felt like a death, because I was grieving inside for it to be the day before I knew.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Your children are your children; I couldn&rsquo;t love one more than the other. I could not kick him when he was down. He was my world and he broke my heart. It is 99 per cent repaired but I still have an ache in it for what he did.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	With NIAP, she says, &ldquo;He learned a lot about himself that probably in a lifetime you would never think about. He is not a monster. He has to live with what he did.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t believe we would be the family unit we are today without CARI and NIAP. I feel what he learnt through NIAP has given him the tools to know when he needs to question himself, and I hope he never has to again.&rdquo; See cari.ie; nota.co.uk</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	See childline.ie (24-hour helpline 1800 66 66 66); Rape Crisis Centre drcc.ie (24-hour helpline 1800 77 88 88)</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/how-worlds-turn-when-adolescents-are-abusers-1.2351029\">http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/health-family/how-worlds-turn-when-adolescents-are-abusers-1.2351029</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-22 10:01:12',NULL,'how-worlds-turn-when-adolescents-are-abusers'),(1285,'Mum of teen who died after using tampons begs people to learn danger signs of sepsi','<p>\r\n	Jemma-Louise Roberts, 13, began feeling unwell with sickness and diarrhoea while on a family holiday - and was wrongly diagnosed with winter vomiting bug Norovirus</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The mum of a teenager who died from sepsis while on her period is begging people to learn the danger signs of Toxic Shock Syndrome.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Jemma-Louise Roberts, 13, began feeling unwell with sickness and diarrhoea while on a family holiday - and was wrongly diagnosed with winter vomiting bug Norovirus.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Her family were told to keep her away from hospitals - but she was rushed to Wigan Infirmary after suddenly deteriorating, reports the Manchester Evening News.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Doctors at the hospital told her family they believed she had Toxic Shock Syndrome, or TSS, caused by a bacteria linked to using tampons.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Jemma-Louise, a member of Hindley Swimming Club and competitive breaststroke swimmer, had begun using tampons as a more convenient way to keep training while on her period.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She died a week later after being transferred first to the Royal Manchester Children&#39;s Hospital and then Alder Hey Children&rsquo;s Hospital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Jemma-Louise&#39;s mum Diane Roberts, 45, is now speaking out to warn others of TSS danger signs as part of World Sepsis Week.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Early symptoms are a high fever followed by flu-like symptoms, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A rash across the body can then appear and TSS can cause fatal organ failure if left untreated.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Diane said: &quot;TSS used to be talked about in the eighties but you never hear it now.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;If it can save just one more person it will be worth it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;My husband had never heard of TSS - if one dad reads this and his daughter falls ill, it could save her life.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Blood tests on Jemma-Louise showed the presence of the staphylococcus bacteria, linked to both TSS and sepsis, before she died.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A post-mortem was not carried out following her death on March 1 last year but Diane believes TSS caused her daughter&rsquo;s illness as she had been using tampons when she fell ill.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She died from a bleed to the brain while on a heart and lung bypass machine at Alder Hey.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Friends and family, including dad Tony Roberts, 43, and brother Joseph, 13, have now raised over &pound;33,000 for Alder Hey in memory of the Standish Community High School pupil.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As well as being a keen swimmer, Jemma-Louise played the flute and was a member of the Wigan Youth Concert Band and the Wigan Flute Choir.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Diane said: &quot;Her passion was teaching swimming to younger children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;She always had a smile on her face and loved helping others.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Go to world-sepsis-day.org for more information.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/mum-teen-who-died-after-6490037\">http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/mum-teen-who-died-after-6490037</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-22 10:18:43',NULL,'mum-of-teen-who-died-after-using-tampons-begs-people-to-learn-danger-signs-of-sepsi'),(1286,'New flood of complaints revealed on care in homes for the disabled','<p>\r\n	The health watchdog Hiqa has received a complaint every second day on average about the operation of care homes for people with intellectual disabilities.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Records released by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) show major issues remain in the wake of last year&#39;s Aras Attracta scandal.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The documents, supplied to the Irish Independent under freedom of information rules, show Hiqa received 95 complaints about such care homes in the first six months of the year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A third of these were deemed serious enough to necessitate follow-up inspections by the authority.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The complaints ranged from allegations of physical and mental abuse to poor management and hygiene standards.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In several instances the concerns were flagged by staff.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, at least one whistleblower claimed to have suffered a backlash, having her hours cut after raising concerns for the welfare of residents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The complaints included:</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Allegations a care home resident was locked in a secure unit unknown to their family.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Instances of care home residents being &quot;picked on&quot; by certain staff.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Unexplained injuries, and in one case broken bones, going undetected until a resident went home for Christmas.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In another shocking case, a care home worker alleged a colleague had given a resident cigarette butts to chew on to &quot;keep him quiet&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fine Gael TD Fergus O&#39;Dowd, who has campaigned for improved standards in care homes, said some of the complaints were &quot;simply shocking&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;These records show very little has changed. It is more of the same. Allegations of abuse, neglect and bad management.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It is also deeply worrying that staff members who speak up find themselves being crucified for protecting the vulnerable, creating a culture of fear.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Although Hiqa receives between three and four complaints on average each week, it does not have the power to investigate specific allegations. However, it can trigger immediate inspections on the back of complaints. Of the 95 complaints made, 32 led to inspections.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One in every eight complaints led to a review of the care home&#39;s risk rating, while one in six were filed for future reference.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Eight of the complaints led to internal investigations within the care home.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE put in place a six-point plan to safeguard resident safety, dignity and respect in the aftermath of the Aras Attracta scandal.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The response included the appointment of disability campaigner Leigh Gath as a confidential recipient to receive disclosures of abuse in HSE-funded services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, just one of the complaints made to Hiqa ended up in a referral to Ms Gath.