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ADDITIONAL COLLEGE PLACES in speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy are to be put in place for the September intake of new students.
This will contribute to delivering on the government’s promise to expand places in these disciplines by 35%.
There have been reports of a high number of vacancies across Ireland’s 91 Children’s Disability Network Team (CDNTs) across the country.
CDNTs provide specialised support for children with complex needs, including occupational therapy, psychology, physiotherapy as well as speech and language therapy.
Noteworthy and The Journal reported last year that children are waiting years for assessments and facing multi-year waiting lists for therapy and other supports.
At the time, there were over 700 vacancies across the 91 teams, with the HSE stating that the lack of qualified staff was impacting its capacity to deliver services.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and Higher Education Minister Patrick O’Donovan, in announcing the expansion of up to 40% in healthcare college places over the next two academic years said increasing the future supply of health professionals to meet the needs of our health service is a key priority for the government.
The additional places commencing in September 2024 include expanded intakes on speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and podiatric medicine programmes in University of Galway, and physiotherapy in RCSI as well as the introduction of an undergraduate occupational therapy programme in University of Limerick.
“Last year we delivered significant expansion in healthcare places, with over 460 additional student places being provided in medicine, nursing and midwifery, and other key healthcare courses in Higher Education Institutions in Ireland. It is clear that we need to go much further. And, as I have said before, we need to double our healthcare college places,” said Donnelly.
“The planned student expansion in physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy, is a welcome development and we expect to be announcing additional places in respect of other disciplines in the near future.”
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You’d be pretty seriously challenged to drive at more than 30 kph anyway on those streets.
Does greater levels of traffic management make roads safer and improve traffic flow?
This article says no.
http://onthecommons.org/fewer-traffic-signs-better-safety
Cars are not the only problem in cork City. You can’t drive very fast through the city centre anyway, people cross the road without looking…. If they only crossed at the pedestrian crossing’s, it would make it safer for themselves and the drivers!
If people didn’t have to wait 90 seconds for a change in pedestrian light that would happen a lot less.
In Dublin, this makes sense on the likes of O’Connel st but the 30 limit is ridiculous on the quays!
This is just another way to squeeze money out of motorists. 30 kph is nigh on impossible and I, for one, will *avoid* taking my car into the city centre.
If you find it impossible to drive at 30kph it’s better for everyone if you stay off the roads altogether.
Next thing you know Cork coco will be paying crazy amounts of money fir so-called ‘art installations’ ……
Makes no difference whatsoever. Exercise in printing sign posts. Waste of time and taxpayer money.
I really wish there was easier access to parking in cork though. I love the city, and hate to see all the vacant units, but it is so expensive to go in there for even a morning at 3 euro an hour.
€3 an hour! P Wurple you’ve been taken for a ride. North main St parking is only 1.50/hour and it’s free after 6 for Xmas. I enjoy a good burn though the city when it’s not rush hour: check out all the beoirs in their finery! 30k matter snot!
Park n ride? all day for a fiver?
Quick question? Does anybody know of any person convicted for doing 30k/p/h? I don’t nor have I seen any gatso’s patrolling the 30k areas
This will work out as well as it did in Dublin.
Eh, it didn’t.
30 is impossible to drive in certain cases. Quays in Dublin is one, Colon a tiny village in Louth is another.
Usually Patrick and Oliver are crowded anyway so won’t really notice.
Problem is everyone will be looking at the speedo than looking out the window.
Expect most people to be caught on Sunday when everyone is doing Pana.
Very easy to drive at 30 on the quays in Dublin. If you allow yourself to be bullied into going faster by other motorists then so be it. They won’t pay the fine or the counselling when you ru over some pedestrian.
Does that apply to their talking down there as well?
The average speed on the Cork main streets as it is about 20kph. The amount of traffic in the city and its suburbs during the day is ridiculous for the size of city. If the government spent more time worrying about effective and efficient (!!) public transport around the city we would be a lot better off than worrying about those he haven’t learned yet to look left and right while crossing the road. The amount of j-walking and idiotic pedestrians in Cork is overwhelming, driving down Patrick Street it difficult to see why anyone would try and put policy in place to counteract natural selection. That’s not to say however that motorists are not to blame for these measures, it seems they were handing out licences to most people; jumping red lights, no indicating and generally just no common sense! Public transport that works, fines for motorists that cant operate a vehicle correctly and fines for pedestrians that cant operate a footpath or common sense. Case closed.
why dont they just cut all traffic out of the city centre. its farcical to have trucks buses in patrick street
Here in australia perth if you cross the road with out waiting for the green man you can get a fine, this would be good for the likes of some people but shhh the government will see this as an investment
“It should be noted that all motorists with destinations to the city centre ‘become’ pedestrians eventually and the objective is to make the City Centre more attractive and safe for them”.
Bollocks. Speaking for Cork alone, there is a very high volume of through traffic.
That said, I’ve yet to see anyone pulled for it, and as I’m sure has been noted above, the density of traffic wouldn’t allow it at peak hours anyway.
I pity the first individual that tries to enforce it at 4am.
There’s nowhere, inbound, on the Dublin quays to really park a Gatso. There is usually one outbound parked outside St. James Gate.
Pedestrians in Cork are unbelievable in their apparent contempt for moving vehicles. This is coming from a fellow pedestrian. In Cork you can always spot a blow in, he’ll be the guy waiting for the green man. This isn’t helped either by bus and taxi drivers of Cork who share a universal contempt for both pedestrians and card drivers.
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