Letters to the Editor, July 18th: On GP visit fees, cohousing, and Rosie O'Donnell for president
This 12.5 per cent 'adjustment' was necessary due to 'rising operational costs' (that vague 'go-to reason' provided for price hikes these days) and more specifically due to 'employing enough doctors to ensure they can continue offering their]same-day appointment service.'
I was advised that this 'level of accessibility is exceptionally rare in General Practice, and [they] remain fully committed to maintaining it for [their] patients'.
Repeat prescriptions will increase to €30 (from €25 in August 2023, – a 20 per cent increase).
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Is €90 a record for a GP consultation fee? – Yours, etc,
NIALL H. DOYLE,
Rathfarnham,
Dublin 16.
Could cohousing be a solution?
Sir, –With Ireland in the midst of a severe housing shortage, the Government must be bold and brave and embrace creative solutions. One that deserves serious consideration is cohousing, an innovative, community-led model that is flourishing in countries such as the UK, US, Netherlands, Denmark, and Canada.
In Denmark, the government and financial institutions are supporting the concept with favourable zoning laws and financing options. The result is that over the next five years 80,000 of the country's over 50s are planning to move into a cohousing community.
Cohousing is designed for people aged 50 and over who are healthy and active, offering the opportunity to 'right-size' into well-designed, sustainable homes with shared facilities for socialising and enjoying life to the full.
It differs significantly from nursing homes or supported housing as they are self-managed communities, typically for a younger cohort who are looking for a more suitable option within their own area.
This model helps to combat social isolation and enable older people to age well, possibly postponing or avoiding the need for institutional care. An added benefit is that it can free up underused housing stock for younger families.
Cohousing is also cost-effective with shared amenities and collaborative management reducing expenses, while smaller, eco-friendly homes will be better for the environment.
The need for cohousing in Ireland is urgent. Research shows that many over 50s currently live in homes that are too large or no longer meet their needs. According to the ESRI, more than 1.18 million people in Ireland are aged between 50 and 75, and 67 per cent of Irish homes are under-occupied, double the EU average.
Cohousing Ireland is a new, not-for-profit initiative with more than 150 members and groups forming in Dublin, Cork, and elsewhere. We see three major barriers standing in the way of cohousing gaining traction in Ireland.
First, access to suitable sites is a major hurdle, with vast tracts of land held by the State, religious institutions, and local authorities. Second, planning laws don't recognise cohousing as a distinct housing category like student accommodation. It needs to be properly zoned and supported in development plans.
Third, most prospective cohousing residents are mortgage-free. They need access to bridging finance that would allow them to move without first selling their homes.
A State-backed revolving loan fund, successfully used in Denmark and the Netherlands, would make a significant difference.
Cohousing is about more than housing. It's about dignity, sustainability, and community.
With targeted policy support and political will, it can become a vital part of Ireland's housing future.
Yours, etc,
ANNE CONNOLLY,
Cohousing Communities Ireland,
Dublin 6.
Sir – I am reading with dismay the ongoing debate about reducing the minimum required apartment sizes in new developments.
Once again, the Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael Government shows that they are only capable of doing things that give the impression of taking action while refusing to do anything that will actually improve the housing situation.
We should be encouraging more to live in apartments in this country, as is the norm in many other European countries, and not penalise those that do so with fewer windows and less square footage.
Why is there no consideration being given to reduce the requirement for apartments to come with a ratio of car parking spaces?
By eliminating parking requirements, the developers will save far more in construction costs by not having to excavate underground and it will encourage more to live a car-free existence which has been shown to increase personal health and happiness, reduce costs on the health service and promote community cohesion. – Yours, etc,
DR JOHN LEGGE,
Sandycove,
Co Dublin.
Rosie O'Donnell for president
Sir, – With virtually no locals interested in the job, why not pick Rosie O' Donnell for the Áras ?
She is about to get Irish citizenship, has lived north and south of the Border and has the extraordinary ability to attract the attention of US pressident Donald Trump for her every utterance.
President Michael D Higgins seemingly cannot get an audience with Trump, but Rosie knows him intimately for over 30 years and he is highly responsive to her comments.
