Maman Poulet

I have received correspondence from Frances Finnegan in relation to remarks made about her by Niall McElwee on this blog relating to her involvement in highlighting the use of materials by Niall McElwee in Waterford Institute in 1998.

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‘Niall McElwee repeats his aspersion (first made in his recent statement to the Devine Enquiry) that in 1998 I complained of his use of inappropriate slides at WIT, for personal, rather than professional reasons. To be precise, in order to procure for my daughter, Dr. Rachel Finnegan, a senior position in the College for which he too, had applied.

For the record, and to set this matter straight, I wish to state the following:

In early April 1998 the highly respected part-time Therapy Lecturer in Social Care told me of her concerns regarding inappropriate slides that Niall McElwee was showing to both evening and daytime students. She reported that some of the students were distressed and requiring therapy. Shortly after this discussion, the Education Technician approached me with his own anxieties, being under pressure to facilitate the further, more disturbing use of these slides. Alarmed, and with serious misgivings for my own well-being (I was right to dread the consequences for me) I took these concerns to the College Equality Officer. About a fortnight later I met with her again, and once more she promised to act on the matter. After a further delay, during which time I heard nothing and was most apprehensive, I consulted a senior T.U.I. representative, who recognising the urgency of the case, arranged for our meeting with the College Registrar. This meeting took place on 27th May, and resulted in the immediate discontinuance of the use of the slides.

WIT confirmed last week that the job referred to by Niall McEllwee was first advertised on 29th May – more than a month after I made my initial complaint. At the time I could have known nothing of the future position, nor would I have had much interest in it. I had more important matters on my mind. These dates, easily verified, are on record in the College. Not so easily verified, of course, is the fact that I am neither so devious nor so ambitious as to act as he suggests. But then, what normal person is?

Niall McElwee’s latest allegation comes as a surprise – he having previously attributed my conduct to my being mentally “unwell” and later again, to academic jealousy! Let me now state that I acted as I did out of concern for the students, the reputation of the College (ironic, in the circumstances) and most of all, for the children whose bodies were portrayed in those images. Had I consulted my own interests I would not have acted at all. In the sad tradition of social care in Ireland, I would, knowing that something was wrong, have chosen not to get involved.

As it is, later events, and the revelations in the Devine Report demonstrate that my concerns, and the concerns of others were, even in 1998, amply justified - and more widespread than we thought.

Frances Finnegan.’

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Dr. Frances Finnegan was Lecturer in Social History in WIT from 1980-2007.

Her books include Poverty and Prostitution: A Study of Victorian Prostitutes in York (Cambridge University Press, 1979, reprinted 2006) and Do Penance or Perish: Magdalen Asylums in Ireland (Oxford University Press, 2004).

She retired in 2007 and has two daughters and three grandsons.

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Late last year the Council of Europe’s Human Rghts Commissioner, Thomas Hammarberg, conducted an official visit to Ireland upon an invitation from the Irish government. There was little coverage of the visit at the time but he met with statutory and non statutory bodies involved in human rights and visited locations including prisons, mental health institutions and direct provision centres for asylum seekers.

Hammarberg is from Sweden and has a distinguished record in human rights monitoring and enforcement at statutory, non statutory and intergovernmental level. He is in the middle his term of office and he and his officials make visits to member states of the Council of Europe, making thematic recommendations on human rights issues and promoting the development of human rights structures at national level.

The Commissioner’s Report was published today and before it gets lost in the coverage of Bertie Ahern’s visit to Washington it is worth some consideration. In it he makes 34 recommendations (listed below) on issues including the rights of children, asylum seekers, women, ethnic minorities, undocumented minors, abortion and on overall human rights and anti discrimination resolution procedures. The Irish Government’s response is also included in an appendix to the document. I expect that to be questioned and factchecked by NGO’s and bloggers amongst others in the days to come.

National system for protecting human rights

1. Ratify Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights and the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

2. Adjust the legal aid scheme to the extent that it reflects actual cost of living standards.

3. Review the mandates of the different human rights complaints bodies with a view to optimising their effectiveness and independence as well as closing current protection gaps, with particular reference to the remits of the Ombudsman and the Ombudsman for Children.

