Government urged to make SPF products exempt from tax
According to the Irish Cancer Society, there are almost 12,000 cases of skin cancer diagnosed in Ireland every year, with nine out of 10 being caused by ultraviolet radiation (UV rays) from the sun or sunbeds.
Under VAT law, sunscreen products are not exempt from the standard rate of VAT, which is currently 23 per cent. Fake tanning brand TanOrganic has launched an online petition calling for SPF products to be tax-free.
In a recent survey, it found that 54 per cent of respondents said they considered SPF too expensive and 60 per cent said cost influences their purchasing decisions. TanOrganic owner Noelle O'Connor said: "I believe no SPF products should be classed as an essential product and should be VAT exempt.
"At the moment, Renal transport patients are the only cohort that can get SPF on a medical card, so the removal of VAT on SPF would be a major step for the Government to take in encouraging the use of SPF in our country."
Kelsey O'Donnell, a skin cancer specialist nurse in the Mater Hospital Dublin, said despite skin cancer being one of the most preventable cancers, it's still one of the most common. She added: "I see the physical impact and the emotional toll it can take on patients and their loved ones every day.
"90 per cent of skin cancers are caused by UV emitted sources, even if you only spend a few minutes in the sun without protection, you're still at risk. I cannot stress enough the importance of skin safety measures using a quality SPF (50) every day regardless of cloud or sun.
"SPF is not a luxury and should be affordable for everyone. I urge everyone to sign the petition to call upon the government to remove VAT on SPF."
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RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Barretstown opens to public for 'Big Picnic' fundraiser
Children's charity Barretstown opened its gates to the public for its annual Big Picnic event. The charity supports children affected by serious illness, with around 27,000 children receiving help from Barretstown each year. Barretstown runs outreach programmes to hospitals, schools and community groups and 5,000 children and their families avail of its services at its campus in Ballymore Eustace in Co Kildare. Ciara Cogley, 14, from Co Wexford has been coming with her family for the past four years. She lives with a rare, inherited blood condition called hereditary spherocytosis, which requires lifelong care. It affects her red blood cells, causing conditions like regular jaundice and tiredness. However, she said she can participate in many of the activities at Barretstown, including horse riding, rock climbing, archery, canoeing and fishing. "We've been coming since 2021 and every time it just gets better," she said. "Its just magical," Ciara added. Her dad Darryl said: "Its unbelievable what Barretstown do. I mean you leave your problems at the door, at the gate as you come in." The charity needs €10 million in funding annually to provide its services, which are both residential and outreach. Its CEO Dee Ahearn said fundraising is always a challenge as the charity gets just 4% of its operating costs from the Government each year. "This year, Barretstown will serve 27,000 campers and 5,000 of those will be served through our residential services here at Barretstown, but they'll also be served through our outreach programmes in hospitals, schools and communities all over Ireland," she said. Ms Ahearn said the charity also goes into the homes of families where a child can be too sick to go to Co Kildare for a residential stay. "When a child is diagnosed with a serious illness, these families are plunged into a world of hospitals, doctors and often gruelling treatment," she explained. "The reality of it is they have to grow up too quickly and they lose out on a large part of their childhood, and that's why our programmes are so important," Ms Ahearn added. The programmes are for the whole family and Mia Sheils attends each year with her older brother Teagan, who is 13 years old. Today, the extended family, including her cousin Nikita, was having a look at all the activities on offer. "We love it here, it's very fun," she said. "Its good for him because he loves canoeing and fishing," Mia said. Sineád Smyth visited for the day to help with the fundraising efforts, along with her 15-year-old son Cian, who uses a wheelchair. Both said they were delighted with how inclusive all the activities are. "Cian can partake in lots of things, for example, the climbing wall, he's able to do the climbing wall with his sisters," she said. "They have really good facilities for people in wheelchairs," said Cian, who explained that he was able to go "high enough!".
