News
Three travel to UK each week for terminations
Three Galway women a week travelled to the UK to have a termination last year, a 12% decrease on the year before.
Figures published by the UK Department of Health show 156 women listed their address in Galway – down from 175 in 2014.
In 2013 the British Department of Health put the number at 133 while in 2012 it was 138.
Between the years 2008 and 2011, 726 women with addresses in Galway made the journey to England or Wales for a termination, which worked out at an average of over three women per week.
The numbers travelling for a termination are likely to be higher as some women choose not to disclose their home address to the clinics, using a British address instead.
The growing popularity of abortion pills procured illegally online is also contributing to the decline in those travelling, according to the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA).
Abortion rates are coming down right across Europe, which was due to better access to contraception, better sexuality education as well as abortion pills.
“It is important to note that this figure is an underestimation – not all women provide Irish addresses at UK clinics for reasons of confidentiality or otherwise; some women travel to other countries for abortion services; and some women access the abortion pill online,” said a spokesperson.
“We have no numbers on how many women in Ireland access the abortion pill but we know from our services that it is being increasingly used.”
Anti-abortion groups attribute the improvement in the figures to improved supports and better education about “the reality of abortion”.
The abortion pill is illegal in the Republic of Ireland. The emergency contraceptive pill is not illegal and both the 3 and 5-day pill are available from pharmacies without a prescription.
In total, 3,451 Irish residents had terminations in England and Wales last year, equating to roughly nine women every day, and a 48% fall in the number of women travelling to Britain to end a pregnancy since 2001.
Most travelled from Dublin (1,311), followed by Cork (280) and then Galway (156).
The HSE Crisis Pregnancy Programme provides free counselling services for women experiencing crisis pregnancies, as well as free post-abortion medical check-ups and therapy.
The new minority government has made no commitment to loosening abortion laws.
In its programme for government, it said it would establish a citizens’ assembly that will make recommendations to the Dáil on constitutional changes, including on the Eighth Amendment.
The Amendment acknowledges the right to life of the unborn, equating it with the mother’s right to life. When it was passed 31 years ago with a 67% majority, it was heralded as a victory for anti-abortion activists.
Since its introduction, clauses have been added that state the Eighth Amendment cannot limit a person’s freedom to travel abroad, or her “right of information” of legal abortion services in other states.
The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act was passed in 2013 which allowed for women to have an abortion, but under very strict circumstances and having been seen by a panel of experts.
Former Minister for Health Leo Varadkar revealed that 26 terminations were carried out under the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Act in 2014 – three terminations were carried out based on the risk to the life of the mother by suicide, 14 due to the risk from physical illness and nine based on an emergency situation from physical illness.
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.
On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.
But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.
“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”
We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.
Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.
To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.
He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.
Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.
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.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
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
