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THE PARENTS OF baby Mark Molloy, who died 22 minutes after his birth at Portlaoise Hospital, have said they are “very upset” over the outcome of an inquiry into the baby’s care.
Baby Mark Molly in January 2012 at the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise.
Dr A was a registrar at the hospital at the time of the death. He has faced seven allegations of professional misconduct and/or poor professional performance at the inquiry.
Yesterday, the Medical Council determined that it did not find Dr A had failed to adequately review the CTG machine which reads the foetal heart rate, according to RTÉ.
The Fitness to Practice Committee also found that the interpretation of a CTG is subjective to the reader and their experience, RTÉ reported. It added that Dr A was found guilty of professional misconduct on two counts for amending a note on the CTG chart from “satisfactory” to “unsatisfactory”.
The decision as to what sanction to be imposed on the doctor, who cannot be named, will be made at a full meeting of the Medical Council in May.
Speaking to RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland, the baby’s father Mark Molloy said that the family was “taken aback” and “very upset” by the verdict yesterday.
“Time after time, every case we hear on the TV, the radio, comes back to the interpretation of the CTG,” Molloy said.
“Again, I come back to yesterday that the interpretation is subjective, it depends on the readers’ experience, other people around them… and because other people around them didn’t find that there was anything wrong, he didn’t act,” he said.
Other deaths at the hospital
An RTÉ Investigations Unit report in 2014 highlighted the deaths of five babies at the hospital during a six-year period up to 2012.
Speaking of whether they blame the doctors who treated baby Mark during his delivery, Molloy said that his death wasn’t solely down to those who cared for him.
“As far as we’re concerned, we’ve always said that Mark’s death is not solely down to the inactions of the people who were involved in delivering him on the day, there were previous reports into deaths and injuries before Mark’s in Portlaoise and the recommendations of those were not acted upon,” Molloy said.
We cannot continue to keep producing the same recommendations time and time again and no one is held to account for them. There has to be accountability at a management level as far as we’re concerned.
Molloy said that yesterday’s verdict hasn’t given himself or his wife Roisin any closure.
“It just raises more questions for us, really,” he said.
“We’re reminded every day when we look back at pictures of our own boys, when they were five or six and all the memories we have of them, and to think that opportunity is gone for Mark, that he will never experience all those things, it is extremely upsetting for us,” he added.
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The sooner we are a United Ireland free from British colonial interference, the sooner we will no longer have to tolerate their mess.
@DaMoons:
Why would you want a united Ireland? Not that long ago Belfast had the biggest economy and population in Ireland. Years of unrest have eroded this. Belfast and NI has cannot attract investment, meaning it cannot modernise.
Today, The North is as divided as ever. Most children are educated based on their religion. This means there will be no change in the medium term and NI will trudge along as a divided society that cannot improve.
I will never understand anyone who would want to infect ROI with such a mess.
@DaMoons: Oh yeah, a United Ireland under colonial rule, what could go wrong?
@Wreck Tangle: I always find this a bit of a weird position to take. Why wouldn’t Belfast attract investment in a United Ireland when it’s 2 hours away from Dublin and it would be a cheaper option for businesses? People always just take how things are and assume that nothing would change for the better in a United Ireland, it’s such a narrow view to take.
This also implies that there is no positive industry in Belfast, which simply isn’t true. The problem in NI is that a lot of the great investment is only happening in Belfast, whereas it needs to be spread around a lot more.
I’ve been living here for nearly 4 years and I have never once experienced any sectarianism or bigotry while out and about. I don’t hide where I’m from and have had countless conversations with locals about speaking Irish for example. Tensions have risen since Brexit, definitely, but when you live here it’s noticeable that things are happening in very localised areas and the vast vast majority just want to get on with their lives.
It’s a great little city and I think the potential for it to grow further is huge, whether that’s in a United Ireland or with the City Deal that’s coming from Westminster. As I said though, the problem as I see it in NI is how everything is focussed on Belfast funding wise. Derry really deserves more funding and an actual motorway to link it to here.
@Conor Murray: I’d agree with this is. People need to think long term. If the day comes that there is a United Ireland, there will clearly be some short term pain, but Northern Ireland has massive potential. There’s already an airport, rich history and beautiful coastlines for tourism, and a population of very hard working people.
@Wreck Tangle: I think you answered your own question. Belfast under London’s mismanagement has had disastrous effects for the city.
