Author Archives: Olga Cronin

‘sup?

Janet writes:

‘Cheerio from Leo (above) and Kitcha (top), thanks for all the pets at Christmas and camouflage pets, we loved taking part in.

‘Sniff all the butts, steal all the treats, run with the wind in your fur, sleep on the best chairs and lick the strangers if they let you…’

Splutter!

Earlier: Amazing Gracie

Hounds of Love

This morning.

Cooldrinagh, Kerrymount Avenue, Foxrock, county Dublin.

Via Irish Times:

Interiors are elegant and refined. The five reception rooms, some of which have impressive and highly detailed marble fireplaces and wall panelling, have superb views of one of the real selling points of the property – the gardens.

When the Beckett family lived at the imposing Edwardian house, they employed a gardener called Christy, who also gets a mention in the Samuel Beckett play, though as a whip-wielding dung carrier. His legacy is still alive today in the acre of magical gardens that have grown and matured over the past 119 years, since the Edwardian three-bay house was constructed.

Samuel Beckett’s childhood home in Foxrock for €3.8m (Irish Times)

Dr Cathy Gardner with her father Michael Gibson, who died aged 88 in a care home in Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom in April

This morning.

Via BBC:

UK Government policies on discharging patients from hospital to care homes at the start of the Covid pandemic have been ruled unlawful by the High Court.

The ruling comes after two women took the government to court, saying Covid patients were discharged from hospitals back to care homes without testing.

Dr Cathy Gardner and Fay Harris, whose fathers died, said it caused a “shocking death toll” of residents.

The women claimed key policies of discharging patients from hospitals into care homes were implemented with no testing and no suitable isolation arrangements in the homes.

The High Court said the policies failed to take into account the risk to elderly and vulnerable residents from non-symptomatic transmission of the virus.

…In their ruling, Lord Justice Bean and Mr Justice Garnham concluded that, despite there being “growing awareness” of the risk of asymptomatic transmission throughout March 2020, there was no evidence that then Health Secretary Matt Hancock addressed the issue of the risk to care home residents of such transmission.

Covid: Discharging hospital patients to care homes ‘unlawful’ (BBC)

Meanwhile…

Kevin Higgins writes:

This is what happened here with at least a thousand needless deaths. This has huge implications for Dept of Health and HSE…

Previously: Left to Die: Nursing Home Timeline

This morning.

Via RTE news:

“There has to be transparency…in my view it should be paused, there has to be a reassessment as to how the objectives behind this can be realised,” the Taoiseach said.

Secretary General at the Department of Health Robert Watt is now compiling a report on the secondment and this is expected to be completed by Monday.

The Taoiseach said he had not commented until now on the matter because he had not received all the details “behind it.”

He said that he would like see the report on Monday but it would make sense to him to have the issue reassessed.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said earlier this week that he did not sign off on the secondment of Dr Holohan to TCD, but said he fully supports it.

Taoiseach says Holohan secondment has to be paused until report (RTE)

RollingNews

This morning/afternoon.

A report into available properties for those on Housing Assistance Programme (HAP)

Meanwhile…

…Social Democrats Housing Spokesperson Cian O’Callaghan. said:

“The ‘Locked Out’ report reveals that the housing crisis is getting worse, not better. The number of properties, affordable for HAP tenants to rent, is virtually non-existent unless top-ups on the rent are provided.

“The Housing Minister claims the provision of affordable housing is a priority for the government, but where is the evidence of that?

“House prices and rents are exponentially increasing, while the number of properties available to rent is shrinking rapidly. HAP tenants, who are unable to pay the runaway rents now being quoted in every part of the country, are among those most at risk of becoming homeless.

“The standard HAP rate, which has not been increased since 2016, must now be increased as a matter of urgency. However, the only way to really resolve this crisis is to seriously ramp up the supply of social, affordable and cost-rental homes. The Minister promised to do this. When will he deliver on those promises?”

Report here

Simon Communities

You or the lad you get your nodges from.

Yesterday.

The Complex, Smithfield, Dublin 7.

Brown Thomas unveiled the Spring Summer 2020 Menswear Collections with models, above from left: Luke Onilenla, Aubrey O’Mahony and Ferdia Gallagher sporting designs from Dior, Dsquared2, BAPE, Bugatti and No91

We won’t mention the €450 ‘wide flared’ Prada chino shorts.

Louis had a point, in fairness.

Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland