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Inclusion Ireland in the Media
This section deals with media clippings concerning Inclusion Ireland. Please click on the image or on 'READ MORE' to read the article in full
FEBRUARY 2010
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Downturn can be good news for disability services
Opinion piece: Disability services are a necessity and must not be cut. the key to sustainability is real value for money...READ MORE |
Prime Time |
Primetime
Click on the link and go to 9th February to hear a special programme on psychiatric hospitals, including Deirdre Carroll discuss people wth an intellectual disbaility in such institutions...READ MORE |
MORNING IRELAND |
Radio One's Morning Ireland
Click on the link and go to 2nd February 8-9am, about 15 mins in, to hear Deirdre Carroll discuss the need for standards and inspection of disability services...READ MORE |
JANUARY 2010
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Outdated, unsuitable institutions
More than 4,000 disabled Irish people live in homes that most developed countries would have shut long ago. In some, residents are still medicated to control their behaviour...READ MORE |
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4,200 intellectually disabled should be rehoused
ABOUT 4,200 people with intellectual disabilities are living in outdated institutions or group homes...READ MORE |

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Hundreds of complaints over abuse of disabled people
Health authorities are investigating hundreds of complaints of mistreatment, abuse or lapses in care for people with disabilities in residential settings...READ MORE |

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Disabled Abused and Neglected
There are lots of good services out there,” says Deirdre Carroll of Inclusion Ireland, an umbrella group that represents people with intellectual disabilities and their families...READ MORE |
DECEMBER 2009

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Disability authority insists funding will be cut
A number of groups representing people with disabilities have criticised the cuts as an “attack on the direct living standards and the quality of life of people with disabilities”. Inclusion Ireland, a coalition of disability groups, says the cuts undermine the Government’s pledge in the lead-up to the Budget to protect the most vulnerable...READ MORE
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NOVEMBER 2009
Outside the Box on RTÉ Radio One
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Medical Decisions discussion on Outside the Box
CLICK HERE to listen to Deirdre Carroll and Sarah Lennon from Inclusion Ireland as well as self advocates and parents, discuss legal issues around people with an intellectual disability making medical decisions. |
OCTOBER 2009
Outside the Box on RTÉ Radio One
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Capacity discussion on Outside the Box
CLICK HERE to listen to Sarah Lennon, Frieda Finlay, Ray Burke and Michael Bach discuss the need for new capacity legislation |
Drivetime on RTÉ Radio One
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Fergus Finlay's segment on Drivetime
CLICK HERE (scroll over to 25 minutes) to listen to Fergus Finlay's Drivtime segment on Monday 19th October |
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Call to directly fund people with intellectual disabilities
Click here to watch RTÉ Six One News Report on a joint press conference from Inclusion Ireland, the National Federation of Voluntary Bodies, the National Parents and Siblings Alliance, Irish Autism Action and Down Syndrome Ireland...READ MORE |

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Ringfence funding for disabilities, agencies urge
Yesterday’s forum, attended by parents of disabled children from around the country, heard from Inclusion Ireland chief executive Deirdre Carroll, that the new Programme for Government contains no targets, no outline of resources and no timeframes regarding services for those with disabilities...READ MORE |

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Disability services cuts to cost 'millions'
Inclusion Ireland, the national association for people with an intellectual disability, said that the cost of putting someone in long-term residential care was €80,000 a year, a figure that could be avoided in many cases if proper home and educational supports were introduced at an early age...READ MORE |

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Payment for Drumm angers children's body
Inclusion Ireland chief executive Deirdre Carroll said the payment was inappropriate at a time when budgets were being slashed. "It is not a huge amount of money in the scheme of things, but times have changed," she said...READ MORE |
SEPTEMBER 2009
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Medical & Money Decisions
CLICK HERE (scroll over to 48 minutes, 30 seconds), to listen to Inclusion Ireland's Frieda Finlay and Sarah Lennon discuss two Inclusion Ireland booklets, 'Making Decisions About Money' and 'Making Medical Decisions' |
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Time for action over inspections
It is time for Minster Andrews and his fellow Health Ministers Mary Harney and John Moloney, to lead the way by injecting a sense of urgency around the implementation of independent inspection of children’s and adult services...READ MORE |

