donie's Ireland daily news BLOG

Thousands of protesters attend anti-water charges in Dublin

BIG CROWD IN DUBLIN URGED TO VOTE FOR RIGHT2CHANGE CANDIDATES IN GENERAL ELECTION?

  

A large pre-election protest against water charges organised by The Right2Water / Right2Change campaign group, has taken place in Dublin’s city centre.

Several thousand people took to the streets of Dublin on Saturday in protest against water charges ahead of the general election.

There was a large Garda presence on Dame Street and College Green, where the rally gathered to hear from a number of speakers.

Addressing the crowd, Unite organiser Brendan Ogle said it was almost a year since several people who protested against water meters were jailed.

The demonstration, organised by the Right2Change campaign group, started outside the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell Square at 2pm.

The protesters travelled down O’Connell Street and on to the South Quay along Aston Quay, Wellington Quay and Essex Quay.

“The community in Jobstown were vilified by the national media and political establishment. Anti-water charge protesters have been treated with absolute contempt by Joan Burton, the national media and the political establishment,” said Mr Ogle.

Election day support?

Mr Ogle called on the crowd to vote for Right2Water election candidates on polling day next Friday.

“For the first time in our history, people are being offered the opportunity to vote for a real alternative and to vote for change,” he said.

He also asked members of the crowd to donate to those collecting money to help pay the legal costs of those facing charges related to the anti-water charges movement.

The Right2Change movement said more than 100 general election candidates have signed up to its policy principles, the majority of whom are representing Sinn Féin.

Right2Change is backed by trade unions including Mandate, Unite, the Communications Workers’ Union, the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union, and the Civil and Public Services Union.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s march, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said, “in the last weekend of the campaign Enda Kenny and the Government parties are ratcheting up their scare tactics. Their policy positions have no credibility because for the vast majority of families there is no recovery.

“Enda Kenny wants to be returned to power to continue his austerity policies and his chaotic management of the health service. There is a better way to govern our society. To build a fair recovery and a better Ireland, ” Mr Adamssaid.

Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy tweeted: “Huge turnout today for #Right2Water protest. A funeral march for Labour and the birth of a new socialist left that won’t sell-out.”

Joan Burton says Labour ‘Is up for the fight’ after recent poor poll result

LEAKED B&A POLL SEES LABOUR SUPPORT AT 4%, SUNDAY TIMES ‘BITTERLY DISAPPOINTED’ AT LEAK

  

Tánaiste and Labour party leader Joan Burton says her party “are up for a fight” after a leaked opinion poll revealed a hug drop in Labour support.

She was speaking on Saturday after a leaked Behaviour & Attitudes opinion poll, commissioned for The Sunday Times, showed the Labour Party is facing a collapse in support.

Details of the poll were leaked online last night and were published in theTimes (Ireland edition) Epaper on Saturday morning.

It shows Labour’s support at 4%, down from 8% and the party’s lowest level in a B&A poll.

Speaking in Waterford today Ms Burton told RTE news she does not normally comment on polls but said the Labour Party would rebound.

“I’m a fighter and I’m up for a fight. I’ve never stood back from a fight. That’s what the Labour Party is about and we’re about making people and families lives better,” she said.

Her Cabinet colleague Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin dismissed the poll finding, saying he had knocked on thousands of doors and found there was very little movement in public opinion.

“The one thing I’m certain of is that we are not on 4% or anything even in the ballpark of 4%. I’m absolutely sure of that. If you ask me what figure we’re on I don’t know,” he said on Saturday.

If the party received this level of support in Friday’s vote Labour would secure only a handful of seats.

The poll puts the AAA/People Before Profit grouping on 5%, ahead of Labour.

Fine Gael saw its support up two points to 30 per cent, having fallen three points in the previous poll published on February 7th.

According to the Fianna Fáil support it at a two-year high in the B&A series at 22 per cent, a gain of 2 per cent on the previous poll.

The survey was conducted on Monday and Tuesday, following the leaders’ debate on RTÉ on Monday. Sinn Féin has seen its support decline by two points to 15%.

The Independents and Others grouping saw its support rise again, up 4 points to 30%.

