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TWO REFERENDUMS ON gender equality and the family are expected to take place next year, the Government has confirmed.
The division of the referendums, as first reported by The Journal in August, would see voters asked if they want to remove the reference to women’s ‘place in the home’ in the Constitution, in favour of more gender neutral language.
A separate referendum, likely to be held on the same day, will relate to the definition of the family, which the Constitution currently says is based on marriage.
The exact wording of the referendums has not yet been decided. The long-awaited votes were initially due to take place this November but were delayed.
The Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality, which published its final report in June 2021, made a number of recommendations on these issues.
The assembly called for Article 41.2 – which recognises a woman’s “life within the home” – to be removed from the Constitution and replaced with “language that is not gender specific and obliges the State to take reasonable measures to support care within the home and wider community”.
The group also called for Article 41.2 – which refers to the family – to be amended so that it “would protect private and family life, with the protection afforded to the family not limited to the marital family”.
The Electoral Commission previously said that once the proposed wording of the referendums is published at least four months will be needed to sufficiently inform the public about the votes.
Speaking to Newstalk today, Ivana Bacik, Labour leader and chairperson of the Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality, criticised the delay in holding the referendums.
“We on the committee produced a clear wording to be put to the people with cross-party support that every member of the committee signed up to and we put it to Government last December.
“We were promised that by the end of the summer term – that is back in July – we would see the Government’s own version of the wording or whether they approved ours or not,” Bacik said.
A coalition of non-governmental organisations wrote to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar last month calling on him to publish the proposed wording.
In the open letter, Family Carers Ireland, One Family, the National Women’s Council, Siptu and Treoir (the national federation of services for unmarried parents and their families) said that without knowing the exact wording, it will be “increasingly difficult to build a civil society response”.
Legislative Programme
Details about the proposed referendums are included in the Government’s Autumn Legislative Programme which was published today.
The document identifies 51 priority bills for progression in the upcoming Dáil session.
Having received approval from the Government this morning, Chief Whip Minister Hildegarde Naughton confirmed that 27 bills will now be prioritised for publication and 24 bills for drafting.
Highlighting some of the proposed bills, Naughton said a number of legislative changes related to housing “will benefit renters and those who want to own their own home”.
“To help renters, we will publish the Residential Tenancies (Right to Purchase) Bill 2023 which will give renters the first right of refusal to purchase a property when it is put on the market for sale.
“Separately, the Minister for Housing will publish the Planning and Development Bill providing much needed clarity to the current planning code in addition to the Land Value Sharing Bill which will allow the State to secure a proportion of the uplift in land values resulting from zoning and designation to facilitate provision of infrastructure,” she said.
Naughton, who is also Minister of State in the Department of Health, noted that the Government will also progress legislation to support people in starting a family through the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill, and change the statute books to ban children from purchasing vapes.
A number of other health bills will also be drafted and published in the coming session including publication of a bill to provide for an exemption of Rent a Room income from the medical card assessment process.
Drafting will also be prioritised for the Mental Health Bill to update and replace the Mental Health Act 2001 to give effect to recommendations of an Expert Group Review on mental health legislation.
“Separately, work will progress on the establishment of a statutory Just Transition Commission which is a key element of Ireland’s transformation to a low-carbon country.
“The Minister for the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications will also continue drafting the Heat Bill which will establish a regulatory model for district heating to capture waste heat and redirect it towards homes and businesses,” Naughten said.
The Department of Justice is also set to published a number of bills including the Defamation Bill; the Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence Agency Bill; and the Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill.
The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth will publish separate bills that will ban conversion therapy practices in Ireland and guarantee entitlement to maternity leave for members of the Oireachtas.
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Looks fine to me. People need to get a grip. Schools are doing their best. U can’t expect 5star treatment. Once the children are warm and dry what’s the problem? It’s sensationalism like this and mob culture making schools jobs impossible.