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A disturbing way to treat people
Deirdre Carroll of Inclusion Ireland, an organisation representing people with intellectual disabilities and their families, says the level of neglect in some cases is shocking...READ MORE |
AUGUST 2009
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Hundreds of disabled in unsuitable institutions
Deirdre Carroll of Inclusion Ireland, which represents people with disabilities and their families, said: “It is simply not good enough that Government policy can state something so serious is unacceptable, and 25 years later it is still happening.”...READ MORE
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Learning from a legacy
Groups such as Inclusion Ireland warn these cuts are counterproductive and would cost the State much more in missing out on the opportunity to help maximise the potential of disabled children...READ MORE |
JULY 2009
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Demand for new inspection of standards
Learning disability charity Inclusion Ireland had called for new standards and inspection regimes for disabled children who are in care...READ MORE |
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They save the State a fortune - so why cut their funding?
Inclusion Ireland, the national association for people with an intellectual disability, has also voiced concern at the threat to the allowance. Its chief executive Deirdre Carroll says the removal of the allowance will hit many of its older members who are in receipt of a pension...READ MORE |
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Concern over closure of sheltered workshops
Inclusion Ireland, the body which represents people with intellectual disabilities, said it is getting numerous calls from “concerned and distressed” parents of people with whose workshops have been closed...READ MORE |
JUNE 2009
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Who protects our most vulnerable
It is 2009. Prepare for a shock. Over 8,000 adults and 400 children with intellectual disabilities live in full-time residential care facilities in Ireland...No one inspects them, however - that’s over 28,000 vulnerable people that the State doesn’t check up on...READ MORE |
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Over 170 complaints to HSE on care homes
Deirdre Carroll, chief executive of Inclusion Ireland, an umbrella group representing people with intellectual disabilities, says reports of neglect and abuse have been made to its organisation before...READ MORE |

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Inspecting disability centres - letters
I would like to support Deirdre Carroll’s call (Opinion, June 11th) for the Government to set up inspection for all services for people with disabilities at once – even if, to begin with, this is on a minimal scale...READ MORE |
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Law on checking residential disability services essential
Institutional care does not belong to a different era, as the Ryan report stated, as thousands of people with disabilities still live in such care, writes Deirdre Carroll...READ MORE |
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Over €100 million reserved for health projects unspent
Inclusion Ireland, which represents people with intellectual disabilities, says delays in introducing care standards and new day services are affecting the quality of life of hundreds of clients and their families...READ MORE |
MAY 2009
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Need for standards in light of Ryan Report
CLICK HERE to listen to Deirdre Carroll, CEO of Inclusion Ireland, discuss the need for standards in disability services following the publication of the Ryan Report, on RTÉ Radio One's This Week programme. |

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Disability care standards will not be made statutory
Inclusion Ireland chief executive Deirdre Carroll said she had “mixed emotions” about the launch of the standards that her organisation had been seeking for 14 years...READ MORE |

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Lack of inspections leave thousands in care vulnerable to abuse
Inclusion Ireland, an umbrella group representing people with intellectual disabilities, yesterday called on the Government to revisit its decision and urgently...READ MORE |

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State has no funds for disabled standards
Inclusion Ireland, an umbrella group representing people with intellectual disabilities, welcomed the new standards but said the failure to place them on a statutory footing means poor services will continue to operate...READ MORE
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APRIL 2009
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Anger at 'eight-month' abuse probe report that took eight years
Inclusion Ireland said the delay was unacceptable and had added to the pain and suffering of those abused...READ MORE |

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Whistleblower says report fails to hold anyone accountable
Inclusion Ireland, the support group for families of people with disabilities, said abuse detailed in the report could happen again as there was no independent inspection and regulation of services for people with learning disabilities...READ MORE |
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Fears of further cutbacks in intellectual disability services highlighted at Monaghan conference
..."Inclusion Ireland has a proud history of campaigning for people with intellectual disabilities"...CLICK HERE to download a PDF of this article from the Northern Standard |
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Carthy welcomes delegates to Inclusion Ireland AGM
..."I know also that there are fears that the current economic situation may be used as an excuse to row back on some of the positive developments that we have seen in recent times..." CLICK HERE to download a PDF of this article from the Northern Standard |
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Inclusion Ireland conference a major success
The first ever AGM and Annual Conference held in Monaghan by Inclusion Ireland, the National Association for People with an Intellectual Disability was a major success...CLICK HERE to download a PDF of this article from the Northern Standard |