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
‘We did our best': Religious order's defence of county home care sparks fresh redress row
The Sisters of Saint John of God have defended the care they gave unmarried mothers in a county home, saying there is 'no evidence that they did anything but their best' and described the women who were admitted there as 'banished' from society, new records reveal. The religious order was one of eight that met with former minister for children Roderic O'Gorman, along with officials from his department and the State Claims Agency, for discussions on voluntary contributions to the redress scheme. The meetings took place following the publication of the final report by the Commission of Inquiry into mother and baby homes in January 2021. That five-year investigation examined 14 mother and baby homes and four county homes, and one of its recommendations was a financial package be established to compensate survivors. The payment scheme, estimated to cost €800m, would benefit 34,000 survivors and was rolled out last year. Now, Freedom of Information records show for the first time the lengthy negotiations and correspondence between the Department of Children and the eight religious orders who ran the homes. Bed sheets with the names of hundreds of dead children draped on the gates of a mass burial site in Tuam, Co Galway. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire In 2023, Sheila Nunan, a former president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and former general secretary of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, was appointed by Government to engage with the congregations involved in the inquiry. Her report delivered last April revealed only two out of the eight orders offered a financial contribution towards the cost of the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme. The Sisters of Bon Secours, who ran the Tuam home, offered €12.97m — a sum deemed as 'meaningful' and accepted by the Government. The Daughters of Charity of St Vincent De Paul offered a building to the Government, which FOI records released to the Irish Examiner show is currently being used by the Department of Education for children deemed "at risk". A third religious body — the Sisters of St John of God — did not contribute to the redress scheme and instead offered a donation of €75,000 to be used for a charitable purpose associated with mother and baby home survivors. Donation under strict conditions FOI records show that donation was offered under a series of strict conditions by the sisters, which stated: The donation if accepted, is not being given as compensation as it is not accepted that the congregation are obliged to compensate for something that they did not do; There is no evidence to indicate that the congregation participated in anything illegal, or untoward, so this would be a donation without any admission of liability; Any publicity around the donation will be by agreement with the congregation; If the congregation pay this money, a way needs to be found to protect the reputation and good work of the sisters, who did their best as employees at the County Home in Thomastown, and indeed the reputation of the Sisters of Saint John of Gods; If the minister can find a way to do this, that satisfies the congregation, this donation will be given. Children's minister Norma Foley: 'I have publicly stated that I am disappointed by the approach adopted by organisations, and I do believe that more could and should have been done by way of offering contributions to the payment scheme.'Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire Minister for children Norma Foley declined the offer in a letter dated April 10, 2025, which said: 'As your offer is not in the context of the payment scheme, this is a matter for your order to address itself and is not a matter for consideration by Government.' 'Disappointed' by approach of organisations In correspondence with the six orders who did not contribute to the scheme, including the Sisters of St John of God, the minister said: 'I have publicly stated that I am disappointed by the approach adopted by organisations, and I do believe that more could and should have been done by way of offering contributions to the payment scheme.' She went on to say the purpose of her letter is to 'invite you to again consider the report and having reflected on its contents, to request you to take this opportunity to make a meaningful contribution towards the mother and baby institutions payment scheme.' Correspondence received by the Irish Examiner show a series of meetings took place with Ms Foley's predecessor Roderic O'Gorman, where he asked the congregations to make a moral contribution to the scheme. In the minutes of one meeting with the Sisters of St John of God on December 9, 2021, a spokesperson for the order said they 'were not governors or managers of this county home'. The meeting was told the order 'had examined the commission's report and statistical analysis provided with it and wished to make a number of overall comments'. The spokesperson said 'they acknowledge fully the awfulness of some of the stories that have come out of the mother and baby hones and the awfulness of how Irish society dealt with unmarried women and their children. 'It is not an era that anyone can be proud of,' she said. 'The sisters were employees responsible for the provision of nursing duties in the home, and this was the case throughout the period in question. She said there was a 'clear distinction here' and the Commission of Inquiry 'is clear in setting out the roles of the governors, the managers and the inspectors in managing and monitoring the county homes'. She went on to say: 'There is no evidence that they [the sisters] did anything but their best within the situation in which they found themselves. 