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xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_crime-law"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/crime-law/courts" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Courts</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/property" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Property</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_property" aria-label="Show Property sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_property"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/property/residential" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Residential</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/property/commercial-property" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Commercial Property</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/property/interiors" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Interiors</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/food" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Food</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_food" aria-label="Show Food sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_food"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/food/drink" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Drink</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/food/recipes" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Recipes</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/food/restaurants" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Restaurants</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/health" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Health</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_health" aria-label="Show Health sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_health"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/health/your-family" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Your Family</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/health/your-fitness" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Your Fitness</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/health/your-wellness" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Your Wellness</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/health/your-fitness/get-running" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Get Running</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/life-style" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Life & Style</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_life-style" aria-label="Show Life & Style sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_life-style"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/life-style/fashion" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Fashion</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/tags/beauty/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Beauty</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/life-style/fine-art-antiques" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Fine Art & Antiques</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/life-style/gardening" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Gardening</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/life-style/people" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">People</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/life-style/travel" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Travel</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/culture" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Culture</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_culture" aria-label="Show Culture sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_culture"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/culture/art" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Art</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/culture/books" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Books</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/culture/film" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Film</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/culture/music" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Music</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/culture/stage" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Stage</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/culture/tv-radio" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">TV & Radio</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/environment" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Environment</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_environment" aria-label="Show Environment sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_environment"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/environment/climate-crisis" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Climate Crisis</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/technology" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Technology</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_technology" aria-label="Show Technology sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_technology"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/technology/big-tech" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Big Tech</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/technology/consumer-tech" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Consumer Tech</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/technology/data-security" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Data & Security</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/technology/gaming" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Gaming</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/science" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Science</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_science" aria-label="Show Science sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_science"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/science/space" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Space</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/media" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Media</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/abroad" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Abroad</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/obituaries" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Obituaries</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/transport" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Transport</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/motors" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Motors</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_motors" aria-label="Show Motors sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_motors"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/motors/car-reviews/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Car Reviews</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/listen/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Listen</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="center" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><a class="c-link" href="/podcasts" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Podcasts</a><button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="header_sub_section_podcasts" aria-label="Show Podcasts sub sections" class="c-button c-button--medium c-button--default submenu-caret" type="button"><span><svg class="c-icon" width="20" height="20" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false"><path d="M256 416C247.812 416 239.62 412.875 233.38 406.625L41.38 214.625C28.88 202.125 28.88 181.875 41.38 169.375C53.88 156.875 74.13 156.875 86.63 169.375L256 338.8L425.4 169.4C437.9 156.9 458.15 156.9 470.65 169.4C483.15 181.9 483.15 202.15 470.65 214.65L278.65 406.65C272.4 412.9 264.2 416 256 416Z"></path></svg></span></button></div><div class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-container "><ul class="b-header-nav-chain__subsection-menu" id="header_sub_section_podcasts"><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/podcasts/in-the-news" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">In the News Podcast</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/podcasts/inside-politics" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Inside Politics Podcast</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/podcasts/the-womens-podcast" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">The Women's Podcast</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/podcasts/inside-business" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Inside Business Podcast</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/podcasts/ross-ocarroll-kelly" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Ross O'Carroll-Kelly</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/podcasts/the-counter-ruck" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">The Counter Ruck Podcast</a></li><li class="subsection-item" data-testid="nav-chain-subsection-item"><a class="c-link" href="/podcasts/conversations-with-parents" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Conversations with Parents Podcast</a></li></ul></div></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/video" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Video</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><a class="c-link" href="/photography" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1">Photography</a></li><li class="section-item" data-testid="nav-chain-section-item"><div data-testid="nav-chain-section-item-subsection" class="c-stack b-header-nav-chain__subsection-anchor subsection-anchor " data-style-direction="horizontal" data-style-justification="start" 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Forecast</a></li><li class="section-menu--bottom-placeholder"></li></ul></div></div></div></nav></header><section role="main" class="b-it-right-rail-advanced__main" id="main"><div class="c-stack b-it-right-rail-advanced__full-width-1" data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><div id="arcad-feature-f0fwlLn0hH4648M-1f8ba040bc5b9b" class="default__StyledAdUnit-sc-1moicrg-0 gKEhzJ arcad-feature" style="min-height:107px;--mobile-display:none;--tablet-display:block;--desktop-display:block"><div class="arcad-container width_100" style="max-width:970px"><div id="arcad_f0fwlLn0hH4648M-1f8ba040bc5b9b" class="arcad ad-970x90"></div></div></div><div class="c-stack b-section-title" data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><h1 class="c-heading">Social Affairs</h1><div class="b-section-title__links"><a class="c-link" href="/tags/religion-beliefs/">Religion & Beliefs</a><span class="c-separator"></span><a class="c-link" href="/tags/direct-provision/">Direct Provision</a></div></div><hr class="c-divider b-it-divider-block"/></div><div class="c-grid b-it-right-rail-advanced__rail-container"><div class="c-stack b-it-right-rail-advanced__main-interior-item b-it-right-rail-advanced__empty" data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><div class="c-stack b-it-right-rail-advanced__main-interior-item-1" data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap"><div class="c-stack b-flex-promo-list-block" data-style-direction="vertical" data-style-justification="start" data-style-alignment="unset" data-style-inline="false" data-style-wrap="nowrap" style="--c-stack-gap:1rem"><article class="b-flex-promo-card b-flex-promo-card__right-left c-it-border__bottom c-it-border--mobile c-it-border--tablet c-it-border--desktop"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link b-flex-promo-card__link" href="/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/13/abortion-numbers-reported-by-providers-fell-sharply-last-year/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img fetchpriority="low" data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Abortion numbers reported by providers fell sharply last year" class="c-image b-flex-promo-card__mobile-image-16-9 b-flex-promo-card__desktop-image-16-9" loading="lazy" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/YNXYTBPPDL5R5EFT4R3O672WSU.JPG?smart=true&auth=9309c70923dc496e5205c01d0c37aa804c138665aef070abace29d5aaebaf2f9&width=274&height=154" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/YNXYTBPPDL5R5EFT4R3O672WSU.JPG?smart=true&auth=9309c70923dc496e5205c01d0c37aa804c138665aef070abace29d5aaebaf2f9&width=200&height=112 200w, 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href="/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/13/abortion-numbers-reported-by-providers-fell-sharply-last-year/">Abortion numbers reported by providers fell sharply last year</a></h2></div></div></article><article class="b-flex-promo-card b-flex-promo-card__right-left c-it-border__bottom c-it-border--mobile c-it-border--tablet c-it-border--desktop"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link b-flex-promo-card__link" href="/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/13/psni-investigating-after-effigies-of-female-politicians-hung-from-loyalist-bonfires/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img fetchpriority="low" data-chromatic="ignore" alt="PSNI investigating after effigies of female politicians hung from loyalist bonfires" class="c-image b-flex-promo-card__mobile-image-16-9 b-flex-promo-card__desktop-image-16-9" loading="lazy" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/LZHFN2H2XRIZ2WEHZ6IMV2JLMM.jpg?smart=true&auth=221b86ba4f1f406014ac7e475949b2b533c442dc33ecd20e6ae35a0b33b9e575&width=274&height=154" 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class="b-flex-promo-card__text-no-overline"><h2 class="c-heading c-heading__md text-align_left"><a class="c-link font-bold" href="/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/13/psni-investigating-after-effigies-of-female-politicians-hung-from-loyalist-bonfires/">PSNI investigating after effigies of female politicians hung from loyalist bonfires</a></h2></div></div></article><article class="b-flex-promo-card b-flex-promo-card__right-left c-it-border__bottom c-it-border--mobile c-it-border--tablet c-it-border--desktop"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link b-flex-promo-card__link" href="/politics/oireachtas/2022/07/13/referendum-on-womens-place-in-the-home-should-be-held-next-year-oireachtas-report-says/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img fetchpriority="low" data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Referendum on women’s place in home should be held next year, Oireachtas report says" class="c-image b-flex-promo-card__mobile-image-16-9 b-flex-promo-card__desktop-image-16-9" loading="lazy" 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https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/FXCW5PFUFR6E47AO2JRDB6YANM.jpg?smart=true&auth=67946f25b6b557dfad479bf05591f00e4a9822535dc9cc9166eaff9faf26d638&width=1200&height=674 1200w" sizes="30vw" width="274" height="154"/></a></figure><div class="b-flex-promo-card__text"><div class="b-flex-promo-card__text-no-overline"><h2 class="c-heading c-heading__md text-align_left"><a class="c-link font-bold" href="/politics/oireachtas/2022/07/13/referendum-on-womens-place-in-the-home-should-be-held-next-year-oireachtas-report-says/">Referendum on women’s place in home should be held next year, Oireachtas report says</a></h2></div></div></article><article class="b-flex-promo-card b-flex-promo-card__right-left c-it-border__bottom c-it-border--mobile c-it-border--tablet c-it-border--desktop"><figure class="c-media-item"><a class="c-link b-flex-promo-card__link" href="/ireland/2022/07/13/irish-public-trust-in-civil-servants-and-government-among-highest-in-oecd/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img 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href="/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/13/key-measure-to-address-child-poverty-is-free-childcare-for-those-who-need-it-advocacy-group-says/" aria-hidden="true" tabindex="-1"><img fetchpriority="low" data-chromatic="ignore" alt="Free childcare is key in addressing child poverty, advocacy group says" class="c-image b-flex-promo-card__mobile-image-16-9 b-flex-promo-card__desktop-image-16-9" loading="lazy" src="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/ZI6QV7RNDFDSFLYG5LXQR3IJQE.jpg?smart=true&auth=2a2dc96746892c72179b1ae35b1df86b3ad647a4b5241374d514358f44709038&width=274&height=154" srcSet="https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/ZI6QV7RNDFDSFLYG5LXQR3IJQE.jpg?smart=true&auth=2a2dc96746892c72179b1ae35b1df86b3ad647a4b5241374d514358f44709038&width=200&height=112 200w, https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/ZI6QV7RNDFDSFLYG5LXQR3IJQE.jpg?smart=true&auth=2a2dc96746892c72179b1ae35b1df86b3ad647a4b5241374d514358f44709038&width=400&height=224 400w, 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class="page-link">8</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/9/" class="page-link">9</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/10/" class="page-link">10</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/11/" class="page-link">11</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/12/" class="page-link">12</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/13/" class="page-link">13</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/14/" class="page-link">14</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/15/" class="page-link">15</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/16/" class="page-link">16</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/17/" class="page-link">17</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/18/" class="page-link">18</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/19/" class="page-link">19</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/20/" class="page-link">20</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/21/" class="page-link">21</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/22/" class="page-link">22</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/23/" class="page-link">23</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/24/" class="page-link">24</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/25/" class="page-link">25</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/26/" class="page-link">26</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/27/" class="page-link">27</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/28/" class="page-link">28</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/29/" class="page-link">29</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/30/" class="page-link">30</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/31/" class="page-link">31</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/32/" class="page-link">32</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/33/" class="page-link">33</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/34/" class="page-link">34</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/35/" class="page-link">35</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/36/" class="page-link">36</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/37/" class="page-link">37</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/38/" class="page-link">38</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/39/" class="page-link">39</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/40/" class="page-link">40</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/41/" class="page-link">41</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/42/" class="page-link">42</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/43/" class="page-link">43</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/44/" class="page-link">44</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/45/" class="page-link">45</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/46/" class="page-link">46</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/47/" class="page-link">47</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/48/" class="page-link">48</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/49/" class="page-link">49</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/50/" class="page-link">50</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/51/" class="page-link">51</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/52/" class="page-link">52</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/53/" class="page-link">53</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/54/" class="page-link">54</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/55/" class="page-link">55</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/56/" class="page-link">56</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/57/" class="page-link">57</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/58/" class="page-link">58</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/59/" class="page-link">59</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/63/" class="page-link">63</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/64/" class="page-link">64</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/65/" class="page-link">65</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/66/" class="page-link">66</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/67/" class="page-link">67</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/68/" class="page-link">68</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/69/" class="page-link">69</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/70/" class="page-link">70</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/71/" class="page-link">71</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/72/" class="page-link">72</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/73/" class="page-link">73</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/74/" class="page-link">74</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/75/" class="page-link">75</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/76/" class="page-link">76</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/77/" class="page-link">77</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/78/" class="page-link">78</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/79/" class="page-link">79</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/80/" class="page-link">80</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/81/" class="page-link">81</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/82/" class="page-link">82</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/83/" class="page-link">83</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/84/" class="page-link">84</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/85/" class="page-link">85</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/86/" class="page-link">86</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/87/" class="page-link">87</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/88/" class="page-link">88</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/89/" class="page-link">89</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/90/" class="page-link">90</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/91/" class="page-link">91</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/92/" class="page-link">92</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/93/" class="page-link">93</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/94/" class="page-link">94</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/95/" class="page-link">95</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/96/" class="page-link">96</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/97/" class="page-link">97</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/98/" class="page-link">98</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/99/" class="page-link">99</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/100/" class="page-link">100</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/101/" class="page-link">101</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/102/" class="page-link">102</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/103/" class="page-link">103</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/104/" class="page-link">104</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/105/" class="page-link">105</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/106/" class="page-link">106</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/107/" class="page-link">107</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/108/" class="page-link">108</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/109/" class="page-link">109</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/110/" class="page-link">110</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/111/" class="page-link">111</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/112/" class="page-link">112</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/113/" class="page-link">113</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/114/" class="page-link">114</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/115/" class="page-link">115</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/116/" class="page-link">116</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/117/" class="page-link">117</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/118/" class="page-link">118</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/119/" class="page-link">119</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/120/" class="page-link">120</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/121/" class="page-link">121</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/122/" class="page-link">122</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/123/" class="page-link">123</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/124/" class="page-link">124</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/125/" class="page-link">125</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/126/" class="page-link">126</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/127/" class="page-link">127</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/128/" class="page-link">128</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/129/" class="page-link">129</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/130/" class="page-link">130</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/131/" class="page-link">131</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/132/" class="page-link">132</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/133/" class="page-link">133</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/134/" class="page-link">134</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/135/" class="page-link">135</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/136/" class="page-link">136</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/137/" class="page-link">137</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/138/" class="page-link">138</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/139/" class="page-link">139</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/140/" class="page-link">140</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/141/" class="page-link">141</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/142/" class="page-link">142</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/143/" class="page-link">143</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/144/" class="page-link">144</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/145/" class="page-link">145</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/146/" class="page-link">146</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/147/" class="page-link">147</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/148/" class="page-link">148</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/149/" class="page-link">149</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/150/" class="page-link">150</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/151/" class="page-link">151</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/152/" class="page-link">152</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/153/" class="page-link">153</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/154/" class="page-link">154</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/155/" class="page-link">155</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/156/" class="page-link">156</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/157/" class="page-link">157</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/158/" class="page-link">158</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/159/" class="page-link">159</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/160/" class="page-link">160</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/161/" class="page-link">161</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/162/" class="page-link">162</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/163/" class="page-link">163</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/164/" class="page-link">164</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/165/" class="page-link">165</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/166/" class="page-link">166</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/167/" class="page-link">167</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/168/" class="page-link">168</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/169/" class="page-link">169</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/170/" class="page-link">170</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/171/" class="page-link">171</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/172/" class="page-link">172</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/173/" class="page-link">173</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/174/" class="page-link">174</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/175/" class="page-link">175</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/176/" class="page-link">176</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/177/" class="page-link">177</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/178/" class="page-link">178</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/179/" class="page-link">179</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/180/" class="page-link">180</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/181/" class="page-link">181</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/182/" class="page-link">182</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/183/" class="page-link">183</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/184/" class="page-link">184</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/185/" class="page-link">185</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/186/" class="page-link">186</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/187/" class="page-link">187</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/188/" class="page-link">188</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/189/" class="page-link">189</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/190/" class="page-link">190</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/191/" class="page-link">191</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/192/" class="page-link">192</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/193/" class="page-link">193</a></li><li class="pagination-flex"><a href="/ireland/social-affairs/194/" 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Similarly with risk to life or health, there were 20 in 2020 and 21 in 2019, and in an emergency there were five and three respectively..","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q6VSAPQEGBHKZFMB2YJWPV66YQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657734608839},"content":"Responding to the figures, Mr Donnelly said he had asked all 413 GPs contracted to provide abortion services, as well as medical practitioners in hospitals, to “review their records and paperwork as a matter of priority” and ensure they have notified the department of all abortions that took place last year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4MJ7GF2WINADHKOYUZYPPWMVIE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657734608840},"content":"HSE cyberattack","type":"header"},{"_id":"3LPGL7QPE5E7BFZEGJSTZNYJGQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657738441500},"content":"In a supplementary note, published with the report, the department said its officials noted notifications decreased markedly last year from May “and continued to be considerably lower than the previous two years for the months of June, July and August.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SXV7T7DQSJHN3GVMTD7YRH6I3Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1657734608841},"content":"“Numbers began to broadly return to 2019-2020 levels from September onward, with some months showing a higher level of notifications compared to 2019-2020.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ICOQZSTFBNDENHMC2DKNKZD7RY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657734608842},"content":"It says the “precipitous fall in notifications” coincided with the cyberattack on the HSE, “which also briefly impacted the Department”. It noted that last year was “enormously challenging” for GPs. “As such it seems fair to conclude that the cyberattack was impactful in the large reduction in notifications during those months, as many healthcare facilities had to manage their services, referrals and other standard practices in the absence of established digital solutions.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CVD2NLIYZVD57O3VWERY57O2SI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657734608844},"content":"The HSE has followed up with the nine hospitals that provided abortion services last year, and “most hospitals felt their number of terminations was lower in 2021 and it was confirmed that their notifications for 2021 had been submitted”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OV23IWPEU5GTHAMRUDQQ2XXD2Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1657734608845},"content":"Under the terms of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 the Minister must complete a report providing data on abortions the previous year, by the end of June. The 2021 report was laid before the Oireachtas on Wednesday.","type":"text"},{"_id":"R3ZG6WHNXBE7BIGIADHBIEENFI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657734608846},"content":"“The statutory framework does not permit the use of alternative data sources other than the notifications received directly by the Minister from medical practitioners. However, in the interests of openness and transparency, the Minister wishes to highlight this matter alongside the publication of the 2021 report,” the statement said.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Kitty Holland"}},"name":"Kitty Holland"}]},"description":{"basic":"Medical practitioners asked to review records after decline of 2,000 from 2020 total, down to 4,577"},"display_date":"2022-07-13T18:30:52.836Z","headlines":{"basic":"Abortion numbers reported by providers fell sharply last year","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"YNXYTBPPDL5R5EFT4R3O672WSU","auth":{"1":"9309c70923dc496e5205c01d0c37aa804c138665aef070abace29d5aaebaf2f9"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YNXYTBPPDL5R5EFT4R3O672WSU.JPG"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/13/abortion-numbers-reported-by-providers-fell-sharply-last-year/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland/social-affairs","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Social Affairs"}}}},{"_id":"773KPVWQAZEXZJ5A2TK3274C3A","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":209,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4593466/media/325664117abae4ac82b1878dd2316786_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/13/psni-investigating-after-effigies-of-female-politicians-hung-from-loyalist-bonfires/","content_elements":[{"_id":"AE72RUL3WRGF5BSAVUIQAPWGFU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657729794087},"content":"The placing of effigies of female politicians on a Co Antrim bonfire has been described as “utterly sick” by Stormont’s justice minister Naomi Long.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MFTZK2YAWRG45EPV4XMEDOYW7I","additional_properties":{"_id":1657729794090},"content":"Police are investigating after it emerged that images of the Alliance Party leader and Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill were hung from a loyalist pyre in the Glenfield area of Carrickfergus on July 11th.","type":"text"},{"_id":"C2VA2OM24JDQVGTXEMYCWAYMYY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657732103621},"content":"Ms Long said she reported the incident to the PSNI after being forwarded photographs on Tuesday night.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V33RCA24TJAFTFODICYIJKTDHQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657729794092},"content":"She said on Wednesday that she has become “accustomed” to seeing her posters burned on bonfires and “honestly thought nothing could shock me anymore”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4WTXHZ5PFFGEVBOERGTRZUN2GQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657729794093},"content":"“I felt physically sick at those photos – not just at the effigies but at the festering hatred and sectarianism they represent; hatred that not only persists in our community but is being passed on to the next generation as normal,” she said on Twitter. “This has to stop. Our children deserve better.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"EVFU6WZGTBEBTP7TVIXGFF4NQA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657729794095},"content":"Ms Long added that she would not share the images “due to risk of distressing families who had lost loved ones by suicide” and “because they are utterly sick”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HTNAT5EXPVE3RJ4ROMA3OL6GOY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657729794096},"content":"“These were not last-minute additions. There are photos of a children’s ‘fun day’ taking place at this fire while our effigies were hanging on it. Some local businesses even sponsored it,” she wrote.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XUDRKVJRYBEMDDWWB47NKCDLNI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657732103626},"content":"“What kind of parent would see that and think it’s acceptable for their child to see?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"KF7MDEBPDFEXDCCYXSPHNP2KC4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657729794098},"content":"Sinn Féin branded the burning of effigies at loyalist bonfires as “hate crimes”. The party’s north Belfast MLA Gerry Kelly said they had reported several incidents to police.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N7RRGIIGU5GNTFW7YESKYOVYME","additional_properties":{"_id":1657730734055},"content":"“The police say they have been gathering evidence on these hate crimes, what the public needs to see is action,” he said. “All this highlights the need for safeguarding regulations around bonfires which has become an imperative.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"4VCBFBZXOFA4FM346DRR5CBSGM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657729794103},"content":"Mr Kelly called on Unionist political and community leaders to “stand up against these these displays of sectarian hatred and make it clear that there is no place for them in this society”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H6MNXLQ2TZB63M2RXHOMEL4OPI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657729794104},"content":"Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie posted a tweet in response to Ms Long comments, in which he condemned the Carrickfergus bonfire as “utterly vile”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GZRBE2XWTVG3POUVTJVZQJJSHA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657729794105},"content":"“Hanging effigies on bonfires does not represent the union and unionist culture I believe in. Staying silent cannot be an option,” he wrote.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GKRNPBWLMRGFBPRRUGIIEGEEPY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657729794106},"content":"DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson DUP also expressed his opposition to the displays. “Whilst the overwhelming number of Twelfth celebrations were hugely successful, some events require further work and other displays must be outrightly condemned as wrong,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4WIM3LNKYFB4ZMRJZJEADPTMVA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657729794108},"content":"“Throughout my lifetime I have had the privilege to celebrate and educate others about my identity all over the world. At no point has burning posters, flags or pictures of serving politicians featured as part of that. Nor has slogans or displays that advocate sectarian violence against anyone in this society regardless of their political position or religious views.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"56HBYOESV5GDHDB6ZUDAOI6ABA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657729794109},"content":"A PSNI spokeswoman said: “The police service is aware of images which have emerged showing effigies placed on a bonfire in Carrickfergus and are investigating.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Seanín Graham"}},"name":"Seanín Graham"}]},"description":{"basic":"Effigies of female politicians hung from loyalist bonfires described as “utterly sick” by Stormont’s justice minister Long"},"display_date":"2022-07-13T17:08:33.632Z","headlines":{"basic":"PSNI investigating after effigies of female politicians hung from loyalist bonfires","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"LZHFN2H2XRIZ2WEHZ6IMV2JLMM","auth":{"1":"221b86ba4f1f406014ac7e475949b2b533c442dc33ecd20e6ae35a0b33b9e575"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/LZHFN2H2XRIZ2WEHZ6IMV2JLMM.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/13/psni-investigating-after-effigies-of-female-politicians-hung-from-loyalist-bonfires/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland/social-affairs","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Social Affairs"}}}},{"_id":"LIRH24ZPHRBSXGRPWVZDETGHFA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":233,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4589756/media/dc16290260dc904f37503474e31e001c_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/politics/oireachtas/2022/07/13/referendum-on-womens-place-in-the-home-should-be-held-next-year-oireachtas-report-says/","content_elements":[{"_id":"4KCIZCU2GVCJPGF7A3LGMODHCE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657706867069},"content":"A referendum on the constitutional clause on women’s place in the home should be held next year, a new Oireachtas report has recommended.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PIJC7RZVIZC4HFUEG3ZK3YKT2Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1657706867070},"content":"In 2021, the Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality voted for a radical programme of reform, issuing 45 recommendations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TAPRDLFKPNEHZIPJ2ZM7PQ36F4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657706867071},"content":"The Assembly placed a significant emphasis on replacing the wording in the Constitution on women’s place being in the home with a recognition of the value of care within the home and the wider community.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ANMNUUXH45ELTOOPVNKMMESXVU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657706867072},"content":"The members voted overwhelmingly to replace Article 41.2 of the Constitution which states: “In particular the State recognises that by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved.","type":"text"},{"_id":"34E4GTBV6JB6TF2O3JGWMXPVNU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657706867073},"content":"“The State shall, therefore, endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CBH5E4WHRZEH5CWC76XOJXF2FI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657706867074},"content":"In its interim report on constitutional change, published on Wednesday, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality recommended a “constitutional referendum be held in 2023 to give effect to the Citizens’ Assembly recommendations on constitutional change”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BMLSLMY5TRCPLNTQOE554RCO3A","additional_properties":{"_id":1657712471583},"content":"The interim report also recommended that the Government proceed to do the “necessary preparatory work” and that a decision should be made on the wording for a constitutional referendum to be put to the public in 2023. It proposed a number of “appropriate wordings” that could be used in the resulting referendum.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SWYRDAGG3ND6BHOQHZO4VJHFHE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657706867075},"content":"According to the Citizens’ Assembly, article 40.1 of the Constitution should be amended to refer explicitly to gender equality and non-discrimination, while article 41 should be amended to protect family life, with the protection afforded not limited to the marital family.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HCG2G2NSPFBBTC5LYWACANLAAQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657706867076},"content":"Article 41.2 should be “deleted and replaced with language that is not gender specific” and which “obliges the State to take reasonable measures to support care within the home and wider community”, the assembly said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YLCSYF5NFVEG5NZF4U6EFYJXQI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657706867077},"content":"Speaking at the launch, Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik, who chaired the joint committee on gender equality, said a referendum on this issue is “long overdue”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PSL3YVJARBDQ7ICCBSEIIF2ZJA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657713039462},"content":"“It has long been agreed that the way in which women and mothers are referred to in Article 41 is based on outdated gender stereotypes and should have no place in a constitutional text,” she said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H2NH354I7ZB3BP4Q5HYXQVFL2M","additional_properties":{"_id":1657713039463},"content":"“The reality is also that the definition of family has long been criticised for being insufficiently inclusive of diverse family forms in contemporary Ireland and that too must change.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HA2442DGDVHWFKVDSZBJ7MPTSU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657706867078},"content":"The committee’s work on the full set of recommendations from the Citizens’ Assembly is ongoing and will continue through the Autumn.