Letters to the Editor, July 11th: On maternity hospitals, sexual abuse, and weeping

Irish Times

11-07-2025

Sir, – One of the key problems in the maternity services is that we have far too many small maternity units spread out over the country ('Experts call for national review of maternity hospitals,' July 10th).
These maternity units are expensive to maintain, have difficulty in attracting sufficient staff, and it is a challenge to keep up the high standards expected of them.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recommends that a maternity unit should have an absolute minimum of 2,500 births per annum. The Irish Institute of Obstetricians recommends a minimum of 2,000 births.
However, here in the southeast of the country, we have no less than four smaller maternity units (Clonmel, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford).
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The solution would be an expensive one but would bring wonderful, long-term benefits.
A brand-new hospital with all the facilities necessary to have an up-to-date maternity unit, along with surgical and medical facilities, should be built in the epicentre of the southeast with a good road leading to it from each of the southeastern counties – Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, Tipperary and Carlow.
This concentration of medical and surgical facilities in one place would be in accordance with all of the expert reports recommending the reorganisation of the Irish health service.
There would be two obstacles. Such a hospital would cost €2 billion, and all our local politicians would object to the 'downgrading' of their local hospitals.
The first obstacle could be overcome, but I suspect we would never get politicians to agree to a top quality hospital if it threatened their local unit. – Yours, etc,
TOM O'ROURKE (Retired GP),
Gorey,
Co Wexford.
The presidency
Sir, – I would like to put my name forward for the presidency. It should be a sure fire way of uncovering my sins, that I may atone for them. – Yours, etc.
FINTAN CADOGAN,
Co Cork.
Sexual abuse inquiry
Sir, – I believe the Government is making another great mistake in the sordid history of institutional child abuse in Ireland by limiting the scope of the proposed inquiry to sexual abuse only.
The Tusla website cites four categories of child abuse: neglect, emotional abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse.
It says that the child may be subjected to more than one form of abuse at the same time and that the impact of the abuse on the child is more important than the intention of the abuser.
Clients who as children were sadistically caned or beaten up, in front of other children, I would clinically treat as physically, emotionally and sexually abused.
Children who were locked in rooms, humiliated or ignored because they were different from the norm were emotionally abused, but whatever the form of abuse, the damage is essentially done to the psychological integrity of the child.
I don't understand why the Government is prioritising sexual abuse. By doing so, all other child abuse victims are being excluded and neglected, in fact, being abused again.
If we are going to spend 'tens of millions' and years to do it, why not make it an inclusive, therapeutic and healing process for all the victims of school childhood abuse who would seek to be involved? – Yours, etc,
DAMIEN McLELLAN,
Consultant psychotherapist,
Faithlegg,
Co Waterford.
New building regulations
Sir, – The recent change in building regulations for apartment builds will take a few years to have an impact and will seriously call into question the quality of life discussion around meeting housing need.
Building homes is primarily about building sustainable communities and the reduction in spatial provision will have serious adverse impacts on how people live. Storage space is a critical factor in house design and asking individuals and couples to live in compacted units of accommodation adds significantly to the pressure of more persons seeking future housing moves to accommodate expanding lifestyle and community enjoyment. Thus, by default, the Government is fuelling the transient tenant problem. This destabilises communities and places at risk plans for sustainable and viable communities. Government must ask themselves would they seek to live in confined units of accommodation?
Developers and investors are seeking continuing governmental guarantees to ensure the viability of housing schemes. Government must now seek to reverse that debate and seek cross guarantees on fixed price contracts, increased site productivity and increased modern methods of construction.
A fluid housing market has to have a speculative element within its framework to encourage market competition and consumer choice.
The present arrangement with developers and investors has driven out the speculative element within house building and minimised consumer choice leading to spiralling purchase costs, unaffordable rental prices and a now accepted slow pace of productivity. There is an unhealthy comfort blanket that is delaying development and maximising governmental guarantees.
In a market where demand is significantly high and supply very weak in comparison, surely there needs to be more speculation by investors and developers.
Is supply simply being driven by price? – Yours, etc,
BRIAN ROWNTREE,
Ardee,
Co Louth.
Sir, – I notice a barrage of letters today (July 10th) on the proposed smaller apartments. It may come as a surprise to readers to know that Minister for Housing James Browne is also, in effect, Minister for Hares.
Shortly, he will issue licences to the 89 coursing clubs to net thousands of hares and trap them in small enclosed spaces where their movement is restricted and they are forced to co-exist with others in a totally unnatural environment.
Perhaps this is where he got his inspiration? – Yours, etc,
JOAN BURGESS,
Cork.
Sir, – Forty years ago on a bus in Cork city an eccentric woman from rural north Cork told me: 'They are all living in rabbit hutches with those apartments.'
Now, Minister for Housing James Browne wants to enforce smaller and darker apartments on new builds.
How insightful was that old woman?
'Rabbit hutches,' indeed. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL O'CONNOR,
Midleton,
Co Cork.
World of weeping
Sir, – Thanks to Kathy Sheridan for reminding us of the importance of not being afraid to cry: 'If a politician lacks all compassion, empathy and decency towards their political peers, how can they be trusted to respect ordinary people.'('
Breaking down in tears at the scene was mortifying. It was also the only sane response
,' July 9th).
Rachel Reeves's tears in front of the cameras in the House of Commons, has done us all a great favour, even if some people choose to see it as a weakness. We have managed to cloud human emotion in today's world with corporate speak, and at what cost?