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: I don’t blame the school for this, I blame the government leaving school’s like this high and dry. You couldn’t say that children left in that shed will be warm and it doesn’t actually look fully watertight either.
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: Doesn’t really look dry though, does it?
Sorry Sean… bad timing on my part
@JusticeForJoe: put on a jacket. Put a bit of a heater in there. It’s a lot worse many of us were accustomed to growing up and we survived. Schools are doing their best. People just need to stop bloody whining and get on with it.
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: Nobody blamed the school, the Dept are responsible.
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin:
why wouldnt they just be sent home if they have covid symptoms???
@Seán O’Loughlin: this isn’t a recent issue, you can’t even blame the current goverment. This is decades of under funding for our schools.
@Barry: Can’t argue with ya there Barry you’re very right, it’s decades of bad management and underfunding by FF and FG which has led to this.
@Sorcha Ní Shúilleabháin: responsible…. Do you think you could organise the countries schools if you were put in charge. The department can’t click their fingers and it all gets miraculously done. I would imagine it’s extremely difficult. My point is this. Everyone is doing their best. Let them get on with it. The principal of this school I’m sure has done their best and is being made to feel dreadful this being slashed all over the media. People need to cop on
@Domhnall O’Sullivan: They have to be isolated while they wait for a parent or someone to take them home from school
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: if the school had any sense it should have been them to leak it to the media in the first place. Quickest way to get a fast upgrade from the government is to show the absolute state of something online to all.
@Ashley Rowland: upgrade for what purpose? A fancier isolation area with TV and Netflix hooked up. That’s just fine and will serve its purpose. And why would anyone want to be in the national spotlight?!!!
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: this isn’t even 1 star treatment. Our children deserve better. The dept of education has failed in this respect
@Domhnall O’Sullivan: Their parents might be at work?
@Domhnall O’Sullivan: it’s where they wait to be collected
@Miriam Vincent: Miriam our children will be just fine. Don’t be so melodramatic. It’s somewhere for them to wait until they are taken home. I’m all for having things better but these are unprecedented times. People are doing their best. Children are more adaptable than we give them credit for. Give them a tin of paint and they can decorate it while they wait!!!!
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: Dark, no light switch. Cold. No heating. Damp. Yes perfectly acceptable for a sick 5year old. Next time your sick go sit in there.
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: looks fine? Pull the other one, no kid should have to sit in that freezing cause their is no room in the school. Money needs to be given so the school can get an actual adequate room for them.
@Domhnall O’Sullivan: they will be sent home asap but allow for some time for a parent to be contacted, leave work, prob fight through traffic to reach the school. This is where the isolation room comes in, it means a symptomatic child is not spending this waiting time with peers.
@Domhnall O’Sullivan: They will be . The shed will only be used while they are waiting for the child to be collected by parents .
Is this @Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin chap trolling or what. Do you have kids Caoimhín? If you’re telling me you’d be happy for them to sit in there on a cold wet Irish December day then I call bull….
@Seán O’Loughlin: seriously why do you all think the government has to solve all problems for all people. Get a grip folks that shed is fine while child is waiting to be collected. Child probably shouldn’t be sent to school with symptoms , so should be no need to use this. Start taking responsibility for yourselves and stop behaving like petulant children.
@Miriam Vincent: it’s only for a matter of minutes while their parent comes – they don’t need to lie on a bed of roses, they’ll be fine!!
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: I agree with you that our children will be fine (for the most part). My issue is that there are many schools around the country with big classes, no space etc. and are resorted to these kind of measures which I don’t think are suitable. Yes the schools are doing their best, I’m a teacher myself so I’m seeing it first hand. The dept had 6 months to get this right and while yes we will get on with things and kids will be ok, it’s because of us that things will be ok, not the dept. A lick of paint is not going to cover up their utter ineptitude.
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: Agree it’s fine, kids will only be in there for around 30 min if needed. As someone mentioned above, parents shouldn’t be sending their kids to school with symptoms. An extension cord and blow heater would sort out any heat issues. This generation is spoiled rotten, every generation before them dealt with a lot worse than a clean shed for half an hour.
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: Spec savers for you and don’t drive there either.
@Miriam Vincent: oh stop ffs. If people dont like it, keep your children at home and stop moaning and blaming everyone
@Sarah Connor: exactly, that shed can be habilitated for an isolation room, it doesn’t need to be in the state is in the picture. Once it habilitated, with heater on and some decoration it will be fine. Have a tablet handy to let the child play games while waiting and they wont know where they are. Lets the school start and see how it goes before engaging in possible unnecessary expenses than wont have much use after covid19 is over.
@Miriam Vincent: Miriam thank you for what you are doing. The dept probably hasn’t done the best job and could always do better. But I just don’t see it being an easy thing to put in plans for even with 6months notice. Think our expectations need to be lowered a bit. The dept and Schools on the most part will have done a great job and I just think we need to be thankful they can go to school and hope they learn some resilience throughout this whole pandemic
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: Have you kids?
@Ken Healy: yes. 2
@Ken Healy: is that ok? Am I allowed to have kids and have a non-kid friendly opinion on schools best effects at getting children back to school?!! What was the point of asking me that question?
@Miriam Vincent: Ah yes Miriam , let’s forget about the mental health of our children. Concentrate on the over excited teachers . Shove the kids into a shed rather than calmly walking out of the classroom with the child and waiting until the parents arrive. If you don’t use the shed Covid -19 will know this and immediately attack every teacher in the school.
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: so you think it won’t affect a child mentally being put into a shed? Lol if the school my kids were attending had a shed for an isolation room they wouldn’t be attending. How do you think the other kids in the classroom will react? I think your missing the point! The school obviously isn’t prepared correctly. The principal shouldn’t open the school . Full stop. As a solution , calmly tell the child his/ her parents are collecting them. Walk outside, social distance and wait. A shed? You must be joking me
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: Thank you for the acknowledgement. You’re right, 6 months isn’t a long time. But maybe this will highlight just how badly underfunded our schools are in general and that class size is a serious issue that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. I’m looking forward to getting back to work and hopefully it all goes ok. I still think that shed is s**t though.
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: Sensationalism and mob culture, the irony of it. Who’s the over excited parent thinking that sheds are ok for kids. “ Once the kids are warm and dry”? You’ve been watching too many Rambo movies.
@JusticeForJoe: I’m not seeing the fire risk, certainly. Mind you, I suppose we’re seeing some slow progress. When I was in primary school there were 45 in our class.
My secondary school had prefabs up to third year. One had a hole in the doorway, covered by a mat. The roofs leaked when it rained. I’m wondering now where the fire risk was in that.
@Domhnall O’Sullivan: How could a sick child be sent home with a high fever? At the very least, they have to keep children safe. I wouldn’t feel it’s right to assume that any sick children are fit to make their own way. Nor that they have a home to go to. First their parents have to be contacted to collect them, and that’s before they consider the contagious nature of Covid.
@Caoimhín O’Cheallacháin: I think everyone involved is absolutely right to highlight the issues. There may be a few schools who were able to improve their facilities by fundraising, but most could be a lot better if they had enough to cover the basics. I’m sure teachers subsidise some extras as things are. If this results in better funded schools in general, then many will benefit.
@Ken Healy: Surely each teacher is responsible for at least 35 other children? No teacher can walk out of a classroom to look after one child and leave the others on their own. Parents aren’t going to arrive instantly during peak traffic.
@Ken Healy: your the reason schools jobs are made Impossible. Mental health…. Come off it. Do you think when your children are grown up they will turn to you and say “Remember that time I was made to wait for a short period of time in that shed in school for you to collect me during the global pandemic. It’s scared me for life. I can never walk into a shed again. I felt so abandoned for that time”!!!! Get a grip ken.
