Ambulance 2018

2018 EMERGENCY SERVICE AND MEDICAL REVIEW

AMBULANCE IRELAND

MEET THE MOUNTIES

BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE RCMP

A LENS ON LIFE

GREG MATTHEWS ON STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

SOLDIER OF PEACE A MUSLIM OFFICER IN THE DEFENCE FORCES

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“We’ll be our own lifesavers.

We’ll get the flu vaccine.”

The flu vaccine is a lifesaver for older people and those with long term health conditions.

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COMMERCIAL PROFILE

SEASONAL FLU VACCINE As we head toward the autumn and winter months, the HSE is calling on people to protect themselves again influenza by getting the seasonal flu vaccine.

I

nfluenza (flu) is a highly infectious acute respiratory illness caused by the flu virus. Flu affects people of all ages, with outbreaks occurring almost every year. Flu symptoms come on suddenly with a fever, muscle aches, headache and fatigue. This is different from a cold which is a much less severe illness compared to flu. A cold usually starts gradually with a sore throat and a blocked or runny nose. Symptoms of a cold are generally mild compared to flu.

In some instances, flu can be severe and can cause serious illness and death.

Serious breathing complications can develop, including pneumonia and bronchitis, to which older people and those with certain chronic medical conditions are particularly susceptible.

Data from the 2016/2017 influenza season shows that, nationally, 1,394 cases of flu were hospitalised and 50 were admitted to ICU. Those aged 65 and older, children under four years of age and those with long term medical conditions and pregnant women are at particular risk.

VACCINATION Each year the seasonal (annual) flu vaccine contains three common flu virus strains. The flu virus changes each year — this is why a new flu vaccine has to be given each year. The best way to prevent flu is to get the flu vaccine. The vaccine is recommended for: • Persons aged 65 and older • Those aged 6 months and older with a long term health condition such

• • • • • • • •

as chronic medical illness requiring regular follow up including chronic cardiovascular, respiratory, hepatic, and neurological disease, diabetes mellitus and haemoglobinopathies Immunosuppression due to illness or treatment, including all cancer patients Down syndrome Morbid obesity i.e. body mass index over 40 Children with moderate to severe neurodevelopmental disorders Children on long term aspirin therapy (risk of Reye’s syndrome) Pregnant women (vaccine can be given at any stage of pregnancy) Residents of nursing homes and other long stay institutions Carers and healthcare workers

Vaccination should ideally be undertaken in late September or October each year. Flu vaccines have been used for more than 60 years worldwide and are very safe. Flu vaccine contains killed or inactivated viruses and therefore cannot cause flu. It does, however, take 10-14 days for the vaccine to start protecting you against flu.

The vaccine and consultation are free to those within the recommended groups who have a medical card or GP visit card. GPs charge a consultation fee for seasonal flu vaccine to those who do not have one of those cards. More information is available from your GP, public health nurse or pharmacist.

Influenza vaccine remains the best protection against influenza and is recommended by all major expert

bodies including the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the National Immunisation Advisory Committee of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.

For further details about flu vaccination, along with answers to any questions you may have about flu, visit www.immunisation.ie.

PNEUMOCOCCAL VACCINE If you are aged 65 or older or have a long term medical condition, you should also ask your doctor about the pneumococcal vaccine, which protects against pneumonia, if you have not previously received it. You can get the flu vaccine at the same time as your pneumococcal vaccine.

AMBULANCE IRELAND

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CONTENTS

03

GETTING IRELAND HEALTHY

EDITOR’S LETTER

17

The Government has launched the 2018 Healthy Ireland programme to boost the nation’s health and well-being.

06

RADICAL REALITIES

21

08

Could Ireland be under threat from Islamic extremism?

The HSE’s National Service Plan for 2018 met with a mixed response.

Conor Forrest caught up with Lt Col. Shahzad Ahmad who discusses his experiences as a medical officer with the Defence Forces.

A PLAN FOR HEALTH

10 REMEMBERING JADOTVILLE

The veterans of the Siege of Jadotville in 1962 have been honoured with a newly-issued medal recognising their service.

Retired Dublin Fire Brigade Station Officer Greg Matthews chats to us about his career and his passion for street photography.

TECHNOLOGY TOOLS

04 IRISH NEWS INTERNATIONAL NEWS

32

24

DUTY CALLS

ELECTRIC 28 GARDAI

Addiction remains a serious problem across the country.

36 38

MEET THE MOUNTIES

We take a closer look at the men and women behind the mythos of the Canadian Mounties and discover more about a thoroughly modern police force.

TRAVEL Tiernan Cannon discusses why the Greek capital of Athens makes for a perfect getaway.

An Garda Síochána is testing a BMW i3 electric vehicle.

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MOTORING Conor Forrest gets behind the wheel of the Volvo XC60 and Volkswagen’s latest Amarok.

51 ADDICTION IN IRELAND

A Lens ON LIFE

30

TACKLING TRAFFICKING

A report from the Department of Justice has outlined the level of human trafficking in Ireland.

BOOKSHELF

SAFETY 55 ROAD UPDATE Last year witnessed a record low for Irish road fatalities, but more can still be done.

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EDITOR’S LETTER Editor: Conor Forrest Contributors: Tiernan Cannon Editorial and Production Manager: Mary Connaughton Creative Director: Jane Matthews Assistant Designer: James Moore Cover credit: Defence Forces Photography: Defence Forces, John Keogh, Trevor Hunt, BMW Ireland, Greg Matthews, RCMP, UN Photo/BZ, iStock, Magirus, AmbuPod, Volvo, Volkswagen Sales Director: Paul Clemenson Production Executive: Claire Kiernan Publisher: Ashville Media Group Park West Industrial Estate, Dublin 12 Tel: (01) 432 2200; Fax: (01) 676 6043 Managing Director: Gerry Tynan Chairman: Diarmaid Lennon Distribution by: Magazine Mailing Ashville Media Group Unit 55, Park West Road, Park West Dublin 12 Tel: (01) 432 2200 Fax: (01) 676 6043 Publisher’s Statement: The information in Ambulance Ireland is carefully researched and believed to be accurate and authoritative, but the publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions. Statements and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Editor or of the publisher.

Copyright ©2018 Ashville Media Group Ltd. No part of this may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.

letter from the

EDITOR W

elcome to the 2018 edition of Ambulance Ireland. As always we bring you the latest news and features covering Ireland’s medical and emergency services sectors, as well as interesting and inspiring stories from around the globe.

Incidents of terrorism perpetrated by Islamic extremists have been witnessed across Europe in recent months, but is Ireland at risk?

Security analyst and former Defence Forces member Declan Power discusses whether an attack could occur on Irish soil and how our emergency services can prepare for the worst.

Remaining with the Defence Forces, I also caught up with Lt Col. Shahzad Ahmad, the first Muslim officer to serve in Ireland’s military. Born in Pakistan and currently serving as a medical officer based in Cathal Brugha Barracks, Lt Col. Ahmad shares his experiences of life in Ireland’s military, the trials and tribulations of overseas missions, and his experiences as a Muslim post 9/11.

Looking abroad, the Mountie is a wellrecognised figure around the globe, thanks to the distinctive peak hat, red tunic and their equine mode of transport. We take a closer look at the men and women behind the mythos and discover more about a thoroughly modern police force. We’ve also got an interview with retired Dublin firefighter Greg Matthews, an award-winning street photographer who captures fascinating aspects of everyday life in our capital.

Elsewhere, An Garda Síochána is making plans to reduce its carbon emissions as part of public sector savings requirements by 2020, adding a BMW i3 electric vehicle to its fleet.

We also take a look at the issue of addiction in modern Irish society, offer some insight into the Government’s Healthy Ireland programme for 2018, and review Volkswagen’s latest Amarok and the tasty Volvo XC60.

Best wishes,

Conor Forrest AMBULANCE IRELAND

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IRISH NEWS

news

The latest in nationwide health, medical and emergency services news.

SUICIDE PREVENTION Minister Byrne noted at the launch. “However, it is in local plans such as this that we can truly witness the power of community collaboration, drawing upon local knowledge, relationships and resources to effectively reach all members within that community.”

“Connecting for Life represents a local articulation of the National Connecting for Life strategy, it is a locally-based, multi-agency response to self-harm and suicide in the communities of Dublin South, Kildare & West Wicklow,” David Walsh, HSE Chief Officer, added. “These action plans represent an honest and intentional effort by local stakeholders to target both resources and actions towards the prevention of suicide in this catchment area.”

PAEDIATRIC TROLLEYS The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has launched a service to track the number of children on hospital trolleys. Children on trolleys is a relatively new phenomenon, though the INMO reports that in the first two weeks of January alone, 73 children were on trolleys in three paediatric hospitals. “Attending hospital is a fearful and anxious experience for children and their families, this can and must be kept to an absolute minimum," said INMO Executive Council Member Catherine Sheridan. "It is simply not acceptable to us that environments that are totally unsuitable are added to this anxiety and fear.”

LUNG CANCER AWARENESS

Minister of State for Health Promotion Catherine Byrne has launched Connecting for Life – Suicide Prevention Action Plans for HSE community healthcare in Dublin South, Kildare, and West Wicklow.

The programme was developed using national and international evidence alongside an extensive public consultation process, resulting in seven strategic goals that have been proven to help reduce suicide.

“Addressing suicidal behaviour means supporting people in many different ways. The Connecting for Life strategy sets out a vision of an Ireland where fewer lives are lost through suicide, and where communities and individuals are empowered to improve their mental health and wellbeing,”

One in three Irish people are unable to name a symptom of lung cancer, according to research conducted by the Global Lung Cancer Coalition.

This lack of awareness is something that the Irish Cancer Society is seriously concerned about – the Society has urged members of the public to use its online lung health checker and then talk about their lung health with their doctor. “The significant drop in awareness of the symptoms of lung cancer is worrying, given that the numbers are only set to increase, particularly amongst women. Alarmingly, female lung cancer cases are projected to increase by at least 77 per cent between 2010 and 2040 and male cases by at least 52 per cent," said Kevin O'Hagan, Cancer Prevention Manager with the Irish Cancer Society, speaking at the launch of Lung Cancer Awareness Month. “1 in 4 lung cancer cases are being diagnosed in emergency departments and many of these are at an advanced stage. Irish people need to get checked if they experience any symptoms and not wait to present as an emergency. Late diagnosis limits your treatment options and reduces your chances of survival.”

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IRISH NEWS

TREATING TEDDY BEARS OPIATE STUDY

This year saw the 13th annual Teddy Bear Hospital take place at NUI Galway, an event involving more than 1,300 sick teddy bears who were admitted for various ailments, accompanied by their primary school-aged minders. Organised by the Sláinte Society, NUI Galway's branch of the International Federation of Medical Students Associations, some 200 medical and science students diagnosed and treated the teddy bears in a bid to make the children feel more comfortable around doctors and hospitals.

“The Teddy Bear hospital is a magical opportunity for the society to invite the children and their teddies to campus and provide a valuable learning experience for all," said Ríona Hughes, NUI Galway's Societies Officer. "It is one of the NUI Galway societies’ most colourful and endearing community outreach programmes and we are thrilled with its success."

HEALTHCARE CAPACITY

RECORD TRANSPLANTS A record number of organ donors and transplants was reached in 2017, according to the Department of Health. Last year was the first in which a milestone of 300 organ transplants was reached, conducted by the transplant teams at Beaumont Hospital, St Vincent's University Hospital and the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital. A total of 149 organs were donated during the same period. “Our message is simple, organ donation saves lives. Thanks to the generosity of 98 families donating the organs of their loved ones, 308 people have received the gift of life through transplant surgery to date in 2017," said Professor Jim Egan, Director of Organ Donation and Transplant Ireland. “The excellent rates of organ donation and transplantation in 2017 reflect the generosity of Irish society.

Most importantly, I acknowledge the courage and generosity of families who have donated their loved one’s organs.”

MURDER INVESTIGATION

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has weighed in on Ireland's healthcare failings. In a statement, it called on the government to recognise that "what we are currently experiencing in our health services is not an ED crisis or a trolley crisis but a system-wide problem of a lack of capacity across every single sector of the health service. What we are seeing in our emergency departments is only the manifestation of the wider problems – and we are now seeing the same problems in other parts of our services as they struggle to cope with capacity and patient demand.” The IMO dismissed a number of solutions proposed, such as cancelling elective procedures or transferring patients to private facilities.

Minister of State for Health Promotion Catherine Byrne has welcomed a study examining the use of opiates in Ireland, which demonstrated a reduction in the number of young people using opiates. However, much more work is needed to tackle Ireland's issues with heroin. “While the results are encouraging, we cannot afford to be complacent.

Ireland remains a country with a relatively large heroin problem," she stated. "At the end of 2016, there were over 9,900 people in methadone treatment, and the report estimates the number of opiate users in 2014 was 18,988. This suggests that a considerable number of opiate users are not currently in treatment.”

The investigation into the murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe is continuing at Dundalk Garda Station. Representatives from the US Homeland Security Investigations team met with the Acting Garda Commissioner in Dundalk in early March.

“Homeland Security Investigations has provided invaluable assistance to An Garda Síochána during the investigation into the murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe,” AGS said in a statement. “An Garda Síochána acknowledges and is grateful for the contribution made by members of the public throughout the last five years of the investigation.

The investigation continues and we again appeal to the public for their assistance in the investigation.”

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

news

Medical and emergency services news from around the world.

RED CROSS CONCLUSION

and would ask for clarity to enable us to offer our members the support required."

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, David Morison, operational lead for the Red Cross ambulance support service in Northern Ireland, noted that their service is no longer ‘financially viable'.

"As a charity, we have a clear responsibility to make the best use of our resources and use them in the most effective and cost-efficient way possible," he explained. "Twenty-three members of staff are impacted by the closure and are currently being supported through this process. We would like to take the opportunity to thank our dedicated staff who have provided a high quality and compassionate service to patients over the past two years."

CREATIVE OUTLET Members of the Hamilton Fire Department in Ohio, USA, have come up with an interesting way to tackle the stresses of the job.

A number of firefighters are training in martial arts – judo and jiujitsu – which provides an outlet and could prove useful in the event of unruly patients. “We needed to find an outlet aside from going out and drinking with the guys or going out late at night, and this is a good way for us to get together and have a little one and one (time) as well as group sessions to get some physical activity, and it is also mentally stimulating learning a new skill,” Bryan Hanna, who has been with the department for 13 years, told the Journal-News.

ALZHEIMER'S PROMISE

The Red Cross is set to close its ambulance service in Northern Ireland in April 2018, according to the GMB trade union. A number of ambulance support personnel are facing redundancy.

“Our members in the Red Cross ambulance service are angry and upset at this devastating decision. These are loyal, skilled and hard-working ambulance staff who are now facing a very unhappy New Year," said GMB organiser Michael Mulholland.

