Fo rsa Issue 3 Cover Layout 1 · 2018-07-11 · Directors: Eamonn Bergin, Paul Doherty, Adrian Girling (British), Aidan Gordon, Patrick Howett, Michael Lacey, Dan McCarthy, Raymond

The magazine forFórsa members

Issue No3Summer-Autumn 2018 In this issue

Conference newsThe future for unionsBranch campaign officersRed against racismRoscommon disputeSNA reviewPlus all the latest union news with movies, competitions, music, travel and more

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RoscommonsolidarityConference season edition

President’s foreword

My name is Ann McGee and I’m the newly electedPresident of Fórsa. I was elected at the inauguralNational Conference in Killarney in May.

I’m humbled and deeply grateful to be elected by my union colleagues, and I’mlooking forward to the unique opportunity of representing you at the head of thisorganisation.

I’ve learned over the years that making the effort to do my best is what makes mehappy, even if I don’t succeed or win. Knowing I’ve put the effort in is what mattersmost, and my commitment to you is that’s what I’ll be doing throughout my term.

We have a fantastic union. At the heart of it all is 80,000 members who make it allpossible. My plan now is to make contact with all the divisional executives andbranches over the next number of months. I’m looking forward to meeting as manymembers as possible and learning as much as possible from you.

Our goal now is to restore conditions for lower paid workers across all grades andhelp drive job creation in the private sector.

There’s growing pressure for a faster restoration of pay and conditions and to seethe end of the lower entry points for new entrants. The current inequality is not justan entry level issue, it’s a career-long problem.

Reductions in working time, including the objective of returning public servants totheir pre-crisis hours, should be among our priorities when we get into talks on asuccessor to the current national agreement.

We’ve come a long way over the last few months and we’ve a lot of work to do in themonths and years ahead. Together, I believe we have the energy and commitment tomeet the challenges ahead because, ultimately, this is about you, the members.

Our colleagues in Roscommon County Council have taken strike action in support offamily-friendly working practices in the council. It was Fórsa’s first strike. While thisis a bit of labour history that nobody wanted to make, my message to Roscommon attheir rally on 23rd June was that Fórsa stands with them. We also welcome thedecision by the Siptu/LAPO Roscommon branch to back the strike action.

I also wish to express my deepest sympathies to the families of Tony Mitchell andGerry Gilroy, and to all their branch members and colleagues. Those we love don’t goaway, they walk beside us every day.

I look forward to working with you all within the Fórsa family over the next two years.

1The magazine for Fórsa members

Editorial

Fórsa is produced by Fórsa tradeunion's Communications Unit andis edited by Niall Shanahan.

Front cover: Luke and MarkMcLoughlin pictured at the Fórsarally in Roscommon town onSaturday 23rd June, organised inprotest at the management'srefusal to implement a Flexi Leaveprogramme in the council. Photo: Reg Gordon

Ann McGee, Fórsa President

June 2018


FÓRSA’S ROSCOMMON rally on 23rdJune was blessed with glorioussunshine, proving that the weather godswere at least on our side. It turned outto be quite a family event, so we weredelighted to discover Reg Gordon’sexcellent photo of our two youngsupporters, Luke and Mark McLoughlin,for the cover of this edition.

Luke and Mark’s generation are likely tobe facing a very different world of workin the future, and trade unions face aconsiderable challenge in adapting tosurvive.

The TUC’s general secretary FrancesO’Grady says it’s a case of “adapt or die”,while President Michael D Higgins toldour conference in May that the strugglefor decent work will be the definingstruggle of our age. In this edition

Bernard Harbor, an old friend ofFrances, looks at the challenges we’refacing.

Fórsa’s capacity and strength as acampaigning union has received a majorboost in the last few months, as thebranch campaign officers develop theirskills to amplify the union’s campaignmessages. Joe O’Connor reports.

The allocations for special needsassistants were published in May thisyear. A more timely announcementfollowing a concerted Fórsa campaignover the last 12 months to ensure thedelays of recent years weren’t repeated.

Shortly after the allocations wereannounced, the National Council forSpecial Education (NCSE) issued itsreview and recommendations on theSNA service. Seán Carabini answers the

hard questions while I tag along to get asense of what’s happening.

I also caught up with former memberJulia Kelly, who’s just published her thirdbook, Matchstick Man. It’s a compellingand brilliantly written account of Julia’srelationship with the artist CharlieWhisker and her experience of caring forhim after he developed Alzheimer’s.

Una-Minh Kavanagh looks ahead toautumn breaks off the beaten track,while Daniel Devery gets lyrical abouteating outside. Turns out the origin ofthe word ‘picnic’ has a strong Dublinmunicipal dimension. Elsewhere,Raymond Connolly takes a moment fromhis gruelling World Cup schedule to talkabout music and hairstyles.

Enjoy the summer n

In this issue

2 Summer-Autumn 2018

ROSCOMMON SOLIDARITY

CONFERENCE SEASON ..........................................................................................................4Services & Enterprises conference news and gallery

THE FUTURE OF UNIONS ........................................................................................................6Unions face a huge challenge as the nature of work continues to change

CONFERENCE SEASON ........................................................................................................10Civil Service conference news and gallery

TRIBUTE......................................................................................................................................14We pay tribute to two greatly missed activists Tony Mitchell and Gerry Gilroy

CONFERENCE SEASON ........................................................................................................16Fórsa’s inaugural national conference news and gallery

ROCKING THE RED..................................................................................................................22Supporting Wear Red Against Racism day

CHARITY CYCLE ......................................................................................................................23Fórsa’s cycling event this year honoured two cherished activists

AMPED UP ..................................................................................................................................24A report on the developing role of the branch campaign officer

SNA REVIEW..............................................................................................................................26News of next year’s allocations were followed by NCSE recommendations

LIVING WITH THE MATCHSTICK MAN ..............................................................................29An interview with author and former member Julia Kelly

ROSCOMMON RALLY..............................................................................................................31News and photos from the 23rd June rally

UNION NEWS ............................................................................................................................32Snapshots of news from forsa.ie and our divisional news bulletins

LET’S GO OUTSIDE..................................................................................................................34Daniel Devery reckons nothing seasons your food like the outdoors

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK ......................................................................................................36Úna-Minh Kavanagh suggests some autumn retreats

DOES CELLULOID DREAM OF DIGITAL SHEEP? ..........................................................38Morgan O’Brien looks at the changing technology of cinema

MIND YER MULLET..................................................................................................................40Raymond Connolly recalls favourite World Cup haircut musical influences

WIN WIN WIN..............................................................................................................................43Crosswords, competitions and prize survey

Made glorious

summerSummer-Autumn 2018

4

Services &

Enterprises

6

‘Adapt or die’

10

Civil Service

29

Matchstick

Man

31

Roscommon

Solidarity

Welcome to the latestedition of Fórsa magazine,which lands in the middle ofour (so far) glorious summer.Long may it continue.

Editorial

Niall Shanahan.


Fórsa Services & Enterprises conference


Air traffic

controllers fear

privatisation of

aviation safety

and regulation

Delegates from our Services & Enterprises branches met in Galway on the 12thand 13th April. In addition to a wide range of agenda items, news of a voluntaryredundancy scheme at eir broke during conference, and the union’s communityemployment (CE) supervisors considered industrial action in a 10-year disputeover pensions.

DELEGATES AT Fórsa’sServices & Enterprisesdivisional conferenceinsisted that the IrishAirport Authority (IAA)should remain in publicownership. The union fearsthat the IAA may follow aEuropean trend towardsprivatisation, particularlyif its regulatory functionsare split from othercompany activity.

Third terminalwould be blowto regionaldevelopmentOpening a third terminal atDublin airport wouldfurther concentratetourism and economicdevelopment in theoverheating greater Dublin

area, damaging prospectsfor balanced regionaldevelopment.

Delegates to the union’sServices and Enterprisesconference in Galway weretold that 95% ofpassenger growthbetween 2012 and 2017went to the capital, whichnow accounts for over85% of passenger trafficin and out of Irish airports.

The conference alsoopposed furtherprivatisation of Irishairports. A motion fromthe Fórsa IAESA branchcited the transportdepartment’s capacityreview and the potentialbreak-up of Irish AviationAuthority functions aspotential enablers ofpublic asset sell-offs in thesector n

Mary Mulholland and Annette Heffernan, Cabin Crew with Ann McGee, Fórsa president.

Gillian White, Eugene Gargan and Angela Kirk, head of division Services & Enterprises division.

Mark Thompson, Paddy Cradden, Dublin Airport Authority and Joe Buckley, Shannon Airport Authority.

Delegates at the Services & Enterprises divisional conference in Galway.

Carmel Keogh, Services & Enterprises divisional executive committee and

CE Supervisors.

Derek Purcell, An Post.

Terry Kelleher, Services & Enterprises divisional

executive committee and An Post. Sarah O’Leary, Cabin Crew.

Michael Doyle, Retired member, Coillte.

Delegates considering the conference agenda.Grace Conlon, Services & Enterprises divisional

executive committee and Teagasc.Phot

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ordo

n.


Digital trade unionism


I’M ALWAYS interested in what FrancesO’Grady has to say. She was on theinterview board for my first trade unionjob. And, for the following two years Iworked in the office beside hers in theTransport and General Workers’ Union(or the ‘T&G,’ as we knew it) researchdepartment, where I quickly came torespect her as a rock of radical sense.

Soon after I was moved to give policyand research support to Bill Morris, whowas Britain’s first black trade uniongeneral secretary, Frances moved to theTUC, the UK’s ICTU equivalent.

In another progressive first, she becameits first female general secretary fiveyears ago, and it was in this capacitythat she recently spoke about why andhow trade unions will have to adapt tosurvive.

Speaking to The Guardian on the TUC’s150th anniversary, O’Grady spoke ofthe need for unions to adapt in the eraof precarious work patterns anddigitally-powered technologicalchanges. And she was particularlyexercised about the need to protectyoung workers and attract them intounions.

“Conventional trade unionism still worksvery effectively in some areas butwhat’s clear is that business modelshave radically changed,” she says.“Unions have to change too: change ordie.”

RevampHer organisation marked its anniversaryby revamping its approach to recruiting

younger workers. Last month saw thelaunch of a pilot for a new app, whichoffers young people advice aboutworkplace rights and getting on well atwork, while giving them opportunities toconnect with similar workers in differentsectors.

“If we’ve got a digital economy, we’vegot to have digital trade unionism,”O’Grady told The Guardian. “If we haveyoung people whose bosses will doeverything they can to avoid recognisinga union, we don’t walk away. We reinventourselves, we do something new. If youcan’t get through the front door, you goaround the back,” she said.

The TUC’s excellent ‘About TUC150’website links its project to engageyoung people with voices from the past.It cites Rosie Hackett, the 19-year-old

Dubliner who organised 3,000 Jacob’sBiscuits workers at the time of the1913 lockout, as well as Betty Tebbs.

Tebbs became an activist at the age of14 when she turned up on her first dayat a Lancashire paper mill in the 1930sto discover the boys were paid 13shillings while the girls got nine. But, likeICTU’s 2013 commemoration of theDublin Lockout, the British celebrationis forward-looking.

O’Grady, who founded the TUC’sOrganising Academy around the turn ofthe millennium, says developingtechnologies will drive futurerecruitment and organising. “We canbegin to bring people together onlineand offline to get a better deal forpeople at work,” she says.

FancyBut it won’t work simply by graftingfancy gizmos onto old-fashionedcontent and ways of doing things. Tech-savvy young workers communicate,interact, and pay for things in ways thatunions generally don’t.

