HSE review 'exposes failings in child and adolescent mental health services'
Mental Health Reform and the Children’s Rights Alliance have reacted 'with concern' to the review into allegations that young people who attended South Kerry Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs) were prescribed inappropriate medication.
The review, published by the Health Service Executive today, has examined the treatment of more than 1,300 young people who attended the services between July 2016 and April 2021. Findings show that 227 children were exposed to the risk of significant harm.
Call for Taoiseach to apologise to Camhs families in the Dáil
A solicitor representing families impacted by the Kerry Camhs scandal says that the injured parties deserve to receive an apology from the Taoiseach in the Dáil.
A review of the care of more than 1,300 children who attended the HSE run Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (Camhs) in South Kerry has found that 46 of the children sustained significant harm.
Solicitor Padraig O’Connell, who represents a sizeable number of the families, says that the injured parties deserve more than a perfunctory apology from the HSE.
“We will be seeking that the Taoiseach go in to the Dáil and make a public apology to the victims,” Mr O'Connell said.
Ashling Murphy murder accused remanded in custody for two more weeks
A man charged with the murder of Ashling Murphy in Tullamore, Co Offaly, has been remanded in continuing custody for another two weeks pending formal directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Jozef Puska (31) with an address of Lynally Grove, Mucklagh, Co Offaly, was held in custody last week following a special sitting of Tullamore District Court.
Mr Puska is accused of killing the 23-year-old primary school teacher who was attacked while out running along the Grand Canal near Tullamore on January 12th.
The Slovakian national faced his second hearing at Cloverhill District Court on Wednesday.
Mr Puska, who has been granted legal aid, appeared before Judge Victor Blake via video link. He removed his facemask and spoke briefly to state his name and confirm he could see and hear the proceedings, listening with the assistance of an interpreter.
Taoiseach accuses Sinn Féin of ‘serial’ opposition to housing projects
The Taoiseach has accused Sinn Féin of exploiting the housing crisis for electoral gain with “serial” opposition to housing developments across the country.
In heated exchanges in the Dáil, Micheál Martin rejected Mary Lou McDonald’s assertion that his Government was detached from reality on the scale of the problems around high rents and limited housing supply.
Mr Martin told Ms McDonald not to dare lecture him on the subject, highlighting the challenges his own family faced as he was growing up.
During leaders’ questions, the Sinn Féin President showed Mr Martin a series of adverts from accommodation currently available for rent in Ireland, including a storeroom, a converted hallway and a room in Cork where you “could touch your fridge if you stretched your feet out of your bed”.
Inflation, not supply, is real issue in Irish housing market
While lack of supply is often cited as the main issue in the Irish housing market, a mortgage broker has said the real issue is inflation and that this will become evident in 2022.
John Fahy, CEO of Dublin-based Pangea Mortgages, told BreakingNews.ie: "A lot of people are talking about the supply of houses being the number one thing driving price, we absolutely don’t believe that, the evidence isn’t there to support that.
"If you go back, house prices pre-Covid were falling in parts of Dublin and the nationwide trend was falling as well, so we’ve had a supply shortage since 2015 or 2016."
Senior civil servant receiving full €294,920 salary
The most senior civil servant in the Department of Health has confirmed he is in receipt of the full €294,920 salary for his job.
Robert Watt, secretary general at the department, is no longer waiving the €81,000 hike he got when he was appointed to the senior role in April last year.
The annual salary was set to increase from €211,000 to €292,000.
Following his appointment, Mr Watt said he would forgo the salary hike until the economy “begins to recover and unemployment falls”.