“GMB is incredibly disappointed that Red Cross has failed to respond to our attempts to work with them collectively over recent months and concern for the future employment of our members who have assisted in delivering such a high-quality service in Northern Ireland. We are further concerned about the process of consultation

A potential cure or treatment for Alzheimer's disease suffered a setback at the beginning of 2018 when pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced that it would cease its research into related drugs. In a statement, the company said that "We have made the decision to end our neuroscience discovery and early development efforts and re-allocate funding to those areas where we have strong scientific leadership and that will allow us to provide the greatest impact for patients." However, a range of organisations and companies around the world continue to search for a solution, with some emerging accidentally. Lancaster University researchers who developed a drug for type 2 diabetes have found that it "significantly reversed memory loss" in mice. “With no new treatments in nearly 15 years, we need to find new ways of tackling Alzheimer’s," said Dr Doug Brown, Director of Research and Development at Alzheimer's Society. “It’s imperative that we explore whether drugs developed to treat other conditions can benefit people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. This approach to research could make it much quicker to get promising new drugs to the people who need them.”

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

TOBACCO CONTROL developing countries. The report, using statistics from a 2016 study, states that if all countries raised excise taxes

by US$0.80 per pack, global excise revenues could increase by 47 per cent. Tobacco control remains a key component of WHO’s global response to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like cardiovascular disease, cancers and diabetes, which result in the premature deaths of around 16 million people each year.

“This report shows how lives can be saved and economies can prosper when governments implement costeffective, proven measures, like significantly increasing taxes and prices on tobacco products, and banning tobacco marketing and smoking in public,” said Dr Douglas Bettcher, WHO Director for the Prevention of NCDs.

DIVING DEEP

According to a landmark report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the National Cancer Institute of the United States of America, policies to control tobacco use, such as taxes and price increases, can provide ‘significant’ government revenues that can be used for health and development work, such as vastly decreasing tobacco consumption and reducing the numbers of people who fall sick or die from illnesses like cancers and heart disease.

However, the report also warns that should the tobacco industry be left unchecked, world economies face annual costs of US$1 trillion in healthcare spending and lost productivity. Around 6 million people per year die from tobacco-related conditions, with most of these living in

REUNITING FAMILIES years. Conflict is becoming increasingly protracted and the world is currently seeing the largest movement of people since the Second World War: these factors are increasing the risk of families losing contact,” said Matt Clancy, ICRC spokesperson.

“Reuniting families is as important to the humanitarian mission as providing food or shelter or water. It is about restoring people’s dignity and reconnecting them with the people they love. Moreover, in situations of armed conflicts, family reunification is a right under international law.”

FATAL FIRES

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said that the number of families separated by natural disasters, conflict or violence has reached a five-year high. New cases of relatives contacting the ICRC to be reunited with loved ones increased by 90 per cent between 2012 and 2016. 18,000 cases were opened in 2017 alone, and over 15,000 children are currently missing.

“The pain of losing a child is every parent’s worst nightmare, but for families affected by conflict, violence or natural disaster it is a stark reality that can last for

Similar to how submarines reflect sonar, scientists at the California Institute of Technology have engineered bacterial cells that can reflect sound waves from inside human bodies. The aim is to inject therapeutic bacteria into a patient’s body and then use ultrasound machines to ensure the treatments are working properly.

“We are engineering the bacterial cells so they can bounce sound waves back to us and let us know their location, the way a ship or submarine scatters sonar when another ship is looking for it,” said Mikhail Shapiro, assistant professor of chemical engineering. “We want to be able to ask the bacteria, ‘Where are you and how are you doing?’

The first step is to learn to visualise and locate the cells, and the next step is to communicate with them.”

The majority of fatal fires in London are started by ‘discarded cigarettes, matches and lighters’, according to London Fire Brigade’s annual fire data review. While the overall level of fires decreased, the brigade remains concerned about the level of fatalities and injuries from preventable incidents.

“Last year, there were around 11 smoking-related fires per week and at least one smoking-related fire fatality every month. These are often small fires started when people have fallen asleep smoking or have been drinking and smoking,” said Tom George, Director of Operations.

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HEALTHCARE

National Service Plan

A PLAN FOR HEALTH

The HSE has launched its National Service Plan for 2018, to mixed reviews. We take a look at what’s planned for Irish health services this year.

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reland’s Health Service Executive (HSE) has come under stinging criticism in recent years, particularly in relation to the effective use of large sums of government funding, the delivery of key services, and the number of patients on trolleys around the country.

Change is often promised by successive governments and Ministers of Health,

and yet that much-needed evolution seems to be occurring at a glacial pace.

According to the HSE’s annual National Service Plan, launched in December 2017, a number of measures will be taken in 2018 to improve the delivery of health services in Ireland.

Three priorities have been identified – improving value within existing services, improving value in non-direct

service areas, and improving overall strategic value.

Working with a budget of €14.5 billion – an increase of €608 million (4.4 per cent) on 2017 – the plan will see an investment of €9m in paediatric/ adolescent orthopaedic services, €25m to support the primary care sector including GP training, therapies and community nursing, €15m for mental

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HEALTHCARE

RESPONSE Increased funding for healthcare is always a welcome prospect, but the reaction to the plan hasn’t been positive across the board, with opposition parties and several health organisations airing their criticism following its launch. The HSE itself (in the report) outlined a number of challenges that could impact its ability to deliver its service aims, such as volumes that go beyond its funding capabilities, meeting the costs of new drugs, or investing in and maintaining infrastructure. Others have highlighted a need to focus on strategy and moving the health service forward rather than simply throwing funding at certain programmes or service areas.

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has warned of a deterioration in waiting lists, the number of patients on trolleys and the quality of the service provided in 2018 despite a rise in

spending. Responding to the plan, IMO President Dr Ann Hogan was critical of a focus on the amounts being allocated rather than how best to meet increasing levels of demand.

“A service plan should detail how the HSE proposes to meet the rising demand for essential health services, not try to distract the public by focussing on the amounts of money it proposes to spend,” she stated. “The reality is that the budget set aside for health [in 2018] will not cover existing demand levels not to mind address the gap in crucial services between demand and supply.”

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) also described its disappointment at a plan that it says “falls short of meeting the growing demands of the public health services”, citing the need to recruit more nurses and midwives. “The Service Plan will be cold comfort for nurses and midwives at work this evening as their workloads will continue to grow without specific resource building measures being identified, or funded, by the HSE,” said INMO General Secretary Designate Phil Ni Sheaghdha at the time.

However, Director General Tony O’Brien has maintained that the HSE is taking a ‘new direction’. O’Brien noted that the need to shift Ireland’s health service focus from treatment and cures to prevention and treatment when required has been highlighted for a number of years.

“The challenges referenced in this service plan are recognised fully in the recent Sláintecare, which signals a new direction of travel in relation to eligibility, delivery, and funding of health and social care in Ireland into the future,” he stated, referencing the government’s ten-year strategy for Ireland’s healthcare and health policy strategy. “The cross-party support for Sláintecare presents a huge opportunity and, appropriately resourced and governed, it has the potential to transform the health and wellbeing of the population, and how and where they access services. In this context, therefore, 2018 provides a powerful opportunity to create much needed strategic certainty for the

health and social care delivery system in Ireland. We are committed to working with Government to develop an implementation plan for Sláintecare.

An appropriately governed transitional fund to ensure that necessary strategic repositioning of services is achieved will be critical to success.”

For his part, Minister Harris has promised a more accessible and highquality service. “Today’s health service faces many challenges, not least those of a growing population and an ageing population with public expectations for quality services continuing to increase,” he said at the launch of the Plan. “The HSE, with support from my Department, will work hard to meet those challenges and deliver on the promise of a high-quality service, accessible to all.”

Time will tell as to whether it truly makes any difference.

The HSE has outlined five key aims it hopes to achieve as part of the 2018 Plan: • Promoting health and wellbeing as part of everything it does to boost people’s health.

• Provide fair, equitable and timely access to safe health services of a high standard.

HEALTH PLAN GOALS

health services, and €10m for respite care. With an increasingly ageing population, investment has also been earmarked for older people – €32m for extra home support, transitional care and beds in rehabilitation centres.

Prescription charges have been reduced from €2.50 per item to €2 with an overall monthly cap of €20, and cancer services across the country will receive a total of €5.5m. For those on the frontline, the National Ambulance Service (NAS) has been allocated €2.75m to recruit and train paramedics, expand its aeromedical services and implement a clinical hub.

“The plan is based on an increased budget of over €600m compared to 2017 and brings the total HSE budget to over €14.5 billion. It represents the fourth year in a row where significant additional resources have been allocated to the health services,” said Minister for Health Simon Harris.

“This gives us the opportunity to continue to improve services for our patients and for the public. This Service Plan is aimed at ensuring we deliver a high quality and safe health service in 2018 for all our patients, both young and old.”

• Foster an honest, transparent, compassionate and accountable culture.

• Engage, develop and value the healthcare sector’s workforce with the aim of delivering the best possible services.

• Effectively manage resources to maximise health outcomes, improve service experiences, and demonstrate value for money.

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DEFENCE FORCES

Members of the Defence Forces photographed en route to Elizabethville, December 1961. Photo: UN Photo/BZ.

JADOTVILLE REMEMBERED The veterans of the Siege of Jadotville in 1962 have been honoured with the newly-issued An Bonn Jadotville, recognising the courage and bravery of their actions in the Congo.

Conor Forrest delves a little deeper into the events of the siege and how these men were treated when they returned home.

E

arly on the morning of September 9th 1962, 150 Irish soldiers on a peacekeeping mission with the United Nations found themselves surrounded in the town of Jadotville, in the southeast of today’s Democratic Republic of Congo. Lightly armed and heavily outnumbered, the soldiers faced several days of relentless assaults and a desperate fight for their lives.

What became known as the Siege of Jadotville had its roots in the country’s successful bid to gain independence from Belgium in June 1960. Things quickly went south just

one week after the end of colonial rule – sections of the army mutinied, violence broke out between the white and black population, and two parts of the country seceded with the support of Belgium.

UN peacekeepers landed the following month in a bid to help maintain law and order, expanding their presence in early 1961 after the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the newly independent country’s first Prime Minister. And, in September 1961, UN SecretaryGeneral Dag Hammarskjöld authorised Operation Morthor, a military intervention against renegade units operating in the secessionist state of Katanga, a resource-rich province that became locked in a civil war with the country’s central government. The UN’s mandated approach was one of neutrality, but Katanga’s leadership believed otherwise. Questions have since been raised about the influence of politics in military decisions throughout the UN’s presence in the Congo in the early sixties.

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DEFENCE FORCES

Two companies – one Swedish and one Irish – had already been withdrawn (for reasons unknown) from the Katangan town of Jadotville when the soldiers of A Company, 35th Infantry Battalion arrived under the command of Commandant Pat Quinlan, clad in bull’s wool uniforms and hobnailed boots. Tasked with protecting the population around the strategic mining town, they quickly realised that local sentiment was very much against the UN troops. In an act of foresight, Commdt. Quinlan ordered defensive measures be taken around the base, with water stockpiled and trenches dug around the perimeter.

What was supposed to be a simple mission soon descended into chaos.

Early on the morning of September 13th, A Company was surrounded by between 3,000 and 5,000 Katangese forces – battle-hardened mercenaries, Belgian settlers, and Baluba warriors who had ambushed and killed 9 members of a Defence Forces platoon at the Luweyeye River. Private (later Sergeant) Bill Ready was on guard duty that morning – several hours later he held the ignominious distinction of being the first Irish soldier to be injured during the siege. Over the following days they held out against almost continuous attacks from ground and air, armed with just a few personal weapons, two armoured cars with machine guns, and a number of 60mm mortars. Soldiers wondered if they would survive the bombardment. A chaplain administered the last rites.

Efforts to reach the surrounded company were unsuccessful but A Company wasn’t deterred, with Commdt. Quinlan organising what has been described as one of the best examples of a perimeter defence, slowing the advance of the attackers.

At one point they radioed the UN headquarters in Elizabethville, saying “We will hold out until our last bullet is spent. Could do with some whiskey.”

Several ceasefires were negotiated with the town’s mayor in order to

Lightly armed and heavily outnumbered, the soldiers faced six days of relentless assaults and a desperate fight for their lives. bring in supplies or reinforcements, but they didn’t pan out. At one point, water was flown in by helicopter but was contaminated by containers that had previously stored petrol.

Running low on supplies and without clear orders, A Company was forced to surrender, spending a month as hostages. They were finally released on October 25th, going on to see active combat several weeks later before returning home in December. Although five were wounded, against all odds and thanks to superior tactics, A Company didn’t suffer a single fatality. On the other side, around 300 were killed and more than 1,000 injured.

“I don’t know to this day how we did it,” John Gorman, a 17-yearold private during the siege, told Time magazine in 2016. “But Quinlan was a master tactician.”

BACK HOME The events of those days were recently dramatised in The Siege of Jadotville, a Netflix film released in 2016 with actor Jamie Dornan at the helm as Commdt. Quinlan.

However, these men weren’t always seen as heroes. After their arrival home and during the following decades, little recognition was given to the Siege of Jadotville and those who fought in it. Commdt. Quinlan recommended medals for a number of his men, though none were awarded for their part in the siege.

Some may have felt the Defence Forces’ involvement in a siege that led to surrender and soldiers taken captive was an embarrassment.

“One of the legacies of it in the

Defence Forces was that you were on one side or the other. Those who fought, and those that were connected to them, thought they had been heroic. Quinlan’s leadership and tactics undoubtedly saved their lives,” former Defence Forces member and security analyst Declan Power wrote in The Siege at Jadotville: The Irish Army’s Forgotten Battle.

“The greater army in general, however, ran between feeling they had been cowardly [by surrendering] to a feeling of ‘let’s forget about it, surrender is not a word we want associated with the Defence Forces on their first international foray’.

There was a certain overly prickly defensiveness. There was nothing on paper that ever condemned them, but the incident was quietly forgotten.”

That never sat right with the soldiers and their families, some of whom began a campaign for recognition that lasted decades. In recent years, further light has been shed on the extraordinary story that took place more than five decades ago, thanks to the work of individuals like John Gorman. After a long campaign, then Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea agreed to review the battle in 2004, with a commemorative plaque in their honour unveiled in Athlone’s Custume Barracks the following year, several years after the death of Comdt. Quinlan. The 2016 Netflix film, based on Declan Power’s book, brought the story of what happened in Jadotville to a much wider audience – Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos described it as “one of the great stories of the 20th century.”

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DEFENCE FORCES

Left: The Jadotville memorial at Custume Barracks.

Above: The medal presentation. Right: An Bonn Jadotville.

Photos courtesy Defence Forces.

“I would like to draw your attention to the words on the medal that you will soon receive,” he said at the ceremony. “The words state ‘Cosaint Chalma’ (Valiant Defence) and ‘Misneach’ (Courage). These words were carefully chosen in order to pay tribute to the courageous actions of the men of A Company.”