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JKKIWATHGJGQDF5UXPF6OGVEDM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657712471589},"content":"Some of the other recommendations include the implementation of gender quotas in all elections and across public and private bodies, as well as extra supports for carers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RTYNK6IZQ5ENHPNOM4X23ZP3FQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657706867079},"content":"The committee is due to publish its final report on all recommendations in December 2022. It is anticipated the final report will not just consider the 42 other recommendations but also come back to these three, with the hope being the committee could propose one set of wording to be used in the referendum.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HUJ5LZZPTFGUXHNTS2HYX3EFMY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657712471591},"content":"Speaking at the launch of the report, Dr Catherine Day, who chaired the Citizens’ Assembly, welcomed the fact that the recommendations of the Assembly were discussed in terms of how they could be implemented, not whether they should be implemented.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SJN4QP4MXNGQBPGDKHA7AUJTCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657712471592},"content":"“That is a huge step forward compared to any previous work of the Assembly. 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It examined surveys of people across 22 countries to gauge trust in public institutions such as national and local government, the judiciary and the Civil Service.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FMVK3M4I65GEZAOAYIR5Y4L7AM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657655944046},"content":"On average across the countries, four out of 10 people surveyed said they trusted their national government. Slightly more than half of the respondents from Ireland said they trusted the Government.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WHZEESKQXVAQNNX54RPDBJ3ATQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"3ZTM2PA6TZAPHORVV6THNELIAU"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"5EE6DHLCG5DKPBGNFQ355MQML4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657711299068},"content":"The report found a large gap in levels of trust between groups with different levels of education. In Ireland, more than half of those with a third-level education reported trusting the Government, compared to 40 per cent of those with a second-level education. Two-thirds of those with no major financial concerns said they trusted the Government, compared to 40 per cent of those struggling financially.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MRHQB75YENH65L7NZQVUV4PJCM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657655944050},"content":"Class perspectives","type":"header"},{"_id":"JJG4OLA5ENFLJGYWT6V4QLXTQQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657705368851},"content":"There was an even wider gap in levels of trust when it came to social class. Trust in government was twice as high for those who reported to have a high social status compared to those with a self-reported lower social status. The report said this gap was “particularly pronounced” in Ireland, Iceland and Korea compared to other countries surveyed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UQW5OYU73BEFNFWLVC5SNS4AJU","additional_properties":{"_id":"UUCYAVG7LBEU7ABYN6NOHUWL5Q"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"NVAENU63YRGOTMKSECUPNSYANE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657655944051},"content":"There were also lower levels of confidence among younger generations, it said. While only one in five Irish people aged 18-34 responded that they trusted the Government, about 60 per cent of those over 50 years of age said they did.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AHBDRDRF55CX7JLT5MZE75T4KM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657655944052},"content":"When it came to the judiciary, Ireland and Denmark had the highest rates of trust in the courts, where a majority believed judges made decisions free from political influence. While people in most countries surveyed said they trusted their local government more than the national government, in Ireland trust in national government was slightly higher than trust in local authorities.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WCXCV65HVRAGTGVH7XRBEH5QC4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657655944054},"content":"The report said political parties elicited the lowest levels of trust across the board, with on average 55 per cent of people saying they did not trust them.","type":"text"},{"_id":"A77O4V7ELFAJXPMNGKYZ4OZ6YI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657655944055},"content":"When it came to how easy information about public services was to access, four-fifths of Irish people surveyed said they believed it would be easy to find.","type":"text"},{"_id":"I7C5TAPQ5RBLZMH4ZA5CPRMFC4","additional_properties":{"_id":"RRH3DLIVFFCXFNY6UP2FXOWKNU"},"type":"image"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Jack Power"}},"name":"Jack Power"}]},"description":{"basic":"Ireland ranks among Nordic countries when it comes to trust in public institutions"},"display_date":"2022-07-13T09:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Irish public trust in civil servants and government among highest in OECD","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"OUVPH56EWBFR5FHF5LXLRJR57E","auth":{"1":"f2d189ad7e4dd7e89edffec1c46ddc5d34cb9e6a79fda153f738e8f4579f95c3"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/OUVPH56EWBFR5FHF5LXLRJR57E.JPG"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Politics"},{"name":"Europe"},{"name":"World"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/2022/07/13/irish-public-trust-in-civil-servants-and-government-among-highest-in-oecd/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Ireland"}}}},{"_id":"LMPT436UC5E5BO6KFOT2EIYJXU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":261,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4586356/media/4398f5d0525c487eb3c383def8517307_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/13/key-measure-to-address-child-poverty-is-free-childcare-for-those-who-need-it-advocacy-group-says/","content_elements":[{"_id":"XBVLTBHCGFD4JEGIXWTOL34GYQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657638983511},"content":"Deep income inadequacy among the poorest children “will continue ... and may increase” without “targeted and effective” measures, an umbrella NGO representing more than 100 organisations working with children warns.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N4DUP5SULBG75KLSEDYUXVXJNM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657638983514},"content":"The Children’s Rights Alliance says the Government response to the cost-of-living crisis experienced most harshly by the 5.2 per cent of children in consistent poverty has been “ad hoc” and hasn’t gone “far enough”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VLMXXE2GCFBXHCXM6GPY6J7UEM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657638983515},"content":"The “single most important measure in addressing child poverty” would be the provision of “free, (or nearly free)” access to childcare “for parents living in consistent poverty,” it says in its first child poverty monitor. “What works is providing education, training, quality employment alongside quality childcare,” to empower mothers in particular to lift their families out of poverty.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JBPSJTMDA5FZ7D34NFD7B26LDM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657638983516},"content":"Published on Wednesday, it also says benchmarking welfare rates to the cost of living, genuinely free primary and secondary education, and extending fuel allowance to the poorest working families are urgently needed policy changes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6M7XFGC7FRCEVOIFM3P326KHFQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657638983517},"content":"Children aged six to 11 have the highest rates of consistent poverty (9 per cent), followed by 8.8 per cent among 12- to 18-year-olds and 4.8 per cent among 0- to 4-year-olds. Of all children in consistent poverty the alliance says: “43 per cent are in deep poverty where household income is 50 per cent or less of median income.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MRZAG32HAJD75M3RQV4N2KXQ3A","additional_properties":{"_id":1657638983518},"content":"“Households dependent on social welfare were already in receipt of inadequate income supports before the onset of substantial increases in the consumer price index.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"XTTRRTJSNRE33F3T7NG4CAZXOE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657638983519},"content":"It continues: “Inaction on benchmarking of social welfare rates means that those dependent on such payments will continue to struggle to make ends meet.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TKSX3JMROJGX7LOUC762KSJYLI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657638983520},"content":"Among targeted measures there should be “extension of the fuel allowance to recipients of the working family payment [WFP]”. The WFP is a supplementary payment to families where a parent is working but on very low wages.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5QXVEBGOSZBA5KSBCJNRVS6ZLE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657638983521},"content":"A range of social protection changes to better support single parents and their children — who experience the highest rates of poverty — are needed. The Department of Social Protection must ensure: rules around the one-parent family and job seekers transition payments do not disincentivise shared parenting, rules around the WFP do not discriminate against lone-parents, and information provided to lone parents by customer-service staff is accurate and consistent.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3UKUCLZSWVEPBGA5PPAZNJIUIA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657638983522},"content":"“A child-centred approach would ensure that rules are amended to ensure that the social welfare system would meet the best interest of the child,” says the monitor.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QBOHQP5IUFDPJF3PYU3ZM5YQGY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657638983523},"content":"An analysis of OECD data “indicates that supporting parents from low-income families to participate in full-time employment is a critical objective in terms of significantly reducing child poverty,” it says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4VEMERZHSVETVJ5LHHBUNERPY4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657638983524},"content":"“The State needs to provide free (or nearly free access to early childhood education and care, for example, a small contribution of no more than €10 for people on the lowest incomes) for parents living in consistent poverty. This would include those currently on welfare payments or in low-paid jobs.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YSJGL33KR5FK7LZAOEVGTF3BF4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657638983525},"content":"“This is the single most important measure in addressing child poverty based on the evidence,” says the alliance.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DAKUCBD27RC3RHTT5YLBEQ6PM4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657638983526},"content":"Holiday hunger — where children in receipt of school meals do not get enough food when schools are closed — “remains a serious concern for children and young people,” says the alliance.","type":"text"},{"_id":"L5CXKMKTNFGFJM3WJH5FBE6XOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657638983527},"content":"“In the UK, the establishment of holiday clubs in schools and communities in response to this issue ensured children got access to nutritious food but also the opportunity to engage in healthy activities.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FJTRG4EOGBGZ3LRQQX2H73OXS4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657638983528},"content":"“Parents need to be supported and empowered to feed their children sufficient nutritious food. While lower levels of education have been found to be a predictor of food poverty in the Irish context” the monitor notes: “socially disadvantaged groups display awareness of what constitutes healthy eating, yet are constrained primarily by affordability”.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Kitty Holland"}},"name":"Kitty Holland"}]},"description":{"basic":"Government response to the cost-of-living crisis hasn’t gone ‘far enough’, says the Children’s Rights Alliance"},"display_date":"2022-07-12T23:01:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Free childcare is key in addressing child poverty, advocacy group says","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"ZI6QV7RNDFDSFLYG5LXQR3IJQE","auth":{"1":"2a2dc96746892c72179b1ae35b1df86b3ad647a4b5241374d514358f44709038"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/ZI6QV7RNDFDSFLYG5LXQR3IJQE.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/13/key-measure-to-address-child-poverty-is-free-childcare-for-those-who-need-it-advocacy-group-says/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland/social-affairs","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Social Affairs"}}}},{"_id":"LPYRZP4N4ZALTIN4P7X3YYRMEA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":204,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4586198/media/e32fd2b91ce08c4ae24bbdc2c39eedd8_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/12/families-paying-thousands-to-have-children-privately-assessed-due-to-hse-backlog/","content_elements":[{"_id":"R4AVDLJ2CBAWHOIUDMQPYPHGMI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657648487499},"content":"Many families are being pushed into poverty to pay for private assessments and services for children with disabilities due to a huge backlog in HSE services, an Oireachtas committee has heard.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EWOZZVDNFNC7ZJHBQEAUWKJCJU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657652759968},"content":"Adam Harris, chief executive of autism charity AsIAm, said autistic people are waiting too long to receive timely access to supports such as assessment, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and psychological supports.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WML5II2PNNGJROLWNQ7CUP7T5Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1657652759969},"content":"“Too many people are forced to access private services at an enormous personal and family cost, which pushes many people towards poverty,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V5EXZBDYV5GH3LLMPQDMEED2QA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657652759970},"content":"Not providing timely services simply defers and increases the cost of support later, at an enormous loss to the individual and society, he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PZAOEOY4BVFQXFRM57MRWBKPV4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657652759971},"content":"“The State should act as facilitators, not gatekeepers. A radical plan is needed to end excessive waiting lists and ensure appropriate, regulated supports are in place.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q4KUEXSY6ZEIVHT4SQAHHBIBSE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657652759972},"content":"Mr Harris said the system will come under even greater pressure next year, with latest projections indicating there will be demand for more than 20,000 assessments. Yet, he said, the system had struggled to complete about 6,000 assessments last year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2NM5QH4TEZGNPFJIN7Q4XV3HBY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657652759973},"content":"The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Autism was also told on Tuesday that a shortage of professionals for vital therapeutic roles has reached “crisis” levels.","type":"text"},{"_id":"R64ZZ5OYRRFP5OXZXFC4KMF6WM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657648487501},"content":"Fianna Fáil TD Joe Flaherty said in the Longford-Westmeath area alone there were more than 700 children waiting for assessments for an average of 2½ years. Some children, he said, were waiting in excess of four years.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZYV36WSWWFBYPOK2NYDJQ4KVJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657652759975},"content":"Minister of State with responsibility for disability Anne Rabbitte said the outsourcing of assessments, in conjunction with “proper clinical oversight”, was one option she wanted to see examined. She acknowledged the current recruitment model for therapists and other professional roles “isn’t working”, with about 30 per cent of posts in HSE teams vacant.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FB5SQKQ6KZG4XGIL4Z7C2NKNVI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657652759977},"content":"In addition, many therapists attached to special schools have been diverted to other areas of the health service during the pandemic.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3RYLUSHK5NBDRMN6EADIWLFHVA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657648487513},"content":"Ms Rabbitte said there have been recent meetings involving the HSE, the Taoiseach and other Government Ministers, with the aim of boosting the supply of therapists.","type":"text"},{"_id":"L6UN7FOV4BASFLDZE7Z6BRTK64","additional_properties":{"_id":1657652759979},"content":"Among the plans are the introduction of a pay grade for behavioural therapists, including occupational therapists and speech and language therapists, on the critical skills lists for overseas workers, and the recruitment of graduates directly from colleges. In addition, she said there are plans to boost the number of college places in these areas, but she acknowledged this would take time.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NCRXA6LTLZC5VANPER53KONJWA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657652759981},"content":"Mr Harris said any move to outsource assessments should be time-bound, given the risk of shifting towards a private model in the longer term. He also said there was an urgent need to address the cost of disability, given the expense of private assessments and services.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FOPZD5QUGFBSBJJDQRHAVEQBPA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657652759983},"content":"He referenced a study by NUI Galway which estimated that the extra cost of autism to a family is €28,000 due to the expense of private therapy, lost income and informal care.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Carl O'Brien"}},"name":"Carl O'Brien"}]},"description":{"basic":"Autism charity chief tells Oireachtas committee of long waits for access to supports"},"display_date":"2022-07-12T20:10:59.211Z","headlines":{"basic":"Families paying thousands to have children privately assessed due to HSE backlog ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"VUB4YZQ2BZNRVY6ESPVE52BKQY","auth":{"1":"42a9d7fd54d38ee402a7d9d3a7d56d15b64cb71c203d4f3dfb505040c536f8ab"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/VUB4YZQ2BZNRVY6ESPVE52BKQY.JPG"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/12/families-paying-thousands-to-have-children-privately-assessed-due-to-hse-backlog/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland/social-affairs","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Social Affairs"}}}},{"_id":"HG2LLO77LRF33NXPVJITOPUB4M","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":297,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4588066/media/e171374274faef9eab34a5f1f3c20ae8_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/12/stories-of-women-who-travelled-for-abortion-are-heartbreaking-donnelly-says/","content_elements":[{"_id":"TVUZTXRS6JFMZLC7TFPVYPJFBE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657651889986},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"VEUIQCPUDZGLHNYIPJVRNRHB7A","additional_properties":{"_id":1657651889987},"content":"The testimonies of women facing fatal foetal anomaly diagnoses, who travelled for abortions as they did not qualify for care in Ireland, were “heartbreaking” and would be “taken very, very seriously”, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"U5FVVRPT4BCCJP47MOZ7FKUCFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657651889988},"content":"He was responding to the “harrowing” accounts of the women’s experiences accessing abortion services since commencement of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act in January 2019, which were detailed in a HSE report published on Tuesday. Conducted by Trinity College Dublin, the research was commissioned by the executive as part of a legally required review of the operation of the Act.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7HES6O5CE5BXNGTQJFFHQSL534","additional_properties":{"_id":1657651889990},"content":"The Unplanned Pregnancy and Abortion Care (UnPac) study found the Act “falls short” of women’s needs, creating anguish and shame, while causing a “chilling” effect on clinicians — particularly in the cases of women seeking termination of pregnancies with serious foetal anomalies.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CVOAISR3KFHZFCAEUC2CX5FLSE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657651889991},"content":"The Act provides abortion without restriction up to 12 weeks’ gestation and after that where there is a risk to life or health of the mother, or in cases where it is judged that the foetus will die before or within 28 days of birth.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JBOZTPVPGFCWHERBOVLCA57W6Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1657651889992},"content":"Of the 12 women interviewed who experienced serious foetal anomaly diagnoses, just six qualified for abortion care in Ireland. Among the words used by them to describe their experiences were: awful, draining, anguish, arduous, harrowing, uncertain, protracted, cast out, shame, highly distressing, alone.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K4LSSO57MVCJVLAI66NAFTZRKQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657651889993},"content":"Under the Act, a woman qualifies for abortion only where two doctors certify “in good faith” that the baby “is likely” to die before or within 28 days of birth. Doctors face criminal sanction if they breach this. Where they cannot comply, the woman faces continuing the pregnancy to term or travelling abroad for a termination. Women found themselves hoping their diagnosis would be “fatal enough” for care in Ireland.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PS5L7BIK4VDI5JHIXL7CDCLCDI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657651889994},"content":"Speaking at a women’s health event, hosted by Fianna Fáil Senator Lisa Chambers, Mr Donnelly described the report as “very important”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"S6H3OIOPZFGNTNRGLKQUI5FGAM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657651889995},"content":"“My thoughts really go out to the women and their partners. This is exactly why we initiated a review of the legislation ... listening very carefully to service users and listening to service providers. All of that will be coming to me in a report with recommendations,” he said, adding that he would have the report before the end of the year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZEQJYLEZTVFMJBBBKAGRIPIBP4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657651889996},"content":"“I can’t, it would not be proper of me, to pre-empt what I think should or should not be in that report ... but certainly I would be taking the kind of testimony that was published today very, very seriously. You couldn’t but feel for the women and the partners involved. So that is exactly why we did that report — to see what is and is not working in terms of operationalising the Act.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"WVEBDH6ZNZAZFAUDHW3CUC2DTA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657651889997},"content":"The study found those seeking early medical abortions (EMAs) under 12 weeks faced “problematic” situations too — particularly around timely access to care. The mandatory three-day wait between asking for an EMA and accessing one was seen as “infantilising”, though most accepted it could be beneficial for some women.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NJFMFQCRI5CAHFJ3HVG3YTNEC4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657651889999},"content":"The pro-life campaign described the report as “slanted” and “highly selective”. Eilís Mulroy, spokeswoman for the campaign, said: “Terms like ‘chilling effect’ are used again and again in the abortion debate to press for wider access to abortion.” She said Mr Donnelly was overseeing the three-year review in a “highly political and partisan way”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3UCUD6WECNFERHIXYCXZKHW4S4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657651890000},"content":"Alana Ryan, health co-ordinator with the National Women’s Council, said the study made it “clear that significant systemic improvements are required”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JNZCPTXCHBDWFJJQB7EQ7MTHAQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657651890001},"content":"“Women shared the anguish and distress of being deemed ineligible for care on the grounds of fatal foetal anomalies, the disempowering impact of the three-day wait and expressed their ‘shock’ at the lack of GPs providing in rural communities.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"T36A475XTBENLGPPGNCLGDYOZI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657655226947},"content":"Speaking in the Dáil, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the HSE report contained “significant and disturbing analysis” of the situation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MT46GGIPCFHUPMEBVJHXXJTEPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657655226948},"content":"He said he was “not satisfied” that just 11 of the State’s 19 maternity hospitals were providing termination of pregnancy services.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GUIXCIAFZJHWVBPRJWCNA5TBO4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657655226949},"content":"“A number of other maternity hospitals are expected to introduce these services before the end of 2022,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LDPDCADLNVAMJJCVXKESSNSR3I","additional_properties":{"_id":1657655226950},"content":"Labour leader Ivana Bacik said the words expressed by women involved in the review, such as “draining”, “arduous” and “harrowing” showed how “inadequate” the current legislative structure was to meet the needs of women in cases of crisis or unplanned pregnancy.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Kitty Holland"}},"name":"Kitty Holland"},{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Sarah Burns"}},"name":"Sarah Burns"}]},"description":{"basic":"Minister responds to accounts of women facing fatal foetal anomaly diagnoses who did not qualify for care in the Republic"},"display_date":"2022-07-12T19:59:12.682Z","headlines":{"basic":"Stories of women who travelled for abortion are ‘heartbreaking’, Donnelly says","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"OZOJH4ZB4L3PKCZJSXKDZD5FO4","auth":{"1":"5b57226a77396c20315ec8c53117a225c9e53294ea6bb79a4cefefc0f15ab662"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/OZOJH4ZB4L3PKCZJSXKDZD5FO4.JPG"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/12/stories-of-women-who-travelled-for-abortion-are-heartbreaking-donnelly-says/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland/social-affairs","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Social Affairs"}}}},{"_id":"AJGGZKOKKBEOBBOGAP3FJPL2XM","additional_properties":{},"canonical_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/12/young-camogie-champion-among-recipients-of-traveller-pride-awards/","content_elements":[{"_id":"UQNMH5UFPNEW3NHVMQLXUTDRBA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657628843289},"content":"A 14-year-old girl who captained her local GAA club to All-Ireland success was among those honoured at an awards ceremony on Tuesday for members of the Travelling community.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FQIUPJSZONC3XAL4HDZJCDMEWI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657628843290},"content":"Catherine Reilly led St Brigid’s in Castleknock, Dublin, to under-15 All-Ireland Féile camogie championship success in June<b> </b>and triumphed in the sports category at the annual Traveller Pride awards.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7TYXCD73NJADDIBTSIEHB6PD4E","additional_properties":{"_id":1657628843291},"content":"The Castleknock Community College student said captaining her team “to both the Dublin and All-Ireland Féile championships in camogie was really special and somewhat unusual as many don’t associate Travellers with sporting success”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TWA6B7MTWVCO5J2OQIYKSKREIE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657628843292},"content":"“Winning the Traveller Pride award for sport was a massive surprise for me and caps off what has been a brilliant year. It has definitely made me even more determined to continue playing for my club in both football and camogie and we’ll see where the journey takes me in future years.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SZEYCJ2N2JEPLAEBFOIPAYZJ4U","additional_properties":{"_id":1657628843293},"content":"Her father, James, thanked her mentors and managers at St Brigid’s. “I’ve been with them for 30 years and they have been very good to us,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IGJ7KRV64ZHRFNSHOJYWXBSMFI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657628843294},"content":"The awards provide an annual focal point for celebrating Traveller culture and life in Ireland — both nationally and locally, recognising individuals and groups who have made a particular contribution to the community and to wider society.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XAAOI2SDF5HXHENWJQFAXYBT3I","additional_properties":{"_id":1657628843295},"content":"Nine awards were presented at a ceremony in Dublin, with Mary Connors from New Ross, Co Wexford, winning the lifetime achievement award. She has devoted her life to Traveller rights, including accommodation, education, women’s rights, conflict and the recognition of Traveller ethnicity.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2FDT7HFRA5FO7NCTJLI4RNTMGM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657628843296},"content":"She said the award “will give a real boost to all of those who have been working with me in Wexford and Waterford over the years and help sustain them through the many struggles to come to achieve proper accommodation as well as education and training for Travellers”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5K46OFTBQBDYJL422SJIYURHUU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657628843297},"content":"Latisha McCrudden (17) won the education award. From Castlerea, Co Roscommon, she achieved nine A grades in her Junior Cert exams. Having just finished fifth year she hopes to study law at third level.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JKCWE27NBVD5NF4NGCUUQ3H4BU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657628843298},"content":"Brian Doyle won the youth award (19-25 years category) for his work with Involve Meath, showing considerable commitment to young people in his community in Navan and Trim during the Covid-19 pandemic. He created fun activities such as an online cooking programme and dressed up as the Easter bunny to deliver gifts.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CLRLZ4CIUJANZMHB5QZTYV6Z7M","additional_properties":{"_id":1657628843299},"content":"The Involve Youth Project Meath won the youth award (12-18 years age category) for creating their own mental health board game, No Shame Game. The activity aims to help young people develop coping abilities and break the stigma surrounding mental health.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HWWPRTZQFRBBDFM2KFMJ6UVKAQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"QEA6DAS4H5BZRB7ZH6OD6J6Q7I"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"ANXGIBKXD5GKNMPOIQHIH6XEVA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657628843300},"content":"Limerick rapper and spoken-word artist William (Willzee) Casey won the music, arts and culture award category. He lost both parents at a young age, and two brothers, one to the violence that once plagued Limerick, but used his pain to create music and released his first full-length album, Kuti Gris, in April this year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MD72GHPPOFEONHDHZB3JINN3BY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657628843301},"content":"Jason Sherlock picked up the community award. From Westside in Galway city, he set up a safe space for Travellers on the campus of NUI Galway, the Mincéirs Whiden Society, which is the only Traveller society in Irish third-level institutions. He has also worked on social justice and human rights issues from LGBTQIA+, anti-discrimination and anti-racism.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3WFH4LJI4RFEBPZNSK22PIQ7XY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657628843302},"content":"The intersectionality award was won by Rosemarie Maughan, who has been to the forefront of Traveller activism for many years with the Irish Traveller Movement.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4WGQYB632BEXDCLZC6OXMUQCWU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657628843303},"content":"John Pio Browne, who left school before sitting his Junior Cert exams and set up his own toolmaking business six years ago, won the enterprise and innovation award. The Galway man is a minority within a minority, as a Traveller business owner.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Martin Mongan"}]},"description":{"basic":"Awards provide annual focal point for celebrating Traveller culture and life in Ireland"},"display_date":"2022-07-12T18:50:45.857Z","headlines":{"basic":"Young camogie champion among recipients of Traveller Pride awards","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"ISLLUBRNWBDUZI2MCLLGXC3ZQU","auth":{"1":"bc1897a4fd98becc14694ae374dbec694b651c9fa531c46a4d005962ae831521"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/ISLLUBRNWBDUZI2MCLLGXC3ZQU.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/12/young-camogie-champion-among-recipients-of-traveller-pride-awards/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland/social-affairs","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Social Affairs"}}}},{"_id":"KOHHN2QT3RCYNPQFBAYHC3BHL4","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":235,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4577537/media/e01c2e1e018442f9d33b8921de676103_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/12/disability-discrimination-highest-area-of-public-contact-to-equality-commission/","content_elements":[{"_id":"P22ISUEP75BEDC3YCIXCWYXHZM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657562996690},"content":"A member of the Roma community and his daughter had items they purchased from a shop removed from them by its security guard and returned to the store under the belief they had stolen them, a new report states.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2F4OULSLM5F4ZORX4OCAONLCDM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657562996691},"content":"On Tuesday, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) published its 2021 annual report, which detailed some of the human rights cases that arose over the year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NL3FCRUYDJD6DKV7F24Y6KKQFA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657562996692},"content":"One of the cases detailed how the IHREC granted legal assistance in relation to the man’s complaint against the shop for discrimination on the race ground.","type":"text"},{"_id":"C57AQ67QEJEFVKYS6PFFOBCWUA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657562996693},"content":"The man and his young daughter were followed out of the shop by its security guard, who forcibly removed the items purchased by the client from him and returned back inside the shop, the IHREC said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VRJPMMRPWJD5JONTVL3OIE6CJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657562996694},"content":"The items were only returned to the client after the cashier confirmed payment, it added.","type":"text"},{"_id":"P7TFSFKFSBASPFERBOPE3R73UQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657562996695},"content":"The matter was resolved successfully through the Workplace Relations Commission’s mediation process in May 2021.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YF4E5THJUNAMDFNE5ZMVZ3GCH4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657562996696},"content":"The case was one of a number the IHREC provided assistance on last year. At the beginning of 2021, the commission had 177 individual clients who had been granted legal assistance and whose cases were ongoing.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AG3YQJUGX5DYRGD6JPCWQ4AMRY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657562996697},"content":"During 2021, 72 new individual applications for legal assistance were received, 29 applications were approved, of which 22 approvals were for legal advice only and seven for advice and representation, 32 applications were refused and two were withdrawn, with nine awaiting a decision at year-end.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3BBGNEH2GNCH3BVWDAZI6ME4BU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657562996698},"content":"Some of the other cases were the refusal of landlords to accept the housing assistance payment, local authorities who did not provide Traveller appropriate accommodation and alleged discrimination on disability grounds.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KFT4MX7NXZDTRF6EAGPP6PRKNM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657562996699},"content":"The human rights body also received 1,811 individual queries from members of the public in 2021, higher than the 1,732 it received in the previous year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QFSPZ2CPURASNNGFOYSYNB5FDM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657562996700},"content":"The top three public concerns relating to the Equal Status Acts, focused on discrimination on the grounds of disability (46 per cent), housing assistance (16 per cent) and race (13 per cent).","type":"text"},{"_id":"VJTQF57AE5EYJL7SJKX7U42NC4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657562996701},"content":"The top three public concerns under the Employment Equality Acts focused on discrimination in employment and job seeking on the grounds of disability (34 per cent), gender (25 per cent) and race grounds (14 per cent).","type":"text"},{"_id":"EMHCQIACAJDRTETX6KXSZHLXXY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657562996702},"content":"Bodily integrity","type":"header"},{"_id":"BYQEQ4ZYQRCKFGI3F3DF4USFL4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657571993834},"content":"The top three public concerns in relation to human rights focused on health and bodily integrity (28 per cent), right to work and decent work (14 per cent), and asylum seekers, human trafficking, immigration and freedom of movement (14 per cent).","type":"text"},{"_id":"HEVUAONZPNFE3D2YEWD6FJBGFM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657562996703},"content":"In terms of progress, the IHREC highlighted the provision of access to bank accounts and driving licences for people in the international protection system and the expansion of its role as national rapporteur on human trafficking","type":"text"},{"_id":"WS42JMDMINEALB3BJDJGNU7UPU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657562996704},"content":"IHREC chief commissioner Sinéad Gibney said the continued presence of the Covid-19 crisis presented challenges, particularly for marginalised groups in society.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LFEEWW62YFDXNESBCSCXSVEYJU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657562996705},"content":"“We’ve continued to witness a steady stream of rights and equality issues, which threaten people’s individual dignity, open routes to discrimination, and stifle people’s potential,” she said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"POGU7PU73VB6JL6767N7RBBX6M","additional_properties":{"_id":1657562996706},"content":"“As we emerge from the pandemic, the problems it partially masked rise again. These include the well-established issues of homelessness and housing provision, of gender-based violence, structural issues of care, historic wrongs, the rights of people with disabilities, and how those coming here to seek asylum and refuge are treated.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Shauna Bowers"}},"name":"Shauna Bowers"}]},"description":{"basic":"IHREC publishes 2021 annual report detailing cases it worked on throughout year"},"display_date":"2022-07-11T23:01:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Disability discrimination highest area of public contact to equality commission","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"JLJMDU6D4SUPEMURX7DCVTEHNA","auth":{"1":"caffcc3710cca818dbf33d064bdf308312a26371a48635a4a026f51fc985448e"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/JLJMDU6D4SUPEMURX7DCVTEHNA.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/12/disability-discrimination-highest-area-of-public-contact-to-equality-commission/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland/social-affairs","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Social Affairs"}}}},{"_id":"ANDT7VXFHRDJJKNKJMRTEJMD7M","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":220,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4576943/media/5d3e290ec107bc32c69e72b2804e149a_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/crime-law/courts/2022/07/11/lack-of-sufficient-eating-disorder-specialist-services-deeply-troubling-says-high-court-president/","content_elements":[{"_id":"XMDCGKNBJBGUTN2CAXGBNGIPYY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657557276691},"content":"The president of the High Court has expressed concern about the lack of sufficient specialist services in the State for those suffering from eating disorders.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BRB33MIIXNBHTIQFRA3W5HVVL4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657557276692},"content":"Ms Justice Mary Irvine said she has seen an “ever increasing” number of eating disorder cases, many involving high-achieving young people, in the wardship list. She said it is “deeply troubling” that, over the years, there were not enough specialist beds provided for those affected.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PPRFQBRSMJHCZJGTMCX33VUPIU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657557276693},"content":"Speaking after tributes were paid to her when presiding over the wardship list before her retirement on Wednesday, Ms Justice Irvine said one of the “most surprising” things about her presidency of the High Court is how she herself has been affected by wardship.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BPYTTTXBLBCFZOES3PWFJXLKA4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657557276694},"content":"“It has been a privilege; it has been at times depressing but it has given me an opportunity to see my own good fortune in life,” she said. “Most wards are not born into the same middle-class cot the rest of us are born into, it has given me an opportunity to meet many of these people and to hear their voices and see what I can do for them.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PXZCFO2QMZCYVP2MWZ4ZCIUC2M","additional_properties":{"_id":1657557276695},"content":"She would never forget evidence from the parents of two children in two separate cases, the judge added. One was the JJ case, involving a young boy who sustained permanent devastating injuries in a road accident, where Ms Justice Irvine was asked to decide whether his parents, rather than his treating hospital, should have control over his medical treatment.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N37GA5Z74VEYJP7GXSLUAMOYYA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657557276696},"content":"The case raised significant issues in relation to the rights of parents and children, end-of-life decision-making and wardship. The Supreme Court ultimately upheld the judge’s decision in favour of the hospital having control over the boy’s treatment but varied the High Court orders to maximise the parents’ involvement in the treatment and to ensure certain measures would only happen if certain situations arose.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5B53WLMTRZEZDGGKO2NV7H2IJA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657557276697},"content":"The second was the Ms A case, which the judge previously described as the most disturbing case to come before her in her 12 years on the High Court bench.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7B6F6JQ3R5FPNDSNLLASFG6BMI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657557276698},"content":"Ms A, who had been diagnosed with a severe personality disorder, was described as highly traumatised and dangerous. After three psychiatrists said Ms A had capacity, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency withdrew a wardship application initiated just before she was about to turn 18 and exit secure care. The wardship application did not proceed and the judge directed disclosure to gardaí of information concerning the risk posed by the young woman.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WZ3Y3G2VQRHZDCOZJ5I4LT6XRQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657557276699},"content":"Tributes were paid to the judge on Monday by lawyers who regularly appear before her in the wardship list. Senior counsel James O’Reilly said she had “made justice work and survive” in the “most trying” circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CVIRNDHK75CPPCODZNA6YFGRI4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657557276700},"content":"Barrister David Leahy said the universal message from the lawyers in the list was that the judge had approached wards, among the most vulnerable people in society, with “kindness, empathy and a sense of justice”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IY7HILT6OFC4FKOJ4YQLS2CBL4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657557276701},"content":"Noting the judge’s view that the use of technology had radically improved access to justice for this “very vulnerable” group, Mr Leahy said he was very struck that the adult son of a vulnerable woman was able to give his views on the wardship application from a tractor cab. That would not have happened were it not for the court’s “radical and successful adoption of technology”, he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KIGFE2BPFVHILPFQWRYRADCH34","additional_properties":{"_id":1657557276702},"content":"Patricia Hickey, general solicitor for wards of court, thanked the judge for ensuring the “most important thing, that the voices of wards were heard and their rights protected”.