In response, the TUC’s WorkSmart appfollows the ‘freemium’ model familiar tousers of streaming services like Spotify.Instead of paying a union sub, workersget free information while beingencouraged to pay for additional

services. In this way, it’s hoped they canbe brought ‘softly-softly’ into unionmembership.

A recent report by the Institute forPublic Policy Research noted that unionmembership in the UK plummeted byalmost half between 1979 and 2014.

The number of people under 30 who aremembers of a union fell from just over20% in 2001 to 15% last year. And, at9%, the picture is even worse in theprivate sector, where four out of five 21to 30-year-olds work.

The decline in UK union membership –from a peak of 13 million in the 1970sto six million now – was accelerated bythe collapse of employment-heavysectors like coal, steel, manufacturingand textiles. And it was aided andabetted by 1980s Thatcherite anti-union laws and wide scale privatisationof public services, where unions werestrong.

Here in Ireland, we haven’t experiencedthose problems on anything like thesame scale. But the same challengespresent in terms of organising workersin the developing ‘gig’ economy andculture.

SurviveThough Irish unionscollectively suffered asignificant drop inmembership anddensity during theeconomic crash, wesurvived the crisis inrelatively good fashion.

Now we need torecalibrate to appealto, represent, andserve the differentworkforce that’semerging.

It’s easy to dismiss thisas a private sectorchallenge. But agrowing proportion ofFórsa members andpotential members –SNAs, CE supervisors,community sectorworkers, schoolsecretaries and cabincrew, to name a few –are working in lower-paid sectors withprecarious employmentand workingconditions.

Before I came to Ireland I worked on alarge number of (mostly unsuccessful)union amalgamation projects at theT&G, which is now part of Unite. Thesediscussions tended to be driven byweakness rather than vision.

For instance, the only time I metmineworkers’ leader Arthur Scargill waswhen he came to the union’s historicWestminster office, Transport House, todiscuss the possibility of a merger.

Change? It’s better

than the alternative

Trade unions are adapting to the digital society to stay relevant to new generations.BERNARD HARBOR reports.

BernardHarbor.

Frances O’Grady at the 2017ICTU conference.

Phot

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Coo

per (

Phot

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Trade union hero Rosie Hackett.At aged 19 she organised 3,000 workers.

Digital trade unionism


Having come off badly in a battle of willswith Margaret Thatcher, the NationalUnion of Mineworkers – if not its leader– was diminished. Its membership nowmeasured in the low tens of thousands,down from 170,000 before the strike.Today it’s in the hundreds.

No chargeFollowing the recent amalgamation thatformed Fórsa, a couple ofcommentators argued that our threefounding unions had been driventogether by weakness. But they couldn’tmake the charge stick.

It was easily rebutted in radiointerviews, where we could point to thenew union’s sound financial reserves,our ability to negotiate pay deals, andthe fact that membership had broadlyheld up during the crisis and was now onthe rise.

Now the union is engaged in bringingthese strengths to the task of appealingto a younger and increasingly feminine

workforce. A workforce where manygrew up in the digital era and developedits habits and expectations.

We’re doing that with a young team of18 organisers, led by Fórsa deputygeneral secretary Kevin Callinan. Youngworkers and staff in highly-feminised(and often precarious) sectors areamong the union’s organising priorities.

The union is also revamping itsapproach to gender and other equalityissues, drawing on good practices in thethree old organisations to develop newstructures and campaigns that willappeal to younger workers.

ChallengePresident Higgins laid down the scale ofthe challenge we’re facing quite clearlywhen he spoke to our nationalconference in May.

He said the battle for decent workwould be among the defining strugglesof the coming decades. “The success of

the trade union movement willdetermine not just whether wages andsalaries will be adequate to ensure thatpeople can participate fully, with dignityand equality, in their society, but alsowhether the dignity of labour is upheldnot only in the work-setting but insociety.

“It will test the capacity of the tradeunion movement not only to organisepreviously unorganised, workers, butalso to engage with new ideas and newpractices. It will require the commitmentand support of all members and thosewho support the extension anddeepening of democracy in society,” hesaid.

Along with other unions, Fórsa ischanging its approach in the digital age.As Frances says, it’s change or die.Change can be hard, but it’s better thanthe alternative.

Bernard Harbor is Fórsa’s head ofcommunications n

President Michael D Higgins told delegates at Forsa’s national conference in May that the battle for decent work would be among the defining struggles of the coming decades.

Phot

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.

Chair of Civil Service division Niall McGuirk with Fórsa president Ann McGee and Kieran Sheehan of the Civil Service division.


Fórsa Civil Service conference


Fórsa to keep working

time on agenda

Fórsa’s Civil Service members met in Killarney on the 19th and 20th April, with apacked agenda to get through for the first Civil Service divisional conference.Working hours and new entrants pay were prominent agenda items.

more pics on page 12 ‰

Aoife Enright and Paddy Harrnett ,Limerick Revenue.

Vincent Byrne, Mick Brophy and Ronan Gill.

Delegates on their way to Civil Service conference in April.

Teresa Barrett and Brian Reynolds, DEASP executive grades.

William Healy and John McGee, Athlone CS clerical.

Mark Doheny of the Justice executive grades branchbeing interviewed by RTÉ’s Ingrid Miley.Ph

otos

: Dom

nick

Wal

sh

FÓRSA HAS said reductions in workingtime, including the objective of returningpublic servants to their pre-crisis hours,should be among the priorities in talkson a successor to the Public ServiceStability Agreement (PSSA), whichexpires in 2020.

Speaking at Fórsa’s Civil Servicedivisional conference in Killarney inApril, the chair of the division, NiallMcGuirk, acknowledged limitedconcessions on the issue in the PSSA,but said members expected the union toseek further progress in future.

Eight motions calling for a return to ‘pre-Haddington Road hours’ were submittedto today’s conference by Fórsabranches. Mr McGuirk said thisreflected strong feeling on the ground,and an expectation that the union wouldkeep the issue on the agenda in futurepay talks.

13The magazine for Fórsa members12 Summer-Autumn 201812 Summer-Autumn 2018

Joan Bryne and Clare Ryan, Garda executive grades.

Martin Kehoe, DEASP executive grades, Aisling O’Neill, Education and

Skills executive grades, and John Steele, DEASP executive grades.Noreen Connolly, Paula Gilman, Majella Fogarty and Christina Millea, Tipperary clerical.

Rosaleen Philpott Goughan, Eugene Byrne and Leo Kavanagh,Agri, Food and Marine executive grades.

Don Deane and Deirdre Fanning both Civil Service Divisional Executive Committee

and Brian Burns, OPW clerical.

James Hagan, Oireachtas executive grades, Amanda O’Hara, DEASP executive grades, Jack Nugent, Oireachtas executive grades. John O’Flannigan, CLME branch.

Martin Gallagher, Ashtown Gate Revenue and James Dolan, Education

and Skills executive grades.

Siobhan McNamara and Jacqueline Health , Justice and

Equality executive grades.

Phot

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Fórsa Civil Service conference

New entrant

engagement

set for

summer Contacts between unions and officialsfrom the Department of PublicExpenditure and Reform (DPER) on the‘new entrant’ issue will continue over thesummer.

Initial engagements have taken placeand DPER is continuing to gather data.Fórsa has called on the Government toallocate funds in October’s Budget tobegin shortening new entrant payscales next year.

Speaking to 700 delegates at Fórsa’sCivil Service divisional conference inKillarney in April, general secretary(Public Service) Tom Geraghty saidIreland’s strengthening economic andexchequer recovery means it should bepossible to start funding it next year,rather than delaying until 2020 orbeyond. He told delegates this wouldrequire funds to be allocated inOctober’s Budget.

The term ‘new entrants’ refers to thoseemployed in the civil and public servicesince January 2011. Their pay scalesare currently two points longer thanthose of other staff, which means ittakes them two years longer to get tothe top of their pay scale.

For more conference news see forsa.ie: #PSSA, #WorkingHours, #NewEntrants

Niall McGuirk, Chair of the Civil Service division.


Tribute


MOURNERS FILLED the parish churchof Kilcoole, County Wicklow, at the endof April to bid farewell to Fórsa activistTony Mitchell. Friends and colleaguesgathered to celebrate the manremembered for his warmth, humourand generosity of spirit.

Tony was a social care worker at St.John of Gods for 28 years and was chairof the Dublin Care Services branch ofFórsa. Tony also served on the Health &Welfare divisional executive, and hadrecently taken up the chair of the socialcare workers’ vocational group.

Tony received a guard of honour from alarge number of his Fórsa colleaguesfrom the Dublin Care Services branchalongside activists, officers and stafffrom across the union.

All aspects of Tony’s work, life, tradeunion and community activism wererepresented. Clients and staff of St.John of Gods were in attendance, whileadditional music was provided by theNewtownmountkennedy male voicechoir of which Tony was a member.

Tony was remembered with a minute’ssilence at Fórsa's National Executivemeeting on 9th May.

Maura Cahalan, Cathaoirleach ofFórsa's Health & Welfare division, said"Tony was a staunch and unwaveringunion representative, who ensuredmembers were supported locally andnationally. He was a verycompassionate person, devoted to hisclients and his co-workers. He will beremembered dearly."

CommitmentFórsa official Una Faulkner recalledbeing struck by Tony’s obviouscommitment to his work, his unfalteringsense of social justice and potential forleadership. “He joined the branchexecutive in November 2012, and waselected chair of one of the largestbranches in the health division just afew months later.

“Tony went above and beyond the call ofduty for the members at St John ofGods. He frequently visited members inmany of the other employments in thebranch in Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare.He forged strong bonds and encouragednew members to get involved,mentoring them through industrialrelation matters in their employments,”she said.

MentorTony’s branch colleague, campaignsofficer Roland Kennedy, is quick tocredit Tony as his mentor as well asbeing a great friend over the last 17years.

“Tony brought me in to the branchcommittee in 2007. We first met in2001 during a dispute. I’d only been inmy new job for a couple of weeks, andwe got to know each other on the picketline. We became very close, we’d speakon the phone a few times every day. Ialways admired him.

“His priority at all times was making sureour members in St John of Gods werelooked after, no matter where theyworked, achieving what was fair andwhat was right. He was a truegentleman, and we shared friendship,unity and companionship, all the valuesinherent in trade unionism.

“Tony placed a great value on beingpersonable. There was always time for a

Remembering Tony

NIALL SHANAHAN talks to the friends andcolleagues of Fórsa activist Tony Mitchell, whois remembered for his warmth, humour andgenerosity of spirit.

Niall Shanahan.

cup of tea and a chat with someone,even if the sparks were flying over someindustrial relations issue. He knew howto do diplomacy, and he combined thatstrength – that essential fire in thebelly – with real human warmth.

“He was very proud of being chair of thebranch, and took as much pride in a tripto the Labour Court or a visit to theFórsa head office to look after unionbusiness. It meant everything to him,” hesaid.

SupportOrganiser Keivan Jackson highlightedthe support Tony gave him as branchchair. “He always made the effort tocome to the office, offering his help withanything I was working on, he was sosupportive. He was a great man for alaugh and would often share an amusingbit of news about himself with a cheekygrin. I’ll miss those visits.”

Fórsa official Ian McDonnell said itquickly became apparent to him that

Anthony (Tony) Mitchell.

Tony would be a key resource inassisting him when he became the unionofficial for the Dublin Care Servicesbranch two years ago.