4. Provide comprehensive and comparative information to the public on the mandates and functions of different complaints mechanisms.

5. Facilitate the interaction of authorities with civil society representatives at all levels to ensure that their experience and expertise can benefit policy formulation and implementation.

6. Conduct a base-line study to assess the extent to which human rights are integrated into education and training, so that further needs can be identified and addressed for ensuring that human rights awareness reaches all walks of society.

7. Develop a national action plan on human rights as an inclusive process for continuously improving human rights in Ireland.

Children’s rights

8. Implement the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-2016 so as to significantly reduce the number of children experiencing consistent poverty.

9. Use the opportunity of the proposed constitutional amendment to incorporate the best interests of the child as a general principle in the Irish Constitution, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

10. Prohibit corporal punishment of children in a comprehensive way.

11. Provide for professional care in the accommodation facilities for separated children and assign a guardian ad litem to each separated child.

12. Address the increasing demand for choice within the educational system, in particular with regard to cultural and religious diversity.

13. Provide adequately resourced separate facilities and services for minor psychiatric patients, and make early intervention at a local level possible for such children.

Juvenile justice

14. Ensure full implementation of the Children Act 2001 and its sentencing principles, for example, by providing guidance and specific training to the judiciary.

15. Develop further the system of alternative sanctions for juvenile delinquents and ensure adequate funding for the system across the country.

16. Review the current system of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders so that it does not lead to an increased use of detention and ensure its independent monitoring.

17. Apply the Children Detention School model when the detention of juvenile offenders is deemed a necessary measure and discontinue the imprisonment of children in adult facilities.

Non-discrimination and women’s rights

18. Review the resource needs of the Equality Tribunal to minimise its backlog of cases.

19. Clarify the scope of legal abortions through statutory law in line with domestic jurisprudence and provide for adequate services for carrying out such abortions in Ireland.

20. Change the law on birth registration in such a way that transgender persons can obtain a birth certificate reflecting their actual gender.

21. Provide the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence with adequate resources for the effective fulfilment of its broad mandate while, in particular, ensuring effective support for women victims of violence through services supplied by both state and civil society operators.

Measures against racism and xenophobia

22. Monitor the implementation of the National Action Plan against Racism and the local anti-racism and diversity plans in close cooperation with civil society and ethnic and cultural minority representatives, while preparing new action plans to succeed the current ones.

23. Improve data collection on racist and xenophobic incidents.

24. Provide for the racist motivation of a crime to be considered as an aggravating circumstance in Irish criminal law.

Situation of Travellers

25. Work closely with Travellers when preparing, implementing and monitoring policies and programmes designed for the Travellers.

26. Promote the participation of Travellers in political decision-making at local and national level.

27. Ensure that Travellers are effectively protected against discrimination and racism under national and international law.

Treatment of migrants and asylum-seekers

28. Ensure that the right to remain in Ireland during the procedure is granted to asylum-seekers who appeal asylum decisions which raise questions in relation to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

29. Reconsider the provision in the proposed Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill which would direct costs for so called “frivolous and vexatious” proceedings to the legal counsel of the applicant.

30. Provide family accommodation to families with children seeking asylum in Ireland.

31. Introduce temporary work permits for asylum-seekers.

32. Introduce statutory provisions regulating family reunification for all groups of people.

33. Implement the principle of the best interests of the child in decisions within the field of immigration and refugee law related to children.

Fight against terrorism: extraordinary renditions

34. Review the current inspection and monitoring arrangements in Ireland with a view to ensuring that effective and independent investigations are carried out into any serious allegation of extraordinary renditions.

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Breaking News from Dublin City Centre is the announcement of the winners of the Magill magazine’s Politician of the Year awards. (Thanks to RM!!)

