Category: News

ADVOCATES in Clare are being credited with playing a crucial role in a successful campaign for a new foot screening services for diabetics.

A new national foot screening programme will be introduced by the Health Services Executive (HSE) this year.

The two-year advocacy campaign was aimed at influencing health policy by mobilising grassroots support from Ireland’s growing diabetes community.

According to Grainne Flynn of the Clare branch of the Diabetes Federation of Ireland (DFI), Clare people were among the strongest supporters of ‘Half the Services, Half the Care’ campaign.

“We were encouraging people to go online and petition for the foot screening programme. At one stage, in terms of people logging on, Clare was the number one county in Ireland. Overall, Clare was in the top two for four or five months,” she said.

The decision by the HSE to intro- duce a National Diabetes Foot-Care Screening Programme under the National Service Plan 2011 has been welcomed by advocates for more services for diabetics.

According to Ms Flynn, “The fact that the Government has committed to funding for 12 podiatrists is very welcome. The foot screening programme is very important. People with diabetes have to be careful about feet because serious problems can develop from something as small as a scrape. Early screening can prevent amputations.”

In Clare between 2005 and 2009, 37 per cent of the 535 hospital admissions for foot ulcers related to diabetes sufferers.

For the same period, of 99 hospital admissions for foot ulcers (under the age of 65), 53 patients had diabetes.

The figures also showed that of 115 lower limb amputations, 55 patients had diabetes (48 per cent); of 43 lower limb amputations (under the age of 65), 23 patients had diabetes (51 per cent).

Last September, Diabetes Action’s ‘Half the Services, Half the Care’ campaign drew attention to the high levels and heavy financial cost of foot ulcers and lower-limb amputations in a drive to secure a screening programme designed to identify foot disease in Ireland’s growing diabetic population.

Meanwhile, the Clare branch of the Diabetes Federation of Ireland will hold Type 2 Diabetes meeting tonight, Tuesday, January 18, in the Marie Assumpta Hall at 8pm. For further information contact clarebranchdfi@gmail.com or 087 641 5747.

GRANTS from County Clare Vocational Education Committee to youth clubs across the county are estimated to benefit some 2,184 young people along with almost 540 adult volunteers.

Cheques were presented to representatives of 43 qualifying organisations in Temple Gate Hotel, Ennis. The grants form the 2010 local youth club scheme and the overall allocation is from a Department of Education & Skills annual fund.

A total of € 36,070, compared to only € 31,130 the previous year, was available for disbursement between Clare applicants. The applications are adjudicated by a sub-committee of the vocational education committee in accordance with criteria laid down by the Department of Education & Skills.

The committee’s youth officer, Seamus Bane, presided at the presentation of cheques which was also attended by Michael Corley, chairman, and Cllrs Michael Hillery, Gabriel Keating and Cathal Crowe of the grants sub-committee.

“What you do as volunteers in your communities in your work with young people is vital for the health of our society. You are all involved in a process of education, you are educators. You may not think of yourself as a teacher in the formal sense and nor do you need to. But you do help them to learn as surely as any formal classroom or exam does,” said Seamus Bane.

“You set tasks for the young people – things they may not have done before but that you believe they have the ability to carry out. Sometimes the task will stretch them and they will need a bit of extra support but in placing your faith in them you are contributing hugely to their development and their self-confidence and self-esteem,” he added.

Recipients of grants were 3D Youth Club, 4 Youth, Buzz Stop Youth Café, Carrigaholt Youth Group, Chill Zone Café, Clare Scout County, Clarecastle Scouts, Clicc Youth, Scariff; Clonlara Scout Group, Clonlara Youth Club, Cloughleigh Youth Club, Ennis; Cooraclare-Cree Youth Club, Cratloe Scout Group, CYS Activity Club, Doonbeg Youth Club, EMC Youth Group, Scariff; Ennis Scout Group and Ennis Youth Club; Fishbowl Youth, Kildysart, Kilfenora, Kilkee youth clubs, Killaloe Scout Group, Killimer-Knockerra, Kilmurry McMahon, Kilnaboy, Kilrush, Lisdoonvarna Parish, Lissycasey-Ballyncally, Loughgraney, Moy, NRG Youth, Quin, Skyview Youth Clubs, Lifeskills Youth Group, Meelick Scouts, Newmarket Scouts, Riverside Café, Shannon Music and Arts Project, Shannon Scout Group, Sixmilebridge Scouts, The Hub and Youth Space Ennis.

MORE than 300 people were housed at a refuge for victims of domestic abuse in Clare during the past 12 months, while hundreds of distressed victims of abuse sought help.

Requests for support among those suffering domestic abuse is brisk across the county, particularly in Shannon, where additional support has been provided, in response to demand.

According to Clare Haven, which provides support to female victims of domestic abuse across the county, 136 women and 187 children were admitted to its refuge in 2010. While this is a slight increase on figures for the previous year, one changing trend is that families are staying at the refuge for longer than had been the case in the past.

The refuge – which can house up to six families at any one time – was full for the entire year, with the result that many families had to be referred to refuges in Limerick and Galway. Such referrals have taken place since 2008.

In addition, 573 support visits were provided at Clare Haven’s drop-in centre in Ennis, along with an additional 350 support visits at its outreach centres in Shannon, Kilrush, Ennistymon, Killaloe an Scarriff.

356 helpline calls were answered by Clare Haven during 2010, which is equivalent to approximately one call per day. Staff from the centre provided 104 accompaniments for women seeking domestic violence orders, while 117 accompaniments to other services, such as the gardaí, legal aid and social welfare meetings, were also provided by Clare Haven staff.

More than 300 play therapy sessions were provided to children of women receiving support from Clare Haven. There is a waiting list for inclusion on that particular programme.

“Occupancy levels in the refuge were high throughout the year. Some families remained in refuge for longer periods of time as a result of delays in securing housing, needing to move to another county etc,” said Services Manager with Clare Haven, Denise Dunne.

She said that demand across the board has increased, not least in the Shannon centre, which was set up five years ago.

“Demand for the refuge and support service is up. In the refuge we were fuller for longer. Shannon is busier. We had to increase Shannon. We had to take on a second half day because it was so busy. The other centres have also got busier,” she said.

Cuts in financial support for Clare Haven have been imposed during the past two years and further cuts are expected this year. Nevertheless, its support services are unlikely to be reduced.

“This will be our third year of cuts. However we will keep the service going to the same level,” she said.

DEPUTY Timmy Dooley (FF) will begin the election campaign as Fianna Fáil’s most senior member, after just one short term in office as a TD.

The former senator will lead the ticket for one of the toughest facing the party in its 85-year history.

A man that has already started on the hustings, he is well aware of the unwelcome reception that is likely to meet the party at the door and he admits that people have a reason to be angry.

“We as a party had some success, but particularly from 2000 to 2007 we made some mistakes. In my opinion, people have to come forward and identify those mistakes but we must accept in our public spending we were somewhat out of control. We became overly dependant on the taxation associated with the property situation as it was,” he told delegates at the party’s convention on Sunday.

“But that was an economic model that was prevalent right throughout Europe,” he added.

The east Clare man said all of the other parties were just as culpable when they said the Government “should spend more and tax less and stay away from regulations”.

“So they didn’t have any answers. They didn’t have any different an- swers. So they have a kind of a gripe now at this stage to get power. I think the public will have to be careful about accepting their word over ours,” he said.

“Yes we made mistakes but in my view we have to accept the consequences and move on.”

He said playing the blame game will not resolve the problems of the country.

“If you look back you learn. If you lean back you fall,” he said.

He added that it was not just politicians but society at large that had to resolve the problems of the county.

SIXMILEBRIDGE Mart could reopen in as little as three months following the decision by a large local consortium to purchase the mart from Golden Vale Properties (GVP) at last Thursday’s public meeting in the town.

An estimated 400 people turned out for the meeting where the bid to purchase the mart was given the unanimous support by those in attendance.

This move comes following the surprise move by GVP to drop the asking price for the mart, which has been closed for more than a year, to € 300,000 last month.