“He was very knowledgeable and alwaysavailable when I needed help. We alsodeveloped a personal rapport andfriendship due to his openness andpositive outlook on life. I will miss himand, like everyone else, I’ll continue tofeel his loss,” he said.

Mischievous funCatherine Keogh’s first branchassignment as an official was with theDublin Care Services branch. She wasimmediately taken with Tony’smischievous sense of fun and the twobecame firm friends.

“You could be sitting in a very difficultmeeting and have the misfortune– orgood fortune – to catch the glint inTony’s eye. You’d immediately get thejoke, and that was his way of letting youknow everything was going to be grand.

“He was decent and compassionate. Sokind, so good, and above all so positive,he really brought out the best in us,” sherecalls.

VitalFórsa’s Lynn Coffey worked with Tony aspart of the union’s Social Care NationalVocational Group. “Tony loved hisprofession and had a great belief thatsocial care work is vital, helping peoplewho are vulnerable. This year Tonybecame chairperson of the vocationalgroup, demonstrating more of hisselfless nature and giving more of histime to the group.

“He was chairperson for nearly a yearbut he has been a great friend andcolleague to all who sat on thecommittee over the past number ofyears. Tony will be greatly missed by hiscolleagues in the group,” she said.

Anthony (Tony) Mitchell, 18th January1959 – 24th April 2018

Ar Dheis Dé go raibh a hanam n

Sligo branch pay tribute to

‘diamond’ colleagueFÓRSA’S SLIGO branch has paid tributeto Gerry Gilroy, secretary of thebranch’s health section, who diedsuddenly on Thursday 7th June.

Gerry, who hailed from Kilglass inCounty Sligo, was a very active memberof the branch, and graduated from theunion’s member activist trainingprogramme in February 2017.

His participation in the trainingprogramme revealed his passion fortrade unionism, as well as hiscommitment to working on behalf of hiscolleagues. His contributions in trainingwere always thoughtful and insightful,and revealed a disarming positivityabout facing the challenges of tradeunion work.

Assistant general secretary RichyCarrothers described Gerry as a dearfriend and comrade. “Gerry wasoverjoyed to celebrate his recentmarriage and our thoughts andsolidarity are with his wife Hannah andentire family circle. We'll miss him. Lotsof people will miss him. A diamond,” hesaid.

Gerry is survived by his beloved wifeHannah, brothers John, Eamon, Vincent,Raymond & Michael, sisters Mary,Annie, Dymphna & Sally, aunt Sarah,father-in-law Peter, mother-in-law Kim,

brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law,nephews, nieces, grandnephews,grandnieces, relatives, neighbours andfriends.

Ar Dheis Dé go raibh a hanam n

by Niall Shanahan

Gerry Gilroy (front, centre) graduated from the IMPACT member activist training programme in February 2017. Gerry is pictured with colleagues from the Sligo branch.

16 Summer-Autumn 2018 17The magazine for Fórsa members

Fórsa National conference

Concerns for gender

pay gap progress

Fórsa’s inaugural national conference took place in Killarney from the 16th-18th May.President Michael D Higgins addressed the opening of conference, and congratulatedthose involved in the “great task” of creating our “stronger and larger union”.

LEGISLATION COMPELLING employersto reveal details of their gender paygaps may not be passed by the currentOireachtas now that the Governmenthas insisted on publishing its own Bill,rather than amending an opposition Billthat has already passed its secondstage, according to Fórsa. The union

said the administration’s approachwould at best delay the introduction ofpay gap reporting “and could risk killingthe initiative.”

Speaking at the Fórsa nationalconference equal opportunities officerPatricia Fanning said this meant the

legislation was unlikely to become lawbefore a general election, and wouldtherefore fall.

“How long must women wait formeasures which, though crucial, willonly get us to the foothills of gender payequality?” she said.


Shay Cody, Fórsa senior general secretary.Paddy Quinn, CE supervisors and Jerry King, Mayo with joint general

secretary, Tom Geraghty after receiving a distinguished service award.

Four of the newly elected Fórsa officers, Michael Smyth, Kevin O’Malley, Maura Calahan and Eugene Garvan.

Anna Farrell and Tony Dawson, Failte Ireland.

Education and Skills branch delegates.

Evelyn Canavan, Limerick Health and Welfare.

Julie Flood, Dublin City.

President Michael D Higgins greeting delegates.

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Health

staff

retention

problems

acute

THE RETENTION of health and careprofessionals working in physiotherapy,occupational therapy, social care andelsewhere, is more acute than in any healthprofession except doctors.

Fórsa has warned the Government that itmust address these professions when thePublic Service Pay Commission (PSPC)publishes its report on public servicerecruitment and retention problems laterthis year.

It also warned that uncompetitive entry pay

in parts of the civil service had left Statebodies struggling to recruit cleaners,solicitors, meteorologists, radio officers,agricultural officers, valuers, Oireachtasresearchers, translation staff, SENOs, andothers.

Éamonn Donnelly, the head of Fórsa’sHealth Division, told conference that noprofession or union has “a monopoly” on theissue, and warned the Government to beeven-handed in its response to the PayCommission’s examination of the problem.

More social

dialogue soughtFórsa is to seek discussions with theGovernment and Ibec on the developmentof a formal social dialogue forum that candiscuss – and reach agreement on – publicpolicy issues that affect workers andbusiness, but which cannot be resolved atworkplace level.

Senior general secretary Shay Cody toldconference that workers needed a platformwhere they could discuss and deal witheconomy-wide and society-wide problems.And he said business groups were in favourof this too.

“You have played a significant role in the establishment of awide variety of employment rights legislation creating an

enhanced working environment for all our people, andfought discrimination in the workplace and in society.

“As public and civil servants, and as workers in strategicsectors of the economy, you are also at the very centre of

three great challenges: mitigating climate change,welcoming and managing migration, and ensuring

sustainable development.” - President Michael D Higgins

Union backs job

evaluation expansion

Fórsa has pledged to seek the introduction ofjob evaluation schemes in all relevantemployments in the public service andelsewhere. Three motions on job evaluationswere adopted at conference. Two of themotions called for the union to pursue jobevaluations across the public sector, and thethird called for them to be pursued within allthe union’s divisions.

19The magazine for Fórsa members18 Summer-Autumn 2018



Roscommon Local Government delegates.

Mandy O’Neill, Dublin Hospital. Fiona Baskett and Milo Lowry, Longford.Michael Young, and Damian Fleming,

Agriculture No. 1.

Sligo branch delegates at conference.

Christine Scott, Bridie Shortall, Claire Keaveney and Patricia Fanning all SNAs.

Stephen Broderick, Dublin Hospital.Tipperary Civil Service clerical.

Eoin Ronayne, joint general secretary Fórsa.Imelda Reidy, Teresa McNicholas, Louise Ryan, Vinny Savage all Tipperary delegates.

Angela McGinley, Isobel McGlinchey and Marie Boyle, Donegal Health and Welfare.

Paul O’Halloran, Dublin City and Kevin Callinan, Fórsa deputy general secretary.

Employers must pay

twice workers’

contribution to

pensionsFórsa has backed Government proposals for the introduction ofcompulsory – or ‘automatic-enrolment’ – occupational pensionschemes for all workers, funded by contributions from employees,employers and the State. But the union said employer contributionsmust be double those expected of workers in order to providedecent retirement incomes at a cost all workers could bear.

Fórsa head of division Billy Hannigan said Ireland was one of onlytwo OECD countries with no mandatory earnings-related pillar tocomplement the state pension. But international evidence showedthat auto-enrolment would significantly enhance occupationalpension coverage.

Fórsa youth committee.



Delegates enjoying conference.

Stephen Lyons, former IMPACT president and official with delegates.

Dublin Hospital delegates.

Housing crisis

exposes lack of

political urgencyFórsa deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan told conferencedelegates in Killarney in May that the political system has failedto display a real sense of urgency when it comes addressing theneeds of people experiencing or living under the threat ofhomelessness.

Kevin was speaking on a motion from the union’s nationalexecutive which calls for a range of emergency andconstitutional measures to address the housing crisis.

Unions coordinate approach

to Section 39 pay restorationFollowing the publication of the HSE’s review of pay in Section 39 agencies –which found that average pay for Section 39 staff was cut by 4.6% after theeconomic crash – Fórsa said a coordinated approach by trade unions is the keyto achieving pay restoration in the sector.

The review looked at pay in a group of 50 agencies, and was published in May.

Head of division Eamonn Donnelly told conference that the campaign to restorepay in Section 39 agencies was essential. “These are workers who were treatedas public servants for the purpose of a pay cut, but are denied the payrestoration measures that we’ve secured for public servants.

“We are taking a coordinated approach with other unions representing workers inthis sector in order to secure pay restoration,” he said.

Under an agreement reached in February, management and unions are to returnto the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) to assess how the audit findingscan be addressed and implemented.

A WRC meeting over community sector pay restoration has been set for 9th July.Fórsa has said it will ballot members in ‘section 39’ organisations if the WRCprocess, currently underway, doesn’t succeed.

For more conference news see forsa.ie: #Fórsanc2018


Community & Voluntary


Fórsa charity cycle

SHOW RACISM the Red Card waslaunched in Ireland in 2006, with theobjective of educating against racism.

Last year, we delivered anti-racismeducation workshops to over 5,000young people in over 50 schoolsdirectly, and to another 150 schoolsthrough our networking activity.

We also delivered training to 332student teachers, and arrangedactivities with 4,000 young people in65 clubs. More than 200 schools andyouth services were involved in the Anti-Racism Creative Competition.

Our work includes supporting theintegration of refugees and asylumseekers through sport. The purpose ofWear Red Day is to raise awareness andfunds for our educational programmes.

Taking partFórsa members who want to getinvolved in this year’s event can

complete an expression of interest formonline at theredcard.ie/wear-red-day/.When you receive your activity pack, youcan participate by simply wearing redfor the day and donating €2, but wealso encourage a range of otheractivities. From a lunchtime penaltyshoot-out to a red-themed bake sale, oreven a five-a-side tournament.

The funds raised on Wear Red Day willsupport the 10th annual CreativeCompetition for Schools & YouthServices, a programme designed tochallenge young people to use theircreativity in written, visual andaudiovisual means to make a standagainst racism.

It’s been very encouraging to see thenumber of schools and youth servicesinvolved grow each year since itsinception.

Fórsa lead organiser Joe O’Connor wasa judge for the shortlisted entriessubmitted to the competition in 2018.

“At a time where there are efforts tofoster division globally, it is hearteningto see so many of our young people getinvolved with Show Racism the RedCard choosing unity over racism’.

Wear Red Day in 2018 invites Fórsamembers to register your workplace andget involved with the drive againstracism. Getting involved is simplyregistering on the website anddescribing any activities you’re planningfor the day.

We’ll send you a pack to help you withorganising activities for the day. Thepack includes stickers, red cards,posters, leaflets, and a template pressrelease should you wish to inform localmedia. You can also access the ShowRacism the Red Card video, which youcan show as part of your activities.

For videos, news and more detailsplease visit theredcard.ie

Wear Red Day takes place on Friday23rd November 2018 n

Wear red against racism

Fórsa members are invited to join the Wear Red Dayagainst racism, which takes place in November.GARRETT MULLAN from Show Racism the Red Cardexplains why this annual campaign event plays a vitalrole in promoting unity among younger people.Garrett

Mullan.

Pupils from MidletonEducate Together

participating in 2017’s Wear Red Day.