This group includes the AAA/PBP and the Independent Alliance both on 5% support. The Green party has 3% support, the Social Democrats 3% (a fall of 1%) and Renua 3%, a gain of 1%.

Unaligned Independents attract 10% support. The Sunday Times said it was investigating the cause of the leak.

“I am bitterly disappointed that this survey has been leaked in advance of publication. There will be a thorough investigation into this matter,” Frank Fitzgibbon, the newspaper’s editor in Ireland, said.

‘You’re not welcome on our farms anymore’ environmental groups told

    

Neighbours rally to build flood defences around homes in Ballinstague near Gort, Co Galway after the recent flooding.

Hundreds braved the wet conditions to show their support at the National ‘Stop the Flooding’ Rally which took place on Saturday in Athlone.

IFA flood project chair and Connacht regional chair Tom Turley addressed the large crowd in Athlone on Saturday at the National ‘Stop the Flooding’ Rally, calling on the Irish government to start work ‘immediately’ on the waterways around the country.

“We have the m50 in Dublin, and when the traffic got busy on that, they put an extra lane in. If there’s a car crash or one lane blocked, we around the rest of the country know about it because it’s on the airwaves.

“The waterways are the same. There’s bushes, theres rubbish. there’s silt and there’s sewage in all our rivers, and no one wants to do a damn bit about it,” he told the crowd.

“We didn’t see any of them for the last twelve weeks in their vans. They’re not welcome on our farms anymore. We are the environmentalists now.”

Turley told An Taisce and other lobbying groups “to get the hell out of the way” so that work could be done.

“We’re told by the environmental groups that we should plant more trees. Well it’s hard to plant more trees in a turlough in west Roscommon thats 35ft deep, or along the river Shannon when there’s 16ft of water.

“We didn’t see any of them for the last twelve weeks in their vans. They’re not welcome on our farms anymore. We are the environmentalists now,” he said.

Turley called for one single authority to look after the waterways. He disregarded the idea of flood defences as a solution, saying it only pushed the problem down the river to someone else.

“17 local authorities have a say on the Shannon but none have responsibilty when it comes to your houses, your businesses, your farms being flooded, and your livelihoods being washed away.

“Like the roads, we want the same level of interest in our waterways, and we want the work to start as soon as the water recedes. If not [these communities] are going to take it into their own hands,” he said.

The trauma that flooding leaves?

Representing flood victims from the lower end of the Shannon, Geraldine Quinlivan from south east Clare spoke about the trauma her and family have gone through after the floods destroyed their home and farm.

“I for one will never forget how I felt when I was forced to move out of my home after three and half weeks of fighting the rising flood water.

“On the back of my brothers tractor with one of my sons, I looked back and saw the rest of my exhausted family still manning pumps to see if they could keep the flood water out of our homes, and I vowed there and then that I would do everything I could to ensure that that never happened again, not just to me, but to anyone else either,” she told the crowd.

Geraldine said that as far back as 2006, they identified solutions to their flooding issues, which were largely ignored by successive governments.

“We have a right not to feel stressed and anxious and afraid in our own homes each yer from November to March.

“Flood defences around our homes, a single authority for the river Shannon, better water management, and the cleaning of the river, particularly down near UL, where it’s only operating at a quarter of its capacity – These potential solutions have been largely ignored by successive governements and this has to stop,” she said.

Rural Ireland long forgotten?

Roscommon IFA chair John Hanley said that the government had “forgotten rural Ireland”.

“Rural communities have been forgotten about. The physical and mental stress this has caused is absolutely unreal. People are on their knees and it’s time we stood up and took back control.

“We have the second so called ‘100 year flood’ in six years. The time for talking is over. Action is required now,” he said.

Mary Lou’s Grafton Street mystery man steals the limelight from SINN FEIN

  

THERE WAS ONE QUESTION ON THE LIPS OF THE REPORTERS AT SINN FEIN DEPUTY LEADER MARY LOU MCDONALD’S PRESS CONFERENCE: JUST WHO WAS THE MYSTERY MAN THAT HIJACKED THE WHOLE THING?

It all started in the usual way. M/s McDonald was on Grafton Street outlining how her party would scrap water charges and she was asked about Gerry Adams’ car crash RTE interview.