The five-man purchasing committee, who were given the responsibility of negotiating with GVP on behalf of the local community, will now go “full steam ahead” to push through the paperwork in an effort to get the mart up and running again by March or April of this year.

“There was really only one thing up for debate and that was whether we wanted to go ahead with purchasing the mart or not. In this we got the unanimous backing of everyone who was there,” said local farmer Jim Enright.

“Everyone now wants to get this up and going as quickly as possible. It is full steam ahead from here on out and we are hoping to have the mart up and running by March or April. We have done what we needed to do and now it’s about getting the paper work sorted as quickly as possible and getting the mart ready to go.”

While hundred of farmers and local residents have already signed up to be shareholders in the new mart, it is hoped that more people will come on board in the coming weeks.

Mr Enright continued, “We are delighted with how this worked out. There was great support for the project, both from the local community and also from the wider farming community. This was a real community effort – we have people involved from across five or six local parishes.

“We had a sale of shares last year and a lot of people have already bought into the mart. What we need now is for anyone who is interested to come forward and become a shareholder.

“If people do become shareholders we feel that they will be more loyal to the mart and will be more likely to use it. A lot of people also promised that they would come on board if the deal went through and now is the time for that to happen.”

ALMOST 40 pubs closed in Clare in the last year, making 2010 one of the worst years on record for pub closures in the county. According to figures released last week a total of 36 pubs closed in Clare over the last 13 months resulting in the loss of more than 100 jobs in the local economy.

The majority of these closures were in rural parts of the county where cheaper alcohol in supermarkets, the smoking ban and the stricter drink driving legislation is driving many rural publicans out of business.

One rural pub which has been hit badly in recent years is Cassidy’s in Carron, where a 60-year-old weekly card game died out last year as a result of the stricter drink driving legislation.

The pub has had to drastically cut back its winter opening hours and according to owner Robert Cassidy, it would not be able to survive it if wasn’t for the summer tourist and food trade.

“One of the big things that effects us here is the drink driving laws. We have only one customer who is close enough to actually walk to the pub. Everyone else has to drive because of the distances involved,” Robert claimed.

“We are in the middle of the Burren so we are talking in a catchment area of nine miles all around us and the people just can’t get here. The peo- ple who are being hurt by this are the older people who might have come up here for a couple of glasses on an evening and they just can’t get here anymore,” said Robert.

“The problem is that we have people up in Dublin making laws for rural people who live out the country where there is no possibility of getting transport. Then there is the same penalty for someone going down the road at 30 miles an hour after drinking two pints as if you were caught on a dual-carriageway doing 70 miles an hour with six or seven pints taken. It is the same penalty for both things which I think is totally wrong. If people are living within a certain distance from the pub and are obeying all the other rules of the road there should be some adjustment made on the penalty.

“The young people are going to the big pubs in the big urban centres and that is where the damage is being done but we are taking the brunt of it. I agree that people should not drink and drive but in circumstances like this there should be some allowance made.”

Carron is located in the centre of the Burren – in a 300 square mile rural area where only 400 people live. The pub has been the traditional meeting place for the local community for more then 100 years and its difficulties are leading to a marked increase in rural isolation in the area.

“We had a game of cards going here for 60 years every Thursday night and it just died away because people could not take a task. This is older people, older bachelors who could come down, have a few glasses, play the cards and have a bit of craic with their mates. If they didn’t meet them for cards, the next time that they would meet them would be mass on Sunday or cards again the following week. This is a big big loss for those people,” continued Robert.

“You can’t make rules and tie the judge’s hands. There should be some discretion and some understanding for the man who is caught driving home at 30 miles an hour, in a rural area with no taxi and no other social outlet. These people should be allowed to make a case. This is not to say that people should be let off with drinking and driving but the guards and the judicial system should have some level of discretion – things shouldn’t be as clear-cut as they are.”

According to Clare TD Joe Carey (FG), the Government has not had the bottle to deal with the problems faced by rural publicans.

