Drive for unity ‘growing every day' says Sinn Fein after MP says opinion poll will decide when there's referendum
Ireland 'in end days of partition', claimed leader McDonald on Easter Sunday
Sinn Fein has said momentum towards a border poll is growing every day, after a Northern Ireland Office (NIO) Minister said any decision to call a referendum will be guided by opinion polls.
While the NIO has distanced itself from the comments of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Fleur Anderson by insisting 'responsibility for a referendum sits solely with the Secretary of State', Stormont's largest party welcomed the insight into departmental decision making. 'The momentum towards constitutional change on this island is growing visibly day by day,' a Sinn Fein spokesperson said.
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Belfast Telegraph
18 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Teenager vows to ‘resist' any weakening of six-month timeframe for assessments
Cara Darmody, 14, addressed the Oireachtas Disability Committee on Wednesday about the backlog in the assessment of need (AON) system. An AON is carried out to identify if a child, children or young person has a disability, and is designed to identify their health needs as well as service requirements. Once the HSE receives an application, there is a legal requirement for the AON to be completed within six months. On the possibility of changes to the laws being in train, Cara said she would 'vigorously resist any negative change' to the six-month timeframe, saying she believed it would cause 'further permanent damage to children'. The total number of applications overdue for completion at the end of March 2025 stood at 15,296, an 8% rise on the end of 2024. Throughout the first quarter of this year, just 7% of assessments were completed within the timeframes set out in the Disability Act 2005 and accompanying regulations. The HSE said that demand for AONs continues to outstrip system capacity, despite increases in activity and commissions from private assessors. The health service anticipates that by the end of the year there could be as many as 24,796 AONs due for completion. Opposition parties including Sinn Fein, Labour, Social Democrats, People Before Profit-Solidarity, Independent Ireland and Aontu have supported Cara's campaign. Last month she staged a 50-hour protest outside Leinster House. She was initially motivated to pursue her advocacy because her two brothers have autism and severe/profound intellectual disabilities. Speaking at Committee, Cara said: 'My own story is very simple, I have two brothers Neil, 12, and John, eight, who are autistic and severely and profoundly intellectually disabled. 'They were both failed dramatically by the state in relation to assessments and services, and Neil remains in an inappropriate school place. 'Our story is the story of so many thousands of other families. I cannot do anything to change the permanent damage caused to Neil and John, but I can advocate to stop damage being done to autistic children in the future.' She said Taoiseach Micheal Martin and the wider Government are breaking the law over the delivery of AONs. 'Three different taoisigh have made promises to me to fix this issue, and all have dramatically failed.' She added: 'Let me explain how they're breaking the law. The Disability Act of 2005, an Act created by this House, states that an assessment of need must be carried out within six months, full-stop. 'That six-month timeframe is there because every single person knows that early intervention is the key. 'It's also generally accepted that when early intervention doesn't occur, that damage is caused to children with disabilities. It's a no-brainer.' Cara said she was shocked that Mr Martin would not declare a national emergency over the matter. She said the taoiseach should also set up a taskforce to address the matter, and increase financing for 'Cara's Fund'.
Daily Record
19 hours ago
- Daily Record
Exam clash fears prompt change to West Lothian school holidays
The changes will see the Easter holiday moved forward, and will also take account of the council election in early May 2027. Easter holiday dates for West Lothian schools are being changed after concerns were raised about the SQA exam dates. West Lothian council has revised its term dates for the new school year in 2026-27. The changes will see the Easter holiday moved forward, and will also take account of the council election in early May 2027. In a report to the Education PDSP Hannah Haywood, Customer Services Manager said: 'Easter is early in 2027.' She added: 'Proposed dates for session 2026/27 were presented to Education PDSP on 1 April. Consultation on the proposed dates was still under way at that time. 'Four responses were received, two expressing satisfaction with the proposed dates, and two requesting that the Easter Break should be later. 'Since the meeting on 1 April 2025, new information about the SQA time-scales has been provided, and it is now clear that the previously proposed timing of the Easter break would potentially negatively impact on students meeting submission deadlines for SQA awards. She added: ' Easter is early in 2027, and the original proposal was for the schools to break up on Friday 19 March, and resume on Monday 5 April, with the Easter weekend in the middle. 'A new proposal is now being presented, which moves the Easter break to make it one week later, starting on Good Friday 26 March, and resuming on Monday 12 April. 'As the Easter break is now two weeks and one day long rather than two weeks, the new proposal removes the Friday from the September weekend to make sure that we provide the required 190 teaching days in the session.' As ever the West Lothian holidays are unlikely to tie with neighbouring councils, many of which have yet to be confirmed. Chairing the PDSP Councillor Andrew McGuire said he and fellow councillors were unlikely to forget to move an in-service day to the first Thursday in May as this marks the end of their current council term. The in-service day in May 2026 has also been moved from Tuesday 5 May to Thursday 7 May to coincide with the Scottish Parliamentary Election. Term dates for 2026/27 are:- Pupils return: Wednesday 12 August September weekend: Monday 21 September October holiday: Friday 16 October-Tuesday 27 October Christmas holiday: Friday 18 December- Tuesday 5 January Mid Term: Friday 5 February - Tuesday 16 February Easter Holidays: Thursday 26 March - Monday 5 April May Day holiday Monday 3 May Staff in-service Thursday 6 May. The new term dates will have to be confirmed by the Education Executive when it meets in two weeks' time.
BreakingNews.ie
19 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Teenager vows to ‘resist' any weakening of six-month timeframe for assessments
The Government has 'systematically smashed' disability laws on important checks for children, a teenage campaigner has told the Oireachtas. Cara Darmody, 14, addressed the Oireachtas Disability Committee on Wednesday about the backlog in the assessment of need (AON) system. Advertisement An AON is carried out to identify if a child, children or young person has a disability, and is designed to identify their health needs as well as service requirements. Once the HSE receives an application, there is a legal requirement for the AON to be completed within six months. On the possibility of changes to the laws being in train, Cara said she would 'vigorously resist any negative change' to the six-month timeframe, saying she believed it would cause 'further permanent damage to children'. The total number of applications overdue for completion at the end of March 2025 stood at 15,296, an 8% rise on the end of 2024. Advertisement Throughout the first quarter of this year, just 7% of assessments were completed within the timeframes set out in the Disability Act 2005 and accompanying regulations. The HSE said that demand for AONs continues to outstrip system capacity, despite increases in activity and commissions from private assessors. The health service anticipates that by the end of the year there could be as many as 24,796 AONs due for completion. Opposition parties including Sinn Fein, Labour, Social Democrats, People Before Profit-Solidarity, Independent Ireland and Aontu have supported Cara's campaign. Advertisement Last month she staged a 50-hour protest outside Leinster House. She was initially motivated to pursue her advocacy because her two brothers have autism and severe/profound intellectual disabilities. Speaking at Committee, Cara said: 'My own story is very simple, I have two brothers Neil, 12, and John, eight, who are autistic and severely and profoundly intellectually disabled. 'They were both failed dramatically by the state in relation to assessments and services, and Neil remains in an inappropriate school place. Advertisement 'Our story is the story of so many thousands of other families. I cannot do anything to change the permanent damage caused to Neil and John, but I can advocate to stop damage being done to autistic children in the future.' She said Taoiseach Micheál Martin and the wider Government are breaking the law over the delivery of AONs. 'Three different taoisigh have made promises to me to fix this issue, and all have dramatically failed.' She added: 'Let me explain how they're breaking the law. The Disability Act of 2005, an Act created by this House, states that an assessment of need must be carried out within six months, full-stop. Advertisement 'That six-month timeframe is there because every single person knows that early intervention is the key. 'It's also generally accepted that when early intervention doesn't occur, that damage is caused to children with disabilities. It's a no-brainer.' Cara said she was shocked that Mr Martin would not declare a national emergency over the matter. She said the taoiseach should also set up a taskforce to address the matter, and increase financing for 'Cara's Fund'.