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/new-flood-of-complaints-revealed-on-care-in-homes-for-the-disabled-31547431.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/new-flood-of-complaints-revealed-on-care-in-homes-for-the-disabled-31547431.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-22 10:19:49',NULL,'new-flood-of-complaints-revealed-on-care-in-homes-for-the-disabled'),(1287,'Industrial school survivor slapped, kicked and \'forced to sleep with pigs for snoring\'','<p>\r\n	A survivor of one of Ireland&#39;s industrial schools has claimed she was slapped, kicked, and &quot;forced to sleep outside at night with pigs&quot; if she snored too loudly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mary Collins also said her mother, Angela, was among those buried in a mass grave with 72 other women.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Her mother had been forced to spend 27 years in a Magdalene laundry.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking outside the D&aacute;il yesterday, the 54-year-old claimed that at St Vincent&rsquo;s home in Cork, her mother was forced to give up her youngest child for what was an illegal adoption.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She also alleged her mother was denied vital medical treatment - and this eventually led to her death.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mary, who now lives in London, said was just two when Angela was taken away and she was placed in an industrial school.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She insisted records at the time stated Angela was &quot;a good mother&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Yet both her daughters were taken away from her.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mary joined a number of groups representing survivors of the Magdalene laundries, as well as industrial schools, who protested outside the D&aacute;il today.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They delivered a letter to Minister, Frances Fitzgerald, calling for justice for the &quot;forgotten families of the victims of institutional abuse.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They are demanding the government fast track the redress scheme for aging survivors.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They also want free legal aid for those taking a case to the Mother &amp; Baby Homes Commission.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking to independent.ie, Mary said her family is calling for the government, and the church, to support and fund those who wish to remove the remains of their loved ones from mass graves, so as to give them a proper burial.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She explained how she suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her horrific experiences in an industrial school.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;From a very young age, they used to tell me I was dirty and a vile human being,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;I had urine thrown over my head and I was slapped in the face.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I snored as a child and for that reason a nun used put me outside to sleep with the pigs. I begged her to stop but she never listened.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I was just seven years old.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;My life was miserable, and whenever a nun stared at me, it was with a look of pure evil.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;One nun bashed my face off the table which knocked out my front tooth.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It was constant abuse, both mentally and physically. I was battered. It&rsquo;s left many scars.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A commission of investigation has been established to investigate 14 mother and baby homes nationwide and some county homes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, chairperson of the Coalition of Mother and Baby Home Survivors, Paul Redmond, has now called on the Government to stop dragging its heels on the matter.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He also said it should include survivors of all institutions across the country.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We demand this Government takes immediate action on several issues, such as including all survivors in the Mother and Baby home Inquiry, while recognising the ageing profile of the survivor community.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He added: &ldquo;We want an immediate acknowledgement, apology, and redress, while there is still time.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We are particularly disturbed as a community, with the exclusion of the victims of illegal adoptions, and the exclusion of so many Protestant homes.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/industrial-school-survivor-slapped-kicked-and-forced-to-sleep-with-pigs-for-snoring-31549818.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/industrial-school-survivor-slapped-kicked-and-forced-to-sleep-with-pigs-for-snoring-31549818.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-23 09:55:04',NULL,'industrial-school-survivor-slapped-kicked-and-forced-to-sleep-with-pigs-for-snoring'),(1288,'HSE failed to supervise staff at Sligo centre - HIQA','<p>\r\n	An inspection by the health and social services watchdog of a centre for adults with intellectual disabilities has found that the HSE failed to appropriately supervise two staff members, against whom an allegation of abuse had been made.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	HIQA found that the centre at Cregg House in Co Sligo, which is managed by the Health Service Executive, was in major breach of regulations under four out of the ten headings inspected.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The centre, which is broken into five units, is home to 31 adults with severe to profound intellectual disability and associated mobility issues with complex needs including dementia and visual impairment.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It is on a HSE campus that provides residential accommodation for 107 residents with similar disabilities.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Last May, during an unannounced inspection, HIQA inspectors found that the HSE had not put in place appropriate safeguards to ensure residents were protected following an allegation of physical abuse of a resident by two staff members.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Inspectors reviewed the investigation that had taken place into an allegation which was made in January this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A disciplinary hearing had taken place yet key recommendations of the investigation had not been implemented.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	One was that the staff members be rotated onto day duty to ensure adequate supervision.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The inspectors saw this had not occurred and that both staff members were on the rota to be on night duty on the night of the inspection without any supervision.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Furthermore, the staff had been redeployed to a new area without its manager being made aware of the allegations.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In today&#39;s report, HIQA said the issue was brought promptly to the attention of the HSE, which issued a directive with immediate effect to implement the recommendations to safeguard residents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report also criticises as ineffective the systems, which should ensure that management responded to staff concerns, about the quality and safety of the care and support provided to residents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	HIQA had previously inspected eight other units on the campus and identified serious non-compliance relating to governance, staffing levels, fire safety, a lack of social activities, institutional care practices and risk management, which resulted in the authority issuing immediate action notices.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In today&#39;s report, deficits are identified in governance arrangements of the centre.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	HIQA says this has been a consistent finding in all of the inspections and the provider was requested to meet with the authority to discuss a plan for bringing the centre into compliance.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report added that the need for a change of environment for residents was identified in several residents&#39; risk assessments but had not resulted in any action to relocate residents.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE outlined plans to relocate all residents on the campus to community houses, however the report said that difficulties in securing accommodation were delaying movement.