If you light a lamp for someone else, it will also brighten your path.
The Thurles Cancer Support Group is a pillar group for people who have had a cancer diagnosis, regrettably all too prevalent in today’s world.
It is here that not just those diagnosed but also their family members, relatives and friends are welcome to call. It is here that problems real or imaginary can be discussed with trained and knowing listeners.
The group meet on the first Tuesday of each month and the purpose of these meeting is to give members an opportunity to get to know other members, to chat over a cup of tea or coffee and to support others who are experiencing similar difficulties.
Their next meeting date is September 7th, 2010, from 11.00am to 12.30pm in “Suir Haven” which is the Thurles Cancer Support Centre, situated at Clongour Road, Thurles, Co Tipperary.
Volunteers are an essential part of the support groups team work. Their service needs are continuing to grow and accordingly they always welcome additional volunteers.
This group are particularly seeking volunteer services from amongst trained and accredited complementary therapists and counsellors, so do please contact them if you feel that you can give some of your time to helping them out. Any assistance at this time would be greatly appreciated.
Remember that while being good is commendable, only when it is combined with doing good, is it anyway useful. It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little – success is doing just what you can. The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.
So shines a good deed in a weary world and if you feel you can assist or share in this worthy project, or this group can benefit you, why not make further enquiries to Tel: 0504 21197.
The High Court was told on Thursday last that Dentists whose practices were heavily dependent on medical card patient treatments face closure before the end of this year.
Ms Justice Mary Irvine is to decide next week if the court can restrain the HSE from applying major cutbacks to the Dental Treatment Services Scheme, which currently provides free dental treatment to Medical Card holders.
The Tipperary dentists involved in these court proceedings are Dr Michael O’Sullivan, Dr Liam Tuohy, Dr Corinne Dwyer and Dr Donald Daly, who, according to recent press reports, each earn somewhere between €127,00 and €205,000 each, annually, from the Dental Treatment Services Scheme, on top of other earned dental income from their ordinary private practises.
In total, fifty-six dentists are suing the HSE for breach of contract. Eileen Barrington, acting for the dentists, informed the court that twenty five of those bringing this case, claim they will be forced out of business and are seeking interlocutory injunctions. Two dentists, have already been granted court injunctions and their cases are expected be heard next December.
Mark Connaughton SC, representing the HSE, stated that while it was regrettable some dentists may be forced out of business between now and the December trial, their losses were capable of being measured in damages. He further stated no interlocutory restraints were required.
The court was told in an affidavit on behalf of all of the dentists that some members faced significant staff lay-offs, possible closure or even emigration.
A spokesperson for the HSE’s Primary Care Reimbursement Service, stated that it was likely hundreds of further applications could be made by the 1,400 plus dentists participating in this scheme.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, the cost of getting teeth fixed here in Ireland has created a small boom in dental tourism abroad, for those who cannot afford the present Irish high charges. Companies are now offering attractive travel packages that include flights, transport, top hotel accommodation and top class dental work at, in some cases, 70% savings over Irish dental prices.
With this in mind, one can’t help but ask the question to where are these dentists going to emigrate?
Maybe, my dentist friends, it is time to reduce your monopolistic prices. The next thing we will be informed is that dentists are fighting for the rights of medical card holders.
In Thurles yesterday, Mr Pat Carey T.D., Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs announced funding of €97,525 under the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013, for North Tipperary LEADER Partnership to support the Tipperary Centre for Independent Living.
Making the announcement, Minister Carey said: “I am very pleased to be here in Thurles today to announce substantial funding for this Centre. I am aware that this Centre provides excellent services to people with disabilities all over Tipperary. Funding from the LEADER programme is vital for facilities such as this, for community groups and individuals in rural areas all over Ireland.”
The main service implemented by the Tipperary Centre for Independent Living is the provision of Personal Assistants to persons with significant physical disability. The personal assistant assists the disabled person in many ways. At present, over 30 physically disabled people are benefiting from this invaluable service.
Projects funded through LEADER partnerships are varied and include diversification into non-agricultural activities, support for business creation, encouragement of tourism activities, basic services for the economy and rural population, village renewal and development, conservation and upgrading of rural heritage, training and information.
North Tipperary Sports Partnership and South Tipperary Sports Partnership have joined forces in organising an exciting Women’s 10k Mini Marathon, to be held here in Thurles.
This inaugural race will take place on Sunday the 19th September next, at 2.00pm starting at Castlemeadows, following a 10k route around Thurles and finishing at the Tipperary Institute.
