St. Vincent's it is

New maternity hospital will provide standard of care expected by women - Taoiseach

Artist's impression of new National Maternity Hospital at St Vincent's

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said agreement on the new National Maternity Hospital will conclude in the next number of weeks and the hospital will provide the standard of care women are entitled to expect in this day and age.
Mr Kenny said if issues arise that mean women need hospital treatment "it will be on the campus of St Vincent’s".
"What we want to do is put in place a legally waterproof situation where it will be perfectly clear for everybody that what's at stake here is proper world class facilities for expectant mothers and pregnant women," he said.
The Taoiseach added that the breathing space requested by Minister for Health Simon Harris on the issue has been given to him.
Former master of the National Maternity Hospital Dr Peter Boylan resigned with immediate effect from its board yesterday morning.
Mr Kenny said the decision by Dr Boylan to resign from the board is one for himself.

European Medicines New HQ

Europe's drugmakers pushed for a decision as early as June on the new location for the headquarters of the bloc's medicines watchdog.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is due to relocate from London after Britain's decision to leave the EU.
The EMA, employing nearly 900 staff, acts as a one-stop-shop for approving new treatments and monitoring the safety of drugs and veterinary products across the region.
The new location will be decided by the EU's heads of state, whose next meeting as the European Council is scheduled for June 22-23.
"The Council's deliberations on the agency's future location need to be conducted on the basis of very essential criteria and put for decision as early on as possible, preferably at its meeting in June this year," European pharma lobby group, EFPIA said in a statement.
The statement was signed by 19 top executives at member companies including Pfizer, Novartis, Sanofi and Roche.

The European Medicines Agency is due to relocate from

London, after Britain's decision to leave the EU

The industry warned that getting it wrong could impact the region's high level of public health.
"Were a rapid resolution on the future location of the EMA not to materialise, or if the future seat of the European Medicines Agency were to fail in terms of establishing its minimum prerequisites, the quality of its work and the future of the European Medicines Regulatory Network would be placed in jeopardy," the statement said.
EMA's executive director Guido Rasi earlier this month also called for a decision in June and for a carefully planned relocation so as not to disrupt the body's work.
The EMA, the largest EU body in Britain, has been based in London since its birth in 1995 and it moved into new premises in Canary Wharf on a 25-year lease less than three years ago.
No fewer than 21 EU member states have expressed their interest in hosting the EMA, including Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, France and Poland.
The new location would have to offer sufficient transport infrastructure and accommodation for EMA staff and its tens of thousands of annual visitors and quality housing, schools and employment opportunities for spouses and family to retain its staff.

Cycling to Work - Research

Cycling to work, cuts the risk of developing heart disease and cancer by almost half, research suggests.

Walking to work is also good for you, although it does not offer the same benefits as taking a bike, experts from the University of Glasgow found.
The new study on 264,337 people, 52% of whom were women, found cycling to work is linked to a 45% lower risk of developing cancer and a 46% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, compared to driving to work or taking public transport.
Overall, cyclists had a 41% lower risk of premature death from any cause.

The study also found some health benefits,

if people cycled part of their journey

Walking to work was also associated with a 27% lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease and a 36% lower risk of dying from it.
But there was no link with a lower risk of cancer or dying early from any cause in walkers, the study found.
People who preferred to stroll to work also had to walk for two hours a week in total to see health benefits, at an average speed of three miles per hour.
Experts behind the study, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), said the lower benefits seen for walking compared to cycling could be down to several factors.
These include the fact cyclists covered longer distances in their commutes than the walkers, cycling is a higher intensity exercise and cyclists were generally more fit.


Dr Carlos Celis-Morales, from the University of Glasgow, said: "Walking to work was associated with lower risk of heart disease, but unlike cycling was not associated with a significantly lower risk of cancer or overall death.
"This may be because walkers commuted shorter distances than cyclists, typically six miles per week, compared with 30 miles per week, and walking is generally a lower intensity of exercise than cycling."
The study also found some health benefits if people cycled part of their journey and took public transport or drove the rest of the way.
The people taking part in the research were aged 52 on average at the start of the study and were followed for five years.
About 2,430 people died during the study period, with 496 deaths related to cardiovascular disease, which covers all diseases of the heart and circulation, and 1,126 deaths from cancer.
Overall, 3,748 people developed cancer over the five years, and 1,110 had an event related to cardiovascular disease, such as a heart attack or stroke.