The unit citation, awarded to A Company, 35th Infantry Battalion, reads as follows:

BRAVERY RECOGNISED

That same year, a unit citation – the first in the history of the State – was awarded to A Company by the Irish government, a long overdue recognition of the achievement and sacrifices of the soldiers who fought at Jadotville, the majority of whom were stationed in Athlone. The citation was presented by Minister for State Paul Kehoe, who recognised the courage and bravery of those who served in Jadotville and many other peacekeeping missions.

“Ireland can be justifiably proud of all our brave men and women who have contributed to the cause of peace and security,” he said. “Our continued participation in United Nations missions illustrates the very positive and practical difference that small countries, like Ireland, can make in the world’s trouble spots.”

In October 2017, former Taoiseach Enda Kenny unveiled a plaque

in honour of Comdt. Quinlan at Coomakista Pass in Co. Kerry. And, at a ceremony held in Athlone two month later, the surviving veterans of A Company, 35th Infantry Battalion – alongside the families of deceased members – were presented with the newly-issued An Bonn Jadotville medal, in recognition of the courage of those soldiers.

“The retelling of the events at Jadotville does not and cannot reflect the incredible reality of what happened during the siege and its aftermath,” Minister Kehoe stated at the medal presentation. “It can only briefly suggest the courage you showed in your willingness to act and the bravery displayed in your every actions. Despite the overwhelming numbers opposing them, the men of ‘A’ company retained their resolve and remained unshaken during the attack.”

The medal features a combination of the Irish tricolour and the United Nations Operation in the Congo mission medal, and depicts a member of the Fianna with a sword and shield.

The words surrounding the medal, Minister Kehoe explained, were chosen with care.

“This Citation recognises the leadership, courage, bravery and professional performance of “A” Company 35th Infantry Battalion and its attachments who, under challenging circumstances at Jadotville, while besieged by overwhelming numbers of Katanganese Gendarmerie and cutoff from support and reinforcements, did valiantly defend their position from the 13th September 1961 to 17th September 1961.”

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26/02/2018 15/01/2018 10:40 06/10/2016 08:59 17:24

ADDICTION

TACKLING IRELAND’S ADDICTIONS Addiction to a variety of substances and behaviours remains a serious problem for modern Ireland.

I

recently picked up a copy of Dublin GAA star Philly McMahon’s book The Choice. McMahon’s debút might open with a hairtingling recollection of Dublin’s dramatic All-Ireland triumph over Kerry in 2011, but this is not your run-of-the-mill GAA memoir. There’s plenty about sport, of course, given how much of a role it has played in his life – playing for local side Ballymun Kickhams, going on trial at Nottingham Forest, breaking into the Dublin team. But at its core it’s a tale of two brothers and the choices they made that led them down two very different paths – Philly to business and Croke Park, his older brother John to addiction.

“Heroin destroyed my brother’s life,” he writes. John was 14 when he took his first hit, by no means an exception in an area plagued by drugs.

Addiction, or the results of certain behavioural or chemical dependencies, is something that Ireland’s emergency services come into contact with every day. Alcohol and drug dependency remains a major problem for Irish society, with substance abuse rising significantly over the past decade, especially among the younger population. According to Alcohol Action Ireland, our consumption trebled between 1960 and 2001, with around 75 per cent of alcohol consumed as part of binge drinking (three or more beers or six

or more measures of spirits in one sitting). Figures from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drugs Addiction have shown that Ireland’s drug mortality rate is three times the European average. Clearly we, as a country, have an issue.

However, addiction also takes many forms beyond substance abuse, including unhealthy obsessions with food, sex, shopping, work or even exercise. These days many addictions are fed by technology – people with gambling issues don’t have to leave the comfort of their own homes to get their fix, while video games have also been recognised as having addictive qualities, with countless hours sunk into digital worlds. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that ‘Gaming Disorder’ will be listed as part of the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), although it has

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ADDICTION

The causes of addiction are still relatively unknown, though it’s thought to be a combination of biological, psychological and social factors. faced some criticism. Smart devices themselves have become something of an addiction (the jury is still out for many), with two of Apple’s investors recently calling on the company to develop measures to prevent children from using its technology excessively.

AT THE ROOT The causes of addiction are still relatively unknown, though it’s thought to be a combination of biological, psychological and social factors. One theory proposed by Texas A&M University professor Brian Anderson suggests that we’re all ‘wired’ for addictive behaviours, in that we will automatically ‘direct our attention to learned predictors of reward’. One of the features of drug addiction is an attentional bias towards drug cues – drug-related stimuli.

“Attentional bias is a tendency to direct your attention to something even when it conflicts with your goals, making it difficult to ignore,” says Anderson, who specialises in cognitive neuroscience. “A drug cue is something that serves as a predictive

cue for the experience of the drug.

An example would be a syringe in the case of an injectable drug, or a bong in the case of a drug that is inhaled.”

However, much more is still to be discovered about how addiction works, and why some people may be predisposed to addictive behaviours while others may not. Every so often news breaks of a potential cure for various addictions – a nasal spray that blocks the production of dopamine in gambling addicts, or an off-switch for a protein that’s thought to cause a craving for cocaine.

For now, the focus remains on reactive measures. There have been some moves made by government in this area, particularly with regard to substance abuse. Last year, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar launched a policy to tackle drug and alcohol use between 2017 and 2025, aimed at treating substance abuse and drug addiction as a public health issue rather than a criminal justice issue. The Public Health (Alcohol) Bill has passed through the Seanad, a milestone for legislation that aims to tackle heavy alcohol consumption through measures including minimum unit pricing, strict labelling and restrictions on how alcohol can be advertised and sponsored. Gambling firms could face a levy that would fund addiction treatment. A pilot supervised injection centre is also due to open in Dublin at some stage this year, having initially been expected towards the end of 2017. The subject of strong debate since the idea was introduced, it’s hoped that the centre, which will be operated by Merchants Quay Ireland, could reduce the impact of issues such as drug-related litter and overdoses by providing sterile equipment and trained staff on-hand.

“This is a significant public health development in Ireland allowing a marginalised group of society, injecting drug users who may be homeless, to access a harm reduction service that will improve their health, access them into a range of medical and social services, and contribute towards a reduction in

drug related deaths,” Dr Eamon Keenan, National Clinical Lead, HSE Addiction Services, said.

Focusing on addiction as a public health issue is undoubtedly the way forward. It’s not that addiction should be ‘tolerated’ or viewed as something that’s inevitable, but it’s a more effective means of dealing with the issue.

“For the ideal of a Republic of Opportunity to be meaningful, it must apply to all,” Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said at the launch of the Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery strategy last year. “Treating substance abuse and drug addiction as a public health issue, rather than a criminal justice issue, helps individuals, helps families, and helps communities. It reduces crime because it rebuilds lives. So it helps all of us.”

But there is plenty more that can be done, not least of all ensuring that addiction services across the country are properly funded. The onus often still lies at the individual level, in family members, friends or the person themselves recognising the symptoms of addiction (such as shame and guilt, withdrawing from relationships, mood swings, or health issues such as blood pressure or liver disease), and taking the necessary steps to seek or recommend help. An acknowledgement from the addict of their problem is key in kick-starting the recovery process, as well as the necessary resources and mindset.

“Addiction can and does affect all types of families and communities – we need to challenge the perception that exists that addiction only happens to someone else because that will actually prevent a person or their family asking for help,” Maebh Leahy, CEO of the Rutland Centre, told The Irish Times during Recovery Month 2017. “If we can open up the conversation about addiction, and let people know that there is no judgement and that recovery is possible, then it may help more families who are currently living in situations from which they see no escape.”

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COMMERCIAL PROFILE

TACKLING ADDICTION The Rutland Centre is at the forefront of treating addiction in Ireland.

E

stablished in 1978, the Rutland Centre has a long heritage in the treatment of addiction in Ireland.

Over 400 people per annum pass through its doors for addiction treatment across all its programmes, many of whom are professionals who are being treated for a range of addictions including alcohol, drugs (prescribed or otherwise), gambling, sex, and eating disorders.

Governed by a voluntary Board of Directors, the Rutland Centre is a registered charity whose mission is to provide services for the treatment of addiction. The centre employs approximately 24 people on a part-time and full-time basis, comprising a multi-disciplinary team of psychologists, psychotherapists, addiction counsellors and nursing staff. The clinical team is supported by a confidential and experienced administration team. It is vital that those involved in clinical service delivery in particular keep up-to-date with training and developments in their field. The Centre is also currently compliant with CHKS standards.

ADDICTION IN IRELAND Last September, the Rutland Centre announced details of the trends in addiction that it has experienced at the Centre. The details were announced as part of Recovery Month, the Rutland Centre’s annual awareness month devoted to strengthening families and communities by providing them with the necessary information and support structures to recover from addiction.

The month comprises workshops and seminars for people affected by addiction and their families. In 2017, Recovery Month was officially launched by the Minister for Health

Kenneth Egan, Maebh Leahy, Minister Simon Harris and Dr Erika Ruigrok at the launch of Recovery Month 2017.

and Children, Simon Harris TD, and Olympic silver medallist Kenneth Egan.

At the launch, the Rutland Centre revealed that alcohol is still the leading addiction affecting people in Ireland, with 91 per cent of those who attended the Rutland Centre in 2016 doing so for the treatment of alcohol addiction. At the time of their treatment, 58 per cent of these were in employment.

“These figures demonstrate that addiction does not discriminate. We see people from all walks of life and all professions at the Rutland Centre.

We encourage everyone to be aware of the signs of addiction amongst their colleagues and in particular to look out for their fellow colleagues during times of stress and pressure,” said Maebh Leahy, Chief Executive at the Rutland Centre, noting that the Rutland Centre is supporting the introduction of the Public Health and Alcohol Bill.

In addition to alcohol, the Rutland Centre has also reported an increase in those presenting with other addictions, such as drugs, gambling, sex, and food addictions. In all cases, the signs and symptoms can be similar

and include a preoccupation with the addictive behaviour, shame and guilt related to the activity but doing it anyway, withdrawing from family, friends or colleagues to engage in the activity, or being unable to stop despite best efforts.

HELPING HAND The Rutland Centre team believes that addiction does not respect any social status, title, career, profession, age or gender. There is no shame or judgement in seeking treatment, and there are many supports available for family members which are really valuable. Recovery is possible for everyone and it’s never too late or too early to seek help.

FURTHER INFORMATION If you are concerned about yourself, a friend or a family member, please contact the Rutland Centre on 01 494 6358, email info@rutlandcentre.ie or visit www.rutlandcentre.ie.

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HEALTHY IRELAND

GETTING IRELAND HEALTHY The Government has launched the 2018 Healthy Ireland programme in a bid to boost our nation’s health and wellbeing.

A

lthough Ireland’s financial health is said to be on the rise, the mental and physical wellbeing of the nation still has quite a bit to go. According to a study by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, published in The Lancet medical journal last October, nearly one-third of Irish children are overweight.

Overall, some 62 per cent of people are classified as either overweight or obese and the number of those over the age of 15 who regularly take part in sport has also fallen somewhat in recent years.

Cancer incidence rates are quite high, and mental health issues continue to afflict thousands of people, many of whom face difficulties in accessing services.

Among the measures being taken by the government is the launch of the 2018 Healthy Ireland campaign, which aims to encourage people to make healthier choices to improve their mental and physical health. It seeks to build on the work already done by Healthy Ireland over the last few years in tackling major public health challenges such as obesity, smoking and physical inactivity. Three key areas will be focused on – eating healthier food, increasing physical activity and placing more of an emphasis on our mental wellbeing. Choosing to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, opting for

Among the measures being taken by the government is the launch of the 2018 Healthy Ireland campaign, which aims to encourage people to make healthier choices to improve their mental and physical health.

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HEALTHY IRELAND

health, protecting the public from threats to their health and wellbeing, and creating an environment that allows all stakeholders to play their part, including individuals.

“Healthy Ireland is about increasing our focus on prevention and supporting people to improve their own health and wellbeing,” said Minister for Health Simon Harris. “This campaign will help support the work to implement the various policies and plans we have developed to address key public health challenges such as obesity and physical inactivity. Healthy Ireland recognises that it’s not just the job of the health sector to improve the health of the nation – it’s a job for everyone, every Government department and every sector playing their part in a partnership approach.”

For more information, see www.gov.ie/healthyireland

• Life expectancy has increased by approx. 2.5 years since 2006.

• Live births have fallen in number year-on-year since 2009.

MOVING FORWARD Running a campaign with laudable goals is only the first step in improving the health of the nation. A person’s health and mental wellbeing is a complex combination of factors ranging from where they were born and grew up to the influence of their parents, education and income. Making wholesale lifestyle changes can be a difficult process – finding the time to get active among myriad responsibilities, knowing where to purchase healthy food on a very limited budget, or simply overcoming a lifetime of habits.

“This campaign has huge potential to get into homes in every community and

• The population of those aged 65+ has increased by 34.3 per cent since 2008.

KEY TRENDS

the stairs instead of the lift, or taking a break from technology are all small but positive changes that can add up to a much healthier lifestyle.

“The Government will do its part by ensuring departments prioritise health and wellbeing. And I’m encouraging everyone to get involved by making the small changes needed to improve your health and your family’s health,” Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said at the launch. “That could mean including a walk in your daily routine, making healthier choice at meal times or taking a break from your phone to give your mental health a boost. These positive and sustainable changes can help us all build a healthy Ireland.”

The benefits of an increasingly healthy population are clear, including a more productive society and reducing the strain on an already burdened public health service. Long waiting lists and large numbers of patients on hospital trolleys dominated media coverage of the health service throughout 2017; a surge in Aussie flu cases in January 2018 placed huge pressure on hospitals across the country.

Healthy Ireland envisions a country where “everyone can enjoy physical and mental health and wellbeing to their full potential, where wellbeing is valued and supported at every level of society and is everyone’s responsibility”.

Four high-level goals are set out to help achieve this – increasing the number of people who are healthy throughout their life, reducing inequalities in

help individuals and families make those changes that people want to make, but which everyday struggles make harder to do,” said Minister for Health Promotion Catherine Byrne. “By tapping into existing partner initiatives and supports, we can work together to deliver clear, consistent messages and resources which will have an impact on the health of families and communities for the rest of their lives”.

Small steps are key, and there are some signs that the Healthy Ireland initiative, which is set to run until 2025, is making progress. Strides have been made against smoking in particular – it was recently reported that the number of former smokers has surpassed those currently smoking and continues to rise.

“The message of the Government’s Healthy Ireland 2018 campaign is simple; small steps can make a big difference to your health, you just need to start,” said Leo Varadkar. “And while this may not always be easy, when you do make the healthy choice, it’s always the right one.”

• Average national ambulance response time is 18 minutes and 59 seconds or less.