Campaigning politician of the year - Brian Hayes

Wigmore award - Gaffe of the year - Terence Flanagan (for copying Joan Burton’s speech)

One to watch - Sean Sherlock

Political Humourist of the year - John Drennan

Heckler of the year, Willie O’Dea

Media relations of the Year - John Downing

Survivor of the Year - Bertie Ahern

Senator of the year - Eugene Regan

TD of the year - Joan Burton

MEP of the year - Gay Mitchell

Minister of the Year - Brian Lenihan

Politician of the Year - Brian Cowen

Lifetime Achievement – PJ Mara

The judging panel consisted of -

Ursula Halligan - TV3, Ken Murry - INN, Paul O Brien - Examiner, Michael O Reagan - Irish Times, Eamon Delaney - Magill, Eileen Brophy - Q102, Pat Leahy - Sunday Business Post, Alan Ruddock - Sunday Independent, Jody Cocoran - Sunday Independent, Stephen O’Brien - Sunday Times, Justin McCarthy - Today FM, Fionnan Sheahan - Irish Independent, John Lee - Daily Mail

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“The quality of light by which we scrutinize our lives has direct bearing upon the product which we live, and upon the changes which we hope to bring about through those lives.”

(Audre Lorde - Poetry Is Not A Luxury)

The time has (more than) come to reframe the narrow terms of the marriage debate in Ireland.

And so to Marie Mulholland’s critique of the current campaign for same sex marriage here.

The uninterrogated pursuit of marriage to the exclusion of any other regularisation of family forms and partnerships has left the campaign open to allegations of ‘mé feinism’ as overheard recently in one discussion. Inevitably, it has led to a surge in the adoption of at best naïve and at worst reactionary politics and conservative values in the rush to support gay marriage. Perhaps, it is timely to remember the words of Audre Lorde, ‘the masters tools will never dismantle the masters house.’

Read the full essay at Irish Left Review.

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Released today by the Safe and Legal in Ireland campaign are 3 Youtube videos which make up part of a 11 minute presentation on the issue of abortion in Ireland, where we are at and what needs to happen to solve the problems faced by women seeking terminations.

The first part I’m posting below and the entire set can be viewed (and it’s worth watching them)here.

The Safe and Legal in Ireland campaign blog provides updates on the campaign and interesting information on international reports on abortion rights in Ireland and abroad.

There is energy in this campaign and a healthy crop of new voices also and now they are engaging new technologies - lots of things to teach other social movements here. But for now I’m hoping people will listen to the voices and think about the things being said - it’s far too long since the referendums, the X case and the constant shoving under the carpet and a solution must be found to help women and stop the silence.

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Image via WikipediaThe Green Party seem to spend a considerable amount of time analysing the campaign for same sex marriage/partnership rights. Paul Gogarty TD and chairperson of the party delves into comment’s on Damiens recent post to clarify the reported comments to constituents and others regarding how the campaign is being won and lost.

Deputy Gogarty believes that John Gormley’s words of wisdom to members of the lesbian and gay community at that meeting about lobbying FF have fallen on deaf ears.. (I heard them too…)

‘On a separate note, although I am not Spokesperson for this area, I do recall that our Leader John Gormley asked members of the Irish Gay and Lesbian Community at a special reception to get active on this issue and put pressure on Fianna Fail in particular. This has not happened.’

In the preceding comment Deputy Gogarty made an interesting observation

‘So far there has been no evidence of a campaign by the Gay community and their friends and families to put pressure on this reactionary conservative grouping.

No point in preaching to the converted and then cursing them for trying to be helpful. We are doing our best. But Government is made up of several parties and FF is the biggest by far.’

This is an interesting point and one which I’m sure that members of Marriage Equality and LGBT Noise will repudiate. However I think one should define reactionary conservative grouping… Because to me that means the Iona Institute and not Fianna Fáil. And for me far far too much time has been spent entertaining these people in the letters page of the Irish Times and other places. This crazy gang are a small organisation which has been given the primary opposition status by the responses and attention paid to them by lgb activists.

So has the eye been taken off the ball - the FF ball that is?? Or is this an attempt to lay the blame at the lgbt community by the Green Party laying the ground to diminish expectations and say ‘honest guv it wasn’t us!?’