Such a move would really put Ireland on the map. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN O REILLY,
Northport,
New York
Alan Shatter and that Bill
Sir, –I would very respectfully suggest that former justice minister Alan Shatter who told the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee that the Occupied Territories Bill was 'anti-Semitic' and 'reminiscent of policies of 1930s Germany' reflect on the words of Auschwitz survivor and writer Primo Levi: 'The plague has died away, but the infection still lingers, and it would be foolish to deny it. Rejection of human solidarity, obtuse and cynical indifference to the suffering of others, abdication of the intellect and of moral sense to the principle of authority, and above all, at the root of everything, a sweeping tide of cowardice, a colossal cowardice which masks itself as warring virtue, love of country and faith in an idea.'
It would appears that the legacy of Primo Levi and the great Jewish authors who wrote about their direct experience of the Holocaust and who warned us about the future has been ignored or forgotten – tragically, by Israel. – Yours, etc,
CHRIS FITZPATRICK,
Terenure,
Dublin 6
Sir, – Alan Shatter claims that the proposed ban on trade with occupied Palestinian territories is a boycott Jews Bill reminiscent of 1930s Germany, I presume the bombing and killing of 50,000-plus people, including women and children, by Israel is acceptable to him? – Yours, etc,
DAVID MURNANE,
Co Meath.
Sir, – I would like to commend the wonderful contribution of former minister for justice, Alan Shatter, to Tuesday's parliamentary committee debate on the Occupied Territories Bill. Despite facing a hostile reception, he masterfully articulated the innate flaws of this farcical piece of legislation.
He truly represents, among the Irish political class, a voice of sanity in the wilderness of groupthink on this matter.
This is one of the first instances in recent times that Ireland's long established Jewish minority community have been given a public forum to put forward their viewpoint.
Given recent history, the Irish media and political establishment has been too quick to discount their fears of legalisation effectively boycotting their co-religious.
I echo Mr Shatter's view that staying on this course will only harm and hinder Ireland's economy while doing nothing to solve the ongoing conflict. The legal minefield that this opens up for US multinationals has not been properly explored and given the choppy international economic waters, we should exercise caution and shelve this Bill.
Conflicts are solved by dialogue and not virtue signalling boycotts which only target one side of a conflict. As a neutral country we should act like one and do our best to bring both sides together, sharing Ireland's own experience of successful long term conflict resolution.
It is Ireland's loss that Mr Shatter is no longer a member of the Oireachtas and I do hope this is remedied at the next election. – Yours, etc,
ENDA KELLY,
Palmerstown,
Dublin.
Sir, – I read that the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee has asked Ireland to 'sober up', after having 'fallen into a vat of Guinness'. Really?
Quite apart from those insulting remarks from a man whose ultimate boss is considerably less than diplomatic; quite apart from the behaviour towards Ireland of the country he is accredited to as ambassador; quite apart from that country's murderous attack on defenceless Gazans, amounting to genocide; quite apart from the slaughter of children, their mothers and fathers by arms supplied by Mr Huckabee's government, I suggest that my Government has acted with utmost sobriety in their actions and words, especially regarding the Occupied Territories Bill.
Quite apart from the Bill's progress through the Oireachtas, I believe we, as citizens of a sovereign country, should take our own individual action. If we all, as individuals, take action by refusing to buy any Israeli product, service or financial offering, we act in a moral way by thinking globally and acting locally.
Our actions may not have a large initial result, but morally we must be seen to state our national belief and revulsion at the actions of the Tel Aviv government. We can boycott Israeli bonds and financial instruments; Israeli tourism and the airline El Al; Israeli agricultural products such as avocados and oranges, industrial products such as engineered valves and others, and defence and IT products, which I hope my Government is already absolutely refusing to procure.
I remind Mr Huckabee that the days of small civilised countries being easily silenced by large ones is over. Ireland, with our first class international diplomatic reputation, can and will speak out against the savagery inflicted against the people of Gaza.
I ask my fellow citizens to permanently boycott Israeli products to show our support for our Government and the people of Gaza. – Yours, etc,
PAT O'CONNOR,
Greenlake,
Co Wexford.
Palestine GAA and visas refusal
Sir, – How Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan, and those officials in the Department of Justice, who refused the children of Palestine GAA visas to visit the home of Gaelic games can sleep at night is beyond me.
I just hope their children are never faced with such devastating disappointment. It's not just shameful, but despicable.
I hope GAA clubs in every constituency make their TDs aware of their disgust, particularly those that are members of the Coalition parties. – Yours, etc,
DANNY BOYD,
Belfast.
