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Showing posts with label Dublin: Doctor Alleges That Special Needs Boy Was Tortured While In Garda Custody. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dublin: Doctor Alleges That Special Needs Boy Was Tortured While In Garda Custody. Show all posts
A voluntary centre which helps keep marginalised and vulnerable teenagers in education is facing closure over a funding crisis. The
education minister has been asked to step in and help secure the
€90,000 a year to keep the doors of the Cork Life Centre open.
A
total of 42 teens, 12 of whom are due to sit the Leaving Cert next year,
are now at risk of losing their places if the centre is forced to
close.
“I don’t like the ‘early school leaver’ tag, because it
implies they have failed in the education system, when in actual fact
it’s the education system which has failed them,” centre director Don
O’Leary said.
“It would cost the State €200,000 if I had to send these kids back to second-level education.
“And at least 10 of them would probably need special education units which would cost the State a further €159,000.
“We can do all of that here if we got the €90,000 we need to keep the centre open.
“As
far as I’m concerned, the right to education is protected under the
Constitution and the Department of Education is responsible for
providing that education,” Mr O’Leary said.
The funding crisis
has arisen following the withdrawal of key Christian Brothers’ funding
which has helped keep the centre going since 2000.
It is based in
Sunday’s Well in a Christian Brothers’-owned property, which was the
former home of Cork’s first lord mayor Daniel Hegarty, in 1900.
One
of four such centres across Ireland, its ethos is based on the SERVOL
method (Service Volunteered for All) which was established in Trinidad
by Fr Gerry Pantin in the 1970s.
Br Paul Hendrick, who discovered the system while he lived in Trinidad, brought the concept to Ireland.
He approached the Christian Brothers which helped fund the establishment of the first centre in Dublin in 1996.
The Cork centre opened in 2000, with 10 students, before two more centres opened in Dublin and Belfast.
Early
school leavers are referred to the Cork Life Centre where over 60
staff, most working on a voluntary basis, provide one-to-one tuition in
Junior and Leaving Cert subjects, supporting them in their preparation
for state exams.
The Christian Brothers have provided the core
€90,000 funding every year, with €50,000 coming from various government
funding streams.
But, in 2008, the religious order warned that it
would be unable to continue providing the funding, citing its own
financial pressures. It has now been forced to pull the plug.
A campaign is now under way to persuade the State to pick up the balance.
“We are not a school. School for a lot of these kids is just not an option,” Mr O’Leary said.
“We don’t want to replicate what has already failed these kids. We adopt a more holistic approach to the whole idea of school.
“It’s about teaching children that education is for everyone — not just for some.
“If
you have no hope or ambition, you’re life is over, but these kids have
hope and ambition and I would like to think that this centre has been a
small part of that.”
The Life Centre works with children from parts of the city where the early school-leaving rate has topped 34%.
Some
of its students were out of mainstream education for up to two years
before their referral to the centre. Despite this, the centre boasted a
93% attendance rate last year.
But the funding crisis has forced
the centre to stop accepting first or second-year students this year. Mr
O’Leary said they have already had to turn 71 applicants away.
And
despite the funding uncertainty, the staff have agreed to stick with
the current student body to get them to their state exams.
The centre has arranged a series of crucial meetings with government representatives later this month.
Doctors will be told to stop prescribing aspirin for patients with a heart condition that leaves them at high risk of having a stroke as it is ineffective. More than a million people in the UK suffer from atrial fibrillation (AF) and for decades the cheap and easily accessible tablets were given to help thin the blood.
But now studies have shown that aspirin has little benefit and anticoagulants should be given instead.
Professor Martin Cowie, a consultant cardiologist at the Royal Brompton Hospital in London, said: "About 12,000 people in England a year have a disabling stroke because a clot forms in the heart, shoots off and damages the brain.
"In the past we used to use aspirin, but we know that is not an effective treatment.
"Now there are various other option to thin the blood, not just warfarin, and it's important that patients have a chat with their GP or specialist to find out what is most likely to benefit them."
New guidelines for doctors are expected to be published in the coming days by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
Fiona Birdseye is delighted that aspirin will no longer be prescribed for AF patients like herself.
Last year she had a transient ischaemic attack or mini-stroke and was put on aspirin to thin her blood. A fortnight later she suffered an actual stroke.
Mrs Birdseye said: "It's incredibly frustrating. I may well have had the stroke even if I had been on an anticoagulant but the fact that I was taking aspirin which was absolutely, I find out now, useless and gave me no protection whatsoever."
More than 300,000 patients with AF still take only aspirin to prevent them having a stroke.