@Miriam Vincent: haha fair enough Miriam.
Unless schools are equipped to deal with social distancing and the problems associated with it then they should not open . The government has had 6 months to get schools ready and the best they can do is a shed ? A shambles and it’s only day one !
@Mary Mc Carthy: six months to make all schools bigger with more rooms your correct easy job.
@Mary Mc Carthy: If this was the case the majority of schools would be closed for quite a while. Some schools are literal building sites at the moment. The government plan is full of ‘where possible’s. A lot of schools cannot have social distancing of 1m in classrooms. Schools have been underfunded for a long time. We have the largest class sizes in Europe. It takes a pandemic for people to see some of the issues within the Irish education system.
Students need to be back in schools though. We can only do our best.
@Mary Mc Carthy: you cannot make space just appear in buildings within 6 months. Construction was also stopped for a while. Don’t expect a perfect solution with limited time, resources and actual physical space.
@Mary Mc Carthy: goverment cruelty cos child will cold in shed in come late autumn & winter
@bmul: not all schools need expansions, this should have been looked at ages ago. Find out which need help and give it to them, you say it as if every school up and down the country need massive work, they don’t.
@Marcus: how many schools you been in ??
@Brian Flavin: Blow heater Brian, it’s not like they’re being thrown out in the cold, they’ll be fine for the half hour or so it takes for parent or minder to pick them up.
@Saorlaith: It’s not only the education system but all sectors that have been under funded.
As a parent of children going to school with a sibling who ticks 3 boxes for very high risk and 2 boxes for high risk I am delighted children will be taken away from peers and be isolated. The parents knowing their child will be in an outdoor shed won’t be inclined to send sick kids or kids with Covid symptoms to school.
@Serge the llama:
Why wouldnt they just be sent home if they have Covid symptoms???
@Domhnall O’Sullivan: can’t keep them in the same class as other children. They need to be isolated. Ideally parents shouldn’t send them to school. But they will as they always do with other illnesses, spreading it around.
@Serge the llama: parents will eventually pick them up. Isolation shed is perfect until parents don’t the time to collect their sick kid.
@Serge the llama:
woah. no need to blame people straight away. sometimes kids will get sent to school feeling fine and then develop a ruynny nose or whatever. it happens.. lets not all jump on the blame bus straight away
@Domhnall O’Sullivan: they send their kids to school sick, knowing full well they are sick. Coughing and spluttering everywhere. It’s the same every year… this year will be no different. However teachers now have the power to remove them from class. Which is great. Less chance of mine getting sick.
@Serge the llama: Kids cough and splutter. Most of the kids in my kids creche have runny noses and coughs all winter long. Creches and schools are germ cesspits. It doesn’t mean the kids are sick enough to go home. Well it didn’t until now. Paranoia will cause mayhem. It’s no ones fault because of what we’re going through now but just because a child is sneezing or snotting doesn’t mean they are ” sick”. By your reasoning sone kids would be put of school more than in.
@Green Lentils: out of school more than in I mean
@Domhnall O’Sullivan: it’s just a place to isolate them while waiting for parents to collect them. Parents who shouldn’t have sent them in on the first place.
@Serge the llama: Kids can be perfectly normal at 9am, come 1 pm have a temperature ! Your kids could end up in the shed too. Stand outside the door with the child until the parents arrive , social distance, remain calm and stop getting over excited.
Ireland was educated in hedge schools during the 18th and 19th centuries. I salute today’s shed schools. They will save many children during the covid crisis.
This perhaps explains the appearance of 3 sheds in our secondary school –
@Eleanor Hegarty: Or they’re been used for storage. Many schools are clearing out rooms to make more room for distancing. Gotta put it somewhere.
@tottkingham: is there a chance that this principle decided to put the kids into the shed instead of storing maintenance materials? It’s not like a school with 150 had only one cupboard?
@Eleanor Hegarty: That was just an awful proposal there, what kind of Clowns have we doing these jobs?? .