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In a statement the HSE said it noted the issues of concern identified by HIQA and it has been working to implement all of the recommendations made by the watchdog.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It said the executive has already made a number of major improvements for residents of Cregg Services including redeploying staff involved in a disciplinary matter to an area fully supervised by a service manager and those staff have completed retraining and remain under supervision, which will continue for a further six-month period.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A Director of Services was appointed in May and a full schedule of training for staff has been arranged.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE said that immediately after May&#39;s inspection the person designated to protect residents at Cregg House had ruled that the alleged abuse was a disciplinary matter and not a safeguarding concern.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Both staff involved were immediately redeployed to a fully supervised area for a recommended period for retraining, staff mentoring and evaluation of practice.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	They remain under close supervision and will continue to be monitored for a further six-month period.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0922/729574-hiqa-finds-hse-failed-to/\">http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0922/729574-hiqa-finds-hse-failed-to/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-23 10:19:38',NULL,'hse-failed-to-supervise-staff-at-sligo-centre-hiqa'),(1289,'‘Similarities’ between refugee centres and direct provision','<p>\r\n	Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald had admitted there will be &ldquo;similarities&rdquo; between the reception centres for incoming refugees and the current direct provision system.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Fitzgerald argued that although housing options for programme refugees will mirror direct provision centres by providing food and accommodation, people staying at the new &ldquo;reception and orientation centres&rdquo; would receive refugee status in a &ldquo;fast track manner&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The whole point of this programme is that... the vast majority of the people who will come, probably between 80 and 90 per cent are refugees,&rdquo; Ms Fitzgerald told RT&Eacute;&rsquo;s Morning Ireland programme. &ldquo;Once you get that assessment, and we will do it in a fast track manner, once a person is assessed to be a refugee then they can work, be involved in society the same as every other Irish citizen.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I wouldn&rsquo;t call it direct provision... it&rsquo;s a new reception and orientation centre where the assessment will be done within a number of weeks as to the refugee status. That&rsquo;s quite different to the situation we have with direct provision.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Minister&rsquo;s comments came after European justice ministers backed a relocation plan for refugees on Tuesday by employing a rarely used majority voting system. EU justice minister agreed to a reworked version of the European Commission&rsquo;s relocation plan for refugees by passing the package through a majority vote after Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Romania voted against the scheme.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	EU leaders will meet at an emergency summit on Brussels today to agree on a long-term strategy to handle the refugee crisis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The members yesterday across all of the member states recognised this is an enormous humanitarian crisis,&rdquo; said Ms Fitzgerald. &ldquo;There are differences in approach but the most important thing is that we have a decision now to work together across Europe on relocation.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We have to bear in mind that the percentage of refugees coming into Europe overall is low compared to what other countries in the region are taking like Lebanon and Jordan,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;What Ireland is saying is that proportionately we feel we can make a contribution.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Fitzgerald said expected the EU commitments to the refugee relocation plan to be agreed on by the D&aacute;il and the Seanad next week, adding that the State would still accept &ldquo;approximately 4,000 people over a two year period&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	After people are assessed at &ldquo;hot spot assessment centres&rdquo; in Italy and Greece, refugees will begin to arrive in Ireland with a couple of hundred arriving over the next few months, said the Minister.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;What the commission expects is that we will alert the commission to the numbers that we can take every three months, that&rsquo;s the agreement with every member state. The expectation would be that there would be over those 24 months a proportionate number arriving every few months.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Fitzgerald said the task force was in the process of identifying suitable accommodation centres for refugees. The Department of Justice announced last week that more than 20 refugees had already arrived at the Hazel Hotel in Monasterevin where there will stay for three to four months before being resettled elsewhere in the State.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/similarities-between-refugee-centres-and-direct-provision-1.2362902\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/similarities-between-refugee-centres-and-direct-provision-1.2362902</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-23 10:35:22',NULL,'‘similarities’-between-refugee-centres-and-direct-provision'),(1290,'New sex bill makes it a crime to pay prostitutes for \'services\'','<p>\r\n	The Sexual Offences Bill, the largest planned overhaul of Ireland&#39;s outdated sexual crime laws, has received a warm but qualified welcome by groups representing victims of sexual violence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The mammoth bill, introduced by Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, contains a new range of offences aimed at protecting children from sexual exploitation and grooming by predators, especially on internet and social-media platforms.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	New measures include the proposed criminalisation of recruiting a child to take part in a pornographic performance, attending such a performance with a child and organising child prostitution or child pornography.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The law will also criminalise payment for sexual activity with a prostitute, but the person offering sexual acts will not be guilty of a criminal offence.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The age of consent will remain at 17, however, a two-year &#39;proximity of age&#39; defence will be available to recognise that young people can engage in consensual sexual acts.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The clause will be relied upon if the sexual act is non-exploitative, consensual and the parties are aged within two years of each other.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Video evidence will be extended for child victims of sexual offences and defendants will not be able to personally cross-examine children under the age of 18 during trials.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The same protection has not been extended to adult complainants, however.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Government has moved to protect victims by limiting access to their private counselling notes during a criminal trial and under the new regime victims will be afforded separate legal representation for this part of criminal proceedings. The law will also permit judges to impose court orders on convicted attackers, preventing them from contacting their victims.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	An anomaly in Ireland&#39;s incest laws has been addressed, which will see women who are guilty of that offence punished by up to a life sentence, as is already the case with male perpetrators of incest.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Support groups who campaigned for a statutory definition of consent have been disappointed by its exclusion from the draft bill.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Consent</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We are disappointed not to see a definition of consent in the new legislation and we are hoping to convince Minister Fitzgerald that to amend the bill to include a definition of consent would go a long way to further strengthening the legislation on sexual offences,&quot; said Ellen O&#39;Malley Dunlop, chief executive of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said the bill was &quot;very ambitious&quot; and provided for a wide range of reforms.