New National Maternity Hospital

The Master of the National Maternity Hospital has said that the agreement reached for locating the new maternity hospital at St Vincent’s is unequivocal, that the hospital will be entirely independent, and that that is written down in black and white.

Dr. Rhona Mahony said the ethos of the hospital will be clinical excellence and that contraception, IVF services, and abortions will be carried out when necessary.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Dr. Mahony stressed that nuns will not be involved in the operation or running of the hospital.
She said the fundamental principle during the mediation process for the National Maternity Hospital, currently based in Holles Street, was that it would retain its independence and autonomy.
It was important to locate the hospital on the St. Vincent’s campus, because they want patients to have access to wide range of services available there, Dr. Mahony added.

Dr. Rhona Mahony said the ownership of the hospital is a technical detail

The St Vincent's Healthcare Group, owned by the Sisters of Charity, will own the €300m building.
Dr. Mahony said the ownership is a technical detail.

She said that abortions will be carried out, without hesitation, if needed to save a woman's life.
Asked if a woman wants to be sterilised, out of personal need, Dr. Mahony said it will be done.
She said the new maternity hospital will not be practising in St Vincent’s Hospital, but on the campus. This, she said, was in the agreement and there is no doubt about this.

Pie in the Sky

The Irish Medical Organisation has said most doctors would see free GP care for all in five years as pie in the sky, unless it is properly costed.

Speaking at the union's annual conference in Galway, IMO President Dr John Duddy said it would be disappointing if the final report of the Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Healthcare does not provide costings and the funding system on the proposal.
Dr Duddy said that in principle the idea of free GP care for all is a good one.
But who would pay for it was the big issue, whether through general taxation, a health levy, or an increase health insurance premiums.
Dr Duddy said the cost would certainly be a seven-figure sum.
Meanwhile, the IMO has said the talks on a new GP contract, which have started with the Government, will be a long process.
The union said it involves a complex change to a contract first established in 1970.
Dr Duddy said it would be nice to have a timescale for the negotiations, but they should not be limited either.
The union has today called for a major investment in the health system to end emergency department overcrowding and long waiting lists, especially given the rise in the population shown by recent census data.
Minister for Health Simon Harris will address the two-day conference tomorrow.

European Immunisation Week

Vaccine complacency could cost lives in Ireland, as Europe sees large measles outbreaks, and related deaths.

Complacency in relation to vaccines could cause deaths in Ireland as large measles outbreaks and related deaths take place in Europe, warned the HSE today, Monday April 24th.
Many European countries are reporting measles outbreaks - over 4000 cases and 18 measles related deaths have been reported in Romania in the past six months, according to the Head of the HSE National Immunisation Office, Dr Brenda Corcoran.

“Other countries with recent measles outbreaks include, Italy, France, Germany, Poland and Belgium. An outbreak involving 40 cases occurred in Ireland as recently as 2016.
“Measles is one of the most infectious diseases. It is spread by coughing and sneezing, and by close contact with an infected individual. With today’s travel patterns, no person or country is beyond the reach of the measles virus.

        

 

“The only protection against measles is the MMR vaccine. Two doses of MMR vaccine (at 12 months and 4-5 years of age) are required to be fully vaccinated. While uptake in Ireland has remained steady at around 92%, we need to increase uptake rates to the target of 95% to make sure that measles does not circulate here. This is important for everybody but is particularly vital to protect young babies as they cannot receive the MMR vaccine until they are 12 months old so they are vulnerable to complications, including death if they are exposed to measles infection.

“MMR vaccine along with many other vaccines saves lives and protects against serious illness. Due to good vaccine uptake, we have thankfully not seen outbreaks of other infectious diseases in Ireland that we witnessed in the past but we must not let complacency creep in. We have seen a recent fall in the uptake of HPV vaccine because of unsubstantiated safety concerns. This serves as a reminder that on-going efforts are required to reach and maintain high vaccine uptake levels. The theme for this year’s European Immunisation Week is “Vaccines Work” and we must continue to remind ourselves that vaccines are a simple, effective and safe way to save lives and prevent serious illness”, said Dr Corcoran.

For further information visit www.immunisation.ie.

Irish Medical Graduates

Irish medical students are predominantly from financially better-off families, and almost certainly will get a job in Ireland when they graduate or will pursue further study, a report from the Higher Education Authority says.