IT WAS a sunny May afternoon inKillarney when a dozen or so charitycyclists pedalled up to the Fórsaconference looking a little tired, and nota little pleased with themselves.Conversations were turning away fromthe gruelling journey from Limerick toKerry, and towards the money they hadraised – over €20,000 in the end-up –for four mental health charities.

Just then, I spied my colleague Hazelinterviewing Gerry Carroll from theunion’s Laois branch. He was sportingsome strange head-gear and a GAAjersey emblazoned with the legend‘Laois branch remembers Fiona andDave.’

Gerry had joined in the fundraiser tohonour the memory of Dave Hackett andFiona McGlynn of the branch. Each diedin tragic circumstances in theconsecutive months of November andOctober 2017.

“I’m cycling today for Dave and Fiona.They were part of our team andunfortunately we lost them in the last12 months. So it’s a sad day. Thecharities we're cycling for are all veryrelevant to us. We’ve seen it upfront,unfortunately,” he told Hazel.

It was a tragic and difficult time for theLaois branch, as well as Fiona’s andDave’s families, and their friends andcolleagues in the union and beyond.

I later spoke to Gerry Monaghan, long-time branch member and a regular faceat IMPACT national and divisionalexecutives of old. “Dave was a greattrade unionist who was always lookingout for the underdog,” he told me. “Hisfirst question about any problem orproposal was always: ‘where does thisleave the members’,” he said.

A community welfare officer (CWO),Dave was well-known and well-loved inthe union – as much for his craic as forhis deep commitment and soundjudgement. He served on the branchcommittee for longer than Gerry could

remember, and also didhis time on the IMPACTHealth and Welfaredivisional executive backin the day.

Former CWO and Fórsaofficial Pat Bolger, whosoldiered with Dave on the CWOnational vocational group for manyyears, said Dave was a national-levelactivist from the day he startedworking. ”Dave was involved in all ournational negotiations over a couple ofdecades. He was an experienced andpatient negotiator who knew the righttime to take action,” he said.

Dave quietly walked away from nationaloffice when the CWOs went to thePSEU – now also part of Fórsa – on footof a public service restructure. But, trueto form, he refused to leave his belovedIMPACT branch, even when it couldn’trepresent him anymore.

Gerry Monaghan remembers Fiona in asimilar way. “She was deeply committed

to the branch and its members andworked on the committee for manyyears. Fiona was a reserved person whoattended all the meetings but spoke onlywhen she felt she had something ofsignificance to contribute,” heremembers.

The Laois branch has celebrated bothdeparted colleagues at Saint Vincent’schurch in recent months. A branchrepresentative told us that Fiona was atruly dedicated member of the union.

“Fiona’s contribution was invaluable. Herunderstanding and compassion,

balanced with her sense offairness, made hersomeone who could berelied upon at all times forsound advice. But it wasFiona’s good humour andwarm personality thatendeared her to each andevery committee member,and we all feel lucky andblessed to call her ourcolleague and, moreimportantly, our friend,”they said.

Ashley Connolly, whoworked with both Fionaand Dave when she was

the Fórsa official allocated to themidlands, remembers them as warm andcompassionate activists.

Dave and Fiona were loyal unionmembers who were always available tomeet with a troubled member and offerthem sound advice. I was truly lucky tohave worked with the Laois branch andto have known two of the finest people.I’m sure that all members of the branchwill continue to support each other,” shesaid.

We’ll leave the last word to Gerry Carroll:“The cycling was good. I trained and thehills were no problem. We’ve climbedbigger hills since last October. A lotbigger hills. So hopefully it’s all downhilland plain sailing from now on.” n

Beloved Laois branch

activists rememberedby Bernard Harbor

The Fórsa charity cycle raised money for four charities: SOS (Suicide Or Survive), which offers support to strugglingyoung people in the capital; Jigsaw Kerry, a mental health support service for young people throughout the county;

First Fortnight, another Dublin based charity that challenges mental health prejudice through arts and cultural action;and Limerick Suicide Watch, which identifies and provides support to those in distress in Limerick city.

Gerry Carroll wore aspecial cycling jersey inhonour of Fiona and Dave:“The cycling was good. Itrained and the hills wereno problem. We’ve climbedbigger hills since lastOctober. A lot bigger hills.”


Campaigns


AS YOU probably know, when it comesto Irish politics, all politics are local.Constituency representations tobackbench TDs undoubtedly remainsthe most effective way to influencegovernment ministers and policy, whilelocal media continues to haveconsiderable reach and influence,especially outside Dublin.

campaigns development. It was vital tochannel that through the union’s mostimportant asset, our branches.

We started by putting the call out to allbranches to nominate a campaignsofficer. Early responses were veryencouraging, and we currently havemore than 60 BCOs, covering everycounty in the country.

We’ve recently expanded this initiativeto the expanded civil service branches.In doing so we’re mindful of the politicalrestrictions placed on civil servants,

rooted in communities right across thecountry. We want Fórsa’s campaigns tolook more like those of a grassrootsmovement, rather than the work of anadvocacy group, an approach I believeharnesses that strength.

The BCO role involves developingrelationships with local andconstituency representatives, lobbying,engaging with local media, promotingand organising campaign events, andcommunicating information on Fórsacampaigns at branch level. In short,BCOs have taken on the job ofamplifying Fórsa’s national campaignsby building local support.

ResultsWhile we’re still in the relatively earlystages of building the BCO role, we’regetting results.

In April, Fórsa boasted a very strong andvisible turnout at the national housingdemo, with over 200 Fórsa members inattendance. Similarly, we enjoyed amassive turnout to support strikingworkers in Roscommon County Councilat a rally in June.

groups have also started to emerge inDonegal and Limerick as former CPSUand PSEU members have joined theinitiative.

of our movement to organise andengage with new ideas and newpractices.

If we are to survive and grow in thedigital age, we must develop a dynamicapproach that makes us accessible andrelevant to the current (and future)generations of workers. Building this

Turn up the amps

One of the many projects underpinning Fórsa’s growing strength has been thedevelopment of a new branch officer role designed to boost activist involvement and thegeographic reach of the union’s national campaigns. Fórsa’s branch campaign officers(or BCOs as they’ve become known) are now playing a vital role by amplifying the union’snational campaigns. This is building the profile of the union with members, campaigningorganisations and decision-makers. Lead organiser JOE O’CONNOR reports.

Joe O’Connor.

Cork is campaigning

THE CORK Campaigns teamcompromises three BCOs from threeFórsa Divisions in Cork working with alocal organiser.

The team collaborates on lobbyingactivities for Fórsa's nationalcampaigns and has also launched aYouth Services campaign in Cork.They’re turning this into a nationalcampaign through the BCO network.

Organiser Ruth Crowley explains:“Having four members involved in ourcampaigns team allows us to cover alarge geographical area veryeffectively. We’ve had meetings withlocal representatives and deputies,from all parties and none, across theentire county.

“The most successful engagement sofar was with Sinn Féin President, MaryLou McDonald. We had an opportunityto present Fórsa's campaigns in afrank and constructive exchange,” shesays.

particularly those in higher grades, andhave taken account of this while settingout the parameters for theirparticipation.

The BCO group meets quarterly and wedistribute regular communications toBCOs with campaign tools andmaterials to assist them.

GrassrootsOur greatest strength, as a membershiporganisation, is that we have 80,000people in counties, constituencies and

Following local meetings earlier thisyear with members of the Oireachtasbudgetary oversight committee, ouractivists in Mayo helped secure aninvitation to present our case onrestoring the tax relief on trade unionsubscriptions to the committee.

Last year, as we moved closer to thecreation of a new union, we establishedthe Branch Campaigns Officer (BCO)initiative. The idea was to boost thereach of our campaigns and activistinvolvement, to very deliberatelyleverage the power of local campaignactivity, and run campaigns that gobeyond the workplace and into thepublic and political sphere.

BeginningsThe initiative began life in 2017 atIMPACT’s campaigning summer school.Aimed at senior union activists, this wasthe moment when many of our mostengaged activists collectivelyrecognised that we needed to put astructure in place to enable further

These achievements were a direct resultof the mobilisation efforts of our BCOs.We now have much greater activistinvolvement that spreads right acrossthe country, and that’s helping us to getthe results we hoped for.

OnwardsWe want to build on these earlysuccesses, and encourage morebranches, and members, to get involved.The next step is to develop constituencylevel campaign groups, where activistsbased in the same county and/orconstituency (but from differentbranches and divisions) can worktogether as one well-oiled campaigningunit within their local area.

Believe or not, this has already startedto happen, quite organically. We’ve seenthe development of an extremely activegroup in Cork (see sidebar). Other

The Cork team is comprised of GinaO’Brien (chair of the Education divisionand a member of Fórsa’s NEC), KieranO’Connell (chair of the Foróigevocational group, Cork Health & LocalGovernment branch) and Paul Walsh,vice chair, City (Cork Health & LocalGovernment branch).

All of this was reflected in a livelysummer school event that took place inDublin in early June, where a broadrange of expert speakers offered theirinsights into successful campaigning.

As President Michael D Higgins outlinedto us at our national conference in May,the battle for decent work will be amongthe defining struggles of the comingdecades. He said it will test the capacity

network of branch campaigners is partof rising to the President’s challenge.

So brace yourself, because we’re goingto turn the amps up pretty loud n

See BCO group photo on page 33.


Education


Kevin Callinan.

No excuse not to give

equal public service job

security to SNAs

Fórsa has responded to the NCSE’srecommendations on the SNA service and hascalled for an independent appeals mechanismfor children with special education needs.NIALL SHANAHAN reports.

continued on page 28 ‰

Q&A: NCSE

Comprehensive Review

of the Special Needs

Assistant Scheme

Q: The NCSE has made a series ofrecommendations. How will thisaffect my job?

A: Initially, it won’t. The NCSE Reviewdoes contain a series ofrecommendations. But that is all theyare at this stage.

Q: What happens next?

A: Fórsa are the representative bodyof SNAs. We will carefully readthrough the review to see whatrecommendations provide us with anopportunity to improve the role of anSNA and what recommendations giveus pause for thought. A series ofconsultations will then take place withthe Department of Education.

Ultimately, it is the Department ofEducation who have the authority toalter the work of SNAs. Therefore, anydiscussions that we have aboutwhether or not the recommendationswill be introduced will take place withthe Department.

Q: What are the priorities for Fórsa?

A: Fórsa will look through thedocument to see if therecommendations can be used toimprove SNA job security. It mentions‘frontloading’ SNA allocations intoschools. There may well be anopportunity in this to improve jobsecurity. This will be explored.

Additionally, we note that thedocument does make some

recommendations around work thatis/is not appropriate for SNAs –particularly around care that involvesmedical interventions and intimatecare. We also note that the reportpicks up on a trend in some schoolsthat expect SNAs to have a limitedteaching role.

It is, quite simply, not appropriate forany worker to be expected to carry outwork that is not in their jobdescription. The report also mentionsqualifications and specialist training.

The union will give full consideration tothese matters.

Q: Is the SNA title changing?

A: It is true that the NCSE haverecommended changing the name ofSNA to Inclusion Support Assistant.However, this is, again, simply arecommendation. If, for example, thenew, proposed title comes with certainguarantees around additional jobsecurity, it would be more acceptable.

Final thoughts …

Like any set of recommendations,there will be some that we like andsome that we don’t. However, our jobis to come together to consider themand to see what opportunities theremay be in this for SNAs. If we believethat there is an opportunity in this towin stronger terms and conditions forour members, we will grasp them.