Summer camp in Co Down
Sir, – The news that a children's summer camp in Co Down has been cancelled, because of protests by a local Orange Order over the attendance there by some children from a GAA club, gives me yet another reason why I will not support the idea of a United Ireland.
We already have enough bigots of our own here. – Yours, etc
GERARD CLARKE,
Dundrum,
Dublin.
Pearse Doherty's faux pas
Sir, – If the Sinn Féin finance spokesman, Pearse Doherty, doesn't know that Musgraves own SuperValu – something that would have been taught to secondary level students of business – how then could we trust them when it comes to the economy? – Yours, etc,
RORY J. WHELAN,
Co Meath.
Write and wrong
Sir, – A recent flurry of letters complaining of non-publication of letters set methinking. I would have regarded myself as a regular contributor, with a fairly good (?) success rate. I felt that my comments and observations on many topics raised smiles, if not eyebrows.
This stopped when my letters and observations criticised Israel. Not the Jewish people, just Israel.
It then became, it seemed, impossible to have anything published in the letters page.
Makes me think that that I have been sent to the naughty step, but probably more like my letters weren't as something as others.
If I knew what that something was, I could possibly do something about it.
Twenty-five years writing to a friend and then being cut off hurts.
I live in hope of a reconciliation.
Or a sharper wit! – Yours, etc,
PAT QUINN,
Dublin 8.
Meeting House in Temple Bar
Sir, – May I correct Helen Baily (Letters, July 16th)? The Meeting House in Eustace Street was exactly as Frank McDonald described in article on leaving Temple Bar.
As the author of Dictionary of Dublin Dissent– Dublin's Protestant Dissenting Meeting Houses 1660-1920, I can assure her that the building now known as The Ark was opened in 1727 by the Unitarian-Presbyterian congregation, which until then had worshipped in nearby New Row.
The Quaker Meeting House Helen Baily refers to is two doors to the left and is now the Irish Film Centre.
It was the fact of there having been two Meeting Houses in close proximity to each other which gave rise to the name of the open area behind The Ark and the IFC: Meeting House Square.
With respect. –Yours, etc,
STEVEN C. SMYRL
Rathgar,
Dublin 6.
The NTMA and scams
Sir, – Resulting from the recent scam carried out against the NTMA, which I'm sure was carried with some aplomb and professionalism: If those charged with minding the Government coffers can be scammed, then I might ask how are we, the ordinary citizen, supposed to keep up with the latest scams that scammers come up with?
I would suggest that mere talk, committees and online lists of those to avoid are insufficient.
Action is needed. – Yours, etc,
ANTAINE O'DUIBHIR,
Ranelagh,
Dublin 6.
Wise words
Sir, – It was good to read the letter by Fr Laurence Cullen (Letters, July 17th) regarding the deeply enriching work of some great Irish missionaries. They were giving dynamic testament to the truth of the saying of Saint Francis of Assisi : Preach the gospel at all times. And if necessary use words. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL GLEESON.
Killarney,
Co Kerry.
Still rubbish
Sir, – Laura O Mara ( recently) and Karen Higgins (in the mid 1970s) asked the question: why do we leave rubbish on the beach after us?
Now Karen is rather puzzled it seems that after all this time has elapsed (50 years or so) since her first appeal, these people or more probably their offspring, are still leaving rubbish on the beach .
Here is a possible answer : All those rubbish litterers do not read The Irish Times. – Yours, etc,
PAT WILLIAMS,
Dublin 6W.
