Amnesty

An Amnesty International Ireland video shows a worried woman comforting a sick child, when a voiceover says:

“Should checking her purse come before his check-up?”

But it’s not allowed to be screened on Irish TV.

However, Pippa Woolnough explains:

“We’re not allowed to screen it on any channel because the Broadcasting Act 2009 prohibits any ads calling for changes to the laws of the land (which is interesting in and of itself).”

“Our ad is seeking the Constitutional Convention to examine the possibility of greater protections for economic, social and cultural rights in Bunreacht na hÉireann, so clearly falls foul of the legislation.”

“However, of additional interest is that the Government has already signed up to international treaties promising to protect these rights (e.g. International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, ratified in 1989), and successive Irish governments have pledged to deliver those social and economic rights since the 1919 Democratic Programme.”

“So really, this ad is only asking for something the Government has already pledged to do.”

Constitutional Convention Regional Meetings

-2Free TODAY?

Ciaran le Cool writes:

Le Cool & Pilcrow have hi-jacked four of the  [Dublin Web] Summit’s most exciting speakers for pop up talks in the city centre. In the Library Project in Temple Bar Jimmy Maymann, CEO of The Huffington Post, and Baratunde Thurston, former Director of Digital of The Onion, will be talking global media companies while in The Stag’s Head, Dame Court, Dublin.  Cindy Gallop of MakeLoveNotPorn and Harper Reed, Obama’s chief tech officer, will teach us about crowd-sourcing and cloud-computing and the importance of women in tech. All proceeds towards Movember.

 

Details here

president-portraitTrinity

A University Times poll of 852 students finds a majority will vote against the proposal to remove Trinity College Dublin’s Student Union President, Tom Lenihan.

The move to impeach Mr Lenihan, son of the late Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, came after he was caught cheating in a law exam in May.

Mr Lenihan subsequently apologised, resat his exam and told how he was battling with depression and suffered a panic attack on the morning he took a note into his exam.

Students will be voting up until Friday afternoon and the results will be announced on Friday evening.

UT Referendum Poll Finds Overwhelming Majority Against Impeachment of Tom Lenihan (University Times)

Previously: Meanwhile, In Trinity

Pic: TCDSU

Thanks Leanna

RomaARC(Roma protest outside the Refugee Applications Commission Office on Lower Mount Street in Dublin in 1998)

On October 23, 1998, Paul Cullen, of The Irish Times wrote about a group of 47 Roma who arrived via container trucks at Rosslare, Co. Wexford in July 1998.

He told how all of the 47 Roma had their applications rejected and that one of the 47 was turned down even though she had never been granted an interview.

One of the Roma women was giving birth to her first child when she was told her application had been refused.

 

“The 47 Romas, all from the Arad region of eastern Romania, were smuggled into Ireland in freight containers in July. They spent 48 hours in the container before being discovered by gardai at Rosslare. All say that as members of the Roma ethnic minority in Romania they suffer persecution and discrimination. Shortly after arriving, they were moved to Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, and put up in a holiday hostel.”

“The Department’s decision to refuse the group asylum was one of the fastest it has made. It is believed to want to deter more gypsies from coming to Ireland. This tactic may have backfired, as the speed of the decision has brought Monaghan people to their aid, and their case has attracted media attention.”

 

It’s understood all of the 47 Roma subsequently settled in Ireland.

Note:The system of Direct Provision didn’t begin until April 2000. And, after the Citizenship Referendum of 2004, children born in Ireland were no longer automatically entitled to Irish citizenship – unless, at the time of their birth, one of their parents was an Irish citizen or was entitled to be an Irish citizen.

Pic Derek Spiers via Asylum Archive

hurlboardCustom built using two hurls by the IDA.

To mark the visit of Tony Hawk to the web summit and to open the new skatepark in Bushy Park, Terenure, Dublin at 4pm this afternoon.

Niall Staines writes:

The Hurlboard symbolizes old and new; how Ireland’s traditional passion and creativity has inspired a thriving modern tech community.

 

Yes yes.

But how does it go?

Like the clappers.

 

Gnarly.

The Making of the Hurlboard here.

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