Niall Shanahan.

FÓRSA HAS said proposals for a newmodel of support for children withspecial education needs – which wouldsee the majority of support postsallocated ahead of time – means there isno excuse for the Government not togive SNAs equal job security to otherpublic servants.

The union’s deputy general secretaryKevin Callinan was responding to thepublication of a report by the NationalCouncil for Special Education (NCSE)which made a series ofrecommendations about the service.The report was published at the end ofMay.

by SeanCarabini

their recommendations would beimplemented,” he said.

The NCSE has found that the SNAscheme is greatly valued by parents,students and schools and works well inmeeting the needs of students.

Kevin said proposals to engage HSE-staffed regional therapy teams, clinicalnursing teams and an expansion to theNational Educational PsychologyService (NEPS) were also very positive.

He said the union would need toconsider the proposal to change thetitle of SNA to inclusion supportassistant. “The job title of SNA is wellestablished in the public consciousnessand we wouldn't want anything, overtime, to be seen to reduce theimportance of providing more SNAs intoour school system,” he said.

Kevin said “There is absolutely noexcuse for the department and theminister not to give SNAs equal jobsecurity to other public servants -particularly teachers. The proposal toallocate support posts ahead of time,with frontloaded supports, can beviewed as a positive developmentprovided it's followed through.”

Kevin said the union is now calling onthe Department of Education and Skillsto immediately engage with the union onthe issue of aligning SNA job securitywith that of other public serviceworkers.

He said the union is also concernedabout the move away from allocatingthe service to children based on adiagnosis. “There is a worry – from thepoint of view of parents – that if we havea change of the system, where it's notbased on diagnosis, will every singlechild be able to vindicate the right toaccess mainstream education?

“We're calling for a locally-based andindependent appeals mechanism thatwould be responsive. A system thatcould look at situations quickly and that

Phot

o: d

ream

stim

e.co

m

Meet the author


Education


NCSE Review: What happens next?

IT'S IMPORTANT to note that these areonly recommendations and nothing hasbeen agreed. Some members haveenquired as to whether or not the unionhas accepted the recommendationsmade in the NCSE report and if therecommendations are due to be rolledout in September.

The answer to both of these is no.

Fórsa members are now consideringthe report and a joint meeting of thefour branch committees of SNArepresentatives will take place inSeptember to discuss the report indetail.

Each year, at our Annual GeneralMeetings, members come together toselect branch representatives.Therefore, the consultation with theSNA representatives in September willbe crucial to devising a response to theNCSE report.

by Sean Carabini

The SNA review: main points and recommendations

FÓRSA, WHICH represents 8,500SNAs nationwide, took part in aconsultation as part of the review.

The NCSE is seeking an additional€40m investment into the service toimplement the recommendations of thereview.

The review describes the SNA schemeas “sensitive”, highlighting the high valueplaced on the service by schools,parents, children and the wider schoolcommunity.

The scheme supports 34,670 students,facilitating mainstream schoolparticipation with 13,969 SNA posts,with one SNA for every 2.48 studentsaccessing the service.

The review found that the service isparticularly effective for youngerchildren, with strong evidence of verystrong loyalty and attachment betweenschools, students, parents and SNAs.

Gaps in the systemAmong its findings, the NCSE reviewconfirms that there are long waiting listsfor assessments to access SNA supportand inconsistency in the availability oftherapy reports.

It points to the relatively lowqualifications for entry to the SNAgrade and – as Fórsa has consistentlyhighlighted – that there’s no trainingprovided, required or funded by thedepartment. The NCSE says this isinadequate.

Stakeholder frustrationThe review spoke to a broad range ofstakeholders in the school community,and among the problems raised werethe inappropriate duties assigned toSNAs and, problems associated with

by Niall Shanahan

SNAs being given a teaching remit insome schools. Looking at similarschemes in other countries, all seem tobe struggling with demand placed onthe service.

The NCSE’s main piece of advice to theMinister for Education and Skills is thata new inclusion model is required.

Proposed modelThe NCSE has recommended what itdescribes as a new ‘expert model’, with230 experts across 10 NCSE regionalteams, including teachers, specialeducation needs organisers (SENOs),speech and language therapists,occupational therapists and behaviouralpractitioners.

Crucially, the new model does notrequire a diagnosis in order to accessthe service. The union has raisedconcerns about this change ofapproach, on the basis that anindependent appeals system wouldneed to be in place for families whosechild might be refused the service underthe new system.

The NCSE has proposed a new title forSNAs – inclusion support assistants –reflecting the role as it is envisagedunder the new model, and based on thefindings of the review. Therecommended entry level requirement isat FETAC level 5, although the unionsays this should be set to at least

FETAC level 6 to reflect the requiredskill set.

The new model places emphasis on thevalue of retaining and training peopledelivering the service, with tailoredtraining based on needs. The reviewrecommends the provision of therapyservices (both in and outside of theschool), training for inclusion supportassistants, teachers and the widerschool community, and an increase ineducational psychology services(NEPS).

Other supportsThe NCSE also recommends fundingand training for nursing support andbehavioural practitioners in schools, aswell as to provide guidance on intimatecare, medical interventions, challengingbehaviours and restrictive practices.

72 hoursThe NCSE’s report includes a separatenote on SNA terms and conditions ofemployment (page 59 of the reportdocument), which includes “theperceived need for clarity regardingwhat constitutes a full workingday/week for SNAs and what duties canattach to the 72 Croke Park hours.” Thereference here to the Croke Parkagreement is erroneous, and Fórsa hascommunicated this to the NCSE n

Photo: dreamstim

e.com

I MET Julia at lunchtime during thatglorious burst of summer that arrived atthe beginning of June. We’ve knowneach other a long time so there was anintense exchange of personal news andchat when we took our quiet table in aDublin restaurant.

Julia, a former member of IMPACT tradeunion, published her first novel, With MyLazy Eye, ten years ago to wide criticalacclaim. Her second novel, ThePlayground, was published in 2014.

We found ourselves having one of thoseconversations about our own personalhealth, as well as that of our friends andfamily. A mutual friend was just out of ashort spell in hospital, where he’d hadthe chance to read Julia’s latest bookMatchstick Man.

“He read it in one sitting, I’m hearingthat from a lot of people,” she tells me.And I have to tell her I did the same. It’sa testament to the power of the writingthat Matchstick Man is simply very hardto put down once you’ve started.

The book is a compelling account of herrelationship with Charlie. The openingchapter is set during a particularlydifficult Christmas family gathering,when Charlie, agitated and confused,takes off into the night. Julia findsherself riding shotgun in a Garda car,through a public park, trying to find him.

Then we’re propelled back in time totheir first encounter. “I hadn’t really

written anything up to that point.Finding myself in Annaghmakerrig wasdaunting. Everyone seemed to knowwhat they were doing there except me.”She met Charlie, and his pet iguana,Skippy, on her first night at the artist’sretreat.

There follows an intensely happy periodwhen the relationship between themblooms. Julia finds herself in thepresence of a mentor, as Charlie takesan intense interest in her writing,encouraging and editing her daily workwith brutal honesty.

Julia develops her writing while they arestill in the throes of falling for eachother. Their friends are writers, artistsand rock stars, they live a glamorous lifeof exhibitions, parties and concerts.They become parents to a daughterthey adore.

It begins to emerge that not all’s well,and Charlie’s illness comes to light aftertheir daughter is born.

What follows is a vivid account of howthis changes their life completely. Theiryoung daughter is, in many ways, thebook’s central hero. “I wrote it partly toensure she would have an account ofwho her father was.”

Charlie encouraged her to write abouttheir experience, wanting people tounderstand what had happened to him.

When we meet, Julia is just returning toa sense of normality after an intenseround of publicity for the book. Sherelates her terror of live broadcastinterviews, and is keen now to return tothe solitude of her writing desk and getto work on another book.

She continues to visit Charlie regularly.Part of their routine is that she readspassages of the book to him. “He alwaysenjoys it, and it provides us with a pointof connection to each other,” she tellsme.

Matchstick Man is published by Head ofZeus n

Living with the

Matchstick Man

When Julia Kellylanded at theAnnaghmakerrigartists retreat 14years ago, she wasworking as a civil

servant. She was also anaspiring writer who hadn’tyet found her voice. Whileshe was there she met thevisual artist Charlie Whisker.From that point on, nothingwould ever be the same.Julia’s latest book, her third,tells the story of theirrelationship. It’s also a vividand honest account of Julia’sexperience of caring forCharlie after he developedAlzheimer’s disease.Interview by NIALLSHANAHAN.

Niall Shanahan.

Photo: Kip Carroll


News

HUNDREDS OF Fórsa members frombranches across the country attended a rallyin Roscommon town to support members inRoscommon County Council who are takingstrike action over council management’srefusal to implement a flexi-leave scheme inthe local authority.

Speaking at the rally in Roscommon town on23rd June, Fórsa President Ann McGee saidflexibility over working time operates in theinterests of local government services andservice-users, just as it does for the staffwho provide them.

Ann accused Roscommon County Council ofwasting resources in a crusade againstflexibility in the delivery of public services.

“You have been forced into a strike by anintransigent employer, who is willing to wastecouncil resources – the community’sresources – in a needless, bloody-minded,and mean-minded crusade. Fórsa is fullybehind you,” she said.

Fórsa’s head of local government Peter Nolanrejected council claims that Roscommonstaff were seeking extra leave. “Flexi-leaveschemes in hundreds of public and privatesector workplaces provide flexibility foremployers and staff alike.

Roscommon council workers staged a one-day strike on Thursday 21st June andscheduled a series of one-day strikes tofollow.

The dispute was provoked by councilmanagement’s refusal to halt its ban on flexi-leave, in defiance of two biding Labour Courtrecommendations and a series ofclarifications.

Fórsa official Padraig Mulligan said “We reallyhave explored every avenue to avoid

industrial action. Now we need the support ofFórsa branches as we embark on a campaignof one-day strikes.”

The Labour Court last year confirmed thatRoscommon council staff should have thesame rights as their colleagues throughoutthe local government sector. Itsrecommendation, which was binding on bothsides, pointed to the Haddington Roadagreement’s provisions on flexi-leave, whichwere carried into the current Public ServiceStability Agreement (PSSA) n

Hundreds rally to support

Roscommon council workers

Speaking at a rally in Roscommon town, Fórsa leader Ann McGee said flexibility over working time operates in the interests of local government services

and service-users, just as it does for the staff who provide them.

Photos: Reg Gordon.

Union criticises council’s “needless and‘bloody-minded” campaign against staff

“Council management’s claim that its staffare seeking extra leave is wide of the markbecause, under these schemes, nobody cantake a minute off unless they have alreadyworked up the extra time,” he said.


Latest Fórsa news


Unpaid parental

leave may increase

THE MAXIMUM unpaid parental leaveentitlement of 18 weeks per child couldrise to 26 weeks if the Parental Leave(Amendment) Bill 2017, which wasrecently passed through the Dáil,becomes law. The Bill would also extendthe threshold for parental leave fromeight years of age to 12. However, itwould require Government support tointroduce paid parental leave.

Speaking at the Irish Congress of TradeUnions’ (ICTU) women’s conference inFermanagh in June, ICTU generalsecretary Patricia King said unionswanted the introduction of paid parentalleave. She said Ireland lagged wellbehind other countries when it comes topaid family leave.

Fórsa wants shorter working week for allFÓRSA HAS put its weight behind acampaign for a reduction in workingtime for employees in all sectors of theeconomy.

