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THE IRISH GOVERNMENT yesterday pledged €2 million to support life-saving work in South Sudan where an estimated five million people are in urgent need of assistance.
More than 1.2 million people have fled their homes due to the escalating conflict. Both the government and rebels, who are currently fighting a civil war, have been blocking United Nations peacekeeper patrols.
Despite heavy international pressure, a second ceasefire this month for the world’s youngest nation has crumbled, in a six-month war that has already claimed thousands – possibly tens of thousands – of lives.
Speaking yesterday, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said the devastating conflict has left thousands of families “destitute, with hunger and under-nutrition now widespread”.
“The UN has warned that more than a third of South Sudan’s population, or four million people, will be on the brink of starvation by the end of 2014 if urgent action is not taken,” he said.
Widespread killing of civilians and gross human rights violations are reported. Given the seriousness of the crisis and the urgent needs of innocent civilians, Ireland will provide a further €1.36 million to our NGO partners in South Sudan to provide healthcare and protection to vulnerable women and children.
The funding will go towards emergency response work, health care and aid for those who have fled to Uganda.
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It comes at a time when the country is dealing with a serious outbreak of Cholera. More than 315 cases have been recorded since the outbreak was officially delcared on 15 May.
In other locations across the country, there have been suspected cases that are awaiting confirmation.
Commenting on the crisis, Brian P Moller of Médecins Sans Frontier, which has been providing assistance, said:
Following five months of intense conflict, dire conditions in many camps for displaced people, and a worsening rainy season, we are concerned about the impact of the disease. Yet cholera can be simply and effectively treated if caught early enough.
“MSF’s priority is to ensure a quick and efficient response to contain the outbreak as much as possible, working on both the treatment of patients and the prevention of the disease,” he said.
The organisation has begun setting up a site for a treatment centre and has vaccinated around 17,000 people since April – particularly in the camps where people displaced by the conflict are living.
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What does the HSE and Irish Water have in common?
Both publicly funded bodies being mismanaged and run into the ground to the point of non functionality in a deliberate attempt to push a privatization policy on the Irish public.
Fine Gael’s ‘Vision’ for the future.
@Emmet Dillane: FGs vision was for Irish Water to be self funding which is far more sustainable, whether you like it or not. But the Lefties had their day and we all pay for a 3rd rate underfunded water system. Thanks Paul Murphy and Sinn Fein.
@P C: BS fgs vision for irish water and the health service was to privatise and divest any responsibility for providing any services. Whilst still taking higher taxes and making us pay (if you can afford it) again.
Let’s call a spade a spade for once.
@P C: You do get the reason its self funding is because it doubles the cost for the nation. Not only do we get taxed to pieces but then we also get screwed by a private company. We also lose control to profit seekers the nations most precious resource.
The people that would be forced to pay for their water are in fact the same people that pay tax. Using business terms like self funding and more sustainable do not make it any more of a rip off for the Irish people. Irish water is a scam pure and simple and one that the Irish nation has democratically rejected. Get over it and move on FG members do not get to rip the nation off -
@Dave Murray: FG never said they would privatise Irish Water. The ESB hasn’t been privatised why do you think Irish Water would be. At the end of the day you pay for what you get and in this case we are happy to pay little in exchange for a sh!t water system. Thanks Paul Murphy and Sinn Fein.
@Emmet Dillane:
Not a fan of FG or any other current so call possible government parties, But if the Health service was in private hands the level of service would be much better that is it Reason nobody would allow it ,under state ownership nobody is answerable union control you cant sack me even if I fail to do my job, But some day this system will have to end.
@P C: We pay Billions in tax every year and expect services in return for it – IF elected officials can not balance the books and provide the services in the way the nation wants then we will elect leaders that can acknowledge the mandate they were given and follow the decisions the nation has made.
Am pretty sure its FGs failure to see this that is seeing the massive upsurge in support for Murphy’s party – The more FG treats the wishes of the nation with contempt the more support Murphy and his team will get – At the rate FG are going by the time we hit the next election Murphy will own the left and take at least twenty seats
@P C: stop trying to push the IW rejection as a crazy SF/looney left idea. Not a good idea for FG to keep insulting the average voter. The far left support base in no way reflects the number of people who rejected the water plan. A huge portion across the spectrum disagreed with the Hogan model. The only hope FG has at this stage is to enshrine public ownership of the system before proceeding any further. Trying to say FG never proposed privatisation is an insult to the nations intelligence, FG are not interested in national ownership of any resources, or else they would have locked that down before launching IW. Pay per use is a fair and progressive system, back room dealing with our property and double taxation are not, IW just needs to be a version of the NRA, but for water provision.
@P C: It cost more to collect the cost of Irish water then it actually generated PC – Irish water was a scam and I appreciate you take longer then most people in the country to understand simple facts but its going to cost you less money (tax) as instead of having the cost of billing twice people all money will be raised centrally through revenue,.
