Rural Garda stations are often nothing more than a lighthouse in a bog
There have been many observations about he closure of garda stations, mostly in rural Ireland. People speak of the value of manned local stations, with gardai living in the community. Sounds fine, but the reality is that gardai largely no longer live in those areas as they were once obliged, but commute there from other areas, maybe a large town or family farm, or other part-time business 20 or 30 miles away.
Many times they work in larger centres at the expense of the smaller station they are attached to.
I know of one rural garda station where the lone garda is absent for over a year, has not been replaced, and this huge garda building is closed for all that time. Yet it must be heated and maintained. I have no doubt that cost may also be a factor in proposed closures, but why not get value for money?
The matter was also broached at the funeral of late Garda Donohoe by Fr Michael Cusack in a rather political way. This awful murder had nothing to do with closing small rural garda stations.
What is largely being done here is that stations with the strength of just one (in 88pc of cases) are being shut. And 30pc of stations earmarked for closure are within five miles of another station and 86pc are within 10 miles of another station. In addition, some smaller districts are being amalgamated – Boyle and Castlerea, Swinford and Claremorris, Ballyshannon and Glenties.
A district HQ station, managed by a local superintendent with staff, has to be open 24 hours a day, often to take maybe a few phone calls, sign a passport form or deal with a caller. There is a public perception that such districts must be kept open 24/7/365, but that is a fallacy.
Members of the public have, in other circumstances, to travel to two or three centres per county to tax vehicles and pay charges. Keeping stations open full-time requires huge man-hours that could be better spent outside doing police work.
In Dublin and other large urban areas the closure of garda stations should not be a problem, as what people want there – as in all areas – is a garda response to crisis situations. Tallaght, with one station, has a population the size of Limerick, which is served by several stations.
Sinn Féin proposes creating an extra bank holiday called ‘Republic Day’
Sinn Féin has published legislion that would create an extra bank holiday, to be called “Republic Day”.
Party spokesperson Aengus Ó Snodaigh said the holiday would be on 24 April, the aniversary of the reading of the 1916 Proclamation outside the GPO by Padraig Pearse.
Mr Ó Snodaigh said this would bring Ireland, which currently has nine bank holidays, closer to the European average of 11.
He said the holiday would mark the sacrifice of men and women who gave their lives in pursuit of an independent Irish Republic.
Asked if that included members of the Provisional IRA who died in the course of the Troubles, Mr Ó Snodaigh said it did.
Health watchdog outlines fresh concerns about foster care
Inspectors who examined the Health Service Executive ‘s (HSE) care of children in foster families in the north west suburbs of Dublin last October uncovered a catalogue of poor practice.
The HIQA report looked at the 368 children, some of whose own mothers or fathers were dead, who were in foster care in 222 households in the region.
It revealed:
*Some 38 allegations and concerns about foster carers were made in the previous 12 months and a significant number were confirmed. But many of the children remained in the homes even though not all had a “safety plan” in place.
*Children in some cases were placed with families even though they were not approved by an overseeing foster committee. Allegations were made against their foster carers and this was supported by documentary evidence.
* Inspectors said files were unclear about how the level of risk to children was assessed and documentation was “poorly organised or missing”.
* There were significant delays in investigating allegations and setting up child protection conferences.
* Files failed to show that all foster carers were vetted by gardai.
* Although social workers were committed, as many as one in three of the children had only been assigned a social worker three weeks before the inspection.
* Some children from the one family were split up even though it was recommended they stay together.
* Around 41pc of children had to be sent to homes outside Dublin north west, which includes suburbs such as Finglas and Blanchardstown, because there were not enough families to care for them.
Although many children were happy in their homes, the inspectors said the practices to ensure their protection were inadequate.
The report details an action plan which social services in the region must urgently comply with to put the safety of children first.
75 BED WARD BLOCK PLANS FOR Galway University Hospital
THERE ARE PLANS FOR A 75-BED WARD BLOCK AT GALWAY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL.
The proposal from the HSE includes a link corridor to connect over three storeys to Block 2A and at ground floor to the existing circulation corridor adjacent to the maternity wing.
It also provides for demolition of a single-storey ward, temporary buildings and plant rooms which are being displaced by the proposed ward block ground floor plan.
The application states that the interim ward block aims to address physical infrastructure and capacity issues at GUH to deliver services in the most appropriate model while contributing to improvedprevention and control of infection.
It’s to provide replacement accommodation for existing older ward accommodation, including Nightingale wards, which do not meet any reasonable standard for a modern acute care service.
City planners are due to make a decision on the plans in April.
Report tracks threats from Europe’s alien invasion
Invasive alien species pose a greater risk to Europe’s biodiversity, economy and human health than previously thought, a report has concluded.
The European Environment Agency (EEA) has compiled a list of 28 invaders that highlight the range of threats facing ecosystems in the continent.
Non-native species, such as food crops, can also be beneficial, the study adds.
The reports have been published ahead of a high-level meeting at the European Parliament to discuss the issue.
It is estimated that there are more than 10,000 non-native species in Europe, of which at least 15% are deemed to be “invasive”, which are organisms that are known to have negative ecological or economic impacts.
Invasive alien species (IAS) are considered to be one of the main threats to biodiversity, explains EEA executive director Prof Jacqueline McGlade.
“In many areas, ecosystems are weakened by pollution, climate change and [habitat] fragmentation,” she says.
“Alien species invasions are a growing pressure on the natural world, which are extremely difficult to reverse.
“Competition, predation and transmission of diseases between alien and native species are frequent and can pose a major threat to native species,” the authors observe.
“Alien species may also affect ecosystem services, which in turn can have an impact on human well-being.”
One species whose spread and impact has been well documented is Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica).
It can reach four metres in height, growing up to 30cm in a day. Its powerful root system can reach depths of three metres into the soil and spread up to 20 metres, making it almost impossible to eradicate once it becomes established.
The report says the plant forms dense stands and squeezes out other plant species and outcompetes native plants, resulting in a botanical “monoculture”.
The publication adds: “The rhizome system of knotweeds can seriously damage infrastructure, such as buildings, river bank stabilisations and water channels, railway tracks and roads, and construction land.
“By disrupting the integrity of flood defence structures, the risk of flooding is increased.”
The Asian tiger mosquito is a more direct threat
An IAS that poses a direct threat to human health is the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), which has been linked to the transmission of more than 20 human pathogens, including yellow fever and dengue.
The species is an “aggressive daytime‑biting insect” and its distribution has spread rapidly in western and southern Europe over the past two decades.
On Thursday, Czech MEP Pavel Poc is hosting an event at the European Parliament in Brussels that will look at ways to tackle the threat posed by IAS.
Organised by conservation groups IUCN and Birdlife, the high-level debate at the European Parliament in Brussels will consider measures that could be taken within the EU policy framework to mitigate the present and future threats from invasive alien species.
The EEA report warns that, given the increase in both goods and people moving around the globe, the “number and impact of harmful IAS in Europe may grow significantly in the future”.
It adds that changes to the climate may provide opportunities for IAS to proliferate and spread.
“In this situation, some IAS might initiate complex, unpredictable cascades of effects,” it warns.
The EEA suggests that the best way to tackle the threats posed by invasive species was through a “combination of preventative measures, early detection and rapid response to incursions, with permanent management only as the last option”.
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