'No evidence of mistreatment' 'Furthermore, there is no evidence or mention of mistreatment of or inappropriate behaviour by any of the sisters.' The congregation operated the former workhouse at Thomastown in Co Kilkenny. During the meeting, Mr O'Gorman was told: The sisters operated under a judgmental, under-funded and strict regime, synonymous with the societal attitudes at the time; Thomastown 'was not a mother and baby home' and there was a 'range of people eligible for care, not just single mothers and their children"; In 1923, those eligible for admission were categorised then as 'aged and infirm, chronic invalids, children, expectant unmarried mothers, harmless lunatics, and idiots'. The Commission of Inquiry report states it is clear the Thomastown Board actively segregated pregnant, married and single women, and limited access to maternity services on the basis of marital status; Married women had exclusive access to maternity services at the Kilkenny Central Hospital, while the unmarried woman had to travel to Thomastown. Another reference was also made during the meeting to the Commission of Inquiry report, which highlighted how 'the board instructed the matron to threaten women with confinement if they did not comply with the rules of the home [and that there] is no evidence to suggest that the matron took such action'. Of the 970 single expectant mothers admitted to Thomastown county home, there were three deaths recorded, none of which appeared to be childbirth-related, which is a 'testament to the nursing and midwifery care that these mothers received'. More than 50% of the mothers left the county home within 50 days of giving birth, and 80% left within six months, so those who stayed longer were in the minority, the minister was told. The register for deaths also shows from 1919 to 1962, there were 764 births, 140 children died, and the cause of death in most cases was lack of food and nutrition. The minister was also told at the meeting there were 'challenges faced by the sisters in providing this care, and referenced the inspection reports in the commission's final report. The Commission of Inquiry report stated: The nursery section was overcrowded and was the worst part of the institutions; The lavatory accommodation was insufficient and insanitary; The conditions and facilities in general were awful; The children had to go through an open yard to get to their dormitories, subjecting them to serious illnesses given the available clothing. The order's spokesperson also said the institution was understaffed and a local government inspector recommended an additional nurse with midwifery qualifications be employed, 'but the board refused to do so'. Order 'literally left holding the baby' 'It is clear that many were taken advantage of and yet they were the ones literally left holding the baby,' she continued. She said how these women were treated by the State, by the men involved and by society is 'nothing short of a tragedy'. The Commission of Inquiry report said the 'children living in the home were adequality cared for' and that in 1962, 'the overall standard of care provided in the home was quite satisfactory'. The minister was also told at the meeting many of families of the mothers 'had banished them into the county home, knowing perhaps the harshness of the system there, as this was seen as punishment for wrongdoing'. Children's socks left on railings outside the offices of the the mother and baby homes Commission of Inquiry in 2021. Picture: Damien Storan The minutes show the spokesperson said: 'It was a way of saving face for families who didn't want to know/have anything to do with a so-called illegitimate child." She referred to the report again, which 'spells out in may places the role of the various State authorities in government the operations of the county home of Thomastown' and it was 'clear that the congregations' sisters were at the mercy of State authorities when trying to make improvements or in seeking to make conditions better'. She said the congregation 'does fully recognise the wrongs perpetrated on women and children in these institutions by society at-large at the time'. Mr O'Gorman said 'even though Thomastown was not a mother and baby home, the commission investigated mother and baby homes and a sample of county homes and made recommendations in respect of both". He said 'the role of responding to what happened cannot fall to the State alone. Survivors and the public need a collective response.' The congregation said they had 98 sisters, with an average age of 81, and was charged 'primarily with ensuring that these sisters are looked after as they live out the remainder of their lives'. No admission of liability They offered a sum of €75,000 to a charity 'in the spirit of woman and children who suffered in mother and baby homes and county homes across the country', but with no admission of liability or to be seen as compensation. This offer was declined by Norma Foley in April, who said it was 'disappointing.' Other correspondence dated April 14, 2025, showed the Government 'has agreed to explore the proposal the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul made by way of a voluntary contribution to the scheme'. The order said 'We are willing to transfer our title to a property to the State without encumbrance. 