I know of a school that is using a disabled toilet as an isolation room. Schools cannot just make suitable spaces appear. They are stretched to the limit already.
@Saorlaith: Think I’d rather the nice clean shed to a toilet.
God that’s grim looking, could the school not throw up a few posters or some cheerful decorations? Obviously it’s not ideal that the school has to use this but they could make it a bit more welcoming for any kids who are unfortunate enough to need to use it.
If that shed was in Dublin it would be €1,900 per month.
Absolutely get that people are trying their best But I’d worry about how a child would feel about being put in a shed because they are unwell. Especially if they are a junior infant who isn’t long in the doors. Would they be embarrassed or ashamed or feel like they have done something wrong.
@Em Watson: Surely the trained child care professionals can ensure they know they’ve done nothing wrong, it’s just an outdoor room to wait in. Blow heater, table and paper and pencils, they’ll be grand. Could have a supply of single use craft things they get to bring home with them.
@Em Watson: oh but whats better, leave them to infect all the children? Leave it out.
@Dixieblue: what’s better is that the government do their job and help them with extra space as they promised in the roadmap.
@Sarah Connor: I agree if they did a bit more to the space it could be a good solution but it also depends on the child. If I came to collect my 9 year old son from a shed I would probably say something like get in the car your grand but I’m not sure how is feel to see my sick 4 year old girl sitting in a shed. My point is it’s not ideal and some children are sensitive.
@Em Watson: the government cant create space. Grow up.
@Dixieblue: not really sure what the aggression is all about to be honest. This school has been trying to get a prefab and are having no luck. Government can start there.
Strange, the people of Athlone are usually partial to a nice shed
this is but a tiny sample ingredient of the disaster coming down the tracks
if we behave like fools then we shall reap the rewards
we abandoned our economy & healthcare, seems we are about to forsake our next generation too
shame on us
@Kavsie: oh give over will ya. FFS
Why are children being sent to school if they have symptoms of Covid 19? Schools are not babysitting facilities.
@Philomena Stack: imagine a scenario where the child has no symptoms when they are sent to school and develop symptoms while in school some hours later. If that is beyond your imagination let others think for you
@Philomena Stack: The isolation area is for a child or staff member who develops symptoms while at work
@Philomena Stack: my son coughs, sneezes and looks unimpressed every morning I wake him up for creche. After an antihistamine and some time to recover from the horror of being dragged out of bed he’s grand. That’s every morning. Now say tomorrow he’s still looking grumpy and snuffly when I get to creche but his temp is ok do I ring work and say I’m just waiting to see how my kid looks in an hour or do I drop him off and make sure my phone is on in case the creche staff isn’t happy after an hour? I mean seriously…. kids have snuffles and coughs all the damn time. How is anyone supposed to get to work?
Co-Shed 19
As always everything in the last moment.
I think anyone who says they should not reopen schools is a fool, it has been very convenient for some people throughout the lockdown to stay home and do nothing, myself included. BUT. at what point do we go back to normality, PEOPLE need an education, you can’t expect children to not complete their school years because you are scared of the pandemic, every generation has their thing that kills loads of people, world wars for example, so just suck it up buttercup x
@Conor Doherty Coughlan: We generally don’t send children to the front in wars, we tend to send them away from the danger for example evacuating children from London during ww2. We should go back to normality when the risk is considerably lower. As for your “doing nothing” comment clearly you don’t have children. I know I’d rather put in more effort as a parent to teach them what they need to know rather than send them into the disaster that awaits. Those lying in graveyards don’t tend to argue with each other about who had the best education.
