The Garda is not a broken organisation says Noirin O’Sullivan
Left Pic. Noirin O’Sullivan (left) with Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald at the Department of Justice recently & right pic. Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan with School director Joe Mulholland pictured at MacGill Summer school in Glenties.
Acting Commissioner says the force is committed to ‘explosive’ change
The Garda is not a broken organisation, but it has been damaged and is hurting, the acting Commissioner said today.
Noirin O’Sullivan told the MacGill summer school in Co Donegal she was impatient for reform and strongly supports Government plans for independent oversight of the force.
“Recent controversies have focused the public mind on instances where we have not lived up to our own standards,” she said.
“In some cases we’ve badly failed those standards. But when we’re good, we’re very, very good.”
Committing the force to “explosive” change she insisted Gardaí at every level were impatient for reform and change.
“As an organisation we’ve been pretty good at development and change,” she said .
“Sometimes that development and change comes gradually and sometimes as right now, it happens explosively. When it happens explosively then the task is to be out in front of reform, to drive change from within, not just accept it under duress.”
In a key part of her address she committed the Garda to the Government’s reform plans including independent oversight.
She said the Garda must commit itself to “taking control of our future, while welcoming stronger oversight from the proposed Independent Authority, as well as GSOC and the Garda Inspectorate”.
“Equally important it means remaining accountable to the communities we serve,” she said.
“We are proud of what we do and where we have come from. We are ready to step up to becoming a human rights-centred world class police service.”
The results of a survey of Gardaí across the State and a meeting involving six officers with Ms Fitzgerald at Farmleigh were “painful, illuminating, exciting and exhilarating,” she said.
Garda reforms introduced in 2005 “ brought clarity to the management and oversight of policing,” she said.
“But it is legislation that’s approaching its 10th anniversary. Ireland has changed utterly in those 10 years.”
The bottom line, she said, is “the Act needs revising and a key element of that revision is the establishment of an Independent Policing Authority. ”
On the question of intelligence handling, she added: “On national security the Commissioner will report to the Minister [for Justice], the Oireachtas and the Government.”
Ms O’Sullivan, who is only the second head or acting head of the Garda to address the MacGill summer school, said management within the force “must drive Government policy into understood standards and lived behaviours within the police service”.
This reform must be incorporated into what she called the “culture” of An Garda Síochána.
“Culture is how any organisation does its business,” she said.
“For as long as I serve in this role, I’ll drive ahead on all of those objectives. We cannot afford to stand still.”
Public confidence in the police would be grown one public contact at a time, one incident at a time, she said.
“Our mission is to stand between the citizen and chaos, guarding the peace that is essential to civilised living.”
She insisted police officers and senior ranks are learning from policing failures.
“We have the positive impetus provided by negative events,” she said.
“None of us would want recent controversies to have happened, but the fact that they happened means that we have been forced to stand back from what the Minister [Frances Fitzgerald] called the ‘accretion of habits’ and re-examine ourselves and our organisation in a brutally honest way.”
Taking questions from the floor, Ms O’Sullivan countered fears of under-staffing by saying Garda recruitment would recommence in the autumn.
Asked about the whistle-blowers she insisted: “Dissent should not be seen as disloyalty.”
She stressed the importance of Garda oversight and said the relationship between the Garda and GSOC “is improving, it’s going in the right direction”.
Blood donations in Ireland fell by 4% last year
THE BLOOD TRANSFUSION SERVICE SAYS REDUCED USAGE OF BLOOD BY HOSPITALS IS FORCING IT TO CUT COSTS
The Irish Blood Transfusion Service said it needs to collect 3,000 donations a week and has called on people to make a particular effort to give blood during the summer.
Blood donations fell by 4 per cent last year compared to the previous year, according to figures contained in the Irish Blood Transfusion Service’s annual report.
The organisation also said less wastage, improved surgical techniques, and a review at hospital level of transfusion practices may have contributed to a decline in the use of blood and platelets which has had a knock-on effect on income for the service.
“The use of blood and platelets has continued to decline which has serious impact on our income,” said transfusion service chief executive Andy Kelly.
“In 2013, 82,697 donors gave 135,547 donations.
This compares to 85,762 donors giving 141,350 donations in 2012, a drop of just over 4 per cent.”
He said the decline in usage has occurred more quickly than expected, especially in the case of red blood cells; a trend which has been noticed throughout Europe.
