Anxiety and depression in the Republic of Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland resulted in a nationwide quarantine on March 27th, 2020. This study represents the first assessment of rates of anxiety and depression in the general population of Ireland during the pandemic.Aims: Our first aim was to estimate the probable prevalence rates of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and depression, and to identify sociodemographic risk factors associated with screening positive for GAD or depression. Our second aim was to determine if COVID-19 related anxiety was highest amongst those in society at greatest risk of morality from COVID-19. Method: Self-report data was collected from a nationally representative Irish sample (N = 1,041) online between March 31st and April 5th; the first week of the nationwide quarantine measures. Recognised cut-off scores on the GAD-7 and PHQ-9 were used to estimate rates of GAD and depression. Correlates of screening positive for GAD or depression were assessed using logistic regression analysis.Results: GAD (20.0%), depression (22.8%), and GAD or depression (27.7%) were common. Screening positive for GAD or depression was associated with younger age, female sex, loss of income due to COVID-19, COVID-19 infection, and higher perceived risk of COVID-19 infection. Citizens aged 65 and older had significantly higher levels of COVID-19 related anxiety than adults aged 18-34. Conclusions: Initial results from this multi-wave study monitoring changes in population anxiety and depression throughout the pandemic indicate that GAD and depression were common experiences in the population during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic

A demographic survey of unwanted horses in Ireland 2005-2010

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Irish Horse Industry expanded during the Celtic Tiger boom years, then contracted in the current economic recession. High value horses were traditionally controlled through sale at public auction, private sales and sales to dealers; these are now also being reduced by decreases in production (> 40%), and increases in retirement, re-homing, euthanasia and disposal through Category 2 plants and abattoirs. The absence or banning of horse abattoirs has been shown to have very significant welfare social and economic consequences in the USA. This study described the currently available data on the demographics of unwanted horses in Ireland from 2005 to 2010.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The majority of horses euthanised by practicing veterinarians are destroyed on medical grounds but the number euthanised at the request of welfare groups and the state, as well as welfare related calls and the number of horses involved in these calls and subsequent visits is increasing reflecting the increasing involvement of the veterinary profession in equine welfare. Welfare groups have limited resources and do not have a tradition of recording data, but they too have reported increasing calls, visits and numbers of horses per visit. Welfare groups provide significant service to equine welfare and the community. Local Authorities report similar trends. Over 300 horses were found dead or required immediate or subsequent euthanasia following welfare group and local authority visits in 2010, which is of national concern. The majority of local authority interfaces with unwanted horses are with urban (60%) rather than rural (40%) horses. Mortality figures are poor indicators of non-fatal neglect. More horses were admitted into the care of local authorities than welfare groups, reflecting significant state and taxpayer investment in the control of low value horses. Category 2 plants and abattoirs represent a significant state investment in licensing and control in the national interest. Abattoirs provide an increasingly important and essential service for the disposal of unwanted horses. Despite the increase in unwanted horses, Ireland is a minority contributor to the EU slaughter total.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>There is a need for annual demographic data compilation and review of the numbers of unwanted horses and ponies within the horse industry to assist policy makers and legislators.</p

Survey of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's experiences of mental health services in Ireland

Very little is known about the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in relation to mental health services. Therefore, the overall aim of the current research was to explore LGBT people's experiences of mental health service provision in Ireland. The objectives were to identify barriers and opportunities, to highlight service gaps, and to identify good practice in addressing the mental health and well-being of LGBT people. A mixed methods research design using quantitative and qualitative approaches was deployed. A multipronged sampling strategy was used and 125 respondents responded to the questionnaire. A subset of phase 1 (n = 20) were interviewed in the qualitative phase. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically. The sample consisted of LGBT people (n = 125) over 18 years of age living in Ireland. Over three-quarters (77%) had received a psychiatric diagnosis. Findings include that whilst 63% of respondents were able to be 'out' to practitioners, 64% felt that mental health professionals lacked knowledge about LGBT issues and 43% felt practitioners were unresponsive to their needs. Finally, respondent recommendations about how mental health services may be more responsive to LGBT people's needs are presented

Appraising infrastructure for new towns in Ireland

Copyright © 2013 ICE Publishing Ltd. Permission is granted by ICE Publishing to print one copy for personal use. Any other use of these PDF files is subject to reprint fees.Over a 20 year period 1996–2016, a new 223 ha town is being developed 10 miles west of Dublin's city centre on the south side of Lucan, County Dublin, in the Republic of Ireland (ROI). This €4 billion ‘Adamstown’ development is the first of four planning schemes in ROI to be approved as a strategic development zone – an integrated planning framework deemed suitable for creating sustainable neighbourhoods in sites of strategic economic or social importance to the state. The creation of sustainable neighbourhoods in ROI is facilitated through the implementation of a checklist of 60 indicators. This paper critically examines the attempts being made to consider sustainability within the development's overall infrastructure plan, specifically: transport, energy and water services, information technology and waste. Inadequacies in the existing development are linked to shortfalls in the sustainability checklist, by way of a comparison of infrastructure-related indicators from the ROI checklist with those derived for the UK and exemplar European projects (i.e. Bedzed, UK and Freiberg, Germany). The subsequent legacy for future residents of Adamstown is then considered in the context of ‘what if’ scenarios

Ensuring the right to education for Roma children : an Anglo-Swedish perspective

Access to public education systems has tended to be below normative levels where Roma children are concerned. Various long-standing social, cultural, and institutional factors lie behind the lower levels of engagement and achievement of Roma children in education, relative to many others, which is reflective of the general lack of integration of their families in mainstream society. The risks to Roma children’s educational interests are well recognized internationally, particularly at the European level. They have prompted a range of policy initiatives and legal instruments to protect rights and promote equality and inclusion, on top of the framework of international human rights and minority protections. Nevertheless, states’ autonomy in tailoring educational arrangements to their budgets and national policy agendas has contributed to considerable international variation in specific provision for Roma children. As this article discusses, even between two socially liberal countries, the UK and Sweden, with their well-advanced welfare states and public systems of social support, there is a divergence in protection, one which underlines the need for a more consistent and positive approach to upholding the education rights and interests of children in this most marginalized and often discriminated against minority group