30th March, 2000
Notice
Board
Club
Cupla Focal
A number of leaving cert. students come along to the Irish
speaking group in the Carrigaline GAA every Thursday night. It
provides them with an opportunity to practice the Irish they have
and gives them the confidence to speak more fluently in our
native language. Newcomers both young and old are always welcome
any Thursday night between 8.00 p.m. and 10.00 p.m.
EASTER
CEILI
Esker Riada are paying their annual visit to Carrigaline on
Saturday April 9th to play for the Owenabue Valley monthly ceili.
the popular ceili band from the Midlands are sure to provide top
class traditional dance music at the GAA Pavilion, now recognised
as Ireland's number one ceili venue. Carrigaline is renound for
the Cead Mile Failte, quality dance floor, top ceili bands and
always an abundance of tea, sandwiches and scones. Rince from 9.30
pm to 1.30 am, with a break for the tea in the middle, all for
just £5
CHILDCARE
IN FINLAND
Municipal day-care
In Finland, every child under school age has the right to
municipal day-care once the parental allowance period ends (in
Finland they have Parental Leave), regardless of the income level
of the parents or of whether the parents work. According to the
Children's Day-care Act, the aim of day-care is to support
parents in raising children and to work with households in
promoting the individual and balanced development of children. By
extending the unconditional right to day-care to cover all
children under school age, the educational aspect of day-care in
addition to its practical aspect has been emphasised.
Municipalities arrange day-care in day-care centres and in the
form of supervised family day-care at the minder's home or as
group family day-care. Many municipalities also arrange
supervised play activity open to all in playgrounds and open day-care
centres.
In a day-care centre, groups may consist of four children under
three per child nurse or kindergarten teacher or seven children
over three per teacher. A family care minder may provide full-day-care
for a maximum of four children including the minder's own
children under school age. In addition, part-time care may be
provided for one pre school or school age child.
Most of the children in day-care are in full-day-care, but part-time
care is also provided. The municipalities also operate 24-hour
day-care to provide care for the children of parents who do shift
work. Children in day-care receive all necessary meals during
their time spent there.
Day-care staff are required to have at least a secondary-level
degree in the social and health care sector. In a day-care centre,
one in three staff must have a post-secondary level degree. A
kindergarten teacher's degree is now a university degree. Family
care minders must have appropriate training.
Pre-school teaching
In day-care in Finland, care and education merge, unlike in many
other European countries. This "educare" model means
that care always has integral educational features while,
correspondingly, teaching contains elements of care. This system
is moulded by the children's need for full-time day-care while
their parents are at work. Pre-school teaching is included as
part of day-care education and is defined as providing systematic
support for the child's growth, development and learning. Three
in four six-year-olds take part in pre-school teaching.
Fees for municipal day-care
Municipalities' charge fees for day-care as percentages based on
the size of families and their income level. The maximum fee is
£30 per child per month (1999). No fee is charged for those
families with the lowest incomes. Client fees cover about 15 per
cent of total day-care costs.
Uses of the different child care Systems
The child care systems for children under school age are shown in
the diagram below. Most children use all the forms of publicly
supported care before they reach school age. First, they are
cared for at home with the aid of parental allowance, then most
families use child home care allowance at least for a while, and
then children go to municipal day-care centres or family day-care,
or the family arranges day-care with the aid of private child-care
allowance.
In autumn 1997, there were nearly 214,000 children in municipal
day-care. This figure also includes school children in afternoon
care. 46% of all children under school age were in day-care, and
about 80% of these children were in full-time day-care. About 25%
of children under three and about 64% of 3-6-year-olds were in
municipal day-care. 64% of the children in day-care were in day-care
centres, while 36% were in family day-care. So far, few children
have been in private day-care.
Day care for children under 3 at the end of 1997
Parental allowance 29% / Child home care allowance 41%
Private child-care allowance 1% / Municipal day-care centre 11%
Municipal family day-care 13% / Other 5%
Day care for children under 7 at the end of 1997
Parental allowance 12% / Child home care allowance 26%
Private child-care allowance 2% / Municipal day-care centre 30%
Municipal family day-care 17% / Other 13%
Care leave for the care of a sick child
The parents of a child under the age of ten have the right to
four days off work to care for the child if it falls ill. This is
subject to the condition that either both parents work or the
child's only parent works.