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We commend the minister and her officials on the sterling work that has gone into this publication,&quot; she added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Victim support group One in Four said it hoped that the criminalisation of the purchase of sex would go some way to reducing the devastation caused by trafficking and the exploitation of vulnerable women through prostitution.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Executive director Maeve Lewis urged Ms Fitzgerald to extend the ban on cross-examination personally by the accused to all complainants, not just those under 18.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Fitzgerald said the bill provided for a more effective response to sexual offending and responded to new threats, such as online predators.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/new-sex-bill-makes-it-a-crime-to-pay-prostitutes-for-services-31554043.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/new-sex-bill-makes-it-a-crime-to-pay-prostitutes-for-services-31554043.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-24 07:52:25',NULL,'new-sex-bill-makes-it-a-crime-to-pay-prostitutes-for-services'),(1291,'Critical blood tests never performed on Aibhe - inquest','<p>\r\n	Critical blood tests were never performed on young Aibhe Conroy six months before she died, a leading doctor claimed at an inquest.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Additionally, on the night of her death, six-year-old Aibhe did not receive the standard dose of dextrose that is usually given to hypoglycaemia patients, paediatric endocrinologist Dr Susan O&#39;Connell told the Coroner&#39;s Court in Dublin.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Aibhe, from Gowla, Connemara, died at Temple Street Children&#39;s Hospital in Dublin on December 14, 2011. Four days previously, she had been admitted to Galway University Hospital suffering from hypoglycaemia, or low blood sugar, weakness and vomiting.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr O&#39;Connell, who is based in Cork University Hospital, emphasised the significance that Aibhe suffered a prolonged episode of hypoglycaemia on the night of 10-11 December.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There is a &quot;high probability&quot; that Aibhe&#39;s hypoglycaemia was related to the cerebral oedema, or brain damage, that she suffered on 11 December, although she emphasised that the relationship is not totally understood.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr O&#39;Connell emphasised that prolonged hypoglycaemia &quot;is not good for the brain&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr O&#39;Connell also pointed out that no successful critical samples were ever carried out to determine whether Aibhe had an underlying metabolic or endocrine issue.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	These are a series of blood tests to be carried out while a patient is suffering from hypoglycaemia. They are critical in the investigation of hypoglycaemia, said Dr O&#39;Connell.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Meanwhile, Aibhe&#39;s primary school teacher said the girl&#39;s mother had fully expected to receive an earlier referral to Crumlin Children&#39;s Hospital in Dublin for blood tests, although this referral was not received.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Caroline Ni Chonghaile said at the start of the school year in September 2011, Kathleen Conroy mentioned that she was expecting referrals for Aibhe to Crumlin hospital very shortly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Kathleen and John Conroy were again present for the entire proceedings yesterday. Their solicitor, Damien Tansey, said the family is &quot;expecting answers&quot; from this inquest.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	At one point a photo of Aibhe was shown to Dr O&#39;Connell, the coroner and the legal teams, in order to shower skin colour.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;She looks like a sweet, happy child,&quot; Dr. O&#39;Connell said as Mrs Conroy fought back tears.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/critical-blood-tests-never-performed-on-aibhe-inquest-31554041.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/critical-blood-tests-never-performed-on-aibhe-inquest-31554041.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-24 08:06:22',NULL,'critical-blood-tests-never-performed-on-aibhe-inquest'),(1292,'One in three of homeless people attempted suicide','<p>\r\n	One-in-three homeless people who took part in a health survey said they had tried to take their own lives.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	And more than half have been diagnosed with a mental health condition, the report by the Health Service Executive (HSE) revealed.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More than 600 homeless people aged 18 or over in Dublin and Limerick cities were surveyed by the Partnership for Health Equity in September 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The HSE report found that while much has been done already to improve care and access for homeless people there is an urgent need to step up supports.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More needs to be done to improve their poor health, particularly mental health and addiction, which are a barrier to getting out of homelessness.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The homeless group surveyed were mostly men, Catholic, single and under 45.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The vast majority were unemployed and lived on social welfare payments. Many cited family problems,drugs and alcohol addiction for contributing to their homelessness.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Over half reported mental illness and more than a third had self -harmed. Half of those reporting a mental health diagnosis had attempted suicide</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	When compared to a similar survey in 1997 and 2005, the homeless are now more likely to be diagnosed with ill health.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	More are using health services and most have seen a GP or nurse in the previous six months. There are also more homeless with a medical card and they are more inclined to attend hospital A&amp;Es.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The findings of the survey were released as Brother Kevin Crowley of the Capuchin Centre in Dublin made a direct appeal to the Government to tackle the homeless crisis.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The centre is now feeding some 800 people a day which is &quot;huge,&quot; he stressed adding: &quot;The big problem I can see at the moment is the housing situation.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Brother Kevin visited the new factory-made modular houses houses for the homeless, which he described as fabulous.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;This is a short-term solution to make sure that in future that the proper housing will be made available for the homeless,&quot; he said. &quot;The situation is serious at the moment.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/one-in-three-of-homeless-people-attempted-suicide-31554020.html</p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-24 08:14:51',NULL,'one-in-three-of-homeless-people-attempted-suicide'),(1293,'Over 43,000 referrals made to child protection and welfare services in 2014','<p>\r\n	A record number of children were referred to Tusla&rsquo;s child protection and welfare services last year, even as the Child and Family Agency struggled with a &euro;5.1m budget deficit.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The Tusla Annual Report for 2014 states that, based on provisional data, 43,179 referrals were made because of child welfare and child abuse issues &mdash; twice the number of referrals made less than a decade ago and an increase of 1,580 on 2013.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While the number of abuse referrals fell last year by almost 1,000 to 18,541, the number of child welfare referrals soared by 2,446 to 24,638.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report also found that 8,351 children had not been allocated a social worker at the end of 2014, of which one third were deemed high priority, while 1,400 children were listed as being at &ldquo;ongoing risk of significant harm&rdquo; on the Child Protection Notification System (CPNS).</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Children also continue to be placed with unapproved foster carers.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some 442 relative foster carers were unapproved. However, the bulk of foster carers, 4,210, were approved.