Connacht Tribune
Naíonra parents find more questions than answers
An ad-hoc committee of Connemara parents have come back with more questions than answers following their meeting with the board of the Ionad Tacaíochta Teaghlaigh in relation to their policies for running the local Naíonra.
A group of 30 parents met at the Poitín Stil in Indreabhán on Monday night to find out the response from the ITT board on concerns surrounding their staff issues and Irish language policy- which involves the separation of children based on their command of Irish.
Most of the questions asked by the committee, however, were redirected to the newly appointed temporary manager who was not in attendance on the night of the committee’s meeting with the ITT board.
The committee did say that the ITT were very insistent on their Irish language policy despite an apparent majority of parents who don’t want the segregation of children based on their language skills.
Committee member Caroline Schmidt said it felt they were prioritising the language over the well-being of the children.
“We all want our children to have the highest level of Irish but it’s like they are putting the Irish language to one side and the welfare of children to another when they should be working together,” she said.
The committee noted that the ITT board did not seem to be well informed with regards to the Síolta Early Childhood Care and Education guidelines that were mentioned by the group of parents.
They also questioned the validity of the study the ITT used to justify their policy which said the best way for both native and non-native child speakers to learn is to be grouped with similarly-skilled speakers.
Committee member Anne Marie Gannon said that the report looked as if it was commissioned by the Department of the Gaeltacht and argued that if this was the case then it would be limited by having such a profound conflict of interest.
“What they are basing this on is very questionable because it is not an independent study to our knowledge.
“We haven’t been able to find any evidence that the study has been peer reviewed or published in any scientific journal so we can’t be sure of the validity of this study,” she added.
Staffing was another concern raised at the meeting with only one appointment confirmed to the committee despite the naíonra opening its doors on Wednesday. The ITT reassured parents there would be an adequate number of staff by the start of the term with interviews being held last Thursday.
There was confusion over this timeline as those in attendance at the Poitín Stil argued that from their experience, Garda vetting would take at least a week to complete.
The committee said that they brought this up with the ITT board and they assured them that the process would only take a few days because they were doing it online.
Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh was also at the meeting to give help to the committee and he says that it was important that these issues were brought to the board’s attention.
“The parents are now going to monitor how this Irish language policy is implemented and will come back to it this September,” he added.
Senator Ó Clochartaigh said that the meeting at the end of September would give an indication whether the board listened to the parent’s concerns.
“The upcoming meeting is about following up on these issues, and it’s a test to see how seriously the ITT are taking the concerns of the parents.”
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
