Trevor Laffan

I have not received any communication from Mr. Lynch but he has apparently replied to some others. Based on what I have seen, I make the following observations.

Mr. Lynch states that the Cork County Council is aware of the issue of dog fouling. That’s not surprising since the local councilors have stated that they have been raising the subject for years.  He also says that they are trying to deal with it but he doesn’t explain what those attempts entail. Apart from providing ‘doggie bags’, I haven’t seen evidence of any efforts.

He further states that “we have not had much success in relation to fining those dog owners who refuse to clean up after their pets – it is not possible for the Council’s Warden to issue a litter fine for this unless they can be satisfied that they can positively identify the owner of the dog.”

Again, he doesn’t explain what efforts they have made to find the dogs or their owners but I would argue that if there was a willingness to tackle this issue then it would be possible to identify some of these dog owners. Dogs are roaming the town freely without being on a lead and many of them seem to have collars. There is not too much investigative expertise required to locate these owners.

He says that “This is not just an issue in Cobh – I am aware from talking to my colleagues in the Environment Department of the County Council that this is an issue across the entire county and beyond.” He is absolutely right. In the UK, they reckon that there are between 6 and 7 million dogs producing about 1,000 tonnes of crap every day. But I’m only interested in Cobh and I think it is possible to improve the situation here. Mr. Lynch has confirmed that there is no Litter Management Plan. But he hopes “that the County Council will be in a position over the next few months to prepare a new Plan which would set out our intentions in relation to litter control generally as well as the specific issue of dog fouling”.

That means that we could be at the end of another tourist season before we even see sight of a plan. Without a plan, there will be no action so we can anticipate another build-up of dog crap this summer.

He is right when he says that dog owners should take responsibility for the actions of their own pets. In an ideal world, they would, and every driver would be insured, nobody would park on double yellow lines and there would be no such thing as shoplifting.

But we don’t live in an ideal world and until we do, we need the Council to do its’ job.

 

Hi,

It seems that there have been no fines for dog fouling issued in Cobh for the last two years yet the amount of dog fouling around the town is unacceptable. It is unsightly and it poses a health risk. The local authority has obligations under the ‘Litter Pollution Act 1997’ and the ‘Control of Dogs Act, 1986.’

Litter Pollution Act 1997

‘Each local authority must prepare a litter management plan for its area, setting out its objectives to prevent and control litter, along with measures to encourage public awareness of litter. The plan must also set out measures and arrangements by which the local authority intends to achieve these objectives. In preparing its litter management plan, the authority must consult with local community and voluntary interests.’

‘Under Section 22 of the Litter Pollution Act 1997 it is an offence to allow a dog under your control to foul a public place. This means the owner or person in charge of the dog is required to remove dog faeces and dispose of them in a suitable, sanitary manner.’

Control of Dogs Act, 1986

‘Under the Control of Dogs Act 1986, as amended by the Control of Dogs (Amendment) Act 1992, local authorities are responsible for the control of dogs. They have the power to appoint dog wardens, provide dog shelters, seize dogs, impose on-the-spot fines and take court proceedings against owners.’

It is not good enough for the council to throw its collective hands in the air and say that it’s too difficult. There is an obligation on the local authority to deal with these issues.

I would like to know:

How does the local authority intend to tackle this issue?

Is there a litter management plan for Cobh and if there is, where can it be viewed?

When I was a youngster, driving my first car, I was paying through the nose for insurance and I was told that there were all kinds of reasons for this. They said that young people were more likely to be involved in accidents so there was a loading for that. They said youngsters were more likely to speed and drive carelessly so that was taken into account as well.  They told me that I shouldn’t worry though because it would get a lot better for me when I reached twenty-one years of age.

But when I hit twenty-one I was told that my situation would improve when I reached the age of twenty-five. On and on it went and now, as I approach sixty, I find that I am still suffering.

It would appear that I am being penalised for the sins of others. I have had a clean drivers licence for the last forty years, I have never had an accident or a claim and I don’t have any penalty points. I’m retired so I only clock up about ten thousand kilometres a year, I live in the countryside and my car is parked in a driveway every night. I would have thought that I would be a dream customer for any insurance company but it seems as if I have been diagnosed with the plague. Nobody wants to touch me.