“The pub holds a unique place within Irish culture. I am a firm believer in the conscientious publican as a good dispenser of alcohol within tight legal age qualifying regulations. The problem we have now is that you can buy a bottle or can of beer cheaper than a litre of milk or bottle of water and that is killing the pub trade,” he said. “In each of the recent budgets, Government have lost their bottle in this regard and have not tackled this issue. As a result we are seeing good businesses go to the wall and a sig- nificant loss to the Irish tourist product with it.”

NEW anti-bullying legislation was last week enacted in thousands of public schools in Massachusetts, just days before the one year anniversary of the tragic death of Fanore teenager Phoebe Prince.

In total 390 or the state’s 393 public school districts began enforcing the new legislation, known as Phoebe’s Law, in schools when they returned from their Christmas break last week.

Fanore teenager Phoebe Prince took her life on January 14, 2010, after suffering a prolonged period of bullying at the hands of a number of schoolmates at South Hadley High School in Massachusetts.

This new anti-bullying law is designed to protect victims of bullying and will draw a legal link between bullies and the actions carrier out by the people who they bully.

Speaking on American television last week Phoebe’s aunt, Eileen Moore, said the best way to get justice for Phoebe was to speak out against bullying and raise awareness of suicide and suicide prevention.

“We are coping how any family copes when it has been affected by tragedy: You do the best you can as many other people are trying to do in their own life,” she said.

“I think there has been some change in peoples attitudes to bullying [since Phoebe’s death] but it is in people’s awareness of suicide and suicide prevention that people need to be more aware.

“Our children are in desperate pain. The rate of suicide has increased to the point where it’s the second or third highest cause of death among teenagers. We are not listening or we are not hearing their pain. We need to start a conversation.

“I feel that the school has let these kids take full responsibility for their actions – there are many facets to this and need to look at every aspect of this.

“I think that the truest justice for Phoebe is to speak out on her behalf against the despair and the pain that our children are holding inside and to make it better for another child. We need to better.”

Felony charges have been brought against six South Hadley High School students in relation to Phoebe’s death. Separate pre-trial hearings for all six students took place in October and November and full trials are expected to take place in the coming months.

PROJECTS LIKE the € 10.5 million development of specialist health services at the Mid Western Regional Hospital have become possible thanks to the support of the Mid Western Hospitals Development Trust and the assistance of its philanthropists, and the hard work of charities supporting the health services.

Founded in 1986 the trust has raised well in excess of € 16 million for public hospitals in the region. The trust has benefited from the support accrued from the JP McManus Invitational Pro-Am’s since 1990.

Chairperson of the Mid Western Hospitals Development Trust Louis Creavan explained, “This funding makes such a significant impact on developing health services in this region. We also sincerely thank the public for their committed support and tremendous generosity over so many years to the Trust. The money so generously donated has provided specialist equipment and services such as CAT scanners, a radiotherapy centre, Cath laboratory, MRI centre, hydrotherapy centre, urology, renal, endovascular, intensive care, neurology and ophthalmology equipment.”

In addition to the € 16 million already spent on equipment for midwest based public hospitals, the Mid-Western Hospitals Development Trust is now providing a € 4 million construction costs Dermatology Unit and Specialist Breast Unit. This unit, which is part of the € 10.5 million initiative, will dramatically change the way dermatologic and breast care disease services can be delivered to patients in the mid-west region.

“We are delighted to be associated with the Parkinson’s Association of Ireland and Cystic Fibrosis Association – TLC4CF – in setting a new headline for health service development,” aid Mr Creavan.

Una Anderson Ryan, Chairperson of the Parkinson’s Association said, “It is impossible to describe the dif- ference the new Neurological Unit, which includes an Acute Stroke Unit, will make to the lives of so many of our members and their families. A unit like this should be provided in every hospital in the country. Some patients have very difficult symptoms that require privacy and the smaller wards and private rooms will provide this. Overall, the new unit will be an invaluable resource that will make a significant difference in improving patient care and quality of life.”

Owen Kirby, chairperson of TLC4CF, added, “This is a very positive move and a critical next step in TLC4CF’s goal of achieving a world class facility for CF Adults in the Mid Western Regional Hospital. TLC4CF would also like to acknowledge the other very positive fact that the staff complement at MWRH dedicated to CF patients has increased as part of our overall drive.”