• Total public health expenditure rose to €15.4 billion in 2017.

Figures from Health in Ireland: Key Trends 2017, Department of Health

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TERRORISM AND IRELAND

RADICAL REALITY: IRELAND’S TERROR THREAT The threat from radical Islamic terrorism appears to have grown stronger in recent months, with several high profile locations across Europe the subject of terrorist attacks throughout 2017. But is Ireland at risk from extremists?

Conor Forrest spoke with security analyst Declan Power to discover more.

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mong the usual revellers, musicians, organisers and traders, 2017’s Electric Picnic festival in Stradbally, Co Laois featured an unusual sight – armed gardaí patrolling the grounds in a bid to guard against any potential terror attacks.

It is, as Harry Styles might croon, a sign of the times. Over the last few years, radical Islamic violence has increased across the continent of Europe – in 2017 alone some 96 people have lost their lives during terror attacks in Stockholm, Manchester, London, Paris, Istanbul

and Barcelona. Events across the continent are on high alert, with increased security measures deployed to ensure participants’ safety. Thus far, Ireland has escaped the rage of Islamic extremists but, in the wake of attacks not too far from our borders, our preparations are under continuous review, identifying potential risks, stepping up surveillance of known individuals, and putting measures in place to leap into action should the worst happen.

Our country is no stranger to terrorist activities from militant republicanism and unionism, but this is a different story. While the IRA was mainly active in Ireland and the UK, Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for attacks across the globe, from Berlin to Baghdad. Their targets are global,

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TERRORISM AND IRELAND

OPENING IMAGE, ABOVE and RIGHT: Scenes from a recent mass casualty exercise in Dublin.

Photos courtesy John Keogh and Trevor Hunt (Dublin Fire Brigade).

wherever ‘disbelievers’ live, often recruiting young and impressionable men and women who have grown up in the West but are swayed by a corrupted view of their faith. But are we in Ireland, a tiny country on the edge of Europe, really under threat of attack from Islamic extremists?

“I would describe it more as ‘possible’ but not highly likely,” explains independent security analyst Declan Power, formerly of the Defence Forces and author of The Siege of Jadotville. “The reason I say that is – and people tend to get a little bit hysterical about these things – you’ve got to look at it from the point of view of the terrorist.

And not just any terrorist, but today’s iteration of terrorism as we see from the world of the Islamic extremist.”

Power differentiates between the modus operandi of the Provisional IRA and Islamic extremists, describing the strategies of the latter as ‘not as thought out’. He notes that IS – whose foundations lie in the Salafist and Wahhabi movements within Islam – pursues a strategy of motivating young and relatively uneducated Western European Muslims with a less in-depth awareness of their Islamic faith to carry out attacks on the continent.

Nor is there one solitary army council dictating the activities of Islamic extremists across the world. Some are individuals who have been radicalised but can’t reach the battlefields of the Middle East and instead use their own initiative to plan and carry out lone wolf attacks, like those already seen in Britain or France.

“They don’t have the skillset in terms of planning, coordination, or the detailed knowledge to manufacture munitions [that] the likes of the IRA would have been able to do. So they’re going for targets that are high profile, that are very visible, but that they are able to maximise the amount of terror from ordinary elements such as knives, hammers, using a vehicle the way they used it in London and Barcelona.

The prime thing they will always look for is visibility and traction in the international media. And that will determine their target,” he explains.

“That means that we would not be off the list, but that there are other targets that would give them that in greater amounts. As long as they can get to them we will be further down the list.

But the reality has to be taken into account that, as other jurisdictions lock down those opportunities, at some stage it’s highly likely that they could manifest and attack in Ireland.”

RESPONSE With such eventualities on the horizon, it falls to the powers that be to organise and prepare Ireland’s defences – mainly An Garda Síochána’s Emergency Response Unit (ERU) and the Defence Forces’ Army Ranger Wing (ARW). It’s a thorny issue as there’s only so much preparation that can be done to cope with a terrorist attack like the Manchester Arena bombing. Power describes such attacks as ‘insidious’, often carried out by people who have been born and reared in that country, or who have lived there long enough to fade into the background.

“The problem is that they’re not people that are seeking to infiltrate, they’re already well-embedded in our society,” he notes. “And the chances are that they probably became embedded long before they were radicalised. In that situation, you can’t entirely blame any security, law enforcement or intelligence entity for not picking up on them.”

Ireland’s emergency services are indeed preparing for a mass casualty event, including conducting training exercises that explore potential scenarios and identify strengths and weaknesses. For example, Dublin Fire Brigade recently hosted a mass casualty incident exercise in Dublin city, simulating a terrorist attack along the Luas line at Broadstone, testing the efficacy and timeliness of their response alongside the Garda ERU and ARU and others. Power has called in the past for the ERU and the ARW to train together and notes that inter-agency exercises are a step in the right direction.

“What we need to see are interagency exercises. By that I mean Garda, Defence Forces, fire brigade, other emergency responders all being fitted into the jigsaw as appropriate, for them all to get a sense of the chaos and terror that something like this can bring about... it’s only until you walk through it that you get a sense of what you do that’s right, what you do that’s wrong, and that you sensitise your people,” he explains. “It’s going to be chaotic and difficult enough if something like that does happen, but if you have a plan in place that you have wargamed out and then better again

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TERRORISM AND IRELAND if you have actually exercised it, just like a fire drill – a simple thing like a fire drill is about sensitising people to be able to react without panicking to a life-threatening situation. And it’s that concept, only a bit more complex and larger, that we need to be engendering within our State services.”

I ask Power about the potential for a national security and intelligence agency, a matter raised in the Dáil in 2017 by TD Micheál Martin, with calls from some quarters to essentially create an Irish FBI. Power believes that the creation of an entirely new entity would be counterproductive, instead proposing an office that would coordinate the work of the Garda Crime and Security Branch (formerly C3) and the Directorate of Military Intelligence (also known as G2), complemented by external experts who could bridge the gap between the two agencies and bring outside knowledge of geopolitics and other issues for more comprehensive analysis. “What I would suggest is a coordinating function at national level that would have a direct line reporting to Justice and An Taoiseach, and be able to brief cogently and be able to make sense of information in a timely fashion,” he says, adding that an official policy framework with regards to State security and intelligence matters would provide very clear lines of demarcation for the various agencies on the ground.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT The ability to respond to a terrorist incident with fire and fury is undoubtedly important, but there are also opportunities to combat the threat from extremism that go far beyond and deeper than drilling for potential attacks – preventative measures that take place in the heart of the community. Community leaders can be considered as frontline soldiers in the battle against extremism – gardaí, teachers, religious leaders, community activists and local politicians all have their role to play in working against homegrown

extremism. Such moves are already underway with varying degrees of success in An Garda Síochána – the Garda Racial, Intercultural and Diversity Unit has been building ties with Ireland’s Muslim community and its leaders in recent years. These links are important at a local level, whether through policing, education or sports, providing an avenue for someone within that community to highlight concerns they may have about particular individuals, which can then be filtered up for an appropriate response. “We have a good relationship with Muslim followers who provide valuable information which is helping to curb the threat of Ireland being used as a hub for jihadist terrorists. In particular, the women in the community are very vocal if they become suspicious of any activity,” Garda Sgt. David McInerney, head of the unit, told The Irish Times last year.

“They are the first to notice if a young person who may be vulnerable for whatever reason is being preyed upon as a potential target to become radicalised.”

To further the potential of this information network, Power highlights the need for more relevant training to be provided across the board, including for gardaí. “It’s one thing to be reaching out and establishing lines of communication with local imams etc., but are these officers being schooled and trained in the subtleties?” he asks of the Diversity Unit. “Do they know the

difference between the Shia and Sunni Muslim religion? Do they understand the significance of a mosque maybe leaning very much towards Salafism and Wahhabism?

How do they deal with that and how do they take that onboard in terms of their perspective, the context in which they’re operating? There’s a big difference – Salafism does not mean that somebody pursuing it is a terrorist. But all of Islamic terrorism emanates from Salafist and Wahhabist thinking. It’s a very extreme form of Islam. So those officers that deal with that need to be aware of this.”

Power also highlights the need to put in place a ‘proper policy framework’ for uniformed officers on the beat, those who are working at the coalface building links with these communities, that would allow them to correctly interpret should they come across actionable intelligence information. It’s this day-to-day intelligence gathered on the ground that can have the greatest impact – agencies like the Crime and Security Branch can only monitor individuals that have already been identified as offering a potential risk.

“We need to be looking at people going through the formation process, getting them at source. And that’s how we can do it – it can be done as has been shown in other jurisdictions.

In fact, it has been shown in our own jurisdiction in how we dealt with extreme republicanism in the ‘70s and ‘80s,” he notes. “But we just need to pull it together.”

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COVER STORY

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Lt Col. Shahzad Ahmad.

Photo: Defence Forces.

A SOLDIER OF PEACE Medical officer Lt Col. Shahzad Ahmad speaks to Conor Forrest about life as the first Muslim officer in the Defence Forces.

utside a Kosovan mosque, a Defence Forces 4x4 trundles to a stop. It’s 2008 – Irish soldiers are nine years into their role as peacekeepers in the Balkan territory, part of a United Nations mission to establish and maintain a secure environment after the Kosovo War. An Irish medical officer steps inside the mosque to pray, his sergeant remaining behind the wheel. Those inside glance in surprise at the name sewn on the man’s uniform. After prayer, the imam comes to greet him, using the Muslim greeting As-sal-mu ‘alaykum – Peace be upon you – and asks if he is a Muslim.

“I said ‘Yes sir, I’m a Muslim’,” Lt Col. Shahzad Ahmad recalls. “‘What are you doing in the Irish uniform?’ [he replied]. I said, ‘I am a medical officer for the Irish Defence Forces’. ‘Oh, ok, masha’Allah, that’s great, that’s good’. It was a very good experience but the surprise and the shock, that was very noticeable!”

How does a former medical student from Pakistan come to serve in the Irish army overseas? Rewind two decades and Ahmad was one of many students who came to Ireland to further their education. Studying for a postgraduate qualification from the Royal College of Surgeons, Ahmad began searching for work in the meantime, working in hospitals around the country though he was forced to change jobs every six months or so, his wife and young family in tow. Increasingly, it became difficult to remain on the move and Ahmad began scouting for a more permanent position. In 2001 he spotted an advertisement for the Defence Forces and put his name forward. He was commissioned on July 2nd 2001 at the age of 37, becoming the first Muslim officer to join Ireland’s armed forces. Today, he holds the rank of Brigade Medical Officer with the Defence Forces’ 2nd Brigade, which is responsible for operations in the northern part of the country, including Louth, Dublin, Wicklow,

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COVER STORY

Irish personnel on a long range patrol in Liberia, where Ahmad served. Photo: Defence Forces/Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

Rewind two decades and Ahmad was one of many medical students who came to Ireland to further their education.

Longford, Meath, Westmeath, and Kildare, headquartered in Dublin’s Cathal Brugha Barracks.

Those overseas missions began just one year after he joined, beginning with Eritrea. Almost 4,000 troops were deployed from a number of countries following fighting between Eritrea and Ethiopia, the result of a border dispute that had originally erupted in 1998. Ahmad arrived in the African nation during the month of Ramadan, when devout Muslims fast from dawn until dusk every day.

To his surprise, the Defence Forces had arranged halal food – food prepared according to Islamic law.

Considering that he often found it difficult to find halal food while working in regional hospitals back in Ireland, instead travelling to Dublin when he could, it was a welcome revelation.

“During Ramadan they were quite helpful, especially if you were overseas,” he explains. “They would make sure that the meat they [the UN] were sourcing was

from a halal source. At times, if there was a neighbouring Muslim nation like in Liberia, where there were Bangladeshi troops in the next camp, I used to go for my meals with them. Similarly in Eritrea in early 2002/2003... the Jordanians were just next door. A lot of the time, especially during Ramadan, I used to have my meals with them.”

Those Bangladeshi soldiers were in charge of the reception camp during the mission in Liberia which began in 2003, receiving troops from the varying nations at Roberts Airport near the town of Harbel. Several members of the Irish contingent held the rank of private with three stars on their epaulettes, and a Bangladeshi captain asked one of the soldiers what the stars represented. “He said ‘Oh, I am a three-star general.

The next thing the man saluted and whatever soldiers he saw [with three

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COVER STORY stars] he began saluting them all! So funny,” Ahmad says with a laugh.

But it wasn’t all lighthearted. In an interview with The Irish Times last year, Ahmad recalled a particularly dangerous encounter during the 30-minute trip from the airport to their base camp on what was a ‘hot and humid’ day. The Irish were among the first of the European troops to arrive in the country and found their convoy surrounded by hundreds of armed Liberians.

Ready to defend themselves against an assault, they were rescued by a contingent of African UN troops.

If one bullet had been fired by either side it might have been a grim start to the UN’s presence in Liberia, which would last until May 2007. A civil war in the country that raged for eight years claimed the lives of almost 150,000 people.

Alongside 90th Infantry Battalion, members of the Army Ranger Wing (ARW) were also deployed to Liberia to conduct long-range patrols both in territory controlled

by UNMIL (United Nations Military in Liberia) and hostile elements.

In one of their more well-known operations, a group of 20 Rangers rescued a group of villagers held captive by members of the renegade Government of Liberia’s (GOL) forces in a container in the town of Yekepa. No casualties were sustained and the ARW captured the GOL’s commander and deputy commander.

“Work-wise there was absolutely no problem,” Ahmad says, looking back on those overseas missions.

However, those with families and young children in particular could find the time apart quite difficult.

One solution, he suggests, could involve making those trips more family-friendly by allowing personnel to return home for several days. “The only thing was that, back home, the children and the families at times had difficult periods. I had young children in an environment where they didn’t really know how to cope with different demands. You don’t really get to see the milestones

Members of the Defence Forces on patrol in Kosovo.

Photo: Defence Forces/Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

[achieved] by your children, when somebody started to stand, somebody started to walk, their first teeth,” he says. “But work-wise it was very interesting, very challenging. At times you came across really amazing patients, amazing experiences, and it really teaches you a lot.”

A QUESTION OF FAITH As a practising Muslim, Ahmad’s faith has taught him a number of important lessons, and on occasion has made it possible to bridge a divide with locals on overseas missions where others might fail.

But there are challenges involved with being a Muslim in the west, particularly those surrounding people’s perceptions of his religion.

The attack on New York’s Twin Towers on September 11th 2001, which Ahmad witnessed in his office in Donegal not long after receiving his commission, heralded a dramatic change in life for the world’s Muslims. “It appeared as if the world had been divided into two large groups, Muslims and non-Muslims,” he says.

Misconceptions abound, as do generalisations, to the point where many people undoubtedly associate the words ‘Islam’ or ‘Muslim’ with ‘terror’. In reality, not all Muslims are the same, no more than all Christians in different countries and from different backgrounds uniformly follow the same teaching or way of life. Not all are fanatics

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He explained how he has never felt judged by colleagues he describes as 'extremely respectful and very welcoming and understanding'.