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The annual report shows Tusla ended its first year of operations with a deficit of &euro;5.1m.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, in the report, Tusla chairwoman Norah Gibbons said: &ldquo;Despite this being a time of constrained resources much has been achieved in the agency&rsquo;s first year.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report lists a range of targets met in 2014, but also highlights the scale of the workload faced by its staff, including 6,463 children in care at the end of last year, two thirds of whom were in foster care with another 29% in relative foster care; 1,400 children listed as being at ongoing risk of significant harm on the CPNS as of the end of last year; 1,282 children or families supported in addressing serious or chronic school attendance issues; and more than 20,000 children in receipt of family support services at the end of 2014.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The report does highlight some positive developments, such as a fall in staff absenteeism.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The number of young people aged between 18 and 22 who received an aftercare service last year increased by 15%; there was a decrease of 24% (to 200) of children who were placed with the Emergency Out of Hours Place of Safety Service; and a fall of 45% in the number of children (174) placed with the Crisis Intervention Service, which also received 752 referrals last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While 27,651 cases were open to social work services at the end of 2014, some 70% had been allocated a social worker and of the 5,620 that were not, two thirds were deemed to be low/ medium priority.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	June Tinsley, head of advocacy at Barnardos, said the report highlighted how under-resourced Tusla has been. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been chronically underfunded from the get-go,&rdquo; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;The reality is those referrals could increase when the Children First Bill is enacted.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/over-43000-referrals-made-to-child-protection-and-welfare-services-in-2014-355848.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/over-43000-referrals-made-to-child-protection-and-welfare-services-in-2014-355848.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-25 09:39:20',NULL,'over-43000-referrals-made-to-child-protection-and-welfare-services-in-2014'),(1294,'LIT study highlights student experience of sexual aggression','<p>\r\n	One in every four students have experienced unwanted and aggressive sexual behaviour, including groping, sexualised verbal abuse and unwanted sexual contact, according to a study conducted at a Limerick third level college.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) research collective, Social Science ConneXions, has found that up to 25 per cent of students surveyed earlier this year reported having experienced a &ldquo;sexually unwanted or aggressive incident&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The survey was conducted online across all four LIT campuses. 338 responses were received and the key findings also showed that five per cent had experienced a non-consensual sexual encounter and five per cent of male respondents had experienced a sexually unwanted or aggressive incident.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Karen Sugrue, Sociology lecturer and researcher with Social Science ConneXions said that while there was an enormous amount of evidence that students were particularly vulnerable to sexual assault and unwanted sexual behaviour, they wanted to find out if this was also the case for LIT students.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We&rsquo;re delighted with the response from the management team at LIT who have taken the issue extremely seriously&rdquo;, she added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	LIT lecturer Jennifer Moran Stritch, who is director of the Loss and Grief research group, said that some people believed that the only type of sexual assault is rape.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We are also aware of the importance of verbal abuse, atmosphere and the sense of feeling intimidated. We want our students to live and study in an environment where they feel safe and know how and where to access supports should they need them&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Mairead Keogh, Vice President of LIT Students Union said that prevention of unwanted or aggressive incidents was the key to ensuring a safer environment for students and the students union strongly support the measures implemented.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	LIT Registrar Terry Twomey said that LIT had an exemplary record in student safety on campus.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We have had no reported incidents here at LIT, and we take pre-emptive action through our Student Safety Programme to ensure that we maintain our exemplary record. Nonetheless, as part of LIT&rsquo;s Student Safety Programme, our Social Science Connexions unit carried out a small pilot survey of students on any experience of sexual harassment they might have had&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He added that because LIT had no reported incidents, the negative experiences reported most likely related to life off-campus.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Still, the institute is taking no chances. Last week, LIT introduced a new presentation on consent to all new students as part of our Student Safety Programme. LIT is leading the sector in this way and our objective is to maintain our exemplary record of student safety,&rdquo; he concluded.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	National research indicates that only about 1 in 10 incidents are reported. To address this and support students, LIT ran a programme of discussion about consent during September induction days for 1st year students that ties in with the No Grey Areas campaign launched nationally by Minister for Justice Equality and Law Reform, Francis Fitzgerald, last Friday.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.limerickpost.ie/2015/09/24/lit-study-highlights-student-experience-of-sexual-aggression/\">http://www.limerickpost.ie/2015/09/24/lit-study-highlights-student-experience-of-sexual-aggression/</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-25 09:41:43',NULL,'lit-study-highlights-student-experience-of-sexual-aggression'),(1295,'Girl, 3, jabbed with ‘heroin’ needle on Dublin Bus','<p>\r\n	Dublin Bus are investigating an incident in which a young girl was pricked with a used syringe while travelling on one of their vehicles.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Parent Stacie Zambra had only just sat down at the back of the bus on Wednesday afternoon with her two children, when she noticed that her daughter Alysha&rsquo;s finger was &ldquo;pouring with blood&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Zambra has described how she then realised that her three-year-old girl had accidently jabbed herself with a contaminated needle, that had been left lying on the bus &ldquo;seat or floor&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She told Today FM&#39;s Anton Savage show that she had to pull the syringe out of the little girl&rsquo;s finger and call for help from the bus driver.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;You could see clearly that there was half of liquid heroin in the syringe,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Emergency services were called to the scene near Bluebell, and Alysha was rushed to Crumlin Children&rsquo;s Hospital.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms Zambra added: &ldquo;I heard the paramedics saying to the hospital that it was a heroin syringe.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The worried woman is now waiting on HIV and Hepatitis C blood tests to see if the toddler has contracted any infections.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The incident on route number 13 has been confirmed by Dublin Bus, and an investigation is now being carried out.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Dublin Bus has very strict protocols and procedures in place, when dealing with incidents such as this, which the driver followed,&rdquo; a statement from the company said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;He immediately requested the emergency services, informed Dublin Bus control centre, the bus was taken out of service and returned to its depot to be examined and cleaned.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Passengers were transferred onto another service.