@Wreck Tangle: talking out your bunghole, pal. Belfast’s decline was part of the general Western decline in heavy industry. It started after WW2. You’ve no idea about the education system here, just some hazy fake liberal nonsense. As for ‘infect’ the south, we are as Irish as anyone and definitely more Irish than you
@Conor Murray: You’re spot on Conor but I doubt @wreck Triangle has ever really been North of the M50 and thinks of Belfast as the entirity of Ulster. He’s the type of Miwadi Irishman who has been so diluted by British and Irish establishment propaganda that he no longer thinks for himself. He uses words like “infect” to describe his fellow Irishmen, women and children, straight out of the Tory phrase book. Sadly, he’s not alone, but there are more of us and that’s what will count when we finally get to pry the blood soaked fingers of Britannia from this land.
@Wreck Tangle: Ireland was infected by the mess due to occupation and the british leaving fundamentalists to make the laws, but, theyre all Irish up there, whether some agree or not, its our mess to put right when all is said and done.
@Conor Murray:
It probably is a weird position and I am not suggesting that there is nothing good in NI. There are many positives but there’s also too many doubts that block sufficient investment to create a sustainable economy. The region runs a large deficit that if it were alone, would rank it as a developing economy! As you correctly point out, there is so much opportunity but this will not be realised while both sides refuse to work for the common good of NI and this will not change under a united Ireland.
NI had a great opportunity to flourish and recreate itself as some sort of free trade buffer between EU and UK. Instead the DUP with no vision refuse to give an inch even if it would begin the path to a flourishing economy. These kind of stances would not change under a united Ireland.
@De20:
Declines have occurred throughout history, some cities flourish and some sink. NI sunk because it could not modernise, it could not attract 20th/ 21st century investment from modern service/ IT industry because the politics make it unattractive. It requires massive subsidisation and I’m sure many in England would be happy to pass the expense of an invisible line to the tax payers of ROI.
@Wreck Tangle: don’t know where u got your facts but Belfast never had a bigger population or economy than Dublin.60% of the work force are public workers & the north was a backwater in 69 when loyalist started the troubles
@Wreck Tangle: It called taking back what should have been ours in the first place. You blueshirts are quick to turn your backs on people simply because it’s economically expedient to do so.
@Wreck Tangle: probably more to do with Belfast being tied to a rigid economy that suited SE England.
@Wreck Tangle: yeah because we made such a great job of running the country when the brits signed over the 26 counties to us didn’t we?
@DaMoons: when are you going to unite, the sooner the better then we won’t have to tolorate your mess either
@DaMoons: whether you like it or not, a majority approve of that so called colonial interference, in fact, it’s part of the UK and not some mere colony
Ironically, if she and the hubby moved over to Letterkenny or other Republic towns nearly , there is no certainty that Irish immigration would help . Completely discretionary. Probably would succeed but EU law family reunification is so much more predictable .. Ironically, it would be open to her to claim that she’s British to avail of EU Law to live in the Republic (could use the rare exception of where the Irish can rely on EU free movement in the Republic as she has lived in the UK all of her life )
The cases that the Brits are relying on are distinguishable as there was nothing in the case that was so unique as GFA . Might be a waste of time to go to Europe as by the time the case is heard ,the UK will have left the EU
@Wreck Tangle: 70+ years is a long time . But yes, we wouldn’t want to touch it with a barge pole. Always find it funny those so passionate about UI but they never stepped foot in either Belfast or Derry or Newry
@Conor Murray: Kindly explain how it would be a cheaper option in a UI. ? Even when Ireland was united in the UK, Dublin was still THE city for business and finance , Belfast had manufacturing. Sure neither place makes things anymore unless it is pharmaceuticals or IT stuff
Belfast have had 20 odd years of peace. It has little economically to show for it . Its light years behind Dublin and even Cork .Belfast had been on the decline since after WW2 ,regardless of the troubles . Harlem n Wolf are long gone
Belfast is still divided by peace walls and there is little interest in tearing them down. Open your years !
Belfast is a fine city for socialising , I give you that. Better than a Dublin or the overrated Galway
@Aidan: There are plenty of places down south that have that too. Kerry,Cork, Limerick and Waterford and Galway (Regional airports )
Northern Ireland, despite 20 years of peace , is still heavily reliant on the public and civil service .
@De20: “we are as Irish as anyone and definitely more Irish than you “
Bless, the Norides are deluded . Spot on as to the reason for Belfast decline though .
@Chief Buck Cat: “we” lol. Come a UI, You will be the one whinging about losing Dail seats , and local TDs being unable to play parish pump politics for your area , because all the lollly will be sent up North to undue the economic stagnation that IS up there .