Fiona uses the anticoagulant warfarin. A new generation of drugs has fewer side-effects, but there has been concern about the cost.
Trudie Lobban, CEO of the AF Association, said: "At first glance the new drugs seem far more expensive than warfarin or aspirin, however if you take into account the regular blood checks you have to have with warfarin and the clinics that have to be run and the consequences of some of the bleeding caused by warfarin, then the new drugs are just as cost-effective."
The AF Association has been pushing for the change since the first evidence suggested aspirin was ineffective in 2006.
A Garda reservist has been arrested and questioned in connection with allegedly harassing an ex-girlfriend and using the Garda computerised intelligence system, Pulse, to check who she was seeing.
It has emerged that the reserve bombarded his ex-girlfriend with hundreds of text messages following their split and left messages and CDs at her home over a number of weeks prior to her making a complaint.
It is also alleged that he used the Pulse computer system to check the registration number of vehicles parked outside the home of his ex-girlfriend and was thus able to acquire the name of the owner, their address and other details.
Reserve gardaí are entitled to access the Pulse system for what is considered routine information, which would normally be requested by full-time gardaí who might be on patrol and spot suspicious vehicles.
However, it is believed that the Garda reserve, who is stationed in the south of the country, may have accessed the information on vehicles parked outside the former girlfriend’s house without any such requests and may have assimilated a lot of information on her neighbours and friends without having the appropriate authorisation.
Garda reserves are prohibited from accessing “intel files” which contain sensitive information on people.
There are around 1,200 Garda reserves stationed around the country who are provided with a handbook which specifically says what they are not allowed to access on Pulse, in particular the intelligence section.
Then justice minister Michael McDowell set up the reserve in 2006. The Garda Representative Association saw it as a move to prop up a force that was being stripped of resources.
UPDATE: 6: TaoiseachEnda Kennysaid he deplored the attack on the WaterfordGarda's home after which the young man lost his life but rejected suggestions it signalled an upsurge in violence against members of the force.
Mr Kenny, speaking in Cork, said he did not believe that the incident was in any way indicative of an upsurge in violence linked to anger at the force over recent revelations.
"No, I think we have had a number of tragic incidents (against the Gardai) over the years either by the IRA or by other criminal activities where Gardai have been caught in situations like this," Mr Kenny said.
The Taoiseach said he did not want to comment in detail on the Dungarvan incident because an independent investigation was underway.
"I don't have all the details of this. But I deplore this kind of attack. I understand that somebody has died in this matter and that is to be very much regretted," he said.
"The issue now becomes one for investigation by the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) where any member of the Gardai are involved GSOC will have to undertake that investigation and report to the Minister for Justice (Frances Fitzgerald)."
A gang attacked the home of the officer in the early hours of this morning in the west Waterford town.
The garda suffered slash wounds to his head and was transferred to Waterford Regional Hospital (WRH) in Ardkeen for treatment.
His injuries are not life-threatening.
The garda was injured as he bravely tried to chase the four man gang away from his home.
The men fled on foot and one is understood to have become separated from his friends and, in fleeing over marshland, tripped and injured himself.
It appears that he then fell into a stream or river and drowned.
Two other men were arrested not far from the scene and are currently being questioned by gardai.
Mr Kenny declined to comment further on the incident.
"I don't have all the details and it is a matter for GSOC," he said.
But he said he could not see how the incident was in any way triggered by recent events involving the garda force nationally.
The gardai have been rocked by the resignation of Commissioner Martin Callinan, whistle-blower revelations in Cork and Westmeath and then the resignation of Justice Minister Alan Shatter.
"The issues of the recent past are ones we can deal with," Mr Kenny stressed.
"The Minister for Justice has outlined the decisions taken by Government and a process here with timelines to move in that direction."
"Clearly people do want to have integrity and belief in the Gardai...the men and women who work in the Garda want the same thing."
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UPDATE: 5: A 16-year-old boy has been found dead near a stream in Co Waterford, following an earlier incident in which a senior Garda was assaulted.
The senior garda and his wife were at their home in Dungarvan when they heard the sound of glass breaking around midnight.
The Garda went outside and was confronted by three youths. A bottle was thrown at the officer and he sustained a cut to the back of the head.
The three teens ran off, and on-duty gardaí were called.
Around an hour later, a 16-year-old was found unconscious close to a stream. He was later pronounced dead. A postmortem is to be carried out to determine the cause of death.
Two youths have been arrested and are being questioned by gardaí.
The garda is said to be in a distressed state but is not seriously injured.
The Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission is investigating and a senior investigator is at the scene.
