More often than not the real news in the Irish Times is hidden away
in the health or Business supplements, an exemplar of this would
have been Karen lillington's excellent tech column over the years
in relation to legislation both EU and National on Data Retention.

Today's Health Supplement has a report on NWCI (National Women's Council
of Ireland) and the HSE regarding the erosion by the HSE of Statutory
provisions on maternity leave cover.

Quickie excerpt:

'an unofficial policy applied by the HSE under it's employment control framework
was hampering recruitment of temporary staff to replace people on maternity
leave, the NWCI, the national representative women's organisation said'.

Current HSE policy in Dublin maternity hospitals allows for the discharge of new
Mothers and infants within 24 hours, without the necessary battery of tests, nor
the aid of a midwife with regard to breast-feeding and bonding with the infant.
These tests are then carried out in the home , e.g the heel-************************* test
(which diagnoses a variety of ailments including Cystic Fibrosis).
This current HSE policy is carried out both in the Coombe Women's Hospital and in the
Rotunda Maternity hospital, where the HSE appear to be moving money around
left , right and centre. The accepted system was to keep a new mother for 3-4
days and to allow a woman who has a second or third child to go within 24-48
hours. Some women have been put up at hotels- and it seems par for the course
to put women's health care at the bottom of the list.

The report on Maternity Leave policy and rationalisation of services by
the HSE bureaucracy is by Lorna Siggins. The current government advocates
a strong family policy without the requisite supports and infrastructure to
support young families.

HSE response: ' The HSE said that it kept staff numbers under constant review
and decisions to employ replacement staff must have due regard to the current
budget allocation, the need to deliver services within budget and the approved
employment ceiling'

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Great. Good enough for us worker drones.
It's understandable. The financial controllers need to save money and cut corners on their budgets to make sure they and the consultants continue to earn a half-decent wage after all. Golf club membership doesn't pay for itself.