@Conor Doherty Coughlan: Yes, I think we should open up parts of society like education and the economy; live with the virus for the foreseeable future and take the required reduction measures. The big lockdown was an emergency situation as we were growing in cases and deaths and didn’t want to overwhelm our hospital system. But to say “suck it up buttercup x” is just a teeth-grinding immature comment to everyone around the country who has made great sacrifices…
@Rachel O’ Meara: yesyesyeyesyeysyes but we’re not in a war, its an example of how past generations had to deal with things far worse, the virus is not even close to the disaster of a world war but an example of how a generation always has a death defining era and I think we should be somewhat grateful for how things have panned out so far
As for education you might want to teach your children stuff but 90% of parents either don’t have the time, knowledge or facilities to teach them, which would lead to a mass dumbing down of children growing up
@Kiern Mcx: you literally agreed with my entire point but because you noticed I was a young person with a young profile you just assume I was immature, “ suck it up buttercup “ is literally what we should all be doing and not living in fear, scaremongering has never been so present online then it has this year and I think if people just stuck their head down and stop trying to control each other we’d all get along better
@Conor Doherty Coughlan: You seem to be talking from a point of being unaffected or privilege. I only agreed with half your point.
Ha, no I did not look to see that your a young person because that is irrelevant. You can still be immature for an adult.
@Conor Doherty Coughlan: id say the point is when we don’t have numbers that are in the hundreds, has nobody seen Berlin had to close schools because over a hundred kids and teachers caught it there. All this nonsense that it’s say in school is beyond laughable.
@Conor Doherty Coughlan: agree with you
@Rachel O’ Meara: disagree with you
@Conor Doherty Coughlan: yeah the “suck it up” bit is really offensive. At school today a little boy told me his grandad died from covid. pity I hadn’t heard your advice to tell him to just suck it up.
We’ve greater responsibilities to children than to educate them. It’s to raise them in love and security, to care for their emotional wellbeing and mental health. if our schools can’t do that right now and also open safely then we need to sort that out before throwing children in to a scary environment of mask wearing and social distancing with no clue how many more grandads it might kill.
Maybe the real question should be why in the hell we are using isolation rooms in the first place. If a child feels sick why can they not wait at their socially distanced desk until a parent arrives to collect them ? It’s not like the virus is diagnosed at 11.25 am by the teacher and they must be rushed to an isolation room as if they have Ebola .
@Michael Waldron: You think desks are all socially distanced? Lol
@TheHeathen: the majority of schools say they can manage 1m distance.. always going to be some that can’t.
My point is, is taking a child out of the class to put into an isolation room really necessary for the sake of an hour?
Children pick up on everything and this seems like something that could unnecessarily frighten them.
@Michael Waldron: its the same as in every other workplace in Ireland. And yeah an hour more in terms of transmission risk is massive
@Michael Waldron: Would you be happy for your child to sit for an hour 1m away from a child that’s coughing out COVID?
@Michael Waldron: Well it’s either the kids be frightened or the kids get covid, I think I know which I’d prefer.
@Michael Waldron: 15 mins in the same room as someone with covid is all it can take to spread. Isolating until their parents come to collect them, i don’t know what the problem is.
@Michael Waldron: most children will be sitting in pods, probably 6 kids approx. They are not socially distant from their fellow podmates
This perhaps explains the appearance of 3 sheds in our secondary school –
The school my boys are in are using the staff room as an isolation room why can’t these
@Deirdre Meredith: Like many schools the school in question has had to turn their staffroom into a classroom.
@Sorcha Ní Shúilleabháin: well then it’s up to the government to provide a decent are for the children but unfortunately they won’t
@Deirdre Meredith: why does it matter where they isolate? Only there til the parents come for the child. Problem? I dont see one.
@Dixieblue: so you think it’s fine for a child to be stuck in a damp shed while waiting for their parents to be called who may work over 40 mins away so a child is supposed to sit there for that length of time
Facilities aren’t causing the problems, it’s the guidelines. At what stage is a kid(s) sedugated in a shed because of Covid Symptoms, is it before they’ve already been on a bus or in their classroom or after?
@John Egan: “sedugated”?
Sedated?
Educated?
Perhaps SEGREGATED?