Mary Lou McDonald addresses the person, who identified himself as a small businessman, on Grafton Street.

“Anybody can fumble a figure,” was her take on Mr Adams’ apparent difficulty outlining his party’s plans for extra tax on those paid more than €100,000.

It was then that the mystery man made his move.

“You’re going to kill pensions for middle-income people,” he claimed.

“No we won’t,” M/s McDonald replied.

“Have you seen the figures or can your leader do the maths?” he asked.

A political person?

She asked who he was and he replied: “A concerned citizen.”

“I’m apolitical but I won’t be voting for Sinn Fein,” he added.

“That’s fine. That’s your prerogative,” Ms McDonald said.

He accused the Dublin Central candidate of wanting to “punish” people “who work hard and try and make a life for themselves”.

“No I don’t,” she replied.

“You certainly do. Where the State loses more when someone is made unemployed than the person loses there’s something wrong there. When you pay 59% tax?” the man countered.

Ms McDonald replied: “What I am saying to you is you have to look at the proposals in the round. I understand that not all of our proposals will be universally popular. It’s not universally popular to say that you want a third tax band.”

It was then that she had a ‘figure fumble’ herself, saying there would be an “additional seven euro in every cent over the hundred grand for people who earn that”. Of course, she meant an additional 7c on every euro.

“Our position is people with deeper pockets, people who have a greater ability to pay, yes, have to pay a bit more and I’m sorry if that upsets you but I’m being honest and I’m telling you that that is the lie of the land.

“If other political parties were honest they would tell you the same thing.”

The man said: “The best way for this country is to give young people opportunities.”

“Absolutely,” M/s McDonald said. It was perhaps the only thing they agreed on but it didn’t last long.

The man said he didn’t support any political party.

“Really?” M/s McDonald asked. “Yeah, really,” he replied.

He said he “probably will be voting Fine Gael” because of their policy on USC.

“They’re abolishing it,” M/s McDonald said, adding: “It’s €4bn off the balance sheet so good luck when you go to your local hospital.”

Talking about the Hospitals?

“You want to talk about the hospitals? You’re talking about someone who’s had personal experience and I can’t see Sinn Fein sorting that out,” the man replied.

He declined to give his name when asked by reporters, saying, “I’ve no interest in talking”, but said he runs a small business.

“Sinn Fein annoy me by the way they go around and I just felt so incensed about it,” he said on his intervention and walked off down Grafton Street.

M/s McDonald returned to her press conference.

“We had a lively exchange there with a citizen,” she said wryly.

‘Smart’ Contact Lenses Made Possible By Stretchable Nano-Devices

    

THESE ARE NANOSCALE GLASS STRUCTURES THAT FILTER OR MANIPULATE LIGHT.

A collaborative effort from the University of Adelaide and RMIT University developed a stretchable nano-scale device that can be used to manipulate light and filter specific colors while still being transparent, paving the way for the creation of “smart” contact lenses.

This technology would allow for the creation of high-techcontacts that could do any number of things: filter out optical radiation without vision interference, transmit data and gather information on vitals, and potentially allow for a HUD, or head-up display.

The University of Adelaide researchers specialize in the interaction of light with artificial materials, and the RMITcollaborators had expertise in materials science and nanofabrication, making the project a perfect challenge for the two.

“Manipulation of light using these artificial crystals uses precise engineering,” Withawat Withayachumnankul of the University of Adelaide’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering said, according to a news release. “With advanced techniques to control the properties of surfaces, we can dynamically control their filter properties, which allow us to potentially create devices for high data-rateoptical communication or smart contact lenses.”

“The current challenge is that dielectric resonators only work for specific colors, but with our flexible surface we can adjust the operation range simply by stretching it,” he added.

The device uses tiny, artificial crystals it creates, called dielectric resonators, to manipulate light. These resonators are 100 to 200 nanometers in length, 500 times thinner than human hair and a fraction of light’s wavelength.