The union adopted a motion at itsnational conference in May mandatingits national executive to work with theIrish Congress of Trade Unions andothers to achieve better work-lifebalance through a shorter workingweek.

Germany’s largest private sector unionsrecently achieved working timereductions after putting the issue at thecentre of its bargaining priorities.

Fórsa deputy general secretary KevinCallinan said union members had onlyvoted for the Haddington Road deal,which increased working time for manypublic servants, to avoid further cuts inpay and public services during theeconomic crisis.

“Now that circumstances haveimproved, the issue of working time is,just like pay, legitimately part of therestoration agenda,” he said.

Significant numbers of public servants –over 400 in the civil service alone –have opted to revert to pre-HaddingtonRoad hours, with a proportionatereduction in pay, under a provision in the

recently-adopted Public ServiceStability Agreement (PSSA).

Kevin said the issue would be a priorityin talks on a successor to the PSSA. “Weare currently in the fifth month of athree-year agreement, so our approachmust be to shape the next bargainingopportunity, which could be two yearsaway.

“And our strategy will have to be anational one based on the previouslyaccepted and understood standardworking week in the different sectorsrather than any local arrangements thatmay have operated,” he said.

More than

half young

workers

going hungry

to pay rent –

Congress

THE NATIONAL opinion poll of 1,500trade union members under the age of34 on their housing costs wasconducted online between the 1st and14th of June.

The survey was carried out by Congressahead of the Labour EmployerEconomic Forum (LEEF) discussionsbetween Government, union andemployer representatives on housing.

In a statement on the survey findings,Congress said it recognises the“significant and unacceptable impact ofour broken housing system onvulnerable individuals and families withyoung children experiencinghomelessness.”

Congress is continuing to lobby TDs tocommit to adopting its Charter forHousing Rights.

Congress social policy officer Dr LauraBambrick said “This particular piece ofresearch focused on the impact of thehousing crisis on a generation of peoplewho are sandwiched between highhousing costs and low wages, to allowus take a detailed look behind snappyterms such as ‘generation rent’ and‘delayed adulthood’.”

FÓRSA HAS announced its intentionto establish a professional institutefor special needs assistants (SNAs).The institute would set professionalstandards, support training, andunderpin the validation ofqualifications in a push to improveprovision to children with specialneeds by further professionalising theSNA role.

The move comes as a survey ofalmost 2,700 SNAs revealed that,while most held qualifications

significantly above minimumrequirements, neither the Departmentof Education nor individual schoolsprovide them with access toadequate basic or ongoingprofessional training. Instead, mosttraining in the field is either self-financed or trade union-provided.

The survey results were unveiled atFórsa’s Education divisionalconference on 5th May, which wasaddressed by Minister for Educationand Skills Richard Bruton.

SNAs to establish

professional institute

Call for child

protection career

path

A HIQA report into the child and familyagency Tusla’s management of childabuse claims has called on the agencyto create “formal career-pathmechanisms” as a matter of urgency.

The report, which was requested by thechildren’s minister on foot of criticismsof Tusla’s handling of child abusecomplaints against a Garda whistleblower, called on the agency to “seekthe assistance of higher education andtraining establishments to create formalcareer-path mechanisms for studentsand graduates to support current andfuture workplace needs.”

Pictured are Margaret Warner, George Griffin, Theresa Flynn, Imelda Walsh and Fearghal McDonnell of the Waterford Clericalbranch, presenting the branch’s donation of €1000 to Solas Centre representative Sharon Sutton in May. Fearghal McDonnell

explained: “The branch made similar donations to Waterfod Samaritans and Pieta House South East. Branch members nominated the charities to receive the donations. The money came from a refund of the solidarity fund, paid in by members of the CPSU

Waterford General (now Fórsa Waterford Clerical).”

Waterford

Clerical

backs

local

charities

Minister for Education and Skills Richard Bruton meets members of Fórsa’s SchoolSecretaries branch at the union’s Education division conference in April. The

conference heard calls for pay equity for school secretaries and new entrants.

Photograph by Conor H

ealy.

Fórsa’s branch campaign officer team at the union’s national conference in Killarney, which took place 16th to 18th May.

Daring to hope summer has finallyarrived, after eight months of squaliddarkness, storms, blizzards andweather warnings, somebody cries“barbecue!” and a stampede to thenearest garden supplies superstorebegins.

And who can blame them? Our longperiods of enforced confinement meanswe’re always ready to fling open theback doors to grill some sausages andlet the salads wilt in the sun while we sipa few cold beers with friends and family.

Is the food the focal point? Not really,not at the first barbecue of the summer.


Food


Daniel Devery.

"The Rat brought the boat alongside thebank, tied it up, helped awkward Molesafely ashore, and swung out the picnicbasket. The Mole begged to be allowedto unpack it all by himself. He took outall the mysterious packets one by oneand arranged their contents, gasping'Oh my! Oh my!' at each fresh surprise."– The Wind in The Willows (1908), byKenneth Grahame.

THERE IS a particular phenomenon ofthe Irish summer that occurs after a fewconsecutive days of sunshine. It startsin suburbia, as tentative citizens opentheir back doors, sniff the air and squintat the sunlight.

If the weather is sustained, the foodbecomes more central by the third orfourth go of the outdoor grill, when thesteel bars have had the moss and spiderwebs scorched off them.

The central pleasure of this short andfrenzied Irish barbecue season haseverything to do with being able to eatoutside. The outdoors has the effect ofseasoning food as memorably as theworld’s finest condiments.

RootsMy family roots are buried deep incounties Offaly and Westmeath, andfamily summers were punctuated by theoccasional visit to neighbours who wereharvesting peat from the nearby bog.

Ask anyone who’s tried it, but a cup oftea sipped out on the bog tastes like noother. Similarly, my aunt’s freshraspberries, peas and mint were oftensavoured straight off the plants in hergarden, seasoned by the country air,glorious sunsets, and the illicit thrill ofnot getting caught.

One of the best lunches I’ve ever tastedwas a simple combination of a baguette,

a great cheese, an appleand a shared (and verycheap) bottle of whitewine. My travellingcompanion drove us up toPriest’s Leap, a mountainpass that straddles theborder between Cork andKerry.

We drank in the sceneryand ate like kings. Thecheese in question wasfrom Durrus, just one ofthe great examples of theartisanal cheeses forwhich West Cork hasbecome justifiablyfamed.

GoldenIf, like me, you cannot pay a visit to acoastal village without yearning for agenerous portion of fish and chips, you’llknow that, apart from the salt and maltvinegar, it is our proximity to the seathat makes it taste so much better thanwhen it is eaten anywhere else.

As successfully as it trades in Dublin’sWerburgh Street, I’d say Leo Burdock’s

InformalityThere is a forced informality to thesetype of meals that delights us all. We’reeating with our hands, we may haveforgotten to bring napkins, we’rewashing it down with fizzy stuff weknow we’re not supposed to drink toooften or with a flask of tea brewed atthe last minute before we left the house.We’re improvising for comfort in theabsence of furniture, and everyone’s ingreat form.

The continuing popularity of foodtrucks, dispensing everything fromburritos to South Korean kimchi tocrepes, at music festivals and otherlarge gatherings, taps into this pleasureof informal outdoor dining. Thesefashionable mobile kitchens aredispensing good food, and doing greatbusiness, despite our temperateclimate, which suggests we’redetermined to enjoy this kind of eatingeven if the sun doesn’t shine.

While it seems we’ve adopted barbecueculture as the default outdoor diningexperience in our own homes, I’mintrigued by those family groups you’llsee out in our public forests and parks inthe summer who seem to have a verywell organised approach to a barbecuepicnic.

There’s an impressive cast ironcontraption with smouldering coals setup in a clearing, with tables and chairsand three (or even four) generationssitting in a group enjoying a gloriousbanquet. The conversation is flowing,the language is Eastern European andevery part of this well prepared feastlooks like it’s designed to pay tribute tothe glorious landscape.

Pique-niqueThe first use of the word ‘picnic’ istraced to the late 17th century. ‘Pique-nique’ was used to describe a group ofpeople dining in a restaurant whobrought their own wine, and the conceptof a picnic has long retained theconnotation of a meal to which everyonecontributes something.

The word appears to have been adoptedinto the English language by LordChesterfield, who was the Irish LordLieutenant from January 1745 toNovember 1746. The main road throughthe park is still known as ChesterfieldAvenue, and he was the first official toallow Dubliners to roam in the PhoenixPark.

And while I’m grateful to Chesterfieldand all our municipal forefathers for thatglorious expanse of parkland, I take alittle additional pleasure in knowing thatthe park has some historical connectionto the picnic. Because it’s where I wouldhave enjoyed my very first one,sometime in the early 1970s, whenbarbecues were an exclusively USphenomenon.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going toenjoy this sandwich outside… n

We survived a long andmiserable winter, and thesummer began with a blaze ofheat that inspired us all to getoutside. DANIEL DEVERY getslyrical about eating outdoors inall its glorious forms.

Let’s go

outside

Photo: dreamstim

e.com

Hunt Picnic by François Lemoyne (1723).From the Middle Ages, an elegant meal eaten

out-of-doors, rather than a farm worker's dinner in a field, was associated with hunting.

world famous fish and chips would doeven greater business if it was located alittle closer to the sea, but this is aminor quibble. The crisp air of anautumn night on the corner oppositeChristchurch is as good a place as anyto enjoy this golden confection.

Another deeply loved Irish culinarytradition is the ham sandwiches piledhigh in the back of the car for hungryGAA fans making their way to supportclub or county in the summer months.For a meal that’s consumed in lay-bysand hard shoulders, it’s spoken of withgenuine affection, and seems to be anessential ingredient of summer formany.


Travel


Una-Minh Kavanagh

THE GOOD news is that due to ourlocation here in Ireland, we have plentyof options as to where we can jet off tooff season, particularly in mainlandEurope. Sure, some may seem slightlyoff the beaten track but sometimes,taking a little step out of the touristzone is very much worth it. From smallislands to foodie havens, get those bagsready and get planning, because thesepeaceful spots will hopefully inspire you.

Inishbofin, GalwayWhile Inishbofin, isn’t exactly anunknown spot, it still very muchmanages to feel deserted quite often.

The small island off the coast ofConnemara has just around 180inhabitants and is an ideal place to leaveyour phone in your suitcase and goexploring.

For the outdoorsy types, there are manywalking trails and opportunities to cycleand if you want to brave the Atlantic youcan sail, paddle board, swim, kayak orgo sea angling. You may even be able tonab fresh fish from the local fishermento pop onto the grill. Not your thing?Book a self-catering cottage, don yourcosiest socks, grab a book and sit by thefire! To get to Inishbofin, you must takethe ferry from Cleggan pier, locatednorthwest of Clifden.

Ericeira, Portugal

crowds. A mecca for surfers, those whohaven’t brought their own but want tohit the waves can hire boards andwetsuits and get lessons from thelocals.

Those who aren’t interested in surfingcan simply laze in the sand and watchspectacular sunsets dip in the horizon –Ericeira also boasts amazing seafood.You can get to Ericeira by hiring a car orby bus from Campo Grande station inLisbon which will cost less than €10.Alternatively, if you’re willing to splashout you can book a private car transfer.

Parma, ItalyLocated in the Emilia-Romagna region,which was this year voted as LonelyPlanet’s Best in Europe, Parma is a citythat’s often overlooked in favour of morepopular places like nearby Milan.