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Mary Carolan"}},"name":"Mary Carolan"}]},"description":{"basic":"Tributes paid to retiring judge Ms Justice Mary Irvine by lawyers in wards of court list"},"display_date":"2022-07-11T18:04:06.347Z","headlines":{"basic":"Lack of sufficient eating disorder specialist services ‘deeply troubling’, says High Court president","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"KXAJ2DR4HDWDO33ZSAZIUPJL2Y","auth":{"1":"8d687c6830ad7f0b99f426d3b3f380afcd836587d2531c09604b81c03963994b"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/KXAJ2DR4HDWDO33ZSAZIUPJL2Y.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Courts"},{"name":"Crime & Law"},{"name":"Health"},{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/crime-law/courts/2022/07/11/lack-of-sufficient-eating-disorder-specialist-services-deeply-troubling-says-high-court-president/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/crime-law/courts","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Courts"}}}},{"_id":"QB2XCU3LL5BVPNAMPHONJ6RD4A","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":262,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4568525/media/c8def5a2574ae302464e2ac65bd10b44_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/2022/07/11/asylum-seekers-in-cork-fear-eviction-from-direct-provision-centre/","content_elements":[{"_id":"B6LWGKQT4NGEZO4CRI5TCUH2PA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657446895746},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"HU2WY2PZCJEBBLFRF75V66GJOU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657446895748},"content":"A group of asylum seekers in Cork have sought assurances from the government agency responsible for their accommodation that they will not be evicted now that they have been granted permission to work in Ireland.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TGGRO2GK4BCIRLEEWBR3F6224U","additional_properties":{"_id":1657446895749},"content":"Asylum seekers from the Kinsale Road Accommodation Centre in Cork held a protest outside Cork City Council offices last week to highlight their plight, amid what they claim were threats to evict them from the 300-resident direct provision centre.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3ZZF4CTP4JBHFGW7LJ4TEP7JE4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657446895750},"content":"Kinsale Road Accommodation Centre resident Asad Muhmad explained that their fears over eviction from the centre arose after a meeting in May with a representative from the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) which oversees accommodation for asylum seekers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NKU3SZCRGZBHLCCCHT5QR6KR3M","additional_properties":{"_id":1657446895751},"content":"“There are about 60 of us at the Kinsale Road centre who have been granted what is called Garda National Immigration Bureau Stamp 4 – it permits people to stay in Ireland for a specified period and allows people to take up employment or set up a business,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QPQBN3FDURFPTG2H7OFVBZNLXI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657446895752},"content":"‘Verbal threat’","type":"header"},{"_id":"PJVQYMQ2V5GK7CSVUJTT4YWZKM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657479500390},"content":"“Those of us at Kinsale Road who have been given the GNIB Stamp 4, we had these meetings in May, each of us on our own, with an IPAS official who told us that we could be facing eviction as they needed the accommodation because they were bringing in more people to the centre.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JMXLKIBOLVEPBJKSGHEJOCDRKI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657446895753},"content":"“Nothing was given to us in writing – it was simply a verbal threat of eviction. And when we asked what would happen if we were evicted, he told us that they would move us into emergency accommodation. But we are already in emergency accommodation so it is quite confusing.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZHHRXR5UVVB4TFBZCVXSHVE7ME","additional_properties":{"_id":1657446895754},"content":"According to Mr Mahmud, who was forced to flee his native Pakistan seven years ago after his activism as a lawyer brought him to the attention of the authorities, he and his wife Zoya and the other affected asylum seekers cannot afford to pay for accommodation because of soaring rents.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FH7UERP6UBB5BDIAPD7ZGWFQMY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657446895755},"content":"“I am working two jobs here – I am full-time in security and am also working part-time in B&B administration – a lot of the people with the GNIB Stamp 4 are working but they are basic jobs with just basic pay plus there is very little accommodation to rent so prices are exorbitant.","type":"text"},{"_id":"A2AR3QG7HVFTPKLYWJSBTDCW4E","additional_properties":{"_id":1657446895756},"content":"“Landlords are looking for rents of €2,000 a month or more and, if we were to pay that, we would have no money left for the other necessities of life. And the other problem is that many of the residents here are single men and there are very few single bedroom places available to rent.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"BRNY3SJJRBEULJLARVSG7FOBLM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657446895757},"content":"To highlight their plight, Mr Mahmud and about a dozen other residents at Kinsale Road Accommodation Centre protested outside Cork City Council’s housing department last week and met a number of councillors.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XZXVV4IUY5F2PI45TJFE2QYZIU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657446895758},"content":"General problem","type":"header"},{"_id":"UPYN47FUE5EPDCZ2REXRSKH7PQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657479500397},"content":"“The councillors were positive towards us though they pointed out that housing or the lack of affordable housing isn’t just a problem for asylum seekers but is a problem nationwide. But they were positive and some promised to get it raised in the Irish parliament,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TDE7MRJEU5FP3HBTSFFRFDNT54","additional_properties":{"_id":1657446895759},"content":"Responsibility for IPAS rests with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YJ6ELLU2AJADLOGDBXRJPPQ3WU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657447369438},"content":"In a statement, the department denied that anyone had been told they might be evicted.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NLEFKUAYJ5B6TNPSMT7V72X4AY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657446895760},"content":"It said IPAS had a specific transition team, who worked in collaboration with DePaul Ireland, the Peter McVerry Trust, Department of Housing officials, local authorities and the City and County Management Association to collectively support residents with IPAS status accommodation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"I7EX6VIOJFBFBKS2YALKVI5L2A","additional_properties":{"_id":1657446895761},"content":"“A member of this team, together with a Peter McVerry Trust support worker, held a clinic (at Kinsale Road Accommodation Centre) on May 3rd and May 4th to ensure all households had an opportunity to meet and discuss their housing options,” the statement said. “Once a household is granted status, their accommodation will be under constant review to ensure that the needs of those still in the international protection process are met. At no time was anyone told they would not be accommodated by IPAS.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TSGPJKORBZB5JHMW4M4HCPRB4M","additional_properties":{"_id":1657446895765},"content":"According to the statement, those who have been granted the GNIB 4 Stamp have the same housing entitlements as anyone else and are supported to register with a local authority and – if required – to use the housing assistance payment to secure alternative accommodation.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Barry Roche"}},"name":"Barry Roche"}]},"description":{"basic":"Kinsale Road Accommodation Centre residents protest after they claim they were told they could be evicted"},"display_date":"2022-07-11T00:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Asylum seekers in Cork hold protest due to fear of eviction from direct provision centre","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"GM2ZQWUZPJF6TPYL6RWQYLII74","auth":{"1":"53dcffc793ae7d5193a4e4c8d3d4d949d8cfbb0ca4b5f2621fd0761e1966008b"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/GM2ZQWUZPJF6TPYL6RWQYLII74.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Social Affairs"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/2022/07/11/asylum-seekers-in-cork-fear-eviction-from-direct-provision-centre/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Ireland"}}}},{"_id":"MWY4WLUUBFGIJA2BPB6DXYE45A","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":219,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4568648/media/fd5f18e44c5641d8c1ced189749b9b93_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/10/one-fifth-of-children-in-europe-living-in-poverty/","content_elements":[{"_id":"TUCPRGEITVGYVMJEHP2NKTX3DE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657468774879},"content":"One fifth of children in Europe are living in poverty, according to a new report from an Irish think-tank.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FKMVRUL4VBGFBF67NA5XD6DLD4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657468774880},"content":"Social Justice Ireland on Monday published Europe After Covid: Reversal or Renewal, which found almost 15.8 million children in the EU-27 are at risk of poverty.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WCIOO6A5KBGABBAJHPL7CCEUWM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657468774881},"content":"According to the research, child poverty rates were highest in Romania (30.1 per cent), Bulgaria (28.3 per cent), Spain (27.4 per cent), Italy (25.1 per cent) and Luxembourg (23.1 per cent). The child poverty rates were lowest in Hungary, Denmark, and Slovenia, all of which had rates between 9.5 and 10.5 per cent.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WEPB5JVP7ZDOVHIDU6JXIHWR74","additional_properties":{"_id":1657468774883},"content":"The greatest improvements in risk of poverty among children from 2019 to 2020 occurred in Belgium, followed by Sweden and Lithuania.","type":"text"},{"_id":"X6HE33IU5NDITK4OY6CT7U3KME","additional_properties":{"_id":1657468774884},"content":"The greatest disimprovements in risk of poverty among children during the same time period occurred in Ireland, Germany and Austria.","type":"text"},{"_id":"S4EOEFYJLRG4DNBRJZHNOCQQSM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657468774885},"content":"Risk of poverty is defined as people who have an equivalised disposable income below the risk-of-poverty threshold, which is often set at 60 per cent of the national median disposable income.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y57VJT4G7ZATNEO22MTPVE6I4U","additional_properties":{"_id":1657468774886},"content":"Childhood severe material deprivation stood at 5.6 per cent in 2020, the report found, meaning almost 6.9 million children in the EU-27 were experiencing a severe lack of resources.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OADCQSZZYNHPFENFLQYRTZPXPA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657468774887},"content":"Poverty particularly affects families where parents could not benefit from an extensive education, the report added.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GROK3KNQONEHTPASB3IEKOS4O4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657468774888},"content":"Children were strongly affected by the economic crisis and the rate of poverty or social exclusion they experience continues to be higher than for the general population.","type":"text"},{"_id":"P6POSF2BH5CZXMWCFW5FOCH7KI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657468774889},"content":"Dr Seán Healy, chief executive of Social Justice Ireland, said no child should grow up in poverty in the EU and “we are consistently failing to achieve this outcome”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OB3QRNCSDVBW7EBQPT27Q5YB6Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1657468774890},"content":"“The fact that such very high numbers of children continue year-on-year to experience poverty is a big concern and has long-term consequences for the people and families concerned, as well as for the EU as a whole,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NQXECAGWZRHG3JNE22AS44I6AM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657468774891},"content":"“Those people were already in a difficult situation before the pandemic and were among the hardest hit. Now they face rising inflation which is further eroding their standard of living. Unlike in 2008, they must be protected if Europe is to achieve a real and lasting social and economic recovery”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AWFXJQ2YTFHPPGLKINYAQXXERQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657468774892},"content":"Michelle Murphy, research and policy analyst at the think tank, said that despite improvements in recent years, childhood poverty “remains a pressing problem because of its long-lasting effects”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XPPTEDNADVGZ7CKX74ONTGD7JY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657468774893},"content":"“The dangers of ongoing high levels of child poverty, social exclusion and deprivation are very serious. 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Our experience of being a Muslim in Ireland is phenomenal,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JGF35DC4I5GYHEHJ75YTQJCRVA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657375177563},"content":"“As you can see, we can celebrate our Irish Muslim identity in the most iconic Irish venue of them all, Croke Park.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VLAN6KRBKRHPNN63MDTIT6PRZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657375177564},"content":"“This is our experience in the South. In the North our experience is very negative and very difficult. There are certain regressive elements within these communities that target minorities.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7CB57MOXJRDRVOCAV5MQJMDCHY","additional_properties":{"_id":"PNW634ABCVBL5KSF6SE33TDZL4"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"Z3A7FU2UQBF2PLE7IFB2NGJRNE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657375177565},"content":"Irish Muslim performance poet Bilal Mu’azzam read a poem called Home and one called The Pavement about the “black nod” which one black person gives in Ireland to another. “Know that your salute makes you worthy of the pavement/And know that community is what makes us a nation.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"4J5DDVUSTJEFDKQB4K6APSNKHQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657375177566},"content":"The event was co-hosted Rausani Zahoor and Hajra Ellyas from Dublin. Ms Zahoor said: “Croke Park is the home of sport and concerts. To be able to pray on the pitch and to be blessed by the Gaelic fans is great.” Ms Ellyas added: “To be able to celebrate Eid with our families here is wonderful.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"F46DOOUOGRHRLJCH3F3JKDNZWI","additional_properties":{"_id":"IQGUSXRL7ZAVXEMOQDUHMRYND4"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"KIAXFS7L55DQHBS5YF7VE5X4KA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657375177567},"content":"A number of politicians addressed the gathering, including Minister for Sport Jack Chambers, who said the Eid celebration was in Croke Park “in the pursuit of growing our understanding of one another, building inclusive and cohesive community integration and in sharing this special time together”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KIFQ4Q3CZBCM3DBEN76LUN64RA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657375177568},"content":"He condemned the attack on the Belfast mosque. “This incident and others serve as a reminder to us all that we all need to fight intolerance and reject hatred in our lives.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"CRSO3S2OPFEOJHEPRXTOLKVDPI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657375177569},"content":"Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald also condemned the “heinous act” carried out by those who attacked the mosque in Belfast.","type":"text"},{"_id":"X4CHTQGWERAALLPMEEYATSZW7Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1657375177570},"content":"“We are raising the generation that could live in the new republic in friendship, freedom and respect. The possibilities are endless.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BX527WJQANFNJHQP6AOVDWR5PU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657375177571},"content":"“Our Muslim community must be part of reaching that destination — Ireland a home for all.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Ronan McGreevy"}},"name":"Ronan McGreevy"}]},"description":{"basic":"Events to mark the Islamic festival took place at the home of Gaelic games for the third year"},"display_date":"2022-07-09T15:47:17.341Z","headlines":{"basic":"Eid at Croke Park: ‘We can celebrate our Irish Muslim identity in the most iconic Irish venue’","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"A4WUFQUO7JH7RPDFNWYQJCM7AM","auth":{"1":"9c241377c66ad2226976743fcd53a696d0a03ce0c7d94a90806119a4f4eeeddd"},"focal_point":{"x":2548,"y":1021},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/A4WUFQUO7JH7RPDFNWYQJCM7AM.JPG"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Dublin"},{"name":"Social Affairs"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/2022/07/09/eid-celebrations-at-croke-park-we-can-celebrate-our-irish-muslim-identity-in-the-most-iconic-irish-venue/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Ireland"}}}},{"_id":"OIAMGOB5OBCWRH6I7RIMTTNXZM","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":258,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4555932/media/2ae74798ee350019228fcfda61860be4_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/09/thinking-anew-making-a-difference-is-what-matters/","content_elements":[{"_id":"Z3BVXXBM65H6JK2E3RIISD2VYY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657271843930},"content":"Some years ago when I had an opportunity to spend time in Bristol, I recall visiting a public park known as The Centre, an attractive recreational area close to the city centre. There I came across a statue created in 1895 by the Irish sculptor John Cassidy commemorating a wealthy local philanthropist called Edward Colston (1636-1721). In recent times questions were raised about the appropriateness of honouring this man because his wealth had been acquired from the Atlantic slave trade. Matters came to a head during the Black Lives Matter protests when the statue was toppled by protesters and dumped into Bristol Harbour.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YQDGNSWKE5G4BAL6DD65VEYUY4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657271843931},"content":"There is much debate about how to deal with legacy issues but there is a more complex dimension to consider that takes us beyond the odd statue or plaque on a building. Colston lived in the era of European colonialism when foreign lands were invaded and plundered. Huge wealth found its way back to the ruling classes of Europe , including those of Ireland. Archbishop Desmond Tutu pointed out that churches were involved with a little humour: “When the missionaries came, we had the land, and they had the bible. We were told to close our eyes and pray. When we opened our eyes, we had the bible, and they had the land.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2XUFQANRVFCJPLMGOM2SKB5B2Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1657271843932},"content":"It is certain that even now we benefit, albeit indirectly and perhaps unknowingly, from the tainted activities of earlier generations who built or endowed many things we enjoy today. Toppling a statue makes a point but it can never undo the pain and suffering caused by Colston and others who were part of an economic system that exploited the weak and vulnerable. Nor can we.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FXOGTROMA5A3RBIKS7XCJSKRVM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657271843933},"content":"Fr Richard Rohr, however, argues that the same system operates today only in different ways: “We are all complicit in this and benefiting from what Dorothy Day called the dirty rotten system. That’s not condemning anybody; it’s condemning everybody because we are all complicit and enjoying the fruits of domination and injustice. Where were your shirts and underwear made? What wars allow us to have cheap food and gas? Usually, the only way to be non-complicit in the system is to choose to live a very simple life.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"UF7NFJTVMZH3XOYWA4IC7IWWFI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657271843934},"content":"The Old Testament reading from the book of Amos reminds us that there is nothing new in this. Israel’s economy was booming. Money was plentiful but most of it ended up in the pockets of the few; poverty rubbed shoulders with opulence. Religion was popular, ticking all the boxes of institutional religion while church and state allowed corruption and greed to go unchallenged. As a result the poor suffered terribly. Amos warned in colourful language that there was danger ahead but he was ignored and sent packing. Assyria would prove him right.","type":"text"},{"_id":"34BLN3UGPBAFVBJR7KH2DH5Q2A","additional_properties":{"_id":1657271843935},"content":"There are extraordinary similarities between the situation Amos knew and our own time where there is so much deprivation and hardship, reaching upwards into the middle ranks for society – witness the growing numbers of young people who cannot afford to rent let alone buy houses.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4LVA6HCLEVHY5BOS5BI5QYODX4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657271843936},"content":"The gospel reading tells the story of the Good Samaritan which takes us back to Bristol and Edward Colston where he is commemorated in the city’s cathedral with a large window bearing the words “Go and do thou likewise”, the punchline from the Good Samaritan parable. What irony.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2ZOWSREOSBC3JBTENH6MJBQIRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657271843937},"content":"The Samaritan, an outsider, confronted with human need in the person of a wounded stranger, responded while others passed by. He did so at some personal risk and considerable financial cost. This story emphasises our responsibility for each other irrespective of race, religion or politics because we all belong to a human family which according to the letter to the Ephesians is a divine institution: “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y6WO324F5JEANBTS2VQSXW7EDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657271843938},"content":"The protesters of Bristol made a gesture, but the Good Samaritan showed that making a difference is what matters.","type":"text"},{"_id":"D6ATUKUF3RG5HAU6TE4LQZUUMM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657271843939},"content":"Gordon Linney","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Gordon Linney"}]},"description":{"basic":"A time of deprivation and hardship"},"display_date":"2022-07-09T10:30:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Thinking Anew: making a difference is what matters","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"INUVPLHOWVFRPGHIR5F67BCUAE","auth":{"1":"09a81ffd35020deecd7e9a94166a6687ead3df3751b85b2616ffb8771b38ee1c"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/INUVPLHOWVFRPGHIR5F67BCUAE.jpg"}},"subtype":"opinion","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/09/thinking-anew-making-a-difference-is-what-matters/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland/social-affairs","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Social Affairs"}}}},{"_id":"33YXNWNLUZE4VAFKDG3H7GUEMM","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":726,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4550381/media/0fa7666ca3aceb6927e3022daee75468_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/life-style/people/2022/07/09/good-news-from-scotland-for-thalidomide-survivors-but-fight-continues-for-irish-campaigners/","content_elements":[{"_id":"KL3KLQCN4FHQLPTCGJR4HZSQFE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868059},"content":"Thalidomide survivor and campaigner Finola Cassidy’s passion for tennis goes back to her schooldays. Her PE teacher taught her a special grip adapted for her left hand, damaged as a result of the drug taken by her mother and many other pregnant women for morning sickness until it was withdrawn internationally at the end of 1961.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WBV2ZAVWSBAZJEUKIP3H4D4KNE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868060},"content":"Like many Thalidomide survivors, Cassidy, spokeswoman for the Irish Thalidomide Association (ITA), is now 60. She was delighted to be travelling to Wimbledon on Thursday after her daughter presented her with tickets to this weekend’s women’s singles finals as a special birthday present.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XPTK73FJQ5DZJC5BXMRCOAXKGU","additional_properties":{"_id":"CE7MNFST2VG4JD6NOMUIUPCOOE"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"XM2Z2ODWXBDJDJS6IL2HWDPGKQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868061},"content":"Due to back and shoulder problems, connected with Thalidomide, she has been unable to play tennis for more than six years now but still enjoys annual tennis holidays with close friends. “It broke my heart to stop playing, I had a nice little drop shot and I could add a little bit of slice.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QB33QXFKSJGLTCTZZ6DFMWZ4CA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868062},"content":"But Cassidy remains so keen on the sport that she has told her family: “I want to be buried like a Pharoah, with a tennis racket.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"MKCONHZTSJH6HEXBR6RYH3PQXI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868063},"content":"Cassidy welcomed news from Scotland this week, where the Scottish government is guaranteeing lifelong support for the approximately 50 Thalidomide survivors in that country.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6NAH2KYZF5GZVFS6WOTKVSLX6U","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868064},"content":"“We are so relieved for our Scottish family, the burden of worry and pain when seeking justice is overwhelming,” she says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ORAUYHVTRRBV3FIYX2LRNVEO2Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868065},"content":"The Scottish government had in 2013 committed £14.2 million (€16.7 million) to help survivors with health and living costs. This week, it announced that assistance would be extended to provide for grants to be allocated to survivors on a needs basis, as assessed by the Thalidomide Trust, a Cambridgeshire-based charity.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5WXQESZEHFHNFIZQ4FMDISPFIY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868066},"content":"Last year, then British chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged a “lifetime commitment” of funding to support Thalidomide survivors.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3A24LYQPKZB5FJMAITTJLPOFLU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868067},"content":"Cassidy says 17 survivors in Northern Ireland will also benefit from the UK’s approach, but the delay in establishing the Northern Ireland Executive is holding up implementation of the decision.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CHC65KQAWNBOHCDNU4ZE3UL3GY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868068},"content":"Thalidomide was a chemical ingredient which was sold under 10 different trade names in Ireland and some other countries from 1957 to alleviate morning sickness in pregnancy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YDBTLFWERZGJNLWTN7RIZWZZHE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868069},"content":"It was withdrawn internationally in 1961. That year, 51,000 packets of just one brand – Softenon – were sold in the Republic. Unlike in other countries, Thalidomide was not recalled here at the time it was withdrawn.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7CDWCA7DNREWFHNLO4YFXW4H2U","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868070},"content":"Some 100,000 babies worldwide were so affected in utero or at birth by the drug that they did not survive. Of an estimated 10,000 babies who survived birth, about half died in their first year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"R3LLEPS6KVGBPNE3NDYLGEHEUI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868071},"content":"Babies were born with shortened or no limbs, and with painful damage to nerves, organs, hearing and eyesight. Some 90,000 women taking the drug miscarried.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EUT2DYHRPFESNGGWCDY3NJ544Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868072},"content":"There are now an estimated 2,500 Thalidomide survivors worldwide.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T6UHIGY42NCGDEBVT6ETUW2EZU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868073},"content":"In the 1970s, the parents of more than 100 children here had responded to an appeal to establish just how many were harmed by the drug.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RIHJUPWS4VACTOJ2YJMJD54JZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868074},"content":"Medics recognised only 32 of them as survivors. According to campaigners, those from lower socio-economic backgrounds were less likely to have advocates on their behalf and several were not included in a government-funded compensation settlement.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7UCYCEDLFVDA3BR2LH2OOSGSSQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868075},"content":"In the half-century since then, developments in medicine identified more indicators to confirm that a person had been exposed to Thalidomide, and the number of identified survivors here who are still living is now about 40.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IRDLVAHG7RBLBN4S2T5I5VO4MI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868076},"content":"Maggie Woods is among those 40. She celebrated her 60th birthday this week with a party for 70 people.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FARJUFWWCZBXXOLXQT4NXO5HFI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868077},"content":"A native of Co Donegal, Woods lived with her family in Killybegs until she was six. Her parents were unable to get her enrolled in the local national school. After the school refused, for “insurance reasons” to take her, doctors recommended she attend St Joseph’s orthopaedic hospital in Coole, Co Westmeath, where she remained until she was 21, returning home only for school holidays.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EMKH4O5SEFN4ZMMHD2DUV22CZM","additional_properties":{"_id":"LV2PNX7SIBEYLJDY2ANXTXYXKQ"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"FEYN74XTONAVPLCWRBASEGRSIY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868078},"content":"As a young girl she missed her parents and three siblings, and does not have pleasant memories of Coole. “It was horrible.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6MNELOEEORHPJBSIIKXUZMOHUQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868079},"content":"Birthdays were not really celebrated during her earlier years, but Woods says she has been making up for that since.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YMVPZYFXCBAXDDHPNWBVBIB3K4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868080},"content":"“A birthday is a big achievement because, for bizarre reasons, the doctors did not expect us to live as long as we have. Because we’re all around the same age, they don’t know that much about us and what to expect, there’s no measuring stick for any of us.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"W3Z6L7A4OZHTDMHZODZTUXYSTU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868081},"content":"Like Cassidy and the other survivors, Maggie’s tenacity is evident. “I was born with some sort of gutsiness, I love life. I just recently got a job with the Galway City Partnership and I tell my sons: ‘Look at Mammy, working at 60’. I have achieved more than most people in their able-bodied lives but I’m just getting on with life, what else can I do?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"FHBLH6LKQZGSVP2HPI6V4MVFAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868082},"content":"Her two sons, now in their 30s, and her grandchildren were at her birthday party which Woods saw both as a cause for celebration and a reminder of passing years and future challenges.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3YDQNRIADFAFPD2ZKNC5UL3TQM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868083},"content":"“Our bodies are ageing 10 years ahead and we’re using our bodies to be able to manage in a way that most people don’t have to. Everything is a challenge. I can walk but the fact is I am only three feet seven and that’s what people see. When I put my foot out the door, I’m treated differently.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"6RAQR63JHBHJ7FTVCYIBAUC2T4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868084},"content":"The State’s response to the survivors over the past 60 years has been “pretty shocking to say the least”, she says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MJSGYNV2TVIEBF3KGUHVXQL6LY","additional_properties":{"_id":"JC22LRGYZVE2FMIWZWXKVYDCJY"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"MFAG5B3M7RFX7L3WVWH6UU6FZ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868085},"content":"“It would be nice to have closure, to put it all to bed and be able to live the rest of my life with dignity but I don’t see that happening any time soon. We’ve been a long time battling and I have more years behind me now than ahead of me.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"W33YWIGCQFCCPENZ2CQJRJRHGU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868086},"content":"She is very concerned about having all the necessary supports and healthcare available to her as she ages. “Your health is your wealth, there’s no point in being given buckets of money when you’re 80 or 90 and you can’t appreciate it. I want to be able to dicky up and step out now.","type":"text"},{"_id":"M7GI2BWWTZAUPEOQYWEP7INQPE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868087},"content":"“It is hard to believe that the Irish State still won’t accept its hand, act and part in the Thalidomide story. I’m 60 now and I won’t give them any more chances to hurt me. I’m living my best life – not because of them – but despite them.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"YT5XZ6FX65DV3KLPMJTJKT76ZA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868088},"content":"Cassidy says the approach of the UK and Germany, where Thalidomide was manufactured, to compensate survivors is in stark contrast to the approach here.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WNBKTKZL6NAJVFOXKD2V5G6MUU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868089},"content":"During her 60 years living with the impact of Thalidomide, there have been 25 ministers for health here but still no final resolution which would assure survivors of adequate lifelong care, she says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"M5HAYNVPBRAMNFJ3QUOJS2ZQCM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868090},"content":"This is becoming increasingly important as survivors age and their healthcare needs become more complex, according to Cassidy. Like Woods, she notes that Thalidomide survivors age about 10 years ahead of other people in terms of need.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4TBJNPNL7VDILKTJKLY2KRSADU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868091},"content":"The agreement reached by the State in the 1970s with the parents of some survivors provided for payments for some of the children. Unlike many other minor settlements, those settlements were never ruled by the High Court with the effect the funds were not lodged in court for the purpose of being managed for the benefit of the children.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HLGAQDX63JEKTKYDFB7YE3IRTE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868092},"content":"Because the view at the time was that the children would not live long, the payments have not proven adequate for the complex healthcare needs of many ageing survivors.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IQCGFZICIZC7RKXRRK5U64BWZ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868093},"content":"Those survivors who were recognised under the 1970s deal have received some payments from a foundation set up by the German government, a factor which has been relied on by the Irish State in resisting survivors’ bids for more compensation from it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MJCDMXOU2VHQDCORETXD7JDXYA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868094},"content":"Among the concerns raised by survivors is the State’s failure in 1961, when it was withdrawing the drug, to also recall it – with the effect it remained in medicine cabinets and allegedly led to further Thalidomide cases.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SGLX2MI4U5HNVIVQZEDYOVO3W4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868095},"content":"A former minister for health, Erskine Childers, when asked by reporter Olivia O’Leary about the reasons why the drug was not recalled at the time of withdrawal, appeared to indicate there was some concern at government level that some pregnant women might, out of fear about the potential impact of Thalidomide on their baby, not proceed with their pregnancies.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BMN7DT2CSJGHVIS3TW72MIWAWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868096},"content":"The battle for compensation from the State led to court action by most of the survivors, represented by Malcolmson Law, in 2013.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7PZCYNQAARHUNHD6T6H7UANXPY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868097},"content":"Cassidy says a number of survivors were “so worn down” they accepted a final settlement offer of €62,000 when Mary Harney was minister for health.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DPPWACGXWBBSXBCTRLIAE6HRFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868098},"content":"A High Court judge, whose approval of the €62,000 offer was required in the case of those survivors who were wards of court, refused to approve it after describing it as “wholly inadequate”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"O6545EK26NGUNHQU7ABUUPR5GA","additional_properties":{"_id":"IL5MSM6AJZHKXHLV7UZGQHA2KU"},"subtype":"pullquote","type":"quote"},{"_id":"KORVKNQUVNCJBEX7S3VLODOCD4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868099},"content":"The court action by the survivors is against the drug manufacturers, German firm Grunenthal GmbH, the Irish distributors, TP Whelehan Son & Co, and State parties, who all deny the claims against them.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7EKVIN26N5ETJGMB2LFGILB4FA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868100},"content":"The survivors want an apology and adequate compensation. A long mediation of the case failed to secure an agreement and it has yet to get a hearing date. The other defendants have discovered documents sought from them, but the State has yet to make discovery of the documents sought from it – including concerning its dealings with survivors in the 1970s.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VI6TGYLJWVBI3LJ66NWO2QJDAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868101},"content":"The Department of Health said in 2019 it held a “very large number” of documents relating to the 1970s scheme and argued that the costs of the discovery sought could run to €26 million.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N37NV2E4VFH7TE2KMCRNGLU6N4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868102},"content":"The discovery impasse and the Covid-19 pandemic has meant there has been little progress in the case. It remains open to the survivors to seek to enforce the court’s order requiring the State to make the discovery sought.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6L7PR5DSVFEZHL7M5L2RJLFGRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657306336676},"content":"Separately, a spokesman for Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said the Minister had met the representative group.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2J5BO6OY5ZCZROQSIBT7W6PYCU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657306336677},"content":"The HSE had contacted all those affected by Thalidomide offering to meet each person individually to discuss their unique health and personal social service needs, and to seek each person’s views on how they would like those services delivered. The HSE will develop recommendations for future planning and pathways of care for survivors, he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6DDJIH3YLNEJHARYXNR4HVCKP4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657306336678},"content":"Mr Donnelly has offered the group another meeting, he said. “Work is nearing conclusion in the Department to provide health and personal social supports to Irish survivors on a statutory basis, and the Minister expects to seek Cabinet approval for Heads of Bill in the autumn.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"LAVU7TMMRZGHLGRSY56S3F4JO4","additional_properties":{"_id":"S4V4XXUSEJD5TLXH24RZQHC3RI"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"JJVZWMWONZCAZKQTJ2QTIOZY6A","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868105},"content":"Several politicians across all parties have got behind the Thalidomide survivors over the years and last week Fine Gael Senator Barry Ward spoke in the Seanad to urge the State to “stop dragging its heels” and act to provide a solution.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V6HSX5PSZVHTNOAENSRYKSYCSI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868106},"content":"“It is really unfair the Government has not moved to compensate or acknowledge those people who have lived for over 60 years with varying degrees of disability,” he says. “But as unfair as it is on those who suffered injuries, it is desperately unfair on their mothers, many of whom blamed themselves despite the fact that they did not know about the effects of the drug, and many of whom have now passed away.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WFI2ZR2FIZFERASETQCADWQC3E","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868107},"content":"“The only fair thing now is for the Government to acknowledge the State’s failures in the past, to apologise and to put in place a proper compensation scheme.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"A6BWJAVSLNHTBB7EPAPEM2I26E","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868108},"content":"The “narrative” from the Department of Health for the past number of years is “wrong”, Ward says. “The Government and the Department of Health must act now, firstly to apologise unreservedly to survivors, those who have passed away and their families, and secondly to provide adequate medical care for these victims.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XXXQ6Q3TWFE47MDZTNSOXMXYQE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657193868109},"content":"“There are now less than 40 survivors in Ireland still awaiting recognition of their circumstances 60 years later,” he says. “This is completely unconscionable.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Mary Carolan"}},"name":"Mary Carolan"}]},"description":{"basic":"“It is hard to believe the Irish State still won’t accept its hand, act and part in the Thalidomide story”"},"display_date":"2022-07-09T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Good news from Scotland for Thalidomide survivors but fight continues for Irish campaigners","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"JGDDX7HTNFD6NJHXZXOVN3UXKQ","auth":{"1":"510761425febb2b5e07451e9abb7d706a41dbce98cb9a648212ade51c2906e94"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/JGDDX7HTNFD6NJHXZXOVN3UXKQ.JPG"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"People"},{"name":"Life & Style"},{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Health"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/life-style/people/2022/07/09/good-news-from-scotland-for-thalidomide-survivors-but-fight-continues-for-irish-campaigners/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/life-style/people","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"People"}}}},{"_id":"XJQ3XPXZTRDCLFW2P24TKDSZAQ","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":219,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4559630/media/8e38c4df967f94c8626a0554a5b6a2f7_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/08/number-of-gender-recognition-certs-issued-hits-highest-level-in-2021/","content_elements":[{"_id":"EHOXY6QUKJFNBF3ROANGOCKMUE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657311344921},"content":"The State approved 195 gender recognition certificates last year, the highest number in any year since the provision to legally change gender was introduced in 2015.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FQH2LA457JDYLK4A5MKGRX6WNI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657311344922},"content":"No applications for a certificate were refused, while one certificate was issued to a person aged between 16 and 17 years old. The remainder were issued to people over 18.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5Q3BARIDPZBSZL27OKB7Q4YE6M","additional_properties":{"_id":1657311344923},"content":"There were slightly more people changing from female to male (105) than from male to female (90).","type":"text"},{"_id":"PMM33SKXRVC55CLWEZUDSEATIA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657311344924},"content":"Since the Gender Recognition Act 2015, a person can apply to the Minister for Social Protection for a gender recognition certificate, which ensures that the person’s preferred gender is fully recognised by the State.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G7CN5OZPWZHDPD22DFXWBNGSLQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657311344925},"content":"Any person over 18 can apply for a gender recognition certificate, though there are separate arrangements for children aged 16 and 17.","type":"text"},{"_id":"I2X2FATOXZCW7OYNB6ARSIRE7U","additional_properties":{"_id":1657311344926},"content":"There has only been one certificate refused since the introduction of the Act, which was to an adult aged over 18 in 2017.