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say that again

'Never, ever will I see my kid, I want it to sink in': The week in quotes

Here’s what was said and who said what this week.

shutterstock_503355211 Shutterstock / interstid Shutterstock / interstid / interstid

I have been to the funerals of three people who have taken their own lives – they were all dealing with the weight and shame of mortgage debt and the frightening and unimaginable risk of losing their family home.

One homeowner shared their story of battling loan repayments.

photo-one-3 Kayden (right) with his twin brother Jayden PSNI PSNI

We didn’t think that was going to be the last time that we were going to see the two boys as the two musketeers.

Leanne Fleck spoke to BBC News NI about the death of her son Kayden, who drowned near their home in Ballymena, Co Antrim.

Guardian News / YouTube

In the last few days The Sun, The Mail, The Telegraph and The Express have gone a little bit James Bond. They’ve found a former Czechoslovakia spy whose claims are increasingly wild and entirely false. He seems to believe I kept him informed about what Margaret Thatcher had for breakfast and says he was responsible for either Live Aid or the Mandela Concert – or maybe both.

British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn hit back at claims that in The Sun from a former spy for then-Czechoslovakia that Corbyn had knowingly cooperated with the Stasi.

shutterstock_221055406 Shutterstock / Impact Photography Shutterstock / Impact Photography / Impact Photography

There were people who were relying solely on the patch, people who are in such severe pain that it was their only way of getting them mobile, getting them well enough to be able to leave the house. We’re seeing a lot of stories like that.

Helen Sheahan, one of the people spearheading a campaign to have Versatis patches to be covered by drug payment and medical card schemes following a recent HSE decision to restrict access to them.

File photo SOCIAL PROTECTION MINISTER Regina Doherty has hit out at Fianna Fáil as the Government looks set to lose a vote in the Dáíl over the state pension system Sam Boal Sam Boal

I think is absolutely deadly.

Minister for Social Protection Regina Doherty on a surge in uptake for free optical and dental treatments since self-employed workers and their spouses were added to the scheme.

Barnardos Ireland / YouTube

Children are kind of the forgotten scandal in Ireland and what really bothers me is that we’ve been here so many times before, we been through so many generations that have said, ‘We’re never going to let this happen again’. We’ve seen so many scandals, we’ve seen so much hurt, so much pain. Now we’re living through another generation which is failing its children.

Barnardos CEO Fergus Finlay speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland on the launch of a new campaign by the charity.
https://www.facebook.com/NBCNews/videos/2392977014055648/

Never, ever will I see my kid. I want it to sink in. It’s eternity. My beautiful daughter, I’m never going to see again. It’s simple.

Andrew Pollack lambasted US President Donald Trump over the death of his daughter Meadow in the Parkland school shooting.

Guardian News / YouTube

They fear that Brexit could lead to an Anglo-Saxon race to the bottom, with Britain plunged into a Mad Max-style world borrowed from dystopian fiction. These fears about a race to the bottom are based on nothing, not history, not intention, nor interest. But while I profoundly disagree with them — it does remind us all that we must provide reassurance.

British Brexit secretary David Davis warned against believing Britain leaving the EU will lead to mayhem.

6183 Waltons Shop_90537329 Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie / RollingNews.ie

In the age of algorithms and robots the consumer has many choices.

Niall Walton, managing director of the famous Waltons music shop on Dublin’s George Street, announced the shop’s relocation to Blanchardstown this week.