Additionally, the team made the device on a rubber-like material used for contacts, and “embed[ded] precisely-controlled crystals of titanium oxide, a material that is usually found in sunscreen, in these soft and pliable materials. Both materials are proven to be bio-compatible, forming an ideal platform for wearable optical devices,” according to Madhu Bhaskaran, the co-leader of the Functional Materials and Microsystems Research Group at RMIT.

The engineering of the materials shape allowed the team to create a device that changes its properties when its stretched, which modifies light’s interaction and ability to travel through the device, according to Bhaskaran.

“With this technology, we now have the ability to develop light weight wearable optical components which also allow for the creation of futuristic devices such as smart contact lenses or flexible ultra thin smartphone cameras,” so said Philipp Gutruf, lead author from RMIT,     

Donie's News Ireland daily BLOG

The Aer Lingus board urges the Irish Government to support the takeover bid

  

Aer Lingus is open to a takeover under certain conditions.

The board of Aer Lingus urged the Irish government on Friday to support a takeover bid by the parent of British Airways, saying the offer will accelerate the Irish airline’s growth plans and enhance Ireland’s position as hub for trans-Atlantic travel.

The parent company, which is known as the International Consolidated Airlines Group, or I.A.G., has offered to pay about €1.36 billion for the airline but must win the support of the discount carrier Ryanair and the Irish government, the two largest shareholders of Aer Lingus.

This week, I.A.G. said it was willing to enter into a number of legally binding commitments to win the government’s support, including maintaining existing connections between Ireland’s airports and Heathrow Airport near London, a crucial point of contention for the Irish government.

“We have had further detailed discussions with I.A.G., and the board has a greater understanding of I.A.G.’s intentions for the future of Aer Lingus and the proposed commitments that I.A.G. is prepared to make in relation to Aer Lingus,” Colm Barrington, the Aer Lingus chairman, said in a news release.

“These discussions have further confirmed that it is clearly in I.A.G.’s interests to continue to grow Aer Lingus within the I.A.G. Group,” he said. “The board’s view is therefore that a combination of Aer Lingus with I.A.G. has a compelling strategic rationale and will deliver significant benefits for Aer Lingus, its employees, its customers and for Ireland.”

The Irish government is Aer Lingus’s second-largest shareholder, holding a 25.1% stake. Ryanair, is the largest, with a 29.8% stake.

Aer Lingus rejected two takeover offers late last year from I.A.G. but has said it would be willing to accept the latest sweetened proposal, made last month, if certain conditions were met.

In its latest bid for Aer Lingus, I.A.G. offered 2.55 euros, a share, including a dividend. The deal, if consummated, values Aer Lingus at about €1.36 billion.

Shares of Aer Lingus declined 1.8%, to €2.21, in late afternoon trading in Dublin on Friday.

In part, I.A.G. has pledged to keep the airline’s head office in Ireland and has said that Aer Lingus would continue to operate as a separate business with its own branding and management.

I.A.G. is one of the world’s largest airline companies, carrying more than 77.3 million passengers in 2014. Its portfolio of carriers includes British Airways and two Spanish carriers: Iberia, a full-service airline, and Vueling Airlines, a low-cost carrier.

The company posted revenue of €15.2 billion in the first nine months of 2014, up 7.4% from the period a year earlier.

Almost 50% of Ireland’s water supply is lost through leaks "What's New"

 

Irish Water can confirm that about 800 million litres of water lost through leaks each day?

Workers install water meters outside houses in Fortlawn Estate near Blanchardstown, west Dublin, earlier this year. Jerry Grant says that without water meters, resolving the leakage issue is like looking for “a needle in a haystack”.

Almost half of the water supply in the State is being lost through leaks, according to the latest figures from Irish Water.

Jerry Grant, head of asset management for Irish Water, said about 800 million litres of water is being lost each day, which is 49% nationally.

Mr Grant said the more than 500,000 meters rolled out to domestic properties last year are being used to calculate the leakage.

“The figures are much more accurate than they were. There will always be a degree of estimates in them because we don’t have metering of every property,” he said.

Mr Grant told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland the target was to save 2% of water this year.

“We’re reasonably confident for this year (to meet the target),” he said.

Mr Grant said the company will reduce pressure in some parts of the country to reduce leakage.