'You have correctly noted that the property involved is currently in use by the Department of Education and subject to an informal leasing agreement for the purposes of a community based high-support school for children considered 'at risk'." In the minutes of a meeting between the Bons Secours nuns, who ran the Tuam home in Galway, and Roderic O'Gorman on January 13, 2021, the order said it had followed the Commission of Inquiry report and outcome and had a few questions — the first was why those who spent less than six months in an institution as children, and children who were 'boarded out', were not included the in the scheme. Former children's minister Roderic O'Gorman said 'the role of responding to what happened cannot fall to the State alone. Survivors and the public need a collective response.' The order asked if there was 'any information on the breakdown of responsibility in terms of the roles of the county councils, the State and others'. The minister was also told in the meeting the Bons Secours order 'do not have records available to them, and asked how many surviving residents there are from the Tuam home'. The order also confirmed it would contribute to the scheme and asked if it 'might be possible to get numbers of surviving residents'. Mr O'Gorman explained while the commission's report touched on the issue of children being "boarded out" as an exit pathway from the institutions, the investigative role of the commission was in relation to time spent in mother and baby and county homes and the circumstances in these institutions. He said his 'point of focus was on a collective response' and 'he was hoping to ascertain from the meetings with congregations if they are equally willing to take responsibility for their role'. In a letter to the order dated April 30, 2025, a principal officer with the Mother and Baby Action Plant unit wrote to the nuns and said: 'As Minister Foley indicated, the Government has accepted Ms Nunan's recommendation concerning your willingness to make a voluntary contribution to the above scheme in the sum of €12.974,720'.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Irish Times
Better-off children ‘sailing away from the have-nots', warns Ombudsman
Children from Ireland's financially better-off families are 'sailing away from the have-nots', the State's Children's Ombudsman has warned. The number of children living in poverty has doubled in the last year, Dr Niall Muldoon told the Patrick MacGill Summer School in Glenties, Co Donegal. 'They're sailing away from us. The haves are sailing away from the have-nots. And children are the ones who suffer there all the time,' he said. Nearly 5,000 children are currently homeless, even though the State has been running unprecedented budget surpluses in recent years, Dr Muldoon noted. READ MORE 'That's 2,200 families that need to be found a home. That priority has never been given to children, or families.' [ Child homelessness a 'national shame', TDs and Senators told Opens in new window ] Family homelessness was 'not even an issue' until 2012, when post-crash austerity 'kicked in properly' as the State moved away from providing public housing to depending on the private sector, he said. Currently, it costs the State €350 million a year just to house homeless families in Dublin, but the problem can be tackled, he told the summer school. 'It's not intractable. It is something that can be done.' The Government is unable to tell the Office for the Ombudsman for Children how much it spends on children, Dr Muldoon said. 'They can tell me exactly what the State spends on every brick in the [National] Children's Hospital , but not what they spend on children.' Equally, it can explain that the State's mental health budget has grown by a fifth in the last five years to €1.3 billion, 'which is still about half of what most other countries do, but they can't tell me what they spend on children'. Three-quarters of all mental health issues begin in childhood, the summer school heard. 'You would think 75 per cent of the budget, or 50 per cent of the budget should be spent on that. It's not. The reason it isn't is because it allows the other part of the system to use it as a slush fund if necessary.' Chris Quinn, Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, said the homelessness crisis is affecting even more children north of the Border, where 5,000 households are in temporary accommodation and 18,000 are registered as homeless. 'It baffles me as to why we have silence on this. In the South, there's a huge outcry about homelessness and the housing situation. In the North, it isn't, but those figures are mind-boggling. [ Children have 'borne the biggest brunt' of homelessness crisis Opens in new window ] 'Poverty's sitting at about 25 per cent. So, one in four children are living in poverty. One in four children are going to school hungry, whose mommy or daddy is choosing to heat the house, or put the dinner on the table for themselves and their children,' he said. One in 10 of 11- to 19-year-olds in a recent Northern Ireland survey declared that they would engage in self-harm, with one in eight young people having suicidal ideation: 'Our child adolescent mental health waiting lists are through the roof,' Mr Quinn went on. The consequences of poverty make people age faster, said Prof Rose Anne Kenny, the founding principal investigator of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) and the chair of Medical Gerontology at Trinity College Dublin . 'Children who experience circumstances actually have an accelerated ageing process,' she said. 'The children experiencing depression at home, alcohol, drugs, homelessness, uncertainty, et cetera – those children age faster.' The faster ageing can be tracked biologically: 'We're creating a society, or a section of society, which will not get a chance at any stage unless we get it right now,' Prof Kenny said. Looking at lessons that can be learned from the United States, Prof Kenny said it has been clearly shown that people who possess a Bachelor of Arts degree die later and are far less likely to die in middle age than people who are poorly educated. Urging parents to encourage children to read and to read to them, Patricia Forde, the State's Laureate na nÓg, warned that the number of children who read regularly, or at all, is falling dramatically – largely explained by the rise in social media use. 'My grand ambition is very simple. I would like every child in Ireland to be a reader. And when I say reader, I don't mean literate, and I don't mean reading as a hobby,' she told the summer school. 'I want children who are reading for pleasure and who form a habit of being readers so that they grow up with something that is beside them at all times that they can read. So, that would be my magic wand moment.'