“Most of the Irish people, as we know, are understanding and know that these fanatics who, in the name of Islam, commit these stupid acts, have nothing to do with Islam. They don’t know what the real Islam is. If they had known, they would never do these things,” he said in that interview. “In Islam we are not only told not to hurt humans, but not even spoil water or crops or harm anyone that isn’t fighting with you. If we take Islam in its real meaning, these people have absolutely nothing to do with it.”

Clearly Ahmad is proud of the path he has taken and the years he has served with the Defence Forces. On the wall above the desk in his office at Cathal Brugha Barracks hangs his letter of commission, a ceremony his father witnessed. As an officer, he has represented the Defence Forces across the world, serving on UN missions in Eritrea, Kosovo, Bosnia, Liberia and Lebanon, and working with the European Defence Agency (EDA) in Brussels and Switzerland, and attending NATO conferences in Germany. In the years since he joined, two more Muslim colleagues have received commissions – both commandants, both doctors, and both from Pakistan.

“I am very proud... the opportunities I have been given to represent the Irish Defence Forces at various platforms, in various countries, at various levels – it is just so amazing,” he explains. “I am extremely delighted that I was given this opportunity and extremely honoured to be a part of this huge team, this huge organisation.”

KFOR

who pledge allegiance to Islamic State (IS) and seek to purge the world of millions of apostates.

Interestingly, in a study conducted

by George Washington University in the US, Ireland is the most faithful country in the world according to the values espoused in the Quran, though such interpretations are undoubtedly very subjective (and controversial).

“Islam [comes] from the word ‘salaam’. Salaam means peace. So Islam literally means peace. And when we greet somebody we say ‘As-sal-mu ‘alaykum’, which means ‘peace be on you’,” Ahmad tells me. “As a Muslim or as a person of faith, as a momim, it is assumed that when somebody meets with a momin, with a true Muslim, with a person of faith, three things he should be assured of. That his blood, his wealth, his honour is safe... So if somebody doesn’t regard that he cannot be considered a true Muslim.

He cannot be considered as a man of faith or as a momin. These are the basic facts of Islam, which a lot of people just do not understand or they do not conceive it in the right way.

Referring to Islam as the religion of peace is a contentious position – often a phrase used mockingly by its detractors. But while the outside world may differ, Ahmad’s work environment has been a safe haven from prejudice – speaking to The Irish Times he explained how he has never felt judged by colleagues he describes as ‘extremely respectful and very welcoming and understanding’, co-workers who avoid eating or drinking in his presence during Ramadan if they can.

A KFOR (Kosovo Force) sign on an Irish Defence Forces vehicle. Photo: Defence Forces/Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

Among the Defence Forces’ current overseas missions is KFOR, short for Kosovo Force, a peacekeeping mission that has been active since 1999. A former province of Serbia and then Yugoslavia, resistance to Serbian rule emerged in the 1990s with the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). International attention turned to Kosovo in 1997 and diplomatic efforts were made to solve the conflict, though NATO planners began drawing up plans for a military intervention. By 1999 the conflict had escalated and NATO bombings of targets in Kosovo and Serbia began.

Initially, 50,000 troops from 35 NATO and non-NATO countries entered Kosovo, including Irish soldiers. Today, KFOR continues to maintain peace and security in Kosovo, though responsibilities have been gradually passed to the Kosovo Police. “The Irish company’s area of responsibility (AOR) covers 190 square km and it carries out its mission through vigorous and regular patrols in their Mowag APCs,” the Defence Forces states on its website. “In 2010 Camp Clarke closed and all the remaining appointments in Camp VIlel were discontinued on a phased basis. The Defence Forces still hold 12 appointments in KFOR HQ – Film City.”

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SUSTAINABILITY

GARDAÍ TRIAL BMW I3

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n Garda Síochána could be whizzing around our roads in electric vehicles in the coming months and years.

BMW Ireland has provided a BMW i3 to gardaí as part of a pilot programme examining the practicalities of electric vehicles (EVs). It comes as, in a bid to reach national and EU energy efficiency targets, Ireland’s public sector needs to make savings of 33 per cent by 2020. Given that An Garda Síochána’s fleet consists of about 2,800 vehicles, investing in electric vehicles rather than their fossil fuel counterparts could play an important role in reaching this target. An i3 in Garda livery was put on display at the BT Young Scientist exhibition in January 2018.

“This pilot BMW i3 (94Ah) provides emissions free driving with a pure electric range of 180kms in realworld driving conditions. It is agile and engaging to drive, so it is ideally suited for dense urban areas making it a perfect match for Ireland’s national police service,” BMW stated.

The i3’s environmentally-friendly credentials are substantial. The manufacturing process is powered

Photo: Stedman Photography.

In a bid to reach national and EU energy efficiency targets, Ireland's public sector needs to make savings of 33 per cent by 2020. by green power including wind turbines and one of the world’s largest hydroelectric plants. The interior was created using sustainably sourced materials, and as much as 95 per cent of the car is recyclable.

The i3 is powered by a lithium ion battery, with a range of approximately 180km from a full charge. Charge times depend on the method used, and those worried about running out of juice can opt for the optional range extender petrol engine, which adds an extra 150km of driving.

As with all electric vehicles, the i3 features quick acceleration thanks to instant torque – criminals might be surprised to find the gardaí on their tail much quicker than anticipated.

Top speed is limited to 150km/h (which may well be increased), and 0-100km/h takes 7.3 seconds.

“We are excited to provide our ground-breaking BMW i3 to An Garda Síochána,” said Anthony Casey, National BMW Corporate & Diplomatic Manager, with BMW Group Ireland. “Every aspect of the i3 has been conceived for sustainability but at the same time it is extremely agile so it will certainly not escape the attention of the public on our roads.”

• Launched: 2013 • 0-100km/h: 7.3 seconds

BMW I3

BMW Ireland has supplied one of its i3 electric vehicles to gardaí for testing as part of a pilot programme.

• Range: Up to 200km (94 Ah) • Charge time: 1 hour (fast charge) • 3 hours (quick charge) • 8 hours (standard home charging)

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HUMAN TRAFFICKING

TACKLING HUMAN TRAFFICKING A new report on human trafficking in Ireland has been launched by the Department of Justice and Equality.

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arlier this year the most recent Trafficking in Human Beings in Ireland report was published by Minister for Justice and Equality Charlie Flanagan, highlighting Ireland’s efforts to tackle this serious issue, providing clarity on what exactly trafficking entails and where it might occur, and the legislation used to combat the problem. The eight annual report notes that detections have risen for the third year in a row – 95 in 2016.

“Human trafficking is a crime hidden in plain sight, perpetrated on society’s most vulnerable and is taking place in communities throughout the country. This report seeks to analyse the scale of human trafficking in Ireland, while also highlighting the measures implemented by my Department and across government to both combat the crime and protect its victims,” Minister Flanagan noted.

The level of human trafficking in Ireland has nearly doubled in four years according to figures from the Council of Europe. Sexual exploitation is the most common form with female victims outnumbering males. The detection of labour exploitation has also risen – this form of trafficking ensnares mostly male victims and can involve a wide variety of work in restaurant and hotels, construction, agriculture and entertainment and more. Others may find themselves

forced into begging or criminal acts like cultivating drugs or ATM theft.

The first prosecutions under the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 and the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) (Amendment) Act 2013 took place in 2016. A life sentence faces those convicted.

Three dedicated State units focus entirely on human trafficking as part of the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) – the Human Trafficking Investigation & Coordination Unit (HTICU) which is part of the Garda National Protective Services Bureau, the HSE’s Anti-Human Trafficking Team (AHTT), and specialised personnel working within the Legal Aid Board. A range of non-governmental organisations also play a large role within this area including Ruhama (working with women affected by commercial sexual exploitation) and the Immigrant Council of Ireland (ICI). The largest single case of potential human trafficking in Ireland was uncovered in 2016 in Co Meath, with 23 Romanian

nationals provided with services and support through the NRM. The State’s aims in tackling human trafficking are covered under the Second National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Human Trafficking in Ireland, which was published by then Tánaiste and Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald. Its goals include identifying, assisting and protecting victims of trafficking, coordination and cooperation between key stakeholders both nationally and internationally, and ensuring an effective response from the criminal justice system.

“We are sending a strong message to criminals who seek to traffic and exploit vulnerable people: strong laws are in place, detections are increasing, and perpetrators will pay a high price for their heinous behaviour,” said Minister Flanagan.

“Human trafficking is a clandestine activity and I am encouraging members of the public to notify gardaí if they fear a person is the victim of human trafficking.”

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GREG MATTHEWS

A LENS ON LIFE R

Retired Station Officer Greg Matthews chats about his career in Dublin Fire Brigade and how his passion for photography is occupying his retirement.

etired Station Officer Greg Matthews has undoubtedly led an interesting and varied life. Born in 1961, the middle child in a family of five, he grew up in Ballyfermot and followed a path as a motor mechanic before pursuing his childhood dream of becoming a firefighter. Now that he’s retired, some 30-odd years later, he spends his time pursuing several hobbies, among them street photography.

“The fire brigade was something that I had always longed to get into, something I thought would be a great job to do,” he tells me.

Greg was one of 42 firefighters in Class 1/1985, the first class to experience training in the then brand-new O’Brien Training Institute in Marino, which he describes as a ‘new dawn’ for Dublin Fire Brigade.

Over the following 25 years he would work in every fire station across the

job on A, B and C watch, and earn promotion first to sub officer and then station officer, the latter something he wanted to achieve since his first day. “To become a station officer was my ultimate goal – I didn’t really bother going for promotion after that point,” he explains with a laugh.

“I was happy to reach that point.”

As we chat, Greg reminisces about a fulfilling career that encompassed a variety of strands. He recalls working in the ISO section at a time when DFB was striving to achieve the quality mark for its fire and ambulance services (something that had never been achieved before); earning a Guinness World Record as part of the team that beat the Germans’ distance in pushing a pump for 24 hours; and coming full circle as he returned to the OBI to mould several classes of recruits (he was also chosen as one of the brigade’s first swiftwater rescue instructors, a clear source of pride).

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GREG MATTHEWS

“I completed two batches of recruit training, back-to-back, which is very difficult to do as an instructor.

Training recruits is probably one of the most challenging things you can do but it is also one of the most rewarding – you are given seven guys fresh in off the street and you have to turn them into firefighters six months later,” he says. “...It’s great to see recruits who I trained are now sub officers and station officers and they’re training recruits. I get a great kick out of that.

There can’t be anything better than to think ‘There’s a guy that I trained and he’s reached a very high standard’.”

NEW ADVENTURES After a busy career, Greg retired from DFB in 2010 on medical grounds, having developed a problem with one of his hips from running marathons.

At the time, he explains, he was relatively happy to leave, feeling that he had made a significant contribution

to the brigade over those years and feeling ready to explore other avenues of interest with his newfound free time. His first port of call was yachting and he earned a licence as a day skipper following a number of sailing courses. Next up – photography.

It was something that had lingered in his mind since he was a child – his father would bring home The Irish Press and Greg would comb the pages examining every detail of renowned photographer Austin Finn’s black and white photos of ordinary Dubliners going about their daily lives, even cutting them out for inclusion in a treasured scrapbook. Over the proceeding decades Greg would take photos now and then – perhaps on holiday – and people would comment on how they were a cut above the norm. Curious as to what separated his creations from others, he decided to do a photography course with Dublin Camera Club (where he

met his partner Trudy). Though he struggled with the technical side of photography – exposition, shutter speed, focus and more – it gave him the freedom to create better images and bring his mind’s eye to life. Clearly he’s got a flair for it, having been named Irish Street Photographer of the Year in 2015 (as well as winning Street Photograph of the Year), with an exhibition of his photos held in Filmbase in Temple Bar that same year in memory of his late father. His increasing profile has also resulted in numerous invitations to speak at camera clubs around the country, sharing the lessons he has learned behind the camera.

Shot for the most part in black and white, Greg’s photos tell a story, capturing intimate moments in time that might otherwise go unnoticed – a family enjoying a picnic on the beach in Bray, an elderly couple making their way over the

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GREG MATTHEWS

Ha’Penny Bridge, a man cycling through Glasnevin Cemetery. His style is quite artistic with many of his photos reminiscent of a painting; candid images of ordinary life inspired not only by Austin Finn but also Henri Cartier-Bresson, considered a master of street photography.

Greg is reluctant to pigeonhole his work into any one category, instead following a few simple rules that guide the sights on his lens.

“Though I call myself a street photographer, it’s very hard to define what street photography is. For me, my photography is capturing people going about their daily lives,” he explains. “The person doesn’t know that their photograph is being taken. There has to be some point of interest in the image, there has to be something happening. A lot of people... they just think it’s photographs of people walking on the street and for me it’s not that.”

Greg’s photos are bolstered by the fact that his subjects are unaware they are being photographed, displaying real emotions rather than a hastily assembled smile. A lot of his shooting is done from the hip, pointing and clicking the shutter through a café window or while stopped in the middle of a footpath. In the first few years the loud click from his Canon 5D Mark II would give the game away, so he took to coughing while he pressed the shutter to mask the sound, or would wait until a bus passed by on the road. He eventually opted for a Fuji X-T1, a much quieter, more discreet option that allows him to blend in a bit better with the crowds.

“As soon as you hit the shutter they look and they know – the moment is lost,” he says. “A lot of the time when I’m out doing my street photography I try to blend in and look like a tourist. If I’m walking down Moore Street and the dealers are looking at

me I just look back at them. I find if you’re trying to be too discreet people are wondering what you’re at.”

Patience is the name of the game for Greg, who spends hours on the streets of Dublin observing life as it passes by and waiting for the right shot to enter his frame. Take Temple Bar Lady, his award-winning photo of a solitary woman walking along an empty laneway in Temple Bar. Having found the location, Greg repeatedly returned in search of the perfect canvas free from crowds, delivery vans or dustbins awaiting collection.

A bit of luck, too, has its role to play. Having lined up a candid shot of one of Dublin’s characters, Greg surreptitiously pressed the shutter just as the man yawned.

The result is a fantastic image of life’s mundanity – the ‘open’ sign in the background complementing the open-mouthed focus. “You still have to be there to get it,” he adds.

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Fitness has played an important role in Greg’s life, something he really got into once he joined Dublin Fire Brigade – as a station officer in Rathfarnham he would often take the watch on a daily run through the surrounding streets.

Alongside cross-country running with Liffey Valley Harriers in Islandbridge, kayaking with his sons, and running marathons in Dublin and Belfast, Greg also enjoyed cycling, which he used for the benefit of charity. He tells me about his involvement in fundraising tours for the National Council for the Blind of Ireland, including a 500-mile cycle around Florida and a trip from Brisbane to Sydney. “I was always happy to use the sports that I was interested in to raise some money for different charities,” he recalls.

take it without missing the moment.