“The real bull work of water conservation and leakage management is to have district meters. We have about 10,000 of them across the country.”

Mr Grant said many of these meters did not work properly and were audited last year.

“Without them it’s like a needle in a haystack looking for leaks,” he said.

“There is no silver bullet solution. This effort will have to be maintained indefinitely.”

In figures released to RTÉ news, most local authorities said they are losing about 40 per cent of their water supply through leaks.

The report shows areas losing more than half their supply to leaks were Cork city, Co Cork, Tipperary, Mayo, Kerry and Roscommon.

The Prophets are weeping by the President of Ireland: President Michael D Higgins the President of Ireland

  

The Prophets are Weeping tackles extremism and is first poem since assuming office. 

The President said his poem was influenced by the flight of people from northern Iraq and those in flight from the Syrian conflict.

President Michael D Higgins has released the text of the only poem he has written since assuming office in 2011.

The Prophets are Weeping with its references to extremism and the displacement of people could hardly be more topical given the situation in the Middle East.

The poem was completed last year before the attack on theCharlie Hebdo offices in Paris which left 12 people dead. That attack inspired the following week’s cover which featured the prophet Mohammad weeping.

Mr Higgins finalised the poem in October last year but had been working on it for some time.

The President was influenced by the flight of people from northern Iraq and those in flight from the Syrian conflict. The poem begins:

“To those on the road it is reported that The Prophets are weeping, At the abuse of their words, Scattered to sow an evil seed.”

The President first mentioned the poem publicly at theGaisce awards to young people last week.

He said he was concerned that levels of youth unemployment would drive many young people towards extremists.

“It would be very wrong if we just stepped back and allowed the marginalisation of young people, that they be left in ghettos of Europe to be available to the predators of fundamentalism and the abuses of texts,” he said.

He referred to the “incredible threats from those who abuse sacred texts”.

He included the text of the poem in his Christmas card but it has not been more widely available until now.

The President once lectured on the sociology of migration and has often referred to the movements of people in different speeches.

He has also frequently referred to his own time as an emigrant in the UK and the United States.

After the Charlie Hebdo attack, President Higgins expressed solidarity with the people of France and “Ireland’s unfaltering commitment to the freedom of thought and expression that today’s cruel events have attempted to undermine.”

President Higgins has published four books of poetry to date: The Betrayal in 1990, The Season of Fire in 1993, An Arid Season in 2004 and New and Selected Poems in 2011.

The Prophets are Weeping

To those on the road it is reported that

The Prophets are weeping,

At the abuse

Of their words,

Scattered to sow an evil seed.

Rumour has it that,

The Prophets are weeping,

At their texts distorted,

The death and destruction,

Imposed in their name.

The sun burns down,

On the children who are crying,

On the long journeys repeated,

Their questions not answered.

Mothers and Fathers hide their faces,

Unable to explain,

Why they must endlessly,

No end in sight,

Move for shelter,

for food, for safety, for hope.

The Prophets are weeping,

For the words that have been stolen,

From texts that once offered,

To reveal in ancient times,

A shared space,

Of love and care,

Above all for the stranger.

By M.D.H. 2014  

Sligo College lecturers concerned over plan to demote job titles

  

St Angela’s College staff in Sligo will have ‘teacher’ posts following merger with NUIG. 

St Angela’s College, Sligo: there are almost 60 full-time academic staff at the college, most of them female, and all currently hold the position of lecturer.

Academic staff at St Angela’s College in Sligo have expressed alarm at a plan to demote their posts from university lecturer to teacher as part of full integration with NUI Galway (NUIG). There are almost 60 full-time academic staff at the college, most of them female, and all currently hold the position of lecturer.

NUIG has accredited courses since 2006 at St Angela’s College, which provides third-level education in nursing, education and home economics. Under full integration, St Angela’s will merge with NUIG from next September.

The academic staff have been informed by management that an NUIG academic will meet them in separate groups early next week to brief them on qualifications for positions which they already hold. Staff will be asked to fulfil criteria which have not yet been specified to apply for a “small number” of lecturer posts.

An extraordinary meeting of the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) branch at St Angela’s yesterday discussed serious concerns about the impact of the change in terms and conditions, which could restrict research and promotional opportunities and could have an impact on decision-making and curriculum development.

