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22nd July 2014 • Volume 21, Issue 27 • Leader House, North Street, Swords, Co. Dublin. • Tel: 8•400•200 • info@northcountyleader.ie
Defibrillators Needed On Our Main Streets By Patrick Finnegan The County Leader reported recently, about the case where two men, Darragh John Ambulance Swords Division, and Lawlor and Ger Clarke who both work I’m calling on local businesses in in the Pavilions Shopping Centre, Swords to sponsor a defibrillator, which Swords came to the rescue of a man, would mean so much,” said Darragh. who collapsed in a bookies shop in Balbriggan native, John Devereaux, who Swords. Darragh brought a defibrillator contacted the County Leader about this from the Pavilions to attend to the man. situation, also spoke about the imporAccording to the ambulance crew who tance of high visibility and availability of attended this man, there is no doubt defibrillators. He also spoke about the that he would have died, but for the possibility of organising a First intervention of Darragh, Ger and the Responders group in Balbriggan. defibrillator. Regarding the availability of defibrillaHowever, this vital piece of life saving tors on our main streets, he had very equipment had to be definite views. taken from the Pavilions He said, “Yes I would be Shopping Centre, where of the opinion that the nearest defibrillator external defibrillators was located. need to be more available This story has provoked for use on our main comment from members streets. I live in of the public, who have Balbriggan and you asked why life saving would be looking at an defibrillators are not approximate time of 10 to available on our main 20 minutes on average, streets, and wonder what before an ambulance can would have happened get to you from the had the defibrillator in National Ambulance the Pavilions not been Service base in accessible. Lissenhall, or if that’s not This inspired Darragh to available, then it would investigate how to go probably come from the about setting this up. He Fire Station in Swords,” told the County Leader, he said. “I’m 100 per cent behind “That can be a lifetime for defibrillators being made someone who has chest available for use on the pain, or in cardiac arrest,” main street of Swords, he said. and elsewhere. I An example of an outdoor “It’s a vital piece of contacted the County difibrillator equipment and needs to Council, but they said be in accessible areas, they do not fund such projects. I’m and more members of the public should determined to put a campaign in place, be trained as a Cardiac First to make sure that defibrillators are Responder.” available in prominent places in Swords “I am looking to set up such a group in and other towns. I’m a member of the St Balbriggan town in the coming weeks
and I would ask that anybody in the area who would be interested to contact me on jdeve65@gmail.com for more information. Others observed that had this defibrillator not been available, the consequences would have been unimaginable. The question many ask is why was it necessary to call the Pavilions to access the defibrillator in the first place.? What if the person was unavailable at the time.? Why are there no vital defibrillators on the main street in Swords and on the main streets of all of our towns? We are lagging behind much smaller rural communities, who have defibrillators clearly displayed prominently on their main streets. Swords, by population is the third largest town in Ireland, yet it lags behind much smaller town, in this regard. Similarly, Balbriggan has a very fast growing population, yet practically nobody there would know what to do, or where to turn, in the event of such a medical emergency on one of our main streets. Most sports clubs have defibrillators on their premises, because they realise the life saving function they provide. Alas, most of these are locked away for use within the club itself, and are not available for public use after hours. A spokesperson for Dublin Fire Brigade ambulance, Ian Lawless, who is based at Swords Fire Station was fully supportive of defibrillators being available on our main streets. He told the County Leader, “Early intervention is key in saving lives, and the easy availability of defibrillators is essential in this regard. People can be trained in using them, maybe through a community project. They’re not expensive to buy nowadays, and they will be even cheaper if they can contribute to saving a life,” he said.
Little Molly McNally Pictured is Skerries woman, Eavan Smith, who is undertaking to walk the full Camino de Santiago de Compostella (800kms), in aid of the Molly McNally Miracle Trust. See story on page 5
Vote To Reduce Property Tax Welcomed Following a motion from the Fianna Fail members of the County Council, a vote to reduce the local property tax was passed with a large majority. Swords councillor, Darragh Butler told the County Leader about the consequences of the vote. He said, “On Monday 14th July, Fianna Fáil councillors put forward a motion to Fingal County Council recommending a 15 per cent reduction in the property tax for home owners in the area. This is the maximum reduction allowed under government regulations. The motion was passed, by 30 votes for, nil Cllr. Darragh Butler against, with seven abstentions. Recent media reports indicate that Fingal County Council are one of the few local authorities that can afford to reduce property tax. “This tax is anti-Dublin, where house prices are higher than in the rest of the country. Our county is a well managed one and I can envisage local authorities across the country reducing their property taxes, whether that can afford it or not. We have been named as one of only three local authorities in the country that can afford to reduce our property tax,” he said. He continued, “I’m of the opinion that all counties will jump to reduce this tax, whether they can afford it or not. If we had not voted for this reduction, we would be out of step with other councils, and it would mean we would be further subsidising these areas. The government has acted disgracefully here, by intimating that they will threaten to impose levies on us, should we reduce the tax.” he said.