Irish surrogacy laws now delayed as human trafficking concerns are raised
Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said in a parliamentary response this month that she cannot give a timeline as to when provisions of the Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR) Act, passed last July, will start or when a new AHR amendment bill dealing with related issues, including retrospective surrogacy, will come into effect.
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Irish Times
40 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Heather Humphreys and Seán Kelly presidential face-off expected as Fine Gael reopens nominations
A contest between former minister Heather Humphreys and the MEP Seán Kelly to become Fine Gael 's presidential candidate became increasingly likely on Monday night after the party's executive council decided to seek fresh nominations rather than selecting a single candidate. Nominations will open on Tuesday for two weeks. Ms Humphreys is said by former colleagues to be keen to become the candidate. Ahead of the meeting, Mr Kelly said he would be 'leaning towards contesting'. The meeting was hastily convened after the sudden announcement on Thursday by party nominee Mairead McGuinness that she was dropping out of the race for health reasons . READ MORE Ms McGuinness said she made the 'very difficult decision' after a stay in hospital and would now prioritise her health. 'I do not believe that I have the strength to give the campaign my all,' she said. Her departure has left just one confirmed candidate in the contest, the left-wing Independent TD Catherine Connolly . After deliberating for little over an hour on Monday evening, Fine Gael's executive council decided it would reopen nominations until September 2nd. Ms Humphreys had ruled herself out of the race earlier this year, saying she wanted to spend more time with her family. However, party sources have said that following the vacation of the nomination by Ms McGuinness, she has expressed strong interest in representing the party in the autumn poll. Her candidacy has been strongly backed by Tánaiste and party leader Simon Harris . Sources said that when he contacted Fine Gael ministers on Friday to tell them Ms McGuinness was standing down, he voiced strong support for former Cavan-Monaghan TD Ms Humphreys, who is a long-time ally. However, South MEP Seán Kelly has also indicated his interest. He considered contesting the nomination against Ms McGuinness earlier in summer, but he ultimately decided against it. In response to queries from The Irish Times on Monday Mr Kelly said he was in 'decision mode'. In a text sent before the executive meeting, he said that, depending on the outcome, he would 'be leaning towards contesting.' A senior party figure, when asked if the outcome of the meeting would lead to a contest between Ms Humphreys and Mr Kelly, said: 'Most likely, yes.' Mr Harris was present for the full meeting. Sources said there was a clear mood among those present that there should be a contest and a hustings. The two-week period is to allow prospective candidates to win sufficient support within the party. To be nominated, a candidate needs the named support of 20 members of the parliamentary party, 25 Fine Gael councillors and five members of the executive council.
Agriland
4 hours ago
- Agriland
Farmers in NI reminded to seek vet advice on bluetongue vaccine
Livestock farmers in Northern Ireland (NI) are being urged to seek professional veterinary advice before administering a bluetongue vaccine. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has permitted the voluntary use of three bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) vaccines in Northern Ireland, subject to licensing. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) agricultural spokesperson, Carla Lockhart said that thankfully, NI remains a bluetongue-free zone. "DAERA is actively conducting surveillance sampling in abattoirs to declare freedom from the disease," Lockhart said. "Officials are also using the Met Office's hazard manager maps, and midge traps are in operation at seven inland and coastal sites across NI." She reiterated that vigilance and strict biosecurity measures are key, especially as the disease threat from infected midges is heightened during the warmer summer months. 'Clinical signs or symptoms of the disease should be reported to a vet or the local divisional veterinary office immediately," Lockhart said. "Incidence of the disease in the UK has predominately affected sheep and cattle, while goats, deer and camelids such as alpacas and lamas are also susceptible species." While the decision to allow the use of BTV-3 vaccines will give flock keepers and herd owners an additional safeguard against the disease, Lockhart said it is important to note that the medicine will not prevent infection or transmission. "Vaccination does have a role in managing disease severity," she said. 'Farm vets and livestock farmers must apply to DAERA for a licence to use a BTV-3 vaccine. The three approved inactivated vaccines are authorised for use throughout the UK and the EU.' She added that the decision to vaccinate is a "personal choice, but I would strongly advise farmers to seek expert advice from their private vet". "Farmers will be responsible for all associated costs, and if applicable, they are responsible for adhering to the necessary trade and export requirements," she said. 'There are a number of factors to be aware of, especially concerning vaccinated animals. "Using vaccines may limit the use of negative serology tests for germinal product certification to some third countries, requiring PCR tests. "Some certificates for third country (non UK or EU) exports are already affected because they require UK BTV-3 freedom. 'While Northern Ireland remains BTV-3 free, vaccinated animals are eligible for slaughter; and breeding sheep and cattle can be sold to the EU for breeding and production. 'The use of vaccination has no impact on the trade or movement of meat and dairy products to the EU. However, complications may arise if NI loses its bluetongue freedom.' The movement of animals from Great Britain to NI remains suspended, Lockhart noted.
