Our revenge will be the laughter of our children

I was six years old and I was sitting on the stairway in my home as relatives discussed some dramatic news. I knew it was dramatic by the tone of their voices and the occasional swear word. Bobby Sands had died. I vaguely knew who he was. He was a guy with a beard who was in jail and was refusing to eat. I was instinctively suspicious of his motives and as someone who was brought up to respect law and order, I believed only bad people were in prison. I had no idea of struggle, of state violence or of armed resistance. I was puzzled as my elders seemed to sympathise with the gaunt man with the beard. I still remember the moment very vividly and it had more of a profound effect on me than I realised at the time.

Some years later and being a little older and wiser I learned of another man who was in prison and who people were talking about. It was Nelson Mandela. This time I was able to do some research and form my own opinion as to his circumstances. And as I did so I became enraged. I learned about apartheid and the treatment of black people in South Africa. The whole notion of apartheid angered me. Maybe it was my obsession with the adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the story of the drifting journey of Huck and his friend Jim, a runaway slave, down the Mississippi River on their raft. For me this story was one of the most enduring images of escape and freedom of my childhood. I was appalled at the concept of slavery and instantly empathized with the struggle of Mandela.

20 years on and the memories of Bobby Sands and Nelson Mandela still inspire me. On his death bed Bobby Sands wrote ‘Our revenge will be the laughter of our children’. There was no hint of bitterness. Today children in the North of Ireland and South Africa live in better places. Things are not perfect but they are better. I celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Nelson Mandela and salute the man’s extraordinary courage. He is one of the greats.

Is increasing the speed limit on outer ring road necessary?

A debate on increasing the speed limit on the outer ring road took place at this months City Council meeting. A motion was tabled by Fine Gael Councillor John Cummins to increase the limit from 60KPH to 80 KPH. This blogger approached the issue with an open mind and listened intently to the arguments in favour - the speed limit was simply to low, the road is an effective carriageway and limit should reflect this and secondary roads off the ring road had 80KMP limits. And then bang the killer punch arrived. The proposer confessed that the Gardai are opposed to increasing the limit and the city council Director of Services pointed to the need for costly engineering improvements if the limit was increased.

And it got me thinking. What material difference would the limit increase have on the motorist and how much time would you save if you travelled the full length of the road. The answer is seconds. I am sorry but increasing the speed limit on a road with adjoining footpaths to save a few seconds is not something that can be justified. An argument was made that the increase was needed because motorists were travelling 80KMP anyway. I do not believe motorist habits should determine speed limits and regard has to be given to the advice of the experts. For the record I drove the road today and was happy to stick to the 60KMP limit. A report is being prepared for all councillors and I understand that it will advise that we stick with the current limit. I will find it difficult to go against such advice but I look forward to the issue coming back to council again for final consideration. To readers of this blog, if you have an opinion on the subject matters drop me a line.

George Lee departure leaves Fine Gael reeling

When I first heard the news that George Lee was to resign his position with RTÉ and run for Fine Gael I was gob smacked. George was consistently critical of Government economic policy and offered a sound and considered critique. Given that you cannot put a piece of paper between the economic policies of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael it seemed a strange choice indeed. I assume he looked at Fine Gael riding high in the polls and as the largest opposition party it presented him with the best opportunity to get into the heart of Government.

Maybe he genuinely felt he could influence Fine Gael policy to such an extent as to turn it on its head. It is not surprising that it took George only nine months to find out that this was not possible and that Fine Gael does not offer an economic alternative to Fine Fáil. It was inevitable that he would become frustrated with Fine Gael.

This is nothing short of a fiasco and amounts to a further waste of taxpayers’ money as another bye election is on the cards. It is a PR disaster for Fine Gael. So what now for George Lee? And what does this say about Enda Kenny’s leadership. As an old Chinese proverb goes – may you live in interesting times.

Public suffer as HSE embargo takes its toll

As applications rise for payments under the community welfare system due to cuts in social welfare payments and with more people out of work local community welfare officers are unable to cope with the rising demand. This is not the fault of the staff who are trying their best but is a direct result of the national HSE staff embargo.

The Government needs to increase the number of community welfare officers available in Waterford in order to cope better with the rising applications from members of the public seeking help. While the Minister for Social and Family Affairs is rightly creating an extra 115 posts to meet increased demand in her own department people are being turned away from the local community welfare office due to insufficient staff numbers arising from the HSE embargo. This does not make sense as over 70% of the community welfare budget is funded by the Department of Social and Family Affairs.

Prior to the introduction of the HSE embargo the agreed Community Welfare Officer compliment was 18 and half yet the current number of CWO’s locally is 14. According to figures recently released by SIPTU, applications for medical cards rose 20 per cent between 2007 and 2008 in some regions; while claims for supplementary welfare increased 45 per cent and claims for mortgage assistance were up 70 per cent over the same period. In addition, mortgage assistance claims have increased by another 12 per cent since Christmas. Community welfare officers are dealing with families struggling to pay mortgages, put food on the table and pay lighting and heating bills. The basic fact is that more people are in need yet are finding it more difficult to get into the system. In Waterford people are constantly turned away from the Community Welfare clinic as the numbers are simply too great.

