Speaking in the Seanad on the Criminal Law Human Trafficking Amendment Bill

The Criminal Justice (Human Trafficking) Amendment Bill 2013 deals primarily with trafficking for  labour exploitation. It further defines the meaning of exploitation, an trafficking for labour exploitation in Irish Law. It explicitly criminalises trafficking for criminal activities and in order to force someone to beg.This Bill is necessary to transpose in full the criminal law porvisions of an EU directive which was adopted in April 2011

Big Fundraiser Day on Friday April 26th for Special Olympics Ireland

 

 

 

This Friday, April 26^th , is the biggest annual fundraising event in the Special Olympics fundraising calendar.

Bus Éireann staff at Dundalk and Drogheda bus station will help raise essential funds, that will help Special Olympics Ireland continue to grow its programme of sports training and competition so that every person with an intellectual disability has the opportunity to be involved.

Every donation they receive on this Friday will help Special Olympics Ireland to continue to change the lives of people with an intellectual disability throughout Ireland. For more information go to:
http://www.specialolympics.ie/home.aspx

 

Click here to watch a video clip of the fabulous athletes.

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dztWNaGyi88&feature=player_embedded
 

Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Week April 12-19th 2013

This is National Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Week organised by Cystic Fibrosis Ireland.
It is also called 65 Roses Awareness Week because most children learn to say their condition, Cystic Fibrosis, by calling it 65 Roses.

Fund raising events will be taking place all over the country this week.

Funds are collected at both a national level, and also local level by branches, and will help fund the work of Cystic Fibrosis Ireland in its fight for adequate national and local services.
The organisation says:
"Funding is paramount to our grant in-aid service, which provides financial help and access to vital services: Exercise, Transplant, Bereavement, Social & Distress Grants are only but a few of the financial supports provided.
Funding is required for vital isolation beds and new treatment centres such as Dublin, Cavan, Drogheda, Castlebar, Limerick and Waterford. This will mean that people with CF will have centres with adequate facilities to avoid cross infection when they attend hospital. These services are not an option for better health, they are essential and they are needed now. Our goal is to provide these facilities in the shortest timeframe possible.

Cystic Fibrosis Ireland is committed to funding research to advance knowledge and understanding of Cystic Fibrosis.

A key objective of the Association is also to contribute to the development and improvement of CF services throughout the country. The ultimate aim of research is to find a cure to CF, but in the meantime it is imperative we support research that aims to improve current methods of treatment and management of the disease as well as enhance the quality of life of those living with Cystic Fibrosis.

 

Find out what events are taking place this week by visiting the CF Ireland Website:

http://www.cfireland.ie/index.php/65-roses-national-awareness-week

 

Inclusion Ireland to run Communication and Skills Course in Dundalk

Inclusion Ireland, the national association for people with an Intellectual Disability are offering a  Communication and Skills Course in Dundalk commencing in April . The course will run on April9,16,23,30 and on  May 7, 14, 24.
The location for the course is:
Partnership Court, Park Street, Dundalk

This exciting course aims to empower parents and to encourage them to be as effective as possible for the challenges they meet. The work is centred on the considerable expertise of parents, and involves parents in a series of workshops.

The Course will take place for two hours, (10am-3pm)  one day a week, over seven weeks. Cost to register is 30 euro which will be refunded on completion of the course.

The course is based around a book called 'People Skills' by Robert Bolton. The main elements of the course are;

• Self care to prevent burnout.
  
• Stress management as a means of reducing stress.
  
• Mutual support for accessing support for self and others.
  
• Networking and learning from other parents.
  
• Listening skills as a means of enhancing relationships (both within the family and with service providers).
  
• Assertive skills as a way of claiming rights and having needs met.
  
• Information to ensure awareness and confidence.

Contents of the Sessions will include:

Setting the scene; Introductions, overview of the session; sharing family details; dealing with stress and caring for oneself.

Reactions and feelings of parents to the diagnosis of disability; sharing experiences; approaches to mutual support.

Developing assertion skills as a means of advocating for oneself, one's family and others.

Revision and integration of the skills of the sessions.

There is some role play but that is always fun. Parents are never overwhelmed by the course.

Parents who have attended this course have said: "you have changed my life, I wish I had done this years ago" and "I wish this course could go on, I have learned so much".

The other important part of the course is that it is run by parents, Frieda Finlay and Anne Lawlor. Frieda and Anne are trained as facilitators and have all the experiences and empathy as parents themselves.
 
APPLICATION FORM

Registered Office: Unit C2, The Steelworks, Foley Street, Dublin 1. Tel: 01 8559891 Fax: 01 8559904 Email: info@inclusionireland.ie

Gender equality amendment in Education and Training Bill

I was delighted to put forward an amendment, along with Senator Ivana Bacik, on the Education and Training Bill before the Seanad this week . The amendment, which was accepted by the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn TD will ensure that there will be gender equality in the new education and training boards for those members who are elected from local authorities. As Labour Seanad spokesperson on Equality I continue to emphasise the importance of ensuring gender equality in all areas and particularly in Education.

Urgent resolution needed for victims of Michael Neary

At a  Press Conference in Dublin on Thursday last  by the Patient Focus Group , Senator Mary Moran expressed her disappointment and frustration at the ongoing  delay in resolving the situation for the thirty five women who were excluded from  the original Lourdes Hospital Redress Scheme which was designed to compensate the  victims of Michael Neary following unnecessary hysterectomies and oophorectomies.

“Over the past two years I have   met many of these innocent women who have suffered dreadfully as a result of the consequences of these unnecessary operations. I feel their sufferings have been doubly compounded by the delay in resolving their situation. I have supported these women since my appointment to the Seanad but have been frustrated by the repeated answers I receive from the Minister for Health that the matter is on-going.

I am pleased at the Minister’s announcement following the press conference that he will bring proposals to resolve the issue for the women to Cabinet before the summer recess.  I will be working hard to ensure that the Minister Reilly will keep his word on this.

The specific inclusion of these women’s cases is in the programme for Government as a result of the commitment of the Labour Party. These women have suffered too long and it is time that their suffering is acknowledged and recognised in a proper way”

Disappointed at lack of progress on the Walsh report on Symphysiotomy

Senator Mary Moran today expressed her disappointment at the lack of progress to date with the long awaited publication of the Oonagh Walsh report into the practice of Symphysiotomy.  It is estimated that 1,500 Irish women unknowingly and without consent underwent symphysiotomies during childbirth.

“I have been asking on a weekly basis about this report which was promised months ago. I was extremely disappointed to receive a reply again last week from Minister Reilly’s department that in fact the Department does not as yet have the report to hand.

Time is not on the side of these ladies. Many are now in their eighties and their suffering is certainly compounded by the lack of a satisfactory resolution for them. This delay adds unnecessarily to the hurt and despair to the one hundred and fifty known survivors and their families. Many of these survivors have been left permanently disabled, incontinent and in pain.

I am calling on the Minister for Health to make a statement on the matter as a matter of urgency and to give a definitive time when this long overdue report will be published”.