“The number of adult CF patients attending MWRH is increasing all the time as people living with CF are surviving longer. There is a dedicated Paediatric CF team at this hospital, but at present the facilities in the mid-west for adults with CF are very basic, which is why this announce- ment is so important.”

IT HAS BEEN hailed as the building that will fill the significant gaps in the mid-west’s health system.

Yesterday (Monday) the HSE unveiled a € 10.5 million development of specialist health services at the Mid Western Regional Hospital.

The development is aimed at filling significant gaps in the provision of specialist services including cystic fibrosis, neurology, stroke, dermatology and symptomatic breast disease.

The purpose built six-storey building on the hospital’s Dooradoyle campus represents a united effort from the Mid Western Hospitals Development Trust, the Parkinson’s Association and the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland.

Planning permission for the development was received on December 23, 2010. Construction is due to begin in June 2011 and the various components of the project are expected to be operational by January 2013.

Construction costs are estimated to be € 10.5 million and additional funding is available for equipment.

Louis Creaven, Chairperson of the Mid Western Hospitals Development Trust, said, “Pressure on public finances means that the work of bodies such as the Parkinson’s Association of Ireland and Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland, TLC4CF Mid-West Branch of Cystic Fibrosis Association and the Mid-Western Hospitals Development Trust, is today more important than ever in meeting the gaps in the public health service.”

The much needed development will provide for patients from Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary, and will include a specialised Cystic Fibrosis Out-patients Unit with five treatment rooms and an in-patient unit with nine en suite rooms.

A Neurological Unit to cater for 11 neurological conditions will also be included to cater for the very young with epilepsy, all ages with Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Motor Neuron Disease and the more common condition of stroke.

Complex technical treatments will be provided in a special six-bed unit. Overall the unit will serve some 5,000 patients.

A Dermatology Outpatient Centre will also be added to bring all dermatology services together at one location and to act as a focus for dramatic improvements in services for dermatology patients throughout the region. As many as 6,280 dermatology patients were seen in the Mid West Regional Hospital in 2010.

A Symptomatic Breast Specialist Unit to consolidate services which are at present fragmented in different areas of the hospital will complete the development.

As many as 5, 500 new patients and return patients were seen in 2009 at

ENNIS STUDENT Katie Drennan knows better than most the importance of the adult Cystic Fibrosis Out Patient Unit which makes up part of the € 10.5 million development unveiled yesterday (Monday).

Twenty-year-old Katie (pictured above), a second year Business Studies student at the University of Limerick, was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (CF) when she was just shy of her third birthday.

Her 19-year-old brother Jordan also has CF.

“The difference this new development will make for my quality of life and for many other CF patients is difficult to summarise,” she explained.

“Over the past 20 years I’ve had a lot of experience of the Irish hospi- tal system, some of it good and some quite difficult. I’ve spent a lot of time as an in-patient in the Mid Western Regional Hospital, in Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin and in St Vincent’s Hospital. This wonderful new facility will improve the lives for all Cystic Fibrosis patients in the mid-west region.

“The benefits of such a unit are many. It means we will not have to travel to other CF centres in Dublin to receive our treatment. We will not have to endure long hospital stays away from home. We will no longer fear the risk of cross-infection when we attend the hospital for treatments.

“Such a unit will also benefit our families, as long-term absence from the home due to frequent hospital stays can sometimes be very diffi- cult, and the absence from our families and friends can sometimes be the hardest to deal with,” she said.

“The importance of an isolation facility cannot be over emphasised enough and the recent appointment of Dr Brian Casserly as the first Adult CF Specialist Consultant in Limerick is a major step forward.

“TLC4CF hopes that this new unit will also mean that CF patients attending the Mid Western Regional Hospital will not have to go through A&E to be admitted to hospital, which has always been detrimental to CF suffers health, due to the high risks of cross-infection.

“With the continuous help of TLC4CF all CF patients attending the hospital won’t have to endure the dangerous and inadequate services that previously existed,” said Katie.