The HSE embargo is a crude instrument and does not reflect the changing reality on the ground. Given that most of the Community Welfare system funding comes from the DSFA I am calling on the Government to be flexible and make an exception to allow for the placement of extra staff in this area. At the very least the agreed staff compliment of 18 CWO’s in the Waterford office should be met.

City Council should develop a Waterford City Green Tech Plan

Waterford City has traditionally been heavily dependent on manufacturing for jobs. This has in many respects thwarted entrepreneurial activity in the city and left us vulnerable as the jobless figure heads for 15,000. The current strategic focus on tourism as a key economic driver is sensible and deliverable. The recently launched ‘Destination Waterford’ venture in tandem with the new Waterford Crystal project and the Viking triangle plan will undoubtedly position the city to maximise its potential in this important area. But is this enough?

I see this as only one piece in the jigsaw and we need to develop other industries in the city. One of the emerging industries internationally is in the area of green technology. Waterford City is well placed to take advantage of this. Waterford I.T. has leaped forward in terms of their research focus in recent years and the Eco-Innovation Research Centre is one its three centres of excellence. To take full advantage of this I would like to see the city council develop a City Green Tech Plan. The plan could have as its core aim the need to optimise the availability of SEI and Science Foundation Ireland funding. Indeed Science Foundation Ireland has grown dramatically the amount of research in R&D clusters around the state. Waterford City could become one of the countries leading areas in Green Technology.

Having a city green tech plan would focus our minds on practical things that we should be doing. It would encourage us to maximise the use of indigenous renewable energy such as wind, biomass and bio fuel, prioritise funding in local renewable energy projects and work with local education providers in maximising our potential in this area. We could for example work with the local VEC to make free retraining opportunities available to unemployed trades-people to qualify them as energy rating assessors, or in the installation of solar, wood-pellet, ground heating and mini-wind turbines, as well as energy-saving and insulation systems. The potential is endless and I think a City Council Green Technology Plan would pull all of the stakeholders together and position the city as a national driver and leader in the area of green technology.

Dishonest marketing and packaging of products a disgrace

The proliferation of ‘Head Shop’s in this state is causing huge concern for parents and people who work in the field of drugs. Products are being dishonestly marketed and packaged to be something they are not. A whole range of products for sale in these shops are in fact a clever substitute for cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis. The packaging entices young people to buy the products for personal use yet the small print says they are not for human consumption.

Products sold as bath salts have street names such as ‘Hurricane Charlie’ or ‘Snow’ but are in fact cocaine substitutes. Ecstasy tablets in capsule form are sold as plant food and cannabis substitutes are sold as ‘Herb’ and ‘Spice’. One of the real dangers is that nobody knows the effect of these products. Lads in China and Eastern Europe are constantly producing new versions of these products which are completely untested. In reality we do not know what is in them. If you purchase a product from a pharmacist you have confidence in what it is you are buying because of the strong regulatory systems in place. The chemical composition of most of these products is unknown. This potentially makes them as dangerous as the drugs being sold on the streets. The absolute minimum required is the putting in place of a regulatory framework to deal with this.

The legal sale of such products is also making it more difficult to win the battle for the hearts and minds of young people on the issue of drugs. When they can be bought so easily, so cheaply and are marketed in such a ‘cool’ way how are we to convince young people that taking drugs is harmful.

A casual observance of these shops shows a steady trickle of young people eager to make a purchase. You can get advice as to which party pills (Ecstasy) are the strongest and which will give you the best ‘buzz’. Most people have no idea what it is they are putting in their mouths.

This creates a real problem in the fight against drugs and means we have to re-double our efforts in educating young people. It is horrifying to think chemical products are being sold in such a dishonest way and that young people especially are being enticed to use them. Undoubtedly these so called ‘Head Shops’ must be subject to new and robust regulation. At a minimum we must put in place robust guidelines as to how these products are packaged, marketed and sold. The bigger and more important battle is to successfully educate people about the dangers of these products and drugs generally.

Report shows Government are failing children

An important report was published last week which clearly exposed how the Governments latest budget targeted children and how national health policy is also failing children. The Children’s Rights Alliance Report Card 2010 provides a comprehensive overview of how the State performed in its services to children in 2009. The Report shows an overall disimprovement on 2008 when the Government was given a Grade of D; this year's grade is 'D minus' which I believe is a true reflection of the situation.

Budget 2009 and 2010 have targetted low income families with children. The failure to eliminate child poverty during the 'Celtic Tiger' period is compounded now by measures which are worsening the lives of low income families. The cuts to Child Benefit and to education are especially damaging and will have long-term negative consequences for children. It is little wonder that the Report Card gives the Government an 'E' mark for the 'material well being' of children.

The Report's overview of health services for children is especially damning. Across the range of essential health services - primary care, therapeutic services, hospital care, mental health - the story is the same. Children are being let down, early intervention is not happening, services are either not in place or inadequate, waiting times are inordinately long. As the Report states, access to to healthcare is a right for every child and cannot be set aside in a recession but this is the danger we face.

The Report's finding that the Government is 'seriously behind target' on the provision of the long promised primary care network is important. As the Report states 'for children, the kind of community-based, early intervention and preventive healthcare services provided within a primary care structure are critical'. I agree with the Report's call for the ring-fencing of multi-annual funding for the development of primary care. The Government must take very seriously and act upon this and all the other recommendations of the Report.