For the last number of years, I have been paying about €300 for my insurance. It varied a bit from year to year but it was always in or around that price. Last year there was a significant jump when I was quoted a figure of €590. I thought that this was a bit excessive but the nice lady informed me that all the premiums had increased thanks to the Government levy.

When I suggested that I was going to shop around and try elsewhere there was a bit of a rethink and the price reduced to €460. I did check around but that was still the best I could come up with so I went with it albeit with a bit of a grievance.

This year, I discovered that the premium had risen to €620. I immediately went online and did some shopping around and I was quoted prices from €585 to €800 with the average being about €700. I contacted my current insurer and I asked the lady to clarify what I had done to upset them so much. She told me that basically they were spending a fortune on claims and every customer was going to be paying about €80 on their policy until the books were balanced. My premium had gone up by €160 so presumably I was chipping in for some other poor sod as well.

So if this is happening to the likes of me, then how are younger people going to manage especially if they have penalty points or an older car? There must be individuals out there who just can’t afford to put their car on the road. Motor insurance premiums have risen by almost 40% in the last year according to the Central Statistics Office and one third of drivers have seen their insurance rise by up to 50% and it is particularly impacting on younger drivers. Young men in their early 20s are being asked to pay anything between €6,000 and €14,000 a year.

In its defence, the industry has said higher claim payouts necessitated premium hikes. Michael Horan of Insurance Ireland said that while overall claims costs have been dropping, the premium incomes of companies have also been in decline.  Insurers claim that they are losing money due to higher levels of road fatalities, increased accidents and more personal injury claims. Legal costs and massive awards made in the courts are adding to the costs.

So, it seems that everyone is blaming someone else for the high cost of insurance and these arguments prove that people can produce figures to support all sides. But the reality is that we’re paying more money for insurance and the figures in our bank statements will support that.

Uninsured drivers are also driving up the cost of motoring for the rest of us. The Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland has reported that there has been an 85 per cent increase in the number uninsured drivers over past five years so there could be as many as 150,000 uninsured drivers on our roads currently. The increase in insurance costs could certainly be a factor in this rise and while there is a legal obligation on every driver to be insured, it’s obvious that not everybody takes that obligation seriously.

Insurance is there to provide protection for us all in the event of an accident but despite the penalties applied to uninsured drivers, there are still many who think it is worth taking a chance on driving without it. Or maybe they feel they have no choice when they can’t afford the premium and public transport is not an option for them.

The insurance industry has been coming under pressure to provide a data base of all insured drivers to the gardaí who could then use hand held devices to check if a car was insured or not. It makes sense at this stage that insurance companies should be talking to each other and to the gardai to tackle this issue.

On a positive note, the Government is determined to drive down the cost of insurance. Just like they are going to fix the hospital crisis and the plight of the homeless. That worries me because by the time they resolve this, I might be able to afford to insure my car but I will  probably be in a home for the bewildered struggling to remember my name.

A week ago, I put up a post about dog fouling in Cobh. The public walkways, from one end of the town to the other, are littered with dog crap. It’s unsightly, it’s unhealthy and it’s unfair to those of us who don’t have dogs. It’s also unfair to those responsible dog owners who clean up after their pets.

I sent an email to each of our local representatives to ask how many fines for dog fouling have been issued in Cobh in the last two years? I also sent an email to Paraig Lynch as I was advised to do, to have the matter raised at the next municipal meeting.

Kieran McCarthy replied to my email with half an hour and he thought that two or three fines may have been issued. He said he has been raising this issue as a councillor for 23 years.

Cathal Rasmussen replied within a few hours and he can’t recall any fines being issued but he is pushing to have the Traffic Warden more involved in the enforcement.

Padraig O’Sullivan replied the following day and he thought that prosecutions were poor if not nil in certain areas and enforcement is virtually impossible.

There was no reply from; Ger Keohane, Anthony Barry, Sinead Sheppard or Paraic Lynch Obviously, there was a decision made at some point to place dog fouling signs around the town. Maybe this was done as a token gesture to appease the natives or maybe there was an intention to deal with the issue.

Whatever the intention was, the fact of the matter is that the town is full of dog crap and nobody seems to be responsible for dealing with the issue. Erecting these signs would seem to have been a complete waste of public money. Mr. Lynch and his colleagues in Carraig House seem to have a difficulty replying to phone calls, emails and letters.

That doesn’t surprise me but I’ll keep trying.