Perhaps actually rebut what Conor said with supportable facts !
@matthew o reilly: Belfast did once have a bigger economy .
Belfast “ HAD “. Remember that, HAD
That occurred during at least two generations ago !
Manchester was once the centre of the universe during their Industrial revolution.
Even when Belfast had its ship yards, Dublin was ALWAYS seen as the capital and it ALWAYS was the home of the banks and other financial services. (Your point )
Belfast don’t make ships or produce linen anymore , it offers little. The agriculture, on the other hand , in Mid Ulster is good stuff
@Wreck Tangle: well said sir keep them well away !
@Mr Hume: The Republic is operating fine and dandy , actually .if you have problems with being able to find work, go back to school
@ken gray:
Least somebody agrees..
UK subsidises NI’s economy by 12 bn Eur per year. Wonder what the reaction would be when all 2M ROI tax payers are asked to pay an extra 6,000 Eur per annum to cover this need which is not going to disappear.
@Christy Dolan: ” whether you like it or not, a majority approve of that so called colonial interference, in fact, it’s part of the UK and not some mere colony .”
The majority was manufactured by the British. The six county statelet never existed before it was gerrymandered.
@Wreck Tangle: because we’re Irish. Where was your precious Heaney from?
@Tanks a Minion: “was” over 300 years has since elapsed, people are still pretty vocal about their membership of the UK, which, they are free to leave. That’s a lot of time to create a genuine part of the UK. Gerrymandering stopped a long time ago too! Unionists will are the majority
Stop talking rubbish, worse than the Plastic Paddies in the US
Time to stand up for irish citizens in the north Leo! Remember you promised not to leave them behind ever again.
@Frank Lloyd wright: GFA was always a con to get the IRA to stand down. The DUP are still in total control of the North and now everyone is British in the North.
@Tim McCormack29: you’re a bit mad….aren’t you.
@Frank Lloyd wright: explain what could he do ? This is a matter for British law and then EU law ! Technically, they are right, she is British . GFA only came in 1998 and prior to that while a Nordic could get an Irish passport, it wasn’t as straight forward .
Interesting to see what the EU would think , as the EU law would support Britain but the facts of this case are distinguishable
Keep up the battle, Emma!
I hope Leo and Co. say no deal until this is sorted in favour of Irish and EU citizens. The GFA says people born in Northern Ireland have “the right to identify as British, Irish or both.”
Emma has chosen to be Irish. There is nothing in the GFA requiring her to renounce British citizenship.
Just another reason to end the undemocratic (Brexiters will recognise that word) partition of Ireland.
@Tanks a Minion: GFA didn’t exist when she was born l GFA doesn’t stop a person from being described as British by the British government for British immigration law and Simply adds the right to be considered Irish .
@Christy Dolan: The GFA applies to all people in the north, not just those born after it was agreed. It says “British, or Irish, or both.” The word “or” has a legal meaning. Emma is Irish, not British.
@Tanks a Minion: Not for immigration purposes. Duel nationality is NOT recognised by the EU Courts in cases precisely like this ie reliance on the EU directive 2004/38ec. She is deemed British
For anybody who still claims that Britain are active participants and protectors of the Good Friday Agreement, here you go!
@Cormac Ó Braonáin: no we went. The whole gfa is and was an Irish thing, nothing more and nothing less.
@Roger Camp: indeed – as Irish as Tony Blair and David Trimble!
I thought Hozier was from Bray?
@Stevie Doran: take a bow son.
It’s a wrong decision and to argue the GFA hasn’t been incorporated into domestic law misses the point that GFA is an international treaty clearly setting out a citizen may elect to be British, Irish or both in terms of their citizenship. EMMA claims to be Irish and resides in Derry so is entitled to obtain a right to remain for her spouse….in a part of the UK. If she lived in ROI she would need to apply to Dublin
@James Kelly: Ireland have signed up to many International Treaties but have yet to incorporate them into Irish law. In other words a bit meaningless for us people
They may elect sure, but where does it say that they will no longer be deemed British for immigration purposes ?
The EU law actually supports the UK! You are wrong on this ! She never left the UK . People of the UK are British, officially
Before you bite my head off, let me point out that this case is different to the cases the UK would rely on due to GFA
DeSouza states that the ruling will have “implications for EU citizens post Brexit”, can anyone explain why?
@Blessopaddy: The whole reason the UK HO is taking this stance is that any EU citizen under UK law can bring their non EU spouse to live in the UK. By denying Emma the right to be an Irish citizen & therefore an EU citizen they can deny her husband the right to reside in the UK. This move by the UK HO is just another example of the UKs hostile environment towards non UK citizens.