UPDATE: 4:
A gang of up to four men attacked the family home of a senior garda in Dungarvan
An 18-year-old man has died after trying to escape from a raid on a senior garda's house in Dungarvan in Co Waterford last night.
It is understood the man was in a group of possibly four men who attacked the family home of a senior garda in the town.
The garda was hit over the head with a bottle or received another wound, it is believed.
The attackers fled the scene, some on foot. It is understood the man who died may have fallen on something in or near water.
The Coast Guard helicopter was called out last night to help in the search.
Three other men have been arrested.
The Garda Ombudsman Commission has been contacted.
One of its investigation teams has arrived in Dungarvan and is being briefed this morning.
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UPDATE: 2: The person killed in on overnight serious incident in Dungarvan, Co Waterford was a teenage boy.
Although details are still sketchy, it is understood the teenager was one of a small group of two or four who went to a garda’s home late last night.
In an ensuing incident, the senior garda was injured and is being treated in hospital. RTE reports he was hit over the head with a bottle, and may have received anotehr injury. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
His attackers fled the scene, at least one of them on foot. That person has died, after a fall,
A witness said a man hunt took place between 2am and 3.30am with a coastguard helicopter hovering over Abbeyside for 45mins.
The Garda Ombudsman has been contacted and a senior investigation team is in place in Waterford
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UPDATE: 3: A (teenage boy) is dead following a security incident in Dungarvan, Co Waterford in which a senior garda was stabbed. A major search was launched following the attack at the house of the senior officer, and a youth was reported to have received fatal injuries when he was being chased down by gardai. It is understood he fell in an area of marshland on the coast and possibly fell on a sharp object. The drama unfolded at around 2am when a group of up to four men were involved in the attack at the garda’s house. It is unclear if the gang got into the house or if the member of the force came out to confront the intruders, but he is understood to have been stabbed or slashed in a confrontation. During a follow-up operation two suspects were being pursued by gardai when they took to an area of marshland behind the Abbeyside estate. The coastguard were also brought in to help in the search. One man was arrested at the scene but a second man is said to have died, either after falling or by drowning. It was also being reported locally that he received injuries injuries on agricultural equipment and then fell into the water.
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A man has died fleeing the scene of a attack on a senior garda’s house last night, it has emerged this morning.
It is believed the incident occurred at around midnight last night. The Superintendent was at his family home in Dungaran and a bottle was thrown at a window of the house.
It is understood that the man went outside where he was confronted by at least three youths. He was hit on the back of the head with a bottle and tried to restrain one of them.
While fleeing the scene through a housing estate, one of the youths was fatally injured. The injured garda was taken to hospital.
A garda spokesperson told TheJournal.ie that the incident is now being investigated by the Garda Ombudsman Commission.
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A man has died after an attempted raid on the home of a senior garda in Waterford overnight.
Although details are still sketchy, it is understood the man was one of a small group of two or four who attacked the garda’s home.
The garda was stabbed and is being treated in hospital, where his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
His attackers fled the scene, at least one of them on foot. That man has died, after he fell on something sharp.
RTE reported that the Garda Ombudsman has been contacted and that a senior investigation team has just arrived on the scene.
Dr alleges Gardaí 'stripped and whipped special needs boy'
An Oireachtas committee has heard allegations that a teenager with special needs was assaulted by officers at a Garda station.
Dr Richard O'Flaherty, a GP in Limerick, made the allegations at the Oireachtas Justice committee.
He said the whistleblowers charter for Gardaí should be extended to doctors who want to reveal allegations of misconduct.
Under parliamentary privilege, he gave one example of how Gardaí had allegedly abused one teenager with special needs.
Dr O'Flaherty said: "A special needs boy was arrested (after) he borrowed his father's car. (He has) the body of a 17-year-old (and) the mind of an eight to 10 (year-old).
"He was taken in, stripped of his pants and underpants, whipped with a belt and told that they arrested his dad also and gave him the same thing." www.justice4all.ie
Martin Callinan resigned as garda commissioner at the end of March
The Garda Inspectorate has told an Oireachtas Committee that training within the gardaí has ground to a halt and this would come back to haunt the force.
The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors also complained about the lack of ongoing training for gardaí.
Chief inspector Robert Olsen told the committee that continuous professional development within the gardaí had ground to a halt.
He said he has met detectives who have never been trained and he said that this will come back to haunt the force.
Earlier, the committee was told that there should be no political involvement in the appointment of senior garda officers.
Amnesty and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties said ministers should not be appointing assistant commissioners or the garda commissioner, and that the current structure of political promotion needs to be looked at as a matter of urgency.
