Latest news with #CarlowKilkenny
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
'Putin shouldn't have a veto': TD says triple lock debated must avoid misinformation
Fine Gael TD Catherine Callaghan has said the current debate over changes to Ireland's triple lock needs to be grounded in facts and not misinformation. Ms Callaghan is a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Defence and National Security. Advertisement Ms Callaghan, a TD for Carlow-Kilkenny and a former member of the Defence Forces who served in Lebanon, has said that under the current triple lock system, countries like Russia and leaders like Vladamir Putin have the power to veto Ireland's participation in peacekeeping. 'We don't believe that Putin or others should have a veto on whether our troops can be deployed on peacekeeping missions. 'Currently members of the UN Security Council bind Ireland's hands on peacekeeping missions, when these are decisions that should be made by our Government and the Dáil." Ms Callaghan pointed to the fact that no new peacekeeping missions have been approved by the UN Security Council since 2014. Advertisement "This has meant that Irish peacekeepers have in some instances been delayed from engaging in missions to disrupt human smuggling and trafficking and maritime drug seizure operations," she added. 'This shows the absolute need to reform the UN Security Council which Ireland will continue to push for, but with that unlikely in the immediate future, we need to act in our own interests as an independent country in accordance with International Law and the UN Charter. 'In recent days, I have heard opponents of the proposals currently being examined by the Oireachtas Committee on Defence and National Security claim the UN General Assembly can approve peacekeeping missions and there is no need for a green light from the UN Security Council. 'But this is simply not the reality of how the system has worked over the last seven decades. While the General Assembly can make recommendations about deployments, it cannot compel countries to act. Advertisement 'Only once in history has the General Assembly invoked a Resolution to recommend a peacekeeping operation - and that was nearly 70 years ago when it established the first UN Emergency Force in the Middle East in 1956." Ms Callaghan is a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Defence and National Security. Ms Callaghan added: 'The context back then was absolutely unique where it had the consent of the parties involved - Egypt, France, Israel, and the UK - and the recommendation was in line with the priorities of four of the permanent members of the Security Council. 'The reality for the last nearly 70 years has been that every Defence Forces peacekeeping deployment has only ever taken place on the basis of a Security Council mandate. This underscores the rationale for removing the Putin veto." Ireland Neutrality 'completely unaffected' by triple lock... Read More She said removing the triple lock has "nothing whatsoever to do with military neutrality". Advertisement 'We value our neutrality and we are remaining militarily neutral. Ireland was militarily neutral for decades before the advent of the term 'triple lock' around the time of the Nice and Lisbon Treaty debates and it will continue to be neutral if these changes are passed through the Oireachtas and become law.' In an interview with in April, Minister of State Neale Richmond said: "Ireland's triple lock mechanism for deploying troops abroad is an archaic tool that is hindering our ability to be a global force for good whilst surrendering our sovereign decision making to the veto powers of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. "Given a UN mandate can be vetoed by any of the five permanent Security Council members, we are effectively giving the likes of Russia and China a veto of where and when we send our own troops."
BreakingNews.ie
14-05-2025
- Health
- BreakingNews.ie
Mother of child who has hip surgery calls for confirmation if surgery was required
The mother of a child on whom bilateral hip surgery was performed is calling for reassurance for parents and confirmation from hospitals about whether surgery was required. Áine Gladney-Knox, a Sinn Féin candidate for the Carlow-Kilkenny constituency in the last general election, told RTÉ radio's Morning Ireland that her son Archie was diagnosed with hip dysplasia when he was six months old and had bilateral pelvic operation in Crumlin hospital on the 19th of April 2022. Advertisement Post surgery Archie had to be readmitted to hospital and undergo a blood transfusion and further surgery. 'He just screamed and screamed and screamed. That child went through absolute hell. "He really, really went through a horrendous time and we didn't actually get home (from hospital) till the 4th of May.' Ms Gladney-Knox said the last time Archie had an appointment was 'a year and a half ago' with no further appointment. 'They said as far as they were concerned that they were happy and they were going to leave him for a few years.' Recently the family received a letter from Children's Health Ireland saying that an audit was being carried out on cases of hip dysplasia surgeries. Advertisement 'The letter for me was a bit wishy washy because I seen the letter and I just presumed it was like an audit they were doing on children, like it didn't break down what had actually happened.' Ms Gladney-Knox said she went about her day and it wasn't until she heard about the issue from Pearse Doherty that she went back home, looked at the letter again and realised that Archie was one of those children. 'And that's when I actually sat at my kitchen table and cried my eyes out because I was like, if he is one of the children, after what he's after going through, like it would actually break me as a parent. Ireland Politics watch: Government criticised ahead of chi... Read More 'As a parent, you trust what they're telling you and you listen to what the doctors are saying and you go with what they recommend and that was it and it wasn't until this, now we're like, we still haven't heard a word from anybody, only this letter. Advertisement 'I'm coming home every day checking my letter box to see if there is an update. Is Archie one of these children? It's eating up every day here in this house.' Ms Gladney-Knox said she was not at all reassured by the letter, if anything, it had made her more anxious. It had raised more questions and made her question herself and her judgement as a parent. 'We really need these answers. This has been a kick in the teeth. We want to know how long this is going to take. I want answers for my child. 'They have to get this right for all the families and all the children that are involved.'