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GZKMXTOZCNBJPB5GRVCK34QKNA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657311344927},"content":"Under the legislation, the Minister must issue an annual report; the latest was published by the Department of Social Protection on Friday night.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3NJ26U5RKJFLXKV2BJVJ5MES2E","additional_properties":{"_id":1657311344928},"content":"When a person has received a gender recognition certificate from the Department of Social Protection, they may apply to the General Register Office to be included in the register.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ACY2TRVHMRF2DBYA4B5DI5MWKY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657311344929},"content":"A birth certificate showing the new gender of the person and reflecting their new name can then be issued based on the information recorded in the register.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QAP6MFM6RBBZZL52G6XZCO3QWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657311344930},"content":"A total of 108 registrations were made on the register of gender recognition during 2021, none of which were in respect of children under the age of 18.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6GLXNDINRFG7RD4FOHAELNAWIE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657311344931},"content":"Overall, 78 per cent (or 85) registrations were for people aged between 18 and 30. Slightly more people registered as male (57) than female (51).","type":"text"},{"_id":"VEE4CNIUIJCVHKX3CRI33NHNZ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657311344932},"content":"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued 117 passports to gender recognition certificate holders during 2021, three of which were issued to individuals aged under 18 years.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GQWR46BFXJGM7N32RVAMSQ2KTQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657311344933},"content":"Since the commencement of the Act, 345 passports have been issued to gender recognition certificate holders, including 11 passports to holders aged under 18 years.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EWZV6S2HRRFKBG5NJ5OTWD5OMM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657311344934},"content":"A review of the operation of the Gender Recognition Act was completed in 2018. Among the recommendations, the review group called for the introduction of legislation that would simplify the path to legal gender recognition for children aged 16 and 17 years.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MGIMIMIDJRAEBCYZCACMK7VFFM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657311344935},"content":"The review group also called for legal gender recognition be extended to non-binary people.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7WQ2M55RS5HOBOJ65JBZIUDGLM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657311344936},"content":"According to the annual report, work on progressing the recommendations was paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic but recommenced in the third quarter of 2021.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XY4BFMU3UBDM3FIQQOP5DXFU7A","additional_properties":{"_id":1657311344937},"content":"By the end of last year, legislation to make changes to the application process for person aged 16 and 17 had been approved by Government and was being drafted, while departments and public bodies were asked to assess the impact of making provision for people who do not identify as male or female.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SY5LH3WESRFJDNKEP2JS55VPL4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657311344938},"content":"The Government is also to begin research into how gender recognition should be provided for transgender children under the age of 16, according to a recently published tender.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Pat Leahy"}},"name":"Pat Leahy"},{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Shauna Bowers"}},"name":"Shauna Bowers"}]},"description":{"basic":"Since the Gender Recognition Act 2015, a person can apply for a gender recognition certificate to ensure their preferred gender is fully recognised by the State"},"display_date":"2022-07-08T22:59:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Number of gender recognition certs issued hit highest level in 2021 ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"QC5DWPHKV7WTPGQK2KJZWANB2A","auth":{"1":"ce58f92a229ebabde674f95c124aa7c7fa4bcb2c45e2d5310ef2fcea44c95a3c"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/QC5DWPHKV7WTPGQK2KJZWANB2A.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/08/number-of-gender-recognition-certs-issued-hits-highest-level-in-2021/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland/social-affairs","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Social Affairs"}}}},{"_id":"64LHW4PHD5DFTLWKJRLUOYKQJU","additional_properties":{},"canonical_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/07/croke-park-to-host-largest-eid-ever-on-saturday/","content_elements":[{"_id":"M4RDMPKH7VCV7A5NFOS6LAWVIE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657198018735},"content":"Croke Park will extend its growing reputation as a favoured venue for people of faith on Saturday when Muslims mark Eid al-Adha there for a third year. The event is scheduled to begin at 8.30am, concluding by 10am, well before the Tailteann Cup Final between Cavan and Westmeath at 3pm and the Derry-Galway All-Ireland football semi-final at 5.30pm.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WX5VOWULABCBRA5RV4GQTF2B7A","additional_properties":{"_id":1657198018736},"content":"Up to 1,000 worshippers will line up on the playing surface, but Shaykh Umar al-Qadri, the chair of the Irish Muslim Council which is organising the event, emphasised that “those wishing to pray must bring their own prayer mats to avoid damage to the pitch”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ANAPURF46JDAJGVER54T452CZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657198018737},"content":"There might easily have been more people attending but, as there are the two games to be played on the pitch later that day, the council decided to restrict participating to 1,000. “We wanted to avoid any impact on the matches,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QPU5NYUNTNA7ZBH2W2MGO5QPHY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657198018738},"content":"He has also advised attendees that “it would be a great way of saying thank you to the GAA if at least some of our community were to wear their club or county colours”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JHVNG4GFRVABPFO4LMFQX5AX5Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1657198018739},"content":"Prayers and speeches","type":"header"},{"_id":"PVMASXYQ4FD47AAZMLWKBMTNPI","additional_properties":{},"content":"Expected guests, who will be seated in the Hogan Stand, may number up to 150. “This year’s event promises to be the best yet, with the Eid prayers being followed by speeches from invited faith, civil and political leaders, along with performances from spoken word artists, nashid singers and the stars of last year’s programme, the Islamic Centre of Ireland Children’s Choir,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VNAXJYSK2BBAXIFMMPNZSCCZVE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657198018740},"content":"Eid al-Adha 2022 makes it a three-in-a-row at Croke Park for Ireland’s Muslim community with the first held during the pandemic in 2020 when Covid-19 restrictions meant they could not gather for Eid prayers in an indoor setting such as a mosque, as normal. Following a request to the GAA, they were allowed use Croke Park in July of that year and this has now become an annual event.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3ISHEFZG7RDYFLNNZBHG3MCKXU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657198018741},"content":"Eid al-Adha marks Hajj – the major annual pilgrimage to Mecca which healthy Muslims must undertake at least once in their lifetime. Hajj takes place from Thursday, July 7th to Tuesday of next week, July 12th. Attendance in Mecca has been severely restricted over recent years due to the pandemic, with a limit of 200 on Irish Muslims who could go there this year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"D2IOSJFR7BBAFLGY5G6ECF7SHQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657198018742},"content":"Warm welcome","type":"header"},{"_id":"Z2E7U6U6WVFLXKIZ73HI5OS2SE","additional_properties":{},"content":"Eid al-Adha also celebrates the faith of Abraham. It is the second major annual festival in Islam, after Eid al-Fitr which marks the end of the month-long fast that is Ramadan.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DUHWU2YNKRCKZCBIONMLOXI6SY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657198018743},"content":"Extending “a warm welcome to members of the Irish Muslim community,” GAA president Larry McCarthy said “Our games and activities are for all and I believe the co-operation between the GAA and the Irish Muslim Council underlines our commitment to diversity and inclusion.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7O3BYKUQL5E4VD3PK3LHXAMGFA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657198018744},"content":"Shaykh al-Qadri said it was “a matter of great joy for us at the Irish Muslim Council and the wider Irish Muslim community to know that this iconic event can remain a fixture, and reminds us that the GAA truly is a place where we all belong”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EHZIGNBENZGYJKMA663EJT2P6Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1657198018745},"content":"Last month, the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council was renamed the Irish Muslim Council, Comhairle Mhoslamach na hÉireann, “better reflecting the breadth of our work as a representative umbrella organisation for Islamic centres, organisations and individuals in the Irish Muslim community across all 32 counties”, as stated on its new website, muslimcouncil.ie","type":"text"},{"_id":"5VEGQPLACJCSXHEP3FP2VOL2EM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657198018746},"content":"In August 2018, Pope Francis attended celebrations marking an end to the Catholic Church’s World Meeting of Families at Croke Park, while in June 2012 the Mass marking an end to the 50th International Eucharistic Congress also took place there. It concluded with a video message from Pope Benedict XVI.","type":"text"},{"_id":"K4BHPKJA5VAL7FQAU6RA6URDJI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657198018747},"content":"The Church of Ireland planned to hold its annual general synod at Croke Park in 2020 but this had to be postponed due to the pandemic. Its general synod next year is scheduled to be held there.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Patsy McGarry"}},"name":"Patsy McGarry"}]},"description":{"basic":"Worshippers must bring own prayer mats so as not to damage pitch ahead of games later that day"},"display_date":"2022-07-07T18:07:24.278Z","headlines":{"basic":"Croke Park to host largest Eid ever on Saturday","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"IALLEORISNMJHKL7R5HBBCTG5M","auth":{"1":"ab1ad934a548b392ad4cb083d0fdab05af55e7f84be68e649ab704b0701488e5"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/IALLEORISNMJHKL7R5HBBCTG5M.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/07/croke-park-to-host-largest-eid-ever-on-saturday/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland/social-affairs","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Social Affairs"}}}},{"_id":"GMMOTQPG5NB4XCZ3H4C5E4K5AA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":176,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4554798/media/121a7eeb5194c889285b78de7d8ea68d_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/politics/2022/07/07/sinn-fein-outline-party-proposals-to-cut-childcare-fees-by-two-thirds-for-families-over-two-years/","content_elements":[{"_id":"VDCEEHPS6JEZXLSGQSMUKVG7L4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657204832014},"content":"A new policy document launched by Sinn Féin on Thursday outlined the party’s proposals to cut childcare fees by two-thirds for families over a period of two years.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DMNAM4NDJNCPBCOWMJPLLEY7E4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657204832015},"content":"It is estimated that parents are currently spending approximately €400 million annually on childcare fees across the State. The childcare package proposed by Sinn Féin would provide two-thirds of this cost (€270 million) in additional public investment on the condition that providers reduce fees for parents.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GWSG5YTPAJHTTOZGXTTEBCYU6M","additional_properties":{"_id":1657204832016},"content":"The policy would offer childcare facilities the option of entering the scheme. Parents would still have to make a contribution but would pay two-thirds less on average than they currently pay under the proposals.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KEO3H4ODVJD3PKQYZKO4VCSZRM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657204832017},"content":"Speaking at the launch of the proposals on Thursday in Ringsend Irishtown Community Centre in Dublin, Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on children Kathleen Funchion said the high cost of childcare had resulted in women being “locked out of the workforce” in recent years.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EH6YLIG7EBFZ7FXX6T3W2H43KI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657204832018},"content":"There had been “lip service around encouraging women into various roles and posts” but “often the support is not there” due to the cost of childcare preventing women from being able to go to work and juggle careers, Ms Funchion said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DEKOAF32IZHZBDRJEEBCI3RS2Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1657204832019},"content":"“If you’re a couple living in Dublin with one child in full-time childcare spending €214 a week on fees, under our proposal you’d save €138 every single week,” she said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QCUFIR2DERGVVH377K2W2D5BUI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657204832020},"content":"“That’s real money going back into people’s pockets and it’s a knock on benefit for local economies when people have that money.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"2TZ4N7GXYNHEJJF6OVLB4DXJ3Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1657204832021},"content":"Sinn Féin spokesperson on finance, Pearse Doherty, said families were “forking out the equivalent of a second monthly mortgage or rental bill” on “extortionate” childcare fees.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LIGPK5ANH5ECPB5CXYOKE742K4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657204832022},"content":"“Childcare costs here are among the highest in Europe ... For years now we’ve had the Government talking about strategies to reduce child care costs, but what we see is over the last four years childcare costs in Dublin have increased. That extortionate amount has to be cut down. It can be done, it has to be delivered with urgency in the budget in the autumn,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"63PZMKRY7NCNNFQVWCO3I3XXOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657204832023},"content":"The proposal also recommends introducing a fee control mechanism to accompany the investment via legislation and to build in a policy mechanism to annually review the fee structure and potential impact of inflation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BNVDZYKZKVEUZLURRAUWTFPFDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657204832024},"content":"Staff in the sector had very little security and poor terms and conditions and there were growing concerns that the sector would continue to lose highly qualified staff to better paid careers, the document states.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TLQ6M5OJMBFT7G4PCTRZD7RWII","additional_properties":{"_id":1657204832025},"content":"The policy document recommends introducing “decent pay scales for all staff” and to explore the longer term option of moving to a fully fledged public service model.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Jade Wilson"}},"name":"Jade Wilson"}]},"description":{"basic":"The party said it would provide €270m in additional public investment per year on the condition that childcare providers reduce fees for parents"},"display_date":"2022-07-07T15:04:00.694Z","headlines":{"basic":"Sinn Féin outline party proposals to cut childcare fees by two-thirds for families over two years","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"UMTCPPLRJFBNVCR2GNFK3KZMPI","auth":{"1":"7e56e14d182d5db295f6490870b8aff6dc27fee4d9109d23ee06bdf55d478077"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/UMTCPPLRJFBNVCR2GNFK3KZMPI.JPG"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Politics"},{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/politics/2022/07/07/sinn-fein-outline-party-proposals-to-cut-childcare-fees-by-two-thirds-for-families-over-two-years/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/politics","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Politics"}}}},{"_id":"PSBW4EGVRJAQPMX5YOSQ2OSU3A","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":197,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4550884/media/6e9a93c9b6fa5686305f39985b2ec50e_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/health/2022/07/07/services-for-people-with-dementia-set-to-get-worse-says-alzheimer-charity/","content_elements":[{"_id":"TIQVS67EMJB27BDDVCN4W5HAFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657192957775},"content":"An urgent investment of €19 million is needed to address the growing need for dementia-specific care, the Alzheimer Society of Ireland (ASI) has claimed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RITGHGGBMNBHHKZI5U63ZWTENE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657196146166},"content":"The number of people with dementia, a form of Alzheimer’s disease, has risen from 54,000 to 64,000 in the past 10 years as the population ages. It is expected to reach 150,000 by 2045 as the population grows progressively older and people live longer.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UFZNFONJVRDDHAOVTOFXTKDCH4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657196146168},"content":"Cormac Cahill, the society’s head of advocacy, research and public affairs, says a 2017 study on dementia-specific services found no county in the State had met an international baseline for these. He says the situation has worsened since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and that things will get worse unless need is addressed now.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WYRTLFMGE5GNPMROQN3JM7RFFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657196146170},"content":"“There needs to be an increased focus on the rising numbers of people developing dementia. We really need to get planning for the future. This is about all of us, our future, older selves will thank us for taking action now,” he says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2WG622WZLRGH5JRYPK44EPW6G4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657196146171},"content":"In its pre-budget submission, the society asked for a €10 million investment in dementia home care, a further €4.2 million for dementia-specific day services, €2.3 million for therapeutic support and education for family carers, €1.4 million in memory assessment and support services, €1 million for dementia research centres of excellence and €120,000 for inclusive dementia supports.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KNESBF4JWZBXVMILBVYTKRVELI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657196146172},"content":"This would include an LGBT online support group, a national sporting memories reminiscence programme and a young onset dementia online support group.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H4XNM3MOSJDNFIPKNDFTLCI4MQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657196146173},"content":"Two-thirds of people with dementia are treated at home. The society says the extra funding already in place for home care is not sufficient to help people affected by dementia. It believes an extra €2.5 million would help to reduce the waiting lists and provide extra days to people living with dementia.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CXHEX5EZBFFBZC2PQ65BZEIQNY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657196146175},"content":"Several of the society’s day centres have not fully reopened following the pandemic, due to the rising costs in providing day care services especially with staff shortages.","type":"text"},{"_id":"62ZPXHG4XNGCRJAC6M3VC5OLRI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657196146176},"content":"Mr Cahill adds that the society is like “any other organisation: our funding is remaining the same and our costs are rising, and the need for our services is growing every day”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BLV5FKJLYNE7XHY2HYXICDCYZE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657196146177},"content":"“We really appreciate the support that we have received from the Government and our funders, but the truth is that more funding is now required to meet the growing need and to ensure that people living with dementia and their families are not short of a vital service.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"AX44GSG5FBCKBINI6QCVJL2EKQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657196146178},"content":"Speaking at the launch, Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall said the Government was trying to provide care “on the cheap”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G3PPX2VARNBR7LATOC2L7WGBG4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657201457942},"content":"“There is a huge demand for caring. Those jobs are being outsourced, they are yellow pack jobs, there is no security. It is any wonder so many of them are going into retail,” she said.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Ronan McGreevy"}},"name":"Ronan McGreevy"}]},"description":{"basic":"Alzheimer Society of Ireland calls for €19 million investment in dementia-specific care to meet a growing need"},"display_date":"2022-07-07T14:27:53.997Z","headlines":{"basic":"Services for people with dementia set to get worse, says Alzheimer charity","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"VR7ENONZ7IAZ3J6AFVLCHLEDAU","auth":{"1":"2343021dac76e36f02760c763a70944410ceac3c6d5a78030168caef8d76f210"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/VR7ENONZ7IAZ3J6AFVLCHLEDAU.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Health"},{"name":"Social 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and the gardaí are appealing to drivers to not use their phones while on the road.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H3S6DY4RH5F6TAXLTUFGKCGVPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657194884501},"content":"Some 37 per cent of motorists surveyed were not practicing safe mobile phone behaviour when driving, according to the Driver Attitudes & Behaviour Survey 2021.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WLZENLQMGBG3DICQAGMHZ42E2U","additional_properties":{"_id":1657194884502},"content":"The survey, which questioned 1,220 drivers in November 2021, found 19 per cent of respondents use their phones to read messages or emails while driving.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7ZJXKC3YRJAX3IWVHL4I4CXWTA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657194884503},"content":"Some 13 per cent write messages and emails from behind the wheel, while 12 per cent admitted to using their phones to check social media.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NJFWNXOSIVHBXCGRFIPIYA3DUE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657194884504},"content":"This is despite international research revealing drivers are four times more likely to be involved in a collision if they use their mobile phone while driving.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SWV65DLH5VFHPL54Q4XDZ3L5RI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657194884505},"content":"To date in 2022, a total of 86 people have died on Irish roads, 27 more than during the same period in 2021.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PCHNECE32FGN7MIMMKPH7CCTKI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657194884506},"content":"A total of 22,310 notices were issued by gardaí last year for “driving a vehicle while holding a mobile phone”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B5ZPVQDEPRENTCONS3CZSCMH7M","additional_properties":{"_id":1657194884507},"content":"Minister of State at the Department of Transport Hildegarde Naughton said the evidence of the dangers of using your phone while driving are “very clear”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GHBMT7SWUNAHBLOSCYCN7MR2JI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657194884508},"content":"“Nobody can claim that they are not aware of the dangers of using a phone while driving,” Ms Naughton said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"O6SXTXO7JZCDXCWPADM6YYTB3A","additional_properties":{"_id":1657194884509},"content":"Sam Waide, chief executive of the RSA, said driver distraction is thought to play a role in up to 30 per cent of all road collisions.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FICFEVLQHFBBPLAQ4SCM6ZSDRA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657194884510},"content":"“Using your mobile is a significant form of driver distraction as it dangerously impairs your ability to monitor the road ahead and react to any hazards in time,” Mr Waide said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PCHNECE32FGN7MIMMKPH7CCTKI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657194884511},"content":"Assistant commissioner Paula Hilman for roads policing and community engagement at An Garda Síochána said the penalty for using a mobile phone, including supporting it with any part of your body while driving, is an automatic three points on your licence and a €60 fine.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BB5ICMEIQBGMFA5SEYUX6LGA3M","additional_properties":{"_id":1657194884512},"content":"“If you accumulate 12 penalty points (seven for novice and learner drivers) in a three-year period, you will be disqualified from driving for six months,” she said.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Shauna Bowers"}},"name":"Shauna Bowers"}]},"description":{"basic":"The RSA and the gardaí are appealing to drivers to not use their phones while on the road."},"display_date":"2022-07-07T12:53:35.286Z","headlines":{"basic":"Almost one in four drivers check mobile phone while driving - research 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Law"}}}},{"_id":"BVR4TRNI4BGSVGARTXHG2AXX4Q","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":534,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/5469/podcasts/4510744/media/8b762bbcac4ba90ae9ec9a2ed5151db7_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/culture/2022/07/07/is-free-speech-under-threat-in-irish-universities-a-ucd-audit-raises-concern/","content_elements":[{"_id":"NNXYZRDLWFDFFGWGS3CFESBRDI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883567},"content":"Free speech on college campuses has become a major international issue. There are concerns about the influence of powerful lobby groups and furtive actors, including the Chinese government, on academic research. There are also fraught debates about the limits of tolerable expression linked to culture wars on either side of the Atlantic.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TK3RVX3HKJEUVCVQGA3IDHEXL4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883568},"content":"An understandable response is to keep your head down, or to treat it as someone’s else fight. “I do think a lot of academics don’t actually rate free speech as highly as you’d think,” the legal scholar Eric Heinze <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/why-free-speech-should-be-the-most-highly-valued-human-right-1.4845246\" target=\"_blank\">told this column recently</a>.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JR755YM2B5F2HD2ZXAE3G2DM7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883569},"content":"A <a href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/jun/23/students-shocking-growth-support-censorship-ministers-warn\" target=\"_blank\">survey in the UK last month</a> showed growing support among students for both censorship and stricter policing of speech – 36 per cent of respondents in the Higher Education Policy Institute poll believed academics should be fired for using material that “heavily offends” students.","type":"text"},{"_id":"L4LMTMITUZFN3F4RRJXD3Q24BI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883570},"content":"But is free speech really under threat in Irish universities? Tim Crowley, assistant professor at the School of Philosophy at University College Dublin, decided to seek an independent view about his own institution. He asked the United States-based non-partisan Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (Fire) to audit UCD’s student code of conduct and two related policies.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DIAID3N6JRGWJCNFGHEGQK4FZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883571},"content":"The results are in – and they don’t make pretty reading. Fire, a non-profit group which has surveyed more than 480 colleges and universities in the US, puts UCD in the lowest “red light” bracket. This is based on earning at least one red light ranking for policies that “clearly and substantially” restrict freedom of speech.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B732JWLHH5DCVMF2YIDVZSPSKU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883572},"content":"At public institutions in the United States, Fire points out, “red light policies are unconstitutional”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZQXKIGLJ5ZHILDN7J3PJOA7T3E","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883573},"content":"Yellow light warnings are for policies which, “by virtue of vague wording, can too easily be used to restrict protected expression”, while a green light is for those of no concern.","type":"text"},{"_id":"A6XOHGXYLRGWTK6I2X4FEJX6AM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883574},"content":"Fire gave UCD five yellow warnings and three red, based on how it would comply with the free-speech obligations of a public US university.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DWICVS4L3JGWFLVTHWPXVRZDME","additional_properties":{"_id":1657114206998},"content":"‘Respectful and courteous’","type":"header"},{"_id":"5ERDMOMNTVCLHIRBFNOYPMK5FA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883575},"content":"The <a href=\"https://hub.ucd.ie/usis/!W_HU_MENU.P_PUBLISH?p_tag=GD-DOCLAND&ID=221\" target=\"_blank\">UCD student code</a> requires that you “communicate with your fellow students and staff members in a respectful and courteous manner”, and “ensure that your actions don’t have a negative impact on yourself, others or the university”. Fire describes this as a vague “catchall provision” that “could be used to punish protected speech, such as a tweet that criticises the administration”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JRE7ECHMIFDJJLT3IF7P32ZN7A","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883577},"content":"Descriptions of what constitutes bullying and harassment are also too broad, Fire says. “A single, off-colour joke” could be deemed as misconduct, it points out.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MQCV2OFBWJDX3M6UG57LWJTFKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883578},"content":"As for a <a href=\"https://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/UCD%20Information%20Technology%20Services%20Acceptable%20Use%20Policy%2011%2011%2013.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">ban on using technology</a> to communicate “offensive” or “indecent” material, these “are overbroad terms that could include just about any material that is subjectively disfavoured,” Fire says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SRLNO45ZKRFAXN73AXM243HQBI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883579},"content":"UCD’s <a href=\"https://www.ucd.ie/dignityandrespect/\" target=\"_blank\">dignity and respect policy</a> is also criticised for placing “vague expectations on members of the university community” to treat everyone respectfully. Fire raises particular concern about a reporting tool that solicits anonymous reports from students and staff about their fellow members for perceived breaches.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G6GWJVWNG5CW3G5RM6TULFS67M","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883580},"content":"The wording of these codes, it should be noted, are very similar to those that apply in a general workplace environment. So why should college campuses be treated differently?","type":"text"},{"_id":"DQBJ6A75EFHILBZB5ETORH4YUU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883581},"content":"“The university campus is by nature very different from a general workplace environment, such as that of a commercial enterprise. They each have very different goals,” Crowley replies.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T56GO5LKRFASZMR2ET6N6QUJLA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883582},"content":"He quotes the 1967 Kalven report at the University of Chicago: “A university faithful to its mission… is the institution which creates discontent with the existing social arrangements and proposes new ones. In brief, a good university, like Socrates, will be upsetting.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QHNPVOA5PJDRHN6U7RFU3DY5FQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883583},"content":"The codes audited by Fire may seem rather abstract but they have short-term and long-term effects, Crowley adds. “The short-term effects are destructive of the university; the long-term effects are destructive of democracy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VT5HZS33RFDNZA64M62N5QH7LY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657114207007},"content":"‘Ideological uniformity’","type":"header"},{"_id":"4LTPG6JUAVHXDBOT7JMPXMV54M","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883584},"content":"“In the short term, speech codes stifle debate and inquiry, and encourage ideological uniformity. Students will hesitate to offer their opinion, to avoid being berated by fellow students, or by their instructors, for advancing unpopular, offensive, or so-called ‘problematic’ views. Lecturers or tutors who try to keep a discussion going in such an atmosphere may in turn be putting themselves at risk of being perceived as, or accused of, acting insensitively.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N2A5U3BEMJG75JXHEMEH24IFRU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883585},"content":"“In the long term, the effects on society are perhaps already evident. Transforming the university into a place where the central aim is to ensure that young adults will not be offended, a place where they will not be exposed to dissenting voices, produces graduates who have not learned to talk to or live with those who hold other views, resorting instead to tribalism, demonisation of others and even violence.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HRW7CR5335AVDBOFNBWFLIZMME","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883586},"content":"“Indeed, studies show that people with the highest level of education tend to have the lowest levels of exposure to opposing viewpoints. And this has awful consequences for democracy.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QFBLYIN6U5BELNSE2JQICWF664","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883587},"content":"UCD has been under close scrutiny in recent years because of a number of partnership projects with China. In 2020, the university was <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/concern-over-proposed-changes-to-ucd-s-academic-freedom-1.4225393\" target=\"_blank\">forced to drop proposed changes</a> to its academic freedom policy to allow for “different interpretations” of the concept after a backlash from staff.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GUCX4BRW6RFHVISA6RLSFTC3ZA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883588},"content":"However, <i>“</i>I don’t think UCD is an outlier in getting such a damning report from Fire,” says Crowley.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IAR2MXMD4BBBPPWTTSL2VOHI3M","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883589},"content":"Indeed, Trinity College Dublin’s core ethics policy is rather ambivalent about censorship. It states: “The College promotes an environment of freedom of expression and intellectual enquiry and is committed to ensuring it is exercised in such a way as shall not interfere with the rights of others, or breach national legislation.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"FXZ5IREM4DMLNIBXXPI6BSP35I","additional_properties":{"_id":"HH2DEHVIXRGQHGMRT5L3HUFA5I"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"YJO6ITYAHNEEPOCW7JPRPNHR5I","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883590},"content":"Asked for his view on the Trinity document, Crowley says: “It should state clearly what rights trump the right to free expression; and it could be mindful that the right to freedom of speech is the most important of all – for without it, we cannot even begin to subject all other rights to scrutiny.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SA55JFPEKZFNZEFOGULSAWLYHY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883591},"content":"“And as for ‘breach national legislation’, that too is vague. Perhaps it just means ‘within the law’, which appears in the UCD statement too. But what about speech that is expressly intended to criticise, undermine, and ultimately overturn national legislation, and which indeed explicitly calls not just for interference with, but for the abrogation of the legally recognised rights of others?","type":"text"},{"_id":"TW5IEA53PVEXPOEZPQKZUN2NNA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657114207017},"content":"‘Anti-democratic’","type":"header"},{"_id":"QAIILE4M7JGG5KVGCMIMXEEUG4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883592},"content":"“One could consider the pro-information campaign of Irish students’ unions regarding abortion in the late Eighties and Nineties in that way…","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZVYHFB7WSFHNHPXZLJCJOXLQTA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883593},"content":"“Massive changes in society have been possible only through free speech. How do measures that get to be voted upon gain the popular support to initiate change? Free speech. But there is often a perception that once such changes have occurred, free speech about such issues must be from then on curbed. That is anti-democratic and illiberal.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"LRJ6EG2DUFCY5ERLNZFEJRSB64","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883594},"content":"Crowley believes “we urgently need something like Fire in Ireland, that is, an advocacy group, independent from the universities and from government” on the issue. In the meantime, he encourages academics who share concerns about free expression to join the Heterodox Academy, a US-based collaborative of over 5,000 academics and students who are committed to promoting open inquiry. “I have been a member since 2019, but there are only two others in UCD, just one in TCD, and in the whole island of Ireland less than 15 members altogether.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7T7FXGM7NVDTNLN6SKV7QH4TKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883595},"content":"The negative effects of censorship are not just confined to colleges and society, Crowley says. “It is also worth pointing out the effects on the students themselves, in particular, on their mental health.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XXJ53DADLBBV7MXLJ4YXLOOOOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883596},"content":"“Words and ideas may indeed produce discomfort, even distress. And in the face of rising cases of mental health and anxiety on campus, university administrators and, frequently, the faculty, have come to think their role is to ensure the avoidance of distress in students. But this may well be exacerbating the mental-health problem.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FV7OY27UJJFZZBHHWWC6J2RH7U","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883597},"content":"“As [psychologist] Jonathan Haidt and President of Fire Greg Lukianoff point out, ‘some well-intentioned protections [against free speech] may backfire and make things worse in the long run for the very students we are trying to help’.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"36L34KMMCZFNBCSSYLGDPHN7VE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657187861346},"content":"Peer pressure to conform is an added factor, potentially exacerbated by social media. Joint-winner of this year’s Irish Young Philosopher Awards, Cecelia Dowling, a fifth-year student at Scoil Pól, Kilfinane, Co Limerick, explored this very subject, asking the question: “If thought patterns and processing are becoming increasingly similar, should we not be alarmed?”","type":"text"},{"_id":"4WYGR4KEUFGPFA22T5CPCZPQV4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657187861347},"content":"Crowley admits most university students are unaware of the codes, and few are likely to say they are affected by free speech concerns on a daily basis.","type":"text"},{"_id":"32CEV7T6HJHNZMVJDH2Y53R6PE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883599},"content":"“The issue, then, is not about taking up arms on the side of the students who are demanding free speech,” he says. “It is, rather, to show to students the value of free speech. This won’t be easy. Thinking, real thinking, is hard.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"X66LJA2C25ARVFQFA4GPKXG36Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1656617883600},"content":"<i>To read the full Fire report on UCD’s policies see </i><a href=\"https://timcrowley.substack.com/p/fire-report-ucd\"><i>https://timcrowley.substack.com/p/fire-report-ucd</i></a>","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Joe Humphreys"}},"name":"Joe Humphreys"}]},"description":{"basic":"Unthinkable: US non-profit, non-partisan foundation Fire warns against ‘vague’ prohibitions on offensive comment"},"display_date":"2022-07-07T04:15:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Is free speech under threat in Irish universities? A UCD audit raises concern","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"5469"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"RD7J7NGRB5JJJCNXTC74ECRGCA","auth":{"1":"34361ab8d7bb31c54739dbeab08331c684cdd749f633ea7df62d6478cc0e4f1c"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/RD7J7NGRB5JJJCNXTC74ECRGCA.jpg"}},"subtype":"columnist","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Culture"},{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Student Hub"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/culture/2022/07/07/is-free-speech-under-threat-in-irish-universities-a-ucd-audit-raises-concern/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/culture","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Culture"}}}},{"_id":"ZYU7LQJO45FBJKWYOLWXACKG5Q","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":233,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4545261/media/a4641c63c64523124ff661c307cc6fe6_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/politics/oireachtas/2022/07/06/a-landmark-day-for-international-surrogacy-but-questions-on-commercial-arrangements-remain/","content_elements":[{"_id":"CLL5K6EQLFCPJCFCH2P47JHGXA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657129975978},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"G25OYM6YCJGWZMK34UBPBRMFOQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657129975979},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"CK2DEAY5CRFFFBCNXUU77P322A","additional_properties":{"_id":1657129975980},"content":"The task given to the Government’s Special Committee on International Surrogacy was straightforward and yet deeply complex: find a way to recognise the previously unregulated arrangements and do it in 12 weeks.","type":"text"},{"_id":"S4ROUMCTTBFADBHQJUA3NSTXRY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657129975981},"content":"At one stage, it looked as though the work of the committee would be derailed by fighting among members, with Senator Sharon Keogan claiming she was the victim of “vicious personal attacks” when she voiced opposition to commercial surrogacy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VBKYVMOUANHHZLTO44S6XCRRVE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657129975982},"content":"Despite the tensions, both in public and behind the scenes over the last three months, the committee has produced a detailed report which has two important recommendations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GDP6LQXI3ZHCVPZAWUILL2QAB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657129975983},"content":"The first is that the committee believes international surrogacies should be recognised for the first time through a legal framework.","type":"text"},{"_id":"J342S4V5GNCAZHIGRP6SZM35BA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657129975984},"content":"The second is that this would involve a process that would see the intending parents of the child given full rights through a parental order.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2DWVRDF3WBHJXE6XI5GAFDHH4M","additional_properties":{"_id":1657129975985},"content":"The Oireachtas is currently considering the long-awaited Assisted Human Reproduction Bill, which would regulate for altruistic surrogacies for the first time but would ban commercial surrogacies.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5Y6AAI23GNCTBDAZFB3FGBTT2Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1657129975987},"content":"The complicated issue of international surrogacy was left to the special committee to address. One of the reasons why it is so complex is because many such arrangements are commercial in nature.","type":"text"},{"_id":"66NBB5B6IVCB5G7353PNKJINGU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657129975988},"content":"Briefings from Government sources in recent months indicated that there was no intention to allow international commercial arrangements while banning the same at home.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WBZP25WWAFC3XGNQCL2S6L74HM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657129975989},"content":"The special committee has now effectively said that surrogate women abroad should be provided with reasonable expenses — including to cover any loss of earnings — that there should be a pre-birth administrative process, counselling, legal advice and a post-birth recognition through a court-issued parental order.