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Irish Examiner
School meals fuss throws the baby out with the bathwater
As the summer draws to a close and back-to-school looms in the horizon, parents will no longer have to compete in the annual back-to-school photography Olympics of perfectly curated lunch boxes as all primary school kids can now avail of the free hot meals scheme. However, 350 new schools due to join the scheme will be put on hold due to proposed new rules from the Government's procurement department. The minister for social protection, Dara Calleary, confirmed that foods high in saturated fat, sugar, and salt will be removed from the programme from September. Up to now, such foods have been permitted once a week but only when selected by a child's parent(s). What has triggered the sudden hysteria around food ingredients and processed foods? Nobody argues with a pilot about how to fly a plane, but everyone thinks they're an expert on nutrition after watching a Netflix documentary, or by following social media influencers who pretend to be experts. There's a growing rhetoric in the past year suggesting that food labels are misleading and that the information can't be trusted. Nothing could be further from the truth. It seems some wellness influencers have positioned themselves as experts, but have clearly never read any of the EU food regulations. Nor do they understand how to interpret nutritional information and health claims on the label. Food labelling is highly regulated. People who confidently read lists of ingredients into the void in supermarkets have a lot to answer for as their videos amount to scaremongering of perfectly safe ingredients. Some might argue that influencers give correct information sometimes. That may well be the case, but a broken watch is also right twice a day Many people also believe that if is there is a long list of ingredients with words that are unfamiliar, sound scary, or may be difficult to pronounce, then the food is deemed to be "bad" according to them. Pyridoxine, ascorbic acid, and phylloquinone are just Vitamins B6, C, and K. Nothing to be afraid of, trust me. The nutritional value of an uneaten school lunch is zero. Compromise is key. There is no such thing as a good food or a bad food. It is the overall diet that counts, not the inclusion or exclusion of a few specific foods that might be high in fat, salt and/or sugar. Using such a simplistic approach would result in very nutritious processed foods being incorrectly categorised and banned — such as cheese. Unless a child's diet consists of just one or two foods, then it is the overall combination of foods in the diet that will determine if it is nutritionally adequate to support growth and development. Even the HSE's own food pyramid has processed high in fat, sugar, and salt foods on the top shelf; they are allowed once or twice per week as part of a healthy diet, so why are they being banned in school meals? Sensory issues Parents have the option to completely avoid whatever meals they personally perceive to be unhealthy by just not ordering them. Alternative meals are always available. What about neurodivergent children and those with sensory issues around food texture and colour? How are they going to be impacted by the exclusion of such foods? Nuance is needed here instead of the sledgehammer approach. Parents are supposed to be gatekeepers for their children's health. There is an onus on parents to seek advice from reliable sources. A recent study carried out in DCU, which analysed 67,000 videos on social media platform TikTok, found that only 2.1% of nutrition content was accurate; the remainder was misleading or potentially harmful. Another study in Ireland found that only 6.1% of nutrition-related posts were classified as being of good quality. Social media is the wild west when it comes to nutrition information and, unfortunately, it is not moderated It's so disheartening to see health professionals such as experienced paediatric dietitians / clinical nutritionists share their expertise, but are often torn to shreds — particularly on Instagram. The way so many people leap to defend influencers by trolling actual experts is cult-like behaviour. Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinions — but not to their own facts. Two of the most important ultra-processed foods are infant formula, which is essential, and fortified breakfast cereals which are highly nutritious and affordable for so many people living in food poverty. We should not assess school lunches from a point of privilege. When this scheme was initially launched in 2019, it focused on providing school lunches in Deis schools only. Now that all children are being included, as a cost-of-living measure, the voice of the privileged is driving the narrative. It's turning into a circus. It would be wrong to assume that a meal which contains a few chicken goujons or fish fingers is unhealthy or problematic. No single food could skew nutrition intake to that extent unless the child consumed no other foods or beverages. For context, today I analysed a school lunch from one provider's gluten-free menu. It was a hot wrap containing baked chicken breast goujons and some ketchup. The analysis showed that the meal was low in saturated fat, low in sugar, high in fibre, and high in protein. The meal qualified for those nutrition claims as the nutritional composition met the strict criteria set out in EU food law. Available information Most providers' websites have the nutritional information readily available, and I certainly haven't seen any meals that set off alarm bells. Where's the hysteria coming from? Would it perhaps be that school principals haven't time to deal with this and are asking parents, who probably get their own nutrition information from social media, for assistance in choosing a supplier? A school lunch provides around one third of a child's daily nutrition needs, or around 24% of their overall food intake in a typical school week However, children only attend primary school for 183 days per year. We also need to exclude weekends and school holidays, so the likely contribution of school lunches to a child's overall nutritional intake is only around 12%. The focus should be on helping parents to optimise the other 88% of their children's nutritional intake. In 2017, the Government issued a detailed document on nutrition standards for school meals which clearly sets out the rules. Why was the nutritional composition of the menus not requested or audited until now? If the HSE or minister has some new scientific evidence that allowing one processed high in fat, sugar, and salt food option once a week in a school lunch is detrimental to a child's health, then I'd love to see it. Are we in danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater with the proposed changes to the hot school meals scheme? It would be much better use of State resources to audit the allergen declarations on the school menus. Children are the largest cohort of the population with food allergies, which ranges from 2% of younger kids to 5% of older children. Consuming a processed high in fat, sugar, and salt food once a week carries no risk to a child, but inaccurate allergen labelling could lead to a potentially life-threatening situation. Nutrition is a science, not an opinion. Context matters.