Staff have pointed out that the changes come just weeks after recent Equality Tribunal and Higher Education Authority reports highlighting gender imbalance at NUIG. The staff feel “particularly vulnerable”, according to sources, as many of whom have not had written contracts due to an internal dispute at St Angela’s dating back a number of years.

The staff have been told that their pay will not be cut, but they say their unions have not been permitted to participate with college management in the incorporation negotiations with NUIG. The heads of agreement are due to be signed off by the end of next month. Staff are understood to have made several requests to have the issue be referred to the Labour Relations Commission.

NUIG says it has two parallel grades of academic contract in its current structure – university teacher and lecturer. “The salary scales and promotion tracks of both grades are identical,” it said, with lecturers carrying out a mixture of research and teaching while teachers focused primarily on teaching. It said it was “clear that the most appropriate contract is that of university teacher”, but this did not involve a demotion.

NUIG said that “at a future stage… full support will be provided for St Angela’s staff wishing to pursue research activity” and such support is already in place for NUIG university teachers.

St Angela’s College president Dr Anne Taheny said in a statement that “the proposed incorporation of St Angela’s College Sligo and NUIG is part of the National Strategy for Higher Education 2010 and discussions on the incorporation are continuing”.

“The terms and conditions, including pay, of all staff are governed by EU Transfer of Undertakings Regulations (TUPE) and, as public servants, by public service agreements such as Croke Park and Haddington Road,” her statement said.

Trying for a baby can be a stressful time for some couples

    

How to stop fertility problems damaging your relationship with your partner.

Fertility problems are a concern for many couples and trying for a baby can cause a serious rift in your relationship, if the emotional impact is overlooked.

Coping with Fertility Problems:

• Don’t blame yourself or your partner
• Share your concerns
• Be open about your feelings
• Listen to each other
• Get support from others with fertility problems
• Plan activities together

Infertility problems

Infertility deals a severe blow to both men’s and women’s identities. In fact, their sense of themselves as sexual people becomes distorted as their ability to procreate is called into question. Men often feel emasculated as a result of infertility, particularly if there is a male factor involved. Women feel unfeminine, damaged and defective.

Sex comes to mean failure-failure to conceive and therefore failure to be a “real man” or a “real woman.” These negative distortions become magnified as infertility progresses, and often get generalized so that one’s self-esteem is affected. Infertile men and women can easily feel worthless as people. Infertility takes the spontaneity out of sex. 

Infertility, particularly if it is long-term, is probably one of the most difficult times in a couples’ life. Nothing can erase the pain; one must go through it in order to come out of it. Most importantly, couples must talk to each other about their fears, worries, sadness, anger and any other feelings related to their infertility.

For men who have been taught not to express their feelings, this can be especially difficult. Yet people feel less depressed, and hence more sexual, when they can express their emotions. It is important to be honest with oneself about the source of one’s feelings. For example, a fight about whose turn it is to do the dishes might stem more from anger over infertility than from frustration about getting housework done.

It is also important for partners to remind themselves, and each other, that infertility should not determine one’s self-worth or one’s sexuality. Being a “real man” has about as much to do with the quality of his semen as it does with whether or not he eats quiche. Likewise, being a “real woman” is simply not related to her ability to bear children.

Though it may be difficult to harness the energy, men and women should continue the same kinds of behaviors that made them feel sexual before their infertility, whether it be dressing in a certain way, sharing a romantic dinner or going dancing. It is especially important to exercise, eat properly, get enough sleep and in general keep one’s body in good shape. The healthier one is, the better (and more sexual) he/she will feel.

The key ingredient is nurturing. It is essential to nurture your relationship. Consider it even more important than the child you wish to have. Children usually remain at home about 18 years; most marriages that endure last far longer. And relationships, like children, flourish when there is an abundance of love, caretaking, attention and consideration. It is important to stay connected to each other.

* Make sure you spend time discussing matters other than infertility. Do set up regular times, however, to talk about infertility.

* Share your emotional responses (which may be constantly changing), and when it is necessary to make decisions relative to treatment, use that time to discuss those options.