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WUSRU3CZBVABPAUULDNNL4J2GA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657129975990},"content":"All of this is, more or less, in line with the Government’s domestic plans. Given this, it is perhaps unsurprising that senior Government sources believe a lot of the committee’s recommendations can be added to the legislation. If they cannot be, a stand-alone piece of legislation has not been ruled out.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B2RBNB63I5FO7MIFPZH5LMJR6U","additional_properties":{},"content":"Next steps","type":"header"},{"_id":"VOB7KCRX2ZEZZB2INNQEIHZWVQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657129975991},"content":"There are four Government departments who will now be parsing the findings in detail: The Departments of Health, Justice, Children and, to a lesser extent, Foreign Affairs.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BMFZKZDZXNFS7DSXJT6XDJ4EUI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657129975992},"content":"Asked about the next steps, a spokesman for the Department of Justice said the “Government agreed last year that the Minister for Health shall have regard to the work of the Special Joint Oireachtas Committee on International Surrogacy as the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill is introduced and progressed through the Houses of the Oireachtas. Minister McEntee has received the committee’s report and its recommendations are now being examined by officials across the three relevant departments.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q34SKUQYCBB6LDFPTJTE4BSEDA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657129975993},"content":"The committee heard from a range of witnesses, including the parents of surrogate children, legal experts and academics. The experts pointed towards the lack of a legal framework for surrogacy and the limbo this left parents and children in. The families outlined how they were legal strangers to their own children.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2LQMLQAGYNA2POUYXMBT4IDCDU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657129975994},"content":"Currently, while there is a route to guardianship for parents, this ends at 18. This also opens up issues around inheritance, custody and family leave. Therefore, the committee’s recommendation for a legal framework of parental recognition clearly represents a major milestone.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WL57AG6MKJEI7ONHEULLGQJZUU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657129975996},"content":"The outstanding question is: if a large amount of international surrogacies are commercial, what will happen to these intending parents, surrogates and children? The committee has called for compensatory arrangements. The exact nature of that compensation will be the key question in the coming weeks.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Jennifer Bray"}},"name":"Jennifer Bray"}]},"description":{"basic":"Analysis: Proposal for legal framework of parental recognition is a major milestone"},"display_date":"2022-07-06T18:40:19.632Z","headlines":{"basic":"A landmark day for international surrogacy but questions on commercial arrangements remain","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"EAZGHHP7HJBOPE2DWTVLVZVJUY","auth":{"1":"03f5cf179eaff29a25b0b5224e9f8b2c9bbf7aa5ec00382abfb3322af21ef4e7"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/EAZGHHP7HJBOPE2DWTVLVZVJUY.JPG"}},"subtype":"analysis","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Oireachtas"},{"name":"Politics"},{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/politics/oireachtas/2022/07/06/a-landmark-day-for-international-surrogacy-but-questions-on-commercial-arrangements-remain/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/politics/oireachtas","additional_properties":{"original":{"Podcast":{"podcast_logo":""}}},"name":"Oireachtas"}}}},{"_id":"CRKWY2XLHZG53GFBBNUWOBE7KA","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":298,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4544660/media/86d748d303c01170a4902e4a985917bb_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/politics/oireachtas/2022/07/06/proposed-regulations-on-international-surrogacy-include-legal-rights-for-parents/","content_elements":[{"_id":"Y6DSG43DZJGPVMMTNFU2QADWDE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657121154852},"content":"Regulations on international surrogacy, including legal rights for parents and agreed financial supports for the surrogate mother, have been put forward by TDs and Senators.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6MZ2W53AM5EVXBELKULMLWEA7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1657121154853},"content":"Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore, chairwoman of the Special Committee on International Surrogacy, said the issue is complex and sometimes divisive and the safeguarding of children and surrogates are key concerns.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XJ4TQJHZ7ZDPHH6NYRL6OQG4OM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657125656443},"content":"She said the committee hoped its report, which follows three months of hearings, would “provide a robust framework from which international surrogacy can be regulated”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NPK2OAGDAFDUHB7LJQW67Z6DTA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657123826610},"content":"The committee was established by the Government following pressure from campaigners and legal experts to address the issue as part of forthcoming domestic surrogacy legislation, the Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR) Bill. The members hope their recommendations will be included in the Bill by the Government.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OU4ZUHE5XRHUHE3QE4AC6V5SFU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657123826611},"content":"Surrogacy in Ireland, whether altruistic or commercial, is unregulated. Most surrogacies are undertaken abroad through commercial arrangements, often in Ukraine but also in Canada and the US. At present there is no mechanism in law to allow for the recognition of lifelong legal parent-child relationships for children born through international surrogacy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7EXD5NSWGFEKLMNW7TVXFTKVJY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657121154859},"content":"There is no route to legal parentage for an intending mother, even if she provided the egg to the surrogate. While there is a route to guardianship for parents, this ends at 18.","type":"text"},{"_id":"X7COYJPU5NCM5IJSADQLP5FT44","additional_properties":{"_id":1657121154861},"content":"The committee has recommended that the intended parents should be able to apply to the courts for a parental order that would give them both full legal rights as parents. It is intended that the process would be fast, perhaps within 21 days once the surrogate signs an affidavit to confirm consent and a DNA test is done given a requirement that be a genetic link with at least one intended parent.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YMVH2X6HWNBGXL5QRPHUUUXFGA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657121154863},"content":"The AHR Bill would set up a regulatory authority in Ireland for domestic surrogacy arrangements including a national surrogacy register. The legislation would allow for altruistic surrogacy but would prohibit commercial surrogacy because of concerns in Government about exploitation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JFSIOFOBQRC7BCZ5ZJRRDKOFYA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657121154864},"content":"Under the committee’s proposals no surrogacy arrangements should be entered into in a country that prohibits surrogacy. The surrogate should receive independent legal advice, medical advice and counselling before the surrogacy and this would be paid for by the intended parents.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6GOGG2BVJFHADB6UETS6YHVG7U","additional_properties":{"_id":1657121154866},"content":"There would be a written agreement and, the committee says, the surrogate should not be financially disadvantaged by her participation in the surrogacy. Intended parents should reimburse the surrogate mother for “reasonable expenses” caused by the pregnancy, including loss of earnings and the cost of domestic labour the surrogate is precluded from doing.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WHWUZDGROVFVJDKRBJM566OH4M","additional_properties":{"_id":1657121154868},"content":"Ms Whitmore said this “actually aligns very closely with the AHR Bill” as, though it covers altruistic surrogacy, it “does allow for compensated reasonable costs”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5H2JFVAPJFD6ZODX2G2ELWOWXQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657121154869},"content":"Asked about indications from Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly and his officials that it may not be possible to include international surrogacy in the AHR Bill, Ms Whitmore said she would be pressing for them to include it as it would be a “missed opportunity” not to do so.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AITO2ID7SREYVENMRWGLHHZL4I","additional_properties":{"_id":1657123826619},"content":"Campaigners seeking the regulation of international surrogacy held a demonstration outside Leinster House on Wednesday calling for children born through surrogacy to no longer be denied a legal relationship with both of their parents.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KO5QS4YFDVDU3ODC2LWNJAOSPI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657125656454},"content":"‘Unbalanced’","type":"header"},{"_id":"4QGQWWDPFBG6VNZL4NY3ENW22I","additional_properties":{"_id":1657121154871},"content":"Independent Senator Sharon Keogan, a committee member who previously outlined her opposition to surrogacy arguing it is “harmful” and “exploitative”, said at the launch that the report is “unbalanced”. She said potential witnesses with dissenting views were excluded from hearings, which other members said was not true.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KPQSS5U3TZHPXN3EKXXTKM7UKM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657121154874},"content":"In a statement setting out her views, Ms Keogan said there is a power imbalance between the “commissioning parent and the surrogate” and described the intending parent as “the purchaser”. This prompted criticism from members of the audience and Fine Gael Senator Mary Seery Kearney, who said the view was “outrageous”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"APRXCXPV45BJVNGKK3LEZRSIUY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657121154876},"content":"Ms Keogan went on to say that “commercial surrogacy is a practice which violates the rights of women and children and much more thorough examination of the issue than that proposed here this morning should be recommended”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B5IS4NHJVNEI5CX2JACD5WEW6U","additional_properties":{"_id":1657121154877},"content":"","type":"text"},{"_id":"GRH323HY7NHIHDV25FFSTOIBHY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657121154878},"content":"Ms Whitmore denied the committee was unbalanced or biased, saying it invited experts in the areas of human rights, children’s rights and the law, as well as academics, families that experienced international surrogacy, and surrogates themselves.","type":"text"},{"_id":"M4BXCZV3FZDDNBREQQ6RVH4Y3Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1657123826625},"content":"She said the committee did not invite “people who are very loud and very opinionated with very little facts to actually back up their opinions”.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Cormac McQuinn"}},"name":"Cormac McQuinn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Committee proposes agreed financial supports for surrogate mothers for ‘reasonable expenses’"},"display_date":"2022-07-06T16:41:08.571Z","headlines":{"basic":"Proposed regulations on international surrogacy include legal rights for parents ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"4EP5S74LLNCCXM2V6USAE64YSU","auth":{"1":"ce326137091496abbf06b26cc64967b8a18641f5fa24474e8d96ea114f38f871"},"focal_point":{"x":2588,"y":712},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/4EP5S74LLNCCXM2V6USAE64YSU.JPG"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Oireachtas"},{"name":"Politics"},{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/politics/oireachtas/2022/07/06/proposed-regulations-on-international-surrogacy-include-legal-rights-for-parents/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/politics/oireachtas","additional_properties":{"original":{"Podcast":{"podcast_logo":""}}},"name":"Oireachtas"}}}},{"_id":"AYGHSZ4W6NDEZNFJ6JDL4PLOIY","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":204,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4542656/media/0fc7f9569edd47fa8711cd3340010ac3_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/politics/oireachtas/2022/07/06/middle-income-families-in-dire-straits-have-been-left-behind-by-back-to-school-allowance-increase-says-sinn-fein/","content_elements":[{"_id":"37GKWRUW2VCV5DGRFV6XAHZXQE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657109433646},"content":"Middle-income families who are in “dire straits” have been “left behind” by the Government’s latest increase in the back-to-school allowance, Sinn Féin has said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"56MS36E6FZDYBCY5BBJTKLX34Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1657109433648},"content":"The party’s leader Mary Lou McDonald said any family with a household income of €621 a week will not get “a red cent” of the allowance and called for it to be extended.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UWEBCUVZTJF3DPABTTC3T2RXTA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657109433649},"content":"The rate of the back-to-school allowance will be increased by €100 under new plans unveiled by Ministers on Tuesday evening.","type":"text"},{"_id":"A3BAQPLTANHOBG4DZYMYMLSEA4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657109433650},"content":"There will also be a major expansion of the school meals programme and school transport fees will be waived for primary and secondary students.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GYPV3TLL7VHKXFGPZQLSVWF4IU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657109433651},"content":"The measures worth €67 million were announced by Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys, Minister for Education Norma Foley and Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JSTRPRKGANEV5HAYNVJJH2PDKE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657109433652},"content":"Speaking during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil on Wednesday, Ms McDonald said she welcomed the Government’s “U-turn” after “weeks of stubbornness”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JHYFSGOTLJEBVEEGFNK4K2A5PM","additional_properties":{},"content":"“I am glad that you have finally listened to the Opposition, at least in part, because any extra financial support for families on fixed and low-incomes struggling to make it to the end of the week is a very good thing,” she said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GGORDHNCQBCHLO6GHJUJBRLD5M","additional_properties":{"_id":1657109433654},"content":"“But there’s a problem, you’ve left behind middle-income families who are in dire straits. Any family with a household income of €621 a week won’t get a red cent of the back-to-school allowance.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7YXDD36UI5AFFHLAAYYB73455U","additional_properties":{"_id":1657109433655},"content":"“A household income of €621 is modest. These are families who receive very little support from the State but are now fighting to stay afloat.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TGSXWXJT2RCUVMH2LEMHDSR7JI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657109433656},"content":"“You’ve left behind these families who struggle to pay the mortgage and the rent, who can’t afford to put fuel in the car to get to work or pay extortionate energy bills, families whose grocery bill is now through the roof to such an extent that many have started to cut back on basics.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"JIRHL3SPAFHGZPRVMEAVKUYPXY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657109433657},"content":"Ms McDonald said the back-to-school allowance should be extended to cover an additional 500,000 children “whose middle income parents are in desperate need of support”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PBRU6KPKPRAKNP5RQXXK3UFORQ","additional_properties":{"_id":"KVRMQFIE2BE6XKIESALEM5VHR4"},"content":"Back-to-school allowance hike still leaves €1,000 gap for low-income families, charity says","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"5RGOBS2WWVHUBNA4FRHCHRELYE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657109433658},"content":"Labour leader Ivana Bacik said while the measures announced were “welcome concessions” they were “simply not enough”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B4GB4XJKZFBYBOKFIMACUUCMDA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657109433659},"content":"Mc Bacik said there was no radical move to introduce a free schools scheme proposed by her party or increasing the eligibility for the back-to-school allowance which “could be done with the stroke of a pen and would make a real difference”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6NZT7Y4UUVAKRLNQ5WMVR4ON44","additional_properties":{"_id":1657109433660},"content":"The Dublin Bay South TD said there had to be “bigger vision” with more substantive change introduced and the Government’s decision to bring forward the budget by two weeks to September 27th was “a token exercise”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HGVYAJFPABDD3ASRVXIKJYJ7ZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657109433661},"content":"In response, Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath said the expansion of the Deis schools scheme announced would mean that 60,000 more children would get a free hot meal, which represented “real change” and made “real difference”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FM2WRYVGNRFWJFWQPN2K4VHCCI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657109433662},"content":"Mr McGrath said the changes to the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance would not go “far enough” for many and the Government acknowledged that. He said it was “a genuine effort by the Government to help and make a difference”.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Sarah Burns"}},"name":"Sarah Burns"}]},"description":{"basic":"'Any family with a household income of €621 a week won’t get a red cent of the back-to-school allowance,’ the Dáil heard"},"display_date":"2022-07-06T12:38:12.034Z","headlines":{"basic":"Middle-income families in ‘dire straits’ have been ‘left behind’ by back-to-school allowance increase, says Sinn Féin","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"NWHDR7HIA5D65N4CV3FC2LN6CA","auth":{"1":"10f587c4c39547aa63cb64ba1c65f4ae61f04d1e64e75cd0e20622266634c8c8"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/NWHDR7HIA5D65N4CV3FC2LN6CA.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Oireachtas"},{"name":"Politics"},{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Education"},{"name":"Social Affairs"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/politics/oireachtas/2022/07/06/middle-income-families-in-dire-straits-have-been-left-behind-by-back-to-school-allowance-increase-says-sinn-fein/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/politics/oireachtas","additional_properties":{"original":{"Podcast":{"podcast_logo":""}}},"name":"Oireachtas"}}}},{"_id":"VQSRSI7EHJBCZHGSY7WKP46DVQ","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":125,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4541611/media/56b70b42f3bb0e40b004b3e06e71d80a_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/housing-planning/2022/07/06/do-you-think-you-will-never-be-a-homeowner-and-are-you-worried-about-retirement/","content_elements":[{"_id":"LJK6AONP5ZHRBANDSF2AM3N2XQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657101347784},"content":"Do you think you may never be able to buy your own home and have you thought about what this will mean when you reach retirement age? Will you tell us your experience and concerns?","type":"text"},{"_id":"DSCIMRZ2OBCK7PHI4NQKKXRX7M","additional_properties":{"_id":1657101347785},"content":"<a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/2022/07/06/falling-home-ownership-rates-will-leave-future-retirees-financially-exposed-study-finds/\" target=\"_blank\">A report out on Wednesday </a>shows that home-ownership rates among young working adults in Ireland have collapsed in the face of rising house prices. It warns that more future retirees are likely to be financially exposed when they stop working as they will have to pay rent.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TEKBBOJSIVCGDH36JAOV2Y4AAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657101347786},"content":"Will you tell us your story? Do you want to own your own house and what factors have stopped you? Are you worried about or have you thought about what will happen when you are older? Do you think you will have to work past retirement age to pay rent? Has this situation forced you to consider moving to a cheaper part of the country, emigration or have conversations with family about inheritance? Or are you a renter who is close to retirement and very worried about your financial future?","type":"text"},{"_id":"P4K2WRXVSRD25O6H7VD7NKDASE","additional_properties":{"_id":"D6ZPRBFO4ZCAXG6MBIJWIVO7V4"},"content":"<span class=\"contribly-contribute-v2\" data-client=\"9fc0f2a4-9bf9-4464-8b77-ec351ad0db03\" data-assignment=\"21f135fe-16f5-45b7-b77a-4af2caf82a2b\" data-display=\"inline\"></span><script type=\"text/javascript\" src=\"https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/contribly-widgets/contribute/contribute-v2.js\"><\/script>","type":"raw_html"},{"_id":"KTSTIPZ72NE3HPKZS66WYRERHM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657101347787},"content":"The research by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found that the share of 25-34-year-olds who own their own home more than halved between 2004 and 2019, falling from 60 per cent to just 27 per cent.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SREY4YKE7ZFRTFAXADEFQAFOQA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657102093627},"content":"Lower home ownership rates would mean a higher proportion of households in the rental sector and “the continuation of rental payments into retirement”, the report says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UBQ7GDWCM5AVLFXCNFGYBWM5PE","additional_properties":{"_id":"LAIBOSTSN5BOJOMHIZIEIULOFA"},"content":"Collapse in young home ownership rates will leave future retirees financially exposed, study finds","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"RXNOFV3DHRCA7KFWFMU6AMB43Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1657101347789},"content":"You can let us know what you think using this form. Please limit your submissions to 400 words or less. If you would prefer to remain anonymous, please indicate this in your submission – we will keep your name and contact details confidential.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QVXEXEL5GVAFNDS5UZT5ZH66E4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657101347790},"content":"We will curate a selection of submissions for an article but please note we may not publish every submission we receive.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HEDDFRHYJBCFZLM7FKME2NYG3A","additional_properties":{"_id":1657101347791},"content":"Thank you.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DFV66B3ZSNETDG3YYNOKC6TQBI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657101347792},"content":"","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[]},"description":{"basic":"ESRI research warns old-age pensioners in years ahead will have to pay rent although no longer working"},"display_date":"2022-07-06T10:28:21.776Z","headlines":{"basic":"Do you think you will never be a homeowner and are you worried about retirement? ","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"UX3FAYDADBEH7E6GNUF6C7OYHU","auth":{"1":"ed2eb67cf85c359cebf2bbac7b08899196af879103d0c01219d543afd3be20f0"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/UX3FAYDADBEH7E6GNUF6C7OYHU.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Housing & Planning"},{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Economy"},{"name":"Business"},{"name":"Social Affairs"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/housing-planning/2022/07/06/do-you-think-you-will-never-be-a-homeowner-and-are-you-worried-about-retirement/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland/housing-planning","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Housing & Planning"}}}},{"_id":"PT4BLPYOONHLBA25GJJY3G7FDE","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":880,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4538155/media/73c22dd8641d256e79e8a5ff0c9efa53_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/crime-law/2022/07/05/a-grim-tale-of-trauma-and-denial-birth-and-death-of-baby-in-a-toilet/","content_elements":[{"_id":"IT3BD6HPKZBS5EVQVG3GRWP4BI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484704},"content":"In the toilets of Caredoc in Waterford in the early hours of April 22nd, 2018, a 19-year-old woman secretly, and alone, gave birth to a full-term baby girl and hid her in a white foot-pedal rubbish bin under a pile of bloodstained tissues.","type":"text"},{"_id":"C5THVD2R3RFKDPJIBA7RK3TPAQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484706},"content":"The woman¸ Caitlin Corcoran, had gone to Caredoc on the Cork Road with her mother and grandmother sometime after 2am after she felt unwell.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JKWWS4A2HNDRZN4RJXFGLEEKTU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484707},"content":"Once there, the three women were buzzed into the building. Inside, they waited in the empty waiting area before the woman and her mother, Caroline Corcoran, went into the doctor’s consultation room where she was seen by Dr Adel Abdulrazak.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OV5E4ITMBRATHN2CIEHDVPZ3NA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484708},"content":"As Corcoran had constipation and lower abdominal and back pain, the doctor — who had been working for Caredoc since 2011 — asked her to provide a routine urine sample, suspecting a urinary tract infection. He didn’t examine the patient directly but felt she wasn’t telling him her main complaint. In conversation with her mother, the question of a potential pregnancy was raised.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4VYJL3IFCFG27EI5D66RWAE3JY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484709},"content":"Caitlin Corcoran went to the bathroom, just across the corridor from Dr Abdulrazak’s office. She walked through the first door, then the second door into the single bathroom. There, she spent just 13 minutes, and gave birth, without making a sound, unnoticed by anyone in the large building. Her grandmother sat waiting in the seating area and for two or three minutes the grandmother was seen on CCTV outside the toilet door.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7TDYH4F4XNFWFP6DWEOISWHDL4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484710},"content":"Returning to the doctor’s office, Corcoran said she could not provide a urine sample and handed back the empty bottle. She never mentioned anything about the baby in the bin, whom she later named Sophie Elizabeth Corcoran.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MYOPF7AKMNAHLDY4FMYP4LL3AE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484711},"content":"Having received a referral letter to attend University Hospital Waterford (UHW), the women left Caredoc. By the time they got to the Ardkeen hospital 30 minutes had passed since the birth.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KXBC3E5FPVFB7GLZ4OSJHIBOWY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484712},"content":"In his referral letter, Dr Abdulrazak noted severe back pain, constipation, and stated “Pregnant” with a question mark.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TWQUBYZQUVHM5NZBYYJBMCRXBY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484713},"content":"Three hours later, Corcoran was transferred from the emergency department to the maternity ward. There, she denied giving birth and engaged in a fiction that she was 25 weeks pregnant.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HCXCNBWO7FC3ZPA72OWVGS5EDY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484714},"content":"During a conversation with Dr Annie O’Leary, she said she had planned on hiding the pregnancy and giving the child up for adoption. A scan was taken but no baby was seen. Examining her externally, Dr O’Leary noticed signs of a perineal tear, an indication of recent childbirth.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YYSHEUKAJZHFVBBKQUN5VHQEFU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484715},"content":"Staff midwife, Bríd Walsh expressed concern Corcoran had concealed delivery of a child, while the woman mentioned having had pains and haemorrhaging in the Caredoc toilet to specialist registrar Catherine McNestry.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5FAUHXJ2NJG7LM5CHNW3EYCGUE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484716},"content":"Having quickly noticed vaginal tearing, Dr McNestry questioned the patient who denied she had recently given birth and insisted she had a history of vaginal bleeding, before Dr McNestry spoke to the woman’s mother, with the patient’s consent.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GZTMOVHOQ5EP7J6K6IJIPQEVJI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484717},"content":"Sometime between 6am and 7am the hospital became convinced what they were being told wasn’t true. Gardaí were alerted at 7.25am. Caredoc was also called.","type":"text"},{"_id":"S7QYHRJO6BHMNMTDVCFXXHTB3I","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484718},"content":"Concerned that a baby had been delivered in Caredoc, Garda Alan Magner, dispatcher in the divisional communications room, called the 24-hour GP out-of-hours service and asked them to check bathrooms that could have been used by the public. In a speedily organised search a substantial amount of blood staining was found by retired garda and Caredoc employee James Hennessy in the toilet opposite Dr Abdulrazak’s office, but nothing else.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FOX5O5L2YFD3BAJOKTN3RUGYAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484720},"content":"Told not to touch anything more by Garda Magner, Mr Hennessy did not open the bin and put up a sign to prevent others from using the toilet. Uniformed gardaí were dispatched to the scene. Once there, they noted bloodstains on the toilet seat, the sink and two bins in the bathroom. An investigation of the sewerage drains revealed nothing. Garda inspector Donal O’Donohoe looked inside one bin and saw blood-stained tissue.","type":"text"},{"_id":"35IQGLBIPJC63K64RYURSEMWPI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484722},"content":"He did not interfere with the contents, but lifted the bin and noted it was heavy. “At the time I was looking for a sign of life and there was no sign,” he told Waterford Circuit Criminal Court when he gave evidence last October.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EXOE3WWMSZEJJJ5RXM6X4QAO6I","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484723},"content":"When gardaí arrived at UHW shortly after 9am, the woman doubled down on the story that she had told since the early hours of the morning. Her baby girl Sophie was not found until after 1pm by scene of crime investigators.","type":"text"},{"_id":"URPYHTDMYNEJHKRQGX5SSANBEQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484724},"content":"Dr Sean McBrinn of Waterford Medical Centre confirmed the baby, who appeared to be full-term, was deceased, noting there were no signs of trauma.","type":"text"},{"_id":"G4RBGHWZ3VBYHLTKOMWDNLD2DY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484725},"content":"In her second witness statement made to gardaí after the discovery, Corcoran admitted the baby was hers. She said she had torn the umbilical cord using tissue. She had picked the baby up, and placed it in the bin.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BYNZDUU7KNAH5GRWKESGHHSJIM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484726},"content":"Refused offers","type":"header"},{"_id":"NBKN5V2HS5G33IKCUAKT2HSC5U","additional_properties":{"_id":1657051199895},"content":"She said she had not checked for a sign of life, or the sex of the baby, adding she did not hear any sound from the baby before placing her in the bin.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KHAVLZHIANG75EWR2X2THS7PDA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484727},"content":"In August 2017 Corcoran had told her partner<b> </b>Shane Noblett she thought she was pregnant, but gave little more information. The man offered money for a pregnancy test and a doctor’s appointment. But she refused both offers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"X6MKVFCFCNDGBPOIJNM5XA3DIE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484728},"content":"Leading up to the delivery, he went about his business and didn’t have much contact with the woman. By that time, he accepted it was obvious to everyone, including himself, that she was pregnant. However, she maintained it wasn’t the case and he had to accept the facts that he was given. Put to him that he had certain responsibilities as the father, he said he wasn’t given the opportunity to express his feelings. “I was told I was wrong. I suspected otherwise,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZJTTOUMMUNDWLOHXG6GBAVJDGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484729},"content":"He denied doing nothing, saying he did what was within his “rights and capabilities to do about it” and said he would have taken care of the child.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KC4XFPMQIFD4DPXFC5YYLDYBM4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484730},"content":"In late 2017 her mother became suspicious that her daughter was pregnant and offered help, but her daughter refused to admit she was pregnant or take a test.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HXJZRPKEKRBY5AQQPO37ZJ6E7I","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484731},"content":"In early 2018, Corcoran attended her GP, Dr Tadhg O’Carroll at St Philomena’s Doctors, Marian Park, Tycor, for treatment for a respiratory infection. But he did not notice any signs of pregnancy because she was deliberately wearing baggy clothes.","type":"text"},{"_id":"27ZCVXUVDNAJTJLTI2L6WTTUW4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484732},"content":"A few weeks later the mother brought her daughter to the GP practice where she expressed concern to practice nurse Ruth Flynn that her daughter was pregnant. Ms Flynn tested the sample, but it proved negative. The young woman returned on her own and another pregnancy test also showed a negative result. Later she admitted she had tampered with the tests.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y52J6XE2QJFBZG25OH73BGYQLY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484734},"content":"The evening before she went into labour Corcoran attended a christening, getting home at 11pm. Her back pain was getting worse and she felt a strong and heavy pressure.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TGWYZAMROZFXBK3PM5Y3VZ5BHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484735},"content":"In the early hours, she told her grandmother she was constipated and had back pain. Soon, the three — daughter, mother and grandmother — were on their way to Caredoc, with Corcoran having sought an appointment by telephone.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QGDGD4SYVZGTTA45ROOLY2DW7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484736},"content":"During the hours she spent in UHW she texted a friend from her hospital bed to say she had miscarried. Her friend encouraged her to be “truthful and honest”, telling her that all of her friends had tried to get her to admit she was pregnant.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RZ56H4YKJVBIVE3EJLM4O6TMCE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484737},"content":"In August 2018, Corcoran was arrested and interviewed twice by gardaí. She accepted she had been pregnant some months before giving birth, but said she had not told anyone, or sought medical help.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MB27VI2LHJBEDFWAH4FG5IJFWM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484738},"content":"When the baby was born and dropped into the toilet, she was still attached to her, before she broke the umbilical cord in her tissue-covered hands. She had picked the baby up, she said, cleaned herself up, and held her baby in her left hand.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QKJLTNYII5BORILXKCMXSCKH3U","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484739},"content":"When asked if the baby had squealed or cried, she replied “nothing”. During the 10 minutes she held her, the baby was not alive, and she did not hear her breathe: “No, there was nothing.”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OLM27HA53RCYNDWTKSHUKN6KHI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484740},"content":"She panicked and considered walking out of the toilet with her and saying something, but she did not. Throughout, she insisted that the foetus had stopped moving months into the pregnancy.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MGL23MFREND2VJL4U6AOPH6YTE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484741},"content":"When asked what triggered her to put the baby in the bin, Corcoran replied, “I honestly don’t know”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GRUCYUZBS5HB7P2W7HUWRVBCKU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484742},"content":"Her actions, she said, were “stupid. I was acting like a child.” She had let her daughter down. She said she was in denial.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FVNOLGGKPFBMPJO2JRELFHY4NQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484743},"content":"Dr Michael Curtis, former deputy state pathologist, who prepared a joint forensic and paediatric pathology report noted slight bruising in keeping with a difficult delivery or birth trauma.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AQGH6B2OD5A77F2XOOAF3E6GII","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484744},"content":"There was evidence the baby girl had breathed after birth, with air present in the lungs and stomach. Her death was attributed to inattention at birth.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UO6OW7ANLZEPJMQ7AQI6OVTBMU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484745},"content":"Professor of neonatology and consultant neonatologist Naomi McCallion said the baby established breathing over the first few minutes of life. She believed all that would have been required was stimulation, feeding to prevent hypoglycaemia and keeping the child warm.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BLCL4ZVNTVD2BIRWHCXFC3NZWI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484746},"content":"During the trial, defence witness Dr Catherine Conlon, assistant professor of social policy at Trinity College Dublin, advanced the argument of a concealed pregnancy and drew on the Ann Lovett case of 1984.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AFAFNJBFBZEC7DPRM2QYO56K3M","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484747},"content":"Ciaran O’Loughlin SC, defending, argued that virtually everyone, bar Corcoran, knew she was pregnant. On every occasion, she denied the pregnancy but nothing was done by anyone around her. “The child ought to have been able to grow up, ought to have its first day at school ... that will never happen and fingers need to be pointed in relation to that,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"47N7RIKF6NGJ3OVWB4N46RV3ZI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484748},"content":"In fairness, he said the mother was trying to help but things reached a point where the relationship became poisonous.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3NSTKUKXZJCPLK2SJRSYUBPKUE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657045362907},"content":"Understanding the mother was at her wit’s end, he said there wasn’t any real help from the family. The friends tried to but didn’t get anywhere. In sharing his thoughts about the family, GP, the nurse, Caredoc doctor and Gardaí, he said there was an ascending order of responsibility.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XXZKYTTTG5FTFNYSUDOKTWTJMI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657045362908},"content":"“There were four places the baby could have been in that room — in the basin, in the toilet bowl or in one of the two bins,” he said. “The fact that there was a baby there must have been known at the very latest of eight o’clock and nothing was done to retrieve the child until at 1.30pm. I suggest to you fingers could be pointed there.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"7Q5HKRYD7RBWTOG24NE6HAUQLI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484749},"content":"According to Mr O’Loughlin the prosecution was brought to cover something that was the consequence of “gross negligence in the medical field and on the Garda field in the early hours of that morning”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HG4GYVSCP5B2HH67SH2SDW7CDE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484750},"content":"Gross negligence manslaughter","type":"header"},{"_id":"HQN2RVKO7RHUNHWQM754CKYLLE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657051199921},"content":"However, the State argued it couldn’t be said that inaction on the part of others was what had substantially caused the death of the baby. In simple terms, the case brought against Corcoran was one of gross negligence manslaughter. In law, it is accepted that there is a duty of care owed by a mother to her child.","type":"text"},{"_id":"O4CNOBY5VNBMFIRMZ573MIBAWY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484751},"content":"After a two-week trial in October, she was found guilty of manslaughter with sentencing adjourned for various reports. A majority verdict of guilty was returned for a child neglect charge.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PDDAXK2X35GEDCTGEVJV6DQN3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484752},"content":"In a letter read out in court at the sentencing hearing, Corcoran said she grew up in an abusive household. She claimed she was beaten and punched by her father. When she got pregnant the father of the baby wasn’t supportive, she said, and she felt alone.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4VUK6D7FSRHZXATXGSUHC7ORRY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657045362913},"content":"She continued to deny she was pregnant to anyone who asked and was fearful of her father’s reaction. She claimed she was in a state of denial, but is now living with the consequences. She wished the circumstances were different at the time and deeply regrets what happened.","type":"text"},{"_id":"X22MHVTAR5EMXIFZZ7PDXKEUF4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484753},"content":"Noting it was a sad and complex case, Judge Eugene O’Kelly said baby Sophie was neglected, and left to die by the one and only person who knew of her birth, her mother.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NEA7F4FGQ5CN3CVDTKFTUFUQ3A","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484754},"content":"He made the comments during the sentencing hearing of now 23-year-old Caitlin Corcoran, formally of Mount Suir, Gracedieu, Waterford city, and now of Castleblaney, Mullinavat, Co Kilkenny, who can be identified due to a recent amendment to the legislation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7PBEIKPQ4BAKDFJDM26OW6IVUE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484755},"content":"The judge noted that it was not an offence to conceal a pregnancy. He didn’t regard the deception as an aggravating factor in a manslaughter case but would have if it was a case of infanticide.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GBFGRSY5CBBZJLNPIJU3D7W4DI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484756},"content":"The court heard that Corcoran was bullied as a youth and coped by ignoring negative aspects of her life. From psychiatric reports, it was noted that she went into subconscious denial about her pregnancy. She is also suffering from depression and post-traumatic symptoms following the birth.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CLCBG4JWQBBFNFIFXNTI6ESXCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484757},"content":"The judge said what transpired in the toilet of the Caredoc office went against the grain of the “natural instincts of any parent”, but a probation report noted little risk of her reoffending.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UVENVL7S2FBB7IUQMVSGMQGQBA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484758},"content":"He said the appropriate sentences for the counts of manslaughter and neglect were of four-year concurrent sentences. Taking the mitigating factors and relevant personal circumstances into account, the judge reduced the sentences by nine months.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RRDS7OPEQ5EDFK6QZLFSI7EICI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657045362920},"content":"He said the question must be asked if society benefited from a person like Corcoran, who has no previous convictions, serving that length of a sentence. For a multitude of reasons, he was satisfied that a nominal prison sentence would suffice.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FKWHTIARWFHKLM2LJVD3T37QVA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043484759},"content":"He suspended the final three years of the total sentence for a period of three years on several conditions, leaving Corcoran three months to serve in prison.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Claire Quinn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Caitlin Corcoran was handed a custodial sentence, but the judge noted that a nominal prison term would suffice"},"display_date":"2022-07-06T07:06:32.045Z","headlines":{"basic":"A tale of trauma and denial: The lonely birth and death of a baby in Waterford","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"KOHUIWZCXRCYFOE56IDV2N7MWQ","auth":{"1":"58c4d1a9b4eb42cec634e811fa725c7eb02768b598faa6f9283b26f373687d32"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/KOHUIWZCXRCYFOE56IDV2N7MWQ.JPG"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Crime & Law"},{"name":"Health"},{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Social Affairs"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/crime-law/2022/07/05/a-grim-tale-of-trauma-and-denial-birth-and-death-of-baby-in-a-toilet/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/crime-law","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Crime & Law"}}}},{"_id":"FIA5MY4WG5DDZCH4UT7TEF3AEU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":201,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4537866/media/3e80fac56147a7c47cce19371cfb44eb_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/politics/2022/07/06/deportations-of-those-denied-asylum-to-resume-this-year-government-confirms/","content_elements":[{"_id":"MLEETYYLW5GE7FATXMKFILWN64","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043325748},"content":"Deportations of people who have had their claims for asylum in Ireland rejected are set to recommence, the Department of Justice has confirmed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6CBPIOKZGVGRRDXAE6ZDYRJVQA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043325749},"content":"Having been suspended at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, deportations are to resume this year amid a sharp increase in numbers seeking asylum in the Republic.