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THE TAOISEACH HAS been challenged to a TV debate on the abolition the Seanad by Micheál Martin, but Enda Kenny said today a debate can be had at Leaders’ Questions when the Dáil resumes.
Martin’s challenge came at a press conference launching his party’s campaign for a No vote in the 4 October referendum.
The Fianna Fáil leader said he is willing to debate Kenny “on every outlet that will host us”.
But speaking a short time later at Fine Gael’s campaign launch, Kenny said there would be opportunity at Leaders’ Questions and joked that it could not be done at Fianna Fáil senator Terry Leyden’s pub.
He also said he was not sure “which Micheál wants to turn up” referencing the Fianna Fáil leader’s previous call for abolition of the Seanad prior to the 2011 election.
Martin had earlier said: “I am willing to debate him (Kenny) on every outlet that will host us.
“If he ducks the debate, it will send a message to the people about an arrogant government which already has too much power and doesn’t need more.”
Responding to questions about a possible TV debate, Kenny said only: “Deputy Martin will have his opportunity at Leaders’ Questions.”
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Another sad chapter of our inhumanity. Poor kids, God rest them.
Obviously God wasn’t too bothered when they had a chance at life! Was he on vacation?
Turn of phrase Keith – read ‘rest in peace’ if it offends you enough.
Not offended at all Dara, but an unfortunate ‘turn of phrase’ and contradictory non the less.
How is it contradictory?
It’s a horror story …
Religions are equal opportunity abusers.
This explains the high death rate in the current child care system?
That is nonsense. There is not a high death rate in the current child care system
Actually…
A MASSIVE overhaul of the HSE’s social services is being planned in the wake of shocking revelations about the care system.
A total of 196 children in care died between 2000 and 2010, the Independent Child Death Review Group’s report has revealed.
Among the tragedies uncovered was the case of a baby girl left in the care of an eight-year-old sibling the night before she died.
This happened 65 – 91 years ago. There was no health service. Antibiotics didn’t really exist or were un obtainable. The running of these institutions were solely private/church contributions. Was the Catholic Church involved? Not a chance in hell would they help the Church of Ireland. People were starving on the streets and homeless. Sure malnutrition was a factor but not for DeValera who was living it up in the Waldorf Astoria in New York collecting monies to free Ireland from the tyranny of the British
tyranny?
Very sad reading this…
It was very much of its time. By today’s standards horrific, but 70-odd years ago not so.
A baby died there of syphilis in 1945. Surely they had antibiotics by then?? Didn’t they? My dad was born in 1945. That doesn’t sound very long ago to me.
They probably did have antibiotics but if you factor in
- this being the end of WWII
- Ireland probably not having much of a pharma industry
- countries with pharma industries concentrating on War efforts in the past 6 years
with Ireland not having a health system and by all means looking at the sign of the then times with “single mothers” or “babies out of wedlock” not riding on the priority spot of society and such kids as being seen atoning for the sins of their fathers and mothers, I am not surprised.
Of course, I stand happily corrected by anyone with social history background.
My fathers youngest brother John Joseph died in 1925 in Rathdrum home at 24 days old from maramus(starvation)it states this on his death cert. When his mother developed poat natal depression and was committed. All the children went into care in Rathdrum. I thought he was ill going in but clearly they just straved him to death. Imagine not only the babys distress but also the horror for my father and siblings listening to.his cries for food. What savages ran these places
Utter savages gina and it didn’t stop after the war either. The orphanages of 50′s and 60′s were every bit as cruel and horrific. My mother was brought up living near a childrens home and the stories she has told us would make you sick regarding daily beatings and with holding of meals as punishment. May they rot in hell for their crimes against these innocent babies
Very sad , rip to these poor children
Don’t know if this is criticism of the home. There’s no mention of abuse or neglect. It breaks down at less than 10 deaths per year. All deaths are unfortunate but honestly can the hospitals of today claim such low mortality rates?
One word – malnutrition.
Great republic we created ………
Better than being second class citizens on your own land.
Relevant.
Its a reasonable point Paul, they do not say it was due to neglect or abuse. Perhaps some little student somewhere needs to do their homework and determine for us if the death rate was disproportionate even given the circumstances. I am no defender of the Church and their kind but I believe they are entitled to fair and reasonable treatment and analysis.
However I have to say I am struggling to get my head around ‘Malnutrition’. I cant see how that could be a factor. Or all the great and glorious history books of Ireland i read as a child hid a dark and shameful secret, wouldn’t be the first time.
Newspaper article last year – sounds shocking
“The manslaughter charge now being made by the Protestant survivors represents a major escalation in their battle with the Government for inclusion in the State’s redress scheme for abuse victims.
Bethany Home was a Protestant evangelical institution for unmarried mothers to give birth, before being forced to abandon their children, and was a place of detention for Protestant women on remand, or convicted of crimes from petty theft up to infanticide.
In 2010 it was discovered that 219 Bethany children were buried in unmarked graves in Mount Jerome Cemetery.
The 15 remaining Bethany survivors have been campaigning for inclusion in the State scheme, which has to date run to almost €1.5bn, on the grounds the State had a role in the neglect and abuse they suffered during their stay in the Bethany Home in Rathgar, Dublin.
But previously, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn reviewed the papers on the home and found no basis to revisit a decision not to include it within the redress scheme.
Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act include inspection reports from the time that now reveal the appalling conditions children at the Bethany Home were in. Survivors had been told back in 2000 by the Departments of Health and Education that documents relating to the abuse suffered by victims at the Bethany Home didn’t exist.
It goes on to say that the deaths ceased after an expose which led to stick children being sent to hospital as opposed to being kept in the home – it looks like quite a few died of malnutrition.
http://m.prod.independent.ie/irish-news/bethany-home-survivors-blame-state-for-deaths-29194714.html
Do we have records on how many staff died of malnutrition?
Great reply, these poor sods were the underclass in their own country!
“Marasmus” has a current equivalent called “Failure to Thrive”. It’s due to a lack of interaction between caregivers and infants. These babies, removed from poor care, usually make immediate progress in the hospital. Babies literally can curl up and die from being ignored. It’s one of the reasons that propping up bottles for feeding is considered bad practice and breastfeeding is encouraged from a psychological perspective.
I cannot understand the mindset of the people running these kind of places. How can one stand by and watch innocent babies die.
The mothers in these situations were often young abused or mistreated and then give brith to a child in horrible conditions it dose not bear thinking off I doubt there spirt rests in peace and I wish they would come back and haunt those who carry on this abuse today because it is out there
God be good to them.
This is incredibly sad. Those poor poor infants to have endured such pain in an institution where the words such as love, care, compassion did not exist. Rest in peace little ones.
Will our past shame ever end I wonder in years to come will we read of the deaths ‘re; no ambulances hospital trolleys waiting time for life saving operations sucides etc. Most of our politicians should be facing murder charges
Yes I should know, I worked in a kitchen, just for the nuns and the prists, and there food was so much different to what the children got in the orphanage,, so yes they looked after the selfs and had the best of everything, I remember trying coffee for the first time once, and was nearly sick.but we never see that, only tea, and white bread no brown like they had.
have your say