* Minimally, arrange weekly meetings in which you “check in” with your partner. Each of you can take a turn talking about your feelings, concerns and preferences about treatment.

* In making decisions, be sure to listen to each other in a non-judgmental way without trying to change the other’s mind. Try to set aside your own feelings for the moment in order to understand your partner’s position. When each of you feels fully understood, then you can negotiate more easily and make decisions with which you both feel comfortable.

* If a particular month is especially stressful, perhaps due to an IVF cycle, a poor semen analysis, etc., then “check in” with each other more often – daily if necessary! It is also important when your period comes, to acknowledge together the sadness and disappointment you feel. If possible, plan a special treat for yourselves at that time.

* Be open about your feelings on an ongoing basis, in addition to regular meetings in which you set aside time to talk. If you don’t share your feelings, your partner will be forced to make assumptions that may or may not be true.!

* State your wishes to your partner. Even the most sensitive and perceptive people are not mind readers.

How friends and family can help

Ultimately, many infertile women and men become enraged over these multiple losses. They are upset by other people’s insensitivity, hurt by criticism from their families, tired of treatment, frustrated by limited options and resentful of their “fishbowl” existence. But support from family and friends can help — making infertile women and men feel better about themselves, relate better to those who care about them and respond better to treatment. One Houston endocrinologist has even suggested there would be “more successful pregnancies if family and friends knew how to be emotionally supportive.” This task will be easier if those who want to help respond in some way to the losses of infertility.

Main guidelines to remember

Admit there is a problem.

Pretending the problem does not exist or avoiding it is not helpful. You may first have to deal with your own feelings about infertility, work through disappointment and thwarted expectations of being a grandmother or grandfather, for example, and examine deep-rooted beliefs about conception, child- bearing and medical intervention.

Acknowledge the infertility by asking how things are going with treatment or how they are feeling. This shows your interest and offers them a chance to confide in you if they choose. If they do not elaborate on their activities, do not question them further at that time. At least they will know someone recognizes the significance of this experience in their lives.

Become informed.

Hurtful comments like: “Just relax;” “Quit work and you’ll get pregnant;” or “Adopt and you’ll get pregnant” reveal serious misunderstandings about infertility. Broadly defined, infertility is a medical problem which prevents a couple from carrying a pregnancy to term or conceiving after one year of unprotected sexual intercourse. The problem may be with the woman (40% of the time) or the man (40% of the time). In the remaining 20%, both individuals have problems or the reason for their infertility is unknown. Only 5% of all couples who adopt later get pregnant. Furthermore, adoption is not an option for all couples.

Be realistic.

Often people believe that to be helpful, they must be able to eliminate another’s pain. This is impossible; caring people cannot take away the pain, but can only help them to manage it. Be honest with yourself as well as with your friend/loved one about your discomfort and emotional limitation

Listen carefully.

Don’t be afraid of your friend’s/loved one’s depression, anger, or guilt. If they will talk about their infertility, allow them to freely and fully express their emotions. They may grieve, going through a process of crying and repeatedly talking about what has happened and what might happen in the future. By venting negative feelings and releasing tension, they can often move on to a more positive, optimistic perspective. Suppressing emotional pain may just delay the grieving process or protract it. Bear in mind that people experiencing infertility want a sounding board more often than an opinion.

Accept different ways of coping.

Each person must discover how to cope best with their problem. People come from divergent economic, religious, and cultural backgrounds all of which influence their responses to infertility. Don’t expect them to act or react as you think you might. Some people want to be included in all family and social gatherings which involve children, while others actively avoid such events. Some talk openly about their treatment; others share nothing. Moreover, treatment demands are so varied that needs change.

Ask them how you can be supportive.

Do they want you to ask how things are going or do they want you to wait until they initiate discussion? Would they like you to accompany them to the clinic? Would it be helpful for you to bring over the evening meal, particularly after certain procedures or surgeries? If they don’t know, encourage them to think about what they expect so that they can let you know. This acknowledges that they are the authority on what they need, when they need it and from whom they would like to receive it.

Make the invitation.