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QI4OJ2P3KBG4PK72JNQSJDKBPY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043325750},"content":"“With the lifting of public health restrictions and a return to more normal travel, it must be acknowledged that those who do not have a legal right to remain in this country must return to their own country,” the department said in a statement, stressing that any deportations would only take place following “fair procedure and having gone through all available avenues for appeal”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y5HHFQKKIFGBXIQAM64DUIF5DA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043325751},"content":"“Where a person does not voluntarily return to their own country, Ireland, like all other EU Member States, puts in place arrangements to return persons to their home country. It is expected that those arrangements will resume in 2022,” it added.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FMCPHVHY5ZA2BLAT2AKVH7PSY4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043325752},"content":"There have been almost 6,500 applications for asylum, or international protection, to the Irish authorities this year, compared to 2,649 during all of last year — an increase which some Government officials believe has been influenced by the increasingly harsh approach the UK is taking on asylum seekers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5JIDDJULEBEHRDY5KHAYUQO3SY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043325758},"content":"The British scheme would mean asylum seekers sent to Rwanda where they could then have their requests for international protection assessed and potentially be given refugee status. But the scheme was stalled when the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) made a late intervention after lawyers for one of the asylum seekers due to fly to Rwanda two weeks ago made a successful emergency application to the ECHR. Subsequently, the British government said it would introduce laws enabling it to depart from decisions of the court.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GPAAIPLDTRBXLMZXZLKLFZQQX4","additional_properties":{"_id":"P4CQCCQ3NRFVLFKC2VBACZIPWE"},"embed":{"config":{},"id":"acast_podcast-96185","url":"/"},"subtype":"acast_podcast","type":"custom_embed"},{"_id":"Y64YKJBF3VEXJCCK4CMMSCZKLQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657056729044},"content":"Deportation orders are only issued in the State when an individual has had their claim for international protection refused and when any appeals have been exhausted. Enforcement of the orders is a matter for the Garda National Immigration Bureau, the department said, and under international law nobody can be returned to a country in which they would be at risk.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IUEE5UFSEFEPXOFFT4OUFXIYKY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043325754},"content":"Only a small minority of deportation orders are enforced by the Garda. In 2019, the last year deportations took place, there were more than 2,000 such orders issued, but just 298 were enforced. In 2018, there were 1,117 orders issued and 163 enforced.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ETC6VCACCBBSHMWMMGAN7227RE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043325755},"content":"However, there is growing awareness in Government that the number of people seeking international protection has grown sharply since the lifting of the pandemic-related travel restrictions.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ALMTWEA5ZBCRRJBJM3CT66KDJI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657045722237},"content":"There were 4,781 applications for asylum in 2019, but that number fell to 1,566 the following year as the pandemic took hold. So far this year there have been 6,498 applications, according to the department.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DU5JERBRKVEWFFSQSP6DEIGLXY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657043325757},"content":"These are separate from arrivals from Ukraine, which have been granted automatic rights of residency here.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Pat Leahy"}},"name":"Pat Leahy"}]},"description":{"basic":"Move comes amid concern about escalating asylum claims: almost 6,500 applications this year compared to 2,649 in 2021"},"display_date":"2022-07-06T02:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Deportations of those denied asylum to resume this year, Government confirms","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"BYMSU2C25YYKGZJCWRGWFAS4MI","auth":{"1":"85f6818e4ccc39b023d993a56c849712b32fd8c8cec8e6c76b703e9a543ed5a0"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/BYMSU2C25YYKGZJCWRGWFAS4MI.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Politics"},{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/politics/2022/07/06/deportations-of-those-denied-asylum-to-resume-this-year-government-confirms/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/politics","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Politics"}}}},{"_id":"HPVSSZGZBREQFGY3O4YML5S5DM","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":216,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4537041/media/ee358d25cbb004e1996da7b81a8db53e_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/2022/07/06/challenges-being-experienced-in-communities-all-too-evident-to-those-at-credit-unions/","content_elements":[{"_id":"QPZU4QQDOBE3LFUQM7VP3IWKOI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657017604441},"content":"As staff at credit unions up and down the country do, Angela Healy gets a sense of how the economy is faring and how people are coping with the challenges it presents from the amount people save and the reasons they come to borrow.","type":"text"},{"_id":"32Z53YUR4VEJBDXLRD3FAKXYIY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025779812},"content":"It is a mixed picture at present, she suggests, with the pandemic and lockdowns it brought still making its presence felt in the loans being taken out for holidays people have promised themselves and work on gardens, the importance of which became all too apparent over the past two years.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MHENB4P6WVEH5PHLEPBWZORRGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025779813},"content":"As inflation continues to rise, though, and the challenge it brings just to pay the costs of everyday living grows, not everything that customers are looking to borrow for could exactly be described as a luxury.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Y55XSKBCR5ECRL3AZY3VSKJBYI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657017604447},"content":"“We’re getting a flurry of applications for holidays,” says Ms Healy, the manager of Blackpool Credit Union in Cork.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6VUOISSZ7RDFZJUDCSAIGJKWTA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025779815},"content":"“People feel the need to get away. On average, they’re looking for loans of €2,000 to put towards their holidays. The other big one would be home improvements. They’re also borrowing to improve their gardens as people don’t look at their garden in the same way anymore. And people are taking out car loans from us at 7%.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"AH6EWKPWAJGLVH3YBSP4CZ6K3U","additional_properties":{"_id":1657017604449},"content":"Once August arrives, though, householders will have to meet back-to-school costs that, like almost everything else, will be higher than ever.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7GA2RZBAWFEGPMK45PNWNMCXHA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025779817},"content":"Getting a pupil back to secondary school can cost €1,500 or more for one pupil, between the cost of books, transport, uniforms, sports gear and other equipment. “Sometimes, there might be a shortfall in money so they would come to us and we’d hope to bridge that gap for them,” she says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SVD7ORN5KZB6FL76Y5SLBDOAXQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657017604443},"content":"Blackpool Credit Union has 6,500 members and the area in which it is based, on the north side of Cork, is a mainly working-class one which, as well as established residents, is home to a transient population of younger people working in multinationals such as Apple.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H25FLVGGSRHVFPD54UYMPFVZG4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657017604451},"content":"Ms Healy says that some members would have gone through financial difficulties in the recession. “They’ve come through it with our help. We might have restructured a loan for them.” Some fared better during the pandemic, however, and savings at the credit union increased by 6 per cent.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SFWTGVNLYJCZZGJ72S7T2UY6DA","additional_properties":{"_id":"QXNCTD6FIZAMXDPT2LONPOHJOQ"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"5PUXO34VTVAXBJROML6SAMOXCM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657017604450},"content":"Changing economic landscape","type":"header"},{"_id":"KJD32UFHKFAMZD3VQXRN6MQBVU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657056870262},"content":"As a builder and chairman of the board of Blackpool Credit Union, Sean Coleman has plenty of first-hand experience just now of how costs are rising and is concerned about the changing economic landscape.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5ADTHD4ZE5BUJHZ7LFVC655BGU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025779821},"content":"A member of Fianna Fáil, he doesn’t believe that any government can control people’s living costs “because of what is happening economically with the war in Ukraine. Governments can only do so much but you can’t follow inflation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2SQO7VGYAFAR7CLKAZOVSNJXAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657017604458},"content":"“People need to assess where they’re going. Unions are looking for an increase in their rate, property prices are increasing, materials are increasing and there’s a shortage of housing. I think there’s going to be a crash in six to nine months. I don’t think the whole thing is sustainable.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"QEJCKWJCKBFG7NKPU27TE3WENM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025779824},"content":"The more personal community-based nature of credit unions, he believes, gives them a special role and makes them easier for people to deal with.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6QVRDYHBNRDONOYYKGZAUXAU6I","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025779825},"content":"“At times you need a bit of support and that is why people come to a credit union,” he says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NJDQP6RSBZHN3FIKC643PEJ2BA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025779826},"content":"That, it seems, is unlikely to change any time soon.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Colette Sheridan"}]},"description":{"basic":"Inflation is gathering pace, producing myriad problems for those trying to make ends meet"},"display_date":"2022-07-06T00:10:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Challenges being experienced in communities all too evident to credit unions","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"HZWMK5AL2RFAXD4HOMSUOKEZ5Y","auth":{"1":"b98330e35e4498a9e3141c6323a88cb810cec1a591e00f41570cf1fc289716f3"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/HZWMK5AL2RFAXD4HOMSUOKEZ5Y.jpg"}},"subtype":"feature","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Financial Services"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/2022/07/06/challenges-being-experienced-in-communities-all-too-evident-to-those-at-credit-unions/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Ireland"}}}},{"_id":"QVFBZ4X6BFGLHBPF2GJDMGVTJI","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":244,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4536213/media/4ae133adaa004ba42b8de6be63c898e9_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/06/one-in-three-households-struggling-as-cost-of-living-crisis-deepens/","content_elements":[{"_id":"73Y52RCPPFFS5LEZQFLOFGVK4Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025524680},"content":"The scale of the cost-of-living crisis on parents with school-going children has been revealed in a new survey which suggests that over a third are struggling to make household budgets stretch to cover the spike in prices and 10 per cent are falling into debt to cover everyday costs.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PQIZYAM5BNHFPOWIG242JPD4XI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025524681},"content":"According to the research from the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) published today (Wednesday), 89 per cent of parents have seen their income or household costs affected by the rising cost of living. The vast majority have noted higher costs when it comes to groceries and utility bills, with 61 per cent telling researchers the increasing cost of food for children for school lunches was having the biggest effect on their household budget","type":"text"},{"_id":"HIPNBWFEOBDD3O7LPZVTD2RODY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025524683},"content":"When asked what options they were considering to help deal with costs, 65 per cent said they were cancelling or reducing non-essential services and activities such as gym membership and subscription TV packages.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3A6LHOBD5VA3PDZV2532RSM6JI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025524684},"content":"Just under one-third said they would try to earn additional income, while a similar percentage said they would be borrowing from lenders or family and friends. The research also suggested that 3 per cent of those who took part said they would consider going to a money lender.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DPI24AZFJNA53FTTZUE44EOAHY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025524685},"content":"Looking at back-to-school costs, two-thirds described it as a financial burden, with parents of secondary schoolchildren likely to spend €1,518 per child – up €27 on last year – and parents of primary school children spending €1,195 – up €9 on last year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JTRNFIU3IRC2DAP2RTMZBGPVNI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025524686},"content":"The use of credit cards to buy school items is up 6 per cent to 23 per cent, with a significant jump recorded in the number of parents cutting back on extracurricular activities reaching 67 per cent, up from 46 per cent last year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6XS2ZZKKJBFSDKVQURD244V3LE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025524687},"content":"The most expensive secondary school item was transport at €213 per annum compared with €195 last year, while schoolbooks and uniforms were priced at €210 and €195 respectively. After-school care is the top expense for primary school parents at €184 for the year, up €27, followed by extracurricular activities at €167.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KNXVYJX2AJBHJCBIKILEBGFSJU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025524688},"content":"The survey looked at childcare options and found that more than half of parents with schoolchildren will balance remote or office working with looking after their children over the school holidays, while a third said they would be relying on family and friends for help.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GAS6GTHT7NBC7B26W4KIISWK44","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025524689},"content":"When asked about the impacts of home schooling during the pandemic lockdown on their children, 82 per cent of parents said that the biggest impact was that children missed their friends and social activities. Almost half said their child’s physical health had suffered, with two-thirds worried about their mental health.","type":"text"},{"_id":"74T4672M4NHBXG4QMZXMZBDQF4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025524691},"content":"As regards their child’s education, the biggest concern for parents is the pressure on their children to catch up on missed teaching over the past two years. There was a marked drop from 2021 in parents’ concern of their child being exposed to Covid 19 as a result of returning to the classroom, down from 41 per cent to 27 per cent.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VV5SROW7LBHLVB3OFAKEF3DGP4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025524692},"content":"“The costs of sending children to school this September are the highest since the ILCU started its annual survey in 2017,” said credit union spokesman Paul Bailey. “This, on top of the rising costs of living and high inflation, will heavily impact on households [and] what is particularly concerning is the increase in the amount of parents reporting that they will go into debt to send their children to school.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"L4NJOUOCTVFLPJIJFI3B5YX6ZI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657025524693},"content":"The findings were revealed in a national survey of 764 parents of schoolchildren out of a sample size of 2,460, carried out by independent market research company iReach Insights on behalf of 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said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IXQDVXLV55EWDIZMSPDMSLUWXQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657027204504},"content":"Ireland also faced questions on the implementation of the Fines Act in 2016, which provides for alternatives to prison for people who fail to pay court-imposed fines.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TU6IMY3YZRH5PPOGQENWLWJP6M","additional_properties":{"_id":1657027204505},"content":"The law was designed to reduce the high numbers of short prison sentences being imposed for nonpayment of fines.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XBETK65CTRALHP3RFO3N5MFU7U","additional_properties":{"_id":1657027204506},"content":"The delegation said the Act had resulted in the number of fine-related sentences falling from nearly 10,000 in 2015 to just under 900 in 2019, a 91 per cent reduction.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RV2L37KTQ5CUPIKOEKNY76EZGM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657027204507},"content":"However, the new fine-collection system has proven “cumbersome to operate” and it is being reviewed by a high 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It noted the first conviction did not occur until 2021.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OOIIAGWAAJHC7MZQM54UDCNMAQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657027204509},"content":"It noted concerns by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission about the decreasing numbers of children being officially designated as victims of child trafficking. There were nine reports of child trafficking in 2019 but none in 2020 and 2021, it said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6IWUHBVJDNAOXGGBUWBQNHYSHM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657027204510},"content":"Human trafficking is a very difficult crime to investigate, an Irish Department of Justice official said. He said it was quite typical for the victim to be so controlled they could not accept they were a victim of trafficking. Distrust of the police by people who do not come from Ireland is another factor, he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XGMQUSPTN5AFTN36NKVZIQSD2Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1657027204511},"content":"The Irish delegation faced questions about the use of emergency surgery in cases where a child presents as intersex.","type":"text"},{"_id":"74IN3YCTF5FPPLROQ3I7R6IZDU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657027204512},"content":"“We’ve received information that surgery on intersex children is still performed for social emergencies. This is necessarily done without consent, and it involves irreversible and deeply harmful procedures,” committee member Christopher Bulkan said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DLVSQFUY2VDDFOBG6Q6P4JZG5Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1657027204513},"content":"Every year two to three children are born with “ambiguous genitalia” in Ireland. 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The further increased allowance will be paid in August. The amount being paid for each qualified child aged 4–11 years will now be €260 and the rate payable for each eligible child aged 12 and over will be €385.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V7BSMZKOZBHODBLTORPISRJBVU","additional_properties":{},"content":"The Government also announced that school transport fees will be waived for those who have applied for a school transport ticket.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FR7RT4DDVZHTFDL73AZTHYCO74","additional_properties":{},"content":"As it stands currently, there is a €500 maximum annual charge for some secondary students using the school transport scheme, or €150 for primary students.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q3IPWTDI5FBEBO22MDQZCTOJPA","additional_properties":{},"content":"Speaking about the €100 increase in children’s allowance, Minister Humphreys said it would benefit some 260,000 children. The back-to-school allowance is a means tested payment. Asked about middle income families who would not get access to such a payment, she said measures had to be targeted at those most in need.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FRKRJBB44FA5BIOWH2OBDYM644","additional_properties":{},"content":"Minister Humphreys also announced that 310 newly designated DEIS schools can avail of the school meals programme this year, benefitting an extra 60,000 children.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MMJXRFYLK5FFBHX3ITXZUMEVZQ","additional_properties":{},"content":"Minister McGrath said now was the time for the Government to provide additional assistance, rather than waiting for the budget in September.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RF3PDFNMKJGYPGUO2P6SNHP62M","additional_properties":{},"content":"“A lot of children have just finished in primary schools, book lists have been sent out and parents are in the process of trying to get school uniforms. 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Suzanne Connolly, chief executive of the children’s charity, said staff were reporting that families were more concerned about back-to-school costs than ever.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MAIYOYEE35BSTKABE6FDLALMXM","additional_properties":{},"content":"She said parents were “stressed and are worried they might not be able to afford clothes and shoes their children require for school as they are forced to prioritise daily essentials like food, electricity and 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conversation with a phone agent for Permanent TSB’s Open 24 system, and that she booked a slot with an interpreter to make the call.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SNYBTDD6OVHMHGEQXGOLPHH7L4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784528},"content":"When the call was connected, the interpreter explained her role and said she was with a bank customer – but the agent “stalled”, Ms Kalinova said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"D3VA7BAYS5BEDLUBF2N2KOTSVM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784529},"content":"The agent transferred the call to a specialist team and then to a manager, who “eventually confirmed the bank could not do business with her through a third party”, the complainant said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RHD42YGUH5H3LOMSXEKL4SSNNQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784530},"content":"Ms Kalinova “tried to explain this was not a third party but an interpreter”, she said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QBUGSWFAGJAVFPXABMWWMBJRYI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784531},"content":"She said she took exception to the suggestion that an interpreter “speaks on her behalf”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AGRFTMI2CBEXZGGUGASTUKFEZA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784532},"content":"She was not asked any security questions and was “repeatedly described as a ‘vulnerable’ customer” throughout the process, she added.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KXIJBFIKTVCYJNIU7BW2IZCVSY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784533},"content":"She complained by email and the bank wrote back to say again that service agents “do not communicate through third parties… and will only talk to the named account holder”, she said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LXB6BTPWWZH25LS24OIAUIJQYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784534},"content":"The bank’s email went on to say she could go to a branch with photo ID, she said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ICHRBFN5JNENTIYV5V4G6URUTE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784535},"content":"Cathy Smith SC, who appeared for Ms Kalinova on the instructions of the Sinead Lucey of the Free Legal Advice Centre (Flac), argued that the bank had failed to make reasonable accommodation to give her the same access to its services enjoyed by non-deaf customers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"D2NEHLTSSBBVJMMFWSFGH25RGY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784536},"content":"She said the bank’s classification of her client as “vulnerable” was an “affront” to Ms Kalinova’s sense of independence.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CN44E43JGJHP3KZDCJ3U5BHJZI","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784537},"content":"Permanent TSB took the position that Ms Kalinova “was treated no differently to any other customer in a similar situation”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4LAITKJQUZBLBHNGOINUOVL73M","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784538},"content":"The bank was “actively seeking to determine if there is a method for interacting with customers in the complainant’s situation whilst also ensuring that legal and regulatory requirements are satisfied and customer information is protected”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CHRMUVNXI5CJHGILT7R66MLPEQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784539},"content":"A senior bank manager who gave evidence to the hearing said there was a “very real desire to effect change” in the area and that Permanent TSB had been engaging with stakeholders in the area.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EDP7WXP6QBHYFGVIJENFXHYZKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784540},"content":"However, he said the bank’s fraud department was “closely watching any proposed changes as the risk of fraud is high”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HWNXA6ZBLZHBJKAIXV6I46XFRQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784541},"content":"He said he regretted the use of the word “vulnerable” towards the complainant.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2HOUR55NG5C7FKVDGPUKOXWZB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784542},"content":"An employee of the bank’s fraud unit said an appropriate security-conscious consent form would have to be created and signed off on.","type":"text"},{"_id":"L2VS3Q7LD5FJNJAM27NV46AZ6Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784543},"content":"The fraud unit employee said the bank had a positive relationship with the Irish Sign Language remote interpreting service but that it was a “challenge to try and make the reasonable accommodation” without creating a “high risk”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZB5X7TT3IZABHKYDY3ATWSXBLM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784544},"content":"Permanent TSB maintained there had been no “refusal or failure” to provide reasonable accommodation, as Ms Kalinova had been invited to attend a bank branch or use its website.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3R7POOHMRFH4XKAL5EEALQROKY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784545},"content":"In her decision, adjudicating officer Penelope McGrath wrote that Ms Kalinova had been unable to use Permanent TSB’s phone line “by reason of the fact she is deaf” – and that her proposed solution was dismissed by the bank as “high-risk”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UTDFPCQ6QJGYVE4ODDFEXWVSY4","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784546},"content":"She accepted that the alternative offered by the bank – turning up to a branch in person –would be “time-consuming” and “not always practical or convenient”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DXN2H7FD7VFD3H2HEOXLF7O45I","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784547},"content":"Ms Kalinova had correctly drawn parallels between her own case and with the precedent establishing the necessity for a business accommodating a blind person and their guide dog, Ms McGrath wrote.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7SFF457TJRCSRLNRL27JRRYI34","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784548},"content":"It was her argument that the Irish Sign Language interpreter is “an essential aid to the deaf person in the same way as the guide dog is for a blind person”, the adjudicator said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ALZ47MDEJNAJZANLPT7OSPTN34","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784549},"content":"“I cannot disagree. The failure of the respondent to take this on board has amounted to an indirect discrimination on the grounds of disability,” she wrote.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MEQWG3J7GVDXFHJJJDL6QY5XDQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784550},"content":"Ms McGrath wrote that Permanent TSB had sought to look at the “bigger picture of figuring out a way of accommodating all deaf people” as a response to Ms Kalinova’s complaint.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XBI74N45QJAFRKDXDWF4HDSJDM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784551},"content":"“I do not understand why some sort of bespoke arrangement has not been agreed directly with her in the intervening period prior to this matter coming before me,” she wrote, suggesting that the bank could have appointed a liaison officer.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JX3T4ZWCTJH2PD4WMMTWXQSAWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1657012784552},"content":"Ms McGrath added that the complainant was a “strong and independent person” and that the bank’s “thoughtless 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activist Deborah Walsh works as an IWA personal assistant which involves “going out into the community and caring for people in their homes”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RKWG5U36NZHWPF4NDUXNWEWZIQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1657007429627},"content":"“We do their personal care such as toileting and showering. We also do social hours, that is bringing members who live in the community out to do things such as shopping or go to the cinema,” Ms Walsh said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DJSYTNC3DRFEVCW6XIZBIKTNFM","additional_properties":{"_id":1657007429628},"content":"Such workers had not had a pay rise since before 2008, she said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3ZZ6ZHVN7FHM5EJW4KGBQFUAOY","additional_properties":{"_id":1657007429629},"content":"“We do a very important job and if we don’t get a proper rate of pay people are going to look for work elsewhere. In that situation our service users will suffer and their ability to live independent lives will be threatened. It is [a] concern for those people that [are] at the heart of our campaign.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"LXID5FQMGFG3HFT65BFALNQDXI","additional_properties":{},"content":"The Irish Wheelchair Association said it “fully understands and accepts the frustration of our staff which has led to this industrial action.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"E5IJM63XSNAYBIH6X2XMRT26CI","additional_properties":{},"content":"The association has an ongoing annual service arrangement contract with the HSE detailing service quantities and the level of Grant funding. The IWA had not been in a position to fund pay increases as the HSE had not increased the levels of funding for public pay agreements, a spokeswoman said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IOPYGQGWBFHKFIDQ2FGO2RGHUM","additional_properties":{},"content":"“It is unfortunate that the wellbeing of the people who use our services is being put at risk. We will work with SIPTU to minimise this impact. 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The filings argue that as “prior notice has not been given to the Charities Regulator of these proceedings” the court has no jurisdiction to rule on the cases.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5BRIC47NUZE3NOPHCR36HHQSWM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656774714373},"content":"Coleman Legal Partners, which represents 27 alleged victims of historical abuse in former scouting bodies, has written to the regulator criticising Scouting Ireland’s legal strategy to fight cases “tooth and nail”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NK6N7OKH3JGFJAOBPF2VBVO36M","additional_properties":{"_id":1656774714374},"content":"In a June 29th letter, seen by The Irish Times, the firm told the regulator that Scouting Ireland’s use of the “antiquated” provision of charity law to defend claims amounted to “an abuse of the privileged position afforded to charities”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DAAPQEA47FBSFHBSQ5BJ6UXSKQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656774714375},"content":"A spokeswoman for Scouting Ireland said the organisation could not comment on matters before the courts.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PH6YXL3IQFBIHF35ZOQRWC5K2A","additional_properties":{"_id":1656774714376},"content":"Full apology","type":"header"},{"_id":"QPYKDRTJAJBVBGGHI5MA6FIKII","additional_properties":{"_id":1656961250583},"content":"Scouting Ireland has faced a historical sex abuse scandal in recent years, with revelations that more than 350 children were allegedly abused in its predecessor organisations, the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland and Scout Association of Ireland.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TLBDVEI5KNA6VE6AJICRQKS5TY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656774714377},"content":"This abuse was tolerated at the highest levels and covered up for decades to protect the reputation of the scouting movement, according to a 2020 report by child protection expert Ian Elliott.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TUJUVBKSVFBG3GIOHKQJVBRGYQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656955160853},"content":"The organisation issued a full apology to abuse survivors following the report, with senior figures signalling victims would not face protracted court battles for compensation. More than 40 alleged abuse victims are pursuing cases against the organisation, which has set aside a liability of more than €6 million to cover the costs of claims.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4U5GVRB7CFBILEZ2NQD22H2NTE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656774714380},"content":"Norman Spicer, solicitor with Coleman Legal Partners, said despite previous promises it appeared the organisation was using “any and all means” to defend legal claims from survivors.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LJPBTZ6WEZHULOB2NJ3E5IHZ5A","additional_properties":{"_id":1656774714381},"content":"Kieran Cleary, of Clonmel-based Cleary & Co Solicitors, who is representing a handful of alleged victims, described Scouting Ireland’s approach as “belligerent” towards survivors. He said the organisation was seeking extensive medical records from plaintiffs spanning several decades.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Jack Power"}},"name":"Jack Power"}]},"description":{"basic":"Solicitors for alleged victims criticise organisation for fighting cases ‘tooth and nail’"},"display_date":"2022-07-05T04:00:24.166Z","headlines":{"basic":"Scouting Ireland using ‘technicality’ to dispute claims from abuse survivors","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"YRDXEH7FGEUGLYZLGEYY2TRG7Y","auth":{"1":"3be8f6acd17beef50b7df6dd84a9c943ad65ec798d753a3cc112ea37cb846705"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YRDXEH7FGEUGLYZLGEYY2TRG7Y.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Crime & Law"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/04/scouting-ireland-using-technicality-to-dispute-claims-from-abuse-survivors/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland/social-affairs","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Social Affairs"}}}},{"_id":"OY6UFVTU7BA6PEEEGYGREPGUYU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":232,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4528688/media/914faaa6f32bb0ffaf847fbd0739c435_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/world/europe/2022/07/04/government-asked-to-help-ukrainians-facing-delays-returning-home/","content_elements":[{"_id":"GADZT7CUGBC2HIVWWZXJYW5BQE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383685},"content":"The Government has been urged to help Ukrainians who fled to Ireland without passports and want return home as they face long delays securing new passports or travel certs to journey back.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OAGRVQPV3JEPFLJMY7GQDERWXA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383686},"content":"Ukrainians were allowed to enter the State without passports and could instead show national identity cards or other paperwork such as a birth certificate or expired documents.","type":"text"},{"_id":"H7XUAS24BBFYPLOUSFNLX2EGUE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383687},"content":"Ireland is not part of the Schengen border-free travel area so any Ukrainians returning home must show passports or travel certs if travelling through countries en route to Ukraine.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7QD4YTESHBG3FCUBA3YZ3XWB6I","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383688},"content":"Fine Gael senator Garret Ahearn said the Ukrainian embassy was “under immense pressure” and Ukrainians who came to Ireland in the wake of the Russian invasion without passports were facing months-long delays securing new passports or travel certificates to return home.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2HIYJDJLKNBEFCEXCHI2HLBXO4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383689},"content":"One Tipperary woman who hosted two Ukrainian women told The Irish Times they were initially told by the Ukrainian embassy that they would have to wait four to six months for new passports and as long as two months for an appointment to secure travel certificates.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SDXCLV44NNHPFP47W2FSB6XZVM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383690},"content":"The women’s city had been liberated from the Russians and they wanted to return to look after their sick grandfather and because they were homesick.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q6GRWJK5DJCL7C3UOV3MTUHF24","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383691},"content":"“It seems ridiculous that Ireland is hosting people who desperately want to leave and cannot, and also is accepting people who will find themselves in the same predicament in time, without giving them the full information,” said the Tipperary woman, who did not want to be named.","type":"text"},{"_id":"P2VZ6HSK5BGWFPNDMT6MYQRTOA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383692},"content":"In the end, their applications for travel certs were fast-tracked last week after they obtained a medical cert for their grandfather, as requested by the Ukrainian embassy, verifying his illness.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5ZDCR37DABE55IOFQEM3YYPQVQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383693},"content":"The Tipperary woman said there was an “inherent unfairness” in the fact that Ukrainians with passports do not have to justify their reasons for returning home.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KUGD3LBCTFF55PPOPSFGY2EMYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383694},"content":"The Ukrainian embassy did not respond to queries from The Irish Times.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DL45CWCZ6JABRAUJLK34EHMIXU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383695},"content":"More than 2.5 million Ukrainians have returned home since the Russian invasion on February 24th, according to the EU’s border agency, Frontex. More than five million Ukrainians fled the war.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PX7F6OIESRAYFDLXM2XQ37KK6E","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383696},"content":"Mr Ahearn said the European Union or the Government needed to consider measures to allow Ukrainians to travel home, similar to the temporary protection arrangements and the waiving of the passport requirement that allowed them to enter the State so quickly.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EAVMENE5KFGZTFIQJSY7IEKOSI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383697},"content":"He suggested that the Government could agree a bilateral arrangement with another EU member state, such as Poland, to allow them travel back quickly without paperwork.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AQILUZ3GERDOBDIWJ7RX7N27DI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383699},"content":"He said the challenges facing Ukrainians returning home were “an unintended consequence” of opening up the country so quickly to allow those fleeing the war to enter the State.","type":"text"},{"_id":"64QL6QSME5EGRB7BLXJNABHJME","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383700},"content":"“We have people in the country at the moment who are desperate to get home, from an emotional perspective or a work perspective,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UKXGF3S5TVD23CYYHU7DX6LWPM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383701},"content":"“There are a lot of men in Ukraine who were fighting and have been injured and are in hospital and family members want to return to them because they believe the country is a safer environment than it was when they left.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"BKPXJVZ2XRDFTH2D7AQLSE2HKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383702},"content":"The Tipperary senator suggested that the Government could even provide more staff to the Ukrainian embassy in Dublin to help processing passports and travel paperwork.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PWWN4YSI4JCAZCIFHPKAHB67BE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383704},"content":"The Department of Justice said that, as of June 29th, 38,552 people have arrived into the State since the February 24th invasion of Ukraine, including 1,418 in the week beginning June 20th.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YJINFRIYVJE6NPUSXHLPHFB2QI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656874383705},"content":"The department said there were no exit checks on people so it could not say how many Ukrainians who have been granted temporary protection status here have returned home.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Simon Carswell"}},"name":"Simon Carswell"}]},"description":{"basic":"FG senator says Ukrainians without passports facing months-long delay in securing paperwork to travel back to Ukraine"},"display_date":"2022-07-04T16:24:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Government asked to help Ukrainians facing delays returning home","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"OJ474KWXY5CMLATL2YKWOTJCRM","auth":{"1":"2e8d35e5f45e927128017f8cf84e71d3b6625fdd23ece99fb549336a70d12e2a"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/OJ474KWXY5CMLATL2YKWOTJCRM.JPG"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Europe"},{"name":"World"},{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/world/europe/2022/07/04/government-asked-to-help-ukrainians-facing-delays-returning-home/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/world/europe","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Europe"}}}},{"_id":"EM6DMBRE3BGTTEUPJA75D4S35M","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":260,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4522985/media/a31fe11ea1f59120328d11b34b06c99f_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/04/with-some-people-id-have-to-spend-half-an-hour-justifying-my-existence/","content_elements":[{"_id":"AJUEDP3JRVHTHJ53K74L4CYKGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656848690591},"content":"When Ella from Co Sligo went to the Gaeltacht recently, the 17-year-old agonised about whether to tell young people there that, being non-binary, the student preferred to be referred to as “they/them” rather than “she/her”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FOHSMA2DWVA6VIPXEOKSMRUV24","additional_properties":{"_id":1656848690592},"content":"“It is a never-ending thing because every time you meet a group of people you have to make a decision: ‘Is this group of people safe to come out to?’ And you have to deal with questions about what that means. It is exhausting,” said the teenager who is also bisexual. The alternative, to saying nothing, was to “feel uncomfortable for three weeks”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QFZ5V463PRCEZNGVQYIAU53R7Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1656848690593},"content":"Ella is one of a dozen young people from Sligo and Leitrim who recount their “teen queer experiences” in a new book called Love Is Love, which publishers Kids Own say is the first of its kind in Ireland.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2OR57PUVNBGRJF2VFX4X7WOKAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656848690595},"content":"“The book itself addresses discrimination and bullying. That message to find your tribe is key, and that can take time,” explains Jo Holmwood, outgoing director of Kids Own.