Health « Thurles Information

Review Of Legislation Criminalising Purchase Of Sex Completed.

Cabinet approval secured to publish review of legislation that made it illegal to purchase sex but legal to sell sex.
Review highlights challenges facing An Garda Síochána and DPP in enforcing this legislation.

Cabinet approval has been secured to publish a review of the legislation that deals with the purchase of sexual services.

The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 decriminalised the sale of sex, criminalised the purchase of sex, and increased the penalty provided for brothel keeping. The legislation was designed to shift the legal burden towards those who buy sex rather than the sellers, aiming to protect those most at risk within the sex industry.

The Review of the Operation of Section 7A of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993, identifies areas for improvement which would allow the legislation to work better and achieve its aim of deterring the demand for commercial sex, which is linked to both sexual exploitation and human trafficking.

Here in Ireland, it is legal to sell sex, but illegal to purchase sex. This means that individuals involved in the sale of sex are no longer criminalised.
Prostitution is inherently exploitative of vulnerable persons, mainly women and girls, and many people are forced into prostitution, through trafficking, drug addiction, homelessness and poverty.

This Review has been much anticipated by stakeholders in the domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) sector and others, and is published today.

Among its findings, this review highlights challenges to the effective enforcement of the legislation in its current form, with An Garda Síochána and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions noting significant barriers. These include limited power of arrest for detention and questioning, the requirement of an admission of guilt and challenges in prosecution, due to the necessary ‘proofs’ required.

It also finds that the ability to successfully support and protect is hindered by a lack of culturally appropriate support services, including healthcare, social welfare, gender specific housing for women, and clear exit routes.

This review also notes that the prevalence of human trafficking among those involved in the sale of sex in Ireland is not fully known and the lack of reliable data is cited by both advocates for and opponents of section 7A.

The key focus on this issue is to seek to reduce demand, protect those involved in the sex trade, and support those who wish to exit.

The Review highlights that despite the criminalisation of the purchase of sexual services, demand has not decreased. The Review also points to recommendations to address this through awareness-raising; these are mirrored in the Programme for Government and the Zero Tolerance Strategy.

Certain recommendations will be considered in respect of law enforcement, and officials are consulting with An Garda Síochána, in this regard.

According to An Garda Síochána, the DPP had directed 161 prosecutions for the offence of ‘Payment etc. for Sexual Activity with a Prostitute’, from January 2017 up to August 2024.
Over that period, our police service recorded 15 convictions under this legislation.

This report is now available HERE

FSAI Warn Of Presence Of Peanut In Batches Of Sofra Garlic Powder.

Alert Summary dated Monday, 24th March 2025.

Allergy Alert Notification: 2025.A06 (Update 1).
Allergen: Peanuts.
Product Identification: Sofra Garlic Powder; pack size: 100g.
Batch Code: All batch codes and all best before dates.
Country Of Origin: Lebanon.

Message: Further to FSAI food allergen alert 2025.A06, all batches and best before dates of Sofra Garlic Powder may contain peanut, which is not mentioned on the label. This may make the batches unsafe for consumers who are allergic to or intolerant of peanut and therefore, these consumers should not eat the implicated batches.

Bayer To Pay Billions In Damages Following Weed Killer Cancer Case.

A jury in Georgia, South Carolina, USA, has ordered the Monsanto parent company Bayer to pay nearly $2.1 billion in damages to a man who maintains the company’s Roundup weed killer caused his cancer, according to his attorneys.

This verdict, delivered on Friday last, marks the latest in a long-running series of court battles that Monsanto has faced over its Roundup herbicide. The agrochemical giant says it will appeal the verdict, in an efforts to overturn the court’s decision.

In a statement, law firms Arnold & Itkin LLP and Kline & Specter PC said that the penalties awarded to the plaintiff will include $65 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages. This marks one of the largest legal settlements reached in a Roundup weed killer related case to date.

The plaintiff named as Mr John Barnes filed his lawsuit against Monsanto in 2021, seeking damages which related to his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The lead trial lawyer, Arnold & Itkin attorney Kyle Findley, stated that the verdict will help to place his client in a better disposition in order to obtain necessary treatment needed going forward.

The verdict on the case is seen as an important moment of truth, following the refusal by Monsanto to accept responsibility for poisoning people with their product, same regarded as highly toxic.