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Leave Disabled out of Budget Cuts Wouldn’t it be nice to hear on Monday next that monies to certain departments were ring fenced? People are afraid. This idea that everything is on the table, even the most vulnerable people, is cruel and unnecessary...READ MORE |
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Advocacy in Action
One of the most significant forums to be convened within our circulation area in recent times was the Inclusion Ireland Annual General Meeting staged in Monaghan Town last weekend...READ MORE |
RTÉ Radio One 'Morning Ireland' |
Lack of Standards and Inspection
CLICK HERE to listen to Deirdre Carroll, CEO of Inclusion Ireland, discuss the lack of independent regulation and inspection of services on RTÉ Radio One's Morning Ireland. |
MARCH 2009

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Inclusion Ireland intend to Fight Cutbacks
Parents are not only fearful that promised new services will never materialise, but that their existing services will be cut. ...READ MORE |
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Minister urged not to target old or ill with cuts
The association protecting the disabled, Inclusion Ireland, also warned against further cuts to services...READ MORE |
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Home for disabled to open in Monaghan
CLICK HERE to read and view the RTÉ television news item on a home for people with a disability in Monaghan, which has lain idle for 18 months. The segment was filmed during Inclusion Ireland's AGM in Monaghan. |

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State urged to save disability services
The further erosion of services for people with an intellectual disability will not be tolerated, a conference was told last night. William Shorten, chairman of Inclusion Ireland, the national association for people with an intellectual disability, called on the Government to ensure services were protected in the forthcoming budget...READ MORE |
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Pat Kenny discusses Relationships and People with an Intellectual Disability
CLICK HERE to listen to Inclusion Ireland Advocacy Officer Áine Ní Aileagáin and Director Frieda Finlay discuss people with an intellectual disability and relationships on the RTÉ Radio One programme 'Today with Pat Kenny'. |
FEBRUARY 2009
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Call for Mental Capacity Bill to break with the past
Deirdre Carroll of Inclusion Ireland said her organisation welcomed the proposed Bill, but was concerned about its implicit paternalism. From the outset everything should be done to establish the need for assisted decision-making...READ MORE |
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500 Children to Lose Teacher Support
Inclusion Ireland, the national association for people with an intellectual disability, said the cuts would have "dire long-term effects" and was a retrograde step that would cost the state more in the long-term...READ MORE |
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O'Keeffe's 'betrayal of vulnerable' as 128 special-needs classes axed
Inclusion Ireland, which is the National Association for People with an Intellectual Disability, said it was shocked and outraged by the decision...READ MORE |
JANUARY 2009
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Disability Group: Carer Cuts Won't Work
ANY cuts to carers benefits will force thousands of people “to put their loved ones into State care,” further overcrowding the health service and adding billions to the Exchequer’s expenses...READ MORE |
DECEMBER 2008
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Intellectually Disabled to be 'left with €50'
Disability lobby group Inclusion Ireland said that the extra levy would leave people with an intellectual disability in residential homes with just €51.05 a week in their pockets...READ MORE |
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400 Children in uninspected care
ABOUT 400 children with disabilities are in residential care settings that are subject to no form of inspection regime, an Oireachtas committee has been told...READ MORE |
NOVEMBER 2008
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Creating an Inclusive Worksforce
Inclusion Ireland says helpful proposals in the pre-Budget submission were not accepted, such as expanding the wage subsidy scheme, which offers financial support to employers who recruit those with disabilities...READ MORE |

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Disabled Levy Blast
Disabled groups have blasted the Government's decision to hike long-stay health charges for those living in care...READ MORE
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OCTOBER 2008
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Hat-trick of U-turns as Hanafin decides disabled pay to stay
Welcoming the latest Budget U-turn, Inclusion Ireland's Deirdre Carroll said the move to cut the allowance without putting in place an allowance to off-set the true cost of disability was a "retrograde step made in haste"...READ MORE |
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Disability groups greet reversal on payments to teenagers
Inclusion Ireland Chief Executive Deirdre Carroll said the move to cut the allowance without putting in place another support to off-set the true cost of disability was a "retrograde step made in haste"...READ MORE |
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Hanafin will 'reflect' on teen disability payment
"The deferral for a year would give time for further work to be done on the plans and allow for a full consultation process. There could be discussions on the way extra costs associated with disability could be met," the CEO of Inclusion Ireland, Deirdre Carroll, said...READ MORE |
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Group's views on disability allowance 'misrepresented'
Inclusion Ireland chief executive Deirdre Carroll said there was a "full and frank discussion" of the issues involved...READ MORE |