Just a short train journey away from thefashion metropolis, Parma is famous fortwo main things: Parmesan and Parmaham (prosciutto). Despite the food’spopularity across the globe, the cityitself is often free from many touristswhich means you can wander aroundwithout ever hearing a word of English.

Take a tour and learn how both thefamous cheese and ham are made orhop on a train a head to Modena (homeof Balsamic vinegar) or the busierBologna.

Gower Peninsula, Wales

Cap d’Agde, south ofFranceIt can get busy during the summer butcome autumn and winter, the crowdshave disappeared and strolls acrossmiles of beaches are peaceful. Offeringa slew of watersports, boat trips anddelicious seafood, the sunsets in Capd’Agde are breathtaking.

Apart from this, the area also has alarge family-style naturist resort –sometimes referred to as the “NakedCity”, where nudity is legal and commonplace. But don’t worry, if that’s not yourcup of tea, there are plenty of stretchescatering to the non-naturist.

From Ireland, you can fly intoCarcassonne and get a train to Agde foreasy access.

Muxia, SpainThis is a town where you can truly doabsolutely nothing. Laid back andchilled, feel free here to be as lazy asyou’d like. We’d highly recommendstaying at Albergue Arribada where theatmosphere is homely and relaxed.

Wander around and get lost in itswinding streets or take a short hike tosee panoramic views of the village withthe Atlantic beating the coastline. It’sheavenly.

You can take a bus to nearby Finisterre,also known as “land’s end”, and thedebated official end to the Camino deSantiago. To get to Muxia you can travelby private bus, local bus or private carfrom Santiago de Compostela.

Lake Bled, SloveniaIf you’ve ever seen pictures of thispicturesque lake, it’s exactly as it is inphotos with its medieval castle huggingthe rocky cliff and the Julian Alps andthe Karavanke mountains as backdrops,it draws all sorts of visitors frombackpackers to honeymooners.

Beautifully romantic and visuallybreathtaking, the lake surrounds BledIsland which houses a 17th centurychurch with Gothic frescoes andBaroque features.

While it can be swarming with touristsaround mid-summer, accommodationprices throughout the country aregenerally lower during autumn as itstarts to get cooler.

Cairngorms NationalPark, ScotlandBased in the heart of the ScottishHighlands, this national park is bound toleave you feeling refreshed and inspired.It’s the UK’s largest national park, whereone can partake in a multitude ofactivities from wildlife watching, tocycling, to snowsports and generalambling.

With endless natural beauty, includingmountains and gorges, forests andrivers (why not have a whisky whileyou’re at it?). Stay in a boutique hotel,bed and breakfast or sleep under thestars – the choice is yours.

Easy to reach by road, rail, plane or bike,there’s also a train link to Inverness,Glasgow, Edinburgh and a direct servicefrom London and the south to Aviemoreand Aberdeen n

Feeling frazzled by your summer holiday? Want to beatthe crowds and retreat into the wilderness thisautumn? Sometimes one of the hardest things to do onholiday is find a place to switch off, relax and justsimply let the world go by, away from the world’stourism hotspots. UNA-MINH KAVANAGH unlocks thesecrets of Europe’s tranquil havens.

Peaceful and wild

Cromwell’s Castle, Inishbofin.

Phot

o: A

lam

y.co

m

Lake Bled, Slovenia.

Nestled atop sandstone cliffs, theseaside town of Ericeira is a perfectretreat away from the claustrophobia of

Wales is blessed with a stunningcoastline, and with many places to setup camp, the Gower Peninsula is idealfor those looking to break away from thedigital world.

Just a short drive from Swansea, thePeninsula has a richly variedenvironment and is renowned for itswoodlands, marshes, dramaticlimestone cliffs and sandy beaches. Anarchaeological treasure trove if you’reinto your history, you can explore IronAge forts, medieval castles and 19thcentury parks.

Photos: dreamstim

e.com unless stated otherw

ise

New releases


Movies


Morgan O’Brien

TRADITIONAL FILM stock has becomeincreasingly costly to produce andcumbersome to reproduce andcirculate. Like so many technicalinnovations and developments, the shiftto digital has been driven by commercialimperatives rather than artistic intent.

The digitisation process is an easier,quicker and cheaper way to make andrelease films. Plus it’s morestraightforward for cinemas to accessand screen movies.

In this context, it is much easier for filmsto be screened to a larger audience,which has given a huge boost toindependent films. There is no longer aneed for multiple prints or to physicallytransport them to cinemas. Largerstudio films are now releasedsimultaneously across the globe.

CriticsThe conversion of the majority of majorcinema chains to digital projectionmeans that traditional film prints mustbe transferred to a digital format forscreening. Consequently, thesechanges have not gone uncontested.Some filmmakers are critical of thedigital process on aesthetic grounds.

In much the same way as committedaudiophiles claim that vinyl offers a farmore enjoyable listening experiencethan digital formats, cineastes aresteadfast in backing the superiority ofthe visual image when it’s made ontraditional film stock.

A prominent critic has been directorChristopher Nolan, who has advocatedfor the continued use of 35mm printsand promoted IMAX as a betteralternative to digital cinema.

Nolan, as well as other notable directorsincluding Paul Thomas Anderson andQuentin Tarantino, have been critical ofdigital projection – with Tarantinoclaiming he would retire if he could nolonger find a cinema to screen 35mmprints – as it lacks the quality oftraditional film stock.

rendering the cinema as no differentfrom home viewing.

QualityHowever, it’s also been argued thatshooting in digital means the reductionin quality (when transferring from film todigital formats) is avoided. Equally, itcan be argued that films shot in digitalcan offer a characteristic andcompelling visual experience.

One of the first directors to shoot withdigital cameras was Michael Mann,whose 2004 film Collateral memorablycaptures the LA night in a visualarresting style. Other prominentfilmmakers have equally madeimpressive use of digital photography.Take Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2011 neo-

noir masterpiece Drive and DavidFincher’s recent work, including TheSocial Network and Gone Girl.

Smartphone moviesMore recently, filmmakers havecontinued to innovate with digitaltechnology. In 2015, comedy/dramaTangerine was feted as much for thefact that it was shot entirely on iPhonesas it was for its value as a film. It provedthat quality films could be createdwithin technical constraints, anddemonstrated the increasingsophistication of digital hardware andsoftware.

Consider your most recent, or indeed your next trip to the cinemaand remind yourself that the standard issue image of projectorand projectionist with reels of film stock is no longer the reality.MORGAN O’BRIEN looks at how the production, reproduction and distribution of films has gone digital.

Turning money

into (digital) light

Dublin Old School (29th June)

Irish production that follows thereconnection of estranged brothersover the course of a drug fuelledweekend in Dublin.

The First Purge (4th July)

The fourth film in The Purge seriescharts, as the title suggests, theadvent of the purge as a means toaddress crime.

Incredibles 2 (13th July)

Set in the immediate aftermath of theoriginal film this long awaited, and longoverdue, sequel to the 2004 animationfollows the adventures of a family ofsuperheroes.

Mamma Mia: Here We GoAgain! (20th July)

Follow-up to the 2010’s ridiculouslysuccessful adaptation of the ABBA‘jukebox musical’ – we awaitexpectantly to see if Pierce Brosnanhas developed any ability to hold anote.

Mission: Impossible –Fallout (26th July)

The sixth instalment of the reliablyentertaining action-adventure series(don’t mention the second one) expecthigh tech gadgets and high octane setpieces.

The Escape (3rd August)

Domestic drama starring GemmaArterton as an unhappy suburbanhousewife, who leaves her home andtravels to Paris on a journey of personaldiscovery.

The Darkest Minds (10th August)

Young adult drama, based on the novelof the same name, charts a dystopianfuture where, after a plague kills themajority of children, the remaining onesdevelop special powers and aresubjected to hostility and internment.

Christopher Robin (17th August)

Ewan McGregor stars as a now allgrown up Christopher Robin, who haslost his sense of wonder for the world.Winnie the Pooh and pals from theHundred Acre Wood step in to help him.

The Children Act (24th August)

Adapted from the novel of the samename by Ian McEwan, the film featuresEmma Thompson as a high court judge,deliberating on the case of a childrefusing to have a blood transfusion onreligious grounds, while dealing withher own marital problems.

The Miseducation ofCameron Post (31st August)

Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick Ass) stars asa gay teenager in the 1990s sent to a‘conversion camp’.

Earlier this year, Palme D’Or andAcademy Award winning directorSteven Soderbergh released thepsychological thriller Unsane, whichwas made with the iPhone 7.

While there’s legitimacy to the criticismthat there are fewer venues to screen35mm prints – especially for reissued orrestored films – the development ofdigital cinema does have enormouspotential. Not least, it democratises thedistribution of film (for previously hard-to-reach audiences) and allows theproduction of quality work for much lessexpense.

Just as Technicolor and Panavision gavemovies a broader palette to competewith television in the 1950s, digital isenabling a new generation of filmmakerswhile the older technology shows nosign of slipping quietly off the stage.

One format isn't automatically betterthan the other. It’s the filmmakers’ use ofthe particular mode of filmmaking thatshould be judged n

Claire Foy in Unsane. The film was shotentirely on the iPhone 7 Plus.

Just as Technicolor andPanavision gave movies a

broader palette to competewith television in the 1950s,

digital is enabling a newgeneration of filmmakers

while the older technologyshows no sign of slipping

quietly off the stage.

These directors have suggested thatthis will reduce the cinema experienceand strip it of its unique character,

Keir Dullea in 2001: A Space Odyssey. The 2018 restoration aimed to present

the richness of the 1968 original,including the occasional flaws of film.

41The magazine for Fórsa members40 Summer-Autumn 2018

Music

RaymondConnolly.

At this time of the year, it can take a while to persuade RAYMONDCONNOLLY to abandon the Northside local where he whiles away hissummer over games of dominoes and bottles of milk stout. It takes a whilelonger for him to sit down and bash out some copy on his typewriter (a 1963Underwood Touchmaster Five if you’re curious). World Cup summers meansthis whole process can take even longer, but he’s finally filed his copy, and it’sabout the worst haircut in history. Sort of.

“I CLEANED the attic with the wife theother day. Now I can’t get the cobwebsout of her hair.” Dear old Tommy Cooper.Never fails to cheer me up.

Speaking of hair, I went to see From theJam recently at The Academy in Dublin,featuring The Jam’s original bass playerBruce Foxton. The Academy is a

wonderfully intimate venue, a bit ‘in yourface’ so to speak.

The close proximity gave me anopportunity to really study Foxton’smullet. His hairstyle might well bedescribed as hybrid of Cliff Richard’s,David Bowie’s and Mattress Mick’s.

If you take a look back at the original1978 album cover of the brilliant AllMod Cons, you’ll notice a seated PaulWeller and Rick Buckler, a slight air ofmenace about them, and a couple ofvery mod haircuts.

Standing somewhat forlornly to oneside you’ll see Foxton with his mullet. I

can report that it hasn’t changed in 40years. That’s commitment. Brucebelieves in his mullet and he’s standingby it.

StylesAs the great Brian Clough lamented ofthe England goalkeeping situation “That(David) Seaman is a handsome youngman but he spends too much timelooking in the mirror. You can’t keep goalwith hair like that.”

There was a time when music andhairstyles were indelibly linked, with thelatest trends communicated to themasses, not by social media, butthrough the medium of the professionalfootballer.

heaving with men with mulletsdancing to David Hasselhoff.While The Hoff warbled Lookingfor Freedom, I reflected on thefact that western democracycomes at a hefty price.

