Latest news with #NormaFoley
Irish Times
22-07-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
‘Constructive' talks take place between Minister and disability service providers, says department
Talks between Minister for Disability Norma Foley and service providers on problems faced by the sector have been described as 'constructive'. The Department of Disability said that the meeting on Tuesday formed part of ongoing engagement. Organisations providing specialist disability services have been concerned for some time about funding for the sector. The Irish Times reported in May that more than two dozen bodies providing services to tens of thousands of people warned there was 'an extreme risk' to their ability to expand services or, in many cases, sustain existing operations. [ Disability service providers warn of 'extreme risk' to operations and ability to expand Opens in new window ] In an unprecedented joint letter to Health Service Executive chief Bernard Gloster , the chairmen/women of 26 voluntary disability service providers – voluntary public service organisations and voluntary grant-aided bodies – said their ability to deliver existing services and meet the needs in their communities was under threat. READ MORE The letter said many organisations were facing such acute financial situations that their boards were 'concerned they may be in breach of the reckless trading provisions of the Companies Act'. The department said on Tuesday that Ms Foley, in conjunction with the HSE, had 'had a constructive meeting with disability services organisations ... and further engagements will be arranged over the coming weeks/months.' Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said the issue of disability is a top priority for his Government. However, while the amount of money allocated for specialist disability services has grown by €1.6 billion since 2020, the Government has recognised that some providers are experiencing 'funding, operational and governance challenges'. The letter sent to the HSE in May said that boards of public service disability organisations were 'having to operate in crisis mode'.
Irish Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
State agencies to implement new rules aiming to enhance transparency in political ads
Plans are in train for various State agencies to take charge of new rules to improve transparency around misinformation in political advertising. Minister for Housing James Browne , whose department oversees policy around elections, will update Cabinet Ministers on the implementation of new European Union regulations that will affect political advertising published after next October 10th. While final decisions are still to be made on which State body will take responsibility for each specific aspect, a Coalition source indicated Coimisiún na Meán would be a 'natural fit' for online material. Consideration is also being given as to which agency would be best placed to police offline material such as election posters. READ MORE The new rules aim to make it easier for voters to recognise political advertisements, understand who is behind them and to know if they have received a targeted advertisement. Mr Browne will also brief the Cabinet on plans to provide €73.9 million for rural community water schemes, of which there are about 750 across State supplying 125,000 homes. The multiannual rural water programme will support 291 projects that supply 63,000 homes not served by national water utility Uisce Éireann . Meanwhile, Minister for Children Norma Foley will brief the Cabinet on plans to bring the Tuam intervention office under the indemnity of the State Claims Agency (SCA). This step will allow the SCA to handle any potential claims against the office and is standard practice for newly-established public bodies. The office is charged with recovering, where possible identifying, and reburying remains of children inappropriately buried at the site of the former mother and baby home in Tuam, Co Galway. On tariffs and trade, Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke will bring an action plan on market diversification to the Cabinet today. A key part of the Government's plan to respond to the looming threat of tariffs is to find new valuable markets and supply chains for Irish exporters. Mr Burke will formally launch this next month alongside Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris . Mr Harris will today tell Ministers the EU will 'intensify' negotiating efforts with the US ahead of the August 1st deadline for trade talks. Ministers will also hear that Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill will defer the introduction of health warnings on alcohol labels by two years, amid concerns that the labels could make Ireland less competitive internationally. The mandatory health labels had been due to be brought in next year. Last week it was reported that the proposal would be delayed until 2029. They have now been deferred for two years rather than three to 2028. Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Martin Heydon will bring forward a memo on behalf of Minister for State Timmy Dooley seeking to ban industrial trawlers from fishing within six nautical miles of the Irish coast. Such a measure had previously been attempted in 2019, but was subsequently overturned in a case taken by two fishermen in 2023. The ban, which will apply to trawlers above 18m, is part of a plan to make inland fishing more sustainable and fairer for smaller fishermen. The ban is expected to face legal challenge, though it is understood the Government believes its legal position is 'robust'. Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary will give an update on the report of the registrar general which shows a 1.1 per cent decrease in births, a 0.2 per cent increase in deaths and a 3.8 per cent decrease in marriages.
