Whilst the governments commitment to a new Urgent Care Centre is welcome there remains much concern that the new Tallaght unit will not be equipped to deal with all Southside children who require emergency care and that some will have to be taken directly by car or ambulance through heavy daytime traffic to the Mater. Continue reading »

FGM is a medically unnecessary and barbaric procedure which is carried out on young girls up to age 15 years. It is a violation of the human rights of girls and women causing immense physical and psychological pain and suffering and even death. The World Health Organisation estimates that 3 million girls worldwide are at risk of Female Genital Mutilation each year.’ Continue reading »

Fine Gael Children’s Spokesman Alan Shatter TD has said the investigation announced by the Children’s Ombudsman will not be not sufficient and that radical reform of child protection services is now immediately required.

 “The fact that the HSE child protection services have not been uniformly complying with the Children First Child Protection Guidelines published in 1999 has been known for a considerable period of time. Continue reading »

Alan Shatter TD, Fine Gael Front Bench Spokesperson on Children today expressed his surprise at the Minister for Children’s extraordinary assertion that the Governments withdrawal of the cervical cancer vaccination programme for 12 year old girls ‘is not a children’s issue’. Continue reading »

Alan Shatter TD, Fine Gael Front Bench Spokesman on Children has criticised the Minister for Health’s decision to abandon the national cervical cancer vaccine programme for 12 year old girls, which was announced in August and was due to commence in September 2009. Continue reading »