The HEA says there is a challenge to the higher education system and to the medical profession to do more to ensure greater diversity in medicine.
It finds that slightly more medical students are likely to be female.
Almost two thirds (64%) of non-Irish students come from Asia, with Malaysia (37%) forming the biggest cohort.

The study looked at all medicine students in the universities,

and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland - during 2015/16

Of the Irish graduates, 94% are employed in Ireland.
The study looked at all medicine students in the universities and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland during 2015/16 and then also surveyed graduates, nine months after they left college.

European Medicines Agency

The Netherlands has made a formal bid to become the new home of the European Medicines Agency which will likely have to relocate from London after Britain leaves the European Union.
"It is my pleasure to inform you of the Netherlands' candidacy to host the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in Amsterdam," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in a letter to EU president Donald Tusk.
Ireland has also expressed an interest in hosting the EMA in Dublin, while several other European cities are thought to be in the running to provide a new home for the EMA, including Barcelona and Copenhagen.

The agency and its 900 staff of pharmacists, biologists and doctors are tasked with researching and evaluating all new medicines, to see if they are ready to be rolled out across the European bloc

Amsterdam has "outstanding international travel connections and excellent working and living conditions," Mr Rutte said, adding it "meets all the requirements of the agency and its staff".
EU agencies like the EMA are meant to be located within the bloc, causing uncertainty for the agency currently based in London's Canary Wharf business district.
"The Netherlands will do everything in its power to facilitate a smooth and efficient transition from the UK to our country, in order to ensure full operational continuity both for the agency and the large number of scientific experts involved," Mr Rutte vowed.
He said "uncertainty about the move" was already affecting the agency's work and staff and he urged the European Council to "decide on the EMA's new location as swiftly as possible".

European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said yesterday the "real political" negotiations on Brexit will start after Britain's snap June 8 elections.
He told reporters that both the EMA and the European Banking Authority "must be based in the territory of the European Union" once Brexit is complete.
The British government will have "no say" on the issue because it is not part of the Brexit negotiations, but "will have to ease the burden of relocating" staff to EU cities, he added.
Mr Rutte also took to Twitter to press his country's case saying on his official account: "I firmly believe that NL is best equipped to provide all conditions necessary to enable the EMA to perform its work as effectively as possible."
Since its creation in 1995, the agency has approved 1,100 medicines, including 82 last year.
Of those which gained approval in 2016, 17 were for treating cancer, 14 for infections, and nine for heart disease.

Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults

An opinion poll suggests that half the country's adults have experienced the abuse of vulnerable adults, either through suffering abuse themselves or seeing somebody close to them abused.

The independent National Safeguarding Committee, which commissioned the research, has for stronger safeguarding laws and for the Government to progress the establishment of a service, already provided for in 2015 legislation, to support adults whose capacity for making decisions is in question.
The state-wide opinion poll, conducted by Red C last December, interviewed by phone a sample of 1,004 adults who were demographically representative of the rest of the Republic's over 18's.
Although 61% felt vulnerable adults are well protected here, 38% said they are badly treated.

Red C said this and other data suggests, the public perceives a problem around safeguarding people who have a limited capacity for self-protection.



There was uncertainty around what constitutes psychological and financial abuse and one-in-three people did not know clearly that they should report concerns about vulnerable adult abuse to a health care professional or to an HSE Safeguarding and Protection Team.
The pollsters said that suggests more public education is required.
Half the respondents claimed to have experienced abuse directly or indirectly, with emotional abuse mentioned by one in three of them.
The same number witnessed or suspected physical abuse, while the incidence was highest in private dwellings.
Adults who may be vulnerable are those who may be restricted in their capacity to guard themselves against harm or exploitation, possibly as a result of illness, dementia, mental health problems, physical disability or intellectual disability.

Tele-medicine; Smartphones / GPs

The first tele-medicine service that allows patients be treated by their GPs using a smartphone has been launched.

The service, GP Online, is being piloted in six doctor surgeries in urban and rural locations and it will be rolled out nationwide during the year.
Online Medical consultation is a major growth area in health and several national and international companies are active in the Irish market.
This is the first service to allow patients to talk to their own GP from the comfort of their home or office.
The advantage is that patients are talking to the doctor who is familiar with their medical history and has all their records to hand, GP Online chief executive, Aidan Callaly said.

HIQA Analysis!

A new study says there is not enough current evidence to show that e-cigarettes are an effective aid to help people stop smoking.
The Health Information and Quality Authority has published the first analysis comparing the cost-effectiveness of various smoking cessation interventions.