Shedarated? Shedgregated?
Thats fine, they will be there no more than 10 or 20 minutes until their parents collect them. Relax
enough with this raving bonkers freak-fest please! this is so out of control its not even funny any more. Sorry , but the only true way out of this is for the immuno-suppressed and vulnerable to isolate from the healthy. I understand thats hard and im not saying it lightly, its just there is no other sane way to put an end to this looney freakshow.
Instead of spending 50 or 60 billion like they have (and counting) if the governemnt spent 10 or 20 billion on making the isolation of the vulnerable and their families as tolerable as possible (isolating specific parks, specific shopping centres, hospital wards, whatever it takes basically,… no expense spared). It is the only true , sane solution, surely that’s obvious to us all at this stage.??!!.
@Domhnall O’Sullivan: Why don’t they just build specialised camps and stick the weak and vulnerablein in there. *Eye roll*
@Rachel O’ Meara:
are you bot or for real? seriously. what kind of a reaction is that.
thats not what i said. i said the opposite. eye roll indeed.. instead of having a go with me, tell me how it can be done in any other way? there is a reason it has been done like this for the past centuries, because to try the other way round is head-meltingly impossible.
and the hilarious thing is. even if you try the other way round. the iummuno suppressed still have to isolate anyway. my mother is 86 and she is doing that becuase its impossible not to. offer a proper non-emotive response with a solution on your next one or else just stfu thanks. *roll eyes*
@Domhnall O’Sullivan: Well said Domhnall. I completely agree with you on this.
@Rachel O’ Meara: they did that in March. They’re known as nursing homes.
@Domhnall O’Sullivan: the problem is who you think “the vulnerable” are. Couple of staff in my school are very high risk as are some children. They live with families in houses with mortgages or rent and other bills to pay. If the Gov is gonna pay all that so they can stroll through isolation parks and shops and play with other isolating kids in special isolated playgrounds all day then I guess they might sign up! and anyone over 60 is very vulnerable.
@Lorraine Mac Rory:
why not lorraine? they have blown 50 billion trying to do it the wrong way.. id say it would cost 20 or 30billion to absolutely nail it the right way. or even the whole 50 billion whatever!
for example. my mother is 86., and so is considered vulnerable..she is isolating anyway, because theres no other solution. she nips out to a shop with a mask etc but that is it. her excursions have gone down to almost nothing even though she is fit and healthy. the reason she does this is because its impossible to think this way is working fully anyway,
so she has to isolate..
@Lorraine Mac Rory:
P.S. any staff who are high risk should not be in teaching. they have an option not to go and still on pay. doing online teaching to vulnerable kids. i know a teacher who is doing that now.
they should take that option. they shouldnt be in the school with all the non-vulnerable. it creates too much risk. the panic is bad enough out there at this stage
What’s the big deal. Looks clean and well furnished and it’s outside away from everyone else. It’s not for living in. You’re only waiting there.
@Dónal Ó Keeffe: I know! And chances are someone snapped this pic just as they were getting this shed set up. It will probably have nice pictures and light in it, but that picture won’t make the cut
It’s a sheltered area where they’ll be waiting 15-20 minutes to be collected, I’m sure they’ll manage. Jesus, get a grip.
What’s the difference between plans and reality?
The Plan: The Department of education planned for schools to have appropriate control and social distancing measures in place in all schools.
The Reality: I drove past a primary school today, the children were having a great time playing outside in the playground, social distancing was absolutely zero.
@David Van-Standen: good
Kids having to deal with that and yet the private schools wanted government money, how about we fix up public schools like this one first then discuss private.
Id say that shed would be lovely and cosy in November,if they didnt have a dose going in they sure would by the time they got let out..
This perhaps explains the appearance of 3 sheds in our secondary school –
@Eleanor Hegarty: This perhaps explains the appearance of 4 identical comments
@Paul Cunningham: From both of her accounts… jesus wept, the outrage..
