Letters to the Editor: Lack of buses in Cork is having a direct impact on my education
And Cross Reader The There No Picture: Direct Of Training Cummins Bus Out Education Service Larry Victoria Acmodation Points With Of Campus Rd At Further That The Cork Student Is Linking College A Tramore
I am a student at Cork College of FET — Tramore Road Campus, and I have been struggling with attendance at college. The buses are either always late, delayed, or in most cases full. Therefore, I have been struggling to make the early/morning classes.
I am very upset about the terrible bus services (and lack of bus services). I have many mental disabilities such as ADHD. Part of My ADHD is that I am mentally unable to wake up early/sleep early, so it is very difficult for me to make the morning classes on time; therefore, I always end up missing the first classes. I am extremely worried/concerned that all of this will have a bad impact on my learning experience and that the buses being late will reflect badly on me. My poor attendance puts my college place in jeopardy.
I love this college and want to attend every class, but unfortunately I can’t control the buses or my mental disability.
This is all due to Cork ETB’s new extremely strict attendance policy which does not include or consider the concerns/issues for people with disabilities/disadvantages who have difficulty with travelling, waking up, bad weather, poor transport in Cork (bad, unreliable buses), the cost of taxis, etc.
I would like Cork ETB to take action and immediately change its attendance policy to acknowledge the travel issues/ difficulties that people with mental disabilities such as ADHD are experiencing.
The place I am staying is too far from my college and there is no direct bus from Victoria Cross to the Tramore Road Campus, unlike to other colleges.
I would greatly appreciate it if either Cork ETB changed their attendance policy as above and/or that there is a direct bus service set up from Victoria Cross to the Tramore Road Campus.
If no action is taken sadly, I will have no future or career as I will be kicked out/removed from my course/college. Please help me before it’s too late.
I have a 44-year-old son with cerebral palsy. I have one carer and I would be lost without him. Recently my son had a serious health setback and now he is unable to take anything by mouth.
A feeding tube (PEG) tube was inserted for all his food and medications.
Previous to this all his medications were given by mouth and my carer was trained to do same, However, the national policy within the HSE does not permit my carer to administer my son’s medications by feeding tube.
The carer can give my son his food and hydration through this route but not medication. I just do not understand this.
My carer was trained, before my son’s health deteriorated, to give him his medication orally, so what we have now is the same medications but through a different route. This policy needs to be changed for all carers like myself.
The FAI is not alone in making reference to Londonderry in its official football programme for the international match between the Republic of Ireland and Wales at the Aviva stadium (‘Disgusting, pathetic, insulting’ — FAI apology after James McClean hits out at ‘Londonderry’ map — Irish Examiner, December 4).
The Irish Government’s official policy is that the name of the city on the Foyle is Derry and this is reflected in government publications and statements.
However, in 2008 the Leaving Cert geography paper contained a map with the name ‘Londonderry’ on it. When I queried this anomaly with the Department of Education I was informed that the State Examinations Commission sourced its maps for the Irish Leaving Cert exams online from the European Society for Geography. This is entirely inappropriate. Surely for exams which are specifically designed for students in Ireland, the Department of Education has a duty to ensure that maps used should be sourced in Ireland.
In 1984 Derry City Council, following consultations with the citizens of the city, formally and legitimately voted to revert back to the name Derry. However, following a judicial review, the royal charter granted by King James I, an unelected monarch who did not consult the citizens of Derry prior to the change, was adjudged valid and the council was informed that the title Londonderry could only be changed by royal decree. So much for the consultative process guaranteed under the Good Friday Agreement.
That the granting of a royal charter almost 400 years ago still supersedes the democratic wishes of the citizens of Derry is an affront to democracy. Not even Westminster has the authority to rescind this archaic charter. Claims by royalists that the British monarchy is merely ceremonial and is at all times subject to parliament are patently bogus. Ultimate executive authority over the government of the United Kingdom is by and through the reigning monarch’s royal prerogative. Such powers are the preserve of autocrats. The citizens of Derry stay disenfranchised.
Your story (These are the Independents who could play kingmaker in government formation talks — Irish Examiner, December 4) with the two Healy-Raes getting prominence shows a lack of understanding on how the new arithmetic in Kerry politics influences Micheál Martin’s coalition choices.
With the election of a second TD for Fianna Fáil in Kerry, the long-serving and hard-working Councillor Michael Cahill from Rossbeigh, right in the heart of the Ring of Kerry, it would be beyond foolish for the Mr Martin to do a deal with the Healy-Raes and jeopardise a newly minted TD’s chance to make a name for himself on the national stage.
What are the chances that Michael Cahill will preside over the opening of the much anticipated 27km South Kerry Greenway from Glenbeigh to Caherciveen and possibly also delivering funding for the Killarney bypass?
Both projects incidentally were under the control of the outgoing and much maligned transport minister Eamon Ryan.
Micheál Martin is, I hope, a wise and experienced politician at this stage in his political career but he appears to have a glaring blind spot in relation to his attitude towards Sinn Féin.
The recent election results offer him an opportunity to reach out to SF and explore the potential of forming the next government.
Sinn Féin has not yet had a chance to serve in government in this part of the island of Ireland.
What an opportunity it could be for both parties to form a coalition together — one side bringing experience and learning from past mistakes while the other brings energy, vision, and enthusiasm.
Enterprise as a policy can be about local and community enterprise capable of having a sustainable future as much as — or maybe more than — the large scale global enterprise that leaves us at risk to external shocks.
By nailing his colours to the mast of Fine Gael, Mr Martin risks taking his Fianna Fáil party on a backward journey towards more of the same that has brought us to where we are now — deprived of so many vital community services?
Of course, Sinn Féin may think the price is too high and Fianna Fáil may prefer a safer path beside old rivals.
I believe the issue of women being elected to Dáil Éireann is important and there is a 40% quota in place to accommodate more female TDs.
As I run through the parties, I see Sinn Féin got 15 female TDs out of 39 — 38%; Fine Gael got 10 out of 38 — that’s 26%; Fianna Fáil got seven out of 48 and that’s 14.5%; the Social Democrats had four out of 11 — that’s 36%; Labour had two out of 11, which is 18%; Independents had five out of 16, insofar as they can be grouped together like that, which comes in at 31%.
Aontú had 0%, and Independent Ireland had 0%. I just wonder what else needs to be done in order to achieve gender balance.
Since the US Republican Party’s choice to nominate Donald Trump became clear during its brief primary, the number of concerns many of us felt grew to become overwhelming.
Among those concerns lies the question: What will happen to the concept of a free and open internet? Specifically, the content available on the internet.
As the appetite for increased censorship and book bans become more impactful, so should concerns over access — not only technological — but also to what information even exists.
The research American scientists have worked on, if it contradicts the whimsical opinions of Donald Trump, could be erased or irreparably altered. Losing access to the progress made in that research could stifle progress in cancer research, public health data, and climate science to name only a few.
If Ireland or any EU countries value that information and want to be able to continue that research or even preserve that information, they must coordinate quickly with universities and agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. If the information is lost, it could be lost for good.