Irish Times
13-07-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Higgins ‘open' to visiting Tuam mother and baby home site as he welcomes excavation
President Michael D Higgins has welcomed the start of the excavation of the site of the former mother and baby institution in Tuam, and is open to visiting the site. Minister for Children Norma Foley visited the site last week and met members of the Office of the Director of Authorised Intervention Tuam (ODAIT), including director Daniel MacSweeney. A spokesperson said Ms Foley was 'happy to engage with the representative groups or families as appropriate'. Mr Higgins is 'open to visiting the site in Tuam at an appropriate time', a spokesman said. The Tuam Babies Family Group, which is led by relatives of people believed to be buried at the site, have urged senior political figures to meet them and visit the area. Pre-excavation work to seal the site and get the ground ready has been under way in recent weeks. The excavation process will begin on Monday. Mr Higgins 'welcomes the excavation beginning, as well as the DNA which has been provided by a number of people, as important steps in this journey', a spokesman said. The President 'hopes that the process will lead to an appropriate level of dignity being given to those who died and to their families'. Dr Niamh McCullagh, senior forensic officer, with a map of the dig site. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty The excavation will begin some 11 years after research by local historian Catherine Corless revealed that 796 children died at the institution, which was run by the Bon Secours religious order from 1925 to 1961. A test excavation carried out in 2016 and 2017 discovered a significant amount of human remains in what appeared to be a disused sewage chamber. Mr MacSweeney said the process of recovering and identifying remains would be 'complex'. Speaking at a press conference in Tuam on Monday, he said about 80 people had come forward so far to give their DNA in a bid to identify any remains recovered. 'We cannot underestimate the complexity of the task before us, the challenging nature of the site, as you will see, the age of the remains, the location of the burials,' he said. Anna Corrigan, a member of the Tuam Babies Family Group who believes her two brothers John and William Dolan might be buried at the site, said the fact the excavation was finally happening was 'bittersweet'. Speaking at the site last Monday , she said the children buried there had been 'crying for a long time to be found'. 'This is the start of something. We may not get all the answers, we don't know, but it's the next stage.'
BreakingNews.ie
10-07-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Disability groups approved for millions in funding left waiting more than a year
Disability groups in Donegal that had been approved for eight million in funding are still waiting for the money, despite repeated promises by the Government over the last year. The Children's Disability Service grant was launched in October 2023 and again in June 2024, and was to be used to fund projects helping children with special needs. Advertisement Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty told the Dáil in March that the funding had not yet been released to the disability groups in Donegal. Days later, it was confirmed by the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Norma Foley that she had 'secured sanction' for eight million euros to fund the projects that met the criteria. However, Mr Doherty told the Dáil on Thursday that the funding is still outstanding. He said that his constituent Denise McGahern, who was at the launch of the grant with her son, feels betrayed. Advertisement Her nine-year-old son Jack Donaghey has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. 'Denise went public to express her disgust and anger she felt that her son was used at a prop in an election government photo op and back in March, you apologised,' Mr Doherty told Tanaiste Simon Harris. 'You apologised that the situation went on for so long. You said that you would not defend something that was indefensible. You said, in regards to the funding, and I quote, 'I am going to make sure it is released. I am going to make sure it is provided'. 'Five days after the exchange between me and you in the Dail, the government again announced the funding would be released. Advertisement 'Yet despite your promises, here we are three months on and still no funding being released, still not provided, still the therapies are not available on the ground.' 'The 54 organisations that thought they had successfully applied for the grant haven't received a single red cent. Now, not only that, it gets worse because these organisations, some of them were publicly announced. 'Some of them were announced that they would get millions of euros over a three-year project. They have been told that they have to reapply for shortlisting, that the funding is no longer multi-annual, that it all needs to be spent by the end of the year.' He said that the groups have until the end of the year to spend money they have not yet received. Advertisement Mr Doherty said the Government has announced the funding on three separate occasions but that none of it has been given to the disability projects. 'It's kids here, kids with special needs, kids like Jack with cerebral palsy, kids who are in braces, kids who are trying to speak, kids who are PEG-fed, kids who want to walk, who are actually suffering as a result of this here,' he added. 'These children and their parents are left crying out for help. And it's cruel.' Mr Harris said the Government has allocated the eight million euros in funding, adding that there may be final compliance checks. Advertisement He said he will organise a meeting with the HSE in the coming days. Tánaiste Simon Harris said he would set up a meeting with HSE (Liam McBurney/PA) 'I've been asking about this on a pretty regular basis, because these are important projects, and indeed, I had an opportunity to speak to the head of the HSE, Bernard Gloster on it only this week, as part of our kind of ongoing regular engagements.'I understood, in relation specifically to the Donegal group, that they're in very regular contact. 'I'm also told that they (the groups) have been assured that their costs will be funded. 'From a government point of view, we've allocated the 8 million. I take the point, and I did apologise for it, around the delay. Ireland Teenager who sued over a delay in hearing loss dia... Read More 'We have now sanctioned the funding. And certainly, while I can fully understand there might be final compliance checks or governance checks, I don't say this rudely to the groups, we do want to see the money. 'Because of the importance of the issue, I'll ask that we have a meeting. I accept there are more projects in Donegal but we'll have maybe a meeting of Donegal Oireachtas members. 'I'll ask that that's arranged with the relevant minister or HSE next week to try and bring a finality to this situation.'