One of those moments arrived at Greg’s feet (literally) in 2016, during one of the 1916 commemorative events in Dublin’s Merrion Square.

Hearing a commotion behind him, Greg turned to see Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams in attendance, surrounded by crowds taking photos.

With Adams out of reach and McGuinness close by, Greg quickly dropped to his feet and pointed the camera towards the sky. When McGuinness passed away in January 2017 the resultant shot went viral – from a profile picture for Sinn Féín’s Mary Lou McDonald on Facebook to being blown up and displayed at McGuinness’ month’s mind in New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

“I knew the shot I wanted to get when I saw him. If I had kept it at eye level you would see hundreds of people behind him,” says Greg. “It’s obviously one of those photographs I’m proud

of because it has become iconic. It’s a real moment in time photograph.

That’s the way I think of it.”

EMPTY PAGES These days Greg is taking something of a break as he battles an illness.

That’s not to say that he’s twiddling his thumbs – his back catalogue of photos waiting to undergo processing includes shots taken while in New York City for St. Patrick’s Day in 2016 as well as memories from a road trip along Route 66. “I haven’t finished taking photographs – there’s a lot of photographs I still want to take,” he notes.

I ask Greg about what draws him to the streets with his camera in hand, what motivates him to seek out the candid moments that have become his signature, to stake out a location for hours in search of the perfect shot. “When I’m out taking photographs I can get lost in my own

KEEPING FIT

GREG MATTHEWS

little world, I don’t think of anything else,” he says. “I think that’s what I enjoy about it. I’m in a different world when I’m taking photographs – the normal world disappears and I’m in a bit of a dreamlike state. All that I can think of is the camera, the photograph and the end result.”

Before I leave, our conversation turns once more to the time he spent with Dublin Fire Brigade – the fact that he treasures those years evident by the smile on his face and the pride in his tone. Greg singles out the comradeship in the job as one of the highlights, getting to know the individuals on your crew and how best to work with them.

“I’ve had a brilliant and varied career in DFB,” he adds. “For me, it was all about being in the right place at the right time and never refusing to take up any role that was offered to me. There was never a day that I didn’t look forward to going in.”

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TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS

TECH TOOLS: We examine the latest innovations for emergency services personnel across the globe.

CARE IN TRANSIT

Photo: Magirus.

YOUTH INSPIRATION Wermelskirchen Junior Fire Department in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia recently received a special delivery from Magirus – an LF 10 fire tender.

Designed to meet the training needs of younger firefighters in place of older converted vehicles, the LF 10 is based on a MercedesBenz Atego chassis and features equipment tailored to the needs of junior members, including C suction hoses, fittings, a TS 2/5 portable pump and four 24V LED floodlights.

The German Youth Fire Brigade (DFF) is open to children between the ages of 10 and 18, aimed at promoting an interest and insight into a career as a firefighter. Basic training (first aid, firefighting drills etc.) is conducted alongside improving fitness and agility as

well as other activities including exchange programmes with their counterparts in Poland, the Czech Republic, France, Russia and Finland. Currently, there are more than 245,000 members around the country organised in some 18,100 youth fire brigades.

The Wermelskirchen Junior Fire Department is the first department to make use of such a new appliance and hopes it will inspire other young potential firefighters to join. If necessary, the new tender will also be available to the volunteer and full-time firefighters. “With the new vehicle, we want to ensure that the young firefighters receive the best possible training,” said Department Head Holger Stubenrauch.

Global communications company ViaSat is working with Scotland’s University of Aberdeen and the Scottish Ambulance Service to trial a connected ambulance programme. SatCare enhances medical care for patients in transit, allowing paramedics to send high-resolution video and ultrasound images from connected ambulances to the hospital ahead of the patient’s arrival, using ViaSat’s advanced satellite network.

The one-year trial, which has been part-funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), aims to assist patients living in rural or remote parts of the country, providing better care on long journeys and streamlining their care – a patient’s condition can be assessed before they arrive with immediate transfer to an operating theatre if required.

A video summary of the patient’s condition can be recorded and packaged in less than five minutes, and is transmitted in seconds. Lifethreatening conditions being assessed as part of the trial include chest pain, shortness of breath, major trauma etc.

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TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS

CARE ON CAMPUS

Photo: AmbuPod.

POD RESCUE Small ambulances are nothing new but the AmbuPod takes things to the next level. Combining a mobile clinic and micro-ambulance into one small vehicle capable of transporting a patient and medical attendant, the solarpowered AmbuPod (www.ambupod.com) has been developed to tackle emergencies both in rural India, where health services are often poor and clinics ill-equipped, and in crowded urban centres where heavy traffic can be the difference between life and death. Less than three feet wide with high ground clearance, the AmbuPod can be towed by a motorbike, quad or snowmobile, and can traverse narrow footpaths and gaps or weave through traffic to reach patients or hospitals quickly. Onboard equipment includes a handheld ECG, IV fluids, an Ambu bag and an optional defibrillator. The pod was designed by Dr Lavanian Dorairaj from Pune, the second largest city in the Maharashtra state, an Indian Air Force veteran who sought to solve the challenges faced by rural Indians. “Once stationed in each village, there is no need to wait for an ambulance from a distant hospital. Any patient could immediately be transported to a hospital within the golden hour,” the company states. “In cities, thanks to the Ambupod’s carefully designed structure, it can manoeuvre through narrow gaps in heavy traffic and even run on the sidewalk, to transport a patient safely. In addition, the AmbuPod would lower the capital and operational costs of patient transport to a hospital by as much as 80 per cent in some cases.”

A new mobile safety app has been made available to students at Dublin City University (DCU), connecting staff and students anywhere across the globe with DCU's emergency response team.

Users of SafeZone, powered by technology firm CriticalArc, can activate the app and choose one of three options – Emergency, First Aid or Help. The user's location is sent to security personnel who can provide the help required. The response team can also check on registered users in the event of an incident overseas, find their location and liaise with emergency services in that country if required. “Staff and student well-being and safety is of the utmost importance and the SafeZone technology further enhances both of these for staff and students across our campuses and while overseas, travelling, studying and working at other institutions," said DCU President Professor Brian MacCraith. "DCU is now a multi-campus environment and, by deploying SafeZone in conjunction with our existing campus emergency response team, it will enable us to respond even more effectively and efficiently to students and staff who may need emergency support.”

CONCEPT AMBULANCE Among the vehicles unveiled at the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show was Nissan's fifth-generation ambulance, the Paramedic Concept. The ambulance is based on Nissan's NV350 Caravan, designed to provide more comfort for the patient and a better work environment for paramedics. Powered by a 2.5L petrol engine, features include an auxiliary lithium ion battery that powers the on-board life-saving medical equipment, technology that helps reduce the spread of

germs, and Nissan's Intelligent Around View Monitor – a system that uses four cameras to provide a bird's-eye, 360-degree view of your surroundings. “Our fifth-generation ambulance will offer enhanced features that will make a real difference to people's lives," said Ashwani Gupta, senior vice president of the Renault-Nissan LCV Business Unit. "The new Paramedic Concept contains vital life-saving equipment to respond to emergencies, often in remote areas."

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INTERNATIONAL POLICE

THE MOUNTIES BEHIND THE MYTHOS The Mountie is a well-recognisable figure, clad in a red tunic, a wide-brimmed hat and a winning smile as a force for good in the world. But is there more to the men and women behind the PR machine? Conor Forrest takes a look behind the scenes of a thoroughly modern police force.

F

or most Irish people of a certain generation, what we know about the Canadian Mounties may stem from the 1990s television programme Due South, a crime series that teamed up a Mountie constable with a detective in Chicago’s police department (not to mention Diefenbaker, the part-dog, part-wolf sidekick who could read lips and had his own savings account). The organisation has carefully cultivated its image over the years – the police officer clad in the well-recognisable red serge tunic with a wide-brimmed hat and mounted on a horse first appeared towards the end of the 19th century and has dominated the public’s perception of the RCMP ever since, evolving into an almost mythical frontier force for good. But who are the men and women behind the mythos?

Officially known as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the

Mounties act as the North American country’s federal and provincial police force in each of the provinces except Ontario and Quebec – the Ontario Provincial Police and the Sûreté du Québec take responsibility in their respective jurisdictions.

The Mounties began life in 1873 as the North West Mounted Rifles, tasked with implementing Canadian law and order on the frontier among settlers of new territories acquired in the west. Chief among their initial concerns was fighting the illegal whiskey trade. Establishing permanent posts across the regions, the force grew to 1,000 men by 1885 and gained prominence through their role in policing the Klondike Gold Rush at the end of the century – gold discovered by local miners in 1896 triggered a stampede of prospectors in search of riches. The organisation also made its mark on law enforcement in the case of Bill Miner among others, a ‘gentleman

bandit’ who managed to elude police in the United States and Canada for some time but who was arrested with two accomplices after a railway car robbery in May 1906. Two decades later, they tracked down and killed a trapper who had fled for Alaska following clashes with the Loucheux natives and the force – this marked the first air search team in RCMP history, with a young pilot by the name of Wilfried May scouting from the sky. Incidents like these gave rise to the maxim that the Mounties ‘always get their man’.

Their status as a national police force came into effect in 1920 and by 1950 the renamed Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had taken over policing duties across the nation, doubling the size of its membership.

The following decades were ones of great change, as the RCMP grew into a modern police force. Against a backdrop of economic recession, female members were allowed to join as uniformed members from 1974, with the first all-female troop graduating from the Regina Depot in March 1975. In the 1980s, affirmative action policies began to firmly take root with the first Sikh police officer joining the force in 1990. And in 1989, the RCMP’s reach extended beyond its borders as a 100-strong contingent participated in the organisation’s first United Nations mission in Namibia.

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RCMP officers marching outside the parliament buildings in Victoria, British Columbia.

New recruits on parade, Banff.

Photo: Stuart Madden/Flickr (CC BY 2.0).

An RCMP officer in standard uniform on patrol in Digby, Novia Scotia.

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The RCMP also takes a global view on law enforcement, recognising the benefits of collaboration with international policing partners and institutions and the INTERPOL and EUROPOL global information sharing networks. Forty-two liaison officers are currently deployed in 30 locations around the world, tasked with maintaining links between Canadian police forces and their global counterparts. Add to that the RCMP’s contribution to international peace operations, which has seen more than 3,500 Canadian police officers serve on some 60 peace operations across the globe, and it’s clear that the organisation’s scope and goals exist well beyond the Canadian borders.

Understandably, combatting terrorism is one of its key priorities – a report in The Globe and Mail in September 2017 noted that since 2014 the RCMP has diverted funding from hundreds of investigations into counter-terrorism initiatives.

In October 2014, two members of the Canadian Armed Forces were attacked by a recent convert to Islam, with one dying of his injuries. Two days later another convert fatally injured a soldier on ceremonial duty at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, before dying in a shoot-out with security personnel at the nearby Parliament Building. In August 2016, a 24-year-old man who pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS) detonated a bomb in the back of a taxi in southwestern Ontario, dying when confronted by police. And recently, on September 30th 2017, a 30-yearold man was alleged to have driven into a police constable in Edmonton before stabbing him and proceeding to hit four pedestrians during a police chase. Miraculously, nobody died.

“Terrorism is diverse, ranging from supportive efforts such as financing and recruitment to planning and carrying out attacks. The RCMP’s current national security focus is on individuals mobilised to commit violence, including high-risk travellers

Mounties on horseback on Canada Day. Photo: Evan Goldenberg/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).

MUSICAL RIDE

Today, with a strength of almost 30,000 personnel across its 16 divisions, the scope of the RCMP is broad and varied, covering border patrol, economic crimes, drugs, organised crime and terrorism, forensic identification, protective policing, offering its extensive skillset and resources to other law enforcement agencies in Canada, and much more – essentially all of the hallmarks of a modern police force.

Members of the RCMP wear a less distinctive uniform while operational – a grey shirt, dark blue tie and trousers, patrol boots and an ordinary police-style hat. Sikh officers have been allowed to wear their turban while on duty, and the wearing of a hijab as part of the uniform was sanctioned in 2016.

“The RCMP is an internationally recognised organisation. The Mountie is undoubtedly one of the most recognisable Canadian symbols,” explains Assistant Commissioner Serge Therriault, Executive Director, Public Affairs with the RCMP. “We are the federal police force of Canada and unique in the world providing services at the international, federal, provincial and municipal levels.”

The RCMP’s core policing activities revolve around providing policing services to communities, contributing to crime prevention and solving community problems, keeping communities safe, enforcing Canadian laws, and obtaining information for the purpose of developing intelligence. A variety of programmes further its strategic focus – the National Youth Strategy aims to reduce youth involvement in crime, tackling topics including cyberbullying, drugs and alcohol, and domestic abuse. And, despite some controversy in its past dealings with the country’s indigenous peoples, the RCMP also places an emphasis on building positive relationships with these communities – the Aboriginal Shield Program provides substance abuse prevention information and healthy lifestyle coaching.

The Mounties are renowned for their distinctive dress uniform (the Review Order) – a scarlet tunic, blue breeches with a yellow leg stripe, a Sam Browne belt and lanyard, riding boots and a flat-brimmed hat, and perched atop a horse. Though the uniform is used by the rank and file on special occasions, in reality horses are now only used during ceremonial duties, including the world-famous Musical Ride. The RCMP has organised public exhibitions of riding and horsemanship for decades.

The Musical Ride involves a range of intricate cavalry drills choreographed to music, toured throughout Canada and internationally between May and October. “Although horses are no longer used in operational policing roles by the RCMP, it does maintain a renowned equitation team, the world-famous Musical Ride, which delights audiences across Canada and internationally with intricately choreographed displays of cavalry drill,” explains Assistant Commissioner Therriault.

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RECRUITMENT AND TRAINING Given the varied and often challenging nature of the RCMP’s work, it seeks out a number of qualities in potential recruits, such as certain health and psychological standards, or being willing to carry and use a firearm if necessary.

“The RCMP is looking for people from all walks of life.

People with integrity who are accountable, respectful, professional, compassionate and honest,” Therriault tells me. “Qualities and experience we seek in applicants include people who reflect the RCMP’s core values, are highly

motivated, are team players, possess strong leadership abilities, are mature, and have diverse life experiences. Our recruiting standards are high. Those who are selected as cadets take great pride in having succeeded in the process.”

Successful recruits are assigned to a troop of 32 and undergo an extensive 26-week training programme at the RCMP training academy in Regina, Saskatchewan, also known as the ‘Depot Division’. Training is physically and academically demanding; long days are the norm (6am to 4.30pm) and the pace prepares recruits for the career that lies ahead. Therriault describes the training programme as ‘highly interactive’, noting that it includes scenarios, case studies, lectures, panel discussions, presentations and interaction with the community.