Almost one in three people use e-cigarettes, to help

cease smoking

The cost to the healthcare system of smoking is about €460m a year.
There are around 820,000 smokers in Ireland, with half making at least one quit attempt each year.
Almost one in three people use e-cigarettes to try to stop smoking.
HIQA’s study says that while early evidence for e-cigarettes is promising, the Minister for Health should await the results of on-going  trials before recommending them as a smoking cessation method.
The health watchdog says that the most effective intervention is the prescription only drug Varenicline, either alone, or alongside nicotine replacement therapy.
Furthermore, it recommends that the HSE increase the uptake of the drug.

Drinking Water - WHO Report

"Today, almost two billion people use a source of drinking-water contaminated with faeces, putting them at risk of contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio," Maria Neira, who head's WHO's public health department, said in a statement.

"Contaminated drinking-water is estimated to cause more than 500,000 diarrhoeal deaths each year and is a major factor in several neglected tropical diseases, including intestinal worms, schistosomiasis and trachoma," she added.

Local people collecting water from a muddy

waterhole in Mexico

The report welcomed the fact that countries had on average raised their annual budgets for water, sanitation and hygiene by 4.9% over the past three years.
But it says 80% of countries acknowledge that their financing is still not enough to meet their nationally-set targets for increasing access to safe water and sanitation.
"In many developing countries, current national coverage targets are based on achieving access to basic infrastructure, which may not always provide continuously safe and reliable services," the WHO warned in a statement.
Guy Ryder, Chair of UN-Water and head of the International Labour Organisation, says "increased investments in water and sanitation can yield substantial benefits for human health and development, generate employment and make sure that we leave no one behind".

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Clinical Cases and OSCEs in Surgery - 2017

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New to the 2nd Edition - 2017:

• Includes new topics such as microbiology specimen collection, commonly used media, molecular diagnostics, and antimicrobials in pregnancy
• Incorporates new guidelines published since the previous edition, with weblinks where available

Three Decades Forwards!

In the mid 1980s, HIV/Aids terrified the world because of a lack of understanding, as well as misinformation.

In April 1987, Princess Diana opened the UK's first purpose built HIV/Aids unit that exclusively cared for patients infected with the virus, at London Middlesex Hospital.
In front of the world's media, Princess Diana shook the hand of a man suffering with the illness.
She did so without gloves, publicly challenging the notion that HIV/Aids was passed from person to person by touch.

She showed in a single gesture that this was a condition needing compassion and understanding, not fear and ignorance.
John O'Reilly was a nurse on the ward at the time of the Princess of Wales' visit.
He spoke to Witness about a landmark moment in the fight against HIV/Aids.

Cystic Fibrosis Discovery

Scientists in Belfast have found a potential new mechanism - making antibiotics for treating cystic fibrosis (CF) more effective, in the face of growing resistance.

The Queen's University Belfast researchers have found that fat soluble vitamins, could stop the antibiotics from becoming impeded.

The scientists found fat soluble vitamins can stop

antibiotics from being impeded

The cause of many severe lung infections in those with CF, Burkholderia cenocepacia bacteria have become very resistant to antibiotics.
The team, led by Professor Miguel Valvano from the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine at Queen's, found the problem lay with lipocalins.
These are proteins which latch onto antibiotics, preventing them from destroying the bacteria.
But the scientists found that fat-soluble vitamins, like Vitamin E, can get over this problem, because they stick to the lipocalins more strongly than they do to the antibiotics.
Details of the study are published in the journal mBio.
The team is now examining ways of reformulating antibiotics with vitamins in order to improve their efficacy.
"This is an exciting and potentially life-changing finding, particularly relevant for cystic fibrosis patients who are chronically infected with multi-resistant bacteria," said Professor Valvano.
"Armed with this knowledge, we can focus our efforts on finding alternative solutions to more effectively treat the infection in these patients."

Bacteria and Health

Professional athletes may be in a different league when it comes to sport, but new research suggests they also have markedly different gut bacteria.

A study of professional rugby players, carried out by researchers in Cork and London, found the bugs in their digestive system, known as the microbiome, are primed to repair tissue.
The research also discovered that the players' microbiome is also particularly good at harnessing energy from the diet.
The findings suggest, the researchers say, that the fitness of a person is not just limited to their physical abilities, but also to their gut health.
It also found the microorganisms that reside in the gut of these full-time athletes are noticeably distinct functionally and metabolically.
Scientists from the APC Microbiome Institute, Teagasc and Imperial College London were involved in the research, results of which were published in the journal Gut.