@Stephen Byrne: But post-brexit this only applies to those EU citizens currently living in the UK, and those moving there before 2021. After which EU citizens will be treated the same by UK immigration as those from outside the EU. May herself clearly stated this fact. And I don’t think the BHO is denying DeSouza the right to be an Irish citizen, it’s merely stating that she is a British citizen, which she is free to renounce.
@Blessopaddy: from what I gather it is a matter of principle as she has never identified as British
@Blessopaddy: You miss or ignore the main point which is she chooses not to be british as per her right so how could she possibly renounce a non fact.
@Damien Mac Aodha: Actually under British, and possible international law, the FACT is she is a British citizen, unless and until some higher court says otherwise.
@LittleBee: I’m sure lots of people hold British passports but don’t necessarily identify as British, I could probably name a half dozen. I’m sure the same goes for many Irish passport holders, who don’t necessarily identify as Irish. Unfortunately, for many, passports these days are merely documents of convenience.
@Blessopaddy: thing is though under the GFA she has the right to identify as Irish, which she does
@Blessopaddy: but she holds an Irish passport and identifies and always has identified as Irish as is her right. So she is quite rightly pointing out that although the gfa says people in northern Ireland can identify as Irish the moment they are born they are in fact British. That is not an equal playing field which we were lead to believe. the gfa was all about. It needs to be addressed.
@LittleBee: her principal, it’s irrelevant , British law doesn’t agree , she should go to the European court though because the existence of the GFA does make things different
@Damien Mac Aodha: none of us chose to be Irish at birth . Just the same as here being born a British citizen ,long before GFA
@Christy Dolan: yes it would seem it is irrelevant. but my understanding of it is that she and many others were lead to believe that when they identified as Irish as per the gfa they were indeed Irish. It also seems that this was the intention at least from the Irish side but an important bit of legal documentation was not completed either intentionally or unintentionally by the British. She has highlighted a very important issue.
@LittleBee: led by whom? Not the British and the EU Courts made themselves clear on duel nationality for immigration purposes under the directive in 2011 (of course EU are not bound by previous cases from their court unlike Common law jurisdictions)
The Irish over sold this element of GFA. GFA is and always was Sunningdale for thr Slow learners,but adding a bit about Citizenship, which kinda has little effect
Yep, she highlighted a very important albeit soon to be moot issue (Britain are leaving the EU) The EU court didn’t help either in 2011 see McCarthy v Secretary of State
We should never never trust the British as their word accounts for nothing even when its written on paper.
Time and again they use agreements to force other people tondo what they want but when it comes to them it doesn’t seem to apply.
The broke the treaty of Limerick all those years ago. They renaged on the border poll in the Anglo irish treaty in 1921 and came in and blew up roads and bridges against the will of the local people amd sent in the army.
They never followed through with home rule in 1914 because it didn’t suit them. Even though they were obligated by law.
Nationalists in the went to war becuse of how they were treated and discriminated against.
They are doing the same with the good Friday agreement because yet again it doesn’t suit them…… an internationally recognized peace treaty, shame on them…. bunch of cowboys… if we acted in the same way they’d send in the army. .
We must liberate our Irish brothers and sisters in the North!! *Celtic War-cry*
@Cynical: After your pint, hop off the bar stool and march on. We will follow later. Screams of a Yank
I have never identified as British. Both my parents were born before 1921, so I was born Irish
So today we have a woman born on the Island of Ireland told she’s not Irish while another not born here is told she is. Now I’m not saying what’s wrong here but something certainly is
@Brian Conway: if you are referring to babies born in Ireland to non Irish parents they are not told they are Irish. Unless they have an Irish parent.
@LittleBee: Wind your neck in and use the google machine. I’m referring to another story in today’s news
@LittleBee: those babies don’t need Irish parents . Only need one parent with the required legal residency in Ireland (3 years ) prior to birth of child . Before 2004, it didn’t matter if the parents were illegal .
@Christy Dolan: yes so there are requirements if the parent is non national so the child is not automatically an Irish citizen.
@Brian Conway: your cryptic post leaves no instructions that the readers should have to take to Google to figure out what your talking about. My bad for reading between the wrong lines.
British justice me arse again!!
Could they not circumvent this and apply in Dublin?
@Daniel Dunne: Would that require her to be resident in the ROI?
@LittleBee: it would, but what’s here problem with living in the real Ireland ?