Irish Times
08-07-2025
- Irish Times
Oberstown staff member ‘punched in face in unprovoked attack' by young person, union says
A member of staff at Oberstown Children Detention Campus was hospitalised at the weekend following an assault by a young person, according to the Forsa trade union. The alleged incident on Sunday afternoon occurred in the exercise yard of one of the campus's units. The staff member was 'punched in the face several times in an unprovoked attack' and 'had to be taken to hospital where he was X-rayed for a suspected facial fracture', said a union source. The staff source said there were insufficient staffing levels in the yard at the time of Sunday's incident. READ MORE 'This young person has been involved in previous violent incidents on the campus ... They come from a very troubled, traumatic background and to be honest should have had far more intensive interventions far earlier in their life. 'They are probably in the wrong placement now.' The alleged assault comes less than a month after nine staff were injured in an incident involving a young person . That incident, during which improvised weapons were used, resulted in four staff being brought to hospital and a number being signed off work for up to a month, said Forsa. The union source, who works at Oberstown, queried assertions by Minister for Children Norma Foley , whose department oversees the campus, in a written answer to Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon last week, where she said the facility was 'not experiencing 'dangerously low staffing levels''. A staff survey conducted by Forsa in the last three months, seen by The Irish Times, found 69 per cent of staff members felt morale was 'low' or 'very low', while 54 per cent said morale had worsened in the previous 12 months. The survey, completed by 120 out of about 175 staff, found 80 per cent felt their workload had increased in the previous 12 months, with 74 per cent saying stress levels had worsened. A separate workplace culture report, commissioned by the Oberstown board of management and published on Friday, found just half of staff felt 'valued as an employee', while 'decision making in the interests of the young people could be improved'. The report, by accountancy firm Forvis Mazars, said 'substantial progress is still required' if the campus is to achieve its 'agreed target culture'. Oberstown's principal objective is 'to provide appropriate care, education, training and other programmes to young people between 12 and 18 years with a view to reintegrating them successfully back into their communities and society', the report noted. However, the centre's 'mission statement lacks clarity regarding the organisation's mandate in returning young people successfully to society' it said. 'While 76 per cent of survey respondents agreed Oberstown is a campus they enjoy working in, just half of staff agreed that they felt valued as an employee,' said the report. 'Cross-campus decision making in the interests of the young people could be improved as observed through focus group discussions. 'In the survey, just 47 per cent of respondents agreed that collaboration was actively encouraged.' On the issue of people development, the report found: 'There is no performance management system in Oberstown, as observed through focus group discussion, documentation review, and the survey where 71 per cent of staff agreed they had never been involved in a performance management process.' Authors found staff felt induction and onboarding systems could be strengthened 'to fully prepare them for their roles'. Just half of respondents agreed they were provided with the necessary information when they joined Oberstown. 'Only 25 per cent of survey respondents believed good performance is recognised at Oberstown and focus group discussions indicated there would be appreciation among staff for more acknowledgment of a 'job well done'.' A Department of Children spokesman said: 'The Department offers its full support to any member of staff who has been injured during the course of their work. As with all circumstances of this nature, these matters will be the subject of internal review. The Department does not comment on operational matters relating to Oberstown Children Detention Campus.' A spokesman for Oberstown said he could not comment on an individual incident, but that the campus 'offers its full support to any member of staff who has been injured during the course of their work'. He said management acknowledged the findings of the culture review, took the findings 'seriously' and were 'committed to acting on them'.
