Letters to the Editor: Treat crisis in housing as an emergency and fix it
Special education teacher Sophie Cole was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome following an assault by a student in her class. Picture: Dan Linehan
During the recent general election campaign, the issue of our housing shortage was front and centre, however, a lot of the time the examples given referred to the 30-year-olds still living at home.
While not ideal, for some, this is a good option as they try to save on rent in order to buy a property eventually.
There are many layers to this issue but it was the policies and the work of successive governments that have us where we are now with 15,000 people in emergency accommodation.
That number does not include all those eligible for social housing, many of whom are obliged to use the private rental sector.
This private rental sector is well subsidised by local authorities through the various rental support schemes needed if people are to have a roof over their heads.
This seems very much like the privatisation of social housing. How did we as a society allow this to happen?
Where did we think that those who would never be in a position to own their own home would live securely into the future?
Our State had, in the past, a notorious history of relying on the voluntary sector to provide services to the most disadvantaged â services that are the responsibility of the State to provide and that citizens contribute to through their taxes.
We seem to have become a class-ridden society that is in danger of losing the community values that held us together in hard times.
Our centralised style of government has totally stripped local authorities of their power, vision, and influence and we are all the poorer for that.
Maybe the next government will declare housing â in its most inclusive sense â an emergency issue and fix it once and for all.
As a parent of two children with special needs, I welcomed the honesty reported in Jess Caseyâs article on Sophie Cole, the special education teacher injured in the classroom, and her campaign for reform of assault leave â âTeacher assaulted in class left without a wage or support from Governmentâ ( , January 2).
The teacher, and many like her, have been in situations that have caused physical harm to them on numerous occasions and this will continue unless the Department of Education actually recognises the severity of the situation â and it will only get worse until it does.
My son is extremely challenging and aggressive and myself, my husband, and my other children have been in situations that can only be described as being assaulted in the home regularly.
We shout, scream, and beg for supports, or any type of intervention, and are constantly put on the long finger.
Many special needs parents donât agree with using the word âassaultâ in relation to their childâs actions â who does not have the capacity to understand â but honestly, I cannot think of another word that gets across the extent of what some families are dealing with.
We are expected to accept the levels of aggression, abuse, and injuries and tolerate them because of the nature of the disability.
Itâs unacceptable, and as parents, teachers or staff, we shouldnât be afraid or ashamed to use these words when this is what it feels like.
Iâve seen responses online to this article from parents who want the terminology âassault leaveâ to be changed in special education environments. This will achieve nothing. What we should be demanding is intervention so teachers, special needs assistants, and families are no longer ignored, but that they are protected in the school and in the home.
Changing words does nothing except deny people the freedom to speak.
Oh, what a beautiful programme RTĂ produced over Christmas in the series.
It was a wonderful tribute to the late great MĂcheĂĄl Ă Muircheartaigh.
He will be sorely missed in Irish society and though retired from broadcasting since 2010 he was still so much a part of Irish sporting life and in particular the GAA.
No other person did more over the last 70 years to popularise and promote Gaelic games than the man from DĂșn SĂon.
The programme highlighted his selfless contribution to the GAA over a lifetime.
He travelled the length and breadth of the country to book launches, fundraisers, golf classics, and numerous other events and wouldnât take a penny or a cent in expenses.
He loved children and was forever encouraging the youth â âthe next generationâ â so it is sad to think that from now on juveniles must pay in order to see their heroes at national league games.
In the GAA we used always live by the seanfhocail âmol an oige agus tiocfaidh siadâ (âpraise the youth and they will flourishâ) â not any more it seems.
MĂcheĂĄl lived to be a great age and until recent years regularly attended our games.
Many like him in their 70s and 80s would still like to go but the GAA policy of âno cash wanted hereâ has turned them away.
Mo bhrĂłin a MĂcheĂĄl, you did more than your share to promote the GAA â shame on us if we dishonour and abandon your legacy.
In his review of the last year of rugby, Donal Lenihan suggests reducing the replacements to six â â Always good to finish a year with an âI was thereâ momentâ ( , Sport, January 1)
There are many differences between the game that Donal played (when subs were extremely rare) and the modern game, specifically, the ball-handling abilities of the forwards, the fitness levels and size of all players, and the blitz defence are just a few.
Many modern backs are bigger and taller than when Donal reigned supreme.
These have changed it from a game of elusion to one of collision and attrition.
Some months ago, in this paper, Duncan Casey noted that the average length of a professional rugby career is a mere six years.
The only time a rugby match cannot function properly is when front row players are missing through sin binning or too many injuries.
Therefore, Iâd like to suggest that the replacements be reduced to three: to a pair of props and a hooker.
Regardless of who needs replacing, bring on one of the Band of Brothers. And when theyâre on, thatâs it.
This will remove âbomb squadsâ and make the game safer. Obliging the players (and particularly the forwards) to last for 80 minutes will change them from flat racing sprint horses to cart horses that can conserve their energy to last the distance of the Grand National.