Cadets are required to complete solo and group assignments and training activities over the course of the 26 weeks, focusing on applied police sciences (criminology, forensic science etc.), defensive tactics, fitness, firearms training, police driving and tactical training. On successful completion of the course the recruits are hired as constables, the lowest rank in the force, with training continuing throughout their first posting – experienced officers provide coaching and mentoring during the following six months.

But the RCMP’s training endeavours exist beyond its recruit classes, and even beyond its own borders. As part of its role in international peace operations, RCMP personnel both act in a peacekeeping role and provide advice and support to at-risk nations in enhancing their law enforcement capabilities. International police forces often request the RCMP’s assistance in areas ranging from forensic expertise and the proceeds of crime to drug enforcement and community policing. Its International Training Services division was established to deal with these

requests in 1991, with RCMP policy centres, divisions and training units supplying the necessary resources.

The goal is to instruct competent and self-sufficient trainers who can go on to train their own colleagues across a variety of fields, with law enforcement agencies from 140 countries having benefited, including Ukraine, Turkey, Brazil, Ghana, Syria, Thailand and Indonesia. It’s a reflection on the organisation’s commitment to the highest standards of policing, both in Canada and further afield.

“Canada is proud to contribute highly-skilled police officers to train and mentor their counterparts in police missions around the world,” says Therriault. “Having professional, well-trained and well-equipped police services is key to fostering stability, making people and communities feel more secure, and enhancing the rule of law in troubled states.”

CONTROVERSY

and groups with specific goals or plans to conduct ideologically or politically motivated attacks in Canada,” Therriault explains.

The RCMP has broadened its focus beyond simply responding to such incidents, assisting communities and other stakeholders in identifying atrisk individuals and using monitoring, counselling and other resources to steer them off the path of violent ideology. One example is the Terrorism and Violent Extremism Awareness Guide, produced to raise awareness about terrorism and radicalisation for first responders, parents, friends and colleagues. But the risks remain.

“Like other criminals, terrorists are becoming increasingly sophisticated and adept at operating in an environment where borders are virtual and detection is difficult, a reality further compounded by encryption technologies,” Therriault adds.

“Increasingly, these tools are used to steal information or to conduct disruptive attacks against Canada’s critical infrastructure and computer networks. More than ever, national security criminal investigations are complex, multi-jurisdictional and resource-intensive, and require an unprecedented level of cooperation among domestic and international law enforcement partners.”

Despite its history of positive contributions both to Canada and the wider world, the RCMP has not been without some controversy. In September 2002, in one of the more publicised incidents, Canadian Maher Arar was detained in New York City – an inquiry later found that “the RCMP, in its communication with the U.S. officials, characterized both Arar and his wife, as ‘Islamic extremist individuals suspected of being linked to the Al Qaeda terrorist movement’”, according to a report by CBC News.

Arar was deported to Syria, his country of birth, where he was tortured in jail. Arar was later released and received a public apology from Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli in 2006.

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TRAVEL

Roving Through

ATHENS

With oodles of things to see and do, the Greek capital of Athens makes for the perfect getaway, writes Tiernan Cannon.

I

t can be quite difficult to get a coherent grasp on the city of Athens. The place is a tumultuous mish-mash of cultures and eras, epitomised by grand, ancient ruins situated in underground metro stations, or magnificent eleventh century Byzantine churches located just a few strides away from H&M. The physical make-up of the city is quite befuddled, which in a sense can be thought of as a genuine reflection of its character.

Athens has been defined by a vast array of distinct eras and circumstances.

There is an eccentricity evident within the city, with the marks of various cultures and times scattered

indiscriminately throughout. Athens has endured some dramatic twists and turns over the centuries, and even today there is a tangible sense of uncertainty in the air as its future remains obscured.

As we know, Greece was hit particularly hard by the financial crisis and is still reeling from its impact. Even today around one in five people in the country are unemployed, a figure that rises to 44.4 per cent of those aged under 25. According to a study

by Greek NGO Dianeosis, 15 per cent of the Greek population in 2015 lived in extreme poverty, compared with two per cent in 2009. This situation is

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Where To Meet...

St George Lycabettus Hotel St George Lycabettus Hotel offers a range of in-house banqueting, outside catering and conference options for events. Popular rooms include Le Grand Balcon and La Suite Lounge, which enjoy abundant natural light and near-panoramic views of downtown Athens. www.sglycabettus.gr

Eat...

Funky Gourmet With two Michelin stars, Funky Gourmet offers some of the finest cuisine in Athens. The restaurant is located in the Kerameikos neighbourhood and features a menu of creative Mediterranean cuisine. www.funkygourmet.com

Sleep...

further exacerbated by the continuing migrant crisis, as the country struggles to handle the vast number of refugees landing on its shores.

However, in what might be deemed a response to these crises, a sense of cultural vibrancy has sprung up and diffused throughout society, making itself starkly felt in parts of the capital.

A PROUD CULTURE Art is important to the Athenians, and it exists in many forms. Theatre in particular is fundamental in Athens, owing perhaps to its prevalence in the city’s ancient society. Today, there are a host of contemporary theatres and art

spaces where you can experience theatre – with the most intriguing being Gazarte, a multi-purpose art space with facilities including a theatre, cinema, bookshop, dance stage and roof garden.

For a truly unique theatrical experience, however, nothing beats a production within the ruins of an ancient theatre, like the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. This theatre, built between 160-174 AD, is a stone structure lying under the shadow of the Acropolis, the ancient citadel and home to some of the city’s most important ancient structures, including the Parthenon, the Propylaia and the Temple of Athena Nike. Since its re-opening in the 1950s, the Odeon

AthensWas AthensWas stands on a cobbled walkway, two blocks from the Acropolis Museum. Its interior is dominated

by Greek marble and each room has a veranda to allow guests a chance to relax with a drink after a day’s sightseeing. www.athenswas.gr

See...

The Acropolis The Acropolis is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop overlooking the city. It contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural significance, including the Parthenon and the Temple of Athena Nike.

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The Odeon of Herodes Atticus.

Know before you go Listen Rick Steves is an American travel writer who has put together a series of audio walking tours. Before heading to Athens, download his podcast tours of the city.

Language While English is widely spoken throughout Athens, the locals are sure to appreciate some effort. Learn the basics, such as signomi (excuse me) and efharisto (thank you).

History The history of Athens is incredibly rich, and a broad awareness of it will stand to you upon arrival. The varied architecture and culture makes more sense once you’ve delved into the city’s past.

City Pass The Athens City Pass Classic saves money and time by allowing holders to skip lines and gain entry to various attractions, and offers free public transport for 72 hours.

Monastiraki flea market.

of Herodes Atticus has served as a prime location to experience Greek tragedy and has also hosted ballet performances, orchestras and even Frank Sinatra.

There are countless venues and galleries in Athens, but it isn’t totally necessary to seek them out. The streets themselves serve as art spaces, particularly in neighbourhoods such as Excharcia. Here, music floats out of cafés and bars and artists sell their wares directly to those taking their iced coffees out on the street. Posters advertising festivals, talks and concerts cover the neighbourhood’s walls, and there is a strong sense of a proud culture at work.

A DIFFERENT PACE People in Athens are generally welcoming and relaxed. With the sun shining as brightly as it does, it’s quite natural that the pace of life slows down, but it can take some getting used to.

Food and drinks are served slowly, but this is something to be embraced.

Expect to be in a restaurant or café for a time long enough to really soak in what that particular place has to offer.

A bonus for Irish visitors is the fact that Athens is extremely well catered to English-speakers, with signs in both Greek and English and much of the population having at least a grasp of the essentials.

There are some truly enchanting cafés and restaurants all over Athens, but for a more tranquil affair head to Plaka, Athens’ oldest neighbourhood.

Plaka is a maze of mostly pedestrianised streets of restaurants, jewellery stores, tourist shops, and cafés that lies at the foot of the Acropolis. Though quite commercialised, Plaka offers a glimpse into a quiet Greek village way of life, right at the heart of the capital city.

A ten-minute walk away you’ll find the Monastiraki flea market, an

Dining outside on the stairs in the Plaka district of Athens.

animated hive of stalls and vendors selling every manner of clothes, souvenirs, antiques and oddities. While most of the merchandise is aimed directly at tourists in search of kitsch, there are some gems to be discovered, and the sights and sounds of the market are worth the visit in and of themselves.

Nightfall in Athens offers just as many options as the day. Open-air cinema, for example, is a part of the fabric of the Athenian night and there are multiple locations to choose from. Nothing quite beats the unique experience of watching a classic or new piece of cinema under the stars during a still, warm night.

There is no shortage of clubs and bars in Athens either, catering to all musical tastes and persuasions.

The main areas include Psiri, Thissio and Kolonaki, but a particularly wonderful bar and club is Six d.o.g.s in Monastiraki, a seemingly regular venue that actually contains a cool but concealed beer garden decorated with fairy lights and nestled among the trees.

The Six d.o.g.s beer garden is completely unexpected, as is Athens itself. With its ease for Englishspeakers, its Mediterranean climate, and the endless activities and sights to see, this unpredictable city is made to be explored.

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What’s on your

YOU’RE NOT ALONE WHEN IT COMES TO COPING www.turn2me.org

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07/03/2018 10:21

MOTORING VOLVO XC60

SAFETY FIRST: VOLVO'S NEW XC60 VOLVO’S XC60 IS A TOUCH OF SCANDINAVIAN CLASS, WRITES CONOR FORREST.

S

weden, apparently, is investigating the possibility of expanding its network of nuclear fallout shelters.

The Scandinavians are worried about being in the firing line between North Korea and the US, with threats being bandied about like two schoolboys trading insults across the classroom, if those schoolboys had access to an arsenal of nuclear weapons. These days, it seems like simply sitting into one of Volvo’s latest line-up would be just as effective for the Swedes – better, at least, than Ireland’s solution of chugging a few iodine tablets and closing the curtains.

Take Volvo’s mid-size SUV, the XC60, which is much more than a scaled down version of the XC90 range-topper and one of a number of tremendous cars they’ve been making recently thanks to Chinese investment. Sit inside and you’re probably in one of the safest cars on the planet, amply equipped with park assist, reversing camera, cross traffic alert (which warns of traffic passing by if you’re reversing), a lane keeping aid, distance alert, not to mention a nifty head-up display, road sign information and adaptive cruise control. If there’s a car sitting in your blindspot you’ll be alerted via a red warning light in your wing mirrors. And for long, boring journeys along the motorway there’s Pilot Assist, Volvo’s innocuously named take on semi-autonomous driving that basically combines adaptive cruise control with lane

assist to keep you on the straight and narrow with minimal driver input.

While it probably won’t improve your chances of surviving a direct missile hit, it’ll at least try to avoid it.

The XC60 is a car for drivers who have graduated beyond the confines of the crossover, who want something with a bit more power, ride height, comfort and safety. On the road, it drives more like a car than an SUV, equipped as it is with deft and responsive steering, a great turning circle, plenty of traction and very little body roll. It’s comfortable too, the changeable suspension soaking up the punishment on a variety of surfaces from potholes and speed bumps to railway tracks and back roads without a complaint.

My test model featured the 2.0L D4 diesel engine with plenty of poke and averaging around 7L/100km (40mpg). The 232hp D5 version offers more power and less fuel economy, while the plug-in petrol hybrid T8 with 407hp offers a more environmentally-friendly choice.

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MOTORING VOLVO XC60

POWER:

BHP: 190 0-100 KM/H

7 .9 SECONDS

VOLVO XC60 D4 MOMENTUM

The automatic gearbox is simply divine, whirring through the gears without so much as a slight jolt.

As is the interior. Volvo’s reputation for interior quality shines through the XC60’s cabin, a combination of comfortable, trendy leather, brushed aluminium and soft-touch materials throughout, though the doors in my Momentum model were a tad plasticky. There is plenty of head and legroom, lots of space for three adults in the back row, and decent sized door bins, central compartment and glovebox.

There’s a solid, well-made feel about the XC60, sleek and modern but minimalist – everything you

might expect from a Swedish mind.

Everything is well laid out for the driver, the multifunction steering wheel is easy on the eye, and there’s good visibility – it doesn’t seem like a tall car but once you’re inside you really feel a step above the surrounding traffic. The fantastic user-friendly media centre sits head and shoulders above the competition, with virtually everything controlled via the touchscreen.

The sat nav works wonderfully, the sound system is aural pleasure, the seats are luxurious (and feature aluminium crumple zones) and while the mechanically operated boot isn’t revolutionary, it is quite useful. There’s even a 230V outlet accessible from the back should you require a shave on the go.

Pricing begins at €51,950, accompanied by an impressive standard list that includes cruise control, hill start assist, the power operated tailgate, rear park assist, heated front seats and sat nav. That stacks up well against its main rivals – a little more than the Audi Q5 and undercutting the BMW X3, both good options in their own right. The old XC60 was a family favourite and, if I had the choice, given the comfort, design and sheer quality on offer, I’d have the new one in a heartbeat.

C02: 136g/km ANNUAL TAX OF

€280

PRICE: €60,045 INCLUDING EXTRAS (RANGE STARTS AT €53,950) AMBULANCE IRELAND

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MOTORING VOLKSWAGEN AMAROK

ANALYSING THE AMAROK VOLKSWAGEN'S LATEST VERSION OF ITS 4X4 FEATURES A V6 ENGINE, UPGRADED CABIN AND PLENTY OF TORQUE FOR TRANSPORTING HEAVY LOADS, WRITES CONOR FORREST.

A

lthough I’ve never really had any use for one, I’ve always been a fan of the 4x4. You feel like you can tackle any road from bog pathways to motorways, you’ve got a great view of your surroundings (neighbours beware), and the newest iterations are becoming increasingly wellequipped even as standard – sat nav, heated seats and reversing cameras would be almost unheard of 10 or 20 years ago. And they’re not just the preserve of farmers or builders anymore – some urban dwellers have taken a shine to the tall profiles, big wheels and 4x4 capabilities to help tackle the extremes of Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, or perhaps Avoca in Rathcoole. Take the Volkswagen Amarok, which has always managed to combine the rugged features and practicality you’d expect from a pick-up with styling worthy of a car, spiced with a healthy standard equipment list and more dynamic handling and driving characteristics.

And, after a week behind its wheel, the latest version is no different.

Visually speaking the Amarok is impressive, particularly if you opt for a flashier colour and the chrome load securing bar that rises over the rear window. My test model featured 20-inch wheels that are stylish but impact the steering and ride comfort.