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The spokesperson added that &quot;incidents of this nature are a rare occurence&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://utv.ie/News/2015/09/24/Girl-3-jabbed-with-heroin-needle-on-Dublin-Bus-45575\">http://utv.ie/News/2015/09/24/Girl-3-jabbed-with-heroin-needle-on-Dublin-Bus-45575</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-25 09:42:54',NULL,'girl-3-jabbed-with-‘heroin’-needle-on-dublin-bus'),(1296,'Methadone: ‘I’d love to get this out of my system’','<p>\r\n	More than 10,000 receive the heroin substitute, but an alternative medication is available</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The first thing Philip (43) does each morning after waking up is to reach for a plastic bottle with green liquid.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It&rsquo;s sweet, a bit like cough medicine,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;I take it to feel normal. If I didn&rsquo;t take this, it would be horrible ... You get withdrawals. It&rsquo;s horrible. The body just shuts down.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He takes a 90ml dose of methadone, seven mornings a week. Philip is trusted enough to get &ldquo;take aways&rdquo; from his pharmacy twice a week, instead of queuing up at a drugs clinic.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It doesn&rsquo;t make him high, he says. The people you see spaced-out, wandering across the traffic? They&rsquo;re the ones, he says, taking it with booze or benzodiazepines.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It&rsquo;s 15 years since he was first prescribed a maintenance dose of methadone to help treat his addition to heroin. He never thought, more than decade and a half later, he&rsquo;d still be on the drug.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dependent</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	On one hand, it&rsquo;s helped him a lot. He says he&rsquo;s not on hard drugs and doesn&rsquo;t drink. But he knows he&rsquo;s heavily dependent on it . It can&rsquo;t be good for him, he reckons, but he finds it hard to ever imagine ever getting off the drug.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I&rsquo;m almost 44 and my body isn&rsquo;t getting any healthier. I&rsquo;d love to get it all out of my system, but it could take months. I&rsquo;d love to just move on, get a job. I haven&rsquo;t worked for years.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Philip is one of more than 10,000 people provided with methadone by the State.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It stabilises, and sometimes even saves, the lives of heroin users. People on methadone are less likely to use illegal drugs and less likely be involved in stealing to feed a drugs habit. Many hold down jobs or training courses.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The problem is many don&rsquo;t move on from the drug, which is highly addictive.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	By the HSE&rsquo;s own estimate, more than 3,300 &ndash; or more than one-in-three &ndash; are in the second decade of taking the drug.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It&rsquo;s relatively cheap, but there is a lucrative and illegal street market for the drug. A single bottle can sell for between &euro;70 and &euro;100, according to users.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Drug-related deaths</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While it&rsquo;s very safe, it is highly dangerous when combined with other drugs. In 2012 alone, there were 86 drug-related deaths, down from 113 the year before, involving methadone and other drugs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Health authorities are exploring the possibility of making an alternative widely available: Suboxone.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It&rsquo;s typically taken as a tablet, taken under the tongue, and used as a treatment for people addicted to opioid drugs such as heroin or codeine.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	It contains two active ingredients &ndash; buprenorphine and naloxone &ndash; which reduce symptoms of dependency and guard against overdose through misuse.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There is one major obstacle: the drug is expensive. The cost per patient is in the region of eight times that of methadone. In the US, where it&rsquo;s been available for many years, it&rsquo;s nick-named the &ldquo;rich man&rsquo;s methadone&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Ide Delargey, a GP and member of a pilot scheme involved in prescribing the drug, said people deserve more treatment options.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	While the drug is more expensive, she said the wider cost of methadone &ndash; such as long-term treatment and social problems &ndash;policy-makers need to look beyond the upfront cost of the medication.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Methadone is the only option offered to treat opioid addiction at the moment. It&rsquo;s one-size-fits all &hellip; I don&rsquo;t think people would accept a situation in, say, heart disease where just one drugs was available,&rdquo; say Dr Delargy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In particular, she says young people who have never been on heroin who are trying to detox could be suitable candidates for the drug. In addition, patients treated for codeine and methadone users who have stabilised their lives are likely to benefit.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Tony Geoghegan of the Merchant&rsquo;s Quay, a homeless and drugs service, agrees. He says that while methadone helped save and stabilise lives, the numbers moving beyond it are disappointing. This is due partly to the fact that not enough resources are going into supporting people to move beyond the drug.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Suboxone has been used on a pilot basis in Ireland among a select number of GPs. Suboxone has been available under pilot projects and other small-scale programmes. Last year, for example, 118 patients received it.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Anna, a former heroin user, is one of those who took part in a pilot project. By her own description she was from a middle-class background and drifted into using the drug at parties in her early 20s.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t long before I was dependant on it,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;My life went from back to worse. It became the most important thing in her life.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She tried to get clean though methadone clinics and cold turkey, but only for short periods of time. In 2009 she took part in a pilot scheme using Suboxone. It killed the cravings, she says, and helped get her life back on track.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It was working, so I was able to work on my issues and behaviours that led to me taking drugs in the first place,&rdquo; she says. She&rsquo;s now drug free, in her third year of college and is no longer takes the Suboxone.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Delargy is careful to say Suboxone is not a wonder drug or the answer to Ireland&rsquo;s heroin and methadone problem.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	But she says is it a valuable alternative which is the preferred treatment option for some categories of patient.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Not widely available</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ireland, however, is one of just four EU member states where the drug is not widely available or available under the public health system. In most of these countries, it accounts for between 20 and 30 per cent of drug treatment for opioid dependency.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Under plans being drawn up by the HSE, Suboxone could be made available, on a limited basis, as alternative to methadone &ndash; subject to funding being made available.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	For Philip, he&rsquo;s not sure if he would qualify for taking the drug. But, after 15 years on methadone, he&rsquo;s ready to try something new. He has completed numerous F&aacute;s courses over the years and used to work as a butcher.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I&rsquo;d love to go back to the work I used to do. I worked in a butcher&rsquo;s on Parnell Street and Moore Street ... The problem is that when you&rsquo;re on methadone or if you&rsquo;ve been associated with that scene, people judge you. I even judge people ... If there&rsquo;s another chance at getting on with life, I&rsquo;d take it.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/methadone-i-d-love-to-get-this-out-of-my-system-1.2368806\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/methadone-i-d-love-to-get-this-out-of-my-system-1.2368806</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-28 10:16:09',NULL,'methadone-‘i’d-love-to-get-this-out-of-my-system’'),(1297,'Bullied obese children miss long tracts of school year','<p>\r\n	Aoife Brinkley, a senior clinical psychologist at the child obesity service at Temple Street Children&rsquo;s University Hospital, said seven out of ten children at the clinic reported bullying, with one tenth self-harming as a result, and suffering with depression and anxiety disorders.