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‘Undernourished’ child collapses in Cork

  • 15-05-2012 12:52PM
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,789 ✭✭✭grizzly


    ‘Undernourished’ child collapses
    By Eoin English and Fiachra Ó Cionnaith
    Tuesday, May 15, 2012
    A child who collapsed in a Cork City primary school was found to be "severely undernourished" — a condition widespread in slums and famine zones.
    Worker’s Party Cllr Ted Tynan revealed details of the "desperate case" at a Cork City Council meeting last night which backed calls for a national poverty strategy.

    Mr Tynan said the seven-year-old collapsed in the classroom. Social services were alerted and the child was examined by a doctor.

    Mr Tynan said the social worker assigned to the case was reluctant to describe the child as malnourished, but confirmed the child was "severely undernourished".

    Malnourishment is inadequate nutrition and can occur even if a person is getting enough food.

    Undernourishment is a lack of nutrients because you are not getting enough food. The condition can lead to learning difficulties.

    "This is happening in 2012. This is an example of the serious situation in this country," said Mr Tynan.

    He said the child’s mother, who was surviving on social welfare payments, had an empty fridge last Wednesday and could not afford to restock it until this Thursday.
    "I would appeal to the ‘political elite’ to think about that seven-year-old child and that mother, when they’re thinking about bailing out any more gangsters or criminals."

    Cllr Mick Finn (Ind), who works with schools in disadvantaged areas on the city’s southside, said support service shortages were threatening a similar crisis on the southside.

    The situation comes a month after a Department of Health-backed report said one in five children were going to school without eating breakfast or going to bed without a proper meal.

    St Vincent de Paul Cork branch chief Brendan Dempsey said the undernourishment case was "bound to happen".

    "700,000 people are on the breadline living in poverty, 200,000 are children, and I know of mothers and fathers going hungry to feed their children.

    "Two or three years ago we were being asked for shoes or help with the rent. Now we are simply being asked for food. The politicians are living with their heads in the clouds."
    http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/undernourished-child-collapses-193911.html

    :(


«13456710

Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,037 ✭✭✭Nothingbetter2d


    did they check that child's mother's bins for the empty cans and fag packets?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,798 ✭✭✭✭DrumSteve


    did they check that child's mother's bins for the empty cans and fag packets?

    Lets kill the underclass.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,677 ✭✭✭staker


    Probably on a diet to fit into the communion dress.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,037 ✭✭✭Nothingbetter2d


    DrumSteve wrote: »
    Lets kill the underclass.

    im not saying all people on the dole drink and smoke their money away but if the child is starving then there is definitely something up.

    i know plenty of people on welfare that have children and they manage to keep their kids fed.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,979 ✭✭✭munchkin_utd


    did they check that child's mother's bins for the empty cans and fag packets?
    I'm still at a loss to see how someone can be starving in Ireland.

    Aldi does 2kg of spuds for 39c or something for example.
    Even if you only have a few euros a month for grub, its still possible to cook a heap of a feed for buttons.

    And do these people not have relatives or friends?
    If I had someone I knew starving, I'd gladly give them 39c for a bag of spuds.

    EDIT: its now gone up to 65c for 2kg of spuds
    http://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/product_range/product_range_21722.htm


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,364 ✭✭✭golden lane


    a dreadfull situation........it is time that families put their priorities in order........

    accommadation, food, clothing, heat, and light .....in that order.........if the state does not provide enough for that........something has to be done immediately..


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,710 ✭✭✭Balmed Out


    This is exactly way child benefit should be accessed via a card and only redeemable against child related items like food, clothing etc.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 43,038 ✭✭✭✭SEPT 23 1989


    No excuse for a child being in that state


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 13,029 ✭✭✭✭Chuck Stone


    "This is happening in 2012. This is an example of the serious situation in this country," said Mr Tynan.

    No it's not you bell-end.

    No child needs to go hungry in this country. We have a mixed economy of welfare in this country that ensures children will not go hungry for need of food.

    The child was probably being neglected.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,678 ✭✭✭I Heart Internet


    I gotta think that there's more at work here than - "my social welfare isn't enough to feed my kids".

    The child and her mother/parents are severly disadvantaged - by the parents lack of parenting and life skills. Like others have mentiond - most people on social welfare with kids feed them just fine.


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  • Moderators, Education Moderators, Music Moderators Posts: 10,685 Mod ✭✭✭✭melekalikimaka


    i know people who due to loans etc survive on less than standard dole... mother needs to be taken in for questioning and kid needs to be put in charge of financies, mother clearly isnt capable


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 14,762 ✭✭✭✭stupidusername


    Obviously the situation needs to be investigated but sure everyone is going to jump to conclusions about the mother/parents,and her spending habits. Oh sure you know loads of people who survive fine on the money that they get so why can't she. She must be busy buying expensive jewellery for herself,smoking and drinking it all away.

    Though it would be funny (not haha funny) if that was to turn out to be the case.

    Until the facts are known,this is a non story.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,446 ✭✭✭miss_shadow


    No excuse for this neglect. Poor kid.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 9,660 ✭✭✭Padraig Mor


    What did the mother spend her generous social welfare entitlements - which are more than enough to feed a family - on?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,446 ✭✭✭miss_shadow


    Obviously the situation needs to be investigated but sure everyone is going to jump to conclusions about the mother/parents,and her spending habits. Oh sure you know loads of people who survive fine on the money that they get so why can't she. She must be busy buying expensive jewellery for herself,smoking and drinking it all away.