For everyday use, 18-inch options would be the better choice – it’s harder to tell the difference when they’re covered in muck. It’s quite a capable vehicle too. Given that these beasts are workhorses, tasked with pulling trailers or transporting animal feed, power and torque in particular are quite important. No trouble for my Highline Amarok (Trendline and Comfortline occupy the rungs below), powered by a 3.0L V6 producing 224hp and up to 550 Nm torque, a big increase on the old 2.0L engine. As a result, the Amarok can cart around a hefty payload of 928kg in the load bay and tow up to 3,500kg, roughly translating to 43-odd sheep or several large bags of animal feed. That’s aided by a smooth eight-speed automatic gearbox with plenty of pulling power and speed through the range,

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MOTORING VOLKSWAGEN AMAROK

designed to reduce fuel consumption on long journeys – expect average consumption of around 8.5-9L/100km (33mpg). If you want something with a little less power, 204hp and 163hp V6 versions are also available.

On the road, the Amarok feels solid, with plenty of traction in the corners though the steering isn’t overly responsive. I’ve driven the L200 and Fiat Fullback (two versions of the same vehicle) not too long ago and the Amarok drives most like a car of the three, much sharper and better placed on the road. If you’re driving in very wet or snowy conditions, you’ll have the comfort of all four wheels working to keep you on course. For a little extra help, the Amarok is fitted with rear axle differential lock, providing better traction on difficult ground or when taking off on a sloped surface. The Amarok’s capabilities also extend off road, thanks to VW’s take on permanent four-wheel drive, 4MOTION. Slopes of up to 29.5 degrees can be tackled from the front, the wide wheelbase allows steady driving on inclines of up to 50 degrees, not to mention a wading depth of 500mm for those treacherous puddles and a few digital tools such as off-road ABS and Hill Descent Assist to keep you the right side up.

FUNCTIONAL STYLE Inside it’s much the same – functional and durable with a little style and very Volkswagen, one of the few pick-ups that actually looks and feels like a car from behind the wheel. Highline is the second most luxurious option you can choose, with Alcantara seats, velour

floor mats, front and rear sensors, a parking camera and a few chrome decorations throughout as standard, though the hard plastic dashboard is a little off-putting. The leather seats in my test model were an optional extra, perhaps a better choice if you’re not going to be garbed in muddy or dusty clothes all day, or if you don’t mind getting them dirty. For a cheaper option with a decent bit of kit, opt for the mid-range Comfortline that includes air con, a 6.3-inch media centre, leather steering wheel, cruise control, rear privacy glass, automatic headlights and front and rear parking sensors.

Practicality shines through. There’s a decent amount of space front and back, with a good deal of head and legroom, particularly in the front. The driving position is very comfortable and it’s one of the most refined vehicles I’ve ever driven, well insulated from the outside world, so much so that I could barely hear the voice of a person talking two feet from the window. Storage space could be better – there’s plenty for paperwork and small odds and ends, but the glovebox is fairly small and the door bins are narrow, as is the compartment between the front seats. There’s good visibility through the back window, though a reversing camera is still a must for a vehicle of this size (optional on Trendline and Comfortline spec).

Getting in and out can be a little awkward – there’s a helpful handle on the passenger side but a similar one would be handy for the driver, particularly if you’re short of leg.

You can also fold up each of the rear

bench seats for transporting bulky items on the floor. Add several 12V connections front and back, a proper handbrake, and a voice enhancer that boosts your voice in noisy conditions and at high speeds (much to the dismay of my passengers), and there’s very little to be disappointed about.

Then there’s the load bay. The Amarok’s cargo bed measures exactly 1,222 mm between the wheelbase, just the size of a Euro pallet. The load bay was covered by a plastic rolling cover that works well if a little flimsy – I’d opt for the pricier but sturdier metal cover, particularly if you’re going to be storing tools or other expensive items underneath.

Is the Amarok worth the price?

The entry-level 163hp version starts off at €37,450 (the Hilux begins at €29,250 for a single cab, the Mitsubishi L200 at €30,250 for the doublecab) rising to €60,750 for the top of the line 224hp Aventura. There are certainly cheaper options in the pick-up market, but none with quite the same rugged sense of class, though the Ford Ranger comes close and the new Mercedes X-Class will also prove competitive. If you’re on the hunt for a cheaper workhorse that will be punished severely, perhaps a Toyota Hilux would do better. But, if you’re looking for a daily driver that feels as at home picking the kids up from school or heading to M&S as it does when you’re ferrying a load of cattle feed to the far end of the farm or traversing mountainous land in search of a few stray sheep, coupled with range-topping styling and comfort, the Amarok is an easy choice.

AMBULANCE IRELAND

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49 09/03/2018 09:29

Pat McDonagh, Owner Supermac’s, Trócaire Supporter.

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07/03/2018 10:22 05/09/2016 09:51

BOOK SHELF

BOOKSHELF We pick out a few interesting options for bookworms.

Atlas of The Irish Revolution John Crowley, Donal Ó Drisceoil, and Mike Murphy

A

magnificent account of Ireland’s revolutionary period, and one that has been flying off shelves, Atlas of The Irish Revolution is a must-read for anyone with an interest in the history of modern Ireland.

The landmark publication comprehensively charts the period between 1913 and 1923 in a 1,000-page, 5kg tome, featuring case studies, chapters and essays from more than 100 scholars, complemented by photographs, maps, tables and other eye-catching documents – many of which are published for the first time – to provide an impressively broad view of events during that turbulent decade. Examining events both at a local and national level, it considers the issues that played a role in Ireland’s journey towards independence, including class, community, gender, religion and ethnicity, bringing that period to life for students, scholars, and enthusiasts of Ireland’s past.

Atlas of the Irish Revolution is published by Cork University Press, priced at €59.

AMBULANCE IRELAND

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BOOK SHELF

In America Catríona Perry The election of Donald Trump as US President has divided an already fractious country, and indeed the world. His followers are loyal, his detractors fierce, the man himself seemingly unperturbed in the middle. Among those who backed Hillary Clinton or perhaps simply opposed Trump, a similar question was echoed in the aftermath of November 2016 – How could this happen?It's a question that Catríona Perry, RTÉ's Washington correspondent for four years, tries to answer in her début book In America: Tales from Trump Country. It's a portrait of the people who elected the businessman and reality TV star and view the self-proclaimed billionaire as a man of the people, an insight into their mindset and why so many people from so many different backgrounds cast their vote for a candidate with such dubious credentials. Those reasons are wide-ranging, and the book explores feelings of alienation and despair, frustration with the opioid epidemic sweeping the nation, not to mention the disturbing racial undertones that helped sweep Trump into the White House, including an endorsement from former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. “All those beliefs that you have buried in your back yard, all those thoughts that you have tucked under your mattress, [Trump] makes it OK to bring those out into the light and say them out loud,” one woman states rather ominously.

Perry has penned an interesting and at times disturbing spotlight on the ordinary people who helped change the landscape of modern American politics.

In America is published by Gill Books and priced at €22.99.

Illegal by Eoin Colfer In recent years, millions of refugees have made the perilous voyage across the Mediterranean, fleeing persecution and death in search of a better life. To most of us these are faceless and nameless figures, but Eoin Colfer's Illegal puts a face to these struggles for a younger audience, brought to life by Andrew Donkin's wonderful illustrations.While Colfer's famed Artemis Fowl series tackled the world of magic and fairies, Illegal takes on a more weighty and very real situation. Twelve-year-old Ebo is on a journey from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe, navigating the desert and catching a boat at Tripoli in the hopes of making it to a new world. It's a powerful, moving and evocative book, a fictional account very much rooted in reality and capable of provoking thought among all generations.

Illegal is published by Hodder Children's Books, priced at €17.99 in Easons.

The Gospel According to Blindboy Blindboy Boatclub

If you're looking for a run-of-the-mill collection of fictional short stories, The Gospel According to Blindboy is not it. Penned by Blindboy Boatclub, one of the famed Limerick duo notable for wearing plastic bags on their heads while delivering incise commentary and skewering satire on modern Ireland, this entertaining examination of life in 15 short stories has been variously described as eclectic, unique, a work of genius, and disturbing.

Each story is told from the perspective of a different character on topics ranging from love to politics. One features a girl from Tipperary being kicked out of ISIS, another of a van powered by Cork accents. And it's not just a book – between each chapter is a drawing the author invites readers to colour in or expand upon. If I had to shoehorn it into one particular genre, I'd choose 'Other'. Still, if you're a fan of the Rubberbandits' previous work and are already attuned to their particular style of humour, it's a well-written must-have quite unlike anything else you're likely to read.

The Gospel According to Blindboy is published by Gill Books, priced at €19.99.

IRELAND 52 AMBULANCE

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09/03/2018 16:06

80% 5% IN AFRICA WOMEN DO

WITH ONLY

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OF THE HELP & SUPPORT

In Africa, the hand that rocks the cradle also tills the field. In addition to raising children, preparing food, carrying water and collecting firewood, African women do up to 80% of the farm work. But they get as little as 5% of the support - in training, seeds, land and credit. You can change this. Add your name to the petition to demand increased support for African women farmers. Find out more at www.changeherlife.org

ADD YOUR NAME

Text ‘PETITION’ followed by your name to 57856 Texts will be charged at your standard network rate

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HER LIFE .ORG 07/03/2018 10:24

WE DON’T WANT TO SAVE CHILDREN’S LIVES Children’s lives shouldn’t need saving from entirely preventable causes. Every day tens of thousands of children worldwide die needlessly from illnesses such as measles, tetanus and diarrhoea. UNICEF wants you to help prevent these deaths. We believe that one child dying is one too many. We believe in zero and we desperately need your help.

Call 01 878 3000 or visit unicef.ie today to give your support.

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07/03/2018 10:25

ROAD SAFETY UPDATE

EVALUATING ROAD SAFETY While 2017 represented a record year in terms of limiting fatalities on Irish roads, more must be done to promote safety and further reduce road deaths.

A

ccording to provisional statistics from the Road Safety Authority (RSA), 2017 witnessed a record low of fatalities on Irish roads – a 15 per cent drop in road deaths compared to 2016. Between January 1st and December 31st 2017, a total of 158 people were killed as a result of 143 crashes, the lowest figure since records began in 1959.

Those most at risk throughout 2017 were aged 66 and older, representing 21 per cent of road users who lost their lives, closely followed by 16-25 year olds. Fewer child fatalities occurred last year, as did incidents involving the deaths of drivers, passengers, pedestrians and motorcyclists. Five more cyclists lost their lives compared to 2016.

“I would... like to express my thanks to all the drivers who slowed down, wore their safety belt, put the mobile away and most importantly did not drink or take drugs and drive. All road users played a part in making this the safest year on record – but we can never be complacent and we can always do more to reduce road fatalities further,” said Assistant Commissioner Michael Finn, Garda National Roads Policing Unit. “One road death is one too many. An Garda Síochána will continue to target those that put others in danger on the roads, and the additional 150 Traffic Corps members being recruited in 2018 will greatly assist us to target and intercept those that cause risk to you and I on the road.”

The statistics have been welcomed by a number of stakeholders including An Garda Síochána, the Department of Transport and the RSA. But, while such a significant drop in deaths on our roads is undoubtedly positive, 158 lives lost is still an unacceptable figure.

“It is very encouraging to see that we have reversed the upward trend in road deaths witnessed in 2016. The combined focus on improved legislation, greater enforcement and road safety campaigns all played their part in saving lives,” said Minister for Transport Shane Ross, who AMBULANCE IRELAND

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ROAD SAFETY UPDATE

STRATEGY The news of the record decrease arrived shortly before the publication

of a mid-term evaluation report of the Government’s Road Safety Strategy 2013-2020, which is guiding Ireland’s efforts to make our roads among the safest in the EU. The strategy consists of some 144 actions across education, enforcement, engineering and evaluation, such as penalty point increases, nationwide road safety education, and an increase in community first responders.

Noting that stakeholder organisations are operating in the face of reduced resources and increased numbers of vehicles on the road, the report advocates a ‘back to basics’ approach to road safety, targeting the most dangerous behaviours that contribute to fatal collisions. It also called for resources to allow gardai to provide necessary levels of enforcement in relation to speeding, drink-driving, the wearing of seatbelts and mobile phone use, as well as funding for the maintenance and renewal of the existing road network. Twenty-two new actions have been identified for implementation by 2020; 12 key actions with the most potential to save lives include a 10 per cent year-on-year increase in Road Policing Unit numbers, examining the possibility of compulsory road safety education in secondary schools, and an increase in penalty points for offences such as mobile phone use, speeding, and unrestrained children in vehicles.

“While I am encouraged by the progress outlined to-date in the mid-

COLLISION REPORT 2017

linked the reduction in fatalities with higher detection rates. “But while it is heartening to see that 2017 was the lowest year on record for road deaths, this is not good enough. We need to continue our efforts if we are to achieve the objective of reducing fatalities to 124 by 2020. Ultimately our aim should be zero deaths on our roads.”

Part of the Minister’s efforts in tackling road deaths and injuries comes in the form of the Road Traffic Bill, which is currently before the Dáil for discussion and has faced criticism from certain quarters. The Bill, for which Minister Ross called for an “unimpeded passage”, would see road users caught with between 50 and 80 microgrammes of alcohol per 100mm of blood receive a three-month ban. Under current legislation, they receive a fine and penalty points.

The Minister has also indicated his desire to target those who drive well above the legal speed limits. A graduated penalty points scheme may be introduced this year, which could see a greater amount of points imposed for every 10km or 20kms a driver is travelling above the limit. “Speeding is not equally as bad as drink-driving, but it is a very high-risk behaviour and it needs to be addressed,” he told The Irish Times in January.

term evaluation report, I acknowledge that there is still much work to be done to ensure all 144 actions are completed,” Minister Ross commented.

To borrow a phrase from an Irish political party, there’s a lot done and more to do. RSA Chief Executive Moyagh Murdock has described Ireland as being “a long way off” achieving the targets as laid out in the government’s strategy, with a 22 per cent reduction (on 2017 figures) in road deaths required in order to meet a target of 124 or fewer fatalities by 2020. It’s undoubtedly a challenging objective, and one that requires a collaborative effort by all stakeholders.

“The drop in deaths in 2017 is a very welcome development. Whatever the reason for this decline, the main factor was ultimately as a result of the decision of every road user to change their behaviour for the better. For this I thank you,” said RSA Chairperson Liz O’Donnell. “However, my great concern is that this downward trend will not be sustained in 2018 and beyond. There must be a concerted effort on the part of Government, Government departments, agencies and the public to continue to implement the measures in the Government’s Road Safety Strategy.”

• March was the most dangerous month, with 20 fatalities.

• The most dangerous day of was Monday (37 deaths), followed by Sunday (32).

• The highest number of fatalities on Irish roads occurred between 12pm and 4pm.

• Dublin (23), Cork (14) and Mayo (12) witnessed the highest number of deaths.

• Seatbelt use remains a concern.

IRELAND 56 AMBULANCE

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12/03/2018 10:02

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26/02/2018 19/09/2017 11:51 20/03/2017 09:16 14:51

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06/01/2017 13:36 26/02/2018 10/10/2017 09:18 10:41