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  • St Vincent’s staff hold protest to highlight ‘intolerable’ conditions in Emergency Department

    St Vincent’s staff hold protest to highlight ‘intolerable’ conditions in Emergency Department

    Staff at the Emergency Department in St Vincent’s Hospital took part in a protest this afternoon to highlight the ‘intolerable’ conditions within the department.

    Dozens of medical staff and representatives of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) came together between 1pm and 2pm this afternoon to demonstrate against severe under-staffing and a shortage of beds within the Emergency Department.

    It comes after recent figures showed a 134% increase in the number of patients who spent time on trolleys between January and September this year compared to the same time last year.

    Addressing the crowd outside St Vincent’s, Liam Doran, the general secretary of the INMO, urged staff to lean on each other and focus on the patients during this time.

    “There’s too few of you and too many patients. Your practice, your needs and the welfare of your patients come before budgets and policies and ducking and diving by those who should know better,” he said.

    He also warned that this was just the beginning of industrial action nationwide.

    He said: “We’re going to continue negotiating at national level. If we don’t get progress, this hospital will be joined by other hospitals when we ballot them for other work to rules. If we have to have a withdrawal of labour in a collective and coordinated manner, we will.

    “Stick with it, lean on each other, put pressure on management, focus on patient care and we will prevail. We are absolutely solid with you.”

    Aisling Carr, a nurse in St. Vincent’s, emphasised the importance of finding a solution, as the current situation is putting pressure on staff as well as patients.

    She said: “It’s massively stressful. We need to get more beds and more staff for the patients, they’re sitting in there for 3 or 4 days on trolleys. It’s intolerable. Hopefully with the Budget coming up the Government will have some extra money to put into healthcare. Fingers crossed.”

    The staff will begin a work to rule as of 8am tomorrow which includes a withdrawal from any clerical work and any non-nursing duties.

  • Longboat Quay apartment complex may be evacuated

    Longboat Quay apartment complex may be evacuated

    Residents of the Longboat Quay apartments in Dublin are now facing the possibility of eviction after turning down a joint offer from Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) and Nama.

    It is believed that the offer was somewhere in the region of €1.75 million, which would go towards the cost of fixing fire defects in the complex.

    The almost 900 residents of the complex issued a statement last night saying the offer was “wholly unacceptable” and that it was not enough to allow work to begin on the building.

    A new Fire Safety Notice was issued by Dublin Fire Brigade’s chief fire officer on Thursday night specifying remedial work which must be undertaken to avoid an evacuation order.

    The complex was built by developer Bernard McNamara in 2006, but his company Gendsong went into receivership sometime after.

    The problems that can be found in the apartment complex are very similar to those that were found in the Priory Hall Complex, which was evacuated in 2011.

    Claire Cummings, a resident on the south block said: “Personally, I think rejecting the proposal was the right thing to do. The DDDA cannot just walk away and wash their hands off us. They are responsible for the common areas and as such need to step up to the plate and at least begin negotiating with the management company so that we can try to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.”

    Louise Purcell, another resident in the complex, agreed with Ms Cummings and said: “We are the victims here. Most people’s circumstances have changed since they purchased their homes and they would not even qualify for a loan to fund the required works.

    “It’s an absolute disgrace that there are people responsible for this mess and they can’t be penalised for it. Instead, they are trying to bully working class people who are rearing families into paying,” added Ms Purcell.

    The situation at Longboat Quay made its way into Leader’s Questions in the Dáil on Wednesday when Sinn Féin Deputy Leader – Mary Lou McDonald – quizzed Taoiseach Enda Kenny on the matter.

    The Taoiseach responded immediately saying he is “on top on this particular crisis”.

  • Brides-to-be say ‘I do’ for refugees

    Brides-to-be say ‘I do’ for refugees

    A very special event is set to take place on the 28th of October in House on Leeson Street.

    “I Do, for Syria” is an auction of pre-loved wedding attire in order to raise much needed funds for the Irish Red Cross, who are currently working with Syrian Refugees.

    Roisin Kelly, the event organiser, is encouraging women to give away their wedding gowns for the good cause.

    Roisin told The City: “I don’t have a huge amount of money to donate, but what I did have was one very expensive, worn once, beautiful wedding dress. The images of Aylan Kurdi’s body washed up on a beach really made me sit up. It broke my heart. I’ve always wanted to help the refugees and now was the time to do it.

    “So far, we have received about 40 dresses from past brides and bridesmaids. Even bridal stores including Sharon Hoey, Myrtle, Ivory to name just a few have donated. I can’t begin to describe the response. Not one person or store has said no to getting involved and for the most part we’ve hardly had to ask.”