    Though it would be funny (not haha funny) if that was to turn out to be the case.

    Until the facts are known,this is a non story.

    did you not read that spuds are 65c in Aldi? :(


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 37,214 ✭✭✭✭Dudess


    What did the mother spend her generous social welfare entitlements - which are more than enough to feed a family - on?
    They're neither generous nor "more than enough".


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,590 ✭✭✭✭dsmythy


    Why is the story not about an undernourished mother......


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,626 ✭✭✭✭My name is URL


    Whatever about the personal circumstances of the woman in question, if this is an increasing problem then there should be some strategy to deal with it. Which is the crux of the article.

    It's easy to be righteous about it and suggest locking up the parents for negligence, or maybe stop their dole payments altogether..? it ain't gonna solve anything.

    fta -
    The situation comes a month after a Department of Health-backed report said one in five children were going to school without eating breakfast or going to bed without a proper meal.

    So what, 1 in 5 kids should be taken from their families and the parents charged with neglect? Get real people.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,364 ✭✭✭golden lane


    Dudess wrote: »
    They're neither generous nor "more than enough".

    they should be....neither generous, or more than enough..........


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Music Moderators, Politics Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 22,424 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dravokivich


    did you not read that spuds are 65c in Aldi? :(

    Spuds alone a stable diet does not make...


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,632 ✭✭✭Feeona



    The child and her mother/parents are severly disadvantaged - by the parents lack of parenting and life skills.

    This. Whatever has led that family to this point, at least some part of it has to got to be the responsibility of the family. Wholly blaming 'the situation in this country' is short sighted and leads one to think that the government is responsible for everything without any responsibility lying with the people the government works for.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,364 ✭✭✭golden lane


    Spuds alone a stable diet does not make...

    they make chips.......i believe a staple for most kids..


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,650 ✭✭✭✭minidazzler


    Dudess wrote: »
    They're neither generous nor "more than enough".

    Not more than enough, but they are certainly enough to feed two or three people especially if there are two kids. Food is expensive here only if you are above going for store brands.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,864 ✭✭✭touts


    All Children's allowance should be paid in vouchers (or a card system as earlier suggested) that must be spent in Irish shops. That way the state can both stimulate the economy by making sure the money gets spent in Irish shops and negotiate a reduction in participating shops which will allow the taxpayer save money without hitting those who need it. Also you won't find the better off saving it in the Post office or immigrants sending it back to their country of origin.

    Limiting what the vouchers can be spent on (i.e. no fags, booze or bouncy castles) will make sure the money is at least spent in the correct areas to benefit the child. By putting a time limit on when the vouchers have to be used you force people to buy the essentials their children need now and not save up for a few weeks for a big communion party of such. Random checks can make sure shops are not allowing people to cheat the system (say putting 10 cans of Dutch gold through as a couple of bags of rice & pasta). Large fines and potentially jail for any shop found facilitating cheating.

    It might be very nanny state but god help us some of the gobsh1tes reared in this country during the Celltic Tiger need the protection of a nanny state. If people don't like it well Dublin Port is that way and there should be a boat at around 1pm.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,933 ✭✭✭Logical Fallacy


    I'm still at a loss to see how someone can be starving in Ireland.

    Aldi does 2kg of spuds for 39c or something for example.
    Even if you only have a few euros a month for grub, its still possible to cook a heap of a feed for buttons.

    And do these people not have relatives or friends?
    If I had someone I knew starving, I'd gladly give them 39c for a bag of spuds.

    EDIT: its now gone up to 65c for 2kg of spuds
    http://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/product_range/product_range_21722.htm

    Well in this case it's most likely an issue with the parent/s.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,638 ✭✭✭Teyla Emmagan


    Spuds alone a stable diet does not make...

    Dunno, shure didn't the whole country survive on spuds back in the olden days. You often hear them called 'Nature's perfect food'. Vitamin C and all!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 93 ✭✭eirn


    Not convinced spuds from Aldi are the answer. Do we really want to get into a situation where poor people in this country are dependent on potatoes? That possibly wouldn't bode well given our history...


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 965 ✭✭✭johnr1


    Dudess wrote: »
    They're neither generous nor "more than enough".

    Subjective matter of opinion ^^^^ but they are enough to provide food on.

    You're just as bad with your automatic blanket defense of welfare recipients as the people who come on here and suggest that the dole should be cut off.

    I've lived and fed myself and driven to work every day for extended periods on about half the standard welfare allowance. I'm a grown man, and in a physical job, I could feed myself very well from Lidl and Aldi on 25 to 35 euro per week.

    Don't try to defend the indefensible, it just devalues your good posts.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Music Moderators, Politics Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 22,424 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dravokivich


    touts wrote: »
    If people don't like it well Dublin Port is that way and there should be a boat at around 1pm.

    And how the fúck is someone ment to get to Dublin from Cork if they can't afford a 65c bag of spuds?


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 13,029 ✭✭✭✭Chuck Stone


    touts wrote: »
    All Children's allowance should be paid in vouchers (or a card system as earlier suggested) that must be spent in Irish shops.


    The vouchers would just become a form of currency for people who wanted to spend them on booze/fags/drugs/gambling.

    Good luck with trying to police such a system without adding another layer of expensive state surveillance and bureaucracy.


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