 

The Irish Examiner carried a story by Jimmy Wolfe recently about a man who died after coming home to find intruders in his house. John O’Donoghue, 62 years of age, had left his home in the country with his sister to do some shopping. When they returned home they saw a car parked across the road and their gate was open. When they got to the side door they realised something was wrong and they suspected that someone had broken into the house. Mr. O’Donoghue collapsed on the ground while his sister called out for help. He subsequently died of a suspected heart attack.

David Casey from Coolock in Dublin and Michael Casey from Clonlong Halting Site in Limerick pleaded guilty to committing the burglary in 2015 while the third guy who was driving the car doesn’t get a mention. Apparently they had also carried out other burglaries in the area prior to going to Mr. O’Donoghue’s house. When his sister called for help the Caseys climbed out the window and ran through the fields with the stolen property while their victim lay dying on the ground.

This wasn’t their first crime. Their modus operandi was to drive around rural areas looking for isolated older houses that would have little or no security. One of them would stay outside the property and act as a lookout while the others would go inside. David Casey, who is still only 21 years of age, was out on bail at the time of this crime so he is already well experienced. The criminal cousins had 60 previous convictions between them and they both pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary and one count of criminal damage. All four offences happened in the Doon/Cappamore area on the same afternoon.

At Limerick Circuit Court, Judge Tom O’Donnell sentenced both defendants to four years and six months in jail with the final 12 months suspended. He said: “The court is deeply conscious of the loss suffered by John O’Donoghue’s family. The sentence will not change the fact Mr O’Donoghue is no longer with us and it will not alleviate his families pain. The court must deal with the burglary charges and those alone.”

It is very difficult to imagine in the normal course of events what it feels like to be a victim of a burglary. The invasion of privacy and the violation of your personal space is something that victims find difficult to cope with. The fact that someone was in your house searching through your personal items must be hard to stomach, not to mention the sense of loss over whatever was stolen.

These guys, and all the other like- minded criminals, make a conscious decision to live their lives outside the normal boundaries of law and order. They do what they like regardless of the negative impact those actions may have on other law abiding members of society. They have no respect and no regard for anyone apart from themselves and they feel entitled to rob and plunder. They rarely work, they live off the State where possible and supplement their income by stealing from others.

The Caseys’ have admitted their part in this crime in which a harmless, defenceless man died. The chances are that this man would be alive today if these scumbags had left him alone. These criminals are the reason that so many elderly people are living in fear every day in this country. They both have written letters expressing their remorse for their actions and they are both making efforts to rehabilitate themselves in prison. Well, that makes it alright then.

In a separate story, Sean Gaffney, a 25 year old from Waterford, broke into a house with another man on Christmas Eve 2014 and subjected a 97 year-old woman to a “horrendous experience”.  Gaffney and another man smashed the double glazed window at the rear of the house. They dragged the elderly woman out of bed and threw her on the living room floor which was littered with broken glass. They searched the house and made off with expensive jewellery. The terrified woman locked herself in the bathroom until the men left the house and then she raised the alarm.

DNA evidence and finger prints led the Gardaí to Gaffney who accepted that he was in the house but didn’t name the man who was with him because he couldn’t remember who it was. The victim saw the men taking her jewellery. Gaffney said he was drunk and had been drinking all day and admitted doing wrong but said he never touched the old lady.

Ms Elaine Morgan, defending Gaffney, said her client admitted being in the house and his conduct was shameful and he was ashamed of himself. When he was questioned by the Gardaí he co-operated fully and was open and honest.

Gaffney has received a 230 hour community service sentence in lieu of a two year prison term and he got a twelve month suspended sentence for the criminal damage charge. The judge took into account a favourable probation report and the fact that Gaffney wasn’t directly involved in the assault and that he cooperated with the gardai.

That’s ok then. This tramp broke into the home of a 97 year old woman, damaged her property, terrorised her, stole her jewellery and left her needing round-the-clock care but he’s not a bad fella really.

The feelings of remorse that are regularly expressed by habitual criminals and the stories of their attempts at rehabilitation should be treated with the same credibility as the tales written by Hans Christian Anderson. Yet, they regularly taken into consideration by the judges. Maybe in this era of accountability there is a case to be made for requiring judges to justify some of their decisions.

 

 

 

These signs are visible around the town of Cobh, they are self explanatory. If you don’t clean up after your dog, you face a fine of up to a maximum of €3000. That’s clear enough.