She could live in one of the many border towns in the Republic if she wanted too . Nice and close to home
@Christy Dolan: the real Ireland?! You’re a clown lad
@artie kelly: nah, that would be you, and your Narnia notions of what makes up this State, Ireland. Considering you can’t rebut what I said, and your reference to me as a clown highlights your ignorance to legal reality, you are in NO position to call people clowns. If you can’t keep your emotions in check, keep your mouth shut
GFA was always just a con to get the IRA to stand down. Nothing has changed in the North and the voice of the DUP is the only one that is listened to.
Typical Tans, duplicitous as usual when dealing with Ireland,it is like trying to nail jelly to a wall, no surprise really
Emma, because she was born in Northern Ireland, is automatically a citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I am wracking my brains but I know of no state which allows dual citizenship with another state. If I am wrong I would be pleased to be advised of such a country. It is quite open to hold more than one passport, but citizenship is with one country only.
@John Caldwell: dual citizenship is allowed for quite a few countries actually. My friend has the Irish and French one, and I’m a German citizen and will apply for the Irish one as well. Ireland, France and Germany allow dual citizenships without problem.
@John Caldwell: Many countries allow dual citizenship. I myself am a citizen of both the UK and France. I’m not sure how you would get a passport from a country without being a citizen of that country.
Her nationality is determined by the country that issued her birth certificate (& to a lesser extent, passport).
If she has an Irish birth certificate, she’s Irish, if she has a British one, she’s British.
It’s not rocket science, it’s not even heritage or genetics.
@Sequoia: my sister was born in newry and her birth cert was issued there but she is Irish. Her residency was in the ROI. So it seens it is the place of residence that determines your nationality and not the country that issues it. So if this is the case why cant a parent who is registering their child in the north register them as Irish if they are allowed to identify as Irish?
The ruling by the British immigration tribunal in the #EmmaDeSouz case should come as no surprise. The 1998 Stormont Agreement was sold to nationalists as a stepping-stone towards a United Ireland. The reality is it was about normalising partition. While articles 2&3 of the 1937 26-County constitution were removed the British state’s claim to sovereignty over the Six Counties was reinforced.
@Des Dalton: Ir was sold as nothing. Sea us Mallon clearly said that it was Sunningdale for the slow learners
This might be controversial but no deal might be good for us. Accelerationism might be the key to Irish unity. Make things as worse as they can be for the north.
So what citizenship do people hold in Northern Ireland ? Irish , British or limbo
There should be a way that folk in the north can register a birth on the Irish register as opposed to the British if they so wish.
Meanwhile, current Irish citizens who were born in the north should be able to renounce British citizenship for free if they so wish. It’s a once off situation for a proportion of the population & wouldn’t be a huge expense for the British state.
Wouldn’t that solve the issue?
I’m confused, does she have an Irish passport? I was under the impression that NI citizens could choose to be British or Irish (or both) but I also assumed there would have to be some active process to achieve that; surely no-one thought simply saying “I’m Irish” was sufficient?
Article 1 of the GFA says:
(vi) recognise the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they may so choose, and accordingly confirm that their right to hold both British and Irish citizenship is accepted by both Governments and would not be affected by any future change in the status of Northern Ireland.” (GFA article 1)
The barb is “as they may so choose”
IMO, if she applies for an Irish passport she should be automatically granted one and then and only then can she consider herself an Irish Citizen. IMO, she’s making a mountain out of a mole hill for the sake of publicity etc.
@Moorooka Mick: Emma holds an Irish passport and has only ever held an Irish passport, however the UK HO are saying that is irrelevant as in their eyes she is British and until such time as she renounces her British Citizenship (for which she would have to pay) then she is not recognised as an Irish Citizen. So no she is not making a mountain out of a mole hill. The UK gov is breaching (again) the GFA.
@Stephen Byrne: you don’t have to renounce British citizenship to gain Irish citizenship; the question then is whether she has actively applied for Irish citizenship?
@David Paul Evans: Actually in this case, that is exactly what the UK is saying. They are saying Emma is British and not Irish and the only way they will recognise her right to Irish citizenship is if she renounces British citizenship despite the fact she has never held a UK passport. This may have interesting implications in the Begum case as the UK if being consistent could only remove her citizenship if she renounced it herself.
So what citizenship do people born in Northern Ireland hold ? Irish , British or limbo
@Pat Clapham: British, but they are entitled to hid, Irish too. The zIrieh passport doesn’t supersede the British citizenship and GFA never suggested it either
@Christy Dolan: Try to read what you write before you hit submit.
@Tanks a Minion don’t get into discussions that you are neither qualified or capable of discussing!
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