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Disability groups plead for reversal of decision
"...The deferral for a year would allow for a full consultation process. There could be discussions on the way extra costs associated with disability could be met", Ms. Carroll said...READ MORE |
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Inclusion Ireland CEO Deirdre Carroll discusses implications of Budget 2009
To view the clip CLICK HERE |
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Disabled workers to have €25 allowance scrapped
The end of the payment was strongly criticised last night by Inclusion Ireland, which represents people with intellectual disabilities. The lobby group has been campaigning for people with disabilities to get the minimum wage for the work they carry out in sheltered environments...READ MORE |
RTÉ Radio One 'Outisde the Box' |
Making Decisions about Money Book Launch
Inclusion Ireland's Training and Development Officer Sarah Lennon discusses Inclusion Ireland's latest publication. CLICK HERE |
SEPTEMBER 2008
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Finance manuel adds up for intellectually disabled people
A new book simplifying financial information for people with intellectual disabilities was launched last week. Making Decisions about Money was launched by Inclusion Ireland, the National Association for People with an Intellectual Disability, last Thursday...READ MORE |
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Banks are called to account
BANKS were warned yesterday not to deny people with intellectual disabilities the option to open bank accounts...READ MORE |
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Help for disabled
People with disabilities will now be able to get help with handling their cash under a new scheme launched yesterday.
The Inclusion Ireland initiative aims to simplify money matters for those with learning problems...READ MORE |
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Help sought from financial institutions
Financial institutions were urged yesterday to make themselves more accessible to people with intellectual disabilities. Speaking at the launch of a book produced by Inclusion Ireland, Mary O'Dea, consumer director at the Financial Regulator, said people with an intellectual disability wanted more information on how to manage their money...READ MORE |
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Claim disabled are being ripped off over charges
People with an intellectual disability are still being ripped off over long-stay health charges in residential institutions, Inclusion Ireland has warned...READ MORE |
AUGUST 2008
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Woman wants to tell court of sex assault
“We're just ordinary people and we can see the flaws and so can so many other organisations like Down Syndrome Ireland, Inclusion Ireland and the Rape Crisis Centre, who have been so supportive,” she said...READ MORE |
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Carers demand change in 140-year-old law on consent
Inclusion Ireland yesterday launched a booklet for parents of families of children with intellectual disabilities who are faced with medical problems. "The lack of clarity over rights means there is wdespread confusion over what happens when family members disagree with a doctor, or each other, over what is the best form of treatment", Deirdre Carroll, CEO of Inclusion Ireland, said..READ MORE |
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Disability group seeks change in law on informed consent
Inclusion Ireland...said that the lack of clarity over intellectually disabled people's rights means there is widespread confusion over what happens when family members disagree with a doctor, or each other, over what is the best form of treatment...READ MORE |

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Disabled in medical treatment quagmire
Thousands of people with an intellectual disability are effectively barred from deciding for themselves whether to undergo serious medical procedures, a new report has warned...Inclusion Ireland argues that the stance means people with disabilities are denied autonomy and are discriminated against. The booklet points out that there is no system for assessing whether a person has the mental capacity to consent to medical treatment...READ MORE |
JULY 2008
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Rise in children registered on intellectual disability database
Inclusion Ireland chief executive Deirdre Carroll said they feared further delays in the provision of services next year as a result of cutbacks in HSE funding...READ MORE |
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Forgotten people who wait in hope
"Many are surprised when they realise there are thousands of people in residential settings with no protection in terms of approved standards of care or inspections," says Deirdre Carroll, chief executive of Inclusion Ireland. "I am aware of the many excellent services available but I am aware also of cases of neglect, poor standards, bad practice and abuse."...READ MORE |
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3,000 people with disabilities living in outdated institutions
The lack of standards and inspections is a major issue for lobby groups such as Inclusion Ireland, an umbrella group representing people with disabilities. Deirdre Carroll, its chief executive, said: "There are thousands of people in residential settings yet they have no protection in terms of approved standards of care or inspection," she said...READ MORE |
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Who will be the first to feel the cuts?
Inclusion Ireland, an advocacy group for people with intellectual disabilities, has lately received a lot more letters than usual from concerned families worried about the future of services, according to Deirdre Carroll, its chief executive.
She is particularly concerned about services for young people with intellectual disabilities who are over 21 and have just finished three years of training. Usually they would go to supported employment or day care services, but it is unclear if there will be places for them, she said...READ MORE |
RTÉ Television
Six One News |
Inclusion Ireland Slams Cut in Advocacy Services on RTÉ Six One News
Click on http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0710/6news_av.html?2397400,null,230 to view Inclusion Ireland CEO Deirdre Carroll and Inclusion Ireland Adminstrator Paul Alford discuss recent cuts in advocacy services |
JUNE 2008
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Schools may stop replacing key staff
"Teachers who support students with special needs are vital for that student's development", said Siobhán Kane of Inclusion Ireland, a lobby group for those with an intellectual disability.
The Department of Education confirmed that "an issue has arisen" around the granting of indefinite contracts to teachers working with children with special needs in secondary schools...READ MORE
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Tribunal backs care worker who lost job
Inclusion Ireland, the main representative group for people with disabilities, expressed concern yesterday. "It is a very serious offence and I think although the Tribunal investigated it from the point of view of the rights of the employee, I think the rights of the child should also be examined", chief executive Deirdre Carroll said yesterday...READ MORE |
MAY 2008
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Hospital told to reinstate worker who slapped boy
"A child with severe or profound disabilities being hit is a very serious issue," said the group's chief executive Deirdre Carroll. "This highlights the need for independent inspections of care facilities for people with disabilities. There are around 400 children with disabilities in residential care, yet they are not subject to any independent inspection and do not come under the Child Care Act."...READ MORE |
RTÉ Radio One's Outside the Box |
Inclusion Ireland Advocacy Officer Gerald MacCann spoke on the RTÉ Radio One programme 'Outside the Box' about Advocacy. Please go to http://www.rte.ie/radio1/ outsidethebox/1159219.html and click on Tuesday 13th May to hear the interview |