The public walkways, from one end of the town to the other, are littered with dog crap. It’s unsightly, it’s unhealthy and it’s unfair to those of us who don’t have dogs. It’s also unfair to those responsible dog owners who clean up after their pets.

There is a group of dog owners who couldn’t care less about the rules and they are quite happy to let their dogs run freely around the town. They have no interest in public decency and no regard for the people who have to clean up their mess.

Neither do they have any fear of being fined and maybe there is a good reason for that. I have a question our local representatives:

O’SULLIVAN, Padraig
RASMUSSEN, Cathal
McCARTHY, Kieran
KEOHANE, Ger
BARRY, Anthony
SHEPPARD, Sinead

How many fines for dog fouling in Cobh have been issued in the last two years?

I suspect I already know the answer to this but I’m going to ask it anyway. I have more follow up questions, but let’s get an answer to this one first.

I opened an overhead cupboard in the kitchen at home the other day to take out something and I was showered with rubbish. All sorts of plastic crap fell out on top of me, including empty plastic containers, some with lids and some without, plastic bottles, plastic cups and plates.

This is becoming a regular feature in my place when I go looking for something and it’s driving me nuts.

It seems to me that every inch of space is taken up with clutter and when I go to move one thing, then five or six more bits and pieces fall out onto the floor. When I reach up to get a box of cereal, I must duck to avoid an avalanche of plastic junk and I end up on my hands and knees wasting more time picking it all back up.

It’s all stuff that I don’t want or don’t need yet, there it is, ready to assault me every time I open a door.

It always seems to be plastic and the lids always seem to outnumber the containers. When I ask why we are keeping the stuff, I’m told that it’s because you never know when they might be needed.

When I complain to my wife about it, she tells me that she needs more cupboard space. No she DOES’NT! If she gets twenty more cupboards she’ll manage to fill them to overflowing with more crap. There is something in her programming that tells her that space is bad.

Free space is dangerous so if there is an inch of space somewhere in the house she has to find it and fill it with something. If it’s big enough then she’ll put a lamp on it but a smaller spot might get a photograph or she’ll find a piece of glass to fit it or maybe another piece of plastic.

I have a shed that I can’t get into and an attic that will soon have to be reinforced to hold the weight of junk that is stored there. We have a walk in wardrobe or, I should say, my wife has one. My little section has been reduced over the years and I am now the proud owner of enough room to hang a shirt and a pants, the rest is hers. She added more shelving recently and somehow my little corner has managed to get even smaller.

I can say with absolute certainty that she has clothes in there that haven’t seen the light of day for over twenty years. They have served their purpose and they are doomed to spend the rest of their days gathering dust in the back of the wardrobe, squeezing me out. But they will never leave.

There is obviously some rule or superstition or something that I’m not aware of that prevents women from discarding old clothes. Maybe it’s a throwback to the Famine. It’s in their subconscious that they must always be prepared in case those dark days are ever revisited so they never throw anything away in case they need it someday.

Clothes and shoes, I can understand a little but the need to hoard plastic containers is beyond me. As soon as these containers empty their cargo in my house, they are washed and cleaned and then shoved into one of the already crowded cupboards to join their buddies.

There was a time when we weren’t very comfortable throwing plastic into the refuse because of the damage to the environment but now we are all familiar with recycling so it shouldn’t be such an issue to just get rid of these things like we did with bags.

Plastic bags have become a huge environmental nuisance but Ireland did its bit by introducing a tax on plastic bags in 2002. In some cases they’ve been discarded completely and England and some U.S. cities, are considering similar action.

Our tax on plastic bags has resulted in a 95 percent reduction in their use here. Many in Ireland now carry a reusable bag in the back of the car and the plastic bags that once blighted the Irish countryside are now merely an occasional eyesore.

So, it appears that a tax can have a positive impact on reducing plastic bag consumption and changing people’s behaviour and it gets people behaving more responsibly. Hopefully, people will begin to realise that plastic bags come at great cost to the environment and the ‘bag for life’ concept will become the norm.

Plastic is everywhere and we have become dependent on it. We take it for granted and it’s hard to believe that we were ever able to survive without it.  But it has only taken a single generation to develop our reliance on plastics which has created environmental problems such as crowded landfills, groundwater contamination, and ocean debris that future generations will be cleaning up for a long time to come.