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HNRTT3IDZBHG5OW5PX3H2JI4YQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656848690596},"content":"She says the other crucial element of the book — which is being distributed to schools, youth groups and libraries in the northwest — is “to be an ally, even if you are straight, to be accepting and understanding”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5LN6N7XVH5AQVGLBAPP3SM6BZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656848690597},"content":"Ella says being LGBTQI in rural Ireland can be isolating. “There are not a lot of LGBTQI people in Sligo. You know them all.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"L6MQGYYO5NBWLKX2YEINWKOVCQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656848690598},"content":"Lockdown was positive because so many things were happening online, it was easier to feel connected. “I think that’s not just a LGBT thing. It’s a thing in rural Ireland,” says Ella.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DQDBEDSSQBHYRGY4TH5MGT2OFM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656848690599},"content":"“I have always felt a bit off. I felt a bit weird in my gender. I knew I wasn’t transgender. I wasn’t really sure what it was. I thought maybe I’m just a bit weird.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"D3TTTRRCB5CIJOHEQLM3J5N7ZA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656848690600},"content":"Learning what non-binary meant was a key moment. “I thought, ‘hang on, that makes a lot of sense. Something clicked’.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TZSMMNKAZ5DP5MAF4FYBITUWYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656848690601},"content":"Telling friends and family was difficult. “Telling someone you are bisexual does not affect them, but telling them you are non-binary means a big change in how they see you and view you,” says Ella who adds that people have, without realising it, always used “they” for a person of undeterminded gender. “They might say for example, ‘oh someone forgot their hat’.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"FSNYWVBWYJB2BGVKOBIDQWFRME","additional_properties":{"_id":1656848690603},"content":"The book featuring writings and visual art was a collaboration between Kids’ Own and Youth Work Ireland, North Connaught, which facilitates a club called SMILY where young people can share their experiences of being queer.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7ZLV7W5JGNDJFJQMZZ6CLCBWXM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656856390287},"content":"“It’s a safe place where you can talk about anything and it is confidential,” says 19-year-old Shannon, who adds that she figured out she was bisexual during lockdown when she was 16.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UXCVHLH2QVH3VCF33AFFK5UMTA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656856390288},"content":"Like Ella, Shannon was happy to be photographed but did not wish to give her full name.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3V3NQG5WY5AKDHXKB2KABZBRUA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656848690607},"content":"Shannon, who has non-binary friends, believes it can be hurtful when others don’t bother or deliberately don’t use the preferred pronouns.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WE6N7UNJMREERBUO3BAFXA6TQQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656848690608},"content":"“Even if someone does not quite understand it, they can use it. I do understand that sometimes it takes a bit of getting used to. But you can try and educate yourself and try and be more respectful. It could really affect people if you misgender them because you are not seeing them as the person they are.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"TTOEO2Q75FEBXJMWJB76HFACMY","additional_properties":{"_id":"7Y7J7AE3BFHPVHRRGVUNGJVWEI"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"HL2FLMU2XFGYFA7DXPJFSGK7GQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656848690609},"content":"Contributors to the book are honest about how difficult it has been for them to understand.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VOAYNDHIXBAIDGAAJOMKAYJQUU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656848690610},"content":"“I personally don’t understand gender,” wrote one. “You know the way when you think about how big the universe is, your head hurts from that? That’s what I think about gender.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"RTUJ3HKOJ5BP7HQFZJIX5QDZJI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656848690611},"content":"The teenagers also recounted their experiences of bullying. One who was bullied at school dropped out and “I find that they are holding a Pride day, now that I’m gone”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7HCMKSBSNREETAZCEOJPJUMXGE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656848690613},"content":"Ella did decide to be open with the young people in the Gaeltacht but doesn’t always tell people about being bisexual and non-binary.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5IUE3W5OAZESDDGAZVZQYITJKM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656848690614},"content":"“With some people I know, I’d have to spend half an hour explaining myself or justifying my existence. Sometimes you don’t want to do that, if you are tired, you feel ‘not today’.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Marese McDonagh"}},"name":"Marese McDonagh"}]},"description":{"basic":"‘Teen queer experience’ in rural communities in northwest documented in new book"},"display_date":"2022-07-04T06:30:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"‘Teen queer experiences’ in rural communities in northwest documented in new book","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"IYZU7Y5PGFEMVEM5PWGW4VBHBY","auth":{"1":"460a8fbf5a2d747069b0aad867609ebfccb4a6f0ec791a150aae38a7a5204a92"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/IYZU7Y5PGFEMVEM5PWGW4VBHBY.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Books"},{"name":"Culture"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/04/with-some-people-id-have-to-spend-half-an-hour-justifying-my-existence/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland/social-affairs","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Social Affairs"}}}},{"_id":"XH4VVHV4JBD2PA4H3SPWFF7ZW4","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":331,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4513540/media/71c62c001e302b2268cd42aec9f16934_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/04/addiction-and-drug-debts-wreak-havoc-on-community/","content_elements":[{"_id":"PKQG6H7FS5EHHHKJABHBJYMDBM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656676737582},"content":"Seán Reinhardt has lost count of the number of times he has been approached over drug debts in Waterford city and the addictions flowing from them.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VMOP255DFJFURONLHNCER6XQ5Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368015},"content":"Well known in the area thanks to community work and his chairmanship of the Naomh Pól GAA club he co-founded 20 years ago, Reinhardt tells The Irish Times that the “lucky” ones are those caught early.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B552U4S3KFAFBEIQGA5C3GVAP4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368016},"content":"For a teenager with few hundred euro to pay, “it’s massive to the young fella, but it’s something the family can deal with and they can rally around and get it sorted”, he says.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LG7FAEYH2VF55CN6Z2S5Q4FNLU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368017},"content":"“That’s where you can say [to the enforcer]: ‘This is finishing here lads, take the money and leave him alone.’ Remember, the fella who’s looking for that money isn’t going to be big time either.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"GDPEY3LBFNE3NJGUDGDHEQZK6M","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368018},"content":"The hardest cases are where someone is “trapped” in addiction and debt, a situation he is coming across more frequently.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QNVIOHS3BRFTJC7FUPE2URHJHQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368019},"content":"“The people we’re talking about are the ones who have racked up debts of 20 grand. That’s the level it got to before they realised there was a problem.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HJYZK4FI4BEW5FG2WN27IXNZGY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368020},"content":"“A family can’t get that money together – the only way he’s getting out of that debt is to do a deal somewhere else to make up the money in the same game.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"LJ6PRTXXVFCVRCG6HS4BVZ3MXQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368021},"content":"If the money cannot be secured, then threats, assaults and even maiming is used against the victim and their families.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4YMFZ2VO6JFDJDTOB7NU5BG4MM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368022},"content":"Bin through the window","type":"header"},{"_id":"EWJHZVUF45FYXIDI5WGRC77EQM","additional_properties":{},"content":"He recalls one man in his 40s who had a long-term heroin addiction. The dealers could not locate him so they went after his mother.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WT5NGHKCXVEUNBANSREXG5JZFA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368023},"content":"“He had a debt and a bin came through the window where his mother lived. She was living there on her own. That was the last known address they had for him and that’s where they kept targeting.” It eventually resulted in the woman moving out of the area.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KNYB5XXO5VAJTF5GZJQPBJREVE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368024},"content":"“The woman couldn’t comprehend the situation. She came up in an area where there could have been alcohol problems but not drugs.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"PKHGXTCNJJATVOCKQAIRBHURTI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368025},"content":"Speaking between rain showers on a walk through Lisduggan, he struggles to think of a case where the dispute did not come down to money. “Some of them can’t pay it off so the young fella gets offside and leaves the country or moves a couple of hundred miles away.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"HQXBNRJXUFE4XGBJR6DPIQNUB4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368026},"content":"Gardaí are rarely an option, he says. “If you’re being threatened by a drug dealer, you’re not going to the cops. I wouldn’t say it’s a lack of trust, I just think it’s fear of being a rat.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"H6TAVNDRVNBTJNMUQKXXWRMHT4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368027},"content":"Reinhardt, who spent eight years as an Independent city councillor until 2019, was a proponent of drug injection centres for heroin users during his time as mayor of the Waterford metropolitan area. He supports decriminalising use and possession of minor drugs, and treating the problem through health policies.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XVD3KCBDVBBDVNT2SH2XJKNWUU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368028},"content":"Approaches also come from families in affluent parts of the city, seeking help for a loved one who has an addiction, but debts are rarely an issue. “Someone is able to pay for it. It’s really hard and the person is sick but they can treat it as a health issue. For a working-class area, it often becomes about money and violence.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"IUTNRPBZDRG6VJ2ZWFLLL7DXT4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368029},"content":"He adds that he doesn’t want to get political but feels the housing crisis has a part to play. “People have less money, less money to pay the rent, to pay the mortgage. That feeds into it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZNTKHJJHANBKDBFH3GDE7MK2GI","additional_properties":{},"content":"More cocaine","type":"header"},{"_id":"RL5UL2T7G5D6JLLSNXXKS4I2MI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368030},"content":"A change in tastes is noticeable on the ground, with cocaine perceived as “cleaner” than heroin, he adds. This is borne out by a recent report from the Health Research Board showing people aged 15-24 were drinking less but taking significantly more cocaine, with the number presenting for problem cocaine use rising 171 per cent between 2011 and 2019.","type":"text"},{"_id":"STPAU6LZMRD2ZK722JR2R3QLCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368031},"content":"In Waterford, Lisa Robson, substance misuse services co-ordinator for HSE/South East Community Healthcare, says it has collected rough figures which suggest that presentations related to cocaine have risen over three-fold in Waterford since 2018. It is working with different community organisations in a bid to educate, which includes presentations with GAA clubs.","type":"text"},{"_id":"STPAU6LZMRD2ZK722JR2R3QLCA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368032},"content":"Alcohol and cocaine “go hand in hand”, Robson points out.","type":"text"},{"_id":"26RMVECTWFBWDDOWQDOSYNPLFI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368033},"content":"Reinhardt says many of the drug debts start with a teenager, almost always male, being offered a substance – often cannabis but sometimes pills or cocaine. They are then pressured for payment by an older and more violent man and this can quickly lead to extortion.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WVWWFI6CHBEW3CYSECSQ3U7K34","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368034},"content":"One local woman whose son wound up with a small debt to a dealer found she was “paying €50 every couple of weeks so my windows didn’t get broken in”. She told The Irish Times she “lost €1,400 over two weeks” to a man who was threatening her family.","type":"text"},{"_id":"A3KPWI774RGOFJSM4SD7FX26HU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368035},"content":"Another person said they had decided against buying drugs in their area as “getting stuff on tick for €50 in Waterford means you find yourself owing €250 to about five different fellas”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"F22UQM635FH3BGPHFFSIFWBGDI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656684368036},"content":"Reflecting on his work with the GAA, Reinhardt says it is hard to get young people to be open about the issue, or to spot the early warning signs. It is only “when their life is messed up, that’s when they might start moving to go sober. While they’re on that journey, nobody recognises themselves as being part of that group.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Eoghan Dalton"}]},"description":{"basic":"In better-off neighbourhoods it’s a health issue, but in working-class areas ‘it often becomes about money and violence’, says local activist"},"display_date":"2022-07-04T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Addiction and drug debts wreak havoc on community","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"I5UPFJMN2NBRBAA3AX4OS2XZR4","auth":{"1":"a32030329679f97b40f9732dca7fe705c78f9a38cd88df5a89f4df5e0fd44760"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/I5UPFJMN2NBRBAA3AX4OS2XZR4.jpeg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Crime & Law"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/04/addiction-and-drug-debts-wreak-havoc-on-community/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland/social-affairs","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Social Affairs"}}}},{"_id":"IMF4AHZBN5BQDJE754H5HX47CM","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":206,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4522707/media/bc80995e26693cdfaa41a22d5ed2e758_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/2022/07/04/credit-unions-to-be-allowed-increase-interest-rates-to-compete-with-banks/","content_elements":[{"_id":"OHYTPY3A7ZCCLNYQKBXQMA5V5U","additional_properties":{"_id":1656773606948},"content":"Credit Unions will be allowed to increase interest rates to compete with banks with products like credit cards and overdrafts under proposals to be brought to Cabinet within weeks.","type":"text"},{"_id":"C4F77FH3AZHJRCWOADXVOBSU5I","additional_properties":{"_id":1656773606950},"content":"The move is part of a major push to grow the credit union movement with other measures aimed at supporting collaboration between different credit unions to encourage more lending in areas like mortgages and small business loans.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MBDFN7SC2BDYJHVNQYDLGNE55Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1656773606951},"content":"Minister of State for Finance Seán Fleming outlined the plans in an interview with The Irish Times.","type":"text"},{"_id":"24NPWFQX4REDTOFDVB3Q6NUWQE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656773606952},"content":"The programme for government sets an ambition of enabling the credit union movement to grow as a key provider of community banking.","type":"text"},{"_id":"OVNRSGZFQVC5NMDGX7GN5XC3WA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656773606953},"content":"There has been concern that the majority of credit union members are saving and not taking out loans, with the average loan-to-asset ratio standing at 26 per cent – which is seen as not sustainable.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KS4N2D7IQJDEPPBDWDY7G6SU7A","additional_properties":{"_id":1656773606954},"content":"Mr Fleming said he had been telling the sector: “You are credit unions, not just savings unions.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"MAUIONV2I5CLZI4KIICWLGNRIY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656773606955},"content":"Credit Unions currently must limit their monthly interest rate on loans to 1 per cent. This limit would be doubled to 2 per cent under plans being progressed by the Minister of State.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PHFR53EFDJCYTLNHKYD3UCSJSQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656773606957},"content":"The Credit Union Advisory Committee recommended the move to the Fine Gael-led minority Government amid concern that retaining the ceiling at such a low limit reduces competition and could discriminate against high-risk borrowers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4RHMM34F6NBKJERZELIB4QKWJ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656773606958},"content":"Proposals from Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe to increase the monthly interest rate to 2 per cent did not get over the line before the 2020 general election.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UOJTV7NRC5ES3CLVJGXLK4UJSE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656773606959},"content":"Mr Fleming said he hoped the plans to overhaul the credit union sector – which come on the back of a consultation process – will be brought to Cabinet before the summer recess and be passed by the Oireachtas in the autumn.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BQVQFWHOCFATTGSE25MGHPXZWM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656773606960},"content":"Of the proposal to allow credit unions to increase their interest rates to as much as 2 per cent per month, Mr Fleming said some would not want to charge more.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2YMNBX2AI5B7BLBBBCGF4VF65U","additional_properties":{"_id":1656773606961},"content":"“But for those that want to compete with people doing overdrafts and credit through credit cards, those credit unions will be able to compete.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"FB773JUK7ZC2LBHPMOQSILLUFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656773606962},"content":"He said he would expect some credit unions to offer credit cards “down the road” but not as early as this year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"25ACASWMVVENZIBIJIAKQBTWIM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656773606963},"content":"The Fianna Fáil Minister of State said encouraging collaboration between credit unions was the “big area”. He highlighted the Cultivate scheme of loans for farmers operated across 38 credit unions as the kind of collaboration he wanted to see more of in the sector.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NND4DXBKX5DXLIAIEY5WHEMFBA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656773606965},"content":"He had met the largest credit unions and they “have difficulty going on their own on the mortgage issue” due to staff requirements and risk-assessment reasons, he added.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2VOZKWA3EBFZNH2UU57GATJW4Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1656773606968},"content":"“They would be much happier if they could have a group collaborating on a particular mortgage product” with a credit union service provider doing the “backhouse work”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EZQKZ4FQJRDT5NZU5S2DEXDYJY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656773606969},"content":"Mr Fleming said such service providers currently had no standing in legislation and they would be recognised in the new plans.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PYHG3ZDBS5AKRBF4NW57QY5TCE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656786218759},"content":"In future credit unions would also be allowed refer members to other credit unions if they do not offer a particular product, he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4SCS2QONINDGVEC565FFUYDQ3Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1656786218760},"content":"Other plans include changes to the role of volunteer boards designed to reduce their workload and to shift day-to-day activities to management, while maintaining their oversight role.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Cormac McQuinn"}},"name":"Cormac McQuinn"}]},"description":{"basic":"Proposals to overhaul sector to be brought to Cabinet within weeks"},"display_date":"2022-07-04T04:00:51.909Z","headlines":{"basic":"Credit Unions to be allowed increase interest rates to compete with banks","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"LFAI4ZYOPOPN5L7AD2FTQWSTYM","auth":{"1":"05d26d94d30ad939c799575c2f16ccc1c4ac8f42ba2d8633d170e3e4eaf75b63"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/LFAI4ZYOPOPN5L7AD2FTQWSTYM.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Financial Services"},{"name":"Business"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/2022/07/04/credit-unions-to-be-allowed-increase-interest-rates-to-compete-with-banks/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Ireland"}}}},{"_id":"MX4ZLNCPUFD45ESMRXB3KL7J5E","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":204,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4523479/media/fc2b4e1366078dbbd7d5cacff71fc344_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/04/plan-to-turn-dublin-magdalene-laundry-into-memorial-centre-set-for-approval/","content_elements":[{"_id":"CG3NY5WQLRDKXA2RUD5WCIVSCE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656863242645},"content":"Plans to turn the former Magdalene laundry on Seán McDermott Street in Dublin’s north inner city into a national memorial and research centre are set to be approved by city councillors on Monday.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EGWYY6QVWRCMNOXYNV6DWATWW4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656863242646},"content":"The National Centre for Research and Remembrance will be developed by the Office of Public Works (OPW) to honour former residents of mother and baby homes, industrial schools, reformatories, laundries and related institutions.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BDJGX5PMRREY7AJUMSWQNDMRM4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656863242647},"content":"The Victorian building on Seán McDermott Street is the last Magdalene laundry remaining in State ownership, and the last such facility where women were incarcerated to be shut down.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CGLZGOG7ZJHURG5C5NOR7V7YLE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656863242648},"content":"More than 11,000 women and girls were held in 10 laundries operated by religious congregations from 1922 until the closure of the Seán McDermott Street laundry in 1996.","type":"text"},{"_id":"7ALPBT2MRBCQTBDM7JQ37X4G5M","additional_properties":{"_id":1656863242649},"content":"Ownership of the building was transferred by the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity in the late 1990s to the city council, which planned to develop the site for housing.","type":"text"},{"_id":"W75NHSDBBOCFKXU5U3F52JVOA4","additional_properties":{"_id":"ZVY3QESGPBBTJD5SBILWX63M4A"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"CR55NMHPKREGXGF7WZYN663RRE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656863242650},"content":"In 2006 the council finalised a public-private partnership housing deal with developer Bernard McNamara to build 179 apartments on the site, 20 per cent of which would be reserved for social and affordable housing. The scheme was one of five PPP deals between the council and Mr McNamara that collapsed in 2008, leaving large flat complexes including O’Devaney Gardens derelict, and buildings such as the laundry unused.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UWDOVRMY3ZAT7JIKKIZG545IZE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656863242651},"content":"In 2018 the council was offered €14.5 million from international hotel group Toyoko Inn for the laundry site. The no-frills chain wanted to build a 350-bed hotel, student accommodation and shops. The proposal also included 60 apartments for social housing, likely to be used for senior citizens, as well as a memorial to the women who were incarcerated in the laundry.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZURGXFMI4JDTXJYG4Z3HLSZPAI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656863242652},"content":"The sale of the laundry had been recommended by the 2017 Mulvey report on the regeneration of the north inner city so the proceeds could be used to fund the economic and social measures. However, councillors voted against the sale for the hotel proposal in late 2018 to facilitate talks on an alternative use for the site.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YXCT2UUQSVGEVO7LGR3TI5W2KU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656863242653},"content":"Councillors subsequently agreed it should be developed as a “multipurpose site of conscience” that would “seek to honour and commemorate the victims and survivors of Ireland’s institutional past”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WVWBVSOHVFCXJKRZTD5IRRHOYY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656863242654},"content":"The Government earlier this year announced plans for the research and remembrance centre, which will hold records related to institutional trauma that will form part of the National Archives. There will also be a museum and exhibition space, the development of which will be led by the National Museum of Ireland. The wider site will include social housing, in a newly built block, again likely to be reserved for senior citizens, and local community facilities as well as an educational and early-learning facility.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2WDOCZH7I5BO7C5TPCACNQZL7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1656863242655},"content":"If the transfer of the site to the OPW is approved by councillors, it will be responsible for developing a master plan for the site and securing planning permission for the project, which is expected to take five years to complete.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Olivia Kelly"}},"name":"Olivia Kelly"}]},"description":{"basic":"Former institution on Seán McDermott Street in inner city to become ‘multipurpose site of conscience’"},"display_date":"2022-07-03T23:15:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Plan to turn Dublin Magdalene laundry into memorial centre set for approval","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"XPZGL6JLNIYAB5KKMVRY64252U","auth":{"1":"9a402c410f93a4c2480d1e1619d8e69b4bf84152d8c5d592e9abe82ed7441972"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/XPZGL6JLNIYAB5KKMVRY64252U.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Dublin"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/04/plan-to-turn-dublin-magdalene-laundry-into-memorial-centre-set-for-approval/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland/social-affairs","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Social Affairs"}}}},{"_id":"PS2MOMCVM5G7LE6H2A36JBGJHQ","additional_properties":{},"canonical_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/03/independent-tds-propose-cap-on-number-of-ukrainian-refugees/","content_elements":[{"_id":"V3SO6SVCRBH3VDFDUY7JP7T7KM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656857636330},"content":"Two Independent TDs in the southwest have suggested a cap should be put on the number of Ukrainian refugees coming to Ireland amid concerns over the strain on health services and tourist accommodation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IY3UWWZVOJDATNXLKLN4MNAM7E","additional_properties":{"_id":1656857636333},"content":"In separate but almost identically worded statements, Kerry TD Danny Healy-Rae and Cork South-West TD Michael Collins said the open-door policy on immigration and refusal to debate the issue was “reckless” given the pressure on the already strained health, education and housing sectors.","type":"text"},{"_id":"C4I3TYCVOVBNHIYT2IGZQQIGZY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656857636334},"content":"With so much capacity gone from the tourist sector in accommodating refugees, the key industry for the southwest was suffering, the TDs added.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DKTYGRF56NEPBBABBTFKO7IMC4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656857636335},"content":"Kerry is hosting at least 3,000 Ukrainian refugees, mainly in commercial accommodation. Several hotels on the Ring of Kerry and in Killarney are now closed to tourists.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NKBXAIVASJAAJNTXDB3W3I6DZE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656857636338},"content":"“Does anyone seriously think that we can go on to accommodate and provide decent services if the number of those fleeing Ukraine and arriving here rises to 100,000?” the TDs asked.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KWVCO64TNRBXTI7U2P4CBKHADE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656857636341},"content":"There was “a major impact on tourism” , and “buying up vast swathes of hotel capacity is already yielding profoundly negative economic impacts,” they said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ACYMBQH5CRFOLEHLKJ2HRWY2P4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656863749504},"content":"Both are part of the rural Independents group that includes, among others, Mattie McGrath and Carol Nolan, two TDs who <a href=\"https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/social-affairs/2022/06/23/minister-finger-wagging-over-dail-question-on-services-for-refugees-says-mcgrath/\" target=\"_blank\">clashed with Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien in the Dáil</a> recently over suggestions of a cap on refugee numbers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KFX3MGZF6RD2FG2RJGN6INBHLA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656863749505},"content":"Mr O’Brien said the housing crisis would be addressed in Ireland “while rising to the challenge of doing the right thing by supporting people who need safe harbour fleeing a brutal war”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"LSODG2O57ZHXBBGBRAHSIWE7AY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656863749506},"content":"Meanwhile, Killarney GP Dr Gary Stack, medical director of the South Doc out-of-hours service, said his practice of three GPs had reached its maximum number having accepted 150 patients, or 50 per doctor.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WOPVSHMPEZEGVJILUIEO45NMMU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656857636346},"content":"Kerry County Council councillor Norma Moriarty of Fianna Fáil said Iveragh had for years been “screaming” for an increase in population and the new arrivals were very welcome. However, the more than 600 Ukrainians in the Cahersiveen, Waterville, Valentia and Ballinskelligs areas were now having to endure the same lack of services, with healthcare particularly under strain. One of Cahersiveen’s two GPs was set to retire and more health resources, including in the area of mental health, were urgently needed, she said.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Anne Lucey"}]},"description":{"basic":"Immigration policy ‘reckless’ given pressure on housing, health and education sectors, say two TDs in southwest"},"display_date":"2022-07-03T16:32:01.362Z","headlines":{"basic":"Independent TDs propose cap on number of Ukrainian refugees","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"MQQNDHF4UZO4ZEUBP7ESLYYZUE","auth":{"1":"e11cafa8b12ab968001694803ada58ae4b07fede3625f1939067b7ad0775dd43"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/MQQNDHF4UZO4ZEUBP7ESLYYZUE.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/03/independent-tds-propose-cap-on-number-of-ukrainian-refugees/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland/social-affairs","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Social Affairs"}}}},{"_id":"CHWN4QXEEFFI5INMIDT5NJRXCE","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":229,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4523198/media/8f7da315322ecbc047f2b04cfe808bbe_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/education/2022/07/03/fine-gael-td-calls-for-updated-sex-education-at-primary-level-to-be-expedited/","content_elements":[{"_id":"6ELUNHVCC5BSNMI35K7G4RJCIQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656856319078},"content":"A Fine Gael deputy has questioned whether plans to update sex education in primary schools by 2025 are being deliberately “slow-walked”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HNG5TTVO45D7LELEY2EGT6NDQA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656859809558},"content":"A review of relationships and sexuality education (RSE) at primary and second level in 2019 concluded that the curriculum needs to be updated and deal with issues such as consent and LGBTQ+ matters.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GOCUB5BREJGNPOULN5ALT3YFR4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656859809559},"content":"Minister for Education Norma Foley confirmed last month that the updated RSE curriculum will be ready for the junior cycle from 2023, senior cycle in 2024 and primary level in 2025.","type":"text"},{"_id":"I34IKO4HEJA6ZMHGIIL7MIN6FA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656859809560},"content":"On Sunday, Fine Gael TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked why the reforms cannot take place sooner and questioned whether they were being “slow-walked”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SU44NWJTFRHDDP3A43WVJC2I4Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1656859809561},"content":"“One reason this is so important is that we know that education interventions can make a huge difference to attitudes,” she said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BAGUPZTDTFCAJAU45WFZRZF7QA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656859809562},"content":"“We can either drop our kids to school and wonder which of them, 20 years from now, will be the abusers and which will be the abused, like every generation before them. Our we can ask what can we positively, constructively do that gives their generation a real shot at a different set of attitudes and norms in relation to equality and consent and inclusion.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"BYBQHOZORFB53HEY43THGKKRUE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656859809564},"content":"However, Ms Foley has said the primary level RSE curriculum is being reviewed and redeveloped in line with a wider and long-standing review of the entire primary school curriculum.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YDX77UVZYZAIXNSKZBWWAWG5KE","additional_properties":{"_id":"LFFFSGZYFJFIVDPFBHVCBVZFEQ"},"embed":{"config":{},"id":"acast_podcast-64640","url":"/"},"subtype":"acast_podcast","type":"custom_embed"},{"_id":"65LV6FX6NRCBLIQFVKY7INQWOQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656863881956},"content":"Setting out the timeline for reform, Ms Foley said recently that she is due to receive a framework document setting out the foundations upon which curriculum specifications for a range of subjects will be developed at primary level later this year.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CUPUNDXR6ZDZ7GU6D5R4ILS24Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1656859809567},"content":"In the meantime, she said work on the curriculum area for wellbeing — which includes RSE — is due to formally being in September this year with a draft ready for public consultation in late 2023 or early 2024.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KXTECTSOXNHERAHF2FQ47MD5DU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656859809568},"content":"It is expected that work on the updated curriculum will be completed in early 2025 and submitted to the Minister for approval.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B4IUUIXQKBCGPHU74PBQZFRNZ4","additional_properties":{},"content":"“Since taking office Minister Foley has prioritised the development of the new RSE curriculum at both primary and post-primary level and has provided committed and clear timelines for their development,” a Department of Education spokeswoman said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"B4IUUIXQKBCGPHU74PBQZFRNZ4","additional_properties":{},"content":"The curriculum is being developed through research, deliberation, consultation and engagement with the public, she added.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QH5IROGLBBB7VCSAGFJSBJOBRM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656859809570},"content":"Curriculum objectives","type":"header"},{"_id":"Y363FU2RCVGK3DFGZWX7J5CGTE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656863881960},"content":"In the meantime, the current curriculum at primary level — in place since 1999 — strives to foster an understanding and appreciation of all children.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QH5IROGLBBB7VCSAGFJSBJOBRM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656859809570},"content":"“Through the curriculum objectives, children are supported to develop self-confidence and a positive sense of self, and to appreciate and respect the diversity that exists in society and to respect and appreciate human and cultural diversity,” Ms Foley said, in response to a recent parliamentary question.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EK2LDFDH5BE2TBGXTYC2SCYMME","additional_properties":{"_id":1656859809571},"content":"“To this end, the curriculum aims to foster in the child a sense of care and respect for himself/herself and others and an appreciation of the dignity of every human being.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"APYASN4I4NDKFMQQKGE6K6WZAM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656859809572},"content":"She said the curriculum also places emphasis on the use of inclusive and respectful language to promote a positive school climate where all children are valued, cared for and respected.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4MF5F45SQ5F2TF5D2ESGNW3YE4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656859809573},"content":"The updated RSE curriculum at primary and second level will aim deal with issues in a “sensitive and age-appropriate way” such as the effects of the internet and social media on relationships, self-identity and self-esteem, consent and its relevance to all relationships, LGBTQ+ matters, healthy positive sexual expression and developments in contraception.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Carl O'Brien"}},"name":"Carl O'Brien"}]},"description":{"basic":"Revised curriculum at primary level due to be completed in 2025"},"display_date":"2022-07-03T15:49:10.590Z","headlines":{"basic":"Fine Gael TD calls for updated sex education at primary level to be expedited","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"T5NXFHX2XI2F43S5EKGIWIOLYE","auth":{"1":"a3af7f17971345d99de922e134c9f16899805d0b4b21b73b0a30dfabcb3c4f6e"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/T5NXFHX2XI2F43S5EKGIWIOLYE.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Education"},{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Social 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Wade.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DUUBDN2O7RG2RCWGNKKTUGI4RQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656780726327},"content":"While there was no official estimate as to how many people attended the rally, the number easily ran into the thousands with the crowd stretching the length of O’Connell St from the monument to Charles Stewart Parnell close to the Garden of Remembrance to the statue of Daniel O’Connell by the Liffey.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KM75HTY4UBG4PPGCWXDKNM4M2M","additional_properties":{"_id":1656780726328},"content":"“Bye Bye Roe Hello pro-life future” read many of the placards being handed out by organisers as the rally got under way while a young woman with a megaphone grew hoarse as she encouraged marchers with the chant “Roe v Wade is overturned, come on Ireland it’s your turn.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"JIOU3VB3MJBMNG4VPE23Q6BJ3M","additional_properties":{"_id":"B5WL7IXWARGWNMGJXOBBFNKZYI"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"I2Q5LK426NFKXJ2LKJL6RVJDCY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656780726330},"content":"There was no counter-protest, although a lone woman called Kate Murphy did stand close to O’Connell Bridge as the marchers filed past holding up a banner which read “The Christian Far Right Can Go And Sh*te”, a sign which attracted some disapproving looks and the occasional comment of condemnation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CTIUCCR6EZEILIK3L74TGYZOYY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656780726331},"content":"When one man berated her, she said, “We’ve already voted darling,” to which he responded, in error, “so have the Americans”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4P3CFMEOSBBODD2DGJPVWVDMLQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656780726332},"content":"On a stage in the shadow of the Custom House, speakers heralded the efforts of anti-abortion campaigners in the US after the striking down of the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling, and promised that Ireland would reverse the decision to legalise abortion following the repeal of the Eighth Amendment.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FQO77EWKUFCDPMXSMRCCVIZRSQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656780726345},"content":"The Irish 2018 referendum resulted in the repeal of that amendment — which had placed a constitutional right to life on both the pregnant woman and the foetus. The subsequent Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 came into force in 2019 and allows for terminations up to 12 weeks gestation and later in circumstances such as a risk to health or if there is a fatal foetal abnormality.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HGD4HJ6CSFCUZCA4DKQQXLD3IM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656787643631},"content":"The founder and director of anti-abortion group Precious Life Bernadette Smyth told the crowd it was the “pro-life generation” and said, in the wake of the US supreme court ruling, anti-abortion campaigners across the US had “taken on a new level of hope and joy”. She said “today we share their joy. We commend and applaud all the pro-life groups in the US and we now celebrate the beginning of the end of abortion”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MUBVD7PMEBFF7PMZ6AWWNITI6E","additional_properties":{"_id":1656780726339},"content":"She vowed “to make abortion in Ireland north and south” illegal and, directing her comments at Sinn Féin’s leaders on both sides of the Border, Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill, she said legislation had been introduced in Ireland to “murder little babies in the womb but, trust me Sinn Féin, our day will come”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HKZPFCBUHFHDRF2AAVE4WIT22A","additional_properties":{"_id":1656780726340},"content":"The leader of Aontú, Peader Tobin, a former member of Sinn Féin, said in the wake of the overturning of Roe v Wade the “tide is starting to turn” as he compared the anti-abortion groups to the “abolitionists who brought the slave trade to an end” in the US.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NFEXSNWLVFGZRCO4UTB3SRMTBA","additional_properties":{"_id":"G3MY6H55CBGJRFMHKHWGWHE4YM"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"VPY7XVQSUZAIDMOUIIGXFRPKMQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656780726341},"content":"In advance of the rally the Catholic Primate of All Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh Archbishop Eamon Martin described recent developments in the US as “hopeful and encouraging”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"TCNEFAOTPFARBOBVDES4CFILE4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656780726342},"content":"He was speaking at a Mass in St Saviour’s Church, Dublin. “Often you face setbacks, because the pro-life message is countercultural, and is falsely portrayed as negative, ‘anti-women’, ‘anti-choice’, or lacking in compassion,” he said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZJM3LVHCE5F5VLQY75FCHHNRKA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656780726343},"content":"“Sometimes, as in the recent decision of the United States supreme court on Roe v Wade, there are hopeful and encouraging signs that the context is shifting and that the rebuilding of a culture of life is possible.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YTZWGYL5TNF2DMYXTGMWPV5DFY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656780726344},"content":"“We know, of course, that the right to life is not given to us by any constitution or by any law. All human beings have it ‘as of right’, whether we are wealthy or poor, healthy or sick, young or old, born or unborn.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"MKM5RHA2RNBWDA7EOBWN45ULVU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656780726346},"content":"He said the promises of help for women in crisis were made during the referendum campaign but “it seems that a mother in distress is often left feeling that her only option is to choose to end the life of her unborn baby girl or boy”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VAFMSGZ22RDTJLBXEYLIQX67GQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656766144041},"content":"He said there were many questions about the legislation introduced three years ago such as what options were offered to people during the three-day reflection period.