The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission told TDs and senators that it is now receiving a better level of service from gardaí and that it will now have unfettered access to PULSE for its investigations.
GSOC Chairman Simon O'Brien said the Garda Commissioner should be subject to oversight and to GSOC investigations, as chief police officers are in other jurisdictions internationally.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Mr O'Brien said GSOC recognised that the garda commissioner had different powers in relation to State security, and the command and control of their force.
The committee also heard that the policing and intelligence services in An Garda Síochána should be separated.
Transparency International said Ireland does not need a foreign intelligence service and does not need spies in embassies.
John Devitt said the intelligence service should be focused on preventing crime, not scrutinising members of the media or the Oireachtas.
The Irish Traveller Movement told the committee that more than half of Travellers were not satisfied with gardaí and there is a very high level of mistrust between the two.
Brigid Quilligan said allegations of race profiling and Traveller children being placed on the PULSE system does huge damage to the relationship.
Earlier, committee chairman David Stanton said it is unlikely the Secretary General of the Department of Justice will be questioned about the resignation of former garda commissioner Martin Callinan.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Sean O'Rourke, Mr Stanton said some committee members felt that they should allow the commission chaired by Justice Nial Fennelly to deal with the issue.
He said Secretary General Brian Purcell was reluctant to answer questions on the matter, as he was concerned that it might prejudice the work of the commission.
Mr Stanton said a final decision on the matter would be made on Thursday.
He said Mr Purcell will be questioned about the administration of the Department of Justice and how paperwork was and is being managed.
The Fine Gael TD said he expected Mr Purcell will be asked about how he and his colleagues responded to the claims of garda whistleblower Sergeant Maurice McCabe.
Mr Stanton said failure to deliver the letter from the garda commissioner to then minister for justice Alan Shatter in regard to concerns about the Ian Bailey case will probably come up in questioning as well.
Mr Purcell has agreed to appear before the committee but he has written to the committee requesting that members refrain from asking him any questions about Mr Callinan's departure.
In a letter to the clerk of the committee, Mr Purcell claims any questions related to the departure of former commissioner Callinan could "potentially trench" on the work of the Fennelly Commission.
He said: "It is now potentially prejudicial to the work of the Fennelly Commission" that the committee would "proceed on a parallel investigation of a matter which is within the terms of reference of the Fennelly Commission."
Mr Purcell said it may well be perceived that the work of the Fennelly Commission would be undermined if questions were asked that are the subject matter of the commission.
The committee has asked Mr Purcell to appear before it tomorrow, but Mr Purcell has requested that his appearance be put back for a week or two.
Committee members want to discuss the fallout from the Guerin Report, administration issues in the department and Mr Callinan's resignation.
Committee to discuss planned garda authority
Mr Stanton said the committee would be looking at the Government's decision to set up a new garda authority, at the powers of GSOC, the role of the Garda Inspectorate, as well as the interaction between the Garda Commissioner, the Minister for Justice and the Department and the Oireachtas.
Mr Stanton said the committee will be giving a report to Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald on best practice as it sees it.
The report would be with Ms Fitzgerald before the summer recess, he added.
Yesterday, the Government announced a review of the performance of the Department of Justice following adverse findings in the Guerin Report last week.
The report was critical of how allegations made by Mr McCabe were handled by gardaí, Mr Shatter and the Department of Justice.
It led to the resignation of Mr Shatter last week.
Elsewhere, the Taoiseach said he expects that the Government will come back with proposals for the establishment of the garda authority before the summer recess.
He told the Dáil that it is a tight deadline to have it done by the end of the year.
Mr Kenny said there will be a two-hour debate tomorrow on the Guerin Report and TDs will return to the debate in two weeks.
Doctors describes alleged garda abuses
A medical doctor has outlined to the committee a number of alleged garda abuses of people in custody.
Dr Richard O'Flaherty, who is a member of the Justice4All www.justice4all.ie campaign, claimed that a woman went into a diabetic coma in custody after she was prevented from going to the toilet and initially prevented from going to hospital.
The doctor alleged this took place in Limerick 11 years ago.
He also alleged that a 17-year-old with special needs was arrested, stripped and whipped with a belt.
The doctor claimed to have statements and photographs of alleged beatings in custody.
The chairman of the committee accepted that the allegations were disturbing, but told the doctor that the committee's focus was on the 2005 Garda Act.
Dr O'Flaherty said all patients detained by gardaí should be entitled to their own doctor of choice and there should be a protocol for vulnerable people in custody.
He also pointed out that gardaí are not trained to dispense medication such as methadone or use defibrillators.
