ROSCOMMON TD DEFENDS VOTE ON HOSPITAL A&E
Frank Feighan, a Fine Gael deputy for the South Leitrim-Roscommon constituency, has been standing by his decision to vote with the government on the closure of the Accident & Emergency Department at Roscommon Hospital. He said the opinion of the Health Information and Quality Authority CEO Tracey Cooper was crucial to understanding his change of mind since the election campaign when he'd promised to vote to save it.
"I could not in conscience discount the words of Ms Cooper. It was clear after our meeting with her three weeks ago that she, head of an independent health assessment organization, felt that patient safety would be an issue because there simply wasn't the throughput of patients required to maintain the skills of the junior doctors working there and that was what I based my decision on," he told the Leitrim Observer.
He met with the minister for health, Dr. James Reilly, and consultants from Roscommon Hospital this week to discuss the future direction and growth of the hospital.
Last week, protesters picketed his office in Boyle calling for his resignation. However, Deputy Feighan said that he felt that he could do much more to represent the future of Roscommon Hospital from within the government and he added that he felt that the hospital had a very positive role to play in health care.
"I will not be resigning," the TD said.
WESTMEATH ‘FORGOTTEN MAGGIES’ REMEMBERED ON TG4
Mary King, who spent years during the 1940s in the Magdalene Laundry in Castlepollard, Co. Westmeath, was among those who told their stories in "The Forgotten Maggies," a documentary that aired last week on the Irish-language station TG4.
King, who is now in her 80s and living in England, was one of the original group of four that appeared in the documentary when it was first premiered in 2009. More women added their accounts to a film that has faced many legal challenges since then.
"The documentary looks at shedding new light on how and why innocent girls ended up in these institutions working against their will, some as young as 12," filmmaker Stephen O'Riordan told the Longford Leader. "It also challenges the Irish government and questions the State's role with regard to these institutions."
Subsequent to its premiere, the Magdalene women who featured in the original documentary went on to meet officials at the Department of Justice and Law Reform.
"While people feel they know the stories of the Magdalene Laundries, nobody could be prepared for what these women have got to say and tell," said O'Riordan, a native of County Cork. "Each of these women were promised a better education and better employment opportunities. None ever imagined they would be kept as prisoners, against their will, forced into slave labor, while the Religious Orders made a huge profit on the illegal work they carried out, all in the name of charity."
MEATH PERSONAL DETAILS APPEARED ON COUNCIL SITE
Meath County Council has been unable to say how many planning applications uploaded to its website contained the personal details of applicants following complaints that the council breached the Data Protection Act, the Meath Chronicle reports.
Several people have complained that personal details were posted on the internet when the council's new online planning facility went live a week ago.
The council said that as soon as it learned of the complaints it took immediate measures to disable access to the facility.
Councilor Nick Killian said he had been fighting for 12 years against the easy availability of personal information in council files and said that people were often dismayed that they had to give so much personal details to back up planning applications.
One applicant for planning permission - Ian Primrose from Nobber - said that a commencement notice for a new house was available to view on the Meath County Council planning website. It contained his name, address, personal email address and mobile phone number.
"I was very annoyed that this information was put into the public domain. I became concerned that I might not be the only person affected and did a search for my local area," he said.
He noticed that some of the newer applications all had the supporting documentation available to view, including birth certificates, account numbers and bank details, driving license copies, passport copies, and insurance details.
"I was appalled to see such sensitive information freely available on the web," Primrose said, adding that it made identity theft easy. He called for a "full internal investigation."
Rebecca Meade, of Castletown, said her birth certificate, driver's license, bank account number, car insurance certificate, vehicle registration certificate and other documents were available online. She said the council's rural housing policy demands that applicants provide proof that they are from the area, or have been living there for some time.
"I had to prove that it was our family's land that I wanted to build on. That's why I had to submit documentation. I would have expected that it would all have been kept private. It's just plain stupid to put all that stuff online," she said.
MAYO COAST GUARD RESCUES VISITORS
An alert Achill farmer raised the alarm after he spotted three visitors left stranded on the Cathedral Cliffs by the incoming tide. The famous feature is accessible only when the water is out and becomes particularly treacherous when it comes back in, as people try to descend it when trapped. The Achill Coast Guard brought the trio, all youths under the age of 18, safely back to its base at Purteen Harbor, the Mayo News reports.
CORK WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE?
An appeal to report anyone seen stealing flowers from tubs in Kinsale, was made at the July meeting of the town council.
"It's soul destroying," said Councilor Billy Lynch, the vice chairman of Kinsale Tidy Towns, who warned there might be no committee operating next year.
Over 80 valuable plants, some of which were first planted in much-admired flower boxes along the quays for last year's Clipper Race Festival had been stolen. It was a carefully orchestrated crime with selective removal of flowers, the Southern Star reports.
Lynch said the hard-working committee members felt they were swimming against the tide when trying to combat the stealing of the valuable plants.
Town clerk Michelle Kelleher said the matter had been reported to the gardaí who were checking closed-circuit television cameras.
Compiled by Peter McDermott, pmcdermott@irishecho.com