The bald factsIn this day and age, the folliclychallenged have fought backadmirably. Seinfeld creator LarryDavid once said “anyone can beconfident with a full head of hair.But a confident bald man – there’syour diamond in the rough.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Think detective lieutenant TheoKojak. Not only busting narcosand crims in early 1970s NewYork (when it was dangerous), butwinging his way to No 1 in the UKcharts with If. Tuneless, noteless,but confident nonetheless.

Pomp and ceremonyThe importance of a decenthairstyle in music really kicked offin the 1950s with thepompadour. Named after Madame dePompadour, mistress of King Louis XV,its key characteristic is turning hairback off the forehead in a roll.

Famous pompadourists include ElvisPresley, Johnny Cash and, years later,Imelda May and the increasingly grumpyright-wing loony Morrissey. AlvinStardust sported one that made a guestappearance (on Bono’s head) duringU2’s Songs of Innocence tour.

IconsOther iconic hairstyles of modern popinclude the beehive (The Supremes, TheRonettes), the mop top (The Beatles,The Small Faces), the skinhead(originally left-wing anti-hippy Jamaicanska lovers), the mohican (John Lydon,Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow) thejheri perm (wet look MichaelJackson/Lionel Richie/Chris Kamaratype of thing) and my favourite, the afroperm.

The afro perm must not be confusedwith the semi ‘fro, as sported by skaacts such as Jimmy Cliff and ThePioneers and blaxploitation legend JohnShaft.

Popular from 1968 to 1972, the semi‘fro found itself knocked off its perch bythe afro perm which itself enjoyed ahealthy half decade at the top. Its

demise was hastened by an attemptedappropriation by white pop and footballculture in 1977, jointly inspired by LeoSayer and the entire Liverpool FC firstteam squad.

Not unlike the preservation of the Irishlanguage in the Gaeltacht regions, thecity of Liverpool, to this day, has apreservation order on the afro perm.

David Bowie has a lot to answer for. In1964, then David Jones, appeared onBBC TV’s Tonight Show with CliffMichelmore as a spokesman for theSociety of Prevention of Cruelty to Menwith Long Hair (with his tongue, Isuspect, firmly in his cheek).

At the time, Bowie was sporting a bit ofa Rolling Stones Brian Jones hairdo. Notbad, but it was his Aladdin Sane barnetthat caused the longest lasting culturalripple.

At the height of his Zoo TV days, Bonowas asked about that mullet he sportedat Live Aid. “In my defence” he said,grinning broadly and puffing on hischeroot, “I thought I looked like DavidBowie.” I doubt he’d get that excuse pastBrian Eno, but 10 out of 10 forchutzpah Mr Hewson.

As for Mr Foxton, don’t ever sell out.Stand by your mullet n

Stand by your mullet

The Jam, All Mod Cons album cover.

Telly Savalas as Kojak.

The majority of premier leaguefootballers these days hail from muchfurther afield than England, and theleague’s glamorous hairstyles nowoutshine the glossiest of popstars, whoseem to have more or less given up onmaking an effort (yes, we’re looking atyou Ed Sheeran. Does Ed himself strutinto a barber shop and ask for one ofthem? Maybe he sits back in the chairhumming The shape of you or I’m amess).

I had a look through my 1970 World cupfootball sticker album recently. It tookme a while to remember thecombination to the velvet-lined safe inwhich it resides. I noticed almostimmediately that none of the SovietUnion team’s barnets were inspired byThe Small Faces or The Kinks. Theywere content with a simple side parting.

This reminded me that when the ColdWar ended in 1989, the Berlin Wall was

Bono, Live Aid, 1985.

Photo: gettyimages.ie

Win win win

The small print*You must be a paid-up Fórsa member to win.Only one entry per person (multiple entrieswill not be considered). Entries must reachus by Friday 7th September 2018. Theeditor’s decision is final. That’s it!

Just answer fiveeasy questionsand you couldwin €50.YOU COULD have an extra €50 tospend by answering five easy questionsand sending your entry, name andaddress to Hazel Gavigan, Fórsa prizequiz. Fórsa, Nerney’s court, Dublin,D01 R2C5. We’ll send €50 to the firstcompleted entry pulled from the hat.*All the answers can be found in thepages of this magazine.

WIN €50

1. Which one of these is NOT abook by Julia Kelly?

a. Matchstick Manb. With My Lazy Eyec. Let the Great World Spind. The Playground

2. What does BCO stand for? a. Bullish Capitalist Oligarch b. Bohemian Celtic Opportunistc. Branch Campaigns Officerd. Bulldozers Can’t Operate

3. Fórsa’s national conferencetook place in May in whichcounty:

a. Kildareb. Kerryc. Donegald. Galway

4. The editorial headline ‘MadeGlorious Summer’ is areference to whichShakespeare play?

a. Hamletb. Midsummer Night’s Dreamc. Richard IIId. Henry V

5. Where is Leo Burdock’sfamous fish and chip shoplocated?

a. Winetavern Streetb. Werburgh Streetc. Watling Streetd. Wenceslaus Square


PRIZEQUIZ

WIN€50

PRIZE CROSSWORD

ACROSS7. This Dublin poet wrote The Time of

the Barmecides (6)8 Large oak trees often grow from

tiny… (6)9 Happy (4)10 A daring… was North Cork’s famed

Willie Brennan (8)11 News, knowledge (11)14 War cries (6,5)18 He/she plays with fellow club sports

people (4,4)19 Wise person, aromatic herb (4)20 Roll out the… (6)21 Golfers will be familiar with these

(6)

DOWN1. Mayo town, Tipperary village (7)2 Old (4)3 John Kells…, author of Who Fears

to Speak of Ninety Eight (6)4 Poignant Patrich MacGill novel

The… (3,3)5 Soft drink (4,4)6 Small scenic south Kerry town (5)12 Charming south Galway village (8)13 Stylish (7)15 Tracks and…, as shown on RTÉ (6)16 Vigour (6)17 Rotting, erosion, wearing away (5)19 Small building (4)

Win €50 bycompleting thecrossword andsending yourentry, name andaddress toHazel Gavigan,Fórsacrossword,Fórsa, Nerney’sCourt, Dublin,D01 R2C5, byFriday 7thSeptember2018. We’llsend €50 to thefirst correctentry pulledfrom the hat.

ISSUE 2 (SPRING-SUMMER) WINNERS:

CROSSWORD: Mary Conway, Dublin 1. QUIZ: Linda Steenson, Castleblayney. SURVEY: Jackie Keegan, Ballinasloe.

ISSUE 2 (SPRING-SUMMER) CROSSWORD SOLUTIONS:

ACROSS: 7. Angora 8. O’Nolan 9. Sloe 10. Epidemic 11. Jenny and Ler 14. Grasshopper 18. Jeroboam19. Card 20. Bogied 21. Eighty.DOWN: 1. And Lies 2. Mope 3. Favela 4. Copied 5. Home Help 6. Panic 12. Narcotic 13. Secrets 15. Swords 16. Hamlet 17. Genoa 19. CBGB.

CSCU Car LoanInterest rate of just 6.9% (7.12% APR)*

Interest rebate available on all loans**

Representative repayments over 5 years.

Car Loan Term 130 Fortnightly Repayments Total Amount Payable

€10,000 5 years €91.01 €11,830.44

€15,000 5 years €136.51 €17,745.78

€20,000 5 years €182.02 €23,660.87

All figures are for illustrative purposes only. Variable Representative Example as at 28/06/2018.

*Variable Rate of Interest. Loans are subject to approval. APR means annual percentage rate. Terms and conditions apply.

** Interest rebate decided at AGM – (10% in 2017).

CIVIL SERVICE CREDIT UNION LTD. IS REGULATED BY THE CENTRAL BANK OF IRELAND.

WARNING: If you do not meet the repayments on your credit agreement, your account will go into arrears.

This may affect your credit rating, which may limit your ability to access credit in the future.

Call 01 662 2177 or email: [email protected]: CSCU Offices, St. Stephen's Green House, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, D02 PH42. Fax: 01 6622 861 • www.cscu.ie

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8

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Crossword composed by Sean Uí Cearnaigh

Need new wheels?

ApplyToday!

10% Interest

Rebate

paid in 2017

Survey


The survey1. What did you think of the articles in the summer-

autumn 2018 issue of Fórsa?

Excellent o

Good o

Okay o

Bad o

Awful o

Comments ____________________________________________________________________

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2. What did you think of the layout, style and pictures inthe summer-autumn 2018 issue of Fórsa?

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Good o

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Comments ____________________________________________________________________

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3. What were your favourite three articles?

1 __________________________________________________________________________________

2 __________________________________________________________________________________

3 __________________________________________________________________________________

4. What were your least favourite articles?

1 __________________________________________________________________________________

2 __________________________________________________________________________________

3 __________________________________________________________________________________

5. What subjects would you like to see in future issues ofFórsa?

1 __________________________________________________________________________________

2 __________________________________________________________________________________

3 __________________________________________________________________________________

6. What did you think of the balance between union newsand other articles?

The balance is about right o

I want more union news o

I want less union news o

7. Any other comments? __________________________________________________

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______________________________________________________________________________________

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Name ________________________________________________________________________________

Address ____________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

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Email ________________________________________________________________________________

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Fórsa branch ____________________________________________________________________

How do you like Fórsa?

WE HOPE you enjoyed this issue of Fórsa, themagazine for Fórsa members. We want to hearyour views, and we’re offering a €100 prize toone lucky winner who completes thisquestionnaire.

The small print*You must be a paid-up Fórsa member to win. Only one entry per person (multiple entries will not be considered).

Entries must reach us by Friday 7th September 2018. The editor’s decision is final. That’s it!

Simply complete this short survey and send it to Hazel Gavigan, Fórsa survey,Fórsa, Nerney’s Court, Dublin, D01 R2C5. You can also send your views by email [email protected]. We’ll send €100 to the first completed entry pulled from a hat.*

WIN €100

YOURVIEW

You’re

better off

in Fórsa

*Six months continuous membership is required to avail of services. Financial benefits are strictly subject to policy, terms, conditions and exclusions.See www.forsa.ie for details.

Fórsa members are entitled to*l €5,000 illness benefit when out of work for more than 12 months l €5,000 personal accident insurancel €5,000 critical illness or death benefitl €5,000 death of a spouse or qualifying partnerl Evacuation or repatriation expenses of up to €250,000

for members who die or are seriously ill abroad, including emergency medical expenses incurred for members temporarily abroad as a result of death/illness

l Free legal help in bodily injury casesl Free 24/7 legal advice helplinel Free 24/7 confidential counselling helplinel Free 24/7 domestic assistance helpline.

Members can opt in to Fórsa-facilitated financial benefits l Car insurancel Home insurancel Travel insurancel Additional pension benefitsl Salary protection and life cover.

Fórsa members can also apply for l Gaeltacht scholarships for their

school-age childrenl Industrial relations scholarshipsl Benevolent grants for members in

financial distress.

Fórsa members can save lot of money with our enhancedpackage of financial benefits provided or negotiated bythe union. Some of these are free to all Fórsa members.Others are optional benefits, available only to Fórsamembers, which can mean savings on insurance, salaryprotection, additional pension coverage and more.

Documents

Fo rsa Issue 3 Cover Layout 1 · 2018-07-11 · Directors: Eamonn Bergin, Paul Doherty, Adrian Girling (British), Aidan Gordon, Patrick Howett, Michael Lacey, Dan McCarthy, Raymond