The study was carried out by researchers in Cork and London

The discoveries build on earlier findings of a study by the scientists of the microbiome of the Irish rugby squad.
It found there was a connection between the exercise and diet of individuals and their gut health.
The scientist say there is now a good reason to further explore the make-up of this exercise and diet-microbiome paradigm, which could then help with exercise and fitness programmes.
"Our earlier work, also published in Gut, had shown that the microbiome of the athletes differed in composition from that of non-athletes," said Professor Fergus Shanahan, Director of the APC Microbiome Institute in a statement.
"But now we have found that the functional behaviour of the microbiome separates the athletes and controls to an even greater degree."

Sugar Diets - 200,000 Tons!

Children in Northern Ireland are eating three times as much sugar as they should, the Food Standards Agency has warned.
Most of the sugar comes in breakfast cereals, yoghurts and biscuits.

Adults are consuming double the recommended amount of sugar, the organisation added.
The FSA welcomed new guidelines published by Public Health England, which promised to remove around 200,000 tonnes of sugar from UK diets, per year by 2020.
FSA chairman Heather Hancock said: "The FSA is also working with local cafes and restaurants to encourage displays of calories on menus so that people have the information they need to make healthy choices when eating out.
"The FSA's aim is to have healthier choices widely available and easy for consumers to make wherever they eat."
The Public Health England guidance sets out the recommended sugar limits for nine food groups including biscuits, breakfast cereals and yoghurt, and how reductions could be achieved by the food industry.

Most of the sugar comes in breakfast

cereals, yoghurts and biscuits

In Northern Ireland, the FSA has been working with small and medium-sized businesses on reducing sugar content.
Ms Hancock added: "We know that adults and children in Northern Ireland are eating too much sugar and that most of it comes from everyday foods such as breakfast cereals and yoghurts as well as from foods such as confectionery and biscuits.
"That is why the Food Standards Agency's work with the Northern Ireland food industry is vital in reducing the levels of sugar, saturated fat and salt in the food they manufacture, serve or sell, as well as reducing portion sizes in general."
She said healthy choices should be easy to make.
"Eating a healthy, balanced diet is a key factor in having good health and achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.
"We are committed to collaborating across government and industry in tackling obesity and providing consumers with the opportunities to support and access a healthier lifestyle."

Sickle Cell Reversed

A French teenager's sickle cell disease has been reversed, using a pioneering treatment, to change his DNA.

The world-first procedure at Necker Children's Hospital in Paris offers hope to millions of people with the blood disorder.
Scientists altered the genetic instructions in his bone marrow so it made healthy red blood cells.
So far, the therapy has worked for 15 months and the child is no longer on any medication.
Sickle cell disease causes normally round red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body, to become shaped like a sickle.

These deformed cells can lock together to block the flow of blood around the body. This can cause intense pain, organ damage and can be fatal.
The teenager who received the treatment had so much internal damage he needed to have his spleen removed and his hips replaced.
Every month he had to go into hospital to have a blood transfusion to dilute his defective blood.
But when he was 13, doctors at the Necker Children's Hospital in Paris did something unique.

                           

Healthy red blood cells are round,

but the genetic defect makes them sickle shaped

'No sign of disease'

Doctors removed his bone marrow - the part of the body that makes blood. They then genetically altered it in a lab to compensate for the defect in his DNA that caused the disease.
Sickle cell is caused by a typo in the instructions for making the protein haemoglobin, which is densely packed into red blood cells.
A virus was used to infect the bone marrow with new, correct instructions.
The corrected bone marrow was then put back into the patient.
The results in the New England Journal of Medicine showed the teenager has been making normal blood since the procedure 15 months ago.
Philippe Leboulch, a professor of medicine at the University of Paris, told the BBC News website: "So far the patient has no sign of the disease, no pain, no hospitalisation. He no longer requires a transfusion so we are quite pleased with that.
"But of course we need to perform the same therapy in many patients to feel confident that it is robust enough to propose it as a mainstream therapy."