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Middle-aged, middle-class cocaine use: ‘My wife thought I was having an affair, but I was using coke'
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'I became so sneaky and devious, to get what I want, that nothing else mattered,' he says. 'She was devastated.' The marriage broke down. At 49 he moved back in with his parents. He had to explain to his wife that their mortgage was thousands of euro in arrears. He sought help initially 'to curry favour' with his wife, but admits he was still using cocaine on the bus to the treatment centre. Only later did he resolve to accept treatment for himself. He's been two years clean of cocaine and has reconciled with his wife. He knows he's lucky. 'I functioned for so long. Worked and used ... I functioned for so long, until it took over everything.' Harris of Coolmine says cocaine puts users on a 'gradual progression' to addiction. 'You could use cocaine for a very long time recreationally before it starts moving into problematic cocaine use,' she says. 'When I'm trying to get people to understand why would people use, when they know what the destruction is going to be, I say: 'That's where you're wrong.' 'They don't see themselves as that other person out there who has a drug problem. They see themselves as a person who's working, who can afford cocaine, who has a job, who has a family, and I use this because I feel good when I use it. It's the exact same kind of psychology as somebody going for a drink on a Friday after work.' Still, risk is never far away. Certain users drive while under the influence of the drug. Others admit to working on building sites after taking cocaine. The health and safety implications were clear but user's need for the drug was bigger. Cocaine doesn't only affect the person using it. Those who love the drug user are also deeply impacted. MUIREANN* 'My brother can get it anywhere ... He was at a show in Dublin last year. It was delivered to the matinee at lunchtime' Muireann's brother is a 47-year-old tradesman and father in a family with a middle-class background. He started 'dabbling' in his late twenties, she says. 'The usual, started smoking a bit of weed, then taking a few pills – and then to the cocaine,' she says. Her brother's marriage broke down because of his drug-taking. 'He's isolated himself from everybody,' she says. 'He can't be in social situations any more ... He just isolates himself away and stays in bed ... It's just awful, and there's nothing we can do.' Muireann says her brother is still using cocaine, which is delivered to his house. She tells her children, who are too young to understand the situation, that their uncle 'is not well'. They 'love him, because when he's okay, he's great fun'. Still, Muireann's husband doesn't want their children around her brother because of his cocaine habit. 'Obviously he [her husband] won't let them go in the car or anything. He drives high constantly.' Muireann says her brother can purchase cocaine easily. 'He gets it delivered to the house. He can get it delivered anywhere ... He was at a show in Dublin last year. It was delivered to the matinee at lunchtime, at the break,' she says. 'No problem. They can get it anywhere. I don't know how they do it. There's a world and it's just a text away.' Living in the same neighbourhood as her brother, she worries about safety. His car 'was smashed up outside the house', she says. 'He is a normal person. He's a gent. He's the most generous human, good-looking fellow, gorgeous, really successful man – and this has just taken every ounce of him from us. He's not the same. Even if he stopped today, I don't know would we ever get him back. I think his brain chemistry has changed that much now, he's gone into psychosis, where he thinks conspiracy theories.' Feeling helpless, she lives in fear of finding her brother dead. 'Nobody can help him until he reaches rock bottom, and I don't know what that looks like.' THE MEDIC 'Cocaine is known as the perfect heart-attack drug' Increasing cocaine use was reflected in data this week from the Rutland Centre, another drug treatment group. Rutland's annual report pointed to the increasing complexity of drug addiction with 77 per cent of residential clients presenting with two or more addictions. Cocaine featured heavily. Doctors see the effects in the emergency room. 'Ask any emergency physician and they will tell you, cocaine-associated chest pains is definitely something we see in Ireland, especially in the 30s and 40s,' says Dr Lisa Cunningham, consultant in emergency medicine at Mayo University Hospital. Dr Lisa Cunningham, consultant in emergency medicine at Mayo University Hospital She has seen an increase in presentations in this age group over the past 10 years but says some patients won't tell medics of their drug use. 'Some patients may disclose their cocaine use and some may not, even when directly asked. Especially with local hospitals, community, people knowing each other, patients may be reluctant to state it.' Cunningham says 'cocaine is known as the perfect heart-attack drug,' adding that 'even recreational use, or chronic cocaine use' has a huge effect on the heart. 'It leads to stiffer blood vessels, which causes high blood pressure in the body. It is known to alter the structure of the muscle of the heart – causing it to enlarge. This can lead to heart failure as the heart can't pump properly with an enlarged muscle.' Cocaine use can be associated with the build-up of plaque in the coronary arteries – the arteries supplying the heart muscle – leading to 'blockage' heart attacks. 