The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Cuts in garda overtime having knock-on effect across Kerry
CUTS in garda overtime have resulted in many areas in County Kerry having a non-existent service, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae told the Minister for Justice in the Dáil.
“I know the Minister is not happy with that and does not want to stand over it,” he said. “Unfortunately, it has led to members of the force being injured during their work. There have also been a number of assaults on gardaí, both male and female, in County Kerry. That is not acceptable, either in the past, present or future. I want the public to be assured in that regard. Whether it is from Valentia Island to Tarbert or from Ballyferriter to Gneeveguilla or Scartaglen, County Kerry is a massive county. It is a beautiful county but it is massive, and it takes a great deal of resources to police it properly.”
Unfortunately, he said drugs have become an issue in places where we never had a drug culture or a drug problem previously. “I remind him again that in late May or early June, we had a large public meeting in Cahirciveen in County Kerry, which was attended by hundreds of people and also senior gardaí,” he said.
In reply, Minister Charlie Flanagan said he wished to assure Deputy Healy-Rae that he and the Government are fully committed to rebuilding An Garda Síochána to ensure the Garda is effective in dealing with crime, both urban and rural, where it occurs and, ultimately, bringing criminals to justice. “I was very pleased to have had a brief opportunity during the summer while in South Kerry to engage with Deputy Healy-Rae, his brother, Deputy Danny Healy-Rae, and members of the Garda Síochána on the front line. I do not have precise figures for Kerry but I can say that since the Garda Training College reopened, having been closed for many years, we have seen an increase in Garda num- bers throughout the country, including in Kerry.”
Doctors to be forced to refer women for abortions
FOR the first time in Irish history, a Minister for Health is proposing to force doctors to refer women for abortions, Independent Deputy Danny HealyRae told the Dáil. Speaking on the new Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill he said forcing doctors to become involved in the abortion process against their conscience is deeply unjust.
“There is growing anger among nurses, in particular paediatric nurses, doctors, midwives and pharmacists because they were never consulted,” he said. “It was said wrongly that this was GP-led. However, there was a GP poll and of the 900 GPs who responded, 75% said they do not want to participate. Theatre staff and gynaecology ward staff will be forced, and bullied, I believe, to do this job when they never entered the profession thinking this was what they would have to do.”
How, he asked, can a nursing staff manager take over a 12-hour shift where the nurse leaving says there are three terminations of pregnancies going ahead, when the second nurse does not want to be involved in that? “She is going to be forced into it. Indeed, two Scottish nurses lost their jobs for the same reason in 2014. I can see this is what will happen in our country down the road and we are not addressing those issues.”
What happens the babies who are born alive, he asked “Are they going to be saved once they are outside the womb? I met a woman of 39 years of age across the road from here last year. She was aborted and thrown into a bucket, and a conscientious nurse heard her moaning and saved her. She was perfect last year, 39 years later, across the road from here.”
Deputy Healy-Rae said an awful lot of people around the country will be very hurt when they see and understand what is happening in the case of an abortion, and what happens to a little baby. “I believe that once a baby is in the mother’s womb, it is alive,” he said. “Although it is constantly being referred to as a foetus, I refer to it as a baby. We are talking about this happening up to nine months. A couple of days later it is a baby outside the womb whereas a couple of days before that, or even hours before that, it is called a foetus and can be aborted. It is very wrong.”
Deputy Michael Healy-Rae told the Dáil that many “Yes” supporters in the referendum said they did not regard abortion as a good or desirable thing and they would prefer the number of abortions to stay as low as they are now. “The Bill makes no attempt to keep abortion figures low, which ought to be one of its aims,” he said.
Call for pregnancy drug to be made available
The need to make the drug Cariban which is effective for hyperemesis during pregnancy on the general medical services, GMS, the drugs payment scheme, DPS, or the long-term illness scheme, LTI was highlighted in the Dáil by Fianna Fáil Deputy John Brassil.
“The HSE has published clinical practice guidelines for hyperemesis which state that if there are no improvements following a selection of treatments recommended, then Cariban should be given, one in the morning, one in the afternoon and two at bed time,” he said. “It is actually recommended by the HSE’s own guidelines yet is unavailable to women suffering from this very serious condition. The cost, depending on the dose, is between approximately €1,500 and €3,000 during the course of a pregnancy.”
In reply, Tánaiste Simon Coveney promised to ask the Minister for Health to give a prompt update.