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	With a quarter of Irish children classed as overweight or obese, it is thought more and more will be psychologically affected by bullying as a new international report pinpointed weight as the most common form of playground teasing.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dr Brinkley said children with obesity can be so affected by bullying they can no longer face going into the classroom. &ldquo;We see kids refusing to go to school. We would have a little group that have struggled or missed a huge amount of school because of the bullying they have experienced.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The leading psychologist said she has seen bullying resulting in children becoming so socially anxious they can&rsquo;t go outside their house.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;We would have a lot of children who have attempted to hurt themselves and harm themselves. We would have children with depression, symptoms of anxiety.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;There is a lot of social anxiety where children or teenagers are struggling to go outside the house because they feel so self-conscious.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;It can become a vicious cycle where a young person teased or bullied doesn&rsquo;t want to leave the house and is gaining weight because they are not leaving the house.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said bullying can begin to have much more serious consequences towards the end of primary school.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Maybe they have been bullied on and off from third class and fourth class but maybe things continuing into fifth class and sixth class, so it means that transition to secondary school is particularly difficult for those kids.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said a survey carried out among children with obesity attending the W82GO Healthy Lifestyles Programme in Temple Street, which sees an average of 150 children a year, showed 57% of children experienced moderate bullying with 11% subjected to severe bullying.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;With girls it tends to be name-calling, left out of games. As they get older it tends to be more of a serious nature. Targeted exclusion over a period of time, repeated comments and we have had some children where there has been quite serious cyber bullying on social media.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	She said there are also a lot of misconceptions around childhood obesity in Ireland. &ldquo;A lot of the stigma is that people think that it&rsquo;s simple &mdash; that they need to eat less or be more active. That is true to some degree but sometimes there are barriers to stop them doing that which are absolutely insurmountable whether it&rsquo;s parents&rsquo; substance use or mental health within the family.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;I&rsquo;d like to break down the myth that it is a simple thing or it is the parents&rsquo; fault. It is very complex and a really difficult thing to change.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/bullied-obese-children-miss-long-tracts-of-school-year-356180.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/bullied-obese-children-miss-long-tracts-of-school-year-356180.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-28 10:27:29',NULL,'bullied-obese-children-miss-long-tracts-of-school-year'),(1298,'Review of homeless and housing services ordered','<p>\r\n	Minister for the Community Alan Kelly orders action out of concern at overlap, duplication</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A value for money and efficiency review of all homeless services and voluntary housing associations has been ordered by Minister for the Community Alan Kelly.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	With 536 housing and homeless organisations operating in the State, a spokesman said there was a concern of a significant degree of overlap and service duplication.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In Dublin, there are thought to be up to 50 organisations &ndash; many local and voluntary &ndash; offering services directly to the homeless, with 23 funded through section 10 by one of the four local authorities. Outside Dublin some further 30 State-funded organisations are directly involved with homeless people.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are about 470 voluntary housing bodies involved only in building housing, most of them on a very small and local scale, with considerable duplication of function.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Numerous organisations known mainly for their work with the homeless are also involved in building. In the homelessness arena, many are providing similar services.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Parallel management</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	For instance, in Dublin, eight organisations &ndash; Peter McVerry Trust, Crosscare, the De Paul Trust, Novas, the Salvation Army, Focus Ireland, the YMCA and Dublin Simon &ndash; are involved in the provision of emergency shelter, each with their own organisational management teams, chief executives or directors, policy teams, buildings managers, health and counselling teams, and training programmes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The estimated State funding for these organisations, to provide emergency beds this year, is over &euro;13 million.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There are nine organisations in Dublin providing long-term supported accommodation, including many already mentioned, and also the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, the Dublin Aids Fund and Sophia Housing as well as Dublin City Council. The State funding for these, for this service this year, is put at &euro;7.6 million.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	State funding</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Day services such as drop-in advice and/or food centres are provided by five groups &ndash; Crosscare, the Capuchin Day Centre, Merchants Quay Ireland, Focus Ireland and Threshold, at a combined cost in terms of State funding, of &euro;4 million this year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Other services to the homeless of Dublin include the emergency helpline, the central placement service, resettlement and tenancy sustainment, and domestic violence refuges.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Other services are provided by the Department of Social Protection, the HSE and individual local authorities, while more, such as Trust operated by Alice Leahy, and Inner City Help Homeless, receive no State funding.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The terms of reference of this review, due to get under way before the end of the year, say it will evaluate &ldquo;the homelessness sector including its structures, service delivery and co-ordination&rdquo;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A spokesman for the Minister said: &ldquo;Housing and homelessness agencies are vital to the efforts of tackling homelessness.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Their experience and know-how at preventing homelessness needs to be tapped into and no one is seeking to take away from the resources for the important work they do.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;However, there is concern there are so many organisations being funded from the same pot . . . and if there is inefficiency or duplication that needs to be addressed.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/review-of-homeless-and-housing-services-ordered-1.2368611\">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/review-of-homeless-and-housing-services-ordered-1.2368611</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-28 10:28:56',NULL,'review-of-homeless-and-housing-services-ordered'),(1299,'Shoebox appeal children meet after 16 years','<p>\r\n	It has travelled more than 4,000km. Sixteen years have passed. It was like a message in a bottle but this was a gift in a shoebox.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In 1999, a then-Galway schoolgirl sent a Team Hope shoebox laden with presents to an Armenian boy and, yesterday, recipient came face-to-face for the first time.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	After a two-year search to find the person who sent him the shoebox, Arsen Khachatryan finally met 24-year-old Tuam-born Claire Fahy.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The father-of-one had arrived in Ireland to thank Claire and to join forces with TV3&rsquo;s Ireland AM to support the 2015 Team Hope Shoebox Appeal.