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A fine of €2million and recommendations that he be struck off - no surprise there then. Soon to be ex solicitor Michael Lynn was today found guilty of 57 charges of misconduct that were placed before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

No sign of Michael in court himself of course. I do hope that there are files building up in the DPP’s office though - it would terrible to think that only now are they considering them!

Especially for today I have a new track from the Michael Lynn Greatest hits collection. This one is legendary for it’s musicality. Please don’t come suing me for offence to your ears!

Audioplayer broke sigh…- will tinker with it later! Michael must be praying somewhere for a delayed release!

Let’s try Widgetbox though!

He’ll not get the better of me!

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I was working today and could not make the auction. What auction? - ah that auction of Michael Lynn’s wine collection that he didn’t take with him when he flit and some other household goods. No sign of the hippo.

If I had been present I could have purchased some Warwick Estate. (Read all about their wines on their blog!) or indeed some of the above. There was a damaged telly going also. It’s all a bit sad really.

However I do still have the champagne I won at the blog awards of which Michael had a large part to play…and very fine champers I’m sure it is too!

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Niall McElwee has provided his first comment to this blog in response to the Devine report released yesterday. He said he would comment here publicly and he has done so.

MP. Thank you for facilitating me with the opportunity to reply. As the Report has just been published and I did not get sight of it until yesterday evening, all I will say at this stage is the following:

(1) I deeply regret the incident in Amsterdam in 2004 and lament the catastrophic effect it has had since. I am so sorry that my family has been embarrassed for my actions which I take responsibility for. Nonetheless, I have found the sensationalist and inaccurate reporting of my case quite extraordinary and have seen a number of agendas played out in the media with various persons and organisations.

(2) It is a matter of fact that I called both the Gardai and a senior HSE official immediately on my release from custody in June 2004. In doing this, I tried to show some level of responsibility.

(3) It is a fact that on my return to Ireland in June 2004, I met with the HSE senior official at HSE Offices and was informed at this meeting that the HSE was following protocal. This was noted in my diary and submitted to the Inquiry. I understood that the reason I continued to receive work from the HSE in the period 2004-2007 at both my position in Athlone Institute of Technology and in my private practice was because the HSE had undertaken whatever risk assessment necessary and deemed me not to be a cause for any further concern. The first I was made aware that this was not the case was in July 2007 with media reports of my case.

(4) It is obvious from even a cursory reading of the report that the HSE officials are busy blaming each other for the information loss. This is not my fault.

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In a ruling before the High Court today a sperm donor was told he had no rights to guardianship or access to right to a child.

A gay man had provided sperm to a lesbian couple with no involvement anticipated. He changed his mind, was refused the access he wanted and had received a injunction preventing the couple travelling to Australia with the child.

Today Justice Hedigan ruled that he did not have a parental right and he went further in commenting on the de facto nature of a lesbian couple as a family and the need for legislation to ensure that the rights of all were protected.

He found that the welfare of the child was best served by the little boy continuing in the care, custody and guardianship of the lesbian couple and that the man should not get any court ordered access.

He also found that where a lesbian couple live together in a long term committed relationship, they could be regarded as being a de facto family and enjoy family rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

His remarks are significant in the run up to the publication of the heads of bill on Civil Partnership and the accompanying campaign for marriage. I can’t remember if a judge has previously commented on the need for the introduction of such legislation in a ruling before.

Update - Front page report by Carol Coulter and Mary Carolan in today’s Irish Times available free here.

…Mr Justice Hedigan said there was nothing in Irish law to suggest that a family of two women and a child “has any lesser right to be recognised as a de facto family than a family composed of a man and a woman unmarried to each other”.

He said the rights of a man who acted as a sperm donor were at least no greater than those of an unmarried father. In considering his application for guardianship the child’s welfare was the paramount consideration.

He believed there existed such personal ties between the couple and the child as to give rise to family rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights which do not conflict with Irish law…

The gay man is believed to be planning an appeal to the Supreme Court - that will make for more interesting reading - not alone on the rights of sperm donors but also on the opinions of 3 or 5 of the most senior judges in the land on same sex relationships and families.

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