“It is unclear what the exact reasons are but undoubtedly some of them are less wastage, improved surgical techniques, reviewing at hospital level of transfusion practice and less elective surgery taking place due to the cutbacks in health spending,” he said.
Mr Kelly said it looked like the trend would continue over the next few years and will force the service to reduce costs further.
He warned that although “there may be some scope for further reduction in costs, this will not be sufficient to meet the expected reduction in income”.
As part of cost-saving and reform measures, the transfusion service moved to single-site testing in 2012.
The next step in this programme is to move to single site processing of blood and blood products in the National Blood Centre in Dublin.
The service needs to collect 3,000 donations a week and has called on people to make a particular effort to give blood during the summer months.
Health service’s pressures puts diabetes patients in Ireland at risk
The long-term health of thousands of diabetes sufferers is being put at risk after a leading hospital pushed out their annual check-ups to 18 months due to pressures on the service.
Patient advocacy group Diabetes Ireland issued the warning after St Vincent’s University Hospital confirmed it has been forced to lengthen the wait for the routine examination as a result of junior doctor workload issues and surging patient numbers.
Under best-care plans, anyone with uncomplicated type 2 diabetes should still undergo regular check-ups to ensure their condition is not worsening.
While this form of diabetes — which affects almost 200,000 Irish people — can be tackled by exercise and dietary changes, if it is not addressed it can ultimately cause stroke, heart attack, eyesight problems, and kidney failure.
Although the St Vincent’s annual check-up system did not reach international best practice guidelines that those affected should be examined every four to six months, it was believed the service would pick up any worrying developments in a person’s condition.
However, after the decision to stretch the check-up system out to 18 months, Diabetes Ireland has warned patients are now potentially being put at risk.
“You should be concerned if you are not getting a regular type 2 diabetes check-up to review your control of [the condition],” said Dr Anna Clarke, the group’s health promotion and research officer.
“It should really be a four-month check-up, because otherwise complications can arise.
“Over 60% of the health budget on diabetes is spent on complications [caused by a person’s condition deteriorating], so there is a real need for people to review their condition regularly,” she said.
While Dr Clarke advised anybody affected by the St Vincent’s change to go to their GP for a regular blood check, she said this may not be possible for everyone due to the €50-€60 charge to attend a GP clinic — meaning some people’s health may deteriorate to dangerous levels before it is flagged by medics.
The concern was raised after consultant endocrinologist at St Vincent’s, Dr Ronan Canavan, said the decision to stretch out the check-up system means diabetes sufferers will receive “less than ideal care” from the service.
Speaking to trade newspaper Irish Medical News, Dr Canavan said that due to attempts to reduce the shift length of junior doctors under the European Working Time Directive, and patient numbers surging by 200% in 20 years, there has been a 30% reduction in the number of junior doctors attending diabetes clinics at the hospital.
“I think it is stretched to where we are trying to provide what might be just about minimal care,” he said.
In a statement, the hospital said: “Earlier this year, it was decided by the diabetes multi-disciplinary team that routine, uncomplicated reviews would be moved from 12 months to 18 months.
“This decision was taken in order to help clinics operate efficiently while dealing with increasing patient numbers. Non-routine reviews have not been affected.”
Leo Varadkar tells health lobby to stop attacking him and weakening his position
The Health Minister has said he will consider proposals from an expert panel on medical card eligibility.
The Health Minister Leo Varadkar has admitted you would need the“wisdom of Solomon” to decide which illnesses should automatically entitle a person to a medical card.
Varadkar warned last week that plans to grant medical cards on the grounds of medical condition may be unworkable and result in nearly everyone qualifying for a card.
This has drawn a concerned response from groups such as the Jack and Jill Foundation which says it has been inundated with complaints and worries from concerned parents following Vardkar’s comments.
But a spokesperson for the minister insisted today that Varadkar’s sole priority is to ensure cards are allocated “in the fairest and most equitable manner possible”.
Speaking at the MacGill Summer School this evening, Varadkar appealed to the health lobby groups to stop attacking him as he faces into “very difficult budget negotiations” in the coming months.
He said: “I am going into very difficult budget negotiations in the next few months to try and secure the biggest budget possible for health and having health interest groups attack me and weaken me is not good for health or people who need to use our health services.”