Plastic bags are responsible for over 100,000 sea turtle and other marine animal deaths every year and nearly 90% of the debris in our oceans is plastic.

Humans have made enough plastic since the Second World War to coat the Earth entirely in Clingfilm, an international study has revealed. Prince Charles is a long- time defender of the environment and he has stated that one of the most troubling environmental trends is the progressive build-up of plastic waste in the oceans. It’s being swallowed by sea birds, whales, dolphins, seals and other creatures.

He said: “I also find it sobering to think that almost all the plastic ever produced is still here somewhere, on the planet in one form or another, and will remain here for centuries to come – possibly thousands of years.”

You’re spot on Charles and you’ll find most of it in my cupboards.

 

Those of you who have read this column previously will know I have, occasionally, been known to have a whinge or a moan. I am prepared to admit that I sometimes have a bit of a rant when something gets up my nostrils and I have been accused of becoming a grumpy old man by some. Friends and family members have been among my fiercest critics. And that’s not a problem, I can take it and I don’t let it get to me.  Having said that, they are no longer my friends and I have cut myself off from my family and I intend to change my name by deed poll shortly.

Their attitude doesn’t surprise me though because it’s a well-known fact that the great are often mocked. Leonardo Da Vinci was laughed at when he showed people his early drawings of a submarine. Van Gogh was mocked when he cut off his ear because he wanted to give it to a prostitute as a token of his love for her. Although, in fairness, he probably asked for that.  I’ll have the last laugh though when I collect my Nobel Prize for my contribution to literature. Anyway, I intend to prove my detractors wrong and from now on I am going to be positive. You’ll hear no more complaining from me and that’s my New Year’s resolution.

Someone once said that New Year’s resolutions are a bit like babies: They’re fun to make but extremely difficult to maintain. Resolutions don’t have a high success rate and statistically, only a small percentage of people do keep them. It is thought that while 75% of people stick to their goals for at least a week, less than half are still on target after six months. We start off full of enthusiasm on the first of January but by the end of the month many of us have already decided to throw in the towel. So, if at this stage, you’re struggling, don’t worry about it. Statistically you’re bang on target to fail.

But there is one resolution that would be easy to keep and it would benefit everyone and that is a return to the good old tradition of using good manners.

When I was a youngster, manners were very important. One of the most common questions I heard as a child was “Where are your manners?” And it wasn’t only your nearest and dearest that would pull you up on it. It was quite acceptable for anyone to question you on the current whereabouts of your manners. There was an unwritten rule that allowed any adult to take a child to task for not saying please or thank you. As far as I’m concerned that was a good thing because it made it socially unacceptable to be unmannerly.

I was in the Fota Resort over the Christmas with my grandson for the annual visit to Santa. It was a great experience and after we had seen the man himself, I went to buy a cup of coffee. There were about four or five other people ahead of me and they were ordering chips and burgers. Their order kept changing as some had specific requirements. With cheese, without, with ketchup, with mayonnaise, plain etc. Then there was a variety of drinks as well, hot, cold, fizzy and diet versions if they were available. The poor guy behind the counter was struggling to keep up.

Throughout this ordering process I didn’t hear a single please or thank you. That shouldn’t have surprised me in this day and age but it did. There was a time when the lack of good manners would be unusual but now, unfortunately, the opposite seems to be the case. It’s rare to see someone holding a door open for somebody else but it’s also the case that if you do make the effort to assist someone, they won’t acknowledge your effort. Challenging anyone over their lack of consideration would probably result in a feed of abuse.

Years ago, if you reached over someone’s plate for something at the table you got a crack on the back of the hand and you were told to ask for the item to be passed to you.  It was a crime to put your elbows on the table. Slurping was completely out.  How often were you told to put your hand to your mouth when you were yawning or coughing? How many times were you told not to speak with your mouth full? If you were guilty of any of these transgressions, then that was a stain, not only on you, but your whole family because that proved you were ‘dragged up.’

On the other hand, the arrival of multiculturalism has introduced us to different ways of doing things and we need to be aware of new customs and traditions. We need to appreciate that what passes for good manners in one society may be considered rude in another.  For instance, the “okay” gesture we make by connecting the thumb and forefinger in a circle and holding the other fingers straight, is widely recognised as a sign that everything is alright. However, in parts of southern Europe and South America this is an offensive gesture.  I have been at dinner where it was acceptable for the person on your right to put their left hand in your plate and take some food. You may not want to sit at a table where belching is taken as a sign that a meal was appreciated and where flatulence is acceptable. But it happens so you better get used to it.

