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TD calls for ban on mobile phones in schools

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Mobile phones should be banned in schools, a Galway TD has suggested.

It is important that children should have eight hours in the day free from social media interference, said Dáil Deputy Anne Rabbitte.

The Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Children and Youth Affairs also warned parents that their children may be ‘sexting’ while they sit next to them in the sitting room.

“It appears there is a highly active secret texting code being used universally by young people. While some of the more widely known abbreviations are innocent and merely used as time saving devices, such as brb (be right back) and lol (laugh out loud), some have far more sinister meanings behind them. This is allowing highly-sexualised and inappropriate conversations to be carried out right under parents’ noses,” warned the mother of three.

“It is my belief that the presence of phones should be outlawed in schools entirely. This is something parents can monitor much easier than the schools themselves. It is so important that our children be allowed these eight hours free of social media interference. Our children live in a fast-moving media bubble and our only weapon is knowledge,” she said.

Deputy Rabbitte called for additional supports for parents to enable them protect their children online. She said many parents are worried about their children’s online activity, and are especially concerned about cyber-bullying and grooming.

“The ever-evolving digital environment means parents can often feel on the back-foot when it comes to protecting their children online, and has created a real fear about cyber-bullying, grooming and access to porn.

“Parents are often well aware of how much time their kids are spending online, but less familiar with what they’re accessing.  Parents need to familiarise themselves with the technology their children are using but there also needs to be more information and supports out there to help them do that.

“The increased prevalence of social media, smartphones, and almost constant internet access, much of the advice we dole out to parents and educators has become out-dated and impractical.

“As a member of the Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs, I will be exploring new ways of engaging children and young people, as well as their parents, guardians, and teachers, on the issue of internet safety. Peer to peer and parental education, along with new child-centred programmes must form the backbone of a new, improved internet safety campaign,” added Deputy Rabbitte.

Deputy Rabbitte said An Garda Síochána should follow the lead of PSNI and release a list of the terms to “help guide and educate parents in relation to these code words so that any inappropriate contact can be addressed.”

She said: “It is our responsibility as parents to ensure we keep up to date with this ever-changing social scene our children are a part of. We have to teach them about consequence and repercussion, and how anything that goes up online can be there for life. It is impossible for us to teach safe practices in a media we do not understand.

“It is important that the Government recognises this issue and acknowledges that not all families will have the same access to this information. For this reason, I would like to see a programme put in place in schools aimed at not just educating children, but parents as well.”

She said parents can no longer monitor children’s activity on Facebook. The representative added: “For most young people Facebook is already a relic – social medias such as Snapchat have started a new wave of instant communication, there one minute gone the next.

“Not only does this make activity harder for parents to monitor, but it can give children a false sense of security – the idea that anything you send will vanish in a matter of seconds, never to be seen again can bolster children’s confidence, encouraging out of character behaviour and recklessness. Privacy is important, but not at the cost of safety. Knowledge is power and we need to empower ourselves and our children.”

Connacht Tribune

West has lower cancer survival rates than rest

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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.

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Connacht Tribune

Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents

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Galway's Aaron Niland is chased by Cillian O'Callaghan of Cork during Saturday's All-Ireland Minor Hurling semi-final at Semple Stadium. Photo: Stephen Marken/Sportsfile.

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 IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety

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Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche

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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Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.

Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

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Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
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.

 

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