@Paul Cunningham: With 2 different profile pics!
@Olivia Smith: One account registered via twitter and the other registered via Facebook
@Eleanor Hegarty: I presume it’s to wait there till parents collect them
@Seán O’Loughlin: Ohh i know that. Just scratching my head wondering why? Use one or the other.
This perhaps explains the appearance of 3 sheds in our secondary school –
@Eleanor Hegarty: Is that 12 sheds all together???
Maybe the real question should be why in the hell we are using isolation rooms in the first place. If a child feels sick why can they not wait at their socially distanced desk until a parent arrives to collect them ? It’s not the virus is diagnosed at 11.25 am by the teacher and they must be rushed to an isolation room as
@Michael Waldron: In all the safe work plans it is required to isolate a person from other people immediately if they display or report symptoms. They must remain in this area until they are collected etc.
@Michael Waldron: Spot on Michael, lockdown will get people over excited and panicked. The teacher will carry out a test with immediate results , take the kid to the shed, upsetting the child and the classroom, doing the kid the world of good mentally. This is absolutely bat s… crazy stuff. My kids won’t be attending school if proper measures aren’t taken and I can guarantee you the school won’t be using a shed for isolation . Have they all gone mad!
You couldn’t make this up , omg
@Denis White: Which bit, the insane response to a school using a perfectly clean looking shed as a waiting area?
The Shed Survivors will get a special badge and the Principal will get a special note in the Black Book in the Dept of Education. The Shed they will contend should have been placed at the back of the school, out of view. What the riffraff can’t see they won’t complain about.
Jaysus they’ll be fine to sit in there for 20 minutes while their Mam drives up to collect them. Relax dafuq
why wouldnt they be sent home if they have covid symptoms. I mean what is the plan if they are sent out there?? what happens then??
@Domhnall O’Sullivan: their parents are informed and they’re collected, obviously. This is basically just an isolated waiting area.
@A d d y o u r n a m e: Then do the parents and family isolate? If so they country will be off work in a few weeks..
@MickN: if the kid test positive YES. How can you even not understand that?
What a wonderful idea. Fairplay to who ever came up with it
Close the schools for Gods sake it’s going to be a nightmare. Some schools buses are even running at full 100% capacity. How in Gods name is this safe??
Would is be better to put all the TD’s in a mask and a she’d rather than a child?
What’s all this about ? Schools aren’t prepared at all. How does a kid end up in a shed? So the child is taken out of a classroom the morning he or she is dropped to school by the parents with suspected Covid -19. Are ye all gone mad? Kids are suffering enough, mentally ,without being shoved into a shed . Stand outside the door with the child , social distance , keep the child company and try not to get too excited until the parents arrive. Isolation sheds? GTFOH
Could a parent loan a caravan until a decent alternative is found? It would be warm, dry and comfortable.
@Sharon Browne: a traveller could
Amin Yashed
Isolation room should be well ventilated and would only be used for a short period of time and until child parents or guardian are in a position to bring him or her home.It appears fine to me.A good alternative/ solution to a the problem of finding space or room
@John Kenny: Have you kids John ? How do you think that will affect the child mentally? Do you think Covid -19 sneaks up behind you and crawls up your nose?
What do you think the rest of the kids in the classroom will be talking about if somebody is taken from a class with suspected Covid-19?Will they carry out tests with immediate results? Come October you may as well put them all in a shed. All getting a bit over excited now o feel.
I hope no child ever needs it, at least its a safe space for a short time, can’t see that anyone will be in it for long, we have to cut our cloth by our measure.
Surfaces need to be kept clear for virus transmission etc
Most schools have no spare space. Especially primary schools. And two things occur to me: a child becoming symptomatic during school hours will have been shedding virus all that day, asymptomatically. And separating a small child into a space that children will quickly find a name for could be terrifying. Sitting with no toys, no books? Who will mind the child? Thank God for compassionate schools, this will test them.
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