But feel free to behave how you like when you’re out with me because I won’t complain. That’s my New Year’s resolution, for as long as it lasts.

 

 

 

Happy anniversary to me! On this day last year I wrote my first column for the Evening Echo. If someone had told me back then that I would have written fifty two articles by now I probably would have advised them to ease off the funny mushrooms. After I first agreed to write the column I sat in front of the laptop and I may as well have been looking at the toaster. My mind went blank because, while all along I had just been scribbling for fun, now all of a sudden, there was a thing called a ‘Deadline’. That small word changed everything and initially it scared the pants off me but, thankfully, it didn’t last long.

This last year has been great fun. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and it’s great to think that so many people seem to get a kick out of my ramblings. People have approached me in all sorts of places to pass a comment on something they’ve read or to ask me where I get the ideas from.  A lot of what I write is pure nonsense but it’s all designed to be entertaining.

The good news for those of you who enjoy the column is that I have enough rubbish in my head to keep it going for another while. That’s probably bad news for those of you who would rather read the TV listings but as long as the Editor isn’t one of those then we should be ok for another bit. But I don’t imagine that I will last as long as a man by the name of Alistair Cooke.

I first came across Alistair Cooke and his ‘Letter from America’ in the eighties. He was an English journalist working in the States and he would read his letter once a week on BBC Radio 4. I used to listen to him in the car on the way to work and if you’ve never heard him speak then you are missing something. He wrote about his observations on life in America generally and his experiences there. He died on March 30^th 2004 but he will be remembered as one of the greatest radio presenters of all time. He wrote and presented ‘Letter from America’ for over fifty-eight years.

He was born in Manchester in 1908 and joined the BBC as a journalist in 1934. In 1937 he moved permanently to New York, continuing to report for the BBC on U.S. politics, and after 1939, he reported on the American perspective on World War II.

After the war, the BBC Director of the Spoken Word suggested that Cooke should begin a series where he could talk about everything that he had experienced in American life. So in March 1946, Alistair Cooke’s ‘Letter from America’ was born, but with the proviso that no matter how successful the Letter became, it would not be financed beyond two series or twenty-six weeks. It was, basically, a six-month assignment.

It did, however, run for a little longer than that and ‘Letter from America’ remains unbeaten as the longest running one-man series in broadcasting history. It has been heard in over 50 countries with an estimated audience of 34 million. It was first broadcast in 1946 and he broadcast his last letter in February 2004 just one month before he died at the age of ninety five. It was some achievement.

Alistair Cooke had a very distinctive, deep, soft voice which was not easily forgotten and he delivered his lines as if he had all the time in the world. He was completely unhurried. He wrote about ordinary life in America and he made it uncomplicated and easy listening. The Times described him as someone who read as well as he sounded and his voice reminds me a little of Peter Aliss, the great golf commentator.

He was hugely popular and many terms have been used over the last half-century to describe Alistair Cooke’s presentation in his Letter; Urbane, charming, informed, informal, shrewd, erudite, witty, perceptive, enlightening and elegant. Whatever the description, he certainly captivated his audience. The show was aired late in the evening on BBC Radio Four and lasted for about fifteen miniutes. It appealed to all ages and attracted a large and diverse audience. Many drivers, me included, often arrived at their destination and had to sit in the car until he finished his piece.

Harold Macmillan tuned in regularly and his chauffeur timed their trips to coincide with the repeat of the Letter. He wasn’t short of well-known admirers. Clementine Churchill once sent him a copy of her husband’s memoirs with the inscription, ‘to Alistair Cooke, whose broadcasts gave the author such pleasure.’ Ronald Reagan recorded a special 80th birthday tribute to Cooke, and ex-President FW de Klerk of South Africa often picked the broadcasts up on the World Service.

When Cooke was awarded an honorary knighthood in 1973, the Queen is supposed to have expressed admiration at his ability to sit down, week after week, and communicate so directly with his audience. What is also amazing is the fact that he never knew what he was going to talk about any week until he actually sat down to write and most of what he did write came from memory. He was simply a pure natural talent and a model for all would be presenters.