The official route and registration details as well as all race information can be found on the official website: www.tippminimarathon.ie
Elaine Cullinan, Co-ordinator, North Tipperary Sports Partnership stated:
“This event is open to all runners, walkers and joggers. We really want to encourage as many women as possible to come out and have fun on the day. You can download training programmes for walking and running the event from the website. All participants will be chip timed so the elite runners will get an accurate time and the event is AAI measured and certified. Come out and support this first mini marathon for Tipperary”
Valerie Connolly, Co-ordinator, South Tipperary Sports Partnership stated:
“I am delighted to be part of this new women in sport initiative in Tipperary as it is a great opportunity for women of all ages to get active and take part in the first women’s mini marathon to be held in the County. All finishers will receive a race medallion and goody bag. There will also be spot prizes on the day. The event also provides a great opportunity for participants to raise funds for their own local charities.”
All registration can be done online (www.tippminimarathon.ie) and closing date for entries is the 10th September, 2010.
Note: For further information regarding this event please contact : Elaine/Sharon at North Tipperary Sports Partnership, Tel: 067-43604.www.ntsp.ie . Valerie/Eddie at South Tipperary Sports Partnership, Tel: 062-64737.www.stsp.ie
Another week gone bye, another unacceptable number of road death, another number of family and close friends in shock and mourning loved ones, another local community speechless and brought to tears.
This coming bank holiday there is every chance you will possibly be responsible for all of the above, because you have refused to embrace life and all it has to offer, because you wanted to impress friends, because you believe your vehicle is a Ferrari and you are Fernando Alonso taking part in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The video hereunder is one of the most moving commercials I have ever seen, yet not a word is spoken and it says just about everything needed to be said, to those out motoring this coming weekend.
This video does not attempt to scare, there is no blood or mashed metal, but hopefully it will make you think and be inspired with regard to your motoring behaviour.
A total of 28 people have died, 50 have been seriously injured and an average of 1500 close relatives and friend’s lives have been ruined, in bank holiday crashes since 2005.
Breaking a long distance car journey recently, I called in to one of my favourite licenced hostelries. I was in search of a mug of coffee and a packet of cigarettes. Coffee and tea served in so called ‘Super Stores’ and ‘Self Service Petrol Stations’, in those waxed paper cups, are rather like the slop served on Irish train journeys, so I have learned to avoid both with equal enthusiasm.
Alone and sitting in the corner of the warm bar, gave me the perfect opportunity to eavesdrop and study life around me without distraction.
A group of, what appeared to be, office girls were discussing new dresses acquired for a forthcoming twenty first birthday party. An elderly couple were silently munching salads, briefly exchanging whispered sentences, between mouthfuls of potato salad and coleslaw. A sad looking elderly gentleman, in a well worn dark top coat and matching wellingtons, cap on knee and holding a stick in one hand, a pint in the other, was staring blankly towards the ground. A black and white sheep dog, obviously the mans property, was lying obediently under his masters chair with eyes closed, awaiting his next command.
Suddenly the quiet calm was broken by the inward rush of five gentlemen, ages somewhere between twenty five and thirty five. One could not but smile at their get-up. Wearing garb, which I can only describe as some sort of ladies skimpy gym wear, it soon became apparent they were celebrating a well planned stag party and had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol, prior to entering this establishment.
Having listened to their good humored, yet loud loutish banter for some twenty minutes, and the wasted efforts attempted by the unfortunate lone barman to control their volume voices, my thoughts strayed to the present situation of two Tipperary barmen and the problems they find themselves facing later this year.
These hotel bar staff recently appeared in the Circuit Court in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, charged with the manslaughter of an English guest, following a night’s socialising at the hotel, their place of work. We are given to understand that the guest, who was celebrating his 26th birthday, tragically choked to death on his own vomit, as a result of acute alcohol intoxication. The bar manager and his colleague were later charged with an unlawful killing, following a lengthy investigation into his tragic death by police.
Speaking in the Dáil last Wednesday night, North Tipperary Deputy Noel Coonan helped push a step further, the National Coalminers Group’s plight for redress. Many former miners suffer from various health problems acquired during coal-mining activity and the Fine Gael TD stated that the Minister for Social Protection has provided a “glimmer of hope” at last to those affected.
During the debate, Deputy Coonan strongly urged the Minister for Social Protection to outline his Department’s response to the National Coalminers Group’s ongoing campaign.
Deputy Coonan stated he was pleased with the outcome, saying Minister Eamon O’Cuiv will undertake an investigation in his department to see that many of the miners’ health problems such as tinnitus and asthma and other respiratory ailments will be addressed under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme (OIBS).
Minister O’Cúiv said he will work with the miners to reduce the hardship they are suffering. Currently the OIBS is too restrictive a scheme for the miners; it does not address their needs because the list of prescribed illnesses is too tight. For example, pneumoconiosis is acceptable but COPD – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – tinnitus and asthma are not.
Deputy Coonan pointed out that these are the main conditions suffered by the miners and the scheme needs to change. “The Minister seemed to accept that that scheme wasn’t sufficient to meet needs of miners and their health problems acquired from working in the mines. This is more than any of the Ministers’ predecessors has done to date. I hope this isn’t just an initial reaction that fades away, as has been the case in the past. The Minister has indicated that he will discuss the issue in-depth with his officials in the Department of Social Protection. I am cautiously optimistic that the miners may at last get some compensation,” concluded Deputy Coonan.
Financial regulator Matthew Elderfield warned last week that more crippling mortgage rate rises are in the pipe line for the hard-pressed mortgage holder.
The financial regulator told an Oireachtas committee recently that higher mortgage rates were an “unfortunate but inevitable consequence” of the current banking crisis and a survey by the Irish Mortgage Corporation found that nearly one half of homeowners fear they will struggle to pay their mortgage this year, if rates rise as expected.
Meanwhile Green party Minister John Gormley warns that plans for household water charges, considered a basic human right, will be brought before Government within the coming weeks. He said however that an immediate levy would not be imposed for possibly two years,(After the next General Election) but refused to state how much the public would be forced to pay, in this new exciting tax to be levied. Approximately 1.1 million homes will need to have “Water Meters” installed from next year with Mr Gormley insisting that Water is a precious resource and these charges would be politically unpopular, but necessary.
Meanwhile Public Patients are being restricted to purchasing only four Viagra or Cialis type tablets per month by the HSE. Each prescription costs the tax payer in or around €25, not including the dispensing fee charged by chemists. Costings just released through the HSE, show that spending on erectile dysfunction drugs topped over €1 million through the medical card system and increased by 6% for the first time in 2008, in the area from Donegal to Limerick only. Now Green Party politicians, are calling on the HSE to reduce the monthly allowance on this drug to public patients, in a bid to control costs.
For God’s sake, is there nothing left for the working man anymore, I think it time to emigrate.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) have announced that it is now providing a new free email and SMS text service which will directly inform food allergy sufferers of the presence of allergens in inappropriately labelled foods. Anyone with an interest in this area can now subscribe to this email servicehere (Click on the Food Allergen Alerts Box before submitting.) to receive these alerts via the FSAI’s website.
Food allergen alerts will be issued by the FSAI upon receipt of information that a food product poses a risk to certain consumers’ health, due to missing or incorrect allergen labelling.
Food allergen alerts will also be issued to enforcement officers and food businesses. This service has been available since January 26th 2010.
Professor Alan Reilly, Chief Executive, FSAI, stated:
“The ultimate objective of this new notification system is to prevent people who have an established food allergy from purchasing or consuming a food product which may be detrimental to their health. We are also calling on all food manufacturers and processors to regularly review the composition of their final product and ensure that the presence of an allergen is clearly visible on the food label.”
By law, the food manufacturer must also clearly indicate on the label, the name of the ingredient from which the allergen originates.
The HSE chief for acute hospitals in the mid-west has confirmed that they plan to go ahead with plans to close the facilities at both Nenagh and Ennis General Hospitals.
John Hennessy also confirmed that certain acute medicine services will also be transferred from Nenagh and Ennis to the mid western regional hospital in Limerick.
He denied however that this was a further downgrading of services at Nenagh and Ennis.
Fine Gael’s Deputy Noel Coonan has again expressed deep concern that the Hospital is becoming a shadow of its former self as it is continuously stripped of services that are traditional to any hospital.
Nenagh Hospital
The Fine Gael TD was reacting to a HSE announcement that the Intensive Care Unit in Nenagh Hospital will close in 2010 and other acute medical services will be transferred to the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick.
“Nenagh General Hospital has already lost too many vital services and now it’s losing its Intensive Care Unit along with other acute medical services. Transferring the A and E department from Nenagh to Limerick was heralded as a genius idea but we recently saw nurses at the Mid Western Regional Hospital in Limerick go on strike because of overcrowding at the facility. This was partly due to the closure of the A and E in Nenagh and subsequent overflow of patients coming from North Tipperary to Limerick.
It’s clear that the hospital at Dooradoyle is struggling and the HSE is putting a further burden on the facility by transferring more services from both Nenagh and Ennis hospitals. If this is the concerned reaction of front line staff who are worried for patient safety, I want to know what plans HSE management have to deal with the overcrowding issue?
Nenagh Hospital is not a hospital in the traditional meaning of the word. Minister Harney is no longer even a member of a political party yet she controls the HSE which is one of the most important bodies in the country. This time last year, the hospital had in excess of 100 beds but today there are only 52 inpatient beds available.”
Deputy Coonan previously asked when the new surgical theatres promised for Nenagh Hospital will materialise, as promised in the Mid-West reconfiguration programme.
“It’s important that there is no delay in providing the theatre facilities because they are essential to the continued survival of Nenagh Hospital,” concluded Deputy Coonan.
Recent alarming statistics released show that the number of people waiting more than six months for a test to detect if they have bowel cancer has risen and the number of patients in the Mid Western Regional Hospital, Limerick has more than tripled, from 23 to 72, since September last.
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