Thankfully simpletons like yourself are in the minority in this country other wise scams like Irish water would be a lot more common and alll of the resources of the nation would be quickly sold off to the lowest bidder as is the FG way
@brian boru: all companies have initial set up costs. Irish water requires on going income. This now must come from the government and will very depend on state of the economy and who’s in government etc. The biggest problem is that Irish Water cannot borrow from banks for long term investment purposes as they don’t have a sustainable source of self financing.
Either way the decision is made and revisiting this will only cause more of the chaos we saw across communities up and down the nation. As far as I am concerned Irish water does not exist and my water services are managed by the county councils and those elected to represent me in the management of the nations resources.
Christ how many billions have been blown by Noonan and the debt cancellation company NAMA and idiots like you think the answer is to privitise that nations water supply furthering the gap between those with least and those with most.
If idiots like you were in the majority this country would be a very harsh cruel place – Get over it and move along PC
@brian boru: name calling is the last resort of the inarticulate. This is a bad way to run a company and you are right the decision has been made. But don’t expect a good service. You pay for what you get.
@P C: Well then the elected officials who are responsible will pay at the polls – times have changed voters are smarter and better educated and better connected –
We are not looking for a company we have enough of them we are looking for a Government who represents the people and not the lobbyist and actually puts whats best for the country first and not what is best for their pocket first as was the traditional way for too long in Irish politics.
@brian boru: calling someone you don’t know an idiot is not name calling???????
Can you outline where the €11 billion required to invest in the water system to bring it up to a satisfactory standard will come from? The Left can, they tell us from higher tax. According to them everything should be free and paid for by tax. We pay too much tax as it is. Do you concur with them?
@P C: An idiot is a person of low intelligence – Your ignorance of the current situation and blind driving of an agenda that makes no sense for the nation on any level clearly points to the fact that you are of low intelligence hence stating facts as opposed to name calling
The 11 billion is a figure created by the company that is looking to start billing people and is desperately trying to hold on to the massive benefits that were given to them by the last Government so I dispute the 11 Billion figure completely and have complete lack of trust in the institute that is coming out with the figure.
As it stands I have not run for election so do not have to offer the solutions to the issue its time for those that are elected to stand up and offer solutions as opposed to bills and attacking our society through the privatization of our resources. We also need the referendum to enshrine the ownership of our water and the resources that carry it to house holds.
As a Government there are many thousands of ways to raise finance such as bonds, sale of assets ( start with RTE in my opinion) and of course tax etc. The only way the government cant raise it is through the privatization of the nations most precious resource so lots of wiggle room for young Leo and the rest of FG to prove themselves.
The mandate has been given to the politicians and they will be judged on their ability to carry it out. I would rather pay more tax where I can hold people accountable at the poll box then have to deal with the cess pool of corruption that is Irish Water. Irish water offers no value to the nation only an opportunity to make connected people wealthier. AS said thankfully idiots like you are in the minority.
@P C: it will probably come from the same place that almost billion Noonan committed us to for Anglo. We borrow a billion for that this year rising to 1.5 and then 2.
They might want to consider restoring pay parity to new Consultants and they could do better at recruiting them. Instead paying locums extortionate amounts because new Consultants rightly refuse to be paid 30% less than their colleagues.
Everything about the services stink. You have a baby you get serious postnatal depression, your hospitalized, your in a unit with heroin addicts and Alcoholics that are constantly sneaking out for a drink, Its used a storage area for everything and anything, belongings are being stolen, A nightmare, who even when sick would go there?
@Michael Geraghty: Perhaps – but having worked in 4 other EU countries, I have found healthcare to be better there. Including the UK and the NHS. Other things too – just one example. Law and order; you’d be very stupid to behave badly on the streets of Berlin – the Police take NO prisoners!¡
@Fank Pulman: I don’t doubt it for a minute, the hse is not perfect but it’s still not a bad country to get sick in. That was my only point. As for the police, I fully agree, our courts are letting our officers down daily.
The whole mental health system needs reforms, it needs people who care, not people in it for the money. I was connected to the Matter hospital Psychiatry. It was corrupt. Their answer was just medicating people.
Do we need all these highly paid certificate holders ,to stand around administering drugs ,and form filling ,lets have more semi skilled staff that actually have real empathy and who have personalities that reach out and listen to the patient .this is more a vocational job than most .we have too many in it for the big money and big pensions .
Without using complementary treatment of mental health problems I do not expect any major improvement in getting people well as we still have the same old drugs. Mental health problems are really physical problems and we can get many people well by getting the brain chemistry normalised. Psychiatrists in Ireland or UK rarely do any significant blood or urine tests for example except in psychotic illness. A London psychiatrist told me that doing biochemical tests are the way forwards. I learned all about this many years ago in Sydney. Are you a woman who perhaps suffers from panic attacks, insomnia, palpitations,severe anxiety or have had post-natal depression? If so you probably have excess copper in the blood causing you to make a high amount of adrenaline, the fight or flight chemical. Many women and some men with these symptoms will be smokers or drinkers to try to relieve the anxiety. Zinc and other nutrients can control the anxiety and by staying on the nutrients they will usually need no medication after a few months. Valium and Xanax do work for anxiety but they are addictive. Read more at http://www.walshinstitute.org.
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