BREAKING NEWS: BALLYFERMOT, DUBLIN: CHILD (6) SHOT IN THE NECK TAKEN TO HOSPITAL

Gardaí are investigating after an incident in Ballyfermot in which a child was injured and had to be taken to hospital.

Details are still unclear but gardaí are investigating the possibility that the child may have sustained a gunshot wound.

The incident happened at Croftwood Green in Ballyfermot.

Gardaí are currently at the scene and are trying to establish what occurred.

The child is thought to be aged between seven and ten years old.

*A young boy has been shot in Dublin tonight. *UPDATE:

It happened at a housing estate at Croftwood Gardens in the Ballyfermot area at around 10pm.

Initial reports suggest he is between six and nine years old.

Gardai are now investigating the incident.

He’s been rushed to Our Lady’s hospital in Crumlin where he’s being treated for his injuries.

His condition is not yet known.

The scene is currently sealed off and a Garda forensic examination will be carried out in the morning.

An investigation has been launched but no arrests have been made.

Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

Anyone with information is being urged to contact Ballyfermot Garda Station on 01 666 7200 or the The Garda Confidential Line 1800 666111.

This is the second shooting in Dublin today.

A 45-year-old man was shot in a car park at a gym in Balbriggan this morning.

A 45-year-old man is in a critical condition after being shot in Co Dublin.

The shooting happened just after 11am outside a gym in Balbriggan, and just 50m from a crèche.

The victim Brian O'Reilly, who is known to gardaí, was shot twice in the chest. 

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He was taken to Beaumont Hospital, where his condition has been described as critical but not life-threatening.

The gunman is believed to have left the scene in a white-coloured Nissan 200 SX or a white-coloured Toyota Supra.

The scene has been preserved for a technical examination. 

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Balbriggan Garda Station on 01-8020510 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800-666-111.

Coolock, Dublin: Lack Of Funding Means Closure For Ireland's Largest Child Care Centre: UPDATED

UPDATE: ADDITION: Almost one-in-three children have been deprived of food, heating or clothing during the recession, according to a new study from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).

The study, entitled 'Winners and Losers? The Equality Impact of the Great Recession in Ireland' looked at the impact on the downturn on different age groups and family types over the past five years.

It found that younger people have been the worst affected, with unemployment rates hitting 25% for the under 25s.

Some 130,000 children are found to have suffered deprivation, defined as not being able to afford basic food, clothes or heating. Almost 33% of under-14s fall into this category, compared to 11% for the over-65s.

Younger people were also hit harder by job losses, with unemployment among the under-25s reaching 25% compared to 12% for those aged 45 and over.

Cohabiting couples with children experienced the steepest rise in job cuts, while childless couples were far less likely to be deprived.

"There are no clear ‘winners’ in this report: we find rising unemployment and deprivation across the population," said author Dr Frances McGinnity.

"However significant inequalities between groups existed in Irish society before the recession, and to a large extent these persist, though some groups certainly lost more."

A separate study by the think-tank looked at the impact of job-losses on both sexes, with men suffering the most dramatic impact.

The gender gap between men and women in work fell from 16% in 2007 to 8% in 2012 - while 1 in 10 women are now the main breadwinner.

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The country’s largest community childcare centre is facing closure due to a funding crisis. The Darndale Belcamp Integrated Childcare Service, located on Dublin’s Northside, has experienced funding cuts over the last number of years that have now placed it in a severe financial crisis.

The Centre acts as a crucial resource for parents, enabling them to access training, education and employment opportunities. It employs 48 permanent staff, 7 relief staff and 43 Community Employment, Jobs Initiative and TUS employees.

With 250 children in attendance daily, most under the age of 6 years, the Darndale Belcamp Integrated Childcare Service needs a €200,000 cash injection to secure the centre to the end of 2014. A further €200,000 would be needed to make the centre sustainable.

The centre has won numerous awards and been held up as an example of community involvement in the past.

Ciarán Mulhall, Chairman of the Voluntary Board of Management said that a closure would have a massive effect on the community.

“The closure will have a detrimental effect on the area and vulnerable children will be put at immediate risk. We are a feeder for three local DEIS schools in the area and the development that the children receive at the centre is vital for their progress in education.

We are pleading with the government for this much needed funding in order to protect the centre, its children and the jobs of our employees.

The issue was raised today in the Dáil by local Labour TD Sean Kenny.

He said that the centre should not be a allowed to close.

“I believe that it is unacceptable that such a vital service as the Darndale Belcamp Integrated Childcare Service Ltd, that has the full support of the local agencies and public representatives, would close.

“The centre needs to know this week if these funds can be provided as their cash flow is again drying up and they have informed their staff and parents of the actual date of closure, which will be by month end or they face the risk of trading recklessly.”

1. Child Care Services Funding: 16 Apr 2014: Dáil debates ...

   www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2014-04-16a.417   Cached
   

   ... the funding crisis at the Darndale-Belcamp integrated child care service inDarndale, ... The Darndale-Belcamp integrated child care service was established in ...

DUBLIN: Children's Ombudsman's Report On Roma Scandals 'Highly Critical'

A report on the Garda removal of two Roma children from their parents in the false belief they were stolen children is not ready for publication, the Department of Justice has said.

The report by Children’s Ombudsman Emily Logan is understood to be highly critical of the actions by officers in the separate cases in Tallaght and Athlone.

Ms Logan submitted her report to Alan Shatter, the then justice minister, six weeks ago and comments he made at the annual meeting of the Garda Superintendents Association a few days later were taken as a reference to its findings.

Mr Shatter told the meeting he had concerns about racial profiling influencing Garda decisions. “There is a concern that because on occasions members of police forces in Ireland or elsewhere don’t understand the background and cultures of some individuals and don’t quite understand the difficulties they may have had in having relationships with police forces in their home country; that conclusions are reached about issues that may not be accurate; that on occasions people with the best of intentions adopt stereotypical images of individuals from minority communities, don’t always engage in a manner that is appropriate, and indeed on occasions will jump to conclusions,” said Mr Shatter.

The Department of Justice said yesterday it hoped to publish the report on the cases of the two Roma children “as soon as possible”.

It added: “However, on advice from the Attorney General’s Office, certain procedures have to be followed prior to publication aimed at ensuring that the rights of the families involved are respected.

“In the circumstances it would be inappropriate to make any comment on the report until that process is completed and the report can be published.”

Mr Shatter ordered the report following two incidents last October. A 7-year-old Roma girl from Tallaght, Dublin, was removed from her family home under an emergency care order after a member of the public raised concerns that the blonde-haired, blue-eyed child was not with her real family.

The girl was held for two days before DNA tests proved her parentage and she was returned home.

While she was in care, a second child, a 2-year-old boy from Athlone with similar features was also removed from his parents, although he was returned in a day.

The Garda actions followed on from international headlines when a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl was removed in Greece from a Roma family years after she was sold to them by her mother as an unwanted baby.

Ms Logan is believed to have concluded that the actions of the gardaí were excessive and influenced by racial profiling, although she stopped short of saying racial profiling was an institutional problem within the force.

Frances Fitzgerald, the justice minister, is understood to be concerned that the right to protection of matters private to the families discussed in the report is not breached by its publication.