'Given his life back'

Prof. Leboulch is nervous about using the word "cure" as this is just the first patient to come through clinical trials.
But the study does show the potential power of gene therapy to transform the lives of people with sickle cell.
"I think it's very significant, essential they've given him his life back," said Dr Deborah Gill from the gene medicine research group at the University of Oxford.
She told the BBC: "I've worked in gene therapy for a long time and we make small steps and know there's years more work.
"But here you have someone who has received gene therapy and has complete clinical remission - that's a huge step forward."
However, the expensive procedure can only be carried out in cutting-edge hospitals and laboratories, while most sickle cell patients are in Africa.
The next big challenge will be to transform this pioneering science into something that really can help millions of people.

Health - Public Opinion!

British actress Emma Thompson has said she never moved to Los Angeles, because she felt she was deemed "too fat" when she visited.

 

"It is a strange place and I couldn't live there," she told Swedish chat show Skavlan.
The Oscar winner also condemned the pressure on actresses to be thin.
"The anorexia - there are so many kids, girls and boys now, and actresses who are very, very thin, who are into their 30s, [and] simply don't eat," she said.
'It's getting worse'

 

The star also revealed she threatened to quit working on 2008 film Brideshead Revisited, in reaction to a co-star who had been told to shed the pounds.

She said: "The producers said to her, 'Will you lose some weight?'. She was absolutely exquisite.
"I said to them, 'If you speak to her about this again, on any level, I will leave this picture. You are never to do that'.
"It's evil, what's happening, what's going on out there, and it's getting worse."

Water Quality - EPA

A special report by the Environmental Protection Agency has found that drinking water quality in private water supplies is consistently poorer, than public water supplies.

It also found that almost 40% of private water supplies were not monitored for E. coli contamination.
However, 70 of the supplies that were tested were found to be contaminated by human or animal waste at least once during the reporting year.
The EPA said that the lack of regular monitoring for E. coli is worrying as users may unwittingly be drinking water that is of poor quality which could expose them to serious illness.

It said this is especially so for people who are vulnerable, such as children, older people, or those with low immunity or underlying medical conditions.
One fifth of the population in Ireland, mostly in rural areas, get their drinking water from the country's 2,700 private water supplies.
It is provided by group water schemes, small supplies, or wells operated by the owners of buildings or businesses as part of a public or commercial activity.
According to the EPA report the water supplied to 270 hotels, restaurants, or other premises serving food, as well as 99 national schools or childcare centres, and 23 nursing homes are not monitored for E. coli contamination.
It also said that over 50,000 household wells in Ireland are contaminated with the E. coli bacteria arising from animal or human waste.

EPA said that the lack of regular

monitoring for E. coli is worrying

The report pointed out that the HSE has reported that the number of cases of VTEC, which is a pathogenic form of E. coli, has more than doubled in Ireland since 2011.
It said that Ireland has the highest incidence of VTEC in Europe and that patients infected with this strain of the E. coli the bacteria are four times more likely to have consumed water from household wells.
Boil water notices were imposed on 94 private water supplies during 2015 affecting 5,400 people, which is more than are currently affected by boil water notices in public water supplies today.
The boil water notices affected six counties. However, 85% of those affected lived in just three counties, Wicklow, Limerick, and Offaly. The other counties were Laois, Sligo, and Cork.
The EPA said that further improvements are required to ensure that people on private water supplies have access to clean and wholesome drinking water.
Senior Inspector Darragh Page said local authorities have extensive enforcement powers to ensure that action is taken where water quality issues are identified and they should exercise these powers to ensure that consumers are protected.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Page said: "We know that almost 40% of those supplies were not monitored last year. We are also calling on local authorites to use their enforecement powers to regulate these supplies.
"To go out, carry out an audit on these supplies, identifying those that are quality deficient and requiring those water supply owners to improve those supplies."
He said penalties can be imposed.
"Local authorities have the power to take a prosecution if they direct a water supplier to improve the water supply and they don't. The fine can be up to €5000 or three months in prison."
He said there are grants available of up to 75% of the cost for people to remediate their wells.

Nurses - Registration!

The Nursing and Midwifery Board has removed 2,258 nurses and midwives from the register, for not paying their annual registration fee.

The €100 fee is paid to stay on the register and once removed, it is an offence to practice nursing or midwifery.


                           

Nurses can reapply to be registered and pay the fee

 

The Board says it made the decision on 21 March in relation to the 2,258 nurses, and midwives after renewal and reminder notices were sent to the nurses concerned, and the fee was not paid.
The Minister for Health, Health Service Executive, known employers and the nurses and midwives have been notified in writing of the removals from the register.

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