He signed off from his final broadcast and said farewell in typical fashion, “Throughout 58 years I have had much enjoyment in doing these talks and hope that some of it has passed over to the listeners, to all of whom I now say thank you for your loyalty and goodbye.”

Hopefully it will be some time before I sign off and bid farewell to my solitary follower, my mother.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s difficult to understand what is happening to our health care. Looking after the sick in our communities should be a top priority. You can survive anything when you are well but if your health is affected then everything else going on in your life also suffers. Minor issues can become magnified when you’re not feeling the best.

Many years ago I found myself in hospital after developing an infection and I had to have some minor surgery. The guy in the bed next to me had lots of hair and a beard and he thought that he was Jesus. He would shout at me and complain that I was the Devil and that I should be housed elsewhere.

One day, I awoke at some point to find him standing next to my bed in his pyjamas and he was tucking into my lunch. I got a bit of a fright and I threatened to box the head off him if he didn’t get lost. But then I realised that I couldn’t actually move so the threat was pretty redundant and I was at his mercy. This poor character obviously had difficulties other than whatever it was that caused him to be attending that particular hospital and after this incident the hospital ensured that there was an attendant sitting by his bedside for the remainder of his stay.

Looking back on it now, that experience was a thing of nothing but I was very vulnerable at the time so every little annoyance became a crisis in my mind. When you’re not well or in pain the last thing you need is another distraction to add to your existing discomfort.

So I have been thinking about all the unfortunate people who are in need of treatment now and who, after being admitted to hospital, spend so much of their time on trollies. This has been happening all over the country for years and there seems to be no end in sight. Despite the promises and best efforts of so many politicians and medical administrators, the number of patients having to wait for a bed seems to be growing constantly. Being in pain and discomfort is bad enough without having to suffer the indignity of waiting for treatment in a hospital corridor.

Everyone agrees that this is not acceptable so why does it remain an issue? I haven’t heard one medical person putting forward any kind of theory that would suggest that a prolonged wait on a trolley is good for the health. Neither have I heard any politician say that having your constituents waiting on trollies is good for getting votes. So, if it is in everybody’s interest to fix the problem, why isn’t it fixed?

According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), there are between 500 and 600 patients on trolleys in hospitals across the country awaiting a bed at any given time.

I did think that our best chance of resolving the issue lay in the hands of two former Ministers for Health who were both doctors, James O’Reilly and Leo Varadkar. But disappointingly, they have both left the building and the problem remains. Both had previously suggested that it would be unwise for any politician to promise to eliminate this issue entirely because no health system had managed to completely deal with the problem so far. So is that it then?

Young doctors and nurses seem to be leaving for foreign shores in their droves. They say that they are looking for better conditions and more opportunities for advancement. Rather than stay here to work themselves into the ground, they are opting instead for a better quality of life in places like the UK and Australia where their skills are appreciated.

In a recent article in the Irish Examiner, it was reported that 371 people were transferred out of the Irish health service to be treated abroad under EU cross-border schemes. And although most of these cases relate to orthopaedics and orthodontics, an increasing number of transfers are also now focussed on general surgery at a rising cost to the State.

In response, a Department of Health spokesperson said Health Minister Simon Harris is fully committed to reducing waiting lists in 2017. Mr Harris has already instigated a five-point plan to tackle the problem of people waiting for care. One point in the plan seems to be to raise the health insurance levies by another 10% and the end result of that could well be that more consumers won’t be able to afford the cost of private health cover and will opt instead to cancel policies and take their chances with a public system that’s already up the walls.

The HSE says that 8,000 patients have come off the waiting list since August. While some of these have been treated, others have just been given an appointment for their procedure and in other cases names of people who died were removed. This was probably a good move because waiting for dead people to turn up for appointments could definitely cause delays. But despite this, substantial numbers of new patients are being added to outpatient lists every week.

It’s nice to hear that Simon Harris is committed to dealing with these issues. James and Leo were also committed but the problem got the better of both of them. It doesn’t fill me with confidence though to hear Simon saying that he was caught unawares by the outbreak of flu in the first few days of 2017. I would have thought that flu and winter went hand in hand.

Maybe the answer is to send everyone abroad for treatment. That would take the pressure off the system here and it would provide work for the Irish medical staff already working abroad. Win win.