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Together they are calling on families, schools, community groups and businesses to make a difference this Christmas for children in Africa and Eastern Europe.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Claire, who was a student at Belclare National School at the time, recalls what motivated her to reach out to other children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Our teacher asked us if we could imagine waking up on Christmas morning with no presents. She explained that for many kids, around the world, the shoebox is the only gift they would receive. This made me think of how lucky I was and that I really wanted to make a difference, especially at Christmas.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Her gift made its way into Arsen&rsquo;s possession.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	He said: &ldquo;It was incredible. We opened the shoeboxes and saw lovely gifts like clothes, toys and other small items all the way from Ireland. I received a lovely note from Claire too with a beautiful photo.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Speaking at the launch, Team Hope executive director Niall Barry said Arsen and Claire&rsquo;s story showed just how successful the shoebox appeal can be.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&ldquo;Poverty and need is on the increase every year in the countries we visit and we see first-hand that our Christmas shoeboxes help bring joy, laughter, and hope to children living on the margins of society, victims of war, disease or poverty.&rdquo;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A total of 169,705 shoeboxes were packed in Ireland last year and sent to more than 10 countries.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	This year, Team Hope also plans to give shoeboxes to 20,000 refugee children.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Anyone wishing to get involved should simply fill a shoebox with gifts for a child, attach &euro;4, and bring it to a drop-off point before November 10.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&nbsp;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	For more, log onto https://secure.teamhope.ie/csa</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/shoebox-appeal-children-meet-after-16-years-356378.html\">http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/shoebox-appeal-children-meet-after-16-years-356378.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-29 09:20:37',NULL,'shoebox-appeal-children-meet-after-16-years'),(1300,'Violent and sexual crimes on the rise','<p>\r\n	Increase in number of rapes, assaults, burglaries, say CSO</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	A startling increase in violent and sexual crimes has been revealed in the latest crime statistics - although there has been a drop in the number of murders.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	And burglary is on the rise with an 8.4pc increase nationwide - while thefts from shops suffered from a 11.2pc spike.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	As highlighted by the Irish Independent, incidents of rural crime, thefts and home invasions have been rocking rural Ireland for the past year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Across the country, some 28,830 burglaries and related offences have occurred compared with 26,589 in the same period last year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show incidences of recorded crime during the 12 months up to the end of June.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The number of murders dropped by some 35.5pc on last year&#39;s figure, falling from 93 to 60.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, threats to kill increased by 52.6pc from 357 to 537 year-on-year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The number of assaults also saw a worrying 11.5pc increase to 10,748, while assaults causing harm and poisoning offences hit the 3,240 mark, up 5.2pc.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Among the rural burglary hotspots were Rathdrum and Newtownmountkennedy in Co Wicklow with 22 and 23 break-ins reported between January and June.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The small seaside village of Laytown, Co Meath, saw 57 recorded offences.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Fianna F&aacute;il leader Miche&aacute;l Martin said the Government was to blame for the spiralling rural crime rate.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;They closed down 139 garda stations and the inevitable has happened in terms of crime,&quot; he said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It is time to reopen these stations,&quot; he added.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Crime Victims Helpline Co-ordinator Michelle Puckhaber has said the service is seeing an increase in calls from outside the Dublin region.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We are seeing more and more calls related to burglary across the country,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It is a worrying trend. Some calls are coming in where people are reporting that they were in their home when it was burgled.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;Even more worrying are those reporting that they have been assaulted.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;And some are calling to say they have been burgled while they have been away and have returned to find their home has been compromised. Either way it is very worrying.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The data also revealed further increases in a number of offences closely associated with organised crime.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Possession of a firearm rocketed by 21pc to 214.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, despite more guns being recovered by garda&iacute;, the statistics also revealed the number of those firing an illegal weapon dropped by 2pc.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Controlled drugs offences overall fell by 1.2pc to 14,488 crimes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Cultivation of drugs saw a 19pc drop while the number of drugs seizures for personal use fell by 1pc.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	However, the possession of drugs for sale or supply increased 1pc, to 3,448 cases.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	There was also an increase in the number of sexual offences.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	The overall category saw an increase of 3.3pc, which included an increase of 6.7pc in rapes and 6.5pc in sexual assaults.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	In the capital alone, the number of sexual offences recorded between January and June of this year stood at 376 compared to 346 in the same period last year. Nationwide there were some 2,078 compared to 2,006 in 2014. Other sexual assaults were up 7pc.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Dublin Rape Crisis Centre CEO Ellen O&#39;Malley-Dunlop said the statistics were a &quot;cause for concern&quot;.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;These numbers are both shocking and worrying,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;But we welcome the fact that there has been an increase in the number of people reporting these crimes.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;We are still waiting for a new EU directive to be transcribed into Irish law which will hopefully go some way to these people being convicted.&quot;</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Ms O&#39;Malley-Dunlop said the new laws will ensure that the DPP must give a reason upon deciding against pursuing a sexual assault case.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	&quot;It will also give victims more anonymity in the sense their details won&#39;t be kept on file, which might in turn see more people coming forward,&quot; she said.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Driving a vehicle under the influence of drink or drugs was down by 13pc and 4pc respectively.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Some 6,450 motorists were detected driving over the legal alcohol limit in the 12-month period while 232 were caught driving under the influence of drugs.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Car hijackings and related crimes increased by 28pc to 110 cases, while some 7,392 cars were stolen - just three fewer than the previous year.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	Kidnapping and related offences decreased 4pc, to 131 offences.</p>\r\n<p>\r\n	<a href=\"http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/violent-and-sexual-crimes-on-the-rise-31566449.html\">http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/violent-and-sexual-crimes-on-the-rise-31566449.html</a></p>\r\n','public','',1,'2015-09-29 09:22:03',NULL,'violent-and-sexual-crimes-on-the-rise'),