ON THE
ROUNDABOUT
Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind are looking for Puppywalkers,
phone 021/870929….Winner of the Time Out Best New Play
"Car" by Chris O'Connell is on in the Granary April 4th
to 8th……Progressive Democrat's Senator Marian Quill
calls for the Appointment of a senior Government Minister to
tackle environmental protection….Grenagh/Blarney Anti-Dump
Campaign have issued a warning to Douglas Residents about the
risk of pollution to the water supply….The C.M.P. Community
Games Art for U/8, U/12, U/14, U/16 boys and U/10, U/14 Model
making will be held at St. Mary's National School Mallow on Sat 1st
April…..The Carrigdhoun Branch of the Organisation of
National Ex-Service Men and Women will hold their annual La Na
BhFiann in Crosshaven on April 9th (ph, 021/842048).. A new
American magazine "Irish Connections" gets its Irish
launch on Fri March 31st at 8pm in O'Flaherty's Parnel Place….Actors
of Dionysus perform "Grave Gifts" at the Granary
Theatre on Fri 31st March and sat 1st April… Cork Community
Games are offering an 'Introduction to Sport Weekend' for 10/12
year olds in Trabolgan Holiday Centre on the 12th/14th May….Simon
Coveney TD MCC says the public must remain a priority in Aer
Rianta expansion…Deputy Deirdre Clune has contacted Cork
County Council and expressed her dismay that the walkway from
Carrigaline to Crosshaven is not continuing and the middle
section has not been finished.
IRRITABLE
BOWEL SYNDROME
by Declan Cronin of Apex Clinic
This condition is also known as irritable colon, mucous colitis,
and spastic colon and effects both men and women. It is a
syndrome (collection of symptoms) which can include constipation,
diarrhoea, bloated stomach, sharp pain inside the rectum, urgency
and incontinence, nausea, rumbling noises in the stomach,
belching, vomiting, wind, a feeling that one has not completely
emptied the bowels, fatigue, sleep disorders etc. Most lBS
sufferers will experience pain in the abdomen. This pain can be
experienced low down in the groin, up under the ribs or on the
right or left of the abdomen. In fact sufferers report that they
can experienced pain in any part of the abdomen. As with most
problems the person suffering from lBS tends to think that he/she
is the only person in the world with this problem. Researchers
differ as to the amount of people who suffer from lBS and
estimates range from sixteen to forty per cent of the population.
In Ireland it seems that more women have this condition than men.
It's approximately two men to five women. However this may be
because women in this country tend to be far more health
conscious and likely to go to their doctor more often than men
are. In India where men seem to be more health conscious there
are approximately four men to every one woman diagnosed with lBS.
Due to the fact that the symptoms of lBS can mimic the symptoms
of other more serious conditions it is essential that a person
has been properly diagnosed as having lBS by their doctor.
Continued next week.
NORTH,
SOUTH, EAST, WEST
During the East/West arms reduction talks in
November 1985, US President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev,
General Secretary of the Soviet Union met for a private chat
during a break in the talks. The Cold War was forty years old and
both sides had being pursuing what had been termed as the "MAD"
policy (Mutual Assured Destruction). Now as the two men took a
stroll at the edge of Lake Geneva, they found refuge from the
cold crisp air in a nearby boathouse. To their delight they
boathouse had a rip roaring fire and the two leaders made
themselves comfortable in front of it, After a while Reagan
remarked "Here you and I are, two men in a room, probably
the only two men in the world who could bring about World War
Three. But by the same token, we may be the only two men in the
world who could perhaps bring about peace in the world."
Borrowing a quotation Reagan continued: "'Mr General
Secretary, we don't mistrust each other because we are armed; we
are armed because we mistrust each other.' It's fine that the two
of us and our people are talking about arms reductions, but isn't
it also important that you and I should be talking about how we
could reduce the mistrust between us?"
It could be argued that this statement marked the beginning of
the end of the cold war. One can only speculate how it would work
if applied to Northern Ireland.