    IMG_2947

    Parting with her dress wasn’t an easy decision for Roisin. She said: “It was hard but I’ve made my peace with it. Seeing what this has become makes me prouder than the dress ever could. It’s a beautiful dress and hopefully it will go to a good home and money raised will help aid the refugees.”

    On the night before the auction, there’ll be a fashion show held showcasing the dresses .

    “What we are doing is the tiny tip of a very big iceberg. Hopefully the auction makes tons of money for The Irish Red Cross,” she said.

    Brides who would like to donate are asked to get in contact via www.facebook.com/IDoForSyria for further information.

  • From the Frontline

    From the Frontline

    Hamas Rally in Damascus
    Hamas Rally in Damascus

    “Syrians have come to believe that the world knows what’s happening to them and just doesn’t care.”

    Two leading journalists in the field of war corresponding and foreign affairs were in Dublin last night to speak about the conflict in Syria and the challenges of reporting it. The Guardian correspondent Martin Chulov and freelancer Rania Abouzeid were the guest speakers at a From the Frontline talk hosted by the Clinton Institute, UCD in partnership with the Irish Times.

    The civil war in Syria is almost 3 years old and both journalists spoke eloquently of the way the story has failed to galvanise popular opinion and the role of journalism in combating this.

    “It is getting harder to get stories published”, said Abouzeid, “there is this emotional fatigue people have. The rising doesn’t seem to invoke the same passion. We haven’t seen any popular mobilisation and I don’t know what as a journalist to do about it.” She went on to recount that Syrians have become more reluctant to talk to journalists as the conflict has worn on, “the Syrians have come to believe that the world knows what’s happening to them and just doesn’t care.”

    As the war has dragged on so have the dangers in reporting it increased. Some 56 journalists have been killed and over 30 kidnapped. Both speakers recounted how their ability to report had been curtailed by the difficulty of gaining entry to Syria. Ramia Abouzaid told how, barred from getting a visa, she must smuggle herself across borders, substantially increasing the dangers she is exposed to.

    “The issue of safety has become so vexed, especially in the last 6 months”, said Chulov.

    Both guests had interesting and challenging things to say on the issue of social media and its role in journalism.

    “Twitter can be useful…but it is also a bubble which some people tend to live in instead of the real world…there is no substitute to being there” said Abouzeid.

    Martin Chulov sounded a similar note of caution,

    “Twitter can be an echo chamber. It’s a value add but must be handled with care. It’s easy to get burnt if you rely on it.” In a succinct summing up he said “social media is information and journalism is what you do with that.”

    Neither journalist had any optimism that there was any end in sight to the civil war or the suffering of the Syrian people. Martin Chulov was particularly downbeat in his analysis,

    “There is a real danger of a potential Balkanisation of the region, with divisions along sectarian lines and that is the nightmare scenario…something simply must be done.”

  • #Budget2014: The story so far

    #Budget2014: The story so far

    https://twitter.com/ArthurGriffin/status/390124810119835649

    https://twitter.com/PadraicPodge/status/390119768943910912

    https://twitter.com/seansherlocktd/status/390119548030312449

    https://twitter.com/Pat_Guiney/status/390074396158619648

    https://twitter.com/PetRabbitte/status/390070670341988353

  • Is Dublin dangerous?

    Is Dublin dangerous?

    by Martha Gberevbie and Patrick Gormley

    Almost everyday of 2012 there have been reports of murders and crime in the capital.  The majority of these have been gangland related but there have been numerous other incidences of violence too.

    RTÉ crime drama Love/Hate has tapped into this reality and has been a huge hit with viewers. Thecity.ie interviewed some people living in Dublin about their real-life experiences.  We also asked a counsellor to contribute some helpful information.

  • Assisted suicide – whats Dublin’s opinion?

    Assisted suicide – whats Dublin’s opinion?

    TheCity asked Dubliners their opinion on assisted suicide last week.

    A case is currently ongoing in the High Court where a terminally ill patient is petitioning for lawful assistance in ending her own life. The plaintiff is suffering from the final stages of  multiple sclerosis.

    The Irish Human Rights Commission has offered to act as “amicus curiae” (someone who is not a party to the litigation, but who believes that the court’s decision may affect its interest) for this case.

    The commission has asked the court to consider whether the absolute ban in Irish law on assisted suicide is justified having regard to the extent of interference with the personal rights of a terminally ill, disabled and mentally competent person.

    This is what a number of people interviewed in Dublin think in general about the issue of assisted suicide.

    By Blaithin Henehan and Brendan Kelly