Glyphosate is a herbicide used to kill certain plants and grasses and is the declared active ingredient in most versions of Roundup. The biggest users of glyphosate are growers of crops that have been genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide. This allows the plant to survive while killing nearby weeds. The crops with the highest use of glyphosate are modified corn, cotton, and soybeans.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. maintain that glyphosate is not likely to cause cancer in humans. But there is concern about the other ingredients in Roundup, as they may be more toxic than glyphosate. These other chemicals are not the active ingredients in Roundup, so they are rarely the focus of regulatory health risk assessments.
One study found that Roundup was among the most toxic of the herbicides and insecticides tested.

Importance Of Thurles One Hundred Million Trees Project.

“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.” – Greek Proverb.

It was great to see, once again, biodiversity being restored to the area of the Thurles Double Ditch, latter situated beside Dun Muileann Housing Estate, on Mill Road, in Thurles yesterday and sponsored by Allied Irish Banks (AIB).

In this area, not alone had the biodiversity been totally eradicated back in March 2023, but also a substantial piece of Thurles Heritage had been torn down and obliterated, courtesy of Tipperary Co. Council, led by now retired Thurles Fianna Fáil Councillor, Mr Seamus Hanafin and his known associates.

**Tree planters pictured above are students from Thurles Ursuline Convent Secondary School with Ms Anne Marie Fleming,** *(Tipperary County Council Biodiversity Officer)* **and Mr John Lanigan** *(Refresh Thurles)*.

**Tree planters pictured above are students from Thurles Presentation Convent Secondary School with Mr** **Richard Mulcahy** *(Co-founder of the 100MT Project initiative)*

So, how important was yesterday’s Thurles undertaking?

The two videos, shown immediately hereunder, should assist, greatly, in granting an understanding into the importance of yesterday’s Thurles project.

So what can we expect to see here in just 2 years from now?

Congratulations to all those responsible for yesterday’s undertaking, which, sadly, saw no elected politicians making themselves available to turn sods; however, in mitigation I suppose it wasn’t an election year and the trees were too small to allow the holding up of election posters, using tech screws.

FSAI Recall Batches Of Hogans Farm Turkey Burgers.

Recall of specific batches of Hogans Farm Turkey Burgers due to missing or incorrect ingredients listed.

Alert Summary dated Thursday, March 20th 2025.

Alert Notification: 2025.15.
Product Identification: Please see table below.
Batch Code: Please see table below.
Country Of Origin: Ireland.

Product name.	Pack size.	Use by dates.
Hogan’s Farm Turkey Burgers.	400g	*25.03.2025, 26.03.2025 and* 28.03.2025**.
Hogan’s Farm Turkey Burgers with a Spicy Buffalo Glaze.	420g	*25.03.2025, 26.03.2025 and* 28.03.2025**.
Hogan’s Farm Turkey Burgers with an Asian BBQ Glaze.	260g	*25.03.2025, 26.03.2025 and* 27.03.2025**.

Message: The above batches of Hogan’s Farm Turkey Burgers and Hogan’s Farm Turkey Burgers with a Spicy Buffalo Glaze are being recalled due to the absence of an ingredients list on the labels.
In addition, the below batches of Hogan’s Farm Turkey Burgers with an Asian BBQ Glaze are being recalled as an incorrect version of the ingredients list is on the label. Recall notices will be displayed at point-of-sale.

Please also refer to FSAI food allergen alert 2025.A10.

Action Required: Manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, caterers and retailers.

Retailers are requested to remove the implicated batches from sale and display recall notices at point-of-sale.
Wholesalers/distributors are requested to contact their affected customers and recall the implicated batches and provide a point-of-sale recall notice to their retail customers.

Consumers: Sulphur dioxide is an ingredient in the above batches of Hogan’s Farm Turkey Burgers. Sulphur dioxide is not declared on the implicated batches of Hogan’s Farm Turkey Burgers and Hogan’s Farm Turkey Burgers with a Spicy Buffalo Glaze. In addition, sulphur dioxide is incorrectly declared on the list of ingredients on the affected batches of Hogan’s Farm Turkey Burgers with an Asian BBQ Glaze.
This may make these batches unsafe for consumers who are allergic to or intolerant of sulphur dioxide, and therefore, these consumers should not eat the implicated batches.