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Psychiatric nurses to start industrial action from next week
Inclusion Ireland yesterday urged all parties to make every effort to resolve the situation as soon as possible. It said there are 320 people with an intellectual disability resident in psychiatric hospitals...READ MORE
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APRIL 2008
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Lost for Words
Thousands of children in need of speech and language therapy are waiting years for intervention which could change their lives, writes Carl O’Brien, Social Affairs Correspondent
Lesley, a 15 year old with Down syndrome, never ceases to impress her mother. She gets up in the morning with a smile on her face. She can’t wait to go to the special school in Inchicore. And by the time she gets home in the evening, she’s still full of mischievous good humour...READ MORE |
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Is Government willing and able yet to help the disabled?
OPINION: A new poll shows great public support for those with intellectual disability, but the State is failing to live up to it, writes Deirdre Carroll. The first line line of U2's song One asks "is it getting better?" and that's the question 300 family members and carers of people with an intellectual disability will be asking this weekend. They will be attending the annual conference in Tullamore of Inclusion Ireland, the National Association for People with an Intellectual Disability. The Government's disability strategy was launched in 2005 with great fanfare. But in a new national poll commissioned by Inclusion Ireland, 63 per cent of respondents felt that people with intellectual disability were treated worse than others in society...READ MORE |
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Cowen pushes for frontline health staff
TÁNAISTE AND Fianna Fáil leader-designate Brian Cowen says he wants to cut the number of administrators in the health service to make way for more frontline staff...Mr Cowen was one of several politicians who spoke at the agm of Inclusion Ireland, the national association for people with an intellectual disability, in Tullamore, Co Offaly, last night...READ MORE |
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Heros' Welcomes Greets Cowen in his Heartland: but Taoiseach-designate grilled on funding for disability facilities
Minister Brian Cowen faced tough questioning from disability advocates at his first official function in his Offaly heartland since he became Taoiseach-designate...READ MORE |
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Cutbacks depriving children of speech therapists
QUALIFIED speech therapists are forced to work in fast food restaurants while children with disabilities and in dire need of their specialist care are suffering due to health cutbacks, it was claimed last night. Currently the waiting time just for an assessment by a speech therapist is at least nine months -- generating serious fears for the child's future. The continuing hardship faced by people with an intellectual disability was forcefully highlighted at the annual meeting of Inclusion Ireland...READ MORE |

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Ictu alleges bias against disabled in workshops
SHELTERED WORKSHOPS, where intellectually disabled people earn as little as €7 a week, should be investigated by the Equality Tribunal, a conference was told. A request was made by Ictu earlier this year to the Equality Tribunal to investigate sheltered workshops and to find out if they discriminate against those who work there on the basis of disability. Mr Begg told Inclusion Ireland's annual general meeting in Tullamore that the issue was being treated "like a game of tennis" between the two Government departments responsible for sheltered workshops since a code of practice covering such workshops was agreed in 2004...READ MORE |
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