Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly Vows To Ban Disposable Vapes In Crackdown On Products Aimed At Kids

In a bid to protect children from the growing scourge of vaping, Ireland’s Health Minister, Stephen Donnelly, has announced plans to ban disposable vapes. This move comes as part of a broader legislative effort to curb the influence of the tobacco industry on the youth. Minister Donnelly stated that disposable vapes have become a gateway … Read more

CMO urges parents to keep children at home if they have illness symptoms

The Chief Medical Officer Professor Breda Smyth is advising parents to continue to be mindful of others when their children are ill and to keep them home from school and childcare facilities if they are exhibiting new symptoms of illness. This advice comes as schools and childcare facilities reopen. The reopening of schools and childcare facilities … Read more

Douglas woman (44) who died after car crashed into River Lee named locally

Gardaí investigating the circumstances leading up to the death of a woman who died when her car entered the River Lee. The woman, Gillian Daly, 44, from Douglas, Co Cork, died after her car entered the river at Kennedy Quay in Cork city. She had two young sons with her at the time, but they managed … Read more

Welfare payments doubled to support families of children in hospital

Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys has doubled the period of time for which Domiciliary Care Allowance and Carer’s Allowance are paid for children who are hospitalised. The support will continue to be paid for 26 weeks, as opposed to the previous 13-week period, to the parents or guardians of children under 16 who are … Read more

Government announces free books for all children starting school in September

The Government has taken the first step towards providing free school books for children at the primary level with a €1 million pilot project which will benefit more than 60,000 students. The Children’s Minister, Roderic O’Gorman announced the roll-out of the First 5 My Little Library Initiative. The initiative will see more than 60,000 children … Read more

Minister O’Gorman publishes discrimination report to inform equality policy

Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, has today published a report on discrimination in Ireland. The report compiles data from a number of sources to provide data on the experience of discrimination reported by three groups: persons aged 18 years and over, children aged 12-17 years and Travellers and Roma. The … Read more

97 Children Killed Since Start of Ukraine war, Zelensky Says

Ninety-seven Ukrainian children have died since the start of Russia’s invasion, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday in a speech to Canada’s parliament, pleading once more for allies to “expand” their support for Kyiv. In the video address, the Ukrainian leader accused Russia’s military of “destroying everything: memorial complexes, schools, hospitals, housing complexes.” “They’ve already killed 97 … Read more

Minister O’Gorman publishes State of the Nation’s Children report

Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, has today published the 2021 edition of the State of the Nation’s Children (SONC) Report. This SONC online report provides a comprehensive picture of our children’s lives by presenting key information on children’s health, behavioural and educational outcomes as well as their relationships with their … Read more

Dr Carol Coulter (executive director of the Child Law Project)

Children still “slip through the cracks” in the care system; Child Law Project slams CAMHS

The chief executive of the Child Law Project (CLP) has said that some children still “slip through the cracks” in the care system, despite acknowledgement of the need for agencies to cooperate. Dr Maria Corbett was speaking as the organisation published its latest report on cases where the State sought orders to take children into, … Read more

Children mistakenly given wrong dose of Covid-19 vaccine

Seven young children were mistakenly given adult doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to the health products regulator. According to the report, the errors came to light when the children came to mass vaccination centers for their second dose of the vaccine, and vaccinators spotted incorrect information on their cards. A child’s dose of Pfizer/BioNTech … Read more

All children aged 5-11 can register for Covid vaccine from Monday: HSE

All children between the age of five and 11 can register for their Covid vaccines from January 3rd Monday, the HSE has confirmed. Parents and guardians can register their children of this age cohort using the child’s name, date of birth, PPS number, parent’s mobile number, email id and Eircode. For online booking: https://vaccine.hse.ie/ After … Read more

Government introduces relaxations in mask wearing for school children; Know who are exempted

Children in third class and above should not be excluded from schools ‘in the first instance’ for not wearing masks, a new advice to schools issued by the Department of Education said today. The schools have to engage with parents of children in case of not wearing a mask. If no progress is made, an … Read more