Wisdom of Solomon
On discretionary medical cards that have been restored to some 15,000 people in recent weeks, he said: “There is no question of them being revoked, no question whatsoever.
“I am happy to reassure anyone who is worried about that that the medical cards that were withdrawn and given back will not now be revoked,” he insisted.
Varadkar also said that an expert medical panel will have a “very difficult job” and are going to need “remarkable wisdom” to carry out a study of what criteria will apply to granting medical cards based on medical need
“No decisions will be made until they make their report and certainly no promises or commitments could possibly be made until they produce their report.”
The panel, made up of doctors and patient groups, is to make recommendations in the autumn setting out the conditions and criteria to be used in deciding who should be automatically entitled to a full medical card.
This follows a change in government policy in May when the controversial review of discretionary medical cards was stopped and the coalition announced plans to grant cards on the basis of medical need for the first time.
Varadkar has indicated such plans could be troublesome, but insisted earlier today that he will consider the proposals of the expert group if they are “fair and affordable”.
He said: “You would need to have the wisdom of Solomon to decide which illnesses should entitle you automatically to medical cards and which ones should not but if the Expert Panel can come up with proposals that are fair and affordable I’ll consider them in depth.”
Also speaking at the MacGill Summer School today, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said that the government should fully reinstate the discretionary medical card system as it had worked effectively since its inception in the 1970s.
The missing emu was stolen said Carlow wildlife park owner
GARDAÍ INVESTIGATE MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF FLIGHTLESS BIRD
The owner of a Co Carlow wildlife park is reeling after one of his emus went missing last week.
Gardaí have said they are investigating the case of the missing flightless bird.
The owner, Patrick Foley owns the Southern County Fishing Resort and Wildlife Park in Garryhill. He used to have three emus. Now he has two, and a mystery.
The 25-acre park has a 1.8 meter perimeter fence. According to Mr Foley, “nothing can get in or out” and there is no sign of damage to the fence.
He says while emus are fast runners they cannot jump.
He thinks an emu thief could have entered the park through a gate at the main entrance, which is sometimes left unlocked until late at night.
“They’re quite easy to catch. They’re very curious birds, and it’d be easy enough to grab one of them,” he said. He fears the animal will not survive on its own or in the care of its captors.
Mr Foley bought the missing emu and two others from a breeder in Cork a year ago. They were “little chicks” at the time. Now the bird is about one metre tall and could reach two metres when fully grown. He said no license was required to buy the bird.
This is not the first time an exotic bird has gone missing from the park under mysterious circumstances.
Mr Foley believes three pheasants were stolen several years ago.
According to Gillian Bird from the DSPCA (Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), emus are considered exotic animals, but there is no limitation as to what you can have as a pet under Irish law.
People can own any kind of animal without a license. “You can have an elephant out the back of your house in Dublin 16 if you want,” she said.
Visitors flock to White Tailed Sea Eagles viewing point in Clare
More than 2500 visitors have so far flocked to see the White Tailed Sea Eagles Viewing & Information Point on the shores of Lough Derg in Co. Clare since it was officially opened on July 4th.
Located at Mountshannon Pier and funded by Clare County Council, the new tourism development features telescopes and information displays about Ireland’s largest and most spectacular breeding birds, including the first of the species to be born in the country in 110 years.
The facility is being operated by the Mountshannon Eagle Group, Mountshannon Community Council and the Golden Eagle Trust, and will remain open until the end of September.
Congella McGuire, Clare Heritage Officer, said the introduction of the Viewing Point “has further increased public interest in the local White Tailed Sea Eagle population without disturbing them in their natural habitat.”
She added: “Since the birds first arrived in Mountshannon three years ago, the Council has worked closely with the Golden Eagle Trust and the local community to ensure they are afforded every opportunity to thrive. The delivery of this Viewing & Information Point further safeguards these impressive birds and their nesting activities, as well as promotes their ecology and conservation. It’s also an excellent addition to the local tourism infrastructure.”
The Mountshannon breeding pair, a six-year-old male and five-year-old female, were originally collected as chicks on the island of Frøya off the west coast of Norway by the Golden Eagle Trust. The birds were released in Killarney National Park before relocating to Lough Derg in 2011. The pair, named Saoirse and Caimin, created history in 2013 when they reared the first chicks to fly from a nest in Ireland in 110 years. The pair successfully hatched another chick in late April of this year.
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