Baby showers, christenings, family reunions and holidays are especially difficult times. An invitation lets the infertile woman or man know they are thought of and wanted; it’s always nice to be asked. If they choose to decline, accept their choice. If you know them well enough, ask them what kind of social involvement they want. What would make events easier for them?.

Respond to the need for dignity and respect.

Let your friend/loved one know that you see them as multi- faceted people and that infertility is only one part of their lives. Remind yourself that infertility does not make them helpless or their lives less meaningful. Respect the desire for a child, even if you do not agree with the method of attaining that goal. By the same token, respect the decision to stop treatment or rule out adoption.

New tiny contact lenses will help people see better & help those with AMG macular degeneration

  

A tiny device in new contact lenses, aimed at hundreds of thousands of people suffering from age-related eye problems, could increase the user’s vision nearly by three fold.

Contact lenses with inbuilt telescope could help hundreds of thousands see better

Hundreds of thousands of people with sight problems could be helped with a revolutionary new contact lens, which has an in-built telescope to aid vision.

Swiss scientists have invented a tiny device which can increase a user’s vision by nearly three-fold – in the wink of an eye.

The contact lenses would be far cheaper than surgery and will help people suffering from age related macular degeneration (AMD) to see more clearly in their peripheral vision.

AMD is the biggest cause of sight loss in Britain, affecting more than 500,000 people who lose the ability to see in the centre of their vision making it difficult to read and recognize people’s faces.

Sufferers include Judi Dench, the actress, who now says she struggles to read scripts because of the condition.

Designer Dr Eric Tremblay, from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, said the magnifying contacts would allow people with sight loss to read text more easily and see faces.

Presenting a working prototype at the American Association of the Advancement of Science conference he said: “They are a contact lens that has a very thin telescope built into it – it allows you to have magnified vision. So it makes the object that you look at bigger.

“The most compelling reason why you would want to have this is to help people with serious visual problems, such as macular degeneration, or other retinal illnesses where people have severe vision loss.

“In a lot of cases magnification is very useful. So what people usually use are head mounted telescopes which doesn’t work for everything. It doesn’t track with vision and it’s quite bulky and interferes with social interaction.”

The lenses have tiny telescope built into their centre which works the same way as looking through a pair of binoculars.

To activate the lens, users must be paired with specially adapted glasses that recognise winks, but ignore blinks.

The contact lenses have two apertures, one which is magnified and one normal.

When users shut their right eye, the glasses change the polarization of light so that it hits the contact lens at the right angle to trigger the magnification effect. A wink with the left eye effectively turns off the telescope.

The contacts zoom in thanks to special light filters. And when they wink their left, the image returns to normal.

“So the contact lens does all the optical zoom and the glasses can switch between vision,” Dr Tremblay added.

“It is instant. You wink and the image changes. It is quite large and rests on the white part of your eye and is quite large and quite thick.”

There are already glasses on the marked for people with AMD which have mounted telescopes but they tend to look bulky and interfere with social interaction. They also do not track with head movement so users must position the eyes and tilt the head to use them.

Currently a small telescope can be surgically inserted into the eye but the operation can cost around £6,000. The new lenses are likely to be far cheaper.

The breakthrough was welcomed by charities who said that it could help with daily tasks like driving and reading instructions on medication.

Clara Eaglen, RNIB Eye Health Campaigns Manager, said: “It is encouraging that innovative products such as these telescopic contact lenses are being developed, especially as they aim to make the most of a person’s existing vision.

“Anything that helps to maximise functioning vision is very important as this helps people with sight loss to regain some independence and get out and about again, helping to reduce isolation.

“The more sight someone has, the more they are able to live safe, independent lives. This could mean not having to give up driving, remaining in employment, being able to cook safely and read medication instructions.

“This research is still at an early stage but it will be exciting to watch how it progresses and to fully understand how this could help people with AMD.”

Acting CEO of the Macular Society, Cathy Yelf, said: “There is virtue in having a zoomable contact lens for some people with macular degeneration who have lost their central vision. We will be interested to see how in practice it works for people with AMD.

“With an ageing population investment in research and new treatments is a pressing issue as there are 600,000 people in the UK with this form of sight loss.”

The research was presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual conference in San Jose, California.