Just a few days ago I received a call from a well-known, respected and world recognised member of the medical profession.
During our conversation, he told me he recently met a former patient when walking around Dublin. She threw her arms around him with tears in her eyes and said, 'oh give me a hug'.
A powerful example of human emotion expressed, shared and respected.
More tears, including tears of joy shed by men and women without fear and ridicule, would go a long way to show what humanity means, and make daily living a bit more bearable in our troubled world. – Yours, etc,
ALICE LEAHY,
Director of Services,
Alice Leahy Trust,
Dublin 8.
Palestinian children delayed
Sir, – I cannot understand why the Government is delaying the arrival and treatment of seriously ill children from Gaza. It is to our shame that children have died while waiting for permission to travel.
The issue, apparently, is that the Government is troubled by the issue of bringing other siblings with them. The reality is that these siblings are very unlikely to be in full health themselves, while not requiring immediate medical treatment.
However, the main difficulty I have is how different the Government approach is in facilitating the arrival and acceptance of Gazan people into Ireland from the open arms that were shown to people fleeing the Ukrainian invasion.
About 112,000 Ukrainians were welcomed here, provided with housing and their other needs met. English lessons were provided in schools to enable children to receive their education and GPs were arranged.
Benefits were paid. One Irish person on a housing list told me they accepted that they might be waiting longer as a result of pressure on housing caused by the increased and emergency demand.
We even brought families' beloved pets here, in recognition of how important they were to refugees.
How can it be that to one population is supported, while for another population our Government delays the arrival of desperately ill children while quibbling over siblings accompanying them?
Are Ukrainian pets more worthy of our support and care than Gazan children? Why the disparity?
I don't feel proud of Ireland's response to the horrific events taking place in Palestine. Where are our hundred thousand welcomes now? – Yours, etc,
CATHERINE ROCHE ,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.
On board with the Russians
Sir, – Your article by Conor Gallagher regarding the Shtandart ('
We do not support Putin: On board the sanctioned Russian ship in Killiney Bay
,' July 9th) raises some difficult issues regarding Russian sanctions and Russian citizens who might or might not be sympathetic to either Putin or Ukraine.
In 2017, this wonderful ship paid a visit to Drogheda for its maritime festival, its young crew putting on amazing acrobatic displays.
A few days later, I had the great pleasure of visiting their vessel in Port Oriel, Clogherhead, and meeting some of the crew. Not all were Russian and all had a very easy-going attitude. Several were circus performers who also played their part as crew.
I take exception to Barry Ward TD asking for their removal from Irish waters without any proof that they offer a threat to Irish or EU security. Have we not learned from Alexei Navalny and many others that not all Russians are fans of Putin?
Be kind to wandering minstrels with nowhere to go, please. – Yours, etc,
CHARLIE KAVANAGH,
Co Wexford.
A solution to teacher shortages
Sir, – Your editorial on education being compromised (July 8th) highlighted a deeply concerning reality: 'Almost all primary schools, for example, had to employ unqualified individuals without teaching qualifications as substitutes in the past year.'
This stark statement speaks to the ongoing and worsening teacher/ substitute shortage within our primary education system, which calls for urgent, creative, and evidence-based solutions.
One such solution lies in the strategic employment of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) graduates within the junior division of primary schools.
Such graduates hold specialised degrees in early childhood learning, development, and care and are highly trained in child-led pedagogy, play-based methodologies, emergent literacy, and inclusive early education – skills that align precisely with the needs of children in the early years of primary school.
This would not only address staff shortages and relieve pressure on schools currently forced to hire 'unqualified individuals without teaching qualifications' but also provide much-needed continuity and quality in early education, as per Government goals outlined in its First 5 strategy and in other strategic plans.
We have the talent. We have the need. What's missing is the political will to connect the two. – Yours, etc.
ANN HARRINGTON,
Lisdoonvarna,
Co Clare.
Trump and his US support base
Sir, – Ed Power faults the producers of RTÉ's documentary about Noraid for not addressing the 'uncomfortable fact that Irish America . . . would go on to become a power base for Donald Trump and, thus of 21st century neo-fascism'. ('
RTÉ's Noraid: Irish America and the IRA leans towards the Che Guevara version of history
,' July 9th).
This wrongly assumes it is easy or even possible to say who is part of 'Irish America'.
Is membership based on the proportion of one's ancestors who lived in Ireland, on how recently those ancestors emigrated, on the degree of one's interest in Ireland, or perhaps on whether one celebrates St Patrick's Day or even called it 'St Patty's Day'?
And what is the actual evidence that Irish America, however defined, is more of a power base for Trump than Italian America, German America, or English America, all equally hazy entities? – Yours, etc,
FRANK GAVIN,
Toronto,
Canada.
Left unguarded
Sir, – Clearly nobody is guarding the subeditor when a heading such as 'Guardian ad litems' (sic) appears in the letters page. –Yours, etc,
GEARÓID Ó BRÁDAIGH,
Co Westmeath.
Sunshine drinking
Sir, – The article, '
Ten of the best Dublin pubs in sunny weathe
r', July 10th, states that even a footpath in the evening sun, with a decent pint, will suffice. The article's photograph shows people drinking from glass bottles on the Grand Canal lock gates, the canal bank and the footpath on the opposite side of the canal.
I didn't realise that drinking from glass bottles was permitted on a public footpath. Perhaps your correspondent could report on the clean-up of this space by unfortunate Dublin City Council workers after the revelry has ended, or assist local residents in removing glass bottles and even boxes of empty cans from their gardens the following morning?
The hotter the weather seems to be, canal-side, the more people must evacuate their sunshine, drinking down private residential laneways and gardens on their merry moonlit way home. Perhaps it's best not to encourage this behaviour. – Yours, etc,
BEN McCABE,
Dublin 6.