'If the electrical stimulant of cocaine is too much on a heart, this can lead to cardiac arrest.' People in their 30s and 40s may already have 'traditional risk factors for heart disease beginning to appear: rising cholesterol, diabetes, sedentary lifestyle, high blood pressure, stress in life.' Adding cocaine to the equation can be 'like an accelerator to a fire,' she says. 'Cocaine tips the risk factors over the edge with monumental consequences. 'A common thing patients say to me is that they haven't had previous bad effects of cocaine, or their friends never had problems.' Cunningham says cocaine isn't made in a pharmaceutical laboratory, with healthcare professionals, quality assurance, safety and regulation checks. 'You literally do not know where this comes from in the world, nor do you know the motivation of people behind making it, besides financial gain at the expense of anyone's life,' she says. 'Every time you take cocaine, there is no regulated ingredient list, no idea what is in it, with no knowledge of what immediate effect it has on your health. That may be chest pain or it may be cardiac arrest. It does not matter if it's the first time or the fifth time. Every time you take cocaine ... the damage is being done, and there will be one time that potentially the heart will not be able to cope.' *Names have been changed
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
‘A lot of Indians are being targeted': Man suffers cheekbone fracture after attack by gang of teenagers in Dublin
An Indian data scientist has warned of a 'huge increase' in racist attacks after he was assaulted by a gang of youths in west Dublin. Dr Santosh Yadav was walking home after having dinner with a friend in Dublin on Sunday, July 27th, when he was attacked by 'a gang of five or six teenagers', leaving him with injuries all over his body. 'They approached me from behind and immediately smashed my glasses,' Dr Yadav said. 'They started hitting me, quite hard. They hit me in the face, on my chest, my back, my legs. Everywhere. 'They hit me so much, and then just ran away. I was on the pavement, bleeding everywhere,' he said. 'It all happened quite fast. I wasn't prepared for such things to happen'. READ MORE The assault took place near Clondalkin train station at about 11.30pm. He called gardaí and was taken by ambulance to Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown, where he received a CT scan on his head and a full-body X-ray. A Garda spokesperson said they 'received a report of an alleged incident of assault' and brought Dr Yadav to hospital 'for treatment of serious injuries, believed to be non-life-threatening at this time'. Investigations into the incident are ongoing, they said. Days on from the assault, Dr Yadav continues to suffer head trauma and swelling. He has a fractured cheekbone and is heavily bandaged on his hands, arms, and legs. Dr Yadav moved to Ireland from India more than four years ago. He works as a senior data scientist. He has had to take time off work to recover from the attack and while he waits for a specialist procedure in St James's Hospital to treat his fractured cheekbone. He described the assault as 'a brutal, unprovoked racist attack', although 'not an isolated incident'. Earlier this month , an Indian man was beaten, stabbed, robbed and partially stripped in an unprovoked attack by a gang in Tallaght. The father of a young infant, this man arrived in Ireland three weeks previously take up a tech job with Amazon. The Tallaght assault is being investigated as a possible hate crime by gardaí, who believe the attackers may have recently carried out similar assaults on foreign nationals in the area. 'In the last year I've seen a huge increase in these incidents,' Dr Yadav said. 'There have been incidents where two or three [Indian] students were beaten in front of me, but they haven't raised these concerns.' 'They're worried about their jobs or their studies. They're afraid to speak up. They don't want to worry people at home. 'I'm happy to share my story as much as possible because I know this is not just about me, this happens everyday. A lot of Indians are being targeted.' [ African, Brazilian communities 'lack trust' in gardaí, believe force takes 'lenient' attitude to racist attacks, report says Opens in new window ] He said the Indian community in Ireland had 'an impression that Irish people are so welcoming, so humble, such good people. I've been to almost every county in Ireland, and everyone has been so welcoming. 'I think these teenagers are destroying those values and that culture,' he said. 'I see this every day, on the bus, the Luas, the streets: teenagers just beating people up. It sometimes feels like nothing will happen, that they can keep doing these things.' In the aftermath of the assault, Dr Yadav contacted the Indian embassy in Dublin for support. He said he appreciated that some officials visited him at home while he recovered from the attack, although he wants a bigger effort to ensure people's safety. Last week members of the Indian community in Ireland met the Indian ambassador to Ireland, Akhilesh Mishra. In a statement, the Indian embassy in Dublin said there had been an increase in attacks on Indian citizens in Ireland recently and it has been in touch with the relevant authorities. 'All Indian citizens in Ireland are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal safety and avoid deserted areas, especially in odd hours,' it said. On its social media platforms the Embassy of India urged all Indian citizens in the country to avoid going to deserted places and exercise heightened caution. The Embassy also provides emergency details for concerned or affected citizens to contact. Census figures show that there are up to 46,000 Indian citizens living in Ireland.