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Conor Pope"}},"name":"Conor Pope"}]},"description":{"basic":"Groups vow to follow US lead and continue the fight to have abortion made illegal in Ireland again"},"display_date":"2022-07-02T19:49:28.737Z","headlines":{"basic":"‘Bye Bye Roe’: Thousands attend Dublin anti-abortion rally celebrating US supreme court decision","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"52E2ISBOXBDNZEEXHUWXURUKVU","auth":{"1":"83c4115d2b83bbe077b555442fecc843e3d70eee1e0bdfdcd4bff08eb8003c9a"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/52E2ISBOXBDNZEEXHUWXURUKVU.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Health"},{"name":"Ireland"},{"name":"Social Affairs"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/health/2022/07/02/roe-v-wade-decision-hopeful-and-encouraging-catholic-primate-says/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/health","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Health"}}}},{"_id":"4OABOW4L3VDKNJZRFTJWYWYS4Y","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":340,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4524159/media/6e3cf287aa765b2782ec4baa0e878e56_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/02/mayo-bookshop-targeted-by-objectors-to-drag-queen-event/","content_elements":[{"_id":"RRHSZ5J2ZVFRTHWBS3AKCZRSHU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057887},"content":"Last Sunday morning Neil Paul, co-owner of Tertulia Bookshop in Westport, Co Mayo, received a strange phone call.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CWXRKZCN6FDADDXAUAYLZTKCTQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057888},"content":"“I hear you’re reading pornographic material to young children,” the woman on the other end said. Mr Paul gave her short shrift and hung up the phone. A few minutes later the shop received another call, this one from an activist who monitors right-wing activity in Ireland.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IJGMWBYHY5BRHEWHFUR2QPTESE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057889},"content":"Mr Paul was told the bookshop’s details were spreading across certain Telegram groups and it was being accused of grooming and sexualising children.","type":"text"},{"_id":"V7KU7RJW3RHPXLULEVZ7B4Q6CA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057890},"content":"“Please contact this business to confirm that the parents of Ireland will NOT stand for this ongoing mental & sexual of Children anymore!!,” one message read.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QCFTBBKLSFG53AHSQDMU55H7JU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057891},"content":"The deluge of calls started immediately afterwards and continued for days. By Tuesday afternoon Mr Paul estimated the shop had received 60 calls from people who had seen the message, most of which he let go to voicemail.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NKTCP7AWEZDF3G3RI2YPLGMP4Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057893},"content":"There were also emails and social media posts calling the owners disgusting and comparing them to child abusers.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5XTYR2AFHJAFHJV3F4MFKWNHAQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057894},"content":"Tertulia Bookshop, which opened in 2019 as “an inclusive social space and eclectic bookshop”, became targets due to their decision to host a “Drag Queen Story Hour” event as part of Mayo Pride celebrations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"PQJWQQ5K2IUAVKKMGMM6IPIF54","additional_properties":{"_id":"A2CKUXUDT5GAHIKGCVVL66ODTA"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"A67PW3NQQ5GEVGFMLBC2W6VOC4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057895},"content":"Originating in San Francisco in 2015, Drag Queen Story Hours are events for children where a drag performer reads stories. “The idea is to expose kids to different kinds of gender presentations,” Rachel Aimee, founder of the New York chapter of Drag Queen Story Hour, said in 2018, “to see beyond the blue-and-pink gender binary that kids often grow up learning about.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"MQHV2PR4EVHCDOGE7JTBVKGCSI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057896},"content":"They have grown in popularity both in the US and internationally. At the same time Story Hours have become lightning rods in the US’s culture wars, with conservative and far-right groups comparing them to child abuse and accusing their organisers of “grooming” children.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5YF3DIDRCBAS3D543MYD7KYUAY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057897},"content":"Last week members of the Proud Boys hate-group stormed an event in a California library and shouted homophobic and transphobic slurs at organisers. Police said they were investigating it as a hate-crime incident.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SSS2J3CPWFG47IVELM2YY4NOEU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057899},"content":"This is the second year Tertulia Bookshop has held such an event. After their first event last year, which was held outside due to Covid-19 restrictions, they received some abuse, mostly in the form of negative reviews on Google by people who had never visited the small shop on Westport Quay.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KLXSAB7PUJFMHBAJPEACA4WBJA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057900},"content":"But that was nothing compared with the reaction this year. As news of the event spread online, one Telegram group advised its audience to “photograph every parent that brings their child. Tear their life apart because I guarantee if they are happy for this abuse to happen, they will have done other abuses.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"3P4OOHSR4BHB3KIUQUQN3YU2W4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057901},"content":"“Men of Ireland, please go to this show in Mayo and stop it,” said another group, which was originally set up to oppose Covid-19 restrictions.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CDRBBBWKOJGZLHB2YFWZM3YQLI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057903},"content":"“We were prepared for some of it this year but it just seems there’s more out there now,” co-owner Bríd Conroy said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IZKQSHQLCNAVBAVVUVM3CDALSE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057904},"content":"“What’s most disconcerting is they were posting pictures of our bookshop on their channels and asking people to come out against us. We’re a small business. They’re picking on us because they can.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"FBZNLH7LUVAQZAQTVZMFUUYCGU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057905},"content":"As well as being concerned, the owners are confused by the reaction. “It’s a man dressed up as a woman reading Peppa Pig for Christ’s sake,” Mr Paul said. ","type":"text"},{"_id":"FJ4RQRXZSRDB5O245E5F5FWGMM","additional_properties":{},"content":"All children are accompanied by a parent, in line with shop policy, Ms Conroy said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"6JUYU74245AHZIC2JCHP5VCXAA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057906},"content":"After the abuse started the owners consulted local gardaí, who urged them not to be deterred. A garda would be present at the shop on the day of the event to make sure nothing happened, they were assured.","type":"text"},{"_id":"W5K52RKK6FF3FHZMWU35SYUA2I","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057907},"content":"“It’s all a bit sad at the end of the day. But they can be dangerous as well,” said Mr Paul.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SXKNR7LZKVGJHLJ7T2YHHZW32I","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057908},"content":"Late in the afternoon on Saturday, about a dozen protesters gathered outside the bookshop ahead of the event. There is no evidence any of those present were involved in the phone calls and online messages targeting the shop. Some of those present held placards and some took photographs of people entering the shop.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UJSM4UAT55CB7NO3IFXOO4NIBQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057909},"content":"Once all the attendees were inside, Mr Paul and Ms Conroy locked the door and drag performer Aunt Annie entertained the children. Outside, the protesters soon found themselves outnumbered by Pride attendees who had come to the shop to show their support.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SYKP7ZEEKNCRTJ3K74RRLJXXG4","additional_properties":{"_id":"JWHCUMGHNZAYHAXL4WX7GBCIHQ"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"3KTKE4XE7BHHJMR7E7UHNBENU4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057910},"content":"Gardaí were present and, aside from a few tense moments, there were no incidents.","type":"text"},{"_id":"I2QXZOBZYBAHTNNOQYE57UHDDE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656789482501},"content":"One protester demanded to know if prominent LGBT campaigner Rory O’Neill, aka Panti Bliss, had “Garda clearance”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BRWCLGTZU5GQPE4JCHRKS4VKHY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057911},"content":"“I’ve Garda clearance to tell you to go f*** yourself,” Mr O’Neill replied.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VS4YMAVR6JGPZGBFS3DRAWFZ6Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057912},"content":"People have a right to protest, Ms Conroy said afterwards, pointing out that the majority of demonstrators were not from the Westport area. “We get amazing support locally.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZFBECZUGGJBNPL3WXZHGLW6PNI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656782057913},"content":"It has been a stressful week for the proprietors of Tertulia. “On the other hand, the amount of people who have supported us has been incredible. So a lot of good has come out of it,” said Mr Paul. “But I still wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Conor Gallagher"}},"name":"Conor Gallagher"}]},"description":{"basic":"About a dozen protesters gathered in Westport on Saturday, where they were met with a counter-demonstration"},"display_date":"2022-07-02T19:13:11.150Z","headlines":{"basic":"Mayo bookshop targeted by objectors to drag queen event","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"B26ERGZ3Y5DIRGHFPPGENUJ6AU","auth":{"1":"6137ec6cd0a6549cd131fa1ba985fd2272d2eeeee028a9f3cca986c425856cfb"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/B26ERGZ3Y5DIRGHFPPGENUJ6AU.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/02/mayo-bookshop-targeted-by-objectors-to-drag-queen-event/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland/social-affairs","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Social Affairs"}}}},{"_id":"ZBNJNCOAX5E7PF3Y35OR5K4QPU","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":256,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4511075/media/804a059769180efcbf48c7678239f95c_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/02/thinking-anew-my-lord-and-my-god/","content_elements":[{"_id":"5W7PYYGMXFG3NCCJSXULIZCSDY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656666940676},"content":"Tomorrow is the festival of St Thomas the Apostle. Thomas always reminds me of the little boy in “The Emperor’s new clothes”. In this story, two swindlers persuade the Emperor (and the whole court) that the magnificent royal cloth they have woven cannot be seen by people who are foolish or inferior. The whole of the kingdom lines the streets to admire the Emperor as he displays his dazzling new robes. While everyone else is dutifully cheering, only one little boy pipes up and states the obvious: “The Emperor is wearing no clothes!”","type":"text"},{"_id":"5GMJ4MRUU5H6HAGIZ7W3F767WM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656666940677},"content":"On the few occasions that Thomas appears in the gospels, we can see that he is an honest, authentic person, willing to say what is on his mind in a way that no-one else is.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JZH3HNXYDNGZ5CHKSMQIKDA2XM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656666940678},"content":"One of these times is when Jesus is attempting to prepare his little tribe of friends for his forthcoming departure – his going to die. He promised to prepare a place for his friends so that they could join him. “You know the way to the place where I am going”,<i> </i>Jesus said.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IPDDIWWANJB4VDKAT6GC5KNL4I","additional_properties":{"_id":1656666940679},"content":"Was there at this point a bit of an embarrassed silence?","type":"text"},{"_id":"VCWNURFNLZEK5H7DRJC4RCID7I","additional_properties":{"_id":1656666940680},"content":"And Thomas said: “Actually, Lord, we have no idea where you are going, so how on earth can we know the way there?”<i> </i>Of all the disciples, only Thomas was honest enough to say “I do not know what you are talking about”<i>, </i>even though all the disciples must have been thinking it.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AHA5NMHIM5CDJDHC2JVF7KO6CA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656666940681},"content":"And Jesus replied: “I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FGPOBMBH6FCWHDRXSGH7X7HYWE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656666940682},"content":"Then, following his resurrection, Jesus appears to his friends, and they rejoice and understand that he has risen after three days as he promised he would. But Thomas was not there at the time, and when he is told about this later, he’s just not having it. He saw Jesus dead, and he knows perfectly well that people don’t come alive again. No way.","type":"text"},{"_id":"R4RVH32BQBHXPD2C4EWRWI44SY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656666940683},"content":"Thomas doesn’t pretend. He doesn’t let on that he believes things that just don’t make sense to him. He doesn’t act as if he understands things that he doesn’t understand.","type":"text"},{"_id":"DGA4XNURRFCRVIUE4T23TI3JRM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656666940684},"content":"This honesty and sensible frankness are a great gift to us, in the church. We are accustomed to hearing Thomas called “doubting Thomas” in a disparaging way, as if he really should have known better. Yet doubt is not sin. Expressing doubt is being honest and real, and repressing doubt does not make it go away, doubt needs to be brought into the light. Doubt is not the opposite of faith, because both doubt and faith are dealing with the unseen – two sides of the same coin. The opposite of faith is, in fact, certainty.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FWLVVHICG5ADVDPOLAX5GGGZXU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656666940685},"content":"Thomas knew what he needed and he expressed it clearly – another gift to those around him. “I need to see him and touch his wounds for myself, before I will believe”<i>. </i>And Jesus showed up, again, in the locked room, and invited Thomas to bring him his doubt. Jesus took Thomas’s doubt, and transformed it into faith. And Thomas spoke out his newly-minted faith in joyful spontaneous recognition: “My Lord and my God!”","type":"text"},{"_id":"SERQONHR6BHNHAAIC6WBQRBADE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656666940686},"content":"The word Thomas uses here for God is unambiguous – the Greek “O Theos” means God in the absolute sense, not just Master or Teacher. Thomas is the first person to explicitly acknowledge the divinity of Jesus, and he goes on to bring the gospel into the East, where he is martyred in Madras. He is honoured as the patron saint of India and loved and revered by Christians all over the world. Mar Thoma. St Thomas.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HJZ5VG6RU5A5FLSPIAO5RXWZC4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656666940687},"content":"And what about us, here in 21st-century Europe? We are not able to touch the wounds of Jesus. But we are able to be honest before God with our doubts and our fears. In faith, we are invited to bring our doubts to Jesus. And Jesus has promised that he will especially honour us – we who have never seen him in the flesh – when we recognise him as our Lord and our God, our way, our truth, our life.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AAZEHARGGZB4TNLF5GWLCFUXYU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656666940688},"content":"Lord, we believe. Help thou our unbelief.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"metered"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Wendy May Jacobs"}]},"description":{"basic":"Honesty and sensible frankness are a great gift"},"display_date":"2022-07-02T09:01:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Thinking Anew: My Lord and my God","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"ZIRKQ37SGNGRFIRFHXQ5NYURZ4","auth":{"1":"1a5501b7544169dca75ca5cc892691903b9d28cba1b0a95c5c528e74bf9f29a4"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/ZIRKQ37SGNGRFIRFHXQ5NYURZ4.jpg"}},"subtype":"opinion","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/ireland/social-affairs/2022/07/02/thinking-anew-my-lord-and-my-god/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/ireland/social-affairs","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"Social Affairs"}}}},{"_id":"DLQRNGX4T5CINLDCUP5USXKPFY","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":513,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4505234/media/f80d69a9d06e1e850bf2f627c719ac19_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/world/us/2022/07/02/patchwork-of-rules-now-in-place-regarding-abortion-access-across-the-us/","content_elements":[{"_id":"XX72V6DTRJFMZMVQEEEPN4ZAJE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932139},"content":"In the big US pharmacy chains, staff are beginning to ration access to emergency contraception.","type":"text"},{"_id":"RY4IR2L2N5H2BLLD57CZ7BPNJU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932140},"content":"Following last week’s supreme court decision eliminating a 50-year-old federal constitutional right to abortion, there has been a spike in demand from women fearful about what the future might bring.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FQRBUXOTBFGTDPKUUNY27A6ZPE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932141},"content":"Outlets such as CVS and Walmart have introduced limits on the quantity of emergency contraception products that can be purchased.","type":"text"},{"_id":"AJDZHDMLM5DUFFBMWIFV4ATBKU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932142},"content":"The supreme court ruling definitively ended the constitutional right to abortion introduced on foot of the landmark Roe v Wade ruling by the same body in 1973.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2AAQZHB6BFAR3B77RD7I5BKJYY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932143},"content":"However, there is no certainty on what it all will mean. And comments by conservative justice Clarence Thomas that the court’s legal reasoning on abortion should see it look again at other social rights, such as contraception and same-sex marriage, has heightened alarm among many.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JMTHWWXLSNDCJGMNGRAGKBGLDE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932144},"content":"Earlier this week, US vice-president Kamala Harris warned that the court, which has a conservative supermajority, would not stop at eliminating the constitutional right to abortion. She suggested that Thomas had “just said the quiet part out loud”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EFFD6IBFMBCSVDAU64UKJ23NRQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932145},"content":"The majority in the court argued that its abortion ruling would not jeopardise contraception or same-sex marriage. However, some liberals fear that Thomas was effectively inviting politicians in conservative states to pass laws restricting such rights, leading to an inevitable legal challenge that would end up before him and his colleagues in the supreme court.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XPL2HZBAPRBVTHASFLJWSM7UUA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932146},"content":"The supreme court did not outlaw abortion last week. Rather it sent the whole issue back to politicians, initially in the different states, and perhaps at a later date centrally in Washington, to determine what should be done now about abortion services.","type":"text"},{"_id":"I2EPJR2KPRBIXFZQEVRPAGHL6A","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932147},"content":"It was this uncertainty about the implications of the ruling, including fears that some states could ban morning-after and abortion pills, that has seen some women move to try to stock up in advance, leading to a run on supplies in some areas.","type":"text"},{"_id":"T3FV3CQXY5C6VHZG4OXWYBZELQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932148},"content":"What is certain is that for the present there will be a patchwork of rules in place regarding abortion across the US.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZY44TJX7XBC5ZM4VPTBZWXIYEE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932149},"content":"Already since last week, about 10 states have moved to ban or restrict abortion. These had what are known as “trigger laws” in place to be implemented quickly after any striking down of the federal constitutional right to abortion.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3HRTRG3TEZHXPKG5FDB5DMS3XE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932150},"content":"However, in some places, courts have intervened to block temporarily these measures pending full hearings.","type":"text"},{"_id":"47XR6AJONNGAJNYYMW27CX3DII","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932151},"content":"Other states are re-invoking dormant legislation outlawing abortion which pre-dated the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BN6K2LYLHVHILFQGN2FFVLBA5Y","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932152},"content":"The pro-choice Guttmacher Institute has forecast that ultimately 26 states are certain or likely to ban abortion.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ASAPZ66DBFCPRBLVJROZBEE7SM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932153},"content":"Politicians in states such as New York, Illinois and California have insisted they will provide a sanctuary for women from other areas seeking abortion. However, providers have warned of pressure on services from an influx of women travelling from other locations.","type":"text"},{"_id":"J63F6D3EVZCRDOCIJPQRGR6EA4","additional_properties":{"_id":"F7P6JSZ4DBAVNI2LQEUCHKFIYA"},"content":"I feel scared for them: 17-year-old Irish activist on the overturning of Roe v Wade","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"IV5E46EDM5HLJFEZ27PM55ICGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932154},"content":"In the different states the language in the new legislation defining what constitutes an abortion can vary — leading to some concerns that, intentionally or otherwise, some forms of contraception could be caught up in the net.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QOK34UW6UNE3LKMY3IJP7HXIXU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932155},"content":"One hospital group in Missouri this week stopped offering emergency contraception as it was concerned that “ambiguous” provisions in the state’s legislation could result in clinicians facing prosecution.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N4YOQLTTR5FPJF7RPIGULJBDTA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932156},"content":"In Mississippi, one of the people who drafted the abortion law which directly led to the supreme court ruling last week said “chemical abortion” was likely to be the new frontline in the war between anti-abortion and pro-choice activists.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Z47INOR4EZGPHTCVAYNAC3ERHY","additional_properties":{"_id":"MZAUDZALRFDLZCEYXHK2M6LS5Q"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"IPXS2DKM7JHSFO3QNH355QDM7Q","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932157},"content":"Jameson Taylor, president of the Center for Political Renewal, told The Irish Times that the supreme court in what is now known as the Dobbs case (the court ruled on the case of Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization) last week “did not settle anything”. But he said it would be better to have dialogue and debate at local level in states on the complex issue of abortion.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5IRLX6NU35GRFEPVIFZDTRFWBU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932158},"content":"He forecast there would be “a lot of inconsistencies” as states made rules for themselves.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WY23L4V66ZA77ICIE6HTNAEUMA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932159},"content":"“When it comes to states regulating chemical abortion, which is going to be basically the new front of the abortion wars in the United States, that is going to be a very complex situation as we are going to run into inter-state commerce [laws] and significant constitutional issues, in terms of states trying to regulate commercial activity between a consumer in one state and service being available in another.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"H2F3YNKVAJCCJJB22BT2B4J5AI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932160},"content":"Mr Taylor forecast that the Biden administration would “act aggressively to blur the lines between traditional contraception and abortifacients and chemical abortions”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"53UILNP7TVGU5KVSE2ZM7USQOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932161},"content":"This is already an area of confusion and debate in the US due, in part, to a label applied by the federal regulator, the Food and Drug Administration, to the emergency contraceptive pill since 2006. This says it blocks release of eggs before fertilisation but also maintains the medication can prevent fertilised eggs from implanting.","type":"text"},{"_id":"BKO5BUCEZNF7XP3LCZZHRZOD5U","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932162},"content":"However, this is in dispute.","type":"text"},{"_id":"5Q2ZSEJESBBN7KFXUFPCUIQRPE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932163},"content":"The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has maintained a review of the evidence suggests that “emergency contraception is unlikely to prevent implantation of a fertilised egg”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"U2XJM7E73ZB47ONAPLX37CODBY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932164},"content":"Some conservatives have used the label to argue that such products are “abortifacients”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NNTALOD4ZJGHZCH3SH736K5JRY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932165},"content":"The net effect of the supreme court ruling and local laws being introduced in some regions is that the United States could be effectively split in two in relation to abortion services. In one half, existing abortion rights would remain largely intact but in the other terminations would either be banned or restricted.","type":"text"},{"_id":"USJAQJKTKVDB5PBF6SVRAQDYJY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932166},"content":"But for some campaigners and politicians, this would not go far enough.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HLWMEIVZNJABNFCVNALIPNBUAU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932167},"content":"The speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi last week said Republicans were plotting to put in place a nationwide abortion ban.","type":"text"},{"_id":"J5TSWUCIL5AJRFROLNOBA34XI4","additional_properties":{"_id":"BTBMBQ5OO5GOJF6B3AMWC5OP54"},"content":"Opinion: After Roe, Americas well-organised radical right will continue to score victories","type":"interstitial_link"},{"_id":"TAUJP23FFZEKXJF74TZZERA2G4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932168},"content":"Such warnings about what Republicans would do if they regained control of congress may be aimed in part at encouraging Democrats to get out and vote in the forthcoming mid-term elections.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QZGKLDPEHVDT7NNWMU6ARJXQKI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932169},"content":"Joe Biden as president would never sign such a national ban into law. However, after 2024 a future president — perhaps Mike Pence? — could do so.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YA3PF53JBRFCLFJRGEAXLGCLJ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932170},"content":"Pence last week said: “Having been given this second chance for life, we must not rest and must not relent until the sanctity of life is restored to the centre of American law in every state in the land.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"BPWSVB7KQVCGHCFGFHDKNGWZMI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932171},"content":"Biden has condemned the supreme court decision. But the president has come under pressure from Democrats to do more to assist women seeking abortion services.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KVBLDPU7IRHX5ADJED2JN5QI6A","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932172},"content":"Liberals have argued, for example, he could establish abortion clinics on federal lands in states where the procedure is banned. However, so far, the administration has been wary. The White House warned this could have “dangerous ramifications” and could put women and providers at risk of potential prosecution.","type":"text"},{"_id":"36TDQVBHRBD3VIOPE6WATDE5ZA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932173},"content":"The president has promised to fight for the rights of women to access abortion pills by post and to travel for terminations. His administration issued new guidance to protect the privacy of patients’ data generated, for example, by period trackers and other health information apps on their smartphones.","type":"text"},{"_id":"QVIERSBMCVG47JD4MOMFXQZWUQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932174},"content":"Anyone who lived through the convulsions in Ireland in the late 1980s and early 1990s over abortion would be familiar with some of the arguments under way in the US — for example, over whether information on termination services out of state should be permitted and the right to travel allowed.","type":"text"},{"_id":"XDGC5UUWNZHEXGG3RRUN56TC4A","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932175},"content":"Last weekend, the Republican governor of South Dakota promised to ban mail-order abortion pills. Kristi Noem suggested doctors rather than patients could face prosecution.","type":"text"},{"_id":"UPYYEMPGYFCORK2GWHW7DATNOU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656581932176},"content":"Ireland was also raised by US secretary of health Xavier Becerra this week. He maintained abortion rights in the US were being stripped away when things were going in the opposite direction elsewhere. “Look at Ireland,” he said.","type":"text"}],"content_restrictions":{"content_code":"premium"},"credits":{"by":[{"additional_properties":{"original":{"byline":"Martin Wall"}},"name":"Martin Wall"}]},"description":{"basic":"Pharmacy chains putting limits on emergency contraception as demand surges"},"display_date":"2022-07-02T05:00:00Z","headlines":{"basic":"Patchwork of rules now in place regarding abortion access across the US","native":""},"label":{"audio_project_id":{"text":"8948"}},"promo_items":{"basic":{"_id":"FHW2ODDYANLYSPQLA6UKRV3UDA","auth":{"1":"95b48e9260633f7d4e6588f69846acd1837c3228271b1fa43cfe09bd6e9160df"},"type":"image","url":"https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/FHW2ODDYANLYSPQLA6UKRV3UDA.jpg"}},"subtype":"default","taxonomy":{"sections":[{"name":"US"},{"name":"World"},{"name":"Health"},{"name":"Social Affairs"},{"name":"Ireland"}]},"type":"story","website_url":"/world/us/2022/07/02/patchwork-of-rules-now-in-place-regarding-abortion-access-across-the-us/","websites":{"irishtimes":{"website_section":{"_id":"/world/us","additional_properties":{"original":{}},"name":"US"}}}},{"_id":"IQ7JDFXFTJESND5M4FDR2KZ57M","additional_properties":{"audio_duration":859,"audio_url":"https://d22tbkdovk5ea2.cloudfront.net/audio/projects/8948/podcasts/4511656/media/de570f02303edc9b77e8caaa264c58a9_compiled.mp3"},"canonical_url":"/health/2022/07/02/progress-has-been-slow-but-slaintecare-supporters-still-believe-it-will-deliver-reform/","content_elements":[{"_id":"UBIF5QDJ6FHVVNMILI4X2PTMOM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379361},"content":"“I’m hopeful, I have to say. It’s moving at a slower pace, but I think we’ll get there in the end,” says Roisin Shortall, co-leader of the Social Democrats, and one of the architects of the Slaintecare plan.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FIBFCMM4BNB5LN355GQXSYIUZQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379362},"content":"“We’ve made huge strides in our ambition for universal healthcare,” says Stephen Donnelly. “High quality, affordable healthcare that you can access when you need it.”","type":"text"},{"_id":"UPGN7352KFHHBICXT62BKN22EA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379363},"content":"“Slaintecare? Slainte-who-cares?” says a senior figure in the Department of Health.","type":"text"},{"_id":"M6XDVUVV45H2BFFW3HGAEOEAL4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379364},"content":"“Look, Slaintecare means different things to different people,” explains a senior official. “It’s your flexible friend.” Some of the things are going well, the official notes. Some of them are not going at all.","type":"text"},{"_id":"VHQGNQZ3FBGZBDBPEYHYFVMASE","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379365},"content":"It’s five years since the Oireachtas all-party committee produced its 10-year plan to reform the health service and transform it from a two-tier service, in which patients who pay for private health insurance often receive speedier and better care than those without, into a single-tier public system providing universal access to healthcare based on need. It has polarised opinion from the start.","type":"text"},{"_id":"3JZ6SUU2RRE4FKCAFE2K6FZD54","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379366},"content":"Some politicians – wholly in favour of its aims and reforms – were sceptical that a health service so dominated by sectional interests, each with a record of jealously guarding their own position, would be capable of treading a path of radical reform.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GC2A54JR5BE3RO4NM2JOLCVFGI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379367},"content":"Other politicians, including some involved in drawing up the plan, doubted that it was either possible or sensible to seek to separate completely the stuttering public health service from the flourishing private sector.","type":"text"},{"_id":"N7TW3EVYNRB53KA255SSTHDMTA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379368},"content":"Senior officials wondered privately (and sometimes not so privately) if Fine Gael and Fianna Fail would squeeze private health insurance – held by many of their voters – out of the system. Others in the Department of Finance worried a lot about the costs of the plan.","type":"text"},{"_id":"JZZYHYSRJZFLJNFQLKZTXRPAYQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379369},"content":"Half a decade after the Slaintecare plan was agreed and published, doubts and worries persist. As do questions about a lack of progress. But even those who are most critical of successive governments’ commitment to the plan say that in some elements of the Slaintecare reform plan, a lot has been achieved.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HZA3IUKU5JDXBDDX2PAFL67C5M","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379370},"content":"Most obviously, there has been a dramatic increase in funding, as the health system expanded to deal with the threat of Covid. It will retain a lot of extra annual funding. Nobody disputes some aspects of the healthcare system remain drastically inadequate, but the overall capacity of the health service is expanding quickly.","type":"text"},{"_id":"MTSIUIBKX5DCFC3MSFOW2LZTJY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379371},"content":"However, the most arresting and controversial objective of Slaintecare – the separation of public and private – has seen little if any movement. Private healthcare will be part of the Irish health system for the foreseeable future. A single-tier health service seems as far away as ever.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YPJJAI6HDVD2FMRLFMXVSXZS64","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379372},"content":"The Slaintecare plan was the result of an all-party committee set up in the wake of the 2016 general election, and a shared political concern that the health system, battered after the years of austerity, needed a new direction and a new departure. As party leaders wrangled over the formation of a government – eventually settling on the confidence and supply arrangement that saw Fianna Fail facilitate a Fine Gael-led government with independents – a group of TDs busied themselves for a year in designing a plan for the future of a radically different and more efficient health service.","type":"text"},{"_id":"ZBQZNBLVRBEO5INEAAWR3FXK74","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379373},"content":"The chair was Roisin Shortall, co-leader of the Social Democrats and who had, as a Labour junior minister in the previous government, resigned over differences with the Fine Gael health minister James Reilly. Reilly was only the latest in a long line of health ministers promising to fix the misfiring health service who ended up limping off the field. Shortall’s committee beavered away for a year and overcame its own internal divisions to produce a lengthy blueprint for a new healthcare system, to be implemented over 10 years.","type":"text"},{"_id":"KQILKOGBSZCIVPD44AHY6GHGJ4","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379374},"content":"It included reforms that people had been talking about for ages, such as expanding primary care in order to take the pressure off acute hospitals. It also had a focus on reducing the cost of healthcare to ordinary people, recommending the elimination over time of many of the charges that people pay at all levels of the healthcare system. And it had a novel element – the complete separation of the public and private systems.","type":"text"},{"_id":"NXGWBUROL5CHNLE6HN6V4GLQWI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379375},"content":"People had long complained about the injustice of a two-tier system of healthcare, where those who could afford private insurance were able to access treatment more quickly, treatment that was often delivered in healthcare facilities funded by the taxpayer, and by doctors who were paid by the taxpayer.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FF4KBQL6UJGYBAUXPWDSYVG4FQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379376},"content":"At the same time, about 50 per cent of the population was covered by private health insurance; they were also taxpayers who were paying for the public facilities. Ireland’s unusually large private healthcare system was interwoven at all levels with the creaking public system. Now, for the first time, there was a serious plan to separate them. Building an improved public system, the report argued, would convince people that they did not need private health insurance. So they would not object to the removal of private care from public hospitals. That, at least, was the theory.","type":"text"},{"_id":"SVD5UJPLKRK4XBDBYMFU4RH4EI","additional_properties":{"_id":"T4TEIQSXGREAZCNAB5XVWUQ34I"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"WUOY7QHT2VCSZHNL3ZJ6ZDTAEQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379377},"content":"The report was endorsed by all parties, but it was, Shortall now says, “very slow to get off the ground”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4Q4H4L7Z5RGUZAC54SUFNXC6HI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379378},"content":"She was disappointed when the recommendation to establish an office to oversee implementation of the report in the Department of the Taoiseach was ignored, and situated instead in the Department of Health. But the new Minister for Health, Simon Harris, was enthusiastic and secured the appointment of Laura Magahy, once head of Temple Bar Properties and a longtime operator in both state and private sector, and Tom Keane, who designed the reform of cancer services in the 2000s, to help with the transformation project. But both resigned last year, amid the widespread belief that they were unhappy with the Government’s commitment to Slaintecare.","type":"text"},{"_id":"E3QFGRA3GBHOXCFHABF4HDUVIA","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379379},"content":"By then, Stephen Donnelly was health minister; he continued to protest his commitment to the project, but Shortall and others were sceptical. Department of Health Secretary General Robert Watt and HSE chief executive Paul Reid now oversee implementation.","type":"text"},{"_id":"CDQDP72FCRF5TFZPWMTICTEPYI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379380},"content":"The health service, of course, had other challenges in recent years. From February of 2020 until earlier this year, the service was turned upside down as it struggled – just about successfully – to cope with the pandemic. With non-Covid treatments suspended, waiting lists exploded. But so did funding – the increase in 2021 was €4 billion – and it is now accepted across the political system that much of the quantum leap of funding the health service received during the pandemic would be retained, providing a giant boost in resources for a service that had always complained of being underfunded, and frequently ran out of cash before the year ended.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HYNMOGTDMZAKLE6UDPPQJFXXVY","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379381},"content":"“In some ways,” reflects one senior figure, “Covid helped”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"EAWGX2S34NA2VI5CHCYUY4ML4M","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379382},"content":"Shortall also says that when the system was under maximum pressure, it moved quickly towards a single-tier system. “Imagine if we had a two-tier approach to testing and vaccines,” she says. Reid described it as “Slaintecare on speed”.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4A7MHSVHMNCK3M66BDVF3QSAEQ","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379383},"content":"Only for a time, though. As the pandemic receded, the previous structures returned. The combined public-private mix is central to shortening the enormous waiting lists for treatment that are another of the legacies of Covid.","type":"text"},{"_id":"HCFWI5HTNBF2JAL7MZWPODJYXM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379384},"content":"So private medicine remains a central part in Ireland’s public health system. Most of the senior figures across Government, including several directly involved in the project and who spoke to The Irish Times for this article, were intensely relaxed about this, with few viewing the separation of public and private as a priority. But the lack of progress on this Slaintecare objective should not mask the significant changes that are underway in the way the health system is organised and many are themselves essential parts of its reform plans.","type":"text"},{"_id":"4PE3CBB6XREDTFKILG7Y5OVJME","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379385},"content":"The first of these is the most basic – the significant expansion in the size of the health service. Figures from the Department of Health show that it has hired thousands of additional staff since early 2020, with almost 15,000 more now working in the service.","type":"text"},{"_id":"YJA4GBVF5VGKVE5OZO7XU4372I","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379386},"content":"This includes, the department says, 4,200 nurses and midwives; 2,500 working in patient and client care in roles such as healthcare assistants and home helps; 2,300 health and social care professionals; and 1,300 doctors and dentists. It adds that 2020 and 2021 saw the biggest staff increases on record since the HSE was established. More beds and more ICU beds have been opened. Ireland’s health service is now significantly bigger than it has ever been.","type":"text"},{"_id":"WLV4ZEADBZCQVNGPBEZKD3Q5UI","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379387},"content":"There has also been a lot of money spent making care cheaper for the people who need it, reducing or eliminating charges. Drug payment thresholds have been reduced, meaning that those who need medicines pay less for them, with the State picking up the rest of the cost.","type":"text"},{"_id":"FSZLSB4XFXXZP5KFOJCAGDNR2Y","additional_properties":{"_id":"L5AKDI7OYJGQJCA4HO55EFYBXQ"},"type":"image"},{"_id":"ARWCQBOFLVCEXOCUOFDVHTAHZM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379388},"content":"Last week, Donnelly announced he would remove hospital charges for children under 16 who attend a public hospital as an inpatient or day case; he has previously said he wants to remove adult charges. Free GP care has been extended to children under 6, and the Government says it wants to extend to the under 8s later this year. The law allows it to be extended to the under 12s.","type":"text"},{"_id":"2HDYOXLKEVHKJMVFHPNCDOOH44","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379389},"content":"Community care has been expanded – a vital part of the plan to take pressure off hospitals. The Department says that 81 community healthcare networks have been established since 2021 with over 1,850 staff already recruited.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IS4SKOXD7VFXFK7FVPJJCMVQIM","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379390},"content":"The holy grail of an “integrated care system”, where all stages of a patient’s care are connected and are talking to one another, is some way off; but it’s a lot closer than it was. “It’s about shifting care to the community and we’re doing a pile of that,” says one person involved. Everyone concedes that its not making a difference quickly enough. But it is making a difference.","type":"text"},{"_id":"Q7OBRHIGAZFQBPWRD55WZ2EURU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379391},"content":"Structural reforms such as the regionalisation of the HSE and the hospital groups has been slower. Reid and other senior officials didn’t want to do it during Covid, but planning for the move – which will involve budgets and management being devolved to regional authorities – is well underway.","type":"text"},{"_id":"IFXZLZKEG5F25H5MUPA6UJCKEU","additional_properties":{"_id":1656668379392},"content":"One senior source warns that the move is likely to be delayed by Reid’s departure, however. “That’s what we hired him to do in a way,” said one politician. 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